During Advent families from villages of the Benefice take part in a Posada. Posada – Spanish for “shelter” – is a custom that originated in Mexico where nativity sets of Mary and Joseph visit a different family or place every night between Advent Sunday and Christmas Eve. Our “Posada” consists of a knitted Joseph, Mary and a much loved Donkey.
Inspired by this custom, Rebecca Abrey has written and illustrated a children’s story book that tells the tale of the of a little knitted donkey’s journey and the fun that he had along the way. You can see a few of the pages below.
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32 pages with 13 colourful original illustrations.
Copies are available to purchase at £6 [£7.50 with postage].
£1 from each sale goes to The Children’s Society.
Since 2001 TOPSY has made a significant difference to the lives of thousands of HIV-affected children, women and men living in a poor rural area of South Africa. TOPSY UK’s main aim is to raise funds and awareness to aid the work of its namesake in South Africa, TOPSY SA, where the recent focus of their work has been for the holistic care of orphaned and vulnerable children; the provision of food security to communities threatened by malnutrition; and income generation to help alleviate poverty.
Women from the communities produce a wide range of beadwork including a most appealing Christmas range of small decorations featuring stars, angels and Christmas Trees. Attractively priced at between £1 and £3, items will be available to buy over coffee after our 10am services, and on Sunday 4 December one of the charity’s trustees has been invited to give a brief introduction to the work of the charity after the service Spelsbury. Items will also be available at the Christmas Bazaar, Tiddy Hall, Ascott on 9 December, 6 – 10pm. Do support this very good cause!
Testing, Testing, Transforming lives Outreach, Ownership, Opportunities for the future Prevention, Provision, Participation, Progression Social care, Skills, Self-Sufficiency in Communities Young lives are nurtured through education and care
The Revd Dr Nicholas Buxton (you might just remember him as Nick with the long hair, one of the retreatants on the 2005 TV series The Monastery) is a priest in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of a very readable book about ‘Meditation and modern life’ called The Wilderness Within. Reacting to an article on Anglican-Quaker relations, he recently wrote of a predecessor of his who 100 years ago introduced the practice of silent prayer and went on, as Canon of Winchester Cathedral, to write an account of his encounters with Quakerism, published as The Fellowship of Silence in 1917. In it he relates how he once met someone in church who did not otherwise attend services, but came to the silent-prayer meetings and had brought no less than 30 of his colleagues in a nearby office with him!
It was a very special evening on Sunday 23 October when we welcomed Bishop Colin for the well-attended confirmation of three Benefice members: William, Bel, and Ilona. Continue reading Confirmation Service 2016→
There will be Remembrance Day Services in each of the churches of the Benefice on Sunday 13 November 2016 at 10.15 am. We will observe the two minutes silence at 11 am.
We are trying to bring all the various rota’s from the churches of the Benefice into a single Benefice Rota. This is very much still a work in progress!
We have added a new page to the website which can be accessed from the menu on the left of the screen – Service Rota. It is automatically updated so as long as Mark or Beth is informed of changes, it should be correct! You can take a look at it by clicking here.
An extra meeting of the JPCC was called on 20th October, not because of any dire church emergency, but to consider the very exciting news that Ilona wished to be nominated for training as a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM) in the Benefice. Mr John Leach, the Lay Ministry Adviser for Dorchester Archdeaconry, was present to give a short talk about LLM ministry and training. There was, of course, unanimous support from the JPCC for Ilona’s nomination. LLMs are also known as Lay Readers in some dioceses. It is a calling by God to preach, teach, lead worship, and assist with pastoral, evangelistic and liturgical work. The theological and practical training takes three years, at the end of which LLMs are Licensed by the Church.
We send our best best wishes to Ilona as she prepares for the selection process next month and assure her of our continuing support and prayers.
George Butler is the son of Cotswold artist Amanda Cooper. He has been to some pretty hairy places like Afghanistan and Syria to draw the people and places and their stories. Proceeds will be divided between All Saints’, Shorthampton, St Mary’s, Charlbury and the charity which George set up with some friends – The Hands Up Foundation – which helps people in Syria so badly affected by the awful events there.
Tickets £12.50, to include a glass of wine and nibbles before the talk, from art@amandacooper.co.uk
Chase Benefice 