{"id":3694,"date":"2020-01-29T14:44:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3694"},"modified":"2021-03-29T13:13:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T13:13:00","slug":"vicars-page-february-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/vicars-page\/vicars-page-february-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Vicar’s page – February 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previous month<\/a>  –  Next month<\/a>  –  Monthly index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Maureen’s Musings’<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The Vicar\u2019s monthly letter for the Parish News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

February 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the New Year is now firmly under way and as of the 3 1st<\/sup> January we are no longer a part of the European Union. No point looking backwards \u2013 we can only go forwards in time, so let\u2019s hope we all have a good, healthy and happy 2020 ahead of us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the church we see the final celebration of the Christmas\/Epiphany Season with the Feast of Candlemas which falls on 2nd<\/sup> February . That is when our Christmas Star will finally be dimmed \u2013 until next Christmas of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am glad so many of you delighted in our new acquisition, and spoke to me over the Christmas period of your enjoyment of seeing it lighting up the Tower during December and January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By tradition, Candlemas was the occasion when households would bring the wax candles and tapers that they had been making over the winter months, to be blessed for the year ahead \u2013 so a sort of festival of light to mark what we hope is the worst of the winter months over and the promise of spring to come… I live in hope!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lent begins this year on 26th<\/sup> February. There will be the customary services with the possibility of \u2018being ashed\u2019 at 10am and at 7.30pm as usual that day. In addition I often go into the school as well \u2013 so you may see some smudged foreheads among our younger villagers too! Please ask them about it \u2013 they will all have received a good explanation of why we do this, and have volunteered to take part; nothing is compulsory about faith in our Church school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Lent course will I hope be stimulating and challenging. We are following one based on the Film \u201cThe Theory of Everything\u201d<\/em> \u2013 the biopic made about the life of the late Stephen Hawking. I will be showing the film in its entirety before Lent, on Monday 24th<\/sup> February, in Church if anyone wants to see it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there will be five weekly sessions on the Mondays following entitled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n