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HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

Bradford on Avon

Parish News

November 2008

web edition

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DIRECTORY

Vicar Canon Bill Matthews The Vicarage, 18A Woolley Street 864444 e-mail: vicar@brad-avon-ht.org.uk Parish Deacon Rev Angela Onions 27 Berryfield Road 309001 Retired Clergy Ven John Burgess, Rev Alun Glyn-Jones, Canon Peter Hardman, Ven Ian Stanes Licensed Lay Ministers Graham Dove Dr Malcolm Walsh (retired) Churchwardens Joan Finch 40 Palairet Close 863878 Tony Haffenden 6 Folly Field 864412 Director of Music Gareth Bennett 01380 728772 ; Ministry of Healing The Vicar; Mary Burge. Times of Services (Check Bulletins and notices or Church web site) Sundays 8 am Holy Communion 9.30 am Sung Eucharist (coffee after) 6 pm Evensong Service of Prayer for Hope & Health and Compline monthly) Holy Communion 10 am Wednesdays (weekdays) 8 am Fridays Times of Meetings Choir Practice 6.30 pm Church, Tuesdays Junior Church 9.30 am Church Hall Mothers’ Union 7.30 pm Church Hall, (usually) 3rd Thursday Bell Practice 7.30–9 pm 2nd and 4th Mondays Holy Trinity Web-site www.brad-avon-ht.org.uk Diocese Web-site www.salisbury.anglican.org Weekly Bulletin Notices to the Vicar not later than Wednesday for the next Sunday.

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Remembering While on holiday, I found myself watching a short clip on television, showing a girl in a Far Eastern country, visiting her grandmother’s tomb, carefully washing and cleaning it, and arranging fresh flowers upon it, while a priest of her religion stood by. Similar acts of remembrance will take place on the Continent, in Catholic countries, where the All Saints/All Souls season is a shared occasion for remembrance throughout the community. I’m pleased that in the Church of England, in recent years, the custom of annual remembrance has become more common, as has the idea of inviting those who have been bereaved in the last year to attend a service of commemoration appropriate to a wide range of beliefs and needs. In remembering those who have had a particular significance for us, whether as family or friends, we are doing more than paying dutiful remembrance. We’re acknowledging a debt - the influence that they have had on our lives, the sense that their lives have become, to a greater or lesser extent, part of ours. The season of remembrance usefully underlines one of the fundamental Christian truths — our mutual dependence. So we shouldn’t just think of what we have received, but of what we have been able to give over the years. And the thought of the memory we might leave behind us is a salutary one for us all, while there’s still time to do something about it! Thank you! Angela has exercised a truly valuable ministry in this parish, first as a Reader, and, more recently, as our Parish Deacon. Many people have reason to be grateful for her pastoral care and kindness, and she has taken a very full part in the liturgical and preaching ministry in our church. At the end of October, she moves from the status of a ‘Licensed’ Minister to that of a retired minister with ‘Permission to Officiate’. In a church which has been greatly blessed by the continuing ministry of an impressive and increasing college of retired clergy, it will be obvious that she isn’t being put out to grass! So, this gives me the opportunity, on behalf of us all, of saying a sincere ‘thank you’ to Angela, both for all that she has done, and for all that she has yet to do.

FROM THE VICAR

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2 SUNDAY ALL SAINTS DAY 9.30 am Solemn Eucharist 6 pm Commemoration Service

3 Monday All Souls’ Day 7 pm

7 Friday 8 am Willibrord of York, Bishop

9 SUNDAY REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY (3 BEFORE ADVENT)

9.00 am only Holy Communion 10.15 am Town Remembrance Service 6 pm Evensong Christ Church

13 Thursday 7.30 pm Mothers’ Union The Seven Year Hitch—John Salvat

Church Hall

16 SUNDAY 2 BEFORE ADVENT 9.30 am Family Communion 6 pm Compline

19 Wednesday 10 am Hilda, Abbess of Whitby

23 SUNDAY CHRIST THE KING 9.30 am Sung Eucharist 6 pm Taizé Service with Prayer for Hope &

Health

26 Wednesday 7.30 pm Friends Theatre Visit

30 SUNDAY ADVENT SUNDAY

9.30 am Sung Eucharist 6 pm Advent Carols by Candlelight

Holy Communion is usually at 8 am each Sunday

Copy Date for December is 16th November

Eucharist & Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

12 Wednesday 7 pm Holy Communion St Mary Tory

7.35 pm Parochial Church Council St Mary Tory

DIARY FOR NOVEMBER

From the Registers appears on page 9 this month

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HOLY TRINITY MOTHERS’ UNION Isabel Douglas was a much loved member of Holy Trinity Mothers’ Union. We laughed with her at her ‘scattiness’, but she had many wise words of wisdom to impart when we had to discuss something. We shall miss her ever-smiling face, because nothing seemed to get her down. She was quite proud that, having lost a kidney when she was only 3 years old, she was never ill. A few days before she died, when she wasn’t well enough to come to the MU Communion and read the Gospel she had undertaken to do, she came to her door to give it back to me, smiling cheerfully, with make-up on, saying she was getting better, and didn’t need to trouble a doctor. I have kept a card she sent me over 15 years ago, thanking me for making a cake for her when she was President of the Bath West Inner Wheel. I still have it on my mantelpiece, as it is one of my ‘treasures’. The words on the front were: “To be born Welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but music in your blood, and poetry in your soul.” Bless you Isabel.

Our members turned up trumps for the ‘wake’ Isabel had organised to follow her Thanksgiving Service, quite unknown to us until we heard from her son after her death. There were cakes galore, and although we had the Church Hall full of people who had stayed after the service, there was enough for everyone, and they were very grateful for the cups of tea, and food we provided. My thanks to Marlene who organised it on my behalf, as it was on the same day that I was icing the cake for John Burgess! It is great to have a good deputy, and a super team of people to rely on!

