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Prestbury Parish Magazine

June 2007


“Black Prince” crosses Hyde Brook

Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, so that you can help me on my journey            1 Corinthians 16:6

Photograph: “Black Prince” crosses Hyde Brook, the northern boundary of Prestbury parish
by Stephen Murton
 

 

Contents

Sharing Stories

Church Décor

Malcolm honoured at St Sepulchre’s

Farewell to Fr Grant and family

Second Employee for Prestbury and Pittville Youth

Newspaper Giraffes!

Education Matters

St Mary’s Church Gift Aid

EverestMax

Open the Book

Taizé and the Lithuanian Ladies

Christian Aid Week Service

The Friars, Aylesford

Five-a-Side Football Tournament

The Alpha and Omega of Isaiah – Part Two

Some articles from this month's magazine have been included elsewhere in the web site:

Pictures from the Skip 'n' Chips

The Registers

The Calendar for this month

The Diary for this month

 


Sharing Stories

ONE OF MY HEROES, Didymus the Blind, used to tell his students, ‘The end and the beginning are one’ – every ending brings with it a new start, for by the grace of God our journey into him never stops, just changes roads. So as I draw near to an ending and a new beginning, I have begun looking back over the past four years and wondering how I have changed, where God has led me and where he will lead me next.

One of the great privileges of priestly ministry is sharing in other people’s stories. We tend not to be too good at it – maybe it is something to do with our catholic roots or our English reserve – and most of the time in churches like ours we don’t share our stories. It is much easier to get on with planning a fete or organising a rota, doing something ‘practical’. But there are moments, particularly on our own with priests, where we can talk honestly about our life, our journey, where we have come from, where we are going and, above all, where God is in all this.

It has been my great joy and honour to share in some of those moments with you, with people who would describe themselves as of great faith and of none. Sometimes it can be hard to see where God may be in any of it, particularly times of tragedy and loss. Stories of God working with mighty power in spectacular ways are few and far between (though they are there, even here in Prestbury!). And yet God is always there somewhere in the story, often unrecognised. For as Christians we never bring God to other people, for he is already there. Our calling is just to point him out, to say who that mysterious stranger they have known for so long really is.

But therein also lies a great sadness. Because we share our stories so rarely, often trusting only a priest, whose confidentiality is assured, we miss out on something that would build us all up. My faith has deepened so much through hearing your stories – if only you could hear each other’s!

Hearing those stories shows us that faith is not neat and tidy. God moves in mysterious ways and is never confined by our churches, our prayers or expectations. It reminds me of the story of Eldad and Medad in Numbers 11. Moses needs help – he is at his wits’ end, tearing his hair out over his people’s whinging. So God offers him elders to share the burden of leadership. They have to be carefully selected, consecrated and lined up in a set place, at a set time for God’s Spirit to fall on them. All is precisely regimented and controlled, just like so many of our expectations of church and faith. But Eldad and Medad are missing, they don’t turn up. They are stuck in the middle of the camp, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. And God’s Spirit falls on them anyway! Our God does not need us or our lives to be all neat and tidy to work his will.

God works in the most unexpected places, but only by sharing our stories will we ever know that! Thank you all of you who have shared your stories with me.

Fr Grant

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Church Décor

So you think All Saints’ interior is ornate? Go and look at Holy Innocents’ church in Highnam, just the other side of Gloucester. Almost everything that can be painted is: walls, pillars, beams, ceilings, even the stone tracery in the windows. And in every colour imaginable. The mural covering the whole length of the north wall features a decorative dado topped with contrasting border, painted curtains and rails above, and at the top a long frieze depicting all sorts of people following Jesus on Palm Sunday. Above the chancel arch are angels galore, and bible texts are painted all over the place. You need never worry about unfamiliar readings or boring sermons: just absorb what is on the walls!

