KELVEDON PARISH MAGAZINE

Transcription

1 KELVEDON PARISH MAGAZINE JULY 2015 The United Benefice of Kelvedon & Feering The Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin The church is on Twitter, follow us 40p

2 KELVEDON PARISH CHURCH The church is on Twitter, follow us PRIEST IN CHARGE Revd. Simon Garwood CHURCH WARDENS Mrs. Jenny Elliott Churchwarden Mr. Simon Prideaux Churchwarden PCC OFFICERS Mrs. Anne Hackworth Lay Vice Chairman Mrs. Geraldine Kennedy Hon. Secretary Mr. Simon Bell Hon. Treasurer SACRISTAN Mr. John Elliott MUSIC Mrs. Caroline Strange, A.R.C.M. Organist CHURCH GROUP CONTACTS Mrs. Vicki Elliott Bell Ringing (Sec.) Mrs. Sarah Openshaw Prayer Link or Mrs. Kerry Belbin Prayer Link Mrs. A. Hackworth Visiting Co-ordinator FLOWER ARRANGERS Mrs. G. Kennedy Co-ordinator PARISH MAGAZINE Mr. G. Grant Editor & Compiler WEEKDAY WORSHIP HOLY COMMUNION Wednesdays at 10.00am. 1st and 3rd of the month at St Mary the Virgin 4th of the month at a parishioner's home (see Kalendar for details) PRAM SERVICE 1st of the month, 2.00pm. at St Mary the Virgin CHILDREN IN CHURCH 1st Sunday of the month Untidy Cafe in the Church Rooms from 10.15am. followed by a shorter Family Eucharist at 11.00am. From time to time, a Messy Church at 4.00pm. (at one of the parish churches, see Kalendar for details) SUNDAY SERVICES St. Mary the Virgin Kelvedon 8.00am. HOLY COMMUNION (Book of Common Prayer) 11.00am. SUNG EUCHARIST (Common Worship) All Saints, Feering 9.30am. HOLY COMMUNION 4.00pm FAMILY SERVICE (First Sunday of the month) For details please see Feering Parish Magazine KELVEDON PARISH MAGAZINE Copy deadline: 13th of the month to 2 Tern Close, Kelvedon Or to: grgrant@onetel.com Holy Baptism, Holy Matrimony, Funeral Services. Please contact the Priest in Charge for all matters relating to the above.

3 FROM THE VICARAGE July in Kelvedon means the Church Fete! You will see an advert elsewhere in these pages for our Alice in Wonderland-themed Fete on Saturday 4 th July, pm, since we are celebrating the 150 th anniversary of that remarkable book. Come and meet our own versions of iconic Alice characters like the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat; you can join in with the Hatter s Tea Party or search for Alice and her friends. It can be said that Alice in Wonderland is now as much an integral and accepted part of English culture as, among others, roast beef, Ascot, Wimbledon, strawberries and cream, cricket, fish and chips and lollipop men and ladies; almost as much part of our national psyche as our village churches. And it s worth remembering that Lewis Carroll, a.k.a. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was a minister in the Church of England as well as an Oxford Mathematics don. So Alice and a country church, a country church fete in particular, are not such odd bedfellows after all. We warmly welcome you to join us on Saturday 4 th - as ever, we re hoping (and praying!) for fine weather; a lot of people have put in a good deal of work to make our Fete a success, as they do every year. There ll be the usual delicious cakes and refreshments, and the everpopular beer tent. Again, as always, we re extremely grateful to all the people who come and man the stalls and help set up and put away. Particular mention must be made of Churchwarden Simon Prideaux - not simply for his hard work on the day, but for his indefatigable organising ability in the months and weeks before. Our Fete always has three main aims - which are, I imagine, the aims of all church events like ours: to give people a pleasant and enjoyable afternoon (and early evening too in our case!); to promote St Mary s Church, and the Christian faith that is at our heart; to raise much-needed funds, both for our building and for our mission and ministry here. It s always a question of trying to balance these three elements to the best of our ability. Above all a fete must be fun, or people won t come! My first fete here last year came across to me as both a very enjoyable and a very relaxed afternoon for everyone: both attenders and stall-holders were all having a really good time. The second aim, promoting the church, is vital too - church fetes aren t exactly the places for mass conversions, but they do much to promote the local church as a place where a warm welcome is extended to all who walk through the churchyard gates. This is a traditional, quite low-key way of showing and sharing the love of God found in Christ and in his Church. It reminds people that the church is simply there for them - in the hope that not only will they come back another day, but that they will feel welcomed enough to come to worship on a Sunday. Of course our fete is a key part of our annual fundraising - we usually hope to raise the best part of 2,000 through it. This is not a great deal when you consider our outgoings, which include over 40,000 for our Parish Share - St Mary s contribution to the central funding of the church. This sum effectively pays a substantial part of the amount needed for the Vicar s stipend and his house! So, despite the fete and other fundraising efforts, most of our funds still come from the generous giving of regular churchgoers. This is what we use to pay our Parish Share, to care for our church building and to provide the resources we need to run our services and to reach out into the village community. You may remember that last month I wrote about St Mary s Church as a wonderful asset - 3

