This Sunday is Mothering Sunday, the beginning of the fourth Sunday in Lent – we are more than halfway through this year’s Lenten journey. On Saturday we’ll be holding the first of a series of special events for families with children: Decorate a Cake for Mother’s Day. And, of course, on Sunday we will have posies for anyone who wishes to take one home. Below there is a list of Holy Week services for your diary. But though we are still journeying through Lent, I have begun to think about our plans for the summer.
This year is the 75th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne, her Platinum Jubilee. There are going to be many events up and down the country throughout the year, but the main focus will be the Jubilee Weekend, a four day bank holiday from June 2nd-5th. In addition to beacons lit throughout the land, parades and a big concert in London on the Saturday night, we are being encouraged to celebrate this amazing event locally.
At St Mary’s we are going to join in with the celebrations by holding a grand fete on the afternoon of Sunday 5th June. We are planning to have stalls not only in the churchyard but also on Hallgate, and the Parish Council has given us permission to close the road. We want it to be a free, fun event for all the family, with old-fashioned games such as tin-can skittles and guess the name of the teddy, cake and plant stalls, face-painting and a decorate-your-own-crown area, children’s musicians, free cream teas and a special guest to open the fete. We’re hoping to end the fete with a special ‘hymns and Pimms’ service.
This could be a wonderful opportunity for St Mary’s to welcome our community, and it will be the only free event for the whole village that weekend. But we can only do this if we all lend a hand – because then nobody will be doing too much and it will be a joint effort that we are all creating together. There will be many ways to lend a hand, from making bunting to staffing a stall, and from moving tables to mixing Pimms. As we plan the details of the event we will need a ‘Fete Team’ to oversee the organising and make sure it is well publicised.
How might you help to make our Jubilee Fete a reality? No offer of help is too small, and everyone’s contribution will be vital. Please do get in touch with me to let me know how you can help – I know I can count on the wonderful St Mary’s community to make sure this is an event that will put us at the heart of our village community and will give us a chance to celebrate Her Majesty’s reign of service to her country in a fitting and joyful way.
with my prayers and blessings, Nicola