Dear Friends,

 

What’s in a name?  Sometimes I wonder, when hearing the choices parents make. It may well be the name of someone featuring in the pages of ‘Hello’ or ‘OK’, the name of a singer or a star, a footballer (or even, heaven help us, an entire team), the name of a shop, or a place where the parents have spent a holiday. I heard recently (not locally, I hasten to add) of a baby girl named ‘Ellesse’; does she have a brother named ‘Nike’, I wonder? I don’t want to sound like a party-pooper (I’m not one, really!), but as someone who quite often has to conduct Baptism services – which I do with great joy – I do wonder sometimes what has happened to the idea of ‘Christian names’.

 

Perhaps I can’t talk. We carefully chose our daughter’s name – Felicity – because we loved the idea of a name that means ‘happiness’, and St. Felicity (a feisty, heroic saint of 3^rd century Carthage, killed for her faith by fierce, savage cows of some sort) seemed like a worthy role model. But she now won’t dream of using her proper name, preferring instead the nick-name ‘Effie’. And Henry, named after his worthy great-great grandfather, who as well as having an interest in winter sports, was also a pioneer of the ecumenical movement – well, Henry gets known as ‘Bumble’ at home.

 

But I still think it’s good to have a name that’s worth living up to, whether it’s that of a loved and respected member of the family, or a person one admires, or – as in past times – a saint who has provided a shining example of a life well lived or a heroic death. And of course, there are all the wonderful characters of the Bible, who have provided so many names which still prove popular – though how many parents who choose them, or children who bear them, know the stories behind the names? Recently I told a little boy called Daniel an exciting story about some lions; he hadn’t realised it was anything to do with him!

 

The 29^th October is designated as Bible Sunday – a day to celebrate that extraordinary book which has changed the lives of so many people, and has provided light in the darkest times of our world. And there are the stories behind some of the best names – Joshua, Daniel, Rachel, David, Rebecca, James, Thomas, Anna, Simon, Jacob (now more popularly known as ‘Jake’), Joel, Samuel, Zachary (Zak!), Martha ….. The list is endless – a good source book for ‘pregnant couples’ If your Bible is a little dusty because it’s so long since you picked it up, why not tread a few stories in it. It can be quite hard to put down. If you haven’t got a Bible, or you don’t know where to start, we’ll be having a bookstall in both churches on the 29^th.

 

The fact is that the story told by the Bible continues in our own time. It is the story of God’s involvement with human beings, through the lives of all sorts of people, and we are invited to become part of that story, to be characters in God’s plot for the world, as it gradually unfolds. Of course, it may well be that God in the 21^st century will want to be involved with someone by the name of a designer brand of trainers, because God is interested in all aspects of this world. But it might help us to have a role model in our name that we can look to for inspiration. So I gently suggest to parents that, even if their choice for a first name is a fashion item, perhaps they might add a second name which is a reminder of someone their child can look to for a good example.

 

I’m just waiting, in this parish of Wraxall with Failand, for a little boy to be named after the patron saint of the church at Failand, who had a particularly painful end…. But then, I guess Marge and Homer Simpson must have thought that Bartholomew was a good choice. Poor old Bart!

 

With love,

Rosey *

 

*I’m afraid that ‘Rosey’ is nowhere to be found in the Bible, though Rose-mary is connected with Mary; and I did choose ‘Juliana’ as a Confirmation name, after Julian of Norwich; so I hope I can be part of God’s plot, after all.