Saint Paul's Church, Landkey

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Remembrance

Members of St Paul's Church took a leading role on Remembrance Sunday, 10th November 2019.

The service took place at 10:00 am in Landkey village hall and was led by Chris James. In his sermon, Chris reminded the gathered church members and village residents of the awful losses of human life during the D-Day landings. He drew inspiration from the work of West Country poet, David Prowse whose poem, "Normandy", evoking the emotions of that time, was especially poignant.

The 40 or so people who met in the village hall were joined by many more at the war memorial, swelling numbers to as many as 100 to observe the Act of Remembrance. Wreaths were laid by Bill Parker on behalf of Landkey Parish Council and by Tom Wilks on behalf of St Paul's Church.

This year, the war memorial was draped with a garland of 365 knitted poppies, one for each day since the last Remembrance Day. The industrious knitters were revealed to be Karen Trigger, Sue Ackland, Anita Thorne and Liz Davis. Their work received a round of applause!

Bishops' Brexit letter

At our service on 28th October 2019, Revd Shaun read out the main points of a letter signed by 25 Church of England bishops, including the Rt Revd Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter.

The letter expressed the concern of the bishops over the increasing tensions caused by the Brexit debate and, in particular, the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. The letter is dated 28th August 2019 and this debate has moved on since then, but the concerns remain. The bishops encourage people on both sides of the Brexit divide to respect each other and to adopt an attitude of reconciliation for the good of society as a whole.

The letter can be viewed on this link: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/bishops-issue-open-letter-brexit

Gift Day and Water Aid - thank you

We would like to say thank you to all who contributed to our Gift Day on 6th October 2019. The welcome sum of £744 was raised and will go to church funds.

We are also grateful for the sum of £38 which was raised at our Harvest Lunch on 22nd September. When added to the £290.50 which raised at our Lent Lunches earlier in the year, we have been able to send a total of £328.50 to Water Aid.

Remembrance Service

We will be holding a service of Remembrance at 10:00 am in Landkey village hall on 10th November to recall the sacrifice paid by our armed forces in defending our nation.

The service will be followed by the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial, including two minutes' silence at 11:00 am. All are welcome to attend.

Service times to revert to 10:30am

It has been decided that Sunday service times will revert to starting at 10:30 am, beginning with our Family Service on November 3rd.

The later start time of 10:45 am was introduced to facilitate the holding of consecutive services in Swimbridge and Landkey. The incorporation of a monthly service of Morning Prayer has relieved pressure on the clergy rota, though, making it easier to begin services at 10:30 am, a time more popular with the congregation.

To Autumn

Now that summer has given way to autumn, I thought that I would quote John Keats' seasonal poem. It is especially relevant this  autumn as 2019 (on 19th September) marks 200 years since he wrote his poem after being inspired by a Sunday afternoon walk which he took from his lodgings in Winchester past the cathedral to nearby water meadows on the outskirts of the city.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fumes of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers;
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look;
Thou watchest the last oozings, hour by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,
While barrèd clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.