I hate dusting with a passion! When I was a girl, we lived in a large farmhouse and my Saturday chore was to clean the front room. This was huge with lots of intricately carved furniture and an open fire, so vacuuming was quick, but dusting took forever! I have a theory that with no open fires, dust hardly exists, and dusting is a waste of my time! So please don’t run a finger over my surfaces when you come to see me! But dust is a major part of the Ash Wednesday service that heralds the start of Lent. In that service we are all “ashed” with a cross on our foreheads made of ash, traditionally from last year’s palm crosses, and told to remember that, as the bible says, “you are dust”. What’s that all about? God never stops creating... Well, it is to remember that we were all created by God in his own image, when God modeled humankind out of dust and breathed his life into us. Now I am not denying evolution here, or the biological birth etc, but I still believe that it is God who created me. We all know that science even now is very poor at making babies, it is still very firmly in God’s hands! God stands for life, and we are all part of that cycle. We are born, we live and then we die and return to dust. So why do we remember this on Ash Wednesday? For me, it is to remember that God never stops creating, - ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Revelation chapter 21, verse 5. Lent is a time for us to make things better, yes even to do some dusting, to try and clean up our act. How you do that is up to you. I try to get a bit more discipline into my prayer life (I’ve never been good at routine) and try to spend more time reading about my faith – I usually buy the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lent book. Lent is a time to make things better... We are running a Lent course this year that has been produced by the charity Embrace the Middle East. The course explores the theme of Hope in the bible. We certainly need Hope, especially in the Middle East. Here is another idea: I have a friend who removes one item each week from her wardrobe during Lent, to donate to charity. What do you want to do to “clean yourself up” this Lent? Remember, God gives Life and he can certainly renew yours!Blessings to all, Vivienne
The central heating boiler at Fradswell Church has sadly been decommissioned, leaving us without heat. To fix this, we have permission to install a new LPG boiler, but the cost is significant—£9,420.Thanks to the Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust, we’ve secured some funding, and we’re waiting to hear from The Lumley Trust and Lasletts Alms Charity. Thankfully, we can reclaim VAT through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme—but we still need your help to make this happen!This is where our amazing parishioners and supporters come in. Every donation, big or small, will bring us closer to restoring warmth to our beautiful church. ❤️Please visit our JustGiving page by either using the QR code or visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fradswell-pcc to contribute. Your support means the world to us, and we’re incredibly grateful for your generosity.Thank you in advance! 🙏
We warmly welcome dogs into our church services as cherished members of many of our families. However, we kindly remind all dog owners that their pets are their responsibility while on church premises. Please ensure that your dogs are well-behaved and remain under close control at all times.To ensure a safe and comfortable environment for everyone, please ensure that your dogs are up-to-date on vaccinations, and have received proper worm and flea treatments. This will help maintain a respectful and peaceful environment for everyone present, allowing us all to enjoy the service comfortably. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
