Author: Editor

Each year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, countries around the world celebrate Mothering Sunday. This typically involves lavishing Mums with gifts and attention and celebrating the women who have nurtured us throughout our lives. It is also a difficult day and sometimes a painful day for many. 
 
It has origins that start in the middle ages are some o traditions that have shaped Mothering Sunday into the celebration recognised today: 

In the 16th century, Mothering Sunday was less about mothers and more about church. At that time people would make a journey to their ‘mother’ church once a year. This might have been their home church, their nearest cathedral or a major parish church in a bigger town. The service which took place at the ‘mother’ church symbolised the coming together of families. This would have represented a significant journey for many. 

Another tradition was to allow those working in the fields on wealthy farms and estates in England to have the day off on the fourth Sunday of Lent to visit their mothers and possibly go to church too. This was a variation on the theme of visiting the ‘mother’ church and was a move towards a more family focussed occasion. Before the days of cars and roads, family get-togethers were far more rare, (zoom and Whats app were still a long way off). In some ways this tradition is still alive today as grown up children often visit their parents on mothering Sunday. 

Simnel cake has a strong affiliation to Mothering Sunday as it is usually associated with spring and Easter.  Also mothering Sunday is also known as refreshment Sunday as the Lenten discipline of a simpler diet are relaxed, hence cake. Simnel resembles a Christmas fruit cake but should be slightly lighter in texture. The other difference is the two layers of marzipan. Simnel cake should have a layer of marzipan running through the middle like a victoria sponge and then another layer of marzipan on the top. Traditionally, you should also roll some marzipan into eleven eggs and place these on the top. The eggs are supposed to symbolise the disciples who followed Jesus – note that Judas is excluded. 

The question is, do you boil or bake your simnel cake? Some say it’s necessary to do both because of an argument from folktale where two people could not agree on the correct way to cook the cake.   

On Mothering Sunday, churches around the country will be sharing their own traditions, celebrating and giving thanks to the huge impact mothers have on each of our lives. The main service on Mothering Sunday in churches across the country is central to the life of the church. 

The church recognises that the day may be difficult and complex for some people. If you are childless or the relationship with your mum or daughter is hard or your mum or child has died or that you feel you are not coping as a mum this day is a day you might wish would go away. For some women, it is the only day of the year when they receive flowers 

 As part of our service we include prayers for those who don’t find the day particularly easy and there is space for your own thoughts. Also if you need someone to listen ,we will do that too. 

Families across the country will be preparing little presents and cards and in some churches flowers are blessed and handed out during the main service. 

Families come together to have lunch, or children make breakfast in bed for their mothers, leaving all the mess to be cleared up later! It’s all about showing appreciation and many make a huge effort to make their mother feel special. 

What we do want to do is value each person and value the role of woman in our lives. We want to recognise that family is not just biological but contains the people who care for us and that might include friend, neighbour and church. This Mothering Sunday come and see what we have to offer.  

How about trying your hand at making a simnel cake

Simnel cake recipe – BBC Food 

Ingredients 

For the almond paste 

• 250g/9oz caster sugar 

• 250g/9oz ground almonds 
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten 
• 1 tsp almond essence 

For the cake 

• 175g/6oz butter or margarine, plus extra for greasing 

• 175g/6oz soft brown sugar 
• 3 free-range eggs, beaten 
• 175g/6oz plain flour 
• pinch salt 
• ½ tsp ground mixed spice (optional) 

• 350g/12oz mixed raisins, currants and sultanas 
• 55g/2oz chopped mixed peel 
• ½ lemon, grated zest only 
• 1–2 tbsp apricot jam 
• 1 free-range egg, beaten for glazing 

How-to-videos 

Method 

1. For the almond paste, place the sugar and ground almonds in a bowl. Add enough beaten egg and mix to a fairly soft consistency. Add the almond essence and knead for 1 minute until the paste is smooth and pliable. Roll out a third of the almond paste to make a circle 18cm/7in in diameter and reserve the remainder for the cake topping. 

2. Preheat oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1. Grease and line a 18cm/7in cake tin. 

3. For the cake, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs until well incorporated and then sift in the flour, salt and mixed spice (if using) a little at a time. Finally, add the mixed dried fruit, peel and grated lemon zest and stir into the mixture. 

