parish magazine july/august 2020 · that these men were soldiers. the courage to face the enemy is...
TRANSCRIPT
St Mary’s Church, Bromley Parish Magazine
July/August 2020 61 College Road Bromley BR1 3QG
www.stmarys-bromley.org.uk Minimum donation 75p
Join us for Messy Church
craft, games, worship and food.
Cancelled until further notice due to Coronavirus
from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Warwick Hall This is an all age event aimed mainly at families with
primary school age children. So as long as you have not grown up too much you will enjoy it along with everyone else!
facebook – Messy Church! St. Mary’s Bromley
Please note: we do ask that as a family event, all children are accompanied by an adult who will be responsible for them.
Welcome to the July/August issue of the Parish Magazine Usually at this time of year I would be wishing you all a very happy summer but with so many restrictions on our lives at the moment, most will be staying at home. However, I hope you are learning to appreciate what we have on our doorsteps. So many green spaces and walks to enjoy and as the hospitality industry opens up on 4th July I hope you will be able to get out a bit more. The editors are now on a break, returning in September, but please do submit your articles for the September edition. Elaine Wakefield.
This month’s editor : Elaine Wakefield Editor for September 2020: Jo Clark Copy date: Tuesday 11th August 2020
Please support the editors by giving articles and notices to them by the copy date.
If you wish to make payment for the magazine online the bank details are: sort code 09 01 51 Account 27769404 (St Marys Plaistow Parish Magazine) Monthly cost 75p Annual cost (10 months) £7.50 Postal service (10 months plus 2nd class postage cost) £14.00 A free pdf copy is available from Elaine Wakefield at [email protected].
Disclaimer The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various par-ticipants in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Editors.
CHURCH OPENING TIMES
Monday Grace Café/Drop-in Wednesday Thursday
ST MARY’S CHURCH HOUSE
61 College Road, Bromley, BR1 3QG
HALLS and ROOM FOR HIRE
Warwick Hall (with stage) seats 360 Buchan Hall seats 60
Front Room seats up to 30
Shared use of well equipped kitchen
Further information and bookings contact Atlanta Topham 07951 748155
e-mail: stmaryshouse&[email protected]
Cancelled due to Coronavirus outbreak
Cancelled due to Coronavirus out-break
Cancelled due to Coronavirus out-break
Table of Contents Vicar’s Article ......................................................................................... 1 Article from Revd. Alison Tyler ............................................................... 3 Jill Atkinson’s lockdown lessons ............................................................. 4 Please spare us a thought ...................................................................... 5 Letter to the Editor ................................................................................ 8 Mothers’ Union Matters ........................................................................ 10 Jean Dodds-Growing up as a child in WW11 ......................................... 11 Choir and Singing ................................................................................... 14 The 7 Sleepers of Ephesus ..................................................................... 15 Crossword .............................................................................................. 16 St James the Least of All ........................................................................ 21 The crash that killed off Concorde ......................................................... 22 Could under 5’s be the key to significant church growth? ..................... 23 Sky Watching ......................................................................................... 24 Worship Diary ........................................................................................ 25
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Vicar’s Article
THE GLORY OF GOD IS PEOPLE WHO ARE FULLY ALIVE.
I was reflecting with a friend on the experience of lockdown and said it is a bit like stage fright, having feelings that need to be dealt with. Standing in front of a company of people and being the centre of attention can be daunting. The sense of an uncomfortable feeling rises and it must be quelled so that you can get on with the task in hand. The actor Ian Holm died recently and it was reported that he had to give up his stage career because the stage fright got too much. Our feelings can be so powerful. I remember conducting a wedding rehearsal. The groom and best man were both very anxious and kept pacing up and down. The remarkable thing was that these men were soldiers. The courage to face the enemy is different from the courage to speak of your love for the person most dear to you in front of family and friends. One of the purposes of a rehearsal is for people to face how they feel about being public property. It is usually very helpful in settling the participants for the ceremony. Making a comparison between the discomfort of lockdown and stage fright is only a metaphor. After all it has been the least public time of our lives! But anxiety and emotional distress have been widely reported. Is it sufficient just to seek to quell the unwelcome feelings? We have been brought face to face with how we are social people by being isolated. Contact with people is not just pleasant but crucial to our humanity. We have sorely missed those most dear to us. It is also true that the means of communication we have had have been good but only a partial expression of being together. For instance video conferencing has been very valuable. But I have found in some meetings just being presented with faces, negotiating when to speak and when to listen and not having the more relaxed chit-chat before and after are all quite draining. Someone reflected with me about the funeral that they had had for a parent. They were not allowed to have a time of gathering and refreshments after the service. They felt as if they had not been able to grieve fully because of this. We are people who need both formal ritual and relaxed gatherings to ex-press the realities of our lives. Coffee after church is a crucial dimension of a
