CHURCH NEWS - July/August 2011
Dear Friends,
Sitting on the deck in Sausalito – feet up – coffee in hand, gazing out across the beautiful San Francisco bay. Sun shining, terns wheeling and diving, kayaks and boats drifting gently by - in the distance, the dreamy mist swirls lazily around the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. No rush, no responsibilities – I feel as if I am suspended in a perfect bubble, in a different world that is warm, gentle and peaceful.
Elsewhere, tornadoes ravage mid-America, rebels in Libya fight for freedom, children die of poverty, women are abused, violence, terrorism, ruthless oppression, injustice are still rife throughout the world. And in the so-called ‘civilised’ nations, many people are anxious, fearful and depressed, struggling with the stress of too much work – or unable to find work – rising costs, broken relationships etc.
Which is the true world? – the answer is both. The good and beautiful exists alongside the bad and the spoiled* until the time of judgement and redemption. This dramatic tension is part and parcel of our present human existence, but it is only part of the story.
A common criticism of Christianity is that it offers us escapism into an ‘unreal’ world, allowing people to avoid or ignore the harsh realities of life. But that is a gross parody of the truth. If we truly set out to follow Christ, we will find our eyes opened to another dimension. In Christ (the One who on the cross identified fully with our pain and suffering) we see new possibilities for change and transformation, giving us a vision of what could be, and what will be ultimately when God finally redeems the whole world.
The Christian faith is not escapism, but gives us cause for hope, for prayer, and encourages us to work together for justice and freedom. Following Jesus helps us to identify more closely with those who suffer, and motivates us to take action to relieve suffering where we can as a sign of God’s grace and love at work in the midst of the mess.Strengthened and motivated by the promise that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God, we continue to pray as Jesus taught us “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” a reminder that finally the mess will be fully sorted.
Until that day, let’s not forget to delight, enjoy and give thanks for all that is good, true, pure, right and lovely, and for the many blessings of this life.
Christine. (*see Jesus’ parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30 and Paul’s Letter to Romans 8 v.18-end)
Prayer Group
What is the Prayer Group? It is made up of members of All Saints’ Church who undertake to pray regularly, on an individual basis, for people who ask us for prayer support.
Who do we pray for? Anyone whom we are asked to remember; these might be people from our church, from our local community or others known to us.
What do we pray about? Anything which you would like brought before God; maybe anxiety due to illness, stress or loneliness. You can also tell us of a special day you wish to be remembered – perhaps for an interview or an exam. Any information will be treated in strictest confidence.
How can you let us know if you would like us to pray for you? You can either telephone Christine (720234), or drop a note through the Rectory door, or complete a card (anonymously if you wish) and place it in a box kept near the church door. Prayer requests will be collected from the box each Sunday morning after the 10.00am service. Christine
All Saints Amblers meet outside the Bell, 9.45am on Saturday 16th July for a walk in the country followed by a pub lunch. Children and dogs on leads welcome to join us.
Help! needed to keep our award-winning churchyard looking good. If you can spare an hour or two to help with light gardening tasks - please contact Christine on 720234.
Odell Fete Saturday, 11th June 2011
more pictures of this year's fete on http://www.odellbeds.net/v11jl.htm
After a very rainy week, incredibly the day of the fete dawned bright and the sunshine stayed with us all day.
The fete was opened by Debra Garon who also undertook the judging of the dog show, in memory of her mother, Roma.
Attendance figures appeared to be up on previous years, as once again the dog show proved very popular, and the ‘traditional’ style of the fete attracted people of all ages. The beer festival held at The Bell also seemed to bring extra people to the village and the fete. Overall profits look to be good, although the final figure is still to be reached. Many thanks to everyone who helped in every way.
Sadly, the village barbecue the next day had to be held in the village hall due to the return of the stormy weather, but it was an enjoyable occasion, nevertheless. Many thanks must go to Mandy Sharpe who masterminded both the fete and the barbecue and who endured standing beneath umbrellas in the cold and wet as she slaved over the barbecue coals!
LOST PROPERTY (after the Fete) – we have found a young boy’s blue jacket, (age 9, with hood), and an adult-size ring (pink). Contact Christine on 720234 or Jill 720261 if either of these belong to you.
