The Parish Magazine of St Mary s Sandbach May 2016 Volume 52 No 613

Transcription

1 CHALLENGE The Parish Magazine of St Mary s Sandbach May 2016 Volume 52 No 613

2 May 2016 Sunday 1st May 8.00 am Holy Communion 6 Easter am Morning Worship 6.30 pm Holy Eucharist Thursday 5th May 7.30 pm Holy Communion Ascension Day Sunday 8th May 8.00 am Holy Communion 7 Easter am Parish Eucharist 6.30 pm Evensong Sunday 15th May 8.00 am Holy Communion Pentecost am Parish Eucharist Whit Sunday 6.30 pm No Evensong 7.30 pm St John s Sandbach Heath Churches Together in Sandbach Whit Service Sunday 22nd May 8.00 am Holy Communion Trinity Sunday am Parish Eucharist 6.30 pm Evensong Sunday 29th May 8.00 am Holy Communion 1 Trinity am Parish Eucharist 6.30 pm Evensong Sunday 5th June 8.00 am Holy Communion 2 Trinity am Morning Worship 6.30 pm Holy Eucharist Every Wednesday am Holy Communion 2

3 'Jesu, dulcis memoria' is a very beautiful hymn written in the middle ages that was thought to be by St Bernard but is more likely to be by an English Cistercian. It is written as a poem in 168 lines and familiar to us through a couple of English translations of some of the lines. 'Jesu, the very thought of thee, with sweetness fills my breast (E. Caswall) and Jesu! the very thought is sweet! In that dear name all heart-joys meet! (J.M. Neal). One Victorian commentator said the poem is 'the sweetest and most evangelical hymns of all the middle ages'. As the ideas are repeated several times it is a little repetitious although taken as a whole it speaks with rapture of the holy name of Jesus and speaks of the yearning of the Christian for the experience of Jesus. The promise is that the contemplation of Jesus will overwhelm the longing soul with intense mystical desire. For example: I seek for Jesus in repose, Where round my heart the shadows close; Abroad, and when I shut the door, I long for Jesus evermore. The story of the distraught Mary seeking her Lord in the garden after the tomb was found to be empty is a very timely image for the Easter season: As Mary in the morning gloom Sought out her Master at the tomb, So now, with love's most earnest cry, I seek with heart and not with eye. So often we need that same confidence to move from seeking sorrow, sadness and grief in our lives and letting the overwhelming experience of the love of the risen, ascended and glorified One enter our hearts. Like Mary we need to learn to seek Jesus not in the dead, but in the living. Thomas Shepherd - Vicar 3

4 From the Registers Funerals March 21st Jeffrey Alfred Lench (72) 23rd Christopher Stafford Cox (79) April 1st Phyllis Ellis (93) Doris Edith Stretton (84) 4th Graham Roy Brett (78) 15th Joan Cockram (84) Baptisms February 28th Eleanor Rose Brain daughter of Michael and Emma-Jane Leslie March 27th Henry William Jerman son of Gareth and Laura Francis George Oakes son of Nicholas and Sasha Griffin Colby Ron Wilcox son of Alistair and Sarra France Wedding April 2nd Maurice Newton and Theresa Hills (Cover Picture - Neil Sinclair) 4

5 Coffee Rota May 1st 8th 15th 22nd 29th June 5th Church Flowers May 1st 8th 15th 22nd Joyce Griffith and Lynne Winfield Aileen Higgs and Margaret Parry Stella Craven and Christine Hirst Marjorie Burgess and Renee Bickerton Kathleen Davies and Kathleen Beech Jean Richardson and Iris Kenilworth In memory of Mrs Halden Mrs Atherley Vacant Joice Nixon 29th Vacant If anyone would like to provide flowers on the vacant Sundays please contact Sheenagh Ashworth on June Ollier n 1974, Canon Basil Rigby asked June to help with the duties I of Verger at St Mary s church. She has had to deal with four different vicars and their various individual and often peculiar habits. Over the years the role has taken on many varied aspects of background work ensuring above all that the church is open, clean and prepared for worship. This has been a tremendous long-term commitment on June s behalf and she has not missed many Sundays during those years. It is with sadness that I have accepted her resignation after so many loyal years service. Officially she will leave at the beginning of June and I know that many of you will want to thank her personally for all she has done. Thomas 5