Our October meeting welcomed the Rev Keith Crouch, Chaplain at Dorothy House. He gave us a short résumé of how the house was set up and moved to Winsley, and about his work there, and some of the people he deals with, obviously not by name. He made us realise how close he has to get to patients as they come to the ends of their lives, and also to their families. One husband told him he had said goodbye to his wife five times already and she had come back each time. When asked if counselling continues after the patient dies, he said that they now have a team of Bereavement Counsellors, one of whom is Evelyn Humphrey’s daughter, which carries on that work, leaving the Chaplain and his team to go to new cases that need them. We all felt the work to be such an important part of the whole ethos of Dorothy House, teaching patients not “how to die”, but “how to live the life they have left more abundantly”.

Rosemary Rees, from Winsley, is going out to Zimbabwe at the beginning of November, and had offered to take a letter to the MU

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Home and Family becomes Families First Britain’s biggest selling Christian magazine, Home and Family, has just re-launched itself as Families First. Produced by Mothers’ Union to promote good parenting, encourage loving and lasting marriages, and to support people in an active, Christian faith, Families First will be a life-style magazine for people who care about family life in their own communities and around the world.

With a focus on relationship – with real people facing real issues – each edition will include interviews and articles on marriage, family life, parenting, Christian faith in action, stories of lives changed, community action ideas, campaign issues and reviews of books, music, films, DVDs, and websites for children.

The existing readership is over 44,000, so Families First inherits not only the title of biggest selling Christian magazine, but also will exceed the circulation of the UK’s top parenting magazine.

“Families First will appeal not just to Mothers’ Union members but to all people who want to support a positive, supportive approach to families and communities” says editor Catherine Butcher. “Politicians and statisticians paint a gloomy picture of family life in the UK but, working through churches, Mothers’ Union and many other Christians are making a tangible difference to family life in communities.”

To subscribe, or view a sample copy of Families First, visit the website:

www.familiesfirstmagazine.com

Chris Hodge

branch in Harare that we pray for. I had asked her what we could send as a practical show of our support, and she’d said the best thing at this time was US dollars. I was astounded when the box came back to me to find our branch of only 23 members, with several absentees, had contributed £90, which I’m sure will reach £100 before I go to get the dollars.

November’s meeting has had to be changed to November 13th, because of the booking of Church Hall by a film crew. Mr John Salvat is talking about ‘The Seven Year Hitch’, and should be very interesting. I’m sorry I shall miss it. Please join the branch in Church Hall at 7.30pm, if you would like to hear him.

Chris Hodge

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Junior Church News

We have now had our second Junior Church, this time with only three children attending, but we are very hopeful that more will be joining us. On this occasion we invited Muriel to play the piano for us and the children joined in singing and shaking tambourines. Then we had our circle time when the children tell everyone the good and the not-so-good things that have happened to them since we last met. This was followed by a story ‘The Lost Coin’ during which the children hunted for the lost coin and danced with glee when it was found by Esme.

There was still time for the children to draw some pictures, and these are posted on the Junior Church notice board. We finished with our prayer time, read by Hugh, around the candle.

Next month we hope to start working on our ‘Christmas Nativity’, but I think we need to gather in a few more children, so please put the word around about Junior Church.

June, Alison & Sue

Died in the services Little Alex was staring up at the large brass plaque that hung on the side wall of the church. The plaque was covered with names, and seemed to fascinate the seven-year old. "All those names," he said to the minister. "Who are they?" "Well, they were people who used to go to this church," explained the minister. "This is a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the services." Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque. Little Alex's voice was barely audible when he asked, "Which service, the 8 o'clock, or the 11 o'clock?"

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Crossword solutions

SANTA TERESA DE ÁVILA I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Spain, three nights of which were spent in Ávila, a walled city between Madrid and Salamanca. So I was interested to see that Wednesday morning’s service (15th October) was dedicated to Teresa of Ávila. Before my visit, I confess, I knew nothing about Saint Teresa, but whilst there I learned a little about her, which may be of interest to some of you.

Saint Teresa is the joint patron saint of Spain, together with St James. She was born to a noble family in Ávila and from childhood began to experience visions and religious raptures. At the age of seven she attempted to run away with her brother to be martyred by the Moors; the spot where they were retrieved, by her uncle, is just outside the city walls ─ ‘Los Cuatro Postes’ ─ which is marked by four posts. Teresa’s religious career began at the Carmelite convent of La Encarnación, where she was a nun for 27 years. From this convent she went on to reform the movement and founded other convents throughout Spain. At the Convento de Santa Teresa you can see the very spot where Teresa was born, now an elaborate chapel in the Baroque church, which is decorated with scenes of the saint demonstrating her powers of levitation. At the Convento de José, the first monastery that the saint founded in 1562, is the coffin in which Teresa once slept, together with assorted personal belongings, and the tomb of her brother Lorenzo. Saint Teresa died in 1582.

On a more bizarre note, one of Saint Teresa’s mummified hands has now been returned to Ávila after spending the Franco years by the bedside of the great dictator.

June Harrison

Notice seen in several church porches on a recent visit to East Yorkshire:

Every time I see a church I pay a little visit

So when at last I’m carried in The Lord won’t say “Who is it?”

Across 1 Lotus 4 Cook 8 Crusade 9 Crush 10 Laden 11 Parades 13 Strode 15 Savage 17 Detests 20 Treat 22 Large 23 Two bits 24 Spin 25 Heave Down 1 Local 2 Thunderstorm 3 Stained 4 Cheap 5 Occur 6 Quadragesima 7 Chaste 12 Ass 13 Saddle 14 Eat 16 Antioch 18 Sleep 19 Satan 21 Taste

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O n Saturday 4th October, Graham and I joined with

about 200 others for the annual service at Salisbury Cathedral. This, took the form of a Eucharist and included the admission by the bishop of three new people to the office of Lay Minister in the Church and their licensing, along with seven others, to various parishes in the diocese, including Patricia Ellis to Monkton Farleigh, South Wraxall and Winsley.

