NEWSLETTER
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Mandy's Musings
It is very frustrating when you get a slow puncture isn't it? In the days when I was first a car user (many decades ago) I used to hate going to get my tyres pumped up at the garage. The indignity of bending over each tyre, unscrewing the cap, getting muck all over your hands and then trying to judge whether or not you are putting air into your tyres or letting air out! Then having to judge whether you have got the right pressure in the tyre by looking at the gauge and hoping it is going the right way - what a pallava! But good tyres are essential to a good car. If they are not working properly or if you have a slow puncture then it's all going to go downhill unless you get it sorted. In the Methodist Lent Bible Studies which we are following, this week's story for discussion was The Parable of the Prodigal Son. As I mused on the complexities of this story and what it says about God's grace and unconditional love, I also thought about the narrative of the journey in the story, and my issues with keeping my car ready for the journeys it takes. Having a slow puncture means that you don't know how long it is going to be before the tyre is completely flat and has to be replaced. In the same way, our journeys to full repentance and acceptance can take different lengths of time depending on what our circumstances are. The prodigal son who realised his sin when he was in the depths of poverty then had to get himself out of that squalor and journey back home to his Father who was waiting for him to return. We don't know how long that journey took but we imagine that the son underwent quite a transformation before he was re-united in the loving arms of his Father. The elder son, meanwhile, had more instant access and his 'journeys' may have been shorter. We may go many miles with a slow puncture before we find a solution. God always offers us His grace and unconditional love no matter what our circumstances and no matter how long it takes for us to 'come to our senses' and accept it.
Every blessing,
Mandy
Annual Parochial Church Meetings and the electoral roll
The Annual Parochial Church Meetings will be held in church at the following times:
Hauxton 11.45am, 13 April (bring and share lunch)
Harston 6.30pm, 20 May
Newton 7.30pm, 10 April
We have to renew our electoral rolls this year and so all members of all churches are asked to complete a form available from church or from here: www.parishresources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Application-for-Enrolment-Electoral-Roll.pdf
Completed forms should be returned at least two weeks before the APCM to: Owen Jones (Hauxton), Joy Richardson (Harston), or Mike Knapton (Newton).
Lent Lunch
Join us for a lent lunch of soup and a roll and a short reflection on Hope In Our Time.
12.30-2pm Monday 31st March, St Edmund's Church, Hauxton
All welcome. Donations to Christian Aid
Lent Bible Studies
‘Soul Food’ what nourishes us?
Come and join us for food, fellowship and study for Lent.
7pm for a meal together
7.45pm for study
Thursday 3 April, 13 Offa Lea, Newton.
Tuesday 8 April, Nina's House, Town Street, Newton.
Please email vicarhhn@gmail.com to book for the meal.
Easter Coffee Morning
St Edmund’s Church, Hauxton
The Easter coffee morning of St Edmund’s Church will be held on Friday 4th April at 11 am in the church. There will be coffee/tea and hot cross buns and an Easter cake. There will also be a fun Easter quiz and a raffle.
Everyone is warmly welcome to come along and to bring friends.
Plant Sale
Harston Village Hall
Sat 3 May, 10.30 - 12.00
Fine selection of annuals, perennials, vegetable plants and more grown by local gardeners.
Plant contributions welcome (please bring to the Village Hall on Friday from 3.00pm)
Delicious coffee available at Better Brew.
What is an Archdeacon?
What do they do?
Who is our Archdeacon?
Come and meet Archdeacon Alex Hughes at St Mary’s Linton at 7.30pm on Tuesday 1 April.
Refreshments available.
Deanery Event
Come & Sing Bob Chilcott’s St John Passion
St Mary’s Church, Linton CB21 4JX
1-6pm, Saturday 12 April 2025
We will be learning the St John Passion by Bob Chilcott with an informal performance at 5pm. Bob Chilcott turns 70 this April and he has composed many lyrical and accessible works. We are sure that this will be a moving and enjoyable work to prepare.
The cost for singers is £15 to include music hire and tea (sandwiches, cakes). This event is to raise funds for St Mary’s Church.
To register email anne@parry-smith.co.uk
Food Hub
Wed & Sat 11.30-1.00pm in Harston Baptist Church email: harstonfoodhub@gmail.com
Harston Community Foodhub has two separate sections that operate in different ways and have different aims.
FOOD BANK
The ‘Food Bank’ provides emergency food support to residents of Harston and the surrounding villages (mainly Hauxton, Foxton, Newton, Haslingfield, Barrington and Shepreth). It is part of a network of food banks that operate in South Cambridgeshire. Bags of non-perishable food are made up using food donated or bought with donations. Support from the food bank is intended to help people through a crisis.
FRESHFOOD LARDER
The ‘Fresh Food Larder’ distributes fruit, vegetables and bread and is part of an initiative that helps to avoid food waste. Donations of surplus stock are picked up from local supermarkets and farm shops by volunteers (often the night before) or brought in by local growers. Whilst much of the food is collected by people visiting the food bank, food from the fresh food larder is available to everyone no matter where they live or the circumstances they are in.
Trumpington Memory Cafe
Every third Wednesday of the month,10am-12 noon at The Pavilion, Paget Road, (opposite Anstey Way), Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 9JF
Run jointly by Trumpington Parish Church and the Rotary Club.
A place where people with varying forms of memory loss can visit with their carers and support each other and have fun. Call 01223 840268 to book a place and please give your name(s).
Free admission to Ely Cathedral
All electoral roll members are eligible for a free pass to Ely Cathedral. If you would like one, please fill in this form and ask Mandy or a churchwarden to sign it. You can then present the form at the Cathedral to get your pass.