March 2005 - Parish News
ST ANDREWS CHURCH
Services & Events during March
Midweek Communions take place monthly at two venues
in Slip End, details from Joy.
Thu
3
8-00pm Footsteps - Family room
Sun 6
10-30am Mothering Sunday with informal communion
Wed 9
10-30am
Pram service
Fri 11
7-00pm
Stewardship Dinner - Peter Edwards Hall
Sun 13
10-30am
Morning Praise
6-15pm
3:16 Meet - Family room
Thu 17
8-00pm Footsteps
- Family room
Fri 18
7-30pm Skateboard Park Meeting--Peter Edwards Hall
Sun 20
10-30am
Palm Sunday Service
12-00pm
APCM
Mon 21*
7-00pm
*During Holy Week on these 3 dates a short service of
Tue 22*
7-00pm
evening prayer will take
place led by the network groups
Wed 23*
7-00pm
Wed 23
10-30am
Pram service - Family room
Thu
24 7-30pm
Maundy Thursday Agape - In Church
Fri 25
12-00pm
Good Friday Service
2-30pm
Woodside Home Service
Sun
27 9-15am
Holy Communion - East Hyde – Easter Day
10-30am Holy Communion - St Andrew's (offering of
Stewardship Pledges) – Easter Day
6-00pm
Songs of Praise - Easter
Day
When I survey the wondrous cross
See from his head, his hands, his feet,
On which the prince of glory died,
sorrow and love, flow mingled down:
My richest gain I count as loss
When did such love and sorrow meet,
And pour contempt on all my pride. 
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Forbid it Lord, that I should boast
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
save in the cross of Christ my God;
that were an offering far too small;
the very things that charm me
most love so amazing, so divine,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
Demands my soul, my life, my all!
MOTHERS UNION
We had a very interesting meeting in February to celebrate Shrove Tuesday (although we had it on the Monday before!) and had some delicious pancakes ably made by Mary Barker. As it was Edie Ham’s 82nd birthday there was also a very tasty birthday cake for Edie and we all wished her a very Happy Birthday as she blew out the candle.
We learnt some interesting facts regarding Lent and also made some Lenten Ladies. Long ago and before Calendars were used French children used to make a paper nun with seven feet to represent the seven weeks of Lent. Once the week had passed, a foot was folded underneath the nun’s gown. The nun does not have a mouth, because French children did not give her one. It was to remind them that Lent was a time of fasting. Another custom associated with Lent, specifically Ash Wednesday is eating pretzels, which have become very popular in recent years.
Mothers Union are always ready to welcome new members – especially younger members. They have been deciding on a programme for 2005 and some of the suggestions are as follows:- The first thing that they will be doing is preparing Mothering Sunday flowers for St Andrew’s Church on Saturday 5th March at St Andrew’s Church in the morning. They will be attending the Good Friday service at Woodside Home next to the Church on the 25th March at 2.30pm. There is a Lady Day service on Monday 4th April at All Saints Church, Shaftesbury Road, Luton at 7.30pm. There will be a Fair Trade Fashion Show at St Augustine’s Church, Luton on the 28th April at 8.00pm. Other suggestions – to include a day out could possibly be to Shuttleworth and the Swiss Garden. A Mothers Union on-going project is the making of ‘Cheer Up Bags’. These are overnight toiletry bags for those in need and consist of essential items such as toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, flannel, soap etc. If anyone has extra supplies of these the Mothers Union will be very pleased to have them.
some of the ladies at the meeting
some Lenten ladies
ALEY GREEN METHODIST CHURCH
Christ through all ages is the same:
Place the same hope in his great name,
With the same faith his word proclaim:
Let love’s unconquerable might
Your scattered companies unite
In service of the Lord of light:
So shall God’s will on earth be done,
New lamps be lit, new tasks begun,
And the whole Church at last be one.
Fourteen of us (Methodist and Church of England) are joining together for Lent meetings. This year Hilary Brand titles the course Christ and the Chocolaterie.
The Aley Green Sunday School have chosen, for their Lent project, to fill smartie tubes for the Tsunami. The adults have chosen to fill their tubes for the ‘Luton Woman’s Refuge’.
