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Yesterday found me at the 1030 service at Wilton, and a triple baptism for the parish priest, Mark Wood.  I settled into my pew to find we were trying out for the first time a new form of the morning service with a baptism.  The previous Family Style worship left the regular congregation rather wanting for liturgy, and the normal parish Eucharist would not have been accessible for the baptism family and friends.

The service worked well, and the three candidates, a mother, her daughter aged about eight years, and a baby from another family, all performed their words and actions impeccably, and Mark spoke well during the address.  A happy connection for the congregation too, so we wish them and the candidates and families well for the future.

Within the pew notice sheet for the coming week was an interesting event coming up this coming Sunday 1 August.  “Walking with the Poet” is an open afternoon at St Peter’s Fugglestone, in celebration of George Herbert, Rector of Fugglestone and Bemerton from 1630 – 1633.  The event begins at 1500, with a short history of the the Church, and then from 1530 there is an organised walk through the grounds of Wilton House from St Peter’s to St Andrew’s Lower Bemerton, hearing some of his poetry on the way.  After tea at Bemerton, there is a short service of Evening Prayer at St Andrew’s.  Sounds great, and if you’d like to go on this outing please phone the Rector [01722 742571] or the Parish Office on [01722 742393]

After the service and lunch last Sunday I headed out to Milton Lilbourne to conduct a marriage rehearsal for two young people.  The marriage is not until October, but the groom is serving in the Army, and has just come back from Afghanistan, and will need to go back out there until just before his wedding.  It was a moving occasion, gathering the families and running through the service for them.  To be honest he looked too young to be a Royal Engineer recce platoon commander, too young to be risking his life out in that theatre, but I was impressed with his courage and commitment. I realised that for many people, the disruptions of this effort to keep peace in a remote part of the globe, and to give the Afghan people a chance of rebuilding their country will have lasting impact on so many lives.  Please pray for the couple as they prepare, long distance, for their wedding day, and for protection and peace for all those who serve in this way.

How right that is and it has been demonstrated over this weekend for me – accompanied by encounters with nature and two small boys.

Friday night we gathered in Pewsey church to welcome Michael McHugh as the new team vicar in that team, the church was packed, the singing was good and the sermon was excellent (thank you John). I caught up with people I had not seen for sometime and enjoyed the chatter. On my drive home I saw a flock of birds flying cross the sky making wonderful patterns as they did.

Saturday saw me having a trip to Branksome St Clements church, very urban, and on the way home from that seven swans flew in formation in front of me.

Sunday and I was at Fittleton @ 9am taking part in a quiet said Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion service. A lovely quiet way to start the day – no birds although we heard them singing. At 10.30 I was at Figheldean with the music group playing – this week they were mostly wind instruments with drums and keyboards, a very nice sound. After the service I spent a long time talking to Patrick and Ivor about all sorts of things including rainbows, birds and whales. They were delightful children and I couldn’t stop smiling at their views on nature and life in general. No birds but later I did sit in my garden with my mother watching a female blackbird gathering food for her offspring, she seemed to not mind how close we were to her and later we saw her offspring in all his glory.

It has been a delightful three days and I enjoyed the differences.

It is the season for Summer fetes, and John and I recently  attended a village occasion.  It was a lovely day, and John did the decent thing by opening the event, and people thronged and spent loose change and chatted and ate cream teas and smashed crockery, and looked at exhibition photos in the church.  Numbers are up, a local worthy told me, and hopefully the income which the church needs will be too.

Then we had the finale, a tug of war, and yours truly was to start the event and present the trophy to the winning team.  It’s only a bit of fun, they said! A novel twist was that this tug of war took place across a river, and the losing team were guaranteed an early bath!  First of all the children had a go, on dry land, in the neighbouring field, and enjoyed it very much.  Then the men – two teams of strapping, well honed, peak of physical perfection – lined up on both banks.  Can you count?  Nine on one side, eight on the other – Hey! The rope was duly picked up, and the strain taken.  Pull!  A load of grunting and cheering ended when one team found themselves pulled into the River Avon.  Then the ladies teams had a go, and did equally well.  Then men swapped sides, after sorting out the equal numbers a second time, the other team claimed a victory, one-all, and a deciding match.  The ladies played their second pull, and the same team won.

So – the  deciding pull for the men’s competition, and I gripped the trophy as the grunts and groans and battle cries rang out across the valley.  Some slippage, but then a rally, and both teams were giving no ground, but after a while the heat, the pressure and the sheer effort pulled one of the teams into the water. Foul! went up from the losing team!  Apparently one man on the winning team had found a foothold in the root system of a tree on the river bank, and this was claimed as an unfair advantage by the other team.

