Dear Friends,

One of the highlights of July, apart from our parish Fete on the 18^th, will be the day of celebration for the 1100^thanniversary of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. We have already been made aware of this by the visit of Bishop Peter Price, on his walk around the perimeter of the diocese. We are commemorating the day when, in 909, the massive and ancient Diocese of Sherborne was divided into three new dioceses of Salisbury, Exeter and Bath & Wells – so Bishop Peter's walk, which will be completed when he walks into Glastonbury on 4^th July, marks out the territory which was first designated as our diocese 1,100 years ago.

 

One of the great treasures of the Church of England is the parish system, whereby wherever you live, you are automatically a 'parishioner', with a parish church to belong to, and where you may want to be baptised, married or buried. Many people who don't attend church services still value the feeling that their parish church is there for them when they need it. There are roughly 400 churches in our diocese, and each of those is a spiritual home to a greater or lesser number of people.

 

However, the word 'parish' also gives us the word 'parochial', which may be used to imply a

narrowness of outlook. My dictionary defines 'parochial' as 'confined to a narrow area. When our interest and attitudes become 'parochial' in this sense, it is not good for us, we are pre-occupied with our own concerns, and our vision is diminished.

 

It is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that we are part of a bigger picture. As members of our two local churches, when it is tempting to complain about the 'parish share' we have to pay to our Diocesan H.Q., we should remember that it it is the Diocese which supports and sustains us, providing on-going training for clergy and lay-readers and generally keeping us on the straight and narrow.. It was disappointing, therefore, that so few people wanted to come on the coach which

had been arranged to take us to Glastonbury on 4^th July – so few, in fact, that the coach had to be cancelled. This was despite the fact that the coach had been widely advertised. It is true that some  prefer to come in their own care (or have a lift) – though I guess  Glastonbury will be heaving with all sorts of people on pilgrimages of their own, so I guess it won't be easy. My main concern is the

apparent lack of interest    Apart from anything else, this 1100th anniversary bears witness to the faithfulness of God in keeping all his people through good times and in bad. I hope that other parishes  in the diocese will show more enthusiasm for this big event on July 4^.

 

On the subject of the parish, we should all be delighted with the beautifully produced Parish Plan

which has just appeared. (Parish, in  this context, means the geographical area of the parish, as organised for voting purposes, but in our 'church parish' the two areas are pretty much the same.)

Thanks to our local councillors who have put so much effort into this excellent publication, which provides  a perfect memento of life in Wraxall and Failand in the early 21^st century.  But the parish plan did state one statistic which I think is a challenge to us:

 

'The national statistics.....show that the area is in the top 30% of the least deprived areas of the country, by most standards.'

 

Once again, the challenge is to think big, to avoid being 'parochial' in the negative sense, and to realise our connectedness to the wider world, asking ourselves what we, as such lavishly blessed parishioners of the parish of Wraxall & Failand, can do in small ways, to help others beyond our parish boundaries.  We may only be a small parish – but we can 'think big', and keep  in touch with the world outside – but that's another story, making a real effort to involve ourselves in the bigger picture, whatever that may mean for any of us.

 

Happy summer days to you all,

Rosey