October 2020 Mission Community Curate: Revd Marc Kerslake
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October 2020 Mission Community Curate: Revd Marc Kerslake 01404 822104 Email: [email protected] Website: churches4all.org.uk Church Admin Assistant Elaine Trude 07811 440741 [email protected] WHIMPLE Churchwardens Ian Spicer 01404 823640 Gerri Turner 01404 822587 PCC Secretary Steve Godsiff 01404 822875 PCC Treasurer Dy Beedell 01404 823675 Pastoral Care Co-ordinators David Rastall 01404 822486 Margaret Burrough 01404 822257 Impact Cell group (Teenagers) Helen Bowker 01404 823193 ‘Jigsaw’ Mary Godsiff 01404 822875 Bell Ringers Roger Algate 01404 822480 Mothers’ Union Margaret Burrough 01404 822257 Church Flowers Margaret Drew 01404 758159 Magazine Distribution Margaret Burrough 01404 822257 Planned Giving Officer Gerri Turner 01404 822587 TALATON Churchwardens Charlie Hutchings 01404 822205 PCC Secretary Pam Weston 01404 822864 PCC Treasurer Charlie Hutchings 01404 822205 CLYST ST LAWRENCE Churchwardens Hannah Foster 01404 823702 Ray Taylor 01404 822351 PCC Secretary Jane Buxton 01404 822605 PCC Treasurer Jane Buxton 01404 822605 CLYST HYDON Churchwardens Chris Jones 01884 277471 PCC Secretary Sarah Jones 01884 277471 PCC Treasurer Sue Clegg 01404 822889 Bell Ringers Tom Coleman 01395 568523 Service Rota Please be aware that these services may be subject to change but are correct at the time of going to press. Please check our Facebook page “Churches 4 All. Mission Community” or the website churches4all.org.uk for the most up to date information. October 4th 9am Holy Communion, Book of Common Prayer, St. Mary’s, Whimple 10.30am Morning Worship, St. James the Great, Talaton 10.30am Holy Communion, St Andrew’s, Clyst Hydon 6.30pm Café Church, St. Mary’s, Whimple October 11th 10.30am Mission Community Service, St. Andrew’s, Clyst Hydon 10.30am Holy Communion, Book of Common Prayer, St. Lawrence, Clyst St. Lawrence October 16th 7pm Harvest Festival, St. Andrew’s, Clyst Hydon October 18th 9am Morning Prayer, Book of Common Prayer, St. Mary’s, Whimple 10.30am Holy Communion, St. James the Great, Talaton 10.30am Morning Worship, St. Andrew’s, Clyst Hydon October 25th 9.30am Morning Prayer, Book of Common Prayer, St. James the Great, Talaton 10.30am Holy Communion, St. Mary’s, Whimple 6.30pm Evening Prayer, Book of Common Prayer, St. Lawrence, Clyst St. Lawrence Whimple's Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be on Monday 12th October at 7pm in St Mary's. Hello my friends, There once was a man who went to Salisbury Cathedral and there, fitted to the wall by the altar was a big red phone, so he asked the bishop ‘what’s the phone for?’ ‘That’ replied the bishop ‘is a direct line to God, but each call costs millions as it’s a long distance to heaven’. Realising he could not afford it, the man left disappointed. Many years later he visited Exeter Cathedral and there on the wall by the door was a similar phone. Spotting the bishop passing he said ‘I know what that is, I have seen one in Salisbury, it is a direct line to God and before you say anything I know I cannot afford it’ The bishop looked a little confused ‘It’s only a pound’ he said. ‘What?’ said the visitor thoroughly confused. ‘Of course,’ said the bishop ‘why would it be so expensive, it’s to heaven so it counts as a local call’. This week I have been reflecting on a very helpful document called “Lightening the load: freeing the Church for mission. A resource for rural multi-parish benefices in the wake of Coronavirus”. Written by several of my clergy colleagues, Revd Penny Body and The Ven Dr Mark Butchers, in April this year. It wasn’t written expressly about this Harvest season, but it forms the foundation for some of my thinking about this special time in our church’s year and I have ‘plagiarised it’ extensively in my thinking here. We can know nothing about the nature of God other than that which he has revealed to us. That may seem like a bit of a negative thing for a priest to say, but it is not. God is God, he gets to decide what we see of his power and glory. That is what Jesus is, God’s astonishing plan to send us an image of himself we could in our own small way grasp, but we cannot pin God down and examine him like scientists in a laboratory. If anything, our earthly lives are a journey of discovery if we choose to make them such, when we get to slowly explore what we can know of God in the here and now. Of course God reveals himself to us through time spent with him in prayer, worship and reflection, but also through simply being in his creation and for those of us blessed to live in a