fulcrum - parish of friern barnet | the parish of friern barnet · 2019-03-04 · g6 feria st...

PARISH OF FRIERN BARNET

Winter 2018

FULCRUM

FULCRUM www.parishoffriernbarnet.co.uk

The Rector Fr Paul Walmsley Mcleod

147 Friern Barnet Lane N20 0NP

020 8445 7844

[email protected]

(NB: Fr Paul’s day off is Wednesday)

Parish Office St. John’s Parish Office

St John’s Parish Centre

Friern Barnet Road

N11 3BS

0208 361 7690

[email protected]

Church Wardens

Elvin Formosa 07814 663563

[email protected]

Helen Edwards 07802 709081

Helen.edwards130@ gmail.com

Director of Music Kelvin Thomson 07949 069270

PCC Secretary Carol Levy 0208 368 5756

Treasurer Andy Beal 0208 361 4960

[email protected]

Parish Co-ordinator Janet Beal

0208 361 4960 / [email protected]

Verger Kath Mortimore 0208 886 8824

Parish Archivist Mary Phillips 0208 445 1784

Junior Church Helen Edwards 0208 368 7152

Safeguarding Officer—Adults

Vicki Powell 020 8361 7690

Safeguarding Officer—Children

Alex Fuller 020 8361 7690

Children’s Champion

Lisa Coletta 07572 385681

Flowers Brenda Pershouse 0208 368 5475

Parish Centre Enquiries/Bookings

www.parishoffriernbarnet.co.uk

[email protected]

St. John’s CE Primary School

Crescent Road N11 3LB / 0208 368 1154

[email protected]

Head teacher Graham Gunn

[email protected]

St John’s Playgroup St John’s Parish Centre

Playgroup Tuesdays 9:30-11.15am

Tara Paulsson [email protected]

Impact Barnet Youth Group

Fridays 7-9pm St John’s Parish Centre

Kat Mutevelian 07817 016657

Uniformed Groups Stanford Road N11

BP Groups/ Church Co-ordinator

Helen Edwards—as above

Guides/Brownies Alison Johns/Penny Aylwin

0208 444 5705

Scouts Mhuire Mollison 01923 228 214

Cubs Mary Ballam-Davies 0208 211 9711

Beavers Val Finch 07947 820442

Any written correspondence to those named

above should be addressed to the Parish Office.

Fulcrum is our magazine and relies on contributions from the congregation. Any reflections on life, world events,

school news, poetry, stories, autobiographical anecdotes will be gratefully received. Contact: Becke Nevitt, email:

[email protected]

A reminder that the magazine costs us around £1.20 per issue to print, please leave your donation in the church.

A donation of £20 to Andy Beal or one of the churchwardens would cover the cost of your Fulcrum for a year.

Don’t forget to fill in a yellow envelope so we can claim Gift Aid!

Church Calendar

December 2018

Liturgical Colour/Date/Day Please pray for…

P1 feria of Advent The people of The Syria

P2 ADVENT 1 Parish and People

P3 S Francis Xavier The Terrance Higgins Trust

P4 S John of Damascus The British Red Cross

P5 feria of Advent Firs Avenue

P6 feria of Advent The Winter Shelter

P7 Ambrose, Bishop of Milan Friars Avenue

P8 The Conception of the BVM The Light of Faith


P10 feria of Advent The PCC

P11 feria of Advent St John’s Playgroup

P12 feria in Advent Refugees

P13 S Lucia The Church in Sweden

P14 John of the Cross The people of Avila

P15 feria of Advent Local Councillors


P17 feria of Advent The people of Syria

P18 feria of Advent The people of Gaza

P19 O Sapienta The people of Palestine

P20 O Adonai The City of Jerusalem

P21 O Radix The people of Nazareth

P22 O Clavis The town of Bethlehem

P23 ADVENT 4 (O Rex) Parish and People

W24 (O Emmanuel) The Eve of the Lord's Nativity

W25 THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD Redemption of the World

