Judith Russenberger

Proper 7, 3rd Sunday after Trinity

25th June 2023

Reflection (readings are below)

Things do not always go to plan. What we expect to happen, may not happen – or what we hoped wouldn’t happen, does happen. In that sense the Bible is honest: it relates stories where things do not go to plan, when the hoped for outcome doesn’t materialise. The Bible is upfront in relating how sometimes people are disappointed. They are faced with loss. They discover that life is going to turn out radically different to what they expected. They may have to go along with plan B.

The background to today’s reading from Genesis is the earlier promise made by God to Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation – with descendants more in number than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand in the desert. He had already left home and family and travels with Sarah his wife to make a new home in Canaan – yet they had no children. Time passed and still they were no children. So Sarah suggests that to remedy this, Abraham should sleep with her maid Hagar. Abraham does, Hagar conceives and Abraham has the longed for son. More time passes, and we have the story related last week, when three strangers predict that Abraham and Sarah together will have a child, a son through whom Abraham will become the father of a great nation. Which plan has gone wrong? Has the path of destiny been changed? Or was this just one of those unpredictable events?

Some things in the world are predictable – water will always flow down hill because of the force of gravity. The sun will always rise in the morning and set in the evening. One day we will die. But many more things are unpredictable – will it rain today? When will Mount Etna next erupt? Will this cat catch that small bird?

Perhaps most unpredictable are the actions of human beings? Will they be kind to one another or will they be callous and unkind? Will they be generous or jealous? Will they be patient or angry? Will they hit out or will they go the extra mile to be helpful?

In Sarah we see someone who has become jealous, who is fearful that their plans may backfire, who perhaps feels that even her own position in the community is under threat? For these and many other reasons, Hagar and her son are made to suffer. It is not God who cause suffering, but flawed, imperfect humankind.

The story is not all doom and gloom. Hagar hears God talking to her – is this the first time in the text of the Bible that we hear of God speaking directly to a woman? God speaks and Hagar is comforted; she sees that God is showing her a way out. When we are adrift, when we feel abandoned, it would b food to recall this story, to realise that God is always there even when things are not going well.

Paul describes baptism as a process of dying – of dying by drowning – which is not an image as readily embrace when we are being children to baptism. But is there not an honesty in remembering that life is not guaranteed to be free of pain and suffering, that there will be times when we are pushed to our limits? Paul sees baptism as part of a bigger picture, one in which we are united into both death and life with Jesus. Whilst Paul knows life is not free of suffering, he also knows it is never free of God! He knows, from his own experience, that there is a flip side to ‘dying to sin’ – that of experiencing a newness of life in which we are united in God. To quote the words from John’s gospel: ‘you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you’. (John 14:20)

Do I believe at face value all that is written in the Bible? No. Just as the world is a place of uncertainty and unpredictability, so I believe some passages do not reveal the complete truth. I do not believe that Jesus came to set son against father, daughter against mother. Why I do believe is that there are no situations where God is not present – although our ability to perceive God’s presence maybe flawed.

Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

1 Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, *
for I am poor and in misery.

2 Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; *
save your servant who puts his trust in you.

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; *
I call upon you all the day long.

4 Gladden the soul of your servant, *
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, *
and great is your love toward all who call upon you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, *
and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, *
for you will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, *
nor anything like your works.

9 All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, *
and glorify your Name.

10 For you are great;
you do wondrous things; *
and you alone are God.

16 Turn to me and have mercy upon me; *
give your strength to your servant;
and save the child of your handmaid.

17 Show me a sign of your favour,
so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed; *
because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Romans 6:1b-11

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Counting on … day 1.150

25th June 2023

Another seasonal activity is picking and drying lavender. Lavender is best picked in the morning before the sun has reached the plant, and when the flowers are not yet at the stage of being fully open. This helps maximise the amount of lavender oil present in the flower. I collect the cut heads (stalks still attached) in paper bags and then put them in the airing cupboard to dry. Later in the year I will use the lavender to refill lavender bags. Sometimes I use small lavender bags which means removing the flowers from the stalks (by rubbing them inside the paper bag:the dry flowers drop to the bottom of the bag). Other times I use larger bags and fill them stalks and all!

