Reflections Blog

Whilst Revd Ginni is on holiday we were most fortunate to hav Archdeacon Charles take our morning communion today.

The Quiz Night will no longer be held on 13th May the new date will be in November 2023. Look out for further details

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY – QUIZ NIGHT Saturday 13^th May

? After a break of three years, the Church Quiz Night is returning!

Why not consider making a team of 6-8 persons and come along for an evening of fun. Tickets will be £12 which includes a Ploughman’s supper and there will be a bar serving beer, wine, and soft drinks. 

Mary Hooper

BIBLE STUDY

We normally meet on the second and forth Wednesdays of each month at 2.30pm at Oakhurst, and tea and cake are enjoyed afterwards.

(The actual dates for March will be the 8^th and the 22^nd).

Everyone is welcome.  If you would like more details, please contact either: 

Margaret Edmonds on 01462 452340 or 

Christine Sibun on 01462 459145

THE FRIENDS OF ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH 

Lent Lunches - Every Wednesday during Lent from Ash Wednesday February 22^nd through to Wednesday April 5^th there will be a choice of home-made soups supplied by Friends of St Ippolyts Church. This is served with fresh bread from our St Ippolyts Store and is held at St Ippolyts Parish Hall from 12.45pm. The cost is £2.50 and a donation for second helpings.

Easter - Friends and anyone who would like to help are invited to decorate St Ippolyts Church on Friday 8^th April from 9.30am or Saturday 9^th April from 9.30am with arrangements or flowers to help celebrate Easter. All are welcome.
Easter Lilies - If you would like to donate towards 'Easter lilies', please mark an envelope 'Easter Lilies' and put your donation in the letter box of either Carol Scott or Jane Veasey.

Friends hope to see you during Lent at the lunches or at our Easter preparations.  

Frances Williams, Carol Scott, Joan Pinkstone

Revd. Ginni was thrilled to be able to take communion service into Wymondley Nursing Home after a break of three years due to Covid restrictions.  We aim to go each month on the first Tuesday at 2.30 pm. The Melodic Miracles would be pleased to welcome some extra support, it is good fun and very rewarding to see how pleased the residents are to see us and sing some hymns. It is all very informal, and we usually stop to have a little chat with everyone afterwards. Please note that this month there is an exception to that rule, we are meeting there on the second Tuesday, 14^th, hope to see you there.

Rosemary Stratton 

THE BENEFICE OF

ST IPPOLYTS WITH GREAT AND LITTLE WYMONDLEY

Parish Pantry

With food prices rising fast, we know that sometimes it’s a struggle to make ends meet.

So, we have set up a Parish Pantry, a mini version of a food bank, which has a supply of food and toiletries that are available should you need them.

We don’t have enough resources to offer long term support, but we can help bridge a gap.

If you would like to access the Parish Pantry, then please contact Revd Ginni at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Any emails will be treated with the strictest confidence.

The Parish Pantry relies solely on donations, so if you feel able to donate non-perishable items to the Pantry then please either contact Revd Ginni by email or drop the donation off at The Vicarage.  

Many thanks.

Dear Friends,

One of my greatest childhood heroes was the cricketer Keith Miller (he was an Australian but I forgave him) and a former World War Two fighter pilot. He was once asked how he handled pressure on the cricket field. He replied that 'pressure is a Messerschmitt up your ****. Playing cricket is not'.  To him life was about priorities.

In the recent past two controversial issues have come to the surface. The first has been the proposed decision by the Church of England to spend £100 million in reparation for past evils of the slave trade. The other has been whether the Anglican Church may or may not marry same sex couples in church, something that is threatening to tear it apart. They are two of many areas of controversy on both spiritual and moral grounds, ones where strongly felt opinions are rightly felt and expressed.

Far be it for me to be controversial lest it causes offence. But here I return to Mr Miller's famous words and apply them to such issues; instead of looking at them in isolation we need to look at the whole picture, seeing them in the light of the teaching of Our Lord and also of the vision we have of what the Church exists to be and to do. 

What might be our priorities? First to be a community for worship and prayer –not just in the context of coming to church but also aspiring to living true Christian lives. The Church is people, not buildings; we are the Church who meet in our churches. We meet to worship, and both there and in prayer we bring the needs and aspirations of those around us to God.

Secondly, we are here to serve, to give and not to take. This goes clean contrary to the materialism and self-centredness of the world as a whole. We represent an alternative world with an alternative vision of the world, with different values, a different focal point, with the future more important than the present. We are IN the world but not OF the world. 

Third we are here to care. There is so much suffering in the world today. Not just the great tragedies such as the recent earthquake in Syria but the running sore of world poverty. Not just well recorded tragedies that hit the headlines but those who are sick, lonely, disabled, bereaved. I love those words of John Donne: 'Any man's death diminishes me because I am a part of mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls – it tolls for thee'. 

