Webzine

Saint Aidan’s Parish Church, New Parks, Leicester
Parish Magazine
January 2017
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Saint Aidan’s Clergy
Parish Priest:
FR. SIMON LUMBY SSC
The Vicarage,
S. Oswald Road,
New Parks,
Leicester,
LE3 6RJ.
Tel - 0116 287 2342 Mobile - 07788 289012
Email - fathersimonlumby@gmail.com
Mass Times at St. Aidan’s:
Sunday Rosary 9.15am
Parish Sung Mass
10.00am
Monday Holy Hour (1st and 3rd weeks) 2.00pm
Wednesday Sung Mass
10.00am
Thursday Cool After School - APLUS 3.30pm
Exposition
5.00pm
Said Mass
5.30pm
Friday Said Mass 9.30am
Saturday Recitation of the Rosary 9.30am
Said Mass
10.00am
(For Mass times on Holy Days, please see the Weekly Sheet)
Morning and Evening Prayer are said daily at 8.00am and 5.00pm
(Confessions are heard in Church on a Saturday at 5.30pm
or by appointment with one of the Clergy)
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More news and informaon can be found at the Parish Website:
www.saintaidansnewparks.co.uk

From the Clergy
The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is
depicted with two faces. We may look back to the old year with
sadness or regret, but how can we make a fresh start at the
beginning of 2016? The apostle Paul writes ‘But one thing I do:
forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I
press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 3:13,14).
Firstly, if we want a new start, we need to forget the things which
are behind us - as important as they were ‘then’ they are not as
important as the ‘now’. Paul pictures himself as an athlete running
for Christ, yet not looking back. He refused to allow his past sins
and failures to define who he is now. By God’s grace, he no longer
saw himself that way.
The same can be true of ourselves, as we confess our sins and
receive God’s forgiveness and new life. If we are constantly
looking back at our past failures, we are not framing our better
future - we are still inhabiting our past.
Secondly, we need to focus on the things that lie ahead. The
athlete is entirely focused on winning the race and gaining the
prize. Like Paul, we have to be single-minded in making Jesus the
focus of everything we do. How can we go deeper in our prayer
life and Bible reading this year? What will it mean to better serve
Christ in our workplace and career, or family and children?
Paul looked forward to the day when he would stand before God,
and God would say, ‘well done, good and faithful servant’. In
light of all that Jesus had done for him, Paul wanted to give his
very best to Jesus. As we stand at the beginning of this New Year,
let’s ask ourselves, ‘What can I do this year that will help me bring
glory and honour to God?’
With my love and prayers,
Fr SIMON LUMBY
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Christians...
Thomas Ken in the course of his lifetime
was both rewarded and punished for his firm
adherence to principle. He was born in 1637
and reared by his half‐sister Anne and her
husband the well‐known angler Izaak Walton.
He became a clergyman and served for a year
at the Hague as chaplain to Princess Mary,
niece of King Charles I of England and wife of
the Dutch King William of Orange. During this
year he publicly rebuked King William for his
treatment of his wife Queen Mary, which is
maybe why he was chaplain there for only a
year! He also served as prebendary of
Winchester Cathedral and was made Royal
Chaplain to King Charles II. The King had a
mistress, Nell Gwyn, and for his convenience wished to lodge her in his
chaplain's residence. Thomas sent the King a sharp refusal, on the grounds that it
was not suitable that the Royal Chaplain should double as the Royal Pimp. Charles
admired his honesty and bluntness, and when the bishopric of Bath and Wells became
available soon after, he declared, "None shall have it but that little man who refused
lodging to poor Nellie!" When Charles was on his deathbed, it was Ken whom he
asked to be with him and prepare him for death.
Under the next king, James II, brother of Charles, matters were different. James
converted to Roman Catholicism, the religion of his mother, and political turmoil
followed. James issued a decree known as the Declaration of Indulgence, which
decreed that various public offices, formerly open only to Anglicans, should
thereafter be open to all persons. It was feared that the King would appoint large
numbers of Roman Catholics to positions of power. When the King commanded the
bishops to proclaim the Declaration of Indulgence, seven of them, including Bishop
Ken, refused to do so and were by the King's command imprisoned in the
Tower of London. The people of London rioted, and the bishops were
freed and carried in triumph through the streets of the city. Soon after,
Parliament offered the crown to the King's daughter Mary and her
husband William of Orange, and James fled into exile. William and Mary
naturally began their reign by demanding oaths of allegiance from all
holding public positions, including bishops. Thomas Ken and others
(known as the Non‐Jurors; the older meaning of "juror" being "one who
takes an oath") refused to take the oath, because they had sworn
allegiance to James, and could not during his lifetime swear allegiance to
another monarch without making such oaths a mockery. They were all
accordingly put out of office.
