Keeping in touch. On the journey. If you haven t filled your consent form in yet, please do it today! See form on Page 6

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1 con tact May 2018 Page May 2018 con tact for St Mary s, Burwell with St Etheldreda and the Holy Trinity, Reach On the journey We re all on a journey through life, and many of us are also on a journey of faith. One of the things that struck me in Bishop David s sermon at St Mary s on 15 th April was his comparison and contrast between the Damascus Road and the Emmaus Road journeys. Some people can look back and point to a single decisive moment when they made a decision to follow Christ, rather like St Paul on the road to Damascus, who had a vision of the risen Jesus, which brought about a complete turnaround of his life. His was a sudden and dramatic, one-off, life-changing encounter. For others, like the two who met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, it s a much slower process - a gradual journey of discovering more about God, of growing faith and increasing awareness of the presence of Christ. A journey of eyes opening and hearts being warmed by the touch of the Spirit, as disbelief and fear give way to trust and confidence. We re all different, but as we reach out to him, God meets each of us where we are, and takes us further on into deeper relationship. You can read more about the Damascus Road in Acts 9 and the Emmaus Road in Luke 24. Taking the plunge! For all of us on the journey of faith, there will be milestones - times when we make a deeper commitment to follow Jesus, and want to mark that in some way. Would you like to find out about Christening or Baptism for your child, or perhaps for yourself? Or for children who over 7, the next step might be to prepare to receive Holy Communion. As a young person or adult, you may be ready to affirm your baptism promises for yourself in the service of Confirmation. If the answer is YES to any of these, I would be very willing to arrange a time to talk more with you about what might be the next step for you and your family. You can find out more under Life Events on Got questions? Do you have questions about life, the universe, God, faith? Or wonder how to answer the questions your children ask? Would you like space to ask questions, and explore what the Bible might have to say? Speak to Eleanor if you would like to join a group with others to talk about the questions you have. Keeping in touch If you haven t filled your consent form in yet, please do it today! See form on Page 6

2 con tact May 2018 Page 2 Thank You! From the Parish Registers Baptism We welcome Myles Coley Weddings We congratulate Jo Mitchell and Rob Proctor A very big thank you to those stepping down after many years of faithful service to our church community. Pictured after the service on April 15 th from Left to Right: Don Kyte, Philip Baker, Bishop David, Simon Rogers, Brenda Bellward. God bless you all. Funerals Rest in peace Graham Pearce Sylvia Potts Eric Brown FAREWELL TO GRAHAM PEARCE Thy Kingdom Come 10th 20th May 30 th November th March 2018 Graham was a quiet, faithful presence in our church and in the village for 50 years, serving in many different roles, including treasurer, churchwarden, trustee of the Feoffees, member of the prayer and bible study group, a giver of many lifts, and a doer of many other jobs, unseen by most. His sons Jeremy and Alex wrote that: His strong faith has been the sustaining force throughout his life. He will be much missed. Join in with Thy Kingdom Come using our prayer leaflets, which will be available from Sunday 6 th May, and perhaps come along to one of the times when we gather in church for prayer. Details will be on the pew sheet each week. There will also be a Prayer Discovery Trail set up round St Mary s from 10 th - 20 th May, which anyone is welcome to explore. Sunday@7 in May will be include a focus on Thy Kingdom Come, and an invitation has been extended to members of the other churches in our deanery to join us for this special service - 7pm Sunday 13 th May. Contact Magazine e-version Did you know that Contact could be delivered to you by instead of as a paper version? If you would prefer to receive it this way please me on administrator@stmarysburwell.org.uk It is also available on our website:

3 con tact May 2018 Page 3 New Appointments At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 15 th April, a number of people took on new roles as PCC members, Churchwarden, PCC secretary and Parish Safeguarding Officer. Over the next two issues of Contact, they will introduce themselves and tell you a little about what they bring to our churches. PCC Secretaries : Val Badcock I moved to Burwell in October The very first Sunday at St. Mary s I was warmly welcomed by Pauline who introduced me to the Choir Mistress and I joined the choir the same day! I became a verger in 1997 but had to retire after 10 years as I was unable to cope with some of the physical elements of the job. I took over the task of typing the pew sheet around 20 years ago which I enjoy doing. I also help with other clerical duties like verger rotas and Church door sheet. I feel more able to assist with clerical items, which is why I volunteered to job share the role of PCC Secretary. Janine Stewart Somehow, I have managed to avoid being on the PCC since moving to Burwell in 2000! However I now share the PCC Secretary baton with Val Badcock, and I look forward to serving the parish in this way. From Scotland originally, here are five of my favourite Scottish things: 1. Highland Cows 2. Scottish Rugby Union 3. Scottish cuisine : Haggis, Shortbread, Tunnocks Tea Cakes, Stovies, Tablet etc 4. Scottish actors (in particular Sean Connery, David Tennant, Ewan MacGregor) 5. Scottish films eg Sunshine on Leith, Gregory s Girl, Comfort and Joy And to finish, two quotes: You can take the girl out of Scotland, but you can t take Scotland out of the girl! and Better united than divided. Parish Safeguarding Officer - Nicola Osborn (née Martin) I have been a member of the St Mary s congregation since the age of 12 and, apart from a brief period when training as a nurse in Cambridge, have lived in Burwell all my life. I have had twentyfive years of nursing, mainly working with people with special needs, and so already have some experience of safeguarding issues. I am looking forward to my new role and hope people will feel free to raise with me any concerns that they may have. PCC Member Caroline Smith Most of you will know Jonathan Smith and/ or Judie Dyke. Well, you could describe me as the missing link. I moved to Burwell with husband Colin in 1990 and have been intermittently at St Mary's ever since. It's only fairly recently that I have reached the point of being able to describe myself as Christian, thanks to the support and patience of Rob and Jo and the rest of our Homegroup gang. I also work part time as a Teaching Assistant at the Village College. Dates for Your Diary Sunday May 6 th 6.00pm Eve of Reach Fair Songs of Praise Monday May 7 th Reach Fair Starts at 12.00noon Saturday June 9 th 2.00pm 4.00pm Church Fete June 9 th 12 th Burwell Festival Art Craft and Flower Exhibition on in St Mary s church Tuesday 12 th June Meet the Artist evening and Concert in St Mary s Saturday June 16 th Burwell Carnival Saturday June 23 rd pm Concert by Huntingdon Male Voice Choir in St Mary s Sunday July 1 st Ordination of Paula Spalding and Chris Campbell in Ely cathedral

