Longney & Epney Dates for Parish Newsletter June & July 2021 your Diary June & July 2021 Parish Council Meeting The next meeting is scheduled for the th Local elections took place in May and Longney and Epney Parish Council 12 July 2021. had one vacancy to fill in order to take it back to five Councillors. Unfortunately, no one came forward at that time so the seats were We are back to “face to uncontested and our resident councillors remained in place. Sadly, at the face” meetings but you May meeting, Councillor Newman resigned leaving two spaces to fill. will need to register to Our thanks go to Councillor Newman for the hard work he put in during his time on the Council and we wish him well. attend. Please click the email link If you love where you live and would like to get more involved in village below to reserve a space. life and have a say in the future plans please get in touch, join in and clerk@longneyandepney- make a difference! parish.co.uk You will need to be over 18 and a British, Commonwealth or European Union Citizen, with at least one of the following qualifications: A registered local government elector in the electoral area you are wanting to stand as a candidate. Have resided in the area for the whole 12 months preceding the day of nominations. Work in the electoral area you are wanting to stand (and have for at least the past 12 months). Own property in the electoral area you are wanting to stand (and have for at least the past 12 months). Pic by Louise Everett For the whole of the previous 12 months, you have lived in the Parish/Town or within 3 miles of the boundary. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to stand. Henry Smith Charity Parish Car Park New signage has been put up in the parish car park reminding people that it is for use by the school, church and with permission only. There has been a number of recent reports of anti-social Henry Smith (1549-1628) was a philanthropist who gave money to the behaviour along with poor. He was a businessman with great foresight and his original more than normal investments are still earning millions of pounds which are distributed littering in there, some every year to deserving causes. of which is very The Longney Estate was purchased by Henry Smith in 1602 and benefits distasteful. from the Estate Fund along with about 200 other parishes across the country. Gates are currently not For many years the support was given in the form of coal and blankets an option to keep out distributed to the poor in Longney every year around Christmas. Latterly unwanted visitors. the regulations have been relaxed and now the support is given with a sum of money. The Parish Council For many years the criteria for applicants has been parishioners who are would welcome any over 70 and have lived in Longney for 5 or more consecutive years. reports of misuse of the More recently the trustees have reviewed the position and are minded to car park but please do consider some of the annual funds being used for individuals or families not approach or with particular hardship. Over the last 2 years the charity has provided question anyone in the grants to Longney School and The Pinchin Memorial Fund, both of these interests of safety. donations have resulted in huge benefit to individuals and families who needed support. The trustees will continue to ensure that the funds are distributed appropriately to ensure similar support is available in the Please make a note of future. the date and time and If anyone from Longney would like to speak in confidence about being car registration if considered for a grant, please contact the parish clerk (Secretary to possible, but only if it’s Longney Charity). safe to do so. Geoff Smith Trustee Elmore Chamber Elmore Village Hall Music Festival th th 15 -17 August 2021 The Elmore Chamber Music Festival is held in the historic Elmore Church, situated near the banks of the River Severn, in the heart of Gloucestershire. The Festival consists of a weekend of classical chamber music Following the easing of Covid restrictions the village hall will be open performances. Building on again for all user groups and for private hire, children's parties etc. the great success of 2020, they now look forward to Good use has been made of the lockdown to carry out some redecoration and refurbishments, and most noticeably the purchase of 100 new chairs. presenting the 2021 Festival. The heavy old ones have been replaced by comfortable lighter versions, The opening night concert and we are looking for people to come along and try them out! will feature the award- For booking enquiries, please contact John Hardisty on 01452 721798 winning Freeman String Quartet from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester alongside Home Security the U.K.'s leading double bass soloist Toby Hughes Now that lockdown is lifting, and you are able to travel and Cellist Leo Melvin. within the UK and to certain foreign countries, please be Additional performances mindful that you may be leaving your property empty for will be announced over possibly the first time since the start of the first lockdown. the coming months. Make sure you review your home security including outbuildings. Please follow this link for crime prevention advice: https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/ From our Vicar Rev Martin, Church Services St Laurence Church First Sunday of the As our Church life gets back towards normal (hopefully by the time you read this we will be allowed to sing indoors again, at last!) we are being Month encouraged to broaden our horizons. Elmore Parish Eucharist I am writing this on 25 May, the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd. at 9.30am The Black Lives Matter movement that emerged after that terrible event has led to a consideration of the memorials in Churches, because some Second Sunday of commemorate people (including clergy) who profited from the slave trade. Where such memorials are found, Churches will be placing notices the Month by them, stating that we are aware of this history and disassociate Longney Parish Eucharist ourselves from its attitudes. at 9.30am The Church of England is also engaged in a process whereby it will decide Elmore Sung Evensong whether or not to allow the blessing of gay marriages in Church (currently they are not permitted). We in the Benefice are taking part in a course at 4.00pm “Living in Love and Faith” which gives small groups the chance to share their stories and insights about issues of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage, to learn from one another and from Christian historical Third Sunday of teaching, and to practise respectful listening, in the belief that in opening the Month ourselves to the truth of others we ourselves grow, whether or not we agree with them. Elmore Parish Eucharist at 9.30am Our Church is also very aware of the environmental crisis, and, hopefully led by our young people, will soon begin the process by which we can achieve Eco-Church status. Fourth Sunday of So the world is opening up, and we can turn our attention to other things the Month than Covid. May God give us wisdom and courage as we do this. Longney “Storyteller” The church is open for worship on the 2nd and 4th Sunday each month, Family Eucharist at 9.30am. Also we are able now to hold baptisms, weddings and funerals. Plans for re-ordering the west end of the Church to provide at 9.30am space for community and school activities continue to be developed. Elmore Said Evensong Two dates for your diaries: Sunday 26 September, 9.30am Harvest at 4.00pm Festival, preacher Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester. Saturday 11 December 10am-12 noon, Christmas Fair in the Church. Fifth Sunday of the Also, Mary Hughes, one of our Longney organists, has organised a very exciting programme of events for this year’s Elmore Chamber Music Month Festival. For details of these, and to buy tickets, please go to Elmore No services at Longney & Chamber Music Festival https://www.elmorechambermusicfestival.co.uk/ Elmore Do be in touch if I can help you in any way. God bless you. Rev Richard Martin 01452 723479 [email protected] .