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The Vicar Writes…

Dear Friends I was reading an extract from Bishop George Appleton

about the Good Samaritan and thought I would share some of his thoughts with you this month.

We are all familiar with the story, the injured man beaten up and left half dead. Later more footsteps, halting beside

him and someone looking and going on, either not caring or unwilling to be delayed, perhaps feeling inadequate to deal

with such a desperate need, or afraid that the man would die on his hands.

This same human drama continues to run in our age, but what part do we play, the wounded man; the religious

professional; the meditating Christian; the unorthodox outsider with the oil and the wine and the deposit left at the inn; the innkeeper working with relief agencies; the biblical

scholar arguing about the limit of neighbourly duty; or a listener to Jesus by the lake of a quiet heart, hearing the

story told again and the command to go and do the same as the Samaritan?

Six of the ten commandments deal with my duty towards my neighbour. I am to love him as myself, i.e. grant him

equal justice and rights as myself, do to him what I hope he would do to me if our positions were reversed. We have

witnessed so much tragedy and heartache; hatred, killing and maiming, such widespread and appalling need. In going with God to the rescue I not only help the physically

half-dead, but help to transform a destructive order of society, and at the same time come to spiritual life myself.

With all good wishes Andrew

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From the first planning meeting, we have

welcomed some new helpers and, as ever, requests were made for others to come

forward. Please give all helpers your support and respond to requests for items for sale if you can (which should be delivered in good

time for pricing and preparation.) Please remember that this is a Fête and not a jumble sale! As always, assistance

will be required in setting up and dismantling the Fête. A final pre-Fête meeting will be held on Wednesday,12th July at 11.30 am.

STALL STALLHOLDER TEL Books, cds & dvds Perry Jeandren 706107

Raffle Michael Wright 707735 White Elephant Graham Luker 723305

Handbags Tessa Yeoman 707629 Jewellery Nina Crane 376325 Nearly New Clothes Tove Taylor 707018

Flower Guild Stall Susanne King 707265 Fruit, Veg & Plants Christobel Beattie 07843382067

Cakes Elizabeth Walker 701112 Home Produce Jan South 768900 Toys Julie Bailey & Baby Group 701020

Tombola (bottles) Paul Stephenson 07831227438

Teas/Cakes/Kitchen Wendy Bales 709850 Art Group Tony Ogg 700058

Crafts Joanne O’Brien 700341 Car Park Richard Goodall c/o 738198

Gate John McGill 700372 Treasurer Michael Wright 707735

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"A city set on a hill cannot be hidden"

It's funny, I've always thought of Lincoln in

relation to this quote, but it's only when thinking of writing an article about "my home town" that I

found out it is actually a verse from Matthew 5:14-16! I can hear lots of you saying, but Lincolnshire is so flat and

boring what is she talking about, but those of us who have trudged up and down Steep Hill every day know differently!

In fact on a recent visit to see my family, Andrew and I were amused, whilst walking up the hill, to see a notice outside a cafe which said "You have reached base camp

(40m), stop and rest awhile before attempting the summit (50m)!

Lincoln, or to give it it's Roman name Lindum Colonia, is well worth a visit if you are travelling in a northerly

direction. It's magnificent Cathedral can be seen for miles around and the first sight of it always reminds me that I'm

nearly home. I know I'm biased, but I think it is really one of the most imposing and beautiful cathedrals in the country

and, married to Andrew, I've visited quite a few! The first Cathedral was built in 1092, but after fires and an earthquake in 1185 it had to be rebuilt and only the

Norman west front survived. Look out for the Swineherd of Stow, who gave his meagre life savings to help pay for the

restoration and whose statue sits on top of the northwest turret and, of course, that pesky Lincoln imp who lurks near the tomb of Hugh of Lincoln, at the east end of the

Cathedral. When Andrew was a student at the Theological College he was a tour guide at the cathedral and took

people up and down the 388 tower steps three or four times a day! So feel free to ask him any questions! The other Lincoln Imps are, of course, the Lincoln City football team

who had that great F.A. Cup run and who have just been promoted to League 2! Up the Imps!

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If you walk from the cathedral across the square you come to Lincoln Castle, built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror on the site of a pre-existing Roman fort. Here

you can walk around the walls, visit a Victorian prison and chapel and see one of the original copies of the Magna

Carta (although not in as good condition as the one in Salisbury!). You never know who you might bump into in the Castle grounds. On one visit we met Jamie Oliver who

was filming on the battlements! A particularly atmospheric area in the Castle is the prison graveyard, set high up on a

hill and surrounded by a high wall. Very spooky! If you make your way down Steep Hill, always remembering

that what goes down must come back up again, you reach Lincoln city centre. This has changed considerably with the

opening of Lincoln University and the influx of students. Although long time residents of Lincoln may disagree, it has rejuvenated the area around Brayford Pool and brought

much needed prosperity to the town. As evidence of this, Lincoln Theological College, which had been taken over by

the university, is now being converted into luxury apartments and houses costing close to a million pounds.

