inspire magazine - parish of swindon new town · 2017-02-02 · bones in order to buy some bread....
TRANSCRIPT
Issue No 9 February 2017
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InSpire Magazine
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In This Issue A Word from the Parish Priest ...................... Page 4
Who is…? Our Lady of Lourdes ..................... Page 5
Holy Smoke! .................................................. Page 6 “Bells and smells” in worship
The Experience of an Altar Server ................. Page 7
Goa Anglican ................................................. Page 8
Making the Journey ....................................... Page 9 From the Additional Curates’ Society
That February Feeling.................................. Page 10 From the Additional Curates’ Society
Candlemas ................................................... Page 11 The Christian Festival of Light
Thank You Lord ............................................ Page 12
A Belated Welcome to Philip ....................... Page 12
Parish Social Group News ............................ Page 13
Final Idle Thoughts ...................................... Page 13 A tribute to Tony Probert
Midweek Meditation ................................... Page 14 From the Additional Curates’ Society
News from the Diocese of Bristol................ Page 16
My Favourite Hymn ..................................... Page 17 To God Be the Glory
When waiting is never a game .................... Page 18 The realities for the Harbour Project
Events Calendar ........................................... Page 20
Midweek Meditation ................................... Page 22
Swindon Uganda Deanery Link ................... Page 24
The Annunciation ........................................ Page 26 From the Additional Curates’ Society
Happy Birthday S. Saviour’s Brownie Pack .. Page 27
Nursing in the 1940s ................................... Page 28 The Jenny Lind Hospital, Norwich
6th Swindon (S. Saviour’s) Scout Group ...... Page 29
Announcements .......................................... Page 30
From the Registers ...................................... Page 30
Letters .......................................................... Page 30
Easter 2017 .................................................. Page 31 Dates for your diary Recipes ........................................................ Page 32
Daybreak Poem ........................................... Page 33
A Little Light Relief .......................................Page 33
La La Land ....................................................Page 34 The movie taking cinemas by storm
Coffee Break ................................................Page 35
Children’s Corner .........................................Page 36
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Visit our website to download an electronic copy of this magazine:
www.swindonnewtown.co.uk/news/magazine
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GET IN TOUCH
Parish Priest: Fr Dexter Bracey Tel: 01793 538220 or (emergency) 01793 976569
Churchwardens John Bishop: 01793 526542 Alasdair Skeil: 01793 322956 Sandy Steele-Davis: 01793 526559
Hall Managers S. Mark’s—Helen Watt 01793 520738 S. Saviour’s—Mike Jell 01793 644371 S. Luke’s—Christine McKinlay 07925 369792 (after 6pm please)
S. Aldhelm’s Church Centre Edgeware Road, Swindon, SN1 1QS
Office Hours: 9 am to 1 pm Mon, Wed, Fri Tel: 01793 538220 Fax: 01793 491065
Centre Manager Pat Mortimer
Parish Secretary Karen Vermeersch
email: [email protected]
Rainbow Bookshop
Opening Times: 9 am to 4 pm Mon-Sat
Telephone & Fax 01793 694583
Manager Pat Mortimer
MAGAZINE
Send us your letters, articles, announcements, recipes, jokes and anecdotes to:
Write: S. Aldhelm’s Church Centre (see left)
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01793 538220
In person to the Editorial Team: John Bishop, Tracey & Andy Hudd, Mike Jell, Andrew King, Jill Pearce, Karen Vermeersch
Deadline for the next issue (April) is Monday 13th March
Our Regular Service Times
At S. Mark’s, Church Place, Swindon, SN1 5EH
Sundays: Sung Mass at 10.30 am Mondays: Mass at 6.00 pm
At S. Saviour’s, Ashford Road, Swindon, SN1 3NS
Sundays: Sung Mass at 9.00 am
Wednesdays: Mass at 9.30 am
At S. Luke’s, Broad Street, Swindon, SN1 2DS
Sundays: Sung Mass at 10.30 am
Thursdays: Morning Prayer at 9.00 am, Mass at 9.30 am
At S. Aldhelm’s, Edgeware Road, Swindon, SN1 1QS
Tuesdays: Mass at 10.45 am
And at other times during the year, please see the calendar
For Baptisms, Weddings and Confessions, please contact the Parish Priest
or the Parish Office
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A Word from the Parish Priest
I write this as we shiver in the midst of a cold spell in the middle of a dull January. At this point in the year, it can be hard to call to mind the joys of Christmas, the excitement of the new year celebrations, and the hope that the start of a new year brings.
January can so often feel gloomy, so it is important to remember words that we will have heard at Christmas services from S. John’s gospel: “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). The light of which S. John speaks is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ, and he is present with us even in the depths of gloom and darkness. We will be reminded of that when we celebrate Candlemas, which properly falls on 2nd February, but which this year we will observe on Sunday 29th January. On that occasion, we will carry candles as symbols of the light of Christ, as we ponder the description of the infant Jesus by Simeon as “the light to lighten the nations” (Luke 2:32). As we do so, let us recall all those who find the dark days of this time of year difficult, and all who find themselves in any kind of darkness, be it spiritual, emotional or the result of difficult circumstances. You will find an article with more about Candlemas elsewhere in this magazine.
But inevitably, January is a good time to look back on our celebrations of Christmas, and there is much to give thanks for. We had a well-attended Crib Service at S. Saviour’s on Christmas Eve, and it was good to have a variety of different people involved in the preparations for that. I hope that this will encourage us to think further about our work with children and families. We had the best attended Midnight Mass for some years at S. Mark’s, and S. Luke’s was, as always, very well-attended for the Mass of the Nativity. It is good to see that when we allow each church to play to its strengths, encouraging things can happen. Having now begun to establish a pattern for Christmas services, we now think ahead to Holy Week and Easter. You will find details of those services elsewhere in this magazine. My hope is that people from each church will play their part in offering things which will be of benefit to the whole parish.
Of course, before Christmas there was the season of Advent, and I want to say a particular word of thanks to the choir of S. Mark’s, who staunchly continued their preparations for the Advent Carol Service despite the choir loft having been flooded by rain water that week. Those who attended the service spoke appreciatively of the service, and it cannot have been easy to continue with that in such circumstances. However, the work on
the south aisle of the roof of S. Mark’s was completed in time for Christmas, and the building is much dryer as a result. Thanks are due to our wardens for their work on the Fabric and Finance Committee for making sure that that, along with a lot of other work during the course of last year, was completed.
This, of course, is not the place to give a full report on 2016—that will come in the annual report to be presented at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 27th April. But for now, we give thanks for all that has been in the past year, and look forward with faith and hope to all that 2017 will bring.
With my prayers for you all, Fr Dexter
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Who is…… Our Lady of Lourdes? Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated in honour of the Marian apparitions that reportedly occurred in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes, in France.
In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous reported a vision of Our Lady of Lourdes. A simple 14-year-old peasant girl of no significant educational experience, Soubirous claimed she saw uo petito damizelo, “a small maiden,” in white, with a golden rosary and blue belt fastened around her waist, and two golden roses at her feet. In subsequent visitations she heard the lady speak to her, saying Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou (I am the Immaculate Conception), and asking that a chapel be built there. At first ridiculed, questioned, and belittled by Church officials and other contemporaries, Soubirious insisted on her vision. Eventually the Church believed her and she was canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1933.
After church investigations confirmed her visions, a large church was built at the site.
On 11th February 1858, Soubirious went with her sister Toinette and Jeanne Abadie to collect some firewood and bones in order to buy some bread. After taking off her shoes and stockings to wade through the water near the Grotto of Massabielle, she said she heard the sound of two gusts of wind (coups de vent) but the trees and bushes nearby did not move. A wild rose in a natural nice in the grotto, however, did move.
“I came back towards the grotto and started taking off my stockings. I had hardly taken off the first stocking when I heard a sound like a gust of wind. Then I turned my head towards the meadow. I saw the trees quite still: I went on taking off my stockings. I heard the same sound again. As I raised my head to look at the grotto, I saw a lady dressed in white, wearing a white dress, a blue girdle and a yellow rose on each foot, the same colour as the chain of her rosary; the beads of the rosary were white… from the niche, or rather the dark alcove behind it, came a dazzling light.”
Soubirous tried to make the sign of the Cross, but she could not, because her hands were trembling. The lady smiled, and invited Soubirous to pray the rosary with her. Soubirous tried to keep this a secret, but Toinette told her mother. After parental cross-examination, she and her sister received corporal punishment for their story.
Three days later, 14th February, Soubirious returned to the Grotto. She had brought holy water as a test that the
apparition was not of evil origin: “The second time was the following Sunday… Then I started to throw holy water in her direction, and at the same time I said that if she came from God she was to stay, but if not, she must go. She started to smile, and bowed… This was the second time.”
Soubirous’s companions are said to have become afraid when they saw her in ecstasy. She remained ecstatic even as they returned to the village. On 18th February, she spoke of being told by the Lady to return to the Grotto over a period of two weeks. She quoted the apparition: “The Lady only spoke to me the third time… she told me also that she did not promise to make me happy in this world, but in the
next.”
Soubirous was ordered by her parents never to go there again. She went away and, on 24th February, Soubirous related that the apparition asked for prayer and penitence for the conversion of sinners.
The next day, she said the apparition asked her to dig in the ground and drink from the spring she found there. This revealed the stream that soon became a focal point for pilgrimages. This water was given to patients of all kinds, and many reports of miraculous cures followed.
The first person with a “certified miracle” was a woman whose right hand had been deformed as a consequence of an accident. However, several miracles turned out to be short-term improvement or hoaxes and the government fenced off the Grotto. Soubirous managed to visit the Grotto under cover of darkness. On Easter Sunday, 7th April, her examining doctor stated that Soubirous, in ecstasy, was observed to have held her hands over a lit candle without sustaining harm. On 16th July, Soubirous went for the last time to the Grotto.
