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50p October/November 2018

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St. Thomas’ Church, Wednesfield Church News

Replastering St Thomas’ Church - can you help?

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St Thomas’ Church News October and November 2018

What’s on and Who’s who Sundays: Weekday communion service: 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.00 am Wednesdays 10.15 am Family Eucharist with Junior Church 6.30 pm Evening Worship Baptism: Sunday afternoon, monthly To ask about St Thomas’ or St Alban’s churches, including questions about christenings and weddings: Team Rector: Rev’d Nick Watson, Wednesfield Rectory, 9 Vicarage Road, Wednesfield t: 01902 731462 e: [email protected] Parish Office: Administrator Margaret Walker t: 01902 723310 e: [email protected] The office is normally staffed 9am-12noon on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Contributions for the magazine are always welcome. Please leave articles in the parish office, or email [email protected].

Find us on Facebook - @StThomasChurchWednesfield Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @StTWednesfield

Sue Vaughan Lay minister - Pastoral Care 01902 839470

Margaret Walker Administrator

(Church & Centre) 01902 723310

Jill Ellson Churchwarden Lay minister -

Prayer 01902 863727

Clive Postle Churchwarden 01902 733169

Rev’d Nick Watson Team Rector

Edwin Simpson Parish Reader

Phil Douglas Parish Reader

Helen Hammond Children’s and

Families’ ministry enabler

mailto:[email protected]


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Below the Surface

Work is under way - the modern gypsum plaster which has been causing problems in church has been taken off, and three coats of traditional lime plaster are going on. If all goes according to plan, you’ll be able to see the result by Remembrance Sunday on 11 November!

One thing which sparked a lot of interest when I posted photos on Facebook was the discovery that below each window is an upside-down arch of brick - not something I’d ever seen before, and new to the plasterer, who’s worked on quite a few churches! Quickly people came up with the explanation (some through their own expertise and knowledge, some through Google searching and one person whose grandfather had helped with the rebuilding after the fire!).

Spreading the load

Apparently this kind of structure was used most often in mid-Victorian buildings, to spread the weight of the building, so that it’s not just coming down the pillars but also resting on the ground under the window itself. It was a technique used mainly where the ground is soft and where deep foundations couldn’t be dug. I’m not sure why it fell out of use - perhaps as steel beams came into more use this kind of complicated and skilled bricklaying was no longer needed or cost-effective.

Of course, all this normally happens out of sight - the brickwork is rough and ragged. It was never meant to be pretty, as it was always intended to be covered over with smooth plaster and painted to give the calm, dignified feel of the church we’re used to. But for almost 170 years, with the interruption of the fire in 1902, it’s been there doing its job. The church hasn’t sunk, and there are no real signs of subsidence.

What’s supporting you?

All of us depend on hidden support much of the time. Life’s stress and strain weigh us down, just as much as twenty feet and more of brick weighs down at the foot of the church walls. But there are things that help us to spread the load of life.

One thing that you might not think of is a pattern of prayer and bible reading or meditation. Often we find it easier to pray when something happens that is out of the ordinary. It might be something great for which we instinctively want to thank God; it might be some sudden crisis or challenge, for us or for someone we love. In those moments, many of us naturally turn to God in prayer, though we might feel a bit guilty about it!

A regular pattern of prayer, spending time with God daily whether or not we have something particular we want to talk to him about, can build a strength into our lives that spreads the load of the highs and lows, to make it more possible to keep life steady. Not necessarily easy, but more possible.

Another is to have a good set of people to share the load with (and whose load you can share in turn). One of the key things about an arch is that its strength doesn’t come from the mortar in between the bricks or stones. It comes from the stones or the bricks themselves, and the friction that keeps them together. They press on each other as the load above bears down, and so they all hold steady together.

Who are the family or friends with whom you can bear life’s load? Thank God for them, and make sure that you’re paying attention to them! During the times when your own load is manageable, look out for others who need you to support them. And if you’re looking for people to be part of your support structure, why not get more involved with church? St Peter described the church as a building made of living stones, people, who are built together into a temple to God. That’s us - and spreading the load is part of being who God calls us to be.

Rev’d Nick Watson

Letter from the Rector

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St Thomas’ Church plaster needs your help! Work is now well under way to restore St Thomas’ to its usual dignity and beauty, and to make sure that it’s safe for generations to come. We still need your help, and the help of others who love our building, to pay for the work.

