NOTICES

EVENTS

If you want a notice put in the weekly bulletin, please contact Mandy Lewis (see emails section of the Contacts page).

For the latest Bishops Itchington 'Tiddler' magazine (.pdf), click HERE. (2MB filesize.)


Hiroshima Day 2010   
Lord Mayor of Coventry's Committee for Peace and Reconciliation will be holding a quiet service of reflection with music, religious and secular readings and silence. We will also make Japanese Origami Paper Cranes of Peace. The event takes place in the lChapel of Unity, Coventry Cathedral on Friday 6th August 2010 at 6-7pm. 
Everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served following the service. For further info contact Dr Madeleine Sharpe on 02476 414512

Bereavement Tea   
Thursday 5th August at 3.00pm. Diane Patterson is hosting another tea party at Hunningham Vicarage for those living with loss. All welcome

Holiday Club Team Update   
Next Meeting: Monday 9th August  at 8.00pm in Hunningham Parish Room.
Wednesday 11th August  9.30am in Weston Village Hall - the start of the Holiday Club. (Please come earlier if you can to help set up.)
If you would like to look around Weston Village Hall to get your bearings, please ask Sue Keffler who has a key: 633774
If you would like to meet to talk things through in a bit more detail please give Tim  a ring to arrange a time: 812518
Please keep using the prayer cards! So far, 18 children have registered, so there is still room for more!

Another Chance to Enjoy a Concert with Gordon Giltrap   
Tickets are about to go on sale for a return concert in St Michael’s Church Bishops Itchington featuring Gordon Giltrap, guitarist and raconteur. Many of those who came last year were first-timers, but instant converts! The concert is on Friday 1st October at 7.30pm. Gordon’s concerts are always enjoyable and this is a great opportunity to hear him in an intimate setting. Tickets are £12 (£10 for concessions) and are available from Martin or Louise Green: 01926 613466.
Gordon has very kindly offered the proceeds, this time, to the St Nicholas Radford Semele Restoration Fund, so please come along and have a great night out!

OTHER NOTICES

Quiet Day For Saints & Souls
Tuesday November 2nd  at  9.30  to  3.15
Another chance to hear in silence the sounds of God’s Word is offered by The Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer under the guidance of Canon Martin Tunnicliffe at Offa House.
Make sure of a place by booking NOW (or if you want more details) write to:   F.C.P. 202 Ralph Road, Solihull, B90 3LE, or phone: 0121 745 6522, or Email:  martin.tunnicliffe@tesco.net

Fosse Deanery Forum for PCC Secretaries
There are some last-minute spaces available, on a first-come-first-served basis, at the forthcoming Fosse Deanery Forum for PCC Secretaries, at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 29 June, at St Peter's Parish Centre, Wellesbourne. The aims of the evening are to give PCC Secretaries the chance to exchange ideas and encouragement; to answer questions and provide clarity about Diocesan and National guidelines for PCC Secretaries; and to put PCC Secretaries in touch with others who are doing the same role. Please do come along, whether you're an 'old hand' who can provide tips and encouragement to others, someone new to the role who'd like to find out more, or someone who's wondering whether the role might be for you. Please confirm your attendance in advance, by emailing Kate Distin: fossedeanery@distin.co.uk.

Ministry Leadership Team
The Ministry Leadership Team is now disbanding, having completed the main task of supporting David Forster through his training for ordination. In its three years it has introduced Feldon Group barn dances, the Pastoral Team and the Bereavement Teas, all of which can continue. The main bit of unfinished business is to seek a unified vision of what God wants us to do as a group to help fulfil our diocesan mission to worship God, make disciples and transform communities. We felt that it would be helpful for PCCs to revisit their own mission statements before the Annual Meetings next year.

New Wine training day for healing ministry
Sat 19th June at Holy Trinity, Coventry. If you have never had any experience of the healing ministry, this day is a great way to find out more about how God continues to use this gift in his church today. It's also an ideal opportunity for refreshing for those who have been part of this ministry for some time. The speaker will be Revd Martin Saxby, from St Matthew's, Rugby. The cost of the day is £12.00, which includes a copy of John Coles' booklet "Developing a Healing Ministry".  For further info email elke.every@gmail.com or call Elke on 024 7645 8082.

