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TODAY’S LINK NEWSLETTER

FOR SUNDAY 9 MAY 2021

Sixth Sunday of Easter - Today

Sally tells us: “|All you need is Love”

See inside…….

Full Worship on the Way details on page two…..

Watch Hymn of the Week on

page 10…

New section - As others see us - on page 15…

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Sharing Faith in Jesus Christ

WORSHIP on the WAY

May

9 May St John’s Morning Prayer 9.30am, Holy Communion St

Mary’s 10.45am – with Rev Sally & Rev Stephne.

16 May Holy Communion, St John’s & St Mary’s 9.30am &

10.45am respectively, Rev Sally & Rev Chris Eyden.

23 May Pentecost. Family Service at St John’s, 9.30am & St

Mary’s 10.45am. Great Wenham’s APCM.

30 May Trinity Sunday, Holy Communion, St John’s 9.30am, St

Mary’s 10.45am. Rev Sally & Rev Chris Eyden.

6 June Holy Communion, St John’s 9.30am, St Mary’s 10.45am.

Rev Sally & Archdeacon Jeanette.

21 June Bible Supper @ the Rectory (more details to follow)

21 July Bible Supper @ the Rectory (more details to follow)

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Sixth Sunday of Easter - Readings

COLLECT God our redeemer, you have delivered us from the power of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of your Son: grant, that as by his death he has

recalled us to life, so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal

joy; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

FIRST READING Acts 10: 44-end A reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the

gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard

them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who

have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they

invited him to stay for several days.

PSALM 98 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has

done marvellous things.

His own right hand and his holy arm have

won for him the victory.

The Lord has made known his salvation; his

deliverance has he openly shown in the sight

of the nations.

He has remembered his mercy and

faithfulness towards the house of Israel,

and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sound praises to the Lord, all the earth; break into singing and make music.

Make music to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the voice of melody.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn sound praises before the Lord, the

King.

Let the sea thunder and all that fills it, the world and all that dwell upon it.

Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out together before the

Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.

In righteousness shall he judge the world and the peoples with equity.

GOSPEL. John 15. 9-17 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

Glory to you O Lord.

Obeying and Loving:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my

Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy

may be complete.

This is my commandment, that you love one

another as I have loved you. No one has greater

love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s

friends. You are my friends if you do what I

command you.

I do not call you servants any longer, because the

servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends,

because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my

Father.

You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear

fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him

in my name.

I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to you, O Christ.

Sally’s Reflection “Heavenly Father, through weak human words, give us grace to hear your

true and living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord”

Loving and Obeying

I feel that I should burst out singing, ‘All You Need is Love’, perhaps it is - but

it is really rather difficult!

Jesus epitomised love, but this passage must be taken in its context and applied

carefully to our times today. Jesus is now calling his disciples ‘friends’ and He

will indeed lay down His life for them.

Indeed, Jesus was on his way to His own crucifixion and was indeed laying down

his life for them and for us. Love indeed.

But this passage was also used in countless sermons during world war one to

countless, mainly young man, who went off to battle. God honours those doing

their duty but is war an expression of love? People spoke of sacrifice but in the

bible human sacrifice was condemned.

Because to love our enemy is really, really hard. To love those who we dislike,

who have wronged us, slandered us, stolen that which is most precious is very

hard. To love when it is comfortable and convenient to us is easy, but to love

when the person looking at you is full of hate is not at all comfortable.

We are told in Luke 6:24 to ‘love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.’

Jesus came on a rescue mission, and he demonstrated love to the fullest,

putting it in action even when it was painful.

In ‘The Message’ version of the bible, John 1: 14 says, ‘The word became flesh

and blood and moved into the neighbourhood.’

Do we love who it is easiest to love? Do we cling to

comfort rather than recognising those who really, really

need our love? So, is love really all you need?

Jesus recognised we need much more in this world of

conflict and division. We need to be a reconciling

presence; by adapting and learning the habits of Jesus, in

his life and his ministry we see glimpses of the fullness of

sacrificial love.

We have to have Faith in the one who embodies Love,

when we hear the Word of the gospel, we can feel the Holy Spirit which will

saturate us with that love and then we can love others, even if they look

different from us, live different lives from us, and make different decisions.

The command to love, is given by Christ, who has done everything he can do.

When we love, those we love are free to love in return. If we love one another

we remain in his love. Loving him makes us more human, not less, it gives us

freedom and joy. He has come so we might bear fruit that will last.

