VILLAGE VOICE BRINKLEY..BURROUGH GREEN..CARLTON..WESTLEY WATERLESS FEBRUARY 2015 BRINKLEY MEMORIAL HALL QUIZ NIGHT ?? FRIDAY 13TH MARCH ?? Our ever popular quiz night will be held on Friday 13th March 2015 at the Brinkley Memorial Hall. Doors open at 7.00pm for a quiz start at 7.30pm Tickets available for a minimum donation of £9.00 and include a hearty cottage pie supper. A sold out event last year, so please get your bookings in early to ensure availability. Tickets available from Mike Lawford on 01638 507896 or at [email protected] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLEASE JOIN US FOR BINGO on FRIDAY 6th MARCH Burrough Green Reading Room 7.30pm for eyes down at 8pm. Bring along your own drinks and nibbles. Raffle Raising funds for Burrough Green Playgroup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TWILIGHT AT THE MUSEUMS Wednesday 18th February 2015 4.30 – 8.30pm Twilight at the Museums is almost here and we are getting ready for destination exploration! It’s time to make the most of those long winter nights as museums and collections across the city open their doors for after dark fun. With thirteen venues offering an exciting range of drop-in and bookable events throughout the evening, there will be loads for families to see and explore. Why not take part in some torch-lit space exploration at the Whipple Museum; discover a world of deep sea darkness at The Polar Museum; or create some ‘Creatures of Twilight’ at the Museum of Cambridge? The evening is all about fun and discovery and remember, the more places you visit, the more you will be able to see and do. Pick up a Twilight ‘What’s On’ guide and passport from participating venues to help you plan and record your journey. So wrap up warm, grab a torch and get ready for adventure! www.cam.ac.uk/museums/twilight ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCRABBLE and MAHJONG We meet in February on Mondays 9th & 23rd at 7.30pm in the Community Room at Sheriff’s Court, Burrough Green. Do come and join us in a game. £2 includes refreshments. Trish 01638 507495 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWS FROM THE ELLESMERE CENTRE The Centre is now in the process of renovating the ceiling and floor in the Small Hall and putting in new doors leading to the outside area which is being converted into a sensory garden. This will leave us with a wonderful venue for all your parties, weddings and family gatherings. The Table Tennis Club which meet on Tuesday evenings would welcome new members 8yrs +. Please call the office if you are interested. Dates for your diary:Quiz Night - 28th February. £12 per team. Teams of 6 max. Food available on request. 6T’S Dance - March 28th 7.30pm. Come and dance to this great sixties band – fancy dress optional. Tickets £7. Door money and raffle money to go to St Nicholas Hospice Pudding Club - 11th April There will be a fully licensed bar at all of the above. Tickets are available from the office, please call us for further information. The Ellesmere Centre : Stetchworth, CB8 9TS. www.ellesmerecentre.org.uk Tel 01638 508212. Email [email protected]. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BURROUGH GREEN CHURCH FETE Sunday 7th June 2015 Please make a note of the date in your Diaries, and help us make this a bumper year! Come to our first planning meeting at The Hall, home of Lucy and Peter Talbot on Tuesday 3rd February at 8pm Everyone is very welcome, we are always looking for new ideas for side shows, games, stalls and other attractions PLEASE COME AND JOIN IN WITH US TO DISCUSS THIS OVER A GLASS OF WINE. WE NEED YOUR VIEWS AND YOUR SUPPORT For more information please contact Lucy Talbot on 01638 507060 or Pauline King 01638 507796 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRINKLEY MEMORIAL HALL The work on the inside of the Memorial Hall is now complete. The new walls, colour scheme and lights have transformed the Hall and it looks fantastic. It’s back in use and ready for hire. It is ideal for as single use venue and we are also keen to attract more User Groups. We have weekly slots available, anyone interested please contact Susie on 508729. The next project we have is to repair some of the cracks on the outside of the walls. We will be completing this in the spring. We are inviting quotes for this work, can interested parties please call Jim on 01638 507941. ~~~~~~~ BRINKLEY MEMORIAL HALL If you wish to hire the hall, please contact Susie Shuter on 01638 508729 The charges to hire the Memorial Hall are £8.00 per hour for VV cluster and £11.00/ hour for outside. We cater for one off parties and Groups looking for a venue. The Hall can cater for 80 people. ~~~~~~ BRINKLEY MEMORIAL HALL AGM 27 APRIL 2015 The Trustees invite you to join the Annual General Meeting of the Brinkley Memorial Hall at 8.00pm on Monday 27th April 2015. Do come along and contribute your ideas - we look forward to seeing you then. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CATHOLIC SERVICES NEWMARKET & KIRTLING. Mass Times Saturday 6.30pm Newmarket Sunday 9.00am Kirtling 10.30am Newmarket Holy Days 9.00am Newmarket 12noon Kirtling 7.30pm Newmarket Our Lady with St. Etheldreda, Exeter Road, Newmarket Our Lady & St Philip Neri, Kirtling Main Address: 14 Exeter Road, Newmarket, CB8 8LT. Telephone: 01638 662492 Email: [email protected] Brinkley contact, John Conti 01638 508304 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MOBILE LIBRARY The Mobile Library will be at Brinkley Memorial Hall on the 4th Wednesday of each month between 3.154.30pm – 25th February. Westley Waterless by the telephone kiosk on 2nd Thursday of each month – 12th February 4.10-4.25pm The Westley Waterless library bus is a different one from the Brinkley bus so you can get a really good choice of books. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECYCLING Carlton – Tuesdays : Black bin – 10th, 24th Feb. Blue – 3rd, 17th Feb. Green 3rd February. Brinkley, Burrough Green, Westley Waterless – Thursdays : Black sacks weekly. Blue Lid - 12th, 26th Feb. Green Lid – 5th, 19th Feb. Ink Cartridges The Opportunity Group which meets at the Ellesmere Centre would be very grateful for your old ink cartridges to help with fund raising. Please drop them in the box on the gate at White Hart Cottage, High Street Brinkley or in the box at the Ellesmere Centre. Thank you. (The Opportunity Group provides one to one care for children with special needs and their siblings, also provides respite for their parents/guardians.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TREE PLANTING IN AND AROUND CARLTON On 1st January, Carlton villagers turned out in numbers to plant 120 native trees and shrubs - a gift from The Woodland Trust. Some saplings were donated by villagers and thanks go to everyone willing to help preserve Carlton and Willingham Green’s rural, wooded landscape. If anybody has small self-seeded trees and shrubs that need a home, we will gladly take them. About the same time, volunteers were out planting in Lower Wood, (between Carlton and Weston Colville) replacing felled ash suffering from ash die-back. If you don’t know Lower Wood you must visit it at bluebell time. It’s on our door step with free access. Owned and managed by Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust it is, as they say “a fragment of typical ancient woodland with flourishing populations of woodland flora including bluebells, oxlips and early-purple orchids in the spring. In the summer purple drooping flowers of water avens and delicate blue speedwells line the woodland paths. Autumn or winter walks through the wood reveal different types of fungi including velvet shank with its yellow cap and velvety brown stem”. (Get to it from the bridle-way between Willingham Green and Weston Green, or from the footpath from Mill Hill, Weston Colville). Do more than visit! Enjoy an hour or two helping on Saturday 31st January, Saturday 28th February or Saturday 28th March. A working party led by Duncan McKay will welcome you any time between 10.00 a.m. and early afternoon. No tools or woodland skills necessary - just enthusiasm to help with essential clearing and burning. Visit the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust website for more information. (Caroline Revitt 01638 507334) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHANNON, EXPERIENCED LOCAL BABYSITTER 17 years old, 4th year of studying Health & Social Care and in the process of applying to study Child Nursing. A local, very experienced babysitter, who has looked after children from a variety of ages. I have my own car and my hourly rate is £7 per hour and £10 after midnight. My mobile number is 07810 148366 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BURROUGH GREEN READING ROOM. We are licensed to cater for 100 people and are available on various days of the week. The charges are £8.00 per hour for village and £10.00 for outside. To hire the Reading Room, Please contact Marilyn Field 01638 508177 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR SALE Leather Sofa – 3 seats Red Oxblood : Length 2.3mtrs Used and in good condition £125 To view please call Karina on 01223 291455 (Carlton) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ST PETER’S CARLTON CHRISTMAS FOODBANK COLLECTION Twenty nine bags containing 248 items of food were donated by Carlton residents and other locals to the Reach Foodbank. Thank you so much to all those who gave so generously. Jackie Simmons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONNECT – Newsletter from the Cambridgeshire Police & Crime Commissioner Editors note : This newsletter is 5 pages of information and is