www.stlukesbenefice.co.uk St Luke’s Benefice website is now up and running. Please let your Churchwardens know if there are particular things you would like to have included. Once the magazine has gone to print, there may be changes to some events. The calendar on the website will have the latest information. Recent updates include pictures of the wonderfully decorated church at Milland by Sheila Pim and her team and also Aurelia Carter’s baptism at Linch
ADVANCE NOTICE
4 SEPTEMBER A repeat of our very successful BBQ St Luke’s Church Linch MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE DATE FREE!!! More details to follow
Parish Magazine
There will be a magazine next month. We usually have a double issue for July and August but for this year due to administrative problems, the double issue will be for the months of September and October. The September/October magazine will carry all the information needed for Harvest, Remembrance Sunday and All Souls Day in addition to the normal Services. The website will also carry this information. Roger Poat & Partners Independant Funeral Directors & Memorial Consultants Duck Lane Midhurst GU29 9DE
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From the Rector… The Good Samaritan If you go into the door of St Luke’s Church Milland and look to your left you will notice a wonderful stained glass window. Many of you have been into the Church but I wonder if you can say what the window depicts? It is in fact the story of the Good Samaritan. The top of the window shows what looks like a wonderful city, and angels, depicting heaven. We then look below and see lovely blue sky and trees, which portrays earth and at each side there can be seen, if you look closely, two small settlements, Jericho and Jerusalem. We then get to the story proper, and the wounded man being helped by the Samaritan with the donkey by their side and the priest and the Levite turning away from the scene. When you are next in Milland Church have a close look, it is stunning. However, what makes it even more special is that it is dedicated to George Street. The great benefactor of Rake School and Milland Church. George Street’s legacy lives on as the George Street Trust helps many people and projects in the area of benefit. One such project was helping to fund new toilets for Hollycombe School. Not a glamourous project, granted, but much needed. George Street carries on being a good Samaritan, even beyond the grave, and every time the trust is able to help someone we indeed thank God for him. Milland Church also had a new stained glass window installed recently, and you can see it on the cover of this magazine. The children of Rake School made the window as part of an arts week for the Queen’s 90th Birthday. They took the design from a Diamond Jubilee window in Westminster Hall in London. It is made out of tissue paper and looks so realistic that people visiting the church over the Tuxlith Art Festival weekend thought it to be real. (see photos on page 21 and article from Rake School page 22) George Street would be very proud of our church school as we indeed are and we congratulate Mr Bertwistle, all the staff and the children on their excellent Ofsted Report, which said that Rake School continued to be GOOD. And what’s more it was said to have a good Christian ethos. All blessings Rev Trish
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The Parish of Stedham with Iping The Rural Dean and Archdeacon in the re-organising of the Deanery have asked me to
work full time and take on the parishes of Stedham with Iping. It will mean that, hopefully, in September I will be first made Priest in Charge of those Parishes, still being Rector here, and then we will work toward becoming a united benefice. There are lots of positives for this change as it provides all the parishes involved with a full time Rector. Firstly I shall be able to devote more time to the work of outreach and work in the community, secondly whenever I move on, which won’t be for a long while as there will be lots to keep me busy, but when that time comes you will be in a very good position to fill the vacancy with someone who is not looking to retire, which quite often half time posts attract. Thirdly it brings us full circle as historically we were joined with Stedham with Iping. For our benefice and Stedham with Iping, it will mean looking at our service patterns which I know will be of great concern to many, but with Jan Sayer from Stedham with Iping who is a reader I think we can manage with very little disruption. Jan as a lay Reader can take Matins and Evensong. And I’m happy to have someone to share the ministry with. Rural churches have to start thinking of being one church in a place with for us 4 buildings, we must remember that we still have less people in our communities than a town or city parish would have. We are here to build Christ’s Church in this place, to work together for the common good, and in that we have to think of ourselves as one church. We already have connections, Leslie plays the organ at Stedham, the choir at Stedham help us out at times when we need more voices especially at weddings. It is an exciting time, and I think we have secured our future, it will take team work and a bit of give and take, but a real chance to be the church that Jesus envisioned. Trish DIARY DATES JUNE July
