The Village Magazine of

Mattersey & Thorpe

Spring Sun Shining MAY on the 2021

1 Some useful telephone numbers: Commercial Services: Beauty Therapist: (Mobile or Salon), Dermalogica Products-Diane 01777-817639 Boiler/Central Heating Service: Alex Perry 07598-186001, [email protected] Challenge Carpet Cleaning: Martyn Cliff -Taylor, Freephone 0800-3287941 Electrician: Beacon Electrical. Call Richard - 07767-358518 Foot Care: Jane Cavanna 01777-816696 Greenstripe Garden Services: Simon Clarkson 01777-818615 & 07833-494353 Holmegarth Garage: Jono Hunt 01909-591984 & 07967-823869, Pest Control—Buzz Off: Paul Drage 07706-747073 & 01777-816074 Priory Garage: Dave Phillips 01777-816606 Taxi Service: Private Hire 01302-752300 Therapist: Aromatherapy, Massage, Reiki, Reflexology - Katherine 07779-272820 Please email or phone the Editor if you would like to advertise your services Community Services: Alcohol Advice Service:01777-272244, Alcoholics Anonymous:0114-2701984 Bassetlaw DC Councillor: [email protected] 07931-014035 Bawtry & Blyth Medical: 01302-710210 Cat & Dog Re–Homing Centre: Mayflower Sanctuary 01302 711330, Church Warden: Anne Mills 01777-818398 Church Hall Bookings: Julie German 01777-817589 Crimestoppers: 0800-555111 Electricity Emergency: Landline 0800-6783-105 from mobiles 0330-123-5009 Mattersey Primary School Head Teacher: Mr. Paul Higginbottom Tel: 01777-817265, e-mail: [email protected] MP: Brendan Clarke Smith: tel: 01909-738956, facebook: @brendan4bassetlaw, Email: [email protected], Twitter: @bren4bassetlaw Notts Community Housing: Register at www.alhomefinder.org.uk. Immediately available homes contact lettings.@ncha.org.uk or tel 0800 013 8555 Notts County Councillor: Tracey Taylor, 01777-816781 / work 0115-804 3177 e-mail: [email protected] Police: Beat Manager—East Bassetlaw: PC 3258 Jason Fellows tel 07525-226893 email: jason.fellows@.pnn.police.uk Police Community Support Officer: PCSO 9433 Lucy Campion tel: 07525 989445 email: [email protected] All non emergencies: 101 Power Cut Emergency Number: 105 RSPCA National Cruelty Line: 0300-1234999 Samaritans: 08457-909090 Vicar: Becky Hancock 01302-218308, email: [email protected]

2 COVID-19 TESTING (This Briefing issued by Council in early March 2021)

Asymptomatic Testing Centre for and surrounding villages

A new Asymptomatic Testing Centre, for people who are not displaying Covid-19 symptoms opened in March for people who live or work in Retford and the surrounding villages at Retford Town Hall.

The timetable of opening times for the Retford and surrounding villages Testing Centre is as follows:

Site Monday Tuesday Wednes- Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday day Retford CLOSED 8am- 7am- 8am- 8am- 8.30am– CLOSED Town 6pm 5pm 6pm 6pm 3pm Hall

The centres are run in partnership with County Council and encourage people without symptoms of Covid-19 (asymptomatic) to drop in and get a FREE rapid Covid-19 test. The aim of the Asymptomatic Testing Centres is to help identify and isolate individuals who have Covid-19 but do not have symptoms and may inadvertently be spreading the virus - around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms. People who live and work in the areas will therefore be encouraged to get a Covid-19 test at the centre at least once a week: There is no need to book – people can just drop in. People must not attend if they are showing symptoms of Covid-19 and under 16 year olds must come with an adult. For further information please visit: https://www.bassetlaw.gov.uk/ coronavirus-covid-19/community-testing/ A positive or negative test results can be given within the hour and support will be offered to those people who test positive. Jonathan Brassington, Policy and Communications Manager, Bassetlaw DC,

