Dear friends Palm Sunday is this Sunday! It is the festival that sets us off into Holy Week, and is really the Easter story condensed into the one celebration. Palm Sunday is so called because it highlights Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, where we are told that he was welcomed by the crowds waving palm fronds in joy. The service on Palm Sunday starts with a retelling of that story, and a procession, to echo this event. We then enter into the story of the days to come, including a retelling of the Passion itself. It is a service that is full of symbolism, joy, sorrow, and mystery; and this year we are celebrating it together as a Benefice at St Stephen's, Winsham - details below. You will also find below the details of all the Holy Week and Easter Services in the Benefice. Here is a poem from R S Thomas that reflects the mystery of Holy Week: Suddenly As I had always known he would come, unannounced, remarkable merely for the absence of clamour. So truth must appear to the thinker; so, at a stage of the experiment, the answer must quietly emerge. I looked at him, not with the eye only, but with the whole of my being, overflowing with him as a chalice would with the sea. Yet was he no more there than before, his area occupied by the unhaloed presences. You could put your hand in him without consciousness of his wounds. The gamblers at the foot of the unnoticed cross went on with their dicing; yet the invisible garment for which they played was no longer at stake, but worn by him in this risen existence. HOLY WEEK & EASTER Palm Sunday – 2 April, 1030am - St Stephen's, Winsham Family Communion with Palm Sunday donkey procession at St Stephen’s, Winsham. The procession will leave from outside the cemetery entrance at 1030am and make its way round to the church entrance via the Lych Gate. The service itself will start with the opening hymn as the procession reaches the church. ALL are welcome to join the procession, or if you prefer not to walk, to wait in the church. The cemetery is located at the end of the track that leads from the west end churchyard gateway. Maundy Thursday – 6 April, 6pm - St John's, Tatworth A 'bring and share' Agape Meal at St John’s, Tatworth. ALL WELCOME. A relaxed gathering over food, during which we will have readings and prayers for Maundy Thursday. Following the meal the church will remain open until 10pm for people to spend time in silent prayer and meditation for The Watch. It would be helpful to have an idea of numbers for this, so please do let either myself, Michelle or a churchwarden know if you are intending to come. Good Friday – 7 April: 10am – Messy Good Friday, St John’s, Tatworth. A particularly family friendly gathering to explore Good Friday and Easter in a fun and active way. 3 hours at the cross – St Mary’s, Thorncombe. 3 hours of guided and individual space for prayer and meditation for Good Friday. Times for the led elements are below, each of which is about 30-40mins in length. 12pm Stations of the Cross 1pm At the foot of the cross 2pm Meditation at the tomb Holy Saturday – 8 April, 8pm Easter Vigil and first Eucharist of Easter – St Mary Magdalene, Cricket Malherbie. A service to bring the light of Christ into the church that starts with the Easter Fire and builds up into a celebration of Holy Communion. Easter Day – 9 April: 8am: BCP Holy Communion; Forde Abbey 10am: Family Easter Holy Communion; Thorncombe 10am: Easter Day Holy Communion; Winsham 10:30am: Easter Day Holy Communion; Chaffcombe 11am: Family Easter Holy Communion; Tatworth Morning Prayer Morning Prayer (Celtic) will continue on Tuesday's in St John's, Tatworth, at 9:30am every week. All Welcome. Lent Walks Thank you to Chaffcombe for hosting us last week! Another excellent turnout and wonderful refreshments afterwards! THIS WEEK is the last lent walk and we meet tomorrow, Thursday 30th March, at 11am at St John's. We will finish the walk with a soup lunch back at St John's where there are also facilities. The walk will be a maximum 1 hour - less if it is very wet! Our route will take us on a tour of Tatworth / South Chard and will predominantly be on road and pavement. Michelle has made gallons of soup - so more the merrier!! PRAYERS Please hold in your prayers all you know who are struggling in any way, in body, mind or spirit. We are asked to pray by name for: Dave Boyland; Terri Boyland; Sheila Clement; Wendy Cotton; Jan Knott; Mary Marsh; Tony Taylor; Margaret Bandy; Dorothy White, Tony Meech, Di Nicholls, Hester Down, Stella Hutchison; Oskar Lee; Margaret Shields; Andrew de Pury; Frank Long; Cyril Larcombe; Valerie Palmer, Jane Scott, Nan Austin, Ron Bone; Bob Stacey, Lynn Ranson, Anne Perez We remember all those whom we love but see no longer; particularly at this time Donald Raddon, Kathleen Lench, Jean Dodd, Hannah Knott, Bob Hendy. A Collect for Palm Sunday True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah: grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross, which is the path of glory. Amen. Blessings Philip The Reverend Philip Butcher Rector - Two Shires Benefice (Tatworth, Thorncombe, Winsham, Chaffcombe & Cricket Malherbie) The Vicarage 3 Home Farm Tatworth Chard TA20 2SH 01460 221286 PASTORAL EMAILS - please to: twoshiresrector@gmail.com HOME PRAYER & WORSHIP: https://twoshires.wordpress.com Rest Days - Mondays (Tuesdays where following a bank holiday) For non-urgent enquiries please allow up to a week for responses. Mornings are best times for phone contact!