18
7.30pm
Linch PCC
Bettesworth Room
21
2pm
Rake School Leavers Service
Milland
31
10.30pm
Benefice Service
Tuxlith Green
Back to Church Sunday
The Four Parishes
We need a name, something simple, as with “ The Octagon ” for the parishes Anthony Hulbert was at for a while. “ The Four Parishes ” I think would serve well, picking up the history of the area and with a byline of “ Milland and Linch, Stedham and Iping ” or whatever order of names we chose. The ancient narrow parishes of Trotton, Chithurst, Iping, Stedham and Woolbeding, with little Linch, stretched up from the Rother to the county boundary. In 1886, Redford, in Woolbeding, with the northern half of Stedham, was taken into ecclesiastical Linch and a rectory was built at the top of the hill. Much later, in 1958, the northern parts of Iping and of Chithurst were taken in as well, and the parish was renamed Linch with Iping Marsh. It extended, as it does now, over the greater part of the Milland Valley, though not going far north of Milland crossroads, and in particular it included the church and churchyard of the Good Shepherd, founded at Iping Marsh in the 1870’s, as part of Iping. In the 1860’s and 1870’s too, the ancient Tuxlith Chapel in northern Trotton, which had long unofficially functioned as a parish church for much of the Valley, was set up in a full parish and a fine new church and rectory were soon built, named for Milland, no doubt from Milland Place, though closer to Rake up on the old Portsmouth Road. The dedication was to St. Luke (to lasting confusion with St. Luke’s, Linch ! ), and there was a chapel in Rake itself, now like the Good Shepherd, gone though converted rather than demolished. The civil parish of Milland set up in the early 1970’s included the area of St. Luke’s Milland, though Rake, part of the church parish, remained part of civil Rogate. The new parish did not include the area of St. Luke’s at Linch, as the small civil parish, which covers Hollycombe and the area round the church, remained independent, nor Redford which remained part of Woolbeding. In the church’s changes of 1958 the southern parts of Stedham and Iping became one parish, as did the southern parts of Chithurst and Trotton (in one benefice with Terwick and Rogate though Chithurst was long associated with Iping). Now, things are coming full circle, at least for Stedham and Iping. Here’s to the new setup ! W.R.F.
MAGAZINE DEADLINE 20th July 2016 All copy please to stlukesbenefice@aol.com contact Alison Ireland on 01428 713392 The magazine will be in the Church on the first Sunday of the month.
St Luke’s Milland 200 Club This month’s winners
1st J H Bartlett 2nd Sheila Pim 3rd Alison Ireland Please contact Julian Wells if you would like to join the 200 club.
From the St Luke’s Milland Church Wardens June has proved to be a very busy month starting with the very exciting news that the Benefice website is now up and running. If you have not already visited it, make a date to do so, it is well worth the visit. Congratulations to Bob and Alison and their daughter in law (who has done an amazing job) for a very professional site. We combined with Linch for various Benefice events this month which are reported on separately We are also pleased to report that after much hard work by John Dawes the Memorial Garden is now safe for visitors, with scaffolding and planking preventing any further fall from the roof onto the garden Congratulations to Jeremy Dawes, John's son, on a great achievement in raising a substantial amount of money in his cycle ride for LIDBA on Sunday 12th. The total amount is yet to be confirmed as there is still more money to come in. The funds are to be very generously added to the repair funds for the church roof. Very many thanks Jeremy. To date we have had two large funeral services at Milland, with the car parking duties well managed by Alan Jones. Two services have been held for the pupils of Rake School with refreshments provided by that great team Maureen and Betty. Lynne & Michael
Rake School Services by Maureen Keel
The first of two church services, to be held at St. Luke's Milland for Rake school, was attended by the two younger classes with the three older classes due to attend later in the month. The theme for the service was The Good Samaritan ,and the bible story was told and explained to the children by Rev. Trish. Then some of the pupils re-enacted the story, interspersed with readings by others, and all performed with great ability. After this the children were invited by Rev. Trish to walk to the back of the church and look at the stained glass window which depicted The Good Samaritan. It is dedicated to George Street who was indeed a Good Samaritan . Rev. Trish then explained , with the help of teacher Nikki Rhodes, the legacy of George Street. He was a local benefactor who, living in Rake at the end of the 19th century, was the driving force in the building of St. Luke's Church Milland and of Rake school. He also set up a trust, which is still in existence today, and which provides funds for needy people and organisations in this area. Truly a Good Samaritan. The service ended with a blessing, and the children were then able to enjoy the squash and biscuits prepared for them, before returning to school.
