CHALLENGE The Parish Magazine of St Mary s Sandbach February 2016 Volume 52 No 610 1
February 2016 Sunday 7th February 8.00 am Holy Communion Next Before Lent 10.00 am Morning Worship (Quinquagesima) 3.30 pm Holy Eucharist Wednesday 10th February 11.00 am Holy Communion Ash Wednesday 7.30 pm Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes at Christ Church Wheelock Sunday 14th February 8.00 am Holy Communion 1 Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 3.30 pm Evensong Sunday 21st February 8.00 am Holy Communion 2 Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 3.30 pm Evensong Sunday 28th February 8.00 am Holy Communion 3 Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 3.30 pm Choral Evensong with St Christopher s Chorale Sunday 6th March 8.00 am Holy Communion 4 Lent 10.00 am Morning Worship Mothering Sunday 3.30 pm Holy Eucharist Every Wednesday 11.00 am Holy Communion (Cover Picture - Jane Stanway ) 2
Vicarage Eggs ve never bought Mrs Shepherd flowers or gifts or sent her cards I on Valentine s day, but over recent years we have been excited by the blue-egg producing chicken that has started her laying cycle exactly on 14th February. The question this year is, will she lay on her fifth Valentine s day? But egg laying is not the reason most people go sentimental on the day so let s get the silly bits over straight away. The business of choosing partners on this day goes back many hundreds of years and was known about, for instance, by English writers in the Middle Ages. This may have stemmed from the more ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia" celebrated with lots of excessive (and promiscuous) jollity in mid February. This day, celebrated in debauched fashion by the Romans, is another example of Christians taking what is already there and Christianizing it. It just so happened that the Church in Rome celebrated St. Valentine on that day. The Christian memory of the man Valentine and the pagan festival get merged into one. So what of Valentine? Little is known about him. He was probably a second century Roman priest who was taken and tortured to death in the persecutions of Claudius and became another member of that illustrious body of men and women who witnessed in their very flesh to the love of their Lord. Perhaps we are not called to die for the love of Our Lord. We pray daily not to be put to this ultimate test of our loyalty in the Lord s Prayer ("but deliver us from evil" / do not lead us to the time of trial). We may not be called to die for the love of Our Lord. Perhaps our witness in the world is much more humble. Perhaps we are called upon to be faithful and show our love of God through the joy and radiance of his love in us. Thereby the world may say of us, that because of God in us, all that we do, we do well. Our witness will be as St Valentine s before us - to the sacrificial love of our God in Christ Jesus. Thomas Shepherd - Vicar (Christmas Card 2015 note from the Vicarage. Thanks to all the many people of Sandbach, both regular church goers and others, who sent seasonal greetings to us at the vicarage.) 3
From the Registers Baptisms December 20th Lucas Gordon Lamb son of Gordon and Anne-Marie Funerals December 22nd Frank Wynn (92) January 14th Esther Hough (81) 15th Joan Oakes (75) 22nd Kathleen Mary Barber (81) Church Flowers February 7th In memory of Rita Acton Donations for flowers to Sheenagh Ashworth 01270 529187 or sheenagh@davidashworth39.plus.com Coffee Rota February 7th 14th 21st 28th March Marjorie Burgess and Renee Bickerton Stella Craven and Christine Hirst Kathleen Davies and Kathleen Beech Jean Richardson and Iris Kenilworth 6th Joyce Griffith and Lynne Winfield 4
Sandbach Food bank update ecember was a busy D month. We exceeded our previous maximum weekly number of parcels (which was 5) as we delivered 7 in the week beginning 14th December. The total number of parcels for the month was 14, giving us a weekly average of 3 for the month. A total of 41 people were helped. This was in addition to the 21 families who were in receipt of the special Christmas mini parcels. We received thank you messages via the Children s centre from the 10 families who received the special Christmas parcels from them. Here are some of the messages received: We are very grateful and appreciate it I was really not expecting the wonderful gifts. Thank you so much. It will help me and my family loads The proceeds from the raffle at Iceland resulted in 22 carrier bags of the items we were most in need of. We are very grateful for this wonderful donation from Iceland and their customers. Due to the very generous donations during December we have a well stocked cupboard, but we continue to have 5 shortages in some items, including meat products, long life fruit juice, sponge puddings, pasta sauce, sugar and coffee. We were interested to read the article in this magazine about the Mid Cheshire food bank. It is always interesting to hear about how other food banks are run, and we already have links with Crewe, Congleton, Middlewich, Alsager and Nantwich. There are many similarities between all the food banks but for the removal of any confusion we thought we should clarify some of the differences. The Sandbach food bank is completely independent it is not associated with the Trussel Trust we have a management group made up of members from the CTS churches. We have only one distribution centre and that is at the Wesley Centre, and we operate 3 days each week Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As ours is only a relatively small concern we deliver parcels to the recipients at home. They are referred to us via an email from the various agencies. Thank you for your continued support. The Sandbach food bank volunteers.
