january 2017 newsheet - sheet & petersfield church … · drama and music both play a ... and...

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NewSheet

Issue No. 29 December 2016 – January 2017

Come and see!

Loving God, Loving People St Mary Magdalen Church, Sheet, Petersfield

www.sheet.church Registered Charity No. 1128244

1. Yes, it’s Advent! Every Sunday, we’re lighting another candle on the

ring. 2. Meanwhile, the figures of Mary, Joseph and the donkey are

visiting homes in Sheet. They’ll arrive in church on Christmas Eve for

the Crib Service. 3. And in the New Year, we’ll celebrate our annual

Christingle service. Do come and join us! (See back cover for details.)

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Pictures from 2015/16

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Missing a connection is frustrating and sometimes expensive, whether it’s missing a train connection and ending up stranded at an airport, or the electronic device that refuses to log on to the wifi with the right password, whatever we try.

Conversely, when the passes in a football match all accurately connect with the next player, with each member of the team knowing just where the next one is going to be, it is a joy to watch and goals usually follow. When teams connect well in the workplace and everybody’s contribution fits together in its rightful place, performance goes through the roof. In academic research, making connections across different disciplines can be very fruitful. And when we connect well with one another with friendships, marriage and family life all fitting together, life is good. We know we belong and we feel fulfilled and happy.

It’s not always like that, of course. Despite being more connected than we’ve ever been with phone, skype, text, email and social media, people are still longing for community. Working from home is wonderful in many ways, but most people who do it full-time say they miss the physical connection of the workplace. And more and more of us are living alone and are feeling less connected than we would like to be.

Many commentators have suggested that one of the reasons for the surprise results in the American presidential election and the Brexit referendum was that a signifi-cant portion of the electorate feels disconnected from the political elite.

And, despite the best efforts of programmes like Planet Earth II, our consumerism and frenetic lifestyle seem to have disconnected us from the needs of the planet itself.

Awareness of disconnection comes right at the beginning of the Bible. The story of Adam and Eve, a couple living in an idyllic garden, describes how, while humankind had many good choices available, we chose the single bad one and, as a result, have ended up with fractured relationships between one another, with the planet, and with God himself. It is that disconnection from God himself which is seen to be at the root of all the others.

The rest of the story of the Bible is essentially God’s plan, down the years of history, to remake the connection. As Christians we remember a key moment of that reconnection at Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus: Emmanuel, God with us. We celebrate the fact that, though we have often turned our back on God and discon-nected from him, he has not abandoned us but has come to seek us out. As we return to him we find that, by his Spirit, he still comes to be with us today. He restores our relationship with himself and he leads us to reconnect with each other and with his world.

We would love you to connect with us this Christmas and in the year ahead as we seek to live life in connection with the God who loves us and who made us for connection with himself and each other. Wishing you a very happy and connected Christmas, Richard

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You may have caught sight of our steeplejacks at work a

few weeks ago. They were nailing new wooden shingles

onto the spire after strong winds dislodged some at one of

the angles (see inset). It took quite a while for the men to

find their way from the roof, up around the clock and

finally to a safe position. They then had to work about 80

feet above ground. Fabric Committee Chair Shaun Whelan

told NewSheet that he was pleased with the result. ‘The

company had worked on about 40 churches in the past and

even on Chichester Cathedral. It looks like they’ve done a

good job. They also had a look at the spire and said the

rest of the shingles are in reasonably good repair.’ The church’s insurance will cover the bill of just over £2,000.

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Digging into the Past Sheet Church 1868 - 2018

John Bonham-Carter MP, 1872

The Sheet Church History group have started

beavering away, researching our building, contents

and people. Jenny Parkes and Sylvia Bovington

spent a fascinating day at Hampshire County

Archives at Winchester, looking at documents

dating back to the 1860s. It was thrilling to

handle the original document of the swearing-in of

Sheet’s first churchwardens and to see the actual

signatures of both men on the papers.

