Articles - From the Vicar

Dear Friends,

Well, after fourteen months the waiting is over and the first thing to say is that it is good to be here. Jenny and I have enjoyed settling in to the house and beginning to get to know you, the parish and the city. St Edmund's has a reputation for being a friendly church and we have certainly felt welcomed. We have also appreciated the welcome we have received from our sister churches. So, thank you very much for that. We would like to return the favour, so to speak, by welcoming you to the vicarage. On Saturday 15th November we will be having open house. There will be coffee and cakes on offer (along with squash for the children) so just drop in any time between 10am and 1pm. We would love to see you.

One of my first impressions is of walking around the tree-lined streets as the leaves turn with the onset of autumn. I do love autumn. I always think that nature has so much to teach us - after all Jesus told us to consider the lilies of the fields and the birds of the air. At the moment the trees are some of God's messengers. Although I am not a botanist, as far as I understand it the reason that leaves change colour and fall to the ground has to do with getting rid of waste products - things that are unwanted, unnecessary and even potentially damaging to the tree. How lucky for us that in doing this they put on such a beautiful display.

In fact, the tree hasn't really got rid of it all. Rather the leaves are going to be changed from something that is unhelpful to something that is helpful. The tree does this by getting the "bad stuff" out there where other living things (the bacteria) can start to change it. Then, in the wonderful economy of nature, the leaves rot down and, instead of being something to be got rid of, they produce nutrients that next year the roots of the tree will absorb. So, in time, what seemed to be worthless becomes valuable, what was poisonous becomes nourishing.

We are moving ever closer to Advent, one of the church's penitential seasons. I don't know about you but the phrase "penitential season" doesn't fill me with joy. And yet the trees remind me that getting rid of things that are unwanted, unhelpful or damaging can be a beautiful thing to do (though not necessarily painless). They also remind me that, in the wonderful economy of God, we can then experience a new time of change and growth just like the trees. The trees seem to say that the key to this is getting our "bad stuff" out there - in our prayers or in conversation with others - so that the grace of God can get to work on it. Them we may discover that not all of it needs to got rid of. Some of it may need changing or accepting so that we can grow and move on.
So, this autumn, why not spend a little time considering the trees and seeing what lessons they have to teach you?

With best wishes
David

P.S.
Katterfelto: Prince of Puff

You may have seen in the diocesan section of last month's magazine the article about the book I have just had published. It is a biography of one of the most entertaining characters in Georgian Britain; a showman who became so famous that his name even entered the English language. Yet today he is almost unknown. Despite being a Prussian he spent many years travelling Britain and had a particular affinity with Yorkshire, twice performing in Leeds. You can find out more on the website: www.katterfelto.me.uk. Copies can be ordered on line or from the vicarage, and there is a copy you can browse at the back of church.

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay