August is a month of transition, a quieter month. Youngsters have finished the summer term at school and are now having a rest as are their teachers. Some are moving schools, so their transition will mark a milestone. As I write, it seems that there will be a political transition, as two candidates compete to become our next prime minister – another milestone for this country.

Church life slows a little. Instead of a service every Sunday in both churches, we will alternate between St Martin’s and All Saints. Please note that the service time in August will be 10 am. At these services, both our church communities come together.

May I draw your attention to 2 events in August? There is the regular Holiday Club, from Wednesday 24th August to Friday 26 August at the pavilion in Whitwell. This is great fun and I do invite children to come and share that fun.

The second event is at Preston Recreation Ground, on Friday 26 August. There will be cricket, starting at 11.00am, in memory of Paul Constantinidi who did so much for Preston cricket. I greatly liked and admired Paul and was shocked when he died. He is a great loss to the village, and to the church where he would have made a fine and effective churchwarden.

It’s not just August of course that sees transitions and milestones. I guess we are always in a period of transition, whether in our own lives or on the wider national and international stage. The Christian idea is that a good life involves a kind of pilgrimage, in which we journey under the guidance of God, seeing in Jesus the ‘companion of our way’, the one who can make sense of our transitions and our milestones, our challenges and our hopes.

I hope you have a very enjoyable summer.

With every blessing,

Stephen