What’s the problem?

The paint and plaster at the front of the main body of church (the Nave) is flaking off the walls, and it doesn’t look great. About 20-30 years ago it seems that some repairs were done, but with modern gypsum plaster rather than the traditional lime plaster used on the original walls.

Now we’re seeing the results. Altogether about 650 square feet of plaster need to be replaced, at a total cost of £26,000. We need your help to pay for that work.

Any donation, however small, will help. The cost of the repair is:

£40 for a square foot

£360 for a square yard

Please can you help?

You can give online: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/wednesfieldteamministry where the church will receive 100% of your donation.

You can also donate by cheque (payable to St Thomas’ Church Committee) or cash. With Gift Aid your donation is worth 25% more at no extra cost to you.

For more details please contact Rev’d Nick on 01902 731 462 or email [email protected].

Harvest Supper at St Thomas’

7.00pm Friday 5th October in the St Thomas Centre

Buffet meal and entertainment for all the family £4 adults, £2 children For more details please call the Church Office on 01902 723310 or sign the list in church.

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Christian Aid news

Supporters’ Sunday

Once again we are holding a special Sunday event for all who are interested in the work of Christian Aid. This year, it will take place at Fordhouses Baptist Church, Winchester Road, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, WV10 6EJ on Sunday 14th October starting at 4pm. There will be a display focusing on the plight of the world’s 40 million displaced people and Kate Ormerod (Christian Aid regional coordinator) will lead us through this. The Rt Revd Clive Gregory, Bishop of Wolverhampton, will also speak on the theme. Kate will tell us about her recent visit to Malawi and we shall bring you up to date with Christian Aid events generally.

It would be good to see you on this occasion and to chat with you over simple bring-and-share refreshments, to which you are invited to contribute.

Also. we shall take part in Fordhouses Baptist’s 6.30pm service, which will include prayers for the work of Christian Aid. I hope you will be able to come

along to one or both parts of the event.

Winter Quiz

WQ no. 13 is ready, piping hot and spicily challenging. At £1.50 per copy, it’s a bargain not to be missed. As usual, there are prizes to be won and winners will be announced at the...........

Christmas Concert On Tuesday 11th December (7.30pm) members of the Ashmore Park Choir will songfully usher in the festive season by presenting their annual Christmas Concert for Christian Aid in St Thomas’ Church. Write the date in your diaries boldly (not bravely, necessarily, just use bold writing!)

Roger Poole

Saturday 27th October

10am - 3pm

in the St Thomas Centre A wide range of locally-made crafts on sale

Refreshments - Raffle

For more details email [email protected]

or phone 01902 731462.

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All Saints’ and All Souls’ Sunday - 4 November 8am and 10.15am - Eucharist of All Saints

6.30pm - All Souls’ service of memory and hope November begins with our celebration of all the saints - not just the famous ones who get their own days in the calendar, but all the ordinary followers of Jesus who’ve gone ahead of us through life and death into heaven. That’s followed by the day officially called the ‘Commemoration of the Faithful Departed’, usually called ‘All Souls’ Day’. Then we remember those we have known and love, but from whom death for now separates us.

We’ll celebrate both of these festivals on Sunday 4 November. In the morning we rejoice at the Eucharist with all the saints, and pray for God’s grace and strength to follow in their footsteps. At 6.30pm we remember our own departed at a special service. If you know anyone who’s been bereaved, especially in the last year, or who is still deeply grieving, please do take an invitation from the back of church (from mid-October) and bring them along with you that evening. Many people find it a source of great comfort, hope and healing.

Please note that the services this year will probably be in the St Thomas Centre, unless the plastering work is finished ahead of schedule!

Remembrance Centenary Sunday - 11th

November

This year’s Remembrance Sunday falls on 11 November - the exact centenary of the end of the First World War. We begin our main service early, at 9.30am, so that we can end with the Act of Remembrance at 11am by the Cenotaph.

We expect this to be a particularly moving and significant Remembrance service. It’s not often that we can link our thoughts and prayers across a hundred years of history so clearly.

If you’re not already using the ‘100 days of prayer for peace’ resources, you can still pick them up from church or download them from www.remembrance100.co.uk/100-days/ .

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

Words taken from the poem “For the Fallen” by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), published in The Times newspaper on 21st September 1914.

