The blog begins - Feb 11th 2007

Dear friends,

Hi. My name is Wilfred and I am the official church mouse living in the boiler house in the crypt of All Saints' Church in Poplar. With the start of the church web site I now have the opportunity to tell you of what it's really like here. I see all the goings on, I hear all the gossip and yes, I even have to listen to the choir singing!

We had a good sermon from the boss today (that's Father Alan), in which he pointed out that he spent last week on retreat at some Saintly Compost heap in northern Spain which was covered with crosses and where it rained all the time. It was meant to make him more holy - has it worked? Has it 'eck. We also heard that Janice and John are now grandparents - well done to you both.

I'm looking forward to lent, especially that shrove tuesday party when there are sure to be lots of bits of food dropped for me and my friends. Quite a few people in the church can be a bit dirty at times, but I'm not complaining. These are my favourite people in the Church - the tea ladies. If you look hard enough you might just see me poking my nose out in the background. I'll see you all next week. Love, W.

I need to apologise - I have changed my mind. Perhaps that Saintly compost heap is working after all. The boss preached again this morning, and all us mouses agreed it was a powerful preach. We need to concentrate on the important mission of the Church - to go out and help the poor and needy, to heal the sick and demonstrate God's love to the world rather than argue over less important "churchy" things. And as my old Granny used to say - "charity begins at home", so what about people in need in our own community? Of course you have to be careful.

I was on the front door this morning when this old tramp came up. It took some time for him to convince us that he was in fact one of the clergy and was due to deacon today. It takes all sorts!

Talking of clergy, the other Father Tom had a nice smile on his face this morning. When I asked why, he said because yesterday was a good day for West Ham - they didn't play! And as for that young Father John - he revealed in Church today that Darth Vador is one of his role models - we must find out more.

So Lent is nearly on us. What are you going to give up? I think I'll give up cheese and tomatoes this year (actually I can't stand them), and all the money saved will go to those poor and needy that the boss was talking about. I hope we can raise even more money than last year - all of us mouses agree that it really is important for a live church to reach out to those in need. By the way - did you see the choir having their photo taken for the web site today? Quite a crowd now - soon there won't be space for them up in the choir stalls - perhaps they will have to work shifts.

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So at last Lent has begun, before you know where you are it will be Easter and then we will be thinking about Christmas! I see that the confirmation classes have also begun, and what a noisy and unruly bunch of youngsters they are. However I'm sure after a few weeks under the thumbs of the combined force of Father Alan and Father John they should muscle under. Perhaps Father John's Darth Vador training will come in handy.

Apart from it being a noisy Ash Wednesday it was marked by one of those special events which make life so worthwhile - the choir sang beautifully! Well done Brian - another unruly bunch who are now coming good. I was disappointed in the Pancake party - I arrived late and there were just two pancakes left, and a certain person (who shall remain nameless) devoured them both, not leaving a single crumb for us poor mice. I suppose he doesn't get fed very well at home, or perhaps all the hard work the choir are putting in lately has made him a bit weak. However now we enter lent and I shall have to give something up. I did overhear what Father Tom said he was giving up - that was watching West Ham - but Tom I thought you had to give up something you enjoy!

They sang one of my favourite hymns today all about Jesus - it starts off -

Jesus I worship you, Jesus I worship you

Jesus I worship you, Son of God.

You came from heaven above, to bring the Father's love

Jesus I worship you, Son of God.

This all fitted in with the boss's sermon on "Who Jesus was"- or is - by the time he had finished! He went on about how Jesus was here with us now. Well I could have told you that. He often comes down to my den in the boiler room and has a chat and some supper. But the amazing thing is that Jesus isn't just in the church - he goes everywhere with us - just as the boss pointed out. We don't need to waste time arguing over old bones, we have a living Jesus here right now. It's exciting isn't it! No doubt the confirmation classes are learning this as they go along - some of the sessions really seem to buzz.

By the way, just in case you were wondering, I'm not the only church mouse on the internet - there are millions of us in the VOOCHUMS (Venerable Order of Church Mouses). Just Google "Church Mouse" and read some of the exploits of my cousins - on Google there are over 2 million references - almost as many as there are churches in the world, we sure get around.

