Quintessentially

 July 2026

Dear Friends

What makes England England?  Evensong?  I doubt that was your first answer but maybe it would have appeared in a longer list of our nation’s valued features and traditions.

The English service of ‘Evening Prayer’ goes back to the 16^th Century and the Book of Common Prayer crafted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer but based on earlier Latin services.  The service can be ‘said’ without music but in ‘Evensong’ the timeless words of the service and readings from the Bible are interspersed with psalms, canticles and hymns set to beautiful music.

In the hope that such services will once again be a regular and much-loved feature of our villages we are initially arranging two services of Evensong in the peaceful setting of St James Church Burton at 6pm on two summer evenings: Sunday 19^th July and Sunday 16^th August.

In ‘Choral Evensong’ virtually all the singing is by a choir while the congregation mostly listen.  But our services of ‘Sung Evensong’ will give more opportunity for you to join in with well-known hymns with the choir singing some pieces too.

So, this is a warm invitation to you to step away from your busy life for a while and come to our ‘Village Evensong’.  All ages are welcome, including children.  Come and sing, or come to listen.  The services will last around 45 minutes.  No need to book or pay.  No dress code.  There is a small amount of parking in the church car park at Burton for those who need it – just drive through the churchyard gates.  But if you can walk down from the village that will be helpful.

If you are interested in singing in the choir for either of these services please text or ring Ali Burrows on 07741 458587.  There will be two choir practices on Tuesday evenings for each service.

“Evensong’s long evolution brings with it a powerful sense of connecting present with past, of tapping into something much greater than ourselves.”

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Painful Truth

June 2026

Dear Friends

The side of my jaw is numb all the way to my ear and I’ve been warned not to chew on that side for two days.  Yes, I was at the dentist this morning having a filling replaced.  Why do we subject ourselves to such pain?  My mouth hadn’t been hurting at all, until the dentist got to work!  But of course I trusted the dentist’s judgment when she told me that there was some decay that needed to be treated, even though I was unaware of it.  Disease is a bad thing, but not knowing that you need treatment is more serious.  Even while I was suffering the pain of treatment I did find comfort in knowing that a skilled practitioner was doing me good.

Complaining sticklers (aka ‘Pharisees’) followed Jesus everywhere grumbling about what he was doing and saying.  They strongly objected to him eating at the home of a tax collector (notorious for cheating and for collecting taxes on behalf of the hated Roman invaders).  And they grumbled that the other dinner guests were ‘sinners’ who had openly flouted moral standards and laws.

But Jesus said that he hadn’t come to treat people who were well.  Doctors and dentists focus their efforts on those who are sick, and Jesus claimed to be a doctor for our souls with the power to treat our deepest disorders.  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Mark 2:17)

Christian congregations are not places for people who are good and who want to shine up their gold stars.  They are for those who know they are sick and are willing to entrust themselves to the painful but effective treatment of Doctor Jesus. 

The Pharisees, of course, did not need such treatment.  They were good people, at least in their own eyes, ‘who never did anyone any harm’.  Maybe if they hadn’t been so quick to dismiss Jesus he would have been able to tell them about their undiagnosed disease and counsel them to come to him for a cure.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

A Living Legacy

 

May 2026

Dear Friends

If you have sons or daughters then you probably hope to leave an inheritance for them.  Although we know that the love, discipline, guidance and support that we give our children is the best kind of inheritance we would still like to leave them good things and financial help.  But that can be hard to do:

Our car may be full of rust holes by the time they get it.  Our curtains are already faded and the chairs worn.  Changing tastes mean that they may not appreciate the crockery we were given for our wedding.  Inflation is shrinking the money we have in the bank.  And let’s not get started on inheritance tax!

If you’ve had the heart-breaking task of clearing out your parents’ house then you know that so many of the things that were at the heart of their home could have had no destination other than the skip.

Peter begins his first letter with great excitement over an inheritance that can never perish, fade or tarnish.  This inheritance springs directly from Jesus’ resurrection – God gave to his Son a resurrection body that is like ours yet magnificently no longer subject to disease, decay and death.  And He promised that all who turn away from senseless rebellion and turn to His Son will be guaranteed the same future and the same resurrection bodies.  And where does God keep such an inheritance?  Not in a leaky garage, a dusty loft, or in a depreciating currency but in the place that is beyond the reach of the curse that afflicts everything in our world, safe in heaven with Him.

From there, like a precious heirloom emerging from safe storage, the full and glorious inheritance of all Christ’s disciples will one day be revealed along with a renewed earth no longer subject to frustration.

Peter’s letter to the Christians across Asia Minor will be the focus of our Sunday services in May and June – why not join us?  We guarantee a warm welcome.  Come and hear about an inheritance like no other, that is for you and your family.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Shaken

April 2026

Dear Friends

Since December we now all know what an earthquake feels like (albeit a small one) and how worrying it is to think that your roof is falling in or your neighbour’s house has exploded. 

Most people are glad to get off boats and planes and get their “feet back on solid ground”.  But those who experience big earthquakes say that it is deeply unsettling when the ground is no longer solid and no place of safety remains.  So the shaking of the ground can stand as a symbol for any sudden, unexpected or overwhelming disruption to our lives or to the world.

There are two earthquakes recorded in the Gospels. 

The first happened at the same moment that Jesus, crying out in a loud voice from the cross, gave up his spirit and died.  “The earth shook and the rocks split”  Matthew 27:51.  We don’t need to believe that God ‘interfered’ in the normal movement of tectonic plates to produce an earthquake at just the right time – we just need to accept the Bible’s claim that no atom moves without God’s command, He “rules over all”  Psalm 103:19.  God shakes the world that rejects and crucifies his Son, giving notice that judgment is coming for the stubborn and unexpected rescue for the trusting.