On 18th January 1860, the local bishop finally declared that: “The Virgin Mary did appear indeed to Bernadette Soubirous.” These events established the Marian veneration in Lourdes, which is one of the most frequented Marian shrines in the world, and to which between 4 and 6 million pilgrims travel annually.
Soubirous was later canonised as a saint in 1933.
The feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated on 11th February.
Source: Wikipedia
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Vol 35 No.08 / AUGUST
2016
Holy Smoke! “Bells and Smells” in worship. “You’re a bit high church, aren’t you? Bells and smells, that sort of thing.”
I’ve had quite a few people say that sort of thing to me over the years. And whilst many people might know that incense and bells are part of our worship, they might also wonder why we do such things.
The use of incense in worship is an ancient practice. Made from the sap of trees of the Boswellia family, which grow in harsh conditions in southern Arabia and north Africa, frankincense has long been used in religious observance. When burnt, the resin gives off a sweet smell, and the scent can be varied by adding other oils and elements to it: there is indeed a great variety of scents available, and thurifers often enjoy trying out new ones!
Throughout the Old Testament we see reference to the use of incense as acknowledging the presence and majesty of God. In the book of the prophet Malachi we find the word of the Lord:
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)
Much earlier, in Exodus 30, we see instructions given to Aaron, the High Priest, to construct an altar for the burning of incense morning and evening. The tradition of offering incense at the Temple continued, and we know from Luke 1:8-10 that Zechariah was offering incense in the sanctuary when the angel Gabriel appeared to him to tell him that Elizabeth would have a child, John the Baptist.
In the familiar Epiphany story of the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus, we hear of the giving of three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gift of frankincense acknowledges the divinity of the Christ-child, just as the gold acknowledges his kingship and the myrrh recognises the significance of the death that he will suffer for us.
But as well as indicating the presence of God, incense has long been regarded as a symbol of our prayers, rising with the smoke to heaven. So it is that in the Book of Revelation, we see a reference to “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8).
So, in Christian worship, we continue the use of incense to acknowledge the presence of the God, and to offer our prayers in ceremonial and physical ways as well as in words.
So, in the Mass, incense is used at the beginning of Mass, as we recognise that we are gathering in God’s presence. The altar is censed as the place where Christ will become present in the sacrament. We use incense at the reading of the gospel, as we recognise that in hearing the words of Jesus we are hearing the words of God come among us. At the offertory, we cense the offerings of bread and wine, as
these are set apart for divine use. The priest is censed, recognising the particular gift given to him at ordination to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, and the people are censed, recognising that they are the holy people of God, gathered for worship.
During the Eucharistic Prayer, through which Christ comes among us in the sacrament, the priest elevates both the host and the chalice of wine after he has prayed over them, and incense is used then to acknowledge that Christ is indeed present in the sacrament.
Bells are also used as a means of indicating Christ’s presence. Traditionally in the Mass, bells are rung at the epiclesis, the point in the Eucharistic Prayer where the Holy Spirit is invoked over the bread and the wine as the priest prays that the elements may become the body and blood of Christ. They are rung as the priest elevates the host and the chalice, letting the people know that Christ is indeed present in the sacrament. We might also ring the main bells of the church as well as the small ones inside, so that we proclaim to the people around us that Christ is present in his church, and we certainly do that at S. Luke’s and S. Saviour’s. Finally, the bells are rung as the priest receives from the chalice, indicating to the people that the action of the Mass is complete. From that point, those who are able to receive communion and wish to do so may come forward to the altar rail.
The use of the bells is intended to draw people’s attention to the presence of Christ in the sacrament. On hearing them, we are called to pay attention to Christ present with us, to be attentive in our adoration and in our prayer. Perhaps next time we hear the bells during Mass we might strive to pay Our Lord closer attention as we honour his presence among us.
The use of these things in the ceremonies of the church is often thought of as a matter of aesthetic preference – people assume we do these things because we think they’re nice or simply because we like them. But there are in fact several reasons for their use. We believe that they help to speak of the truth of what we are doing – they call us to recognise the true and objective presence of Christ in the sacrament. They remind us that ours is an incarnational faith: just as God assumed true flesh and blood when he came among us in the person of Jesus Christ, so we are called to use our bodies and senses in worship. So we use the senses of smell and sound in our worship. And related to that is the recognition that non-verbal elements in our worship can convey a great deal that words often fail to convey. I have known people with learning difficulties be extremely enthusiastic about the use of all sorts of ceremonial things in worship, because they could engage with them in a way that they could not engage with lots of words. So, let’s give thanks for the use of these elements in our worship, and pray that they help us all engage with worship more fruitfully.
Fr Dexter
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Vol 35 No.08 / AUGUST
2016
First and foremost, I must emphasise the honour and privilege to receive Holy Communion and being able to assist at God’s altar.
I would like to share with you my early experiences as a Server.
Father Royle let me loose as a Boat Boy at S. Mark’s when I was about 4½ years old. This duty was enjoyable and I continued until being too old for Boat Boy. Canon Cratchley allowed me to join the choir, which I admit I did not enjoy so much, as I am not a musical person, although I can remember serving at weekday low masses.
I decided to leave the choir and, as I was living locally to S. Luke’s, I attended masses there for a number of years, where I was prepared for Confirmation by Father Lowe and was subsequently confirmed by the Bishop of Malmesbury in 1956. When my parents returned to Swindon, my mother became a member of S. Mark’s congregation and I joined her. I soon returned to altar serving when Father Hawkins was vicar and, with help and advice given by other experienced servers, I started as an acolyte, to thurifer and then as a Master of Ceremonies (MC). I believe it is important that servers have knowledge of all roles, which is why I do endeavour to vary their duties of serving, so they can always take on other tasks should the occasion arise.
As I stated previously, I cannot stress enough the importance of the privilege servers are given to assist at the altar and at all times whilst in procession and at the altar; being dignified, keeping your hands joined or clasped, bowing and genuflecting with care, and not rushing. It is also advantageous if servers familiarise themselves with vestments and sacred vessels. At some time or other servers can make mistakes - we are only human - but errors may not be noticed by the congregation; if they are I feel our Lord would not be concerned too much.
In 1983 I was invited to administer the chalice, which I feel is the greatest honour and privilege a lay person can achieve. I gave this much thought and prayer, and felt very honoured to be allowed to assist the priest with holy communion, and to this day I still feel great joy to undertake this duty.
One final note I would like to make is that an MC should not be too fussy and overpowering at the altar; he should take guidance from the priest, as the other servers take guidance from the MC.
John K M Stoddard
The Experience of an Altar Server
John Stoddard as a young boy, in his cassock and cotta
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Goa Anglican Centre News Savita Rao and the Mango Tree Trust
We have been praying for Savita Rao amongst those who work to bring relief to the poor and the suffering for many years. Savita is the director of the Mango Tree trust, based in Mapusa. We have never worked with the trust as they are not accepting volunteers but they are good friends of ours and we meet to support one another and to share best practice. Our partner organisation, Prutha Goa (www.pruthagoa.com), featured an article about the trust written by Savita herself. I include it to inform your prayers about an amazing person and a great charity.
Ripe with Hope: The Mango Tree Trust
Helping disadvantaged children to bloom and blossom is at the heart and soul of The Mango Tree Trust. The Trust is based at Mango House, Karaswada in Goa. It works with around a hundred and sixty children and families living in the slums around Karaswada as well as local children in need. The main objective of the Mango Tree is to help children to access school and to support and encourage them to remain there.
The Trust hopes to help keep children away from child labour and to ensure they enjoy a safe and sound childhood by working with parents, who themselves are
often uneducated. This is accomplished by providing the parents with counselling sessions about the importance of allowing their children to gain an education.
Recently the Trust, headed by Miss Savita Rao, the managing trustee, took another successful step by opening a pre-primary school on their very own campus at Mango House. The fine inaugural function was held in June 2013. The pre-primary school has a total of three classrooms (nursery, lower and upper) and had approximately sixty students enrolled for the last academic year, 2013-14. School bags, raincoats, uniforms and other items required at school were distributed to the children registered at the Trust.
The school campus also holds afternoon tutorial classes for seventy five students studying in standard I to standard VIII. Here they spend time revising their class work and focussing on any areas of difficulty. The Trust also supports another twenty five older children in the slum. In addition to directly supporting education, The Mango Tree also provides a meal and fruit every day from Monday to Friday and medical support for each and every child registered with them.
The Trust aims to ensure that the children it supports have a healthy childhood coupled with the benefit of a good education. Its efforts are aimed at preventing children from dropping out of school and thereby helping to break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty. The Trust plans to continue its support and looks forward to seeing the children reach their full potential and become positive contributors to the society in which we live.
Monday: People in need in Satari and Sanguem regions, for the faithful departed and for all who are isolated or lonely.
Tuesday: People in need in Quepem and Canacona regions and for peace between India and her neighbours.
Wednesday: People in need in Mormugao region, for all visitors to Goa and for those who live and work at the Goa Anglican Centre.
Thursday: People in need in Salcete region, for the unity of the church and for all visitors to the Goa Anglican Centre.
Friday: People in need in Bicholim region, for all who are hungry and starving and for the homeless.
Saturday: People in need in Tiswade region and for all prisoners and those who are falsely accused.
Sunday: People in need in Bardez region and that the churches in Goa may be an effective witness to God's love.
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This month, we look at the path to discernment taken by Fr. Chris Phillips, currently starting his first incumbency in Willesden, North London. It is a reminder that we must all follow our own path towards God and that there is no one size fits all approach to vocation.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the process of vocational discernment in the Church is the need to repeat one’s own “journey” to almost everyone involved. Right through to ordination itself, it’s usually the first thing anyone wants to know about. After ordination and the first few months as a curate, interest in the story seems to die down a little bit, but every now and then somebody asks.
