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Totnes & Bridgetown Parish Magazine, March 2018

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The Parish Yellow Pages scheme This voluntary scheme should make it easier for parishioners to keep in touch with other. It has proved very successful in other parishes around the country. You can get a form from a Church officer

if necessary.

Copies of the Yellow Pag-es will only be issued to those whose names ap-pear in it.

If you have not already enrolled, you may still just have time to do so.

Queries to Julian Hall, Tel 01803 867537

●●● IN A PARIS HOTEL ELEVATOR: Please leave your values at the front desk ●●●

COVER PHOTO: The river Dart seen from the Dartington Hall drive on 24 February, when

Spring seemed just around the corner. Then the really cold weather kicked in.

BELOW: The St John’s Community Café during Bishop Robert’s visit on St Valentine’s Day.

The Bishop commended St John’s on the success of this venture and emphasised its role in

combatting loneliness and fostering companionship. See the official video of his visit at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14GU1gIU95s

By the way, Parish Yellow Pages schemes (see above) have proved to be another useful tool

in keeping people in touch with each other. JH

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SUNDAY SERVICES

May be subject to change: check the weekly bulletins or website for updates.

4 MAR

Lent 3

11 MAR

Lent 4

Mothering

Sunday

18 MAR

Passion Sunday

25 MAR

Palm

Sunday

1 April

Easter Day

JO SJ JO/SJ JO/SJ JO TOTNES 8.00

JL

SJ

SJ JL JL+ TG

Iona

JL BRIDGE-

TOWN

9.30 /11.15

JO/SJ JO JO/SJ JO/SJ JO TOTNES

11.15

Compline

JO

Evensong

SJ

Evensong

JO

TOTNES

6.30

Sacred Space

DPet.al.

BRIDGE-

TOWN 6.30

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It’s been quite

a watery Winter

hasn’t it? Living

in Week, with a

dog to walk,

the reality of

rain is very no-

ticeable. You

may know this

is a treasure of

a hamlet - a place of trees and water.

Of late, the brooks have been excel-

ling themselves and the end of our

lane has been flood-

ed at least 3 times.

We have even had

an unexpected inter-

nal water invasion,

traced back to the hot

water cylinder spring-

ing a leak!

A delightful spate of

Baptisms requests

across the Team has caused me to

reflect further on water as a meta-

phor. I wasn’t unduly taken aback

then when part of a talk at a recent

Bishop’s Lent Quiet Day for clergy

reminded me of another significant

and special place of water which I

visited on the Curates’ pilgrimage to

Holy Land in 2016.

‘Mensa Christi’ on the shore of Lake

Galilee is a site visited by many pil-

grims each year. Most guide books

would tell us there is a small Francis-

can chapel built over a rocky area

near the water’s edge to mark the

place where Jesus appeared to his

disciples, on one particular occasion,

after the resurrection. In their turn,

you may remember, they had been

out fishing, understandably returning

to the solace and comfort of familiar

occupation, but caught nothing. A

stranger advised them to cast their

nets on the other side of the boat and

an abundance of fish filled them. The

stranger is recognised as Jesus and

a fishy breakfast ensues. Thereafter,

Peter is powerfully re

-commissioned by

Jesus with the

words, ‘Feed my

sheep’. You can read

a fuller account in

John’s gospel - chap-

ter 21.

Those momentous

events of long ago

do not conjure up the current tranquil-

lity and deep peace of the shoreline.

Back in the winter of 2016, we were

given some time to ourselves to just

be on that shore line: a liminal place

of sand…water…reeds…bird song…

basalt rock. It was and remains, I ex-

pect, a place of timeless encounter.

When Jesus has questioned Peter 3

times and then commissioned him,

the episode has not fully run its

course, according to John. Jesus’ last

recorded words here to Peter are

‘Follow me’. For those of us who

Postcard from Week

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stood and sat on the beach that day,

the same words seem to emanate

from the very fabric of that place. In

this Lenten season, it’s a fruitful Bible

passage to re-read; a significant

place in which to dwell in the mind’s

eye.

