Around the Parishes Awliscombe - Buckerell - Combe Raleigh Cotleigh - Gittisham and Honiton September 2021

Home , Awliscombe, Buckerell, Cotleigh, Jim Causley

In this issue … Honiton Show in all its muddy glory Cotleigh’s scary scarecrows Zoom services - what next? Harvest, harvest everywhere!

Cotleigh Scarecrow Competition 2021 The Cotleigh Scarecrow village competition was judged by Mrs Ann Coombe and wonderful entries they were too! The first prize goes to The Templar Knight - well done The Doble Family. Buckerell Festival Week Continues until Sunday 5th September Saturday 4th September Buckerell Fete - 2pm Splatthayes Come along and enjoy a wonderful variety of stalls and a cream tea. Jim Causley our Musician in Residence will be leading a singing workshop at 3pm which will include rehearsing a folk song for the service on Sunday. Sunday 5th September Community Church Service – 11am Church We will be hearing from some residents of our community about these past months and reflect together, give thanks and look forward. The singers from the workshop will sing and Jim will play. We will be joined by Jackie Searle the Bishop of Crediton . For more details on events, please contact Ian Tucker at [email protected]

As you read this, all being well, Buckerell Festival Week is in full swing, and preparations for the Fete on Sep- tember 4 will be busy too. After a rather poor summer we are hoping that the sun will shine for it all and that the community spirit which came to the fore in 2020 will be part of all the events and fun in the village. It will seem strange to have the Fete in September but how lovely to have one this year at all. The church will feature strongly in these celebrations. We have already had a service on 1 September for our Patronal Festival, the Feast of St Giles, and we look forward to the Community Thanksgiving Service with Bishop Jackie of Crediton. As a symbol of the history of the village over many centuries, the church has wit- nessed a year of another sort of plague since March 2020. So we will pause to reflect on everything that the past eighteen months has meant to us all, both negative and positive. At long last the inhabitants of Buckerell have had their first issues of The Buckerell Bugle for well over a year. This is the quarterly newsletter full of reports, articles and information for the village. Plans are in hand for future events into 2022, for from wine tasting to a vintage tea. The BCA ( Buckerell Community Association ) will be having the twentieth anniversary of its foundation in 2000, after an initial fun day for the millennium – it is still a thriving social force ! Watch out for details of our Harvest Festival on October 3, as plans are not yet finalised. As a rural and farm- ing community, we look forward to enjoying Harvest time again. And would you believe it - ideas for Christ- mas are in the air …. Penny Mear

St Michael’s, Awliscombe I am writing this as the fete team pull out all the stops to create a wonderful day on Saturday. Duck Race tickets have been selling fast, cakes are being baked and plants are being potted up for the produce stall. If you’re wondering whether to attend the Buckerell or the Awliscombe event - come to both! Subject to a final PCC decision we’re also hoping to hold a slimmed-down Harvest Supper & Auction in the village hall on Friday 24 September. To enhance the safety of the event we are looking at reducing numbers, simplifying the menu and asking people to self-administer a lateral flow test before coming. A final decision will be taken soon, but if you’d like to attend please put the date in your diary and get your name in to Sharon Thwaites ([email protected]/548467). September also marks a further small step in the direction of services as we once knew them: we will have Ken Wood playing for our Eucharist on the first Sunday and, we hope, at most subsequent services. You should have received a letter from Revd Sue relaying the difficult decision to retain, for the time being, masks for services across the Mission Community. So we will be singing our hymns through masks - but at least we’ll be singing! I am conscious that, following a one month period earlier in the Summer when the churchyard grass was de- liberately left to grow, to encourage pollinators and a greater diversity of wildlife, there have been times since then when the grass has not been kept to its usual civilised length and visiting graves has been difficult for some. That issue should now have been sorted out, and those areas where the more recent graves are situated should be much more accessible. Janet Caudwell has been doing great work on grant applications to help fund the repair and rebuilding of the leaning churchyard wall. We’ll need to wait a couple of months to hear the outcome, but are very much hoping that we’ll raise enough to set the builders to work in Spring 2022. Nick Thwaites St Nicholas’ Combe Raleigh One thing’s certain. With August being the recognised holiday month in this country, the weather will do its best to keep us guessing. At the beginning of the month the Honiton Show could certainly have been blessed with more sunshine and less precipitation! Even so, Revd Sue’s activity bags for children went like hot cakes, whilst their parents sipped coffee with rain dripping off their hats and umbrellas. Now, at the tail end of the month we have a forecast of sunnier days to lead us into Autumn, or is that just wishful thinking? In common with, I suspect, many villages, life has been quiet in Combe Raleigh. We’re entering the last phase of summer blooms, a glut of runner beans, and are noticing the shortening of the days. The plant troughs on the church wall continue to delight but the weeds and rampant ivy that run riot in the churchyard are des- tined for a short existence on our planned ‘tidy the churchyard’ afternoon early in September. We have now begun to sing in church again, albeit quietly behind the face masks which we are still wearing, and it is wonderful to hear the organ after so many months of its enforced silence. Those of us who have logged into the Sunday morning Zoom services are incredibly grateful to Revd Sue for the time and effort she has put into making these such unifying and uplifting acts of worship over the past 18 months. Now that the time has come to close this particular chapter we will miss seeing what have, over the weeks, become familiar faces on our screens. From this part of the Mission Community thank you for our much valued times of shared worship. Rosemary Mapleston

