St Mary’s Church Parish
Magazine – June 2004
Readings for
Sundays and Festivals in June
Better than
'Midsomer Murders(r.)'
Why Americans drive
on the wrong side of the road?
Easter Vestry and
Annual Parochial Church Meetings
Flower arrangers
get tied up in knots…
Money Matters…
Treasurer’s Update
Eastertide
Pilgrimage to Iona 2005
Columba of Iona (c.
521 -97) - 9 June
|
Tue |
1 |
Magazine Panel meets
at 35 Vanguard Way |
5.30 pm |
|
|
|
Bible/Discussion
Group meets at 24 St George's Road |
8.00 pm |
|
|
|
Social Committee
meets at 2 Caraway Place |
8.00 pm |
|
Wed |
2 |
St Mary's Guild
Garden Party at 31 Carleton Avenue |
2.30 pm |
|
Thu |
3 |
MU&OG. A talk by Reg & Sheelagh Willis. Church Centre |
8.00 pm |
|
Sat |
5 |
Parish Quiet Day at
St Mary's Abbey, West Malling |
|
|
SUN |
6 |
THE HOLY TRINITY |
|
|
|
|
Parish Garden
flowers in Church (Warning! Car Boot Sale in field this morning) |
|
|
Tue |
8 |
Bible/Discussion
Group meets at 24 St George's Road |
8.00 pm |
|
Sat |
12 |
Guides rehearse in
church for tomorrow's service |
8.45 am |
|
SUN |
13 |
CORPUS CHRISTI |
|
|
|
|
Guides and Brownies
at Sung Eucharist |
9.30 am |
|
|
|
Churches Together
Christian Music Festival. St
Elpheges(No Evensong at St Mary's) |
7.00 pm |
|
Tue |
15 |
Bible/Discussion Group
meets at 24 St George's Road |
8.00 pm |
|
Wed |
16 |
MU Corporate
Eucharist |
10.00 am |
|
Thu |
17 |
MU&OG. A talk by Barbara Duncan of the Sutton
Association for the Blind. Church
Centre |
8.00 pm |
|
Sat |
19 |
Quiet Day exploring
'Prayer and Health' at St Michael's |
10.30 am - 4.00 pm |
|
|
|
Progressive
Supper in aid of the Shopping List. |
|
|
SUN |
20 |
TRINITY 2 |
|
|
Tue |
22 |
Bible/Discussion
Group meets at 24 St George's Road |
8.00 pm |
|
Thu |
24 |
St John the Baptist.
Eucharist |
7.30 pm |
|
SUN |
27 |
TRINITY 3 |
|
|
Mon |
28 |
Bible/Discussion
Group meets at 24 St George's Road |
8.00 pm |
|
Tue |
29 |
SS Peter &
Paul. Eucharist |
9.30 am |
Arrangements are going
ahead for our parish Quiet Day at St Mary's Abbey. West Malling
on Saturday, 5 June. The focus of the
day will be thanksgiving for the Holy Communion. The cost should be no more than £5 per head. Ring Jenifer on 8773
2004 for further information.
On Sunday 13 June
(Corpus Christi) there will be no
Evensong at St Mary’s. This is
partly because that night sees the annual Churches Together Christian Music
Festival taking place once again at St Elphege’s, at 7:00 pm; but also
because our own choir will by then be rehearsing thoroughly for their
performance of Handel’s Messiah, in church at 6:30 pm on
the evening of Sunday 4 July. Though
this is long notice, please make sure you have the event in your diaries now,
and invite all your friends to be there.
Admission will be free, with a retiring collection in aid of the Tower
& Bells Fund afterwards, and there will be refreshments in the Centre
during the interval. The performance
will include about two-thirds of the oratorio, though omitting some of the
longer choruses in the Passion music.
The soloists will be David Menezes (tenor), Joanna Soane (soprano) and
Leon Berger (bass) – all of them young professional operatic and recital
soloists, and well known to St Mary’s audiences as members of Chimes Musical
Theatre. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear them in more serious vein (and
local audiences heard David singing as tenor soloist in The Darkest Hour at
Cheam URC on Good Friday this year).
They will be joined for the Messiah by the mezzo Camilla Cutts,
another member of Chimes who is also making a name for herself in the world of
opera and oratorio. It promises to be a
memorable evening!
That same morning,
Sunday 13th, sees the annual ceremony when we say thank-you to all
those who have a regular part to play in the Sunday morning Eucharist, and
commission them all for their work in following year. So this is a reminder to all servers, lesson-readers,
intercessors, Sunday School leaders, ministers of the chalice and others – please
make sure you are in church at the 9:30 Sung Eucharist that day in order to
take part.
