The Village Crier Who’s been off on an adventure? Find out inside! July 2018 Church Officers Rector Rev’d Rich Clarkson 01630 639576 [email protected] Lay Readers Eric Russell 01630 655484 [email protected] Jill Poole 01948 890152 [email protected] ST PETER’S ADDERLEY Churchwardens Chris Lewis 01270 811070 [email protected] John Roycroft 01270 812582 [email protected] Treasurer Shelia Greetham 01630 654930 CHRIST CHURCH ASH Churchwardens George Cottrell 01948 662105 Jim Desmond 01948 663946 (also Treasurer) [email protected] HOLY TRINITY CALVERHALL Churchwardens Elizabeth Perkins 01948 840434 [email protected] Nichola Peers 01948 890564 [email protected] Treasurer Simon Latter 01948 890143 [email protected] ST JOHN THE BAPTIST IGHTFIELD Churchwardens Paul Brooks 01948 890635 [email protected] Michael Dutton 01948 890502 Treasurer David Meyer 01948 890312 [email protected] ST MARGARET’S MORETON SAY Churchwardens Chris Swaithes 01630 639543 [email protected] Alan Hughes 01948 890251 [email protected] Treasurer Mike Shaw 01630 638478 Benefice Contacts BELLRINGERS Calverhall Paul Dutton 01948 665457 Ightfield Graham Parker 01948 890624 ORGANISTS Ash Frances Evans 01948 662634 Calverhall Elizabeth Perkins 01948 840434 Moreton Say Tony Boden 01630 653416 FLOWER GUILD Moreton Say Mrs Carolyn Martin 01630 639711 Mrs F A Little 01630 638267 MAGAZINE Content [email protected] 01948 890610 Advertising Paul Dutton 01948 665457 Distribution Margaret Dutton 01948 664095 MAGAZINE CONTACTS Ash Mr. Jim Desmond 01948 663946 Moreton Say Mrs. Penny Harrison 01630 638214 Calverhall Mrs. Ann Ball 01948 890353 Ightfield Mr. Michael Dutton 01948 890502 Adderley Mr. John Fishbourne 01630 478639 Reminder: Magazine Subscriptions for 2018 are due If you would like to subscribe to the Village Crier please speak to the contact for your village (named above) or Margaret Dutton Copy for the next magazine must be with us by the 10th of this month. We can be contacted via the AMICA Centre Ightfield or phone 01948 890610 e-mail: [email protected] THE AMICA CENTRE Church Street, Ightfield SY13 4NU 01948 890610 www.amica.org.uk facebook.com/amicabenefice Rectory Ramblings Dear friends, As I write this the FIFA World Cup is well underway and England have won their first match (though not without controversy). By the time you read this they will hopefully have won their second match too and be well on their way to getting knocked out by Germany in the quarter finals! One of the big talking points in this year’s World Cup has been the introduction of the “Video Assistant Referee”, or VAR, whereby the on-field referee is able to review incidents in order to ensure that they make the correct decision. In theory this is supposed to make the game fairer and cut down on the number of controversial refereeing mistakes (although I suspect fans will only agree with VAR when it goes their side’s way...) I do wonder, however, how referees feel about this new system. Being a World Cup referee is an incredibly difficult, high pressured position where your every decision is scrutinised by millions of fans around the world, your every mistake is dissected in newspapers, on television, and across social media. Now, however, they not only have that pressure but they also literally have a little VAR voice in their ear saying “actually you got that wrong”, or “you missed something there”, or “I think you should check that again”. It can’t be an easy thing to deal with. That said, I think that many of us live our lives with that little VAR voice in our ear pointing out our mistakes, our flaws, our failures. It’s very easy for us to let that voice dictate how we feel about our lives, or about ourselves. But it is important for us to remember that, just because the voice is there, that doesn’t mean that we have to listen to it. “Hi, I’m Maximillian the Church Mouse and I’m hiding in three different places in this magazine—can you find me?! The Apostle Paul, one of the great figures in the Bible, grew up striving to be the absolute best and yet still struggled with those feelings of inadequacy. It was only in realising that God knows that we will never be perfect that he was able to be himself. “If anyone thinks they have reason to put confidence in themselves, I have more”, he wrote in one letter, and yet “whatever advantages I thought I had, I now count them as worthless compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus” A little later in that same letter Paul went on to offer his advice on how to change mindset from one that is driven by the little VAR voice pointing out all our mistakes, to