Dear Friends,
As many of you will be aware, 2004 is for us a Year of Jubilee, marking 125 years since our Guild was established at a meeting in Basingstoke back in 1879. The Biblical concept of Jubilee enshrined in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus is a time to cancel past debts and offences, a time to release and let go, and a time to restore and make a new beginning. It a time to rejoice and to shout, and make a loud noise in praise of the Lord God, and as we do this by ringing our Church Bells, it is our equivalent of blowing aloud the Jubilee Trumpet which Moses envisaged. I know that many of you in the Districts have such plans in place to mark the event, and I hope that as many of you as possible will be able to join in all that is being arranged.
In our Centenary Year we had a great Service in Winchester Cathedral, and the following year welcomed the Central Council to Southampton. This year our plans are more modest, with an emphasis on our Guild Dinner in Winchester on April 24th, and our AGM is at Privett on 26th. June which is the actual anniversary day, to be concluded with the renowned A&P District Barbecue, which those who have been before will know is a treat in itself.
Whilst our aims and objects remain much the same as our founding fathers established back in 1879, clearly as a Guild we have to adapt to changing situations and circumstances as the years unfold. We have much greater ease of mobility and means of communication than our forebears could scarce have imagined, and society itself has changed almost out of all recognition in such areas of work and leisure patterns and opportunities. The old adage reminds us that “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”, so we too adapt and move forward, giving thanks for the past, yet challenged by the future.
As Bob Cater notes in his final report as our Guild Secretary “much change has been implemented in the Guild during the past decade”, and I take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Bob for the diligent and exemplary way in which he served us as our Secretary over the last eleven and a half years, and to thank him and Gail for all the ways in which they have served the Guild during the years they have spent amongst us. In an age of great change where fewer seem willing to commit themselves to hold office in voluntary associations such as our Guild, we have been well served by the continuity and outstanding service of all of our Guild Officers over a prolonged period. The stability engendered by such long-term commitment has served us well. Our grateful thanks too to Tony Smith, who has announced his intention to retire as our Report Editor at this year’s AGM. Without such examples of dedicated service at both Guild and District levels, our Guild would be so much the poorer.
So enjoy the year and all the events planned, and may this also be for you a year of Jubilee.
Barry