A Church and its Buildings

Context: A village, with one PCC and two listed church buildings, half a Vicar and not enough money

How come?

Over 150 years ago, the parishes of Brightwell and Sotwell were merged into one ecclesiastical parish, leading the way for a civil merger in the 1950s.  The parish had its own Rector until the turn of this century and then was absorbed into the Wallingford Team, of which I am the latest Team Vicar, serving not only Brightwell-cum-Sotwell but Crowmarsh Gifford too.  The parish has managed to continue paying its parish share (ministry costs) throughout the pandemic whilst also carrying out some major building works to replace stolen lead (with terne-coated steel) and a new French drain system to cure the damp problem in one of the buildings (St Agatha’s); this has used up a significant proportion of our financial reserves (which were mainly from legacies).  The other building (St James’) is in desperate need of a new roof as the battens holding the tiles are very old – a huge job involving lots of scaffolding.  Approximately £500,000 of further work is needed to maintain both buildings which are both 2* listed and surrounded by open churchyards.

Where to Worship?

The smaller church (St James’) currently hosts a fortnightly 8am said communion, with a small and predominately older congregation who like the early service and/or the atmosphere of this smaller building.  This service would unlikely justify external clergy coming in during an interregnum or if clergy cover is further diluted, i.e. one vicar shared between three parishes (including Wallingford).  This service could be held at the larger church, perhaps with alternating service times.

The larger church (St Agatha’s) has the benefit of more car parking (although often not enough); a splendid organ and bells; a parish room used to host coffee mornings and meetings; and last but not least, toilets.  Currently, a weekly service is held at 9.30am to allow the Vicar to go onto an 11am service in Crowmarsh Gifford.

Villagers have a definite attachment to both sites, sometimes with a preference due to proximity or the churchyards where loved ones may are buried.  It is unthinkable that either building should not be preserved as a place of worship, available for funerals and weddings.

Are both buildings sustainable?

It depends!  The PCC is a voluntary body of church members who have responsibility for the mission of the church in the village including the upkeep of the buildings.  Occasionally, a significant legacy of £50k or more may be received from a church member or sympathetic villager.  Obviously, we cannot budget for these.  We are aware that non-worshipping villagers may wish to make a contribution, often towards a particular appeal such as the Tower Fund which enabled the bells to be rehung in 2016.  A “Friends of” scheme is being proposed and hopefully we could encourage, say,  100 villagers to give £5/month to raise £6,000 a year with the hope that more could be raised.  Ultimately, we would still require major fund-raising initiatives, donations or legacies to change the situation.

The Future?

If we carry on as we are, the PCC will continue to struggle with the upkeep of both buildings, leading to further deterioration, occasional leaks and temporary repairs.  The Vicar could see out his time until retirement, saving himself a lot of stress and leaving the problem to any successors, the churchwardens and PCC!

St James’ could be rebadged as a “Festival Church” – i.e. a church open at and for Festivals only, Christmas, Easter, Pentecost - although it is not clear how this would help with funding the ongoing maintenance.

Another option would be for the PCC to relinquish control of this building, such that the Church Commissioners take back ownership and delegate maintenance responsibilities to another body such as the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), as is already the case for the nearby church in Newnham Murren.  For this to happen, the building would need to be declared as “redundant”, which is a very emotive word.  The PCC would not be able to determine the future use of a redundant building.  However, as a listed building, it would not be demolished and the sensitivities of the open churchyard with ongoing burials make it extremely unlikely that it would be converted to any kind of domestic dwelling.  However, the CCT might decide that it could be used for “champing” (like AirBnB in a church building) to help with funding the ongoing maintenance.

This has stated the challenge.  Any comments or suggestions would be welcome, not least from others who have faced such dilemmas, or parishioners of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell (and not just those who come to St Agatha’s or St James’).

Practical Green Motoring

Renault Zoe

Having often preached the message of environmental awareness in my sermons, I had seriously considered buying an Electric Vehicle (EV) as my next car, following the example of Bishop Colin.  However, the cost of a new EV is still prohibitively expensive, even for a small car like the Renault Zoe which after the £3,500 government’s “Plug In Car Grant” would cost roughly the same as my annual stipend (before tax!).  There is also the practical reality that I only expect to recharge overnight at home and need a boot space for my dog.  I also love driving and the engineering-side, and would really want something with the street cred of a Tesla Model 3, which would be more like 2 years of a Vicar’s salary… hmmm, time to get real!

