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Rectors Letter At this very moment the earth is springing into life and the fresh green of the new leaves on the trees once again lifts the heart. Im told by experienced gardeners though that we arent out of the danger zone as far as the bad weather is concerned!! But surely the worst is over. Easter has been extremely early this year and the schools have long Summer Terms in which to fit in examinations along with some of the more pleasurable activities! Open Gardens at Staunton, Broxwood Court and Byton and a goodly number of weddings in our churches are to be looked forward. All of these are local and perhaps in a time when we are looking to cut our consumption of fuel and rethinking our budgets might be better than travelling a long way to seek the same sort of thing! Some of you have come to me and asked about confirming your Christian faith and the Bishop is coming to this group of parishes on July 6th for any who wish to do this. Im gathering the group together shortly and if this is something you would like please contact me. Many find this an extremely special thing to do, and is a time of sorting out thoughts, beliefs and life style, something that as the world continues to challenge us financially, morally, globally we have to do continually. When Philip questioned Jesus about God saying show us the Father and we will be satisfied Jesus replied Whoever has seen me (Jesus) has seen the Father and I am the way, and the truth and the life. (John 14) Mighty claims and ones that we will be discussing. I hope that as the financial pinch continues we will invest in our local communities which are so important spending time enquiring about your neighbour costs time but not pounds and I hope that at your local church you will always find a welcome so if for whatever reason you have stopped coming to church (looking after relatives, avoiding the winter cold) summon up courage and come back this Summer. Julie May
2008 I am who I who I am is the usual translation of Gods name given to Moses at the burning bush. Jonathon Sacks says that the literal translation should be I will be what I will be. This is significant for us because it indicates God is the God of the future as well as the present and the past. We have been remembering in recent months how God sent Moses back into Egypt to bring the Hebrew nation out of slavery. It was an enormous task but the escape from Egypt gave them an identity and a calling as Gods people. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we discover our identity as the Christian church and are called into the future by God to witness to his nature and loving purposes for all humankind. At Pentecost we celebrate the outpouring of Gods holy spirit on the first disciples and remember how they went out into all the world to follow the God who will be. This has huge significance for us as we face up to the great issues facing us in the world today the future of the world and its environment feeding a rapidly increasing world population sexuality migration - local services such as schools, post offices and hospitals. There are no easy answers to any of these questions and they will not be found in a book. The message of the Bible and the message of Pentecost is that we believe in a God who calls himself I will be what I will be and his spirit leads us into the future to discover and discern his purposes. Somebody might be tempted to ask what all these huge issues which face humankind are to do with the church. The answer is that we shall want to join in solidarity with all the rest of humankind of whatever faith, political creed or difference to face up to the future because we believe in the one God who is the source of all life and has created all men and women in his own image. Therefore we must treat one another with the same respect, dignity and love with which God himself deals with us. That is why it is exciting to be a Christian in the 21st Century. Michael Copy
Date From the Registers Baptism Funerals Marriage Sunday
Readings Sunday
11 May Whit Sunday Sunday
18 May Trinity Sunday Sunday
25 May Ist after Trinity Sunday
1 June - 2nd after Trinity Sunday
8 June - 3rd after Trinity Sunday
15 June - 4th after Trinity Sunday
22 June - 5th after Trinity Sunday
29 June Peter and Paul Sunday
6 July - 7th after Trinity Midweek communion The next midweek Group Holy Communion Services will be on Thursday 1st May (Ascension Day), Thursday 5th June, Thursday 3rd July at 10.30am in the Methodist Chapel at Shobdon. All are most welcome.
This
too is early this year following the early Easter. It occurs on Thursday
1st May and will be celebrated with
Thank
you Thank
you
Pembridge News Pembridge
with Moorcourt We are grateful to Bob Anderson for being churchwarden for the last year and for all his hardwork officially and behind the scenes on our behalf. Mrs Jacqui Thomas has taken over from him as churchwarden for this coming year and we wish you all the best Jacqui. Summer
Fete We would be grateful for donations for stalls cakes, produce, plants (why not pot some up as you divide them) bottles, raffle prizes, books and small items for childrens tombola eg sweets, pop, clean toys. Items can be left at the Rectory from mid June onwards or via Jacqui Thomas or Tracey Hoskins at school or ring Jenny Johnston 340287. Rotas
Month:
Sun: Church Cleaning Flowers Churchyard Dogs
and the Churchyard. Middlebrook
Farm, Pembridge Pudding
and Pimms at Broxwood Court Saturday
July 5th 2:00 5:00pm Pembridge
Coffee Mornings Pembridge
WI May 20 The Book Club will meet at The Granary Broxwood at 3p.m. June 11 Garden visit , to be arranged so nearer the date contact Dianne Davis for details. June 18 Outing to Coughton Court. Byton News Music
at Middlemoor Barn. Rotas BY KIND PERMISSION OF MR & MRS S. WEAVER MUSIC
AT MIDDLEMOOR KNIGHTON
SILVER BAND TICKETS
£10 MON.
