October 2024 Magazine

As always thanks to all who have contacted us and sent us comments and articles for inclusion. Please keep in touch and send us things.

We think there is a lot of interest in the articles we have chosen and that it is ideal for you to dip in and out of and not read them all at once !!! Don't forget to read our Edna's articles.

Pauline & Bob - co-editors..   

Updated  1st October 2024 

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 Dear Friends,

When I visited Ethel recently to take Communion to her, we had our service at the end of a quiet corridor in her care home.  There we were interrupted by a man, another resident. He was evidently new to Holy Communion and could not comprehend a verbal explanation of it, but immediately understood the body language of closing eyes, putting hands together and responding with the word ‘God’.  ‘Ah!’ he exclaimed, ‘you believe in God!’ ‘Yes,’ both Ethel and I nodded, ‘we are praying.’ He walked away quietly.

A little later, I met him again. ‘You believe in God?’ he quizzed me once more.  ‘Yes.  I do believe in God.’ I replied.  ‘I believe God.’ He pointed to himself.  ‘You should talk to God with me.’

A cruel disease has stripped out his memory, but has left the memory of God.  Unlike most Muslim men, he approached a woman whom he had never met before, and requested her to pray with him, and watched as I prayed with Ethel.  This was against the traditional Muslim code that prohibits a man from approaching an unknown female, especially one of a different ethnic and religious group, and to address her. Still less would such a man ask her to pray with him. But amidst the oblivion of religious and customary rules, this pious man remembers only God. He understands anyone who prays as his friend, regardless of their creed or ritual.

When Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites, He did not criticise their humanity, but rather their way of practicing religion and the punctilious observances they imposed on ordinary Jews.  Their rules aimed to give support in living a pure and sanctified life, and kept the masses on the straightest and narrowest of paths; yet also these kept them from freely embracing God and His creation, kept them away from acting like the Good Samaritan, and made them walk away from the fellow-human beings in need.

Religious ritual is important in the relations of man to God, and its need to do no harm between one person and another that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs differ from one another in the ways they conduct it.  We respect one another, are polite to each other, and do not interfere with one others’ worship. Yet each religious group scarcely extends itself towards the others.  We have something to learn from the man I met in Ethel’s care home. For he, being separated from so many of his memories, was able to reach out to people of other faiths just as fellow-humans who worship God, like a little child unrestrained by his elders’ ways.

Have we, like the Pharisees, made too many rules? Do our codes restrain us from following the creative and generous God, who loves all His children?  We should not wait until a disease destroys the mind to communicate with one another and to recognize the one God.Norma.

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Rekindle Memory Walk

Edna and Leonard Reddy are doing the Rekindle Memory walk on Saturday 5^th October to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society in conjunction with their Memory Walk.

The walk will start at 10am but depending on the numbers attending we may introduce staggered starting times.

The starting point is AV Dawson, Riverside Park Rd, Middlesbrough TS2 1UT and we will assemble in the overspill car park:

www.rekindle.digital/mmwloc

This walk also has an element of heritage. You will hear about how the first steam locomotive for Russia left from the very location where we start our walk. Other stories will be heard along the route including a connection to Mauritius and the revelation of where L.S. Lowry really started to paint his famous picture of the old town hall.

​If you would like to sponsor us online please use https://www.rekindle.digital/mmw for the Just Giving information.

Otherwise you can catch us at the Church Coffee Morning on the 9^th October, or at one of the services in church.

If you would like do the (short) walk with us you would be very welcome… please let us know, or phone 0800 587 5184 so we have an idea of numbers

Thank you

Edna and Leonard Reddy

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Church Finance  -  Free Will Offering

All parishes, including us at St Mary’s, are asked to cover the cost of having a vicar (salary, housing, training, National Insurance and pension) via a Free Will Offering to York Diocese.

In 2024 all costs amounted to, on average, £52,000 per vicar. Paying our Free Will Offering also supports the work of the York Diocese in helping and guiding churches in all sorts of ways.

This month we have been asked to increase the annual amount for 2025 by 10 - 15% and the PCC have decided given our financial situation to increase it by 5%.

However, please note at the moment our monthly giving (whether by Parish Giving Scheme, Standing orders or in the collection plate) barely covers our present level of the Free Will Offering for 2024 let alone all our other outgoings.

The PCC is therefore put in the position of asking you all if you could dig a little deeper and up your giving too.

It is a difficult time for everyone at the moment, but keeping St Mary’s going is important to us all.

If you have any questions, please see Julie our treasurer or any PCC member.

Thank you.

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National Holocaust Centre  - The House of Peace

It all started over coffee after our 10am service, chatting about trips away, Lyn Hunter mentioned that while on a visit to Nottinghamshire, she had visited the National Holocaust Centre. 

As Jenny and I were stopping off in the area, we decided to visit.  I have to be honest it is not exactly the place you would choose to visit while on holiday!

The Centre is in the countryside in what was the family home of the Smith family, a large country house.  After a visit in 1991 to the Yad Veshem National Holocaust Museum in Israel, this had a life changing effect on Stephen, James and mother Maria.  They realised there was nothing in this country, so they started collecting items.

So, in brief the collection soon took over the house, and even after a number of extensions, their solution was that they moved out and turned the house over to set up the National Holocaust Centre Trust.  Their aim is not to depress or shock, but to look for positives, ultimately looking forward, not back.

