ST ANDREW’S CHURCH – DECEMBER 2021Sorry I missed the past two newsletter deadlines. At least one person missed my contribution and I thank her for her voicemail to check on my wellbeing! By explanation rather than excuse, having stood for re-election in the work role I’ve occupied for the past 15 months, I’ve just received news that I have been ‘returned’ for the next three years! One church person had presumed I was on a nice cosy run up to retirement. In fact I could’ve retired 14 months ago and am now probably working harder than ever, but it’s so rewarding and makes good use of my experience and 31 years in policing. And so I have to work church around my day job and juggle the expectations of my voluntary role(s). It’s a semi-apology for those who might be tempted to tut when church things don’t happen quite as they used to or as responsively. I do my best with the great support of the small church team around me, and there’s always room for volunteers, regardless of whether you come to church. As an example, I’m so grateful to hear from the helper who manages our Gift Aid scheme which has just seen a return of £2157 to St Andrew’s for the 2020 tax year from people’s donations given under this scheme which enhances the value of donations by 20%. I am equally grateful to the village friends who have offered to run a Christmas Market in December. I am also grateful to those who are helping me ensure that we have a Christmas Carol Service in church whilst remaining as Covid responsible as possible, leaving me to concentrate on the music. Every such little truly helps.So, down to business. I write this on Stir-Up Sunday – the last Sunday of the church’s year – when traditionally people start their Christmas puddings and turn our minds to Advent and Christmas. I get the impression that after last Lockdown Christmas and a challenging two years, people want to be stirred up and for Christmas to be more meaningful this year and so I am delighted to be able to let you know here what will be going on in St Andrew’s this Christmas - and plenty to tell you about. I hope you like the recipe!We start December with what’s billed as a Church Christmas Extravaganza and I’m delighted that this fundraising Christmas Market will be between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 4 December in church. We’ve licensed the church for refreshments including mulled wine and have ten good local artisan trade stalls to assist with Christmas present shopping. All are welcome – please come and support us. Put the dog on the lead, take a walk over to church, or put the kids and Gran in the car and have an hour with us having a mooch and a cuppa, or something stronger.Then the Village School has its Carol Service on 14th December and we are delighted to turn the church over to the school community as the great community asset it is.Later, as the big day approaches, on 21 December we will host two sittings of what we think will be ‘in-demand’ Community Carol Services – at 4pm and at 7.30pm. Both services will feature all your favourite readings and Carols, older and newer, accompanied by brass, organ and percussion, with guest pieces by Harlestone’s own Jude Wilton. Between services, the church will be aired and sanitised. After both services, the congregation will be welcomed at the Golf Club for traditional refreshments and where the bar will be open. Admission to both Carol services will be by free tickets available in advance on the Eventbrite website. To get your tickets, please go the Eventbrite website and book there. The link is www.eventbrite.com/e/christmas-carol-service-tickets-206150741417Doing Carol Services this way will allow maximum welcome and attendance whilst being Covid safe. Do book early to avoid disappointment and to help us plan.Then on Christmas Eve, St Andrew’s will offer the less formal but traditional Christingle Service aimed at children led by Revd Andrea, starting at 3pm. All welcome. Later on, our nearest Midnight ‘Mass’ on Christmas Eve will be at St Botolph’s, Church Brampton at 11.30pm and the Benefice Christmas Day Service will be at St Mary’s East Haddon at 10amAs I close for now, with lots to prepare and plan, let us all spare a thought and thanks for those who will have worked across the Benefice in the arrangements for ten or more special services as they collapse in their sofas on Christmas Day afternoon. Thanks to Andrea, Kathryn and Virginia and all who will help us keep Christ in Christmas and to all who will help bring the light into what seems like a subdued darkened world. Wishing the earliest but sincerest Happy Christmas to all.
