The Link Magazine

"How can you believe in God when there is no evidence for his existence?"
"How can you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that there is life after death, when there is no evidence that this is true?"

Whenever I hear comments like these, I immediately remember a quote from something I read by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who died in 1951. He wrote, "At the foundation of a well founded belief, is a belief that is not well founded". Wittgenstein understood that even the great scientific beliefs of his day, about the nature of existence were not entirely based on hard "facts" or empirical evidence. In fact he recognised that many scientific beliefs actually contained certain assumptions that cannot be proved, assumptions that are accepted on faith, and that without these assumptions the whole scientific belief falls apart. To some extent, what Wittgenstein was stating was that a person of faith's claim that God exists is as valid as a scientist's claim about the nature of matter in an atom. Neither could really be proved or disproved but were assumptions based on faith.

A contemporary of Wittgenstein was the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung who died in 1961. In a famous television interview shortly before he died, Jung was asked if he believed in the existence of God. Jung made a surprising reply. He said, "I do not believe that God exists, I know he exists." It is a subtle distinction between believing and knowing, but what Jung was stating was that he had experienced God as an active presence in his life and in the lives of the people he had encountered and treated. This experience then enabled him to make the statement that he had knowledge of God, in the same way that we can have knowledge of other people. So he didn't just believe in God's existence, he knew that He existed.

Perhaps the evidence for God's existence then is the fact that so many people have faith in Him, a faith based on experience rather than assumption. And the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus is the fact that the first disciples' lives were transformed when they encountered Jesus after he died, an experience that founded the Christian Church.

Could the Church still be thriving today if this were a lie, and if people's experience of God were a delusion? Like Jung, I don't think so.

With thanks to the Reverend Ian Wilson,
published in Elmsett and Aldham Newsletter, April 2002

Benefice Choir
We would welcome new members
both male and female -all voices.

We meet to practise for the Harvest Festivals
on Wednesday September 3rd
at 7.30pm in Flowton Church.

Please do come and join us-or phone Mary Carter
on 01473 658522 for more details.

Bible Readings and Psalms for our Sunday Worship taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. It is good to be sharing the reading of Scripture with Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - across the world.

3rd August Seventh Sunday after Trinity Green
Exodus 16. 2-4, 9-15 Psalm 78. 23-29
Ephesians 4. 1-16 John 6. 24-35

10th August Eighth Sunday after Trinity Green
1 Kings 19. 4-8 Psalm 34. 1-8
Ephesians 4. 25 -5.2 John 6. 35, 41-51

17th August Ninth Sunday after Trinity Green
Proverbs 9. 1-6 Psalm 34. 9-14
Ephesians 5. 15-20 John 6. 51-58

24th August St Bartholomew Red
Isaiah 43. 8-13 Psalm 145. 1-7
Acts 5. 12-16 Luke 22. 24-30

31st August Eleventh Sunday after Trinity Green
Deuteronomy 4.1,2,6-9 Psalm 15
James 1. 17-27 Mark 7. 1-8, 14,15,21-23

7th September Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Green
Isaiah 35. 4-7a Psalm 146
James 2. 1-10, 14-17 Mark 7. 24-37

14th September Holy Cross Day Red
Numbers 21. 4-9 Psalm 22. 23-28
Philippians 2. 6-11 John 3. 13-17

21st September St Matthew Red
Proverbs 3. 13-18 Psalm 119. 65-72
2 Corinthians 4. 1-6 Matthew 9. 9-13

28th September Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity Green
Numbers 11. 4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Psalm 19. 7-14
James 5. 13-20 Mark 9. 38-50

From the Registers

Farewell to:

John Pinson-Roxburgh, aged 66, of Offton, who died on 14th June in Ipswich Hospital. The funeral service was at Ipswich crematorium on Monday the 23rd June, taken by Barry Middleton. His ashes were buried in Offton Churchyard on 21st July.

Also to:

Hilda Plummer, aged 93 years, of Somersham, who died in Ipswich Hospital on 2nd July. Her funeral took place in Somersham Church on July 14th followed by burial in the churchyard.

