Serving the communities of Charvil, Sonning and Sonning Eye since 1869
The Parish Magazine - January 2022 5
The vicar's letter
DEAR FRIENDS,
2022 promises to be an historic year as we look forward to the Platinum
Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. Each of the three communities within
our parish will be preparing for this major celebration and we as a church
will be playing our part in this. In the midst of the bank holiday weekend
we shall be hosting a service of celebration which will involve two public
figures who have worked with Her Majesty at the most senior national
level. Never before has our country, or any other for that matter, had
a Head of State serve for this length of time, and to have done so with
such distinction, is worthy of a huge national celebration.
MAGAZINE LEGACY
The last British Monarch to come close to this record was of course
Queen Victoria. Our parish had a link with her reign in that the former
vicar, Canon Hugh Pearson, served as both Canon of Windsor and as
'Her Majesty’s Deputy Clerk to the Closet', a title that might lead to
misinterpretation these days! Canon Pearson certainly left his mark
on this parish, with the main street in Sonning and village hall being
named after him. 2022 marks the 140th anniversary of his death and
I believe it would be right to mark this at his grave in our churchyard
in April. Very few vicars are still spoken of after the lifetimes of those
they served, so his tenure here was a remarkable one indeed. One legacy
that continues today, and indeed thrives, is this magazine, founded by
Pearson in 1869 and he then edited it. It is believed to be the oldest,
continuously published parish magazine in Britain, and under the
present editor it has just won another national award, for 'best overall
content'. Huge congratulations to Bob Peters and the team.
800th ANNIVERSARY
There is a list of the vicars of this parish on the wall in church. It was
a slightly sobering experience to see my own name there in a list that
goes back exactly 800 years. Vitalis is recorded first on the list from
1222, though there were many others before him, but no records exist
before that year. Many stayed for a long time, and some went on to more
senior roles, including Robert Wright, who became Bishop of Litchfield,
and the last but one vicar, Christopher Morgan, who became Bishop of
Colchester. There were a number who are remembered for perhaps the
wrong reasons, including one who went about the parish with a sword
and was known as 'a raiser of quarrels'. Another who got caught up in a
grave robbing scandal and another who apparently wouldn’t leave his
bedroom in the old Vicarage and so the dead would be brought to below
his window and he would read the order for burial from his bed. An early
example of working from home! Most of them have of course served
this church and parish faithfully and their collective legacy can be seen
in the growing and vibrant life we share in together at St Andrew’s. We
shall be marking this 800th anniversary later this year when the Bishop
of Oxford will come and lead a Confirmation service. This will be an
opportunity for both celebrating the important step of faith being made
by our candidates and also for the collective ministry of all, clergy and
laity alike, who have gone before us in this place.
I wish you all a happy New Year!
Jamie
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