Thank you to everyone who came to our February coffee evening. £30 was raised towards Church funds. The next coffee evening is on Wednesday March 2nd from 7.30pm onwards. Bring a friend with you and catch up on news. Coffee and tea is free, home made cakes and preserves for sale. (also second hand books)
Forthcoming events:
Saturday 12th March – 3.30pm Good as New Sale. Suits, dresses, jackets and coats. £1 each. Skirts, trousers., shirts, blouses and tops 40p each or 3 for a £1. Children’s clothes from 10p. Toys, books and house-hold items will also be for sale. Teas to be sold in the lower school room (and home made cakes and preserves). Come along and pick up a bargain.
Sunday March 20th at 11am – Palm Sunday Service with Holy Communion led by Rev Julia Dowding.
Sunday March 27th at 11am – Easter Day. All Age service led by Rev Ken Snoxell.
Future dates:
April 15th, 16th, 17th – Flower Festival
April 17th Sunday – Songs of Praise at 6pm
Wednesday 4th May – A visit to Aley Green Church by Angela Smith from Caddington Hedgehogs.
Happy Easter. With love and prayers from all at Aley Green Methodist Church.
Ann Meader.
WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
The speaker for February was also unable to attend, not a very good start for the New Year but it takes a lot to put a damper on the ladies in the W.I. This month we held a Mock Auction. Watch out Sotheby’s, the W.I. are on the loose! It’s amazing how an article no longer required by one person is just what someone else is delighted with.
Forthcoming Dates……
March 15th Members night (committee rest)
April 19th The price of fish – speaker Mr P Yougman
May 17th Annual Meeting – speaker Martin Pitkeithly
We meet 3rd Tuesday in the month at the Baptist Church Hall, Caddington 7.30 – 10
Would love to see you there, Patricia Crick.
HOUSEPROUD VERSUS HEALTHY!
House proud – you like to have a fresh smell by using floral sprays or air fresheners or
Healthy – you freshen your home by opening windows and using natural scents (lemon juice in a bowl) Chemicals used in air fresheners can make allergy symptoms worse.
House proud – you make your bed as show-house standards even before breakfast.
Healthy – Pull the covers right back to air the bed for the day. Dust mites prefer warm, moist conditions!
House proud – You’ve taken away your curtains and replaced them with smart blinds.
Healthy – Blinds gather dust so if you suffer from allergies, curtains are best that can be taken down and washed.
House proud – Your cooker sparkles and your work-surfaces gleam and floor is always well-polished.
Healthy – If you suffer from headaches or lethargy you may be allergic to modern products. Try old-fashioned remedies such as borax for lino, tiles, kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Bicarbonate of soda for ovens (mix with water to make paste). Smear inside and turn on oven. Should react with fat to form a soapy substance you can then wipe away.
I tried this myself and yes, it does work!
Editor
ALLOTMENT & GARDEN ASSOCIATION
Vegetable Garden
Now is the time to get some early potatoes in and plant out onion sets. Keep an eye on those young peas and protect them with some light twigs to keep the birds off. If the ground is in good working condition, make a small sowing of stump rooting carrots, but choose a sheltered place. Broad bean sowings can start now.
Flower Garden
Plant out rose trees, making the ground very firm around them. Trim herbaceous borders, pinching out weak growth from the perennials, stir and mulch the ground around them. If it was not possible to complete planting out the wallflowers, polyanthus’ and double daisies, there is still time to get on with that now, planting out into their flowering areas.
Fruit Garden
Strawberry runners should be laid for the sprouting ends to take root; cut off the runners which show no new leaf. Late fruiting raspberries should now be cut down to 6 inches, leaving a couple of buds.
Start to thin the earliest grapes; if apple blossom weevil has been troublesome, spay with insecticide. Outdoor peaches and nectarines should be beginning to come into flower and it is a good plan to protect these with netting to keep the birds away. Apple and pear stock that are well established and old fruit trees that were cut back for reworking, can now be grafted.
FRIENDSHIP CLUB
At the committee meeting held in February, members were happy to keep the same committee: they were thanked for all their work during the past year. Our secretary is now Pam King. We will be planning our outings for the coming summer at our next committee meeting.