The Eucharist was presided over by Bishop Stephen in his capacity as Warden. He was assisted by Bishop Tim — for the last time before he departs to Truro. The preacher was the Venerable Christopher Lowson, Director of Ministry from the Archbishop’s Council. The choir was imported from the church of St John Baptist, Devizes, directed by Jon Riding. To make certain Lay Ministers and supporting congregation sang well, we had a practice of all the liturgical music prior to commencement proper of the Eucharist. This mission was accomplished as all sang with good heart.

Following a reception in the cloisters, we left the shelter of the cathedral for a lunch and Annual Meeting in a grand marquee on the school lawns. As the wind howled around, soup would have been much welcomed, but we lay ministers are expected to be built

of sterner stuff. The weather certainly encouraged us all to sit up nice and close to the front to avoid the draughts! No heating allowed!

The main address at the meeting was Unity in Diversity as we celebrated the breadth of Reader Ministry. This was based on the main points in the recent national review of Reader Ministry. With over 8,000 active Readers, it is planned that starting from, and being founded in, the core ministry of preaching and teaching the word, interpreting the Word in Daily Life and Leading Public worship, ministry would develop in a variety of directions: catechetical, pastoral, missional, and general ministerial, according to particular needs and gifts. As far as deployment was concerned their base was expected to be in the parish, but available to the deanery. Further development was needed for effective use as fully recognised licensed ministers and in their collaborative working with incumbents and others as ministerial teams. In view of this it was expected that other dioceses would follow the change of name from Reader to Lay Minister.

Altogether an interesting and inspiring day, if not a little chilly – weatherwise, not relationally.

Malcolm Walsh

ANNUAL MEETING OF LAY MINISTERS AT SALISBURY CATHEDRAL

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T his was the theme of the great Service of Thanksgiving held in

Salisbury Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, 28th September, to commemorate the 750th anniversary of its consecration, which took place on Michaelmas Day in 1258, and was conducted by Boniface of Savoy, the 47th Archbishop of Canterbury. On this occasion, we welcomed Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop, who entered the Great West Doors to a fanfare of trumpets. He processed with the choir and clergy to the centre of the nave, where they gathered around the magnificent new font, which now dominates the West End, as the High Altar does the East, thus emphasising the two foundational sacraments of the Church. It was designed by William Pye, a leading sculptor, specialising in water features, and consists of a large raised pool, of cruciform shape, from which the water continually but gently pours out at its four corners, representing the abundance of God’s grace.

Having consecrated the font, the Archbishop proceeded to baptise two babies in its flowing waters. Later in his sermon, he reminded us of St Paul’s image of Christ, drawn from the Old Testament, as a living rock broken open, with water streaming from the cleft. So

that to be baptised into Christ, is to know a life that is deeply secure, but always encountering new risk and challenge. The climax of the service came with three bishops and the Dean processing each to one of the four corners of the Cathedral, there to anoint with Holy Oil the original consecration crosses marked on the walls, in an act of re-dedication, which the whole congregation then shared, with the words: “We pray that we too may be anointed by your Holy

Spirit, and dedicated again to living out your love in the world.”

So our Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary continues into the future with its tradition of daily prayer and worship, of shared values and practical living-out of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that has inspired so many generations over nearly 800 years.

Peter Hardman

The new font at Salisbury Cathedral photo: BBC Wiltshire

A NEW BIRTH ─ A LIVING HOPE

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PCC Report The PCC met on Wednesday 24th September. Among items discussed was the faculty for the work to be done in the Sacristy, the very enjoyable ‘spiritual stroll’ organised by Malcolm Walsh, and preparations for next year’s Street Market.

The Vicar announced that he had stepped down as Chairman of Governors at St Laurence School, having just opened their new Independent Learning Centre, and would retire as School Governor at the end of the year. He is planning to retire from Holy Trinity in June and preparations for the inter-regnum are now being made by the PCC, which will start with the development of a Parish Profile in January 2009. He also confirmed that the clergy of the Bradford Group Ministry had had meetings with the Archdeacon and the Rural Dean and that it was intended to replace the Vicar when he retires.

The budget report showed that despite an increase in giving there is likely to be a shortfall of income of £12,000 to £14,000. The Standing Committee had met and decided that the only course of action open to them was to cancel the final payment of share and only fund external organisations through special collections, and not through the church’s income. The PCC endorsed the proposals of the Standing Committee. The forthcoming Stewardship campaign was also discussed and it was agreed to let everyone know the Church’s financial situation.

The PCC also heard reports from the latest meeting of the Deanery Synod, Bradford Area Churches Together, and from St Laurence School.

Graham Dove PCC Secretary

FROM THE REGISTERS

Marriages 27.9 Matthew Samuel John Stenner & Hannah Lea Shellard 4.10 Christopher Harvey Johnson & Sarah Joyce Weston 11.10 Roger Barry Thrower & Sally Louise Wiggam

Funerals 29.9 Peter Lionel Melliar-Smith 3.10 Isabel Douglas

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Following on the elemental theme of ‘Water’ I was encouraged to write about a recent family visit to ‘The Deep’ in Hull. Calling itself “The World’s only Submarium”, this dramatic building sits at the confluence of the two rivers Humber and Hull. Designed by Sir Terry Farrell it filled us with anticipation and curiosity.

On entering we noticed what looked like framed modern art around the walls. On closer inspection we discovered that hundreds of items of debris had been collected from the local beaches, sorted into groups, eg. cotton buds, children’s broken plastic spades, biros etc. These had been artistically arranged within frames and sprayed different

colours according to groups and hung around the walls as a strong reminder of how much we desecrate our beautiful beaches.

Moving on, the theme covered the passage of time through billions of years. There were plenty of interactive exhibits and I was encouraged to design my own sea monster. However as everyone moved on I had to leave it to its battle for survival!

