Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 St Helen’s, Bilton-in-Ainsty St John the Baptist, Healaugh St John the Baptist, Hessay All Saints, Moor Monkton All Saints, Wighill Readings and Psalms for March Year C These are the readings taken from the Church Lectionary and are suggested as read on the following Sundays. They may be changed depending on the theme of the service. Sunday 3rd March Exodus 34:29-35 • Psalm 99 • 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 • Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) Sunday 10th March Deuteronomy 26:1-11 • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 • Romans 10:8b-13 • Luke 4:1-13 Sunday 17th March Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 • Psalm 27 • Philippians 3:17-4:1 • Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a) Sunday 24th March Isaiah 55:1-9 • Psalm 63:1-8 • 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 • Luke 13:1-9 Sunday 31st March Joshua 5:9-12 • Psalm 32 • 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 • Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 1 CONTENTS Parish Letter 3 Communion at Home 5 Prayer Requests 6 2019 Confirmations 7 40 Acts: Do Lent Generously 9 Home Group News 10 What’s on in the Parish 11 From the Registers 12 RAYC 13 Pancake Parties 13 News from around the Parish 14 Supporting the Bishops Mission Order 18 A Church Near You 18 Reading Our Churches 19 Cluster 23 York Minster Parish Pass 2019 23 Gift Aid 24 Recipe – Free-from Pancakes 25 St Mary’s Primary school report 26 Brownies 28 Yorkshire Countrywomen’s Association 29 Film review of ‘Elvis’ 30 Classified advertisements 31 Parish contacts 35 Church Rotas 36 2 PARISH LETTER Giving Up, Giving In, Giving Over Lent starts on the 6th March, Ash Wednesday. In the Parish this is marked by an Ash Wednesday service, which this year will be at All Saints, Wighill starting at 7.30pm. Lent is an important time in our Christian calendar. It is a time for Giving Up, Giving In, Giving Over. Giving Up "For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart." Matthew 6:21 Many people at Lent ‘Give Up’ a variety of things, with Sweets, Fizzy Drinks, Alcohol or Chocolate being the obvious. But the motives behind what we ‘give up’ are worth challenging. Do we give up things to prove to ourselves we can? Do we give things up because we want to benefit, may be through losing a bit of weight or saving a bit of money? Lent is about giving up those things that we are placing too much value on. It’s about rebalancing our relationships with God, other people and ourselves. It’s about asking the question ‘Am I putting the things I am giving up ahead of the love I have for God and other people? The things we treasure in this life is where we place our heart and our love. Lent is a time to get the balance right between what we should love and what we actually love. This isn’t about the physical things we can give up. We may want to address particular habits or a state of our mind that is getting in the way. In 2017 the Daily Telegraph listed the most popular things to give up for Lent. As well as the obvious things they also listed ‘complaining’ and ‘sarcasm’. Habits that can and do generate a less than loving attitude and state of mind for God and other people. What to give up at Lent takes thought and prayer. The benefits of this are something to be truly valued as we realign our relationships with God, other people and ourselves. 3 Giving In Discerning what we should give up at Lent involves ‘Giving In’. As we put down things that get in the way of the love we have for God and other people we naturally ‘give in’ and accept that we are not the centre of our universe. We ‘give in’ and put God first. God the source of love is to be relied upon. Another way to look at this is to think about the changes we want to make in our lives during Lent. If we think we can make these changes under our own strength, then I would question whether we are making the right changes. All of us have things (or sins) that we know shouldn’t be there. If you are like me, we tend to satisfy ourselves by getting rid of the things where we know it will be relatively easy to do so. We go for the ‘low hanging fruit’ and avoid the really big things ‘the elephant in the room’ (apologies for the clichés). We tend only to tackle the things we know we can handle. We fail to give in and recognise how we need to rely on God’s strength to give up those things we cannot tackle under our own strength. Giving Over Lent doesn’t stop at ‘giving up’ or with ‘giving in’. To truly re-establish right relationships during Lent the natural thing is then to ‘give over’. A true relationship with God and others is about not putting ourselves first. We may think this, but it is also about living this way of life. Do we use our time and talents we have been given for the benefit of others? Do we recognise that the material things we have in our lives are not just for the benefit of ourselves but for other people? This is about living out the gospel, the good news in our lives. When we take this final step of ‘giving over’ we also find that we are equally rewarded and through knowing and living right relationships with God and other people we live life in abundance. This Lent may your life be enriched through giving up, giving in and giving over. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John10:10 In Christ, Richard 4 COMMUNION AT HOME The 'Communion' we share in Church on a Sunday morning, is a visible symbol of the Community of God, that we are in, by sharing the bread and wine and remembering the sacrifice of Jesus. When we take Communion in Church on a Sunday we are, amongst other things, affirming our Community. I know that for many reasons some people are not able to come to Church on a Sunday. This doesn't mean that Communion cannot be received at another time through the week. Our Community is not wholly defined by who is at Church on a Sunday morning. Church can come to you! If you wish to receive Home Communion on a regular basis (or as a one off) you are more than welcome to do so. Myself, Kath McBride or Rev Lucy Brencher will happily visit. Please don't think that it is too much trouble to ask, this is certainly not the case. All you need to do to start receiving Home Communion is to contact me or one of the Churchwardens and we can visit, by arrangement, to suit you. It is also a pleasure to sit and chat for a while, after Communion is shared. Also, if you know someone who you think will benefit from Home Communion please let us know. Richard 5 PRAYER REQUESTS There are times when we feel we, or someone we know would benefit from prayers said specifically for them. This can bring great comfort. If you would like a prayer said for you or someone you know please get in touch with Richard, Lucy, Kath or one of the Churchwardens who will be able to help you. Similarly if you would like yourself, or people to be specifically prayed for in our services please also ask, ensuring that the person for whom prayers will be said is comfortable with the happening. 6 2019 CONFIRMATIONS This year’s confirmation service is currently scheduled for the 31st March, Mothering Sunday. However, as you may have heard, the Bishop of Selby is not well, so we may need to reschedule our confirmation service. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t start talking about what confirmation means. So here are a few things that people regularly ask about confirmation … What is confirmation? Confirmation is a special church service in which a person confirms the promises that were made when they were baptised. If you were baptised at a christening when you were a child, your parents and godparents made these promises on your behalf. As a young person or adult, you may be ready to affirm these promises for yourself and commit your life to following Jesus Christ. At a confirmation service, you make these promises for yourself. Your friends and family, as well as the local Christian community, will be there to promise to support and pray for you. At the service the local bishop will lay their hands on your head and ask God’s Holy Spirit to give you the strength and commitment, to live God’s way for the rest of your life. For those who were baptised as an adult, confirmation is affirming those baptism vows and confirming their membership of the global church, it is the next and natural step to take. What is the service like? Confirmation usually takes place in a special service in a church in the Parish. There will be hymns, readings and sometimes those being confirmed talk about their faith.