4. Put half the mixture into the cake tin. Smooth the top and cover with the circle of almond paste. Add the rest of the cake mixture and smooth the top leaving a slight dip in the centre to allow for the cake to rise. Bake in the preheated oven for 1¾ hours. Test by inserting a skewer in the middle – if it comes out clean, it is ready. Once baked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a wire rack. 

5. Brush the top of the cooled cake with the apricot jam. Divide the remainder of the almond paste in half. Roll out a circle to cover the top of the cake with one half and form 11 small balls with the other half. Place the circle of paste on the jam glaze and set the balls round the edge. Brush the cake topping with a little beaten egg. 

6. Preheat the grill to high. Place the cake onto a baking tray and grill for 1–2 minutes, or until the top of the marzipan begins to brown. Alternatively, lightly heat the cake topping using a cook’s blowtorch, until the marzipan is golden brown. 

Is Mothering Sunday/Mothers Day just another way of emotionally blackmailing us  into spending money? No more a homemade card and wild flowers picked as we go for a walk or snowdrops and daffodils from the garden.

Presents with Mother or Mummy printed on and a fancy bag to put it in with the onus on Dad to get it right.

Of course the next worry is when parents have split up – who takes the responsibility ,the estranged father or perhaps the stepfather. Where do the children spend their day?

The days when the young people in service in the richer households were allowed to return home for the day taking the simnel cake are history now.

The original Mothering Sunday was a Christian festival when people returned to their mother church, where they were brought up and baptized and this is probably why the custom continued for the domestic servants.

Should we worry that the custom has evolved to the more modern habits of commercialism as with Christmas or accept that things change?

But where does it end?

Lent, the forty days in the Christian year that lead up to Easter, is a valuable time for Christians. The word “Lent” comes from a variety of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic words meaning “spring”, a time budding with new life and hope. For Christians, Lent is not a celebration of nature; rather, it is a process of prayer and spiritual renewal looking to a time budding with new spiritual life and hope. The Lenten season is an opportunity to cultivate the interior life through spiritual exercises and practices.
In the early church new believers were baptized into its fellowship once a year on Easter Sunday. Leading up to their baptism a period was set aside for their preparation. In their baptism they would signify their death to the power of evil and their call to be risen into new life in Christ, who overcame the power of death on the first Easter. In time the whole community of the faithful came to experience this season as a time for growth in faithful discipleship. Lent emerged as a time when both new converts, as well as the body of believers, would join more closely with the living, dying and rising of Jesus. Thus in today’s Church, as in the early Church, Lent is meant to be experienced as a time for the making of disciples.
Rather than being seen as a forty day endurance test, Lent is a quality season. It is a time of rediscovery, a golden chance to open ourselves more deeply to the beauty and power of the dying and rising to new life in Jesus. It is a time to ponder the reality of the death and resurrection and to allow it to soak into our deepest parts.

Lent is the time for new life and hope, a time for, self-examination, an opportunity for us as individuals to recognise our need for God, to pause a little in our busy lives and focus on our creator and redeemer.

Through the centuries, Lent became characterised by practices which typify the meaning of this season. One of these is prayer. Lent invites us to step aside from the busyness of our daily life, the many things that clutter and crowd our life in order to get in touch with the self and at a deeper level, with the Spirit of God within. Essentially, prayer is attention to God; it places us in a posture of listening. Amidst all the noise and tumult of our daily life, Lent encourages us to experience a new depth of prayer, an authentic attentiveness to God through which we learn to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
A second practice associated with this season is fasting. Fasting signifies a willingness to free ourselves from the desires, ambitions and pursuits that center on the demands of the self. It points to a willingness to be freed from the self-centeredness that drives so much of our life in order to experience more fully the liberating power of Christ. Fasting reminds us of the truth that the deepest hunger in our lives must be the hunger for God.
A  third practice is giving. True hunger for God leads to the giving of ourselves to others. Lent calls us to a greater compassion for others, especially the poor and needy. It invites us to examine ourselves honestly on how subtly we have accepted society’s addiction to possessions, to affluence. Through the days of Lent we are encouraged to focus our eyes on Jesus who gave his whole life in faithfulness to God, giving his life totally out of love for all. As we keep that clear focus we join our life in the loving intention of Jesus to give himself for all.
Lent is a shining opportunity for experiencing “ the unsearchable riches of Christ”, a time for spiritual growth so that we might walk in newness of life. Let us determine how we can take advantage of this opportunity and then dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to our Lenten practice.
Some Ideas For Observing Lent Prayer