Senior Citizens Summer Garden Party
Odell Luncheon Club invites you to a Strawberry Tea in Richard and Madeline Jeeves’ garden, at Rivendell, 15 Horsefair Lane, Odell, on Wednesday 13th July at 3pm.
All senior citizens are invited.
Please let Jill Cheadle (720261) know by Sunday 3rd July if you wish to attend.
Meeting Point
July
13th 10.30am at Sarah’s, 9 Horsefair Lane.
Meeting Point will not be held during August.
St Peter’s Church, Sharnbrook Book Fair
2nd and 3rd July, 10am to 4pm
Admission free, refreshments available. If you have a book or map, which may be valuable, there will be a free valuation service too.
Birthdays in August
Happy birthday to : Miles Tringham on the 24th August
And to anyone else with a birthday in July or August!
Aid for Romania
(Registered Charity no.1048547)
We recently received this letter from Tim and Liz Dodwell, informing us of their ongoing work in Romania which many people in Odell and neighbouring villages support. Right now they have need for particular forms of support, which are highlighted in the letter.
Dear Supporters and
Friends
Firstly a very big thank-you to those of you who supported our recent
appeal and BBQ organised to raise funds to help Alex, the young boy who has
problems with his eyes. We’ve had such an encouraging response that we can
confidently hope to support him for some years to come, though this does depend
on one generous trust continuing to help with the purchase of his medication. He
had a successful consultation with Mr Daya, his specialist at the Centre for
Sight in Sussex, who is happy to reduce the visits at present to just once a
year, which will also help our finances. Alex and his sister had a great time
here and made many new friends.
Do you remember Oana? She’s trying to improve her walking but needs to use a wheelchair more often and has now thrilled us all by getting into the lycee in Buzau. We are helping with the fees to enable her to stay midweek, with her Mum and sister, in the special hostel in town.
However we don’t actually have enough money earmarked, so to raise funds for this and the therapy team’s autumn visit (see below) there will be a BBQ to be held here at Birches on Saturday August 13th from 6pm.
£10, £5 for children
Please try to come and/or donate food, drink or raffle prizes.
If you can’t make it, perhaps you might consider a donation.
We also have honey to sell - acacia (£4.50 per lb) and multi-flower (£3 per lb).
THERAPY TEAM VISIT IN OCTOBER
Once again we are planning for a team of occupational therapists and physiotherapists to travel to Buzau to deliver wheelchairs and other equipment to those who seem to be completely overlooked by the system. We are very grateful to the kind friend who is offering to take everything out on his lorry. Plans are progressing very slowly and we are rather urgently looking for help.
We very desperately need:
v Wheelchairs, buggies, walking frames, gaiters, piedro boots and other items to be collected, listed and packed up by the middle of July when our transport leaves.
v More therapists to join the trip – if you know anyone who might be interested please ask them to contact us as soon as possible – dates are probably October 12th-16th.
(Liz and Tim have added in an email that they are looking particularly for Occupational therapists, physiotherapists and hopefully speech
therapists (SALTs) with experience with swallowing problems. So far they have three young OTs but really need someone with some maturity and leadership skills with the ability to improvise and be flexible, and also one or more physios and SALTs.).
And of course Money to purchase special buggies and other equipment such as various sizes of wheelchairs we know are needed for existing patients. Other costs such as translators and transport also need to be borne in mind.
In addition to seeing about 50 of those we have already helped, we are receiving details of at least 15 new patients who urgently need equipment. A number of these are very severely handicapped and require special buggies with head supports. These are expensive and hard to find second-hand.
We also hope to give more advice and equipment to the Flower Houses, homes for abandoned handicapped children. We are still trying to progress plans for Romanian volunteers to help here.
Our dentist friend Steve will be going again and will be kept very busy giving much-needed advice on dental hygiene in the homes, in our wheelchair clinic and to our sponsored families.
Tim and I will be there with the team and also making our usual visits to all the sponsored families, and then we shall be able to send their sponsors all their news.
Once again may we take this opportunity to thank you for your support, perhaps anticipating some more?! It’s sad to have to admit that our Romanian friends continue to need our help.
We are always grateful to those of you who pray for this cause, and ask you to keep it up, especially at this time when so many plans need to be made.
So we hope to see many of you at our BBQ – beds, tents and the caravan are on offer for more distant supporters who might like to stay?
