hotpott november 2014

HotPo - November 2014


John's Jottings Since earliest mes, man has always been interested in history. He has seen the importance of recording events, cultural prac ces and achievements in tablet form, stone, papyrus, pain ngs, paper etc. Even primi ve cultures have a strong sense of oral tradi ons and history which they proudly pass on to successive genera ons. Modern history has witnessed this growth at an ever increasing rate, especially in the sciences. It would be natural to suppose that the nature of man is improving too, with all the benefits at his disposal. Eminent psychologist, Steven Pinker, has made a remarkable claim that, “.... something in modernity and

its cultural ins tu ons has made us nobler” and, “conven onal history has long shown that, in many ways, we have been ge ng kinder and gentler.” However, a more accurate picture of the 20th century presents a shocking picture of 64 wars. The start of the 21st century hardly

gives hope for a stable, peaceful world!

Lessons from history regarding the horror of war are forgo en so quickly – just 21 years between the two great wars! It is therefore vital that we have Remembrance Day services to express

our debt of gra tude for the sacrifices of the

many who suffered pain to save us from tyranny. Also, they help us not repeat our past mistakes.

Revd John Buckley

cont …>

Summary account of silver wri en, for an Iraqi governor, on a clay tablet, circa 2,500 BC

This Month Pg Content

3 John’s Jo ngs

5 Parish Council Report

6 Coffee Break

7 Community CInema

9 Missionaries Ma er

10 Songs of Praise

12 A Day in the Life

15 Church Guild Report

16 PCC Update

19 In My Garden Shed

20 From the Registers

21 The Great War

23 Top Tunes

24 Goose Sense

25 Recipe of the Month

27 From Our Own Correspondent

29 Suffering Church

32 Fund Raising News

33 Rotas And Weddings

34 Services this Month

34 Sidespeople Rota

35 Regular Church Ac vi es

November 2014

31 Mouse Makes


I was personally very pleased that a member of our congrega on, on a trip to the war graves in France in July, laid a cross and a poppy on the grave of my great uncle. She returned with a photograph of the headstone. The cross, of course, is a symbol of the ul mate sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. He died so that we might be forgiven and have everlas ng life. I guess this world will always be a mess, here and there, but punctuated with amazing acts of heroism and good deeds, such as Alan Henning and the volunteers going to West

Africa to combat Ebola. Let us not grow weary in doing good! “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15v13

Love

John Buckley, 01625 573316

Cover picture : credited to John Beniston and licenced for use under

Wikipedia Commons CC-BY-3.0. Thanks John!

Christmas is coming ... me for singing carols is coming too ... If you would like to join the singing group for the ‘Carols by Candlelight’ services, come along to our rehearsals on Thursdays, in church at 7.30pm.

Children and adults welcome. Forthcoming rehearsal dates

are as follows: Nov 6th, Nov 13th, Nov 20th, Nov 27th, Dec 4th, Dec 11th

Carol services will be on Sundays 14th and 21st December.

Contact Sheila Garton sheilagarton@b nternet.com or 01625 573492.

Potty about Singing?

“Goodness! Is it already me for Christmas Fair organising, carol

service planning and na vity play rehearsals?!”


At its 6th October mee ng the council was asked to consider the following planning applica ons : Peak Park Ref: NP/CEC/0914/0984 Moorside Quarry, Moorside Lane, Po Shrigley This applica on was for reten on of temporary accommoda on (caravan) within the quarry for a further five year period. The council agreed to support the applica on only if the same condi ons, applied to the previous approval, are retained.

With help from local volunteers Stuart Anderson and Roger Fielding, the parish’s footpath map has been totally updated and 2,000 copies duly ordered from the printers. Sugges ng six circular walks in the parish, whilst it might not be a complete Christmas present in its own right, it will certainly make a novel stocking filler. If you would like a copy, please contact our clerk on 572668 or by emailing po clerk@b nternet.com

Friday, 28th November, 6pm marks the official start to Christmas in the village with the big switch on of the Christmas illumina on and a fair in the village hall run by the PTA. Thanks must go to Rick and Jo Gem for purchasing the fes ve tree again this year, to Harold Wainwright for allowing us to ‘plant’ in his field and helping in the process. Thanks too to Councillors Wray and Basford for collec ng, erec ng and dressing the tree. And finally, not forge ng the village hall for allowing us to tap

in to their electricity supply. Truly, another team effort! In the midst of a mini-crime wave in the village, our local Inspector (Insp Griffiths) a ended the mee ng to update us on the situa on. He strongly encouraged all to join the rural watch warning scheme - to do so, drop a line to po [email protected]

“Your Vote, Your Council”

Christmas! So soon?

Problem finding presents?

Planning Matters

The next two mee ngs of the Parish Council will be in the

Village Hall at 8pm on Monday, 3rd November

and Monday, 1st December. Parish no ce boards have contact details for your

local Councillors and Parish Clerk.

