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Christian Unity Week - Indian Orthodox

In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, our church was invited to join in part of the monthly St Thomas Indian Orthodox Church mass on Saturday 14^th January. “Part of” the service because they recognised we would not understand any of the words of the liturgy which is entirely in Malayalam. The Indian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian churches, founded by the apostle Thomas when he went to India after Christ’s earthly lifetime. Perhaps the richness and complexity of the ritual and altar decorations reflect this long tradition. They also unite us in recognition of the awesomeness of the God we worship. Certainly the church looked and smelt quite different, filled with colour, candlelight and incense.

Alongside this “otherness” of the service was a strong sense of community and family; the worship comprised a lot of responses and clearly well-known hymns which involved the whole congregation. We shared the Peace in a gesture of prayerful hands passing a precious treasure like a relay from the front.

Although it is strange not to understand the words being said, the freedom from intellectual struggle to comprehend Christ’s communion made this a very direct spiritual engagement with our one God, with no “wordy interference”. The element of personal challenge with which we are familiar in the sermon part of our worship was delivered in a closing talk by John, who posed us all the New Year task of dealing in all our relationships, as God did with King David in all his human brokenness, by looking forward to a good future, and not to dwell on past mistakes or perceived slights.

There was no mistaking the warmth of the welcome we received, both in the service and afterwards over the lovely communal meal. We were waited on as honoured guests; what a delight in a building where we often play the part of hosts!

“Brother, sister, let me serve you, let me be as Christ to you,

               Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too”

Beer and Carols - Monkfield Arms 20th December 2011

In the bleak mid-winter, the music group of Cambourne Church set up in The Monkfield Arms for the annual Beer and Carols evening

The crowded pub waited with baited breath and they were not disappointed as the singers gave full voice. With the help of the song sheets many joined in as we sang of the joy of Christmas and the coming Birth.

Some of the Carols needed more Baritones and Peter Wood successfully roped in some male voices to join the music group.

After a short break for the band and singers to take on “water” we resumed with requests being taken from the floor.

Once we had raised the roof of the pub, many of us stayed on and chatted with both old and new friends until the bell rang for last orders.

A big thank you to all involved in making this a wonderful evening.

Recent Reviews

Film

HEREAFTER

Clint Eastwood adds another excellent film to his recent directorial catalogue. This time the story weaves three people’s lives together as they each face the reality of death and the afterlife.

The first character, Marie, a French journalist, has a near death experience during the Asian tsunami. She is convinced that she experienced something of the hereafter and risks her career (against a backdrop of French institutional secularism), seeking to prove it by compiling and comparing with other’s experiences.

The second, Marcus, a London schoolboy who loses a close relative and is struggling to survive with the loss; he searches for some hope in the afterlife.

The third, George (played by Matt Damon) is an American man who has the gift of connecting with the dead relatives of those he touches. This he sees to be a curse, because it is a burden and prevents him having any close relationships.

The story seeks to explore people’s response to death more than answer any religious questions about what is after.

There are some refreshing aspects to the film.

Being set in France (dialogue in French and subtitled) and London as well as America, and using less recognised actors (apart from Damon), immediately gives a different feel to the story.

The disasters in the film were the Asian tsunami of 2004 and 7/7/2005 attacks in London; again a welcome recognition of a world wider than just north America.

The London part of the story captured well life in England, avoiding the frequent English stereotypes which can appear in American films.

The film is unashamedly slow, but richer for it. The film is accompanied by a great musical score (actually composed by Eastwood himself) which increases the darkness of the story.

Overall, there is a positive outcome for each character; partly due to the collision of their paths in the story.

This is not an overtly religious story. However, it is a study of those whose belief in something beyond what they see separates them from those around them. Far more importantly, it shows how these people find peace with this “difference”. Those of faith will have a sense of this, making it a particularly interesting film.

Well recommended.

Justin Leonard

Event

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 15-22nd January 2012

The three churches which meet in the building have decided to attend each other’s worship services to celebrate their unity in Christ. 

The Indian Orthodox Mass takes place on Sat 14th Jan (arrive between 11.45 and 12 noon). 

The RC Mass is on Saturday 14th Jan and Saturday 21st January at 5pm. 

We will finish marking the week with a bring and share lunch after the 11.00 service in Cambourne Church on 22nd January. 

If you are able to provide a savoury/sweet dish for the lunch on 22nd Julie our administrator would like to hear from you. 

Book

Run Baby Run

Nicky Cruz

There were times, as I read this book, when I couldn’t get over how comfortable and loved I have been all my life. Recounting the true story of his 1950’s ‘childhood’ in New York’s teenage gangs, Cruz takes us to a world we would prefer did not exist. Packed into tenements with scarcely any sanitation, with nothing to live for but The Gang, these kids ran wild. They covered their loneliness and fear with anger, brutality, and drugs. Then, into this world, walked a ‘skinny preacher’ who dared to tell the boys “Jesus loves you”.  Who invited the presidents of the gangs to kneel in the streets and pray. Who brought God into the life of Nicky Cruz.

There were also times, as I read this book, when I felt poor, inadequate, and lacking in trust and faith. Could I have walked where that Preacher walked?  Could I have risked what he did? And can I fully imagine the joy and love those street-boys felt when first realised that someone – God – loved them despite of everything?

But by the time I had finished this book (scarcely a day since I first opened it!), I felt inspired. Humbled by the power of God and how He can move in the most unlikely of ways. And how the Holy Spirit can change lives almost beyond recognition. Sometimes, we need to be reminded that the life-changing love of God we read about in the bible isn’t something left behind in 1st century Jerusalem. But God is still touching people and changing lives today. Not in our strength, but in His Name. Maybe God can use us in this way too…

Beth Cope