For some people summer is a time of exploring new places, but for some people the end of summer brings with it the prospect of exploring new places too. That's because the BBC have announced that the next series of Doctor Who will be broadcast starting on Sunday 7th October and it will be full of new things: new Doctor, new costumes, new sonic screwdriver, new version of theme tune, new logo, new companions, new adventures, new monsters. However, one thing that has been relatively constant throughout the show's history is the TARDIS - the Doctor's spaceship / time machine in its familiar form of a police box. However, even the TARDIS has minor changes on the outside, and recently the interior changes with each new regeneration of the Doctor.
I'm not a huge fan of Doctor Who but I have watched the past couple of series with my son in case he got scared, and I'm intrigued to see what a female Doctor is like. However, what brought Doctor Who to mind was a strange Whovian moment I had a month or so ago. I was alone in St Mary's pottering about and thinking about the repair work that's soon going to start on the tower. I stood under the tower arch and put my hands on both pillars. As I did so I felt the age of the tower, and all the history it has seen and was aware of my brief place in its life and my responsibility for looking after it and passing it on to future generations. I was reminded of the list of previous Rectors of Broughton who, like the Doctors, have come and gone whilst the tower, like the TARDIS, remains virtually the same.
Like the TARDIS, the tower is loved by many people but it similarly is not just an object of beauty and affection. The TARDIS serves a purpose of assisting the Doctor and his companions in their adventures, and the tower, along with the rest of the church building, is simply a vehicle for the mission of the Christian Church. The mission of the Church was given to us by Jesus just before he ascended back to heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). The Church is to make people followers of Jesus by proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through his death and resurrection (symbolised in baptism) and encouraging them, along with the rest of the Church, to live in accordance with his teaching.
The church building therefore becomes the place where people who feel weighed down by the guilt of their imperfections can come to find forgiveness and strength in Jesus; where those who are lost and despairing can find courage and consolation; where those who want a better world can find the kingdom of God growing on earth. Billie Piper's character in “The Day of the Doctor” says “You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning? That sound brings hope wherever it goes...To anyone who hears it, Doctor. Anyone. However lost. Even you.” The sight of a church building should bring even greater hope. To anyone. However lost. Even you.
