In your March issue: - Chaplaincy of Aquitaine

Chaplaincy of Aquitaine Newsletter March 2012

In your March issue:

Cooking in March

Emergency help ideas

Clerical Corner

Himalayan Adventure

Evangelists of the 20th Century

Radio Liberté & Radio 4!

[email protected]


The Chaplaincy of Aquitaine is part of the Church of England Diocese in Europe, working in partnership with The Intercontinental Church Society, in ministry to people who speak English.

It covers Gironde, Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne.

CHURCH SERVICES, MARCH 2012(see Around the Chaplaincy for location details)

FRIDAY 02 MARCH17:00 Women’s World Day of Prayer – Riberac Hospital Chapel18:00 Women’s World Day of Prayer – Temple de Merignac, (near Bordeaux)

SATURDAY 03 MARCH16.00 Women’s World Day of Prayer Temniac, Sarlat

SUNDAY 04 MARCH10.30 Holy Communion Bordeaux10.30 Morning Worship Limeuil10.30 Service of the Word Bertric Burée11.00 Holy Communion Ste. Nathalène11.00 Holy Communion Doudrac16.00 Evensong Bertric Burée

TUESDAY 06 MARCH11.30 Holy Communion Allez

SUNDAY 11 MARCH10.30 Morning Prayer Monteton10.30 Holy Communion Limeuil10.30 Holy Communion Bertric Burée10.30 Holy Communion Bordeaux11:00 All Age Worship Negrondes

WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH11.00 Holy Communion Bertric Burée

THURSDAY 15 MARCH10.30 Holy Communion Limeuil

SUNDAY 18 MARCH10.30 Family Communion Bordeaux10.30 All Age Worship Bertric Burée10.30 Morning Prayer Limeuil10.30 Holy Communion Chancelade10.30 Prayer and Praise Monteton11.00 Service of the Word Ste. Nathalène

SUNDAY 25 MARCH10.30 Holy Communion Monteton10.30 Holy Communion Bordeaux10.30 Holy Communion Limeuil10.30 Holy Communion Bertric Burée

TUESDAY 27 MARCH11.00 Holy Communion Negrondes

Dondas

Negrondes

March 2012 Chaplaincy of Aquitaine Newsletter 3

CClerical Corner

VVVVVVV

Snowed in........snowed under?

It was Sunday morning (5 Feb) and we were getting ready to go to Bordeaux. I opened the shutters and it was clear that we were not going anywhere! A thick packet of snow was on the ground and the steady falling of snow continued. We decided not to go to Bordeaux that day. It became clear we had made the right decision. South from us, in the Chaplaincy of Midi Pyrenees, colleagues left for church, but were not able to return home (the snow there had arrived a bit later than here). One of their parishioners ended in the ditch. Several of our own church services had to be cancelled, including Colin Pratt’s Memorial Service (details for a new date in this newsletter!). At first I was disappointed that I could not preach on the Gospel reading that snowy morning (Mark 1:29-39). The passage gives insight into Jesus’ early ministry. In the midst of a very busy and fruitful ministry, Jesus is determined to find time to pray. The disciples hunt him down...but Jesus knows by now it is time to move ‘to the next towns’. In his ministry, Jesus at all times seeks (and then knows) the will of the Father. Do we? As on other occasions, I am also preaching to myself here. In our busy church life, do we actually sit down to hear the voice of the Father? Do we allow God to speak into our lives to direct us in the way He wants us to go? It seems right to dwell on this Gospel passage a bit more for our Local Annual Meetings. After all, in March and April, with our six Local Annual Meetings and our one Annual General Meeting (21 April), we review so much of what has kept us busy over that last twelve months....and rightly so. But, as we reflect on all that, and there is much to be thankful for (!!), I hope we can also say that in the midst of all our striving we have actually heard the voice of the Father.

Those who are on the electoral roll should have received an email with the Chaplaincy Prayer Diary for March. If you wish to receive this diary on a monthly basis (and I hope you do), you can sign up for it on our website. I hope many will use this Prayer Diary on a daily basis to pray as a Christian community, a family in Christ, for our life and ministry together. As you find yourself on our website, please take a moment to browse the news items and to sample the various things on offer for [email protected] ....A rich menu! I hope you will find something of interest for you. Come....see....taste!

The snow provided a wonderful opportunity to catch up on various admin chores, but thankfully the snow has

now disappeared and it is great joy to see church services resume. As I am putting the finishing touches on this article, my thoughts drift to the short break we hope to enjoy with the family next week. Yes....actually we are driving several hours to find....more snow. Humans....strange creatures...

Love & blessings,Paul

Chaplaincy AGM

The Chaplaincy and Chap-Aid AGMs will be held on April 21st this year, at Négrondes near Sorges. The timetable for the day is: 10:00 Coffee 10:30 Chaplaincy AGM followed by Chap-Aid AGM 12:30 (approx) Lunch 14:30 (approx) Holy Communion serviceEvery year we elect Chaplaincy Wardens and other members to Chaplaincy Council and will need to do so again. Jennifer Lord and I are willing to stand again but other nominations for Warden will be welcome from those on the electoral roll. If you wish to find out more, please ask and we can also guide you to the nomination form. Nominations must be received by the Chaplain on or before Saturday 31st March 2012.

Our Archdeaconry Synod representatives were elected last year and their appointments last for 3 years. Chaplaincy Council representatives from each sector will be elected at local meetings and their position confirmed at the AGM.

Draft AGENDA for the Chaplaincy AGM1. Opening prayer2. Apologies for absence3. Approval of minutes of 2010 AGM and extraordinary general meeting on 1 Dec 20114. Matters arising from the minutes (not dealt with later in the agenda)5. Reports on the life of the Chaplaincy6. Chaplaincy finances7. Elections 8. Any other business (notified in advance to the Chaplain)9. Closing prayer

Jennifer Lord and David Tervet Chaplaincy Wardens


VVVVVVV

In 1954 more than one million people went to hear a young American evangelist, Billy Graham, at

Harringay arena in East London. A decade later he conducted an evangelical campaign in South Africa. In 1961 the undersigned met this American evangelist in a totally different context, and found him to be the most humble of men.

That same year, the undersigned was in Allahabad in North India, when preparations were underway to welcome another American evangelist who for several years had spent a month in India preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the open air. Here on the vast ‘maidan’ were camped hundreds of people waiting for his arrival later in the week, Indians of all faiths or of none. He was over 80 years old.

In the 1950s, Brian Green, rector of St Martin’s Church in central Birmingham drew such crowds by his evangelical preaching, that long queues stretched from outside the Church doors, people arriving half an hour before the service. Brian Green died in the 1990s, when he was planning his next evangelical campaign, to be held in Canada. He was 90 years old.

Since those years, there have been several noteworthy British evangelists but it has been forgotten that the Church of England’s own clergy conducted a nation-wide evangelical campaign in the late 1940s. This brought many men back to faith in Jesus Christ, men who had lost that faith in the massacres of World War I. Called to stand up for Jesus they willingly did so.

