What’s On at St Peter and St Paul’s in May

We are starting off the month with a very special service for Rogation Sunday: traditionally the time when the farms and fields are blessed to try and ensure a good harvest later in the season. This year, it has been decided to hold a Deanery-wide service at St Peter and St Paul’s in Algarkirk, with the Bishop of Grantham, and the Rural Dean officiating. After a sung evensong, which will start at 6pm, the clergy and the congregation will walk in procession to the nearby fields where (weather permitting) the Bishop will give the traditional blessing. To mark the close relationship between the sister churches of our benefice, the churchwardens of Algarkirk, Fosdyke and Kirton will join the Bishop in leading his procession through the church and village. Choir members from all the churches in the Deanery have been invited to bring their robes and join together to form a deanery choir for the evening. It should be wonderful! There will be refreshments served in the village hall afterwards: do come and join us, and if you know of a farm that you would like added to the list of those to be prayed for, let your churchwarden have the name before the service, or call Cheryllyn on 460174.

If this were not enough to make May special, in addition to our usual activities (we are flower arranging at the Crafty Coffee Club, and the glass group are having an open morning to which everyone is invited), on the 25th SPAB are holding a training day so that we can all become more proficient in the ministry of welcome. How we welcome people into our churches – visitors as well as worshipers – and how we present our church to the outside world can make a huge difference. SPAB are also helping a group of volunteers explore the idea of staging a Holland Churches Festival, rather like the one that is currently held in West Lindsey every year. If you would like to be involved, or are just curious about how you can make your church a more welcoming place, come along to the training day. A delicious lunch is provided, and it is all free of charge.

Then, on 22nd of the month, Algarkirk will be hosting a Reminiscences Day when we are inviting the people of the area to bring their memories, photos and any other pieces of memorabilia that they may have to the church. We’d like to take copies of pictures and listen to tales bygone days. As part of our investigations into our church’s history, we want to be able to discover and share the social history of our area and its people too. So, if you have a story to tell, or know of someone who has, please come and join us. We’d love to hear from you.

And to make it even more worthwhile, there will be guided tours of the church, and a chance to see objects not usually available for public viewing – such as our silver Jacobean communion cup, and the Beridge silver. There will be family activities too (a grotesque hunt!), and lots for the children to do. Loads of fun, (and plenty of cakes!), music and May-time merriment for everyone: it will be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Then on the following Sunday (29th May) we shall be opening our doors again for our joint service with our sister churches. This will be the first time we have hosted the joint service for some years, and we are looking forward to it very much. It has been a great joy to us to be able to work increasingly closely with Kirton and Fosdyke while we have been in vacancy, and I think the benefits of fellowship and co-operation that have grown from this may prove to be the most lasting legacy of this interregnum period!

With all this activity, we hope to see you all at Algarkirk this month!