News from Afar

Lillington Parish Magazine St Mary Magdalene’s Church MARCH 2011 1 CONTACTS Church Office Mrs Anne Furze ...........................................................470449 [email protected] Priest in Charge Rev Charlotte Gale ................................330919...................... (Day off Monday) Curate Rev Graham Coles (Day off Friday) ................................734170 Associate Minister Rev Naomi Nixon ................................330919......................... Hon Assoc. Minister Rev Dennis Brown ................................423771........................ Reader Mr Roderick Clark ................................422994........................ Churchwarden Dr Godfrey Carr ...........................................................422916 Churchwarden Mrs Glynis Wright ................................773786........................ PCC Hon Secretary Mrs Christine Butler ................................779455..................... [email protected] PCC Hon Treasurer Mrs Janet Gardner ................................428163....................... [email protected] Gift Aid Secretary Mr Mike Hyslop ............................................................883808 Caretaker Mrs Christine Nutt ................................334893........................ Organist/Choirmaster Mr Mike King ...............................................................409062 Bell Ringers Mr Richard Taulbut ................................450977....................... Servers Mr John Green .............................................................470449 Flower Guild Mrs Wendy Shear ................................330825........................ Octagon Secretary Mrs Catherine Pittaway ................................420913................. Sunday Club Church Office ..............................................................470449 Scouts, Cubs, Beavers Mr Mike Dealtry ...........................................................773570 Guides Nicola Mobbs ...............................................................07791132423 Brownies Caroline Kendall ..........................................................07952398164 [email protected] Walkers group Mr Jeff Burgess ............................................................335129 Youth Group Graham & Sam Coles ................................734170................... Website Manager Dr Diana Taulbut ................................450977......................... [email protected] Crosstalk Editor Mr Robin Innes ............................................................831649 [email protected] Crosstalk Distribution Mr Jeff Arnold ..............................................................632330 THE CHURCH OFFICE The office is open Monday to Thursday 9.00 am till 1.00 pm During these hours the church may be used for private prayer - please use the office entrance. For Baptism, Weddings and general enquiries please contact the church office. Outside of office hours please leave a message on the answer phone and we will get back to you. 2 FROM THE VICARAGE March is a wonderful time of year, as Spring arrives in all its glory. Signs of new life abound with skipping lambs and dancing daffodils. There's also much new life to be seen in the church. Some things, like the daffodils, blossom each year, and we look forward to our 5th year of 'Looking at Lillington' later this month. Once again, we will welcome over 100 children into the church, to learn about local history and our faith. A team of over 30 people are involved in this wonderful annual event. Some things have been planted a little while and we hope to see them really take hold and grow this year. For example, our new monthly Holy Communion service which takes place on the last Tuesday of each month at 1.30 pm, just before 'Tea and Chat'. It has enabled folks who haven't worshipped in church for years to join with friends, old and new, for communion. And some things, like the buds on the trees are brand new, and this year, we are particularly excited about the After School Bible Club that we plan to launch after Easter at Lillington Primary School. This is a really wonderful opportunity to share the love and stories of Jesus with children at the school. Just a few signs of new life. However, growth always brings challenges and our finances are certainly a challenge. If everyone could manage to give just a bit more each week to the church, then we could go forward without the burden of worrying all the time about how we will make ends meet, and me making seemingly endless appeals for more money. I know that times are tough for many people at the moment, but if we want to continue to be a beacon of Christ's love in Lillington, especially in these difficult economic times, then we all need to make that extra effort with our giving. 3 The results will be worth it. Not only will we all continue to enjoy the love and fellowship that we find at church, we will be able to share those blessings with the people around us, especially those in real need of God's love right now. God of all creation, as springtime dawns, we thank you for shoots and signs of new life, for blue skies and the hope of summer, for longer daylight and brighter colours. As we worship, loving God, give a springtime spirit to our praise. Let the rising sap enliven our worship. Give the deadened branches of our faith a new life. Then we will follow Jesus; ever rising, ever new. With Springtime blessings, Rev Charlotte. FROM THE CHURCH RECORDS WEDDINGS There were no Weddings in January FUNERALS 7th January John Keatley (69) Burns Road, Lillington 12th January Barbara Hargreaves(76) Victoria Nursing Home, 14th January Dennis Sweeting (86) Inglewood Close, Lillington 25th January Betty Harmsworth (90) James Hirons Home. 28th January Eileen Howard (85) St. Andrews Road, Lillington 4 PCC Secretary After many years of excellent service, Christine Butler is stepping down as PCC Secretary. This is an absolutely vital role to church life, so we need to find someone to take it on. Could it be you? What does the PCC Secretary do? They take the minutes at Parochial Church Council (PCC) meetings, then type them up and distribute them to everyone afterwards. Most people are on e-mail these days, so it's much more straightforward than it used to be. There are eight PCC meetings a year, held on Thursday evenings in the Octagon. They also prepare the agenda for each meeting (this is done with the Vicar, over a cup of coffee and a good natter). This goes out to everyone a couple of weeks before the meeting. 5 Most PCC secretaries choose to also be members of the PCC so they can join in the discussions and vote on decisions. Others prefer just to attend the meetings and take minutes. Once a year, the PCC secretary also organises much of the Church Annual Meeting. This involves getting together reports from all the different church groups, and arranging elections for churchwardens, PCC members etc. It's quite straightforward once you get the hang of it, but there are always people to ask and to help. What skills are needed? Basic computer skills are essential to the job as all the reports are typed up and e-mailed. Other than that, the most important thing is a willing heart, though being reasonably organised and liking admin tasks also helps! Interested? Have a chat to Christine or Rev Charlotte to find out more... PCC Members In addition to a PCC Secretary, we are also seeking at least three people to join the Parochial Church Council. This is your chance to get involved in the running of the church and decisions about our vision, worship, events, finance, the building - everything we do as a church is talked about at PCC. No experience necessary - just a willingness to come to eight meetings a year (usually for a 3 year term) and think, prayer and talk about where God is calling us as a church. Interested? Chat to any PCC member to find out more. That includes Rev Charlotte, Anne, Rev Graham and the Churchwardens. 6 WARDEN’S WORDS Continuing boiler hiccups. One more Sunday without heat. We must look on the bright side - there was a useful saving in heating costs! Amazingly few members of the congregation seemed to notice, perhaps because John Butler, on duty as sidesman that day, volunteered to comment on the agreeable almost excessive warmth as everyone came into church. We may adopt this as a cost saving strategy for the rest of the winter! On this occasion the boiler‘s absence was not terminal as I feared, but just moisture in the gas governor - soon cured by more of Graham‘s magic ministrations. Now the boiler timer is proving erratic and threatening Christine Nutt‘s sanity. I am beginning to see it as an elemental force lurking under the church whose purpose is to remind us that our faith is not dependent on body temperature. It is very good to know that our organist Mike King is making very good progress and hopes to be back on duty by early March. In the meantime we have been very lucky in never being without an organist at our services. All our visiting organists have coped extremely well with our ways and we owe them a big debt of gratitude. Our new/ old altar revealed unexpected versatility, and, with its back to us, formed a delightful stable for Christ‘s birth during Epiphany. With the end of this liturgical season there is now a sense of the year turning. The snowdrops in the churchyard are a splendid sight and before long the birds will be nesting – time perhaps

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