4 con tact May 2018 Page 4 UPDATE FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES Many of you are already on my ing list for updates about activities and events, so this is just a quick round up for May. With Messy Church falling at the beginning of half term, when families are often away, we ve decided to do things a bit differently, and try out an idea that we ve been talking about for a while - an after school gathering. Children of any age welcome, but they would need to be accompanied by an adult. On Sunday 27 th May we ll be having a walk and ending up at the Vicarage, 22 Isaacson Road, for tea (in the church if it s raining!). We ll leave directions at the church if we ve already left when you get there, and there will be an option of a very short walk for very little legs! If you d like to join us, and can provide something for the tea, please let Eleanor know. If you ve been to one of our 10am services recently you ll have noticed different ways for even the youngest to participate and engage with the service. Some weeks there is a group for children for part of the time this month on 20th and 27th. On other weeks, when we worship all ages together, along with child friendly talks and prayers there are streamers for waving during the songs, and colouring sheets related to the theme, for anyone who finds it helpful to be doing something as they listen. In recent weeks we ve introduced ways to engage with the liturgy through play: themed playdough mats, play communion sets, and a fabric soft church, which are already being well used. Special services coming up: Godparents Sunday is on 6th May and our 10am service will include a focus on giving thanks and praying for godparents and godchildren. All very welcome! For the very young: Refresh Café meets each week on Friday mornings, with up to 25 children with their grown-ups, in a relaxed café and play space, with songs, story and prayers to end. For young people: Youth Café meets monthly in the Guildhall, and provides a space to get together, to chat, play games, try a craft, with snacks and drinks. This month s café falls on 4t h May, Star Wars Days. Light sabres will be in action! This term, young people in Year 6 can join us. Contact Eleanor for more information about any of these activities, or to join the ing list.

5 con tact May 2018 Page 5 Notes from the Church Office If you are new to Contact Welcome! In completing their GDPR forms, a number of people requested copies of Contact magazine who hadn t previously received it. We hope you enjoy reading it and find the content useful. If you have any comments or suggestions about how we could improve it, we d love to hear from you. St Mary s Church Fete St Mary s Church Fete will be held on the second Saturday of June June 9 th as usual this year. From 2pm and 4pm the church and grounds will be filled with colourful stalls, live music, traditional games and there are also cream teas, ice creams and a BBQ. Hopefully crowds of people will come to enjoy two hours of fun for all ages in glorious sunshine! The event also marks the start of the week long Burwell Festival and its Exhibition of Art, Crafts and Flowers will run inside the church from the fete until Tuesday evening. The fete is our largest social event of the year and the proceeds, usually totalling around 2,000, are divided between the church and other charities. An event of this scale doesn t just happen and we need a large team of helpers to make it a success. We need people to help in advance with publicity and organisation; people to help early on Fete day with setting up stalls an gazebos and during the afternoon we need lots of help serving on stalls; running children s games; selling raffle tickets; helping with cream teas and the BBQ. the list goes on! If you can t help on the day, we d still welcome donations of cakes, books, toys, bric-a-brac or plants. Or perhaps you could loan a gazebo or a paste board or similar (minimum length 6ft) to put across pews for displaying crafts and other items. Look out for more details on our website and Facebook pages in the coming weeks. If you d like to help in any way please contact Pat Chalmers on administrator@stmarysburwell.org.uk or sign a list at the back of church. If you haven t helped before but would like to give it a try, you d be very welcome! Plans for Reach Church The detailed plans for the development of Reach church have now arrived and by the beginning of May, copies will be on display in both churches. These plans have been drawn up as the result of several years of deliberation and consultation that started when St Etheldreda and the Holy Trinity Church, Reach received a significant legacy from the estate of the late Maisie Whitehead, who died approaching her 100 th birthday having been involved with the church at Reach for most of her long life. The legacy is specifically to be used for the maintenance and development of Reach church and our aim in producing the plans has been to improve the building so that it can benefit the whole community, while still maintaining its key role as the church that Maisie loved so much. After a series of consultations in Reach and gathering ideas about what was needed by the community, the PCC asked our architects to produce a first draft plan. Later, a second draft was produced to take into account comments from the people of Reach and others. There then followed a period of consulting various experts to find out the best ways of implementing the general ideas in the draft plans. The advice we have received has enabled the architect to work out the practicalities and produce the detailed plans now displayed. The next stage is to seek comments of the people of Reach and also various bodies like the Diocesan Advisory Committee and Heritage England. We plan to do hold a public meeting in Reach some time over the summer. The date will be publicised nearer the time, but in the meantime, please look at the plans carefully. Rotas We need a few more names to be added to the rota of people who do the Bible readings at our Sunday services (both 8am and 10am). At present, the people on the rota do this about 2 or 3 times a year. If you d like to help in this way, please contact Pat Chalmers. Swift Boxes The nest boxes for swifts were installed in St Mary s tower just before Easter, so keep a lookout for swifts in the churchyard this summer. It would be great if some birds found them in the first year. Pat Chalmers