Tickets: Adults: 8.50 Snr Citizens/Concessions: 7.00 School Children: 3.00 Family Ticket : 20.00 Doors Open 6:30 pm Wed 24th February Dave Hassell 'Celebrating Brazil' Quintet and spotlight concert with local young musicians www.sandbach-concert 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. What does that mean? Trinity, Holy - A theological term which describes the three persons of the Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A church which embraces this doctrine is called "Trinitarian." "For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one" (1 John 5:7). Trouble-Maker - a term often used to describe a person who stirs up strife or causes tension or trouble in the church. Twelfth Night - the eve of the festival of the Epiphany, twelve days after Christmas. Unction - the anointing of the sick with holy oils accompanied by prayer. When the rite of Unction is used for the dying it is called Extreme Unction. In the First Prayer Book there is an office for Anointing the Sick. 6
Magna Carta by Irene Garner It's my job to write poems full of History And say daft things like Ay Up 'Anley Duck On a good day they rhyme and get finished on time On a bad day my poor brain gets stuck. Jim said Write a poem for Elworth But don't mention the War if you can. I said they know it was tough and the going was rough; He said No, they don't know it began. Then in that case I said We'll do Runnymede Jim said Great, I just love G & S Runnymede, not Ruddigore Go sit down with your score And be quiet you'll get me in a mess. So this is all about Magna Carta You historians think back if you can. It gave liberty and said all shall be free That is all.. but the poor working man. 1215 reigned King John Plantagenet Son of Henry Two and Nell Aquitaine John lacked land from the start and broke his dad's heart And Mum never got pregnant again. Born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford Please do not confuse with Korea That one's Kim Jong-un He's another buffoon. Full of bluster like John so I hear. John's brothers were all gone by time he's 30 Some of sickness and the others killed dead He'd been called John the Weak So in a great fit of pique Plonked the crown right down firm on his 'ead. 7
He weds wife number 2 who's a French lass called Isabelle of sommat like ah goo lehm. (Angoulême) A rebellion this brought John got summoned to court And we're warring with France once again. John's reign's full of fighting and battles And conscription that all costs a mint Normandy the King lost and at a great cost The Barons said it's no wonder we're skint. They called for a meeting at Brackley And united to take London by storm Bob Fitzwalter took the lead To make John concede Did he heck he were stubborn - by gum. The Barons were trouble making rebels According to the Gospel of King John They were fed up of taxes of feuding and axes And said Ay up Duck, this can't go on. Truth was Barons were fair minded citizens Who demanded the right to be heard. John said you're revolting and I won't have you voting For your rights the idea's just absurd. But with King's army driven out o' London He's told straight You will obey the Law. Or we'll gang up with France and you won't stand a chance Cause together we'll give you wot for. John's back's to the wall and he knows it If they win he will lack land again So he thinks I will sign it then barefaced deny it So he packs up his royal Parker pen. 8
Runnymede's on the Thames down in Surrey Where it happened 800 years ago Magna Carta was writ, and King John's in the... With 63 clauses of woe. Darcy said that you signed with a flourish But you must learn to follow it through Bruno stood up to swear Len shouted Don't you dare! Craig said Darling, I'll give it a 2 John appealed to the Pope for assistance In making this Great Charter null Pope Innocence he was not helping John with his plot And told him it's all Papal Bull Kings compelled to obey laws like their subjects? An idea John found quite absurd He would never agree and then caught dysentery And that's how we got Henry the Third We meet here today as free people With John and the Barons long since gone. We don't have a care and everything's fair Thanks to Ukip and King Dave Cameron! Adverts T he advertisements on the cover are up for renewal this month and I am pleased to report that the majority of companies and organisations are continuing for another year. I would like to thank those who are moving on for supporting us over the years. A reminder to all you readers to support these top quality local businesses and organisations. 9