The Lagoon of Light took us from present day Tropical Lagoons to the Ice Deserts of Antarctica. We saw the Surgeon fish with fins as sharp as scalpels and the Bonnet head Shark which roams the shallow lagoons hunting for buried worms & shellfish using the special electrical

THE DEEP

ELEMENTAL TUMULT Some weeks ago on a quiet September evening the Riverside Inn reverberated to the sounds of quiet jazz and folk music with an Irish flavour, played by the ‘Three piece Suite’, a talented local trio.

Our church members, Sybil Mitchell and Peter Hardman, with John Salvat, Chairman of the Arts Association and Megan Jones, the creator of the piece, read poetry and prose to illustrate the four Elements — Earth, Fire, Air and Water. Among the many memorable readings were;

Earth: extracts from Hamlet, Act II scene ii, and I am of Ireland by WB Yeats. Fire: extracts from Exodus, chapters 3 and 19, and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Air: Wind by Ted Hughes; extracts from King Lear Act III scenes i and ii. And finally, representing Water: a poignant poem called How’s My Boy? by Sydney Dobell, touchingly read by Sybil evoking a murmur of appreciation from the audience.

It was a truly enjoyable evening.

Ann Holland

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sensors in its flattened head to pick up tiny electrical signals from the muscles of its prey. We gazed in wonder at the colourful Live Coral Tank. Here coral is ‘bred’ and conserved to prevent it being taken from the wild for use in aquariums.

In an area called Endless Oceans we looked for the mysterious Leaf fish, the comical Clown fish and the poisonous Lion fish. An amazing adaptation of nature was the Sawfish (half shark, half chain saw). We climbed a ladder inside an acrylic bubble to stand in awe at the brilliant coral and colourful little tropical fish.

Children were everywhere, interacting in the Communicating Centre, using a periscope to find Damsel fishes and a Chocolate Surgeon fish and gurgling with delight in the Slime section where Blue Poison Arrow Frogs and Giant African Land Snails appeared. It was explained that all living things need slime to move, digest and prevent sickness or becoming hurt.

The Industrial Seas section showed how man co-existed with the sea but also the results of over-fishing and marine pollution. The special environment of the Humber Estuary was depicted. An interactive game of Cod Lottery encouraged children to find ways to survive pollution, predation and fishing. Some cod live up to 15 years!

Finding ourselves in the Twilight Zone – a place too

deep for sunlight to reach, an area of endless night, we were

told that the ocean depths were between 200 to 1000 metres. Children giggled nervously as they saw weird and alien forms. Here lurked the Giant Japanese Spider Crab and the Giant Pacific Octopus, Wolf Eels and Flashlight Fishes.

After all this weirdness we paused as we sighted the carefully placed Two Rivers café and restaurant. Here one can ‘dine with the sharks’ on Friday and Saturday nights with riverside or tank views. Sadly we were unable to stay for that much excitement and followed the families into the café to satisfy our appetites.

Some had spent the whole day here and were eager for more. It’s a great learning area and although most of the children were toddlers, as it was during term time, there are great learning facilities for children of all ages with workshops and in-house teachers with all sessions being closely referenced to the National Curriculum.

For the younger children there is a play area, aptly named Hullaballoo!

Yellowmouth grouper photo Ann Holland

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Tools for Self Reliance We had an old hand-powered sewing machine to dispose of and, following a tip from Celia Milne, I took it to Holt where, in the upper room of a building behind the United Church, I found a most amazing workshop. It brought to mind a sort of Santa’s grotto! — a vast room containing huge quantities of tools, sewing machines and other equipment all being repaired and refurbished by a group of three elves — really three retired gentlemen volunteers with workshop skills. The refurbished tools are made up into standard kits for specific purposes — for carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics, tailors, etc. — and sent off to communities in Africa where training is provided in the use of the tools so that people in these communities can better earn their livings and become self-sufficient. For example, a sewing machine is lent to someone who is then able to earn money and hopefully, in time, purchase a new machine, the old one then being passed on to someone else.

The organization behind this operation is called Tools for Self Reliance, and it is based in Southampton. It is supported by the National Lottery, but depends on gifts of tools and machinery, as well as cash. I was tremendously impressed by what I saw and by what I was told by John Brand who is in charge of the Holt workshop.

Find out more on the TFSR website: www.tfsr.org.

Bryan Harris

We stepped out into the Kingdom of Ice ─ a chilly experience as the walls are made of ice! Here there were creatures that live below zero, like Arctic Jellyfish that devour other jellyfish! Plankton forms an ice lawn over the Arctic and becomes the staple diet for Krill. It was shown how rising sea levels can affect our coastal towns.

‘The Deep Blue One’ is an experience of the future. The year is 2050 and there are interactive areas designed to stimulate minds, young and old, where you can scan the world for threats to marine life, pilot a submarine or build your own sea research station and see how scientists will use tomorrow’s oceans.

Finally we found ourselves on the ocean floor, walking through the deepest viewing tunnel (10 metres under the sea) with White Sharks

circling above! We rose to the surface in the underwater lift which had acrylic sides, up and up through the water of the main tank, coming eye to eye with Sharks and Rays on the way – a diver’s view of the ocean.

The Deep is a charitable public aquarium dedicated to increasing people’s enjoyment and understanding of the World’s oceans. We saw people of all ages, even babes in arms being lifted up to gaze at the myriads of colourful little fishes flitting through the coral reefs. Young children gazed in awe at the monster fishes and sharks while parents and grandparents relaxed in the safe environment, enjoying the whole experience. I’m looking forward to repeating the visit next year!

Ann Holland

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A Stranger for Christmas Visits from strangers at Christmas began with shepherds turning up at a Bethlehem stable, and continued with the arrival of wise men from a foreign land. You could carry on this tradition, by inviting an international student to spend Christmas in your home. HOST is a well-established charity, backed by the Foreign Office and many universities, which links adults studying in the UK with hospitable volunteers throughout Britain. Guests come from all over the world, including many from China. They speak English and are keen to share their own culture while longing to know more about our way of life. Welcoming a student who might otherwise spend Christmas on a deserted campus fosters international understanding and will make Christmas special. See www.hostuk.org or call 0207 254 3039, for more information. HOST arranges visits throughout the year, so if your 'inn' is full this Christmas, you can still offer an invitation at another time.

