The Vicarage
Blackmore
Essex CM4 0RN
Dear Friend(s)
19 Christmas 82
A special interest attaches to
this year's letter for more than one reason. It is not only the 26th from
Blackmore Vicarage but it marks the year when I came to my 25th anniversary as
Vicar of Blackmore Also it heralds a year when I hope to take an extended
holiday in Canada and the U.S.A. In the late 40's and early 50's I visited
North America a number of times and made friendships with a number of people.
Friendships sustained through the post. Inevitably the passing years have seen
the passing of a number of these erstwhile friends but some remain and I shall
do my best to see them. Then, some of those I have married have crossed the
Atlantic and settled and I hope to see them also.
On the 16th July, a little
ahead of my 25th Anniversary date, the 25th, the Parish marked the occasion in
a way that took me by surprise. They arranged a "This is your life"
event in our fine Village Hall. The Rev. John Fleetwood, retired and living in
Blackmore, took the part of Eamon Andrews and uncovered my life from birth and
baptism to the present. People who had shared experiences in life with me over
some fifty years were back stage to present themselves on cue. I was in an
emotional whirl for days after and goodness knows what my parishioners thought
as they learned what I'd been up to during my fifty two years before coming to
Blackmore. The icing on the cake, so to speak, was the arrangement of a two
months sabbatical holiday in August and September 1983 with a gift of £700
towards my travel.
One reason for this letter is
to let you know that 1982 has been a year of grace for me. Our Lord Jesus has
made himself increasingly precious. He has seen to it that I've had no idle
moments and has blessed me with health to cope with parish and pastoral
responsibilities. I suppose my years would mark me as in the autumn of life,
although to me it feels like high summer, but my contemporaries are fewer and
the year has brought the loss of quite a few parishioners I counted as my
friends. Among the menfolk too many succumb to coronaries. I suppose that in
our competitive world men are stressed in a way that women are not and so we
have a number of widows with teenage children. These bereavements leave me with
a real sense of personal loss. On the other hand there are newcomers who seem
to settle in quickly and happily. I can understand this for ours is a happy
community.
The Parish of Stondon Massey
has been part of my spiritual charge for three years now and a rewarding
experience it has been. The parish church of St. Peter & St. Paul is only
half the size of the Priory Church of St. Laurence but has its own distinctive
charm and the local interest seems to be growing. I feel myself loyally and
ably supported by the congregation. As regards the Church of St. Laurence we
miss the support we had previously from a number who have been touched by the
charismatic movement and are attached to house groups. They come occasionally
to services but we are denied their skills and regular support. We have accepted
to the Alternative Services Book at Blackmore and are having each Sunday one
service in the new rite and the other according to the Bcok of Common Prayer.
Stondon Massey sticks to the Prayer Book.
In Youth Work numbers have
declined somewhat and we have staffing problems. I speak of Blackmore. In Stondon
we are considering how we might start a children's work. Accommodation and
availability of time are the current obstacles. Some of those confirmed earlier
in the year are coming more or less regularly to Holy Communion. A number were
helped at a Down to Earth mission led by Eric Delve, in Brentwood, our district
town. Now we are taking an interest in a mission to be held some twelve miles
away, in Harlow, next Spring. This will be led by the Rev. Canon David Watson.
Three of our young men have formed a group and are coming along very nicely.
Some of the more conservative among our number would say noisily. A good many
of our young people attended. holiday camps, the Aqua-Sports Camp at Marlow
attracting the largest number. The Young Families Group is going well. We look
on this as a seed bed for the Mothers' Union which, with the Women's
Fellowship, grows slowly. Joint church prayer meetings are poorly attended but
there is more support for the Bible Studies.
