Deeping St James Parish Church Magazine
Photographs of some parish events are available in our Photograph Album elsewhere on the site
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Dear Friends,
29th November is a day which the Church sets aside to pray for a very important purpose…some would say its prime purpose…its work of mission. Without mission, the Church is never less than a generation away from extinction.
Mission is not just for those who have been called to the office of Evangelist or to work for one of the Missionary Societies; mission covers a whole range of activities from telling a neighbour about one's personal beliefs to acts of loving service, from worship to social activities hat make others aware of the joy of our fellowship in Christ.
The day of prayer for missionary work is on the eve of St Andrew's day. St Andrew, St John tells us, was so excited that he had found the Lord that he went straight out to find his brother Peter to share the good news with him. We do not always have to cast our nets very far…God's work may well be very near at hand…but in what ever way he calls us to do it, may we be blessed with the same excitement and encouragement that shows our faith to be alive and active.
Readings for November
To see your reading in advance without having to mark your bible pages, you can copy your reference and paste it into the oremus Bible Browser (or type in your reference) and print out the reading. The translation used in church is the New Revised Standard Version, which is the default version on oremus.
5th November, All Saints Sunday:
- Morning: Wisdom 3: 1-9; Revelation 21: 1-6a; John 11: 32-44
- Evening: Isaiah 65: 17-end; Hebrews 11: 32 - 12: 2
12th November, 3rd Sunday before Advent:
- Morning: Jonah 3: 1-5, 10 (08:00 only); Hebrews 9: 24-end; Mark 1: 14-20
- Evening: Isaiah 10: 33 - 11: 9; John 14: 23-29
19th November, 2nd Sunday before Advent:
- Morning: Daniel 12: 1-3; Hebrews 10: 11-14, 19-25;Mark 13: 1-8
26th November, Christ the King:
- Morning: Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14; Revelation 1: 4b-8; John 18: 33-37
Home Groups
- Bible Study: Fridays at 10 am at the Vicarage
- Priory Prayer Group: 2nd, 16th and 30th November at 19 Ascendale
- House Group: Every Wednesday, 7.30 pm at 45 Crowson Way - Everyone welcome
Notices
Remembrance Service
12th November at 3pm
The parish Service of Remembrance for those who have fallen in conflict, with prayers for the peace of the world.
As important as ever in the current climate of fear and suspicion and with our own troops in constant danger.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like………………..?
A Celebration of Parish Ministry
May 12th 2007 at 10:30am
Lincoln Cathedral
A date for your diary
All are welcome to attend this celebration of Parish Ministry
Further information will follow shortly
St. Thomas' Day Distribution by the Deeping St. James United Charities
Applications are invited for payment of the sum of £25 on St. Thomas' Day from all widows over 60 years of age, who have lived in the parish of Deeping St. James (to include Frognall ) for the last three years or more. The St. Thomas' Day payment will be made on Thursday 21st December , 10.30am to 11.30am, at the Institute, 38, Church Street, Deeping St. James.
Application forms are available from:
- Ms. J. Banks, Clerk to the Trustees, The Institute, 38, Church Street, Deeping St. James, PE6 8HD, Tel. 01778 344707
- The Priory Church, Deeping St. James
- The Post Office, Deeping St. James
- The Warden, Exeter Close, Millfield Road, Deeping St. James,
- The Warden, Benedict Court, Deeping St. James
All completed forms should be returned by 8th December 2006 to the Clerk to the Trustees at the Institute, 38, Church Street, Deeping St. James.
Assistance is also available to residents of Deeping St. James and Frognall in many other circumstances. These includehardship through unemployment, bereavement, relationship break-down and divorce and unexpected expenses whilst living on a restricted income. If you or anyone you know may need our help, please contact the Clerk for confidential advice.
