grapevine 50p - st mary's, rushden | a vibrant family church...
TRANSCRIPT
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the magazine of st mary’s church rushden & st peter’s newton bromswold
grapevine 50p
november 2017
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Rector: Rev Canon Stephen Prior The Rectory, Rectory Road, Rushden, NN10 0HA
01933 312554
Curate: Rev Natasha Brady 49 Clover Drive, Rushden, NN10 0UE email: [email protected]
01933 311029
Readers: Mick Bantin, Ruth Compton, John Dixon, Don Merrifield, Tony Smith
Hall Bookings: Pam & Paul Bailey 7 Kenilworth Close, Rushden, NN10 0QH
01933 313195
St Mary’s Churchwardens:
Martin Cromwell, 8 Cheltenham Close, Rushden, NN10 0YN Gerald Bass, 45 Manor Rd, Rushden, NN10 9EX
01933 358355 01933 313589
St Mary’s Church Office Tues-Thurs: 10.00-12noon: Pam Bailey, Marion Bates, Sue Prior Webmaster: Sue Prior
01933 412235
email: [email protected] website: www.stmaryschurchrushden.org
Newton Bromswold Churchwardens Bob Lines, 25 Church Lane, Newton Bromswold, NN10 0SR: Rosemary Gepp, 166 Avenue Rd, Rushden, NN10 0SW
01933 315864 01933 355703
Newton Bromswold Website: www.newtonchurch.co.uk
grapevine subscriptions One year’s subscription (10 issues) £5
Postal subscription: £10 Large Print Editions are available in
church or may be pre-ordered.
Any changes to order or details of delivery to: The Church Office e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 01933 412235
All monies to Peter & Barbara Coxon
11 Oakpits Way Rushden NN10 0PP
e-mail: [email protected]
Who’s who
Find us on Facebook: stmaryschurchrushden
Follow us on Twitter @stmarysrushden
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contents Who’s Who 2
Natasha writes . . . 4
From the Registers 5
Editorial: 6
St Mary’s News 8
Feedback 10
Friends of St Mary’s Events 10
Briefings 10/17/20
News from Newton 11
Armistice in Bermuda 12
From the Archdeacon of Northampton 13
Diocesan News 14
Roof Repair Fund 16
Meet the Congregation 18
Mission Matters 20
Live & Give 21
Looking Back to Old Grapevines 22
Cookery Column 24
Crossword 341 25
Prayer Corner 26
Belfry Gossip 28
Diary 29
Local Events 30
Services for November 31
The Back Page 32
The November edition is dedicated to the business of
remembering: both the sacrifice made in two World Wars and the conflicts that have sadly
followed despite our best intentions, alongside a
recognition that this is a time of personal contemplation and
preparation before Advent and Christmas and a chance to
identify with the millions of civilians killed, displaced and
traumatised by our inability to live alongside each other in
peace.
Items for the
December/January grapevine
should be sent by
Sunday 12 November direct to Jude Curtis
either by email: [email protected]
or to her by hand, or left at the back of church marked ‘Grapevine’
Please include your name and phone number with any submission
in case we need to contact you.
grapevine november 2017
In this
edition
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From Natasha
Remember …
The shorter days, the darker nights, make us want to stay in doors, and snuggle up close to a fire or under a warm blanket, eating those Christmas chocolates we bought on special offer for the ‘big day’, yet never seem to make it beyond November. (Or is that just in my home!) It is also the perfect month to take a breather, and prepare ourselves for the onslaught of festivities that December always brings, and so it is in this vein that I want to suggest that we take a moment to remember. Remember that, as people, we all have the capacity to feel, make, assume certain roles in life, maybe even live up or down to … what others think or expect of us.
I want us to remember that, as people, we have the capacity to see the beauty of the natural world around us and marvel at its intricacies and anomalies. Just think of a spider’s web, hanging on a door frame, on a chilly, crisp autumn morning. It looks like lace work of the finest quality, yet it is so fragile and temporary. Isn’t it amazing how generous God has been to our little arachnid friends (and I use the term friend loosely, because I struggle to love spiders ) to plant within them such a gift of creativity? And what purpose is this creative gift for? Why has he endowed them with such skills? Just to catch food? What an extravagant gift!
I want us to remember that we too have gifting and talents just lying there, as dormant as the sleeping trees of winter, waiting to be awoken. All we need to do to reactivate them is to remember who we are. We are the wonderful creation of our Father God …. made in his image, loved unreservedly, and called to be his lights in this dark and dusky world. Once we grasp that, then we will have a much stronger sense of who we are and why we exist. We will remember, why it was so important that God sent his Son down to earth. We will remember that he did that to rescue us from a dormant, dead life, that leads nowhere, and inspires no vibrancy or creativity or appreciation of beauty or gives us any sense of peace.
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Because it is from that renewed memory, we will remember that we are meant to be intricately connected to God. That connection brings with it a knowledge of and understanding of what God has given us, from before we were even knitted together in our mothers’ wombs … and that is God’s inner radiance and strength which sustains and renews us, not just through dark nights and short days, but every day. So let us remember to use this opportunity of being in a dormant time, where the natural world we live in is withdrawing and hibernating, to draw closer to the source of all life, God the Father, and begin to look once again, expectantly to the commemoration of the coming of his Son, whom he sent in love to save us.
