Christmas blessings

Perhaps during Christmas, more than any other time, we fail to hear God's voice.  Distractions abound, and at a time when our focus should be on our blessings and our Saviour, we're tuned in to other things that seem more pressing.  But on Christmas Day, make the choice to open your heart, mind, and spirit and listen for God's voice.

A very happy, peaceful and blessed Christmas to you all.

Christmas Eve Crib Service

The Crib Service is a lovely family-friendly event.  Please be aware that this year's Midnight Mass is at Potterhanworth  at 11.30 pm; we will be having a Family Eucharist at Nocton at 10 am on Christmas Day.

Recycle your Christmas tree!

Carol singing - thanks!

A huge thank you to everyone who turned up to sing carols at The Cottage care home and round Nocton Park on Wednesday evening, and to those who generously donated - we raised a fantastic £130 to be shared between All Saints' Church and the Nomad Trust.  We really appreciated those who stood in their doorways in the cold to listen to us and especially the hot sausage rolls at one house - you know who you are!  And finally thanks to Nocton Parish Council for providing the mulled wine and mince pies at the end, and to Janet & Ian Goldsworthy for their hospitality.

Nocton remembers George Leary

 

Since August 2014 the bell ringers at All Saints Nocton have been ringing Quarter Peals (a piece of continuous ringing lasting approx 45 mins) on the Church bells to commemorate the centenary’s of the deaths of the 13 Nocton residents who were killed in the Great War. The bells are half muffled for these quarter peal by attaching a leather pad to one side of the clapper resulting in a mournful sound by creating an echo effect.

So far they have commemorated 9 of the Nocton residents.

The next Nocton resident to be commemorated is Corporal GEORGE LEARY who served in the Lincolnshire Regiment before being transferred to the 477^th Agricultural Company of the Labour Corps and died from his wounds on 15th December 1917 aged 41. He was the son of Mrs Jane Leary of South Carlton Fen Lincoln. He was obviously either born in Nocton making him a Nocton Native and they moved to South Carlton or he was born at South Carlton and they moved to live in Nocton, which explains why he is buried at Nocton and included on the Nocton War Memorial. George was the tenth Nocton resident to be killed in the Great War.

He is buried just inside All Saints Churchyard on the left by the Churchgate and is also commemorated on the War Memorial on the back wall of the Church.

If you hear the bells ringing half muffled around 15th December please stop and pause for a moment and think about the sacrifice which was made 100 years ago by this brave Nocton gentleman.

We Will Remember You!

 

Corporal GEORGE LEARY – Grave in All Saints Churchyard Nocton

 

Close up of the Nocton WW1 War Memorial at the back of Church

commemorating George Leary.

Carols by candlelight on the labyrinth

Carol singing

We will once again be singing carols round the village in aid of church funds and the Nomad Trust. Meet at the Cottage Care Home at 6 pm on Wednesday 13 December to sing carols with the residents, then on to Nocton Park.  No, don't all lock your doors... Mulled wine and mince pies will be served afterwards – thanks to the Parish Council for supporting this.

Nocton remembers Leslie Halkes Wray

Since August 2014 the bell ringers at All Saints Nocton have been ringing Quarter Peals (a piece of continuous ringing lasting approx 45 mins) on the Church bells to commemorate the centenary’s of the deaths of the 13 Nocton residents who were killed in the Great War. The bells are half muffled for these quarter peal by attaching a leather pad to one side of the clapper resulting in a mournful sound by creating an echo effect.

So far they have commemorated 8 of the Nocton residents (we will give more details of those 8 who have already been commemorated over the next few months).

The next Nocton resident to be commemorated is Gunner LESLIE HALKES WRAY who served in “E” Battalion of the Tanks Corps and was killed in action on 20th November 1917 at Cambrai aged 19. He was driving ‘Ella,’ a 25 tonne Mark IV tank (which of course was designed, tested and built in Lincoln) whilst taking part in the largest and most significant tank battle of the First World War at Cambrai, when he was sadly killed in action. He was the son of William & Susan Wray who lived in Nocton. His father William was a farmer at Nocton’s Park Farm, known locally as “Farmer Wray’s Yard”. ‘Wray’s Yard’ still exists today at the top end of The Green, with the farm buildings converted into residential property’s. Leslie’s education took place in Lincoln at the Christ’s Hospital School before he enlisted. He was the ninth Nocton resident to be killed in the Great War.

