ASH WEDNESDAY 14 th February at St Mary s 10am & 7.30pm Holy Communion with imposition of ashes & time for reflection. Refresh Café at St Mary s

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1 con tact Feb 2018 Page February 2018 con tact for St Mary s, Burwell with St Etheldreda and the Holy Trinity, Reach AMAZING LOVE This year has two odd date coincidences. The first is that Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th which will be celebrated by many as Valentine s Day. That s a strange combinationor is it? Valentine s Day is a day celebrating love, and yet Ash Wednesday is also about love. As we take time on this first day of Lent to reflect on where we fall short of what God wants for us, to acknowledge our need of his grace, we are assured of how much God loves us and wants to forgive us and we have an opportunity to respond afresh to God s love poured out for us. The other coincidence is that Easter Sunday falls on April 1 st - April Fools Day. Easter is when we celebrate God s incredible, some might say foolish love, in Jesus living, dying, and rising again to give us new life and hope. Every year, the season of Lent invites us to make space to allow God to transform us with his amazing, outrageous love. How will we do that this year? Eleanor Williams Refresh Café at St Mary s Every Friday A friendly café and play space for babies & pre-school children with their parents and carers Refreshments, Toys & Games, Craft, Singing, Bible Story All Welcome! ASH WEDNESDAY 14 th February at St Mary s 10am & 7.30pm Holy Communion with imposition of ashes & time for reflection Women s World Day of Prayer Service led by Mothers Union February 28th 2.00pm in Guildhall THE BIG SPLASH! Sunday 4 th February am St Mary s Church, Burwell A Celebration to Remember your Baptism or Thanksgiving followed by drinks and cake Send us a photo of your Christening or Thanksgiving day Bring your Baptism Candle with you, if you have one! RSVP or vicar@stmarysburwell.org.uk

2 con tact Feb 2018 Page 2 LENT PRAYER GUIDES Leaflets for Daily Prayer during Lent will be available in mid-february, and in the meantime there are still leaflets for Epiphany to Lent. PILGRIM GROUPS Pilgrim groups will start again during Lent, when we are moving on to book 7: the Bible. If you have never been in a group, or not recently, and would like to join one, please speak to Eleanor. For those who have been in groups which have met previously, these should continue, but please confirm with your group leaders that you would like to join in. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2018 has only just started but already there are a number of key events in the diary. More details will be given about them as time goes by, but please put them in your diary now! Sunday March 11 th Mothering Sunday All Age service with special posies to be given out From the Parish Registers Baptisms We welcome Isla Deistler-Howe Funerals Rest in peace Irma Ashby Meryl Moore Meryl Rollason Bruce South Lionel Suttle Michael Mitcham Sr. Doreen Grainger John Mundin June Goodchild Alfred Rayment Pam Westley Saturday March 17 th - Sunday March 18 th Burwell@Large. We will have a stand at this major exhibition about everything that goes on in Burwell March 26 th April 1 st Holy Week & Easter. Look out for various services and events Sunday April 15 th Annual Parochial Church Meeting and special service with Bishop David Saturday April 28th We welcome back the choral group Cantilena for a concert in church Monday May 7 th Reach Fair Saturday June 9 th Church Fete June 9 th 12 th Burwell Festival Exhibition in church Saturday June 16 th Burwell Carnival Saturday June 23 rd Concert by Huntingdon Male Voice Choir Sunday July 1 st Ordination of Paula Spalding and Chris Campbell in Ely cathedral Dear Friends, You have graciously been praying for me since my stroke in December Prayer is a wonderful resource for us as Christians; it is a comfort to engage in and a comfort to know it s being said for one is a special comfort! Also, it WORKS! I have made a remarkable recovery since that day when I was taken ill in the playground at my school. Thank you all so very much for your conscientious prayer these past 4 years. May God continue to bless Burwell church in 2018 and beyond! Blessings to you all James Hickish MESSAGE FROM JAMES HICKISH

