Dear Friends,

I am writing to let you know of developments in the church at East Garston as well as some dates for your diaries. But first I would like to thank everyone who took part in Mothering Sunday and Easter Day services: the string ensemble conducted by Patricia Glover that played again so beautifully, the children that sang, said prayers, greeted the congregation, took the collection on 18th March, the children who made cards and posies under the guidance of Ann Phillips, Vikki Brooks and Rachel Brown and PCC members and others who arranged flowers that later they gave to their mothers. On Easter Day the church was beautifully decorated by Diana Pilling, Nicola Wall and PCC members, again with Vikki supervising the making of posies for the Easter Garden. Martyn Wright, Ann Phillips and Trevor Butcher, created again a memorable and highly symbolic Easter Garden and Joan Jefferys as always supplied flowers and greenery for the posies. Thank you everyone for your efforts, which were as usual accomplished with reverence and dedication.  The pictures and text for Mothering Sunday are now on the web site and the Easter flowers and garden will be shortly........Please click here

We have had to change the date of our annual meeting – the APCM, which is preceded by the Parishioners meeting. It is now on Monday 23 April in The Friends Meeting House at 7.15pm. The Parishioners Meeting is to elect the Churchwardens for the next year and everyone on the West Berkshire Council East Garston Register of Electors or the Church Electoral Roll is entitled to vote. The APCM which follows on immediately is open only to those on the Church Electoral Roll. This meeting will elect the Parochial Church Council Members for the year, and a report of the last year in the church will be given.
Both meetings will be chaired by The Area Dean – The Revd Canon Rita Ball. It would be good to have as many as possible of those on the Church Electoral Roll with us, if you can. Thank you.

 

Calendar dates:
Sunday 29 April 2012 – Joint Service for all 3 parishes at Lambourn: !0.30am Holy Communion when the Bishop of Oxford, The Rt Revd John Pritchard, will be taking the service.

 

The Queens Diamond Jubilee Weekend: Saturday 2nd June – Tuesday 5th June 2012. We are planning a Thanksgiving Service for the Queen’s Life of Dedication and Service, on Sunday 3rd June at 9am. The church will be decorated accordingly with flowers for the weekend and children will be decorating the churchyard paths. There will be a photographic exhibition in the church illustrating the Queen’s Life. Due to the kindness and generosity of Mrs Robert Lamplough, we are building a (temporary) Diamond Jubilee Garden in the approach to the church lychgate. Maria Carver is the Project Leader for the garden and if all goes well we will sell the plants at the end of the celebrations in aid of church funds.

 

Saturday 21 July 2012 – The East Garston Allotment Association Food Festival, incorporating the third Annual Flower and Produce Show. The Church is again responsible for a grand Cake Stall – may we come again this year to ask if you will bake your superb cakes again? – Thank you. We are also responsible for the tea tent. We are aiming to train teenagers – boys and girls to serve the teas. Please contact Vikki (649 744) or Sally (648 679) - if you would like to help with serving or making sandwiches, cakes, scones, trifles..........etc.

 

Sunday 29 July 2012 we shall again celebrate Lammas – the start of Harvest season, with 3 services out in the field around the parish and lunch to follow – possibly a BBQ or picnic. This is a joint celebration to which Eastbury and Lambourn parishes are invited. It was great fun last year – so please join us.

 

 

Progress on appointment of new Parish Priest
Not only are we preparing for a busy summer ahead – (described above), but also we have the over-arching responsibility weighing heavily upon us, of being involved in the selection of our new priest.

 

People in the parishes are very healthily interested in developments on this front. I am constantly being asked to explain the process by which the new priest is to be appointed, the timescale and what point we are at now. This desire to know what is happening is a very positive indicator for the Church of England: there is certainly no sign of indifference. So I am happy to describe what we, the Parochial Church Councils of Lambourn, Eastbury and East Garston churches are currently undertaking. The whole process of selecting the new priest this time is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Reading.

 

The Churchwardens of the three parishes met together several times in the last month or so, with the Parish Development Adviser for the Oxford Archdeaconry - The Revd Canon Olivia Graham and our Area Dean - The Revd Canon Rita Ball. The first stage is to prepare a profile for the job of Priest in the Lambourn Valley. This is done by describing the three parishes and how they differ, identifying the challenges for the future, and the strengths that can be built upon. From that we can form a view about what kind of person is going to be able to galvanise the three parishes into working more closely together, sharing best practice and respecting each other’s strengths.