W26 S Stephen Justin Welby, Archbishop of

Canterbury

W27 S John the Evangelist Crisis

R28 The Holy Innocents The Rector

R29 Thomas Becket The City of Canterbury

W30 CHRISTMAS 1 Parish and People

W31 John Wyclif Shelter

Church Calendar

January 2019


W1 Holy Name of Jesus The Peace of the World

W2 Ss Basil the Great & The Bishop of Edmonton

Gregory Nazianzen

W3 feria St John’s Sidespeople

W4 feria St John's Almshouses

W5 feria St John's School

W6 THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Parish and People

W7 feria Friary Close

W8 feria Noah's Ark Children's Hospice

W9 feria Wren Academy

W10 feria Parish and People

W11 feria Those expecting Babies

W12 feria The Churchwardens

W13 THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Parish and People

G14 feria Teachers of Faith

G15 feria Barnet Hospital

G16 feria St John's Musicians

W17 Anthony of Egypt The Christian Church in Egypt

G18 feria Great Ormond Street Hospital

G19 feria Samaritans

W20 EPIPHANY 3 Parish and People

R21 S Agnes St John’s Servers

R22 S Vincent The Church in Saragossa

G23 feria Prayer for Christian Unity

W24 S Francis de Sales Teachers of Faith

W25 The Conversion of S Paul Those in Prison

W26 Timothy and Titus The People of Turkey

W27 EPIPHANY 4 Parish and People

W28 S Thomas Aquinas The Dominican Order

G29 feria The Salvation Army

R30 Charles, King & Martyr Westminster Abbey


Church Calendar

February 2019


W1 Brigid of Kildare The Irish Church

G27 feria London Ambulance Service

W3 CANDLEMAS Parish and People

G4 Gilbert of Sempringham St John’s School staff

G5 feria London Ambulance Service

G6 feria St George’s, Beira

G7 feria Friern Park

G8 feria NSPCC

G9 feria The Church Commissioners

W10 4th BEFORE LENT Parish and People

G11 feria Ashurst Road

G12 feria Barnet General Hospital

G13 feria Westminster Abbey

G14 Cyril and Methodius Missionaries

G15 Sigfrid The people of Stockholm

G16 feria St John's Playgroup

G17 3RD BEFORE LENT Parish and People

G18 feria Save the Children

G19 ferai The Dominican Order

G20 feria HM the Queen

G21 feria Those promoting Fairtrade

G22 feria The Schools of the Parish

G23 Polycarp of Smyrna St Katherine’s Church

G24 2ND BEFORE LENT Parish and People

G25 feria Friern Barnet Lane

G26 ferai Samaritans

G27 feria The Bishop of London

G28 feria Central Barnet Deanery


Church Calendar

March 2019


G1 S David The People of Wales

G2 Chad Those with Special Needs

G3 NEXT BEFORE LENT Parish and People

G4 feria The Rector

G5 feria The Winter Shelter

P6 ASH WEDNESDAY Reconciliation

Blessing at Christmas

May the blessing of joy abide within you; May the blessing of peace rest upon you; May

the blessing of love flow out through you; May all the blessings of the Lord be yours at

Christmas and in the new year.

Prayers for the New Year

A sleeping world emerges to new possibilities,

weakening winter’s icy grip,

and snowdrop and cyclamen

announce to all the promise

that in due season creation bursts into life.

Let us embrace new possibilities

So that from the sleeping earth

The seed which we thought was dead

Is actually the cradle of new birth.

Amen

Lord, You make all things new

You bring hope alive in our hearts

And cause our Spirits to be born again.

Thank you for this new year

For all the potential it holds.

Come and kindle in us

A mighty flame

So that in our time, many will see the wonders of God

And live forever to praise Your glorious name.

Amen

Lunch club dates 2019

11th January

25th January

8th February

1st March

15th March

29th March

12th April

12.30pm – 2.00pm

We hope you continue to enjoy the lunch club. Please bring along any relations /

friends who you think might enjoy it too.

For enquiries/information phone Frances Jones 07702 580354

If you require transport call Joyce Brand 07969 879352

Elizabeth Tucker writes

Some personal memories of the Rt Revd Derek Bond. I was privileged to know the Rt Revd Derek Bond in two phases of my life. The first was as a teenager when he came to our parish a curate. On Coronation Day he conducted his first service of Holy Communion in the Lady Chapel at St. John’s. The second was as Head of Christ’s Hospital Girls School, Hertford, where the Bonds sent their second daughter, Elizabeth, when I was Head. It was sheer delight to attend the service on Michaelmas Day 1976 in Chelmsford Cathedral for Derek Bond’s Con-secration as Bishop of Bradwell in the Diocese of Chelmsford where John Trillo, Rector here during Derek Bond’s curacy, had become Bishop. It was a wonderful surprise for me to find in the congregation, members of our church here as well as Eric Abbott and Sydney Evans, who had both been Deans of King’s College, London, where Derek Bond had done his degree and I had done my PGCE. Eric Abbott had gone on to become Dean of Westminster Abbey and came here to preach when he was about to retire from there. I was thrilled to meet him as coincidentally I was about to begin my teaching career. Sydney Evans was on the governing body of Christ’s Hospital and happened to have been on the committee that had appointed me as Head of the Girls’ School. In retirement the Bonds lived at Evesham where I visited them when I was in the area, and they finally moved near to their daughter Elizabeth, in Saffron Walden. Elizabeth drove them from there to St. John’s when Rachel Pierce was playing the cello, Beryl Underhill was playing the violin and I was playing the piano in a recital. It was an enormous joy to have them there that evening. Another joyful occasion was in 2011 when the Bonds invited me to join the gathering they held to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of their wedding. Elizabeth very thoughtfully told me of her father’s release from about four years of dementia in July this summer, and she has sent me the beautiful service sheet from his funeral service of ‘Remembrance and Hope.’ I continue to pray for Valerie and the family.


Father Paul writes

A Letter to God…

A couple of days ago I was indulging in yet another self-berating fest and not for the first time

you came to mind... “I must, I must write, if nothing else just to make a connection...” I didn’t

make contact, but, then, of course, you did. You always do.

Thank you. That sounds so, inadequate.