I was still holding the trophy, and the organisers and team captains remonstrated with one another.  As the person holding the trophy, I went and suggested I had some ideas – a final deciding pull – with both teams in the field, on the level, where we could see all that was taking place.  No – the “winning ” team could not agree to that, and my second suggestion that the trophy should stand in the club rooms for six months each, also found little grace – and the team captains walked off. 

I will still holding the trophy!  Should it come home with me?  No.  I walked across to the team captain of the winning ladies team, announced that these were the overall champions, planted the trophy in her hands, and a kiss on both cheeks, and declared honour still alive in the competition.  I hope the  English referee in the World Cup Final this afternoon has a little more fortune.  They never told you about this in Theological College!

A recent lunch with one of our colleagues from the Diocesan Board of Education led to a very interesting conversation around the relationships between our church schools and our parishes. 

For many years, new clergy appointments to a parish would not even include a visit to the school, let alone ask the Head Teacher or Chair of Governors to be part of the interview process.  Now, of course, the Parish Profile for the new priest will include details of schools, and the interview process most often includes a visit to the school, some interface with the staff and pupils, and some informal interview with the school Head or Governors.

Our conversation came around to the appointment of school chaplains, in particular to the new Academies.  Full time school chaplains are a luxury, and indeed, with a decreasing number of stipendiary clergy, would there be a sufficient pool of potential clergy to meet these new appointments?  I pushed the boundaries a little further.  I was certain that these school chaplain appointments could not successfully be part time appointments with dual roles including a parish priest role – the management of the boundaries does prove a challenge.  I had been a part-time chaplain to a joint Anglican-Catholic Secondary School, and it was hugely fulfilling, but also a huge frustration, and the scope for developing the role could not happen whilst I was still expected to be in the parish five days a week.

So – do we need to continue to look for parish clergy who are able to offer some chaplaincy role to the school?  Or, if you consider the development of our school age children between 5-18 years to be the urgent priority for our faith community, do we need to look for clergy who are full time school chaplains, based in our primary and secondary schools, who can offer a couple of  days a week to be chaplains to our congregations? 

What difference would it make if we trained all our clergy to be school chaplains, as the norm, and then let them use their spare time at evenings, weekends and school holidays for work in the parish, developing teams of lay ministers and ordained assistant ministers to be the church presence throughout the parish during the day?

What difference would it make …?  Where do you stand …?

Well, these past few days have been a whirl of social activities and festivities, as we come together and celebrate good things around the Area. 

Friday evening most of the Team were in Burbage to toast the very successful Pilgrims in Mission week in the Pewsey Deanery.  I was at another social event in the south of the County, as part of the Friends of Wiltshire Churches initiative, which seeks to provide a new source of funding for the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust, of which I am Chairman.  We met at a beautiful house just north of Salisbury in the Woodford Valley, and raised a good sum of money which the Trustees will allocate to churches seeking to maintain and enhance their church fabric.  Check out the site at: http://www.wiltshirehistoricchurches.org.uk/Home.html We are looking for new members, and it’s very cheap to join, and we get so much fun from being a member – think about it?

Saturday morning, I attended the Salisbury Cathedral Open Day, and at 1000 hrs when the cathedral opened its Great West Doors, there were 400 people waiting to go in.  There was a real carnival atmosphere as people saw various exhibitions of the life of the cathedral and diocese, and tried their hands at various workshops.  The museums were open and free too – a great day out.

Saturday evening, we in the Learning for Discipleship and Ministry Team, gathered at our home in Bemerton to celebrate the mid-year and to enjoy one another’s company.  It was a good party, a little cold for outside dining, but a few braved it, and the conversation and laughter went on well into the night.  As I was preparing the outside tables a candle, in a large glass container caught the tablecloth which had been whipped up in the wind – just turn your back for a moment, and the cloth, and table supporting it, was an inferno!  I flipped the cloth onto the ground and smothered the flames – but it is true what the advertisements say – don’t leave naked lights unattended – even for a minute!

Sunday morning and I was attending a service in Pitton school, for both the church and school communities, who were gathering to say farewell to David Morgan, the Headteacher.  The service was quite superb – with a lay member of the church, leading a wonderful act of worship.  We had a dramatic reading of a passage of scripture, which helped us all understand how meeting Jesus transforms people’s lives.  We heard about Jairus, his daughter, an unclean woman, and one of the disciples – brilliant!  We also heard from three members of the Bristol University Christian Union, who were supported by the parish of Pitton last year.  Their witness and testimony of their work within the university and the city of Bristol was truly inspiring.

