If you want to see what has been changed this month then take a look at What's New.

Appologies. There was a slight error in the latest edition of Grapevine. It showed the Christmas Day service in Collingham as being at All Saints whereas it should have said St. John the Baptists. This has been corrected on the Grapevine page of this site and a new .pdf file has also been uploaded. If you plan to attend the service in Collingham on Christmas Day then please make sure that you go to the correct church.

It is my sad duty to report the death of Eric Ashton this month. A few people from the group were able to attend his funeral service. I hope to get a copy of the eulogy that was given so that I can share it with you all to record and celebrate the life of this remarkable man.

I'm sure that by now you have all heard David's news, he has received a much deserved promotion and I'm sure that we are all very happy for him. Sadly it does mean that he will be moving on to another parish at the end of January. He will be missed throughout the group. This will be your last chance to join David in celebrating Christmas in our group so please attend as many services as you can. Let's give him a good send off!

We have had some photos of the Bishop's visit, way back in June, sent in so here are a few of them along with the special monthly news letter that was sent out in July to commemorate the event. Let's begin with an introduction from David.

Dear all,
This special edition of our monthly East Trent Group letter is written in celebration of the Inauguration of our East Trent Group. I am very grateful to Christine Hasman for her reflections on the many events she supported. I have added some thoughts of my own to complete the picture.

We had a very short time to prepare for Bishop Paul's visit. A small group worked hard to ensure that the day ran smoothly. Timing was central to the success of the programme for the day. Once in place, arrangements were made about refreshments at various places across the group. The contribution made by our local Primary Schools added much to the event at the Joe Hallam Pavilion as did the banners, flowers and general decoration. The music at the showground was provided by the Music Group, led by Anne Speed, organ and other instruments played at other services by Anne Wynne. Last but not least, the choir prepared by Alan Stone for both the Morning Worship at the show ground as well as Choral Evensong held at St Helena, South Scarle.

The Consecration of the Cemetery at Collingham became a very thought provoking occasion as the party attending strode around the area in the Bishop's footsteps 'Beating the Bounds'. The hymn 'The Lord's My Shepherd' was sung, the Diocesan Registrar taking the lead. Bishop Paul then went to St. John Baptist where he was shown around the church.

I pick up my reflection of the day with Bishop Paul's afternoon visits to St. George the Martyr, South Clifton, and Holy Trinity Besthorpe. At Clifton the bishop had an opportunity to meet a number of local people, in particular Rosamund Akrill a longstanding member of its church community. At Besthorpe the Bishop took part in a lively question and answer session followed by a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving for the new church roof.

The day was very up lifting. The hard work put in by so many, was for me a real demonstration of the true Christian spirit active within our communities.

David, July 2010

Thanks for that David. Now for Christine Hasman's contribution.

What a day the 6th of June was, when our Bishop, the Right Revd Paul Butler and his Chaplain, Revd Canon Tony Evans visited our group of churches. I know that the day was a very busy one for a great many people, and I think I was one of them, as there didn't seem to be much opportunity for a rest! I hope that giving an account of the day from my own perspective will jog some happy memories.

We were off to a fairly damp start after the thunder storms of the night before, but when I arrived at the Joe Hallam Pavilion at 9.15am to take my place in the choir, the room was almost full already. The atmosphere was one of excitement and expectation, and on my part, a little nervousness, but all the choir pieces went well, as did the rest of the service, and when Revd David was formally licensed as Priest in Charge of the Group by Bishop Paul, this was greeted with enthusiastic applause. A careful eye was kept on the time as we enjoyed refreshments after the service, and then it was back home for a 5 minute break to collect our food contribution for the faith lunch.

At 11am, Ian and I were out of the door and off to Harby to join Wilf Turner and his band in ringing the bells for the mid-day service, during which Bishop Paul blessed the repairs to the church roof and was presented with a gift. He took the time to share the Peace with everyone present before the Communion, which is gradually becoming known as a kind of trademark of his. After the service, the village hall played host to the faith lunch, and I really don't think the tables could have held much more food! Bishop Paul was chatting with as many people as possible, and Ian and I were no exception. We spoke mostly about bell-ringing; we already knew that Bishop Paul is very enthusiastic about the role of bells in bringing people to worship, as he has graciously accepted the invitation of the Southwell & Nottingham Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers to be our President. He seemed very interested to hear about the ringing which we would be doing during the day, and so was Revd Tony as his daughters were bell ringers at Sutton in Ashfield.

It was quite difficult to leave Harby as we were enjoying the lunch, but our next stop was our home church at Winthorpe for a spot of bell-ringing in time for Bishop Paul's visit at about 3.15pm. We rang for about 15 minutes then managed to catch the tail end of Bishop Paul's talk before whizzing off to South Scarle for... some more bell-ringing! South Scarle has a fledgling band of bell-ringers being taught by Richard Sutton, but they aren't quite ready yet to ring together as a team, so at the moment the Winthorpe ringers help Richard whenever ringing is requested for a service. The church filled up very quickly and I just managed to take my place in the choir's ranks after we finished ringing, feeling a little warmer than I would have liked after all that exercise!

Revd David was keen for us to have choral evensong, so under the direction of Alan Stone, and accompanied by Anne Wynne, the choir gave their all to fulfil the request, in 4-part harmony and with David himself joining the ranks of the tenor section, just in case anyone wonders where he kept disappearing to. During the service Bishop Paul reflected on the busy day which he had enjoyed. He thanked his chauffeur Nigel Priestley, commenting on the fact that he had never before ridden in a vintage car, and was presented with another gift. Afterwards, tea and cakes were enjoyed by all, and we made our way home, just before the rain started in earnest once more.

I think there will be lots of different viewpoints and memories of the day; as Revd David said at South Scarle, it's an event which will never be repeated, but it will most likely long be remembered.

With my very best wishes,
Christine Hasman

P.S. If anyone has an interest in learning to ring the church bells, you will be very warmly welcomed to any of the three practices which take place in our group. Please contact my husband Ian, the Web Master, for further information.

November's news was:

Last month David attended fifteen Harvest Festivals throughout the group (including school services). Somehow he managed to maintain his level of enthusiasm throughout and lead the congregation through "We Plough The Fields and Scatter" with gusto on many occasions. He now has a month to prepare himself for the multiple Carol Services ahead. Please show your support by attending your local Carol Service and as many more as you can get to.