Pause for Though from Parish Priest: Canon Margaret Venables
The Rectory, Barnack, Stamford, Lincolnshire. PE9 3ET

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SUPPORT OUR POST OFFICE
Barnack Parish Council has had a lengthy correspondence over the last few months concerning the issue of the closure of rural Post Offices. We have corresponded with The Post Office, Mr Fitzpatrick M.P., the TV Licensing Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry, the BBC, our M.P.and Mr Tony Blair. The Countryside Alliance has now taken up this issue. In Barnack we are very fortunate to have a Post Office but it will close if residents do not support it. If it closes the shop will also close, and this vital amenity will be lost for ever.
We urge residents to support our village Post Office.
KEEP YOUR POST OFFICE
(Extracted from the Countryside Alliance Poster-full poster on village notice boards)
What you can do to help:
Send a letter to Jim Fitzpatrick MP, the Minister responsible for Post Offices. Use your local Post Office to send the letter, which should tell Mr Fitzpatrick what the facility means to you and your community.
In your letter please include the following points:
· How important your local Post Office is to you
· What role it plays in your local community
· Please copy in your local MP and the Countryside Alliance
Jim Fitzpatrick MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Postal Services
Department of Trade and Industry
I Victoria Street
LONDON SW1H OET

  Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Sunday 21st 6. 30 pm Service of Prayer for Christian Unity Barnack Methodist Chapel
In order to unite with one another, we must love one another;
in order to love one another, we must know one another;
in order to know one another, we must go and meet one another.

These words, known as the "Testament of Cardinal Mercier," are the impetus for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The week (actually an octave, eight days) has been celebrated continuously since 1894. However, the Week was a dream of many Christian leaders since the early years of the 19th century.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is now celebrated around the world in January. The theme and focus biblical texts are prepared by an international Joint Committee of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

All most welcome
Lord,
Open our eyes to your presence.
Open our ears to your call.
Open our hearts to your love.
May we open our arms to others.
May we open our hearts to strangers.
May we open our doors to callers.
That we may be open to you, Lord
Open this day and for evermore.

Charles Warren
Charles, whose lovely designs have graced the front page of the Parish News over many years, died on December 4th.
This month, in his memory, we have reprinted the first design he provided for the magazine .

Horticultural Show
The glorious 12th is the date for the return of the August 2007 Barnack and District Horticultural Show and Family Day. As in the past this will be held from midday on the school field.
A fun packed event is planned with craft stalls and fairground rides, with lots of games and a magic show. Time to enjoy a barbecue and cream tea whilst listening to the sounds of Happy Jazz.
A list of all the classes you can enter for the show will be in the February edition of the Parish News giving all residents a chance to plan your entries. The committee do hope that lots of residents from all six villages take part. There are many different classes for adults and children, so if you haven’t entered before, 2007 is the time to try your hand at growing flowers and vegetables, baking a cake or producing a work of art for the craft section.

Children’s Society Boxes
This month, January, sees the annual opening of our boxes for The Children’s
Society. Last year I banked on your behalf the magnificent total of just
over £525 - many thanks to all of you.
Please bring your boxes to church from January 14th or contact me if this is
difficult and I will arrange to collect. June Graham (Tel: 01780 740387)

British Legion Poppy Appeal 2006
THANK YOU, once again, to all the collectors and helpers who worked so hard and produced an even better result this year for our local Poppy Appeal.
The total collected from Poppy Sales was £ 2301.72. A wonderful response and I thank everyone who donated to this very deserving cause. Breakdown as follows.
R.A.F.Wittering £546.67 Wittering Village £348.41 Ashton £54.83 Bainton £172.55 Barnack £467.88 Pilsgate £99.22 Southorpe £112.28 Ufford £307.01 Helpston (2statics) £151.31 Others £41.56 J. M.
The Royal British Legion Winter Lecture
70 members and their friends assembled in the Bainton Reading Room on 20th November to hear an illustrated lecture on the WWII “Dambuster Raid” given by Mr Jim Shortland - official historian of No 617 Squadron, RAF, which carried out this famous operation.
Mr Donald Day (Bainton) produced an interesting display of models/ photographs of the dams and aircraft involved and members of the audience recalled reminiscences of inspecting the dams’ location and defences at the end of the war. Use at the time of the Stewarts & Lloyds (Corby) Eye Brook Reservoir for some of the Barnes Wallace development trials recalled a vital local connection with a substantial contribution to British Legion funds being raised as a result of this very successful evening.
Winter Supper - Warning Order!
This popular event will take place in Barnack Village Hall at 7.15pm for 7.45pm on Friday 16th February, so please make a note in your diaries. Tickets will be available from committee members in due course and during the evening the draw will be made for the Legion’s annual New Year Raffle, featuring the usual selection of delicious food hampers, wines and other delicacies!
Our guest speaker will be Air Vice-Marshall Peter Dodworth from Tallington.

St. Andrew’s Church
A very successful Quiz Evening was held on 24th November. £424 was raised for the Church Fabric Fund. Many thanks to our Quiz Master Keith Lievesley and to all who supported the evening and helped in the kitchen.

