Issue 266 August 2020 Dates for your Diary 2 The Rectory, High Street, Nunney, Frome BA11 4LZ Tel: 01373 837337 From the Rectory The recent alleviation of ‘lockdown’ necessitated by the Corona Virus pandemic seems to have bought about a whole range of reactions from the general public. Some are glad to be returning to ‘a kind of normal’. While others are fearful of a second spike in the incidence of new cases and choosing to maintain the precautionary measures of the Lockdown. From press articles on the subject it’s clear that for some- mostly of the younger generation- this pandemic has been the most catastrophic global event in living memory and, we are told, will have a lasting effect on their mental, if not their physical well-being. How would previous generations have dealt with Covid 19? Recently, I was interested to see that someone had compiled a list of events you would need to have survived, having been were born in 1900, if you managed to live the greater part of the 20th century: this being the year my grandmother was born. In summary, it was noted that- Born in 1900 you are 14 when World War I begins, and ends when you're 18 with 22 million dead. Soon after, a global pandemic- Spanish Flu- appears, killing 50 million people. By now, if you're alive, you are 20 years old. At 29 you survive the global economic crisis that started with the collapse of the New York Stock Exchange, causing inflation, unemployment and famine for millions of people. When you're 33 the Nazis come to power. At 39, World War II begins and ends when you're 45 years old with a 60 million dead. As a result of the Holocaust, it transpires that 6 million Jews have died. When you're 52, the Korean War begins. When you're 64, the Vietnam War begins and ends when you're 75. A child born in 1985 thinks his grandparents have no idea how difficult life is now, but they have survived several wars and epidemics, not to mention natural and man-made disasters Cont overleaf 3 Sidesmen and Flowers Leigh on Mendip Sidesmen Flowers 2 August Brian & Margaret Loten Joan Pattison 9 August No service at St Giles - 16 August No service at St Giles - 23 August Tom & Sue Rodford - 30 August No service at St Giles - 6 September Caroline Harris Sue Rodford Church / Brass Cleaning August – Caroline Harris & Jane Weston September – Vanessa Barnes & Sarah Middle Stoke St Michael Sidesmen Flowers 2 August Peter Vicary Glenna Martin 9 August Janet Gilham - 16 August Jane Evans Cicely Middle 23 August No service at St Michael’s 30 August No service at St Michael’s - 6 September Malcolm Martin Karen Pearce Church Cleaning August - Cicely Middle September - Jane Evans 4 Churches Opening for Sunday Service St Giles at Leigh on Mendip and All Saints at Downhead are opening for Sunday Services on the planned dates shown in this magazine. They will also continue to be open 2-5pm Wednesday and 9-12am Sunday except for the first Sunday of the month when St Giles will not open before the ‘All Age’ service. The Sunday services will reflect recommended practices to minimise risk, including social separation, and this could limit attendance. Available seats that meet social separation criteria will be indicated by a service book on the pew and you will be guided to them by the Sidesman. You will be expected to use the provided hand sanitiser on entry and when leaving. You may be asked to complete a form so that NHS ‘Test and Trace’ can contact you if necessary, so bring a pen. At this time wearing of masks is optional, but this could change. You will find the service is different, no singing or handshaking for example, and movement in the church will be controlled to keep separation. We will all always have to remain aware of the need to maintain separation and members of the churchwarden’s team will be available to assist. In general, the service will introduce the ‘new normal’ and with your help will offer a low risk opportunity for worship. We look forward to seeing you there to help build this new normal. The PCC of Leigh of Mendip with Downhead St Michael’s at Stoke St Michael have already held two services complying with the recommended practices as indicated above, and it was good to see familiar and new faces, all be it at a distance. The church has been open for private prayer each day, 10a.m. - 4p.m,.for several weeks. We have been able to do this thanks to a team of volunteers who clean and sanitise the church each day when closing. Subject to any directives from the government, the PCC hope to be able to maintain these opening times providing a place for quiet prayer or reflection. Jane Evans Churchwarden 5 Today, in the midst of this pandemic, we have been cushioned by all the comforts of a new world, Yet we complain because we need to wear masks in shops, and we aren’t happy to stay confined to our homes, where we have food, electricity, running water, wifi, even Netflix, all