Our £150,923 bid is in!

The bid to create Scampton Community and RAF War Graves Heritage Centre has been submitted to the NLHF.

If successful, this bid will secure the full works at Scampton Church see https://scamptonchurch.org/building-development-project/

Our thanks go out to the following people for their help in creating it: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The Diocese Church Buildings Advisors, Soul Architects, RAF Museum London, West Lindsey District Council, RAF Scampton, Springline Good Neighbours Scheme, Scampton Parish Council, Scampton C of E Primary School, Pollyplatt Community Primary School, and everyone who took the time to complete our community survey.

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.

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

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.

Charity donations

Over 10.5 million shoeboxes were sent last year to children in places around the world that suffer from poverty, famine, drought and displacement. 400, 000 of these were from the UK, 28,107 were shipped from Grimsby, 68 of them started their journey at Scampton.

Those collected from Scampton School brightened up the lives of children in Romania, Moldova and Liberia where children will be treasuring your kind gifts.

Thank you to everyone from Scampton Church who dropped off shoe boxes at school.

Charlie Hebborn (Headteacher)
Scampton Church of England Primary School

Packed church again for all our Christmas events and services…heres a few photos taken by Crumera at Christingle and The Follow the Star Carol Service.

Spend a penny and flush away poverty

Scampton Church congregation has been spending loads of pennies! Some months ago we gave people collection boxes asking them to “Spend a penny and flush away poverty.” It seems that whenever we go to the toilet we now spend more than a penny because the boxes have been coming back brimming with silver coins!

Now our toilet at Scampton Church is twinned with this one at Mabilabo, Mzimba District, Malawi.

Why did we do it? Here are some very good reasons:

• 2.3 billion people don’t have somewhere safe and hygienic to go to the toilet.
• The lack of a loo makes women and girls a target for sexual attack as they go to the toilet in the open, late at night.
• Almost 1,000 children die every day from preventable diseases linked to dirty water and unsafe toilets.
• 663 million people live without safe water.
• Children worldwide miss 443 million school days each year because of dirty water and poor sanitation.
• Every year, women and girls spend 97 billion hours finding a place to go.

By twinning our toilet we have enabled a family to build a toilet, have access to clean water, and to learn about handwashing and other hygiene principles. Dignity is restored when the whole family can use a private, hygienic toilet at their home and no longer have to squat in the bush.

I don’t know about the toilet we are twinned with but often the waste can be used for compost by adding vegetation or ash after each use providing more sustainability. We have some more boxes promised so we can hopefully twin another toilet.

Personally, I would love to twin both the boys’ and girls’ toilets at Scampton Church School. Keep spending those pennies!

John Beverley

June Family Service and ECO day

As we are currently running our Toilet Twinning Campaign the June family service was all about being caretakers of Gods creation and looked at World Environment Day on the 5th June. The children scoured the churchyard searching for parts of Gods creation which were used as centre pieces for prayer.

Thanks to Crumera for sending in the photo’s.

Churches Festival

This year we put on an exhibition of contributions made by members of the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF whilst stationed at Scampton and South Carlton during WW1. The exhibition included video and music. There was a prayerful reflective walk laid out around the churchyard telling some of the stories of those buried in the Commonwealth War Graves.

A great big thank you to all those hard working people who helped out, especially baking the scones to take part in the ‘sconathon’. We raised just over £200 but more importantly we shared our vision of creating a ‘Community Church and RAF Heritage Centre’ here at Scampton. The reaction was really encouraging with comments like ‘What a change from last year – the chairs make it so light and welcoming’ and ‘Wow this church looks alive!’

Thanks again everyone – Sue

Sadly missed

It is with sadness that I report the death of the Revd. Dr David Young who passed away on the 9th February. David was a particular close friend of mine and a disciple in Christ, and I am truly indebted to him for his warmth, advice, and gentle encouragement to me. He was a part of the Springline team and regularly presided at services at Scampton.

I read a passage from Matthew’s Gospel recently, when Jesus was asked by a lawyer, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus’ response was: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ I think this passage epitomizes David’s values.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Barbara, at such a sad time. She and David shared some wonderful time together and their love for each other was a joy to see.

Barbara is raising money to help Marie Curie Cancer Care. You can find out more here.

Local Minister Sue Deacon

Thanks for your support

Thank you to everyone who supported last weekend’s wine tasting evening. The evening was run by Brian Elliott, the founder of midweek wines website. Brian is a wine writer and international wine competitions judge.

A newspaper columnist and magazine feature writer for many years. Presenter of master classes at Tesco wine fayres and foodies promotions, he has also been a key presenter at Oz Clarkes ‘three wine men’ events, and recently launched ‘festivals of wine’. Thanks to your support, £742 was raised to benefit Scampton School and its pupils.