The 9:30 Eucharist
that day will be specially memorable for another reason too – our Brownies will
be marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the
first Brownie pack in Beddington by taking part in that service. Plans are well in hand to invite members of
other local Brownie packs to come and share in the celebrations and to
do something special to mark the event.
St Michael's will be
holding a Quiet Day on Saturday, 19 June, from 10.30 to 4.00 pm,
Led by Rev'd David Walford, the theme will be exploring Prayer and
Health. There is no charge for the
day, but there will be a retiring collection to cover costs.
Later on Saturday 19th
the Social Committee will be hosting a 'Progressive Supper' which was
tried with great success a few years ago.
It doesn’t mean the cuisine will be advanced and experimental – only
that we shall have our first course at one venue, proceed in due time and an
orderly fashion to another for our main course, and eventually move on to
another for our dessert and a fourth for our coffee. Venues have been identified (all within easy walking distance of
each other), but please speak to Selwyn or Pat if you can help with providing
sustenance! Tickets will cost £6 and all proceeds will go to the Shopping List.
The Eucharist
will be celebrated additionally in June as follows:
- Thursday 24th (St John the
Baptist) at 7.30 pm;
- Tuesday 29th (SS Peter & Paul)
at 9.30 am.
The Sunday morning Car
Boot Sales held nearby can cause problems.
However, if people coming to church put a large notice in their car
window, the organisers will try to accommodate us sensibly in parking. Future dates for these events are: Sunday, 6
June, 11 July, 1 August and 5 September.
You might also like to
note that Carew Manor will be open to visitors on Sunday, 27 June, 18
July and 26 September.
Sunday 6 June
The Holy Trinity
Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31 (page 891)
Romans 5: 1-5 (page 892)
John 16: 12-15 (page 893)
Sunday 13 June
Corpus Christi
Readings to be
presented by the
Guides and Brownies
Sunday 20 June
Trinity 2
Isaiah 65: 1-9 (page 919)
Galatians 3: 23-29 (page 921)
Luke 8: 26-39 (Page 922)
Sunday 27 June
Trinity 3
1 Kings 19 : 15-16 & 19-21 (page 925)
Galatians 5: 1, 13-25 (page 927)
Luke 9: 51-62 (page 928)
Tue 1 Justin, Martyr at Rome, c165
Sat
5 Boniface (Wynfrith) of
Crediton, Bishop, Apostle of Germany, martyr, 754
Wed 9 Columba, Abbot of Iona, missionary, 597
Fri 11 Barnabas
the Apostle
Wed 16 Richard,
Bishop of Chichester, 1253
Fri 18 Bernard
Mizeki, martyr in Zimbabwe
Tue 22 Alban,
first martyr of Britain, c250
Wed 23 Etheldreda,
Abbess of Ely, c678
Thu 24 Birth
of John the Baptist
Mon 28 Irenaeus,
Bishop of Lyons, teacher c200
Tue 29 Peter
and Paul, Apostles
…urgently require new
members.
Some musical knowledge
helps but you do not need to be able to read music!
You do need
- a sense of rhythm
- a sense of
commitment
- and, in our group -
a sense of humour!
We practise on Sunday evenings,
7.45 - 10.00 (with a generous coffee break) at 2 Peaks Hill, Purley.
If you think you might
like to join us, please ring Jean Kimber on 8660 4254 and come and spend an
evening “having a go”!
That was the verdict
of one of the 50 or so people who picked their way in the dark through the
long, damp grass of Beddington Park on Friday evening's Bat Walk. The route took us to the edge of the old
sewage farm, along the verge of the round pond, over the 'Monet' bridge and
back across the open land to the Church.
Meanwhile, up in the
branches, the joker bats evidently decided to give us a run for our money. It was quite a while before the bat
detectors (neat handheld devices which tune in to frequencies normally
inaudible to the human ear) picked up any sound at all.
A Noctule was out and
about near the old sewage farm, probably on the way to the landfill site which
now generates the most insect life in
the area. Some of the tiny Pipistrelles
twisted and swooped over the round pond.
We could hear some activity beside the avenue of trees, but by then it
was really quite dark and few of us could see anything.
As we walked, the
leaders, who were knowledgeable enthusiasts from the London Bat Group, answered
our questions and told us about the bats found in and around London. The Group works to protect these bats which
can live and breed in even the most densely built-up areas. Bats, like so much of our flora and fauna,
are an excellent indicator of the quality of our environment. They need this protection.
