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church : revd jo's letter : november 2008 added 09/10/08 I imagine very few of us envisaged seeing the collapse of major banks in our lifetime. Suddenly all that is familiar and secure seems to be shaken and crashing about us. Have we, I wonder, gone too far in the worship of money and possessions, and are we now being forced to reconsider our priorities and reassess what is really important in our lives. Archbishop John Sentamu certainly thinks so, and I applauded his courageous if outspoken attack on greed and the unfair distribution of wealth. The Old Testament had its share of prophets, prepared to speak out and to rebuke when the situation demanded it . In John Sentamu we surely have a modern-day prophet. Coming as he does from Uganda, he has seen more than his fair share of poverty, malnutrition and the disease which results from these. He also witnessed at first hand the atrocities of Idi Amin’s regime. His sense of justice and equality is firmly rooted in his childhood. But not everything is uncertain and unstable. Our Harvest Festival reminded us of the unchanging cycle of the seasons and God’s generosity in providing our food. There was plenty of that at the Harvest Supper, enjoyed by a large number. Thank you to those who worked so hard to provide and serve it. Careby church looked beautiful, and my thanks go to the flower arrangers and polishers. We also had cause to give thanks at the Little Bytham Pet Service, where a large number of pets came for a blessing. The star of the show was Teddy the Shetland, who walked calmly up the steps and stood patiently in church throughout the service. The many dogs were immaculately behaved, and, I’m pleased to say, ignored the guinea pigs. We plan to make this an annual event and hope it will grow each year. Castle Bytham had its share of wildlife with the arrival in church of a squirrel and two Swifts, but all three eventually made their way outside, I’m glad to say. They reminded me of John Betjeman’s church mouse: Here among long-discarded cassocks, damp stools and half-split-open hassocks, Here where the Vicar never looks, I nibble through old service books. Though I’m pleased to say I haven’t yet encountered a mouse in any of the churches. As you probably know, Church of England Parishes are grouped administratively into Deaneries, Deaneries into Archdeaconries and Archdeaconries into Dioceses. Our Deanery, Beltisloe, takes its name from the ancient Wapentake (the political division of those parts of the country which were ruled under the Danelaw.) Recently the Deanery was enlarged by the addition of Bourne and the Ringstone Group (Morton, Kirkby Underwood, Rippingale etc.) and we have been very pleased to welcome them to our meetings and events. We held a supper at Little Bytham as our welcome, and once again, thank you to all the cooks, waitresses and washers-up. And so to November – to our All Saints service, and Advent Sunday. Our Remembrance service takes place this year at Little Bytham at 10.45 on Sunday November 9th., and the address will be given by David Hall, whose long service in the RAF gives him a particularly relevant perspective. And finally, notice of two small alterations to service times. When a fifth Sunday occurs, we have held just one service, at 10.00. Several people have suggested that it would be more convenient to hold it at 9.00, as we do on the other Sundays, so as from Sunday November 30th., this is what we shall be doing. Then, from January, the Family Service at Careby will be at 10.30, not 11.00, to bring it into line with ‘Worship Together’. In the service rota, I have included dates of PCC meetings, by request. With best wishes Jo |
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