Three Parishes Newsletter December & January 2019

Transcription

1 Saltford, Corston and Newton St Loe Three Parishes Newsletter December & January 2019 Dear Friends, Quite recently I have noticed several youngish teenagers wearing base-ball caps with the word OBEY on the peak and I wondered why. The internet tells me it s yet another designer label. It also tells me that at least one religious group, sadly, has adopted and adapted this logo and made it say that we should obey God. Now, that raised for me a whole load of questions, starting with why should we obey God? Or, why should we obey anyone? And anyway, what does obedience mean? Does it mean making an effort to do something we wouldn t choose to do, but do it anyway to please someone else s wishes? Or to stop doing something because someone else tells us to? Do we obey out of fear of that person and the consequences of upsetting them? Or do we do it because we will benefit in some way if we please them? In other words, out of self-interest. In any case, why would anyone want us to obey them? Is it because they enjoy being in control or because our obedience benefits them personally? And then, how does all this relate to obeying God? Does God want us to obey Him like this anyway? (Our answer to that will reflect our understanding of what God is like.) God revealed Himself to us in Jesus. God is ultimately Christ-like. Jesus only set one rule, gave only one commandment and that was that we love one another.and love eliminates fear, self-interest or control of others. Love might also give us another reason for obedience. The word obey can sound both oppressive and confrontational, but at the same time it can suggest heeding, listening to and benefitting from instruction/advice, given to us out of love, for our benefit. I wonder what kind of obedience would the God, revealed to us in Jesus, prefer we show to Him? May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas and New Year. Ken Plant

2 Information regarding the Future of the 3 Parishes Newsletter Dear Friends A New Year and a New Newsletter The PCC have decided that this month s edition of the Three Parishes Newsletter will be the final edition, in this format. From January, the Newsletter and the Notice sheet will combine to become one. A shortened version will be available weekly, and a bumper edition will be printed on the 3 rd Sunday of the month. This bumper edition will be available on our website, via and can still be delivered by hand to those who are unable to attend church. The PCC would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have supported, distributed, edited and contributed to the Newsletter over the last few years. So, what can we expect in our new newsletter? Once a month a colour A5 booklet will be produced which will contain everything that the newsletter and notice sheet contains, although we do ask that if you are contributing articles you stick to a word limit of 300 words. Longer articles can be submitted, and a link to these can be put on our website for anyone who would like to read them. The newsletter will be for the Benefice and will therefore contain information regarding all three churches. On the other weeks, an abridged version will be produced as a weekly notice sheet for all three churches. Alongside this we will begin using our page in the SCAN, as a way of reaching out to the community we live in. Please do continue to support the Newsletter either by reading it, contributing to it and delivering it, especially over the next few weeks as the transition from the old to the new takes place. Blessings, Daile Can a Christian pray about Brexit? Yesterday I read an article by a news commentator for a national newspaper. He said that when he was on holiday and stopped following the news, it felt like waking from an overwhelming dream! He went on to say that what made the news so dreamlike was the fact that we are totally powerless to affect either it, or our experience of receiving it. He likened our reception of the news to our being like the dash-cam on a dodgem car that someone else was driving! (What a very appropriate, if scary image!) ''Terrible things keep happening that we can do nothing to stop yet after each dreadful smash, the film resumes as before. If we add to this the fact that the motives of those who seem to be driving the dodgem are hidden from us, our anxieties can get deeper. We begin to realise that the problems we worry about may not even be the real problems! So we are left with three options: despair, acceptance of the lunacy as valid and normal, or pray about it. The only question then is to ask what form that prayer will take. Would we ask God to bring about solutions that are good for us?...or good for other people? Do we simply share our anxieties with God and leave the rest to him? Or do we pray as the Psalmist so often prays, not putting his trust in other human beings (no matter how highly esteemed they may be or how skilled they claim to be at driving dodgem cars) but in the One who made all that is...and who holds it in existence. The one who loves everything He has made. And rest in Him? Returning to the question in the title, yes and yes again we can pray about anything and everything at all times and in all places when we pray out of trust. So, let us pray. Ken Plant (The news commentator was Andrew Brown, a Christian who writes for the Guardian)

