Joys

Dear friends,

I always rejoice to see the back of January. Snowdrops are already peeping out, reminding us of better times. Evenings are slowly getting lighter and one knows that February always passes in a flash. Then, March will bring spring. Old friends reappear like flowers, new friends greet one in the lanes and on the footpaths. Life comes again after the heavy frosts and floods recede until the next time.  Church councils, parish councils and school governors continue their work, sustaining the fabric of our local society, working to hold on to and also improve the things that we share in common. Spaces, places, resources. All need care, love, attention. It takes only one generation to forget, and these things are gone.

“When does a village become a suburb?” My own answer to this question is “When nothing is shared.”

Worship Services for Sunday  5th February

9.30am Family Service at St John’s, Stoke Row with Mr Peter Ferguson

11am Morning Prayer at St Peter and Paul, Checkendon with Canon Kevin Davies and Revd Romey Poston

Midweek zoom service: Wednesday Evensong at 5.00pm  410 935 129

Sorrows

At Checkendon and Woodcote we mourn the sudden death of Jerry Green, and offer our condolances to Isobel and her family. Jerry’s funeral will be at Checkendon at 1pm on Wed 8th February. Pause for a moment to remember all the families locally who have lost loved ones in the last few months. It has been a difficult winter for so many. We return to praise, in both joys and sorrows, celebration and defiance, as our hope lies in God. “O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You’ve set your glory above the heavens.” Ps 8:1-2.

Your Rector, Revd Kevin

PS Brahm’s Lullaby is traditionally used as a cradle song. But the first verse is equally appropriate at a Christian funeral. Have a listen, and see what you think. This version is in the native German, but the translation is provided.