Sarah Musgrave, who kindly hosted Bishop Data and his family when they visited the diocese in August, has written about her reflections as they shared deeply through the week.
Bishop Data, Mama Agnes and baby Esther were a delightful family, and we loved having them to stay. Bishop Data was humble, and thoughtful, and actively wanted to learn about Marlborough Deanery, the local church, and how we share the Gospel. Meanwhile, we, too, wanted to learn about their experiences of sharing the Gospel and life itself, from his perspective.
At one level, the days were full of seeing and doing new things. He and his family were invited to a local farm to see how harvesting is done, to an Art Gallery, for a walk in Savernake Forest, to visit our local Golf Club with a lesson thrown in, and to visit Avebury. We shared cookery tips, visited churches, and had a guided tour around St John the Baptist, Mildenhall. Bishop Data also met the local undertaker to plan a burial, chatted to flower arrangers, received a coffin with me the night before a funeral, and attended the funeral service
On another level, he met clergy and parishioners from Marlborough Deanery - for lunch, tea and drinks - and shared a carefully prepared and insightful understanding of Christianity in South Sudan and his hope that we might link the Diocese of Morobo with Marlborough Deanery.
These were all great opportunities for shared learning, but the times I valued most were when we sat in the garden and shared our hopes and concerns, losses, and moments of joy, challenges, and potential ways forward. At Bishop Data’s request we made videos of some of these discussions, but others were left private, needing more thought and exploration.
What did +Data, Agnes and baby Esther learn? Amongst so much, +Data talked of seeing how we value our land, how it’s kept so tidy and cared for, by farmers. He experienced people interested in him and his story, and wanting to know more, with the hope of a shared future. Agnes commented on men and women sharing roles and tasks, she learned to make cakes, tried many new tastes, and loved the abundance of apples in the garden. Baby Esther learned to crawl, and tasted her first ice lolly, with much joy.
What did Chris, my husband, and I learn? We learned to appreciate small things, and be grateful. We learned that you don’t need a cot, highchair, buggy or baby bath – all these things remained unused. We learned that owning our own Bibles is so fortunate, when even the priests in the Diocese of Morobo don’t each have their own, and people walk for miles to hear the Bible being read aloud. We were reminded about the value of life itself, when so many children die of malaria, and family and friends were lost in the war.
The image I am left with, is of Agnes helping me to wash up. She lives in a refugee camp, away from Bishop Data for months at a time. The wells have been destroyed and water is taken from a river – meaning people are often ill. I showed her the dishwasher, but she found this odd. Instead, she filled a small blue bowl, one I’d had ready for Baby Esther - and she washed the plates, saucepans and everything using one small bowl of water. When I suggested that she could fill a washing bowl, she reminded me of the blessing of clean water and how precious water is – so we mustn’t waste it. How true.
As a family they had much to teach us. Most of all they are grateful. Grateful for our prayers, for second hand shoes, for life itself. Bishop Data’s life is lived following Jesus, and he and the other priests, give all of themselves.
Suddenly, the Beatitudes (Matthe 5:1-12) make absolute sense..
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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ...
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Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ...
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Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ...
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled…and so on
What are our shared hopes?
Bishop Data asked us to pray for him but also wondered whether we might form a link with his Diocese of Morobo. God sometimes speaks in a quiet but powerful whisper. Whispering through the words of others, the actions of others and through the pounding of our own heart, when we know what we need to do. I truly hope that we can allow ourselves to hear Jesus speaking through the quiet urgency of Bishop Data.
On 27 September ‘22, we’re having a Deanery Synod. I hope and pray that this will be the beginning of a Christian link that spans continents and shares wisdom, needs, and prayer.