Can olny srmat poelpe raed this? No! I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. Its the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig! And I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! Opening your mouth Before you say an unkind word, think of those people who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food, think of those who have very little to eat. Before you complain about the person you live with, think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. Before you complain about your struggles in life, think of those who may have died much younger than you are. Before whining about the distance you drive, think of those who have no choice but to walk long distances. When you complain about your work, think of people unemployed or disabled, who would love to work. And, when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and remember God loves you, you're alive and you are here for a very good reason. 10
The much-loved Psalm he Twenty-Third Psalm is the best known of all the psalms. It T is attributed to King David (1040BC 970BC). We are so familiar with the Biblical story of David, that we forget how long ago David lived. He lived about 200 years after the Battle of Troy, about 500 years before Aristotle and Socrates, the same before the founding of Rome and only about 200 years after the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the iron age. The psalm reminds us of the time when David was a shepherd boy working for his father. The Psalm has been rendered into innumerable metrical versions in English. The God of Love my shepherd is was paraphrased by George Herbert (1593-1633). Herbert was a friend of the poets Wotton and Donne and was esteemed by Bacon. He was rector of Bemerton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. The King of Love my shepherd is was paraphrased by Sir Henry Baker (1821-1877). Baker was vicar of Monkland, Shropshire. In 1859 he became a baronet. He was chief promoter of Hymns Ancient and Modern, being for twenty years the chairman of the committee responsible for the preparation of the book. It is said that the third verse of the hymn was amongst his last words on his death bed. The Lord s my Shepherd, I ll not want was paraphrased by William Wittingham (1524-1579). Whittingham was born in Chester. He became one of the earliest exiles from England during the reign of Bloody Mary, moving first to Frankfort and then to Geneva, he knew both Calvin and John Knox. After the end of Mary s reign, he returned to England, he became Dean of Durham. Being common metre hymns, numerous tunes have been used, the most popular being Crimond. 11
Maintenance of the Churchyard at St Marys Editor: An apology to Brian Day who, last month, gave us an insight into the challenges of maintaining the Church yard. I made an error in the re-production of the photo he gave me which was exceptionally dark. So hear they are again. Pile of Leaves Trailer 12
St Mary s Social Committee Quiz Night Saturday 6th February Fish (or sausage), chips and peas before quiz. 7 per head Beetle Drive Summer Lunch May. With cheese and wine June Pudding evening September. With music. Big Breakfast Autumn Fair October 5th November Christmas Lunch 4th December Come along and bring your friends to these events. Tickets will be advertised in the magazine and on the pew sheets. 13
Sandbach Premiere The Jerseys On Saturday March 17th Sandbach Town Hall will play host to The Jerseys - a fantastic live tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and the smash hit musical 'The Jersey Boys' The show features top quality lead vocals and harmonies, choreographed dance routines and a show that features all the great Jersey Boy hits including Beggin`, Big Girls Don`t Cry, Sherry, Who Loves You, Rag Doll and many more. This band is completely professional with quality PA system. These guys will be covering all the great hits and a massive Motown selection as well. Highly recommended, a fabulous show and you will certainly leave thinking, Oh, What a Nite!! Doors open at 7.15pm and starts at 8pm Tickets for each of these are 10 and are on sale online at www.sandbach.gov.uk/buy or from the Sandbach Literary Institution, Sandbach Town Hall and Demeter Wholefoods. Advance notice nnual Vestry Meeting: to elect new churchwardens for the A year 2016-2017 will be held in church at the end of the Parish Eucharist on Sunday 13th April at 11.00am. This meeting is open to anyone in the parish. The Annual Parochial Meeting will follow immediately afterwards. Only those on the Electoral Roll are entitled to vote at that meeting, This year there will be the elections of four new PCC lay representatives, election of deanery representatives, the co-option of a Treasurer, the election of sidemen and the presentation of Safeguarding Policy and the audited financial accounts. If anyone feels able to serve on the PCC please speak to the vicar or the churchwardens. 14
