Weekly Benefice Bulletin
Sunday 8th March 2026
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Reflections from Rev. Brian
Fibs & Falsehoods!
God told Moses “Thou shall not bear false witness”, an indication that even all those years ago there were problems with the truth.
The quote, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics” – has been attributed to Mark Twain, who himself attributed it to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who might never have said it in the first place. This is the problem with ‘porky pies’, ‘porkies’, ‘whoppers’, falsehoods, fibs and lies – all which come under the heading of that unfashionable word ‘sin’. It may be that we have become so immune to such activity that we hardly blink when during the Spycatcher fiasco someone deviously admitted to being “economical with the truth”.
Everyone has at some time or other created and passed on misinformation. Sometimes unconsciously we hear things which we assume to be true but aren’t. I did it myself the other week, believing I was accurately quoting Winston Churchill who famously said ‘Blood, sweat and tears. I checked and he didn’t. He said “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”, almost the same but not accurate. The difference would matter if you were a wordsmith like Churchill.
This is “Elementary, my dear Watson”. But it isn’t. Sherlock Holmes never said it, but you would have to read all of Conan Doyle’s books to prove it. What of Caesar who fell in love with princess Cleopatra from Egypt? She obviously took the wrong flight because she came from Macedonia; she was a gorgeous Greek not a sultry Semite. For getting all these things wrong you should have your hair cut short, just like Delilah did to Samson, except she didn’t! Look it up in the Book of Judges and you will find Delilah never touched his hair because she employed the local barber! The schoolboy
joke about Moses suffering a stomach complaint because ‘He took two tablets and went into the hills’ has led many a person to think Moses carried two stone tablets up Mount Sinai for God to inscribe the commandments. Except of course Moses only carried the tablets down.
A more careful reading of history reveals that Charles Lindberg was not the first man to pilot his plane across the Atlantic – he was the sixty-seventh. Neither did Edison invent the electric light bulb – it was Joseph Swann of Britain. Dr. Guillotine didn’t perfect the French headache cure, Galileo wasn’t the inventor of the telescope, and although the Magna Carta was compiled by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, it was not signed by King John because he couldn’t write.
Misinformation or the simple fact of passing on what we don’t really know is dangerous which is why “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” is one of the commandments. Untruths can be insidious, worming their way into fact and fable causing downright lies to become accepted facts. Modern communication has opened up an increasing number of possibilities which we see on the news, computers and phones. If this is what human beings can do to the facts of
everyday existence just think what we may be doing to the Gospel. I often hear on a lovely day someone quoting “The sun shines on the righteous”. Well, yes it does, but this abbreviated quote implies that God blesses only on those he favours. The complete text is “The sun shines on the righteous and unrighteous alike” and therefore says that sunlight and God’s grace is for everyone – it is a gift and can’t be earned.
If Jesus is the truth then repeating half-truths means they are also half lies, and like all lies they breed mistrust and doubt. In a world urgently requiring whole truth we should be offering nothing less and be determined to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If we want to be trusted as people of faith we cannot speak anything less.
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Probus
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9.30
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Holy Communion
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Caroline
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St Erme
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9.30
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Holy Communion
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Linda
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Ladock
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11.00
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Holy Communion
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Linda
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St Crida
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11.15
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Holy Communion - BCP
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Pat
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Tresillian
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11.15
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Holy Communion
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Caroline
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Probus
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19.00
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Kosoleth
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Anthony
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Collect for Sunday
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen
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Ladock
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16.00
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Ringers Service Evening Prayer
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Sunday 15th March
Lent 4 | Mothering Sunday
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Probus
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9.30
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Praise and Worship
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Scott
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St Erme
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9.30
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Holy Communion
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Caroline
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St Michael
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10.00
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Family Service
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Linda
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St Nun's
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11.00
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Cafe Style church
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William and Simon
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Ladock
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11.00
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Holy Communion
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Linda
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Tresillian
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15.00
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Holy Communion
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Linda
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Probus
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12.00
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Holy Communion
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Linda
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Our midweek home groups are a real blessing to be part of, a place where we share life, faith, and friendship. It’s often the first to hear when someone needs prayer or has good news to share.
We hope these groups will continue to grow and welcome new members as we journey together in faith.
For details about the different midweek home groups you can join, please contact the home group leaders.
