Forncett St Edmund Things Are Looking Up
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April / May 2021 Bi-monthly magazine Donation Ashwellthorpe David Turner 01508 489458 Woodman’s Lodge, The Street, Ashwellthorpe NR16 1HD Forncett Margaret Webster 01953 788114 St Edmunds The Old Trowel & Hammer, Tabernacle Lane, Forncett St Peter NR16 1LE Forncett Graham Prior [email protected] St Mary Toad Hall, Wymondham Road Hethel NR14 8EU Forncett Gillian Barnes 01508 813055 St Peter Southgate Lodge, Station Road, Forncett St Peter NR16 1HZ Fundenhall Dianne Burridge 01603 812312 Hurn Bungalow, Norwich Road, Hethersett, Norwich Carol Eastwood 01508 488381 Whipps Farmhouse, Whipps Lane, Fundenhall NR16 1DT Hapton Quinton Spratt 01508 489471 Homestead Farm, Chequers Hill, Forncett St Mary NR16 1JP Tacolneston Beverley Spratt 01508 489746 Lakes Farm, Hall Road, Tacolneston NR16 1DN Wreningham Christine Minns 01508 488123 High Gables, Church Road, Wreningham NR16 1BH 2 April / May 2021 Revd Lydia Avery, Priest-in-Charge The Rectory, 16 The Fields, Tacolneston NR16 1DG Tel: 01953 788227 Email: [email protected] Administrator Christine Minns 01508 488123 & Treasurer [email protected] Reader & John Hooper 01508 489050 Safeguarding [email protected] Pastoral Care Margaret Styles 01508 489112 Co-ordinator Cover photo: The East Window of St Mary’s church, Forncett just after sunrise 3 It is a great privilege to be given the task of writing an Easter message. This is a daunting task at the best of times but made more so given the circumstances of the Covid pandemic which in many ways has had a limiting effect on our longer term visions for our lives both as individuals and for our church as we look to the future. Cardinal Basil Hume said “the greatest gift of Easter is hope” and it reminds me of a question by a year 4 pupil at Tacolneston Primary School asking “why do we call Good Friday, good?” I explained that without Good Friday there would be no Easter and the hope that gives us and so for that reason we can call that Friday, Good. As we begin to emerge from the limitations the pandemic has imposed upon us my hope is that we can lift up our heads, begin to think more long-term about the road ahead and rediscover that Resurrection Hope that we celebrate at Easter The scriptures are full of verses about hope. My favourite is Romans 5.5 where it says “hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Hope: flowing from the events of that first Easter. If we are lacking in hope perhaps we are underestimating and/or undervaluing the roles that God has given to us. We are all called to abundant life. Through his coming among us and by his dying and rising we have been called into the life of God’s Kingdom. We are all part of the “Royal Priesthood” called to continue Christ’s priestly 4 work of blessing, mediation and reconciliation on behalf of the whole of humanity, to bear witness to, and participate in the mission of God. What a fantastic task we have been given. Surely acknowledging that is alone sufficient to fill us with the hope that God promises us. Let not murmurings of “we are so few”, “we are getting on a bit”, “we don’t have the resources”, or anything else, dent that hope. We alone are His eyes, His ears, His feet, His hands; so let us march on, carrying on His work, underpinned by the message of Easter and a hope that does not disappoint. John Hooper If you are unwell or unable to come to church but would like to receive a phone call, or if COVID restrictions allow, a visit from one of the Benefice Pastoral Care Team, please contact Margaret Styles, Pastoral Care Co-ordinator, on 01508 489112 and she will be very happy to arrange this for you. Sadly, due to the need to maintain cleaning and social distancing to ensure the churches are COVID Secure, not all of the churches in our group are currently open. To find out what’s open and when, please see elsewhere in this magazine. However, although things are not ‘normal’ right now, we’re still here to listen and to help if we can. Whether it be end of life support, a Home Communion, booking a Christening, Wedding, or Marriage blessing, discussing what you need to do to arrange a Funeral or Memorial Service, in the Upper Tas Valley Benefice please contact Revd Lydia Avery: 01953 788227 or via email: [email protected] 5 Sylvia Robinson whose funeral was held at All Saints, Tacolneston on the 15th February Emily Hatch whose funeral was held at All Saints, Tacolneston on the 18th February Terry Lawn whose funeral was held at All Saints, Wreningham on the 