6 Colour-coded church (Thanks to Association for Church Editors member, Deirdre Morris, for providing this insight into the colours of the church. ) t different times of the year the colours of some things in A church change: the coloured vestments stole, chasuble, cope that the priest wears and the altar frontal, pulpit and/or lectern fall, and the pall (the cloth that covers the chalice or ciborium on the altar). These liturgical colours have been used in church since medieval times, both as a teaching device and to mark the special days and seasons in the church s year. So what colours, when and why? Purple is used during Lent, Advent, and for funerals. It has always been the colour of royalty. Advent and Lent are times of penitence, self-discipline, and preparation for the great events in our Lord s life, so a sombre colour suits the season and also reminds us of Jesus kingship in our lives. White is used for the seasons of Easter, Christmas and Epiphany. It symbolises joy, celebration, purity, innocence, gladness and light. It is also used for Saints days when the saint (as far as we know) died a natural death rather than being martyred. Red is for fire and blood. The Holy Spirit is often represented as tongues of fire, so red is used for Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in Jerusalem), ordinations, and many church dedications. Red is used on days commemorating martyrs, who gave their life-blood in witness to our Lord. Gold is associated with riches and kingly attire and is only used for Easter Day, that greatest of Christian Festivals. Not all churches have gold vestments etc. Many just have gold thread on their white frontals etc. Green is the colour you see for much of the year. If it is not a particular season or day then we use the term ordinary time - the colour green is used during ordinary time. It is the colour of growth, of leaves and grass etc. These are the main colours used in churches, but you may see others in some churches, and all sorts in some cathedrals! You should now be able to crack the code! 6

7 St Mary's on the internet A it: brand new web site for the St Mary's is now up and running. It's the same address as the old one so please have a look at Web sites are only as good as the information on them. Please send regular updates to me for uploading. Editor. t Mary's also has a Facebook page to share Services and S Events to a wider community and to create a wider interest in our church. We would like to encourage existing Facebook users to visit and "like" our page and to share memories past and present. If you are not currently on Facebook but have photographs or memories you would like to share about St. Mary's organist@sandbachchurch.co.uk. Tickets: Adults: 8.50 Snr Citizens/Concessions: 7.00 School Children: 3.00 Family Ticket : Doors Open 6:30 pm Wed 25th May Hexachordia presents 'Pepys' Playlist' and spotlight concert with local young musicians concert-series.co.uk All concerts at 7pm in St Mary's Church Hall Tickets available from: on-line, Demeters Wholefoods (12 Welles St), Bramwells Opticians (4 Hightown) or on the door. 7

8 St Mary s Social Committee Beetle Drive Summer Lunch Saturday 14th May Sunday 19th June Cold Buffet (Tickets to this popular event will be available soon - put the date in your diary to avoid disappointment) Pudding evening With music. September Big Breakfast Autumn Fair Saturday 15th October Saturday 5th November Christmas Lunch Sunday 4th December Come along and bring your friends to these events. Tickets will be advertised in the magazine and 8

9 Christian Aid Week -15th to 21st May hristian Aid Week is a fundraising drive that sees millions of C red collection envelopes posted through letter boxes across the U.K. The aim is to raise money for the charity's work in developing countries with a focus on tackling poverty. Held every year since 1957, Christian Aid Week is Britain's largest fund-raising week.. Other areas of the charity's work include helping communities affected by natural disasters, political upheaval and HIV. Bangladesh This year the focus is on Bangladesh which is one of the poorest countries in the world and people in low-lying areas are among the poorest of the poor. Each year flooding comes, threatening to sweep away everything the families have. From floods experienced by people in Britain, we have an idea how devastating it can be and how we wanted to help. For people in Bangladesh they have extreme poverty to add to their concerns. 'Please join us and together we can lift our global neighbours to safety' Eat up! D o NOT skip breakfast. The risks are worse than was thought. A recent 13 year trial has found that missing breakfast can increase your chances of a stroke by more than 30 per cent. Scientists at Osaka University s Graduate School of Medicine studied more than 80,000 people between 45 and 74. They found that those who skipped breakfast were 36 per cent more likely to suffer a cerebral haemorrhage. 9