That passage among others and

those words, ‘Follow me’ will be the

focus of a Lenten Quiet Day which

my Reader husband, Richard and I

are offering to the Team on Saturday

March 10th 10am – 4pm in Dartington

Church Hall [opposite St Mary’s,

Dartington]. There will be plenty of

silence; 3 short talks and optional

Holy Communion. Bring your own

lunch but refreshments will be provid-

ed. There is no charge for the day

but donations are welcome to cover

costs. Please contact Richard to book

a place: 01803 865196 richard-

nfrost@aol.com

Blessings on your Lenten journey,

Rev Jane Frost

It’s just a thought by Revd Cliff Berdinner

‘Is there anybody there’, or are we all alone in the vastness of space? The idea that there may be other forms of life besides us is the ques-tion that has haunted mankind down the years.

It is a question that we may ask with some trepidation as we have no idea of what other life forms or creatures there may be.

In ancient times people believed that the world was full of demons and evil spirits and gods which had to be paci-fied and pleased lest they became angry and messed life up.

The Old Testament moves us on to the idea of a God who was in fact feared as much as he was loved.

It is out of this question - ’Is anybody there’ - that world cultures have shaped their religions and beliefs that there is indeed somebody there.

For the Christian believer, God is love and we can come to know God through the person of Jesus.

Whilst the Jews wanted to confine God to their Temple, Jesus taught that God is to be found within our own heart. And it is through faith that we can experience the Divine pres-ence as a living reality.

BAKLAVA AND THE

RADIAL BAND

are giving a concert at

7.30 p.m. Friday March 2nd

Tickets £8 on the door

In aid of St John's Church

windows

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Today the Christian church is being challenged, but belief continues, and there will always be those whose be-lief is wonderfully certain.

Certainty is strangely attractive. In my youth I had a friend who was always saying, ‘But I know, I just know’. And I used to follow him everywhere be-cause religious certainty is infectious – you can catch it!

But sometimes we have another ques-tion, not, ‘Is anybody there’, but, ‘Is any-body listening’?

I remember, how as a boy, my mother used to say, ’Clifford, you are not listening to me’ – and she was right. Even as adults, we only hear half of what is said to us - and that is with our hearing aids in!

But does God, by any name, listen to what is going on in the world? Does God hear the cries of the world’s pain and suffering?

When we listen to someone we usu-ally give them a yes or a no, to let them know we are listening, but God is silent.

Someone once asked a Jew what it was like praying to God in Jerusalem to which he replied, ’Well its like talk-ing to the wall’!

But yes, there will be many who will

say from their own experience that God does listen and move in a mys-terious way his wonders to perform.

Now most of us, at some time in our life, will find ourselves facing pain and suffering. Dark clouds gather and we begin to ask another question, ‘Does

anybody care’?

This is perhaps the most searching question of all – why does the God of perfect love allow suffering?

How could God watch his Son, Je-sus, die in agony on a cross?

Many answers have been offered but I am not sure that there is any real answer to why God allows suffering.

I only know that when we, or others, suffer it does not mean there is no God. It’s maybe that we just do not know God’s mind.

Some have found comfort in the be-lief that as God suffered with Jesus, so he suffers with us too. Or that God is with us always and supports us even if we cannot feel his presence. And down the years many have looked forward in confidence with the words of Julian of Norwich, ‘And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’

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John Wellingham is giving a talk and recital at St John's Church, Bridgetown, on Wednesday March 14th at 7 p.m.

He is going to talk about three Totnes organs; the Father Willis organ at St Mary's Church, Totnes, the organ that was lost in the fire at St John's and the present organ, built by William Drake, which he will play. John has been a major influence on British organ students. He is now in his eighties, and still active as an in-spirational organ teacher at Oxford and Cambridge universities. He stud-ied at Dartington College when Imo-gen Holst, and later John Clements, ran the music department. He taught piano, organ and recorder at Eton and was a counter-tenor lay clerk in the Chapel Choir before leav-ing to study organ, harpsichord viola da gamba, Gregorian chant and Lu-theran chorales at the Schola Canto-rum Basiliensis in Switzerland. In 1974 He founded the Loosemore Centre for Organ and Early Music in Buckfastleigh, the first early music centre in Great Britain. It closed in the early 1990s, but the organ building workshop remains open. There will be a small charge for the talk, which is one of a series of talks the church have arranged to promote the history and heritage of St John's, in aid of the St John's Church Win-dows fund. Enquiries to Carolyn Stilwell, Tel 01803 863030