Our website : www. nyurl.com/po shrigley

Shrigley Po

Rural Watch


Across 1 and 20 Down 'Lord of all ___ , Lord of all ___ ,

whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy' (11,3)

9 Moses' ques on to a figh ng Hebrew labourer: 'Why are you ___ your fellow Hebrew?' (Exodus 2:13) (7)

10 Acclaimed cellist who contracted mul ple sclerosis at the height of her fame, Jacqueline ___ (2,3)

11 'At even ___ the sun was set, the sick, O Lord, around thee lay' (3)

13 A descendant of Gad (Numbers 26:16) (4)

16 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but ___ for the gi my Father promised' (Acts 1:4) (4)

17 Clambers (Jeremiah 48:44) (6) 18 Peter's response to ques oning by the

Sanhedrin: 'We must ___ God rather than men!' (Acts 5:29) (4)

20 Chris an paraplegic author, ar st and campaigner, ___ Eareckson Tada (4)

21 Bird par al to the nests of other birds (6) 22 'Such large crowds gathered round him that

he got into a boat and sat ___ ___ ' (Ma hew 13:2) (2,2)

23 Infec ous tropical disease (4) 25 Tree (3) 28 'No fear of me should ___ you, nor should my

hand be heavy upon you' (Job 33:7) (5) 29 For example, to Titus, Timothy or Philemon (7) 30 Week beginning with Pentecost Sunday,

according to the Church's calendar (11) Down 2 'O Jerusalem… how ___ I have longed to gather your children together' (Ma hew 23:37) (5) 3 Way out (4) 4 Exhort (Romans 12:1) (4) 5 Done (anag.) (4) 6 Highest of the four voice-parts in a choir (7) 7 Concerning the study of God (11) 8 Uniquely, it has Abbey, Cathedral and Chapel (11) 12 Admonish (Ma hew 16:22) (6) 14 Frozen (3) 15 Established form of religious ceremony (6) 19 Inscrip on o en found on gravestones (7) 20 See 1 Across 24 Behaved (Joshua 7:1) (5)

25 Time (anag.) (4) 26 Lists choice of meals (4) 27 'For the wages of sin is death, but the ___ of

God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 6:23) (4)

Coffee Break


Weekly Newsletter If you wish to

have an item put in the

newsle er, please call Jenny on

07715 408704 or email [email protected]


Our church supports three overseas missionary families. Here is our regular update on their work.

Last month I asked you to pray for Dean and Paula Finnie and their Tree of Life Church in Macassar “for protec on and for unity to be maintained”. Perhaps you didn’t pray? Perhaps you should have done? But if you did, I have to tell you our prayers have not been answered, at least not in the way we might have expected! Two African leaders, Gerrit and Chris, who Dean co-opted into leadership some me back, have had a number of issues in which money and envy seem to have played a large part. Following the interven on of the pastor of ‘The Church of Love and Grace’ in Mitchells’ Plain (who was responsible for plan ng the Tree of Life Church in Macassar in the first place, and appoin ng Dean and Paula to posi ons of leadership) the outcome is that Dean and Paula have been effec vely sacked from the Tree of Life Church. A number of their members have remained faithful to them, and a group of around 20 are now mee ng weekly in a member’s house un l such me as they can secure a venue. The pastor of nearby Simon’s Bay Chris an Church is standing by them - which is a great comfort. “We are strong and we are seeking to build faith, build church and move forwards in the purposes of God. We’re trus ng God for a new name and vision”. It’s been a tough me for Dean and Paula and they’re hur ng - but they’re also excited by what God is doing. Do pray for them!

There are currently 28 families - 46 people with 32 children - in the Serving in Mission (SIM) team in Malawi. Do pray for them; there are a number of issues affec ng the team as a whole. The team leader has been seconded to a world-wide task with SIM, so a new local leader will be needed. One family is having to return home for medical/family reasons, while another family is struggling to cope with life in Malawi. Megumi Fazakerley says that missionaries are usually well-prepared to cope with big things, but it is the accumula on of many li le things which wears them down and eventually causes them to go home. Pray for Helen on her counselling course; I guess her newly acquired skills will be needed when they

return to Malawi next year to deal with such issues in their colleagues’ lives. She con nues to a end her

counselling course one day a week - with 15 others of diverse age and background and one brave man! This week she has her first individual tutorial and assessment and is hoping to get lots of answers to her many ques ons about the wri en work. She is now star ng working with a home group. Please pray for her as she builds rela onships on this course; she is the only Chris an. Megumi is making slow progress with his introductory notes on the gospels in Chichewa, but is ready to send his work so far for checking with Malawian colleagues. Remember to pray for his colleagues as they teach at EBCoM1 and for the students - the pastor and leaders in the Malawian churches of tomorrow. Elizabeth

Missionaries Matter

Dr John Ryley

Finnie family - South Africa

1 EBCoM - Evangelical Bible College of Malawi

Fazakerley family - Malawi


Unable to just have one favourite hymn, I have loads! It can be the words, the music or both; here is just a small selec on: “Shine Jesus Shine.” I first heard this hymn just before I decided to do a Parish Assistant course of two years, which started a er a course on “Growth on the Agenda.” The words were telling me to go forward with Jesus, he will never let you down, he will guide you to do the right thing. “Be s ll for the presence of the Lord.” The words are perfect for the music and I love singing it. It is used when Communion is being taken and the bread and wine are given for eternal life in the presence of the Lord.

“Amazing Grace.” Sung at weddings and funerals and some mes in services. My mother loved it and we had it for her funeral. It is a prayer glorifying God and all his crea on. “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus.” The modern tune makes you stand up; it’s like a march so you are not afraid to show your faith to everyone you meet. It was a favourite too of my mum Elaine, who was the first County Commissioner of Greater Manchester (Guides). She was also a J.P. and started the Duke of Edinburgh’s Courses in Manchester. For many years, she was Chairman for the Na onal

Associa on of Youth Clubs. She found herself being a teacher, governor, County Councillor, Chairman of Further Educa on and many other things. She was awarded the O.B.E. for public service in

Manchester, especially in youth work. Another is “Breathe on me Breath of God,” which I used to sing at school and is probably not sung very o en now, but the music is easy to remember and the words are like a prayer for the closeness of our Lord.