The bishops of Scotland also refused the oath, and William and Mary
retaliated by disestablishing the Church in Scotland and making the
Presbyterians the official state Church there instead. Therefore, we have
in Scotland today the Kirk of Scotland, The Episcopal Kirk of Scotland, the
of renown...
Free Kirk of Scotland, and the Wee Free Kirk of Scotland. Thomas Ken became a
private tutor and spent the rest of his life in retirement and died on 19th March 1711.
During his lifetime he was known for his books of sermons. Today, he is best known
for several hymns.

Quotes of the Month
Making plans for 2017?
You can never plan the future by the past.
Edmund Burke
What we look for does not come to pass. God finds a way
for what none foresaw.
Euripodes Alcestis
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
and he delights in his way.
Psalm 37:23
Remember God in 2017
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.
Corrie ten Boom
In His love He clothes us, enfolds us and embraces us;
that tender love completely surrounds us, never to leave us.
As I saw it He is everything that is good.
Julian of Norwich
Endurance and perseverance are qualities we would all
like to possess, but we are loath to go through the process
that produces them.
Jerry Bridges
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6
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January
Puzzles Page
(Easy)
(Moderate)
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A book you might
like to read?
The Faith of William Shakespeare
By Graham Holderness, Lion £8.99
William Shakespeare still stands head and shoulders above
any other author in the English language, a position that is
unlikely ever to change. Yet it is often said that we know
very little about him – and that applies as much to what he
believed as it does to the rest of his biography.
Or does it? In this authoritative new study, Graham
Holderness takes us through the context of Shakespeare’s
life, times of religious and political turmoil, and looks at
what we do know of Shakespeare the Anglican.
But then he goes beyond that, and mines the plays
themselves, not just for the words of the characters, but for
the concepts, themes and language which Shakespeare was
himself steeped in – the language of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.
Considering particularly such plays as Richard ll, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice,
Measure for Measure, Hamlet, Othello, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale, Holderness
shows how the ideas of Catholicism come up against those of Luther and Calvin; how
Christianity was woven deep into Shakespeare’s psyche, and how he brought it again
and again to his art.
Becoming Reverend
by Matt Woodcock, CUP, £9.99
Meet Woody. Former journalist. Die-hard Oasis fan. High
energy. Low sperm count. Training to be a vicar. Obviously.
Matt Woodcock's frank, funny real-life diaries reveal what it
was like for him to train as a vicar while struggling against all
odds to become a father.
In them he lays bare his joys and struggles as he attempts to
reconcile his calling as a vicar with his life as a party-loving
journalist, footy-freak and incorrigible extrovert.
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- 166 Fosse Road North,
Leicester, LE3 5ES.
164
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This Month’s Calendar
Sun 1st Mary, Mother of God
Mon 2nd S. Basil the Great & Gregory Nanzianzan, Bb
Wed 4th Feria
Thurs 5th Feria
Fri 6th Feria
Sat 7th of Our Lady
Sun 8th Epiphany of Our Lord
Mon 9th Baptism of Our Lord
Wed 11th Feria (1st Week in Ordinary Time)
Thurs 12th Feria
Fri 13th Feria
Sat 14th of Our Lady
Sun 15th Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon 16th Feria
Wed 18th Feria
Thurs 19th Feria
Fri 20th S. Sebastian, Mr
Sat 21st S. Agnes, VMr
Sun 22nd Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon 23rd Feria
Wed 25th Conversion of S. Paul
Thurs 26th Ss. Timothy and Titus, Bb
Fri 27th Feria
Sat 28th S. Thomas Aquinas, PrDr
Sun 29th Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon 30th Feria
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God in the Arts
Outstanding people in great stories of the Bible - as depicted in painting
or sculpture – that is the theme of God in the Arts this year.
Noah and the Flood
‘Once upon a time’ is the traditional way to begin a story. In the Bible it
might be ‘in the days of’ or ‘it came to pass’: those words introduce us to
the wealth of stories in Scripture. We read stories about the triumph of
good over evil, others that are full of derring-do, and yet others that are
heart-rending and poignant.
And all of them revolve around colourful individuals. This year we shall
be exploring that treasury of stories narrated in the Bible – it might be
a patriarch or a king, a mother or a wife, a disciple or an evangelist. We
shall see them described in Scripture and also reflected in a painting or
sculpture.
We begin this year with Noah and the Flood, vividly described in
Genesis and taken up by the Chester Mystery Plays and Britten’s
‘Noye’s Fludde.’ God’s intention at the Flood is to judge the world and
purify it, but to save a remnant.
