Newsletter, June 2009
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From the Rectory

It will not be long before we ‘go green’ again in church. The wonderful festival season of Easter, leading into Ascension and Pentecost, is almost at an end so we change the white or gold colour of festivals for the green of what we call ‘Ordinary Time’

I have particularly enjoyed the short period of Ascension tide this year. The time, forty days after Easter, when we remember that Jesus physical presence on earth came to an end, and when we celebrate His ascension into heaven to live with His Father for all eternity. Ascension is a time when the readings point us toward a consideration of eternity and lead us to contemplate what we mean by the ‘Heaven’. I had especially good fun with the children at school and was very impressed by their intelligent and thoughtful responses to what is an extremely difficult concept. One little girl told her mum ‘Jesus is alive and living in Turvey, you just can’t see Him walking down the High Street’. I think that is brilliant.

Perhaps I have also enjoyed Ascension this year because Turvey, in these last few days, has been very much what I hope heaven will be like! I love the way the hedgerows have changed from the early blackthorn and may to the great tumble of dog roses – and the way the cow parsley along some of the lanes is taller than the car. The trees are so fresh too – as if they have been newly painted. I rejoice to live in such a beautiful place. That is why I am so thrilled by the great community sharing of the Midsummer Festival. It shows the real beauty of the village as all our organisations and groups work side by side to celebrate our past and our present. There are some amazingly inventive ideas for the displays in church – and I am just wondering whether my Teddy is eligible for the parachute jump – or perhaps he should just learn to grow old gracefully. Among other delights we can look forward to cream teas, Morris dancing, organ recitals and face painting.

But the greatest delight of all will be to see the church at the centre of the community – celebrating the joy of community life, just as in times past. That for me is real heaven on earth – come and share it!

Yours in Christ

Jo

All involved in planning our festival

All who will come

The whole life of our village

Loving God, the birth of your Son Jesus Christ brought great joy to Mary and Joseph. We give thanks to you for everyone whose birthday we celebrate this month. May they ever grow in your faith, hope and love. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

The next coffee morning will be at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday 6th June at Manor Close Carlton by kind invitation of Jim and Margaret Lacey. There will be a raffle and bring-and-buy stall for which contributions, especially of cakes and produce would be very welcome. We will also have a plant stall so please come and support us and buy your summer plants. Last months coffee morning hosted by Dawn Riddle was a very enjoyable event which raised £215 towards church funds. A big thank you to Dawn for hosting the event and to everyone who helped with and supported this.

Carlton Open Gardens

Sunday 21st June

1.30-5.30pm

Proceeds to local charities

Guides, lunches and teas at Carlton Village Hall

Plant sales, Plant Clinic

Free car park (follow the signs)

Here is a young man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerate preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He did none of those things we usually associate with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

While he was still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth, and that was his coat. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed tomb through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress.

All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that have ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of a man upon this earth as has that one solitary life.

Anon

The Chellington Centre, formerly the parish church of St. Nicholas, Chellington, provides a stunning rural location for a venue that is available for use by all in our locality and beyond. Managed by Reach Out Projects, St. Albans and coordinated locally, its primary objective is to be a centre that can be used by groups of young people for a range of purposes such as expedition, invigoration, inspiration, education, celebration and contemplation. This can be on a residential or daily basis and includes uniformed and non-uniformed groups.

Historically and currently there are strong local connections between Turvey and the Chellington Centre. The intention now is that the centre is much more available for local community and family use as well as visiting groups from schools, youth groups and churches. Indeed it has already been used for a golden wedding party, a christening celebration and family reunion. It is essential that we look much wider than our original target usage groups in order to ensure that the Centre remains at the heart of our communities and it is available for all our use for years to come.

Very recently we had a university reunion group use the centre for a weekend with their growing families and who enjoyed it so much that they have already booked again for next year! Later in the summer a wedding reception will be held in the Centre which will be a very exciting and innovative use of the building. It is an ideal venue for team building and staff ‘away days’. The range of use is almost only limited by your imagination!

This wider income generation will support the work of the Chellington Centre as a residential venue for young people. Indeed its commercial use is essential to underpin and support its charitable objectives.

We are planning to have an Open Day at the Chellington Centre on Sunday 12th July, with a range of fun activities as well as an opportunity for everyone to explore and consider how the Centre might be more widely used. There will be people on hand to answer your questions so please look out for information on the event and do come and have fun! We have a new website, www.chellington.org.uk which has been created by one of our volunteers, David Taylor. It is still ‘work in progress’ as we are in the process of devising our pages for community, special event and commercial use. A huge thank you to David for all his hard work as it has not been an easy task at times.