May light perpetual shine upon them

Mother's Union
Our friends at Somersham Baptist Church Women's Meeting have invited us to join them once again for their Anniversary meeting at 2.30 pm on Friday, 12 th September. It will be their 20th celebration and we will be delighted to share the occasion with them.

As a group we have been so saddened to lose our dear friend, Hilda Plummer and a tribute to her follows.

Mrs. Hilda Plummer

When Hilda died aged 93 years on Wednesday, 2nd July the Somersham and District Mother's Union lost its longest serving and most loyal member. Hilda had been in the MU for 68 years, firstly joining the Little Blakenham group until the Somersham branch opened. She scarcely missed a meeting in all those years and for most of them she made the tea together with her good friend and neighbour, Gladys Dickerson.

Hilda was born in Somersham in 1910, attended the village school and married Albert (one of the 15 children from the Forge) in 1932. Together they worked and supported the village church all their married lives. Hilda played the organ at Little Blakenham, Somersham and finally at Flowton for 40 years. She was the mainstay of any catering team for church events and for many years the caretaker for the doctor's surgery in the old Village Hall.

When she was no longer as mobile, she knitted vests for children in Africa, blankets for animal welfare charities and hats for seamen.

Hilda's family was most important to her and we know that her two sons and their families will miss her very much and we extend our sympathy to them. But like them, we all have such treasured memories to sustain us and give thanks to God for the life of his faithful servant.

Somersham and Flowton and Offton and Willisham
Clubs and Activities -

To other group contacts-please contact Mary Carter on 01473 658522 to have your group added to this list - I know it does not include everyone yet!

A Sky Without Birds

A sky without birds,
How barren and lifeless.
Empty rooftops and powerlines.
The martins chitter chatter,
The invisible peching of the kestrel,
A speeding peregrine with fierce
piercing, puncturing talons,
And the swift as they whistle and chase.
The sky is their vast stage,
What a setting for courtship, play and death.

Nick, "Shortfellow"

Somersham Church Notes

There will be a full report about the Flower Festival & Open Gardens in the next Link magazine, but it was a great success, with lots of visitors, both local and from further away.

Over £1000 has been counted so far, with some more still to come in. A very big thank you to all involved - those who entertained at the Cheese & Wine Evening, the flower arrangers who decorated the church so beautifully, those kind enough to open their gardens to visitors, all who helped in any way over the weekend and of course the visitors.

Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Bike Ride will take place on Saturday 13th September.
We are hoping there will be volunteers to bike, or walk, round some local churches and help raise some money for church funds - 50% of sponsor money goes to Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, and the other 50% to your nominated church.

Please contact Steve Dines (658487) for more details, sponsor forms, etc.

As I wrote last month, a group of pupils from Somersham Primary School have been participating in Cycle Safety training. The pupils have now received their certificates of training and I would like to thank all who helped, particularly Colin Burrows from Neighbourhood Watch.

Staying on the cycling theme, complaints have been received of cycling on footpaths. Whilst young children cannot be expected to ride on the road there comes a point when they should leave the footpaths for pedestrians.

This article will be published in August during the school holidays so another reminder to parents is called for: please ensure you know where your children are and what they are doing.

Recently reported crimes include burglary at a property under renovation in Offton -several fixtures including a water tank and copper fire hood were removed together with a quantity of copper piping, graffiti was also painted on internal walls. This offence occurred during June.

In Somersham damage was caused to the church porch when parts of the carved tracery were damaged over the night of 29th June.

Motorists among you may have noticed new mobile speed cameras making visits to your village. These are part of the Suffolk Safety Campaign and will become a familiar sight alongside our roads. The daily locations are published on the internet (www.suffolksafecam.co.uk) and local radio. Speeding is a regular complaint in many of the villages which I patrol and I hope to see an improvement as a result of the use of the new cameras.

For those of you who were not on the bank, my Raft Race exploits on Needham Lake resulted in 7th out of 8, and several very wet police officers. Thanks to all who cheered me on.

