Leaflets are available in St Andrew’s church which give full details of the items which can be used and include instructions with adhesive labels identifying whether the contents are for a boy or girl and the age range of the child. There are also two simple knitting patterns for hand puppets which were very popular with the children last year. If you would like to help in this way, your shoe-boxes should be brought to St Andrew’s church on or before Sunday 18th November, when they will be collected and taken to the distribution centre in Cambridge.
Comprehensive information about the charity can be found on their website www.samaritanspurse.uk.com or by telephoning Liz Kennedy on 01954 205679.
In the morning the choir will sing a short anthem ‘Thou visited the earth’ by Greene which we also sang at the Ely Festival early this year.
In the evening at 6.30pm we have our Festival Evensong where the centrepiece will be the splendid Edwardian Anthem ‘Ye shall dwell in the land’ by Stainer. We last sang this in 1989. In addition there will be settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis by Vaughan Williams plus traditional hymns, psalms and three harvest readings.
We do hope that you will come along and support these services.
Keith Lofts
This is your opportunity to sell those toys that you or your children have grown out of and stock up on new delights.
For full details and if you wish to book a table, please contact Caroline Stevens on 01954 231433.
By tradition the second day of November is the Commemoration of All Souls when we remember all the Christians of past times who have died and now form the Church in heaven.
In the spirit of this, it is our custom to remember all those who have died and have been mentioned in our prayers of intercession during the past year at our services on All Saints’ Sunday. Anyone whose funeral has taken place in our churches or at the Crematorium will automatically be included but the names of other family members who have died may also be remembered. Please pass any such names to the Vicar/Rector before the day.
A warm invitation is also extended to the relatives of those who have died during the past year to come church and join in this commemoration of All Souls.
Confirmation involves taking on for yourself the promises that were made on your behalf by your godparents at your baptism. But if you haven’t been baptised, this is no problem. There is always an opportunity to be baptised during the confirmation service itself.
Courses will be offered both for adults and for young people. Please ask for details from the Vicar/Rector.
But there are also other services and ministries offered in our homes and churches which are perhaps less well know but none the less important.
The service of ‘thanksgiving for the gift of a child’ is appropriate whenever a baby is new born, a child is adopted or if holy baptism must be delayed for some reason. There are services of ‘thanksgiving for marriage’, either following a civil ceremony or on some significant anniversary of the original wedding. A memorial service may be held if a funeral has had to be taken at short notice or in a distant place. There is a short service for the burial of ashes in a churchyard or elsewhere.
And then there are the ministries offered in the home or in hospital. Holy Communion is offered on occasion or on a regular basis to those who, through infirmity, are not able to get to church. And there are the specific ministries of prayer and healing for those who are ill. These can include the laying on of hands or anointing with oil. And, of course, there is also the ministry of ‘prayer at the time of death’ (the sacrament of unction) which will also usually include the laying on of hands and anointing.
Please contact the Vicar/Rector if you or someone you know would like to avail themselves of any of these ministries. The number is 01954 231903 or email to vicar@honeyhill.org.