Latest News

In Latest News you can find details of various aspects of our church life and do keep an eye on the Upcoming Events calendar.

Good Friday Walk

 

Now an annual event, Jeff Parr will be leading our Good Friday Walk around the Withamside churches on the morning of Friday 29th March, this year starting and ending at St Michael’s church, Bassingham.

Everyone is welcome to join in, either to complete the whole circuit from the start or just a section joining the group from any of the churches along the way.  And four-legged friends are welcome to join in, too!! Light refreshments to sustain us will be available at churches en route.  (Please note: there are no loos at All Saints, Stapleford).

The itinerary is as follows, but please note timings are approximate depending on individual walking speeds, so if you are joining at a church along the route please arrive in good time. Churches will be open well ahead of planned arrival times:

Assemble at St Michael’s and All Angels, Bassingham church gates at 9.00 to 9.15am.

We will then walk across the fields to Clay Lane and down to Norton Disney and

St Peter’s church.  That should take around 25 minutes.

After a short break of 10 minutes or so, we will then go to All Saints Church, Stapleford,

arriving there about 9.40- 9.55am

We will leave Stapleford church at around 9.45 to 10.10am and walk to Carlton le Moorland and St Mary’s church.  We should reach there at around 10.35 to 10.45am.

We will stop for another short break and then leave at about 11am to walk to Bassingham church, arriving there at around 11.30am.

The walk normally includes all 6 churches, but this year, due to the closure of the road into Witham St Hughes from the A46, the road between Haddington and Thurlby has become much too busy for us to safely walk that stretch of road, so unfortunately this year we will not include St Peters, Aubourn or St Germain’s, Thurlby.

Last Hour of the Cross will still be held at St Germain’s, Thurlby at 2pm.

 

Tracy & Michael will be leaving Green’s shop on April 3rd

 
It would be nice to have a collection for them as they have done so much for the local community during and after Covid. We are putting a card at the back of St Michael’s church for people to sign.
The church is open every day.
 
If you would like to make a donation towards a leaving gift, this can be given to any of our church wardens.

ST MICHAEL’S CHURCH, BASSINGHAM
COFFEE MORNINGS
IN AID OF THE WITHAMSIDE PARISH

Come and enjoy a Cuppa and a Chat

Come and enjoy a friendly social occasion with

Coffee/Tea, cakes,and a raffle.

ST MICHAEL’S CHURCH, BASSINGHAM

SATURDAY 6th April 2024

10-30 until 11-30 a.m.

Your Hosts Bassingham

St MICHAEL’S CHURCH SPRING CLEAN

We need to clean St Michael’s Church before Easter. It is a large building so many hands make light work!

If you would like to help with cleaning St Michael’s, the following is a list of the main areas that need to be done. You can clean the area you have volunteered to do at any time.

So, if you are able to help could you please tell me when you will be going so that I can create a rota. Please email me to let me know if, when and which areas you could help with.

Thank you.
John

Email address: j.w.rowland@btinternet.com

 

AREA   NAME WHEN
Glory Hole, Porch,  John Rowland
Children’s Area and back of Church
Bell Tower
 John Rowland
Nave Aisle Windows
South Aisle Windows
Kitchen area
Vestry
North Aisle
South Aisle
Toilet
Pulpit Area and area round electric piano and font
Chancel and Altar area
Pews
All Brasses

HISTORIC TABLE GIFTED TO  ST. MARY’S CHURCH

A table, made using timber from the old Carlton Le Moorland wind powered mill, has been donated to St. Mary’s Church by a local resident, Mrs. Joyce Close. The table has been placed in the entrance area and will be used to display church notices, the visitors’ book, church guides and other information.

The mill was an open trestle post mill. It was built in 1822 and collapsed in 1923. It was demolished in 1951.

We are very grateful for this gift, especially as it has connections with a local resident and the history of our village. Thank you, Joyce.

 

TEA AND CAKES ON SUNDAYS THROUGH JULY AND AUGUST

Tea and cakes will be served every Sunday from 2.00 to 4.00 p.m. in JULY AND AUGUST at St. Mary’s. If the weather is fine you will be able to sit outside. If the weather is not kind to us we will still serve teas in the church!

