Priory News, May 2007

Deeping St James Parish Church Magazine

Photographs of some parish events are available in our Photograph Album elsewhere on the site

To:

• Scripture readings for Sunday
• Archive of past editions of Priory News
• Cooking with Margaret

Sonia Marshall

To see your reading in advance without having to mark your bible pages, you can copy your reference and paste it into the recently-improvedoremus Bible Browser (or type in your reference) and print out the reading. The translation used in church is the New Revised Standard Version, which is the default version on oremus.

6th May, 5th Sunday of Easter:

• Morning: Acts 11: 1-18; Revelation 21: 1-6; John 13: 31-35
• Evening: Daniel 6: 6-23; Mark 15: 46 - 16: 8

13th May, 6th Sunday of Easter, Christian Aid Week begins:

• Morning: Acts 16: 9-15; Revelation 21: 10, 22 - 22: 5; John 14: 23-29
• Evening: Zephaniah 3: 14-end; Matthew 28: 1-10, 16-end

Thursday 17th May, Ascension Day:

• Morning: 2 Kings 2: 1-15; Matthew 28: 16-end
• Evening: Acts 1: 1-11; Ephesians 1: 15-end; Luke 24: 44-end

20th May, 7th Sunday of Easter:

• Morning: Acts 16: 16-34; Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20-end; John 17: 20-end

27th May, The Day of Pentecost:

• Morning: Acts 2: 1-21; Romans 8: 14-17; John 14: 8-17

Home Groups

• Bible Study: Fridays at 10 am at 91 Manor Way
• House Group: Every Wednesday, 7.30 pm at 45 Crowson Way - Everyone welcome

Priory Prayer Group

Owing to circumstances, the Priory Prayer Group has, for the time being, ceased its regular fortnightly meetings.
We must pray to our Lord that a way will be found for it to again provide the parish with a power house of prayer.
Bernard Babb

Notices

Postage Stamps

As many of you will already know Tony and Brenda Peters have retired from the charity stamp collection. Please continue to save your stamps and further details for their disposal will be published in the next Priory News.

If anyone would be willing to co-ordinate this task, please contact Brenda or Tony for further information

ROSE AND SWEET PEA SHOW GRAND RAFFLE

Plans are well in hand for this annual event which will be drawn on the afternoon of Saturday 30th June. Major Prizes are now finalized, but I would be very grateful to receive others as we like to be in the position of being able to offer a wide variety to appeal to as many people as possible. The Fairtrade basket was very popular last year so I would like to produce something similar again. If anyone has a suitable basket, box or tray which they could donate for this I would be most grateful.

Tickets have now been printed and will soon be available to sellers.

Alison

PRIORY COFFEE GROUP

At the AGM on 8th March funds were allocated to the following:

• Visually Impaired Group £ 100-00,
• First Responders £ 100-00,
• Deepings Men's Group £ 100-00,
• Church Spire Lighting £100-00,
• Church Youth Activity £100-00
• Church Hall Refurbishment £ 300-00.

All monies will be given out at the next meeting on 17th May. Other meetings are Afternoon Tea 19th July, Coffee Morning 13th September, and the Advent Coffee Morning on 29th November.

Farewell to Parish Politics

This month I attend my last Parish Council meeting of my second four-year term, and I have decided not to stand in this year's election because of the additional ecclesiastical responsibilities that I have taken on since first standing for election in 1999. Of the almost ten years I have been in Deeping St James I have been a councillor for eight, two as chairman, and I know that I am going to miss the Council and its business a great deal. At this time I'd like to thank all those who've put their trust in me over this time: it has been very affirming to have received such a share of the vote each time and to have been chosen by my colleagues as chair two years running. I thank those, especially the four Parish Clerks with whom I've worked, who have enabled the Council to achieve a lot for the community, and I offer my humble apologies for those things which have not worked out as well as we might have hoped.

Looking back there is much with which to be pleased. Personally, the highlights for me have to be the bus stop improvement programme and the development of a parish website - and I have offered to continue to maintain and develop the website as a volunteer after standing down as a councillor, though if someone would like to take over I'd be only too pleased to stand down from that, too. We have also provided CCTV surveillance at the Manor Way shops which instantly improved the neighbourhood for those who live there, and further CCTV cover is planned for another, similar, part of the village plagued by anti-social behaviour. Another large project in my time was the provision of the skatepark, Woody Heights, at the Jubilee Playing Field in Linchfield Road; this, of course, was intended to provide what the young people explicitly asked the Council to provide, but the hope was also that a contribution would be made to reducing the "boredom" factor among young people.