I cannot say that I am in good shape, in any part of my being, though, perversely, there are so

many good things in my life. I know that my ability to take control is somewhat compromised by

moral weakness and a deep stupor of will. Sometimes, though, I have risen against the odds and

found the courage, strength and commitment to take responsibility for duty, for others, or my

own sanity; those are moments of greatness! However, lucidity lasts fleetingly. So, I am in a des-

ultory cage, lost, trapped. I stumble from averted crisis to averted crisis. The positive there is that

I do avert the crises, so, all is not lost, perhaps! Wait and see...

My body absorbs all the emotional turbulence and converts it into punitive energy! I won’t

enumerate the pains and ills that snap and bite and keep me awake and drain good intentions,

they bore. I have known easier times. If we add to the mix the tragedies of our time, wars (past

and present), poverty, slavery, injustice, issues of intimacy and sexuality, the irrational minds that

stir up hatred, precarious relationships, Brexit, a fragmented Church… dear me, it’s gloomy

outside, a typical December day, wouldn’t you say?

I am grateful that you wrote, made the first move. I clearly fail in the purpose department and

can find reaching out difficult. Not that I think there is much help to be had, frankly, I know my

weaknesses, turpitude and ennui intimately, their origins and corresponding strait-jackets. I still

cannot fathom how to get out of the cage and lack the energy to envision escape. So, I keep

myself isolated and hidden, even from you; especially from you.

I sit in silent prayer but, sometimes, the silence is not comfort, just an empty space, devoid of

you…

There. Nevertheless, sweet fantasy and analgesia come from music, books, moving images,

some of dubious character and the people who continue to keep me somehow safe from me.

Thus, you may conclude, little has changed...

I long to hear your voice, see your face, touch your love, taste and see that you are good. I

want to know you, love you, serve you again, afresh. But, I need something, some sign, some

word, some acknowledgement that you are. Yes, that you are… and that I am in that ‘you are’.

I wonder about you, please believe me, time and again. I also think of coming up to see you,

casting down my crown, but haven’t quite gathered the necessary elements of success in that

respect. Time will accomplish all…

Father Paul cont.

I will ask, repeatedly, that I may see you face to face and have your name written on my

forehead, if you were still willing after tasting my thoughts.

I want to be free! I wait for your coming, my Lord, my King.

I love you beyond words, I need you beyond belief.

Yours, of your own making.

A Response from God…

Be still and Know that I am, your God. I am no part of your imagination nor a dim corner of your

fantasy. I am and I shall always be.

I died to set you free, so let go of the shadows that berate and the guilt that belittles the

wonderful things I made in you. My seed grows within you by every breathing-in of my constant,

timeless breath. In me you are not inadequate but a tangible, fragile, beautiful, visible image of

love. You are never hidden from me but ever in my presence, in my eternity. Never doubt my

love.

Allow my strength to know your weakness, to make its home in the shadows of your life, the

blemishes that mar my image in you. Let me distil light into the dark places of your mind, the

uncertain wishes of your heart. I know the sinews of your disobedience and the muscle of your

indecisive will, as intimately as I inhabit the longing for peace and atonement in your innermost

spirit. Your prayer is my prayer; your scream my scream; your anguish my anguish; your

emptiness, mine. My forgiveness is sufficient, always. Never doubt my faithfulness.

Your body is dear to me, my living presence. I hold its tension, its pain, its sickness and

exhaustion. I discern confusion, obstinacy, the frequent moments of self-indulgence, from within;

I know when your body rejects me. But I see a beauty you do not see, I hear music you do not

hear. Your insecurities sadden and pain me, because I know your courage, your promise. Never

doubt my strength revealed in human weakness.

I also wait… for the revelation of my children… You are my child, let me breathe in you, let me

pray in you, let me will in you, let me love in you, let me be scissors to your strait-jackets, let me

make peace in you, let me live in you full, abundant, resurrection life.

Mine, of my own making.


Father Paul writes

Themes for the Autumn Term’s whole school assemblies and Fr Paul’s notes for teaching staff…

CREATION Whatever the tension about creation, big bang or seven days, the Bible stories offer great

opportunities to think through the essential relationship between Creator and creation: God, humanity and the

earth.

Creation – the Physical World (Genesis 1.1-25) A great story, the scene is set for the story of God’s

relationship with his created order. The story continues today as God’s grace is renewed every morning

and his will revealed by his life-giving Spirit.

Creation – Humanity Made in God’s Likeness (Genesis 1.26-28) What does it mean to be made in

God’s likeness? Each one of us carries something of God, a measure of his love, each one of us known in

our mother’s womb and an expression of God’s intention, each creature uniquely imagined and made.

DNA technology suggests that no person is exactly the same as another, similar yes, the same, no.

Stewardship of the Earth (Genesis 1.29-2.1) The earth is the context of our lives. We were given the

responsibility of stewardship by God, the care of the earth and its infinitely varied life. This responsibility is

individual and corporate. What can we do, each one of us and together, to care for the earth?

Adam and Eve (Genesis 2.5-8, 15-25) Adam and Eve are the biblical prototypes of humanity. This may

give us an opportunity to think through how men and women have shaped the world over the generations.

