St Mary's
Parish Magazine - July 2001
Readings for Sundays in August
On Sunday 1 July, at 7.00 pm at St Elphege’s in
Stafford Road, there will be a Festival of Christians making Music.
There will accordingly be no Evensong at St Mary’s that night.
On Tuesday July 3, the feast of St Thomas, the Eucharist
will be celebrated at 12.30 pm.
On Saturday July 7, starting at 7.00pm, there is an
evening of wine, desserts and cabaret at the Englands’ home, 19 Redford Avenue,
under the familiar title Pudding & Plonk. Have your main course at home and then join the party! Gerrie and
Eileen will soon be calling for volunteers to provide some of the delicacies.
Selwyn, Cassie and Carolyn are tuning up their vocal chords. In past years this
evening has been a tremendous success, thoroughly enjoyable, and has raised a
goodly sum for church funds - do come and help to make it so once again.
On Sunday July 22 we celebrate St Mary Magdalene.
That being the last Sunday before the choir goes on its well-deserved summer
holiday, Evensong will be earlier than usual, at 5.00 pm.
Advance notice - at lunchtime on Sunday August 5, come
and enjoy a barbecue with a difference in the garden of 16 Wandleside. “Sausages & Sangria” is what we have
called the event, which tells you most of what you need to know. Tickets are priced at £3 adults, £1.50
children, available from Anne or Alan May.
The fun runs from 12.30 till 2.30 pm, and includes a raffle, opportunities
for clock golf in the rain, and all the other good things the Mays’ garden has
to offer!
Philip Ottey, the magazine’s advertising manager for some
years, has decided to hand over that particular hat. Many thanks to him for
encouraging businesses and organisations to take space - the revenue helps to
keep us going. Bob Pedrick, better known at St Mary’s, perhaps, as one of the
tenors in the choir, has agreed to try the hat on for size. We are sure it fits
and wish him well in the post.
We shan’t be seeing quite so much of Sam Hudson, our
assistant organist, at St Mary’s, as he has accepted the post of accompanist at
St Michael’s, West Croydon, while he builds up some funds in advance of going
to university in the autumn of next year.
The Editor and his wife are delighted to record that they
have become grandparents. Hannah
Grace was born to Nick and Tracey on June 6 at Southampton. She’s still
spending most of her time sleeping and hasn’t learnt to cry yet (much!).
You should find in this magazine a new version of St Mary’s
trade directory (or yellow pages). If not then please pick one up in church or
get in touch with the Editor.
Those of you with memories from the parish meeting of a
couple of years ago will remember a scheme to bring some of the roads currently
in the far north-eastern corner of Hackbridge parish into St Mary’s parish. At
the time of going to press it looks likely that the legal business will at last
be completed by August 1, and the roads concerned will pass into our parish as
from that date. Please get out your
local maps before you read on…
At the moment the northern boundary of St Mary’s parish is
Mile Road, running from just north of Hackbridge station eastwards across
Beddington Lane and Beddington Farm Road to the boundary with Croydon borough.
The area about to come into the parish comprises all the open space framed on
the west by the Hackbridge-Mitcham Junction railway line and on the north by
the tramline from Mitcham Junction, through Beddington Lane, and further east
to the borough boundary. This therefore includes all the industrial areas along
Coomber Way, Endeavour Way, and part of Therapia Lane, plus Jessops Way and
Elberon Avenue. In addition the new part of the parish includes all the roads
in the much smaller triangle between the tramline, Mitcham Road, and the
borough boundary - that is, Brookmead Road, Oakmead Road, Homemead Road,
Redhouse Road and Saffron, Rosemary and Cinnamon Closes.
This makes a total of about 100 houses new to St Mary’s
parish, and to all of you reading about this in those roads we say a very warm
welcome! We shall be praying for all these roads on Sunday mornings in August,
and many of us will get used to exploring this new part of the parish as we
have leaflets to deliver in the future.
As I said, all this is scheduled to happen on Wednesday
August 1, which, by one of those really silly but appropriate coincidences, is
historically an important day for Beddington parish anyway. The first reference
anywhere to a parish church at Beddington comes in the life of Ethelwold,
bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984. The diocese of Winchester in those days
was huge, and at the age of 76 or thereabouts he was required to come to
Beddington on an official visit of some kind - where he most unfortunately took
sick and died! Shortly after his death the obvious holiness and
single-mindedness of his life earned him formal recognition as a saint, and his feast-day (if you hadn’t already
guessed it) is August 1.
