Sunday 26 February 2006

A Man of the Cloth

Good morning ,everyone ,lovely sunny day again ,but still very cold here .

Stuart (specimen days) posted a picture of himself and some colleagues ,in their clerical wear ,the other day, and posed the question ,'is this how you see me ?'Which set me thinking about some of the ministers I've known , The first one ,who made an impression on me was The Rev John Bryan,after Sunday school,I graduated to the church choir ~I can remember choir practise,especially on a dark night,we would rehearse around the organ ,the main body of the church would be dark ,and fascinated, we would watch the bats swooping around the high ceilings ,as we sang ,and sing we did if we knew what was good for us ! Of course we loved to sing ,all the lovely hymns appropriate  to the church calendar,at each service we would sing four hymns and the psalm,as well as the responces  ,an then on special days we would learn to sing one of the lovely anthems ,sometimes requireing ,additional practise The Rector loved to sing too ,and he also strove for perfection !He and Miss Robins,taught me so much ,I can remember as well as the normal services we sang at weddings ,funerals and ,can also recall an outdoor service where we went around the edge of the Parish blessing the Bounds (Which I understood to mean the boundrys )My Dad also had alot of respect for this lovely man ,though you wouldnt always think so ,they often drank to gether in the pub opposite,the church  and would tease each other ,unmercifully !When Mick and I got married it was he who officiated at the service ,as indeed he did at Jean and Pete ,and John and Julia's weddings ,he was a great friend of the Rector at Micks church ,The Rev George Bradshaw ,who if you would like me to I will speak about another time,another lovely man ,When I,had my children,I had to alternate the minister who Christened them !The Reverend Bryan did Mark and Sharon ,and the dear old Rev Bradshaw did Derek and Catherine  ,When my Dad died I rang Rector Bryan from the hospital,I remember he said he would ring the passing bell at the church before ,we got back to the village ,to save my Mum more distress .He did a lovely service for Dad likening him to an old Oak of the village,that had been hewn down ,And quoted from the poem by Thomas Grey'In a Country Church yard ',making the words 'Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,their sober wishes never earred to stray ,along the cool sequestered vale of life ........etc etc very special , he joined us at my Mums house after the funeral,to drink tea etc with the family ,but first he took off his surplus and cassock and left them on the top of the soft water tub outside ,before joining us and sharing some funny stories about him and my Dad ,Yes he was /is a special man ,and though now retired ,when John (my brother )and Julia came over the other week they tell me they often see him in Morrisons in Stamford having his lunch ,So he was the first ,and if you like I will tell you of more special clergymen ,another time .

Have a Blessed Sunday everyone ,with love from     

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Morning Jan -  nice entry - well, I quite fancied the young curate when I was about 12 and some years later he came back to be the vicar.  I insisted that he marry me - to someone else lol! You were showing wedding photos a while ago, and I meant to get mine out, well now we've got on to vicars - I really will post something on this subject in my journal.
btw The vicar eventually married - someone the same age as me :-/

Anonymous said...

They sound lovely people Jan.  I hope you have a wonderful Sunday........am humming your tune too. Rache xx

Anonymous said...

By all means tell us more stories. I enjoyed reading about him. Have a nice Sunday! Helen

Anonymous said...

Ps - Just been back to my journal - not been on the pooter all week - and hadn't noticed that no one had been to visit :-( except for you Jan :-) One wonders what one is missing when the alerts are so erratic grrr.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan what a lovely interesting entry today. Rector Bryan,I remember when I was younger feeling a bit afraid of him, but as I got to know him realized he had a sense of humour, Dad and him were a good pair together.Grace Robins played the organ didn't she ?The Rector let us have our wedding reception in his garden at the back of the church hall, which was a lovely setting...........Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan

I  enjoyed reading your story of the clergy - a nice entry for a sunday.
Take care
Jayne x

Anonymous said...

Lovely story for a Sunday
~~Kath~~

Anonymous said...

;)

Anonymous said...

That was a lovely story Jan, how nice for a Sunday. Rev. Bryan was obviously a great inspiration for you.  I`d really like to hear about the other clergyman, you tell a story so well. :o)

Sandra xxxxx

Anonymous said...

Lovely story for a sunday - thank you for sharing those memories with us :-)

Anonymous said...

What an interesting 'Read'
You tell a good 'Tale'..... hope you enjoyed your Day!
Aileen....X

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed that Jan thanks and would love to read some more about your clergymen.  Eve