“Coldest Easter on record” says the BBC. It’s comforting, isn’t it, when you think it really must be, to have it confirmed? But inside, whatever the weather, we were warm in our fellowship, in the preaching and the music and in the joy of the resurrection.
And it must get warm eventually! Hopefully in time for the Spring Arts and Crafts Fair on the 27 and 28 April. This year we’ll be having an exhibition of crafts by people in the parish, along with some demonstrations, activities, painting classes for young and old, church and churchyard tours, a story-telling corner, as well as the Foodhall in the crypt with magnificent cake stall, morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, tombola, raffle – and games outside. Look out for leaflets about the flower arranging competition – entries must be no more than 10cm x 10cm x 10cm and the judges will ruthlessly rule out any arrangement that doesn’t fit the test cube. Judging will take place at 3.30pm.
At 6pm we have Make Way for Merrie May, an entertainment devised by Barbara Alden for the occasion.
The exhibition will stay open on Sunday afternoon and teas will be served in the crypt, followed by a Festal Evensong at 6pm, at which the preacher will be the Right Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth – a familiar voice to anyone who listens to Thought for the Day and better known to some of us as former curate Richard Harries. Lord Harries has kindly agreed to draw the raffle after the service.
One of the offshoots of the plans for the fair has been an awareness of a renewed interest in needlecraft and we’re thinking of starting sessions in church. I don’t pretend to be an expert but if people are interested in coming together from time to time with their knitting, sewing, crochet – whatever – then we might be able to help each other. A small number of us already get together on one Tuesday afternoon a month to sew hassocks so it would suit me to extend that to other crafts. In May it will be 7th, in June 11th – if a group became popular we could consider meeting more often. I’d welcome your thoughts and will be at the Fair, with my knitting needles, to talk about it. The group I used to attend met in a café and called itself ‘Stitch and Bitch’ but perhaps ‘Coffee and Craft’ might be more seemly for a church? Or ‘Dorcas’? (Acts 9).
Other events this month include Nothing much about a do – a lighthearted celebration of Shakespeare on 17th April at 1pm and a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Colle Voce singers on 13th.
Finally the Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be held on Monday 29th in the Moreland Hall (the parochial school hall, reached by going under the arch by the Everyman cinema). This is your chance to have a say in the life of the church and to hear how the PCC and Trustees have discharged their duties over the preceding year. If you’re on the Electoral Roll you can vote for, well, most things – this being the CofE it’s never that simple and only those living in the old parish (that is the parish as it was in 1747 which is roughly the borough of Camden/North Camden deanery) can vote for trustees, but ER members can vote for churchwardens, PCC members, sidesmen, approve the accounts and report. The business of the meeting is usually conducted pretty painlessly and then there’s often a guest speaker or special presentation. And then a drink – always a drink. And Fairtrade nibbles.
March saw two important events in the life of the church in the world: the inaugurations of the new Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis I.
I wonder if the two posts have ever been filled in the same month before? At the risk of making this edition slightly sermon-heavy I’ve chosen to reprint them both. If you’ve already read them there’s lots else to interest you – the PSALM report, Suzanne Pinkerton’s review of the St John Passion and Ted Nugee’s review of James, the brother of Jesus and, as they say, much, much, more.