Our evangelists remind us of words occasionally seen in a pulpit, “Sir, we would see Jesus”.

R.E.

Thought for the Month

Evangelists of the 20th Century

We have a new date for Colin’s Memorial Service with Eucharist:

Tuesday 13 March 2012 10.30h at Monteton church - followed by a Bring and Share

Finger Buffet

A Garden Of Friendship

For the garden of your daily living plant three rows of peas: 1. Peace of mind 2. Peace of heart 3. Peace of soul

Plant four rows of squash: 1. Squash gossip 2. Squash indifference 3. Squash grumbling 4. Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce: 1. Lettuce be faithful 2. Lettuce be kind 3. Lettuce be patient 4. Lettuce really love one another

No garden is without turnips: 1. Turnip for meetings 2. Turnip for service 3. Turnip to help one another

To conclude our garden we must have thyme: 1. Thyme for each other 2. Thyme for family 3. Thyme for friends

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love

There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow

Anon

Let God Choose

Let God choose for you, it will be the right decision.Let God guide you, it will be the right direction.Let God plan for you, it will be in the right timing.Let God measure for you, it will be the right portion.Let God help you, it will be the right care.Let God instruct you, it will be the right teaching.Let God prepare you, it will be the right training.Let God counsel you, it will be the right perspective.Let God fight for you, it will be the right outcome.Let God work in you, it will be the right result.

Roy Lessin, DaySpring co-founder and writer


Radio 4 – a new Home Service for the Dropt Valley?

During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity a member of the panel of Radio 4 wanted to interview an Anglican about who we are and the Chaplain’s diary was full so he asked for a volunteer. Radio 4 (www.radio.4.fr ) is not the BBC Home Service but a local radio from Villeneuve sur Lot which broadcasts to the Dropt Valley and the Perigord Agenais.

I was interviewed in French by a sprightly 95 year old lady who had fun asking me whether the Queen is Head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand (I wasn’t sure) and whether the Archbishop of Canterbury was spiritual head of the Anglican Church, not to mention a few teasers about the reformation.

We had a very enjoyable open discussion and it was broadcast on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January. I included some of my favourite music and the technician blended it in.

I spoke English at the end encouraging listeners to go to our churchinaquitaine.org website and if anybody hears that somebody new has come to church or been in touch as a result I would love to hear about it.

If you missed the broadcast you may be able to listen to it soon on our website as a copy was kindly sent to me by the technician and I have forwarded it to our webmasters.

Dis-moi d’oû... broadcast twice a week on Saturday at 13:35 and Sunday at 8:30, for all religions and denominations and they will gladly take material about forthcoming events (but not regular services). If anybody feels they could use this please get in touch with me.

William Parker

Music for Worship Workshop No 1 for Musicians

Blancal, 47150 MONFLANQUIN Friday 20th April 2012

10h00 until 16h00 LEADER: David Warner-Howard

A Workshop designed to give help, advice and support to all those who regularly play for the various acts of worship throughout the Chaplaincy. There will be opportunities to play various keyboard instruments, discuss and try techniques to enhance your playing. The workshop will concentrate on hymns and worship songs, but other needs for accompaniment will be covered including music before, during and after the act of worship.

• Tea/Coffee/Soft drinks will be available during the day.• Please bring your own packed lunch.We need to limit the number of participants to a maximum of six in order that you can obtain the maximum benefit in the time available, so first come, first served.

TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE: Tel: 0553 413649e-mail: [email protected]

Subsequent workshops will be arranged in the future.

Obituary for Rev Neil Handley 1940 - 2012

Neil Handley, who died on 9 February after a long struggle with cancer, was known to many in the Chaplaincy, but particularly in the Limeuil area where he lived. He was a great support to the Limeuil congregation in its early days, taking monthly services for many years and being a unifying factor in a diverse congregation. He was always ready to help out where needed, travelling long distances to Monteton, Bordeaux, Pau and elsewhere, as well as taking many funerals and weddings. Although Neil had a frivolous exterior, he was a deeply spiritual man and if anyone was in trouble they would turn to him. Neil was very caring and looked out for people in difficulties or who were down on their luck. One friend described him as ‘a good-hearted man, much-loved, of great stature and humility’. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

VVVVVVV

VVVVVVV


A Story to tell.....This month Ian Strachan describes how he and Dave Shires scaled the peaks!

Himalayan SagaIt was the snowcapped skyline of Himalayan peaks seen for the first time from Almora in 1998 which planted the seed for an adventure some time in the future. Then a chance meeting with Susie Tarver, who had just completed her walk to Santiago di Compostella and had toured the Himalayan – Ladakh area a few years earlier, suggested that such a challenge was worthy of very serious thought.

‘The people who risk nothing , do nothing. Only a person who risks is truly free.’

So with the palaces and forts of Rajastan under our belt, a circular tour across the Great Himalayas and back to New Delhi through Kashmir, avoided overlapping with the 1998 tour. However the Foreign Office and a Kashmiri friend argued the risks were too great, not to mention the primitive state of the ‘roads’ and the inclement weather at 15-18000 ft. Yet our friend and bike hirer Lali Singh insisted, ‘Go for it - the mountain and semi-desert scenery is spectacular, the people charming and friendly.’

Equipped with our Lonely Planet Guide and a specially adapted Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet with extra fuel tanks, we pushed north in late June, the middle of the summer monsoon, through Shimla and along the famous Manali-Keylong-Leh Highway, a distance of about 770kms and with the last fuel stop 360 kms south of Leh.

Above 9,000ft the vagaries of the monsoon weather became irrelevant. Instead it was the road conditions of rock, sand, meltwater, and convoys of lorries,

which focused our attention. A 7km traffic jam at the Rohtang Pass (13,000 ft), caused by a 300m stretch of mud and meltwater, meant Dave had to go ahead, leaving Ian to hitch a lift (by lorry or bus) carrying the two heavy paniers with clothes, tools and spare parts. What would normally be a six hour ride became a sixteen hour marathon on the bus, with an F1 driver committed to making up time over the passes and along the ravines. The rigours of mountain sickness did not affect us until our tented accommodation at Pang (14,700 ft), but a group of travellers from Bangalore seemed to have a medical chest for all eventualities and so by 4.30am we were on our way to Leh along the upper Indus Valley and over the Great Himalayan Range via the Baralacha

La (16000ft) and Taglung La Passes (17,500 ft) .

It was Susie Tarver’s maps and checklist of clothing and medicines that helped make this leg so smooth and memorable. The thought of getting above Everest Base Camp appealed to us both, so north to Khardong La Pass (18,380 ft) and a view of the Nebra Valley and peaks of southern Tibet-China. Here we were in Buddhist India where the Tibetan influence is strong, and then we looked west to Kargil and the Pakistan border; this is Muslim India and the disputed area of Kashmir. Here we were on the edge of our comfort zone – no more European travellers until Delhi, numerous army check points, frequent military convoys and a dozen or so scary hairpin bends down the Zojila Pass (11,600ft) into the Vale of Kashmir.

