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the magazine of st mary’s church rushden & st peter’s newton bromswold

grapevine 50p

april 2018

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Rector: Rev Canon Stephen Prior The Rectory, Rectory Road, Rushden, NN10 0HA email: sprior@toucansurf.com

01933 312554

Curate: Rev Natasha Brady 49 Clover Drive, Rushden, NN10 0UE email: natasha_brady@btinternet.com

01933 311029

Readers: Mick Bantin, Ruth Compton, John Dixon, Don Merrifield, Tony Smith

Hall Bookings: Pam & Paul Bailey 7 Kenilworth Close, Rushden, NN10 0QH

01933 313195

St Mary’s Churchwardens:

Martin Cromwell, 8 Cheltenham Close, Rushden, NN10 0YN Gerald Bass, 45 Manor Rd, Rushden, NN10 9EX

01933 358355 01933 313589

St Mary’s Church Office Tues-Thurs: 10.00-12noon: Pam Bailey, Marion Bates, Sue Prior Webmaster: Sue Prior

01933 412235

email: stmaryschurchoffice@btinternet.com website: www.stmaryschurchrushden.org

Newton Bromswold Churchwardens Bob Lines, 25 Church Lane, Newton Bromswold, NN10 0SR: Rosemary Gepp, 166 Avenue Rd, Rushden, NN10 0SW

01933 315864 01933 355703

Newton Bromswold Website: www.newtonchurch.co.uk

grapevine subscriptions One year’s subscription (10 issues) £5

Postal subscription: £10 Large Print Editions are available in

church or may be pre-ordered.

Any changes to order or details of delivery to: The Church Office e-mail: stmaryschurchoffice@btinternet.com Phone: 01933 412235

All monies to Peter & Barbara Coxon

11 Oakpits Way Rushden NN10 0PP

e-mail: pguineapig11@aol.com

Who’s who

Find us on Facebook: stmaryschurchrushden

Follow us on Twitter @stmarysrushden

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contents

Who’s Who 2

Steve writes . . 4

Prayer Corner 5

Live & Give Responsibly 5

Editorial 6

St Mary’s News 8

From the Registers 9

St Mary’s Flower Rota 9

Friends of St Mary’s 10

News from Newton 11

Briefings 12/17/20/24/26

From Bishop Donald 13

Diocesan News 14

Book Reviews 16

Meet the Congregation 18

Mission Matters 20

Looking Back

to Old Grapevines 22

Crossword 345 25

Belfry Gossip 28

Diary 29

Services for April 31

The Back Page 32

Items for the

May grapevine should be sent by

Sunday 15 April to Jude Curtis either by email:

missjudecurtis@btinternet.com

or left in the letterbox outside the office

Please include your name and phone number with any submission

in case we need to contact you.

grapevine april 2018

Monthly event for dads, stepdads,

granddads or male carers and their

younger children [0-6 yrs] with the

added bonus of good coffee and a

breakfast bap!

Saturday 21 April 9.30am—12noon

St Mary’s Church Hall Adults £3: children free

Just turn up!

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The Rector writes . . . Do you remember those history lessons in school when you were asked to memorise historic dates? Sue gets rather annoyed with me because I can usually remember the dates of all those obscure events—battles and speeches and kings— but can’t remember to pick up milk on the way home. The dates that our teachers were drumming into us were usually key historic points, incidents which in some way determined the future course of events for people, nations and for world history.

The celebration of Easter reminds each Christian of the key event in human history, upon which we believe all human history hinges: the resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection, Jesus’ life of healing and teaching would probably have been forgotten within a generation of his death… the activity of a brilliant but failed rabbi. In raising Jesus from the dead, God not only set his seal of approval on what Jesus taught and did, but demonstrated his victory over humanity's final enemy: death.

Because of God’s victory over death, sin and meaninglessness through the resurrection of Jesus, we can have hope. Hope! Not just for my personal survival after my physical death (although certainly that) but hope for personal renewal and transformation in this life.

What’s more, the resurrection of Jesus gives hope, not just for myself, but for others: for families, for communities, for nations and for our battered but beautiful world.

In Dante’s Inferno, the motto over the gates of hell read, ‘Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.’ Accounts of survivors of prisoner-of war camps invariably record that however bad things were, they always believed they would one day walk free. Hope is necessary for life. Paul reminds us that it is hope, rooted in faith, that produces lives marked by love. And yet life, through crushing circumstances, the cruelty of others, and our own failings, can conspire to drain us of hope.

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In the resurrection of Jesus, God gives us firm grounds for a hope that cannot be destroyed by those ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’. It is not that life is no longer a struggle, indeed often a battle, but that it is a battle worth fighting, because God is here with us in the fiercest turmoil; his Spirit within us reminds us to look up to Jesus and have hope. Jesus’ resurrection is the first of many, the beginning of the renewal of his creation that God has begun to bring about and is calling us to be part of as we fulfil the purpose he has given us.

Easter is a call to roll up our sleeves and get busy: busy living for God, for others, for ourselves and for the world.

Steve Prior

Praise be to the God

and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ! In

his great mercy he has

given us new birth

into a living hope

through the

resurrection of Jesus

Christ from the dead.