Rev Natasha Brady
You might like to know ... “The Parish Church of St Peter, Midland Road, Rushden is looking to recruit a Site Supervisor. We are a growing church with extensive use of our premises by all sections of the community. We have excellent volunteer support in many areas of our work but we need someone reliable to assist with our general cleaning – mainly in the church hall. Working under the direction of the Site Manager and averaging 14 hours a month you would be paid £7.50 per hour. Hours can be flexible – if you are interested and want to know more please contact Alan Clark - Tel: 359361 or 07745 733255 who would be pleased to meet you on site and explain more.
For application form and Job Description please contact the PCC Secretary David Culwick [[email protected]]. St Peters operates a Safer Recruitment Policy.”
Baptism
Sunday 8 October Noah George Guyver
Weddings
Saturday 30 September Rachel Amy Firm & Andrew Lee
Houlden
Saturday 7 October Rebekka Brown & Carl Denis Martin
Funerals
Wednesday 20 September David Murray Nixon [84]
Thursday 5 October Thomas Arthur [Tom] Lewis [92]
Interment of Ashes
Thursday 19 October Tom Lewis
Thursday 26 October Dennis Riley
From the Registers
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There’s a lot about memory in this edition. In Rev Alan Smith’s letter of November 1992 quoted in our Grapevine 25 Years Ago column he concludes, “Whatever political view we may take ... let’s remember that wars and politics have never brought love and peace between peoples – there are certain things that only God can do.” Memory too is the topic for Natasha’s piece and the words from the Archdeacon of Northampton. Our Front Cover shows where those memories are formed. If we don’t interact with God’s world – get out there and touch it, know it, feel it and embrace its whole intensely complex reality we don’t begin to form first-hand memories at all and our lives and relationships are tragically diminished.
The trouble with war is that it’s not just bad things that happen. The concept may be anathema but as a showcase for human behaviour a lot more is going on than just ‘nasty stuff’. There was a novel and relatively class-less camaraderie abroad in the London Underground during WWII as all sorts of people sought shelter from a common enemy. People learned things about other people and it changed their perceptions. And, conflict, paradoxically, can bring out the best in us: countless acts of selflessness by both military and civilians out of supreme courage or a reckless disregard for personal safety and, more often, both.
Have you ever asked your parents or grandparents what they did in ‘their’ war? Most women are quite forthcoming. There’s talk of packing parachutes, growing potatoes, assembling what sound like impossibly fragile and paper-thin aircraft; of ARP Warden shifts and a full time day job. Great stories and great pride in those hardly won skills and responsibilities. But ask your Father or Grandfather the same questions: that’s different. John Allen’s snippet from his father about WWII being a ‘gentleman’s war’ compared to WWI in our July/August edition is a rare insight but authentically caustic. All my own father felt able to share of four years in the RAF at GHQ Cairo was: ‘First taste of ice-cold lager in Durban on the way there – that was something!’, and ‘Gezira Sporting Club: the tennis courts were great’.*
‘My’ war was the Iraq/Iran conflict 1980-88. Like my father I don’t dwell on the Iranian fighters coming in low below radar cover along the Tigris, strafing the bridges [and, coincidentally, the hotel garden], or the six year old girls in miniature blue camouflage uniform drilling in the playground
“The trouble with war” Editorial
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next door with toy rifles, or the day in June 1981 when some ‘enterprising’ Israelis were able to blow up the Baghdad Nuclear Reactor by simply speaking perfect Arabic when their F16 fighter was challenged by a bemused Air Traffic Controller expecting attack from the east not the west. Like Dad I choose to remember the odd, idiosyncratic, everyday treats: like the ripe oranges hanging invitingly over the garden walls in Al-Saadoon Street on the walk to work at The Ministry of Health; the central reservations of dual carriageways overflowing in early spring with English cottage garden flowers, self-seeded from those introduced by Gertrude Bell before WWI, or borrowing the Consultant Obstetrician’s daughter’s wellingtons to wade through the February mud with a court shoe in each pocket to slip on in the office.
The casualties of that conflict were numbingly high: way over a million in total. Technically these were military casualties but the vast majority of ‘soldiers’ were conscripted from the hotel staff, universities and building sites. An entire generation of young men disappeared in eight years.
There have always been civilian casualties in warfare, even in the set-piece battles of the Crusades or Napoleonic Wars, but they are no longer collateral damage but often the primary target. Since at least the Vietnam War the vast majority of casualties of any conflict have been civilian and the ratio of civilian to military deaths grows every year. If you factor in incidents that, by no stretch of the imagination can be dignified by the term ‘war’ – which includes the current proliferation of terrorist attacks – the proportion rises again.
Some people would like to see a separate, ‘White Poppy’ event, to commemorate civilians killed in war, as a mirror of the Royal British Legion Red Poppy. I wish it didn’t have to be separate. Everyone suffers in war: the bravest, toughest soldier and the fragile child swept up in someone else’s political or religious ideology. What I would like to see is not ‘Them & Us’ but a recognition that we’re all in this together, armed forces and civilians. We’re all hurt. No sane person wants war. We have too many ‘Them & Us’ situations at the moment: wouldn’t it be great if we could bring all the people touched by war, killed by war, suffering because of war as veterans or refugees before God and offer prayers for them all, whether they wear a uniform or not? And if the service you attend, if you attend, on Remembrance Sunday doesn’t mention civilians, then pray in silence, confident that God will understand.