4 a beautiful, prayer-soaked place that holds great meaning for many people, including a considerable number who don t attend services. It is both very significant historically (Grade 1 Listed in fact) and an enormous spiritual resource. However, as I also wrote last month, like most if not all ancient, historic buildings, it also eats money! In repair and restoration, redecorating and re-ordering we could spend 100,000 without thinking. Fortunately we do need to think and plan accordingly for essential maintenance and repair-work to be done and for specific fundraising and grant applications to be made for major works. All this can be called maintenance. However we also need to ensure we have funds for what is called mission. This doesn t just mean our services, including special services like Messy Church and our Easter and Christmas services, but also our work in the community - for instance in our church school, in St Dominic s care home, and our amongst wedding couples and baptism families. We also have a new venture - THE TEDDY BEAR CLUB - a weekly service for pre-school children and their parents and carers that is starting in St Mary s on Wednesday 16th September at 9.30 am. We re developing this out of our monthly Pram Service, realising that we need to offer something that s both more frequent and at a time in the morning when very young children are most likely to be awake! It s vital for St Mary s that we strike a good balance between maintenance and mission. Far from being at opposite ends, they are in fact both essential to our church community: without our precious and much-loved building, our church life would have no centre, physically or spiritually; yet without worship, outreach and service to others, our building would have no heart or soul. So if you value what St Mary s has to offer, do come along to our Fete and support us - so we can in turn support you and all in our village community who turn to us or who need us at key moments in their lives. With every blessing for the summer from your parish priest, Simon CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 2015 The House to House collection for Christian Aid in May for Kelvedon and Feering raised 1, The amount raised for the individual villages was Kelvedon and Feering Unfortunately, we were not able to collect in all areas of Kelvedon as we did not have enough volunteers to knock on all the doors. Thank you to the ten volunteers in Kelvedon who did, and to all those who contributed to this worthy cause. Christine Saffell GENERAL DISCLAIMER We try to make this magazine, a parish-wide publication, as inclusive as we can. It must be clearly understood, therefore, that any views expressed by contributors, or the objectives of those whose publicity material we accept, are not necessarily shared by the Vicar, the Churchwardens, the P.C.C., the Editor or the Distributors. 4

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7 PRAYER FOR JULY Think of someone who is facing a time of illness or pain; someone who has taken good health for granted and is now finding it hard to accept their new situation; someone trying to come to terms with a terminal illness, and for those who are longing to give them the love and support they will need. May the presence of Christ and the power of the Spirit hold them and make them whole. Amen. Kelvedon WI June 2015 Meeting In June, the Kelvedon WI has its annual Members Meeting, when a group of members take over from the regular committee to organise a surprise evening. This year, ladies were asked to come early, and were then led crocodile-style along the High Street to the Masonic Lodge, where we were welcomed by some of the members of the Lodge. We were then seated in the Temple, and were told of the history and origins of Freemasonry, which grew from the guilds of medieval stonemasons, employed in building abbeys and cathedrals, with the symbols representing the tools of their trade. We heard how Kelvedon s splendid Lodge was built at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the generosity of Sir William Abdy of Felix Hall, and with the involvement of Dr Salter, a local doctor, sportsman and prominent Freemason. We learnt of the charitable work of the Freemasons, and were given a brief insight into the five year process of the progression from apprentice to Master of the Lodge, a position which is held for a year. The Masons have an all-male membership, and there are 64 members of the Kelvedon Lodge. We were then shown the dining hall, splendidly set for the following night s monthly dinner, after which we were treated to drinks and a delicious selection of canapés made by the Lodge s cook, before returning to the Institute, where strawberries and cream awaited. A competition followed, to build the highest house of cards, the winner being Fiona Barkham. Small gifts were presented to the regular Committee, and the evening ended with the drawing of the raffle. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 8 July 2015, when our speaker will be Ian Kirby on The Burnham Boy Horatio Nelson. Our meetings take place at the Kelvedon Institute, 78 High Street, Kelvedon from pm (doors open 7.30pm) and visitors and new members are always welcome. As a member, you can also join in our various sub-groups - art, craft, cycling, walking, lunch and book groups which meet regularly. For further information, visit our website look out for our posters around the village, follow us on or contact Joanna on