Gill Mosley

Songs of Praise

Hymn 445 (Mission Praise): Lord, the light of your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness, shining Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us Set us free by the truth you now bring us Shine on me, shine on me

We con nue our series where a reader shares their choice of a favourite hymn and why they find it so special.

has just celebrated her 20th birthday, and last Sunday was bap sed at Moreton Bap st Church; Joshua is in his second year at university, while Mary is in her final year at school doing A levels. Pray for them!

No news from Johnnie and Ann McClean! I’m wondering whether Johnnie and his ‘appren ce,’ Ruth Duffin, are so snowed under

with the opportuni es in the universi es they serve, and Ann with her new teaching challenges in the interna onal school, that they are too busy to write, or whether they have been struck down by illness. Pray for them - and for news!

McClean family - Thailand For the latest news on our missionaries:

bangkokmosaic.wordpress.com www.dpfinnie.com www.fazakerley.org.uk


My name is Meryl and I have lived in Bollington for 28 years. Originally I was born on Whinla er Fell in Cumbria in a forester’s co age as my father worked for the forestry commission. I was born in December and, apparently, it was so thick with snow at the me that I did not leave our family home for nearly two months un l the snow cleared. Growing up in such a beau ful part of the United Kingdom was lovely and I am s ll very proud to be Cumbrian and s ll visit frequently. I was educated at Cockermouth Grammar school and it is there, as a fi een year old, that I met my life long partner, Kevin. Following A levels, I went to train as a registered nurse at The West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven. Upon comple on, I moved down to Bollington, with Kevin, to take up a posi on as Staff Nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital. I s ll work there now, although a few promo ons later and lots of studying to degree level, I now work in Infec on Preven on.

Originally I was employed in the Intensive Care Unit. This was one of the UK's busiest units, caring for very complex illnesses, including heart and lung transplant pa ents and some who had undergone open heart surgery. I

really loved the variety of work in caring for these pa ents. A few years later I was promoted to Sister, which gave a more managerial aspect to my role. The whole team was excep onal and I made many good friends there. A er having children, Madeline who is now 15 and Heidi 12, I reduced my hours to fit in the needs of family life. The shi work could at mes be par cularly ring: I worked long days, as did most of the staff, which meant star ng

duty at 7.15am and not finishing un l 9pm at night. This meant se ng off from Bollington at about 6.30am in the morning; I was always extremely vigilant with snow and ice in the winter and set off sooner, as you can't really be late since the nurses who have worked the night shi can't leave un l the nurses on the day shi arrive. Amazingly, I have only been snowed in once, during the winter of 2009, when the snow was so heavy. The shi work included lots of Sundays, which were very long days, but made be er by the team and the

An Infection Prevention Nurse

Meryl Graves

A day in the life of ...


pa ents. And, I have lovely memories of Kevin bringing the girls to see me when we would all have lunch in the hospital canteen. The girls were only li le at the me; they were always amazed at my uniform of theatre scrubs and bright pink clogs. Even now, I s ll have a lovely pain ng of me which the girls did following a visit: me in my uniform complete with pink clogs! I con nued to work in the Intensive Care Unit un l 2010; by then we had moved to a new unit which was huge, with 26 beds - very big by ICU standards. Following on from Intensive Care, I transferred to Infec on Preven on where I s ll work now. I currently work two days a week and a typical working day involves waking at 6.50am to Radio Three. We have a cup of coffee in bed and then wake the girls at 7am who join us for our second cup before we all start to get ready at around 7.30am. A er breakfast, and packed lunches prepared, we leave the house at 8am, dropping the girls at school on route. The trip to the hospital has changed over the years, including all the work currently being carried out for the arrival of the trams at Manchester Airport and Wythenshawe. Seeing trams on test and running through Wythenshawe is a lovely sight. I arrive at the office between about 8.30 and 9am depending upon the traffic. As I work part me, I'm ready to catch up on any new informa on that has emerged during my me off: this arrives via ‘catch ups’ with the Team, via emails, mee ngs or answerphone. Our Infec on Preven on Team is small and consists of seven Nurses who cover the hospital 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday and Microbiologists who cover the hospital around the clock. The hospital has been extended several mes during my working me there

and my job involves lots of walking to different wards and departments and liaising with the many different mul disciplinary teams within the hospital. As an Infec on Preven on Nurse, I visit the wards and departments daily, dealing with ques ons and queries from numerous team members. Over the course of the day, new test results are coming in and the nurses act on these results by visi ng the wards, planning the best care and also visi ng the pa ents - this is the most rewarding part of my day. Addi onally, I give many different Infec on Preven on presenta ons to staff members in the hospital. This is carried out by either ad-hoc teaching when I visit the wards, or more formally in regular teaching sessions. There is an annual rolling programme of Infec on Preven on educa on that all staff have to a end and various topics are covered in this including hand hygiene and decontamina on, which is extremely important for all staff when working in the hospital se ng. I also regularly present to other staff members, including new staff members who have joined the hospital, volunteers and student doctors to name a few. Audits are also frequently carried out by our team (for example, hand hygiene) as well as

“Sorry, must dash .... I want to spend some me on my social-networking websites!”