10 utpouring of respect for Archbishop Justin Welby after DNA O paternity 'surprise'. Faith leaders have praised the Archbishop of Canterbury s response to the revelation that he is the illegitimate son of Sir Winston Churchill s last private secretary. Welby had previously believed his father was Gavin Welby, but was proved wrong in a DNA test that was arranged by The Daily Telegraph. rchaeologists have found A evidence which suggests that biblical texts may have been composed earlier than first thought. A Tel Aviv University team used handwriting technology which found that a cache of Hebrew inscriptions, dated to around 600 BCE, were written by at least six different authors. This discovery suggests that there was widespread literacy in ancient Judah at the time that would support the composition of biblical works. rince Harry reads P from the Bible at Tunisia attack service Prince Harry led the tributes to Britons who were killed in the Tunisia terror attack with a Bible reading at Westminster Abbey. The Prince and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, read from Revelation and Isaiah, before the 900-stong congregation. iocese of Canterbury creates new refugee support role. D The Church of England is set to create a new job for the Diocese of Canterbury to offer more help to refugees, after congregations raised over 60,000 to make it happen. The position has been developed in partnership with Migrant Help and Kent Refugee Action Network. V icar's son wins one of golf's biggest prizes. Danny Willett, the son of a Church of England vicar, has been crowned the winner of the US Masters golf tournament. The relatively unknown 28-year-old competed against the likes of Rory McIlroy and his victory came as a shock as he had only made the top 100 rankings a year ago. 10

11 Sandbach Voices Come & Sing Stanford: Songs of the Fleet with Music Director Christopher Cromar and soloist Saturday May 14 th 2016 Sandbach High School, Middlewich Rd. CW11 3NT Registration 9.30 a.m. for 10am start Concert performance at 5pm - tickets 5 Refreshments provided in the intervals. Bring your own lunch Charge for singers 10 includes hire of music for the day. Cheques payable to Sandbach Voices Advance booking essential Please return section below with payment to: Secretary: Sue Cooke, 32 Vicarage Gdns, Elworth,Sandbach CW11 3BZ Name:...Voice: soprano / alto / tenor / bass (please circle one) Address:... Tel. No

12 Religions of the World Over the next few months we will be looking at the religions of the world, starting with Christianity. Christianity e believe in one God who allows Himself to be known as a W Community of Love with three aspects: Father - who loves and cares for the whole of his creation Son - Jesus the Anointed One (Christ, Messiah) Holy Spirit - who gives life to all creation, and who is among us and responds to us in prayer. Christianity is a relationship with God and with each other. We believe that mankind used to have a good relationship with God, but that this was broken in the earliest part of history. The consequence is that today everyone falls short of God's standard and starts life with this relationship much impaired. This state is known as sin. We believe that the Lord Jesus came specifically to enable this state to be corrected. Through His death He paid the due penalty for sin and brought us God's forgiveness. Through His rising to new life He makes it possible for all mankind to have a renewed relationship with Him. Principles and Ethics Christians, who have accepted this new 12

13 relationship, strive to become more godly basing their relationships on God's Community of Love. This has consequences in our daily lives: We talk with God and spend time with Him (prayer) in order to develop our relationship. We aim to follow the command "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbour as yourself. We value God-given gifts, such as human sexuality, and abhor their misuse. We detest exploitation and neglect of the young and old, poor, infirm and outcast. We wish to see all mankind share in the benefits of God's grace - love, joy, hope, peace. We reach out to others to demonstrate God's love. Christians have adopted the account of creation in the Bible - God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh" as an example for the rhythm of daily life, and believe that this precedent for mankind is good and necessary. Christians normally rest from work on Sunday, being the day Jesus rose from the dead. Life isn t about wishing away your time waiting for the storms to pass; it s about having the kind of faith that enables you to dance in the rain 13

14 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Whit Sunday 15th MAY 7.30pm St. John's School, Sandbach Heath begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity There will be a Café Style Church Service All are welcome Beetle Drive Saturday 14th May St Marys Church Hall With cheese and wine Tickets 7 from any committee member Come and enjoy the fun 14