And - if you thought
that crèches were an invention of modern industrial society - mother bats have
been running them since prehistoric times.
It is the only way they can get time to go out for food when they are
carrying and nursing their young.
Pat Kingsbury
Blame it on the
French!
In 1300 Pope Boniface
VIII decreed that pilgrims travelling to Rome keep to the left. This rule
allowed travellers to reach their swords easily if they passed suspicious
characters. The system didn't change until the 18th century, when the French
ordered that peasants keep to the right to let the carriages of the aristocracy
pass.
Then, as French
influence spread under Napoleon, so did this rule. And because the British and
United States were at odds during this period, the French rule of the road was
adopted in the States. So, now you know.
Wednesday, 21 April
2004
The evening started
with the Easter Vestry Meeting business of electing churchwardens for the
coming year. Ian Akhurst and Pat Kingsbury
were both re-elected to the post and rather formally "charged to appear at
St Mary Magdalen, Addiscombe on 18 May" for swearing-in.
The APCM's first
challenge was to deal with the changes to the Church Representation Rules. These changes affect the length of time
elected PCC members may serve. After
some deliberation and passing of various Resolutions, our PCC members will now
be elected to serve for three years (instead of one year), with one third of
their number retiring and one third being elected each year hereafter. Also, no lay representative elected to the
PCC may serve for more than two consecutive three-year periods and thereafter
is not eligible to stand for re-election for a period of at least one year
after they have retired. (Incidentally,
being elected onto the PCC does not mean a three-year sentence – any
member is free to stand down before their three-year span is up!)
Only 11 people stood
for election to the PCC: three previous members – Diana Harries, Jane Seymour
and Andrew Wilson did not stand and they were replaced by Margaret Freeman and
Catherine Lawrence. Diana stood down
not only as a member of the PCC but as its secretary of many years. She was warmly thanked for her dedication
over this time. In order to facilitate the changes to the Rules mentioned
above, lots were drawn to see who would stand down after one, two or three
years.
Reports were received
from Cassie Tillett as Treasurer (read more financial facts from her here); Heather Cosgrove on the role and
activities of the Sutton Deanery Synod; Sue Ardley, on behalf of the flower
arrangers, who again thanked her predecessor, Joan Walker who retired last
September, and announced the planning of St Mary's 4th Flower
Festival for May 2005; Gwen Whiting, whose four years as Mothers' Union
Enrolling Member had come to an end, spoke of all the interesting speakers and
events that had taken place for MU&OG over the preceding year; and it was
good to receive the first report from SMYLE (St Mary's Youth – Lively and
Enthusiastic) who had got off to a cracking start with their activities since
starting up last September.
Selwyn reviewed all
our achievements over the past year and thanked all those who keep St Mary's
going throughout the year. He reflected
on how over the past 11 years all our attention has been fixed on money and
buildings. Now, with so many major
projects being resolved and the impending settlement of the mortgage, we need
to work together in different ways and set a new common task which will require
our mutual support.
Chris Morgan
We are pleased to
report that during Christian Aid Week (9-15 May) we raised £909.34. Our thanks to Jane Seymour and her team of
volunteers.
A Christian Aid Week
prayer from the Dominican Republic
The sun offers its
gift of warmth,
The sea offers its
gift of water,
The mountains give
their coolness and their beauty,
The breeze refreshes
creation.
And we too bring our
gifts so that all may have life.
Lord, use them to fill
the world with peace and justice,
So that every home can
have its daily bread.
Amen.
Jean Kimber would like
to share with you the good news of the birth of her second grandchild - Lucy Eleanor - who was born
on April 16 to Nick and Tracey (a sister for Hannah). A quarter peal was rung at St Mary's on 25 April to welcome Lucy.
May 16 William Ernest Kweku Baidoo
Fullerton of 42 Cedars Road, Beddington
May 16 Kirsty Mary Stacey and Ashleigh
Olive Stacey, both of 23 Whelan Way, Wallington
May 16 Rachel Grace Hunt of 13
Northway, Wallington
May 16 Harrison Ethan Miller of 13
Oatfield Road, Tadworth
May 8 Mark Edward Jenner and Kerri
Joanne Kelly of 33 Morton Gardens, Wallington
May 15 Matthew William Dagnall and Maxine Kay Gatland of 50 Bond Gardens,
Wallington
April 6 Ann
Blackman, aged 62, of Raleigh
Avenue
Further to the article
in last month's magazine about Terry's retirement as Sacristan, he has asked me
to include the following:
Dear All
Through the good offices
of the magazine, may I thank everyone for the very generous gift and signed
card that was presented to me at the APCM.