Well, what an exciting month June has been so far. We missed our morning service at Linch on the 5 th since everyone was engaged in setting up cake stalls or The Sanctuary at the Rural Fair. (See Pictures) Well done to the cake ladies for their beautifully presented stall and to all those who contributed to it. The net sum raised, to be divided between the two churches, was £565. The Sanctuary was just that and was used throughout the day by those seeking refuge from the sun, from walking about or a peaceful place to eat their sandwiches. The children also enjoyed the bran tub and colouring the pictures and just having a quiet area to sit and ‘be’. We felt that our ‘pitch’ looked very welcoming and tranquil and we ourselves found it a very pleasant place in which to spend the day. Our two churches received the wonderful news this month that we are going to have the benefit of Trish's ministry, help and friendship on a full time basis from September when she will be taking over the Parishes of Stedham with Iping. Hopefully this will benefit all of us in the future with the benefit of a good choir and the possibility of more joint ventures and more expertise put into ‘the melting pot'. Let us all take this opportunity to work together and make a successful team with all members of the four churches. Trish has been called by God to extend her boundaries and we will help
her all we can in her work to therefore extend God’s Kingdom. We send her our congratulations, love and very best wishes as she prepares for her new role. So - to H M The Queen’s birthday weekend ( Lots of photos on p20)which started, so far as Carol is concerned, on the Friday morning with the wonderful service from St Paul’s Cathedral, was followed on Saturday morning by Trooping the Colour which in turn was followed by our very own “Hymns & Pimms” on the Rectory lawn. (See photos right) Trish’s garden was beautifully decked out with bunting, balloons and ribbons and, as promised, there were lashings of Pimms. Mary T did her stuff by not only making little buns with Union Flags iced on them but also led us in patriotic songs and the National Anthem. Then Leslie took over and played our hymn choices. Everyone seemed to sing extremely heartily, there were no complaints from the neighbours and there was of course always another Pimms to oil the throat. Many thanks to Trish and family for their hospitality. The Tuxlith Art Festival was held again over the weekend of the 18th and 19th June. Once again the entries were very diverse and of a very high standard. It was a great success and a great tribute to all the hard work from Jean Mallows (right) and Christine Greaves. As part of the display, Rake School had decorated one of the windows in Milland Church to represent a stained glass window which was absolutely beautiful. Congratulations to David Bertwhistle and his team (and a very rickety ladder!) for all the hard work by his team and the pupils in the school. (see pictures page 21 and article on page 22) For the first time there was a produce stall set up in Milland Church by members of Linch Church which proved to be very popular. Well done, one to be expanded on next year?" Lynne, Michael, Carol and David
Thought for the Month
by William Alcock
Romance in the Bible - the book of Ruth We do not often hear about the little book of Ruth in the Old Testament. It has only four chapters and can be read easily in ten minutes. In essence it is a love story, a romance. Because it states in its first verse that it relates to the times of the Judges (ie after the deaths of Moses and Joshua, but before the birth of Samuel) it was placed by the original translators in that chronological position in the Bible. However it is possible it was written much later, after the exile in Babylon, to challenge the very restrictive laws then being applied to preserve the racial purity of the Jewish nation. Certainly an underlying motive for the book appears to be to convey to its Israelitish readership that God does not limit his goodness to them alone, but that his mercy extends to other peoples and races: we get the same message from Jesus Himself when he says “other sheep I have which are not of this fold - them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice” (John 10.16). Although the book’s main aim is to expose the weakness of the case for forbidding mixed marriages, it also contains the wider message that “ God is no respecter of persons” (spoken by Peter, Acts 10.34). It starts with famine in Judah driving a family of husband (Elimelech) and wife (Naomi) and their two sons across the Jordan from Bethlehem to the land of Moab. Tragically, both Elimelech and his two sons die, the latter leaving young widows, each a Moabitess. Naomi is now left with her two daughters-in-law (who evidently have no children), and the only solution seems to be for her to return to her native land, leaving her daughters-in-law to find new husbands in Moab. Orpah accepts this - but Ruth insists that come what may she will go with her mother-in-law. Her profound statement is inspirational. “Your people shall be my people, and you God my God: (Ruth1, 16-17) So Ruth, the Moabitess (and evidently a good-looking one) arrives with Naomi back in Israel, and manages to pick up a job gleaning in the barley harvest fields. While doing so she catches the eye of the landowner, Boaz, who happens to be related to Naomi. It is tempting to read some collusion between Naomi and Boaz into the story, but what is perfectly clear is that Boaz has fallen head over heels in love with Ruth. The romance is portrayed with much feeling, and a legal problem related to second marriages of those days has to be overcome: but all is well, and Ruth becomes Boaz’s wife. And, for good measure, she becomes the grandmother of Israel’s greatest King - David. And, although the author could not have known it, she was to be a greater grandmother of Jesus Christ. So much for marrying a Moabitess. A very short book, well worth a read.
