News Archive
St Mary's Eaton Bray: October 2006
Special welcome for African bishop
Villagers in Eaton Bray played host to Ugandan clergyman Bishop Benezeri Kisembo for a special service in the village church.
The visit was arranged by Anglican missionary group, SOMA (Sharing of Ministries Abroad), whose national director, the Rev Don Brewin, lives in Great Billington.
He arranged for the visit to enable people in churches in Bedfordshire to hear first-hand about what is happening in the Church in Uganda and to allow the bishop to meet with church leaders here on the current situation of the Church in England.
Bishop Kisembo's diocese, Ruwenzori, is in SW Uganda and borders on the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is close to the Kagando Hospital which is being financially supported by parishioners from Eaton Bray and Edlesborough.
Since the start of the year fund-raisers at St Mary's Church have raised more than £2,000 for the hospital.
The money was collected at a series of events held throughout the year around Eaton Bray and Edlesborough, including beetle drives, barn dances and open gardens.
The Kagando Hospital was adopted as the annual parish project thanks to the work of Rebecca Baldock, a local physiotherapist, who is working there as part of the African Inland Mission.
For more information about the hospital in Uganda go to www.stmaryseatonbray.org.uk/Parish-Project/2006/.
To donate money for the project cheques payable to St Mary's PCC can be sent to Canon Malcolm Grant at The Vicarage, High Street, Eaton Bray, Dunstable, LU6 2DN. Please enclose a note explaining what the money is for.
Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 24 October 2006
Ugandan hospital backed by cash boost
A hospital in Uganda is set for a much-needed cash boost thanks to the generosity of parishioners in Eaton Bray and Edlesborough.
Since the start of the year fundraisers at St Mary's Church have been raising money for the Kagando Hospital in the Kasese district in the south-west of the country . To date they have raised more than £2,000.
The money was collected at a series of events held throughout the year around Eaton Bray and Edlesborough, including beetle drives, barn dances and open gardens.
The Kagando Hospital was adopted as the annual parish project thanks to the work of Rebecca Baldock, who used to be a lay-reader at the Priory Church in Dunstable.
Rebecca, a physiotherapist, is working at the hospital as part of the African Inland Mission.
Canon Malcolm Grant, vicar of Eaton Bray, said: "We believe that the church has a responsibility to do what it can to help others, at home and overseas, and we in the developed nations have a particular responsibility to share our prosperity with those who have so little of the world's resources."
The hospital provides a vital service in an area at the heart of the Aids pandemic and torn apart by internal conflict.
Fundraisers at St Mary's are hoping to arrange a visit to the hospital, which is close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, but no definite plans have been agreed yet.
The fundraising effort is set to continue next month, and half the proceeds from the church's Christmas Fayre on Saturday, November 18 will go toward the Kagando Hospital.
For more information about the hospital in Uganda go to www.stmaryseatonbray.org.uk/Parish-Project/2006/
To donate money for the project cheques payable to St Mary's PCC can be sent to Canon Malcolm Grant at The Vicarage, High Street, Eaton Bray, Dunstable, Beds LU6 2DN. Please enclose a note explaining what the money is for.
Source: Dunstable Today, 13 October 2006
Becca's letter from Uganda - October 2006
Well I've been away from home for just over a year now and a lot has happened. It's been quite a challenging year in many ways and amazing too. I've learnt so much about God, and about myself. People say that when you are out here things are either really great or really hard, and to a certain extent I'd have to agree with that. I've struggled with some things over the last few months but God has been really amazing in helping me through them and looking at things in a different way. God truly doesn't put you in a situation where he won't give you the strength and change of heart to cope with it even when personally you don't have it.
Continue reading this month's Letter from Uganda.
St Mary's Roof News
Our efforts to raise funds to help meet the cost of restoring the roof of St Mary's church have recently been assisted by the award of a grant by a little-known - but locally connected trust - the Francis Coales Charitable Foundation. As this may not be an immediately familiar name, or one with an obvious local connection, we thought that a word of explanation might be appropriate...
Francis Coales farmed at Chicheley near Milton Keynes until 1885 when he retired and with his son purchased an established corn merchant's business - Hives & Sons - in Newport Pagnell. The name of the business was changed to Francis Coales & Son and over the years expanded through the purchase of similar businesses trading around this area, at Bedford, at Olney & at Tring.