3 con tact Feb 2018 Page 3 A NEW CURATE! END HUNGER CAMPAIGN Thank you so much for all the congratulations and good wishes expressed on the announcement of my curacy title post, and ordination at Ely cathedral on Sunday, 1 July I am both humbled and thrilled to continue walking alongside you in God s ministry. Having been a member of St Mary s church family for about 20 years, and having been encouraged by so many of you to explore a vocation in the Church, it might be helpful to recap and explain how I ve arrived at this point and what happens next: I am currently an ordinand, training for ministry with the Eastern Region Ministry Course. At the end of my training, in July, I will be ordained deacon to serve in this parish for a three year appointment. During that time I will be undergoing postordination training, and in the first year will not be authorised to preside at a service of Holy Communion or to pronounce the absolution or blessing. After a year, I will be ordained priest and will continue in the parish until my curacy is completed or extended. In all of this, my role is to assist Eleanor as Vicar of Burwell with Reach. Please pray for God s blessing as we work together with you for God s mission in this parish. Paula Spalding Millions of households in the UK are struggling to avoid hunger, as latest figures from the United Nations show that nearly three million people in the UK are now classed as severely food insecure, which means they are facing hunger on a daily basis. In the whole of Europe, according the UN, only Albania has higher levels of food insecurity. And so it is that the End Hunger campaign, a collation of charities and faith groups who are working to tackle food poverty, is demanding that a new cross-departmental Household Food Security Minister be appointed to tackle the problem. The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, said in her recently published report, A Menu to End Hunger, that in her diocese, one foodbank alone had distributed about 1860 food parcels in the last year. She said: We know that many more people are living on cheap food, much of it unhealthy, or skipping meals, because they are too ashamed to visit a foodbank. Whilst celebrating the work that churches and other voluntary groups are doing to respond to this urgent need, it is clear to me that Government and businesses could and should be doing more to reduce the need for foodbanks in the first place. The report also calls on the Government to do something about the problem of holiday hunger, when parents whose children receive free school meals struggle to feed them during school holidays. The Government should provide holiday clubs where such children can be fed, the campaign says. St Mary s is open during the day so that you can leave donations for the Ely foodbank. If you need help from the foodbank the quickest way to do so is by telephone. Someone can then direct you to the most appropriate agency to give you a foodbank voucher. Phone or info@elyfoodbank.org.uk Or you can also speak to Eleanor about vouchers.

4 con tact Feb 2018 Page 4 NOTES FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE Ecclesiastical Insurance Like many churches, we are insured by Ecclesiastical Insurance. They don t just specialise in insuring churches, but also offer home insurance and other services to individuals and businesses. To celebrate their 130 th anniversary, they are promoting their other services and rewarding their loyal church customers by offering to donate 130 to your church if you take out a new home insurance with them. They have asked us to make you aware of this offer and you can see more details on the poster displayed in both churches and on their website Although the PCC would be very grateful to receive any 130 donations, we make no comment about whether Ecclesiastical s home insurance is good value for money! Data Protection As you may have heard in the news, a new data protection law comes into force soon and churches, like any other organisation, must comply with it. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect in the UK from 25 May It replaces the existing Data Protection Act 1998 and gives individuals more rights and protection as regards how their personal data is used by organisations. The PCC holds several lists and data bases about church members and others who have connections with the church. Mostly, it s contact details name, address, telephone number, address and we use this Information to let you know about church events and/or to ask for your help. Sometimes, additional information might be held, for example, to enable us to claim Gift Aid on your donations or to apply for a DBS certificate if you work on our behalf with children or vulnerable adults. The new regulations mean that we have to review all the information we hold to make sure that it s accurate and that we are using it properly. We also have to ensure that we have your permission to hold information and to use it for our stated purposes. We will send out more details of GDPR over the next couple of months, but the first task is to find out exactly what lists and databases we hold and how we use them. Many are held by the officers of the PCC, but leaders of church groups may also hold lists of members etc. They may well be exempt from the regulations, but we need to check so if you hold such a list, please contact Pat Chalmers. Later stages will involve ensuring we are using data only for the stated purposes, contacting individuals to ask permission to hold and use your date and destroying any old data. Swift Boxes Some months ago, we were approached by local wildlife groups about the possibility of having some swift boxes in the church tower. Swifts come to this country for three months every year to breed and have nested in the eaves of gables of buildings for centuries. Modern buildings, however, are not so well suited to their needs and half of the swift population has been lost in the last 20 years. The provision of special nesting boxes in tall buildings like churches has proved very successful. For example, Worlington church near Mildenhall has had the boxes for several years and in 2016 attracted 29 breading pairs. We consulted with the bellringers and other experts to make sure the boxes would be compatible with the ringing and would not damage the tower at all. They assured us that the swifts would not get inside the church and that the presence of the boxes might even help to deter the pigeons! It was therefore decided to go ahead with this project and we hope that the boxes will be installed in the next few months. It will be lovely to see these beautiful birds around our church during the summer months.

