at Dalton Piercy, Elwick and Hart Produced for the Villagers by Hart and Elwick Churches Revd. Janet Burbury, The Vicarage, Hart, Hartlepool. TS27 3AP [email protected] Tel. 01429 262340 Mob 07958 131271 Dear friends, At last the snow has disappeared and those of us who call themselves gardeners realise that we are a little behind with our preparation in making new life burst forth into our little patch of England that surrounds our homes. I’m looking forward to seeing houses adorned with eggs to remind us of the empty tomb and catkins that remind us that the trees are still growing and blossom will soon decorate our paths. Where’s the life in our communities at present? We enjoyed a great St Patrick’s night in Hart Village Hall and soon we’ll have our Pie n Peas night at Elwick. These evenings are gentle social times when we re- mind folks that community spirit is not lost and in the villages we continue to value it highly. Hart church is looking forward to seeing a new stained glass window which will de- pict the parable of the Sower. I’ll give you more details of that next time!! Children who attend Hart can now enjoy some new tailor made desks and seating which are fabulous. Many thanks go the Johnson family for their kind donation of this fur- niture which will serve generations of children in years to come. As Jesus prepared to show the world that he came to offer the fullness of life, it’s interesting that most of the disciples abandoned him in the hours before his trial. Community and communion with his friends seemed to crumble and fall by the wayside. This is a strong lesson to us all just how easy it is to let community spirit slide and how isolated people become as a result. Jesus must have felt totally alone as he faced the questions from the political and religious leaders of the day. Thank goodness his mother, the other Mary and one other disciple had the dedi- cation and guts to stick by him at the foot of the cross. How would we view the world without Easter? How would people be valued, if at all? It’s the promise of full life that ultimately gives us true self esteem as we acknowledge that God loves us so much that he sent His Son to show us the way to the truth and the life. Yes, I know Christmas is a joyful time but we also know it can bring pressures on us all to spend money we don’t always have and so on….but Easter, it seems is enjoyed by everyone as we put winter behind us and look out for signs of new life. Easter celebrations adorned in all their springtime colours with Easter bunnies, chicks and eggs giving us things on which to delight in the mystery of creation and recreation. The fascination with an emptied tomb causes us to wonder how by the power of God’s love, the resurrection shows us the way to the truth and fullness of life. Without Easter we’d have eternal winter and no clear way to know we are Easter people loved by God. Let me commend these words to you by A.J.Flint: “Just think, if Christ who died had stopped at the cross, His work had been incom- plete. If Christ who was buried had stayed in the tomb, He had only known defeat, but the way of the cross never stops at the cross and way of the tomb leads on, to victorious grace in the heavenly place where the risen Lord has gone.” Every Blessing Canon Janet Burbury 3 Regular Church Services ST PETER’S, ELWICK HALL 1st Sunday in the month: 10 am ~ Family Service with Holy Communion. A service for all ages. 6 pm ~ Holy Communion (1662 Book of Common Prayer). A quiet service lasting half an hour. All following Sundays: 9.30 am ~ Holy Communion. A traditional service with hymns and a short address. ST MARY MAGDALENE, HART 1st Sunday in the month: 8 am ~ Holy Communion (1662 Book of Common Prayer) A quiet service lasting half an hour. 11am ~ Family Service with Holy Communion. A service for all ages. All following Sundays: 11 am ~ Holy Communion ( Sunday school is during this service). A traditional service with hymns and a short address. Also every 3rd Sunday: 4pm ~ Family Service. 3@4 A relaxed style of worship with a hint of fun! Every Wednesday Evening at 6.00 pm A service of evening prayer Lent and Easter Services NB These are in addition to our regular services Thursday 29th March 6.30pm Maundy Thursday at Hart Friday 30th March 2.00pm Good Friday—Hour before the Cross at Elwick Sunday 1st April Easter—St Peter’s 10.00am, St Mary Magdalene 11.00am CHURCH WARDENS—CONTACT DETAILS HART CHURCH Anne Johnson 01429 269699 Shirley Brown 01429 269418 ELWICK CHURCH Victoria Harrison 07985 781 364 Colin Reid 07824 482 877 CHURCH WEB SITES www.elwickchurch.org.uk www.hartchurch.org.uk DEANERY WEB SITE www.churchofenglandhartlepool.org.uk 4 HART VILLAGE HALL ACTIVITIES Sunday……………….YOUTH CLUB 5 - 6.30pm…... (second Sunday in the month) Monday....................PILATES: 9.15-10.15am PILATES: 10.30-11.30am ODDFELLOWS: 11.30am-2.30pm (2nd MONDAY in month on Alternate months ) HART STATION WI 7-9pm (first MONDAY of the month) Tuesday…………….. PARENTS and TODDLERS: 9-30-11.00 am SEQUENCE DANCING: 1.30-3.30 pm DANCE FIT: 6.00-7.00pm Wednesday……….. HISTORY CLASS: 10.00-11.30 am TAI CHI 9.30-11.00am PILATES ; 6.15-7.15pm Thursday CHILDMINDERS GROUP 9.15-11.15am PILATES: 6.00 -7.00pm PILATES 7.15-8.15pm Friday……………….. FRENCH CLASS: 10.00 am-11.30am TAI CHI 6.00—8.00 pm WHIST GROUP: from 7.00--8.30 pm Bookings : contact Frances Brown on 01429 273 475 Events: www.hartvillagehall.co.uk ELWICK WI HALL ACTIVITIES WOMEN’S INSTITUTE: 1st Monday of the month from 7.00-9.30 pm PARISH COUNCIL MEETING Last Monday of the Month 7.00pm-9.30pm PAINTING CLUB: Tuesdays from 9.30 am-12.30 pm YOUNG FARMERS CLUB: Tuesdays fortnightly at 7.30 pm NEEDLES & PINS Wednesdays from 10.00 am-noon WHIST: Wednesdays at 7 pm. New members welcome PILATES Friday 9-30am 10-30am Bookings: contact Sylvia Jobson 01429 275340 Mobile 07503 332 927 Email [email protected] Seaton Decorators Commercial and Private Free Estimates Reliable, clean job All Exterior & Interior Ken Kidson Tel: 07887 518459 5 ELWICK WOMEN’S INSTITUTE Fortunately the threat of snow and ice disappeared and we were able to hold our monthly meeting on Monday 5th March as arranged. Details were given for the Floral Workshop, which is to be held on Thursday 22nd March from 1.30pm until 4.00pm and the lists of names for the Federation Annual Lunch at Wynyard and our trips to Hawes and Keswick were re-circulated for any additional names to be added. Our speaker for the evening was Lynn Allison who told us about her nursing ca- reer . She began her working life as a shorthand typist and then decided to join the services and train to be a nurse. She joined the Navy and went to Portsmouth to become a Queen Alexandra Nurse spending many years at various Naval hospi- tals including a posting to Malta. At the age of 22 she had the chance of a posting to Singapore for 10 years but turned it down as she had to commit to being single and childless during that time. After the Navy, she went as a nurse on the Oil Rigs but didn’t like the noise or the smell of oil. Back on dry land she continued nurs- ing holding many different positions during her career. The competition for a first aid kit was won by Sandra O’Connor, Sylvia Jobson was second and Carol Berthou third. Lee Elliott won the raffle. Next meeting 9th April as Easter Monday falls on the first Monday of the month. ELWICK VILLAGE ASSOCIATION The AGM of EVA was held on Wednesday 21st March at “The Bungalow”, The Ghyll, Elwick and attended by nine residents of the Village as well as the commit- tee. The Chairman's and Treasurer's reports were accepted and Committee and Of- ficers proposed, seconded and voted to remain as the previous year: Louise Parks Chair Hilary Thompson Secretary Roderick Thompson Treasurer Margaret Ashton Tony Cook Sylvie Howe Margaret Smithson There was a great deal of useful discussion regarding the future of the Association and, with our small, ageing committee, how we can continue to support events in the Village. Fetching Feet Chiropody– For the treatment of corns, callus, verruca, ingrowing toenails, sports injuries and foot problems Sophie Louise Odgers BSc (Hons) Podiatry M.Ch.S Tel: (01429) 232 526 Mobile: 07828 540793 Email: [email protected] Registered with Health and Care Professions Council Evening & Saturday Morning Appointments and Home Visits Available 6 St. Peter’s Elwick CofE VA Primary school Big Fish Group News. This year we are taking part in a lent challenge as a school. Over the 6 weeks in Lent, Archie will guide the students through 6 key topics: Faith, Wisdom, Hope, Community, Respect & Dignity, Action. We have been challenging pupils in our school by offering Bible Scavenger Hunts at break time and dinner time. We have also been making a Bible time line for our hall where all of the classes will be making a picture to fit on the time line from the topic they have been learning about.