Dear friends at St Mary’s
A big thank-you to all who turned out for the churchyard work party on 16
th October. We made a terrific impact (on the overgrown top area of the churchyard, helping Nick to keep it usable for future generations in this community), and a lot of smoke! Apologies to anyone who was thinking of hanging out washing that day. And special thanks to Stella and Judith for providing bacon rolls and coffee in the Walled Garden in the middle of the morning.
I hope you have our
Show and Tell evening in your diary for
Friday 26th November in St Mary’s Church. It is for anyone who lives in the village or is interested in the Claverton community (including church members and guests). So many of the buildings in Claverton have interesting stories behind them and histories we may all be interested in, whilst most of today’s residents have been here for a relatively short time in the big scheme of things. Bring along a photo, an artefact, a book or newspaper article, an interesting story or factoid about the home you live in, and find out about your village’s past. We have guest speaker Charlie Skrine coming to see and to share his perspective as one “to the manor born” who grew up in Manor Cottage and wrestled with his identity and status being so rooted in this place.
“Who do you think you are? – A Claverton Childhood in the relics of ancestors”.
I have asked Carole to put the above notice in November's Claverton News. Let's make the most of this opportunity as a church to link with members of the community and engage with something of great interest together. Charlie will talk about the difference Jesus Christ has made to him, in a way suitable for people who may not be religious or familiar with such thoughts, which will be great for as many as possible to hear.
There has been a great tradition of St Mary's holding a Christmas fair in the Community Hall on Claverton Down, which could not happen last year. We have decided again it would be too difficult to do this well in pandemic-affected circumstances in 2021. Do please let me know if you have ideas for 2022.
The virus seems to be spreading rapidly again and threatening the NHS. Most of us want to forget about it and leave masks and social distancing behind, but let's have a more careful phase now. Do sanitise your hands on the way in and out of church, and I would encourage us all to start wearing a mask again even if we remove it whilst seated. Singing is when we generate the most airborne transmission and many churches insist on masks for singing. It would be kind to the more vulnerable amongst us, and those who are going home to someone more vulnerable, if we all adopted that practice. The volume will be quieter but we can still enjoy the music and reflect perhaps more deeply on the words.
God bless you
Jonty Frith
Rector, Bathampton and Claverton
The Vicarage, Bathampton Lane, BATH BA2 6SW
01225 338055 (home & study) / 07905 883075
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