JOINT BENEFICE CAKE STALL AT THE RURAL FAIR 5 JUNE 2016 Many thanks to all the wonderful people who kindly made cakes, biscuits, marmalades, jams, pastries and breads for the Joint Benefice Cake Stall at the Rural Fair on 5 June 2016. The response to the requests for contributions to the stall including cookery books was most gratifying and we really are very grateful
to everyone for their support. The net total raised on the stall was ÂŁ565 including donations. This will be divided equally between St Luke's Linch and St Luke's Milland. A splendid band of helpers, from both churches, enabled the smooth running of the stall from start to finish. This included setting up, pricing, selling and clearing up. Again our sincere thanks to you all for your very kind support.
The story behind the HYMN: Now Thank We All Our God Now thank we all our God With heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things hath done, In whom His world rejoices; Who, from our mother’s arms, Hath blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today. Oh may this bounteous God Through all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts And blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace, And guide us when perplexed, And free us from all ills In this world and the next All praise and thanks to God The Father now be given, The Son, and Him who reigns With them in highest heaven, The one eternal God, Whom earth and heaven adore; Fur thus is was, is now, And shall be evermore. Martin Rinkart
The joy and serenity of this hymn are staggering, when you learn the circumstances in which is was written. Martin Rinkart was a pastor at Eilenberg, Saxony, during the terrible Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). As a walled city, Eilenberg offered some protection to the inhabitants. No wonder that political and military refugees of all sorts poured into the city, making it dangerously overcrowded. Soon the water supply was fouled, the sanitation overwhelmed, and the food ran out – leaving people famished and diseased. In 1637 a terrible pestilence swept through the city, killing some 8,000 people, including Rinkart’s beloved wife. By that time Rinkart was the only minister left in Eilenberg, because the others had either died or fled for their lives. Rinkart alone conducted the burial services for 4480 people, sometimes taking as many as 40 to 50 funerals a day! Eilenberge was besieged and overrun three times – once by the Austrian army
and twice by the Swedes. When a Swedish general demanded the town pay him 30,000 thalers. Martin Rinkart pleaded that the impoverished city could never meet such a levy, but the general scorned him. At that, Rinkart turned to his companions and said: ‘Come, my children, we can find no mercy with man; let us take refuge with God.’ On his knees there and then, Rinkart led his friends in a fervent prayer and in the singing of a hymn. The Swedish commander was so moved that he decided that the levy be not 30,000 thalers, but instead 1,350 thalers. Somehow, out of the hell of the Thirty Years War came this lovely hymn of peace and total trust in God. Martin Rinkart had had to dig deep into his faith to survive, and the result was utter, serene dependence on God – despite chaos and destruction all around.
