Page 6 - October 24

Old and living…

I am fortunate to be vicar of three historic churches, Hampton, Barston and Bickenhill.
They are old and historic buildings, but they are not just historic, they are also living
buildings. In these buildings are many treasures. Historic treasures and also living
treasures. Let me explain. In one church there is a very ancient chest and in another a not
so ancient chest. In many of our churches there are old chests which are used to keep
books in. On a holiday several years ago, I visited lots of small churches and saw that there
were chests and some were even older than the churches themselves!
Being of an enquiring mind, or just plain nosy, I had a look inside one of these chests, well
several, and found that they were o�en full of old Bibles and prayer books. I have a liking
for old liturgical books and I have an old Book of Common Prayer which some kind person
in the village re-bound for me as it was falling apart, and so has kept the book and the
words it contains alive for me. In the past I liked using it during the tradi�onal morning
worship services. I also love those massive old Bibles, some of which go back hundreds of
years as do some of the Books of Common Prayer. Although they seem to weigh a ton they
were made to be used and have large print. Leafing through them you can o�en find
pencil and pen marks and annota�ons that were probably done years ago by past
genera�ons.

The prayer books are fun as well, as many date from ages past; some encourage us to pray
th
for King George, and his wife Caroline from the early 19 Century, the Georges of the
20 Century. It is interes�ng how these State Prayers alter as the Royal Family changes like
th
our own families.
Why this look at the old books in
churches? Well, ‘Bible Sunday’ is at the
end of October, where in churches up
and down this country and across the
world we give thanks to God for the
Bible and that many of us can read it in
our own language. And I wonder do
many of us read the bible. Most of us
I dare say have been given one in the
past and it has found itself put on a shelf and forgo�en about or put away up in the lo�…
like the chests in the church. In a world where there are many challenges and struggles
and where things look hopeless and dark, where are we going to find hope and comfort
and consola�on?
In Hampton the church building is open most days and churches are places where people
can find a sense of peace and some allow the ligh�ng of a candle (we do). Churches have
o�en been places of sanctuary in hard �mes and today with so much going on in the world
they remain places for everyone to find solace. In that way they are living places and more
so because the church is living…

6