Counting on … day 1.149

24th June 2023

Strawberries are giving way to Tay berries and raspberries – and by next week gooseberries too. To extend the enjoyment of eating them into the winter months, I bottle the fruit as well as making jam.

This seems sensible too as I can reuse the jam jar a from previous years rather than putting used jars from the shops into the recycling bin – this must save on energy and glass.

I have written about jam making and preserving previously –

https://greentau.org/tag/jam/

Counting on … day 1.148

23rd June 2023

Change does happen. For many years groups such as Operation Noah and Christian Climate Action have been campaigning to persuade churches – individually, by area (eg dioceses) and nationally – of all denominations to divest from fossil fuels because the use of these fuels directly contributes to the climate crisis. It has been an ongoing process with more and more churches coming on board. One of the more reluctant has been the Church of England nationally. However yesterday, the Church of England’s investment body announced that it would divest from its fossil fuel investments as the major companies in this industry are expanding rather than curtailing their business and not aligned with the Paris 1.5C agreement.

Is this not an answer to prayer?

https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/press-releases/church-commissioners-england-exclude-oil-and-gas-companies-over

Prayers for creation

23rd June 2023

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. Psalm 45:7b, 8a

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

Reading from The Song of Songs 4: 13-16 –

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices— a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.

Response-

Praise be to God for the gift of smell:

Summer sweet smells,

the spiced scent of roses,

the honey sweetness of lime blossom,

the calming fragrance of lavender.

The morning’s scents of dew damp grass,

of hay in the noon day’s heat,

the evening’s languid aroma of honeysuckle

draws in the smells of night.

The burnt earth smell of bracken,

the pungent smell of the first rains.

The slip-sliding smell of fresh water,

the salty tang of the sea.

The simple – overlooked? – nose

plays host to an olfactory banquet,

attuning us to the time of day,

the seasons and the weather.

Picking up signals

that suggest delight or warn of danger,

that pique our appetite,

and speak of attraction, reward and love.

Praise be to God for the gift of smell.

Prayers-

Ever present God,

bless our mindfulness,

our ability to sense your presence,

to find you in the smells of the everyday,

to relish the delights than come less often.

Ever present God,

be with those surrounded by the smell of war and fear,

of destruction and decay.

Breathe compassion

into the hearts of those who wage war,

and those who make peace.

Ever present God, be with those

surrounded with pollution and those who breath acrid air.

Bless the work of all who create green spaces,

whose living organisms purify the air.

Lend strength to those who protect the environment

and those who seek a cleaner way of life.

Ever present God, be with those

in need of healing in body, mind and spirit.

May they breathe out all that causes harm

and breathe in all that is wholesome.

Inspire and renew us one and all

with the sweet fragrance of your Spirit.

Amen.

Counting on … day 1.147

22nd June 2023

Yesterday I took part in a prayer vigil outside the Supreme Court. Standing up – or kneeling in prayer – to give support can make a difference.

Inside Kent Council’s decision to grant planning permission for 20 years of oil extraction from the ground beneath Horse Hill was being challenged. In considering the environmental impact of the drilling, Kent Council had on,y consider scope 1 and 2 emissions – ie those directly produced in extracting the oil – and not the scope 3 emissions, being those that would be released when the oil was used. The parallel was drawn between the health impact of making a cigarette and smoking a cigarette.

Why does landmark challenge on Horse Hill oil matter?

Counting on … day 1.146

21st June 2023

Before I buy, I should ask myself:

Do I need it?
If so, could I borrow or hire it?
Has it a good provenance?
Who made it, and were they fairly paid?
What raw materials were used and are they sustainable?
Can it be reused?
Can it be mended?
What will be its afterlife?
Can it be recycled? What residue will it leave?

Counting on … day 1.145

20th June 2023

Last Friday was Refill Day and next month is ‘Plastic-free July’. It feels, quite rightly, that we are being asked to think about how we buy things – do they come with excessive or polluting packaging? Are we over reliant on things (packaging and otherwise) that are made of plastic?

