January 2011

ST. MARY’S FINEDONST. MARY’S FINEDONST. MARY’S FINEDONST. MARY’S FINEDON

PARISH MAGAZINEPARISH MAGAZINEPARISH MAGAZINEPARISH MAGAZINE

JANUARY JANUARY JANUARY JANUARY 2011201120112011

ST. MARY THE VIRGIN

FINEDON

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PARISH MAGAZINE

JANUARY 2011

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From the Churchwardens

A Happy New Year to you all from your Churchwardens

Hopefully we will all start this New Year with great enthusiasm and

anticipation of a new chapter for St. Mary’s Parish Church.

We must thank a group of people that have worked laboriously over

2010 to maintain our beautiful Church for the worship of God and

to help us pay our bills.

Well done and thank you to the Flower Festival and the Fund Raising

committees who have worked enormously hard to raise money. The

Flower Festival Committee donated £1,750.00 to the General Fund

and £1,750.00 to the Restoration fund. That was an excellent

result considering the dubious weather conditions over the Flower

Festival weekend. Well done.

The Fund Raising team will have raised almost £8,000.00 over the

past twelve months. This is also a great result ladies.

Congratulations on your very hard work and for the support of your

long-suffering husbands who work tirelessly in the background.

Giving has risen by 8% after our Stewardship campaign but we still

struggle to pay our bills. Can we all, who use the envelope scheme,

make a new resolution and return our weekly envelopes whether we

have attended Church or not. This will be very helpful . Some

people are very good and do bring all their missing envelopes with

their weekly giving to Church when they have missed a Sunday.

This would improve our financial situation greatly if you do make a

weekly commitment and return all the envelopes filled.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who have sponsored the

floodlights. We are able to keep them on all week because of the

tremendous support we are getting from the Parish. Thanks to

Bippen at Finedon Stores for his support for St. Mary’s Church and

for the Christmas Hamper raffle for the Church lights.

Neil and I have been looking into and researching the heating

situation, which is grim. The boiler is very old and struggling and has

reached its twilight years. It has been difficult to keep the Church

warm through the very cold weather. We hope we will have some

good news about the heating situation in the future – we are working

on it.

Every blessing,

Jane and Neil

From the Registers

Holy Baptism

12th December Andrew Yearsley

Zara Alexandra Yearsley

Floodlight Sponsorship

Week commencing:

21st November Connie Piggott in memory of Ellen Harris 28th November Maggie Groome - in memory of John Edwards Rachel Terry - in memory of John Edwards Nina Beetson - in memory of Donald Beetson 5th December Lynn & Martin Pettitt - to celebrate the birth of their granddaughter Isabelle Pettitt Tony & Lianne Abel - in memory of Mrs Joan Abell 12th December Jane & David Read - in memory of Eva & Keith

Faulkner David & Daphne Billson - in memory of Sheila Turner and in joy at seeing the lights turned on.

19th December Mrs & Mrs A Pickering - in memory of their daughter Alison Jane Pickering. Ann & Derek Bates & Rosalind & Tony Elliott In memory of Alison Jane Pickering Beryl & Gerry Needle - to celebrate their 58th Wedding Anniversary To thank the Mayes family for their Christmas gift to the church Jane & David Read - in memory of Richard, Dora & Christopher Read. Two anonymous donors - to thank Jane & Neil for all they have done during the Interregnum. 26th December Carole Heywood - in memory of all deceased family members as we celebrate the Christmas Season and look ahead to another year.

Confirmation classes Confirmation classes will be held on the following dates at 7.00 pm in St Mary’s Parish Church.

21 December, 11 January, 18 January, 25 January, 1 February, 8 February, 15 February and 1 March.

The next Deanery Confirmation is at Higham Ferrers Parish Church on Monday 14th March, 2011. Fr Grant has arranged the rehearsal in that church at 4pm on Sunday 13th, March. Please pray for Cory, Lara, Brandon and Bethany.

January Evensong

There will be not an Evensong on Sunday 2nd January, instead there will be an Epiphany Evensong on Sunday 9th January at 6.00 pm. It was decided, because of the possible inclement weather, that we will not be holding an Afternoon Tea in January.

February Evensong

The Oriano singers are joining us for St Mary’s church Evensong in February. They are singing Zadock the Priest with the choir. We are hoping to re-commence our monthly afternoon tea in February, weather permitting.