I have recently moved to take up my first incumbency, swapping the rolling hills, fresh air and relative affluence of Ilkley in West Yorkshire for the challenges of a deprived and very diverse area of North-West London. Attending my first Deanery Chapter meeting I was asked to give, once more, the story of how God brought me to Brent. The story gets longer as the years pass, but I tried then as I try here, to be brief.
Born into a churchgoing family in Kent, I suppose I’m one of a dying breed of “cradle Anglicans”. Moving to a village between Ely and Cambridge as a small child, I spent my earlier childhood at school a stone’s throw from the amazing Ely Cathedral. Attending school services there twice a week, I would look up at the nave ceiling and wonder. At the age of twelve, we moved to Chelmsford where my father (a diocesan secretary) had a new post. Our family worshipped at the Cathedral and, as a server, I found the community a welcome retreat from the trauma of having swapped the idyllic surroundings of a rural prep school for the academic rigour of an Essex Grammar. I had begun to feel that God might be calling me to serve as a priest when I first began serving at school Eucharists in the tiny chapel in the Cathedral Close in Ely, and this feeling strengthened as my involvement in Chelmsford grew deeper. Of course, I was told to go to university and get a “proper job” first and so off I went to Durham where, after a few years of relative distance from the Church, and having graduated, married and started a family, we began regular worship at the Cathedral there. Becoming involved in the serving team in Durham was a great privilege, and gave me an opportunity to be involved in all manner of liturgical events. Some of the most powerful experiences of worship I have had were in Durham, and the importance placed on worship “in the beauty of holiness” - attention to detail, and of excellence in liturgy and music - profoundly shaped my sense of vocation.
It was in Durham that I first sought to explore my vocation to the priesthood formally, first through
discussion with one of the Canons, and later with the Director of Ordinands. Having been sponsored by the Bishop of Jarrow, and emerging from the assessment process with a recommendation to train, the family and I moved to Oxford where I was lucky enough to read for the BA in Theology, taking a particular interest in patristics and in the Oxford Movement. It was through placements at St Mary Magdalen and St Barnabas, Jericho that I first experienced Anglo-Catholic parish life, and I realised that God might be calling me to serve in such a context.
After three years, the family and I returned to the North of England for me to serve my title at St Margaret’s, Ilkley. The adjustment to ordained life, with its many joys and challenges, was made easier by the warmth and love of the people I served. I shall always remember my first Mass, the first occasional offices, and the first time I was called to a hospital bedside in the early hours of the morning. It is not always easy being an assistant curate: there are many complex relationships to negotiate, not to mention the delights of IMT (Initial Ministerial Training)! But God is faithful, and after three years I felt ready for the next challenge. Having spent over a decade living in the North of England, it felt right to return to our roots in the south. I had joined the Society of the Holy Cross during my curacy, and so inspired by the example of its founders and with the benefit of my previous professional experience, I found myself drawn to serve amongst the diversity of North London.
And so it was that at the beginning of September, a new chapter in our lives was opened as I became the Vicar of St Mary’s, Willesden. St Mary’s is the ancient mother Church of this part of London, and has been a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The original black Madonna was burned during the Reformation, but in the 1970s a new image was installed in the shrine chapel, and the annual pilgrimage draws many people from the local community and from further afield.
There is much more that could be written about St Mary’s, and about the huge learning curve that is becoming an incumbent for the first time, but that is a story for another time. Suffice to say that the family and I are immensely grateful for the prayers and support of so many people over the years. We feel so lucky to be here, and among the vibrant community we serve.
May our Lady of Willesden pray for you and for us all, as we continue our journey towards her Son.
Fr. Chris Phillips
Making the Journey
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February is a cold month. The come-down from Christmas is in full swing, the New Year’s Resolutions have been abandoned, the nights are still long. This is a slow but sure path that we need to navigate every year.
In this month’s main article, Fr. Chris Phillips talks about his journey to discernment and his route to his priestly vocation. All of us have some sort of vocation; we all need to follow our own path to God. And these paths are as many and varied as we are.
For some people this seems to be an easy journey, with an unshakable faith that only seems to deepen throughout life. Everyone knows someone like this, and their unwavering devotion can be equally inspiring and infuriating, sometimes both at the same time! My adopted Grandma Mary (adopted by me, following the death of my own Grandma) was one of these characters. She had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the faith; had been a headteacher/missionary to India in her youth; married a wonderful, gentle and faithful priest; and was always ready to remind a headstrong teenager that “God will sort it all out”. I’m fairly sure that her wisdom was not only due to age, though I’m sure that helps, but rooted in the deep anchor of her faith throughout her life. These people are magnificent, and certainly to be envied! If you are one such person then go, just as she did, and inspire many more!
Others of us will have a more complicated journey. Our relationship with God is like all our relationships. Sometimes it is fractious and fraught, and sometimes neglected and cool, sometimes it seems to hit its stride. Like all relationships, with the passing of time it’s easy
to fall into a bit of a rut—doing the same things we always do because we have always done them, but without really engaging.
God offers us unconditional love and yet it can be easy to forget this, or even to turn our back on it completely. Re-evaluating our relationship with God may be a painful process. Admitting that we have turned away from Him is difficult, but even harder I think, is admitting that we are taking Him for granted: that we are participating in the Mass without engaging. It can be hard to re-energise as a Christian and realise that a life of saying prayers by rote is just dragging us down, not deepening our faith, but destroying it.
February is a cold month. In many ways, the hardest to get through in the year. If your relationship with God is undergoing its own cold February, think about what you might do to get it back on track.
We all have our own paths to God, and they are as many and varied as we are. None are more valid than any other. God is always waiting for us, with open arms.
Alex Ward
That February Feeling
Vol 36 No.02 / FEBRUARY 2017
Christian Life
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Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. It falls on February 2nd, which is traditionally the 40th day of the Christmas-Epiphany season.
The Feast of the Presentation is one of the oldest feasts of the Christian church, celebrated since the 4th century AD in Jerusalem. It is described in the Gospel of Luke:
(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Luke 2.23-24
According to the gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days (inclusive) after his birth to complete Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth, and to perform the redemption of the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15). Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people (those who could not afford a lamb; sacrificing “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Leviticus 12.1-4 indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, hence the Presentation is celebrated forty days after Christmas.
Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon. The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that “he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2.26). Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace; according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: to be a light to lighten the gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel (Luke 2.29-32).
Simeon then prophesied to Mary: “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2.34-35).
The elderly prophetess Anna was also in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there of His importance to redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2.36-38).
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the presentation of Jesus at the Temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante (“Meeting” in Greek).
In some liturgical churches, Vespers (or Compline) on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season. In the Church of England, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a Principal Feast, celebrated either on 2nd February or on the Sunday between 28th January and 3rd February. In the Catholic tradition, the Presentation is the
fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.
In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church, the episode was also reflected in the once-prevalent custom of churching new mothers forty days after the birth of a child.
Traditionally, the Western term “Candlemas” (or Candle Mass) referred to the practice whereby a priest on 2nd February blessed beeswax candles for use throughout the year, some of which were distributed to the faithful for use in the home.
While it is customary for Christians in some countries to remove their Christmas decorations on Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve), those in other Christian countries historically remove them on Candlemas.
On Candlemas many Christians also bring their candles to their local church, where they are blessed and then used for the rest of the year. In Poland the feast is called “Świȩto Matki Bożej Gromnicznej” (Feast of Our Lady of Thunder candles). This name refers to the candles that are blessed on this day, called gromnice, since these candles are lit during (thunder) storms and placed in windows to ward off storms.
The feast never falls in Lent; the earliest that Ash Wednesday can fall is 4th February, for the case of Easter on 22nd March in a non-leap year. However, in the Tridentine rite, it can fall in the pre-Lenten season if Easter is early enough, and “Alleluia” has to be omitted from this feast’s liturgy when that happens.
According to over eight centuries of tradition, the swaddling clothes that baby Jesus wore during the presentation at the Temple are kept in Dubrovnik Cathedral, Croatia.
Source: Wikipedia
Candlemas (the Christian Festival of Light)
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Thank you so much to everyone in the Parish for the donation of £150—to Mothers’ Union’s international work.
Mothers’ Union works on a range of programmes and projects overseas, which all aim to help communities become self-sufficient: in financial education, on literacy, and parenting.
Thank you Lord, for the 90th birthday of our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II. Mothers’ Union members from around the world also celebrating their 90th birthday were invited to send in their photographs, which were then incorporated into the card presented to Her Majesty, on behalf of us all. Mothers’ Union received a card from Her Majesty: ‘As your Patron, I send my sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to Mothers’ Union over the years, and I send my best wishes for the continuing success of a charity that has given hope and strength to so many. Elizabeth R’
Thank you Lord for the surprise visit of our grandson; he lives in America. He was on a school European trip, night-stopping in Swindon. It was supposed to be a secret for Roy and myself, but we were told by his sister…. so of course we were waiting for Terry, all 6ft 5in of him, outside the hotel. We took him home and spent a few hours talking, before we took him to the hotel, for an early start next day….. lovely!
Thank you Lord for being our main guest at our 140th Anniversary Service, held at Winchester Cathedral. The Most Revd and Right Hon the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury gave the sermon.
‘Life-giving God we give you thanks for the Mothers’ Union, for its dedication and faithful witness to Jesus Christ across the world. Bless all its members in your mission through the years to come.’
Thank you Lord for the first time at our November branch meeting, Mothers’ Union members took part in a global service: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. We stood for 2 minutes in silence, offering our own prayers.
The Mothers’ Union, in so many places, is an organisation that listens to the voices of weeping, whether it is in conflict-torn countries across Africa, or in homes in England where, when the local football team loses, there is a 50% increase in domestic violence. It is the Mothers’ Union that exists to speak of these things that God has provided, that bring hope, help and a future.
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2.7
Thank you Lord for the friendship I shared with Greg Giles and Tony Probert; I miss them both.
