AT A time when the thoughts and prayers of the nation are with the people of Manchester, as we share their sense of shock and grieve with them, I hope that to look forward to happier times to come in June will not appear insensitive.  

As so many have said, including Mancunians in recent days, we must not allow terrorism to have the upper hand. We must continue with our daily lives, and with our plans for the future. 

These plans cannot and should not proceed as if nothing had happened.  Like the wounds on the body of the risen Christ, the scars of recent events will be borne in the lives of those involved forever, and will stay in the minds of the rest of us for a long time to come.

But to proceed with our plans and our lives is in itself a statement of solidarity with our Mancunian friends, and all affected by terrorist atrocities. It is a statement of defiance against religious extremism and intolerance.  

And so I look forward to the continuing celebration throughout this year of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of St Mary the Virgin, which once stood at the heart of this town.

As I left the Parish Church after the service this Sunday morning I heard a shout: "Make way for the king!" This is not an unusual cry for we Anglicans to hear in Eastertide or in Kingdom season. But it referred this time to an earthly king. 

Abbey 900’s celebrations were continuing this weekend with a re-enactment by the Plantagenet Society of an event of 1399. An attempt had been made by supporters of Richard II to depose Henry IV. The townsfolk of Cirencester stood together against this unjust act of oppression, just as they do today against extremism and intolerance. 

The townsfolk of 1399 were richly rewarded for their loyalty by a grateful Henry IV.  It was this king who was being hailed as I left the Parish Church. He rode out of the Abbey Grounds, past the Parish Church, magnificent on his steed, a veritable symbol of power. And later that morning there were minstrels dressed in mediaeval garb singing joyfully in our wonderfully refurbished Market Place.

As we enter into June, Abbey 900 will celebrate the Patronal Festival of the Parish Church of St John Baptist with a flower festival between June 22 and 25, together with a service of Solemn Evensong on Sunday, June 25 at 6pm, at which the Festival’s Patron, Bishop Rachel of Gloucester, will preach. All are welcome; that is people of all faiths and of none. We are all children of God and we all share God’s gift of life in his creation.

The theme of the Flower Festival is the Circle of Life. Most of us will experience both joy and pain in our lives. These emotions can be intense at times, as both our earthly kings and our Heavenly King know, as do their people. 

In our community of Cirencester let us live life to the full, caring for one another, praying for those who are in pain and rejoicing with those who are determined to go joyfully forward, whatever obstacles oppressors might try to place in our path. 

THE REVEREND KATIE RICHARDSON                                                 Cirencester Parish