The St Mark's Goes Global evening, on 22nd March, was a lot of fun with an amazing array of photos from locations around the world. What a well-travelled crowd our Church members are! The event also raised £303 for Christian Aid, plus Gift Aid. Thanks to everyone who took part. We were very pleased that the excellent Lent lunch at St Mark’s raised £331 - a total of over £600 in a single month. Thanks to everyone who made these events work. St Mark’s School held their Easter Services at the Church on 31st March and 1st April. It was great to see parents and grandparents come along. As usual, each class contributed something to the service, and the Year 5 children wrote the prayers and read them during the KS2 service. Skye Crisp, a year 5 pupil, aged 9, wrote the amazing poem printed below, and read it at the service. What a talented young lady, and what a great school, nurturing this talent! The Easter Story by Skye Crisp Easter, a holiday of cheer, where children collect eggs that are near, But, it’s not all eggs and bunnies, there is more to being silly and funny. This story starts a long time ago, when you couldn’t walk with boots in the snow, Where our hero came to a close, but wait! Don’t leave! Come stick in your nose. Jesus had arrived in the town, with people praising, the great leader gave a frown, Soon, Judas was making a horrible trade, the trade that would save when made. Jesus knew of this cruel fate, but, he had a stable heart rate, That evening he told his disciples that he would soon be in a terrible cycle. “Death!?” said the disciples aloud, as Jesus gave food to the crowd, “Yes”, said Jesus, “That is the cost”, he washed their feet, “Run, guide yourselves and don’t get lost”. Then, it was the day, the day that Judas would betray, Jesus was praying then was arrested, they knew to do this because Judas kissed him. He was brought to trial, his disciples in denial, The crowd screams, “PUT HIM TO DEATH!”, Jesus knew at that moment they had lost all faith. Then, the priests smirked evilly, their eyes angry and fiery, As Jesus with a thorn crown, dragged the cross around town. They nailed him on the cross, crowds gathering with fruits to toss, “Forgive them, Father”, Jesus gasped with his last breath, as he was taken by death. With this, the sky turned dark, lightning and thunder that went bark! bark! bark! The temple curtain tore in two, crowds going “Whooo!”. They put Jesus in the tomb, they said “For things to respect you”, A few days passed, the Death of Jesus in the past. When some ladies came to visit, the stone had been shattered and hit, An angel stood among the rocks, scaring them out of their socks! “Don’t fret my dears”, the angel told them, Mary and the others tried to trust him, “The one you seek is not here”, “When you find him, party! Drink beer!” Being told this they quickly ran from the tomb, the disciples resting until Mary burst into the room, “Jesus is alive!” they cried, bursting with much pride. When Jesus came back, he taught more people, they sat down (some sitting in treacle!) Then finally, the day came, he went to heaven, his tale known as fame. The End. As I write, we are preparing for Holy Week and Easter and for our St Mark’s Day celebration on 27th April. In addition to the Celebration! Service on that morning at 10am, we are also holding a Teddy Bear’s Picnic for children aged 2-6 on Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Rev David Richards - Resident Priest
SPRING HAS ARRIVED Isn't it good to know that there are signs of Spring around us! As I write this, daffodils, crocuses and primroses are adorning the roadsides and cheering everyone's spirits. We haven't experienced much warmth yet, unless you have been in the sunshine and out of the wind, but we know that things are moving in the right direction and we can start talking about outdoor events without needing to cover ourselves in layers of clothing for every venture out of the door, So, on our list of diary dates, we are able to include the Good Friday service at the bandstand and our sunrise welcome to Easter Day, I'm not able to promise fine, warm weather but we can hope! MARCH HAS BROUGHT US OUT OF WINTER. The first event was the church committee on the 3rd of the month with the usual lively discussion of matters concerning the life of our community and a tempting list of forthcoming events to inspire our life together. It was good for some of our members to meet together for the Ash Wednesday service; a good occasion to begin our observance of Lent, a season which has continued with a Bible-based discussion each week in the Lent group and, of course, the Lent lunch for the benefit of Christian Aid, but also to be a good occasion for members of other churches, and of none, to come together and to chat in a relaxed atmosphere. The first of the series was at St Mark's on 14 March and was well attended and much enjoyed, fuelled by home-made soup as well as bread and cheese. As always, the members of St Mark's came up trumps and our church members and visitors were welcomed into a nicely decorated church room with tables set out attractively. Those of us who have coffee and cake after Sunday services and who come for other events have seen changes in the room in recent months with new radiators and lights and many unnecessary items taken away. Many thanks to Dave Richards and Dave Hudson for all they have done. And there are plans for more changes to come. A number of those who visited commented on how cheerful our garden looked. Well done Dave H and Tony! LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD. On Sunday 16 March we held St Mark's Annual Meeting which was a great opportunity to remind ourselves of our activities through the year, with a collection of photographs assembled by Carol Richards. There were reports from the Resident Priest, the Churchwardens, the Electoral Roll Officer, the Organist and Choir Master and other Officers. All were thanked for their contributions to the life of the church. Anne Roper and I were re-elected as Churchwardens and were delighted to accept your trust for another year; we cannot think of a better church of which to be churchwarden. We are very pleased to be joined on the Church Committee by Mike Keats and Anne Johnson. We want to thank Jenny Lazenbury and Jean Bettles, who stand down after three years service. We also welcome Nicky Dolton onto our team of Welcomers and to read lessons from time to time. COMING UP. As I write we are looking forward to the "St Mark's Goes Global" evening which looks like a lot of fun, on 22nd March. We then follow the period of Lent and Holy Week to the joy of Easter. Look carefully at the dates above so that you don't miss anything you would like to join us for during April and make the dates known to family and friends, so that they can join us as well! With all best wishes for the coming month and into the future. John Way Churchwarden.
