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God & Government: where should the Church's voice be heard in the current reform agenda (Thursday 17th March)
 About 100 people attended the first of this year's 'Hot Potatoes' evenings at Kirby Muxloe Free Church. Bishop Tim Stevens tackled the question of where the boundary should be between government legislation, and the consciences of individuals.
He felt that there is now underway in this country a reform agenda with fundamental changes affecting education, welfare, pensions and parliament itself. Accompanying this reform agenda there has been a promotion of the idea of the 'Big Society'. The idea refers to people taking responsibility for each other, a 'we' society instead of a 'me' society. If it is really true, we should support it. But it is not easy while funding is being cut. He gave the example where funding cuts have led to the sacking of the very professionals in welfare who could train and mobilise larger numbers of volunteers.
The Bishop felt that God was saying that there is now a new priority for Christian churches. We must inject Christian values into the political debate. Speak the truth to the people of power about the care of the poor and vulnerable and the encouraging of human values as well as ‘bankable’ values. At a personal level we should read the papers, keep up to date with current issues and regularly correspond with our elected representatives. Personal letters are much more effective than standard petitions.
There were two local opportunities. In the city, the election of a mayor will be an opportunity to raise ethical matters. In the county, there is an effort to be one of the lead 'Big Society' regions. The churches can support this effort and ensure that Christian values underpin it.
The Bishop concluded by quoting from Amos and his message about the duty of the rich to the poor and vulnerable, and the fate that God has in store for those societies which ignore this duty of care.
After supper we had a discussion session which took the form of question and answer. The discussion topics included:- religious education in schools; wider religious representation in government, such as the House of Lords; do all Christians speak with the same voice; how militant should the Christian churches be in confronting the rich and powerful on behalf of the poor and vulnerable; is the church being left behind in the matter of ethics by a more free thinking state; and political correctness. Space does not allow reporting of the Bishop's responses.
Old Age: a time for decline or an opportunity for development (Wednesday 30th March)
 Reverend Maggie Sharpe, Chaplaincy Team Leader at Glenfield Hospital , made a distinction between age and ageing when she spoke at the second of this year’s ‘Hot Potatoes in Lent’. Age – at whatever stage we may find ourselves – is more positive, where ageing has more negative associations.
Most of us try to avoid the rather depressing thought of advancing years – it’s a hot potato. So what perspective can the Christian faith provide to encourage us to celebrate the age we are now? The concerns we have certainly have to be faced. Maggie spoke of the fear of loss. Loss of independence, mobility, faculties, spouse, dignity and more; as well as the fear of what will happen – ‘how will I die? What happens after death?’.
Part of the way of addressing these is to concentrate on what we have as we learn to celebrate who we are in the present moment. One should be able to enjoy and find the value in each period of life.
We were encouraged to be thankful for the life we have had. Being older means we have had the gift of many years. Present culture values youth above all. We should assert the value and purpose of each age. Youth is not the pinnacle from which we descend through the remainder of life. On a journey the end is more often the culmination and highlight. Age brings experience and wisdom. Age does not preclude doing new things. Aside from new hobbies, some have encouraged others by regular phone-calls or the writing of cards. Old age offers more time for reflection – a high point from which we can look back, remember and revisit, realise afresh who we really are. If we can no longer do so much, recall that we are termed human beings not human doings.
And supremely, as those who trust in Jesus Christ, old age leads to a secure future in Him. Maggie reminded us of 2 Corinthians 4:16 … here quoted from ‘The Message’ translation.
So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us.
We had another very pertinent, encouraging and thought provoking evening.
Faith Schools: their place in the present system? (Wednesday 13th April)
The Reverend Canon Peter Taylor was the speaker at the last of this year’s series. He was formerly the Diocesan Director of Education for Leicester Diocese. He is now the Director of Operations for the Church of England Academy Services Ltd which seeks to sponsor church schools.
Peter began by outlining the history of the church school. All over the country schools were opened by local churches to serve their local communities and offering education for all. This year the National Society celebrates its 200th anniversary. It was established to help local churches to set up church schools. By the 1850’s there were 17,000 church schools. At that time the only other education provision was offered through what are now called independent schools. The first Education Act in 1870 established ‘Board Schools’ – first non-church schools.
The present pattern of school provision is based on the 1944 Education Act which brought together church and state schools. In this reorganisation Local Education Authorities generally managed the schools, while some remained Church Schools being designated either Voluntary Aided or Voluntary Controlled. Today over 2M children are educated in schools with a religious character.
The title ‘Faith School’ Peter thought was a misnomer for it implied that it was exclusively for those of that particular faith. Church Schools were established and remain to this day to serve the whole community, reflecting the church’s mission to the whole community.
Peter sought to deal with criticisms that appear in the press: they are selective; they indoctrinate; they are divisive. Each school has an admissions policy indicating those who have a right to attend. No church school limits attendance to faith issues and most serve the whole community catchment. All schools by law are required to hold a daily school assembly and for them to be mainly Christian. All Religious Education teaching is monitored and includes teaching about a range of faiths. In practice Church Schools unite communities rather than divide.
The teaching in a church school seeks to reflect not only a challenging curriculum but also to develop the spiritual, moral and social aspects of a child’s/student’s development.
There were a wide range of questions from the floor that were effectively dealt with.
The evening ended in challenging us all to pray for our schools, the teachers and pupils.
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The Parish has been celebrating the 400th anniversary of the first publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible (known as the King James Version - KJV) for some months now. Throughout 2011, individuals and our Bible Study groups have been reading and studying selected verses from the KJV with great enthusiasm and new insights into the text by following the 
In the first half of the concert, readings from Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, 1 Samuel, Psalms and Isaiah were interspersed with songs from Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Gwyn Arch, Mendelssohn and Handel. The second half tour through the New Testament had readings from all four gospels, 1 Corinthians and Acts with music from and arrangements by Andrew Carter, Campbell Hughes, Taize, J Stainer, Handel and Rutter. Check out the trio's own review of the evening by clicking on 
A special Festival Songs and Praise was held at St Bartholomew's church, Kirby Muxloe on the evening of Sunday 17th July to celebrate the refurbishment and enhancement of the church's 1906 organ.
The regular organists at St Bartholomew's (l to r: Marilyn Eales, Sheila Brady, Jeanette Kinder, Peter Webster) were all thrilled at the beautiful and improved tones of the refurbished instrument and were extremely grateful to Christopher Johns for coming and demonstrating its qualities.
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