The paper weight calendar

 There are a number of ways we can approach history. We can mark the significant dates and the events associated with those dates: 1066, 1415, 1738, 1914, 1945 etc. We can consider the movements over the course of the centuries: Bronze Age, Medieval Period, Industrial Revolution, the Enlightenment etc. We can reflect on the lives that made an impact upon our world at various intervals and for whatever reasons: Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, the Pankhursts, Winston Churchill etc. Similarly with our own lives, we are able to chart our story drawing on similar techniques. What were the big dates and events in our lives? How did the various stages of life mould us into the people we currently are? Who were the people that impacted upon us over the years?

Like everyone else, my own life has been punctuated by highs and lows. The dates that have been important to me include 1976 (O Level year!), 1984 (entering theological college), 1986 (Karen’s and my wedding), 1990 and 1992 (the birth years of David and Robert respectively) etc. In terms of phases, my life can be broken up into chunks: school years, construction industry career, ministry (itself broken up into different appointments), parenthood, etc. Additionally it has been a great privilege to meet and know some extraordinary people over the course of my life; their own stories and their characters have enriched my life beyond measure: war veterans, Holocaust survivors, politicians, religious leaders, and others too numerous to mention. Amongst them have been those whose names are imprinted on my mind, and some whose names I cannot recall but whose faces are familiar to me decades on.

Two women from Clayton, East Manchester, from my first appointment there between 1987 and 1992 remain in my thoughts to this very day. I am confident they would have not thought at the time that I would be thinking of them more than thirty years since I last saw them. I may no longer be able to recall their names sadly, but their faces are clear in my mind, I could easily describe each of them in detail. I also recall how gentle, reserved, considerate, and caring they were. I only ever saw them apart when I visited them in their respective homes; at other times in the church or over coffee in the Sunday school room they would always be together. They were in their mid to late 70s when I knew them. When I came to leave the church for my second appointment they gave me a paper weight for my desk, a forty-year calendar beginning with 1992, the year of the gift. A dial is turned each month of each year to give the monthly calendar. I recall at the time looking at it and marvelling at how far ahead the calendar went, 2031, yet it is now just seven years away. One of the two women said something along the lines of remembering them in the years to come. I told them that I would keep it on or in my desk, which I have done all these years. I have never forgotten them.

Most major festivals celebrate festivals of light in the darkest time of the year. Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. Each rejoice in the victory of light over darkness and commemorate new beginnings.

Millions from the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain faiths celebrate Diwali. The word Diwali comes from ‘a row of lighted lamps.’ For Hindus it recalls the return from exile after 14 years of two deities; for Sikhs the release from prison in 1619 of a guru; and for Jains their founder’s attainment of eternal bliss.

Jews recall their survival after being persecuted by a Syrian king. After a war of three years they retook Jerusalem but found the Temple in ruins. They built a new altar and rededicated the Temple only to discover they only had enough oil for the holy lamp for one day. Replenishing the oil would take days but miraculously each day there was sufficient oil for another day. It took 8 days for the fresh supply of oil to arrive. They never ran out of oil during that time. Today the festival of Hanukkah is 8 days long and one candle is lit on the first night, two on the second, three on the third etc.

As Christians we are familiar with the Advent wreath and the lighting of a candle each week representing various characters or themes as we approach the birth of the Christ Child, the Light of the World, usually represented on the wreath by a single white candle with the other four being of colour, depending of course on the tradition.

Since the Moravians began using a spherical fruit, now an orange, along with sweets to represent the fruits of the four seasons with a single candle for the Light of the World, many churches have added another symbol to their Advent/Christmas season.

In my study is a single candle stand. It was a gift from a very good friend when I left my second appointment in 2002. It is a treasured item, not just because it is beautifully crafted, which it is, not just because I still value the friendship of the giver, which I do, but also because it has been a fixture of my life and ministry these past 20 years. Several candles have been placed on it over the years and they have been lit on many different occasions, in times of great sadness, in times that have commemorated anniversaries, in times that have been dark and seemingly without much hope in our world.

It was lit to mark the terrorist attack in London on 7/7; it was lit on the 100^th anniversary of the declaration of war in 2014; it was lit each Sunday evening of lockdown during Covid; and on so many other occasions over the years, sometimes in the quietness of my study or lounge, sometimes at public events. Most recently it was lit at the Vigil for Peace at Wallingford on Sunday 15^th October.

For many people, formally religious or not, candles are the means by which a prayer is made tangible. They are used to mourn people or to long for something. We only have to visit a cathedral to see how this is so with row upon row of votive candles blazing away; or pass the site of an accident that has claimed someone’s life and see the numbers of spent candles amongst the flowers and tributes.

The light of a candle may touch us at a very deep subconscious level. In the past fire was lit at night for warmth, to create light, and to ward off wild animals. Today we may still find reassurance in the light of a candle. For Christians it can be a symbol of God’s presence, the God who reassures us, who helps us see through the darkness, and who protects us from those things and people that assail us.

Dear Friends,

 I have recently moved to the area and taken up the role of Methodist Minister in Milton. I am also responsible for the Methodist Churches in Didcot and Wallingford.

 It has been a pleasure to meet a number of folk from the village and the two churches here in Milton at various lunches and acts of worship. I have also met with the Head and some of her staff at St Blaise Primary School. I am very much looking forward to getting to know more about the issues we together here face in this difficult age. It is my hope that the churches and the village can work collaboratively in addressing the challenges and I believe that in doing so we can build on the good work that is already taking place.

 At some point in early 2024 Milton Methodists will be inviting our neighbours to a Saturday morning conversation so that we can hear from one another about what we might do. We have already begun to clear the ground for a community garden to the side of the church and we would like to know the views of our neighbours as we further develop it. What might we do to be of service? What can we achieve in making Milton an even more wonderful place to live? There will of course be coffee and wonderful cakes provided to those that are able to join us on that occasion! Look out for your invitation and a flyer at the Methodist Church gate.

 Every blessing,

The Revd Bruce Thompson