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Shrove Tuesday sees
wheelbarrow races-cum-pancake tossing followed by a pancake
throwing contest. The winner is the one to pitch the pancake
to the highest point of the roof.
Supper, of course, includes pancakes
galore.
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On Maundy
Thursday we celebrate the Passover
Supper and
this is followed by a foot-washing ceremony. An interactive service
'Stations of the Cross' is the centre of our Good Friday
worship. On Saturday evening we have a gentle and reflective
vigil service and on Easter Sunday morning
at dawn we greet the risen Christ with a bonfire and fireworks.
They don't
do things by halves at Pilsdon once the
creative juices
begin to flow.
An enthusiastic team built a representation of Christ's
tomb at the altar and it became the centre of our
worship over the Easter
Season.
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This
October we were pleased to welcome over 100 visitors to our
51st Anniversary. Brother Sam from Hilfield Priory was our guest
speaker. How cleverly he got the balance between capturing his
audience then drawing us into the depth of his message. |
We
harvest our vegetables and fruit crops throughout the year;
we rear cattle, pigs and lambs for our tables. Our cows
provide us with milk and cream and we make butter and cream
cheese. Flowers and shrubs grown in the garden
(some
dried for the winter months)
provide us with decorations for the church, chapel and the
house all the year round. Helped by neighbouring farmers we
make hay that contributes to the animals’ diets during the
winter months.
In
autumn we celebrate God’s gifts in traditional fashion with
a Harvest Festival service. About this
time we look forward to visits from children of schools in
the vicinity and we are grateful for the generosity of their
gifts to our community. We have made particularly good
use of the marrows we have received this year - with the production
of jar after jar of marrow and ginger jam - delicious.
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Our
Anniversaries -
are always held on the Sunday nearest to 16th October and
celebrate the founding of our Community by Percy and Gaynor
Smith in 1958. This special day is capped
by a service in the church in the garden with a "special"
visiting speaker. Memorable amongst these
have been Roger Royle of television and radio fame, and Paul
Oestreicher, who was a canon at Coventry Cathedral and renowned
for his work in inter-national peace and justice, and Jan
Sutch Pickard, previously warden of Iona Abbey.
Last year
- Pilsdon's 50th - the celebration was led by Gaynor Smith
and family and they were joined by more than 300 community
friends and supporters. A large marquee in the church meadow
provided space for a splendid service - with founder members
and previous wardens present - while the church housed an
extensive archive of the fifty years of the PilsdonCommunity.
We have kept our Fiftieth Anniversary page for you
to look at.
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We do not miss out on remembering
the doings and misdoings of Guy Fawkes and
our neighbours join us each year for the occasionThis
year we
enjoyed the enormous bonfire, splendid
fireworks followed hot dogs and pork burgers - courtesy of
Bramble - toffee and other traditional fare.
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Christmas
is, of course, a very special time for all at Pilsdon. This
year a woodland crib scene has been built in the church,
providing a
thought-provoking setting for the candlelit Midnight
Mass and our Carol Services shared by many.
Our
Barn Service, on Christmas morning, always well attended
by friends and neighbours and several of our animals, was
wonderfully led by Jonathan who, in fine and original story-telling
mode gave us an amusing example of the old
adage that 'opposites attract', whilst exploring our responsibilities
for managing the resourcing of the world in which we live.
Mrs Scrooge - unlike her husband - was a generous, outgoing
people, a terrific activiist and campaigner who devoted
her life to many worthy causes. She was generous, too, always
willing to share a bag of humbugs!
Christmas
fare from the kitchen is throughout the Christmas
period and our evening dinner '5-star'.
Jaki who
has been associated with the community for decades continues
to make and decorate
the Christmas cake.
Boxing
Day 2008
- started with a challenge - a dip in the sea at
West Bay ...
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In...and very
quickly out...
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...getting warm and
dry again...
...before
setting
off
on the
traditional
country
walk
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