Parish Church of St. Mary, Keysoe.

Services every Sunday at 10.15am with the Rev'd. Jane Bass. Activities for Children during worship.

A WARM WELCOME awaits everyone who visits our Church.

REGULAR EVENTS.
WORSHIP every Sunday for everyone in Church at 10.15am, with activities for children during worship.
Third Sunday in the month: Informal Worship, with refreshments after the service.

PILGRIMS: a group for 5 to 11 year-olds meets on Tuesdays in school term time in the Village Hall from 5.30 to 6.30 pm.
Cost £6 per half term.

PRAYER GROUP, with a time for Bible study and prayer, meets on the last Friday of the month at 3pm. Venue as advertised.

BELL RINGING: every Wednesday from 7.30 to 9 pm.
Interested people simply come along at 7.30 to meet the Bell Captain, especially young people from the age of 14 years.

BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS, FUNERALS (church, crematorium and woodland site) and other Christian enquiries
- contact the Revd Jane Bass on 01234 219812.

APRIL DIARY
1 st,    Maundy Thursday: Celebrating the Last Supper at 7.30pm (last day of school term).

2nd,  Good Friday: Service for 'The Last Hour' at 2 pm.

4th,   Easter Day: Festival Family Service and Baptism of Lucy King at 10.15 am, followed by Easter Egg Hunt and refreshments.

6th,   Tuesday: No meetings of Pilgrims during school holiday.

11th,  Low Sunday (Second Sunday of Easter): Service at 10.15 am.

18th,  Third Sunday of Easter: Service at 10.15 am, followed by Annual Parish Meetings at 11am.

25th,  Fourth Sunday of Easter: Service at 10.15 am.

27th,  Tuesday: Pilgrims restarts after holiday.

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EASTER AND THE AGMs
St Mary's Church sends Easter greetings to everyone. Easter is the main feast of the Church's year and at our church we aim to celebrate it appropriately.
As we draw towards the end of Lent we keep Maundy Thursday with a service which expresses the theme of love and service. We remember the first Communion service, when Jesus called us to take the bread and take the wine" in remembrance of me", a command which has been obeyed down the ages, in tiny hamlet churches and in large cathedrals, and is the lifeblood of Christians throughout the world.
On Good Friday we move solemnly through the events that led to the death of Christ; Saturday is a day of waiting, and then we come to Easter Day. The bells will ring. Our worship will be joyful and include baptism and will be followed by refreshments and an Easter Egg Hunt in the churchyard. Joy and praise are the hallmarks of our Easter celebration and, after a long tough winter, the feast comes as a welcome break...

Two weeks later the church will hold two meetings immediately after the morning service. The first meeting is for the election of Churchwardens and is an annual event and open to all residents of the parish and those on the church electoral roll. The second meeting is the Annual Parochial Church meeting, which is open to all on the electoral roll of the church (this is NOT the same as the National Electoral Roll). At this meeting the past year will be reviewed and people elected to the church council (the PCC).
It is a privilege as well as a responsibility to serve on this Council, and Keysoe has been well served by past Churchwardens and PCC members. We, like most committees, are always on the lookout for new people who have particular gifts to offer, particularly as we are deep into reorganisation and development of our facilities for this twenty-first century, in order to offer basic requirements like a toilet. If you feel you can help, please contact us.

Every blessing for Easter. Revd Jane Bass, Priest in residence at Keysoe.

Pilgrims Group
St Mary's Pilgrims Group met at the village hall on Tuesday 31st March 2009.
As well as taking advantage of the mild evening to play outdoors, the kids also had a great time making Easter biscuits and cakes.
The group meet every Tuesday evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm during term time.
A wide variety of activities are covered from baking to arts and crafts, drama to sports. New members always welcome.

LOSS OF CANDLESTAND
Between 16th and 18th October someone entered St Mary's Church and removed the wrought iron candle stand. This has been a particularly upsetting loss as the stand was recently given to the Church in memory of a much loved sister. It has also upset the many people who use this facility as part of their prayers when they come to church. Despite much searching , to date it has not been found and a replacement is costly. Whoever has it or knows where it is, will they please let the Church know as soon as possible.

TAP FUND
Thank you to all who walked to raise funds for Samaritan Purse to provide safe water in Africa. £250 has so far been raised and the TAP Fund organisers send a very big thank you to all who contributed.

NOTICES
Services are held each Sunday at 10.15am with the Rev Jane Bass. There are facilities for the children to take part, and on the third Sunday we have a family service.
Pilgrims This is a youth group now in its second year for children between the ages of 5 to 12. Held on a Tuesday evening in the village hall 5.30 to 6.30pm.
Prayer group and bible study are held on the last Friday of the month at 3pm.

Any enquiries regarding services or events can be directed to
Rev Jane Bass 219812
Or the Church Wardens
Ro Heming 378878
Mary Clay 376436

The church at Keysoe is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and is situated on high ground in Church Road.

The nave and chancel show evidence of being part of a late 12th century building. In the 14th century the north side was added and in the 15th century the north chapel and nave. The font is Early English and probably dates from the early 13th century. It bears an inscription in Norman French running around the base. The western tower was built in 15th century and has crocketed pinnacles and an octagonal spire with three tiers of dormers. It contains five bells of which the earliest was made by John Eayre in 1755 and an unusual working wooden clock which has no face but rings out the hour.
A well-used public footpath runs through the pretty churchyard and adjacent woodlands have been conserved for flora and fauna.

Communion Services are held every Sunday at 10.15am and once a month (usually the third Sunday) a Family Service is incorporated.

We have a bell ringing team who practice every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm and normally ring for Family Services, Festivals, Weddings and Christenings. New members and visiting ringers are always welcome.

Major yearly activities are the Annual Fete in early July and the Harvest Festival and Lunch in October. Other fund raising activities such as Music Festivals, Quiz nights, Auctions etc are regularly held throughout the year.

The heating is now being installed in the church. We have almost reached the £25,000 target and this is due to the amazing support of YOU
in the village, who have made donations come to all our fun events, giving so generously. The PCC would like to thank you very much.
we shall, of course, still be raising money to pay for the fuel to keep our Church warm as well as welcoming.