We have also run a couple of road safety campaigns and have worked with the County Council to try to improve road safety by some modest engineering projects. Alongside the projects there has been the steady work of making comments on planning applications and other negotiations with District and County Councils for the benefit of Deeping St James parishioners, and generally looking after our village and our small part of its public finances.

So I look back at these two terms with some pleasure - not only has it been greatly enjoyable working with all sorts of people to support the community I am called to serve, but is very satisfying to pass through the village and see the trees we have planted, children playing at the skatepark and people sitting comfortably in shelters waiting for their buses.

I thoroughly recommend this way of serving the community as a part of Christian service, and with only eleven candidates for the fifteen seats at the current election there are likely to be some co-opted places available very soon, so this may be your chance!

Cllr Mark Warrick

Christian Aid Week

Christian Aid Week (this year 13-19 May), Britain's longest running door-to-door fundraising week, turns 50. To mark its golden jubilee it is going green by encouraging people of all ages to plant trees in support of its overseas work on climate change projects.

The first Christian Aid Week, in 1957, mobilised residents in 200 towns and villages across Britain collecting £26,000 for overseas development work. Half a century later Christian Aid hopes to raise £15.5 million from the annual fundraising week.

Christian Aid works with 700 local organisations across 50 developing countries. Working with poor communities, it trains people to deal with the effects of climate change and prepares them for the threat of natural disasters. These local organisations – or 'partners' – also work on HIV, training and education, health and sanitation and peace and reconciliation.

"The world has changed significantly in the past 50 years," said Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid. "Little did we know in 1957 we would be facing the problem of climate change which is already destroying the lives of thousands of vulnerable people across the world.

"Christian Aid Week remains a vital part of our annual fundraising efforts and as we face new challenges, and our work increases, so too does our reliance on the generosity of the public. Without the incredible support of individuals and churches across the UK and Ireland Christian Aid would not have become the organisation it is today."

This year Christian Aid is encouraging people to plant trees in their gardens, community spaces and churchyards as a way of reflecting on the impact deforestation and climate change is having on poor communities around the world.

Diarmuid Gavin, award-winning garden designer and star of the BBC's hit TV show Home Front, said: "I travelled to Kenya with Christian Aid last year and saw the devastating impact climate change is having on small-scale farmers who rely on the land. Drought is a serious issue there and it's inspiring to see how Christian Aid partners are teaching some of the world's poorest people new agricultural techniques to enable them to make the best use of the little water they have to grow food.

"We plant trees for ornamental reasons, because they look nice in our garden. However in developing countries, such as Kenya, that have been heavily deforested, they take on much greater significance. Trees not only encourage the rains but help prevent soil erosion that can lead to fatal mudslides."

This year around 300,000 volunteers across the UK will post the famous red envelopes through millions of letterboxes

The Priory Community Hall Regeneration Project

The Priory Community Hall Steering Group has been working very hard indeed for the last few weeks finalizing its application for a National Lottery grant for the proposed development of the church hall. It has been a complex and intensive task and has required a lot of advice from Lincolnshire County Council. There will be a lot of competition for the lottery money and although we know that our project is exactly the sort of thing that the Community Building Fund is designed to support, the difficult bit is demonstrating that our hall, rather than someone else's, is the one to whom a large portion of the money should be granted. As I write this, the application is naerly complete and will soon be sent to the office in Birmingham which must receive it by noon on 30th April.

Meanwhile, design work on the project is continuing, as is consultation, so if you have any comments on what we are planning, or alternative or additional suggestions and ideas, we should be pleased to hear from you. You can speak to me or to Simon Marshall, Martin Jones, Bill Flegg or Mike Heavens (preferably in writing so that we don't forget!) - the current plans are outlined on a display board inside the hall.

Mark Warrick

News from Explorers, Climbers and Scramblers

In preparation for Easter the Children looked at some events in the last week of Jesus's life. Climbers and Scramblers made Palm branches to remind them of the people acclaiming that Jesus was the longed for Messiah as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Explorers enjoyed acting out a play about Jesus overturning the tables of the dishonest traders in the Temple. Easter Sunday saw the traditional Easter Egg Hunt in the Vicarage Garden, and the next week Climbers and Scramblers made beautiful 'stained glass windows' depicting the Resurrection which they proudly showed the congregation.

Explorers (7 - 11), Climbers (5 - 7) and Scramblers (under 5) are on holiday now but will meet again on Sunday 11th September at 9.50am in the Church Hall. New members are always welcome. Please contact Andrea (Climbers and Scramblers) on 344926 or Alison (Explorers) on 345890 for more details.