environmental audits. No two days are ever the same and our Team is always busy within the hospital. I also work closely with other partnerships within the hospital and give advice for new builds and changes within the hospital. Part of our role is ensuring that policies are up to date to reflect current na onal guidance. The days go over fast and whilst we finish officially at 5pm, generally I leave slightly later, when all the loose ends are died up. Home life is busy with two growing girls. Both a end Poynton High following on from a ending Po Shrigley Church School. Madeline is now in her GCSE year, therefore studying is heavily encouraged. Heidi is very ac ve: running, cheerleading, skateboarding, but also enjoying school. Once a week I help with the Girl Guides in Bollington; a hobby I have done, off and on, for the past ten years. The Girl Guides gives the local girls a really good opportunity to try different experiences; last week Heidi went indoor kayaking at Bollington Leisure Centre; the week before that indoor wall climbing. Madeline went indoor sky diving with her girl guides- they

really do impressive things! In May this year, I helped with a three day camping trip to a beau ful campsite called Linnet Clough. Although I felt a bit daunted by this trip, as four days seemed like a long me, it was really good fun: good ac vi es, lovely weather, good food and good girls. I find it very rewarding to volunteer within our community. I have now been a nurse for over thirty years. I s ll find the role is extremely rewarding and I enjoy mee ng pa ents and networking with team members. As a Registered Nurse, you also have a commitment to life long learning ensuring that your skills and knowledge are up to date to reflect current guidance. I enjoy studying and more recently completed a module at Manchester University which was really challenging; at the end of the module a 10,000 word essay was required, which needed all the help of my family to complete, each helping in a different way! I have always found being a Nurse an extremely privileged role and have always found mee ng and caring for pa ents and working within a mul disciplinary team extremely rewarding.

How well do you know your partner? At a seminar on marriage, the leader was stressing how essen al it is that couples discern what is important to their partner. He challenged the men: “Can you even name your wife’s favourite flower?” Baffled silence followed, un l one husband nudged his wife with a hopeful smile and hazarded: “It’s Homepride’s Self-Raising, right?”

Please contact Audrey Meecham

who will be pleased to advise.

[email protected] 01625 575921

Thinking of getting married at St Christopher’s?


Twelve members a ended our October mee ng. We were sad to hear of the loss of Georgina Wray’s father and our thoughts and prayers are with her at this sad me.

We were entertained, for the a ernoon, by Richard Wright, who took us on a pictorial trip around the coastal areas of Ireland. We began by singing “Irish Eyes are Smiling” and then were treated to some lovely views of Ireland’s spectacular scenery. The sheep in Ireland are amazing. The locals, apparently, regale any visitor they meet with all kinds of jokes and during the a ernoon, Richard repeated many of these jokes for us. Many thanks, Richard, for a hilarious and enjoyable a ernoon. Our next mee ng will be in church at 2.30pm on Wednesday, 12th November when John Hooley will tell us of “Macclesfield Charter Year, 1961.” The Church Guild is open to all. We meet on the second Wednesday of each month in church, at 2.30pm unless otherwise stated. The mee ngs usually end with a tea and cake at around

4.30pm. We have two coach trips each year (May and September) and enjoy a Christmas lunch together. The remaining months we have speakers and slide shows. The mee ngs

are very informal with lots of fun and cha er. So come along and join us, you will be very welcome.

Guild Goings On

Eileen Stratford

Programme for Remainder of 2014

12th Nov John Hooley, “Macclesfield Charter Year, 1961”

10th Dec Christmas Lunch, Macclesfield College


The PCC (Parochial Church Council) last met on 23rd September. There were sixteen members present on this – the first mee ng a er our summer break. It’s been a great summer in lots of ways – in par cular in respect of the number of weddings and bap sms taking place at St Christopher’s. Vicar John Buckley looked back over a busy couple of months. Couples bringing their children to be bap sed come to the church from various routes – some have been married in the church, some are introduced via ‘Praise and Play’ and some have family connec ons with St Christopher’s. Other families have no previous connec on with the church at all. Many of the bap sms take place as a separate service a er the Morning Service and this is due mainly to the numbers to be accommodated. It is an important way that the church can reach out to connect with people and touch their lives. Many posi ve comments are received and the fact that couples return to church is testament to the fact that they feel they are now part of the church family. On the finance side, more funds have been received from Gi Aid, making a total of £15,000 this year. Due to the ming of the claim, this is a higher amount than usual, but it highlights the importance of claiming these funds back from the Inland Revenue. All that is necessary is to put the collec on money into the blue envelopes on

the pews and write your name and address/post code on the outside – well that and Sally Winstanley returning the relevant claim forms (no small task!) Peter Kennedy, our treasurer, reported other receipts of £1,705 from John and Sheila Rose as proceeds of the concert held this summer. We are very grateful to them and also for the hard work of the Fund Raising Commi ee who raised £532 from the recent Quiz Night. We all

had a great me at the quiz, it’s just a pity we didn’t know the answers to

the ques ons! The PCC have historically

made an annual dona on to Po Shrigley School and this year it was decided to make a gi of Bibles

instead. These were given out to every child at the Harvest Service – one version suitable for Recep on age children and a second version suitable for

Year 3. The Bibles were inscribed for each child. (Thanks to Madeline Punch for doing this so beau fully.) The inten on is that the Bibles will be given in future to all new children star ng Recep on and again when they reach Year 3. Chris ne Buckley and Audrey Meecham have put together a new version of the wedding

booking form. The idea is to make it clearer to couples what the op ons are and the costs for each element. It was also

decided that it would be a good idea to have a record of the wedding calendar and keep booking forms in church so that anyone involved can check when they are needed.

