Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Transcription

1 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Church News and Views for the Parishes of Badingham Bruisyard Cransford Dennington Rendham & Sweffling

2 Services for June 2018 Sunday 3rd 8.00am BCP Holy Communion Dennington Trinity am BCP Morning Prayer Bruisyard Eld 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Sweffling MP 10.00am CW Communion Badingham RR Sunday 10th 9.30am CW Trad. Communion Cransford MP Trinity am Matins Rendham Eld 10.00am BCP Holy Communion Badingham PI 11.00am Family Service /Morning Dennington Eld Prayer Sunday 17th None See services below Dennington Trinity am Morning Prayer Sweffling JT 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Bruisyard MP 10.00am Gather Together Badingham Eld Sunday 24th None See services below Badingham Trinity am Morning Prayer Cransford JT 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Rendham MP 11.00am Holy Communion Dennington Articles for publication should be with the editor by the 15th of the preceding month. Editor: Victor Warne 5 Mill Road Badingham Woodbridge Suffolk IP13 8LG or copy in the text, not attach: suffolkmicrowaves@btinternet.com The Editor reserves the right to edit or omit any item submitted. A copy of this LINK is available by . It is updated and in colour with electronic Links to other publications and videos. If your computer is on line, click on the coloured text to activate that link. Happy browsing! To receive the electronic copy, send your address to suffolkmicrowaves@btinternet.com

3 What is Christianity All About? Editorial "More people than ever before are following Jesus. He is at the heart of the Christian faith, not church or morals or anything else. The key question is therefore 'What do you think of Jesus Christ?' " Jesus of Nazareth never wrote a book, never held political or religious office, never commanded armies, and yet many would agree that He has been the most influential figure ever to walk upon this planet. The accounts of his life in the Bible are peppered with people who are amazed at him. The world is now full of people who find Him their inspiration and look to Him as their hope and their role model. He has more followers in more countries of the world now, than ever before, and the community of his followers worldwide is growing more quickly now than ever. The heart of the Christian faith is Jesus; not church, or morals, or anything else. All of these other things may stem from an encounter with Jesus Christ, but He is the heart and source of it all. The key question is therefore, what do you think of Jesus Christ? A Christian is not someone who is better than anyone else. A Christian is someone who has decided to follow Jesus Christ. No one is disqualified by not being good enough. Jesus said (and upset many religious people by saying) I have come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. To those who receive Him, He then gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to enliven and equip the changed life He offers. This means He loves us so much that He accepts us just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us exactly as we are. As one of Jesus disciples, Philip, said to a friend of his, Nathaniel, who was very sceptical, Come and see. As a modern writer has suggested, Run an experiment. We all learn how to live from somebody: our parents, our peers, favourite writers, our appetites, our boss, or a vague combination of these. Try learning how to live from Jesus. Come and see. Whatever your ideas about religion might be, you can try being a student of Jesus. And that s a 3

4 very good place to start. Do you know what Jesus said about anything? Try living accordingly. Take a stab at removing contempt from your life, and see how life runs. See how well you are able to do it. Try living as if there is a heavenly Father who cares for and listens to you. Try living without worry one day at a time. You have to go through tomorrow anyway. Try it with Jesus. Come and see. St Philip Like Saint Philip advised Come and See CRANSFORD NEWS On the 21st May was the funeral of Peter Gladwell, who had lived in Cransford for most of his life, 50 years or so. After the funeral service he was buried in the churchyard amid the spring flowers and cascading cherry blossom. He will be much missed by us all, but especially by Mary and his family. Our thoughts are with them. A date for your diary, Saturday 21st July. This will be churchyard cutting when we trim and tidy up the graves and attend to trees and shrubs. Please come and support the team. We meet there at 2 pm. Refreshments will be provided We continue with no official incumbent as the vacancy is proving difficult to fill. In the meantime we are well looked after by Rev Martin Percival and our elder John Tesh. Our thanks to them. These are challenging times for all churches, and we must not despair, but keep the faith and trust in the Lord. Patrick Grieve 4

