PARISH MAGAZINE for the villages of Lugwardine, Bartestree, Weston Beggard and Dormington March 2021 50p Editorial Once again this edition is having to be online only but I am hoping to be able to revert to the printed version next month. Thank you to the composer of this bit of doggerel that has been sent in. I feel it says it all and I have little to add! Maggie Henderson The Covid Plague There's a market down in Wuhan where you buy a dog or cat - For a tasty flying morsel you can have a horseshoe bat. But the animals on sale there carry extra virus too, Which may leap from bat to human, causing ills for me and you. The new Covid which now ravages every nation on the Earth It has murdered many millions - it is not a cause for mirth. But has used its virus spikes to stab and enter our small cells And it tends to kill old people - spares the younger boys and girls. Two vaccines have been rushed out from the US and UK I've had a single jab and hope it's working well today I assume my antibodies wait to pounce on every germ And smother them at outset, so I strongly reaffirm I've taken sensible precautions, and am ready any day To engage the virus, beat it back, destroy it in my way. But we must not meet for parties, to a rave we must not go These provide such splendid places for the viruses to grow. And meanwhile in South Africa, Brazil, and even Kent New Covids have evolved against the vaccines we've been sent. Each Covid takes up residence in lungs and throat and nose From which it spreads around, so the infected cohort grows. If we sneeze or shout or argue we can spray the beast about, That's the reason for the masks we wear, that make us look, no doubt Like some bandit on the prowl who does not want to show his face Lest he suffer apprehension, capture, shame or deep disgrace. And this Covid can persist and stay to lurk in chest and throat And continue to affect us - and we're all in the same boat. Thus we need to stay prepared and yet retain our long-term hope. That our jabs and immunology provide the way to cope. In years when it and we have well adjusted or evolved The problem may seem easier and even almost solved, With infections catching children, causing mild upset and ills And adults less affected – so not needing jabs nor pills. So just now we seek solutions, whether jabs or better drugs And in time we'll have adjusted, enjoy hand-shakes and also hugs, When the Covid blight is ended, this sad page will soon be turned, Another chapter in the Book of Life, an extra lesson learned. Copy for the Parish Magazine should reach the Editor at ‘The Old School’, Rhystone Lane, Lugwardine, Hereford HR1 4AW or e-mailed to:- [email protected] by the 15th of the preceding month. 2 BARTESTREE CROSS GROUP OF PARISHES Www.achurchnearyou.com Rector: Reverend Simon Tarlton The Vicarage, Lugwardine, Herefordshire, HR1 4AE Tel: 01432 507986 Email: [email protected] “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me. "Hope is the thing with feathers" (written around 1861) is a popular poem by the American poet Emily Dickinson. In the poem, "Hope" is metaphorically transformed into a strong-willed bird that lives within the human soul—and sings its song no matter what. Essentially, the poem seeks to remind readers of the power of hope and how little it requires of people. It sounds to me very much like a hymn of praise, honouring our capacity for hope. The poem argues that hope is miraculous – I would argue Divine - and therefore impossible to defeat. The poem begins by establishing its key metaphor—that hope is a bird. It then tells the reader more about this bird, adding detail, before showing it in different situations. The poem concludes by stating that, despite all it does, hope never asks for anything from the speaker. In summary, what we hear is hope turned into a vividly imagined character, in order to show how important it is, both to individuals and to humanity as a whole. Dickinson wants us to look at hope in a new way—to see it clearly but not take it for granted. So where do we find this wonderful thing hope? In the poet’s imaginations hope’s home is the human soul where it sings without ever stopping. This perseverance in song represents our infinite capacity for hope. Even in the depths of despair, the poem seems to say, people can still have hope—and this hope will sustain them. But to focus the source of hope in nature and to borrow images of natural beauty to describe and make sense of it can distract us from our consideration of and journey towards what I would say is hope’s real origin; not natural but supernatural, not human but divine. The clue to that truth I believe is found in what hope expects of us. Like grace, God’s hope neither requires nor expects anything at all in return. Hope costs nothing, not a “crumb”—yet it can literally and figuratively keep people alive. With hope we can make it, indeed we have made it, through the hardest of times—we just have to listen to “the little Bird” singing its tune. “Hope is the thing with feathers” implores us to value our capacity for hope—and to recognize that, whatever the circumstances, hope never leaves us. Having received all the hope we need, freely and without question, we have only one task – to pass it on. Simon 3 Bartestree Cross Churches Service Rota Date & Readings Dormington Lugwardine Westhide Weston Withington * Beggard 7th 11am 9.30am 11am 3rd Sunday of Lent Holy Holy Morning Prayer Exodus 20:1-17 Communion Communion John 2:13-22 14th 11am 11am 9.30am Mothering Sunday Family Service Morning Holy 1 Samuel 1:20-28 Prayer Communion John 19:25b-27 21st 6pm 8am 11am 9.30am 5th Sunday of Lent Evensong Holy Holy Holy Jeremiah 31:31-34 Communion Communion Communion John 12:20-33 28th 9.30am 11am 4pm Palm Sunday Holy Holy Family Service Isaiah 50:4-9a Communion Communion Mark 15:1-39 1st April 7pm Maundy Thursday Holy Exodus 12:1-14 Communion John 13:1-17, 31b-35 2nd April 4pm Good Friday Celebration of the Passion 3rd April 7pm Easter Eve Vigil 4th April 11am 9.30am 6am 11am 9.30am Easter Day Holy Holy Daybreak Holy Holy Acts 10:34-43 Communion Communion Service Communion Communion Mark 16:1-8 * Until further notice, due to ongoing building work all services in Withington will be outdoors – bring a chair! 4 5 Letter from the Archdeacon of Hereford March 2021 As I write this we are approaching the start of Lent. Easter this year falls very early and it feels like only yesterday that we finished celebrating Christmas. One impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic is that time can feel somewhat stuck. It can feel like we are trapped between events rather like a strange Science Fiction world where we are caught up in an endless cycle of repeating the activity. It reminds me a little of the film ‘Groundhog Day’ where the main character is trapped in a world where he simply repeats February 2nd over and over again! I think if we are not careful our spiritual lives can get stuck too, with little opportunity to worship together in church and limited social interaction, we can very easily become dislocated from our faith and from each other. Lent traditionally has been seen as a time of self-examination, self-discipline and fasting although interestingly it didn’t include Sundays as these were feast days and celebrations. It took its form from the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness following his baptism. It also marked the traditional beginning of Spring and the word Lent is based on the old English word for ‘Spring season’. As part of that preparation and self-denial, we have traditions of giving things up for a season and abstinence. In more recent times we have been encouraged to take something up that is of spiritual benefit to ourselves or general benefit to others instead. One of the things we have perhaps lost sight of is it was also a season of spiritual generosity and almsgiving. When I did some research as part of some studies into what helps churches to grow one of the common themes that emerged was that growing churches were generous churches. They held lightly to their money and buildings, giving of time, talents and money for the ‘Common Good’ through acts of service and generosity. They saw money as a resource to be used for the Kingdom rather than horded for a rainy day that never came. This Lent is a prime opportunity to set time aside to realign our spiritual lives. John writing his Gospel gives us a wonderful picture in chapter 15 of the vine and its branches.