June 2015£1

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Cover: Sir Arthur Wellesly, later Duke of Wellington, BritishCommander the the battle of Waterloo, June 18th, 1815.King John riding with his hounds. He signed the Magna Carta on15th June 1215.Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster abbey on June2nd1953.In•September, God willing, she will be England’s longest reigningmonarch, exceeding Queen Victoria’s reign of 63 years, 216 days

BENEFICE CONTACTSVicarRev’d Gaenor Hockey Tel 01935 423774Day off: Saturday plus one Friday per month

Honorary Assistant Priest:Rev’d Trevor Farmiloe Tel 01935 428952

Holy Trinity WardensLaura Claridge Mob:07809 467429Ken Nichols Tel: 01935 425735

Hall BookingsContact Laura Claridge

St Mary Magdalene WardenVictoria Garratt Tel 01935 475882

Assistant Ministers – ReadersHoward Gorringe Tel 01935 476871Sally McConnell Tel 01935 422599

Magazine EditorsHoward and Di Gorringe

Articles etc. can be sent via email:howardgorringe@yahoo.co.uk

Holy Trinity website: hty.org.uk

The people of Holy Trinity Church extend a warm welcome to you andinvite you to join with us in our services at our lovely modern Church andCommunity Centre.Our cafe style service, Café Church, takes place at 9.30am every Sunday.Come and join us for informal worship and breakfast of coffee and croissants.We also have a more formal service at 11.00am every Sunday while the firstSunday of the month is our family-friendly service, First Words. On otherSundays in the month children have their own teaching and activity spot dur-ing the service.Other children’s activities during term-time include:Church Mice for toddlers with parents or carers on Wednesdays 10.00 to12.00, Mini Music for small children on Fridays, 9.30-10.30 and JuniorChurch Choir on Fridays from 5.00 to 5.30 pm. All meet at the church. Whenwe say ALL are welcome we really mean that, so don't worry if you can’t sing,or if you have noisy children, we won’t! You will be sure of a warm welcome. Afull list of the services is on page 9.

The Helen Laxton School of Dance

Royal Academy of Dance Ballet

Funky Disco, Street & HipHop

Toddler and Pre School Dance

Musical Theatre

Classes held at Holy Trinity Church Hall, LysanderRoad, Yeovil

& Birchfield Community Centre, Birchfield Road, Yeovil

For details tel. Helen Laxton ARAD, LRAD,AISTD, AIDTA, RTS on 01935 863865Or visit www.thehelenlaxtonschoolofdancing.com

VIEW FROM THE VICARAGE

Trinity Sunday (celebrated on 31st May this year) is a significant day in theChurch's calendar and is far more than just a celebration of a doctrine. Onthis day we think about the three parts of God: the Father, the creator; Jesusthe Son, the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit who gives us inspiration andstrength to believe and follow. We are then reminded as we move in to theliturgical season of the Trinity to lean on each aspect of God in our dailylives.

Today has also has been a significant day in the lives of some children inour Benefice...

At Barwick I baptised Lacey-Mai Sparks, whose Mum was in the churchchoir when she was a child.

Our theme was being a new creation and I used the illustration of a butterfly,as it changes dramatically from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly.

We were also reminded that the key elements of the baptism service itselfwhich fit in with the three aspects of the Trinity: the water- which is used inthe actual baptism links with the Creator who made the rivers and seas;anointing with the sign of the cross which links to Jesus who died for us anda candle which has a flame and is our link with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

At Holy Trinity I took a 'back seat' with the laptop and powerpoint, as thechildren of the church led the service completely, including the enthusiasticperformance of songs by our junior choir!

The theme was 'three jobs-one person' and we enjoyed seeing Lauravolunteering to wear a British footguard 'Busby', a firemans helmet and abishop's mitre!! We were reminded that God is like someone wearing threedifferent hats- three aspects of the same person...each to help us understandGod more.

The children did a fantastic job of leading us and we are looking forwardto the next children-led Service on 30th August!

After the service we gathered together outside in the Church garden to meetour five new church guinea pigs which are for the Sunday School and AfterSchool Club and Eleanor's four pet guinea pigs. I duly blessed them and it waslovely to see all ages gathered around these little creatures!