6 con tact May 2018 Page 6 Sunday@7 Sunday@7 is a contemplative, contemporary and informal service that takes place monthly at 7pm at St Mary s, Burwell. The service lasts between minutes and we meet in the chancel. We worship through music, prayers, different types of service wording and taking time to contemplate and meet God in fresh and new ways. The service is projected onto a screen at the top of the chancel and music is led either with a guitar and/ or backing tracks. Sometimes we watch a short film which might highlight the topic for the evening or help us to focus on the bible passage that we are looking at. It s a place where there is also time for stillness and silence. Our service in May is on May 13th - it is an exciting Sunday because it is the Sunday after Ascension Day which commemorates the ascension of Jesus to heaven, 40 days after His resurrection. That evening we are hosting a Deanery service at Sunday@7 and will be thinking about what it means to be before the throne of God above and what it means that Jesus is interceding for us. This service (like all our services) is open to everyone and if you haven t ever been before, why don t you come along that evening? We will welcome you warmly and look forward to meeting you whether you re 9 or 90. The dates for the rest of 2018 are 13 May, 10 June, 8 July, 9 September, 14 October, 18 November and 9 December. Janine Stewart Little Bears 1 st Thursdays at St Mary s Next Date 3 rd May 9.30am coffee & crafts am Songs & Bible Story

7 con tact May 2018 Page 7 Wed Holy Communion at Ash Grove Thu 3 Little Bears Daily Prayer Weekdays at St Mary s 9am and 6pm (Except Thursday which is a BCP service at 8.15am at Reach) Fri 4 Sat Refresh Cafe at St Mary s till 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court Youth Café in the Guildhall till 9.15pm Prayers at CentrePeace till 9.30am Evening Prayer at CentrePeace till 4.30 Bellringers service at St Mary s Sunday 6 th May Easter 6 All Ages Together Service at St Mary s for Godparents Sunday Eve of Reach Fair Songs of Praise at Reach Mon 7 Wed 9 Thurs 10 Fri Reach Fair MU in the Guildhall: Local Projects Maureen Haigh Beginning of Thy Kingdom Come Play and Pray till 5pm Refresh Cafe at St Mary s till 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court Sat Prayers at CentrePeace till 9.30am 8.00 Sunday 13 th May Easter 7 Holy Communion at Reach Wed 16 Thu Holy Communion at Ness Court Play and Pray till 5pm United service at Trinity church for Christian Aid Week Fri Refresh Cafe at St Mary s till 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court at St Mary s - other churches in deanery invited Sat Prayers at CentrePeace till 9.30am Wedding of Sharon Milton and John Milczarek End of Thy Kingdom Come 8.00 Sunday 20 th May Pentecost Wed Lunchbreak cafe at St Mary s till 2.00pm MU in the Guildhall: In Mary Sumner s Footsteps (with groups for children) Thu 24 Fri Refresh Cafe at St Mary s till 11am Knit and Natter at Ness Court (tbc) Youth Café in Guildhall till 9.15pm Sat Prayers at CentrePeace till 9.30am Trefoil Guild 75th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Mary's, followed by tea 8.00 Sunday 27 th May Trinity Sunday Wed 30 Thurs 31 (with groups for children) 4.00 Messy Walk All events are in St Mary s unless otherwise indicated

8 con tact May 2018 Page 8 Eve of Reach Fair Songs of Praise 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 Sunday May 6 th 6.00pm St Etheldreda s Church All welcome! Knit and Natter 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 Date: 23 rd May Everyone welcome Every Friday 10am 12 noon At Ness Court For further information please contact Kathy (743556) or Jackie ( ) We always try to provide options suitable for those with food allergies and intolerances Editor David Lunn, contacteditors@yahoo.co.uk Collation and distribution Ken Hurrell and Avril Plume To join the circulation list please phone Copy for June issue by 15 th May 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