The card will be a treasured possession and reminder of my days as an
altar "boy" at St Mary's.
I will be out of
circulation for a while in early May when I go in for a "de-coke" at
St George's, but I look forward to rejoining the congregation shortly, only
this time as a civilian!
Best wishes to
Marian who is taking over my duties as Sacristan.
Yours sincerely
Terry Head
A meeting of the
Sutton Deanery Synod was held on Monday, 10 May at St Peter's Church, St
Helier. The theme of the meeting was Christian Youth Ministry.
The Rev'd Dominic Webb
gave us a brief overview of his parish which consists of St Peter, St Helier,
and Bishop Andrewes Churches. The team consists of himself, a Church Army
Officer, a Reader and an Ordained Local Minister. The parish has a population
of 18,000+, of which only about 1% have any contact with the church. St Peter's has a 'Kids Own' after-school
club to which the children come with their parents. They have music, songs, quizzes, and Bible stories in sketch form. There is also a 'Girls Own' club for older
girls on Monday evenings, and a boys' club.
The aim is to teach the truth of the gospel at the same time as having
fun activities. Bishop Andrewes Church
runs a toddlers' group.
Mark Tomlinson,
Minister of St Helier Community Church, then talked to us about Christian Youth
Ministry, known as 'Soul in the City' ('SitC'). It began in Manchester in 2000 when some 700-1000 young people
got involved in social action. They
cleared 210 tonnes of rubbish from open spaces, gardens, etc, and got involved
in the local community in many ways. The lasting effect which their ministry had was that even 18
months later, youth crime in the area was significantly reduced and a large
number of young people accepted Christ into their lives. Also, the police are still working closely
with the churches.
A similar mission is
planned for London this year, when young people will be coming to London and
getting involved in activities to help local communities in liaison with local
councils. 'Soul in the City Sutton' will
be taking part in this mission and dates to note in your diary are:
Saturday, 10
July: SitC will have a stand at the 'Police
Partnership in the Park' event in Manor Park, Sutton between 10 am and 4 pm
Saturday, 24
July: SitC will have their launch in Sutton High
Street between 10 am and 4 pm
Friday, 6
August: There will be a Community Fun Day on the
green opposite St Helier Hospital.
In between these
events, young people will be engaged in clean-up projects and meeting the needs
of the local communities in various ways.
It all sounds very exciting.
Next, Rosie King spoke
to us about her work as a Sutton Christian Schools Worker. She speaks at school assemblies and to year
groups, teaching the children that Christianity is real, is alive and that
people believe it. Teachers are very grateful
for her help and input. She also helps
children make the change from junior to senior school and endeavours to give
each child a booklet entitled 'It's Your Move' as they move on to their next
school. She encourages us to find ways
in which we can support our local schools - financially, with practical help,
and through prayer. It costs to
maintain full-time Christian works in the schools of the borough and there is a
shortfall of £8,000 pa.
Jenifer Davison
On Saturday, 22 May
all the members of our flower arranging team met in church for a demonstration
on flower arranging given by Ashley Louise of floral design (www.ashleylouise.com). Ashley is also secretary of the Wallington
Flower Club which meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.45 pm at
Wallington Public Hall – well worth attending.
After Ashley had shown
everyone how to tie bows (should they be needed for perhaps a wedding), it was
the turn of members to have a go! After much hilarity bows of differing shapes
and sizes emerged!
She then demonstrated
two different ways in which she might do our pedestals. Her basis theory was
STAR – Shape, Transition, Availability and Recession. Her main message was use
lots of greenery and less flowers, remembering STAR. After a coffee break it
was ‘hands on’ time and the remaining arrangements were done under the watchful
and expert eye of Ashley.
Everyone agreed they
had greatly added to the knowledge they had already gained since joining the
team and were all very grateful to Ashley for giving up her time.
Sue Ardley
24 June to 19 July
2004
Each year the Diocesan
Summer School offers a range of short modules - comprised of between one and
four sessions each - which are open to everyone in the diocese This year's summer school takes place at
venues across the diocese and the modules cover many areas of theology, mission
and ministry. Some modules take place
on Saturdays, others on midweek evenings, and each costs £12.50 (£8 for the
unwaged).
Starting in September,
both certificate courses are for lay people who want to deepen their
understanding of the faith beyond confirmation or Alpha-type initiation
courses. The Certificate of
Discipleship is a more 'interactive' course which focuses on the application of
faith to life. The Certificate in
Theological and Biblical Study is a lecture-based course which introduces
students to academic biblical and theological study. Those who have already taken part have benefited from these
courses enormously.
