Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work. I give you my feet to go your way. I give you my eyes to see as you do. I give you my tongue to speak as you do. I give you my mind that you may think in me. I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all I give you my heart that you may live in me, Your Father, and all humankind. I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, So that it is you, Lord Jesus, Who live and work and pray in me. (After Teresa of Avila)

www.sleafordparishchurch.co.uk

May

2018

St Denys Bulletin

Prayer

Welcome to the May issue of the

St Denys Bulletin

ITEMS FOR THE BULLETIN

If you have an item you would like included in the St Denys Bulletin please email to office.stdenys1@btconnect.com,

by the Wednesday before the first Friday of every month. No bulletin in August or January.

If you are not on email, then please write item out in full and bring to the office.

There is no charge for the bulletin but any donations are gratefully received. Thank you to those who have sent

contributions in. Parish Admin

BULLETIN PUBLISHING DATES MAY 2018 - APRIL 2019

Month of issue Date of issue Last date for information to be submitted to the Parish Office

May bulletin 4th May 2018 2

nd May 2018

June bulletin 1st June 2018 30

th May 2018

July bulletin 6th July 2018 4

th July 2018

August No bulletin No bulletin

Sept bulletin 7th September 2018 5

th September 2018

Oct Bulletin 5th October 2018 3

rd October 2018

Nov bulletin 2nd

November 2018 31st October 2018

Dec bulletin 7th December 2018 5

th December 2018

January No bulletin No bulletin

Feb bulletin 1st February 2019 30

th January 2019

March bulletin 1st March 2019 27

th February 2019

April bulletin 5th April 2019 3

rd April 2019

SUNDAY @ FIVE The next one will be on Sunday, May 27th in the Church Hall. Coffee, hot chocolate and cake served from 4.30pm.

Rev’d Rhona Knight

OTHER SERVICES Each weekday (except

Wednesday) at 8.45am Morning Prayer in St Hugh’s.

Every Wednesday at 10am - Holy Communion either in The

Lady Chapel or St Hugh’s.

May Services at St Denys

Sunday, May 6th Easter 6 8am BCP 10am Celtic 6pm Evensong

Sunday, May 13th Easter 7 8am Holy Communion 10am Holy Communion 6pm Evensong

Sunday, May 20th Pentecost 8am Holy Communion 10am Holy Communion 6pm Taizé 7.30pm CTSD - New Life Church

Sunday, May 27th Trinity Sunday 8am Holy Communion

10am Holy Communion 5pm Sunday @ five 6.45pm Compline

STEWARDING We are hoping to restart the stewarding in church in the near future. If you are able to give up an hour (or more) regularly each week to welcome visitors please do contact me at the church or on 305246. This is a valuable and often an enjoyable and rewarding activity. Please do help if at all possible.

Joan Sommers

BAPTISMS

8th April Alexis Jennifer Jaime Gloria Coulam

FUNERALS AND MEMORIAL SERVICES

17th April Jane Elizabeth Maddison 68 years

23rd April Frances Mary Martin 92 years

27th April Anthony Owen 95 years

27th April Mary Browne 87 years

Please remember them in your prayers

FROM THE REGISTERS

Please let the Parish Office know if you wish to attend.

Tel: 01529 413607

MAYDAY

by Rev’d Philip Johnson

I wonder what your first thoughts are on hearing this word. For sailors and aviators, the international distress call will probably be their first response. Others might well think first of maypoles and other May Day festivities. The Maypole, topped with brightly coloured ribbons, around which children dance in a choreographed pattern is less than 200 years old – its popularity was disseminated through village schools who used the maypole to teach dancing. Earlier maypoles were much taller, often 70 -100ft, set up on a village green where they were a focal point for dancing but without the ribbons (or children!). Going a-maying meant going out of the town or village into the countryside and woodlands to fetch greenery and flowers with which to decorate houses or to make garlands. This merry-making drew mixed responses. One of the earliest references is from the Bishop of Lincoln, Robert Grosseteste, who in 1240 complained of priests’ taking part in ‘games which they call bringing-in of May’. Others however saw it as a way of praising God or a means of giving money to the poor. However, the bishop’s complaint is probably well-founded if we take into account Philip Stubbs diatribe against these festivities. He stated that only a third of maids who went a-maying came back undefiled. Perhaps it is no surprise that maypoles were banned by the puritan Commonwealth Parliament in 1644. When I read the ancient accounts of these festivities I am struck by the communal nature of these events. They are celebrations of spring and early summer, new life and light after the long winter, but they are also events that bind communities together. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that going a-maying and going a-wooing were fairly synonymous. Last week I was looking at some old photos from Sleaford and I came across some picture of the Slea Raft Races. The pictures were less than 20 years old but I was struck by how much the world has changed in these past 20 years. We have become much more individualistic. Community events (if they still survive) are a dim shadow of times past. But community is important. Jesus may have called individuals to follow him but he formed a community around him. Church is first and foremost a community – a group of people who seek to follow Jesus together, to learn together, to work together, and together speak of the transforming love of God to a troubled world. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for the church today is to model what ‘community’ can be to a world that is more concerned with the individual and has lost the sense of community.

