Recently I returned from spending a week as duty chaplain at Westminster Abbey. Our parishes' connection with the Abbey goes back to the times when Pershore Abbey was a monastery and the land was owned by Westminster. The connection is still maintained as the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey are patrons of the parishes and have a voice in any new appointment. Indeed, four years ago it was the sub-dean of Westminster Abbey who made the trip from London to present me to the parish at my induction service. As a priest in one of their parishes I am invited to work in the Abbey about once a year. This year I arrived at the Abbey in the early evening of 23rd May and settled into the flat, located in Little Cloister behind the Abbey. Having fallen asleep to the sound of Big Ben chiming on a far too regular basis, I was awoken early on Monday morning by shouting. I looked at the clock - 4.30am! Surely it was far too early for the protesters camping on Parliament Square to be up and around. As I listened I realised the noise was organised shouting ... along with boots marching and horses hooves clattering! It was the rehearsal for the State Opening of Parliament, to take place the following day. I turned over and attempted to get back to sleep. However, when the band began to practise at 5.15am I resigned myself to the fact that there was to be no more sleep, got up, showered and went for an early morning walk along the embankment before breakfast!

Duties at the Abbey include saying a short prayer every hour, reminding the visitors that it is a house of prayer and inviting them to be still for a minute as you say a prayer, and answering any questions that visitors may have. This year the most popular question was 'Where is the Coronation Chair?' as it had been moved from its usual place to St. George's Chapel, where it is undergoing restoration. It's a long day, beginning with Morning Prayer at 7.30am and ending with Evensong at 5.00pm and all sorts of things crop up during the week. I'm getting very good at blessing rosaries which are usually on their way to Granny in America! There are people who arrive at the door asking to see a priest and they may want anything from a quiet chat about a personal problem to the phone number of a foreign embassy because they have had their passport stolen! The duty chaplain is also expected to take a couple of the daily mid-day Eucharists in the Abbey. It is a huge privilege to be a part of the Abbey staff for a week and to take services there. It is good to remind the tourists that the Abbey is a place of worship and a house of prayer. Westminster Abbey has stood as a reminder of God in the world for many hundreds of years. In the same way, our own village churches stand as beacons of God's love to us and as a reminder that he is always with us. They may not be on such a grand scale but the message is the same - God's love has been, is, and always will be constant. May you know that love in your lives.