1 Peter 1.3

Taking an interest In a follow up to the March Editorial and mention of the Church Investor’s Group it is encouraging to find the Church Commissioners are bringing their attention to bear on Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct over ‘the treatment of factory workers and governance failings’. They have a minority holding in the High Street retailer and made their ‘disapproval clear at the group’s AGM’. The intervention ‘falls in line with its responsible investment policy, which sees its engagement team work with firms on environmental, social and governance issues’ i newspaper, 19 February 2018

Prayer Corner

You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need: my future is in your hands

Psalm 16.5 Good News Translation

[with thanks to Chris MacKenzie]

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I’m not a very conventional ornithologist, ‘twitcher’ or birdwatcher. In fact I’m pretty much allergic to labels of all kinds. I’m a tad disdainful of the ‘train-spotting’ approach, characterised by the ‘gotcha’ moment as a red-footed, purple-backed night ibis floats down to join you, only to be ticked off in a note book. Neither am I impressed by the ‘Boys Toys’ side of the game with competitive arrays of glamorous telescopic cameras, tripods, lenses and, let’s not mention my personal bugbear: the sound of an old Leica shutter artificially induced into a modern camera to mimic the era of Armand and Michaela Denis. Being unlucky enough to be surrounded by such ‘cameras’ in a hide when someone spots a reed bunting or stonechat flickering through the water’s edge produces the kind of noise more usually seen on a Hollywood red carpet and has the unfortunate side effect of scaring away the precious target.

I realise, after learning the basics of garden bird-watching from my observant mother, that all this paraphernalia doesn’t square with the reasons I haunt Irthlingborough Lakes, Summer Leys or The Wig in Loch Ryan – or, way back, Rushden Hall Park – a genuinely wild and gloriously lawless place in the Fifties. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the company, advice, gentle comradeship and courteous behaviour of hide-users up and down the Nene Valley, in Galloway and in the studious calm of the Doñana National Park in Spain. However to even hint that an interest in birds is more about social anthropology than bird-spotting got me regularly accused of anthropomorphising the natural world. This, I discovered, only last week has a name: The Lloyd Morgan’s Canon. Don’t you just love that moment when you know there has to be a word for what you’re trying to describe! The LMC has dominated research, nature-writing and attitudes in the lay community since Victorian times. It is therefore immensely gratifying to discover a spate of recently published papers which demonstrate that animal, bird and insect populations operate through complex social systems, at least as intricate as homo sapiens. For me this is a light bulb moment as exciting and extraordinary as ‘discovering’ Trevelyan’s 1944 Social History some fifty five years ago and realising that, as I’d guessed, there was more to history than the line of succession of the Kings and Queens of England.

To make this even better much of the work, both observational and forensic, has centred on a particular bunch of birds the Corvas [Corvids] or ‘crow’ family which have long been my particular interest. Spending that childhood from 1953-1966 sleeping next door to the [then] massive rookeries of Rushden’s Hall Park, the

One World is Enough Editorial

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evening displays and roosting patterns were part of my bedtime ritual, as comforting as the distant whistles of the London trains passing throughout the night.

Now my hours of watching the same nuclear family of coots through a breeding season, and then over several years, feels totally vindicated, for it now seems that ‘bird brains’ have been wrongly labelled all these years. Corvids, in particular, along with some parrots, have brains more complex and sophisticated than the majority of mammals and even some primates. There are special compartments that appear to be linked to sophisticated tasks like tool-using and even tool-making: basically design skills. This is very exciting: particularly for an architect.

The sophistication varies wildly across species but behaviours can be just as complex and intricate as ours. Most birds share our basic interests in nurture, survival, play and problem-solving and innovation. Joe Shute’s book, A Shadow Above, about the recent dynamic rise of raven numbers in the UK, shares a report of the birds using a snowy hill to slide down: repeatedly returning to the top like human children for the fun of it. Just think back to Aesop’s tale of the crow working out how to get at the water in the bottle by dropping stones in to raise the level. That’s no longer myth or allegory but probably very ancient scientific observation!

And it doesn’t stop there. I’m just hooked on birds, but we share the world with other animals and with coral reefs, massive oceans, tropical forests and ice floes. And it’s all interconnected in ways we are only just latching onto. If crabs [as I discovered in a recent BBC nature programme] indirectly support tigers in the mangrove swamps of South Asia’s Sundarbans on the Ganges Delta through a complex series of interactions with the local environment then how interconnected will it prove we are a bit further along in the process of mapping our interactions with the rest of nature? As we are having to rethink the idea of being ‘bird-brained’ we may have to get used to ‘seeing’ Thompson’s gazelles demonstrating as much brain-power as their predators to outwit the cheetah in attack mode [as documented in David Attenborough’s The Hunt].

Our understanding of nature and our relationship with it, and as part of it, has moved on a bit from Darwin and Russell Wallace’s early theory of ‘survival of the fittest’ in evolutionary strategy. Fittest doesn’t just mean strongest. Not all is what it seems. The weak can, indeed, become strong in the most unlikely circumstances. We’re all in this together. One world ought to be enough! And if we remember it’s a God-given world maybe it will be.

Jude Curtis

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The Children’s Society On Saturday 24 February a Quiz and Ploughman's Supper was held in the Church Hall. Sixty five people supported this event and spent the evening pitting their wits against each other. £394.57 was raised for The Children's Society which will benefit disadvantaged children and young people.

For Your Diary Saturday May 12 - Coffee Morning Wednesday May 30 - Afternoon tea with entertainment by Just Good Friends. More details in May Grapevine.

Don't forget if you haven't entered The Children's Society Spring Quiz, quiz sheets are still available for £1 from John Holloway 01933 318415 or Mary Hadley. Closing date for entries is 30 June 2018

Friends of St Mary’s A Concert by NMPAT (Northants Music & Performing Arts) featuring strings, percussion, woodwind and jazz will be held in church on Saturday April 21. Tickets now

available from Trustees (or 652222). Cost £8 members, £10 non members: includes glass of wine plus nibbles.

These young musicians are supremely talented and never fail to impress with their versatility and energy. Don't miss this wonderful evening !

