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church:vicars_letters:oct2010mag

Three points I want to raise this month

First, the Pope's visit to Scotland and England.

The media gave the clear impression that this was going to be a shambles of protest with little support;, but they were very wrong. Reading the papers this morning – half way through the visit – I have been struck by the huge numbers turning out to attend the Masses, line the routes, etc; peacefully and respectfully. I have also read some of the speeches wherein His Holiness speaks clearly and succinctly about the troubles our country faces, and about the attitudes of many of our countries inhabitants. His views on “aggressive secularism” and allowing everyone (including Christians) a tolerant, free voice, seemed entirely sensible; this was supported by the Chief Rabbi and Archbishop of Canterbury.

Second, fund-raising for our little churches.

Whilst these work hard to earn the support of the communities, there is always the fear that - particularly in the current economic climate – this will fall away. The majority of the money raised for the churches goes to the Diocese of Bath and Wells, and in maintaining/repairing the church building; for example, in the past couple of years about thirty-five thousand pounds has been spent on repairs to Cudworth's roof, two bells, bell-cote and ground gutters! But I am very pleased (and equally relieved!) to say that his has been a very good year for fundraising and I would like to thank everyone involved; all the workers, organisers, stall-holders, etc, and, most especially, all those people who came along and put their hands in their pockets and gave their hard-earned cash. Thank you all for your help and support.

Third, 40 Commando Royal Marine .

It has been a long and hard deployment for them in Afghanistan and they have suffered terribly in injuries and deaths; we can but wonder at the worry their families at home have endured. Thankfully their deployment is nearly at an end; please God bring them back safely. Please pray for those members of HM Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan, especially the members of 40 Commando Royal Marines from Norton Manor Camp, Taunton. Soon to return home.

From the Church Registers:

16th AugustJack HardingFuneral and burial at Stocklinch (service of thanksgiving on 18th Aug)
18th AugustMiriam GunnFuneral and burial at Puckington
28th AugustBrian Quinn & Abbie HobbsJoined in holy matrimony at Kingstone
13th SeptemberPam HoareAshes interred in Moolham Church-yard

Italic Text

The Perfect Vicar

…..The Perfect Vicar preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly, but never hurts anyone's feelings. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight, and is also the church care-taker.

….The Perfect Vicar earns £40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates £30 a week to the parish. He is 29 years old and has 40 years' worth of experience. Above all, he is handsome.

….The Perfect Vicar has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humour that keeps him seriously dedicated to his parish. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed.

….The Perfect Vicar always has time for parish council and all of it's committees. He never misses the meeting of any parish organization, and is always busy evangelising the unchurched.

The Perfect Vicar is always in the next parish over!

If your Vicar does not measure up, simply send this notice to six other parishes that are tired of their Vicar too. Then bundle up your Vicar and send him to the parish at the top of your list. If everyone cooperates, in one week you will receive 1,643 Vicar. One of them should be perfect.

Have faith in this letter. One parish broke the chain and got its' old Vicar back in less than three months.

church/vicars_letters/oct2010mag.txt · Last modified: 2022/11/01 08:10 by 127.0.0.1