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Scripture readings for Sunday
Wonderful to wake up to light skies again as the winter's end approaches! The onset of the month of March brings with it the start of Lent, a season of concentration on spiritual goods at the expense of material ones!
Giving things up for Lent seems an old-fashioned practice but is well worth trying, even today. Perhaps it is especially worth trying in this post-modern world of choice and self-seeking. Deliberately to manage without a luxury we could easily afford and enjoy using is a spiritual exercise which can teach you about ourselves and about the nature of material wants. Do you really need that chocolate (ouch), biscuit, or cup of tea? Can you not live without that beer or fresh cream cake?
Try it and see, for its own sake, for the weeks until Easter. Side effects like losing weight, giving the saved money to charity, or remaining sober (!) are beneficial, but the discipline involved in sticking to your own rule is better still. And Easter is so much more fun when the brakes come off the chocolate ...
4th March, 1st Sunday of Lent:
11th March, 2nd Sunday of Lent:
18th March, 3rd Sunday of Lent:
25th March, 4th Sunday of Lent, Mothering Sunday:
1st April, 5th Sunday of Lent, Passiontide begins:
(British Summer Time begins on Mothering Sunday: clocks go forward one hour)
Several volunteers have offered to give a lift to anyone who would otherwise not be able to get to church. If you would like a lift at any time either on a regular or occasional basis, please contact the Churchwardens.
The Editorial Team are forever grateful for your articles to the Priory News and ask that if your submissions are computer generated and access to e-mail is available that a copy is sent to Dave Merchant at: david_merchant@hotmail.com
Based upon a slim book by Tony Kidd, this year's study course looks at the well-known "I am" sayings of Jesus in the Gospel according to St John. The book presents a method of studying the gospel and of looking at our own lives rather than study material itself, and will involve participants in much thought and can work a a basis for the whole week's prayer if desired.
Two groups are planned, a Friday group which will meet in the "slot" normally occupied by the weekly Bible Study Group, 10am at the Vicarage for an hour, and a Wednesday evening group meeting at various homes beginning at 135c Eastgate at 7.45pm on 7th March. The first Friday group will be on 2nd March but will be at 2pm just for that first time so as not to clash with the Women's World Day of Prayer service which takes place that morning
The churches of the Deepings are arranging a series of Lent Lunches in aid of hunger-relief charities on the Saturdays in Lent, beginning on 10th March and ending on 7th April. The are served from noon to 2pm and a minimum donation of £1.50 per head is asked for a simple meal of soup, bread and cheese. The following churches are taking it in turns to organize such a meal: Market Deeping St Guthlac's, Open Door, Roman Catholic, Deeping St James and Methodist. Full details will be published separately. Do come along and support the poorest people of the world while enjoying the fellowship of the Christian community in the Deepings.
A cheery group of members from St. Guthlac's, the Catholic church, the Methodists, the Open Door church and our own church met on Tuesday 6th February. Our aim was to see if we could work more closely together and make ecumenical witness a reality in our locality. Ably and sensitively chaired by lan Murray, the Methodist deacon, the mood was positive.
We shared our ideas, anxieties and hopes. Differences were respected, common ground acknowledged. Everyone was keen to reach out to the local community and to support each other. As a first step, it was agreed that our churches would each provide a Lent lunch in support of hunger relief charities. Details of these appear in this magazine. We hope that many more group ventures will be possible. Our next meeting will focus on children, with the idea of a summer picnic on our vicarage lawn under consideration as one possibility. This initiative seemed to me a real way forward in our spiritual growth. I do hope you will support it both in prayer, and by attending as many Lent lunches as possible.
There's another simple way you can help. We need a more focused, memorable name for this new venture of our churches than the title of this report. If you can think of one, please let Mark, Liz or me know soon.
Many thanks,
Bet Washbrooke
The Annual Spring Cleaning of the Church will be carried out from Monday 2nd to Wednesday 4th April.
If you can spare some time to help with the cleaning, please sign your name on the notice board at the back of Church. The more volunteers we can get the quicker the cleaning will get done!
The Churchwardens would like to thank all those who help with cleaning the Church during the year.
Many thanks to all who continue to supply used stamps for Mission World Outreach (UK) Stamp department who report an income of £4240 during 2000. This sum has assisted fifty funds in twenty five countries, including the regular support needed for orphanages, hostels, schools and Mission personnel.
