Easter Worship
Thank you to everyone who helped to decorate and clean the benefice churches for Easter and to those prepared and led the Easter services around the benefice. We had an excellent Holy Week at Holy Cross including the visit of the three Bishops on Maundy Thursday which started off our 1100th anniversary year in style! If you would like to pray for the forthcoming festival you might like to use the Festival 2009 collect.
Collect for the Crediton 2009 Festival
Heavenly Father, by whose grace your church was firmly established in this place,
We thank you for Eadulf, the first Bishop of Crediton,
and for those who have served you here in many generations.
Bless us in the celebrations of this year,
that we may worship you with glad hearts,
serve you with willing lives,
and witness to your saving love,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Bishop in Mission
As part of the diocesan 1100th celebrations each of the three bishops will spend a number of days in each deanery. The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Revd Michael Langrish, will be visiting our deanery from 18 –21 May and will be spending time especially on the Wednesday and Thursday in our benefice. The first public event will be at Thorverton on Monday 18 May when a walk will set off at 5.15pm and be followed by a picnic and a Christian Aid Quiz in the Exeter Inn. On Tuesday 19th May there will be a Deanery Country Fair at Jubilee Centre, Cleavehanger, which should be a very exciting event with many local producers represented and music from Queen Elizabeth’s Jazz Band and Hatherleigh Silver Band. On Wednesday 20th May at 7.30pm (coffee from 7pm) there will be a talk by the Bishop and question time at the Boniface Centre. The final day of his visit is Ascension Day and we will begin with our traditional hymn from the tower at 8am followed by Morning Prayer. Bishop Michael will officiate at a confirmation service for the deanery at 7pm at Holy Cross. He will also be visiting Milk Link and Queen Elizabeth’s College Sixth Form during his time with us, though these will not be public events. Do please come along to as many of these occasions as you can and look out for further information in the magazine and elsewhere.
Paths at Holy Cross
I am delighted, writing just before Easter, that the work on the paths at Holy Cross are almost finished due to the workers on this project putting in considerable extra hours (within the contract) to ensure that it was useable by the middle of Holy Week. There have already been many favorable comments about the paths and it is likely that other churches with troublesome cobbles will send representatives to look at our solution. I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the Governors, and to Howard Egglestone, who has closely managed the work for us, for their commitment to this project over many years.
Flying the Flag for 2009
I am delighted to say that the money has now been raised for a flagpole for Holy Cross and we are currently applying for a faculty to install it. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to it, including the Friends and Governors of the Church, and to Councillor Nick Way who was instrumental in getting a grant from the County Council towards this. I hope that within the next six weeks the flag will be flying!
Festival Services
I am looking forward very much to our own Festival with Flowers ‘From Shore to Shore –a Coastal Journey’ which will run from Saturday May 30th to Thursday 4 June. So our Festival Eucharist and Evensong will be on Sunday 31 May at 9.30am and 6pm respectively. The next week, 7th June at Holy Cross there will be a Family Communion in the Boniface Centre, as usual on the first Sunday, but then in the afternoon, at 3pm, there will be a special 2009 Festival Service with the Bishop of Exeter preaching and other representatives of church and society in attendance. Please make a special effort to come along to this service and give thanks for the remarkable and living heritage of Christian faith we are privileged to be part of in Crediton.
I’m sure that you will have registered the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury which will be at 3pm on Friday 26 June. I am really delighted that the Archbishop has been able to include Crediton in his visit to Exeter Diocese. Although the service he will be speaking at will be a short one, from 3.15 to 3.45pm, we intend to give him the full Crediton treatment with bells and choir! So please come along and add to the welcome on that day.
Bishop’s Visitation
Because of the many Deanery visits just one Visitation this year is being conducted for our area by the Bishop of Exeter at the Cathedral at 7.30pm on Monday 11 May. All stipendiary clergy and churchwardens are required to attend and the churchwardens will be admitted to office there. Sidesmen are also warmly invited to the service. I would like to encourage you to pray regularly for your churchwardens who represent you, and the Bishop, in our parishes and who take on a great deal of responsibility. I would like to thank them all for serving so willingly and energetically in the last year, and all the members of our three PCCs, and of the committees at the other churches, who have given invaluable help.
Christian Aid Sponsored Walk
Just a reminder that I am organizing a sponsored walk for Christian Aid Week for the Trinity Club and any other young people who would like to take part on Saturday 16th May setting off from Holy Cross Car Park at 10.30am. David Brassington has kindly worked out a route which will be 7 - 8 miles starting and finishing in Crediton and we will take a packed lunch to keep us going. If you or anyone you know would like to take part please have a word with me or contact the Parish Office. Walkers need to register in advance and pick up a sponsor form. Walkers under 16 will also need a completed parental consent form.
There will also be a Christian Aid Week Quiz in the Red Lion at Shobrooke on Sunday 10 May and details will be available from Rosemary Barber at Shobrooke.
With every good wish and blessing,
Nigel Guthrie
Page last updated 14/03/09