Dear Church Friends,
How is everyone this week? I hope the clocks going forward tonight and sunset getting later will brighten your thoughts and days. Daylight is increasing rapidly and from Monday we will no longer be required to ‘stay at home’ and outdoor gatherings (including in private gardens) of either 6 people (the Rule of 6) or 2 households will be allowed, making it easier for friends and families to meet outside. Certain outdoor sports will be allowed to resume. The light at the end of this tunnel is getting much brighter and we pray there are no more tunnels to come.
Easter Sunday Service at the White Church 4th April 2021 at 2pm
In order to be able to hold a one-off Easter Sunday Service on April 4th , which will include communion, the time of our service has had to be changed from the normal time of 10.45am to 2pm. Rev Jim Williams will lead our worship, but as he is preaching at Hambleton in the morning, the service in the White Church will take place at 2pm. Some of you may find this inconvenient, but it has been necessary and I look forward to greeting those who are able to come. The same rules and limits on numbers that were in place in 2020 will apply and you will need to book your place by contacting me. I have included an updated checklist and further information for those wishing to attend. As communion will be part of the service, if possible, please bring your own individual portion of bread or wafer and wine/juice/ water for the communion part of the service. There will be some individual prepacked cups with wafers available for anyone who forgets, so no one will miss out.
There will still be a Zoom Easter Sunday service at 10.30am which will be led by Rev Janet.
The elders have not yet decided when to reopen the church for future Sunday Services, but aim to do so by Pentecost Sunday on 23rd May at the latest. The elders would like to hear your views on whether we should reopen for worship before Pentecost.
Thursday March 25th was Lady Day, which is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary; the day when Mary heard from an angel that she was to bear the son of God. In England from 1155 to 1752, that day began the calendar year and it is still a quarter day.
As the mother of Christ, it was natural that flowers should be named after Mary, particularly those symbolising the Christian virtues of purity, humility and modesty. The delicate white lily of the valley was named Our Lady’s Tears and the shy violet was known as Our Lady’s Modesty, while woodruff was called Our Lady’s Lace.
In years gone by, the link between particular plants and worship was quite distinct and monks grew certain flowers with a religious association, not only to decorate churches but also as a focus for those who came to worship.
It is something we still do today. At Easter time churches are made beautiful with displays of daffodils and lilies to remind us once more of the resurrection of Christ and the promise of new life for all. Although we may not be able to decorate our church as fully as usual this year, Easter will still celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the promise of new life for all.
April arrives during the coming week making me recall the music and words to ‘All in the April evening’ when ’the sheep with their little lambs passed me by on the road’……….. It is one of my favourites as I enjoyed singing it at school and always remember the words.
These lovely photos have been sent to me by Anne and Peter F who saw this sheep with her ‘little lambs’ in a field beside the bridle path behind Cypress Point. Thank you, Peter for the photos. This is an area that we have never walked before, so on Thursday we decided to take a look for ourselves. It was a delightful walk along parts of the moss and mostly different bridlepaths from those we used last week. The only part in common was a fairly small section along the moss road. There are nest boxes in the trees in the woods at the beginning of the walk and a pair of bluetits were flying in and out of one of them. The access hole looked rather larger than I would expect bluetits to use, so I wondered what a previous inhabitant had been and whether, if the bluetits choose to nest in there, will they be safe from predators! In the fields there are far more sheep than I expected to see and at one point there seemed to be a ‘creche’ for lambs, as about 7-8 of them were grouped together away from their mums and kept racing up and down the field, full of energy. Nature has such power to make one feel uplifted. At one point we heard and saw a skylark high above us singing about the joys of spring and heralding better days. We feel so lucky that we are able to see and walk among nature so close to home. Thank you God for your natural world.
The Leprosy Mission A thank you from Linda L.
Donations to this year’s Unconditional Love Appeal reached a total of £672, which will be matched by the U.K. government to £1344. Thank you so much to all who contributed to this wonderful amount.
The cheques have been sent to our TLM regional manager, Paul Moores, who is absolutely delighted and asked for his thanks and blessings to be sent to you all. Linda
Sunday Morning Worship – Sundays 10:30am
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84532128356?pwd=QjRKZW5YVVdvYnBUVC9oNnRRTHZ6UT09
Lent Bible study – Wednesday 3pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87358809178?pwd=eXBVK2tOZ2xtcWxOTmVQeUJ5WFdWUT09
The Wednesday Zoom Partnership coffee morning is being discontinued as few people participate.
Daleen will continue with her monthly Tuesday Zoom coffee/communion mornings.
Remember to put your clocks forward one hour tonight.
Let us pray
Dear Lord Jesus,
We pray for patience as we enter the second year of coping with the coronavirus pandemic. We remember all those who have succumbed and be with their families as they adjust to life without their loved ones. Thank you for all those whose dedicated work is enabling us to make progress. Help us as we look forward to the gradual re-opening of lockdown and getting our lives back to something resembling normal. We pray for your grace, your mercy and Your powerful love. Fill us with the hope that only You can give. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Please join me in saying the Grace together.
May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen
God Bless you all
Ruth