Thomas Gambier Parry (father of Sir Hubert, who wrote Jerusalem and was first Director of the Royal Academy of Music) bought Highnam Court estate in 1837 aged 21. In 1848, widowed with three young children (his other children having died in infancy), he set about building a church, parsonage and school for the newly created parish of Highnam with Over and Linton. The wall paintings in the church are not only his own design but also his own work, using a medium he invented called Spirit Fresco. There is no point printing anything here in black and white, but you can see colour photographs on the website www.4front.cwc.net. Other examples of Gambier Parry’s work can be seen in Gloucester and Ely cathedrals.

He also, by the way, built and endowed St Lucy’s Hospital for Children in Gloucester and helped found the Gloucester College of Art and Science.

Frances Murton

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Malcolm honoured at St Sepulchre’s

MALCOLM MCKELVEY, organist and choirmaster at St Mary’s 1989-2003, was director of Music at Christ’s Hospital in Horsham, West Sussex, for twenty-three years from 1962 to 1985. Christ’s Hospital had been a City of London school until it moved south in 1902. However, it maintained its links with London and annually on St Matthew’s Day the school visited St Sepulchre’s Church on Holborn Viaduct where Malcolm would conduct the service followed by lunch at the Mansion House.

St Sepulchre’s Church is the oldest parish church in London, and was designed by Wren. Henry Wood was baptized there, learned to play the organ there, became assistant organist at the age of fourteen and after he died in 1944 his ashes were interred in a side chapel which has since been named the Musicians’ Chapel. During the annual Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall a wreath is placed on the bust of Sir Henry Wood (who founded the concerts and conducted them from 1895 to 1944) and after the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ the wreath is taken to the Musicians’ Chapel where it is placed on the spot where his ashes are buried. The chapel contains the Henry Wood Memorial Window depicting him as a boy organist and as a man conducting at the Royal Albert Hall.

Also in the Musicians’ Chapel is the Book of Remembrance, now containing over two thousand names of notable musicians. This year, at the annual Commemoration service on 24th April, Malcolm McKelvey was remembered and had his name added to the list.

So after his many visits to St Sepulchre’s as Director of Music at Christ’s Hospital, Malcolm has been honoured for his contribution to the musical world as teacher, organist, examiner, conductor and composer. More information about St Sepulchre’s and the Musicians’ Chapel can be found at www.st-sepulchre.org.uk

Christine McKelvey

 


‘Music for Malcolm’

A series of five concerts in memory of Malcolm McKelvey and to raise money for work on St Mary’s organ. The first concert is on Wednesday 20th June at 11am (coffee from 10.30am) in St Mary’s church and will feature musicians from Dean Close School. Admission is free, but there will be a retiring collection for the organ fund.

On Friday 20th July in St Mary’s church Charles Hazlewood will be recording a programme in his ‘Discovering Music’ series. There is no charge but tickets are required. Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to come and we will order the tickets from the BBC. The concert, which will feature arrangements of four waltzes by Johann Strauss the younger, starts at 6pm, but please be in your seats by 5.45. All are welcome, and there will be a retiring collection for St Mary’s organ fund.

The other concerts, all in St Mary’s, are as follows:
Saturday 22nd September 7.30pm (Christine McKelvey)
Saturday 13th October 7.30pm (The St Cecilia Singers)
Wednesday 7th November 11am (Peter Greaves).

Christine McKelvey

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Farewell to Fr Grant and family

We are hoping (if they can rearrange their holidays!) to say ‘thank you and farewell’ to Fr Grant, Chris, Bethany and Sarah at a Team-wide social occasion at lunchtime on Sunday 22nd July. Please pencil this date into your diaries and look out for further details.

Interviews for Team Vicar designate

As many of you are aware, we held interviews for the post of Team Vicar designate in the new North Cheltenham Team Ministry on 17th May. Three candidates were invited for interview; however one withdrew after being offered another post. Sadly the interview panel did not feel able to offer the job to either of the two candidates who were interviewed. This means that we will need to reflect a little and then re-advertise. Unfortunately it now looks unlikely that anyone will be in post by September which, after Fr Grant leaves, will mean we only have one full-time priest! Please be aware that, for a while, some things will have to be ‘scaled down’, or maybe suspended. However, we are ‘Local Ministry Parishes’ where so much ministry is already shared with lay members, a rich resource to call upon!

