The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

** NEW ** Weekday Services in the Benefice

Details

Written by The Rev'd Richard Warhurst

There is going to be a change to the format of weekday services starting on Tuesday 23rd April 2019. Our desire is to have two public weekday services in each church. There will be one service of morning prayer and one Eucharist. Full details are shown below.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Note: after Donhead St Andrew church re-opens, the services currently being held in Donhead St Andrew Rectory will take place in the church.

Please do come and join us at these services - all are most welcome.

Rogation Sunday - 12th May 2019

Details

Written by Tony Gowers

Beat the Bounds
and Bring Your Hounds!

Rogation Days are days of prayerful supplication before God. In years gone by, it was common for the Church to gather on Rogation Days to ask God to bless the crops being sown, to send rain and to give a good harvest later in the year. Often prayers would be said as the church processed around the boundary lines of the parish.

We will be celebrating Rogation Day on Sunday 19th May 2019 by beating the bounds - the traditional walking of the parish boundary - consisting of a three mile walk around Sedgehill. Dogs are very welcome - the more the merrier (and louder!). The walk will be suitable for small children and buggies.

We will meet at St Catherine's Church, Sedgehill, at 9.00 am with the aim to start the walk at 9.15 am. The walk will be followed by the Rogation Eucharist at 10.30 am at St Catherine's Church. Refreshments will be served after the service.

All are most welcome.

From the Curate - April 2019

Details

Written by The Rev'd Kevin Martin

By the time you read this article we will have become used to the clocks having changed and us ‘losing an hour’ at the end of March. We will be enjoying lighter evenings and seeing the signs of new life in nature around us. It is a lovely time of year.

I am looking forward to experiencing spring and summer whilst living in a village. I’ve been told by a few local residents that we don’t tend to go out much on winter evenings. Having been out on moonless or overcast nights, I can see why! Even if we were all out and walking about, we still wouldn’t see each other! Just last week I received a telephone call in the evening from somebody trying to find the house. I told them there was a temporary A4 laminated sign on the gate. This didn’t really help matters so I decided to walk out to the road to see if I could see them and they me. As I opened the front door and walked out onto the road I realised the folly in my mission. Dressed all in black, on an evening when there was no break in the cloud meant I wouldn’t be seeing anybody and they certainly couldn’t see me. Then, as I peered into the darkness, I could see in the distance a faint blue glow and realised it may well be the individual’s mobile phone as they were talking to me. I turned on the torch on my mobile and started to wave it to try and show where I was. This plan worked and, a few minutes later, the person arrived. All this was rather comical at the time but it seemed somewhat fitting as i pondered the fact this was the first evening of a Lent course.

Soon, Lent will have gone and we will have celebrated Easter. We will be refreshed from our time of rest and our time of getting to know ourselves better during Lent as we struggled with things we gave up or learnt something in an activity we have taken on. We may, by attending church services, have engaged with Jesus’ journey leading from his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through his Last Supper with his disciples, his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, trial, crucifixion, death and resurrection. The greatest celebration is the easter Vigil when the Paschal (or Easter) Candle is lit from a fire and the light from this candle is brought into the unlit church. This small flame is so clear in that space and for Christians it reminds us of the light of Christ in our midst. As we move into the church the candles of the congregation are lit as we become bearers of Christ’s light into the world. To make known to all people that God loves us so much that God was prepared to become human and die for us to then show us the glory of the resurrection to which we are all called.

Like I found in the country lane, a tiny amount of light can be seen far away and can shatter the darkness that engulfs us. As we build community around us and engage more with each other as the evenings become lighter, we are reminded that where two or three are gathered then God is there in the midst of them. I believe we reflect the community of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit whenever we do our best to build community that looks out for each other. Our light as village communities shines bright when the lonely, bereaved and sick are cared for. I am a great believer that the Church follows Jesus’ teaching when it does all it can to help build communities and offer a home to community activities. As clergy, we are here to minister to all our parishioners which means you. If there is anything you would like to talk over or an event you feel the church would be good to be involved with then let us know. If we carry the light of Christ together, we can shine brightly and the darkness of loneliness or sickness can’t engulf that light but is shattered by it. We look forward to continuing in our ministry alongside you as the summer draws near.

Kevin

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - April 2019

Details

Written by The Rev'd June Lane

The Prayer Group keeps on praying - please do keep us in touch with your needs. Contact Julia (tel: 01747 829166), The Rev’d June (tel: 01747 828427), Theresa (tel: 101747 829188), or the Rev’d Richard (tel: 01747 830174).

Prayer Of The Month

A Prayer from the Iona Community

Christ our life, you are alive,
In the beauty of the earth, in the rhythm of the seasons,
In the mystery of time and space, Alleluia
Christ our life, you are alive,
in the tenderness of touch, in the heartbeat of intimacy,
in the insights of solitude, Alleluia
Christ our life, you are alive,
In the creative possibility of the dullest conversation,
In the dreariest talk, the most threatening event. Alleluia
Christ our life, you are alive
to offer re-creation to every unhealed hurt,
to every deadened place, to every damaged heart. Alleluia
You set before us a great choice, Therefore we choose life.
Amen