Jude Curtis
*Don’t ask how he, as a Sergeant, talked his way into an officers’ club. It probably helped that he looked a lot like Clark Gable in those days.
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The Ladies’ Group ... Mr Roy York delighted the Ladies’ Group with his talk last month, reminiscing about the winters when skaters enjoyed the frozen rivers and fields, and a mini Ice Age was upon us along the Nene Valley.
In our prayers we remembered several of our members, or their loved ones, who are going through tough times. We try as a group to be supportive and hope they are aware of the Lord’s love and compassion towards them. Having a faith in Jesus helps us to cope in difficult situations. Laying our burden on him enables us to keep going in his strength.
On Wednesday November 8 at 2.15pm in the Church Hall we welcome Mrs Jenny Elverson. Jenny is known to many of us and we look forward to hearing what she has to share with us about the time she was nursing in Nepal.
We always have time for a chat and cup of tea afterwards, so if you have wondered about coming along to our meetings then pop in and see us. More information from Cynthia Brown [01933 359590]. WM
The Children’s Society The Children's Society fundraising committee are pleased to report £208 was raised at
The Coffee Morning on the day of Box Opening, and the final total from the boxes is £1,629.55. A big Thank You to all who support the work of The Children's Society in this way, helping vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people.
The Annual Christingle Service is on Saturday 2 December at 2.30pm in the Church. The Gift Candles will be available in Church from mid November. Everyone Welcome. MH
Congratulations! Derek Tansley would like to thank everyone for the lovely card and gift he received on the occasion of his Ninetieth Birthday. Shirley Tuke is also 90 and Richard Denny turned 80. Congratulations to all!
Reflective Service After the success of the ‘more reflective service’ in August another is scheduled for Sunday 12 November at 6.00pm, once again led by Tony Smith and Ruth Compton.
Parish Day Away 2017 The Parish Day Away takes place on Saturday 4 November at Grendon Hall and is entitled: “Jesus’ Kingdom: what’s our role?” The keynote speaker is Bishop Donald.
Peter Chamberlain [386826] is selling quizzes. They cost £1 and proceeds go towards Mission.
St Mary’s News St Mary’s News
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T&C @ St Mary’s ... continues on the second and fourth Thursday of each month 10.00-12noon in the church hall. All are welcome. Why not drop in for a cuppa and a chat whether or not you attend the 10.30am Communion.
St Mary’s people are amazing! Over the past year I have posted many appeals for ‘stuff’ on the weekly notices. From dolls, toilet roll middles, egg boxes, and old tights to carpet rolls, tin foil, large boxes and ‘junk modelling’ items. Without fail the congregations at St Mary’s have supplied! Thank you all very much (and of course, Christmas Craft Day is coming so watch this space!) Thank you again, Sue Merrifield.
November Behind the Communion Table
During Jean Tombling’s stay in hospital the following ’fluid’ arrangements have been made. We wish her a speedy recovery and send our love. 5 Ellen Inwood 12 Julie West 19 Jude Curtis 26 tba
Memorial Chapel 5 Gill, Gerald and David Collins
remembering Jean Rootham 12 Remembrance Sunday 26 In memory of Ray Mullis from
his family
If anyone wishes to give flowers in memory of loved ones please contact me, Brenda Dixon, 358982
St Mary’s Flower Rota
Saturday 18 November Saturday 16 December
9.30am—12noon
St Mary’s Church Hall Adults £3: children free
Just turn up!
has arrived!
Short and Sweet starts on Sunday November 5! This is a new service
especially for people of all ages with additional needs. It will run every Sunday 2.00-3.00pm and involve a short period of worship in Church
followed by tea, cake and activities in the hall. Please pray for this new venture and perhaps invite anyone
you know who may enjoy it. We also would welcome any donations
of cakes to serve with the tea. Many thanks ‘The S&S Team’
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... on October
Grapevine
“Agree with Matt re "My Way" but wonder if his final remarks might give offence. [No, we’re broad shouldered!] He had obviously stirred you up and I enjoyed your statement on grace. I still feel you are a much more vibrant church than we are and envy that.” JW
“I don’t always understand everything you say but I enjoy reading it.” CM
“I’m not sure exactly what you’ve done with grapevine but I like it!” WM
FEEDBACK
Friends of St Mary’s
FORTHCOMING EVENTS Saturday 25 November - return of our local musicians with Plus Jazz Pudding Club dates: Saturdays November 11, January 13, February 10.
Science: Don’t look, listen, to understand others The best way to pick up on a person’s emotions is to close your eyes and just listen, a new study suggests. People tend to read emotions more accurately if they listen and don’t look. The study ... found that blocking out other sense and using voice-only communication “elicits higher levels of empathic accuracy”. Author, Michael Kraus, says, “Listening matters. Actually considering what people are saying and the ways in which they can say it can ... lead to improved understanding of others.” i newspaper: 11 October 2017
Charity: 46–year-old soup given to food bank A tin of Heinz kidney soup dating back at least 46 years has been donated to a food bank that was also given a 35-year-old tin of sweetcorn. The ‘Ready to Serve’ soup still bears its original price sticker, and would have set you back 10d, meaning it was sold before 1971. i newspaper: 6 October 2017
briefing
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Church Flowers November 5 Mrs Beeby and Mrs Burton 19 Mrs Turner
Remembrance Sunday A special service for Remembrance Sunday will be held on 12 November at 3.00pm. The Collection from this service will go to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Harvest Festival The Church was decorated lovely for Harvest Festival. We are extremely grateful to everyone who donated produce and to the volunteers who helped decorate the Church or transported the produce from the Church to The Swan.