So who was this man who figures so prominently in the early
life of St Mary’s? He was born in
Winchester and became a monk at Glastonbury during the time when Dunstan was
its abbot. Dunstan himself was recognised as a great reformer of the church, in
both practical and spiritual ways, and eventually became Archbishop of
Canterbury - he too was canonised as a saint. Ethelwold was ordained priest by
him, and in about 953 was entrusted with the re-founding and renewal of the
abbey at Abingdon. From there he returned to Winchester in 963 to be its
bishop. In the 21 years that followed he founded or re-founded a large number
of monasteries and abbeys right across the country, as far afield as Ely,
Peterborough and Chertsey.
As was typical of the time he also turned much of his
attention to the reformation of the way
of life and religious observances of the monks whose Orders served those places
- he wrote, at Dunstan’s request, the Regularis Concordia which aimed to
provide as much uniformity as possible in their liturgy and their daily life.
He also personally translated the Rule of St Benedict, on which the
observance of many religious communities is still based, into English for the
benefit of nuns who had no Latin. He was, like Dunstan, renowned as a craftsman
and a musician, and he encouraged the School of Illumination at Winchester,
many of whose wonderful manuscripts and scriptural texts can still be seen.
He was summed up by a contemporary as “a bishop of tireless
energy, who carried out reforms whatever the opposition; he was merciless to
the slack, full of sympathy for the good-willed and the unfortunate”. His life’s work had a lasting effect and
influence in the English church, even though it was brought so unexpectedly to
its end on a visit to St Mary’s. We shall celebrate our regular Eucharist in
his memory on Wednesday August 1, and we shall also make a special point that
morning of praying for all those who are coming that day into St Mary’s parish.
Please remember us, and join
your prayers with
ours, if you
can’t be there
in person.
* *
*
There is a local Confirmation once again this autumn; this
year it is the turn of St Michael’s to host it, and it will take place on their
Patronal Festival, Sunday September 30, at 10.00am. If anyone is interested in
being confirmed, please speak as soon as possible to me, Heather, Jenifer or
Betty. In preparation for the Confirmation there will be a total of eight
sessions, as usual following our own adaptation of one of the “Emmaus” courses,
and these will run on alternate Wednesdays and Mondays at 7.30 pm. You can find
the dates in the What’s On on page 3.
Selwyn Tillett
Eric Fleet’s 66 years of faithful service to the patients of
the British Hospital and Home for the Incurables at Crown Point, Streatham has
been recognised with the award to him of Member of the Order of the British
Empire in this year’s Queen’s Birthday honours list. And not before time, was
the feeling of many.
We have been next-door neighbours for 35 years and knew of
his close association with the Home, but, so that I could get the background of
his service, I went in to have a cup of tea with his devoted wife Beryl.
Needless to say, while we were talking, Eric was at the Home for his usual
Tuesday afternoon visit. I think there wasn’t much Scrabble played but a
celebratory drink and many congratulations.
Back in 1935 when Eric was a member of Toc H, whose motto is
“Leap for joy for any task for others”, the male patients were put to bed at
4.00pm because of a lack of staff. Naturally the men were not very happy with
this early bed-time and, as a Toc H project, Eric and about eight other young
men went to the Home and got the men ready for bed between 7.30 and 8.00.
When Beryl and Eric were about to be married in 1936, he
asked her if she would mind his going to the Home on a Saturday evening to
perform this duty. Beryl has been his whole-hearted and devoted supporter since
that day and has made countless flasks of tea, sandwiches and cakes when Eric
organised outings and functions for the patients.
In the early days 15 patients would be taken to the Rookery
in Streatham on a Saturday afternoon to watch an outdoor entertainment, and
that meant finding 30 volunteers to push the wheelchairs, two to a patient.
There were outings in a special coach,
an annual trip to the Blossom Route in Kent and to Windsor Great Park to see
their patron, the Queen Mother, drive by in an open carriage on her way to the
Ascot Races. She always gave a special wave to the wheelchair patients who
lined the route.