As I reflect on such a full morning I am aware of God's grace- to Lacey-Maiand her family, through the children of Holy Trinity and in the presence ofsmall animals. Such grace is always available to us if we open ourselves toGod - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And finally as an encouragement to us all at Holy Trinity Yeovil as wecelebrate our dedication festival:

We are called not to be successful, but faithful, as we seek to follow Jesus.We are called not to be isolated, but in fellowship as we seek to followJesus. We are called not to be private, but public as we seek together tofollow Jesus.Every blessingGaenor

A Prayer for the Trinity seasonI bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity,

by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three.Of whom all nature hath creation; eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation, salvation is of Christ the Lord.

from St Patrick's Breastplate

From the Register:

Bapti sms

1st March Gracie-Rae

3rd May Jazmine Churches

SUNFLOWERS

Reproductions of famous paintings areeverywhere. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers is a well-knownreproduction, with its bright, boldcolours.

Visiting the Van Gogh Museum inAmsterdam I was impressed with thedifference between the reproductionsand the originals. The originalpaintings vibrate with life and colour,and the Sunflower painting especially,dazzles with many dimensionalbrilliance. The reproductions are butpale shadows of the original.

I was reminded of that verse inwhich St Paul compares the presentlife of faith to the future life:

“What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see faceto face. What I know now is only partial: then it will be complete.” (1Corinthians ch,13 v.12. Good News Bible.)

Similarly, an original painting, the real thing, is as different from areproduction, as a shadow from the reality.

At this season following the Ascension, we are in the realm of theunknown. Where did Jesus go? What is there beyond this life with its’troubles and uncertainties? We do not have the answers. Christians liveby faith that there is a future life, as Jesus promised, and that it is agood one.

Just as an original painting is more alive and real than its’ reproduction, Iwonder if the future life will be as different from the present life.

CS Lewis paints a word picture of the future in his final Narnia book,‘The Last Battle.’

Monthly Tea Parties Summer 2015Please note:

The next Tea Party will be on Wednesday, June 17th when the speaker will beTeresa Wheeler, the headteacher at Holy Trinity Primary School. We start at2.30pm but some people like to come early so that they can have a chat beforethe talk, which is followed by afternoon tea and the draw for the Raffle. Pleaselet folk in our community know about the Tea Parties. There are fliers availablein the Narthex. If you know of good speakers or there is a topic you’d likesomeone to speak about, please let Di Gorringe know.

These parties can only happen because of the sterling work of a small number ofvolunteers who bake, prepare and buy the food, serve it and set up and clearaway the tables and chairs. It would be good if more people would comeforward to help with this valuable activity.

There will be no Tea party in July or August, when we take a break.

Towards the end, after many adventures, the characters travelled into anew world, a new Narnia, which was like the old one, except that the oldone,

‘was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia,… as different as a realthing is from a shadow, or as waking life is from a dream.’

Van Gogh was a troubled soul, a misfit, suffering depression and anxiety,yet, paradoxically, his later work shone with vibrant colour, which wasmissing in his early darker paintings.

Is it too fanciful to imagine that he saw into a future beyond this life andportrayed it through his paintings, in the same way that CS Lewis imaginedthe future in his book, and St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians?

Anne Rasmussen

Lord’s Larder NewsMany thanks to everyone who responded so generously to last month’s appealfor food items; it is only with your help that the Lord’s Larder is able to helpso many, men women and children in need of food support in our localcommunities. Last month in May, the Larder has been able to help 169 adultsand 86 children, giving a total of 255 people helped in May this year. TheLord’s Larder has sent out 1154 parcels already this year up to the end ofMay, helping 937 adults and 493 children in 291 families with emergencyfood parcels within our communities, experiencing the effects of long termsickness, depression, moving between jobs, living with zero hour contracts,bereavement, and family break up. The Larder is always there to help with afood parcel when needed offering practical assistance in South Somerset andNorth West Dorset, from Crewkerne to Somerton, and across to Wincanton.

If you wish to support the Lord’s Larder and would like to know what we arecurrently running short of, below are some suggestions of items we need most;as always The Lord’s Larder Food Bank will be grateful to receive any otherlong-life food item that is still in date, you wish to give.

Packets of Soup Cuppa Soup Tinned Chilli Tinsof mince & onion Tins of Macaroni Cheese Tins of SardinesPackets of Savoury Rice Jars of pasta sauce Packets of Custard PowderPackets of Jelly Babies Nappies Size 4 &5

Stories from the Food BankThe amazing stories that come from the foodbank, as the parcels go out toreally help in a practical way those in difficult circumstances, helping thosewho are receiving medical treatment and recovering from illness, also thismonth the Lord’s Larder has helped feed families who have been experiencedthe effects of crime, after their wages had been stolen. The Lord’s Larder hasalso been able to help those individuals and families who have recently lostloved ones.

