May - St. James' and St. Basil's Church, Fenham

For the first reading I had chosen that lovely passage from the
Gospel of St. John—chapter 15: 1-17. It speaks of Jesus as the
vine and his followers as the branches: that He calls us friends, not
servants; that He chose us and not the other way about; and ends
with the command “to love one another”. The second reading was
of those words from Eliot’s poem “Little Gidding” which I quoted in
an earlier magazine.
For me it was a very moving and affirmative occasion, as Bishop
Martin said first: “Peace be to this place” and we responded: “And
to all who dwell here”. The he and I stood in the tiny entrance hall
to the flat and Bishop Martin asked for God’s blessing on this place
of prayer and stillness to which God has called me, and also
referred to God’s call to all of us to follow Him in our praying and
living. (If anyone is interested I have some copies of the service
leaflet.) It was also a very happy and good-natured occasion as we
laughed and chatted together afterwards over coffee/tea and
biscuits.
At the invitation of Avril Maxwell, the scheme manager of Allan
House, the Bishop accompanied by Nick, then went to the room
variously known as the lounge, the common room, or the Dame
Allan Room to give that his blessing, and to chat with all those
gathered there over rather more substantial refreshments.
I think that 31st March will be remembered not only by me but by
a number of other people as a very special date.
Jo Mundy
See page 9 for Avril Maxwell’s account of the day (Ed)
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