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Calendar for January 2014

The Little Angels mothers and toddlers group meets on Fridays at 9.45 am at St George’s Church Nailsworth when all are welcome.  Followed by refreshments in the Parish Rooms.

Next PCC Meeting

Monday 27 January at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall.

Communications

Diocesan News                 www.gloucester.anglican.org/news/publications

www.gloucester.anglican.org/news/blog

Nailsworth Benefice         www.stgeorgesnailsworth.org.uk

Kingscote Community      www.kingscoteonline.co.uk

The Curate’s Letter to the Parish

January can be the bleakest time of the year with finances and weather.  After the merriment of Christmas with the bright colourful cards and joyful carol singing, it can seem a long time before the next pay cheque and even longer for the first sign of spring.  Yet it is also a time of new beginnings with the anticipation that things will get better and look brighter.  We start the New Year well and try hard to keep to our resolutions knowing that we will probably not be able to keep to them for long.

As Bishop Michael has reminded us, Christmas is not over after Boxing Day; the season of joy carries on over the twelve days of Christmas which then leads into an Epiphany of four Sundays.  Epiphany has its own message set within the arrival of the Magi, or wise men.  They had been  travelling for some time from the East, to arrive in Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The wise men brought with them the gifts we know so well; those of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  The importance and value of the gifts not only implied honour and status to their recipient, but were chosen for their spiritual symbolism.  Gold represents the kingship of Jesus, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and with the gift of myrrh foreshadowing his death.  Myrrh was used to anoint the dead.

The climate may be bleak, but with the start of this New Year we still have much to celebrate and be thankful for as the season of Christmas flows into the festival of Epiphany and God continues to give to us.

Sue Sobczak

Flower Rota            

Weddings:   None in January

Lorna Reynolds

Cleaning Team

The next church cleaning session is at 2.30 pm on Monday 13 January.  We are always delighted to welcome anyone who would like to join the team.

Teresa Day

Grumbolds Ash Group

On Monday 20 January we meet over lunch at 12 noon at 3 The Walled Garden for our 2014 Events Planning meeting.  Please let me know that you are coming and bring your ideas.

Jutta Tubbs

Village Hall Programme

Film Night – Tuesday 14 January, ‘Topsy Turvey’, starring Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Dexter Fletcher, set behind the scene at the Mikado in Victorian London.   7.30 for 8.00 pm, admission free, pay bar.

Coffee Morning – Tuesday 21 January, 10.30 to 11.30 am.  Coffee and cake £1.50.

Curry Night – Friday 31 January, 7.30 pm, usual delicious selection of curries followed by ice cream and coffee.  Adults £8, under 10’s £4, tickets in advance from  patonbagpath@btinternet.com 

Carol Paton Tel. 860 649

Book Club at 8.00 pm

Wednesday  22 January, to discuss ‘Pure’ by Andrew Miller at Sheila’s

Wednesday 19 February, to discuss ‘Arcanum’ by Janet Gleeson at Angela’s

Wednesday 19 March, to discuss ‘The Fishing Fleet’  by Anne de Courney.

Angela Wooldridge

Kingscote Parish Council

The next PC meeting will be on Tuesday 14 January at 8.00 pm in the Hunters Hall.

Dog fouling continues to be a problem in the parish, and dog owners are asked to keep their pets on leash and remove dog mess in all public areas.  The new dog waste bins are now in position opposite the War Memorial and at the kissing gate opposite the Village Hall.  Remember, if your dog is loose in a public place, even if you did not see it offend you as the owner are still liable for prosecution.

Planning approvals:

Ashcroft House, Biomass boiler flue.

3 The Walled Garden, Kingscote, Insertion of 2 dormer windows to front and insertion of side facing window in second floor west elevation.

Planning applications:

21 Kingscote, Demolition of two existing outbuildings and erection of single outbuilding.

Last chance to give feedback on footpath sign issues.  If you know of any sign which needs replacing or repairing,  please let me know.

Parishioners are reminded that property break-ins are more common at this time of year, so security and access should be checked.

A Happy New Year from all at Kingscote Parish Council.

Anna Davison, Tel. 860 244

Free-range eggs for sale

Mrs Pat Cooksley of  2 The Windmill  normally has some free-range eggs for sale at £1 for six.

Weekly Recycling – Green food boxes and wheelie bins

All current collection points – from 7.30 am, Fridays except 11 January.

Fortnightly Recycling – Black boxes, White Bags and Blue bags

All current collection points – from 7.30 am, Saturday 11 and Friday 24 January.

Fortnightly Waste – Grey wheelie bins to landfill

All current collection points – from 7.30 am, Saturday 11 and Friday 24 January.

Bus Timetable Enquiries – Ring Traveline on  0871 200 2233.

Mobile Police Van

No announcement has been made concerning the visit schedule for 2014.

Mobile Library

The next visit will be on Friday 24 January and the van will park as usual in front of The Walled Garden from 9.30 to 11.30 am.

Magazine

Any material which may be of interest for the next issue of the Forerunner should be sent by 20 January to

H. Tubbs,  3 The Walled Garden,  Tel. 860 194.

The Editor

Obamacare

We are used to reading about problems with new UK government systems for operating the NHS and Social Welfare services.  It is interesting to see the views of the influential Canadian news magazine MACLEANS on the problems with Obamacare in their November 2013 issue, extracts from which are copied below.