8 Magna Carta Ringing Kelvedon, Sunday 14 th June changes of Plain Bob Doubles were rung on the front six bells in 25 minutes by:- 1. Emily Thompson 2. Helen Hughes 3. John Elliott 4. Vicki Elliott 5. Andrew Taylor (c) 6. John Randall KELVEDON & FEERING SCOUT GROUP CARNIVAL & FETE 11 July 2015 Procession starts at 1.00pm Fete starts at 2.15 p.m. at Scout Headquarters Featuring archery, dancing display, barbecue, beer tent, and many sideshows Come and join in the fun! CROSSROADS CARE Braintree District & Chelmsford Are you a carer in need of a little help and support? Would you like a few hours to yourself each week. We can offer you a free trial for up to 3 months whilst the council carries out a carers assessment. We provide regular short breaks for unpaid carers who would like a little time to themselves. For more information please telephone:

9 Kelvedon & Feering Heritage Society Summer Event Kelvedon Church Bells A talk & afternoon tea At St Mary s Church, Kelvedon Sunday 19 th July 2015 Doors open 3pm Talk starts 3.15pm followed by afternoon tea Entry by ticket only: Price 5 members 6 non members (includes 1 donation to Bell Fund). Tickets are available from Kelvedon Clocks, High St, Kelvedon. Final date for ticket purchases: 11th July. FRIENDS OF St. MARY S PARISH CHURCH Our meetings are going very well and we are busy planning for our various fund-raining events for 2015 FUND-RAISING DIARY DATES FOR Church Summer Fete Saturday 4th July Church Ramble Saturday 12th September Harvest Supper Saturday 3rd October Church Quiz November (Date to be confirmed) Christmas Tree Festival Saturday & Sunday 5th & 6th December TWO VILLAGES VOUNTARY ASSOCIATION A.G.M. Saturday 18th July 2015 at am in St. Mary the Virgin Parish Church rooms (note change of venue) The Annual General Meeting of the Two Villages Voluntary Association will take place as above, when minutes and reports will be given. All Are welcome. Coffee/Tea on arrival. 9

10 VIEWPOINT - On Belonging. The needs of all human beings to belong in relationships with other people and in groups is paramount for our existence. It is not good that man should be alone. The writer of Genesis 2 realised how inherent to creation is this need to be linked with other people. We are conscious of it as a need precisely because there are times when we feel that being human is a pretty lonely business. This is one of the factors that make us want to build bridges towards other people, well, most of us anyway. There are exceptions the solitary people, some may indeed be saints caught up in mystic contemplation of God, or creative loneliness, but they are few indeed and not the staple diet of humankind. There are those who perhaps are already hurt and are reluctant to expose themselves, so retreat behind their emotional barrier. People like the I of Paul Simon s song, I am a rock - I have no need for friendship, Friendship causes pain Its laughter and its loving I disdain. We may feel like that sometimes, I certainly have. Going out to meet other people isn t easy, especially after one or two experiences of being rejected or getting no response. There is no guarantee that your bridge-building will be met by a bridge coming out from the other side. But deliberate and continued exclusion of other people in everyday life seems to me to be settling for a half-life. There are also those people far too many of them who are quite simply lonely; people who would like to build bridges, to feel that they belong, but because of circumstances or shyness or some other reason just cannot. In her book With Love to the Church, Monica Furlong comments, Loneliness is the word that brings the tears. An editor of a national newspaper has only to print an article dealing however superficially with this subject and the letters will begin to pour in. Letters from people of all ages and all classes. From the young or middle-aged living alone, from the old, from housewives and young mothers, from students and men and women successfully established in a job or a profession. Unwilled, unwanted, loneliness is crippling and self-defeating. For loneliness makes it ever more difficult to make the approaches to other people. We come back to the importance of relationships with other people and the need to put down roots in some kind of belonging. Obviously temperaments vary and people are going to react very differently to society and company, friends and relations. Take for instance C.S. Lewis s none too delighted reaction when he decided that having become a Christian, he ought to join the Church. In Surprised By Joy he wrote, Though I liked clergymen as I liked bears, I had as little wish to be in the Church, as to be in the zoo. It was to begin with a kind of collective, a wearisome gettogether affair. I couldn t see how a concern of that sort should have anything to do with one s spiritual life. Another person might have found that a jolly get-together was precisely what was needed to give him a feeling of having found his place. After all, Christ had much to say about human relationships in his teaching and little to say about the merits of permanent withdrawal from society. What does belonging mean to people today? With the spread of technological change, our ever increasing dependence upon social media and it s invasiveness in our lives, do we feel as if we belong in the whole world? Can we grasp the idea of the whole world as community? 10

