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
<div id="pc1"><div id="p1" name="p1"><div>May 17th came and went, and a good number of lockdown restrictions eased. Congregations in risk-assessed and Covid-compliant churches were allowed to increased to an unlimited capacity for funerals, to 30 for weddings, and we had a Sunday service in church on 9th May, combined for personal attendees and those participating online. Whilst limited for church services, St Andrew’s nonetheless attracted visitors as the now-popular teas/coffees/cakes served from the porch diverts the local walkers, weather allowing, through the churchyard. The church has also been open for private reflection following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh and then for a churchwide prayer initiative ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ between 13-23 May (thykingdomcome.global). This saw a steady trickle of people in and out of the building during the daytime. We held our Annual Parish Church meeting on 27 May. However, the planned event for Pentecost in the churchyard was cancelled due to very soggy and blustery weather. This would have permitted congregational singing, which is allowed in the grounds of a church, socially distanced, but clearly much less attractive in the wind and rain. <br></div><div><br></div><div>So we still see a variety of things we are not permitted to do, and are prevented from doing, as well as opportunities for doing things differently. And that will be the mantra for our church leadership in the months ahead. June 21st may bring further new changes, but the 2.2 million people who are members of around 40,000 amateur choirs across the country, including our own Benefice Choir, are still silenced after the government decided that singing still creates a Covid risk and updated its guidance to say that ‘non-professional singing can take place only in groups of up to six people indoors.’ We accepted the news resignedly, leaving it to others like the assistant director of music at Ely Cathedral, who posted, ’10,000 football fans singing in football stadiums, dozens singing in pubs, yet only six non-professionals are allowed to sing in our cavernous cathedrals, theatres and concert halls.’ <br></div><div><br></div><div>However, St Andrew’s will be warmly welcoming a number of wedding couples who have decided to go ahead with deferred marriage services. Even these will not be unaltered with the implementation of major changes to the way in which marriages in England & Wales are to be registered. On May 4th, a single electronic marriage register was created by reforms to the Civil Partnership, Marriages and Deaths Act 2019 ‘to make the system simpler and more efficient.’ Bringing the Victorian system right up to date, it also means that the registration can now include the names of mothers as well as fathers on the registers. Signing the marriage certificate/register at the end of the wedding will no longer be a requirement, and the legal marriage certificate will not be issued in church. Instead, the parties will sign a marriage schedule. This will contain all the necessary document required to later be registered onto the online marriage register maintained by the Registrar-General within a certain timescale. Whilst ‘The Registers’ will still form part of church weddings, all the Registers have been removed from church safes and lodged with the Registrar. </div><div><br></div></div></div><div id="pc2"><div id="p2" name="p2"><div>We are adapting to how to maintain worship and those who attended the Benefice Easter Day service will have seen/heard a taster, as the music was adapted for a solo singer, as the real and virtual congregation listened. Similarly, some wedding couples have chosen to have solo singing of hymns and music. We are grateful to Jude Wilton, from Upper Harlestone, who has helped out with her wonderful voice, and to East Haddon Church for lending us the digital piano to assist with the more modern selections requested by our wedding couples. <br></div><div><br></div><div>Funerals provide a similar challenge and at the quite lovely funeral of late Brampton churchwarden, Ray Broom, our curate, Kathryn, provided the solo singing in a church with more people than would have been permitted than before May 17th. The service was led beautifully by our Reader, Virginia Henley, which had been Ray’s request. Virginia is an asset to our ministry team. Ray had been such a constant in our Benefice in recent years, and after his relatively sudden death, many of us, including the Funeral Director, commented how odd it will be not to see him meeting and greeting in church. A gentle man, through and through, he was given a fitting tribute as we commended him back to God and he was committed to burial in the churchyard, reunited with his beloved wife. We send his family and the Brampton community our heartfelt condolences as he rests in peace with a funeral service which was Covid compliant but which did not cheat or diminish. <br></div><div><br></div></div></div>So it becomes more clear as we look forward to the next phase of the roadmap on 21st June, that there is, and will be, no such thing as ‘back to normal’ as we continue to adapt. Whilst this feels scary, I am drawn back to my thoughts and feelings on 17 April both before and after the funeral of Prince Philip. Beforehand, I felt as though the Queen and nation was to be robbed of the kind of liturgy, music and occasion required for such a momentous part of the country’s history. Afterwards, gulping away my emotion, I realised how wrong I had been, how adept the Church of England, its clergy and musicians had been in putting together a most excellent service. Whilst it was sad to see the Queen on her own, as many bereaved family members have been over the past year as they gather for family funerals, it was a reminder and challenge what can be done. That is now our challenge as the new normality dawns. Liz and I look forward to working with the Rector, her Curate and Reader, as we plan our own roadmap for the journey ahead in our Benefice and Parish life. As Easter Day, the Duke’s funeral, changes to Victorian wedding tradition, and Ray’s funeral showed us, our current scaled-down, stripped-back approach can be no less (and possibly more) meaningful as we move away from the proverbial goat tracks and create new undiscovered pathways across church life.<div><br></div><div>Sam Dobbs</div><div>Churchwarden </div>
