The summer is drawing to an end. It’s been dry and hot for months but the long-awaited rain has now come and the lawns are looking a little greener than just a few days ago. The Open House team has taken a bit of a rest but is now getting back into gear for the autumn programme.
You will probably already have seen articles about the concert with Choir18 on 6th September and The Christ Files, starting on 9th September. If not, do check out those links now! We’ve also made sure that the Carols by Starlight event is on the calendar just before Christmas (I hope it’s not too soon to mention the C-word yet!).
Right now, we’re planning more Art Workshops (dates to be confirmed – watch this space!). It’s been good to receive some feedback on these – both in the comment section of this website and on our social media channels, Facebook and Instagram. We encourage positive engagement in this way. The world is full of bad news, so celebrating and sharing something truly valuable or helpful can be a bit counter-cultural and maybe make a difference for the good! It was particularly helpful for the church family to be shown one of the pieces of art that a regular art workshop participant had produced – a fantastic painting of the church’s glorious east window. Our thanks to that artist for sharing it!
Alongside The Christ Files, we’re also planning at least one other discussion series this term which will touch on questions many people have about the meaning of life. We’ll post an article about the programmes as soon as the dates are agreed.
Finally, as the success of our “Enquiry into the death of Sir Francis Poyntz” showed, we recognise there is an appetite locally for a better knowledge and understanding of the extraordinary history of our village and its church. I recently discovered (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records) that in September 1552, Princess Mary Tudor, living at Hunsdon House, was visited by Bishop Nicholas Ridley who was then Bishop of London, living in the Bishop’s Palace in Much Hadham. He offered to preach to her but she refused. She indicated, “The door of the parish church adjoining shall be open for you if you come, and ye may preach if you list; but neither I, nor any of mine, shall hear you.” The conversation had started pleasantly and concluded in a civil manner, but the exchange may have been more than just a little instrumental in the way their relationship was to play out when Mary became Queen just a few months later – Ridley was promptly arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. The following year he was moved to Bocardo prison in Oxford and on 16th October 1555, he was burned at the stake.
If, like me, you’re interested in the history of the church or the village and have any information about it, we’re planning to host an opportunity through which we can make more of it for future generations. Because of this story about Ridley, we’re thinking of hosting it in mid-October. Watch this space for more information – and get in touch if you want to be involved!
