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CHURCH NEWS - June 2007

Dear Friends,

Our services these days do not often include a reading from the Psalms, so in our morning services over the summer we will be looking at some of these wonderful poems that have been handed down to us through many thousands of years.

The Psalms were intended to be sung – with a joyful noise, accompanied by musical instruments (musical directions and references to what must have been well-known tunes are included in many of the titles) and they enabled people to participate in worship, expressing their praise, their laments and their thanksgivings to God. They were sung at festival times, whenever God’s people gathered together to worship him. In particular they were used at the great Covenant Festival every Autumn, when God’s special covenant with his people was remembered and celebrated. The origins of this festival go way, way back to the time when the twelve tribes of Israel first settled in the Promised Land.

It was at this festival (still preserved in the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles) that the people recalled how God had rescued them from their enemies, led them through the wilderness, revealed himself to them and given them his law to live by. Each year, as the people remembered again God’s promises to them, they responded by confessing their sins and committing themselves anew to live in obedience to God’s law.

Of course this did not happen in a neutral setting, but against the background of all the events that unfolded during Israel’s early history. God’s people experienced defeat as well as victory, they saw their temple desecrated and razed to the ground, and they themselves, kings and commoners alike, were carried off into captivity in Babylon where they would remain for 400 years. Nearly a third of the Psalms reflect these unhappy events, where God’s people struggle to come to terms with what has happened to them and why God, who rescued his people in the past does not act in power to save them from their present troubles.

The remarkable thing is that even in the bleak and difficult years, faith shines through – lament is laced with thanksgiving and affirmations of trust in God. Such ‘Psalms of Confidence’ are utterly unique amongst the writings of the ancient Middle-East. They reflect an unwavering belief that ultimately enemies will be overcome, God’s justice will prevail and his people will be saved and restored. Through good times and bad – failed harvests, epidemics, wars, disease, persecution, mockery, doubt and burden of sin – the people look to God who is faithful to his promise and who will not abandon them.

This is why the Psalms still continue to stir and inspire us as we encounter all the varied circumstances of our lives. May God encourage and strengthen our faith, as over the summer we reflect on these extraordinary songs, and renew our own covenant relationship with him.

The Prayer Group

What is the Prayer Group? It is made up of members of All Saints Church who undertake to pray regularly, on an individual basis, for people who ask us for prayer support.

What will you pray about? Anything which you would like brought before God; maybe anxiety due to illness, stress or loneliness. You can also tell us of a special day you wish to be remembered – perhaps for an interview or an exam. Any information will be treated in strictest confidence.

How can I let you know if I would like you to pray for me? You can either telephone Christine (720234), or drop a note through the Rectory door, or complete a card (anonymously if you wish) and place it in a box kept near the church door. Prayer requests will be collected from the box each Sunday morning after the 10.00am service.

Meeting Point June

Wed 13^th 10.30am at Catherine’s, Manor Cottage, Harrold.

Wed 27^th 10.30am at Eileen’s, 24 Church Hall Rd., Rushden.

Our Giving in June is to CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society).

The work of C.P.A.S. is to give aid to both churches and individuals in such wide-ranging areas as evangelising, training for clergy and laity, youth work, holiday activities for young people, provision of resources (books, courses etc.), working with older people and specialised ministry to both men and women. However, their primary goal is supporting the mission of the local church in taking the gospel to the poor. Please give generously to this worthwhile charity.

Ouse Valley Singers

12.30pm: Following this we shall be having a BBQ for all helpers and residents of Horsefair Lane and Mill Lane. Meat and Salads will be provided, but please bring your own crockery, cutlery and drink and we look forward to seeing you there. If possible, please let Mandy Sharpe (720414), Jill Cheadle (720261) or Roberta Goodman (721514) know if you are able to come to the BBQ – if not, just turn up on the day.

Looking back on the last 12 months – I am delighted and much encouraged at what has been achieved.

Although attendance of children and young people has been disappointingly low on Sundays – this is not not the whole picture. This month sees the launch of the new Monday Club for 5-11 year olds, and through joining with Harrold and Carlton we have access to the children’s Holiday Club events, and various one-off events for teenagers, including going to Greenbelt in August 2007. In addition I was invited to chair the Churches Together Children and Young People Leadership team.

It is not appropriate for All Saints’ Odell to be part of the Harrold and Carlton Local Ecumenical Partnership arrangements, but we have been warmly welcomed to participate in the broader based Churches Together events (which includes the Roman Catholics), and this has worked well. We have enjoyed joint services at Pentecost, Ash Wednesday, throughout Holy Week and to celebrate the abolition of the slave trade. We also benefited from joining together in the Autumn to run an Alpha course, in January for the Vision for Action weekend led by the Bishop of Bedford, and in March/April for various Lent Groups which were all well attended. I have occasionally assisted with services in the LEP and Rev’d Jean Burrows and myself swap pulpits about 3 times a year.

