Upton
St Leonards Church News
March
2008
March
Diary
1. SAT. ST. DAVID.
2. SUN. LENT 4. MOTHERING SUNDAY.
ONE
SERVICE ONLY.
11.0a.m. Holy
Communion followed by lunch in the School.
3. MON. Upton W.I. Village Hall
7.30p.m.
7. FRI. Womens World Day of Prayer. Matson Baptist Church 10.30a.m.
8. SAT. Plant Sale. Village Hall 9.30a.m.
9. SUN. LENT 5.
Holy
Communion 8.00a.m.
and 6.00p.m.
All
Age Communion 11.00a.m.
10. MON. Twyver W.I.
Village Hall 7.30p.m.
13. THURS. M.U.Holy Communion 2.0p.m.
15. SAT. Book Sale. Church Room 12noon-4p.m.
Spring
Show. Village Hall. 2.00p.m.
16. SUN. PALM SUNDAY.
Holy
Communion 8.00a.m.
Procession
from Churchyard gate for Communion service at 11.00a.m.
Evening Service 6.00p.m.
17. MON. ST. PATRICKS DAY.
18. TUES. Chipmunks Easter Service in
Church 2.00p.m.
20. THURS. MAUNDY THURSDAY.
M.U.Meeting.
Church Room 2.00p.m.
Family
Communion Service 7.00p.m.
21. FRI. GOOD
FIRDAY.
All
Age reflection at 12 noon Reflections at the foot of the Cross 2.00p.m.
23. SUN. EASTER SUNDAY.
Holy
Communion 8.00a.m.
All
Age Communion 11.00a.m.
Evening Service 6.00p.m.
27. THURS. Get-together Club. Village Hall 2.30p.m.
30. SUN. EASTER 2. SUMMER TIME BEGINS.
Holy
Communion 8.00a.m.
All
Age Communion 11.0a.m.
Evening Service 6.00p.m.
31.
MON. Ladies Group meet in Church
for Holy Communion
7.45p.m.
Contributions for the April edition of Church News should reach Mrs.
Rumsey, 16 Perry Orchard by 10th March please.
March
This year Easter comes very early, in fact the earliest it has been in
living memory.
This gives us the opportunity to build on the great success of our
Christmas Services, moving from the Christmas Experience to Experience Easter.
Obviously the best way to experience Easter is to fully engage with the
season of Lent, Holy Week and then moving on to celebrate the Resurrection on
Easter Sunday.
We have special Services through Lent with our Communion4all Services
at 11 am every Sunday.
2nd March is Mothering Sunday when we are having a One Service Sunday
inviting everyone to join us (bring mum along!) for a special Commmunion4all
and Mothering Sunday 3 course Lunch in the School. The Communion Service is
free and all are welcome and the Lunch is just £7 per adult and £4 for under 16s. Pre-booking is not necessary, but if you are
coming to the Lunch it helps us plan the catering if you can let us know or buy
a ticket in advance.
Fair Trade Fortnight is 29th February- 9th March and we will be reflecting
on this Theme in our Communion4all at 11am on Sunday 9th.
Palm Sunday, 16th March is when we celebrate Jesus' Triumphal entry
into Jerusalem this year (weather permitting) we will be starting our
Communion4all Service at 11 am at the Churchyard Gate with a procession into
Church.
In Holy Week we are joining with our friends at St Oswald's Coney Hill
with 'Walk with Jesus' reflections at St Oswalds at
7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. On Maundy Thursday St Leonards
will be hosting a joint Family Communion supper, with foot washing ceremony and
a family meal culminating in a Family Communion followed by a more reflective
time as we strip the Church of its decorations for Good Friday.
On Good Friday we will begin All Age reflection at 12 noon, and finishing
with Reflections at the Foot of the Cross from 2 pm.
On Holy Saturday we will be joining with the Cathedral Easter Vigil to
take the light for our Easter Candle to be lit in our Communion4all
Easter Celebration Eucharist at 11 am.
There will also be a Communion Service on Easter Sunday at 8am which
will be Order 2 Holy Communion.
The Easter Season doesn't end but begins with Easter and for the next
50 days the Church continues its celebration of Easter right through until
Pentecost on May 11th. Look out for the Easter Cross in the Church Room field
from Good Friday right through the Easter Season.