What have we achieved in making sense of our world? Advances in science, medicine, philosophy,

theology, have made deep inroads into the way we live and think and plan for the future. Poverty,

violence, intolerance, hatred et al, remain the shadows that distort the creative power of God…

Free Will – the Tree of Good and Evil – Making Moral Choices (Genesis 2.9-26; 38-24) We have

the power of speech. That alone has raised us up above all other creatures. Language has enable us to go

beyond feeling and knowing and to make sense of experience, emotion, threat, life… Problem solving is

essential to survival and language opens the gate to search, fathom and grapple with reality. At the centre

of the creation story is the tree of good and evil. The gift of discernment has a central tension, that of

decision making; moral decision making. That is both the gift and the burden of men and women.

The Serpent (Genesis 3.1-7) Evil remains. The serpent is a tangible symbol of the darkness that threatens.

In the story of creation, evil is extraneous, outside self, a force in its own right, tempting, testing, leading

astray. That reality exists at home, in the playground, all around us. The serpent, however, is also a

symbolic pointer to those forces within, the shadows that often overtake us in our own minds. I suspect

we all like to have control, our own way and to impose that control on others. The next half term will be

dedicated to marking the centenary of WW1. Understanding evil in all its imaginative, intuitive, conniving

ways, within and without, is a start to making sense of the horrors humanity if capable of.

CENTENARY OF THE END OF WW1

The Causes of War (Genesis 4.1-16; James 4.1-2) I am sure you will have your own ideas! The Bible

talks about our fallen nature; Adam’s and Eve’s faulty moral decision making forced God to throw them

out of the Garden of Eden. They are condemned to suffer in the world beyond God’s world. The story of

Cain and Abel explains the consequences of that faulty morality, jealousy, greed, violence and so on. James

hints at a deeper issue: it is the inability, or lack of will, to have a deep relationship with God that leads

men and women to acts of greed, violence and hatred. Remembering Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

(Matthew chapters 5-7) may be a useful reminder for us to see the other side of our moral turpitude.

The Casualties of War (Psalm 147.1-5) The casualties are myriad… not just those at the centre of

conflict but the ripples spread wide and long, for generations. Of course, it is not just people who suffer,

animals, habitats, whole communities. The Church was one of the many casualties of the First World War,

people questioning God in the midst of so much horror and suffering.

The Memory of War – why do we remember? (Matthew 5.23-24; 2Corinthians 4.1-2, 5-10, 18)

We remember for all kind of reasons, some, no doubt, more laudable than others. Do we remember our

own responsibilities in conflict or just blame the opposing side for all transgressions? Is all fair in war? In

marking war, we often run the risk of glorifying, aggrandising, the very thing we purport to deplore,

violence. Ideas of nation, honour, loyalty, sacrifice, valour can distort the reality and tragedy of war.

Father Paul writes Jesus, in Mathew, has good advice. He forces us to be realistic about our own intentions and involvement in

the relationships that surround us and those in which we are deeply involved. This is necessary for

individuals as it is for communities.

The act of remembering, surely, offers its greatest insight if we commit ourselves to look back, acknowledging

costly mistakes, to shape and change our intentions for a future less entrenched in the shadows that

engulfed us in the past.

The truth St Paul alludes to in his second letter to the Corinthians rests on the one commandment Jesus left

us, to love.

The Effects of War (Ezekiel 37.1-14) Consequences always follow actions, inevitably! The First World

War changed Britain beyond imagination. The changes were dramatic. Social changes that perhaps had

been dreamed of but lost in the mire of politics and self-interest, began to take shape. Women, men, class,

politics, the Empire, the Church, all were deeply altered by the events of 1014-1918, changes that are still

resounding in our time and affecting the shape and nature of the United Kingdom, Europe, the Common-

wealth, fascinating.

The Legacy of War (Ephesians 6.10-20) The Royal British Legion, Save the Children, the Royal Air Force

Benevolent Fund and others are charities that have their origins in the First World War. What is left over

after war? Is it just a bad taste and the faint hope it will never happen again, or do we have the courage to

seek ways in which we can change our world so that hatred, greed and violence will never overpower our

decision making.

St Paul, as ever, has great advice. In response to war, as we remember, we commit ourselves to be steeped in

the love of God.

Commitment to Peace and Reconciliation (Romans 12.1-2, 9-21) I hope this speaks for itself.

Message of Appreciation from Barry Hall

The relicensing ceremony for Lay Ministers took place at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday 27th November at 7pm. The President and Preacher was the new Bishop of London, The Rt. Revd. and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally. The service supported by the Area Bishops, Clergy and many well-wishers, together with the splendid 'Sing for a Change', the Hackney Social Justice Choir. As you can imagine all this was a bit daunting, and it was wonderfully reassuring to see friendly and familiar faces from St John’s amidst the congregation! A very big thank you to everyone who attended and for your kind words of support. Actually, I almost missed the whole thing! Without any announcements St Paul’s underground station closed - due to overcrowding on the platform - and the train just whizzed through the tunnel arriving at Chancery Lane. It left me wondering if I had fallen asleep for a couple of minutes! As time ticked away we looked in vain for a taxi … with increasing panic. Somehow all the black cabs had become very black and disappeared! But then out of the gloom emerged a nice shiny red bus and we arrived in the nick of time, panting and frantically doing buttons up as we walked down the nave! This five-year term will mark the start of a new phase in my ministry. With the support of the All Party Parliamentary Group Christians in Parliament and several Bishops, I will take forward a voluntary research ministry focused on the Palace of Westminster. The project aims to identify, and showcase to a wider audience, the role Christianity played in helping to shape the history, heritage and culture of Parliament over the past 1000 years. It’s a largely forgotten story. Air-brushed out of existence in an increasingly secular age. As we shine a light on the Christian heritage at the heart of the Palace of Westminster, I look forward to sharing the jewels with you in a serious of talks. Please let me know if that would be of interest.