‘They lie in silence and hope’. God Bless.
Barbara Allen Swindon Deanery’s Action and Outreach Coordinator
A Belated Welcome to Philip
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead.” James 2.7
Thank You Lord…...
Since the autumn of last year, S. Mark’s has had the services of a new Director of Music, Philip Burnett, who is now working with the choir, choosing music and conducting rehearsals and playing on some Sundays. Philip makes the journey to us from Oxford, and we are grateful to him for his commitment to being with us. I should really have announced his appointment last year, and I’m sorry that I haven’t done so before now—it’s not that we don’t want you, Philip!
I know that members of the choir are enjoying having
Philip working with them, and those who attended the Advent and Christmas carol services will have heard the results of his working with them. We look forward to hearing more good music-making during the course of this year.
However, due to other commitments, Philip cannot be with us every Sunday, so we are currently seeking someone to job share with him, and one or two possible candidates are in the pipeline, so look out for a further announcement in due course.
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This group was started by Amy at the beginning of last year, and although, regrettably, it has not always been very well attended, it has always been a varied and much enjoyable experience.
Amy did a great deal of work to source and book a diverse number of organisations to come along and tell us about their particular passions. The evenings would always begin with a presentation from a member of the group, followed by questions and answers and then rounded off with coffee and home-made cake. This would also give a further opportunity to chat with the speaker. Each member of the parish would make a small financial contribution so that the speaker could go away with a donation towards their work.
During the year, we learnt about the work of Restore, the Harbour Project, the Church Missionary Society and the Goa Anglican Society. We were treated to a fascinating talk about the art of Beekeeping, the life and habits of endangered Orangutans (how cute were those babies!), the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust, as well as those who work
hard to find homes for abandoned dogs, and another group who use dogs to sniff out potential cancer sufferers when no obvious signs of the disease can be detected by us humans! We met Hugh and Debbie Skeil once again as they updated us on their work in India and at the beginning of the year Amy talked about the developing work which she had taken on founding the Carriage Foundation. She brought about the charitable status of the group and has produced a magazine to spread the valuable work which is currently underway to foster interest in and preservation of many historic carriages. At the end of the year, she presented an update of progress through 2016 with slides of the various personalities and events which had taken place.
We ended with a relaxed evening of wine and nibbles and offered our appreciation for the chance to meet in a social atmosphere and to enjoy learning about the many activities which people in our local community undertake for the benefit of those around them. Thank you very much Amy; we look forward to meeting again later in the New Year, when you have had the chance to recover!
Parish Social Group News
In a previous edition of InSpire, I happened to comment on the casual style of dress adopted by many attending Sunday Mass, especially noticeable at festivals such as Easter - the demise of the Easter Bonnet, for instance! I also said it was increasingly difficult for us, as men, as we seemed to lack role models. I also asked the question - when did you last see a Churchwarden wearing a suit and tie - or, for that matter, a sidesman!
Unfortunately this question seemed to upset some people as I was accosted in the town by an irate parishioner who accused me of being nasty to our wonderful wardens, when, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. However, the question remains.
Fortunately, readers will be pleased to know that I managed to expedite myself before she resorted to physical violence!
So, let me answer the question. If you were in the congregation when the Bishop of Ebbsfleet came to the Parish Church to preach, to baptize, to confirm, to celebrate Mass and to talk with us over a buffet supper, you would have seen two of our Churchwardens immaculately turned out, both wearing a smart suit, a crisp shirt and a well-chosen tie; a credit to themselves and to the office which they hold. But, of course, many of
our parishioners would not have seen this, because they chose to stay away which was a great pity. After all our Bishop made a great effort to visit us, so maybe, as a Parish, we should have made more of an effort to visit him!
But what, you may ask, of the third man? After all, we have three Churchwardens. He was there, of course, to greet Bishop Jonathan (but tieless!!) Let me explain, you see, that this Warden is different to the other two because, as well as being a most conscientious Warden he is also a campanologist (perfectly legal) as he is a valued member of St Mark’s team of ringers. For more information refer to “The ringer’s handbook” - revised edition 1996! Just imagine a man’s tie becoming entangled in his rope and being unceremoniously hoisted aloft into the belfry!
As you can clearly see, there is a good reason for everything. This ruling does not apply to those who ring a single bell as these are simply referred to as “pullers”.
Tony Probert (1938-2016)
Thank you Tony, for these final thoughts; you will be sadly missed
Final Idle Thoughts A Tribute to Tony Probert
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Reflections on the weekday readings in the Eucharist.
For those who can and those who cannot be present,
it is helpful to read through the appointed passages yourself.
FEBRUARY 13TH—FEBRUARY 18TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Genesis 4:1-15,25 Mark 8:11-13
TUESDAY Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5,10 Mark 8:14-21
WEDNESDAY Genesis 8:6-13,20-22 Mark 8:22-26
THURSDAY Genesis 9:1-13 Mark 8:27-33
FRIDAY Genesis 11:1-9 Mark 8:34—9:1
SATURDAY Hebrews 11:1-7 Mark 9:2-13
Prayer Point: Lord, when we are faced with rejection, hardship or overwhelming difficulties, help us to face them with the same steadfastness of spirit demonstrated by Mary. Amen
FEBRUARY 6TH—FEBRUARY 11TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Genesis 1:1-19 Mark 6:53-56
TUESDAY Genesis 1:20—2:4 Mark 7:1-13
WEDNESDAY Genesis 2:4-9,15-17 Mark 7:14-23
THURSDAY Genesis 2:18-25 Mark 7:24-30
FRIDAY Genesis 3:1-8 Mark 7:31-37
SATURDAY Genesis 3:9-24 Mark 8:1-10
Prayer Point: Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Amen. St Teresa of Avila.
Reflections on the weekday readings in the Eucharist.
For those who can and those who cannot be present,
it is helpful to read through the appointed passages yourself.
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FEBRUARY 20TH—FEBRUARY 25TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 Mark 9:14-29
TUESDAY Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 Mark 9:30-37
WEDNESDAY : THE CHAIR OF S. PETER
1 Peter 5:1-4 Matthew 16:13-19
THURSDAY Ecclesiasticus 5:1-18 Mark 9:41-50
FRIDAY Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17 Mark 10:1-12
SATURDAY Ecclesiasticus 17:1-15 Mark 10:13-16
Prayer Point: Lord Jesus, help us to recognise your presence with us in all the events of our lives and to sense your healing touch. Amen
FEBRUARY 27TH—MARCH 4TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Ecclesiasticus 17:24-29 Mark 10:17-27
TUESDAY Ecclesiasticus 35:1-12 Mark 10:28-31
ASH WEDNESDAY
Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
THURSDAY Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Luke 9:22-25
FRIDAY Isaiah 58:1-9 Matthew 9:14-15
SATURDAY Isaiah 58:9-14 Luke 5:27-32
Prayer Point: Lord, as we journey through this season of Lent, help us to have eyes to see and ears to hear those things that you long for us to learn, lessons that draw us to live the life to which we are called by Christ. Amen
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News from the Diocese of Bristol
The Bishop of Swindon, the Rt Revd Lee Rayfield, reflects on a nut which our Archbishops are once again trying to help churches crack.
In his address to Diocesan Synod in December, Matthew Frost asked us what one thing we might do as a diocese to best equip Christians to be disciples in every sphere of life, not just in church life. My instinctive response was to inscribe a tattoo on the forearm of every church member - lay on the arms of the ordained, priest on everyone else! You may think this is crazy but the reality is that we have struggled for decades to overcome the sacred/secular compartmentalisation of most Christian discipleship.
The need for Christians to see themselves as priests in the workplace was spelled out 70 years ago, in Towards the Conversion of England. Dorothy Sayers, the novelist and playwright, flagged up the importance of all Christians recognising their vocation within secular life. She argued that if Christians behaved as though 90% of their life was irrelevant to their faith, why would anyone be interested in belonging to a church?!
The Archbishops’ Task Force on Lay Leadership, of which Matthew Frost is a member, has recently identified four obstacles to the whole people of God
finding their vocation as disciples and Christian leaders in the whole of life. our culture. There is inadequate theology and vision, a weak lay voice which is not being heard or acted upon, unhealthy relationships between clergy and lay people and, lastly, a lack of resources and support.
There is no proverbial silver bullet for the Church of England. Matthew Frost highlighted two critical shifts needed to release the ministry of the whole people of God. The first is for lay and ordained people to work together so that lay people are confident to follow Jesus and live out the gospel in every sphere of life. The second is for lay and ordained people to be convinced they are equal partners in mission – complementary in gifting and vocation, mutually accountable in discipleship, and of equal worth and status.
So many words – what might churches do now to begin to clothe them with flesh? How about a 7 minute slot in every service where a member of the congregation shares what it means for them to give a lead as a follower of Jesus from Monday to Saturday? God on Monday has a nice ring to it…
Mobilising our Front-Line
Bishop of Bristol Announces Retirement The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Mike Hill, has announced his retirement with effect from 30 September 2017.
Bishop Mike, who has been in the post since 2003, will end his time at the Diocese with a special service at Bristol Cathedral.
Bishop Mike said that he had made the decision after he and his wife, Anthea, had decided that the timing was right for him to retire.
He said: “I have loved my time in this Diocese and there are many people I shall deeply miss. Working with colleagues, both lay and ordained has been a privilege and a gift.
“There will be many opportunities between now and 30 September to say more, but my overwhelming sense is a deep gratitude for the privilege of serving amongst you all. Please pray for Anthea and me as we prepare for this next phase of our lives.”
Bishop Mike’s final service will be at Bristol Cathedral on Saturday 23 September at 3.30pm. More details will be released nearer the time.
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This edition, parish secretary Karen talks about her favourite hymn.
“This hymn has been a favourite since I was a small girl. One can’t help but be swept up in its unbounded joy, promise and celebration. It helps to remind me that, in all things, no matter what, first and foremost ‘To God be the Glory’!”
