Mid-week Joy Special - Edith's Retirement

Mid-week Joy special – Edith’s Retirement

As Edith retires this week it seems like the right time to celebrate some of the many things which have given us all great joy during her eight years here.

Edith’s licensing as Priest in Charge took place on Wednesday 5th September 2012, and she immediately became an integral part of parish life. As early as December that year a large number of parishioners met in the cold, unwelcoming space at the back of St Thomas’ Church to discuss the need for toilet facilities, and from there the Development Group was formed.

 

Most of the congregation members were involved in one way or another - planning, conducting surveys, fundraising, applying for grants, and liaising with architects and builders – but there is no doubt that Edith’s leadership and enthusiasm played a vital part in the project.

Meanwhile, the parish bounced back from three years without a full-time vicar. Edith and Stephen joined us as we re-introduced Carol Singing around Lees to raise money for the Booth Centre. Edith, alongside Ruth and David, led us in our annual Whit Walks, where we then met up in St Thomas’ with the other members of Churches Together in Lees and District for a joint service. This is one of several joint services and events which we share annually with our friends from other local Christian Churches, including the Good Friday Act of Witness in the centre of Lees. 

  

Life events such as weddings and baptisms are amongst the most enjoyable parts of a vicar’s job, but they are even more special for the families involved.  

Because St Agnes' Church is so tiny it is quite rare to have weddings there, but to the left is a photo from Estelle and Mick's wedding at St Agnes' in 2016.

Here’s a lovely message to Edith from Liz Bentley -  “To Edith. I wish you and Stephen a very happy retirement. I personally thank you very much as you were at both my Grandchildren’s Christenings, even attending down at St. Edwards RC. and reading the lesson for us. Father Dolan said that was definitely a first for him, sharing the Christening service with a C of E Vicar, so perhaps it may go down in History! You presided at my Granddaughter’s christening and that made it very special for me. You must go and enjoy your beautiful family now. Lots of love from Liz Bentley and family.”

Our Sunday Schools, children and families are very important members of our parish community, and are encouraged to play an active part in special church services throughout the year.

One of the innovations made by Edith was admitting children early to Communion so that they could make the decision be Confirmed later, and whole families are now often Confirmed together.

Social and fundraising events with Rose Queens, Harvest Queens and the Ladies of Leesfield continued, as well as the extra work of the Development Group, and we were all very busy. 

Extra fundraising events in aid of the Development Fund were held in Lees Library, St Thomas’ school hall, St Edwards’ function room, and pretty much anywhere we could find! Some old events like the teddy bear parachute jump were revived, along with new ones like the Parish Boundary Walk and a Big Band Extravaganza. Stephen became a regular on the Boundary Walks, whilst Edith took on marshalling duties.

Edith was licensed as Incumbent on the 25th October 2015, and then on the 28th May 2016 we celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the clock and bells at St Thomas’.

Of course, the most significant event of 2016 was the opening of our new Community Room. Edith has long said that she didn’t want to be remembered just as the vicar who helped us to get a toilet, but of course it’s so much more than that. 

The separately heated Community Room with kitchen facilities has enabled us to invite many more visitors to events such as Heritage Open Days, local schools’ choral speaking, Ladies of Leesfield meetings and regular weekly opening.

Our Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion has become far better attended now that we can gather in a warm space and socialise afterwards, and we have been able to hold Taizé services and Emmaus groups there. 

Social and fundraising events held by a variety of groups are now a regular feature of parish life, and Edith has been very much involved with the Big Brekkie for Christian Aid and the highly popular Cheese & Wine evenings! 

With three Church of England Primary Schools in our parish, Edith’s work as both Governor and Vicar has been particularly demanding, and nowhere more so than at St Hugh’s. Edith has done so much to ensure that the children experience church in school, including Christingle services and even baptising the child of a member of staff there. 

Bishop Mark visited Holts with us on his Prayer Pilgrimage in 2017, and school staff proudly carried the St Hugh banner at Whit Sunday walks. 

In 2018 we became part of the Inclusive Church network, and in 2019 Neil was licensed as an Authorised Lay Minister. Our new Thursday evening service “Worship for all Generations” launched in October 2019 has been enjoyed by so many of us.

  
2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, especially Edith – as our church buildings closed she has had to learn many new skills to ensure that everybody can worship in a way accessible to them, and then preparing to re-open church in such a limited way. The 150th Anniversary of St Agnes’ Sunday School & Day School couldn’t be celebrated as we would have wished, and our farewell to Edith wasn’t what we wanted. 

All these things will happen when we are able to gather again properly, but in the meantime we were able to celebrate Edith’s last week in a few small ways. 

Thank You Edith!

To watch a farewell video from Edith please click on the following link - Edith's video

You can also see the Worship for all Generations "Thank You Edith" video here - Thank You Edith 

   

Sunday 26th July 2020

Sunday Worship 26th July

You can find all of our latest information, Edith's reflection for this Sunday, our Thursday "Worship for all Generations" and much more by clicking on the following link to our facebook page - Leesfield Parish 

Today is Edith's final Sunday service with us before her retirement, but she will be back for a real farewell service when we are all able to gather properly.