A memorable occasion was the
Brentwood District Civic Service. Mrs. Jean Hobbs one of our parishioners is
Chairmen of the Council and the custom is for the annual Civic Service to take
place in the Chairman's own parish church. Joan and I lost our respective
partners within a week of each other nearly thirteen years ago. I have been
able to assist her during her during her year of office, as Official Escort. I
have found the experience most interesting. It has added to our pleasure as a
community that this year we have won the Essex Best Kept Village (Larger
Villages) Trophy. Brentwood District is twinned with the Landkreis Roth in
Bavaria. Joan led an official delegation to Roth last July and we go again in
February to the Spalt Festival, The foregoing rather grew out of church
activities and services. If I may touch again on our two churches both have
need of repair. Things are further forward at St. Peter & St. Paul but at
St. Laurence we are starting a new cycle of work following the architect's
quinquennial inspection. For the first time in 800 years Blackmore church has a
standpipe supplying mains water for flower arrangers and cleaning.
Turning to other parish interests,
the County Primary School at Blackmore and the P.N.E.U. School at Stondon
Massey are producing good results and I am happy for the entree I have to each.
Our two clubs for senior citizens continue to flourish as do the Women's
Institutes in both parishes. Our dramatic group, the Blackmore Players, are
well supported. It is a continuing problem to find leaders for youth
activities. The Brownies flourish but the Girl Guides have folded up. I hear
there are moves to start a Cub-Scout Pack.
I cannot conclude that part of
my Christmas Letter which is designed to report our "goings on" in
the two parishes without paying tribute to my four churchwardens and two
parochial church councils. They give me consistent support, especially Peter.
Hunt my Lay Reader. Other individuals also give me great help. The Rev, John
Fleetwood, already mentioned, is a gracious and helpful friend. Every week
brings fresh evidence that I am lovingly and prayerfully supported by my
parishioners. They put me greatly in their debt. Interaction, our bi-monthly
newsletter, is a continuing link between parishioners and me.
Last year I picked out the marriage
of the Prince and Princess of Wales as the most notable event of public
interest. This year I think it must be the Falklands. The Government reacted to
the occupation by the Argentines in a manner which expressed the general sentiment
of the country. There was very real heroism and on both sides a regrettable
loss of life. One feels the problem will not go away and the ambivalence of successive
governments, irrespective of party, for the past quarter of a century
undoubtedly led to this year's war.
This is being written on the
day we commemorate the Saints of Essex. The Epistle at Holy Communion is taken
from St. Paul's letter to Titus. Titus was exhorted to amend what was defective
in the church, and the reason for so doing was that "The grace of God has
appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and
worldly passions, and to live sober, upright and godly lives in this world,
awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great Gad and
Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity
and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds!!
I find we live in a subtle and insidious world system and only a day by day
exposure of one's mind and life to the teaching and authority of the Holy Bible
protects one against lowered standards and a remoteness from the presence of
the Lord Jesus. The Apostle speaks of "Our blessed hope, the appearing of
the glory of our great God & Saviour Jesus Christ". This blessed hope
is viewed as of the future and it has sustained the Church for two thousand
years but there is a sense in which our gracious Lord & Saviour will reveal
his glory and came with his power into our personal experience day by day. When
the Lord said the Kingdom of God is within you I believe he was referring to
that area of our being where his rule remains supreme. We Christians have eternal
life now. As St. John declares in his 1st Epistle "He that has the Son has
life and he that has not the Son of God has not life. When we lay down our
Christian service on earth we will be set free from those elements our
unregenerate nature which hinder our full enjoyment of the life Christ gives.
Our Lord's gift at the Holy Spirit to his Church was to enable individual
Christians to enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom of God here and now and that in
increasing measure. As the years go by I like to think of myself as in the ante
chamber to the Throne Room of Heaven. We who call ourselves Christians ought to
walk life's way in company with the Lard Jesus so that our transition from the
earthly to the heavenly state does not seem a crossing of a great divide.
In sending my greetings and
good wishes for Christmas and the New Year I would express the hope that news
from you will tell me that 1982 has been a good year for you.
With affection,
Montague H. Knott
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