After leaving the car park you walk through a memorial Rose Garden, with over a thousand plants, each plant with a plaque inscribed with a name of a person, or families, to demonstrate that the victims were human beings, not just statistics. As you move from one exhibition to the next, there are two stories being told.  The first follows a fictional boy living in Berlin during the Nazi rule and his escape via the Kinderstransport. The second is a chilling story of the Jews living in Germany as the Nazi party came to power and how quickly the Jews had jobs and property taken away. This was followed by being place in ghettos to live before being put into cattle train wagons and taken to the death camps.

After our tour we finished in the café, and as we sat in silence trying to digest what we had seen, we noticed other visitors also in silence trying to do the same.

As we made our way back to the car park, we had to pass a large pile of stones and pebbles.  We were invited to take a stone from a container and place it on this very large pile, a simple act, but believe me, very moving.

I have been asked would I go back; I am reminded of talking to Pauline and Bob, our parish news editors, who had been to Krakow in Poland, where they had spent a day visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum (concentration camps).  I asked how they found the experience, and after some thought they both replied.. “Everyone should visit once”.   

I think that would be my answer too.

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum                                          see their website  The National Holocaust Centre and Museum

Acre Edge Road

Laxton

Newark

Nottinghamshire

NG22 OSA

With grateful thanks to Lyn Hunter

Barry Lomas

             October Diary Page

Holy Communion service each Sunday at 9.00am (Said BCP service)

Sung Eucharist each Sunday at 10.00am      (Common Worship)

Holy Communion each Tuesday at 10.00am  (Said BCP service)

Said Evening Prayer each Sunday at 6.30pm.

BIBLE STUDY (via ZOOM) EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 7pm DURING TERM TIME.

PRAYER MEETING FIRST MONDAY IN THE MONTH 7pm IN CHURCH

Saturday 5^th October

9.30am – 11.30am   Church/Churchyard tidy

Sunday 6^th October

TRINITY 19   DEDICATION SUNDAY

9am                Holy Communion

10am              Parish Communion

6.30pm           Evening Prayer

Tuesday 8^th October

10am              Holy Communion

Wednesday 9^th October

10am – 11.30am      Coffee Morning

Sunday 13^th October   TRINITY 20

9am                Holy Communion

10am              Parish Communion

6.30pm           Evening Prayer

Tuesday 15^th October

10am              Holy Communion

Saturday 19^th October   DEANERY DAY

10am – 15.30   St Barnabas Church Hall

Sunday 20^th October

TRINITY 21

9am                Holy Communion

10am              Parish Communion

6.30pm           Evening Prayer

Tuesday 22^nd October

10am              Holy Communion

Sunday 27^th October

BIBLE SUNDAY

9am                Holy Communion

10am              Parish Communion

6.30pm           Evening Prayer

Tuesday 29^th October

10am              Holy Communion

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SERVICE OF COMMEMORATION OF THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

SUNDAY 3^rd NOVEMBER 3pm

A service of reflective hymns and readings to remember loved ones who have died.

This is a chance to light a candle in their memory while their names are read out.

If you wish to have the name of a loved one read out at this service, please

add to the list at the back of church.

Canon Paul Hardingham considers the crisis facing Nature

Care for Creation

António Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) has said that we’re at ‘Code red for humanity: the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.’

At this time of Creationtide, how are we to respond to these climate concerns?

The world belongs to God:

‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’ (Psalm 24:1). The world is not ours, but God’s! We are called to share in care for God’s world: ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ (Genesis 1:28). We represent God by governing with the same self-giving generosity that we see in His creation of the earth. This challenges our consumer mindset, that sees the earth’s resources as both limitless and existing simply for our needs. For example, the fashion industry uses as much carbon per minute, as a car emits going six times round the world! How can we make a difference in our world?

We belong to Christ:

We also belong to the one who’s plan is: ‘to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.’ (Ephesians 1:10). We can look forward to the time when God will create a new heaven and a new earth and make everything new. Meanwhile, we are called to serve as He serves, caring for the earth and our fellow humans, by living simply, recycling, conserving energy and choosing reusable options.

In terms of our world, there is no plan B! God gave us only one planet!

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Closing churches cuts worship numbers, poll finds

‘In person church attendance’ can fall by almost a third (29%) if a local church closes, a new opinion poll has found.

The poll, commissioned by the National Churches Trust, revealed that when a local church closes, 22% of the churchgoers are unwilling or unable to worship in a different church. A further 7% said that they would only attend services online. A further 7% said that they would attend less often than at present.

Churchgoers in the North East and North West of England are the most likely to stop going to church at all (30% and 31% respectively). Those in London are least likely to stop going to church at all (14%).

The poll also found that there is little interest among current church-goers for any alternative style services held in a cafe, community centre, school or a mission hub.

The National Churches Trust points to the increasing cost of repairs and maintenance as a key reason why many churches face closure.

The Trust is calling on the new Government to guarantee the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which allows churches to claim back the VAT on church repairs, but which is only guaranteed until March 2025. 

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust, the UK’s church building support charity, explained:

“Many church closures take place as the money cannot be found to carry out urgent repairs. Fixing a roof can cost over half a million pounds. The backlog of repairs for the Church of England’s churches alone is at least £1 billion, and the annual need is estimated to be £150 million a year.”

“Some churches are currently helped by the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, which allows historic churches to claim back the VAT on repairs. But this scheme is due to expire in March 2025.”

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New match funding scheme helps churches cut carbon emissions

A new pilot scheme from the Church of England is helping churches double their money for carbon-cutting projects.

Give To Go Green is a match-funding pilot project from the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme, working with churches to double locally raised donations, to help pay for carbon reducing projects.

The scheme was first piloted over a six-week period earlier this year in the Dioceses of Leeds and Exeter and helped 27 churches raise £162,155 for small scale net zero projects.