We update our website ycstyeovil.org.uk with the latest list of items needed inthe Food Bank.

Many, many thanks for all your continued support.

Mat Callaghan Yeovil Christian Support TrustOperations Manager Mob. 07807890923

Date/Time Service and Theme Preacher & Readings

June 7thTrinity 1Uniqueness of Jesuspart 1

Philippians 2:5-8

John 1:1-5,14-18

Café Church Ken & Mary Nichols

11am First Words & Baptism Gaenor Hockey

June 14thTrinity 2Uniqueness of Jesuspart 2

Ephesians 3:16-19

Mark 15: 33-41

9:30am Café Church Open

11am Holy Communion Trevor Farmiloe

June 21stTrinity 3 TheChristianAdventure

2 Peter 1:5-7

Matthew 22:34-40

9:30am Café Church Di Gorringe

11am Morning Worship Gaenor Hockey

June 28thTrinity 4The Christian andAbundant Life

Romans 5:1-17

John 10:1-10

9:30am Café Church Open

11 am Holy Communion Howard Gorringe

Please note there is a Communion service every Wednesday at 9.30 am.

Paddy (Russell) Searle’s story

Third Episode

Last month we left Paddy in Scotland having joined RNAS Lossiemouth(HMS Fulmar) in September 1960. It was here that he was told that hiswork would be with the Aircraft Holding Unit (AHU) working on HawkerHunter Trainers and De Havilland Sea Hornets. This continued until April1961 when he was sent to the Hawker-Siddeley works at Leavesden inHertfordshire for a course on the Gyron Junior engine which was to powerthe new Buccaneer Strike Aircraft whichwas shortly dueto enter servicein the Fleet AirArm. Thisaircraft wasdesigned to flyjust below thespeed of soundat very lowlevels and wascapable ofdeliveringnuclearweapons.

In May 1961, he went to Brough near Hull in Yorkshire to do training onthe actual aircraft at the Blackburn Aero Company Works. In late 1961the Buccaneers came into service, so Paddy was transferred to 700ZSquadron of Buccaneers for intensive flying trails. He continued this workuntil April 1964 when he was drafted to RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron).Here he was on Station Flight working on Hunter Trainers or on othertypes of aircraft that flew in on visits from time to time. This included theSwordfish, the type of aircraft he worked on at RNAS St Merryn (HMSVulture) in 1944 near Padstow. By now Paddy was looking forward toleaving the Fleet Air Arm in May 1965 having completed 25 years serviceso he and his wife decided to buy their first house

Blackburn Buccaneer landing on HMS Ark

in June 1964, a three bedroomed semi-detached house in Martock, so thatthey would have time to sort things out before his release date.

However another adventure lay ahead. In July 1964, he was drafted to RNASPortland (HMS Osprey) to work on the Shelduck Pilotless Target AircraftSquadron that would be going on a goodwill trip to South America on boardHMS Penelope, a 2000 ton frigate to try and sell Sea-Cat Missiles to theChilean and Brazilian navies. He duly sailed on board HMS Penelope in August1964 from Plymouth in company with HMS Tiger, which carried the flag ofAdmiral Sir Fitzroy Talbot, HMS Lynx, the Royal Fleet Auxillary ship BlackPrince and HMS Odin a submarine. The first stop in South America was inVenezuela at the port of La Guaira on the Atlantic coast. The ship’s companywas taken by coach to Caracas for two days. The president of KLM, the Dutchairline, lived there and they were all entertained at his luxury house and garden!

The next stop was at Barranquilla in Colombia where the ship’s company wereinvited to visit various families with strict instructions to behave well and not toget drunk or they would not go ashore again! Unfortunately one seaman didget drunk and never left the ship again. Paddy’s group visited a businessmanwho owned a factory making beer and soft drinks. The ship then went throughthe 50 mile long Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. Paddy’s father wentthrough the canal on December 16th 1916 on Admiral Jellicoe’s flagship whenhe was serving as coxswain to the Admiral.