Over the course of her more than 90 years of life, Frances (Fanny) Jane Crosby composed more than 8,000 texts, including this one. This prodigious output is made more remarkable still with the realisation that Crosby was totally blind from the age of six years.
“To God be the Glory” is well-recognised as a wonderful hymn of praise and adoration of God. Written and first published in 1875, it was used by Ira Sankey in his song books.
Several aspects of this composition set it forth not only as a hymn of praise, but also as a hymn of grace. From the outset, it is clear that Fanny Crosby ascribes all credit to God for His work, with no role for man’s efforts in God’s great plan. In the first stanza, it is Jesus alone who opens the lifegate of salvation, so that all have the opportunity to be saved. This is a clear message of grace, in contrast to the idea that man must prove his worth before eternal life is granted.
However, it is in the second stanza that Crosby most clearly sets forth the conditions for entrance through this gate—faith, and faith alone. Note that redemption is promised to “every believer” (cf. John 3:16), and that regardless of the magnitude of one’s sins, even “the vilest offender” who puts his or her faith in Christ, such as the criminal crucified with Christ (Luke 23:43) or Saul of Tarsus (I Tim 1.15), will immediately receive pardon from Jesus. The third stanza and chorus continue to
bring this point of grace home, proclaiming that it is God who has done great things, and the One to whom praise and adoration belong. As is evident here, as well as in her other hymns, Fanny Crosby was a great woman of God who clearly understood the importance of God’s marvellous grace in salvation.
The tune to which this hymn is set was composed by William H. Doane (1832-1915), a frequent collaborator with Ms Crosby in the production of spiritual songs. In his lifetime Doane composed more than 2,000 tunes, many of which are still in common use today.
As with other classic hymns and gospel songs from the pen of Fanny Crosby, “To God be the Glory” is a marvellous expression of praise to God for His wondrous works. However, this song also gives special place to the Free Grace position—that salvation is provided as a gift from God to everyone who will place his or her faith in Christ, regardless of one’s sins before or after conversion. The act of love on the cross which made this possible is truly reason to “Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!”
Let us indeed rejoice in our salvation provided so freely by Christ Jesus!
Source: Keith W. Ward Scientist
faithalone.org
My Favourite Hymn—To God be the Glory
To God be the glory, great things He hath done; So loved He the world that He gave us his Son, Who yielded His life, an atonement for sin, And opened the lifegate, that all may go in.
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, To every believer, the promise of God; The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; But purer, and higher, and greater will be Our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see!
Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He hath done!
- Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915)
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A child, wrapped-up warmly for the cold, plays in the park as her mother watches on. The surrounding roads provide their familiar hum as cars pass through a community woven together by homes and family-run businesses. At its centre, quite unnoticeably, is the home of Swindon’s dedicated charity for asylum seekers and refugees, The Harbour Project.
Inside, eyes and ears have witnessed a lot over the past twelve months. Events have provided sobering evidence of how reactionary politics unsettles society: perhaps even tearing at the fabric of trust. Harbour provides a home for those who have witnessed their villages, towns and cities being ripped violently at the seams. This year, it’s calling for even closer community ties as it prepares for what’s next.
New Year is always a good time to re-examine objectives. At Harbour, these are straightforward. The staff, trustees and volunteers are committed to relieving hardship and distress, preserving the physical and mental wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees, and enabling their integration into wider society. It’s about giving friendship, advice and hope for a new future. There’s also quite a bit of planning in progress. With the much-needed support of the Town Council, corporate and individual donors, the charity is working to ensure that its limited resources continue to meet the most important needs: those of its users.
Those using the Harbour have sacrificed their homes, lives and futures due to a fear of persecution. The Geneva Convention of 1951 provides refugee status to anyone who has a well-founded fear of persecution ‘for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’ and who is, due to their fear, unwilling or unable to seek protection from the country of their nationality. But before a person is a refugee, they are an asylum seeker.
Harbour’s is one of the few voices able to tell the day to day story of what it means to live through asylum-seeking in Britain. It’s tough enough to live on £35 a week for countless months, without the freedom to work or study, while awaiting a court decision. But a seeming rise of migrant resentment has trickled deeper into society than many may realise. Consider, for example, the new Immigration Act 2016.
While campaigners and NGOs succeeded at improving some of the rules in the Act–notably the amount of time a person can spend in detention centres–one of the most
worrying developments is the stigma given to those who arrive seeking safety: a label of guilt.
When the Secretary of State reveals her regulations around the new law, Harbour’s visitors will be, in legal terms, placed on ‘Immigration Bail’—unsettling terminology, given that claiming asylum isn’t a crime, regardless of how a person enters a country.
At Harbour, everyone grows more concerned about what this, along with further more material changes in the law, will mean for the future. The climate calls for a plan and continued support from its volunteers and donors.
Through greater engagement, Harbour is connecting minds and sharing ownership of the big problems. But while recognising the global refugee crisis, it’s important to reaffirm that small actions can combine to create positive change. It’s important that the history books tell a story of asylum seekers and refugees not just surviving, but thriving in our communities.
The Harbour Project knows that time can stand still for those who are stuck in the asylum-seeking process. However, the child, who continues to play in the park, is always growing. For now, she’ll grow unaware of the labels carried by the subconscious of society. But one day, she’ll learn about what happened when people tried to help those who were stuck in persecution-driven homelessness.
The charity encourages everyone to approach it with opportunities for building closer ties. If you can, please give your time or a regular donation to Harbour. £2 a month provides a cup of tea and a friendly face for visitors, £10 a month facilitates English lessons, £20 enables access to legal advice. Visit harbourproject.org.uk for details. If you’d like to find out more about Harbour’s activities in 2017, please contact [email protected] to receive a quarterly newsletter.
Richard Cox, Harbour Project
When Waiting is Never a Game
The Harbour Team
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The Grounded Great Western Hospital Flying Doctor
I really did chase the carrot, running a lot of the way.
I have the certificate and medal to prove it, and, what is more important, thanks to your help, I managed to raise £659.39 for the Radiotherapy Appeal. I am really proud of this as we were only asked to try for £50.
And, you will be glad to know, this time I really did have to earn the money! It was an absolutely lovely day, very cold, my nose ran faster than I did and, with a heavy frost, when
the sun came up, Coate Water looked stunning. Another plus, as I would never have been there normally. It was also great fun, as over 700 people were signed up to do the run.
Everyone dressed up and wore their antlers, and I think they all brought their friends, relations and dogs. Including me, as a friend came with me, bringing his dog Pirate, who had a whale of a time and was very proud of the medal he earned.
Running 5 kilometres was a much harder way of raising money than getting myself thrown out of a plane at 10,000 ft, which is why I am full of admiration for people who run marathons for charity.
This is what our very own architect Calvin Weaver is doing for the Radiotherapy Appeal. He has a place on the 2017 London Marathon, earning one of the much-coveted 50,000 places on only his second attempt. A total of 253,930 people entered this year’s ballot, so that is really something.
Having already owned up to my great age, I can afford to boast that one of my friends took part in the very first London Marathon back in 1981. A prosperous young city banker, it was probably for a bet, or an excuse for consuming vast quantities of pasta, the only training he appeared to us to do.
Calvin’s approach is quite different. He only started running 3 years ago, as he had to get up early to do a paper round (his daughter’s actually, but she had chickened out). Having joined Swindon Shin Splints, a running group which meets twice a week at the Sun Inn at Coate Water, he is now in hard training and running at least 20 miles a week.
Although (like me) Calvin has done 5k runs, he has also run 10k and half marathons, including the Chippenham one last year. His only marathon to date was also last year when, having been unsuccessful in the London ballot, he ran the Milton Keynes Marathon in 4 hours 40 minutes.
Like nearly everyone who does these daft things for charity, naming no names, Calvin has serious reasons for wanting to raise as much money for the Radiotherapy Appeal as possible. His father, who was a clergyman, another link for us, died of cancer three years ago and he has friends who have had to make that dreadful journey to Oxford for treatment. Calvin also knows a lot about the Brighter Futures charity, as his sister-in-law is one of the fundraising team.
Lisa, who also runs with Swindon Shin Splints, has instituted herself as his campaign manager and I have volunteered to be her assistant and a sponsorship fund organiser—after all, as you know, I had a lot of experience getting money out of people last year.
The London Marathon is on 23rd April 2017. Calvin has a justgiving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/c-weaver
and I hope to organise sponsorship forms at the hospital. Even if you can’t afford to sponsor him, I thought that people in the parish might like to know what their architect does to help others in his spare time.
Just in case you can help Calvin in his effort to raise money to equip the Radiotherapy Unit at the Great Western Hospital, a very local charity, I will make sponsorship forms available at the back of the three churches.
Finally, just to prove that Santa Claus does visit children in hospital, a very large donation just before Christmas meant the appeal for money for the play area has already been closed, its target having been reached!