This will be a great place to meet friends for a chat and a “cuppa”. It will also be a good stopping off point for walkers and cyclists. (A toilet is available and cold water to replenish water bottles!)

 You are guaranteed a warm welcome from those who will be waiting to serve you!

DON’T FORGET OUR CHURCH IS OPEN FOR YOU EVERY DAY.

 You are very welcome to go in and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this ancient and beautiful church.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS NOT TO BE MISSED IN 2024!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY.

    • MONDAY AUGUST 26th (SUMMER BANK HOLIDAY). 2.00 P.M. AT CARLTON LE MOORLAND VILLAGE HALL.

THE SUPERB “STAMFORD STOMPERS JAZZ BAND” RETURN BY POPULAR REQUEST!

BBQ, PIMMS AND PROSECCO AND BAR.

OUTSIDE, IF FINE! More details regarding ticket sales in forthcoming magazine notices.

    • SATURDAY 16th  7.00 P.M. AT ST. MARY’S CHURCH.

A TREMENDOUS LOCAL, LINCOLNSHIRE BAND – “CROSSING THE TRACKS” FOLK, COUNTRY, BLUES AND ROCK.

Something for everybody. A great evening for you to dance and sing along to! (LOOK FOR THEIR WEBSITE.)

DETAILS NEARER THE TIME!

REMEMBER! WE USUALLY SELL OUT VERY EARLY. WATCH OUT FOR MORE INFORMATION AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS AS SOON AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE!

THE CLOCK IS NO LONGER STUCK

On the 1st November St. Mary’s church clock started again and chimed out the hour!

Thanks to local residents making generous donations, fund raising  activities in the village, contributions from The Witham Staple, Carlton Le Moorland Parish Council and Withamside Parochial Church Council  it was possible to commission The Cumbria Clock Company  to install an automatic winding system.  It was an example of the local community coming together to ensure the success of such a project in a relatively short space of time.

It means that a volunteer no longer needs to climb the ladder to the clock and wind it once a week. It will only need changing when the clocks move back or forward one hour, Daylight Saving Time and Greenwich Mean Time.

It was particularly pleasing to complete the task in 2023. The clock was originally installed by public subscription in commemoration of the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. 121 years later, in 2023, King Charles III was crowned.

News from St Mary’s

  • £1,000 donated by The Lost Village Festival in their annual Funding Application Outcome 2023 for our heating project at St. Mary’s.
  • We are Co-op Community Champions for December 3rd 2023 to March 2nd 2024. Last time we were selected a few years ago we received over £600! Encourage people to shop at WITHAM ST. HUGHS CO-OP!!!!
  • Heating project completed! New Air source Heat Pump and Heater installed.
  • More good news next month.
  • Onwards and Upwards!
Andrew. Churchwarden

Pastoral Support Contact Team

For the Withamside United Parish

Neighbourly Care within our Communities.

Within our local communities there already exists a network of people who look out for those who may be vulnerable or are in need of a chat or support. This manifests itself in a variety of ways. Through personal contact and through the many organisations, groups, clubs, and societies that exist within our villages. These are all part of a Neighbourly Caring Community

What does not exist is a contact for people who may want to talk to someone about a particular issue. When a Parish has a Rector then they provide a natural focal point for this kind of support. We do not have a Rector and so the Withamside United Parish has established a small Pastoral Support Contact Team who can be contacted to meet this need. The members of the Team are not counsellors and will not give advice but are all good listeners and where appropriate may be able to offer support in guiding people to appropriate agencies.

If you would like to talk to someone in confidence, then please feel free to contact one of the following people who will do their best to listen to your concerns.

The Pastoral Support Contact Team are ordinary members of our churches who have been DBS checked and have untaken some basic Safeguarding training.