One warden was the man who gave the land for

the building: John Bonham Carter MP of Adhurst

St Mary. We don’t know whether he was

officially the ‘Vicar’s Warden’ or the

‘People’s Warden’, but given his status we

would guess the former. Our wardens’ staffs

(see left) are more correctly called their

‘wands’(!) and bear inscriptions to identify

the two roles. Wardens have always had a

duty to keep the peace in church and

churchyard, so the wands could be put to

serious use, although our historians haven’t

uncovered any riots so far …..

Would you like to

join our Church

History Group?

New volunteers are

always welcome!

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That was the

Despite the weather, we managed to muster

over 40 people for an afternoon stroll towards

the end of February, starting at the Village Hall

(above). Numbers swelled later when everyone

returned for a splendid afternoon tea (left).

In March, we had our annual spring clean (see

right). We rely on a great team of volunteers to

keep the woodwork polished, the brass gleam-

ing and the carpets hoovered through the year,

when two people are rota’d each week. The big

annual clean also attracts some willing extras.

Drama and music both play a

very important role in many

services. The cast below were

the ingredients for a rather

original baking challenge:

making a Real Church Cake.

We enjoyed working with the Friends of Sheet School

and the Sheet Village Association on the great River

Rother Duck Race in May. Some volunteers managed to

stay mainly dry as

the ducks were

prepared (left) while

curate Max Cross

was one of those

drawing the short

straw on the day (r).

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Year that Was

In response to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s appeal for a week of prayer in

May, St Mary Magdalen committed to have someone praying in church 24 hours

a day for all 7 days leading up to Pentecost Sunday (the old Whitsun). There

were pictures and props based on the words of the Lord’s Prayer, comfortable

seating, tables for drawing or writing and a range of simple activities - all

designed to help people focus during the hour or hours they’d signed up for.

This golden throne bore the

words ‘Hallowed be Thy name’.

(right) July sees the annual SMART Camp

for our young people.

(above) The special day honouring St Mary Magdalen falls in July, which gives us the perfect excuse for an outdoor

service, a very impressive barbeque lunch, and even games for those who can think of moving after cake and ice cream.

Once again, 2016 brought lovely sunny weather for the occasion.

(below left and centre) Harvest Festival is always a great celebration. This year’s 10 O’Clock Service included a talking

banana. Before lunch, masses of tins, jars and packets were boxed up for charities serving homeless people.

(below right) In October, over 60 church people enjoyed a hotel weekend away together. The

weather was actually very kind - the umbrellas were just part of the Sunday morning message!

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****** STAR PAGE******

The monthly page fo r The Ark, SMART and Young-at-Heart.

So, why do we do that? We have so many great Christmas traditions to help us celebrate. What are the reasons behind them?

Mince pies repre-

sent the manger

Jesus slept in. The

hay for the animals

kept the new-born

baby warm. The

manger was all his

mother Mary had to

use as a crib.

The stars we see everywhere on

cards and decorations are because of

the super-bright star that appeared in

the sky to signal

Jesus’ birth. It came to rest right over

that stable in Bethlehem. Wise men

from the east followed it and shep-

herds out on the nearby hills saw it

gleaming. It may have been a comet.

We give presents at

Christmas because

of the gifts that those

wise men brought for

Jesus. We remember

them especially on

the Sunday nearest

6th January. That’s

known as the last day

of Christmas, when

most of us put our

decorations away. Gifts of gold, frankincense + myrrh

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Welcoming everyone means offer-

ing different options and Wednes-

days is a perfect example. There’s

a traditional said Communion in

church at 9am, while at Winton

House in the High Street at 8pm

there’s ‘Reveal’, an informal oppor-

tunity to discuss God and life over

soup, pastries and proper coffee.

