Priory News, August 2005

Deepings St James Parish Church Magazine

Photographs of some parish events are available in our Photograph Album elsewhere on the site

To:

• Scripture readings for Sunday
• Archive of past editions of Priory News
• Cooking with Margaret

I look forward to seeing everyone over the next year, in Church or in the community, and it will hopefully be an exciting time. Plans are moving ahead slowly for replacing the lighting and electrical system in church and for a total rebuild of the church hall - although there are legal and financial obstacles to be overcome in the latter case, but these should not be a problem. Next year's Rose & Sweet Pea Show and the St James's celebration can build on this year's great success as community events and I very much to get together an Alpha course in September and confirmation preparation for those who are interested.

Mark Warrick

Pathfinders resumes for the new Term 1 on Sunday 11th September at 19:30 at the Vicarage. All 11-14 year-olds welcome. We hope to get the programme for the new term published at dsj.org.uk/youth in time for the start of the term

Church Ladies Fellowship

The Church Ladies Fellowship will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary on Thursday, September 1st, which is the first meeting of the Autumn session. There will be a short opening service in the Priory Church at 7-45 pm. followed by a buffet supper in the Church Hall, including a celebration cake and wine. Any former members are invited and will be made most welcome.

Ann Thompson (Fellowship Secretary).

N o t i c e s

Please let the clergy know if you are, or a friend or neighbour is, in hospital. Every effort will be made to visit parishioners in hospital, but omniscience does not come with holy orders! Mark and Sonia are not too busy to visit those who are sick, or worried or afraid, but they do need to know. In addition to clergy visits, the Prayer Group will pray for those it knows to be in need (via the prayer board in church or by telephone), and we are just beginning a scheme of lay visiting, too. Such pastoral support and prayer is at the heart of the local church's care for those in need.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN LONDON
a poem by Paul Atkinson

A beautiful day unfolds in London.
The sun creeps slowly over the rooftops
And smiles down at our waking capital.
Legs creep slowly from under the duvet
As the alarm dismisses the slumber for another night.
The showers run, the kettles are switched on
The make up is applied, the ties are knotted.
And away, to another day of labour in our wonderful capital city.

A beautiful day unfolds in London
The offices beckon, busy days ahead, shops to be opened
Big and small jobs to be done, cabs to be driven,
Buses and trains to move, all important
To the smooth operation of our capital and country.
A throbbing vibrant capital of all races and persuasions
A place to be envied by so many in the world.

A beautiful day comes to a halt in London
The sun and the warmth, the tranquillity amongst the bustle is shattered.
As the bombs slice through flesh and bone, blending it inextricably with
The metal and glass, the dust and the fabric, the dirt and the blood.
In the dark, the momentary stunned silence gives way to anguished screams;
Of terror, of panic, of pain and despair. But not by every one
Because many are dead, their lives snuffed out in  split seconds
Many more are trapped, maimed or injured, praying  that they may see their loved ones again.

A beautiful day in London has gone forever
Replaced by chaos and mayhem, anguish and torment
As the emergency services flock to the bombsites underground.

Could there be a worse location?
And then – more. Some lucky ones who have escaped the carnage
Take a bus away from the area, to try and get on with their lives
And resume normality amongst the bedlam.
And then it too, explodes in a mass of twisted steel and shards of glass
Killing some, and injuring many more. All these innocent people
Just going about their daily lives. Meeting, shopping, eating, laughing,
Things that some will never do again.

A beautiful day in London has become a landmark in history
As the mass innocents are slaughtered by the few, indiscriminate in their choices for martyrdom
And the city weeps for its dead and wounded, as it defies the murderers
And tries to resume an existence that until the day before, was so much to so many
And is now stained and sullied, blackened by death and destruction, brought about
By madmen with a fanaticism that we struggle to comprehend; that means so much to them
But we cannot conceive of the devotion that drives them to such acts
Yet we must try to understand, with patience, and compassion.
Because with understanding comes integration and peace and love,
And with those to the fore, there will be, once again, beautiful days in London

News from Explorers, Climbers and Scramblers

July has been a very busy month for us in the kitchen! We looked at two of the Miracles of Jesus - The Wedding at Cana and the Feeding of the Five Thousand - where Jesus demonstrates that he is a Creator God. Some of the children made a huge Wedding Cake out of boxes which they painted and decorated whilst others made edible minature 3-tier cakes from Swiss Rolls, icing and marshmallows.

For our last Sunday School Session of the academic year our tradition is to make Knicker-bocker glories and link this activity to a relevant Bible story rather than the other way round. We chose the story of Balshazaar's Feast because we thought that Knicker-bocker glories could well have been on the menu! The story has a message for us as we prepare for our holidays - God helps us a lot and so we must give him the credit instead of taking it for ourselves.

A new venture for us this year was the St James's Workshop which we held on the Sunday nearest to St James's Day. The children made a large model of the Market Cross which has come to be one of the familiar symbols of the village of Deeping St James. Pilgrims to the shrine of the Church's Patron Saint, St. James, in Northern Spain are presented with a cockle shell (or scallop) as a sign of their achievement, so other activities were based on this symbol of St James. As we baked and iced shell-shaped biscuits and made shell mobiles the children were quick to point out that this shell appears on the logo of both the Deeping St James Primary School and the Deepings School, thus reinforcing awareness of the connections between Church and village.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are involved in the planning and running of our Sunday morning sessions, including those members of the congregation who pray for us and who are so generous with their support when we appeal for sticky bits, mini-eggs, shiny paper, pretty buttons etc. Have a lovely summer.

Explorers (7 - 11), Climbers (5 - 7) and Scramblers (under 5) are on holiday now but will meet again on Sunday 11th September at 9.50am in the Church Hall. New members are always welcome. Please contact Andrea (Climbers and Scramblers) on 344926 or Alison (Explorers) on 345890 for more details.

News From The Tower

We trust that the Bell Ringers event at the Rose and Sweet Pea show was appreciated, as the number having a go at the "Golf Circles" was certainly up on last year.

A very good evening was had by some 24 people who attended the Bell Ringers annual barbeque on July 2nd. Thanks to Richard and Sue for the use of their garden.

The bells were rung at 5 pm on the 10th July as part of the National Celebration in Commemoration of the end of World War II. This had been organised by "The Council of Church Bell Ringers". It was hoped that all the bell ringing churches in the Country would ring at the specific time.

The Bell Ringers next social event is a visit to the Whitechapel bell foundry during August

This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.