crossramsbury.net

You might have guessed from the fewer posts in the last couple of weeks, that I’ve been away!  There is much to catch you up with though, so please don’t give up on us!  The first couple of weeks in my summer break were spent, as usual, with the Wiltshire Army Cadet Force, who were based at an Engineers’ Camp down at Chickerell near Weymouth. 

We take away some 300 cadets, aged from 12 – 18, and some 80 adults, who I do admire for all the hours and energy that they offer these young people.  As you will know, when you take people out of their usual surroundings and circumstances, you’ll find that all kinds of issues and emotions emerge.   For two weeks, these good people become my “parish”, and I live and work alongside them as we undertake all kinds of activities, physical, emotional, and spiritual. 

After some eight years, I am now an accepted part of the whole community, offering a listening ear to all souls, whether they have a particular faith or none, and I have found an amazing amount of ministry, which challenges and rewards.  Last year I baptised two members in the sea off Cornwall, and this year I have attended the funeral of a wife of one of our officers, and I have just conducted a funeral for one of our female officers.  Next week, I will conduct the marriage service for two of our NCOs.  Most of the pastoral work involves people wanting to discuss relationships, worries about friends and families, and hopes and ambitions for themselves and the future.

It is no holiday, but I do throw myself into all the activities, and try to live alongside these people as I know that Christ would do, and indeed did!   I was captured during an exercise when I was being transported down to negotiate with a group of insurgent terrorists; and after a period of time, I was rescued by another unit, and grateful for the care and attention that the padre usually is afforded.  The photo shows you that I try and blend in to whatever background circumstances are – although my hands need a little more camouflage cream!  Fresh air, solid food, and companions to journey with – what more could a padre ask for?

Every now and then a theme emerges over a weekend, and this particular weekend it has been crossing over!   We started off by going over to move our eldest daughter from her existing flat to her new flat in the boarding school where she teaches.  It was not far, in fact it was the flat next door, but unfortunately we had to go down two flights of stairs, and along a corridor and then up another two flights of stairs!  It was a great workout, and after a few hours, Hollie was settling into her new abode.  What struck me most as we moved from one flat to the other, was a sense of knowing when we were over half way in shifting the boxes.  There came a point as we stopped to rest or partake of a cup of tea, when we actually stopped using the old flat, and started using the new – and I don’t think it was anything to do with moving the kettle!!

Then this morning, I started reading the next book on the pile I keep in my study, and I found it was a book called Sum: Forty tales from the afterlives.  It is a fascinating book, given in cases short stories from authors who have speculated, or perhaps fantasised about what happens following our death.  I’ve just read the first ten or so, and it will be interesting to see what other people make of crossing over.

The third aspect of this theme occurred when I was taking a few minutes to catch up on some zzz, and catch a few rays in the garden.  We have a lovely garden, and enjoy every square inch, and of course the river.  One of the given factors though, is that we lie under a flight path from the airfield at Old Sarum, and every few minutes a light aircraft, or microlight, or helicopter makes its progress across the sky.  I don’t mind actually, and it is a fantasy of mine to fly, or even learn to fly in a small aircraft.  Today, one of the men [or women] in their flying machines was performing aerobatics, and I was imagining the amount of G-force that the pilot must have been pulling in the stunts, as s/he crissed and crossed through the sky.  Lovely, and lucky for them.

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!

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.

Well the last day dawned for the band of happy pilgrims, and the Team scattered ourselves throughout the parishes for Sunday worship in the morning.  I was detailed to go to East Grafton Church, St Nicholas, another first for me.  It is the most enchanting church, a little miniature copy of St Mary and Nicholas, Wilton, as you can see from the photo. 

I preached, and Rodney Harrison – the Team Vicar presided at a Common Worship service.  It was good to see people from the area there, and I was starting to catch names and faces that I’ve been encountering during the week.  In fact I preached on the subject of encounter, and that when we encounter Jesus, then he joins us on our journey, and then he changes us, and we join him on his journey – or at least I think I said something like that!

After bidding farewell at the door, I took myself over to Chute Causeway, and joined John and Rachel at the Tedworth Downland Ride and BBQ.  There were loads of horses, riders, and happy watchers, as the competitors took themselves along a ten mile fun ride course, and enjoyed the most beautiful scenery.  We stayed behind of course, and chatted and ate, and enjoyed the atmosphere of country people, enjoying country rides.  I was fortunate to gain a seat on a horse, and I think Rachel has some photos.  I used to ride around my country parishes, and it was so nice to be back in the saddle.  I enjoyed myself very much, and will certainly try and get a ride or two from time to time, and in honour of this, I was presented with a bright green rosette – which later confused people who thought I was a green party candidate!  I was certainly hungry, and we consumed, I think between us, one of everything from the BBQ and bar!

Moving on, we team went our separate ways, me to my host and hostess to pack up, say a huge thank you for the marvellous hospitality and generous giving of time and accommodation for this past week.  People are so open and welcoming to pilgrims I find.

Finally, we all gathered at the Crofton Beam Engine site for our closing act of worship – a Songs of Praise, and celebration of our week, with the reading of the winning entries in the poetry competition.  Music was provided by the Phoenix Brass Band, and Rodney compered the worship.  Bishop Stephen gave the final blessing, and as we shared the Peace, the heavens opened and were blessed by a heavy shower which encouraged people to continue their own pilgrimage journey. 

