Poppy Project

Dear friends,

Thank you to all of you who came to help at our crafting service on Sunday; hundreds of knitted and crocheted poppies were tied on to a great net, which is going to be completed over the next few weeks so that it may be displayed as part of our Remembrance commemorations on Sunday November 8th (mark the date!). Felt poppies were also made to be stitched onto the new Remembrance banner. There are many among us who have lost loved ones over the last few years, and the poppies also remind us of them, together with all those who fought and died for our freedom and those who continue to serve in the armed forces. We pray that our knitted poppies will be a tangible demonstration of the common threads that bind us together in our communities, and the service of those who have gone before us upon whose shoulders we stand.

It has been a fearful weekend to be a citizen of France. Communists (perhaps with ties to Moscow), Islamists (perhaps with ties to Iran), nihilists and anarchists (perhaps steered by unseen online agents), disaffected youth, opportunists and criminals took advantage of peaceful protests against governmental ineptitude, and the historical French culture of general acceptance of street action (“we are all children of the Revolution”) to create civic disorder on a scale unseen for centuries. To my mind, it is not insignificant that this protest started with schools, which is where a country’s values are supposedly inculcated, nor that there was a significant cyber attack on French supermarkets a couple of days ago, crippling refrigeration units, ahead of the weekend. “To enrage the French, hit them in the cheese department,” would be a fair assessment, were it not so very serious, and the multiple intelligence failures on display so significant.

In our own country, the sprayers of red paint again tediously took aim at legitimate businesses, probably having been released early from prison. Those who would tear down should know that there are more of us who wish to build, and those who delight in ripping up the social fabric should know that we will outlast them. One of the reasons why is that we know how to knit. If you know what to do with it, a single strand of wool can become a poppy, a baby’s sock, a teen’s jumper, a throw for your chair. The only limit is your imagination. Until a few years back we used to light bonfires on November 5th, often with an effigy atop them, to remember someone who tried, and failed, to blow up the Government. Perhaps it is time we taught the children about him once again.

Worship Services for Sunday 25th October

9.30am Holy Communion at St John’s Stoke Row with Revd Kevin Davies

11am Holy Communion at St Peter and Paul, Checkendon with Revd Kevin Davies

Midweek zoom service: Wednesday Evensong at 5.00pm  410 935 129

Worship Services for Sunday 1st November

9.30am Morning Worship at St John’s Stoke Row

11am Morning Prayer at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, with Revd James Leach.

Nature Notes:

The bird feeders have been restocked, and, after a decently polite interval, the blue tits have returned. Today nuthatch also paid a visit, all peachy in his plumage. Leaves turn and fall in the chilly air. Gusty winds bring down showers of orange, yellow and gold. In the lanes the beech husks collect at the road’s edges in crunchy drifts. Although most of us, in Checkendon at least, are more concerned with the veritable plague of glis glis that seems to be engulfing everyone this year; School, Hall, Church and almost every neighbour at our end of the village. How do you tell if a property has the glis? You just look at the resident – if they are baggy eyed and tetchy from lack of sleep, the chances are they’ve been kept up by ratching noises in walls and ceilings. The word on the street is that the large eared gremlins are now in the sewers, too. Keep your toilet lid closed! How long will it be before they cross the A4074? The Thames?

In contrast to the seemingly unstoppable tide of furry fauna, in another part of God’s universe, (the “virtual” one) I’m pleased to report a small triumph, which may only be of interest to those of you who possess the “geek” gene. In the world of website building, you may or may not be aware that “secure” websites (the ones with “https” in their address) require their owners to have a paid for “certificate”  – this is called “SSL Certification”. These are a set of digital keys which shows that your website and the server that it points to correspond to one another. This digital key/lock combination changes every year, soon more frequently. The geeky thing is that website owners need to know how to “update the certificate” under the bonnet of their website, something that until recently, was way beyond my pay grade. However, I’m pleased to report that earlier this week I managed this operation for the first time with the Langtree Team ministry website. So, don’t believe what is said about old dogs and new tricks.

It is the clock fiddling weekend coming up. They “fall back” an hour next Saturday night/Sunday morning (24th/25th). I’ll look forward to seeing you at our communion services, where we will regroup, pray for the world, our nation, and one another. May the peace of Christ be with your spirit.

Your Rector, Canon Kevin

The Great Net takes shape….