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SUNDAY 3 July
SERVICES FOR JULY 6th Sunday after Trinity
No Service at Linch Milland
10.30am Lessons Sidesman Readers
Benefice Eucharist 2 Kings 5: 1 – 14; Galatians 6: 1 – 16; Luke 10: 1 – 11, 16 - 20 Bob Ireland Bob Ireland and Elizabeth Cartwright
SUNDAY 10 July Linch 10.30 am Readings Sidesmen No Service at Milland
7th Sunday after Trinity Holy Communion Benefice Service Amos 7: 7 – end; Colossians 1: 1- 14; Luke 10: 25 - 37 James Caulfeild and Mary Turton
SUNDAY 17 July Linch 9.30 am Readings Sidesmen Milland 11.00am Lessons Sidesman Readers
8th Sunday after Trinity Service of the Word Amos 8: 1 – 12; Col.1: 15 – 28; Luke 10: 38 – end Lorraine Grocott and William Alcock Holy Communion Amos 8: 1 – 12; Col.1: 15 – 28; Luke 10: 38 – end Julia Hughes Maureen Keel and Julia Hughes
SUNDAY 24 July Linch 9.30 am Readings Sidesmen Milland 6.00 pm Lessons Sidesman Readers
9th Sunday after Trinity Holy Communion Hosea 1: 2 – 10; Colossians 2: 6 – 19; Luke 11: 1 - 13 Lesley Aylwin and Margaret Young Evensong Hosea 1: 2 – 10; Colossians 2: 6 – 19; Michael Cartwright John Dawes and Michael Cartwright
SUNDAY 31 July 10th Sunday after Trinity No Service at Linch Milland 10.30am Benefice BACK TO CHURCH Service on Tuxlith Green Sidesman Bob Ireland and others! Readers Bob Ireland and Leslie Lloyd 11th Sunday after Trinity Family Communion Isaiah 1: 1, 10 – 20; Hebrews 11: 1 – 3, 8 – 16; Luke 12: 32 - 40 Sidesmen Mary and Joe Gallagher and David Angela Milland 11.00am Eucharist Lessons Isaiah 1: 1, 10 – 20; Hebrews 11: 1 – 3, 8 – 16; Luke 12: 32 - 40 Sidesman Bob Ireland Readers Janet Price and Bob Ireland We have decided to put the services on the centre pages to make it easier for you to pull out of the magazine for your noticeboards if you so wish. SUNDAY 7 August Linch 9.30 am Readings
Time Prayer Father,
We are all so busy. We rush here and there, trying to meet deadlines, trying to fit more and more into our already full days. So often we seem to run out of energy and time. Sometimes we wonder what it’s all about. Help us, Lord to recognise that we have time. You have given us every day of our lives. Help us to choose wisely how we use our life time. Help us to spend time with you first; to learn your ways; to encounter the living Jesus in the Bible and in prayer. And everything else will fall into place. In Jesus’ name, Amen. By Daphne Kitching
25th July St Christopher - patron saint of motorists
The legend goes that St. Christopher was a Canaanite who lived in the 3rd century. He was a giant of a man, of fearsome appearance. At first he decided to serve the devil, but when he discovered that the devil was afraid of Christ and his Cross, Christopher decided to serve Christ instead. A nearby hermit instructed Christopher in the Christian faith, and assigned to him a place near a river: Christopher’s job was to help travellers cross it safely. All went well, and Christopher helped lots of people on their way until one day a child came along, and asked to be carried across. Christopher put him on his back and set off, but was soon staggering under the astonishing weight of this child. The child then told him that he was in fact Jesus Christ, and that he carried the weight of the whole world. The Christ-child then told Christopher to plant his staff in the ground: the next day it bore flowers and dates – confirmation that the child was indeed who he claimed to be. After some time more of helping travellers cross the river, Christopher went to the city of Lycia, where he preached the gospel with such success that the Roman emperor (Decius?) had him arrested and imprisoned – especially when Christopher refused to sacrifice to the gods. Two women sent into his cell to
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seduce him came out converted Christians instead. So Christopher was beaten, shot with arrows and finally beheaded. Christopher has been well loved of the English down the centuries. Many wallpaintings of him have been placed on the north wall of churches, opposite the porch, so that he would be seen by all who entered. There was good reason for this: as patron saint of travellers, it was believed that anyone who saw an image of St Christopher would not die that day. As the ancient saying goes: ‘Behold St Christopher and go thy way in safety’. A kind of daily insurance policy against death – this was so good that in due course St. Christopher became the patron saint of motorists. There is even a church in the Javel area of Paris where Citroen cars are made, that is dedicated to St Christopher. In modern times, with the increase in air and motorway travel, Christopher has remained popular. When in 1969 the Holy See reduced his feast day, there was a sharp protest in several countries, led in Italy by a number of popular film stars. If you ever travel in a taxi on the Continent, look out for a little St Christopher hanging from the rear view mirror beside the driver. Now you know why it is there!
As fine silver...
Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study. They got to wondering what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot, and then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it." If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you. His aim is not to abandon or destroy you, but to refine you - until He sees His image in you.
