St. Mary’s Parish Church Allithwaite within The Cartmel Peninsula Team Ministry EASTER EDITION – 2019 THIS IS NOT FROM THE VICARAGE LETTER DO YOU TALK TO GOD? If so, you are in the majority of the UK population! Praying is normal – it’s not a strange minority activity. 51 per cent of adults in the UK say they pray (from nationwide research by ComRes for the charity Tearfund, 2018). Many people who say, “I’m not religious”, still pray sometimes. More than that, six out of seven people say they believe that prayers can be answered, even if they don’t pray themselves. So what are all these people doing? ‘Prayer’ just means having a conversation with God. Anyone can do it. It’s not difficult, and it’s not just for holy or ‘religious’ people. How can we talk with God? Because through Jesus we can get to know the Living God, who wants a loving relationship with each one of us. Spring is the Easter season, and reminds us that after Jesus was murdered on a Roman cross, he conquered death and was raised to new life. It wasn’t what we call nowadays a ‘near death experience’, after which people continue to live an ordinary life and eventually die in the normal way. Jesus really did die, but then he burst through it, destroying the power and fear of death….and appeared in a transformed eternal body. So now he’s alive for ever. And since he’s alive, we can relate to him and talk with him. It’s as natural and simple as talking with a good friend on the phone. What do people pray about? The survey shows that 71% pray for their family, 42% pray to thank God, 40% pray about friends or for healing, 37% pray for guidance, 28% pray for themselves, 24% pray for worldwide problems. What do you pray about? When and where do people pray? One in three people pray in a place of worship, and before going to sleep or on waking. Others combine prayer with daily activities: 20% pray while doing household chores or cooking, 15% pray while travelling, and 12% pray during exercise or other leisure pursuits. When and where do you pray? What advice does Jesus give us about prayer? Read Matthew’s gospel, chapter 6, verses 1-15. Jesus teaches us in the Lord's prayer what our priority- requests should be, and adds: Just ask! God knows us and understands our needs before we ask (Matthew 6, 5-8) just as a caring parent knows the needs of their own child. But parents like to be asked, and it builds a relationship of love and trust. Listen to God! All conversations and relationships must be two-way. The Holy Spirit can work in us to help us to pray – so let’s ask for help to calm our minds, to listen and discern what God is saying to us. Keep praying! Thank God and spend time together. Don’t give up (Luke 18, 1-8). Our prayers may not be answered immediately, but as we look back with hind-sight we can often see that God’s timing is wiser than ours. So may God bless you during this Lent and Easter as you spend time talking together. Revd. Amiel Osmaston EDITORS RAMBLINGS—THE LAST POST THE PARABLE OF THE BUTTERFLY As a butterfly soared overhead, one caterpillar said to the other, "You'll never get me up in one of those things." Yet for every caterpillar the time comes when the urge to eat and grow subsides and he instinctively begins to form a chrysalis around himself. The chrysalis hardens and you'd think for all the world that the caterpillar is dead. But one spring morning the life inside the chrysalis begins to writhe, the top cracks open, and a beautifully-formed butterfly emerges. For hours it will stand stretching and drying its wings, moving them slowly up and down, up and down. And then, before you know it, the butterfly glides aloft, effortlessly riding the currents of the air, alighting on flower after gorgeous flower, as if to show off its vivid colours to the bright blossoms. Somehow, the miracle of the butterfly never loses its fascination for us. Perhaps because the butterfly is a living parable of the promise of resurrection. On Easter morning the disciples saw Jesus' graveclothes lying on the cold slab still wrapped round and round the corpse. Only the corpse was gone, much like an empty chrysalis deserted by a butterfly who has left to soar free. "He is risen as He said," an angel told the incredulous disciples. Later that day he appeared to the disciples, and then, over the course of the next few weeks, to as many as five hundred people at one time. Even "Doubting Thomas" didn't doubt for long that Jesus was really risen from the dead. What do we Christians say in the face of death? There are many mysteries. But two things we know for sure. First, death is an enemy. Away with the sentimentality that vainly seeks to disguise death's insult! But second, and more important, Jesus' resurrection from the