5 con tact Feb 2018 Page 5 On 11 th November 1918 the ringing of church bells erupted spontaneously across the country, as an outpouring of relief that 4 years of war had come to an end. Every year St Mary s Bells are rung half muffled for the Remembrance Sunday Service. This year on Sunday 11 th November it will be exactly 100 years since the end of the First World War. During this day there are lots of events planned nationwide. To commemorate this occasion, Burwell Bell-ringers plan to join in the large scale British Project Battle s Over A Nation s Tribute which will involve as many towers as possible to ring our their bells at 7.05pm on the day to coincide when 1,000 beacons are being lit across the UK. Would you like to be involved in this special project? Every new bell-ringer who rings on the day will receive a special badge and certificate. Look out for further details round the village and come and see us at our stall at Burwell at Large. You are welcome to come along to St Mary s Tower on any Monday evening at 7.30pm to have a go and see how you could be part of the Ringing for Peace Project. For more information contact Dee Smith, Tower Captain dee.fsmith@ntlworld.com PRAY FOR SOUTH SUDAN South Sudanese bishops have been urging their political leaders to think of their country before themselves, as South Sudan recently marked four years of a war with devastating consequences. It has left two-thirds of the population in need of aid, and created the largest exodus in Africa since the Rwandan genocide. The Bishop of Wau, in South Sudan, the Rt Revd Moses Deng Bol, said he was praying for leaders, that they will put the interest of their people first that they will embrace the rule of law instead of the current military mind-set; and that they be willing to hold those who have committed atrocities against civilians accountable. WORRIED YOU HAVE AN URGENT MEDICAL CONCERN? CALL 111 A NEW NHS 111 CAMPAIGN launches to help people get the right urgent medical attention. A new campaign has launched to help anyone worried about an urgent medical concern get the right attention fast. When it s not an emergency, people are urged to call the FREE NHS 111 service to receive medical attention urgently. NHS 111 is much more than a helpline. Depending on the situation, the NHS 111 team can connect you to a nurse, emergency dentist, or even a GP and if they think you need it, they re able to arrange face-to-face appointments. NHS 111 is staffed by fully trained advisors who can assess if you need an ambulance, and if you do, one will be sent immediately. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that you get the right care, from the right person, at the right time. SOUTH SUDAN HUNGER CRISIS SET TO INTENSIFY IN 2018 Christian Aid has renewed its call for urgent action to stem alarming levels of hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan. Ongoing violence and civil insecurity, which began in late 2013, have crippled South Sudan s economy, created catastrophic food shortages and forced four million people to abandon their homes. The UN recently warned that more than 1.9 million people in the country are displaced, with 1.2 million just one step away from famine. In fact, food security experts predict that famine could occur in multiple locations in the country in Progress towards sustainable peace is desperately needed. Meanwhile, the UK Government has recently announced an additional 52 million humanitarian package for South Sudanese communities affected by the conflict, including refugees and internally displaced people.