Back home and after Sunday lunch, the Bemerton Community Group Open Gardens event started, with yes, our home and garden taking part.  We had a steady stream of around 100 people come through – many of whom enjoyed a cup of tea  with us, and walked around the garden, and many good conversations were held.

Late afternoon, and I was back in the cathedral for Vespers, and a service of thanksgiving for the work of our  Foundation School Governors.  Tea with the Dean afterwards, and I came home, fully alive, and full of a weekend’s experiences of saying thank you, and raising both the profile and some money for important aspects of our common life here in this part of Wiltshire.

Originally titled in my diary as Toddler Worship – I had visions of small children on pedestals, and parents bowing low in front of them – but No!  This was another one of my visits to the benefice of Sarum St Francis, and Stratford sub Castle, and we gathered in the Chapter Room [a cleverly designed lower ground floor room under the chancel of St Francis Church] with around 20 children and as many mothers, and three or four very gifted children’s leaders.

We were welcomed and introduced, and then went straight into some lively songs, with actions – and yes, I did join in!  The theme of the worship was explained – animals,  and Jesus and the donkey.  We had a really good reading from the Bible interpreted with soft toys, and a very good storyteller.  The children were then invited to make their own donkey finger puppets, and we then had a time of prayer, and another song.  The children then happily played together, whilst the mums, and visiting clergy, enjoyed a cup of coffee and a chat.  This popular service is advertised on the parish website: http://www.st-francischurch.org.uk/

Tuesday 10:00am

Lots of toddlers and their grown-up mums and helpers have found the balloons on the church door on the first and third Tuesday mornings of each month. Why not follow them in and find out what fun we have? Doors open at 9:15am for a welcome cuppa and time for a chat whilst the children play, before we enjoy singing, games, inter-active Bible stories, simple crafts and some time to pray. There are more refreshments available before you leave.

I was certainly impressed by the careful and accessible worship, and the gentle and creative leadership.  Well done ladies!  Afterwards I visited the Pre-school which meets in the church centre behind the church – again I met very happy children being served their morning fruit and drinks.

Why not also look out for the church organised Party in the Park, in Victoria park on 3rd July – all free.

Victoria Park will be transformed for the picnic, with games, BBQs, bouncy castles, entertainment, stalls, and a plentiful supply of events for children of all ages.  The Reverend Paul Taylor, Vicar of St Francis, says, “This event is really important as it draws the whole community together and gives us another opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ without any conditions.  It’s about actively making Jesus known in the community and to show we can have social care and fun at the same time.”

After a rest day, the team gathered on Thursday morning at Collingbourne Ducis to breakfast together and to celebrate morning prayer.  John and I were particularly interested to see the construction of the new kitchen facilities in the south aisle of the church, and the WC, which has been constructed externally at the west end of the north aisle.  It fits in nicely, and is a modern extension, sympathetically standing alongside the older church.

John and I then exited swiftly to get ourselves down to Rushall Primary school for the day’s pilgrimage.  Booted up, we joined the year 5/6 pupils to begin our walk from Rushall, to North Newnton, then on to Upavon.  At Upavon we were joined by the year 3/4 pupils and walked on to Rushall Church and back to the school.  After an excellent school lunch, we rallied the whole school, including the Reception and year 1/2 pupils to walk to Charlton St Peter, and back again to the school.  It was a great walk, and at around 8 miles or so, the children were quite superb.  Highlights for me were the hospitality we received at each of the church stops, when local parishioners provided refreshments, and facilities; the short reflections and prayers led by John and I; and the wonderful conversations we enjoyed throughout the day, with staff, governors and of course the children.  At the final stop at Charlton St Peter, the churchwarden led us in singing a Taizé chant, and movingly told the 110 or so present, that this was one of the best moments in the life of the parish church.

This is what the week is about – moving and meeting and mixing and making a difference with Christ at the centre of all we do.  The school’s motto? With Christ we can!  Yes!

Time is flying by in the Pewsey Deanery Pilgrimage – Unite FC.  Since we last blogged, the team has been out and about and I’m able to blog the events I have attended, and it has encompassed the whole of life’s journey.

