Link-Up February 2019
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Link–Up February 2019 E-Magazine From the Editor February 2019 Our contributors have been busy this month with the result that there are many interesting articles in this issue of link-Up. Apologies to those whose pieces have been squeezed a little in order to fit everything in. What a poorer place our villages would be without this little gem dropping through our letter box every month but we would still like more help producing this magazine, whether you could find a spare couple of hours a month to help at collation, deliver the magazine in your area or are brave enough to give editing ‘a go’ you would be made very welcome. Details and how to contact us on page 2. Nature looms large in this month’s issue and quite rightly so, plant sale notices are starting to appear and the ever optimistic gardeners are watching the first bulbs bravely pushing through the soil. February is the time to go out and about and enjoy the snowdrops that we are so lucky to have growing in abundance in the area. Please note the early closing date for the March issue. Lindy Mansfield This month to Maisie Henderson and Humphrey House LINK-UP is the community magazine for the parishes of Broomfield, Cheddon Fitzpaine and Kingston St Mary. Any views in LINK-UP are not necessarily those of the Editor(s), the editorial staff or the LINK-UP Board. The Board gratefully acknowledges the support of all whose advertisements appear in our magazine. However, the inclusion in LINK-UP does not imply recommendation. The LINK-UP Board reserves the right to accept any material and advertisement at its discretion. The LINK-UP Board will only use personal data for the purpose for which it was provided. 2 CHURCH CONTACTS Rector Rev’d Mary Styles 451189 Associate Vicar Rev’d Jim Cox 333377 Benefice Office Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri 9.00am-2.00pm 451257 [email protected] CHURCHWARDENS Broomfield Bez Purdy 451632 Cheddon Pauline Stone 277637 [email protected] Kingston Richard Flood 451181 Julia Hammett 451642 LINK UP OFFICERS & STAFF Chairman Sheila Jones 451170 [email protected] Secretary Jean Alger-Green 451732 [email protected] Treasurer Jackie Aldrich 451696 [email protected] Advertising Manager Annie Trolley (yellow pages only) 451312 [email protected] Distribution Manager Carol Platt 451605 [email protected] Duplication Manager Corrine McMylor 0773 088 4413 Editor this month Lindy Mansfield 451374 [email protected] Editor – church pages Esmé Padgham 451559 [email protected] Editor next month Yvonne Harris 451883 [email protected] DEADLINE FOR March magazine: FRIDAY, 8th. FEBRUARY 2019. Hard copy 10.00am ‘Tara’ Cheddon Fitzpaine (Bungalow next to church) contributions 10.00am Fyne Court Farm, Broomfield by: 12noon Benefice Office, The Vicarage, KSM Email contributions to the editor by:12noon Friday 8th. February Collation: 2.00pm at KSM Village Hall, Thurs, 21st. February 2019 Distribution: From Friday, 22nd. February Only emails clearly marked ‘Link-Up’ will be opened and acknowledged 3 Jim our Associate Vicar writes . Curious thing: candle flames are basically the same size and shape regardless of the height or thickness of the candle. There are circumstances when this can be altered - lack of oxygen, lack of gravity (in space) and length of wick. But a candle one-inch thick and a candle two inches thick have a similar flame. Certainly the height of the candle makes no difference. In February the church marks Candlemas (or Presentation). It is technically the 'end' of the Christmas/Epiphany season - though nobody cares about that by February! Some churches try to maintain the Christmas energy and do Christingle at this time, but it is usually an uphill struggle. But the Feast of Presentation marks the time when Jesus was 'presented' in the Temple as a baby and the candle represents the light coming into the world. Christians - in theory at least - are supposed to bear this light of God into the world. There are all sorts of reasons why Christians fail in this most basic of religious duties, but it would be a travesty to let our weakness become excuses - the most common of which can often be laziness parading as modesty: what can I possibly do? The Christian faith teaches that all people have something of this light within them. Indeed, like the candle - tall and proud or small and modest, brightly coloured or plain white, with a long time left to burn or short - the light is potentially exactly the same. I would hope that we can all - Christian or not - avoid starving the flame of oxygen and then