June 2021 in My Study Is a Large Gold Box Which Is Very Special and Precious to Me – It Contains My ‘Memories’
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CHURCH SERVICES INFORMATION The Church of St Margaret, Underriver Vicar: Rev Serena Willoughby St Lawrence Vicarage, Stone Street, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0LQ Telephone: 01732 761766 Email: [email protected] www.stmargaretsunderriver.org.uk June 6th - 10am Joint Holy Communion St Lawrence Church Stone Street Bible readings: 1 Samuel 8 v 4-15 and Mark 3 v 20- end Green June 13th - 10am Joint Holy Communion with Church Army speaker St Margaret's Church, Underriver Bible readings: Ezekial 17 v 22-24 and Mark 4 v 26-34 Green June 20th - 10am Patronal Service St Lawrence Church, Stone Street Bible readings: TBC Special Altar Frontal June 27th - * Start of new trial Service plan * 9.45am - Matins St Lawrence Church, Stone Street and 11.15am Holy Communion - St Margaret's Church, Underriver Bible readings: Psalm 130, 2 Samuel 1v1 and 17-end Mark 5 v 21-43 Green 2 FROM THE VICAR Thoughts from the vicarage June 2021 In my study is a large gold box which is very special and precious to me – it contains my ‘memories’. It has in it all sorts of bits and bobs right from my baby days up to the present – photos, certificates, school reports even! It has thank you letters from people, birthday cards, even a few old sermons. All precious memories which tell the story of my life and which have often been used to do just that, as I have moved from place to place in my ministry in recent years. I’m sure many of you will have something similar up in the loft, or perhaps have your memories on display all around you at home, souvenirs from holidays in exotic, or not so exotic places; photographs placed lovingly on shelves and tables to remind you of good times and significant events, friends and those you love. Sometimes it is good just to spend some time with our memories, to remember and reflect on all that has been good in our lives, and especially having lived through this last year of enforced separation, to be thankful for the memories that have often kept us going. Our Bible is full of memories too, written down with love and care to remind us of the story of God in the lives of so many through the age; Memories of encounters with God in the Old Testament, and with Jesus in the Gospels, memories of friends made as the new followers of ‘The Way of Jesus’ began to grow in number with the spread of the early Church. Memories of the difference encountering God had made to their lives. St Paul, separated from the people of the newly planted Church in Philippi, spoke with deep affection in his letters to them: ‘I thank my God every time I remember you.’ Philippians 1:3 Of course, the memories we have made during this last year may not all be good ones. We may have had more time on our hands than we were comfortable with and some have found life challenging and lonely with just their memories for company. (Continued on p.4) 3 (Continued from p.3) Inevitably, there will be others known to us, living in care settings with dementia, who have lost precious time with loved ones and who have suffered irreversible memory loss over the course of the pandemic. People lost to us. Connections lost that can never be retrieved – and there is great sadness in that which should be acknowledged. As we gradually ease back into a life of connection again in person – the first coffee with friends, the first barbeque with family, that first hug with grandchildren and those we have missed so much, let’s not forget to start making fresh and lasting memories again. Memories we can look back on in the future with great gladness and say with confidence ‘I thank my God every time I remember you’. Memories also keep a person alive in our hearts. I am praying for a summer of keeping memories close and of making memories together. Much Love, Serena x LIBBY PAINE Libby Paine died peacefully at home on 16th May. This is a tragedy for her family and all of Underriver. She was an energetic, caring, fun, loving, wise, Christian, mother, wife and friend. We send Phil, Matt, Becca and Kat our love and sympathy. Please, if you have any happy memories of her, send them to the Underriver News for inclusion in the July edition. Jennifer Fair HOSPICE IN THE WEALD PLANT SALE Luckily the weather was not as wet as predicted and there were a lot of unusual plants, thanks to: John Clemence, Sheila Groves, Mary Owlett, Jane Lockwood Audrey Bootle and many others. We all had tea and cake and a good get-together. Those who could not come along, gave a donation