David Forster's ordination
David Forster will be ordained Deacon in Coventry Cathedral at 10.30 am on Sunday 4th July. If you would like to go, please sign the form at the back of each church asap and also indicate if you need or could offer lifts.  There will be a special evening service of Holy Communion at 6 pm in Long Itchington Church that day to welcome David, followed by bring-and-share refreshments.

Cord Team
CORD is looking for people to strengthen their team of trustees, specifically for knowledge, skills and experience in the areas of: International development; Conflict resolution & peace building; Charity law & governance; Financial management; Fundraising (in particular with major donors). This is a volunteer role.
They would also like to secure a Minute Taker/Secretary to the Trustees.  The time commitment is to be available to take minutes at the 6 main council meetings and some administrative support both before and after each meeting.
If you are interested in either of these voluntary positions please go to the CORD website (cord.org.uk) for further information and to download a copy of the job pack. 
The closing date is 26th April 2010
 

Annual (2009) PCC reports are available for...
St Michael's Church, Bishops Itchington and  HERE
St Nicholas Church Radford Semele  HERE
 

Petition to save the listed places of worship grant scheme
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme enables places of worship to claim back 100% of VAT incurred on repairs and maintenance to the building, professional fees and repair works to fixtures such as bells and organs. This source of funding is due end on 31st March next year.
If you would like to support the campaign to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond March 2011 visit:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/VAT-refundscheme/ or click HERE
Deadline to register on petition 29th August 2010


Tim Think
Tim has started a blog, into which he posts comments about the news or about Biblical or theological issues from time to time.
Check it out at www.thefeldongroup.org.uk/101.html


FELDON OFFICE
Feldon Office has gone mobile! Louise is now using Martin’s laptop which has been linked into the office email and database. This means the parish office can revert to being Tim’s study again!
She will still be in the office on Thursday mornings to do any printing which is required, but at other times, please call 613466 but avoiding Mondays as this is Martin’s day off. It would also be very kind if you could try to phone in the mornings. Thanks.

RADFORD PRAYER GROUP
The prayer group which was set up to pray for the restoration of Radford Semele Church will continue to meet at 40, The Greswoldes (the home of the Robertsons) for March and April, but will revert to the first Thursday of the month: Thurs 4th March and Thurs 1st April. All welcome.

New Wine
Some photos from last year's New Wine can be seen HERE.

Bishops Itchington Church Tower update

So far, so good!

The investigative work under stage 1 of the project has now been completed. Holes were dug at the base of the buttress to see why it is failing, and the drains have been examined to see what state they are in; there was also a ‘high level’ examination of the state of tower and chancel arch. We are now waiting for the reports from all of these investigations and our architect is currently drawing up the specification of the work needed in stage 2 to carry out repairs and put the defects right. This will be used to cost out the work more accurately than was done for the English Heritage grant application and will form the basis of our application for the money to carry out the work.

As far as raising money is concerned, we have had plenty of good news over the summer. The fundraising activities have been very successful, particularly the Gordon Giltrap concert; we also received a £2,500 donation and the Parish Council have agreed to give us £5,000. The Parish Council money will be used as ‘match funding’ for an application to Biffa Award which has just been submitted. This means we are around the £20,000 mark in fund raising. We still have a number of grant applications that we have not heard about – so please keep praying about these. Also if you would like to make a donation to the ‘Tower Fund’ then please see Clive.

David Pink

Hot off the press—30 September — Cemex have awarded us £15,000 towards the cost of the repairs to our church!!   This is a result of an application submitted by Brian Southam to Cemex.  This  means that the money raised now stands at about £35,000 so we are well on the way towards our target!!  We give thanks.



Martin Green CDs





 

Please help raise money for our Bishops Itchington church restoration project!
Martin Green has written and recorded two CD’s of varied, guitar based music, and is selling them to raise money for St Michael’s Church restoration. The church tower and chancel arch are both collapsing and we need to raise £70,000 to pay for restoration work that will enable the church to be used by the community in future generations.

