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Dear Friends

My beech hedge is finally fully in leaf. Along our country lanes, the may and cow parsley meet in the middle as the one bursts up like so much champagne and the other bows down under such a weight of blossom. This signals the end of religious high days and holidays for this year and the beginning of all the secular village occasions, yet the same people are involved in both. This is as it should be. Church is about celebration, just as fetes and fayres are. Both are there to be experienced and indeed enjoyed, and in the process our relationships with each other are deepened. It could be argued it is this which distinguishes village life from a town life style. The next major religious festival in the church’s calendar is Advent; I’ll move swiftly on from that, for it seems as if we are wishing our lives away.

Leafield fete this year was a particularly great success,, as three of the village groups worked so hard together to achieve all that they did. The Green in Leafield is such a wonderful and picturesque venue for a fete. I’m sure that had I been a visitor passing through, I certainly would have stopped. Soon it will be the turn of both Ramsden and Finstock. If you see the odd purchase turning up in a different village it shows that we are working together and helping each other.

This is particularly so with regard to the building projects. In each of the parishes people are working really hard and using the skills of local residents. Mentioning no names., I was delighted that one young member of the community whose wedding I presided at last year said to me, “Jane, you did a good job for me last year, I’ll do the same for you” and subsequently installed the kitchen in Finstock.

We’re all very excited that the Bishop will be coming to open the new facilities on 12^th June. Every one is welcome, and if you haven’t seen it yet, go and have a look. The church looks light, airy and very spacious. On June 11th there is a lovely concert in the church. On July 3^rd we are holding the benefice baptism party in Finstock Upper Room, so watch out for the invitations dropping on your doormat, if you have been baptised in the last five years.

Although I was unable to be present, I am reliably informed that the fund raising concert at Wilcote was a great success. Our thanks go to Mrs Day Whitelegge for all her hard work in organising it. Everyone loves the little church in Wilcote and now the work has begun. We look forward to its completion and another celebration concert.

Plans are now well advanced in Ramsden and as soon as the faculty has been granted by the diocese we will be going ahead.

The Leafield project is also well under way. Because it is such a notable church in the county and one of the most important early 19th century English churches, it is necessary for the various historical bodies to agree to the plans, so they have to visit. The plans are drawn up, the visits have been made, so on we go.

You may wonder why all this money is spent on buildings, when there are so many starving and so many good causes to give to. The reason is this. If you believe in the future of the church in our villages then, the buildings in which the people meet have to be suitable. The church cannot exist if it only functions on a Sunday. The buildings will fall down if they are not used, loved and cared for. Our buildings are a great heritage. They are there for use by the community for worship, celebration, exhibitions concerts , coffee and teas - and for any other use that the community might want.

This is not an original idea. Not only are most country churches embarking on such schemes but if we go back to the middle ages , churches were the centre of their communities, used not just for worship but also for banquets and even markets. We don’t intend to do that, but we do intend that all those using our churches will be warm, that they will be able be to wash their hands, that they will have the facilities which they expect in all public buildings.

Everyone is a bit afraid of change, but just think of what happens to a pond with no life or a river with no flow of water, or the Dead Sea or the Aral Sea.

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it in abundance. That is what we are working for.

The Vicar’s Walk.

We had a lovely time and what a beautiful day; Whitsun at its best. The day of Pentecost, the day when the church was born;. the day when the disciples were commanded to go out and tell the world , and so we did.

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From the Registers:

Weddings:

Thomas Christopher James Sharman and Ellen Chandler

Leafield, May 7

We pray for God’s blessing on Thomas and Ella as they begin their married life together

Funerals:

Stanley George Pickett

Ramsden (late of Leafield), May 22

We entrust Stanley to God’s gracious goodness and we pray that God will comfort all those who mourn

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Local News

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Ramsden PCC plans to provide less challenging access to St James’ Church, in response to the needs of parishioners and to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Formal consent has been given by diocesan authorities and by the West Oxfordshire District Council for the proposed alterations to the churchyard. Further detailed preparation and applications for submission are needed. Plans for the project will remain on display in the church.

To construct of a new path across the churchyard and a much-needed wheelchair ramp, it will be necessary to move a small number of gravestones, all of which are over 100 years old. The stones likely to be affected bear the family names of Shepherd, Collins, Newman and Lainchbury. The churchwardens would like to hear from any descendant who may have concerns.

