Friends of Little Gidding Newsletter
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A JOURNEY, IN MAYTIME, TO LITTLE GIDDING F LI O TT Ronald Blythe, preacher at the Eucharist at I hear the litany being blown about as FRIENDS OF S L D E 2011’s Pilgrimage, subsequently wrote this it descends to the redundant church. N G E LITTLE GIDDING I I piece in his ‘Word from Wormingford’ col- Young and old, familiar nameless D D umn in the Church Times, 27 May 2011. faces, often beautiful, enter its cold R F I N NEWSLETTER E ‘If you came this way,’ wrote the poet space. Then the last lap to where Eliot G H famously, ‘… you would fi nd the found that ‘prayer is more than an April 2012 T hedges White again, in May, with order of words’. voluptuary sweetness.’ And he was The Bishop of Peterborough lays BISHOP OF ELY BECOMES OUR PRESIDENT right. It is the feast of Matthias, the fl owers on Nicholas Ferrar’s tomb- We are very pleased that the Right otherwise anonymous man chosen to stone. The Ferrar brothers and George Revd Stephen Conway, the Bishop of mend the broken circle, and we are on Herbert were Westminster schoolboys Ely, has agreed to become the Presi- pilgrimage to Little Gidding. who could hardly have expected to end dent of the Friends of Little Gidding. The verges wave with cow parsley, up here in Huntingdonshire. From the fi rst foundation of the the clouds are mountainous, and red Part of their education was to be Friends in 1946, the Bishops of Ely kites are acrobatic. It really is the most crocodiled along the Thames path by were the President, but the position marvellous tramp. At Steeple Gid- Lancelot Andrewes, learning all the was left vacant when the Friends were ding, I watch the procession breast a way. And, rather to my surprise, for reconstituted in 2003. Now, at last, grassy hill, a happy ‘over the top’, and continued on page 15 the link with our diocesan bishop is happily restored. Pictured, left, at his enthronement last year, Bishop Stephen told us, ‘It is with delight that I accept your invita- tion to take up the role of President. I greatly enjoyed my visit to Ferrar House in the summer and look for- ward to learning more.’ The role of President is largely an honorary one, but Bishop Stephen has asked to meet the Friends Committee to discuss how he can participate. Members will have an opportunity to meet our new President on Saturday 19 May, when he will lead this year’s Pilgrimage to the tomb of Nicholas Ferrar. We hope that as many of you as photo by Paul Skirrow possible will be able to come then. 16 1 This Newsletter is published by the Friends MEMBERSHIP continued from page 16 purposeful sanctuary for the eucharist. of Little Gidding. one can become blasé about modern Shorts, big boots, dog-leads, packs. A big thank you to all of you who have pilgrimage and its attempt to get into Now and then I fi nd myself wonder- The Society of the Friends of Little Gidding renewed your membership this year. It step with another age, I fi nd myself ing ‘what the dead had no speech for is a registered charity, number 1102857, is particularly convenient for us if you also learning all the way. when living’, as the lovely familiar Ferrar House, Little Gidding, Huntingdon, can complete a standing order form pe28 5rj. I have, as a matter of fact, come words that Herbert ‘set’ in his verse so that your membership is automati- this way a number of times without are said yet again. The Friends of Little Gidding was cally renewed each year. moving on from literature into faith. At Little Gidding, fi ve miles away, founded in 1946 by Alan Maycock, May we ask all who have not yet But today it is different. It must be another feast awaits, plus for myself with T S Eliot as patron. The Society rejoined to consider renewing your the tumultuous weather, the reali- a destination loaded with language. was reconstituted in 2003 and seeks membership of the Friends for a sation that our route is the one that Such imagery. Such inescapable sen- to celebrate the life and memory of further year? The Committee has Nicholas rode on his horse when, at tences and songs and memories and Nicholas Ferrar and those who in the appointed Sally Seaman to the revived his old schoolfriend’s careful instruc- friendships. Herbert would have been seventeenth century formed the fi rst post of Membership Secretary, and we tion, he cancelled the ruin of Leighton delighted. ‘Delight’ was high in his Little Gidding community, making hope this will help us keep in touch Bromswold. vocabulary. Although young, he could it a holy place; to help maintain the with Members and