July 2010
OUr Homemade cake stall was very successful and we would like to say a big thank you to all who made and bought cakes or helped in any way.
Our guest speaker for May, Jenny Hyde, gave a lighthearted talk about bees. Bees, or rather the lack of them, have been much in the media recently. Their declining numbers are a source of concern to fruit growers as the humble honey bee is the most important pollinator and without pollination the fruit (especially apples) would not develop.
Jenny told us that bees have played a part in our lives since the dawn of history. The ancient Egyptians placed honey cake in their tombs to feed their dead in the next world, the Greek gods referred to honey as nectar and in Biblical times the Israelites were promised a land 'flowing with milk and honey'.
Some of our everyday expressions refer to bees, we all know 'busy bee' and 'beeline'. Honeymoon can be traced back centuries when honey was thought to be an aphrodisiac and fed to the bridegroom! Maiden flight refers to the first and only flight made by a queen bee when searching for a new home.
Bees live in communities, each colony has been performed different tasks, guarding the entrance, nest building, brook caretaking, queen caretaking and foragers which are the ones we see most.
As a pure substance honey has many healing properties and is used widely in modern medicine as well as in familiar favourite home remedies. Beeswax is a wax secreted by the bees and when refined used in the preservation and polish of wood. Church candles all contain beeswax and Jenny invited us to try our hand at making beeswax candles.
Our meeting on Monday 21st June will be a Deanery festival when we will be joined by members from Ampthill and Flitwick. There will be a short Eucharist service in church at 7pm followed in the church hall by a talk by the Revd. Janet Ridgeway on he Mothers' Union theme for this year 'Relationship not Rules'.
On Monday 19th July we welcome a returning speaker Janet Stowe who has chosen Cinderella as the title of her talk.
June 2010
Our guest speaker for April, Carol Bond, spoke about the history of the Quakers. Carol is herself a Quaker (a member of the Religious Society of Friends) and belongs to a small group in Luton, other larger groups are established in our neighbouring towns of Bedford and Hitchin.
The Society came into being in the turbulent years of the 1600s when the monarchy, parliament and the church were all in disarray. The King James Bible had been recently printed and the people were finally able to read the Bile in their own language and as a consequence much new thinking and independent groups of worshippers were formed at that time.
Into these troubled times came a young man, George Fox, known as the founder of the Quaker religion, and began his quest to find spiritual truths. He studied the Bible and in silence opened his heart to God. It was here that the 'Quaker Silence' was begun. He came across groups of people that were called 'Seekers' who believed that the word of God was available to all and they began to follow is teachings and tell others about them. George Fox believed things that were radical for the times in which he lived, he believed that both the Catholics and the Protestants had the Christian truth, he believed that God dwelt in men's hearts, not in ornate buildings and that education did not make a man a minister of the gospel. It was when he began to 'know' these things within his own heart that the mysticism of the Quaker groups began. He spent years searching for answers and finally received his answer - spoken within his own heart - that Christ could and would speak to people within their own hearts. He called it the 'Inner Light'. He believed that the Inner Light was in everyone and if they worshipped God in silence they would feel the Inner Light and God would speak to their hearts. They would understand the word of God by the Inner Light.
Today Quakers have meetings rather than regular church services. They sit in silence and wait for the sense of the Inner Light of God to move them and when they sense this they are allowed to speak forth on what they are feeling. At times the entire meeting is spent in silence.
Carol spoke of the great influence of the Quakers particularly at the time of the Industrial Revolution when their beliefs and known principles of fairness and honesty enabled them to prosper in fields such as banking, trade and medicine. Some organisations are still everyday names, eg. Rowntree, Cadbury, Wedgewood, Oxfam, to cite but a few. Such names as Elizabeth Fry for her work amongst women at Newgate Prison and a pioneer of prison reform, William Tuke and his revolutionary compassionate care for the mentally ill and Joseph Lister as the father of antiseptic surgery are among the ma nay that have embraced the Quaker beliefs.
On Monday 17th May Jenny Hyde will give a talk entitled ' Bees - fact and fiction. Our meeting on Monday 21st June will be a Deanery Festival when we hope to welcome members from Ampthill and Flitwick. There will be a short Eucharist Service in the church at 7pm followed in the Church Hall by our speaker the Revd. Janet Ridgeway giving a talk on the Mothers Union theme for the year' Relationship Not Rules'.
May 2010
Our March meeting brought us and a number of visitors a glimpse of blue skies and warm sunshine when our dear friends Shirley and Mick Ogden (on their spring break in the UK) gave up an evening of their precious holiday to come and talk to us about their life and experiences since making their home in Kefalonia some six years ago.
Shirley told us something of the turbulent history of the island and of the many different forces of occupation before being finally and officially united with Greece. Today the island of Kefalonia is a popular tourist destination for the more discerning visitor.
Mick spoke of the natural beauty of the island, set as it is in the deep Ionian sea, and how charmed they both were by the island, the way of life, and its people, after holidaying there. When Mick was made redundant and with the blessing of their close family they made the momentous decision to live on the island permanently. A suitable property was found surprisingly quickly and within a very short space of time they were ensconced in their new home. They live in a village a few miles from the capital Argostoli, the small road boasting a variety of houses all occupied by Greeks. Shirley and Mick have a self contained apartment on the upper storey of their house which some of us have found our way to - a ‘rogues gallery’ was on display for all to see.