John Philpott writes

11th November 1918

News travelled slowly, passed by word of mouth. My father, aged nine, who lived in East End Road, East Finchley,

heard of the Armistice from a passing carter, who called down from his seat behind the horses “What’s the matter

with you? Why haven’t you got the flags out? Haven’t you heard the Armistice has been signed?”

There seems to be no account of how the news was received in Friern Barnet, but under the headline “HOW THE

NEWS CAME TO FINCHLEY”, The Hendon and Finchley Times carried this report:

Though the people knew we were on the eve of great events, Monday morning in Finchley was much as

other week opening, and folks went on in the even tenor of their way. Several inhabitants had heard

privately of the signing of the Armistice, but the great majority of the people were more or less startled

punctually at 11 o’clock by the firing of maroons at Finchley Police Station, and so strong had habit become

that not a few mistook the discharge as a raid warning. People rushed from their houses and the shops into

the street to make sure they had heard aright, and then the glad tidings dawned upon them. Almost as if by

magic, flags and bunting made their appearance, and not only the main roads but the side streets became gay

with colour. Immediately the employees in the large factories “downed tools” – no, not quite, for, for a few

minutes, the noise of tools banging on the benches was deafening and drowned even the cheering. There

was no more work that day, and soon the men and women were teeming out of the building, and peopling

the main roads with an excited, joyous crowd. … At the elementary schools, where the scholars had

assembled only that morning after the “influenza vaccination”, the greatest excitement reigned, and in the

afternoon a holiday was given. … At many of the churches thanksgiving services were held either on Monday

or Tuesday evening, and these were attended by large congregations, who desired devoutly to give thanks to

God for the victory and the end of hostilities.

My mother, aged eight, lived in High Street (now High Road), North Finchley, above a shop, now Finchley

Convenience Store (opposite Sainsbury’s). She remembered, in the afternoon holiday from school, marching with

her friends down Woodside Park Road singing “God save the King”.

Publication of the November Friern Barnet parish magazine would have been too early for any mention of the

Armistice. The influenza epidemic is reported as “having a serious effect on school attendance” and causing the

closure of the Infants’ Department at St John’s School “owing to the collapse of the whole staff”. As over the past

four years, there are the reports of losses: “another grammar school boy, Lieutenant Willie Howitt, killed in

action”; “the sad news that Mr Hunt has lost another son, Jack, who died of pneumonia in Egypt”.

The December magazine reports what were among the final casualties. Nurse Monica Ferguson, a music student

before the war, daughter of Dr Robert Ferguson, local GP and churchwarden at St John’s, died of influenza in

Colchester Military Hospital, where she had been serving. Percy Rawlings had died in Italy, William Manns in

hospital. Rector Edward Gage Hall appeals for subscriptions to the Shilling Fund to clear the balance of the debt on

the church: “This is surely an opportunity for making a thanksgiving offering for the end of the war, and the

preservation of the husband or son who has come safely through.” This is the only reference to the Armistice. No

doubt, during the previous weeks it had been commemorated in services and sermons, but it is surprising that the

Rector, who had written extensively at the beginning of the war, exhorting all to pray and the men to enlist, found

so little to write to mark its end. Perhaps the initial jubilation had been overwhelmed by the realisation of the

losses suffered, triumph by a sense of futility.

Frances Jones writes A letter to my Grandfather

To my dear Grandad,

Whenever I think of you I think of hot sunny days, sleeping under a canvas tent, bacon and eggs fried over a paraffin stove, ( I still love the smell of paraffin), your smile, your sense of mischief, your teasing, your laugh and your magical way of always making things seem so much better. I remember so well those last minute dashes to try and locate a box of fireworks just before the shops closed on bonfire night. I used to think you did that deliberately just to tease us. I also recall your dreadful chesty coughs, your regular bouts of bronchitis but you never made a fuss. You would tease us with tales of your false eye never once telling us how you came to lose the eye. You would never talk about your earlier life.

Many, many years later, long after you had left us, I started to wander about how life was for you as a young man growing up in the early 20th century. I came across a photograph of you in uniform looking so handsome and I thought you so brave. I found out that you enlisted for the army, at the outbreak of the First World War, at the age of 16 well below the enlistment age of 18. You had such an unhappy life as a boy that you preferred to run away to war rather than stay at home. I never will understand how you managed to pass the recruitment tests. I know that eventually you were sent overseas to fight and I can’t begin to imagine what that must have been like. I now know you suffered along with your comrades in the trenches. You were gassed hence the lifelong affliction with bronchitis. You lost your eye fighting though the exact details are unknown. How must you have felt? Lonely, sad, sick and afraid? What were you thinking about when you heard the sounds of gunfire coming ever closer? Did you ever think of the future? Did you ever think you would survive and that the war would end and there would, for a short time, be peace?

