Switching the Labels

October 2024

Dear Friends

We’re now well into the new academic year and, in schools and universities, students are busy studying our world - everything from ants to whales, from the behaviour of electrons to the motion of stars, from the chemical processes in leaves to the shock waves of a thunderstorm. 

But what do they think they are looking at?  A fascinating and beautiful world shaped by mysterious and unchanging forces but without ultimate meaning?  Or the work of a craftsman who is outside his creation, and who has an eternal purpose for all he has made?

Does it matter? 

If there is no Creator then perhaps it doesn’t matter whether we realise that, or whether we take comfort in myths about God.  Everything will disappear one day anyway.

If there is a Creator then scrubbing him from our studies of his world is a big problem.  There is a basic injustice to removing or falsifying the artist labels in a gallery.  We’re also denying students the most valuable benefit of their studies in science, maths, geography, music or art: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2)  And this speech is not dry information about the ultimate power in our universe, it is a letter from the One who made us in love, who knows the purpose of our lives and who has entered his world in his Son to restore us to Himself.

When the Cavendish laboratory was built in Cambridge in 1874, a Bible verse was carved into the oak entrance doors.  In that building men would discover the electron, the neutron and the structure of DNA.  The second Cavendish lab was built in 1973 and the same verse was inscribed above its doors:
“The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein”     (Psalm 111:2)

Cavendish III has just been built in Cambridge and will open next year.  I understand that Psalm 111:2 will once again be displayed - a reminder that everything that is studied is a work of the Lord, the great God who has revealed himself in his creation, through his son Jesus Christ, and in the pages of his eternal Word, the Bible.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Open to All

 

September 2024

Dear Friends

This letter includes the announcement that I promised in July. 

A small number of volunteers do a herculean job regularly cutting the grass in the churchyards of Holme and Burton and maintaining our old church buildings.  Thank you to everyone who is involved in any way!  But the use of church and churchyard is not, of course, restricted to a few – they are intended to be for the benefit of everyone.

Our churchyards are always open and many people go there to visit family graves or because they enjoy these green and historic spaces within our busy villages.  It is always a pleasure to see people enjoying the ‘Church Garden’ in Holme beside the stream.

Church worship services are public meetings and are open to all.  Most weeks we have the privilege of meeting visitors or those coming for the first time and we guarantee that you will be warmly welcomed.  Our services will probably seem familiar to most and I don’t think you will find it hard to just come along and see what happens.

Since 2016 Burton church has been open to visitors from 10am – 4pm each Friday and Saturday and I am pleased to announce that Holme church is now open too, every Friday and Saturday 10am – 4pm.  The door will be unlocked and you are welcome to go in and explore the building or to use the quiet to think and pray.  Many thanks to the volunteers who open up the churches each week.

St James Burton is Grade 1 listed and the earliest parts date from the 12^th Century.  Holy Trinity Holme was built in 1839 as the village grew following the arrival of the canal.  Both buildings are full of interesting features and are well worth visiting.  In both churches there is a folder containing a map and index of churchyard gravestones for those looking for particular graves.  Holme Church also has a reference copy of Geoff Pegg’s excellent, ‘The Lives Beneath Our Feet’ which recounts the lives of many who are buried in the churchyard.

We welcome messages in the visitors books or direct to the churchwardens, whether concerns, suggestions, questions, thanks or offers of help.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Clock Work

August 2024

Dear Friends

Do you ever wonder what powers the clock on the church tower?  Some clocks with hands and faces of great age are actually driven by recently installed electric motors, but not the Burton church clock!  The mechanical movement proudly displays its maker’s inscription: ‘John Smith and Sons, Midland Clock Works, Derby, 1912’.  There is no electricity involved (except for the light bulb in the room!) 

Every week, one of the volunteer clock winders from our village climbs the steep stairs to the first floor ringing chamber where the clock movement ticks in time with the swinging of the heavy cast iron pendulum bob.  They then get a good workout as they turn the handles that  wind the cables onto the drums and haul up the two heavy cast iron weights to the floor above.  Over the course of the week these weights slowly descend nearly 30 feet back to the ground floor powering the ‘going’ mechanism that drives the hands and the chiming mechanism.  On the hour, every hour, it is this second mechanism that springs into action pulling on a cable that passes through holes in the floors to the top of the tower to strike a hammer against the largest of the bells to sound out the hour.

The clock keeps remarkably good time but, being over 100 years old, it is not surprising that she will sometimes lose a few minutes or get confused as to which hour she should be chiming.  On a still night with the bedroom window open I can clearly hear the chiming from our home in Glebe Close and I imagine that is true for a good number of houses in our village.  Of course, we’re surrounded by devices that tell the time and no longer need a church clock but I hope you agree that this kind of mechanical masterpiece ought to be kept going for as long as possible.  Thank you to all the current clock winders for your willing service: David Johnston, Richard Evans, John Page, Paul and Mary Bullimore.

“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’  My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:14-15)

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Picture: The clock face in 2016 – repainted and regilded before being reinstalled on the east wall of the restored tower.

 

 

 

 

On His Majesty's Service

 

July 2024

Dear Friends

On 4^th July we have an opportunity to elect Members to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.  Some of those who are elected will know that they should serve those who elected them.  Some may talk more about wanting to serve the cause of justice.  And some (secretly) may be hoping that their time as an MP will serve their own egos and personal ambitions.  But ultimately, they all have a responsibility to the Lord Jesus Christ, even those who think they have no connection to him. 