Enchanting Concert
There were sighs of relief when Eddy the electrician came to the rescue and heating was restored to Barnack Parish Church before the start of the concert on a chilly evening in November. The warm atmosphere continued as Nick Penny, harpist, and David Garrett, poet, transported the audience to warm sunny days of spring and summer when bird song filled the air. The appreciative audience walked back into the chilly weather, some clutching their newly purchased CDs and poetry books, expressing their enchantment at the lovely concert. For those of you who missed it we shall be asking Nick and David to come back in 2007

Christmas Bazaar
Everyone walking into Barnack village hall on Saturday, November 25th was greeted by the mingled aroma of home made soup cooking in the kitchen and mulled wine warming in the pot. Stalls laden with goods, and Father Christmas and his wife were there. One little girl was very reluctant to leave their side. The children spent time colouring, cutting, sticking and trying to find the hidden treasure. Thank you to the children’s church teachers who worked hard to make sure all the children went home with something. It was a lovely day and our thanks go to everyone who supported this event. £848 was raised for Barnack Parish Church.

A Coffee Morning
A Coffee Morning with a Bring and Buy Stall will be held in Barnack Parish Church on January 20th from 10.30am until noon.

Valentine’s Supper
There will be a supper in Barnack Village Hall on February 10th at 7.30pm. The three course meal will be followed by musical entertainment. There will be a raffle and a bar. Tickets priced at £10 are available from Barnack Parish Church Social Committee. Fancy dress is optional, but we hope some of you will pick up the challenge.
The Good News Library Van
There will be a coffee morning on Tuesday January 16th from 10.30 until 12 noon at the home of Mike and Pam Mills 17, Bishops Walk, Barnack. There will also be the opportunity to look at a good range of books, videos and tapes, and borrow some, if you so wish. There will be a warm welcome for you to come and meet up with friends old and new, so do come, even if you have never been before. I’m sure that you will have an enjoyable time.

Barnack Bowls Club
Members of the Bowls 200 Club are reminded that we have now started a new year and subscriptions are now due. These are £24 for 12 months and £13 for 6 months. This is a valuable way of supporting the Club and in 2006 raised £1000 for Club Funds. Anyone is welcome to join and so help give financial support to the Club. All cheques should be made payable to Barnack Bowls Club and sent to Jill Unsworth, 14 Whitman Close, Barnack.

Barnack Methodist Chapel
The sale of Christmas puddings, mincemeat and mince pies at our December Coffee Morning helped to swell our funds by the magnificent sum of £180.02 and so thank you to everyone who came. We are most grateful to you all for your support during 2006 and would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful New Year.
We shall be taking our New Year break as usual and so the next Coffee Morning and Cake Stall will not take place until Saturday, 4 February at the usual time of 10 am until 11 am and we hope to see new friends and old then.

Bainton & Ashton Buttercross Club
Delicious Christmas Fayre adorned the tables and the aroma of hot mulled wine wafted through the air for our annual Christmas Party night. It was especially good to welcome residents old and new and have the opportunity to chat, solve the quiz riddles and join in some traditional Christmas Carols. Thanks to Sheila Bratley for accompanying us on the keyboard.
Please note there is no meeting in January
Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 7th February at 7-45pm in the Reading Room. ‘Richard Hardy will be speaking to us about his recent trip to China and his amazing walk for charity.
We are looking for new Officers and Committee members so please come along and join us. We would welcome new ideas for the forthcoming year so this is your opportunity to tell us what you’d like to see happening at Buttercross Club. Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible! MG

Ufford Ladies
On Tuesday 28th of November, Sheila Bratley and Margery Coups gave us a most enjoyable evening showing how we can make the most of winter greenery and flowers. The displays were delightful and were accompanied by light-hearted banter giving the evening a festive feel.
On Tuesday 23rd January at 7.45pm at Ufford Village Hall, Judith Campbell (Terry Alston’s daughter) will be giving us a talk on “Travels with my camera from Yorkshire to the Himalayas”. This should be most interesting and you are all welcome to join us. We look forward to seeing you.

Thanks from Derek Crump
Derek Crump has asked me to pass on his thanks to Alan Grossman, Catherine Wright, Terry Dooley, Brian and Cynthia Daley, Ian Graham and Mr Potton who have kindly donated sewing machines and hand tools for his forthcoming BESO trip to Africa early next year. These tools will prove truly invaluable in enterprise development projects training local people to increase their self-sufficiency and to develop talents that can be passed down for many generations to come.
So, if you have a clear out over Christmas and find some old hand tools that you no longer require or the odd sewing machine, do please contact Roy Beck on 01780 740808, who would be happy to collect any offerings on behalf of Derek.

