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PARISH POST BAG September 21st 2008 I have spoken to a number of people including strangers and visitors following Matt’s induction and welcoming and without exception, I get the same response from them: that there was an extraordinary atmosphere at the Parish Church. This appeared to show in many ways – feelings of good will and kindness which permeated throughout the whole proceedings. It was a feeling that people said that they had not experienced to that extent before. My response is that God moves in a mysterious way.
Apologies When I was handing out “medals” and “plaudits” to those who had done so much to cover eventualities during the Interregnum, and when I raised the issue of taking house Communion to absent members of the congregation I mentioned Sheila Wrigley but I failed, due to lack of knowledge, to mention the fact that Ken Jones shared this big responsibility with Sheila. I do apologise to Ken for this error. This is the man who keeps offering tickets to me to go to the Reebok to see Portsmouth play the Wanderers!
The girl with the candle Many will have seen Katie, our seven year old granddaughter, have a candle lit by the Rev. Moira Slack at the Altar on Sunday 29th September. Katie was baptised exactly a year ago by our then Vicar Michael who gave her a baptismal candle and reminded her to light it on the anniversaries. She came on that day to the Sunday School hoping to light it there but no one had the means to light it! So in an impromptu way we grandparents took her to the Altar for a blessing and to ask for the candle to be lit. Needless to say Katie was overjoyed.
Faith helps believers to rise above pain Faith in God can relieve pain, according to the results of a scientific experiment. Research at Oxford University has found that believers can draw on their religion to endure suffering with greater fortitude, suggesting that Christian martyrs may have been able better to withstand the agony of torture or slow death. Academics at the Oxford Centre for Science of the Mind gave electric shocks to 12 Roman Catholics and 12 atheists as they studied a 17th Century painting of the Virgin Mary by the Italian Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato. They found that Catholics seemed able to block out much of the pain. Brain scans showed that the Catholics were able to activate part of the brain associated with conditioning the experience of pain. The Anglican Bishop of Durham, the Rt. Rev. Tom Wright, welcomed the findings but said they were “no surprise”. He said “The practice of faith should, and in many cases does, alter the person you are.” “Courtesy of the Daily Telegraph
The pride of grandparents At the Harvest lunch I got up from the table to remind everyone that today had been designated as Grandparents’ Day. To follow this up Arnold and Brenda Pearson gave me an account of a cricket match their grandson Jack played in when he was selected to play in the England Under 15s match versus the ESCA (English Schools Cricket Association) Under 16s on 10th September. England batted first and scored 195 and of this Jack took 2 wickets for 25 in his 8 overs. In response because of slow scoring rate Jack went in when 40 runs were needed from the 6 overs left. The supporters, including Arnold and Brenda, were reconciled to the English Schools losing but despair soon changed when Jack hit his first ball for a 6 and the second went for 4. With victory nearly there and with 2 needed off the last ball, Jack could only manage 1 run resulting in a tie with Jack on 28no. The two batsmen, Jack and Fabian Cowdrey, grandson of Colin (the great England cricket captain) and son of Chris, left the field to a standing ovation.
The Harvest Lunch About 70 people sat down to a Ploughman’s Lunch on Sunday 5th October. I am sure everyone enjoyed it and all applauded the ladies who had provided us with such a repast…. It was first class.
Reflection Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832)
Postman David |