We can change a single life by loving someone; we can perform one task that will

make a difference, even if we don’t see it at the

time.

The world will become a different place and both the

giver of love and the loved will become truly human.

We must live a life of love with true humility which

comes from knowing Jesus Christ is in charge. We

can live a personal relationship of love and loyalty to one who has loved us more

than we can imagine. It is a simple, profound, dangerous and difficult command:

love one another as I have loved you.

Amen

POST COMMUNION God our Father, whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life: may we

thirst for you, the spring of life and source of goodness, through him who is

alive and reigns, now and for ever. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Home-Start in Ipswich is one of St Mary’s

charities for support in 2021

Home-Start reports of baby milk and nappies shortage

as coronavirus leaves vulnerable families even more

isolated

Vulnerable Suffolk families already left socially isolated by mental ill health,

relationship breakdown and financial challenges could be pushed further into

despair due to coronavirus, a charity has warned.

Home-Start in Suffolk, which offers emotional and

practical support to parents to enable them to look

after their children, said families had been left

“scared” and “worried at the uncertainty” since the

global pandemic.

Some of those struggling financially have even found

it difficult to get essentials for their children, like

baby milk and nappies, following widespread panic

buying across many county supermarkets.

“A lot of our families are not in a fortunate position where they can go to the

supermarket and afford to buy extra,” warned family support manager Alison

Grant. “They operate on a week to week basis.

Isolation

Keeping away from friends, relatives and public transport are all

recommendations for self-isolation during the Covid-19 virus outbreak.

The organisation, which supports approximately 500 families a year, said it had

been forced to make a “difficult decision to pause our home-visiting and group

services” from Wednesday.

Lifeline

Instead it has been replaced by a telephone service and video support to ensure

some sort of help is provided, with volunteers also dropping off any required

supplies to those in need.

However with regular home visits becoming a lifeline for families suffering from

mental ill health and anxiety, the charity has said it is worried about the long-

term effect on the most vulnerable.

“We’ve got a lot of families who are already socially isolated for many reasons,”

said Ms Grant.

“If they’re suffering from anxiety, this heightens that anxiety.”

Those negative emotions can also have an impact on children, she added.

Home-Start in Suffolk chief executive Tara Somers (pictured above) said the

temporary suspension of its home visiting service “is not a decision we make

lightly”.

However she added: “The health and wellbeing of our volunteers is at the heart

of any decision we make.

“We will be working to ensure, as are many of our

partner Suffolk charities, to continue to support the

needs of our counties vulnerable residents during this

worrying time.”

The charity continues to appeal for donations to support

vulnerable families.

To donate, visit

https://www.homestartinsuffolk.org/donate

Picture with thanks to Andrew Papworth and Archant.

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Malcolm says: Have you thought

of including in your will a bequest

to St Mary’s church?

Over recent years the church has received several

bequests. Two of which helped with the reordering of the church - one from Dr

Mike Bush, not yet received, and the latest one from the estate of Robin

Carpendale.

Robin’s family have given consent for the details of his estate (relating to the

church) to be made public.

Robin, as you will recall, loved the church organ and his music and was very

supportive of Geoffrey Boyle.

He requested: “I give to Capel St Mary Parish Church free of all taxes the sum

of seven hundred pounds (£700) of which five hundred

(£500) is to be used for the maintenance of the organ or

organists.”

Because the £500 is for a named purpose that element is

deemed to be “restricted “ and can only be used for that

purpose, indeed it will be included in the fabric fund account until spent as a

separate item.

I am therefore asking you to insert into your will a gift to the church. That gift

comes out of your will before anything else as it is going to a charity.

May the Lord rejoice at your generosity.

Malcolm Fenn, treasurer

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THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Seathwaite, Cumberland, 8 May 1884

So much rain falls today on a tiny village in the lake District that it still holds

the record as May’s wettest-ever day – nearly seven inches (172.2mm) arrives in

24 hours. The event is received with weary resignation by the 129 inhabitants

of the hamlet of Seathwaite in the

Borrowdale Valley, for this is consistently

the wettest inhabited place in England.

Indeed Seathwaite can proudly claim eight

of the 10 wettest days in England in the

last 100 years.

The record for the highest annual rainfall

anywhere in Britain (inhabited or

uninhabited) – 257 inches (6,527mm, 22ft)

– is held by the aptly named Sprinkling Tarn which sits in the hills directly above

Seathwaite.