He is buried at Ribecourt Road Cemetery, Trescault in France and is also commemorated on the War Memorial on the back wall of the Church and in one of the north Windows in the nave, which was given by his parents in memory of him. The stained glass depicts the Tank Corps logo along with a WW1 tank & a machine gun, unusual things to be depicted in Church stained glass. He is also commemorated on the Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School War Memorial for the ‘Old Boys’ who lost their lives and which is located at the school on Wragby Road in Lincoln.

If you hear the bells ringing half muffled around 20th November please stop and pause for a moment and think about the sacrifice which was made 100 years ago by this brave young Nocton lad.

We Will Remember You!

‘France 23rd November 1917

Dear Mr and Mrs Wray,

Writing as a member of the crew on behalf of us all. We wish to express our deepest and heartfelt sympathy to you all and much regret to say that your son, Leslie, was killed in action on the Thursday morning the 20th. His death was instantaneous and very sudden. He suffered no pain. We are sorry to have lost such a faithful friend, as he was always so kind to us all, and ever ready to take his part during these very great tasks and hardships. He was well respected by all who knew him. We cannot speak too highly of his good nature and the way he kept his engine. We all had the greatest confidence in him. His officer also fell by his side and we much regret to say that we have lost two of the best friends of the crew. They were both taken by a party and buried close by where they fell on the same day.

Having been his partner in the crew I have taken care of his private belongings, photos etc, and will forward some on if possible at the earliest convenience. I will conclude with deepest and heartfelt sympathy to all.

I am yours faithfully. 91718 Gunr J Glendinning

Gunner LESLIE HALKES WRAY.

Close up details of the bottom of the Leslie Halkes Wray Memorial Window

Showing bottom left a machine gun and bottom right a WW1 tank.

Leslie Halkes Wray Memorial Window in All Saints.

 

Leslie Halkes Wray commemorated on the

Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School War Memorial.

Close up of the Nocton WW1 War Memorial at the back of Church

commemorating Leslie Halkes Wray.

Christmas Tree Festival!

Advent preparation at San Damiano

Two services to remember loved ones

Litter in church porch

Twice in the last week, a significant amount of litter (mainly sweet wrappers) has been left in the church porch. While people are welcome to sit in there - that's absolutely fine - we would ask that people take their litter away. There is a bin by the church gate which people are welcome to use. Thanks.

WaterAid - thank you

Yet another thank you: the collection at the Harvest Songs of Praise raised £178.97 for WaterAid - "providing clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene". Things we all take for granted...

Macmillan coffee morning

Thanks to everyone who donated cakes to the Macmillan Coffee morning in church last Friday, to those who came to support it and to those who did the washing up afterwards!  It was lovely to see so many people and the event raised a fantastic £221.30 for Macmillan.

See you all there next year!

A huge thank you!

Thanks to all those who supported the Harvest Songs of Praise and the Harvest Supper – those who organised, prepared food or washed up, and those who came. You helped us raise a fantastic £590 towards a sound system for the church. Thank you!!

You're invited!

Harvest Songs of Praise - supporting others

This year we will be supporting those less fortunate than ourselves by donating to two causes. 

Lincoln Larder was one of the first food banks to open in Lincoln.  Its purpose is simple: to provide basic food for people in crisis. The food they provide needs to be quick and easy to prepare – ordinary things like tinned fruit, rice pudding, tinned meats, UHT milk, breakfast cereals.  People can’t just turn up at the door.  Everyone needs a voucher, provided by a variety of local agencies (such as Age UK, the YMCA, Benefits Advice, Children’s Services or Health Visitors) who refer them to the Larder.  They provide 3 days’ worth of food for each person included on the voucher.  You’re invited to bring a donation of food for the Lincoln Larder to the Harvest Songs of Praise.  Or if you can’t make it to the service, you could always leave your donation in church. 

The collection at the service will once again go to WaterAid.  WaterAid has teams in 35 countries, changing millions of lives every year with clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.  We take these things for granted, but 1 in 3 people on the planet don't have a decent toilet.  1 in 10 don't have clean water.  Almost 1 in 3 schools don't have clean water.  Diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor toilets kills a child under 5 every 2 minutes.

Labyrinth by candlelight

church4ALL September

Harvest Thanksgiving

The service will take the form of Songs of Praise for Harvest.  Book your supper tickets now to avoid disappointment!

