EDITORIAL
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It’s good to know some things don't change. On 14`h August I spend a pleasant hour talking to the campers outside Alvescot church, and the world-peacers are as idealistic and committed as when, 30 years ago, we marched happily yelling `Hey, hey, LBJ, how many boys did you kill today?' And as complacently woolly-headed. And as addicted to conspiracy theory. And as able to pluck dubious `facts' from a very soupy sense of history.
And just like then, the more they say no one is in charge, the more it is obvious that it is the one with the intense stare and the ability to talk in paragraphs: Anna Linnea from the Aland Islands. (Between Sweden and Finland, if you must know.) Ask her `what time is it?', and she will at once explain how clocks work, how to make one, and that the Swiss clock-makers are in league with the Americans to take over the world.
Ah yes, America. `The devils are at the gate' (or some such thing) is emblazoned on one of the banners. Jamie from Scotland insists that they do not particularly hate Americans, well, not more than any other 'arms-dealing assassins'. But there are only two graffitied flags strung along the bushes, and they are both American. Everyone needs a bogeyman, and the Americans certainly get it in the neck. On the one hand they are crazy children who need educating, and on the other they are crazy Svengalis who need locking up.
Alvescot Peace Camp is already advertised on
`The camp is in a very pleasant area of green next to the church at Alvescot... There are about 10 people staying at the camp at the moment, who have located a standpipe for water and are fairly well set up and very welcoming.'
It sounds delightful, and so it is. Sitting about in the sun, stirring the bonfire and a large pot of stew, and rapping about the iniquities of governments everywhere. Sarah from Oxford (older, pin neat and concerned) even provides cooking lessons for camouflage-coated Kara from Lancashire: `No dear, make the tea with the boiling water before topping up the kettle.'
Of course they are also Doing Something Important. A plane goes over, and they jump up and enter the details into a big red book. `We are monitoring the planes, and we know which ones are carrying bombs for Israel' they say.
Ah yes, Israel. Most of them think Israel should not exist, and Kate from Evesham says American foreign policy is controlled by `fanatical Jews'. She believes the Jews declared `economic war on Germany in 1932', and for good measure that `the Bishop of HerefordWorcester is as bad as Adolf Hitler.' Sarah from Oxford looks a bit uncomfortable at this, but says that one accepts all allies in the battle for world peace. I make my excuses and leave.
Richard Martin
PARISH & BENEFICE SERVICES
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3rd September - Trinity X11
10.30am Westwell Benefice Eucharist Service HM, NUW, EJ
6.00pm Broadwell Evensong NUW
loth September - Trinity XIII
9.00am B Bourton Holy Communion NUW
9.00am Broadwell Holy Communion (BCP) HM
9.00am Westwell/Holwell Combined Holy Communion EJ
10.30am Filkins Parish Communion HM
10.30am Shilton Parish Communion &
Children's Church EJ
11.00am L Faringdon Matins NUW
6.00pm Alvescot Songs of Praise EJ
6.00pm Kencot Evensong HM
17th September - Trinity XIV
9.00am Holwell Holy Communion NUW
10.30am Broadwell Matins NUW
10.30am Kelmscott Family Communion HM
10.30am Langford Morning Prayer AP
6.00pm B Bourton/Alvescot Combined Evensong HM
6.00pm B Poggs Evensong NUW
6.00pm Westwell Evensong AP
24th September - Trinity XV
9.00am Kencot Holy Communion (BCP, no sermon) NUW
9.00am Shilton Holy Communion HM
10.30am Alvescot/B Bourton Combined Parish Communion NUW
10.30am Filkins Family Communion EJ
11.00am L Faringdon Parish Communion HM
6.00pm Holwell/Westwell Combined Evensong EJ
6.00pm Langford Evensong HM
There is also a Communion Service at Black Bourton every Wednesday at 10.00am
CELEBRANTS
AP Arthur Pont EJ Liz Johnson
HM Harry MacInnes NUW Neville Usher-Wilson
BENEFICE SERVICES
All services are at 10.30am unless otherwise stated
5th November Kelmscott
3rd December Langford
THE LECTIONARY
3rd September - Trinity XII (G)
Song of Solomon 2.8-13 Psalm 45.1-2, 6-9 [or 45.1-7]
James 1.17-end Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23
10th September - Trinity XIII (G)
Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Psalm 125
James 2.1-10 [11-13] 14-17 Mark 7.24-end
14th September - Holy Cross Day (R)
Numbers 21.4-9 Psalm 22.23-28
Philippians 2.6-11 John 3.13-17
17th September - Trinity XIV (G)
Proverbs 1.20-33 Psalm 19 [or 19.1-6] or Canticle: Wisdom of Solomon 7.26 - 8.1
James 3.1-12 Mark 8.27-end
20th September - Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist ( R)
Proverbs 3.13-18 Psalm 119.65-72 2 Corinthians 4.1-6 Matthew 9.9-13
24th September - Trinity XV (G)
Proverbs 31.10-end Psalm 1
James 3.13 - 4.3, 7-8a Mark 9.30-37
CHILDREN'S CHURCH
Children's Church dates for remainder of 2006
All activities start at 10.15 in Shilton Old School. Some of these dates might be subject to change. Watch this space.