£140,113 was awarded in addition from Net Zero Programme match funding on offer. More significantly, 70 per cent of the churches raised more than their target amount, some by 200 per cent.

The scheme has since been expanded into a second pilot – with fundraising due to start in September in the Dioceses of Chester, Derby, Exeter, Leeds, Sodor and Man, Southwark, St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and Winchester.

Through a targeted digital fundraising campaign, churches can raise up to £10,000 to fund small ‘quick win’ projects such as LED light installations, insulation or a new heating control system.

This will then be matched in funds by the Give to Go Green scheme made available by the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme.

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The world’s migrants are mostly Christians

A new analysis of data by the Pew Research Centre in Washington DC has found that of the more than 280 million people, or 3.6% of the world’s population, who are currently international migrants (living outside their country of birth), 47% of them are Christian.

They are followed by Muslims (29% of all living migrants), followed by Hindus (5%), Buddhists (4%) and Jews (1%).

Over the past three decades, the total number of people living as international migrants has increased by 83%, outpacing global population growth of 47%.

The report, ‘The Religious Composition of the World’s Migrants’, is based on an analysis of UN data and 270 censuses and surveys to compare migration data from 1990 and 2020.

The analysis found that in Europe, 56 per cent of migrants are Christian. Muslims make up 18 per cent of migrants in Europe, although they make up only 7 per cent of Europe’s overall population. Jews, Hindus and Buddhists make up much smaller shares of European migrant numbers.

The Christian migrants in Europe are most often from Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Many of the Muslim migrants to Europe were born in Turkey, Syria, Morocco, and Algeria. In Europe, Germany and France have welcomed the most Muslim immigrants.

Jews make up just 0.2 per cent of the world’s population, but they account for one per cent of all migrants. This means they are the most likely people in the world to live outside their country of birth. In 2020, one in five Jews had moved from their home country. Israel has 51 per cent of all Jewish migrants, owing to its Law of Return. The US has the second largest population of Jewish migrants, and the UK is the third most common destination for Jewish migrants.

The report observes that: “many migrants have moved to escape religious persecution or to live among people who hold similar religious beliefs.”

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Church Commissioners aiming to build 1435 homes

The Church Commissioners and Durham County Council are hoping to build 1435 new homes on jointly owned agricultural land.

The land is near Newton Aycliffe, and the development would run to 97.1 hectares. The result would be a series of ‘interlinked neighbourhoods’ around a central ‘spine’ road, and would include a primary school and a town centre with shops. The development would also include ‘affordable housing’ and numerous care homes.

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Christians Against Poverty “deeply concerned” over latest Ofgem energy price cap increase

Following Ofgem’s recent announcement that average energy bills are set to rise by 10% from this month (October), Christians Against Poverty’s Chief Executive Officer, Stewart McCulloch has voiced the charity’s concerns.

Stewart McCulloch said: ​“Almost half our clients already face the devastating reality of not having enough to pay for their basic needs, including energy costs.

“With the average household’s energy bill set to rise by £149 to over £1,700 per year from October this has the potential to push even more to breaking point. Daily, we see families forced to live in cold, unlit homes, unable to cook a warm meal because they can’t afford the cost of gas or electricity.

“But we don’t have to accept this. With energy prices set to remain high, CAP is keen to work with the new Government to put in place long term and targeted support so that everyone can afford to keep warm and safe.

“A key element of this would be the creation of a dedicated ​‘Help to Repay’ scheme to support people struggling to repay energy arrears.

“The brutal consequences for people’s health and wellbeing of being unable to afford to pay for energy have now become too serious to ignore.”

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by the Dr Peter Brierley, a church statistician

Women in church leadership

Women are increasingly represented in church leadership across many denominations

.

Some have had women in leadership right from the start, like the Salvation Army, while the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox still have none. The Church of England ordained women in 1994, and since then their numbers have increased every year since 2000.

The average percentage of women clergy across denominational groups and the year range of 2000 to 2020 shows that in 2000 it was 14% and by 2020 it was 22%. In numbers, this has been an increase of about 630 more women priests year on year, spread across all these denominations.

Very broadly, research shows women are often preferred for pastoral and community care by ‘those in the pew’, while men tend to be seen as better administrators.  But for competence in leadership, communication and foresight, gender is not usually a significant variable – age is seen as more important.

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The Revd Dr Jo White considers the reason for stained-glass windows

Reflecting Faith: Window Glass

Last month I wrote about the Arts and Crafts Movement’s influence in the decoration of churches in Britain.  This is often evidenced in the designs of windows – but why do we have so much coloured glass of all shapes and sizes in church buildings?

Stained glass in churches is similar to wall paintings in that it adds colour as well as traditionally serving the purpose of teaching non-literate people the great events and characters of their religion.

But glass is so much more than that.

The techniques used to create these windows have been refined over the centuries, and their intricate beauty has inspired countless artists and designers.

The way the light shines through the glass creates a unique atmosphere that is often described as ethereal or heavenly. In this way, the use of stained-glass windows helps to create a sacred space that is set apart from the secular world.

The light shining through the glass is shown onto the brickwork or stonework surrounding the glass and depending on the original colours, the intensity of the light, the angle of the sun’s rays as well as the height and angle away from the watcher: these can range from vibrantly strong to softly muted.

Hundreds of years ago people saw the changes in light in this way as being very significant.  It was thought that the light passing through was transformed or transmuted and because of this it had a healing and revivifying effect on people who placed themselves within its light.

This month

Visit a church on a sunny day and just enjoy the play of light being put on for you.  What does it say about God’s love for you?