Grand Christmas Draw

A great many thanks to all who have helped with this year’s Grand Christmas Draw, those who sold or brought tickets and a special thank you to all those who have donated prizes. A full list of winners is posted on the church notice board. This year’s draw raised over £450 which is fantastic. We would especially like to thank the following individuals or organisations for their generous donations of raffle prizes: Tesco, F Hinds Jewellers, Escape Beauty & Wellbeing, Lovejoys, Bosworth’s Garden Centre, Waitrose, Rushden and Diamonds FC, Morris Smith Jewellers, Buds and Blooms. We would also liketo thenk the Mother’s Union for their continued support in raising the money for the first prize in the raffle.

Colin & Joanne NeedleColin & Joanne NeedleColin & Joanne NeedleColin & Joanne Needle

Memorial Stones

A gentle reminder that only green flower vases with a spike are permitted by the memorial stones. No silk flowers or any other vases are permitted. This is not a St. Mary’s Church PCC rule but a DAC rule, I am advised, who are responsible for the Churchyard. Also, our Churchyard is kept in excellent order by volunteers who have to move all the items on the memorial stones to cut the grass. Pots and other items may get damaged in this process. This is getting to be a labour intensive job as the memorial stones increase. We do not want to lose our valuable volunteers or our Churchyard will look a mess.

Finedon Schools Hard federation

As from the 3rd January Finedon Infants and Finedon Mulso Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior School will begin a Hard Federation which means that the schools will come under one head, Mrs Avril Wise and one Governing Body. An elected number of Governors from both schools will serve on the new Governing Body. The Junior school will still maintain its Church status but with less Foundation Governors. It is hoped that eventually the schools will become Amalgamated into a Primary School.

“ A Good Turn !! “

Mick Webb and his Lathe have turned up trumps again! The new candle sticks and stands he has produced and donated are a great addition to the church and will give us years of service. Thank you

Neil & JaneNeil & JaneNeil & JaneNeil & Jane

Donation

Thank you to Mr Ron Mayes, formerly of High Street, Finedon and now living in

Hertfordshire for his very generous Christmas gift to the church

Fund Raising

The total amount raised this year by the Fund Raising Committee is an amazing £7,832.84. this was made up as follows: General Fundraising events £5,803.76 Bingo (11 evenings) £1,658.40. Afternoon Teas (11) £370.68 The main fundraisers during the year were: the Boobs & Brass Concert £1,000.00, the Summer Fete £1,350,32 and the Race Night £1,380.00. Thank you to everyone who has supported or arranged these events, your support has been very much appreciated and we hope you will continue to support us during 2011. Wishing every a very Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Finedon Local History Society The next meeting of the History Society will be held on Monday 24th January in the Mission Room, Well Street at 7.30pm. The speaker will be Dr Drew Gray who will give a talk on ‘For a Sheep or a Lamb – The Criminal Justice System in the 18th Century’. Admission is £2.00 for members and £3.00 for non-members including light refreshments. A raffle will also be held. The Annual General Meeting of the History Society held in the Mission Room on 22nd November was extremely well attended. It was agreed that membership subscriptions will remain at the present level of £5.00 per year. Subscriptions for 2011 are due on the 1st January. The business of the evening was followed by a presentation of slides from the Societies own archive. Finedon Local History Society is always delighted to welcome new members. If you are interested and would like to learn more, just come along to one of our monthly meetings which are held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7.30 in the Mission Room or phone Jeremy Millington on 01933 681161.

Flower Festival Committee

The Flower Festival Committee have given £1,750 to the Restorations Fund and £1,750 to the General Fund from the proceeds of the 2010 Flower Festival. A big thank you to the Committee for all the hard work they put in throughout the year to make the event such a brilliant success.

Calendars

We had 150 St Mary’s Church calendars printed and are pleased to report that we have sold them all. Many thanks to everyone who supported us and bought one and we hope

you enjoy using the calendar throughout the year.

Finedon Senior Citizens Friendship Committee

Christmas Parcels Thanks to this year’s house-to-house collection, together with generous donations from Finedon Parish Council, the Conservative Club, the Coffee Morning Group, the Bowls Club Ladies, and others, we were able to distribute 336 Christmas parcels to the over-seventies of Finedon on Saturday 11th December 2010. The Committee would like to thank those that helped pack and deliver the parcels, and Finedon Stores, who supplied the contents.

