Dear Church Friends,
I am sorry to have to begin the notices this week by telling you that we have lost another long-standing member of the White Church. Geoff C passed away toward the end of last week. His funeral will be in our church on Monday but it is by invitation only because of limited numbers. Please pray for his wife, Doreen and all his family during this sad time and specially think of them when they come together to say goodbye to him on Monday.
Are you managing to keep warm enough? The weather has been extremely cold recently, but with sunny mornings which make walking (well wrapped up) not unpleasant. The low humidity means that only wet areas freeze over and most of the pavements are easy to walk along with no visible frost. The normally softer sand on the beach is hard. Most of Fairhaven Lake is frozen with the ducks restricted to some clearer areas near to Granny’s Bay. On Thursday morning two of the adult swans seemed to be stuck in the ice and struggled to get out of it. The level of water in the lake is so low that some of the other swans were able to stand with their feet on the bottom. It was interesting to observe the open sluice gates into the lake as sea water was being allowed to pour in, probably to disperse some of the ice as that was the effect it was having. The waterfall in the gardens opposite the Grand has kept flowing and this keeps a space clear of ice for the ducks, but the icicles on it have been growing daily and these photos were taken on Friday morning. By contrast the daffodils are not far away, in the garden of St Annes Library near to Clifton Drive with the photo taken on Wednesday. Signs of winter and spring at the same time. The daffodils announce spring and give us hope for things to come.
There are some notable dates this week. Sunday is St Valentine’s Day. In Finland, Valentine’s Day is known as “Friend’s Day” and in Guatemala as the “Day of Love and Let us make it a day to remember all our Church Friends with love and friendship.
Then comes Shrove Tuesday, followed by Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent. I should like to thank Rev Janet for her ‘Lent Journey’ sheet, a copy of which has been issued to everyone. As you make this journey through Lent, hopefully reading Janet’s comment for each day, think of your be together in person, we can still make this journey together in love and friendship.