Fr. Philip

Thy Kingdom Come 2018

Intentional Evangelism with the Bishop

From Pentecost Bishops Christopher, David and Nicolas are leading on Intentional

Evangelism projects throughout the diocese. In Sleaford we will be looking at how

to share our faith with and pray for our community. There will be a series of

events over the summer months led by the episcopal team. The first training event

will be aimed at all of us in St Denys. Bishop David will be preaching and presid-

ing at the 10.00am service. Over coffee in the church hall he will then lead the

whole church community in a short seminar on the subject of why we share our

faith with others. This will be recorded so that we can share what he says with

those members of our community who are housebound.

The next two events will also be led by Bishop David. We will be extending an

invitation to others from Churches Together to come and join us. We will be look-

ing at praying for, in and on the streets of our community. The final three events

will see us putting that training in to practice as we follow God’s call.

Sunday 13th May 10.00 am service followed by coffee and cake and a seminar led by Bishop David on Sharing your Faith

Saturday 19th May 10.00-13.00 Bishop David leading a training session in the Church Hall: Sharing your faith: How to give it away.

Saturday 7th July 9.00- 12.00 Bishop David and John Leach leading a training session in the Church Hall on Praying on the Streets. Explorers’ Church helpers - we have arranged for you to be able to stay till 10.30 and then we will do an extra session at a later date to cover the second part of the day’s training with you.

Saturday 21st July 10.00- 13.00 Commissioning by Bishop Christopher in the Church Hall and then Sharing and Praying on the Streets day 1.

Saturday 22nd September 10.00-13.00 Review of day 1 in the Church Hall with Bishop David and then Sharing and Praying on the Streets day 2

Saturday 13th October 10.00- 13.00 In the Church Hall with Bishop Nicholas – Sharing and Praying on the Streets day 3 with a celebration lunch at 13.00 to share and plan where to next….

Please sign up on the sheet on the notice board if you are interested in being involved.

If you are housebound and want to be involved please let us know either by

emailing Rhona or phoning the office. We would value your prayer support

and will endeavour to record all the seminars so that a recording can be

brought out to you. If you want any more information please contact Rhona.

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

13TH - 19TH MAY

SPONSORED KNIT

All are welcome to take part in a sponsored knit on Wednesday, 16th May at 17, Ashfield Road, 2-4pm (cuppa and cake included!) Sponsor forms from Gwen Wright or the Parish Office (weekdays 9-12). Also, as no House-to-

House collection in Sleaford this year there will be opportunity to donate to Christian Aid at Sunday Services on 13th and 20th May or at Parish Office. Please support where you can.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL BOOKLETS

This year Christian Aid Week falls within ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ on ecumenical global prayer movement throughout the 11 days between Ascension Day and Pentecost (10 –20 May). Devotional booklets, produced by Christian Aid are available to guide us through this wave of prayer, and informs us of some of Christian Aid’s valuable work. Booklets available from Helen Bristow or Parish Office (303443 or 413607). Donations welcome.

CHRISTIAN AID CO-ORDINATOR

We would be grateful for someone to take over as Co-ordinator for Christian Aid events next year. This usually involves just the one week (2nd week of May). Internet access is now essential! If you could help contact the Parish Office. Thank you.

COMMUNICANTS’ GUILD Meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7pm in the Church Room

Contact Pam on 01529 700105

LAST CHANCE ! OUTING TO SOUTHWELL MINSTER – MAY 15th

There will be a Guild and Mothers’ Union outing on the afternoon of Tuesday May 15th to Southwell Minster, the cathedral church of Nottinghamshire. This superb building is well equipped for visitors – there are stewards on hand, you can hire a walkman, have a guided tour or just see it at your own pace. Much of the building is wheelchair friendly; there is a gift shop and a cafe where you can have a snack or light meal if you wish. The coach will leave the Market Place at 1 pm and return by 6 pm. Please sign up on the list at the back of church as soon as possible if you plan to go. Payment (£10 maximum) should be made to Pam at the time of booking please. Friends, members of the congregation and others are very welcome to join us. Again, payment should be made to Pam, who can also answer any queries.