The next port of call was Callao in Peru, the port for Lima the capital. Whilstthere, they did exercises with the Peruvian navy. Paddy’s job was to put thepilotless aircraft on the rocket launcher and adjust the revs by hand, tuning thecarburettor until it reached peaks revs. He then had to slip out before the devicerocketed off into the Pacific. The missile was radio controlled. The ship’scompany fired at the missile but were not allowed to hit it because the missileswere too expensive to replace and they only had 5 on board. The pilotlessaircraft descended by parachute into the sea, and it was recovered, strippeddown and re-built, engine included, ready for the next day!

At Valparaiso in Chile they did the same exercise to demonstrate the use of

Sea Cat missiles. Unfortunately whilst there, Paddy was bitten by a dog andunderwent three weeks of anti rabies injections, not very pleasant as they wereinto the stomach. They encountered a Force Eight Gale in the Roaring Fortieswinds of southern Chile but the passage through the Strait’s of Magellan to theAtlantic Ocean was fairly sheltered. The painting shows HMS Penelope goingthrough the Strait in November (summer) with heavy snow covering themountains. At their foot is the southern-most town in Chile, Punta Arenas,where the ship docked for a couple of days. The ship’s company were treatedvery well by the residents many of whom were descendents of the originalScottish settlers.

The ship was due tovisit Buenos Aires inArgentina, butbecause theArgentineans weremaking noisesabout the FalklandIslands, they gave it amiss and went onto Montevideo in HMS Penelope off the Magellan StraitUruguay. The lastport of call was Rio de Janeiro where they went to see the huge statue of Christon Corcovado Peak, which overlooks Sugar Loaf Mountain and the city. It isaccessed by rail but from 710 metres (about 2500 feet) there is a superb viewacross the city.

The ships arrived home a week before Christmas so Paddy enjoyed spendingChristmas with his wife and children. In his absence his wife had had centralheating installed so the house was warm and cosy. He re-joined RNASYeovilton in January 1965 on Station Flight and in May 1965 was drafted toHMS Victory (Portsmouth Barracks) for release. Having left the navy, he wasfortunate to get a job with Westlands Helicopters where he remained foranother 20 years before retiring in February 1986.

HMS Penelope off the Magellan Strait

Know your congregation….. Ian Bartlett

Have you always lived in Yeovil?Yes, since 1963

Do you have any pets?No

Favourite film/ actor?Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton: Westerns with Eastwood as ‘the manwith no name’ and ‘Where Eagles Dare’.

Favourite books/Authors?Dam Busters –Paul Brickhill, EnemyCoast Ahead –Guy GibsonThe Gathering Storm –Winston Churchill.

Favourite meal? Ham,Egg and Chips.

What makes you laugh?Dave Allen, Monty Python, Faulty Towers, Dad’s Army, Rising Damp.

If you could have chosen any career, what would you have chosen? Asignalman on the railway.

If money was no object, where would you like to travel to or what placewould you like to see?Norway.

Have you had your ‘15 minutes of fame’?No, but I think it’s coming at a 9.30 service soon.

(In fact Ian has already been leading some of these services –well done!)

Thinking differently about poverty

As I look forward with greatanticipation to my first trip toZambia as Bishop of Bath andWells, I am aware that I am doingso with a touch more insight than Ihad when this visit was first put inmy diary. A week ‘Living Below theLine’ for Bath-based charity ‘Send aCow’ and ‘Sharing the load’ forChristian Aid Week can neverreplicate the challenges faced bythose living in poverty in Zambia or otherparts of the developing world but it can bring understanding.

It was certainly more than a publicity stunt or ‘playing at being poor’ whichwere just some of the criticisms levied at those taking part. Of course, I wasnot struggling around Wells with my bundle of firewood worried about beingattacked by hyenas – just injuring innocent shoppers – and I knew my fivedays of hunger living on £1 a day would come to an end, but they were still achallenge.

They made me think differently about what living in extreme poverty reallymeans and to question the choices we make every day. I hope I managed toshare that message to others and encouraged everyone to play their part inaddressing this global issue.

As we continue to strengthen ties of companionship and celebrate the richnessand diversity of our global faith with the vital Christian community in Zambiathis summer, I will be doing so in the knowledge that it is a country in whichthe vast majority live in increasing poverty. It is also, however, a country thatis rich in terms of its people and we have much to learn from each other. TheZambian people choose to face the country’s challenges with vitality, patienceand tolerance and with only a limited number of priests, the lay populationchooses to take on a major role in the church that is much valued.

