Vicar's Letter
May 2013
There was a time when the seasons seemed to fly by. Winter, often dark and cheerless but lifted by the Christmas festivities is followed fairly quickly by spring, my favourite season. Spring usually provides at least a small bunch of daffodils ready for picking to celebrate St David's day on March 1st before we head towards summer and warmer temperatures. Today, April 9th, my first daffodils have only just come into bloom and the vegetable patch is a wasteland. Opening a glorious garden to the public at the beginning of June is a distant dream.
May is, however, just around the corner and as you read this the weather will have improved, the trees will be in blossom and the flowers blooming. I really hope so because the wedding season at St Mary's will be in full swing and my fervent prayer is that it will be warm and sunny for couples who have spent ages meticulously planning as they vow to commit themselves to one another for life.
May Day heralds the coming of summer, especially in rural towns and villages. In many parts of the country the village green is resplendent with Morris or Maypole dancing at the traditional May Fayre. Well Dressing, the art of decorating wells, springs or other water sources with growing things is very popular throughout Derbyshire and dates back to the Celts. It begins in May and continues through the summer months. Later on in the month the Chelsea Flower Show (21st - 25th) beckons those who do not mind wrestling with the crowds and who have their hay fever under control.
At St Mary's we celebrate the Festival of Pentecost on Sunday 19th May. Pentecost marked a turning point in God's dealings with the world as a once small, inward looking group of followers of Jesus became a movement that was on fire, sharing God's passion for mission throughout the world. Pentecost celebrates both the life giving fire of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian Church. It really is the birthday of the Church. This year the North Chilterns Group will be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary with a Pentecost Praise service at St Mary's on the 19th at 4pm. There will be lots of singing and possibly standing room only.
God has made us one in Christ. He has set a seal upon us and, as a pledge of what is to come, has given the spirit to dwell in our hearts. Alleluia and the peace of the Lord be always with you.
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About the Vicar's Letter
The Vicar's Letter has been appearing in the villages Focus magazine since August 2002.
The Rev. Peter Graham also used to publish The Vicar's Letter in the parish magazine of 1964. Please see the Vicar's Letter area for these.
