St. Mary the Virgin, Wivenhoe
Life is often described as an amalgamation of good and bad moments, joy and sorrow, health and sickness, happiness and sadness. We all have experienced these differing emotions. Coping with challenging and opposite feelings is an essential part of our being human. If one hasn’t laughed and cried, one hasn’t lived life in full.
This month of February we’ll come across these diverse feelings during our spiritual and Christian journey. Indeed, this month, we’ll have fun, there will be joy but we’ll also quieten ourselves. It will become apparent that Church life once again coincides with life in general with its moments of celebration and mourning.
Please find here an overview of what’s going on at St Mary’s in February. I leave it to you to categorise the events and services under “fun” or “earnestness”.
Though the preparations for the Passion play should include moments of fun, the actual performance will definitely introduce our community to the sadness and shock of Christ’s suffering. The February Workshop is the first sign this year that we approach the remembrance of Christ’s Passion. Wivenhoe Passion 2012 is a “timeless” drama closely based on the gospel passion narratives and directed by Nicky Matthews. The cast consists of volunteers from Wivenhoe and beyond. It will be performed on Saturday 7 April at 7 pm.
A successful workshop was held in November at which 20 volunteers attended. As a follow up and start of our proper rehearsals another workshop will be held at St Mary’s on Saturday 4 February from 10am until 12 noon. There are still a few roles that haven’t been covered. We need to find 8 more people in order to go ahead with the performance. Please do contact Nicky Matthews by emailing her: nicknite@talktalk.net or phoning: 07967535177 or 01206 768765 or contact me (preferably by email).
This will be a 100% fun evening though some teams will take the competition very seriously. Make sure you are in a team or, if not, build yourself a team of maximum 6. Bookings at £6 per person can still be made with Marika Footring on 825310. The Quiz is on Saturday 4 February at 7 pm at St Mary’s.
Three days before the actual feast day of St Valentine our wedding couples for 2012 will be invited to a wedding preparation meeting on Saturday 11 February. The day after, Sunday 12 February at 10.30 am, we all gather for a special service at which we’ll pray for these young people, sing wedding hymns, have special pieces of music for this occasion, and hear appropriate readings,...: a service that certainly may be categorised as joyful.
On this last day before Lent don’t forget to keep the tradition of baking pancakes. By coincidence the February PCC meeting will take place that day. Even with the hard work at such a meeting, the pancakes will add an aspect of fun to it.
Immediately after the 7 past 7 service, we officially start the season of Lent with a communion service and imposition of ashes at 7.30 pm. This is a most inspiring service and an ideal beginning of the forty days of preparation for Holy Week and Easter.
On the first Sunday of Lent we will invite the relatives of parishioners who passed away in previous months. At the morning service they will receive memorial crosses with the name of their loved one. It will be a very meaningful service not only for the bereaved but for all who will attend, as we all have gone through periods of mourning and emotional pain.
Let’s turn this extra day into a day that indeed will make a difference this year. Make this day special by giving yourself a break, by spoiling yourself and others. On leap day you could also use this gift of 24 additional hours to come closer to God by praying, meditating, reading,... Simply, do the leap of faith on 2012 leap day: jump into the arms of a loving God, he’ll catch you and embrace you with his love.
As we may expect that the winter will gradually fade away and the first signs of spring will occur soon, I’d like to invite you all again to the reflective Wednesday evening service. In December and January we welcomed on average 10 people on a Wednesday evening for this inspiring and peaceful service. Though the heating was on in church, the weather conditions were not always very inviting to leave the cosiness of your home and walk up to the church in wind, rain and cold. But those who made the effort told me how much they appreciated it. With milder weather coming up it’s time to renew and extend the invitation to the 7 past 7 service. Every Wednesday the church is open at 6.45 pm for a time of silence, the reflective service starts at 7.07 pm and lasts 15 minutes. You are all very welcome.
Now you can bring your children, grandchildren, neighbours’ and friends’ kids to St Mary’s every Sunday morning. From 12 February a team of excellent volunteers runs a weekly Sunday club, a programme for youngsters between 5 and 12, simultaneously with the morning service. We all gather at 10.30 am in the church and after the opening hymn the younger contingent of our congregation go with their leaders to a nearby venue for a 40 minutes programme with activities, arts, crafts, drama linked with the message of the Sunday morning Bible readings. The children rejoin the congregation just before the Lord’s Prayer. On first Sundays we all stay together to celebrate jointly with all ages.
Enjoy the shortest month of the year, use the extra day for yourself, your friends and the Lord, and be convinced that life with its contradictory moments of joy and distress is worth living. Encourage each other to live life in full.
Erwin
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