May-Time
There is but one May in the year,
And sometimes May is wet and cold;
There is but one May in the year,
But before the year grows old.
Yet, though it be the chilliest May
With least of sun, and most of showers,
Its wind and dew, its night and day,
Bring up the flowers.
Anon
Wishful thinking maybe – we could do with a wet May to help Bring up the flowers’. If , like me, you sometimes despair of effecting any change in the world read Climate Change – what we can do on page 20. The Church of England has committed to going green and encouraging congregations to think about their footprint.
The main item this month, as always in May, is the Hampstead and Highgate Festival and you’ll find details of all the concerts being held here on pages 21/22. Details of the other concerts and events are available in the Festival guides, of which there are usually several at the back of the church.
There are events theatrical as well – the Hampstead Players are holding a playreading on 25th and the Hampstead Players Youth Theatre [HPYT] have one of their workshop series on 12th [details from their website] and they finish the month looking forward to their autumn production with auditions for The Caucasian Chalk Circle on 27th and 29th.
The Study Centre launches its summer term on 2nd May with a talk by Piers Plowright. The theme for the term is “Christianity in the Wings” and full details can be on the back cover of this issue. The concluding talk is to be given by Bill Risebero on Brecht – particularly apprpriate since Bill is to produce The Hampstead Players’ production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
What do you think of as spirituality? In England and Wales 390,000 people put down Jedi as their religion on the census form. Art and Sacred Places hold their AGM here on Saturday 12th – the business will be over quite quickly and you are then invited to an afternoon workshop on the theme of contemporary spirituality. See page 17. It costs £5 and read carefully what you have to bring with you.
There’s an All Age Eucharist on 20th May and the 27th is a very special day for me because it’ll be my last as Verger [and/or Sacristan] here after 18 years. For the last 2 years people have been asking me why I haven’t retired and when am I going? Well, I am now. With that in mind I’ve identified a few jobs that won’t be covered when I go and wonder if anyone would like to take them on?
– The bookstall at coffee in the Crypt. It only involves getting the books out before the service and putting them away after everyone’s left the Crypt.
– It’s a long time since anyone, including me, mended a hassock. Is there anyone out there who enjoys sewing and would like to take on some repairs, or organise a group to get together and have a few sessions catching up? As anyone who’s ever done it knows it’s an ongoing job but there are several in urgent need of some tlc at the moment.
– Operation Christmas Child: for several years we’ve collected shoeboxes of toys and sent them off. We need someone to coordinate this – circulating the forms, collecting the boxes, arranging for collection from the church or delivery to a local collection point [this depends on how many we get so it pays to try to get lots delivered here, then we qualify for a pick-up!]
– Checking and replenishing the Children’s Activity packs that go with the books. We have a selection of worksheets so all it requires is someone to replace used ones, add some plain paper and check and replace the pens from time to time.
If you think you could do any of these please contact me before the end of the month!
Christian Aid Week is 13th to 19th May so we’ll be collecting at Hampstead Underground on Friday 18th and in the High Street on 19th. Please speak to me if you can offer an hour or so on either day. You can read more about their work on page 14.
Finally, there’s just time to report on elections at last night’s Annual Parochial Church Meeting: We welcome Andrew Penny as our new churchwarden and thank Peter Ginnings for his period of service. A full list of other elections will be posted on the church noticeboard.
May
Judy East