Newsletter, March 2008
back

Dear Friends

I have been thinking a lot about Bill Thorne lately—perhaps because I drove past his old house last time we were in Watford. Bill was an altar server of many years standing; he had begun by carrying a candle when he was a small boy and he continued to serve until just before his death last year. I am not sure exactly how old he was but somewhere over eighty. I loved it if I was on duty for the eight o’clock service on Easter Day. It didn’t seem to matter how early I arrived, Bill was always there; everything ser up ready. St Michaels is a huge church—and as I crossed by the lady chapel and the chancel towards the ambulatory, Bill would come rushing through, arms waving in the air, almost shouting the words ‘He is risen, He is risen indeed Alleluia!’ My reply had to be similar—and I never failed to be moved by the very real joy on Bill’s face.

Bill had a very good brain—and a prodigious memory—he could tell you the most obscure facts about any occasion it seemed, including the exact order of the procession at the coronation of our Queen—and her father! I have to confess that I was sad enough to check one day—he was right!.

I often think about Bill when I hear clever theologians debating, and openly disputing, some of the important tenets of our faith. Now don’t get me wrong, I think it is important to ask questions and to be able to understand better the teachings of the Church, and the writings of the Holy Scripture. I think it is even more important that our church leaders should examine questions of faith and belief and should be able to speak about new ideas that move us forward in our aim to love God and our neighbour more completely. What disturbs me is the way that these debates are seized on by the media and reduced to the level of controversial sound bites. These are then further analysed, often by misinformed church people with little imagination, until the ‘ordinary’ Christian begins to think there is no reality to our faith at all.

Bill was above all this! He would tell you he had seen it all before and then quote chapter and verse of all the major ‘Church scandals’ of the twentieth century. It made no difference to the events of Easter two thousand years ago, he said. The Son of Man, the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for us, he suffered and was buried, and on the third day he rose again. No amount of clever debate could alter that—or

Bill’s steadfast belief and his total joy in his belief. I hope there are many Bill’s in this world; I give thanks for their straightforward faith—a faith that is based on a lifetime's knowledge of the love of God. Debate and disputation are great, provided they do not drive out love—and the response of the heart.

I wish you all an exhilarating and joyful Easter—for ‘He is risen, He is risen indeed, Alleluia!.

Jo Spray

The leaders of the Christian Churches throughout the world.

All who seek a better understanding of our faith, especially those to be baptised or confirmed at Easter.

All who serve God with quiet devotion.

The next coffee morning will be at 10:15 on Saturday 8th March at Holmwood House by kind invitation of Richard and Judith Bray. There will be a raffle and bring-and-buy stall for which contributions would be very welcome.

Last months coffee morning at Barton Homes raised £294 towards church funds. A big thank you to everyone who helped with and supported the event. A very pleasant time was had by all!

"I remember my affliction and my wandering...and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed. For his compassions never fail. They are new every morning ; Great is your faithfulness".

Lamentations 3:19-23

It is with great sadness that we have to say ‘Good-Bye’ to Justine Dalton who has sung in our church choir since she was seven – with only a very short break when her working hours made it difficult for her to get to services. It would be totally ungallant to say how many years it is since Justine was seven, but it is quite a long time! Justine has been blessed with a beautiful voice and we shall miss her very much. We shall also miss all the other things she does. Together with Heather Buxton, she has sorted all the music – and most weeks she prepares the books and music for the rest of the choir. She also remembers birthdays and anniversaries – and generally keeps people in good spirits – so she will be sorely missed. She is moving to Plymouth where husband Dan has been working since last June. We know they are looking forward to being together again and we wish them every happiness for the future. Justine has already been searching out a new church and a new choir – lucky them! Her last service with us will be on 2nd March, we shall have a glass or two of something after the service to wish her well and to say ‘Good Bye’ Literally to say ‘God be with you’. We know she will return here to see her mum, and we hope on those occasions she will find her way back into our choir stalls!

Our organist, Paul Edwards, is also on the move. Paul has been with us for just two years and has made the organ do seemingly impossible things! He will be with us over Easter but we shall have to say ‘God be with you’ to Paul at the end of the month. We have enjoyed his playing and his music and are sad to see him go but we hope that he too will be with us for some occasional offices and perhaps some organ recitals in the future. We wish him well.

There is a fun morning of Easter Activities coming up soon for all children up to the age of 11. This will be during the school holiday: Wednesday 26th March, 10-11:30 in the Village Hall. A variety of activities will be on offer, including drama, baking, planting and arty-crafty fun. There is no charge for this event although small donations would be very welcome. If you would like to help run an activity, please contact sarah.beecham1@googlemail.com We look forward to seeing lots of children there!

When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something magical happens: ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to nourish your soul!

Rabbi Harrold Kushner

An Irishman moved into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, he walked into the local pub, and promptly ordered three beers. The bartender raised his eyebrows, but served the man three beers, which he drank at a table alone. An hour later, the man had finished the three beers and ordered three more. This happened yet again. The next evening the man again ordered and drank three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town was whispering about the man who orders three beers. Finally, a week later, the bartender broached the subject on behalf of the town. "I don’t mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?" "Tis odd, isn’t it?" the man replied. "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America and the other to Australia, we promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank, as a way of keeping the family bond." The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the man who orders three beers became a source of pride to the hamlet. Then one day, the man came in and ordered only two beers. The bartender poured them with a heavy heart. This continued for the rest of the evening. "each time he orders only two beers," the words flew around the town. Prayers were offered for the soul of one of the brothers. The next day the bartender said to the man, "folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know the two beers instead of three and all…" The man pondered this for a moment, then replied, "You’ll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It’s just that I meself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

Never despair, one of the thieves was saved, never presume the other was damned. St. Augustine of Hippo

Every path he guides us on is fragrant with His loving kindness.