5 Bruisyard Church We have had good attendances in April at St Peter s, especially on Easter Day and the Benefice Service Due to the re-painting of the church interior beginning on the 21st of May, the church will be closed for about 26 weeks. But we will be holding our usual services in the Hare Chapel on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month and so please come over; you will all be welcome. St Michael s Church Rendham: Churchwardens Report Rupert and Sally. On Easter Sunday, 1st April, our service was taken by Prof. John Tesh, and was well attended. The Benefice Choir sang the introit And can it be, and the anthem The strife is o er. The Remembrance Easter lilies filled the church with their fragrance, and Lesley Bennion read out the names of those who were remembered by the flowers. Thanks to all who supported the Remembrance Lilies and to those who arranged them so beautifully. Since our last report there have been two weddings in the Church, that of James Brice and Kelly Marie Holzinger on 5 April, and of Mark Chatterton and Theadora Ballantyne-Way on 5 May. Both were very joyful occasions, and both were conducted by the Rev. Jonathan Olanczuk. We are grateful to the Community Payback team who came on 19 April to give our churchyard grass the first cut of the year. Charles and Frances 5

6 Who s Who in the Upper Alde Benefice 2018/2019 Revd Martin Percival will be taking services in the Upper Alde Benefice from the 1 st May Any funerals after that date should be referred to him. His telephone number is Benefice Safeguarding Anne Fitzgerald fitzgeraldannie@msn.com. DBS ID Checkers Patrick Grieve patrick.grieve1@gmail.com Victor Warne suffolkmicrowaves@btinternet.com Badingham Elders Ann Foster annandbobfoster@gmail.com Victor Warne suffolkmicrowaves@btinternet.com Churchwardens Robert Foster annandbobfoster@gmail.com Victor Warne suffolkmicrowaves@btinternet.com Secretary Alan Barlow alan.d.barlow@btinternet.com Treasurer Nick Morgan williamnmorgan@aol.com Bruisyard Ext. Com. Min Rupert Wallis wallis2eb@me.com Elders Rupert Wallis wallis2eb@me.com Angela Carlton carltonangela@yahoo.co.uk Churchwardens Rupert Wallis wallis2eb@me.com Sally Wilton sal.wilton@gmail.com Secretary Sally Wilton sal.wilton@gmail.com Treasurer Richard Pawle richardpawle@hotmail.com Cransford Elders Patrick Grieve patrick.grieve1@gmail.com Glenda Thirkell d-g@thirkell.eclipse.co.uk Churchwardens Patrick Grieve patrick.grieve1@gmail.com Hector Wykes-Sneyd htws@sw-s.co.uk Secretary Caroline Grieve patrick.grieve1@gmail.com Treasurer Patrick Grieve patrick.grieve1@gmail.com 6

7 Dennington Elder Charles Boscawen Churchwardens Veronica Maberly Robert Rous Secretary Julie Steward Treasurer Robert Rous Rendham Ext. Com. Min Charles Seely Elder Charles Seely Churchwardens Frances Hill Charles Seely Secretary Sally Wilton Treasurer Richard Pawle Sweffling Ext. Com. Min. John Tesh Elders John Tesh Anne Fitzgerald Churchwardens John Tesh Geoffrey Abbott Secretary Sheila Tesh Treasurer TBA Locum Priests Venerable Ian Morgan [Archdeacon] Marlesford Revd Mark Sanders [Rural Dean] Framlingham Revd Martin Percival [Main] Yoxford Canon Deirdre Parmenter Marlesford Revd Philip Ind Melton Canon Richard Ginn Hacheston

8 Dennington The Plant Sale on 28 th April was a huge success raising over 1100 for the church. Despite the cold drizzly day we had such a large turnout and it was really lovely to see so many people. Very many thanks to Celia and Peter Reeve for the enormous amount of hard work in making it all possible. Thank you to everyone else involved by helping out on the day and to all those who contributed plants, cards, cakes etc. towards the sale. And of course, thank you to everyone who came to visit us. On 8 th May the funeral was held for Doreen Wyatt who was for many years a valued member of our community, endlessly baking and assisting for many local charitable events. Her husband Gordon and son Keith were both regular bell ringers and they were all great supporters of the church. There was a large turnout for her funeral and I am sure she would have been delighted by the gathering in the village hall afterwards. Veronica Badingham Beetle Drive This proved to be a very competitive but none the less sociable evening with lots of fun and laughter and a tasty buffet supper. David & Pam Waller were our champion players who had the dubious honour of judging the best decorated beetle; this accolade went to Lucas Foster who designed what David described as "a sheet of beetles he would not like to meet on a dark night." Thank you so much to everyone who provided food and helped and to all of you who came along. We made for Church funds of which 10% will be donated to Cancer Research Sweffling Our Easter Lily Festival over the Easter weekend attracted visitors not only from the village but from as far afield as Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds. The lilies (orientals, longiflorum and calla) were given in memory of family and friends; the church looked beautiful and the scent was amazing. The memorial scroll was beautifully written and illustrated by Jill Abbott. The Easter Day service was well attended and the Benefice choir sang the 8