At a PCC Away-Day in July we reviewed our ministry and mission using Robert Warren’s “Seven Marks of a Healthy Church” as a baseline. We concluded that though we have a strong sense of being a welcoming and accepting community, energised by faith, we needed to look outwards more and be prepared to face the cost of change and growth.

We have made good progress on this, through the magazine and the Fete, the Fairtrade Café, the joint events with Harrold and Carlton churches, through the All Saints’ Amblers walking group, and churchyard workparties. We are beginning to implement a churchyard environmental management programme under the guidance of the Beds Wildlife Trust. These are all good bridge-building activities which strengthen our links with the local community. Our lovely churchyard is often visited by non-churchgoers and the majority of graves are well tended. Two volunteers are working with me to identify and record the graves dating from 1933 to the present. I am indebted to Mrs Eileen Shakespeare for her record of the interments of cremated remains in the Garden of Remembrance.

During the last 12 months we have established a prayer-group which prays confidentially for people with different needs on a daily basis, and have been encouraged by God’s goodness in answering these prayers.

We have much to rejoice over, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in the coming year as we seek how best to serve God together in this Parish.

Thank you for all the cards and messages of condolence following the death of my wife Florrie. Many thanks to Rev’d Christine Clark for organising the thanksgiving service, to all who attended and the ladies who kindly arranged the refreshments in the village hall afterwards. It was very much appreciated. The collection for the charity Kidney Research UK raised £352.  Ken Shellard

Florence Shellard, known affectionately to all her friends as Florrie, was born in Colmworth, the 10^th child of the fourteen surviving children of Frederick and Mabel Fensom. The Fensom family were agricultural contractors working with steam engines in the surrounding villages. Florrie attended the village school and as a small girl was a keen Brownie.

She left school at the age of fourteen and three years later came to Odell to work as a landgirl for Ken Brookes at Rectory Farm. She lodged with Mr and Mrs Shellard in Horsefair Lane and in 1944 married Ken. Florrie took a keen interest in all aspects of village life, organising dances to raise money for the local scout troop, cubs and other causes. In 1959 her daughter, Jocelyn was born.

Florrie was an active member of the Odell tennis club for many years. Her support for All Saints’ Church included being on the PCC, teaching in Sunday school and for many years she marshalled a team to prepare the food and wait on tables at the Harvest Supper, sitting to eat only when everyone had eaten their fill.

Barbara Fowler recalls another part that Florrie played in village life

 Picture in your mind Odell School. Now think of it as a theatre. The production being staged runs continually but the actors change every few years. They come in to learn the basic skills that will take them on their journey through life. Not only the rudiments in the three R’s but also teaching them to relate to other people and carry with them the qualities required of a civilised society.

Every theatre requires operatives and in the school we had people working who filled those roles. I saw Florrie as the Stage Manager. She was able to absorb her surroundings and to see what was required of her in so many aspects. She assisted many of the actors as they came into that new environment and gave them directions to help keep the show running smoothly. She kept the theatre clean and tidy. She organised the food. Most of the children thought she cooked it as well. Off stage and outside Florrie was Commander Supremo. No one escaped her eagle eye but she would be first to join in their games and fun.

Florrie also held the position of Secretary but I think without the title. In those days there was very little paperwork and it seemed to me that it was all sorted and dealt with out on the draining board; there certainly was no office space.

Florrie played many parts in the production overall.

Had we been selling tickets she would have been busy in the Box Office because we did not seem to lack takers for our productions. It was a happy house and Florrie with her fine looks and bearing certainly played many parts on her way.

As Shakespeare said: ‘One man in his time plays many parts’ and in this village Florrie did just that.

Jonathan Harrison tells of Florence’s devotion to the village.

I want to tell you about Florence as I knew her as a member of the Odell Parish Council.

Florence has given so much to this village of Odell, and I have been privileged to know her while I have lived here.

I knew her best after I was elected to the Parish Council, by which time she was already an experienced Member.

There was no part of our village life with which she was not familiar, and with most, she was intimately involved. She could therefore guide the Parish Council on any subject that came before the meeting, and give useful contributions on so many subjects.

She passionately defended this beautiful village from despoliation in connection with planning decisions which came before the Council from Bedford Borough, and this she did without fear or favour.

She joined in the fight to replace the concrete street lamps, known as dying swans. They were ugly, and the steel reinforcing was going rusty. The Council learnt that at last they were to be scrapped. And in the teeth of opposition from the Powers that be, we got the ones which we now have, and of which neighbouring parishes are extremely jealous.