A life of ups and downs? hen people discover I am W a vicar they sometimes show mild interest. Discover I am vicar of a football club and that can generate interest especially amongst football fans. Say you are vicar at an airport and then the questions really start. Amongst the first is usually but what do you actually do? Airports are places on the edge and places of meeting. They are places where journeys begin and end; happy journeys, sad journeys, business journeys, pleasure journeys. Little wonder then that a wide variety of human experiences can be found within them. Airports can also be confusing, stressful even for the most frequent flyer, and melting pots in that all sorts of people come together for a common purpose and then go their separate ways. Manchester Airport Chaplaincy ministers in such a situation. We are for people of all faiths and none. We are a multi faith team comprising Christian, 15 Muslim, Jewish and Sikh chaplains. There are 22,000 people who work on site and there were 23 million flights by passengers last year. Often forgotten but just as important in an island such as the UK is the cargo facilities on the other side of the airport to the passenger facilities. Those who work at the airport are in a diverse range of jobs. About 5,000 actually work for Manchester Airport Group (the group owns the airports at Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth as well). You would expect pilots and cabin crew, you would expect engineers. One recent highlight was standing next to a spare tyre for the Emirates airbus which was bigger than me. Each plane has 23 of these, so the need for spares becomes apparent. But there are 13 hotels on site, there is the UK border agency and a whole host
of jobs concerned with security, there are police and paramedics. In essence the airport is a small town with the variety to match. As the Chaplaincy we try and keep a high profile around the 3 terminals and the myriad of workplaces around the complex. Hearing peoples life stories, celebrating their good news and being a sympathetic ear in the sad and bad times. By attempting to be the human face of the church and faith communities in a complex and fast moving environment it means that when and if an emergency arises people already know us and trust us. Inevitably contact with passengers tends to be more fleeting. They come and go but when they need us it can often be intense and high pressure. 16 Many people think our job entails looking after nervous passengers. We can but most airports have special programmes which can enable people to face their fears before the actual day. People do miss their flights, people are sometimes taken ill or even sadly die at an airport, sometimes bad news has to be broken to travellers, or people escorted back from traumatic events in far flung places. All these issues are things which airport chaplaincies can deal with. As the chaplaincy sometimes we can sort out things nobody else can. Sometimes because of our unique position between statutory and voluntary we can be the connection which enables a solution to an issue to be found. As gateways between different places airports see all the human issues of the day and often the people behind the issue are the people we are trying to help. Human
Trafficking, forced marriages, child abduction and sexual exploitation are all issues which may arise. Airport Chaplaincy cannot solve such issues alone but in partnership with others can often play a part. Manchester Airport has prayer rooms in each terminal. They are multi-faith in that they are for the use of all people of faith (and none!). On behalf of the airport community we manage the spaces, enabling them to be open 24/7 for all who want peace and quiet amongst the bustle, or a chance to say their prayers. Spend any amount of time walking around the terminals in a yellow high-visibility jacket and you will soon be asked for directions. Most people do not use airports every day and it can be stressful finding your check-in desk, or even making sure you are in the right terminal or where the train station is. As Chaplains we often help in enabling people to make the right connections. The Chaplaincy is no different from any other Christian or faith community in that we are representing the wider church to the world, what might be called the human face of the church. Working at a busy International Airport also means we can represent to the institutional church the issues of aviation and airports and the needs of the people who work within it. This of course may raise interesting political and moral questions which not just the church but the whole of society needs to face. So as you can see the answer to the question what do you do is both interesting and complex. Do remember the work of Manchester Airport Chaplaincy in your prayers and the work of the airport and all who work there and use it as passengers. David Ottley 17