Set in a deep valley surrounded by high mountains (the

hamlet is on a main walker’s route to Scafell Pike,

England’s highest mountain) Seathwaite is situated in

the lee of the first high ground encountered by west-

moving Atlantic air-streams, heavy with moisture from

their ocean crossing. Forced up over the high ground the

air cools as it rises, the water vapour condenses, and

whoosh! – more rain in steady, unremitting torrents.

Eastern England, 9 May 2006

Early-morning commuters along the east coast are

bemused to find their cars covered in yellow dust. The

explanation? Following a mass pollination of birch trees

in Denmark, strong winds have carried millions of tiny

pollen grains all the way across the North Sea. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Sprinkling Tarn

And some more gems from

Children’s view of the Bible

Who was the shortest man in the Bible? Nehemiah (knee-high-miah).

What time of day was Adam created? A little before Eve.

When was medicine first mentioned in the Bible? When God gave Moses two

tablets.

What kind of car did the disciples drive? A Honda - it says there were all in one

accord.

Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible? David. He rocked

Goliath to a very deep sleep.

When was meat first mentioned in the Bible? When Noah took Ham into the

ark.

Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? Samson. He brought the house

down.

When did they play tennis in the Bible? When Joseph served in Pharaoh's

court.

Who was the smartest man in the Bible? Abraham. He knew a

Lot.

Who was the fastest runner in the race? Adam, because he was

first in the human race.

What animal could Noah not trust? Cheetah.

Who was the 1st surfer in the Bible? Paul. In Acts, he "came

ashore on a board"!

Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark? Because Noah was standing on the deck.

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HYMN OF THE WEEK

Just as I am – Without one plea….

Click below to hear a terrific harmony sung by the choir of the

High School of Glasgow:

SAFFRON WALDEN JUST AS I AM - Bing video

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VIEWPOINT

A Finnish politician is facing jail for her Biblical

beliefs - could the same happen here?

Will a court in a democratic country like Finland really have the stomach to send

a politician and a church leader to jail for their Christian convictions on sex and

marriage?

Hopefully not.

However, the decision by Finland's prosecutor general to bring three criminal

charges against Dr Päivi Räsänen (pictured below) has caused the country

enough international embarrassment already.

Locking people up for expressing their views can

only really work in closed societies without a free

press and where the populace is paralysed by

fear.

Even if a lower court did convict Dr Räsänen, a

Christian Democrat member of the Finnish

parliament and former interior minister

(equivalent to the UK's home secretary), and Rev

Dr Juhana Pohjola, Bishop Elect of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of

Finland, for inciting hatred against a protected group, the country's supreme

court may still overturn the conviction.

Finland has freedom of speech and religion enshrined in its republican

constitution. A European Union member since 1995, its government signed the

European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of speech and

religion, in 1989.

This optimistic scenario is not to minimise the seriousness of the Finnish

prosecutor general's decision to charge these two evangelical Christians for

articulating traditional biblical teaching. It is an amazing sign of these woke

times that the senior prosecutor in a democratic country has charged them for

saying that homosexual activity is sinful according to Holy Scripture.

Dr Räsänen, mother of five children and grandmother of six, has also got into

trouble for a tweet she posted in 2019 against the Finnish Lutheran Church's

backing of a Pride event. Her tweet featured a biblical text.

The prosecutor general has gone ahead with criminal charges against her for

remarks she made in a church booklet in 2004, on a TV show in 2018 and in a

2019 tweet, threatening her with six years in jail.

An article on ADF's (the international faith-based advocacy organisation)

website, When a tweet can land you in jail: Criminal charges brought against

Finnish MP, reports: “Police investigations against Räsänen started in June 2019.

As an active member of the Finnish Lutheran church, she addressed the

leadership of her church and questioned its official sponsorship of the LGBT

event ‘Pride 2019’, accompanied by an image of a bible text.

“Räsänen has already attended several lengthy police interviews about her views

and had to wait over a year for the general prosecutor to decide whether to

continue with the prosecution. “

The charges have been brought against Dr Räsänen despite an earlier

investigation by Helsinki police concluding that no law had been broken. But

Finland legalised same-sex marriage in 2017 and it could well be that official

attitudes against dissent from the LGBT agenda have hardened since then.

Could this happen in the UK?

