Do Come In!
A light-hearted look at parish life
by
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The storyline begins with an insight into Jennie Jenkins' last afternoon at Ysgol Bryn Glas, a school that caters for pupils with learning difficulties and where Jennie has been employed for the past 25 years. She is retiring that very day. The celebration dinner that she was to enjoy later with her husband Bryn (Vicar of Rhydbrychan) has to be postponed due to an unexpected visit by the Diocesan Bishop, consequently, Bryn has to attend an extraordinary meeting and Jennie is left home alone until someone calls at the door.
The following day is Jennie's first day of retirement and she expects it to be quiet and tranquil. However she is inundated with callers including a bossy parishioner, an engineer who has come to check the alarm system and Ray the Gardener whom Jennie had never met before. In addition to this she has to deal with a number of telephone calls. As a result she feels neither relaxed nor retired.
Later in the year preparations are made for the Mother's Union Christmas Concert. A meeting is held in the vicarage to discuss a possible programme,but despite the enthusiasm of the members, their suggestions, on the whole are inept and inappropriate. Is an Eisteddfod winner of forty years ago still able to sing like a nightingale? Can the suggestion of gorging Christmas puddings be regarded as seasonal entertainment? Are the services of the parish clergy and other able bodied men required backstage incase any member collapses during the performance? Eventually, after further thought and yet another meeting a very successful Christmas concert is presented. (Preferred passage)
The following year sees an influx of workmen and scaffolding surrounding the vicarage and inevitably the work is greater than expected and takes longer to complete. This chapter comes with a number of humorous episodes.
Later the text concentrates on a succession of Mid-Summer lunches that are arranged to boost church funds. During this time people learn to work together and there is a feeling of mutual respect. The Buffet Magnifique however, surpasses all expectations and brings the whole worshipping community as one.
The last section of the book reveals subtle aspects of spirituality but it is dealt with in such a way that the humour remains. Firstly a group of parishioners make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham in Norfolk and the reader is able to share the programme of events from meditation to merrymaking. Finally, the two rather coarse and unruly teenagers who moved into the house next door to the vicarage develop into two devout men who are called by God into the priesthood.
The fact that the author has managed to use the same words to both begin and end the manuscript is unique and thought provoking.
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About the Book
'Do Come In!' takes a light hearted and humorous look at parish life. The imaginary Church of St. Mary Magdalene is located in the small country town of Rhydbrychan in the Diocese of St. Deiniol's in South Wales. Each of the seven chapters is complete in itself and depicts a variety of parochial events that take place over a number of years, including The Mothers' Union Christmas Concert and The Parish Pilgrimage. The readers will also have a 'fly on the wall' experience when they get an insight into the stresses and strains that are endured by the incumbent and his wife during the times of necessary vicarage repairs! Although all the characters are fictional their counterparts can be found in many parishes throughout the Anglican Communion. Some of the parishioners seem to be more ready and less able to perform parish duties whilst others may be less ready and more able! Some of them like to assume complete responsibility whist others prefer to be a part of a crowd. Even so, they all work together for the common good. They have a wonderful spiritual leader in the Reverend Bryn Jenkins who is compassionate and caring and who treats every member of his flock the same. After all, he, doesn't want to take any chances. He knows that he will spend his entire ministry working alongside volunteers!
About the Author
Evelyn Mary Evans was raised in Bargoed which is a former mining town in one of the South Wales Valleys. As a child and teenager her life centered around church activities and most of her evenings were generally spent in the church or in the church hall. Her involvement in parish life was far more important to her than completing homework assignments. Nevertheless,she gained her Teaching Certificate and was employed locally therefore she was able to maintain her activities in the parish. (It was not until she was the age of fifty that she gained her Master of Arts degree!) Little has changed over the years apart from the fact that, being married to an Archdeacon, she spends more time at church services and less time socializing and performing in church halls. Evelyn has always been interested in creative writing, most frequently in the form of plays or pantomimes for school productions. Her first major effort was 'Aladdin' when many of the pupils playing the role of 'jewels' succumbed to a chicken pox epidemic. Even so, with the help of soothing creams, the show went ahead! It was during the early seventies that Evelyn did a teaching exchange at Charles Lee Elementary School in Azusa, California and it was here that she wrote 'Across The Ocean' - a drama depicting the journey of the Pilgrim Fathers as they left Plymouth Hoe to settle in the United States of America. As always, she had as many pupils as possible participating and even included a little Welsh in the dialogue! The play was performed before a packed audience and a second performance had to be quickly arranged. When Evelyn retired from teaching she was going to achieve one of two things, either learn to play the harp or write a book. She settled for the latter!