St Mary's Church News 2004

The Rolleston branch of the Mothers' Union continues to grow rapidly. The branch was founded in 1908 and, after many successful years, was in serious decline until it was revived in 2000 through the enthusiasm of the Rector, Rev. Ian Whitehead and its new leader, Mrs Janet Neal. At a service in St Mary's Church, six new members were enrolled by Ian and Janet, assisted by Deanery Leader Margaret Fytchett.

After 11 years at the Jinnie Inn in Rolleston, Phil and Dianne Humphries said farewell by inviting St Mary's Church to come and empty the whisky bottle on the bar. The loose change that had accumulated was donated to St Mary's ACCESS project. On his last day at the Jinnie, Phil handed over £50 to the Rector, Ian Whitehead and his wife, Christine, and Jinnie regular Ivor Bailey.

St Mary's Church has held another successful Wedding Fayre. The Rector, Rev. Ian Whitehead introduced the event and the Organist, Jim Ottewell, played suitable music for the entry of the bride and the departure of the couple. At intervals throughout the event, there was an opportunity to look at displays and talk to the ten local exhibitors: A1 Photography and Cars, Country Cakes, DJM Discos, Florist Gate, Forest Wine and Hampers, Frazers Catering, Jackie Stubbs Photography, Kiss the Bride Stationers, Tickled Pink Designs, and Wedding Songs.

Ian introduced the new St Mary's Wedding Book and went through the Marriage Service in traditional and modern forms with Sam and Joe Robinson, whom he had married in the Church.

Angela Wynne of Wedding Songs sang four solos which could be used during the signing of the Registers, and the Choir sang a selection of hymns suitable for weddings. The bells were rung under the direction of the Tower Captain, Lee Cooke. Anthea Topliss and Ann Burston served light refreshments and Arnold Burston signed copies of his History of St Mary's Church.

The events not far from here in Yoxall will have been a shock to anyone with an ounce of compassion. The horror of a desecrated grave is bad enough but for then the grave to be robbed out beggars belief. Whoever, and for whatever reason this was committed, needs to be found. As for the family devastated by this we can only lift our prayers for. Here in Rolleston with our pretty village centre what would our reaction be? Let us remember Yoxall.

So what drives us then as individuals? In many respects we have to admire those with convictions who are willing to act upon them. So many of us by and large sit back and allow the world to carry on around us. There are times though when those convictions are carried too far. Many have said about the Christian faith that Jesus went too far, a Virgin Birth and a miraculous death and resurrection is going a bit far and yet they remain at the core of our Christian belief. What drove Jesus and gave shape to his life, even before his birth, was a commitment to God his Father.

So then, where lies our commitment? Is it to family or to the self or to more materialistic concerns such as money or the acquisition of things? Christmas will soon be upon us with the shops urging us to buy, buy, buy. Family demands may make us make rash decisions – “remind me again why we are going to your mothers?” Perhaps Christmas should start to carry Health Warnings: Excess at Christmas can harm your wallet/relationships/health!

Yet Christmas remains central to this time of year, a bright spot in a dark winter, no wonder early pre-Christian ceremonies here in Britain focused on that time of year in the long dark months. Now we gather-in trees into our homes, light up the outside and inside of our houses, buy presents on plastic and eat far too much. In the midst of al that there remains a picture of rough manger for crib and the cry of a baby. In that cry we can sometimes hear our own cry for all the things that come to us in and through life, for the loss of the year, for the frustrations of the past year, for the peace of the world and for the hope of tomorrow.

This Christmas may you find some quiet moment to stop for a while to consider this time of Light in Darkness, perhaps between TV programs, perhaps in a walk in the evening, even in the noise of family getting together and in that quiet moment stop to consider the moment and give thanks.