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The Vicar’s Day off is Friday
Alan Keeler
church community. A work party enables us to be together, to mix casually and contribute with our small talk and physical activity. Could I say that that it is not stage fright that I was experiencing but seeking to be fully alive? The meaning of my discomfort is not just noticing it and and quelling it but exploring who I am more deeply. I was walking between church house and the church building and a couple of people came from the Garden of Remembrance to walk down the main path to the road. I thought ‘oh I don’t know them’ but I still called out and we had a brief conversation. When I am out for a walk and encounter people I make a point of saying ‘good afternoon’. I am surprised how many people are not ex-pecting it. As I was walking along I saw a friend start to walk down a side road. I waved enthusiastically, they looked worried and doubled their pace away from me. It was not the ‘Dave’ I thought it was. I felt momentarily silly, but did it matter? He could have turned to me and said ‘who do you think I am?’ We could have had a laugh about it. As they say, you only meet a stranger once. Many people hope the experience of Covid-19 will have taught us lessons. I have been so pleased to see how the homeless have been taken into accom-modation. I hope that this compassion continues and makes us as a society care for other disadvantaged people. The Black Lives Matters protests have shown how racism continues to affect many people. We need greater equal-ity in our society. How wonderful it will be to see ourselves in new ways and be able to be more fully alive. To relate to each other more openly and creating ways to meet that are richer than we have been used to. It may take courage but let us not quell the impulse. Best wishes
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“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also “Matt:
6:21
People have laughed at me a lot lately as I freely confess to looking for ways
of circumventing lockdown in a responsible and socially distanced way. My in-
stinct is always to be in the thick of things, and to seek escape when trapped.
I have only one life, this is not a rehearsal, and I don’t want to waste it or to
miss anything
But from lockdown to prison…..I realised that a large part of my heart re-
mains in prison, when I received two letters this week.
One was from Prison Fellowship(PF) asking for money for the Angel Tree an-
nual appeal to buy and send Christmas presents to the children of those in
prison, and the other from the Prisons Week group of which I was a member
for about 10 years – we arrange a week of prayer for those in Prison every
year in October, and I used to write the prayers.
The letter from PF started “my heart is breaking for men and women in
prison”. It described the 23 hours a day in-cell, for meals, all education, wor-
ship and play, only being let out 45 minutes a day for a shower, a walk, a
phone call or kit change, and not all of them every day. This is vital to protect
prisoners and staff from coronavirus. But what a travesty of a life is left after
taking those precautions! You can shower or phone home, take exercise or
have a shower or have clean clothes. No abundant life here! I was back on
the landings in a heartbeat -truly a large piece of my heart remains in prisons
and with the prisoners. They are collectively immensely brave and enduring,
many of them deal with the kinds of life experiences, losses and deprivations
that would certainly lead many of us to unimaginable despair and distress. I
was never surprised by suicide and self-harm given what some of our prison-
ers went through. They tend not to downplay or underplay their needs and
feelings and tell you the truth more often than not straightaway, because this
encounter might be their only opportunity to share their pain or to ask for
help.
The theme for this years’ Prisons Week in October(11th-17th) is “All are in-
vited” based on the story of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22, and my
first response was to say ‘if only it were even partly true, how wonderful’’,
our prisoners are not generally invited, all those who find themselves dis-
criminated against in our communities are not generally invited either and
one of our key aims for the post lockdown world must surely be to work to
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make that invitation a reality.
Jesus came to bring abundant life, and some of us already have much more
abundant life than others. We as Christians have a call to share the good
news of the coming of the kingdom of God, but also to build community, and
to include others in, sharing the good things and the many opportunities for
abundant life with others. Clearly some of my treasure remains in prison, but
the rest is out in the world. When we are unlocked we have a fresh chance to
ask ourselves the question - ‘where is my heart and my treasure?’ and reas-
sess where we think it needs to be. Have fun – Alison Tyler
Even more things I have learnt in Lockdown by Jill Atkinson:
That footpaths get overgrown very quickly, but that many of them must be used regularly, as most keep surprisingly clear.
That even when one day cereal crops are unrecognisable, the next they are clearly wheat, oats or barley.
How much better I feel for exercise outside.
That it isn’t nearly as disastrous to wash jeans with sweet wrappers in the pocket as it is to leave a tissue behind.
That I should take care not to volunteer for anything without thinking about my exit strategy.
That a little rain makes a field of grass very wet.
How short is my attention span when following something online.
Just how many different species of wild flower we have in Britain, & how they take turns to proliferate.
