It's been good to be back in Dorchester this week - even though beautiful weather is always slightly frustrating when you just get home from holiday - all of you who have gone back to school and work will be feeling the same I know.
Her in Dorchester Festival Fever is ratcheting up quite nicely now!!
One of the highlights of my week has been the two Jospeph rehearsals - you can read Caroline's Joseph Blog too and check out the Facebook page of Joseph himself
If it hadn't crossed your mind to come and watch us (I'm in the back row of the chorus!!) then do start thinking now - the more I rehearse the more excited I am about the production - the Brothers are SOOOooo much fun!!!
Another 'not to be missed' Festival event (as far as I'm concerned anyway!!) is the Festival Cafe service on Sunday 3rd May. We're really lucky to have John Hardwick - an internationally famous worship leader to come and lead this for us and our (almost) own but equally internationally famous David Winter too. Dorchester Abbey choir will sing (they're working towards international fame at present but locally - they're the best!!!). If you've sung "God's people aren't super brave super heroes" that's one of John's songs as is A Band of Angels!!
Two conversations in the last twenty four hours reminded me of somthing important which very few people understand and that is that all the exciting things that happen in Dorchester Abbey rely on volunteeers to organise them - and yes that DOES include the Festiaval. If you haven't met Steph and Nick Forman you probably couldn't undersatnd how this is possibl!! Steph is a one woman Dynamo (she has a day job in London as well!) and Nick is the essential right hand man (except that he's often a left hand too) - not to mention being a bit of a dynamo himself. But Steph and Nick aren't are only Abbey volunteers - there's a positive army of them - from our wonderful gardenening team led by Eileen Olleson and Frank Norman to the stewards who will be in the Abbey and Museum every weekend in the summer. It's a great team here and it goes without saying that new members are always welcome!!
But of course the Rector's week is not all Festival (or not yet at any rate!) The Team Clergy meet regularly on Wednesday mornings and this week we decided to go to H's Cafe at the Berinsfield roundabout. There's good coffee on tap and friendly bikers and other travellers stop for refreshment. (Incidentally the bacon baps are lovely!!) This week, as we left one of the Biker's stopped Nigel (Hawkes - one of our Team Vicars) to ask advice about his mum - she's up north and he's worried about her. In theological colleges they call this the ministry of presence - sometimes it feels like just hanging about .. but it's also about something I think we all need some more opportunities for - a chance to "be as well as to do" and then just to see what comes our way as a result.
We missed Anne (Ilsley another vicar!!)at the Team meeting - just in case you haven't heard she fell and broke her leg really badly on Easter morning in Culham Church. She finally came home from hospital on Wednesday night and we wish her well!!
Well - that's all for now - and apologies in advance for any typo's that I missed when I checked this - there's always one!!
Friday, 24 April 2009
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Easter Weekend
As usual the Abbey looks beuatiful for Easter - the flower ladies have excelled themselves and my favourite arrangement is a 'dancing cross' on the pillar near the Shrine Chapel. But it's hard to have favourites because all the arrangements and the Easter Garden are beautiful.
I have to confess that I've 'lost' my camera at the moment so that I can't bring you any pix!! Anyone who'd like to send some is most welcome!!
On Easter morning a party of us walked to the top of the Wittenham Clumps to kindle the 'Easter Fire' as the sun rose - the idea is to greet the Sunrise on Easter Day in celebration of the Son who has risen!! It was grey and miserable on Easter morning and the only way we knew that the sun had risen was because it gradually became lighter!! This didn't stop our celebrations though - the acclamation 'Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!' echoed on the clumps as the fire was kindled and the large Easter Candles from all the Team Churches were lit from that one flame to be taken back to all the parishes for their services later - we all enjoyed tea and bacon rolls at Little Wittenham therafter!! Sometimes, of course, our lives are a bit like this - we only know that the sun has risen becasue of a lifting of the darkness not becasue we see the sunrise. I remember visiting our friends the Gregson's in Nepal more than ten years ago now and hearing something similar - in Khatmandu during winter you rarely see the hills that surround the city because of the constant low cloud - but, as Lynn said to me - they are still there - just as God is still there when we find it hard to sense him - and just as Jesus is risen - even if we sometimes find that hard to believe because of what else is happening in the world!
