THURSTONLAND PARISH NEWS March - April 2021

“For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.”

(William Wordsworth 1807)

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Lent, Holy Week and Easter

I wonder why an event that took place over 2000 years ago is still commemorated and celebrated by millions of people world wide. Maybe it is because the story of being human in inexorably linked to sacrificial love? Or for those who truly believe is it because of a need at some conscious level for hope to abound? Are the events of Lent, Holy Week and Easter a continued dramatisation of our own reality, succinctly shoed into a six week period which begins on Ash Wednesday and runs up to Easter day.

Ash Wednesday is of course the day on which the palms are burnt and made into Ash to be used later in the day by the priest to sign the people with. The cross that was first signed at a persons Baptism on their forehead is re- traced and the words used are powerful reminders of our mortality and the reason that we are mortal: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.” Those who receive such a sign are often overcome (at least inwardly) by the powerful symbolism at work in this simple drama.

Being spiritual is something that I think all human beings are. That’s not to say everyone is a church or mosque goer, or signs up to a particular credo. Being spiritual is about how our lives are animated by that which is greater than our- selves. That which inspires us and moves us. People often talk about the one- ness they feel in nature, at the birth of child through a piece of music etc... you will have your own examples… But I note that our spirituality is often most at the fore when we are being nourished, lifted, challenged and nurtured.

Jesus set out on a journey which ultimately brought him from the countryside into the city. A metropolis teaming with life. Jerusalem was under Roman rule and for the many people who were not Roman citizens life was difficult. There were many compromises and alliances in that first century world. Those who were most unhappy with the authorities wanted Jesus to be a certain kind of

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Messiah one who would take up arms and overcome the imperial powers. Yet Jesus’ way was a different way to all those other messianic figures that came before him. Jesus took the way of love and was ready to place himself in the position of being the servant of all. [Mark 9:35]

And so Holy Week begins with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem where we encounter human nature at both it very worst, a crowd baying for blood and at its very best a group of friends sharing a meal together. Betrayal and murder of an innocent follow and so the story moves to the cross on which a man is murdered at the hand of those wicked imperial powers. Both evangelists Mark and Matthew tell us that Jesus ‘gave his life as a ransom for many’. Which means Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world, that includes my sin in order that a new kind of freedom would become available to all. Every re-enactment of the meal Jesus shared with his friends asserts that: “Jesus died, Jesus is risen and that Jesus will come again.” That meal is known in the church by various names: Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper or The Eucharist (which means thanksgiving). It is an act of participation a sacred moment of celebration. Every Eucharist moves the believer to Easter day, the day of resur- rection or of new life. The grave was unable to keep Jesus he rose from the dead so that we too might rise with him.

These are simply the events which lead us to Easter Day and to each new day. At the centre of the whole of scripture lie these words: Deut 6:5 ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ The Gospel of Luke 10:27 adds, ‘'Love your neighbour as yourself.'" Almost every act of Christian worship recalls these words…

Every human-being has a story that can be understood and interpreted in dif- ferent ways—Maybe we all need a Messiah, or perhaps we are a messiah in our own way in our communities, places of work and homes when every we act out of a sense of love. Happy Easter Sean.

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DEDICATION OF FLOWERS AT EASTER

Last year, Easter fell just after the first Covid 19 lockdown, all places of worship had to close and we were unable to have the normal display of dedicated flowers.

As I write, we are (hopefully) coming to the end of lockdown 3, but do not know if we will be able to open the church in time to hold our Service on Easter Day, which falls on 4th April 2021. The PCC have decided that this year we will have the display come what may, so I should like to share our thoughts with you.

If we cannot open the church we intend to have an Easter garden on the Memorial lawn. People can dedicate flowers (but roses only this year) which will be displayed on the lawn with the Easter Cross. However, if the church can open, the dedicated flowers will be put into church. Unfortunately, because of the uncertainty, this year there will be no individual dedication plaques, but the framed plaque showing the name of the individual to whom the flowers are dedicated will be prepared as usual. In this way, our loved ones can be re- membered and, if it is necessary for the church to stay closed, the garden will be there for all to admire during Eastertide.

We hope that these plans will be welcome even though things may be a little different this year. The roses (yellow/white) will cost £4 each and I shall need the numbers required and the names to whom they are dedicated (together with the appropriate payment) no later than Sat 27th March 2021, please.

If you would like to make a dedication or require more information, my contact details are email – [email protected] text 07710588275 tel 01484 663123 or through my letterbox at 52 The Village, .

