THE POCKLINGTON PARISH MAGAZINE Londesborough Church Snowdrop Sundays 14th and 21st February February 2016 £1 THE POCKLINGTON GROUP OF PARISHES The Combined Benefices of Pocklington Wold and Londesborough Wold Ministry Team Clergy Revd Geoff Hollingsworth Vicar 302133 Vacant Assistant Curate with welcome assistance from the following retired clergy who have the Archbishop’s Permission To Officiate (PTO) Revd Shelagh Jones 01430 871612 Revd Les Slow 303888 Revd Tony Burdon 304290 Revd Pam Burdon 304290 Revd Canon Rodney Nicholson 01430 650271 Revd Canon Sylvia Mutch 307894 Readers Recognised Parish Assistants Mr Mike Bailey 01430 873318 Mrs Liz Stott 01430 873361 Mrs Bronnie Broadhurst 307479 Dr Brian James 01377 288148 Mr David Rumbelow 306056 Mrs Joy Hadley 306655 Mr Brian Snelson 302206 Mrs Annie Harrison 01377 288070 Mr Paul Taylor 305484 Mrs Freda Bailey 01430 873318 Pastoral Team Coordinator: Mrs Bronnie Broadhurst Mrs Lyn Stanton, Mr David Rumbelow, Mrs Joy Hadley, Revd Canon Rodney Nicholson Revd Shelagh Jones Church Wardens: St Giles, Burnby Mr C Soukup 306154 Mr J Hewitt 302622 St Ethelburga, Gt Givendale Mr J Goodhart 368817 Mrs M Stephens 373629 St Martin, Hayton Mrs E Thackray 304317 St Mary, Huggate Mrs R Braithwaite 01377 288422 Mrs S Dale 01377 288233 All Saints, Londesborough Mrs J Fletcher 01430 873554 St Margaret, Millington Mrs S Sheard 304783 St James, Nunburnholme Dr B James 01377 288420 Dr A Henworth 302156 All Saints, Pocklington Mr B Myerscough 303331 All Saints, Shiptonthorpe Mr S Jones 01430 871612 Mrs F Bailey 01430 873318 2 FROM THE VICARAGE February 2016 Where is your life going? As we look around our world today many people express concern and unease. The media report on war, violence, nuclear arms, famine, mass migration, refugees and terrorist threats. Others experience unemployment, financial issues, breakdown of relationships, pension crises, ill health and death amongst family and friends. How do we react to these events and issues? What do we think are the solutions? As Christians where do we see God in these situations? We are approaching the season of LENT which commences on Ash Wednesday 10th February and lasts until Easter at the end of March. Traditionally the purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self- denial. This spiritual discipline draws us nearer to God and enables us to grow more Christ like in our thinking and our actions. This year our Lent Course is based on the Psalms and although written long ago they do help us think through the many issues which are facing us today individually, in our society and in the world. The Psalms offer hope and ways forward for us all. They help us look at how God works, how we can grow closer to God and how we can live a life which reflects God's love. Life is a journey of growth in faith and this course will enable us to think about the many challenges we are facing and what our responses could be. In addition to coming to the Lent course there are other helpful ways to observe Lent and for it to be a time of spiritual renewal and growth. Why not read a suitable Lenten book, there are many on offer; make a commitment to attend the Lenten services in church as the readings and sermons are based on Lenten themes; some find it helpful to give up something as a means of strengthening their will power and commitment; some give the money saved from their giving up something to a charity which is supporting the many disaster situations in the world. Do take the opportunity which this Lenten season provides to reflect on where your life is going and how we can transform our world and support one another in life's journeying. Geoff Pocklington Group of Churches Pastoral Team The Pastoral Team is available to visit the bereaved, those who are ill, the housebound, or anyone who would like someone to talk to .This is an important part of the Church’s ministry and mission but we can only visit those we know about. So if you, or anyone you know, would welcome a visit from a member of the church family, please contact us and we will arrange for a member of the Pastoral Team to visit. Churches Together in Pocklington LENT COURSE 2016 The Lent course this year will take place on Tuesday evenings at the Pocklington Christian Fellowship at 7.30 pm and on Thursday mornings at All Saints at 11am. This is to provide a choice of timing .The content is the same .The course starts Tuesday 16th and Thursday 18th February and continues for 5 weeks .Participants may attend either the evening or the day time sessions and each session is independent . The theme is the Psalms. Although written over 2000 years ago they address many of the problems we still face : violence, injustice , anger and bewilderment .Why do the wicked prosper ? Where is God when we suffer ? In this 5 session course ,a CD is used on which Bishop Stephen Cottrell-a prolific and popular author –reflects on the psalms in general (and five psalms in particular).The other participants on the course CD are the Dominican Friar ,Revd John Bell of the Iona Community ,The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons ,Revd Prebendary Rose-Hudson Wilkin and the Revd Dr Jane Leach ,the Principle of Wesley House Cambridge. The Five sessions are : Session one Know that the Lord is God (Psalm 100) Session two Out of the depths have I cried (Psalm 130) Session three How long, O Lord? (Psalm 13) Session four You spread a table before me (Psalm 23) Session five Unless the Lord builds the House… (Psalm 127) Please note The deadline for the March edition is WEDNESDAY 17th February and should be emailed to: [email protected] 4 Snowdrop Sundays Snowdrop Sundays are a traditional part of fundraising for the upkeep and maintenance of All Saints Church, Londesborough. This year the grounds of the Old Hall and the church itself will be open on Sunday 14th February and Sunday 21st February from 10-30 until 4pm. There will be refreshments in the Reading Room, (opposite the churchyard), and books for sale inside the church, where there will also be displays of local and historic interest Joan Fletcher, Church Warden Photographs of Londesborough Church and snowdrops courtesy of Richard Holmes 5 The meeting on Tuesday, 5th January opened with prayers as usual but as it was Epiphany it was decided that we would sing the hymn "As with Gladness Men of Old" as well. It was a Social Afternoon and members enjoyed a glass of sherry, nibbles and cake. There was a Quiz to do and then we had a few games of Beetle. To complete the afternoon Ken Townley read "A Night to Remember" from the book by Gervaise Phinn entitled "A Wayne in a Manger" and a poem by Ruth Burgess called "It's Nearly Christmas". THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IS ON TUESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY. PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND. Dates for your Diaries:- Bridlington Priory Church MU Centenary Thursday 28th April 2016 (Numbers must be in by 25th February 2016) Lady Day & Commissioning Service Monday April 4th 2016 - York Minster 11am With many Blessings Josie Penter All Saints Fellowship Group The All Saints Fellowship Group meet at 3pm on the second Thursday of every month. We are a warm and friendly group who meet to encourage each other in our Faith and can share in our belief. We have a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits followed by prayer, Bible reading and open discussion. At present we have six regular members attending. We would welcome any newcomers who are interested in joining us. We feel our meetings are beneficial and strengthen our fellowship and our love of Jesus. If anyone is interested in joining us please contact Pat Herbert on 303605 6 We need a Nanny State by Rodney Nicholson WHENEVER I hear someone sneer at “Nanny State”, I cry out: “It’s exactly what we need”. We need the wrongly-called Nanny State to save people from themselves, which is what a good nanny does. The Christian faith makes two significant statements about human beings. One, we are made in God’s image; two, we are also sinful. It is because we are sinful, or selfish, or act ignorantly, that we need rules. Few would contest the value of the Ten Commandments. In fact, God gave many more rules in the books of Exodus and Leviticus to protect his people’s wellbeing and safety. God could have left them to their own devices, and not interfered, but out of love he gave these rules for protection. It looks a bit like nannying to me. “Health and Safety” is mocked, but as a member of one of my former churches pointed out, every Health and Safety rule was framed because someone had been killed. I knew a retired farmer who had difficulty in walking because of the chemicals used in sheep dips. These chemicals, now banned, had damaged his nerves. Would we really prefer to abolish industrial regulations and return to the days when workers caught asbestosis? How about wearing car seat belts? Or laws which forbid smoking in buses, trains or practically any indoor area? What about the law which came in last October making it illegal to smoke in a car containing children aged under18? Knowing about obesity and many children’s poor diet, is it not sensible for a government to require soft drinks manufacturers to reduce the sugar content? In heaven we shall be done with rules, I imagine, but we are not there yet.