EDITORIAL
Essex Police have announced that their patrol cars are to be fitted with `talking' petrol caps to remind colleagues which fuel pump to use. Apparently the rozzers cause £10000 worth of damage to their vehicles every year because they forget whether they should go for petrol or diesel.
How odd that rather than biroing `use diesel' on his shirt cuff, an Essex policeman prefers the ignominy of being lectured by his petrol cap. Also, if an Essex policeman is in the habit of forgetting what fuel to put in his car, one wonders what else he forgets. Presumably chilly nether regions will warn him of the absence of something as fundamental as trousers. But one can not be sure: Claude Thornhill once walked on stage to play the piano with the Glenn Miller Band having left his trousers in his dressing room.
Scientists have decided that forgetfulness is the brain's defence against overload: it forgets what it deems unimportant (which suggests the brain has never had to drain a petrol tank erroneously filled with diesel.) Pregnant women supposedly forget things as the brain clears itself of stuff inessential for the task of Bringing up Baby. And there are many of' us with the sort of flitterbug minds that leap from one thing to another scattering untidy thought as we go. Some of the mightiest have short attention spans: Leonardo da Vinci often forgot what he was doing, and rarely finished anything completely, which probably explains why the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.
In old age Arthur Balfour summed up what he had learned in life with `Nothing matters much, and most things don't matter at all.' Which is jolly lucky, because if he had thought that some things mattered very much indeed, he would probably have forgotten what they were. It is the annoying paradox of age: just as one has useful experience to impart, one forgets what it is.
Somerset Maugham rose to speak after his 80th birthday dinner. `There are many virtues in growing old', he began, and then stopped. After a while, he cleared his throat and said sadly `I'm just trying to remember what they are.'
Which reminds me of a fellow villager who all his professional life forgot people's names, and solved the problem by calling all the chaps 'dear' and the women `darling'. A habit, incidentally, he shares with "Zsa Zsa Gabor.
And it could be worse: Lord Tennyson's dad was a country parson who, when visiting a parishioner, forgot not only who the parishioner was but also his own name. He walked about for a bit pondering on this conundrum, then he met a villager who greeted him, `Good morning, Dr Tennyson'. `Yes, by heaven', cried the good doctor `You're absolutely right... On both counts!'
Richard Martin
PARISH & BENEFICE SERVICES
Sunday 2nd November — IV before Advent
10.30 am Westwell Benefice Service JH, NUW
6.00pm Filkins Evensong NUW
Sunday November - Remembrance Sunday
9.00am Broadwell Holy Communion NUW
10.30am Shilton Parish Communion & Children's Church EJ
10.50am Shilton Remembrance Service EJ
I0.50am Alvescot Remembrance Service NUW
I0.50am B Bourton Remembrance Service HM
10.50am Kencot Broadshire Remembrance Service AM
10.50am Westwell Remembrance Service RL
Sunday 16th November - II before Advent
9.00am B Bourton/Alvescot Holy Communion NUW
9.00am Holwell Holy Communion EJ
I0.30am Broadwell/Kencot Matins NUW
I0.30am Kelmscott Family Communion HM
I0.30am Langford Parish Communion EJ
6.00pm Filkins Evensong HM
6.00pm Westwell Evensong NUW
Sunday 23rd November - Christ the King
9.00am Kencot/Broadwell Holy Communion EJ
9.00am Shilton Holy Communion AM
I0.30am Alvescot Parish Communion AM
10.30am Filkins Family Communion & baptism EJ
11.00am L Faringdon Parish Communion HM
6.00pm Holwell Evensong HM
6.00pm Langford Evensong NUW
Sunday 30th November - Advent Sunday
9.00am Langford Holy Communion HM
I0.30am B Bourton Family Communion & baptism NUW
10.30am Kencot Parish Communion HM
10.30am Holwell Parish Communion AM
10.30am Shilton Parish Communion I:J
