St Marys Parish Magazine April 2002
St Marys Parish
Magazine April 2002
Readings for Sundays
and Festivals in May
On Easter Monday, April 1, the church will be open as usual on Bank
Holidays from 11am to 5pm. No doubt Margaret Freeman would appreciate some help
with stewarding. Have a word with her if you can oblige.
The President at both the Eucharists on Sunday April 7 will be Revd
Patrick Grant, from St Michaels, and at both on Sunday the 14th Archdeacon
Tony Davies will preside. The Annunciation, which falls this year on Monday
April 8, will be celebrated by joining the congregation of St Michaels at
their Eucharist, at a time to be specified later. There are so many clergy away
immediately after Easter it has proved impossible to provide a priest to
preside here.
On Monday April 23, St Georges Day, there will be a Sung Eucharist at
7.15pm. This is slightly earlier than usual for a weekday but the APCM follows at 8.15pm.
On the Bank Holiday on May 6 the church will not be open during the day
as preparations will be under way for the concert in the evening by the
Albinoni String Orchestra. Tickets are available now, priced 6 (5
concessions) or 3 for students.
Family tickets are
also available (2 adults and two
or more children) at 15. This includes
refreshments, which will be served in the Centre during the interval. Proceeds go both to church funds and to the Winged Fellowship.
If the bells sound a little more joyful this Easter its probably
because the ringers have just learnt that the Surrey Association of Church Bell
Ringers has offered them a grant of 15,000 towards the cost of
replacing the bellframe and fittings.
After 66 years in the same house Iris Saunders has moved to The Croft
nursing home in Wallington. Before she became disabled by arthritis she was a
very active member of St Marys, particularly under Revds John
Read and David Richardson. She sends her thanks for their good fellowship to
all the people she worked with in her active days.
A month or two ago I floated
the idea of a walk around the parish boundary on Rogation Sunday, partly as fun
and partly as a means of getting to know the whole of our parish now that the
new area has come in to its northern part.
Centuries ago it was
something that every parish did, originally in solemn procession, singing hymns
and blessing the crops as the congregation walked around the parish after
church on that Sunday near the start of the growing season.
Later the blessing of
the crops fell out of use, but a parishs legal responsibility under the Poor
Law for strangers and sick people found literally on its territory meant that
it was useful to know where the parish boundaries actually lay. Manys the
churchwarden or Overseer of the Poor who will have led some unfortunate into
the next door parish (or in some extreme cases tipped them over the fence) to
avoid an unwelcome financial burden. Walking the bounds on Rogation Sunday
became a way of ensuring that everyone knew where the lines were drawn, and if
there were physical boundary markers at strategic points the choirboys were
encouraged to beat them with rods as a graphic way of remembering the location.
If there were no markers it was often the boys themselves who got beaten to
achieve the same effect . . .
It was a custom we
re-instated (minus choirboys) in the villages where I used to work in Essex. On
a weekday morning as soon as possible after Rogation Sunday a party of intrepid
walkers would meet in church for Morning Prayer and then set off, either with a
picnic lunch or with a route carefully planned to take in a suitable hostelry
at lunchtime. As there were three villages we walked them on a three-year rota,
carefully remembering, according to the year, whether we needed gumboots for
the marshes or bandages for the one with the boundary of more than 24 miles.
There was no greater
point to it than having a good walk on a pleasant spring day, and discovering
some bits of the parish we didnt know about before. So I thought we might try
it here and on the really fine Saturday at the end of February I set myself
the task of walking the potential route to see if it was feasible. It certainly
was, and so I propose to do it again on Sunday May 5 and this is an appeal
for people to join me.
I reckon the length is
between six-and-a quarter and six-and-a-half miles, keeping as close to the
real boundaries as industrial fences and railway lines will permit, but you can
reduce this to somewhere between four-and-a-half and five miles if you decide
to use the tram and the train at the relevant points. (I think they both
run on Sundays!) I walked the whole circuit, and allowing for 20 minutes
exploring possible alternative (dead end) paths, and giving myself a (carefully
timed) halfhour in the Jolly Gardeners at lunchtime, I suppose the actual
walking took about 2 hours and 10 minutes.