 

Don't forget!

Bell ringers remember Pt Kenneth Dykes

Kenneth was killed in action during WW1 aged 19.  He was born in Nocton, son of George and Emma Dykes, and was one of the bell ringers at All Saints before he enlisted in the Lincolnshire Regiment.  To mark the centenary of his death the local ringers are planning to ring a half muffled quarter peal (45 mins) on Sunday 30 July and on Monday 31 July a half muffled full peal lasting approx 3 hours will be attempted.

'We will remember them'

Thanks to all who supported guitar concert

What a lovely event it was last night.  The guitar music was great, the church was beautifully decorated with flowers, the strawberries and Prosecco were delicious, and everyone enjoyed themselves. The event raised £534.50. Yvonne asked for just £50, but she made £100 on the sales of her CDs (and we made £20 on those sales, included in the figure above). Yvonne really enjoyed the evening, too!

Carol Bennett

Reminder - guitar concert this coming Friday

Wall paintings

Some of you may be wondering what is happening about the project to restore the wall paintings in All Saints.  We were poised to start this work last year when we were advised that it would be unwise to do this until some investigative work had been done.  The wall is dry now, after several years of being allowed to dry out naturally, but there is still condensation in the area at times and, most importantly, salts continue to move throught the stone and affect the area.  There is no point in restoring the paintings only to have them fail after a few years because of more damage.  We have a plan for a way forward but it will appear that nothing much is happening for some time to come, although in fact we will be doing investigative work to understand where the salts are coming from, how they move through the area and whaat is required to protect the area from further damage.  The more thorough the preparation, the better the final result.

We acknowledge with gratitude that many people have donated over many years towards this and we wanted to assure the parishioners of Nocton, and those people from outside the parish who have also kindly donated, that we continue to work hard to sort this problem out.

church4ALL

A reminder about our new venture, church4ALL, which starts next Sunday 2 July at 4 pm at Potterhanworth.  It'll be on the first Sunday of every month after that.

Reminder about Nocton Open Gardens

Church4ALL - starts Sunday 2 July

This message from Lorna is on the 'Message' page as well at the moment but I am posting it here too so as many people as possible see it.

The majority of people nowadays would say that they're spiritual, but not 'religious'.  People generally assume that I'm religious... but I think religious sounds like being rather fussy about rules.  And for me being a signed-up Christian isn't about being religious in that sense, it's about relationships - our relationship with God and our relationships with each other.

I imagine that most parents want their children to have a spiritual dimension to their life, want their spirits as well as their minds and bodies to grow strong and healthy; but it's not easy to know how to do that.  Doing nothing and hoping for the best might not be enough.

But church is meant to be a place where you can explore, ask questions and grow spiritually  On the other hand, taking children to church can seem a bit daunting.  Grown-ups worry that the children will be a nuisance.  Children worry that they're going to be bored and everyone wonders whether they'll understand what's going on!

Which is why we are starting a new service for Potterhanworth and Nocton.  It's going to be at St Andrew's church because it has a few more facilities compared with Nocton church.  We have a more flexible space - and a kitchen.

It's going to be once a month to start with, on the first Sunday of each month.  It's going to be at 4 pm, and it's going to be for everyone.  Which is why we're calling it Church4ALL.

It will be relaxed and informal - and fun!  There'll be singing, things to make and do, something to eat and drink.  It will be designed for children and young families, but also for anyone else who'd like to try a less formal approach to church.

We'll be launching Church4ALL on Sunday 2 July.  You'll all be welcome to come along and give it a go.

If you play a musical instrument - guitar, flute, trumpet, drums, whatever - and would like to contribute to the music please do get in touch.  We'd love to hear from you.

Love Lorna

Guitar concert

Those who have been to one of Yvonne's concerts before will know what lovely events they are.

Global Wave of Prayer 'Thy Kingdom Come'

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is inviting Christians around the world to pray as one for people to know Jesus Christ.  This coming week, churches and individuals around the world will join together in prayer.  All Saints will be open 12-12.30 each day (Monday - Saturday) as part of this world-wide event.   This is the prayer around which the event will be centred:

Almighty God,
your ascended Son has sent us into the world
to preach the good news of your kingdom:
inspire us with your Spirit
and fill our hearts with the fire of your love,
that all who hear your Word
may be drawn to you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here are some prayers which you may also find useful:

This morning's bells

You may have noticed that the bells this morning rang a little longer than usual and were half-muffled.  This was a quarter peal and was the bell-ringers' tribute to the people of Manchester, especially in memory of those who were killed and injured in the attack on Monday.