She saved the telephone box from its removal which BT threatened. They had decided on a horrid little yellow one, a real eyesore it would have been, as well as being drafty and uncomfortable to the user. It is now protected by a preservation order.

Florence also took it upon herself to open up the Village Hall for our meetings, making sure the lights were on and all ready for the business of the evening.

Her devotion to the welfare of the Village and all the people of Odell was recognized by the Bedford Borough Council when she received a Civic award for Citizenship from the Mayor of Bedford in a ceremony in the Howard Rooms in the Corn Exchange in Bedford.

She never failed to attend a meeting, health permitting, and when she finally decided not to stand again in the Election for Parish Councillors, it was decided to present her with a Silver Tray, suitably inscribed, to record the appreciation of the Council for her long devoted and meritorious Service to the village.

A few years ago she presented this tray to All Saints Church, and it stands on the altar in the South aisle to this day, as a fitting memorial to Florence.

I consider it my privilege to have known her.

The Lavendon & District Branch of the British Legion pay tribute

The Lavendon & District Branch of the British Legion and indeed the British Legion movement as a whole owe a debt of gratitude to Florence’s loyal and dedicated work carrying out door to door sales of poppies in the Odell area over many years. When I say many I mean not 5,10 or 20, but over 40 to 50 years.

Over the years she has been awarded a British Legion badge recognising 35 years service and in addition a Bar awarded for a further 10 years collecting.

In the early years Florence was a major contributor to the overall total, regularly collecting over £100 of the grand total of £700 to £800. This, in the days when donations of halfpennies, pennies, shillings and perhaps the odd half crown were commonplace, a truly magnificent effort.

Over the years Florence must have made many friends in the village on her annual rounds, sadly today we have failed to find a replacement for her and the only contribution from Odell is a collecting box in ‘The Bell’.

In conclusion I would like to record a sincere thank you to Florence for her supreme efforts and dedication to a worthy cause and offer sympathy to her family in their loss.

Keith and Pat pay tribute to their Good Neighbour

We appreciated the welcome Ken and Florrie gave us when we came to the village in 1988. Florrie proved to be a mine of local information, a good listener with an amazing ability to absorb and remember facts. She became a good friend to Pat and enjoyed lending her books on subjects of mutual interest.

Her support of Jocelyn as Akela of the Cubs was unstinting and she put a great deal of time and effort into co-producing the three volumes of the Pictorial History of Odell in conjunction with Ernie and Edie Surridge, Peter Coleman and Derek Spencer.

Doreen Wheeler adds a personal note.

Jim and I moved next door to Florrie & Ken 22 years ago. Initially, I worked full time and was not very involved with village life. This did not stop Florrie being a good neighbour. On one occasion we were on holiday and she thought she heard someone in our house. She called the farmer opposite and she accompanied him (armed with an axe) to investigate. It was, in fact, a friend watering the house plants but it was typical of Florrie. She didn’t ignore the situation hoping it would go away or leave it to someone else to sort. She handled it, but in a sensible way.

When I eventually finished work I joined the WI. Florrie was one of the founder members and was still a member when we celebrated our 50th birthday. She was a loyal member and always supported and contributed to any events. As she grew older and was less happy to come out on dark nights she decided to leave. I suggested she could join us on light evenings, but she would not consider being a fair weather member. She would only accept total commitment.

Of course Jocelyn, was very dear to her heart. She loved and cherished her, but accepted the way Joss decided to handle her illness even though it was not in tune with Florrie’s wishes. She was devastated when Joss died, but as with everything she handled it with great dignity.

More recently, I went with Florrie for any hospital and doctors’ appointments. Her medical conditions were many, varied and complicated. She always wished to know the exact circumstances she was facing and then faced them with courage. She would assess the options and decide which route she would take. She was a very determined lady and would set herself targets despite the considerable pain she was suffering. Her GP was astonished at some of the difficulties she overcame.

But above all she was interested in people and concerned for their welfare. If she knew there were problems in our family she always asked after them and tried to help. She supported charities that were dear to her heart, especially those that were associated with Joss. And then there was her incredible memory. It was typical that when I asked her about a now demolished building she went to great lengths to tell me its history. But later that day a ‘Florrie note’ as they were affectionately known, was pushed through our door with three more pages of details that she had since remembered.

My abiding memory will be her smile, which even when she was ill, lit up her whole face. She was more than our next door neighbour. She was a friend; a lady whom I admired, respected and shall most definitely miss.

Florence Shellard

The collection from Florrie's Thanksgiving Service in aid of the British Diabetic Association and The Dialysis Unit Centre at Addenbrooke's Hospital amounted to £352.00.   Ken Shellard

Electronic mail address

email is mag1 at odellbeds.net

 
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Last revised: June 02, 2007.