The second earthquake happened 3 days later (according to their way of reckoning) at dawn on the first day of the week.  “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.”  Matthew 28:2  What else but a violent shaking of solid ground could convey the enormity of what was happening, the splitting of history into BC and AD.  The reign of death that brings such misery to all was giving way to a new era in which all who trust in Christ are assured that they too will stand triumphant on the other side of death.

The three sad days are quickly sped;
he rises glorious from the dead.
All glory to our risen Head.
Hallelujah!

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Culture Review

March 2026

Dear Friends

‘Culture’ can refer to the music or art that a group of people like.  More broadly, it means the way that a group or society behave, and the things that they believe and value.  Sometimes we rejoice in the culture – when someone’s honesty leads them to make a big effort to return to us something that we lost.  Sometimes we despair – at destructive and selfish acts that seem to be deep-rooted.  (And, of course, we get much more easily worked up by bad behaviour in others than by our own self-centredness.)

Culture flows from worship.  If you want to understand the culture of a group then think about what or who they worship.  What are they devoted to?  Who are the ‘gods’ they are living for?  What do they spend their money on?  Who are they looking to for happiness and security?  What do they serve?

Culture flows from worship.  Even the word ‘culture’ comes from a Latin word that means to cultivate, honour or worship.

The prominent church building in our village tells us what previous generations thought about the worship of the villagers – that it ought to be directed to the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who created us and died to rescue us.  That there is space to spare in our church on Sundays despite the large increase in population tells us that most of us have been directing our worship and our hope elsewhere.

So my question is, How are the gods of our age doing?  Are they delivering on their promises?  Are they producing a culture that we can rejoice in, or not?  What effect is the worship of other ‘gods’ having on our children and grandchildren?  What our village worships will determine what our village becomes.

If you are starting to think that our trust has been in the wrong place, and you would be willing to hear again the command of the God of the Bible that we have ‘no other gods before Him’ then please consider coming along to one of our First Steps services, and bringing your family along too.  We promise to make every effort to help and encourage you to take what may be your first steps in a whole new direction.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Starting the Journey

February 2026

Dear Friends

‘Journey to Rome’

There may still be some places left on our Holiday Club organised by Burton and Holme Churches and taking place at Burton Morewood School on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 February 2026 from 9am to 5pm each day.  £6 for 2 days to cover snacks and lunch.

Our enthusiastic leaders and helpers are getting ready to welcome children (from Reception to Year 6) for a packed two days of Roman and Italian-themed activities and Bible teaching led by Sue Aranzulla who has many years’ experience of organising similar events.  We’re also inviting parents, carers and other family members to Aperitivos at 4pm on the Friday to enjoy a taste of the culture the children will have experienced.

To book please go to www.burtonandholmechurches.org

First Steps Services

Are you or your family interested in coming to church but feel that would be as big a step for you as it would be for me to join a Scuba diving club – I’ve never been to such a thing and I have no idea what that would be like!  Starting on Sunday 22 February the last Sunday service each month will be a ‘First Steps Service’ – when those who regularly join us for worship will be especially ready to welcome children, young adults and older adults who have not attended church very much, or at all.  The service will be like our regular Sunday gatherings but shorter (about 50 minutes) and we’ll make every effort not to baffle or embarrass but to be clear and welcoming.  We encourage you to bring children of all ages and not to worry about noise or fidgeting.      

Our first ‘First Steps’ service will be at 10am on Sunday 22 February in St James Burton and we will be inviting all children and families from the Holiday Club to come too.  You will be very welcome.  For all who are able to stay the short service will be followed by a ‘Holiday Club Round-Up’ over refreshments.  And then a warm invitation to everyone to stay for a light lunch which we will provide.

Future ‘First Steps’ services will alternate between Burton and Holme.  If you join our mailing list (use the link at www.burtonandholmechurches.org) then we’ll email to let you know when and where they will be.

Sincerely

Graham Burrows

Incredible?!

December 2025

So a young unmarried woman, claiming that she was still a virgin, gave birth to a baby boy in the chaos that Caesar inflicted by commanding everyone to travel back to their home town for a census  – and her fiancé believed her?!  And not because they were ignorant people – they all knew full well where babies ordinarily come from and Joseph was ready to split from his unfaithful fiancée over this.  But he and others came to accept that God, the Creator of all, didn’t need the seed of any man to create a baby within Mary.

The thing is, this is not the part of the account that most challenges our earth-bound assumptions.  Those who tell the story go on to explain that the arrival of Mary’s son was like that of a traveller from another world – his body was new but he himself was older than the hills, for he made them: “without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). 

He was, it was said, none other than the eternal son of the living God who was on a mission to rescue many from our senseless rebellion against our Creator and bring us to kneel before him as our Lord and to accept his undeserved gift of complete forgiveness and a radically new life.

And when the authorities caught up with Jesus, found a way to condemn him with their lying accusations and had him brutally executed, his disciples claimed that he only stayed dead for a couple of days.  Not merely resuscitated, God “exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord …”  (Philippians 2:9-10).

It's enough to make you string up bright lights around your home, buy in the best food you can afford for a celebration meal, hand out presents to those you love, and to sing at the top of your voice:

Christians, awake, salute the happy morn,
Whereon the Saviour of the world was born;
Rise to adore the mystery of love,
Which hosts of angels chanted from above;
With them the joyful tidings first begun
Of God incarnate and the Virgin’s Son.

Happy Christmas!

Graham Burrows