From the hell of the last high mountain pass we moved to the heaven of a spacious Nageen Lake house boat, with Ibrahim to do all our cooking. Kingfishers, ducks and geese greeted us every morning; boatmen arrived at twilight selling mangoes, flowers and groceries. This was a vale of contrasts - tranquil lakes and Mogul Gardens, and the bustle of Srinagar and countless army patrols south towards Jammu, and Chamba, a former hill station at 10,000ft where the risk of landslips and rockfalls was a threat to all travellers. Regular calls back to Bayac and Hook Norton kept the outside world well informed of our health and safety.

‘How old are you?’ and ‘Why have you come so far north?’ triggered an immediate response ‘He is 26 and I am 25.’ Yes, this was ‘The Shining Moment’ of 2011, and we would do it again. Now we feel really free !

Two Men on a Bullet.

In Memory of Susie TarverThe rural community school just outside New Delhi has named the music and art classroom ‘The Susie Tarver Classroom.’ and the £700 raised from the Himalayan Evening held last November will help equip this. Had she been alive she planned to spend five or six months teaching in the school.Inquisitive and adventurous, Susie shared some of her experiences with a group from Limeuil speaking animatedly about her Compostella walk and her trekking in the Ladakh region of the Great Himalayan Mountains. Two Men on a Bike owed her so much for encouragement, maps and advice. Both journeys enriched her life and have enriched those as far afield as rural India.


Book ReviewThree Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. 2006In 1993 after a disastrous attempt to climb K2, one of the great peaks in the Karakorum Mountains at 8611m, Greg Mortenson drifted cold and exhausted into an impoverished Pakistan village. The people were kind and restored him to good health and he promised to return and build a school. ‘Three Cups of Tea’ is the story of that promise and the challenges he faced building bridges and more than fifty schools in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan in a ten year period when both the Taliban rise to power and the 9/11 attack in New York threatened to undermine his many humanitarian achievements.‘Here we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything – even die.’ Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief. Penguin ISBN 978 -0 141-03426-3

Do you have a story to tell?

Why did you move to Aquitaine?

How did you become a Christian?

Have you a famous person in your family?

Are you famous?

We all come from such varied backgrounds, let’s share some of our experiences.

Please send your stories to the Editor

VVVVVVV

Prayer study day at La Fargue led by Madge OLBY

Friday 27 April 2012 from 10.30 – 16.00Numbers limited. Please bring a bible and notebook.

Please bring something to share for lunch – drinks will be provided

Directions will be sent if required.

THEME – GOD – PRAYER – ME

“I have planned this day as a challenge and encouragement first of all for myself, who finds that these triangular relationships tend to slip in and out of daily relevance, and so I hope that we will all be enriched and equipped for future relationships by what we discover on this day together. Please let me know if there is any particular aspect you would like us to spend time on so that there will be collective wisdom.I am looking into a LOT of books in my preparation and a list of these is available on the day or from me beforehand. I look forward to 27 April and whoever God will bring to La Fargue that day.”

Please book in on [email protected]

Discover the Bible in a new and exciting way through this new FREE listening programme You’ve Got the Time. View the details on line - http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/support-us/ygtt-2010/

You will be enriched and inspired as you listen to the whole of the New Testament for just 28 minutes a day over 40 days. A simple listening plan - this will take you all the way from Matthew to Revelation in just 40 days.

Whether you’re on a lunch break, at the gym, walking the dog or doing the shopping – with You’ve Got the Time, the Bible can fit into your busy day.


Cooking in March Frances Pengelly

My new addition to the hen house is a large Sussex cockerel by the name of Merlin, who takes the

place of Hope. He has worked hard to make sure there is order at all times, and that the girls lay well, are comfortable at night, and don’t hang around the ‘dormies’ too long in the mornings. Eggs are flowing fast, they are all happy with a bit of discipline.

So are we all, and I have been cooking for the freezer. We all enjoy a busy life, and I always feel better if I have something interesting nestling away in the cold and I’m not continually worrying about what our next meal will be. I have sat through many a sermon calculating what we shall eat during the next week and often work out my shopping list. I’m quite sure that women have done this since Eve ate the apple in the Garden of Eden! However it’s not exactly what I go to church for! I think some of the nicest meat dishes are Tagines, the mixing of meat, fruit and spices. I have mentioned Claudia Roden in one of my monthly articles years ago. She is a very well known food writer and has given us a window into the true cooking of the Middle East, Morocco, Greece and Turkey. Her recipes are lively and full of atmosphere, and of course if you so wish you can freeze what you cook. The word Tagine is used, but it is just a version, a rather careful one, of the casserole.

Tagine of Lamb, Caramelised Baby Onions and Pears: 1.5kg boned shoulder of lamb; 5tbs vegetable oil; 1 chopped onion; half a teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon and saffron threads, 500g baby onions or shallots peeled; 3 large pears; 40g butter. Cut meat into medium pieces and brown, add chopped onion and barely cover with water, add spices and seasoning, simmer over a low heat for 1½ hours. Sauté baby onions in oil over a low heat until soft and coloured, add to the lamb and cook for a further 30 minutes. Reduce the sauce by leaving the top off the tagine making sure all the contents are soft and cooked. Finally quarter and core pears leaving the skin on and carefully sauté them in a frying pan until caramelised using the butter. Put them in the tagine on top of the meat and cook until tender. At the last minute you could add 1tbs clear honey, but make sure the contents are well seasoned. You can use apples, plums, apricots or what you will, also you could use veal instead of lamb. If you are freezing this tagine, add sautéd pears after defrosting and before heating through. They will go to bits in the freezer otherwise.

In the winter using tinned tomatoes for sauce is perfectly acceptable. Tomato sauce freezes well, and you can add ingredients to make it exciting, a little chilli or harissa paste is a suggestion. Here is a simple rustic vegetable stew from Majorca. For the sauce you need 400g tinned tomatoes; oregano,

or sprigs of whatever you have; 3 finely sliced garlic cloves; 2tbs olive oil. Put everything into a pan and simmer covered, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile peel and thinly slice 400g potatoes, 400g aubergines and 2 red peppers sliced in thin strips. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry potatoes, and aubergines and put into an oven proof dish in separate layers. Cover with the slightly sautéd peppers and add your tomato sauce over the top Very basic, but think of the changes you could make! There are so many vegetables you could use. Celeriac or parsnips certainly come to mind.Health experts suggest that we have at least two days a week without meat.. Of course there are many foods that contain protein, we don’t have to depend only on meat. I think it helps our health to keep our portions controlled in size, we all eat too much I fear.

VVVVVVV

Is drinking costing more than money?Alcoholics Anonymous

If you or someone you know has a drinking problem, there are now a number of English-speaking meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous in the South West of France.Alcoholics Anonymous is a Fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership and A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Contact – Ewen 05 53 05 76 62 or Roger 05 55 76 22 65

E-mail [email protected] or check our website at www.aafrancesud-ouest.

com for details of English-speaking meetings in the South West of France.