Tesla Model 3

My usual mileage is relatively low, perhaps with a couple of trips per day across Wallingford between the two parishes or within the deanery – more than 20 miles would be the exception.  But I would also want the car to deal with the occasional long trip around the diocese for courses, or to visit friends and family and the occasional short break.  Therefore, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) was the only real option and it would need to be 2^nd hand.

As I’m not a taxi-driver or a Hollywood eco-evangelist, a Prius was quickly-ruled out.  The Lexus CT 200h was a cooler version, but the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) doesn’t make for a very satisfying driving experience.  The VW Golf GTE is far more attractive as a driver’s car, but doesn’t come in an estate version so Ralph (our often-muddy dog) would end up in the back seats which would soon ruin the chequered-pattern cloth.  However, there was a close cousin of the Golf GTE in the form of the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron which was halfway between a hatchback and an estate.  (It also reminded me of my old Alfa 159 Sportwagon TI, my last car I had in my former career).

The concern was then battery deterioration as the A3 e-tron would only do 29 miles on a new battery.  Would it be realistic to get 20 miles out of a well-used model in the winter?  Having followed the market for the past few weeks, my price range would restrict me to a high-mileage and/or older example.  Many of these seemed to be former lease/company cars which were originally purchased for their Ultra-Low Emission Zone and other tax benefits.  Chances are that they would have been thrashed up and down the country’s motorways rather than being eased along by an eco-warrior.  Batteries are best preserved by regular recharging, but there was no way of knowing whether the previous owner would have bothered to plug it in.  None of the dealers would charge up the car and allow an extended test drive.  The only clue was that quite a few of the cars didn’t even come with the charging cable, so these were ruled out.  Whatever I bought would be a bit of a risk…

Therefore, with a fixed risk I decided to reduce the stakes and went for the cheapest which came in below £13k for a 65-plate example with near average mileage of 1,000 per month.  It was definitely near the bottom of the market, with kerbed alloys and a minor dent, but we came to an arrangement with the dealer which satisfied me that the battery would do what I needed.  I was reassured when an overnight charge suggested it would be good for 23 all-electric miles and the actual distance it achieved wasn’t too far off this, despite the cold temperatures.

The maths:

The Audi A3 e-tron comes with an 8.8kWh battery.  On my green tariff with bulb, I’ve been paying 13.56p/kWh which is going up to 14.18p in April.  [Correction: now going down to 12.7p as I'm changing to another Green supplier - "OutFox the Market"] Given that the battery deteriorates, it probably now holds 7kWh (i.e. to give the predicted 23 miles now vs 29 when new).  Therefore, a full charge costs less than £1 from which I hope to get 20 miles in most seasons, or roughly 5p per mile.  Even on a longer journey of 60 miles in hybrid mode, with my original £1 full charge topped up during braking and downhills, I managed over 100mpg from the petrol used.

One other side effect is that having an Energy Efficiency meter instead of a Rev Counter really encourages frugal driving.  My wife is already bored of hearing my latest statistics!

The point of all this is that it is words are not enough and that we all need to be "transitioning" to a less carbon-dependent lifestyle.  EVs and the charging infrastructure may not yet offer a feasible solution for most people, but there are other options out there that might just suit you whilst being completely practical right now.

The Vicar as Community Representative

It is with great sadness that we heard that PC Andrew Harper was a resident of Crowmarsh.  We continue to hold him, his wife Lissie, their families, friends and colleagues in our prayers.

During our pre-ordination training, we explored the various representative roles of a vicar between God, the church and the community.  I particularly remembered the example of how the Vicar of Soham became the focal point for national media after the child murders there back in 2002, speaking on behalf of that small town during their terrible times.  It was a role that I dreaded.  As well as fears about what words I would say, there was also the concern about which “sound bites” would make the edit – like those who use proof-verses without the context of the surrounding scripture.