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Please spare us a thought I doubt that even my best friends would say I was a good salesman (or sales-woman). I am the sort of person who agrees to take part in a charity spon-sored event for an excellent cause, & then I end up sponsoring myself be-cause I don’t like to ask anyone else. But as I had hoped that at this point in the year we might have been talking to you in person about the church fi-nances, and there won’t be another opportunity to write in the magazine un-til September, I shall have to do my best - & hope that you will “bear with…” Why now? Before I start, perhaps I should acknowledge that now probably isn’t the best moment to talk about giving your money away. If you are unfortunate enough to have been affected adversely by the financial implications of the Coronavi-rus pandemic, or were already finding it a challenge to pay all the bills, then of course no one is suggesting that your membership of the church or sup-port for its work is any the less. And I that appreciate there are many other worthy causes. However, as I guess many of us haven’t really thought about the amount we give St Mary’s since the last stewardship campaign in 2018, & quite a few of us haven’t changed the amount we give since the campaign be-fore that, six years ago, please do read on. I suspect that different personalities respond best to different styles of ap-peal. Perhaps you identify best with the approach of one (or more) of these New Testament characters: Peter made mistakes, but always threw himself whole-heartedly into life as a disciple. He would be right behind those who argue that all we have comes from God, & that it is only fitting we use all our resources for his purposes. As was said at the end of the (pre-decimal) collection in the (pre-modern lan-guage) services of my childhood, “All things come from thee, and of thine own do we give thee”. The ultimate expression of this is the vow of poverty taken by monks and nuns, but others are also thus motivated to give very generously of their resources. Is that you? Matthew was a tax-collector, so would be very good at calculating a fair pro-portion to give away. Various figures have been recommended, from a biblical tithe of all income to, perhaps more realistically, 5% of net income after es-sential bills have been paid. Does the proportion you give the church really reflect the importance the church plays in your life? And no doubt, Matthew would also be asking that if you are able, that you make your donations in a tax-efficient manner! John was an evangelist, so he would be full of all the good things the church
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does for our part of North Bromley (Grace café, providing a community cen-tre in the hall, inspiration and support for a large number of volunteers who freely give their time to others in so many ways). He would point out how im-portant it is that there continues to be a visible and recognisable Christian presence in the local community, & the opportunity for everyone to mark life events (births, marriages, funerals) in a traditional manner. He would say that St Mary’s practises what it preaches – and each year, gives away some of its money to other good causes, e.g. JusB, Bromley Homeless Shelter, CMS and Careplus & encourages us to support others – Children’s Society, Christian Aid, Poverty & Hope. Joseph of Arimathea rose to the occasion & gave generously by donating his tomb when it was needed. I have been heartened in recent years by the gen-erous giving, not only of church members but also of those who haven’t oth-erwise contributed to our finances, to our special appeals for “Twinkles Go Large” and the “Lighting Project”, way beyond our original hopes and dreams. It is for this reason that I feel it worth asking you to think about whether you might increase your contributions to our everyday costs, which have risen way beyond our everyday income. James the Less is known for his less than favourable comparison with the other James. He stands for those who might be influenced by the “relative cost” arguments. How much (pre-virus) would you have happily paid for a cup of coffee in Bromley or to buy a round in the pub? To belong to an eve-ning class or pay for a child’s music lesson? To go to the theatre or a concert or buy a football club season ticket? To celebrate a birthday or other mile-stone in style? And then, by comparison, how much are you “paying” to be-long to the church? Thomas is the one who wants to know all the small details for himself. He would be interested to hear that in 2019, fifty-eight church households be-tween them contributed nearly £35,000 to ordinary funds – an average of £50 per month, or £600 per year. Or that the total spent on heating & lighting the church in 2019 was over £9,000; and that support for the Diocese (including important advice on things like Safeguarding and supporting par-ishes in less affluent areas as well as the cost of providing a vicar) came to nearly £70,000 – well over £1,000 for each of those fifty-eight households. Or that, although last year the Hall complex made an “operating surplus” of about £33,000; even including that and a £10,000 legacy in the calculations, reserves fell by nearly £36,000 following another fall of nearly £48,000 in 2018. Or that we had already anticipated that we wouldn’t have enough
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reserves left to pay all our bills in 2020, even before any income cuts (no hall rents, no gift aid or stewardship envelopes, no concerts or big services) due to the pandemic were factored in – hence the talk of a stewardship cam-paign. Indeed, putting it very simply, by this Autumn there won’t be enough money in the bank account to pay all the regular bills. Martha tends to get a bit of a bad press, but she does actually get things done, & sometimes we too need to be a bit like Martha. Having pointed out reasons to review what you give to the church, & hopefully, decide on an in-crease or even a “one-off” donation, please put that decision into action! If you are new to giving to us, the bank account details are on the St Mary’s website, as is information about setting up a standing order, making your do-nations tax-efficient, & the opportunity to pay online. Just look for the “Giving” tab. Any questions, or for an electronic copy of the 2019 accounts, please email me. And having said that, I must go and follow my own advice!
