Have a look at the Young People's page, with slide shows of car washing and the Sunrise! picnic.

July 2 - 4 was a busy weekend for our church youngsters. On the Friday evening, a number of the teenagers joined the Street Churches outing to Ham Hill, where they played a 'wide game' which, as far as I can gather, involved transporting a lot of water about in teams and possibly getting other teams quite wet into the bargain. This proved very popular! There was then a barbecue, a generous quantity of doughnuts, a short talk by Nick Poole from the Harvest Church, and a chance to mingle and ramble together. They arrived back in Street at about ten o'clock, looking tired and damp! So, definitely a good evening and an idea which the youth leaders hope will grow, because everyone benefited from meeting young people and their youth leaders from other churches.

Saturday, of course, was Fête day. Delaja and Helen ran a stall offering badge-making which proved very popular and they also sold some of the greetings cards they had been busy making beforehand. When I quizzed some of the younger fête-goers about what they had done during the morning, I got a variety of answers. Freya had bought some cakes and two badges, and she'd had her face painted as a cat. Flo helped to sell badges and cards and had herself painted up as a rainbow. Lots of people had a go on Jim's Scooter Challenge, where only 30p bought them a go on the ramp and see-saw - and a chance to brave the water zone, which was in full swing when I saw it, thanks to Tim Hatrey and his water pistol. Alexa helped run a 'pea game', where for 20p you had a chance to suck peas up onto the end of a straw and transfer them into a bowl for the grand count-up at the end. Alexa was pleased to note that a child had the largest total (16 in a minute) and that the next best adult managed only a measly 14.

On the Sunday, during the service, a number of Explorers worked on rehearsing a dramatised version of the story from Matthew about Jesus healing a leper which they had been asked to prepare for the following week's Family Service. They took on the acting parts, delegated the narration to a couple of spare Cyfinders (thank you, Dan and Helen) and the stage management to Sam and Tim Hopkins and got the whole thing ready in about forty minutes flat. What a team!

Marian Jones

From Our Rector

Dear Friends,

August - the lazy, hazy days of summer. Once again we have arrived at the holiday season, a chance to recharge batteries, enjoy time with family and to take a break from the everyday pressures of life. Even if we are not going away, it is a chance to have a change of routine and that in it’s self can be good. However a word of warning, please do not fall into the trap of having a holiday from God. It is easy when our normal pattern of life changes to neglect some of the important key moments of our day. Some of you, like me, have to take regular medication everyday, I have eye drops and during the course of a normal day my routine ensures that I take them and don’t forget them. When holidays change the routine I am in danger of missing my medication. Likewise for many when holidays change our routine our time for God can get lost, our Bible reading and our prayer can be neglected. This is not only sad but can be spiritually dangerous, because the evil one never takes a holiday from seeking to undermine our faith and trust in God.

So rather than allow holidays to take out your time for God try and use them to make space for Him. Many of us enjoy a good book on holiday, so why not include a Christian book in your holiday reading. There are many excellent Christian books available so why not trot down to one of the book shops listed in last months "Life" and put God into your holiday.

August is also often a time of preparation for change; for little ones, school in September will bring a big change and August can be an exciting time in preparation for that change. For others August can be a time of anxious waiting for ‘A level’ results. For many it will be a time of farewells as new opportunities await at university or employment.

Some of these things will also touch our life as a church. August will be a time of preparation for the autumn and for Harvest Festival and other things. We should be praying for those who are worrying over exams, and at the end of the month it will also be a time for a farewell. Ashley Marshfield our organist will be saying farewell as he takes his gap year at a church in Bedford. As part of his saying goodbye, I have asked Ashley to give a short organ recital on Friday 20th August in Holy Trinity Church Street at 7.30pm. We will have refreshments after so that each one will have the opportunity speak to Ashley. This will also be an opportunity to say thank you to Ashley for his three years as our organist by making a donation to help him to continue his studies in his gap year. If you are unable to attend the recital but would like to make a donation please send your donation to me.

So whether you are going away or staying at home may the lazy hazy days of August bring you refreshment and blessing.

Yours in His service, John Greed

From the Parish Registers

Baptisms
 4th June	Adam Jonathan Greig
		Emeli Louise Lenton
13th June	Thomas Martin Curnow
16th June	Marley Fraser Chrysostomou

Weddings
12th June	Mark Searle & Melanie Jenkins
		Steven Hamlett & Ruth Harries

Funerals
 7th June	Marjorie Holland
 		George Coverdale
 9th June	Margaret Penny
11th June	Keneth Hicks
14th June	Nicholas Charles
		Roberta Gemmell
17th June	Beryl Pitman
		Brian Humphries

Book Review

"The Lost Art of Meditation - Deepening Your Prayer Life." By Sheila Pritchard

I have to admit that I would normally run a mile than read a book on meditation, but as the book was a present I thought I would give it a go. I’m so glad I did! This book firmly concentrates on meditation from a Christian perspective, and Sheila Pritchard regularly writes for Scripture Union’s "Close To God" Bible reading notes.