Dear friends A number of bereavements and two funerals in the Benefice on Monday and Tuesday of this week meant that the first couple of days of spring started bleaker than one would have expected or liked. But sometimes it is in the dark places that the light can shine brightest - if only fleetingly - and remind us that there are bigger things at play than we can possibly understand. For me, one of those moments was at midday yesterday. It had been an inclement, typically spring-like morning, of cloud, rain, spells of sunshine. I had just finished a funeral, having also heard in the previous 24 hours of the passing of three people that we had been praying for. Frankly I was quite cross with God. And it was at that moment, as I opened the car door, that I suddenly felt the warmth of sunshine on my face and, looking up, saw for all of about 2 seconds a pair of vivid yellow Brimstone butterflies flitting past me and into the churchyard. It was the first Brimstones I have seen this year, and they always bring a smile because so often they are the first of the emerging butterflies and traditionally are seen as a herald of spring. For many they are a real sign of new life and hope. For me - they just spoke to me as it were God saying, "it's ok - I've got this..." From Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord." “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." SERVICES & Events Saturday 25th March - Wild Church Wild Church gathers this Saturday at St John's Tatworth at 3pm. Vegetables, Flowers and Pancake Towers! We will be planting some flowers, vegetables to grow to harvest later in the year, enjoying some pancakes, and thinking about the Easter story! ALL WELCOME! Sunday 26th March 8am - Said Holy Communion, St John's, Tatworth; Rev Michelle Butcher 10am - Holy Communion, St Mary's Thorncombe; Rev Philip Butcher *6:30pm - Evening Prayer, St Michael & All Angels Chaffcombe; Rev Philip Butcher 6:30pm - Service of Light, St Stephen's, Winsham; Lay Team *Evening Prayer at Chaffcombe will follow on from the APCM at 5:30pm. Tuesday 28th March 9:30am - Morning Prayer (Celtic tradition); St John's Tatworth. A simple and quiet service of morning prayer in Lent. Wednesday 29th March 10:30am - Coffee Morning; St Stephen's, Winsham Lent Walks Thank you to Mary Magdalene's Cricket Malherbie last week for hosting a lovely walk and providing a wonderful light lunch! Great fellowship and we look forward to meeting this week at St Michael & All Angels, Chaffcombe. 11am Thursday 23 March - starting from the church. We will finish the walk with refreshments at the village hall, where there are also facilities. I promise that tomorrows walk will be a little shorter than last week! PALM SUNDAY - 2nd April On Palm Sunday we will have a Benefice Service (with Donkeys for the Palm Procession!) at St Stephen's, Winsham. 1030am on 2nd April. PRAYERS Please hold in your prayers all you know who are struggling in any way, in body, mind or spirit. We are asked to pray by name for: Dave Boyland; Terri Boyland; Sheila Clement; Wendy Cotton; Jan Knott; Mary Marsh; Tony Taylor; Margaret Bandy; Dorothy White, Tony Meech, Di Nicholls, Hester Down, Stella Hutchison; Oskar Lee; Margaret Shields; Andrew de Pury; Frank Long; Cyril Larcombe; Valerie Palmer, Jane Scott, Nan Austin, Ron Bone; Bob Stacey, Lynn Ranson. We remember all those whom we love but see no longer; particularly at this time Donald Raddon, Kathleen Lench, Jean Dodd, Hannah Knott, Bob Hendy. A Collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent: Gracious Father, you gave up your Son out of love for the world: lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion, that we may know eternal peace through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Blessings Philip The Reverend Philip Butcher Rector - Two Shires Benefice (Tatworth, Thorncombe, Winsham, Chaffcombe & Cricket Malherbie) The Vicarage 3 Home Farm Tatworth Chard TA20 2SH 01460 221286 PASTORAL EMAILS - please to: twoshiresrector@gmail.com HOME PRAYER & WORSHIP: https://twoshires.wordpress.com Rest Days - Mondays (Tuesdays where following a bank holiday) For non-urgent enquiries please allow up to a week for responses. Mornings are best times for phone contact!