This is not the end of a week’s pilgrimage, but merely the start of another stage of a journey in the parishes and communities that make up the Pewsey Deanery.  Thanks to you all, and may God bless you, and may Jesus be your constant companion and guide, and may the Holy Spirit empower and direct you to serve him, and those with whom you share your lives.

Fortified by our cooked breakfast and early morning climb, John and I went over to Great Bedwyn Church where we had some coffee and biscuits [there will be a theme emerging - just you wait] and an amazing collection of photographs were available within the church.  Some thousands of photos were shot by the residents in the run up to Millennium year, and these are now carefully catalogued and available for memories and as a snapshot of the village caught in time.

The walk planned for this stage of the pilgrimage was a triangular route from Gt Bedwyn, to St Katherines’ Savernake, and lunch, and then on to Little Bedwyn, via the ancient chapel of ease at St Martin’s Chisbury, now in the care of English Heritage’ and onto Little Bedwyn, for  tea, and back along the canal to Gt Bedwyn.  It was perfect walking weather, and the conversations, the food and the fine stretch of our legs made for a really good day out.  The photos will speak for themselves – a mix from my own camera, and those from the Unite FC website:

Friday morning – it was 0700, and around 25 men gathered at the foot of Martinsell hill near Wootton Rivers.  Various bits of kitchen kit were unloaded from vehicles and soon we were walking up the hill.  It was a glorious morning, and great views across the Pewsey Vale.  Soon the smell of bacon and sausages was drifting through our conversations, and then tomatoes too were sizzling in the pan.  Baps were filled and hungrily consumed, merely causing the conversations to become drawn out, rather the ceasing.  Well fed, and orange juice, coffee and teas washed down, we sat on rugs or chairs and listened to an inspiring talk from Bishop Stephen about encountering the risen Jesus in our daily lives.  We ended with some helpful prayer. At 0830, a scampering from the working men back down the hill and into their workplaces indicated that it was time for us to pack up and clear off.  A great start to the day; good companions and thoughts for the road.

On 11 June Mary Edwards, Vicar of  Collingbourne Ducis et al, has called to archery practice the villagers in a custom that dates back  to Agincourt (not that Mary was around at that time you understand). I shall be going to watch and might even see if I can draw a bow let alone shoot an arrow. There will be food and drink afterwards and you will find us on the rec in C Ducis, come and join us if you have a spare evening.

There is another custom from medieval times which I hope Mary doesn’t evoke at the same time. In medieval times the rural preisthood laid on fetes known as ‘church ales’ in the villages at which the peasantry was  encouraged to drink itself daft. If you were still on your feet after the first few hours, you could carry on drinking for nothing.

I some how don’t think that archery practice and drinking go together.

Like the others I have been preparing for the forthcoming pilgrimage. Today I went to sit, on a sunny afternoon, in a meadow attached to Standen House in Chute Standen to watch a group of people who had written and were performing their play.

The basic story is of a journey of self discovery – I won’t tell you any more as I hope that you will go tomorrow (Sunday) to see it yourself (cost is £10 and tickets can be brought on the gate). There were actors but also wonderful puppets of wolves, dogs and other animals; there were birds of all sorts of shapes and colours including a wonderful peacock with a proper tail; snails, rabbits and a bee. There was a nod towards Harry Potter with birds bringing messages and one to Monty Python involving a parrot. Unfortunately I didn’t think of taking a photo to add to this post.

It was a wonderful afternoon finishing with cream teas at the village hall, highly recommended.

This morning, Anita and I travelled out to Alton Barnes for another and our  final coffee morning before the Pewsey Deanery Pilgrimage starts officially tomorrow.  It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful day to drive out to the Vale of Pewsey, and to sit beneath one of Wiltshire’s famous White Horses.

We pulled up in front of the Coronation Hall at Alton Barnes, after quickly showing Anita the cherished Saxon church in the village.  Ours was the only car in the front of the building, and we suspected the fine day, and a Saturday would not be popular for the coffee morning.  How wrong could we be.  Inside was a welcome party of  four people, who quickly poured some very decent coffee, and implored us to choose freely from a selection of delicious cakes.  I picked a lovely slice of coffee cake, and an apricot slice.  No charge – donations only!

We took a table and chatted to the couple sat alongside, and within a few minutes the hall was packed with chatty neighbours, who clearly saw this opportunity to get out and get caught  up with the local news and views.  There must have been around 40-50 people in the hour we were there.  I managed to speak to most people, and found out so much from just listening to their story, their thoughts and ideas about community and the values that they try to live by.  Some recognised me from the Sarum Link articles [well done editorial team!], others had heard about the Pilgrimage week with the Bishop, and were looking forward to various events in the diary. 

Another indication of how this community welcomes people, was demonstrated when a local farmer’s wife, who has diversified into gypsy caravan holidays, brought into the carpark her lovely caravan, Tom the horse, and the family from Bexley who were renting the van for a few days.  I came out and chatted to the family, and visited the van – basic, but romantic, if that does it for you – and wished them God’s blessing for their journey this week, and asked them to remember us in our journey.  Anita took some photos – just for you to enjoy the caravan, and to show that my rolled up clerical shirt sleeves, and the cool but casual/smart chinos are still making me fashion fit and a fine fellow! Fancy the chance of a similar holiday?  Try your luck at: http://www.whitehorsegypsycaravans.co.uk/

I am now really ready and geared up to enjoy all that our Pilgrimage brings us – remember to check the diary to see what we are up to: http://www.unitefc.org/events.html