The United Benefice of Fen Drayton with Conington and Lolworth and Swavesey The Fisherman - The Benefice Magazine Issue 15.2 - Summer 2009 Nearly every village in England has a parish church. But why? What’s it for? Essentially, a church is a meeting place, a place of encounter.  It is a place where we meet friends and neighbours; it is a place where we may encounter God. We may come to church to help friends celebrate their wedding or for the baptism of a neighbour’s baby. But whatever takes us into the church, once we are there, we are there for God.  Even if we come into the building for an apparently secular purpose - for a concert, or a talk, for instance - the symbols of faith are all around us and the building remains a sacred space, dedicated to the worship of God. The ordinary business of the church is worship - worship which has gone on in this place for hundreds of, perhaps over one thousand years - and over that time in a variety of styles and languages. Today, most worship begins when we greet one another in God’s name. There may be music and praise.  Then we listen to God’s Word from scripture before responding to what we have heard in prayer and in praise. Often God will bless us through one of the sacraments  - the great action-prayers of the Christian Church - as in Holy Communion. Then comes what is perhaps the most important part of the worship - the Dismissal.  This is when we are sent out from the church building to continue the work of God in the rest of the world that he has entrusted into our care.  For what happens in church is not just for Sunday, but for the whole of life.  The blessings which we receive in church equip us for life in God’s world - to share our faith, to offer service within the community and to continue our praise and worship of God.        The Vicar What is Church for? The Easter Candle in St Andrew’s, Swavesey Kirchentag of Ships  The 32nd German Protestant Kirchentag was held in Bremen over five days in May 2009.  Kirchentag is a Festival of Faith and the largest gathering of Christians from across the globe, second only to the World Council of Churches.  And everyone and anyone can go to Kirchentag: you don’t have to be sponsored or selected or sent. Taking it’s cue from the city of Bremen’s historic status as a major port, this year’s Kirchentag was billed as a ‘Kirchentag of Ships’ and many activities were centred along the quays and warves of the former docklands area alongside the river Weser.  (Today’s large container ships use deeper-water facilities further downstream.) Kirchentag is an amazing experience.  Visitors stay with local families - but they may hardly see them.  For they set out early in the morning to join an assembly of perhaps 5,000 people for one of the many Bible- studies with which the day begins.  Then they have a vast choice of what to experience during the rest of the day from the hundreds of events and activities that are offered throughout the city and the surrounding area.  Many events focus on open-air stages set up in open areas and city squares - or happen in the halls of the city exhibition centre or in local churches and theatres.  After the opening worship on the first evening, the whole inner-city area is closed to traffic for an ‘evening of encounter’ enjoyed by perhaps 300,000 people where residents and visitors alike can sample the local specialities offered from hundreds of stalls set up by local churches and special-interest groups.  At Kirchentag, there are talks, there are debates, there are tutorial sessions in a whole variety of arts that visitors might want to try.  There are opportunities for prayer and for worship; there is theatre; there are exhibitions and displays of dance - and above all, there is music.  Scores of church brass bands play throughout the city.  One evening a volunteer choir sang Handel’s Messiah with a full symphony orchestra in the square outside the main railway station.  One of the biggest hits in Bremen this year was an a capella boys band called ‘Viva voce’ who sang one evening in the main market square outside the historic town hall and another evening drew an audience of 50- 60,000 to the arena in the exhibition centre.  This was also the setting for the closing worship of the Kirchentag when perhaps 100,000 people came together to celebrate their faith - joined by countless others over video links to surrounding towns and through national television. Kirchentag usually happens every two years but in 2010 there is an extra one - the second Ecumenical Kirchentag, involving both the Protestant and the Roman Catholic communities.  This even larger event will take place in Munich from 12th to 16th May 2010.  If you would like to take part, have a word with the Vicar.  Obviously, if you know a little German it helps, but these days, many sessions are conducted in English or have simultaneous translation - and for any other event, the volunteer staff of the International Visitors’ Centre will arrange for you to be accompanied by a personal translator. Further details can be found on the British Kirchentag Committee website at www.kirchentag.org.uk or on the English pages of the main website at www.kirchentag.de . Christian Aid Week 2009 Thank you to everyone who took part in or contributed to the Christian Aid Week collection in May 2009. In Swavesey, the collection amounted to £1302.56; in Fen Drayton the total was £439.69.  In Conington, £145.70 was collected and in Lolworth, £121.52 Restoration Work at St Mary’s, Fen Drayton The scaffolding is down at last - the latest stage of the St Mary’s, Fen Drayton. Repair and Restoration Project is completed!      The lower part of the south face of the tower, the west wall of the south aisle and the southwest buttress of the aisle have been repointed and much of the stonework of the south aisle west window has been renewed.  The cost of this work has been about £10,000.      Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Repair and Restoration Fund over the past few years but, of course, now we need to start over again and work towards paying for the badly needed repointing of the south aisle’s south wall. New Boiler for St Andrew’s, Swavesey It doesn’t look very exciting - just a couple of shiny metal boxes - but this new burner unit and heat exchanger should ensure that the congregation of St Andrew’s, Swavesey, can worship in comparative comfort for years to come - if they can afford the fuel!  The unit, which was specially designed for St Andrew’s, will be ready for use by the autumn. Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Ride and Stride This year’s Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust Sponsored Cycle Ride and Stride takes place on Saturday 12th September from 10.00am to 6.00pm.      Participants may cycle, walk or even ride a horse, visiting as many as possible of the churches and chapels of the county.  They may be sponsored in this as a lump sum or by the number of churches visited.  Half the money raised goes to the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust and half is returned to the churches nominated by the participants.      If you would like to take part in this year’s Ride and Stride, please get in touch with Jon Reed (Swavesey 01954 ), Lilian Ashley (Conington 01954 276213) or the Vicar/Rector for Fen Drayton and Lolworth.    The Children's Society The final total of moneys sent to the Society for the year ending April 2009 is £690.99. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this amount which shows a 11% increase over last year. Just a few words from Charles Nall who is director of Corporate Services at the Society and works (alongside his day job) to ensure that the Society provides the best possible support for fundraising and frontline work with children. Quote, "In 2004 the groundbreaking decision was taken to  form Charityshare, an IT consortium with the NSPCC  ( we were joined by the Alzheimers' Society.in 2007) This jointly owned IT company services all three charities, saving the three about £1.5 million each year." He goes on to say,"On average, 70 to 75% of the Society's income comes from our fundraising activities.. This money is important because it comes without caveats or hidden agendas. This means greater independence to choose where, how and with whom we work. The project A Good Childhood has given us a much richer understanding of our priorities. At least half our supporter base can be directly linked to parish and church communities. The Children's Society will almost certainly see an increase in the number of children who need us. I believe that the dedication of our supporters and volunteers will be instrumental in ensuring that we can continue to reach all children who need us." From these words we can see our  money raising is of great importance to  the Society. Again,many, many thanks to everyone. Dorothy Gilbert.