Issue 264 June 2020 Dates for your Diary Note from the editor It is very strange putting this magazine together as each month the last thing I do is scroll through each entry and list all the things that are due to happen in our villages. Sadly it may be some time yet before this page is full. Not living in the centre of Stoke and being in that 70+ age bracket I have not seen all that has been happening, only heard about the many volunteers and schemes to help that have banded together to give so much needed support in these difficult times. I hope that next month the magazine will be a paper edition, and that our distributors, several of whom are also 70+, will feel able to deliver it to your door. Please keep sending in your articles and stay safe and well. Jane Evans 2 The Rectory, High Street, Nunney, Frome BA11 4LZ Tel: 01373 837337 From the Rectory As we are all too well aware, uncertainty about the length of the present ‘Lockdown’ has meant that many plans for family celebrations, holidays etc. have been cancelled or put on hold. In many ways, some of which we cannot yet predict, we are facing a very uncertain future. Last Sunday, the Church celebrated Pentecost (Whit Sunday), the coming of the Holy Spirit with power and the assurance that, if Jesus had left this earthly life, yet God was with the disciples. They could not prepare for this event: all they could do was pray and wait. Waiting is something many people- including myself- are not good at. We want to ‘get on’ or at least prepare ourselves for ‘the next thing’. Prompted by a verse from the Old Testament- ‘Their strength is to sit still’ (Isaiah 30:10 AV) the Christian author and suffragist Hannah Whithall Smith wrote this- ‘Inner stillness is an absolute necessity of truly knowing God’. I remember learning this at a time of great crisis in my life. My entire being seemed to throb with anxiety and the sense of need for immediate and powerful action was overwhelming. Yet the circumstances were such that I could do nothing, and the person who could have helped would not move. For a time it seemed as if I would fall to pieces. Then suddenly out of nowhere a still small voice whispered in the depths of my soul- “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The words were spoken with power, and I obeyed. I composed myself, bringing my body to complete stillness, and forced my troubled spirit into quietness. Only then, while looking up and waiting, did I know that it was God who had spoken. He was in the midst of my crisis and I rested in Him I would say that it was from this stillness that the power seemed to arise to deal with the crisis, and that quickly brought it to a resolution. It was during this crisis that I effectively learned that my “Strength is to sit still” There is a perfect passivity that is not laziness. It is a stillness born of trust. Quiet tension is not trust, but simply a compressed anxiety. Cont overleaf 3 O soul, keep silence on the mount of God, Though cares and needs throb round you like a sea; From prayers, petitions and desires un- shod, Be still, and hear what God will say to thee. (From ‘Be still’ by Mary R. Jarvis) With every Blessing, and stay safe! Fr Anthony From the Registers Funerals Brian Ian Stevens Witham Friary service at the Crematorium 2nd April Raymond Banfield Stoke St Michael service at Crematorium 30th April Malcolm Stuart Brown Leigh on Mendip 7th May Ann Wall Mendip Crematorium 22nd May Dorothy Eileen Willis Mendip Crematorium 29th May Change of Service Pattern. June was to have been the month when we changed the pattern of services, enabling each church in the Postlebury group to have its service on the same Sunday each month. With five churches in the group, it has been difficult for folk to predict when their village church’s next service would be. We hope that this adaption of the rota will go some way to solving the problem. It means that from now on (once we are permitted to resume public services), Cloford and Marston will alternate monthly services of Holy Communion with Matins, or another non-eucharistic service. The pattern of services for East Mendip Hills, (Leigh-on-Mendip, Stoke St Michael, and Downhead) remains the same. We will continue to publish this rota in anticipation of the day when restrictions are lifted and Church authorities permit the resumption of public Church services of some kind. 4 Letter from Bishop Ruth Recognise the one who stands beside you ‘Stay alert’ is the message as we ‘ease out of lockdown’. We know that for some there is little ease as we begin to re-engage with a world that is still fearful of Covid-19 and uncertain about its future. The requirement to ‘stay alert’ is to encourage us