The Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, who is director of Mission and Public Affairs for the Church of England has published a particularly clear essay on the relationship between Darwin and religion. I hope it will not be a breach of copyright if I print some extracts here, but he expresses what I would like to say so much better than I can! To read his work in full you will need to go to the Church of England website and look under the heading Darwin.

He begins

‘The trouble with homo sapiens is that we’re only human. People, and institutions, make mistakes and Christian people and churches are no exception. When a big new idea emerges which changes the way people look at the world, it’s easy to feel that every old idea, every certainty, is under attack and then to do battle against the new insights. The church made that mistake with Galileo’s astronomy, and has since realised its error. Some church people did it again in the 1860s with Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. So it is important to think again about Darwin’s impact on religious thinking, then and now – and the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth in 1809 is a good time to do so.’

And ends

‘Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends. But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests. Good religion needs to work constructively with good science – and I dare to suggest that the opposite may be true as well.’

All I can add is – don’t stop trying to understand!

Yours in Christ ,

Jo Spray

Our confirmation candidates

Bishop Richard

The Parish of Stevington

We must pray not that others may be converted to us but that we may all be drawn closer to Christ. (Paul Couturier)

5th April: Palm Sunday
11.00am Parish Eucharist with the Blessing and Distribution of Palms
6.00pm: Evensong

8th April: Wednesday
10.00am – 11.30am Children’s Activities for Easter in the Village Hall

9th April: Maundy Thursday
8.00pm Eucharist of the Last Supper

10th April: Good Friday
11.00am The Story of the Cross. A service for people of all ages but especially geared to children
2.00pm The Liturgy for Good Friday
6.30pm A Service of Music and Readings providing a time for reflection

12th April: Easter Day
11.00am Parish Eucharist for Easter
6.00pm Choral Evensong

Several people have said that the bulbs they purchased from our stall at the Christmas Market have been fine, much to our relief! We are hoping to repeat it this year. If you would like to recycle your bulb containers or any others you may have through the year please leave them at the back of the church or contact Pat (882181) or Gill (720615). Thanks Gill Betts.

uk/customs/easter/maundythursday.co.uk

Maundy Thursday also called Holy Thursday is the feast or holy day on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

On this day, Christians remember the Last Supper. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. Christians continue to share bread and wine as part of their worship in church. The last Supper was probably a Passover meal—the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt. The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. This year Maundy Thursday falls on 9th April. The name ‘Maundy’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Mandatum’, meaning a commandment.

Jesus Christ, at the last supper, commanded:

‘And now I give you a new commandment; love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.’

John 15:12

During the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. This act has sometimes been followed literally in history as a good way of reminding rulers that they are here to serve their subjects. In England, the custom of washing feet by the Monarch was carried out until 1689. Up until then the King or Queen would wash the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday in Westminster Abbey. Food and clothing were also handed out to the poor.

In England today, the Queen follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy money to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century, from the reign of Edward ! At one time recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, but since the eighteenth century they have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age. Every year on this day, the Queen attends a Royal Maundy service in one of the many cathedrals throughout the country. ‘Maundy money’ is distributed to male and female pensioners from local communities near the Cathedral where the Service takes place. Maundy coins are specially minted for the occasion and are legal tender and, as they are produced in such limited numbers, they are much sought after by collectors.

The next coffee morning will be at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday 14th March at ‘The Burrows’, Station Road, Turvey by kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Coward. There will be a raffle and bring-and-buy stall for which contributions, especially of cakes and produce would be very welcome. If you need transport, please contact Anne Claypole White on 881661. Last months coffee morning raised over £260 towards church funds. A big thank you to Glen and Russell for hosting the event and to everyone who braved the ice and snow to make it such a successful and enjoyable morning. Thank you. Anne.

If you would like to donate a lily or other flowers in memory of a loved one at Easter, please let Anne Claypole White (881661) know so that they can be ordered in good time.

The fourth Sunday in Lent is kept as Mothering Sunday – the day when we remember not only our own mums and those who have been important to us in our lives, but also our Parish Church.

We shall have our usual service in the morning at 11.00am, with the blessing and distribution of posies. This is the Sunday when we normally have our service Family Eucharist at 9.45am, but as it is Mothering Sunday we will stay with our usual service time of 11.00am. In the afternoon of that day we welcome Bishop Richard for our Confirmation Service.

Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.

The church’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on Monday 20th April at 7.30pm in church. This is the meeting where we elect our churchwardens and parochial church council for the year. In order to vote for the church council you need to be on the church’s electoral roll - this is different from the national register of electors. To be eligible for the roll you must either live in the parish or have worshipped regularly at the church for six months and be over sixteen years of age.

From 1st March the electoral roll will be available on the tithe table. Please will you check that your name is there, that it is spelt correctly and that we have your current address? If you would like your name to be put on the roll, if you have recently moved to the parish for example, please ask either of the churchwardens or the electoral roll secretary, Mrs Sarah Beecham, for a form. This must be done before the end of March.

If anyone is interested in standing for office in any capacity, please will they speak to the Priest in Charge, Jo Spray.

I am delighted to tell you that Bishop Richard will be coming to All Saints on Sunday 22nd March at 5.00pm to confirm seven members of our congregation and three from Stevington parish. Our candidates are all young people who have grown up through Little Lights and who now sing in the choir or help to serve at the Family Service or read lessons, or help with intercessions and so on. The candidates from Stevington are older, but together we have formed a good and lively group; they are all working hard! I do hope that many of you from our regular congregation will be able to come and support them on that day. We should also like to serve some refreshment after the service; Gill Betts has agreed to co-ordinate this so if you can help, please will you telephone her (01234 720615)

Jo Spray

Please remember all the candidates in your prayers:

Eleanor and Lydia Beecham

Georgina Brand

Alison and Charlotte Campion

Holly Cavalier

Alice Gough

Alice Hirst

Jacob and Louise Nichols Cook