Around the time that I was looking for my first incumbency role, there was a vacancy in Hungerford which I studied in detail.  The scars from their tragedy some thirty years previously were still evident and made me think about how the next Rector would have to deal with these long-term effects as a newcomer.  As it happened, I was offered the post of Team Vicar within the Wallingford Team and so I avoided that issue.

Friday 16^th August began as a normal day: Morning Prayer at Crowmarsh, and then taking a Care Home Communion and meeting visiting bellringers at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.  Around midday, I noticed a Facebook message from our daughter who shared the shocking news of the death of a Police Officer from Abingdon, which is where we used to live and where my wife still works.  I watched the lunchtime news – an absolutely horrible situation for the police.

I first learned about that this news story was actually much closer to our current home in Crowmarsh when an ITV news reporter phoned me to say that they were down at St Mary Magdalene’s and would like an interview with the Vicar – “ah, that would be me then”.  Initially, I referred them to the Diocese and Police Chaplains as I had had no previous contact with the family and knew nothing other than what I had seen on the news.  However, after speaking to our Diocesan Press Officer, I was encouraged to represent the parish in expressing our natural reactions and feelings, and to share our prayers for the bereaved family and for our police force as they deal with the tragedy of losing a colleague.

Having been informed that a reporter from “The Sun” had been hanging around outside the Harper’s house, I also suggested that the family’s privacy be respected – this was just common sense, not that I was representing the family in any way.  On being asked what we do be doing, I said that the church is open every day for people to stop, reflect and pray, and that many people leave prayer requests in the book and so footage was taken of me writing my own prayer which was broadcast that evening and night.  ITV News said that we had opened a “Book of Condolences”.  I dropped my own condolence card into the house which was identified as the Harper’s home, but I’d expect that PC Harper’s wife is being kept in a safe house somewhere away from the media.

On Saturday, Sky News were in touch to request that they report our Sunday Service.  Not knowing what the story was, I sought clarification from the Diocese/Police Chaplains so that I could give reassurance about the who was looking after the family, given that I had no contact.  The TVP Family Liaison Team were doing their job, and I assume it was being done well, given that they had been well-protected from the media.  The Police Chaplains were also adamant that no “Books of Condolence” would be opened until the family had consented.

We requested that Sky News did not attend until after our worship had finished and then I would meet them after I had arrived back from taking the services in Wallingford, where I received the message that BBC News would be there too, having requested an interview about a “memorial service”, which again surprised me.

On walking to Crowmarsh church, the BBC reporter approached me to talk about what they would like.  I explained that it was our normal Sunday service, but would include prayers for the family and police which is what we naturally do in church, to hold all affected before God.  Also, as per the Police Chaplains instruction, the Prayer Book was not to be called a “Book of Condolence”.  He said he would check whether they still wanted an interview.

I went in for the end of the Crowmarsh service and was particularly moved that two of our Community Support Officers had joined us for this service.  Understandably, they weren’t keen on appearing on camera when they have a TVP Press Office.  I spoke to as many of our regulars as possible to get a sense of the mood, which was definitely more sombre than usual, symbolised by our St George’s flag being flown at half-mast.

In quick succession, I was interviewed by Sky News and then the BBC.  As with ITV, I insisted that I did not know the family personally, and so I apologise to anyone who was given this impression.  My main message was that every Sunday service celebrates the Christian hope of resurrection and at churches up and down the country PC Harper, his family, friends and colleagues would be held before God in prayer.  Sky News gave this aspect much better coverage than the BBC, who only picked up on my final statement it is “harder to be joyful”, given the circumstances.  Despite my insistence that the Prayer Book was not a “Book of Condolence”, they still called it that.  It appears that the word “prayer” has been deleted from their vocabulary.

“Condolences” are a natural reaction of everyone of all faiths and none and express the sadness of a community grieving one of their own.  However, as Christians we have so much more to offer, because we worship a God who has chosen to share our pain and death and is right there in the midst of it with us, and who can restore us to peace and new life.  That is why we pray.

We will continue to hold all those affected in prayer in the days, weeks and months to come, that justice will be done and that the bereavement process can be worked through away from the media spotlight.