PLEASE USE THE CLOTHES/SHOES COLLECTION BIN PLACED OUTSIDE THE BIBLE COLLEGE, MAIN ENTRANCE TO HELP SUPPORT THE PRINTING COSTS OF THE MAGAZINE CURRENTLY FUNDED ENTIRELY BY THE COLLEGE

Credits: Many thanks to all the Commercial Sponsors for funding,

The Bible College for the printing, the Distribution Team and Post Office for delivering the magazine to 300+ houses in Mattersey and every month. Contact Details for Comments and Article Submission: Please contact the Editor at [email protected] or phone on 01777-816694 or send hard copy to: Nursery Cottage, Main Street, Mattersey DN10 5DY Latest Submissions: 24th of Month @ 4pm Earlier in month preferred 3 Editorial May 2021

Well what a 12 months that was – hopefully never again! The previous paper edition of Idle Talk was produced and delivered in April 2020 and we reflected at that time on the unknown and uncertain future we all faced. Unfortunately, this prediction has proved very true in so many ways including in relation to Idle Talk. For many years Idle Talk has been superbly supported by the Bible College with the tremendous gift to the village of printing the magazine free of charge. You may be aware that the Bible College property has been put up for sale and the likelihood is that at some stage in 2021 the facility will close and move to a different location in the UK. This is probably the only reason we have been able to carry on with the limited pairs of hands currently involved in the production and distribution of the magazine. The effect of the closure is that this printing gift will disappear along with the College and the future of Idle Talk is uncertain as our financial structure changes. Early indications are that going to a commercial printer will deplete our current funds by the end 2021/ early 2022. We have several options going forward. • Continue with paper printing sourced commercially and raise more funds. • Move to only electronic version via email/Facebook/Website • Close down Personally, I believe continuing with printed paper is the best option as it reaches every household and will be an attractive option to advertisers. I think it significant that other village mags, especially HEDS and Star Magazines, that had been issued as electronic only during the pandemic, have both returned to paper copies in April. The downside of the paper version is the cost of printing and paper which is generally covered by advertisers paying for space. However, the greater the need for revenue the more advertisers are required and more paper and higher printing costs are subsequently incurred. Electronic versions while cheap to produce, tend to be very specific to individuals rather than households and even if every household had someone with access to the electronic version there is no certainty it would be passed on within that household.

4 Keeping circulation lists up to date when people change email addresses and move in or out of the village also becomes a never- ending herculean challenge. Currently there are only about 150 Mattersey/Thorpe addressees on the electronic circulation list ie approximately 10-15% of the total village population. Excluding delivery, the current production methodology of the magazine is basically done by a 2 person team who cannot take over responsibility for revenue raising as well. More volunteers would be required for this task if Idle Talk is to have a future.

SO, IF YOU WANT A VILLAGE MAGAZINE PRINTED ON PAPER, DELIVERED TO YOUR HOUSE IN FUTURE AND ARE WILLING TO GET INVOLVED - ESPECIALLY TO ASSIST IN REVENUE RAISING AND ADVERTISING - THEN PLEASE CONTACT THE EDITOR EITHER BY EMAIL ([email protected]) OR PHONE (01777-816694).

Steve Digby (Editor)

Message Board

Honey Bees We seem to have bees settling into one of our dormer windows at the back of our house, I’m not sure if they can be relocated but if anyone in the village keeps bees they are welcome to come and try.

Regards Ian Trotter, The Gables, Thorpe Road.