If you would like to
find out more, have a word with Selwyn who has all the details, or contact Sue
Maree, Diocesan Training Administrator at Trinity House on 020 7939 9475.
It’s been some time
since my last financial update to the congregation. Those of you at the APCM last month will have heard details of
the progress we made in 2003; but of course, my report then didn’t include
plans and progress for 2004.
First, a reminder of
some recent achievements. The new
rewiring and lighting is fully paid for, and was officially “launched” at
Candlemas by Bishop Nick. The Gothic
Knight, who was turning green under the choir stalls, has been beautifully
restored and reset in front of the high altar; and because of the generosity of
several grants and the support of the Friends of St Mary’s, it hasn’t cost
church funds a penny. Similarly, a
wonderful donation to church funds allowed us to reinstate the floodlighting;
and the Tower & Bells fund has raised enough money to make the project a
reality, rather than a long-term aim.
So how are we doing on
repayment of the mortgage? By 1st
June we will owe just £4,800. At £800
per month, that’s six months’ payments – the last one at the start of
December. Coming from a debt of
£103,000 eight years ago, we are tantalising close to being debt-free.
Separately, the
housekeeping shopping list this year is just under £7,000. That’s the difference between the
money we realistically expect to receive – mainly from stewardship and the tax
reclaimed on it, but also from fees and centre hire – and the money we expect
to spend – on our Fairer Shares, heat and light, insurance, altar expenses and
so on.
The overall shopping
list for 2004 – housekeeping and the final mortgage repayments – is £16,500. It is currently running behind by £900 -
around 3 weeks. Whilst it receives a
great boost from fund-raising activities when they happen, such as the Bank
Holiday Albinoni Concert, the bills don’t wait to arrive until we’ve had such
an event. The total shopping list
[housekeeping and the rewiring project] in 2003 was £15,000 – and fund-raising
covered less than £5,000 of that target.
The rest was raised by a combination of your sponsorship, generous
donations of all sizes, the cash from the wall-boxes, and the continuing hard
work of our Yellow Pages team. In other
words, we can’t rely on fund-raising to cover everything we need. Please help us to make it to this particular
finishing-line – we are so nearly there.
I’m emphasising the
difference between housekeeping and special projects, because
it’s vital to keep these separate. The
mortgage has been a special project – albeit a very long-standing one;
similarly, the rewiring and lighting was a one-off. Whilst there will always be such projects – especially in a
building like ours – the fact remains that it’s very different from our
housekeeping, which must continue to be paid, year in and year out, to keep the
church functioning. We can economise
and shop around, but in the end we’d be hard pressed to cope without heat,
light, insurance and other necessities.
The point is that,
unless we find ourselves with another major fund-raising initiative the moment
the mortgage is paid off, the “shopping list” for 2005 will be to cover our housekeeping
bills only. We know that fund-raising will always be necessary for some
special project or other – it’s a fact of church life. However, my dearest wish as Treasurer is to
reach a day when our regular bills are covered by our regular
income, so that the fund-raising events can focus on special help for ourselves
and for others.
Based on our present
budget, if every member of the congregation were able to commit to an
additional £1.50 per week in stewardship, there would be no need for a housekeeping
shopping list. Obviously, that
money may represent a great deal to some people, and be unnoticeable to others;
but that average increase over the whole electoral roll would make our
financial position much more secure and realistic. If you do feel that you would be able to help us in this way,
either by joining the stewardship scheme or by increasing your present
donation, please speak to any of the finance committee – myself, Selwyn,
Heather, Pierre, Pat or Ian.
We’ve been extremely
fortunate over the last few years that whenever major funds have been needed,
we’ve had sufficient notice to raise them. Our repayments to the Diocese have
been spread over nearly a decade; we had 18 months to find the money for the
rewiring. However, we might not always
be that lucky. It would only take a
major roof leak or the demise of the boiler to throw our calculations
completely out. With a building such as
ours, a contingency fund isn’t just desirable – it’s essential. As a result of the most recent tax rebates,
and when we receive the final outstanding claim which is due at any time, we will have around £11,000 put aside for
such contingency.
I’m also thrilled to
report that we have received another hugely generous donation which allows us
to achieve some of this stability. We
have been given a donation – which is also tax-efficient – of £15,000. The only limitation on its use is that it is
for either the security of contingency, or to assist in a major project; it is not
to be used for everyday housekeeping, or for getting us out of a hole when we
have not met our fundraising targets.
