Many Redbourners will know the person rescued by St Alban was called ‘Amphibalus’, though his real name will never be known. This name was invented by joining two Greek words – “amphi” meaning ‘round’, and “ballo” meaning ‘throw’).

He was an unknown priest during a persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities c300AD. Alban sheltered him, and then swapped cloaks with him, so he could escape the soldiers hunting him. Alban was arrested in his place, and soon executed for his faith as a Christian, the first British Martyr.

Sadly, not long after, Amphibalus was tracked down and arrested. Reputedly he was martyred – or murdered – at Redbourn. One local Redbourner claims it was not near the old Priory or the burial mounds near the Park, or Fish Street Farm, but on the other side of the Common near the River Red.

Although the bones of Amphibalus were supposedly found in Redbourn in 1178, this may simply have been ‘fake news’ and a later Anglo-Saxon burial. However, an early Christian priest was certainly martyred whilst England was still under Roman occupation.

On Sunday 7th February, the Shrine of Amphibalus that was smashed up in 1539 at the Dissolution of the Abbey’s Benedictine Monastery, was finally blessed after restoration.

It is a stunning piece of workmanship which will also have a fabric canopy on top in May. The Service can be seen on line here:

So Amphibalus is very much our own local saint we can be proud of. He appears in a window in St Mary’s Church.

A mysterious bunch of snowdrops from Redbourn Churchyard were left at the foot of his Shrine as a token of love and remembrance. Traditionally these flowers are also known as ‘Candlemas Bells’.

We celebrated Candlemas on 2nd February at St Mary’s, and the restored Shrine of Amphibalus sits under a stained glass window depicting that same Festival.

A letter from Revd Will Gibbs for the Redbourn Common Round

---

I wonder if you were one of those people who decided not to take your Christmas lights down this year but to keep them in place and lit-up during January. 

There were quite a few people around the village who thought this might give some cheer and encouragement through the period after Christmas which is always a bit gloomy and difficult, and especially so this year with Covid and the third national lockdown.

Normally, people tend to take their Christmas decorations down after Epiphany, on Twelfth Night.  We took the church Christmas trees down then which had looked so magnificent inside and outside the church through the festive period and, of course, we’re still sweeping up the pine needles now!  

But we always keep the crib up in church until the end of January or the beginning of February.  So, if you are someone who did keep their lights up, then you’re not wrong!  For actually the season of Christmas lasts for 40 days right through until the 2 February.  So, we can continue to enjoy the lights and the decorations, and even sending cards (if you missed the post!) until then. 

The shops would have us believe that Christmas starts in September and ends on 24 December as they close the shop doors and pull down the shutters, ready to open again on Boxing Day at dawn with the sales.  The Radio Times would have us believe that Christmas ends when their famous festive double issue finishes in early January and we drag ourselves off the sofa and away from the television repeats and back to school or work.  Folk tradition, and a famous carol, suggest that there are twelve days of celebrating and then we pack everything away in the loft and move on.

But actually, we keep celebrating Christmas, and then the Epiphany season, right through until early February when we reflect on an amazing passage of the Bible found in Luke chapter 2.  In this story the forty-day old baby Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the Temple, in accordance with Jewish custom, and presented in thanksgiving and in prayer to God. 

And as they come into the Temple to do this, we’re told of two characters whom they encounter – Simeon and Anna.  Both are elderly and it seems both have been waiting patiently for a long time for this moment.  Simeon had been promised that he would not die before he set eyes on the long-awaited Messiah. 

And in this seemingly normal little baby, he recognises something far more – that this is the Light that the world has been waiting for.  Simeon and Anna had been waiting faithfully, patiently and prayerfully for this moment for such a long time and then they experience it and their joy is unbounded.

I think it is a wonderful story about waiting expectantly, praying fervently, of being open to recognise the presence of God in something surprising and seemingly ordinary, and then of responding with great joy and thankfulness.  It is such a helpful story for our times.

