St Annes' July 2020
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Tottington St Anne’s Trinity July 2020 Price £1 The View from the Vicarage I was thinking the other day, in one of my more amusing moments, that I might rename the Vicarage Garden. A number of possibilities passed through my mind, which, on reflection and in the circumstances, seemed perhaps a little flippant. Be that as it may, it has to be said that there has been an awful lot going on in that patch of land I am at this moment looking towards from my study window. The rose garden has been extended, areas of moss have been turfed, two new vegetable patches have been dug and planted, a patio has been laid, new bird boxes and feeders have been erected, boulders have been relocated from along the pathway leading from Church, the mountain of leaves beneath the bamboo screen has been cleared away, several tonnes of golden gravel support areas of seating, the grass has been reseeded in places, and a rather nice lantern now hangs at the back of the Vicarage. There is always plenty to do and what busy bees we have been! The week in which I find myself composing these words has seen the “reopening of the Church” (is this an oxymoron? I rather think so). The faithful were enabled to re enter their own building and, unsurprisingly and very much in character, the first visitor to cross the threshold was the oldest St Annesite. I shan’t name them for fear of impertinence and having my ears boxed the next time I meet her, but we can probably work out who that particular person is. The inside of Church had been well prepared and I am grateful to those individuals who, with meticulous professionalism and thoughtful care, made sure that “guidance” was followed in order that people would feel confident when they turned up to say their prayers. Rather like the Vicarage garden, what busy bees they have been. “Getting your finger out” is a somewhat crude expression that I find myself using from time to time. However, I think we will all agree that nothing much is achieved in life without some degree of effort. In recent months we have had to navigate our way around all sorts of cascading information, direction, advice, confusing signals that have on occasion baffled and a plethora of material that would overwhelm the most efficient of us. We have also had to find ways to maintain the fellowship of the Church and our life of prayer. However, we have continued to bat on (as I often say) and we have done quite a bit of metaphorical landscaping. During times for individual prayer and in the absence of formal services, I have read prayers and Bible readings from within the Sanctuary that have been augmented by recorded choral and music from Taize; we do the same type of thing at the Watch on Maundy Thursday. No doubt we will continue our ecclesiastical landscaping, moving forward, optimistically, prayerfully, hopefully and faithfully, trusting God to give us the strength that we all need to maintain the little section of his vineyard that we are entrusted with. Keep the Faith.....now where’s my spade! The Vicar 3 50 not out and still batting!! To use a cricketing analogy new Standing Orders and conversions from envelopes has just passed 50. So yes, a round of applause for everyone who has contributed! We are however still batting and want to add to our run rate so please review your giving if you still have envelopes. Seriously the new standing order total is now approaching £1,500 per month which is a fantastic figure, thank you to all who have contributed. This plus existing standing orders at £1,800 per month remains our sole source of regular income through this crisis. We are still receiving fee income as Hugh continues to be busy, kind people are also making donations and we have the 100 club income. These together with Gift Aid brings the monthly income to say £6,000 some £4,000 short of our normal £10,000 average. The Hall is still closed of course, so therefore no income is being generated there. I know I have said it before, but it remains important to keep reviewing the monthly giving. Please support St Anne’s. Thank you, Roger 4 Saint of the Month St Thomas the Apostle By Chris Jupp To me, St Thomas is a larger than life figure, who was not the sort to let his master (Jesus) get away with something that he, Thomas, did not understand. No doubt (forgive the pun) we, as Christians, should be thankful for Thomas’s enquiring mind and questions, as from this we learn so much about faith and ministry in the answers given by Jesus. Here we see the practical, down-to-earth ‘seeing is believeing’ disciple of Jesus, whose doubts of the resurrection dissolved in the presence of his Risen Master. St Thomas is known by several names, i.e. ‘Doubting Thomas’, also ‘The Twin’ from the Syrian Aramaic word and from the Greek ‘Didymos.’ His true name was Judas Thomas, but Judas was not used in Gospel texts, so that he would neither bear the name of the Betrayer, nor be mistakenly identified with him. Thomas’s history is so interesting. He visited many countries, and also became known as ‘The Apostle of India’ which led me to enquire further about this fascinating Disciple. Later traditions claim that Thomas found his way to Persia and Southern india, and it is said that he even had doubts about his mission, but in his own way he taught the message of Christ to those peoples. Whilst in India, Thomas received news that the Virgin Mary was near to death at Ephesus. He returned to Ephesus but missed her passing, and on approaching her tomb beheld the Virgin’s body ascending. Thomas cried out for Her not to leave him desolate, when she took from her waist the belt she habitually wore and gave it to him with words of blessing. Thomas returned to India with this most precious relic and it became the most valued treasure of his disciples, whose descendants came to be known as the St Thomas Christians. It is interesting to note that when Thomas returned he was also in the company of a community of Essenes and they settled in Kerala, Southern India, in AD52. The St Thomas Christians, represent one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world. They are still vibrant in their communities, and in the 21st Century there are about 4 million St Thomas Christians in India. Even today there are ceremonies held with Christians, Hindus and Muslims all celebrating the life of the Virgin Mary, a testament to those adherents of all religions uniting in love and harmony. St Thomas was martyred in or near Mylapore in approximately AD72, and it is ironic that his murderer King Mazdai eventually became converted to St Thomas Christianity. 5 ongrega Alison Bearn C t e io Born in Hampshire, she moved to h n Wootten in Bedfordshire at an early T age, where she attended school, t before going on to the University of e e Durham. She then studied at Birmingham and Manchester to M become an Educational Psychologist. by Geoff Leach She’s been married to Hugh for 30 years and they have two sons, Harry and Freddie. What is your perfect evening? Your greatest weakness With the family on a sunny evening at our It’s worthless to worry. It might never house in France. Following a swim in the happen and probably never will. river we would all return for a BBQ. Extra guests would include my friend Emma, my When was the last time you cried? Mum because there were so many things we With my sister in hospital which was a sad didn’t talk about, Billy Connelly and Peter Kay. time in my life. However, I do cry very easily, watching Scotland get a try, What is your favourite TV show? Manchester United scoring a goal. Modern Family which is very heart warming and hilarious sometimes. Apart from that I do The bravest thing you have ever done not watch much apart from sport. I prefer the I dislike spiders immensely but thought I radio. had to teach the boys not to share my fear. We caught one in the bath and put it in a If you could change or make a new law, glass so we could examine it. The boys what would it be? thought it was fun but not me. Fortunately, We dispose of things to easily and we should our dog Cameron catches them now. be made to recycle things more. But I think it should be compulsory for every family to The best day of your life (apart from have an allotment. children and weddings) I don’t think I’ve had it yet. For my 50th The best things my parents taught me birthday I decided to do 50 things. I’ve done How good family life can be. No matter what some, but there is still a long way to go. happens, when you come home it should be warm, welcoming, fun and secure. Your worst job Working in a cattery. I had to cycle 5 miles The shop you cannot walk past to get there and then got all the worst jobs I am not a shopper usually and buy most like replacing cat litter. There would be two things from Amazon.