Palm Sunday

This 6th Sunday of Lent is Palm Sunday which commemorates Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of the Passover. The people were excited to see Him and laid down palm branches and their coats in His path and shouted 'Hosanna', which originally meant 'Save us' for help promised or on its way. On Sunday at 3.00pm at West Leake, there will be a donkey leading the parade to the church to celebrate this event. The 9.30am special services at St Mary's will be a little different from the usual, and all are welcome. Come and hear the Easter story. The Benefice choirs will lead a United Service of Passiontide music 'God so loved the world' at Stanford at 6.00pm. This week, the Abbot Club will be meeting at the Nag's Head on Thursday 2nd at 8.00pm, following their successful 'A Question of Sport' held at Heat Restaurant a few weeks ago. Five teams entered the contest: East Leake Bantams, E.L. Rugby Club, Sutton Bonington Tennis Club, Notts. Rugby Club and St Mary's team. Tim Friend, our Sports chaplain and Christians in sport hosted the evening. Don't forget the Concert on Saturday 4th at 7.30pm at St Mary's by members of the Notts Youth Orchestra. Please note: The Mud Pie Club will NOT be meeting this Friday in the Hall. The next session will be on 24th April after Easter.

Don't forget to turn your clocks forward this weekend!

British Summer Time begins this weekend, so don't forget to change your clocks!

You are all no doubt aware that the G20 national leaders are meeting in London on Thursday 2nd April. The Micah Challenge http://www.micahchallenge.org.uk/ is calling Christians worldwide to rise up and join together in prayer that our new global economy might be founded on the values of our creator God and on the needs of the poor. There is a leaflet in church to focus your prayers on this, or see the website link. Revd. Glynis and Revd. Claire will be meeting for prayer at 8.30am on 2nd April. If you would like to attend a little earlier to pray for this important issue, please contact Revd. Glynis.

This month's Compass and the website contain details of all the Easter Services and special events e.g. Parade on Palm Sunday with the donkey, Crossways club, and the Good Friday Walk. Everyone (adults and children) are invited to all and any of these, whether you are a member of St Mary's or not.

Have you taken time to call in to the Coffee Morning every Friday from 10-12noon? There's always news to share.

Recently, the front choir stalls have been slightly adapted to give the adult members more leg-room. Originally, the front stalls were built to accommodate young choristers and therefore very small. Outwardly, there is no difference to the appearance.

We look forward to welcoming a visit from the pupils at Brookside Primary School and their teachers next Tuesday.

Giving thanks on Mothering Sunday

A very happy Mothering Sunday was celebrated 'in the round'. St Mary's choir and the children's choir sang together during the service, with readings and prayers by the Mothers' Union members. The altar table was centrally placed and the children assisted Revd Glynis to 'set the table' for Holy Communion. Following the service, all the children gave flowers and a card to the ladies in the congregation. On the sunny Saturday, approximately 20 people from the Cluster attended the 'Prayer and Spirituality Day' at St Mary's, led by Revd Glenn Martin from Sutton Bonington. Please note the forthcoming events in the right hand column as we approach Easter.

• The popular Parade and Service with the donkey from Manor Farm Animal Centre & Donkey Sanctuary will be held at St Helena's Church, West Leake on Palm Sunday 5th April at 3.00pm.
• Crossways Club for Key Stage 1 & 2 will be held once again in St Mary's Church Hall, East Leake on April 7, 8 & 9th from 10am-12noon, during Holy Week. This will be advertised closer to the time.
• The Benefice choirs will be leading the service at St John the Baptist, Stanford on Soar at 6.00pm on Palm Sunday - a fitting start to Holy Week.

Further services during Holy Week can be viewed on the website.

Lost the Pot? (not the plot!). Have you brought refreshments to any of our events and misplaced your dish/plate etc? We have a number of items missing their owners, if you would like to call Pat on 820094 to collect them.

Repairs and cleaning

Work has begun on repairs to St Mary's Hall, which will take several weeks. Please note that it will remain open to all users during this time. A Spring Clean of the Hall is planned for August 8th during the holidays. If our users or anyone would like to help, it would be appreciated by the other volunteers. The more the hall is kept in good order, the better it is for our community. The Church Spring Clean has been postponed and will NOT now be held on May 9th. Sunday Sanctuary are asking if anyone would like to help once a month on Sunday evenings 5-6pm to serve refreshments to the group. Please contact Lydia.

Refresh your soul and join us for Refreshment Sunday.

We have another busy week and weekend coming up. This Saturday, 21st March from 10.00-4.00pm is the Prayer and Spirituality Day with Revd Glenn Martin at St Mary's. Don't forget to sign up and bring your packed lunch. On Sunday, 22nd March we will celebrate Mothering Sunday at the 9.30am service, also known as Refreshment Sunday. This is always celebrated on the 4th Sunday in Lent and is the only time when flowers are seen in church during Lent. Traditionally, it was when churchgoers visited their 'mother' church, where they had been baptised. In Victorian times the daughters of a family, who often worked in domestic service were given the day off to visit their family. It followed then that it became a celebration to thank mothers for their love and care. See Forthcoming events on the blog and website:

• A new concert coming up on Sat. 4th April at 7.30pm by members of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra.
• Crossways Club for young people during Holy Week, in the Hall 10-12noon on 7, 8 & 9th April.
• On the first Sunday of each month starting in May, 'Tea Time' Sunday at 3pm will start for all families with young children in the Hall. Tea will be available.

Deadlines.

If you are planning to go to the Parish Weekend next January 2010, please sign up and see Judith with your deposit of £10, which is due NOW. There are still some leaflets in church with all the details. Willersley Castle is a very popular place for weekends such as these, so booking well in advance is necessary. The deadline for updating the Electoral Roll is March 22nd, so if you are a regular worshipper in St Mary's Benefice and would like to be on the Roll, please do it soon. This Sunday, 15th March we shall welcome our new Area Dean, the Revd. John Bentham, as our guest preacher at the 9.30am Parish Communion service. Come along and meet him!

Start of Lent Services

Those who dropped in to St Mary's First Wedding Fair were delighted with what greeted them on Saturday. See the photos on the blog below and on the website. Many thanks are due to all those involved in organising the day. St Mary's has also been invited to the Wedding Fair being held at Stanford Hall on March 29th, 11.00-4.00pm. So if you missed your chance to ask about getting married in church, please come along and ask your questions. If you are planning to attend any of the Lent meetings the notices for this week are as follows:

• Mon. 2nd @ 7.30pm Cluster Prayer & Share meeting at 3 Leake Rd, Gotham
• 7.30pm York Course at 52 Bateman Rd
• Tues. 3rd @ 2.00pm WWD of Prayer Slide Show at Methodist Church
• 7.00pm Abbot Club meets at Charnwood Golf Range
• 7.30pm Reflective Worship for Lent at Our Lady's RC Church: Taize.
• Wed. 4th @ 10.00am Holy Communion
• 7.30pm Worship and Music Committee at the Rectory
• Fri. 6th 10-12noon Drop n for a coffee and a chat - in church
• 2.00pm Women's World Day of Prayer - service at Tutin Court
• 7.30pm Women's World Day of Prayer - service at Catholic Church
• Sat. 7th 9.30am Churchyard work begins - All teams (if wet - March 14th)