If you have the energy to climb back up the hill, pause and catch your breath in the quaint shops and tea rooms which

line the cobbled streets around Bailgate and sit and watch the world go by! It really is a very pretty area just to sit and

relax. If you have time to venture further afield you will discover

the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds, Tattershall Castle and Boston Stump and there are also many unspoilt villages and

market towns where you will receive a warm, northern welcome.

Joanne O'Brien (unofficial supporter of the Lincoln Tourist Board!)

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PEOPLE OF THE PARISH

John Fox

John was born in Stapleford, Notts in 1932 and went to the local primary school and then to Henry Mellish Grammar

School, He left school, aged 16, and joined Barclays Ltd and worked in branches around Nottinghamshire. He was called up for National Service aged 18 and spent his time in

the UK he was in the Royal Army Medical Corp and, after basic training posted to Millbank Hospital London in the pay

office. Maybe his posting was affected by being in a bank and also in St John’s ambulance Brigade as a teenager! He was also in the Scouts.

John met Marion in 1947 and they were married on June

6th 1955 at St Helen’s, Stapleford – they have 2 sons and 7 grandchildren ranging from 16 to 27 years old. After returning to the bank, he applied for a job overseas with

Barclays DCO being posted to Jamaica and then Trinidad spending 9 years between Port-of-Spain and San Fernando

and completed his Institute of Bankers’ exams and Chartered Secretary exams. He then joined the inspection department in Lombard Street inspecting several UK

branches as well as the Isle of Man, Malta, Vila, Vantam Massau, West East and Central Africa plus Sydney and

Guyana. He then went to Kenya as chief inspector for 3 years and also relieved the Seychelles manager who was ill.

His next posting was as manager to the main branch of the National Bank of Malawi (Banda’s branch) then to Nigeria

where he was eventually made Chief Inspector of the Union Bank of Nigeria where he spent the last 8 years before retiring early in 1989 after serving 40 years in Barclays – 33

of these

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abroad. He continued another 6 months whilst Barclays liquidated their interest in the bank. Marion comments they have lived in 21 houses and many hotels abroad.

Whilst abroad they bought a flat on The Avenue, Branksome

Park as a base for the boys who were at boarding school in Sussex and then Oxford. They also owned a villa in La Manga, Spain which they sold after 8 years. Returning to

the UK they bought their present house in Canford Cliffs in November 1989.

John was never happier than when he had a fist full of airline tickets – he continued to do odd jobs abroad for

Cayman National Bank, inspected the Republic Bank in Trinidad and 3 short jobs for the British Ex Services

Overseas in Prague. He also held office in many local organisations and both he and Marion continued to travel around the world for pleasure. He is now a stalwart of our

8 am BCP congregation.

Elizabeth Walker

DHCT June Church Crawl

June 8th, the date arranged for our next Church Crawl,

turned out to be inauspicious. Not only the date of the General Election, it was also pouring with rain as we set out in the direction of Sturminster Newton to visit five churches

at Hinton St Mary, Marnhull, Stalbridge, Stock Gaylard and Lydlinch.

The family home of the Pitt-Rivers family is at Hinton St

Mary and we were invited to have coffee in their Tithe Barn. We were glad to get in from the rain! The church of St

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Peter had been restored in the 19th century and had several attractive stained glass windows including the Thomas

Denny millennium windows notable for their depth of colour.

St Gregory’s Marnhull was again restored in Victorian times but several remnants from earlier centuries survive

including a pillar from the original 12th century church, oak roof carvings, remnants of wall texts, the tombs of the Pope

family who were local farmers, and the Hussey family (the family chapel is on the site of the chantry destroyed during the Reformation) and the Carent tomb carved in alabaster

with the Yorkist collar notable on one of the effigies dating from about 1470.

The church of St Mary, Stalbridge was restored by Thomas Wyatt in the late 19th century but again the monuments on

the wall are relics from a much earlier century. Once again Sue drew our attention to some very nice 20th century

stained glass windows by Nathaniel Westlake.