Grampound with Creed meets on Thursday evenings (weekly) with William & Ruth Trinnick (various locations)
Probus meets on Tuesday evenings (fortnightly) with Scott and Sue Hall
Probus will be meeting Thursday evenings (fortnightly) with Liz and Chris Marshman. Please contact Liz on 07525 456434.
Tresillian - We are hoping to begin a daytime group in Tresillian, more news to follow, but if you would like to offer your home please let Rev. Caroline know.
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Children & Young People’s Groups
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Message from Caroline
Ow sos ger,
I understand that whilst I was away a midweek service was missed in February, my most sincere apologies for this. As you know, we, the clergy, are committed to the praise and worship of God and we desire to support services as fully as possible. It is never our intention to miss a service. I thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
gras ha kres,
Caroline
National Lottery Open Week
Not sure if you know but National Lottery Open Week is coming up 7th -15th March it gives you free access to many attractions including National Trust and Eden Project. For details click here.
St Michael Penkivel APCM
Wednesday 11th March
Schools Team
A reminder that I am trying to create a schools team that will engage with all our schools a couple of times around the year providing spiritual and creative ways for children to engage with the Christian faith and tradition. All roles will be safely recruited into in accordance with our safeguarding policy. Please contact Revd Caroline for more information.
Pastoral Administrator
I would like to ask if there is someone who would be willing to provide a little admin support in the pastoral work of our churches. This will require sending cards periodically around the year. For a role description and more information please contact Revd Caroline.
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TR2 Community Hub
Monday 9th March
Carer Cafe: 10am -12pm
Coffee Morning: 10am -12pm
Community Larder: 4pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 10th March
Coffee Morning: 10.00am -12pm
Wednesday 11th March
More Move Group: 10am-12pm
Coffee Morning: 10am - 12pm
Community Larder: 2.30pm - 3:30pm
Friday 13th March
Coffee Morning: 9am - 11am
Community Larder: 9am - 10am
Saturday 14th March
Community Larder: 9:30am - 10:30am
Coffee Morning: 9:30pm - 10:30pm
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Lent Lunches are here again in 2026.
Wednesday 11th March
Wednesday 18th March
Wednesday 25th March
Time: 12.30 pm.
Place: St. Erme Village Hall
Suggested Donation - £3
Everybody welcome!
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Be Attitudes - Lent Course
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Comedy Night Church @ Probus
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Age UK coach trip to the Royal Cornwall Show, Saturday 6th June 2026
Age UK Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly are offering a coach trip to this year’s Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge on Saturday 6th June.
They are providing transportation to & from the showground, entry ticket to the showground and a pasty lunch in our marquee, at the reduced inclusive cost of £16.50 per person. To meet the criteria for this offer, an attendee must be aged 50 or over and live in postcode areas TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, TR5, TR6, TR6 TR7, TR8, TR9, as coaches will be picking up people and groups from locations in these postcode areas.
If you would like to apply for this offer, please email bulletin@probus.church for an application form. Applications and payments need to be made by Friday 24th April.
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Generosity and Stewardship Matters
Financially Supporting your church
The Parish Giving Scheme is our preferred method of receiving regular giving within the churches of Probus, Ladock and Grampound. If you haven't already transferred from other forms of giving then do check out how it works through the link here or by contacting your treasurer.
Please do consider whether this is a good time to review your regular giving at the church, or perhaps you would like to plan for a future donation and leave a gift in your will. The Church of England has produced guidance on legacy giving which you can find here
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Your Benefice Bulletin needs you!
Our weekly Benefice Bulletin is a vital way we share news, services, and events across our churches and we’re looking for someone who would be willing to take on publishing it each week.
The role involves preparing and sending the bulletin email using Mailchimp, so confidence with computers and basic software is essential. That said, full start-up support and guidance will be provided, so you won’t be thrown in at the deep end!
If you enjoy working with emails, like things to be clear and well-presented, and would like to offer a valuable service to the benefice, we’d love to hear from you.
If you’re interested, or would like to know more before deciding, please get in touch via bulletin@probus.church. Matthew Hodge
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Newsletter Submissions
Please send your items by 5pm on Tuesday 10th March at the latest to Matthew at bulletin@probus.church and make sure the subject line clearly indicates that it is a newsletter submission.
Thank you.
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