Ashton-under-Hill The Beckford Overbury Parish Alstone & Magazine Teddington August 2019 50p The English winter - ending in July, To recommence in August. Lord Byron, Don Juan (1819-24) Schedule of Services for The Parish of Overbury with Teddington, Alstone and Little Washbourne, with Beckford and Ashton under Hill. AUGUST Ashton Beckford Overbury Alstone Teddington 10:30am 4th August Village Worship 9:00am 7th Sunday Church Team United Parish CW HC at Alstone after Trinity followed by D Lewis picnic 11th August 6:00pm 6:00pm 10:30am 8th Sunday Evening CW HC CW HC after Trinity Worship D Lewis D Lewis Lay Led 6:00pm 18th August 9:00am CW HC 9th Sunday CW HC D Lewis after Trinity R Tett 25th August 10:30am 10th Sunday United Parish Worship at Little Washbourne after Trinity D Lewis SEPTEMBER 10:30am 1st September 9:00am Family 9:00am 11th Sunday BCP HC Service CW HC after Trinity L Burn Lay Team D Lewis Holy Communion is celebrated at 10.00am on Wednesdays in St Faith’s Church, Overbury Morning Prayers will be said at 8.30am on Fridays at Ashton Clergy: Revd David Lewis Revd Allison Davies Revd Rick Tett (Curate) Parish Office: You can contact Lynne Wilkinson, the new Parish Secretary on the following days and times: Tuesday mornings: Bredon Parish Office, 9am to 12noon: 01684 772398 Thursday mornings: Beckford Village Hall, 9am to 12 noon:01386 881349 or [email protected] Page 2 I guess any introductory article should start by saying “Hello”, and so it is with great joy and much excitement that I say hello to everyone, as I prepare to start my journey with you, as the new Vicar of the Benefice of Eckington, Defford Cum Besford with Overbury. My name is Allison Davies and I am married to Bob, and we have 4 children (Caroline, Alison, Robert and Megan) and 3 grandchildren. However, only Megan is still living partially with us, whilst preparing to start her 3rd year at Aberystwyth University in September. At the time of writing this article, due to summer magazine deadlines, I will not yet have formally moved into Eckington or had my service of Institution. However, whilst recognising it will be hard to say goodbye to many friends made whilst we have lived and worshipped in Redditch, I am greatly looking forward to getting to know you all in the future, and serving in my ministerial role in the beautiful setting of Bredon Hill. You may wish to know a little bit about who I am, and what I have been doing for the last 50 years or so, and so, a brief life history. I was born in Reading, moved to near Cardiff in South Wales when I was 4 and then to the small rural town of Llandrindod Wells in Mid Wales at the age of 11. My father was an agricultural adviser with the Ministry of Agriculture, so I am no stranger to the countryside or rural living, and this may have influenced my decision to take a science degree in Geography, specialising in soil science. However, this was not to be my future, and after graduating, I took a role as a Financial Graduate Trainee with the Welsh National Health Service before taking a job as a Personnel Officer at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch. This is what brought me to the Midlands, and it was not long before I went to work for Stratford on Avon District Council in Human Resources, where I then spent 23 years, ultimately in senior leadership roles. It was at this time that I was called into the ministry, and I always saw myself as being an ordained minister working in secular employment. Therefore, after being accepted for theological college I went to work for Birmingham City Council in Human Resources, before being asked to set up an H.R. function in a Wholly Owned company of Birmingham City Council. It was during this time that I was ordained, and whilst in my curacy in a Team of Churches in Redditch, I felt God calling me into full time Ministry, which brings me to the point of joining you here now within the Bredon Group. In terms of the person, beyond my roles of priest, wife, mother and grandmother, there are probably some things you should know about me:- ♦ I love singing, and I am the longest serving female member of a chamber choir based across Worcestershire called the Oakville Singers, having sung with them for over 30 years. We have sung services in most of the cathedrals in this country and have performed in Paris, Germany, Belgium and Prague. We have also made a CD selling over 1000 copies; ♦ I spent 6 weeks working in British Columbia in Canada in the late 90’s as part of a Group Study Exchange sponsored by Rotary International. If