Thoughts from The Vicarage with a flag, a poem and an eco Bank Holiday
Greetings at the beginning of what appears to be a very full two weeks with Bank Holidays, visitors from St Mary’s Iffley, eco- weekends and of course the Coronation.
Please find attached Pews News and a reminder that this Sunday sees a Benefice sung Eucharist service in All Saints East Garston at 10.30 – all welcome as we worship God with coffee and chat following the service. All, and I mean all are welcome.
All Saints and St Michael’s church are welcoming the Friends of St Mary’s Iffley on Saturday 2.45 and 3.30 respectively. They are going to be enjoying a guided tour of each church and enjoying the hospitality of not only The Queens but also of St Michael’s as they take tea!
In other news the St Michael & All Angels flagpole broke in the high winds just after Easter – it was most fortunate that no one was injured or the tower damaged. However, after many years of service, and with much history attached, it will no longer be in service and will have to be dismantled and removed from the tower by professionals. As you can imagine this is no small task and when the work is confirmed I will let you know so we may witness another ‘episode’ of Lambourn history. The demise of the pole does mean that we will be without a flag to mark the coronation which is notable in itself as thanks to our flagman, Andrew Snowdon events are always suitably marked.
A Green Valley Bank Holiday lies ahead of us with many and varied activities taking place. Please see the attached poster and links within it, or the church notice boards for full information on an amazing collection of activities all reflecting care for our environment. In danger of being invidious the 3 Valley churches are all featured;
Friday
St James the Greater Eastbury will be welcoming visitors (with a reusable cup) from 10.30 – 1.30 with a ‘Nature Count, Coffee & Cake’.
St Michael’s in Lambourn is hosting a ‘Count on Nature Exhibition’ from 2.30-3.30 look out for the gazebo !
All Saints East Garston 6pm are welcoming visitors to a showing of Bishop Steven’s excellent presentation ‘If we sleepwalk through the next decade the Damage will be irreversible’ followed by Deanery Environmental Lead Deborah Phillips “Sustainability and How to Achieve It”
Monday 1st May 5pm St. Michael’s will host a “Celebration of Green Initiatives in the Lambourn Valley” introduced by myself with Dr. Pat Watson’s talk “Reducing our Carbon Footprint in the Lambourn Valley” plus a recording of Sir David Attenborough’s reasons why…
To wash it all down there will be local, seasonal nibbles and beverages!
Finally, and here, I am ‘preaching’ as much to myself as others …
In amongst all of our busy-ness, our full diaries and our ‘doing’ let us remember to gently ‘be’ … as the poet Edwina Gately reminds us in her timely poem ‘Small Deeps’ from her collection “There Was No Path – So I Trod One”.
Small Deeps by Edwina Gateley
We are too complicated.
We seek God here, there and everywhere.
We seek God in holy places, in books,
in rules, regulations, rites and rituals.
We seek God in pomp and glory and ceremony,
in relics and statues
and visions and shrines.
We seek God in Popes and Fathers and saints.
Ah, like lost bewildered children,
we seek outside the God
who waits to be found
in the small deeps
of the human heart.
God bless
Julie
Stop press link https://pennypost.org.uk/2023/02/little-green-weekend-in-the-lambourn-valley/ for green weekend activities!