August 2022
Lammas Day is the 1st August and we shall be celebrating Lammas at Down Ampney and at Ampney St Mary on the first Sunday in August. It is an ancient festival when the first fruits of the harvest are offered in church. The word Lammas first appears in the writings of King Alfred, King of Wessex - who burnt the cakes! It is thought that the word ‘Lammas’ is derived from the old English word for loaf, followed by ‘mass’. In the early English church, it was the custom to make the bread for the ‘Mass’ from the first of the ripe corn to be harvested as a thanksgiving.
Harvest began early this year; a dry spring and a dry summer means that arable crops were
ready for harvesting in July – and the combine harvesters have been in the fields. Of course, the ears of the corn may not be as full as they might be because they have not had the water needed for them to grow to their fullest extent – and so yields are likely to be down.
This year, in particular, there is an increasing awareness of our dependency on the earth for our food; and how very inter-connected our world is in terms of trading and transporting crops. Places that were seen as ‘bread baskets’ – known for their production of wheat – are now under threat and prices are increasing.
I know I take my ‘daily bread’ for granted. Perhaps it’s not surprising Jesus taught his disciples to remember it in their prayers…
And here is a poem to remind us that bread is indeed precious:
Be gentle when you touch bread.
Let it not lie uncared for or unwanted.
So often bread is taken for granted.
There is such beauty in bread;
beauty of the sun and soil,
beauty of patient toil.
Wind and sun have caressed it.
Christ often blessed it.
Be gentle when you touch bread.
With every blessing - John
Services and Events in August & September
Sunday 14th August 9th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Poulton
10am Parish Communion Driffield
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
Sunday 21st August 10th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Ampney St Peter
10am Parish Communion Ampney Crucis
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
Sunday 28th August 11th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Harnhill
10am Parish Communion Poulton
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
Bank Holiday Monday 29th August
8am Car Boot Sale Ampney St Peter
6pm Concert with Orlando Jopling Down Ampney
part of our RVW 150 Celebrations
Friday 2nd September
6pm Author, Sir Anthony Seldon talks Bibury Church
about "The Good, The Bad,
The Ugly: Prime Ministers from
Robert Walpole to Boris Johnson"
Sunday 4th September 12th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Ampney Crucis
10am Parish Communion Down Ampney
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
6pm Evensong Ampney St Mary
Tuesday 6th September
Noon Holy Communion and Meditation Poulton
Led by Canon Tony Ross
Sunday 11th September 13th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Poulton
10am Parish Communion Driffield
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
11am The Arnhem Service Down Ampney
Sunday 18th August 14th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Ampney St Peter
10am Parish Communion Ampney Crucis
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
3pm The Maggini Quartet in Concert Down Ampney
Sunday 25th September 15th Sunday after Trinity
8am BCP Holy Communion Harnhill
10am Parish Communion Poulton
10am Service of the Word Harnhill
3pm Choral Evensong with the
Choir of Merton College, Oxford Down Ampney
-oo0oo-
Monthly Poulton Meditations
Tuesday 6th September
Noon Holy Communion and Meditation Poulton
Led by Canon Tony Ross
Tuesday 4th October St Francis' Day
Noon Holy Communion and Meditation Poulton
Led by Canon Tony Ross
Contact
Please do get in touch with the Rector - John Swanton - for more information.
01285 851309