Church Hall Caretaker fter several years of dedicated A service to the running of the Church Hall, Derek has had to acknowledge that the physical demands of some of the tasks are now beyond his capability and consequently he has resigned from the position of caretaker. We would like to thank him for the support he has given to maintaining the hall in meeting its very varied use including the weekly assembling and dismantling of tables. Brian Out Reach - Neighbours he charity we have chosen to support during February and T March is Neighbours. This is a charity based locally in Haslington which has been in operation for over 30 years. Their main aim is to help the less mobile and elderly residents of Haslington and Winterley with support through a local volunteer to become more involved with the community and thereby avoiding possible isolation. Events and trips are organized throughout the year with some of their expenses being required for specialist coaches with side lift facilities for wheelchairs. Special activities and help are also arranged around Christmas. Your support for our selected charities is always appreciated. If you have any charity you would like to recommend please contact Brian Day (Tel. No 763716). 18
How well do you know the church? here and what are these? Answer next month. W ast month we L saw a plaque on the south wall. It describes how the illuminated clock and chimes were place in the tower in 1890 by Hon H Holbrook, late Minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of the Gov of British Columbia, in memory of his mother Elizabeth and sister Eliza. JB Joyce of Whitchurch undertook the work which involved cutting the six foot holes through the wall in the same position as the old stone faces on the north and south sides of the tower, installing the mechanism inside. The clock had a Grimthorpe Gravity type of escapement which is famous for having first been used in the Westminster clock of Big Ben, and chimes the quarter and strikes the hours. It was driven by three weights which descended 15 feet down a shaft and are rewound by hand twice a week. (This winding mechanism is now all electrically driven) 19
Valentine's Day ne morning the vicar s wife woke up O with a start. Her husband asked what was the matter. She told him, "I just had a dream that you gave me an expensive pearl necklace for Valentine's day. What do you think it means?" "You'll know tonight," said the vicar confidently. Later that evening, he arrived home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it, only to find a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams." The toilet he active wife of a young man decided that they should stop T calling their toilet the John and instead they would call it the Jim. She said it would make her feel much better if she could say, I go to the Jim, first thing every morning. Five year olds he mother returned home from work and noticed her mother T was in the garden with her five-year old daughter who was brushing the dog s teeth. When she asked her what she was doing, the little girl replied, "I'm brushing Sooty's teeth, but don t worry, I'll put your toothbrush back like I always do." Teacher: Why are you late? Tommy: 'Cos class started before I got here. Teacher: Tommy, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested? Tommy: I think you mean a teacher, sir. 20
CHURCH OFFICIALS Vicar The Revd. Thomas Shepherd 762379 vicar@sandbachchurch.co.uk Churchwardens Sheenagh Ashworth 529187 Anne Birch 760778 Sacristan John Percival 765700 Verger June Ollier 766973 PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) OFFICERS PCC Secretary Mel Robinson 753821 Treasurer Roger Cooke 762118 Covenants/Gift Aid Aileen Higgs 760149 OTHER CONTACTS Organist Kevin Birch kevinbirch@gmx.com 760778 Bells John Austin 764851 Mervyn Stubbs 762516 Church Flowers Sheenagh Ashworth 529187 Church Hall Sylvia Watkins 767386 BAPTISMS AND WEDDINGS hall@sandbachchurch.co.uk Please Contact The Vicar in Church on Sundays 2pm - 3pm 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: 01270 768744 e-mail: magazine@sandbachchurch.co.uk post: 15 Chartwell Park, Sandbach, CW11 4ZP Articles must be received by Sunday 21st February More information is also available on the web-site: www.sandbachchurch.co.uk 21