IDEAS ON PREPARING FOR

EMERGENCIESThe death of one of our friends

always saddens us, but when it happens suddenly and unexpectedly – as in the recent tragic loss of our dear friend and mentor, Colin Pratt – we can be at a loss to know what the formalities are that we have to deal with. It was his death that has prompted me to write to the Newsletter in the event that members of the Chaplaincy may like to be aware of the information sheets published by Connexions newspaper. There are a good number of such guides, which can provide all sorts of useful information from how to fill in the mysterious tax forms through to dealing with a notaire and many things in between. They are useful in knowing what to do in many of the humdrum things of life. However, few of such matters have the urgency and need for loving care and sensitivity as when we have to deal with a sudden death.All of these guides can be downloaded from the Connexion’s website whose address is www.connexionfrance.com, while some but not all can be obtained in printed version by post. Perhaps the two most useful when dealing with bereavement are:

Inheritance law - DOWNLOAD VERSION € 7.50

This guide looks at

* who inherits automatically in France

* rights to stay in the family home

* what is a Tontine and an SCI

* how do Wills work

* inheritance procedures after a death in the family

* inheritance issues to consider before buying a property in France

* answers to queries received by readers

Death in France - DOWNLOAD VERSION € 5.00 *Formalities

*Burial or Cremation

*Financing a Funeral

*Organ Donation

Perhaps it might be a good idea for Pastoral Care co-ordinators to have access to these guides so that help can be given quickly.

Other ideas include:• Giving a record of your next of kin’s contact details to be held by a friend. This will cover any kind of problems experienced by single people living alone but also is useful if both members of a couple are involved

in an accident or similar difficulty. Perhaps this record could be held by Pastoral Care co ordinators – or perhaps the pastoral care co ordinator could be advised who holds such information.

• For everyone with a mobile phone to make an ICE entry in its stored contacts list. In case of emergency (ICE) is a programme that enables first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, as well as hospital personnel, to contact the next of kin of the owner of a mobile phone to obtain important medical or support information. Of course, the phone must be unlocked and working. The idea is that people should create a new entry in their phone’s contact list which starts with the letters ICE and then the relationship (e.g. ICE wife, ICE son) followed by the number entered in the international format.

• For those living alone, to consider having a mobile phone – even if it is kept for emergencies only – when of course it must be charged up and switched on. In the recent very cold weather, some church members were greatly worried that they could not contact people living alone, to check that they were OK. They were even in process of putting themselves at risk by travelling to the home of the lone person. Often people say ‘Oh I don’t need one of those things!’ Perhaps not in the ordinary way, but perhaps it would be kind to others who are concerned about you to know that you can be contacted even when the ways are foul, the lines are down and the electricity off – again.

I hope these few ideas may be food for thought, like the Scouts about being prepared!

Patrick Sturges

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This month we continue our series of articles about the history of each sector in our Chaplaincy with the first part of the story of Limeuil.

LIMEUIL - PART 1 - ST MARTIN

Limeuil currently holds all its services in Limeuil Haut, at l’Eglise Ste Catherine. But it did not start at the top of the hill.

At the bottom of the village is the older chapel of St Martin. This 12th century chapel, built at a time when Aquitaine came under the English Crown, was dedicated to

Thomas à Beckett and the name of Richard Coeur de Lion appears on the dedication stone. The instigators of church services at Limeuil were Peter and Dorothy Hankey, an American couple. The Hankeys and Liz and Richard Morris were members of the Monteton congregation. The committee there had been talking about a suitable location for a church plant, within about an hour of Monteton. Peter Hankey was very interested in the little chapel of St Martin in Limeuil and started talking about the possibility of holding services there. He obtained the necessary permission, and the two couples started holding an informal Morning Prayer there on Sunday mornings, in 1986. The beginnings of a new congregation were established.

The chapel was in a poor state, with no electricity, no water, and the benches had to be cleared of owl droppings before each service!

After a while, what they were doing became noticed by the Anglican Church (then meeting only in Monteton and Bordeaux), and the Chaplain decided there should be an official service of Holy Communion to inaugurate the congregation. On Easter Sunday 1987 the first Communion service was held there with the Rev Roger Henthorne presiding. Various people from Monteton came over for that first service, including Paddy and Barry Atkinson. This is seen as the start of the Limeuil congregation. The congregation then came under the wing of Monteton.

Worship at St Martin continued for 5 years, gradually gathering together candles, hymn books and prayer books. It was not always possible for the Chaplain to come to Limeuil each month, so the centre was grateful for the assistance of the Rev Neil Handley, a priest who had retired to Domme. Roger Henthorne and other visiting priests took services from time to time.

One interesting visitor was the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey. He was staying in the area and arrived incognito. When Caroline met him again in Durham he remembered his visit to St Martin, but he had been a little surprised to see people happily worshipping in such a dilapidated church!

Worship continued at St Martin until 1992. The story continues in Part 2!

(With thanks to Liz and Richard Morris, Caroline Gordon-Walker and Roger Henthorne, for remembering these early days. Space does not permit for a full transcript of their contributions, but they are available upon request.)

The Three Trees

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, ‘Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.’ Then the second tree said, ‘Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and Queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.’ Finally the third tree said, ‘I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.’

VVVVVVV


After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, ‘This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter,’ and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, ‘This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.’ The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, ‘I don’t need anything special from my tree, I’ll take this one,’ and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said ‘Peace’ and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at

Radio LibertéFebruary 2012

The Chaplaincy of Aquitaine continued with its half hourly programme on Radio Liberté this year with an interview with Jennie and Don Waterman of New Dawn Association. Jennie and Don are partners in this association, which is currently concentrating on the ‘Rise and Shine’ Kogony Orphanage and Community project situated 4k north of Kisumu town on Lake Victoria.This project launched by Nancy and Jonas Okoth to help and comfort orphans of AIDS/HIV is an amazing story. The growth into community and the desire now to also include sanctuary and help for the young widows begs our attention. Even in these straightened economic days our little could make a difference to these children of schooling or no schooling and much more.I hope you will listen to this recording and the music of Jonas and Nancy, track 4 from their CD called Holy! Holy! Lamb of God.Website: www.newdawn-association.org or www.a-newdawn.org on either the blog at Radio Liberte (see below) or on www.churchinaquitaine.org Thank you to Jennie and Don for sparing the time to talk to me.Our recordings go out on the 1st Sunday of the month at 8am and 12noon… please keep an eye open for the monthly recordings coming up, including our Chaplain, Paul. If you have any ideas on people you would like to be interviewed who have a great story to tell of daring dos, please contact me, Madeleine Holmes on [email protected]

the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

Many thanks to Nasrine Talog-Davies for sending us this story.