After another delicious lunch at the Thyme after Time café we headed off for St Barnabus, Stock Gaylard but somehow found ourselves in a completely different village so had to

turn round and after a lot of scrutinising of the Ordnance Survey map discovered that Stock Gaylard was not a village

at all but a fine house with with its own church in the grounds. The exact age of the original church is not known but it would have existed at the time of the Crusades in the

13th century. It contains the tomb of a Crusader knight believed to be Sir Ingelramus de Waleys, Lord of the Manor.

The church was restored in 1884 in memory of Harry Farr Yeatman and his wife Emma by their children and there are memorials on the walls to members of the Yeatman family

who lived at the house.

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Our final visit was to the church of St Thomas ά Becket at

Lydlinch which dates from 1479 and has been greatly restored over many centuries. The main door from the

porch into the church is from the early period and the most interesting tomb in the churchyard contains the remains of an unknown lady, known simply as the Lady of Lydlinch,

whose heart is contained in an urn in a niche in the wall of West

Parley Church. The 13th century tower, largely rebuilt in Tudor times, was restored in 1959 when

the five bells were re-hung. There is a rhyme on the wall of

the ringing chamber dating from 1746 which says “Put off your hats, your belts and spurs and when you ring make no

demurs. Sound out the bells well if you can, silence is best for every man, but if a bell you overthrow, sixpence unto

the clerk you owe.” In 1920 a new stained glass window was fitted to the east window over the altar which was

given by the Hooper family in memory of a son who was killed in the First World War. Four pieces of 15th/16th century stained glass were taken from the top of the old

window and pieced together in a small window by the pulpit. The present organ was installed in the gallery in

1938 where in olden days an orchestra of two clarinets and three flutes performed.

We ended the day with tea and homemade cakes at Stayners Farm, Lydlinch which is the home of Kate Lear,

one of our members, who had kindly invited us. It was a lovely end to the day and when we returned to our cars it had stopped raining!

Nina Crane

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CALENDAR FOR JULY

TRINITY 3

Sun 2 8.00 am Holy Communion

10.30 am Parish Communion 6.00 pm Evening Prayer

Wed 5 10.30 am NO HOLY COMMUNION at

St. Nicolas (Clergy Conference)

Thurs 6 10.00 am Parish Art Group

Fri 7 10.30 am Coffee Morning in hall TRINITY 4

Sun 9 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Matins 6.00 pm Evening Prayer

Wed 12 10.30 am Holy Communion at St. Nicolas

11.30 am Pre-Fete meeting in hall Fri 14 10.30 am Baby Group in hall TRINITY 5

Sun 16 8.00 am Holy Communion 9.30 am Family Service

10.30 am Parish Communion 6.00 pm Choral Evensong

Wed 19 10.30 am Holy Communion at St. Nicolas

Thurs 20 10.00 am Parish Art Group

Fri 21 10.30 am Coffee Morning in hall

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TRINITY 6

Sun 23 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Matins

6.00 pm Evening Prayer

Tues 25 10.00 am Craft Group in hall

Wed 26 10.30 am Holy Communion at St. Nicolas

Thurs 27 3.45 pm Magazine collation

Fri 28 10.30 am Baby Group in hall

TRINITY 7

Sun 30 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.30 am Parish Communion

6.00 pm Joint Service at Evening Hill, Lilliput

PLEASE NOTE - The next pre-fete meeting will be on Wednesday 12th July at 11.30 am in the hall and the post-fete lunch will take place on Wednesday 9th August at 12.30 pm.

ADVANCE NOTICE: There will be no coffee mornings in the hall during August. They will restart on Friday 1st September at 10.30 am

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SUNDAY READINGS IN JULY

Sunday 2nd July - Trinity 3 OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 28.5-9

Jeremiah condemns the prophet Hananiah as a false prophet who is preaching rebellion against God.

NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 6.12-end Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, admonishes the followers of Christ to be set free from sin and

become slaves to righteousness. GOSPEL: Matthew 10.40-end

In our reading from Matthew's Gospel, Jesus sends out the twelve and states whoever receives them also receives him.

Sunday 9th July - Trinity 4

OLD TESTAMENT: Zechariah 9.9-12 Zechariah predicts the entry into Jerusalem on a donkey of the Messiah.

NEW TESTAMENT: Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30 In our reading from the Gospel of Matthew, the

writer compares Jesus and John the Baptist. John the Baptist being criticised for not drinking and Jesus for the opposite.

Sunday 16th July - Trinity 5

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 55.10-13 An invitation to the thirsty that those who seek God

will be blessed abundantly. NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 8.1-11

Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, describes

those who live in Christ as being free in the life of the Spirit, not chained to the unspiritual death of sin.