The next important
phase of maintenance relates to the rewiring and lighting in the tower and
vestries – including some new heating, which the ringers, the choir and the
Rector will be relieved about! This was
fortunately not considered to be as urgent as the rest of the work, and so we
were able to deal with the main body of the church first. We are now in the process of applying for
the faculty to put this work in progress – although it will not happen until
the work on the Tower & Bells has been completed. The cost of this project will be in the region of £12,500. If you’ve been keeping count, this means
that our contingency fund will then stand at around £13,500.
We had hoped to put
one more project into place: the cleaning of the ceilings. Our beautiful new lighting has a habit of
showing the dust… However, on investigation, it’s become clear that the age and
fragility of the pigments on all the timbers needs very specialised attention –
a lot more than dusters and Hoovers -
and this sort of work is likely to cost a great deal more than we have raised
for any of our projects so far! As
things stand at the moment, we would not be granted permission to touch them
for fear of damage, and if we do achieve such work, it would certainly need to
be substantially grant-aided. This
project, therefore, will at least not be part of our plans in the near future.
Tempting as it would
therefore be to say, fine, we’ve got £14,000, we don’t ask for any more
fund-raising or extra giving this year – this wouldn’t be very prudent. Given that our annual expenditure – without
the separate issue of the mortgage – is in the region of £55,000, you can see
that our £14,000 is actually enough to fund the running of church for just over
three months.
In simple terms, we
are now much more stable on a long-term basis than we have been for many
years; but we can’t therefore stop working on the short-term. If we used this good fortune to bail
ourselves out, we’d soon find ourselves like the lottery winner who was back on
the dole in no time. It’s more than
ever important that our regular income can support our regular expenditure,
allowing us to make best and most appropriate use of such great generosity.
So please continue to:
- consider whether you
can sponsor any individual items on the shopping list
- help us to pay off
the mortgage once and for all
- support our various
fund-raising events as often as possible
- pray for guidance,
strength and inspiration for us all, and especially for those of us responsible
for financial decisions
So, once more, I can
only express huge gratitude, on behalf of myself, the Rector, the Finance
Committee, the PCC and every one of you, for your continuing efforts and
generosity; and say, once more – please keep up the good work!
Cassie Tillett
At the end of Bank
Holiday Monday, 3 May, a full church gladly welcomed back the Albinoni
String Orchestra. This was the fifth visit they had made to St Mary’s
during the last 11 years, and, under their conductor Ian Butterworth, their
varied programme began with a fine account of the familiar Capriol Suite
by Peter Warlock.
This was followed by
what for many of the audience was the great discovery of the evening, the Cello
Concerto in G by Boccherini. As Ian’s excellent programme notes reminded
us, history has been unkind to Boccherini, who wrote eleven concertos for the
cello, over 90 string quartets and a vast quantity of other chamber music – but
is largely remembered only for the tiny minuet from one of his quintets. He was
also the leading cello virtuoso of his day in Paris and Vienna. As befits the composition of an expert performer,
the Concerto in G positively revels in its technical difficulties,
including in the first movement some intricate passages on a single string, and
in the Rondo some perilous mountain-climbing near the top end of the cello’s
range. All these technical traps were effortlessly despatched by Jennifer Burt,
a former pupil of Sue Ardley’s, now in her second year at the Royal College of
Music. She gave a most assured and thoroughly enjoyable performance.
The first half of the
programme ended with Arensky’s Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky. Ian
Butterworth introduced this most helpfully by inviting the orchestra to play
short extracts from several of the variations, enabling us later to follow the
main theme as it was developed and passed back and forth between the various
sections of the orchestra. To people brought up on English choral music, the
theme itself proved to be strangely familiar; it is taken from Tchaikovsky’s
short choral work, The Legend, which often turns up in the UK sung as a
Christmas carol.
After an interval of
excellent refreshments provided by our Social Committee, we resumed with Ian’s
own arrangement of the Allegro from a String Quartet by Schubert,
followed (for the first time in an Albinoni Orchestra concert) by a piece of
actual Albinoni; though, as the programme notes reminded us again, the famous Adagio
in G minor for strings and organ probably includes no more than the bass
line and a few fragments of the first violin part by Albinoni himself. The rest
was created by the Italian scholar Giazotto in the 1950s, and it was given a
splendidly broad and atmospheric performance with Jonathan Vaughn at the organ.
Jonathan was another former pupil of Sue Ardley before making the organ his
main instrument, and is assistant organist at St John’s College, Cambridge.
