St James The Great
Old Milverton, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Dear Friends
We were delighted to see so many of you at our Easter services and hope that you enjoyed the experience of journeying with us through the emotions of the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Day.
We have a churchyard-focussed Update this time: we are one of 10 churches in Coventry diocese that have been chosen to work with the Diocesan bio-diversity team over the next twelve months. Their team are gathering ideas, organising wildlife surveys, and running community events across the diocese and they will then create a plan to maintain and enhance each churchyard for nature, balancing the needs of local users, site heritage and wildlife to create a bespoke approach for each site. Here at St James, there will be an exciting range of activities over the coming months, starting with the Moth Breakfast on Saturday 9th May – please note that you are asked to book for this (look at the poster in the Update for how to do that). We really hope you will want to come and join in with some of these, so do read Geoff’s item in the Update to find out what’s coming up and talk to him if you want to know more or would like to get involved.
As we move into May, it’s time to add this year’s Prayer Stations to the churchyard – do go and try them out. This month sees the start of our summer series of Evening Prayer, which continues on the first Sunday of each month through to September. There’s something special about the beautiful shape and language of Evensong: if you haven’t been to this before, come and give it a try.
Enjoy the longer days and lighter evenings of the coming month,
With love,
Sue x
Thought for the month: Talking to God
How big a part does prayer play in your life? It’s not a question I find particularly easy to answer because - I suspect, like most of us - my answer to that question is ‘not big enough’.
The gospels tell us that Jesus would go away on his own to pray and that principle of finding a quiet time to set aside every day for prayer is one we probably all aspire to. But ‘life’ can so often get in the way: there’s always something else to do or someone else to talk to and we can convince ourselves that we’ll just do the other things first and then there’ll be time to talk to God. And, of course, that ‘plenty of time’ never quite happens. Even when I am disciplined enough to stop and give time to God, it can be difficult to focus, knowing there are lots of other things waiting to be dealt with and it’s hard not to feel a sense of failure sometimes.
But I have also come to the conclusion that it doesn’t necessarily matter if I don’t follow a set formula; in fact, there are times when I feel closer to God if I simply include him in my thoughts throughout the day and have an ongoing conversation with him rather than a fixed routine. That might mean a few brief words as I sit in the car waiting for the traffic lights to change, or a five-minute coffee break away from my desk just sitting and looking out of the window and sharing what I’ve been doing with God. For a longer conversation, going for a walk often helps.
Not sure what to say when you pray? Treat it like a conversation with a friend and just say it like it is – you don’t need fancy words or set phrases to talk to God. He’s there, just waiting for us to make contact and like any true friend, he knows all our concerns and wants to be part of our lives.
Once again this year, our Prayer Stations will be around the churchyard throughout the whole of May. This year there are four activities to invite us into prayer:
• A ribbon to tie onto a bench;
• A thank you for someone we have loved and lost;
• A chance to pray for folk that are precious to us
• A prayer to hang on the tree just beyond the church porch to share something personal with God.
These are not just there for visitors to St James – they are intended for each one of us to use as starting points for a conversation and I encourage you to engage with them. They won’t demand much of your time but each moment we stop and share something with God helps us to be more consciously present to him in the rest of our day and, as a result, the more easily that sense of an ongoing conversation will flow.
With love, Sue x
Foodbank Donations At the moment, the foodbank is short of pasta sauce, squash (small bottles), tinned potatoes and tinned rice pudding but any donations are always welcome.
Clergy
Revd. William Smith 316475 wms.smith@btinternet.com
Revd. Sue Fairhurst 735254 suefairhurst0@gmail.com
Reader
Geoff Wiggin 07585 336471 geogeoff@live.co.uk
Safeguarding Officer
Penny Hawkins 07833 978522
Churchwardens
Michael Rayner 831522
Jane Marshall 831680
Website & email
www.stjamesoldmilverton.co.uk churchwardenstjames@outlook.com
Our Holy Week services follow the same pattern as in past years:
On the evening of Maundy Thursday we have a very quiet and reflective time together with readings and music. This begins at 7.30pm and lasts about an hour.
The Good Friday Service at 10.30am is our usual mix of bible readings, reflections and hymns followed by coffee and hot cross buns down in the Parish Room.
Come and join in with one or both of these as we journey together from the cross to the joy of Easter Day itself.
Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and death
to make all things new in him:
grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
may reign with him in glory;
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be praise and honour, glory and might,
now and in all eternity.
Collect for Easter Sunday
Parish News
Ali Foster © 2013