J<span style="font-size: 0.875rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">January is an odd month. After all the flurried, hurried clamour to get our LED lights up and Christmas trees lit – some as early as before even Advent began, we then began the nuances of when to take down the decorations. I saw some come down the day after the Christmas Bank Holidays, others wait till New Year, others until Twelfth Night, and then others (like me), dismantling things bit by bit even now, mid-January. I was away this past second week of January for work, on my first (and not last) sortie to Harrogate where the town is still festooned in LED lights, to my delight and in defiance of those who tell me ‘it’s bad luck to leave the decos up after 6 January’.</span>The Christmas tree at St Andrew’s was delivered in the second week of December, a kind gift from our patron. It was decorated beautifully by a local family. And there it sat, all Christmas long, in a church that remained largely empty, because our dear friend ‘Rona’ ensured we all stayed away to protect ourselves and each other, cheated yet again of another opportunity to sing carols and hear the readings of Christ’s birth. So in the aftermath of an odd Christmas, we start an equally odd January, bemused by stories of refugees, disaster, inhumanity, sleaze, partygate and illness. So maybe we need some constant reminders of the Christmas light, and this is why I was slightly smug and content when the Rector didn’t actually mind the Christmas tree still being up in church, with the crib still out on my own sideboard on the second Sunday of January. Because Christmas doesn’t end on Twelfth Night. It leads to the visit of the wise men, celebration of the Epiphany and a reminder to carry the light of Christmas into the new year. Some churches leave the decorations up till Candlemas on 2 February.This new year will need illuminating as it brings with it all the hopes and fears that the carol sings of. Uncertainty in leadership, finances, worries about health and wellbeing all mean we have plenty of stuff to pray about. I am aware of people around us for whom Christmas was going to be their last, and I prayed at the wet but meaningful Holdenby House Carols in the Rain, that we all might celebrate Christmas as though it were our own last; not in a morbid sense, but with the need to concentrate on our own stairtread as we climb the staircase, rather than trip up because we focused too much on the top stairs.The church buildings may have been quieter and emptier, but there was continuing prayer throughout the period and discussions on how we might celebrate Christmas next year. Whether or not the lights are still twinkling, the decorations still in the garden or safely stowed in the loft, the message of the word made flesh bringing light into the world sustains us in the challenges, hopes and fears, as normality ensues in the barer undecorated houses around the community.As we move into February, St Andrew’s Church Council will meet and receive reports which will include the success of the Christmas Market whose profits will benefit church funds, alongside the sale throughout the year, of greetings cards and refreshments. We’ll hear the financial report and how we squeezed through 2021 with £6270 worth of tax efficient planned giving, and with receipts, grants and fundraising, pushing total income up to £16,437. We then paid £6091 to the Diocese for the provision of our priest and housing, who claimed only £650 in expenses. Our church running costs rose from £3603 to £5409 with utility bills at £1044. This meant that our total outgoings were around £14,637, turning last year’s deficit of £2099 to a surplus of £2040, which is ironic when for many months last year, our churches were unused.Contrary to popular belief, the church is not rich, and its assets are largely not disposable which is why we will rely on as much creativity as possible in keeping the place in good order and open for us and future generations. We have authorised repairs to the bells (so they can be rung for the Platinum Jubilee) and await reports on repairs we know will be needed to the roof and the East Window. I refuse to be gloomy though, because small signs of growth keep coming. We already have three baptisms planned in the next four weeks when we’ll welcome six newest members of the church. There are plans for the Jubilee, to incorporate the wider community, our neighbours at Harlestone Park. There are hopes to explore more Markets and events – from ‘Dragged back to Church’ (watch this space) to Cocktail Cabaret, from ‘Tea and Toast’ for mums and carers dropping kids off at school, to Arts & Crafts, Calligraphy, Toys Swap Shop and Quiz Nights. No longer can it be about ‘bums on seats’ on Sundays, but about church being its people and having the building open to all. And the people who sustain this can no longer just be those who occupy the Sunday seats. We need the wider community to be involved, regardless of what they do on a Sunday, and certainly not as a condition of being in church at a service or contributing to the collection plate, welcome though both things will always be.So herein lie some hopes and fears for the year ahead. I may herd in the now unlit reindeer on the front garden, or hop up the ladder to remove the icicle lights. Or then again, I may leave them and repurpose them in some way for the Jubilee. Either way, I want to be reminded of the Christmas messages to sustain my New Year. Because of family events, I didn’t get a chance to contribute to the last edition of the newsletter. So I now wish you a Happy Christmas and New Year as we move into February. Characteristically unapologetically for either the months behind or ahead. You chooseSam DobbsChurchwarden