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Tim Lenton on the real man behind ‘Schindler’s List’ 

Oskar Schindler – the German businessman

who befriended the Jews

Fifty years ago, on 9^th October 1974, Oskar Schindler, Austria-Hungarian-born German businessman, died. He saved more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The story is told in the film Schindler’s List.

At the time of his death, in Hildesheim, Germany, he was almost unknown and very poor. After the war he and his wife Emilie (both now recognised by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations) had emigrated to Argentina, where they separated in 1957 and Oskar returned to Germany alone. Money was raised to pay for his burial in Israel. Emilie died in Germany in 2001, having spent most of her later life in Argentina.

Oskar Schindler had been an opportunistic German industrialist and a ‘convenient’ member of the Nazi Party who set himself up in an enamel factory in occupied Krakow, Poland, as part of a ‘Germanisation’ programme in 1939. The factory had previously been Jewish-owned.

Schindler employed Jews from a nearby concentration camp and used bribes and his own diplomatic skills to protect his workers from the brutality of life in the camp and ensure they were not deported. He added an armaments division and convinced the SS that his employees were essential to the war effort – although very little was produced.

The risks he took, which included dubious business deals, brought suspicion of giving unauthorised aid to Jews and of corruption: he was arrested three times but not charged.

His factory was relocated to Brünnlitz, near his hometown, at his request and reopened there purely as an armaments factory – and, thanks to Schindler’s persuasive powers, a sub-camp of a nearby concentration camp. An assistant compiled a list of almost 1,200 Jewish workers needed to move from Krakow to work in the new factory – ‘Schindler’s list’ – which enabled their survival.

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Canon Paul Hardingham continues a new series which will run until 2025.

What’s the Big Idea? – An Introduction to the Books of the New Testament: Mark

Mark is the second of the synoptic gospels, along with Matthew and Luke. Traditionally this gospel is ascribed to John Mark, a close associate of Peter. It was written for Gentile readers, probably in Rome during Nero’s persecution of the church (c AD 64-7).

Mark unveils Jesus’ public ministry with the words: ‘the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God’ (1:1). The gospel provides a succinct and vivid account of Jesus’ ministry, concentrating on what Jesus did rather than what He said. Mark moves quickly from one episode to another, often using the word ‘immediately’ which is characteristic of his gospel.

For Mark, understanding the true identity of Jesus is fundamental to his gospel. Jesus asks the disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ (8:27), to which Peter replies, ‘You are the Christ’. This is evident in Jesus’ role as teacher, the call for discipleship and the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which occupies the last third of the gospel.

A key verse which helps us to understand the nature of Jesus’ mission and how we might live in the light of it is: ‘Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (10:44,45). As the Suffering Servant, Jesus gave His life on the cross, that we might know and share his love.

Mark is understandably in a hurry to tell us about Jesus: the one who reveals the truth of God to us, that we might live in reality, not ignorance!

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17th October - Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyr c 110

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October Crossword

Across

1  He must be ‘the husband of but one wife’ (1 Timothy 3) (6)

4  ‘For we must all — before the judgement seat’ (2 Corinthians 5) (6)

7  ‘They were at their — end’ (Psalm 107) (4)

8  See 19 Across

9  It concerned who among the disciples would be the greatest(Luke 9) (8)

13 Formed by the Jews in Thessalonica to root out Paul and Silas (Acts 17) (3)

16 ‘He has sent me to bind up the — ’ (Isaiah 61) (6-7)

17 Moved rapidly on foot (Matthew 28) (3)

19 and 8  ‘ — a great company of the — host appeared with the angel’ (Luke 2) (8,8)

24 Hindrance (Romans 14) (8)

25 Comes between Luke and Acts (4)

26 Empower (Acts 4) (6)

27 ‘How dare you turn my Father’s house into a — !’ (John 2) (6)

Down

1  Sunrise (Psalm 119) (4)

2  The part of the day when the Caesarean centurion had a vision of an angel (Acts 10) (9)

3  He was one of those who returned with Zerubbabel from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7) (5)

4  ‘No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born — ’(John 3) (5)

5  Animal hunted or killed as food (Ezekiel 22) (4)

6  ‘He encouraged them — — remain true to the Lord’ (Acts 11) (3,2)

10 Ruses (anag.) (5)

11 Jewish priestly vestment (Exodus 28) (5)

12 Visible sign of what had been there (Daniel 2) (5)

13 This was the trade of Alexander, who did Paul ‘a great deal of harm’ (2 Timothy 4) (9)

14 ‘This is my — , which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’ (1 Corinthians 11) (4)

15 One of Noah’s great-great-grandsons (Genesis 10) (4)

18 Traditionally the first British Christian martyr (5)

20 Relationship of Ner to Saul (1 Samuel 14) (5)

21 Jacob had one at a place he named Bethel  (Genesis 28) (5)

22 Bats (anag.) (4)

23 ‘You strain out a — but swallow a camel’ (Matthew 23) (4)

September Answers

ACROSS: 8, Kiriath Jearim. 9, Toe. 10, Ill at ease. 11, Hated. 13, Miletus. 16, Started. 19, Micah. 22, Leviticus. 24, Eli. 25, Mary and Joseph.

DOWN: 1, Sketch. 2, Priest. 3, Samizdat. 4, Shalom. 5, Wept. 6, Breast. 7, Embers. 12, Art. 14, Limassol. 15, UNA. 16, Salome. 17, Adverb. 18, Decade.

              20, Clever. 21, Height. 23, Tear.