10th September I
12th November
October (No service)
10th December (Christingle)
Thank you for supporting our Children's Church and we hope that many more of you would like to join. For more information or any queries please contact Harry McInnes (01993 845954) or me on 01993 847039.
Debs Price
HO HO!
A chap came out of church after the service. The vicar grabbed him by the hand, pulled him aside and said:
`You need to join the Army of the Lord!' `I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Vicar.'
`How come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?' 'Shhh! I'm in the secret service.'
THE RECTOR'S LETTER
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Dear Friends
Tracing your ancestry has become one of the fascinations of this generation, and the internet has opened up the possibility of exploring a genealogy in a way that was not open to past generations; although it is said that the cheapest way to have your ancestors researched still, is to run for leadership of the opposition!
I had the chance in July of looking into my family history. We had a weekend gathering of a large number of the descendants of my great great grandfather Miles MacInnes (right) who used to live in Carlisle. There were cousins galore including some from Canada, USA, and Australia. We had a wonderful weekend that took in lunch and supper parties, picnics in the grounds of Rickerby house the home of Miles MacInnes and a MacInnes family thanksgiving service at Stanwix parish church where Miles used to worship. But apart from the excuse for a party, it made me aware of how important family life is.
The man we were celebrating was a man of unquestionable integrity and shining faith. One of his
contemporaries had said `simplicity and humility were wonderful to see in a man of his business capacities and
intellectual power.' Another made the comment `whenever I have thought of him, I have felt I was seeing what it meant to walk with Christ. No one has impressed me so much with what God's nearness means in the daily life of a man of action.'
It raised the question of what had been the formative influence in his life. The answer was not difficult to find. His father and mother had been people of faith and prayer. His father had been a general, who amongst other things had quelled a mutiny in India by his calm and gentle authority. But when it came to his home life, as a friend said of him, `his one desire was for the spiritual health and well-being of his children, and he set this before any worldly position or social advantage.'
It is an interesting kind of Will for his descendants to inherit, and very difficult to better. A home which is not only loving, and with Christian values, but which also sees the nurturing of a the inner life of children as being vital for their growth, that is a purpose that I think we still so need. So many of the problems we face in society today stem from the fact that we have become increasingly materially rich but spiritually poor.
The other thing that stood out in my ancestors was that they lived lives of service. They had a deep sense of responsibility for others, and a desire to deal with injustice and inequity. It was born out of a sense of gratitude for what God had done in their lives, and a longing to share the benefits they had received. So as we move into the autumn months, the words of the Apostle Peter are worth remembering `the promise of God' he said `is for you and your children and your children's children.' It's a challenge to make sure that we don't deprive future generations of the knowledge of the inheritance which they can have.
Harry MacInnes
ps: The photograph above is of three of Miles' descendants, all also called Miles: his great grandson, his great great grandson and his great greatgreat grandson (our son).
MILES' RECOLLECTIONS OF THE HIGHLANDS
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In 1911, at the request of his children, Miles MacInnes set down his recollections of his own family history. In this extract he records the story of his grandparents marriage in 1828, and his own memories of life in the Scottish highlands later in the 19th century.
After (for those days) the prolonged wedding journey, your grandfather took your grandmother to the Highlands to introduce her to his mother, and his Scotch relations and friends. They used to tell us that when some of the Highlanders came in to see the bride they asked, `Where is the leddy?' exclaiming, when she was pointed out, `Without a mutch!' (a cap); for though only twenty-six, a cap was the distinctive mark of the married lady.
I remember long after that in the Highlands the `wives' (married women) always wore pretty white caps, with a high crown, sometimes lined with pink, and a frill round the face. This, with a good plaid shawl, was the universal costume for Church; not a bonnet was to be seen.
The `lasses' (every girl was a`lass,' till she married, even if she was seventy : I remember hearing it said of a quite old lady, `There's a lass can take her porridge as well as a bairn!') wore their coils of hair tied with a ribbon. I have seen them carrying their shoes and stockings in their hand, till they got near the town, and there stopping to put them on. The children were always barefoot. The change to fashionable hats and flowers, and bonnets for the `wives,' is not nearly so picturesque.
Old ladies, at least after the age of sixty, to my recollection seldom wore their own hair, but wore brown or reddish fronts of false hair with curls at the side. I remember a lady calling at our house being remarked on as `so pretty' because she wore her own white hair.
The Presbyterian services were long. My impression is they lasted at least two hours and a half; this was a moderate allowance-the sermon about an hour and a half. How would those who think half-an-hour long for a sermon, endure them? I remember nothing about the sermons, except the interest of seeing the snuff-box go round the precentor's pew, where he sat with his choir, and finally being handed up to the minister!
Almost every Highland family had relations in India; brothers, uncles or cousins. Though it was about a hundred years after `the '45,' and my grandmother was not born till after that date, I remember it being said, 'Suchand-such a family had relations out in the '45,' and a dirk was given to your father, said to have been used at the battle of Culloden; the handles of the dirk and knife and fork in one sheath being made of heather roots. The field of Culloden looks small indeed to have been the scene of a great decisive battle, the last between Scotch and English. There were Six brothers, said to be the descendants of Prince Charlie, who lived in Ross-shire, and were objects of romantic interest in my early days.