Bishop Peter and Jane

CRAFT GROUPThis is a group that meets in the church at Holy Trinity on the last Thursdayin the month 10am -2pm and we encourage you to bring all unfinished itemsthat you would like to finish! It never seems so bad if you are doing itamongst others and chatting at the same time! Members also enjoy impartingtheir skills to others and perhaps in the process learning something new. Justbring a packed lunch and a fee.

CARD GROUPAnother chance to encourage your crafting skills. This group meet in theScout hall on the 2nd Monday of the month from 10am -12noon. We have avery talented tutor who brings all the craft items so we just bring our toolboxes. Do come and join us.

In our modern, busy lives we are faced with a myriad of choices every day and itis not easy to take the time to look beyond our personal, parish or nationalboundaries. Being challenged to do so through my recent experiences was asobering and humbling experience, and the benefits ripple close to home as wellas in Africa.

Bishop Peter, Bath and Wells

Calling all South Somerset Churches,CCS is working in association with the Cosmic Peninsula Consortium todeliver a training event on ‘How digital technology can help yourcommunity’.This training is FREE and open to all.Aimed at Community Buildings, Church / Parish / Town Council’s,Community Groups and anyone interested in using technology to improvecommunications within your committee, community and with otherorganisations. Please come along join in and take your digital audit. Date:12th June 2015Venue: Merriott Village HallTime: 10 am – 1 pmRefreshments will be providedIf you would like to book your FREE space please contact me or completeattached form and forward to managementsupport@somersetrcc.org.uk.

Iceland in FebruaryAll countries are unique but some have a uniqueness that is more than usuallycompelling. Iceland is one such a country and Di and I went there in Februarythis year. It was the occasion of the 50th year of Ornitholidays, the companywith which we go birdwatching overseas and to celebrate it they ran a specialtrip with seven leaders and 28 clients to Iceland.At this time of year the weather is grim: temperatures well below 0°C,snowstorms, gales, ice everywhere you walk. However, if you dress for it, aswe had done, this is not really a problem; thermals, sweaters and paddedjackets, along with lined boots and warm hats, keep out the worst of the coldand the wind.The primary object of the trip was to see what we could of the wildlife thatwinters in the country, especially the birds, but also we wanted to seesomething of the geography and geology, and, indeed, history of this amazingplace.Part of Iceland is, in geologicalterms, in America and part inEurope. It straddles the Mid-AtlanticRidge, where two crustal plates, theNorth American and Europeanplates, are pulling away from eachother and the gap is being filled withupwelling molten rock from deep inthe Earth’s crust. This makes thewhole country very seismicallyactive, with many active volcanoesand an abundance of geothermalactivity –steam, hot springs etc.We stayed in a hotel in Hvergeròi about 50 miles east of the capital Reykjavik,at the foot of low mountains that marked the Mid-Atlantic Ridge –we were inEurope. From here we could see massive greenhouses, lit up 24 hours a dayand heated by water from hot springs, in which salad crops thrived whileoutside temperatures were at least -5°C. The hotel had a swimming pool andtwo large hot tubs, all heated from these springs. It was weird experiencesitting in a tub at 38-43°C while the air was bitterly cold; you had to becareful getting out as any splashes had frozen and iron railings could stick toskin.

Hvergeròi from the road to Reykjavik

Iceland does not have an extensive birdlife but, as a result of its positionbetween Europe and America we saw several NorthAmerican birds rarely if ever seen in the UK. The first

of these wasthe Barrow’sGoldeneye, aduck which isalso anIcelandicresident, first seen on distant lakes and

rivers but later quite close to. Laterwe saw, at a distance, a HoodedMerganser, a vagrant from NorthAmerica, and as we were on our way

to leave from the airport, a White-winged Black Scoter, another vagrant.Most of the birds we saw were waterbirds: Eider Ducks, Great NorthernDivers, Long-tailed Ducks, Harlequin

Ducks, Wigeon, Whooper Swans,Gulls –Glaucous, Iceland, Herring,Black-backed and Common, but wealso saw –at a great distance a GyrFalcon. While tramping through aforest in deep snow we were lucky tosee a Ptarmigan in its winter plumage.

