www.solebayteamministry.co.uk FREE Blythburgh Reydon Sotherton South Cove NOVEMBER HEAR 2020 & Southwold Uggeshall SOLE Walberswick Wangford pages 1 Includes children’s(centre) The ‘music centre’ for the Harvest hymn South Cove Harvest Festival accompaniments in the meadow at South Cove Harvest displays at St Margaret’s, Reydon Harvest displays at St Andrew’s, Walberswick 2 MAGAZINE LETTER Remember, remember . “Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be” I’m ancient enough to remember that slightly cheesy 1960s hit by Max Bygraves which they used to play on Uncle Mac’s Children’s Favourites on the BBC Light Programme. It was a lament about loss: trams, dance halls and melody; and the advance of the new-fangled: drainpipe trousers, frothy coffee and parking meters. As a nation we love nostalgia. Retro is the new thing. On telly, even a series set in the 1950s is seen as a costume drama. Memories, remembering are important to us. In the Church, November is a month for memories. Quite sombre ones. It begins on 1st November with All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and (especially in Mexico) the Day of the Dead. This is a day for prayer and remembrance for those who have died. Then, of course, we have Remembrance Sunday on th8 November and Armistice Day on the 11th. Again, these are moments when we think of those who gave their lives sacrificially to protect us and our freedoms. We look back with sadness, and sometimes regret. Loss is hard to live with. It disrupts us, dislocates us. And that’s why remembering is important. Remembering is the opposite of dismembering. Remembering helps put us back together. It’s worth noting that the Old Testament was largely assembled by the Israelites at a time when the nation was living in exile in Babylon. They used that time of dislocation to remember where they’d come from, to reshape their identity, and to plan for a future return to Jerusalem. I’m fond of the story in the biblical book of Ezekiel, where the prophet has a vision of a valley full of scattered, dry bones Then, these bones reconnect. As the old song goes: “The shin bone connected to the knee bone; Knee bone connected to the thigh bone; Thigh bone connected to the hip bone. .” It was a powerful metaphor for the exiled community of Israel knitting themselves back together. They did the opposite of dismembering, they re-membered. Remembering is more than nursing a nostalgia for some – probably mythical – golden age, where everything was perfect. Perhaps it’s more about recalling the things that are important, of real value: friendship, selflessness, courage and persistence. We live in dislocated times. So much of what we used to enjoy – maybe took for granted – has been swept away by this impersonal pandemic. Fings definitely Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be. And we mourn the loss. But it’s not about nostalgia, about dwelling in the past. It’s about re-membering –girding ourselves up for a new future. We’ve done it before. We can do it again. Malcolm Doney Malcolm is a writer, broadcaster and Anglican priest who lives in Blythburgh 3 Food Bank Donations Please continue to donate food to the Lowestoft Food Bank. This can be done by leaving food with John & Jan Collins, 19 Lakeside Park Drive, Reydon or phone 01502 725731. If anyone, who is in need, and would benefit from a food parcel please contact the Lowestoft Food Bank (01502 586216) or the Voluntary Health Centre in Southwold (01502 724549). Laughter Lines - Fire in church The town’s fire prevention officer was conducting a health and safety course at the local church. The officer said to the minister: “Now imagine this: it is a Sunday morning and you have a number of people, spread socially distanced, WILDLIFE PONDS throughout your church building. Water Garden Services Some are in the choir stalls, some • Established in 1985 • Specializing in Wildlife ponds are in the kitchen, and some are • New Ponds built from scratch • Ponds Relined or Repaired in the nave. Suddenly, a big fire • Ponds cleaned out or renovated breaks out. What are the first • Ponds planted out steps you would take?” Covering The Norwich and Ipswich Areas Tel: 01502 478140 The minister thought carefully Please call Mark, Daytime or Evenings for a moment. “Really big ones,” he The Lilacs, St Michaels Way, Wenhaston, Halesworth IP19 9EH said. 4 Parish Finances Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who supports the life of our churches through generous financial giving. Keeping our churches well maintained, insured, warm and safe is an expensive business. The Sole Bay Team also contributes money to Diocesan funds in order to meet the cost of employing and housing