Good Friday 2007

This year saw the 10th Anniversary of the Good Friday Children's Activities and browsing through the archives it has been interesting to note how the morning has gradually evolved to meet the needs of the children of Deeping St James. Our very first event, in 1998, took place entirely in the Church Hall but it was quickly felt that although it had included a worship session the Church itself was a more appropriate venue. Consequently the starting time was brought forward to 9.30am with the morning beginning with Fr Mark leading a shortened version of 'The Way of the Cross'. Activity Passports and the 'Big Art project' were introduced in 1999 and the Children always look forward to making their contribution towards decorating the Church for Easter.

This year well over fifty Primary and pre-school children and their families took part in the Service and then participated in various craft activities in the hall. The children made Egg Holders to keep their Creme Eggs safe, chocolate nests, an Easter card, jewelry in the shape of a cross, and laminated bookmarks. They also tried their hands at making animal decorations, icing cakes, arranging seasonal flowers and performing a Magic Trick. At the end they were joined by the adult congregation and together enjoyed traditional refreshments.

The 'Big Art Project' this year consisted of large handprint sunflowers which have been used to decorate the bare stone wall behind the choir stalls and caterpillars which have brightened up the Children's Corner.

We are very grateful for the prayerful support we receive from the congregation of the Priory Church and also the generous contributions of mini-eggs, Creme eggs, 'bits 'n' bobs' for cards and other decorations and items, too. Also, very many thanks to all our leaders, assistants and helpers without whose hard work and enthusiasm the morning would not be possible and also to those who generously provide (and prepare!) and serve the hot cross buns and drinks which round off the morning so well.

Deepings Churches Together Walk of Witness

On Good Friday about 50 members of the congregations of the churches in the Deepings met for a walk of witness along the streets of the Deepings. The walk, following a cross carried by volunteers from each church, started with a short service at the Methodist Church, stopped at the Catholic Church, the Library and Market Deeping town centre, and concluded with another short service at St Guthlac´s Church by which time numbers had increased to about 70.

At each stop there was a reading from the Gospel, a monologue by a character who had his/her life challenged not only by the death of Jesus but also by his life, a prayer and a hymn. The characters portrayed were Mary and Martha, Thomas, Simon Peter, Barrabas, Mary Magdalene and the penitent thief who was crucified with Jesus.

BISHOP'S LETTER

Celebrating Lay Ministry

The Vicar was under attack from a Parishioner who believed that Clergy were simply not up to the job these days, and lay people deserved better. "Ah", said the Vicar in some desperation, "when it comes to calling people to be Clergy, God has only got the laity to choose from!".

If it was all about point-scoring, then the Vicar scored a point. All Clergy were lay people before Ordination, and as the word "laity" actually stands for the whole people of God, no one ceases to be a member of the laos once hands have been laid upon them.

But I hope the Vicar was doing more than merely scoring a point. In fact, he was tapping into a truth at the heart of how the New Testament sees the Church and its ministry. St. Paul makes it crystal clear to the Corinthians that all Christians are called and gifted by God. The gifts are many and varied, but all contribute to sustaining a whole and healthy Body of Christ in every place. This is not done in order to create a corps of regular troops from whom a few might make it to officer rank. A lay person is not a chrysalis who has somehow failed to make it as a butterfly.

Surely the reality is that Ordained ministry is but one expression of what it means to be called and gifted by God. It is a vital part of our life together, and as Anglicans we believe that without an Ordained ministry the Church would struggle to be truly holy, catholic and apostolic. Yet without the discerning, nurture and deployment of the gifts of all God's people, the fulfilment of our mission would be impossible.

The Diocese of Lincoln has long pioneered the recognition and development of those not called to be Ordained, but whose gifts and experience wonderfully complement those of Deacons, Priests and Bishops. On 12th May in Lincoln Cathedral at 10.30 a.m. we will joyfully celebrate Lay Ministry in a spirit of both gratitude to God for the gifting of His people, and prayer to God that more of Paul's "fellow-workers for Christ" will join the many hundreds already trained and authorised for lay ministry and mission.

It has been said that in the New Testament the Gospels are about discipleship and the Epistles are about ministry. The fact is that all who are called to be disciples are also called to minister the good news of Jesus Christ in Whose footsteps we tread on the road that leads to salvation.

Come and join the celebration on 12th May – a fitting reminder that all people are called to be disciples of Christ, and all disciples of Christ are called to a ministry.

+ John Lincoln

This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.