MARCH

 

Sunday 7th 3rd Sunday of Lent	08:00 09:30 11:15	Eucharist BCP Parish Eucharist Saxtead Parish Eucharist
Sunday 14th 4th Sunday of Lent	08:00 09:30 11:15	Eucharist BCP Parish Eucharist Saxtead Family Service
Sunday 21st 5th Sunday of Lent	08:00 09:30 18:00	Eucharist BCP Parish Eucharist Meditation for Passiontide
Sunday 28th Palm Sunday	08:00 09:30 11:15	Eucharist BCP Parish Eucharist Saxtead Morning Prayer

In addition to Sunday services there is Holy Communion
at St Michael's on Wednesdays at 07:00 and 10:30
 

On Sundays crèche facilities are available. If needed please ask. 

Sunday Services at St Clare's   09:00 Mass & Children's Liturgy

United Free Church 11:00 Morning Service

 

Clergy Letter

Dear Friends

Did Jesus have a diary?
OK, this does sound a daft question, but unfortunately those of us who have busy schedules do not have a choice.
I have four diaries to look after, (and a very nearly missed funeral!) One for St. Michael's Church, one for St. Michaels Rooms, one for Saxtead Church, and a personal one.
Well, I'm sure you will be pleased to know (or perhaps not!) we have arrived in the 21st century. We have a new system to try to overcome problems of the past. All folk with access to a computer (if not at home, then at work or in the library) can access the World Wide Web. With our three new web addresses typed into the address bar you can go straight to the calendar for St. Michael's Church, St. Michael's Rooms or All Saints Saxtead and see all events currently booked up. The calendar can be viewed by the week, by the month and by the year. It can also be printed out - but will be subject to change of course.

Certain people have been assigned to edit the respective diary? Copies (weekly/monthly) will be printed off and posted in our church porches.

To make a booking, first check on line to see the latest situation regarding dates and then phone the appropriate person to discuss your requirements. As previously, consultation between parties MAY be necessary and an event not booked out instantly, but hopefully it will be much quicker than the old way.

The people to contact in the first instance are:
St. Michael's Rooms    David Drummond 01728 621189
St. Michael's Church    Margaret Owen 01223 911815

Interested in seeing what it looks like on line? Check out these addresses:

St. Michael's Church    http://stmichaelschurch.notlong.com
St Michael's Rooms     http://stmichaelsrooms.notlong.com

Let's give it a whirl, and see what happens.

Graham

Parish Registers

Holy Baptism
Sarah Chaplin (24th January)
Nicola Quinton (24th January)
Alice Rose Chaplin (24th January)
Richard William Smith (24th January)
Seth Jack Plant (14th February)

Saxtead News
Plenty to report this month, how good to see that Saxtead activities are attracting a wide range of interests and ages.

FOASS January Quiz, Old Mill House:  The quiz night was a great success and very well attended. Thank you to Nick and Ruth for being the hosts for this event, also to the excellent quiz-masters Simon and Vivienne, for the array of interesting questions. Thank you also, to those who donated extra raffle prizes.

Beetle Drive, March 19th Old Mill House Promises to be an evening of fierce competition and fun! Tickets £4.00 pp will include refreshments. 7.00 pm. for 7.30 pm start. To avoid disappointment please book early by ringing Nick or Ruth on 685064. The Beetle drive will be followed by the One Hundred Club draw for this month and a chance to renew your numbers for the next financial year.

Old Ruston Vicarage Garden Talk, Framlingham College, April 6th
We are so lucky to have secured the services of Alan Gray, joint creator and owner of this truly inspirational Norfolk garden to come and speak to us about Old Ruston. Come and see how Norfolk meets the tropics and the Mediterranean, and also hear about his more traditional plantings.

A fully illustrated lecture, to be held in Headmaster Porter Theatre, Framlingham College, on Tuesday 6th April at 7.30 p.m. Pre-talk refreshments will be served from 7.00 pm. and will be included in the price.  Tickets, £8, can be obtained by sending a cheque payable to FOASS (Friends of All Saints) together with an s.a.e. to FOASS, ‘Binnowes Lodge’, Saxtead, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 9QE. A real Easter treat!