11 We perhaps need to start with basics the family. The family is the group in which children first experience relationships and belonging and the earliest belonging of all is in the warmth and love of the mother. A child s experience of his family will tend to shape his reactions for the rest of his life. The family is also one of the few universally accepted models for group life. In our society in the West, the family is, for effective purposes, Father, Mother and Children, commonly called the nuclear family. The dangers of this scenario is that many people may be left out and lonely. African and Asian families have often commented with horror upon the fact that we have a sense of family responsibility so limited that we need to have old people s homes in this country. Extended family groups, i.e. including all your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins used to be far more common in Britain than they are now. But in Africa and Asia, this way of living is a much more deep rooted, all embracing tradition. At the heart of all family life are the intimate occasions of sorrowing and rejoicing. They are the occasions which all men can understand and respond to, the basic stuff of life, these celebrations of the rhythm of birth and death as T.S. Eliot writes in his poem East Coker part of his Four Quartets. The time of the seasons and the constellations The time of milking and the time of harvest The time of the coupling of man and woman. The family group in which these most intimate and essential functions of living and dying are experienced, is also the vitally important group in which we first learn about belonging. At its best, the family group with grown-up children is an example of the good community, affectionate, helping its members to feel accepted as themselves while encouraging them to make the best of themselves, giving them security and support when needed, but allowing them the freedom to belong in other situations and with other people. Christ often used the picture of the family when teaching people about their relationships with God, drawing especially on his hearers experience of the father/child relationship. Though he was the most mature and independent of adults or perhaps precisely because he was he remembered in the middle of his crucifixion agony to commend his mother and his disciple John to each others care in a new kind of family relationship. Choruses from The Rock by T.S. Eliot. Robert Lines What life have you if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community, And no community not lived in praise of God. THE BIGGER BREAKFAST The next meetings will take place on: Saturday 4th July at St. Mary Immaculate There will be no meeting in August. All meetings start at 8 am with a light breakfast do come and join us in prayer for our community. 11

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13 FEERING & KELVEDON GARDEN CLUB JUNE MEETING John Mead, an ex-banker from Billericay gave an entertaining talk to the club on making and caring for our summer hanging baskets. John is a judge with the Essex Guild of Horticulturalists and also judges for the National Vegetable Society. When not judging he looks after his mother's garden as well as his own and also has an allotment. He is Chairman of the Hutton Garden Club and also runs a chauffeured car hire business. In his spare time he talks to Clubs like ours. He discussed compost the cost of which has stayed relatively inexpensive although the amount we get for our money has got less. He prefers a peat based multi-purpose compost for his tubs and baskets, adding a slow-release fertilizer and vermiculite. John planted up a basket for us, using three main plants and fillers such as lobelia. Members were happy to take advantage of the reasonably priced plants he brought for sale. The Flower of the Month : Helen Clewer with a rose & Jean Yems' iris were joint first and Pat Bradley came 3 rd with another iris. Our July meeting is a tour of Marks Hall, a follow up to the talk by Jonathan Jukes in May. The tour will start with refreshment at 7.00pm. There is a charge of 5. Any member requiring a lift should contact a member of the committee. We are a lively and friendly group and welcome visitors and potential new members. Further information may be obtained from the Chairman Diane Roberts or Secretary as above. ADVANCE NOTICE: The Annual Open Show will take place at Feering Community Centre on 29 August. Schedules available from the Secretary

