Deepings St James Parish Church Magazine
| Editor: Sonia Marshall | Layout: Dave Merchant | Web version: Mark Warrick |
Photographs of some parish events are available in our Photograph Album elsewhere on the site
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From the Vicar
That Time of Year Again
By the time you are reading this the arrangements for the annual Rose & Sweet Pea Show and Garden Fête will be well in hand, the lawn cut and the competitors praying for the right weather to ensure that their exhibits stand some chance of winning a trophy. I cannot believe that a year has passed since we were last at this point in our calendar. Three weddings completed, many more in various stages of preparation: a busy year for marriages.
Have you noticed that the older you become, the faster time passes? The sixteen years between the age of 64 and the age of 80 will be the same proportion of your life as the four years between the age of 16 and the age of 20, and presumably will seem as short! Coupled with the very rapid techonological and social change in our country at present, it is easy to feel that we can never keep up, and this is not a problem confined to the old, or to the middle-aged like myself. Indeed, for the young there is the prospect of the whole process speeding along at increasing pace as they grow older. Will they ever have a grasp of the way something works before it is superseded by the next thing?
There is something attractive about opting out of all this and trying to live a simpler life. Most of us will not wish to disappear into the hills and live among the sheep without electricity or running water, but there are ways in which we can just step off the conveyor belt from time to time. These will differ with our ages and occupations, but there is usually some way to take our eyes for a moment off the ever advancing horizon! You would expect me to say that we need to take time out to pray, and I do recommend that - and at as fixed a time each day as we can make it, so that it structures a hectic week - but I shall not labour that. What I would emphasise, though, is the need to rid ourselves of guilt if we just sit and do nothing, read, listen to music or the radio, take time to enjoy the world. Part of the legacy of the "enterprise culture" is the residual feeling that somehow we have to earn everything, but this attitude is deeply sinful for it blinds us to understanding that all we have, including life itself, is in fact a gift from God and should be accepted with gratitude.
I'll make one suggestion by way of illustration, and I hope that everyone will be able to think of something similar for their own lives. For me, travelling, whether it be across the world or just to the shops in Market Deeping, is about enjoying the journey as well as getting to the destination. Yes, there are times when one simply has to hurry, but there are also more times then one might think when one does not have to hurry. So I do not automatically jump in the car and tear off at high speed. Walkers and cyclists see so and hear so very much more of God's world, and do less damage to it in the process. Being tied to bus or train timetables is a discipline that makes us take account of the rest of the world in a way that driving a car seldom does. I actually have this written into my Franciscan rule of life and it is a real part of my spirituality, part of my relationship with God and his created order. Arriving at a remote country station and walking the last mile to a destination is not part of our culture any more, but the streams still babble and the birds still sing, and I heard them when I did it last year! It was good to be alive and the terror of the diary and the clock dissolved completely!
Readings for June
5th June, 2nd Sunday after Trinity:
- Morning: Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 6; Romans 4: 13-end; Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26
- Evening: 1 Samuel 18: 1-16; Luke 8: 41-end
12th June, 3rd Sunday after Trinity:
- Morning: Exodus 19:2-8a; Romans 5: 1-8; Matthew 9: 35 - 10:8
- Evening: 1 Samuel 21; Luke 11: 14-28
19th June, 4th Sunday after Trinity:
- Morning: Jeremiah 20: 7-13; Romans 6: 1b-11;Matthew 10: 24-39
26th June, 5th Sunday after Trinity:
- Morning: Jeremiah 28: 5-9; Romans 6: 12-end; Matthew 10: 40-end
Invitation
to a
Thanksgiving for Marriage
on
Sunday, June 19th at 3pm
and afterwards in the Church Hall
A wedding is one of life's great moments, a time of celebration and joy involving family and friends. While we cannot have the day itself all over again we can all join together in God's presence to thank Him for the gift of marriage, to share in our memories, and for those who are husband and wife, to recall the vows they have made to one another.
Everyone is invited to this celebration which begins with the Thanksgiving Service in Church. The bells will be ringing and the music will include a selection of wedding favourites.
Refreshments, (including a wedding cake!) will be served afterwards in the Church Hall. Bring your wedding photographs to share with us all!