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How You Can Help Our Homeless

Since it began as a four-week pilot project in 2016, the Church Shelter in Wolverhampton has been a place of rest and recuperation for more than 300 people who were rough sleeping on the streets of our City.

The ‘family culture’ of the Shelter has helped forge vital relationships with those who have stayed there, encouraging them to begin a journey back into employment and accommodation. Over 60 people have successfully navigated a pathway out of rough sleeping and back into either accommodation or employment as a direct result of staying there.

The Shelter is a church-led project which operates in partnership with the other homeless service agencies in the City. The teams who look after the guests every night are made up entirely of volunteers from all walks of life and the whole operation is supported from donations.

The vision of the Church Shelter is to be a permanent part of the solution to homelessness in Wolverhampton - a place of rest, recuperation and relationships and a first step towards a new life. But to remain open the Shelter not only needs a steady flow of donations to cover its costs, it also needs a large pool of volunteers who can occasionally be either dads, mums, brothers or sisters to the vulnerable people staying there.

To understand just what a difference the Shelter can make to someone who has given up all hope, this is a part of Neil’s story, in his own words…

“The Shelter was at that time everything to me. I couldn’t get through the day without knowing that I had somewhere to go at night. What the Shelter did for me is what I couldn’t do for myself - I got fed, I got looked after, I got asked about my welfare by all the volunteers.

After I met some lovely people there including the staff and the guests, as daft as it sounds I felt part of something - I felt included. The volunteers that work there welcomed me every night that I came. At the time I was an active drug user. I was never judged by the volunteers, they always tried to point me in the right direction.

My world at that time was so small and my addiction had taken over so much that it was everything to me and for that I am so grateful. Things now are so much different, but if it hadn’t been for the comfort for the three months that I was there I do believe that I wouldn’t be where I am today. Today I am no longer using drugs anymore. Today life is good.”

So, if you have a heart for our homeless and you are a good listener this qualifies you to help. There is some very simple training which takes about an hour and once you have decided how often you might be able to help you can try an ‘overnight shift’ as part of a team of four led by a supervisor. There is an opportunity to get a couple of hours sleep during the night and usually by 7.15 in the morning the team are on their way home.

If you want to find out more, please do get in touch, we need more volunteers. If you are interested in donating, information can be found on either our Facebook page, or on our website.

Website: www.wolveschurchshelter.org Email: [email protected] Facebook: Wolverhampton Church Shelter

Hands of friendship We had lunch at the Broadway in September.

Our next meetings are on Monday 1st October 2018 and Monday 5th November. Both these meetings are in the St Thomas’ Centre at 2pm, where we enjoy tea, coffee and cake and always have a good chat.

Our next outing is on 19th November to The Holly Bush Garden Centre for lunch and to see Christmas Decorations.

All welcome to join us. Please see Jill Ellson for further details of meetings and events.

http://www.wolveschurchshelter.org


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Mothers’ Union members in Myanmar are responding to the needs of people affected by the floods that have hit the country for the fifth time in just two months.

“We don’t want to face this anymore. It’s the worst it’s ever been. It is a very desperate situation” said Naw Lynn, Community Development Coordinator (CDC), one of the worst affected areas.

Mothers’ Union members and young people from the diocese are delivering food, clean water and bags of rice to those homes have been flooded as well as people who are stranded and are unable to leave their homes. The only way to get around the area at the moment is by boat, because the roads are badly flooded. “Boats are very expensive to buy so one of our branches has made a boat from bamboo until they are able to purchase another boat”, explained Naw Lynn.

They are raising money from church collections throughout the diocese and plan to continue assisting the communities long after the relief effort in helping them with rehabilitation process.

Myanmar last experienced the worse flooding in a decade in2015. More than 330,000 were displaced and 100 people killed. It has been estimated that 10,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since July.

Mother’s Union Christmas Meal is taking place at Pavilion Restaurant Goodyears on Wednesday 28th November 2018, 7pm for 7.30pm. Please sign list in St Thomas’ Church Centre and make your choices. Payment by 28th October please. Any queries see me Jill Ellson or Margaret Glover and we will be pleased to help you.

Next meeting is on Wednesday 10th October. It is a sing-along with Gill Edwards.

November meeting is on Wednesday 14th November. Vi Blackmoor will be given us a flower arranging demonstration.

All welcome at our meetings, please come and join us.

