In days of Yore. 19 th 20 th & 21 st March pm A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE OLD TIME MUSIC HALL AND ASSOCIATED DRAMA

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1 Walton Methodist Players The Newsletter of the Woking and Walton-on-Thames Methodist Circuit In days of Yore A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE OLD TIME MUSIC HALL AND ASSOCIATED DRAMA Walton Methodist Church Hall Terrace Rd, Walton on Thames 19 th 20 th & 21 st March pm Admission 10 (to include a high tea) Tickets: contact Catherine Heffernan catherine.heffernan1@sky.com 12 No. 35 SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER 2014 As I write I anticipate holidaying in Cornwall. And like some of you I suspect, I have fond memories of visiting the beautiful village of Boscastle memories that were affected by the flash floods of August a decade ago memories which made that destruction seem all the more dreadful. At the time, The Guardian described how rain of a biblical intensity led to the disaster; whilst other reports pointed to a landslip in central Scotland, which followed soon after the Boscastle flood, suggesting the two events were further evidence for changing weather patterns caused by global warming; whilst still others reminded us that the Boscastle flood took place 52 years to the day after the Lynmouth flood in Devon a flood in which 34 people lost their lives. The miracle ten years ago was that no lives were lost. And that was put down to the heroism of all those who risked their own lives to save others. As well as those from within the emergency services who responded to the 170 calls received, these included local people like the chef who rescued 9 people trapped in their cars. And beyond the headlines, those of us having a connection with the village read of many in a close-knit local community who were willing to give selflessly of themselves to help others in need. Their giving of somewhere to sleep for the night, or in response to other basic needs was less dramatic, but equally as important. Maybe society will always be conscious of dramatic bible stories perhaps because of the plethora of children s books based on the story of Noah. But in John s gospel Jesus tells us that no one has greater love than to lay down one s life for one s friends. Whilst the lives risked, and the selfless acts of giving in Boscastle may remind us, then, of Jesus command to love one another, wider 1

2 society may be less conscious of that. So as a circuit, our task is to raise the profile of the Christian faith in society, by proclaiming the Good News of God s love through word and action: We are called to live Jesus command by reaching out to our neighbours, both near and far. In our unfolding work, may we continue to do that then, in and through the work of our churches in Addlestone, Byfleet, Knaphill, Sheerwater, Walton, Weybridge and Woking, connecting with local people, encouraging communities of care and meeting needs that in our doing so, others may encounter, through Christ, the God who first loved us. What does it have to do with me? Let s see how about everything? The struggles we have in talking about our faith. The difficul es we face answering popular objec ons to Chris anity. The credibility of the Gospel. Every Blessing Mike Deacon John Hibberd is an Anglican clergyman. He studied chemistry at Oxford and became an atheist, but then found Christ. He has worked in mission for twenty years, and specialises in dealing with common objec ons to faith, such as suffering and a loving God, or whether science has disproved the existence of God. Come to Knaphill Methodist Church on Saturday 11th October 2014 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm where John will lead our thoughts in this essen al area of witness. Bring your own lunch. (Drinks provided.) John will also preach at Knaphill the following morning. BOOKING FORM Name Phone Boscastle I enclose 5 booking fee. I understand I will receive a free copy of John s book Six Big Ques ons on the day. Send to Dave Faulkner, 48 Lane End Drive, GU21 2QG. 2 11

