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Rosey's Letter - May 2009 Dear Friends, Greetings from your new – or 'as-new' – Rector! What's in a name? Not much, probably (and certainly, if you have been wondering, no pay-rise!). The work is the same, the parish is the same, and I am the same, with all my imperfections – but it's good for the parish to have the security of a freehold title, and it's an awesome thought that in due course my name will be engraved, above the rector's stall in All Saints' church, the last in a long list going back to 1265. Thank you to all of you who came to the service of 'installation'; it was a very special event for our parish, not least because at that service our Cross Tree Centre project was formally inaugurated and blessed by our Archdeacon, Andy Piggott. The service took place on the fifth anniversary of my original licensing as priest-in-charge. In those past five years there have been joys and sorrows, memorable events, a lot of hard work together, and many blessings, and it has been a privilege to get to know you and to try to serve you – what a long way we have come together!
May is a month of celebrations: on the May Day Bank Holiday, May 4, we shall for the third time be running our stand, 'The Spiritual Quest', at the North Somerset Show. Our theme this year will be journeys, thinking of the directions we go in to find meaning and purpose in our lives. Thanks to all who have been working on preparing for this, and for the generous sponsorship which has enables us once again to pay for Roly the Clown to be with us for the day. Do come and visit our stand.
One man on a journey this month will be our Bishop of Bath & Wells, Peter Price, who begins his walk around the perimeter of the Diocese at the beginning of May, in celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese in 909. He has a long way to go! We are delighted that he will be calling in on us, joining us at our Parish Lunch at Failand Village Hall on Monday May 11th (please note change of day, from Tuesday to Monday), so if you would like to meet him, do come along – but please telephone 857086 if you do not normally attend the Parish Lunch, so that we can cater accordingly. As usual, lunch will be preceded by a simple celebration of Holy Communion in the Village Hall. Bishop Peter will then visit Charlton Farm Children's Hospice during the afternoon. If you would like to join the Bishop on his walk, at any stage of his journey round the diocese, you are welcome to do so – take a look at the website to find out where the Bishop will be on any day: www.bw1100.org.
May is a month of glorious abundance, as we enjoy the beauty of creation coming to life all around us, busying ourselves in our gardens and getting all the bedding plants in. It is said that the Anglo-Saxon name for May was Tri-Milchi, in recognition of the fact that with the lush new grass, cows could be milked three times a day! And all this fullness of life that we enjoy in nature we can see in the context of the new life we celebrated at Easter – life overcoming the darkness of death. For Christians, May will end with a final burst of new life at Pentecost (Whit Sunday) on the 31st, when we shall celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. I love these words of the extraordinary medieval writer (and musician, Abbess and artist) Hildegarde of Bingen, describing the power of the Spirit, whom she sees as a female force, to generate new life : The Spirit is life, movement, colour, radiance, restorative stillness in the din. She pours the juice of contrition into hardened hearts. Her powers make dry twigs and withered souls green again with the juice of life. She purifies, absolves, strengthens, heals, gathers the perplexed, seeks the lost. She plays music in the soul, being herself the melody of praise and joy. She awakens mighty hope, blowing everywhere the winds of renewal in creation.' May you, and our Bishop, have 'music in the soul' as you walk on your way through the month of May! With love, Rosey With love, Rosey
The year is flying past, and already we're approaching May – nearly half-way through! The wedding season will begin for us this month, and we shall as a church family especially rejoice when Domini Knight and David Barrett marry on Saturday 30th May – a marriage made, not so much in heaven as in Afghanistan! A lovely example of God's way of bringing the most wonderful surprises even out of the the grimmest situations.
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