Although this is taking place in Finland, it raises the question of whether a

Christian politician and church leader could be prosecuted here in the UK for

inciting hatred against a protected group by describing sex outside of

heterosexual marriage as sin?

Certainly, under the Equality Act 2010 sexual orientation is treated as a

protected characteristic. But the UK's freedom of speech protections are at

present too strong to make a prosecution like the one in Finland possible.

Britain has a law against inciting 'homophobic hatred' but it is much more

hedged about with a free speech safeguard than Finland's equivalent. A

politically correct bid to mount a prosecution of this nature would probably not

get past the Crown Prosecution Service.

However, if the UK turned into an elective dictatorship, this could happen here.

A militantly woke party with a thumping majority in the House of Commons could

easily overturn all the freedom of speech protections for politically incorrect

opinions which apply now.

It might, however, make a difference that, unlike republican Finland, the UK has

a monarch who swore at her Coronation, Bible in hand, to defend the Christian

faith.

The Queen could in theory back a Christian democratic resistance movement

against a regime that sought to bring in draconian laws against the expression of

biblical teaching. If she spoke out against such legislation, she could sway public

opinion and MPs would get nervous.

It would be unprecedented for her to intervene on legislation before parliament

in this way. Hopefully, such a fulfilment of her Coronation Oath would not be

necessary in her lifetime. But the duty could go to her successor to speak out if

such darkness were to fall on Britain.

With thanks to Julian Mann, Christian Today

LINK

LAUGHS

You and your mate agreed to get in shape for

summer – but there was another lockdown, and

things happened….

POETRY CORNER

Clock-a-clay – by John Clare

In the cowslip peeps I lie,

Hidden from the buzzing fly,

While green grass beneath me lies,

Pearled with dew like fishes' eyes,

Here I lie, a clock-a-clay,

Waiting for the time o' day.

When grassy forests quake surprise,

And the wild wind sobs and sighs,

My home rocks as like to fall,

On its pillar green and tall;

When the pattering rain drives by

Clock-a-clay keeps warm and dry.

Day by day and night by night,

All the week I hide from sight;

In the cowslip pips I lie,

In the rain still warm and dry;

Day and night, and night and day,

Red, black-spotted clock-a-clay.

My home shakes in wind and showers,

Pale green pillar topped with flowers,

Bending at the wild wind's breath,

Till I touch the grass beneath;

Here I live, lone clock-a-clay,

Watching for the time of day.

Spring 2021 is proving to be an excellent time for

Cowslips (maybe due to all the rain early in the

year). Their abundance brought to mind Clare’s

poem about Ladybirds (clock-a-clay) and their

seeking a hiding place in the peeps (petals).

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As others see us….

Simon Knott visited St Mary’s in 2013

and this is what he found……

This parish church was originally St Mary's chapel,

an outpost of All Saints, half a mile away at Little

Wenham. But the mother church now sits silent and

alone out in the fields, and St Mary is at the heart of one of Suffolk's biggest,

busiest villages with more than 3,000 people.

Which just goes to show, I suppose, how times change, and how some things

remain. This village has no connection with Capel St Andrew, 20 miles away in

the marshes. When Suffolk people say Capel, they mean this one.

Mortlock found the core of a Norman church here; but, as he says, pretty much

all that remains on view is the result of the successive 14th and 15th century

rebuildings, making this a grand Perpendicular affair, with Decorated chancel.

The church sits above the busy road through the village, and it has cut down

over the centuries to leave the church high on a bank above it. However, the

uneven churchyard suggests that this may also be the result of imported earth

to renew burial grounds, something often attributed to hilltop churches, but

actually quite rarely found.

Beautified tenderly

St Mary was high in another way, for this was one of the county's Anglo-

Catholic shrines. Suffolk is a notoriously Low Church county, but here is a faith

community which successfully combined High Church tradition with its role as a

centre of Parish life, sacred and profane.

The church is open every day (pre-Pandemic). And so, you step inside to a

devotional interior. It was clearly much revamped by the Victorians, but has

been beautified tenderly since.

The west end of the south aisle was cleared to

create a wide open baptistery around the font.

There is a feeling of light from the great 15th

century windows, and of colour from the devotional

art that graces the building.

The best of these is the window by FC Eden at the

east end of the same aisle. It depicts the Blessed

Virgin and child flanked by St Edmund and St Felix,

and must count among his best work in the county.