The names and contact details of the Pastoral Support Contact Team are:

Diane Cook   Tel No 07791 596385 email:   diane@withamsideparish.org.uk
John Rowland Tel No 07868 231688 email:   john@withamsideparish.org.uk
Maureen Kendall Tel No 07887 613361 email:   maureen@withamsideparish.org.uk
Jo Brown Tel No 07803 003159 email:   jo@withamsideparish.org.uk
Sarah Hassnip Tel No 07881 998654 email:   sarah@withamsideparish.org.uk

The Withamside United Parish Parochial Church Council

HOME COMMUNION TEAM

There are a number of residents in the Withamside Parish who, for one reason or another, are unable to get to church services and are, therefore, unable to take Holy Communion.

The Withamside Parochial Church Council has now established a team of lay people who have the Bishop’s License to deliver Home Communion.

If you are unable attend church services and would like to receive Holy Communion, then please contact one of the following people and they will come to your house and administer Home Communion for you.

The names and contact details of the Home Communion Team are:

Diane Cook

Tel No: 07791 596385

email: diane@withamsideparish.org.uk

Maureen Kendall

Tel No: 07887 613361

email: maureen@withamsideparish.org.uk

Miranda Davis           

Tel No: 01522 789365

email: miranda@withamsideparish.org.uk

WITHAMSIDE COMMUNITY KEEPS ON GIVING

St. Mary’s Church needed some extra support in order to fund extra heating so that we could continue to offer a warm and welcoming environment at services and community events. A donation of £1,000 from Ben Atkins, director of the “Lost Village Festival” and the support of the Lincolnshire CO-OP who has made Withamside Parish “Community Champions” from 3rd December 2023 to 2nd March 2024, has meant we have been able to make a start on improving the heating system.

We also needed a filing cabinet, a chest of drawers and a large cupboard to store church paperwork and other items. Within a few hours of putting out the requests they were answered! We are very grateful for this generosity.

We are still receiving plants and seeds for our wild flowering project in our church yard and we look forward to the weekend of February 17th and 18th for our SNOWDROP WEEKEND.

St. Mary’s Church is very fortunate to have the support of a large group of volunteers who respond in many different ways in order to keep this beautiful and ancient church at the heart of our village community.

Thank you.

ADVANCE NOTICE OF A FANTASTIC CONCERT!

A FABULOUS FUSION BAND- “CROSSING THE TRACKS”


“Crossing the Tracks” play FOLK, COUNTRY, BLUES AND ROCK! They are a six piece band- acoustic guitar, flute, whistle, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, drums and accordion.

St. Mary’s Church is presenting yet another concert that must not be missed!

**See them on their official website!**

SATURDAY 16TH NOVEMBER 2024. 7.00 P.M.

TICKETS:- £10. (Includes a complimentary glass of wine/soft drink and refreshments)

MORE DETAILS NEARER THE TIME. A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY!

 

 

MARY’S CHURCH ENTERTAINMENT S AND ACTIVITIES

A PLAN FOR 2024

Here are some dates for your diaries and planners for 2024.  We have organised a variety of different activities at the church and in Carlton Le Moorland Village Hall in order to raise funds for Withamside Parish. We hope that you will find something that you would like to support and enjoy.

There will be more details advertised nearer the date about each event!

Weekend 17th/18th February. SNOWDROP WEEKEND in the church yard. There will be tea   and cakes in the church on the Sunday afternoon.

Saturday 23rd March. St. Mary’s FOLK EVENING. Excellent folk music provided by Harry Li, a talented solo performer and “Acoustic Itch”, a very entertaining folk group.

Sunday afternoons in JULY AND AUGUST TEA AND CAKES at St. Mary’s Church- outside in the sunshine when possible! 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.

Bank Holiday Monday 26th August  in the afternoon at Carlton Le Moorland Village Hall “THE STAMFORD STOMPERS JAZZ BAND”.

Saturday 9th November 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. CRAFT FAIR at St. Mary’s Church- stalls and refreshments.

Saturday 16th November evening “A BAND EVENT” at St. Mary’s Church- details to follow!

Saturday 14th December evening FAMILY CAROLSAND CHRISTMAS SONGS

at St. Mary’s Church.