Fr Michael

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Second Employee for Prestbury and Pittville Youth

Three years ago Youth Development Worker, Andy Macauly, started to work one day a week on a special project called Pittville Youth Action Group, sharing in the running of an alternative curriculum for a small group of young people from Pittville School. Without this project, these students, aged 14 to 16 and from Years 10 and 11, are at serious risk of leaving school with no educational qualifications and poor prospects of employment, training or further education.

The project has been such a success that the PPY Executive Committee want to extend PPY’s involvement with the work to provide support for twice as many young people. To do this, they are advertising for a new Youth Inclusion Worker specifically to work two days a week with Pittville Youth Action Group.

The group is based at Whaddon Youth and Community Centre but frequently works away from the centre on community projects. They have worked in St Mary’s Graveyard, in Prestbury Junior School and at Prestbury Hall. Visits are also made to other venues, e.g. outdoor activities, banks and colleges. They use ICT to record their achievements on different practical challenges and work to gain ASDAN bronze and silver awards which are rated as comparable to GCSEs.

For more information about the new Youth Inclusion Worker post, contact Tricia Wilson on tricia.wilsonppy.org.uk. For information on Pittville Youth Action Group contact Andy Macauly.

Tricia Wilson

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Newspaper Giraffes!

Did you notice a photo of any unusual animals in the May magazine? The more observant may have spotted a couple of paper giraffes in the Editor’s Corner.

For a Saturday morning at the end of March some fifteen of those involved in a variety of ways with making Celebrate! happen ‘went away’ to Andoversford. Our purpose was to reflect on Celebrate! and prayerfully and actively to consider whether and how it could move forward and be improved.

paper giraffesInitially we were arranged into three teams and instructed to construct the tallest giraffe we possibly could. The reason for this exercise was to develop our skills of co-operation and team unity to warm us all up into the spirit of the day. We had only newspaper and tape. Each team worked well together and set to with a will. Three giraffes were created. One small(ish), one medium sized and one huge. Sadly the ambitiously tall one collapsed during judging. The photo is evidence of the survivors. Great fun and a good team building exercise. I’ll let you into a secret – Fr Michael was in the winning team, but then we already knew our church is in good hands.

After this we considered both more mundane matters and also had a chance of blue sky thinking. Our time ended with enjoying a bring and share lunch together.

And in case you are wondering, yes, a few things at Celebrate! have been changed as a result. Why not come along with some friends of any age who don’t normally ‘do church’ and experience what God is doing in St Mary’s at 9.30am on Sundays?

Sue Read

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Education Matters

At its May meeting, the Education and Nurture Group reviewed recent activities and considered the future programme. The success of Team-Wide Sunday afternoon events has encouraged us to plan further events following a similar pattern and it is also likely that new initiatives will be explored, to meet the changing needs of the wider Mission Area. This Group would welcome a couple more members from the Prestbury parish. Please see Father Michael if you would like to be involved.

Jennifer Swinbank

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St Mary’s Church Gift Aid

Once again we have come to the end of the tax year and the claim has been sent to the Inland Revenue for the final refund. My usual letter of thanks can be found in the Church for all members of the St Mary’s Gift Aid Scheme. They will be left in Church to be collected for the rest of this month. It will be assumed that those not collected by then are not required. Unfortunately those members who are regularly contributing using Gift Aid Envelopes are not in the Scheme but if they wish to know their total for the year, or for that matter would like to join the scheme, they should contact me.

There are one or two points about Gift Aid Envelopes worth mentioning.
1. The person completing the envelope should be the tax payer and each donor should complete a separate envelope.
2. Please use the envelopes provided in church as they have been approved by the Inland Revenue.
3. Gift Aid envelopes from other organizations are no use to us and will be ignored.
4. When completing the envelope the most important thing is to clearly give your name and postal code.
5. Those members in the St Mary’s Gift Aid Scheme are those that have completed an on-going Gift Aid Declaration. If they complete a G.A. envelope also, this sum will be added to their annual total.