Please do join us for any or all the above Services and events and have
a very Happy Easter. Also watch out for the Experience Easter Stations
appearing in the Church throughout Lent
Paul
If you would appreciate a visit from the Parish Priest
or someone from the Church please let us know, either in person at one of the
Services, in writing to The Rectory, 12 Bondend Road,
Upton St Leonards, GL4 8AG or by phone (01452 627828) or e-mail: rev_leckey@blueyonder.co.uk
Tower Flood Lighting
Sponsorship Details
February
On the 1st of
February the lights were sponsored by Richard and Ted Stephenson and their
families in memory of the birthday of their dear Mum who was born 1st
February 1896 and started at Upton St Leonards school
in 1899 aged 3.
March
·
On Saturday 1st March the lights are being sponsored by Alan
and Myra Williams of The Ash Path to mark the 40th anniversary of
their coming to Gloucester in 1968. The lights are also sponsored by Alan and
Myra on Sunday 30th March in celebration of their 45th
Wedding anniversary.
·
On Sunday 9th March the lights are being sponsored by Bill
Osborn of The Coppice, Bondend Road and family on the
anniversary of the death of their mother, Dinah Osborn.
·
On Monday 17th
March the lights are sponsored by Avery Chell in
remembrance of her husband, Eric, who died 32 years ago.
·
On Monday 17th March the lights are also being lit Jean and
family in birthday memories of her husband Patrick Allen.
·
On the Thursday 20th
March the lights are being sponsored by Dorothy Hill and family in memory of
Robert Hill on what would have been their Golden Wedding Anniversary.
·
Also on Thursday
20th March the lights are being sponsored by Angela Lewis in
remembrance of the 2nd anniversary of the passing of her husband Ken.
They are also being sponsored by Angela for Saturday 29th March to
mark what would have been Kens 74th
birthday.
·
On Saturday 22nd
March Ann, David, Michael and Andrew Kilby have
sponsored the Church lights to celebrate the 50th Wedding
Anniversary of Ann’s Mum and Dad, May and Terry Kerslake.
Thank you to all those
who have kindly made a donation or sponsored the lights at St Leonards. Your gifts are gratefully received.
If you or your family wish to have the lights
sponsored in celebration of a birthday or anniversary or for a loved ones life or any other reason then
please contact Matthew.
There is no set amount for this, just what you
would like to gift to the Church in order to help cover running costs. If you
are able to gift aid any donation this will help us too.
If you would like to sponsor the Church Tower Flood
Lights then please contact
Please note that the deadline of the Church News is the 10th
of the preceding month.
From the Churchwardens:
March
is here and so spring is really starting to arrive. The days should be getting
longer and the weather getting brighter – at least that is the idea.
Activities
for the Church are once again getting busy as the Lent season progresses in to
the Easter Season. We have lots happening over the coming weeks and months so
do please support us by coming to the special services and events planned.
Please keep an eye on the Church News, weekly Pew News and the notice boards
for more information.
Over
the past few weeks many
activities have taken place and our thanks go to all those that
worked so hard to make them happen and also to those that supported the events.
Some
of you may recall the January article where it was mentioned that the damaged
Church heating system was given the go ahead from the insurers to be replaced
and how it was hopeful that it would be installed and operational by Christmas.
At the time of writing that article it seemed exceedingly likely that it would
happen. As you no doubt are aware it did not happen. The contractors tasked
with the job have been wonderful but have been beset with delays from the
manufacturer of the replacement heating unit. Christmas has always had a
traditional ‘shutdown’ period in that type of industry and so the new unit,
that had to be made from scratch, did not arrive on site until Wednesday 23rd
January 2008. The contractors have hit various stumbling blocks at every stage
of its installation since they arrived on site Tuesday 22nd January.
The details are too numerous to list here but the final one arrived yesterday
where it was discovered that additional metal ducts had to be made from scratch
to allow the new heater unit to be interfaced with our existing ducts. Frantic
phone calls and activity by all concerned has resulted in an external
specialist company arriving at Church today, 6th February, where
they hope to make the necessary ducts within the week. It is then envisaged
that the Church heating will be fully restored and operational for the weekend
of Sunday 17th February. There is no way of knowing whether this
will have happened at the time of writing this article due to restrictions
imposed by the laws of the time space continuum etc but it is hoped that this
will have happened.