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Around the

Chaplaincy Though we are many, we are one body

Ste. Nathalène (24) East of Sarlat, Parish Church, on D27 CW Kevin Sullivan 05 53 61 81 61 NL Robert Topp 05 55 29 22 39PC Charlotte Sullivan 05 53 61 81 61

March Services4th March 11.00 Holy Communion Rev Caroline Gordon-Walker18th March 11.00 Service of the Word Madeleine HolmesFellowship Group 11th March at Kay & Glenn’s with Robin leading25th March Venue to be announced

Ste Natters Matters in MarchIts great to be back worshipping in church after the recent mini ice-age, and we held our our first service of the year in the chancel as it is a smaller area to heat; it meant a certain amount of altar shifting which Abbé Zanette was happyto approve. We put it back where it was. Honest!

NEWS FROM HOE MOEDJanet Joyner, one of our long standing church family members, is lucky enough to spend part of each year in South Africa where she volunteers at Hoe Moed which has been our chosen charity for several years. She has sent us a news update:In December the children had a busy time practising their carols ready to sing on two afternoons outside the SPAR shopping centre raising funds. The photograph is of Tombee who is six and a choir member. Sadly the hair had to be dissembled when she returned to school last week! There was a lovely Christmas party and each child received a present from Father Christmas – in some cases, the only present they had this Christmas.We are happy to announce that some of the money received from Chap-Aid has been spent on a new sewing machine. During our Monday sessions we have a group of girls learning to thread the machine and at the moment they are each making a blouse. If a girl shows an aptitude for sewing then Hoe Moed will sponsor her to go to Learn to Earn where she will learn basic sewing skills on an industrial machine. Hopefully giving her a chance to find future employment.The tennis and karate are still going strong and there is now a tennis wall at the centre so that the children can practise.For more photos: Hou Moed: Singing at Eastcliff 2011 and Judith Calder’s photo gallery.Website: www.houmoed.org.za

Women’s World day of Prayer There will be a service on Saturday 3rd March at 4.00pm at Temniac (near Sarlat). Everyone (not just women) are very welcome to attend. This year‘s liturgy has been proposed by Christian women of Malaysia, based on the theme “Let Justice Prevail”. All are welcome to join us for this time of prayer and reflection, followed by tea, coffee, and snacks. Last year was a great time of fellowship as we joined together with the sisters at Temniac and with those from other denominations across the area. Please phone Charlotte (05 53 61 81 61) or Amy (06 07 04 07 77) for more information.

Reminder - Date for your diary. On 1st April we will be holding our Annual Meeting. We really need some new people to join the committee and help us to move forward. Please think about whether this is something that you would like to be part of.

Lent Course 2012Our Lent course will start on Sunday 26th February in place of our usual Fellowship group meetings. People across the Chaplaincy will be using Life Sources: a 5-session course on prayer for Lent.

Reflections from GlennGlenn shared this after our service was cancelled:


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I am sitting here looking out of my window and am reminded that everything is of God, the snow and cold as well as the sun and warmth. There is a reason for everything and it is not always for us to know that reason, but as we focus on keeping warm, dry and fed can we please pray for those who DO NOT have enough to eat, or enough shelter, or enough warmth, or enough clothing. There will be people in our own communities who lack one or more of these basic needs, there will be people in the towns and cities who sleep on the streets (the reasons are unimportant). The same will be true in every country in the world but we can sometimes forget the one that we live in. When you sit down to your Sunday lunch spend a moment remembering those less fortunate and that if not for God’s unending grace you yourself could be one of those people. We were all made equal in God’s eyes so it is our own brothers and sisters who suffer out there not only for the want of those basic needs but also often the knowledge that Jesus is their Saviour and Lord.

Limeuil (24) near le Bugue, Eglise de Sainte Catherine in Limeuil Haut

CW David Albrecht 05 53 36 55 97 Gill Sweetman 05 53 73 13 59NL Barry Borsberry 05 53 74 95 67PC Charlotte Sullivan 05 53 61 81 61

March ServicesSunday 4th March 10.30am Morning Worship David AlbrechtSunday 11th March 10.30am Holy Communion Rev. Paul VrolijkThursday 15th March 10.30am Holy Communion Rev. Paul VrolijkSunday 18th March 10.30am Morning Worship T B ASunday 25th March 10.30am Holy Communion Rev. Liz Morris

Important NoticeThe service on the 11th March will be followed by the Limeuil congregation’s Annual Meeting to be chaired by The Chaplain. One of the items on the agenda will be the election of a number of new Committee members. It is important therefore that we have a good attendance in order to show our support for both continuing and newly elected members. Anyone in any doubt as to whether their names are included on the electoral role should contact Martin Guy on 05 53 57 97 06.

The “Bring and Share” lunch this month will be held at the Salle de Mairie in Limeuil Port after the service on 25th March. This is always good fun so why not come along and join in; there is always more than enough food to go round and if you can bring along something to share among friends so much the better. Remember to bring your “couverts”.

There are still tickets available for the Quiz Night which is being held in the Salle de Fete in Le Bugue on 7th March. “Quizzers” usually take part in teams of six but anyone not in a position to make up a team should not be deterred as it is always possible to make up teams on the night. A meal will form part of the evening’s enjoyment (Pies and Chips), so remember to bring a “couvert”, and tickets at €18.00 are available from Jill Little on 05 53 59 00 51 or by contacting any member of the Church Committee. All proceeds to be donated to Chaplaincy Funds.

Choir news. We are delighted to say that Nasrine Talog-Davies has agreed to become the choir’s new choral director. Why not come and join us for a rehearsal, Thursdays 15.00h in the church, as we begin our Easter preparations. We would particularly welcome tenors and basses! Need more information first? Contact Gill on 0553731359 [email protected]

Forever Reliant On God


Lot et Garonne: (47)

Allez DondasDoudracEnvalsMonteton

WE Paddy Atkinson 05 53 94 76 37 CW Peter Walton 05 53 89 63 03 Roger Verrall 05 53 64 08 14 NL Vanda Walton 05 53 89 63 03 PC Chris Train 05 53 64 31 76

West of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

just off the D215, north east of Agen

on D50 between Castillonès and Villeréal.

to the north of Montflanquin.

east of Duras, (notre Dame Parish Church)

March ServicesSunday 4th 11.00 Holy Communion followed by local ACM Doudrac The Chaplain Tuesday 6th 11.30 Holy Communion Allez Revd David JonesSunday 11th 10.30 Morning Prayer Monteton Roger VerrallTuesday 13th 10.30 Memorial Eucharist for Colin Pratt Monteton The ChaplainSunday 18th 10.30 Prayer and Praise for Mothering Sunday Monteton The ChaplainSunday 25th 10.30 Holy Communion for Passion Sunday Monteton Revd C Gordon-Walker

MontetonThe local Annual Centre Meeting is to be held this year at Doudrac on Sunday 4 March, after the usual monthly service of Holy Communion at 11h30. Following the service and before the meeting, there will be a Bring and Share lunch in the Salle des Fetes. The congregation at Doudrac is most kindly providing hot soup, but you are asked to bring a dish, savoury or sweet to share, plus a drink and your own soup mug, glasses, plates and cutlery. Sally Stedman is co-ordinating the food and it would be helpful if you could let her know what you will bring, on 05 53 70 05 49 or at [email protected] the meeting, elections for the Lot et Garonne Local Committee will be taking place. There are several vacancies where members have served their allotted time, including one Local Warden and two Chaplaincy Council Representatives. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting, but you can only be nominated or vote in the election if you are on the Electoral Roll. Further information about vacancies, forms for nomination and indeed forms for being included on the Electoral Roll, can be obtained in church after services and from the current Wardens. This information is also on our Webpages.