therefore too big to include in Village Voice. The newsletter can be downloaded on the following link http://goo.gl/oXmQjJ Welcome to my first newsletter called ‘Connect’. I will be using Connect to keep you informed on the activities I am undertaking to help make Cambridgeshire a safer place. Some of the activities highlighted in this first issue include our newly launched Victims’ Hub and young people volunteering in the Police Cadets. I hope you find Connect useful and informative in profiling the wide range of positive activities I am supporting across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Regards Sir Graham Bright Cambridgeshire Police & Crime Commissioner Telephone: 0300 333 3456 Fax: 01954 713066 Email: [email protected] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BURROUGH GREEN PLAYGROUP A huge thank you to all who came and supported our Christmas Lights event - we raised over £1100 for Playgroup. Ofsted Outstanding Pre-school & child care for children from 30 months to 4 years old. Registered Charity Number: 1031074 Set in a beautifully restored 17th century schoolhouse on the grounds of Burrough Green School. We are well established being in our 46th year. Well equipped with plenty of room and a large outdoor play area with garden. We offer lunch clubs and some full days. Now taking places for September 2015. For more information, please see our website or contact us to arrange a visit. We would be delighted to see you! [email protected] 01638 506003 www.burroughgreenplaygroup.weebly.com Burrough Green, Nr Newmarket, CB8 9NH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRINKLEY CHURCH – Thank You Brinkley PCC would like to say a very big Thank You to all those who regularly clean the church - by no means a small task –to those who ensure that there are the most wonderful flower arrangements during the year and to those that work hard to keep the churchyard tidy. Thank you to you all and to those that organise the rotas to make sure that it all gets done. It is much appreciated not just by the PCC but by those visiting the church for services, or historic reasons. Thank you. Brinkley PCC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR VALENTINE Heart-shaped Soap With Free Red Rose ! Being sold by Auction To raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust Please email your bid to [email protected] Closing date 9th February This Neroli & Lemongrass Soap measures 9 x 8 inches and was made by The Healing House in Suffolk www.thehealinghouse.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAMBRIDGESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL SUPPORTING BUSINESS & COMMUNITIES SERVICE End Of World War 2 Commemoration Small Grants This summer marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. In celebration of this important anniversary, Cambridgeshire County Council is pleased to announce a Small Grants Fund to encourage community activity. On 8th May 1945 more than a million people took to the streets to celebrate VE Day, the end of the war and peace at last in Europe. Huge crowds amassed in front of Buckingham Palace as King George VI and Winston Churchill greeted a nation full of joy and relief at the prospect of peace following six years of conflict and hardship. Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on 15 August (VJ Day), Japan formally surrendered on 2nd September signifying the end of World War II throughout the rest of the world. It is an opportunity for communities and Cambridgeshire residents to come together to remember the wartime effort, celebrate peace, reminisce about the ‘unforgettable forties’ era and capture some of the celebratory mood of the time. Whether it be a community tea dance, the researching and sharing of stories of the time, a lindy hop event, raising morale through music or sport, a ‘make do and mend’ community craft project, creating a ‘Dig For Victory’ garden or giving your fete or festival a forties theme, we would like you to design and deliver activities within your community that motivate and encourage people to get involved. Small grants will be awarded to local groups and organisations to support community activities linked to and inspired by the 70th anniversary, wartime Britain and the 1940’s era. Each grant will be up to a maximum of £500 and additional funding or support in kind will be expected. The grants will be awarded in two rounds. The deadlines for applications for each round are 9th February and 9th March. To request an application form and for details on how to apply for a Small Grant, please email [email protected] or call 01954 284615. ~~~~~~~~~~~ HELP PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR NEIGHBOURS AGAINST TELEPHONE SCAMS. We have seen an increase in reporting of Telephone Scams this last month and in particular the