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August 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 53In OlneyThe 1st day of August may pass without much fanfare these days, but it used to be a lot more signifi cant in the calendar. It was known as %u2018Lammas%u2019. The custom was to make a loaf out of the fi rst wheat of the new harvest, which would then be presented in church at a celebration of Holy Communion, or Mass: hence the name %u2018Lammas%u2019, which is a contraction of %u2018Loaf-mass%u2019 (in the same way, that %u2018Christmas%u2019 derives from %u2018Christ%u2019s Mass%u2019). We%u2019re still used to celebrating Harvest Festivals later in the year, when the harvest has been completed; and Lammas was, if you like, a kind of pre-Harvest Festival, thanking God for the beginnings of what would hopefully be a productive harvest, and seeking his blessing on what was still to come. Unlike Harvest Festival, however, you%u2019ll fi nd very few churches marking %u2018Lammas%u2019 nowadays; similarly, once popular agricultural festivals such as %u2018Plough Sunday%u2019 and %u2018Rogation Sunday%u2019 are much less widely celebrated than before.I think this is a shame, and there are many reasons why I fi nd it helpful to mark such occasions. For one thing, it%u2019s very easy to me to take the food I eat each day for granted, and to lose a sense of connection with how and where it%u2019s produced, and occasions like Lammas give me an opportunity to refl ect on this; they are also good moments to acknowledge and pray for all those who work so hard to maintain a secure supply of food, on land and at sea, and at the same time do much to ensure biodiversity and the maintenance of precious ecosystems. And festivals like this are always celebrations of the God who provides, recalling us to the wonder of his creation and the love that sustains it; and they remind us of the responsibility with which we are entrusted as stewards of this creation. And if %u2018Lammas%u2019 may seem a bit premature as a celebration, with the bulk of the harvest still to come, there is something to take from this, too. When I make plans and see them through to their conclusion, I readily commit them to God as I begin and give thanks to him at the end, in all the anxiety and relief of these respective moments. But in the thick of things I need to remember that God is there too, even as plans change and things develop in ways I don%u2019t expect; and these are just as important moments to turn to him, thankful for what has been achieved, acknowledging what hasn%u2019t and hopeful for what remains. Lammas helps me to remember that God isn%u2019t just there when I need him, but also when I don%u2019t think I do, or forget that I do; and this underpins that beautiful prayer that Sir Jacob Astley is said to have uttered before the Battle of Edgehill in 1642: %u2018Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget Thee, do not Thou forget me.%u2019Hugh Reid, St. Peter and St Paul, OlneyIn Newport PagnellA heart at peaceI write this little thought in a three-day gap between heat waves. It got me thinking: just last week, I was begging for the arrival of winter. Do not get me wrong, I love the summer, but only when I%u2019m not working, with a cold drink by the pool, the summertime is lovely. When I%u2019m in a rush to pick up a child from an activity straight from work, summer in a heat wave can be unpleasant, sticky, close, and all the other names we give to the humid British summer.So there I was thinking to myself how much I like the winter months. At this point, I remember having the exact converse chat with myself in January this year. It was cold, not incredibly so, but unpleasant and bitter, and the rain was so relentless. I remember saying to myself, %u2018I will never grumble about summer ever again.%u2019We are fi ckle creatures really, and the phrase %u2018The grass is greener on the other side%u2019 really comes to mind. We love what we don%u2019t have much of in the moment. That might be the cool of the winter, or the warm, dry days of summer. And we are also creatures of comparison. We look at what we have and what situation we are in, and look at other people and situations with envy and relish.The Church leader and writer Dave Kraft wrote that comparison is the enemy of contentment. He suggested that we will rarely be happy with what we have, when our eyes and our focus are on others and what they have. As humans we don%u2019t compare well, and we don%u2019t compare fairly. We often compare the best of what we don%u2019t have with the worst of what we do! That doesn%u2019t help either.This led me to think about how we often do this, not just with seasons, but with people. The weather is one thing, but when we look at our comparative nature more widely, we see people who are incredibly critical of themselves because they struggle to %u2018keep up with the Jones%u2019. Looking at the social media posts of others in their clean houses with their smiley children and perfectly crafted garden is nice, but then we look at our pile of washing and the unkempt lawn, our argumentative children and partner asleep and snoring on the sofa, we can%u2019t help but compare. We compare our lives with theirs, and it often makes us feel awful.Now I%u2019m a minister, I have to bring in God, it%u2019s my job, but I truly believe that when we look at others, we miss the miracles of what God has done with us. We are walking miracles. I look at our DNA or our fi ngerprints and see that I am an absolute individual. No other %u2018me%u2019 has ever existed, which is incredible when you think that over 8 billion humans share this planet at the moment. God has made me unique, with unique gifts and talents. I%u2019m not perfect, and neither are you, but please don%u2019t compare yourself with others. You don%u2019t do yourself justice when you do.A short proverb from the Bible comes to mind: Proverbs 14:30 %u201cA heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.%u201dDon%u2019t envy what others have or what others are. Work out how you can be the best that you can be, with God%u2019s help, but don%u2019t try and be someone else, you are not them and they are not you.When it%u2019s summer, we forget the worst bit of winter and vice versa. When we look at others, we often see the best bits of them and compare them with the less desirable aspects of ourselves and in doing so, we often overlook some of our God given skills and beauty.Peter Young, Associate Minister, Newport Pagnell Baptist ChurchChurches TogetherTower work underwayScaff olding will remain in place %u2018for three months%u2019.The scaff olding around Olney%u2019s church tower has been put up for essential stonework repairs which, will take approximately three months to complete, says the warden.Malcolm Jones, Churchwarden of St Peter and St Paul, Olney, said it includes the stonework around the west door, which was in very poor condition. It%u2019s being done under the authority of the diocesan advisory committee, which regulates work on listed church buildings %u2013 Olney%u2019s church is grade 1 listed.%u201cAt night the tower has appeared pink,%u201d said Malcolm. %u201cIt%u2019s part of an art trail compiled by Wayne Warren, an internationally recognised artist born in Olney. Wayne wanted to paint the tower, but as that would not be allowed, he has placed gels on the church fl oodlights to turn the tower pink at night.