Are you a Pillar or a Buttress?
‘I am not a pillar of the church, but a buttress. I support it, but from outside.’
Winston Churchill, speaking to his Private Secretary in the 1950s.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a great initial response to the appeal for the repair and renewal of Harbury Parish Church. After all, this is Harbury.
As many gifts are from parishioners who attend church rarely, if at all, as from regular churchgoers.
Someone once described a church congregation as being like a series of concentric circles. On the inside, the ‘bull’ of the target, are the committed church attenders, the weekly regulars, the parochial church council members, the bell-ringers, those who clean, maintain and decorate the church. They are relatively few.
In the ring outside them are the less frequent attenders, the monthly congregation who bring their families to children’s services or to the services they feel touch them most – evensong, perhaps, or the Celtic service.
Then there are occasional worshippers. These may include the congregation for Christmas and Easter, for Remembrance and services like All Saints that bring to mind those we no longer see. In a wider ring still are those who attend weddings, christenings, confirmations and funerals.
And wider yet are those who seldom, if ever attend, but to whom the church matters at the centre of our village community.
In Churchill’s terms, you might call these people the ‘buttress’ of the church. The church matters to them more than many might realise. They may seldom analyse why it is so important to them. It may represent the presence of God in our community. It may be a feeling that cannot be expressed in words. But when the village church is at risk, as it is now, they respond with generosity.
It is ironic that a buttress is so important to All Saints, Harbury. On the south-west corner of the tower, easily visible from the road, is a huge supporting buttress. Without it, the tower would fall down. In fact, it has been suggested that tower and buttress support each other.
An envelope put through every door in Harbury has a flyer detailing what we plan to do, together with an appeal form. You can respond with cash, a cheque, or an online transfer. No gift is too little; no donation is too much. But if you love our church, you have probably already given.
Thank you. All Saints Harbury Parochial Church Council
