During August 2021, the Lower Sapey Popup Choir delighted the limited congregation, with Sung Evensong. The choir was directed by Michael Oakley and the Officiant was Rev, Jen Denniston.
Here the choir sings “Holy, Holy, Holy”.
The choir now sings “The Magnificat”.
As a way of saying thank you to Bob (and his friends) for all the tree work in the churchyard we decided as it was very near to Bonfire Night a similar party would be appropriate. So it was that at the end of October a very joyful gathering ensued.
Christmas 2021
So, it came to pass that we were once again allowed in St Bartholomew’s church without the need for “hard hats” in the nave. The safety netting in the ceiling was something wonderful…….
We still had the need for social distancing which in the case of St Bartholomew’s has been accomplished by removing half of the pews. Even so, the congregation was in great voice with some members of the Harpley “Pop Up Choir” there to lead the singing. Here we have “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night”.
Snowdrop Service 2022
The parish is noted for its annual display of snowdrops, and they certainly brighten up the late winter churchyard. People in the surrounding area have even been heard to say, “we’re going to Harpley to see the snowdrops”. Well, we didn’t want to turn down an excuse for mulled wine and cake, so our first celebration of 2022 was a Snowdrop Service.
Platinum Jubilee
So, most of the planet seemed to be planning to have a great time celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the parish of Lower Sapey wasn’t going to be left out. An afternoon tea with a Royal Toast for parishioners and friends turned out to be just what was wanted. The weather wasn’t as kind as was originally expected but St Bartholomew’s came to our rescue and put a roof over our heads enabling us to have a most enjoyable afternoon.
2022 The Original “BBB”
With some people thinking about returning to school or even a new school and a slight autumnal feel in the air, it was time, once again to enjoy a hearty breakfast. St Bartholomew’s was laid out ready for the promised rain, but we were looked down upon favourably and an open-air setting suited most of those attending the event. The annual September breakfast event started some years ago and has continued to grow in popularity and is now known as the “Big Breakfast Bap”. It has to be said that “Big” is the operative word as it’s amazing what can be crammed onto one of those baps. As ever, the planning and execution by Liz Younge and her team was excellent.
Yes, it’s a cake sale and there were some very nice cakes together with a selection of home produce.
Tombola always attracts the younger generation but I can never understand why they manage to win a bottle of wine. No doubt the person who actually bought the tickets will assist with its consumption.
So, you might have had to queue for a while but everyone I spoke to agreed it was well worth the wait. Click on the image if you want to see it a bit bigger.
This is what people were queuing up for. Everything cooked to perfection, even the “special” requests. The image clicking works here too.
It’s one way to keep your carbon footprint down. Utilise a one horsepower mode of transport.
The church warden, Candy Connolly, offering a vote of thanks to everyone involved in making the event a success.
Morning Prayer
Sunday, 4th September 2022 at 10:30am St Bartholomew’s church was privileged to host The Bach Choir as they sang Morning Prayer. The previous afternoon the choir had a practise in the old St Bartholomew’s church and experienced the amazing acoustics that probably date from some time in the first millennium. I hope the following video clips will be a wonderful memory to the people lucky enough to be in the churches. Enjoy…..
The choir sing “Drop, Drop” in the old church.
Listen to “Set me as a Seal” at the start of the Sunday Service.
The first weekend in October was when the parish celebrated our harvest. Even though the weather during the summer was, to say the least, “interesting” we survived and there was a harvest. In the parish we have always had a Harvest Festival service in St Bartholomew’s church and this year was no exception. Having said that, this year was somewhat different as it was the inaugural Harvest Supper. Sincere apologies to all who couldn’t attend as places were limited and it was a sell-out. The best suggestion is to book early next year. We definitely had a weekend to remember. It is good to know that many of those at the Saturday night supper made it back to the Sunday morning service where the singing just about raised the roof!
Before the weekend the church was decorated with some amazing floral creations. Being an “Eco” award church and the birthplace of Sustainable Church Flowers “https://suschurchflowers.com” there was a concerted effort to reduce the carbon footprint in getting the fruit and flower to the church. As one of the volunteers put it, “you can’t get much less than direct from my garden to the church”. I have to apologise that the following pictures don’t do justice to how beautiful the church looked.
Just so you don’t bombard the administrator with questions; the spiky looking things on the pulpit are the seed heads of the allium “Schubertii” that were grown in Harpley.
