Easter
weekend is a four-day affair here in the UK.
Our parish offered several ways of worshipping and celebrating the
sacred memorial of Christ’s death and resurrection.
One of the annual Good Friday activities is
called The Walk of Witness. Congregants
meet at a starting point—usually a church, then process through the community,
stopping along the way at significant places, where scriptures might be shared,
but there are certainly songs lifted up in the fresh air and then usually the
procession goes to another church. In
our little parish, at the final stop, tea and hot cross buns are served. It doesn’t matter if it is sunny or
rainy. People use the opportunity to be
seen as Christians.
On Good Friday “Maverick” went up
to help friends work in their garden. He
was invited along to the Walk of Witness in their community. Friday was an over-cast day, but not
raining.
Meanwhile, I observed my
usually Friday hours at work, finishing the weekly newssheets, printing out the
hymn sheets and updating the parish website.
At 1.45 pm I finished my work and went to St. Mary’s for the Station of
the Cross service. The vicar uses
artwork from a local Christian publishing house to set up the stations in the
church. The artist of this year’s
posters also wrote meditations and prayers for each stop. The meaningful and reflective service, which
included music by St. Mary’s choir and congregational hymns, lasted about an
hour.
Maisy is no longer allowed to
come to work with me. But she is now old
enough to be left in the bedroom instead of just her carrier. She was glad when I arrived home about 3.30
pm—and really ready to go out for a walk.
On Saturday (4th
April) John helped other friends build a shed in their back garden. I spent the day at home, working on the
computer. Oh, and taking Maisy out on a
regular basis. She loves to meet up with
her other doggie friends if they are out.
So, she had two sessions off the lead, running with Foo and Divo.
Sunday “Maverick” got up early
enough to attend the 9.30 a.m. Easter Worship at St. Francis church and also
come to the 11.00 a.m. service at St. Mary’s.
That was a very interesting service.
Just at Rev. Robin began his sermon, a member of the congregation called
for one of the doctors to come to attend another worshipper. St. Mary’s is blessed with four doctors in
the house, and within a few minutes, three doctors—all dressed in choir
robes—hurried down the aisle, and the other doctor joined them from one of the
pews. I know many people were praying
quietly, whilst the dear patient was attended.
Paramedics arrived to attend to the ill congregant, which allowed Rev.
Robin to continue with his sermon on the power of the resurrection. The patient was taken to hospital by ambulance,
being taken out while the creed was being recited. I am sure the many prayers offered made a
difference, as our dear friend was kept in hospital overnight, but only for
observation. From an e-mail sent out
later in the afternoon, our dear friend was allowed home on Monday.
After church, “Mr. & Mrs.
Jay” joined “Maverick” and me at the Red Lion Pub for dinner. The afternoon went quickly, as we enjoyed
conversation, and watched children who had their faces painted, and overheard
laughter from fellow diners enjoying the family holiday. Easter was one of the busiest days for the
pub. Yet, with such good company, we
didn’t realise how long it was taking for our food to arrive.
Monday I took Maisy out for a
morning run about 8:30 a.m. with Foo, Sophie, Cassie and Beau.
Their owners and I walked them from one end of the park to the
other. I was reminded of my absolute
need for a pair of “Wellie” boots. My
Ugg boots got saturated, and my socks got soaked before I’d made it down the
foot ball pitches once. Upon leaving the park, Maisy and I then went to buy a
newspaper for our friend “Aimee” before we returned home.
.jpg) |
| "Mrs. Bee" and me. |
“Maverick” and I had been invited
to spend the day with “Mr. & Mrs. Bee.”
At 11.00 a.m. they picked us up.
“Mr. Bee” drove along some lovely country road, allowing “Maverick” to reminisce
about his training rides. The “Bees” wanted
to take us to the pub near Henley-on-Thames that serves South African food,
followed by a visit to Stonor House--one of England's oldest
manor houses, also near Henley-on-Thames . The sun was out and the car was warm. Because the bushes and trees have not as yet
burst forth with leaves, we could actually see fields and valleys that would
otherwise be hidden.
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| "Maverick" and me |
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| Eweleme Church |
Our first stop was at St. Mary’s
church in Ewelme Parish. (It is
pronounced U-Elm). The church is the
burial place of Alice Chaucer, (1404 - 1475), Countess of Salisbury and Duchess
of Suffolk. She was the benefactor of
Ewelme, using her influence and wealth to build the church, a school and
almshouses. The steps leading out of the
church take one down to the almshouses surrounding a courtyard. If you’re interested in learning more of the
history, the website ishttp://www.friendsofewelmechurch.co.uk/
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| Courtyard at Eweleme Almshouses |
After wondering about and
enjoying the church, we got back into car and drove to the White Hart Inn, a 1300s country inn with boutique rooms, a South African-inspired
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| White Hart Bar Lounge |
menu
and a cosy, wood-beamed pub. It was
charming, the service was excellent and the food delicious. John enjoyed curried chicken and prawns,
while “Mr. & Mrs. Bee” tried the bobotie.
I chose the grilled bream (fish).
“Maverick” and “Mrs. Bee” had Amarula Crème Brulée, “Mr. Bee” had banoffee pie, and I
chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and ice cream. My goodness, it was the best ice cream I’ve
had in ages. As we ate, we learned the
manager was from Durban, South Africa, as “Maverick” is.
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| Stonor House |
We then took another road to The Stonor House. Building of the house began around c1190 with
additions added over the 850 years the home has been in the Stonor family. Also included in the property is a chapel, a
walled garden, a tea room and gift shop.
The rooms on exhibit are kept in pristine condition, and the walls are
decorated with Old Masters’ paintings, as well as murals, sculptures and
extraordinary furniture.
Already known to the Stonor
family, St. Edmund Campion, (martyred in 1581) was given refuge here in 1581 to
print in the greatest secrecy a pamphlet describing 'Ten Reasons' why the
historical Catholic faith should be preferred over the teachings of the newly
Established Church. The rooms used to print this work can be seen, along with
an exhibition describing St. Edmund Campion's life and death. http://www.stonor.com/st_edmond.htm
As we finished our tour of the
house, I was getting tired, and was also a bit distracted thinking of
Maisy. Yet it would have been sad to
miss visiting this grand house and property.
I think I would like to visit again sometime, and bring Maisy, as she
would love a romp in the great outdoors.
We arrived home about 5.00 p.m.,
which meant that the first activity was to take Maisy to the park for a run and
to do her toilet. Full of wiggles,
thumping tail and doggy kisses, we were more than assured of her gratitude of
being let out of the room and that she had missed us.
We thoroughly enjoyed having
extra time to spend with friends, worship and rejoice in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and glorious victory over sin and death.
Serving Jesus, Author of our
faith.
Lady Helene
