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St Andrew's Church |
| Services in October | ||||
| 4th | 9.15 am | Communion (at East Haddon) | ||
| 6th | 10.30 am | Benefice Communion (at Brampton) | ||
| 13th | 11.00 am | Worship for All |
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| 20th | 9.15 am | Communion (at Norton) | ||
| 27th | 6.00 pm | Communion |
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| Full details of all services and locations here | ||||
| Services in November | ||||
| To be advised | ||||
I don’t know about you, but the month of September has always felt to me like a month that brings with it many changes. In days gone by, September meant back to school for my children as a new academic year would begin. Those days have now passed but September still feels as if it marks a shift in my year. The memories of long summer days are beginning to fade as the days grow shorter and the nights begin to draw in as the season of autumn approaches.
Today I want to tell you about two changes within the life of the Spencer Beneflce. Firstly, you may be aware that we hold a monthly benefice Communion service on the first Sunday of every month. This service moves around the benefice, giving us the opportunity to come together to worship as the whole church family. From September the time of this service will be moving to l0:30arn. My hope is that by moving to a mid-morning service, we might attract more people and that by starting earlier, people will be able to stay afterwards for refreshments and a chance to chat and get to know one another better.
The second thing I want to tell you is that starting on Wednesday 2nd October we shall be holding a weekly morning prayer meeting in both Brampton and Brington churches. Our curate Kathryn will be leading in Brampton and this service will follow a set liturgy. I shall be leading in Brington with a time of prayer inspired by the set bible readings for the day. Every Wednesday morning from 9:30 till 10:00am you will have the opportunity to come to church, pause from the busyness of life, listen to scriptures, and pray. Brington and Brampton churches are open in the daytime so if you cannot come on a Wednesday morning, you can leave your prayer request in church, and you can do this anonymously if you wish to.
As we step into the final quarter of 2019, I invite you to any of the services across the benefice, (see details above) and we offer you a new space to pray or leave your prayer requests. Surely that’s a change for the good, because I think you can never have too much prayer!
Yours in Christ
Rev Andrea Watkins
Sept 2019
We hope that you have all had an enjoyable summer. Our services over the next two months are listed in the calendar but I just wanted to let you know of a couple of things that are planned.
On 1 September we host the Benefice Communion Service. This has been brought forward to 10.30 and we will be serving coffee afterwards so I hope you will join us and take the chance to catch up with others from around the Benefice.
We will then hold our usual second Sunday Worship for All at 11.00 on 8 September and our Evening Communion on the fourth Sunday at 18.00 on 22 September.
The second and fourth Sunday pattern will be repeated in October. We will be celebrating Harvest in our 18.00 Communion Service on 27 October.
Details of our Remembrance Service have still to be finalised. Information will be posted on our noticeboard and the board on The Green.
Summer has been a busy time with work on the gravestones in the churchyard now complete. Grass (and weeds!) continue to grow so we are grateful to Roy Haynes for his work in mowing and tidying. The Brierleys have also been busy pulling up weeds and keeping the corner flower bed up to scratch.
I hope that most of you will have noticed that the timekeeping on the church clock is now accurate. The clock has gained time for many years but new technology has been developed which will automatically regulate the clock. Following discussions with the Parish Council we agreed to install this system and the Council very handsomely agreed to pay for the works.
We hope that you will be able to join us for a service in the coming months. We are always looking for new ideas and if you have any suggestions or would like to become more involved, please let us know.
Jon Brierley on 07759 443178 or email
Linda Treacy on 07752 885900 or email
Churchwardens
Dedicated to St Andrew, the parish church is one of six within the Spencer Benefice of the Diocese of Peterborough. Built in the 
12th/13thcentury the only original parts of the building remaining are the base of the tower and parts of the nave. The remainder of the nave and the upper parts of the tower were built in the later part of the 18th century. A ring of 6 bells was given in 1777 by the patron of the time ~ William Lucas Rose ~ who also paid for their installation and the building work. In 1779 he also gave a gift of communion vessels which are still in use today.
Considerable restoration work was carried out in 1878/9 when the chancel was reconstructed and the vestry and organ aisles added. Most of the existing windows were also restored. The tower and nave roofs were restored in 1957/8.
The east window contains the only stained glass in the building – the subject is Christ’s Crucifixion and dates from 1878. It is believed to be the work of Burlerison and Gryll – the purple/blue colouring being typical of their work and the stained glass designs used based on those of Germany and the Netherlands around 1500.
The Reredos behind the altar is a picture in mosaic depicting the Last Supper – a copy of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci, with the inscription beneath “Do this in remembrance of me”. The mosaic continues on either side depicting on one side ears of wheat, and on the other a grapevine.
The church clock is unusual as it was originally a one handed clock divided into ¼ hours and therefore does not have 60 minutes.
The church is surrounded by a churchyard of 0.649 acres with lovely country views looking eastwards. The earliest known gravestone is that of Thomas Embry Woolwinder who died in 1687.
In April 1994 the 6 bells and the frame were removed. The bells were taken to Whitechapel foundry in London, recast, and 2 new bells added to make a ring of 8.Tenor weight 13-1-5.
All the bells have inscriptions on them. The treble having “The Rose Bell, in memory of William Lucas Rose who gave the original six bells in 1777”. The new bells were rung for the first time on August 13th for a village wedding and were dedicated by the Bishop of Peterborough at a special service on September 29th1994.
The Bellringers practise on Monday evenings 7.45 to 9.00 pm. Anyone from 10 years can learn to ring – contact Justin Baker on 01327 844263 (e-mail) or Janet Bowers on 01327 842851 (email).
Visiting bands of ringers please contact the tower correspondent Janet on 01327 842851 (email).
St Andrew's is a small church with a friendly atmosphere which welcomes you to any of the services.
Special services include Pet Blessing, Christingle and others which rotate around the Benefice.