The other great star here is the reredos. It is 19th

Century, but came from a Belgian church, and has echoes

of Flemish tradition. The glass above of the four

archangels adds to the sense of gravitas. The statues

are colourful without being garish, accentuated by the

simplicity of the rural ambience. It all provides an

interesting comparison with nearby Stratford St Mary,

showing that it was possible for the Victorians to re-

sacramentalise a medieval interior without making it

anonymous.

Roy Tricker, in his fascinating Suffolk Churches Ancient and Modern, records

the successive waves of Anglo-Catholic enthusiasm

that created this treasure house. The Parish

priest for more than forty years from the 1870s

was a Father Johnson. His are the angels in the

chancel roof, the rood beam and rood with

attendant figures, all of which were carved in

Oberammergau. He also bought and installed the

reredos; when he died, the south aisle was

converted into the Chapel of St Edmund in his

memory and the Eden glass installed.

However, neither Simon nor Roy

are familiar with one the

greatest treasures of St

Mary’s – our virtually unique

aerial views of the church and

churchyard from a brilliantly manoeuvred drone

flight – and very accomplished “pilot”.

Watch it on St Mary’s website here:

www.stmaryschurchcapel.com

With thanks to Simon Knott for his appraisal of St Mary’s Church on.

http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk

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PRAYER LIST

SUNDAY 9 MAY 2021 With thanks to Trevor Peartree

For our Armed Forces and all who serve and all suffering with Coronavirus.

LONG-TERM SICK AND HOUSEBOUND

Paul (from the Sue Ryder home), Samantha Streatfield, Margaret, Alan Arnold,

Mrs B, Gillie Rockall, Bessie Richardson, Pat Gladwin.

SICK

Amanda Egnor, Minnie Cawley, Matilda, Fiona Heaton, Megan Coomer, Penny and

David Thompson, Becky Carpendale, Molly Johansen, Chris G,

Shirley Streatfield, Rachel Martin, David Brackenbury, Beryl Grunbaum, Glyn &

Chris Terry, Clare Bligh.

FOR THOSE MAKING A RECOVERY

Greg Garrod, Lizzie Green.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

Ray Quinn, Tricia, Audrey Chapman.

FOR THOSE WHOSE YEAR’S MIND FALLS AT THIS TIME

Ann Wilkinson, Clara Lawes, Doris Albutt

DO PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY CHANGES OF THE CONDITIONS OF

THE PEOPLE ABOVE, especially if they, hopefully, make a recovery!

Please contact Hille at hillepearz@gmail.com

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AND SO TO PRAYERTIME…

UNUSUAL APPOINTMENTS

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME MANAGER The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is seeking a Strategic Programme

Manager to define, manage and support the programme of work implementing

the diocesan strategy.

The diocese faces challenges: declining numbers, reduced income and a waning

awareness of the presence and contribution of the church. Against this

backdrop of both potential and challenge, the diocese is developing and

implementing a strategic programme of work in order to ensure a flourishing and

sustainable future.

Key responsibilities:

Work with the National Church’s strategic transformation and change-

management approach in the context of the diocese to support the

delivery of change;

Maintain an overarching programme plan comprising the strands of work

that contribute towards delivering the strategic aims of the diocese.

Develop clear outputs, outcomes, plans and budgets for workstreams;

Day-to-day management of the strategic programme,

proactively monitoring progress of individual projects and the

overall programme, and identifying and escalating project and

programme related risks. Effective co-ordination of all projects

and their interdependencies within the programme;

Ensure consistent, high-level reporting to the Strategic

Programme Board from major projects and effective scrutiny and

oversight of the progress and outcomes of these projects – particularly

those supported by Strategic Development Funding (Inspiring Ipswich

and Growing in God in the Countryside). etc, etc ad nauseam

Salary £40,651 (full-time equivalent) but pro-rated accordingly.

It is interesting to note that this out-dated corporate speak, which delivers the very

minimum of coherent clarity and transparency, while long laughed out of court in big

business, still retains a dedicated toe-hold amongst the dioceses of the Church of

England.

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VIEWPOINT

Robert Gilbert calls for a

simpler, humbler and bolder

church

The experience of the past year has, for me,

underscored the prime importance of the

delivery of ministry through parishes and chaplaincies.

Parishes and chaplaincies provide context and relatability, and not only when

worship in a church building or together within a community is possible. Parishes

also provide a locus for social action, and for engagement with and

strengthening of the general community, believing and not.

