People and Parish April 2017 In this issue........... Roll up, Roll up to the May Fayre! New Minister appointed to the Team Holiday Club on June 1st 60p or £6 per year The Parish Church of St Leonard Heath and Reach 2 Team Rector: Canon Grant Fellows, 01525 373217 The Parish of St Leonard, Heath and Reach www.saintleonardschurch.com Team Vicar Revd. Noel McGeeney, The Vicarage, 2 Reach Lane, LU7 0AL, 01525 237633 [email protected] Church Wardens Br Bede Falconer CoS, 46 Chiltern Gardens, LU7 3BL 07925 364480 Mrs Val Roberts, 7 Cotefield Drive LU7 3DS, 01525 852347 Secretary Mrs Ann Gomersall, 173 Cotefield Drive, LU7 3DT, 01525 376572 Treasurer Mrs Jill Thomas, 46 Redwood Glade, LU7 3JT, 01525 374175 Freewill Offerings Mr Tony Mellodey, 12 Holts Green, Great Brickhill, MK17 9AJ, 01525 261552 / 07771 686005 Administrator and Church Mrs Kelly Burley, St Leonard’s Parish Office, Hall Bookings St Leonard’s Church Hall, Leighton Road LU7 0AA. 07502 320025 [email protected] Office hours: 10.00am—1.00pm Tuesdays, Thursdays GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES Little Fishes Mums & Toddlers, Monday 1.30 pm in the hall Contact: Parish Office Choir Sundays at 10.15am in Church, Contact: Jane Newman, 01525 237421 St Leonard’s Amateur Players, Contact: SLAP Mrs Nicole Waldock, 01908 608304 Men’s Breakfast Group Termly, Saturdays at 8.30am. Contact Neil Forsyth on 01525 377047 Magazine Editors Neil Forsyth, 01525 377047 and Claire Forsyth 07745 431356 , [email protected] Magazine Advertising Contact Parish Office 07502 320025 All copy to reach Editor by 15th of the month, please 2 3 In 1061, just afew years before the Norman Conquest, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman living in Norfolk, the lady Richeldis, had a vision. While praying, she suddenly saw, clear in her mind, an image of the house in Nazareth where Jesus had grow up with His parents Mary and Joseph (and quite possibly brothers and sisters as well). It wasn’t very big: Joseph was, after all, only a carpenter, working on building sites. Richelsdis saw the house clearly in front of her, and hard Mary telling her to have a copy built, so people Might more easily understand that this small, ordinary house, was where God Himself spent almost all of His earthly life. Mary has always been for Christians a way of reminding us that God Himself is intimately and physically involved with every single person. Seeing a copy of Jesus’ house was another way of reminding people of the reality of God becoming man, and of the humility and lessening thatb it incolved for God and thus of the extent of His love for us. So Richeldis had the house built, and right by the foundations a spring flowed up, a sign from God of the living water that He gives to those who ask. The house was called “the Holy House”, a sign of Jesus and of the Incarnation; the spring was a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit; of God’s life-giving power and healing love. Very quickly, the Holy House became a place of pilgrimage. Just as we might light a candle as we pray, or make a sign of the cross, or bow and kneel, so we can pray with our bodies as well as our minds, so people have always gone on pilgrimage to Holy places, firstly because it’s always fun to go on holiday (and a holiday is a holy-day!), and secondly because it’s another way of praying with our bodies, which is always a really important thing to do, and thirdly because going to a holy place where, as T S Eliot puts it “prayer has always been valid”, helps us connect with those realities we cannot see or hear. And through the ups and downs of British history, pilgrims have continued to visit the Holy House and the spring ever since. Even after everything was destroyed by Henry VIII some pilgrims still visited the ruins, and in 1922 the local Church of England Vicar began a new Holy House, and a new spring began to flow from its foundations, just as had happened a thousand years before. 3 4 And every year, a group of pilgrims from the churches of the Ouzel Valley team go on pilgrimage to the Holy House and the Spring. This year, we have booked twenty spaces in the accommodation from the 22nd to the 24th of September, at a cost fro each person of about £130 for board and lodging for the weekend. The 24th is a very special date: it is by tradition the day that Richeldis had her vision. I will lead that group of pilgrims, and I invite you to come and join us, either as a pilgrim, or by joining us in prayer, and giving prayer intentions to take with us then. If you would like more information, either about booking a place as a pilgrim or about the Holy House more generally, please contact me on 01525 372149, or at [email protected]. Father Bernard Let nothing disturb you Nothing distress you While all things fade away God is unchanging Be patient for with God in your heart Nothing is lacking God is enough St Teresa of Avila St Leonard’s Church Hall is available for hire! Birthday parties, wedding receptions, meetings and other special occasions Competitive hire rates, fully fitted kitchen and car parking To book, for more information or to check availability please go to saintleonardschurch.com, email [email protected] or call 07502 320 025. 