The magazine for the

Parish of St. Peter’s Cleethorpes

www.stpeterscleethorpes.org.uk

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Contacts

Clergy Rev. Paul Hunter 291156 Rector Email st.peters.ce.cleethorpes@ntlbusiness.com Rev. Derek H Webster 693786 Honorary Assistant Priest Church Wardens Andrew Longbottom 07775774055 Email a.longbottom@ntlworld.com Chris Caroline 699045 Email chriscaroline@talktalk.net Parish Office Parish Administrator - Tina Dixon 231198 Email admin@stpeterscleethorpes.org.uk Mothers’ Union Heather Hammond 695341 Church Flowers Jenny Horsfall 691722

The editors are Kate Esmond and Joan Johnson. Copy can be emailed to kate.esmond@ntlworld.com, kateesmond@stpetercleethorpes.org.uk, or joanjohnson@stpeterscleethorpes.org.uk or can be left at the Parish Office. Please note the usual deadline date of 15th of the month for inclusion in the next issue. Sometimes this has to be brought forward.

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Dear Friends, Well that is the 40 days of Lent, Holy Week and Easter over for another year, or is it? I hope and pray Easter this year was a time of renewal in your faith journey. No, the chocolate eggs and bunnies might be reduced in the sales but Eastertide continues…. Rather than put the season of Easter to bed, the Church Fathers urge us to spend another 40 days reflecting on those resurrection appearances of Jesus from the dead in the days leading up to Ascension tide. Is this not a modern Western problem, that we don’t find time to smell the real rich coffee, sniff the roses, or taste the chocolate and remember those who grew the cocoa beans? Since the industrial revolutions and so called “progress”, the natural rhythms of nature and our connections have been lost. The diminishment of Sunday or the Sabbath, as a day of rest and reflection on the gift of life is an example of our view of the world now. No wonder Cleethorpes is so busy with those who want to escape the towns and cities for even a day. Easter is a rich time for our spiritual growth and development, if we can devote time and space to God in prayer, and the matters that concern Him. How His heart must ache at all the hatred and suffering in the world at this time in history! This Easter, in the middle of surveying the Cross and Passion, I sensed that He wants to bring us back to be mindful of those yet unborn, in all our decisions both personal, in our communities and nation. The question for all of us is what legacy are we leaving to our children’s children? Is it a legacy of justice, peace and well- being for all?

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Psalm 22, which we recite on both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, begins with Jesus’ words from the cross “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” and ends “It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, they will come and declare His righteousness to a people who yet unborn, that he has done this.” There is so much to contemplate in the 40 allotted days of Easter and its implications for every one of us living in this world, which it requires us to stop, take time, and examine our life and place in God’s Kingdom. As a postscript, this year, the Archbishops invite all Christians to set aside the 9 days between Ascension and Pentecost to pray for the renewing and empowering presence of the Holy Spirit to make Christ real in our communities. May we all find precious time to listen to the Lord in these times and to be refreshed in the faith that was passed onto us. Blessings

Reverend Paul

See below and also page 17 - Thy Kingdom Come

The next Parish Magazine is the June issue. If you have any articles or news please submit these to the editors either by email or via the Parish Office by 15 May. Thank you.

The Global Wave of Prayer #pledge2pray 25th May – 4th June 2017

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement, which invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. What started out as an invitation in 2016 from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.

The hope is that: people will commit to pray with God’s world-wide family – as a church, individually or as a family; churches will hold prayer events, such as 24-7 prayer, prayer stations and prayer walks, across the UK and in other parts of the world; people will be empowered through prayer by the Holy Spirit, finding new confidence to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

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The Rector presented Tracey Jennings with a gift to thank her and mark her retirement

as Hall Manager.

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The Bishop of Lincoln writes I always think of May as the month of becoming. This is true in nature around about us as we see trees coming into full leaf, fields becoming full of crops, lambs and calves no

longer looking frail and new-born. It is true for the many children in our church schools, as they move towards the end of the school year and the exams and assessments which both measure progress and shape futures. We can take all the small signs of becoming which are around us as symbols of a much larger picture about becoming – becoming the people that God would have us be. We are told in the Bible that we are all made in the image of God. And that is the great challenge to all of us: to live up to that reality so that people can see the image of God in us and in the way we live our lives. It is a lifelong journey but one that we can only take step by step, day by day: all the while allowing God’s image to come to the fore. What does this mean? It sounds rather difficult, but, with God’s help, it is not. To enable the image of God means (as Paul says) to show faith, hope and love towards other people. When we allow God so to work in our lives, we are becoming the best people we can be, and the person God made us to be.