to watch out for signs of the virus and protect ourselves and others as necessary. We’ve just celebrated Pentecost, often recognised as the birthday of the Church. Jesus’ message to his followers as he left them to return to his Father was that they were to ‘stay alert’, not to guard against something fearful to come but rather to be watchful for the Spirit that would free them from fear. It didn’t mean that there weren’t still physical dangers to face but rather that their spiritual lives should grow in boldness. We have seen much courage exhibited throughout this crisis to date. Key workers who have continued to serve us day by day even whilst most of us have remained at home. The NHS has quite rightly been applauded and appreciated at this time and there are so many more. I’ve been especially impressed by our schools and their teams who have largely been open throughout this period to be provide care for key worker families and vulnerable children. Even at weekends and during this past half term holiday they have been tirelessly supporting their local communities. Staying alert to the needs of our young, they have shown their commitment and care. I want to express my huge gratitude to them! As we move into June we may be seeing more children returning to schools having been home-schooled for a time. This will not be without fear for some and a need to be especially alert to physical dangers. Whatever the situation we find ourselves to be in at this point, we are reminded that we have a Comforter, an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who strengthens and encourages our faith even at times of doubt and anxiety. Whether still at home and isolated or beginning a return to wider community life, may you find yourself being alert for and recognising the one who stands alongside you, the Spirit, who is friend, guardian and comforter. With every good wish Bishop Ruth 5 Leigh on Mendip and Downhead Parochial Church Council Contact email : [email protected] or [email protected] Telephone: 07815 911084 or 01761 418737 Churchwardens Steve Britten Goldsborough Farm 01749 840291 Stoke St Michael BA3 5LD Alastair Weston Hillcrest Tadhill 01373 812654 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5QU Treasurer Margaret Loten 6 The Old Sawmills 01373 812922 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5RQ Secretary Anthea Brooks Ashville, Monger |Lane 01761 418737 Radstock BA3 2BP Stoke St Michael Parochial Church Council Contact email: [email protected] Telephone: 01749 840671 Churchwardens Jane Evans Withybrook 01749 840660 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JQ Malcolm Martin Mendip Cottage, Mendip Rd 01749 840475 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JU Treasurer Glenna Martin Mendip Cottage, Mendip Rd 01749 840475 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JU Secretary Janet Gilham Hillside, Withybrook 01749 840671 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JQ Safeguarding Officer for Leigh, Downhead and Stoke St Michael Sue Rodford Knapp Hill Cottage, 01373 812766 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5QY 6 Sidesmen and Flowers All Rotas will resume when our Churches are open again for services CREATE WHILE YOU WAIT Leigh on Mendip Arts and Crafts Exhibition 2020 Shine a light on your creative side. It's only 6 months until the exhibition - make the most of your time at home. All ages and all types of art and craft are welcome. We will be holding the annual Arts & Crafts Exhibition to showcase the talents of the village on Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th October 2020 (11am – 4pm) at the Memorial Hall Any item under the broad sense of “arts and crafts” can be entered from needlework to woodwork, paintings to jewellery or anything you have personally created. Don’t forget this includes photography (just card mount or frame your photos). Two simple rules:- • Exhibitors are limited to those who live, work or take part in activities in the parish and their immediate family i.e. parents, siblings or children. • Work exhibited in a previous Leigh on Mendip Arts and Crafts Exhibition cannot be accepted. There has previously been a demand for more items for sale, so please consider which work you would be happy to sell. If you wish you can exhibit anonymously. Everyone can make the most of “Staying At Home”. Make sure you create something to remember your time in lock-down! Vicki Taylor (01373 813942) [email protected] Arts and Crafts Exhibition Committee 7 Note from Leigh on Mendip Parish Council Chairman Your Parish Council continues to conduct business during the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak using online meetings.