Church re-opening

Church re-opening

We are delighted to announce that St Michael’s Church will re-open on Sunday 5th July. However, in line with safeguarding rules, the church will only be open for private prayer, and this will be limited to the south aisle, the area to your right as you come into the church. The rest of the church (nave, north aisle, chancel etc) will be closed off and inaccessible.

The church will only be open for two days a week:

Sunday 1pm – 5pm

Thursday 9.30am – 1pm

There will be a sanitation station in the porch, and you are asked to wash your hands on entering and leaving the church. At all times, social distancing of two metres should be observed, and this is especially relevant in the porch area. To help maintain this protocol, certain pews will be marked as ‘out of use’. We have had to remove all prayer books, bibles and other literature.

Whilst churches are allowed to open for public worship (subject to social distancing) from 4th July, we still have to complete a Risk Assessment and other arrangements before we can open up the rest of St Michael’s church for public worship, and this will not be before the beginning of August.

Parish Wide Litter Pick

Parish Wide Litter Pick

Over the last few days several village residents have come together to facilitate the parish wide litter pick. Its disapointing to have to resort to these activities but its the price we pay for a consumer society that has poor environmental credentials especially the redbullswillingcostacoffeelobbingmcdonaldsthrowingheinekensboozingcoladrinkingsandwichpackmunchingcrisppackettossing clients who think the highways and byways are perfect receptacles for their (multiple choice answer here)

“muck” “detritus” “crap” “rubbish” “stuff”

Thanks to all who joined the effort, we had a great age spread of pickers but our work is not quite complete. A special task force will tackle the worst offending stretch of road from the Horse pond to Lutton cross roads, and to be truly parish wide we need to pick the road to Lutton as far as Gypsy Lane so look out for another call to arms.The Gidding Environmental squad also took the opportunity to don waders and tidy the inside of Chapel End pond following the recent Ash tree felling. The overflow is working correctly and I would like to encourage anyone walking past the pond to keep the road drains clear . There are three grates that allow surface road water to flow into the pond but they get clogged up. A simple job with a stick will lessen the flow of surface water flowing down Chapel End in times of heavy rain (self help)

Another occassional problem is fly tipping. Hunts District Council operate an online reporting service and in my recent experience are very responsive to problems. They need an accurate location and a photo helps especially if its a big heap. They can judge what size vehicle to send out. What 3words is a very useful location app and is worth space on your mobile device.

Links below

https://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk/environmental-issues/fly-tipping/

https://what3words.com/daring.lion.race

Choral Evensong at St Michael’s, Saturday 28th September

Choral Evensong at St Michael's, Saturday 28th September

There was a good congregation for this service on Saturday afternoon. The service was conducted by Revd Canon Fiona Brampton (our new Associate Priest), and the music was led by the St Peter’s Singers of Peterborough, under the direction of Jeremy Jepson.
The theme of the service was centred around the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. This gave the singers the opportunity to sing the carol “The angel Gabriel from heaven came” and the congregation to sing “It came upon the midnight clear”.
It was a great pleasure to welcome back the Revd Mary Jepp (and her husband Michael), who gave the address.
After the service, wine and nibbles were served, and this gave everyone a chance to chat to Mary and Michael.

The gap in the Jubilee Wood hedge, a photographic record

The gap in the Jubilee Wood hedge, a photographic record

This is an interactive exercise for digital camera users, a chance to get your photograph on the village website.

 

Along the eastern boundary hedgerow of the Jubilee Wood is a large gap in the hedge deliberately maintained so as to provide a “window” for the view beyond the hedge.


Jubilee WoodHere’s the gap, all you have to do is take your digital photograph(s) standing closer to the hedge (examples below) and then send it to  the  website editor and  if suitable it will be uploaded into the gallery that accompanies this page

We are looking for changing season’s, weather, field activity, the moon, the sun rising anything you see through this gap.  Zoom, standard or wide angle lens, it doesn’t matter.

A short description would help.

Submit your picture here

 

 

 

 

 

Service of Remembrance

Service of Remembrance

This year our Service of Remembrance at St Michael’s Church on Sunday 12th November takes place in the late afternoon at 5pm. The Sawtry Branch of the British Legion will be in attendance, and the service will be taken by Revd Mandy Flaherty. Before the service, the restored Roles of Honour will be re-dedicated. These were subject to water damage as a result of the lead theft from the roof.

 

There will be no morning service.

Mary Jepp begins her new life in Kilmarnock

Mary Jepp begins her new life in Kilmarnock

The Induction of Revd Mary Jepp took place at Holy Trinity Church, Kilmarnock on Thursday 15th June. A number of people from the Benefice travelled north to attend.

The church was packed for the service taken by the Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway. Besides Mary’s parishioners and members of other churches, the Provost (Mayor to you and me) of Kilmarnock and the local MP attended. After the service, there was an amazing spread in the church hall attached to the church, and we ‘Sassenachs’ were made to feel very welcome. We were left in no doubt as to the warmth of a community in very different surroundings from ours, and feel Mary and Mike will be very happy in this new chapter of their lives.

The two pictures reflect two aspects of the evening. The first might be said to show the formal Mary, with the Bishop. The second shows the real Mary with two of her new parishioners.

Michael Keck

Mary’s final service ends on a merry note

Mary's final service ends on a merry note

The Revd Mary Jepp’s final service took place on Sunday 21st May at St Michael’s Church. The service was one of Choral Evensong. We were delighted to welcome back “Divers Voyces” to lead the music, and they sang settings by Bruckner, Morales, Holst and Peter Phillips. The organist, appropriately, was Paul Herring, one of Lois Jordan’s sons.

Before the service Mary re-dedicated the organ in memory of Lois, whose legacy paid for the additional work to be done. After the service, Mary Read made a presentation to Mary of a book on Icons and a cheque for £450. After the presentation, the two Mary’s were seen dancing down the nave together like the conclusion of a Morcambe & Wise Show. An appropriate ending, which highlighted the joy and happiness that Mary Jepp brought to her ministry in our community.

We wish Mary and Mike every success and happiness in the latest chapter of their lives, about to start in Kilmarnock.

Michael Keck

Talk and organ recital – CANCELLED

Talk and organ recital - CANCELLED

DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE TALK AND ORGAN RECITAL
ON FRIDAY 19TH MAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
THE EVENT WILL BE RE-SCHEDULED LATER THIS YEAR.

Friday 19th May 2017 at 7.30 pm in St Michael’s Church at Great Gidding

José Hopkins (Diocese of Ely Organ Advisor) will give a short talk about the organ builder Denman of York, following which Stephen Barber (Kings Cliffe Parish Church) will give a 50 minute recital demonstrating to advantage the work recently completed on our own organ.

Light refreshments

Free Admission – there will be a retiring collection.

Work is in progress on the Denman organ in St Michael’s Church to achieve what might be termed “the completion” of the instrument. When the organ was built in the late nineteenth century; like today, money was obviously tight for the then congregation (nothing changes!). Accordingly certain things weren’t included, and this work seeks to remedy those omissions.

The work – being carried out by E J Johnson & Son (Cambridge) Ltd – has three elements:

  • provision of the missing bottom 12 notes of the Swell Oboe, using full length Bassoon pipes
  • a new coupler mechanism, including a Swell to Pedal coupler – never previously installed
  • restoration of the Great Viola di Gamba rank, including new pipework

It is with thanks to Lois Jordan for her legacy which has enabled this work on the organ to be carried out.