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church : revd jo's letter : september 2006 added 23/08/06 On September 5th., I will have been here a year; no longer ‘our new Vicar’ but ‘our old Vicar’, I suppose. A great deal has happened in that year, and some of it has been truly remarkable. On Wednesday mornings a growing number of us meet at Castle Bytham for a short service and a time of prayer, when we lift to God various people and situations which concern us. Often the people named have asked for prayer, or others have asked for it on their behalf. In my last group of parishes, someone referred to the Prayer Group there as the ‘powerhouse’ of the church, and that could well apply to the Wednesday group here. If you come into the church, you will see a prayer board. On it are the names of those we pray for, a photograph a letter and an email.. The photograph is of a very tiny premature baby, whose grandmother asked us to pray for her when her survival was far from certain. With it is a letter of thanks from that same grandmother telling us that at last her little granddaughter is strong enough to go home, and thanking us for our prayers. The email thanks us for our prayers for a seven year old who is very ill with Cancer. Although seriously ill, with a long period of treatment ahead of him, this little boy is no longer as desperately ill as was first thought. Again, the power of prayer has sustained him and his very anxious family. And finally, in the visitor’s book is a ‘thank you’ from someone diagnosed with a brain tumour, whose condition has stabilised. How good God is, and how much we owe him for his love and care. If you are anxious about anyone, or if you are ill or have problems of your own, do let us know. You need tell us only as much as you want to; but be assured that we will continue to include you in our prayers. Either leave a note on the prayer board in church, or contact me or Sheila Robinson directly. There have been other signs of renewed life in our churches over the last twelve months, too. The Castle Bytham Family service is happily in place. Our monthly Evensong at Little Bytham includes a discussion, which has been very fruitful in opening our minds to fresh ideas about what we are trying to do with our lives. We have had a large number of Baptisms (welcome to Wayne Coulton and Emily Player, baptised at Little Bytham, and to Jack and Olivia Anderson, and Jack Croxford, baptised at Castle Bytham in August) and a growing number of weddings – three at Castle Bytham this year, and two already booked for Careby next year. On Friday September 29th our Harvest festival and Harvest Supper take place at Castle Bytham. This year our preacher will be the Revd David de Verny, whose work as Chaplain to Arriving Communities involves him in ministering to the large numbers of migrant workers who are employed on Fenland farms. We need little persuading of the advantages of buying locally produced food, but we also need to be aware that those whose labour does provide it are not always treated with justice and compassion. The Gospel tells us to welcome the stranger. To ignore the plight of many migrant workers is to deny this. I’m sure you will find David’s talk interesting , and that you will enjoy the old harvest hymns and the supper, so do come along. A number of fundraising events take place this month, too. On Friday 1st, a Silent Auction at Castle Bytham Village hall, on Sunday 3rd, a Car Boot sale and Craft Fair at Careby, on Tuesday 19th a Coffee Morning with Bring and Buy Stall at Judy Turner’s, in aid of the Little Bytham hymn book fund. Do come and support these if you can. With every good wish, Jo |
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