+ Bishop Christopher

Help Wanted

Is anyone able to help with the weeding in the Church garden please? Contact the Parish Office or the Churchwardens if you are able to help. Thank you!

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Above and Right: Walking up Isaac’s Hill to the High Street. The Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey, the Venerable Mark Steadman is to the left of the cross. Below: At the Pier Gardens, where Minister in Pastoral Charge of St Andrew’s Methodist Church, Revd Katie Deakins addresses the crowd.

14 April

Good Friday

Walk of Witness

in Cleethorpes

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MUSIC WHILE YOU EAT CONCERTS

Fridays 12:00 - 13:00 2 June - 25 August

Refreshments Available

2 June John Conolly

A favourite performer in our concert seasons, John Conolly is an internationally respected songwriter who has based his style firmly in the folk tradition. His finely crafted songs, many of which have a tang of the sea, are performed with warmth, good humour and lilting accompaniments on guitar and melodeon.

9 June Grimsby Orpheus Male Voice Choir

We are delighted to welcome back the ever popular Grimsby Orpheus Male Voice Choir. Their eclectic mix of songs will strike a chord with concert goers attending the second concert of our Summer season.

16 June James Kirby

We are delighted to welcome back James. He brings our lovely piano to life with his virtuoso playing. He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire returning to perform in Russia annually. A member of the Barbican Piano Trio since 1992, he performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Europe and America.

23 June Young Musicians

St Peter’s is proud to support ‘Music and Performing Arts’ (MAPAS) work with local school children. Today we welcome them showing the skills they have learnt throughout the year.

30 June HUG (Horncastle Ukulele Group)

Horncastle Ukulele Group, HUG, was started in 2013 by Andy Mathieson. They play an eclectic playlist of mainly twentieth century songs, but consider any song, as long as it can be adapted for ukulele, is good to sing, and they feel an audience will know and like it too.

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WHY MUSIC? One of my most joyous memories of the St. Peter’s lunchtime concerts was one in which, when the musicians began to play, the audience moved into the aisles. There they gyrated in individual ways to a rhythmical throb and mesmeric music. The jazz session had begun. Names like John Coltrane, Stan Getz and Miles Davis were on the expert’s lips. It lasted for a glorious hour. An hour during which people were obviously caught up in the music. Each person seemed carried away by the beat and lost in the harmonies and songs. Emotions were loosed and spirits freed. And all of this took place in our parish church.

Yet there was a time when the church was very guarded in her attitude to music. Non-conformists felt that musical voluntaries and anthems in church were ‘unnecessary impertinences’. The Puritans thought of music as an idolatrous distraction to worship and famously destroyed church organs as ‘the Devil’s bagpipes;’ while the great Methodist preacher John Wesley was very critical of Anglican Church choirs ‘where unawakened striplings bawl about what they neither feel nor understand’. The effect of these views was both comical and sad. Certainly it was a strange piety that dictated that the first London performance of Handel’s Messiah should not be given in a church but rather at the Covent Garden Theatre. Yet Handel had not intended that his masterwork should be a concert piece. At its close he said, “I should be sorry if this only entertained, I wish it to make people better.” Indeed, speaking of the experience of writing the great Hallelujah chorus, he said that “I did see all heaven before me - and the great God himself”. The Bible however is unequivocal about music and singing. Two of its earliest passages are the Song of Deborah and the Song of Moses. The Psalter is also a most powerful testimony to the use of music and hymns in Israel’s worship. And who can forget the words in Mark 14:26 at the close of the Last Supper: ‘and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives.’ Finally when St John enters heaven he writes in the Revelation that he finds myriad voices singing in adoration and praise. Our experience seems to confirm that music made for the Glory of God draws us close to him. God speaks to us through prayer as well as sacrament, through Scripture and poetry, through painting, merciful love and good works. It is equally clear that his voice is heard in music too - though it outstrips what

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can be said and transcends what can be analysed. But powerful emotions are involved, emotions which bring people together. We see this when Liverpool fans render ’You’ll Never Walk Alone’ or the audience sings ‘Jerusalem’ at the last night of the Proms. John Donne sums all of this up very succinctly when he says that in this mysterious dance of life we are linked together by the music of heaven. And in the midst of our dancing circle is the Lord Christ who bids us answer ‘Amen’ to his unending hymn of glory to the Father. As we do this we also give thanks for those who share the music of their lives with us and who can bring that mysterious joy which lifts us towards a greater glory than we can either know or conceive. Such as these help us to see the Lord in all eyes, to hear him in all voices, to love him in all hearts - and to know him in the bread and the wine.

