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Totnes & Bridgetown Parish Magazine,

March 2017 £1.00

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ABOVE: Bishop Sarah at the Riding for the Disabled Centre, Buckfastleigh, during her

recent visit to the Totnes Deanery. (Photo by Jane Mountford; cartoon by Thelwell)

COVER PHOTO: The River Dart near Spitchwick Common.

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5 MAR

Lent 1

12 MAR

Lent 2

19 MAR

Lent 3

26 MAR

Mothering Sunday

2 April

Passion Sunday

DP JO/SJ JO DP/SJ DP TOTNES 8.00

JL SJ HC x Ext

JL TG Family Ser-

vice

JL BRIDGE-TOWN

9.30

JO/SJ JO JO JO JO/SJ TOTNES

11.15

Compline

JO

Evensong

JO

Compline JO/SJ

TOTNES

6.30

Sacred Space DP

DP Wild Church

BRIDGE-TOWN

630

SUNDAY SERVICES

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Being a Mum, the most Important job in the World! Suddenly, often a long struggle for a

very short journey, a small baby is

put in our arms. She or he is usually

covered with body fluids and a bit of

blood, but with a sigh of relief and joy

we welcome

our new child

into life, and

the big wide

world. Thereby

starts the most

important job

in the world a

parent will ev-

er have, yet

with no train-

ing,- bringing

up their pre-

cious babe to

cope with life's

trials, to make

something special of their lives, to

survive financially, and to take their

place in their family and in the com-

munity . Each milestone is so pre-

cious, the first smile, first steps start-

ing school, graduating, getting wed...

Through their lives children need en-

couragement and love and support

through the challenging times.

Spending time with our children is the

most important investment we can

ever make, more so than expensive

toys or fancy trips out. A walk in na-

ture, play in the park ( Phones off

please! ) or family time at home,

meals and stories together, are the

best presents we can ever give our

kids. We parents are interpreters of

the world, explaining and celebrating

creation's mysteries. The Holy family

Mary and Joseph had their fair share

of trails pro-

tecting Jesus

from danger

as a babe.

Joseph taught

their son skills

of carpentry

and Mary the

wonder of na-

ture with the

value of pray-

er. Being a

Mum never

finishes - a

grandmother,

role is more

relax., great fun and excitingly special

to see the grandchildren grow up

wise and strong, So on this Mothering

Sunday spent time as a family if you

can or with another family, in love

and celebration, remembering you

are doing the Most important job in

the world ! BEING A MUM!

Joy Hanson

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I don’t know

about you

but I’ve

been thirsty

for the

Spring to

arrive this

year. Daily

dog walking

around local

lanes has

allowed me to catch repeated, prom-

ising glimpses of those small season-

al shifts: unfurling January snow-

drops; pussy willow about to burst out

of brown casing;

budding Febru-

ary daffodils &

primroses. Na-

ture will no doubt,

soon, be in full March throttle and the

lengthening daylight will be even

more evident. At this time of year,

whatever our circumstances, it can

feel good to be alive! That’s some-

thing to celebrate.

Perhaps like you, I also have cause

to celebrate that I live in such a com-

munity as this. A little while ago, I fell

over in Totnes High Street. I think I

must have tripped on the pavement;

fallen down the kerb and ended up,

stretched out, in the road, my glasses

partially broken. How ungainly…how

embarrassing…how unexpected…I

haven’t fallen over for a long time.

One forgets all that childhood prac-

tice from playground days.

Thank you to the good Samaritans

who stopped; made me lie still while

the damage was assessed; helped

me up; escorted me to my optician’s

and even offered me a lift back to

Dartington if I needed it. Hurrah for all

who contribute to the common good!

The Welsh in our midst, together with

the Ashprington congregation, will no

doubt be celebrating St David’s day

at the beginning of this month. This

year, that particular date in the

Church’s calendar also marks the

beginning of Lent -

Ash Wednesday:

an austere name

for an austere

season? Maybe..

and maybe not. You may know Lent

is an old English word which means

Spring. In an earlier era, it was the

time of preparation for those being

baptised at Easter. Later, its 40 days

were, of course, identified with the

period Jesus spent in the wilderness

before his short, earthly ministry be-

gan. So for some, it is a time of self-

denial and soul-searching: an oppor-

tunity to have a spiritual spring clean.

Not very celebratory in flavour then,

given, historically, people would have

eaten up the last of the rich foods like

eggs on Shrove Tuesday?

Looking at it another way, though,

here is a period, in a season of bur-

Something to Celebrate!

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geoning natural growth. to discover

our own metaphorical growth points;

to exercise our freedom to be who &

what we are intended to be.