The office of the Deeping St. James United Charities is open each Tuesday morning from 10.00 am - 12.00 am to personal callers and the charities' new website will soon be online at http://www.dsjunitedcharities.org.uk
News
On Sunday 1st October, the social committee hosted a Harvest Lunch & Auction: following a delicious meal prepared by Margaret Flegg those present were persuaded by Trevor Harwood to part with their cash by buying goods that had been decorating the Church. Those attending are thanked for their generosity as £260-00 was raised from the meal & auction. The funds raised will go to help the less fortunate
On Saturday 7th October the Church Ladies Fellowship held a rummage sale when £117-00 was raised. Thanks to all who helped on the day. The CLF sale monies go to funds which are distributed at their AGM between the Church Hall Restoration and Motor-Neurone Charity.
The Priory Project
Deeping St James Community Hall Regeneration Project
The working group that is planning the project to refurbish the Church Hall has had a busy year, though it will be some time before there is anything on the ground to show for it. We have now engaged Stuart LeSage, who has already freely given much time and advice, as the project architect and his firm is working up the plans for the building.
In parallel, the Vicar has been working with the Diocesan Registrar to establish exactly who owns the building and how much land belongs with it. To our surprise a very large piece of the Vicarage lawn actually goes with the Hall, so not only is there plenty of room for the modest extension we are planning, but if at some time in the future the Vicarage is replaced there will still be space for outdoor activities associated with the Hall. There are still legal procedures to follow in order to make the Hall available for the community in order to attract funding, and it is funding which is the most significant task for the working group.
Many local groups have made or have offered to make donations of various sizes. By far the biggest has been £10,000 from the Parish Council precept which ensures that there is plenty of money available to pay for the legal and design work necessary if we are to proceed further, but we are looking for a total of approximately £350, 000 so there is some way to go yet! There are some substantial grant-awarding bodies who might be able to make available the balance of what we need, and the group needs to ensure that it presents the best possible case to these people in order to stand some chance of winning the funds. If we are successful with what are about to submit, we may have some progress to report before the end of the year.
It is an exciting project which could make a huge difference to the social life of the Deepings, but there is much to do before it can be realised. Offers of funding or suggestions of whom to approach for funding will, of course, be gratefully received!
News From The Tower
Our young ringer Adam has joined the merchant navy, and appears to be enjoying his new challenges during his training period. We look forward to seeing him whenever he is about on leave. Good luck Adam in this new venture.
November looks like being another busy month for the ringers. Firstly we have our annual tower clean up on the 4th, any volunteers will be welcome, then Remembrance Sunday on the 12th.
Your thoughts and prayers are asked for Ron Willson, one of our ringers, who is still in hospital and for his wife Daphne, who visits him every day.
News from Explorers, Climbers and Scramblers
Thanks to some very high quality materials from Tearfund we were introduced to Samuel, from the Quechua region of Bolivia, who lives high up Andes. He has potato stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner - every day - if he is lucky enough to get 3 meals in a day, that is! We compared Samuel's diet with the wide variety of food we have in our country for us to choose from. We thanked God for the richness of our harvest and thanked him for the work of Tearfund in that region. This Christian Charity is helping the local people to build greenhouses so that other crops may be grown, and helping them to use the new ingredients in cooking. Now, children like Samuel can try fruit and vegetables for the very first time! As they start to eat a healthier diet, their bodies get healthier too. They have more energy in school, and don't get sick as often. This should mean that health improves and that stunted growth and depressed immune systems are a thing of the past.
Explorers got to know potatoes better by washing, peeling, cooking and mashing them. As a bit of light relief they added a variety of other vegetables to make potato faces. Climbers and Scramblers decorated potato men with various other vegetables.
The 'Kingdom of God' is a difficult concept to grasp so we have introduced it to the children as 'God's Family'. Climbers and Scramblers heard the story of the man who sold all he had to buy a lovely pearl because it meant so much to him. They then made clay animals with pearly paint and pearl eyes to remind them that being part of God's family is very important for us. Explorers have also looked at parables about The Kingdom such as The Ten Bridesmaids and The Talents.
