Church News for the Benefice of Spire Hill
Purse Caundle,
Stalbridge, Stock Gaylard (Kings Stag),
and Stourton Caundle
part of the Pilgrim Parishes
February 2012
Ash Wednesday Bell Ringing Bible Study
Children's Society Choral Music Christmas
Lights
Congregational Church Creative Arts Diamond
Jubilee
Emmaus Discipleship Ethics Today Garden Day
Garden Society Healing Service Kings Stag Coffee
Lent Marmalade Sale Methodist Church
Palm Crosses Prayer Fellowship Snowdrop Memorial
Service
Stalbridge Community Office Stalbridge
Players Uncle
Eustace
Valentine’s Day Wednesday Group Women’s Institute
Worship for the Young Youth Group
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, 22nd February. But
why 'Ash' Wednesday? The reason
has to do with getting things right between you and God, and the tradition goes
right back to the Old Testament.
In
the Old Testament, the Israelites often sinned.
When they finally came to their senses, and saw their evil ways as God
saw them, they could do nothing but repent in sorrow. They mourned for the damage and evil they had
done. As part of this repentance, they
covered their heads with ashes. For the
Israelites, putting ashes on your head, and even rending your clothes, was an
outward sign of their heart-felt repentance and acknowledgement of sin. (See Genesis 18:27; 2 Samuel 13:19; Job 2:8,
30:19; Isaiah 58:5; Jeremiah 6:26; Jonah 3:6)
In
the very early Christian Church, the yearly 'class' of penitents had ashes
sprinkled over them at the beginning of Lent.
They were turning to God for the first time, and mourning their sins. But soon many other Christians wanted to take
part in the custom, and to do so at the very start of Lent. They heeded Joel's call to 'rend your hearts
and not your garments' (Joel 2:12-19).
Ash Wednesday became known as either the 'beginning of the fast' or ‘the
day of the ashes’.
The
collect for today goes back to the Prayer Book, and stresses the penitential
character of the day. It encourages us
with the reminder of the readiness of God to forgive us and to renew us.
The
Bible readings for today are often Joel 2:1-2, 12 – 18, Matthew 6: 1-6,16 – 21 and Paul’s moving catalogue of suffering, "as
having nothing and yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 5:20b -
6:10)
Have you done something which haunts you? Which makes you feel restless and defensive,
every time you think of it? Why not deal
with it this month, and put it behind you?
Whatever your mistake has been, consider what the Bible has to say to
you:
‘I have not come to call the virtuous but sinners to
repentance’ (said Jesus). (Luke 5.32)
‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55.7)
‘Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all
your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and
not your clothing. Return to the Lord,
your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love, and relents from punishing.’
(Joel 2:12-13)
God
is inviting you to come to him this Ash Wednesday. What a wonderful offer! Make the most of it, and remember how the
prodigal son was welcomed back by his compassionate father.
Lent—a time to reflect
and pray
The need of the
world is to listen to God. Albert
Einstein
Our prayers
must mean something to us if they are to mean anything to God. M D Babcock
If Christians
praised God more, the world would doubt Him less. C E Jefferson
Rights and
responsibilities: the challenges of modern medicine
The Reverend Stella Wood, Salisbury Diocesan Co-ordinator for Learning for Discipleship, will be speaking at this open meeting to be held at 7.30pm on Friday 24th February at the Congregational Church, Station Road, Stalbridge. This event is being promoted by Stalbridge Parish Church. In order to be topical, the title may be refined in the light of contemporary news.
More information from Sue Dunckley on 01963 363003.
This is advance notice that this year's Stalbridge Church Open Day will take the form of an open garden day to be held on 19th May 2012.
There will be several gardens open, an art exhibition, coffee and cream teas available, as well as a ploughman's lunch. There will be a flower arrangement and a planted pot competition. We will also have a plant stall, so please start thinking about potting up seedlings we could sell. If you can help in any way with any of these activities, please speak to Helen on 01963 363031 or Vanessa 01963 362754.
Community ‘Songs of Praise’ at Stalbridge Parish Church at 5pm on Sunday 3rd June 2012
Come and celebrate together in song and word the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Tea will be served from 4pm at the parish church.