18th February Doreen Mason whose funeral was held on 23rd February at Breckland Crematorium Violet Headworth whose funeral was held on 2nd March at All Saints, Tacolneston and Breckland Crematorium Photo by Yichen Wang on Unsplash 6 Heavenly Father we often pray for things which we wish for and are unable to understand when they are not granted. Teach us to trust that you have a “road map” for our life and you know what we need rather than what we would like. Help us to accept and put our trust in you at all times. Lord as we view the “road map” set by our Government in the hope that we will soon be brought out of this pandemic, we ask that everybody will be mindful of the restrictions in place at each step and for the safety of themselves and others might they keep to them. We thank you for the dedication of all those who have brought us this far along the “road”. The medical and hospital staff and volunteers, the scientists who have discovered the vaccines, the staff at the vaccination centres and all those who have played their part in trying to keep themselves and others safe. The road ahead is going to be hard for many. Give encouragement to those with businesses which have suffered, the people who will be out of work, the stressed and anxious. Might they know your presence and show us how we can be a signpost along the way guiding the lost and the lonely. Lord you have the power to make a difference. Show each and every one of us what YOU would have US do to make a difference in your name. Amen 7 At the Sunday morning service on Sunday 21st March, there was an unusual sermon, based on 1 Corinthians 12 and John 15:1-12. The sermon illustrated how very blessed the churches of the Upper Tas Valley Benefice have been over possibly the most challenging year in our lives. The Sermon was actually the Annual Benefice Church Meeting for 2019 and 2020 and the reports all illustrated the blessings we have received as churches in that time. Modelling the earliest church, there were elections in order to divide the work of the church to ensure that no one is overloaded. The following people were elected as Churchwardens for specific churches from May nd2 , 2021 when they will be sworn into office (until that date the previously elected wardens remain in office): St Nicholas Fundenhall – Carol Eastwood and Dianne Burridge All Saints, Ashwellthorpe – David Turner All Saints, Wreningham – Christine Minns and Christine Bilham St Margaret’s, Hapton – Michelle Martin and Anthony Bate All Saints, Tacolneston – Beverley Spratt and John Hooper St Mary’s, Forncett St Mary – Graham Prior St Peter’s, Forncett St Peter – Gillian Barnes and Alexandra Barnes St Edmund’s, Forncett End– Margaret Webster The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Nicholas, Fundenhall remains unchanged. Two members of the Upper Tas Valley All Saints PCC came to the end of their three-year term of office and so Anthony Bate and John Webster stood down with our grateful thanks for all they have given to the parish through their work as church councillors over the past few years. At the meeting, Quinton Spratt was nominated as a new PCC member on Upper Tas Valley All Saints PCC and enthusiastically endorsed by all present on Zoom and in church. 88 nd May 2 will see the retirement of Quinton as Churchwarden of Hapton having previously been a PCC member. His service to date adds up to an amazing 35 years! Words cannot convey the thanks owed to Quinton for the commitment and sheer dedication he has shown to Hapton Church over this long period. Proper thanks will be given at the Church Service on 2nd May when newly elected churchwardens will be formally sworn into office and retiring officers officially stand down. The Annual Meeting section covering 2019 also elected Christine Minns and John Hooper as Upper Tas Valley Benefice’s two representatives to Humbleyard Deanery Synod until July 2023. Please could I ask you to keep our Churchwardens and Church councils in your prayers now and throughout the year. With every blessing, Lydia FROM THE RECTORY KITCHEN A Quick Fishy Pâté I love smoked fish, in all its guises, and this uses one of the more versatile, Smoked Mackerel. This is modified from a book of Irish pub recipes. It does for 4, but I warn you, it’s very moreish! You’ll need 4 smoked mackerel fillets, 125g or so of fat reduced cream cheese (it makes it less ‘gloopy’), a very generous dollop (or two) of creamed horseradish. The zest and juice of a lemon, fresh parsley (if possible), black pepper and sea salt flakes all add the ‘bite’.