If you know anything about the incidents mentioned in these notes please contact me on 01473 613500 Suffolk Police Headquarters or 01473 383390 Stowmarket Police Station.
My deputy, should I be unavailable, is PC 619 Mike Gwyn who is based at Stowmarket and can also be contacted on the numbers above.

Thank you
PC Kevin Shields
01473 383390 Stowmarket Police Station
01473 613500 Police Headquarters

SOMERSHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Changes to Parish Council Meetings

The Parish Council decided at the last meeting that the format of the meetings should be changed. Below are the changes:

· Meetings will be held 11 times a year, every month except August
· All meetings will be no longer than 2 hours

These changes are to be trialled for the next few months, and should streamline the way the Parish Council works.

If you have any ideas on how to improve communication between the Council and the village, or would like to get involved in activities in the village, please contact the Clerk to the Council.

There have been a few problems around the village in recent months, and we would like to point these out, to help curb the activities.

Dog Fouling

There has been an increase in dog fouling around the village, which as you will know can be hazardous to health, particularly the health of children.

Mid Suffolk District Council's Environment Department has now obtained mobile CCTV equipment, which will be used to investigate and prosecute dog-fouling offenders, and if problems continue in Somersham then we will be forced to ask them to use this equipment in the village.

Please remember to clear up after your dog. Mid Suffolk District Council can provide 25 bags for £1.00, contact Linda Cooper on 01449 727153 for more information.

Vandalism

There has been a spate of vandalism in the village recently, this has been reported to the Council by the Neighbourhood Watch and the Police.
People should bear in mind that damage to public property in the village, does mean that Council Tax rates will have to be put up to cover the costs of the damage.
Anyone seen vandalising property in the village will be reported to the Police for prosecution. Please can everyone keep an eye out to ensure this problem is stopped.

Litter Problem

There has also been a problem with litter in the village.

There are many bins available for use in the village, and if there is not a bin nearby, please take your rubbish home.
If the problem with litter persists the Parish Council will have to consider employing a street cleaner, which increase the Council Tax rates a great deal.

If everyone keeps the area outside of the homes clear, and everyone uses the bins provided the village will be a cleaner place.

And finally…
Hedges over paths

Please can people who have gardens with hedges and trees against public paths cut them back, and cut them to a height of 2 metres above the ground, to allow people to walk under them with ease.

Directory of Clubs and Societies

We are compiling a directory of clubs and societies in the village, and would like all groups to get in contact with us so that we can have a complete list.

If you run a club or society or are a local contact for a national organisation and would like an entry in the directory, please provide the following details to the parish clerk:
" Name of club or society
" Main purpose of the club
" When and where you meet (if relevant)
" Contact person and contact details (address, telephone, email)
If you wish you could enter these details directly into the Contacts Directory through www.somersham.com, this on-line version will be used to create a booklet of groups, which will be available around the village, once it has been compiled.
(There will also be a digest frequently in the Link-probably inside back cover for easy reference. Ed.)

Meeting Dates

Our next meeting is Wednesday 3rd September 2003 at 7.30pm in the Committee Room in the Village Hall.

Please come along to see us, and let us know if there are any problems in the village, or whether you have any ideas to help the village.

The monthly meeting will commence from this meeting, more dates to follow in the next article.

Andrew Mayhew
Clerk to the Council
Address: 21 Morgan Court, Claydon, IPSWICH, IP6 0AN
Tel No: 01473 834035
E-mail: clerk@somersham.suffolk.gov.uk
Web Site: www.somersham.suffolk.gov.uk

SOMERSHAM CARPET BOWLS CLUB

After none too good a start to the summer league - 2 wins and one draw out of 5 matches - we have now pulled ourselves together and won the last 2 matches, hopefully we can keep up the winning streak.
The last 5 matches have all been played away, but the next 5 are at home which in theory should be to our advantage.

The new bowlers have settled down well to league bowling and are now a good asset to the team, but we are still looking for some more new members, we are sure there are others out there in the community with potential who could make our team even greater.

