Rambling Rector
September 2023
From the Rambling Rector
Giving to the magazine can be done as follows:
Payment into the magazine bank account:
Sort code 20-26-62,
Account number 00351768,
Cash or Cheque made payable to “Eggardon and Colmers View” sent to
Sheena Tomkins,
The Old Mill,
Loders
DT64NN,
or put it through Sheena’s letter box,
or give it to your local correspondents.
Holidays have finished and we are back to school or university or work or whatever it is that we do. Generally, everybody begins term with great enthusiasm and we set our targets for the rest of the year. Nothing is achieved without commitment and hard work and we all, whether in paid employment or voluntary work, have to work hard to achieve things, and often the more effort we put in, the more satisfying it can be. Life is more than just our achievements though and communities are built on a collective of people doing a variety of things that we can all join in. For example, we might not be involved in the football team, but we appreciate that our community has one. I am tempted to try and list all of the activities of our communities, but suspect I only know about a fraction. The good thing is that a lot of things happen that we appreciate that require no effort from us. We benefit from the efforts of others, and they benefit from our efforts and community is richer for it.
Sometimes we value things and just assume that they will always be there and that somebody does all the work that is required to keep it going. This can apply to many things, You may expect here is where I mention the church as something that a community values, but the work of looking after it and paying for its upkeep is left to the few that regularly attend. This is of course true, but it applies to many hobbies and interests as well. I have a friend who for many years has taken on the organising of his local skittles league because nobody else would. He valued his skittles and realised that without somebody stepping up and taking on the organising, it would fail. I have met many people that talk about their local football club or cricket club folding, again because nobody would take on the organising. More close to home, this also applies to whatever summer fete, car boot, festival, open gardens happen in your village. They are all great occasions and greatly valued by many in the community. Generally there are only two reasons these things stop and that is either a lack of money or a lack of people. I keep meeting people who have recently moved into the area; firstly, welcome, but more importantly if you find something in this community that you like and value, then please do ask about getting involved, it can be quite hard for those busy running things to spot that person who does want to get involved, even though they generally really do want to share their hobby or interest.
I will confess now the real reason for writing this article is this magazine. 5 years ago the magazine was under threat due to lack of people. It now has a buoyant committee working very hard to continuously improve it. Before covid it had built up a reasonable reserve because advertising revenue exceeded expenditure. Unfortunately, since covid, advertising revenue has dropped and this magazine is now running at a loss. Over 90% of expenditure is printing costs, which is very difficult to reduce. It has a good committee and a good team of volunteer editors, correspondents, distributors, artists etc. all of whom work hard to make this magazine one that we all think worth reading. It is currently wholly funded by advertising and delivered free of charge to every house in the benefice. Thank you to all that do advertise. Advertising on its own is now not enough and the time has come to find other ways of increasing income. You can help! Firstly we are asking as you to give a voluntary donation. Details are at the start of this article. Secondly, we are asking you to ask any business friends to advertise in this magazine. Advertising has two benefits. Firstly financial as it brings customers into your doors, and secondly it showcases your business as one that supports its local community. In order for any business to promote an event in any article in the magazine, it does also need to place a paid advertisement.
If you value it, support it.
If many people give, it will help secure the magazine for the future. Thank you.
Rev Chris
