Author Archives: Judy Bailey

Chaplain’s Thoughts on Coronation Day

At the age of 74, King Charles III is the oldest monarch to be crowned in this country. But as part of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation of the Post World War years, the King is truly representative of the ageing population of his realm as it is today. A population whose median age has been increasing steadily for many years as the positive result of a Welfare State that was instituted after World War Two.

Not simply due to the long legacy of his mother’s reign, the King faces some major challenges in his mid-seventies. Some of which he predicted himself over 50 years ago when he was mocked by the press and politicians alike for being a ‘tree hugger’, when expressing his personal concerns for the environment and the damaging effects of industrial farming methods. After all, who said the word ‘organic’ very much back then?

But there is also the issue of a Welfare State that has been so successful that we are witnessing, some argue, its steadily increasing collapse. What is the answer?

Charles reigns over a kingdom that voted for Brexit in 2016, little expecting the unforeseeable political and economic consequences of the Covid Pandemic and a war again in Europe that followed in Ukraine. What is the answer?

And in this same week of the King’s Coronation, we have heard the disturbing news of the resignation of Geoffrey Hinton, called the ‘Godfather of Artificial Intelligence’. Hinton left his role at Google to speak out about the “dangers” of the technology he helped to develop. This sounds no less ominous to me than the regret expressed by J. Robert Oppenheimer after creating the world’s first atomic bomb. What is the answer?

Of course, we do not expect the King to have all the answers, but the reigning monarch is expected to give a moral and ethical lead – an expectation very much cultivated by his mother, earning her the respect of citizens and world leaders of all sorts, over seven decades. Now Charles will be judged, fairly and unfairly, for the role he was born to inherit from his mother 74 years ago. I wonder what that means to each of us?

Whatever our political persuasion, we are all subjects to King Charles III. And as Christians we are subjects and subject to Jesus as our King. The very first statement of Christian identity was, “Jesus is Lord.” At the crucifixion, “King of the Jews” was fixed firmly to the Cross, by the Romans, but not as an affirmation. Rather, as an act of mockery and a warning for all the world to see. The idea of the Jews having a king must have seemed ridiculous to them. But even folly can be challenging. Jesus rules a Kingdom with no borders to defend, no soldiers to defend it, and no weapons for the soldiers to use. It is a kingdom that inverts our very understanding of power. But it’s no joke.

Jesus wears a Crown of Thorns with scars that are, as the Celtic Daily Prayer book says, ‘the only human-made things in heaven.’ His wounds have forever transformed all that brings chaos in our lives, into hope. Every time we witness a baptism, receive communion, or celebrate resurrection at a funeral, we remember his scars and the hope they bring. And today – every time we read or hear of Climate Change, or the war in Europe raging in Ukraine, or anything else that leads us to despair – we should remember the criminal on the Cross, who knew he had made a mess of his life and simply pleads in repentance and faith, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

During this Coronation Weekend, we are all reminded – that our labour’s for God’s Kingdom are not over and neither are they lost. Even the smallest pebble makes ripples in the largest pond, as Charles’s mother, Elizabeth, said in more than one public speech. And as Christians, we should never lose sight that there is One who has gone before us. The First and the Last. Who sits on the Throne of the Universe, wearing a Crown of Thorns. He is our hope, our new beginning, and not simply at Coronations. But every day that we choose to be subject to Him and to His Kingdom. Every day that we find the faith, the courage, and the humility to say to the Servant King, “Jesus, remember me…” Amen.

College Chaplain – Rev Derek Chandler

Coronation Day – Saturday 6th May 2023

Lazarus Unbound

Christ is Risen

I grew up with David Bowie.

What I mean is I grew up listening to the music of David Bowie being played by my older siblings. Some of Bowie’s lyrics permeate the English language. For example, ‘Major Tim’ coined by the media, is a reference to the British astronaut, Major Tim Peake. It refers to ‘Major Tom’ from the lyrics of Bowie’s classic song of 1969, ‘Space Oddity’. But perhaps Bowie’s most haunting song was his last, ‘Lazarus’. It is a reflection on death from a performance artist coming to terms with his own mortality.

