The Welcome Service for The Revd Antony Forrest to the Parishes of Langrish, East Meon, West Meon and Warnford was held in All Saints’ Church, East Meon on the evening of Wednesday, 21 st of February. The service was taken by The Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost, Bishop of Portsmouth. Tony was well supported by many clergy from the Diocese as well as family and friends, representatives from his previous Benefice and, of course, many members of the congregation of our own Parishes. The congregation amounted to approx. 220 people so the church was packed to bursting. There were gorgeous flower decorations arranged by residents of East Meon and glorious singing was provided by East Meon and Langrish Choir, ably assistant by the choir from Tony’s previous Meon Bridge Parish.A reception was held in East Meon Village hall after the service, where members from across the Benefice had produced wonderful food and the East Meon Barmen and catering volunteers did an excellent job. A BIG thank you to all our volunteers who helped in the church, with flowers, the bell ringers, on parking duty and many other tasks and important roles which accumulated in a really special evening. This was all done in very testing weather conditions. It was a great celebration at the start of Tony’s time with us, and we look forward to the days and years ahead of having Tony as our priest.
St Johns church in Langrish has served the local community for over 150 years. On 28 January we continued to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of the church. The church was founded by George Waddington, predecessor to the current Talbot-Ponsonby family living in Langrish House. Sadly George died before the church was completed so his brother John finalised the build. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester Samuel Wilberforce in 1871. He was the fifth son of William Wilberforce who led the campaign to abolish slavery in 1807. The Diocese of Winchester was spread widely at that time and included parts of Surrey so the Bishop was a busy travelling man. The service was led by the newly arrived priest in charge Reverend Tony Forrest and also retired Canon Reverend Terry Louden. In addition the family of Nigel and Robina Talbot-Ponsonby attended, along with Reverend Andrew Talbot-Ponsonby and his wife Jill, also a priest. It was Nigel Talbot-Ponsonby who took the first reading. The service was attended by congregations from the Upper Meon Benefice which includes East Meon, West Meon and Warnford along with Langrish and also the East Meon choir. After the service refreshments were served. Whilst the future of Langrish church is in the Portsmouth Diocesan hands, the church will continue to hold services for as long as is possible. The churchyard is a separate entity and will remain open for all the community.
There’s always a lovely rosy glow about the Scratch Nativity in St Johns church, mainly because of the lovely effect cast by the heaters above, but on this occasion it was also driven by the thought that this might be the last time St Johns hosts the event. Nothing is yet certain as we do have a Priest in Charge , theRev Tony Forrest. However nothing dampened the spirit of the nativity which should have been taken, as tradition has it, by Rev Terry Louden. It was shattering to hear that he had a road accident on his way to the church on Christmas Eve, thankfully he has recovered though was shaken at the time. Joy Sang did a masterful job at handling the children and the script in his absence and the nativity had its usual number of Marys, Angels and supporting cast. In fact the recently born grandchild of Nigel and Robina Talbot-Ponsonby made an amazing appearance as the baby Jesus and was almost the quietest child there. The Scratch band with musicians from the village also played their part and the carols were sung with gusto and enthusiasm. The Christmas story was played out within the hour at 4pm on Christmas Eve after which preparation was made for the Christmas Day service. Due to Rev Terry being unable to officiate we were delighted to have Rev Charlotte Hetherington take the service on Christmas morning. Rev Charlotte lives in Langrish and was available to take the service for the parishioners on this day. She is associated with the Portsea Parish.
The PCC is very pleased to be able to inform you that Father Tony Forrest has accepted the post of Interim Priest-in-Charge of the parishes of St. John the Evangelist, Langrish along with East Meon, West Meon and Warnford, commonly known as ‘The Upper Meon Benefice’. It is ‘interim’ because it is, initially at least, for only 3 years but there is a possibility that it could be extended. Father Tony’s appointment had unanimous support from those involved in the interview process and we are delighted with the outcome. Father Tony has owned a house in East Meon for many years and is currently living there, although he and his wife Linda will move into the vicarage once it is vacated by the current tenants. We have been in vacancy for a long time and to have an experienced priest who knows the area willing to fill this appointment is a relief to those who have been shouldering the burden within the benefice but also gives us all renewed hope for the future. Tony’s licensing is scheduled for Tuesday 23rd January in All Saints’, East Meon, the exact timing has yet to be confirmed but it will be an evening event and we shall inform you of the time as soon as we know. It is not foreseen that this appointment will make any difference to our request to close Langrish Church, but it should help smooth the path of absorbing Langrish Parish into that of East Meon when the time comes to do so.