ST ANDREWS – APRIL 2021Our beautiful church, serving the ecclesiastical parish of Upper & Lower Harlestone, Harlestone Manor and Loxton’s Field, is dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle – one of the Jesus’ twelve initial followers. Writing of him, Pope Benedict XVI tells us that the first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name: it is not Hebrew, as might have been expected, but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored. He certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities. The kinship between Peter and Andrew, as well as the joint call that Jesus addressed to them, are explicitly mentioned in the Gospels. We read: "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”William Temple was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 until his death in 1944. He was the only AoC who was himself the son of another AoC, Frederic Temple. A renowned preacher and teacher William Temple was considered a brilliant communicator of the Christian Gospel. His work and writings as AoC is credited with helping lay the foundations for the modern welfare state. One of his most significant statements was the famous challenge to Christians that ‘the Church is the only organisation that does not exist for itself, but for those who live outside of it."As we enter a new post-lockdown era, our work as church and parish has never been more important. Whether it be cultural openness, or that great commission to follow Jesus and make us fishers of men (and women) or whether it the words of William Temple for our church to exist for people outside of it, our church team has all the challenges of keeping our church building open and fit to hand on to the next generation, after it has been effectively closed, covered up and gathering dust, for the past 14 months. That is why the work of Bobbie Austin and her family, Liz Ashton-Davies, my co-Churchwarden, and the ‘church ladies’, in recent weeks, has been, and will be, one of the crowning moments in an excruciating lockdown. The church is now open again: not in the conventional sense, with services on Sundays. But open. Installation of broadband now means we can leave the building open in the daytime, in the safe hands of discreet CCTV and security monitoring. The on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am for 3hrs or so, you will see a perspex screen in the front porch, from which teas, coffees and homemade cakes are being served as a takeaway service. The combined effect of these simple developments are that the steady stream of walkers and visitors can now take a detour on their walk. The gates and doors will be open, and on some days, refreshments can be offered. Whilst the income is considerable, sustaining, and welcome, what is key is that we – people and building – offer a welcome to those that are outside – outside of the building and outside of the church. We offer openness to people of all cultures and walks of life, spreading our nets wide, not necessarily to convert all those who pass by to become Christians, but by at least showing that our church is their church.St Andrew’s Church has stood proud in the centre of the community as the community revolves around it, for the last seven hundred years, almost to the year. As I reminded one visitor last Sunday – this Church of England church belongs to all, regardless of faith, belief or commitment, whether they live here, or are just walking past. I could not be prouder of those who work hard on a voluntary basis, to sustain it. It reminds me that our team is a small team and there is often a presumption that you need to be a bible-clutching, hymn-singing committed Christian to be on the team. Nothing could be further from the truth (though I can recommend the singing and prayer). Even if you don’t come to church, nor intend to, could you help us by contributing to help ensure it remains a place of welfare and refuge in the heart of our wider parish? We would really welcome offers of help in:· Joining the rota to serve teas, coffees and cakes· Joining a rota to share out locking and unlocking the church – maybe as a part of your established walk?· Delivering newsletters like this – especially as we extend out outreach to the communities at Harlestone Manor and Loxton’s Field· Working with the ministry team to create a support network for those who need it (and maybe visiting, when the roadmap allows.)· Helping with the cleaning of the church or gardening/maintenance in the churchyardAs I finish this contribution to the new iteration of our newsletter, I thank Richard and Emily Gent for taking on this gargantuan task from the stalwart effort, over many years, of Derek Bland. And I thank all those, who do their smaller and larger different parts, in keeping our church open today, in all senses of the word, and open for the next seven hundred years.Sam Dobbs
After months of non-use of our church buildings, it has been heartening to feel a frisson of movement back to some activity and for me, some of the highlights have not been Sunday worship, of which more later, but the weddings which have returned to the church calendars. As a churchwarden and musician, it has been good to see these return, but equally enriching to see how things have evolved. Having ‘done’ four weddings in as many weeks, these have ranged from churches packed out with guests to the simplest of ceremonies on a shoestring budget and with family only, the church decorated by the bride’s mum from the garden.Lockdown has truly showed us that small can be beautiful and less can be more. On one Saturday I played to a congregation of 180 which sang louder and more lustily than any I’ve ever experienced – ‘Let all the world in every corner sing’ and ‘Guide me O thou great Redeemer.’ The volume was later explained by the groom’s Dad. Not everyone knew the hymns but had been sent YouTube links (a la Lockdown) and instructed to learn them and sing them! It charged my spiritual batteries to play to such vocal support and after loads of waiting for this wedding, the church was simply electric in atmosphere with a clearly loving couple delighted to be tying the knot. The choir was equally delighted to be back in the stalls. Just days later, I was with the family of the next wedding, getting Harlestone church ready. The groom came and helped prepare the church for the 14 guests. No hymns at this ceremony, but carefully selected tracks played over the loudspeaker. Ed Sheeran’s ‘Tenerife Sea’ really did work as the bride came in. Then Psalm 23, sung by Jude Wilton, our popular village soloist, to Howard Goodall’s theme tune to Vicar of Dibley. With ‘Somewhere that’s Green’ – a love song from a famous musical to follow the blessing - and Panis Angelicus at the Registers, all accompanied on the piano, this was really a contrast to the Saturday before. And then there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the newly married couple left the church to Mike Scott’s ‘How long will I love you?’, made famous more recently by Ellie Goulding’s hit. Check the words out, and I defy you not to be moved by the words which work for lovers as well as Christians in their relationship with God.How long will I love you?As long as stars are above you, and