We had some faithful and attached servants. They firmly believed in witches, and there were some beggars, who were never turned away for fear they should look with the `evil eye.' It was a belief that a witch could only be shot with a crooked sixpence, and a story was told of some one shooting at a hare, and on going to pick it up found an old woman under the hedge.
The beautiful river Ness flowed past our grandmother's house, so full of salmon that in early days servants made a stipulation, they should not have salmon more than a certain number of times in the week.
Porridge was the staple food of all the poorer classes, for which, I fear, the teapot, with its leaves stewing on the hearth, ready to be used at any time, is becoming a vicious substitute.
Shootings were never let. Grouse were never sold.
The `Sabbath' was much more strictly observed. I remember my mother stopping my governess and me, from playing hymns on the piano on Sunday, for fear it should bring a mob round the house. Later still, I remember a very nice Highland servant declining on a week-day to come to family prayers, because we had a hymn to the piano, which she said seemed like `dance music'
Another prejudice was against placing flowers near a corpse. Father Ignatius (the Rev. H. L. Lyne) began his career in Inverness and Glen Urquhart, and nearly raised an uproar by, in his kindness, bringing white flowers to place near the body of a child. The widow of a Presbyterian minister, a friend of our family, spoke very warmly of him, and said how she valued his influence for her sons; it was so pure and true. He used to call her his `Presbyterian Mother.'
Ladies never attended funerals in Scotland. The chief mourner, or mourners, walked behind the hearse, with deep muslin bands attached to the neckcloth, and white muslin cuffs on their coat-sleeves, and it was the custom to appear in church with them the following Sunday.
HARRY TAKES UP THE STORY
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My great great grandfather, Miles, and his wife Euphemia had eight children of whom four, Harry, Neil, John and Rennie are shown (left to right) in this photograph which was taken about 1879.
`I am descended from Rennie who became Bishop of Jerusalem. His son also became (by this time) Archbishop of Jerusalem, and his son is David, my father.'
Harry Macinnes
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Our monthly meeting this month will be in Filkins Methodist Church Schoolroom on Wednesday 6`h September at 2.45pm. The speaker will be Bishop Bill Down of Witney, who retired to this area after a full and interesting life. As usual, all are welcome.
Marjorie Barstow
SHILTON BAPTIST CHAPEL
I remember in the April edition of "Parish Pump" enthusing about the summer season ahead after the pleasant spring days and cheerful garden signs. But I didn't foresee the hot days in July producing desperate measures to try and keep cool, and the steamy nights finding it difficult to go off to sleep.
We look forward so much to the summer days but sometimes get more `summer' than we like. However, it really is a better time of year - holidays to enjoy, long hours of daylight, and not being shut-in so much. A lot to thank our God for (compared to the winter months).
We will surely be able to look back and be more grateful - despite our days in the `tropics'. And we can remember, whatever the weather, God's love is unchanging and steadfast.
Ray Honeyford
Preachers for September
3rd September Informal
l0th September Graham Sparrowhawk (Communion service)
17th' September Barry Shepherd
24th September David Earl.
This will be our Harvest Festival and we would be very happy to welcome visitors to share our thanksgiving to God for all his goodness to us for another year.
Elizabeth Harfield
FILKINS & DISTRICT ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
The next Branch Committee Meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 5`' September at The 5 Alls, Filkins.
Jeremy Taylor
HAPPY BABY AND CHILD FAYRE
WIntel's first Baby and Child Fayre is on Saturday 30``' September from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Free entry. Celebrities `Big Jo' from Jo jingles and local author, Meg Harper will be there. See exciting advertisement on page 51.
FROM THE REGISTERS
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HOLY BAPTISM
16th July Langford Elliott Andrew Todd
13th August L.Faringdon Jacob Ian Lee Griffiths
Joseph Albert George Griffiths
Annie Marie Rose Griffiths
HOLY MARRIAGE
22nd July B BourtonNicholasWilliamHills to Sarah Louise Flynn
29th July Holwell Benjamin Hugh George Gibson to Lucinda Jane Butler
5th August Filkins David Allison to Stephani Havard
HOLY BURIAL
14th July Alvescot Cremation at Kingsdown followed by Burial of Ashes
Ernest George Oakey aged 79 years
31st July Filkins Florence Amy Hicks aged 83 years
11th August Kencot Elvira Teresina Partridge aged 87 years
ROUND OUR VILLAGES
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The 15 villages that make up the 11 parishes in the Shill & Broadshire Benefice are lively places! Every month there are dozens of events organized by the many local organizations that flourish here. We are pleased to report on every event that has happened, and to publicise all those that are to come. We try to incorporate all the many contributions we receive, but please accept that we can not always advertise your particular event in the way you would like.
But do keep sending us all your Village News.
ALVESCOT
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St Peter's
DON'T FORGET THE QUIZ
There will be a quiz night at the Village Hall on Saturday 7th October. Ring me for further information, and ticket. 01993 842135.