At this time of year, each day, the light is bit brighter and the lasts a little longer and we move ever so slowly through the month and towards the promise of Spring and warmer days. 

Each day, we hear of more people having the vaccinations and the hope that this brings.  Each day, it feels as if we’re just that tiny little bit closer to some light at the end of the tunnel. 

Sadly, the nature of something like a pandemic means that we’re never going to have a definitive moment when we can suddenly say it’s all over.  There’s never going to be a truce declared one day that marks the end of this war we’ve been waging against the virus. 

It won’t be possible to say that one day the virus was still here and then we awake the next day and it has gone.  But we can see a way forward and there is light ahead that brings hope, relief and joy.

Until then, inspired by Simeone and Anna’s example, I hope we will keep fixed on that, continuing to be faithful to all that is being asked of us, remaining patient, quietly longing and praying for that day to come.  

For when it does, our joy, like theirs, will be out of this world.

Yours in Christ,

Will

A letter from The Vicar, Revd Will Gibbs

The latest Government restrictions and a third national lockdown bring with them many challenges and elicit a whole range of emotions, I’m sure.

For my part, I am relieved in three particular ways. I am relieved because the current numbers of Covid cases and infection rates are incredibly high, especially locally, and something needed to be done before things spiralled out of control.

I am also relieved because it means that the schools are closed until at least February Half Term. I had real concerns for Claire and for all teachers working in close proximity to lots of children from many
households with this new more infectious variant. (But I know this will be hard for parents working from home and juggling busy work pressures and home schooling and childcare.)

And, thirdly, I am relieved that this current lockdown still permits churches to be open – both for private prayer and for individuals to come and visit and pray, but also that public worship can continue to be offered.

This is a notable difference compared to the restrictions in the first national lockdown and bears testimony to the efforts and protocols that we and many churches have put in place to ensure that coming to a service is as safe as we can possibly make it.

It does mean that St Mary’s will continue to be open each day from 9.30 am until 5.30 pm Monday to Saturday, and from 7.30 am until 5 pm on Sundays. Permission for churches to stay open means that each of us has a choice about whether to come to St Mary’s or not, rather than that choice being taken from us.

I realise that there will be a considerable number who won’t feel able to attend services at the moment and that is fully understood and appreciated. Please know that you are missed and are being thought of and prayed for.

We will be continuing to offer our online services each Sunday morning and from the kind messages we have received I know that many people have taken great comfort from these. The fact that these are broadcast at 9.30 am with almost identical words and music to our service in church also at 9.30 am gives us an added sense that we are very much together, even if apart for now.

For those who don’t feel able to attend services in church at the
moment, do consider calling in to St Mary’s quietly under your own steam, so that you can sit and pray for a while during the week. I know that many have found great peace and solace by being able to still come in and enjoy the sense of God’s presence and peace in this place. And it is warm!

You can also light a candle on the votive candle stand if you wish, and that is being used and appreciated by many since we acquired it. It is lovely to come in to church and see a number of candles burning as a
sign that others have been there before us and have been praying also.

And for those who do feel able to come to services, we continue to offer 9.30 am Morning Prayer and 5 pm Evening Prayer each weekday, our 7.30 pm Wednesday Eucharist and weekend communion services at 5 pm on Saturdays and 8 am and 9.30 am on Sundays.

Last weekend, we had almost identical numbers attending at each
of these so our desire ‘to spread the load’ is working well and it means that we can space out more than the required 2 metres and feel very secure and comforted by that.

We will wait to see what the next Government review brings and what this means for us but, in the meantime, if you are aware of anyone who is struggling or who needs support or pastoral care then please do let me know so that we can respond appropriately.

Whatever life throws at us at the moment, I am determined that we stay together as a church, even if apart to an extent, and that our prayer, worship and pastoral care of each other continues and is extended, as we make our way at the start of 2021.

Will