Barrow’s•Goldeneye

White-winged Black Scoter

Eider duck

Long-tailed Duck

Great Northern Diver

Iceland, despite its remoteness andunforgiving climate, has a long history.Gaelic monks settled here well before theVikings arrived about 874 AD, thoughthey left no written evidence. Vikingsmostly from Norway found the island andrealised it could be settled but kept it asecret by calling it Ice-land

while calling the nearby but much larger island Green-land.Intending

settlers avoided Iceland, went on toGreenland and mostly perished inits far harsher climate. In 874Ingólfur Arnarson established thefirst permanent settlement and by903 it had a form of parliament,the Althing, which met eachsummer and where laws were madeand disputes settled. It was asuccessful period and explorers fromIceland reached and settled in Greenlandand Canada. We had an enjoyableevening, with a Viking-type meal in a reconstructed Viking long house on ourlast night which gave us a sense of what it might have been like. The countryofficially converted to Christianity in 1000 though privately paganismcontinued to flourish. Civil War in the 11th/12th centuries eventually led to theisland coming under the rule of Norway in 1262. It coincided, however, withdrastic climate change –the Little Ice Age – which seriously limited Iceland’sagriculture but opened up a majorexport trade in dried cod whichEurope increasingly needed forfast days. Denmark took overfrom Norway as the ruling powerin 1380. The climaticdeterioration was made worse bythe eruption of Laki in 1783 and

Ptarmigan

Thingvetlian, site of the Althing;still used for ceremonial events

Reconstruction of a Viking Longhouse

mass emigration occurred. Iceland became anindependent state in 1918, though under theDanish Crown.In World War 2 Iceland tried to remainneutral but the Nazi occupation of Norwayand Denmark left Britain with no option butoccupation, later coming under Americancontrol. Today Iceland, though having nomilitary forces, is a part of NATO and hosteda major base at Keflavik until 2006. Thethreat of closing this base brought the thirdCod War with Britain (over fishing rightswithin a 200 mile exclusion zone) to an end.The overextension of Iceland’s three majorbanks led, in 2008 to their collapse and aserious economic crisis, leading to massive

unemployment andthen emigration.Though nowstabilised, thecountry’s economyremains fragile. It isfortunate in that

virtually all itsenergy is derivedfrom geothermal

and hydro sources, thus being abundant and cheap. It runs three aluminiumsmelters and is still a major fish exporter. It has a growing software industry.Although a member of the European Free Trade Area and with EU links, Icelandhas kept out of the EU, basically to protect its fishing industry. Tourism isincreasingly important and we can see why. Although expensive, the countryhas much to offer –scenery, geology, archaeology, wildlife, open spaces, culture– all within three hours flying time from London. We would like to go backagain, in the late spring.

Howard Gorringe

This huge cleft is just oneplace where the rocks arebeing torn apart

One•of•the•world’s•largest•trawlers•in•Reykjavik

In The News….Hear the joke about the vicar?

Christians in Norfolk are less likely than anywhere else in the country to recallhearing a sermon or talk which contained a joke which made them laughaccording to a new poll by Christian Research.Congregations in Yorkshire and the Humber region have the most entertainingservices, with 80 per cent able to recall laughing at a clerical quip – just aheadof London, where 77 per cent had heard a decent joke in church. The pollmarked a one-day workshop at Christian Resources Exhibition, where the clergywere taught professional techniques used by stand-up comics, including the artof timing, delivery and how to tell a good story, to help them communicatebetter with their congregations.

'God held the hand of every Jew in the gas chamber' says 'Son of Saul'actorActor Géza Röhrig, star of the film Son of Saul, which is set in Auschwitz, sayshe believes that God suffered alongside those in the gas chambers during WorldWar II. Röhrig said: 'I would not be able to get up from my bed in the morning,let alone pray, if I didn't fully believe that God somehow was there holding thehands of each and every Jew in the gas chamber – each and every Tutsi,Armenian, Kurd, Israeli, Palestinian who suffers unjustly.'

The Bible society and the Nepal earthquakeThe second earthquake, magnitude 7.3, which comes just two weeks after aprevious one, killed more than 8,000 people, the local Bible Society team hasnow started to put together aid packs that include mosquito nets, medicine,food, blankets and scripture portions.So far, some £80,000 has been pledged from Bible Societies around theworld, including £20,000 from the UK.Arun Sok Nhep, UBS spokesman for South East Asia said: ‘Our response is oneof solidarity and compassion. The initial quake hit with such impact, it isimpossible to bring help to all affected. But through a big network of churchesthroughout cities, towns and villages, we aim to reach those unattainable byemergency relief’.