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter! Best wishes, Janet Wiltshire

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STOCKSMOOR NEWS Verity & Ian

Norton Terrace became a very romantic place on Satur- day 23rd January when Verity our friendly and helpful Post Lady had a wonderful sur- prise. Ian, Verity’s partner, chose Stocksmoor as the venue to Pop the Question. Maxine Morris’s photo caught the moment when Ian ‘did it with flowers.’ Congratulations to the happy couple and love and best wishes for the future. Competition Time.

The Village Association is planning an Easter Competition. Families will be able to submit photos of their decorated eggs and collage designs. A flyer giving all the details will be posted to all houses in the village.

Stocksmoor WI is running a monthly draw when one lucky member receives a flower arrangement created by Irene Miller. Lynne Kershaw continues to send information and the West News to members keeping them up-to-date with national and local news.

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THURSTONLAND FIRST SCHOOL This term has been very different in school yet again! We welcomed all the children back for one day in January only to then have to close again to the majority of children form Tuesday January 5th. You might remember that last time the schools closed we grouped our key worker children and vulnerable children from the Federation together and accommodated them in one school building. Due to increased numbers of children requiring a place we have been unable to do that this time. Whilst we may use the term ‘closed’, schools are actually open and running pretty much as normal for the 40% plus who attend each day. All the other children are learning at home. Teachers are uploading work for them to complete and talking to them through Microsoft Teams. Every- one has adapted to this new way of working really well, the children of course take everything in their stride, and the teachers have had to learn some new skills pretty quickly! We have been extremely impressed with some of the work the children have done at home.

This week in school we had a big focus on mental wellbeing, acknowledging that these are tricky times for everyone, that we can only do our best, and remember above all to be kind to everyone and considerate of other peoples situations. Many children both at home and in school made seed bird feeders or fat balls and enjoyed joining in with the RSPB Great Garden Bird Watch, spotting a good range of birds.

Reception and Year 1 children had fun in the snow last week – I hope you can see the picture of their ‘caterpillar unicorn snow creation’

Year 2 and 3 children have had great fun sharing some of the brilliant books by the author Roald Dahl. They have created their own fun Roald Dahl charac- ters and planned their own feast to rival that of Fantastic Mr Fox. Despite the snowy weather the children have started preparing the school garden for planting and are looking forward to the first signs of spring.

Year 4 and 5 have been learning about looking after the environment with their topic - Keen to be Green. They all chose something that they were concerned about, such as local recycling, deforestation, pollution, plastics in the ocean, and have written persuasive letters to the Prime Minister, their local MP, Council or the Environment Minister, voicing their concerns and asking for improvements to be made in order to save our planet. They looked at differ- ent biomes and then they created Powerpoints, videos and posters to explain the main environmental threats of a particular biome and what people can do to save it. In French, the children have been learning different weather phrases and they recorded their own weather forecasts - in French!

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Jenni Wohlman writes:

As I write this, many of us have been fortunate enough to have our first vaccination against the ravages of Covid 19 and we are catching a distinct glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel regarding the pandemic as a whole. Praise the Lord! I’m sure we are all immensely thankful for the brilliant scientists who laboured night and day to make it possible for our country and the world to be able to embark on such an ambitious vaccination programme so speedily. It feels like a modern miracle.

As a Branch, those of us fortunate enough to have access to suitable technical equipment have been able to gather together via the wonders of Zoom. Our first opportunity was for our annual Wave of Prayer in early January. MU always supplies a really thought-provoking service for us to follow and this year’s was no exception. It is deeply moving to be aware that MU members around the world are all praying for one another with care and sincerity during the course of the day and makes us realise afresh how blessed we are here in Yorkshire compared to our sisters in countries experiencing drought, severe weather, war and other hardships. Later that same month, we met up again online for some games of Bingo, all won by Janet Wiltshire!!! As our March Meal Out won’t be happening, I have the idea of holding an evening of picture quizzes. All I need to do is master the technology.

Below are some Dates for your Diaries:

The Diocesan Lady Day Service will be live streamed from Bradford Cathedral on Thursday 25th March at 2pm. Bishop Toby will preach and the new and Bradford Area Chaplains will be commissioned. June 10th - Diocesan Council meeting 10.30am (probably on Zoom) June 13th - Golden Wedding Service from Ripon Cathedral (This might be Zoom or Live Stream but probably not Actual) May 25th - Area meeting September 29th - Area meeting

Links will be sent to join these nearer the time so I will be very happy to forward on said links to anyone keen to participate. Area meetings are not the dry administrative necessities that you might think. They are a great chance to meet other MU members and hear how their branches tick so do join me at one if you can. I imagine we should be meeting in person, at least by September, although the Zoom format has proved very effective.

