I missed church for three Sundays following my last in the parish, but on Sun 8th October I found myself in Holy Trinity Church Stratford-upon-Avon with a group of university friends who have started meeting once a year. It is of course Shakespeare’s Church and so pretty posh and well endowed. I suppose I expected a fairly formal Eucharist but was interested to find a Harvest Family Communion, with reduced liturgy and family-friendly prayers, seeking to include not just choir who sang Rutter’s ‘Look at the World’ but also ‘Harvest Samba’ much beloved of Primary children : (‘It’s another Harvest Festival/ When we bring our fruit and vegetables’). There was a conscious attempt to include not just regular churchgoers but school children and baptism families. Some might look down on this and see it as ‘dumbing down’ but I see it as a desire to reach out and include.
The Licensed Lay Minister (Used to be ‘Lay Reader’) who took the service quoted from a harvest hymn he used to sing at Primary School:
Autumn days, when the grass is jewelled
And the silk in a chestnut shell
Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled
All these things I love so well
(Chorus)
So I mustn’t forget
No, I mustn’t forget
To say a great big thank you
No, I mustn’t forget.
He spoke rather amusingly about the song. Apparently when the song (written by the Catholic schoolteacher and former nun Estelle White) first came out, the choir walked out because of the words ‘jet planes meeting..’ As the preacher said, it’s hardly a common sight, and not particularly autumnal. The song can so easily be criticised – not least because it doesn’t mention God, yet I love the way it encourages children to be thankful for everything, including a ‘win for my home team.’ On that occasion it struck a real chord, for I spent 30+ years in and out of schools and churches getting people to look around in gratitude.
So when he asked us to write something we’re thankful for on the back of a picture of a vegetable, I wrote ‘for 36 years parish ministry and for this church and service where the work is being taken forward.’ When I wrote that, I began to well up a bit, but in a good way
These things I love so well: On the whole I loved being a C of E parish priest, for that mixture of church and neighbourhood, sacred and secular, mystical and everyday. I have many colleagues who have become disillusioned by ministry, and in some cases have given up even attending church. For me, it’s different. Yes, I was ready to retire, but with gratitude.
These things I loved so well.
Hugh's Views 