Carol Singing around the Parish has yet to be arranged; either Weds 22nd or Thurs 23rd December on the new Forest School group of houses
Sunday 19th December 6.30pm Carols by Candlelight – bring a torch or a SAFE candle to sing by as the Church lights will be turned out
Friday 24th December 3pm Nativity Service for all the family – children are invited to dress in costume for the service
Friday 24th December 11.30pm Midnight Communion
Saturday 25th December 8am Holy Communion, 10am Family Communion – bring your presents and let us celebrate
Sunday 26th December 10am Short Said Service of Holy Communion, 6pm Short Said Service of Evening Prayer
Sunday 2nd January 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Morning Service to welcome the New Year, 6.30pm Evensong to welcome the New Year

On Armistice Sunday, St Mary's was filled to capacity for the annual Parade Service. Members of the uniformed organisations marched from the Scout Headquarters to the Church, where their banners were laid up at the altar for the Service, after which an Act of Remembrance was held at the Lych Gate, and poppy wreaths were laid at the garden of remembrance.

Rolleston's annual Harvest Supper, held in the Old Grammar School, was attended by more than 50 parishioners, who enjoyed a quiz contrived by the Rector, Rev. Ian Whitehead, as well as a lavish meal organised by Ann Thornewill and helpers. Erl Thornewill ran a raffle, and the event raised over £350 towards St. Mary's programme of development of the Church and Old Grammar School, which will include facilities for wheelchair users.

The following Sunday (3 October), three special Harvest Services were followed by a sale of produce in Rolleston Club, which raised £177 for St. Giles' Hospice. Jim Toon ran a raffle, which made an extra £37 for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

On Tuesday 14 September Rolleston Rector Ian Whitehead once more took part in the annual Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust Bike Ride. Instead of cycling around the 12 rural churches of the Tutbury Deanery like last year he cycled from Rolleston to Derby Cathedral, from there to Lichfield Cathedral and back to Rolleston (a distance of 63 miles), accompanied by the local Bobby, PC Lear and Rolleston resident Terry Williams. They set off on their ride at 9am and aimed to be back around 4pm - for some well earned refreshments. Some pictures can be seen here.

I remember many years ago on a visit to London with parents going to Hyde Park and Speakers’ Corner. I remember being astonished at just how many people were willing to both stand and listen, and how many people were willing to stand on a soap box and speak. At that stage in my life I was the quiet one in the school class, head down, studious looking, but often not following the lesson. The thought of standing up and expressing any sort of opinion just filled me with horror. Yet here at Speakers’ Corner it seemed like everyone was willing to have a go. That was many years ago, I don’t know what it is like today, possibly very different, given the laws and legislation coming in on what you are, or are not able to say in public. I have no problem with the blasphemy laws being extended, nor indeed with many other items of law being brought in to protect various groups, but with that comes a threat to what is Speakers’ Corner, the right in this country to freedom of speech. So often today conversations are littered with phrases such as “It’s probably not politically correct, but…”, or “I probably shouldn’t say this but…”. It is as though now most people are afraid to speak. We need to know that there is a difference between freedom of speech and incitement to hatred or violence. There must be areas of life where individuals can speak out as they see it. Where the church has often been most wrong, its own worst times and most brutal has been when it has sought to impose “correctness”. The Inquisition, the first throes of the Reformation, even today’s church arguments over women Bishops, and homosexuality and church leadership. They all end up hurting people and the Good News of God, that in Christ we can all be made new, released from our straitjackets and given new life by Faith. For me that led me from being the quiet one, unwilling or unable to speak up, to now speaking from a literal pulpit 3 or more times a week. How long though will that Speakers’ Corner continue, we don’t know, but freedom of speech and freedom of faith has to continue for our society to continue. Otherwise the risk is that we’ll all have to conform and accept everything, or worse still to conform and believe in anything.

1st Sunday	8.00am 9.30am 6.30pm	Holy Communion Family Service Evensong
2nd Sunday	9.30am 6.30pm	Holy Communion Evensong
3rd Sunday	9.30am 6.30pm	Morning Prayer Holy Communion
4th Sunday	9.30am 6.30pm	Holy Communion Evensong
5th Sunday	9.30am 6.30pm	Family Service Evensong

Mothers’ Union meets in the Old Grammar School 2.00pm, 1st Wednesday of the month. Leader Mrs Janet Neal, tel: 813054.

