Page 17 - BR May 2023

May 2023 May 2023

For me the purpose of the shop – this community benefit society is to do just that – BISHOP’S LETTER
to be a benefit to this community.
Obviously to be the place where you can go for a pint of milk, but also to be the
place where you can buy an Aubergine or Avocado. To be the place where you How does one crown a king? After much rehearsal
can find a friendly face, someone to pass the time of day with. To be the place and with a steady hand, I suspect – and bated
where you can continue to contribute to your community by volunteering. breath around the globe in that solemn moment.

I want to thank those who have served on the committee with me, I appreciated There is a weightiness, not only to the physical act
your support. And I leave the management of the shop in good hands with those but its deep spiritual and symbolic import, which is
who continue. hard to explain but nevertheless of immense value.
For the coronation remains a profoundly Christian
I want to thank all of you customers and volunteers alike, for coming on the occasion, in which an ancient connection is made
journey with me. between earthly and divine power, and our
monarch’s complete dependence on God for the
Ali Chorley
grace to govern.
The greater the authority - or majesty - the greater
the need to emphasise this dependence. The
AFFPUDDLE AND TURNERSPUDDLE PARISH Christian heart of our monarchy, much discussed and
disputed, is an historic safeguard against vainglory
COUNCIL and the abuse of power: it means that the anointing
to rule becomes, inescapably, the anointing to serve
in the pattern of Christ.
At our April meeting the funding of coronation mugs for our young Parishioners
was approved. It has long been a tradition for the Parish to distribute These are ideas requiring careful translation in an era when we have almost lost
commemorative mugs, and on this occasion the Village Hall Committee has very what was once instinctive in our culture – humility before the Almighty, whatever
kindly taken on the task of organising their design and purchase. our station. Sceptical of God’s existence and suspicious of those who aren’t, the
Christianity of our monarchy and all the mythmaking of a coronation appears to
It was reported that the Planning Application for Battle Farm was considered at some as no more than an eccentric kind of national window-dressing. Whilst it
the April East Area Planning Committee Hearing. The Application was refused by may be this – and no worse for it - I believe the impending celebrations are also a
a majority of 5 to 1. This Application had been vigorously opposed by Parishioners reminder to our fretful, forgetful age of the higher yet humbler calling to which we
and The Parish Council added its own objection following consideration of the may yet respond, while the Lord is near.
Application at a pubic meeting. The planning process does allow the Applicant
to appeal the decision and the Parish Council will be notified if an appeal is
forthcoming.
It was with regret that the Parish Council has received the resignation of Cllr
Graham Lightfoot so he can concentrate on other priorities. Graham has served
on the Council for many years and has taken particular responsibility as our Flood
Warden, Rights of Way Officer and more recently taking the lead in researching
how we might reduce the Parish Council’s carbon footprint.
We will greatly miss Graham’s knowledge and guidance which has been built up
over his extensive career in the Environment Agency. Graham’s knowledge and
expertise when applied to our Parish issues has been pivotal in several notable
achievements including resisting the local council’s proposal to greatly reduce
the size of the Piddle Valley Conservation Area and persuading and working with

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