St Leonard’s Church We hold a service each Sunday at 11am.
Spring is approaching, snowdrops have appeared, and daffodils are
following swiftly on - my sister and uncle both had a daffodil out on New
Year’s Day this year, bit of a rivalry going on there, sometimes they even
have one out on Christmas Day. In February Lent starts and I am sure you
will be partaking of the British tradition of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday prior to the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Are you a purist with lemon
and sugar or something more contemporary perhaps? Streaky bacon and maple syrup or chocolate crumbled with ice cream? Someone told me they always have a stack of pancakes; how would that work in a big family? Two
or three each only at about 15-minute intervals was our family of 5 routine, well, it seemed ages anyway!
We will have our next coffee morning on Saturday 4th March 10.30am -12 noon, and our Bell Captain, Martin Daniels, and his colleagues will be
delighted to show anyone who can climb 39 steps (good book title eh?!) the ringing chamber and the new technological ringing practice equipment. A software package simulates the bell note so learners can hear the bell inside the chamber without the sound of the bell ringing for the whole village to hear. Martin can use this technology to teach beginners more
regularly at St Leonard’s as our bells are lighter than some churches so ideal for youth training or novices. I tried with the Confirmation Candidates last March, and I had to concentrate, could not do any talking. It needs a lot of practice to be perfect like our bell ringers are every Sunday for
services! Do come and take advantage of this great opportunity to see the
bell tower, and if you would like to join us for chat, a coffee and a cake, it is only £2, that would be even better. In February it was a brief talk from the
local charity Unity and in March bell simulators - St Leonard’s like to keep you on your toes!
Also St Leonard’s bells will be chiming for charity to celebrate International Women’s Day, as Bell Vice-Captain Wendy Nash writes: -
“The number of bell ringers at St Leonard’s has been increasing over the last two years, and we are now in the fortunate position of having 16
ringers for our 8 bells. This is a significant achievement, as there are a dwindling number of bell ringers, England has 38 thousand bells, but only
30 thousand ringers. Probably for the first time in Sherfield English
we have more female ringers than bells. Eight of our ladies will ring to celebrate this on International Women’s Day, March 8th, and make a donation to a women’s charity. Bell ringing is all about working together as a team, and our ladies will be challenging themselves and supporting each other, in the spirit of International Women’s Day.”
It is not just bellringers at St Leonard’s who enjoy working as a team, we are joining our neighbouring Benefice of Thorngate’s Lent charity project in
hosting a soup lunch on Saturday 18th March, 12 noon to 2pm. There is no charge for the lunch, but the diners’ donations will be given to UNICEF for their projects throughout the world, and very much needed they are the moment too. If you think you would like to support this event, and know ahead of time, then do contact myself or Clare to assist our catering – there will be 4 different types of soup on offer so should suit most palates. Mothering Sunday on 19th March is always a popular service, many discussions on who has got what flowers out in their gardens for the posies we hand out usually announces the run up to the celebration. This year Rev James Pitkin from Thorngate Benefice (Lockerley, East & West Tytherley and East Dean) will lead the service. James will hopefully become our Rector sometime soon too. We are delighted that James now leads our services on
the first Sunday of the month for a Holy Communion and on the third Sunday for a family service and we have morning prayer on the other Sundays, all at 11am. We look forward to seeing you.
Julia Noble
Churchwarden of St Leonard’s, Sherfield English