It was wonderful last week to celebrate our patronal festival, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and thanks are due to the many people who made the festival such a joyous celebration.
Thank you to Dennis Gill for the very generous gift of a new thurible, which we used for the first time on Sunday. Thank you to all who gave money or flowers so that the church could be filled with lilies – they still look and smell glorious even now! Thank you to everyone who brought so much delicious food and drink for the lunch, and to those who helped set up and clear away afterwards. Thank you particularly to Helen for all her hard work. Thank you to Julian and to our choir for the lovely music. But thank you most of all to everyone who came to our festival Eucharist, to the lunch and to Evensong.
All in all it was a glorious (if very hot!) day and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.
This week marks the second anniversary of my arrival in Cottingham, and from the bottom of my heart I give thanks to God this time, and for all of you. One of the prayers that I say very often is by Dag Hammerskold, the second secretary-general of the UN, from his posthumous book Markings. The prayer is simple: For all that has been, thank you. To all that is to come, yes. My two years here has been a blessing, for which I am truly thankful. And to all that is to come in the life of St Mary’s – I hope you will join with me in saying, ‘yes’.
with my prayers and blessings, Nicola