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      October Anagrams

SHOPPING FOR MEAT

Rearrange these letters to form the names of 10 kinds of fresh meat available in shops or supermarkets. (These are the names used by shoppers or found on labels, not the more specialized terms used by butchers.) Answers may consist of two, three or four words. All except two include the name of the kind of meat used.  

1.     A STRING BASKIE    2.     DOUBLE MARSHL    3.     BARRIS KOPPERS    4.     FATSOM RABBLE    5.     SEA OF BERECLES

6.     ROOPIN FOLK    7.     BECKTON FEENDS    8.     POLL KERBY    9.     O TRUE POSTER SHAKE     10.   MOGLE FLAB

Compiled by Peter Warren

           September Anagram Answers      

Winner   Wyn Hirst

 Send your answers with your name to  the editors. 

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October Sudoku

September Answer

Winner   Jack Thompson

HYMN:  The story behind … Come Ye Thankful People Come

Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come;
Raise the song of harvest home!
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear:
Grant, O harvest Lord, that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be….

We ourselves are God’s own field,

By H Alford (1810 – 71)

Very probably, you will sing this well-loved Harvest hymn this month.(we actually sang it at St Mary’s last month). It was written by the Revd Henry Aldford, DD, a Victorian clergyman who had been a fellow student at Trinity College, Cambridge with Alfred Tennyson, and whose transparent goodness and friendliness seem to have made him liked and appreciated wherever he went.

His ministry began as vicar of Wymeswold, a tiny village in Leicestershire with a badly neglected church. Over 18 years, Henry rebuilt the faltering Christian community, faithfully visiting every person in his parish, and preaching his way through the Bible in sermons that were so clear that everyone could understand him. He then moved on to the incumbency of Quebec Chapel in London for four years, before moving to the Deanery of Canterbury, in 1857, where he lived until his death in early 1871.

Henry was one of life’s good people; gentle, kindly, grateful for everything he had (he used to say ‘grace’ before AND after each meal), and eager to encourage all those whom he served.  He was prodigiously productive:  writing something like 50 books. The best known of these was a four-volume exposition of the New Testament, which took him nearly 20 years.

His famous hymn draws upon two of Jesus’ parables: the story of the wheat and tares (Mt 13:24-30) and also the story of the seed that grows unbeknown to the sower (Mark 4:26-29). Both are parables drawn from agriculture; both are about the ultimate harvest of our souls before God. During this lifetime we properly give thanks to God for our harvest of His gifts of creation, but we should also reflect on what seed we are sowing in our lives, and what harvest we may expect; as one day God will gather together only His own for the eternal heavenly harvest.

Editor:     The Revd Dr Gary Bowness continues his tongue-in-cheek letters from ‘Uncle Eustace’…

The Rectory

St James the Least of All

My dear Nephew Darren

I was interested to hear that from this academic year, your vicar has asked you to take his place as a school governor. A whole new world of exciting meetings is about to open up to you. Naturally, you will have been told that the governors only meet three times a year. You will probably not have been told that you will also be expected to be on at least two sub-committees, where you will be immediately asked to become secretary, as a way of getting to know the job. Add on training days, parents’ evenings, sports days, school socials, end of term services, charity events and accompanying classes on days out and you will begin to realise that your vicar’s suggestion was not as innocent as you may have thought.

Remember, too, that all meetings require you sit on chairs designed for five-year-olds. You will then spend countless hours going through a 40-item agenda, trying to look dignified with your knees somewhere round your ears while drawing up school plans as if they were the Normandy landing. Be prepared to receive paperwork measured by the hundredweight; entire rainforests have been obliterated by your education authority sending what they seem to think is vital information; it does, however, make good cat litter.

Most meetings will be so full of acronyms that for the first few years you will have the feeling that conversation is taking place in a language that may bear a passing resemblance to English, but isn’t. There is little point in trying to learn what they all mean because before too long, they will all be replaced by another set anyway, which will be equally incomprehensible.

Your computer abilities will be expected to be far beyond what anyone over the age of 30 could ever be expected to achieve; if you sink without trace, ask a seven-year-old, who will soon put you right.

You will also be encouraged to attend training days; I strongly suggest you select all-day events, as at least you will get a lunch out of it. You needn’t bother to arrive on time, since the first hour will be spent with everyone introducing themselves and you can leave early, as the final hour will go on filling in evaluation forms.

Just keep reminding yourself that your term of office is a mere five years; you may even get remission for good behaviour.

Your loving uncle,

Eustace

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David Pickup, a solicitor, offers some advice about committees… 

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 By Dave Pickup

The treasure in church chests

For whatsoever things were written … were written for our learning, that we through… comfort of the scriptures might have hope…  Romans 15:4

Many of our churches have old chests which are used to keep books in. I have been in two recently where the chests were older than the churches themselves!

I do not think our chest in my church is very old. It is near the altar and is covered with a cloth. I am not really sure why it needs to be covered like this. I suppose someone thought it would look more fitting if it had a cloth on it.

Being of an enquiring mind, or just plain nosey, I had a look inside and found it is full of old Bibles and prayerbooks. I like using them during the traditional morning worship services. I love those massive old Bibles, some of which go back hundreds of years and the Books of Common Prayer. Although they seem to weigh a ton they were made to be used and have large print which I find very helpful! Recently when I was finding the lesson I notice someone had already marked it. That was probably done years ago

.

The prayerbooks are fun as well, as many date from ages past; some encourage us to pray for King George, not the Georges of the 20^th Century but King George and his wife Caroline from the early 19^th Century. It is interesting how these State Prayers alter as the Royal Family changes like our own families. The older books have prayers for King the Charles the Martyr and the anniversary of his death, and also prayers for 5^thNovember. (I actually used the Guy Fawkes prayer last year, with edits, and I left a note in the book to say so. Please don’t tell anyone!)