All the support given by everyone who supports our Church is so important and much appreciated.

Martin Kannreuther


EverestMAX

I was absolutely amazed and very honoured by the number of people that came to the EverestMAX talk in March at St Nicolas’. There was a good mix of people from church, family friends and locals from the Plough. The retiring collection and DVD sales raised nearly £400, which has been divided equally between the three EverestMAX charities: SOS Children’s Villages, Merlin and Practical Action. On behalf of the EverestMAX  team and charities, thank you. I hope all those who came enjoyed the talk.

I would just like to take this opportunity to reiterate what I said to those who came to the evening: my family and I have received such a lot of support from you all pre-, during, and post- expedition and for that I am enormously grateful. In many respects I think it’s harder to be the ones left at home worrying, rather than off dealing with the situations that get thrown your way. For all the kindness and support you have shown to my family and me I can only say thank you.

Sarah Lyle

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Open the BookOpen the Book logo

It is hard to believe that the Open the Book team has been going into St Mary’s Infant School for two years at the end of this term. They say that time flies when you are enjoying yourself and how quickly this time has gone!

Recently I have been reading a book called Transforming Communities – re-imaging the Church for the 21st Century by Steven Croft. In this book he tells the story of a church that finds it has one minister for four churches. The minister makes himself ill trying to do everything so he calls a group together to think about what it means to be church. He asked the group to listen to what the church used to be like: ‘Day by day as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were saved.

Belonging to the Open the Book team is a little bit like Steven Croft suggests the church could be like. As a group we spend time together, which means we know each other fairly well. Together we pray and share God’s message through our work with the school. We are able to support each other and once a term we attend a training and then meet to plan, share coffee and some fantastic homemade cakes (thanks Avril).

The team is made up of ten people; some are parents with children at the school, some have no connection with school, some are young and some are older and some in between! Just like the early church we know we need to start to share God’s message in other places but to do that we need to add to our number, to support the after school puppet group, Junior School assemblies and to be able to offer Open the Book to other local schools.

If you feel that you would like to find out more or come and join us once a term, once a month, once a fortnight whatever you can give and share in God’s love through this work, please speak to one of the team.

Marion Beagley, Avril Keen, Sheila Beer and Mary Turner (St Mary’s), Linda Jackson and Caroline Sexton (St Nicolas), Julie Jefferies, Karen Maisey and Julie Clapton (Prestbury URC), and Ian Packer (Holy Trinity).

Julie Jefferies

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Taizé and the Lithuanian Ladies

THE VILLAGE of Taizé stands on a small hill in the lovely Burgundian countryside of southern France. Atop the hill is a small church, but there is little to show that, in summer, several thousand people are staying. Most are young and are accommodated in a large field of tents. The community and adult visitors are housed in small buildings; marquees are used for meals and meetings. The one large building is the chapel – more like a huge tent than a church.

People come to spend a week at Taizé from all over the world. They belong to different Churches or none. They share the talks, discussion in groups and above all the worship. Taizé prayers with their music are often found to be a source of inspiration.

It is a remarkable experience to be caught up in all this but never easy to share with others of different languages and cultures. I was at Taizé not long after the end of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The discussion group I was in had people from five language groups including a woman from Lithuania, who understood English well. There was not too much trouble understanding each other until the second session of the group. Then four more Lithuanian ladies turned up who did not know any English. They needed to be with their friend who would translate for them! All of them had so much to share about their lives as Christians under a hostile Communist regime and their joy at being among Christians at Taizé. All this had to be translated and our questions and responses translated back again. What a labour! But it was part of the costliness of sharing with others of different races and Churches.

