I sometimes think about this when the lessons for the day are read from the Bible. Should we use the traditional translation of the Bible for our Prayer Book services or the Modern version for everything? – Or should we continue as now and give people the option about which version they choose to read? Certainly for people of ‘a certain age’, like me, the old version of the Isaiah prophesies and the Prologue from St John’s Gospel are so much part of our make up that Christmas would not be the same without hearing them at least once in their original form. They are hard to understand, however, and I have a strong suspicion that most of us enjoy the poetry without taking in much of the meaning.

The Bible is the very cornerstone of our faith. It is the place where we begin to learn about our relationship with God and his redemption of mankind through the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus. It is essential therefore that we understand what is being read to us and what we read for ourselves. It is also essential that we learn to love the Bible and actually want to read it. I am sometimes saddened by the lack of knowledge of very familiar Bible stories, especially now that RE is taught so little in schools. I have a feeling, however, that tackling the Authorized Version as a way of understanding more about our faith would be a daunting task.

So, where does that leave us? I have to say I rather like the mix of lessons we have in our church – and I have a mind to leave things exactly as they are. For one thing, hearing different versions of the same story often adds a whole new depth of meaning. In our Bible studies we actually compare different translations to see if they add anything to our understanding. I should be interested to hear what other members of the congregation think. In the meantime, I wonder how long it is since you read a whole book of the Bible at a sitting? We have been doing this as part of our Confirmation preparation and one member of the group said how much they had enjoyed it! Try reading Mark’s Gospel straight through – or for an action packed adventure story, try the Acts of the Apostles.

Happy reading!

Yours in Christ

Jo Spray.

We are delighted to have been asked to host a Regional Choral Evensong for the St Albans, Hertford and Bedford branch of the RSCM on Sunday 1st July. All churches affiliated to the RSCM are invited to attend, as are our own choir. They will meet for rehearsal during the afternoon and Evensong will begin at 6.00pm. Christopher Muhley, the area chairman, will conduct the event and Andy Benoy will play the organ for the service. Our own organist, Paul Edwards, will play before the service starts and the choirs are to sing an introit composed by Paul. It is likely that the combined choir will number somewhere between 50 – 100 singers! It should be an amazing event so do come if you can. We will need to give the choirs tea and cake at some time during the afternoon – so offers of cakes, scones etc would be much appreciated, let me know if you can help!

Jo Spray

The next coffee morning is to be held at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday 9th June at 7, Manor Close Carlton by kind invitation of Jim and Margaret Lacey. In addition to the usual bring and buy and raffle, there will be a plant stall, so start potting up now—your surplus plants will be very welcome! Last months coffee morning raised £220 towards church funds. A big thank you to Dawn Riddle for hosting and to everyone who helped and supported it.

The next meeting will be held on the 28th June 7:30p.m. at All Saints, Queens Park, Bedford and the speaker will be Mrs Margaret Anne Tibbs. Please contact Betty Hewett for more information 881738.

Sunday 3rd June 1:30—5:30pm

Adults £3.00

Concessions £2.00

children over 12 £1.00.

children under 12 free

There will be light lunches and teas served in the Village hall.

I know God will not give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.

Mother Teresa.

On Sunday 3rd June this year, we are asking you to join us in a Frugal Lunch to raise money for Christian Aid. The idea is that after the morning Eucharist we remain in church to eat just bread and cheese (or a simple alternative for those whose dietary requirements make that impossible) we suggest a minimum voluntary donation of £3.00 per head or £8.00 for families. It would help organisation if you could sign the list at the back of the church but there should be sufficient for a few extra people to decide ‘on the day’. Do put the date in your diary and join us if you can – if the weather is warm we may eat outside.

The Bible Societies and the Gideons (who distribute free Bibles)

Those parts of the world where the Bible is forbidden

Our confirmation candidates (see below)

Four members of our congregation are to be confirmed in All Saints on Tuesday 26th June at 7.30pm in the evening. Candidates from other churches in the Deanery will join them. Bishop Richard is coming to confirm the candidates and the service will be combined with Holy Communion. It would be very good if members of the congregation could come to the service to offer support. Please will you also remember them in your prayers? Our candidates are Pip Knowles, Adrian Nichols Cook, Win Waller and Heather Whelbourn – we have enjoyed working together during the last few weeks – confirmation classes are always special – and we wish them well as they prepare to confirm the promises made for them at baptism.

