The Benefice of St. Bartholomew

Talk - Colours from the Muck - Charlton, 26th February 2015

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Written by Rev'd Alice Goodall

Since retiring not that long ago from her position as chaplain at Guys Marsh Prison, Mary Ridgewell has discovered a new passion - dyeing and spinning wool that she has collected from hedgerows. Come and share her delight at the range of coloured yarns she has produced, and hear about the spiritual reflections it has sparked off for her.

Thursday 26th February 2015
2:00 – 3.30 pm

at

St John's Church, Charlton

All welcome – and of course, we will have tea and cakes!

Weekday Prayers During Lent 2015

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Written by Rev'd Alice Goodall

Why not join us for Prayers on weekdays during Lent from Friday 20th February 2015 until Friday 27th March 2015, as follows:

Monday: St Mary's Church, East Knoyle: 9.30 am to 10.00 am
Wednesday: St Mary's Church, Donhead St Mary: 9.30 am to 10.00 am
Friday: St Andrew's Church, Donhead St Andrew: 9.30 am to 10.00 am

Click here to see the full programme of services on the Benefice Calendar.

All welcome - please do come.

Note: please look out for information on the courses which will be held in the Benefice during Lent - details will be published shortly.

Lent Course - 2015

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Written by Rev'd Alice Goodall

Life is very busy. It hurtles from day to day and we do our best to keep up with it. But Lent provides a wonderful incentive to take a bit of time to pause and reflect. This year in the Benefice, we plan to centre much of our reflections around the book selected by Archbishop Justin Welby as his book for Lent - 'In God's Hands' by Desmond Tutu.

This book is an easy read, but as Archbishop Welby says in his Foreword, 'Beware this book, which may appear deceptively simple - until we allow it to draw us into the great struggle for justice'. Tutu encourages us to think seriously about what the Bible has to say about how we engage with the world. He gives us a glimpse of the framework that has enabled him to cope with turbulent times, a vision that he invites us to share 'a global vision for a divided and cruel world'. Why not join one of the study groups where we will think further about the chapters of Desmond Tutu's book ? We have plans for two groups - shown below:

Wednesday mornings

10.00 am to 11:30 am in Donhead St Mary on the following dates:

• 25th February
• 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th March

All sessions will be held at Glebe Cottage, Donhead St Mary

Thursday evenings

7:30 pm - 9.00 pm in East Knoyle on the following dates:

• 26th February: at 3 Mallets Close
• 5th March: at Jasmine House, Shaftesbury Road
• 12th March: at Church Cottage
• 19th March: at 3 Mallets Close
• 26th March: at Church Cottage

Sign up for a group / order your book on the form in church, or by telephoning Rev'd Alice (tel: 01747 828827).

Storytime - St John's Church, Charlton

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Written by Tony Gowers

Songs – Story - Activity – Play

Building on the success of the toddler section of tea@thechurch, Story†ime aims to offer pre-school children (and enjoyed by 5 to 7 year olds) a 15 to 20 minute opportunity to take part in a Christian song, story and craft activity in an informal setting. This will be followed by tea/coffee, cakes and chat for the adults, and refreshments and playtime for the children. If you would like us to provide a tea for your child, please ring Theresa on 01747 829188. Otherwise please feel free to bring whatever your child would eat at that time. We have a table-top two-ring cooker with small oven/grill which could be used.

Story†ime will be on the first Thursday of the month at 4.00pm in St John's Church, Charlton where we have plenty of toys, a small kitchen, WC and nappy-changing facilities.

Dates for the forthcoming Story†ime sessions for your diary:

Thursday 8th January 2015 at 4.00 pm - What did Jesus get for Christmas - bring your favourite Christmas present with you, and come and find out
(note - this session is on the second Thursday of January, not the first)

Thursday 5th February 2015 at 4.00 pm - Jonah and the Whale

Thursday 5th March 2015 at 4.00 pm - The Good Samaritan

Thursday 26th March 2015 at 4.00 pm - Why Easter Eggs?

There will be no Story†ime in April 2015 due to Easter and school holidays.

 We hope to see you there !

Contact Theresa - telephone 01747 829188 - for more details.

Women's World Day of Prayer - 6th March 2015

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Written by Rev'd June Lane

This year's Women's World Day of Prayer service in the Benefice will be held on

Friday 6th March 2015 at 2.30 pm
in St Mary's Church, East Knoyle

Every year, women from all around the world gather for prayer in a Service devised buy a different country each time. This year, the Christian women of The Bahamas have created a service on the theme:

Jesus Said, 'Do You Know What I Have Done For You?' (John 13: 1-17)

The global idea is to have prayer being offered for the whole of the 24 hours as the sun follows its path around the world. Let us be part of that wonderful circle.