If you have memories of Coronation Day or other royal encounters over the last 60 years, William Ridding would be pleased to hear from you and explore how these might be included in this celebration. (01963 362859)
After the service, there will a celebratory glass and light eats.
All are welcome from town, villages and farmsteads...
Holy
Communion is at 9.30am on 5th February. Hot news from
Capernaum of healings and of a new preacher in town! Come and hear the news!
Young @ St Mary’s is on 19th February at 10am. What have real pancakes, a fire and a
mountain-top experience got to do with our worship today? This informal-style service lasts for about
30 minutes.
All are welcome as we worship
together.
St Mary’s Youth
Group
On 3rd
February at 7.30pm, we shall see Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates!
On 15th February, 10am—4pm, we shall be walking in the Dorset
countryside.
For full details, please ask William Ridding.
Creative Arts at
Stalbridge Church
Come along
and create some Valentine papercraft.
We shall
meet on 1st February in the parish room at St Mary's
Church, Stalbridge.
We meet at 7pm till 8.30pm. Charge is £2 a session or £1 for under 18s. Contact Helen on 363031 or Vanessa on 362754. Or email Vanessa at vm@60xc.com. On 7th March, we shall be making a felt brooch.
The Stalbridge Ecumenical Study Group meets on alternate Wednesday evenings at 7.30pm in Stalbridge.
Contact Bryan McCleery on 01963 362971 for more details.
The Rev Dr Gary Bowness
shares his tongue-in-cheek letter from ‘Uncle Eustace’…
On how to survive a residential
conference
The Rectory, St. James the Least of All
My dear Nephew Darren,
I am glad you enjoyed your conference, but please do not be deluded into thinking that conferences are there to teach you anything. Conferences exist to provide another entry on your CV, to give you time off while flattering yourself that you are working, and to make the person leading it feel that their life is not wholly pointless.
As it happened, I was also invited to the same one, the one entitled ‘Learning how to say ‘no’’. But I refused to attend, thereby proving that I didn’t need it anyway.
There are certain useful points you need to learn for conferences. First, about half the attendees will have been together only the previous week attending another conference in another part of the country. They will be eager, enthusiastic and overflowing with management platitudes. Avoid them at all costs. Should one of them say to you: ‘expect the unexpected’ you have my permission to strangle them. They won’t have expected that!
Secondly, when you are all asked to go through that ghastly process of introducing yourselves to everyone else, make it up. I think the last time I was obliged to do this, I became a butcher specialising in exporting offal to Saudi Arabia. All your clerical colleagues will then panic that they have turned up for the wrong course and the leader will make sure that you are not asked another single question throughout the event. Both outcomes are satisfying.
Thirdly, do realise that when you are asked to divide into small discussion groups, it means that the conference leader has run out of ideas about what to do next. Do not, at all costs, volunteer to be chairman. It only means that when you have to report back – and if the leaders use the word ‘plenary’, then by all means contemplate strangling them also - you will be involved in sticking sheets of paper on to walls, which will then rip off the wallpaper when you try to remove them.
You will also have the embarrassment of finding that every felt tip pen you try to use will be empty, and what you thought were the conclusions your group had arrived at will be volubly contradicted by all the other members.
No, if you are ever obliged to attend another course, take a good book, enough claret to cover every evening away, and develop a debilitating illness that, while enabling you to attend every meal, obliges you to retreat to your room for the rest of the day. You will leave having learned as much on whatever the topic was as your colleagues, but will return refreshed and eager to make the next booking.
Your loving uncle,
Eustace
Stalbridge
Christmas Lights Group
Tony Wood
writes:
As we start the New Year, we are already planning fund raising events.
Our first event in the Spring will be a conducted walk round the inside of the wall of Stalbridge Park by kind permission of Richard de Pelet, finishing with a BBQ and activities for children – this should be fun for all the family. Watch out for the date of this adventure!
We are desperately looking for people to
help with fundraising and to serve on our committee. If you would like to sit in on our next
meeting to see what we do – the next date is Monday 20th February at
7.30pm in the Stalbridge Community Office or give Tony a ring on
362501.
