What must the disciples have felt? Shock, fear, grief? Exhaustion? An inability to do anything? The need to get back to work? It may seem sensible to get back to a normal life but it’s hard. A few days after the crucifixion Peter went fishing but didn’t catch anything. Until Jesus appeared on the beach.
Participating in the Easter leaves us wrung-out, emotionally drained. The power of the services, building through the meditations on Isaiah in Holy Week, through the Footwashing and Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, the Meditations and Liturgy of Good Friday (whatever your understanding of taking communion from the reserve sacrament it is a most moving service), the fun of the Service of Light with the children acting out the Exodus, and the lighting of the new fire in the churchyard, and finally the joy of the Resurrection on Sunday. It is a joy to see so many people, to see the church so beautifully decorated, the gleaming pews and shining brass, to hear such wonderful music and to share in the baptism of one of the newest members of the family at HPC. But it’s exhausting and if some of us feel a little drained afterwards it’s hardly surprising.
I hesitate to carry the analogy any further and suggest that just as the disciples picked themselves up and set about preaching the kingdom we have to pick ourselves up and get on with a lot of the new things we have planned for May but our mission is carried out in many ways – in the Spring Fair, the Tea Service, the Living Book Club, the Music and Services – and there’s lots to do this month. The Living Book Club is new, the Tea Service is new – you can find out more about both these, starting on page 11 with the Pastoral Care Working Party Report.
New features in the music too – James writes about Stanford on page 17, featured composer for Evensong on 4th May. The service will be followed by a drink and a chance to talk to the musicians. Evensong on 11th May will feature the combined Adult and Junior choirs – another first. Although the choirs sing together from time to time at the Eucharist and the Junior Choir sing a monthly Evensong on a Thursday this will give the Junior Choir the chance to experience a wider repertoire.
The Spring Fair
This is our big fund-raising get-together when everyone can do something: You can help on a stall, help set up or clear up, take left-over goods to charity shops, or come and spend money. Morning Coffee, Lunches, B-B-Q, Stalls and Games, Raffle. Details are on a separate pull-out section in the middle of this issue.
Christian Aid Week 11-17 May
Which means the street collecting day is the day of the Fair! if there is anyone not involved it would be nice to get some people out with buckets. I’ll put up a sheet on the board by the piano – you need only go out for an hour – it’s as much about raising the profile of Christian Aid as about the money we to raise in the time. And we’ll have a collection in church on 18th. You can read about the work of Christian Aid on page 27 in this issue and on their website and in the latest magazine which has some particularly good articles – I would have liked to have put more in this magazine if space had allowed. There’s so often interesting material contained in the charity news on the table under the window but it can get buried and the table itself is sometimes left untidy and unappealing -don’t be put off though, it’s worth persevering and seeing what’s there.
May
Judy East