Harvest Festival Supper 2007

The harvest supper on 7th October 2007 was a sell-out with over 60 attendees. These photographs show many of those who supported the event and enjoyed an excellent home cooked meal.




Following the meal the produce which decorated the church for our harvest service was auctioned, raising the very creditable sum of £245.37 which has been donated to the ARC Addington Fund, based locally at Stoneleigh Park. This fund has been set up to provide help for farmers in distress, a particular problem this year with first the floods, then foot and mouth and now blue tongue disease. An appropriate charity with the close links between harvest and farming.








Once again, many thanks to all those who supported this event, and to those who gave up their time to prepare and serve such a delicious supper.

Holiday Club at Flecknoe, August 2007

The holiday club, held from 29th to 31st August 2007, was a great success with 12 children attending, up from 7 last year.



The theme this year was ‘Journeys’ and included the stories of Jonah, The Good Samaritan and Jesus' visit to the temple as a child.



The children produced wonderful collages of Jonah and the Whale.



We went on our own journey following maps to a local pond where we had a picnic. This was followed by pond dipping with the children investigating the creatures living in the pond, as well as the plants growing nearby. The children also played outdoor games.





Not quite Jonah in this bucket but still fascinating for the children!



The holiday club finished with the children acting the story of the Good Samaritan and singing songs they had learnt to their parents.





So another successful Holiday Club this year, and many thanks to all who helped and participated.

The 'Clay' Prayer: a prayer for discipleship and Christian vocation

Now that Easter has come and gone, this is an ideal time for us to recommit ourselves to Christ. Our next Holy Communion Service at St. Mark's, Flecknoe, is this coming Sunday, 15th April, at 9.00am. The next Family Service will be held on Sunday May 6th at the later time of 4.00pm.



The short prayer below is on the subject of discipleship and vocation, and would be useful for those searching for their true path as Christians.


For as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O House of Israel.
Jeremiah 18: 6

CLAY PRAYER

Lord God, who creates all things for a reason,
shape us like clay to your purpose,
tell us our true names.
Fire us with the Holy Spirit, in darkness
and in light.
Guide us to the people and places
that can work your will in us.
For we are ready, Lord,
to be made your servants and your disciples
in Christ's name.
Amen.



Prayer by Jane Holland, Warwickshire.

Flecknoe's Great Gingerbread Bake

To visit another local blog and see what some Flecknoe villagers and other local people got up to for Mother's Day with our Ginger Bread Bake, organised here in Flecknoe by Reverend Jane Close, please click on theoreillyfamily.blogspot.com

Easter Weekend Workshop & Special Saturday Vigil

This year Easter falls on the second Sunday of the month, April 8th, so we will be changing our normal service pattern to fit in both with this and the services in the other churches within the benefice. Please note, this means we will not hold a family service on Sunday 1st April, as there is a special Palm Sunday service at Leamington Hastings at 6.30pm.

Instead we will have an Easter workshop on Saturday 7th April from 11 to 12.30am. We anticipate that workshop activities will include egg painting, an Easter egg hunt, making Easter cards and decorating Easter biscuits (if there is time). All children are very welcome!

On the evening of Saturday April 7th, we will be holding an Easter Vigil in St. Mark's, Flecknoe, at 7.30pm, as there will be no service in our church on Easter Sunday.

Special Lent Lunches & Services in the Leam Valley Benefice: February, March and on Palm Sunday.

Lent 2007 will start with a celebration of the Eucharist at 7.30pm in All Saints Church, Leamington Hastings on 21st February. This will be followed by a series of Ecumenical Services on Thursday evenings in different churches which will look at different aspects of the story of the ‘Prodigal Son’.

On March 1st this will be at St Nicholas’ Church, Willoughby, at 7.30pm and on March 8th, at the same time at Broadwell Methodist chapel.

On 15th March the service will be held at 7.30pm at St Peter’s Church, Grandborough, and here at St Mark’s, Flecknoe, on 22nd March also at 7.30pm.

The final service will be held at Grandborough Methodist chapel on March 29th.

During lent simple lunches will be held in each Parish on Wednesdays in the same week as the lent service. Our lunch in Flecknoe will be held on 21st March and will be hosted by Ann Absalom at Elizabeth House. A collection will be made at these lunches for Sebokeng, a Parish just outside Johannesburg in South Africa, which has been supported by Leamington Hastings Church since 1996.

It is hoped that at the end of Lent a Sebokeng choir will join us for a very special service of celebration at Leamington Hastings church at 6.30pm on Palm Sunday, April 1st.

Coffee Morning: Friday 23rd February

Meet Jane Close, our new Vicar!

There will be a Coffee Morning on Friday 23rd February from 10am to 12 noon, very kindly hosted by PCC member Sara Jolley at Underwood Cottage, Flecknoe.



This Flecknoe coffee morning will be a good ice-breaking opportunity for recent arrivals to the village to meet other residents, and also a chance for any villagers who have not yet met her to be introduced to Jane Close, our new Leam Valley Vicar.

Hopefully, recent snow problems will have melted away in time for our ice-breaker!



Coffee Morning
10am - 12pm
Friday 23rd February
Underwood Cottage, Flecknoe

Bishop Colin Announces His Retirement!

On January 24th, the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Colin Bennetts, announced his retirement with effect from December 1st 2007. He will be 67 years old.

"I would like to see a confident, growing church, inspired by the Gospel ... "

According to the Coventry Diocese website, since moving to Coventry with their four grown-up children, two sons and two daughters, Bishop Colin and his wife Veronica are now busy grandparents with six grandsons and one honorary granddaughter.

Speaking of his hopes for the future, Bishop Colin says:

"I would like to see a confident, growing church, inspired by the Gospel, serving the community and not taking itself too seriously. However I would like to stress that I am here for the rest of the year and not hanging my mitre up just yet!”

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You can read more about Bishop Colin's career and his retirement plans at either BBC Coventry & Warwickshire or on the Church of England's Coventry Diocese home page.

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Bethlehem School Collection: £99.65

Thanks to all who gave so generously at our annual Carol Singing collection in December. The charity being supported for 2007 was the Syrian Orthodox Christian St. Aphrem School at Beit Jallah in Bethlehem. Flecknoe carol singers raised £99.65 for the school - an excellent amount from such a small village!

Many thanks again to those who donated money, and also to the carol singers themselves for their marvellous singing.

COMING SOON: Fishy Fun at Flecknoe's Family Service

NEXT FAMILY SERVICE: Sunday 4th February.
Apparently, the theme for our family service on Sunday 4th February at 4pm involves a fishy tale! All are very welcome at this children-oriented service which is now becoming established on our church calendar for the first Sunday in every month. In our service on March 4th, we will look into Lent and learn the significance of this period of the church year.

All very welcome!