The unusually severe weather in our region meant that many of us were snowed-in, with roads to and from our places of worship impassable. Amongst the services that had to be cancelled was the Memorial Eucharist for Colin Pratt on 7 February. This has been re-scheduled for Tuesday 13 March at 10h30 at Monteton, to be followed as before with a Bring and Share Finger Buffet in the Salle des Fetes. So please, if you plan to attend would you bring a plate of either savoury or sweet items which don’t require couverts! The Chaplaincy will be providing wine and soft drinks.

Sadly, we shall soon be losing Gerry and Chris Train who are returning to live in England, and who have played such a major part in the church life of our sector. Chris has relinquished her role as Prayer Chain Co-ordinator for Lot et Garonne and as one of our Chaplaincy Council Representatives. So many of us have benefitted from Chris’ very sensitive and efficient approach to her work with the Prayer Chain, and she will be sorely missed. The new Prayer Co-ordinator for our sector is Helen Raphael, who can be contacted on 05 53 47 78 93 or [email protected]

Our next social event will be the annual visit of the Leeds University Union Swing Band, on Saturday 7 April at 19h00 in the Salle des Fetes at Duras. This could be the last time that the band visit this part of France, so let’s make it a grand effort! There will be plenty of easy-listening music and dancing, and a Raffle. Tickets are on sale now at 10 euros, on the basis that you bring your own picnic and couverts. They can be obtained from Lynne Staunton on 05 56 61 93 07 or [email protected] or from Leslie Eckett on 05 53 93 53 86 or [email protected]

AllezThe next Holy Communion service at Allez will be at 11.30 on Tuesday, 6th March with Rev. David Jones officiating. Chant Allez, will carry on in the capable care of Marilyn Morrow and their anthem at this service will be Mozart’s Ave Verum. The post service lunch is on hold for the moment and if anybody’s got any suggestions on a location nearby


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where we could perhaps organise a bring and share lunch in the better weather, this may be a way of continuing the tradition started by Meryl. We shall all be thinking of her now she has moved to a new home in Wales. She has been such strong driving force and will be very much missed. The established pattern of services will be maintained with Holy Communion on the first Tuesdays of March, June, September and December. It is hoped this year to hold a separate carol service later in December but would like to ask everyone connected with the Allez services as to whether they would like to do this before finally deciding a date.There will be two services in April – a service of meditation and prayer on Good Friday (6th), followed by a celebration of Easter with readings and Easter Carols on the evening of Tuesday 10th, which will be enhanced by the singers of Chant Allez. A note from Paul and Judy Mazzotti: As relative newcomers, we’d welcome any input, advice and suggestions from members of the congregation, particularly those of long standing as to how we may best serve you.

Dondas25 people braved the cold, both inside the church and out, for our first service of Holy Communion this year on Sunday 19 February. It was celebrated by Revd David Jones, whom we were delighted to welcome back from California – he always seems to come here at the most inclement times of year!The next services at Dondas will be Prayers at the Cross on Good Friday, 6 April at 2.00 – 3.00 pm, and Holy Communion on Sunday 15 April at 10.30 am.

DoudracThe next service at Doudrac will be Holy Communion on Sunday 4th March at 11h00, celebrated by the Chaplain and to be followed by a Bring and Share lunch in the Salle des Fetes, before the Lot et Garonne sector Annual Centre Meeting. See the information about this under the Monteton heading, where there is also information about the re-scheduled Memorial Eucharist for our dear friend Colin Pratt.

There is to be a Lent Group in the Doudrac area, meeting weekly throughout Lent and studying the ‘Life Source’ course, as outlined by Paul in last month’s newsletter.The following dates and places are still provisional at the time of going to print, so please check details with the host & hostess beforehand. Wednesday 29th February chez Richard and Liz Morris, Eyrenville. (05 53 58 71 90) Monday 5th March chez Basil and Janet Tarr, Bourgounague (05 53 36 99 74) Thursday 15th March chez Graham and Terry Davison, Moulinet (05 53 70 05 97) Wednesday 21st March chez Marian Evans, Lougratte (05 53 01 63 08) Tuesday 27th March chez George and Elizabeth Vellacott, St Capraise d’Eymet (06 40 50 64 89)We will meet from 12 noon till 2 o’clock and enjoy a light lunch whilst we work!There is no obligation to attend all the sessions, just come along to the ones you can manage. Liz Morris

EnvalsOur service in February had to be cancelled because of the severe weather. The next service at Envals will be on Tuesday 27 May at 11h30, led by Revd Gill Strachan and followed as usual by lunch in the Old School House. Please let Liz and David Rolfe know if you plan to attend, on 05 53 01 78 76

God is in all our tomorrows, getting them ready for us.


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Chancelade and Sorges

(24) Chapelle de Saint Jean, opp. The AbbeyNE of Périgueux Negrondes Church (until May 2012 as Sorges Church closed for repairs)

CW Liz Oaten 05 53 05 42 76 Elizabeth Brook 05 53 52 50 91NL Elizabeth Brook 05 53 52 50 91PC Alexandra Billing 05 53 62 86 11

March servicesChanceladeSunday 18th 10.30 Mothering Sunday Holy Communion Chapel de St Jean Revd Brian Davies.NegrondesSunday 11th 11.00 Family Service Patrick Sturges.Tuesday 27th 11.00 Holy Communion Revd. Dr. Paul Vrolijk This service will be followed by the Annual Centre Meeting for Chancelade / Sorges

Changed Service Dates at NegrondesThe Sorges Centre services are all at Negrondes until further notice, due to renovation work at Sorges church.The Catholic community will be using the church at Negrondes on the first Sunday of each month; so our Family Service will be on the second Sunday of each month until further notice.

NewsWell! What a surprise for the weather. Just when we all had thought that the mildest winter for many years meant we had got off lightly, we were hit by the coldest blast from Siberia, also for many years, which froze everything in its path. The impact included cancelled services, some misery for those unfortunate enough not to have a well stocked freezer, or a stock of cooking and heating gas. On the positive side people’s kindness to assist others less fortunate shone through, and it was a positive plus for any who were well stocked and enjoyed hibernating!! Hopefully we are more or less back to normal.We can look forward to Liz Oaten’s gardening letter next month, after examining any plant damage due to the exceptionally cold weather. I have been informed that the temperatures went as low as -20 C in some places in the Dordogne.

