Amberley Parish Magazine
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Amberley Parish Magazine Brian Atkinson May 2014 60p 1 Sarah Goodwin Chartered Accountant Do you need help completing your Windmill Print & Graphics a trading division of MDL Kelex Ltd tax return? EXPERIENCE WITH THE PERSONAL TOUCH Or with preparing your accounts? For all your print - from the Telephone: 01453 873381 everyday to the very unusual Email:[email protected] For a professional and personal service 01453 793252 [email protected] DANEK PIECHOWIAK Lyndy Cary DIAMOND POINT Cordon Bleu Cookery GLASS ENGRAVER Catering for any occasions Calligraphy specialist including Choose from a wide range of gob- Luncheon Parties Dinner Parties lets, vases and bowls . Anything Buffet Parties Cocktail Parties you wish can be engraved for that Weddings Funeral Teas very special present. Corporate and any other event work also undertaken Tel: 01453 872261 Telephone 01453 872540 Mobile 07900 473773 AMBERLEY POST OFFICE AND STORES Tel: 872505 Opening Times for the shop and Post Office Monday—Saturday 7 am to 1 pm Sunday 7 am to noon Support your village shop 2 STEVE BIRD PAINTER & DECORATOR Orchard View Middle Street Eastington GL10 3AZ Tel: 01453 823949 Mobile: 07973 445019 Email: [email protected] Amberley Cottage OXFORD GRADUATE OFFERS Bed and breakfast LANGUAGE TUITION. Amberley Cottage, FRENCH, GERMAN, Littleworth, Amberley, ITALIAN, SPANISH. Gloucestershire, GL5 5AG ALL AGES ALL LEVELS Phone: 07583 915311 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE [email protected] Local bed and breakfast in idyllic rural setting, Contact: Annabelle Thompson with spectacular views across the Nailsworth 01453 861143 valley. For further information contact Wendy Law at the above. 3 Services for May Thursday 1st May 8 am Holy Communion (St Philip & St James) Sunday 4th May 8 am Holy Communion 10 am Parish Eucharist Wednesday 7th May 8 am Holy Communion Sunday 11th May 8 am Holy Communion 10 am Second Sunday Service Wednesday 14th May 8 am Holy Communion (Mathias the Apostle) Sunday 18th May 8 am Holy Communion (1662) 10 am Parish Eucharist Wednesday 21st May 8 am Holy Communion Sunday 25th May 8 am Holy Communion 10 am Parish Eucharist (Methodist) Wednesday 28th May 8 am Holy Communion (Lanfranc, archbishop) Thursday 29th May 8 am Holy Communion (Ascension Day) Julian Group (Silent Prayer) every Friday, 9.00 am - 9.30 am in the Littleworth New Room – Everyone welcome Morning Prayer from ’Celebrating Common Prayer’ every weekday at 8 am. 4 Editorial At last the disabled access via the bridge has been made safe without too much in- Tuesday 18th February this year was a glo- convenience to users. With the open rious day with wall to wall blue sky, bright joints design of the surface tiles of the old sun and a fairly strong breeze. As I was bridge decking, water was able to pene- admiring the day I heard the plaintive cry trate and saturate the concrete block con- of a buzzard but, when I looked up in the struction below. Successive hard winter direction of Amberley Court, there were frosts have caused the old blocks to break actually six buzzards slowly circling togeth- down – much as with the flight of stone er and ‘hanging’ on the wind – an incredi- steps to the front of the church a couple ble sight. My photograph was quite good of years ago. The finished surface, now, is and my digital camera told me the date. a dense layer of concrete with no joints for We are here in this beautiful rural setting rainwater to penetrate. Not attractive but with some of the most exotic birds that practical. British nature has to offer. It would be wonderful if a knowledgeable ‘someone’ The Easter Celebrations are all over for could write an item for the magazine high- another year and I would like to thank, on lighting the numerous birds around us. your behalf, the unsung heroines of the Cleaning Teams who we count on to turn With the hour having ‘sprung’ forwards to out each year for the annual Spring Clean BST we are now out of the ‘winter blues’ of the church. Thank you ladies (and one and warming up for summer. I don’t or two gents). know if it was a combination of the mild temperatures and the wet of the winter but Just as you get delivery of this magazine the spring flowers and trees blossoms have time will be running on to the Amberley all seemed so much more intense in col- School Cow Hunt (3rd/4th May) building our and abundant in quantity. up to the release of the ‘real cows’ onto the Commons. The Commons always The Revd. Helen has