The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Mothering Sunday - 31st March 2019

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Written by Tony Gowers

Mothering Sunday - 31st March 2019 - will be celebrated at services in churches throughout the Benefice as follows:

• 9.30 am: Eucharist at St Mary's Church, East Knoyle
• 9.30 am: Eucharist at St Leonard's Church, Semley
• 11.00 am: Family Service at St John's Church, Charlton
• 11.00 am: Eucharist at St Catherine's Church, Sedgehill

All are most welcome - please come and join us at one of these services.

Lent Study Courses - 2019

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Written by Jo Johnson

Are you interested in attending a Lent Study Course?

This year, we are studying a book called  “Why Go to Church”.

The course will be held as follows:

• Tuesdays afternoons at 2.30 pm at Coopers Ground, East Knoyle on the dates shown below:
  • 12th, 19th & 26th March 2019
  • 2nd, 9th & 16th April 2019
• Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm at Donhead St Andrew Rectory on the the dates shown below:
  • 13th, 20th & 27th March 2019
  • 3rd, 10th & 17th April 2019

If you would like to attend or require more information, or wish to buy a copy of the Study book (price: £10.00), please contact Jo in the Benefice Office - click here for her contact details.

Lent Lunches - 2019

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Written by Jo Johnson

A Lent Lunch will be held every Tuesday at 12.30 pm during Lent on the following dates:

• 12th March 2019 at Semley Grange
• 19th March 2019 at The Rectory, Donhead St Andrew
• 26th March 2019 at Hart Hill Farm, Semley
• 2nd April 2019 at The Rectory, Semley
• 9th April 2019 at Donhead St Mary Village Hall

All welcome - please do come and join us.

From the Curate - March 2019

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Written by The Rev'd Kevin Martin

As I sit to write this article it is wonderful to notice a moment of peace in what has been a rather full week. Two days ago we completed our move into Donhead St Andrew from Shaftesbury. In this moment I am aware of the peacefulness and beauty of our surroundings and of feeling very blessed by God at being called to serve in such a lovely part of the Diocese. In my short time in fully rural ministry I have already gained an insight into the joys but also the challenges that rural living can bring. I am sure now that we have moved I shall gain even greater insight into these aspects of rural living.

In this moment of stillness and silence I am also reminded that Lent is nearly here and in a short time we will be possibly thinking about what we will be giving up for Lent. When I was a child I remember an older member of the parish saying this would be the year she gave up sugar in her coffee I wondered if she had a rolling calendar of items she gave up each Lent but she explained that a few years before she had given up sugar in her coffee for Lent. By the time she got to the end of Lent, however, she couldn’t drink coffee with sugar in it. The following year she thought hard about what to give up as she no longer had sugar in her coffee and then came up with the idea that she would put the sugar in and force herself to drink it. But then, by the end of Lent when she had her first coffee without sugar she didn’t like it so she waited for the following Lent to give it up again! So the rolling pattern started of giving up sugar one year and adding it the next.

This is a good example to us that we can choose to do something extra during Lent rather than the idea of simply giving up sugar or meat or alcohol. It might be that we attend Morning Prayer or mid-week Eucharist or that we simply find quiet time for prayer and contemplation. It may be visiting the lonely or grieving neighbour or volunteering at a local charity.

Jesus entered the desert for forty days and forty nights after his baptism in the Jordan. It was a time for him to be alone before God, to have a focus on his relationship with the Father and the world before his public ministry began. We can follow the example of Jesus by finding a way to give up or add something into our lives this Lent that will offer us an opportunity to know God, ourselves or our world better. We may feel uncomfortable or put out in the beginning but like the older parishioner above we may well get to the end of Lent and realise we cannot bear to go back to being who we were before Lent started.

We will hopefully also be in a spiritual and emotional place where we can notice the joys of living where we do more clearly and realise we are not alone when we face the challenges that will inevitably arise as we journey through another year together.

Kevin

Prayer Cycle and Prayer of the Month - March 2019

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Written by The Rev'd June Lane

We continue to pray as usual so please do keep your requests and news coming. 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

Just now the world is even more turbulent than ever and so this prayer by John Johansen-Berg is a prayer for peace. It involves lighting a candle and setting aside a little time to think. Sometimes we need to do this to create some peace in our own lives. If there is more than one of you when you do this, just change all the pronouns and make it 'we' instead of ‘I’. It will be even more effective.

I light this candle for peace, Lord.
May its light scatter the darkness;
may its flame be a symbol of hope;
may its burning be a sign of faith joining many other lights for peace.

I light this candle for peace.
May my life be an expression of peacemaking;
may I seek to be a light in a dark world,
pointing to you, Jesus, the Prince of Peace,
and following the way of peace.
Let the candle burn as a sign for peace,
Offered to you. Amen