Margaret Stevens Publicity Officer, HOST

1 Ardleigh Road London N1 4HS

PS. Helen and Vic Holden (01226 866389) from our own congregation have been hosting overseas students via HOST for a number of years and would be happy to talk to you about the organization and their rewarding experiences.

Say that again? A woman telephoned her bank and spoke to the accountant who looked at her holdings, "I want to make some changes, " she said. The accountant asked for more details. "Are you interested in Conversion or Redemption?" he asked. "Good heavens," came the reply. "I must have got the wrong number. I wanted the Bank of England, not the Church of England."

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W e had a very interesting April/May this year – a family of grey

squirrels took up residence in our loft! Their nest, or drey was located directly above the guest room at the back of the house, and several guests mentioned that they had heard ‘scratchings’ above their heads, particularly in the early mornings. The female squirrel had gained access by vertically climbing the corner brickwork of the house and gnawing enough of the barge board to effect an entrance to the eaves. Some people think that they are vermin but we think that they are endearing creatures and all a part of life’s rich pattern.

That said, we obviously didn’t want any damage done to our electric cables etc., especially as we were due to go on holiday at the end of May. There turned out to be four babies and the mother, the male squirrel not being involved in the raising of his young. As they got older they were very noisy indeed, particularly from 6am. They were now venturing further than the drey in the eaves and were playing and running up and down above our heads as we listened in our bedroom at the front of the house. At certain times of the day, as they grew, they played outside on the roof as we watched

from the garden – they were very amusing.

Knowing that we couldn’t house them forever, we arranged for the Council to come and trap them and release them in the woods – or so we thought. The WWDC man who was due to come at 9.30 the next morning rang to check that we would be in, and said “you know, of course, that we will trap them and kill them as council policy forbids us to release them into the wild?”. We told the Council man that under no circumstances did we want them killed, and arranged to have the Council fee returned. So we were back to square one, still wanting them to vacate our loft before our holiday. We decided to try and trap them ourselves, and David bought a squirrel trap on eBay, the idea being to catch them and release them into the woods. Meanwhile, he had also made a wonderful wooden drey for the squirrels, complete with nesting material from the attic insulation, and providing a dish of peanuts – just like ‘home’!. This he fixed high up in a fir tree in our garden. We hoped that those not actually caught in the trap, might re-locate into the drey so that we could then seal up the loft.

After a few days we realised that there was only mum and one youngster left in the roof, and that the others might have fledged and ventured off into the nearby Westwood Park. The other option – too awful to contemplate – was that the crows or magpies might have caught them whilst they were running up and down on our roof. We had seen two crows earlier, trying to attack the squirrels on the roof – one chased them while the other waited by the entrance to the nest. David caught the youngster (now able to fend for himself) in the trap

The self-build drey

Have you heard scratchings in your loft?

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and we released him in the woods while the mother disappeared of her own accord. Several days later we discovered that one young squirrel had taken up residence in the drey up the fir tree. So the roof access was quickly blocked off with wire and a more permanent repair organised. Hopefully they will not return.

Now, in October, we have great delight in watching not one, but two squirrels in our garden, in and out of the drey and eating or burying the peanuts that we leave out for them. We’ll never know if these two are related to our original loft-dwellers.

Hazel Rawstron

POST CARDS PLEASE Although the ‘summer’ is over, folks are still getting away on holiday and sending back to friends and relatives post cards reporting on the weather and fine food.

Picture post cards are much appreciated by the recipients, especially by those who do not venture far themselves. However, there comes a time when post cards are taken down from the shelf so that dusting can recommence. What happens to them then?

Those who remember to pass them to me know that they are sorted and sold to raise money for the church in Sudan. To those who think that it is not worth passing on just one or two, please, I assure you, they are still valuable and mount up in a surprising way when many people hand them in.

Just one or two reminders:

• leave the stamps on • cards with drawing-pin holes cannot be used • cards left plain, with no greeting or address, are very welcome, as

are calendar cards when the year is over.

To those who send cards, wish them ‘bon voyage’ as they travel around the world in a good cause, passing your friends on the way and coming to rest in some collector’s fine album. Someone may be longing for a picture of the old pier at Weston-super-Mare at this moment!

Muriel Freeborn Tel: 01225 864408

photos Hazel Rawstron

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Saturday 15th November

Saxon Club

Coffee morning and mini sale

Trinity Church Hall 10 to 12 am

Please come and support the Saxon Club as they seek to

raise funds for the church and the club.

Saints Corner 11th November: Martin of Tours, 316 - 397 This winter, when you next see someone who looks both poor and cold, think of Martin of Tours. This monk bishop, born in Pannonia (now Hungary) became one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages.

Martin's father was a pagan officer in the Roman Army, and Martin was intended for the army as well. But from an early age Martin wanted to be a Christian and felt that as a Christian he could not serve the Roman Empire. Martin was imprisoned for this early 'conscientious objection', and not released until 357, when he was nearly 40.

One day Martin met a nearly naked beggar at Amiens. He took off his cloak, cut it in half and gave the half to the beggar. Soon after this, he had a dream in which Christ appeared to him, wearing the half of the cloak which Martin had given away.

Martin was the pioneer of western monasticism: he founded the first monastery in the whole of Gaul about 360. He was made bishop of Tours in 372 — by popular demand of both his clergy and his people.

As bishop, Martin continued his simple life as a monk and evangelist. Christianity had been largely confined to the urban centres of population, but Martin went further, and took Christianity to the pagani (country-men). For the next 25 years this greatly loved bishop travelled his diocese by donkey and by boat, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ and helping his people to tear down their heathen temples and sacred trees. He was sought out for his healing prayers for the sick, and also his defence of the faith from heretics.

