St Peter ad Vincula

Noticeboard - February 2012

The Vicar writes.......

I want to begin with some wonderful news arising from the phenomenal Advent Christmas Tree Festival in December. Well………………. you will have to wait a little be longer because on p26 of this edition of Ad Vincula there are some numbers that we could not have expected – read on………!!

The latest enterprise forging partnerships between St Peter’s and village community is off the ground! Wizzy Tots, a parent and toddler group, will be in full swing from 24th February in the Scout Hut. Some more details can be found on p7 of this magazine but needless to say, the Vicar is really looking forward to playtime and making some new friends!! In getting this venture off the ground, there are a number of items we need to acquire. Our principle challenge is storage and we need a lockable storage shed or container to stow trikes and outside toys at the Scout Hut. If you have
anything of this nature that you no longer need, please let Charlotte know (700273). We would be really grateful!

As we begin our Lenten journey, there will be opportunities to join groups that will be following a pattern of ‘study’. These are currently being sorted out and full details will be posted in the north porch at St Peter’s and in the weekly pew sheet. If you would like any further information, please feel free to give me a call (700339).

Finally, thank you for all your kinds words after I succumbed to flu just before Christmas. I still can’t really believe how it wiped me out until the first week of the New Year! I am recovered but have yet to fully re-charge my batteries. I must thank Graham Parr for ensuring the programme of Christmas services continued unabated and to Roger Moorey, The Revd David Beresford, The Revd Canon Peter Cole, Sandra & Phil Donoghue and the Revd David Pike for stepping in at the eleventh hour and leading our Christmas worship – THANK YOU!

DON’T FORGET………… If you haven’t experienced the delights of , come and enjoy freshly ground Fairtrade coffee or tea with a delectable homemade cake! Xpresso is open every Friday from 9am ‘til 11.30am and
EVERYONE is welcome! During the cold weather, the venue will be shared between the Village Hall & St Peter’s.

Every Blessing.

PASTORAL LETTER

Dear Friends,

This month, we have that strange adjustment to the calendar whereby we have an extra day tagged onto the end. I am sure it comes with no great surprise that astronomical and seasonal changes do not naturally fit in a pattern whereby the number of days in a year remains constant. Surprisingly, the method by which humankind measures time is not foolproof and therefore, very generously, humanity allows for a minor adjustment to time (!) every four years. I wonder whether this small compromise in some way keeps the created order on track or whether we are perhaps being somewhat foolish in thinking that we have everything in check. I only need to look out of my study window and see the signs of spring growth in mid-January to wonder whether nature in all its glory is far from shackled by humanity’s pre-defined plans.

On 22nd February, the church celebrates Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent – the season that leads up to Easter. In times past, this season was a period of fasting and prayer when people of faith remembered the time Jesus spent in the wilderness. In a 21st century world, it is not uncommon for people to mark this time by giving something up, e.g. cigarettes, alcohol or even chocolate! This is a time when by changing something in our own lives, we might discover something more about ourselves that might otherwise have evaded us. As a man of faith, I would understand this as how God reveals himself to us in ways both expected and unexpected. This revealing (or revelation) helps us to see the temptations of this world and the danger of living a ‘singular’ life, e.g. I
am only concerned about what happens to me. Being in the wilderness is not a bad place to be, rather we can somehow regain a more realistic perspective on life in all its glory!

So in the days before Ash Wednesday, give some thought to what you might do during the season of Lent. Do not worry, it might be something you keep to yourself, you do not need to broadcast it from the hilltops! It might even be a hilltop where you discover the peace you crave. By reflecting upon life, we discover more about what life entails, its joys and its sorrows, its promise and its frailty. It is then that life becomes more than we could possibly imagine.

This year, we have the bonus of an extra day. Will it be for you another day to tick off the calendar or a day when you discover more about life itself?

With every good wish & blessing,

The Revd Peter Dixon