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Mattersey Post Office

Wow! What a year that was for us all. We cannot believe how the last year has changed all our lives, not least here in your Village Store & Post Office. We have certainly been very busy. Both Nicola and I would like to thank each and every one of you for the overwhelming support, loyalty and custom you have all afforded us during these challenging times. Thank you. There are a couple of items we need to bring to your attention:- We need to make customers aware that to send parcels abroad from any Post Office, one of three Customs Declaration Forms has to be completed which may slow down the processing of your parcel. An example of the forms is shown opposite. There are a couple of options available to help you with this: The first and most preferable way is for you to collect a form from the Post Office in advance, complete it and take in with the parcel when you are ready to send it, the parcel weight will be checked at the Post Office with minimum delay. If you are not confident or have difficulty in completing the form yourself this can be done at the Post Office, but it will take longer. Also onto other matters. There is great concern regarding parking outside the store, given such close proximity to the junction. Please take extra care where you leave the car if you drive to us, giving consideration to pedestrians and children and also through traffic. On a lighter, more optimistic note, we very much hope to be opening up our cafe service again for you once legislation allows. We plan to add tables and chairs outside (socially distanced of course!) and also will be increasing our snack menu too. Once again, all of us here thank you all for your custom and support, we look forward to a brighter future. Norman & Nicola

6 The CN22 Customs Declaration Forms The CN22 is a customs form used when sending gifts and goods abroad worth less than £270 with Royal Mail. They are mandatory for all gifts and goods being sent internationally from , Scotland or Wales anywhere outside the UK, If sending items with Royal Mail International Economy and International Standard – you’ll need a CN22B (with a barcode) available in all Post Office branches. If sending items with Royal Mail International Tracking and Signature services – you’ll need a CN22A. These are available in branch, but you can also complete online or download a blank copy to fill before you visit. Incomplete or absent customs forms are likely to result in items being returned to the sender. The forms are scanned by optical character recognition, so it is important to fill them in legibly and in BLOCK CAPITALS. 1. Sender's name and address are mandatory – include your full name and address including postcode 2. Content Type and Description of contents are mandatory – include a accurate description of each item enclosed. This will help to avoid delays or customs officials needing to open your item 3. Value, quantity and weight of each item are mandatory 4. Total quantity is mandatory – add the total number of items within your package 5. Total weight is mandatory – this is the total weight of your item. If you don’t know and can’t easily find out, weigh your package and complete in branch 6. Total value is mandatory – this is the total value of all the items in the package. Write the value in British Pounds (GBP) 7. HS tariff number is mandatory for businesses only – you need to provide the HS tariff code which you can find at parcelforce.com/tariffcode 8. VAT reg number / EORI number – is mandatory for businesses only – If your business has both, please use the EORI number 9. Signature and date are mandatory – sign and date the form 7

MPS News Welcome back to the Summer Term! How is it April already?! We hope you have all had an enjoyable break over the Easter holidays. It has been lovely to welcome the pupils back to school and they have settledFRIDAY quickly into 23the schoolAPRIL routines 2021 again. We have a new school lunch menu and you should have had a copy of this sent home. Please ask if you haven’t received this. There is a copy to download on our school website. Priory Class are continuing with their Romans topic finding out about the impact the Romans had on Britain. This week they have also been busy in Science, investigating plants, producing some amazing art work as part of theirWelcome investigation which back involved to dis thesecting Summer the parts of aTerm! flower. Caterpillar How Classis it have April two new members– Alfie and Jaxson and we warmly welcome them to Mattersey and hope they will be very happy here. The whole class have made them very welcome already?!as they start their new We topic hope on the Great you Fire of have . all had an enjoyable break over the Easter holidays. It has been lovely to welcome the pupils back to school and they have settled quickly into the school routines again. We have a new school lunch menu and you should have had a copy of this sent home. Please ask if you haven’t received this. There is a copy to download on our school website. Priory Class are continuing with their Romans topic finding out about the impact the Romans had on Britain. This week they have also been busy in Science, investigating plants, producing some amazing art work as part of their investigation which involved dissecting the parts of a flower. Caterpillar Class have two new members – Alfie and Jaxson and we warmly welcome them to Mattersey and hope they will be very happy here. The whole class have made them very welcome as they start their new topic on the Great Fire of London.