Martin's emblem in English art is often that of a goose whose annual migration is about this time of year. 'St Martin's Summer' in England is a spell of fine weather that sometimes occurs around 11 November.

Source: Parish Pump

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Sunday, 5th October, was the 50th Anniversary of John Burgess’s Ordination to the Priesthood and we celebrated the occasion with wine, nibbles and, of course, a Chris Hodge cake after the 9.30am Eucharist. John officiated at the service and preached an entertaining sermon ranging widely over his experiences as a priest and as an Archdeacon. The last 50 years have been filled with a variety of different posts in the ministry, always with the support of Jonquil. Besides bringing up a family with John, Jonquil has entertained and fed many parishioners and visitors in their home. In latter years she has also opened up their garden for the benefit of charity and is responsible for many beautiful floral arrangements in church. May they both continue to enjoy a fulfilling time in their retirement with their friends and colleagues at Holy Trinity Church.

Editors

Congratulations...

photo Chris Hodge

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I feel a great personal debt to Martin Luther, whose acts and writings in the first half of the 16th Century changed the lives of millions of simple people like me, from then, to today, and onwards. He freed our minds. He demonstrated that God is a personal God for everyone, and was not the preserve of the Roman Catholic Church with its complex Doctrine and aura of fear for one’s soul if one should not obey the edicts of the Church.

After deep and anguished study of the Gospels and, in particular, the writings of St Paul, Martin Luther came to the sincere, certain belief, that a Christian’s Salvation is justified solely by Faith alone, by Christ’s Crucifixion, which was a complete oblation by Him for all our sins. This central tenet of his own Faith Luther then taught and proclaimed for the rest of his life. He argued that a Christian’s good works here on Earth are merely the fruits of that justification, the Christian’s personal process of sanctification. Luther further argued that these good works do not in any way help to open the Gates of Heaven, but are simply our dues to God as part of our service to Him. The much earlier prayer of St Ignatius Loyola puts this so well ─

“Teach us good Lord not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will”. By the 15th Century, the Roman Catholic Church had overlaid this simple Doctrine that had informed the thinking of the Early Church, with a Doctrine of constantly needing to earn God’s good graces and avoid his ire by asking the Lady

Mary and the Saints of the Church to intercede on behalf of the Christian’s supplication for mercy. The Church proclaimed that continual godly words and pious public and private acts by a Christian were the only way to open the Gates of Heaven for that Christian. This had resulted in a religious culture of fear of God rather than love of God, Saint worship, shrines, pilgrimages, indulgences, payment

for the saying of masses for the soul of the departed, and

a great importance attached to the outward observances of religion. On matters of scripture and its interpretation, the Pope’s word was final, and those who disagreed with his Papal Bull were automatically declared Heretic throughout Christendom, with the severe penalties that flowed from that for the Christian concerned. As we know, the Pope and his Cardinals considered that the Pope could so rule that the

MARTIN LUTHER – A PERSONAL APPRECIATION

Martin Luther

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Sun went around the Earth, not the Earth around the Sun. Such was the Papal Power and conceit.

All this, plus the obscene wealth and the haughty temporal power of the Medieval Church, pressed hard on the conscience, daily life and purse of ordinary citizens. It seems to me that Martin Luther was ‘the right man at the right moment’ to sweep away from the minds of men and women all the fear and religious baggage that the Catholic Church had put there. With the happy coincidence that this was a time when the Bible was at last being translated from the original Greek into vernacular languages, Luther became the main engine and focus point of this new Reformation Movement, through his oratory and (even more important) his writings which were printed and distributed throughout Northern Europe. I read that Luther’s matured thinking reached its full flower in 1520 when he issued 24 works of theological debate; six of these had a lasting effect on society and worship in Northern Europe. He wrote of the need for men and women to live a good clean life in Faith and obedience to just temporal laws, and to refrain from indulging in excesses of behaviour. He argued for the right of the laity actually to receive the Communion bread and wine and that this is to be done as a memorial to Christ’s Crucifixion. He specifically argued that the Pope had no divine right to rule Christendom, that the real Church on Earth is composed of the

souls of the faithful and was not an Ecclesiastical Empire on Earth. He argued that Heretics should be engaged in dialogue, not proscribed and outlawed by society, or burnt at the stake. Ideas flowed from Luther’s pen on the desirability of ending the celibacy of the clergy, considerably widening the curriculum of the Universities at that time, of the need to set up a Parish Poor-Law System, the need for schools for girls as well as for boys, and a general plea for a theology based only on scripture and the abolition of what he called “man made ecclesiastical laws”. Even stronger, he is reported to have said – “I declare that neither Pope or Bishop, nor any other person, has the right to impose a syllable of law upon a Christian man without his own consent”.

When I sit back and remember the nature, and forces within, the society in which he lived and moved, I know that he must have had tremendous personal courage to do for us all what he did, in direct public opposition to the feared power of the Church, and at times in personal fear of his life. He commands my greatest admiration. Would we have a Church of England now if he had not done all that he did? Would we have the personal freedom today to think about such matters if he had not broken down the barriers to freedom of doctrinal debate?

Alan Knight

Outside one church is a picture of two hands holding stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. A headline reads: 'For fast relief, take two tablets.'