15 The Oneness of One (This gripping prayer, written some years ago by a single lady who later became an ordained minister, will no doubt resonate with people who live on their own.) ord, I am so L angry because the world today has seemed peopled by couples and small family groups and I have just come home to my family of one. I know that the pressures of demanding children are far from me, but the silence I live in tonight seems to scream as loud as the latest head-banging rock music. The great freedom of choice to come or go, to eat or not to eat, do what I like when I like, has seemed a burden instead of a blessing because it is not shared. Today, I have felt like the odd piece of a jigsaw whose colour and form just does not fit. And yet, as angry and hurt as I feel, to be looked at with sympathy or pity would hurt even more; but a little gentle understanding would go a long way. Perhaps that is true for me too. Lord, I am sorry that my hurt and anger has blocked my understanding of others today - made me ungrateful for the gifts and graces you have freely given me and made me forget your love and the love of others around me. Forgive me that living alone for so long has made it harder for me to share, easier to feel my way must be right and has made me blind to the demands of close family living. Lord, I know that wherever I may be, you are there with me, sharing the joy and pain. My relationship with you matters above all else, and especially above my oneness in the world. With your love and care, the challenge of tomorrow's twosomes seems less powerful. Amen 15

16 From the Archives his month we are back at the COOP but this time in Bold T Street, with the top picture taken in Below we see a similar view but back in the early 1900 s. The building dates back to 1878 and cost the COOP 2,900 to build. The premises initially comprised a Footwear Shop, Grocery and Furnishing Departments with a Warehouse and yard entrance in Wells Street. Stephen Minshull 16

17 With apologies to Horatius Bonar All you need is love the Beatles sang in Nineteen sixty three. I bought the record, sang along, but it didn t work for me. I then wore flowers in my hair, long beads and flowing dress. Went to Glastonbury for festivals, but my life was still a mess. Next Psychedelic was all the rage, but no, I was to frightened Of LSD and other drugs, so I never was enlightened. Then Hari Krishner, saffron robes and greetings of Peace. Man. The reality was crime increased and the news was Vietnam. John and Yoko spoke for peace and were photographed in bed. I kept my distance - just as well. A gunman shot John dead. Astrology I next did try. Planets, the moon at night. Charts, constellations, times of birth but I couldn t see the light. Aromatherapy oils came next with lavender, rose and basil. My skin was smooth, my hands were soft, but my life still full of hassle. Charismatic, that s what I need so I tried happy-clappy Alas I couldn t find the tune so I still was not happy. I then Feng Shui d my hall, my lounge, my wardrobe and my life. In came the Chi, out went the junk but not, alas the strife. Chinese philosophy I tried in that Year of the Hare. That didn t work so desperate I thought I ll just try prayer. I came to Jesus as I was - weary and worn and sad. And found in him a resting place for he has made me glad. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, there are lots of people who must think an awful lot of their local church 17

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19 How well do you know the church? here is this window? Answer next month. W ast month we L saw a memorial, on the south wall, to 2nd Lt William George Upton of the RAF who was killed in action near Roulers, Belgian on 4th October 1918 aged 20. The windows down the south wall have a more varied theme than the north, which is mainly based on St David. The themes include: Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Joseph and his children with Moses; the parable of the Good Samaritan; St Veronica and the Widow's mite; and Jesus and the children. A moment of patience in a few moments of anger could save you a hundred moments of regret 19

20 A local gentleman was always trying hard to please his nagging wife, but seemed to fail each time. On one occasion she presented him with two ties for his birthday. He thought he would please her by going upstairs and immediately putting one of them on. When he appeared in the kitchen she took one look and said, "What's wrong with the other one?" I believe my house is haunted. Every time I look in the mirror a crazy old lady stands in front of me so I can t see my reflection. amilies are often like fudge - mostly sweet, with a few nuts. F 20

21 CHURCH OFFICIALS Vicar The Revd. Thomas Shepherd Churchwardens Sheenagh Ashworth Anne Birch Sacristan John Percival Verger June Ollier PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) OFFICERS PCC Secretary Mel Robinson Treasurer Roger Cooke Covenants/Gift Aid Aileen Higgs OTHER CONTACTS Organist Kevin Birch Bells John Austin Mervyn Stubbs Church Flowers Sheenagh Ashworth Church Hall Sylvia Watkins BAPTISMS AND WEDDINGS Please Contact The Vicar in Church on Sundays 5pm to 6pm to make the necessary arrangements. Challenge is edited by John Bottomley. If you or your organisation have reports of events that have already happened, progress updates of continuing projects, or any other items to be published in the magazine, please contact me by: tel: post: 15 Chartwell Park, Sandbach, CW11 4ZP Articles must be received by Sunday 22nd May More information is also available on the web-site: 21