Gavin is bursting all of our bubbles- which is not as bad as it sounds [264]
Bertie here- your good friend- just back from another quick round of Beat Boxes. It is very unfair how high up they have put them- it is a very long way for a little mouse to stretch. Still, we might have lost sight of All Sts (because they are so far ahead of us) but we seem to be managing to keep our mousy-noses in front of our namesake Playgroup- which is a relief.
To business- I have been busy making lots of notes all weeks on things and here is what I can exclusively reveal…
News from the AGM and APCM
- David Ruddock and Peter Wells were elected as Churchwardens.
- Fiona Albinson and Liz Gallagher were elected as Pro-Wardens for St Nick’s.
- Pippa Sutton was elected as Deputy Warden for St Paul’s, to work closely with David and Peter across the whole range of Wardens’ responsibilities in the life of the Church.
- Mary Cassidy was elected as Deputy Warden with a particular brief for mission and outreach, and prayer and spirituality. She will be working closely with Paul Armitage and the Mission Committee, as well as a range of other people.
Also, there is going to be a discussion of bright ideas for raising money to make sure we balance the books this year, and also because we know that there is some building work coming down the line- if you have an idea for what we can do (either realistic or quirky) then do please let a PCC Member or a member of the Clergy team know this week.
Other Important Things to Note
As Richard has kept on saying, over and over and over again, it really matters that we keep journeying together in the weeks to come- it will be brilliant to be able to be Church together and to sit with our friends and to sing in real life together again- or frabjous day- but we also need to remember that some people will be very concerned by the speed of change and by how vulnerable they might feel. One option we are looking at is to have one section of the Church for people who want to keep socially distancing. It would be helpful for Richard to know if there would be demand for that- so if having an area where people are still masked and 2m apart would be the difference between you coming to Church in person and not please could you let Richard know by the end of Sunday so we can make a decision at PCC on Monday on what to do. Things will continue to develop and adjust, of course, but the key thing is that we keep caring for each other and making each other feel as safe as we possibly can.
At the AGM we also discussed the siting of the icon of the healing of the woman with a haemorrhage we want to commission. It is about 75cm wide. The three options we have identified now are above the altar rail on the left, where the statue of Mary is as a focus for prayer (and moving the statue, obviously) or on the North Wall near the vestment press, moving one of the stations to do so. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or strong feelings? There are good reasons for each position but there seems increasing sense in putting it in the area we regularly encourage people to pray in, where people can really engage with the icon and with Jesus. We are hoping to make a final decision on this on Monday night at PCC.
And announcing something I have been working on with my friends for weeks and weeks- 2 to 4 on Sat the 17th of July- I am proud to invite you all to what Cara insisted we call a Mouse Hunt but really it’s a “come and play with lots of friendly mice and give them lots of cheese”- only all of that didn’t fit on the poster in a font large enough to read.
And to confirm… the celebration of Cara’s ordination is definitely happening on Sunday the 25th straight after the 9.30 Service at St Paul’s- outside if the weather is kind, inside if not. V exciting indeed.
And here is the latest update from Soulscape, one of the three charities we support, on their work this term- enjoy!
And the jokes of the day…
It’s hard explaining jokes to a klemptomaniac because they are always taking things literally.
Have you ever got half way through eating a horse and thought to yourself: “Actually, I’m not that hungry after all.”