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At times I go on retreat to escape the noise and bustle of the big city. I have a lovely place in the country run by a cousin of mine. I was nibbling my way through the library the other day, and noticed that whilst there were numerous books on cats, lions, elephants and all sorts of wild life, there were no books on mouses, or our distant relatives the rats. Yet we are set to rule the world in the near future! We are the only animals  in God's creation destined to survive the global warming holocaust which is coming. As you know we survived the extinction of the Dinosaurs in a similar catastrophe, and from the humble mouse came all of the mammals - including you. Don't biologists say that we mouses have about 98% of the same genes as you do. I suppose that 2% does make a big difference, but just think as you burn up some more carbon you are hastening the day of the mouses .(By the way as a footnote - " mice is not nice" was another saying of my old granny - mice is a word which must have been invented by cats as it is designed to insult us mouses. But I guess we will have the last laugh.)

 If you don't believe me, go and read your Bible. In Revelation chapter 16 it describes the seven bowls of God's wrath which brings about  the end of the earth. It is almost word for word the same as the recent predictions of climate scientists - the intense heat, burning up and polluting  the water supply, rising sea levels, plagues and diseases, earthquakes, storms and final annihilation at Armageddon. All this was foretold 2000 years ago and seems to be coming true, if not in my lifetime, then in the time of my grandmouses. We need to be prepared, and get ready for the real end of the world! How are we to do that? Well, just watch this space - because "the foolishness  of mouses is greater than the wisdom of men" as my old granny used to say.

Talking about cats and the end of the world reminds me of the last lines of that great poem the Four Quartets by TS Eliot. Although he was a confirmed cat lover,  he did write some good stuff - that is apart from rubbish such as - "Macavity's a Mystery Cat". Really how low can you go? On the other hand:

Remember -

"We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Through the unknown, the remembered gate

When the last of earth left to discover

Is that which was the beginning;

At the source of the longest river

The voice of the hidden waterfall

And the children in the apple-tree

Not known, because not looked for

But heard, half-heard, in the stillness

Between two waves of the sea.

Quick now, here, now, always -

A condition of complete simplicity

(Costing not less than everything)

And all shall be well and

All manner of things shall be well

When the tongues of flame are in-folded

Into the crowned knot of fire

And the fire and the rose are one."

Not long to go now before my favourite season in the Church's year. It all starts with the Donkey on Palm Sunday - did you ever see such a performance. It really makes it worthwhile going out and seeing what mischief he can get up to. Then we have so many services in Holy Week - all the details are elsewhere, so there's no excuse for missing anything. What with the children painting in the crypt, and dozens of services upstairs we expect to see just about everyone in the Church at sometime during the week.

But my really really favourite service is the Easter Vigil. Getting up before dawn, shivering and chattering in front of the brazier outside the front porch, then going into the dark church only lit by candles. The readings and prayers, then as dawn breaks the party poppers and bells because "Jesus is risen from the dead". That moment must be the highlight of the whole year for me. Followed a close second by the champagne, bacon and egg breakfast straight after the service. I find it hard to understand why there aren't thousands at that service - all us mouses will be on parade, so perhaps this year we can see the church full on Easter morning.

"So Wifred" I was asked this week - "how can the wisdom of mouses save the world"

"Well" I replied "I'm not saying that we can change the end of the world if that's God's plan. But we do understand how to make a difference. As my old granny used to say "How does a mouse eat an elephant?" To which she quickly replied with a chuckle -"By everyone getting together, and eating one mouthful at a time"

The moral (for those with thick ears) is that we can all do a little bit towards eating the elephant. We have to be united and understand what the common goal is - then each one can do their small bit, and the task will be completed. So turn off that light, turn down that heating, turn off electrical appliances at the wall. Every little helps. I bet the boss is loving this, as any time soon he will be turning off the heating in the Church, and then going off on holiday as we all freeze during the inevitable cold snap which follows.

So that's it - another Easter come and gone. The services were fantastic this year culminating in the dawn shout that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. This moment is at the heart of the good news we have and is a fitting climax to several weeks of hard work. A special thanks from us mouses to all those who worked so hard over the last few days to clean the Church, arrange the flowers, build the Easter garden and finally to cook our breakfast this morning. And what about the choir? I have to say that in all my years I haven't heard a choir who after a lot of hard work sang so beautifully. They really lifted our Easter services. A big thank you to the lofty ones! So now we move on to the second edition of this year's blog. To continue the saga please go to the next page.

Just before you go, a special thank you to Father Alan who is off tonight to sunny Thailand. He needs a rest! As expected he turned off the Church heating today, making some excuse about the extra £2000 we have had to pay for heating this year compared to last. Fortunately it is now part of the curate's training to learn how to turn the heating back on - so we can all relax, enjoy the sunshine and look forward to Pentecost and a long hot summer.