If you would like to discuss the possible hire of the centre or you would just like to visit, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Jacqui Darrington, Centre Coordinator can be contacted on 07921 466 338 or by email Jacqui@chellington.org.uk

I am as my creator made me, and since he is satisfied so am I.

Minnie Smith

We meet on the first Friday of the month in Turvey Village Hall and have been doing this for nearly 2 years. The club is run solely by volunteers and we are looking for people to help with the shopping and cooking on a rota basis. We cook for approximately 30-35 people, if you are interested and want more information please contact Marylyn Eaton. Telephone 01234 824846

An evening with Carlo Curley, the world famous American concert organist, entitled "Pulling out the Stops" will take place on Saturday 12th September 2009, at 7:30pm in St. Mary’s Church, Felmersham. Entry is by ticket only £12 (no concessions) with allocated seating. Light refreshments will be available during the interval, and in addition there will be a chance to purchase a tape or CD of one of Carlo’s performances.

For further details of booking, seating plan and map, please visit www.felmersham.net/carlo.htm

To book please call the box office, Bedford 01234 269519

Julie was born in Edgware to Mum who was a housewife and Dad who worked for Her Majesties Stationery Office, and printed telephone directories at Harrow. They were married for fifty four and a half years and Julie says her dad worshipped the ground her mother walked on. Her Dad was in the war and was an aeronautical engineer and ended up a sergeant. Once when with Coastal Command in Scotland, it was snowing heavily and they could not get the aircraft off the ground, so he said to his men ‘you have not seen me’; he then seconded a steam roller to flatten the snow so that the aircraft could take off! What a clever man, and he was mentioned twice in the dispatches for his ingenuity.

Julie was an only child and went to school in Harrow Weald. After leaving school she attended Secretarial College for two years in Harrow. Her first job was in the Insurance Office of The Royal Automobile Club in Watford. Her next job was working for Kodak, but says she hated every minute of it, so she left and went to work for a firm of solicitors in a Finance Company where she stayed until her son Darren was born.

Julie met John, her future husband, at a dancing school in Harrow, John had also been brought up in Harrow. They married at All Saints church, Harrow Weald in June 1978, which according to my maths means that they have been married for almost 31 years. They spent part of their honeymoon in the Lake District, and the remainder stopping at places on the way home. Their first home together was in Northolt, then they moved to Harpenden when John got a job transfer. They stayed in Harpenden for 20 years and this is where Darren attended local schools and then went to Hatfield University. After John took early retirement in 2006 they decided to move, Julie says they looked at houses all over the place and even considered the Lake District, which they all love, but Darren told them they would be on their own and miss their friends who live in the South and also relatives in Kent, Maidstone and Oxford. One day John said what about Olney after he had looked it up on the internet (Julie says she had never heard of the place) so they took a trip to Olney and visited the surrounding villages and ended up buying a house in Turvey and moved here in January 2007. Darren moved with them and they all now enjoy life in Turvey. Darren has made friends locally and is always busy doing something to his car. Darren says his Mum is a caring mum and has always been there for him (she also bakes a mean muffin)!

The whole family love dancing and all of them go to dance classes in Bletchley. Julie enjoys bird watching and walking. Julie belongs to the Mothers Union, who meet every second month at Sharnbrook. Julie says she enjoys a glass of real ale when they are away. They have a beautiful small garden which is immaculate and I am told it is John who is the keen gardener that keeps it tidy. She is also an avid collector and at the moment collects Royal Crown Derby paperweights. The whole family like to go to the Lake District or Scotland to walk and explore. The family like exploring new places, they have just returned from Amsterdam where they visited the Tulip fields at Keukenhof. Next week they are to Ambleside for more fell walking! I wonder where the next holiday will be! John, Julie and Darren also attend the Wales Rally GB once a year and really enjoy watching the car rally.

Julie says she attends All Saints for several reasons, one being that it is C of E and also because it is in the village. Coincidentally the vicar, Jonathan, that was at Julie’s church in Harpenden had been Vicar at Carlton and Harrold before going to Harpenden. Julie tells me that when Darren leaves home they will move to somewhere smaller but still within visiting distance of Darren. I wonder where Darren will end up! I do hope it is not too far away so that I can still visit Julie.