We still continue with Midday Prayers on the third Wednesday of the month. Again, all are welcome. 8

THURSTONLAND CRICKET CLUB

Attending the indoor net sessions at Holmfirth HS Sports centre would at the start of February start whetting the appetite for the start of the new season which the League has traditionally scheduled for the third Saturday in April. At the moment, however, restrictions mean that the usual arrangements are not allowed with the continuing lockdown measures linked to Covid-19.

The monthly club committee meeting has not been possible since our September gathering and business has been conducted in the meantime by phone calls, emails or texts. The current vaccination programme has made a good start and as a result there is hope that some restrictions might be eased to allow some activity for club members of all ages once it is judged safe to do so.

Whatever the situation by the end of March or the beginning of April plans will be made for essential pre-season work on the ground so that everything is ready for action should that be possible. The grass does not know about the pandemic and mowing will be an early priority along with work on the surround- ings of the field. Andrew Pearson LENT COURSE THE RHYTHM OF LIFE

Each week following: from 24th February at 2pm there will be an hour long meeting via zoom. Which will include worship, reflection and prayer. There will be time for some discussion too.

Leeds diocese have created resources to use or adapt for Lent. Themes include: resting, sharing, praying, and celebrating. It would be good to welcome you to one, some or all of the sessions over the weeks of Lent and journey together.

Would you please indicate your interest by contacting Sean on: [email protected] and he will send you a link to each meeting.

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Thurstonland Community Choir News As you know, the choir raised funds for the Welcome Centre in the run up to Christmas and we’d like to thank all who donated. We raised a fantastic £860. This was matched by the District Council One Community fund so that, adding in gift aid, you helped us raise £1850 for the work that the Welcome Centre carries out! Musically, we have had to continue our rehearsals each week us- ing Zoom calls, and it’s been great to see the majority of members each week on the call. We have put in some work on new pieces and arrangements that haven’t been done before, so hopefully we’ll get the chance to perform those sometime this year.

In addition to that we had an excellent Zoom quiz compiled by one of our members that kept the brain cells working, and most recently we made full use of our Zoom platform to allow everyone to sing along with a performance of the Fauré Requiem with the wonderful Sixteen singers and the Orchestra of the Acad- emy of St Martin’s in the Fields. This worked really well and was much appreciated by all who joined in, so we plan to repeat this sort of approach again, but looking to sing along with a Musical (yet to be chosen!).

By the time you read these notes, we hope to have a clearer idea of when we can meet together to sing as a full choir again, which will be a joy for us all.

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Thurstonland Village Concert

After a very difficult year for many people, what better than to have something to look forward to …such as a music event right on your door- step!

Subject to receiving the appropriate licences, the organising group have set aside Bank Holiday Sunday 29th August for a full day of music and family entertainment and have already secured the services of the local wonderful Sass and the Groove as headliners. The aim of this event is to raise monies towards the restoration of St Thomas’ East Window but profits will be shared with those other groups who are wiling to collabo- rate and support this project.

The shaping such an event is not a one person band (excuse the pun!) and so the present organisers are seeking volunteers to form an Event Committee, including a finance lead, fund raisers and site manager who will make sure we are, amongst other things, Covid safe and within budget. We will need support in planning the event, stewards and other

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roles on the day itself and for a clean-up operation afterwards.

For this to be a success and to maximise the fundraising for these highly worthy causes, we are also seeking sponsors and are looking for the support of any local businesses who would like to get involved in this great family event.

As such, if you can offer your support or should you have any queries, comments or ideas for the day please contact me on [email protected]

Sass and the Groove Testimonials:-

”Sensational! We couldn’t stop dancing! What a great ni ght !!”

”Absolutely fantastic show last night. Blown away by the musicianship, song selection and atmosphere you cr eat ed .”

”It was my first time seeing the band after hearing such good things about you. I was not disappointed, amazing gig, I didn’t stop dancing all night and had so muc h fun.

