Easter Day - 11 am service

There will be a celebration of Easter on Easter Day at All Saints at 11 am (not 9.30).  There is also Commemoration of the Last Supper tonight (Maundy Thursday) at 7.30 pm.

Please join us!

Irish evening

Thanks to Carol Bennett for this report.

There was lots of toe tapping, singing, clapping and dancing when Gone to the Dogs played Irish music, only 11 days after St Patrick's Day!  There were green shamrocks hanging from the ceiling, and over 60 people (many of them wearing green) got into the spirit (or perhaps it was Guinness, served by the Social Club).  The violin, guitar, penny whistle and voice combo were known to Nocton residents from their appearance last year on the village green for the annual picnic, and it was great to hear them again.  The Irish stew, soda bread and apple pie supper went down a treat and a good time was had by all.  Thanks to all who helped to raise over £450 for Nocton Church.

Spring lunch

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting (APM) and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) - the church's AGM - will be held on Tuesday 14 April at 7.30 pm in church.

Why two meetings, you may ask?  The APM is to elect the two churchwardens who will serve for the following year.   Anyone on the civil electoral register – anyone entitled to vote in government elections – or on the church electoral roll may attend the meeting.   The APCM immediately follows and is to receive the accounts, the fabric report and the report of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), and to elect the PCC and sidespersons for the following year.  Anyone on the church electoral roll is entitled to attend.  We have six elected members of the PCC.

Please join us on 14 April! We promise not to elect you as PCC member or sidesperson unless you actually volunteer!

Mothering Monday service

On Monday March 16th Nocton School held its first Mothering Monday service in church. As well as all the school children, it was well attended by parents and pre-school children. The school and church welcomes all members of the village to these services, so please do feel free to join us. The Revd. Jonnie Parkin led the short service and he asked us to think about all that mothers do for us. We also watched a series of pictures on the white screen which complemented the beautiful words and music of John Rutter's hymn " For The Beauty Of The Earth". The service concluded with the children coming to collect a posy and a poem for their mothers.

Valentine's Quiz

Sorry this is a bit late but I thought you would like to hear about it anyway.  Thanks to Jane Kania for this!

Eight teams took part in a Valentine's night quiz at the social club as a fund raising event for the church.  It was a close run competition with each team trying to use their "Cupid" to maximise their points.  In the end only half a point separated the top two teams.  A great night was had by all, the winning team shared a basket of valentines themed goodies, the gallant losers received chocolate heart shaped lollies and over £200 was raised for the church appeal.

Event at San Damiano

To all spring cleaners!

Thank you so much for coming along on Saturday & giving our lovely church a thorough clean.  It's good to spend some time once a year doing all those extra bits, which keeps our usual monthly clean to a manageable level.  Thanks also for the work on the door.

Two more events for you!

Irish Themed Evening

Come along and have a great time!

Lent at San Damiano, Metheringham

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Ash Wednesday - what's it all about?

Wednesday 18 February is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, when we begin the time of preparation for Easter.  On Ash Wednesday we will celebrate Holy Communion at 7.30 pm, with the ancient ceremony of 'ashing'.  Each worshipper is marked on the forehead with a cross drawn in ash, which is made from the palm crosses blessed at the previous year's Palm Sunday service.  The 'ashing' is accompanied by the words 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'  The intention is to remind the worshipper to repent of their sins before it is too late.

Nowadays Lent has become a largely misunderstood time, when people give up something (usually chocolate or alcohol) as a reminder of the traditional Lenten fast and a means of self discipline.  This has about as much to do with Lent as novelty Easter eggs have to do with the resurrection!  Instead of (or as well as!) giving up the booze for a few weeks, why not try making a positive difference in your life?  To use the other form of words for 'ashing', 'Repent and believe in the Gospel.'

Valentine's Night Quiz

What better way to spend St Valentine's Day than arguing with your nearest and dearest over the right answer?!

Christmas services round up

Our Carol Service on December 14th and the Christmas Eve Crib Service were both well attended by all ages.  The Carol Service was led by Rev. Jonnie Parkin who had worked with Nocton Community Primary School. The children read and sang beautifully and everyone appreciated their hard work and commitment.  Jonnie's theme was taken from our first carol " Oh come oh come Emmanuel."
Our Crib Service was led by Rev. Les Whitfield and again the children took the main roles, bringing the Nativity figures to the crib to be blessed. We all enjoyed singing some of our favourite carols and listening to the Christmas readings. 
After the service we enjoyed some festive mince pies and a drink.

Rev. Whitfield also officiated at our Midnight Mass as we welcomed Christmas Day, and later on Christmas Day a service was held for the residents of the Cottage Residential Care Home.



In all the hurly burly of Christmas preparation, the services provided a welcome calm few moments to think and pray.  It was good to see so many at the different services.