Wivey and the Hills Churches
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Wivey and the Hills Magazine June 2019 Price 50p Contents and about the magazine Wivey and the Hills magazine is published 10 times a year by the Benefice of the seven parishes of Wiveliscombe, Brompton Ralph, Clatworthy, Chipstable, Huish Champflower, Raddington and Tolland. Its purpose is to promote the life of all the Christian churches in this area and that of the wider communities which they serve. Contents Contents and magazine information 2 Letter from the Rector 3 What’s Been Happening 4-10 (including On the allotment/ Cuttings from the Garden Wildlife - what to look out for/ Monthly Recipe) Looking ahead - Wivey and the Hills 11-24 Regular Events 25 Quick view - Events for June 26-27 Growing in Faith 28-29 Ways to help your community 30 Adverts for local businesses 31-49, 52 Useful Contacts 50-51 Welcome to your June edition of the Wivey and the Hills magazine! As ever, there is masses going on in our beautiful area. New Subscribers: Would you like to The next issue will be for two months, July and August, so if you have any receive regular copies of the magazine? If contributions then please send them to us before 16th June. so please email [email protected] Lorna Thorne, Peter Pearson, Acting editorial team with your name, address, contact number and email, along with your BACs payment A year’s subscription is £5 (50p / copy) and Articles and events, comments and feedback: [email protected] runs from January to December. Advertising: Lorna Thorne [email protected] 01984 629423 BACS details are Magazine Distribution: Janet Hughes, 12 Lion d’Angers, 01984 624213 ‘WHOF’ 09-01-29 20101213 Or ring 01984 629423 for more details. Deadline for July/August edition: 16 June 2019 Cover photo: Many thanks to Sue Welch for her picture of her Bedrock Barn Garden Bench 2 Letter from the Rector To continue where we left off last month: 30th May was Ascension Day, remembering Jesus leaving his disciples very befuddled as he left them, as he returned to God, with the promise “Lo, I am with you always…”!! However, their confusion was also temporary, as Jesus, the night before he died, had also left them another promise: “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me” (John 16:16) - which, St John admits, left them even more befuddled, which is probably why they’d forgotten it forty-three days later at the Ascension.So they returned to Jerusalem in a complete fog of bewilderment. What next? What could dispel the fog? The RAF answered that question in 1943 - FIDO! Not your pet bulldog, but Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation, a system of pipes running the length of the runway, burning low-grade petrol which literally “burned off” the fog: expensive, but not as expensive as the loss of a bomber and its crew attempting to land in thick fog on return from a raid. That solved the problem of physical fog, but, some 1910 years earlier in Jerusalem, God had a similarly fiery solution to the disciples’ spiritual fog. After ten days of doing nothing in particular, on the Jewish festival of Pentecost, the disciples experienced the burning away of their confusion when God’s Spirit, who had raised Jesus from death, came to them as tongues of fire, burning into them the experience of Jesus, alive and kindling His love within them. Pentecost is important because it marks the birthday of the Christian community. From this day onwards, Christianity was founded upon people’s experience of the love of God within and among them. On the left is a Pentecost cake - why not make one? It has white icing as it’s White Sunday (“Whitsun” - to be explained next year), a big candle for Jesus, the light of the world, 12 candles for the apostles and 12 strawberries for the flames on each one of them, and 7 strawberry slices for the 7 gifts of the Spirit in Isaiah 11 v. 1-2. Bon appetit! 3 CharityWhat’s Focus been - the happening Semiliki Trust St. Luke’s - a labour of love. When Martin asked that I write an article for the magazine about St. Luke’s as we have been so active I must admit to being surprised. Then I thought about it and he is right. During the last 18 months St. Luke’s has seen more change, energy and certainly footfall than in many years. Following the removal of surplus furniture (some of which were donations from fundraising efforts years ago) it was possible to give the inside of the building a good wash. This made it lighter brighter and much more welcoming. Aspiration suddenly became a reality and following an art exhibition held as part of the 10 parishes festival an inclusive and community based St. Luke’s was reborn. I say reborn as many people do not know that St. Luke’s was paid for and erected by the Rev. Howard McCririck in 1893 as a Sunday school for the benefit of the families of local farm workers and quarrymen . It’s purpose was to bring moral and religious guidance and education to those who did not have access to such basic things. I firmly believe the Reverend would be delighted that his little tin church was still a venue for learning, art and entertainment as well as a place of worship to an increasing congregation. Following the art exhibition we held a talk on local archeology, Langley Open Gardens Day and a musical concert showcasing wonderful local talent. This resulted in welcoming over 300 to the church. Many discovering St. Luke’s for the first time. As well as holding a tea and cakes afternoon once a month we are currently in the process of planning more community events in the near future. St. Luke’s has always been much loved and well supported by the people of Langley and the objectives of the St. Luke’s Committee have been threefold: Congregation- to ensure the church can continue as place of worship. Community- to provide a local venue for community events. Conservation- to ensure that this iconic Victorian building is fit for the future and is maintained and restored keeping with its heritage and type. Much effort has has been put into fundraising over the last year. We have been enormously encouraged by the support of local and national charities and individuals who have responded so positively. 4 What’s beenWhat’s happening been happening- Wivey and the Hills Many of you will be aware of our “On Tap” Fund to bring mains water into the building. We have now enough funds to start that work shortly. And thanks to an incredible £8,000 grant from the Fairfield Charitable Trust we are now able to explore options for the repair or replacement of the roof. Our ambitions don’t stop there as we would like to install a kitchen and toilet at some point in the future. St. Luke’s has always been part of the identity of Langley and (like many people) I have very fond personal memories of the building. My mother was a great supporter of St. Luke’s and her funeral was held in the church. I think she would be delighted that we are helping to give St. Luke’s a secure and confident future. Alison Brigden My Lent Challenge – Alan Swan I have never been one for giving up a vice for Lent (drinking, smoking, chocolate etc.). I like to think it is because I don’t have many but it was really because it all felt a bit shallow and worthless to me. This year I wanted to do something and I challenged the youth group to rather than just give something up to take something up which would allow them to deepen their faith. We had lots of ideas around TV time, YouTube, exercise, reading, mindfulness and reading the bible. I am not sure that they were all able to carry them through for 40 days, but it was a good effort and good start. However, having to lead the way as their youth leader, I chose one which was inspired by reading an article about the comedian Rory McGrath. He took part in a Mass service in a different church for the 40 days of Lent. Now I don’t have that much time (and I wasn’t sure I would be able to find that many weekday services) so I decided to simply visit a different church everyday for lent. At each church I prayed the @churchofengland #lentpilgrim prayer as well as my own prayer of blessing for that community. I then shared my experiences on Instagram under the hashtag #churchaday. 5 What’s been happening I had many doubters at the start that “there aren’t that many churches” that “I wouldn’t have time” and that “why bother go to church as church is everywhere anyway”. But I did make it for 44 consecutive days (a bit of confusion about when it finishes as I also included Sundays!) and it was a wonderful experience. Visiting a space where people have been praying for many years made my prayers special and deeper and each church was a haven in my busy working day. I came across some wonderful churches in the middle of towns as well as deep in the countryside. I saw hope in churches being alive and active and I saw despair in churches putting out pleas for more support with dwindling congregations and memberships.