Mellor Church, standing today where a place of worship has been situated since the early fourteenth century. The tower of the Church is of fifteenth century origin with the other parts of the building having been re-built several times. Many ancient treasures are to be found within and without these walls, as well as some beautiful modern pieces.
The Church is open for some parts of the weekend for visitors to view the building and artefacts. Items to look out for in the Church-yard are the remains of a Saxon Cross(now a sun dial), and the remains of the village stocks.
MELLOR CHURCH - HOME PAGE
Vicars Viewpoint . . .
Prayer for the Month . . . Peter Jenner
The Lord Jesus Christ be near you to defend you,
within you to refresh you,
around you to protect you,
before you to guide you,
behind you to justify you,
above you to bless you. Amen.
A medieval Celtic prayer.
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During my post-ordination training, we heard a talk given by a medical doctor who had been very involved in the church's healing ministry. The part of his talk which is most firmly fixed in my memory is a little aside he made. As a doctor talking to clergy he said, "You always have to remember that your profession and mine are both like a glacier: they move about an inch a century but nothing stops them getting there in the end."
I have been ordained for 23 years, which is the mere blink of a glacier's eye in the history of the church, but I can identify some quite profound changes in the church over that time. Even if it does sometimes seem that the church is a rather lumbering, unwieldy entity which is reluctant to do anything for the first time, it is actually possible to conclude that we might get there in the end.
I find it strange to think that 23 years ago the Church of England did not ordain women priests. It is being said now that about equal numbers of men and women are training for ordination; to be totally accurate, I understand there are very slightly more women than men in training. Who would have believed that 23 years ago?
It always seemed to me that once we had women priests in the Church of England it was inevitable that one day we would (and should) also have women bishops and General Synod considered this matter at its meeting in July this year. The national media reported this extensively and made it sound as if we would see the first female bishop very soon. In fact General Synod only initiated the first step in a lengthy process which will result in a decision on this. The process will involve consultation at different levels in the church and even if every part of the process goes as quickly as it can, the first woman bishop will not be appointed until 2014 at the earliest. Does that seem a long time in the future? Ask a glacier.
The issue of women priests is, of course, very controversial for some in the church and national media have recently focussed also on another divisive issue. As I write, the Lambeth Conference, the
10-yearly meeting of bishops from all over the world, is about to begin. A few weeks ago, some bishops met in Jerusalem at what was described by some as an 'Alternative Lambeth'. The way matters have been portrayed simplistically in the national media is that irreconcilable views concerning homosexuality have brought the church to the point of schism; Christians are about to part company from those with whom they disagree and go their separate ways. The situation is considerably more complex than this, but it is undeniable that we live in controversial times.
As I think of controversy in the church, I think back to another short aside I heard not long after I had been ordained. This was in the days when women priests were still in the dreams of glaciers and controversial matters for the church were very different from today's. In the news were remarks made by the Bishop of Durham about Jesus' birth and resurrection. Do you remember those days? A gathering of clergy was addressed by a minister of the United Reformed Church. He said that many Anglican clergy had asked him what the Church of England looked like from the outside. His response was that this was obviously a time of great controversy in the church and (I remember his exact words) he said, "Controversy is a sign of life." He went on to expand: "If I looked at the Church of England from the outside and saw no-one getting upset or excited by anything, then I'd worry. However, people in the Church of England evidently can feel strongly about things, but they don't all think in the same way and controversy really is a sign of life."
The controversial issues for the church are very different today from the time when those remarks were made. I think I have come to the conclusion that it is always a controversial time for the Church of England and I find it rather reassuring to think that we should welcome controversy as a sign that we might be more alive than a glacier.
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Quote for the Month. . . Peter Jenner
Henry Chadwick was a priest, church historian and Master of Peterhouse in Cambridge. Following his death in June, his obituary in the Daily Telegraph (19 June 2008) called him "one of the last great Anglican scholars." This anonymous article then went on not only to give an account of Chadwick's life and work, but also to reflect on the nature of the ecclesiastical world in which he worked. It seems relevant to quote one sentence in the light of current events: "There has always been, about the Church of England, a certain imprecision when it comes to doctrinal formulation, and those most successful as Anglican churchmen are those who know how best to devise forms of words and constructs or accommodations which allow people of otherwise plainly incompatible beliefs to inhabit the same dwelling-place."
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