grave is God's proof to us that death is not the end. The empty tomb and Jesus' Spirit within us testify that Easter morning is God's triumph over death. And ultimately, Jesus promised, God will raise from the dead us who believe in His Son. Why do Christians gather on Easter morning? To show off their fine clothes or give a ritual tip of the hat to religion? God forbid! Rather we gather to celebrate Jesus' victory over death itself. For since He is our Lord and our Saviour, His victory is our victory. In celebrating His resurrection we celebrate our own assurance of ultimate triumph over death. Join us this Easter as we celebrate Life! And if you look closely Easter morning, you might even see a butterfly alight on the lilies. Mike (Ed) CARTMEL PENINSULAR LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY www.cartmel-peninsula-lhs.org.uk CPLHS is an active and vibrant society with about 100 members. The Society organises lectures for members between September and May. Visitors of course are very welcome to attend the lectures and pay at the door (£3). Full details of future lectures are contained on the Events page, and on the lecture summaries page you will find a synopsis of past lectures. The Society also has occasional meetings to discuss members’ ongoing research. There are also field excursions between June and August for members. In 2017 members were guided around two of the buildings in High Newton and enjoyed a walk in the same area looking for evidence of the Flax industry. 2019 Lecture Programme 7.30pm on 1st Thursday of the month, at Cartmel Village Hall (except May meeting). Free parking on site. Members free; Visitors £3 7 Feb - Richard Sanderson - Backbarrow Ironworks Backbarrow Ironworks have been described by Historic England as “the best illustration nationally of iron-smelting technology development from the early C18 to the C20”. The site has featured on the Heritage at Risk register for many years, and there have been a number of previous attempts to “save” it without success. Richard will tell us more about what is happening now and plans for the future. 7 March - Michelle Cooper - Fishing Traditions of Morecambe Bay A oral history project run by Morecambe Bay Partnership as part of Headlands to Headspaces (H2H) is focusing on the small inshore fishing communities especially those at Flookburgh, Morecambe and Sunderland Point. Michelle will give us an insight into what memories have been collected. 4 April - Arnside Archives - Arnside Maritime Heritage Research is being undertaken on boatbuilding by the Crossfield family of Arnside and The Severn, a 1912 yacht, built by Crossfield returned to Arnside in April 2018. This talk will be about the project. 9 May- Dan Elsworth - Allithwaite Archaeology (at Mary Lambert Hall, Allithwaite) Dan of Greenlane Archaeology will update us about important and exciting archaeological finds in Allithwaite in the past and more recently. Summer trips TBA 5 Sept - Alan Cleaver and Lesley Park – The Corpse Roads of Cumbria Criss-crossing the Cumbrian landscape are many trods, paths, lonnings and other ancient trackways , included among these are several corpse roads. These paths were used until the 18th Century to transport the dead from the remote villages to the 'mother' church for burial. Alan and Lesley have written a book about these tracks. 3 Oct - Peter Roebuck - Cattle Droving through Cumbria 1600-1900 A talk by an Emeritus Professor of History at University of Ulster who now lives in Cumbria. He has researched and published research on Irish and British agrarian history. Peter will talk about large scale, long distance movement of cattle from pasture to market. 7 Nov - AGM If you have any questions please contact Pat Rowland on 015395 32234 or email [email protected] SOWING AND WEEPING Eagerly I dug the ground Then scattered the seed all around The packet told me what to do The sun was warm, the sky blue Anticipation screamed at me Fully grown plants I wanted to see Out of the blue it began to rain So I went back inside, again Back to the daily grind Pulling down the kitchen blind With all those things to do, day after day The sky's unremitting grey, I forgot to pray After many days the sun came out And I heard a sudden shout "Darling, what are all these weeds?" And what I saw brought me to my knees Where I'd put a row of seeds Grew something akin to trees I pulled and cleared until my bands began to bleed I fought and sought and began to plead " Lord, what of the seed you've sown What of the vision you've shown Where is all the good you've done What happened to what you've begun Why all these weeds? And God answered – "How else could I get you on your knees?" I REMEMBER: I remember standing at the graveside.