Please don’t forget to regularly check our website at www.mattersey.notts.sch.uk You can also sign up to an electronic version of this newsletter too! tel 01777-817265 Email: [email protected]

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Monday 26 April: Lunchtime Gardening Club Tuesday 27 April: Lunchtime Friendship Club Wednesday 28 April: PE for all pupils (AM) – please send your child in PE kit Lunchtime Play Leader’s Club

Thursday 29 April: Just another day Friday 30 April: Kixx PE Session for all pupils (AM) - please send your child in PE kit

Future Dates: Monday 3 May: May Day Bank Holiday (School Closed) Friday 28 May: Break up for Half Term Tuesday 13 July: Summer Term Governing Body Meeting Friday 23 July: End of the Summer Term

Just a few reminders… If your child is to be collected by someone else, please let us know in advance if they are not someone on your contacts list. We aren’t being difficult, we just have to follow our safeguarding procedures when handing children over at the end of the day. Even if it is another parent that we know, we still must have your permission. The best way to notify us is to ring the school office and the message will then be passed on to the class teacher. Please make sure your child brings in their reading book and reading diary everyday. It’s really beneficial if children are reading at home to an adult, at least 3 times a week as well as in school time, so please record any reading in your child’s diary. Now the weather is getting warmer (fingers crossed it stays that way!) please make sure your child brings a water bottle to school and sun hats/cream if appropriate. Don’t forget to also still send coats as the weather is very changeable and we aim to get the children outside for playtimes as much as we can!

9 MATTERSEY PARISH COUNCIL

www.matterseypc.co.uk Chairman: Mr. A. Walker, tel: 01777-816567

Councillors: Mr. M Doughty, tel: 01777-817213 Mrs E.Skelton, tel: 01777-817845, Mrs. H. Wilson, tel: 01777 818846

Clerk to Mattersey Parish Council: Mrs. Adele Haddon, Contact Details: Tel: 01909 731565 email: [email protected] Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of each month (excluding August) commencing at 7.00pm in the Church Hall at Mattersey or via video conferencing due to the pandemic. There is a public forum session at each meeting.

COVID 19 PANDEMIC We hope that you and your families will soon be able to start living a more ‘normal’ life after the dreadful pandemic which has taken over the world in the past 13 months. Restrictions are slowly being lifted but we would urge you all to heed the Government’s advice. Full details of current restrictions can be found at www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

A HUGE THANK YOU for all the help residents have given to each other to get through this awful time. Nicola & Norman at Mattersey Store and Post Office have been a big help to the whole community and we hope that you will all continue to support the store in the future. Thanks also to Keith & Julie German who have kept so many people together by running their quiz online instead of in person. The District & County Council staff are still running several schemes to help local residents including shopping, medical assistance and meals. They have worked hard and flexibly to ensure those who needed help received it. If you need help please check out their websites. 10

LITTER PICK The recent litter pick around the village was well attended and we thank all those who helped. It was rather disheartening to see new litter thrown down again shortly afterwards. If you see anyone dropping litter or throwing it from a car, please take the details and report them. It is sad that in this climate of promoting the environment some people can be so thoughtless.

VANDALISM Sadly there has been a spate of vandalism in our villages in recent weeks. Millennium Green and The Green at Mattersey Thorpe have suffered from vandals with saws and axes taking it upon themselves to cut down trees and damage picnic tables. If anyone has any information please contact the Police. If you see any vandalism please take as much detail as possible, even photographs but make sure you stay safe.

RESULTS OF SPEED BUMP SURVEY It came to the attention of the Parish Council that there had been a number of complaints from residents regarding the speed bumps in Mattersey. It was decided to undertake a survey so we could discover the depth of feeling on the issue … and the results are in …….. 122 took the online survey - 90 voted to remove the speed bumps and 32 wanted them to stay. There was an opportunity for comments too and these will be analysed. The survey results and comments have been sent to Notts County Council Highways department in order to start a conversation about their future. But please be aware that these issues can take a long time to resolve. We will keep you updated with progress.