Please do come and join us for about three quarters of an hour.

Click here to find out more about Women's World Day of Prayer.

Lent Lunches - 2015

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Written by Tony Gowers

A Lent Lunch will be held every Tuesday during Lent on the following dates:

• 24th February
• 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th March

Each lunch will be held in Semley Rectory, beginning at 12.30 pm.

All welcome - please do come and join us.

Donations towards the Farming Community Network.

Cueibet Visit, November 2014 – So How Was It ?

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Written by Rev'd Alice Goodall

I have just watched the short film produced by Elizabeth Hockney about our Deanery visit to Cueibet, South Sudan. On our return, I had been thrown into the news that Rev Steve was leaving and then into all the Christmas related activities, and thoughts of South Sudan had been pushed into the back of my mind. But watching Elizabeth's film, pieced together from videos and photographs taken on the visit, brought it flooding back to me.

It was a difficult but rewarding visit. Fighting in the northwest of the country and the lack of strong central government has led to a greater level of insecurity throughout the country. Largely this relates to fighting between clans over cattle, and it was unlikely that we would have been targeted. But it was difficult not to feel vulnerable as we heard of increased presentations at hospital of people with gunshot wounds, or as we saw the shell of a car whilst travelling down the road to Cueibet and heard that this was where five people had been killed earlier in the year.

However we met some inspirational people. Deborah the midwife who works with little equipment and no back up, even though she is not paid, because she wants to show God's love to other people. Abraham, a teacher who, in addition to teaching in a local primary school, travels around schools telling children about AIDS – currently a hidden time bomb likely to become much more evident in 5 – 10 years. Rebecca, working hard to raise her family of six children whilst also acting as a traditional birth attendant. Peter, working as a chaplain in the local prison, with some very scary young men. Dr Henry, a Dutch doctor working in the hospital in Cueibet, and Nicola, a German nurse co-ordinating a health care programme in Rumbek. People who give of themselves in order to help others.

And we heard about good things that are happening. Through the fruit trees project we have been supporting, 100 saplings have been given out to 30 families in the Diocese with training in how to look after them. Through a combination of money from the South Sudan Government and a charity, the hospital is developing well and plans to focus on obstetrics and childcare. The church has established a new school. A bore hole is being provided by another charity. And the prison rehabilitation garden was amazing.

So what contribution did we make? Well, we ran two small conferences: one for pastors about discipleship, and one for women leaders. And we took with us seven sewing machines; Dr Sherwood Elcock, one of the team, taught the basics of how to use them to six women from different parts of the Diocese. He also was responsible for finding the right spectacles for people needing them from the 70 odd pairs that you donated. The schools were very grateful for the pens, pencils, rubbers and pencil sharpeners. And those wonderful bras you gave – we gave them to leaders from the Mothers Union who planned to sell them in the market to raise money to buy material for the sewing machines.

But I think the most important thing we did was to encourage. We had discovered that in Kajo Keji, near the southern border with Uganda, there is no word for 'encourage'. I am not sure there is a word in Dinka for 'thank you'. Now I have noticed that it is when I am tired that I get most grumpy. And when I am tired and grumpy, I am more likely to focus inwards, fail to notice what others are doing, and forget to say 'thank you'. And I guess for those living in South Sudan, struggling with the heavy demands of basic survival, the worries of insecurity, the exhaustion of an inadequate diet and bad health, encouragement is probably not top of their agenda. And yet, of course, it can make a huge difference to all of us. I think, from their reactions, that our visit, our interest, as well as your gifts and your interest, did encourage the people that we met.

So thank you for the support you gave to the trip. Thank you for your donations of money which enabled me to be a part of it. Thank you for your gifts of glasses, bras, pencils, torches, sewing things, mosquito nets and so on and so on which were so much appreciated by those who received them. And please continue to pray for Cueibet and to support the Deanery's link.

Alice Goodall, Assistant Curate

You can see Elizabeth's film for yourselves and hear her talk about the visit on Saturday 14th March 2015 in St Andrew's Church, Donhead St Andrew. Tickets from £10 and £5 for those in full time education: from Elizabeth (tel:01747 828201), Jane (tel: 01747 828279) or Ludwell Village Store (http://www.ludwellstores.co.uk/). Click here for more details about this talk.