Last Sunday, 9th August, was Mary Sumner Day, who was the founder of the Mothers' Union. Hence, this was certainly broadcast appropriately to all in the pews. The well established MU luncheons and gatherings are certainly a feature in the life and worship here at St Andrew's. The readings for the day were from 1 Kings 19. 9-18, Romans10. 5-15 and Matthew 14. 22-33. We welcomed Dave, the Archdeacon of Bedford, to our midst and he clearly based much of his homily on the gospel previously read which tells of the significant incident of Jesus walking on the water, which of course, defied all the laws of physics. Our Lord knew of course, the ever well-intentioned Peter, who sometimes spoke out before giving thought to what he was about to say, a common fault with us all. When Peter fearfully loses his confidence - or faith perhaps - Jesus responds with those compassionate words: "Do not be afraid." We too are, in different ways, faced with such a dilemma in our spiritual lives. We need to take that leap of faith whilst simultaneously keeping our eyes on Christ. We should take stock and reach out and Christ will reach back to us. After the service, we went into the Chapter House to share fellowship with one another and to satisfy ourselves with a hot cuppa whilst watching a video sent by our Mafambisa Team who were currently in South Africa. Archdeacon Dave was keen to share in the chit-chat.
On Saturday, 15th August, at an early hour, the Mafambisa Team return to England. Later on, between 10am and 12 noon, there is Coffee Shop during which 'Chat and Craft' takes place. There will be a sale of some jigsaws whilst we encourage people to bring in their current 'crafty projects' and share such things over the chatter. You are always welcome so to do. This coming Sunday, 16th August, there is Parish Eucharist at 10am. The choir are seated in the pews during this month. Therefore, their seats beyond the chancel screen, are empty until next month. Those who come on occasion to evening worship have a choice: at 5:30pm, there is a Taize service at Cockayne Hatley - or - at 6pm, there is the Holiday Club Opening Service here at St Andrew's.
Our annual Country Fayre is looming ever nearer and into which so much work and preparation is always taken. This major piece of 'community outreach' draws in folk from all over and as ever, as well as the stalls and entertainments taking place around the grounds, the indoors exhibition takes teamwork and dedicated effort to produce and present. This year, the theme will be 'Calmness in Crisis' and all the poster work and individual contributions will be well worth seeing and reading. All of this links well with our present charities, namely, Cruse Bereavement and Homestart Bedfordshire.
On 20th August, Exploring Silence continues at St Peter's, at 7:45pm and you are indeed encouraged to share in these valuable sessions. To arm yourself with more information, visit website: exploring slence.org. Meanwhile, Holiday Club is going to be in full spate from 18th - 21st August. Remember that on 23rd August, Parish Eucharist will start half an hour earlier at 9:30am and then, at 11am there will be a concluding Holiday Club Service which will be followed by a barbeque in the grounds.
It is good to note that such events and activities, as, The Mafambisa Team working in partnership with Hands at Work in South Africa, the Holiday Club in Biggleswade and the annual Country Fayre,
right in the heart of our community, are all examples that have in part or in total, been inspired by such venerable stalwarts who have passed on but their drive lives on and continues to evolve.