Every Saturday Sheddington is open for business on the St Mark's site in one of the garages. There is tea, making and mending for everyone from 10am-1pm. This week the project was making tables and a master carpenter showed that he had not forgotten all his old skills as he helped the organisers Mark and Chris how it is done. Further details here https://sheddington.org/
Grandparents’ Group at St Mark’sFor three years there has been a Grandparent’s Group sponsored by St Mark’s Church. Though we are sponsored by the church we are open to any grandparents. The group was started because we were aware that being a grandparent today is completely different from what it was when most of today’s grandparents were grandchildren themselves. The life expectancy of someone born in 1911 was around 50 years. Those who lasted longer were visibly getting very old by the time today’s 60 year old or so. Most of us in this group are rather older than that! This means that today’s grandparents are having to invent our own roles without a readymade blue-print that can work in today’s conditions. The Grandparents’ Group at St Mark’s began in order to help us learn to be the best grandparent’s we can be, given today’s circumstances. We’ve developed our own ways of working. We meet monthly in one of our homes and begin each meeting with a light supper. We have different ways of working. We always share thoughts and ideas about the kinds of challenges we find ourselves facing as grandparents. For example, how to keep in touch with grandchildren who live thousands of miles away, or how to feel confident in the face of a grandchild’s awesome IT abilities! We share moments of joy when a grandchild has had a great achievement. We show one another photos of a particular event or a particular child we’re proud of. We give space to someone facing a particular challenge, giving them an opportunity to think something through with compassionate support from the others who are there. We don’t do ‘solutions’ – we do give space for thought. We have evenings when a relevant topic is introduced, say about children’s spiritual development. We advise one another about books to read. We are developing a ‘catalogue’ of good places to visit with grandchildren. We keep notes of each meeting, which means that we are building up a record which helps us see how we have been learning more and more about how to be the best grandparent we can be today. At the moment we have about 16 people on our list, which results in meetings of around 13-14. We are considering the idea of forming a new group. Anyone interested in taking part in this expansion should contact John Bazalgette, the present group’s Convenor. Phone 020 89777, mobile 07432 678 659, email john@bazalgette.com.
Over two services we remembered those who had died in WW1. On Saturday 10th we held a short vigil to honour those who had died from our own families. Letters from the front were read out and we listened to music on a theme of remembrance. The silhouette was donated in memory of Private Harris who is remembered on our memorial board.On the Sunday our Parish Communion included a short act of remembrance with the last post played by a very talented young musician.