Thank you to everyone who supported The Harvest Sale, which raised £413 for Church Funds. A special thanks to Dennis Sullivan, the landlord at The Swan for hosting the evening and to Mick Bantin for acting as auctioneer.
Roy Haverson Two years have passed since the loss of our dear friend Ken Haverson. We remember him in our prayers. Mrs J Dangerfield
And further ahead ... Our annual Christingle Service will be held on Sunday 3 December at 10.00am. Proceeds from this service will go towards The Children’s Society.
A Children’s Carol Service will be held on Sunday 10 December at 10.00am at St Peter’s Church, Newton Bromswold. The Parable Puppets will be performing a puppet show at this service.
Carol Singing Newton Church will be Carol Singing in The Swan on Monday 18 December at 7.30pm. Please come and join us.
Christmas Services 2017 Christmas Eve: 6.00pm: Carol Service Christmas Day: 9.00am: Holy Communion
News from Newton
Rushden & Newton Bromswold WI
Thursday 9 November
Peter Reed, PAT Dogs Competition - a dog item
Thursday 14 December
Christmas Dinner [tba]
All meetings 7.30pm at Rushden Town Bowls Club, Northampton Road,
Rushden NN10 6AN Visitors welcome £3.50 includes
refreshments
Contact: 01933 317846
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For the first time in my life I was not in my home town to commemorate Armistice Day/Remembrance Sunday. Jeannie and I were in Bermuda for our second visit there. November 11 is a holiday in Bermuda. Jeannie and I felt privileged to attend the ceremony in Hamilton, the capital. It lasted one and a half hours - too long for some, as at least four people were affected by standing in the sun for too long, even though the temperature at about 21º was probably on the cool side for Bermuda. All those marching were in their places by soon after 10.30. The governor arrived promptly, as scheduled, at 10.53. The Bishop of Bermuda officiated. The Premier was also there and was among the wreath-layers. We sang a couple of hymns and the Bermudan - which is our - National Anthem.
We wanted to visit the cathedral. The railings near the door were being painted, so we were told we could not go in. We could have easily avoided the wet paint. We had actually been in the cathedral some five years ago when there was a lot of refurbishment taking place.
On Sunday we went to the ceremony at St George's, a town in Bermuda. It started at 10.50. The wreaths were laid first so the two minutes' silence was a few minutes late. Then, as at St Mary's, the service continued in St Peter's Church at 11.15. This church claims to be the oldest C of E church outside the UK. The first reading came from Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha.
Jeannie is not keen at worshipping in different churches, particularly if it is a Communion service. I did not know if she was going to the service until the last minute. At the end of the service she said how much she enjoyed it. I pointed out it was unlikely to be Communion as some of the dignitaries would not have been confirmed. We sang five hymns including the National Anthem. We had another two minutes silence. During the intercessions we prayed for the Queen and Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury.
I still wanted to visit Hamilton Cathedral, so on Monday we did just that and found the real reason why we could not visit the cathedral a few days earlier. The Remembrance Sunday service was attended by the Duchess of Gloucester, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Bermuda Regiment. I only know this because there were some service sheets at the back of the cathedral and I took one. It is a lovely cathedral, taped hymns were being played. Unfortunately the gift shop was closed until March. I noticed that they had six hymns, rather more than at an English cathedral service, and it was, in fact, a Communion service.
Peter Chamberlain
Armistice in Bermuda 2016
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Back in 2008 St Mary's Church Surveyor, John Barker, reported in his Quinquennial Inspection that the lead on the Chancel Roof was in urgent need of replacement. Photographs taken at the time showed cracks that had been repaired, flashing coming loose and evidence that the lead was becoming very thin in parts. Graffiti indicated that some lead had been in place since the middle of the eighteenth century. The total cost to replace the lead at that time was estimated to be in excess of £50,000.
The repairs were put on hold as it was felt that the lead, having lasted for so long, was good for a few more years. The next Quinquennial Inspection in 2013 confirmed earlier fears that the matter should be treated as a matter of priority. At this time the Government announced a multi-million pound Roof Repair Fund to keep Listed Places of Worship dry and free from the ingress of rain.
With Church Council approval an application for funding was submitted but, disappointingly, the application was not successful. The PCC were advised to try again as a new round of funding became available in 2016 and on this occasion a grant was awarded of £25,000. towards the total estimated cost of £57,000. The work commenced after Easter this year.
On removal of the old lead it was apparent that more work was needed than first estimated. The boarding
beneath the lead was badly split in places and not thick enough for today's high standards. In addition, a main tie beam was so badly damaged that it was unsupported at one end. It was, therefore, necessary to replace all the boarding and fabricate a stainless steel shoe to support the tie beam and anchor it to the wall.
