The Chellington Team Ministry
Eight churches have been brought together under the Chellington Team Ministry with two full-time stipendiary priests. These are: St.Peter’s Harrold & St.Mary’s Carlton with Harrold United Reform Chapel known as ‘Churches Together in Harrold & Carlton’, together with All Saints’ Odell, All Saints’ Turvey, St.Mary the Virgin Stevington, St.Lawrence Wymington, St.Mary the Virgin Podington (united benefice). Contacts for Churches Together in Harrold & Carlton, service times and the clergy letter are below.
The services times for Churches Together in Harrold, Carlton and Odell this month are below.
Luther’s Harvest: a United Church for the Poor!
On 31st October, the Church commemorates Martin Luther, who invoked a renaissance in the Church both Protestant and Catholic. Luther was born in Saxony and was ordained Priest in 1507. He became a monk and began to question some of the theology of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther was inspired by scripture and convinced that human beings were saved by faith and not by works. He put forward 95 theses in 1517 on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg and in particular challenged the idea of indulgences (these were in effect get out of jail cards that people had to pay for to get them closer to being saved).
To help us mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we are holding a special lecture by Revd Dr Judith Maltby (Reader in History at Oxford University and Chaplain to Corpus Christi College) entitled “Marriage and the Reformation” on Monday 23rd October in Harrold United Reformed Church at 7pm. The lecture is free but donations are requested towards the refreshments. Luther himself married in 1525 to a former Nun, Katharina von Bora!
The division between Catholic and Protestant has a horrible history and sectarianism is something that has caused great rifts in local communities and something that we should avoid at all costs. But in some respects it is only because of our history that we have moved to being a more tolerant people: tolerant of different expressions of faith and politics.
The Reformation was a theological battle of truth and both sides had truths to bring to the table. Our challenge in the Church and in society today is to be able to recognise the truth that others bring without feeling threatened or consumed by our own understanding of the truth. Also our challenge is to not to exclude others simply because we hold different views.
October is the month we also celebrate our harvest festivals with food and worship which is always great fun. We pray for our farmers and all who bring food to our tables and we also try and put something aside for those in need through the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal. This year, our donations will go to The Phillippines through the USPG (an Anglican mission agency). To prepare for the appeal there is a special prayer to pray which can be found on: www.harvestappeal.org.
We do hope that you enjoy the changing colours of autumn and make the most of the days before the nights draw in.
With our very best wishes,
God Bless,
Peter and Jacqueline
Peter Turnbull and Jacqueline Curtis
3 The Moor, Carlton MK43 7JR. Telephone 01234 720961. Email: chellingtonteam@gmail.com