That sharing was part of the vision of Br Roger, founder of the Taizé Community. It arose from his experience as a young man in wartime helping Jews and others to escape from the Nazis. After the war he formed a small community to work for reconciliation. He was a Swiss protestant but his work soon attracted Roman Catholics and members of other Churches including Anglicans. His vision was to break down barriers not only between Churches but also across the boundaries of nationality. As more and more people were attracted to Taizé Br Roger would talk or write about the ‘Springtime of the Church’. People are drawn to Christ by a pervading sense of Joy and Hope.

The work of Taizé has always reached out far beyond the Burgundian countryside. Members of the Community have gone into many of the great cities of Europe and beyond to work among the needy. They have held Festivals bringing together many people especially the young. Breaking down barriers, reconciliation, and outreach have been at the heart of Taizé concern and work.

It is tragic that on 15 August 2005 Br Roger, at the age of 90, was killed during Evening prayers. It is difficult to imagine what was on the mind of the woman concerned. She was probably a deeply troubled soul. But the work goes on and the message is clear. It is summed up in the chant:

Laudate omnes gentes
Laudate Dominum
          Sing praises to the Lord all peoples
          Sing praises to the Lord

A group is going to Taizé from Gloucestershire on 21 July. It will include young people (ages 16 to 30). Please contact me on 220787 for more information.

John Gann

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Christian Aid Week Service

On Sunday 13 May it was the turn of Prestbury URC to host the annual ecumenical service for Christian Aid Week. We were joined by about 80 of our friends from the other Churches in CTiNC: St Mary’s, St Nicolas’, All Saints’, St Michael’s, Holy Name Hall, St Mary Magdalene’s, St Lawrence’s and St Peter’s. The music for this thought-provoking service was provided by the St Gregory’s Music Group, who accompanied all the worship and led the inspiring singing. Tony Wadley, their leader, had even composed a Kyrie for the occasion.

This year’s theme was ‘Growing a Future’ and during the service we watched a moving video about the work of Christian Aid and its partner organisations – Aprodehni and Procares – in El Salvador, one of the poorest countries in South America, which has suffered from natural disaster and a recent civil war. We were also invited to fill out a card to be sent to the Prime Minister to protest about global warming. The collection raised a sum of £224 for Christian Aid.

The next CTiNC event will be a Taizé workshop and service at St Nicolas’ in October – please do come along if you haven’t been to a joint service before – they really do recharge your spiritual batteries!

Fiona Hall, URC

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The Friars, Aylesford

I HAD NO IDEA what to expect when I first made contact with a girl I was at school with back in 1955. At that time, aged eleven, she quite confidently announced that on leaving school, she wished to become a nun. How could she possibly make that decision at such a young age we all asked and I suspect we were not too sympathetic about her choice of career?

However, many years later, when preparing for our first trip to Walsingham, Julia Ingram kindly lent me a book that would explain about Walsingham. To my astonishment it was written by a Sister Elizabeth Ruth Obbard, who was the Novice Mother at Langham, the Carmelite convent close to Walsingham. Surely, this name couldn’t be a mere coincidence? On arrival at Walsingham I made enquiries only to find that Sister Elizabeth had recently moved from Langham to The Friars at Aylesford. Further enquiries led me to make contact with her at Aylesford and at the end of April I had the pleasure, with another school friend, to travel to Kent to stay with her for the week-end. She was indeed our school friend of old and what a joy and a privilege it was to renew old friendships.

What a treat and delight was also in store for us both. No sack cloth and ashes or bread and water to be found on this retreat. The Friars are a group of eleven Carmelite brothers, eight of whom are ordained, who live in a small community in the same spirit as their medieval forebears. Sister Elizabeth is the only Carmelite contemplative nun in their community whose life is devoted to prayer and service to God. Much of the brothers’ work is done outside the complex, in prisons, schools, hospitals and even on local radio. They go out and work among people, spreading the gospel in whatever way is appropriate to the time and place. They are supported by a team of workers from the outside community who work in administration, the tearoom, the bookshop, the pottery and in the general running of the conference centre. On average, over 200,000 people visit The Friars every year for differing purposes, be it conferences, retreats, fellowship, services, or simply to worship God in this idyllic place of peace and quiet.

