Help grow the snake

Scampton Stone Snake grew during the Summer and culminated in a wonderful piece of art to commemorate the BOB 80 anniversary.

Marking the 80th anniversary of The Battle of Britain

A special commemorative service, arranged in partnership with RAF Scampton and The RAF Aerobatic Team, to honour ‘THE FEW’ was arranged to take place on 15th September to mark the 80th anniversary of The Battle of Britain.

Due to COVID-19 government guidelines only 30 people are allowed inside the church and this was to be restricted to RAF personnel. Much planning had gone into this event but was cancelled by the RAF on the 14th September deciding instead to hold the service at RAF Scampton.

A big thank you

Thank you to everyone who supported the RAF Scampton Commemorative Window Aviation Raffle. The draw took place on Friday 14th August at The Dambusters Inn, Scampton.

The draw was made by Wing Commander (rtd) Bill Ramsey, who captained the last ever Vulcan flight. Bill, along with co-pilot Squadron Leader (rtd) Martin Withers DFC, have kindly signed photographs of the Vulcan XH558 which they piloted on its final journey. Accompanying the signed photo is the story of that poignant final flight. The signed photo and text are perfect for creating a vestige should you wish to frame them. An example is shown below.

We are offering both the photo and text at £25 including postage. All proceeds go towards the RAF Scampton Commemorative Window Appeal.

Again thank you for your support of this meaningful tribute to all who have served at RAF Scampton, especially through two world wars and the cold war.

We are grateful to both pilots, and Vulcan to the Sky Trust for supporting this offer. If you are interested in purchasing the set please contact us here.

Back where it belongs

It’s great to see the millennium bench back in place, and looking grand. Thanks to Neil Haire for all of the restoration work.

Installing temporary digital bells

Thank you to the 5 people who took up my invitation to donate to the digital bells appeal. Getting off to a start like that has been really encouraging. We are very keen to make this vision a reality, and appeal for your help. Also if you are a tax payer, gift aiding your donation would also add 25% more to the fund. Again a massive thank you to everyone in our wonderful community.

In case you missed my last message about the appeal….Here it is again:-

The bells at Scampton church have not rung for many, many years. A large investment will be necessary to have the original bells restored. HOWEVER…

During the VE weekend this year Scampton church installed temporary digital bells which rang at 3pm and 7pm on VE75 Day and again at 3pm on the Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend. The feedback from the village has been really positive with many saying that it would be amazing to have a digital system installed until the original bells can eventually be restored in years to come. The new digital system would enable church bells to be heard again in our village: on Sundays, at weddings and other special occasions.

The cost of installing the digital system is £1927. We are willing to invest in the system, but cannot do this without your help. Would you be willing to help fund this project by donating towards its cost?

If so please send your donation to: Rev Sue Deacon, Parsonage Lodge, High St, Scampton LN1 2SE

Cheques made payable to: St John the Baptist Church Scampton (Please endorse back of cheque ‘Digital Bells’)

BACS to: St John the Baptist Church
Co-op Bank
Sort Code: 08-92-99
Account number: 65762545
Reference: Digital Bells

Giving nature a helping hand

Wild flowers planted in the churchyard. How many can you identify? Download the explanatory leaflet here to check your answers.

Unfortunately 97% of our lowland wildflower-rich grassland across the UK has been lost since the 1930’s. We have joined lots of other churches who are doing their little bit to help halt that decline.

With support from the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Riseholme College has donated a number of wild flowers to plant in the churchyard to create a small wildflower meadow area.

We have introduced flowers that overlap in their flowering period throughout the year, providing a much needed continuity of nectar supply for long tongued pollinating insects like butterflies and moths

The wild flower area is close to the stream which will bring additional wildlife benefits. A number of small frogs have been seen in amongst the grass and flowers.

Nesting boxes and bat boxes have also been installed in the church yard to encourage nesting birds and a roost for bats.