In 1973, following a major fire at their main mill at Newport Pagnell, the decision was reluctantly taken not to rebuild the mill, but to close down the business, and from the winding-up was established the Francis Coales Charitable Foundation.
Although now based in Weston-super-Mare, the main object of the foundation is to offer assistance towards the cost of repairs and restoration in the area where the business once traded. Specifically: "to assist with the repair of old buildings open to the public... preference is given to churches and their contents in Bucks, Beds, Northants & Herts".
Thankfully the work to restore the timbers in the roof of the nave of the church met the criteria set by the foundation and St Mary's is grateful for the £3,000 donated by the trustees.
Chris Banks
Eaton Bray choir plan a roof-raising concert
The choristers from St Mary's Church, Eaton Bray are getting ready to hit the high notes, rehearsing for their fund-raising concert for roof repairs at the parish church.
Led by choirmaster and organist David Radwell, the choir will present an evening of inspirational music in St Mary's on Saturday 7 October at 7.30pm.
Popular choral classics such as Mozart's Ave Verum and Thou the Central Orb by Charles Wood, feature in the programme alongside modern pieces by John Rutter and the beautiful duet Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The choir includes over 25 adults and children. And helping the local singers to raise the roof will be some visiting soloists including Emma Radwell who sings with the BBC Symphony Chorus.
The popular local choir, whose Christmas Carol services at Edlesborough and Eaton Bray churches are always packed out, have also roped in some of their musically-talented friends to add some gospel music and instrumental pieces for an excellent and varied evening of music and song.
Vicar of St Mary's, Eaton Bray, Canon Malcolm Grant said: "We are very proud to have a strong and flourishing choir with such a wealth of musical talent.
"St Mary's has an excellent reputation for high standards of music of great quality and I hope the audience will be moved and inspired by the programme."
The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets at £7.50 include wine and savouries. They are available from the box office - telephone (01525) 220 535 - or at the door.
The medieval church of St Mary's is faced with a roof repair bill of over £70,000.
The church is a popular place to visit and is on the South Bedfordshire church heritage trail because of the outstanding quality of its ancient achitecture.
For more information, visit the website www.stmaryseatonbray.org.uk.
Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer, 3 October 2006
St Mary's Christmas Fayre
Saturday 18th November
The St Mary's Christmas Fayre will take place Saturday November 18th, between 12 noon and 2pm, in Eaton Bray Village Hall.
There will be stalls and games for all ages as well as a raffle. Entrance 50p (including tea or coffee and biscuit). Ploughman's Lunches will be available. Proceeds in aid of the Church Roof Fund and Kagando Hospital.
Growing Together in Christ
A Diocesan Training Course for people who want to develop lay ministries or simply learn more about their faith, is being run at Woburn Parish Church for people from the Deaneries of Ampthill and Dunstable.
Three terms of six sessions plus three half-day (Saturday) workshops, beginning on Wednesday, 18 October, 7.45-9.30pm. Cost, £l;10 per term.
Details and programme on sheets on the chest beside the south door - further information from the Vicar.
God's Story In Action
A special study course exploring the links between our own story and God's story will be run as a parish study group this autumn.
An evening group will meet on Tuesday's at 8 o'clock, beginning on 17 October (for six weeks with a break half-way), and an afternoon group will meet on Thursdays at 2.30, beginning on 19 October.
We would like to meet in the relaxed surroundings of people's homes - offers to Malcolm, please.
Vicar's Letter - October 2006
In some places the Christian doctrine of creation is a matter of serious controversy. Some people maintain that the opening chapter of the Bible has to be treated as a literal (almost “eye-witness”) account of how things began. But the ancient writers would not understood such questions. The evidence of their eyes showed them this marvellous world, and one (or perhaps several) of them wrote a great poem to celebrate God's wonderful work. Their concern was to establish that everything that exists came from God - the "how" of it was of no interest to them - and then to teach us our human responsibility to care in God's name for what He has entrusted to us. I find it curious that many of those who are adamant that we must accept the Bible-story as literal truth seem often to deny global warming and show little concern for the limited nature of earth’s resources.
Continue reading this month's Vicar's Letter.
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