Take a daily “Time Out” for God.
 Go to a quiet place, light a candle and:
Read the Bible;
Read a book about God;
Write a thankfulness journal;
Spend time listening to God, rather than speaking to Him.

Fasting
Set aside one day a week on which you will go without something you enjoy it might be a meal (only do this if you have no medical condition that means you need to keep to a diet) or a favourite TV programme, and spend an equivalent time intentionally seeking God’s presence with you.

Giving
Give something away to those in need for example,
Donate the money saved and time saved from fasting
Bring non-perishable food items to a place where they will be taken to the Food Banks for the needy;
Give money to Lenten outreach projects;
Call someone who is unable to get out, ill, alone, or otherwise needs a friendly chat. 

Shrove tuesday (Pancake day) Shrove Tuesday is the day immediately preceding Ash wednesday. Shrove is derived from the word shrive and refers to the confession of sins as a preparation for Lent. This goes back to the middle ages in Europe. Depending on the date of easter it occurs between February 2nd and the 9th March. Although the day is sometimes still used for self-examination and introspection, Shrove Tuesday eventually acquired the character of a carnival or festival in many places and is often celebrated with parades.As the final day before Lent when fasting becomes a feature in the church, Shrove Tuesday also has many customs connected to food. Pancakes are traditional in a number of European countries because eggs, sugar, and fat, are used up so they will not go to waste; the day is known as Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday in Ireland. Similarly rich pre lenten treats, sweet pa̡czki are traditional in Poland,  and king cake is an iconic feature of  Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) In New Orleans.

What Happens on Ash Wednesday?

There is usually a service which is quite  reflective, often the services will have periods of silence. We are holding a service at 2pm in All Saints.  During the service  the congregation will be invited to receive the ashes on their foreheads. Usually, the vicar will dip his/her finger into the ashes, spread them in a cross pattern on the forehead, and say, “From dust you came and from dust you will return.”

In some towns and villages church leaders may go into the streets and offer passers by a prayer and/or the the sign of the cross in ashes on their forehead

Source and Meaning of the Ashes

The ashes are prepared by burning palm branches from the previous years Palm Sundays service. On Palm Sunday, churches bless and hand out palm branches to attendees, referencing the Gospels’ account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when onlookers lay palm branches on his path.

The ashes of this holiday symbolize two main things: death and repentance. “Ashes are equivalent to dust, and human flesh is composed of dust or clay (Genesis 2; 7), and when a human corpse decomposes, it returns to dust or ash.”

“When we come forward to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, we are saying that we are sorry for our sins and that we want to use the season of Lent to correct our faults, purify our hearts, control our desires and grow in holiness so we will be prepared to celebrate Easter with great joy” 

After much deliberation the Church of England has now decreed that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and therefore single sex marriage services may not be held in the Church of England.  However, the blessing of civil marriages will be allowed. Needless to say, this will not please everyone.

But what is the point of marriage anyway?

To answer this question we need to lookback in time – a long way back, some thousands of years.

In the past, marriage endowed a number of things;

• The legitimisation of children – Children born within wedlock had certain privileges. They took the family name, they were automatically their parent’s heirs, they were entitled to the care and protection of their parents. Illegitimate children had none of these privileges. Worse than that, the informal description of bas***d became a synonym for someone who was untrustworthy.
•  Maintaining the blood line – In many societies maintaining the purity of the bloodline was important as families took great store in tracing their lineage back to patriarchal ancestors. This could only be done via legitimate children.
• Social interaction – in many societies, although men and women could freely associate with their own sex, while unmarried, interaction with the opposite sex was very controlled and limited.
• Intimacy – Intimate relations between a man and a woman were absolutely forbidden and for a woman in particular, breaking this norm would very likely ruin any chance of marriage in the future.
• Mutual care and companionship – In highly ordered societies, spontaneous shows of affection were discouraged outside marriage and in public. Care in the sense of looking after and providing for was an obligation of family. Thus parents had an obligation to care for their legitimate children until they became adults and children were expected to reciprocate when their parents became elderly.