Jill Huby
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Events
February 2017 (with prayers from Christian Aid)
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Feria
2
Feria
3
S. Blaise
4
Our Lady
on Saturday
5
4th Sunday
before Lent
6
Ss Paul Miki
& Companions
7
Feria
8
Feria
9
Feria
10
S. Scholastica
11
Our Lady
of Lourdes
12
3rd Sunday
before Lent
13
Feria
14
S. Cyril and
Methodius
15
Feria
16
Feria
17
Feria
18
Our Lady
on Saturday
Interment of
Ashes
Tony Probert &
Greg Giles
12 noon
S. Mark’s
19
2nd Sunday
before Lent
20
Feria
21
Feria
22
The Chair
of Peter
23
S. Polycarp
24
Feria
25
Our Lady
on Saturday
26
Sunday Next
before Lent
Richard Lees
Goa Anglican
Centre,
S. Savour &
S. Luke
27
Feria
28
Feria
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Events
March 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
ASH
WEDNESDAY
Mass with
imposition
of ashes
9.30 am
S. Saviour
& S. Luke
7.30pm
S. Mark
2
Feria
3
Feria
4
Feria
5
1st Sunday
of Lent
6pm
Stations of the
Cross
6
Feria
Parish Social
Group
@ S. Mark’s
7.30 pm
7
Ss Perpetua
and Felicity
8
Feria
9
Feria
10
Feria
(Ember Day)
11
Feria
(Ember Day)
12
2nd Sunday
of Lent
6pm
Stations of the
Cross
13
Feria
14
Feria
15
Feria
16
Feria
17
S. Patrick
18
Feria
19
3rd Sunday
of Lent
6pm
Stations of the
Cross
20
S. Joseph
husband of
the BVM
21
Feria
22
Feria
23
Feria
24
Feria
25
Annunciation
of the Lord
Coffee Morning
@ S. Saviour’s
10 am
26
4th Sunday
of Lent
(Mothering
Sunday)
6pm
Stations of the
Cross
27
Feria
28
Feria
29
Feria
30
Feria
31
Feria
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Reflections on the weekday readings in the Eucharist.
For those who can and those who cannot be present,
it is helpful to read through the appointed passages yourself.
MARCH 13TH—MARCH 18TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Daniel 9:4-10 Luke 6:36-38
TUESDAY Isaiah 1:10,16-20 Matthew 23:1-12
WEDNESDAY Jeremiah 18:18-20 Matthew 20:17-28
THURSDAY Jeremiah 17:5-10 Luke 16:19-31
FRIDAY Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 Matthew 21:33-34,45-46
SATURDAY Micah 7:14-15,19-20 Luke 15:1-3,11-32
Prayer Point: Pour your grace into our hearts we pray, that we may be obedient to your commandments and offer love and compassion to those who are our neighbours. Amen
MARCH 6TH—MARCH 11TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18 Matthew 25:31-46
TUESDAY Isaiah 55:10-11 Matthew 6:7-15
WEDNESDAY Jonah 3:1-10 Luke 11:29-32
THURSDAY Esther 4:17 Matthew 7:7-12
FRIDAY Ezekiel 18:21-28 Matthew 5:20-26
SATURDAY Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Matthew 5:43-48
Prayer Point: Guard our hearts and our tongues, O Lord God, that all we do, think or say may be for the good of your Kingdom here on earth and not for our own exaltation or glory. Amen
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MARCH 20TH—MARCH 25TH
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY : S. JOSEPH
Spouse of the BVM
Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16
Romans 4:13,16-18,22
Matthew 1:16,18-21,24
TUESDAY Daniel 3:25,34-43 Matthew 18:21-35
WEDNESDAY Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9 Matthew 5:17-19
THURSDAY Jeremiah 7:23-28 Luke 11:14-23
FRIDAY Hosea 14:2-10 Mark 12:28-34
SATURDAY : THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD
Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-30
Prayer Point: Father God, have mercy on us when we make judgements about others without knowing the truth of a situation. Forgive us that we so readily see the sins of others whilst ignoring our own failings. Amen
MARCH 27TH—APRIL 1ST
1st Reading Gospel
MONDAY Isaiah 65:17-21 John 4:43-54
TUESDAY Ezekiel 47:1-9,12 John 5:1-3,5-16
WEDNESDAY Isaiah 49:8-15 John 5:17-30
THURSDAY Exodus 32:7-14 John 5:31-47
FRIDAY Wisdom 2:1,12-22 John 7:1-2,10,25-30
SATURDAY Jeremiah 11:18-20 John 7:40-52
Prayer Point: Help me to trust in your Word and in your unfailing goodness, Lord, and may I continue to grow in faith and show your love to those in need. Amen
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Swindon Uganda Deanery Link
Newsletter - Winter 2017
New Link between Swindon and Luweero Diocese
West Swindon Benefice, including Oliver Tompkins School, have formed a link with Katikamu Sebamala Primary School who they hope to learn from, encourage and support financially. There are already a couple of similar links in existence between St Francis Primary School and Bwaziba School and Haydon Wick Primary School and Balitta School, both supported by St John’s Haydon Wick. All 3 Ugandan schools are state funded primary schools which are in remote, rural areas and have good links with the Church of England. Primary education is state funded for all children in Uganda, but the funding each school receives is barely adequate and many children cannot afford the uniform and other equipment to allow them to attend regularly. By forming such links our hope is that we will better understand the challenges faced by Ugandans – and the resourceful ways they overcome them – as well as being able to pray, give and visit the link schools.
If your church or a local school would be interested in
forming a specific link with a named school or project
in Luweero or Kampala diocese please contact Sally
Katikamu Sebamala Primary School
News from Uganda
There is still a threat of famine affecting northern Uganda, where the population is also under pressure because of large numbers of refugees who continue to arrive from South Sudan.
Following below-average 2016 production, some poor households in the north–east had depleted household food stocks in December, three months earlier than normal. Close to this region, there are also over 600,000 refugees who have fled the fighting in neighbouring South Sudan and who need to be fed.
As far as we are aware, the impact on our link
dioceses is currently minimal, though we have heard
reports that it is no longer possible to keep chickens,
to supplement their normal diet, because it is not
possible to purchase food for them.
www.ugandanetworks.org
Visit to Uganda
On 11th February 7 people from Swindon deanery will be heading for Uganda to get to know our links there better. They will be spending 5 days in Kampala, staying with local families and visiting projects, for example in the Kampala slums and Uganda Christian University, then they will move north to stay in the diocesan guest house in Luweero to reconnect with our old friends there. Finally they will have the opportunity to relax at the beautiful Murchison Falls before returning on 26th February.
The 7 people going are:
Raymond – St John’s Haydon Wick Shellie – St John’s Haydon Wick Judith – All Saints Lydiard Millicent Jan – St Paul’s Dorcan Tony – St Paul’s Dorcan Judy – Christchurch Old Town Phil – St Andrew’s North Swindon They will be taking stationery for Bwaziba school donated by St Francis’ School Taw Hill.
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Giving
Various churches in the deanery send regular gifts to schools, hospitals and individuals in Uganda. This helps the
schools to plan and provides much needed support which the state does not provide. If your benefice would like
to link up with a school in Uganda, so that on-going support can be provided, please contact Sally Robertson.
Our Link diocese 1: Luweero Bishop: Rt Revd Eridard Nsubuga Diocesan Secretary: Revd Albert Senkeeto Parish development and Swindon Link officer: Revd Godfrey Kasana Mission statement: Enable people in Luweero diocese to attain sustaina-
ble and abundant livelihood based on Christian values.
Our link diocese 2: Kampala
Bishop: Rt Revd Hanington Mutebi Diocesand youth coordinatior and Swindon Link Officer Alex Abraham Bwambale Mission Statement: Proclaiming Christ, demonstrating His love teaching and equipping Christians and Churches for effective stewardship and mis-sion in Kampala.
Link Team Members Sally Robertson (chair) [email protected] or 01793 724219
Ed Poole and Mary Crichton (Deanery Synod Lay chairs); Jan and Tony Prichard (Dorcan); Chris Hawkes and Ray-mond Adams (Haydon Wick); Tudor Roberts (Lydiard Millicent) Daphne Hardwick and Steve Dumba (Old Town); Martina Lewis (Parks and Walcot)
Just a reminder………
Prayer points:
Please pray for
The 7 people visiting Uganda in February, for safety, good health, refreshment and a new perspective on their own lives and the lives of those we are linked with in Uganda.
The leaders and Christians within Luweero and Kampala dioceses, as they seek to share the good news of Christ with their neighbours and live out their own faith day by day
The worsening food crisis in the north of the country and especially that Christians further south would know how to respond with generosity and compassion
Teachers and pupils in state funded primary schools who seek to educate children with very few resources. The appointment of a new medical director for Kiwoko Hospital. The current director, who has been support-
ed by CMS Ireland, is leaving after 11 years and it is hoped to replace him with a Ugandan doctor.
News from Luweero Diocese:
The Ground breaking ceremony for the £1.5 million pension house project took place in August 2016. The vision is to build a complex of flats and a conference centre in Luweero town centre which will provide rental income to finance pensions for retired clergy.
Bishop Eridard has also launched an initiative to improve the welfare of working clergy. He is also keen to work with young people and encourage them into the church. There were great celebrations at Kiwoko Hospital, which is closely linked with the diocese, when it celebrated
its 25th birthday. The hospital began in one missionary’s front room and is now an extensive complex
including a training school for nurses.
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THE ANNUNCIATION In this article Joan Whyman, former Baptist minister and previous Editor of Christian Life magazine, considers her response to The Annunciation whilst preparing for a pilgrimage to Walsingham.
Earlier this year, as we prepared with three other parishes to make our annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, I was invited to present some introductory thoughts regarding Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
As I began to reflect, I recalled the impact that the BBC film, ‘The Nativity’ had made upon me. It had helped me to explore, in a deeper way, the impact of the sudden appearance of the Angel Gabriel and the ultimate consequences that his words would place upon Mary. The account of this event in St Luke’s Gospel tells us very little about her; that film, however, created a vivid picture of a young, carefree girl, happily betrothed to the man of her parents’ choosing and looking forward to her marriage with the full blessing of her parents. All was going to plan, just as the customs of their strictly observed Jewish faith and the prevailing culture demanded. I tried to imagine what this would mean: for Mary, for Joseph, for their parents, their family, friends and community. A girl, betrothed yet unmarried, announcing an unexpected and unwelcome pregnancy! Unthinkable! Such an event could only bring shame and ostracism.
Faced with the prospect of such humiliation I think my first words would have been a cry of: “Why? Why me?”
