St Mary’s News – Thy Kingdom Come, Cèilidh & More
This Cèilidh edition of St Mary’s News starts with Revd. Heather looking at how ten years of Archbishop Welby’s call to prayer through his ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ message has fared. It then continues with:
- Eco Matters – Bee Kind,
- Midsummer Songs of Praise at the Old Church,
- July events including Cèilidh, Afternoon Tea and others,
- Other, regular, events, and
The usual listings of services and contacts.
Message from Rev Heather Wilcox
Thy Kingdom Come
As I write this, in the churches we are in the 10 days between Ascension, when we remember Jesus returning back to heaven after the resurrection and Pentecost, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Nine years ago, Archbishop Justin Welby, encouraged us to use this 10 days as a call to prayer, encouraging us to pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’ That first call to prayer, saw an estimated 300,000 people gather around the UK for special prayer events and services. 9 years later and ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a global prayer movement involving millions of people from 90% of the countries of the world of many different denominations, as we come together to pray for Gods kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.
Prayer Walks
As part of this 10 days of prayer, I have been taking daily prayer walks around the seven different villages encompassed in the six parishes, and I have been reminded each day of the sheer beauty of God’s wonderful creation and I have been reminded of how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world.
As I have walked, I have been praying for God’s blessing on each of our communities, for schools, village halls, businesses, organisations, farmland, clubs and individuals, and I have been reflecting on the wonderful gift we have that we can, as the hymn ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ says, Take everything to the Lord in prayer. What a great gift that is, whether we are happy or sad, excited or frustrated, we can bring everything to God.
Signs of Revival
Sometimes we might feel like our prayers are going unanswered, but a few days ago I saw a message from Pete Grieg on Facebook. Pete is one of the founders of the 24/7 prayer movement which began over 20 years ago.
In this message he was telling of how some churches were seeing remarkable signs of revival in both the UK and France. It may have taken over 20 years of faithful prayer, but things were changing. Sometimes it takes a while, but God is always faithful … sometimes we need to be faithful and persistent too.
So let us keep on praying and may God bless you.
Reverend Heather
Eco Matters—Bee Kind
Following on from the Parish Council’s ‘Bee Squared’ project, encouraging all the pupils at Heathlands to sow wildflowers for bees; here are 4 ways to help bees:
- Plant bee friendly flowers in your garden
- Avoid using pesticides in your garden
- Place a basin with fresh water outside for bees to drink
- Buy local, raw honey
Midsummer Evening Songs of Praise at St Mary’s Old Church
Join us for a special Songs of Praise service in the beautiful St Mary’s Old Church on Sunday 23 June @ 3pm. This will be followed by Pimms and nibbles. All are very welcome.
July Events
Cèilidh Saturday 13 July @ 7-10pm
Join us for a barn dance with live music by the Caledonian Reelers, with a ploughman’s supper and soft drinks. Tickets £15 (children under 12 £7.50).
Tickets available from [email protected], [email protected] or call 01206 243683.
Afternoon Tea at the Rectory—Saturday 20 July—time TBC
Put the date in your diary! Rev Heather will be serving a full afternoon tea in the Rectory Garden. Everyone is welcome. More details to follow in the July newsletter.
Tea & Toast—Mondays 3.15-4.15pm – After School Drop in Sessions
An after school drop in for children and their parents/carers has started for Mondays in term time, between 3.15pm & 4.15pm. There will be tea and toast with toppings, and plenty of board games and lego. An hour to chill and unwind after a busy day at school!
Regular Events
You are warmly invited to join us at any of our regular events in the church hall:
Saturday Café @ St Mary’s
A reminder that our café is open on 1 June for bacon butties, homemade cakes and cheese scones on 1 June between 10 am and 12 pm. Please note that the July Café will be on 13 July so as not to clash with the Village Fete on 6 July. Bacon butties, cakes, board games, a craft for children & weekend newspapers will all be available.
Storytime
The next Storytime will be on 15th June at 6 pm. A story, songs and hot chocolate for families with young children. Children can come in their pyjamas!
5Ts Fellowship Group
This Group takes place every Thursday between 2:30 – 4:00 pm. For details contact Ron Seymour—01206 272579.
Services
| 2 June | 9.30am | Morning Worship with Baptism |
| 9 June | 9.30am | Messy Church |
| 5.00pm | Evening Worship Service | |
| 16 June | 9.30am | Holy Communion |
| 23 June | 9.30am | Café church |
| 3.00pm | Songs of Praise at the Old Church | |
| 30 June | 10.00am | 6 Parishes Confirmation Service at St Peter’s Boxted |
Our Team at St Mary’s
- Priest in Charge: Revd. Heather Wilcox
email: [email protected]
tel: 01206 240906 or 07503 151715 - Associate Priest: Revd. Anne Mason
email: [email protected].
tel: 07895 970834 (Sunday & Tuesday – Thursday). - Curate: Revd. Emma Barr
email: [email protected]
tel: 07801 659345 - Church Wardens:
Kate & Stephen Penrose, — 07973 421306 - Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs):
Richard Chadborn—01206 240541;
Michael Foster—01206 241022;
Joy Budden—01206 241871;
Liz Dixon—07914 001212. - Parish Evangelist
Ron Seymour—01206 272579. - Church Administrators & Hall Bookings:
Donna Luxton & Jo Rassell — 01206 243683,
email: [email protected].
Church Office Hours — Monday, Tuesday, Thursday &Friday 10 am – midday. - Newsletter Editor:
Liz Dixon – 07914 001212
email: [email protected]. - Website: Stmaryswestbergholt.co.uk
- Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/stmaryswestbergholt.