Stratfield Turgis Parish Meeting
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LODDON VALLEY LINK JUNE 2005 The Parish Newsletter No. 375 SUNDAY SERVICES for JUNE 2005 Sunday 5th JUNE TRINITY 2 10.00 am Holy Communion St Leonard’s, Sherfield 10.00 am Family Service St Mary’s, Stratfield Saye * 6.30 pm Evensong (BCP) with St Mary’s, Hartley Wespall Holy Communion by Extension Sunday 12th JUNE TRINITY 3 Followed by picnic and games on the Green (please bring your own picnic) Sunday 19th JUNE TRINITY 4 10.00 am Family Communion St Leonard’s, Sherfield & Baptisms 6.30pm Evensong (BCP) St Mary’s, Hartley Wespall Sunday 26th JUNE TRINITY 5 8.00 am Holy Communion (BCP) St Mary’s, Hartley Wespall 10.00 am Family Service St Leonard’s, Sherfield 11.15am Matins & Baptism St Mary’s, Stratfield Saye * Sunday 3rd JULY TRINITY 6 10.00 am Holy Communion St Leonard’s, Sherfield 10.00 am Family Service St Mary’s, Stratfield Saye * 12.30-4.00pm Benefice B-B-Q Lawn Farm – details inside 6.30 pm Evensong (BCP) with St Mary’s, Hartley Wespall Holy Communion by Extension [* Drive up close to white gates, which will open automatically *] BCP = Book of Common Prayer 1 “We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when…” Last month was a time of reminiscing for those of you who lived through the horrific days of World War II. The famous Vera Lyn hit quoted above was heard many times on a variety of fascinating programmes, recalling the end of war in Europe. Some weeks ago, late one evening, the telephone rang and a voice said, Graham was a friend from my teenage years whom I hadn’t seen for 30 plus years! We arranged to meet and had a wonderful evening trawling through memories of our misspent youth. Reminiscing isn’t just a pastime for the aged and frail. Recently I found myself taking the funeral services of a number of elderly people with surprisingly large congregations present, and a notable number of young people. Their poems, flowers, comments and little gifts spoke powerfully of precious and treasured memories, and of a relationship with a dearly loved person who had become part of their short history. Each year I say to my wife that we ought to reduce our Christmas card list, because we haven’t seen many of the recipients for decades. Graham’s telephone call made me realise the importance of not losing touch with valued friends from the past. Our lives are shaped and formed by the people we meet and the resulting relationships, good, bad and indifferent. As a clergyman, people often regard me as a ‘professional Christian’ or an agent working for an organisation called ‘the Church’. Christianity is a way of life, which results from having a relationship with Jesus, God’s Son. What is certain is that whatever happens to us He never loses touch. Christian greetings, 2 Roman Catholic Mass at Breach Lane Chapel every Sunday at 8.45 am 3 TEXT FOR THE MONTH… … Acts 2 : 17 & 21 "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The NIV Bible Prayer for the Month. Holy Spirit, coming gently as a dove, we pray for all who long for peace, and all who have lost sight of what peace really means. We pray for those who fill their lives with noise or activity, afraid of facing themselves in a time of quiet reflection, attempting somehow to mask their sense of emptiness; and we pray for those who seek fulfilment in those things which can never satisfy, wealth, possessions, power success. May the Holy Spirit come into all our lives so that we may enjoy hope and peace, healing and harmony and experience the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord who came back at Pentecost and in whose name we pray. Amen Prayer Points for June Pray for all the village activities taking place this month the Fete and Songs of Praise at Sherfield, the regatta at Hartley Wespall. Pray for the organisers and for good weather and that all may enjoy the fellowship which the events create. Pray for all the new MPs and especially for the new member for Basingstoke that she may serve the whole community Pray for wise government throughout the whole world especially the new rulers in Iraq and for our own new government Give thanks for the beauty of summer. Never forget those in the third world who are hungry and homeless as we live in a land of plenty. 4 FRIDAY, 17th JUNE - "TEA at 3" IN THE GARDEN OF THE WELL HOUSE, STRATFIELD SAYE Visit the Garden and enjoy Afternoon Tea and Cakes in aid of Naomi House Children’s Hospice. The Ladies of the Wellington Boot Club look forward to welcoming y ou and ask f or y our assistance in raising monies towards the Music Fund of the Hospice in Sutton Scotney. Join the Ladies f or tea f or an enjoy able afternoon (3 til 6 pm) Come and join together for a BENEFICE WIDE B-B-Q at LAWN FARMHOUSE STRATFIELD TURGIS 12.30pm on SUNDAY 3rd JULY FAMILIES AND CHILDREN WELCOME RSVP to either Gill & John Williams (882705) or Rody & Bob Politt (882209) Offers of help with food please to Gill (882705) Update - Sherfield Green volunteers In May, we cleared some of the stinging nettles from around the path and steps of the pond and strimmed parts of the BMX track. The main task was cutting back the overgrown path behind the Village Hall. In June, we plan to weed around the War Memorial as the hedge and trees planted last year are being swamped. We are currently compiling new tasks and would welcome any suggestions for work to be included, subject to approval by the Village Green Committee and Parish Council. Contact Simon (880224). Do come along on Saturday 4th June 2.00pm (meet up near the Jubilee Pond) and bring your gardening gloves – also gardening tools would be useful. 6 Would you like to discover more about the Christian Faith? This would be a course of eight to ten sessions when people could explore the Christian Faith in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. The group would be suitable for ‘beginners’ and those who would like to be confirmed. Assuming that there is enough support, the group would start in the Autumn and could run during the day or eve- ning, depending upon people’s availability. I am hoping that we will be able to have a Confirmation service sometime in the Summer of 2006. If you are interested, or would like to know more, please contact me. Revd Bob Politt 01256 882209 On Sherfield Village Green 11.00am Sunday 12th June 2005 with Tadley Concert Brass British Red Cross & Save the Children 8 Parish Registers Toddler Time at St Leonard’s Church, Sherfield Toddlers please bring a grown-up with you! 4.00-4.30pm Wednesday 29th June We meet on the red carpet in church. All welcome ! Telephone Revd Bob Politt for details. 10 As some of you may know, my husband Jamie recently died after a long fight against cancer. As a result I and our children have decided to do our part in raising some money to support CANCER RESEARCH UK, which is the largest volunteer based cancer research organisation in the world (3000 scientists and an annual spend of over £191,000,000). They are making a real difference and they need our help. Therefore my daughter Jenny, my son Robert, and I are preparing to undertake the Cancer Research Great Wall of China Trek. This involves trekking for ten days along various sections of the wall, some of which are very rarely followed by visitors. We will naturally be paying for our own costs for the trip, but we are urgently seeking sponsors so that we can raise at least a total of £9,000 between us. Clearly we would like to raise much more, and that is my aim - MUCH MORE! Those who knew him will remember Jamie as a lovely man, and in his memory I am asking you to give a little thought to it, and then to make a generous pledge. We will need to lodge the contributions to Cancer Research before June 2005, and the TREK will take place in September 2005. We will definitely be there and do our piece. Please, please help us with this very serious effort to raise funds for CANCER RESEARCH. Linda, Jenny &, Robert Fenton Please send sponsorship to "Cancer Research UK" c/o Linda, Jenny & Robert Fenton, 5 Fair Oak Lane, Stratfield Saye, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 2EA 12 This is my last Loddon Link for a while. I now hand over the editorship to Sheena … see Page 49 for details and please note that the cut edition (the July/August Newsletter) is June 18th. As usual there has been a heavy demand for space and I have tried hard to be fair to all our contributors. Could I just highlight the -off date for receipt of articles for the double summer article by Alison Cross (pages 27/28) She willEditorial be leading a Walk round our Village Green on Saturday, 25th June starting at 2.00pm. If you are interested in the flora and fauna of the Green, and how to maintain it, then do make a note of the date and time.