St Michael’s Cotleigh St Michael’s HARVEST FESTIVAL SERVICE Cotleigh SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER

11.15 am

EVERYBODY VERY WELCOME!

THE PARABLE OF THE GROWING SEED This is what the Kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then Do you the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has recognise come back. Mark 4 26-29 this one? This not so small AUGUST 200 CLUB fellow was found No 49 Emily Kitchen £15 in August in the No 87 Noel Barrington Prowse £10 buddleia bush growing in front of THE NEXT HOLY COMMUNION SERVICE WILL BE ON the Mackarness Sunday 5 September at 0930. Hall! Here’s looking at Pauline Gordon you! Oh What a Lovely Show! St Paul’s Honiton ‘Of course, August is a quiet month.’ If I’d had a pound for every time I’ve heard that said over the years, I would be pretty rich by now! However, anybody who thought that those words were true should have looked in on St Paul’s last month! We began with preparations for the Honiton Show. Thanks go to Lyn Thatcher and Judith Turner for organising stewards and refreshments, and to the team who gave up a long afternoon to put together 500 children’s activity bags. It was quite a task. The theme of the bags was ’What a Wonderful World’, focus- sing on gratitude and care for our planet. Each bag included some colour-in postcards to send, a packet of crayons (to help with the task), a quiz on being eco-friendly, stickers, and a packet of seeds. Despite the totally disgusting weather at the Show, we had no problems in handing out 250 bags by lunch-time each Assembling activity bags for the Show day. A week or two later, we held our first ‘Songs of Praise on the Fore- court’. It was wonderful to have Honiton Town Band to play for us, and to give an added boost to our voices. And what a treat to sing hymns together again. Thank you to the team who set everything up and handed out free cream teas and drinks - they went down so well. We were thrilled that so many passers-by stopped and joined in. At the end of the afternoon it was agreed that this has to be the beginning of a new tradition! With that in mind, we’re breaking with the past in Sep- tember and holding our Harvest Celebration on the forecourt at 1100 on Sunday 12 September (or 19th if the 12th is too wet!). It won’t be a Eucharist, but it will be an invitation to one and all to join in giving thanks for the fruits of the earth. We will be serving tea and coffee during the celebration, and hope to offer such harvest themed goodies as carrot cake, flapjacks, and apple cake by way of refreshment. Again, it will be open and free to all. During August our new, brightly coloured chairs arrived, and are now cheering up the Café on the Forecourt on Saturdays and Tuesdays, and providing a bit of colour when in use in the church. Last, but absolutely by no means least: on Saturday August 21st, we were delighted to witness the mar- riage of Coralie Bradley-Carter, for- merly a member of St Paul’s Choir, and photographed here with them, and Max Scarr, and we wish them a long and happy life together.

