The Revd. Margot Hodson was licensed and installed as priest-in-charge of the benefice of Haddenham with Cuddington,Kingsey and Aston Sandford at a service on Monday February 9th in St. Mary the Virgin, Haddenham.

During the service, the Bishop of Buckingham preached on passages from the book of Exodus and the epistle to the Colossians emphasising particularly the need for humility in service. As part of the licensing, Margot received symbols of her office; water for baptism; oil of healing; bread and wine; a prayer book and bible; a cross and, as a symbol of involvement with the wider community, an Ordnance Survey map.  With the licensing by the Bishop of Buckingham complete, Margot was installed by the Archdeacon of Buckingham at 8:32pm and was presented to the assembled congregation who responded with a lengthy round of applause.  The final symbolic act involved the ringing of the church bell by the newly installed priest-in-charge to represent calling the community to worship.  Margot's first act as priest-in-charge was to give a number of notices and read out a list of services across the benefice for the forthcoming Sunday.

Present at the service were the Area Dean's representative and members of the clergy from across the Aylesbury Deanery as well as members of the existing ministry team and the congregations of the four parishes.  Margot had previously been chaplain of Jesus College, Oxford and a number of students had come over from Oxford to take part in the service (picture). During refreshments after the service, Margot was able to meet many of her new parishioners for the first time.  The vacancy in the benefice was caused by the retirement of the vicar, Revd. Chris Denham in March 2008.