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GOSPEL: Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23

The reading from Matthew's Gospel is the wellknown passage of the parable of the sower and from verse

18 the explanation of the parable.

Sunday 23rd July - Trinity 6

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 44.6-8 Our reading from the prophecy of Isaiah declares that

we should follow the Lord not idols. NEW TESTAMENT: Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43

The passage tells the parable of the weeds and

Jesus gives his interpretation of the parable.

Sunday 30th July - Trinity 7 OLD TESTAMENT: 1 Kings 3.5-12

The reading tells of how Solomon asks God for

wisdom and because he does not ask for wealth or the destruction of his enemies God gives him a

wise and discerning heart. NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 8.26-39

We are assured of God's presence with us and know that whatever happens nothing will separate us from the love of God.

GOSPEL: Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52 These readings give us the parable of the mustard

seed and the yeast and then from verse 44 the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl and the parable of the net.

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St. James the Great - 25th July

Jesus, fresh from His baptism and fired with His new calling, bursts into Galilee. Coming upon four fishermen working on

the shore of the lake, He says to them, ‘Follow me’. Without further ado or even a second thought, they abandon what they’re doing (and in the case of two of them, James and

John, leave their poor old father alone in the boat with the hired crew), and set off with Jesus, they know not where.

That is how Mark’s Gospel records the recruitment of four of the apostles of Jesus. Talk about a sudden change of life!

All our understanding of human behaviour tells us that this is not how people normally respond to such a peremptory

invitation: no questions, no explanation. Take it or leave it. Just ‘Follow me’. That however is on a superficial reading of the text. In fact, because we have four Gospels rather than

just three, we know from John that one pair of brothers, James and John, and the other two called on the same day,

had been disciples of John the Baptist, who had pointed Jesus out to them as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’.

Subsequently two of them had sought Him out and spent

some time with Him in the Jordan area. This was not quite the instant ‘conversion’ described by Matthew and Mark, though undoubtedly it evoked an instant response.

For many of us on the journey of faith the experience of

James and John - and the other two, Peter and Andrew - mirrors our own experience. First we know about Jesus,

perhaps as children at Sunday school, or later as adults. Then we begin to ask questions and look for answers. Finally there may come a time when we hear His voice, as it

were, calling us to accompany Him on a life of love, service and commitment.

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For James (whose feast day falls this month) this moment was to turn his whole life upside down. He became a leader

of the church in Jerusalem after the resurrection and was the first apostle to be martyred, being put to the sword by

Herod Agrippa in 44AD. His brother John, in contrast, lived on as a senior figure in the life of the emerging Church. For all four who were called by the lake that day, nothing would

ever be quite the same again. But then all those who set out to follow Jesus wherever He leads them are usually in

for a few surprises. David Winter

TO MAKE YOU SMILE ........ Flight path - Windsor Castle, outside of London, is directly in the flight path of Heathrow International Airport. While a

group of tourists was standing outside the castle admiring the elegant structure, a plane flew overhead at a relatively

low altitude, making a tremendous noise. One irritated tourist demanded: "Why did they build the castle so close to the airport?"

Growing up - Your child has started growing up when he

stops asking you where he came from and starts refusing to tell you where he's going.

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Felix, Platform 1 Felix lives at Huddersfield station in West Yorkshire alongside her colleagues and

5m customers and when she arrived as an 8-week old kitten

no one realised how important and well-known she would become. Although she has a vital job as Senior Pest Controller, she is more than just an

employee of TransPennine Express - she has changed the lives of her colleagues and commuters in many surprising

ways. She has been written about in both local and national media, BBC and ITV have filmed her and when traditional media calmed down, internet media took over and she has

her own Facebook page - well over 60,000 followers, spreading her fame so that fans now come from all over the

world to see her. She even has a PTS ID Card - all employees are required to

complete a Personal Track Safety course before they can work on the tracks [or, in the case of Felix, walk over the

tracks]. Anxiously watched by Angie Hunte, team leader, Felix went for her final hurdle - to get from Platform 1 to Platform 4. Her first adventure was to go halfway, listening

carefully and feeling for vibrations on the rails, but then rapidly back up on to the platform. Finally, Angie watched

her make her way safely across both tracks to the opposite platform, so Felix was issued with her own PTS ID Card.

If you go to Huddersfield Station look out for her - she might be hiding by the bike stands, across the track in the

garden or helping in the ticket office. But if you do go, she is a cat and doesn’t always appear on demand ..... but for

two intrepid parishioners she did just that and if ever

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Andrew had reason to doubt the sanity of his new parishioners, this will surely confirm it!

