Signpost 41 (8 February)

Roses are red,

Burnt bread is toast,

Thank you for reading the latest Signpost!

As we march on into mid-February, we quickly come upon the 14^th February and the feast of St. Valentine. To celebrate, this weeks’ issue is the love edition; looking at the history of the saint, other related saints, and the importance of love in our lives.

We hope you enjoy - and if you have any ideas for future themed issues please let us know. We continue to have fantastic feedback from our readers and we are always delighted to hear from you.

REFLECT

In 2016, photographer Holly Wren put together an exhibition called “Love Lived” with the aim of showing that that experiences of love are universal and transcend the boundaries of age. The exhibition featured people, all over 70, telling their universal and timeless experiences of love. The Guardian produced this piece about the exhibition, but you can explore all of their stories on the Love Lived website if you choose “stories”. Why not hear directly from Rita, Jim, Alan or Chitra?

CONNECT

Signpost often suggests links to programmes and radio broadcasts on the BBC, and for a long time, these were accessible without logging in. A Signpost reader recently got in touch to point out that you can now only access BBC programmes if you have a BBC account. It is free to get one of these and the BBC has put together some guides to help. Click here for a useful explanation of how to register for an account and click here to go through the account registration step by step. At each stage, you can click on “what’s this for” to get an explanation of each question. The first page confirms that you are over 13, the second page needs you to confirm your date of birth, and the third page requires you to type in your email address and choose a password that you will use to login in the future. It also asks for your gender and postcode.

You may remember Redmaid's student Esther performed some beautiful poems and violin pieces for us back in January as part of her Bat Mitzvah, and we are glad to share her video for February with you, which includes readings of the poems 'A Hymn to the Evening' by Phillis Wheatley and 'Explained' by A. A. Milne, as well as a beautiful violin recital of 'Schindler's List' by John Williams.

LEARN

February 14^th has become one of the most commercial dates in the calendar these days, with the UK spending an estimated £15 billion on cards and gifts. This article from History Extra explains the history of St. Valentines - all the way back to ancient Rome.

Although St. Valentine has become the saint most associated with love due to the global celebration of Valentines Day, did you know that there are other saints for love? You can find out about the life of Saint Valentine here, but don’t forget Wales’ Saint Dwynwen or even St. Priscilla, the saint of good marriages. While St. Anthony is known as the patron saint of lost things, many people pray to him for help finding love and to St. Jude, the saint of lost causes, to heal relationships.
Roses are a traditional Valentine’s Day gift, and Mottisfont in Hampshire has the most magical walled rose garden! The National Trust have produced a virtual tour of the Mottisfont walled rose garden here so that you can enjoy it from your home. The roses are so beautiful - you can nearly smell them!

Talking of hearts, are you doing enough to keep yours strong? The British Heart Foundation has this article and video showing 10 strength exercises to keep the blood pumping and help you maintain your health and independence.

FUN

If you enjoy a romantic comedy, why don’t you try “Love Life”, a romantic comedy TV series that you can watch on BBC iPlayer (see above for details on how to get a BBC account)?

Please get in touch through our email communityimpact@stmonicatrust.org.uk and let us know how we are doing.

Don't forget that our online services of worship and contributions from the Pastoral Care Team can be found at https://vimeo.com/stmonicatrust.