Invite For New Members
The Friends Of Barnack Church 200 Club have been helping to conserve the fabric of our church for
a great many years now. Hey, why not consider joining? The 200-club subscription is only £15 per year with cash prize draws each and every month. To join this fantastic cause and become a Friend of Barnack Church please contact Martin Goodwin, 24 Bainton Road, Barnack. Tel: 01780 740145.
The lucky winners for the November grand draw are:
No 128 Mrs I Ratcliffe £ 5
No 63 Mrs V Kettleborough £ 10
No 24 Mr P Smith £ 20
No 55 Mrs B Hooper £ 50
No 67 Mrs S M Berrill £100
Looks like drinks on Sheila... congratulations to you all.

Alpha returns to Barnack
You are invited to Brunch followed by a DVD talk “Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?” at 1 Whitman Close, Barnack on Thursday 18th January at 10am. This is an opportunity for you to find out if the internationally renowned Alpha course is for you. Millions of people all over the world have now attended an Alpha course, running in tens of thousands of churches of all denominations across the world. Alpha is a chance for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed, non-threatening setting over ten, thought-provoking weekly sessions. It explores such questions as ‘what’s the point of life?’, ‘is forgiveness possible?’, ‘what relevance does Jesus have for our lives today?’ The Alpha Course will then continue on Thursday mornings, from the 25th January until the end of March, at 1 Whitman Close, Barnack, from the earlier start of 9.30am to 11.45am . For more information please contact Julie Stanton on 749123 or Val Haines-Eynon on 740017. This Alpha Course is being run by Barnack Baptist Church.

Passion for God offers inspiration for the new year
Passion for God, the diocesan programme of day and evening classes, is open to anyone who would like to learn more about their Christian faith.
There is a lively schedule for the Spring Term with topics ranging from How to Pray to a Techno Day that covers using PowerPoint, data projection and video in worship. Each course is designed to offer inspiration to churches and individuals and the classes take place at various locations across the diocese.
Full details are on our website: www.peterborough-diocese.org.uk

Bainton Pensioners Lunch
Ten of the senior citizens from Bainton and Ashton were once again entertained to lunch at RAF Wittering on 4th December.  As before it was a memorable occasion, and were looked after as if they were royalty!  
A letter has been sent on their behalf thanking those officers and staff at the station who looked after them so well. This is the second time we have been asked to nominate senior villagers to go, and providing this year’s contingent behaved themselves (they assure me they did!) we may be asked next year.
If you are over 75 years old and haven’t yet been invited and would like to be considered for next year, please let a parish councillor know (details on notice board). Trying to guess people’s ages has not been easy, so please excuse us if you have been overlooked. Tony Gowers

Ufford New Year Celebration Service
Please join us on January 1st at 4.00pm in a Celebration of the New Year with Carols and a glass of wine at St Andrew’s, Ufford.

Darby & Joan Club
Mrs Berrill gave a very interesting talk to members about her visit to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party. A competition for an ‘Unusual Shaped Bottle’ was won by Mrs F Rawlings, 2nd Mrs I Briggs and 3rd Mrs G Green.
Club Members do not meet during January, but the Club will re-open on Wednesday, 14 February 2007 at The Acres. New Members welcome.

Ufford Park Cricket Club
The Club held their ‘107’ Draw at the White Hart and the winners were:
£50 Nº 29 A Mason, Stamford
£30 Nº 66 R Guy, Ufford
£20 Nº 4 R Dorr, Uffington
£15 Nº 103 C Manton, Crowland
£10 Nº 73 C Taylor, Helpston
£10 Nº 93 R Babb, Ufford
£10 Nº 33 H Keedle, Peterborough
Frank Tongue
I would like to thank many, many people in Barnack for their support following the death of Frank. He was really happy in the village, dog-walking, bowling, bellringing and socialising. His funeral was a mark of the love and respect you all gave him. Thank you, Enda Tongue

Barnack Friendship Club
Barnack Friendship Club for older people has been meeting once a fortnight on a Wednesday in the community room at The Acres Sheltered Housing Complex. The Club is for any older person living in Barnack and the surrounding villages. Sadly, there are very few people from the village who do attend and so they are missing out on the various activities and events put on by the Club.
Over the past months, Club Members have enjoyed many different activities, including quizzes, armchair aerobics, various speakers and entertainers, as well as outings to Springfields, Long Sutton Butterfly Park, a Fenland Inn, Baytree Garden Centre and a Romany Museum. Members have also enjoyed lovely wholesome meals each Club day, prepared and cooked by volunteers.
The Friendship Club would love other people from the village to experience and enjoy the Club. So much so, that the Club is offering a free lunch on Wednesday 24 January 2007 for the first 40 people to book!
We could also do with some more volunteers, particularly helping with the meals – probably once a month, or less if more volunteers come forward. So, if you have some spare time and would like to help your community or just meet new people, why not come along!
The Barnack Friendship Club meets at The Acres on alternate Wednesdays from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. If you would like any further information, or to book your free lunch, please contact Elaine Ward on 01780 740323.

Open Fellowship
The meetings will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 11th January at 12 Canon Drive and on the 25th January at Hasty Bank, Barnack. We continue our study of the Psalms and new members are always welcome.

Parish Council Reports and Notices