Over dinner, possibly accompanied by a glass of wine, the idea of going to see Felix was thought about and the plan

evolved. How to get there? Train seemed obvious, but too long and pricey. So, after much research investigating the best rates, FlyBe from Southampton to Manchester was

deemed the best way, with a train connection from the airport direct to Huddersfield station. So that is how, on a

Tuesday in June, we set off early, arriving at the station around lunchtime.

Shortly after

arriving, who should come along the platform but Felix.

We had come prepared with some

‘Dreamies’ treats and just at that moment Angie Hunte came along so we

were able to speak with her whilst Felix enjoyed being fed.

A day trip where both flights and trains all fortunately ran to time and our final memory of Felix was of her sitting on one

of the metal benches on the platform, watching out for the next train, just like any other passenger.

Wendy and Michael I've got a copy of the book which I am very happy to lend out to any cat lover who'd like to read it! Felix The Railway Cat Michael Joseph [Penguin Random House UK] © First TransPennine Express Limited 2017 Written by Kate Moore Royalties from the sale of the book go to Prostate Cancer UK

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Lift up your eyes

‘Are we there yet?’ This is a familiar cry from a child frustrated by a long journey, impatient to be at the

destination. With the school holidays soon upon us, it’s good to be reminded of Psalm 121. This is one of those

psalms (Ps 120-134) used by the Jewish pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem for the great festivals.

There were real dangers for these Jewish pilgrims on their journey. They could slip on the road, there was the threat

of wild animals and they had to suffer hot days and cold nights. On the Christian journey we are tempted by ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’, as well as dealing with those

who mess up our lives and our questions about God’s goodness or existence.

So where do we look for help? 'I lift up my eyes to the hills

– where does my help come from?’ (Psalm 121:1). Ironically, the Jews would look to the hills, where pagan worship was practiced. Even today, we can go to the wrong

places for help eg. horoscopes rather than the Scriptures; work colleagues or friends, rather than fellow Christians. We

can also miss where to look for help: ‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ (2).

Like the Jewish pilgrims, we need to recognise that only God has the power to keep us on the road. Even when God

seems silent in our suffering, He is ‘watching over us’ (5). On our journey He ‘will keep us from harm’ (7) and ‘watch over our coming and going’ (8).

‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face

to shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace.’ (Numbers 6: 24-6). Rev'd Paul Hardingham

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Following God’s Call “Knowing God’s presence while doing completely new things is incredible.” 26 year-old Leila Mather wanted to be an opera singer at first. Then a mystical experience changed her life’s direction. “I was home from college for Holy Week, at the Maundy Thursday Vigil in St John the Baptist, Tisbury. “Suddenly, I felt the walls closing in around me and saying ‘watch and pray and serve me’. It became apparent soon that I was being called by God to explore a vocation to priesthood. “My parents are atheists, but I went to the Christian Union at school because they gave me free chocolate biscuits. “Through that, I went to a Christian summer camp, but found it a bit like brainwashing! Yet when I came home, I started reading Isaiah. Lo and behold, there was Jesus. I became a Christian through Isaiah and the Psalms. “At university in Bristol, I got heavily involved in Christian Union, teaching the faith and practical service. Then I went to music college in Cardiff. That’s when I had my Holy Week experience. “My first job was as mistress at a Roman Catholic boarding school. It was really fun, and I loved the brothers. While there, the Diocese supported me to go to a ‘BAP’ - a selection panel for ordinands. At that, I was told to get some more experience of the Church. “I’ve spent the last year in a Diocesan scheme living with other young adults in a house in Poole, exploring where God is calling us. I’ve done a parish placement at Holy Angels, Lilliput, doing pastoral visits to homes and hospitals, leading worship and preaching. I’ve also made friends for life. “I went back to BAP in April, and was recommended to start training this year at Westcott House, Cambridge.” Did you know? There is a 14% increase in those to start training for priesthood in the Church of England this year. A quarter of those are aged under 32.

(from Salisbury Diocese 'Grapevine' newsletter)

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FROM THE REGISTERS Baptisms 4th June Joshua James Edwards

Funerals 19th June Dolores Marjorie Belk (94)

26th June Paul James Wharton Banham (81)

ALTAR FLOWERS

2nd July Gilly Bourne 9th July Gilly Bourne

16th July Rozanne Parsons 23rd July Rozanne Parsons 30th July Grace Martin

MAGAZINE DEADLINE

The deadline for the August edition of the

Church Magazine is Friday 21st July 2017