Within the Team, there are the usual

corporate seed beds for growth –

among others: supporting the Messy

Church community; building relation-

ship through ‘Table Talk’, house

groups & toddler group; shared

lunches & coffees…new shoots like

the Marldon Church youth group &

the Ashprington community choir.

In the coming month, other opportuni-

ties include:

The Lent Course, based on Ro-

wan Williams’ book ‘Being

Christian’, at Totnes Rectory

on 7/3, 14/3, 21/3, 4/4, 11/4:

please contact Revd Julian

Ould 865615

‘Exploring Ceremonies’ session 2

of the ‘Exploring our Faith’

course, 10-11.30am on 25th

March at St John’s, Bridge-

town: do pick up a leaflet or

email jul-

ian@totnesrectory.co.uk

A Quiet Day ‘Streams in the

Desert’ on 29th March 10-4 at

St John’s Bridgetown: email

totnesteamad-

min@googlemail.com or con-

tact Richard Frost 865196

So why not allow Lent 2017 to be a

time to grow your faith, our faith, that

bit more, releasing further seeds of

hope & human flourishing into our

communities? That would be some-

thing to celebrate, indeed.

Revd Jane Frost

FIRST AID COURSE

for members of St Mary’s and St

John’s

WEDNESDAY 5th APRIL

St John’s Church, Bridgetown

9.30am—3.30 pm

Please contact Carolyn Stilwell

01803 863030

cas273@yahoo.co.uk

Cost per person: £25.00

If you are able, a voluntary contribu-

tion towards the cost would be very

much appreciated. We will confirm

your place as soon as possible but

please bear with us as, if we have a

lot of interest, you will appreciate we

will need to ensure an even spread of

attendees from both churches.

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Inheritance Tax and the new changes being intro-duced in April 2017 The residence nil rate band which

comes into effect from April this year

should slow down the increasing

number of families paying Inheritance

Tax as a result of rising house prices.

Currently, Inheritance Tax is charged

at 40% on all that you own over

£325,000. As your estate can pass

tax free to your spouse or civil part-

ner, there is a combined joint allow-

ance of £650,000 available to reduce

inheritance tax payable. From April,

the Government is introducing an

additional tax-free allowance for peo-

ple who own a home, the residence

nil rate band. It will be phased in over

the next 4 years and by 2020/2021

tax year will be worth an additional

£175,000 per person. The existing

allowance of £325,000 combined with

the additional £175,000 means an

allowance for property owners of

£500,000 — or £ lm for couples.

An estate will be entitled to the new

allowance if the individual:

· dies on or after 6 April 2017

· owns a home or a share of one

· direct descendants such as children

or grandchildren inherit the home, or

a share of it; and

· the value of the estate doesn't ex-

ceed £2 million.

It is important that you seek legal ad-

vice to see just how the new rules will

affect you and to ensure that you are

utilising your assets in the most tax

efficient way. If you have assets that

attract business property relief and

agricultural property relief they will

count towards the new residence nil

rate band allowance, and you may

need to look at other ways to reduce

the amount of Inheritance Tax your

estate will pay. If your assets include

lump sum death benefits from pen-

sions, employer's schemes or life

assurance policies they may need to

be brought into the estate to ensure

that full advantage is taken of the

new rules.

If your Wills were drafted to mitigate

potential care home fees or Inher-

itance Tax using a Trust it may now

prevent your estate from fully using

the new allowance. Unfortunately,

many people leave it too late to look

at Inheritance Tax planning, the earli-

er we plan for it the better. It is about

more than just Inheritance Tax. It is

about making sure the people left

behind are financially supported, that

your assets are protected, and that

the tax your estate pays is fair.

If you would like any Inheritance Tax

advice, please contact Rebecca

Bristow on 01548 288008 or at

rbastartpointlaw.co.uk

(See Startpoint Law advertisement on

page 3.)

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"WHAT is truth? said jesting

Pilate, and would not stay for an an-

swer," opens the famous essay by

Francis Bacon On Truth. Lent pre-

pares us to recall the significance of

the death on the first Good Friday of

the One Who proclaimed I am the

way the truth and the life (John 14:6).

The artist Goya completed his Disas-

ters of War with this etching to por-

tray the burial of truth among dying

bodies and even Justice covering her

eyes while trying to keep the scales

in her grasp.

We live in an age when truth can no

longer be taken as absolute. 'All truth

is partial' says the philosopher White-

head. In a postmodern age even sci-

entific truth is only relative for no sci-

entific model is perfect. This is sci-

ence catching up with faith which has

long known we 'only see through a

glass darkly' (1 Cor 13:12). Politics

too has been exposed with its fake

news and alternative facts. President

Trump claims more people watched

his inauguration (right) than that of

his predecessor (left).