Jill Atkinson, Hon. Treasurer St Mary’s – [email protected]
& more things Jill has learnt during lockdown.... That it is much easier to follow a map when it Is on your phone with an arrow showing your current position.
That you can still buy and enjoy hot cross buns weeks after Easter has been and gone.
That the same crop grows much better in some parts of a field than in others.
That those of us who were convinced by the government propaganda that we should stay inside are now very reluctant to venture out again.
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A view from the pew
Letter to the Editor
Please note that everyone is welcome to all events.
“What did you do in the Great Pandemic, Dad?” “Well, Son, your Mother and I played Qwirkle each evening.” “Dad, is that a euphemism for …?” “No, Son. Your Mother and I don’t go in for euphemism; not after you were born, anyway!” “So what did you do, Dad?” “We did what that nice Mr Johnson told us. We locked down.” “How did you lock down, Dad?” “We stayed indoors. We didn’t go out, Son, except for one short walk a day.” “Was it hard, Dad?” “Was it hard? Was it hard, Son? I’ll say it was hard. We were fighting an enemy we couldn’t see. It might be anywhere. In front of you: behind you: in the air: on the door handle. It was scary.” “Were you scared, Dad?” “We were worried, Son. People were dying. They weren’t people we knew, but they were still dying. Lots of them, dying.” “Why didn’t you go somewhere safer, Dad?”
“We couldn’t, Son. Not allowed. Unless you were Mr Johnson’s special friend, that is. No, we just had to sit it out and hope the bug did-n’t find its way into our house.” “What did you eat, Dad?” “Well, food was rationed by the supermarkets, Son. You were only allowed in one at a time.
Most shops were shut anyway. We did have food delivered eventually.” “Was it really a long hot summer, Dad?” “Yes, the sunniest and driest spring since 1940. Probably for the same reason – very little traffic.” “But petrol wasn’t rationed, was it, Dad?” “No Son. In fact petrol dropped to the lowest price for a decade because no-
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one needed it, as we weren’t allowed to drive anywhere. Unless you were a special friend of Mr Johnson, that is.” “Did you have to take a gas mask with you when you went out, Dad?” “No Son. Just a face mask. – The difference was that you had to wear it, not carry it round on your shoulder.” “You must have gone to a lot of funerals, Dad.” “No, Son. That was the problem. We couldn’t go to funerals. We couldn’t go to weddings. We couldn’t go to church, or pubs, or restaurants, cinemas or theatres, or to football matches. We couldn’t meet up with friends or even family. It was total lockdown.” “It sounds like martial law, Dad.” “I suppose in a way it was, Son. Although we didn’t think of it in those terms. We just did as we were asked for the good of all.” “Everyone was a foot soldier, then, Dad?” “Yes Son. But we didn’t march together, we stayed two metres apart. Under curfew, but out on Thursday evenings to clap for carers.” “How did you survive, Dad?” “Like everyone else, Son. Doing our bit was enough, as long as the others did theirs.” “And did they. Dad?” “Enough did, Son. Enough did.”
Peter Fall
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Mothers’ Union Matters Chatting on the phone: “bumping” into each other while on the daily walk: meeting up in gardens: vir-tual coffee. A few of the ways MU members have kept in touch throughout the lockdown. Most members took part in the Plant Sale that never hap-pened. The plants were grown in the spring as usual. The books were col-lected through the year as normal. Jigsaws were checked to ensure all the pieces were there. But the Sale went on – in a “virtual” way! All the plants were sold – raising more than £300 for Mothers’ Union and over £200 for Welcare in Bromley. The books were given away – and more came in! The jig-saws were exchanged as in a library. All these activities created interaction, helped mental health, brought people together, raised funds for strengthening families and provided a focus during dark times. Mothers’ Union members can be proud of what they have done during the past three months as a positive force for good when much of the news was bleak. And when you pick your tomatoes, look out at your busy lizzies, read your book or complete your jigsaw, be assured that it is through such small actions that the Kingdom is extended.
There will be no MU meetings before September at the earliest. Though if there is a safe way of seeing each other as a group in the next month or so, socially distanced of course, we will be in touch
Meanwhile the knitting goes on! Please contact Mary Fall ([email protected] 020 8464 1239) for wool and ideas.
This blanket was produced during
lockdown and will go to “Knit for
Peace” when the time is right.