The Friars

The building and surrounds are breathtaking and parts of the Great Courtyard date back to the thirteenth century. There are several chapels, all beautifully decorated with many ceramics created for the Priory by a distinguished Polish artist by the name of Adam Kossowski. He had spent years in a Soviet labour camp during World War II and his ceramics were his way of thanking God for bringing him safely through those years of ordeal. Services happen all through the day starting with Morning Prayer, then Mass, Evening Prayer and Compline, all of which anyone (of whatever denomination) is welcome to join. We were able to worship at eight services during our week-end, many of which appeared to be less Catholic than some services at St Mary’s!

The grounds and chapels enabled us plenty of quiet reflective times as well as the opportunity to think about God’s love for us and our many blessings.

Of course, it was fortunate that Sister Elizabeth wasn’t in a silent order as we did have well over forty years of chat to catch up on as well. So our meal times, at which the food came in abundance, were spent in talk and getting to know her all over again. What a wonderful life of devotion and service to God she has had and how fortunate I feel to have been part of that wonderful community at The Friars, albeit briefly, during that week-end.

If you are ever in need of a quiet time of reflection and re-dedication to God, do visit The Friars, where I know you will be warmly welcomed and you will return home, as I did, with a wonderful feeling of refreshment and renewal, which sadly often eludes us in our very busy life-styles.

Marion Beagley

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Five-a-Side Football Tournament

Due to the clash with the Skip ’n’ Chips we had to call on some outside help for the five-a-side tournament at Bentham on 19th May, giving a team of four regulars and four extras. Eight teams, including a new team for next year’s league, each played seven ten-minute matches in the fast-paced round robin format.

We comfortably beat Diamonds 2-0 in our first match, but then lost 2-1 to Trinity and an unlucky disallowed goal denied us a victory against St Matt’s with the final score 3-3 in that game. Tewkesbury Tigers held on for a tense 1-1 draw but then we lost 2-0 to Gloucester. This was followed by a creditable 2-2 draw against last season’s league champions, Cambray, and we finally lost 4-0 to Ecclesiastical, who won the tournament and will be tough opponents when they join the league next season. We finished sixth with six points.

Thank you to Tim and Ruth who came to support us and to all who played, especially Paul Bennett who, after crashing into the barrier, taped his injured fingers together and manfully played on to the end of the tournament. All in all it was a good performance and a fun morning; hopefully the enthusiasm and confidence will carry on into next season.

Andrew Murton

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The Alpha and Omega of Isaiah – Part Two

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Isaiah 66:22-24 (NIV)

In his revelation St John the Divine sheds further light on Isaiah’s vision of verse 22 and sees ‘a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away’ (Revelation 21:1). The listener is clearly told that God dwells with men and lives with them and wipes every tear from their eyes, no more death, nor mourning, nor crying nor pain. Our God is not a vicious tyrant who enjoys punishing his wayward children. Rather he is a righteous God who will never impose himself on his creation. However, the eternal connection is only made between Creator and created once it has been chosen and a decision has been made to ally oneself with God through Christ.

For Christians there is no place for any hint of self-righteousness here but rather a spur to act on our Lord’s entreaty and to take His words of the Great Commission seriously. Jesus says (Matthew 28:19-20) ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ We know from what He says about the Holy Spirit that we are not left alone in the task.

Between the beginning and the end of the book of Isaiah is a wealth of treasures contained in his vision. We could do worse than to heed the words in chapter 55 verse 6: ‘Seek the LORD while he may be found, call on him while he is near.’

Other threads weaving through these verses from the end of Isaiah are taken up in the New Testament. Take time to consider what kind of life we ought to live – in view of the end of life as we know it coming unexpectedly and incontrovertibly – ‘But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar … you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward …’ (2 Peter 3:10-13) and Jesus’ teaching about the implications of ‘if anyone causes one child who believes in me to sin it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied round his neck ...’ (Mark 9:42-48).