There were shopping trips to the Whitgift Centre, individual
Christmas presents, and birthday cakes. By this time Eric was chairman of the
League of Friends and under his leadership the patients were provided with
numerous “extras” which greatly enhanced their lives.
After a serious operation about eight years ago, Eric asked
Gerrie if he would like to help with the indoor bowls which the patients play
from their wheelchairs.
Nowadays Eric enjoys a game of Scrabble with the patients
and, at the age of 92, Tuesday afternoon is an important appointment in his
week and one which he doesn’t like to miss!
We are all delighted that his years of total commitment and
devoted service have been acknowledged and look forward to seeing him and Beryl
drive off in style to Buckingham Palace to collect his MBE.
Eileen England
Fifty years ago, a young St Mary’s chorister was approached
by Frank Jennings, who was Captain of the Ringers, with an invitation that
changed his life. “You look a likely young lad to become a ringer,” and so he
was!
Stewart Kimber started ringing in the summer of 1951 and on
Sunday, July 15, he will be celebrating 50 years as a ringer at St Mary’s. In
honour of this, there will be a “get-together” in the Centre after the morning
service. Please come and join Stewart and the ringers for this occasion.
Since that long-ago day, Stewart has become a much-respected
figure in ringing circles. He represented Surrey on the Central Council - the
international body governing ringing - for 13 years. At local level he has been
Surrey Association Treasurer, Northern District Master and General Master twice
- a post he currently holds.
A member of The Ancient Society of College Youths (the
oldest London Society), he was also a Sunday Service ringer at St Paul’s
Cathedral for many years. His name is on a peal record there to commemorate the
peal rung for the birth of Prince Andrew.
His patient and easy-going nature makes him an ideal Master
and he has led the Beddington band successfully, whether at competitive level
or in recruitment, for the last 20 years.
He met the girl who became his wife in the belfry, both his
sons are ringers, as is his daughter-in-law, and now there is another
generation of ringers in the making, with the birth last month of his
granddaughter Hannah.
Not all bands of ringers are at one with their incumbents -
or organists for that matter. Stewart has rung for four different rectors (and
seven different organists) without falling out with any of them! He encourages
his fellow ringers to support the church in whatever way they feel they can and
leads by example with his friendliness and willingness to help out where
needed.
A journalist by profession, he has been editor of the church
magazine for the past 10 years. His ringing tours of Ireland, America and
recently, Australia, have been well-documented and the escapades of the ringers
on their outings and other activities, have often been given his humorous
touch.
He is looking forward to seeing the bells, that have brought
him so much pleasure over the past 50 years, being rehung for future generations
to enjoy.
What a wonderful day it was on Saturday June 23. The sun
shone from cloudless blue sky, showing the countryside in its best light. What
a peaceful scene - until St Mary’s car
treasure hunt got under way.
Seven teams set off from Warlingham in their cars to tour
the quiet backwaters of Surrey and Sussex, dashing down country lanes, leaping
in and out of their vehicles in search of the valuable answers to the questions
from various pubs, churches, restaurants and railway stations. The organisers
unfortunately failed to warn them of the traffic jams in East Grinstead, but
with true grit the teams found their way, and even though only one team (our
esteemed Rector and Cassie) managed to reach the Wheatsheaf Inn at Marsh Green
within the allotted time, they all eventually arrived safe and sound to enjoy a
lovely pub lunch, with a superb range of real ales (pity we had to drive
home - Ed).
When the scores were totted up it was found that a tie had
emerged - between the teams led by the Rector and by Stewart Kimber. After the
addition of bonus points Stewart and his team emerged the winners and carried
off their treasure.
I congratulate all those who took part, and I hope a good
time was had by all. If we do this again next year perhaps more of you would
join in. The day resulted in £58 being collected towards the Shopping List.
Dee Hyatt
In the April/May issue of the magazine Mary Tapp wrote about
the celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of the Mothers’ Union. We were
invited to apply for tickets to attend the Service of Thanksgiving, to be
attended by the Queen, at Westminster Abbey on June 7. I didn’t think I stood a
chance of obtaining a ticket but to my amazement I received an official
invitation. Carol Cairns had also received a ticket (what luck, it meant that
St Mary’s would be well represented after all!).
We travelled up together early in the morning of the 7th to
get as good a seat as possible. To our astonishment, when we arrived at the
Abbey at 10.00am there was a queue already reaching halfway round the building.
