FROM THE VICAR

My dear People,

I write at the end of the Whitsun break. As usual there were a good many cars on the roads. There were, however, only moderate numbers in church on Whit Sunday, described often as the birthday of the Church. Naturally my thoughts turned to Sunday Observance. We all ought to think about this from time to time. Not only is our spiritual welfare at stake. I would go further and say that our health and sanity are at stake as well.

As a Christian I believe that corporate worship of Almighty God should have priority on a Sunday, the "first day of the week" when we recall with thanksgiving the appearance of the Risen Christ. It should be the reaction of deep gratitude to Someone to whom one owes everything. "God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son ...." I also believe that every man, woman and child needs time for worship and prayer and that without it their lives will be lacking in depth and, in the end, meaning. It is a proved fact, which countless people ignore, that this lack of meaning and purpose in life is often at the root of mental illness and trouble.

There is a further aspect of Sunday Observance which, with the new laws about Sunday Entertainments and the popularity of the motorcar, we all ought to watch. In England, by long custom and law, even though some did not go to church, Sunday has been for the great majority of people a leisurely family kind of day. The pace of life has slackened. It has been possible to be more relaxed and therefore refreshed. This has meant health and sanity for both individual and nation. I do not think that large-scale commercialised forms of entertainment on a Sunday are healthy for anyone. They will lead to more Sunday work, more trading, more noise and longer queues, and the inevitable bad temper and accidents. At all costs I believe that we should hold on to the one day when the tempo of life quietens down. For the Christian there is the first duty of worship. Besides that, let it be a day when we can potter about, be with the family and make our own forms of recreation.

Your sincere friend and Vicar,

JOHN GREEN.