Thank you to 3 Fathers Christmas and Michael (who looked after (18?) Reindeer and sleighs): they called by all our local hostelries and, remaining worthily sober, coaxed some healthy donations for which we are grateful. We do appreciate all the generous help we get from all of you. Also, thanks to the Council for their gifts last Christmas, the extra biscuits and chocolates were all put to good use; thank you Christine and all the councillors who help with this.
We are planning our special 40th Birthday Party on the 17th March.
BROWNIES
We entertained our families at a concert in February; the first part was “Nursery Rhymes” with solos by Zoë and Courtney, then Lauren played the violin. We all sang “You need hands”, “Grandma” and “Singing in the rain” then four of the girls sang “Daddy wouldn’t buy me a bow-wow”. Rowan played the piano for us and we finished off with some Brownies songs; the last one was “Alice” and the girls made everyone get up and join in to sing., with Victoria playing her recorder.
We all enjoyed ourselves, thanks tp Paula for her Humpty Dumpty and other props!
Brown Owl
SLIP END & DISTRICT ASSOCIATION
Our outing will be held on Saturday 4th June; we are grappling with a slight problem finding a suitable restaurant which can cater for two coaches at any of the destinations we are looking at, but we are on the job and will fix final plans soon, so watch this space. If you would like to come along, see Gillian at the Car Boot Sale at the Village Hall on Easter Monday or if you can’t get there, call her on 723109.
HELP….HELP…..
RECIPE CORNER
With St David’s Day on March 1st here is a recipe for the traditional Welsh Cakes. They are sweet and spicy and very easy to make.
Welsh Cakes
Sieve 225g (8oz) self-raising flour and 5ml (1tsp) mixed spice into a mixing bowl.
Rub in 50g (1¾ oz) each of butter and lard until mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Add 75g (2¾ oz) each of sugar and mixed sultanas and currants.
Add a beaten egg and stir into a dough.
Roll the dough into a thin sheet ½ cm (¼ in) thick and cut out Welsh cakes, 6-7cm (2½ - 2 ¾ in) in diameter.
Heat a griddle or frying pan.
Cook on a medium heat, turning once until golden both sides.
Dust with caster sugar.
Leave to cook and eat – scrumptious.
LAUGHTER
Mary’s parrot was always using bad language, so she asked the vet what she could do to stop it.
“Every time the parrot swears, put him in the freezer for 15 seconds,” said the vet. The next time the parrot uttered a swear word, Mary did as the vet suggested. When she opened the freezer door to let the parrot out he said, “I’m sorry for the bad language I’ve been using. By the way, what did the chicken do?”
The office manager was worried about the employees abusing their allotted break-time. In an effort to clarify her position she posted a sign on the bulletin board: “Starting immediately, your 15 minute breaks are being cut from a half-hour to 20 minutes.”
The dry cleaner very generously gave each customer a free copy of the local daily newspaper. As the new customer thanked the dry cleaner she said, “I hope business grows enough to offset the cost.” He replied, “Oh don’t worry about us, nothing dirties clothes more than newsprint.”
Letters from Famous People
George Bernard Shaw the prolific playwright, cabled the following invitation to Winston Churchill:
“Have reserved two tickets for my first night. Come along and bring a friend, if you have one.” Shaw
To which Churchill replied:
“Impossible to come first night. Will come second night, if you have one.” Churchill
MOTHERING SUNDAY – 6TH MARCH
“A Mother’s Love”
A mother has the special gift of always speaking true.
A mother gets the praise or blame if skies
be dark or blue.
A mother is a doctor, a joiner and a vet,
the jobs a mother cannot do have not
been heard of yet.
A mother is a power all wise a tyrant
or a saint,
an oracle, a paragon, with smart ideas
or quaint.
Whatever else she may be, a mother
knows full well,
a house can never be a home without
her magic spell.
A mother is……
Someone who cares when others care less;
Someone who encourages when
others ridicule;
Someone who defends when
others condemn;
Someone with impatience when others
fail to notice;
Someone who gives security in a world
of insecurity;
Someone who is accepting when
others reject.
A mother is a friend for all time, to
cherish and protect,
As her achievements will linger
for generations.
To Mother
For childhood’s golden memories
For happy bygone years
The comfort of your presence
In days of joy or tears
For all your love upon life’s way
I thank you from my heart this day.
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