type of calls where the caller impersonates either a Police officer, or a Fraud Officer or a bank employee, then either try to get bank account details off the resident, or suggest they will send someone round to collect their bank cards and any valuable items to ‘keep them safe’. Please be wary of telephone calls warning you of fraudulent activity on your bank account. Genuine banks, businesses or organisations will never telephone you and ask you to give out personal or financial details. This fraudulent caller may ask you to hang up and call your bank or police to prove they are genuine, but they don’t hang up, tricking you into thinking you are through to the genuine officer. To protect yourself, make sure you hear a dialling tone before you make your next call or phone a friend to check your call goes through before calling the number on the back of your bank card. Ask your telecoms provider to set up caller ID on your telephone so that you know who is calling your number before you decide to answer it. Register with the free Telephone Preference Service to reduce the number of unsolicited sales and marketing calls. You can register on 0845 070 0707 or online. Be cautious and if in doubt, hang up. To report a scam contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06 and Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HORSE RIDING My daughter (16) and I are wanting to ride locally. Do you have a horse(s) which need more exercise than you can give it? We are of medium standard and responsible. Please reply to: 07432 591114 if this is possible, thank you very much. Joanna FEBRUARY BULLETIN FROM CAMBRIDGESHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE THINK the fire service is all about putting out fires and rescuing people from road crashes? Think again. At Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the men and women on our frontline deliver important fire safety advice to dozens of different communities. From visiting schools to care homes, mother and toddler groups to community fetes, our firefighters play an integral role in keeping YOUR community safe. And we’d like you to think about joining us. The role of a firefighter is varied and exciting but most importantly, it can make a real difference to people’s lives. It is a profession that provides development from the start, with opportunities to grow into management or specialist roles for those who want to. The next recruitment process for whole time firefighters opens this month (February 2015). To find out more, log on to www.cambsfire.gov.uk. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DERBYSHIRE POST – News from Linton Village College Those of you who have visited the College or driven past in the last few weeks may well be wondering why it is that we have wrapped up the 1930’s listed building like a parcel. Well it is long story, but I will try to give you a brief account. For years the windows in the listed building have been a headache. In 1937 they were beautiful: made by Crittall with the most up to date technology, they looked shiny, operated with precision and folded out in a French window-style to allow the children of rural Linton to sit outside, close to their classrooms, on sunny days. For the first 30 years of their life they performed like this but in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s they began to rust, hinges broke, fasteners dropped off and they fell into disrepair. Attempts were made to paint them and this resulted in windows that were fused with rust and gloss. Eventually most became unusable. Unfortunately by this time the building and the windows had gained ‘Listed’ status and using standard education funding it was not possible to replace them. Last year, however, the Academy gained a large grant to enable us to replace the windows with Crittall units that looked virtually identical to the existing ones. Twice, however, South Cambs refused to approve the replacements. It was infuriating: we finally had the money to fix a 50 year old problem and we were not being allowed to put the solution in place! What we have been allowed to do however, is strip them right down, repair the originals and then repaint them. This is a timely and costly business. The money we have been awarded has to be used by April, so the work needs to happen now in the coldest part of the year. To enable this to happen a plastic tent is covering the building to keep the windows free from wet and frost while the work takes place. All of this sounds idiotic doesn’t it …. but it is as it is. By April we will, at least, have windows that work and also look back to their shiny best. Caroline Derbyshire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWS FROM HEALTHWATCH CAMBRIDGESHIRE Our job is to make sure you have a say when important decisions are made about