A prayerbook from the Victorian period has some loose tracts put inside and another a patriotic song from 1914. Another thing to note is the old way of printing the letter ‘S’ which looks like an F and can catch unwary readers out. Our sister church has an even older Bible dating from the 17^th century.

Let us use these old books and cherish history. Many of these were gifts to the church by previous members of the congregation. They would have been significant expenditure. The Bible in the 17^th century would have cost the price of a new car today. The Bible speaks to every age.

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Walkers could lose 40,000 miles of footpaths

Walkers in Britain could stand to lose thousands of miles of rights of way, because of the sheer size of the growing backlog of applications for footpaths to be recognised and protected.

The Government has set a deadline of 2031 for public footpaths and bridleways to be officially mapped. But local authorities still have nearly 8,000 applications still waiting to be processed. This has caused concern that some rights of way could be lost forever.

The Ramblers, the walking charity, reckons there are about 41,628 miles of missing rights of way. They are encouraging people to track these down, in their Don’t Lose Your Way campaign.

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Kitted Out By the Weight on the Back

It was the words you might dread to hear,” Mam, I’m getting a motorbike.” Now Mam couldn’t say much really as both Mam and Granny had been pillion passengers so this would be third generation, however this enterprising daughter was going to be at the front end.  “As long as you get the proper protective gear,” Mam demurred.

(Daughter is thinking “Yes!!  Mam’s so terrified she’s going to pay for all the gear! Can I have cool stuff?”) This demurring was a bit hypocritical really as Mam’s first outfit was a borrowed helmet, welding goggles for a visor and white painter’s overalls pretending to be a svelte all-in-one suit. 

Sometime later the family were combing the countryside for a motorcycle accessories outlet not far from Northampton. Rumour had it that they allowed you to try things on.  If you’ve ever waited outside the changing rooms at New Look while dear girl takes 5 pairs of jeans into the fitting room, you will realise this may not be a happy prospect. (Too baggy, too short, too stiff, too blue)

From the outside it was like an anonymous aircraft hangar, windowless and accessed by a modest utility door but the inside was shockingly full of shapes and colours from end to end and floor to ceiling.  Mam hastily steered her past the full body suits, which gave her the creeps.  They looked eerily like people whose head feet and hands had been removed and bones and guts sucked out. They swayed to and fro as you passed, arms and knees still bent and humanoid. Dear daughter points out it’s hard to go for a wee in one… or outside of one, if you know what I mean, for girls particularly!

It was helmet first though and they made for the far wall where a hundred yards of racks, six rows high, greeted them, serried ranks of helmets facing forward.  Mam had a brief image of those lines of gruesome Vietnamese skulls you see in documentaries. A breezy young man appeared to advise on head size and guessed at medium (anyone could have guessed at medium!).  It sounded easy.  Extra small on the bottom shelves, extra-large at the top.  “How about this one?” said he brightly.

He was met with a stony look, then,” It’s pink!” she said.  End of discussion. We do not do pink.” Best if we just browse,” Mam suggested so he could beat a retreat. So they browsed. It continued with, “No that’s got a stupid dragon on, no that’s got sparkly bits, don’t like the colour, that one looks stupid”.  Then there appeared a brisk lady who would take no prisoners. “Try this just to check the fit.” Not medium at all then, so they’d been looking at all the wrong ones anyway.  Helmet on really tight, cheeks sucked in, mouth pursed like tulip, she looked like a hamster. “Look straight ahead and don’t move left,” said the assistant firmly then she yanked it so hard to the side I was expecting fireworks.  “Look right.” Yank the other direction too, “OK, that’s your fit, go and look on that fixture and choose from that display” And she did. Whew!

It had taken about an hour to get a helmet but the jacket took ten minutes despite having no mirror in the changing room. ” I’d like a brown one,” “They don’t do brown.”  Mam propelled daughter to the clearance rail, (Yorkshire blood will out) where from fantastic half price bargains they triumphed with a natty black leather job which while looking remarkably stylish, seemed to have its own built-in carapace with reinforced shoulders, elbows and back.  Gloves? Brown! Yes, and with knuckle protection.  That’s it.  One can only take so much, and lunch was calling.  Biker boots on another day…….

Any resemblance to recent events in the Reddy family is not entirely co-incidental.

Edna Reddy

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Tim Lenton considers the origin of postcodes  

 Where do postcodes come from?

Some 65 years ago, on 11^th October 1959, Britain began introducing postcodes. They started in Norwich, and by 1974 had been rolled out across the whole country.

The idea was to speed up sorting following the mechanisation of the postal system. But for the process to work, people had to use it, and it was therefore important to make sure that people could remember their postcode easily. So, psychologists from Cambridge University were asked to assist in their design.

This worked so well that a survey in 2016 revealed that people are now more likely to remember their postcode than their debit card PIN (92%, compared with 77%). And the information sticks: apparently 17% of people questioned could still remember the postcode of the house they lived in up to 30 years earlier.

When the first postcodes were trialled in Norwich, the first three characters were NOR (now NR followed by a number) representing the name of the city, and the last three signified a particular street or large business. Why Norwich? Because of its new sorting machines.

The main point of a postcode is to ensure that a letter or parcel gets to the correct Royal Mail sorting office, where it can then be sorted into the correct round. So the “outcode” will specify a postcode area and district, and will have up to four characters. The “incode” designates a particular postcode sector and delivery point, and always has one number and two letters.