Looking back, if some of the intense media attention was deflected, then some good came out of it, but it is the worst-possible duty expected of a vicar and certainly not one that I ever hope to repeat.

Thames Pilgrimage Paddle: a brief summary

So, we made it: from the official source near Kemble as far as the tidal stretch past Richmond Lock: 150 miles in 7 days.

Ready for the off (10am Monday 13th August) and a 12 mile run along the Thames Path to Cricklade

...and after a pub lunch, it is goodbye to the Upper Thames support crew (Lesley-Anne) and into the Thames

At times, I wondered why I was doing this: the achy shoulders, neck and arms; the monotony of paddling; and the chill of Thursday morning in the constant rain when my hands were so cold that the river water felt like a jacuzzi!  But, the vast majority of time, there was nowhere else I'd rather have been - it was a great experience which I'll never forget.

The Thames has always been part of my life, a fact that only became apparent during my curacy in Beaconsfield - no river!  I missed it.  Hence, I am very happy to be in the Vicarage at Crowmarsh only 1/4 mile from the Thames.  This location brought about a new part of my life as it is perfect for dogs, so Ralph joined our family last springtime.  He is my dog and a natural companion for this mini-adventure: he is the reason why I've heard the words "cute" and "sweet" more than ever before, when he stands on the bow sniffing the air like figurehead, or just curled up at my feet.

Below Richmond Lock, 7pm Sunday 19th August

So, what did I learn and how will it change me?

1a) Life at 3 mph is possible and has its benefits.  This was particularly noticeable when going under the M4, M25 or M3 with the traffic rushing by (or queuing!) overhead.  Why do we choose the stressful way and can we challenge the worldview that "Time is money" - something that I certainly lived with as an IT Contractor, but need not apply as a stipendiary priest.
1b) It is not the most direct route: like a labyrinth, a single convoluted path, the meanders of the river allow you to revisit and appreciate the same landmark from different angles.  You can go round a huge oxbow bend, only to realise that 20 minutes of paddling brings you almost back to where you started... sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

2) A renewed appreciation of the natural world:

• the ripples on the water indicating where to pick up or avoid the wind;
• the changing weather, which way the wind was blowing and what was coming next;
• the fish: those darting around in clear water, the skippers along the surface and the big ones that splash suddenly near the canoe, making us both jump!
• the birds: kingfishers, herons, grebe, geese, ducks and swans - how close each type will allow you to come before flying off (or diving for grebes) and the various etiquette of approach and negotiating passage past them, e.g. swans are very territorial on the upper Thames and will normally swim away until the border with their neighbour, at which point we choose opposites sides of the narrow channel and pass... whereas on the lower Thames, even with Ralph on-board, they just saw us another opportunity for begging free food.  I took many photos of herons which I can now spot from 300 yards, including the video below where I managed to get unusually close...
• the brown leaves on horse chestnut trees showing that summer is giving way to autumn.

3) The silence and stillness.  Being alone under a big sky surrounded by the natural, unspoilt beauty of the Thames Valley on our doorstep is certainly a gift from God.

Sunset from St John's Lock at end Day 1

Evening of Day 2 /(near Northmoor?)

Evening Day 5 (still an hour from Hurley)

Evening Day 7: Looking up towards Kew Gardens with Syon Park on the left - relative peace and tranquility in London, but will have to paddle this bit another time...

4) After the isolation, an increased appreciation for relationships and humanity: the hospitality of Alexandra G. at St Helen's in Abingdon or Chris G. at Hurley Church, dinner and a night back at home with my parents in Old Windsor, or being greeted by some of our best friends (and godsons) bringing beer to the lock and even just hearing their dad's familiar voice giving the commentary on the French Brothers boats around Windsor.  Even the bells of the Curfew Tower, where I used to ring regularly, seemed to welcome me back - well, 4 being rung down at least!

But most of all, what it is to be home again and to get a loving hug even though I smell of Thames mud at low tide (but not as much as Ralph!).