Congratulations Max and Coralie! St Michael’s Gittisham

Our monthly Eucharist service at 11.am on the second Sunday is gathering momentum, as numbers in church are still somewhat restricted. If anyone wishes to attend please let Carol know (01404 851113). We are suggesting masks to be worn and those not wearing them should sit towards the rear of the church. Singing with masks is now allowed. I led the morning worship service on August 15 and the telephone one on the 22 August. We didn’t have a service on the 29th so I was able to join the choir at St. Paul’s which was lovely. If things get back to normal, there will not be a service on each fifth Sunday of the month. Everyone is very welcome to attend the 1100 Eucharist at St Paul’s that morning. Singers will be warmly welcomed if they wish to join the choir at St Paul’s on those days. In our churchyard the mown paths around the wild areas are still proving to be of interest and visitors usually have a walk round when viewing the church; children especially like to explore! I expect the long grass, now the flowers have gone to seed will be cut this month. We hope to repeat the ‘no mow’ next year. It was lovely to have a the Baptism of George, Amanda Acland’s grandson, on 1 August. (Two pictures to the left.) It was a joy to welcome Elizabeth, (Amanda’s daughter), her husband Tim and children Arthur Gabriella and George into St Michael’s, where Elizabeth and Tim were married. The following week, 7 August, we were delighted to hold the wedding of a local couple, Lorraine Dolley and Ian Frost. We wish them every happiness in their future life together. We have another wedding lined up for November. Because of Covid-19, this will be the 3rd attempt at fixing a date, so we seriously hope all will be well by then! The annual Flower and Produce Show also took place on the 7 August. It was lovely to see a good amount of entries from all ages - it was lovely to see so many youngsters entering. Cream teas were served during the viewing. In the evening we had a bring your own bar-b-q—which, due to the rather cold weather, ended up in the hall. Pierre Graeber, our resident French chef has started his monthly pop-up Sun- day Café in the Village Hall. On the second Sunday of August he served home- made croissants, pains aux chocolat/raisins and beautiful ploughman’s fol- lowed by Black Forest gateau and then brownies at tea time. On the 12 Sep- tember from 9.00am to 5.00pm, he will be offering his selection of croissants, pains aux chocolat/raisins, for breakfast and morning coffee time, and at lunchtime he is offering a selection of crepes, both savoury and sweet, fol- lowed by apple tarte tatin and possibly his very unusual home made ice creams. There will be other goodies for tea. Vegetarians and vegans most welcome. Pierre asks for bookings (07545214940) so he knows how to arrange the hall safely. If you wanted to come to our Eucharist on the 12th, you could go on down to the village hall for lunch or just a coffee. Do please let me know so I know how many service sheets to provide so we don’t use too much paper and help to save out lovely planet. Carol McCann

After 16 months of no meetings, Honiton Mothers’ Union will be meeting in St Paul’s church at 2.30pm on Monday 6 September. This will be a service centered on New Beginnings and new members will be invested. Revd Caroline Luff will take the service, and it will be a good opportunity to meet the lady in person who has kept us so linked together throughout lockdown. If regulations allow, the branch would like to hold a Coffee Morning on Saturday 25 September in the Narthex.

