church letter

“Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote . . . ,”

No, I haven’t gone mad, and neither have I lost my dictionary nor disabled my spellchecker.

Those are the opening lines from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales – his collection of stories recounted to pass the time by his ill-assorted group of pilgrims, making their way to the Thomas à Becket shrine at Canterbury. The 29 pilgrims have waited until April – the month of “sweet showers” – to start their journey. So early in the month when I write this, I can’t be sure about the “drought of March”, though maybe it wouldn’t be altogether a bad thing after the last few months of floods and rainfall which have been anything but sweet.

In Chaucer’s narrative, he meets up with the travellers at the start of their journey, in the Tabard Tavern in Southwark, where they agree to entertain each other in the evenings with a story-telling competition. Although they are such a motley crew, the group does in fact represent what was seen at the time as the three social orders: “those who pray” (clergy and members of religious orders), “those who fight” (knights and the nobility) and “those who work” (serfs and peasants). It would only be in a unique setting such as a pilgrimage, that these people would be coming together socially. Chaucer paints pithy and sometimes scathing pen-portraits of the faults and foibles of each of them – with the religious orders clearly no better than any of the others! The stories they tell are as varied as their characters and backgrounds.

What this odd bunch of people all have in common is that they are travelling the same road to the same destination, and with the same purpose in mind – to worship at the sacred place where less than two hundred and fifty years earlier, in 1170, a man – Archbishop Thomas Becket – was brutally killed for adhering to his faith. Canterbury had become a regular place of pilgrimage for the English during mediaeval times – although Jerusalem, the place of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus – was seen as the ultimate holy destination. Perhaps surprisingly, given the arduous and surely uncomfortable nature of their journey of about 112 miles, these travellers all seem to manage to rub along together fairly smoothly.

As we approach Easter this year, I find myself thinking about Jerusalem 2,000 years ago under the brutal rule of the Romans, and then about all that is taking place in that region today. I find myself considering Chaucer’s pilgrims, and then all of us, with all our differences, and all our similarities, all treading the same road, to a common destination. And just as they travelled, with hope and fellowship through the uncertainties of an unfamiliar landscape, maybe this “Aprille” we could be trying to do the same – each telling our stories and each listening to the stories our fellow pilgrims all have to tell, in respectful companionship with each other.

Useless – but interesting – item of info: that word companion means one who “breaks bread” (or shares food) “with another”?!

Jenny

Church Contacts

Benefice Administrator: Tamara Laing, part-time at the Benefice Office Email: wbboffice@gmail.com 07359 327072.

Churchwardens:
Inkpen: Charlotte Bampfylde (tel. 669285).
Combe: Tina Fiertz (tel. 668529), Katherine Astor (katherine@kirby-house.co.uk).

Inkpen graveyards on-line

For anyone wishing to view the details of Inkpen's graveyards, including burial details, grave stone inscriptions and the location of the graves, please click here.  Inkpen Burial, Marriage, Baptism and Birth records covering the period 1607 to 1837 can be found on the Inkpen history website, here.

NEWS FROM ST. MICHAEL'S

You may well be aware from all you hear or read in the media that things keep happening in the Church of England. Sadly very few of them are to its credit. But what is becoming increasingly apparent is that if it is to survive let alone prosper this can only be by support at Parish level. So it is with much gratitude that we thank the village for the support you give.

St. Michael's as a building is open 8.30am to 4pm seven days a week and for services all are most warmly welcomed. But as a 'body corporate' its Council is accountable once a year to the village. This is at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting to which all who live in the village are entitled to attend, to hear Reports over the past year and to have their say. However, only those who are on the Church Electoral Roll have the right to vote. They must be baptised and resident in the village or be regular worshippers to have their name put on the Roll. This year's Meeting is not until May 8th and will be held in the Church Room at 7pm.

The Revision of the existing Roll takes place before that date so if you want your name to be added, contact the Electoral Roll Officer who is Tim des Forges by email - tim@godsondesforges.co.uk - before 17th April. This sounds very officious I'm afraid, but that's what the book says.

The first service this month is Parish Communion at 9.45 on the 7th April and will be led by Revd. Patrick Whitworth. The second is Holy Communion following the Book of Common Prayer and is at 8.30 on the 14th April. And the third is Compline which will be led by Christopher Sears at 6pm on the 21st April. And we can look forward to the Benefice Rogation Service which will be held at West Woodhay Church at 10am on May 5th. Roll on Spring!

CHURCH FUNDING
We are again appealing to the many people who have given generously in the past and to others who would like to support the upkeep of our church. If you would like to donate to St. Michael's Church Inkpen, please do so using the secure website www.parishgiving.org.uk.

Your donations are vital to the upkeep of our beautiful church which so many rely on for weddings, baptisms, funerals and memorials as well as regular services. Thank you.

church services FOR INKPEN AND COMBE

INKPEN
Sunday 7th April - 2nd  Sunday of Easter - Holy Communion at 9.45am
Sunday 14th April – 3rd Sunday of Easter – Holy Communion at 8.30am
Sunday 21st April – 4th Sunday of Easter - Compline at 6pm

COMBE
Sunday 21st April – 4th Sunday of Easter - Holy Communion at 11.15am

Other Services in the Benefice are on the Website which is www.walburybeaconbenefice.org.uk

catholic services

Our Lady of Lourdes, Priory Road, Hungerford RG17 0AF Parish Priest - Fr Zbigniew Budyn 01635 40332

Sunday Mass - every Sunday at 9.00am
Weekday Mass - every Wednesday at 10.00am

For further information on regular service as well as and memorials contact Paul Burrough Tel: 01488 668882, Mobile: 07836 292976, Email: paul.burrough43@gmail.com

OBITUARIES - Jeannine Barber - a Tribute

We are sad to report the passing of Jeannine Barber, a long-time resident of Inkpen, who died in February of this year. Residents and CPRE Newbury & Hungerford, who knew Jeannine (Lady Barber) pay tribute to her longstanding and tireless campaigning to save the countryside from destruction.

Jeannine was an Inkpen Parish Councillor and Chairman for many years and was involved in various campaigns and initiatives with CPRE, the countryside charity. She became involved locally with the preservation of Hedgerows and campaigned against the 2,000 houses to have been built on the land near Watership Down, Sandleford, south of Newbury, a landscape designed by Capability Brown.

Jeannine was recognised for her opposition to the controversial Newbury bypass (referred to as the Third Battle of Newbury), and to the felling of over 10,000 oak trees and the decimation of the woodland needed to make way for this controversial bypass. Jeannine delivered food to those campaigning (including Swampy), who inhabited the trees in order to block the way of the bulldozers. In recent years, Jeannine moved from Windrush House to Shalbourne, and suffered poor health. It was clearly a struggle for her to maintain the momentum of her earlier years.

It will be hard to replace Jeannine, and find such dedication, determination and passion for the English countryside and AONB (now known as a National Landscape).

For more information about CPRE, the countryside charity - contact www.cpreberkshire@btopenworld.com. and become a supporter or volunteer.

A victorian view - now and then

The images of St. Michael's past and present are shown here