‘It seems to be a disaster on so many levels that, arguably, it challenges our faith in the ability of American government to tackle large engineering problems.  One frets: Could the USA still send people to the moon if it had to ?

The administration’s web-site, intended to be the main conduit for the American uninsured to access newly standardised policies, was supposed to have signed up half a million people by the end of October.  But the Wall Street Journal reported on 11 November that only 50,000 had been able to wrestle with it semi-successfully.

The whole idea of Obamacare was to discourage uninsured Americans from staying that way, using the threat of a punitive tax to herd them all into the corral of coverage during a limited ‘open enrolment period’.

From a socialist standpoint it is natural to notice that the introduction of pure single payer medicare is never accompanied by this sort of nightmarish trouble.  For their part, anarchists and libertarians are sure that America could hardly do much worse if health care and health insurance were totally deregulated.

The (existing) American health insurance system is an insane mishmash of subsidies and social engineering, all implemented as if superstition demanded it, by means of rent-seeking private companies.  Such a ‘System’ cannot help behaving chaotically when it is tweaked even a little bit.  That’s the real difference between creating Obamacare and sending astronauts to the moon.’

The Editor

The Word from Wormingford – A Parish Year

 (An extract from the delightful book by Ronald Blythe)

Parish magazines can be divisive, having everything to say to those within church culture and making the rest of the community feel out of things.  They can still include items and styles which would not be tolerated in any other publication.  A part of me is not offended by this as I wander in and out of ancient buildings to look at their treasures and delights, ending up in the back pew to scan the local services, the flower rota (intriguing names), moved by the priest’s revealing monthly letter, and filled with understanding for the little book, having myself written so many of them.  Yet the 339th issue of our ‘Newsletter’, as it is called, emphasises what I have always felt, which is that a parish magazine should be intelligent, unapologetically ‘spiritual’ as well as the first place you would look to find out what is going on.  It should be good.

Zeal

Extracts from a meditation by Bernard Häring  1912 ~ 1998

(A leading German Roman Catholic theologian who was an

advisor to Pope Paul during the Second Vatican Council)

O faithful heart of Jesus, change us and strengthen us in this time of separation.  Help all Christians to join together in strong faith and faithful love, so that the world may believe and find the truth of life, the trust that an infinitely merciful God is concerned with fatherly love for all his creatures.  O Lord free the godless from their misery and emptiness.

Beloved Saviour, it is terrible to see that in spite of the alarming signs of the times so many Christians are apathetic and lazy.  Awaken us all, fill us with new zeal and enthusiasm, and show us the most effective ways to proclaim faith in you and in the heavenly Father.

The PCC wishes all parishioners a Happy and Successful New Year

Parish Directory

Vicar:                        Interregnum – awaiting new appointment.

Curate:                      Reverend Sue Sobczak, Horsley, Tel.  01453 833 526

Reader                       Sue White, Nailsworth, Tel: 01453 835 693

Churchwardens:         Harry Tubbs, 3 The Walled Garden, Kingscote, GL8 8YP, Tel:860194

                                 Godfrey Ainsworth, Kingscote House, Kingscote, GL8 8XY, Tel:861683

Hon.Sec.PCC:            Georgina Harford, Ashcroft House, Kingscote, GL8 8YF, Tel: 01453 860 227

Hon.Treas.PCC:         Jane Nichols, Asheldown, 3 Ashel Barn Cottages, Kingscote, GL8 8YB, Tel. 01453 860 534

Members of PCC:          The Churchwardens, The Hon. Secretary, The Hon. Treasurer, Elin Tattersall, Zoe Nichols, Philip Kendell, Chris Alford

Flower and Clean Team: Teresa Day, Vivienne Ainsworth, Angela Wooldridge, Pauline McTear.

Nailsworth MU:          Trissa Jones, Tel:  832 551

Editor of Forerunner:  Harry Tubbs, 3 The Walled Garden, Kingscote, GL8 8YP, Tel: 860 194

Gift Aid and Envelopes:   Jane Nichols, 3 Ashel Barn Cottages, Kingscote,  Tel. 860 534.

Church Flowers Rota: Lorna Reynolds, Tel. 860 231

Organist:                   Rosemary Sims, 15 Badger’s Way, Forest Green, Nailsworth, GL6 0HE,  Tel: 832 446

Sidespersons:             Harry Tubbs, Rod Tibbert, Elin Tattersall,

Godfrey Ainsworth.

Electoral Roll:            Elin Tattersall, 3 Boxwood Close, Tel.01453 860 182

Mowing Team:           Tim Sage, Harry Tubbs, Sebastian Cooper, Rick Bond, Roger Lucy, Godfrey Ainsworth,

Ken Davies.

Village Hall:               Bookings: Pauline McTear, Kingscote,  Tel. 861 311

                                 Secretary:  Carol Paton, Bagpath, Tel. 860 649

Parish Council Chairman: Graham Nichols, Asheldown, 3 Ashel Barn Cottages, Kingscote,  Tel: 01453 860 534

Parish Council Clerk:  Anna Davison, Bagpath Court, GL8 8YG, Tel. 860 244

Village Agent:             Aileen Bendall, Tel. 07810 630 156 or 01452 426 868

Printer of Forerunner:  Godfrey Ainsworth, Kingscote House, Tel. 861 683                                                    

The Forerunner is published by the P.C.C. who are usually most willing to accept copy from village groups and individuals. However, please note that the opinions and views expressed by the contributors within the Forerunner are not necessarily those of the Church, P.C.C. or Editor