A letter from the Vicarage – Rev’d Andy Stand

 

Hi Everyone,

How are we all doing?

Recently, in a conversation over dinner, James told us that, that day in school his class had been looking at a poem called ‘Autumn’ or some such title. As he tried to describe the poem to us, it had me reaching for my book of poems by John Keats that I had used when I was studying for my ‘O -Level English Literature exam. Of the half dozen or so poems of Keats that we studied I remember nothing of them except maybe their titles: ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ was one, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ a second and ‘On the Eve of St. Agnes’ a third. The poem that had sprung to mind on this occasion though, I do remember. It’s the ‘Ode to Autumn’.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Given our British obsession with the weather, I often find myself considering the different seasons, find that each of the seasons offers its own joys and delights. Springtime is just full of potential and new life, the lengthening days, budding flowers and tree blossom; Summer (even a British one!) has the comforting warmth and the hours of sunshine. Even winter, with its long nights and often cold, dark, dank and dreary days can offer up the delights of beautiful mornings with weak sunshine picking out the frost, and maybe the beauty of a fresh fall of virgin snow.

Autumns delights though are to be found, as Keats reminds us, in their fruitfulness. The warm colours in the trees as the leaves turn, memories of Conkers, of Pumpkins and the fruits of the harvest.

Each of the seasons, I believe show us some of the glory and majesty of God and his creation, and of his beneficence in giving us such wonderful gifts.

In our services, we sometimes use some of the words, taken from the book of Deuteronomy in the bible, which remind us that everything on Earth, is first and foremost a gift to us from God:

Yours Lord, is the greatness, the glory the splendour and the majesty, for everything in Heaven and on earth is yours, all things come from you and of your own do we give you.

This month, we celebrate God’s bountiful goodness to us, when we have our Harvest thanksgiving services, on the 11th October, and we will I trust, in time honoured tradition bring some of our Harvest ‘produce’ to those services – acknowledging that all things come from God and of God’s own do we give back to Him.

God, is a generous and gracious God, may we always respond in kind.

Autumn is also the time for conferences, particularly of the political party variety.

Some of you will be aware that I have just returned from a few days away at our Diocesan Clergy Conference, this year held in Derbyshire.

During what you might call his Keynote Address to the conference, our new Bishop, Bishop Hugh outlined something of his own vision for the future of the Diocese and has extended a welcome to a number of events where folk, who haven’t met him yet (and I’m sure, even those who have) can hear more of that vision. The nearest one to us will take place at Claine’s Church on Mon 9th Nov, but there are others not too far away.

Why not check out, Join the Story, on the Diocesan website for further information, and go along if you can.

God bless

Andy