PLEASE NOTE: Bottle Tops and Trimmed Stamps. Sadly there is no longer an outlet for bottle tops so please replace them on your rinsed bottles and recycle them in the green bag. MU are still collecting trimmed stamps so do continue to collect these. God and Stephen Hawking – whose Sarah Eberle’s Psalm 23 design is it anyway? (2nd edition) Garden – design tips for a By Prof John C Lennox, Lion Hudson, calm green space £8.99 Bible Society, £6.50 The Grand Design and Brief Answers to Big Questions by eminent scientist the Sarah Eberle, winner of 17 late Stephen Hawking were block- gold medals at Chelsea and busting contributions to the science Hampton Court Flower religion debate. They claimed it was Shows, has designed the the laws of physics themselves which brought the uni- Bible Society’s entry garden for the RHS Chelsea verse into being, rather than any God. In this forthright Flower Show this month (September 2021). response, John Lennox, Oxford University mathemati- The theme of the garden is Psalm 23, and this is the cian and internationally known apologist, takes a closer full-colour book of photographs to go with it. Based look at Hawking’s logic and questions his conclusions. on the themes of rest and peace, it offers a place of In lively, layman’s terms, Lennox guides us through the refuge and restoration, which is reflected in the key points in Hawking’s arguments – with clear expla- meditations and stories within the book. nations of the latest scientific and philosophical meth- ods and theories – and demonstrates that far from dis- The book also offers tips from Sarah Eberle on how proving a Creator God, they make his existence seem to create your own peaceful outdoor space. even more probable. Sunday at 1000 - Zooming Out! It's with a real sense of sadness that I've come to the conclusion that our 1000 Zoom services have probably run their course for the time being. Numbers in our churches are steadily increasing - thanks be to God! - and as a result we are barely in double figures for the 1000 Zoom service. However, I will continue to send out the code for the 1100 Eucharist at St Paul's each week. To ensure that you still have the opportunity to chat to each other - and also to those in the church - I will leave the comput- er on at the end of the service. Details of hymns and readings for each Sunday will be sent out in advance. I know that the one snag with this system will be that the organ comes across extremely badly on Zoom at the moment. Please bear with us: we will be having new live-streaming facilities installed which will resolve that problem provide excellent sound quality—although at present I don't know when this will happen. We have to wait for the go ahead from the Diocesan Advisory Committee and the Archdeacon, and then the firm doing the work has to fit us in! The Sunday evening said Eucharist at 6.30 on Zoom will continue for the foreseeable future. This is a short said service of @ 35minutes, and I will also include that code for you. I really want to say 'thank you' to you all for the way in which you have embraced the Sunday 1000 service. It has been a super group, and wor- shipping together and seeing everybody's cheerful faces on the screen has been a real joy and a tonic week by week. I hope that you have found it as supportive and uplifting as I have, and I hope that you will find the move to 11.00 or 6.30 a good one. The telephone service will also continue as before. Please contact Julia Barrett or Carol McCann for details. Rev’d Sue Sepetmber Crossword September Sudoku

September Wordsearch

Clues Across 1 ‘Through [Christ] we have gained …. by faith into this grace’ (Romans 5:2) (6) 4 Deprives of sight (Deuteronomy 16:19) (6) 8 The words of a hymn do this (mostly) (5) 9 Faithful allegiance (1 Chronicles 12:33) (7) 10 Belgium’s chief port (7) 11 Where John was baptizing ‘because there was plenty of water’ (John 3:23) (5) 12 Imposing height (Psalm 48:2) (9) 17 Jesus’ tempter in the wilderness (Mark 1:13) (5) 19 Comes between Amos and Jonah (7) 21 ‘Your will be done’ … as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10) (2,5) 22 Gale (Matthew 8:24) (5) 23 Axle, eh? (anag.) (6) 24 ‘Out of the… I cry to you, O Lord’ (Psalm 130:1) (6)

Clues Down 1 Popular Christian author and humorist, Plass (6) 2 Transparent ice-like mineral (Revelation 4:6) (7) All this month’s words come from The Parable of the 3 Method of compelling surrender by surrounding target of attack (2 Chronicles 32:1) (5) Weeds (Matthew 13.24-30) 5 Expose (Isaiah 52:10) (3,4) Kingdom, Heaven, Good , Seed, Field, Sleeping, Grain, 6 Lonny (anag.) (5) Weeds, Enemy, Servants, Master,Sow, Gather, Reap, 7 Utterance (1 Timothy 1:15) (6) Root, Let, Grow, Together, Harvest, Bundles, Barn, 9 Husband of Deborah, the prophetess (Judges 4:4) Burned (9) 13 Burial service (Jeremiah 34:5) (7) 14 What Christ threatened to do to the lukewarm was ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him’ (John church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:16) (4,3) 11:16) (6) 15 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net 18 There will be weeping and gnashing of … (Matthew (John 21:11) (6) 8:12) (5) 16 His response to Jesus’ decision to return to Judea 20 Walkway between rows of pews in a church (5) The Revd Michael Burgess continues his series on God in the Arts with ‘A Hill Prayer’ by Maxfield Parrish. You can see a copy of the illustration at: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1900.htm