Algerian Muslims turn to ChristianityDue to their disillusionment with the Arab Spring and the rise of violent Islam,thousands of Muslims in Algeria are requesting Bibles and becomingChristians.Ali Khidri, Executive Secretary for the Bible Society in Algeria, said that‘hundreds’ of people every month were turning up at his office in Algiersrequesting a Bible, and that many more were going to churches to enquireabout the Christian faith.According to Bible Society in Algeria, there are between 100,000 and200,000 Christians in Algeria – an increase from just 2,000 30 years ago.

Christians in Pakistan receive death threats after shootingPolice in Karachi have said that gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a bus,killing at least 43 people on Wednesday. A splinter group of the PakistaniTaliban, called Jundullah, claimed responsibility. A spokesman for the groupsaid: ‘These killed people were Ismaili and we consider them kafir (non-Muslim). In the coming days we will attack Ismailis, Shi'ites and Christians.’

Archbishop says Church of Ireland ‘may as well close’ if it can’t haltdeclineOnly 15 per cent of Irish Anglicans attend church on Sundays – and unless thesituation improves, ‘we may as well close the doors now’ the leader of theChurch of Ireland has said. Speaking at the General Synod in Armagh, after asurvey showed that only 58,000 out of the claimed membership of 378,000actually attend services, Archbishop Richard Clarke said: ‘The statistics presentthe scale of the missional challenge ahead of us as a Church’.

Justin Welby says stop pretending all religions agreeThe Archbishop of Canterbury has said that faith leaders seem desperate tohide behind ‘bland’ and ‘anaemic’ statements about what they have incommon rather than facing up to the ‘profound differences’ between them.He also warned that the pretence that mainstream religions agree oneverything is simply ‘dishonest’ and risks leaving them impotent to halt thespread of extremism.

Somerset and Dorset Family History Society (SDFHS)

Programme 2015

Meeting at Holy Trinity Church, Second Tuesday of the month at7.30pm

June 9th Transportation to Australia David Hawkings

THE PHOENIX VOICESThe Phoenix Voices is Yeovil's newest community initiative by innovativeconductor and choirmaster Kris Emmett. Situated on Lysander Road, Yeovil, thechoir brings classical music to a new spectrum of adult singers, whilstmaintaining a great mix of contemporary music. From Sting to Stravinsky andMozart to The Monkees, the repertoire is as diverse as the people singing it!

Kris continues to prove that anyone can sing and challenges you to give it a goin the choir that does it all! There are no auditions and you don't even need tobe able to read music - just come along and have fun on Tuesday evenings atHoly Trinity Church at 7.30pm. Last summer the choir sang live on BBC Radioand were Semi-Finalists at the Let Me Entertain You talent contest at theOctagon Theatre this May. Ring 07762724602 for more info! Kris has been achurch organist for nine years, performing at all levels fromparish to Cathedral and currently holds the post at St Michael and All Angels,Chagford, which boasts a three-manual 1898 Hele & Company organ thatrecently underwent an extensive restoration and rebuild. He is currentlytraining for the Associate of the Royal College of Organists (ARCO) and theLicentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (LRSM). The choir's accompanist, PeterParshall, was Organ Scholar at Westminster College, Oxford and studied theinstrument at Birmingham Conservatoire. In 1997, he was organist to theCathedral Singers of Christ Church, Oxford and was instrumental in thecommissioning of a new organ at St Mary Magdalen Church also in Oxford.

Glen Hall

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Brochures on request

Associate Offices at Crewkerne,Chard, Ilminster and Sherborne

Luke 9: Jesus and the Samaritan villages51When the days drew near for him be taken up, he set his face to go toJerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way theyentered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they didnot receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When hisdisciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us tocommand fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ 55But heturned and rebuked them. 56Then they went on to another village.

To understand this story, we need to know of the huge grudges that werecarried by the Jews and the Samaritans.

About 720 the Assyrians invaded Israel, which was divided into threekingdoms, Galilee in the North, Judea in the south and Samaria in the middle.Disease and defeat prevented the conquest of Judea but Samaria was engulfedand most of its inhabitants taken off into exile (which, incidentally, is the originof the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel). The Assyrians planted other uprooted tribes inSamaria and gradually the remaining Samaritans interbred with the newcomers.To a Jew such interbreeding meant one ceased to be a Jew. When Judea wasconquered by the Babylonians they refused to be assimilated, kept their racialpurity, something they gloried in when they were returned by Cyrus. When theSamaritans offered to help the returnees rebuild the temple, they werecontemptuously dismissed. In bitter resentment they rallied round the renegadeJew Manasseh and built their own temple on Mt Gerizim. This temple was latersacked by the Maccabean John Hyrcanus in 129 BC. The quarrel was centuriesold and still going strong in Jesus’ time. Once we know this background we canunderstand, perhaps, how shocking the Jews must have found some of thethings Jesus said or did. One obvious one is the parable of the Good Samaritanand another, in John 4, is when he asks for water from the woman at the well;a Samaritan, a woman, a notorious immoral woman! A decent Jewish rabbiwould have died before doing these things.