The signs are that this is understood by church leaders. In a recent article in

the Spectator, the archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote how: “The aim is

to make each parish and each Christian community sustainable”. “If that doesn’t

happen,” they said, “there really will be no Church of England.”

At the recent General Synod the Archbishop of York spoke of a vision for “a

simpler, humbler, bolder Church”.

During the first national lockdown in particular I had a sense of the priesthood

of all believers being realised in a new kind of way. The need for every person to

worship from where they were didn’t seem to weaken, I thought, belief in a

Body to which we all belong, but strengthened it.

It was, in practical terms, an experience of a simpler, humbler, bolder church.

As the Church plans for the future the focus should be on empowering,

resourcing and enabling parishes and members of congregations. The routes for

achieving this will include diverse forms of ministry, ordained and not, that

provide real presence for local communities.

In their Spectator article the archbishops spoke of the biggest rise in lay and

ordained vocations for 25 years – and this should be combined with a much

enhanced sense of the equality of all believers and those who minister to them.

Speaking of equality, it will be healthy for a simpler, humbler, bolder Church to

move towards a situation in which the holders of diocesan posts also hold parish

appointments. It is not unknown for archdeacons to be incumbents too; there is

no reason why we can’t reimagine such roles as always involving parochial

ministry, or why we can’t move towards a situation in which if a diocese is in

need of a suffragan bishop then they are an incumbent or hold another kind of

parish role as well.

This could be complemented by a redistribution of responsibilities among those

who are ordained and those who aren’t, thus freeing up time for localised as well

as oversight ministry.

Increases in centralised posts and diocesan provision can give a helpful sense of

things being done, and suggest a reassuring management structure. - But, as the

archbishops have indicated, the Church of England delivers primarily at parish

and chaplaincy level.

Resources need to be concentrated in parishes and chaplaincies, so their

differing needs can be understood, and because those are the places from

which growth will come and where vocations are nurtured.

A national Church is needed to enable a continuous network of parishes, but it

can do so lightly.

The Church of England’s standing in this country has been profoundly damaged,

over several centuries, by ways in which it has taken on the role of one powerful

organisation among others. Hence the need now for renewed simplicity, humility

and courage.

Our existence as a relevant national organisation, as an organisation with a

prophetic and pastoral role, is dependent on the continuing vitality and

resourcing of a system of parishes and chaplaincies as the main activity in which

the Church of England is engaged.

Revd Professor Robert Gilbert is Biochemistry Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford and

Anglican parish priest

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Christine Hart beautifully captures the impact that Oilseed Rape has on

our senses – and doesn’t there seem so much more of it planted in our

fields this year?

THE LINK DISCOVERS MR BEAN’S

DISTINGUISHED

ANCESTORS

CONTACT NUMBERS FOR BENEFICE

MINISTERS

Curate in Charge Rev Sally Letman 311505

Church wardens

@ St Mary’s Mel Sutcliffe 310967

Trevor Peartree 310146

@ St John’s John Cresswell 311975

Diana Hunt 310441

Pastoral care

@ St Mary’s Hille Peartree 310146

PCC Secretary

@ St Mary’s Jenny Hickley 310991

Hall bookings

@ St Mary’s Malcolm Fenn 310901

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With the Green Party doing so well in the current

elections, the editor felt he should make some

humorous (but significant) reference to the

movement…

EDITOR’S NOTE

The Link Newsletter shall continue to be published electronically as

frequently as news demands during the pandemic – please keep us up

to date with how you are coping.

Please be sure to forward any items for news at St. Mary’s, Capel St

Mary or St John’s, Great Wenham – or indeed for interest to any

residents of the villages - to the editor at:

briancrogerson@btinternet.com

The inclusion of any items in this publication does not constitute an

endorsement of a product or service by the Editor, the Parochial Church

Council, or the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury & Ipswich. Copyright belongs

jointly to the Capel St. Mary and St. John’s Great Wenham Parochial Church

Councils. Articles and pictures may also appear on websites and social media

https://stmaryschurchcapel.com

Kindly note that editorial and production attempts to reflect accurately all

submissions; however apologies are readily offered for any errors in

transmission.

All features & news items & opinions in The Link are introduced & published by

the Editor and only the Church service, Readings and Reflection and Prayers are

submitted & authorised by the Curate in Charge and the PCC officers unless

otherwise highlighted in the text.

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