PART-TIME DAY CARE HOST VACANCY

The Filo Project specialises in small-group day care for older people experi-encing memory issues and/or isolation and we are currently looking for intelli-gent, versatile, empathetic hosts in, or close to, Totnes. You will be required, in your own homes, to meaningfully occupy and engage with a maximum of 4 older people who may be socially isolated and experiencing symptoms associated with moderate dementia, including memory loss. The Filo service operates between the core hours of 9 a.m. and 5p.m and dur-ing the day you will be required to cook a lunch. It is essential that you have a full driving license, access to a 5 door car and a ground floor WC. Please see www.thefiloproject.co.uk for further details, or call us on 0333 939 8225 or email info@thefiloproject.co.uk

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Taking the Plunge - the Waters of Baptism “Repent ye and be baptised to receive

the gifts of the Holy Spirit” Acts 2:38

With Eastertide nearly upon us, the

’Paschal mystery’ of Christ’s Crucifixion

and Rising again, we look forward six

weeks ahead to Pentecost. The disciples

were gathered with others from many

nations in the Upper room and the Holy

Spirit came upon them and thousands

were soon baptised in the River Jordan

and other places.

What is Baptism? - History

Baptism submersion is a Sacrament of

the Church, an outward sign of inward

grace, cleansing by water of our past

wrongs and proclaiming our belief in

Jesus. In Noah’s story the Old Testament

we find Creation being given a new

chance with the saving of the species to

start a New Life with the rainbow as a

message of God and the Dove flies with

her olive branch of peace.

Later, in Exodus, the Jews escaped slav-

ery by a near death experience through

the waters of the Red Sea to make a

New Start in the Promised Land and later

received a Covenant from God (Ten

Commandments).

As Jesus entered the River Jordan in

humility for John the Baptist to Baptise

Him, again the Dove swoops down giving

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Blessings of the Holy Spirit.

Who can be Baptised?

The Rite of Baptism is for anyone of any

age who comes to Jesus Christ in repent-

ance of sins, declares faith in God and

puts aside past wrong doings willing to

make a new start. In early days whole

households were brought to a font so

the practice of Infant Baptism, Christen-

ing and naming became popular in Cath-

olic and Anglican churches. If they are

too young to speak for themselves then

Parents and Godparents make the state-

ments of faith for them and promise to

bring them up in Christian ways. This is

not just an excuse for a party and dress-

ing up, moreover it is a serious lifetime

commitment.

What happens in Baptism?

The priest should visit the family or the

candidate, and prepare them for Bap-

tism explaining the nature of our Chris-

tian faith.

With all family and friends assembled,

preferably at the usual public Worship

service of the Host Church, we say the

Creed together declaring our faith in God

the Priest will ask them or the candi-

date:“Do you Believe in God the Father

Son and Holy Spirit and reject Evil? and

come to Christ the Way the Truth and

the Life?“

He signs them with the Sign of the Cross

as affirmation.

They make the promises. Then the priest

pours Holy water over the child’s head is

washing three times for the Trinity and

Baptises or Christens them with their

chosen names.

We all welcome the child or adult into

the Church, not only our local Church

like St John’s, but into the whole world-

wide Church of All traditions, Christ’s

Body on Earth. The small Baptism candle

given to the candidate is lit from the

Pascal Candle, signifying the Divine Light

of Christ.

‘We are all One with Christ: One Faith,

One Lord, One Baptism’

Baptism is for all of us Christians regard-

less of age.

Many like myself choose to take the

Plunge, into a Baptismal pool or the river

and with submersion, we die like Christ

in the tomb and trust Him, as the priest

to help us rise again. Adults can also be

baptised from the font.

We are graced with the gifts of the Holy

Spirit: peace, love, joy, hope and more,

given the promise of the joy of Salvation

and eternal life.

The journey of faith is only just begin-

ning!

Joy Hanson

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Instead of worrying, pray

‘Don’t worry about anything, but

pray about everything.’ - Philippi-

ans 4:6 CEV

One Bible teacher writes: ‘The

pressures of our times have many

of us caught in a web of the most

acceptable, yet energy-draining

sin in the Christian family: worry.

Chances are good you woke up

this morning, stepped out of bed,

and before doing anything,

strapped on your well-worn back-

pack of anxiety. You started the

day not with a prayer on your

mind, but loaded down by worry.

What a dreadful habit! Jesus chal-

lenged His followers with the

question, “Who of you by being

worried can add a single hour to

his life?” (Matthew 6:27 NASB).