So often the impression we give of Jesus is a milk-and-water, gentle-meek-and-mild character and the gospel as being about being nice and good and kind, notupsetting people and so on. He wasn’t and it’s not. Jesus was a revolutionary inthe sense that he challenged people’s deepest held cultural and religious beliefs,their prejudices as well as their secret and not-so secret vices. The antagonismsbetween Jew and Samaritan could serve as prototypes

for almost any of today’s international conflicts, not least the one on the sameground. After all, many of the Palestinians are probably descendents of thoseoriginal Samarians. The carefully-nurtured grudges of Northern Ireland– The massacres of protestants in 1641, at Drogheda and Wexford by Cromwell- are little different, as are the grievances that set India and Pakistan at eachother’s throats

By Jesus’ time the original causes of the antagonism between Jew and Samaritanwere probably lost in the general atmosphere of hatred. The disciples’ talk aboutcalling down fire on the unwelcoming villages was only a normal Jewish reactionbut one that Jesus stamps on very firmly. In the first place it was, to say theleast, eccentric for a Jew to want to stop in a Samaritan village; to seekhospitality even more so. When his request and its implied offer of friendshipwere spurned, far from encouraging his friends’ anger, he told them off. Now,this may be an example for nations but equally, it is an example, an instruction,to us.

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, there is no room for intolerance, no roomfor grudges; we not only forgive our enemies but we forget the wrongs we thinkthey have done us. If you refuse to forget then you are refusing to forgive. Idon’t mean, of course, that we can develop a deliberate amnesia, of course wecan’t do that. We may remember the fact, but we do not repeat the emotion,the anger, the desire for revenge. Any form of discrimination, not just in jobs orwhatever, but in the way we treat ordinary people is not acceptable Christianbehaviour. Have you got any feuds in your family? People who you don’t havecontact with because of some family falling-out years ago. People who youavoid in the street because of something they said or did to you or your family?“If he’s going I am not”? “There’s no way that I will do this, that, whatever,until she apologises”?

These may seem small beer on the scale of Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan and soon but unlike those things, we can do something about them. Jesus said that ifyou are making an offering and remember a grudge against your brother, forgetyour offering because it is not acceptable until you have been reconciled to him.It is one hell of a challenge, but then, isn’t that what the Gospel is all about?

Howard Gorringe

CARE AND SHARE TIME INYEOVIL

We have enjoyed a very happy year as a group. About 30 people regularly joinus at the Baptist Church, South Street. We are so pleased to haveLinda pop in and have a chat with us most weeks; everyone is welcome to popin and join us if only for a chat or coffee, we would love to see you. We arethere 52 weeks of the year, as we believe that if you spend a lot of time onyour own or battling with an on-going health problem, time can hang heavily.To go out have a coffee and talk to someone, can make youfeel much more positive and uplifted. We run a coffee and chat morning duringthe holiday weeks. Normally we meet on Mondays from 10am onwards, have acoffee and biscuit, share a simple craft time and encourage one another andtake something home to help fill the lonely hours, knitting, crochet, cross stitchor an easy card to make. We then have a soup and sandwich lunch and finishby about 1pm. Everyone is welcome, in fact, 2 of our Church sitters have joinedus and it is lovely to have them with us.

We had an enjoyable Christmas celebration at Yeovil Town Football conferencecentre when one of our oldest and regular ladies, Audrey was 90 on the sameday December 1st. We invited many of her friends and family, a granddaugh-ter and her children from as far away as Essex. It was a greatsurprise to her as although she knew we were going out that day, she wasunaware I had contacted so many of her friends and family, a day she willnever forget I am sure.

Joyce Craner 01935421387 mob.07761330579 e-mail

Thank you to all who have contributed articles for the magazine.Can you write an article on a topic of interest to the community?

Topics could include travel, hobbies, testimonies or historical events.All articles for the July/August issue must be received

before 24th of June, 2.00pm