3 Walton Methodist Church, Terrace Road, KT12 2SR Warmly invites you to Pudding & PRAISE 6.00 pm for puddings, tea and coffee 6.30 pm for informal evening worship Sunday November 23 rd 2014 This café style service provides an opportunity to worship God in a friendly, informal setting. I hope that you have all been enjoying the fabulous weather. Being the eternal pessimist (according to Linda) it will probably be raining by the time we head off to Devon in early September! Look out for lots of activities across the Circuit this autumn. Deadline for material for the next issue is Monday 3rd November. You ll never walk alone MANUNITED with God Bible Seaside The weather was good and there were lots of games to play outside, we are very grateful to Damian who has kept this part of the church clean and tidy for us. We had the story of the two men who built houses on sand and rock and we hope that the children will remember the story when they find sand on their holidays. We ended up with the parachute this was a great way to finish the year together. Now we have a break for the summer and you can see some of the things that we have been up doing, on the noticeboard in the Narthex. The team that put together the different activities for Messy Church have been wonderful this year. We always have fun planning the sessions and I give my thanks to them for another great year. The next messy Church will be on October 25 th, then November 29 th and for December Christmas Eve Thursday 24 th. 3 5 pm We do ask for your prayers for the families that come that they will be touched by the Grace of God in our sessions. Also please pray for the wonderful team of helpers that make these events so successful. To book a place at Messy Church Ring

4 A Day out in WINCHESTER The statue of Alfred the Great in the Broadway. 16/11 at 6.30 pm Weybridge Café Church. Prisons Week 23/11 at 6.00pm Walton Pudding and Praise see page 10 for details 29/11, 10 4 Addlestone Christmas Fayre 29/ Byfleet Display of Nativity sets. Refreshments available. Looking for a pleasant day out without having to travel too far? Why not visit the Cathedral City of Winchester. South of the High Street is the must see destination for most visitors, the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Swithin. Inside you can see the Jane Austen Memorial (she died in the city), the 12 th Century Baptismal Font and the Izaak Walton Window. There is also the St. Swithin s Shrine and the tomb of William Rufus. There is a charge to enter this wonderful building. Back on the pedestrianized High Street a stroll to the west will take you to the West Gate which houses a small museum. If open you can climb up the tower to enjoy panoramic views of the city. To the south of the West Gate is the Great Hall. This is home to a Round Table, but not that of the legendary King Arthur! This one is thought to date from the reign of Edward III, although names of Knights from Arthurian legend surround the edge. Remember to visit Queen Eleanor s Garden. Another place worth a visit is the City Mill, spanning the River Itchen on Bridge Street. Discover the history of milling on this site since Saxon times. Check with the National Trust for opening times ( If visiting Winchester in the run up to Christmas visit the Cathedral Christmas Market, this year it runs from Thursday 20 th November to Sunday 4 n.b Byfleet are looking to borrow Nativity sets. Contact Rev Dr Peter Howson if you can help / pm Walton Messy Church. See page 3 for details 30/ Byfleet Display of Nativity sets. Refreshments available. 30/11 at 4.30 pm Byfleet Advent Carol Service 24/ pm Walton Messy Church. See page 3 for details 19/20/21 March pm Walton WMP presents In days of Yore. See page 12 for details Church websites

5 CIRCUIT DIARY 21 st December, it is open from 10: Sun - Wed and Thurs Sat. There is an open air Ice Rink which runs from 20 November until 4 January 7/9 at 6.30 pm Byfleet Café Church with Communion 13/ Walton Ride and Stride. The church will be open to those cyclists taking part in this ride. All are welcome to visit. 20/ Knaphill Coffee Morning with cake sale. Proceeds for Woking Hospice. 28/9 at 6.30 pm Weybridge Café Church. The Drama of Worship 5/10 at 6.30 pm Byfleet Café Church There is a Jane Austen experience which runs until 31st December, daily with a special events at the Cathedral on 16 December to commemorate the birthday of Jane Austen Getting there:- The best way to travel to Winchester is to drive and use the Park & Ride facility to the city centre, alighting at the Broadway. Take the M3 to junction 10 and follow the signs to the St. Catherine Park & Ride site. Daily car parking and bus travel costs just 3 for the whole car, up to 7 people (correct at time of writing). By train Via Woking and change for an onward connection to Winchester. The Railway Station is approximately ½ mile from the town. For more information on your day out visit the following web sites: / Knaphill What does it have to do with Me? see page 11 for details 19/10 at 6.30 pm Weybridge Café Church. Mission 25/ Knaphill Coffee Morning with cake sale.proceeds to Church funds 25/ pm Walton Messy Church. See page 3 for details 31/10 & 1/11 at 7.30 pm 02/11 at 6.30 pm Trinity, Woking Byfleet Good News Showcase a miscellany of Sketches & Music. Cost 15 to include All Souls service 8 5

