Wooden figures and eagle eyes. Dear friends In her first service at Checkendon, curate in training the Revd Romey Poston reminded us about the challenge of Advent in the midst of the world’s pressures. Her words prompted me to belatedly recover our own Advent calendar from the loft. It is a wooden, brightly painted Columbian affair, bought many years ago from Traidcraft.…

In Christ Alone Dear friends, It has been a year when we have seen the government implode, not once but twice. We are faced with the bill, a figure beyond most of us, and to meet it we will likely as not have to sell our children. Please, don’t think I am being partisan. I am not. I am old enough to…

The last jar of marmalade Dear friends It is the time of the year (in our household at least) when the marmalade runs out. By which I mean that the vast stocks created in the jam pan in January have all been consumed. The cupboards have been scoured for the final jars, but now it is all gone. We have to wait…

We will remember them Dear friends, This year has seen the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict. The issue at stake back in 1982 was akin to the situation that Ukraine finds itself in today; the right of a people to not be invaded. The Falkland islanders were British, and wished to remain so. Memories of that short and violent conflict include…

A distant echo Dear friends, Times marches on, bearing us this way and that. The buffets and billows assail our little vessels; time and chance may both be cruel or kind. A 38 year old recording surfaced a few weeks ago of the rock band I played in at University; not quite a lost BBC treasure, but nevertheless a blast from the…

Breaking Bridges Dear friends, We live in times of flux. The settlements of yesterday are not working anymore. Partnerships previously taken for granted are under question. The attack on the Kerch Bridge between Russia and the Crimea showed just how pasionately the Ukraine no longer wishes to be regarded as an adjunct of the Russian state. The Brexit decision was a cry…

Langtree Team Churches Ukrainian Refugee Local Support Fund Dear friends, I’m very pleased to announce that a generous anonymous donation has allowed Checkendon Church to launch a fund specifically for the support of Ukrainian refugees hosted in the Langtree Team area. Hosts have been contacted with details about how to apply. The fund remains open for lump sum donations (which can be…

A happy baptism Dear friends, Village activities continue apace; Stoke Row Church shared cake with the Friends of Stoke Row School in church last Saturday, and at Checkendon we welcomed baby Charles Hildred into God’s family, enjoying the chance to greet friends old and new. The music group blessed us all with some classic hymns and songs, and coffee after the service…

Connected Dear friends, We had become complacent about our connected world. Grain from Russia and Ukraine has stopped flowing to Africa, pushing more into desperate flight, or to give in to the temptation pick up a gun. Fragile economies teter on the edge. Our own spiralling energy costs and the resulting inflation come from the  same conflict; the UK economy may not…