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Buckden Roundabout
August 2019
Church News
Weekly Prayer Roster
Each week during the year the Churches, in their prayers, remember the residents of particular streets in the village, those who
work in the parish and village organisations. Those to be remembered this month are:
4th August
Cranfield Way, Cranfield Close, Weir Close, Smith Drive, Lucks Lane, Morris Close
11th August
Buckden Surgery: the doctors, nurses, receptionists, pharmacists, health visitors and midwives;
those we know who are in hospital, the elderly, disabled and housebound
18th August
Farming communities, Taylor’s Lane (West), Hardwick Lane, the residents and staff of Hardwick
Dene, Great North Road, Brampton Road, Perry Road, Buckden Wood
25th August
High Street, Ivelbury Close, York Yard, Lion Yard, George Lane, King George Court, Taylor’s Lane
(East), Wolsey Gardens, Charles Court
Farewell from Paul Beard
Dear Friends,
Sadly, my time as the Methodist Minister for Buckden is draw-
ing to a close and I will have left the area by the time this is
published. All good things come to an end (as, mercifully, do
all bad things.)
Buckden is an extraordinary village for a number of reasons.
The deep devotion to Catherine of Aragon, the mix of shops,
the fact that there are no more roundabouts on the A1 North
until the area known only as “The Frozen North” is reached
many leagues away, where there be dragons.
But there are two other ways in which the village of Buckden
is outstanding. The first is that it
feels
like a community. That
is not as common as many suppose and is something to be
treasured.
The other is the depth and cheerfulness of the relationships
between the three churches of the village. It exceeds anything
I have seen in my 23 years as a minister around the country
and I will miss it a great deal.
Here we see the unity that is urged - but seldom practised -
elsewhere and it enriches the whole life of the village. The
generous and graceful spirit of co-operation gives us a deeper
and more wholesome spiritual life than many communities.
So my thanks to Father Anthony and Father Jim (and Father
Chris before them) and to (Uncle?) Jes. Thanks, too, to all the
people from each church who give their time and energy to
the telling and living of Jesus’s message of love, forgiveness
and reconciliation. Treasure them for me and treasure the
spirit of community you have here.
As Catherine of Aragon represents the splitting of the Church
of God in this country, so this village on which she left her
mark testifies to the possibility of healing those divisions. Giv-
en the intelligence, grace and piety of Henry VIII’s first wife, it
seems fitting it should be so.
God Bless
Paul Beard (Methodist minister)
Royal British Legion
The recent media coverage of the D-Day
landings was so very moving and a stark
reminder of the reality of war. The veter-
ans this time approached the beaches by
cruise liner provided by the RBL.
You may recall a few years ago there were hefty fines imposed
on the banks for forming a cartel relating to certain banking
services. Charities, including the RBL, were awarded money
from those funds and the RBL chose to organise free trips for
veterans to visit war graves. At the time I did place an “advert”
in the Roundabout with this offer.
Sadly I have to give notice now that I can no longer carry on
with the annual Poppy Appeal as I am not able any more to do
what is required. However I am delighted that Celia and Tim
Walker have agreed to take over from this year. I can only
now thank you for your support and willingness to part with
your money for this vital good cause. I wish Celia and Tim the
very best and hope they will receive your support too. I am
sure the appeal will be in very safe hands.
Thank you so very much.
Veronica Hunstone