What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community
And no community not lived in praise of God. TS Eliot “The Rock”
Sometimes familiar lines leap off a page and you wonder why, don’t they? Maybe this time because during an Interregnum we need a sense of community more than ever; not exactly because we’re leaderless, because we have Diana, we have the churchwardens, we have Jan, Handley and Andrew – a very able and conscientious leadership team. But still, we now have no Vicar and that does make us incomplete. So the community that is all of us needs to work together to ‘keep the show on the road’.
This is very much an opportunity for saying goodbye and because so many people have said goodbye from the pulpit in the last few weeks it has been impossible to choose one sermon – Msg Phelim, Piers Plowright, Father Stephen himself (perhaps it’s fortunate that Father Matthew wasn’t speaking from a written text or we might have to produce a supplement!) – so we’ve included them all (these sermons can be found elsewhere on the website).
But we need to look forward as well. Business not quite as usual but it carries on.
So what do we have in store in May? Because we’ve delayed publication Ascension Day will have already passed but isn’t it nice to have an evening service again? Likewise the community choir quiz night – which I’m sure will have been a huge success and enormous fun.
Moving on to things that won’t have happened – Knit and Natter for instance – we now need 37 hot water bottle covers. I can provide you with a pattern and measurements but if you’re a basic sort of knitter then a straight piece 25″ x 6″ will fold up into a cover and leave room for a hem at the top to run a cord through.
But of course you may be too busy making things for the SPRING FAIR (21st May – see pull-out in the centre) to think about anything else. That’s fine – plenty of time after it to think about HWB covers! If you enjoy knitting specifically (as opposed to washing toys or clearing out cupboards) you might like to try Knit for Peace at Waterstones on a Wednesday (9.30-11.30 and 2.30-4.30).
Christian Aid Week always falls mid-May (15-21 this year) and always coincides with the Spring Fair. We’ll be handing out their special envelopes on 15th. You can read about some of their work in this issue and there’s a display on one of the boards by the piano.
There’s a seasonal Literary Hour on 18th – Spring into May. If you’ve never been to one of these why not give it a try? They’re entertaining, containing a wide range of readings – poetry and prose – don’t last longer than an hour and are followed by tea and coffee and a chance to chat.
Looking further ahead to June we have the Sidwell Memorial Concert featuring Kathy Nicholson and Rachel Ambrose Evans on 10th June (details can be found elsewhere in this issue) and the Open Garden Squares Weekend on 18-19 June (details below). And – a bit vague this – we’re celebrating the Queen’s Official Birthday on 12th June with a drinks party after morning service but no one’s had time to work out details except the Community Choir who intend to sing! So if you haven’t got your ticket for The Mall party come to ours instead. At least we can dash indoors if it rains!
And finally do look below for a special award to a member of our congregation!
May
Judy East