All Welcome We often say ‘all welcome’ at church - and we do mean it. But we have been trying to

make sure it actually works in practice. With this in mind, we are hoping to appoint a

part-time Seniors’ Chaplain in the New Year. (Interviews were in progress as New-

Sheet went to press.) We are hoping this will enable us to offer more support to both

our older members and to older people in the community. If you want to keep up-to-

date on this, do contact the Church Office (see back page) or pop into church any day

and pick up the latest edition of NewSheet. Similarly, you don’t have to wait for us to

visit and ask if you need prayer. Give us a ring or leave an email at www.sheet.church

At the other end of the age spectrum, we have groups for babies and toddlers, led by Young Families Worker

Suzy Cross, for children and for young people. Our full-time paid Youth Worker, David Loveless (above left) has

been with us for over two years now and is doing a marvellous job. So much so, we have recently launched an

appeal within the congregation to fund his role right through to 2020. Under David’s guidance, our young peo-

ple even lead occasional services (above centre). Primary-age children enjoy all kinds of activities in ‘The Ark’ in

the Village Hall on Sunday mornings - including the odd visit from a first-century Roman (above right)! David

and Suzy, together with Ark leader Amanda Micklethwaite, are supported by brilliant teams of volunteers.

It’s a great privilege and pleasure to

welcome our neighbours for special

events like the All Souls Evensong

and Remembrance Sunday. After the

wreaths were laid this year, we had

another welcome visitor to the

church garden (above and right)!

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Services for Advent, Christmas & the New Year

From the Registers Baptisms Amber TAYLOR (6 November)

Ted SHARPE (20 November)

Alix SIMPSON-PIRIE (20 November)

Funerals Pamela DICKINS (2 November)

Malcolm HUMPHREY (21 November)

Susan CAVE-CHINN (24 November)

Pamela FISHER (25 November)

NewSheet is free, but a donation of 20p per copy would cover basic costs. (There’s a slot in the wall near the church door.) To receive NewSheet in full

colour (at no cost to the church) join the church email list at [email protected] Feedback, letters and contributions are welcome. Please deliver to

[email protected] to the pigeonhole at the back of church or to the Parish Office. Material for publication will be edited as necessary. Copy date for

the FEBRUARY issue is WEDNESDAY 18th JANUARY . Editor: Linda Clist 01730 262312

Vicar Revd Richard Saunders 263673 [email protected] Hon Clergy Revd Mick Micklethwaite 893303

Curate Revd Max Cross 301126 [email protected] Lay Ministers Linda Clist 262312 & Bob Slade 269160

Youth Worker David Loveless 302695 [email protected] Pre-school Families Worker Suzy Cross 301126

Churchwardens Ruth Snelson & Karen Glanville [email protected] Pastoral Co-ordinator Julie Slade 269160

Parish Administrator Rebecca Whelan 302695 [email protected] Parish Office 2 Pulens Lane, open Wed - Fri mornings

Wednesdays: 9.00am Short Communion

8.00pm Reveal at Winton House

Mondays 5th December & 9th January:

8pm - 9pm Praise and Prayer

Saturdays 3rd December & 7th January:

6pm - 7pm }OPEN{ informal worship open to all

Sunday 4 Dec Advent 2

The 8 O’Clock Service

Communion


inc activities for children & young people



BCP Communion

10 O’Clock Together

SHEET CHURCH NATIVITY

presented by our children and young people


The 8 O’Clock Service Communion

The 10 O’Clock Service with Communion & optional prayer for healing inc ‘The Ark’ (for 0-10s)+ Upper Room (11+)

6.30pm CAROL SERVICE followed by refreshments

CHRISTMAS EVE Sat 24

3pm and 4.30pm CRIB SERVICE

11.30pm MIDNIGHT COMMUNION

CHRISTMAS DAY Sun 25


BCP Communion

CHRISTMAS DAY Sun 25

The 10 O’Clock Service all-age Communion

————————————————————

NEW YEAR’S DAY Sun 1 Jan 2017

The 10 O’Clock Service for all ages (no 8am service today)

Sunday 8 Jan EPIPHANY


BCP Communion


Communion inc ‘The Ark’ + Upper Room

Sunday 15 Jan Christ the Light


Communion

10 O’Clock Together CHRISTINGLE SERVICE

3pm Evensong

Sunday 22 Jan Equipped and Ready? - 1


BCP Communion


inc ‘The Ark’ (for 0-10s)+ Upper Room (for 11+)

Sunday 29 Jan Equipped and Ready? - 2

The 8 O’Clock Service BCP Communion


inc ‘The Ark’ (for 0-10s)+ Upper Room (for 11+)

january 2017 newsheet - sheet & petersfield church … · drama and music both play a ... and...

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