Ladies’ Group The business side of the Ladies’ Group AGM proceeded sweetly at our meeting last month. It was reported by the Treasurer that an accumulation of funds is going to be distributed between four local charities. Cynthia concluded by thanking us all (and the committee in particular) for our support and encouragement throughout her first year as our leader.

Lynda Needle was welcomed to speak to us, and the next half hour or so was filled with laughter and happy memories . Do you remember “’Air Ada”? The two ladies gossiping together in Rushden dialect? Lynda had composed her own narratives and performed them wonderfully. We were all reminiscing about topics that registered with each of us. Thank you, Lynda, for a lovely afternoon.

On Wednesday April 11 we welcome Chris and Colin Rowe with a talk

St Mary’s News St Mary’s News

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entitles “Coast to Coast”. We can only speculate on what that might be about - so come along and see if your thoughts were right! WM

Prayer Space Of course we can pray in any place and at any time, but sometimes we find a special place is helpful. Of course any part of the church is special for prayer, but if you would prefer a cosy ‘corner’ with some helpful words and images, there is now a ‘Prayer Space’ set aside at the back of the Pemberton Chapel for you.

The sign there says, “please use this space to help you to pray in any way you wish”

Pray and write a prayer request in the book

Help yourself to the cards and bookmarks to pray

Write and weave a prayer into the prayer loom

Add a post-it prayer to the wall SEP

Second Hand Book Sale The popular used-book sale at St Mary’s Church, Knox Rd, Wellingborough will take place on Saturday 28 April from 10.00am.

April 2018 Behind the Communion Table

1 Easter Day - we shall be decorating the church from 9.30am on Saturday March 31 - all welcome to help!

8 Jean checking Easter flowers 15 Mrs Jose Tingey 22 Mrs Joan Walker in memory

of Rod 29 Mrs Ruby Willmer, arranged

by daughter Anne

Memorial Chapel 1 Easter 22 Mrs Julie West 29 Mrs Alma Walters in memory

of Valerie

If anyone wishes to give flowers in memory of loved ones please contact me, Brenda Dixon, 358982

St Mary’s Flower Rota

Funerals

Monday 5 March Patricia Dorothy Holt [72]

Friday 16 March

Sheila Turnham [61]

From the Registers

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Friends of St Mary’s

Presentation of St Mary’s Church Record In 2012 Friends of St Mary’s approached the local branch of NADFAS* to ask their Church Recorders to record our church. Over five years their volunteers have been visiting on a monthly basis to examine, document, measure, research the history and provenance of, and photograph EVERY aspect of the church interior and contents, including stonework, carvings, monuments, textiles, windows, paintings, manuscripts, memorials, woodwork and architectural features.

The result of this (literally!) monumental exercise is now bound into one or two volumes which will be presented to us during a brief ceremony within the 11.15am Service on Sunday April 15.

Civic and diocesan representatives are due to attend, including Peter Bone MP, the Mayor of Rushden, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County and the Archdeacon, and it is hoped as many of St Mary’s congregation as possible will join them. There will be a celebration cake to share at the close of the service.

The volumes will be displayed for anyone to peruse, time permitting, and will then become the permanent property of the church. Copies will also be lodged at the V & A, the Diocesan Records Office and Historic England Archives. On the overhead screen before and after the service photographs from the document will play on a rolling loop and a number of poster size photos will be on display.

All this has been undertaken at no cost to St Mary’s but will be an invaluable and precious resource linking past worshippers with those of today and on into the future.

*NADFAS [National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies], which recently underwent a rebranding exercise, so our local branch is now known as The Arts Society Northamptonshire

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Church Flowers - April 2018

1 April - Easter Sunday – Helen Lines 15 April - Anna Giles 29 April - Mrs Burt The Church will be open for decorating for Easter on Easter Saturday at 9.00am. There will be an Easter Egg hunt after Church on Easter Sunday.

Bunny Drive ... Will take place on Saturday 21 April at 6.00pm in the Village Hall, Newton Bromswold. Tickets: Adults £5, Children £2.50 and available from Rosemary Gepp: 01933 355703 and June Clarke: 01933 316464

Cheese and Wine Evening Friday 18 May at 7.00pm in the Village Hall, Newton Bromswold. Tickets are £10 and available from June Clarke: 01933 316464.

Barn Dance Friends of Newton Church will be holding a Barn Dance on Saturday 14 July at 7.00pm. Tickets £10 adults and £5 children. Tickets available from Rosemary Gepp: 01933 355703 and June Clarke: 01933 316464

Cowslip and Fritillary Weekend ...will be held on Saturday 14 April and Sunday 15 April, from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. There will be plants for sale and afternoon tea will be served. The Village Fete will be on Saturday 7 July, starting at 2.00pm. The Fete Meeting will be held at the home of Jenny Burt, 23 Church Lane, Newton Bromswold on Tuesday 10 April at 7.30pm. If you would like to help with the Fete in anyway, please come along to the meeting or contact Helen Lines on 01933 315864 or Helen.Lines@me.com.

Rushden & Newton Bromswold WI

Thursday 12 April Angela Stokes,

“Wills and lasting power of attorney”

Competition, a certificate

Thursday 10 May WI resolutions discussion with fish and chip supper

Competition, a holiday souvenir

All meetings @ 7.30pm at

Rushden Town Bowls Club, Northampton Road, Rushden, NN10 6AN

Visitors welcome £3.50 includes refreshments Contact 01933 317846

News from Newton

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You might like to know . . . The ENCS Annual General Meeting ... will be taking place in the church hall of St Peter the Apostle (Roman Catholic) Church, Rushden, from 7.30pm on Monday 30 April. All welcome.