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Jean Dodds-Growing up as a child in World War II
WW2 1945 As the German armed forces gradually retreated to their homeland the risk of bombing and rockets was reduced. A group of friends and I had fun travelling to Dartford Heath accompanied by an adult. We travelled by bus to Dartford and then boarded another to take us to the Heath. This was the exciting part as a POW camp was hidden away on the Heath. At a certain point Military Police boarded the bus to inspect our iden-tity cards. We used to play a game trying to identify an escaping prisoner or even spy one hiding in the bushes. Victory in Europe, known as VE day was a great source of relief and happi-ness. All the shops were closed but my Father (who was the manager of the furniture department store, Hides, Bexleyheath) and I were able to sell flags in the precinct of the shop. People were laughing and smiling. We went to the Civic restaurant for lunch where the staff had made a special effort by making a red, blue and white jelly. Nobody had requested the blue jelly. I felt so sorry for the volunteer staff who had made the effort that I ate the blue jelly. A celebration party was organised on the Barnhurst Green. When it was get-ting dusk fireworks were exploding. I found it incongruous that we should be cheering the whizz and bangs when we had endured a similar noise for 5 years. The next day I cycled to school, passing the 11th century St. Paulinus Church just before a row of terraced houses many of which were strewn with flags and bunting and messages eg Welcome Home Jack ,Bob and Henry etc. I was concerned that other houses did not have any greetings and wondered whether their Jack, Bob and Henry would not be coming home or were in-jured and unlikely ever to return home. The celebration was over quickly before we realised that the USA had
stopped all exports of food and raw materials to GB. This resulted in a reduc-
tion of the food rationing . All the European countries were desperately short
of food, their infrastructure was either damaged or destroyed their agricul-
tural land had been churned up. In GB rationing began on 8th January 1940
and lasted until 1954 which is 9 years after VE day . In July 1945 for the first
time flour and bread were rationed. bread was only sold a day old as it was
easier to slice thinly. Restrictions were gradually lifted. In May 1950 canned
and dried fruit, chocolate biscuits, treacle, syrup, mincemeat as well as petrol
were removed from the list. In 1953 sugar and butter could be bought over
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the counter. Meat rationing insisted that some of the ration had to be taken in corned beef and we were introduced to Whale and Horse meat, Reindeer was unrationed but only sold at Smithfield meat market. Meat was the last item to “ come off ration”. Potatoes became a problem in the bitter winter of 1947/1948 when the root vegetable crops were in short supply so potatoes were rationed. As the allied forces made their way through Europe POW camps were opened but at Belsen POW camp a second camp had been built in 1943 known as Bergen Belsen which was the concentration camp to remove unwanted civil-ians who did not fill the criteria of a pure Aryan race which Hitler aspired to. Our generation will never forget the voice of Richard Dimbleby commentating on the horrific sights of skeleton men and women wearing only a striped long shirt amidst the piles of dead bodies. The photographs were in newspapers and shown on newsreels at the cinema. In 1988 when our eldest son was sta-tioned in Germany Denis and I together with my Mother and two other sons spent a wonderful white Christmas in Germany. The day after Boxing Day we visited a snow covered Belson It was bitterly cold. We wore suitable warm clothing and were not very warm but realising what those inmates had to en-dure wearing only a thin nightshirt. We were speechless in the Museum and did not chatter on the return journey. My second cousin Eric who was captured at Dunkirk was liberated in 1945. He was demobbed, given a medical, a new set of clothes and a travel pass to re-turn to Plumstead. Whilst a prisoner he was paid 10 shillings ( 50p) per week. He had to nominate a person to whom the money was paid. Three days after he returned home he visited me bringing me his German text books. All the prisoners had to learn German with lessons once or twice a day. The script was in old German. I thanked him of course but took them to the school li-brary. He made a date to meet up for lunch in Woolwich. During this meal he told me that he was looking forward to receiving his back pay but when he asked his Mother for the money she replied “ I spent it”. Both his parents were working so they should not have needed the money . I was only 12.5 years old and really did not know what to say. We kept in touch briefly. Dur-ing family reunions of my first Mothers’s family he was always very bitter and envious of me making snide remarks. In hindsight he should have been a can-didate for counselling but there must have been thousands more like him needing guidance. In July 1945 Clement Atlee became Prime Minister after a General Election. He and his government had a huge task ahead of them. The country was al-most bankrupt, a housing shortage, out of date machinery, bomb damage,
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returning prisoners and military men seeking employment. In August 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Japan killing 200000 peo-ple. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki Japan killing the same amount of people. Both these events were and still are very controversial due to the long term medical genetic damage to those who sur-vived. However by September 2nd the Japanese surrendered which is known as VJ day. When the POW camps were liberated it was discovered thousands had died of malnutrition and disease. Those who survived were all malnour-ished and suffering from a multitude of tropical diseases. They were cared for by medical and nursing staff who had to gradually increase their intake of food before they were allowed to start the long journey home by ship which assisted their recovery. When we lived with a young family in Cheltenham in the early 1960’s a near neighbour had been a prisoner in Japan. He did suffer with severe mood swings. You may wonder why I have written these memoirs. It all came about early November 2018 at the back of Church when I was tidying the books having just celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the ending of the First World War which Mary Hardcastle and Jo Clarke had been able to put together a wonderful display of local families memorabilia. I happened to remark to Mary that the next exhibition will be to mark the beginning of the second World War. A voice from behind was heard to say “but none of you will be alive then” How true was The Rev Alan Keeler’s remark. He was quick doing the arithmetic. That is the reason why I have written these articles. It is not unique and will/ could be replicated by many other people. Jean Dodds
Book Review Patterns in the Psalms – a colouring book SPCK, £9.99
This summer, if you have time on your hands, why not colour your way through the beautiful imagery of the Psalms?