Our first hymn for today is the lovely "Be Thou My Vision" 

Today's Bible Reading - 

This reading took me straight back to the early days of the lockdown. Suddenly some ordinary things became unavailable, and one of those was yeast. A simple, everyday thing, widely available usually, and cheap, but vital for bread making. Something we take for granted, and only really missed when we couldn’t get hold of it. 

Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel contains several parables. Parables are brilliant picture stories which give images of God’s kingdom at work. They are stories with different levels of meanings. Jesus used them to teach large crowds, but there are in them hidden meanings, which we see are too obscure even for the disciples to follow. 

The chapter begins with the parable of the sower, and that is followed by the parable of the weeds. Then we have today’s gospel reading which encompasses the parable of the mustard seed, the yeast, the hidden treasure, the priceless pearl and the fishing net. I am going to concentrate on the first two of these, the mustard seed and the yeast. They are similar in that they are both very ordinary things. The yeast is not just something small. It also has enormous transforming power. Leaven changes the character of the dough. Unleavened bread is like a water biscuit, hard, dry, unappetising and uninteresting. Bread baked with leaven is soft, porous, spongy, tasty and good to eat. The introduction of leaven causes a transformation in the dough, and the coming of the kingdom causes a transformation in life. 

In Palestine the mustard seed is proverbial for smallness. It is a common invasive weed. It spreads everywhere. It starts as a tiny seed which, suddenly it seems, turns into a plant which can reach a height of 8 feet. Both of these things, the yeast and the mustard seed are everyday miracles. Everyone knows how they work, and how extraordinary it is that something so small can have such an effect. 

But had you ever thought of the kingdom of heaven like that? Surely the kingdom of heaven is already huge and magnificent, not something tiny, working inconspicuously until suddenly you can’t miss it anymore? The surprise in these parables is not what the yeast and the mustard seed do, since we know that already. The point is that other things, which you may not be so familiar with, may also behave like this. Don’t discount small things until you know what they are capable of. Don’t think about big things as though they can never have had small beginnings. 

I want to return to the yeast, and to use it in a different analogy. Over the last few weeks I have inevitably been thinking about this parish, about my time here and about its future. Yeast is a living organism. It needs warmth, water, oxygen and sugar if it is to grow. It can be dried out and kept for years, and when given the right conditions it will flourish again. The Christian community in this place is very important, and it acts as yeast in this place. Christians should transform communities, and in Lees the churches are very important. They can be the yeast which transform life, and by they I mean you and me. 

I am moving on so now it’s down to you – every one of you. Everyone has a part to play –even if you think you are not important you are! And if you are going to be the yeast in this place, you need the right conditions –which you will find by being part of the worshipping community here, by keeping as close as possible to God, so you can be nourished by his word and enabled by prayer, by talking to God and listening to him. During my time here I have seen many transformations, both of individuals and of the parish as a whole. The virus has caused many problems in all areas of life, and a setback in church life, but living communities can survive difficulties and that will be the case in Leesfield Parish.

Edith 

As Edith moves away, Stephen will of course be leaving too, and he will be a great loss to the choir at St Thomas'. One of his favourite hymns is "And Can It Be That I Should Gain" -

Our prayers for today -

And our final hymn for today is one of Edith's favourites "Lord For The Years" -

All our love and prayers go with Edith and Stephen on their retirement. Worship will continue here, and in our church buildings, and on our facebook pages.

Mid-week Joy 22nd July 2020

Mid-week Joy - end of term special

Last week our three Church of England primary schools closed for the summer holidays, which is always a source of great joy for everyone as they prepare to have fun and much-needed relaxation. 

For all school staff this is more welcome than ever this year, as many of them have worked without their usual Easter and half-term breaks - preparing on-line lessons as well as teaching key workers' children and vulnerable children, and later welcoming back learners from certain year groups. Huge thanks to all of you, and enjoy your well-deserved holiday!

There is also some sadness of course, as our Year 6 leavers move on to their new schools without having their usual leavers services, although the schools have worked really hard to make the occasion as special as it can be in these difficult circumstances. We wish every one of you a bright and happy future in your new schools.    

End of term has also seen the retirement of two of our headteachers - Mrs Ireland (executive head of St Thomas' and St Agnes'), and Mrs Burnley (head teacher of St Hugh's). Both will be greatly missed after many years' service, and we wish them all the best for the future.

Edith also retired as Chair of Governors at St Hugh's, and the photo above is of Edith and Mrs Burnley at a socially distanced retirement party attended by staff and governors. The school presented Edith with the lovely cross shown to the right, which was designed by the school children and then specially made for Edith.   

This week's Worship for all Generations is all about Mary Magdalene, a fascinating figure in the Bible. You are most welcome to join us on our facebook page by clicking on this link - Leesfield Parish

The parish Sunday Schools are now taking a well-deserved break for the holidays. Many thanks Karen for all your hard work in keeping everything going, and we're really looking forward to having you all back in whatever way is possible in September. 

For our end of term musical item we have a virtual choir from Windermere High School singing "We Won't Stop Dreaming".

If you'd like to do something really special to help nature this summer, why not join the Butterfly Conservation's "Big Butterfly Count".

You can find out more by clicking on this link -  Big Butterfly Count