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church : revd jo's letter : may 2007 added 10/04/07 It’s not often that churches have to apologise for being oversubscribed, but on two occasions recently, this has been the case. First of all, my apologies to the many people who asked to come on our visit to the Temples and Mosque, but were unable to book a seat. I had to tell 26 of you that it was full. We are intending to return, this time to visit the Orthodox and Liberal Synagogues and the Jain Temple , and if you were one of those unfortunate 26, and would like to come along, I will ensure that you have first refusal. The date is yet to be decided. And secondly, we were in the embarrassing situation on Easter Day of having to ask some of you to share hymn books and service books, or to be crammed uncomfortablyinto a pew. I realise how inconvenient this is, but it was lovely to see a very full church, nevertheless. Those who were able to visit the various places of worship in Leicester found it an interesting experience, from the Hindu festival with its very noisy attendant music group to the calm and dignity of the Mosque. We had some very well-informed guides at each venue, and experienced a warm welcome and hospitality everywhere. We were reminded that hot food is always available for travellers and visitors at a Sikh temple – worth remembering should you be stranded in a strange city! We recalled our Jewish roots at the Passover Supper. 35 of us enjoyed a hot supper and re-enacted the Passover feast that Jesus celebrated with the disciples on the night before he died, tracing the way the Christian Eucharist developed from this. I am very grateful to all those who provided the food, prepared the hall and washed up afterwards so willingly. Worshipping together as a church is what we do, of course, on a weekly basis; when we can combine this with conversation, laughter and food, we draw closer to those of the other great world faiths, who do it so naturally and so well. All our churches looked beautiful at Easter, with their Spring flowers and Easter lilies. I am so grateful to those who give of their time to arrange flowers and clean the churches, some of whom I don’t always see to thank in person. In particular, my thanks to the band who hauled down the candelabra at Castle Bytham and polished it More cleaners and flower arrangers are always welcome, of course. Our choir sang for the first time on Easter Day, and made a huge difference to our worship. They do, however, need some robes, and at present, we have insufficient funds for this. It was suggested that undergraduate or graduate gowns would be ideal; we can rustle up 4 at present. Do you have one lingering unworn in a cupboard? If so, would you be prepared to give or lend it to us? We would gladly pay for cleaning if necessary. Please let me, or Hillary Lewthwaite, know, if you can help. May sees the Feast of the Ascension, and this year the Archdeacon of Lincoln, the Ven. Arthur Hawes will celebrate and preach at this service, in Little Bytham at 7.00. He is an old friend of these churches, so do come along and welcome him. On Friday May 11th, the Bythams School will be holding a Spring Service in Little Bytham church at 6.30 . The theme will be Spring Festivals. Do come and support our excellent primary school if you can. We have a number of happy occasions in the coming months. Thea Williams will be baptised at Castle Bytham on May 13th., and we have a record number of Banns to be read. Choir member Stephen Barratt and his fiancée Rachel Dawson are to be married in Rachel’s home parish of Yarkhill on May 26th, and over the summer we shall have four weddings at Careby and one at Castle Bytham – details in forthcoming Glenside editions. We also send our best wishes to Amy, daughter of Castle Bytham Church Warden David Smith and his wife Joan, and Amy’s husband Arshad, on the occasion of their marriage in Henley-on-Thames. It is a particular joy to me, as I taught Amy when she was a very lively 11 year old at Stamford High School! On a sad note, we extend our sympathies to the family of Gina Ellington of Clipsham Road, who died in April, and whose funeral took place at Grantham. With every good wish Jo |
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