I wonder what you think about when you hear the word ‘power’?

Perhaps it’s the hum of a large steam engine or the roar of a Boeing 747. Maybe it’s a memory of your powerlessness invoked by an insensitive teacher years ago or a superior at work today?

Whatever you think of, the chances are that the picture ‘in your head’ is of someone or something forceful and loud. Society has taught us that power is loud, aggressive and intimidating.

But God does not work like that.

I wonder if you’ve ever heard the sun coming out in the morning or the stars coming out at night? I wonder if anyone has ever heard the moment of conception, when the egg and sperm fuse together to create life? I’m sure the answer is ‘no’. Because the creator works his power in silence. Often what is most powerful appears before our eyes from a miracle unseen and unheard.

It is God’s power that we think of at Pentecost. His power to change us to become more like Jesus, to make us into the people he wants us to be. And it is again in silence that he works the miracle of transformation in us, as we wait before him in prayer.

But in order for him to bring his power to us we have to co-operate with him and to do so is not always easy. St. Teresa said something which I have often found helpful, to picture a prayer as a garden. Sometimes it is difficult, even when we do not feel like it, we must dig the garden, turn over the earth, pull out the weeds and plant the seeds. But when we have done that we can do nothing more. Everything that is humanly possible has been done. The rest depends on God. He sends the rain and the sunshine and puts the life within the plants in order that they grow. Prayer is the same. It is a gift from God, but we must have our gardens ready to receive it.

In other words, even when we do not feel like it, when getting on our knees is the last thing we want to do, we should make the effort to co-operate with God, so that we can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit which changes our lives and the lives of all those we meet.

It is in silence that we learn to co-operate. It is in silence that our hearts are fused with the heart of God and the miracle of his life in us begins and grows. Perhaps this song might help us to be silent before him this Pentecost:

Jesus you are changing me

By your spirit you’re making me like you.

Jesus you’re transforming me

That your loveliness may be seen in all I do.

You are the potter and I am the clay

Help me to be willing to let you have your way.

Jesus you are changing me

As I let you reign supreme within my heart.

Linda Munt
 

an Exhibition is being held in the Village Hall where everyone is invited to come along and see the progress being made with the Bramham Parish Plan. The Exhibition will be open to the public from 11.00 to 16.00.

As well as showing progress with the overall Plan and other aspects of village life, the Exhibition will focus on the individual Working Groups that have been busy developing their ideas in many key areas.

As mentioned before, the Exhibition is an important part of the on-going consultation process and we hope, therefore, that as many people as possible will attend as it provides virtually the last opportunity for residents to make known their wishes for improvements before the Parish Plan goes to print. Refreshments will be available and there’ll also be a free raffle with a small prize for all those who come along on the day.

We’re still looking for display boards to help put our ideas and proposals on view. Many thanks to those who have been in touch but we still need to borrow some more to help us display all the work that has been done to date.

If you can help please contact:-

Thank you

Bramham Youth Club’s

Mick Fox has kindly offered to do the BBQ again at the White Horse after the run

Mobile phones and tabards will be provided and West Yorkshire Police will give you a full briefing of their requirements at 8 am on Thursday 25^th August onsite.

We are looking for leaflet distributors to hand out taxi routing leaflets to all taxi drivers at Leeds Railway Station.

The position needs to be covered from 8 am to 8 pm on Thursday 25^th August and therefore we either require 2 people to do a 6 hour shift each or 4 people to do a

3 hour shift each. The rate of pay is £6 an hour and therefore in this role there is the opportunity to raise £72.

We are looking for at least 16 hours of work for the mailing out of a local resident letter in the second week of May 2005. The work needs to be completed between the 6^th and the 12^th May.

We also need a minimum of a further 16 hours of work for a second mail out in the second week of August. The work needs to be completed between the 5^th and the 11^th August.

The work involves stuffing envelopes, labelling, stamping and posting the letters. All materials will be provided on the 6^th May and the 5^th August respectively. The pay is £6 an hour and therefore in this role there is an opportunity to raise at least £96 in May and a further £96 in August depending on exactly how long the work takes.

**************

If you are interested in the traffic spotting, leaflet distribution or resident letter roles, then

please contact

or write to

Please include a contact name and telephone number for a nominated representative who will liase on behalf of your group.

My thanks to the team – Sue, Christine, Roger, Tess, Mary and Yvonne. Thanks for all your hard work

Also, my thanks to Keith Robinson for organising some superb Saturday nights with bands from the States and Sweden and for giving us the opportunity to run the bar on these nights ….. a great source of income for the village hall restoration fund.

I believe it has been a very successful year, if at times frustrating.

We have raised and accessed significant sums of money but we are actually finding it very difficult to spend the money or actually to get hold of the money that organisations are prepared to give us. The reason for this is very simply that we have struggled to find electricians, builders, plumbers, etc who are prepared to come along and provide estimates for the work required.

Only lately have we had some success……..you will see we now have a new roof on the supper room and we are in touch with electrical contractors who appear willing to work with us in respect of the work urgently required in order to update our public entertainment licence – so very important in order to continue the large amount of entertainment events which take place throughout the year.

