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Reflections Blog
Members of PCCs of St Ippolyts Church, St Mary's Little Wymondley and St Mary's Great Wymondley joined together for an away day with Revd Ginni. The purpose was to discuss the future of our churches and the development of Mission Action Plans for each of the Benefices.
A wide ranging discussion encompassed amongst other things the buildings and their potential, services including content and timings as well as the problems of attracting more children and younger people.
See the Gallery for more photos
Audrey Burr extends her thanks to all those who attended or supported her 'Send a Cow' Coffee morning. £350 was raised.
Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly
A big thank you to Bob and Frani Williams for hosting the 'Friends of St Ippolyts Church' Tea Party at their superb home of Maydencroft Manor on Wednesday 24th May. Over 50 people enjoyed the the spendid afternoon where we were all treated to a delicious array of cakes washed down by copious amounts of tea. The weather was extremely kind and, as well as tea and cake, we were able to buy handmade greeting cards from Pauline himks and Jo Cooper.
THY KINGDOM COME EVENT
It would be lovely to see our Benefice represented at this special Beacon Event Celebration which marks the end of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. This ten-day period of unified prayer encouraged all Christians to pray that more people may come to know Jesus. It
has been running all around the world and has involved all denominations. The last day of the event will be marked on Pentecost Sunday, 4th June by this special service at St. Albans Cathedral at 6.30pm.
Do come and join in if you possibly can, it will be a great occasion!
Ginni
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FRANCES (FRANKIE) MARJORIE EDMONDS - 14.5.1921 - 26.3.2017
Some of you will have been at the beautiful memorial service on Tuesday 2nd May at which we celebrated the life of our dear friend Frankie Edmonds. We were all asked to wear cheerful colours and it turned out to be a happy gathering of family and old friends. There were lovely tributes paid to her by Tricia her daughter and our Vicar, The Reverend Ginni Dear. Ginni said that she just wished she had known her in her heyday as they obviously shared a great sense of fun.
Frankie loved what she called ‘the old tunes’, Vera Lynn, songs from My Fair Lady and many others which she remembered well, particularly from her wartime service with the WAAF. Some of these were sung in church at the end of the service and we all burst into applause! She would have loved it.
I first met Frankie in 1958 when John and I came to live here soon after we were married. I think it must have been at a party someone gave to welcome us to the village. Frankie and Humphrey would certainly have been there. John died in 1982 and I shall never forget the kindness they showed me, quite a young widow, during that difficult time. They were both a rock of strength for me, socially and practically and with my family and other local friends, they put me back on my feet.
Frankie was a wonderful friend and support to so many people and although having no grandchildren of her own, never failed to show her interest in all our families. She loved young people and everyone I know enjoyed being in her company, she was indeed such fun.
Frankie never lost her spirit even after her dear Humphrey died and during her last few difficult months. She left us, peacefully and quietly in her own home, and will be sorely missed by all who knew her. It is good to know that after such a long and full life she will be safely reunited with her beloved Humphrey.
May they rest together in peace.
Mary Blaksley
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REINVENTING THE VICAR!
Following on from my letter in last month’s PAX, I feel an update is in order!
First of all, a huge thank you to you all for your positive and encouraging comments following my admission that I need to address my health and fitness issues and especially to those of you who said that you would pray
for me - I was very touched that you would do that for me - and, yes, even vicars need prayer too!!
The ‘new regime’ has got off to a slow start owing to some pre-arranged holiday and a week long, fully-catered conference I had to attend - I was careful not to over-indulge too much but a ‘full English’ is hard to resist! I am a few pounds lighter than last month but my legs and hips still feel like they belong to someone else (possibly an aging arthritic duck!). However, the holidays are over and it’s full speed ahead with the healthy eating under the watchful and slightly sadistic eye of my eldest daughter! It’s not going to be a quick fix but, with your continued prayers and encouragement, I’m hopeful I’ll get there eventually.
Watch this space!! Ginni
OPEN GARDENS - Sunday 24th June 2018
Do you live on Waterdell Lane, Mill Road, Mill Lane (from Mill Road to Gosmore High Street), Gosmore High Street, Maydencroft Lane, The Crescent, Townsend Place, London Road (from Waterdell Lane to Flint House) or Orchard Close?
