Baby, baptism and bubbles
By THE REV VICKIE MORGAN, priest-in-charge, Blendworth, Chalton, Idsworth and Rowlands Castle
ST Hubert’s, Idsworth, is a little church that sits on a grassy hillside within the South Downs National Park.
You can see it clearly from the train between Havant and Petersfield stations – it’s quite remarkable when you see the church building in a field, with no houses anywhere near it!
This ancient building attracts around 4,000 visitors a year who come to see the 14th century wall paintings and to enjoy the view. Like many churches, we’ve been experimenting with new ways of worshipping together around the changing restrictions.
Just a few weeks ago, a couple who were married in St Hubert’s just a day before the first national lockdown wanted to have their new baby baptised. Lauren and Stuart Floyd didn’t get to have the large wedding they had planned, so wanted to celebrate the baptism of their nine-monthold daughter with family and friends.
The church still had some restrictions so we needed to be creative. We couldn’t safely seat the 30 guests inside and we were still not able to sing in the church.
But this didn’t stop us at St Hubert’s.
Stuart, and Lauren’s daughter Ivy – now the youngest member of St Hubert’s church – was baptised in a pink sparkly paddling pool on the hillside. Members of their family in Bulgaria who could not travel because of restrictions joined us by videocall. We sang hymns and prayed together using bubble wands.
It was a fantastic celebration of the family’s commitment to bring Ivy up in the Christian faith. And I’d argue that it was possibly even more memorable because of how unusual it was!
Being creative with our building and worship will not just stop now that restrictions are eased. St Hubert’s has been a place of worship since the 11th century.
The challenge now is how we continue to be creative in using the building into the future – not just to physically maintain the ancient structure, important as that is, but more importantly so that St Hubert’s can be a place for all ages to encounter God together in fun and relevant ways.