Derek

On 24th May we remember John & Charles Wesley: Canon David Winter writes

Let’s Sing a Hymn

Later this month the Church calendar celebrates the lives of John and Charles Wesley. John’s great gift to the Christian cause was the little matter of founding the world-wide movement known as Methodism. His brother Charles had an equally profound impact through his hymns. He actually wrote over 500, most of which aren’t sung nowadays, but among the ones we do still sing are all-time favourites – ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’, ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing’. ‘Jesu lover of my soul’, ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ – and scores more.

40 years ago almost everybody knew quite a lot of hymns, but sadly that’s no longer true. Traditional hymns aren’t usually sung at school assemblies, not even in church schools, and while the audience for ‘Songs of Praise’ on BBC TV is substantial, most of those watching are over 50. With only about ten per cent of the population even irregular church-goers there is inevitably a lack of familiarity with hymns of any kind. Christmas carols are an exception, as is ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Amazing Grace’, because they are frequently heard outside church.

Singing hymns is a wonderful experience at its best – just ask a Welsh rugby crowd singing ‘Bread of heaven’! It seems a pity to lose it.

It’s not a bad idea to take ten minutes and think what is your favourite hymn, and why – ancient or modern doesn’t matter. Then try singing it in the bath or under the shower – a very purifying experience.

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St Peter’s looked beautiful over the Easter period.

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A huge thank you to Jenny Horsfall and her team of helpers and to all who bought lilies in

memory of loved ones.

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Churchwarden’s Report Planned Giving totalling £21,669 (2016), which was the same as the 2015. Thank you to those who increased their giving to keep up this amount. Quinquennial Inspection £864 A QI is carried out every 5 years on the church, this was carried out by our new Architect in 2016. We received £250 towards the cost of the Qi from The Church Repair Society. His report high-lighted the following:- No Repairs requiring immediate attention. Repairs requiring attention within 12 months 1. Re-cover the defective boiler house roof. 2. Re-point Narthex roof verge. 3. Carry out humidity measurement, using a data-logger, over four seasons, using the inspection hatches cut into the floor. 4. Remove loose render, and re-render the chimney or remove it. The work to the boiler house roof and the Narthex roof repairs have been carried out, along with cleaning out of the gutters. £1,560 The invoice has come in for the repairs to the window and the stone work above it, for the Hall. £10,768 With all this expense in 2016 the Parish could only pay £5,000 to the Lincoln Diocese towards the Parish Share. Hopefully this year will be better (i.e.:- less expenses to be paid out). The cards in Church are made by Sarah Barlow and being sold at £1 to raise funds. She also held a jumble sale in the Hall and has a collecting tin in Pettit’s shop in St Peters Avenue. All the proceeds/funds raised go towards the cost of the new photocopier. £182

Andrew Longbottom and Chris Caroline

MONEY There is the story of a minister who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: ‘I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building programme. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets.’

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Editor: The Rev Paul Hardingham welcomes the major new national initiative for prayer coming from the Archbishops …

Thy Kingdom Come The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling Christians of every denomination to join in with Thy Kingdom Come, a prayer initiative between Ascension and Pentecost (25th May to 4th June), to pray for the nation to know Jesus Christ. It is a time to seek the empowering of the Holy Spirit, that we may be effective witnesses to Jesus Christ. Praying for others to know Jesus is one of the most powerful things we can do. Persistent prayer for others brings transformation to their lives. As Paul writes: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.’ (Colossians 4: 2-4) As Paul says, consistent praying for others involves discipline (‘be devoted’) and responding to what God is already doing in people’s lives (‘being watchful and thankful’). We can pray for ‘open doors’ to point people to Jesus and what He can mean in their lives. We all have opportunities to do this, as even Paul prayed as a prisoner in chains!! The Archbishops are encouraging us to choose five people who we can pray for regularly. Why not ask God to guide you, as you settle on five names and commit to praying for them daily, perhaps by using the following prayer: ‘Loving Father, in the face of Jesus Christ your light and glory have blazed forth. Send your Holy Spirit that I may share with my friends the life of your Son and your love for all. Strengthen me as a witness to that love as I pledge to pray for them, for your name’s sake. Amen.’