ST DENYS EXPLORERS

INFORMATION AND NOTICES

SLEAFORD HISTORY GROUP

“THE MIRACULOUS DREAM WORLD OF ST. GIL-BERT OF SEMPRINGHAM”

By John Wilford

THURSDAY, 17 MAY at 7.30pm in the Church Room

EVERYBODY WELCOME

The next St Denys Explorers will be held on Saturday, June 2nd at 11am.

St Denys Explorers

MOTHERS’ UNION Meetings take place every 4th Tuesday at 2pm in the Church Hall

(except Aug and Dec) Contact through the Parish Office 01529 413607

At the beginning of April, we celebrated Lady Day with a Eucharist service in Church at 2 pm, led by Revd. Rhona Knight. We were joined by our friends from Harlaxton MU. Rhona had prepared a lovely service, focussing on the life of Mary Sumner, and spoke to us about ‘Hands and Handkerchiefs’. Thank you Rhona. At our meeting later in the month, we welcomed our Diocesan Chaplain, Revd. Sylvia Rice-Oxley, together with her husband, Revd. Richard. They told us something of their life and ministry. Richard writes Christian songs and music and we enjoyed singing some, accompanied by him on guitar. A very enjoyable afternoon. We will not be having the usual meeting in May but will be joining

with the Communicants Guild for an outing to Southwell Minster.

PCC MEETINGS at 7pm

Finance Committee Mon, 21st May

EMBRACE THE MIDDLE EAST AND ST. DENYS CHURCH

Afternoon tea will be held in the Parish Hall on Wednesday 23rd May from 3.00pm to .30pm. There will also be a music quiz/ Singalong. Tickets are £3.50 from Minyon Prescott 01529 304581 or from the Parish Office.

I hope you will come and support us, we will be very pleased to see you there.

Minyon Prescott

SLEAFORD MUSEUM

Tuesday 22nd May Talk "Spies Among Us - Lord John

Hussey and the Rebellions of 1536" by Simon Pawley. with

Sleaford Museum AGM afterwards. Venue St Denys

Church Room, off Market Place Sleaford starting at 7.30 p.m.

Admission £1 for members and £3 for non-members. Raffle,

refreshments available. Donations welcome. Tel: 07518972016 or sleafordmusum@btinternet.com.

A Procession of Bishops in Troubled Times by Douglas Hoare

Between May, 1521, and 26 January, 1571, there were six Bishops of Lincoln. The average length of the episcopates was 1,557 days. To date, over a similar period, there have been just five — Kenneth Riches, Simon Phipps, Robert Hardy, John Saxbee and Christopher Lowson. However, with our modern bishops, even though there have been some major changes in the Church of England [e.g. female clergy, The ASB and Common Worship], there has been nothing on a par with the changes between 1521 and 1571. Let us look briefly at those six 16th. century bishops:

§ John Longland: [ 1521-1547] Until 1521, he was Dean of Salisbury and, as confessor to Henry VIII, he is thought to have persuaded the king to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. He was theologically “of the old school”, accepted transubstantiation and complained to Thomas Cromwell about Protestant preachers in the Diocese of` Lincoln. § Henry Rands a.k.a. Holbeach [1547-1551]: he was a monk at Crowland Abbey and was the first Dean of Worcester after the priory became a cathedral in 1542. He was then Bishop of Rochester and translated to Lincoln in 1547. His claim to fame is that he was one of the first English bishops to be married, but Holbeach, as Edward Trollope writes, “was base enough to alienate much of the Episcopal property to the Crown, when the Castle and Manor of Sleaford ….. passed into there hands of the Duke of Somerset”. It was during Holbeach’s epis-copate that the 1549 Book of Common Prayer appeared. § John Taylor [1552-1554]: after an academic career in Cambridge, he was consecrated in 1552 and was a “Reformer, Commissioner for the first Prayer Book”. Mary I acceded in 1553, and Taylor “walked out of mass celebrated at the commencement of the 1553 parliament ….. Taylor was sent by Mary to the

Tower for his action and ….. he died soon after”.

§ John White [1554-1556]: he had been Master of Winchester College and Archdeacon of Taunton in 1551 before he came to Lincoln, and Bishop of Winchester from 1556 to 1559. But, being “of the old faith”, he was deprived of his see in 1559 when Elizabeth I acceded. § Thomas Watson [1557-1559]: he, too, was a Roman Catholic, but, “ On 25 June, 1559, Watson was tried, found guilty, deprived of his bishopric, and given

a life sentence”.