What is a delivery point? It could be a street, part of a street or a single property. Or in rural areas, something a bit bigger. The postcode area is of course much larger: the smallest in Britain is WC in London, covering one square mile. The largest is IV, Inverness, at 6,243 square miles.

Which leads us nicely into this tasty bit of information !!!

The post and the gastropods

You may worry that your letter will be lost in the post, but you probably don’t worry that your letter may be eaten by snails.

But perhaps it is time to start. Especially if your letter is being posted in rural Northumberland. It seems some hungry snails there have developed a taste for eating the post. They crawl through the flap of the post box and munch away.

Duncan Hutt, of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, explains that “Snails eat paper because most contains cellulose from the wood pulp, which they can digest and use for energy, and they also get calcium from paper and that’s what they need to build their shells. Slugs and snails have a very varied diet.” And it might include your letter!

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Tim Lenton looks back on a much beloved bishop.

Remembering Desmond Tutu

Forty years ago, on 16^th October 1984, the South African Anglican, Bishop Desmond Tutu won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the opposition to apartheid.

Born into a Methodist family in Transvaal in 1931, Tutu first went into teaching, but after three years retired in protest at the deteriorating standard of black education, in particular the discriminatory Bantu Education Act of 1953. Instead, he went into the church, enrolling at St Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg and becoming an Anglican priest, then studying theology at King’s College, London.

In 1975 he became the first black person to hold the position of Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg, following this by becoming Bishop of Lesotho and then in 1978 the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

Regarded by many as a prophet in the liberation theology sense of the word – someone challenging power – Tutu became Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, therefore the leader of South Africa’s 1.6 million Anglicans. Always a pacifist, he was already one of the most prominent voices calling for sanctions on the apartheid regime from the international community.

On the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 after 27 years, when South Africa moved towards democracy, he saw his country as “the Rainbow Nation”. Mandela responded by making him Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995.

Exhilarated by a new vision for the future of South Africa, he described himself as “on cloud nine” when the election results came in 1994. He planned the religious component of Mandela’s inauguration ceremony, including Jewish, Muslim and Hindu leaders.

Tutu’s Nobel Prize medal was stolen in June 2007 from his home in Johannesburg, but was recovered a week later. 

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Our hedgehogs are in crisis

It is feared that there may be just one million hedgehogs left in Britain. This compares to about 36 million during the 1960s. About 150,000 hedgehogs are killed on our roads every year.

With this in mind, England’s first ‘hedgehog crossing’ road signs have recently been launched in several Borough Councils around the country. The aim is to try and save the species from eventual extinction.

The new sign features a hedgehog with white quills inside a red triangle above a message that reads ‘hedgehogs crossing’.

The design has been approved by the Department for Transport and it is hoped that the signs will make a big difference in preserving the hedgehog population. The aim is to raise awareness among motorists, to get them to slow down, and also among people using a strimmer in their garden.

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Book Review

Daily Bible Meditations for Everyone – 365 Reflections and Prayers,

from Genesis to Revelation

By John Goldingay and Tom Wright, SPCK, £19.99

This book takes you on a journey through the whole Bible in one year. With wisdom, clarity and depth, Goldingay and Wright provide a rich blend of theological insight and practical application in 365 concise reflections and prayers.

For anyone seeking spiritual growth, a deeper connection with the Scriptures, or simply a daily source of inspiration, this book could enrich your appreciation of the whole Bible and offers a clear path to understanding and applying God’s Word in your daily life.

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Safer to fly than ever before

This is GOOD NEWS if you are nervous about flying: your chance of dying in a plane crash has been halved in the last decade.

To put it another way, one person in every 13.7 million commercial aeroplane passengers worldwide who flew between 2018 and 2022 met with a fatal accident. That was a big improvement on 1 per 7.9million passengers between 2008-2017.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, one person died for every 350,000 boardings worldwide.

A recent study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that the increased safety is down to major improvements in airline safety and air traffic management.

At the current level, it is reckoned that you would now have to travel by air every day for 103,239 years in order to experience a fatal accident.

Overall, in 2023, there were only six fatal commercial aircraft accidents globally, leading to 115 deaths, compared with 12 accidents in 2022, and 229 deaths.

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The names we love to give our homes

Many people name their homes, and there is certainly a dizzying variety of names out there.

But now a new study has found that nearly all the most common property names have something to do with nature. And in Britain, the most popular house name of all is short and sweet: ‘The Cottage’. Next in line? ‘Rose Cottage’.

Other popular house names include Ivy Cottage, Garden Cottage, Orchard Cottage, Yew Tree Cottage, The Barn, The Stables, Orchard House, The Lodge and The Granary.

Dr Lynn Robson, Fellow in English at Regent’s Park College, Oxford said the trend seems “to reflect a nostalgia for a rural past.”

The survey also found that Newcastle has the greatest number of named homes, followed by Glasgow and Sheffield. 

The survey was carried out by Admiral Home Insurance.

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What do children like to wear on their feet these days?

Crocs. The foam clogs have now become the fastest-growing ‘cool’ brand with British children. The footwear company even ranks above companies such as Star Wars, the BBC and Converse, according to a recent poll of young people.

Some say the success is because crocs are growing more popular with girls. Girls are turning to them because of the ‘jibbitz’, or small gems and charms that fit into the holes of the shoe. Designs include Barbie and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The brand sells about 150 million pairs of Crocs each year.

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Which comes first, the jam or the cream?

Which do you prefer, when it comes to eating scones? Of course, Cornwall and Devon have long been in rivalry over it, with Cornwall preferring the jam first, while Devon opts for the cream.