Why do I say that?  2000 years ago, the apostle Paul stood in the centre of Athens, surrounded by grand public buildings and temples to various gods, and declared that the God who created each Athenian had “set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).  Each citizen would need to give an account of his life to the risen Jesus.  And rulers would certainly not escape this reckoning, quite the reverse, for Jesus had said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.”  (Luke 12:48)

Very few of those who lived within the Roman Empire had any role in choosing who governed them; they couldn’t vote to change their emperor!  But Paul did urge them to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Paul’s prayer tells our MPs what they should do – they should aim that those who are godly and holy (by Jesus’ standards) will be able to live peaceful and quiet lives.  And they should aim for those who reject such goodness and purity to not have peace and quiet.

This prayer also reminds us how the Bible will shape us as voters – teaching us not to vote for those who just give us what we want in life, but to look for candidates who will make life peaceful for anyone who obeys God’s laws.  And not forgetting to keep praying “for kings and all those in authority”.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

How can we help?

June 2024

Dear Friends

Our church was built for the whole village, and I was appointed as a minister to everyone, not just those who gather on Sundays.  Of course, anyone is welcome to come to our services, events and the groups we run for those enquiring about Christian faith (a warm welcome guaranteed) but here’s five other things you may wish to know:

Visiting you
I am available to talk about anything that I might be able to help you with.  If you’ve got questions, or you’d just like to talk, then do get in touch.  We also have a small team who regularly visit those in any kind of need.  If that’s you, or someone you know, please ask.

Visiting the church
Churches should be places where anyone can find quiet to think or pray.  Burton church is open 10am - 4pm every Friday and Saturday for anyone to visit and we’re working to get Holme church open too.  Watch for an announcement!

Baptisms (aka Christenings)
Baptism is a sign of the Lord Jesus’ willingness to forgive and wash clean from all guilt.  The ‘candidate’ is received into Christ’s family and confirms that Christ is his or her Saviour and Lord.  (For a child, parents and godparents answer for him or her.)  I’d be delighted to meet you and discuss this.

Weddings
Church weddings openly acknowledge that marriage is God’s gift and the vows are made before Him.  If you are not previously married and have lived here at any time for at least 6 months (or you have another ‘qualifying connection’) then you can be married in the church.  If you have been married before then a church wedding may be possible, but we need to talk.  A Church of England wedding costs £712.

Funerals
Anyone who lived here, or had a connection to the parish, can have a church funeral service and burial in the churchyard.  I also take services at the Crematorium for those who would like a Christian funeral service there.  We inter ashes in the churchyard under a simple stone tablet.  A funeral service in church, with burial, costs £719 (not including grave-digging or other charges paid to the funeral director).

If you would like to know more, please get in touch with me.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

By whose authority?

 

May 2024

Dear Friends

Do you think kings have God’s authority to rule?  This is explicit in the coronation of our monarchs – they are anointed with oil, like the kings in ancient Israel, as a sign that God is setting them apart for this duty.  And, technically, our government is “in authority under” the king and therefore rules by the same power.

Some say this is bad because anyone who thinks he has God’s authority to rule will be a tyrant.  Not necessarily so; he may instead realise that he is accountable to the God who gave him his authority and who will judge him for his rule, whether good or bad.  Britain once had bishops who held monarchs to the Bible and were not afraid to say that they must rule as servants of their heavenly King.

But when prime ministers and presidents, elected governments and unelected bureaucrats, think there is no God over them they may assume that they have ultimate authority, the right to ‘do whatever it takes’, to act like god.  This is true tyranny!

And when we don’t believe that there is a God over us, we look to the state to solve every problem, to provide for us, to act like god.  We create the statist beast and grumble that we have no freedom.

But how can rulers be under divine authority when there seem to be so many gods to choose from? 9th May is Ascension Day.  The risen Jesus was only on earth for 40 days before he ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the place of all authority and power in our world.  He told his disciples what was happening, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  (Matthew 28:19)

That’s why the early Christians knew that Caesar was not God and why they were prepared to be killed rather than give up their creed, ‘Jesus is Lord’.  They knew that all rulers will answer to the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.  A change of our political leaders without a change of heart over this will not save us. 

You are warmly invited to come and join us at 7.30pm on 9^th May in St James Church Burton for our Ascension Day service. 

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Pioneering

 

April 2024

What if there was a Good Friday but no Easter Day?  Then it was not ‘good’ and nothing good in this world will last.

What if the cold, dark tomb was Jesus’ final resting place?  Then we have no hope of resurrection either.  All will perish forever.

What if Jesus’ confident assertion that he would rise again was ignorant or deceitful?  Then all Christian preaching is a lie and Christians are to be pitied more than most.  The offer of forgiveness was indeed too good to be true.

What if death is still an undefeated enemy whose assault against us can only be delayed a little?  Then Jesus is not the Son of God and triumphant Easter hymns are cruel lies.

But something happened to turn a small band of dejected and frightened followers into fearless heralds and martyrs of the Risen Lord Jesus.

Something greater than a baseless fable broke out of Judea and began to conquer hearts and minds across the Roman Empire right up to the Emperor himself.

Something other than the hallucinations of a few drunk disciples split history in two and led to a calendar that dates everything from Jesus.

Something more than empty promises has given solid hope and inexplicable joy through the centuries to Christians facing persecution and poverty, illness and death.

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have ‘fallen asleep’ … But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20,23)

Resurrection life is not for Jesus alone; he is our pioneer.  Resurrection life is not a right or a reward.  Resurrection life is a gift of God, freely offered through his Son, and received by  those who simply and sincerely take him at his word.

Christmas lasts but 12 days; Easter for 50!  It’s one long, joyful celebration of resurrection life – come and join us!  Or to join one of our 3-session Hope Explored courses please send me a message or give me a call.

Happy Easter!

Graham Burrows