PCC Ponderings

Ros Johnson Secretary to the Council


Ian Malyan brought copies of revised drawings for the new Church Room. This version provides a space a bit wider, but slightly shorter than the original plan. We are grateful to Colin Taylor for measuring out the area in the mee ng room to give an indica on of the size. A new Statement of Need, se ng out the case for the project, is also required. These items will be a star ng point for discussions with English Heritage, Peak Park and SPAB

(Society for the Protec on of Ancient Buildings) in terms of the scale and impact of the development. In other building news, a further quote is being obtained to renew the lightning conductor. Also, Ian Clarke reported that some electrical repairs are needed and a number of fire ex nguishers will have to be replaced to bring all these items up to current regula ons.

Richard Owen, founder of the Natural History Museum and who coined the term ‘dinosaur,’ has had his statue relocated in preference to one of Charles Darwin. Stephen C. Meyer, a commi ed Chris an described, on a Richard Dawkins’ television

programme, as being, “drop-dead intelligent” was in a conversa on with scien st J.Y.Chen. Chen said, “In China

we can cri cise Darwin but not the government. In America you can cri cise the government but not Darwin!” Food for thought, indeed.

Has Darwin become the God of the new atheist?

Vicar John


Con nuing our series in which our villagers tell us about their special hobby:

Back in April ’98, a er I had taken the “Great Escape” from the Civil Service, I had five lessons in Flower Arranging at the Wilmslow Guild. I had no idea that it would prove to be the most enjoyable pas me, frustra ng at mes, but driving you on to be er things. Star ng in 2001, I completed Levels 2 and 3 in Floral Art and Design at Hyde College, then a Contemporary Floral Art and Design, again at Hyde College, with tutors Val Seed and Chris ne Legh. I then tried to become a demonstrator but a er failing the test and, as a trainee, went everywhere to gain experience, some mes 56 miles from home. The last demonstra on was on the 18th April 2012 at Preston Flower Club, 61 miles away; however, on that occasion, I travelled on the 17th April, had an evening meal, bed and breakfast at Alston College and was ready at 2pm to do the a ernoon demonstra ons in style. Since then I tried a Level 4 in Floral Art and Design in a self help group. I knew I would never be able to complete the wri en side, so just stayed to do the prac cal side and in doing so made some more friends. However, one of these new friends, Kath Williams, has asked me twice to do shows for charity, the last one for the Guide Dogs at Daisy Nook Garden Centre. I have entered in Na onal and Local Flower compe ons but only gaining prizes in the la er.

I s ll do workshops, some mes with Interna onal demonstrators, the last one in September with a Dutch lady, Astrid Van den Berg. I also like doing weddings, not just the church arrangements, but bouquets, bu onholes and recep on flowers. I like to create something special for the bride and groom. Just doing the church designs can take up to ten hours, but if all the items are needed, I can get helpers. Before I do workshops, mini demonstra ons or flowers in church, I say a prayer before star ng so that Jesus can help me to focus on what I will be doing but also to glorify him - this se les me down to arrange.

Flower Power

Gill Mosley

In my garden shed ....


We are pleased to remind you of our popular

2nd Friday of every month, 6pm ‘til 9.30pm Serving Locally Brewed Real Ale

& Speciality Lagers

Easy parking, comfortable surroundings and good company.

Bap sms We welcome into our family: Sept 27th Halle Olivia Tildsley Oct 12th Sopie Grace Hudson Oct 12th Jessica-Nicole Walton Oct 12th Natalia-Rose Walton Weddings Congratula ons to: Sept 27th Ben Ratcliffe OO Charlene Tildsley Sept 18th Jamie Hart OO Liz Torr Departures None recorded this month. Arrivals

Congratula ons to proud parents, Rebecca and Richard Gibson. On 12th October, Rosabella’s new sister, “Liliana Francesca” was born, weighing in at 8lbs 4oz. When asked about the birth, grandmother Caroline, who s ll lives on Long Lane where Richard grew up, said, “It’s absolutely fabulous but I can see [grandfather] Steve is going to have to lend even more of a hand this me around!”

Hatched & Matched


The War To End All Wars We con nue our series to mark the centenary of the beginning of the First World War:

For the first two years of the Great War the Bri sh Army was made up en rely of volunteers. Urged on by wives and girl-friends, pressurised by public opinion and driven by patrio sm, there was at first no shortage of young men willing to sign on and join the ba le at the front. However, as casual es mul plied, it became increasingly difficult to fill the gaps in the ranks. By 1916 the me had come, the Government decided, to introduce compulsory conscrip on. Most men, even if reluctantly, complied. There was s ll a strong sense in the na on of a shared commitment to support our Allies and defend freedom. But there were some for whom military service raised fundamental moral, ethical and religious ques ons. In recogni on of this, the Government agreed that those who could prove a genuine moral or spiritual objec on to the very principle of war could register as ‘conscien ous objectors’. Local boards were set up to interview men who wished to register as ‘conchies’, as they were popularly known, and up and down the land thousands of men appeared before them. Some were arbitrarily rejected, par cularly those whose objec ons were basically poli cal. Some were required to serve in the Army, but in a non-combatant role. And some - a substan al number - were registered as genuine ‘conscien ous objectors’. Of that number, probably a majority argued from a specifically Chris an view-point. They felt that killing, even in a ‘just’ cause, was contrary to the teaching of Jesus. You can’t

‘love your enemies’ by killing them, they said. Some of these were Quakers - members of the Society of Friends - who instead volunteered for the Friends’ Ambulance Brigade, which did brave and dangerous work on the front line in France. No one could accuse them of cowardice. The public as a whole were ambivalent about

the ‘conchies’. By now Britain was a sorrowing land, with most families experiencing the loss of a son, husband, fiancé or

nephew. In this community of shared grief, there was a feeling that all should be commi ed to the cause and all share the pain. However, there was also a detectable strain of admira on for those who had the courage of their convic ons, especially if they also commi ed themselves in some way to the common cause. This was an issue that did not go away with the end of the war. Indeed, it resurfaced even more powerfully as the Thir es drew to a close and the Peace Pledge Union began to gather strength. ‘If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also’, said Jesus. But what if the ‘anyone’ strikes not mine but someone else’s cheek, or a child’s cheek, or my grandmother’s cheek? Do I stand helplessly by? Perhaps in the end it’s good that there are people in the community to witness to the

THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918

The ‘Conchies’

David Winter


virtues of pacifism, alongside the rest of us, who would (reluctantly) take up arms in a just cause. There seems to me honour in both posi ons.