We are having an open afternoons bowling in the village hall during the early part of September when anyone interested in having a go at carpet bowls will be welcome to come and have a try. Any youngsters will be welcome providing they bring along an adult with them, further news of this event will be advertised at a later date. Bell or Keith will be pleased to give details if you would like to ring them on (01473) 831157.

Results to end of June 2003 Summer League

Somersham Cycle Speedway Club

After a dreadful start to the season the Stars are starting to turn in some more respectable performances. Against Kesgrave we went down 83.5 -95.5, the half point coming about after Andrew Mittell dead-heated with Lewis Osborne. Mittell had led for most of the race but team rode to get his dad Peter through to the front, only for the Kesgrave man to follow through on the last bend. This was an excellent performance from Peter after suffering rib injuries in a first race fall.
Perhaps Barry Copping was man of the match though, after he twice beat Kesgrave no. 1 Jason Ashford.

Andy Mittell was again in great form for the local derby with Gt. Blakenham. Undeterred by a hectic schedule he combined defensive and offensive tactics to great effect. There was good support from Richard Williamson but the Stars again went down by 12 points.

For the visit of East London, Gary Brown was back to form and led a worthy attack, but Somersham's efforts were all in vain. In 6 heats the short-handed Stars were forced to track only one rider and we lost 80-86. Frustrating fact: one more rider in the red & yellow would have given us a draw even if they hadn't beaten anybody!

Perhaps we should change the team colours? Swarms of flies were attracted to the yellow during this match and it was most unpleasant.
The lack of riders has been a serious problem this season, despite plenty of opportunities for younger riders to try their luck. Young Rhys Cotterell is the latest to have made his racing debut and although lacking in experience he put in a spirited performance during the Suffolk Junior Grand Prix.
Further events for newcomers continue throughout the summer and the next Somersham meeting will be the Suffolk Under 10 championship on August 13 at 19:00.

If you fancy a go in this or one of our practice sessions please get in touch, and we'll help however we can.
you can contact us via (01473) 831474, e-mail ovalking@yahoo.com or take a look at the
new Somersham Cycle Speedway website:
www.btinternet.com/~SomershamCSC

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

A silver tray has been presented to Mr and Mrs Eric Burroughes of Somersham on recognition of many years of hard work and faithful service to the Royal British legion. Grateful thanks from all members.

Congratulations to Mrs F. Southgate, who ahs achieved her badge for thirty years service as a collector for the Poppy Appeal. Well Done!!

FLOWTON NEWS

Quiz

On 15th November, at 7.30pm, there will be a Quiz Night at Burstall Village Hall to raise money for Flowton Church and Ipswich Deaf Children's Society.
Teams of 4-6, tickets £1.50 per person. Tea, coffee and nibbles provided, bring any other food and drink, please. Raffle. Bring your friends and family for a fun night out. For more information contact Nikki on 658092

Many thanks to everybody who helped in any way with the Fete and Songs of Praise. Everybody enjoyed the beautiful weather and the sideshows provided added attraction to the popular stalls. A "traditional fete" as someone described it. Thanks to the wet volunteers for sitting under the bucket! More details in Margaret's round-up in the Autumn. The magnificent total of £808 was raised, to which I hope we have added another useful sum from the Flowton Miscellaneous. 10% of the combined profits will be sent to Ipswich Deaf Children's Society.

Thanks also to the "Cutting Team" who are keeping the grass and graves so tidy.

SCHT Cycle Ride is on September 13th -10.00am until 6.00pm. If you can ride for Flowton Church and raise some sponsorship please contact Wilma Watkins for the forms.
People to man or woman the church are also needed-please fill in the list which Wilma will put in the church. Thank you.

Harvest Thanksgiving Service -Sunday 21st September at 6.30pm

Patchwork and Quilting

Patchwork and quilting classes continue in Flowton's warm Church Vestry during the Autumn and Winter. If you are interested please contact Mary Carter on 01473 658522 for more details.