Some Wise Words Prayer is not a “spare wheel” that you pull out when in trouble,

but it is a “steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout.

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20 Princes Road Cleethorpes, DN35 8AW

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For Your Guide to Living at Royal Court please contact us on 01472 600112, email us on info@royalcourtcarehome.co.uk or visit us anytime.

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Fake news ‘Fake news’ has received much media attention lately. The spread of disinformation, propaganda, and fabrication of fact is hardly new: humans have been spreading mistruths through trusted sources for years. What has taken it to a new level, however, is the way it is now spread: social media. Fake news items can pop up on our social media stream at any time and, being one of myriad other pieces of information passing before our eyes, they are easily read without care for checking the source. Add to this the fact that they are usually sensational in content, can be shared or liked in just one click, and you have the ingredients for gossip and lies on a global scale. Some media organisations are taking measures to fight back by hiring companies to check facts, or design algorithms to stop the spread of fake stories. Yet even the best software is never 100% successful. Human wisdom, or just basic common sense, will always need to be applied. In this age of information overload and ‘like’ buttons, it can be so easy to accept things without proper thought, to forward or ‘like’ things that may be inaccurate or heavily biased. Even beyond social media, though, news has become increasingly concise, presented in bite-sized portions for us to easily digest as we rush from one task to another. Nuances and truths get lost in the sound-bites of news headlines and our personal updates. So how are we to respond to this as Christians seeking to engage with contemporary culture? How do we maintain integrity, authenticity and honesty in our speech and relationships both online and offline? And what ‘false news’ might we be presenting about our own lives? We’re called to be salt and light, to be wise as serpents but innocent as doves. When reading the news, whatever form that takes, how often do we check the source, find out what other news sites are saying, and critically weigh up agendas? Siobhan O’Reilly Calthrop of LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity) Siobhan is a tutor in St. Albans. Find her blog at www.everyoneelseisnormal.com

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25th May: Ascension Day 40 Days with the Risen Christ

40 days after Easter comes Ascension Day. These are the 40 days during which the Risen Christ appeared again and again to His disciples, following His death and resurrection. The Gospels give us little of Christ’s teachings and deeds during those 40 days. Jesus was seen by numerous of his disciples: on the road to Emmaus, by the Sea of Galilee, in houses, etc. He strengthened and encouraged His disciples, and at last opened their eyes to all that the Scriptures had promised about the Messiah. Jesus also told them that as the Father had sent Him, He was now going to send them - to all corners of the earth, as His witnesses.

Canon David Winter considers the appeal of this unlikely drama series…

THE WAY I SEE IT : Why ‘Call the Midwife’?

For months – indeed for years, apart from the ‘Bake off’ phenomenon - Britain’s most popular television programme by some distance has been the Sunday night ‘Call the Midwife’. The competition for top spot encompasses the whole range of human obsessions: comedy, drama, murder, rape, quizzes, food, fashion and sport – something for every taste. Yet a homely drama about some midwives working with an Anglican order of nuns in London’s East End 60 years ago beats them all. The BBC clearly recognises its value – several more series have been commissioned. I think it’s worth wondering why. The first two series of ‘Call the Midwife’ closely followed the best-selling books by Jennifer Worth about her experiences as a young midwife in precisely those circumstances. Someone recommended the first book to me and I found it compelling reading, and said so in print. To my surprise, I got a letter from the author, answering a question I had posed. She told me that the example of the sisters in the Order and their unquenchable faith amidst the squalor and poverty of the area in those post-War years eventually led to her embracing the Christian faith herself. Sadly, Jennifer Worth died just as the first series was being aired, and I feared the story line might lose its authenticity. But it hasn’t. These are stories of some nuns and midwives struggling to help people in need. Without ever being preachy, it faithfully depicts a very mixed group of people putting faith into practice. I think the nine million viewers, most of whom are probably not regular church-goers, appreciate seeing prayer, faith, hope and love at work, even if not every practitioner is saintly, not every sick baby saved, nor every human problem solved.