MAY 5TH 6.30pm PROCEEDS TO BYTON AND KINSHAM CHURCHES ENQS
.PAULINE ADDERLEY 01544 260110 Lyonshall News Lyonshall
Coffee Mornings Open
Garden Shobdon News Calendar
of events An outing of the Sunshine Club is being arranged, and details will be posted on the Village website www.shobdonvillage.co.uk. The
Spotlight Club There are 15 enthusiastic members. Meetings are every Wednesday until 7 May when there is a break for half term until 21 May, the last meeting of the term. However, there is a special fun-day meeting on Saturday, 7 June at the Kingsland C of E Primary School from 10am to 2.30pm, when kids from several of the schools at which Peter works will meet together for games, competitions, etc. It was a very good day last year, but a wee bit exhausting. Lunch boxes are needed. More details via the school later, but please put it in your diary, Mums and Dads.. Prayer
Group Shobdon Church repairs. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, more repairs are to be carried out to the church roof. To find out exactly the condition of parts of the roof, it is intended to carry out an investigation of the structure. This will mean erecting a temporary scaffold over part of the church during the summer while the wall heads are uncovered, and the timbers examined. Shobdon Festival Organisers
have confirmed that the programme for the 2008 Shobdon Food & Garden
Festival, sponsored by Border Oak is taking shape nicely. With just
a few weeks to go until the June 28th & 29th event held in the grounds
of Shobdon church and court, the final touches are being put in place
for what its hoped will be another successful charity event. Along
with a fantastic mix of the regions best food and drink producers, craftspeople
and gardening exhibits, top demonstrating chefs will appear in an all
new Chefs Theatre in conjunction with Heart of England Fine Foods. A
full programme of evening concerts is also planned. Staunton-on-Arrow
News Whist
Drives AGM Over Easter this year John Beesley took a Solemn Service on Good Friday evening which was very well attended, and at the end of this month parishioners will again participate in the Rogation Walk which this year is based on The Leen. On the first Saturday morning in April about forty people came to the Coffee Spot, which is even more than usual. Visitors and children are always welcome at this friendly regular event in the Village Hall, when the cakes are always particularly good! Clive Edwards continues to run successful whist drives each month and theVillage Hall Trustees now have plans in-hand to complete the improvements to the heating of the hall which are badly needed for these and other events. The churchwardens reported that the recent visit to the church by the Archdeacon of Hereford was very satisfactory. He had remarked on how clean and well maintained the church was. Thanks go to all those who do the cleaning, prepare the church for services and bring and arrange flowers throughout the year. It was also nice that the Archdeacon was particularly interested in the records of the church, churchyard, local history and local wildlife that are kept on display in the South Transept. The primroses and other wild flowers in the churchyard, along the churchyard wall, in the millennium garden and on the Saxon Castle Motte are especially lovely this late spring. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with maintenance of these areas from time to time Peter Laing, (01544 388873) and Garry Garforth-Bles would be very pleased to hear from you. FUTURE
EVENTS IN STAUNTON-ON-ARROW ***Dont miss the Open Gardens Day on Sunday June 8th from 10am to 6pm.*** Eleven beautiful and varied gardens will be open, refreshments will be available all day. There will be a Plant Stall and a raffle. Adequate car-parking is being arranged. Arrowvale Environment Group The Arrowvale Environment Group held a meeting in Staunton-on-Arrow Village Hall on 19 June at which some 50 people from our area viewed the Award-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth. In this film Al Gore, the former U.S.A. Vice-President and Nobel Prize winner, presented some convincing, but disturbing scenes about Global Warming. This presentation has motivated action around the world (including China!) and is certainly a film that everyone should see for themselves. We are grateful to Roland Scott for organising the viewing and to other members of the Hall Committee for facilities there, including the excellent video projector. If any readers do not have this video, and have missed all the public showings on this film that have taken place, we are happy to lend ours. Why not invite friends in to see it with you?. (Contact 01544 388 500.) After the showing of the film, informal discussion revealed the many individual ways our community is responding: with loft and other house insulation, replacing inefficient freezers, more use of cycles, turning off TVs and computers rather than leaving them on standby and news of two innovative programmes to build straw-bale houses! We have now designed a form for self-assessment for anyone wanting to obtain a baseline of their own energy consumption. After one year this exercise can be repeated by the participant to give, hopefully, a reduction in energy used (and a reduction in bills!). Kington Choral Society invite you to join them for an evening of beautiful music at St. Marys Church, Kington
Clive Jenkins The Mayflower Pilgrims
Soloists Gemma Busfield (soprano) & Matthew Wright (baritone)
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