SPRING HAS ARRIVED Isn't it good to know that there are signs of Spring around us! As I write this, daffodils, crocuses and primroses are adorning the roadsides and cheering everyone's spirits. We haven't experienced much warmth yet, unless you have been in the sunshine and out of the wind, but we know that things are moving in the right direction and we can start talking about outdoor events without needing to cover ourselves in layers of clothing for every venture out of the door, So, on our list of diary dates, we are able to include the Good Friday service at the bandstand and our sunrise welcome to Easter Day, I'm not able to promise fine, warm weather but we can hope! MARCH HAS BROUGHT US OUT OF WINTER. The first event was the church committee on the 3rd of the month with the usual lively discussion of matters concerning the life of our community and a tempting list of forthcoming events to inspire our life together. It was good for some of our members to meet together for the Ash Wednesday service; a good occasion to begin our observance of Lent, a season which has continued with a Bible-based discussion each week in the Lent group and, of course, the Lent lunch for the benefit of Christian Aid, but also to be a good occasion for members of other churches, and of none, to come together and to chat in a relaxed atmosphere. The first of the series was at St Mark's on 14 March and was well attended and much enjoyed, fuelled by home-made soup as well as bread and cheese. As always, the members of St Mark's came up trumps and our church members and visitors were welcomed into a nicely decorated church room with tables set out attractively. Those of us who have coffee and cake after Sunday services and who come for other events have seen changes in the room in recent months with new radiators and lights and many unnecessary items taken away. Many thanks to Dave Richards and Dave Hudson for all they have done. And there are plans for more changes to come. A number of those who visited commented on how cheerful our garden looked. Well done Dave H and Tony! LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD. On Sunday 16 March we held St Mark's Annual Meeting which was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of our activities through the year, with a collection of photographs assembled by Carol Richards. There were reports from the Resident Priest, the Churchwardens, the Electoral Roll Officer, the Organist and Choir Master and other Officers. All were thanked for their contributions to the life of the church. Anne Roper and I were re-elected as Churchwardens and were delighted to accept your trust for another year; we cannot think of a better church of which to be churchwarden. We are very pleased to be joined on the Church Committee by Mike Keats and Anne Johnson. We want to thank Jenny Lazenbury and Jean Bettles, who stand down after three years service. We also welcome Nicky Dolton onto our team of Welcomers and to read lessons from time to time. COMING UP. As I write we are looking forward to the "St Mark's Goes Global" evening which looks like a lot of fun, on 22nd March. We then follow the period of Lent and Holy Week to the joy of Easter. Look carefully at the dates above so that you don't miss anything you would like to join us for during April and make the dates known to family and friends, so that they can join us as well! With all best wishes for the coming month and into the future. John Way Churchwarden.
A SAD LOSS: Janet Enoch, a long-standing member of St Mark’s, passed away on Monday 3rd February after a short illness. Janet had been a great encouragement to Carol and me when we first arrived at St Mark’s. She was the first person to volunteer for the post-Covid Refreshment Rota, and always willing to be part of any venture in the Church. We will miss her greatly, but know that she will rest in peace and rise in glory.UNITED WE STAND: A good number of St Mark’s members attended the Churches Together United Service at Emmanuel Baptist Church, and 3 of us were part of the music group. EBC was full to capacity, and the refreshments and fellowship were so good that nobody wanted to leave!MORE BUILDING WORK: We are continuing our efforts to make St Mark’s building more welcoming and useful. The Meeting Room has new heating, the loo is being refurbished, and plans are afoot to re-decorate, re-carpet and improve access to the Meeting Room. We are working towards a scheme to open up some space at the back of the church and hope to submit a Faculty application this year. IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN: St Mark’s AGM will be on Sunday 16th March, following the morning service. An AGM is a time to look back and review, and to look forward with faith and hope. I want to say a sincere Thank You to all who have served on the Church Committee and PCC during the year, with special thanks to John and Anne, our wonderful Church Wardens, and to Marion, who does so much to make everything run smoothly at St Mark’s. Our Church Committee meetings during the past year have been positive and forward looking – a tribute to the great people who have served as leaders. Please pray for our meeting and elections.A SAFER CHURCH: Recent sad events have reminded us all of the need to learn more about Safeguarding at our churches. St Mark’s will celebrate Safeguarding Sunday on 16th March. Jo Levasier will preach on that day, and we hope (technical stuff permitting) to show a short film on Safeguarding after the service on Sunday 9th March.SPECIAL EVENTS FOR MARCH:St Mark’s Lent Lunch, with proceeds to Christian Aid, Friday 14th March, 12noon onwards.St Mark’s goes Global Saturday 22nd March, 7pm. This is a chance for our well-travelled congregation to show us some of their holiday snaps from exotic and less exotic places. There will also be light refreshments, and a fun quiz. It’s FREE, with donations to Christian Aid. Everyone, and their friends, welcome!Rev Dave Richards
