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April is the month of Easter, celebrated this year on 12th April. It is a great time of hope and celebration for the church. 

Many events and celebrations have been planned and prepared, which now have to be put on hold  to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The situation has challenged us to find new ways of interacting with people, and of being the church in our area.

We are instructed not to hold public services but where possible to keep the churches open, and available for people who wish to pray and reflect there. Attempts are being made to make resources available and to keep in touch with church members by email.

There are several baptisms and a few weddings taking place in our village churches over the next few weeks and months, and this is also a sign of hope for the future. These ‘occasional offices’ may be carried out, provided we observe required distances between people and disinfect our hands and equipment carefully before and afterwards.

The positive aspect of this crisis has been the goodwill and care offered by people to their vulnerable relatives and neighbours. If you, or someone you know, is battling with shopping or other everyday tasks and still needs help, you are welcome to contact me on 01366 328921.

Let us encourage one another, as  Spring arrives, and colourful flowers blanket the ground. I am particularly enjoying the white and pink hawthorn blossoms (yes, I am learning the names of the local trees), and daffodils in bloom are guaranteed to lift one’s mood.

I would like to conclude with a prayer for those who are in isolation (circulated by the Church of England).

Lord Jesus Christ, you taught us to love our neighbour and to care for those in need as if we were caring for you. In this time of anxiety, give us strength to comfort the fearful, to care for the sick and to assure the isolated of our love and your love for your Name’s sake. Amen.

Wishing you all good health, and the Joys of Spring.

Rev Linda Lubbe

Associate priest in the Mundford, Hilborough and Oxborough groups of churches.

Spring is in the air. Snowdrops and other early flowering plants are sprouting. So much beauty around, after the barrenness of winter.

The cold weather is still with us, however, along with hazardous driving conditions when the roads are covered in ice in the early mornings.  A few weeks ago, I eventually had to give up trying to get to Cranwich Church for choir practice on a Saturday morning, as a whole section of road was cordoned off by police because there had been a bad road accident.

We have been through two serious storms – Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, accompanied by flooding, damage to property and dangerous road conditions. On one occasion, I saw a car in a ditch on its side, just outside Foulden.  

The church season of Lent began on the 24^th February. Lent is a time of reflection, when we prepare ourselves for the great celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. It is a time of discipline when we take on an extra commitment, such as attending a Lent discussion group. Lent is a six week period, which originated in the early centuries of the church as a time when adult converts were prepared for baptism. They would be baptized at Easter, during an all-night vigil. Before this, they had undergone a special course of instruction and preparation which lasted six weeks and this is the background to the tradition of Lent.

During Lent, there will be special soup lunches at Mundford bowls club on Saturdays, from 12 noon and at the Rectory, Elm Place, Gooderstone on Wednesdays, from 4^th March,  also from 12 noon. All are welcome to join these occasions of fellowship, sharing and discussion.

On the 21^st March, the 75th anniversary of the Lancaster bomber crash in the forest will be commemorated at 1.00 pm. A service will be led at the site by Archdeacon Ian Bentley and representatives of the air force. This will be followed by a tea in the Mundford bowls club. Please join us as we remember this important event in local history.

Another special occasion is coming up at the end of the month – the Village Voices are celebrating five years of singing together, with a concert at Cranwich Church on Saturday, 28^th March at 2.30pm All are, of course, most welcome.

Hoping for better weather, and generally better conditions in the coming months.

God bless.

Rev Linda Lubbe

Associate priest in the Mundford, Hilborough and Oxborough groups of churches.

The Christmas holidays are over, and we are into the new year.

A new year, new hopes and possibilities, and perhaps some anxieties about the future. The children are back to school after their Christmas break, offices and shops opening, and most of us settling back into our regular routine.

Does anyone still make New Year Resolutions? Last year, I was sent a photograph of a friend of mine next to a list of resolutions, about a week into the new year. Two thirds of them had already been crossed off the list – did that mean he had accomplished many things, or just given up on his resolutions?

The church calendar celebrates twelve days of Christmas, beginning on 25^th December. Then 6^th January is the Feast of Epiphany, when we remember the wise men who came from the East to visit the baby Jesus and bring him gifts. Traditionally we think of three wise men, because they brought three gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh), but no number is mentioned in the New Testament – so it could have been many more.

These were three men from outside the nation of Israel who travelled a great distance, probably from modern Iran, to acknowledge Jesus as the promised King.

The Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on the 6^th January, with great solemnity and pageantry.

The next “commercial” festival featured in our shopping calendar seems to be Valentine’s Day, 14^th February. Like other similar events, it may be abused, but should be seen as a celebration of what is best in human  love.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020.

Rev Linda Lubbe

Associate priest in the Mundford, Hilborough and Oxborough groups of churches.

Advent is upon us, leading up to Christmas. Amidst the decorations and commercial pressures of preparing for Christmas, it is easy to lose the meaning of Advent as a separate season.  In South Africa, where I come from, this is further complicated by the fact that Christmas falls in the middle of the summer holidays, and schools break up at the beginning of December, so Christmas parties start in November.

“Advent” means coming. It is a time when we think about Jesus’ birth, when he came to live among us as a human being. It is also a time when we remind ourselves of the promise that he will come again as judge at the end of time, to set everything in creation to rights.

It is a time for carol services,  carol concerts and other events leading up to the celebration of Christmas. Advent for many begins with the switching on of the Christmas lights at Mundford on the 1st December, and the Advent Fayre earlier that day.

Carol services are to be held at Little Cressingham, Sandton Downham, Oxborough, Mundford, Foulden and Ickburgh. The schools will present a Nativity Play before they close for the Christmas holidays.

Generally it is a time of building excitement, and a time for family and friends to gather together and enjoy one another’s company.

Christmas itself, of course, is a joyful time of celebrating God’s greatest gift, when he became a human being and lived among us as one of us. It is a time to enjoy being with family and friends, celebrating the year’s achievements and sharing what we have.

May you all have a joyful and peaceful Christmas and look forward to 2020 with anticipation and hope.

Rev Linda Lubbe

Associate priest in the Mundford, Hilborough and Oxborough groups of churches.

The nights are drawing in, and we have come to the time of remembrance services, when we remember those who have died and give thanks for their lives and memories.

On the 1st November, it is All Saints’ Day, and 2nd November is All Souls’ Day, so it is a natural time to think of our departed family members and friends, and to celebrate their lives.  It is a time to remember God’s gifts of light and colour, and his love which darkness and death cannot overcome.

On 11th November, we remember those who have given their lives in war and pray especially for peace around the world, and the resolution of on-going conflicts. This is an important date in our communities, and was especially so last year, when we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. I was very new to this area, and appreciated being part of events.

In South Africa, especially in rural, Afrikaans-dominated areas, 11th November largely passes by unmarked. I would usually wear a poppy on the 11th November, and would often be asked what it was about.

Major services of remembrance will be held in some of our villages, such as Mundford and Gooderstone, on the 10th November (the nearest Sunday), including reading out the names of local residents who fell in both world wars, and the laying of wreaths at war memorials. This is meaningful for members of their families and for members of their communities, who owe their life and security to past sacrifices made on their behalf.

This is a time for solemn remembrance, but also for us to give thanks and dedicate ourselves to build life and community where we are.

Rev Linda Lubbe

Associate priest in the Mundford, Hilborough and Oxborough groups of churches.