Job Vacancy: ENCS – Support

Northamptonshire – Website Coordinator - Sanctuary Night Shelter: we are currently offering a 6-month contract looking for someone who can Implement a data system (provided by Ulysses), update our website and support our Night Shelter (daytime only) for 16 -20 hours per week and based in Rushden Night Shelter. Details from Helen Allan, Operations Manager, ENCS. Phone 07871 999020 or email helen.allan@encs.org.uk.

ENCS Lunch Almost thirty people attended the latest East Northants lunch, where Cllr Colin Wright, Chairman of East Northants District Council, spoke on the 'Beauty of the Nene Valley'. There were also short talks from Karen

Williams (East Northants Council tourism), Alison Cross (Nenescape project), Julie Thorneycroft (promoting Rushden, Higham Ferrers and Rushden Lakes), Ben Smith (community use of church buildings), Kate Dent (the Northamptonshire Surprise website), Su Davies (funding sources), Andrew Presland (heritage research projects) and James Miller (promoting historic churches). A note of the talks, with further information is at: http://enfg.org.uk/beauty-nene-valley-notes-leaders-lunch/

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Diocese of Peterborough – Magazine Resource – April 2018 Produced by the Diocesan Office, The Palace, Peterborough, PE1 1YB

01733 887000 www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk

Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Stand with Thomas as he meets the risen Christ, and fall to your knees with him, exclaiming "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). The resurrection isn't to be analysed or debated. It is to be experienced and received. It isn't to raise questions and doubts. It is to flood our souls with joy. Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

A pril. Easter. Resurrection.

"Flesh and bones and all."

New life, new hope, new beginnings.

"Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ... and he shall reign for ever and ever: King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah."

"Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son."

Easter is magnificent. It can only be rendered in the most glorious music. It can only be spoken of with awe. It can only be experienced as a very partial foretaste – and how powerful that can be. It demands a full 50-day festival in our calendars. It changes everything: history, the meaning and purpose of life, the future (to name just a few). Easter is the big one. Stand in awe. On this day, in this event, Jesus Christ is named as "our Lord" and "declared to be Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4 – try unpacking the astonishing sentence that is Romans 1:1–7 as an Easter spiritual exercise: it is utterly life-changing). Easter is about life-changing joy. Feel Mary Magdalene's elation as she witnesses to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:18), and re-read that astonishing story. Hear Peter’s experience: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord

Easter Changes Everything

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I t was a cold but unforgettable night for Joanna Ormston as she helped to raise a total of

£60,000 sleeping rough for chari-ty. Joanna – the manager of the Diocesan Mission and Ministry Centre at Bouverie Court, North-ampton – spent the night under the stars at Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium as part of the ‘2018 SleepOut’ – an event organ-ised by the Northampton Hope Centre to raise money for the work that they do with homeless people in the town. “The Hope Centre supports ap-proximately 120 people each day,” explained Joanna, “providing hot meals, showers and clean clothes for individuals who do not have those luxuries. They also work hard on providing a

range of education, training and development activities.” “At Bouverie Court, we have links with the Hope Centre as we use Hope Catering as one of our cater-ing providers for conferences and events. Hope Catering provides training to clients to enable them to start a career in catering to support their endeavours to escape home-lessness and become self-supporting. This connection with the Hope Centre is what prompted me to sign up for the event.” Taking inspiration for Matthew 25:40’s challenge of “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”, Joanna (along with her friend Louise Brown) joined up with another 100 participants at 7pm on 26th January at the Sixfields car park, ready for the long night

A chilly charity challenge

Joanna still trying to get to sleep at 5am

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ahead. “We both turned up with our card-board boxes, many layers and sleeping bags to set up our card-board home for the night,” said Jo-anna. “We spent some time getting to know our neighbours and hear-ing about the stories as to why other people had decided to spend their night in the car park.” And so a daunting 12 hours began – a night which not only offered freezing temperatures, but a real insight into the plight of homeless people in that situation. “It was a fantastic experience, though the realism of what we were doing set in at about 2am. The clouds had cleared and the temper-atures dropped. I could not feel my feet and could not sleep for shiver-ing,” said Joanna. “It started to dawn on us – what would this be like if we were actually homeless? If we did not have the 12 hour time limit on our time sleeping rough; if we did not have the comfort of knowing that we were going home

to a hot bath and a warm bed? What would it feel like with no hope or way out in sight?” “These thoughts really drove home the im-portance of every penny that was being donated; enabling the Hope Cen-tre to reach out to the vulnerable, the lonely, the afraid and helpless in our society.” Joanna’s contribution to the £60,000 total was a not-insignificant

£1,221.25, which helped the Hope Centre to stay open for 21 hours a day during the severe cold snap at the end of February / beginning of March. The effect of the event was not only financial, though. “The experience really chal-lenged me on how I am not thank-ful enough for all of the little things in life,” Joanna explained. “It has reaffirmed for me that everyone deserves an opportunity to have a caring and loving hand to help them piece their lives back togeth-er when they have fallen apart. We are no better than anyone else is, and it is the greatest privi-lege to serve one another in any way we can.” Joanna’s JustGiving page is still open for donations at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joanna-ormston. For more information on the Northampton Hope Centre, visit www.northamptonhopecentre.org.uk.

Joanna

(second fro

m le

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f her fe

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Book Reviews Travelling Solo: celebrating life’s new opportunities Jo Cundy - Monarch Books What do you do when life changes and you find yourself travelling solo? How do you adjust after many years of shared life with someone deeply loved? This was the challenge that Jo Cundy faced in 2009 after the unexpectedly early death of her husband Ian, Bishop of Peterborough.