But once again luck was on our side because there were only a few waiting by
the north entrance which we had been told to use. The crowds of tourists were
surprised to see so many ladies queuing outside the Abbey, all wearing their MU
badges, so we had a great time telling everyone that we were waiting to see the
Queen!
At 11.00am Big Ben struck and we were ushered towards the
North Door; I am ashamed to say that Carol and I managed to be first through
it! (The ladies in front of us were less able than us!) We quickly took our
places and waited expectantly. There was an excited buzz as we whiled away the
time until noon - when the Queen was due to arrive - so we had an hour to
search the sea of faces for friends from all over the world.
The service was wonderful - truly inspirational - and Carol
and I feel we were so fortunate to have been a part of it. To add to our joy we
were able to see the Queen all through the service, whereas some ladies didn’t
catch a glimpse of her at all. What a wonderful experience - it will live with
us for a very long time. As I write my head is still in the clouds. I feel so
proud to be a part of Mary Sumner’s dream - 125 years on.
Gwen Whiting
Thanks to our small but faithful band of volunteers, St
Mary’s was able to collect £931.52 for Christian Aid Week in May. This will
increase when Christian Aid claims back the tax on all gifts from taxpayers. We
shall not know the total collected nationwide for some time but Christian Aid
hopes to surpass the £12 million collected in 2000.
There will be a new organiser in Beddington and Wallington
in the near future and I feel that now is the time for me to relinquish being
representative for St Mary’s. I have been involved with Christian Aid for over
10 years and I have enjoyed my responsibility. I hope that someone will come
forward and forge a link with the new organiser. New blood brings new
enthusiasm and change brings new ideas!
I would like to thank all who have supported me by
delivering and collecting envelopes and helping to count the cash. Please think
about taking on this simple job.
Eileen England
June 10 Verity Rose and Thomas Philip Hendrick, 26
Church Lane
Charlie
Peter Patrick Reed, 85 Guy Road
Emily
Rebecca Harland, 91 Claydon Drive
May 26 Matthew Thorpe to Joanne Murphy, 62 Guy
Road
Mark
Buckingham to Lisa McCarthy, 25 Bloxworth Close
June 9 Paul Woolterton, 25 Mortlake Cl, to
Paula Garrett
16 Darren Blond to Nicola Martin, 14 Bridges
Lane
May 21 Matilda Margaret Cook, aged 93, of 89
Benhill Ave, Sutton
June 1 John Thomas Fido, aged 81, of 31 Crispin
Crescent
15 Jack Reginald Cadman, aged 81, of 17
Hallowell Ave
19
Winifred Georgina May Cook, aged 87, of 97 Demesne Road
It’s now two years since I took over as PCC Treasurer.
During that time, I’ve been told that it’s particularly appreciated that I try
to keep everybody in the parish clued up about the state of our finances, so
this is what I will continue to do. So if your eyes start to glaze over with
figures, you only have yourselves to blame!
This year’s “shopping list” totals just under £14,000. For
anybody who isn’t familiar with this, it represents the difference between our
anticipated income and expenditure in the course of the year. Our anticipated income, by the way, includes
cash collections on Sundays, all stewardship giving, income from the hire of
the Centre, magazine sales and advertising, etc. At this point, I’d also like
to say a huge thank you to everybody who continues their stewardship so
generously and reliably - it makes our budgeting so much easier.
In order to make up this shortfall, we ask for specific
sponsorship of various items of expenditure. If I ever find myself in a
position (which hasn’t happened yet) whereby I don’t have enough money in the
bank account to pay a set of bills, it is the position of the shopping list
which will dictate which suppliers are paid first. In other words, if (for example) sponsorship has been received
for payment of the bills for piano tuning but not for organ maintenance, then
Mr Lane will have his bills paid before Mr Buttolph!
When I took over this position from Mike Goodbourn, he left
the daily cashflow in a healthy position, with sufficient money in the regular
account to pay bills, and a further £3,000 in a high interest bank account as a
“cushion”. (That may sound like a lot of money, but given that our annual
turnover is £60,000, it actually represents around 2½ weeks’ money.) I’ve occasionally had to borrow from this
account when we have had a dip in funds, but the money has always been returned
within a week or two.