For the final item,
the orchestra let their hair down with lively playing of the jazzy Choreography
by the American composer, Norman Dello Joio.
Here, and throughout the whole evening, they clearly showed their own
enjoyment as well as their expertise, and the audience completely caught their
enthusiasm and responded with much appreciation.
As well as being
grateful to all the players, special thanks are due to Sue Ardley for once
again masterminding the whole event and giving us the opportunity to hear such
splendid music well and sensitively played.
The evening made a profit of £487, which has been divided equally
between Sargent Cancer Care for Children and St Mary’s funds.
Selwyn & Cassie
Tue 1 Richmond & Barnes Deanery and Peggy
Jackson, the Rural Dean
Wed 2 Happy Hands and Young Families Group
Thu 3 The church and people of Uganda
Fri
4 The work of Spiritual
Direction in the Diocese (SPIDIR)
Sat
5 The Parish Quiet Day at
Malling Abbey
Sun 6 Thanksgiving for the Holy Trinity
Mon 7 The Melanesian Brotherhood
Tue 8 Our Bible Discussion Group
Wed 9 The Iona Community
Thu 10 Thanksgiving
for the Holy Communion
Fri 11 Thanksgiving
for all who give help and encouragement to others
Sat 12 Streatham
Deanery and Simon Butler, the Rural Dean
Sun 13 Our
Guides and Brownies
Mon 14 Kingston
Area Council meeting tonight
Tue 15 Theologians
and spiritual writers
Wed 16 The
local clergy fraternity
Thu 17 The
Sutton Association for the Blind
Fri 18 Evangelists,
missionaries and all teachers of the faith
Sat 19 St
Michael's Church Quiet Day
Sun 20 St
Mary's Youth Group (SMYLE)
Mon 21 All
planning courses and events for the summer holidays
Tue 22 The
Bishop of Southwark and all at Bishops House
Wed 23 Ely
Cathedral and all who work and worship there
Thu 24 Croydon
Area Council meeting tonight
Fri 25 Bishop
Colin Buchanan as he begins his retirement
Sat 26 Our
link dioceses in Zimbabwe
Sun 27 The
Sunday School and crèche
Mon 28 Our
local schools, teachers and pupils
Tue 29 Thanksgiving
for the lives and ministry of Saints Peter and Paul
Wed 30 Brixton
Prison, its inmates, staff and chaplains
The yellow leaflet
guiding visitors around the church reads …
“The East Window
was designed and constructed by Nuttgens and replaces the window which, along
with most of the windows on the East and South sides, had been destroyed in the
second world war. It illustrates the
words of the Te Deum showing Christ in Majesty …”
So who was this man
with the unusual name, Joseph Edward Nuttgens?
Joseph Nuttgens was
born in Germany in 1892, of a German father and an English mother. They moved to London when Joseph (known as
Eddie) was four years old. He
discovered his talent of drawing soon after leaving school, while doing a
series of jobs he hated, including working for an estate agent. Evening classes led to a job as a
draughtsman with a freelance glass designer and this was the beginning of a
distinguished career.
The Victorians'
enthusiasm for church building and restoration had led to the rise of a small
number of large firms who made vast quantities of mass-produced stained glass
windows. Clayton and Bell, one of these
firms, was popularly said to be able to turn out the equivalent of a window a
day and two on Sundays. Their
mass-production methods meant that the work of the designers and the craftsmen
was carried out quite separately and neither had much 'feel' for the work of
the others.
Nuttgens was
introduced to a group of talented glass artists who, influenced by the thinking
of William Morris, set up workshops in Fulham where designers, painters,
cutters and glaziers worked closely together to create authentic works of art.
After internment as an
alien during the 1914-18 war, a period of teaching stained glass work at the
Royal College of Art, and several further changes, Nuttgens moved with his
family to Piggotts Hill in the Chilterns and opened his own studio. Piggotts Hill was the home of a community of
Roman Catholic artists and craftsmen which included the sculptor Eric Gill,
better known as an engraver and letter-designer. Their mutual support, shared Catholicism and notions of community,
family life and practical craftsmanship were important influences on all of
them.
Joseph Nuttgens’ work
can be seen in churches and cathedrals all over the world. His hundred or more commissions included
Addis Ababa Cathedral in Ethiopia. But 'our' East window is said to have been
one of his favourites.