In this book Jo paints a word-picture of two inter-twined journeys, as she recounts significant events that have shaped her life over the last nine years. Against the background of her extensive travels around the world - visiting a widespread network of family and friends - she recalls many “God moments” on spiritual journey: one in 2011 when she was praying in Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand during the earthquake.

The discovery and the using of God-given gifts is a significant theme of the book. New ministries of healing, listening and spiritual direction have emerged during Jo’s bereavement journey. Churches, she says, should be places where we nurture the gifts that members have so that they can reach out into communities to share

the good news of Jesus.

This book is full of anecdotal wisdom and spiritual good sense. As I read it I was reminded of a Diocesan pilgrimage journey in Israel with her and Bishop Ian. The voice I hear as I read Jo’s bereavement story resonates with the voice I heard as we journeyed together over a decade ago. In Israel one can sense a closeness to Jesus as you journey. Reading Jo’s book I sensed that Jesus is very close as she journeys on and as we, for a time, have the privilege of travelling with her.

This book can be highly recommended to anyone who is bereaved. It can also be an insightful resource for anyone who is single or for anyone involved in pastoral ministry. It will bless you.

Eats Shoots and Leaves: the zero tolerance approach to punctuation Lynne Truss - Profile Books If you really enjoyed last month’s

editorial on the subject of poor

journalism, then this book may well

amuse you. It can be reviewed in a

few words by reference to the four

words of its title. Depending on the

punctuation that is applied “eat

shoots and leaves” can refer to the

behaviour of a gunman at a

restaurant or the eating habits of a

panda. Tony Smith

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News from St Mary’s PCC 6 March 2018

Church Fete M Compton confirmed that the Garden Fete will be taking place on Saturday 9 June 2018 in the grounds of the church. This year will have a Seaside Theme. The proceeds of the fete will be split equally between St Mary’s Church Mission Fund and the ENCS Sanctuary.

A new group for upper junior and lower comprehensive aged children, based on an internet game called “Guardians of Ancora” put out by Scripture Union, was successfully begun after the 9.30am service on 25 February 2018.

As new lighting on the south side of the church had not been fit for purpose, M Cromwell had gone back to the contractors who have now fitted ordinary dusk

till dawn lights that seem to be working satisfactorily.

Saturday Takeaway - a proposed quarterly activity for families with junior school-aged children - is being launched under Helen Smedley’s direction with help from others. MC

You might like to know...

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Julia was born in Barbados on 9 September 1955 to George and Kathleen Emtage. George was a doctor, working in a Diagnostic Clinic, and Kath was a nurse. She had two step-brothers plus her brother Lawrence, all older than herself. George was delighted to have a little girl at last!

At that time they lived in Bridgetown, later moving to Bathsheba. Julia had a very happy childhood, playing on the beach with bucket and spade and on Saturdays they went to the Yacht Club. On one occasion, swimming in the sea, she slipped through her swim ring and disappeared. Fortunately her step-brother Spencer saw it happen and rescued her!

Julia attended Mrs Davis’s Primary School where there were only twenty pupils. She loved reading and was good at maths. Passing her 11+ she moved on to Senior School and remembers her Mum tying her hair in bunches with blue bows! Not keen on sports generally she did enjoy swimming [despite that early experience!] but hated netball and rounders. There she studied French, Latin and Spanish gaining an O level in them all.

The next move for Julia was to a boarding school in Switzerland, whilst the family moved back to England. It was not easy for her as she was homesick and always waiting eagerly for letters from her mother. She did enjoy the skiing and the wonderful scenery!

Leaving School she did a secretarial course in London and then got a job in Mayfair with an oil company, later coming back to Northamptonshire to be with the family. They lived in Raunds where her father was a local GP and Mum was nursing at Kettering. Whilst working locally in an office, Julia had driving lessons and eventually passed her test. George went with her to buy her first

Meet the Congregation - Julia Emtage

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car: a purple Talbot Samba with a rainbow stripe! This was one of the happiest times for Julia, who by then lived in her own flat in Northampton. She had a boyfriend named Marshall who taught at a local school and played the trombone. They went out together for three years, and still have occasional contact when he is playing in the area.

Julia has had various jobs but came back to live in Rushden after her mother's first stroke. Kath nursed George through his final illness and then following his death moved into a flat in Devon Walk and Julia to a bedsit next door; later moving into her present flat. It was not easy for Julia when her mother was finally moved to Rushden Park and following her death she missed her dreadfully, but St Mary’s has been very supportive through all her problems and Julia values the love and kindness she has received.

Julia has always felt at home at St Mary’s and helps with Sunday School, Holiday Club, Short and Sweet, Bumps ’n’ Babes and the gardening.

Roving Reporter

Person with the biggest influence?

My Mother

Hobbies? Swimming, walking,

cooking

Guest to Dinner? Sir Cliff Richard

What would you serve?

Roast beef and all the trimmings and Baked

Alaska

Favourite place? The Yacht Club,

Barbados

Special Treat? To go on the London Eye and then to the theatre

Proudest Moment? When I passed my

driving test

Favourite Bible Verse? “The fruit of the spirit

is love, joy, peace, faithfulness, gentleness

and self control. Gal. 5.22-23

Those questions

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Wycliffe Bible Translators We have, as a church, been supporting Brian and Val Hodgkin of Wycliffe Bible Translators [WBT] since 1985, when, as a young married couple with two children they swapped a ‘normal life’ for adventure in Papua New Guinea [PNG], some 11,000 miles away. They spent 22 years there, adding to their family - now grown to Tim, Becky, Debbie and Esther and all their families. The purpose of their time in PNG was to help people to read and write in their mother tongue, mainly concentrating on the Menya language.