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful.

Psalm 25:10

If you would like to donate a lily or other flowers in memory of a loved one, please let Anne Claypole White know in good time so that they may be ordered in advance. (881661) The church will be decorated for Easter on Saturday 22nd March. If you would like to help, please let me know fairly soon—it makes planning easier! Anne

Debbie was born in Enfield to a mum that stayed at home and a dad who was an accountant. Debbie says that she had a happy childhood and went to school locally. She has an older brother who lives in Stevenage and a younger sister who lives in Northampton. She recalls coming to Milton Keynes on a school trip to see the concrete cow. She cannot think why they did not go to a real farm and says the concrete cows have now sadly been moved to a new location.

The family moved to Bromham when Debbie was about seventeen and Debbie went to work for Barclays Bank in Bedford. She worked full time until she had Jordan and then went part time until Nathan was born in 1994. When she had Logan in 1996 she left work to stay at home with the children.

Debbie moved to Turvey in 2001, she says she likes Turvey very much, it is a nice village with lots of amenities and a community feel. Knowing that she had to go back to work to earn, and not wanting to go back to banking, she decided to go back to college to take her ‘A’ levels. Not content with just gaining her ‘A’ levels she decided to go to University, she is currently studying criminology and sociology at the University of Bedfordshire. She would like to do some form of youth work or youth probation work when she qualifies. Good for you Debbie, I can sympathise with all the assignments and exams as it is not long since I graduated and know what a struggle it is to find the time to swat.

Debbie has been a single mum for about eight years and is very proud of her children and of what she has achieved, and so you should Debbie. Debbie loves nothing more than being outdoors, it does not matter what she is doing, whether it be walking her two dogs, running or gardening as long as it is outside. She is a very keen runner and can often be seen around the village and fields either walking or running, often with headphones on, listening to her favourite music. She is also an avid reader and says that being at Uni has opened up a variety of reading and now she reads all sorts of books and really enjoys the variety.

The family have quite a few animals which include two dogs, a cat and a rake of guinea pigs. The guinea pigs are named after characters from the TV series Lost, Jack, Ethan, Charlie, and Desmond, as she says all of her pets have to have proper names. She also loves to spend time with family and friends, Her Mum still lives in Bromham and her dad lives in Cyprus and the family visit her dad when they can. When she was a child growing up her Nan and Granddad lived nearby and she saw a lot of them and often went after school for her tea. Her Nan now lives in Lowestoft, she is ninety five and is the centre of the family. It is traditional that they spend half term holidays with her, but unfortunately Debbie was too sick to go this spring and so the children went on their own for the week.

Debbie says she is a people person and enjoys meeting new friends. She used to go to Bromham Baptist Church when she lived in Bromham, but now comes to All Saint’s as it is her local church, she did tell me that she feels guilty sneaking out just before the end sometimes! she has a Sunday job in The Three Cranes and has to start at noon. She does this partly because she loves chatting and partly to help with family finances. I am sure that you all, along with me wish Debbie good luck with her degree course and future career.

First plant 4 rows of peas:

Prayers

Promptness

Politeness

Purity

Next plant 4 rows of lettuce:

Let us be faithful to duty

Let us be unselfish

Let us be truthful

Let us be faithful to Christ

Next plant 3 rows of squash:

Squash gossip

Squash criticism

Squash indifference

No garden is complete without turnips:

Turn up for church

Turn up with a smile

Turn up with new ideas

Turn up with determination for something good and worthwhile

Amen

Spring is a most cherished time of renewal; a time of new life, new hope, and the renewed promise offered in the Resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We see this bursting forth in many aspects of spring. Following are some thoughts upon "Spring renewal".

It is a wonderful gift from God to bring a new life into this world. Edmund Chung

As we come towards the end of Lent, struggling to keep our Lenten pledges and complete our Lenten studies, we prepare for the tragedy of Good Friday and the glorious revelation of Easter Day, longing for Spring to finally arrive. We are ready to make a change. Anne Moffatt

Our Lenten observances clear our minds and focus them on fundamental things. We may ‘spring clean’ our thoughts and throw away some prejudices and resentments, like rubbish from the cellar. We may choose a new dress or Easter Bonnet to celebrate the feeling that we are clean and open to the world. All is fresh, we can start again, our mistakes are behind us. We look forward to Easter; to the holiday, to the symbolism and to the inspiration. Anything is possible, we can go forward joyfully—Spring has come, we will be renewed.

My mother had a character in her life called ‘Mrs Never Well’ – I think she was a home grown version of ‘Mrs Do as You Would be Done By’ from the ‘Water Babies’ ‘Mrs Never Well’ always had something wrong with her – I feel a bit like her! I have to tell you I am going into hospital yet again! This time for a new left knee – it has been ‘dicky’ for about twenty years, but there are now days when the choir hold their collective breath as I try to descend from the pulpit so I think it is time to get it fixed. Grandson Number One is very concerned about this as he thinks I will be like a robot and he doesn’t want a robot for a grandmother! I go into hospital on 28th March and expect to be away for about six weeks. I have to say you will gain! We have the Archdeacon of Bedford, the Venerable Paul Hughes, to take the service on 6th April and Bishop Richard on 20th April – there are other exciting people coming too so you should have a very good time!

Jo Spray

Easter is one of the most important and joyous of all festivals. Through the death of Jesus on Good Friday we have forgiveness of sins; in his resurrection on Easter Sunday we have a new life forever. A Happy Easter to you all.

Cindy

For all of you who love Easter Eggs, don’t leave them to melt!

Organ Recital

Paul Edwards will give an

Organ Recital

in

All Saints Church

Saturday 29th March 2008

at

7.30pm

A retiring collection will be taken