The increment of wild flowers in the church yard will also provide an educational opportunity for children from Scampton and Pollyplatt Schools to wander around and identify the different species using a newly designed leaflet. You can get a preview by downloading it here.

Help fund the Chilcren’s Art and Remembrance Project

A grand aviation raffle was organised to help fund the Chilcren’s Art and Remembrance Project. We have sold few hard copy tickets because of the crisis. We appealed for help by selling a few tickets to friends and relatives. Although really grateful to the few who did very few tickets were sold. In the meantime we placed the raffle online to try and compensate for our losses.

The project is an educational arts, history and remembrance project for all 200 pupils at Scampton schools. It is aimed at giving them a lift back into school life as a reality instead of a virtual life!. ‘VE75 Remembrance Day is an ideal opportunity to ease children back into reality engaging them in a collective project of local interest and importance’

‘Many children have no concept of the sacrifices made by previous generations which enable them to live in a free and democratic country, but this project will help to address that while enabling them to develop something tangible for their community’.

Following a talk by Squadron Leader Mark Discombe, spitfire pilot and officer commanding the BBMF and, Ray Bainborough, the chairman of the Lincolnshire Lancaster Association, and under the guidance of Claire Williamson, the RAF commemorative window designer, the children will design and make a glazed tile each which will represent their understanding of ‘remembrance’. The tiles will be joined together to make six framed collages; one of which will be given to each school, The Dambusters Inn (village pub), RAF Scampton, The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (The Red Arrows) and Scampton Church

A selection of tiles will be displayed at a VE75 Remembrance Service at Scampton Church on the 8th November 2020 and then, hopefully, again at The RAF Scampton Heritage Centre on 11th November 2020 (Remembrance Day) when all 200 children, staff, parents and carers will take part in a remembrance service in the 617 Squadron hanger.

A quick update

We are still monitoring The Government Advice and that of The Church of England and Lincoln Diocese and we have taken action on it. It’s a week now since our last update and things have been happening:

The Scampton Village self help Facebook group we set up now has 68 members and is a platform for the community to share information and offer help to others. Only yesterday The Dambusters Inn posted that they have now arranged for vegetables to be delivered direct to your door. You can view what is available here. Thanks go to Ursula Lambert for initialising the door to door deliveries by Fosters butchers. You can see what Fosters offer here. Also Dave’s Daily Bread initiative raised £79.73 plus gift aid for the Lincoln University/NHS face mask project. Well done Dave.

You can access the Scampton Village Facebook Group here.

Scampton Church daily reflections page is up and running and will be regularly updated by John Beverley.

A big thank you to those people who added to the 17 tins of food in the ‘Bring a Tin’ box which is in the church porch. In one day the 17 tins suddenly increased to over 60! This crucial food has now gone to needy families. If you are out exercising and passing church why not put a tin in your pocket and drop it into the box in the church porch. Sadly the church building still remains locked on advice from the diocese.

Online Easter Family Services

Our Church building closed on 24th March on the instructions of the Church of England.

Our Church building may be closed but our CHURCH is open and active in lots of ways, including a new community help facebook page, and online services.

We couldn’t let Easter go by without somehow creating our Family Services. We cannot stream video from our church building so we have decided to become less technophobic and have a go at making a short Family Service video for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. (Don’t expect a Spielberg classic!) I will lead it and there will be prayers by Chris and a song by Lynn and Bill. I am sure that Pete the Puppet will make an appearance as well!

Local Minister Sue Deacon

Monthly Christian Assemblies

We are really excited to have been invited into Pollyplatt Community Primary School this year to run Christian assemblies once a month.

Following a meeting with Sam Jackson the head teacher it was decided that a member of the leadership team would go in to run the assembly on the second Wednesday of each month. The first assembly on the 12th February will be all about being creative. Joe told the story about looking after Gods creation based on the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6,9, and Luke 12. Then taught the song ‘We are marching in the Light of God, but in Zulu! (Siya Hamba).