I had not been on the point of getting engaged, I would probably have moved to live in Canada permanently, having been offered a job in Vancouver City Council; ♦ Bob and I have a caravan which we frequently use for holidays. Our favourite place to visit is North Cornwall, but being an ex-student of Geography, I also love the Dorset coast, famous for its fossils. ♦ I love reading fictional historic novels, watching films (particularly musicals), swimming, walk- ing in the countryside and I was also a keen tennis player. However, due to hip surgery which resulted in nerve damage to my left leg, I am now prone to occasionally falling down!! So, if this happens when I am with you, please don’t think that I have had one glass of wine too many!! ♦ I have met various members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, Prince Charles (twice) and Princess Diana. This later occasion was just before they announced they were expecting their first child, Prince William; My decision to become a full-time stipendiary minister has been a long time coming, but I am a firm believer in God’s perfect timing for all things in life. Therefore, I hope my experiences of leading and managing large numbers of people (professionally and pastorally), finances, projects and buildings in different contexts, my love of working in groups and activities with families and children, as well as my desire to help people come to know the love of Jesus for themselves, will all help support my work with you in our Benefice. Bob, Megan and I are looking forward to getting to know you in the coming months, welcoming you to the Vicarage in Eckington and I pray that God will richly bless our time together in the years ahead. With love and blessings, Reverend Allison Davies Page 3 Service Schedule for August: Below are the clergy-led Sunday services in the new schedule being held around the Bredon Hill Group in August. Services at churches in the Beckford Group are in bold. A full list of services in the Beckford Group is on the inside cover. AUGUST 9:00am 10:30am 6:00pm Besford - R Tett Bricklehampton - D Lewis 4th August 7th Sunday Alstone - D Lewis Bredon - Doug Chaplin after Trinity Beckford Group United Service 11th August Little Comberton - D Lewis Eckington - R Tett 8th Sunday after Trinity Bredon’s Norton - R Tett Overbury - D Lewis 18th August 9th Sunday Eckington - Allison Davies Bredon - R Tett Teddington - after D Lewis Trinity Beckford - R Tett Great Comberton - D Lewis Elmley Castle - D Lewis Defford - Allison Davies 25th August 10th Sunday Bredon’s Norton - R Tett Little Washbourne after D Lewis Trinity Beckford Group United Service Tewkesbury Food Bank Tewkesbury Foodbank is busy getting ready for the school summer holidays when it helps low income families with much needed parcels of food, in addition to its normal work. These are needed for many reasons but mainly because school holidays mean no school meals and parents may have to stop work and lose income to be at home with their children. So the Foodbank would be very happy to receive any of the following foodstuffs: Tinned meat and tinned fish Tins of hot dogs Tinned vegetables Tinned fruit Instant mashed potatoes Coffee Fruit squash Long life fruit juice Custard Please leave donations in the baskets at either Alstone or Teddington churches and we will deliver them to the Foodbank. Thank you very much. Page 4 Sunday August 25th at 10:30am - United Parish Worship at Little Washbourne We hope you will join us for worship in this ancient and historic chapel. If it’s a dull day then do bring a torch as there is no electricity and the old box pews in particular can make reading difficult. The collection at the service will be in aid of the parish CATCH project in Mzamomhle and we are sure you will be generous in support of this vital work. Do take great care on leaving Little Washbourne after the service as the dangerous junction with the Stow road has been the scene of several incidents/accidents involving fast main road traffic. We shall be cleaning Little Washbourne church on the morning of Tuesday 21st August from 10am and hope some of you will be able to join us and, as George Herbert put it in Hymn 240 of A&M, “make drudgery divine, who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, makes that and the action fine”. Just in case there are any problems with this date or you have any other queries please get in touch with Anne Kyle on 01242 620351. The Chapelries were visited recently by the Wichenford Heritage Group on a tour of Worcestershire churches.