Lazarus is a reference to the man who died and was brought back to life by Jesus in the Gospel of John 11:1-44. There are often many levels to stories. Today I read this story at the level where we are Lazarus. We are Lazarus when we hear the voice of the one who calls us from the ‘tomb’. This story is the story of our coming to life from death and not just as a future event.

We are to see ourselves in Lazarus, whose name, a shortened form of Eleazar, means “God helps.” He is from a town whose name, Bethany, means “House of Affliction.” So, God helps the one who suffers from affliction. For me, this story says we can be afflicted by death in many ways. We will die physically, but we can also die emotionally, relationally, socially, communally, economically, politically, or spiritually.

I am often reminded of Miss Havisham in Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations”, who sat in her ragged wedding dress – grave clothes if you like – amid the cobwebs, the mouldy wedding cake, and the darkness of her home. Miss Havisham died in a way on her wedding day, that never happened. She was ‘entombed’.

The ghostlike character of Miss Havisham warns us that we all have the potential to create tombs in this life. We can create them individually and collectively. But I am convinced that we are not created to dwell in tombs forever – in this life or the next. For Christians this is the message of Easter.

One of the most significant Christian responses that can be shared in this world with other human beings is our response to death. Acknowledging all the emotions involved and yet providing a message of something more. This is conveyed by Sister Helen Prejean in her true story ‘Dead Man Walking’ written in 1993, which subsequently became a film. The story explores many aspects of what it means to be human in the face of death.

Human beings have addressed this question over the millennia, from mummification to cryogenics, seeking to defy death. Cybernetics now poses the question of whether human consciousness can be transformed into digital data and hence become ‘immortal’? This is called ‘Transhumanism’. The ‘mind, body, spirit’ debate continues but I am not here to address that. The Biblical tradition does not point us toward immortality, which is a Greek philosophical concept. Instead, it speaks of life transformed before God, even after death.

When Jesus eventually arrives at the tomb of Lazarus he asks, “Where have you laid him?” The crowd reply, “Lord, come and see.” We flashback to chapter one of John’s gospel when the would-be disciples are seeking Jesus, asking, “Lord, where are you staying?” And he responds, “Come and see.” Life with God it seems is signified with invitations into the ‘new’.

At the entrance of the tomb Jesus cries, “Lazarus, come out!” The Greek verb ‘kraugazein’ occurs six times in John’s gospel. It is used four times for the shouts of the crowd to crucify Jesus. But Jesus’ shout brings life to Lazarus – and to us. A voice calls at the edge of our tombs. We are invited to respond – freed from our grave clothes, as Jesus says, “Unbind them and let them go.”

There are many forms of death. I know what it is like to be in the ‘tomb’, and maybe so do you. But a voice spoke to me and in time… I was unbound. For we are created not for dwelling in tombs, but for life in this world and beyond. Life shared with others and with God. Life Unbound – Come and See…..

Sermon for Easter Day 2023 by Rev Derek Chandler

100 Years Young!

Celebrating Liz’s 100th Birthday

Congratulations to Liz as she celebrated her 100th birthday with her family along with residents and staff at the College of St Barnabas.

Liz and the family thanked everyone for helping to make the day so special. Included within the celebrations was a morning eucharist presided over by her son, Jonathan – the former Bishop of Croydon. A special family lunch, which then continued into the afternoon with a cake cutting ceremony and presentation of flowers by the CEO on behalf of the College. Finally, Liz was also presented with a special birthday card from King Charles III.

Well Done Liz!

Good News Indeed!

Michael and Monty

Thank you to Michael, pictured with Monty, as the College receives from ‘Good News for Everyone’ (a.k.a:’Gideons’), a generous gift of 30 hardback copies of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, in Large Print, for our residents to use in our community worship.

Our Founder is Found!

Canon William Henry Cooper (circa 1890)

Canon William Henry Cooper founded the College of St Barnabas over 126 years ago. Until now we have not had a satisfactory image of him. But thanks to the tireless efforts of resident Rev Dr David Williams that has all changed.

