May 2021

10 Buckden Roundabout May 2021 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: 2nd May Village shops, and those who work in them; businesses based in the village, hotels, inns, and those who work at home; homemakers, carers, the unemployed and underemployed, and all visitors to the village 9th May Clubs and societies, their leaders and members, volunteers, and the team that produces and distributes the Buckden Roundabout 16th May Cranfield Way, Cranfield Close, Weir Close, Smith Drive, Lucks Lane, Morris Close 23rd May Greenway, Aragon Close, Hoo Close, Bishops Way 30th May Buckden Surgery: the doctors, nurses, receptionists, pharmacists, health visitors and midwives; those we know who are in hospital, the elderly, disabled and housebound Thought for the Month Dear Friends, I am writing this the day after announcement of the death of Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh. Whatever our personal view of the monarchy, he has surely been one of the major national, if not international, figures of modern times. Alt- hough a natural leader he chose to subjugate his personal in- terests in order to support the work of the Queen; self - effacing was an adjective used to describe him in many of the tributes since he died. Nevertheless he influenced for good the lives of millions of people through the causes he either initiated or supported. To take just one example, it is estimated that at least 6 million young people have had the life enhancing expe- rience of taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh ’ s Award Scheme. In short, Prince Philip made the most of the opportunities he had to be an influence for good. The Bible is full of stories along the same lines; where folk from often quite humble backgrounds change the lives of those around them. One of my favourite concerns a young servant girl, who purely out of Godly concern for her master was instrumental in his being healed from leprosy. Prince Philip perhaps revealed something of his own motivation once, when addressing a prize giving ceremony he said this; ‘ the only prize worth winning is a clear conscience at the end of a useful Christian life ’. There are many worse epitaphs! Sadly this is my last article for the Roundabout as by the time this edition is published, we will be in the throes of moving to a new post in Rutland. Others have written about the special spirit of care and community both in the village and in St Mary ’ s. I believe that the two are linked and my prayer is that this will grow even further as life begins to return to ‘ normal ’. I would like to sign off by saying that it has been a privilege to serve the church community at St Mary ’ s and also the wider village over the past 5 ½ years, and to wish you God ’ s blessing for the future. Best wishes, Jes - Rev Jes Salt, Priest in Charge, Buckden and the Offords Buckden Learning Group Buckden Learning Group (BLG) had 35 enrolments for its Zoom - based course that started in January on Native American History. Ian Cham- bers provided some fascinating, but at times quite harrowing lectures on the treatment of the indigenous peoples of North America up to the present day. To lighten the mood, we finished the term with a bonus lecture on Native American Art. At the time of writing this article, at the end of March, we are preparing for a 2 week (fully booked) course on the Light Ages. This is the tale of the transfer of scientific knowledge from an- cient Greece to Medieval Europe via Islamic (Arabic) philoso- phers, who held the torch of learning and scholarship while the light of European intellectual activity was almost extinguished during the period conventionally known as the "Dark Ages". In May we plan a short course on Japan, followed in June by the early history of Scandinavia (up to the Reformation). We continue to have stimulating discussions during the re- freshment breaks; the only difference being that Judith is no longer ‘ refreshments monitor ’. Although optimistic about changes to the current restrictions, our courses remain on Zoom until we are able to sit ‘ unmasked ’ and ‘ shoulder to shoulder ’ again. We are reviewing this decision each term for the following term. The BLG experi- ence is different but continues.