As a committee we are learning as we go – where we can obtain grants – how to go about maximising our efforts to gain access to the funds available from various sources – and also how we need to be very careful in what is now very much a claims conscious society. Whilst we carry adequate liability insurance this cannot cover the various users of the hall and we have had to draw their attention to the need to protect themselves and to make this a condition of hiring the hall. Failure to do so could lead to the village hall incurring expensive liability.

This can of course cause problems and unfortunately we have seen this with the roller skating event organised by Derek Barton, where Derek has found protecting himself is a very expensive and perhaps prohibitive factor.

On a bright note we are finding new uses for the village hall

We would like to see other organisations using the hall particularly during the day.
The hall does offer a very flexible environment right in the centre of the village.
Charges are still very reasonable compared to similar venues.

Our various functions have attracted a lot of visitors to the hall from out of Bramham and it has been interesting to hear how impressed with the hall they have been. Where are the local residents at such events?

I will finish as I started by again thanking my colleagues for their tremendous support and enthusiasm through the year.

Stewart Gibson

The new roof on the supper room and kitchen has finally put an end to many of the leaks that plagued users after every downpour. However, there is still some preventative work needed to repair pointing above the supper room where rain continues to penetrate, pointing on the outside kitchen walls to reduce damp and to replace guttering to channel rainwater into drains.

The electrics continue to cause concern for the committee. The quote for remedial work that was mentioned in the last magazine article proved to be a quote for cosmetic changes to sockets and light fittings which is not sufficient to meet the needs of current and future users of the hall. Thanks to one individual who attended the AGM, further quotes for the electrical and building work are being obtained and the committee hopes that the electrical work can be commissioned very soon.

Copies of the Village Hall’s annual accounts are on display in the village hall. In summary, the hall is in profit. Regular and occasional users contributed hire charges that covered the day to day running costs of the hall – insurance, services, cleaning, minor repairs, wages etc. Grants and donations allowed for the purchase of new equipment. The restoration fundraising profits have been kept separate to pay for major projects such as the new roof, electrics and eventually the new toilet block.

On a less positive note the committee received some disturbing reports following the hire of the hall by individuals for various functions. The committee asks that all users of the hall respect the hall and the property of the church and those living near to the hall.

Recent events held at the hall have resulted in litter and excrement being left in the churchyard and neighbouring properties, and the hall being left in an unacceptable state. If it was your property, you would not want to find this in your house or garden. If you hire the hall please ask your guests to refrain from leaving their mess outside the hall.

Please also leave the hall and its toilets in a reasonable condition – the caretaker should not be expected to have to clear excrement etc from the hall.

Monthly draw results are:

53 (£25), 9, 12, 16, 27, 64, 65, 67, 94, 95, 157 (all £5).

Finally many standing orders are now overdue. If you opted to pay for the monthly draw by standing order make sure your bank has the details. New forms are available from Tess Ferres.

The Church was decorated beautifully for Easter many thanks to everyone who contributed towards the flowers and the people who arranged them.

We have begun our plan to cut the Churchyard and I hope you have noticed!! The new mower is doing a tremendous job and is making life much easier for our volunteers. Please make sure that your remove all the dead flowers and any broken containers from your family graves. Please take all these materials home with you and do not leave them anywhere in the churchyard.

Please note you must have permission from the Priest in Charge for any memorial stone, or any addition at all to the grave. Some plots now have a raised section and this is not permitted. If in doubt please ask for advice from Fr Hugh Lawrance or Anne Palmer.

Sunday 17^th July, 12 Noon until 4.00 pm. Following the success of the first Fun Day last year we will be holding the event again this year. The Day is aimed at young families with children up to 12 years of age. There will be a Barbeque throughout the afternoon, children’s sports, side shows, Police Dog demonstration, a Treasure Hunt in the Park etc., etc.

Bramham Parish will be running the Cake Stall. Please make a note in your diary; the weather was marvellous on the day last year, keep your fingers crossed that it will be the same for this years event. If you would like to be involved please let me know, help is always needed on the day.

There will be a few commercial stalls, if you would like to take a space the charge will be £10 per stall. Please contact Anne Palmer.

The event is run by the Lower Wharfe Group of Parishes – if you require any more information please contact Anne Palmer on 842850.

All the copies of this book have now been sold. As always happens whenever you cannot have something, there is suddenly a great interest in obtaining a copy. Should you come across a copy during your “spring cleaning routine” or when you are moving out of the village, please let me have any copies you no longer require.

Monday 28th March 2005,

Lee Appleyard proudly raises the Barkston Ash Challenge Cup to the hoards of Bramham fans.

Bramham 2, - Sherburn White Rose 1.

For the first time in our history we are victorious in this most prestigious of cup competitions.

Captain Lee Appleyard led his troops by example, turning in a performance which earned him the “Man of the Match Award”.  
Jason Wright’s second half penalty added to a first half own goal was enough to overcome the previously undefeated Sherburn side

This momentous day was made so special by the many, many fans who supported us; male, female, young and old. We would like to thank you all.

Trophy No 2, The Alverton Charities was won on Saturday 9th April.
A Jason Wright brace and a third from Mark Hick saw us through to a relatively  comfortable win.