This book contains 30 illustrations with a corresponding verse, all designed to appeal to an adult market. The designs include animals, flowers, leaves, waves, stars and other patterns. Readers can enjoy the creativity and free-dom of adding colour to these intricate designs, whilst scripture provides in-spiration and reflection for each page.
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CHOIR AND SINGING The “Virtual Choir” has continued to grow during lockdown, and is now 60 strong. Although we realise that we will not be able to sing even when we re-turn to church for worship, we have kept up our virtual practice at home over the past 3 months. We have prepared an anthem for each Sunday – just in case! We have joined the weekly BBC Radio 3 Singalong on Friday mornings. We have memorably taken part in the Big Music Sunday Service organised by RSCM, to which St Mary’s is affiliated. We bought the music, which was distributed electroni-cally. We learned our parts, with assistance from practice tracks provided on their website. We warned them that we were coming, and we joined forces
with thousands of other singers from around the world on 14th June. In a small way it helped us to realise that we were not alone in our frustration. And it gave us an incentive to look at music, as singers, with a view to being ready whenever we are called upon to lead worship again. Meanwhile we keep in touch with each other daily via the newsletter – content
supplied by the team - and by the odd phone call, text message and casual meet-up on doorsteps. We are a diverse body, with a common cause. We each have different skills but with one aim. We sing together for the glory of God. The fact that this is also good for our physical and mental health is icing on the cake. There is, of course, always the nagging feeling after seeing the streamed services, that recorded music may take over! Which reminds me, we are also missing the chocolate. Peter Fall
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27th July The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus – proving a nap is good for you! Do you tend to avoid conflict? When you feel stressed, do you crave sleep? Then the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus would be good patron saints for you. But - you may find it hard to copy their successful method of avoiding trou-ble! Legend has it that The Seven Sleepers were third century Christians who lived in Ephesus during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Decius. When things got very bad, the Seven Sleepers decided to ‘go to ground’. Literally. They found a cave on the outskirts of the city and walled themselves in. The story goes that then God simply put them to sleep. 200 years later they woke up and peeped out of the cave again. Things had changed: Ephesus had converted to Christianity. Unfortunately, the Seven Sleepers did not get much time to enjoy the new freedoms, because within a short time they all died – of extreme old age. The story was popularised in the 6th century by Gregory of Tours and Jacob of Sarugh, who venerated the Seven Sleepers as saints. But it was challenged by Baronius and many scholars since. It is sometimes called a Christianised pa-gan or Jewish legend akin to Rip Van Winkle.
A possible moral for anyone today is that when you find yourself in a storm of conflict, you don’t have to fight all the battles yourself. You can indeed seek refuge in God. He may not put you to sleep for 200 years, but He will be a safe hiding place for your soul.
Good to know
The little word of love, the right time and place
Will be blessed by God above, and watered by His grace.
Author unknown
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Crossword-(clues on next page)
I am only one
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do, And what I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.