Worry solves nothing. It creates

unrest and uneasiness, and if left

unchecked it can churn our waves

of anxiety into a perfect storm of

emotions. Add a little imagination

and creativity, and our worst fears

come to life in Technicolor bril-

liance. The stress from worry

drains our energy and preoccu-

pies our minds, stripping us of our

peace…We fret over big things

and little things. Some of us have

a laundry list of concerns that

feed our addiction to worry. It’s a

very unattractive addiction, yet we

somehow manage to make a joke

out of it. I’ve heard people say

with a smile, “If I don’t have some-

thing to worry about, I get worried

about not having something to

worry about.” Anxiety has become

a favourite pastime we love to

hate. And worse, we’re passing it

on to our children. As they see the

worry on our faces and hear it

from our lips, we’re mentoring

them in the art of anxiety.’ So,

what’s the answer? ‘Don’t worry

about anything, but pray about

everything.’

From UCB's Word for Today, a free

publication available in both our

churches and throughout the UK.

Web www.ucb.co.uk

ANTHONY STILWELL RESTORATIONS

Antique and modern furniture restored and repaired

French polishing undertaken

Tel : 01803 863030

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Learn Spanish with a very unique native

speaker who has developed

her very own methods to

facilitate language tuition to

every single individual (15

years experience) in the com-

fort of your own home or

come out !

Interested ?

Call on 01803 862912

Advertising charges

Totnes & Bridgetown Parish Magazine

Based on A5 pages, 12 monthly insertions

Circulation: 100 printed copies + approx. 200 sent via email.

Contact Mr Julian Hall, t: 01803 867537, e: jachall027@gmail.com

Full page Half page Third of

page

Quarter

page

Sixth of

page

Black & white/

greyscale (inner

pages)

99.00 49.00 33.00 25.00 18.00

Colour

(Back page only)

240.00 120.00 80.00 60.00 40.00

IN A BELGRADE HOTEL ELEVATOR:

To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more

persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going

alphabetically by national order.

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Team Rector, The Reverend Prebendary Julian C OuId 01803 865615, The Revd. Deborah Parsons, Team Vicar 01803 840113

Licensed Reader/Safeguarding Officer Liz Waterson 01803 849345, (Childline 0800 1111) The Reverend John Luscombe 01803 864514, jnluscombe@btinternet.com

Licensed Reader, Tony Gregg 01803 813885,

Support Group: This group is open to anyone who is suffering from bereavement or any other kind of loss. For full details contact

Rev'd Deborah Parsons on 01803 840113.

TIMES OF SUNDAY SERVICES

St Mary's Totnes

8.00 am ..

11.15 am ..

6.30 pm Alternate 1st Sunday

6.30 pm 3rd Sunday

St John's, Bridgetown 9.30 am ..

Eucharist

Sung Eucharist

Compline

Sung Evensong

Family Communion

TIMES OF WEEKDAY SERVICES—St Mary's, Totnes

7.45 am Tues, Thurs Early morning prayers 8.30 am Fri, Sat .. Morning Prayer 10.30 am 2nd & 4th Wed .. Eucharist

Major Saints' Days

9.00 am at St Mary's Eucharist

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Submissions for the next Newsletter by 20th of the previous month please.

Churchwardens

Martin Harvey

01803

868336

martin985harvey@btinternet.com

Julian Hall 01803

867537

jachall027@gmail.com

Deputy Churchwarden

Vacant

St Mary's Totnes

Verger

Vacant

Jan Dietz, Director of Music 01803

77051

5

jandietz@hotmail.co.uk

Jane Mountford, St Mary's bookings 01803

862499

jane.mountford@googlemail.com

Jenny Griffin, Church Hall bookings 01803

865685

St John's, Bridgetown

The Reverend John Luscombe

Contact details on previous page

Liz Chandler, Director of Music 01803

669199

St John’s bookings

K Courtice, Team Administrator

01803

865615

totnesteamadmin@googlemail.com

Misc.

Julian Hall Weekly envelope

and Gift Aid recorder

01803

867537 jachall027@gmail.com

Rev’d Cliff Berdinner (Retired) 01803

840730

cliffberdinner@gmail.com

Jane Mountford, weekly newsletter 01803

862499 jane.mountford@googlemail.com

Julian Hall, monthly magazine 01803

867537 jachall027@gmail.com

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