BLESSINGS FROM THE VICARAGE

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

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If August was a time for sunshine, resting and holidays, then may this September be a time of huge gratefulness for each other and all that we have in life that is good, that brings joy and happiness. When, in the church, we bless people, we are raising or lifting them up so that they can be valued and thanked and given the greatest love of all – the infinitely generous and Giving Love which comes from God. So, in September and October I will be holding a number of celebratory ‘blessing’ services to give thanks and to lift everyone up to which everyone is invited!

Our first notable blessing: The picture on the front of this month’s magazine celebrates the effect of us being an Eco-church in the Benefice of Frensham which I wrote about in my July letter. A few weeks ago, I was going to the Church of the Good Shepherd to conduct a service and the sound of the grasshoppers and other insects was so wonderful that I walked further into the meadow churchyard. There I saw these three 6 red spotted burnet moths on the top of a dead plant and another coming out of its chrysalis! These moths are quite unusual and are evidence that our re-wilding scheme is positively helping nature! Hurrah! I’ve also been asked a number of times to conduct a pet/animal blessing service so in celebration of nature and creation, and our walking, flying, swimming and even creeping creatures we will hold a ‘Harvest and Creation’ service on 6th October at 10.30am at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Carefully bring your pets together with your Harvest food baskets – if the weather is good, we will be outside!

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Our second blessing is that we are very grateful to have a curate coming to the Benefice of Frensham to complete his training. His name is Dave Camp. He is fairly newly ordained to the priesthood and will bring another wonderful dimension to the Church’s ministry here. I have been mentoring him since February while he has been in the Benefice of Hale and Badshot-Lea, but this has proved untenable for both of us, so Bishop Paul has given permission for him to come here to this Benefice. So, at 10.30am on the 1st September, we will be holding a special informal Worship and Fellowship service at the Church of the Good Shepherd to welcome Dave and his wife Nabila and family. All are welcome to come to meet Dave and find out more about him!

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Our third blessing: on 8th September at the 10.30am service we will be celebrating our spiritual patron in the Festival of St Mary the Virgin, not only because the parish church is dedicated to ‘She who was the God-bearer for the world’, and enabled Jesus to reveal God’s infinite love and eternal life; but also to celebrate that we, at your churches here, are dedicated to bearing God’s Love to you all both within the parishes and beyond. We pray that we may always be outward looking as a blessing to you and bring peace, joy and hope. We also will be baptising a baby whose parents were married at the church five years ago, and who come regularly which is a great joy to all.

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Strangely I can’t write much about our fourth blessing which will happen on 15th September both during and after the Choral Matins service at 10.30am at St Mary’s Church! But what I can write is that the celebration for this blessing is about passion, dedication, practice and hard work, amazing skill and diversity, which all bring delight and pleasure in both churches and beyond! I write no more but if I have stirred your curiosity, then come along!

The Friends of Frensham Churches (FOFC) are also a great blessing for both churches, as they support and give grants for the upkeep of both our historic church buildings. We are so grateful for this Trust and all who contribute to it. On 27th September they will be holding a fundraising ‘Safari Supper’. Please see the advert in this magazine and get your tickets! Also, if you would like to become a FOFC member fill in a form from either church and send to the FOFC secretary Eunice King.

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The countryside of our Parish is so beautiful and so I will be cherishing and blessing this by doing a Sponsored Walk on Saturday 28th September wherein I will ‘Beat the Bounds!’ I have walked this approximately 12-mile circuit a few times now and invite any and all who might like to join with me. I’ve seen a story about an historic ‘Beat the Bounds Walk’ in this parish wherein the cassock-clad Vicar, robed crucifer (holding the heavy processing cross), choir and members of the congregation did this on a Rogation Sunday after the service, singing and bouncing the choir boys on the boundary stones as they went! You’ll be glad to know I won’t be doing that! This is a fundraiser for the general church funds that pay both for me to be here as your Vicar and the general maintenance of the churches. So please do come and walk with me or if you could sponsor me, I would be most grateful. You can do this either directly on my sponsor form which will be at St Mary’s Church, or via the card machine at St Mary’s Church or via the link here.

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A final blessing to share with you all: As well as being an Eco-Church, we are also continually working on being a welcoming, inclusive and participatory church in our Parish and beyond. We very much wish to celebrate all the many groups and volunteers in our villages. Practical, physical, mental or spiritual support throughout our community and beyond is given through the amazing dedication and effort of volunteers who give their time and energy for others, many of whom are not church-attenders but want to give to this community and society for the good. Therefore, by way of perhaps the biggest thank you and celebration this month, we invite all who volunteer in any way in our villages, to come to the ‘Volunteer Sunday’ service on Sunday 29th September at 10.30am at St Mary’s Church, with refreshments afterwards. Please don’t worry or not come if you don’t usually come to church or believe even. We do mean it when we say we are inclusive and we do welcome people of all faiths and none, together with those of all cultures, colours, creeds, genders or abilities. This will be an informal, perhaps even surprisingly joyful service to say ‘Thank You’ to our wonderful village volunteers.

Phew!

Love, prayers and blessings,

Jane