An emergency meeting of the Church Council approved the additional estimate of £5,000 to enable the essential repairs to be carried out and the work to continue. By this time a delay of one month was anticipated and the work was finally completed in September after an actual delay of almost two months due to the fabrication of the metal shoe and inclement weather.
The final cost of the project totalled £61,000. The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund grant of £25,000, the generous donation from Friends of St Mary of £6,950 plus the refund of VAT means the cost to St Mary's Fabric Fund is expected to be £16,300.
The Chancel Roof is now in excellent condition and in addition the lead on all the other roofs has been replaced in recent times. The Fabric committee meets regularly throughout the year and great emphasis is made on keeping St Mary's a safe, warm, comfortable place for our many services, weddings and funerals. We are truly blessed to be the keepers of such a beautiful and historic building and we are indebted to all the volunteers who help so much each year.
Martin Cromwell
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News from St Mary’s PCC Meeting, Tuesday 3 October
Induction service for Rev M Taylor was held at St Martin’s in the Fields Church, Finham, Coventry and was well attended by St Mary’s congregation.
Away Day is taking place on Saturday 4 November at Grendon Hall with 44 adults and 7 children booked to attend so far. The day will be led by Bishop Donald.
There are now two Deep groups headed up by Dan Smedley. The first group for school years 7+ takes place every Sunday afternoon. The second group takes place on
the First Sunday during the 9.30am service for school years 6+.
The next meditation service is due to take place on Sunday 12 November at 6.00pm led by R Compton and T Smith.
The bi-monthly family day
events are due to start in February 2018. A team of volunteers to run this event will need to be set up.
A weekly short service for those with additional needs will be held on Sundays at 2.00pm, followed by coffee, tea and cake in the church hall at 3.00pm, beginning on Sunday, 5 November.
You might like to know...
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Marylynne was born in Dunstable on 21 June 1947, the third child of Alfred and Doris Ashfield. Her two older sisters were Sylvia and Christine. Earliest memories are of going to the swings in Grove House Gardens in her pram, with her Granddad, who had come to live with them from Coventry. She also remembers going to the Women’s Pleasant Hour at the local Methodist church to sing, at the top of her voice, “Blessed insurance” – then her mother trying to explain it should be ‘Blessed assurance’!
She went to Ashton Primary, a local church school, but the lovely building no longer exists. Walking there through the churchyard, the children would pick and make daisy chains. Her mother used to cook the school dinners, which were eaten in the parish rooms across the road – she is pleased to know that building is still there. Marylynne enjoyed primary school very much, because of the lovely headmaster and other teachers. Mr Riding lived in the schoolhouse with his family and was very kind and gentle. Later her mother told her he had been a prisoner-of-war. The big occasion of the year was the Statty Fair* which overjoyed the children.
Not taking the 11+ Marylynne went to Secondary Modern in Luton - by then the family were living in Leagrave, on its outskirts. Mother continued cooking school lunches, but now at Ashton School, and Father worked for A C Delco – part of General Motors – in Dunstable. Later she attended Dunstable College of Further Education to get her O Levels ready for a career in nursing.
She did her training at Stoke Mandeville, followed by a short stint as a Dental Nurse before she met, and married, Stephen. They had four children: Christopher, Jenny, Sarah and David. After living in Rushden and Higham Ferrers for a while they moved to Somerset. Life was not easy and eventually Marylynne moved back to the Towcester area with the children on her own: near to parents and sister.
Later she met Colin through a friend and they married in 1989. On retirement they moved to a small village in Norfolk, where they became very involved with the local church: Colin was Fabric Officer and Marylynne Church Warden for 15 years. They also collated, assembled and delivered the parish magazine.
Meet the Congregation - Marylynne Plunket
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Due to Colin’s second period
of ill health – due to cancer and chemotherapy – the children were keen for them to be nearer, so they moved back to Rushden and they are now busy working on their new home – which needs a lot of work!
Marylynne has always been a churchgoer: first chapel with her Mother, while Father went to a Gospel Hall in Leagrave and her sister to the Strict Baptists in Dunstable – so a mixed bunch! She sometimes went along with her Father, and it was there she was baptised when she chose to become a Christian. She and Colin have attended St Mary’s since they moved, some five months ago. It feels very different from a small village church but they feel very welcome.
Roving Reporter
*According to the internet still running in
2012 at least
Who’ve been the biggest Influences in your life?
My lovely caring parents and grandparents
Hobbies? Reading, gardening, classical music, making hand-sewn patchwork quilts - one for
each child when they married
Guest to dinner?
Edward Elgar
What would you serve?
Steak & Ale Casserole followed by Lemon Meringue Pie
Special Treat To visit the Amish country in
North America
Favourite places? Any beech wood, but Ashridge
in particular where Dad would take us when he
collected Mum from Bible Class and me from Sunday School
Proudest Moments?
When my children were born
Favourite Bible Verse
The verses I cling to when times get tough: Romans 8. 35-39, particularly “Nothing can separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus.”. My father wrote these words in
the Bible he gave me for Christmas 1962
Those questions
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Financial Update At this time of the year we like to inform you all of the contributions St. Mary’s has made to our Mission Partners at home and abroad. We are able to give a 10% tithe of the Church’s General Income which means this year we will distribute over £13,000 to our six mission partners.
20% to CPAS
20% to CMS – Bishop Abelino
20% to CMS- Derek and Jane Waller who will be carrying out mission work in Madagascar.