If anyone would like
to take part in this exercise, take a look at the map of the parish, with the
boundaries carefully marked in red, beside the lectern in church. This will
give you some idea of whats involved.
On the day maps and
written instructions will be available, so that (a) people can go at their own
pace and (b) no-one gets lost. A picnic lunch might be recommended, though the
Harvest Home on Beddington Lane, the Jolly Gardeners on Mitcham Road, and the
Grange on London Road are all either on or very close to the route. Loo stops
will be arranged with people who live conveniently nearby.
I will be starting
from the Croydon Road entrance to the park (opposite Bute Road) at 11.30am or
as soon as possible thereafter on the Sunday morning. There is of course no
obligation for anyone keen to walk to do it at the same time, though it might
be more fun and more public if this was an obvious St Marys outing. I
imagine you can form your own group and do it later that day, or even on a
different day altogether. But between whatever time I get back home and 6.00pm,
there will be open house at The Rectory for the weary in search of tea and a
willing audience for tales of adventure and catastrophe.
If youre interested,
please let me know a week or two beforehand so that I can prepare the maps,
arrange the comfort stops, and if necessary warn the police to expect a large
marching body (arent we supposed to carry lamps fore and aft, or something??).
Selwyn Tillett
If you are not on the
Electoral Roll of St Marys but would like to be, you still have the
opportunity while the Roll receives its annual update before the Annual
Parochial Church Meeting. Simply obtain an application form from Mary Tapp and
return it to her or to the box on the table under the tower at any time up to
the end of Monday April 8. Mary (and the form itself) will explain the
necessary qualifications, and once she has your returned form the system will
do the rest.
In fact whether or not
you have been on the Roll before, you will need to complete an application form
this year. Every Roll receives a complete revision every sixth year, and this
is the year so if you still want to be part of the churchs decision-making
process you need to obtain the form from Mary and return it by the due date.
You will then be
eligible to vote during the Annual Meeting itself, which takes place in the
Centre on Tuesday April 23, beginning at 8.15pm sharp, immediately after
the Sung Eucharist for St Georges Day. In order to accommodate both the
service and the meeting, please note that the Eucharist will begin 15
minutes earlier than usual on weekday nights, that is at 7.15pm.
The minutes of last
years Annual Meeting, this years Annual Report and Financial Statement from
the PCC, and the Agenda for this years meeting, will all be available from
Saturday April 13. Among the business
is the election of Churchwardens, Deanery Synod members and PCC members for the
coming year. If you are considering standing for election in any of these
capacities, then once again you need to be on the Electoral Roll, and the
relevant forms will be available by that date at the latest.
Once you have got
yourself on to the Roll, you may wish to take part in this years elections,
but are not able to attend the meeting itself. In that case you can apply
beforehand for a postal vote.
Application forms for these will also be available by Saturday the 13th
at the latest. Return your application
form to Selwyn, Gerrie, Margaret Freeman or Diana before the Annual Meeting on
the 23rd, and should an election be necessary, a voting paper will be got to
you by the evening of Thursday the 25th.
You then have up to 12
days in which to think, pray, vote, fold your paper and return it to The
Rectory. Papers must be returned there sometime during the week from Tuesday
the 30th to Tuesday May 7; they will be counted on the morning of Wednesday May
8, and the new PCC will be announced and commissioned during the 9.30
Eucharist on Sunday the 12th.
There is
a Confirmation at St Marys on our Patronal Festival, Sunday September 8. It
will be the main service that Sunday morning, but it may have to be at a time
other than 9.30am, to suit the diary of the bishop (whoever that is) who will
be presiding. Bishop Wilfred will have
retired at the end of July.
If you have been
vaguely thinking about being confirmed, but perhaps waiting until there was a
service at St Marys, then now is the time to think more positively. Please
talk to me as soon as possible if you are still thinking it over, and in any
case do let me have your name quickly.
The reason for the
slight hurry is that the service will be a joint one for ourselves and St
Michaels; and as there will be candidates from both churches, the
pre-confirmation group will also be a joint one, and it will begin meeting on
Monday April 22. Hence the need to have an idea about numbers soon.