Martin has been playing the guitar since he was a teenager, and is self-taught. He has played in various styles over the years, from student rock, occasional jazz and acoustic duet work, to a local ceilidh band, as well as leading worship in his church each week.

These CD’s represent over 30 years of playing and composing, and have been recorded between 2005-8. Each CD has been professionally produced and mastered, and is packaged in a slim jewel case with printed inserts.

For a .pdf file with much more information, click HERE.

Bishops Itchington Church Bells
To encourage us all in matters relating to the tower, I have been informed that the bells at St Michael’s are in good working order.   

A meeting took place with Mr Graham Nabb of Kineton, who is somewhat of an expert on church bells. He stated that our bells are in good order and could be rung with very little work needed.  Graham has been very forthcoming with suggestions about maintenance, procurement, and the way forward with our bells and belfry.   His time and advice has been given to us at no charge.

His suggestions for providing the correct conditions for the housing of church bells, and for improvement of the ringing facilities, could be achieved at little cost.  This work could be performed by a small group from St Michael’s.  Graham has stated that he would be willing to advise regarding the work needed, and is knowledgeable as to where  items can be obtained if required.

The suggested work includes-
Screening to be placed on the outside of the belfry.  This would eliminate the birds’ access to the inside of the deep louver space and hence eliminate feathers and the unwanted bird activity collecting and overflowing into the belfry itself.  I am investigating this additional mesh, which could, with the permission of our church architect, be secured when the tower scaffold is erected.

The belfry cleaned of all unwanted bird activity.  Mesh was placed on the inside of the belfry several years ago and has prevented the wooden bell frame from becoming infected with guano, and has saved the belfry from having to be cleaned professionally. This I understand would be expensive to undertake.  The cleaning could be performed by a
St Michael’s team once the scaffolding is in place.

Painting metal parts (not the bells themselves), tightening of the structure and re-roping where necessary.

Bells to be tested and a full inspection carried out to ascertain that there are no other issues relating to the bells and belfry.

Information relating to the bells themselves – St Michael’s has five bells, all were cast in 1854 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough.  In 1938, the bells were returned to the foundry for returning.  John Taylor & Co are/were a very reputable company in the bell arena and is renowned for producing good quality bells.  Each bell is housed on bearings and hung on an oak bell frame, which was again installed by John Taylor & Co in 1874.  Each bell has an inscription laid in,  they read:-

Bell 1 - Glory to God in the highest.
Bell 2 - Cum sono si non vis venire/nunquam ad preces cupies.
Bell 3 - Good will towards all men.
Bell 4 - Our voices shall with joyful sound / make hills and valleys echo round.
Bell 5 - (tenor bell) I toll the funeral knell / I ring the festal day / I mark the fleeting
       hours / and chime the church to pray.

I have looked at the clock room, and once all the debris has been removed, it would take little work to bring the clock back into working order.  John Smith & Sons of Derby supplied the clock in 1874.   

There are grants available for bell and clock works, but obviously we have other priorities at present! 

Jim.

Signposts for the Future
The Bishop of Coventry has written a booklet in which he writes his thoughts about the future of the diocese. Tim's summary, and a link to the whole document, is available HERE.    A take part in various discussions about the document, click HERE.

Foundations 21
Foundations21 is a resource for discipleship and lifelong Christian learning. It explores twelve key building blocks of the Christian faith - including prayer, the cross and mission - with a flexible blend of web-based study, group interaction and personal application. Foundations21 establishes and builds on firm foundations for spiritual growth, with increasing levels of depth within the material. It is now available free - click HERE for more details.

Pilgrim Puppets


For details of current bookings please click HERE



Radford Semele Church Fire
Any donations can be sent through Rev Martin Green, 1 Manor Rd, Bishops Itchington, Warks. CV47 2QJ – please enclose a SAE for an acknowledgement,  and please gift-aid your donation if you can.

To download the latest bulletin (.pdf) please click HERE.
(To download previous bulletins please click on the number:  01   02  03   04   05   06
07   08)