Bollobhpur Hospital feels the ripples of Iraq conflict.

It is a glorious spring day today, the new green leaves of the trees bright against a blue sky and the red cotton trees brilliant with scarlet blossom. Across the river, I can see the village women coming down to the water to bathe and wash their clothes, their saris bright red and orange against the vivid green of the new rice fields alongside the river bed. Behind them, a field of wheat, ripe and golden to the harvest.

An idyllic picture, no doubt, but behind the beauty lies the dull rumble of war in Iraq. Its repercussions are felt like a stone thrown in water, rippling out to every country in the world. In Muslim states with small Christian minorities, such as Bangladesh, every Christian becomes a hated American and every white person a person at war against Islam.

News in brief:

• 14 new girls joined Bollobhpur's preliminary training school two months ago and are progressing well.
• All but two of the first years passed their end of year exams and have begun midwifery classes.
• 30 women from 12 villages have just completed a training course for local village midwives.
• Bollobhpur is getting computerised! The local doctor's wife is busy transferring timetables and lecture notes onto the computer. Until now, copies or alterations have all had to be made by hand.
• Dr Edric Baker wrote to introduce the team members at Thanarbaid, a health care programme that enables local people to help themselves.

In 2003, USPG is giving £48,000 to support missionaries and programmes within the Church of Bangladesh. This is a huge but vital commitment and we really need your full support to reach our target.

USPG is an Anglican mission agency working in partnership with the church in more than 50 countries, exchanging people, resources and training for mission.

This is one of the projects the Church in Helmdon is supporting: it has a policy of giving to four main charitable causes each year.

Compassion at home and overseas - when we give to Send a Cow, Christian Aid and the Children's Society.

Mission at home and overseas - when we give to the USPG project above and other projects at home as it is needed and we see fit.

"Up with churchwardens and down with pews"

Small rural settlements have been losing their natural meeting places ever the past few decades. The loss of these opportunities to exchange gossip or ideas and to plan activities has weakened community life. Our church buildings, though, remain. It is around them that new energy can be focused for the good of the whole community.

I see one main disadvantage inside most of our church buildings, but one big advantage connected to them. The advantage is churchwardens. Churchwardens are a natural resource of lay ministry.

The diocese of Norwich has a very varied pattern of ministry in the countryside. There are group and team ministries. There's a successful and well supported Ordained Local Ministry scheme. There are well over 300 readers and roughly the same number of active retired clergy. Add in around 300 licensed clergy, and we have a substantial ministerial workforce, though not all in the right places and not all deployable. But churchwardens are everywhere. Many of them take their role as lay ministers seriously. That's why the biennial Pastoral Visitations to each benefice (undertaken by bishops and archdeacons alike) always include a time spent with the churchwardens alone, addressing issues of mission and ministry.

There's a lot of ministry around but there isn't a "one size fits all" pattern of rural ministry. But we do have churchwardens in every place. This diocese has over 1200 churchwardens, and many more former churchwardens as well as those who haven't yet discovered they will shortly become churchwardens. Many of them are very good at leading worship in the absence of a priest or reader, and keeping a pastoral eye on the congregation and the wider community as well. One of my wardens was just 21 when he went to his annual parish meeting (attendance: two) and found himself being appointed as churchwarden. He's still the churchwarden 50 years later. "You did not choose me: no, I chose you" said Jesus of his disciples. There are many churchwardens in our churches who would testify to that truth. So if you ask me about the local ministry team in our rural parishes, it's the churchwardens to whom my thoughts first turn.

"Pews - we'd be better off without them"

What's the disadvantage? Pews. Most parishes in the diocese of Norwich were built without them. They'd be better off without them now. They make our churches inflexible; most of them are uncomfortable; there are almost always too many of them, so you're visibly reminded of the people who are not there. They get in the way of more flexible uses of our churches. Pews are not good news. Give me moveable chairs any day. People are best in our churches when they are moveable. The same goes for the furniture!

Bishop Graham of Norwich

Ckers

Ckers youth club meets at the Chapel for children in school years 5 to 8+. As from September 2003, Ckers youth club will split into two groups. One, for children aged school years 5 to 7, will meet on 1st and 3rd Sundays at the Baptist Chapel at 6.30pm. On 2nd and 4th Sundays a group for school years 8+ will also meet at the Chapel at 6.30pm. Come and join us for a variety of activities....

For further information contact Phil Drage 01295 768690, Kathy Quiney 01295 768168, Jane Barnes 01295 760444, Louise Stothard 01295 760518

Supper Meetings

Enjoyment of benefice supper meetings since 1999 has made them a regular winter provision in November and February. Speakers have been very various. The next one will be Lady Juliet Townsend on "The Lively Auricles of God". This will be at Helmdon in the Reading Room on November 17th - come early for 7.30, £3 to cover costs. Book your place with Jean Spendlove, 01295 768196. Everyone is welcome. The ideal gathering is a mixture of various kinds of Christian and non-Christians and people who feel they live differently from the way they see "church people" do. The February speaker will be Michael Ipgrave on some aspect of Islam.

Choir

If you are at all interested in singing - come and join the Joint Benefice choir practice which restarts on September 5th in Helmdon Church. The practices are usually on Thursdays; the youngsters start at 7.00pm and finish at 8.00pm, the adults join them at 7.30pm and continue until about 8.30pm. A warm welcome and a lot of enjoyment awaits!

Mothers' Union Dates

Saturday 6th September, 2.15pm, sponsored walk from Brackley to Turweston
Wednesday 22nd October, 8pm, A.G.M. at St Mary Magdalene
Wednesday 26th November, 8pm, Speaker to be announced

Bee Aczel 01295 760816

Annual Service of Remembrance at Banbury Crematorium

On Sunday 14th September, at 3pm, a service will be held for relatives who have been bereaved. Tea and cakes will be served afterwards, the proceeds of which will go to a local charity.

Friends of St Mary Magdalene Church

The Vivamus concert on July 5th at Glebe Farm, conceived, hosted and sponsored by David & Fiona Mason was a superb evening with music in a wonderful outdoor setting rounded off with fireworks - see full report on Helmdon website (www.helmdon.com). The evening raised £469 for the Church Friends' funds - thank you David & Fiona.

Future planned events for your diaries:-

Saturday 13th September - "Last Night of the Proms" evening at Home Farm, Wappenham road, courtesy of John & Gill Watson. A chance to dress up and join in the spirit of the "Last Night" by socialising with food and drink whilst watching, with audience participation at communal song time if you so desire, the actual performance on a large screen outdoors - weather permitting! Do join us - it was great fun last year.

Friday October 17th - "Sing-Along evening at The Bell" - a chance to exercise your lungs singing songs old and new - more details to follow nearer the time.
Saturday November 15th - Wine Tasting evening - details to follow.

PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR POSTERS ON THE NOTICE BOARDS FOR DETAILS OF THE ABOVE EVENTS

Carnival Teas - The Friends are doing this for the second year and would like to thank all those who kindly donated cakes last year and, if at all possible, would love donations of the same this year - please contact myself or any of the committee if you could donate a cake or help on the day.

Thanks to all of you who have joined/renewed the Friends membership scheme - forms are available just inside the church door for those who wish to join.

Vanessa Vicars (01295 760477)

Lifts to Church

Please do ring Douglas Hadfield (01295 760679) if you would like a lift to church, and he will organise it for you.

Confirmation

As usual there will be a confirmation in Brackley in November and we shall be holding classes of preparation for this from September - if anyone is interested in seeing what it entails, please contact John Roberts Tel: 01280 850378