But it's not possible to tell how many

people are watching world wide on

TV and live streamed social media.

This contrasts simple local truth with

globalised post-truth where facts are

open ended and not conclusive but

may even exist in the alternative.

There has always been a thin line

between doctrine and dogmatism, so

how do we know what is true? The

fundamentalist in any field of

knowledge believes "there is only one

truth and I've got it." If truth is now

subjective, has the adjective 'true'

therefore now no meaning? Yes, it

has even more meaning for the sub-

ject of absolute truth is a person, God

himself. True' indicates the direction

towards God. 'False' is otherwise.

Pilate already had his answer. God

often answers before we ask. Truth

was standing there before Pilate.

[to be continued: Was the Resurrec-

tion false news?]

Michael Heather

SACRED SPACE

The next Sacred Space at St John's

Church , Bridgetown , will be on Sunday

March 5th 6.30 - 7.15 p.m.

The theme is "We are family ~ A new

community?"

We will be reflecting on Jesus`s under-

standing of family/community. As part

of the evening there will be a led guid-

ed healing meditation in which you will

have the opportunity to bring compas-

sion and love to yourself, your family,

friends, community and wider world.

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It’s just a thought.

Hello again, do you listen to the

news? I do, but it’ seems to be either

about money and the economy or

don’t get old because we can’t look

after you! So it’s mostly bad news.

This month the church is into Lent

and penitence and purple, fasting and

forget the flow-

ers. It’s all to do

with the bad

news that hu-

man nature is

sinful and that

we need to be-

come a bit more

Holy by giving

up the choco-

late or the alco-

hol or some

thing else we like.

To talk about sin, however, is not a

very popular subject these days, alt-

hough I once heard an evangelical

preacher call his congregation a lot of

smelly beggars!

This sort of sin/salvation preaching is

usually based on the ancient church

teaching that all mankind is born in

sin inherited from the fallen Adam. It’s

called ‘original sin’.

One definition of sin is that of

‘missing the mark’, which reminds me

of a time when I was a young man

and walking with my girl-friend

around a fair ground. To suitably im-

press this sweet young maiden I

chose to have a go on the rifle range

and shoot the clay pipes down as

they passed slowly along. Now these

targets were not a mile away so I

took careful aim and pulled the trig-

ger. To my complete surprise I saw

the stall holder duck and a little teddy

bear fall off a

shelf! Yes I had

‘missed the

mark’ alright. I

blamed the gun,

of course.

What is so pes-

simistic about

the doctrine of

original sin is

that we are

locked into always ‘missing the mark’,

which has led many a soul to think of

themselves as weak and worthless.

In contrast, when people met our

Lord he saw in them the potential to

live a good and useful life. But if we

always see ourselves as ‘miserable

sinners’ we are forgetting what we

can be.

However, since the Enlightenment,

the doctrine that we are all doomed to

‘miss the mark’ and offend a Holy

God has lost its theological populari-

ty. This is not to say all is well in the

world for mankind has made a real

mess of some of it.

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I think the reason for this is that God

has given us the freedom to choose

what is good or what is not. And be-

cause self interest is a powerful ele-

ment in our human make up, we do

not always choose well.

I know, from my own life, that there

will always be room for improvement.

Even now, in my old age, I have to

keep trying!

So what do I think? Well I do not be-

lieve that we are totally bad, and per-

haps it would be a good thing to re-

member during this time of Lent the

gifts and talents that God has given

to each of us, and to seek how to use

them to make this world a better

place in which to live.

We may not feel we are making much

difference, but a helping hand for

someone in need is better than just

hiding the chocolate behind the clock

or putting the alcohol out of sight,

(You might forget where you put it).

Now I am not saying a bit of self deni-

al is not sometimes a good thing, but

in our modern world my hope is that if

we do give up things for Lent it will

lead to a new desire to give to others

that which God has graciously given

to us – love and compassion, kind-

ness and comfort.

Well it’s just a thought.

Revd Cliff Berdinner

The Vicar of Goodrington Gary Deighton …is to spend the whole of Lent sleeping rough to raise awareness of homelessness and rough sleeping, and to raise money for charity. He said of his six week chal-lenge: “Homelessness kills: average life expectancy in the UK is now over 80 - but if you sleep rough it's 42. Homelessness cuts away at our most basic human needs of shelter, food and safety and we need to keep awareness of that on the agenda.” For details and to sponsor Gary call him on 01803 843038 or email fr.gary@outlook.com

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For information about Traidcraft products(mentioned below) please contact Julian Hall on 01803 867537 or email: jachall027@gmail.com

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The secret of having joy

‘In thy presence is fulness of joy.’

