ST ANDREWS – APRIL 2021

Our 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 churchyard

As 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