Sheila uses practical suggestions and ideas that enable the reader to review and deepen their prayer life. The book examines prayerful meditation on the move in a busy life - turning the monologue that goes on inside our minds into a dialogue with God; outdoor meditation on a walk in nature looking out (with heart and mind) for God to show visual parables in creation; and in still quiet moments, when words have run out. Sheila also takes the reader through Lectio Divina or Holy Reading which involves meditating on God’s Word through a short piece of Scripture. So there is something for everyone.

There is also a fascinating chapter based on Ignatian Meditation which allows the reader to experience the reality and wonder of Jesus, by using imagination coupled with the 5 senses, in meditation. A prayer is said at the beginning asking that God’s grace will guide the meditation. Then a piece of scripture is read (normally one where Jesus is interacting with people) and then the reader enters into it as if she/he were there, either taking the part of a main character or someone on the sidelines. The reader can try and experience the power of living the story in their imagination, and will hopefully be able to see where the Holy Spirit is leading them. This type of meditation brings Jesus’ words and actions to ‘life’, often highlighting something relevant to the readers own life.

This book can be read from cover to cover or dipped in to. Each chapter has easy to follow instructions, ideas and suggestions. It is published by SU (ISBN 1 85999 643 4) £5.99. It is also available as part of Scripture Union 3 books for £10 offer (see last month) and can be ordered on-line from www.scriptureunion.org.uk, by telephone 0845 07 06 006, or from a local Christian book shop.

Jo McKenzie

Christmas Bazaar

The Bazaar will be on Saturday 20th November. The proceeds will be given to missions and charities at home and abroad (The Standing Committee usually decides how the money is distributed).

We are collecting £2 coins once again. We already have 90 coins, making £180. Please continue to let Pam Harmsworth have your £2 coins.

There will be a 40p parcel stall. Pam Harmsworth will be pleased to accept anything which is suitable for this stall.

If you have an idea for the Christmas Bazaar, please follow it through and help to raise funds for the missions and charities we support. Thank you.

Bill Burt Tel.(01458) 443349; Pam Harmsworth Tel. (01458) 445291

Walton Matters

If God is for us, who can be against us. Romans 8. v 31 New International Version.

Glastonbury Male Voice Choir - I don’t know about you, but I love ‘2 for the price of 1’ offers, and this is what we got on the 25th June. The choir were their usual brilliant self and entertained us with a wonderful selection of songs. This year they were joined by a Ladies choir called ‘Opus 3’. They had been guests of the Male Voice Choir at a previous concert and came along to us as a bonus. The buffet supper was excellent as always and the evening finished with the best rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ ever heard. Our churchwarden Tony Tanner was the lucky recipient and it was sung in harmony by both choirs with the audience joining in. At the end of the evening the sum of £320.00 was made, the best ever!

The Dog Agility Show - We all wondered on Sunday morning how the weather would behave for this first time event. The morning was overcast and threatening, but thanks to a lot of hopes and prayers the sun came out to raise the curtain on this most interesting and entertaining event. The enthusiasm of the dog handlers and the abilities of the dogs was a joy to behold. The dogs were of mixed abilities, some had only been trained for 3 weeks and yet showed such amazing discipline and control. They jumped over hurdles up and down a see-saw, through a hoop finally jumping up on to a stool to be applauded and photographed. They obviously enjoyed their training and accomplishments. Well done to all. The cream tea was mouth watering together with delicious cakes. Thank you Wilf and Belle for looking after us so well and to all those who helped to make it such an entertaining afternoon. The sum of £93.00 was made at this event.

Advance Notice - Sunday 22nd August there will be an Evensong in the garden of Wilf and Belle Dennis at 6 p.m. which will include the reunion of Church members from Clyst St. Mary and the W.I. Ian will be on the keyboard plus a group of young musicians. This is always a special time of worship and fellowship, and we thank Belle and Wilf for the privilege of praising God in the beauty of their home.