THANKS AND GOODBYE TO COUNCILLORS Since the last edition of Idle Talk the Parish Council has lost 3 Council- lors due to them leaving the village. Sian McKay and Sandra Smith have moved to pastures new and we send grateful thanks for their work over the past few years. Bob Kendall, who was Chairman, also left the village. Bob contributed a huge amount of work especially in pushing through the Neighbourhood Plan. His project management and organisation was outstanding and he will be sorely missed. This now means that the Parish Council is very short of Councillors. We are able to have 9 but only currently have 3, although we hope to co-opt one in the near future.

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We are looking for community minded people to join Mattersey Parish Council

So how much time do I have to commit?

Meetings are held on 1st Wednesday of each month (except August) at 7.00pm (currently via zoom video conferencing) and last for 2 hours. If you have a little more time or specific interests there are a few consultation groups which Councillors may attend. Check out this webpage https://www.local.gov.uk/be-councillor to get more information and hear why other people have become involved in their communities. If you need any more information or just want to chat to someone about the role then contact the clerk or any Parish Councillor: [email protected] Tel: 01909 731565

The Parish Council would like to improve its communication with the community.

Would you like to be kept informed about issues affecting Mattersey & Mattersey Thorpe which come to the attention of the Parish Council?

Temporary road closures - Footpaths - Changes to bin collections - Meetings - Consultations - Litter Pick events - Pandemics! If so please let us have your email address. This will only be used to issue occasional updates from the Parish Council and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Send an email to: [email protected] Subject: I wish to receive updates

A copy of our Privacy Policy can be found on our website: www.matterseypc.co.uk

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MOBILE LIBRARY SERVICE The Mobile Library will be visiting Mattersey/Mattersey Thorpe on Tuesday 25th May at the following locations & times:

Mattersey Church: 11.50 > 12.15 Mattersey Cricket Field (Retford Road): 12.20 > 12.35

Mattersey Chapel (Main Street): 13.30 > 13.40 Mattersey Primary School: 13.45 > 14.10

Mattersey Thorpe (Keyes Rise): 14.15 > 14.30

Nottinghamshire Libraries reopened on 12th April and Nottinghamshire Archives from 13th April.

To keep you and our staff safe, libraries have reduced opening hours, limited capacity and service. Opening hours may change so we recommend that you check individual library pages before you visit. Selected libraries have limited study space available, please enquire in the library to book. For more information on the measures we have put in place to keep our staff and customers safe visit: https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/reading-information/find-a- library/were-welcoming-you-back-libraries-safely-6-july/ We know that this year has been challenging, and your library books may have been the last thing on your mind. We’d love to help, and so we’re operating an overdue charges amnesty until the end of June 2021. However items returned late after 1 July 2021 will incur overdue charges. Hunt down those library books and other library items, and bring them back to any of Nottinghamshire’s libraries before the end of June. We’ll waive any charges due for items borrowed before 1/4/21, welcome you back and even give you a new library card if yours has disappeared. Can’t find some of your library books? We know that sometimes they hide (along with the odd sock….) Let us know before the end of June, and we’ll remove them from your record – though if they do turn up, we’ll gladly have them back please! 13

WE ARE BACK - OUTSIDE !

Everton Wl are back meeting, HURRAH!. We are starting gently with an outside meeting on Monday 17th May (our usual meeting night) on the area between the tennis courts and the playground at 6.30 p.m. Please bring a chair and your own refreshments. If the weather is inclement we will meet on Saturday 22nd at 2.30 in the same place. Hope to see you there. We have not been idle during April. The amazing gardening team and 2 wonderful husbands have renovated the 2 rose beds on the Sports Field by the Tea Rooms. These are now ready to be planted up. One, which was planted in memory Muriel Keywarth, will have roses added to it in memory of members. The first of these roses will be planted in memory of Judy Miller, a well loved member of the Wl and a friend to many in the village. We are not sure about what we are planting in the other one yet, discussions are underway. We are grateful to John Leach and the Metcalfe Trust for their support and financial backing for these beds. We are delighted that we have added to the wonderful work done by Bill and Penny Howe in restoring all the beds down there. Courtesy of Zoom, we held our AGM. The Committee was voted in and Hazel Mellish has taken on the role of President. Very special and grateful thanks were given to Rosa, our outgoing President. She has been outstanding during her time in office and has made Wl fun to belong to and organised interesting speakers for us and enabled us to do a lot more charity work. Thankfully she is staying on Committee so we will benefit still from her knowledge and enthusiasm. We look forward to the year with Hazel in charge.