At the January meeting of the Stalbridge Women’s Institute, Margaret Randall (Secretary) welcomed members and visitors, Jerusalem was sung and Yvonne Stroud was thanked for arranging the Christmas lunch at the Blackmore Vale Inn and Marie McGladdery for getting us to the Group Carol Service in Sturminster Newton. The final names were taken for the trip to see "South Pacific" in March.
Mrs Diana Marx was our speaker on the subject of textile conservation and new uses for old textiles. She had carried out conservation work at Hatfield House, which was a painstaking process but well worth the effort. She then showed us samples of some cushions, bed and table covers which she had made using materials found in charity shops, car boot sales and many sources. They were fabulous — real works of art. The patience and skill required to produce these articles was admirable and we were eager to pick up some tips about her craft.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, 2nd February, at 7.30pm in the changed venue of the Congregational Church Hail when the speaker will be Dr Yvonne Varley and the subject "The Spy from Tisbury" — sounds intriguing! New members and visitors are very welcome.
For further information, please ring 01963 363198.
Jenny West
As we prepare for Ash Wednesday (22nd February), we shall need your palm crosses from last year to burn to make the ash for the Ash Wednesday service at Stourton Caundle at 7pm.
Please bring your old palm cross to your parish church on one of the first three Sundays in February. They will be burnt at the Young @ St Mary’s service on 19th February at 10am.
Kings Stag
Community Coffee Morning
21st February, 10am - 11.30am. Bring & Buy stall. Kings Stag Methodist Chapel. All are welcome!
The next service of Holy Communion with the laying on of hands and anointing for healing will be on Thursday 16th February at 6pm at Stalbridge Parish Church. All are welcome to come whether for their own healing or on behalf of another person. You may wish to come to pray and worship with other people from the parishes of this benefice.
Brian Spiller, chairman of Stalbridge Garden Society, welcomed back everyone to the club for its January meeting and introduced Malcolm from Castle Gardens.
His talk was “Winter Colour in the Garden”. He gave a lot of hints and tips on colour, fragrance, shapes and wildlife plants, all for the winter season and on into spring.
The talk was interesting, witty and enjoyable, followed by any questions and a plant sale. Yet again, Well done, Castle Gardens.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 9th February at 7.30 in the Stalbridge Hall, so do please join us. The talk will be by Chris Speering MBE, from the Owl and Hawk Trust.
We are all looking forward to a good productive year ahead in our gardens, window boxes, containers and hanging baskets.
Michelle Howell (for
Stalbridge Garden Society)
You will be welcome to join in Worship at the Methodist Chapel in Kings Stag on 12th and 26th February, both at 3pm.
There is Holy Communion (Methodist Rite) atStalbridge Parish Church at 6.30pm on 26th February.
With Valentine’s Day in mind:
Love is the master key to a happy home.
When there is room in the heart there is room in the house. Danish proverb
I chose my
wife, as she did her wedding gown, for qualities that would wear well. Oliver Goldsmith
Ahoy everyone! The Stalbridge Players are proud to present their next production, Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates.
Under the direction of Jakkie Gregory, this fun family friendly pantomime, see the trials and tribulations of Robinson Crusoe and his 'gang' as they try to overcome the deadly 'Black Beard' and an invasion of Cannibals.
The performances set sail on Thursday 26th, Friday 27th, Saturday 28th January and Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd, and Saturday 4th February.
Tickets are on sale now from the 'Stripy Cow' on Station Road, Stalbridge. Cost: Thursday/Friday £7.00 Adult, £5.00 U16. All Saturday tickets £7.00 Curtain up is at 7.30pm.
So if you feel like booing and hissing, (in the right places...or not as the case maybe) and want to banish those January blues, please come along and give us your support. We will be pleased to have you onboard.
Colin Butt
Coffee Morning in aid of Stalbridge Parish Church Funds
It's Marmalade time again and Dikes have got the Seville Oranges in, so please can you make some marmalade for our Coffee Morning and Grand Marmalade Sale (date to be announced). This was a very popular event last year and we sold over 100 jars of marmalade.
Thank you. Any enquires to Lesley Wood 362501.
We meet at 6pm on 21st February in Stourton Caundle Parish Church. It is a lay led meeting and lasts for 30 minutes.
Stalbridge Bell Ringers will be ringing on Monday, 6th February, 7.15pm—8.15pm, to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
We have new editions of the North Dorset bus timetables and South West Train services, so do call in for a free copy.