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ST THOMAS’ CHURCH SERVICES www.thurstonland.org or www.newmillpc.org.uk

MARCH 2021

Service Date Sun 7th Sun 14th Sun 21st Sun 28th Intercessor Jenni Marianne Lynda

Sides-person Sue Jo Jenni Vernon

Reader Jenni Janet Marianne Lynda

Readings John 2 Ephesians 2 Hebrews 5 Phillipians 2 V13-22 V1-10 V5-10 V5-11

APRIL 2021

Service Date Sun 4th Sun 11th Sun 18th Sun 25th Intercessor Michelle Jenni Marianne

Sides-person Lynda Sue Jo Brian L

Reader Michelle Vernon Jenni Marianne

Readings Mark 16 1 John 1 1 John 3 1 John 3 V1-8 V1 – 2 V2 V1-7 V16-24

Brass cleaning in April—Jo

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Prayers for our neighbours

DURING MARCH

Pray for all those who live and work in: Norton Terrace, Stocksmoor Road and Station Road

DURING APRIL

Pray for all those who live and work in: West View, Browns Knoll Road, Butts, Ing Head Lane

Download the free app on IOS or Android to follow this year's #LiveLent journey

LiveLent: God's Story, Our Story invites each of us to reflect on our own story of God and how we might share it through our everyday lives as part of our Christian wit- ness.

For each of the 40 days of Lent, this booklet includes a short Bible passage, a reflec- tion and a prayer. The daily reflections follow weekly themes - each with an accompa- nying action - drawn from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2021, Living His Story: Sharing the extraordinary love of God in ordinary ways by Hannah Steele (SPCK).

LiveLent: God's Story, Our Story is the Church of 's Lent campaign for 2021. This booklet is part of a wide range of resources for individuals, groups and churches click here: www.churchofengland.org/livelent 15

As I write in mid February, the last of the recent snowfall has melted and tempera- tures have risen above zero for the first time in what seems like weeks. Spring Photo—David Cobley flowers are starting to appear early after abnormally high temperatures, and the vernal equinox on March 20st this year is not far away. Hopefully by then the vaccination programme will have brought the possibility of an end to the present lockdown, although I suspect its effects on people will be with us for a long time to come, physically, men- tally and financially. In March, some villagers classed as extremely vulnerable will have been shielding for over a year, with only the odd break. Chance en- counters with villagers tend to last longer than usual, since contact with hu- mans beyond immediate family or bubble is so rare.

During the pandemic, the village email list has continued to grow, and re- cently we’ve moved from using my own email address to a more anonymous version which hopefully appears as ‘Thurstonland Village’ in your inbox. This allows others to send out messages and information when I’m unable to – at the moment, for security reasons, only one other person has access to the list. Throughout the year we’ve enjoyed many wonderful photographs taken by villagers of local fauna, flora, views of the village and even sunrises and sunsets sent out by the email system. I’m sure these cheer folk up and remind us how lucky we are to live in and around Thurstonand in such enviably pleas- ant surroundings.

Although there is little news to report, the TVA is looking into the possibility of a new bus service from Holmfirth to via Thurstonland and Stocksmoor and return – perhaps a few a day on a couple of days a week. Talks with a bus manager have taken place and when things get back to nor- mal (!) there may well be a questionnaire asking villagers their views.

100 Club Winners: January:- Janet Wiltshire February:- Eileen Stubbs

Website: www.thurstonland.org Phone: 660661 or 07989 650398 Email: [email protected]

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Home visits – Prompt attention Colin Smith 45 Oakes Lane Tel: 01484 687632 07971355078 HD9 7AR

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19 SAINT THOMAS’ The Parish of Thurstonland in the Upper Holme Valley Team Ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds

Ministers Rev Canon J. Sean Robertshaw 683375 Rev Dr Steve Dixon 687376 Rev Ailsa Brooke 681155 Churchwardens Janet Wiltshire, 52, The Village, Thurstonland 663123 Richard Wood, 11, Moor Top Avenue Thurstonland 662752

PCC Secretary Janet Wiltshire, 52, The Village, Thurstonland 663123

PCC Treasurer Lynda Booth, 3, Moor Top Avenue, Thurstonland 662202

Parish Giving Officer Brian Lightowler, 1, Norton Terrace, Stocksmoor 605526

Mothers’ Union Jenni Wohlman ‘Hudd Royd’ 4 Top of the Hill, Thurstonland 663996

Children’s Ministry and Mustard Seeds contact Sean or Ailsa

Usual times of Church Services

10.00am 1st Sunday each month A Service of the Word. 9.30am 2nd Sunday each month Sung Holy Communion BCP 9.30am 3rd Sunday each month Sung Family Eucharist 9.30am 4th Sunday each month Sung Family Eucharist 10.00 am 5th Sunday each month Joint Eucharist with New Mill

(See website, magazine and the church notice board for more detail)

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