Dear Villagers,

I look forward to joining you to celebrate Holy Week and Easter. For
those who haven’t met me, let me offer a few words of introduction.
I am the Agricultural & Rural Chaplain for the Diocese of Worcester.
My role is trying to make sure that churches across the diocese
understand what is happening in agricultural and rural
communities. It also means trying to communicate with groups
involved with agriculture (like the NFU and CLA) and with
organisations trying to deliver community and economic
development.

I find it fascinating that development organisations frequently use
religious language to describe their work, without realising where
the language originates. Not only does every group seem to have a
“mission statement” (and if “mission” isn’t a religious word,
nothing is!) but the part of the Teme valley you live in is part of the
West Midlands Rural Regeneration Zone. “Regeneration” is a
religious word. Look up the Book of Common Prayer collect for
Christmas day and you will see that the Church has been talking
about regeneration long before Advantage West Midlands (AWM)
had ever been dreamed of. And another word used by AWM and the
like is “renaissance”. “Renaissance” means “re-birth” and that takes
us into the heart of Easter. Jesus’ death and resurrection show that
we can die and rise again, both in this life and the next. So can our
communities and economies.

I look forward to celebrating that with you.

Best wishes,

 

Robert Barlow