The Rector's Letter
Each month the Rector writes an article for the Parish Magazine
In every Church and every Church school in the Diocese you will find a large book entitled “Saints and Pilgrims in the Diocese of St Albans”. It was written by Bishop Alan in 2103 to celebrate the centenary of the incorporation of Bedfordshire into the Diocese of St Albans. It is dedicated to men and women who have served God in this area, and to those who draw inspiration from them in their life and faith today.
We have a copy in the Lady Chapel and read from it at the Wednesday morning service. Some of the saints are well known like the Blessed Virgin Mary, but others are ordinary people like you and me. What makes them extraordinary is that they have lived their lives well.
As I have lived in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire all my life, apart from when I studied at Cambridge and Durham, I am especially fond of this book as I know some of the people recorded in it.
Among them is Maggie Jeeves father who lived in Silsoe and a lady called Guinivere Ashwell who was the Sunday school teacher when I was Curate in Sandy.
The bishop’s book is about ordinary people who have, in one way or another, lived their lives well and have made a difference to the communities they have served.
In this season of Remembrance we want to remember people we have loved, as well as those we have not known who have died in the service of our country.
On Sunday 29thOctober 3pm is our All-Souls service.
We gather in church and hear the names of our loved ones read out, and we pause to thank God for all they meant to us. Most of them will not be famous but that does not matter. What is important is the love they have shared and our Christian hope in that one day we will meet again on another shore in a greater light.
On Sunday 12TH November at 10.50am we meet at the Village War Memorial to honour all those who died in war for the service of their country. It is important to hear their names read. Young men, who in the prime of life bravely fought for their country and lost their lives.
We never forget our loved ones, the family and friends who have died. Neither should we ever forget those ordinary people, like us, who gave their lives that we might be free.
Yet we need to do more than remember. For each one of us, seeing the devastation that war and conflict brings, should be even more determined to work for peace.
With all good wishes
Lynda Klimas