Fourth, we are to draw others to believe as we believe. I know that the whole idea of so-called evangelism is out of date now and some see it almost as dangerous. But Christianity is not some kind of a woolly belief in a God of some sort, coming to church now and again and trying to live a decent life. Christianity is a way of life and it changes existence into living to the full. The Church is a living organization that exists for other people and in our own lives we must show that it works in practical terms.

You may think of other fundamental purposes for what the Church exists to do and to be; like another hero of mine (Winnie the Pooh) I am a bear of very little brain. But as we consider these matters that hit the headlines we need to think of them in terms of whether they will strengthen the vision, work and worship of the Church today. It is all about priorities, about the wider picture – not in isolation.

Something to ponder for Lent this month perhaps?

With very best wishes, 

Paul Lanham

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Are there any kind people out there who might be able to offer some assistance?  We are hoping to begin to have Community Lunches in the Parish Hall again later in the year, but we do need some more helpers to swell the existing team in order to do this.  Could you volunteer for just once or twice a year? even if it’s just for half-an-hour helping to set up the tables – or clearing up at the end.  The lunches were very popular and a great chance to get together, especially for those on their own.  It would be great to be able to start them again – but lack of a few extra hands is preventing this at the moment.  If you think you could offer some help, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – or tel 01462 432117.  We live in hope…..

Clare was a kind and thoughtful member of the St Ippolyts church community since moving to Hitchin in 1970. Over the years, she joined the Young Wives Group, coffee and church cleaning rotas, Bible Study group and was a Sidesperson, to name but a few. She was a calming influence at meetings and a happy, chatty guest at social gatherings. Her comments were considered and encouraging, and her opinions were greatly valued. Frequently asking after others and listening carefully to the replies, she was genuinely interested in the lives of those around her. She edited the PAX magazine for 30 years and always knew the details of events taking place within the parish and wider church community. She was a bell ringer for many years and loved the practice sessions as well as ringing for special occasions and regular Sunday services. As a keen walker, she enjoyed the annual pilgrimage to St Albans Abbey on Easter Monday and the walk around the parish boundary. Clare continued to walk to visit friends, into town or to church until the summer last year. She also very much enjoyed being outside in her garden - planting and weeding and watching the birds. She will be very sadly missed by everyone who knew her.

Fitz Larsen, Tracie, Wendy, and Diana

THE FRIENDS OF ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH

Friends held our Spring meeting at the home of Anne Steel and anyone in the Parish is welcome to join our friendly group who offer friendship, phone calls and support to our local community.  We have some events coming up and help would be appreciated with keeping our church welcoming with fresh flowers. We have a rota for the year so not much time is required, and we all enjoy meeting each other and new people who live in our Parish. 

Lent - Every Wednesday from February Wednesday 22^nd to Wednesday 5^th April Friends make a selection of soups. Soup will be served with fresh bread from our St Ippolyts Store from 12.45pm in our Parish Hall. The cost is £2.50.

Harvest thank you - Thank you to all children and families at St Ippolyts School for their generous donations for Harvest Festival and thank you to Friends for helping to clear St Ippolyts Church of produce after Harvest Festival. Thank you to Revd. Ginni for distributing the produce within the local community.

Frances Williams, Carol Scott, Joan Pinkstone

NATIVITY CRIB FESTIVAL

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Nativity Crib Festival such a success. I wondered if we could out do last year, and I think we did in every way. We had more cribs than ever before (260 we think), we raised more money than ever before somewhat over £1700 and, I think, it looked more spectacular than ever before. Not only that but we were the “treasure” on Three Counties radio Treasure Hunt, and they actually found us so we had our 2 minutes of fame!

As one of our visitors said “I don’t know what I was expecting, but we were blown away by the whole setup. So many cribs and very well displayed. We had a lovely time looking at them all. Such a variety and great to read some of their back stories. We had a lovely time, and the tea and cakes were great too.”

Barbara Thomas

4^th HITCHIN (ST IPPOLYTS) CUBS.

We are open to Boys and Girls age 8 to 10 1/2 who live locally or in the villages south of Hitchin. We meet on Monday evenings in the Parish Hall in the winter and outside in the Summer.

The Pack have had a busy autumn Term with a range of activities including a Camp Fire, fire lighting and gaining Home Help and Home Safety badges. During half term we took a group of our Cubs and some of the Hitchin Air Scouts to an activity day at OId Warden seeing the Shuttleworth Collection of planes. All the young people gained their Air Activities Badge

This term we will be working on the Astronomer's Badge, making bird boxes, a rock climbing /archery evening at the Priory School and making pancakes. In the Summer we plan to go to the Hitchin District Cub Camp in Henlow.

If you know of a young person who would like to join us, or if you are an adult who would like to be part of our great Leadership team please contact me.