Thames Paddle Updates

Apologies to those waiting for updates on my Thames Pilgrimage Paddle.  Updating the blog from my phone has proven challenging without WiFi or a good phone signal, but I will be posting my Travelog here once I’ve had time to process it all.  In the meantime, progress updates can be found on my Twitter feed (no sign-up required): @revkevbeer https://twitter.com/revkevbeer?lang=en.

I can say that the schedule was rather ambitious and would have been fine for a proper canoe, instead of a rubber dingy with pointy ends!

A Missing Pensioner and Social Media

Sorry this post is a long text, not designed for entertainment.  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep soundly again having got it out of my system...

On Thursday morning, we first heard that Jim had not returned from one of his walks the previous evening/night.  As his memory had been deteriorating, this was not the first occurrence of him getting lost and being returned by various people who knew his situation.  The general expectation was that we would soon find him wandering around somewhere.  The police put out an appeal via their Facebook page and this was shared in various community pages and news spread quickly among those on social media.  Naturally, people began sharing information on these sites, including how they knew him, where they would usually see him as well as the usual well-wishers.

Soon, people began searching for him where they thought he might be and saying where they had looked.  Others began asking where they could helpfully search and various conversations were had in many threads across different local groups.  However, there seemed little co-ordination and Oxfordshire Lowland Search and Rescue (OXSAR) were approached to take a lead, including by me in this thread: www.facebook.com/oxsar.uk/posts/2053845467993037 (from Thursday p.m.)  the conclusion: they the were unable to coordinate a public search as well as their own and "unlikely" to share which areas had been checked by the police, on the basis that "areas can never be checked too many times" - this is certainly true whilst Jim may still have been mobile, but as time passed this seemed increasingly unlikely.  A subsequent conversation revealed that the main reason for not wanting to coordinate members of the public was due to "Health & Safety" reasons, i.e. what if a member of the public was injured on a search that they had initiated?  A rather sad reflection on the state of our society that this could outweigh the potential benefits of coordinating many willing volunteers.

But others were taking a lead.  The Wallingford Piper (a closed group) was used to arrange an informal gathering which set off from the Town Hall at 6pm on Thursday.  Where I had found other shares of the original missing person info in other community sites, e.g. Brightwell, I posted a comment along the lines of "...trying to co-ordinate a search plan and probably easiest to do it here.  If anyone wants to take responsibility for a specific road, public area, path, etc including any surrounding undergrowth then reply to this... then we can target whatever is left."  This may have helped a little to focus minds and began to organise the data.  In between my trips out to re-check all the churches and a visit to Jim's family, I followed the threads and began to think how else we could improve access to all this useful info that was being accumulated (I was formerly an IT Consultant after all!).  First I created a Google Map and began plotting the paths and marking out areas which had been checked.  This looked like it had great potential, but I soon started hitting limitations on how many layers could be used.  Also, even though it could be shared for updates, the process for marking areas was probably beyond most of the general public, so after a while I ditched this idea and went back to Facebook.

The main requirement was to consolidate all the threads in one place.  An obvious solution:  create a dedicated group, as open as possible to everyone, to share information.  A quick review of the group settings was made to make it as open as possible (i.e. most options set to "Anyone in the group" and the name change from the random string to something short and memorable, and so within 2 minutes the group www.facebook.com/groups/FindJim/ was launched in the early hours of Friday morning and links to it placed in all the other threads to invite all interested parties.  I still couldn't sleep whilst Jim was missing, so I then set about creating a document to summarise all the areas which had been known to have been searched to date, grouped by the Town/Village and/or type such as Churches, Schools, Riverside, etc so that as much info as possible was available when everyone set out again on the Friday morning.

One immediate issue was that I had to approve each individual request to join the group, which was what I considered to be an unnecessary distraction and encouraged others to share this responsibility.  I was up again at 6am, and seeing how the group was presented on my wife's ipad, I set about giving early joiners "Approver" status so that the join requests were more widely shared - a quick fix that allowed me to spread this load.  Useful posts started coming in various different threads/conversations.

The next issue was how to minimise the "white noise" of social media?  I quickly updated the intro to the group to emphasise the need for facts rather than arm-chair detectives and well-wishers, so came up with "A group to consolidate information of areas searched in our efforts to find Jim. Please let's focus on the search here rather than creating unnecessary noise and speculation. Nothing is ruled out and areas can be usefully rechecked...".

