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This month we remember in our prayers:
Sunday 7th All those living in Poundfield Lane, Hospital Road and Ward Close Sunday 14th All those living in St Martin’s Road, St Peter’s Road, Gladwell Gardens and Binhamy Sunday 21st All those living in St Andrew’s Road, St Michael’s Road, St Olaf’s Road and Woodley Close Sunday 28th All those living in New Road, Pathfields, Stamford Hill, Poundfield and Poundfield Close
We pray particularly for the Church and people of Kilkhampton every Monday; Launcells on Tuesday; Morwenstow on Wednesday; Poughill on Thursday & our own Church of St Andrew and Parish of Stratton on Friday.Those who have asked for our prayers: Benjamin Bennett, Allan Gouldson, Tracey Parkin, Bella and Becky We bring before God, especially at this time, all who work in our local hospitals, the inpatients and their families and all undergoing investigations and outpatient treatment.
The recently departed. Those in our Year’s Mind the week beginning: Sunday 7th Ivy Gardener, Doris Walker, Robert Whiteman, Christine Snowden, Kenneth Thomas, Angela Carpenter, Ruth Raper, Charlie Bailey, Mary Green Sunday 14th Philip Etheridge, Doris Bailey, Monica Clifton, Julia Mitchell, Florence Saywell, John Thorne, Beryl Moriarty, Alison Fisher, Jack Clark Sunday 21st Lean Bee Fish, Peter Charles Barker, Roger Axford Sunday 28th Barbara Johnston, Vivienne Ann Salkield, Joyce Nunn, Megan White, Lance Worden, Marion Anita Dean, Poppy Trevenen Ivy Betts, David Mansell Goodwin. ____________________________________________________________
News Sheet Editors: Val Barker Tel: 353435 and Sheila Waring Tel: 3218138
The Parish Church
of St Andrew, Stratton
Priest in Charge The Revd Teresa Folland
Tel: 01288 352599 e-mail: [email protected]
Churchwardens Mr Simon Waring Tel: 01288 321813
e-mail: [email protected]
Mrs Diana Ohlson Tel: 01288 354441 e-mail: [email protected]
FEBRUARY 2021
A Prayer for Openness
O God, open my heartthat it may be big enough to receive the greatness of your love.
Open my heart that it may take into it all those near and dear to me.Open my heart that it may take in all who are not lovely in my eyes
and whose hands I do not want to touch.O God, open my heart
that it may be filled with generosity, kindness,and reverence for all who enter the sacred space of life. Amen.
Adapted from: Prayer of an African
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The Rev Teresa writes –
Dear Friends,
When looking for inspiration of what to write about this month, I thought I would look to St Andrew’s Church, a place of pilgrimage, our ancient treasure standing proud on the hilll, right at the heart of our community.
This place has been a place of inspiration for many centuries. People of faith were inspired to build it to declare God’s glory and people of faith and no faith have been coming here to seek sanctuary and God’s presence ever since.How much we need inspiration now as we work our way through this latest lockdown, not knowing when it will end.
To inspire is to fill someone with the urge or ability to do something, especially something creative. I wonder what inspiration you find from St Andrews?
As I let my thoughts wander, I remembered in my mind’s eye, the bell tower, and remembered tolling a single bell back on VE day to mark the 75th anniversary. It was a strange solitary event, but a couple of friends, one of whom had found herself stranded in Bude from the beginning of lockdown whilst visiting (and what better place could you get stranded in?), walked up from the town centre to listen to the bell and mark the occasion. People have been inspired to answer the call to worship that has rung out from these bells for many a year. I also remembered when we first re-opened the church for Sunday worship back in July; it was a beautiful sunny day. The bells were ringing out and as I greeted people as they arrived to worship God I was rewarded with a beaming smile from Thelma, for whom this was only the second time she had been outside since lockdown.
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A note from the editors –
On the 17th of February – in just three weeks’ time – it will be Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. We will still probably be in lockdown and there will be none of the usual services in church or the outward and visible signs many of us are used to. No imposition of ashes which are used as a mark of our repentance reminding us to ‘Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel’. We shall miss the opportunity of making the pilgrimage around the church on the Way of the Cross and then, of course, there are the Lenten resolutions and here we quote from Nick Fawcett.
‘Faithfully and sincerely living the Christian life means a continual effort to live up to the ideals Christ has set us. Because we so regularly fall short we are constantly picking ourselves up and making a new effort, a new beginning. Lent is a terrific opportunity to make a fresh start. This in effect means making resolutions. They should be few, practical and reasonable. A little self-knowledge should be brought to bear. It is quite pointless making great promises if you know yourself well enough to know that you will not keep them up.’
In a Lenten prayer John Pritchard, former Bishop of Jarrow, reminds us –Easter doesn’t come cheaply. Lent can’t be trivialized. Ask us the hard questions … How does it go with our soul? If we have to give things up (especially for the sake of others), enable us. If we take things on, show us.In Lent we ask again what you require of us, and we get the same answer – ‘to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God’.