Please remember that damaged stamps are of no value and leave a good piece of envelope attached to preserve the perforations.
Your help is greatly appreciated by World Outreach who have asked me to pass on sincere thanks to all involved.
Brenda Peters
The new and slightly more prominent position of the altar has had the side effect of making more noticeable the seasonal changes of colour of the hangings. The new lectionary has also resulted in some slight adjustments to the seasonal colours, so in response to requests we list below a guide to liturgical colours which reflect the rainbow colours of life.
WHITE: is for festivals, for the feast days of Jesus and the Holy Family, for saints who were not martyrs. It is used for Trinity Sunday, All Saints Day, Maundy Thursday, weddings and it is one of the options for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations and funerals. It is used as the colour of the season from Christmas to Candlemas and from Easter to the eve of Pentecost.
RED: is for blood, for tongues of flame, for a King. It is for martyrs, and for Holy Week (from Palm Sunday). It is used for the season of the Kingdom (between All Saints and Advent). It is used for The Day of Pentecost and is one of the options for baptisms, confirmations and ordinations.
PURPLE: is for penitence and preparation. It is used for the seasons of Advent and Lent and is also an option for funerals.
GREEN: is for growth, it is colour of 'ordinary time'. It is used for the weeks between Candlemas and Lent and for the weeks after Trinity and before the Kingdom.
Some churches may have additional colours:
GOLD: is a 'best' set for most special festivals - Christmas, Easter etc.
UNBLEACHED LINEN: is a special penetential set for Lent.
ROSE: is a colour which may be used for Mid-Lent (Mothering Sunday) and the third Sunday of Advent.
It is the time of year for the annual revision of the Church Electoral Roll. Forms for registration are always at the back of Church, these contain the few qualifications for an entry on the Roll.
The current Electoral Roll will be displayed in Church prior to March 24th, please check that your name has been entered to be eligible to vote at the Annual Parochial Meeting.
Please pass any new registrations to myself or the Vicar. Dave Merchant, Electoral Roll Officer
The Fellowship has been active for 45 years and this will be celebrated on September 6th with a Church Service and buffet. This last year the Fellowship has raised £150 for Deeping Guides.
The charity for 2001 - 2002 will be the Thorpe Hall hospice. Fund raising will commence with a luncheon in the Church Hall on Friday March 16th, tickets available from committee members. This will be followed by a Rummage Sale on Saturday April 28th.
On Thursday May 17th the Fellowship is holding an Open Meeting to welcome Terry Barnett with his talk 'Bird Songs Through The Seasons'. Visitors and members both old and new are welcome to all our meetings.
From 5 April 2000 the Gift Aid Scheme was greatly expanded to cover payments by instalments and donations of any amount. This means that giving under the Gift Aid Scheme is now the preferred way to enhance your giving to the Church.
There is no longer a need to commit yourself for a number of years and there is no minimum or maximum limit on the amount of giving. However, if you have an existing covenant in force at 6 April 2000 it will remain effective until it expires.
If you pay any tax, the Church can now claim back from the Inland Revenue 28 pence for every £1 you give. All you have to do is complete a very simple declaration to confirm that the Church may recover tax on your gift, and make your gift by cheque, gift envelope or by bank standing order.
Cash put loose on the collection plate does not count as giving under the Gift Aid Scheme.
Please contact the Vicar, Simon Marshall (Treasurer) or Peter Wilde (Planned Giving Secretary) should you require further information or a declaration form.
This month Margaret has given us a recipe for the traditional cake for Mothering Sunday
By halving the ingredients and using a 1lb loaf tin will make a smaller cake.
When from the church you hear the bells
Ring out across the land,
Please spare a thought for those who ring -
A dedicated band.
Beneath each bell a ringer stands
In tower or steeple lofty.
In winter dressed in woolly garb;
(It can be very draughty)
It's not a job for faint-of-heart,
Needing stamina and brain powers.
Sometimes they ring a quarter peal:
Sometimes they ring for hours!
There's Stedman, Grandsire, Oxford too,
And single bob or double.
To ring the changes with the bells
They take a lot of trouble!
It's thirsty work, this pulling ropes,
So every time a bell goes
We'll drink the health of those who ring-
More power to their elbows!
Daphne Williams
December 2000
We welcome to the Lord's Family
We commend to God's keeping:
This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.
Copyright © 2001 Deeping St James PCC
Created by WebEdit, 5 March 2001