West Bergholt CC are running the week-long Cricket Festival 2022 at their home ground on Manor Road. Every day will see the bar and BBQ open for some much-needed fundraising. If you enjoy your cricket, why not pop along – the fixtures are as follows:
Tuesday 23rd August 1 pm start – a 40-over friendly between: West Bergholt XI vs Armed forces
Wednesday 24th August 5:30 pm start – a 20/20 match between: West Bergholt XI vs Bures XI
Thursday 25th August 5:30 pm start – 20/20 format again between: West Bergholt XI vs Queen’s Head XI (don’t bring your own beer!)
Friday 26th August 1 pm start – a 40-over friendly between: West Bergholt XI vs Suffolk XI
Saturday 27th August 1 pm start – a 45-over league match between: West Bergholt 2nd XI vs Maldon
Sunday 28th August 9 am start – a ‘Sixes Tournament‘ this promises: “Fast & exciting cricket with teams battling for supremacy”
Monday 29th August 1 pm start – a 40-over friendly between: West Bergholt Saxons vs East Anglia vets.
This month we celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with an extra long bank holiday weekend and in villages, towns and cities up and down the land, there will be special events to mark this special occasion.
Over the Queen’s remarkable reign, we can all probably remember several big Jubilee celebrations.
I was five when the Queen marked her Silver Jubilee, I still remember the fancy dress parade where I was dressed up as a 50 pence piece and being given a special commemorative coin from school, which I still keep in a special place.
Lovely Jubbly
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, I was on a planning committee, arranging a large community event, and, much like the recent error you may have heard about with 10,800 teacups, mugs and plates commemorating the ‘Platinum Jubbly’ … we managed to order hundreds of posters, which to our horror said ‘Diamond Jubliee’ by mistake
But then jubilee is not really a word we come across in everyday language very often, so no wonder it leaves itself open to the occasional spelling mistake.
Yet it is a word that we come across a fair bit in the bible. Biblically it is a year of emancipation and restoration. In the book of Leviticus, the Lord declares that a year of Jubilee be held every 50th year and that it be a special year of pardoning sins. Slaves were to be freed, debts forgiven and land returned to its original owner. So rather radical!
The Character of God
Jubilee, teaches us a lot about the character of God, His mercy, generosity and love of justice. We are reminded that God is our provider. In the same way Jubilee gives an opportunity for all people to display love and grace in a remarkable way and above all it sets people free.
Celebrate & Rejoice
Jubilee then is a fitting time for celebration and rejoicing.
So as we celebrate and rejoice in the Queen’s 70 year reign, we do so giving thanks for her strong Christian faith and witness. For the mercy, generosity and justice she has shown in her reign, and we rejoice and are glad in all that God has given us.
May God Bless you abundantly
Reverend Heather
Jubilee Events
Stalls at Village Festival
On Saturday 4th June, we will have two stalls at the Jubilee Festival on the Lorkin Daniell Field. One stall will have Jubilee themed crafts for all ages to try out; the other will be a books, games and toys stall run by our 5T’s Group (a group that meets each Thursday afternoon to share a cup of tea and a chat – all are welcome). Do come and visit us!
Jubilee Songs of Praise
On Sunday 5 June we look forward to welcoming you to a special Jubilee Songs of Praise Service at the Old Church, either walking from St Mary’s at 5.30pm or joining us at the Old Church at 6.00pm.
Jubilee Leaf Canopy Art Installation
A huge thank you to everyone who has knitted leaves for the special Jubilee Canopy which is being put together on 31th May. The canopy reflects the theme of planting trees for the Jubilee, and the knitted leaves represent every resident of West Bergholt. The leaves will be sewn into netting which will be suspended from the ceiling. Do come in and see it, it will be in place for the next few weeks.
Licensing of a Lay Minister
All are invited to attend a special service on Sun 26 June @ 3pm at St Mary’s Church to mark Liz’s licensing as a Lay Minister. Liz has recently completed three years of part-time training and is looking forward to serving in the parish of West Bergholt.
The role of a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM) is varied and can include leading non-communion services, preaching, teaching, supervision and mentoring of other lay ministries, and taking funerals.
The service will be followed by afternoon tea in the Rectory Garden. All welcome!
Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Spaces
Come and visit the prayer spaces in church from now until 5th June. They are part of the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ global prayer initiative focusing on the Lord’s Prayer. They also link to prayer spaces in Revd Heather’s other parishes of Great and Little Horkesley, Boxted and Langham, Wormingford and Mount Bures so that you can visit all the churches in a sort of mini pilgrimage!
Services & Other Dates
4th June
Attending Jubilee Festival
5th June
9:30 am
Pentecost – Holy Communion (also on Zoom)
6:00 pm
Jubilee Songs of Praise at the Old Church
12th June
9:30 pm
Messy Church—outdoor service incorporating the ‘Caring for God’s Acre’ Churchyard Wildlife Count. Everyone welcome to join in!
19th June
9:30 am
Holy Communion (also on Zoom)
26th June
9:30 am
Café Church
3:00 pm
Special service to mark the licensing of Liz Dixon as a Licensed Lay Minister
For those services which are also being zoomed, please contact the church office on 01206 243683 or [email protected] for the zoom link.