The group will meet in
the Thompson Room in St Michaels church hall in Milton Road, on Monday
evenings at 7.30 for 8.00pm, on the following six dates April 22 and 29; May
13 and 27; and June 10 and 17 June. Revd Patrick Grant, the vicar of St
Michaels, Revd David Walford, his assistant priest, and I will lead two of the
sessions each. The topics to be covered will include something about baptism
and confirmation itself; the Eucharist; prayer; how we read the Bible; a brief
introduction to church history, and so on. The rehearsal for the service itself
will take place in St Marys on Wednesday September 4 at 8.00pm.
Selwyn Tillett
Feb 15 Colin
Gresham Baker, aged 63, of 20 Bristow Road
The Chaplaincy
Department of St Helier Hospital, recently awarded a chartermark for
excellence, is offering a six-week course on developing skills for visiting
people facing illness and loss.
The course will help
people who through their work, personal life or position in their faith
community, regularly visit people facing the crises that illness and loss can
bring.
It would be a useful
update for people appointed to visit on behalf of their church and for hospital
visitors. It is possible to use this course as a stepping stone to applying for
a voluntary position as a hospital visitor.
The dates of the
course are April 17 and 24, and May 1, 8, 15 and 22. The course will be held in
the Hospital Chapel, 1st Floor, St Helier Hospital, from 2.00pm - 3.30pm.
If you are interested
in applying for the course contact Judith Young, Chaplaincy Dept, 4th Floor,
Ferguson House, St Helier Hospital, Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 1AA.
Tel: 020 8296 2306.
St Marys ringers are
planning to hold an auction to raise money for the refurbishment of their
church bells.
They need your help
with small items to auction, such as good wine, exercise bikes, sporting
memorabilia, carriage clocks, small collectables, etc, and Promises - for
instance, free transport to and from local airports, car cleaning and other
professional services - use of a Time-Share or caravan for a weekend, one or
two hours session on the internet/email, making a birthday cake, cooking a
special meal, painter/decorator for a day, etc. What are not needed are items
which would find a better outlet at a car boot or jumble sale.
If you can donate an
item, please let the ringers know and collection arrangements will be made or
you can leave items at St Marys if you attend a service.
The auction will be
held in St Patricks church hall, Park Hill Road, Wallington, on the evening of
Saturday June 15, 2002. Inquiries should be directed to Kathleen Chilcott,
telephone 8686 2272.
About eighteen months
ago Chris Kimber spent some time in the tower making recordings of the bells
being rung in various ways - just a single bell, two or three bells together,
combinations of various bells, clock chimes, something suitable for a funeral,
and so on. Through the internet the resulting CD has sold all over the world.
He recently heard from
the pastor of St Johns Episcopal Church in Union City, New Jersey, who wrote:
We tolled the bell
[from your CD] for almost 45 minutes on the Friday after the September 11
attack in New York, as we are directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
The tolling was deeply moving for everyone in this crowded city neighbourhood
as there were many public vigils of prayer. Ours is the only church in the
immediate vicinity and therefore the only bell sound comes from our tower.
Several persons of no particular faith remarked to me, the solemnity of the
bell tolling should help us never to forget this tragedy.
Its good to know that
St Marys ringers were able to help on such a traumatic occasion.
On a Saturday in early
February, 22 members of St Marys choir, along with a few friends and helpers,
boarded a luxury coach for a visit to Arsenal Football Club. I was particularly
looking forward to this as it had been my hope to arrange this outing for many
years and, after many months of negotiations, I received a phone call from the
club that arrangements had been completed.
The journey to
Highbury was interesting, to say the least, especially as we had to guide our
53-seat coach around closed streets in London, with diversions set up for
vehicles with a maximum width of 6'6"! However, skilful driving got us to
the Arsenal in plenty of time.
From the outset we
were looked after very well and made to feel welcome. The first part of the
visit featured a brief talk about the ground while we watched the pitch being
prepared, including watering the goal areas with high-powered hoses. Having
played on putting greens with a far worse surface I can see why Arsenal often
wins the best kept pitch competition.
