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The Penhill Benefice
The Benefice Peace And Justice Group
Incorporating the parishes of Aysgarth, Bolton-cum-Redmire,
Vicar: Revd. Canon Sue Whitehouse, The Vicarage, Carperby. Tel: 663235
PENHILL NEWSLETTERJuly 2008Dear Friends, We have now come to the double summer issue of the newsletter. End of term activities are already upon us and soon we shall be into the school summer holidays. Whether or not our lives are governed by a school routine there is always a more relaxed feel to August – time and opportunity perhaps to do something different or at least to let up a little on the rigours of our normal routine. In the rhythm of our lives there does need to be space for renewal and refreshment. In the Autumn I shall be fortunate enough to have an extended period of sabbatical leave from mid-August to the end of November. This will be a time of rest, prayer, reflection and study. I have various courses and activities planned to give some structure to the time away. The theme is “presenting the Gospel in different ways”. To begin with I shall spend a week in Taize – an ecumenical community founded after the Second World War by Brother Roger. Initially it was intended as a focus of reconciliation between France and Germany but its influence as a place of worship and learning has grown to be worldwide. Church services there have a very distinctive form. The building, with an enormous tent extension to accommodate all the summer visitors, is always lit by candles and the services are based around chants, some of which we either sing or hear in various churches in the benefice. I shall spend two separate weeks at St. Deiniol’s Library near Chester. This is a conference house built by the Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone to accommodate his theological library, which he left to the Church. (Some of you will remember that some time ago Peter Jagger went from being vicar of Bolton-cum-Redmire to be Warden at St. Deiniol’s). There I shall follow courses on “Faith in Film” and the “Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the Celtic Saints.” I shall also have a week on Iona with John Bell (whom some of you may know from hearing him on “Thought for the Day”) leading sessions on “Re-Opening the Bible” when we shall look at fresh ways of presenting biblical material. In between the courses I shall be reading, watching films and preparing material so that I can share with you some of the new insights that I have gained. Penny and Judith will run the benefice during this period, supported by our Readers and retired clergy. I am very grateful to them for making my study leave possible. I know that you will appreciate that they will have an extra workload and will not be able to come to all events in the parishes. But if there is an emergency or someone is very ill please do let them know whatever. It is quite distressing for a priest not to be told something important because people thought that they were already too busy. I am very much looking forward to this opportunity to reflect and take stock. And, I shall enjoy coming back refreshed and with new ideas for us all to work with. Meantime I hope that you all are able to take some time out this summer whether at home or away. With God’s love and blessing Sue (Vicar) CHRISTIAN AIDWe should like to thank everyone who supported our events this year. To date £3966 plus £472 gift aid extra is being forwarded to Christian Aid from the Wensleydale area which stretches from Thornton Steward to Thornton Rust. The envelope collections from the Penhill Benefice are as follows:
£200 was given by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Penhill and East Witton lunches raised £1317. Very many thanks to all concerned for the work involved. Noel Ashworth (Hon Treas.) Helen Brown (Hon Organiser) GALA PIANO RECITALBy International Concert Pianist MARTIN ROSCOE
SUMMER FAYRE
Lots of stalls -
PET SERVICE
Come & give thanks for Gods creations and our own special pets. EVERYONE & PETS WELCOME! Preston-with-Wensley PCC Invite you to a SONGS OF PRAISE with special guests The Margaret Westwood Singers
All are welcome to ioin in song, thanksgiving and community FLOWER FESTIVAL WEEKEND
OPEN GARDENS
THORNTON RUST COUNTRY SHOW
ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S FLOWER FESTIVAL
GIFT AID THANKYOUA big thank you to all those who have signed gift aid forms for any monies they give to the churches. For St Andrew’s enough money has been raised through gift aid repayments from the government to cover two months of the diocesan share. This has made a big difference at a time when it is costing £100 a day to maintain St Andrew’s. Anyone in the community who wants to make a donation to their local church can make it go a bit further by registering for gift aid if they are paying tax on any part of their income. That includes pensions and savings. For more information about gift aid contact the Penhill Benefice office (see back of newsletter). For those who are interested there are regular ways of donating money to their church, either through planned giving using weekly envelopes or by a bank standing order. VILLAGE LUNCH at Swinithwaite House, Swinithwaite
Musicality SingersWe are a small ladies group who have a wide repertoire to suit all occasions and venues, and we also consider concerts for charities and churches. Our repertoire ranges from songs by classical composers such as Handel and Mozart to the modern composers such as Gershwin and Lennon and McCartney, songs from stage and film and also sacred songs. We often include humorous monologues. We can provide daytime as well as evening concerts.
c/o The Vicarage, Carperby, Leyburn DL8 4DQ. Tel: 663097or email penhill.benefice@tiscali.co.uk June 2008
Friends, There has been the wonder of God in the birth of Jesus—‘God-with-us’ come to share our earthly life so that whatever happens to us we know that he will understand and share our feelings, sufferings and joys. Good Friday reminds us each year of the depth of God’s love for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus - a love and forgiveness that surrounds us here and now - daily giving us the opportunity to leave the regrets and shames of the past behind us and start again. And, through the Resurrection we have the hope that this love will sustain and support us through the process of dying into the fullness of new life when we shall become the whole people God intends us to be. The excitement of the Holy Spirit coming to the first disciples speaks of the presence of God in the world today equipping and empowering us to work for the completion of His kingdom on earth. The colour of Ordinary Time is green – the colour of growth. Reading through God’s gifts to us in the great festivals that we celebrate in the first half of the year I am struck by how much support and encouragement we are given to live our lives in the perspective of God’s Kingdom. And, encouragement is one of the most important gifts that we can give to and accept from each other by way of gratitude for all that God does for us. We all know the wonders that a word of encouragement can achieve in what we try to do and conversely how destructive constant criticism can be both to individuals and to communities. I recently attended a course where we were told that in training other people the supervisor should highlight FIVE positive instances of progress to every word of constructive criticism. My immediate thought was how often we fail to do this in our present society both in church and state. Politicians and Bishops are regarded as fair game for our constant carping. We are much slower to confer any praise or gratitude for what they are doing for our benefit. And quite often we blame them for the ills of the world when we ourselves are not prepared to make the effort to play any positive part in furthering the development of community life. And, encouragement does not just apply to big concerns. Think how different –how nearer to God’s vision for the world we would be –if we all endeavoured to accept God’s encouragement in our own lives and brought that encouragement to our families, communities, churches and nation. It is something for us to try in the next six months of Ordinary Time. Remember every time you criticise someone, openly to them or about them to someone else, that warrants five instances of praise or appreciation from you about them. If we all did this I reckon that our communities, churches and nation would change, grow and develop. A daunting prospect, perhaps. But we do have God’s presence in his Holy Spirit to strengthen us for the task. With the blessing of God on our lives and endeavours for the world, Sue (Vicar) SHARE THE LIGHT'Share the Light' Bible Study "Patience" including how does 'The Parable of the Sower'(Luke 8) illustrate that patience is an important part of spiritual growth.
“OPEN SPACE”
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PRESTON-UNDER-SCAR STUDY GROUP
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