This is the end of Isaiah’s message from God to His rebellious people. Isaiah did not shirk from what he was told to write. The Israelites are clearly informed that obedience to God leads to one conclusion, disobedience to a different one. Doom and gloom is not inevitable; but it is the result of one of the choices Mankind has available. In the words of the author and lecturer Philip Greenslade about this passage ‘God’s people receive a future and a hope in connection with the renewal of the heavens and the earth. The alternative is too awful to contemplate.’

Sue Read

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Christian Aid Week May 13th-19th

 
Thank you to all those who helped in any way during Christian Aid Week: donors, organisers, collectors, counters of money, those who organised the ecumenical service on 13th May, and to all of you for your prayers.
St Mary’s raised £4399.47, St Nicolas’ £1211 and the collection at the ecumenical service raised £224. This makes a wonderful parish total of £5834.47 to date!

Gill Ashman for St Mary’s
Paddy Spurgeon for St Nicolas’

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PLANT SALE

Last month’s plant sale at St Nicolas’ raised £296 for the church funds. This excellent result was due to all the generous gardeners who gave us plants and the helpers who sold so persuasively to the willing customers. Many thanks to everyone.

Janet White

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Corpus Christi

On Thursday 7th June we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, when we give thanks for the gift of Our Lord’s body and blood in the Eucharist. This year we will keep this Feast in a Team-wide Sung Eucharist in All Saints’ at 7.30pm. Do join us – refreshments usually follow!


Traidcraft
Traidcraft at St Mary’s

Sadly, the Traidcraft stall has been discontinued at St Mary’s but I would like to thank all the people who have supported it over the last few months. If anybody would like to see a catalogue or place an order then they can still contact me and I would be happy to drop a catalogue round or take an order.
There is still a Traidcraft stall at St Nicolas’ on the second Sunday of each month.

Janet Waters

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St Mary’s Bakestall

This month’s bakestall at St Mary’s is on Sunday 17th June with contributions from those with surnames A-F. Do contact one of us if you would like to join the rota.
Margaret Waker & Linda Matthews

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Mothers’ Union

A few of us were just able to keep the Wave of Prayer going on our allotted day in April the Upper Room. Thank you to those who were able to join us at that very inconvenient time on a Sunday morning.

Our April meeting saw Canon Pat Harris speak about some of her work during her presidency of The World Wide Mothers’ Union. What an inspiration she was in telling of her adventures from all around the world and the types of projects that the Mothers’ Union are running overseas. We all were left feeling very inadequate about our own role within the MU, when hearing of women who sometimes have to walk for three days to attend meetings, some of which are held despite threats to the members from local and government sources. Would we be as willing to put our lives on the line for God? The bottom line to all her accounts was: ‘Isn’t prayer a wonderful thing…’ and we felt very privileged to have Pat with us.

Our June meeting will take place on Tuesday 26th June at 7.30pm in the Upper Room at St Mary’s when we will welcome Mr Ken Brightwell, the Town Crier for Cheltenham. All will be welcome to join us on this occasion.

Marion Beagley

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Prestbury Open Gardens

Saturday, 16th & Sunday, 17th June 2 to 5 p.m.
With Cream Teas available in St Mary’s Church, 3 to 5 p.m.
All proceeds to Church funds

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Glastonbury Pilgrimage 2007

The next pilgrimage at Glastonbury Abbey is on Saturday 16th June, at which the intention will be for those without water and for the work and partnership with ‘Water Aid’. The principal celebrant at the Eucharist will be the Bishop of Plymouth and the preacher will be the well known Anglican catholic evangelist Lindsay Urwin, Bishop of Horsham.

Jen Swinbank

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Midsummer Fair
– Date for your Diary!

St Nicolas’ Saturday, 30th June 2 to 4 pm:

  • Teas and refreshments
  • BBQ
  • Stalls
  • Tombola
  • Games
  • Raffle

All proceeds to Church funds

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Prestbury Parish Magazine - June 2007

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The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary and St Nicolas Prestbury Cheltenham - Registered Charity No 1130933

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