Upon returning from a talk he was delivering at St Matthew’s Church in Croydon about Canon Cooper, David was greeted by an email with a photograph dating from approximately 1890 of the College founder courtesy of the Royal Geographic Society. Thank you David – we owe you a great debt of gratitude for bringing our founder home!

Rev Dr David Williams delivering a talk on Canon William Henry Cooper in St Matthew’s Church, Croydon

Soul Music

A Quiet Space Reflection – ‘Soul Music’

I am sure you have heard of the saying, “Singing is good for the soul.” Health experts agree and here are the most common reasons why:

It’s a mood-enhancer
Singing releases endorphins into your system and makes you feel energised and uplifted. Like laughing, singing brings oxygen into the body and helps us to find gratitude which, in turn, boosts our mood and makes us happy!

It improves your breathing
Singing gives the lungs a workout, it tones abdominal muscles and the diaphragm, and stimulates circulation. So, singing is a workout!

It’s a stress-reliever
Singing allows the flow of blood and oxygen which lessens anxiety. Following a rhythm, whether that’s singing or even just humming, builds positive wiring in our brains and helps us to relax.

Singing keeps you young!
Singing exercises, the vocal cords and keeps them youthful, even in later years. The less aged your voice sounds, the more you will feel, and seem, younger.

Singing builds confidence
Singing alone or in groups, builds confidence, and encourages you to step out of your comfort zone to embrace ‘the new’.

It is no wonder then, that much of the Good News of the Bible is expressed in song. Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-55, called the Magnificat) promises God upturning all that is unjust or wrong – putting the mighty in their place and establishing the lowly. Because of this, it has been banned in Christian worship in such countries as Argentina, Guatemala, and in the days of the British Empire when the British governed India. It was feared that the local inhabitants would take its message seriously. More recently, Bono, the lead singer of the world-famous rock band, ‘U2’, once said: “Music can change the world because it can change people.”

Questions for further Reflection:
If your life were a song, what song would it be, and why?
Has the song changed with the passing of time?
Is it changing now?

‘A Quiet Space’ is a short reflection time consisting of simple music with a reflection. For anyone of any faith, no faith, or somewhere in between. In a 10,080 minute week, why not use 20 minutes doing nothing together? For further enquiries please speak to the Chaplain – Rev Derek Chandler.

We Have the Power!

We Have the Power! (‘A Quiet Space’ Reflection)

Many of us have had to reconsider our energy usage in recent months. But it is estimated that over 3 billion people globally are living in places where their electricity usage is less than that of a single domestic refrigerator in one year.

Roughly 4 out of every 10 people on Earth live in an ‘unplugged’ world. The enormous gap in electricity usage matters because it is directly related to some of the world’s most vexing problems, including: Women’s Rights – Inequality – Climate Change.

Educate the mother and you educate the child. But mothers can’t get much education if they are constantly hauling water, fetching firewood, and washing clothes by hand. Every hour spent doing this is one missed in education.

Numerous studies have shown the positive effect electricity has on women and girls. A 2002 study in Bangladesh found that the literacy rate for females in villages with electricity was 31% higher than it was in villages that lacked electricity. It concluded electricity has a “…significant influence on education.” (Taken from an article by Robert Bryce of Forbes in 2020)

What does the phrase “We have the Power!”, mean in the light of the above? What can we change today?

“Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying: but let us live well and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times!” (St Augustine of Hippo: circa 354-430 CE)

Chaplain – Rev Derek Chandler 4.1.23

‘A Quiet Space’ is a short time to stop and just be together .Consisting of simple music with a reflection. For anyone of any faith, no faith, or somewhere in between. In a 10,080 minute week, why not join a 20 minute community? Doing nothing together, however briefly, may just be what is needed. For any further enquiries please speak to the Chaplain.

Christmas is about Vulnerability

Christmas is about vulnerability.
A miraculous yet scandalous birth.
A child’s crib only fit for animals.
A young family forced to become refugees.
Innocence massacred by despotic power.
God daring to come into the world in a new-born baby.