9 introit This joyful Eastertide and the anthem God so loved the world by Stainer. On Saturday May 5th our local A Capella group Five in a Bar performed a concert in Sweffling Church. It was a most enjoyable evening. There was an eclectic mix of music ranging from 16th century madrigals, through musicals of the 1920s to The Beatles and lots more. During the interval the audience enjoyed delicious refreshments and there was the inevitable raffle. The evening raised over 300 for church funds. We are very grateful to Five in a Bar for entertaining us so well and to every one who supported the event. Sweffling dates for your diary Sweffling Fete this year will be held on the Townlands Meadow on Saturday August 18th from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. There will be lots to entertain you and plenty to eat and drink, so book the date! More details will be given in the next edition of The Link. Harvest Thanksgiving in Sweffling will be on Sunday October 7th. Our Thanksgiving service will be at 9.30 a.m. and will be followed at 1.00 p.m. by Harvest Lunch and auction of Harvest produce in Sweffling Hut. All are welcome. Even further ahead we have our Annual Christmas Brass Band concert on Friday, December 7th. This is a joyful start to the Christmas period and all are invited. General Data Protection Regulation Under this new legislation the Church needs your permission to have your name and other data on the lists it keeps. Perhaps the most important list is the Church Electoral Roll. You will have filled in a form and entered certain data and signed the form to be on this list, that could have been as long ago as (Next year 2019, we have to renew the roll.) There are other lists: Gift Aid donors, Church Officers and committees, People who receive ed Upper Alde Links or other information documents. We would like to include all these lists on one Data Consent Form. If you receive one of these forms it is because we think you are on a list, please complete it, sign and return it as soon as possible. The Act officially came into force on 25th May

10 Peterborough Cathedral This year s Benefice Pilgrimage is to Peterborough Cathedral on Thursday August 23rd. The coach will leave from Sweffling at 8.00 a.m. Cost 30 per person to include a tour of the cathedral. Additional tours of the roof and tower will be available at additional cost. If you would like to book a seat on the coach, please contact Sheila Tesh ( ). Money with booking please. There has been very little interest shown in fillig our vacancy. It will continue to be advertised nationwide. Village support for our Churches is vital if we are to attract a suitable candidate to our Benefice. If we could get increased support within the Benefice, then we may be able to afford a full time priest; this would open the position up to more potential candidates. Every one is welcome at any of our service; someone will greet you and explain what we do. Come and See 10

11 Services for July 2018 Sunday 1st 8.00am Holy Communion Dennington Trinity am BCP Morning Prayer Bruisyard Eld 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Sweffling MP 10.00am CW Holy Communion Badingham DP Sunday 8th 9.30am CW Trad. Communion Cransford MP Trinity am Morning Prayer Rendham Eld 10.00am BCP Communion Badingham PI 11.00am Family Service /Morning Dennington Eld Prayer Sunday 15th None See services below Dennington Trinity am Morning Prayer Sweffling Eld 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Bruisyard MP 10.00am Gather Together Badingham Eld Sunday 22nd None See services below Badingham Trinity am BCP Morning Prayer Cransford Eld 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Rendham MP 11.00am Holy Communion Dennington Sunday 29th 10.00am Benefice Service Cransford MP Trinity 9 Holy Communion Sunday 5th Aug 8.00am Holy Communion Dennington Trinity am BCP Morning Prayer Bruisyard Eld 9.30am BCP Holy Communion Sweffling MP 10.00am CW Holy Communion Badingham 11

12 Come and join us to celebrate the completion of the new vestry windows at Badingham Church on the feast day of St John the Baptist Sunday 24th June 2018 From pm there will be an opportunity to: - view the beautiful new vestry windows - peruse the parish records which will be on display in the church - find out more information about this hugely interesting historic building - wander around the community gardens..and indulge in complimentary delicious homemade cakes and tea or cordial (weather permitting in the church grounds). So many people from our village and beyond have supported the restoration of the windows so it would be great to see as many people as possible. Feel free to pop in or stay for the whole time! Following this, we will have a service of your favourite hymns at 5 pm celebrating the feast day of St John the Baptist so please let us know the hymns you enjoy singing. Everyone is most welcome at the service. For more information contact Ann on or Karen on