3 Parish Registers Baptisms Oscar Evans George Bendall Sebastian Common Funerals Roy Evans Doris Wood Norma May Dawson Rosemary St John Davies 14 th October (NSL) 4 th November (Corston) 18 th November (NSL) 10 th October (NSL) 19 th October (NSL) 31 st October (Saltford) 31 st October (Saltford) Grab a Coffee across the Benefice during December & January The Coffee Shop held in All Saints Church, Corston will be open on the following dates: Tuesday 4 th December, Wednesday 19 th December & Wednesday 16 th January. Coffee is served from 10.30am. Don t forget there is also a Coffee Shop which meets every Friday from 10am in Hinton Close Day Centre. Corston Soup & Pudding Lunches Come & join us on Wednesday 12 th December & Wednesday 9 th January for our Soup & Pudding Lunch at Corston Village Hall 12-1pm. A great selection of seasonal soups and puddings available. Messy Play Every Monday (term time only) between 9.30am-11.30am in St Mary s Church Hall, Messy Play is held. Messy Play includes toys, activities, crafts and stories for pre-schoolers and their parents/carers Bible Study Bible study scheduled dates are the 10 th, 17 th, 24 th & 30 th January. If you would like further information about these stimulating and interesting evenings contact Peter or Angela LeRoy on We meet at 7.30 for 8.00pm start at 8 Brook Cottages, Corston, where a warm welcome awaits you!

4 Newton News In October funerals were held for two nonagenarians who had resided in the village for many years. The first service was for ROY EVANS who would often be seen walking around the village with a dog, the second was for DORIS WOOD who lived in a cottage near the church and opened and closed it daily for many years until she became less mobile in her late eighties. In November, DAVID SHAW died and his funeral takes place at Westerleigh Crematorium on 3 December. He supported Holy Trinity Church, as Treasurer, for many years and the church benefited greatly from his professional expertise. On 5th December, our bell ringers will commemorate the first anniversary of little Marcie's death by ringing a quarter peal. Thoughts and prayers are with all the families. WWI COMMEMORATION CONCERT, which was professionally performed by Bath Spa University students, raised 125 for the Royal British Legion and for church funds, thanks to all for their support. VESTRY REPAIRS - re last month's newsletter entry, apologies for submitting the 2017 press release in error. It was intended to advise on completion of repairs. The repair and heritage project came in under budget and in October the final Heritage Lottery Fund payment was made of 2.060, bringing the total funding received from HLF to 77,660. MAY DAY COUNTRY MARKET - at a recent village open meeting it was decided that the 2019 Country Market would take place but in a revamped format. A village committee, rather than a church one, will be responsible for future event organisation. R Bailey

5 Well Done Saltford Primary School Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth. These words from Kahlil Gibran s poem On eating and drinking came to mind as John Angus and I opened the boots of our cars for the children of Saltford Primary School to enthusiastically fill with the donations from their Harvest Festival. Some 245 kg of food lovingly given to Keynsham Foodbank to help those in need. And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyards for the winepress, say in your heart, "I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress, And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress. And for the generosity of our young people. Thank you very much children, parents and staff of Saltford Primary School. Howard Griffiths 'No One Should Go To Bed Hungry' Part of The Trussell Trust Foodbank Network Foundation Governor The PCC of St Mary s are looking for someone to serve as a Foundation Governor at Saltford School. For more information, please visit If you are interested, please see Daile or Ian Freemantle. Christmas Day Lunch Churches Together in Keynsham & Saltford will be providing a Christmas Meal on Christmas Day for anyone who might be spending the day alone. If you would like to get involved in any way (providing transport; preparing vegetables; decorating the hall; wrapping gifts; providing some entertainment; welcomer; assisting in the kitchen; laying tables; washing up and clearing up...) please contact Pauline Sawyer ( paulinesawyer@blueyonder.co.uk or tel ). Help is needed in advance and on the day - for an hour or two, or the whole day when you can enjoy a lunch with the guests. The dinner will be held at St Dunstan's Church Hall from 11.00am pm.