No matter how we understand the complexity of the mystery of the Incarnation, Christmas asserts that the very character of God is revealed in a naked, dependant, gurgling, grubby, smelly, vulnerable baby. In Jesus, God became vulnerable so that we would have the courage to be vulnerable and have compassion for the vulnerable among us. This is the timeless message of Christmas.


But for most of us, the idea of vulnerability is scary. We’ve been taught the opposite. You know the messages: don’t let them see your vulnerable side because you might get hurt. Don’t make yourself vulnerable because you might appear weak. Unfortunately, we learn it from our parents, our teachers, our playmates, and our colleagues. You name it – the message is clear. Being vulnerable is a risk.


For that reason, I believe we all struggle with being vulnerable, even here, today. It takes courage. The word “courage” comes from the Latin word ‘cor’, meaning, “heart.” To “encourage” means to put heart into someone. In Middle English, courage meant to speak the truth of one’s mind or one’s heart.

According to author and research professor Brené Brown, courage is, “all about putting our vulnerability on the line.”
Based on years of narrative research, Brown has concluded that,
“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known.”

Christmas is a risky business.
Dare we make ourselves be deeply seen and known?
In a World still filled with misplaced desires and aspirations,
distracting ‘White Noise’ and anxiety for the future;
it is a risk to be deeply seen and known.

But in Jesus, God appeared on earth as the most vulnerable creature imaginable so that we would take him into our hearts and be equally courageous and vulnerable, and then courageously care for the vulnerable among us, those with whom God is pleased to dwell. That is the Good News of Christmas and that is my prayer this Christmas Day. It is summed up in the word, “Emmanuel” which comes from two Hebrew words, `immanu – “with us,” and ‘el – “God”. A singular word that encapsulates the risk of God for us.

It is Christmas.
May we look carefully and see the face of God in those around us,
may we listen closely and hear the voice of God between us,
may we make ourselves vulnerable and feel the love of God
enter our risk-taking hearts this Christmas,
rekindling the compassion and courage to speak out
and care for the vulnerable ones,
with whom God is still pleased to dwell.
Just as God’s Son was pleased to dwell among us,
in a manger long ago. Vulnerably.
For that is what ‘Immanu – ‘el looks like.
It still does, for those prepared to take the risk and receive the gift.

Rev Derek Chandler

Saintliness is “The Beginning of a Great Work!”

Sermon delivered by Rev Derek Chandler to celebrate All Saints Day 2022 at St. James’s Church, Finchampstead:

In 1895 a missionary named Canon William Henry Cooper, returned to England. A pioneer in many ways, he was shocked to find his fellow clergy, retired through illness or advanced age, reduced to living in workhouses. He found 27 in Brighton alone – in conditions little better than prisons – where the words emblazoned on the workhouse walls said it all: GOD IS JUST.

Before the Welfare State or the NHS, Canon Cooper showed our institutions, including the Church of England – how to care for our former pastors, by founding the College of St Barnabas, for which I am now the Chaplain. In another time and place, we may well have had Cooper canonized as a saint.

I wonder what you picture when I mention the word, ‘Saint’?
In a church, we may well look at either statues, or stained-glass windows with images of saints. They are either flat and one dimensional, as in the windows, or cold as stone statues. They probably seem very removed from us and a common definition of saints might therefore be, “People who are not like us!”

However, this is not the picture in the New Testament. The word ‘saint’ comes from the Latin, ‘sanctus’, meaning ‘holy’. A saint shares in the divine life of God. But at the same time the New Testament tells us about the ‘poor saints in Jerusalem’, and in the Acts of the Apostles, we are told about Peter visiting the ‘saints in Lydda’, one of whom he cures from paralysis. The saints in the New Testament are people like us. On All Saints’ Day we are invited to perceive that we are the saints, or at least, we have the potential to be. The Beatitudes which are quoted today in a slightly different form by Luke’s Gospel than by Matthew’s, describe as ‘blessed’ the lives of those who struggle, and suffer, and know their weakness. These are not the lives of stained glass, or plaster saints, but the lives of real people learning to rely on God in their everyday successes and failures, and yet still working together for God’s Kingdom.