Plea for Volunteers - Sadly, because of illness and retirements, St. Margaret’s Hospice Taunton are desperately short of volunteers and would love to hear from any of us who might be able to help. People are needed on the wards, serving drinks and meals to free the nurses to care for the patients. They are also short of people to man the desk in reception or drivers to take people to the Day Care Unit. If you think you can help even as a ‘fill in’ volunteer rather than a permanent one, please contact Rachel Grandfield, Volunteer Co-ordinator, St. Margaret’s Somerset Hospice, Heron Drive, Bishops Hull. If you would like more information please ring either Pat Moxey on 443689, Sandra Gristock on 446211 or Ken & Jean Bassett on 840726. They will be happy to help.

Flower Rota

14th August Pat Moxey
28th August Sandra Gristock

Suffering from truth decay?
Brush up on your Bible

P.U.S.H

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and God appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved."

Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough." That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said "I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimetre. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. Is that really so? Look at yourself."

"Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H When people don’t react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H When your money is ‘gone’ and the bills are due ... just P.U.S.H When people just don’t understand you ... just P.U.S.H P = PRAY
U = UNTIL
S = SOMETHING
H = HAPPENS

Submitted by Bob and Vera Parker

Summer Fête

We were blessed with reasonable weather this year, which enabled us to hold the fête outside once again, with gazebos for shower protection put up by the 'early bird' team led by Pam.

With the various stalls busy with early buyers, I could sit for a while and revel in the variety of tunes played by the Somerton Handbell Ringers, whilst enjoying a cuppa with the others.

The children were suitably entertained with Jim's 'mini assault course', and the badge-making and face-painting facilities provided by Christine, Jan and their helpers.

The TrinityFest and Aeroplane Exhibitions provided an interest for those sitting in the church enjoying their lunches. Soon it was time for the hard work of dismantling everything to begin, and for Carolyn to count the takings.

My personal thanks, as coordinator, to all those buying, selling or helping in any way towards achieving a total of over £800 for Holy Trinity funds.

A final thank you to Phyll Greed for her splendid work making the new Fête banner.

Monies were raised as follows:

TOYS / GAMES   £100.00             PLANTS		£72.72
BOOKS	       £51.40              TEAS / COFFEES       £42.68 
BATHROOM       £33.01              FACE PAINTING        £9.49
LUNCHES        £91.00              BADGE MAKING         £12.10 
TRINITYFEST                        MOTHERS UNION        £77.70
CARDS	       £34.80              BRIC A BRAC	        £70.26
CAKES          £134.64             GATE                 £41.37 
DONATIONS      £32.00            
TOTAL = £803.97

Roger Harmsworth

PS ..and Thank You for your Prayers - I would like to thank everyone who has prayed for me over the past few months, whilst I have been jobless. I now thank God for the blessing of my new job as caretaker of Crispin Community Centre which I am enjoying very much. A completely new working structure is turning out to be a great joy. - Roger.

Who'd be a Fete Organiser?

That's what Roger Harmsworth must have thought as he surveyed an overcast sky early on Saturday morning, July 3rd - our Mission Church Fête Day. Should he hold the fête inside the church, or in the grounds? Will it rain? If so, how much? Is it really a fête if it's indoors? Anyway, early that Saturday morning Roger decided that the fête should be outdoors! How right he was! There was a slight patter of rain about 10 am, but not enough to move the stalls: the heavy rain fell after the close, at 1 pm. There was a chilly wind for July, but it was bearable.

So ... well done, Roger! Thank you for your hands-on leadership. Our thanks also to all who helped, the "putters up" and the "takers down", Eddie Beardsley - our faithful gateman, the stallholders, refreshment tents, the displays, the face painting, the expert bankers. Our thanks to all who came and bought and donated so generously that a total of £800.97 was raised. This goes to Church Funds, for the furtherance of God's Kingdom.

We missed Brian Moreby's toasted marshmallows! (Brian's wife, Betty, had been taken ill). But this was a reminder to us all that we sometimes cannot have all that we want!

Fred Perryman

Another Evening of Music at the Parish Church

Once again the Strode Theatre Music Society entertained us royally at the Parish Church on Friday 18th June.

The theme was "Love and Marriage" and the cleverly arranged items ranged far and wide and gloriously included some Gilbert and Sullivan.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all members of the Society whose enjoyment in singing the songs was so evident. Our thanks indeed also to Alison Stevens, Musical Director, and to our own Ashley Marshfield, accompanist, yet again showing his versatility. Our thanks also to the excellent refreshment team

A bonus from all this was a generous gift from the Society of £150 towards the Parish Church Refurbishment Fund.

Fred Perryman

‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’

Psalm 139 v 14 (NIV)

Do you think the writer of this Psalm was right? Or do you think that a certain Professor C.E.M. Joad was right. This is what he said:

‘Man is nothing but
Fat enough for seven bars of soap
Iron enough for one medium sized nail
Sugar enough for 7 cups of tea
Lime enough to whitewash a chicken coop
Phosphorous enough to tip 2,200 matches
Magnesium enough for one dose of salts
Potash enough to explode one toy crane
Sulphur enough to rid one dog of fleas’.

