Originally written for publication in St Michael’s parish magazine, and reproduced here with kind permission of Trevor James.
January Letter by Trevor James
Between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve 2012 I received an urgent phone call from the Master-Elect of Lichfield’s Worshipful Company of Smiths asking me to act as Chaplain at their annual service in St Mary’s Guild Church as an ‘emergency’ measure because the previous chaplain, Revd David Beedon, was leaving. The Master-Elect was Derrick Duval whom I knew through Rotary International but also, more importantly, because of my links with his steeplechaser son, Spencer, through athletics.
That ‘temporary’ assignment has now stretched to fourteen years and, like the Revd Dereck Smith before me, eventually I was also elected as a Smith in respect of my service to the Company.
The ‘temporary’ has become a sustained commitment because, after my first sermon, they were surprised by the degree to which I preached about the value of making things and the creative arts, in the context that they were God-given skills and that what the various Smiths undertook was part of the wider existence of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Sometimes I have been advised in the selection of readings from the Old Testament by Canon Geoffrey Willett who is a long-standing historical friend and theologian.
The annual Service, with one exception in the Guildhall because of refurbishment, is still held in the ancient St Mary’s Guild Church. Part of the agreement between the St Mary’s Hub and the Staffordshire Library Service is that each year the library equipment will be moved from the former chancel of St Mary’s to enable the Service to take place in its ancient setting.
What do the Worshipful Company of Smiths, Goldsmiths, Cardmakers and Ironmongers, Pewterers and Braziers, Plumbers, Cutlers, Nailors and Spuriers actually do?
They do represent tradition in this ancient city and do so in a very public way. The men and women who become Smiths, on election become freemen of Lichfield, which is a way of honouring local service and commitment. Alongside the Annual Procession and Service, which is followed by the Annual Court Meeting and Feast on the following Tuesday, there is an annual visit to a local activity concerned with manufacturing or creativity, and an annual lecture, where the content has varied from the famous whistle maker from the Jewellery Quarter to a local distiller.
Most important of all, the Smiths, using a very generous bequest, supplemented from its subscription income, give generous support to local apprentices in the form of grants for the purchase of vital equipment to enable them fully to gain value as an apprentice aiming for a skilled career. This last year, very much at the last minute, at the Annual Service there was also a decision to have a collection, which was devoted to supporting work with apprentices in Africa, through the Tools for Self-Reliance charity and this generated a very generous response. They have already decided to support this charity and its overseas apprentices again this year at the Annual Service in St Mary’s on 1 March at 11.00am.
Why am I telling you about this? Why is someone, whom you know to be deeply cynical about all sorts of issues, supporting this traditional activity?
The reason is that it is like the wider existence of the Church of England where, as part of our faith, we value the tradition that we have inherited. For hundreds of years working people have sought God’s blessing on what they have been doing day-by-day at work. They wanted assurance that their skills were not just God-given but also that they were blessed in what they did. This is as true now as it was for medieval guild members. It is an instinctive, religious and spiritual devotion. In supporting this process, we are responding to that wish and hope but, at the same time, my role as their prayerful chaplain is helping the wider Christian message to reach out into a wider community, reminding them that the message of love confirmed to us in Jesus is available to everyone.
Trevor James