Jill Ellson, Branch Leader

Sharon Peake, Angela Hall and Joanna Watson receiving the judges’ discretionary

community achievement award.

GOLD - again! The Heart of England in Bloom judges awarded Wednesfield our second gold award, an excellent result! More exciting than that, was to receive a special award from the judges for our community achievement - recognising that this is a real team effort, with people of all ages and backgrounds from across Wednesfield involved. Many thanks to all those who helped make the church, church centre and grounds look so amazing - and especially for all those who helped with watering throughout such a long, hot summer. We’re already planning 2019, so that it’s even better, and covering more of Wednesfield. If you’re interested in helping please do get in touch with Joanna Watson on 01902 731462 or email [email protected]. The more people there are to help, the more we can do and the easier it will all be!

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Great Prayers – the Collect for Purity

This might be one of the earliest really ‘English’ prayers still in common use – we often pray it at the start of our communion services and it means a lot to me. It’s thought to be Saxon in origin, written by Gregory, Abbot of Canterbury around 780 AD. Throughout the Middle Ages it was part of what’s called the ‘Sarum Missal’, the version of the Mass which was most used throughout England, and it was translated into English to be included in the Book of Common Prayer from the beginning.

For all that time, though, it was to be used before the service, by the priest preparing to lead worship. From 1662 onwards, it was at least to be said by the priest in church, so the congregation could hear. And in the 1960s the service was changed to fit what was already happening – people were joining in with a prayer that was meant for them just to hear!

Perhaps that fits with a big change in how we’ve come to see the communion service. In the Middle Ages, it was definitely something done by the priest for the benefit of the people – they could join in with bits of the service, but it didn’t depend on them. Now we’ve come to see that communion is something we all ‘do’ together. It’s not just the priest who needs God’s help to lead us in worship. It’s all of us. So at the start of the service, we ask God to work in our hearts – because only when he’s doing that will our worship be anything more than just words.

So when we worship together, let’s really pray these words and mean them! And perhaps we could try using them at other times too. After all, God’s Spirit doesn’t only change us when we’re at a communion service, and he doesn’t only want our love and praise when we’re in church!

Rev’d Nick Watson

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Calendar for October

This is a grateful thankyou to Vi for all the beautiful flower arrangements she does in memory of our loved ones. They are a great comfort to us. Kath

Once again we are holding a Grand Raffle, to be drawn at our Christmas Fayre, to raise much-needed fund to support the running of St Thomas’ Church. Prizes include: £100 cash, case of wine, hamper of food. Tickets will be on sale from mid-October - please do encourage neighbours, family, friends and colleagues to buy tickets too.

Raffle

!

1 Monday 2.00pm Hands of Friendship group in St Thomas Centre

2 Tuesday 9.15am Tom’s Tots meet in St Thomas Centre

3 Wednesday 10.00am 7.30pm

Holy Communion Bible Study in the St Thomas Centre

5 Friday 7.00pm Harvest Supper

7 Sunday Trinity 19

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Family Eucharist Meditative Evening Worship

9 Tuesday 9.15am 7.30pm

Tom’s Tots meet in St Thomas Centre ‘Life to the Full’ group meets


Holy Communion Mothers’ Union meet in St Thomas Centre

12 Friday 6.30pm Choir Practice (no Parish Office session)

14 Sunday Trinity 20

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Family Eucharist Evening Prayer


Tom’s Tots meet in St Thomas Centre ‘Life to the Full’ group meets


Holy Communion Mindfulness and Meditation in the St Thomas Centre


21 Sunday Trinity 21

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Family Eucharist Informal Evening Worship


24 Wednesday 10.00am Holy Communion

27 Saturday 10.00am Craft Fair in St Thomas Centre

28 Sunday Bible Sunday

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Family Eucharist Evening Worship and Thanksgiving for the Bible

31 Wednesday 10.00am Holy Communion

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Calendar for November

Please note –

Until early November, all listed events which normally take place in church will be held in the St Thomas Centre, while the plaster is repaired.