10.30am Broadwell Parish Communion IW
6.00pm Alvescot Evensong I ,I
Sunday 7th December - Advent II
10.30am Langford Benefice Service AM, 1.1, I I M
6.00pm L Faringdon Evensong AM
Combined services are held in the first-named church
There is a Communion Service at Black Bourton every Wednesday at 10 .00am
CELEBRANTS & SERVICE LEADERS
AM: Alister McGrath, EJ: Liz Johnson, I IM: I Harry Mc Innes, JI I: Julian
uhbard, NUW: Neville Usher-Wilso I'W: Paul Win, hcstcr, RI,: Ron LloydTHE
LECTIONARY
2nd November - IV before Advent All Saint 's Day (G or W)
Revelation 7.9-17 Psalm 34.1-10
1 John 3. 1-3 Matthew 5. 1-12
9th November - Remembrance Sunday (R/G)
Amos 5:18-24 Psalm 70
1 Thessalonians 4.13-end Matthew 25. 1-13
16th November - II before Advent (R/G)
Zephaniah 1.7, 12-end Psalm 90. 1-8, 12
1 Thessalonians 5.1-11 Matthew 25.14-30
23rd November - Christ the King (R/W)
Ezekiel 34. 11-16, 20-24 Psalm 95.1-7
Ephesians 1. 15-end Matthew 25. 31-end
ALL SAINT'S DAY
FOR 1500 years, every early November, the Church has celebrated the lives of all those who died for their faith. As with most Christian festivals, there are older elements and accretions that have been variously disowned (though not very successfully with the nonsense of Halloween), or assimilated like the Spanish and South American traditions associated with Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead.
Here is a Spanish poem touching on that most important strand in all religions: the flickering, elusive line that divides the living from the dead.
Woman with a Sombre Gaze
Woman with a sombre gaze, Woman with a tender gaze
Tell me, what do you see in the candles? the flames of candles reach out;
are they ghosts in the night are they mocking this moment
or are they flowers of the earth? or are they restfully flickering out.
What do you treasure on your lap In your illuminated face
illuminated and transparent, life rejuvenates,
even in the air to those who love death
your silhouette appears? this is a golden night in their sight.
Twice as much the pain, For those who love life
twice as much the loss, it is a night of confusion,
the flowers have become rivers the wax kisses the flowers
and the fragrance cries out. and the flame caresses the emotions
Pondering at night,
vigil of the imagination, .
bundle of lights and echoes, ...
stay up late during the wake
Julie Sopetran
THE RECTOR'S LETTER
Dear Friends
YOU may be familiar with the remark made by Woody Allen, with characteristic sardonic humour, when he said `Our civilisation stands at the Crossroads. Down one road is despondency and despair. Down the other is total annihilation. May we all have the courage to choose the right one!' That seemed to be the mood of most of the country at the beginning of October as the Press began to use apocalyptic words about the Global crisis, and the possibility of another Great
Depression of the kind which began with the Stock Market crash on 29th' October 1929. At that time, cities all round the world were hit. Personal incomes, tax revenues, prices and profits spiralled down, and the effects were felt for the following decade.
Nobody is yet able to predict whether the drastic action taken by governments this time will save us from a similar period. After having lived in a decade of remarkably full employment and pleasant affluence, the crisis has made everyone feel uncomfortable. As one comedian said `the future isn't what it used to be!' There is a growing gloom because so many things seem uncertain.
In one way there is nothing new about this. Economists have long faced the cyclical nature of the market booms and busts. Empires have come and gone, wars have been won and lost. The world is an insecure place even though at times we are able to settle quite securely in it. Perhaps what is happening is simply making us more aware of what is always the case. It has made me ask myself how those who have seen cataclysmic disasters in the past have coped without being flung into a deep pessimism or a stoical resignation.