ANN HICKMAN (818993)

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Beaver Paradise! Reintroducing beavers back into Nottinghamshire after a 400-year absence will unlock the power of nature. Beavers are nature's finest 'wetland engineers'. As they dig, chew through trees and create deep pools, they help create habitats that benefit other wildlife. This is why we need your help raising £250,000 to bring them back to Idle Valley Nature Reserve We hope to create a beaver paradise on site and have already received some generous donations and had almost a thousand responses to the wildlife survey already after just a few days. Thank you if you have already got involved. If not, please do consider having your say and showing your support in this exciting project! Please help spread the word with friends and family too. We'd love everyone to provide their wildlife sightings and thoughts about reintroductions. All the links to find out more, donate, become a member or complete the survey can be found via the Notts Wildlife Trust website.

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Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 stick of lemongrass • 6 cm piece of ginger • ½ a bunch of fresh coriander (15g) • 500 g salmon fillets , skin off, pin-boned, from sustainable sources • 4 teaspoons chilli jam Method (Takes 22 minutes) 1. Whack the lemongrass against your work surface and remove the tough outer layer. 2. Peel the ginger, then very finely chop with the inside of the lemongrass and most of the coriander, stalks and all, reserving a few nice leaves in a bowl of cold water. 3. Chop the salmon into 1cm chunks over the mix on your board, then push half the salmon to one side. 4. Chop the rest until super-fine, almost like a purée, then mix the chunkier bits back through it and season with sea salt and black pepper. 5. Divide into 4, then shape and squash into 2cm-thick patties. 6. Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 7. Cook the patties for 2 minutes on each side, or until nicely golden. 8. Spoon the chilli jam over the fishcakes, add a splash of water to the pan, turn the heat off, and jiggle to coat. 9. Serve sprinkled with the drained coriander.

16 Chesterfield Canal Trust Post Lockdown Recovery Hollingwood Hub to reopen Katey’s Coffee Shop and our Information Centre & Shop will reopen at Hollingwood Hub on Monday April 12th . Katey will not have any inside tables.

Information Centre and Shop We hope to have this open on April 12th every day from 11.00 to 15.00. If you would like help, please reply to this email.

Crafty Sundays On Sundays, we intend to have a table in our Information Centre & Shop, or possibly outside if the weather is good, where local crafters can display and sell their wares. We will charge £10 for this. If you are interested, please reply to this email.

IWA Photography competition The Inland Waterways Association’s annual photography competition is running until 31st July. For full information, click here.

Accounts Clerk We are looking for a volunteer Accounts Clerk to help with our Finance Team. This will take up the equivalent of about half a day a week. The vast majority of the work can be done at home. Experience of finance, admin., and book keeping would be very helpful. Please reply to this email if you are interested.

Walking Festival We are gradually putting walks together for our Walking Festival which will run from 11th to 19th September. We are still looking for new walks and walk leaders, in particular we need someone to lead our Full Length Walk that we run over three consecutive days. If you would like to help, please reply to this email.

Calendar photos We are still collecting photos for our 2022 Calendar. If you have any photos that you would like to submit for consideration, please reply to this email with them attached.

Canalmania - the Building of England's Canals You may be interested in this talk. All proceeds go to the Kent MS Therapy Centre.

