VALLEY& VALENCE The Parish Magazine for ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀ ฀฀฀฀฀฀ ฀฀฀฀ SEPTEMBER 2015 The“edition with no name” Edition featured in this issue... The Team Vicar Writes 6 Church Calendar 8 Village Hall Notice Board 10 Fran’s Summer Blog 13 Martinstown Cricket Club NEWS 16 What’s On - September 19 Mileaters - On Tour 22 Abbas & Steepleton Parish Council NEWS 27 CONTRIBUTORS WANTED If you have a story to tell, an interesting anecdote or some news that you would like to share with others, please send them in - and don’t forget to send photos! Graham Herbert , Editor – Tel: 01305 889786 SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 2015 Front cover main photograph by Heywood U. Hugmey ©2015. VALLEY& VALENCE EDITORIAL in VALLEY & VALENCE It would be much appreciated if copy is supplied electronically as a text doc. (Microsoft Word etc.) with any accompanying images as JPEG files to the address below. ALL COPY MUST REACH ME BY 10th (LATEST) OF THE PRECEDING MONTH in order to be included in that issue. ADVERTISING To advertise, please apply, giving your contact details & invoice address. Current rates & specifications enquiries and advertisement copy for each month’s issue to: Graham Herbert, The Barnhouse, 1 Cowleaze, Martinstown, DT2 9TD Tel: 01305 889786 or email: [email protected] – 5 – Dear Friends The September comes in as equal first for me in terms of favourite months (May being the other) and I’m sure many of you share that fondness for September as we celebrate Team harvest and God’s creation in all its wonderful abundance. But I have another reason for choosing September as front- Vicar runner in the favourite months stakes. Throughout most of my school life, as the long summer holiday drew to a close, I felt an excitement and expectation Writes... rising in me. Nice new school uniform, shiny new shoes, new class or new school but most importantly a chance to start again. Every September I vowed to try harder, do better, wipe the slate clean and make this the year I shone as brightly as my new shoes. Unfortunately, by October, or possibly November if I was having a good year, all those resolutions would have worn thin... until the next year and the next September optimism. Although school is long behind me now (as it is even for my children!) I still can’t shake that ‘September’ feeling. And it reminds me that, perhaps unlike some of the teachers that knew me, God is always right there with me in any new start I make (at any time of the year). He supports all my good intentions with no harping back or recriminations for old misdemeanours. His patience is endless, his love unconditional. There is a lovely hymn which begins ‘There’s a wideness in God’s mercy’, and which continues in a later verse, ‘But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own.’ Those words really ring true. We tend to assume that God will judge us in much the same we that we so readily judge others and ourselves. Yet the astonishing message at the heart of the gospel is that God is altogether different from us; his attitudes, goodness and forgiveness are on a level we find hard to comprehend. With God we should never labour under the burden of guilt, we should never imagine we have committed some unforgivable sin or been lacking in some way. We may be hard on ourselves, feeling we have failed once again, but the Season of nature of God is always to have mercy. Mists… So enjoy the ‘September feeling’. Look to a new beginning - resolve to do better. God will be with us all the way even if and New we fail. He will lift us up and help us start again – his love is unconditional, his patience has no limits. Beginnings Yours in Christ, Jean – 6 – The Parishes of The Winterbournes & Compton Valence TEAM RECTOR TEAM VICAR Rev’d Canon Thomas Woodhouse (01305 267944) Rev’d Jean Saddington (01305 889992) ASSOCIATE PRIEST Jo Lacy-Smith (01305 889476) The Parish of the Winterbournes There is a single Parochial Church Council for Martinstown, Steepleton and Abbas but each parish church retains its own local church committee. Churchwardens Dick Corbett-Winder (889410), John Crawford (889377), Joy Parsons (889611) PCC Hon. Secretary Alison Crawford (889377) PCC Hon. Treasurer Bruce Robertson The Parish of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Compton Valence Churchwarden & Treasurer – Jeremy Russell (01308 482227) Churchwarden & Secretary – Peter Steel (01308 482782) Any of the above can be approached in the first instance for Baptism, Marriage, Home Communion or just a visit and they would welcome being told when anybody has been bereaved or is ill. They have answerphones for you to leave a message. If you want us to remember anything or anyone in the public prayer of the Church, we would be glad to do this as long as permission of the person involved