the
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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