1918 was a miserable year for the countries involved in the Great War. Nothing much seemed to happen, in the sense of the conflict coming to any conclusion. Casual es con nued to mount, so that all over Europe there were bereaved families - indeed whole villages where most of the young men had been killed or were grievously wounded. In Britain, the advantage of being an island may have kept us from the invading German army, but now it began to make us vulnerable to a new and deadly foe, the marauding U-boats, which stalked the seas in order to torpedo ships bringing food and goods to these shores. Suddenly there were shortages and the need for a new naval strategy to deal with their menace. Zeppelin, and then aircra raids on London and other Bri sh ci es brought home the truth that this war was not simply being fought out on foreign fields. The truth was, however, that bad as things were in Britain and France, they were far worse in Germany. Casual es were so great that teenage boys were being recruited into the army, food was scarce, and by early 1918 the resources to con nue figh ng the war were at breaking point. If they could not win the war in the next six months, the generals told the Kaiser, it would be lost. Soldiers were dra ed back from the far-flung ba le grounds of Asia and Africa to shore up the dwindling ranks at home. By contrast, in June 1917 the first American troops had joined the war, though they were inexperienced in ba le terms and rela vely few in number. But by the Spring of 1918 their

numbers had swollen, and the encouragement that gave to the hard-pressed Allies was considerable. During the summer of that year the balance of the war began to p crucially towards the Allies so that, as Autumn approached, the German generals were moving towards accep ng the need for some kind of nego ated cease-fire. The Allies were at the German borders, the Americans had brought not just men but equipment and, more importantly, hope. Perhaps, a er all, this war could be won. That was the atmosphere in which the warring powers agreed to formal talks about what they called an ‘armis ce’ - a word derived from La n,

simply meaning ‘end of armed combat’. The Germans, at first, hoped it would give them a chance to recover, and perhaps eventually pursue the conflict with renewed strength. The Allies, however, from a posi on of strength, were determined to ensure that Germany would be le in no condi on to wage war or swi ly to recover economically. With those as the nego a ng posi ons, the generals met in a railway carriage at Versailles, near Paris. An armis ce agreement was eventually hammered out and the guns of this terrible war were silenced at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Armistice


A date has now been arranged for the Favourite Hymn Service which will take place at 10.45am on Sunday, 23rd November.

If you have a favourite hymn it would be appreciated if you

would put your request in the box at the back of church or, if this is not possible, you can hand it to Vicar John or to one of the organists. Also, it would be good if you could say, in just a few words, why this hymn is a special one for

you. Please make sure that we have your request by Sunday, 9th November.

Top Tunes

How to protect your tablet?

Mary Currell

Anyone who would like to contribute flowers (or money towards flowers) in order to celebrate an anniversary or remember a special occasion, please contact Gillian Mosley, Parish Assistant on 01625 829819

Flowers in church

Make it look like a Bible! Here’s an unusual way to keep your tablet computer just that bit safer: slip it inside an iPad cover that, when closed, looks like a leather-bound copy of the Bible. Any thief or burglar

entering your hotel room or home would be unlikely to grab that first. Lifemac is the company who makes the Bible iPad cover, and it says that customers who’ve had homes, cars and hotel rooms

broken into have found that their iPad disguised as a Bible has indeed been le alone.

There is one danger, however: don’t take it into a library. According to a report in The New York Times, librarians name the Bible as among the

tles most likely to be stolen!


When you see geese on their annual migra ons flying in a "V" forma on, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way.

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an upli for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" forma on, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direc on and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of forma on, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying

to go it alone and quickly gets back into forma on to take advantage of the li ing power of the bird in front.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stay in forma on with those people who are heading the same way we are. When the head goose gets red, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. What message do we give when

we honk from behind? Finally - when a goose gets sick or injured and falls out of the forma on, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protec on. They stay with the fallen goose un l it is able to fly or un l it dies; and only then do they launch out on their own or with another forma on to catch up with their own group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Goose Sense

During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, “How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?” “Well,” he said, “we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub.” “Oh, I understand,” I said. “A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup.” “No,” he said. “A normal person would pull the plug! Now, would you prefer a bed near the window or close to the door?”


Never mind too many cooks in the kitchen, this month a husband and wife team share their recipes: This is a soup that was a favourite of my mother, who found it filling enough and nourishing enough for a complete meal.

1 medium sized onion 1 medium sized potato 4 oz carrots 1 oz bu er or margarine 1 pint of vegetable stock 1 clove of garlic (crushed) Pinch of thyme and sage 10 fluid ozs of milk 6 oz of grated cheddar cheese Seasoning to taste

Chop the vegetables. Melt the bu er in a large saucepan and sauté the vegetables un l the onion is transparent. Add the stock, garlic and herbs. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, allow to cool and then blend in a liquidizer in small quan es un l smooth. Reheat carefully to serving temperature. Do not allow to boil. Add seasoning to taste.