The Rose & Sweet Pea Show and Garden Fete 2005
Accompanying this month's Priory News is the schedule for this year's Rose & Sweet Pea Show. With the opening of the Parish Council's allotments and the new enthusiasm for gardening that this has generated we hope that the horticultural sections of the Show will have a new lease of life this year. If you are growing things in your garden, do enter and be a part of this traditional and yet exciting village event.
Many of the usual stalls will be on the Vicarage lawn, and this year a marquee is planned to contain both the licensed bar and a barbecue, which is a new venture. Pony and trap rides should be there again, and the area events, beginning with the crowning of the Rose Queen at 2.15pm, include the usual country dancing by Deeping St James Community Primary School and another display by the Deepings Leisure Centre Gymnastics Club and the Priory Youth Players.
The Grand Draw is especially good this year with some wonderful prizes donated by local and national businesses. Please obtain your tickets well in advance if you can to ease queueing on the day: Alison has extra tickets this year. The first prize is a four-person wicker picnic hamper from John Lewis with plates, cutlery, glasses and napkins etc, the second a "tea time" hamper from Harrod's and the third 30 pounds in shopping vouchers from Tesco and Marks & Spencer.
Teas will be available as usual in the Hall, and the children's games on the upper lawn will have a "jungle" theme this year.
Margaret & Dave Merchant extend their annual appeal for contributions of cakes and edibles for the refeshments stall. We would be grateful if you would bring your offerings of the day or ring 346727 and we will gladly collect from your home.
Christian Aid Lunch
Our thanks to all those who supported the lunch on Sunday 8th May when £104-35 was donated for the lunch.
Social Committee
Church Coffee Group
The Coffee Morning held on Thursday 12th May made £204 for the Group's funds. Our thanks to eveyone who participated.
News from Explorers, Climbers and Scramblers
We have been looking at the life of Abraham - a man on a mission - who trusted God and followed his directions, no matter how far fetched they seemed. We were inspired to become one of God's Agents like Abraham when we thought about the difference between rich and poor people in the world. Some people have everything they need whilst others are very poor, but could make their lives easier if they had a chance. We made Goat money boxes and will be filling them with 5p coins for Christian Aid which is an organisation helping those in need to have a better life.
We have a busy month ahead as we prepare for the Rose and Sweet Pea Show. Our theme is 'The Jungle' and as well as producing individual collages for the exhibition we are planning a wall display in the Children's Corner to illustrate our new song 'Who's the King of the Jungle?'
Explorers (7 - 11), Climbers (5 - 7) and Scramblers (under 5) meet every Sunday morning (except during the Summer holiday period) at 9.50am in the Church Hall. They join older worshippers in Church for their blessing, final hymn and refreshments. 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
The bell ringers and their friends had a very good evening ten pin bowling on the 30 April.
The learner ringers are making very good progress and are enjoying the experience.
Despite a broken stay, our friend and fellow ringer Bob Quinn spent some late hours on a Friday night making a new stay ready for ringing for a wedding on the following Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Bob the happy couple weren't disappointed on their great day.
We hope to see you all participating in our "GOLF CIRCLES" at the Rose and Sweet Pea Show on 25 June.
COOKING WITH MARGARET
LEMON LAYER PUDDING
- Juice and grated rind of one Lemon
- 2 oz Butter
- 4 oz Sugar
- 2 Eggs Separated
- ½ Pint Milk
- 2 oz Self-raising Flour
Oven temperature: Fairly hot 400°F, 200°C, Gas 6.
Add the lemon rind to the butter and sugar and cream the mixture until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat well. Stir in the milk, lemon juice and flour. Wisk the egg whites stiffly, fold in and pour the mixture into a fairly large greased ovenproof dish-about 2¼ pints. Stand the dish in a shallow tin of water and cook near the top of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the top is set and firm to the touch.
Note. This pudding separates out in the cooking into a custard layer with a sponge topping.
Registers for April 2005
HOLY BAPTISM
We welcome to the Lord's family:
- 10th Harriet Grace Hallam, 6 Stowgate Farm
FUNERALS
We commend to God's keeping:
- 11th Christopher Rodney Lawrence (68) (at Peterborough Crematorium)
- 29th Clifford Frederick Copland (93)
The ashes of Agnes Kidd were interred in the parish cemetery on 29th April
MARRIAGE
Michael and Linda Blackmore renewed their marriage vows on 23rd April
This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.