After a visit to the
club museum we made our way to the North Stand for our seats to watch Arsenal
versus Southampton. The atmosphere was captivating and as the team was
announced on the giant screens cheers went up, with a huge crescendo for Dennis
Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
The first goal took
nearly 40 minutes to arrive as Wiltord scored for Arsenal at the far end of the
stadium from us. In the second half Southampton capitalised on Arsenals lack
of finishing by gaining an equaliser from a free kick. However, even the
one-all draw didnt detract from a wonderful experience for the whole group
which was over far too quickly.
After the match we
were booked in for training with Arsenal staff and the boys clearly enjoyed
this too. As we relaxed on our return journey, not only was I pleased that we
had enjoyed our day at Highbury, but I also came away with the undoubted
feeling that we had seen a thoroughly well-run football club.
Andrew Wilson
St Elpheges Catholic
Church will be holding its patronal festival in St Marys on Wednesday April 17
at 8.00pm so it seems an appropriate time to look at the man.
Alphege (Elphege is an
alternative spelling and there seems to be no clear-cut decision on which is
correct although technically Aelfheah is his correct Anglo-Saxon name) was born
around 953, towards the end of the reign of King Eadred, the uncle of King Edgar
and only 50 years after the death of King Alfred. It is usually accepted that he was born in the
village of Weston, near Bath, and there is a well or spring upon Lansdown named
after him.
It is said that he was
of a good family and that dreading the resistance of his mother to his
becoming a monk, he prayed to God to point out his destiny, which being done
by divine means, he relinquished his paternal inheritance and entered a
monastery at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire. He later left to live as a hermit in
Glastonbury.
Alphege was appointed
Abbot of Bath by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. He may have been present
when Edgar came to Bath Abbey in 973 to be crowned the first King of All
England.
Alphege quickly gained
a reputation for his strict adherence to the ascetic lifestyle and for his
sternly moral character. He was particularly scathing about those who had taken
the habit without fundamentally changing their way of life and constantly
berated them for their lack of sobriety and generally worldly lifestyle.
In 984 Alphege became
Bishop of Winchester, then the capital of England, and during his time as bishop would undoubtedly have visited St
Marys, which was in the diocese of Winchester until 1907. In 1005 Alphege succeeded
Aelfric as Archbishop of Canterbury. At this time the Danes had conquered much
of southern England and in September 1011 Canterbury was besieged and
eventually fell. They plundered the city and burned the cathedral.
Alphege and others
were taken by ship to Greenwich and imprisoned for seven months by the Danes
who demanded ransom money for their release. This was done for the other
prisoners but the sum required for Alphege was so enormous that the Archbishop
refused to pay it and forbade his friends to do so. In their anger at Alpheges
refusal to pay, the Danes killed him on April 19 1012. His death caused him to
become a national hero. He gradually came to be venerated as a saint with his
feast day celebrated in churches in Kent on June 8 although this was later transferred
to April 19.
At its meeting on
March 19 the Parochial Church Council heard that the churchyard paths are to be
re-laid during the first part of May although the path which runs south-west
from the South Porch may not be completed until August.
Plans for a votive
stand have advanced and drawings and a sample are to be sent to the Diocesan
Advisory Committee for their approval.
The state of a brass
effigy of a Gothic Knight was giving cause for concern. The effigy, which is
underneath the choir stalls, is to be set in a new marble base.
Plans for a new alarm
system for the church were reviewed. A quotation from a local company was
thought to be favourable and the matter was also to be sent to the DAC
The choir is
organising a sponsored swim at Whitgift School on Saturday April 13, from
2.30pm-5.00pm - so watch out for the boys over coffee on Sunday mornings.
The number of weddings
booked at St Marys has fallen quite sharply this year - which is reflected in
the expected income for the choir - so please be generous.