6 A Message from Bishop Ruth Dear Brothers and Sisters, God with us Well, we are into the frantic pressie-buying month of December now. The American Black Friday tradition appears to be firmly a part of our own pattern and has brought the search for the perfect Christmas present yet earlier in our calendar. Parish and school Christmas Fayre s offer us home-made, Fairtrade, recycled and singular alternatives. And increasingly the inequalities within our economy become more apparent as people risk debt to bring a smile to their child s face. When I was a parish priest we found that many of our single parents felt trapped by the pressure of keeping up with those around them. We tried to introduce a maximum spend for all our congregational and family present buying in order to bring some parity. It wasn t easy! I m reminded at this time of year of the line that we are seeing more frequently, accompanying invitations to weddings and Birthday parties: No presents required, just your presence! It makes me think about what Christmas really means. During this time of preparation and waiting for the big day to arrive, many of us will sing the words of that Advent hymn, O come, O come, Emmanuel, a 12 th century hymn that invites God to fulfil his prophecy to his people. Will we really take in those words? Emmanuel means God with us, such an important and comforting phrase in these times of uncertainty and anxiety, as we wonder what the new year will bring. Christmas we know is a time when people can feel lonely, disappointed, stressed. There are reputedly more suicides and marriage breakdowns during the course of this holiday period. One of the best Christmas presents we can offer then must surely be that of hospitality, a listening ear and simply our presence among those who feel forgotten, rejected or overlooked. In so doing we will find God s own present to us this Christmas, as in any and all other Christmases, His presence. The God to whom every animal of the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills, belongs (Psalm 50) has given us the best present of all - He is with us. The Right Reverend Ruth Worsley Bishop of Taunton

7 Sunday 2 nd December Join us for crafts in the Church Hall at 4pm followed by a Christingle Service in St Mary s Church at 4.30pm, ending with mince pies & refreshments for all. Everyone welcome All children must be accompanied by an adult.

8 to celebrate Christmas with us this year in the Church in Saltford, Corston and Newton St Loe Sunday 2 nd December 2018 Christingle at Holy Trinity in Newton St Loe 4pm Messy Christingle in St Mary s Saltford 6.30pm Advent Darkness to Light Service in All Saints Corston Sunday 9 th December am Christmas Café Church and Nativity Festival in St Mary s Church Saltford 2.30pm Carols in the Barn at Newton Farm Shop 6.30pm A service of Lessons and Carols in All Saints Corston Sunday 16 th December am DIY Christingle in All Saints Church Corston 3.30pm A Service of Lessons and Carols in Holy Trinity Newton St Loe 6.30pm A Service of Lessons and Carols in St Mary s Church Sunday 23 rd December pm A Family Carol Service in All Saints Church Corston Christmas Eve 5pm Crib Service in St Mary s Church Saltford 11.15pm in All Saints Corston Christmas Day 8am in St Marys Church Saltford 9.30am Family Service in St Mary s Church Saltford 10.30am Family Service in All Saints Church Corston Family Service in Holy Trinity Church Newton St Loe

9 The Benefice of Saltford, Corston and Newton St Loe A Safe and Welcoming Church for All The Benefice of Saltford, Corston and Newton is committed to making the Church a safe and welcoming place for all through the implementation of our Safeguarding and Safe Recruitment Guidelines. If you have any safeguarding concerns regarding children, young people or vulnerable adults, please contact Revd Daile Wilshere or Mrs Sue Dixon, our Safeguarding Officer on The Benefice Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment Policy has been updated and outlines our commitment to the welcome, care, and protection of all in our Church community. A copy is available for all to read in each of the Churches The Parish Office St Mary s Church Hall, High Street, Saltford, BS31 3EL Tel: scnbenefice@gmail.com Rector: Revd Daile Wilshere dailewilshere@live.co.uk Tel: January Schedule of Services 6 th Jan 13 th Jan 20 th Jan 27 th Jan Saltford 9.30am 9.30am Family Worship 9.30am 8am 6.30pm Evensong 6.30pm Evening Praise 9.30am Morning Worship Corston Coffee from 10.30am Tea & Biscuits from 5pm NSL Morning Worship 6pm Family Worship Morning Worship 6pm Reflective Evening Prayer