The Vicarage, Blackmore, Essex
CM4 0RN
Dear Friend(s)
19 — Christmas — 78
In previous years the
Christmas greetings conveyed through my annual letter have been the first of
the year but this year they are the second. A local group based on the nearby
town of Brentwood is producing a talking newspaper for the blind and partially
sighted in the district. A few weeks ago I was asked to record a short talk for
the blind listeners and as it will be heard by them at about the time you read
this I concluded with a greeting and good wishes as I shall do this letter.
As I address myself then to
this twenty-second Christmas letter from Blackmore Vicarage I recall a sermon I
heard preached many years ago. The text was "There are many who say, ‘O
that we might see some good! Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O
Lord'." Psalm 4:6. The preacher pointed to the many who saw nothing but
gloom and doom arising out of man's inventive genius and then invited his
congregation to consider God, the Psalmist's God, who had better things in
store for man. Half a lifetime later I find the world is not greatly changed.
Man's capacity for violence and destruction go side by side with his capacity
for caring concern. Those who have been enlightened and enlivened by the Lord
do not despair, however gloomy the prospect, because like the Psalmist, they
find their God is master of the situation. The Psalmist records the ground of
his confidence - "Thou hast given me room … The Lord hears when I call to
him … Thou hast put joy in my heart ... Thou alone, O Lord, makest me dwell in
safety". With such an experience who can wonder at the Psalmist's
confidence and that confidence can be ours - yours and mine - with equal
validity.
Turning to the Parish of
Blackmore and the Church in Blackmore, 1978 has been a busy and rewarding year,
yet one is aware of the potential for greater things if only the Holy Spirit
had greater freedom to bring us under the discipline of the Lord Jesus Christ
and to teach us from the Holy Scriptures. Of Blackmore then, my friend and
colleague in the Gospel, Pastor Douglas Francis continues to lead a growing and
active fellowship at the Baptist Church. We in the Parish Church also rejoice
in those who are coming into fellowship. Jointly our congregations continue to
serve the younger generation. Our joint outreach this year took the form of a
tent mission led by Geoff Carr. He was able to lead a number to profess faith
in Christ and others had their faith strengthened. Geoff reached various
sections of our community and was able to speak at assembly in the schools in
and around Blackmore where our children attend. Our togetherness continues in
joint worship on two Sunday evenings each month and in the house group Bible
studies and prayer meetings. A number of our young people were able to attend
Covenanter and Juco camps. I had three wonderful days with some of them at the
Aquasports camp at Harlow, only I didn't aqua!
We are still without a regular
organist for the Parish Church but we have several with musical talent in the
congregation. A new singing group calling itself "The Priory Singers"
has been formed and includes some of our small choir. The group shows great
promise. Church repairs are always with us and our south wall has been a long
while in the hands of contractors. We have been helped by a grant of £500 from
the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and a loan of £500 from the Diocese. A
fine oak mobile bookstall has been donated to the Church and is being well
supported. The occasional services of baptism, weddings and funerals give me
pastoral opportunities. The Ongar Deanery of which our parish is a part
provides opportunity for wider fellowship with neighbouring believers through
quarterly joint services of Evensong. We meet together in a different Church
each quarter and this gives some of our more remote country Churches a chance
to have an overflowing congregation from time to time.
On personalities, we greatly
miss David and Annette Whisker and their three children. They felt a call to serve
the Lord in France and have removed to Bordeaux. David was Churchwarden and
Treasurer and most able in both offices. Peter Hunt, my Lay Reader and other
Church-warden continues tower of strength and has as his co-warden Dr. Stuart
Jennings with his wife Catherine and their two boys have moved into Whisker's
house. We all had a sense of loss when Peggy Ford went to her Lord on the 14th
March. Geoff her husband preceded her by two years. They were a lovely couple.
Other parish activities which have my interest and support and to which
reference has been made in previous Christmas Letters continue. The Women's
Institute thrives as do Blackmore Players, the Jericho Sixty-Plus Club and
Blackmore Wives. Blackmore Charities Trustees have succeeded in increasing
income from the Charities' assets so that more money is available for
distribution. It is a privilege to be involved in the affairs of our local
Primary School where things are going well, thanks to an able staff. Last
Christmas we had a Nativity Play on horseback in the open-air for the physically
handicapped. We hope to do the same again this year. It such a wonderful
occasion for the handicapped youngsters. Another great occasion was the Silver
Jubilee of the Coronation of Majesty the Queen. We had our Street Market again
and there was a general dressing up in medieval attire. King Henry VIII and
Queen Anne Boleyn graced us with their presence once again - and we had a
lovely time, with two weddings thrown in for good measure for yours truly.
Holidays have been rather
piece-meal this year. The inside of a week at Eastbourne in January, the inside
week in East Anglia visiting relatives and friends in June, three days in
Weymouth with the Easeys who entertained me in their home in Italy last year
when they lived there and lastly, two weeks in Jerusalem in September. This
last was in company with Bishop and Mrs. Goodwin-Hudson. We saw a good deal of
the Old City and its places of interest. Each day we spent some time visiting
the Garden Tomb where the Bishop has involvement as Chairman of the Garden Tomb
Committee. We met interesting people in Church affairs and Israelis with
responsibility in various fields, such as education, medicine and broadcasting.
There was a conducted tour of a kibbutz whore we had an excellent meal. A visit
to a development of a 400 acre site in the Judean hills called the Garden of
Israel. Here all the flowers, herbs, plants and trees referred to in the Bible
are being planted and grown. In ten years time the present promise should
become a full realization.
Walking in the hills where
Jesus once walked and looking on scenes which must have been familiar to his
eyes, a wonderful sense of the presence and Person of the Saviour of mankind.
This letter brings you my Christmas and New Year greetings but above all my
earnest hope that the presence and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ might be a
growing experience once in your life through all your days to cone.
Your friend,
MONTAGUE H. KNOTT
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