maybe the light can continue to shine in the darkness. Jim Young Michael was rather tired of the long sermon in church so he whispered to his mother, “if we give him the money now, can we go?” 4 Bishop Peter writes . Taking care of God’s gift This Lent as a diocese we will be thinking in different ways about what it means to care for the world in which we live. Our care for the environment and for all that God has created is an obligation for us as Christians and part of our response to the gospel. Reference is sometimes made to the Five Marks of Mission and one aspect of mission is ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’ What we now know about climate change and the impact we humans make on the world we live in, means that it is imperative that we take this responsibility seriously. The Earth is our home. It is beautiful beyond words. It is God’s gift to us and so we must take care of it! The Psalmist reminds us that: ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.’ (Psalm 24:1) President Barack Obama recently said: “For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change … we must act before it’s too late.” He was not seeking to be alarmist in saying this, he was reminding us that climate change is already affecting agriculture, water resources, forests, wildlife, and coastal areas and also having a serious detrimental impact on human health. We do need to be more responsible, more faithful and more diligent in the way we care for God’s creation for a number of reasons. Firstly, a clean environment is essential for healthy living. Secondly, as the overall temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans increases so too does the frequency of dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms. We are stewards of what God has given us and we have a responsibility for future generations and we cannot deny that the way we live is stoking up problems for our children, grandchildren and all who follow after us. Biodiversity, the variety of plants, animals, and other living things in our world, is important and we know that human activities are having a negative impact on it. Finally, it matters because the way we treat the environment also mirrors the way we treat each other. 5 Mahatma Gandhi the Indian civil rights activist once said: “What we are doing to the forests of the world is a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” So what might it look like to show that we care about the environment? I have found these three simple words helpful as I have thought about this. The three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Those are three words we might think about this Lent. With warm greetings to readers. TO ALL CHURCH MEMBERS As we do every six years, we have to create a brand new Electoral Roll for 2019 before our Annual Parochial Church Meeting. This means that EVERYONE will need to complete a new electoral roll form this year as any previous ones must, by church law, be disregarded. This is also a good opportunity for those who attend and have not been on the electoral roll before to do so. Please do collect a form from your church when the new roll is being prepared (in later February and March, though exact dates will vary in the different churches) complete and return it to your church Electoral Roll Officer or a Churchwarden. Family Announcements Funeral On 11 January at Broomfield Church followed by burial in the churchyard, Margaret Duval-Smith Burial in Churchyard At Kingston on 18 January,John Stone 6 Lent begins on 6 March This year’s BRF (Bible Reading Fellowship) Lent book is “At Home in Lent” by Gordon Giles. Each week is spent in a different room gleaning spiritual lessons from everyday household objects. Running as a thread through it all are the seven Rs of Lent: Regret, repentance, resolution, recognition, reconciliation, renewal and resurrection. Cost is £8.99 and the book can be obtained from BRF or through local bookshops. THIS MONTH'S ROTAS Broomfield Church Cleaners 2 February Nancy Lyons 9 & 16 February Andrea Duncan 23 February Bez Purdy & Mary Johnson Kingston Altar Linen and Floor Lucy Hay Kingston Flowers Volunteers needed ! Broomfield Flowers 9,16,23 February Lindy Mansfield CHEDDON CHURCH 100 CLUB The winners of the January draw were £60 – Hilary Shaw £15 – Phillip Cracknell 7 Want to know about the Bible ? then this 8 week course is for you! Course Book £4.99 2 Start dates:- Wed 20th Feb 7.30pm OR Thur 21st Feb 2.15pm Contact 451257 to book asap or see flier in church SUNDAY SEEDLINGS On Sunday 6th January the South Quantock Benefice introduced Sunday Seedlings.