A Message from the Vicar
The Parishes of Lambourn and Eastbury with East Garston
The Reverend Tony Cumberlidge
The Vicarage, Newbury Street, Lambourn, Hungerford, RG17 8PD
Tel: 01488 71546 email vicarattamboum@aol.com
A Spiritual Check-up
A visit to the garage is always an expensive business isn't it? You take your car in for its six monthly service and end up with an enormous bill.
That annoying little rattle turns out to be a big problem with the engine; things like brakes which we can't see and tend to take for granted need to be renewed, and so it goes on. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry and without that check-up the car could well let you down - probably when you're late for a meeting or it's dark and pouring with rain.

Check-ups of one sort or another are something we are used to - dental checkups, medicals, annual inspection of the central heating boiler and, of course, car servicing. But what about a spiritual check up? It's expensive - not in terms of money but in terms of honesty - and it can be painful trying to discover what sort of people we really are. For Christians, it can be useful to review and examine our spiritual lives to see in what sort of shape they are; this involves having a "spiritual director" who can accompany and guide us in our journey of faith.

There is a growing number of people who want to learn more about how to pray, meditate or make a rule of life. Some people are at a transition in their lives or just want to seek to make more sense of their own faith journey. There were many enquiries after the 'Monastery' series on television, and people having done the Alpha course often like more time on a one to one basis to confirm their own path.

There will an opportunity to learn more about this important aspect of our faith at a "taster" evening to be held on Tuesday 17th June staring at 7.30pm at All Saints Church, Upper Bucklebury, near Thatcham. This will give people a chance to see whether this is something that would be of benefit to them, and there will be individual short taster sessions available. For those who may feel led to pursue this ministry there will be information about training courses available.

SPI-DIR is the acronym of the Diocese of Oxford's Ecumenical Spiritual Direction Group. Canon Keith Lamden is the Director, 01865 208251, or Diocesan Church House, 01865 208200, has a list of trained accompanists.

For more information about the evening ring Jane Booth on 01635 30343 or contact me at the Vicarage.
If you had to take a spiritual MOT, do you think you'd pass?

With every blessing on your spiritual journey


    (Vicar)
Per Ardua ad Astra ( Through hardship to the stars)
Some years ago, when I was serving as an Army Chaplain, I was walking to the home of an elderly lady to take her Holy Communion. I was in uniform and a funeral procession passed by. I had no idea who the deceased was, but as a mark of respect, I stood to attention at the roadside and saluted. The funeral director in the hearse acknowledged my salute by raising and lowering his top hat in the leading car.

My references are with regard to an article written by Sally Wright, my Churchwarden in East Garston about the death of a well known and respected solicitor and Spitfire pilot – Ian Ponsford DFC, AFC, RAF. Ian died on 29 December shortly after he had left East Garston to live close to his son Guy in Cornwall.He had asked that his ashes might be scattered over the fields of East Garston from a Spitfire, and Robs Lamplough from Manor Farm kindly agreed to accede to this request.

And thus it was that on 30th June, we in the Lambourn Valley, heard again the famous sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine sweeping across the valley scattering the ashes of a much loved solicitor, father, grandfather and hero of the Royal Air Force, a man scolded by his Mother because he had shot down three enemy aircraft before breakfast, when he should have been on leave!

In these post – war days, it is easy for us to forget the danger that threatened us in 1940. We are, of course, worried about Islamic extremists, but in 1940, the Nazi hordes had swept across Europe and were at our door. Next month, we shall be remembering again the gallant victory that our RAF pilots fought, against overwhelming odds – and won!

As a nation we owe an enormous debt to Ian and other young men like him, at that time, who laid down their lives that we might live in freedom.

The Battle of Britain Day approaches. If I were still in uniform I would stand and salute every time I heard and saw a Spitfire in the air. It is a symbol of courage, dedication and a mark of the self sacrifice of every young pilot in a Spitfire or Hurricane who withstood the Nazi onslaught and kept us free when all of Europe was under its dominating yoke.

Instead of moaning and complaining when you hear a Rolls Royce Merlin engine in the skies above you in the Lambourn Valley, give thanks to God that RJ Mitchell designed an aircraft that brought you freedom from Nazi tyranny and gave us the opportunity to live in peace.


    (Vicar)
The Lamb of God
Springtime in the Lambourn Valley is a delightful time of year. After months of grey skies, dark mornings and bare trees, what a pleasure to see signs of new life as nature awakes from its winter slumber. There are lots of new sounds, too, birds courting and pairing off to start a family and, unforgettably the sound of new born lambs.   In the Church's calendar this month, we remember the symbol of the lamb for a different, more sombre reason. You may remember that beautiful hymn "All in the April Evening", we used to sing it in my primary school at Eastertide and I've never forgotten the words:
All in the April evening,
April airs were abroad,
The sheep with their little lambs
Pass'd me by on the road.
But then the tone changes:

"The lambs were weary and crying
With a weak human cry:
I thought of the Lamb of God
Going meekly to die."

On Good Friday in 2004, I had the opportunity to see the film "The Passion of the Christ". The cinema was packed, mainly with young people; I'm not sure what they were expecting to see, but it was one of the most profoundly moving films I have ever seen. it portrayed the last 24 hours of our Lord's life from the arrest at Gethsemane to the crucifixion, and was sickeningly graphic in depicting the scourging and nailing to the cross. Anyone tempted to wear a cross and chain as a fashion accessory would think again when you recalled the violence associated with this barbaric form of capital punishment.

"But for the Lamb, the Lamb of God,
Up on the hill-top green,
Only a cross, a cross of shame,
Two stark crosses between"

In Church, Jesus is referred to as the "Agnus Dei", the Lamb of God, the sacrificial lamb who in some mysterious way, through his death, freed mankind from sin, and by his resurrection on that first Easter morning demonstrated the power of God over sin and even death. On Easter Sunday, our churches will be adorned with flowers, our hymns of praise will ring out across the Valley as we celebrate the most incredible event the world has ever seen; Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, executed as a criminal, laid to rest in another man's grave, had overcome death, and the world would never be the same again.

Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia!

with every blessing
.(Vicar)   


M
A Christmas message
Dear Friends,
Children love to see the Nativity depicted in Church at Christmas, with Shepherds, Wise Men, animals and the centerpiece of Mary and Joseph with the infant Jesus.

In one Church a child had attached a gift label to the stable which read:
"To Mankind with Love from God"

Isn't that exactly what Christmas is all about.....a gift of love from God.
We may receive many gifts at Christmas, but none so precious as that symbol of God's love for us all.

Come and celebrate with us at any of the services in our three churches. A warm welcome awaits you all.

With every blessing for Christmas and the New Year


    (Vicar)
*******************

Churchwardens;    
Malcolm Rolfe   Lambourn
Bruce Laurie    Lambourn
Sally Wright   East Garston
Sylvia Ricketts   Eastbury
Rosemary Mcllvenna   Eastbury