There is a new number, 101, to call Dorset Police if the matter is non-urgent which is now in use. There is a charge for calling this number.
Many of us receive scams in the form of letters, telephone calls and emails. There is an excellent website with up to date information about the latest scams discovered at www.hoax-slayer.com. This site is updated daily and is well worth looking at, or we can do it for you if you do not have access to the internet.
We also have cards to request a free Fire Home Safety visit from the Dorset Fire Service. So do call in to see us – we can even recycle your old mobile phone for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
Jan Carson
Choral Music in the Benefice of Spire Hill
Enjoy
singing? Then Sunday afternoon of 29th April 2012 may be for you! Plans being drawn up for an Easter musical experience
(rehearsal, tea and informal service) to be held at Stalbridge Parish
Church. Please keep the date clear. Watch this space for more information!
Instrumentalists
will also be welcome. Offers of help and
interest can be given to William Ridding for passing on to the planning group.
This group will meet
on Wednesday 1st February at 2.15pm at the
Congregational Church Hall, Station Road, Stalbridge. The speaker will be a Street Pastor from
Yeovil who will talk about the Role of a Street Pastor. Do come along and hear about this important
work, mainly on the streets of our towns and cities among young people.
All are welcome.
Emmaus Growth
Course – Growing as a Christian
This spring, January—March 2012, Emmaus will explore ‘Growing in Prayer’.
The course is based on the Lord’s Prayer. Its aim is to help people to grow in prayer, not simply to talk about it. Because of this, a significant part of each session is given over to praying together and group members are encouraged to try different prayer exercises between sessions.
If Tuesdays suit you best, we shall meet on 31st January, 14th and 28th February and 13th March. Venues will be confirmed to those attending.
If Thursdays are preferred, we shall meet on 9th and 23rd February and 15th and 29th March. Venues will be confirmed to those attending.
Please ask William Ridding if you would like to know more. New members are welcome, whatever stage you are on in your Christian journey.
Through the season of Lent, Youth Emmaus will be finding out what it means to live the Christian life in 2012.
The two Christingle Services in
December raised £180. This was made up
of £31 collection at the school service, £36 Sunday service and £113 in the
candle-shaped collecting boxes.
Our annual box-opening took place at the end of December, and raised a
further £422 for the Society
which is a Christian based charity which helps runaway young people of all
faiths, ethnic backgrounds and social standings.
News about how you can help—next month.
Alan & Margaret Peebles
Early in the year snowdrop bulbs are planted in
eleven different locations in Dorset to provide a lasting memorial to those who
were dear to us.
The Snowdrop Service of Remembrance for Stalbridge
will be conducted by the Reverend William Ridding on Sunday 12th
February at 3pm at The Pound Gardens, Stalbridge (followed by tea in Stalbridge
Hall). The Book of Remembrance will be
on display.
If you would like the name of the person you wish
to remember to be included in the service and added to the Book of Remembrance
(which is kept at the Community Office) a donation of £10 will cover costs and
will be acknowledged by a commemorative card.
Donation forms can be obtained from Stalbridge Community Office, 8 Ring
Street (01963 364177) or Janet Murray (01963 363796).
In the event of inclement weather, the service
will be held in Stalbridge Hall.
www.weld-hospice.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1000414
Sunday Morning Worship at 10.30am at Stalbridge
Congregational Church. Our worship is a
mixture of traditional and modern in a non-liturgical style of the
Non-Conformist church movement. We are a
small friendly church and welcome all ages and traditions. The church is affiliated to the
Congregational Federation.
First Wednesday of
the month at 2.15pm. This is an open social group. It is timed to enable parents and carers to
meet their children from school. Toys etc
are available for babies and toddlers.
1st February Yeovil Street Pastors
7th March Working with the Homeless
Growing Disciples
at 2.15pm on Wednesday 8th February and
Wednesday 21st March. Growing Disciples explores what it
means to be a Christian in the Church of the 21st Century. Open to all.
Local Market - Wednesdays from 9.30am until 12.30pm. Bakery, preserves, cards, wool, eggs, Fair
Trade Stall etc, Coffee, teas and a
place to chat.