Still undefeated in the league and two more semi-finals pending, hopes are very high for more silverware to be brought home by the 1st team.

Unfortunately, the reserves couldn’t match the 1st team, losing their divisional cup final 7-6 on penalties after extra time. A Matthew Oates goal took the game to extra time, but no matter what we did we just couldn’t find a winner. Dave Jacklyn’s charges are now looking forward to a short rest before it all starts again next season.

The Junior section have submitted applications to the various leagues, we are hoping they will be competing in next season. We have got one sponsor so far, but we still need several others. So if you are in a position to help, please do so, by contacting Mick Fox, who will be only too happy to hear from you.

Mick has information on all remaining games etc, so if there is anything you want to know just give him a call (541341).

Mick Fox
 

8.00 pm to midnight

TICKETS £10.00 - Available from:-

Bramham Post Office, Red Lion, White Horse,

Karon Haffenden 842268 and Antonia Chapman 845351

All proceeds to go to Martin House Charity

The three Suffragan (or assistant) Bishops in the Church of England’s York Diocese have all paid tribute to Pope John Paul. Our own Bishop of Selby, the Right Reverend Martin Wallace, said,

"The Pope has been a tireless and fearless leader over many years, and has been an inspiration to millions. My thoughts and prayers are with all those Christians who look to Rome for leadership. The process will soon begin to seek a new leader who will relate the ever-changing issues of the 21st century to the changeless truths of Jesus Christ. This will undoubtedly mean some hard decisions and some new directions will have to be faced, and for that the chosen man of God will need all our support and prayers."

Spring was late but our school grounds look wonderful with 1000s of daffodils and a huge number of cowslips in the meadow area at the front of school. There is frogspawn in the classrooms and drawings of frogs and seeds growing in jars. One or two drawings have red/purple/yellow frogs, but how do we know what a child can see.

Our residential field week at Ingleborough Hall in the Yorkshire Dales is coming up this month for Class 4. It is a 24 hour working day for staff and a huge challenge for most of the pupils. They set off feeling apprehensive at leaving home for a week and come back satisfied having been involved in many activities that they may never do again.

Government tests are on the menu for Year 2 and Year 6 this term and we have had some excellent results over the last few years. The year 6 pupils can feel particularly proud of their results when you consider that in 2003 we had 1OO% Maths, 100% Science and 75% English. In 2004 we had 100% Science, 100% English and 67% Maths ( and this would have been 84% if one pupil had not been away on holiday for the maths tests.)

We have athletics and dance sessions in school for the older pupils this month  and these activities are run by qualified coaches who work for the class teachers.

Supermarket vouchers have helped us obtain a lot of extra equipment for school over the last few years and we are still collecting Tesco Computers for School and Sainsbury Active vouchers , so please bring or send any you don’t need to school.

We are in the process of arranging to come down to the church in the last half of the Summer Term to take part in an experiment in which we have a lesson about the church in the church instead of in the classroom. The church has a huge variety of customs and activities which we talk about in school but can never show to our pupils and this afternoon will be an opportunity for the church to involve us in its life.

Parents from school are putting together a recipe book to raise money to support the victims of the recent Asian Tsunami disaster. We are collecting as many unusual or favourite ideas as possible. If you would like to help send your contributions to Mrs. Goddard at school before half term , May 27^th, we can have the booklet ready before the end of term.

Mrs Payne is trying to set up an outdoor play area for the pupils in Class 1. If you have anything that you can donate to use in this area she would be very grateful.

We are open on a Friday night 7 pm to 9 pm

If you are over 12 years of age, come along and join in the fun

We have volley ball, basket ball, table tennis, snooker, badminton,  air hockey, play stations, and X Boxes

For further information contact Sue Craven on 01937 842991

The AGM was held on 3rd April attended by 18 parishioners. Reports were received from the Vicar, Churchwardens, Treasurer and all groups .

The Treasurer reported a deficit of £2,636 in the General Fund. Thanks were recorded to Richard Jessop for preparing the balance sheet and for all he does on our behalf as Treasurer.

Thanks were also recorded to Mrs Watson for auditing the accounts.

Mr Keith Hewitt reported that the Gift Aid Scheme was working well and reminded everyone that money put on the plate on a Sunday or any special event by a tax payer, should be put in the appropriate envelope to enable us to claim a proportion of tax.

Mrs Anne Palmer and Mrs Margaret Kitchen were re-elected Churchwardens and Mr Andy Beaumont was elected Deputy Churchwarden.

The following were elected to serve on the Parochial Church Council:-

Mrs Dolly Mullen

Mrs Yvonne Gibson

Mr Keith Hewitt

Mrs Mavis Wilson

Mrs Doreen Stang

Mr Richard Jessop

Mrs Gillian Young

Mrs Jillian Lawson

Mrs Karen Smailes

Father Hugh Lawrance thanked everyone who had helped in anyway over the past year, especially the un-proclaimed ones.

The Bishop of Selby invites you to join him for a day exploring

10.00 am - 3.30 pm

at

St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Lane, Bishopthorpe, York

presents

at St, James’ Parish Church, Wetherby