Electoral RoleLin Tarrant is updating the electoral role. If you would like to go on it, off it, or if your email, telephone or address details have changed, please inform Lin and she will make the necessary changes. Tel 05 53 91 26 38 or email [email protected].

Forthcoming EventsHouse GroupHouse Group meets most Thursdays. Phone Elizabeth Brook (Tel 05 53 52 50 91) or Liz Oaten (05 53 05 42 76) for details.Annual Centre MeetingThe Sorges/Chancelade ACM will be held on Tuesday 27th March 2012 after the Negrondes Service. Venue to be advised.Chaplaincy AGMThe Chancelade / Sorges Centre is hosting the 2012 Chaplaincy AGM which will be held at the Negrondes Salle de Fetes by kind permission of the Negrondes Maire on Saturday 21st April 2012. There will be a bring and share lunch.Easter ConcertVariations Choir will be presenting their Easter Concert in the Eglise de St Astier and the Eglise in Riberac on the 13th and 14th April 2012. The concert will include sacred works by Bach and Handel and will feature Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass). This promises to be an outstanding concert – make a note in your Diary!


Dronne Valley Church, Bertric Burée (24): Parish Church, (D708 between

Ribérac and Verteillac)

CW Janis Adams 05 53 91 32 89 Steve Long 05 53 91 96 48NL Di Harris-Evans 05 45 98 05 31PC Sheila Marshall 05 53 90 95 69

March Services Sunday 4 March 10:30 Service of the Word Janis Adams & Richard ShreeveSunday 4 March 16:00 Evensong Sheila MarshallSunday 11 March 10:30 Holy Communion Canon Tim ThompsonWednesday 14 March 11:00 BCP Holy Communion Revd Brian DaviesSunday 18 March 10:30 All Age Worship & Mothering Sunday Sheila Marshall & Janis AdamsSunday 25 March 10:30 Holy Communion, Passion Sunday & ACM Revd Paul VrolijkEveryone is welcome to stay for hospitality after the servicesA Bring and Share lunch will be held after the service on 11th March at the home of John and Marilyn Collins in Le Breuil, near Bonnes south of Aubeterre. For directions or further information please email [email protected].

Committee matters As you will see our ACM is on March 25th after the service. There will a summary of our church’s life during the past year and elections to enable it to continue and develop. Please pray about the committee’s work and for people to take an active part in its life. Talk to others and think about standing yourself on the committee or as a local warden.

Women’s World Day of Prayer Friday 2 March 5.00 pm in the Hospital Chapel, RibéracThis is an Ecumenical service (in English and French) and prepared by the Christian women of Malaysia on the theme ‘Let Justice Prevail’. We shall be sharing the service with our Roman Catholic and Eglise Reformée friends and welcome you all (men, women and children) to come and celebrate this special service of worship and prayer. For further details please contact Sheila Marshall (05 53 90 95 69)

The Prayer Group will be resuming meetings at the church on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month starting on the 7th March. We meet between 5.00 and 6.00 and all are welcome.’

SOCIAL EVENTS - COME DINE WITH ME - So many of you have enjoyed hosting and attending a Come Dine with me event that the committee agreed we should keep it going. If you would like to host then please get planning though it is a good idea to check your planned date with a committee member. It’s easy – you decide the type of event, the number of people, the price and the date. So why not give it a go!!!

Randonnée -The walk for February was cancelled – surprise, surprise!!! However, thank you to Fred for organising a lunch at the restaurant in Bonnes, which many people enjoyed and can be thoroughly recommended. Keith and Ingrid Lowe are leading the next walk on Wednesday 28 March, meeting at Montboyer (Charente) at 10.30, followed by a restaurant lunch. Please contact Keith on 05 45 98 49 45 for further details.

Craft Group - We shall be having another table on 16th May, at a coffee morning to be held at the home of Pam and Mike Duncan to raise money for Christian Aid. In the meantime we are re-furbishing and adding to the seat cushions in church and working on two new wall hangings. More news to follow...

HOME GROUPS:There are a number of existing Groups meeting in the Dronne Valley: Fortnightly on a Tuesday morning near Verteillac, contact Mike Duncan 05 53 91 30 64. On the other Tuesday at Susanna Isaac’s home, near Ribérac, contact Brian Cook on 05 45 98 43 00. Tuesday evenings near Ribérac contact Gwyneth Marison 05 45 24 06 89

Pastoral Care We can provide company, hospital visits, a phone call, a shoulder to cry on and hopefully much more. We really would appreciate being informed of perceived needs so that where possible we can be of help. If you know of anyone who would welcome a visit or call, please ring me (Pam Duncan) on 05 53 91 30 64 or email me at [email protected] so we can arrange for a member of the team to help out.


Bordeaux (33) Chapelle de l’Assomption, 370 bd Président Wilson, (opposite the British Consulate).

CW Pamela Prior 05 56 59 67 34 Christine Rychlewski 05 56 48 18 77 Lindsay Megraud 05 56 96 44 17NL Lindsay Megraud 05 56 96 44 17PC Jerome Rychlewski 05 56 52 98 28

MARCH SERVICESSunday March 4th 10.30 Holy Communion* Revd Bramwell BearcroftSunday March 11th 10.30 Family Communion Revd Bramwell BearcroftSunday March 18th 10.30 Holy Communion* & Local AGM Revd Bramwell BearcroftSunday March 25th 10.30 Family Communion Revd Bramwell Bearcroft

HOLY WEEK SERVICESPalm Sunday April 1st 10.30 Holy Communion* Revd Bramwell BearcroftMaundy Thursday April 5th 18.30 3rd Lent course and shorter Holy Communion Revd Bramwell BearcroftEaster Sunday, April 8th 10.30 Holy Communion followed by an egg hunt Revd Bramwell Bearcroft

*Sunday School and Youth Discussion Group. For information about Sunday School or the Youth Group which is held on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month (except sometimes during school holidays), please contact Kit Seguin (05 57 64 82 41) or Jennifer Bearcroft (05 56 40 05 12).

Lent Course in 3 sessionsWe shall be gathering to focus in Lent on prayer, based on the “Life Source” course (see the February Chaplaincy newsletter or look on the Chaplaincy website). Why not put time aside during this special 40-day period for quiet and prayerful reflection?Session 1 took place on Ash Wednesday but you may still join in on any given session.

Session 2: Friday, March 16th at 7.30 p.m. at the Presbytery and led by Christine RychlewskiSession 3: Maundy Thursday, April 5th at 6.30 p.m. prior to a Holy Communion Service

Choir practice for Easter morningSpend one or two Saturday afternoons in perfect harmony prior to Easter … SATB wanted! A sign-up sheet will be up on the notice board at church or you may contact Richard Hunt or Lindsay Mégraud. There’s a request for instrumentalists too! Experience the joy one experiences in song and praise and the joy one brings to others – as part of the great celebration of Christ’s Resurrection.