Instead, Mary simply asks ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
Many years ago, while preparing a service for
Advent, two young teenagers volunteered to portray this encounter through the medium of dance. I was a little dubious as to the appropriateness of their offering, but unwilling to quench their enthusiasm, I decided to let them go ahead. Both the congregation and I were overwhelmed by their youthful, insightful and sensitive portrayal of this encounter. They had captured, without words, Mary’s humility and gracious receptiveness in a way that those of us who are most worldly-wise often completely fail to grasp.
But at the heart of this pivotal moment in the life of Mary, and indeed for the history of the whole world, are her final words: ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’
Joyce Huggett, in her book, ‘Open to God,’ comments on Mary’s acceptance:
But the seed of the Son of God would not have been planted in Mary’s womb without her willingness and self-surrender. God does not force himself or his gifts
on anyone. He waited for her ‘Yes’… She was not asked to do anything, but let something be done to her. She was not asked to renounce anything, but to receive an incredible gift.
As we entered the Shrine at Walsingham and stood in silent prayer before the Altar of the Annunciation these fresh insights urged me to offer my simple but heartfelt ‘yes’ to all that God would reveal during that time of pilgrimage and in all the days to come.
Joan Whyman From Christian Life
Magazine by the Additional Curates’
Society
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Happy Birthday S. Saviour’s Brownie Pack!!!
The pack has recently celebrated its 70th Birthday. As I have been with the pack for 56 of these, I have seen many changes. Remember the little brown dresses which were too hot in Summer and too cold in Winter? The mix and match uniform we have now is so much more practical.
In the old days, Brownies had to carry, amongst other
things, a clean hanky and two old pennies for a telephone call. Today it is more likely to be a packet of tissues, a mobile phone and £5 to spend.
The meeting would consist of games and songs, tying knots, using your tie to make a sling and darning socks (who darns socks nowadays!?) Today you might find us doing science investigations or trying food from different countries and cultures.
Remember our little pennant we used for church parade? It was a great day when Hilary’s grandfather opened his lovely garden to the public and raised
enough to buy a proper flat!!
But what are the Brownies doing 70 years on?
Last term we did our
science investigation badge, celebrated the Queen’s birthday, the 150th year anniversary of Beatrix Potter and raised £320.20 for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
This term began with a celebration of the Paralympics, when Brownies found out how difficult races were if they were handicapped. This was followed by an evening of barn dancing to celebrate harvest. Then, in celebration of our 70th birthday, we did the Brownie Traditions badge, which was followed by a Harry Potter party, with apple bobbing and eating a doughnut without using their hands, everyone dressed up as characters from Harry Potter, and a fun time was had by all!
After half-term we have been invited by one of our Brownie’s parents to enjoy a camp fire, BBQ and sparklers in their lovely garden—hope it stays fine!! (Thanks to the Halletts for the invitation). We then have an evening to make poppies for Remembrance Sunday, two evenings of Brownies Got Talent (unfortunately Simon Cowell was not free to come!!), then two evenings of Christmas Craft. Our last evening of the term we hope to join the
Bath Road Brownies to sing carols round their tree.
All these things would not be possible without our wonderful team of leaders, who not only turn up each week, but spend hours of their own time in preparation, especially Hilary, who has been a leader for 26 years and before that was a Brownie herself. Jenny has been a leader for 10 years, Sarah for 5
years, and Alex became an adult leader on her 18th birthday, having been a Brownie in the pack. Seren is at present our young leader; she has finished her training and will become an adult leader early next year on her 18th birthday.
I hope you like the photos past and present. Maybe you will recognise yourself and friends in them.
S. Saviour’s Brownies are the greatest!!!
Milly Philpin
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Nursing in the 1940s The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital, Norwich
It can be very tempting to look back to “The Good Old Days” - especially when you reach your nineties - but there definitely are some ways in which things are now better than they used to be. In the middle of my training at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, I went with a group of others in my “Set” to the Jenny Lind to gain experience in nursing children. It was in a quiet residential area on the outskirts of the city—where it had moved in 1900—and seemed like a doll’s house after the large buildings we were used to, but it was a substantial Victorian town house in a good-sized plot, with various outbuildings.
Opera singer Jenny Lind (“The Swedish Nightingale”) was one of the best-known and well-loved entertainers in mid-19th century Europe. She gave concerts in Norwich in 1847 and 1849 and the money raised was
later earmarked for the purpose of an infirmary for sick children. When it opened in 1854, Norwich was only the second city in the country to have a children’s hospital (the first was London’s Great Ormond Street in 1852), and when I was posted there, there was a portrait and statuette of Jenny Lind on display in the entrance, together with concert programmes and newspaper cuttings.
By 1941, the Second World War had already lasted over two years, with rationing and restrictions, to say nothing of air raids and heavy loss of life, the threat of invasion, the blackout, and other inconveniences which affected everyone. There was no fruit available, except home-grown, so the special allowances of dried fruit at Christmas and Seville oranges in January for marmalade were very welcome. A three-year-old coeliac patient was occasionally able to have a few bananas through the kindness of the local RAF, who took a special interest in the children, and flew some in whenever they had been near a supply.
Hospital food was plain and unvarying: for the children it was mince, mashed potatoes, vegetables in season, steamed fish, and milk pudding—sometimes rice, but mostly semolina or barley flakes. They were often thin or malnourished when they were admitted, so they were given a routine teaspoonful of “toffee” (cod liver oil and malt) each day, which they enjoyed. The babies were given a drop of preparation called Syrup Minadex—promoted by the manufacturers as “A tonic and a treat”!
Visiting was restricted to once a week (presumably this was felt to be less upsetting for the children, and less disruptive for the staff). Very few little treats were available and everything the parents brought in had to be handed over to Sister, to be doled out later. Our patients were mainly an assortment of babies with feeding problems, and older children with fractures, abscesses, hernias, burns and scalds. Some of these were horrific: most homes had open fires and cookers which were
accidents waiting to happen, with kettles and saucepans easily pulled over; and candles were another hazard.
We had a steady stream of six– to eight-year-olds to have their tonsils and adenoids removed: this was almost a rite of passage, as it was thought to be a sovereign remedy for a range of ailments. We also admitted children who were acutely ill with mastoiditis following an ear infection, and this required major surgery on the bone behind the ear. (Thankfully, once Penicillin became generally available in the late 1940s, surgery was avoidable). And in those pre-penicillin days, we had frequent admissions of small children with convulsions as a result of high temperatures, fever and dehydration, for which there were very few drugs available. Treatment consisted of alternate cool or warm sponging, and fluids by mouth once the convulsions had eased. I particularly remember a small child with severe bronchitis who was treated in a steam tent—sheets draped over screens—with a long-spouted kettle, containing water and Friar’s Balsam, bubbling away on an oil stove. (We did not admit children with infectious diseases, as they were taken to the Isolation Hospital).
We also had a section of long-stay children with TB spines and hips, who were immobilised on plaster beds or splints. The only possibility of a cure then was complete rest and fresh air, so their cots and beds were pushed outside whenever the weather allowed, and the children must have been glad of a change of scene. They were bored and fretful. There was no radio, no education or entertainment provided for them, and no question of the nurses reading to them or playing with them, as we were fully occupied with our other duties, including: bottle-feeding babies; washing the patients; bedpans; carrying out a variety of treatments; cleaning and bed-making; preparing dressings (cotton wool and gauze) and packing them into drums for sterilising; and rolling bandages onto a wooden frame for re-use after washing. The children wore hospital clothes and these came back from the laundry mangled in more ways than one, with buttons and tapes missing and mysterious holes and tears, so there was always sewing and mending to be done.
Whatever the shortcomings of the NHS at present, the care and treatment of children in hospital has changed out of all recognition. There have been enormous advances in medical knowledge and the availability of drugs, and children who would not have survived in my nursing days now often go on to lead full lives. Parents and children today also owe a huge debt of gratitude to those enlightened reformers who pushed for unrestricted visiting and the provision of education and entertainment for long-stay patients.
Pat Lawrence
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Cubs finished the year with a Cub Scout Centenary party. It was held on Friday 16 December which was 100 years to the day. After much deliberation throughout the year, Swindon Ridgeway District went to Heelis, the National Trust HQ by the Outlet Village. St Saviour's leaders and cubs joined in playing a wide variety of games from hopscotch and snakes and ladders to kerplunk and Boggle before forming a horseshoe to renew our promise at 19:16 precisely. A cake (well three actually) was cut by cubs who had imminent birthdays, including our Toby. After everyone had sung happy birthday, they enjoyed food, drink and cake before receiving certificates and badges and heading home.
Beavers finished the year by making Christingles. Parents joined them, in church, for carols and prayers around the Christmas tree.
Many of the
Beavers and Cubs also enjoyed the crib service. Over 100 children, parents and grandparents attended. Youngsters enjoyed making sheep, crowns and stars before joining in with readings, singing, prayers and building the crib. What a beautiful way to start Christmas!
Thank you to everyone who bought and sold Scout Post Stamps.
6th Swindon Beavers, Cubs and Scouts enjoyed sorting and delivering. Raising over £1100
for the group. This will go towards camps, equipment
and activities for the coming year.
CONGRATULATIONS go to Matt Barrett, who won the competition to design a new badge to celebrate 75 years of 6th Swindon (St Saviour's) Scout Group.
Linda McEntee
6th Swindon (St Saviour's) Scout Group
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Announcements
Funerals Rest eternal grant unto them
Peter Thomas Walkley Withers, Frances Lesley Arnold, Greg Giles, Anthony (Tony) Ashley Probert, Lillie Diana Rose Law, Margaret Gough Howlett
From the Registers
We are sad to report the recent death of Gregory Giles, who died overnight on 5th November. He had been a regular communicant at S. Mark’s for several years, serving at the Altar for a long period and then moving to the Church entrance, to take on the role of sidesman.
He would also put out tables and chairs in the hall, in readiness for coffee after the service.
His increased weight and laboured breathing was the source of worry to several members of the congregation and, in the end, he died peacefully in his sleep.
He was a larger-than-life man, a gentle giant, who will be sadly missed by everyone.
