oremus bible browser to prepare your reading| 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
To:
Scripture readings for Sunday
Archive of past editions of Priory News
Cooking with Margaret
| Information Centre | Trades & Services | Notices |
| Diary | Groups & Societies | For Sale |
Dear Friends
As I write we are moving into the season of Lent, the forty day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Eve recalling the time of Christ's testing in the wilderness (for those who are counting, Sundays are not included, each Sunday in being itself a reminder of Christ's Resurrection.
It is a time of prayer and reflection. In the first part of Lent we focus on our own sorrow for our sins; hopefully what we give up (whether in time or money) will lead us on to more positive things (for example, learning more about our faith, and acts of loving service or charitable giving). In the second part of Lent we turn to contemplate Christ's suffering and death - the way of the Cross.
It can be a sombre time, the imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday reminding us of the transitory nature of human life and the penalty merited by sin - death...... 'in the midst of life we are in death'.
But the reverse is also true........ 'in the midst of death we are in life'..........on the 25th March we celebrate the Annunciation to Mary of the good news of the incarnation of Christ. Through that miracle, death will never be the last word. Though we find it easier to follow the story of God's love by chronological order the fact is that God is never absent from us and is daily working out his purpose in the lives of humankind.
So let us keep this time of preparation cheerfully looking forward to the celebrations of Easter Day and meanwhile keeping hold of the assurance of Christ that we and all we hold dear will also one day rise to the life of eternity which he has promised to all who love him and seek his forgiveness
oremus bible browser to prepare your readingPlease note that for this month only Home Communions will be held on the SECOND Thursday (11th). Mark and Sonia are required to attend a meeting in Lincoln on the 4th.
The Clergy and Congregation would like to congratulate and wish our Churchwarden Bernard Babb a very happy day on the 29th March on the occasion of his 80th Birthday
If you can help clean the church ready for Easter, please let me know by
phone, email or in person. Many hands make light work, so even if you can
only spare half an hour I'd welcome your help.
No dates have been fixed yet, as I hope to fit times to suit volunteers, if
possible.
Bet
The Choir Kneelers are now ready to be worked on. If you are interested in making a kneeler or would like more details, please contact Kim Hallam (348178) or Liz Spratley (342401). You can either work the canvas, make–up the completed canvas into a kneeler or both.
Also if anyone would like to make a donation to help towards the cost of the kneelers please see either Liz or Kim.)
Clocks this year change to British Summertime at 1.00 am on Sunday 28th - so don't forget to adjust yours to avoid being late for Sunday Services.
An easy way of remembering which way to adjust the time is:- 'Spring Forward, Fall Back one hour.'
It's not too late to join this year's Lent Study Group 'Tough Talk', based on the Hard Sayings of Jesus.
Sessions throughout the month of March are on Friday mornings at 10 am at the Vicarage and Tuesday evenings at the Curate's home at 135c Eastgate.
Course booklets at only £1.95 are available; please speak to Mark or Sonia if you would like to join either of these groups.
As many of you will know, Bernard is stepping down as Churchwarden this April in his 80th year, after five years' faithful service.
The headline is meant to be eye-catching rather than realistic. Having worked with Bernard for the past two years, I have come to appreciate his unique qualities. Sparing his blushes, I will just say here how much his generous, prayerful support has meant, not only to me but also to the parish.
Roger has agreed to continue as Deputy Churchwarden if elected. Without his unstinting help, often at short notice, I could not have continued as churchwarden during my Mum's recent health troubles.
I write now to ask you to consider whether you could serve God as our new Churchwarden. I had no intention of coming forward, but God is in the habit of springing surprises on us – in my case at the very last minute at the election meeting itself!
If you'd like to talk to me or to Bernard about this, we'd be glad to give you more insight into the Churchwarden's role. In any case, please pray that someone will come forward to continue this rewarding work, which is a privilege and a joy.
Bet Washbrooke
The new year got off to a very busy start for our younger church members and our dedicated team of Leaders, Assistants and Helpers.
We looked at The Epiphany, Escape into Egypt and Jesus Growing Up before starting on the topic of 'People Jesus Met' - starting with Zaccheus. Several new songs have been added to our repertoire, our favourite being 'The Holly and the Ivy' which has a fairly complicated dance routine we found fun to learn.
Explorers (7 - 110, Climbers (5 - 7) and SCramblers (under 5) meet every Sunday morning 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.
The bells were rung half muffled on Tuesday 3 February in memory of Christine Harwood. We shall miss her, as we are sure many others will, as she was always so cheerful and friendly. Our thoughts are with Trevor and the family at this time.
A quarter peal was rung, in fifty minutes, on Friday 23 January to celebrate the Vicars ½ century birthday. The following Friday the ringers held their annual dinner at The Towngate Inn. All the ringers and their guests had an enjoyable evening.
On the 6 February, the ringers AGM was held by "candlelight" due to the fault in the electric supply. Unfortunately ringing in the very poor light available was considered to be unsafe and was abandoned after the AGM.
It was with great sorrow and not a little shock that we bade farewell to our sister Christine at a Thanksgiving for her life on 3rd February. We knew she had been ill and that her cancer was incurable, but had expected her to live a little longer yet. By the time she went to her eternal home, though, she seemed ready to go and although we who are left have to come to terms with losing her in this world we can have confidence in the Lord whom she was glad to confess and to serve that she has the reward of a good and faithful servant.
Like so many of the world's good people there will be no books written about Christine's achievements, but she was recognised by everyone who met her as a wonderful person in so many ways. Kind and tolerant, always content, even when facing the illness which eventually took her away from us, Christine was also creative and talented and yet so humble in using the talents God granted to her, and a wife and mother equalled by few. Everything she undertook she did well. The number of people who attended the service in church and who packed the crematorium chapel bears its own witness to the outstanding contribution Christine made to our lives. If each of us can do just a little to emulate the way she approached life, then we shall make the world a better place.
Many thanks to everyone who supported our Lent bookstall. We hope now to
have a Christmas and Lent bookstall annually.
If you'd like a book or any item at other times, but can't get to the
Stamford Christian Bookshop, please let me know.
Bet
Over the last few year Margaret Flegg has contributed a lot of recipes to this magazine, all of them very attractive. Whether you have carefully filed them or not, it is possible to find Margaret's recipes using the archived Internet edition of Priory News and searching for a recipe name or an ingredient. If you look at the left-hand side of this page you will see the Priory News Archive with a simple search engine: type in what you're looking for and click "Go". You will be presented with a list of the issues that mention that word, with the context in which it is mentioned. For example, searching for "beef" yields recipes in April 2001 and 2002 as well as two articles on farming and on food in Malaysia!
This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.
Copyright © 2004 Deeping St James PCC