Tim and Liz Dodwell Birches, Balmer Lawn Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7TT. Phone: 01590 623434 e-mail: timandliz@btinternet.com
Time Travellers’ Holiday Club
is happening at Carlton Village Hall
8th – 12th August , 10am - midday
for children aged 5-12 years
(arranged by Churches Together in Harrold & Carlton with Odell)
For more information and application forms contact Christine on 720234 or Carol on 720409
All Saints’ Church Charitable Giving for the months of July and August: ‘Open Doors’.
This Evangelical organisation supports the persecuted church and Christians worldwide – providing Bibles and teaching materials, training for church leaders, practical and financial help, literacy programmes and community development projects.
St Peter’s Church, Harrold, Patronal Festival
Saturday 2nd July
Come and enjoy an alfresco afternoon with the Willing Warblers on the church green (inside church if weather unsuitable)
2.30 – 3.30pm Sing-a-long
3.30 – 5.00pm Cream Teas
Church open, with flower arrangements
Church Quiz for children
Sunday 3rd July
11.00am Patronal Festival Service
Preacher: Revd Barbara Johnson, Senior Chaplain, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
ART EXHIBITION & SALE
All Saints’ Church, Odell
Sat. 27th, Sun. 28th & Mon. 29th August
Open from 12 noon—5.00pm
Now is the time to reveal your hidden talents!
If you would like to exhibit your paintings or photographs, please contact Catherine Corkery for an application form.
Tel: 01234 720348 e-mail: catherinelcorkery@yahoo.co.uk.
Closing date for applications: Friday 12th August.
Light refreshments available each day
Entry £2.00 (children under 16 free
(proceeds in aid of All Saints Church and Mission Partners Dick and
Caroline Seed serving with CMS in Ghana)
Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
The former Rector of All Saints’ Church, David Streater, and his wife Valerie celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at All Saints’ Church on Saturday 18th June. They were joined by members of their family, and friends. The service of thanksgiving was conducted by David and Valerie’s son-in-law, the Reverend Dick Seed, and afterwards a meal was held in the Village Hall. David and Valerie hold very fond memories of their time in Odell and it was lovely that they chose to celebrate their 50th Anniversary here in Odell’s Church and Village Hall, along with old friends from the village..
Above: David and Valerie following their Wedding Anniversary service
Pictured above, standing at the top of the tower of All Saints’, are John Landry and his sister Virginia O’Dell, who visited Odell recently. John and Virginia are descendents of William Odell who, with his family and other nonconformists, travelled from Odell to America in the 1630s with Reverend Bulkeley. John lives in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Virginia lives in Geneva, Switzerland. John and Virginia thank the parishioners for their warm welcome.
All Saints’ Church Flower Rota
July
2nd Wedding
17th Margaret Jones
30th Wedding
August
14th Georgina Harrison
20th Wedding
28th Eileen Shakespeare
Jen Cuddeford
Diary
July
2nd 10-4.00 St Peter’s, Sharnbrook, Book Fair.
2nd 2.30 -5.00 St Peter’s, Harrold, Patronal Festival.
3rd 10-4.00 St Peter’s, Sharnbrook, Book Fair.
3rd 11.00 St Peter’s, Harrold, Patronal Festival Service.
7th 10.30 Health Walk, HOCP.
12th 7.30 W.I. Village Hall.
13th 10.30 Meeting point at Sarah’s, 9 Horsefair Lane.
13th 3.00 Senior Citizens’ Summer Garden Party, Rivendell, Horsefair Lane.
16th 9.45am All Saints’ Amblers meet at The Bell.
16th Bring and Share BBQ, Village Hall.
18th 7.30pm Parish Council Meeting, Village Hall.
21st 10.30 Health Walk, HOCP.
25th 10.00 Conservation Tasks day, HOCP.
August
8th – 12th 10-12.00 Time Travellers’ Holiday Club, Carlton Village Hall.
11th 10.30 Health Walk, HOCP.
22nd 10.00 Conservation Tasks day HOCP.
25th 10.30 Health Walk, HOCP.
27th-29th 12-5.00 Art Exhibition and Sale, All Saints’ Church.
Magazine Deadline
Please send all entries for the September magazine to Tricia Hudson (mag1 at odellbeds.net) or Catherine Corkery by August 12th at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the responsibility of the editorial team.