Prayer for Manchester

With thanks to the Diocese of Manchester.

Labyrinth day at San Damiano

April Fool Quiz thanks

Thanks to everyone who helped at the April Fool Quiz and to those who supported it. A special thank you to our quizmaster, Stuart! The quiz was won by the 'Rostrop Rogues' and a splendid £189 was raised towards a sound system for the church.

Parochial Church Council

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting and the meeting for Election of Churchwardens were held on 18 April. Liz Murray was elected as churchwarden (again!!), Ann Kennedy was elected as Deanery Synod representative and Carol Bennett, Nicholas Bennett, Ruth Eagle and Janet Goldsworthy were elected to the Parochial Church Council. There are still two vacancies on the PCC (and a vacancy for churchwarden!) so please have a word with a current member if you would like to know more.

Easter

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Update on Annual Parochial Church Meeting time

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Meeting for the Election of Churchwardens will be in church at 7 pm (not 7.30 pm as previously advertised) on 18 April, followed by a meeting of the newly elected Parochial Church Council.

Spring clean - thank you!

Dear all
Thank you so much for coming to help with our annual spring clean. It is rewarding to notice that after several years of doing the spring clean church is noticeably cleaner & we are definitely winning with the high up cob webs. It makes the job of the monthly church cleaners so much easier.
Thank you again.
Best Wishes
Ruth

Prayers in response to yesterday's attack in London

Collect for Peace:

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord,  to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

A prayer for all those caught up in yesterday's events:

O Lord our God,
source of all goodness and love,
accept the fervent prayers of your people;
in the multitude of your mercies look with compassion
upon all who turn to you for help;
for you are gracious, O lover of souls,
and to you we give glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.

Annual church meetings

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (at which the Parochial Church Council members and Deanery Synod Representative are elected), and the meeting for Election of Churchwardens, are being held on 18 April at 7.30 pm in All Saints' Church. The church Electoral Roll is being revised prior to the Annual Meeting. Those on the Electoral Roll are entitled to attend the Annual Meeting and to vote in the Church Council elections. The meeting to elect the churchwardens may be attended by anyone on the local government Electoral Register as well as those on the church's Electoral Roll. Anyone who is not currently on the Electoral Roll and who wishes to be entered on the Roll, or anyone who is currently on it and wishes to be removed, should let me know not later than Monday 3 April. If you are currently on the Electoral Roll and are happy to remain on it, you need do nothing.

Fund raising

Thanks to 'Mr Murderie's Players', to all who supported 'Signal Failure at Nocton & Dunston' on 25 February and of course those who worked so hard behind the scenes with the organising and catering. We raised £500 towards a sound system for the church and a further £137 for Hope for Tomorrow, the Players' chosen charity, which provides mobile chemotherapy units to the NHS.

Talking of a sound system, our fundraising this year will be directed towards this. This will include an induction loop for hearing aid users as well as microphones and an amplification system. This will benefit the community more widely including, for example, the school, who will be able to make use of it for their events held in church. It will also help with concerts and other community events. And there will be no excuses for not knowing what the Rector's sermon was about!

April Fool Quiz

These quizzes are always very popular - buy tickets now to avoid disappointment!

Celebrating seasons on the labyrinth at San Damiano, Metheringham

Lent quiet day

Church spring clean

To be a Pilgrim - more information

If anyone would like any further information, please contact Revd Lorna:
lorna.brabinsmith@btinternent.com

To be a Pilgrim

Over the next few months we will be exploring what it means to be a pilgrim on our Christian journey.  There will be different opportunities and formats - pilgrims come in different shapes and sizes!  Rev Canon David White started us off on 22 January with his thought-provoking sermon on 'To be a pilgrim'.  For those who missed it, please click on the link below.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_LLgnh2D692QkstZkZrTHN2bjA

Whodunnit?!

Candlemas celebrations

Candlemas falls on 2 February, but we are celebrating it on 29 January.  There will be a United Benefice Eucharist at 10 am and a Songs of Praise in the evening - details below.