The
special award for the ‘egg on the face’ does of course go to Matthew who stood
up in front of the Church during an 11am service 2 weeks ago assuring those
present that the following Sunday services would be held in a nice fully heated
Church building. Whoops. Only a tad bit premature but hopefully by the time you
are reading this article the ‘egg’ will have been removed and the Church once
again properly heated. On behalf of the
PCC and Church officers, may we thank you for being so understanding during
services held in the Church during this often cold (plus very wet) period of
time.
Moving
onto other things – the Church Room has recently had a couple of problems that have
needed our attention. The building has regrettably been the subject of a couple
of incidents of vandalism during which 2 windows were broken on separate
occasions – one of which then involved an unpleasant incident of arson. The
police were duly contacted and informed of these events and assurances of
increased patrols were given. As we are in the Stroud District Council, the
Neighbourhood Wardens were also contacted and have undertaken an increase in
their patrols for the area. Contact was made with our immediate neighbours and
informed of these incidents. We can only hope that what happened were isolated
incidents but time will tell. In the meantime we are considering what can be
done to reduce the risk of these types of incidents happening to this building
again.
Once
more on a lighter note - Everything I needed to know I learned from Noah’s Ark:
Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the
ark.
Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something
REALLY big
Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done.
Build on high ground.
For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Two heads are better than one.
Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the
snails.
If you can't fight or flee -- float!
Take care of your animals as if they were the last ones on earth.
Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
When things get really deep, don't sit there and complain -- shovel!!!
Stay below deck during the storm.
Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by
professionals.
If you have to start over, have a friend by your side.
Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm
outside.
Don't miss the boat.
No matter how bleak it looks, there's always a rainbow on the other side.
Take
care and keep well and healthy,
Matthew Gibbs and
Don’t forget to check
out the Upton St Leonards Parish Church Website at www.uptonstleonardschurch.co.uk
for more information about things happening at the Church and links to sites of
interest. All comments or thoughts on its contents are appreciated.
Book
Sale
In
Aid of
Upton
St Leonards Parish
Church
Saturday
15th
March
2008
12
noon until 4.00pm
in the Church Room
Come
along and grab some books at bargain prices
–
fill a carrier bag from £2.
If
you have any books that you no longer wish to keep
then please donate them for this event.
Bring
them to the Church Room at 7.30pm on
Friday 14th March or 10.30am on the day.
Any
help in sorting these books will be greatly
appreciated.
Refreshments
will also be available on the day.
Contact
Matthew on 01452 618127 or email
MatthewGibbs@Uptonstleonardschurch.co.uk
for
further details or to arrange collection of any books that
you may wish to gift.
Mothering
Sunday Family Service
and a Special
Luncheon
Upton St Leonards
Village School
Sunday 2nd
March
Worship to
commence at 11.00am
Luncheon to
follow at 12.30pm
Give Mum a
rest on her special day
3 Course
Meal for £7.00 adults £4.00 for under 16’s
Special
diets and vegetarian meals are catered for please ask.
Book early
to avoid disappointment as there is a
limit to the
number we can seat.
For tickets contact Paul Black
01452 618037
MOTHERS UNION DATES FOR MARCH.
Wednesday 13th. Holy Communion
Thursday 20th. Meeting in the Church Room 2.00p.m. Readings.
Monday 31st. Ladies group meet in the Church Room
The Easter Service for the members of CHIPMUNKS
NURSERY will be held in the CHURCH on Tuesday 18th March 2008 at
2.00p.m.
EVERYONE IS VERY WELCOME.
For enquiries please ring Rachel Hall on 01452 610521.
SONGS OF PRAISE ST.
LEONARDS CHURCH
Tuesday 18th March 2008 at
3.00p.m. to
be led by Upton St Leonards Primary Choir and Orchestra.
Calling All
Women
Women’s World Day of Prayer
Friday 7th march 2008 at 10.30a.m. at Matson Church.
Speaker: Jo Regan (Minister in training)
Subject: Gods Wisdom Provides New Understanding.
The service has been written by the Ladies of Guyana.
EVERYONE WELCOME.
Electoral Roll Notice:
The Church of Upton St Leonards
is holding its Annual Parochial Church Meeting in April – date to be confirmed.
As part of this Annual
Meeting a revision of the Parish Electoral Roll is carried out.
If you are not on the
Electoral Roll of the Church of Upton St Leonards and wish to be counted as
being a member of this Village Church then please contact the Electoral Roll
Officer – Matthew Gibbs on 01452 618127 or email Matthewgibbs@uptonstleonardschurch.co.uk with your details.