Nuttgens was twice
married: first to Kathleen Clarke who died in 1937, then to Daphne Reid, a
fellow artist. Daphne wrote to Betty
Walker in an undated letter after Joseph's death in 1982, "Thank you very much for the
photograph (taken by Harold Hore) of
the Beddington window …………. We have
lost some of the cartoons for this window and we are very glad to have the
photograph. My son, Joseph A Nuttgens,
continues the work here and one of my stepsons, Patrick Nuttgens - is trying to
get together as much information as possible as to the subjects and whereabouts
of his father's windows - unfortunately my husband very rarely signed his work
and kept very few records."
Joseph's work is now as
well known and prolific as his father's.
Patrick
became a distinguished academic. He
died, aged 74, in March this year.
Nuttgens' signature
was a hazelnut with NT. You will not
see it in the great East window, but it is somewhere else in St
Mary's. Can you find it?
Prayers don't need to
be long to be acceptable to God. For
instance, consider:
Peter (Matt
14.30): Lord, save me.
A Canaanite woman
(Matt 15.25): Lord, help me.
Samuel (1 Sam.
3:10): Speak, for your servant is
listening.
Psalm 43.3 O send out your light and your truth; let
them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Christians in later
years have adopted the same form.
Michelangelo: Lord, make me see your glory in every
place.
Gladys Aylward: O God, give me strength.
William Barclay: O God, keep me from being difficult to
live with.
Francois Fenelon: Teach me to pray. Pray yourself in me.
John Wesley: O Lord, let us not live to be useless,
for Christ's sake.
Why not practise
saying a simple sentence prayer each day – and simply mean what you say?
After church on 25
April, I was driven into the Record Fair at the Fairfield Halls by my Greek
Cypriot taxi driver, Mel, who had a Greek Orthodox service on his car
radio. He asked me if my church was
Protestant or Catholic; I said it was Church of England. "They're all the same," he
declared, "Protestant, Catholic, Greek Orthodox - they're all the
same."
This reminded me of
the story Bertrand Russell told of being imprisoned for pacifism in the first
World War. The prison clerk who booked
him in asked him his religion, and Russell replied , "Agnostic." The clerk asked how to spell it and Russell
told him. "Oh! Well," said
the clerk, "There are many religions but I'm sure we all worship the same
God!".
Allan Palmer
28th March-4th
April 2005
We are delighted to
announce that Dr.Gavin Wakefield, from St. John's College, Durham, is to lead a
pilgrimage to Iona from Durham starting on Easter Monday 2005 (March 28th).
This pilgrimage will
start with talks and visits in and around Durham before you set off to Whithorn
and then onto Iona for several days before returning to the north east and a
last night overlooking the Farne islands, ending with a pilgrimage to Holy
Island.
It is half board most of
the time, full board at Bishop's House, Iona and includes all coach transfers
and entry fees for just £495 in a twin bedded room.
Contact Mark Cullen on 01274 599622 for a brochure or visit www.ukltg.com.
Columba was born in
Donegal of the royal Ui Neill clan, and trained as a monk. He founded the
monasteries of Derry (546), Durrow (c.556) and probably Kells. But in 565
Columba left Ireland with twelve companions for Iona, an island off southwest
Scotland. Iona had been given to him for a monastery by the ruler of the Irish
Dalriada.
Why would a monk in
his mid 40s go into such voluntary exile? Various explanations include:
voluntary exile for Christ, an attempt to help overseas compatriots in their
struggle for survival, or even as some sort of punishment for his part in a row
over a psalter in Ireland. Whatever the reason, Columba went to Iona and spent
the rest of his life in Scotland, returning to Ireland only for occasional
visits.
Columba's biographer,
Adomnan, portrays him as a tall, striking figure of powerful build and
impressive presence, who combined the skills of scholar, poet and ruler with a
fearless commitment to God's cause. Able, ardent, and sometimes harsh, Columba
seems to have mellowed with age.
As well as building
his monastery on Iona, Columba also converted Brude, king of the Picts. Columba
had great skill as a scribe, and an example of this can be seen in the Cathach
of Columba, a late 6th century psalter in the Irish Academy, which is the
oldest surviving example of Irish majuscule writing. In his later years Columba
spent much time transcribing books.
Columba's death was
apparently foreseen by his community, and even, it seems, sensed by his
favourite horse. He died in the church just before Matins, and it is a tribute
to this man that his traditions were upheld by his followers for about a
century, not least in the Synod of Whitby and in Irish monasteries on the
continent of Europe.
A prayer of St
Columba:
Christ With Us
My dearest Lord,
Be Thou a bright flame before me,
Be Thou a guiding star above me,
Be Thou a smooth path beneath me,
Be Thou a kindly shepherd behind me,
Today and evermore.
Amen.
If you think you
are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
- the Dalai Lama
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