clergy, to support training, pensions, support staff etc. This contribution is known as the parish share and is the source of over 80% of Diocesan income. Other income comes from fees for weddings and funerals, income from investments etc. As a relatively young Diocese, just over 100 years old, we do not have any significant historic reserves to fund Diocesan activities. In 2020 the Sole Bay Team was asked to contribute £138,618 by way of parish share. This is broken down between our 8 parishes as follows; Blythburgh £14,026 Reydon £30,166 South Cove £2,646 Southwold £60,000 Walberswick £17,371 Wangford £8,442 Uggeshall £5,266 Sotherton £700 When you add the other costs of keeping our churches running you can see that we need every penny and more that comes in just to break even. 2020 has been very difficult for everyone, and our churches are sharing the hardship felt across the whole community. In a normal year we are grateful for the income and support from all sorts of fund raising activities, including South Cove flower festival, Uggeshall teas, Walberswick fete, The Grand Henham Steam Rally, concerts, exhibitions, and visitors. The impact of Coronavirus, the lockdown, social distancing, the cancellation of weddings etc has hit our income hard. The same is true across the whole Diocese, with a forecast annual deficit somewhere around £2m. If you are able to help our churches through these difficult times by reviewing your regular giving or by a donation we would be extremely grateful. Simon Harvest Thanksgiving During September and October we have celebrated harvest in our Team churches. St Edmund’s harvest festival was an opportunity to welcome back the church choir, socially distanced, and everyone was delighted to listen to familiar harvest hymns, even f we could not sing them. 5 Sotherton Harvest on 4th October was the first time that the church was opened since March. Despite the pouring rain the church looked welcoming, and thanks to members of the St Edmund’s choir helping out, we were again able to enjoy harvest hymns. The rain defeated our hopes of an outdoor songs of praise for harvest at Walberswick on 4th October. A socially distanced celebration was held inside, again welcoming the choir for the first time since lockdown, beautifully supported by Julia on the organ and the Flack family on brass. It has been a difficult harvest for many of our farmers, and the incessant rain at the end of September and early October was threatening the prospects for the next harvest. It is important therefore to remember the farming community in our prayers and to support local produce. Many people were generous in giving goods to support our local foodbank. The foodbanks are experiencing increased demand in the face of hardship caused by the pandemic, so thank you for your kindness. Decorators Decorators & P l u m b e r s & P l u m b Simoners (SOUTHWOLD) LTD (SOUTHFWreOeLD) LTD Free BUILDING EBsUtiImLDaItNesG Estimates CONTRACTORS CONNewTR HAoCmTeOsRS 31 Fountain Way, Reydon B31u sFionuesnst aPianr kW, ay, Reydon Business Park, New Homes Reydon, Southwold IP18 6SRZeydon, Southwold IP18 6SZ email:[email protected] Extensions Extensions Decorators email:[email protected] & Plumbers Tel e ph one : Commercial New Homes Tel e ph one : Commercial 0 150 2 723 63 6 118539 Work Free Estimates 0 150 2 723 63 6 118539 Work 31Fountain Way, Reydon Business Park Reydon, Southwold IP18 6SZ email: [email protected] Telephone 01502 723636 Mike This is an amended advert to replace the existing one, if I haven’t already sent it to you. Sally 6 TEAM NEWS Church Council Report Having refreshed my memory by reading the report that I wrote in June 2019, I am left wondering where to start. None of us could have predicted the changes we have experienced in our lives since Covid arrived in early 2020. The lives of all of us have changed in so many ways, some being affected more than others. What we all have in common is the effect the virus has had on our Church lives. Not being able to enter our church buildings has been a very difficult exclusion for many of us. What I must say is how lucky we have been to have had the opportunity to receive the Zoom services during the period of lockdown. So many people have worked to make our lives as comfortable and “normal” as possible. We are very fortunate to have had Alan’s internet skills in setting up the services, with support from Simon and all the Sole Bay Team worship leaders. We have had regular updates from Hugh Williamson and Alison Evans, keeping us all informed about the joint services. A positive feature has been the pleasure of worshipping in our own homes with so many friends and fellow Team worshippers on our screens.