Paul Pinkstone (Cub Scout Leader)
07833338699
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ST IPPOLYTS PARISH HALL

Christmas Fair

Stalls with all sorts of goodies were organised by Come Dance, the PCC, Tiny Tots, Inner Wheel, Jean Jones, Sue Males and Vickie Pakeham. Beaver Scouts ran games.The Dog Training Club provided tea, coffee, and cakes. Youngsters were able to visit Father Christmas in his lovely grotto and have their face painted. There were also Books and Toy stalls. Dance Fusion gave a demonstration. The Fair which is run on a 50/50 basis with User Groups raised £415.27 and donations received were £80.

The Trustees Raffle raised £723.20.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the annual Fair such a success and thanks to all the visitors for coming and supporting this traditional event.

Diary Dates 

25^th Annual General Meeting of the 1998 St Ippolyts Hall Charity on Wednesday 19^th April 2023 at 7.30pm

Management Meetings in June and September dates to be arranged.

Christmas Fair on Saturday 25^th November from 2pm to 4.30pm.

For bookings and enquiries, please contact Sam Kelly, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or phone 07389-891417.

Visit www.stippolyts-hall.co.uk  and / or Facebook. 

Pam Skeggs

GREAT WYMONDLEY 

CHRISTMAS SERVICES 

A good number of people gathered around the group of Pallet Christmas Trees on the Village Green for Readings and to sing Carols and then walk up to the churchyard to follow the Christmas Tree Trail around the churchyard stopping at various places for more Carols and Readings. The Trail ended in the church for another Carol and then Mulled Wine and Mince Pies. 

Quite a few households in the village had decorated a Christmas Tree made from a wooden pallet and hung lights and decorations on it as a church fundraiser.

On Christmas Eve the church was nearly full of people coming to the traditional service of Carols and Readings followed by Mulled Wine and Mince Pies. 

JAM MARMALADE AND CHUTNEY 

Thank you to everyone who came to buy jam, marmalade, and chutney for their home use and for Christmas presents. 

BOOK EXCHANGE 

The books have been moved from the porch to two pews at the back of the nave until we get a bookcase for them.

The books are available for borrowing and then returning or for keeping.
There is a jar there for donations to Church Funds. 

SNOWDROPS 

The first snowdrops are just beginning to show in the churchyard and in a few weeks will be well worth a look as well as elsewhere around the village especially in Graveley Road. 

Cherry Carter 

WYMONDLEY COMMUNITY GARDEN

February gardening club will take place on the 18^th, between 9am and 12pm. We will start to prepare the garden for the growing season. 

Please bring gloves. For more information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., check the Great Wymondley Facebook page or @wymondley.communitygarden

Dear Friends,

I still shudder at the memory of a junior school assembly one February day about forty years ago. Trying to tell them about Lent I asked if they knew about Shrove Tuesday. To my astonishment they gave a perfect reply. Trying to compose myself I did the same thing about Ash Wednesday and got an even more comprehensive reply. 'How do you know?' I asked incredulously and got the devastating reply, 'Please sir, we did it yesterday'. All I could do was to collapse with laughter and give up, thus proving that at times vicars deserve danger money as well as stipends – but don't get me on that.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22^nd. It is traditionally associated with abstinence as we prepare ourselves spiritually for the events leading up to Holy Week and Easter. But like Christmas and Easter it has both spiritual and secular overtones. People think of giving up something in Lent – smoking, drinking, chocolate are the usual targets. It's the incentive to slim or take more exercise or tidy the roof or garage. All very praiseworthy, especially the last of these in my case. The trouble is that they have a kind of negative aspect, that we should give up what we did before or change a previously tolerated aspect of our lives. And as someone who has been involved in clinical depression for almost 40 years I try and see beyond the negative to the positive.  

Lent may be an opportunity to go beyond these suggestions to how we might use it to deepen our spiritual lives. Courses for study, reading books, deepening our prayer and worship lives, that kind of thing. We need to think of Christianity as a pilgrimage into God rather than something static. It should be exciting, an adventure, something perhaps to live dangerously spiritually. Moving forward rather than clinging to what we have got. Lent is a time for spiritual refreshment, as we start to look forward to the events in the Christian calendar. It's something to approach positively rather than negatively, something to ponder in this grey and chilly month.

Being positive in a very different way since the last issue of Pax Judy has come to live at home after five long months in hospital. Sadly, she is now permanently disabled but as a family we are together again – and she is still alive. We have been enormously supported by the love and prayers of you all and we cannot thank you enough for helping us to this point. Phone calls, e-mails and visits are always welcome. If you don't know how to contact usplease ask Ginni, though if you want to visit us please warn us in advance. And as for Lent I shall be using it to continue to strengthen my voice so that it won't be too long before I can return to the parish after so long; we miss you very much! 

With our love,

Paul Lanham

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Christingle Service this Sunday 22nd January- All Welcome

Collection for Children's Society

JUBILATE!

Under their Musical Director John Edwards

Present:

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SING NOEL!

Come and join us as we sing carols from around the world at

St Ippolyts Church

Friday 6^th January 2023

7.00pm

Tickets £6 on the door

Accompanist: Alison Borner