‘How wonderful creation is’

There is a story that someone asked a Father of the early church, Tertullian, to prove the existence of God.

He replied by showing the person a rose. But Tertullian took a risk, for while many appreciate the beauty and wonder of a rose, it is not everyone who sees that beauty pointing to God as its creator.

In one of his hymns, Fr Faber wrote: ‘How wonderful creation is, The work which thou didst bless, And O! what then must Thou be like – Eternal loveliness.’ A rose can speak of beauty and speak of God to some; to others a rose is just another flower in the garden. William Blake wrote, ‘The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way.’ We know that only too well when forests are cut down in the name of progress, and trees that have stood for centuries are hewn down in a moment.

This month’s work of art is ‘A Hill Prayer’ by Maxfield Parrish: it shows a man standing in a forest of venerable and imposing trees, and the hills stretching out behind him. Maxfield Parrish was an American artist, who created paintings of brilliant colour and luminosity. The particular cobalt he used was known as ‘Parrish blue.’ Much of his work was for illustrations in books and magazines and in ad- vertising. But here is an early drawing of 1897, based in a New England forest, that has a haunting quality about it. He drew it to accompany a poem of Marian Warner Wildman where the writer goes into the forest to escape the doubts and worries of the world and to find release and peace. It ends with the lines: ‘I love thee with a beauty-broken heart And worship thee, be whatever thou art.’

The drawing may evoke for us memories of forests and countryside we have explored, with trees towering above us, reaching to the sky, their leaves rustling in the wind and letting shafts of sunlight through. Like the artist, we may have wondered at their age and beauty and pondered the mystery of creation around us. In their beauty we can glimpse their Creator; in the miracle of their life, we can see the bringer of life and eternal life. For scripture begins with trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with the story of how human pride exchanges paradise for hard work and toil.

But the final pages of the Bible describe that tree of life once again: this time arching over the river that runs through the heavenly city with leaves that bring healing and restoration. And bridging that tree of Genesis and the tree of Revelation is the wood of the cross: ‘None in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit thy peer may be.’ In that tree we can truly glory.

Autumn will soon be with us, and the magnificence of the trees around will fade as their leaves fall and are swept away. After the death of winter, spring will come and bring the miracle of new life to their roots and branches, and once again we can behold their glory, like the traveller in the forest of Maxfield Parrish’s drawing – trees that remind us of ‘the one and only noble tree’: the Cross that is the sign of salvation for all seasons and all lives. Buckerell Beat the Bounds Rogation Day in both 2020 and 2021 went past unobserved, nad so rather than waiting until next year, Buckerell decided to ‘Beat the Bounds’ of the parish on the August Bank Holiday as part of the Buck- erell Festival Week. The walk was seven miles long—although the children probably covered about twenty as they ran about! It was great to see all ag groups chatting together and enjoying each other’s company. A big thank you to Feniton Church who provided cake and coffee along the way. We ate our picnic lunch by the River Otter, and returned to the church for a cream tea. There were re- flections at the various stops, and Jim Causley, our own Festival Folk Musician, sang.

A Full Peal at Buckerell Buckerell was privileged to have a full peal rung from the church tower during Festival Week on 31 August, the eve of St Giles Day. Six ringers rang for two and three quarter hours. It was the first full peal for 49 years in Buckerell! Risdents clapped the ringers as they emerged from the tower. After visiting our wonderful temporary toilet, they sat down to a plouman’s lunch and a much needed rest under the gazebo in the churchyard. Well done everybody!

