1. At the back of the Book of Common Prayer you will find the Accession Service, for use ‘upon the Anniversary of the day of the Accession of the Reigning Sovereign.’  It is seldom used these days, except in the Chapels Royal, but I think it most definitely ought to be celebrated this year to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Accession Day is tomorrow, Monday 6 February, and accordingly I shall officiate at the Accession Service that day in the Abbey at 12 noon. All will be most welcome. I anticipate it lasting not much more than twenty minutes. It will include two hymns and the National Anthem. 

2. I wrote at length last week about the ‘Turning the Pages’ ceremony at Winchester Cathedral, and how we are going to introduce a similar ceremony in the Abbey to be known as Remembering the Fallen. The first such ceremony will be on Friday 17 February at 11.00 am, when the President of the Devonshire and Dorset Regimental Association, General Sir John Wilsey, will read from the Dorset Regiment’s Books of Remembrance (which are kept in display cases in the ambulatory). A bugler from Sherborne Town Band will sound Last Post and Reveille. Remembering the Fallen will take place at 11.00 am on the third Friday of every month, at the front of the nave. If you want to know more about the background, last week’s Pewsheet has all the details. 

3. On Tuesday The Reverend Dr. Alistair Stewart continues his series of reports on the fruits of his research whilst he has been with us into the life of the Early Church. These are held in the Griffiths Room at the Church Hall at 2.30 pm. The remaining topics are: 

7 February: The white stuff: milk and the transmission of virtue

14 February: Picking up some fragments: prayers on papyrus 

4. At the beginning of April Dr. Stewart completes his two-year contract with the Diocese as our Priest-Theologian. You will all be aware that this has been a diocesan-funded post to give Alistair some space to pursue his researches. He has published a good deal in this time, and in particular has completed his biggest book to date, which I’m delighted to say has found a publisher. The reason for rejoicing about that is simply that academic publishing, like everything else, is feeling the squeeze at present, and researches in the early centuries of the Christian Church tend not to make the bestseller charts. So the fact that a British publisher wants Alistair’s book is a great tribute to him and his scholarship!

Meanwhile, he has been the most hardworking of colleagues. Only I know how ready he has been to volunteer for daily services, hospital visits and the care of – amongst others – some of the most problematic of visitors to the Abbey. People don’t just come to the Abbey to admire the architecture: some come with huge personal problems. In Alistair they have always found a caring heart and a listening ear. That is why he has taken virtually no holiday during his time with us, and why I have agreed that his last Sunday with us should be the 19^th February. That will give him a few weeks’ grace to try to secure another post to suit his particular gifts and talents. 

I have launched a Presentation Fund so that we can mark Alistair’s time with us appropriately and generously. Please leave or send your gift to the Parish Office firmly marked Dr Stewart Presentation. Cheques should be made payable to Sherborne Abbey. Please use a yellow Gift Aid envelope if you are a UK taxpayer. We will make the presentation at the end of the Parish Eucharist on 19 February, after which I hope he and Eudora will be our guests at the Shrove Lunch (see item 6 below).  

5. Canon Tim and Mrs Joan Biles regularly run a pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine, and the next is scheduled for 29 May to 10 June 2013. In Jerusalem the party will be hosted by the bishop. The purpose is not only to follow the steps of Jesus but also to meet Jews, Moslems and Christians to hear of today’s struggles. There are eight places remaining. Brochures are available from the Parish Office or from Tim and Joan. 

6. Lent will soon be upon us. Ash Wednesday is on 22 February. But first comes our Shrove Lunch, to be held in the Church Hall on Sunday 19 February. Tickets are now available at £6.50 each or £18 for a family. The closing date for obtaining your tickets from the Parish Office is 16 February. 

The Lunch traditionally launches our Lent Project in support of both a local and an international cause. These are, locally, The Lord’s Larder in Yeovil and, internationally, Anandaban Hospital near Kathmandu in Nepal, together with the Leprosy Mission. Mat Callaghan from the Lord’s Larder will speak briefly at the lunch, as will our own Jo Higgs who next month joins a trek in Nepal in support of the hospital. Make sure of your tickets soon.  

7. Meanwhile Sherborne Churches Together has arranged nine different study groups to meet weekly during Lent to follow the ecumenical course The Way to Freedom, which asks ‘what does it mean to have faith and live in a dangerous world?’ It is inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s poem ‘Stations on the way to freedom’ written from his cell shortly before his murder in 1945. 

Lists for all nine groups are now at the back of all the churches, and you are invited to sign up for the group of your choice. In addition, our own clergy team is planning addresses to follow the same theme at the services of Compline, sung by the Gentlemen of the Choir, held in the Abbey on Monday evenings at 8.00 pm, commencing on 27 February. 

8. Finally, the Abbey Shop and the Abbey bookstall are again selling copies of Not by bread alone: Daily Reflections for Lent. This little book provides a daily reading, reflection, meditation and prayer. The Canadian Bishop Robert Morneau does a wonderful job is finding fresh material every year to bring Lent alive for us in our daily prayers. At just £1.75 a copy, it is the bargain of the year. Make sure of your copy soon.