Our Team at St Mary’s
Priest in Charge: Revd. Heather Wilcox email: [email protected] tel: 01206 240906 or 07503 151715
Arrangements for the 2022 Village Open Gardens Event have now been finalised. There will be 10 varied, interesting gardens and the Allotments open to view this year. The gardens will be open between 11 am & 5:30 pm on 12th June.
Buy your tickets now…
Entry to the gardens will be by Programme (£5 per adult/children free). Until 11th June they will be on sale at:
The Food Museum, formerly the Museum of East Anglian Life, is going on the road! They are touring their exhibition ‘Food Stories’ to communities across East Anglia arriving in the Orpen Hall on 19th June from 10 am until 4 pm. You can also get involved in the event yourself.
What are Food Stories?
‘Food Stories’ celebrates East Anglian recipes, cooking, farming techniques and dialect words that have been passed down through generations. The centrepiece of the exhibition will be a farm kitchen table featuring:
Farmers Picnic?
local recipes,
photos,
sound recordings and
objects from their collection.
Visitors will be able to sit at, and engage with, the displays; you can also contribute your own recipes and memories to the exhibition. You will hear historic sound recordings from the region of people talking about their food and farming memories. Visitors can also participate in the University of Leeds’ cutting-edge dialect research by contributing their own dialect words.
Steve Hallam reports on the 2022 Dawn Chorus walk.
The 2022 Dawn Chorus walk at Hillhouse Wood took place in the midst of a run of warm sunny days, with cool nights. Except for the morning that we chose, which was cloudy and dull but mild. Nevertheless, the publicity team had done an excellent job, resulting in a very pleasing 30 people turning up. I was particularly pleased to find that Jonathan Jukes, the Woodland Trust Regional Manager responsible for the wood, had dragged himself out of bed at such an uncivilised hour, to join us. With the cloud cover, the night was still fully dark, and thus the birds were relatively slow to get going.
Steve Hallam reports on the 2022 Spring Flower Walk.
This took place on a day of sunny intervals and a strong breeze; 12 people came along and off we went. Except that we did not go too far, to start with, as the first few yards of the track hold a variety of flowers to be discussed.
Daisies,
Dandelions,
Red campion,
Cow parsley,
Ground ivy,
Yellow archangel (domestic variety),
Garlic mustard,
Greater stitchwort and
Buttercup
… may not set everyone’s pulse racing – but they all contribute to a rich flora and they each have a story to tell. In the hands of a knowledgeable and articulate expert guide, these can weave a fascinating spell.
Unfortunately for the group, however, they had me – you get what you pay for!
Taking place on 27th April 2022, the Annual Parish Meeting is not a Parish Council Meeting, but a meeting for electors of the parish.
It is an opportunity to discuss parish affairs and say what matters to you. Members of the public and press are welcome to attend.
The meeting will commence at 7:30 pm, on Wednesday 27th April 2022, in the Orpen Memorial Hall. Light refreshments will be provided. The Agenda for this year’s meeting, which will be chaired by Councillor Chris Stevenson, Chairman of the Parish Council, is:
Welcome and Introduction from the Chairman Parish Council Annual Report 2022 & unaudited Trust Accounts 2021-22 (10 mins)
Robert Strathern Innovative farming methods at Fairfield Crisps (10 mins)
Issues from the Floor – Have your say
It would be helpful if you could notify the Clerk in advance if you have any matters to raise during the Issues from the Floor item. Email to [email protected].
After a gap of three years, guided walks return with two great walks to enjoy with Steve Hallam in the next few weeks.
Spring Flower Walk on 23rd April, and
Dawn Chorus Walk on 7th May.
Spring Flower Walk
The last Spring Flower walk took place in 2019 in the company of Storm Hannah! Despite the weather, 22 folks assembled for the walk and thoroughly enjoyed themselves; the comic highlight possibly being when Steve was pretty much blown over by the force of the wind! The walk is normally conducted at a gentle pace (storms permitting).
In a typical year you are likely to see the following flowers:
The next Local History Group meeting will learn about The Minories in Colchester. Max Fox will lead this meeting which will take place on April 13th starting at 7:30 pm. Max has been a Tour Guide in Colchester for 28 years, a former Minories manager for Colchester Institute and atraveller through many ruins who has a passion for history.
As ever, all are welcome for a modest charge of £2 for members and £5 for visitors. Next month the group start their summer visits, the first being to Harwich Museum on Wednesday 11th May. If you would like more information about talks or visits please contact [email protected].
The impact of the Daniell Family on West Bergholt’s development
If you are proud of it, you might want to consider adding it to this year’s Open Gardens. The Gardeners Association are now working to finalise details for the event. Contact [email protected] to find out more.
Entry by programme
Programmes for entry to all the gardens and the allotments will be on sale beforehand in shops and businesses; on the day also at the Orpen Hall. The Gardeners Association also plan to have a stall selling plants in the Hall on the day; they would welcome plant contributions to sell.
