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MID LOES BENEFICE EARL SOHAM NOTES Ashfield-cum-Thorpe, Charsfield with Debach Cretingham, Dallinghoo, Earl Soham, Rota for the Altar and Roll of Honour Flowers and Brasses-St. Mary’s Hoo, Letheringham and Monewden As we are still in uncertain times I will publish the rota next month when February 2021 hopefully we have a bit more normality. Thanks to you all.. Stay safe... Lyn—685278 Firstly I would like to thank everyone for the cards and good wishes I re- ceived over the Christmas period, they were very much appreciated. Earl Soham Parish Council and Walnes Seeds Sadly as you know, public worship has been suspended in this Benefice at this time, but we are hoping to review the situation at the end of Feb- On behalf of the residents of Earl Soham, the Parish Council would ruary. nd like to thank Walnes Seeds for the donation of a fabulous Christ- On 2 February we celebrate Candlemas Day, this ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest day and the spring mas Tree, which was erected in pride of place on the Village Green. equinox. A time to celebrate the increase in strength of the life – giving Also, we would like to thank councillor Mark Rutherford and his sun as winter gives way to spring. wife Sue to putting it up, decorating it and ensuring we had a dis- Candlemas can mean different things to different people. Candlemas is a play of Christmas lights throughout the festive period. traditional Christian festival that commemorates the ritual purification of We have had many compliments from residents of the village Mary, forty days after the birth of Jesus and the presentation of baby which showed it was clearly appreciated. This donation by Walnes Jesus to God at the Temple at Jerusalem. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus was met Seeds has made such a big difference over the last few years - by Anna and Simeon, who held the baby and called him “Light of the many thanks. World.” On this day all the candles that were used in the church in the coming year were brought into the church and blessed. Light brings life, David Grose light brings warmth, light brings joy. Chairman The weather on Candlemas day was thought to predict the weather for Earl Soham Parish Council the rest of the winter. My father used to relate the old farmer’s proverb, “A farmer should on Candlemas Day still have half his corn and half his hay.” These are just a few of the things associated with Candlemas In the dark days of February of 2021 we can celebrate both the Feast of Candlemas and the roll out of Covid 19 vaccine. Covid 19 has brought darkness and despair to so many people around the world. We all pray that this is the beginning of the end of this pandemic May both Candlemas and the vaccine bring light, hope, joy and love to all. Love and prayers, Kathleen 1 2 HOO NOTES CHARSFIELD WITH DEBACH NOTES Church Rotas BENEFICE SERVICE Hoo Church was pleased to welcome worshippers from outside the Parish for their Benefice Service on December 6th. The Parochial Church Council regrets that due to Covid restrictions, Services at St Peter’s Church, Charsfield are suspended until fur- CAROL SERVICE ther notice. Having advertised the Christmas Eve Carol Service in the December The church is open for Private Prayer, subject to Covid precautions 2020 issue of this magazine, we were very disappointed to have to cancel at short notice due to the uncertainty of the Covid 19 pan- being in place. demic. We had anticipated being able to dedicate the Carol Service collection to our charity appeal for FIND (Families in Need), but nevertheless we received gifts of goods and money and were able to deliver eight carrier bags of essential items to FIND the following CHARSFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL SPREAD A LITTLE HAPPINESS THIS week. CHRISTMAS We thank everybody who contributed and hope that we can cele- In this unprecedented time, pupils at Charsfield Primary School have been looking brate with carols this December of 2021. at how they can make a difference in the community and improve mental health and wellbeing of themselves and others around them. For a small school of just WELCOME 38 pupils, they have made an incredible difference to the lives of many others Elm Tree Farm is now the home of Mr & Mrs Alexander & we send this term. Here are just a few of the things that the school has been involved in. a warm welcome to the Parish of HOO. The school was delighted to be able to support the Lighthouse Women’s Aid in Ipswich with their reverse advent calendar appeal. Pupils and their families gen- erously donated gifts and essentials throughout the beginning of Advent, to help families that are less fortunate than themselves through a particularly challenging time in their lives. Debbie, the Fundraising and Training Administrator from Light- house Women’s Aid, ran a virtual assembly for the children to explain how their thoughtfulness will help. Secondly, as part of the ‘Suffolk Says Thanks’ campaign, the school has furthered their links with Handford House Nursing Home set up during the summer lock- down. The pupils had discussed the campaign, ‘Cards for Kindness’, an initiative which aims to reduce loneliness in our care homes by encouraging members of the community to send a card to a local care home. The Handford House resi- dents had kindly sent the pupils a handmade Christmas card and the children reciprocated with great enthusiasm creating a wonderful collection of Christmas drawings made into a large book full of festive wishes. Mrs Foster, who is a Teaching Assistant at the school and the lead for Mental Health and Wellbeing, 3 4 said “The staff are so proud of how the children have ASHFIELD NOTES thrown themselves into this task, and how much they CHRIS BELLAMY RIP. thought they gave about the people it was going to; with It was with sadness that we learned of the sudden death of Chris at a genuine desire to bring happiness to other people that home at the end of November. He and his widow Bridget had been they don’t even know. We look forward to continuing in Ashfield for many years. A funeral service for Chris took place at links with this nursing home in 2021.” St Mary's just before Christmas when 30 [the maximum permitted The school has been delighted to be able to raise lots of at present] members of his family came together for a short service money for various charities this half term, particularly when so many people have found this year financially challenging. Pupils and followed by burial in the churchyard. staff dressed up in spots and stripes for Children in Need, designed and sold We hold Bridget and the family in our thoughts at this sad time. their own Christmas cards to raise money for the Salvation Army and finally donned their festive jumpers for the Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day SUSPENSION OF SCHEDULED CHURCH SERVICES. on December 11th. In total, the school raised £150 for these charities. Just after New Year the UK went back into lockdown because of the In true “the show must go on spirit,” the PTA stepped in to fund a virtual show- worsening Covid19 situation. Whilst the holding of church services ing of Cinderella for the pupils as they were not able to attend the Wolsey Thea- is still permitted under the latest rules we have taken the decision tre Panto. This was made all the more special by the staff surprising them by to suspend collective worship for the time being at St Mary's and dressing up as characters from the story, and then being ushers showing them across the benefice. The personal wellbeing of our congregation to their seats and issuing them with popcorn. Even Father Christmas upped his and wider populace must take precedence. game this year to reward the pupils and ‘went virtual’ and sent the pupils an During this latest period of lockdown our Ministry Team is putting incredibly special video message and a small gift each. together some resources weekly for people to use at home. If you Head of School, Mrs Amie Reeve said, “Charsfield Primary School have certainly would like to be in receipt of this ministry resource please let my- shown that a bit of thought and kindness can make such a difference to so many self or Jane Davidson know and we can forward it to you in time for people lives, in what will certainly be a Christmas to remember for a very long the upcoming Sunday. time to come.” Sadly, for the start of the Spring Term the school has had to move to online learning for the majority of our pupils using Google Classrooms. QUINQUENNIAL INSPECTION. Teachers are running daily online lessons with pupils, as well as setting inde- Every five years there is a requirement to have the church building pendent tasks across all the subjects (not just maths and English!). Feedback inspected by a professional architect. This process is known as a from parents and pupils has been really positive and many of our children were disappointed not to be able to return to the classroom because of the 3rd na- quinquennial inspection [QI]. St Mary's had its most recent QI just tional lockdown. We hope to see our pu- before Christmas. Whilst I am relieved that the inspection didn't pils return to "normal" learning very reveal anything too major there will be some works to be undertak- soon.

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