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 'Maureen's Musings'
October 2011
Well, how many Scarecrows did you spot? I was truly amazed
and overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, artistic imagination and ingenuity
of all sorts of people in our community at the Scarecrow and
Harvest Festival.
I do hope you enjoyed our Harvest celebrations this year - something
for which I can take no credit whatsoever - but well done to
Chrissie and all the team who have worked so hard - not just
for the weekend, but over months and months of planning. When
this community puts its mind to achieving something, it is astonishing
what happens! ... (and I am thinking of taking a photo of 'the
Archbishop' to General Synod with me next year to show Rowan
Williams.... I think he would appreciate it!)
But now that harvest is behind us, what will the rest of Autumn
hold? Well, as Rural Dean, I shall be working with all the parishes
and clergy in the Deanery on our 'Plain Speaking' exercise. This
has the task of feeding back to the diocese the highs and lows
of what it feels like to be the Christian presence in this place
and time - and how sustainable we think that is as we face up
to a future when there will inevitably be even fewer paid clergy,
and finances are likely to be still further stretched. No-one
wants to reduce the number of Vicars to go round, but with the
number of those approaching retirement, it is inescapable.
But the good news is that most of the churches in this part of
the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area are healthy and working really
hard to stay that way; at the centre of their communities, growing
their congregations, bringing young and old to Christ and advancing
his Kingdom.
Here in Pattingham and Patshull we have just started running
a course - called CaFE - for adults interested in confirmation,
or just interested in exploring questions of faith. The Confirmation
and Faith Exploration group (CaFE) will meet every 2 weeks or
so in the Loft in Church. Do feel free to join us at any time.
Call me on 700257 if you want to know more.
Then there is the bereavement befriending group which is now
meeting regularly, once a month for tea, cake, laughter, chat
and a sharing of experiences. By the time you read this, I hope
it will have chosen a rather more snappy name for itself - but
bereavement befriending describes it pretty well . Call Carol
on 700950 to find out more. And don't forget our annual Memorial
Thanksgiving Service of Remembrance on Sunday 30th October at
6.30pm.
Mrs Sarah Yeomans - our new Head Teacher, and I are planning
to launch our 'Messy Church' experiment in School in the New
Year. This is aimed at Families - children and at least one carer,
and will take place once every half-term, beginning in January.
And I am delighted that Sarah wants to strengthen the already
good links between School and Church in Pattingham. They will
be leading our worship at the family service on 2nd October and
I am very excited to see what may result from that!
So this Autumn promises to hold something for nearly everyone
in our community. But if you think there is a glaring omission
- why not let me know. Maybe together we can do something about
it?
God bless,
Maureen
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