Chaddleworth vicar soars to heavenly heights for charity

The Rev Mary Harwood, vicar of the West Downland Benefice, aged 66, took to the skies last week.
She was raising funds for the Newbury and District MS Society while wearing her other ‘hat’ as the lady captain of West Berkshire Golf Club, Chaddleworth, in aid of its chosen charity this year.
The charity, she said, was particularly close to the club ‘s heart, after two former members contracted the disease.
The first planned flight with Hinton Skydiving School, Hinton Airfield, was cancelled because of bad weather, but the skydive finally took place, in perfect conditions, from 13,000ft.
Ms Harwood said that she enjoyed a
40-second freefall, and “wouldn’t say no” to doing it again.
“It is absolutely exhilarating and I was not aware of how fast I was going until the parachute was engaged.”
Her fundraising efforts two years ago had a musical bent, when she played 628 hymns – her entire hymn book – on organs in eight churches in the space of one weekend.
The musical marathon raised more than £2,000 and was sufficient to buy Hymn Technology, a computerised system equipped to play 3,000 hymns and other church music in order to supplement the shortage of church organ players.