20% to Wycliffe Bible Translators- Brian and Val Hodgkin.
10% to Langham Partnership
10% to Church Army We have been able to send various smaller amounts to other good causes during the year:
£100 to CMJ and £500 to the CPAS Falcon Camps (holidays for young people).
Our Lent appeal raised £940 and was donated to Tear Fund. The Mission quiz evening took place on the 28 October 2017. The Mission Quiz sheets are now available at £1 each. On Behalf of the Mission Committee we would like to thank everyone for their support financially and with their prayers.
Martin Compton on behalf of the Mission Committee
Mission Matters briefing
Are you one of the many people in Britain who would like to help people fleeing war and persecution? Do you want to do more than just send a donation to a refugee charity or sign a petition? Do you feel you, your friends and neighbours could welcome a refugee family into your community, help them settle and build a new life? If so, the Community Sponsorship programme could be for you
Sponsorship is a new programme through which faith and community groups take on direct responsibility for resettling a refugee family from the Syrian conflict in their neighbourhood. The UK scheme draws inspiration from a similar one in Canada where 300,000 refugees have been welcomed through sponsorship since 1979. It has been successfully pioneered by community groups from Bude in Cornwall to Flixton in Greater Manchester, from Hackney in East London to Fishguard in West Wales. See website: sponsorrefugees.org
Andrew Presland
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Just a little means a lot Do you try really hard to be eco-positive? Do you resent recycling all those robust containers in which your eco-friendly laundry and washing up liquid arrived? Why not cut out new packaging and have your empty e-Cover containers refilled at Whole Foods Health Food Shop next to Bedford Bus Station? Take your clean and empty e-Cover washing up liquid, laundry liquid or surface cleaner container in for a refill and, if you ask nicely, you can leave it to collect just before you get back on the No 50 bus instead of lugging it around Bedford. And you might like the very healthy [no salt, no sugar, no palm oil, just squashed, roasted peanuts] crunchy peanut butter they also sell in 1kg pots, or the big jars of spices from which you can have just a few grams so that you don’t have to buy yet another glass jar . . .
Don’t be bullied Don’t ever feel that you have to give to charity under pressure, whether it’s over-persistent junk mail, aggressive cold callers or any other uninvited approaches. And even if you succumb
and sign up for a regular monthly payment and regret it: don’t hesitate to contact your bank and get it cancelled. It’s your choice: so make sure it is your choice. Research a charity on line or by asking around friends before you commit. Take a look at their annual accounts and see how much of your giving will be eaten away in admin and publicity. Make sure that their core values match yours and that you are not, unwittingly, subscribing to values you don’t share. Then give – generously and whole-heartedly.
BBC Children in Need: How to donate your Round Pound Coins There are still millions of pounds in old ‘round pound’ coins lurking down the back of the sofa or languishing in piggie banks. BBC Children in Need are encouraging everyone to have a good hunt, then just donate. You're never far from one of the Round Pound drop-off points. Take your coins to any major bank or building society, Post Office, Boots, Greggs, Cineworld or Welcome Break. Drop them off in any BBC Children in Need collection box you find there. Or if you're at a Post Office, bank or building society, simply let the cashier know that you would like to donate your Round Pounds to BBC Children in Need.
Ink Cartridges Please do continue to give your empty ink cartridges to St Mary’s.
22
Looking Back at St Mary’s Magazines 50 Years Ago - Nov 1967 The Death of Nerve
“Honest to God” and
“Death of God”
theologies, plus a new
hesitancy about the
uniqueness of Christ
vis-à-vis the non-
Christian religions,
have brought about a
failure of nerve among
Christians in their
witness.
Rev Philip Potter
Director, World
Council of
Churches, mission
division
Newton Bromswold
Harvest Festival
“It was good to see
such a full Church on
the occasion of the
Harvest Festival, and
I do want to thank all
those who helped to
make it a success. The
Sale produced the fine
total of £20, making
the total for the
weekend £29.16s.8d.”
Rev Derek Elliott
Rector
25 Years Ago - Nov 1992
Letter from the
Rector “Remembrance Sunday
this year will mean
different things to
different people, but
Europe looms large in
our thinking. For some
the “Maastricht
Treaty” is important
because they see it as
the closer working
together of Europe so
that we cannot be
split apart by war
again. Others see it
as unwelcome
interference of the
‘stranger’ from
Brussels”
Rev Alan Smith,
Rector
Belfry Gossip “We remembered with
gratitude the late Mrs
Marjorie Marks by
quarter of Grandsire
Triples. Through Alan,
his mother was
interested in our
belfry and church
events although her
home was not in our
parish.”
Tintinnabula
23
P. G. SAVAGE PAPERHANGING
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING
FREE Estimates & Advice Given Reliable Service
01933 316278 10, Wymington Rd, Rushden, Northants
PAINTERS & DECORATORS
WITH
OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Net Affair Home Furnishings
clothing alterations
12D, High St, RUSHDEN
01933 411000
Flowers for
37A High St Rushden
01933 315840
because style is always in bloom [email protected]
Flowers for all occasions
Avenue Salon
Abby Stannard
Ladies’ Hairdresser with over 14 years’ experience
Reductions for seniors Mondays & Tuesdays
166 Avenue Road, Rushden, NN10 0SW 01933 317632 07784 258795
Lasting Powers of Attorney Accident or illness can strike at any time.