This was the status quo for hundreds of generations and in Western society remained more or less unchanged until relatively recent times. But what about now?

Although not universally the case, predominantly in western society, children born out of wedlock have the same rights as those born after marriage. There may be some exceptions to this such as claims to inherited titles but on the whole illegitimate and legitimate children have equal status and rights and any stigma attached to illegitimacy has all but disappeared entirely. Similarly with bloodlines, most of us, even the most ardent followers of family trees, are generally indifferent to whether a branch is legitimate or illegitimate. In our society there is no limit whatsoever to social interaction between the sexes and indeed intimacy with multiple partners before marriage is now so common as to be considered the norm. Certainly a history of promiscuity is rarely a barrier to a future monogamous relationship whether by marriage or civil partnership. Although mutual care within a family environment remains widespread, there are state safeguards in place for when  these environments break down, so the imperative of using marriage as an assurance of support is less important than in the past.

So is marriage just a relic of the past and of no relevance to modern society?

Although some of the past imperatives for marriage no longer exist there is still a strong case for it.

The findings of extensive academic research does show that partnerships and families based on marriage are the most successful form of relationship in terms of the wellbeing of children and the longevity of the partnership. That is not to say that all marriages are successful or that they last ‘until death us do part’. In fact more than 1 in 3 marriages end in divorce at some stage but the odds are much better than unmarried partnerships. Our society also recognises the ‘sanctity of marriage’ and although marriage vows of exclusivity are broken, to do so is to break the norms that our society recognises are important.

For Christian’s a marriage involves a vow before witnesses and more importantly, before God that the couple intend to stay married until one of them dies. Not all Christian marriages survive but from the beginning the expectation is that they will. A civil ceremony will not invoke God or any deity but is as its name suggests simply a civil contract between two people. In UK law this contract may be between any two adults of whatever gender. The Christian Church does, however, not take its guidance let alone instruction from whatever norms society as a whole think are appropriate at any given time but from scripture (the Bible) from which it takes its authority.  An imperative from those scriptures is that we should treat one another as we would wish to be treated and we should certainly not be too hasty to condemn others or treat them with disdain. But that does not mean that we should subvert Bible teaching in doing so. There is no justification for or examples of same sex marriages throughout the 66 books of the Bible. A marriage by definition is a binding commitment between a man and a woman. The church and indeed all Christians should be compassionate towards a society that thinks differently but the Church of England is absolutely right in forbidding the holding of same sex marriages within its buildings and by its ministers.  Should civil marriages be blessed? Even this seems somewhat counterintuitive – if a marriage has been conducted in a manner that is unacceptable to the church then how can that same church offer a blessing for it? On the other hand, has the church the right to withhold a blessing for anyone who asks for it? –In the final analysis it is God who blesses or withholds a blessing not us. We are but His agents. On balance the Church of England seems to have got it right.

On January 6^th you may have seen on church doors or on houses of Christians a mysterious series of letters and numbers, looking for all the world like an equation, inscribed in chalk over a doorway. It is often seen on churches of the more catholic tradition of the church.

If you don’t know what the chalk is all about, don’t you are certainly not alone

Epiphany; which can also be known as Twelfth Night, Theophany, or Three Kings Day is the time that marks the occasion of a time-honoured Christian tradition of “chalking the doors.” The formula for the ritual — adapted for 2023 — is simple: take chalk of any colour and write the following above the entrance of your home: 20 + C + M + B + 23.

The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi (wise men) who tradition say were called Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar — who came to visit Jesus. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “23” at the end mark the year.

Taken together, this inscription is performed as a prayer for Jesus to bless those homes marked in this way and asks that Jesus stay with those who enter the house throughout the entire year.

The chalking of the doors is a centuries-old practice which is used throughout the world, It is, however, an easy tradition to adopt, and a great practice to dedicate the year to God from its very outset, asking His blessing on our homes and on all who live, work, or visit them there.