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NATURE DIARY 9

More extracts from my diary: September 2008

Thursday 4th: Have finished reading Bestiary MS Bodley 764. I am amazed at the conflicting information contained within this 13th Century manuscript. The knowledge of creatures as diverse as ostriches, hyenas and the dromedary is amazing but the belief in pards, unicorns, charadrins etc. leaves one dazed. Sunday 7th: Went to the Hawk Conservancy Trust to meet Sharon and Derek. Horrified to learn that kestrels are on the endangered list. Might seem strange as so many seen by the motorways but that is in itself the problem – carbon emission from cars is entering the food chain, eg. shrews and voles. The claim that motorway verges are providing a safe environment for wild life is sadly proved wrong. Also learned the reason why secretary birds are classed as birds of prey – they kill with their feet. Saw Ural, spectacled, milky eagle, Siberian eagle, pygmy, snow, great grey and burrowing owls. Also saw African harrier, Brahiminy, red-backed, and Harris hawks – plus Hampshire Down sheep and ferrets!! The flying displays were as wonderful as ever. Lovely! Monday 8th: Almost without noticing the amazing orange and red berries of the cotoneaster have coloured up and are one of the few bright joys during this grey, horrid weather. Wednesday 10th: Visits to the feeders by nuthatches, a family of bullfinches, some very smart chaffinches, all the different tits (apart from marsh and long tailed) and the robin. Apparently there are real concerns about our British robins as their food supplies have been diminishing and they have not been able to brood their chicks. Sunday 14th: Thought I heard a raven this morning. Am reading Richard Mabey’s Beechcombings. In one chapter he tells how a German study has found that over a course of four weeks 65 jays buried half a million acorns. The Autumn total for the whole of Britain may be as much as one and a half billion acorns buried! Mabey is not one of my favourite authors as I find him rather too opinionated and dismissive. When he writes about Wind in the Willows:- “When Pan makes his hushed appearance in the chapter entitled ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ it’s not some torrid forest glade, ramping with goats breath and snaky lianas, but on a tiny island in mid-river, draped with willow herb and meadow sweet. Pan himself is described and pictured by Shepherd as a wry and kindly (albeit hairy) Henley oarsman, lounging on the bank and rippling his muscles” he makes me growl, and when he describes some of EM Forster’s work as a “style reminiscent of Kenneth Grahame at his most arch and affected” he makes me double growl! Monday 15th: Brian thought he too heard a raven – this time at Kingsdown golf course. Monday 22nd: Leaving a campsite at Bridgnorth on the way to the Lake district, Brian was greeted by a peacock as he disconnected the electrics from our motor home.

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Camped at Grange-over-Sands for the night. I heard a call (not a song) I didn’t recognize. No, it wasn’t a squirrel but a greater spotted woodpecker clinging to the tallest twig on a silver birch. Rabbits all over the site as it got dark. Tuesday 23rd: A lovely campsite with nuthatches, marsh, willow, blue and great tits, jays and thrushes all in evidence, and as the sun rose butterflies and moths everywhere. Drove into the town of Grange-over-Sands. It has the prettiest walls made from the local dark grey stone with the tops open like a continuous window box filled with petunias and a mass of rockery favourites. Such a clever idea when there is less room for the normal beds of flowers. The scenery along the Kirkstone Pass is just glorious. Brian is doing a photographic course in and around Ullswater, and the view from our hotel window is of this beautiful lake. Heard, before seeing, a huge skein of barnacle geese. Friday 26th: Went exploring in my buggy and saw a flower I had never seen before with blue, bell shaped flowers on top of a tall spike of a stem with thin, spiked, grass-like leaves. Finally identified it as one of the rare harebell family only found in mountain areas. I trundled down and sat by the edge of Ullswater and saw what was quite possibly an eagle. It was only a momentary glimpse but seen clearly and obviously a huge bird as spotted it right at the top of the mountain which was so high it made the grazing sheep look like small, painted polka dots. Saturday 27th: Arrived at the little National Trust cottage we have rented for a week. It is right by the side of Windermere and I can drive my buggy all along the side of the lake. Saw a lone greylag goose amongst a flock of twenty or so Canadas. On the way back saw another flower I’ve never seen before – a small balsam. It has tiny, beautifully formed, yellow flowers and the usual large balsam leaves. Later saw, growing along a stream, a mass of the beautiful goatsbeard spiraea. Lovely. Sunday 28th: The trees are glorious in their changing as are the colours on the hills and mountains. The black-headed gulls have lost their black heads and are now left with a quizzical eyebrow. Their quarrelsome calls (made so memorable in the film Watership Down) are unmistakable. Saw two jays and five crows that flew in together. It is not true that crows are only ever seen singly. Followed a young pheasant, eventually forced into reluctant flight by my buggy. It was really adolescent in appearance and so gawky! Monday 29th: Sudden change in the weather – cold and damp and the leaves are now not just changing but falling rapidly. At 7pm tawny owls began an argument in the woods and continued for a quarter of an hour with a little owl joining in occasionally. Tuesday 30th: Saw a female goosander in a small pond on the way from Far Sawrey to Ambleside, then later at Windermere saw five more - the most I’ve ever seen in the wild. Also saw a raft of coots, accompanied by a tufted duck, and swans and bats flying as the evening drew in. Tonight two pheasants called stridently for about ten minutes in the dark – competing with the owls.

Liz Netley

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A SEASONAL RECIPE Despite the wet Spring and the bees having had a hard time of it, the apples have cropped well this Autumn. In years gone by people in the French countryside would bring apples and medlars to church on All Saints Day as a harvest offering to the benevolent souls of the dead. After mass they would have a simple meal together when the fruit would be sold to pay for masses for the dead.

This is an apple crumble tart recipe from Normandy. Unusually, it has a puff pastry base. If you use puff pastry, butter the pastry before you put the apples on it.

Line a 23 – 25cm (9 – 10in) diameter tart tin with the pastry. Fill it just over two-thirds full with peeled, cored apple slices.

Mix together the remaining ingredients to a crumble and sprinkle over the apples. Bake at 190°C (375°F, gas mark 5) until the crumble and pastry are brown ─ about 35 minutes.

Margaret Harris PS. Bryan seems to think that the apples should first to be soaked in Calvados?

Ingredients

375g (12oz) puff pastry

5 – 6 tasty eating apples

100g (3oz) unsalted butter

100g (3oz) flour

100g (3 oz) chopped almonds

200g (6oz) granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

a generous pinch of salt.

In Flanders' Fields In Flanders' fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders' fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high, If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders' Fields.

John McCrae, 1915

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For Prayer in november

We pray: • for the Town Remembrance service • for our Advent celebrations • for all those suffering economic hardship • for our mission to those around us

Saxon Club Programme November 2008

We meet in the Church Hall at 2 pm on Tuesdays. You are very welcome to join us.

November 4th: Open Meeting 11th: Preparation for Sale 15th: Coffee Morning and Mini Sale - Church Hall 18th: Robinhood Ministries 25th: Help with Finance - Marlene Haffenden

Interfaith Group Meeting, There will be a talk entitled

Journey through the Jewish year by Lynda Ford-Horne on 18th November 2008

in the Town Hall, Melksham. Entry at 6:30pm; refreshments at 8pm

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Quick Crossword Bible version is the NIV

Solutions on page 6.

Clues across 1 Plant under which the behemoth lies in Job ch. 40 (5) 4 Do not ____ a young goat (Lev 23.19) (4) 8 Holy war (7) 9 What the wicked do to the Lord's people in Psalm 94 (5) 10 Loaded, as Israel was loaded with silver and gold in Psalm 105 (5) 11 Processions (7) 13 In wrath you ______ through the earth (Hab 3.12) (6) 15 Description of the wolves in Acts ch. 20 (6) 17 Hates, as the Lord hates the way of the wicked in Proverbs ch. 15 (7) 20 How can I _____ you like Admah (Hos 11.8) (5) 22 Like the crowds following Jesus in Matthew ch. 19 (5) 23 25 cents (US slang) (3,4) 24 The lilies in Luke ch. 12 do not do this (4) 25 Haul on a rope (5)

Clues down 1 Description of the councils mentioned in Mark ch. 13 (5) 2 Atmospheric disturbance having a path cut in Job ch. 38 (12) 3 Coloured like the glass in a church window (7) 4 Inexpensive (5) 5 Happen (5) 6 The first Sunday in Lent (12) 7 Morally pure (6) 12 Donkey (3) 13 Seat in which Rachel put the household gods in Genesis ch. 31 (6) 14 ..fathers will ___ their children (Ezek 5.10) (3) 16 Home town of Nicolas in Acts ch. 6 (7) 18 Abram fell into a deep one in Genesis ch. 15 (5) 19 The Devil (5) 21 Do not handle! Do not _____! Do not touch! (Col 2.21) (5)

Source: Parish Pump

iii

PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL - OFFICERS

Canon Bill Matthews (Chairman) Tony Haffenden (Churchwarden) Joan Finch (Churchwarden & VC) Graham Dove (Hon. Secretary) Jeremy Lavis (Hon. Treasurer) Rev Angela Onions (ex officio)

STANDING/FINANCE COMMITTEE Vicar; Churchwardens; Secretary; Treasurer, Bryan Harris

CHURCHWARDENS EMERITI

Norman Hanney, Jeremy Lavis, Mike Fuller, Anne Carter

FRIENDS OF HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

Patron: Dr Alex Moulton Chairman: Bob Cherry Secretary: vacancy Treasurer: John Woods Committee: Anne Carter; Bryan Harris; Jeremy Lavis; Rev Angela Onions; Mike Smith Ex officio: Canon Bill Matthews; Joan Finch; Tony Haffenden

PARISH NEWS Editors: Ann Holland (862731) & Bryan Harris (863011) e-mail: HT.ParishNews@googlemail.com Distribution: John and Beryl Cox (864270) Subscriptions Collector: Mary Ford (862240) Price: Annual subscription £4.00 in advance .

BRADFORD GROUP MINISTRY

This comprises the three benefices of Holy Trinity, Christ Church with Westwood and WIngfield, and Monkton Farleigh, South Wraxall and Winsley. The clergy meet

regularly for prayer and shared planning, and there is an informal Group Council consisting of the licensed clergy and churchwardens, with Readers. The Group was

established in 1975.

Pat Astill Peggy Leach

Janet Brown Dr Nick Nutt

Mary Burge David Rawstron

Anne Carter Edward Shaw

Bryan Harris Malcolm Walsh

June Harrison Anne Willis

Cecilia Hynes-Higman John Woods

One Deanery Synod vacancy

iv

OTHER OFFICERS & ORGANISERS PCC Secretary Graham Dove 868654 PCC Treasurer Jeremy Lavis 863600 Bellringers Phil Gaisford 863538 Bookstall Rev Angela Onions 309001 Brass Cleaning Chris Hodge 863543 Brownies Jennifer Hazell 863860 Choir Gareth Bennett 01380 728772 Church Stewards David Milne 864341 Church Hall Bookings Anne Carter 862146 or 07981 742361 Coffee on Sunday George and Ivy Hurst 868795 Display Co-ordinator Rev Angela Onions 309001 Electoral Roll Officer Pat Irving 862903 Flowers Jonquil Burgess 868905 Guides Judith Holland 866215 Mothers’ Union Chris Hodge 863543 MU Prayer Circle Chris Hodge 863543 Publicity Officer Ann Holland 862731 Servers Mary Ford 862240 Sidesman’s Rota Joan Finch 863878 Stewardship Secretary Graham Dove 868654 Junior Church Alison Cook 864116 June Harrison 863745 Verger Peter Wills 867593 Midsummer Market John Cox (Community Stalls) 864270 Colin Johnston (Church Stalls) 868132 Stephanie Moorfoot (Communications) 863366 Parish Representatives on other organisations: Bradford Group Council: The Churchwardens Children’s Society: Anne Carter Christian Aid: Jonquil Burgess Deanery Synod: June Harrison, Canon Bill Matthews, Rev Angela Onions; Dr Malcolm Walsh; John Woods; Anne Willis (Deanery Information Officer) Churches Together: David Rawstron The cover picture is from a drawing by Frances Taylor. Printed at the Parish Office, 18A Woolley Street, Bradford on Avon.