Parish Priest’s Postscript, February 2017.

1. The of , Dr. Sarah Furness has invited all the parishes in the region to a big service in Peterborough Cathedral on 26 February at 3.30pm. As she comes towards the end of her Shrivel Year, Dr. Furness, in the company of The Lord Lieutenant, has also invited a real sheriff to attend: The Rutland Sheriff from Vermont USA complete with his uniform – though horse will be optional! I do hope a number of people from the Benefice will give their support to this service partly because the next High Sheriff of Rutland is actually living in the Benefice: Craig Mitchell from Barrowden. To support this event will also help us to understand what Craig Mitchell’s appointment will signify. There will be a party afterwards with much cake so please email [email protected] to inform the authorities how many people will be travelling in your car. 2. The Welland-Fosse Benefice now has a website! It contains information about our five parishes; news of forthcoming events, services rotas and – if you have the stomach for it – old sermons! It is free to use but it an enormous leap forward in communication terms to enable the whole world to know of our existence and the quality of life which we enjoy. My primary concern is not the whole world but the communication with you and the rest of the benefice which is, of its very nature, complicated and sometimes dismally slow. Please use it! We need your email address so that you can receive immediate news via the website. Please add your email address to the list at the back of each church. I am really grateful to those at the centre of this operation for pushing it forward so sensitively but with confidence. It is still ‘work in progress’; it is not yet complete nor quite as flashy as many commercial sites but it will do the job and help us to communicate the gospel. 3. Lent is just around the corner. Ash Wednesday is on 1st March an there will be a Benefice Communion Service with the Imposition of Ashes (for those who wish it!) at South Luffenham, 7.30pm. 4. Lent Groups are often a feature of parish life and I hope to start such a group this coming Lent. It will be a very easy, domestically based course with video clips (and some homework!) so please watch this space for further details. 5. I reported last month on having completed the Benefice Survey of most people on the Electoral Roll. These results have been analysed and I am now in the process of sharing them with the churchwardens. Barrowden was first off, mainly because of the clamour to start some work with young people. This has now progressed and I am delighted and relieved to announce that a monthly Sunday crèche will start at The Rectory in Barrowden on the 4th Sunday of each month, beginning on Sunday 23rd April. It will start at 11 am to coincide with the start of the Sunday Communion Service. Further names of participants are being sought together with adults who would be prepared to staff the crèche on a rota basis. If you would like to volunteer, then please let me know and I will pass your details on to the co-coordinators. 6. Prayer is an obligation for all practicing Christians. It is what we do! We learn the language of prayer (=communication with God) through common worship which in the Church of England is somewhat stylized. In the modern liturgies however, there is plenty of scope for innovation and lay people have been encouraged to lead the intercessions at Communion since 1967. So we have a long history of the laity leading intercessions – often inspirationally. This is practiced in most of our benefice churches today but we do need more people willing to lead the intercessions with some support and training. To this end the churchwardens are looking to encourage people to come to a training and refresher evening for intercessors and potential intercessors on Monday 20 February at 7.00pm in The Rectory. We will analyse good practice and build upon it. If this is for you, please don’t wait for the churchwarden to tap you on the shoulder. Just come!