Now on reflection I wonder whether those fireworks reminded you of those dark days, a memory you probably wished to forget. Whether your love of open space, camping under the stars helped obliterate the smells and sights you would have witnessed. I think it probably took many years for you to come to terms with what you had been through. The love and peace of mind for your family were hidden deep within the recesses of your heart and I now believe it was only really through the birth of your grandchildren that you truly felt contentment. You taught us to appreciate life, to accept what we have, to love and respect each other. I would like to think that this was possibly your way of wanting us to never forget the sacrifices made by so many for our right to live in peace.

I wish I had known you longer and could thank you in person for what you and your comrades did. I hope this letter goes in some way to let you know how much I now understand and from the bottom of my heart would like to say:

THANK YOU GRANDAD.

Your loving granddaughter Frances

Helen Newman writes

Moved by Sebastian Faulks’ novel Birdsong in the mid 1990s, I visited the quiet French towns he brought to life so

vividly - Albert, Serre and Bapaume and later the majestic Thiepval memorial – with no idea that I was actually

following in the footsteps of my relative. He was Private Clifford Morley of the 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regi-

ment (Prince of Wales's Own).

It was nearly ten years later that my mother very casually mentioned, probably after watching an episode of Who

Do You Think You Are, that she thought one of her mother’s uncles had been killed in action in the First World

War. She remembered a photograph of a young man in uniform at her grandparents’ house, edged in black.

The young man was Clifford; born in 1896, the same year as F Scott Fitzgerald and one year after the future King

George VI. His parents Richard and Jane lived in Shaw Street, Leeds, which is no longer on the map in the city

where I was born. Back in the 1890s it was one of many narrow streets of terraced houses which the Morleys, with

their eleven children, called home.

Clifford was the eighth of those eleven children, among them older brother George, my great grandfather, and his

younger brother Frederick. Great choice of names obviously. His sisters were Rachel, Sarah and Jane who my

mother remembered with great affection as old aunt Jane.

They were working class Leeds people. They worked in brickyards, mills, timber yards and factories. Their commu-

nity was close knit and like many around the country saw its young men heed Kitchener’s call to arms after the

outbreak of war in 1914. It waved Clifford, aged 19, and his friends in the Leeds Pals, off to the front in 1916.

At 7.30 am on July 1st he was among those who went over the top as the Battle of the Somme began. He was also

among the 504 men from his battalion alone that never came back.

"The name of Serre and the date of 1st July is engraved deep in our hearts, along with the faces of our 'Pals', a

grand crowd of chaps. We were two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying." (Private A.V. Pearson,

Leeds Pals.)

All that remains of Clifford is a name, alongside 72000 others with no known grave, on the Thiepval Memorial and

on a family memorial in Beckett Street cemetery. Just over the road is the maternity ward at St. James’s Hospital

where, just over 50 years later, I came into the world. I played with my cousins round the corner for many years,

completely unaware of this connection over the dark and gloomy wall.

In 2017 I followed in Clifford’s footsteps again, this time with my five older brothers on a family pilgrimage of sorts

to mark one of their big birthdays. Birds sang in the bright and sunny green fields and it was a challenge to imagine

what had gone before in such idyllic surroundings. Miriam, our enthusiastic Aussie guide talked us through it all,

Clifford’s final hours on July 1st with her iPad, her regimental maps and army diaries.

To her it was history. To us, to our mum Joan, to nana Evelyn before her and to Clifford’s parents Richard and Jane

it was family. A loss that has had an impact through the generations.

I don’t have a photo of him. I do have a poppy from the 2014 display in the Tower of London moat. When I look at

that I think of Clifford and all those touched by war but most of all of that place in France where he, and so many

others finally found themselves some kind of peace.



The Day My Family Came – by Michael Edwards

Read to us by Miriam close to where Clifford was killed

I half awoke to a strange new calm

And a sleep that would not clear

For this was the sleep to cure all harm

And which freezes all from fear.

Shot had come from left and right

With shrapnel, shell and flame

And turned my sunlit days to night

Where now, none would call my name.

Years passed me by as I waited,

Missed the generations yet to come,

Sadly knew I would not be fated

To be a father, hold a son.

I heard again the sounds of war

When twenty years of sleep had gone,

For five long years, maybe more,

Till peace once more at last had come.

More years passed, new voices came,

The stones and trenches to explore,

But no-one ever called my name

So I wished and waited ever more.

Each time I thought, perhaps, perhaps,

Perhaps this time they must call me,

But they only called for other chaps,

No-one ever called to set me free.

Through years of lonely vigil kept,

To look for me they never came,

None ever searched or even wept,

Nobody stayed to speak my name.

Until that summer day I heard

Some voices soft and strained with tears,

Then I knew that they had come

To roll away those wasted years.

Their hearts felt out to hold me,

Made me whole like other men,

But they had come just me to see,

Drawing me back home with them.

Now I am at peace and free to roam

Where ‘ere my family speak my name,

That day my soul was called back home

For on that day my family came.

John Kuti writes a letter to peace

Dear Peace,

I write this letter in hope that it will find its way to you, and that someday, I will have a response to

the many questions that occupy my thoughts when I think of you.

I should start by asking… who are you or what are you? Are you the calm before the storm or the

eerie silence after it? Are you a state of mind or just a feeling one often has?

People the world over seek you but so many fail to find you… why is this?

How can you ignore the many requests for you? Is it because the requests fail to reach you or

because people ask for you in the wrong way?

Perhaps you are so subtle in manner that people don’t recognise when you meet with them or

when they actually have you.

There must be great value in you because some kill for you or even go to war over you.

You seem an important part of everyday life, as people are told to make peace whenever they

fight. We exchange you in a handshake during the church service each Sunday. Even the son of

God left you with his disciples the night before he gave his life for mankind. If you think I am

making it up, have a look at the 27th verse in the 14th chapter of the gospel according to St

John. It reads… Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world

gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Alternatively, come see and hear for yourself the thoughts and actions of those who seek you.

You only need to turn on the TV or read a newspaper to understand why people are so

desperate for you. Each day can seem like a war zone, from the moment one stirs in the morning

to the point of sleep at night. Interestingly, night time seems to be the one time when people

appear most at peace. Even the wild at heart can look ever so peaceful while asleep. Is this your

preferred time for a visit?

Who am I to question you… you might be wondering. No one special, just a curious and

concerned citizen of this world, writing on behalf of neighbours, near and far, hoping they find

you… because truth be told, I really need you too!

So back to where I started with a bunch of questions unanswered. Yet, I send this letter in faith,

believing that somehow and someday it will meet with you… and maybe, just maybe, in some

way I will hear back.


Be a peacemaker for Christmas Aid At Christmas time, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, given to bring hope, love, peace and justice to a broken world. We

get the chance to spend time with our loved ones celebrating the Prince of Peace, but for millions of people this

Christmas, peace seems like an impossible dream.

Violence and conflict remains the norm for many across the globe, from South Sudan to Colombia. In 2016, more

countries experienced violent conflict than at any time in nearly 30 years. If current trends persist, by 2030 more than

half of the world’s poorest people will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence.

But while peace is broken every day, it is also built every day through the tireless work of peacemakers. This Christmas, Christian Aid is calling for you to stand together with peacemakers around the world who are working tirelessly to bring

hope to seemingly hopeless situations.

In South Sudan, Bishop Paride Taban is relentless in working for peace in his country where millions of citizens are suffering from hunger caused by years of civil war. Now

in his eighties, he believes that peace is something you practice and every day he repeats 28 words for peace: ‘If all put these 28 words into their hearts, and every day

they repeat them, there will be no war in South Sudan, there will be permanent peace

in South Sudan.’

Elsewhere in the shadow of violence and conflict, Diana Abbas sows the seeds of

peace through counselling and therapy. She is the only psychologist at a children’s centre run by Association Najdeh, Christian Aid’s partner in Lebanon. Through

psychotherapy, literacy classes and art therapy, the centre gives young Palestinian refugees the chance to overcome the violence they have witnessed. Thanks to Diana

and others at the centre, more children can find peace.

Now more than ever, we need peace. With your support,

peace is possible this Christmas. Matthew 5:9 shows the blessings lie within peacemaking – in this world it is up to

us to do what we can in our daily lives to help frontline

peacemakers like Diana and Bishop Paride.

You can be a peacemaker with your donation to

Christmas Aid – an appeal to raise vital funds for Christian

Aid’s work.

It costs just £10 to pay for three young women to attend

a community dialogue event that will help them learn about effective ways of reducing crime. £130 could pay for

a psychologist to provide one week’s worth of counselling

and therapy to young refugees in Lebanon.

Will you stand with the peacemakers this Christmas? You can make a donation by visiting caid.org.uk/Christmas-

appeal or calling 0845 700 0300.

Bishop Paride Taban

Psychologist Diana Abbot taking a life skills session at the

children’s centre run by Association Najdeh, Christian Aid’s

partner in Lebanon

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjZ4eSHzarfAhVyzoUKHb7-DnAQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AChristian_Aid_Logo.svg&psig=AOvVaw3toOgwTYJq_s-N_8TDyfu_&ust=1545264501

Epiphany

Epiphany, or Three Kings' Day, is the 12th day of Christmas, with today, January 6, marking the official end to the

festive season for many Christians. These days, we tend to associate Twelfth Night with removing Christmas

decorations because according to tradition, anyone who forgets to take them down by the night before Epiphany

must leave them in place all year to avoid misfortune. However, up until the 19th century, the Epiphany was more

important than Christmas Day, and it was used to celebrate both the three kings' (or three wise men's) visit to

Jesus shortly after his birth and also Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist. The word 'Epiphany' comes from Greek

and means 'manifestation'. It celebrates 'the revelation of God in his Son as human in Jesus Christ'. The six Sundays

which follow Epiphany are known as the time of manifestation.