Dear all This Sunday is Mothering Sunday - traditionally the Sunday in Lent when people were given the day off to visit their 'mother churches', and of course in the days before disparate families, this made it a celebration of homecoming and motherhood too. It is of course wonderful that the tradition is now predominantly about celebrating our mothers, and those who have given us, and sustained us, in life. Jesus is God Incarnate through the same birth that we have all had. It is what makes Him both fully human and fully divine. Below is a poem from Malcolm Guite that brings out the joy and power of this wonderful festival: Mothering Sunday At last, in spite of all, a recognition, For those who loved and laboured for so long, Who brought us, through that labour, to fruition To flourish in the place where we belong. A thanks to those who stayed and did the raising, Who buckled down and did the work of two, Whom governments have mocked instead of praising, Who hid their heart-break and still struggled through, The single mothers forced onto the edge Whose work the world has overlooked, neglected, Invisible to wealth and privilege, But in whose lives the kingdom is reflected. Now into Christ our mother church we bring them, Who shares with them the birth-pangs of His Kingdom. SERVICES Sunday 19th March - Mothering Sunday 10am - Mothering Sunday Family Service, St Stephen's Winsham; Lay team 10am - Mothering Sunday Family Service, St Mary's Thorncombe; Anne Perez 10am - Mothering Sunday Holy Communion, St John's, Tatworth; Rev Michelle Butcher 1130am - Mothering Sunday Holy Communion, St Mary Magdalene, Cricket Malherbie; Rev Philip Butcher Tuesday 21st March 9:30am - Morning Prayer (Celtic tradition); St John's Tatworth. A simple and quiet service of morning prayer in Lent. Wednesday 22nd March 9:30am - Holy Communion; St Stephen's, Winsham 12pm Lent Lunch; Jubilee Hall, Winsham LENT WALKS We had a lovely Lent walk in Thorncombe last week. It was wet, boggy in places, but we didn't lose anyone and the soup afterwards was wonderful! The next walk is tomorrow (Thursday 16th March) in Cricket Malherbie, meeting at the church. We will leave the church at 1100 for about an hour's gentle walk, returning just after 1200 for light refreshments. At 1230 I will lead a short time of prayer and reflection. ALL welcome to either or both the walk or the prayers! The walk this week will mostly be on quiet country lanes, with one stretch of footpath. PALM SUNDAY - 2nd April On Palm Sunday we will have a Benefice Service (with Donkeys for the Palm Procession!) at St Stephen's, Winsham. 1030am on 2nd April. We would like to do a dramatised reading and so are appealing for people who would be happy to have a part! If you would like a part then please let either myself or Michelle know! PRAYERS Please hold in your prayers all you know who are struggling in any way, in body, mind or spirit. We are asked to pray by name for: Dave Boyland; Terri Boyland; Sheila Clement; Wendy Cotton; Hannah Knott; Jan Knott; Mary Marsh; Tony Taylor; Margaret Bandy; Dorothy White, Tony Meech, Di Nicholls, Hester Down, Stella Hutchison; Oskar Lee; Margaret Shields; Andrew de Pury; Frank Long; Jean Dodd, Cyril Larcombe, Valerie Palmer, Jane Scott, Nan Austin, Ron Bone, 'James', Bob Stacey, Lynn Ranson. We remember all those whom we love but see no longer; particularly at this time Trevor Cockram and Donald Raddon. The Collect for Mothering Sunday God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Blessings Philip The Reverend Philip Butcher Rector - Two Shires Benefice (Tatworth, Thorncombe, Winsham, Chaffcombe & Cricket Malherbie) The Vicarage 3 Home Farm Tatworth Chard TA20 2SH 01460 221286 PASTORAL EMAILS - please to: twoshiresrector@gmail.com HOME PRAYER & WORSHIP: https://twoshires.wordpress.com Rest Days - Mondays (Tuesdays where following a bank holiday) For non-urgent enquiries please allow up to a week for responses. Mornings are best times for phone contact!
