Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Reviving a local tradition - Rogation Sunday

Here in Creeting St Peter, life has its cycles. Of course, being predominantly agricultural, there are the various harvests, plantings and what have you, the splash of vivid yellow as the oil seed rape flowers, the green to gold of wheat as it ripens. We also have our local traditions, such as the Christmas Eve carol service at St Peter's Church, with readings by various members of the community.

As the Parish Council, we feel that we have a role in encouraging these sorts of things, and so we resumed the tradition of laying a wreath to mark Remembrance Day last year, our way of reflecting the mood of our little community. I have to admit though, that when the question of Rogation Sunday came up, I was a mite perplexed.

Apparently, Rogation Days were set apart for solemn processions intended to seek God's mercy. That developed into a tradition known as 'beating the bounds' whereby the local minister, the churchwarden and the choirboys led the parishioners on a walk around the parish boundaries, with prayers for the protection of the parish in the year ahead.

The tradition lapsed in Creeting St Peter some dozen or so years ago, after the departure of the then local vicar, but our Parochial Church Council are keen to resume, so we'll be going for a bit of a stroll on 9 May. The fact that the A14 cuts the Parish in half, with only two crossing points, is a bit of a nuisance, but our District Councillor is contributing to the post-walk tea, and the countryside is pretty so, if you're in the area, why not join us...

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