He chooses Noah, a just man, who with his family will be saved to
people that renewed world. Like the other stories, we see human figures
caught up in God’s plans, and they abound in the glorious mosaics that
decorate the interior of the magnificent 12th century cathedral of
Monreale, near Palermo in Sicily.
Among the scenes depicted there, one mosaic shows Noah and his
family looking out of the ark. The bodies floating in the water are signs
of the old sinful world, but Noah is leaning out to welcome back the
dove. It bears an olive twig – a sign that the waters have receded. The
dove and the olive twig promise a new earth and a new life to faithful
Noah, who will preside over that reborn world.
January marks a new year for us, and our hopes echo this scene as we
pray for our world and a renewed desire for peace and harmony in it.
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2nd January - Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nanzianzan
Lives of costly discipleship
‘Discipline’ is now virtually a banned word, along with
‘risk’, ‘problem’ and ‘failure’. They seem to have been
replaced respectively by ‘focus’, ‘safety‘, ‘challenge’ and
‘opportunity’. On the occasions when we do recognise
and applaud the virtue of discipline, it’s usually in the
lives and activities of soldiers, police officers, dressage
horses and the dog. But every year the Church Calendar
remembers (on 2nd January) the lives of two outstanding
leaders of the fourth century Church, Basil and Gregory.
The hall mark of their lives was an iron self-discipline.
Life-long friends since they were students together, they
committed themselves to an almost ferocious austerity.
In fact, both died early from the long-term consequences
of extreme self-denial.
Bishops in the Eastern Church, they looked more to the
new city of Constantinople than to Rome, but they both faced powerful opposition.
Basil’s unwavering commitment to the faith earned him many enemies, not only from
secular sources (political and even imperial) but also from within the Church. Gregory,
a less robust character, faced similar insults and even physical violence when he set
out to reform the church at Constantinople. Eventually this opposition cost him his
bishopric.
Basil was an activist, Gregory a contemplative, yet their lives followed a similar path of
costly discipleship. Basil was born into a wealthy and influential family, but during a
time of famine he felt it was his Christian duty to distribute the entire family
inheritance in the form of food for the poor in his city. From then on he lived an
austere, even frugal life, and died at the age of 49, worn out by disease and physical
weakness. Gregory too had poor health, largely through self-imposed poverty.
In the declining years of the Roman Empire and in an atmosphere of moral laxity they
believed that as Christian leaders they should set an example. ‘Do not regard lightly
the discipline of the Lord ‘, says the Bible. Perhaps modern Christianity is a little too
quick to see discipline in terms of subjection and punishment. But ‘those whom the
Lord loves he disciplines’. Basil and Gregory, whatever we think of their lifelong
regime of self-denial, were clear that their life of discipline was motivated by love of
the same Lord who in love disciplined them. Without going to the extremes that they
did, perhaps a little godly discipline might help us to build a healthier relationship with
the God we try to ‘trust and obey‘.
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Friday Focus 2017
– calling on Christians across the UK to join in
Churches across the UK are preparing for mission together in 2018 to
make Jesus known. A major new initiative, ‘Friday Focus 2017’ provides
the opportunity for us to pray where we are, and unite across our nation
on Fridays (whenever possible), supporting all on-going mission across
the UK and preparing the way for HOPE 2018.
Many Christian denominations, agencies and churches are already part
of HOPE 2018 (www.hopetogether.org.uk) There are many local and
national initiatives being planned to make Jesus known to people in our
villages, towns and cities during 2018.
The aim is to see the entire church mobilised to work together for a year
of mission, so that the good news of Jesus Christ is shared in words and
action. The dream is to see 10 per cent church growth in these next two
years. Without prayer and seeking the empowering of the Holy Spirit,
our work will not be as fruitful.
Each week Friday Focus will be taking a different theme: supporting
national initiatives of prayer and mission; key seasons in the church’s
calendar; the different people groups highlighted in the Talking Jesus
report (www.talkingjesus.org); the people we know and meet; the
communities we are part of, and the places where we live.
IN THE NEWS
Leaders from denominations, mission and prayer organisations and networks are
writing the reflections based on a Bible passage, and there will also be a written
prayer to accompany each theme. Use Prayer Focus for private prayer or in church
services and prayer meetings.
Colossians 4 verses 2-3 sums up what Friday Focus longs to see from this year of
praying together. We want to see every individual and church devoting itself to
prayer – being watchful and thankful. We want everyone to be asking God to open
the doors for mission opportunities, and asking for clarity as we talk about
Jesus.