There being no objections, the stones will be re-erected against the neighbouring wall of the church with all due care and dignity before any contractors enter the site.

Mike Deans

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Leafield School News

With all the holidays we seem to have had recently there is little to report, but perhaps that is because the children have all been very busy preparing for and doing their various tests and of course SATS. Key Stage 2 did a lovely performance of The Owl and the Pussycat which was much enjoyed by all who came to see it, and the school is preparing for a major performance of Annie which will be held in July – watch this space and the school notice board for details of dates and tickets.

After the Easter break we welcomed Miss Bevan as an extra Teaching Assistant to help support our Foundation children. There were quite a few applicants for the position and after interviews it was a unanimous decision to appoint Carrie who will be another valuable asset to our excellent team of staff here at Leafield.

Cycling proficiency will again be under way early in June. We are very grateful to the parents who kindly volunteer to run this, together with a cycling programme which year 5 and 6 will be taking part in. Swimming continues with all the children making great progress. The village fete was a success, we were lucky with the weather, and all the children and parents who took part had a great time helping to raise valuable funds for the school, church and playgroup.

For any further information please contact the school secretary Mrs Deb Brown (878 273).

CURATE’S CORNER

It occurred to me recently that I should explain why it is that you sometimes don’t see me in the benefice when you would expect to. As you all know, I do work as a practice nurse in Witney almost full time, during weekdays. Tuesday is generally my day off, and I try to spend it working as a curate. Jane and I usually do the school assemblies on that day. I always aim to do some visits, and then whatever else Jane has planned for me. If there are things happening during the week, I can sometimes swap a shift with my very supportive colleagues, although of course time off is not guaranteed.

As far as Sundays go, I am usually available for all the services. However, I have to attend ongoing training days over the next three years, usually one every 6-8 weeks. These are always held on Sundays to cater for those curates who, like me, have full time work. Recently I had to go away for the whole weekend to an interesting ‘Curates Conference’, which took me out of the benefice.

Oh, and one last thing! I am supposed to have one Sunday off each month, in order that the “all work and no play” doesn’t make Sarah a very dull girl! So far I have chosen not to take those days very often, because I’m enjoying being with you instead. However, I do have to be a little careful with time management, and the Bishop is keen that we stick to our time off. So, if you wonder where I am….now you know!

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Out of the Mouths

We had our annual Pet Service on May 21 at Leafield and one of the things children learn from their pets is how to love. Pets can teach us so much about life and death:

"The vicar’s small daughter was seen burying a dead bird in the garden; ‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and into the hole he goes. Amen.’"

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An Oasis of Peace in a Land of Conflict

Neve Shalom – Wahat al-Salam is a village of about 50 families, lying between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It was founded by a Christian, Bruno Hussar, in 1970 but is now run jointly by Jews and Palestinian Arabs, all of Israeli citizenship. The ideals of the ‘Peace Village’ are: mutual respect and understanding between races, religions and secular people; equality; and peacemaking at the grassroots. Education from the nursery onwards is fully integrated and involves parents. Teaching is in Arabic and Hebrew. There are institutions like the School for Peace to enable Arab-Jewish encounter, for example through residential workshops. A Pluralistic Spiritual Centre stands in memory of Fr Hussar. There are guesthouse and conference facilities.

Canon Andrew White, Vicar of Baghdad, gave a glowing endorsement of the work of the Peace Village when he spoke in Oxford on May 12 about his work in the Middle East. He has been a trusted negotiator among spiritual and secular leaders of all kinds during troubled times.

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Dates For Your Diary

June 12 Bishop’s Blessing of newly refurbished Holy Trinity Church, Finstock

2 30 pm. All welcome

July 9 End of WW2 Celebration Service in Christ Church Cathedral

July 10 (Official date set by Government to mark the VE and VJ anniversaries.)

10 30pm VE & VJ Service, Ramsden

Street Party, Leafield

July 15 ‘Music for a Summer Evening’ Finstock Village Hall

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In our four parishes: 

The Associate Priest is the Rev Dr Brian Ford (Brian)
01993 868343
Email: brian.ford9@btinternet.com 

The Church Newsletter is published at the beginning of each month except January and August.

Contributions by the 20^th of the month please to the editor: 
Jeanette Cayley,
 Oakleigh Cottage, 
The Green, 
Leafield OX29 0NP 
01993 878 893