Along the way they encountered many obstacles but because they were anchored to their Lord and Saviour Jesus, many problems were solved by prayer and other support. When it became clear that the provision of clean water was a priority for the many of the people they were supporting they let us - and the other churches who were linked with them - know. We held a Gift Day and raised the incredible amount of £5,000, which made such a massive difference to those peoples’ lives.

Of course, their main aim at Wycliffe was, and still is, to help around 20,000 people learn about God’s Good News in their own language, so anything that supported that was a blessing. Out in Papua New Guinea even a pencil was considered precious: paper too -

briefing

Old cooking oil to fuel fleet of Venetian water buses ‘Old cooking oil from Italian kitchens is about to be put to a surprising use when Venetian authorities use it to fuel the lagoon city’s public transport.

New environmentally friendly biofuel containing some of the recycled oil will soon be powering Venice’s famous water buses ... The councillor for economic development, Simone Venturini, described the change as ‘a moment of pride’ for Venice ... this follows a deal between energy company Eni, transport agency AVM, utility firm Veritas and local authorities.

Eni’s bio-refinery is the first of its kind in the world to convert organic fats and oils into usable biofuels.’* i newspaper 13 March 2018 *Those who have read Donna Leon’s [albeit fictional] account of the ecological disaster of the lagoon may choose to take this report with a pinch of salt. [Earthly Remains (London: Arrow, 2017)]

Mission Matters

21

Mission Matters something I’m afraid we take so much for granted.

Around 2007 their work ended in Papua New Guinea and they came home to Britain. Brian then had oversight of translation teams around the world, based at WBT headquarters in the UK, travelling a lot to meetings for discussion and tutoring with those ensuring God’s word reaches more people, although as he approaches retirement his work load should become less time intensive and involve less foreign travel. In this country we have the blessing of being able to freely lay our hands on a Bible. We also have available to us many alternative versions - from the King James to The Message. Imagine, then, living in a country where there are so many different languages that if you travel as far away as Wellingborough is from us in Rushden you would not be speaking the same language. WBT still have an enormous task ahead, but through the dedication of people like Brian and Val Hodgkin, the goal gets just a little nearer. Praise God. Please continue to pray for them as they work for the Lord. Jose Smith for the Mission Committee

Wycliffe Bible Translators began

life in 1952 as the ‘Wycliffe Language

Course’ in order to make the Bible

available in all languages. It has now

been translated into almost 700

and the New Testament alone into

1500. 1.5billion people are still

waiting - 1 in 5 of the world’s

population. In the UK and Ireland

362 workers are servicing 362

languages, spoken by 461 million

people in 56 countries. Wycliffe

partner local churches and

communities, assisting and

encouraging ‘mother-tongue’

speakers to become involved

themselves. There are three

branches of WBT: translation, use

and guidance and literacy.

22

Looking Back at St Mary’s Magazines

25 Years Ago

April 1993

Rushden Mission Band

“Rushden Mission Band

have now recorded a tape

professionally. The tape

has a wonderful

selection of music from

marches to modern pieces

such as the theme from

‘Aspects of Love’.

They are extremely proud

of one piece, specially

composed by band member

Colin Bugby, a rousing

march entitled

“Mission”. The band also

feature our own Rector,

Rev Alan Smith.

The cost of producing

the tapes has been

funded entirely by

Abbotts Funeral Service,

and the money raised

from the sale of these

tapes will go to

charity. They are

available, price £5,

from Abbotts office,

Bedford Road,

Rushden ... Or band

secretary Mrs Karen

Rice.”

Grapevine Magazine

50 years ago

April 1968

Men’s Fellowship

“On Monday March 11th a

well-attended gathering

welcomed Mr. George

Howell of the Evening

Telegraph whose

illustrated talk on

Ceylon amounted almost

to a documentary.

Starting at Tilbury it

covered most points of

interest on the journey,

and once at the island

we had a grand tour

which covered both the

country and its people.

A first class set of

slides included some

fine interiors and the

net result was a

splendid evening for

which Mr. G Roe ably

voiced the thanks of all

present. As there are no

further meetings until

the autumn, contact with

the members will be via

the notice board or this

magazine.”

Rushden Parish Magazine

April 1968

£5 o

ff w

ith

th

is a

dve

rt -

bu

t n

o n

ee

d !

23

P. G. SAVAGE PAPERHANGING

INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING

FREE Estimates & Advice Given Reliable Service

01933 316278 10, Wymington Rd, Rushden, Northants

PAINTERS & DECORATORS

WITH

OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Net Affair Home Furnishings

clothing alterations

12D, High St, RUSHDEN

01933 411000

Flowers for

37A HigSt 37a High St, Rushden

01933 315840

because style is always in bloom info@inbloombiz.co.uk

Flowers for all occasions and gifts, chocolates . . .

Lasting Powers of Attorney Accident or illness can strike at any time.

If you suffer a loss of capacity to make decisions, what safeguards to protect

your loved ones have you made? Can they manage your affairs if you are rendered incapable of doing so?

For confidential advice on Powers of Attorney Contact us today to arrange a FREE initial consultation.

Stephen Wilkins - 01933 426266

CARPETS FURNITURE

BEDS

2 HIGHAM RD, RUSHDEN 01933 410604

Vikki’s Hair & Beauty Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Hair, Nails, Waxing, Ear-piercing, Eyelashes Based at Fit4her Gym,

38 Little St, Rushden, NN10 0LS

07766 501547

24

Brian Howard Mobile: 07789 717176

Phone: 01933 743411 Email: brian@clearandcleanwindowcleaning.co.uk

www.clearandcleanwindowcleaning.co.uk

Carpet Cleaning

Window Cleaning

Gutter Cleaning

Conservatory Cleaning

Solar Panel Cleaning

Fascia Cleaning

2 Redbank Mews

Raunds

NN9 6GB

Midshires Covert As you may have noted before grapevine is rather fond of bluebells, so we are very happy to let you know that there will be another Bluebell Event at Andrew’s place: Midshires Covert, between Kelmarsh and Harrington, on Saturday April 28. from 2.00pm.