FROM THE PARISH REGISTER.
FUNERAL SERVICE &
BURIAL.
1st February. Vivian Francis SMITH. Age
75 yrs. UPTON ST. LEONARDS.
INTERMENT OF ASHES. 3rd February. John Francis CARR. UPTON ST. LEONARDS.
FUNERAL SERVICE.
8th February. Stanley Peter FRECKLETON.
Age 72 yrs. ABBEYDALE.
FESTIVAL WEEKEND.
ST. LEONARDS CHURCH.
2nd - 5th MAY.
PREVIEW
EVENING CONCERT by
GLOUCESTER BRASS BAND.
FRIDAY
2nd MAY at 7.30p.m.
£5 to include refreshments.
Tickets
from:
Evelyn
Rumsey. 01452 614175
Judy
Jackson. 01452 533769
Rachel
Hall. 01452 610521
EXHIBITION of FLOWERS, ART,
HISTORY and CRAFT.
3rd and
5th MAY 10.30 -
4.00p.m.
4th
MAY. 2.00 - 4.00p.m.
Refreshments
available and on
3rd MAY
Bar-B-Q 12noon
- 4.00p.m.
Dog owners
Yet another gentle reminder
to all those dog owners that walk their dogs through the Church yard – please do
not place your dog waste in the bins located within the Church yard.
These bins are for visitors
to the Church yard who wish to dispose of flowers and other items that are no
longer needed. They are not for organic waste of the animal variety. The Local
council has very kindly provided a Dog Waste bin in the area and it is located
just opposite the Village War Memorial. Please will those individuals concerned
place their dog waste in the proper receptacle and not the bins located within
the Church yard. The proper Dog Waste bins are emptied
by professional services and our bins are emptied by a volunteer who is getting
increasingly distressed by dealing with peoples dog
waste.
Out of respect for the area
and the other users and volunteers of the Church yard please ensure you use the
proper bin for your waste.
Thank you – The
Churchwardens.
ANOTHER
NOTICE TO DOG OWNERS FROM A VILLAGER.
There has been an increase in the amount of dog fouling in the Village.
This has been most noticeable around the bus stop by the War Memorial
in Churchfield Road. NOT very pleasant if you are
waiting for the bus!
It has also been apparent along Bond End Road from the corner of Perry
Orchard to Churchfield Road on the Village Hall side
of the road. Most
dog
owners are responsible, but unfortunately a few are not. If you are in the
latter category please think of others and clear up after your
dog!
News from the
Upton St Leonards Report
Locked, Stop, Chain and Check all doors when home or away, a trio of
enthusiastic speakers warned us all at Upton St. Leonards W.I. as everyone can
be
vulnerable and burglars and undesirables strike at anytime
of day or night. P.C.Andy
Plant based at Hucclecote Police Station stated the
area covered was Abbeydale, Abbeymead, Chequers
Bridge, Elmbridge and Upton. He gave a brief account
of the work covered by him and fellow officers.
Next speakers Pat Dabbs and P.C.Kevin Ireland working together in partnership with Glos County Council. Kevin began at the perimeter,
rear of
house, a
good fence planted with thorny shrubs like Berberis, Pyracantha, Rosa Rugosa are a deterrent,
also helping wildlife. Keep gates closed
- burglars always look for a way out. Dusk to dawn sensor lighting near front
door and also in the garden on low energy bulbs are an excellent
deterrent. Doors need a mortice and deadlock lock, all ground floor windows need locks
with key kept safely near by (family should know
where key is for an emergency). Close
all doors and windows when unoccupied.
Post code valuables with U/V pens.
Smartwater is easy to use, only a speck will
identify your unique code on any property, use on bicycles, mowers, car radio's
etc. If stolen items
can be traced to owner.
Photographs of jewellery, furniture, valuables are a record for
identification later.
Keep garden sheds secure with a metal bar, chaining garden tools,
bicycles, chairs etc, together. Battery
alarms cost £5 for sheds, keep all goods safe, garden burglary is on the increase. Pat spoke on Distraction Burglary. DO NOT let them in,
Chain door and Check ID cards, read numbers on your documents, the card could
be false. If in doubt always phone
Police Officer or a friend DO NOT FEEL PRESSURISED.
Keep safe. Keep alert, always LOCK, STOP.
