Page 85 - br-july-2022

July 2022 July 2022
VILLAGE HALL NEWS
Well we said we’d party once covid was over and
although it isn’t over there is a general feeling that
we’ve done what we can now and it’s time to find
a new normal and make those decisions ourselves
rather than be told by government what to do and
so a once in history moment comes along and her
majesty queen Elizabeth 11 has been our reigning monarch for 70 years. The
longest reign in our history and only the second longest ever globally. Can’t let
that one pass by and so party we did. It was marvellous to see virtually the whole
community come together in one way or another and for the village hall to play
a key role in he midst of the celebrations. 4 days of events culminating in a
thanksgiving service in the peace garden at Affpuddle church.
The hall was buzzing from the
moment the bunting started
going up right through to
Sunday morning with a group
of us tidying up. A huge
thanks to everyone who
helped in anyway, another
huge thank you to the social
club for running the bar for so
many hours in such a short
space of time and at once in
a lifetime prices as well.
Another thing that made it so
special was all the
organisations and individuals
gave freely, no one made
any profit from anything over the jubilee celebrations, it was all about a)
celebrating a platinum jubilee and b) and possibly more importantly in the long
run coming together and giving to one another as a community. I for one, and I
hope you are too, am proud to be a part of this place.
Putting my money raising hat on again. Don’t forget the hall is available for one
off events, birthdays, weddings, etc as well as for regular weekly, monthly events.
Looking for a venue? Think village hall.
Stuart Chorley, Chairman of Briantspuddle Village Hall , Phone 07818078191
Email schorley30@gmail.com
Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle website: www.briantspuddle.info
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an expression of great joy and rejoicing, and a good reason to have a party,
especially when it is the 70 Platinum Anniversary of the Queen!
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Most people see it as a secular event, but originally it was based on God’s order
for His world. Every seventh year the land was to be left uncultivated, and God
promised that if the people allowed the land to rest on the seventh year, then He
would cause the land to yield a triple portion in the sixth year, to provide enough
food during the seventh year and also for the eighth year until that year’s harvest
was ready. This was a test of people’s faith in God and of their obedience to His
word. After there had been seven cycles of seven years (49 years) the 50 year
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was a special Year of Jubilee, when all slaves were set free, debts were cancelled
and land returned to its original owners.
We might think that would be good to have all debts cancelled, if we owed
money, but the people bought and sold land, and prices were fixed according to
how many years remained before the next Jubilee year. Perhaps that was God’s
social security system!
As I was thinking about the Jubilee I was reminded that I had had a special
Jubilee date of my own on 11 April, just a few weeks earlier. It was a Platinum
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Jubilee as well, seventy years since I became a Christian when I was living in
London. (That dates me!) I don’t mean that I joined a church but rather that I
had an encounter with Jesus. I knew that I needed His forgiveness for all the times
I had lived life my own way, and I just asked Him to forgive me and to come and
take control of my life, so that in the future I would do whatever He asked and go
wherever He led me.
Did that mean that from that time forward life would be a bed of roses, and all
my problems would cease? Not at all. ‘Life’ affects all of us, with its mixture of
circumstances, problems, good times and difficult times. My husband Ray
became ill for four years before he died three years ago, and during that time I
was diagnosed with cancer. But whatever has happened through all those years
I have known God’s love and peace, and His guidance, You too can know
God’s peace and love if you commit your life to Him and then continue to trust
Him through the ups and downs of daily life.
The Queen spoke the following words in her Christmas broadcast in 2011. “God
sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, but a
Saviour, with power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith.
It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided
communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love. In the last
verse of the beautiful carol “O little town of Bethlehem” there is a prayer: O Holy
Child of Bethlehem: descend on us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in; be
born in us today. It is my prayer that we might find room in our lives for the
message of the angels, and for the love of God through Christ our Lord”.
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