– Anon
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Across 1 ‘I pray that out of his glorious — he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being’ (Ephesians 3:16) (6) 4 ‘Saul’s father Kish and — father Ner were sons of Abiel’ (1 Samuel 14:51) (6) 7 ‘Praise the Lord, O my — ’ (Psalm 103:1) (4) 8 See 5 Down 9 Laws (1 Kings 11:33) (8) 13 ‘Who of you by worrying can — a single hour to his life?’ (Luke 12:25) (3) 16 Artistry (Exodus 31:5) (13) 17 ‘Your young men will see visions, your — men will dream dreams’ (Acts 2:17) (3) 19 How David described his Lord (Psalm 19:14) (8) 24 ‘If this city is built and its — — restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates’ (Ezra 4:16) (5,3) 25 ‘The holy Scriptures, which are able to make you — for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 3:15) (4) 26 Intended destination of arrows (Lamentations 3:12) (6) 27 Eve hit (anag.) (6) Down 1 ‘For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find — for your souls’ (Matthew 11:29) (4) 2 Where Peter was when he denied Christ three times (Luke 22:55) (9) 3 Remarkable early 20th-century Indian evangelist, a convert from Hinduism, — Sundar Singh (5) 4 ‘Now the king had put the officer on whose — — leaned in charge of the gate’ (2 Kings 7:17) (3,2) 5 and 8 Across The Lover describes this facial feature of the Beloved thus: ‘Your — is like the tower of Lebanon looking towards — ’ (Song of Songs 7:4) (4,8) 6 ‘Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled — your waist’ (Ephesians 6:14) (5) 10 Trout (anag.) (5) 11 Easily frightened (1 Thessalonians 5:14) (5) 12 The ability to perceive (Ecclesiastes 10:3) (5) 13 One of the clans descended from Benjamin (Numbers 26:38) (9) 14 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who — bread into the bowl with me”’ (Mark 14:20) (4) 15 Resound (Zephaniah 2:14) (4)
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Life is a journey that no one makes alone. The more people you touch along the way,
the more meaningful and rewarding your time. – Anon
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St James the Least of All Beware the spell-checker on your special service sheets! The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren When producing material for your magazine or church services, beware the computer spell-checker. We once let our own system check a Christmas carol sheet and, on the night, found ourselves obliged to sing “away in a manager”, mangers apparently being unknown to our machine. If you use special sheets regularly, it seems a law of nature – as with metal coat hangers - that they all intermingle while no one is watching. Thus, on Easter Day, half the congregation will have been issued with sheets for Har-vest, which will only become obvious once the service begins. The first hymn will be entirely lost while sidesmen scuttle about looking for replacements only to find that there won’t be enough of them anyway and then the second hymn will be lost while others helpfully wander about church donating their sheets to those looking helpless and then trying to find someone to share with. Never, ever, print on them ‘Do not take home’ as this will only ensure every-one does so. I have sometimes wondered if the instruction ‘Take this sheet home for reference’ would ensure that they stayed neatly arranged in the pews after the service. And if it is a service where babies are likely to be pre-sent, be assured that many of the copies will be returned half chewed and coated with bits of whatever the infant had for breakfast. There must be a market for paper treated with a child-repellent flavour for such occasions. Anyone who thinks we are an unimaginative nation should visit a church after a special service to see how many places members of congregations can in-vent to hide the booklets: under kneelers, neatly folded and hidden inside hymn books, among flower arrangements and behind heating pipes so that no one can quite reach them. They then lurk there reproachfully for the next
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ten years until mice solve the problem. No, stick to large, hard bound books. They are resistant to teeth and are too substantial to be hidden in pockets. Their only drawback is that they tend to fall victim to the pull of gravity at the quietest moments. Your loving uncle, Eustace
The crash that killed off Concorde
It was 20 years ago, on 25th July 2000, that an Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris after taking off for New York. All 109 people on board were killed, as well as four people on the ground.
The plane was a charter flight from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to New York, and most of the passengers were German tourists on a ‘dream trip’ which would have seen them catch a cruise ship from New York to the Carib-bean. But as the Concorde hurtled down the runway, a fire started under the left wing – possibly caused by a metal part that fell from a plane that took off moments earlier.
The exact cause was never determined: the Concorde was also overweight, and the landing gear mechanism was slightly defective. The wind had also shifted slightly before take-off.
The aircraft was unable to gain height and plummeted on to a small hotel in nearby Gonesse, where a 20-year-old guest who had just arrived escaped mi-raculously by jumping from a window as her room caved in.
It was the only fatal Concorde crash in 24 years, but Concordes were grounded as a result, and although they returned to service in November 2001, all Concorde services stopped permanently two years later.
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Could under-fives be the key to significant church growth? New research has shown that young families with children under five could be a vital element for church growth. The Talking Toddlers report, using recent research by Savanta ComRes, found that 74% of all parents with children under the age of five have attended a church-based activity in the past year. Dr Rachel Jordan-Wolf, assistant director of HOPE Together, said: “We so of-ten hear about aging church, but here is something new – very young church. Can the church reach a generation of under-fives and their parents? Could they be the missing link for church growth? “These families are already in touch with us, many are open and questioning and the opportunity is now.’ The research was commissioned by HOPE Together, the Church of England, and the Evangelical Alliance, to highlight the potential for sustained church growth if the church nurtures the faith of under-fives and their parents. The findings include:
Churches are already in contact with nearly three-quarters of all parents of under-fives in Great Britain.
74% of all parents with children under the age of five have attended a church activity in the past 12 months.