Cancer Support France Ribérac’s ‘Drop-in’ centre is open on the 4th Friday of every month from 9am until 12 noon. We look forward to meeting you. Teresa Rekowska - Secretary Cancer Support France Ribéracemail: [email protected] Website: www.cancersupportfrance.info

Seventy people (SEVENTYOFUS), many from the congregations of our Chaplaincy, have kindly agreed to pay £80 to pay for a 4 year university course for a young Rwandan, in his early twenties, Rene Emmanuel Kwizera. We have come to know Rene over the past few years. He lives with his ‘brother’ fellow orphans from genocide, aids and poverty. Extra funds are also needed to subsidise food and rent which have become more difficult for them to find in more recent times.Rwandan Art’s Friends is the group of Rene’s that makes beautiful hand-crafted cards. The cards cost 5 Euros for a set of three. If volunteers would take ten cards, selling three sets making 15 Euros, they would get a card gratis!!! to say ‘thank you’. If many of us did this it would bring in a significant amount. If you cannot sell them all I’ll just have them back. No worries!More information about this, Rene and the boys in general from Ingrid Lowe, [email protected] or tel: 05 45 98 49 45

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The Bishop in Europe’s Lent AppealDuring the Lenten period, a retiring collection will be taken at services in aid of two projects:1) an educational project in South Sudan and 2) the construction of a church and a pastoral centre at the San Andrés Mission north of Lima, in the Diocese of Peru. More detailed information is available in the newsletter. Please give generously. Cheques can be made out to the Chaplaincy’s charity association “Chap-Aid” which will forward the funds to the Diocesan treasurer.

Bordeaux Church Annual Centre MeetingOn Sunday, March 18th immediately following the Holy Communion Service, the Bordeaux Church Annual Centre Meeting will be held. Take time to hear what’s gone on over the past year and express your views on ideas for the future! As always, elections for officers will be held. We ask you to pray about your own gifts and talents and how you might commit yourself to our Church life. Due to Chaplaincy rules, several people will be stepping down after having fulfilled their maximum term. Why not offer to do a job for the year 2012? It’s an enrichening experience and exciting things are happening! Be part of the challenge and the fun.

March Collection for the Foyer Fraternel Gouffrand. The Foyer Fraternel Gouffrand is our church’s local charity this year. In light of the cold weather, we’ll be collecting warm clothes, hats, gloves, and small personal care items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.) which you may leave in the basket labelled as such at the back of the church. With the financial crisis, needs are greater than ever at the moment. He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:17

Ecumenical CornerJournée Mondiale de Prière: March 2nd at 6 p.m. at the Temple de Mérignac (2 rue Chateaubriand, 33700 Mérignac) OR Centre Saint Jean (8 boulevard François Mauriac, 33210 Langon). “Let justice prevail”, prepared by an ecumenical group of women in Malaysia. The World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement which brings Christians of many traditions together to observe a common day of prayer each year. Come and be part of a wonderful combination of learning, praying, and making a joyful noise together.

Farewell & Godspeed to Betsy de BoussacOne of our longest standing and very active congregation members, Betsy de Boussac, is moving to Paris to be closer to one of her daughters. We thank you, Betsy, for the many years of being a pillar of our church family (the Ladies’ Guild, church suppers, sponsored walks, Sunday morning setting up, etc., etc., etc.!) and we wish you the very best in your new surroundings. We’ll miss you and our prayers are with you!

News of Past EventsThe freezing month of February! Snow, ice and cold temperatures early on Sunday, February 5th, warranted the very rare cancellation of the 10.30 service, for safety reasons. So we were doubly pleased that Revd Liz Morris was able to make her way to Bordeaux to lead the Family Communion Service on the 12th. Many thanks, Liz, for a beautiful hour of worship together!Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. During the week, several of our congregation attended vespers at the Romanian Orthodox chapel, an “Hour of Prayer for Unity” led by the Association of Christians Against Torture at a Roman Catholic church, a Greek Orthodox celebration, and a big united celebration at the Temple du Hâ on Jan. 25th. On Saturday, it was our turn and around 50 people, mainly French, including the resident community of Sisters of the Assomption, joined us in the chapel. It was exhilarating to know that our theme: “Changed by the Lord’s victory over evil”, was the focus of worldwide prayer on that day. In addition to the readings and prayer, thanks to a friend of Lindsay’s, we were able to share oplatki wafers in the Polish tradition. Each person received an oplatek and shared it with other people, offering a New Year’s greeting, the Peace of Christ, or giving and receiving forgiveness for past hurts. Led by our wonderful musicians, Jack and Jenny on flutes and Rhian on the harp, we sang in English, French, and Latin – I’m afraid we didn’t manage Polish – concluding with a rousing “A toi la gloire”: “Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son, endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won”. Many thanks to everyone who helped prepare the church and worked hard to serve the “Verre de l’unité” afterwards – always much appreciated by our French friends.


Useful NumbersChaplain: Revd. Dr Paul Vrolijk 05 53 23 40 73 8 Chemin de Garonna, 24240 Sigoules. [email protected]

Assistant Chaplains: Revd. Caroline Gordon-Walker, 05 53 29 36 03La Veille Ferme, 24170 St Germain de Belvès [email protected]. Gillian Strachan 05 53 58 12 58La Gravette, 24150 Bayac [email protected]. Elizabeth Morris 05 53 58 71 90Maison Neuve, Plaisance, 24560 Issigeac [email protected]. Bramwell Bearcroft 05 56 40 05 121 Lotissement de la Caussade, 33270 Floirac [email protected]. Brian Davies 05 53 91 19 90La Petite Maison, Le Bourg Fontaines, 24320 Champagne et Fontaines [email protected]

Clergy with permission to officiate:Revd. David Jones 05 53 94 71 81Le Bourg, 47120 Loubès-Bernac [email protected]

Revd. Ann & Revd. Michael Wooderson 05 53 06 39 7615 rue des Ecoles, 24750 Trélissac [email protected] [email protected]. Canon Tim ThompsonUK: 01526 320 171 FR: 05 53 91 47 21 [email protected]. Stephen Traves [email protected]. John Morgan 05 53 54 18 90 [email protected]

Chaplaincy Wardens:David Tervet 05 53 20 86 69 [email protected] Lord 05 53 31 18 04 [email protected]

Chaplaincy Administration: Amy Owensmith 06 07 04 07 77 [email protected]

Prayer Chain Co-ordinator Madeleine Holmes 05 53 04 85 44 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor: Gill Sweetman 05 53 73 13 59 [email protected]

Neighbouring Chaplaincies: Poitou-Charentes: Revd. Hazel Door [email protected]ées & Aude: Revd Canon Andrew Hawken 05 63 81 87 44 [email protected]

Chaplaincy of Aquitaine: [email protected] website: www.churchinaquitaine.orgChap-Aid Website: www.chap-aid.com

Contributions to the Newsletter are always very welcome and should be received no later than the 20th of the month. Please send to:Gill Sweetman, Champ de Riviere, 24480, Bouillac. e-mail: [email protected]

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In your March issue: - Chaplaincy of Aquitaine

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Transcript of In your March issue: - Chaplaincy of Aquitaine