As I look out the window today, at the start of January, it is raining again! Not a promising start to the New Year. Here’s hoping that February will bring brighter days and the first signs of spring with the snowdrops and crocuses. Such beauty!Our Junior Singing Club had their first public appearance at the Christmas Tree Festival. Their performance was excellent, and very well received by an enthusiastic audience.We had a wonderful Christmas at St Marks with several festive services held in the church with familiar faces and many visitors. It was good to see a large number of parents and grandparents attend the School Key Stage 2 Carol Service. Our Carols by Candlelight service, on Christmas Eve, was a wonderful event, with the children from St Mark’s Junior Singing Club stealing the show! They read a lesson and sang beautifully along with our choir. The church was bursting at the seams with many families coming along to experience this special Christmas celebration. The Team Epiphany Service was a joyous occasion bringing to a close our Christmas preparations and celebrations. The church smelt wonderful with the essence of incense for days afterwards! St Marks reputation as a ‘Party Church,’ will continue throughout 2025, welcoming our local community into St Marks, with social events and celebrations, and building on the strong and positive relationship with St Marks School, the pupils, and parents. Little acorns becoming strong oaks!Next month we begin Lent, with our Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service at the earlier time of 10:30am. We will be looking towards the Cross and our preparations, with Christ, during Lent and finally, to that glorious resurrection of our Lord, on that first Easter morning. Until then….We look for the first signs of spring!May God Bless and Keep YouAnne Roper - Church Warden
Looking back over the past few months. The end of October was a busy time for us too, with our Activity morning on Saturday 26th when much work was done in our garden and in the Church, preparing us for the winter months to come. It was a very enjoyable morning, being kept refreshed with tea, coffee, fruit juice and water and, as always, having a good chat. A lot of surplus vegetation was taken to the dump and much dusting, hoovering and polishing took place in the Church. At the end of the month we also had a very good Harvest service followed by a wonderful lunch and during the week following we welcomed St Mark’s School and many parents to their Harvest service. Also in September and October, we were delighted to celebrate the 90th birthdays of Mary, Mike and Jenny – three of our much loved and long-standing members (Mike having been a member of the church from before he could stand!).November was very much a month of memories. In a very touching service in St Mary’s on Sunday November 3rd we remembered those who we knew and love but see no longer. St Mark’s were pleased to play their role in that service as Dave preached and a team of us helped with the refreshments afterwards, allowing those present to have fellowship and conversation together. The following Sunday was, of course, Remembrance Sunday, with an Act of Remembrance as part of our morning service at St Mark’s, followed by the Town Remembrance Service and procession to the War Memorial in the afternoon. It is a very meaningful time of year for many people.And so, we enter December – a month for looking forward. As many people will spend a lot of their time this month buying presents, sending cards, planning Christmas festivities and much else, the Christian church gears itself up to welcome our Saviour, worshipping him with the much-loved forms of service, readings, hymns and other music. In our quieter moments, we may ask ourselves what has happened since the last time we went through the familiar rituals and how God has blessed us through the happy and the sad times since then. As this edition of Church Alive! takes us through into January, we wonder what the New Year has for us with a relatively new Prime Minister and Government, a change of American President and many parts of the world bogged down in seemingly interminable wars and all the suffering that that entails. What we can be sure of is that the God who brought us through the turmoil of 2024 will be with us, whatever 2025 will bring. Anne and I wish you all a blessed and joyful Christmas and New Year. John Way, Churchwarden.