May he rest in peace.
Pat Mortimer
Gregory Giles
We have also to record the death of Tony Probert on 2nd December, a double shock for everyone, following so soon after Gregory’s death.
Early in October, Tony returned from his favourite haunt in Mead Foot acutely aware that he was not in good health. He lacked energy and enthusiasm and it soon became apparent that his co-ordination was badly affected and, within a couple of weeks, he struggled to walk and carry out his basic daily routines.
An aggressive brain tumour, topped by a swelling, was diagnosed and he spent a few weeks in hospital, finally moving to the Prospect Hospice.
Tony was a quiet helper in so many ways. Whenever something was needed, he was there; always ready to help; always reliable and efficient. He spent many hours looking after the garden immediately outside the porch, which he regarded as his personal project.
He will be missed in so many areas of our Church life.
Among his personal correspondence, a handwritten draft of a future “InSpire” article was found, and this appears in print elsewhere in this issue of the magazine.
May he rest in peace.
Pat Mortimer
Tony Probert
Letters Thought I would share an entry on facebook that my grandson in Australia posted at the height of their fire season. He is 18 and a volunteer in the New South Wales fire service. Needless to say we are very proud grandparents!
“I’ve had people in the past ask me why I volunteer with the fire service, why we risk our lives for free. I think today really summed up the answer: FOR THE COMMUNITY. Its for the little boy who ran up and fearfully asked if the fire was out and the look of relief when we told him it is OK. Its for the families who come
to show their appreciation when we are at the staging area. It is for the high fives, the pat on the back and the thankyous from residents for saving their community. It is not about money or material awards, but is all about serving our community and doing our best to restore normality during crisis.”
Margaret Pearce
Editor’s Note: What a remarkable young man,
and a wonderful outlook!
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Lent and Easter 2017
LENTEN MASS
Fridays at 12.30 pm in S. Aldhelm’s
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER
Palm Sunday—9th April
S. Mark’s 10.30 am Palm Procession in Faringdon Park and Mass with children’s activities
Monday in Holy Week
Bristol Cathedral 12 noon Ebbsfleet Chrism Mass
S. Mark’s 7.30 pm Mass and Address
Tuesday in Holy Week
S. Saviour’s 7.30 pm Mass and Address
Wednesday in Holy Week
S. Luke’s 7.30 pm Mass and Address
MAUNDY THURSDAY
S. Mark’s
S. Luke’s 7.30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper
GOOD FRIDAY
S. Saviour’s 10.00 am Children’s Workshop and Stations of the Cross
S. Mark’s
S. Luke’s 3.00 pm Liturgy of Good Friday
HOLY SATURDAY
S. Luke’s 8.30 pm The Easter Vigil
EASTER DAY Mass as normal in all three churches
STATIONS of the CROSS
Sundays at 6.00 pm
ASH WEDNESDAY
S. Saviour’s 9.30 am Mass with Imposition of Ashes
S. Luke’s 9.30 am Mass with Imposition of Ashes
S. Mark’s 7.30 pm Sung Mass with Imposition of Ashes
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Recipes—Crèpes de la Chandeleur (Candlemas Pancakes)
The 2nd of February is Candlemas Day – this ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter (the half way point between the shortest day and the spring equinox) and also the end of Epiphany. The day is named after the practice of bringing all the future year’s supply of candles in to church, whereupon they were blessed, hence Candle and Mass, although the word has been compounded into “Candlemas” (with one “s”) now.
On this day, candles were taken to church, where the priest blessed them, as their light was believed to ward off evil and symbolise the light of Christ. They were used as torches and taken back home to protect the hearth.
In France it was (and still is) a tradition to prepare French pancakes, or crèpes, for the Chandeleur.
Their round shape is indeed a reminiscence of the sun and the return of the daylight after the long winter months, the vital light allowing for the first sowing of the year.
Left-over flour had to be used in order to ensure a good harvest.
Finally, people ate their crèpes in the light of the blessed candles!
Naturally, this recipe can also be used on Shrove Tuesday (28th February).
INGREDIENTS
125g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 medium egg
300ml milk
25g melted butter
Step 1 Mix flour and salt in a basin, make a hollow in the centre and drop in the egg. Stir with a wooden spoon and add the milk gradually, until all the flour is worked in.
Step 2 Beat well and add remaining milk and the melted butter.
Step 3 The consistency should be like single cream.
Step 4 Cooking: For each pancake, heat a small amount of butter in a frying pan. When it begins to smoke, stir the batter and pour approximately 3 tablespoons into the frying pan. When golden brown underneath, turn and cook the other side.
Step 5
Serving: Turn out onto greaseproof paper, sprinkle with sugar and roll up or fold into quarters. Place on a hot dish and serve immediately with honey, jam, syrup, lemon or orange juice.
Step 6 Pancakes keep well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.
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Romance, Marriage and all that stuff—the way children see it….
How do you decide whom to marry?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the crisps and dip coming.—Alan, age 10
No person really decides before they grow up who they’re going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you’re stuck with.—Kirsten, age 10
What is the right age to get married?
23 is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.—Camille, age 10
No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.—Freddie, age 6
How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.—Derrick, age 8
What do you think your mum and dad have in common?
Both don’t want any more kids.—Lori, age 8
What do most people do on a date?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to
get to know each other. Even boys have something to say, if you listen long enough.—Lynette, age 8 (isn’t she a treasure)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.—Martin, age 10
What would you do on a first date that was turning sour?
I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.—Craig, age 9
When is it okay to kiss someone?
When they’re rich.—Pam, age 7
Is it better to be single or married?
It’s better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.—Anita, age 9
How would the world be different if people did not get married?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn’t there? - Kelvin, age 8
How would you make a marriage work?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.—Ricky, age 10 (smart fellow)
Daybreak Poem First light of dawn new day begins On distant bough a lone bird sings And in the twinkling of an eye Another sings and by and by A wondrous symphony of sound Of joyous birdsong all around Who can resist this breaking dawn Uplifting spirits once forlorn Awake arise they seem to say A brighter dawn is on the way A dawn of promise hope and cheer Of disappearing hate and fear So banish thoughts of deeds not done More battles lost than battles won Spread forth your wings as like the bird On distant bough at dawn we heard A brighter dawn is on the way For this my friend is another new day
Ron Burchell
A Little Light Relief
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Coffee Break
ACROSS: 1, Wage. 3, Cleansed. 9, Plateau. 10, Ready. 11, Did so. 12, Hollow. 14, Unregenerated. 17, Offers. 19, Islam. 22, Is not. 23, Overran. 24, Barracks. 25, Legs.
DOWN: 1, Wiped out. 2, Guard. 4, Laughing-stock. 5, April. 6, Seaport. 7, Days. 8, Belong. 13, Oddments. 15, Refiner. 16, Raided. 18, Extra. 20, Large. 21, Limb . Crossword courtesy of Parish Pump.
Across 1 Salary (Isaiah 19:10) (4) 3 Question Jesus asked of those healed of leprosy, ‘Were not all ten — ?’ (Luke 17:17) (8) 9 Wide, elevated level area of land (Joshua 13:9) (7) 10 ‘So you also must be — , because the Son of Man will come... when you do not expect him’ (Matthew 24:44) (5) 11 ‘[He] said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He — — , and his hand was completely restored’ (Luke 6:10) (3,2) 12 ‘Who has gathered up the wind in the — of his hand?’ (Proverbs 30:4) (6) 14 Not born again (13) 17 ‘Again and again he — the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins’ (Hebrews 10:11) (6) 19 Mails (anag.) (5) 22 ‘He — — here; he has risen’ (Matthew 28:6) (2,3) 23 Defeated (Judges 20:43) (7) 24 Soldiers’ quarters (Acts 21:34) (8)
25 ‘Pillars of marble’ were how the Beloved described those of her Lover (Song of Songs 5:15) (4)
Down 1 Totally destroyed (Genesis 7:23) (5,3) 2 What the Philippian jailer was told to do with his prisoners Paul and Silas (Acts 16:23) (5) 4 Object of ridicule (Job 12:4) (8-5) 5 In most years, the month in which Easter falls (5) 6 For example, Caesarea, Joppa, Tyre, Sidon (7) 7 ‘[Jesus] was in the desert for forty — , being tempted by Satan’ (Mark 1:13) (4) 8 ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power — to our God’ (Revelation 19:1) (6) 13 Mend dots (anag.) (8) 15 Purifier (Malachi 3:3) (7) 16 Attacked (1 Samuel 27:8) (6) 18 The good Samaritan to the innkeeper: ‘When I return, I will reimburse you for any — expense you may have’ (Luke 10:35) (5) 20 How Matthew described the crowds who followed Jesus (Matthew 4:25) (5) 21 For example, one of 25 Across (Judges 19:29) (4)
No Compromise
A soon to be married couple were visiting the minister to discuss their forthcoming marriage. The woman said they intended to have three children, while the young man demurred, saying two would be enough for him. They discussed this discrepancy for a few minutes and the minister suggested they would need great sensitivity with each other in order to reach a solution. There was silence for a moment and then the young man said stubbornly: “Well, after our second child, I'll just have a vasectomy." Without a second’s hesitation, the bride-to-be shot back: "Well, I hope you'll love the third one like it's your own!"
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Easter Competition!
Easter Day falls this year on Sunday 16th April, and we begin our journey towards Easter on Ash Wednesday, 1st March. Having celebrated the birth of Christ at Christmas, we now begin to think about how he died on a cross for us, and rose again in glory on that wonderful Easter morning.
In our April edition of InSpire, we will be celebrating this wonderful event, and we would like you to design a front cover for the magazine which shows the story of Jesus at Easter!
Your picture should be around A4 in size and show, in some way, the joy of the Easter story of Jesus.
The winning design will be used as the front cover of the April InSpire Magazine.
Please get your designs to the parish office no later than Monday 13th March.