If you suffer a loss of capacity to make decisions, what safeguards to protect
your loved ones have you made? Can they manage your affairs if you are rendered incapable of doing so?
For confidential advice on Powers of Attorney Contact us today to arrange a FREE initial consultation.
Stephen Wilkins - 01933 426266
CARPETS FURNITURE
BEDS
2 HIGHAM RD, RUSHDEN 01933 410604
24
Brian Howard Mobile: 07789 717176
Phone: 01933 412497
Email: [email protected]
www.clearandcleanwindowcleaning.co.uk
Carpet Cleaning
Window Cleaning
Gutter Cleaning
Conservatory Cleaning
Solar Panel Cleaning
Fascia Cleaning
64 Roman Way
Higham Ferrers
NN10 8NS
COOKERY COLUMN Mrs Walker’s Tea Loaf
Ingredients
1 cup bran flakes
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup mixed fruit
1 cup milk
Method
Soak the ingredients above
overnight
Add 1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 tsp mixed spices or cinnamon
1 egg [optional] and stir well
Bake in a moderate oven [375°/
GM5] in a lined loaf tin, for
about an hour
3 cups of each dry ingredient
above makes 2 x 2lb loaves
For a malt loaf, substitute
1 cup of non-alcoholic Malt
Beer from the West Indian
section of Tesco for 1 of
the cups of milk .
If that’s too much sugar
for you, use less!
Stores in a tin for weeks or
you can freeze.
25
Crossword No 341
Solution to Crossword No 340
ACROSS 1 Made sacred (10) 7 Anniversary of death (4) 8 Last NT book (10) 9 Starting-point in darts (4) 10 Sunday before Easter (4) 11 ___-days, (fast days) (5) 14 Margaret (diminutive) (3) 16 Malign (6) 18 Hubbub (6) 19 Rug (3) 21 Praise (5) 22 Prophetess in Luke 2:36 (4) 23 Underworld river (4) 25 Breaker of religious images (10) 26 Bible passage (4) 27 Very holy (10)
DOWN 1 Samphire (anag.) (8) 2 Storywriter (8) 3 ‘___ out my soul’ (hymn) (4) 4 Shrine in Portugal (6) 5 Giver (5) 6 Afternoon meal (4,3) 12 Glimpse (4) 13 Bendable cord (4) 14 ‘Go 3 down it on the ___’ (hymn) (8) 15 Eurasian songbird (5,3) 17 Portico at west end of an early church (7) 20 Carpenter (6) 21 Departure points (5) 24 ___ of the Apostles (4)
26
Barry Miller GENTLEMEN’S HAIR STYLIST
40-42, HIGH STREET SOUTH RUSHDEN
6 FULL TIME STYLISTS
Walk in or for appointments ring
01933 356483
PARKING
OPPOSITE
J B NOBLE OPTICIANS Est. 1963
Affordable Family Eye Care
Celebrating 50 years in our community
37 Church Street
Rushden
312551 www.nobleopticians.co.uk
£5 million
public liability
insurance
Rushden based
John Hadley tel: 07973 828897
email: [email protected]
Hadley Woodland Management hedge trimming
pruning - tree removal
seasoned woodland logs
hedge & tree planting
small woodland
management
& conservation
Vikki’s Hair & Beauty Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful
Hair, Nails, Waxing, Ear-piercing, Eyelashes Based at Fit4her Gym,
38 Little St, Rushden, NN10 0LS
07766 501547
£5 off with this advert - but no need to cut it out and spoil Peter’s
Crossword!
Prayer Corner
The gift of faith
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out
to that which is before, we may run the way of your
commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Common Worship: Collect for Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
27
A & J COULSON Plumbing, Heating & Gas Engineers
Boiler Servicing
Bathrooms & Showers
T: 01933 355703
M: 07734 046 331 or 07927 163 039
E: [email protected] Established 1966
Hollis Brothers High class butchers
44 Duck St. Rushden
357763 Friendly, personal service
PETER TOMAS Comprehensive Glazing Service
Boarding Up & Property Secured
Property Maintenance
Garage Doors Installed
Tel: 359688
PETER DRAPER Photographic
* PASSPORT PHOTOS * BINOCULARS * TELESCOPES
65, High St, RUSHDEN 419909
P. W. HOUSE 54, High Street, Rushden
Rushden’s Family Jeweller For over 60 years
Tel: 418877
The Distinctive
Jeweller
R J Smith & Son
Shoe Repairs Engraving
Gifts Locksmiths
Watch Straps & Batteries
4 Hamblin Court Rushden NN10 0RU
Tel: 01933 358541
Barnes Tree Services All types of tree work undertaken
01933 356205
A . ABBOTT & SONS PERSONAL FUNERAL DIRECTORS
BEDFORD ROAD, RUSHDEN
‘Owned and operated by the Abbott family for four generations’
Tel: Rushden 312142 24 HOUR SERVICE TO ALL AREAS
Private Chapel of rest, Service Chapel, Catering suite,
Memorial display, Floral tributes Pre-paid plans available Est. 1885
www.abbottfunerals.co.uk [email protected]
RUSHDEN SCHOOL OF MOTORING Tel: 312874 4 Hall Avenue, Rushden, NN10 9ET
Practical and theory tuition in manual and automatic cars
Probably Rushden’s oldest established driving school: 1957-2017
28
Belfry Gossip
As an addition to our Sunday morning Service ringing during the last month a quarter peal was also rung on Harvest Sunday evening as a leaving compliment to Matt and Sandra, to wish them all best wishes as they move to Matt’s new parish of Finham. We have also rung for two couples as they left the church following their weddings.