Thank you to everyone who helped us to raise over £3,100 on Gardens Sunday. Many of you will have seen our disabled access plans for both church and old school room displayed in St Mary’s and in the last Rollestonian. The money raised this year will go towards bringing these about. Next year Gardens Sunday will be on June 19th. Pictures of this year's event can be seen here.

I had the fright of my life the other morning. Christine came down in to the Study and said; “I’ve been thinking -It’s time we moved again.” Now the first three words are the most frightening known to a married man, ‘I’ve been thinking’ but the rest of the sentence is perhaps the next most frightening to a Vicar!

It turns out that Chris had been going through the Christmas stuff to be packed away again for another year and doing so found a lot more ‘stuff’ that we have accumulated. The ‘moving’ comment comes from the fact up until now we as a family have always been on the move and that we will soon be passing a milestone in our married life here in Rolleston for being in one home the longest. Having moved so regularly we haven’t had the time to accumulate ‘stuff’ we always found that by moving regularly we a] haven’t need to find space for stuff as it was either ‘lost’ in the move or naturally found a new home in the new house, b] redecorating has been kept to a minimum and c] the kids have always found a way to track us down again! [Joke!]

Although moving regularly brings with it pressures and challenges settling down also brings with it challenges. It great to have dreams and plans but sometimes dreams and plans get frustrated and delayed so that simply keeping going in one place becomes a stress. Another pressure is remaining fresh to the current situation. These aren’t particular to a Clergyman they are common to us all in different ways. The number of times I have written about ACCESS at St Mary’s church and thought that it would be soon I wish I had a pound for each time. I now understand the image of the Church of England as a huge ocean liner – it takes forever to turn around! It may however come to fruition this year with plans and drawings going to Lichfield Diocese for approval this month. We’ll keep you informed as we have being doing all along the long process.

Trying to stay fresh comes to us all. Five Christmas’ now and five Christmas messages, nearly five Easters and five Easter messages and then we have had numerous village parade services. The next will be on 6th June to celebrate D-Day towards the end of the Second World War. Why do we continue to remember? We remember because with each remembrance we return to a central truth; at Christmas ‘Love Come Down to Us’, at Easter ‘Nothing Can Hold Love Back’ and D-Day ‘The Cost of Love’. We continue to remember because of Love, and it is through Love that we remain fresh in whatever situation we have been called to. For me here in Rolleston it is a growing realisation that here in this village God is at work in lives and situations I couldn’t even have guessed at when I first came here. It takes time to see that, like realising that some ‘stuff’ has to be put away while other ‘stuff’ has to be kept for today.

If you would like to keep in touch with what is happening through the Parish Magazine, please contact Ken Alderson (813022) or Sylvia Martin (813320) to arrange delivery. The magazine is issued ten times per year (no January or August issues) and costs an annual £2.50. It is also available inside the church.

This is our major fund raising effort during the year, and we are just starting to organise this year’s programme. Could you help? Offers of new gardens, or new ideas, are very welcome!! Contact Sylvia Martin on 813320, many thanks!

This year's Lent Appeal at St Mary's Church in Rolleston on Dove, in aid of the Mid African Ministry (MAM), has been devoted to buying books for teachers and ministers in training in Burundi. In previous years, St Mary's has raised money for Cows for Rwanda, Bikes for Vicars, and Roofs for Rwandan Widows. This year's fund-raising has taken the form of book-shaped collecting boxes in the Church and some special events. Brenda Yates organised a "chick knit" to make chickens to hold Easter eggs: she then held a sale and raffle at the Lawns Salon and at St Mary's Thursday Coffee Morning, at which Janet Neal and Pauline Alty also ran a cake stall. Together Brenda, Janet, Pauline and friends raised over £240.

Burundi is a small, landlocked country in east central Africa. Although it has many natural resources, it is a poor country which has suffered from years of ethnic violence between the Hutu and Tutsi and acute refugee problems. It is a predominantly Christian country, which depends for most of its educational and social work on priests and ministers, whose proper training is vital if they are to help to revitalise an economy which depends on subsistence farming and cash crops.