Psalm 16:11

The word happiness comes from

the old English word happ, which

means ‘chance’. It corresponds to

the Latin word fortuna, which

means ‘luck’. Both words suggest

that when things happen the way

we want them to we’re happy, and

when they don’t we’re unhappy. But

such happiness is temporary and

fickle; true joy is permanent and

settled. Some Christians are so se-

rious and solemn they’d lead you to

believe God cringes at laughter and

hates anything that smacks of joy

and delight. The psalmist wrote, ‘In

thy presence is fulness of joy.’ C. S.

Lewis observed, ‘Joy is the serious

business of heaven.’ The truth is,

the Bible is one of the most joy-

filled books ever written. The words

joy and joyful are found there at

least245 times. The word rejoice

shows up around 150 times, and

we’re instructed to be joyful and

rejoice nearly 400 times! That

means joy isn’t an emotion, it’s an

attitude. An emotion can’t be com-

manded; no one can tell you to feel

happy if you’re not. But you can

choose to be joyful regardless of

your circumstances. And neither is

joy a commodity that can be

bought. Many people find out too

late that money can’t buy happi-

ness, much less joy. It’s been said

that the poor are better off than the

rich, because while the poor keep

thinking money will buy happiness,

the rich know better. Trying to find

happiness and joy in materialism is

like drinking salt water: the more

you drink, the thirstier you get. The

secret to lasting joy is in realising

that you’re unconditionally loved,

valued, and accepted by God.

From UCB's Word for Today, a free

publication available in both our

churches and throughout the UK.

Web www.ucb.co.uk

ANTHONY STILWELL RESTORATIONS

Antique and modern furniture restored and repaired

French polishing undertaken

Tel : 01803 863030

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Advertising charges

Totnes & Bridgetown Parish Magazine

Based on A5 pages, 12 monthly insertions

Full page

Half page

Third of page

Quarter page

Sixth of page

Black & white / greyscale (inner pages) 96.00 48.00 32.00 24.00 16.00

Colour (back page only) 240.00 120.00 80.00 60.00 40.00

Circulation: 100 printed copies + approx. 220 sent via

email.

Contact Mr Julian Hall email:

jachall027@gmail.com Tel. 01803

867537

When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten. And when he lets out his breath again, somewhere there's a tornado.

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Team Rector, The Reverend Prebendary Julian C OuId 01803 865615, The Reverend Debbie Parsons, Team Vicar 01803 840113

Licensed Reader/Safeguarding Officer Liz Waterson 01803 849345, (Childline 0800 1111) The Reverend John Luscombe 01803 864514, jnluscombe@btinternet.com

Licensed Reader, Tony Gregg 01803 813885,

Support Group: This group is open to anyone who is suffering from bereavement or any other kind of loss. For full details contact

TIMES OF SUNDAY SERVICES

St Mary's Totnes

8.00 am ..

11.15 am ..

6.30 pm Alternate 1st Sunday

6.30 pm 3rd Sunday

St John's, Bridgetown 9.30 am ..

Eucharist

Sung Eucharist

Compline

Sung Evensong

Family Communion

TIMES OF WEEKDAY SERVICES—St Mary's, Totnes

7.45 am Tues, Thurs Early morning prayers 8.30 am Fri, Sat .. Morning Prayer 10.30 am 2nd & 4th Wed .. Eucharist

Major Saints' Days

9.00 am at St Mary's Eucharist

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Submissions for the next Newsletter by 20th of the previous month please.

Churchwardens

Martin Harvey

01803

868336

harvey@ martin375.orangehome.co.uk

Julian Hall 01803

867537

jachall027@gmail.com

Deputy Churchwarden

John Derbyshire 07932

019301

johnderbyshire74@gmail.com

St Mary's Totnes

David Shearer, Verger

01803

862252

davidvshearer@aol.com

Jan Dietz, Director of Music 01803

770515

jandietz@hotmail.co.uk

Jane Mountford, St Mary's bookings 01803

862499

jane.mountford@googlemail.com

Jenny Griffin, Church Hall bookings 01803

865685

St John's, Bridgetown

The Reverend John Luscombe

Contact details on previous page

Liz Chandler, Organist 01803

669199

St John’s bookings

K Courtice, Team Administrator

01803

865615

Misc.

Brian Herrington, Weekly envelope

and Gift Aid recorder

01803

864804 basherbrian@googlemail.com

Rev’d Cliff Berdinner (Retired) 01803

840730

cliffberdinner@gmail.com

Jane Mountford, weekly newsletter 01803

862499 jane.mountford@googlemail.com

Julian Hall, monthly magazine 01803

867537 jachall027@gmail.com

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