encourage oth- This was where our pilgrimage not walk far, owing to the ‘mole work- fabric of Little Gidding Church; to ers to join. Sally can be contacted at assist Ferrar House; and to celebrate began. To somehow lift the meanness ing away in his breast’, that is, TB. <[email protected]> of Bemerton it had been decided to Ronald Blythe the connection between Eliot and or c/o Ferrar House (address top left). Little Gidding. give Herbert the prebendal church of Thank you for your support for Leighton Bromswold. The main income of the Society is the continuing work of the Friends in It was wrecked, needless to say. Eve- celebrating the life of Nicholas Ferrar little gidding subscriptions and donations from rything they gave him was in disorder, its members – people who love Little and his family, helping to maintain the priesthood most of all. He prob- Saturday 19 May Gidding, whether for its history, its and beautify the church, and to pro- ably never saw Leighton Bromswold, air of spirituality, its peaceful beauty, mote the work of Ferrar House. but today we certainly saw him. I 10.30 am: Holy Communion its place as the inspiration for one preached from the right-hand pulpit, at Leighton Bromswold of the twentieth century’s greatest NEWS SNIPPETS looking down on the wide aisle. He pieces of English poetry – or for the 1 pm: Pilgrimage Walk had told Nicholas to think of Isaiah 35 wonderful hospitality provided at Many Members will know Jonathan to Little Gidding Ferrar House! Young (who was incumbent at Lit- when he got the builders to make it. 4.15 pm: Evensong tle Gidding for a year), and Margaret ‘And an highway shall be there, and Please help to support the Friends in Scott (wife of Committee member a way, and it shall be called the Way Pilgrimage leader: their work by visiting and by encour- Richard). Jonathan and Margaret have of Holiness … it shall be for the way- Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely aging friends and groups to visit, both been ill recently, and still are, and faring men … but the redeemed shall Friends of Little Gidding perhaps as pilgrims, for a quiet time, walk there.’ www.littlegidding.org.uk or for an organized retreat or confer- we send them prayers and best wishes for their recovery. We all look forward Herbert’s pale benches bank this ence; and by encouraging them to purposeful aisle, and his greenish consider joining the Friends of Little very much to seeing you both at the Pilgrimage in May if not before! glass casts a springtime light. We pilgrimage Gidding. move from his handsome nave to his 2 15 FERRAR HOUSE NEWS Nicholas Ferrar Day and the 2011 AGM The decision was made to close Ferrar House from the middle of December to the end of January, and this produced real savings on running costs particularly as it coincided with a relatively mild spell of weather. However, it was possible to take phone calls, respond to emails and take bookings remotely resulting in substantial advantages to the House without any perceived loss of business. A team of volunteers checked the House regu- larly, and there appears to have been no detriment either to the fabric of the building or to the business of the House as a result of the six weeks closure. There is cautious optimism over the bookings, which look hopeful for the coming months. February saw a number of retreatants, Quiet Days, and Group bookings. Availability for Saturdays over the next few months is limited. There have been a number of updates to the blog and an encouraging number of ‘hits’. We look ahead to longer days and clement weather, and the garden group Little Gidding Church was fi lled for Keith Presence, stood down as he is now back in action after the winter break. Maintenance has taken place, the the Festival Day of Nicholas Ferrar, had indicated last year. We are very hedges have been trimmed, and the glories of an English Summer at Little Gid- observed on Saturday 3 December, grateful to Keith for his hard work as ding are just around the corner. when the Rt Revd David Stancliffe (who Treasurer over the last few years, and Wendy Skirrow recently retired as Bishop of Salisbury) we hope to continue to see Keith and presided at the Eucharist. As a former his wife Ann at Friends’ events at Little Chairman of the Church of England’s Gidding. Newly-elected as Treasurer Liturgical Commission, and one of the is Peter Powell, who is a paediatrician architects of its Common Worship mod- at Bury St Edmunds, and is also the ern service books, we were guaranteed husband of Frances Ward, the Dean of someone who knew how to lead a St Edmundsbury.