CHAIN AND CHECK. A
warm round of applause followed by a vote of thanks from Betty Jenkins on a
splendid very informed Police talk.
Business was brief, many letters of thanks
were read out for our much appreciated decorated Christmas soaps for the
elderly. Glenda Ford is looking for W.I.memorabilia for a display through the ages. Daphne Brown will be our delegate at the
Annual Council meeting in Cheltenham . Group Rally
Thursday 8th May at Beeches Green, Stroud.
Keep Monday 30th June FREE for our –SPECIAL GOURMET EVENING given by
local producers.
Josie Street won the 'Funny Valentine' competition.
We meet again on Monday 3rd March at 7,30p.m. in
the Village Hall when Margaret Barlow will demonstrate 'Painting on Ceramics'.
Competition
'Favourite piece of Pottery'. Please bring a pinafore.
Everyone will receive a very warm welcome.
KATHY QUANT.
Twyver WI February
Meeting - Janine Black
Vintage Wonders
The President, Janine Black, welcomed members and guests and invited all
to sing Jerusalem, which was undertaken with vigour, without the aid
of the
piano.
Reminding members to introduce themselves and learn the name of a new person
at the meeting again this month, Janine presented 2 birthday gitts
and
everyone sang Happy Birthday to the recipients.
In the absence of Pam who was ill, Janine told members about three prospective
trips, and boards were circulated for names of those interested. The Theatre
trip is to the Everyman Theatre in October to see Pam Ayres, and must be
confirmed quickly, as she is only there for two nights and tickets are expected
to sell quickly.
Members were told about the Spring Group Meeting on 23 April and given
advance warning of the Autumn Group Meeting on 22 October.
Arrangements were still being made for a possible dance in February 2009,
further details to come in March.
A number of GFWI notices and some other local news were all available on
the notice board, and members were asked to speak to Janine if anything
interested them.
Advance warning of the March meeting was given when a pudding night was
to be undertaken. This required a number of different puddings to be
donated
by members, so that everyone could come along and try some different tastes and
textures. Volunteers could claim the cost of the ingredients. Seven members
volunteered to make puddings, although varieties are uncertain at present!
The speaker, Ruth Jacobs was introduced. She and her husband had set up
two full tables of items which she classes as Vintage, rather than
Antique,
and many of them were certainly wondrous.
Ruth was a make up artist and hairdresser in
her younger days and spent 10 years with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, the famous
opera singer. When
she left
her, she was presented with a hat pin which she still treasures, and which
started her collection of hat pins, bracelets, necklaces,
earrings,
hair combs, bags, fans and powder compacts and boxes. She sells these items to
film and theatre companies for their period drama pieces amongst other things,
and also sells at shows alongside other jewellery stands. She does not deal in
items after 1939 and has spent years learning how to recognise the difference
between paste, glass and diamonds, and how to tell tortoise shell and ivory
from plastic, and Whitby Jet from French Jet. She went to great length showing
us how to recognise the differences and was very entertaining.
Ruth had a wonderful way of presenting the items,
using Victorian cushions for the broaches, and had only brought a small amount
other large collection to the evening. The items displayed gave a clear insight
into Victorian and Edwardian lifestyles, and she continually referred to them
as 'social history'. After a full hour, Ruth was thanked by Irene Steer, and
members had the opportunity to bring their own items to Ruth for a possible
valuation at current prices.
Members then had a roll the 10p game to win a tin of Celebrations sweets,
which was won by Penny Wyatt. The 10p coins which did not win were collected
for the ACWW project, and totalled £9.20. The raffle was won by Sue Wood and Maudie Mills.
Our next meeting is at 7.30pm on Monday 10 March at Upton St Leonards
Village Hall, when the speaker will be Pete Wilson with a quiz, and pudding
tasting will take place. Visitors are always welcome. Why don't you come and
join us?
Contact Janine on 01452 618037.
GET-TOGETHER
CLUB.
Thursday
27th March 2008 at 2.30p.m. at
the Village Hall. ALL ARE WELCOME.
J_is for
her JOLLY SPIRIT
U her USE of lovely flowers
D is for her DEDICATION
YOU can watch her work
for hours’
J the JOY for Get Together
ART in floral art displayed
COLOURS on an artist's Palette
KICK our winter blues away’
SPRING Is In The Air - the title
OF our talk - late on in
March
NOTE the