Church Blog

FROM THE VICAR At 10:45am on 6th February 1952, it was announced that King George VI had died in his sleep. His eldest daughter, the 25 year old Princess Elizabeth, who was at that moment in Kenya, became Queen Elizabeth II. The main celebrations for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee are understandably planned for June, when we may hope that the weather might be kinder (and I am sure that our village will play its part to the full!), but it is 6th February on which she reaches the milestone of 70 years as Queen. Never in our nation’s history has the petition in the National Anthem ‘long to reign over us’ been so abundantly answered. Many of us will remember no other monarch. And while [...]

FROM THE VICAR There is something about Christmas which, perhaps more than any other event or time of year, brings people together. Although Christmas itself is a Christian festival, it doesn’t matter what you do or don’t believe – there is room for you, and cause to celebrate during this season. That is a wonderful thing. Of course, Christmas last year was rather different to how many of us would normally have celebrated it. As I write this at the beginning of November, there is still uncertainty about what this winter will bring, and not a little nervousness. But I hope that whatever happens, we will still be able to come together and celebrate in whatever ways we choose. That might still need to be [...]

FROM THE VICAR I don’t know how many of you knew of the computer program ‘Zoom’ this time two years ago. I certainly didn’t. Then the Coronavirus pandemic happened, and we were all under instruction to stay at home as much as possible. As if from nowhere, the popularity of ‘Zoom’ as a way of seeing and speaking to each other through our computers, tablets, and phones really took off. It enabled us to communicate with each other. It helped us to do lots of things in ways we would not have previously imagined, including church services. Of course, it wasn’t without its problems – if the pandemic had a catchphrase, it would probably be “you’re on mute”! As we continued to stay at home, [...]

FROM THE VICAR During my recent illness, I took up running. I had heard many times that it was good for your mental health, so I thought I would give it a go. After all, it doesn’t really cost much to just go out and run. What I had heard was right, it did turn out to be good for my mental health. To my surprise, I have even found myself enjoying it. In all honesty, it might be stretching the truth to call what I do ‘running’. It’s more like a gentle jog, often with a bit of walking thrown in as I tire myself out. I don’t go very fast, and I don’t go very far. You certainly won’t find me entering the [...]

FROM THE VICAR One of the many things which I love about being Vicar of our three villages is the strong sense of community. That sense of community finds expression in so many ways. When I first arrived, it was evident in the huge number of clubs, societies, organisations, groups, and activities which seem to proliferate in our little corner of the world, so numerous that plenty of big towns would be put to shame. The regular contents of this magazine bears witness to that. Whether in Soberton, Newtown or Hambledon, it seems there is little excuse for being bored! The past year has of course been very different. So much of what we normally do hasn’t happened in the usual ways. What has been [...]

FROM THE VICAR A year ago, the patience of our esteemed editor was being put to the test as the emerging Coronavirus pandemic led to a whole host of last-minute changes to the magazine – including several re-writes of the Vicar’s column. I imagine that few of us thought then that we would still be living with such significant restrictions a year later. The amazingly rapid development of several highly effective vaccines has provided a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, but it has been a long and at times very dark tunnel through which we have all been travelling. When I last wrote this column myself, back in the summer, it looked like things were improving – but as we all now know, [...]