local health and care services. We are interested in any recent experiences you have of a local health or care services that you are happy to share with us. The big health story in the news this New Year is about pressures on our local hospitals. We know that these are linked to other issues like getting to see a GP when you need to and getting care in place when you are coming home from hospital. We have two new projects that will look at some of these issues from a different view point. In our “First Steps to Health” project we want to find out about the first thing you would do to solve different health issues. Would you work it out yourself, see a pharmacist, call NHS 111 or see your GP? We all solve things in different ways. Knowing what you do can help our local GP Practices and the people who make decisions about local health services plan better care. Please do take part in our survey either on our website or by contacting our office. We also need you to help us develop our local “Care Home” project. We want to use our statutory “Duty to Enter & View” local care homes. This means we have a legal right to visit places that provide public health or care services, to see what kind of care they are providing. We need to recruit volunteers to be “Authorised Representatives”. Your role will be to go into local care homes and talk to the people there about the care being provided. This might include talking to residents, their relatives, friends and care home staff. You will get lots of training and support. Do you have any recent experience of a local care home, or do you know someone who has? Please tell us about it. We will use what you tell us to plan which homes we will visit and what to look at. We are also talking to the County Council and the Care Quality Commission, to help us plan where we should visit. Get in touch to find out more or we can come and talk to your group about Healthwatch. Call us on 01480 420628 or visit www.healthwatchcambridgeshire.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ‘DROP-IN’ SESSIONS FOR CARERS AND ADULTS WITH A LONG-TERM SUPPORT NEED These popular drop-ins for anyone who is living with a long-term illness or disability or an age-related condition, or providing unpaid support to adult family members or friends are continuing in 2015. The early Spring dates and locations are: Ely Library on 19th February Ely Library on 19th March 10.00am to 12.00 noon Drop-in to any of the events for a cup of tea and a chat about the information, advice and support that may be available, to share your stories and experiences, talk in confidence to a member of the Carers Support Team or Physical Disability Services Team, or to book a carers assessment. For more information: Tel: Gemma Whitehouse on 01480 377616 / Leigh Hornsby on 01480 373220 Email: [email protected] Visit: www.cambridgeshire.net and search “Adult Support Drop-in” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ELLESMERE GARDEN CLUB The next Garden Club meeting is the AGM on Wednesday 11 February at 8pm, but this is not just a business meeting. We are delighted to welcome a guest speaker, Ray Richardson, who will talk to us about “Pharmacy in our Garden”. There might just also be the odd glass of wine…. Then in March we start our new gardening year with a talk on Wednesday 25 March “The National Garden Scheme” with George Stevenson. Don’t forget to bring your surplus plants and other items of interest to gardeners to put into our bringand-buy. Whether you bring anything or not you can take something away for a small donation (min £1 requested) which will go to charity. You can suggest a charity during the AGM – so make sure your ideas are heard. For further details about club activities contact Sandie on 01638 507542. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR FREE! Twin –Tub semi-automatic washing machine (Polar make). Wash capacity 7kg. Spin dry capacity 5.5kg. Has been used for only 6 months and is now excess to our requirements. Instruction manual available. Contact Pollard on 01638 507231 to arrange date and time for collection. BRINKLEY EVENTS 2015 Time for a change in Brinkley This year it has been proposed that, instead of the annual Brinkley village fete, we should ring the changes and have two different fund raising events. SPRING FAIR The first event, on Saturday May 16th will be a Spring Fair to raise funds for Brinkley Church. This will be along similar lines as the Winter Fair providing a lovely lunch and delicious puddings, also Bric-a-Brac, Tombola, Cakes, Raffle and Plants. This is a great way to meet other Brinkley residents. Please put the date in your diary now and if you can help with a stall, or items for them, then please get in touch. Trish 01638 507495 The second event it is hoped will be Open Gardens with Cream Teas - date to be announced ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VILLAGE WEBSITES www.burroughgreen.com http://www.parish-council.com/Brinkley/ Do have a look at the websites which contain lots of information about the villages and the school and also have links to archive material. The Village Voice newsletter is available on both sites for the current month and several previous issues. New to Burrough Green? Burrough Green website now has a Welcome Pack for new residents. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT’S ON AT THE BULL Burrough Green SATURDAY 7th FEB at 9.00pm QUIZ NIGHT Hosted by our very own scouser Chris £1.00 per person - Max of 6 per team Call to reserve a table or just pop along on the evening . ~~~ SATURDAY 14th FEB VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL A choice of ribeye, rump or sirloin steak with all the trimmings and a bottle of house wine £30 per couple ~~~ FRIDAY 27th FEB LIVE MUSIC FROM THE ROCKING DADS from 9.00pm ~~~ As always we look forward to seeing you 01638 507480 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARTICLES FOR MARCH VILLAGE VOICE To [email protected] 01638 507 495 by 20th February 2015 please ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FEBRUARY SERVICES 1st February Presentation of Christ in the Temple Malachi 3: 1-5 Hebrews 2: 14-end Luke 2: 22-40 nd 2 8th February Sunday before Lent Proverbs 8:1,22-31 Colossians 1: 15-20 John 1: 1-14 15th February Sunday next before Lent (Day of prayer and preaching for Vellore) 2 Kings 2: 1-12 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9: 2-9 9.00 am Brinkley Rev’d Dr. Lynne Broughton Communion 10.30 am Burrough Green Dr. Gina Radford 9.00 am Stetchworth Rev’d Dr. Lynne Broughton Family Worship 10.30 am Dullingham Dr. Gina Radford Morning Prayer 6.00 pm Carlton Rev’d Canon Tim Alban Jones 9.00 am Burrough Green Rev’d Robert van de Weyer Evensong Communion Communion 10.30 am Brinkley Dr Gina Radford Morning Prayer 22nd February 10.30 am Dullingham Rev’d Peter Beech Communion Genesis 9: 8-17 1 Peter 3: 18-end Mark 1: 9-15 3.00 pm Stetchworth Dr. Gina Radford Evensong st 1 Sunday of Lent “Ordinary” people made extraordinary February – a month that supposedly is the “blues” month – not of the music variety, but of the psychological sort. We have had the fun and festivities of Christmas, the new year and new start of January – and then along comes February – still dark mornings and evenings, short days and wintery weather, and spring seems a long way away. It brings us down to earth with something of a bump – it is so very “ordinary”. February just “is”. In the Church’s calendar, as if to reflect this, we now enter something we call “Ordinary Time”. Yet there is nothing “ordinary” about “Ordinary Time”. Ordinary Time is not about common, regular, mundane, or run of the mill. Some people think its name comes from the word “ordinal” as in “ordinal numbers”. Remember your Maths: “Ordinal Numbers” tell the rank, they answer “what position?” Ordinal Numbers are first, second, third, fourth, etc. and so describe where we are in the order of Sundays as we go through the year. Others think it describes that part of the Christian year that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. Whatever the roots of its name, it is both an ordinary and extraordinary time. Ordinary, because there aren’t any major festivals – life just goes on in all its mix of mundane, surprise, run of the mill, and unexpected. Yet it is also extraordinary as we use the time to think and reflect on the mystery of Christ in all its aspects and in our everyday lives. This is the wonder of faith and the message of Jesus, - it’s about holding to this extraordinary and incredible wonder - that is, God made known to us in the person of Jesus, and our salvation won for us in His death and resurrection – holding this extraordinary wonder within the everyday living of our own ordinary lives. Of living the ordinary with this extraordinary and wonderful promise and hope. In Christ we are all “ordinary” people, made extraordinary by Him – what an incredible message of hope for this February! Gina Radford Licensed Lay Minister and Ordinand +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ During the Interregnum please contact your Churchwarden if you need the services of a minister. They will be able to advise you of the person to call. Burrough Green: Lucy Talbot Tel: 01638 507060, email: [email protected] Westley Waterless: Ms. Deborah O'Riordan, Tel: 01638 507741, email [email protected] and Mrs Liz Gibson, Tel: 01638 508600, [email protected] Brinkley: John Robertson Tel. 01638 507484 Carlton: Stephen Roberts 01223 290372 or [email protected]. Rural Dean: Rev'd Tim Alban Jones, tel: 01353 720423. email:[email protected]
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