Churches February 2022

St Helen's Church is still out of use following the incident in June.


We are very grateful to Ian Pagan for enabling us to use Longhorsley Mission for worship.

You are reminded that you must not attend if you have any of the symptoms of Covid-19.

Please remember to comply with social distancing rules and wear a face covering.

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PCC Meeting

The next meeting of the PCC is 6th April.

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St Helen's Contact Details

Vicar: Audrey McCartan 708806

audreymccartan@btinternet.com

Website: www.achurchnearyou.com

Wardens: David Pringle 788283 (Treasurer)

Stephen Gibson 788711 (Secretary)

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Thought for the Month

When I was little, my nanna used to recite this little poem;

My heart is like a cabbage, a cabbage cut in two.

The leaves I give to others, the heart I give to you.

This month many loved up couples will celebrate Valentine’s Day. St Valentine is a 3rd century martyr who died in Rome and he is patron of engaged couples, happy marriages and love (among many others). It seems strange that this saint linked to love was beaten with clubs, beheaded, thrown in a shallow grave dug up by his followers!

We all experience human love. We experience it whether as a parent for their child, a child for their parent, spouses for one another, or for a family member who may no longer be with us. We all want to be loved and experience that love. But we know that sometimes this isn’t always the case, and sadly some people may never have experienced the gift of love.

Jesus gave us the command to “love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). How often it is easier said than done. How simpler the world would be if we all lived in peace and harmony. Love can often be replaced with hate. We become selfish instead of selfless, we can become greedy instead of generous.

Mahatma Gandhi once said that we have to be the change we want to see in the world. In order to change, we really have to want to do it. We can think about doing it, but then it is something completely different when we actually do carry it out.

For someone to say “I love you”, they have to mean it and show it. Sometimes it means making sacrifices for others at a cost to ourselves, and that is what St Valentine did, he showed true love for the Lord it wasn’t just mere lip service.

As we approach Valentine’s day, may we be able to reflect upon what it means to have love and be loved. That our love may make a difference to those we know and to the world in which we live.

Father Shaun Purdy, St Thomas of Canterbury

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