to the Hospice. This year Underriver surpassed itself - the total donations amounted to £500! I just want to thank everyone so much for their support and generosity! Angela Ridge 4 NEW SERVICE PLAN We have been praying, thinking and discussing our Church services going forward and are going to trial a new plan from June 27th 2021. We are very much hoping that this will give us more opportunities for growth as a Benefice. The new plan will take a little bit of time to get used to, but after a year of constant changes, I am hoping that this will become very settled for us all. The plan will look like this: 1st Sunday - 8am Holy Communion St Lawrence, Stone Street 9.45am Morning Worship St Margaret's, Underriver 2nd Sunday - 8am Holy Communion St Margaret's, Underriver 9.45am Morning Worship St Lawrence, Stone Street 3rd Sunday - 9.45am Holy Communion St Lawrence, Stone Street 11.15am Matins or 6pm Evensong (dependant on time of year) St Margaret's, Underriver 4th Sunday - 9.45am Matins, St Lawrence, Stone Street 11.15am Holy Communion St Margaret's, Underriver 5th Sundays of the month will be Joint services using different liturgies and music. We start this on a 4th Sunday of the month - 27th June 2021. By way of explanation as you may feel you would like to try out one of our services but are not sure what they all mean, here goes: 8am Holy Communion - 30-minute quiet said service ( no hymns), a lovely gentle way to start a Sunday. Morning Worship- a service without Holy Communion, that gives scope for creativity and reflection. Lots of lovely hymn singing. Holy Communion - A service where people receive Bread and Wine to remember the Last Supper. All who are confirmed are welcome to receive Communion and everyone is welcome to come to the Altar and receive a blessing prayer or to stay in the pew for quiet contemplation. Matins/Evensong - a traditional service of Morning or evening prayer with sung Psalms, Canticles and Hymns. 5 COMMUNITY AWARD At their meeting on 5th May 2021, the Seal Parish Council nominated Maxine Clark as this year’s recipient of their Kent Association of Local Councils Community Award. On 13th May 2021 the Award was formally presented to Maxine by Fidelity Weston, lady chairman of the council, and Clare Boland, clerk to the council, in front of St Margaret’s church. Maxine has been a very active churchwarden at St Margaret’s, pursuing a number of initiatives to draw in the wider community. In 2019 Maxine started 'Meet and Make', a group of ladies who met once a month to knit and crochet blankets for refugees and other vulnerable people. During the coronavirus epidemic social distancing has limited their activities, but their work has continued. In the early days of the epidemic, Maxine was one of a team sewing PPE and masks for local hospitals and care homes. More recently, as many people faced isolation from lack of social contact, Maxine started 'Click and Connect', a group which meets once a month on Zoom with talks presented by different speakers, followed by general discussion. As she received the Community Award, Maxine said that she was accepting it on behalf of all the people in the Underriver community who had worked so hard to maintain social cohesion during the pandemic. Well done Maxine. We are very proud of you! Graham Clark 6 FUNDRAISER EVENT 1ST- 4TH JULY You are invited to a friendly semi-private event near you starting Thursday 1st July ending Sunday 4th July 2021 (10am until 5pm everyday except Sunday 4pm) “Pop up Brocante and Fête ” at the stables of 1 Underriver House Cottages TN15 0SJ We would like to fundraise for the charity “OCD action”. We are close to a local family whose teenage daughter is seriously affected by this disease. Charlotte recently spoke openly and eloquently about it for the first time which was informative and very moving. We care and want to help. On offer for a donation: Pop up café with non-alcoholic refreshments and cakes, perhaps baked by local people who would like to kindly contribute. So please bring a cake if you can bake (and your recipe)! An exciting raffle with prizes from stall holders* Children are welcome. They can take part in fun games organised by our children and their friends (Saturday and Sunday). * If shopping or browsing is for you, local businesses and makers will be displaying and selling their best products (cash and cards accepted) This sociable event is aimed at our local community, neighbours, friends and loyal customers only so please feel free to invite someone you know who might enjoy this. Words of mouth is key! All current government guidelines will be followed at time of the event.