Dear Friends Last weekend we had a family retreat to Lee Abbey, which is a Christian community on the Exmoor coast at the end of the Valley of the Rocks. I had never been before and, knowing that the community has a different Christian tradition to my own comfort zone, I was slightly in trepidation as we travelled on Friday. And yes, it was different, but no - I needn't have worried. It was truly wonderful to spend a few days in the company of fellow Christians from a huge variety of backgrounds and traditions, all seeking nourishment and refreshment. But then there were the 'God-instances' too that said, 'this may feel different and uncomfortable - but I am here with you'. Firstly, on arrival I was reading the background information on the settlement. It turns out that the first people to build on the land were Cistercian Monks who were given the site in around the year 1200. Those monks were the Cistercian monks at Forde Abbey here in the middle of our own Benefice! Secondly, the retreat leader, who led the talks throughout the weekend, was a founding member of the Northumbria Celtic Christian Community and one of the authors of the Celtic Daily Prayer that Michelle and I often use. I couldn't help but be reminded of those great lines from T S Eliot's Little Gidding: "We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, remembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning; At the source of the longest river The voice of the hidden waterfall And the children in the apple-tree Not known, because not looked for But heard, half-heard, in the stillness Between two waves of the sea." Lent is a time of self-discovery, and sometimes that can feel really daunting and take you to areas that you would rather not know. But in taking those steps you may well find that God is already there showing you the way - and suddenly what was scary can actually become something much more nourishing. SERVICES Sunday 12th March 8am - Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion; St Stephen's, Winsham 10am - Morning Prayer; St Mary's, Thorncombe 10:30am - Holy Communion; St Michael & All Angels, Chaffcombe Tuesday 14th March 9:30am - Morning Prayer (Celtic tradition); St John's Tatworth. A simple and quiet service of morning prayer in Lent. Wednesday 15th March 9:30am - Holy Communion; St Mary's Thorncombe - followed by Coffee Morning at 1015am. ALL WELCOME LENT WALKS The first Lent Walk last week in Winsham was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came and thank you for the lovely tea afterwards! The next walk is tomorrow (Thursday 9th March) in Thorncombe. We will leave St Mary's Church at 1100 for about an hour's gentle walk, returning to the church just after 1200 for light refreshments. At 1230 I will lead a short time of prayer and reflection. ALL welcome to either or both the walk or the prayers! If the weather is really poor then I will adjust to a much shorter and local route! PALM SUNDAY On Palm Sunday we will have a Benefice Service (with Donkeys for the Palm Procession!) at St Stephen's, Winsham. 1030am on 2nd April. We would like to do a dramatised reading and so are appealing for people who would be happy to have a part! If you would like a part then please let either myself or Michelle know! PRAYERS Please hold in your prayers all you know who are struggling in any way, in body, mind or spirit. We are asked to pray by name for: Dave Boyland; Terri Boyland; Sheila Clement; Wendy Cotton; Hannah Knott; Jan Knott; Mary Marsh; Tony Taylor; Margaret Bandy; Dorothy White, Tony Meech, Di Nicholls, Hester Down, Stella Hutchison; Oskar Lee; Margaret Shields; Andrew de Pury; Frank Long; Jean Dodd, Cyril Larcombe, Valerie Palmer, Jane Scott, Nan Austin, Ron Bone, 'James', and Sue Luty Wells' sister. We remember all those whom we love but see no longer; especially at this time Donald Raddon, whose funeral is in Chaffcombe on Monday 20th March, and Kathleen Lench, whose funeral will be in St John's on Tuesday 21st March. The Collect for 2nd week of Lent from the Book of Common Prayer: ALMIGHTY God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Blessings Philip The Reverend Philip Butcher Rector - Two Shires Benefice (Tatworth, Thorncombe, Winsham, Chaffcombe & Cricket Malherbie) The Vicarage 3 Home Farm Tatworth Chard TA20 2SH 01460 221286 PASTORAL EMAILS - please to: twoshiresrector@gmail.com HOME PRAYER & WORSHIP: https://twoshires.wordpress.com Rest Days - Mondays (Tuesdays where following a bank holiday) For non-urgent enquiries please allow up to a week for responses. Mornings are best times for phone contact!