made her presence seem empty from mid-November to mid- felt in the village and it was a delight to May. See the item from the Hayward welcome her at the Newcomers Party on the day before she conducted her first ser- The parish outing to Bath on 19th June vice here in Amberley. Now that Revd. sounds like a fun event and the ‘Let’s Cel- Brian Atkinson has been announced as ebrate Summer’ needs YOU for it also to the new Priest for us in Amberley we have be a fun event. YOUr church - YOUr another ‘Welcoming’ to look forwards to magazine - YOUr support for these (more cakes and wine? – this could be- events!! We need YOU in everything that come a habit!). we do! Fred Ashworth. Sunday Club 4th, 18th and 25th May 5 Written in Retirement Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe (The dealing with concepts which relate to is- Poet’s Love) begins ‘T’was in the won- sues beyond the grave. drous month of May’. A hymn for the The ascension can feel very remote but it feast of St Philip and St James includes shapes our lives as Christians as much as, the line ‘To welcome the first of May’. if not more than, the resurrection. The There is maypole dancing, singing from resurrection transforms us, our relation- the top of Magdalen College tower in Ox- ships and the world around us, but the as- ford, and the cows return to Amberley on cension gives us both the motivation to act the 13th. May is Mary’s month and the and a blueprint of how to do it. Without 1st of May is Labour Day. the physical absence of Christ we might It’s all very idyllic and rural, though on be trailing around after Him waiting to be one May Day, at a university graduation told what to do. We need the ascended ceremony, it poured with rain and the Christ as our role model. temperature plummeted. May is, without As Christians we should have our eyes doubt, my favourite month and this year it fixed on the ascended Christ who has ends with Ascension Day. gone this way before us and, as Paula This is one of the chief festivals of the Gooder put it: Christian year but it is also one of the like Him, let go of all those things we hardest to understand and explain. Mark clutch to ourselves, pouring ourselves and Luke record that Jesus was “taken up out in love for the world. into heaven” and in the Book of Acts a cloud concealed him. Stained glass win- make the most of our permanent dows do not generally help, although I do welcome before God in prayer confi- have an affection for the East window in dent that, because of Christ, we will Amberley Church which, for reasons always be welcome. which I don’t understand, is helpful to like Him, persevere to the end. me. Christian character is Christ- like The theological significance is the fact that marked by love, confidence and te- Christ’s human nature was taken into nacity. It is this we learn from the ris- heaven, where he now exercises all power en and ascended Christ, who has in heaven and on earth. But do you un- gone before us in everything we do. derstand what that means? The difficulty is not that God is obscure but that we are Brian Andrews 6 From Brian Atkinson recap anyway!): On the evening of the first Easter day two disciples were walking the Kathy and I are looking forward very seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. much to our move to Amberley; it is a They knew Jesus had been crucified and beautiful place and everything we see and their hopes completely dashed but they are told shows a welcoming church and were puzzled as well because there were wider community with lots happening. I rumours flying around about Jesus’ body also look forward to working with Helen being missing, wild reports of angels and and the rest of the team across the whole empty tombs. Then they were joined by a benefice. stranger who explained why the events You already know a little about us and our they were talking about were necessary to family but we shall arrive knowing only a fulfil the Scriptures. They reached home handful of people. That of course will and sat down to share a meal; only when change quickly, though I hope you will Jesus broke and blessed the bread did bear with us in our efforts to remember they recognise him – and he vanished. names and put them to the correct faces! They raced back to Jerusalem to share the We hope this will be helped by our inten- news and have it confirmed by other disci- tion to have an Open House soon after we ples. arrive, when everyone can pop in, have a In relation to our own Christian journeys cuppa and a cake and say hello.