This will involve a circular walk – hopefully to see the bluebells in nearby Johnson’s Covert – starting at 3.00pm, followed by food cooked on the fire. If you are interested please contact Andrew Presland direct on 01933 316927: this always helps with catering.

briefing

25

Crossword No 345

Solution to Crossword No 344

ACROSS 1 Seer (7) 6 Companion of Paul (5) 9 Weathercock (4) 10 Bolster (anag.) (7) 11 Sudden fright (5) 12 Edict from the Pope (5,4) 15 Mineral spring (3) 16 Problematic (6) 17 Hallowed place (6) 19 Writing fluid (3) 20 Reconciliation (9) 23 Indian vegetable dish (5) 24 Biblical story (7) 26 Eucharist (4) 27 Biblical mountain probably Mount Sinai (5) 28 Part of church near the altar (4,3) DOWN 2 Spanish wine (5) 3 Turkish title (5) 4 First lady (3) 5 Paul’s birthplace (6) 6 Burial chamber (9) 7 Avalanche (9) 8 Religious ritual (9) 12 Founding father (9) 13 More tingly (9) 14 ‘Led ___ __ ___ to the slaughter’ (hymn) (4,1,4) 18 Body (6) 21 Intended (5) 22 Stocking material (5) 25 King of Judah (2 Chronicles 14:1) (3)

26

Barry Miller GENTLEMEN’S HAIR STYLIST

40-42, HIGH STREET SOUTH RUSHDEN

6 FULL TIME STYLISTS

Walk in or for appointments ring

01933 356483

PARKING

OPPOSITE

J B NOBLE OPTICIANS Est. 1963

Affordable Family Eye Care

Celebrating 50 years in our community

37 Church Street

Rushden

312551 www.nobleopticians.co.uk

£5 million

public liability

insurance

Rushden based

John Hadley tel: 07973 828897

email: jjhadley71@gmail.com

Hadley Woodland Management hedge trimming

pruning - tree removal

seasoned woodland logs

hedge & tree planting

small woodland

management

& conservation

Swim for Serve! 7 - 22 April 2018

at Splash Pool, Station Rd, Rushden

Could YOU sponsor us?

This is event is to raise money for Serve’s Wellbeing activities,

supporting the local community

If you would like more information please contact Jenny Standen at

cso@serve.org.uk www.justgiving.com

www.serve.org.uk

. . . and coming up later on

Sunday 3 June

Car Treasure Hunt culminating in a buffet and prizes

to publicise the Serve Volunteer Drivers Scheme

Contact Jenny Standen for more information as above

briefing

27

A & J COULSON Plumbing, Heating & Gas Engineers

Boiler Servicing

Bathrooms & Showers

T: 01933 355703

M: 07734 046 331 or 07927 163 039

E: coulson166@btinternet.com Established 1966

Hollis Brothers High class butchers

44 Duck St. Rushden

357763 Friendly, personal service

PETER TOMAS Comprehensive Glazing Service

Boarding Up & Property Secured

Property Maintenance

Garage Doors Installed

Tel: 359688

PETER DRAPER Photographic

* PASSPORT PHOTOS * BINOCULARS * TELESCOPES

65, High St, RUSHDEN 419909

P. W. HOUSE 54, High Street, Rushden

Rushden’s Family Jeweller For over 60 years

Tel: 418877

The Distinctive

Jeweller

R J Smith & Son

Shoe Repairs Engraving

Gifts Locksmiths

Watch Straps & Batteries

4 Hamblin Court Rushden NN10 0RU

Tel: 01933 358541

Barnes Tree Services All types of tree work undertaken

01933 356205

A . ABBOTT & SONS PERSONAL FUNERAL DIRECTORS

BEDFORD ROAD, RUSHDEN

‘Owned and operated by the Abbott family for four generations’

Tel: Rushden 312142 24 HOUR SERVICE TO ALL AREAS

Private Chapel of rest, Service Chapel, Catering suite,

Memorial display, Floral tributes Pre-paid plans available Est. 1885

www.abbottfunerals.co.uk info@abbottfunerals.co.uk

RUSHDEN SCHOOL OF MOTORING Tel: 312874 4 Hall Avenue, Rushden, NN10 9ET

Practical and theory tuition in manual and automatic cars

Probably Rushden’s oldest established driving school: 1957-2017

28

Belfry Gossip

In addition to our Sunday morning Service ringing we also rang a quarter peal for Evensong on Mothering Sunday, albeit with four visitors who made up the band; we still need new blood to boost our numbers by learning to ring the bells. This quarter was also Pam's 1,700th quarter peal - congratulations Pam. It is good to have John ringing with us again following his mishap but we have missed Vlad at the times when he has been looking after Lucia and the children.

We welcomed the Peterborough Guild of Bellringers to Rushden a few weeks ago but unfortunately not to ring but only to have their Management meeting here in the hall. The snow caused the original meeting date to be postponed because people travel from all parts of the diocese to attend this. A location central within the diocese is normally used but this venue was not available on the rearranged date so we helped out.

The Wellingborough Branch of bellringers has held practices at Ecton (6 bells) and a training afternoon at Bozeat (6) where the emphasis was on helping the less experienced ringers in the branch to progress and hopefully learn something new. Both were well-attended, and most ringers did improve their skills or learned new methods to help their future ringing and take increased knowledge back to their own towers.

