Latest News From The Benefice
Fair Trade
Transform Trade will be celebrating their 40th year this year. Formally known as Traidcraft Exchange. Even though the names change the work is still the same, working with marginalised and small producers in developing countries. Working for justice for these workers, safer working conditions, honest payments and wages, lifting people out of poverty. I Iook forward to being with you on 22 March. Cecilia Willatt
Lent Charity Appeal
This year we are supporting Dovetail Two (www.dovetailtwo.org), a very local organisation, which meets on Fridays, between 10-14.30, in Pratts Bottom Village Hall. It’s a self funded social club for the physically disabled, from 25 and upwards. Run by disabled people, it provides a wide range of fun and safe activities, including games, speakers and chair exercises. Like all good clubs, a meal is also involved. Dovetail Two focuses on providing a supportive and engaging community space for its members, emphasising both social interaction and well-being through its diverse activities. They always welcome visitors, and like so many organisations, really need more helpers.
What? No flowers?
Maybe you have noticed there are no flowers in church on Sunday and wondered what happened?
The answer is
because we are in the season of Lent. A time for repentance and study of the
events leading to Good Friday. No beauty of flowers are allowed to distract us.
But when Easter
finally arrives, the church celebrates with joy, expressing this emotion with
music, singing and flowers!
The team of
flower arrangers at St Mary’s will leap into action on Easter Saturday making
arrangements to surprise and delight everyone who attends church on Easter
Sunday. Of course, this is only possible if flowers are available.
The budget for flowers at St Mary’s is very small and flowers are expensive so we are very grateful to Judith Simonds and pancake cook extrordinaire, Elaine Wanostrocht, for donating the proceeds of the Pancake and coffee morning to the flower fund. £76 was given by all those who enjoyed their Shrove Tuesday treat which will help give our arrangements some spring zing!
A BIG THANK YOU
TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED.
As flowers have so increased in cost, we still need to top up the flower fund. If anyone would like to donate some money for Easter flowers or in memory of a loved one so a special flower memorial can be created, please contact the Church office or myself.
Jocelyn Wright
Pancakes and
Coffee Morning, Shrove Tuesday at St Mary’s |
New
Defibrillator at St Mary’s
Many of you will have seen that we have now had
fitted a new defibrillator to the outside wall of the Office (next to the
window). This has kindly been donated by The Lawson Trust and London Hearts.
Our thanks go to Karen, Pre-School Leader for finding out about this
initiative.
As a widely used community building this equipment brings great
peace of mind to all our congregation, hirers and neighbours.
Let’s hope we
never have the need to use it in an emergency situation!
But you can gain
access to the defibrillator by calling 999 and giving them your location and
then following the instructions of the call handler.