The timing for the chalking of the doors varies somewhat in practice. In some places, it is done on New Year’s Day. More commonly, it is performed on the traditional Feast of the Epiphany — the Twelfth Day of Christmas (6^th January). Traditionally the blessing is done by either a priest or the   head of the family. This blessing can be performed simply by just writing the inscription and offering a short prayer, or more elaborately, including songs, prayers, processions, the burning of incense, and the sprinkling of holy water.

Have you thought of asking God to bless your home and family? You do not need chalk or wait until January the 6^th although you may want to start the year this way. You can ask God in prayer any day of the year at any time to do this. Words can be your own or a written prayer such as the Celtic prayer below.

Loving God

Bless this house and those within.
Bless our giving and receiving.
Bless our words and conversation.
Bless our hands and recreation.
Bless our sowing and our growing.
Bless our coming and our going.
Bless all who enter and depart.
Bless this house, your peace impart. Amen

If you want to talk to us about prayer, then why not ask us?

Karen Padley

At All Saints we have a tradition of holding a Carol Service by candlelight and involving as may people from all parts of the community as possible. Lessons are read by children and adults from as young as 6 to octogenarians. Where readers are unable to join us in person we use videos of them reading in their homes. The music is lead by an orchestra drawn from the community together with a choir and organ. And the whole service s rcorded and posted on our facebook page.

Why not experience our Carol Service yourself ? Go to our Facebookpage

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066783831002

Christingle celebrations have been taking place for over 50 years. The Children’s Society first Christingle service took place at Lincoln Cathedral in 1968, but Christingles themselves go back much further to the Moravian church in Germany.

At a children’s service in Marienborn in 1747, Bishop Johannes de Watteville looked for a simple way to explain the happiness that had come to people through Jesus, and created a symbol — the Christingle — to do this.

Christingle  services are joyful celebrations that brings families and communities together to share the light of Jesus and spread a message of hope.

Christingle celebrations are named after the Christingles that are lit during the service. Christingles are oranges wrapped in red tape, decorated with dried fruit or sweets, with a candle on the top.

Christingles are usually held from the end of November through to February (Advent to Candlemas), with Christmas Eve being a particularly popular time for services. The one at All Saints Church Marlpool is Held on Christmas Eve.

During the service, each person takes a Christingle and the candles are all lit as they are lit the light they give symbolising the light of Christ and bringing hope to people living in darkness.

Each element of a Christingle has a special meaning and helps to tell the Christian story:

• The orange represents the world
• The red ribbon (or tape) symbolises the love and blood of Christ
• The sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations
• The lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness.

We use any collection we get to support the work of the Children’s Society

And the Children’ Society?

The Children’s Society provide specialist support that empowers young people to make positive changes and rediscover their hope. Children want a future they can look forward to and the society are there to make sure they get it. Working alongside young people, their families and community, they will not rest until together, step-by-step, they have created a society built for all children.

Young people come to the society when they have low self-esteem. When they’re living in families who can’t afford the next meal, the next size up in school uniform. Or when there’s no one else to lean on.

Refugee and migrant children land in this country alone and look to The Children’s Society for guidance to achieve the life they dreamed of. To have a settled home, a secure job and starting a family. They’re not asking for too much.

The Children’s Society see teenagers in their services who want to quit using drugs or alcohol. Who are looking after mum, dad, or their siblings more than they bargained for. Or who have been taken advantage of and find themselves carrying drugs to far away towns, or having sex with strangers. 

Often, the hope inside them has taken a battering, it might only be hanging by a thread. But the society  know it’s there. 

Young people come to the The Children’s Society when they need someone to talk to, for therapy, sometimes just a bite to eat. To help with their court case, to talk to their mum, social services, their teacher, to sometimes not talk at all. We work with young people for as long as it takes and we’re with them no matter what.

They also listen to their needs and campaign and lobby on their behalf. We want to make sure they are heard at local and nation government level. They know better than anyone what will make all the difference.

The Children’s Society take inspiration from the courage and hope we see in young people every day, fuelling our belief that a good childhood is something every young person deserves. 

For more information check out the Children’s Society webebsite The Children’s Society | UK children’s charity (childrenssociety.org.uk)