Wildlife Watch Please see the attached. If you have some wildlife photos that we could feature, please reply to this email with them attached. Now that we can get out and about, we will again restrict entries to the canal, not gardens etc.

Rod Auton email: [email protected] 17

Dear Friends,

During Lent I have been using the daily reflections shared through the Church of England #LIVE LENT study, some of you may have been doing the same. One of the exercises we were encouraged to do at the beginning of Lent was to spend time reflecting on how our own story of faith began. During this process of reflecting on my own faith story, I have once again found myself considering with awe and wonder, the amazing truth that God invites each one of us, in ways that I cannot fully comprehend, to be active participants in his story. I think the psalmist captures this sense of this awe and wonder in Psalm 8; When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4). Each one of us is invited into a story that begins with God’s creation, continues through human wanderings, towards and away from God and reaches its dramatic peak in the coming of Jesus and the word made flesh. We do not need to worry about fully understanding complex theologies, or doctrinal propositions, we just need to be willing to accept that divine invitation, to be willing to make God’s story our own and to choose to live out of that story each and every day. No one ever said that following Jesus was easy, and he even said, “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). As we, individually and corporately, accept the invitation to participate in the story of God, we must constantly challenge to ensure that our decisions demonstrate that we are living out of God’s story – a big story of love, inclusion, justice and faithfulness. As the world begins to reopen in the coming months, we will be considering what it means as church across this benefice to live out of God’s story. We have learnt so much in the last twelve months and discovered some new ways of worshipping together through our online services, of learning together through online study groups and of connecting our children across the benefice with Messy Church online sessions. How might a mixed economy of online and in person church services enable us to flourish and grow in our own discipleship, whilst also encouraging new disciples along the way? 18

I don’t have the answer to this question, but I am excited about exploring them with you as we discern together how God’s story is unfolding before our very eyes in Bawtry, , Newington, Misson, Harwell, , Everton, Mattersey and Mattersey Thorpe. We know that the invitation to follow Jesus, to become part of his story, is one that is open to everyone. When Jesus invited those first disciples into his story, he didn’t test their understanding of God or ask deeply personal questions about their lives, he just said “follow me” (Matt. 4). In that simple word ‘follow’ was the invitation to walk in his footsteps and to make his story their own story. This is good news! Jesus is good news!

This Easter, we will once again celebrate the story of Jesus’ triumphant victory over death. We will celebrate together in our churches and through the wonder of technology together in our homes. Why not use this time to reflect on your faith story, remind yourselves of the ways in which you are present in the story of God and consider how God may be challenging you / us to walk into a new chapter with him.

Every blessing, Becky

SUNFLOWER SUNDAY

30 MAY 2021

Many of you have been crafting sunflowers to decorate our villages. If you are knitting or crocheting and require more wool, please let me know.

Happy Crafting. Julie (817589)

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DATES AND SERVICES IN

LOCAL CHURCHES,

FOR MAY 2021

Sunday 11.15am Service of Holy Communion at 2nd May All Saints’ Church, Mattersey

Followed by 12.30pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Sunday 11.15am Service of Holy Communion at

9th May Holy Trinity Church, Everton

Sunday 11.15am Service of Holy Communion at

16th May St Nicholas, Bawtry

Sunday 11.15am Service of Holy Communion at 23rd May St John The Baptist, Misson

Sunday 11.15am Service of Holy Communion at

30th May St Helena, Austerfield

We are continuing to observe social distancing measures and face coverings must be worn (unless exempt). There is a currently a service of Holy Communion in All Saint's Church, Mattersey on the first Sunday of every month at 11.15am. People are also welcome to attend Holy Trinity Church Everton for a service of Holy Communion on the second Sunday of every month, also at 11.15am. Full details of our services can be found on our church pages via http://www.achurchnearyou.com

Annual Parochial Church Meeting This is the meeting when reports of Church events for the previous year are reported. Any village residents may attend. At this meeting the Church Warden and members for the Parochial Church Council are elected. Only those on the Church Electoral Role may vote.

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