Next up was Morning Prayer, a much needed oasis of calm in the storm, praying for a good outcome for Jim and his family.  Then back to the master document, add new areas as they were declared "no sign of Jim".  I released an updated version at 11am as many new areas had been added, and tried to answer the "Has anyone been around / checked nnnnn yet?"  As I had hoped, the group didn't need me.

After lunch, having heard through FB that OXSAR were co-ordinating their operations from Wallingford School, we popped by so that I could introduce myself and suggest that they make use of the FB group.  I hung around watching all the activity, admiring their maps and IT setup and generally waiting around to see if anyone would speak to me as the FB group had around 500 people, with many actively contributing or standing by.  My hope was that they would take it over and share some of their useful info, but that didn't appear to be within their operating procedures.  Therefore, we carried on getting it all 2nd hand... "helicopter now hovering over nnnn", just seen the OXSAR team in nnnn", etc.  At times it seemed like they operate within an impenetrable bubble of professionalism.  After a phone call, I was told that our former Mayor and well-known local councillor Lynda A. would be heading up the co-ordination, but would be using a different medium.  I immediately PM'd Lynda, giving her Admin rights of the FB group with a plea to use what was already working rather than start again from scratch, (which it turns out she had no intention of doing).

I was in the process of refreshing the master list for a Friday mid-afternoon update, but received a call from Jim's family with the sad news that his body had been found and that the announcement was imminent.  Obviously, there was no need to pre-announce the news on Facebook.  So, the day job took over once again as I went off to a wedding rehearsal.

So, what lessons can be learned from all this?

Firstly, the FB group could have been more useful with a few initial posts so that information could be shared in dedicated threads, such as:

1) Search Updates (e.g. we've just walked the dog around the 2 bridges walk - no luck)

2) New suggestions:
a) has anyone checked the schools yet, given that they may be empty during the summer holidays?
b) we'll be cycling the country lanes around.... setting off at 4pm from the pub if anyone wants to join us.

3) Known haunts & Recent sightings: (e.g. we would often see Jim walking late at night along the Wantage Road towards Brightwell and Slade End...)

4) Publicity & Awareness, e.g.:
a) We've produced a Missing Person Poster which you can download here or collect printed copies from...;
b) We've just alerted the... [insert local land owner / business / institution, e.g. Earth Trust / Post Office / Biffa / Donkey Sanctuary...] and they are taking responsibility for [notifying all staff /  searching their land / etc]

Secondly, this could have been done within 5 minutes and could have been launched at the same time as the initial Press Release.  This would have saved 24 hours of having much useful information scattered widely over Social Media, including closed groups.

Thirdly, who should do this?  My hope would be that the OXSAR or their regional equivalent would take all this on-board and take responsibility for it [Addendum: OR the Thames Valley Police if there is a delay between the Missing Person announcement and calling in OXSAR].  Surely one self-taught geek (like me) could be spared from the team who were doing street to street door knocking, allowing them to communicate with 500 people rather than one random household at at time?  They could do this without suggesting anyone goes anywhere, but just to keep a listening ear and to acknowledge receipt of useful local knowledge.

All all it takes is a few clicks to unleash the power of social media...

P.S. This is not intended as negative criticism of all those who gave their time and efforts to find Jim, not least the professionals and trained volunteers who I again publicly thank here.  Indeed, I believe there are many individuals locally that would like to Join OXSAR through this experience.  Having been heavily involved on the social media side, I submit this as my personal experience in the hope that if improvements can be made, then perhaps more lives can be saved in the future, which is surely the most important motivation of us all, whether general public or professionally-trained.

A New Leaf

A challenging day trying to help a depressed, confused and potentially-suicidal homeless man, eventually referring him to the police and hopefully ongoing help from New Leaf. I didn't exactly break the confessional seal but am grateful that he accepted that we were all there to help him and he went off with them peaceably (not what they were expecting). A powerful reminder of the power of the Gospel in giving hope where none remains. New life is always an option - also available before death...