Here are some new or revised websites that you may like to look at.
AICM, the African Internation Christian Ministry mission agency in Uganda that we support from the benefice has a new website at www.aicm.org.uk.
A personal survey of Churches in Cambridgeshire by Ben Colburn and Mark Ynys-Mon (with pictures of churches in the benefice) can be found at www.druidic.org/camchurch.
Details of next year's Kirchentag in Hannover can be found at www.kirchentag.org.uk.
Links to all of these can be found on the Parish Links page of the Vicarage Website: www.honeyhill.org/links.html.
Anthems for Lent have been performed on both the first and fifth Sundays of
the Lenten season. Two further items are planned for Easter Sunday morning.
Attendance on Thursday evening practices and on Sundays has continued at a high level despite the cold building on practice nights.
We are also rehearsing music for the Choir Festival at Ely on May 15th and we have three requests to sing at Weddings during the Summer including one at Conington.
K M Lofts
The Christingle service at St Andrew's, Swavesey, on Advent Sunday 2003 was well attended and very enjoyable. The later starting time gave greater darkness as we lit the candles and made them shine even more brightly.
I would like to thank Jackie Few, Wyn Oakman, Caroline Stevens and Freda Wake for assembling the Christingles, Peter Marriott for obtaining the oranges and the Music Group for their spirited playing. Many thanks are also due to the Sunday School children for filling their collecting candles for the Society and bringing them to the Service. The total sum raised was £97.08.
Projects supported by the Society at this point in time are, amongst others, developing and implementing anti-bullying strategies in schools, helping young runaways and using its experience to influence the government for improvements to make life better for all children - really worthwhile projects.
Many, many thanks to all who supported this event.
Dorothy Gilbert.
The Children's Society has also benefitted in the sum of £80.00 raised at the Christingle Service at St Mary's, Fen Drayton, on the Second Sunday of Advent and in the Fen Drayton village carol singing. Thank you to all who helped and especially to Val Burton for providing the oranges.
April brings the season of Annual Parochial Church Meetings when we elect Churchwardens and Parochial Church Council members, receive reports on the year that is past and look forward to the year to come.
Although not always the most exciting of events, each year these meetings form an important milestone in the life of our Parish Churches.
This year's meetings are listed in the Calendar on page 2. Come along and join in! The Swavesey meetings on 18th April also offer lunch!
The Vicar is always happy to offer the sacrament of holy communion to the housebound at home. Please ring him on 01954 231903 to arrange dates and times. A regular monthly or bimonthly pattern of visits can also be established.
The Vicar is also always ready to talk with parishioners, whether regular churchgoers or not, about arranging weddings, baptisms, funerals, services of thanksgiving, etc.
There is no special Sunday for baptisms, though usually only one service each month in each parish will include a christening. Which Sunday this is tends to be booked on a first-come, first-served basis. So do get in touch with the Vicar early.
Before a baptism we have a Service of Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child. This can take place during a Sunday Service or on another occasion but preferably as soon as possible after a baby‘s birth.
But, of course, it doesn't have to be that you're trying to arrange a church service of some sort; the Vicar is happy to talk on almost any matter, but especially about spiritual or related concerns.