The Christian theologian, Paul Tillich, once said: “A saint is a saint, not because they are ‘impossibly good’ but because they are transparent for something that is more than they themselves are.” Allowing God to work in us, shine through us, transforming all into what might be. This is the beginning of Saintliness. Much like the moments George Herbert described four centuries earlier, in the second verse of the popular hymn, ‘Teach Me My God and King’:
“A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or, if he pleaseth, through it pass,
and then the heaven espy.”

So much of our lives can be spent just staring at the glass. For some, mesmerized by the importance of their own reflection. It can be a life changing moment when we perceive the enlightened world that lies beyond. A moment of ‘transparency’, Paul Tillich might call it. The beginning of Saintliness.

With that in mind, these are the words I hear Jesus speaking to the saints of God as we gather here today – and I dare to paraphrase: “Remember you are blessed, always and everywhere – but also wake up and remember, as a saint I have called you to a life that radiates my love in the world.”

Tears, laughter, income, and calories, do not draw the line between the Blessings and Woes mentioned in Luke’s Gospel (6:20-31) today. You and I draw that line. The difference between those who receive blessings and those who receive woes is not about what or how much you have. The difference is an openness to live for something beyond this world as it is now. Woes are promised to us who are comfortable, satisfied, and secure not because we are rich, but because we may become self-satisfied and complacent. This almost always attaches us to things as they are and then we do all we can to keep it that way. There is no openness and no receptivity to a new life or a new world. Woe to us convinced we have no need for change. Blessings are promised to us who are empty, weak, and grieving not because there is glory in poverty or misery, but because we are open, receptive, and looking for a new world. We look for something other than the values of this world to rule our lives, provide meaning, and dignity to each other. We may live in this world, but we look toward and work for, another world.

Has this not always been the case? Some of our greatest Christian pioneers had to campaign against their own Christian brothers and sisters who were quite comfortable with the world as it was – the Status Quo – with no need for change. Think of:
• William Wilberforce in relation to the Slave Trade?
• William Henry Cooper in relation to Clerical Poverty?
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer in relation to Nazi Germany?
They are the saints, whether canonized by the Christian Church or not.

Jesus is not describing in Luke’s Gospel a system of rewards and punishments. He is describing two ways of living and their consequences. It is a choice we make every day of our lives. Truthfully, we are not one or the other, a people of blessings or a people of woes. We are both. The saints we celebrate today faced the same choices we do. But they are set apart, ‘Holy’ and different from others because of who they allowed to rule their lives, who they lived for, and sometimes who they died for – Jesus Christ. This freed them in the face of poverty, hunger, mourning, exclusion and defamation, spiritual or material, to live expectantly for God.

Saints become ‘Transparent’ – and in that ‘Transparency’ we reveal something more than our individual net worth, or social status. We reveal God’s Light – as brilliant and as beautiful as any that shines through the saints in our stained-glass windows. We are not the Light – we never were and should not pretend to be. But we can add colour and shape to God’s Light if we allow it to shine through us. Or, to quote Canon William Henry Cooper when he founded the College of St Barnabas, we all have the potential to reveal, “The beginning of a Great Work!” Amen.

Remembering the Late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth

At the College of St Barnabas we mourn with the nation and the Commonwealth at the sad news of the death of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth. We felt it appropriate to share with you the message from the Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, Episcopal Visitor to the College:

“It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen who has been there for us all for longer than most of us have lived. Our beloved Queen will be remembered for her devotion to her peoples, to this nation and to the Commonwealth of Nations and there will be opportunities in the coming days and weeks for us all to express our heartfelt thanks for her life and example. Her Christian faith and witness has been an inspiration to us all. May she rest in Peace. We pray for His Majesty The King on his accession to the throne. Thanks be to God. God save the King.”

Merciful Father and Lord of all life, we praise you that we are made in your image and reflect your truth and light. We thank you for the life of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth, for the love she received from you and showed among us. Above all, we rejoice at your gracious promise to all your servants, living and departed, that we shall rise again at the coming of Christ. And we ask that in due time we may share with your servant Elizabeth that clearer vision promised to us in the same Christ our Lord; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.