John BaJohn BaJohn BaJohn Bailey iley iley iley - promoter

Tea at No.10 I’ve been asked to say a few words about my visit to 10 Downing Street on 24th November. Peter Bone very kindly invited Barbara and me to tea at the House of Commons before my Downing Street appointment – in the event, realising (I suppose) that we came from Finedon, Peter decided that it would be more fitting to entertain us in the House of Lords tea room. Downing Street was completely blocked by rioting so-called students, and Peter, having phoned Downing Street, very kindly gave us directions to an alternative way in. The Prime Minister’s residence is surprisingly vast inside, and I, along with about 150 other Conservative District Council Leaders, passed through three rooms, each of which would have comfortably accommodated a well-attended Church bazaar. Drinks and canapés were served, and eventually Eric Pickles gave us a brief welcome from a dais. He was immediately followed by David Cameron who spoke for about ten minutes, but did not invite questions. I did manage to button-hole Mr Pickles later on, but he didn’t respond terribly positively to most of my valuable suggestions. On the way out, it was a pleasure to descend the famous staircase featuring photographs of past Prime Ministers, and in fact I feel very privileged to have been invited at all.

John BaileyJohn BaileyJohn BaileyJohn Bailey

Flower Festival Committee

will be holding

their annual

Jumble sale

on Saturday 15th January

at 2.00 pm

in the Mission Room.

Please bring along any jumble items between

12.00 and 1.00 pm,

alternatively please call

Chris (01933 398818) or

Helen (01933 681035)

to have your jumble sale items collected.

Finedon WI

A Happy New Year to all our members. Our January meeting will take place on Monday 10th at 7.30 pm at the Mission Room. Our speaker will be Tony Boullemier who will tell us “The curious case of Grand-mother’s diary” As usual there will be refreshments, a raffle and a bring and buy stall’ All are welcome, members free. guests £2.50 We welcome guests and prospective new members, so of you would like to find out more about your local WI, please do not hesitate to come along on the 10th and ask any committee member.

Townswomen’s Guild

Our New Year Party will take place on Thursday 6th January at 7-30pm in the Town Hall. Ladies are reminded that this will be a Faith Supper, so please remember to bring along your own dishes and cutlery as well as a selection of food of course. The meal will be followed by our special speaker Gail Stuart, who will talk about her father Eric Morecambe and there will be a Grand Raffle with prizes provided by the committee.

Church Monthly Draw

The winning numbers for the December monthly draw are: 1st Prize No. 107 £71.00 2nd Prize No. 192 £42.60 3rd Prize No. 262 £28.40 Total receipts of £284.00 are divided equally between the winners and the Restoration Fund. If you would like to join the monthly draw (£1.00 per share per month) which takes place on the first Sunday of the month, please contact Kathy Hobbs on 01933 398794.

Bell Ringers Outing to Norwich The annual bell ringers outing for 2011 will be to the cathedral city of Norwich on Saturday 7th May. The coach will leave Finedon at 8.00 am and the coach fare will b e £10. If you would like to come along, please put your name on the list in church. This is always a popular outing, so if you are interested, make sure your name is on the list as soon as possible.

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Finedon

Meat Bingo

on

Friday 14th January

at the

Mulso School, Wellingborough Road

at 7.30 pm

Admission Free Refreshments available, Raffle

Everyone Welcome

Transport available.

For details please telephone

Andrew Weatherill 682212

Never Give up

Twelve months ago the Church purchased new carol sheets from Biblelands, a charity that seeks to improve the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in the Middle East. They focus on education, healthcare and community development. Here is an extract from their magazine, The Star, covering some of their work in Beirut. ‘The 21 girls living at Cedar Home in Beirut come from a variety of backgrounds, but life has not been easy for any of them. The Home, which Biblelands has been supporting since 1980, provides a safe, caring environment for girls who have suffered neglect or abuse, or whose parents can no longer look after them. It is like a big family, to which the girls return after each day at the local school, and which supports them as they grow up and move on to university and work. The newest member of the cedar Home is 16 year old Lina, (named changed). She went to live there in 2009, having escaped a harsh and traumatic family situation. Two weeks after her arrival she wrote this poem:-

“Sitting in bed, hearing the rain falling down, up from the sky. Sitting in bed, thinking about my life. Sitting in bed, waiting for the years to pass by. Sitting , thinking, hearing, waiting. No answer. Time passes and passes and passes. No one gives a damn attention. No one feels what are the hurts in your heart. Sitting in bed, no notice from anybody. You’re sick, but you don’t care, you’re tired but what difference does it make? No difference, no change, no love, no mercy, no life. I’m dead. I’m nothing, I’m nobody. I’m just a sitter in bed, that nobody loves.” By nobody. The Home’s director read this poem with tears in her eyes. Lina said turn over the page and read on. God talking: “Lina you are my daughter. You told me you wanted to be remade, you told me you love me, you told me that I’m the only one who cares about you. You prayed everyday but you thought no-one hears you. But you’re wrong – I do hear you every day, and I do care what you pray, but I ask you to be straight with me, to listen to my voice in your heart. Try, don’t give up – I’ll always be by your side. I will always hold you in my arms. I will not disappoint you, because you are my dear daughter, you are special and you are strong enough to pass by every pain and every problem – you’ll do that. Don’t give up, keep on praying, and don’t forget to listen to my voice in your heart that will lead you to heaven’s way” Lina is still recovering from her traumas but is moving forward.

