St Giles, Costock is part of the Benefice of St Mary's, East Leake in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. The Benefice also includes the parishes of Rempstone, Stanford on Soar and West Leake.

Rector of St Mary's and the Benefice: Revd Glynis Hetherington, The Rectory, 3 Bateman Road, East Leake.

Churchwarden (acting): Mr Peter Bingley
Gift Aid Secretary: Mr Freddy Broad

The Rector and staff team

The Revd Glynis Hetherington

Licensed Reader Ron Hetherington	Licensed Reader Sue Waterston

Retired Clergy Revd David Gorik	Retired Clergy Revd Janet Gorik

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January 2012 - Calendar & News

Altar Flowers.
 1st and 8th January. Mrs K Owen.   15th and 22nd January. Mrs M Goode.

Coffee Morning.
This was held on Saturday 26th November in the Village Hall. It was very well attended a lot of new faces were to be seen. We raised the goodly sum of £582 for Church Funds, so thanks to everybody who gave so generously.  Thanks are due to the organisers, Helen and Susanne, and to the team of volunteer helpers, without whom these social occasions would be a disaster.

Christmas Tree Festival
Sincere thanks are extended to all those who participated in the inaugural Christmas Tree Festival at St Giles’ Church on 10th and 11th December.  There were 14 entries and some exceptionally creative ideas which were reflected in the closeness of some of the voting. The winners were:  Children’s section – ‘Tree in Boots’ by Orianne Capsticks; Adult section - ‘An Alternative Christmas Tree’ by Rosanne Capsticks and the Group section was won with ‘ While Shepherds washed their Socks by Night’ by the Simpkin family.

BENEFICE NOTES

DATES FOR YOUR 2012 DIARY

Annual Parochial Church Meetings
Wednesday 28th March – Stanford
Tuesday 17th April – Costock
Wednesday 18th April – Rempstone
Tuesday 24th April – West Leake
Monday 30th April – East Leake

Special Dates
Women’s World Day of Prayer Friday 2nd March
Mothering Sunday 18th March
Palm Sunday 1st April
Good Friday 6th April
Easter Day 8th April
Ascension Day Thursday 17th May
Pentecost Sunday 27th May – Deanery Confirmation at West Bridgford
Remembrance Sunday 11th November

SUNDAY 1st JANUARY
Please note that there will be just one service in the Benefice on this day.  Ths will be a Family Holy Communion service at 10am at St Mary’s Church East Leake.  So if you are at home for new year, do come along – it’s a good way to begin 2012.

SUNDAY 29th JANUARY
Once again a group will be going to Willersley Castle for a parish holiday weekend.  There wiil be two united services in the Benefice that Sunday:
10am Parish Communion at East Leake with our Area Dean,
 the Revd. John Bentham
6pm  Evensong at West Leake

BISHOP’S PRAYER WALK AND CONFIRMATION
There was a notice in December Compass about plans for Bishop Paul to visit every benefice in West Bingham Deanery for a prayer walk in May.   The Bishop’s visit to our Deanery will conclude with a Confirmation service at St. Giles’ Church, West Bridgford at 7pm on Sunday 27th May.  We have some young people interested in being confirmed and there are plans to start classes for them early in the New Year.  If there are any adults interested, or any more young people, please contact the Rector as soon as possible.

THE STAFF MINISTRY TEAM

Revd David and Revd Janet Gorick

David and Janet joined our staff team soon after retiring and moving to East Leake.  Their ministry has been greatly appreciated in our Benefice. Now they have reached a stage of life when they feel that they cannot be so active in ministry.  Since Advent they have no longer been on our rota for preaching and leading worship, although they still plan to be involved in the life and worship of our parishes.  We look forward to their continuing friendship and wish them God’s blessing.

John O’Nions
Over the last few years, due to pressure of work, John O’Nions has taken a break from his ministry among us as a licensed Reader, only helping at peak times such as Christmas.  John’s retirement from his “day job” is now imminent and John is beginning to ease himself back into the role of a Reader in our Benefice.  During the Rector’s recent sabbatical John began to take the Sacrament of Holy Communion to several Church members who are housebound and John hopes to further develop this and other areas of pastoral ministry.  His return to the staff team is timely and most welcome in these days when we have fewer ordained and licensed ministers.

Glynis Hetherington

Dear Friends 

What does January mean to you?  It could be writing letters, texts or emails, thanking people for Christmas presents.  Perhaps it’s a time for dressing in your “glad rags” for New Year parties, or browsing through brochures and searching the internet to book a summer holiday in the sun.  You might anticipate fun in the snow or cosy evenings by the fireside. On the other hand, you may find this a depressing time of year, when your spirits plummet with the drop in temperature. Perhaps you worry about how to keep warm and well.  Maybe you daren’t venture out much, or you feel trapped in your home, with attendant feelings of isolation and loneliness.

At the risk of becoming boring on the subject of breaking a wrist, I want to say that this has given me some insights into how it feels when certain simple tasks can’t be carried out unaided.  Perhaps one good thing to come out of this is a deeper empathy with those who face the frustration of being less active than they were.  I’m grateful to those who have been helping me in all kinds of ways, and I now have a little more understanding of the importance of such help to those who are frail, sick or disabled.

I know that lots of active people in our parishes keep an eye on elderly and housebound neighbours, but there may be someone reading this who hasn’t got around to contacting a neighbour who is struggling with poor health or age related problems. I’m not suggesting that this is due to selfishness or indifference. You may simply be a bit diffident about offering assistance, perhaps wondering whether or not your call would be welcome.  The likelihood is that your neighbour would be really pleased to see you, but if ringing the doorbell feels a bit daunting, you could always pop a card through the letterbox first.  Many elderly and housebound folk don’t see all that many people and would be delighted with a visit, or help with collecting prescriptions or fetching shopping.  A friendship may well begin which becomes rewarding for both of you.  A word of caution though – if your elderly neighbour doesn’t know you; you may need someone else to introduce you.  Don’t forget all those warnings about not opening the door to strangers.  Most people are genuine, but sadly there are also some unscrupulous con men out there.     

For some people the month of January means New Year resolutions.  If one of your resolutions is to befriend or help a neighbour, remember that Jesus said that whatever we do or others, it’s as if we did it for Jesus himself.

Wishing you God’s blessing in the coming year
Glynis Hetherington