Roger Scoones' Monthly Dialogue
.
March at St
Mary's
(2010)
There are signs that a change is on the way, that spring will soon be
with us. As I sit in my Rectory study preparing my sermon I can feel the
sun again at last, as it peeps over the rooftops around me, at an angle
it hasn’t appeared at for a few cold months. Again in the evening as the
days grow longer I watch the sun dipping down to the West, but now
shining through the still bare branches of the trees in my garden, and
directly into my drawing room. It certainly cheers me up to see the
seasons changing. That cheer is added to by the sudden arrival of the
crocuses – mostly yellow and purple, pushing their way up through the
lawn, providing the first dash of spring colour, following the pure
white snowdrops, which have been nodding their heads in my garden for
quite a few weeks now, ignoring frost and snow, which has sadly , it
seems, killed a number of shrubs and even an exotic tree - a cordaline,
standing proud in the centre of the lawn, but now looking rather sad,
and dying from the effects of prolonged cold, poor thing. In the air the
birds are beginning to sing to their prospective mates, one particular
bird, as yet unidentified, producing a particularly attractive song from
the hedgerow outside the front door of the Rectory. One could even be
forgiven for thinking that my home was deep in the English countryside,
when in reality it is in the middle of a great town!
The Parish Church, which is in the heart of the old town, marches on
through the ages looking ever more splendid with the two faces of the
Tower restored and replete with fully furnished pinnacles and finials,
and the flag of St George flying proudly above at all times and in all
weathers. It looks its best on a day like today with a bright blue sky
as background and a strong westerly wind to keep it blowing out. The
flag is particularly noticeable to those passing by on the motorway
(M60) which passes through Stockport, and from the train as it crosses
the famous Stockport Viaduct, which carries trains to and from the
capital to Manchester Piccadilly, just 8 minutes away by train. St
Mary’s is well and truly “on the map”. Why not Google us?
This month of March continues the weeks of Lent in the Church’s
Calendar, leading up to Holy Week and Easter in the early days of April.
Lent is an opportunity for Christians of different traditions and
denominations to get together to celebrate their shared faith, while
acknowledging their varied preferences, practices and emphases in
worship and ritual observance. So in Stockport each of the Town Centre
Churches, including St Mary’s, holds an evening service, taking it in
turn, once a week in Lent, in which we welcome one another to a time of
worship and fellowship. It is an encouragement to us all. On Good Friday
we end this Lenten period by joining together, beginning with a short
service at the Tiviot Dale Methodist Church and ending with a similar
service at St Mary’s, and walking solemnly and quietly following a cross
in procession through the Town Centre between services. It is always a
very meaningful and moving experience bringing the Christian message,
silently into the world – life goes on, as does the Church’s life and
its truth.
Within St Mary’s there is increased activity of a very practical nature
as a team of volunteers begins to plan for a major event in the autumn –
a Flower Festival, of which more another month.
In the meantime, for two weeks I shall be away from the Parish serving
as a Chaplain in the English Church of St Bernard’s in Wengen, in the
beautiful Bernese Oberland Alpine region of Switzerland (for further
information on that visit www.ics-uk.org). By the time I return home my
Rectory garden and St Mary’s Churchyard will doubtless be full not only
of crocuses – but daffodils too and Spring will really have arrived!
Rev. Roger Scoones
Rector of St Mary’s
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