Tuesday morning we gathered in St John the Baptist, Pewsey for breakfast and morning prayer, and then I headed out solo to Collingbourne Ducis Primary School.  The buildings are relatively new there, and it was lovely to see the children learning in a very spacious and well planned environment.  I visited classes, and met teachers, and saw a wonderful presentation on pilgrimage by the school, who have produced art panels showing the Christian pilgrimage through life.  A buffet lunch with Governors and staff completed my visit.  Check out the school for yourselves at: http://wiltshire.schooljotter.com/collingbourne

I then had to hotfoot it to Great Bedwyn, to join Bishop Stephen and Rachel at the Primary school for a special collective worship and blessing of the school’s sensory quiet garden.  Again the buildings were relatively modern, and the children very excited about the prospects of the Bishop amongst their number.  +Stephen spoke about being able to know when we were pointing in the right direction, and that we often need friends to help us turn around and travel in the right direction.  The school sang two hymns really well, and read some excellent poetry.  Another site for you to explore: http://www.greatbedwyn.ik.org/

Rachel and I then left the Bishop to bless the garden, and we headed south to Burbage where we joined the staff and residents of Seymour Court, an assisted living accommodation for older people.  They were relaxing after lunch, and we joined them for a cup of tea and biscuit, and found the conversations easy and fun.  Rachel in particular had a belly aching time of laughter and we were privileged and inspired to hear their stories, and chat about their life achievements.

Then the weather closed in and the rain came down, and we heard that the planned motorcycle ride to Poole Quay has been postponed – and my photo opportunity to sit astride a Triumph Sprint will have to wait!

It’s been one of those weekends where people have made a lasting impression on me.  No great surprise there, for it is people that makes my world a good place to be, and meeting new people, and sharing the good news with them is what gives me a buzz.

The first encounter was as we came to the end of the walk from Winchester to Salisbury on Friday.  I was propping up a fellow walker as we headed down from Winterslow into Salisbury.  A couple of weary walkers had just passed a lady with a small primary school girl in tow, and when we meandered down the lane, they stopped and asked where we were heading, “Salisbury!” we wheezed.  “Where have you come from?” “Winchester!” whistled through our dry lips.  “You’ve walked from Winchester to Salisbury all in one day?  That is really wonderful, well done!!! ” We were nearly completely done, but that kind comment, and the smile and wave from the little girl was all the encouragement we needed to carry on.

Yesterday, I had just washed the MGF and took it up the garage to replenish the fuel tanks.  As I was queueing to pay, a man came up to me and asked if I was the driver of the MG.  Expecting him to say someone had just run off with the wheels, or that I had taken the pump he was queuing for, I tentatively said, “Yes”.  “What a great condition she’s in,” he replied!  “Yes,” I said, “better than the owner today!”  “You’ve kept her in superb condition,” he carried on, “and it’s a wonderful sight to see some one’s pride and joy!”  “Thank you so much”, I finished, and walked back to the car, happy as a puppy with a new bone!

Today, I was at Milton Lilbourne, near Pewsey, as part of the pre-pilgrimage visits to parishes.  I’d preached at the parish communion, and was chatting to people after the service.  One couple introduced themselves, and I asked where they were from.  “Little Salisbury!” they replied.  “Ah, I said, I’m from Big Salisbury!” expecting them to say that the city is a small town sized settlement.  They then went on the explain that Little Salisbury is a hamlet not far from the church.  I’ve been racing around the lanes for about 12 years, and I had never noticed the small sign to Little Salisbury – there is always something new to learn!!

Another couple in church were clearly visually impaired, and they had the most wonderful carer, who carefully guided them around the church to receive communion etc.  I chatted afterwards, and  they live in a home where they receive assistance.  They proudly announced that they were due to be married later in the year, and I was so pleased to chat to them about how they care for one another, and how the carer makes sure they have as much independence as possible.  How wonderful to know that love is deep enough to exceed visual appearances, and that the love within this community build bridges and breaks down barriers.

You know how it is – on paper nothing really looks exciting but when you are doing it things change.

Saturday started with me in Pewsey church attending the Prayer for the Journey, two hours on patchwork, paint and prayer in preparation for the Ramsbury Team visit to the deanery. It was a glorious two hours lead by Janet Thomas. We used part of the pack put together by her and Rev Deb Larkey for use in the local schools and I learnt a technique of manipulating paint with cling film – you needed to be there to understand. Thank you Janet.

I then took a marriage service in Durrington,which was a delight. Thank you James and Melanie (and their family and friends) for allowing me to share the occassion with you.

On Sunday I took the two services in Durrington – the 8 o’clock one was a quiet reflective service whilst the 10 o’clock was   busier but because the organist was recovering from surgery Val played all the music on her flute which lent an air of reflectiveness to that service as well. Thank you Val. We then had a baptism at 12 noon and Joshua (6 months) spent most of the time looking at us through his large eyes. For this I was ably assisted by Sylvia who will hold the baby as I am frightened that my elbows will lock at the vital moment and the baby will fall – not a good thing! We had many young people who acted as official water temperature testers ( I splashed them with water) and the family and friends of Josuha stayed for about 20 minutes after the service. Thank you to all those who were there for making it such a joyous occassion.