"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" Romans 15. v.13.The Letter "H" was the theme of our Mothers' Union Quiet day led by the Revd. Margaret Davies, with our friends from Westbury Mothers Union and held at All Saints Church on Wednesday June 12th. Our day began with the celebration of Holy Communion and continued after a coffee break by thinking of as many words beginning with the letter "H" and classifying the as either positive or negative words, or in some cases , both. With hymn, bible and poetry quotations, we heard from Revd. Margaret thoughts about these words, and found that the word "Hope" was a recurring theme. In our afternoon session Revd. Margaret led us in a "Stilling" or "MIndfulness" as it is sometimes named. This is a wonderful opportunity to be really still and quiet ( not so easily found in today's noisy world) while the quiet voice of Revd. Margaret gave us ideas on which to ponder. We were also able to share with Jocelyn her birthday from the previous day and enjoy a cake kindly made by Peter Jane complete with a candle! We thanked Jean Jane and her MU branch, for their kind hospitality and the Revd. Margaret for once again leading us in a thoughtful and enjoyable day. Some of our members will be attending the Conference in Oxford on June 22nd and this will be reported on next month.Our meeting on July 4th is our Annual Garden Party, which this year will be held in the grounds of Holy Trinty Church beginning at 3pm. We hope to see you there. Enid Holbrow.
"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in Springtime" Martin Luther.Our Spring Gathering for the diocese of Salisbury Mothers' Union members was held at West Lavington Village Hall on Wednesday 24th April. Our theme for 2024, being "Transformation Now", much of the meeting focused on ways in which we are working and ways in which we can work in the future, to keep the spirit of Mothers' Union, begun by our founder Mary Sumner, in 1876, going into another year. Much good work is being done in branches, but we are aware that numbers of members are falling as we get older, and some branches have become Prayer Groups in order to keep in touch with what is being done around the world. Reports on the work with Virtual babies, Rockley Park Holiday Home, as well as requests for replacements for Treasurer, Virtual Baby coordinator, and an organizer for the Bookings for Rockley Park were given. (There is information about this holiday home in Holy Trinity Church as the holiday home is available to book outside of the school holidays). Guest speaker Rosie Stiven, our former Diocesan President, was, as usual, a very interesting addition to the meeting. The Revd. Jayne Tyrer led the prayers during the day and certificates for very long membership of Mothers' Union were presented to Rosemary Allen, well known to us all in the MU office and to Sheila Soper who has worked so hard for the Rockley Park Holiday home and is in need of our prayers, for her health. We ended our meeting with renewed encouragement for dedicated service to continue by singing the hymn; "Take my life and let it be , concentrated Lord to Thee." Our Autumn Gathering is on 19th October (venue to be arranged).Annual Outing: The Thunder Roared ! The Lightening Flashed! at 4 o'clock in the morning, but fortunately by the time we were ready to get on the coach and join those who had been picked up in Westbury everything had calmed down and although still grey and damp, it was not cold. We set off with Richard, our organist, and bus driver to travel to Sherborne. On arrival small groups dispersed in various directions to follow their own interests for the day . There was plenty to choose from, so, hopefully, everyone was satisfied. The attractions included the Abbey, founded by monks 800 years ago. Beautiful fan vaulting draws eyes upward, stained glass fills the windows, exquisitely embroidered hassocks fill every pew, Altar frontals beautifully embroidered, show hours of skilled craftsmanship. It is truly a peaceful and wonderful place of worship. The museum had lots of interesting items to admire including a beautifully illustrated missal which must have taken such skilled and patient hours of dedication to complete. There was an Antiques Centre, Art Galleries as well as a selection of charity shops which caught the attention of some of our group! A garden centre a choice of coffee shops and eating places satisfied the body as well as the soul! Richard brought us safely home, tired but contented after a day in each other's company."Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary. they will walk and not be faint" Isaiah 40 v31.Our June meeting on Wednesday 12th will be a Quiet day led by the Revd. Margaret Davies at All Saints' church from 11am until 3pm. Enid Holbrow
Jason Knight is a member of our local community and many of you will remember the baptism of his twin daughters Ella and Layla at Holy Trinity last year. The twins are regular participants in our Tot's Praise services, along with Jason's wife Sara and Mother-in-Law Karen. Jason was electrocuted in a tragic accident in Westbury on 6 April causing him critical injuries and necessitating the use of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance to evacuate him to Southmead Hospital, Bristol. Jason's injuries were so severe that his left forearm had to be amputated immediately and surgeons have performed over 20 operations to date to try to save his life and his legs. He will be undertaking further lengthy and complex surgery early June. It will take a lot of medical professionals, some whom are experts in the field of lower limbs, to begin the complex task of trying to reconstruct Jason's legs after having so much of them amputated. Without these surgeries, Jason will be unable to walk. The hope is that if these surgeries go well, he may be able to bear weight and walk in some fashion to have some degree of independence without being completely wheelchair bound. I think our prayers at the moment would be based around a successful outcome in this regard and of course, that Jason remains mentally well and physically strong and determined to overcome any obstacles he may face along the way i.e. pain/tiredness/low mood etc. Jason's parents are struggling mentally at the moment so any prayers for their wellbeing, as well as for Jason's wife Sara and daughters Amber, Ella and Layla and to get them through this difficult time would be very much welcome and needed.In terms of fundraising, Jason's Cause is something his family set up a few weeks ago in the hope of raising funds for Jason's rehabilitation. He is going to need some significant changes made to his home (they live in a three story town house - probably the most unsuitable house imaginable for someone who will have a mobility impairment) as well as things like prosthetic arms, adapted means of transportation and so on. Any funds raised will go a long way to helping with this and we are also redirecting 10% to each of Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Southmead Hospital Charity to 'give back' to them after all the work they did to keep Jason alive and with us.More information about Jason’s cause is available on their fundraising page: Fundraiser for J Knight by Leanna Haskell : Support Jason's Rehabilitation following his electrocution (gofundme.com)
We are holding a gift day in order to raise funds for some new furniture for the church: nave Communion table, lectern, remembrance table, altar falls. If you would like to make a contribution towards these items you can make a one off gift using the ref <i>N </i>gift (<i>N please insert your surname)</i> online <a href="https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/">https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/</a> follow the instructions to find Holy Trinity Church Dilton Marsh. You can write a cheque to “Dilton Marsh PCC” and send to the Vicarage, The Hollow, Dilton Marsh BA13 4BU or directly through your bank Sort Code 20-05-06 Acct 70322636. Please use the reference <i>N</i>Gift on all methods. You are also to make a cash donation but please put this in an envelope using the reference <i>Ngift. </i>We hope to have all items installed in readiness for our 180th birthday on Sept 29th.