I did mention that we had the inaugural Harvest Supper this year. A great “thank you” has to go to Clare Edwards and her hard-working team who made this event happen. Luckily, most of the people in the local community like beef because there was a lot of it, and I mean a LOT. Don’t get me wrong, the vegetarians were also catered for. The selection of cheeses was so good that a queue formed whilst people tried to make up their minds which cheeses to have. Not surprisingly, the dessert table was also a popular place. As for anyone on a diet, I’m fairly sure it went out of the window on that night. To round things off there was even an after-dinner speaker when Henry Carpenter informed us of a few of the tales he’d come across, growing up in the area.
This was Saturday night when St Bartholomew’s church was generously being used as the Lower Sapey “Community Hub”. Thanks to the many helpers, it was returned to its original setting ready for Sunday morning worship.
It’s that time of year when we come together to enjoy singing carols and listening to readings that take us up to Christmas. This year a sense of normality has returned as “social distancing” is something we talk about as opposed to having to practice it. No doubt people are thinking about what is happening in Ukraine where a sense of normality does not even slightly exist. There are Ukrainian refugees in and around Lower Sapey and many of us “locals” have been able to experience a little of their culture and customs. At a recent Nativity Play one of the Ukrainian refugees spoke of her thoughts at this time of year. The following is what she said.
Hello, my name is Nadia and I am from Ukraine.
The whole world is now preparing to celebrate the New Year and Christmas, but my country now is fighting – for its existence, its language, its culture, and its religion. When I was asked to speak in front of you today, I thought for a long time how I could talk about the culture and traditions of my country in two or three minutes. It is impossible. But still, I decided that I will try to convey to you what we are feeling now. Usually at Christmas we gather as a whole family, prepare traditional dishes, sing carols, visit friends. But now in my country there is no light, water, heating, internet because of the terrible constant shelling, because the neighbouring country has decided that we do not have the right to live, we do not have the right to be ourselves, to live in our own homes, to sing lullabies to children in our own language. Because of the war, we cannot be with our family at the same table for Christmas, we are now scattered around the world and do not know if we will ever be able to hug each other again. Imagine that someone has decided that he has the right to come into your home and start killing you just for being you. War is the scariest thing that can happen. Therefore, I would really like to tell you – appreciate the peace in your home! Appreciate the simplest things around you! Because in fact they are the most important! This is an opportunity to hug your relatives and loved ones, just to enjoy the sunset, drink coffee; an opportunity to breathe and live. Be happy here and now and do not postpone the fulfilment of your dreams until tomorrow! And I also want to sincerely thank the whole of Great Britain for your great support and hospitality towards all Ukrainian families. It’s just incredible! Merry Christmas everyone! but the most important wish – peace to your home. And no matter what, we will continue to value our traditions – because Culture is the identity of people, and it must not be destroyed; thank you.
Suitable decorated, St Bartholomew’s was the place to be for some of that carol singing mentioned above. The were also a selection of readings to enable the choir and congregation to get their breath back.
As ever we’ve left the best for the last video clip. About a year ago Ukrainian families were singing their carols just before Christmas. A part of one Ukrainian family was able to share some of that distant experience with us. Enjoy the singing, we certainly did.
This being a carol service there had to be refreshments afterwards. The “bakers” in the parish had gone to town so to speak, and not surprisingly there were mince pies in all shapes and sizes together with a selection of sausage rolls. What was a surprise to everyone there was the Ukrainian dessert. Don’t ask for the recipe and pronouncing its name was also a challenge. Very tasty indeed! Below is the photographic evidence of considerable finger licking….
Then we come to Christmas Day. The church had been beautifully decorated, the advent ring lit and coloured lights glimmering on the tree. We gladly welcomed visitors from near and far and after an animated sermon from Rev. Jen Denniston (to the delight of the younger members of the congregation) Holy Communion was celebrated. A truly wonderful way to start celebrating Jesus’ birthday.
There’s just one thing left; a spot of community singing with a verse of “O Come, All Ye Faithful”
Some of those at the Lower Sapey Tea Party were around for the last coronation and a few of those have fond memories of the event but for most attendees is was to celebrate something they had never witnessed before. With the current eligibility for the Crown it looks like it’ll be a long time before we have another Queen. The writer thinks that it’s not a bad situation as the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is an extremely hard act to follow.
As ever, the volunteer caterers put on a spread fit for a king. A pity he was busy as we think he would have enjoyed it. A suitable fizzy drink, to toast His Majesty, was provided by the parish and a good time was had by all.