Supremely, their peace of mind has come from a deep sense of someone who is in ultimate control. We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future' does contain a profound truth. The psalmist's voice of 2800 years ago still speaks into our situation. `We will not fear though t he earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea .. God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble'. Or the apostle Paul two millennia ago `I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plcnty....I can do all things through him who gives me strength'. There is what has been called a divine alchemy at work in those who suffer in their faith and hang on to their hope in God. We look back and see that it was actually our disappointments more than our achievements that have been transformed into gold.
Harry MacInnes
CHILDREN'S CHURCH
Dear Parents
YOU might be well aware by now of our activities, but if not here it is again. Children's Church is now in its third year of running and buzzing, with planned activities for the next two services coming up in November and December.
We explore Christianity through fun activities and play. We have a number of regular children who come every second Sunday of every month for 40 to 45 minutes to the village hall in Shilton; and then we join the main Family Service towards the end. This gives parents a chance to worship and the children to learn through an organised and structured set of activities. We start at 10.30am so it is best to get to us at around 10.15am. The service starts at 10.30am in the church across the road.
The next services will be:
Sunday 9th November when we will explore the meaning of Advent, through calendar making.
Sunday 14th December. This will be our Christingle Service, so we will be making yummy sweetie Christingles and bringing them into church to share with the congregation.
The first service in the New Year will be on Sunday 11th January.
So please remember Children's Church meets every second Sunday of the month for some fun, fun, fun.
New members are always warmly welcomed, so please do not hesitate to turn up on the day or ring me in advance on 01993 847039.
Look forward to seeing you there. Debs Price
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
OUR next meeting is
on Wednesday 5th
November in the
Filkins Chapel Schoolroom at 2.45pm, as usual. Miss Helen Squire, who is always a most interesting speaker, will be telling us about her recent trip to Turkey.
Anyone who would like to join us will be most welcome. Marjorie Barstow
Liz Johnson
SHILTON BAPTIST CHAPEL
A Smile
Did you know that it takes half as many muscles, and therefore less energy, to smile than it does to frown? This is one of those gems of useful information that I picked up early in my teaching career and put on the back burner for future reference.
Next time you venture out of your front door to go shopping, or to go to work, or take your dog for a walk, or go to a restaurant for a meal, or hop on a bus, or go to the cinema, or watch your favourite television soap, or even attend church, make a note of how many times you see someone genuinely smiling. Unfortunately, from personal observations, you will not need many fingers or hands to keep count.
My dictionary tells me that a smile is `a facial expression characterised by an upturning of the corners of the mouth, usually showing amusement, friendliness, happiness, cheerfulness etc.', yet society as a whole seems to be losing the art of smiling. It seems that the only news that we hear, or read about, is bad news, constantly reminding us of doom and gloom; of things that are going wrong in the world that we live in, where people want to hurt one another, or steal from one another, or who show no respect for authority, or other people or their property.
Sadly it is a true fact that we live in worrying times, but so did Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon... and even Jesus. Chapters 6 and 7 of
BIBLE STUDY GROUP
DURING the autumn, we are exploring some of the Psalms in the Old Testament. I've chosen four written by King David, psalms which express his deepest feelings in the tumultuous events of his life. Our meetings are held at the Vicarage in Filkins, starting at 7.30pm. At our first two meetings, in September and October, we discussed Psalms 23 and 51, but if you would like to join us this month, you are most welcome. Please phone me on 01367 860846.
Monday 3rd November - Psalm 73: 'Praying our doubts'
Monday 1st December - Psalm 103: 'Praying our praise'
Matthew's gospel tell how Jesus reassured people who were worrying about the society in which they lived, and how they could survive the Roman
occupation. `Do for others what you want them to do for you.' This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the
teaching of the prophets Jesus reminded them of in verse 12 of chapter 7.
Hundreds of years later John Wesley told the congregation to ` Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the
people you can, as long as ever you can.'
Many years later Mother Teresa put the same message more simply `Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier', which brings me back to how important it is for us, as Christians, to smile.