“Seven whole days, not one in seven, I will praise thee.” 

 George Herbert, priest and poet, wrote those inspiring words about 400 years ago.  The Church in which I grew up as a youngster was vastly different from the Church of today, for which I sincerely thank God!  As a choirboy I recall having to sit absolutely still during what seemed like interminably long sermons.  The Choirmaster would climb off his organ stool for the sermon and would give withering looks to any chorister who dared to fidget even for one minute.  If that failed to stop the fidgeting miscreant, Plan B would quickly be put into action involving a large hymn book descending upon the back of the fidget’s head!  This was usually administered by a grumpy-looking adult member of the Choir. 

 It was a much simpler age for Churchgoers in the 1950s.  For much of the service a congregation operated on the premise of know your place, watch and listen, and enjoy the occasional 4 minute break for a hymn.  It’s no wonder that when the passing of the Peace was introduced a decade or so later, many in our churches began to feel very uncomfortable and challenged.

I once came across this lovely way of describing Jesus: “Jesus died to bring people across a bridge, from a love of law into a law of love.”  Jesus clearly stated that God’s law of love (and not a love of law!) must always come first, well before any other law that some Church people have in the past tended to hold onto so dear. 

 Folk of a certain age often hark back to a simpler age and time.  Yes, we might rather things were the same as they used to be.  But they’re not, like it or lump it.  The Church is passing through a time of rapid change that challenges us as never before.  Women bishops for instance?  I hazard a guess that not many of our forebears would have dreamed of such a time.  Yet here we now are, happily contemplating an exciting new development to be implemented by the year 2012. 

A significant reduction in the number of stipendiary clergy is being forecast over the next 15 years.  Some people might view that as a sign of decline.  Yet there are others who will undoubtedly view it as another of God’s challenges to bring about new vocations to ministry, particularly vocations to a greater and more effective lay ministry.  The Church I remember as a child could be likened to a sort of spectator sport where you watched the “professionals” in action, i.e. those who were ordained; you supported them as you saw fit, and sometimes you criticised them too. 

 Today’s emphasis is rightly on the priesthood of all believers, you as well as me, increasingly reaching out as the Church into the very heart of our community.  As lay and ordained, the vocation for each of us as today’s Church is to work together to bring that about, not just on Sundays but on every day of the week.  As George Herbert prophetically wrote all those years ago:

 “Seven whole days, not one in seven, I will praise thee.” 

 Roger.