Our “shopping list target” is presently running over £1,000
behind - about a month. During May, I
had to borrow the first £1,000 from the high interest account to keep our
current bank account in the black (as we don’t have an overdraft
facility). This represents almost
exactly the amount by which the shopping list is behind at this point in the
year.
I’ve enjoyed giving these updates on previous occasions, as
I have usually been able to be very encouraging and optimistic, and I’m not
comfortable giving negative news. I can’t even wring a windfall out of the
gasman this time!
Where has the money come from on the shopping list so far?
the Yellow Pages scheme, whereby individuals donate the money earned by using their professional skills - over £800.
all fund-raising activity which is designated “for general funds”. Just over £700 has been raised by the Pancake Evening, the performance of Stainer”s Crucifixion, and the Tea & Symphony concert (the latter raised £175).
the wall boxes at the back of the church and from donations at weddings: over £500
one-off gifts to the shopping list: just under £3,000.
We are so very grateful for the continuing generosity and
hard work which helps so much with our funding.
At the same time, the Tower & Bells campaign,
spearheaded by our ringers, is making great progress. The total for that fund
has just cleared £11,000. Almost all of this money has either come specifically
from the ringers’ funds of money they have earned at weddings over the last few
years, by sale of their own goods, or by support from ringing friends outside
the St Mary's community.
So where does this leave us now?
You all are well aware of the amount of progress that we
have made in reducing our “mortgage” - the money that we needed to borrow from
the Diocese in order to finish work on the Centre when the recession hit the
project hard. These repayments are largely responsible for our shopping list
being needed at all, but by maintaining them as consistently as we have done,
we’ve made progress into the loan that we couldn’t have dreamed of five years
ago.
In December 1997, we owed £101,000. We were paying over £400 per month in interest alone, and were making no progress at all on the capital.
By mid-June we owed less than £32,500. We are paying less than £65 per month in interest, and over £900 per month in capital.
In 1997, we were anticipating that the loan would be finally cleared around the year 2017. Our calculations this year lead us to hope that we will make our final payments around Easter 2004.
This can only continue to be our target if we can
keep our bills paid, and to do this we must keep the shopping list paid up to
date.
Please help us to continue this good work, to keep our bills
paid in a dignified manner (including our Fairer Shares to the Diocese), and to
gradually increase the money that, as a Christian organisation, we try to give
to other organisations, such as USPG and various other charities. Imagine what
it will be like when that additional £12,000 each year no longer needs to be
paid, and how much else we can do with that money. The sooner we can reach that
target, the better!
Please keep us all - by which I mean the whole of the St
Mary’s family, not just the PCC or the Finance Committee - in your prayers, as
we work towards thinking less of the business of banking and more of the
business of Christ.
Cassie Tillett
On a sunny Saturday morning in early June I was standing on
Wallington Station waiting for the London Bridge train to arrive when along
came Pam Vernon. “Are you going to the same place I am?” “I think I may be,”
was the reply.
Our destination was Southwark Cathedral for the Vocations
Day. I was specifically interested in the training for Ordained Local Minister
and Pam in other aspects of vocation. The day proved to be very worthwhile and
we gained a much wider view of “vocation” than is normally envisaged when this
word is used.
The course for Ordained Local Ministry beginning in
September will be the last one of two years’ training; in future the training
will take three years and the maximum age to be considered will be 60 years.
The syllabus looks very interesting, well structured and challenging. It is not
highly intellectual but is based more on practical experience in the parish,
but of course with the necessary scriptural and theological background
training. Candidates will have lived in their parishes for a number of years,
be committed church members, know the local community and its needs and have
time available to assist the incumbent with his sacramental duties once they
are ordained.
I spoke to a man who had been through the course having had
no previous training and he said that at first he was absolutely terrified at
the prospect of becoming an Ordained Local Minister but he had been approached
by his incumbent and the PCC who had seen the potential in him, and he felt
that this was what God was calling him to do. He said that when he first looked
at the syllabus he wondered if he could possibly cope with it, but it turned
out not to be as difficult as it appeared. He felt that being an OLM was a very
worthwhile ministry as it enabled him to be of greater assistance to the
incumbent and to have the opportunity to serve the church and parish in many
ways.