Covid-19 Restrictions and

Church Services With deep regret, due to the high number of Covid-19 cases in Devon at the time of going to press, and the advice being given out by Devon FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL County Council in an attempt to protect an already very overstretched NHS, I have decided Please do not enter your church if that there will be no further lifting of restrictions on Church services in the Mission • You are meant to be self-isolating Community until the end of September. This has been a really difficult decision to make, and • You have any Covid-19 symptoms has not been taken lightly! DCC will be review- • You are waiting for Covid-19 test ing the situation in four weeks’ time, and I will results do exactly the same. I hope that, in the light of their advice then, we will be able to lift restrictions further from the start of October. I Thank you for your cooperation. am quite sure we will get there. We just need a little more patience for what I sincerely hope will be only a few weeks. Revd Sue Ringing Matters That Covid cases have been rising in Devon above the England average is a matter of concern. We had hoped that things would be back to normal by now. The long lock down caused a lot of couples to postpone their weddings, but the lifting of most restrictions has seen a spate of weddings. We have been happy to help make these occasions something special with our ringing. We are still taking great care when ringing to minimise the risk of infection. Generally we have asked all our ringers to have had two vaccinations or to have had a negative Covid test shortly before ringing. All have been happy to comply. Not all our towers have recommenced regular practices, though we hope this will soon be possible. A Short History of the Combe Raleigh Bell Project has recently been published, illustrated with around 100 photographs. A limited number of copies are available at a modest cost; anyone interested in acquiring a copy should email [email protected] if you are. Trevor Hitchcock

From ‘Summoned by Bells’, by John St Ervan’s Betjeman Church, DEAR lanes of Cornwall! With a one-inch map, Cornwall A bicycle and well-worn “Little Guide”, Those were the years I used to ride for miles To far-off churches. One of them that year So worked on me that, if my life was changed, I owe it to St. Ervan and his priest In their small hollow deep in sycamores. In the cool shade of interlacing boughs, The time was tea-time, calm free-wheeling time, I found St. Ervan’s partly ruined church. When from slashed tree-tops in the combe below Its bearded Rector, holding in one hand I heard a bell-note floating to the sun; A gong-stick, in the other hand a book, It gave significance to lichened stone Struck, while he read, a heavy-sounding bell, And large red admirals with outspread wings Hung from an elm bough by the churchyard gate. Basking on buddleia. So, casting down “Better come in. It’s time for Evensong.”

Autumn Flower Celebration Devon Air Ambulance needs a community of volunteers to keep its 19 charity shops open and our helicopters flying. The great thing about volunteering in our retail shops is that we have a role to suit everyone, whether you are young or older, an outgoing Holy Cross Church type or someone who likes to Woodbury Lane, Axminster EX13 5TL work behind the scenes. As with all volunteering roles, you can choose where, when and for how long you volunteer. To Friday – Sunday, 10–12 Sept 2021 find out more about your nearest shop and how you can Coffees, teas, and light lunches available in help, please contact our Volunteer Manager Cara Jones on Woodbury Hall. 01392 304343 / [email protected] Shop Locations: Barnsta- ple, Bideford, Budleigh Salterton, Dartmouth, Exeter (Cowick Friday 12noon – 4.00pm St, Heavitree & Topsham), Exmouth, Honiton, Kingsbridge, Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm Newton Abbot, Okehampton, Plymouth, Sidmouth, South Sunday 10.00am – 2.30pm Molton, Tavistock, Totnes, and Torquay. Colour in the post- er below and dis- play it somewhere where everyone can see it.

Worship at Home This Order of Service follows, as closely as possible, the worship that we are offering on the internet, using ‘Zoom’, and on the telephone, using a conferencing facility. If you would like to know more about joining in with either, please contact either Revd Sue (01404 42925/[email protected])or Julia Barrett ([email protected])

Preparation + In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen