Parish of Bishopstoke

Dear Friends The New Year seems a long time ago now – and a lot has certainly happened in just a few weeks! But cast your mind back and you might just remember the New Year’s Honours List. It was great to see various high-achieving sportspeople honoured, as well as former Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, receive a knighthood in recognition of his chairing of the Hillsborough Independent Panel. But other appointments were controversial because of their political nature. It

The successful young athlete was into the final kilometre of the final ‘Triathlon World Series’ event of the 2016 season. The Mexican heat was searing. He was way ahead, but there was something very wrong with his running gait. His feet were determined to move forward but the rest of his body was leaning bizarrely backwards. Just as Jonny’s knees buckled and a steward reached out to pull him from the race for medical treatment, his brother rounded the corner and wrestled

Yes, it’s almost that time of year again… This time our programme has been written by the women of the Philippines and is called ‘Am I being unfair to you?’ We shall think about what life is like there today, the effects of the typhoon which hit the islands in 2013, and the hopes and fears of various generations. Our prayers will join those of millions of people around the world on 3 March. We shall worship locally and pray together with other denominations in Bishopstoke.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Soup and Sweet event on 15 January. Special thanks to Anne, Ann, Jenny and Sheila, and to all who provided such lovely desserts. A total of £200 was raised for the Winchester Night Shelter. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Night Shelter. So many vulnerable people have been helped over this period and, although they receive monies from official sources, donations are most welcome as this makes up one-third of their income.