A Cumbrian Alphabet
‘Don’t forget your A-Z!’ I was on my way to London and grateful for the reminder. Every street from Aaron Hill Road to Zoffany Street, all in one volume. What a great idea on someone’s part. So is this ‘A to Z’ edition of ‘The Way’...
...which celebrates the life and history of our churches in Cumbria. Some of those churches are featured inside. Between them, they provide examples of an entire ‘Cumbrian Alphabet’ of Christianity.
I think straight away of the huge variety of Activities which take place under the auspices of the church – from toddler groups to old peoples’ lunches; and give thanks (most of the time!) for our amazing Buildings: everything from St Olaf’s at Wasdale Head to the glorious Priory at Cartmel.
But of course, the ‘church’ is what’s left when the buildings are no more – so my thoughts turn to the Clergy and Disciples in all their kaleidoscopic variety who serve God so faithfully right across the county, and who work Ecumenically where possible with their fellow Christians from other denominations. Other Christians are not always the people who would naturally be your friends – so I want to celebrate the whole of Fellowship which is as vibrant and inspiring here as anywhere I know.
Then there are the Graveyards: often beautiful in themselves, but a constant reminder too of our forebears, now departed, who passed on the flame of faith, and a visible monument to the History of Christianity in this part of the country which goes back to the Celtic saints who preached the Gospel and gathered crowds around crosses like the ones at Irton and Bewcastle.
That further prompts me to give thanks for the Initiatives through the centuries which have moved the church on and made the message relevant to new generations – from translations of the Bible to modern music. Jesus has been at the heart of it all, and he has been the motivation behind the Kindness which I regard as one of the abiding hallmarks of Cumbrian Christianity.
Week by week, year by year, century by century, the Liturgy has been offered (in all its various forms) across the county; and as well as the Eucharistic feast of bread and wine, congregations and small groups have shared the actual Meals for which Cumbria is famous.
We have an extraordinary Number of those congregations (about 350 – one for almost every day of the year) and from them have emerged a steady stream (or at least a trickle) of Ordinands: those whom God has called to serve him as ordained ministers. Thank God for them – and for all the ordinary People from whose ranks they have been drawn. Those people have believed in Christ and followed him despite all the huge Questions they have faced in their lives, many of which have no simple answers. They have faithfully maintained the Rites of Passage (baptisms, weddings and funerals) which give structure and direction to a rootless society, and have developed a distinctive Cumbrian Spirituality which eschews extremes and owes much to our Celtic roots.
They have listened to the Christian Teaching which has been provided by the church through the centuries, and developed an Understanding of God, his world and his purpose which has undergirded their commitment to and service of the wider community. Some have found a Vocation to lay ministry as Reader or CLM; and most have counted it a privilege as well as a duty to Witness – often through their example – to their faith at work as well as at home.
X is difficult! How about Xentricity, which has certainly been true of some aspects of church life in Cumbria? Then Y is of course for the Youth who are so vital to the church’s future as well as its present. And Z? Zero tolerance of pomposity, I think – for which, with all his blessings, THANK GOD!
+James Newcome, Bishop of Penrith
June 2008