4 5 The Parish Registers Baptism 16th April Kimberley Elaine Yannah White Marriage Blessing 8th April Helena (‘Linky’ ) de Villiers and Lee Angell Funeral 4th April Valerie Margaret Dexter Daytime services at St Leonard’s In addition to the two Sunday service at St Leonard’s and the Tuesday evening service (see back page), the church is open for Morning Prayer at 8.45am. The church continues to be open for visitors all week during daylight hours. 5 6 Badminton Club Established over 30 years Friday evenings (8 - 10 pm) Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre 01525 381337 01525 261552 friendly mixed abilities non-league Free trial KEEP FIT ~ ENJOY LIFE Services: After-sales for PC, Mac & Linux IT support Wired and wireless network installations Internet & email assistance Troubleshooting: Windows, Mac & Linux troubleshooting Virus & Spyware removal Fault diagnostics, repairs & upgrades Sales: Branded or custom PCs & Laptops Computer hardware & peripherals Software On-site visits - office hours or evenings by appointment Computamation Services Ltd Est: 1999 with over 25years experience Contact: John Wallace on 01525 261381 or 07968 536068 email: [email protected] web: www.computamation.co.uk 9a Lower Way, Great Brickhill, Bucks. MK17 9AG comput@mation computer support business and home for 6 7 The Villager by Geoff White The early months of the year 1917 seemed to be the time of accidents in and around the village. The weather was cold and icy and perhaps the news of the war was on most people’s minds. Lots of skaters were enjoying skating on Rushmere Pond, including two discharged soldiers, Mr A Lansberry and Mr P Neal. One part of the pond was only covered by a very thin sheet of ice but two lads, not knowing this, (one named Goodyear and the other a lad from a canal barge, walked across it and one fell through. Although the water was fairly deep, the soldiers, who happened to be skating nearby, quickly made a timely rescue, one by lying flat on the thin ice and grasping the boy’s hand, while the other rescuer held his feet. Having dragged the lad with difficulty onto the thicker ice, they sent him home. Mr Rolls from Rushmere, was on former ground but when cycling home from work on a Monday night, collided with another cyclist going the other way. Mr Rolls’ left hand was caught between the handlebars of the two machines and one forfinger was broken and was later set by Dr Harris. Neither cycles were damages or the other rider hurt. On a Friday night, there was another accident. A large four-seater motor car occupied by the lady driver and two children, failed to go round the rather sharp bend on Bird’s Hill whilst coming from the Leighton Buzzard direction, the driver not knowing the road very well. The car struck the wall outside a cottage, swerved and then struck the wall again, eventually pulling up on a heap of stones. The acr did not overturn but the two front wheels, the lamps and the windscreen were smashed and both front tyres burst. The speed limit in those dasys was 10 miles per hour! The driver was not badly injured but the occupants of the car were bruised and badly shaken. The lady received cuts about the face and Dr Square was summoned to the scene. No seat belts in those days. Some of the children of the village were still able to enjoy themselves and an entertainment was held in the Wesleyan Schoolroom when the Sunday School prizes were awarded. It was well-attended, despite the weather and various items of songs and recitations were performed. Each child was presented with a book prize for regular attendance. Miss Lily Roberts played the piano and had also trained the children for the entertainment. For the older generation who worried about things not being what they used to be and whose hair had turned to grey or even white, 100 years ago there was a cure. H Samuels, who had a chemist shop in Leighton Buzzard High Street, was advertising a bottle of shampoo for one shilling, which would restore your hair to its original colour and beauty.