Grass-cutting Rota, a Plea from Ivan Dickings, Churchwarden:
Ivan explains: “We have lost one or two people who were on the grass-cutting rota for the churchyard. If you could help during the summer with the cutting of the grass, it would be greatly appreciated. I will be arranging the rota very shortly. If you can help, please ring me on 01728 628401

Ladies Coffee morning, Old Mill House, Wednesday 10th March:
Come and join the ‘regulars’ at the coffee-morning, which will be on the second Wednesday of every month at 10.30 am.. Everyone is welcome!

Adam Wolley's Amazing Fundraising Trek:
Go on line to www.wheresadam.net and follow Adam's progress on his way through Africa on his fund raising trip for the Malaria Consortium. Funny, touching and absorbing. Full of Adam's indefatigable sense of humour and his resolve to reach his Cape Town destination undeterred by obstacles!

Sue Ward (Deborah Sharman returns next month)

 

Round Up
FOSM Lunches: Wednesday 17th March 2010 (to book contact Jennifer Nottidge (723255)

Illustration: The illustration drawn by Bill Flemming on the front cover of the February Magazine was Station Road.
 
FOSM Quiz Night: Saturday 6th March at 7.30 pm. £7.00 per person. Reserve your table for your team of 6, contact Robin Self, 27 Coucy Close. Telephone 621577

Phoenix Singers Coffee Morning to be held on Saturday 13th March at the United Free Church,
Riverside, Framlingham 9.00 am to 12 noon. to include Stalls, Raffle and a Tombola

Advance Notice
FOSM:  Fram’s Favourite Poem:  Sue and Alf:  Saturday 24th April at 6.00 pm £10 per person. (to include refreshments) in St Michael’s Church, Framlingham. If you have s favourite poem that you would like to hear, contact Robin Self, 27 Coucy Close. Telephone 621577

Women’s World Day of Prayer

The service will be at the United Free Church at 2.15 pm. on Friday 5th March 2010 and the speaker will be Gill Lee the Pastor of Framlingham Baptist Church.

The Christian women of Cameroon have prepared the service. Cameroon has been described as ‘Africa in miniature’, because it consists of many diverse geographic regions resulting in a wide range of resources and produce. The country has its own concerns with malaria, poverty and malnutrition affecting more than one in five children.

Socially the place of women is still influenced by patriarchal tendencies but many women are involved in a variety of common initiative groups.

Despite all their concerns they have chosen as their theme ‘Let Everything That Has Breath Praise God’ and they have chosen some stirring music!
Everyone is very welcome
Deborah Schofield

Daffodils
The daffodil seems to symbolize Easter joy. The glorious bright colour is such a welcome sight after the dull days of winter.
The daffodil is said to have originated in the Mediterranean, and first came to England as a gift by the Romans, who believed that daffodil sap had healing properties, however, the concept was quickly found to be in error, as the tiny crystals emitted by a daffodil protects the flower from unwanted predators, but it did succeeded in making the Romans very itchy.

Throughout the centuries the daffodil became significant in many different countries and cultures. The flower with its early spring bloom became a symbol of Easter it is also the birthday flower of March. It is a tradition that the Prince of Wales is paid the sum of one annual daffodil as a considered rent payment for the unattended lands of the Isles of Scilly.

Although the Welsh  national emblem is the leek, the daffodil is also used as a symbolic flower for Wales. The Welsh word for leek is cenhinen, and daffodil is Cenhinen Pedr, known as Peter’s leek. As time passed the two  were often confused, so the daffodil along with the leek were adopted as the emblems. Another Welsh tradition is that the first daffodil brings good fortune but tread with caution, when walking around a bed of daffodils, if you step on or trample them, bad luck will find you

The daffodil was accepted by the Druids as their nation flower, symbolizing purity, the Arabians used the flower as an aphrodisiac and medieval Arabs used the juice of crushed stems as a cure for baldness!

If you give a daffodil to your sweetheart because it is a sign of love, hope, joy, through respect. The daffodil is the floral symbol of the Cancer Society, standing for love and hope  through the joy of its glorious  sunshine colour.

The Latin name for the daffodil, narcissus has roots in Greek mythology. The Greeks called the flower narkisso because of its overpowering narcotic-like scent and they associated it with Hades. The word narkisso also reminds of us of another Greek legend surrounding a god with a similar name. The god Narcissus was known for being so self-absorbed that he wasn’t interested in the love of the nymph Echo (who entered a cave and allowed herself to die because of her obsessive love). Later, Narcissus paused to gaze at his image in a stream. As he leaned closer to view it more clearly, he fell in and drowned. The gods placed flowers (narcissus) on the bank in remembrance of him.