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.
Priory Online
We try to keep up-to-date information on this site for parishioners and potential visitors alike, and if you have a question about what is going on at the church, it is often easier and quicker to look at the website than to telephone the Vicarage!
The parish church's rotas are posted on the front page of the site, in the left-hand column below the navigation buttons, along with the PCC agenda and other useful notices. The relevant notices for the week are headlined in the centre column. News and information for the children's and youth groups are on their own pages and when relevant you will find topical information about the Alpha Course and our annual Rose & Sweet Pea Show and Garden Fete on their own pages, too.
If there are other things you would like to see on the site, please let the Vicar know - and if you see out-of-date things, please let him know, too, because it is all too easy not to notice when things need updating!
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
I'm Sorry
How difficult it is for people to acknowledge a fault. We much prefer to maintain a good opinion of ourselves. We work out that the piece of flagrant selfishness that upset a friend or one of the family, or the deceit we have managed in our work or business is simply a bit of cleverness on our part and thoroughly justified. We go on doing this and we think we are getting away with it when suddenly we realise that people are noticing. We are being avoided, criticised, ignored. Lifc is not as good as it was. We are not happy with ourselves. And all because we could not say, 'I'm sorry'. It is said that the criminal thinks he will not be found out. The criminal is an unhappy person. He needs God because he needs forgiveness.
All human beings have a conscience. This is specially noticeable in the hostage books by Brian Keenan and John McCarthy. their Muslim jailors had strong twinges of conscience whenever Their behaviour became sadistic or cruel. They knew that their prisoners were victims of political and sectarian cults and they also knew that their Islamic faith required compassion just as Christianity did.
We are made for God and for each other. Any refusal to accept this high calling is a step in the direction of hell. We can easily become imprisoned in a hell of our own making. To leave this hell there is a prescribed mode of action. We must accept God's judgement and act upon it. We need to say 'I'm sorry' and try to put things right.
The murderer hates; the rapist lusts; and the proud see themselves in terms of putting the world to rights, settling feuds, and showing off The pundits in the press are equally caught up in this 'bad news' because it commands much prestige in their papers. An 'Evil Cradling' was the way Brian Keenan described this in the title of his book. The Bible helped the hostages when they were able to procure a copy. It gave them assurance in God. In the same way the delinquent needs the Clergy and the Bible in order to learn how to say, 'I'm sorry' and start up a new life in Christ. Jesus made his own comment when he said, 'Except you become as children you cannot enter the kingdom'. He was not referring to childishness but to simplicity, humility, and love. One genuine 'I'm sorry', with an attempt to put things right is worth all the worldly success and selfish trumpeting that brought the penitent to this need for grace.
N.W.G..
COOKING WITH MARGARET
Cheesy Corn & Broccoli
- 4oz Pasta bows (farfalle),
- 5oz Broccoli florets,
- 196g Can Sweetcorn, drained,
- 1oz Butter,
- 3½ fl oz Milk,
- 4oz grated Cheddar.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Add the broccoli florets and sweetcorn to the pasta water for the last 4 mins of cooking time.
Melt the butter in a pan with the milk. Boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar. Drain the pasta and vegetables, and return to the pan. Stir in the sauce, then serve with a grinding of black pepper.
Registers for September 2006
HOLY BAPTISM
We welcome to the Lord's family:
- 10th: Brodie Cassidy Charlton 56 Eastgate
- 24th: Hugh Maarten Ludford 41 Park Road
- 27th Harriet Hayden-Coles 11a Thackers Way
MARRIAGE
We congratulate:
- 2nd: Russell Wayne Goodman and Alison Rebecca Payne
- 9th: Georeg Paul Bloom and Rachael Elizabeth Prentice
FUNERALS
We commend to God's keeping:
- 22nd: John Frederick Brown (65)
The following funeral was omitted last month, for which we apologize:
- 2nd August: Charles William Wingate Shinkins (82)
This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.