THE PARISHES OF WINKLEIGH, ASHREIGNEY, BROADWOODKELLY, AND BRUSHFORD News Sheet for January 2018 Interim Priest in Charge: The Very Revd Graham Smith 01769 520824 [email protected] Churchwardens: Winkleigh Marjorie Bowers 01837 83585 [email protected] Ashreigney Pauline Kivell 01769 520360 [email protected] Helen Palmer 01805 804070 [email protected] Broadwoodkelly Max Clover 01837 83929 [email protected] Andrew Tettenborn 01837 83066 [email protected] Brushford Nigel Nightingale 01837 83288 [email protected] +++ +++ +++ Services for January Winkleigh Ashreigney Broadwoodkelly Brushford 7 January FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY 0930 1100 1000 1430 Sung Eucharist Eucharist Morning Prayer Evensong with carols with carols with carols with carols 14 January PLOUGH SUNDAY 1100 No Service No Service No Service Blessing of the Plough (see below) 1 21 January Epiphany 3 0930 1100 1000 No Service Morning Prayer Morning Prayer Morning Prayer 28 January Epiphany 4 0930 1100 1100 No Service Eucharist Morning Prayer Eucharist 4 February PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE (Candlemas) 0930 1100 1000 1430 Eucharist Eucharist Morning Prayer Eucharist Bishop Archdeacon of Crediton of Barnstaple 11 February Sunday next before Lent 0930 1100 1000 No Service Morning Prayer Morning Prayer Morning Prayer 2 Thank you to those many people who have decorated our churches and made ready for our Christmas services this year. It makes such a difference and lifts our spirits as our friends and neighbours from the villages join us to celebrate the birth of Christ! Plough Sunday On Sunday 14 January at 1100 at Winkleigh Parish Church all the churches come together for a special Blessing of the Plough Service. This ancient custom marked the beginning of the agricultural year, just as Harvest Festival marked the end. An old horse plough will be carried from the Square into church for a Service of Blessing conducted by the Bishop of Exeter in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Devon (the Queen’s representative in our county). This short service will be followed by jacket potatoes and fillings (by Granton S’Pies) along with hot drinks, in the Square. There will be a marquee where people can sit. We also hope to have a display of vintage tractors in the Square, which will be closed to traffic. Do join us as we all need a bit of post-Christmas celebration (but wrap up well – it may be cold!). The Coffee Morning at Winkleigh on 24 November raised £160 for Crisis for their work with homeless people nationally. A big ‘thank you’ to those who organized the event and to those who supported it. The Exmoor Carolers gave a concert in Ashreigney Church on December 9. Despite the cold, the capacity audience were delighted by a wide-ranging and extremely competently performed programme. A donation has been sent to the Exmoor Carolers, and the balance goes to the Alzheimer’s Society. Very many thanks to the handbell ringers for organizing the event, and to those who provided much-need hot drinks and refreshments afterwards. Foodbank All four churches have been busy collecting items for the Okehampton foodbank during Advent and over Christmas. Thank you for ‘going the extra miles’ with your generosity. It is much-needed and greatly appreciated by a worryingly high number of people in our communities who can’t feed themselves and their families properly. 3 Every day… Every day is the time for Christians to be alert and recognise the ‘signs of the times’, to grasp opportunities that open up to them, and to do whatever is possible that day with prudence but also with courage and confidence. Advent should take place in the midst of everyday life in this world, for God wants to enter us through a life of prayer and the works of love. In faith we know this: Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church, is with us always, to the end of the earth (Matt 28:20). This trust and this hope are vital for our whole existence as Christians. As Advent people, we do not build on the structures of this world; we are so much more filled with hope in the coming world. And so every day we carry the share of the load that is expected of us with courage, and we can become ready every day anew for God and his kingdom, that is, for righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) Walter Kasper We plough the fields and scatter the good seed The science of ploughing involves far more than merely turning the soil. Most ploughs turn no deeper than 20 cm to aerate the soil. In doing so, the plough incorporates crop residues, solid manures, limestone and commercial fertilisers along with oxygen. It also • enables the transformation of organic matter into humus. • erases wheel tracks and ruts caused by harvesting equipment. • controls many perennial weeds and pushes back the growth of other weeds. • accelerates soil warming and water evaporation in spring. • controls many enemies of crops (slugs, crane flies, seedcorn maggots, bean-seed flies, borers). • increases the number of "soil-eating" earthworms. Ploughs down the ages have been drawn by man-power, by animals (usually horses or oxen), and by tractors. Some may remember the wonderful sight of two steam ploughing engines working in tandem, before today’s super-modern, air-conditioned, quadraphonic- sounded, laser-guided farm machines appeared in our fields. Owners of vintage tractors have been invited to display their wonderful vehicles in Winkleigh town square on Plough Sunday (14 January) to remind us of the evolution of 4 farm equipment. Rodney Cowle’s horse plough, representing local ploughing heritage, will lead us into church where the Bishop will bless it. The importance of this ancient Christian ceremony of the countryside lies in our recognition that we harness the skill of mankind with the beauty and the power of nature. These are the ‘good gifts around us, that are sent from heaven above…’ Down the ages and all around the world, the plough has been developed as a crucial device for ensuring a good yield from the seed. If the farmer gets it right, and if the weather is on side, then the harvest should be fair: We may then, once again, gather in church at Harvest Festival to ‘thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all his love’. We mustn’t forget the plough, and it seems right to bless it in its work. But there is another dimension to the Plough Sunday festival. The plough is only as good as the person who operates it. We are mindful of all who work in our fields, of the long hours they work, and their skill which we take for granted. We think of their families who have such an important part to play, especially at busy times. We think of the financial and business risks that are taken, and the level of investment involved. Our farms face the risk of disease from a variety of old and new strains in crops and in livestock. TB in cattle is a big local issue for farms in our area. There is the relentless pressure from the supermarkets (which really means us, the consumer) to drive down farm-gate prices. Farming is a pressurised industry which all too frequently takes its toll on farming families. So, as we follow the old horse-plough into Winkleigh church on Sunday 14th January, we need to lay these concerns before God. We should: • acknowledge our wonder and respect for nature; • give thanks for the gift of life represented in tiny seeds; • celebrate the skill of those who collaborate with nature to produce strong yields. Our farming families are the bedrock of our village communities – we honour them and uphold them before God for the people they are and the work that they do. GOD SPEED THE PLOUGH! Graham 5.