 

Along the way each PCC has met separately with one or two invited regular church goers. We have also, as a joint group taken part in a half day workshop at St Mary’s Convent in Wantage, when each PCC group presented their contribution to the profile. We are now preparing the draft composite profile, which will go to the Bishop of Reading – The Rt Revd Andrew Proud, for him to add his preface. Producing the profile may seem to some to be an unnecessarily lengthy process, but since it is the basis of the job that is being applied for and also the key to qualities and characteristics that are desirable in the new priest, it is extremely important.

 

The process then continues with the possible advertising of the post in the national press, shortlisting the candidates that apply and then carrying out interviews. Two members of each PCC have been chosen as Parish Representatives: they will be involved in interviewing the candidates along with the Bishop and other senior clergy in the Oxford Diocese. However the plan will be to provide opportunities for people in the parishes to meet the candidates as part of the interview programme. It is difficult to predict the precise timetable, but if the post is advertised in June, the interviews could be in July/August. If the successful candidate is in post when the job offer is made, it is likely that three months notice will need to be given. So that it could be towards the end of the year before the new priest is licensed and installed.

 

Given that each of our parishes has its own very distinctively different culture, producing a common basis on which to recruit our new priest, is no mean task. We will keep you posted on further progress.

 

Farewell occasion for The Revd Tony Cumberlidge
As you will know the gathering to say goodbye to Tony is on Thursday 3 May at 7.45pm at the Queens Arms. We are having a card printed which will be ready next week for everyone to sign, who has contributed to the gift, whether or not they are able to be with us. I will be contacting you all in the next week or so.

Thank you everyone very much for your generosity.
You will know from the letter that you were sent, that we are planning to give Tony a cheque for the total amount donated. If you have not donated but intend to, it would be very helpful to receive this now, so that we can write the cheque. I apologise for reminding you. Cheques can be made payable to East Garston PCC and sent in the post to me. Thank you very much.

Tony is very much looking forward to seeing you all again.
(NB: this is a wine and canapés evening.)

 

With best wishes,

  
 Churchwarden

All Saints Church, East Garston - Holy Week and Easter Services

Dear Friends,

We look forward to welcoming everyone at our services in East Garston during this most important week of the year in the Church’s calendar, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey, through to his crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Day.

April 1st – Palm Sunday  ~ Unfortunately this service has had to be cancelled due to  illness of the Priest. The Service
is now at Lambourn Church at 10.30am.

April 4th - Wednesday in Holy Week 7.00pm  Holy Communion Service (Said).   April 6th – Good Friday 12.00noon  Meditation on the Cross - with hymns   April 8th – Easter Day 9.00am   Holy Communion Children lay posies in the Easter Garden after the service.

We will be decorating the Church on Easter Saturday morning - please contact Sally (648 679) if you would like to help. If you can provide greenery, flowers or a donation towards the flowers, we should be very pleased, as we are encouraging the children of the parish to help decorate and to make posies.

We are building an Easter Garden on Saturday morning.  Adult help and materials (on loan) would be appreciated: stones, gravel, turf, plants etc. Thank you.

Thank you to everyone  and particularly The Young Families of the parish, for contributing and coming to the Mothering Sunday service. Special thanks to the String Ensemble who played so beautifully for us again and to the children who met and greeted the congregation, sang, read prayers and took the collection. What a fine example they set in their tender years, performing their duties with reverence and dedication. (The pics and text will be on the EG web site shortly.)

With best wishes,

 

Yours sincerely

  
 Churchwarden

All Saints Church April 2012

The year in the church has been eventful, but ended in great sadness, when The Revd Tony Cumberlidge, who has been our priest since September 2004, retired on grounds of ill health. Tony had sufficiently recovered after three years of sickness absence, to resume his ministry in East Garston from July 2011 until the end of the year, but sadly was not able to complete this term as he underwent a triple heart by-pass operation in November 2011. Tony has moved to Nottinghamshire and is recovering well. There are now plans for him to minister again in the Diocese of Southwell as a retired priest, to which he is greatly looking forward.

The church in East Garston has developed significantly under Tony’s ministry. It has become a place of celebration and happiness for many people rather than a few. Our festivals have been innovative and have attracted people within and beyond the parish; our Remembrance Service at the War Memorial is a firm fixture now and much appreciated; Rogation and Lammas have been celebrated in the field - reflecting the importance of the agricultural economy in our parish. Our Young Families Group have added a very important dimension to parish activities; 50 children and young adults have been Baptised here since Tony has been our priest.