Now a recent YouGov survey has found the Cornish method is currently winning the debate. 62 per cent of us, and every British county (except Devon and Somerset) favour the jam-first Cornish approach.

Even the Queen also favoured the Cornish method. But the King is more pragmatic, once admitting that “I go with whichever is closest to me to start off.”

But now YouGov has discovered that when it comes to people under 30, the preference is beginning to swing the other way. While 80 per cent of people who are over-70s choose jam before cream on their scone, the figure falls to 48 per cent among the under-30s.

YouGov calls it a “glimmer of hope” for the Devon method and reckons that “on current trends we could start to see some crossover in coming generations.

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All in the month of October

It was:

200 years ago, on 21^st Oct 1824 that British mason, bricklayer and cement manufacturer Joseph Aspdin was granted a British patent for Portland cement. His son William went on to develop a stronger version and is regarded as the inventor of modern Portland cement.

175 years ago, on 17^th Oct 1849 that Frederic Chopin, Polish composer and piano virtuoso, died.

125 years ago, from 11^th Oct 1899 to May 1902 that the Second Boer War in South Africa took place. 22,000 British forces were killed, and nearly 100,000 wounded. More than 6,000 Boers were killed, and more than 46,000 African civilians died in concentration camps.

100 years ago, on 15^th Oct 1924 that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour was designated a US National Monument.

90 years ago, on 16^th Oct 1934 that the Long March took place. Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong began a year-long 8,000-mile march from south-east China to north-west China to evade the armies of the Chinese National Party and establish a new base. It led to the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Also 90 years ago, on 24^th Oct 1934 that the earliest known recording of the song Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town was released. Performed by banjo player Harry Reser and his band and sung by Tom Stacks, it has since been recorded by more than 200 other artists.

80 years ago, on 2^nd Oct 1944 that the Warsaw Uprising in Poland was ended. The Germans destroyed the city, killing 200,000 civilians and expelling 700,000.

Also 80 years ago, on 9^th Oct 1944 that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Jospeh Stalin met to discuss the future of post-war Europe.

75 years ago, on 1^st Oct 1949 that the People’s Republic of China was founded by Mao Zedong.

65 years ago, on 11^th Oct 1959 that Britain began introducing postcodes. They began in  Norwich, and by 1974 had been rolled out across the whole country.

60 years ago, on 14^th Oct 1964 that the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality in the USA without violence.

50 years ago, on 2^nd Oct 1974 that US researchers announced that smoking cannabis causes lasting brain damage. More than 50 medical schools and research centres took part in the year-long government-funded study.

Also 50 years ago, on 9^th Oct 1974 that Oskar Schindler, Austria-Hungarian-born German businessman, died. He saved more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The story is told in the film Schindler’s List.

40 years ago, on 12^th Oct 1984 that an IRA bomb exploded during the Conservative Party Conference at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, killing five people. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was apparently the primary target, but she escaped injury.

Also 40 years ago, on 16^th Oct 1984 that South African Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the opposition to apartheid.

30 years ago, on 13^th Oct 1994 that the three main loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland announced a ceasefire following the IRA’s ceasefire announcement on 31^st Aug.

25 years ago, on 12^th Oct 1999 that the United Nations announced that the world’s population had reached six billion. It reached seven billion in 2011/12.

20 years ago, on 2^nd Oct 2004 that the first Parkrun was held in Bushy Park, London.  Parkruns are now held every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 22 countries.

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Smile Lines

**

Halloween costumes

My six-year-old son was excited about choosing his Halloween costume. “I’m going to be the Pope,” he announced proudly.

“But Ian, you can’t be the Pope. You’re not Catholic,” I explained. “You’re Church of England.”

My son was silent for a few moments, while he considered his alternatives. “Well, is Dracula Church of England?”

** 

Laodicean hymns

The Laodicean Church was described in the Bible as being lukewarm.  So here is a list of some of the hymns they might sing:

Teach Me, Lord, Thy Easy Way

We Are Milling Around in the Light of God

When Peace, like a Trickle

When the Saints Go Sneaking In

**

How many church members does it take to change a light bulb?

What do you mean CHANGE??? That light bulb was given in memory of my grandmother! My father installed it with his bare hands! He donated his time AND the use of his ladder to do it, too! My family’s been members of this church for four generations! And if you think you’re going to come in here and make changes all of a sudden, Vicar, you’ve got another thing coming!

**

Definitions

CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Congregation to lip-sync.

HYMN: A song of praise usually sung in a key two octaves higher than that of the congregation’s range.

RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at a church service, often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.

JONAH: The original ‘Jaws’ story.

AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.

** 

Fish

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

**

Lend

If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

**

 Bug

Some days you are the bug; some days you are the windscreen.

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 Judge

Good judgement comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

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Mouth

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

** 

Duct tape

Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

**

 Experience

Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.

**

Retirement

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.

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Visiting the sick

The vicar had been summoned to the bedside of a local Baptist woman who was quite ill. As he went up the walk, he met the little daughter and said, “I’m very glad your mother remembered me in her illness. Is your Baptist minister out of town?” “No,” answered the child. “He’s at home, but we thought it might be something contagious, and we didn’t want to expose him to it.”

**

Passwords

An elderly vicar got a call from a scammer who said, “I’ve got all of your passwords.” The vicar replied: “Excellent! What are they? Just wait while I grab a pen.”

**

Car wash

Ever feel like life is a car wash and you’re on a bicycle?

**

Stress

Reality is the leading cause of stress.

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The views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of St Mary's, it's clergy, the Church of England

or the Editors.