NEWSLETTER
hhn.church/newsletter
Mandy's Musings
'Tis the season to eat too many Christmas dinners! The week before Christmas finds many people, the Vicar included, going out to various events, all with food and often a Christmas dinner. I am about to go out for my fourth Christmas meal today. Thankfully, I don't often replicate Dawn French in the Vicar of Dibley, where she eats three Christmas dinners on the same day😊, but I have come close before! This season is a season of enjoyment and merriment with lots of good food, gifts given and people enjoying time together. However, it can also be a season of excess, worry, stress and loneliness. Our 21st century technological landscape doesn't help as we are accosted on every side by how to have a perfect Christmas and the 'must buys' of the season. Continuing my theme of Franciscan theology which I mentioned last week, I can see the attraction of Francis's rule of simplicity. That doesn't necessarily mean suffering hardship and poverty but it does mean re-evaluating what we have and asking the simple question 'do I really need this in my life?' , 'Can I live well without it?' There is something very life affirming about stripping back on things and getting rid of clutter. My mum, at the tender age of 87, has decided, finally, not to send any Christmas cards this year. Instead, she wants to donate to the Salvation Army and help the homeless. She can no longer do the cards as she used to send hundreds and it became a real chore and worry for her. She asked me to help her get the message out to friends and family and, this time with the help of technology, I posted it in various family whatsapp groups and Facebook pages. She has had a lovely response from people with much more love shared than if she had spent days writing and sending cards. Sometimes, we simply have to strip back and then we see more clearly the real purpose of life where love, and particularly the love of God at this time, can shine through.
Every blessing,
Mandy
In Conversation 2026
Save the dates
7pm for 7.30pm, All Saints’, Harston
28 January 2026, Tom Heap
26 February, Simon Woolley
25 March, Julie Spence
5 June, Evelyn Glennie
Food Hub
Wed & Sat 11.30-12.30pm in Harston Baptist Church email: harstonfoodhub@gmail.com
Harston Community Food Hub has two separate sections that operate in different ways and have different aims.
FOOD BANK
The ‘Food Bank’ provides emergency food support to residents of Harston and the surrounding villages (mainly Hauxton, Foxton, Newton, Haslingfield, Barrington and Shepreth). It is part of a network of food banks that operate in South Cambridgeshire. Bags of non-perishable food are made up using food donated or bought with donations. Support from the food bank is intended to help people through a crisis.
FRESHFOOD LARDER
The ‘Fresh Food Larder’ distributes fruit, vegetables and bread and is part of an initiative that helps to avoid food waste. Donations of surplus stock are picked up from local supermarkets and farm shops by volunteers (often the night before) or brought in by local growers. Whilst much of the food is collected by people visiting the food bank, food from the fresh food larder is available to everyone no matter where they live or the circumstances they are in.
Trumpington Memory Cafe
Every third Wednesday of the month,10am-12 noon at The Pavilion, Paget Road, (opposite Anstey Way), Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 9JF
Run jointly by Trumpington Parish Church and the Rotary Club.
A place where people with varying forms of memory loss can visit with their carers and support each other and have fun. Call 01223 840268 to book a place and please give your name(s).
Free admission to Ely Cathedral
All electoral roll members are eligible for a free pass to Ely Cathedral. If you would like one, please fill in this form and ask Mandy or a churchwarden to sign it. You can then present the form at the Cathedral to get your pass.