Church of the Epiphany, Tockwith Parish & Village News
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Church of the Epiphany, Tockwith Parish & Village News February 2016 www.tockwithchurch.co.uk Price 70p Church Services February 2016 Church of the Epiphany Tockwith A member Church of the Parish of Marston Moor Reading Reader 7th 10.00am United Parish Service of Holy Communion 1662 Sunday Church of the Epiphany Tockwith next Preacher Rev Roy Shaw before Exodus 34 29-35 Jenn Waller Lent 2 Corinthians 3. 12. 4.2 Jenny Tham Luke 9 28-36 Deryck Wilson Sides person: Janet Marriner 4.00pm Messy Church 14th 11.00am Deuteronomy 26 1-11 Peter Harris First Holy Communion Romans 10:8b-13 Bev Greaves Sunday Luke 4: 1-13 Barbara Harris of Lent Sides person Charles & Bev Greaves 21st 4.00pm Second Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Janet Marriner Sunday Evening Prayer Luke 13: 31-35 Imogen Woods of Lent Sides person: Joanna Worth 28th 11.00am 3rd Luke 13 : 1-9 John Adams Sunday Family Praise of Lent Sides person: Susan & John McKernan TOCKWITH ROTA - February 2016 th st th 7th 14 21 28 10.00am 11am 4pm 11.00am Sides person Janet Marriner Charles & Bev Joanna Worth Susan & John Greaves McKernan Coffee Jenn Waller Marion Karen Stobert n/a Julia Plowman Hainsworth Diane Wakelin Audrey Gough Chalice Neil Stobert Rebecca n/a n/a Sarah McBride Greaves Porch only Church Joanna Worth Charles & Bev Jenn Waller Opening Neil Stobert Greaves Intercessions Mary Shaw Deryck Wilson n/a Karen Stobert The Revd. Roy Shaw writes......................... You’ve indulged just a tad too much at Christmas; the New Year’s resolutions have been consigned to the waste bin; so what’s Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday (February 10th) got to offer us? A lot more than giving up chocolate, I can assure you! Think of it as a detox; cleansing the system of the impurities which with the best will I the world, clog up and prevent us from being the sort of people we want to be. I’m not thinking of inches off the waistline here, more the good folk we never quite get to be and which our best selves want to be. Lent will help us get some way towards that, if we soak ourselves in its intentions and actions. Think of it as taking stock; being thankful for all that is good in our life and community, and resolving with the help of God to add to that stock of goodness, a little less self-concerned, a little more living for others. Think of it as a time of mourning before the joy of Easter. Only those who have taken stock of their shortcomings, the world’s shortcomings, can know something of what Jesus was doing on the cross, and achieving in his resurrection life. But lest you get the idea that it’s only about thinking, from what I’ve said above, think again. It’s about honesty before God- what we might call prayer; and for many, it’s increasingly not just about the old standby of giving up chocolates for six weeks, but about doing something good I wouldn’t normally do. I’m encouraging our church folk to give an extra £1 a week in their offertory gift over Lent, to be donated to a local or national charity. Lent is intended to make a difference to us; it brings us face to face with choices; - discipline or self-indulgence, good and better versus thoughtless and routine, space for God and others as against life lived wholly for pleasure. I don’t say it’s easy. I just contend that it’s worthwhile. Your vicar, Roy 01423 359003/ [email protected]. NEWS FROM THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY TOCKWITH Our church family values everyone, whatever their age. However, adults have to take responsibility for themselves to grow in their faith. The church is, of course, here to help in that process, providing opportunities to join Bible Studies, Prayer Groups, Lent Groups as well as ministry from the pulpit. When it comes to children, we as a church can provide the tools and the learning environment, but of course, in the end, it is actually up to parents. If we, as parents, want our children to enjoy the precious gift of Christ throughout their lives, then our responsibilities are inescapable. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.’ (Proverbs 22:6) Make a start and come along to Messy Church. You will wonder why you didn’t come along sooner! The feedback regarding the various services in church over the Christmas period has been very encouraging. The 4pm Christmas Eve Christingle service was absolutely ‘jam packed’ with the congregation right up to the altar. Children probably equalled adults at this service! All the chairs were used and children were sitting on the floor! The 6pm Christingle Service was a little less busy but there was still a full church. The first Midnight Communion Service for a number of years did not see all that many people perhaps most had attended one of the Christingles! 2016 marks a very exciting time in the life of Tockwith Church as we celebrate our 150th birthday. Prior to 1866 worshippers would have had to walk to St Helens Church Bilton in Ainsty, and probably would have also gone to Skewkirk (the church in the woods) near the River Nidd to worship with the nuns there, up until the dissolution of the monasteries. A wide variety of events are planned culminating in a visit by Archbishop Sentamu on 9thOctober. Watch out for details in the coming months. This month sees the beginning of Lent. Tradition sees people ‘giving up’ something or fasting for Lent but in recent years there has been a shift to encourage people to give to help other people. Rey Roy suggests considering adding to your weekly collection so that it can be donated to a needy cause. Tockwith Church will be hosting the United service on 7th February, so it will be good to see you. READINGS and PSALMS FEBRUARY 2016 Sunday 7th Sunday Next before Lent Reading: Exodus 34.29-35 Psalm: 99 Reading:2 Corinthians 3.12.4.2 Gospel:Luke 9.28-36 Wednesday 10th Ash Wednesday Joel 2:1-2,12-17 Psalm: 51:1-18 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10 Gospel:John 8:1-11 Sunday 14th First Sunday of Lent Deuteronomy 26.1-11 Psalm: 91.1-2, 9-16 Romans 10.8b-13 Gospel: Luke 4.1-13 Sunday 21st Second Sunday of Lent Genesis 15.1-12, 17-18 Psalm: 27 Philippians 3.17-4.1 Gospel: Luke 13.31-35 Sunday 28th Third Sunday of Lent Isaiah 55.1-9 Psalm: 63.1-9 Corinthians 10.1-13 Gospel: Luke 13.1-9 http://www.bungomacalling.co.uk/ You might be interested to see the new website that has just been launched for Bungoma Calling. At the moment it just covers the orphanage but the plan is that the theological training and school links parts will be added in the near future. When Angela and Karen visited the Orphanage just before Christmas they took with them a selection of towels as a gift from Tockwith Church. The pictures show children proudly displaying them. The orphanage were short of towels and the children had specifically asked for some. At the December Christingle services the different values of various societies were highlighted and it is hard to imagine children in Tockwith and surrounding villages asking for towels for a Christmas present! Christmas Holiday Club Over 50 children attended the Christmas Holiday Club in Tockwith Church. We made flying Dove Tree crafts, we played pass the parcel alongside the 'left right‛ nativity story and we had a competition to build a snowman. We finished by making 100 Christingles in less than 30 minutes! Checkout Tockwith Church facebook page to see the snowball fight with the 'Angel in the Pulpit'. Shrove Tuesday This year on February 9th is the last day before Lent. It is a day that is celebrated in many different ways with carnivals and feasting. In England, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, is marked by the cooking of pancakes, symbolic of indulgence and of using up foods such as fat, butter and eggs traditionally prohibited during Lent. The word Shrove; derives from ―shrive‖, meaning to confess, a remnant of ancient, Middle Ages observance when confession and the forgiveness of sins before Lent was regarded as essential. Shrove Tuesday falls 47 days before Easter Sunday and so is another moveable feast. Ash Wednesday follows Shrove Tuesday and is the first day of Lent. Ashes are an ancient symbol of mortality and penitence and were traditionally put onto the forehead as a sign of repentance of all sins of the previous year. The ash was produced from the burning of the palm crosses left over from the previous Palm Sunday. Using ashes to mark the cross on the believer’s forehead symbolises that through Christ's death and resurrection, all Christians can be free from sin. Lent is the period of forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter. Sundays are not included because they are days of celebration in any event, celebration of the resurrection. As the days of Spring lengthen and the new growing season advances this time was often viewed as a time of renewal and traditionally was a period of Christian teaching that led up to baptism or confirmation. The forty days of Lent have much biblical significance including the representation of the forty years when the Israelites wandered the desert and most importantly for Christians, the forty days during which Jesus was alone in the desert facing temptation by the Devil.