§ Nicholas Bullingham [1560-1571]: with Bullingham, we enter quieter times. He was born in Worcester, studied law at Oxford and Cambridge, took holy orders and became private chaplain to Elizabeth I. After his episcopate at Lincoln, he returned to Worcester as bishop, and died in office in 1576. He was also married, his wives being first Margaret Sutton of Washingborough [†1566], and second Elizabeth Lok [†1581].

Mercifully, nowadays we enjoy fraternal relations with our Roman Catholic brethren — at one time, such things as our twinning with Sint-Kruis and the twinning of Lincoln with Nottingham and Brugge would have been unimaginable!

.

BISHOPS’ VISITOR UPDATE

by Beryl Risdell

The summer term began on 16th April and the first 3 Monday afternoons Al Jenkins came into school with me to meet the Headteacher, attend the Assemblies and take a tour of the school which he had not visited before. We heard about St George, Daniel in the lions' den and Nelson Mandela. As part of his ordination training Al has to write up a project entitled “Mission and the Church of England's Vision for Education in primary education: A study of two primary schools.” His aim is to investigate how the Church of England Vision for Education, especially the four basic elements Wisdom, Hope, Community and Dignity relates, if at all, to the mission of the church. He has interviewed both Headteachers in his chosen schools, both incumbents and myself in my role of Bishop's Visitor in a church school. The interview was challenging but he was quite kind in his questioning! He is presently writing up his findings as part of his studies as he nears ordination as Deacon at the end of June. The children having heard about St George this term, learnt a song about him and a group attended the St George's Day Market to sing the song at the event held in the Market Place on Saturday, 21st April. Perhaps you saw and heard them. I have re-started the Prayer Walks this term with a group of Y4's (aged 8/9). For the first time a cat who apparently visits the school field regularly, came to join us in the gazebo in Tom and Maddie’s Memorial Garden, to the delight of the children. There will be more Prayer Walks this term as we celebrate the “Thy Kingdom Come” initiative again.

GROUPS MEETING IN THE CHURCH HALL

Group Day Time Frequency

Explorer Scouts Monday 7pm Weekly except Bank holidays and school holidays

Vitality Monday 9.15am and 10.15am

Weekly

Weight Watchers Tuesday 10am Weekly all year round

Mothers’ Union Tuesday 2pm Last Tuesday of every month but not Aug or Dec

Communicants’ Guild Tuesday 7pm Monthly on the 3rd Tuesday

Sleaford Museum Trust

Tuesday 7.30pm Alternate months on the 4th Tuesday.

Parent and Toddler Group

Wednesday 9.30am During term time

Sleaford Dementia Support Group

For more details: 07983 588 869

Wednesday 1pm Alternate Wednesdays, 1st and 3rd.

Yoga Wednesday 6.30pm Every Wednesday

Irish Dancing Thursday 5.30pm Weekly - enquiries through the office

Sleaford History Group Thursday 7.30pm Monthly, 3rd Thursday

St Denys Choir Friday 7pm Weekly

St Denys Ringers (Church)

Friday 7.30pm Weekly

St Denys Explorers Saturday 11am Monthly on the 1st Saturday, No meeting Jan, Apr, Aug and

Sept

Sleaford Widows Group

01526 832935

Saturday 2.30pm Last Saturday in every month except December

Vicar of Sleaford The Rev’d Philip Johnson 01529 304348 revdphilip@aol.com

Assistant Curate The Rev’d Rhona Knight 01529 300237 revrhona@btinternet.com

Rural Dean The Rev’d Christine Pennock 01526 832463

Vicar of Quarrington The Rev’d Mark Thomson 01529 306776

Churchwardens Richard Clash 07714 565678 Philip Starks 01529 307144

Director of Music David Prescott 01529 304581 david@djprescott.uk

SLEAFORD PARISH CHURCH

CONTACTS

Lincolnshire Co-operative Ltd Sleaford Funeral Home

Funeral Directors and Monumental Masons Tel: 01529 306311

PCC Treasurer Brenda Hitchcock 01529 302775

The Parish Office Parish Administrator Paula Ireland Parish Office Opening Hours Mon-Fri 9am—12pm 01529 413607 office.stdenys1@btconnect.com The Parish Office Market Place SLEAFORD NG34 7SH Registered charity No: 1127600 www.sleafordparishchurch.co.uk

Sleaford Parish Church To hire the Church Hall or The Peake Room please enquire at the Parish Office. Baptism and wedding application forms may be downloaded from the website. Enquiries to the Parish Office.