Dear Friends,

Over the years it has become a standing joke in our family that my Father complains about the cost of new shoes. Somehow a barrier has been created for him as to quite how much you should have to pay for a new pair. For him the barrier is sixty nine and eleven, shillings and pence that is. In modern money that is just under three pounds fifty pence.

When I think about this, it is rather odd, because I know that there was a time when he could buy shoes cheaper than this, so he was obviously prepared to change with the times, but only up to a point. For him that point was when the price of shoes reached sixty nine and eleven.

When Jesus started his ministry, one of the problems he had to deal with, was the way that the Pharisees had reached a point of no change. Their lives had become bound by a set of inflexible rules. They argued that they were following the Law of Moses, although I am sure that many of the rules they lived by, had never been formulated by Moses.

The Pharisees, for instance, would not allow someone to be healed on the Sabbath. If you were unlucky enough to have a life threatening accident on a Sabbath, you could receive enough medical treatment to stop you dying, but not enough to make you better. They were also forbidden to wear sandals with nails in the sole on the Sabbath. The logic of this was that sandals shod with nails were heavier than sandals with no nails. It was decided that to wear sandals shod with nails was therefore work and of course you were not allowed to work on the Sabbath. In the face of such resistance to change, it was not surprising that Jesus and the Pharisees failed to see eye to eye.

Now I am not saying that change is always right, because it clearly isn’t, but I think that the refusal to even consider change is nearly always wrong. The Pharisees simply refused to listen to what Jesus had to say and thereby missed a chance to change and a chance to know the joys that his teaching can bring.

You might or might not wonder if this has any relevance to us today and of course it does, because later this month, for the first time ever, Turvey is going to have a female Priest.

This for most of us is a change and for some I suspect an unwelcome change. What is wrong with the old ways, I hear you say and of course the answer is, there is nothing wrong with the old ways. But like it or not the Anglican Church has moved on and the ordination of women celebrates its tenth Anniversary this year. It has become a change which many initially feared, but who have subsequently found that their fears were groundless, as they have experienced the love and care that the ministry of women can bring.

I know that you will all welcome Jo Spray as she starts her ministry here in Turvey and I hope you will find the change she brings, refreshing, stimulating and that she will bring you to an ever greater understanding of the message of Christ.

Every blessing,

Robert Evens

25^th May: Catherine Smith and Paul Hudson.

17^th May: John David Cocozza

Instead of the next coffee morning a "Jubilee Celebration" will be held on Saturday 8^th June, 10:30 am until 4:30 pm, in the Manor Room. Do come and support us. Details are displayed around the village.

The May coffee morning raised over £180 for Church funds. Many thanks to Dawn Riddle for hosting it.

The annual Garden Party will be held on Thursday 20^th June, commencing at 2:30 p.m., at 7 The Green. With thanks to Mr. and Mrs. P. Gentry.