We want to encourage each other to make the most of every
opportunity, to give the reason for the hope we have, with
gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
Do join in – and be part of the answer!
Download the prayers from www.hopetogether.org.uk/prayer
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Overheard on the Wise Men’s journey to Bethlehem
The camel is definitely the ship of the desert.
I know it because I’m getting seasick.
OK, we got the gold. We got the frankincense. We got the myrrh.
Think we should get something more practical, like nappies, maybe?
At least this gold has doubled in price since we set out from home....
Man, I'm starting to get a rush from this frankincense!
Suppose he really wanted a PlayStation?
I think we took a wrong turn back at Amal's house.
Why should I always have to be in the rear?
It's somebody else's turn to get sand in his face.
I need to stop at the bazaar in the next town and pick up one more gift.
You know, I used to go to school with a girl name Beth Lehem.
They call us wise men – for following a star.
But I notice they are all using satnav instead.
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We are such a busy Parish,
please do write these dates into your
diaries or on your kitchen calendars
so that you never miss
something important
at Saint Aidan’s!
other important dates can be found at our Parish website:
www.saintaidansnewparks.co.uk
Tuesday 24th January the Parochial Church Council is meeting at 7.00pm after
Rosary at 6pm and Mass at 6.30pm. Please can all members ensure that this date
is in their diary.
Saturday 11th February the Leicestershire Chorale is making a very welcome
return to Saint Aidan’s for a concert of music for Compline at 7.30pm. Specially
priced tickets of £5.00 are available for members of the congregation. This would
be a great opportunity to invite friends.
Saturday 25th February is the postponed 8ctave Concert at 7.00pm followed by
a buffet in the Church Hall. This concert is free so please let’s spread the word and
get a full house.
Wednesday 1st March is Ash Wednesday - there will be a Solemn Imposition of
Ashes at 10.00am. This is a very important day for us all to be at Mass if we can.
Fridays during Lent - we will follow our normal pattern of Stations of the Cross
and Mass at 12 noon followed by a Lent Lunch in the Vestry. Please let’s all make
this part of our Lenten discipline!
Saturday 25th March sees the very welcome return of the Parish Supper Cabaret
with an evening of music from 1920s musicals starring Liz Long and our own Fr
Simon. This with a very hearty supper all for the bargain price of £10. This is
another great opportunity to get our friends along to one of our social evenings.
Parish Dates Booklet is now available. Can you please make sure that you have a
copy and that you give them to friends and family who might want to come to
any of the events that we are organising soon?
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Page 17

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We, three kings?
They’re there in most Nativity plays, resplendent in regal gowns and
cardboard crowns, carrying their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Actually, the Church celebrates the coming of these exotic people to the
stable at Bethlehem not at Christmas but now, in January, in a season called
‘Epiphany’.
The word means ‘revealing’, and it reminds us that the Saviour was a gift to
the whole world – even Gentiles from ‘the East’ were welcome at his coming.
The story of the Wise Men, as we usually call them (but more accurately the
Magi), is a ‘revealing’ – the ‘new king’ was to be the Saviour of the world,
‘good news for all people’, as the angels proclaimed to the shepherds.
The name ‘Magi’ should alert us to their true role. They were ‘wise’ in the
sense that they knew and studied the stars, but their primary trade was
fortune-telling. ‘Magi’ is the root of our word ‘magic’, and people like them
held the ancient world in thrall to their predictions. In the Greek and Roman
world of the time no major decision would be made without their sanction.
Think of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the superstitious fear that
dominated people’s lives.
Yet when these powerful representatives of the world of magic, portent and
fear came to the stable, they prostrated themselves before the infant Jesus,
as they gave him their gifts. Thus, as the first Christians saw it, the old world
of fear and superstition gave way to the new world of love, grace and faith.
That was the ‘revealing’ that we celebrate in Epiphany – not some elderly
men bringing gifts to a baby, but a baby bringing to the world the greatest
gift of all, a Saviour.
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Why we have Trump and Brexit
Voters surprised politicians on both sides of the Atlantic last year. As a result,
America has an unlikely President and the United Kingdom is in the process of
leaving the European Union. There are hints that the electorate in other
countries are also disgruntled with the status quo and may vote for untried
alternatives.
Why? Here’s one suggestion. Dreams of utopia have evaporated. Not so long
ago we thought the human race was set on a moving walkway called progress,
which would deliver health, wealth and happiness. Up to a point it has done
that. Modern medicine has kept millions alive. We can fly to the other side of
the world in a day or if we prefer, sit at home and communicate with our distant
relatives via Skype. Astonishing advances are being made, but simultaneously
the bloodiest wars are being fought and there’s no sign of a let-up. Human
beings are no nicer than they ever were.
