Category: theological

Rogation Sunday at East Walton Sunday May 29th.

A service in the tiny hamlet of East Walton for Rogation Sunday and along with Farmer Bill Lewis we enjoyed a service in church followed by the traditional ‘ Beating the Bounds’ around the parish boundaries.

Rogation Sunday is always before Ascension Day and comes from the Latin verb, rogare meaning to ask. To ask, to seek and to find. The sermon for the day is on the Faith and Practice page and links the asking and seeking to following pathways and finding your way in a theological meaning.

And after the service we made the first stop into the barley field for a small glass of beer and a prayer. The next stop was at the very old ash tree in the field of sheep and lambs, looking very parched. We found our way to the village green and the sign before the next stop in Dilys’ garden for a glass of wine and then a trek across the common to enter a beautiful garden for a picnic and several different sorts of cakes.

What a real sense of community, a great day!

Revd Sue Martin

Palm Sunday April 16th 2011
St Mary’s Church East Walton, West Norfolk

Our second Country Church service with style.

Staring at the church we followed two young donkeys down the lane on this beautiful morning. They were quite skittish and enjoying the attention but walked into the churchyard with the young and older followers behind. With a bit of extra encouragement and a stronger pull on the rope they walked into church and stood in front of the nave.

At the first hymn, ‘We have a king who rides a donkey’ they were taken into the front box pew. An unfamiliar sight in the traditional box pew and I couldn’t help wondering what the last users of the pew would have thought.

We said goodbye to them after the hymn and they were taken back to be put out in the grass field just behind the church.
Jesus, of course, travelled on the young donkey, not on a grand horse but on the humble animal, the beast of burden.

More details and sermon are on Faith and Practice section

Revd Sue Martin

Curate in the Gayton benefice

I’ll be there for you always! Mothering Sunday

4th Sunday in Lent 3rd April 2011
Hebrews 12: 22 – 24
John 9

This is what it means to be a Mum, never far away, even though the miles may separate us. Always there, ever present, ever by your side.

Of course not all of life is as wonderful and romantic as that. Just think for moment of all those times when being a Mum or a parent is just plain hard work, never in the right place, always wearing the wrong thing, saying the wrong words….

Being a mother so what does it mean,what are the words that it conjures up; love, care, nurture, encourage, guide, friend, supporter, healer, teacher, the list goes on and I’m sure you can add lots to it.

Quite a list but yet the best thing in the world. Celebrate with us on this Mothering Sunday.

Revd Sue Martin

Lambs and Springtime, New Life and New Beginnings

At a very special new service style we held a Lambing Service at Abbey Farm East Walton in the Lambing Shed on Sunday 20th Feb. at 2.30pm

On this cold winters day we walked through the barns and round the farmyard into the lambing sheds. Wellies were definitely needed and warm coats, scarves and gloves wrapped even the smallest children and toddlers.

And what a wonderful group of people arrived for the service, families, children, grandparents, older couples, young teenagers, and of course the sheep. The ewes with their new born lambs, some with twins, some with triplets and the orphan lambs or kadhi lambs that needed feeding from the bottle.

Farmer Bill had arranged straw bales in front of the expectant ewes so the backdrop for the service and where I was to stand from was surrounded by the sheep – a flock indeed!

In the horsebox at the open shed doors was Rachel with mugs of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, a very welcome touch of warmth.

At the start of the service people were seated on the straw bales and with mugs of steaming hot chocolate in hand. We sang All things bright and beautiful. The sheep were stunned into silence!

I talked about the lambs and new life, signs of spring. Farmer Bill found a very special bucket that the sheep recognised at once. No looking back from this point!
I started to get a little more serious in my talk but was completely drowned out by the sheep behind me who were definitely in the limelight with their loud Baa’s .

Undeterred I continued with the prayers and found that the sheep, now thoroughly getting into the spirit of things were responding with a choral ‘Baa’ at the pauses.

We finished with Morning has Broken and then went on to feed the lambs and have more hot chocolate.

A wonderful way to join together, who needed all the words that I had ready.

The lambs and the sheep said it all, new life and new beginnings in action.

Revd Sue Martin