A Time to Change Together

Dear friends in Christ,

A Time to Change Together is a huge journey for our diocese and for all of us, and just now we have been making significant steps along the way. Against the backdrop of our challenging world, and praying for peace, justice, sharing and mutual respect, we are putting our affairs into a new order. TTCT is no longer an idea for the future, it is what we are doing now and how we are doing it. Let us pray that our flourishing church may bring its values to the wider community – collaboration, generosity and growth. 

We now have more information about the way forward for our parish of Withamside.’

Then ‘Click the button below to read more….

MARY’S CHURCH CLOCK  WILL TELL THE TIME AND CHIME, ONCE MORE!

The money has now been raised so that an automatic winding system can be attached to the clock. The clock was installed in the church tower by voluntary subscription in commemoration of the coronation of King Edward VII. J.B. Joyce of Whitchurch, Shropshire manufactured the clock in 1902.

The Cumbria Clock Company will be manufacturing and installing the winding units. Somebody will only need to attend to the regulation and undertake the summer and winter changes.

 The £7,500 needed to undertake the work and pay for servicing and associated electrical work has been raised in under a year. This has been achieved as a result of grants from local organisations, private contributions by local people and fund raising. Many residents have commented about the absence of the familiar chimes and look forward to the clock being at the heart of our village, once more.

*NEW * Withamside Parish Book Club

You are invited to join the online parish book club that Maureen Kendall is setting up which allows us to join together in reading books but without actually meeting up. Everyone is welcome to post comments on the Facebook page, Withamside Parish Book Club, alternatively email Maureen, address below, and she will post your comments on Facebook. The plan is to have a new book each month, possibly a novel with a faith theme, rather than a religious tome. Maureen hopes the books might lead readers to recognise signs of faith in everyday situations. Suggestions are welcome!

This months book club read is West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Please contact Maureen on maureenk803@gmail.com

WITHAMSIDE WASTE NOT WANT NOT

BRING ANY FOOD AND ESSENTIAL GOODS THAT YOU WISH TO DONATE TO

ST MICHAEL’S CHURCH BASSINGHAM
on the last Thursday of each month – Next collection day Thursday 28th March
9-30 a.m. to 11-30 a.m.

 ANYONE IN NEED OF A BIT OF EXTRA HELP IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES CAN COME ALONG AND COLLECT A BOX OF FOOD AND ESSENTIAL GOODS

 1-00 p.m. to 3-30 p.m.

THIS IS A NEW COLLABORATIVE SCHEME BETWEEN GREEN’S STORE AND THE WITHAMSIDE PARISH TO TRY AND ESTABLISH A WAY OF SHARING AND  RE-DISTRIBUTING EXCESSES AND SUPPORTING THOSE IN NEED WITHIN OUR OWN COMMUNITY

Please continue to pray for Ukraine

You may like to use this prayer from the Methodist Church

Urgent Help Needed for our Lincoln Food Bank

URGENT NOTICE

Food and fuel poverty are real issues for a significant section of our communities. People are having to choose whether to turn on the heating or to have a meal.

As you know the Parish collects food for the Lincoln Food Larder. Since the Covid pandemic the amount of food we have collected has reduced significantly.

I am trying to re-start our food giving in order to support the many disadvantaged families in Lincoln.

If you are able to donate food for the Lincoln Food Larder could you please bring it and leave it at the back of St Michael’s Church, Bassingham. I will then take it to the Larder. Only tins and dried food products please.

Thank you

Best wishes

John

WITHAMSIDE UNITED PARISH 200 CLUB

We are relaunching the 200 club across the whole parish.

In the past the 200 club has been a successful way of raising funds for the parish and I hope that you will be able to take part.

If you’d like to join in, then it would be helpful if you could print a copy of the attached application form. If not, then these will be available from myself, John Rowlands, or in church.

Once you have returned the completed application form to me and have made your payment, your number(s) will be allocated and will be entered in the next draw. The draw for the 200 club will take place monthly at the coffee morning held in St Michael’s Church, Bassingham on the first Saturday of the month.

Thank you and good luck!
Diane

For more info Application form