You may have noticed that we now have the quarter chimes of the clock working again after the repaired winding motor was returned. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we are still waiting for the hour strike motor to be returned but hopefully it will be back by the time you are reading this and the clock will be restored to full working order again.
During the month the Wellingborough Branch of ringers held a quarter peal week. Several of our tower ringers joined with others in the area and eleven attempts were made at different towers, nine of these being successful. To add to the success five ringers rang their first quarter peal, which is an excellent step on the ladder of progression.
The Peterborough Guild has held its Summer Festival and inter-branch striking competition at St Giles Church in Northampton. The day started with a quarter peal at All Saints Church with a band consisting of a ringer from each of the ten branches in the Guild area. Other town centre churches were also open for ringing later in the day and several ringing-related displays were also set up in the church hall for everyone to view while the competition was in progress. About a hundred people visited the exhibition or rang during the afternoon. At the business meeting both Nether Heyford and Great Addington were awarded grants from the Bell Fund towards repairs to their bell fittings and Alan said he would be standing down from the Treasurer’s position at the next Guild AGM and asked for volunteers to consider taking up this post.
Teams from seven of the ten branches in the Guild competed for the Harry Wooding Trophy on the back eight of St Giles bells. With good ringing throughout the competition and helpful comments from the judges, the Towcester branch was judged to be the winning team. Sadly, the Wellingborough branch was only placed sixth. Better luck next time.
Tintinnabulum
29
November 4 Saturday: 9.30-4.30pm--St Mary’s Parish Away Day at Grendon Hall
with keynote speaker Bishop Donald 5 Sunday: 2.00-3.00pm--Short & Sweet, a new service starts see box p9 8 Wednesday: 2.15pm—Ladies’ Group in St Mary’s Church Hall: Jennie
Elverson 11 Saturday: 7.00pm--FOSM Pudding Club in St Mary’s Church Hall. 18 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let the Dads Out? St Mary’s Church
Hall - see box p9 25 Saturday: 9.30am-3.30pm--Christmas Craft Day in St Mary’s Church
Hall. Booking forms now available from Lynne Prior. For children from Reception to Year 6, the day costs £10 for the first child and £5 for each further sibling.
25 Saturday: 7.30pm--FOSM Plus Jazz Concert, in St Mary’s Church Hall 26 Sunday: 5.00pm--Higham Deanery Evensong at St Mary’s, Higham
Ferrers. Guest Preacher: Richard Ormston, Archdeacon of Northampton
28 Tuesday: 7.30pm--Growing Leaders Course is launched in the Vestry Hall
December 2 Saturday: 2.30pm--Children’s Society, Christingle Service in St Mary’s 4 Monday: 10.00 for 10.30am--DEF Meeting at Moulton Church Centre.
Rev Dr Paul Weston of Ridley Hall, Cambridge talks on ‘Proper confidence in a shifting culture’. Followed by buffet lunch [£4 suggested donation.] All welcome. More details at https://www.pdef.co.uk/.
9 Saturday: 10.00-12noon--St Mary’s Choir Coffee Morning in Church Hall: refreshments, various stalls and join in the carols with the choir.
13 Wednesday: 2.15pm—Ladies’ Group in St Mary’s Church Hall: Christmas afternoon
16 Saturday: 9.30am-12noon--Who Let the Dads Out? St Mary’s Church Hall - see box p9
16 Saturday: evening--Who Let The Girls Out? Karaoke Night in St Mary’s Church Hall.
19 Tuesday: 7.30pm--Growing Leaders Course continues in the Vestry Hall
Diary
30
Local events
November 2017 events
Tuesday
31
St Peter’s Newton Bromswold
5 November - Fourth Sunday before Advent
9.30am 11.15am 6.00pm
All Age Communion Service Morning Prayer Evening Worship
10.00am Family Service
12 November - Third Sunday before Advent
9.30am 11.00am
11.30am 6.00pm
All Age Service Service at the War Memorial--NB
the Service starts with the 2 minute silence: please be in position before
11.00am Remembrance Service Evening Prayer
10.00am
3.00pm
Pete’s Pack Remembrance Service
19 November - Second Sunday before Advent
9.30am 11.15am 6.00pm
All Age Parade Service Holy Communion Holy Communion
10.00am
Family Communion
26 November - Sunday before Advent
9.30am 11.15am 6.00pm
Informal All Age Service Morning Prayer NO Evening Service at St Mary’s Deanery Evensong 5.00pm at Higham Ferrers
10.00am
3.00pm
Pete’s Pack Holy Communion
Also Weekdays @ St Mary’s Mondays 10.00am Bumps & Babes @ Church – every week in term time Wednesday 3.30–6.00pm Fun, Faith and Food – first Wed of the month:
Thursdays 10.30am -- Holy Communion [BCP] – every week Thursday 7.45pm --- Prayer, Praise & Presence -- third Thursday of the
month
Services for November 2017
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