As an added bonus you
can go along and join in the swimming for a small charge of just 2.50.
|
Mon |
1 |
Bank Holiday. Church
open |
11am-5pm |
|
Tue |
2 |
Parents and Toddlers
group meets in church |
11.00am |
|
Wed |
3 |
St Marys Guild
meets. St Marys Court |
2.30pm |
|
Thu |
4 |
MU&OG: Enrolling
Members evening. Church Centre |
8.00pm |
|
Sun |
7 |
SECOND OF EASTER |
|
|
Mon |
8 |
Feast of the
Annunciation |
|
|
|
|
Magazine panel
meets, 2 Peaks Hill |
10.00am |
|
Sun |
14 |
THIRD OF EASTER |
|
|
Mon |
15 |
Deanery Synod meets,
All Saints, Carshalton |
7.45pm |
|
|
|
Church Centre
Committee meets, 19 Redford Ave |
8.00pm |
|
Tue |
16 |
Social Committee
meets, 2 Caraway Place |
8.00pm |
|
Wed |
17 |
MU Corporate
Eucharist |
10.00am |
|
|
|
St Elpheges
Patronal Festival Mass |
8.00pm |
|
Thu |
18 |
MU&OG: The
Rector entertains. Church Centre |
8.00pm |
|
Sun |
21 |
FOURTH OF EASTER |
|
|
Tue |
23 |
ST GEORGE |
|
|
|
|
Sung Eucharist |
7.15pm |
|
|
|
Annual Parochial
Church Meeting. Church Centre |
8.15pm |
|
Sun |
28 |
FIFTH OF EASTER |
|
Sun May 5
Easter 6
Acts 17: 22-31 (page
236)
1 Peter 3: 13-22 (page
238)
John 14: 15-21 (page
239)
Thurs May 9
Annunciation Day
Acts 1: 1-11 (page
240)
Ephesians 1: 15-23
(page 243)
Luke 24: 44-53 (page
244)
Sun May 12
Easter 7
Acts 1: 6-14 (page
245)
1 Peter 4: 12-14, 5:
6-11 (page 247)
John 17: 1-11 (page
248)
Sun May 19
Pentecost
Acts 2: 1-21 (page
249)
1 Corinthians 12:
3b-13 (page 253)
John 20: 19-23 (page
254)
Sun May 26
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 40: 12-17,
27-31 (page 258)
2 Corinthians 13:
11-13 (page 260)
Matthew 28: 16-20
(page 260)
Sun Apr 14
Canticles: Brewer in D
Anthem: The strife is
oer Brewer
Sun Apr 21
Canticles: Standford
in G
Anthem: Sing ye to the
Lord -
Bairstow
Sun Apr 28
Canticles: Sumsion in
G
Anthem: Out of the
deep - Morley
Mon 1 Thanksgiving
for the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Tue 2 Our
parents and toddlers group
Wed 3 St
Marys Guild
Thu 4 All
planning to be confirmed in the near future
Fri 5 Our
choir and other local musicians
Sat 6 Those
preparing to be married here this summer
Sun 7 All
those away on holiday
Mon 8 Those
planning their wedding for next year
Tue 9 Parishes
preparing for their Annual Meetings
Wed 10 All
involved in Post-Ordination training
Thu 11 Preachers
and evangelists
Fri 12 Local
historical societies
Sat 13 Our
own last arrangements for the Annual Meeting on 23rd
Sun 14 Those
being baptised today, and their families
Mon 15 Deanery
Synod, meeting tonight
Tue 16 Our
Social Committee
Wed 17 St
Elpheges, celebrating their Patronal Festival
Thu 18 Our
Mothers Union and Open Group
Fri 19 Our
prayer group
Sat 20 Local
registrars and their work
Sun 21 Those
who regularly distribute our leaflets and publicity
Mon 22 All
who work in or care for the Park
Tue 23 All
standing as candidates in the elections at todays Annual Meeting
Wed 24 The
work of local theatres
Thu 25 Thanksgiving
for the Scriptures
Fri 26 College
and university teaching staff
Sat 27 Young
people considering further education
Sun 28 Local
schools - their governors and PTAs
Mon 29 Our
local industries and businesses
Tue 30 Local
hospitals and clinics
Wed 17 Anselm,
Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher of the Faith, 1109
Fri 19 Alphege,
Archbishop of Canterbury, martyr, 1012
Tue 23 George,
martyr, patron of England, c304
Mon 29 Catherine
of Sienna, teacher, 1380
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