of which was scarce or never existed to alleviate the physical needs or mental welfare of our grandparents. Maybe what’s most needed in these present times is a realistic historic perspective and, I would I argue, a firm faith. With all good wishes and every blessing Fr. Anthony From the Registers Funerals John Thurogood Church service and burial at Stoke St Michael 6th July Eileen Willis `Internment of ashes at Wanstrow 9th July Marda Thompson (nee Beck) Internment of ashes at Nunney 24th July LENT COLLECTION FOR ZAMBIA – St Giles’ Church, LoM Due to the closure of the church at the end of March and other travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic we have so far been unable to distribute and collect the jars and envelopes with donations intended for the Waddington Centre in Zambia during Lent. As the need for support is no doubt as great as ever in these difficult times the PCC have decided to extend the deadline for donations to Advent Sunday (29th November) this year so, if you would like to contribute to the collection and haven’t yet been able to pick up a jar or envelope from the church, please let me know and I will arrange for a member of the PCC to deliver one to you. Thank you. Margaret Loten (01373-812922) 6 Letter from Bishop Ruth Time for a rest I’m tired! I don’t know about you? And yet I am getting up later and going to bed earlier than I was accustomed to before the pandemic struck. I’m travelling less, indeed I still have an almost full tank of petrol and have had to call out the AA three times because the battery has died! I’m at home principally, but my working day has got fuller and more demanding as time has gone on. So, I’m planning a holiday! A retreat and some study leave. Having been ordained 24 years I have yet to have a period of sabbatical and I’m looking forward to it! It is not going to take the form I would have planned. There will not be the opportunity of a trip overseas or a residential conference to attend, but there will be plenty of time for family, rest, reading and reflection. What about you? I know some of you might be feeling that our children have had one big holiday at home since lockdown but I can assure you that they, their parents and their teachers have all been working hard to ensure that learning can continue even though the normal patterns have been disturbed. Whether we have been working from home, furloughed or feeling alone in isolation, each of us will I expect have experienced something of the sense of weariness that heightened anxiety, change of routine and uncertain expectation brings. So I want to encourage you to take some time off. There’s a fabulous little children’s story called, Jesus’ Day Off, which you might like read as an example of the need for even the Creator to re-create. The example of Sabbath rest which our Creator God offers us in the opening chapters of the Bible, speak to us of the need for taking time to put down the tools of work and take space to reflect and rest. We have spent the past few months in lockdown in order to keep ourselves physically healthy. Let’s make sure that in these next few months we attend as much to our spiritual and emotional health, by discovering sabbath rest! With every blessing Bishop Ruth 7 INFORMATION PAGE Vicar : The Reverend Anthony Dickson, The Rectory, High Street, Nunney, Frome BA11 4LZ Tel 01373 837337 Parish Office, The Rectory email [email protected] Leigh on Mendip and Downhead Parochial Church Council Contact email : [email protected] or [email protected] Telephone: 07815 911084 or 01761 418737 Churchwardens Steve Britten Goldsborough Farm 01749 840291 Stoke St Michael BA3 5LD Alastair Weston Hillcrest Tadhill 01373 812654 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5QU Treasurer Margaret Loten 6 The Old Sawmills 01373 812922 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5RQ Secretary Anthea Brooks Ashville, Monger |Lane 01761 418737 Radstock BA3 2BP Stoke St Michael Parochial Church Council Contact email: [email protected] Telephone: 01749 840671 Churchwardens Jane Evans Withybrook 01749 840660 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JQ Malcolm Martin Mendip Cottage, Mendip Rd 01749 840475 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JU Treasurer Glenna Martin Mendip Cottage, Mendip Rd 01749 840475 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JU Secretary Janet Gilham Hillside, Withybrook 01749 840671 Stoke St Michael BA3 5JQ Safeguarding Officer for Leigh, Downhead and Stoke St Michael Sue Rodford Knapp Hill Cottage, 01373 812766 Leigh on Mendip BA3 5QY 8 Friends of Leigh Church August 2020 Although FOLC suspended all of its public activities from mid-March 2020, work has continued in a number of areas, in particular completing the final report on the project work for the National Lottery Heritage Fund (previously the Heritage Lottery Fund).