Hold out for Christmas Dear friends, As Covid (whether delta or omicron) colours the map again can I remind you all that (i) Christmas Services remain “on” (ii) Live church will be as safe as we can make it, with ventilation and hand sanitizer (iii) social distancing and mask wearing are optional, but advisable and (iv) the best defence against getting seriously…

Welcome Bishop Gavin Collins Dear friends This coming Sunday we welcome Rt Rev Gavin Collins, the new Bishop of Dorchester, for his first visit to the Langtree Team area. He is conducting the 9.45am confirmation service at St Leonard’s Woodcote, where adult candidates from across the Team will be presented. (I’ll be there in my capacity as Team Rector, and also presenting…

The Advent Journey begins. Dear friends, Whether you are a glass half full person (“Christmas is coming!”) or a glass half empty one (“We’re all going catch flu/Covid/be locked down again”) nevertheless the end of November marks the turning from autumn to winter proper. It also marks the start of the Christian year, on Advent Sunday. This is the season of penitence…

Congratulations! Dear friends, In these strangest of times there are yet to be found moments of light. Babies arrive and delight us with the joy they bring; we welcome Meadow and her family to Checkendon this morning for her baptism. Careers grow and blossom; congratulations to Gillian Fraser, acting head at Stoke Row School, for her recent appointment as headteacher of Long…

Remembering the fallen Dear friends, This coming Sunday we will hear again the names of those in our communities who gave their lives for our freedom. The uniformed organisations will gather at Checkendon war memorial (the Lychgate), we will stand in silence for two minutes at 11am and the Last Post will sound. Then, in the church, colours will be presented, and…

A blessing on dystopia? Dear friends, One of the seminal films of the 1980’s was Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner”, starring Harrison Ford, with a soundtrack by Vangelis. Scott gave us a vision of a completely urbanised globe, a vast metropolis with layer upon layer of habitation, where hyper modernity lived side by side with urban collapse, and bio engineering was done in…

Dear friends, The murder of Sir David Amess has shocked and horrified us all. Whether you wish to see it as a racially motivated attack, or a religiously motivated one, or an act of political terror, what is clear is that is a profound assault on the political mechanisms of our country. It has exposed the increasingly vitriolic nature of our society.…

A Cold Snap? Dear friends, It is clear that fuel poverty is going to be vying with the flu as the big issue for the coming cold months. Most at risk are the elderly, and those who live alone. For those of us who can remember the “oil crisis” of the 1970’s, and subsequent economic upheavals, this “gas crisis” also exposes the…

New season, new jab! Dear friends, Let’s give thanks for all those in the healthcare sector, where the pressure is relentless. Do say thank you at your next opportunity, whether that is in the hospital, at the surgery, or even the surgery car park. Let’s keep up our own best practise too in infection control; with ventilation, hand washing, and mask wearing…

Give thanks Dear friends, Come celebrate the Harvest! Whether in person at church, or online in the evening, do take a moment this coming week to thank God for his provision for you and your family. At Checkendon, we’ll be collecting for The Ways and Means Trust, our local mental health charity, and for Water Aid, the global development agency. Frances and…