War Memmorial, St George and persecution

I am reliably told that the War memorial at Wadworth is unusual for the speed with which it was erected post war and its size relative to the population of Wadworth. I wonder if the relative of anyone still living was involved with erecting the memorial, perhaps there are some photos that still exist? It would be good to capture the story for posterity. Are you from one of the families who paid for the memorial? Please come forward, I am sure many would be interested in hearing the story of how the memorial was paid for and erected.

The 95^th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme takes place at 7:30am on the 1^st July this year. I am told that both Wadworth and Loversall villages had men killed at the battle on this first day. We will hold a short memorial service at 7:30 pm on the 1st July by the War memorial in Wadworth. All welcome.

As a Welshman I am proud of my national identity. St David’s day in Wales is always a big celebration. Yet in England more attention seems to be paid towards St Patrick (perhaps largely due to some clever advertising by a notable brewery which has Irish origins). What about St George? As ever this years celebrations were not a grand event. In fact as the traditional date was during Easter weekend, the actual date was transferred to the 2^nd May, adding to the confusion. Perhaps we need to think now about a better a celebration next year. Is this what people want? There is a need to celebrate being English without the need for it to be an expression of racism, which is the reason I expect current celebrations are so muted.

England has so much to celebrate, does it really need a Welshman to show you how to do it? If as Vicar I can co-ordinate to get something going next year than I happy to do so. Your views please.

Recent unrest in many Middle East countries has highlighted the ongoing persecution of Christians in these countries. It might surprise some readers that Christians still make the ultimate sacrifice and die for their faith throughout the world each year. Many more are tortured, beaten imprisoned and abused. The parish has, through an organisation Open Doors, had information displayed in church about persecuted Christians for many years. However, over several months, I have been moved by prayer and reflection to suggest that we set up a more prominent area in church to focus and enhance our prayer response for our fellow Christians who suffer because of their faith in Jesus.

Some will notice, the small altar has been moved back to the position in front of the organ. As this is next to the window dedicated to the first Christian martyr, St Stephen, this area seem to be an ideal setting to collect and display information on current Christian persecution throughout the world. Focused services could also take place in this area. We will be discussing this at PCC soon so please make your views known.