February 2012

Sabbatical News (3)

I have attached a photograph of the house I am staying in. My appartment is in the roof; you can see the window of my study looking out through the dormer above the front door. The house faces the West Campus of Duke Univeristy and is only ¼ of a mile from downtown Durham. I have been introduced to the family who are in the house directly behind ours and they are riders. Susan took me riding with her a couple of weeks ago and I am now hiring a horse called Chief.

Over the last few days the weather has been fine and sunny and the temprature during the day has got up to the mid 60s. It was so warm on Saturday that the frogs had come out of hibernation and were busily singing for a mate in the pools in the woods. I am really looking forward to seeing Spring emerge.

The photograph shows me riding a different horse called Snickers. The horses are out in the middle of the countryside, in the woods at a Summer Camp run by the Methodist Church. Most of the riding is Western Style and the horses are tied up to posts as they are in the movies. The woods are bare and lifeless now, although apparently there are wild turkeys around and bears. I haven’t seen either so far and I'm planning to avoid the bears if I can.

I have joind the Divinity School Women’s Group which meets in the pub on Sunday evenings. You can see the group at last night’s meeting in the photo. Beer here is shockingly expensive, around $6 a pint. The group are lively and interesting and very interested in how things happen in the Church in England. I told them that it was nice to be meeting in the pub as I usually go to the pub with my congregation on Sunday evening. They were very surprised about that as quite a lot of churches here are teetotal.

For the last two Sundays I have been worshipping at the local Episcopalian church. It is dedicated to St Joseph and has had a congregation of about 45 both Sundays I have been. They were having their APCM after the service yesterday, but I didn’t stay. They have a ministry to the homeless there. Homeless people camp in the church yard and the congregation give them breakfast each morning and say morning prayer with them. A big undertaking for a small congregation.

I have started writing now and it is going reasonably well so I am encouraged about that. I am also pleased with the courses that I have choosen as I am enjoying them all, and having the time to do the background reading.

I hope this finds you all well, you are in my prayers.

With love from
Mandy

[See Recent News for Mandy’s previous letters.]

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First Communion Classes

Our preparation for admitting children to Communion starts on Sunday 5 February. If you are interested, please see Carolyn Allen or a.s.a.p.

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Book Club

The Book Club will meet at 91 Lewin Road on Tuesday, 7 February at 7.30 pm. Please let Rob know if you are coming. The book to be discussed is The Shack by P. Young.

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Flower Arrangers

Go into almost any church in the country on a Saturday morning and you will find a dedicated band of ladies* arranging exquisite vases of flowers to brighten up the Sunday worship, and St Leonard’s is no exception, although it tends to happen on Friday rather than Saturday.

Pat Walton recently stood down as leader of the flower arrangers. For nearly twenty years she not only organised the team and produced the most stunning arrangements but also provided the bulk of the flowers. As a token of gratitude a presentation was made to Pat on Christmas morning.

If any member of the congregation feels inspired to contribute to the floral adornment of St Leonard’s, please contact (020 8335 0890).

* There may well be gentlemen who do it but they are very much a rarity. Perhaps one of our male parishioners would care to set a precedent?

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