In the West, Christians began celebrating the Epiphany in the 4th century, associating it with the visit of the Magi

(the three kings) to Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the three wise men - named Melchior, Cas-

par and Balthazar - followed the star of Bethlehem across the desert to meet the baby Jesus, offering gifts of gold,

frankincense and myrrh. The gifts were symbolic of the importance of Jesus' birth, the gold representing his royal

standing; frankincense his divine birth; and myrrh his mortality.

For many Protestant churches, the season of Epiphany extends from January 6 until Ash Wednesday and the start

of Lent. The last Sunday of the Epiphany is celebrated as Transfiguration Sunday. Others, including the Catholic

church, observe Epiphany as a single day. Some Catholic dioceses in the US mark the Epiphany feast on the Sunday

after January 6. Orthodox Christians, however, celebrate the holiday on January 19 each year.

festivities for the ancient Christian feast day vary around the world, from swimming in icy waters to exchanging

presents, fireworks and parades. In many countries the day is a public holiday. In the Spanish speaking world,

Epiphany is known as Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings' Day). In Mexico, crowds gather to taste the Rosca de Reyes -

Kings' bread. In other countries, a Jesus figurine is hidden in the bread. As recently as the 1950s, Twelfth Night in

Britain was a night for wassailing. Wassailers, like carol singers, go from house to house singing and wishing their

neighbours good health.

The Drury Lane Theatre in London has had a tradition since 1795 of providing a Twelfth Night cake. The will of

Robert Baddeley made a bequest of £100 to provide cake and punch every year for the company in residence at

the theatre on 6 January. The tradition still continues.

Ten facts about the Feast of the Epiphany

1. The three Kings (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) represented Europe, Arabia and Africa respectively.

2. Hundreds of years ago, roast lamb was traditionally served at Epiphany in honour of Christ and the three

Kings' visit.

3. Whoever finds the small statue of a baby Jesus hidden inside their slice of the Rosca de reyes throws a party

on Candlemas in February.

4. In some European countries, children leave their shoes out the night before to be filled with gifts, while

others leave straw for the three Kings' horses.

5. According to Greek Orthodox Church's traditions, a priest will bless the waters by throwing a cross into it

as worshippers try to retrieve it.

6. In Bulgaria too, Eastern Orthodox priests throw a cross in the sea and the men dive in - competing to get to

it first.

7. In Venice a traditional regatta that started as a joke in the late 1970s has been incorporated in the

celebrations of Epiphany Day.

8. In Prague, there is a traditional Three Kings swim to commemorate Epiphany Day at the Vltava River.

9. In New York, El Museo del Barrio has celebrated and promoted the Three Kings' Day tradition with an

annual parade for more than three decades. Thousands take part in the procession featuring camels, colour-

ful puppets and floats.

10. The day's activities involve singing holiday carols called aguinaldos.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/lets-bring-back-the-glorious-food-traditions-of-twelfth-night/


News from St John’s School

St John’s School received a donation from Waitrose North Finchley this

term, following a successful green token collection in the summer.

Since its launch in 2008, the scheme has donated over £30 million

to good causes in store and online.

Each month every Waitrose branch donates £1,000 between 3 local

good causes chosen by customers. The more green tokens a cause

gets, the bigger the donation they receive. St John’s School were

lucky enough to collect the most tokens during the month and

collected a cheque for £450 at a charity coffee morning. Some

children were allowed to attend and were delighted to see ‘behind

the scenes’ at the store. Thanks to the Waitrose staff for making

everyone feel so welcome at this community event.

The school community enjoyed a fantastic day at the Advent Fayre this year. There was plenty to do

with tombolas, face painting, games, arts & crafts and a particularly cosy grotto, plus lots of delicious

food. Monies raised contribute to the annual Creative Curriculum and Sports Enrichment programme

at the school, plus classroom resources and outdoor play equipment. Hugh thanks to all those involved.

A wonderful Nativity concert

was performed by the

juniors at the church. The

singing was just beautiful,

reaching up to the rafters!

Everyone played their part

so well, and the costumes

were fantastic.

Well done to Year 5, and to

all the singers and staff for all

their hard work.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjEs4Sp1arfAhVORBoKHZkWCf4QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waitrose.com%2Fhome%2Finspiration%2Fcommunity_matters%2Fcommunity_matters_results.html&psig=AOvVaw1K

Parish of Friern Barnet

St John’s Church,

Friern Barnet Road N11

Christmas Services 2018

Sunday 23 December 6.00pm

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

(retiring collection for The Children’s Society)

***

Monday 24 December 5.00pm

The Blessing of the Crib and Carols in Candlelight

all donations to The Children’s Society

***

Monday 24 December 11.30pm

Midnight Mass in Candlelight

***

Tuesday 25 December

Christmas Day10.00am

Solemn Parish Eucharist - The Nativity of the Lord

***

Christmas Day Prayer

Give us, O God, the vision which can see thy love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us

the faith to trust the goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that

we may continue to pray with understanding hearts, and show us what each one of us can do to

set forth the coming of the day of universal peace. Amen.

— Frank Borman

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