Offton Church News

Future Events:

13th September 2003. The Annual SHCT Cycle ride. It's 'on your bike' time! If you are able to cycle for Offton Church you can get your sponsorship forms and details from Alison Rumsey - telephone 01473 658591. All money raised will be shared equally between your home church and the Trust.

14th September 2003. Harvest Thanksgiving Service in the Barn at Castle Farm at 5pm

Saturday 27th September - Whist Drive see below for details.

Sunday 5th October Animal Blessing Service in Offton Church at 4 pm. to celebrate Animal Welfare Week and the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. The Reverend Hewitt, a representative from the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals will speak, and it will be an opportunity for your pets to
receive a blessing in the church.
For obvious reasons, please bring your pet under similar controls as those you would use when visiting a Vet's surgery.

Further details from Peta Whiting 01449 677766.

Drop in Coffee Mornings - From September coffee mornings will be held in the church on the FIRST THURSDAY of the month at 10.30 am. All welcome.

Offton Fete: Many thanks to all those who helped with and supported the fete in Offton churchyard on 21st June, ably organised by Ian, Jan and Lucy. There were lots of new games to try including teddy bears abseiling the church tower and the fun of milking Matilda the cow. Brilliant weather - brilliant fete - brilliant result! £1,156.00 was raised to help our church funds.

Thank you too to John Minn's team who work hard to keep the churchyard looking so cared for throughout the year. It was looking especially good for the fete. Thank you.

*************
We can't thank "Offton" enough!

Julie and Lance wish to express their sincere thanks to all the wonderful people of Offton for their support, kindness and generosity on the occasion of their recent wedding.

WILLISHAM CHURCH NOTES

Future Events
At the time of writing these notes everyone is very busy preparing fro the fete on the 19th July. This does mean, however, that the report and result will have to wait for the next issue of The Link.

Harvest Festival
This year's service will take place on Sunday 12th October at 3.00pm

Bonfire Evening
Friday 7th November, at Crow Hall.

GIFT AID

Do you regularly or occasionally give money to St. Mary's Church, Willisham (or would like to start)?

Do you pay income tax or capital gains tax?

If you answered 'yes' to both these questions then your money gifts could be worth 28% more through the GIFT AID Scheme.
In other words, for every £10.. You give, the taxman (or woman!) will give the church £2.80.

Does it cost you anything? No, just your permission for the church to reclaim tax on your donations.

Does it commit you for life? No, you can stop at any time and it can cover just one or many gifts.

For more details contact Jean Hardman on 01473 658063

Somersham Baptist Church

Sorry-no letter from Mark this month-computer problems!! Back next issue we hope.
Regular meetings

* Junior Church for School Years 1-6.

Ladies Meetings

Women's Fellowship Outing 20th Anniversary, Friday 12th September, led by Horham Women's Fellowship.
Friends and Neighbours Monday 15th September; guest Yvonne Ewers (Carer for the elderly).

Children and Young People
(Held during term time)

Yr. 1-6, Wednesday Club 6.30pm.
Yr. 9 on, 14+ Friday 8.00pm, (at present we are full, but we are keeping a record of those who wish to join.)

Christianity Explained: Six sessions, which deal with Jesus, Salvation and becoming a Christian, to find out more contact Mark.

Somersham Baptist Church, Chapel Lane,
Somersham, IP8 4QE

Contacts;
Pastor Mark Newcombe 01473 831940 e-mail mark.newcombe@btinternet.com
Colin Low 01473 464833 or Edwin Mayhew on 01473 658100. Web site www.somersham.com

CHURCH SERVICES in our 8 linked parishes

There are changes during August to reflect absences for school holidays-if you have any doubts about this listing please contact the churchwardens.

August 3rd Seventh Sunday after Trinity

August 10th Eighth Sunday after Trinity

August 17th Ninth Sunday after Trinity

August 24th St Bartholomew

August 31st Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

September 7th Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

September 14th Holy Cross day

September 21st St Matthew

September 28th Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity