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‘Maureen’s Musings’
The Vicar’s monthly letter for the Parish News
September 2019
150 years ago my predecessors as Vicar of Pattingham with Patshull would never have imagined that a female might be occupying the post, a century and a half on! So goodness knows who or what might be in this role in another 150 years?
If the commentators are to be believed, it may be that humanity will have been replaced by Artificial Intelligence . . . . and in my darker moments I am tempted to think that a race of robots might make a better job of caring for God’s creation than we have! And I guess a robot Vicar would not need holidays or to take a rest day each week – and could be available 24/7. So maybe you think this would be a good idea? Ah, but priesthood is as much if not more about ‘being’ not merely the ‘doing’, so I like to think (maybe foolishly) that human presence is still valued when we seek to unburden ourselves, or seek reassurance about the big questions in life?
150 years ago the state of the weather and therefore the success or otherwise of the harvest, would have been a major concern both for clergy and parishioners of communities such as Pattingham, Burnhill Green and Rudge. Most of us may be less dependent on the vagaries of the climate these days but it is still relevant as we look forward to our Harvest celebration on the 22nd of this month.
Wiser heads than mine in the world of agriculture tell me not to worry too much. If potatoes are down, then wheat may be up! Well whatever has happened to delight or depress our farmers, I hope and pray that you will feel God has been good to us once more and we can gather to celebrate God’s bounty – and the hard work of those who labour to provide us with our daily bread and all the other lovely ingredients we like to eat!
With that in mind, we shall also be gathering in the Dartmouth Arms on Monday 23rd September for a short act of harvest thanksgiving and a shared meal. Thanks to the landlord, Nick Lyons, for supplying the room and promising us a delicious cottage pie. We will provide the puds and proceeds from the tickets (£5 per head as we need to keep an eye on numbers, given the size of the accommodation there) will go to the Farming Community Network. This is a charity that works hard to support and sustain those who work on the land.
We hope you will enjoy the little window on the world of 1869 that this edition of our magazine affords. You will note the very male-oriented language of “brotherhood of fellow-Christians and Churchmen” – although I am sure that in practice the church – including the Vicar himself – was highly dependent on the hard work and support of many women as well as men from our villages. For, ‘twas ever thus!’ . . .
Let’s hope that the church, the villages and the parish magazine are still going strong in another 150 years! Huzzah!
Every blessing
Maureen.
P.S. If all goes according to plan, we will be admitting 4 youngsters to their First Communion on September 8th . Do come along and support them! Anyone of more mature years, who would like to talk about the possibility of Confirmation, please have a word with me as soon as possible, as I expect to begin a small group with this in mind in the Autumn.