longer if I canHow long will I need you?As long as the seasons need to follow their planHow long will I be with you?As long as the sea is bound to wash upon the sandHow long will I want you?As long as you want me to and longer by farHow long will I hold you?As long as your father told you: as long as you canHow long will I give to you?As long as I live through you, however long you sayHow long will I love you?As long as stars are above you and longer if I mayHow long will I love you?As long as stars are above youBoth ceremonies were diametrically opposed in content. Both were equally charged with love, emotion, meainingand positive energy. Both showed how lockdown has changed our horizons – my horizons – on what we can offer wedding couples and show that our churches can, and are, moving with the times. Both weddings also brought about legacies with both families asking how they could contribute to the life of the church – not by necessarily by plonking money in the plate – but exciting talk of how they could assist with churchyard maintenance, gardening, cleaning, assisting with teas, organising fundraisers etc. I hope this enthuses you as reader, as much as it has me. It will take time to adapt to a post-covid era, but the future could be bright.At the same time, the team of ladies has staunchly continued with the Sunday Afternoon Teas, which have been boosting the church funds, not without considerable effort and energy of Bobbie Austin and her teams. These will continue until the end of September and the ladies need a boost. Could you support by providing a cake or a helping hand?Also at the same time, we are looking at our service schedule. The Rector has rightly insisted that we need a schedule that is sustainable for one priest, and we are committed to at least one service per month led by a priest. But she has also said that if individuals from the laity (non-priests) are prepared to be taught on leading simple acts of worship, then these will be permitted, and we intend to have such a said service in our church on every Sunday moving forward into the Autumn.Whilst this activity is going on, there is much to challenge us and ensure that we keep our eyes on other horizons. The unfolding disaster in Afghanistan gives us much to be angry about, to challenge the way we view the world, and to ask ourselves how we might (yes, even we in Harlestone) contribute to any efforts to welcome refugees as better-late-than-never plans to offer refuge are made. We need to watch this space.There is also activity at General Synod level with much talk of the role of the parish in the Church of England. Google GS2222 to keep up to date and don’t under-estimate the controversy of this as it revises what mission is and might be. It has been seen as potentially undermining to the concept of parishes at the expansion of more strategic hierarchy in the church. My fear is it will be lost in the maelstrom of other news. The Archbishop of York has been quoted and misquoted recently, and it’s certainly worth an internet safari on his words and thoughts. In his Presidential address to Synod, he said ‘As we emerge from Covid, I believe we will find a simpler, humbler and bolder way of being church. Harder decisions lay ahead. But I am spurred on by the call of the Gospel and hugely encouraged by some of the research that is emerging showing the impact of the ministry of the Church of England during the pandemic. A recent report (‘Covid 19 and Communities’) affirms the key importance of church buildings and the Christian ministry which flows from them as sources, not just for solace and sanctuary, not just worship, but a whole host of other community uses.’In the light of my description of the weddings, previous reports of what we’ve been doing in church, and the Archbishop’s comments, perhaps you can see why I have some hope for our parishes and churches, and for St Andrew’s as, like Noah and family, blinking in the sunlight as they emerged from the floods, we take a look at ourselves and the role of church and our church buildings, and how to sustain them. The immediate challenge at St Andrew’s is the integrity of the East window, which has gaps which show in light where we shouldn’t see light, and certainly will let in the rain. Our architect is providing a plan for us. The problem with our bells has been examined by Taylors of Loughborough, and the PCC has applied to the Archdeacon for permission to repair these after the wedding season and before the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 from funds in the bank.As I conclude what I trust is a positive and hope-inducing report from this parish, I share with you part of the aftermath of the most recent wedding at St Andrew’s. The whole family turned up the next afternoon to help clear and clean the church and to make it ready for afternoon teas again. The wedding flowers were recycled into table centres and altar flowers. The Henry vacuum cleaner was pulled around the porch and entrance as the 4 year olds ensured all the confetti was sucked up, piece by piece. The secondhand books, jigsaws and cards display was restored in a hive of activity which was loud and fun. But then the real fun started for the four village kids ranging between 4 and 11. ‘Can we find all the 6 CCTV cameras?’, ‘Can we climb these stairs (into the pulpit?)’, ‘Let’s have a look in the safe.’, ‘What’s beneath the sanctuary floor trapdoor?’ (followed by a hesitant wide-eyed phone-torchlit expedition under the church.) A couple had by this time wandered into church – churchwardens from an urban parish in Notts, attracted by the commotion of kids, dogs, hoovers and clattering. Their curiosity meant that they, too, ended up down the crypt (amidst plotting as to whether we would close the trap door behind them.) I found the church has so many hiding places for kids’ hide and seek. We found juice to refresh the children after the dashing about. But the crowning moment was when, with Dad in front and churchwarden coming up the rear, we led the wide-eyed children up to the minstrel gallery into the first floor bell rope room, and let them see (and hear) the mighty bells in the tower. Spiders, cobwebs, dust, bats, spanners and ropes made it a special treat for the kids. But it was a treat for me too. During this wedding, I had sent pics to Liz, our PCC Secretary and she had commented how beautiful our church is. Seeing it through the eyes of the children reminded me of an extra special beauty and how we should be proud of this ancient building and be more childlike in our own appreciation of it. The children have told their Dad that they would like to come back to church to meet me, and I have had to tell them that I don’t actually live there – not least because I don’t like cobwebs.But all this keeps me thinking how we can ensure that our church treasures are shared, seen and used to their full glory. Of course, in Sunday worship and in sustenance of the faithful, but equally important, by those who have yet to discover what it is we’re all aboutas a building and as a body of people. That’s our challenge.Footnote – no children were harmed during the activities described above! The state of our clothing may be a different matter.Sam DobbsChurchwarden