12% of all parents of under-fives are practising Christians, double the num-ber of practising Christians in the population.
62% of all parents of under-fives are not active Christians, but they have attended a church activity for this age group in the past year.
More info at: www.hopetogether.org.uk/talkingtoddlers
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Sky Watching
What have you been doing whilst in lockdown? I have looked skywards and with the clear skies we have had, there have been some special moments to savour.
Last week I watched the Space Station pass under the moon from west to south east at just past 9p.m. So still lightish, but very visible and very topical as Elon Musk’s Space X had launched the previous day. My daughter also saw the rocket in the night sky after it passed over-head. She was so excited to have spotted it. You can track its progress on the NASA link and that will tell you the next time it will be visible in your area; so keep your eyes peeled.
Elaine Wakefield.
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WORSHIP DIARY
Open for Worship (soon) It has been announced that churches may reopen from 4th July. This presents a great opportunity and a great challenge. Some people will feel confident to join wider social gatherings. Others may feel they are vulnerable and wish to wait. Both of these choices will be equally re-spected. Because of this we will continue to make worship available online from St. Mary’s. Services in the church building will have to observe social distancing: Hand sanitizer with be available in the church. You will be most welcome to wear a mask and gloves if you like. Individuals or social bubbles will have to keep 2m apart. There will be cleaning between events. We will ask that visitors accept a card when they enter the church
building which will give simple guidance. We ask that the visitor leave the card where they have sat so we will know where to clean.
We will keep a record of people who attend. We may well know a per-son’s name and have their phone number. If we ask for this infor-mation it will only be used to help inform people if we have had a visitor who subsequently is found to have the virus.
What is our worship? St. Mary’s will continue to make worship available with services through its Facebook page. You do not have to be active on social media to do this. Simply use your computer browser to view https://www.facebook.com/stmarysbromley/
The current plan from 4th July will be to have: A live streamed service of Holy Communion at 10.30am on a Sun-
day. It will then be available as a catchup. We will not be offering coffee after the service.
This is followed by a social video conference using Zoom, a sort of after church coffee time at 11.30am. The log in is found on the current Newsletter, see below.
Compline or Night Prayer from 8.00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Private prayer in the church on Wednesdays 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
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If you have been following our online worship you will know that the words for the service are presented on screen. From 4th July the words will be available from St. Mary’s website:
There will be a sheet of A4 that can be printed out. Or the words can be downloaded to the viewing device. Set this up
with a split screen. Display the words on one side of the screen and the video on the other. If you have difficulties please contact Alan Keeler.
Full instructions will be on the website from 1st July on the tab St. Mary’s Post Lockdown.
If you find printing out or screen splitting difficult please ask Elaine Wakefield to post you a copy.
We will be entering into new territory with these changes. It may take a while for some things to settle down.
NEWSLETTER This is distributed to our immediate congregation. A copy can be found on St. Mary’s website. Choose the options Current news and then Pew Paper. If you would like a copy posted please contact Elaine Wakefield.
St Mary’s (Plaistow) College Road Bromley Vicar Revd ALAN KEELER 8460 1827
Day off Friday 74 London Lane BR1 4HE
e.mail:[email protected]
Associate Priest Revd Canon RICHARD HANDFORTH 8460 0238
1 Bromley College, London Road, Bromley, BR1 1PE
Associate Priest Revd ALISON TYLER 8249 8843
59 Bishops Avenue BR1 3ET
Readers Mr JOHN COX 8464 8269
47 Mooreland Road, Bromley BR1 3RD
Mr MIKE EAMES 8851 5180
4 Powster Road, Bromley BR1 5HF
Dr KEITH NYE 8464 9346
61 Wharton Road, Bromley BR1 3LE
Pastoral Assistant Mrs ANTHIA PAGE 8460 1960
21 Rodway Road Bromley BR1 3JJ
Churchwardens Mr CLEM SUTTON 8697 0127
1 Bamford Rd, Bromley BR1 5QP
Ms SALLY ADCOCK 84643801
Parish Administrator ELAINE WAKEFIELD 8466 6969
e.mail:[email protected]
Church House ATLANTA TOPHAM 07951 748155
Bookings email:stmaryshouse&[email protected]
Messy Church ALAN KEELER 8460 1827
e.mail:[email protected]
Concerts & Choir PETER FALL 8464 1239
Organist ANNE CLEMENTS 8464 2355
CarePlus Mrs MIRANDA SUIT 07930 955398
e.mail:[email protected]
Magazine Committee Jo Clark Editor email:[email protected] 8289 6535
Elaine Wakefield Editor, Postal distribution, Advertising email:[email protected]
8466 6969
Jill Atkinson Editor email:[email protected]
Lesley Speller Distribution Manager 8460 5569