The summer months at Helston and Wendron of June and July bring a range of new features to the life of our churches. There is an abundance of flowers in our fields and the hedgerows which enable the church flower arrangers to find so much beauty with which to adorn the church. We have a number of weddings in these summer months - in fact the majority of the weddings that we do through the year are at this time. It never ceases to amaze me how the colours of the bridesmaids' dresses are picked out by the careful choice of colours in the flowers in church. Beautiful varieties of flowers in combination with each other speaks eloquently of a love, which in marriage unites two people who pledge to combine their hopes and characters in love, and so bring out the best in the one they love throughout their lives. Our thanks must always go to those who - at both Helston and Wendron - decorate the church so beautifully and clean it so thoroughly. Your work is never taken for granted!

Our retired former Bishop, Bishop Bill, often liked to mention that there is only one time when the word 'tidy' is used in the New Testament, and that is in a context where tidiness is not shown as a virtue (St. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 11, v. 24-26). In this passage Jesus warns against seeking to reform our lives without the help of God's hand guiding us and protecting us.

Bishop Bill extended his thoughts to include what are called 'porous boundaries' or 'fuzzy edges', where there may be many points of entry into the church that people of goodwill can find if things are not too ordered and schematic. A church might not have these 'porous boundaries' which newcomers can use to find their way into our church's life.

Nevertheless, in the literal sense of the word, a tidy and well-looked-after church is a joy to work in. There are many parables in the Bible about things and people being lost: notably St. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 15, which has three famous parables in a row - the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (or prodigal) son. The Christian explanation, of course, does not finish with the sense of being lost, but the sense of being found. I inherited a set of keys from one of my colleagues, with a picture of a sheep on the fob which said "I was lost, but Jesus found me" - a statement that would have been quite ironic had I managed to lose my keys. In one of the great classic statements of Jesus's purpose on earth, He insists that the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost (St. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 19, v. 10). A tidy and clean church is not only the expression of a well-loved church, but it is also a place where things can be found easily. I write this on Ascension Day, when we celebrate the exalted risen life of Jesus, who fills the universe with His power and His love. He finds the lost and leads them gently into a place of laughter and joy. The vision of the church - whether at Wendron or at Helston or anywhere else - is to be such a place where the lost find a home, a home that is filled with laughter, love and joy.

Your friend and Rector,

This is my last contribution to the Messenger as Church Warden. It has been a most rewarding and worthwhile 3 years. It seemed very daunting at the beginning, but we get such a lot of help from so many members of the congregation that no one should be deterred from becoming church warden. I would like to wish Stanley Prior every blessing as he takes on these new responsibilities. Now that two major jobs have been completed, other jobs come to the fore and the PCC have agreed to carry out work on the church windows, repairing the one that was damaged in the storm and at the same time modifying the window to include a hopper window to help reduce condensation. Things do not stand still and I believe that all of us have a responsibility to maintain and improve the fabric of the Church to hand over to future generations.

The concert by the Pentyr Singers was a great success and it was a delight to hear Richard taking part and being able to display his considerable talent to a very appreciative audience. Finally I would like to wish Peter and Stan plain sailing over the coming year and may God's grace be with them.

Lloyd Jones (Church Warden Retired)

I was born at Redruth to parents Bill & Sylvia, regular worshipers at St Michael's, where I was baptised. I have a sister, Hilary, who lives in Hillington, Middlesex. Having attended Sunday School during the time of the Rev Aubrey Moon, I joined the Choir as a boy chorister and crucifer. In those good old days one attended Church for Matins, afternoon Sunday School and Evensong. During the incumbency of the Rev John Woollan I was confirmed at Truro Cathedral and took my first Communion at Helston. As a campanologist I met my wife Margaret who moved with her parents from Ickenham, Middlesex to Cornwall at the age of nine years. We were married at Crantock in 1970.1 was Tower Captain when the Rev Canon Harvey Pentreath was vicar and retired after 19 years. I have two daughters, Sarah who lives in Hemel Hempstead and Claire in Bath. Margaret and I are pleased to be the grandparents of Sarah's baby, Madaleine Lilia, who was one year old on Flora Day. At the time of writing we are eagerly awaiting our second grandchild as Claire is expecting her first baby on 20th May.

Stanley Pryor.