Dear Friends,

I was expecting to hear news circulating that Martock Church building had been burned to the ground and the Vicar had gone up in smoke. I am glad to report that was not the case ( I am especially relieved as far as the latter was concerned!) even though one Tuesday evening two fire engines pulled up at the Church. They came complete with two full crews who donned breathing apparatus and entered the building dragging the fire hoses with them.

Well, of course, it was an exercise pre-arranged by the Fire Station enabling the fire fighters to face the possibility of entering a large smoke-filled building at night with the likelihood of some casualties. However, judging by the number of cars that only just negotiated the corner it was obvious that a lot of drivers thought it was more than an exercise. Some probably, over a pint, later on that evening could describe how high the flames were from the roof!

I was impressed how seriously this exercise was taken and afterwards in the debriefing the firefighters talked about the primary importance of saving life. Secondly, about the value of the building as far as the community was concerned as both a centre of focus for community and individual spirituality as well as a precious part of our heritage. They did ask me if, in the event of a real fire, they were able to save anything from being destroyed what would my priorities be. You will be relieved to hear that the congregation came quite high on the list! The truth was there wasn’t much else that really mattered – everything else could be replaced and the church, of course, is people and not a building, as beautiful and as valuable as it might be.

Now forgetting the building for a moment there is always a need for the church to be set on fire!

If we look up the story of Pentecost (Whitsun) in the Acts of the Apostles we will see the Holy Spirit came in tongues of flame giving power to the waiting disciples. From that moment what we now know as the Christian Church was born. It is so easy for the church to sit back and be complacent concerning itself solely with its own affairs. It is so tempting for each one of us to be wrapped up in our own lives that we are unaware of what is happening around us.

The Holy Spirit gives power enabling the people of God to become a force to reckon with. In conversation with someone recently it was said, “the trouble with the church is that it seems to meddle in everything.” It was meant as a criticism yet I thought it was the most complimentary comment I’ve heard for a long time.
It might even mean that the Church is alive and well in Martock after all. You see the Holy Spirit is someone who meddles in lives and in communities and is meant to challenge and disturb.

On the 4th June we will be celebrating Pentecost Sunday with our three churches meeting at the Pinacle area to have a kind of “birthday party” before going to our Church buildings for our morning worship. That particular week-end “Churches Together in Martock” have arranged for a flower festival to take place in the Parish Church. Various organisations within the community are providing displays which, hopefully, will demonstrate not just a link between Church and community, but also that the community itself is working together.

If a community is going to work and be effective then it needs to have life and vitality – it needs to work for the common good. The channels for this process are already in place. We have loyal people representing us on our Parish Councils who need our encouragement. We have M3 (Making the Most of Martock) who need all our support, our energy and our time.

So we pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will burn within the hearts of people’s lives, within our churches and within the communities in which we live.

May God bless you all

Trevor Farmiloe Vicar