This is a great favourite in our house as a simple starter or a sandwich filling.

2 smoked mackerel

¼ pint of soured cream (op onal) 4 oz curd or co age cheese (8 oz if not

using cream) Juice of half lemon Salt and pepper

Clean all the skin and bones from the fish. Put the fish into a food processor with the other ingredients and process un l smooth. Put in small individual ramekin dishes and chill. Serve with slices of lemon.

Milsom's Kitchen

Tasty Cheese Soup Sandy Milsom

Smoked Mackerel Pâté Dave Milsom

Recipe of the month

Saturday, 8th November 10 - 11.30am

Community Centre, Ovenhouse Lane. Entry fee £1, includes a cup of tea/coffee

and biscuit. Quiz, tombola and sale of homemade cakes, preserves etc

All welcome! Contact: Chris 574208

Bollington Well Dressing Coffee Morning


The Rectory St James the Least 1st Nov, 2014

My dear Nephew Darren, I suppose it had to come, but combining parishes is now firmly on the agenda for our villages. I had always wondered what the first Earl of Stowe was trying to prove, building a church here in 1347 to accommodate 800 people when the total popula on has never exceeded 250. In the short term – which in this village is measured in centuries - it seems to have been to house the tombs of his 13 successors. I now realise it was to make uni ng with adjoining parishes in the twenty-first century more difficult. Clearly the first Earl had formidable foresight. None of our neighbouring churches seem too keen to share their reserves to help maintain our cathedral-sized building. The threat of the closure of St Herve the Bard has, inevitably, caused outrage – not so much from its regular congrega on of three, but from all those in the village who would never think of a ending. People do so like to have a church not to go to. St Bregowine, built by a wealthy parishioner in the 19th century because she did not like the high church prac ces of the parish church of St Iwig, is refusing to re-unite, even though the two churches stand only 100 yards apart, in a village with a diameter of 300 yards. If only they could get over the trauma of seeing the incumbent pu ng water in the wine on Easter Day in 1894. Although it must be conceded that the Bregowinians were equally affronted that when the daughter church opened in 1895, they found that the Iwigers had provided no brass troughs at the end of the pews for

umbrellas. That they have subsequently refused to install them has only compounded the offence. Meanwhile St Plegmund is in discussions with the Church of South India as a way of avoiding uni ng with anyone. Should it happen, I will be interested to see what travelling expenses the new incumbent claims. It will be difficult to tell when the present incumbent resigns, as he has not been seen at a clerical mee ng for the last 30 years. Some of my colleagues suspect he is mythical, that a bloodless coup took place in the 1980s and that the church is now en rely run by the Mother’s Union. The church of St Maximus of Constan nople in our nearest town has rather grandly offered to take all of our churches under its wing, but as a parishioner has pointed out: how could we possibly consider joining with a parish that fought on the other side at the Ba le of Bosworth. In the mean me, we will serenely carry on, as we seem to have done for the past six centuries; parish mergers and reduc ons in numbers of clergy seem to be of less interest than deba ng the sugges on that we change the brand of coffee served a er Services. Your loving uncle,

Eustace

From Our Own Correspondent


We are all very aware of what is going on in Syria and Iraq - which of course dispropor onately affects the Chris ans living there and refugees on the move. But this month I wondered about focussing on the plight of Chris ans in places not so much in the news; their problems are just as great. So first to south-east Asia:

Seven Chris ans, including a church leader, were arrested in Laos on 28th September a er mee ng together for worship. The Chris ans had gathered at Pastor Sompong Supa o’s home for lunch a er a morning worship service. During the meal, the chief of Boukham village, village security officials and police officers arrived and arrested all seven Chris ans. Pastor Supa o was handcuffed

and held in leg stocks; the other six Chris ans were not. Boukham village officials had told Chris ans in the village that they were not allowed to gather for worship, although they

had been mee ng for corporate worship for three to four years; they said that the Chris ans had violated the tradi onal spirit cult of the village. The majority of Laos’ popula on is Buddhist. Chris ans in Laos make up only two to three percent of the popula on and o en suffer persecu on and discrimina on from village and district authori es.

Life for Chris ans is very hard in the numerous ‘-stan’ countries which used to be part of the USSR. A Chris an man in Uzbekistan was fined 50 mes the minimum monthly wage in Uzbekistan for storing religious literature at his home a er his home was raided during a prayer mee ng on 17th August. Artur and his wife Irina have been previously penalised by

the authori es, household items being seized from their home in 2012 a er they failed to pay huge fines imposed on them for keeping Chris an books in their flat. In Uzbekistan, all religious literature is subject to compulsory censorship by the government.

In Sri Lanka a church service was disrupted by a mob on 7th September, one week a er a brutal a ack on the

church’s pastor and his family le several people injured. A group of around 80 people, led by a Buddhist monk, surrounded the

The Suffering Church

Laos

Sri Lanka

cont …>

Uzbekistan

A typical village in Laos


church in Ba caloa District during a Sunday worship service. The assailants threatened the pastor with violence if the church did not cease its ac vi es. The previous week when the family were walking home with another church member, eight masked men assaulted them with iron bars, cricket stumps and wooden poles studded with nails. The pastor received a blow to his hip while his wife, the couple’s twelve-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, and the other believer were all brutally beaten by the group and later hospitalised. During the a ack, the pastor’s son managed to escape and contact the police. Only one of the assailants was arrested at the scene; he was released a day later, by order of a magistrate, on the grounds that he had to take a university exam!