Since becoming permanent residents on the island Shirley and Mick have integrated and made friends with the locals and joining up with other like minded ex-pats have banded themselves together socially and embraced the local scene. They have entered floats in the local carnival with some measure of success, and regularly entertain and raise funds for local charities.
We literally enjoyed a taste of Kefalonia with some delicious nibbles and an impromptu exhibition of Greek dancing.
At our meeting on Monday 19th April Carol Bond will speak about the history of the Quakers and on Monday 17th May Jenny Hyde will give a talk entitled ‘Bees - Fact and Fiction’.
April 2010
We began our planned programme for the year in February and were delighted when two new members were enrolled and another formally welcomed to the branch.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Nola McCormick who is a member of a National Committee (one of several regional groupings of countries worldwide) for the Women's World Day of Prayer which was very appropriate timing as the Women's World Day of Prayer is marked on the first Friday in March.
Nola traced the origins of the movement back to the 19th century when Christian women in the USA and Canada initiated a variety of activities in support of women's involvement in mission at home and abroad. The different denominations had their own days and weeks of prayer but it was not long before they joined forces and called for a united day of prayer. Women were involved in mission work both at home and abroad and organised interdenominational structures that were effective and co-operative and in 1926 the women of North America distributed worship service to may countries and partners in mission, the response worldwide was enthusiastic and Women's World Day of Prayer came into being. The first services in the British Isles were held in the 1930s. Roman Catholic women worldwide were not encouraged to play a full part in this day of prayer until 1969 and it was not until as late as 1981 that a service was prepared by women of Ireland from both north and south of the border.
In this respect it was interesting to hear that the symbol for the movement was designed by an Irish man for this service and was adopted as the international logo. The design is made up of arrows converging from the four points of the compass, persons kneeling in prayer, the Celtic cross and the circle, representing the world and unity through all our diversity.
AS a member of our National Committee (part of a regional grouping of countries) Nola was able to tell us that representatives from all the National Committees are invited to the International Committee who sift through suggestions from around the world and draw out common ideas and on this basis theme se are selected. National Committees present suggestions of scripture etc. to support the themes and may offer to write a service. A chosen country does not chose its own theme, a theme is given to them. Hymns are chosen to suit the theme and every effort is made to include one of two submitted by the writing country and to suit various tastes.
When we attend the service this year, we shall be much more aware of this truly unique world wide ecumenical movement of informed prayer and prayerful action.
At our meeting on Monday 15th March we warmly welcome Shirley and Mick Ogden who will give a talk entitled "A taste of Kefalonia" based on their experiences since making their home on the island. On Monday 19th April our guest is Carol Bond who will speak about the history of the Quakers.
March 2010
At our AGM in January we reflected on the activities of the branch during the past year. It was the wish of the members present that the branch continue to be run on their behalf by a corporate committee.
We have again been able to make donations to Mothers' Union charities and this year on recommendation we chose the Overseas Fund and the Relief Fund both of which are in financial difficulties. These donations are based solely on the proceeds of our two fundraising events - a homemade cake stall in May and a Beetle Drive in August - we would ask your support at these two events when they come up later in the year.
Our outreach projects continue quietly in the background. We are encouraged by the Diocese to actively support our local hospitals, in our case the L&D, and we make up toilet bags for patients who are admitted as emergency cases and we also send hand knitted and sewn items to the Neo Natal Baby Unit. Although not a Mothers' Union charity we have for some years had a special interest in the Mission to Seafarers at the Tilbury Seafarers Centre and knit fingerless mittens and round hats for distribution to the crews of ships docking at Tilbury. All these gifts are greatly welcomed and in both instances the demand is of course ongoing.
Our usual monthly meetings commence again on Monday 15th February when Nola McCormick, our speaker for the evening, will take us behind the scenes at the European Conference of the Women's World Day of Prayer which this year is on Friday 5th March.
At our meeting on Monday 15th March we warmly welcome Shirley and Mick Ogden who will give a talk entitled "A taste of Kefalonia" based on their experineces since making their home on the island.
February 2010
The last contribution to Outlook, written by necessity for publishing purposes at the beginning of November, for the bumper two months issue, gave little opportunity to dwell on the important, and sometimes somewhat overshadowed, period of Advent follwed by the great festival of Christmas. These seasons have now passed and the Church year continues following the familiar liturgical calendar.
At the beginning of December we again received an invitation from the Union of Catholic Mothers at St Francis of Assisi to join them and participate in their Advent Candle Service. As in previous years, along with represntatives from various churches and denominations within the Shefford area, we were warmly welcomed and following a short but lovely service, enjoyed a time of fellowship and friendship on this most ecumenical occasion.
In common with other organisations within the village our December meeting was a social evening with a bring and share supper and an exchange of small gifts. We enjoyed listening to David Warner entertaining us on the keyboard and joined in a sing along of familiar Christmas songs and carols.
The January meeting is our AGM and the beginning of a new triennium. Our usual monthly meetings commence again on Monday 15th February with Nola McCormic (our speaker for the evening) who will take us behind the scenes at the European Conference of the Woman's World Day of Prayer which this year will be on Friday 5th March.