Bishop Tom began the
day by telling us about the three Cs of our Christian discipleship - Craft,
Commitment and Companionship. Each has a craft or a talent to offer; each can
be committed to serve the Lord in whatever way they can; each can offer
companionship to others. He said that we were brothers and sisters whose hearts
had been touched by God and our companionship was the glue which held us
together.
The Revd Frank Dewar gave us two excellent talks based on
his book, Called or Collared?. He said that there were roughly three
ways in which the word “vocation” was
used when it referred to the calling of God:
|
GENERAL (for all): |
To be a Christian, a follower of Christ (through church
membership). |
|
INSTITUTIONAL (for some): |
Ordination, Reader, Pastoral Auxiliary, Churchwarden, etc. |
|
PERSONAL (for all): |
Some activity that connects deeply with your nature,
character and personal history. Will involve you in giving generously of
yourself. Unlikely to be life-long, full-time, or paid. |
The day was packed with interest and was very inspiring and
affirming, and there is so much more I could tell you about but space does not
allow. But perhaps I may be permitted to ask you - is God calling you to change
direction, to offer yourself in a new way to His service, to develop the gift
which is you for the good of His church and the furtherance of His Kingdom on
earth?
Anyone interested in learning more about Ordained Local
Ministry should contact Selwyn, who has all the details.
Jenifer Davison, Reader
|
Sun |
1 |
THIRD AFTER TRINITY |
|
|
|
|
Festival of “Christians making music”: St Elphege’s,
Stafford Road |
7.30pm |
|
Tue |
3 |
St Thomas, Eucharist |
12.30pm |
|
|
|
Parents and Toddlers meet, Church |
10.00am |
|
|
|
Bible Study group meets, 18 Bond Gardens |
7.30pm |
|
Wed |
4 |
St Mary’s Guild: Jenifer Davison talks about Monasticism.
St Mary’s Court |
2.30pm |
|
|
|
Pre-confirmation group meets, Church Centre |
7.30pm |
|
Thu |
5 |
MU&OG dines out |
|
|
Sat |
7 |
May Queens service |
2.00pm |
|
|
|
“Pudding and Plonk” evening. 19 Redford Ave |
7.00pm |
|
Sun |
8 |
FOURTH AFTER TRINITY |
|
|
Mon |
9 |
Magazine Panel meets, 2 Peaks Hill |
10.00am |
|
|
|
Pre-confirmation group meets, Church Centre |
7.30pm |
|
Tue |
10 |
Bible Study Group meets, The Rectory |
7.30pm |
|
Wed |
11 |
Deanery Synod meets, All Saints, Hackbridge |
7.30pm |
|
Sun |
15 |
FIFTH AFTER TRINITY |
|
|
Mon |
16 |
Coral Evensong with choir of Wilson’s School |
5.00pm |
|
|
|
PCC meets, Vestry |
8.00pm |
|
Tue |
17 |
Bible Study Group meets, 14 Nairn Court, Elgin Rd |
7.30pm |
|
Wed |
18 |
MU Corporate Eucharist |
10.00am |
|
|
|
Pre-confirmation group meets, Church Centre |
7.30pm |
|
Thu |
19 |
MU&OG: Steve Whiteway talks about the history of
Epsom Coaches. Church Centre |
8.00pm |
|
Sun |
22 |
ST MARY MAGDALENE |
|
|
Mon |
23 |
Pre-confirmation group meets, Church Centre |
7.30pm |
|
Tue |
24 |
Bible Study group meets, 14 Nairn Court, Elgin Rd |
7.30pm |
|
Sat |
28 |
St Mary’s Court Trustees meet, St Mary’s Court |
10.00am |
|
Sun |
29 |
SEVENTH AFTER TRINITY |
|
Sun Aug 5
Trinity 8
Hosea 11: 1-11 (page 953)
Colossians 3: 1-11 (page 957)
Luke 12: 13-21 (page 958)
Sun Aug 12
Trinity 9
Isaiah 1: 10-20 (page 959)
Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16 (page 962)
Luke 12: 32-40 (page 964)
Sun Aug 19
Trinity 10
Isaiah 5: 1-7 (page 965)
Hebrews 11: 29-12:2 (page 968)
Luke 12: 49-56 (page 969)
Sun Aug 26
Trinity 11
Jeremiah 1: 4-10 (page 970)
Hebrews 12: 18-29 (page 973)