one that acknowledges that we all make mistakes but that God loves us anyway. He suggests that “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about these things.” Don’t focus on your flaws and failings, don’t dwell on your mistakes, focus instead on what is good and, he says, “God’s peace will be with you”. In fact that might be wise advice for anyone watching England in this World Cup too—don’t dwell on the mistakes, it’s not good for the blood pressure! Instead focus on what is good, enjoy what is enjoyable, and if it does all go pear shaped in the quarter finals there’s always the Cricket World Cup next year! Rev’d Rich Copy for the magazine can be emailed to: [email protected] or hard copy can be dropped off at: The AMICA Centre, Church Street, Ightfield, SY13 4NU Rev’d Rich Clarkson Rector of the AMICA Benefice Rev’d Rich’s usual day off is Friday [email protected] The Rectory, Moreton Say (01630) 639576 TF9 3RS Benefice Notices June edition of the Village Crier Unfortunately due to technical issues around half of the copies of the June Village Crier were printed in black and white—our sincere apologies to those who were disappointed by this—hopefully normal service is now resumed! Leaving gift for Bishop Mark People across the Diocese are being invited to make a donation towards a leaving gift for Bishop Mark and Mandy Rylands. Bishop Mark announced in March that he has chosen to leave his role for a return to parish ministry in Exeter Diocese. Please send any farewell gifts to the Finance Team at St Mary’s House, The Close, Lichfield, WS13 7LD, clearly marking the envelope ‘Rylands Leaving Gift’. Cheques should be made payable to 'LDBF'. Gifts should be made before the diocesan farewell service which takes place at 6pm on Tuesday 17 July at Shrewsbury Abbey and is open to all. AMICA Centre update As you may know, the Benefice churches lease the AMICA Centre in Ightfield from the Diocese of Lichfield. Over the years this lease has been subsidised by various diocesan grants, in recent years making up £6,000 of the £9,000 a year rent. Sadly this diocesan support will now be ending from March 2019 and so it looks like we may lose the use of the AMICA centre. We are therefore currently exploring our options for office space elsewhere within the benefice. Look out for more news on this later in the year. Choral Evensong in St Peter’s, Adderley On Sunday 1st July at 6.30pm we will be holding a special Choral Evensong service in Adderley to mark the feast of St Peter, all are welcome to attend. Life’s Big Questions Have you got any questions about: Life? Faith? God? Suffering? Church? Come along to the Rectory and we’ll try and find answers together over a cup of tea—no question is too silly! Thursdays 5th, 12th, 17th July 7.45pm—9pm at The Rectory, Moreton Say Calverhall & Ightfield Family Day Preparations are well underway for this year’s Family Day which will take place on Sunday 2nd September at Calverhall Cricket Club. This year’s event will have a bit more going on than last year, though it will still have the com- munity charm that makes the Family Day such a special occasion. A big THANK YOU to all of you who have made offers, volunteered, or generally been coerced into helping out! There are still a few things that still need sorting, if you are able to help with any of these we’d be extremely grateful: • Would you like to host a selfie stall? E.g. Use props and help visitors take photos to capture the fun and laughter of the day. • We are looking for musicians/musical groups/jazz bands etc. who could play live music for periods through the day. • We need volunteers to assist with being Marshalls on the day, and volunteers to help prepare and dismantle the event field. • Do you have any ideas or suggestions for acts, shows, events we could hold in the main show arena, particularly local groups and performers? • If you are able to make/donate cakes for the cake stall please contact Jenny Dale on 07779420228 • We also need donations for the bottle stall, white elephant stall and teddy tombola so do be thinking if you have anything to donate for those If you have anything to offer for any of these, or if there is anything else you are able to help with please contact the planning team on (01948) 890610 or email [email protected] You are invited to join us for a Picnic in the Rectory Garden Sunday 8th July, from 3pm Bring your own picnic Everyone welcome! Games for children The Rectory, Moreton Say, TF93RS News from Ightfield Tales on the Hill report On Sunday 17th June around 20 people gathered in Ightfield for Tales on the Hill.