On Saturday July 7th at Chantry House in aid of Fast. Lots of fun for all the family so come and have a great day. Beer tent, Barbecue lunch, Ice cream stall, Birds of prey and games galore.

Those of us who were able to go to St Albans Abbey for the Vision for Action Celebrations had a really good day. It was nice to feel part of our Diocese instead of feeling that we are tucked away on the edge unacknowledged. You will see a photo of part of the Turvey Mysteries in this month’s See Round. This year Bishop Desmond Tutu is to be the guest at the Alban Festival on Saturday 23rd June. The Festival begins in Verulam Park then there is a walk to the Abbey for prayers and services – various other activities take place during the day. If there is sufficient interest, I will a book a coach and arrange for us to go together. Please sign the list at the back of church if you are interested – this should be a particularly good day for families. The cost of transport obviously depends on the number of people who want to go, but we expect it to be in the region of £10 per head with a joint rate for families to be decided! Jo Spray

Heather was born in Belfast to parents who were both in the Royal Air force. She has a sister who now lives in Wales. Because of her parents jobs Heather says she moved around a lot as a child and lived not only in Belfast but also in England and Germany and a spell in Malta for three years which she loved. Heather has so many friends in Malta that she and the family take as many opportunities to visit as possible. Because of all the moves and various schools Heather quickly lost her Irish accent.

After leaving school Heather went on to get a diploma at the London school of Commerce and became a P.A for a while. But more exiting things were on the horizon and Heather turned her talents to become a photographers and catwalk model in the Eastern Region until she met her first husband David, in Diss Norfolk, where they married. She and David settled down to have a family. They had four children, three girls Kim, Emily and Rachael and a boy, Adam.

David was a psychiatric social worker and was offered a post in Luton as a Mental Welfare Officer, so the family upped sticks and moved to Luton. Heather says she hated it there so they decided to move and found a house in Turvey, The Wollery. They moved in 1985 and Heather tells me that the house was haunted but it did not bother her and the children eventually got used to it, not sure that I would.

Heather started going to All Saints when she joined the choir in 1993, Emily joined as well but Rachael was too young and joined later, and now Adam has joined the family tradition. Heather says music is in her Irish blood and comes from her grandparent’s love of music. Heather was also a bell ringer and says that Peter Jeffrey and Robert Evens taught her, she has since stopped due to a bad shoulder incurred after a fall off her horse. While living in Turvey Heather had two fields and four horses (she learnt to ride when she was only two years old) but has since sold them due to the fact she is not able to ride any more.

Heather met husband number two, also David, when he was looking for a P.A. for his newly opened Security Company in 1999. Heather is a company director and works actively in the company and is now a qualified door supervisor and often works in Sandy. They married in the Caribbean and took the whole family with them, on their return they had a blessing at All Saints, which they both enjoyed very much. Heather says they have been to the Caribbean quite a lot and really like it there.

They bought a house together in Bromham in 2002 and are happy there despite the fact that Heather spends a lot of time in Turvey, with choir, church and Tats and cannot drive any more due to a medical condition. Heather says it is handy for Bedford and work but she does not rule out that they might move back to Turvey in the future.

I asked Heather if she had any hobbies, enough to make one dizzy, as well as past horse riding she dives whenever possible but only abroad now, she likes to watch films and loves musical theatre. She joined Tats about three years after moving to Turvey but took a break for a few years when she had Adam but returned and loves it; she tells me they are doing a production later in the year, Oliver which should be great. She has also appeared in both mystery plays and looks forward to next year’s production of Doomsday. Heather says she used to do a lot of Calligraphy and used to make all her own greetings cards but does not have time any more. Something we can all sympathise with, no time for the things we love to do. Make time Heather, you will enjoy!