Well back to the Abbey and Easter morning. Dorchester families had a great disappointment on Palm Sunday because we were unable to borrow the donkey from the Donkey Sancturary becasue of insurance problems!! We made up for it on Easter day with a lovely collection of two week old chicks who visited the Easter morning service - with a reading from C S Lewis' book the Voyage of the Dawn Treader as well as our normal readings they helped us to think about the new creation - the real 'me' that is within each of us and our chance to rediscover or resurrect that 'me' with Jesus.
The other great event of Easter weekend at the Abbey is alsot he oepning of the Tea Room on Easter Saturday - and the place buzzes into life with families eating delicious cake in the garden and others queueing for a space in the Tea Room itself. If you haven't visited the Tea rooms yet then you really should. As well as the most delicious home made (yes -everything is made by the ladies of the village!) scones and cakes you have the pleasure of sitting a one of two large tables in the medieval Guest House where the company is always different and the conversation very varied! You can wander in the Abbey, visit the museum - or go for a strenouous walk up the clumps to work off the tea!! Everyone who comes is very well looked after by teams of ladies who are only too willing to ply you with tea and cake!! This year I gather we had a visitor from the local press on Sunday afternoon - so look out for us in the papers!! Just in case you don't know the tea room is open every weekend from 3-5pm and Bank Holidays - later in the summer it also opens on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons (Thursday's being my particular favourite because of the cheese scones!)
Well I'm about to go on my post Easter Break - if you're near the Thames and see 'Running Wild' then do give me a wave!!
I have to confess that I've 'lost' my camera at the moment so that I can't bring you any pix!! Anyone who'd like to send some is most welcome!!
On Easter morning a party of us walked to the top of the Wittenham Clumps to kindle the 'Easter Fire' as the sun rose - the idea is to greet the Sunrise on Easter Day in celebration of the Son who has risen!! It was grey and miserable on Easter morning and the only way we knew that the sun had risen was because it gradually became lighter!! This didn't stop our celebrations though - the acclamation 'Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!' echoed on the clumps as the fire was kindled and the large Easter Candles from all the Team Churches were lit from that one flame to be taken back to all the parishes for their services later - we all enjoyed tea and bacon rolls at Little Wittenham therafter!! Sometimes, of course, our lives are a bit like this - we only know that the sun has risen becasue of a lifting of the darkness not becasue we see the sunrise. I remember visiting our friends the Gregson's in Nepal more than ten years ago now and hearing something similar - in Khatmandu during winter you rarely see the hills that surround the city because of the constant low cloud - but, as Lynn said to me - they are still there - just as God is still there when we find it hard to sense him - and just as Jesus is risen - even if we sometimes find that hard to believe because of what else is happening in the world!
Well back to the Abbey and Easter morning. Dorchester families had a great disappointment on Palm Sunday because we were unable to borrow the donkey from the Donkey Sancturary becasue of insurance problems!! We made up for it on Easter day with a lovely collection of two week old chicks who visited the Easter morning service - with a reading from C S Lewis' book the Voyage of the Dawn Treader as well as our normal readings they helped us to think about the new creation - the real 'me' that is within each of us and our chance to rediscover or resurrect that 'me' with Jesus.
The other great event of Easter weekend at the Abbey is alsot he oepning of the Tea Room on Easter Saturday - and the place buzzes into life with families eating delicious cake in the garden and others queueing for a space in the Tea Room itself. If you haven't visited the Tea rooms yet then you really should. As well as the most delicious home made (yes -everything is made by the ladies of the village!) scones and cakes you have the pleasure of sitting a one of two large tables in the medieval Guest House where the company is always different and the conversation very varied! You can wander in the Abbey, visit the museum - or go for a strenouous walk up the clumps to work off the tea!! Everyone who comes is very well looked after by teams of ladies who are only too willing to ply you with tea and cake!! This year I gather we had a visitor from the local press on Sunday afternoon - so look out for us in the papers!! Just in case you don't know the tea room is open every weekend from 3-5pm and Bank Holidays - later in the summer it also opens on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons (Thursday's being my particular favourite because of the cheese scones!)
Well I'm about to go on my post Easter Break - if you're near the Thames and see 'Running Wild' then do give me a wave!!
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