New Rector

Our new Rector, Canon John Simpson, joined us on March 23. He and his family Carol, John's wife and Martin, Carol's son are very welcome. We are truly delighted to see them. John has quickly settled into St Mary's routine and Martin, an organist, has already been assisting Mervyn Cox our organist. What a delight it is to have some stability after the interregnum.

Porch Roof Lead Theft

The roof has been beautifully repaired by Peter Walker from Burnett. We use local expertise where ever possible to work on the church because, after all, the money to do this comes from you, our congregation and supporters. There is still some work to do inside the porch and Peter has been asked to do this.

Lead is still very attractive to thieves. We now have the flood lights on all night to act as a deterrent and we've marked the lead with Smartwater which is a DNA type coding system enabling the police to identify it should it be stolen. Please will you all be vigilant and report anything suspicious to me and Jenny or to Harriette (NHW).

If you see anyone on the church roof between the hours of 6.00pm and 6.00am don't wait, dial 999 immediately.

The Great Cedar Tree

In the winter gales a large branch fell close to the public footpath to the north of the church. Ben Wall cleared up the mess for us. We commissioned a tree surgeon to make the tree safe. This has now been done at a cost of £400.

Open Gardens

Steve Rendell's solo efforts in organising the second Compton Dando Open Gardens Festival was a fantastic success. Thirteen gardens opened and it raised over £700 for the Church's development fund.

Church Fabric

The church building is in need of quite a lot of work. We need to:

•  Replace the Tower lead roof. It's at least 150 years old The roof has been made watertight with temporary sealant because the lead has worn out and cracked..

•  Improve/replace the heating system. It's not very effective and the boiler is over 33 years old.

•  Repair the flaking paint and plaster in the Nave and Chancel

•  Replace and repair all the fixings on the downpipes with stainless steel

•  Replace the lighting system - we can no longer replace the light bulbs (health and safety issues)

•  Build a kitchen on the ground floor of the tower to complete the tower project.

We have set up a small team to prioritise these and of course raise the funds. We will need a lot of money to complete them all.

Fundraising

It costs £50 a day to keep St Mary's going . Our average weekly collection is about £70. We get no funds from either the Government or the Church of England. So where do we get the rest from? Well, we have a number of our congregation who give regularly through standing orders and the rest comes from fundraising events like coffee mornings, big breakfasts, the Christmas Cracker and the Fayre and from individual gifts. If we want to do something special like the ringing floor and kitchen then this needs extra fundraising and this comes from the development fund. When we have to repair the church we use money from our reserves. The porch repair has just about emptied these.

One of the ways we can keep the Church going is to form a Friends of St Mary's. This would provide a focus for everyone in the village who loves the Church and would hate to see it close. We need someone to set this up and run it. So if you love the Church Building and have some spare time please get in touch with me.

Events

•  The next Big Breakfast is at 10:30, Sunday July 11 in the Village Hall. Tickets from Clive and Lorna (01761 490644). We would like some volunteers to help us please.

•  There will be a Church working party on Sat 26 June at 09:00. As usual we'll provide refreshments. There will be lots to do because everything is growing like crazy.

•  On Sunday 26 July there will be a Village Songs of Praise at 6.00pm on the Village Green. Everyone is welcome, so do come along and bring your children and friends. There will be a box just inside the Church porch for your Hymn requests.

•  Our Village Fayre is at 2.00pm on July 3 . The theme is Red, White and Blue. This is the major fundraiser for both St Mary's and the Parish Hall. The more the merrier so please bring your friends and relations to join the fun.

A Sad Note

I'm sorry to tell you that Ann Waker has died. She had been fighting cancer, very bravely, for a while. Ann was deeply loved and will be sadly missed by everyone. She was a pillar of the village from line dancing to Church flowers and many other activities as well. We shall miss her enthusiasm and cheerfulness very much. Our hearts go out to Ron and the family Her funeral is on Thursday 3 June at 4.00pm.

Services

These are as usual and please note that, despite what you may see elsewhere Evensong on the Fourth Sunday of every month is at 18:00 or 6pm in old money! Also an early warning. From September onwards the time of the 09.15 Communion on the second Sunday of the month will change to 09:30.

Clive Howarth

Churchwarden