6 con tact Feb 2018 Page 6 SERVICE AND DEDICATION In April each year, we hold our Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), which is similar to an AGM. We receive reports about the church s year from the Vicar, PCC Secretary, Churchwardens and Treasurer and elect any new church officers and members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC). In this parish, we decided many years ago that PCC members would normally step down after 3 years, unless they had a specific role like Secretary or Treasurer that needed a longer commitment. This means that each year we have an opportunity to recruit some new members and this rotation leads to a healthy balance of fresh ideas. This year we have 5 vacancies on the PCC, so we d be interested to hear from anyone who would like to become involved in this way. The commitment involves attending meetings monthly, with approximately half of the meetings being focussed on business matters like finance and repairs to the building and the other half being more strategic discussions and planning for the Mission and Ministry of the church. PCC members are also expected to become involved in practical ways as appropriate to their interest and availability. If you would be interested in becoming a PCC member, please speak to Eleanor in the first instance. Churchwardens are elected for a year at a time, up to a maximum of 6 years and Simon will complete his 6 years in April. At our church, PCC secretaries and sidespeople have no such time limits and Philip, Don and Brenda have served MUCH longer. Philip says he has served 20 years as PCC secretary, but a total of 43 years on the PCC! (The 3 year rule was introduced later.) Don and Brenda say they can t remember when they were appointed, but are sure it was more than 40 years ago! We have decided to mark these very special retirements by inviting Bishop David to come and lead a service of Thanksgiving and Dedication, to celebrate and give thanks for all the dedication of those stepping down. It will also be an opportunity for those newly appointed to commit to their service in the future. The APCM will take place on Sunday 15 th April Full details of the day will be published later, but in addition to the meeting and the service, there will also be a bring-and -share lunch. If you would like to contribute to gifts for Philip, Simon, Don and Brenda, donations can be given to Sarah Wingate, Pat Chalmers or Myrna Leech. At the APCM, we also elect people to be part of the welcome team, more formally known as sidespeople. It s their job to welcome you when you come to a service and give you a pew sheet and, if necessary, a hymn book. We have a rota of sidespeople, so that everyone does a duty once a month, but this year two of our sidepeople are retiring (see below), so we have at least two vacancies, although we could always accommodate extra people in this role. Again, if you feel this is a job you d like to do, please speak to Eleanor. The APCM will mark the retirement, not only of the two sidespeople mentioned above, Don Kyte and Brenda Bellward, but also of our PCC Secretary, Philip Baker and one of our Churchwardens, Simon Rogers.

7 con tact Feb 2018 Page 7 February 2018 Daily Prayer Weekdays at St Mary s 9am and 6pm (Except Thursday which is a BCP service at 8.15 am at Reach) Thurs 1 Fri 2 Sat Little Bears Refresh Cafe a Burwell until 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court Youth Café in the Guildhall until 9.15 Prayers at CentrePeace till Marriage Preparation course in the Guildhall until 1pm Evening Prayer at CentrePeace till 4.30 Sunday 4 th February Presentation in the temple Wed Holy Communion at Ash Grove 8.00 Holy Communion (said service) at Burwell Fri 9 Refresh Café at Burwell until 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court All Age service The Big Splash Sat Prayers at CentrePeace till am 8.00 Sunday 11 th February Sunday before Lent Holy Communion at Reach (groups for children and young people during the service) Wed 14 Ash Wed Fri 16 Sat with ashing with ashing with Mothers Union Refresh Café at Burwell until 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court Prayers at CentrePeace till am at Burwell 8.00 Sunday 18 th February 1 st Sunday of Lent Wed 21 Fri Holy Communion at Ness Court Refresh Cafe at Burwell till 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court Sat Prayers at CentrePeace till am Sunday 25 th February 2 nd Sunday of Lent (groups for children and young people during the service) Messy Church at Burwell Wed Lunchbreak cafe at Burwell till 2pm MU in the Guildhall - Womens World Day of Prayer Service Mission & Ministry Team meeting in the Guildhall All events are in Burwell unless otherwise indicated EXPLORING FAITH - THE NEXT STEPS Do you have questions about life, the universe, God, faith? Most of us do! Do you want to go deeper, and have you been thinking about what might be the next steps for you, or your family? If so, please get in touch with Eleanor, and we can arrange to talk through how we can support you in taking the next steps. For some, that might be having space to ask questions, and explore what the Bible might have to say, either one to one or in a group. For others the next step might be making a public declaration of faith in confirmation, or for children over 7, preparing to receive communion before confirmation. We would love to walk alongside you on your journey.

8 con tact Feb 2018 Page 8 Do you need a break in your busy day? LUNCHBREAK CAFE Serving light lunches at St Mary's church On the 4 th Wednesday of every month Open from till 2.00 Next Dates: 28 th February 28 th March We always try to provide options suitable for those with food allergies and intolerances Vicar Revd Dr Eleanor Williams Isaacson Road vicar@stmarysburwell.org.uk More details of many of the activities in this magazine and also any special events may be found on our website We re also on Facebook messychurchburwell centrepeaceburwell CentrePeace Knit and Natter Everyone welcome Every Friday 10am 12 noon At Ness Court Come and join us at our new regular venue! For further information please contact Kathy (743556) or Jackie ( ) Editor David Lunn, contacteditors@yahoo.co.uk Collation and distribution Ken Hurrell and Avril Plume To join the circulation list please phone Copy for March issue by 15 th February please. Your contributions are most welcome. Contact is printed at Burwell Community Print Centre (Registered Charity no ) Views expressed are those of the individual and not of St Mary s and St Etheldreda s PCC