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15 CHELMSFORD MUM TURNED MARATHON RUNNER! This year Chelmsford runner, Jacqui Edwards, 39, completed the London marathon and raised an amazing 1, for local charity The J's Hospice. As a member of the Springfield Striders, who have designed the route for this year s Chelmsford Marathon, Jacqui is excited about the new route and shares her experience of last year s event. "I offered to marshal the Chelmsford Marathon in 2014 because I knew my friend wanted to give something back to The J s. They had cared for her husband and when I heard, from the Springfield Striders, that The J s were looking for volunteers I mentioned it to my friend and said I'd do it with her. I've ran 4 marathons; 2 London, Brighton and Chester. The crowds at London definitely get you round, and also at Brighton really. Chester was a much smaller event, mainly on country lanes, so the support was much more subdued, which does make it a bit harder. This could be the case on the new Chelmsford route so it's important for residents in the local villages to come out and support the runners, it made a massive difference last year! Having seen how the runners were struggling with multi laps in 2014, I think that this year s route will be better even though the crowds may be fewer. I've never been a runner but wanted to lose weight after having children. I joined the Springfield Striders through their ladies beginners course (which they run every year) in After a break of a few years to have my second child I rejoined, again at the ladies beginners in The course takes runners up to 5k, after that I thought I'd do a 10k race which quickly turned into a half marathon in By then I'd got the bug so decided to sign up for my first marathon, which I ran in I don't really have any fundraising tips, I don't work for a big organisation and didn't really have time to organise any fundraising events so I just used social media. Every week after my long runs I'd post an update on Facebook, attaching a link to my Virgin Money page. Training can be as much or as little as you want. I was injured this year so only did 2 runs a week, but knowing it was my last marathon I wasn't worried about the time I just wanted to enjoy it. When I trained for Brighton I desperately wanted to get under 4 and a half hours so I trained 3-4 times a week which included a long run, an efforts sessions with the striders and a couple of easy runs. It really paid off and I finished in 4hrs 17, I was ecstatic! Every time I've crossed that finish line I've felt on top of the world, like I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. I don't think there's anything unique about my experi- 15

16 ence, although overtaking Callum Best at mile 19 at London felt pretty good! My message to anyone thinking of running the Chelmsford Marathon is just do it!!! You'll never regret it, the training is tough but the sense of achievement is immense. I remember a work colleague running the marathon years ago and me saying I'd love to say I've run a marathon but I know I never could it was actually my husband that said to me anyone can run a marathon so I did! If you are interested in finding out more about the NEW route then visit This event will raise much-needed funds for The J s Hospice and their young adult patients as well as creating a lasting legacy for the City of Chelmsford of a successful marathon that can grow year on year, bringing visitors to the city and highlighting all that the city has to offer. You can register to take part in the Chelmsford Marathon online by visiting or call The J s on , ext 3100 to request a registration form to be sent to you. Kelvedon W.I. have 100 place settings (knife, fork, spoon) available for hire at 5.00 per 50 settings. Please contact Pennie Chaplin on

17 CRANKY OLD MAN... What do you see nurses?......what do you see? What are you thinking... when you're looking at me? A cranky old man,......not very wise, Uncertain of habit with faraway eyes? Who dribbles his food and makes no reply. When you say in a loud voice..'i do wish you'd try!' Who seems not to notice...the things that you do. And forever is losing A sock or shoe? Who, resisting or not lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding....the long day to fill? Is that what you're thinking?..is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse.you're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am As I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding,..... as I eat at your will. I'm a small child of Ten..with a father and mother, Brothers and sisters who love one another A young boy of Sixteen..... with wings on his feet Dreaming that soon now a lover he'll meet. A groom soon at Twenty.....my heart gives a leap. Remembering, the vows.....that I promised to keep. At Twenty-Five, now.....i have young of my own. Who need me to guide... And a secure happy home. A man of Thirty My young now grown fast, Bound to each other.... With ties that should last. At Forty, my young sons...have grown and are gone, But my woman is beside me.. to see I don't mourn. At Fifty, once more,.....babies play 'round my knee, Again, we know children.... My loved one and me. Dark days are upon me.... My wife is now dead. I look at the future I shudder with dread. For my young are all rearing.... young of their own. And I think of the years... And the love that I've known. I'm now an old man and nature is cruel. It's jest to make old age look like a fool. The body, it crumbles..... grace and vigour, depart. There is now a stone... where I once had a heart. But inside this old carcass. A young man still dwells, And now and again..... my battered heart swells I remember the joys I remember the pain. And I'm loving and living life over again. I think of the years, all too few.... gone too fast. And accept the stark fact... that nothing can last. So open your eyes, people open and see. Not a cranky old man. Look closer.... see ME!! 17

18 CHURCH CHUCKLES There's a raging fire at a chemical plant that's burning out of control. The city fire department are called and start to attack the fire, but it's too much for them and they have to pull back. They call for aid from a neighbouring city, which sends its fire fighters to help, but when they arrive the fire proves too much for them too. Other cities send aid, but none are successful, and the mayor of the town offers a 1m reward to the fire fighters who can quench the blaze. Only one small, rural fire department in the area remains, and they are called. When they arrive in an old, beaten up truck they scream past all the waiting people, and the media circus, and hurtle straight into the fire, where they jump out and attack it, finally putting it out. The mayor rushes over gushing with praise, and says: "Well done, you guys are heroes! What are you going to spend the 1m reward on?" And the rural fire chief replies: "Well, the first thing we'll do is to fix the brakes on that fire truck." 18