December 2023

December17th 2023

The bells were ringing and the path to St. Leonards Church door was candle lit. A lovely welcome to the Annual Carol Service. On entering, it was a ‘WOW’ experience, - each window beautifully decorated and even the pillars

were festooned. Sherfield English residents certainly showed their talents when given the theme ‘What Christmas means to You’. Red and green being the predominant colours for the foliage, floral arrangements, and

pom poms, but snow was clearly in evidence. A sleigh with reindeer gliding

across the frozen landscape, a beautiful old globe on which sat a dove, depicted ‘Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all men’. Knitted choristers made their way to church, as the bells above glinted in the starlight. A glowing fireside invited one to sit and enjoy the warmth whilst children played with their

toys. The next window showed a mouth-watering feast…..all knitted, including the sprouts and Christmas pudding, and the table adorned with candelabra. Above the altar -:-‘The Angel of the Lord Shone round about

them’…...beautifully displayed. So the service began……… the choir sang the opening verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ followed by the well

attended congregation. Lessons were read and more traditional carols were

sung, as written in our programmes. A very thoughtful poem was read and

‘Gabriel’s Message’ sung by the choir. In our prayers we were encouraged to think of the homeless, refugees and those suffering in child poverty, all

those less fortunate than ourselves. We also thought of the real meaning

of Christmas – Christ’s birth. After meaningful contemplation, a skit followed, - ‘While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night.’…..complete with washing bowl and socks, and the participants were ‘seated on the ground’. Hilarious. Still in light heartedness, the congregation was invited to

participate in the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas ‘with all the accessories, dancing shoes, pipes, gold rings and ,YES - A partridge in a Pear Tree! The

service closed with the Benediction read by Vicar James. A cup of wassail and a mince pie was offered to all. Another memorable Carol Service at St. Leonards in 2023.

September 2023

Events and Services

Saturday 2nd at 10.30am Coffee morning

Sunday 3rd at 11am - Holy Communion (Rev’d James Pitkin)

Sunday 10th at 11am Modern Morning Prayer (Clare Durham)

Sunday 17th at 11am Harvest Festival followed by Ploughman’s Lunch

Sunday 24th at 11am Modern Morning Prayer (Julia Noble)

I doubt I’m alone in hoping for a late summer as we head into September. August, at least, has got the hang of the better weather as I write this. Our Songs of Praise family service – which has recently become an August tradition – got a summery twist and became ‘Hymns and Pimms’. A small glass of that most British of beverages whetting everyone’s whistle for the myriad of favourite hymns chosen in advance by several members of the congregation. With over 30 in attendance, it had a real celebratory feel as

we spilled out into the sunshine afterwards.

September will bring Harvest Festival on the 17th, and a ploughman’s lunch will be served afterwards. As always, everyone is welcome but (if you can) please let one of the churchwardens know in advance if you will be coming. There are worse things than running out of cheese, but not many. The Reverend Nick Grew and his wife, Christine, have been invited as guests to that service and I’m delighted that they are

able to come. Nick became our first port of call for important services

during the vacancy (where James was already committed to Thorngate)

and this will be our chance to thank him for everything that he did. On 11th September I am picking up a brand new card reader for the church. This – at the request of some of our younger members – will allow

people to use a credit or debit card for the service collection, informal donation, or payments at the regular coffee mornings or other events. We have been granted the reader by Winchester Diocese at a hugely reduced

cost, but we will have to give it back if it doesn’t get used. It may seem an odd concept in a traditional world, but with an increasingly cashless society

I’m sure it will soon prove its worth.

Finally, we have three baptisms in September – possibly a month

record! We have already had a good number this year, and it is always a

pleasure to welcome families into St Leonard’s. Long may it continue!

April 2023

To paraphrase Jesse from The Fast Show, “This month we have

mostly been eating soup”! After thoroughly enjoying our visit to the

Lent Lunch in Wellow Church Rooms on 11th March, our talented

soup makers seemed to decide that they were feeding the five

thousand, and on 18th March St Leonard’s was alive to the quiet

hum of seven slow cookers. With six different soups on offer,

visitors had tough choices to make and couldn’t be blamed for

sampling more than one. It was a joy to welcome so many from the

community and across the new benefice into the church, and their

generosity has led to over £500 being donated to UNICEF. Added to

the monies already raised by the five other parishes, a considerable

sum is going to help children and young people in perilous

situations around the world. This was our first event with all six

parishes working together and, with the recent news that the

planned pastoral scheme can go ahead, we hope it will be the first

of many that bring our churches and communities together.

April brings Easter, of course, and a plethora of events. Our usual

coffee morning will take place on Saturday, 1st April. The following

day we hope to welcome back some of those who were confirmed

a year ago on Palm Sunday for a celebratory Communion service.

This will double as Easter Communion, as the service on Easter

Sunday won’t have an ordained priest to distribute Communion,

but will feature an Easter Egg Hunt and a celebration of Christ’s

rising. In a slight change to our normal schedule, the next coffee

morning will be on 29th April. This will have a special Coronation

theme and will feature a display by our inventive Knit and Natter

team, who have been talking in riddles for some months now! We

hope to see many of you there.

I’ll end with a reminder that on Sunday 30th April we will be joining

the service at Wellow Wood Chapel, so there won’t be a service at

St Leonard’s on that day. The following week we welcome Reverend

James Pitkin for a special Coronation service, which (if all goes to

plan) will be his first official service as our brand new Rector. After

a long and protracted vacancy process you will forgive this tired but

happy Churchwarden a heartfelt “Alleluia”!

Clare Durham, St Leonard’s Churchwarden