Dear Friends,

One of my greatest joys as a ‘grandma’ is doing the bedtime routine. As Benjamin grows it becomes more and more fun, but we have to do things in a certain order, and play the same games night after night – different ones for his house and for our house! Have you noticed how important routine and ritual are - particularly in the lives of children? It reminds me of the comfort of the rhythm of the seasons, and the traditions that go with them.

I often think that the rhythm of the Church’s year is a comfort too. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Candlemas, a short space before Lent, then Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and the rigours of the Lenten fast before the despair of Holy Week and the great joy of Easter. Even the names on the page recall the familiar rituals attached to each festival. But rituals in themselves are not enough. They need to point to the heart of each festival and to help us to understand our place in the redemption of the world by Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Advent candles remind us of the light coming into the darkness of our world. The baby, carried gently to the crib, is a reminder that Christ was born into our weakness and vulnerability. Our pancakes on Shrove Tuesday remind us to eat up all the good things in our larders before we embark on our Lenten fast, before we go into the desert wilderness with Christ.

And what of Ash Wednesday? What are the rituals surrounding that day? In the early days of the Church, public penitents were ceremonially admitted to begin their penance, but between the eighth and tenth centuries, that discipline fell into disuse and the general penance of the whole congregation took its place. This was symbolised by the imposition of ashes on the heads of clergy and people in token of mourning and penitence. In the Book of Common Prayer, the service called A Commination replaced ‘ashing’, but in more recent times this has not been used and the imposition of ashes has once more become widespread. If you read the Commination service for yourself, I think you will understand why!

At our evening service on Ash Wednesday, I propose to re-introduce the ritual of ashing in All Saints. We burn the palm crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday before the service starts, and at the beginning of the Eucharist people are offered ‘the imposition.’ This just means that the sign of the cross is drawn by the Leader of the service on the forehead of those who choose to be ‘ashed’. The Leader says, ‘Remember that you are but dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.’

No one is obliged to take part, but equally, no one should feel embarrassed to do so. I think the best way to explain the significance of this ritual is to print the instruction and prayer that precedes the imposition.

‘As a sign of the spirit of penitence with which we shall keep this season of preparation for Easter, I invite you to receive on your head in ash the sign of the cross, the symbol of our salvation.

God our father, you create us from the dust of the earth: grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence and a symbol of our mortality; for it is by your grace alone that we are able to receive eternal life in Jesus Christ our Saviour.’

I wish you a good and holy Lent

Yours in Christ

Jo Spray

Please pray for… All in distress.

For grace to understand the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Church.

May I take this opportunity to thank you all, for your prayers, cards, messages and flowers during my recent illness. They were of great comfort to me, and were truly overwhelming.

I am making steady progress back to full health, thanks to Pauline, but it will be some time before I am back home. I am so looking forward to that, and to seeing you all again.

Love,

Len.

Share ideas… at our Lent courses and/or at an informal discussion group. Please look at the back of Church and sign up for what is right for you.

The next Mothers' Union meeting will be on Thursday 19^th February at 2:30 pm in the Manor Room - Favourite Hymns. On Thursday 25^th March we will have our Lady Day service at 2:30 pm in Church followed by the AGM in the Manor Room.

Coffee Mornings. The next coffee morning will be at 10:15a.m. on Saturday 14^th February at Marsh Cottage, Carlton, hosted by Mr. and Mrs. P. Hobbs. (Please note the change of venue). There will be a raffle and bring-and-buy stall, for which contributions especially of cakes would be very welcome. If you need transport, please contact Anne Claypole White.

The January coffee morning at Homelands raised £249 towards church funds. Thank you to everyone who helped with and contributed to an enjoyable event.

Church Flowers. Even if you are a regular contributor, could you sign the rota in the porch please so that we can see where there might be any gaps? We would welcome new volunteers to help with the altar and Lady Chapel flowers. Flowers last reasonably well in church, so it makes sense to sign up for two consecutive weeks at a time.