is assured. NEWS FROM WINTERBOURNE ABBAS CHURCH A very successful Village Fete was held at Manor Farm. The weather was beautiful and a lot of fun was had by all stall holders and visitors. A big thank you to all helpers especially those involved in the cleaning and clearing of the yard before and after the event. A special thanks to Joe Foot, Lee and Martin for allowing us use of the yard at Manor Farm. This was a great community occasion which raised £1300 for the Church . Winterbourne Abbas Harvest Festival will take place on Sunday 4th October . The service begins at 10.00am at the Church followed by Harvest lunch at 12.30 for 1.00pm . Please ring Joy Parsons on 01305 889611 to book your place at the lunch. Gifts of produce will be welcomed and will be auctioned off after the service. Proceeds along with donations for lunch will go to the Pilsdon Community . It is intended to hold a Christmas Tree Festival in the Church in December . Full details will follow next month however to help as many families to take part as possible if anyone has a artificial tree that they no longer require and would like to donate it to the festival it would be much appreciated. If you can help please ring Joy Parsons on 01305 889611 – 7 – CHURCH CALENDAR September 2015 SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER - 14th AFTER TRINITY 8.00 Parish Eucharist (Order 2) Martinstown 10.00 Parish Eucharist Winterbourne Abbas 11.00 Parish Eucharist Winterbourne Steepleton SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER – 15th AFTER TRINITY 8.00 Parish Eucharist (Order 2) Martinstown 9.30 Parish Eucharist Compton Valence 11.00 Parish Eucharist Martinstown SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER – 16th AFTER TRINITY 10.00 Parish Eucharist Winterbourne Abbas 11.00 Parish Eucharist Martinstown SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMBER – 17th AFTER TRINITY 11.00 Parish Eucharist (Order 2) Steepleton Manor 11.00 Parish Eucharist Martinstown NB. Please note the changes from the normal pattern of services on 6 and 13 September. SERVICES Morning Prayer is said on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8.30am at Martinstown church. Evensong is said every Sunday at 18.00 at Martinstown church. People of all traditions are most welcome. 6th September – 14th after Trinity >hV^V](*/)",V?VbZh'/&"&,BVg`,/')"(, 13th September – 15th after Trinity >hV^V]*%/)".V?VbZh(/&"&'BVg`-/',"(- 20th September – 16th after Trinity ?ZgZb^V]&&/&-"'%?VbZh(/&(")/(!,"-VBVg`./(%"(, 27th September – 17th after Trinity SUNDAY READINGS READINGS SUNDAY CjbWZgh&&/)"+?VbZh*/&("ZcYBVg`./(-"ZcY Experienced admin volunteer wanted… Age UK Dorchester is looking for a volunteer experienced in administration to support our welfare benefits coordinator and team of welfare benefits volunteers. We are looking for someone with good admin, computer and communication skills and including a confident telephone manner. You would be able to commit to at least half a day a week. Please email details of your experience including telephone number to Janice Webb at welben @ageukdorchester.org.uk – 8 – RIDE AND STRIDE FOR THE DORSET HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST SATURDAY 12th SEPTEMBER September sees the annual sponsored cycle ride in aid of the Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT) and our own churches in the Valley. The DHCT exists to help parishes in Dorset to keep their churches in a good state of repair by awarding grants towards major repairs and refurbishment. I shall be cycling around as many churches in the local area as I can manage in a day and the sponsorship money I raise will be split 50/50 between the DHCT and our own churches. Our 3 churches are all graded List 1 and take a lot of work and money to keep them in good repair; if you would like to help towards this task then please contact me, I would really appreciate your sponsorship and you can find forms for this purpose in the churches. Thank you very much, in anticipation. John Crawford >hV^V](*/)",V?VbZh'/&"&,BVg`,/')"(, THE FRENCH CONNECTION Salisbury Diocese has a long-standing link with the French diocese of Évreux, in Normandy, two >hV^V]*%/)".V?VbZh(/&"&'BVg`-/',"(- dioceses with many similarities in that they are both mainly rural, with groups of country parishes covered by one priest. Évreux diocese also has a strong lay ministry working with their ordained priests, mirroring the encouragement we have in our diocese, and the twinning of our dioceses has enabled a ?ZgZb^V]&&/&-"'%?VbZh(/&(")/(!,"-VBVg`./(%"(, very valuable exchange of information and practical advice between us. At the moment the Golden Cap, Queen orne and Whitton beneces have active links with three French parishes, and we would very much like to renew the Dorchester/Bernay link that Harold Stephens began.