Confidence has been rocked by nightly news of carnage across the world. We
are losing faith in progress and in politics. And when it comes to prosperity, we
have witnessed the world’s economy shipwrecked by a handful of bonus-greedy
bankers. The outcome? The rich have become richer and the poor, poorer.
We still have a built-in yearning for something more stable, more trustworthy,
more just. Imagine a different world where the Kingdom belongs to the
spiritually poor, where mourners find comfort and meekness is rewarded. Where
a deep desire for right to prevail will be satisfied, mercy is offered and received,
purity of heart brings a vision of God, and peacemakers are his children. This is
Christ’s alternative to the status quo. It isn’t cheap. Some will be persecuted, as
he was, simply for being identified with righteousness. Their place, too, is in
heaven. Is that the manifesto we're seeking?
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Nehemiah: Overcoming Opposition
Nehemiah faced real hostility in the task God had given him to rebuild the
walls of Jerusalem. His enemies began mocking him (Nehemiah 2:19), which
turned to anger and insults (4:1), and then to outright opposition: ‘But
when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of
Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and
that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted
together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against
it.’ (Nehemiah 4:7,8).
When we stand up for Christ, we too can experience opposition. As with
Nehemiah, this can take various forms, including mockery, as well as attacks
on our motives and integrity. In some places, hostility to Christians can lead
to violence and death threats.
How do we deal with the opposition that we might experience as followers
of Christ? We can simply lash out in anger, hide, or even give up! Nehemiah
dealt with it by encouraging the people to pray and preparing them to fight:
‘But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this
threat.’ (4:9). He reminded them to ‘remember the Lord, who is great and
awesome’ (14) and fight together. Nehemiah organised half the workforce
to keep working on the wall, while the other half kept guard (16,21). We are
also engaged in a spiritual battle for kingdom of God and we need to be
armed ready for the fight (Ephesians 6:10-20).
As a result of their stand, the people completed rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem in just 52 days (6:15)! What can we do in the face of opposition?
Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, pray constantly and press on knowing
that God’s work can never ultimately be stopped.
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When we are never made to wait
Recently the giant online retailer Amazon launched its latest innovation in
‘smart shopping’ ‐ ‘Amazon Dash’. Now, with just a click of a button, you
can order any one of 40 basic household items, and have it on your
doorstep 24 hours later.
Dash is just the latest in an increasing number of products and services
offered by retailers to satiate our every need, whim or desire in eyewateringly
fast times. At the click of our online fingers, we can have our
favourite restaurant meal on our table within 30 minutes, or that iPad
that little Jonny wants by bedtime. Yes, really.
So how do we respond to this
reality of shopping becoming
an on‐demand, instant
gratification experience? As
with all new technologies, the
benefits are undoubted –
imagine the joy of never
running out of loo roll! But
below the surface are
potentially negative impacts
that are deeply challenging to
the fabric of society, which go beyond the obvious costs to the
environment and smaller retailers.
Are we becoming a society that is losing the ability to wait, rely on our
neighbours, or simply to ‘do without’? If we never have to wait for goods
and services, how will that affect our ability to sit and listen to each other,
to work through difficult relationships, to listen to our own thoughts, and
especially to hear God? For those of us who have children, how will they
learn these essential life skills? The implications are profound.
There is no doubting the value God places on patience and waiting. The
Bible is brimming with stories of people who had to wait for God to move
– think of Abraham, Moses, or Anna. Patience and its close cousin selfcontrol
are two fruits of the Spirit.
Countering this ‘culture of now’ requires self‐awareness, self‐discipline
and healthy boundaries. If we can pursue these, tough though it may be,
they will not only keep us healthy, but might also serve as a witness to
others that God’s ways are indeed good – even if not always as fast as we
would like!

Who’s Who at Saint Aidan’s, New Parks
Margaret Isom
Churchwarden
0116 287 3835
Joyce Turley
Churchwarden
0116 233 4417
Jan Collins
Administrator
07969 183239
Bev Ward
Sacristan
0116 241 9970
Tracey White
APLUS
07843 840716
Sue White
Events Co-ordinator
07864 660226
Jeanette Doggett
Safeguarding Officer
07730 362542
Toni Brant
100 Club Officer
07533 824436
Articles for the next Parish Magazine should be with Fr. Simon no later than
12th January please.
If you know somewhere that might benefit from having our magazine, please let one
of the clergy know - the magazine is a very important tool in letting the outside world
know what we do here at Saint Aidan’s and the more that are
out in the community the better!
Puzzle Answers
easy
moderate
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