 

We have had joint services for all three parishes with lunches to follow at The Queens Arms, the Village Hall, The Plough at Eastbury, the Swan at Great Shefford and children’s tea parties at the Quaker Meeting House and the Village Hall. We have had concerts, madrigals sung from the top of the tower, The Bishop of Reading - The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, coming to a Songs of Praise service and so on. Themes from Tony Cumberlidge’s ministry have been - the church is there for everyone rather than the few, and the church at the centre of the community, not on the margins. Tony has nurtured the idea that there are many ways of serving the church: all manner of contributions are very much welcomed from everyone.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of Tony’s ministry has been the pastoral care that he has given to his flock. This is essentially private work and therefore not talked of and known, but because Tony was so much amongst us in the village and in contact with the goings on in the parish, he was able to bring comfort, hope, love and support, whenever he was needed. Many parishioners will identify with this thought.
We will be able to thank Tony and say goodbye properly when he returns for his farewell on 3rd May 2012 (details from Sally Wright 648 679).

Some highlights of the year have been in the period July to October when Tony was back with us: firstly on a scorching hot day at the end of July we celebrated the old custom of Lammas – the start of the harvest period. The festival Baptism through the Ages at East Garston followed on 10th/11th September with a grand concert on the Saturday evening. Harvest Festival and our Patronal Festival followed in October. The number and range of people to thank for these occasions is too great to do justice here, but please click the preceeding yellow text links and you will see the full story with the credits – text and photos.

I would like to thank a few of the people who have given such help in the last year. Please forgive me for not mentioning everyone as there are literally too many to mention all: Ken for his unfailing superb coverage on the EG web site, the Bell Ringers, Peter – keeper of the church clock! The flower arrangers – (principals) Diana, Nicky, Ann; the cleaning team (principals) Julie, Dawn and Bonnie, the Churchyard team - Martyn, Richard and Trevor, Lammas and Harvest lunches - Glenys, Dawn, Ann; Christopher with maintenance help and Martyn again, for his unfailing help with everything that needs doing!

Special thanks to our Parochial Church Council members for their support in this last year and now as they share the responsibility for helping to select our new priest, whom we look forward to welcoming later in the year.
Lastly but very importantly – thank you all for your loyalty and support to me in a difficult year.

 

Yours sincerely

  
 Churchwarden

22nd February 2012

Dear Friends,

I am writing to give you an update on developments at East Garston church. You will know that the Revd Tony Cumberlidge has now sadly retired on ill health grounds and is living in Nottinghamshire. Tony has made good progress since his major heart surgery at the end of 2011 and is planning to resume his ministry as a retired priest in the Diocese of Southwell, when his health permits.

I wrote last December, saying that we are arranging a farewell occasion for Tony when we can say goodbye properly, since his emergency move into hospital prevented this happening before he left the Lambourn valley. This will be in East Garston and will take place on Thursday May 3rd, at The Queens Arms in the evening. I will write separately to everyone in the parish about this, as well as to friends in Lambourn and Eastbury. For now we just want to mention the date for your diaries – as very many people have expressed a wish to be there.

 

It seems a long time since our Christmas Day Family Service, when delightfully, children in the parish (and far beyond!) including Pat Glover’s Music Club String Ensemble, took a major part in the service.
Thank you everyone for coming and filling the church, even though to Tony’s great disappointment, he was not able to take his last Christmas service with us. If you have not seen the pictures on the EG web site, please click here.

Now to Mothering Sunday, when we will have a similar Family Service at 12 noon. The Music Club will again be playing, with even more musicians! We shall ask all the children to sing as at Christmas – this time it will be the chorus of All things Bright and Beautiful and the first verse: Each little flower that opens (if they can!). Mother - bedtime practice worked last time, thanks.

 

Other things that we will ask children to do are: prayers, readings, taking the collection etc.
On Saturday 17th March, as before, we will be having 2 sessions for the children to make cards and posies of flowers to give to their mother at the service the next day. This will take place in
The Friends Meeting House, at 10am-12noon and 2pm–4pm. All materials will be provided.

 

Adults - please bring if you wish, a flower or posy to the service, to remember your mother. These will be placed on the altar for the duration of the service, or given to mothers at the service.
We are hoping that as last year we will have mothers with babies in prams at the service.

 

Other dates for your diary: (details to follow nearer the time)

Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter Day 1st - 8th April
Church Annual meeting on 24 April 7.15pm The Friends Meeting House
The Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations 2nd 3rd and 4th June

 

Selection of a successor to The Revd Tony Cumberlidge:
The selection process is underway now. We will keep you informed as things progress, but it is important that you know that it will be some months before we can expect to see a new Priest in Charge installed. This is because the selection process is thorough and necessarily quite complex. Also, the new incumbent when chosen, will probably have to give 3 months notice in his/her current post.
Thank you for your continuing loyalty and support.

 

Yours sincerely

  
    Churchwarden