Please pray for her perseverance to continue the journey forward.

In My DayIn My DayIn My DayIn My Day The ramblings of Hubert James In my day it was about this time of year that we had a load of concern because the BBC reckoned they was going to change how they broadcast on the Wireless. It was something about making them sound clearer. Better resolution they called it. But we reckoned it would cost us all a lot of money. See in them days you used a cat’s whisker plugged into the wireless to pick up the signal. Any whisker would do but then the BBC said to get the new service, only a Siamese cat’s whisker could be used. We couldn’t believe it. Of course, Finedon was up in arms, but we shouldn‘t have worried. We didn’t know it then but we had the solution in the form of Mr Fling’s Chinese Laundry down the High Street. Mr Fling heard about the whiskers whilst listening to the Archers. Dan had sent Doris out cat rustling at Grey Gables and Tom Forest mentioned that Siamese whiskers were as strong as thin metal. Well Mr Fling looked around him at all the wire coat hangers in the laundry and had the idea of slotting one into his set. Bingo! It worked. Then, by mistake Mr Fling came up with New Years Resolutions. Now we never used to have such things because, well, we didn’t have anything to give up. We didn’t know smoking was bad for us, and nobody was fat because we didn’t have any money and we didn’t have fast food. We had the Chip shop but you could wait an hour for Haddock and chips so it was hardly ‘fast’. Actually we didn’t go out to eat. There was only one restaurant in the whole of Northampton. So when Mr Fling said he’d heard Mrs Dale tell Jim, they were doing New Year resolutions, he sparked an idea which swept the country like slightly angry fire. To this day only a few folk know the truth. She was talking about the new high definition wireless, not making promises you couldn’t keep. She actually said that BBC would giving them new clear resolution.

A lesson to be Learned! Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the church's morals, kept interfering in the other members' private lives. Church members were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny; he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... and left it there all night!

TOWN DIARY

January 4th 9.30 Coffee morning, Football Club 7.45 Wildlife Trust, Local Nature Reserves, Cricket Club 6th 7.30 TG Town Hall—New Year Party 9th 6 pm St Mary’s Church Epiphany Evensong Carol Service 10th 7.30 RBL members evening, Gladstone Club 11th 9.45 Coffee morning, Bowls club 15th 2pm Flower Festival Jumble Sale Mission Room 17th 6.30-8.00 District Guides Bring & Buy, Mulso School 18th 9.30 coffee morning, Football Club 25th 9.45 coffee morning, bowls club

February

1st 7.45 Wildlife Trust, Southern Africa, Cricket Club 3rd TG Town Hall—Yvonne Desroches—The Sunflower Centre 7th 7.30 RBL - John Bishop, Old Clockwork Toys, Gladstone Club

March 1st 7.45 Wildlife Trust—Nature’s Wonders, Cricket Club 3rd 7.30 TG Town Hall—AGM– Sue Edwards, story behind the painting 7th 7.30 RBL Stickmaker, John Whiting

April 4th 7.30 RBL Post during WW2, Mr D Smeathers, Gladstone Club 5th 7.45 Wildlife Trust AGM, Cricket Club 7th 7.30 TG Town Hall—Robert Kendall—Restoring 78 Derngate

May

9th 7.30 RBL Milestones, Helen Crabtree, Gladstone Club.

June 6th 7.30 RBL Mullocks & Memories, Tom Partridge- Underwood, Gladstone Club 18th 12-4 St Mary’s Church Summer Fete.

July

4th 7.30 RBL Painting, Michael Peachy, Gladstone Club.

August 1st 7.30 RBL I Bequeath 15th Century Wills, Jacqui Minchinton, Gladstone Club.

September 3rd 7.30 RBL Humour, Mike Leonard, Gladstone, Club.

October 3rd 7.30 RBL, Dovecotes, Colin Ray, Gladstone Club.

November 7th 7.30 RBL, AGM, Gladstone Club,

December

5th 7.30 RBL, Entertainment at Woodford