Barnabas Fund has received the sad news that the appeal made by Pakistani Chris an mother Aasia Bibi against her convic on under Pakistan’s “blasphemy law” has been rejected and the death sentence she was given confirmed. Aasia’s appeal was dismissed at a hearing held at the High Court in Lahore. She has been languishing in prison since being falsely accused of defiling the name of Muhammad during an argument with Muslim co-workers in 2009. Please pray for Aasia and her family at this extremely difficult me.

Four schoolgirls who were seized by Boko Haram six months ago have escaped from a camp run by the Islamist group in Cameroon. The four girls were from a group of around 270

kidnapped from their boarding school in the predominantly Chris an town of Chibok in Borno State, Northern Nigeria on 14th April this

year. They were helped to escape from the Boko Haram camp by a fellow prisoner, a teenage boy. They walked west for more than three weeks, guided by the se ng sun, un l they arrived in a Nigerian village. They were starving and trauma sed on their arrival. The girls, who are aged between 16 and 18, had been told that if they cri cised Boko Haram, their families would be killed. Meanwhile, Chris ans who fled eleven towns violently seized by Boko Haram in September are s ll unable to return home; more than 190,000 people have been displaced and 185 churches in the region torched. It is es mated that in the first half of 2014, at least 2,053 people were killed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria in 95 a acks. They have burned down more than 300 schools since 2012, depriving more than 10,000 Nigerian children of an educa on. Perhaps these problems are compara vely trivial compared to the atroci es being commi ed in Syria/Iraq by Isil in the name of Islam. Nevertheless, pray for them - and thank God we can worship freely at St. Christopher’s.

For more informa on visit : www.barnabasfund.org

Pakistan

Cameroon


Our annual Cra Fair is on 1st November in Po Shrigley Village Hall from 11am un l 3 pm. We hope to have a variety of stalls and we will be serving a light lunch - soup, sandwiches and cakes. If you would like to display your cra s please contact:

Ivy Mosley

Mary Currell 01625 573735

Madeline Punch 01625 575419

We urgently need cakes for the cake stall and if you can help please could you put your name on the list at the back of church or alterna vely contact Mary, Ivy or Madeline. Also, if you have any unwanted bags, belts or scarves please contact Ivy or leave at the back of church for her a en on. This event has always been a great success so why not come along to buy those Christmas gi s, meet your friends and enjoy lunch together.

Fund Raising News

Craft Fair 1st November


Cleaning Eve e 0161 439 9979

Oct 31st Mr & Mrs Ferguson Nov 7th Mr & Mrs Currell Nov 14th Mr & Mrs Benne , Mrs Ward Nov 21st Mrs Harper, Mrs Plant Nov 28th Ms Bun ng, Mr & Mrs Stra ord Dec 5th Mrs Meecham, Mrs Winstanley

Flowers Volunteers needed, please contact Gill Gill 01625 829819

Nov 2nd Sheila Rose - in memory of Irene Rose Nov 9th Sue & Mike Akerman - in memory of Chris ne Nov 16th Gill Mosley - in memory of mummy, Elaine Mosley Nov 23rd Vacancy Nov 30th Vacancy Dec 7th Vacancy

Tea & Coffee Jenny 07715 408704

Nov 2nd Jenny & Pauline Nov 9th Peter & Eileen Nov 16th Ros & Sheila Nov 23rd Rita & Carol Nov 30th Margaret & Doreen Dec 7th Peter & Eileen

Weddings Audrey 01625 575921 Fri 31st Oct Michael Conduit OO Ruth Murray (12.30pm)

Proof Reading Christmas special Mary Currell (23rd November) February 2015 Jacky Malyan (20th January)

Many thanks to Vicki Shelley for proofing this isuue and to Mike Akerman for prin ng it.

Chores and Chains


“Your magazine needs you. ” Please send your contribu ons to

hotpo @gmx.com no later than midnight on ...

Thursday, 20th November

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(readers in bold) Extra Readers

This Month’s Sidespeople

Prayers November 2nd. 8.30am

10.45am Holy Communion Holy Communion

Romans 1:1-17; Romans 3:21-31 Power of the Gospel

Gill Mosley

9th. Remembrance 8.30am

10.45am Holy Communion Morning Worship

Romans 5:1-11; John 15:11-17 No greater love

Pam Cooke

16th. 8.30am

10.45am Holy Communion Family Service

Ephesians 6:1-4 Children and parents

School

23rd. Favourite Hymns 8.30am


Psalm 150; Ephesians 5:18-20 Worship the Lord with songs

Steve Murphy

8.30am


Romans 5:12-21; Romans 7:14-25 Adam and Christ

Mathesons

30th.

November 2nd. 8.30am

10.45am Holy Communion Holy Communion

Mr. K. Ardern Mrs. E. Harper + Mr. & Mrs. P. Frecknall

9th. Remembrance 8.30am


Miss G. Mosley Mr. C. Po er + Mrs. C. Taylor

Mr.K. Meecham

16th. 8.30am

10.45am Holy Communion Family Service

Miss G. Mosley Mr. S. Heathcote + Mr. I. Currell + Mr. I. Malyan

23rd. Favourite Hymns 8.30am


Mr. & Mrs. R. Stra ord Mr. & Mrs. R. Gem

8.30am


Mr. & Mrs. R. Stra ord Mr. M. Akerman + Mrs. J. Doyle

Mrs. A. Meecham

30th.

This Month’s Services

hotpott november 2014

Documents

john beniston

john 15v13 love john

thanks john

modern history

suering church

candlelight services

carol services

great wars