A small selection of letters written by Hannah Whitall Smith a Quaker

The Still Small Voice
I cannt help feeling that to be without any real faith in God, and without knowing his love and care, is an irreparable loss of the soul, and to all the higher nature; and opens the door to miseries and unhappiness that could not possible enter into a heart that hides itself in the keeping of a loving God. Don’t shut thyself out too determinedly against what long years of experience have taught me is by far the purest joy our hearts can hold. At least, my darling Ray, keep an open mind , and listen to the still voice of God that I am sure speaks to thy inner self. To His loving care I commit thee, and, even though thee may not yet thyself know Him, He will always surround thee with his love.
 (A letter to her granddaughter, 1910)

The Loneliness of Every Heart
The loneliness thou speaks of I know. For not think, darling, that it is confined to unmarried people. It is just as real in lives that have plenty of human ties, husbands, and children and friends. It is the loneliness of this world life, the loneliness of heart that are made for union with God, but which have not yet fully realised it.
The loneliness is only different in kind but not in fact from the loneliness of every human heart apart from God. Thy circumstances are lonely, but thy loneliness of spirit does not come from these. It is the loneliness of humanity. Therefore nothing but God can satisfy it. No change of circumstances, no coming in of the dearest earthly ties even, not my continued presence even could really satisfy for any length of time the hungry depths of thy soul. I am speaking, darling, out of the depths of my own experience when I say this, and thee may believe me.
( letter to a friend 1882)

EASTER
Another feature of Easter is the Greeting card
Greeting cards started out as simple slips of papyrus that were exchanged by both the Egyptians and Chinese as messages of goodwill. As the concept of greeting cards evolved, Europeans began to send them to one another for holidays such as Valentine’s Day – and this occurred as early as the 1400’s. Of course, these cards were handmade and expensive so not everyone could afford to send greeting cards for their holiday well-wishes.

Greeting cards really hit the mainstream in the 1850’s, when commercial printing as well as the invention of the postage stamp started to allow people all over the world to send greeting cards to their loved ones. Now, greeting cards are a billion pound business, with people purchasing and sending cards for holidays including religious celebrations, birthdays, and even just as a simple thank you or gesture of love.

Computers and home printers have made it easy to create and print out your own cards at home. Many people have also taken up paper crafts, and have taken to hand making their own greeting cards out of many different materials, with embellishments ranging from ribbons to beads. Some even go as far as to make their own paper, which is a time consuming process but definitely shows your recipient just how much you care. Hand painting and rubber stamping with ink can complete your homemade

Greeting cards have evolved from an item used only by the rich to an everyday tradition. Whether you want to communicate with far-off relatives, or just let your loved one know how much you love them – greeting cards make a way to brighten up someone’s day!
 
Why is it called Lent?
Lent is an old English word meaning ‘lengthen’. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.
The colour purple
Purple is the symbolic colour used in some churches throughout Lent, for drapes and altar frontals.
Purple is used for two reasons: firstly because it is associated with mourning and so anticipates the pain and suffering of the crucifixion, and secondly because purple is the colour associated with royalty, and celebrates Christ’s resurrection and sovereignty.

East and West
Both the eastern and western churches observe Lent but they count the 40 days differently.
The western church excludes Sundays (which is celebrated as the day of Christ’s resurrection) whereas the Eastern Church includes them.

The churches also start Lent on different days.
Western churches start Lent on the 7th Wednesday before Easter Day (called Ash Wednesday).
Eastern churches start Lent on the Monday of the 7th week before Easter and end it on the Friday 9 days before Easter. Eastern churches call this period the ‘Great Lent’.
The last week of Lent is called Holy Week.

A Version of Psalm 23
The lord is my pace setter… I shall not rush
He makes me stop for quiet intervals
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity
He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind
And his guidance is peace
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day’
I will not fret. For his presence is here.
His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity
By anointing my mind with his oils of tranquillity
My cup of joyous energy overflows
Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for
I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord and dwell in his house for ever
From a collection by Mother Teresa 

Monthly Parish Magazine
Sometimes people are disappointed that notification of their event is not included in the monthly Parish Magazine. If you have any articles, change of date for an event or service, or any other comment will you please be sure to let me know before the 'copy day' of the magazine; this is the first Monday of the month previous to publication. The date of 'going to print' is the 18th of the month previous to publication.
Margaret Owen Editor 01223 911 815

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