Is your garden looking lovely this month?
If so would you "open" it next year on Sunday 24th June?
We would love a range of gardens, big and small, formal, informal, allotment style, etc. It doesn't have to be perfect (what garden is?) and if you enjoy it we are sure that others would love to see it.
For more information please contact Barbara 01462-421647 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
LEARNING HOW TO PRAY
I was with a group of primary school children recently and I was asked to say a prayer before the children went off to their activities. In true ‘vicar-fashion’ I began by saying “Let us pray” and instantly twenty heads bowed, hands were put together with index fingers under chins and eyes were closed ... all except one little boy at the back who began looking all around him …. upwards, downwards and side to side.
As I continued with the prayer I could see the teacher nearest to him quietly motioning him to assume the ‘praying position’ whilst the little boy looked a little “discombobulated”. Later on, the teacher relayed the conversation she had had with him at that point. Apparently, on being pulled up for his lack of conformation with the rest of his peers, he whispered to the teacher “but Miss, if I close my eyes then I won’t be able to see God when he comes to listen to the prayer”!!
It struck me then that this little boy probably had a better idea of what it meant to pray than most of the rest of us. After all, he had his eyes open because he really did expect God to turn up to listen. I wonder sometimes whether that is our expectation of God, that He does actually listen to our individual pleas, or whether we just hope our words are heard but daren’t think about it too deeply in case we are seen as lacking faith?
I was pondering this whilst I was on holiday and questioning my own expectations of prayer and the reasoning behind the mechanics of the way I pray. I remember when I was a small child being told to close my eyes and bow my head during the school prayer. I don’t think I had any expectations then although I do remember trying to squint my eyes a little bit to see what everyone else was doing without any of the teachers spotting my non-compliance! I wasn’t brought up in a church-going family but I remember that in my troubled teenage years, I would bunk off school and wile away the time in the countryside addressing my thoughts to ‘someone out there’. I wonder now if the feeling I had that somehow my thoughts were heard was God desperately trying to get me to realise that He was indeed there!
I always felt a draw to my local church, aside from the fact that it was a good place to hide when I was truanting and the weather was too cold to wander the countryside, because it seemed to ooze peace and a sense of belonging I didn’t feel anywhere else. But I also remember that when I eventually started attending a church in my late twenties I
was more concerned with doing things the ‘right’ way and not looking foolish than I was with questioning why I was there in the first place.
Life has obviously moved on considerably for me since those days but I am thankful to that little boy at the school for reminding me how easy it is to allow our misconceptions or preconceptions of God to get in the way of our relationship with Him and how those of us who ‘do church’ can be barriers
to those who are just coming to an awareness of the possibility of God.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this. Whether you are a life-long Christian or someone who isn’t sure whether God is actually there or not,
or anyone in between. How do you pray or, how would you pray if you did? Do you think there is a right way to pray? Do you expect God to be listening or daren’t you ask that question? What helps you to pray and what stops you from praying? What preconceptions or misconceptions about God are you aware that you have or have had?
Please send me an email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or a letter to The Vicarage, Stevenage Road, St. Ippolyts, SG4 7PE. Feel free to remain anonymous if you prefer! Your answers will help me put together an informal course I hope to run in the autumn called Exploring Prayer and, with any luck, we can all help each other to build on our relationship with God.
With love - Ginni
There will be an Ascension Day Service at 07:30 at St Ippolyts Church. This is followed by Breakfast kindly procured and cooked by Roger and Shelagh Cox.
Can we tempt Revd Ginni to sing from the Tower? I expect not!!
Come to John and Audrey Burr's Coffee Morning on Friday 9th June 2017 between 10:30 & 12:30.
Plants, Cakes and a raffle!
Bring a Friend
15 Grange Close, Hitchin, SG4 9HD
All proceeds to Send a Cow (Change a family's future)
www.sendacow.org
The St Albans Diocese is searching for a full-time Estates and Trust Officer. The closing date for applications is 30 May: details on www.stalbans.anglican.org/diocese/other-vacancies