Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Church’s new year is a good time to reflect on why we are here.

That is why is the Church here on this earth? Why is the Parish of Grimethorpe and Brierley here?
One could come up with many worthy reasons.
But we are here; we are the church, because of Jesus Christ.

What are we meant to be? What are we meant to do?
The answer to these basic questions is found in Jesus Christ.

The Church on earth is the Body of Christ – but what does that mean?
In the Gospels, Jesus, The Body of Christ on earth, loves, serves, heals, teaches, preaches, forgives, and gives himself even for the ungrateful. He suffers and dies so that others might have life, and live His new life for ever.

As we are the Spirit filled people of God, because we are the Body of Christ, the Church (our mission) is exactly the same, or we not the Body of Christ; we are not being the Church.

But We Are the Church. We are the Body of Christ, so our Mission is to BE Jesus in our Parish.

We are to love, serve, heal, teach, preach, forgive and give ourselves even for the ungrateful, to suffer for justice sake and even to die (as Christians are doing all around the world), so that the people of our Parish may know, and live, the New Life of Christ.

This is our Mission Statement – not just Grimethorpe and Brierley, but the Church’s. We have to live that Mission out now. That is why you are here!!

Our vision is, of course, Jesus Christ. Our vision is the effective living out of the Mission. How we do that is up to every single member of the congregation – young and old. Living your Christian lives to the full and using to the full all your gifts and talents generously for the salvation of souls, those who never darken the church doors (the ungrateful?).

So how can we the people of God practically do this?

Well biblically, a vision always leads to Action.

 To be Jesus we need to Love, Serve and Heal. 

You do this by all that you give to others; in your Christian giving to ‘Compassion UK’ the two children we support in India and Africa; the work of the Mothers’ Union in supporting the mother and baby unit in prison; the support of the Children’s Society; plus all the other charities; when you, as a Christian visit the Sick, the bereaved or anyone in need.

To be Jesus we need to Teach, Preach, Forgive.

You do this when those preparing for Baptism are visited. When having learned something of God in the Mass, or the bible study, you share it. When you take part in the mission weekend. When
you know to say sorry to someone. When to seek your own forgiveness in the sacrament of confession. When you invite someone to Mass.
You have all been given gifts and talents. For example, bakers, makers, cleaners, ironers, flower arrangers, electricians, d-i-y men and women, fund-raisers, workers with children, musician’s, sacristans, coffee makers. Our church buildings, if we are to be effective in our mission, need to be clean warm and welcoming. This of course costs. It costs time; time to pray and worship; time to give for others and to God. What we give we give not for ourselves but for God and others – ‘give and you receive.’ All this is so that we might be effective in being…becoming Jesus for others. When you are doing this to the full, you will be attractive, magnetic, and missionary – i.e. YOU will be like Jesus!!

To fulfil our mission it costs financially. At a recent P.C.C. meeting, when we looked at our financial situation, it was clear we are falling far short of what we need to pay in our share to the Diocese, and to pay our way to keep our churches open. Unless we increase our weekly giving and put our efforts into real fund-raising from others we will be faced with a real crisis.

Ask yourself ‘do I pray for generous benefactors to Christ’s mission here in the Parish?’
‘Am I giving sensibly in the planned giving scheme (the weekly envelopes)?’ 

To keep St. Luke’s and St. Paul’s fully working in our mission, and to keep our two buildings open, it costs over £500 per week.  Our average weekly income is £500 per week. This does not include what we need to pay to the Diocese, which this year will be over £23,000. With the expectation that the parish’s income will £30,000, this would leave £7,000 to run the whole parish for a year – when we know the true cost is more like £26,000! This creates a shortfall of £19,000.

When I leave this Parish, I want to ensure that Grimethorpe with Brierley has another priest to replace me; to shepherd you and feed you with Christ; to bury your dead, to baptise your children and grow new Christians; to rejoice with you, to visit the sick, to foster vocations. It does not depend on me now, but it does depend on you, the faithful, to try and encourage the lapsed and the failing. The Diocese is always looking to cut paid clergy – I do not want that cut to be in this Parish.

So now is the time to pull together, to raise our heads and have confidence, rejoicing in all that God has done for us, and is doing among us. May this church new year bring us joy as we look to Jesus, the author of our life. Rejoice in the young, the old, in one another. Pray. Be faithful at Mass. Love the Mass and the Scriptures. Encourage each other. And may our Lady, St. Luke St. Paul and all the saints inspire you in your Christian Living.

That we may be what we truly say we are. The Body of Christ.

Happy New Year!!

And may God bless you with my love, support and thanks for all that you give to one another and to me, your friend and parish priest.

Fr Peter Needham ssc
Parish Priest