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Rake School Right Royal Mix-Up Week To celebrate the Queen’s 90th Birthday Rake School hosted an art mix-up week which everyone was looking forward to. The staff had organised some very exciting crafts for the children - one class made their own royal stamps, another made royal plates, some made mosaic queen pictures, the Coronation regalia and a royal stained glass window. With the sun shining, the children took it in turns during the week to make the most of the school swimming pool in moments that they weren’t covered in glue, paper or sequins! The Diamond Jubilee Window that can be seen in Westminster Hall was the inspiration for the school’s royal window. The design was drawn out and the children set about cover it in screwed up balls of tissue paper. It took the week to fill up each of the three panels, a slow procedure but a great result when it was finally completed. It was hoped that the school’s royal stained glass window could hang in the window of St Luke’s Church, Milland and we are thrilled that it now resides there. (see front cover) Our royal mix-up week finished with maypole dancing, games on the field and a street party in the school playground complete with a wind band. The school’s music teacher, Mr Tim Wynne, even played the National Anthem on his cornet. A great week – Happy Birthday Your Majesty! (see pictures page 21)
(see article overleaf)
What it means when someone always complains Do you know people who complain all the time? Hopefully you won’t meet any on holiday this year, but if you do, you will know how tiresome they can be. Complaining people go through life generally dissatisfied because everyone else does not share the high opinion they have of themselves. In the popular phrase, ‘everything is about them’. In every situation they believe their wants must come first, regardless of the welfare of others. Whenever they do not get the honour they feel is due them, complaining people take offence, become resentful, feel hard done by, and whine bitterly. Second best is NEVER good enough for them – it is considered to be an insult. What is behind it all? The Bible tells us that it is pride. Their ego has become a tyrant that must be appeased at all costs. The truth is, proud complaining people are spiritually needy people. They are actually very fragile – feeling that their inner worth is under threat if others do not keep reassuring them that they are important and valued. They are selfish – with no bigger horizon than themselves. The Bible tells us that ‘God opposes the proud’. The concept here is that He keeps them at a distance, He stiff-arms them. What a contrast to the freedom enjoyed by humble, grateful people! Truly humble people are those who have turned to God and faced the truth about themselves. They have sought, and received, Christ’s mercy and forgiveness for past wrongs. They are free from the burden of their past! The Holy Spirit is pouring His grace into their lives, and they know their inner worth is secure in God’s great love for them. They don’t need to rely on other people to tell them they are ‘worth it’. Humble people are grateful to God and this gratitude overflows into kindness and love towards others, and simple gratitude for whatever good comes their way in life.
Notices that didn’t quite ‘make it’… The preacher for Sunday next will be found hanging on the notice board in the porch. Churchyard maintenance is becoming increasingly difficult, so it will be appreciated if parishioners cut the grass around their own graves. Day trip?
15th July St. Swithun (or Swithin) - saint for a rainy day
St. Swithun is apparently the saint you can blame for rainy summers. It is said that if it rains on his special day, 15th July, it will then rain for 40 days after that. It all began when Swithun was made Bishop of Winchester in 852 by King Ethelwulf of Wessex. It was an important posting: Winchester was the capital of Wessex, and during the 10 years Swithun was there, Wessex became the most important kingdom of England. During his life, instead of washing out people’s summer holidays, and damping down their spirits, Swithun seems to have done a lot of good. He was famous for his charitable gifts and for his energy in getting churches built. When he was dying in 862, he asked that he be buried in the cemetery of the Old Minster, just outside the west door. If he had been left there in peace, who knows how many rainy summers the English may have been spared over the last 1000 years. But, no, it was decided to move Swithun. By now, the 960s, Winchester had become the first monastic cathedral chapter in England, and the newly installed monks wanted Swithun in the cathedral with them. So finally, on 15 July 971, his bones were dug up and Swithun was translated into the cathedral. That same day many people claimed to have had miraculous cures. Certainly everyone got wet, for the heavens opened. The unusually heavy rain that day, and on the days following, was attributed to the power of St Swithun. Swithun was moved again in 1093, into the new Winchester cathedral. His shrine was a popular place of pilgrimage throughout the middle ages. The shrine was destroyed during the Reformation, and restored in 1962. There are 58 ancient dedications to Swithun in England.
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36 Newtown Road, Liphook, Hants. GU30 7DX
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Jeremy Dawes finishing off his Liphook Bike Ride on Sunday June 12th yes it was a bit wet but he still managed to shave off 3 minutes from his previous best. A huge thank you to the many people who have given so readily given to help muchneeded Church Funds for St Luke's Milland.
The Baptism of Aurelia at Linch