6 They Shall Grow not Old. August has seen a considerable amount of different ways of commemorating what happened 100 years ago at the start of the First World War. I was privileged to have been invited to the service that took place in Westminster Abbey on the evening of 4 th August. We came to a thoughtful silence as the time reached pm, the exact hundredth anniversary. I was involved the evening before in a joint service with the two Anglican parishes entitled Byfleet Reflects. St Mary s Byfleet has a unique collection of some twenty grave crosses that were returned from the battlefields once the permanent stone markers were erected. One of them marked a grave of a Byfleet man who is buried in Jerusalem. The beautiful Commonwealth War Graves Commission is on Mount Scopus, a northern extension of the same ridge that includes the Mount of Olives. The Byfleet war memorial lists seventy men. As far as we can tell none of them were Methodist. There is no memorial to either war in Byfleet Methodist Church. The same is true of Weybridge Methodist Church. Whether there once were any memorials is now lost in the failure to remember the past. Not all churches in the Circuit come into that category of thankful churches who did not need to erect a memorial to members or adherents who died during the war. Among the churches that have memorials is Walton. As I am planned to preach at the end of August I did some research into the names that appear on their memorial. There is a considerable amount of information available on many those individuals. Through the internet much can be accessed easily. An afternoon spent interrogating the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website yielded a great deal of information. Delving deeper into personal records and unit war diaries at the National Archives at Kew would undoubtedly bring more details to light. Local history in Walton would also reveal details of the home life of the men. listed on the Cambrai memorial. For those for whom additional information is available we know that five of them died in their 20s. They were 24, 25, 27, 18, and 29 when they died. Only one has a wife listed as next of kin. Herbert Palmer was married to Dorothy of 11 Bridge Street, Walton. That was also given as the address of James Herbert and Clara Palmer, who were noted as his parents. The others for who information was provided came from King s Road, Esher Avenue, Manor Cottages, and Church Street. All died whilst serving in the infantry. At least one, Alexander Fisher who died on 30 November 1917 aged 27, was a member of the Territorial Force and most probably had joined before the war. He was serving with the 1/8 th battalion of the Middlesex Regiment when he died. He was one of two who were serving with the Middlesex Regiment; Two others were with the Hampshires. This does not tell us anything of their connection with the Methodist Church. It would be interesting to learn what their involvement had been. I hope that over the next years of commemoration we can discover more about those from our churches who took part in the war to end all wars. It would be especially good to learn the stories of those who did not return. Peter Howson The research produced a personal connection for me. Valentine Smith is buried in Mangochi Cemetery. This is in the south of Malawi. I visited the cemetery where he is buried when I was with my parents in 1966 on the first of my spells in that beautiful country. I know something of the way the war impacted on that part of the world, especially in the north of Malawi. Valentine is one of four who have known graves. Another, the other officer casualty, Herbert Blake, is buried in the Suez War Memorial cemetery in Egypt. He was serving with the 40 th New Zealand (Wellington) Mounted Rifles at the time of his death from pneumonia. He died 17 days after the armistice, almost certainly one of the victims of the flu epidemic. He was 29 at the time of his death. The six others all died on the Western Front. Acting Lance Corporal Edwin Henshaw is buried at Manancourt and Rifleman Godfrey Greenleaf at Bedford House Cemetery outside Ypres. Frank Casey, who died in June 1916, is remembered on the memorial at Loos. The other three were all casualties in John Hughes died in May and his name is on the memorial at Arras. Herbert Palmer died in September and is among those on the Tyne Cot memorial. Alexander 6 Fisher died in November and is 7