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St Mary’s Church, Highley – Churchyard Safety Update
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Mary’s Highley wishes to inform the community that, following a recent safety inspection of the churchyard, several headstones have been identified as unstable. In line with diocesan guidance and in the interest of public safety, these headstones have been carefully laid flat. We fully understand that this may
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Caring for God’s Acre
Caring for God’s Acre is an organisation that manages churchyards for wildlife. They help us at Billingsley; four times a year they come and cut back the grass and other vegetation with a scythe. This is a very traditional way of maintaining churchyards; once the vicar would have claimed the grass to make hay. It
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Deja Vu
Last Saturday I went to Hereford Cathedral; a colleague was being ordained priest and I was there to support her. It was seven years since I was ordained deacon, six years since I was made priest, all in the same cathedral. I wasn’t really sure how I would react; this was the first ordination I
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In the Groove
Did you watch Rod Stewart at Glastonbury last week; still in his 80s, still doing what some call singing? Or there is the Oasis reunion concert this weekend in Cardiff, 30 years on, still making music, probably still falling out with each other backstage. I didn’t watch Glastonbury and I will not be listening to
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Why Empathy
It is often easy to feel sympathy for someone, to recognise that they are in distress and feel sorry for them. Empathy goes beyond this; it is an attempt to (mentally) enter into their world and to share in their pain. It is a relatively recent word, first found in English in 1908 and being
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The Summer Solstice
The summer solstice, the longest day, is upon us. Midsummer Day has always been celebrated; we are holding a concert in Glazeley Church as well a local history exhibition, as part of our festivities to mark 150 years since the church was rebuilt. In pagan times, Midsummer Day had particular significance for those who worshiped
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The Moon Turned to Blood
On Thursday, just as I was on the point of giving up, I went out into my garden at 11pm and there I saw it; the “strawberry moon”, which I had read about on the BBC news website. It is full moon that stays very low in the sky; as such it appears larger than usual and
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Moved by the Spirit
This Sunday, 8th June, the church celebrates Pentecost, or Whit Sunday to give it its traditional name. It celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. In Christian belief, Jesus warned his disciples that he would be leaving them as he returned to Heaven, but he would send his spirit/the Holy Spirit/the comforter/advocate, depending on which passage
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Open to All
A couple of weeks ago, I was at a service in one of the smallest of our local churches. Given the size of the village, I thought the congregation of five was quite respectable. Interestingly, it turned out that only two of us were actually Anglicans; one was from another denomination, two followed another faith. The Church
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Rogation Sunday
This coming Sunday, 25th May, is Rogation Sunday. Historically this was a very popular festival. It probably has its origins in a Roman fertility festival, when the fields were blessed for a good harvest. This continued in the Christian version, where there would be a procession from the church, stopping to bless the fields in the parish
Benefice of Highley with Billingsley, Glazeley and Deuxhill and Chelmarsh
Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known