place as beautiful as this little part of East Devon, our green Shires, how much of him is there to marvel at in our little slice of local heaven. At this time of year we gather to celebrate Harvest Festival, this is a time when we pause for a while and take stock of the richness of nature which surrounds us and all it provides, before we move on to ‘the next ploughing and planting’. This year we have even more to be grateful for. In lockdown I was so glad to have those mile upon mile of tree and field-lined lanes to wander in and my heart went out to those whose one daily exercise would have been on tarmac surrounded by concrete and hedged by cars and houses. Plus, those of us in rural communities cannot help but notice that while many of us were furloughed, farmers worked on continuing their endless cycle which ensures we can eat. Our own rural communities range from larger villages to tiny hamlets but, irrespective of size, life experience varies from one village to another for reasons which include transport links, access to services and population. However, God rejoices in this variety because it is the rich tapestry of his creation. What is right in one place may not be right in another and our churches like the parishes they serve are quite different as well. Very little of rural life is actually static, although we may wish it was. Behind the scenes, rural communities are constantly changing and evolving in response to social and economic developments (and currently of course this includes the impact of Coronavirus). Villages may look very similar to how they did 50 years ago but their buildings will have been worked on, new people will have moved in, village groups will have ceased or new ones started, farms will have diversified. Contrary to popular perception, nothing is set in stone. Just as the risen Christ was recognisably the same and yet profoundly different, our rural communities reflect a similar mix of the traditional and the new. What we all share is being surrounded by nature. The countryside forms more than a backdrop to our rural church: it is integral to our understanding of life and God. Our theology, faith and worship are shaped by the landscape we inhabit and the rhythms of rural life. In our villages the distinct seasons of the year link us to the Christian story. In spring come new growth and newborn lambs, just as we are thinking about Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. In summer, colour and lushness bring the psalms and stories of God’s goodness to life. In autumn at Harvest time, hedges full of berries remind us of the abundance of God’s love and the glory with which he crowns the year. In winter, we are taken on the cold and lonely journey of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem and sit with the shepherds on the frosty hillside. Through the seasons we see that life itself is seasonal; that there is a circle of birth, growth, maturity, dying and then new life once again; and that each season has its beauty and its sadness. We recognise that there is a time for everything – and that planting out of season is unlikely to bear fruit. A children’s group may flourish for a time in a village but as that cohort grows up they may not be replaced and the group will need to close. This has always been the case and always will be the case. Things come and go, we plough, sow and reap. Sometimes the crop changes, equipment may vary but the cycle goes on. This Harvest time it is time to celebrate what has been good, continue it where it seems right but sometimes also to be confident to move on to something new, safe in the knowledge we are part of the endless cycle of God’s creation. God bless, Marc PASTORAL CARE TEAM The Pastoral Care Team has grown! Its members have been trained and are available to lend a listening ear, offer practical help and support, visit those who are housebound, ill, in hospital or bereaved, and to offer prayer. If you or someone you know would like a visit from a member of the Pastoral Care Team, please contact any of the following: Revd Ruth Heeley (758708) Margaret Burrough (822257) or Lorraine and Malcolm Crozier (822953) or Rebecca Hardy (822405) or David Rastall (822486) From the Registers In September we joined together in Holy Matrimony William Bardot and Charlotte Dawes at St. Mary’s, Whimple. We commended into the hands of Almighty God Mr. John Seward at East Devon Crematorium Nobody has yet come forwards with any ideas for the Prayer Diary, so if you do have any ideas please don’t be shy! Likewise, for any faith related articles you come across that may be of interest to others.