– it’s a product that is made from fossil oil and which is very hard to recycle or safely dispose.

What about buying things that are made of metal such as an aluminium washing up bowl? Or things that are made of wood such as a wooden spatula?

What about buying things made of wool such as a pair of felt slippers? Or things that are made of cardboard such as box?

Green Tau: the 15 minute city – update

19th June 2023

Recently most of my backlog of articles on the icloud disappeared except bizarrely for the Green Tau issue no. 8 on 15 Minute Cities – so I thought I would revisit that topic.

Here is the original article – https://greentau.org/2021/07/17/the-green-tau-issue-8-18th-july/

At the time we were emerging from the experience of covid and covid lock downs. Many of us though that what we had learnt during the pandemic would irreparably change our lives and the shape of our towns and cities. Whilst some people do still work from home, we still live in cities where people commute some distance into work, where roads are still ultra congested during the rush hour (with noticeable peaks during wet or very hot weather, and during term time). What has gone is the queue of cars outside the supermarket car park as more and more items are bought online and delivered to our front door. The number of cafes, dog related shops, and barbers has increased. Maybe the time we are not spending in supermarket queues is now down time for a coffee.

Again a fruit of the pandemic, some areas now have more parklets, cycle paths and road calming measures reducing rat runs and making streets more accommodating for pedestrians. Here in Sheen closing the gate into Richmond Park to through traffic, has significantly reduced the amount of vehicles driving down local roads en route to the south circular.

More recently there has been an outbreak of (orchestrated) rage directed at the 15 minute city concept. In Oxford where narrow streets and historic buildings, and large numbers of tourists, give rise to traffic congestion and with it poor air quality, the Council, after consultation, proposed a series of local traffic schemes. These were designed to divert non local traffic away from local and residential streets, and at the same time, to encourage walking cycling and the use of public transport. However opponents ( of the scheme or of the authorities?) claimed the schemes were ‘climate lockdowns’ which would imprison residents in certain areas of the city and prevent free movement into and across the city.

It maybe that part of the anger comes from fear. At a time when the cost of living is rising steeply – including the cost of driving – and when jobs feel insecure, that anything that appears to make getting around more difficult/ more expensive or that might threaten the viability of local businesses and jobs, are such fears justified?

For example, do local traffic schemes, discourage people from using local services because they cannot drive straight there or cannot easily park? Do such schemes rather encourage people to drive to out of town centres with large, free, car parks?

No – rather encouraging walking and cycling, favours the use of local shops and business. A reduction in traffic makes a shopping street more attractive, makes it a place where people can enjoy a wander or enjoy sitting at a street cafe. With large shopping chores being done online, the smaller – more frequent – shopping trips are then easily made on foot. With people walking, rather than driving, past local shops they are more likely to make local purchases. As footfall increases, so more business may be encouraged to expand into the locality. Contrari wise, for people who cannot afford or do not have access to cars, gain from having livelier and better supported local amenities.

As local businesses thrive, so the opportunity for local jobs increases.

But do 15 Minute Cities reinforce the deprivation of deprived areas? If the amenities in a local area are already challenging (perhaps because of a lack of investment or because local incomes are limited), are the problems a) just compounded, and b) easier to ignore as being just a localised pocket of deprivation?

In London, Newham Council “is aiming to transform some of its most deprived areas through the creation of ’15-minute neighbourhoods’ – where people can access all basic needs within walking or cycling distance from their homes. This includes housing, grocery shops, childcare, schools, healthcare facilities, public open spaces, recreation, and frequent, affordable public transport.”

“We have a unique core strategic objective to create a local economy which places the livelihood, wellbeing and happiness of our residents’ as prime measures of Newham’s economic success. The [15-minute] concept links to our community wealth-building agenda, which focuses on supporting communities to create wealth and retain more of the benefits of economic growth emerging locally. It also supports our 50 Steps to our Healthier Newham health and wellbeing strategy”

An emerging ‘15-minute city’ in east London

The 15 minute concept becomes a focus for what a local community needs and should have, and become an impetus to introducing those things that are lacking. At present across the UK many communities lack local services such as bank, a GP’s surgery and a pharmacy. Establishing additional amenities in a locality creates local jobs and opportunities for local businesses, whilst at the same time keeping money circulating within the community. In Newham, the 15 minute scheme is expected to deliver benefits in the the region of £170 million.

Does the 15 Minute City diminish or threaten the traditional city centre? Will city centres become lifeless?

The amenities offered by a local centre – school, pharmacy, GP surgery, store selling food and other daily/ weekly necessities/ niceties, gym, park, railway station, post office etc – are not the same as those one expects from a city centre (unless you are a resident of a city centre). Rather the amenities expected of a city centre will include mainline railway and bus stations, national or regional museums and art galleries, national or regional theatres and cinemas, cathedrals, flagship retail outlets, specialist shops, significant cultural meeting places such as it provided by Trafalgar Square. This can be envisaged as a the central hub of a network of local 15 Minute cities. Maybe the 15 Minute City might be better termed a 15 Minute neighbourhood.

Does 15 Minute City concept ignore those who live in rural areas?

Is it an inappropriate concept with its reliance on walking, cycling and public transport? Or rather is it a challenge to central and local government to ensure that rural areas have an equal access to public transport – and to broadband? (This later is important if rural areas are to develop as places for remote working). There are alternative models of public transport that provide a more frequent and flexible service for remote communities.

The Department for Transport has a tool kit for demand responsive transport. This is a public transport service that instead of following a rigid timetable along a specific route, provides a service that picks people up at times and places of their choosing to take them to a range of destinations of their choosing. It is not a taxi service and passengers have to manage a degree of flexibility in terms of timings and routings: a passenger may have to leave a little earlier than they might choose and might go via a more circuitous route as other passengers are dropped off. Such schemes already exist for, example, with Dial a ride bus services but could be provided more widely and and more comprehensively in rural areas.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demand-responsive-transport-local-authority-toolkit/demand-responsive-transport-local-authority-toolkit

With public transport in place for amenities not immediately available in a rural community – such as say a dental surgery, cinema or swimming pool – can rural communities themselves grow by investing in and supporting local amenities such as a corner shop, primary school, gym, cafe, post office etc? Before car ownership became widespread, rural communities had many such or similar facilities. Might some services be provided in a mobile basis – mobile library, mobile bank, mobile takeaway pizza truck etc? (By mobile I means van that is converted into a library on wheels as opposed to a library in your mobile phone).

If the 15 minute neighbourhood became the accepted standard, would that provide the impetus to change, invest and develop such communities where ever people live – whether that is in towns, cities or villages?

Recent data from a YouGov survey shows string support for the concept. “New YouGov data shows that a majority of the public (62%)would support their local authority making it a target to make their area a 15-minute neighbourhood, including three quarter of Labour (73%) and over half Conservative voters (57%). However, many think this could be a challenge. Around half of Britons (48%) believe that it would be easy to make their area into a 15-minute neighbourhood, compared to 42% who think it would be hard, but this largely depends on how rural or urban an area they live in. Those describing their areas as “very urban” or “somewhat urban” are more likely to say that it would be easy to achieve in their area, at 65% and 57% respectively, compared to just 21% in “somewhat rural” areas and only 8% among “very rural” respondents.” https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2023/03/06/most-britons-would-their-area-become-15-minute-nei

Having written all this, and whilst appreciating the valuable input the national and local governments can make, the biggest contributor to creating 15 minute neighbourhoods comes from the will or mindset of individuals. Often we do have the choice as to whether to use our local shops or drive further afield. We often have the choice as to whether to use the local cinema/ library/ post office/ bus service etc. We often have the choice whether to walk to the local gym or drive, to walk or drive to church, to walk or drive our children to school. Maybe successful neighbourhoods are where 60+% of the people do make those choices.

Counting on … day 1.144

19th June 2023

To share a joy with you! Our semi wild garden has various fruiting plants -some years they do well and some years not, but this year is definitely the year of the strawberry! They are plants are grew on from runners a couple of years ago and this year they are producing lovely big fruit with very little slug damage. It is a joy to pick them and eat them and turn them into jam.