Following the ‘handbag saga’ at Earls Barton in January - as mentioned last time - the disused clock weight case has now been capped off to prevent any future mishaps. So no more blind fishing in the future.

Tintinnabulum

29

Diary

April 10 Tuesday: 7.30pm--Newton Fete planning meeting. See p11

11 Wednesday: 2.15pm--St Mary’s Ladies’ Group in the Church Hall: Guest

Speakers—Chris & Colin Rowe, “Coast to Coast”

14 & 15 Sat & Sun: 2.00-4.00pm—Cowslip & Fritillary Days, Newton

Bromswold: plants for sale and afternoon tea.

21 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let The Dads Out, see page 3

21 Saturday: 6.00pm—Bunny Drive, Newton Bromswold Village Hall

21 Saturday: 7.00pm--Friends of St Mary’s Concert by NMPAT in church -

more info p8

May 9 Wednesday: 2.15pm--St Mary’s Ladies’ Group in the Church Hall: Guest

Speaker—Polly Feely, “Music and Memories”

12 Saturday: 10.00-12noon--Children’s Society Coffee Morning in the

church hall.

19 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let The Dads Out, see page 3

30 Wednesday: Children’s Society, Cream Tea and Entertainment in the

Church Hall

June

9 Saturday: 2.00pm--St Mary’s Church Fete: in the church, churchyard,

and hall. Games, stalls, entertainment throughout the afternoon

13 Wednesday: 2.15pm--St Mary’s Ladies’ Group in the Church Hall: Guest

speaker—Jenny Standen, “Serve”

16 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let The Dads Out, see page 3

July

7 Saturday: 2.00pm onward--Newton Village Fete

11 Wednesday: 2.15pm--St Mary’s Ladies’ Group in the Church Hall: Tea,

Cakes & Quiz [please note no meeting in August]

14 Saturday: 7.00pm—Barn Dance, Newton Bromswold (£10 adults, £5

children)

21 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let The Dads Out, see page 3

30

More events at: www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk/events

April 2018 events

T he Great Vocations Conversation is a new initiative from the Church of England to encourage

all ministers, lay and ordained, to have at least one conversation about vocation with someone new every month. Research has shown that people often need others to show them what their gifts are, and whether they potentially have a calling towards ministry. The Great Vocations Conversation has therefore been set up to encourage ministers to talk to particular parishioners who they feel may have a calling in this area. Ministers can sign-up to the challenge via www.churchofengland.org/greatvocationsconversation. They will then receive monthly emails containing devotional resources filled with prayers and ideas. These resources will also be available in print later in the year. The Church of England set itself a five year target in 2016 to increase the number of people in ministry by 50% by 2020 – from 500 to 750 per year. So far the numbers have increased by 15% to 600 ordinands per year, but the desire is that the campaign will enable those numbers to increase. There is also a hope that age, sex or ethnicity will not be a barrier to people wanting to enter

From the Living Faith Modules

Starting Wednesday 18 April, Church History (LF4). 7.30pm. £40 Starting Thursday 19 April, Read-ing the New Testament (LF2). 7.30pm-9.30pm. £40. More info: 01604 887048 or lesley-anne.marriott@peterborough-diocese.org.uk

Bishop’s Bible Day . . . Is now rearranged for Saturday April 21 at Northampton High School. Book a place on line on the Diocesan website or join the Bible Day Facebook group at face-book.com/groups/bishopbibledays

The Great Vocations Conversation

ministry. Steve Benoy, Director of Ordinands at the Diocese of Peterborough, has welcomed the introduction of the campaign: “We have a vision to increase the number of clergy and lay ministers to grow the ministry of the whole Church. We’ve been encouraging more people towards ordained and lay ministry, and this campaign is a great way of doing it – with some great resources.” The official launch of The Great Vocations Conversation will be on Vocations Sunday on 22nd April. If you want to explore ministry further, or know someone who does, contact Revd Canon Steve Benoy (Ordinations – steve.benoy@peterborough-dioese.org.uk) or Revd Jenny Opperman (Lay Ministry –jenny.opperman@peterborough-

31

St Peter’s Newton Bromswold

1 April - Easter Sunday

7.30am 8.00am 10.30am 6.00pm

Sunrise Service Holy Communion [BCP] Joint Holy Communion [CW] Easter Hymns and Reflections

10.00am

Holy Communion

8 April - Second Sunday of Easter

9.30am 11.15am 6.00pm

All Age Service Holy Communion Evening Prayer

10.00am

3.00pm

Pete’s Pack Evening Prayer

15 April - Third Sunday of Easter

9.30am 11.15am

6.00pm

All Age Parade Service Morning Prayer - with presentation by the Church Recorders - see p10. Guest preacher Archdeacon Gordon Holy Communion

10.00am

Family Communion

22 April - Fourth Sunday of easter

9.30am 11.15am 6.00pm

Informal All Age Service Morning Prayer Evening Prayer

10.00am

3.00pm

Pete’s Pack Holy Communion

29 April Fifth Sunday of Easter

9.30am 11.15am

All Age Service Morning Prayer No evening service due to Newton’s Songs of Praise

6.00pm

Songs of Praise

Services for April 2018

Also @ St Mary’s Sundays 2.00pm - Short & Sweet Mondays 10.00am Bumps & Babes @ Church – every week in term time Thursdays 10.30am -- Holy Communion [BCP] – every week Thursday 7.45pm --- Prayer, Praise & Presence -- third Thursday of the month

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— The Back Page —

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I took these two shots on a walk through Aldouran Glen: it was only when I ‘developed’ them I saw the crosses. Alleluah! He is risen! JC

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