The response from the church community for donations to Ron Lloyd’s leaving gift were absolutely staggering, so thank you to everyone who so generously gave to the pot. We were able to give him two very exclusive bottles of Scottish and Welsh whisky, a gift voucher for the Old Swan at Minster Lovell and a framed photograph of him conducting a service with Jeremy in St Mary’s last year (left). And of course being Welsh, we couldn’t let him leave without a spray of daffodils beautifully put together by Christine. It was sad to see Ron give his final service as we all have such fond memories of him during his time as our rector but he has promised to come and worship with us when he can.
Now that we are entering the summer season, bible study is taking a break until the autumn. It has been a very lively year with many in depth conversations about our scriptures and some useful contributions from our members. I am always amazed at how differently we can each interpret the same passage – but that’s what makes our meetings so interesting because there is always something new to discover.
It is good to see Rev Ian back to work again in the benefice with help from his wife Carol and we look forward to seeing more of him as his recovery progresses. Rev Drew is also back at work after a short time-out and we were glad to have him chairing our annual meeting this week. And not wanting to leave her out of this newsletter, Rev Katie will be taking maternity leave in a couple of weeks so we will be waiting for good news from her and Miles around the early part of June.
Our PCC continues without any changes this year – the full list of members can be found on the notice board in the church porch. My thanks to all the people other than committee members who do so much to keep the church and churchyard looking good and maintaining the building as the focal point in our village. We are pressing ahead with the loo and kitchen project and with estimates in for the work involved, we are now applying for grants from various sources to provide a substantial portion of the money. Our fundraising will continue with a flower festival in June so please do your best to support us when you can.
In May we have the first wedding of the year for a young couple from Carterton, Joshua and Amber. Joshua’s parents were married at St Mary’s in 1990 so it’s really nice to see the tradition being carried on through the generations. Later in June we are pleased to welcome Anna and Paul to St Mary’s for their wedding – Anna used to live in the village when she was a little girl so it’s nice that she wants to come back to familiar surroundings for her special day.
We wish both couples peace and joy in their lives together.