A SAD LOSS: Janet Enoch, a long-standing member of St Mark’s, passed away on Monday 3rd February after a short illness. Janet had been a great encouragement to Carol and me when we first arrived at St Mark’s. She was the first person to volunteer for the post-Covid Refreshment Rota, and always willing to be part of any venture in the Church. We will miss her greatly, but know that she will rest in peace and rise in glory.UNITED WE STAND: A good number of St Mark’s members attended the Churches Together United Service at Emmanuel Baptist Church, and 3 of us were part of the music group. EBC was full to capacity, and the refreshments and fellowship were so good that nobody wanted to leave!MORE BUILDING WORK: We are continuing our efforts to make St Mark’s building more welcoming and useful. The Meeting Room has new heating, the loo is being refurbished, and plans are afoot to re-decorate, re-carpet and improve access to the Meeting Room. We are working towards a scheme to open up some space at the back of the church and hope to submit a Faculty application this year. IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN: St Mark’s AGM will be on Sunday 16th March, following the morning service. An AGM is a time to look back and review, and to look forward with faith and hope. I want to say a sincere Thank You to all who have served on the Church Committee and PCC during the year, with special thanks to John and Anne, our wonderful Church Wardens, and to Marion, who does so much to make everything run smoothly at St Mark’s. Our Church Committee meetings during the past year have been positive and forward looking – a tribute to the great people who have served as leaders. Please pray for our meeting and elections.A SAFER CHURCH: Recent sad events have reminded us all of the need to learn more about Safeguarding at our churches. St Mark’s will celebrate Safeguarding Sunday on 16th March. Jo Levasier will preach on that day, and we hope (technical stuff permitting) to show a short film on Safeguarding after the service on Sunday 9th March.SPECIAL EVENTS FOR MARCH:St Mark’s Lent Lunch, with proceeds to Christian Aid, Friday 14th March, 12noon onwards.St Mark’s goes Global Saturday 22nd March, 7pm. This is a chance for our well-travelled congregation to show us some of their holiday snaps from exotic and less exotic places. There will also be light refreshments, and a fun quiz. It’s FREE, with donations to Christian Aid. Everyone, and their friends, welcome!Rev Dave Richards
As I look out the window today, at the start of January, it is raining again! Not a promising start to the New Year. Here’s hoping that February will bring brighter days and the first signs of spring with the snowdrops and crocuses. Such beauty!Our Junior Singing Club had their first public appearance at the Christmas Tree Festival. Their performance was excellent, and very well received by an enthusiastic audience.We had a wonderful Christmas at St Marks with several festive services held in the church with familiar faces and many visitors. It was good to see a large number of parents and grandparents attend the School Key Stage 2 Carol Service. Our Carols by Candlelight service, on Christmas Eve, was a wonderful event, with the children from St Mark’s Junior Singing Club stealing the show! They read a lesson and sang beautifully along with our choir. The church was bursting at the seams with many families coming along to experience this special Christmas celebration. The Team Epiphany Service was a joyous occasion bringing to a close our Christmas preparations and celebrations. The church smelt wonderful with the essence of incense for days afterwards! St Marks reputation as a ‘Party Church,’ will continue throughout 2025, welcoming our local community into St Marks, with social events and celebrations, and building on the strong and positive relationship with St Marks School, the pupils, and parents. Little acorns becoming strong oaks!Next month we begin Lent, with our Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service at the earlier time of 10:30am. We will be looking towards the Cross and our preparations, with Christ, during Lent and finally, to that glorious resurrection of our Lord, on that first Easter morning. Until then….We look for the first signs of spring!May God Bless and Keep YouAnne Roper - Church Warden