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May already, and what a lovely time if the year this month is isn't it? Everywhere, trees and fields and hedges and new shoots are all turning a bright and fresh green and give us all the feeling of a new beginning - that after our long and cold winter everything is waking up again.

The daffodils are still with us - just - and what a glorious display they have given us all this year. When I knew that Mothering Sunday was going to be quite late in March I was worried that there wouldn't be any left to make our posies for the day. But, I needn't have bothered at all because there was still a wonderful display for us all. The money to pay for the flowers this year, was presented to the Mothers' Union from your Sunday Morning Coffee donations, and so thank you to everyone who goes over to the Hall after our 9:30am Service. As a branch we are looking forward to hearing our speaker next week. We will be welcoming

Jane Wilson and her guide dog, Yvette. I know that Jane speaks very well about the work of the Guide Dog Association, and I am sure that Yvette will show us how she cares for Jane. It is the evening of Easter Day as I write this report and I hope that each one of you will have enjoyed this wonderful day. The day when our Lord arose from the dead for us all. Therefore I will finish this report with our Mothers' Union Prayer because it seems very appropriate to think of our millions of members in over 75 countries in the world today, Loving Lord, We thank you for your love so freely given to us all, We pray for families around the world. Bless the work of the Mothers' Union as we seek to share your love through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life. Empowered by your spirit may we be united in prayer and worship, and in love and service reach our as your hands across the world. In Jesus' name. Amen

Heather

One of the posies. The daffodils lasted for a full week.

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THE COMPUTER’S SWALLOWED GRANDMA

Yes……..honestly it’s true She pressed control and enter And disappeared from view. It’s devoured her completely….. The thought just makes me squirm Maybe she’s caught a virus Or been eaten by a worm. I’ve searched through the recycle bin And files of every kind I’ve even used the internet But nothing did I find. In desperation I asked Jeeves My searches to refine The reply from him was negative Not a thing was found on line. So, if inside your ‘In Box’ My Grandma you should see Please Scan, Copy and Paste her In an email back to me. Anon

Deadline for cashing in your old £1 coins

Dig into the pockets of your coats, rummage down the backs of your chairs and couch, empty your piggy bank, look in your car – do whatever it takes, but FIND all those old £1 coins that may lurk around your house – before it is too late. For this autumn, the little round £1 we have known since 1983 will become worthless. The Treasury has just brought out a new 12-sided £1 coin. The change to the new silver and gold dodecagon is the largest to affect the UK’s currency since 1998, when the old 50p coin was abandoned for a smaller, shiner version.

The face side of the new £1 coin features the Queen, while the tail side features four emblems: the English rose, the leek for Wales, the Scottish thistle and the shamrock for Northern Ireland – all emerging from a single stem within a crown.

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PARISH REGISTER

Holy Baptism

9 April 2017 Noah Jack James Murray Holy Matrimony

25 March 2017 John Marriott Kerry Dunthorne

The Parish Church of Saint Peter Parish Office

Saint Peter's Church Hall Saint Peter's Avenue

Cleethorpes DN35 8HP

Open 9.30 – 12 Monday, Tuesday Thursday & Friday Closed Wednesday & Saturday

PLEASE NOTE new email address: admin@stpeterscleethorpes.org.uk

01472 231198

Sunday School

21 May 2017 Note change of date

11:00am

St Peter’s Church

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Parish Services

May 2017

Saint Peter’s Church Cleethorpes

Sundays

7 May 8:00 am Holy Communion 10:15 am United Service at St Francis 5:00 pm Evening Prayer 14 May 9:30 am Holy Communion 11:00 am Informal Worship 5:00 pm Evening Prayer 21 May 8:00 am Holy Communion 9:30 am Holy Communion 11:00 am Sunday School 5:00 pm Evening Prayer Thurs 25 May 7:30 pm Holy Communion (said) Ascension Day 28 May 9:30 am Holy Communion 11:00 am Informal Worship 5:00 pm Evening Prayer 4 June 8:00 am Holy Communion Whitsuntide 10:15 am United Service at Old Clee 5:00 pm Evening Prayer

Wednesdays

10:00 am Holy Communion each week

Friday Coffee Morning Every Friday in the Church Hall

9.30 am—11.45 am Bric a brac stall every week