A View From The Vicarage - January

Dear Friends

Peace Perfect Peace

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to welcome members of the Diocesan Guild of Bell Ringers to Kington Church.  It was an enormous privilege to be able to welcome and above all thank exponents of this ancient and noble craft some of whom, of course, ring the bells of our own Churches.

I reminded the assembled ringers that if we were to travel back in time some three hundred years the sound of Church Bells would be one of the few sounds we’re still familiar with that would have been heard.  Fast forward to our own day and it seems to me that we live in a world of almost constant noise which of course the advent of the internet and “smart phones” has increased exponentially.  Silence is it seems a precious and rare commodity even in rural communities such as ours and it seems also a commodity that people living amidst the clamour of constant noise seek ever more urgently.   One of the most regular comments you read in a church  visitors’ book is about how peaceful the building feels. 

I am convinced that our church buildings need to reclaim the position they once held as multipurpose community hubs;  I’ve known and been involved with some very exciting projects to accomplish this and seen church buildings brimming with life all week through and if we’re to maintain these precious buildings then that has to be part of the mix.  But this must not be at the expense of losing the aura of peace and quiet and a place apart which our church buildings provide so successfully. Perhaps the second most frequent remark you notice is thank you for being open.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ “the Prince of Peace” and that title doesn’t just have global implications it has local and personal ones as well.

As 2020 begins let’s continue to make space amid the hustle and bustle of life for moments of peace and silence away from the insistent clamour of our phones, computers or whatever else it may be and refresh ourselves in “the peace of God which passes all understanding” as the ancient blessing so beautifully describes it. 

May you know peace, joy and fulfilment throughout the year ahead.

With my love and prayers as always.

Ben