Our February meeting was the A.G.M. and Wave of Prayer Service. Heather was unable to attend due to an operation on her hand, so we welcomed Lydia Munday to help with the meeting and the enrolment of two new members. Rita welcomed Lydia and everyone and explained to those present why Heather was not there, and it was suggested we pray for her during the wave of prayer (which we did).  During the A.G.M. we had an enrolment ceremony. We all renewed our commitment to Mothers’ Union with the two new members and they were presented with their certificate and a badge. We then we moved on to the wave of prayer written by the diocese.

To begin, we held an outline of a butterfly, and were asked to write one thing God has changed in our lives for which we were thankful. This led to a silence as we all thought what to write (maybe not so easy?).  Do you know that a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope? Then we started the wave of prayer entitled “Transforming Lives”.  The gospel reading from Luke 19 was the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. After the reading we had a short discussion about the love of God for EVERYONE. We then moved on to pray for the link dioceses, False Bay in South Africa, Shinyanga in Tanzania, Umuahia and Ijebu in Nigeria, Vellore Church of South India, and Bath and Wells, read by different members. We finished the wave of prayer with the grace. Then we had tea enjoying some cakes that Pam had made. Our best wishes to Sylvia Barrett, our indoor member.

Hopefully we will see everyone at the March meeting when Rev Georgina Vye will be talking to us about Shrove Tuesday.

Rita Bagg

Download here

We were very pleased to welcome Peter  to our meeting last month, who came to give a presentation on the work of the Rotary Club of Chard – Peter is now President.  A particular project they have been involved with for quite a while now is Rotary’s promise to the World to end polio. We saw a video showing mainly children suffering from polio and the effect it has on their lives and the whole community, mainly in Africa. The vaccination programme set up around the World, supported by Rotary, has worked well, and in some countries it has been completely eradicated.  There are still some areas affected and work continues to overcome this. We had a good question and answer session, and consequently learnt a lot about this horrible     disease, and the way Rotary works across the World.  Thank you very much Peter.

Unfortunately there were only a few of us able to attend, but we were pleased to welcome Anne Perez, the Parish Administrator, who came to join us after working all morning in the office.

A reminder that we shall be hosting the Deanery Advent Carol Service on Friday 10th December at 2.30pm followed by a Christmas tea in the hall.  We have decided that the donations from this will be given to the MU Emergency Relief Fund. Lydia will be bringing her usual Christmas Carol Quiz. Please come and bring your friends.

Best wishes to Sylvia – you are in our thoughts and prayers at this time.

Heather , Branch Leader

There is a saying

 “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.”

–from Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot, the poem discusses time, perspective, humanity, and salvation. The story of the nativity offers for us the same narrative each year and yet there will always be something new to discover or hear in it.  The experience of our Christmastide will be different after the confusion and crisis of last year, and yet it will bear familiarity. It will hold the uncertainty of whether we will be meeting up with the emotions of being with those we love. And for some there will be precious memories, treasured and held with tears for the ones who are loved and seen no more, the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Then on another level, Eliot is expressing a little about how I feel after returning from my adventures across the UK on my Sabbatical, it has been a truly restful and full-on creative time. Time to be in the moment and catch the peace, wonder and beauty of our nations, truly stunning scenery and experiences, many known for the first time. 

With the New Year we will slip into a new experience of life full of all we know and all that we cannot see yet. Be Blessed and ready to embrace life in all its fullness, the rawness of pain and the elation of joy, knowing you don’t walk life alone but in the grace of the vulnerability of the Christ Child and the strength of our Easter Christ. 

Rev Georgina

It was a great success.