That might describe the substances, which are contained in the human body, but it is not very flattering is it, nor does it describe the whole story. Far from it. I prefer the biblical account ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. Praise of God is a natural response for He is the creator and the giver of life.

Recently a mother brought her newly born daughter to the Mission Church in Street. Her parents wanted to take the first available opportunity to thank God for her safe arrival. As you can imagine there were many people who wanted to see the new baby and to marvel at her tiny but perfectly formed body. All parents want the very best for their children and for Christian parents this will include Baptism.

But what is Baptism? It is a visible sign of something that is difficult to put into words. So we use signs to indicate important truths. A kiss shows love, a handshake shows friendship, a salute shows loyalty and at a wedding we give and receive a ring, which is a sign of marriage.

Baptism shows that we belong to the Church. It is wonderful to belong, to know we belong to God and that we are precious to him. ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. Every one of us is unique. There is no one else exactly like us in the whole world! The dictionary tells us that the word unique means ‘being only of one kind being without equal’.

But sometimes we forget this. Often we do things that spoil, stain and disfigure the loveliness that God made. We call it sin. That is why in Baptism we use water as a sign of cleansing. None of us, though wonderfully made, are perfect. We have to say sorry to God for sins committed in order that we might receive forgiveness. That is why a Baptism service includes questions for parents and godparents to answer: ‘Do you turn to Christ? Do you repent of your sins? Do you reject evil? We must make every effort to avoid falling into sin. We must do all we can to teach our children the difference between right and wrong and to set them a good example. The best way is to accept Christ and seek to follow Him.

Through Baptism we are brought into the Family, not only of the local church, but of the Church worldwide. But even this is not enough. All of us need to belong to the Christian Church if we are serious in our desire to follow Christ. But we also need to have a personal faith. The service of Baptism spells this out. ‘We who are born of earthly parents need to be born again’. Jesus, in the Gospels, tells us that ‘unless a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God’. Acts 4 v 13 tells us ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’. The name this text refers to is of course the Lord Jesus. Later in the Acts the jailer at Philippi asks Paul & Silas ‘what must I do to be saved? The answer -‘believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.’ I meet a lot of people who have been baptised but have not understood the further and essential need to put their trust in Christ. I hope that what I have said today will help you to do just this ... and encourage one another to follow Christ day by day.

A wonderful sermon given by Bob Parker at a Family Service and Baptism, in Walton. Thank you Bob for allowing us to print it.

A Servant's Heart

"If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done." Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT

One reason many of us never volunteer is because we think we're not good enough. Some churches foster this idea by making 'excellence' an idol. They say, 'If it can't be done with excellence, don't do it.' Jesus never said that! Less-than-perfect service is always better than the best of intentions. Almost everything we do is done poorly at first - that's how we learn. God's plan has always been to involve as many ordinary folk as possible, not have things run by a few elite.

Real servants do every task with equal dedication! They '.. work at it with all [their] heart ..'(Colossians 3;23 NIV). For them the only issue is - does it need doing? God never exempts you from the mundane; it's part of your character development. Listen: 'If you think you are too important to help ... you are only fooling yourself ..'(Galatians 6:3 NLT). Jesus washed feet, helped children, fixed breakfast and served lepers. Nothing was beneath him. He didn't do it in spite of His greatness, He did it because of it! It's your willingness to do the not-so-great-stuff that qualifies you for greater stuff. There'll always be more people willing to do great things, than little things. The race to be a star is crowded but the field to be a servant is wide open.

Some times you have to serve upward to those in authority, other times, downwards to those in need. Either way, you develop a servant's heart when you're willing to do whatever is required.

This article is reprinted with permission from "The Word for Today". Free issues of this daily devotional are available from UCB Ltd, PO Box 255, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8YY, Telephone 0845 6040401 (local rate), or a href="http://www.ucb.co.uk" target="blank">www.ucb.co.uk

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Bell foundry visit Nov 2007
Summer Fete
Baboushka musical
The Christmas Story
Choir practice
John Smart (violin)
Mission Church organ
Parish Church organ
Churches Together

Buildings and History

Changes in Street Parish Church

The refurbishment of Street Parish Church

The stories behind Walton windows

Our founder - St Gildas

Roman pottery from Street churchyard - slide show

The windows of Holy Trinity, Street.

Ten ox-carts of timber - a glimpse of medieval Street

Street churchyard archaeology - talk notes

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