So, when we begin our pilgrimage of the six weeks before Easter, let us ask for grace to keep Lent faithfully and to give thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ and that He is part of our human lives and that by God’s grace, we are part of His.
Sheila and Val
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Services at St Andrew’s February 2021
At the time of printing this newsletter communal worship is sadly once again not taking place in the churches within our cluster. This decision was taken at the beginning of January in light of the rapid escalation of Coronavirus infections and to keep our congregation and visitors safe. Rev Teresa and the Churchwardens are keeping this situation under review and hope to be able to re-open as soon as it is felt safe to do so, but this is unlikely to be before the Government publishes its “plan for taking the country out of lockdown” in the week commencing Monday 22 February. When more details are known, we will use our umbrella groups to pass these on, either by telephone or email.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Service and Morning Prayer (Monday to Friday) will continue via Zoom. For information on how to join online or by telephone please contact Simon.
The Daily Hope phoneline continues to be available on 0800 804 8044. This is a free phoneline of hymns, reflections and prayers. This is especially aimed at those of our church family that are unable to access the internet.
A PRAYER for this MONTH
Gracious Lord,When the going gets tough,
help me to rely on your strength.Reassure me of your promise
that underneath are the everlasting armswhich will never let me fall,
and that you will never leave nor forsake me.Help me to stand firm in all adversity
and know that out of the valley of troublecan come the doorway of hope,
and from death comes resurrection. Amen.
Pat Hughes
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Going to church is like a mini pilgrimage and on reaching our destination, we sit a while, pray a while, take in our surroundings and receive into our very soul quietness, healing, nourishing and rest. It is a place of great kindness and gentleness.
Some make a weekly pilgrimage to St Andrew’s to worship God, or an occasional visit to pray a while or to visit their loved one’s grave.And having taken their fill, they travel on again, back into the world.At present our world is less busy, there is much less activity, but perhaps there is also more worry and anxiety.
So let us use this time of imposed quietness to sit a while in God’s presence wherever we are, (for He is present wherever we are), to receive peace, healing, nourishment and rest. And having taken our fill, let us share what we have received by acts of kindness and gentleness to one another; knowing the source of all that we have received, and inspire others to continue in their own pilgrimage, so they too can discover that place of belonging and home that is found only in God.
Yours in Christ,
Reverend Teresa
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When Sheila and I considered what could be included in this month’s News Sheet we thought it was time we had some feedback from you, the reader, and heard about things from your point of view. Father Brian Dorrington very kindly agreed to write a piece for us answering the question that is often on our lips during these difficult days – HOW ARE YOU COPING?
How am I coping with lockdown? The answer must be “Yes, coping.” I find daily life is just as busy as it was before. Living now on my own I find that I can truthfully say about tasks that should be attended to “Sorry, I don’t have time.” Nonsensical it may sound but in the daily round of things it’s true.
After the usual tasks after breakfast the thought of lunch comes to mind. That decided upon the menu for evening meal has to be dealt with.
Then what? What have I actually achieved this day? What about all those jobs I promised myself to be dealt with in retirement – digitizing all those colour slides, the paintings I promised myself to try and so on. No longer capable of gardening I muse on the glories that once were, of the dinner plate size dahlia blooms, the incurved chrysanthemums and others. Perhaps that seems rather negative but perhaps there is a positive side.
All Church of England clergy are bound to say the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer every day. I recall in the early days of my ministry asking at Chapter what the members did about the Offices when on holiday. The Rural Dean loftily replied “There is no holiday from the round of prayer.” I knew that of course but I wondered what adjustments my fellow clergy might make. This was before ASB and Common Worship and the BCP Psalms set for certain days of the month could be quite lengthy.
The Rural Dean’s comments are equally true of worship in its many forms. The word worship means giving God his worth, worth-ship. In lockdown we can adapt and develop this theme.
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In my case I find that the Daily Offices can in a sense be more leisurely – there’s no meeting or service to rush off to. More time and thought can be spent on intercessions for example, and being still in God’s presence.
We may be offering our worship in a solitary state but it is important to recognise that we are not offering our worship alone but as part of the “whole state of Christ’s Church militant here on earth”.
Many of us miss joining together on Sundays for the Eucharist and fellowship and rightly so. My solution in part is to join the service at my younger daughter’s church in Hertfordshire –not physically of course but via YouTube where are streamed BCP and CW Holy Communion. It’s all very well done and provides an opportunity for a spiritual communion.
So how am I coping with lockdown? Satisfactorily I think. Obviously things are not as they were and we adapt. Several kind people make a weekly ‘phone call to make sure I’m still here, which is much appreciated. I’m fortunate in having a very good young lady who does my weekly shop, collects any prescriptions, attends to some cleaning and so on, and generally puts up with my incessant chatter. It’s all good for my mental health – or so I claim.
Like the song says Fings ain’t what they used to be and indeed they are not. But above and beyond these uncertain times we must remind ourselves of the unchanging God – Emmanuel “God is with us”.
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If anyone would like to write a short piece for the March issue please let us
know. Publishing cannot be guaranteed but we will always try to include any submissions.
Thank You – Val and Sheila
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