4 Sunday All Saints

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Family Eucharist All Souls’ Memorial Service

5 Monday 2.00pm Hands of Friendship group in St Thomas Centre


7 Wednesday 10.00am 7.30pm 7.30pm

Holy Communion Life to the Full’ group meets Baptism Preparation Evening in Church (To be confirmed)

8 Thursday 7.30pm Deanery Synod meets at Emmanuel Church, Bentley


11 Sunday Remembrance

8.00am 9.30am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Eucharist of Remembrance Evening Prayers for Peace


Tom’s Tots in St Thomas Centre ‘Life to the Full’ group meets


Holy Communion Mothers’ Union

16 Friday 6.30pm Choir Practice

18 Sunday 2 before Advent

8.00am 10.15am 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Eucharist with Junior Church Songs of Praise

20 Tuesday 9.15am Tom’s Tots in St Thomas Centre Interviews for Team Vicar at St Alban’s – please pray!


Holy Communion Mindfulness and Meditation evening in St Thomas Centre

22 Thursday 7.00pm District Church Council meeting in St Thomas Room


24 Saturday 11.00am St Alban’s Church Christmas Fair

25 Sunday Christ the King

8.00am 10.15am 4.30pm 6.30pm

Holy Communion (said) Parish Eucharist with Junior Church Holy Baptism Evening worship and Prayer for the Coming Kingdom


Tom’s Tots in St Thomas Centre ‘Life to the Full’ group meets


Holy Communion Mothers’ Union Christmas Dinner


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Ancient Wisdom for Life Today

Temptation, sin, character and virtue

One of the things I’ve come back to a lot in thinking and reading recently is the place of character or ‘virtue’ in life. After all, we live in a world where the sort of thing that society considers to be sinful shifts rapidly. It’s not just that ideas of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are changing, though that’s part of the picture. It’s also that we’re having to work out how to live well in a world where we constantly have to make decisions that were-n’t available a generation ago.

On top of that, the social world in which we live is very different from what many of us are used to. For a lot of people, the ‘friends’ they feel closest to may be scattered all over the world, joined by shared interests or shared views and the technology of social media. That world of relationships has very different rules and expectations from the traditional group of ‘neighbours’, ‘colleagues’ or ‘people I see every week at church/pub/the match’. So what does the ancient tradition of the church have to say to us about all this?

Back to the desert

It may seem a bit odd, but some of the most helpful thinking for us takes us right back to the third century AD, and into the Egyptian desert. Around 270AD, a man called Anthony heard a Sunday sermon on Mat-thew 19:16-22, in which Jesus challenges a rich young man to give all his possessions to the poor and seek only God. He duly sold all he had, and went to live simply in the desert. He devoted himself to prayer, working to support himself and to earn money to give away. Gradually, other men and women were in-spired by his example, and found their own places to settle in the desert and grow in holiness. Known as the Desert Fathers and Mothers, they were sought after for advice, and left collections of sayings and writ-ings which have influenced every movement towards serious holiness in the Church - from the Celtic saints of the Dark Ages through medieval monks and the Methodist movement!

One of the things that is common to all their writing is a belief that holiness matters - that the struggle against temptation is a hard but worthwhile battle which is fought every day and through which we not only honour God but grow as human beings.

The Terrible Temptations

One of the fourth-century Desert Fathers, Pontus Evagrius, had a particu-lar impact on how we’ve seen spiritual health and growth ever since. From his own experience and that of people who came for his advice, he looked for patterns of sin and temptation. He was trying to look behind the indi-vidual sins and mistakes which people committed, to see them as symp-toms of a deeper illness - a flawed character, or at least an area in which there was still much to be done to become like Jesus. He found eight ‘patterns of evil thought’, which Pope Gregory the Great later refined into the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ - they’re listed in the table below.

Calling them ‘sins’ can be a bit confusing for many of us. We’re used to thinking of sins as actions (or lack of action!) rather than as the feelings or thoughts which make us likely to do things wrong in the first place. But these are deadly because they are deep within us, and our wrong actions are a symptom of the deep illness which we can’t always see. In fact, it would be possible in principle to be consumed by one or more of these deadly sins without ever actually doing anything that anyone would recog-nise as a sin in the usual sense.

Unless we identify and address the deadly sins, though, they remain like a spiritual cancer, which will diminish and even destroy our life if untreated.

Virtue and Character

The starting point for treating these spiritual illnesses is always the same - forgiveness. Jesus has already paid the price for our eternal forgiveness and life, through his death on the cross. He knows all the patterns of sin and spiritual illness within us, and loves us as much because of them as he does despite them. He won’t love us any more (or any less) because we become less sinful; but we will know and enjoy his love much more, and be more ready for heaven when our time comes, if we have made the effort with his help to grow in virtue.

Along the way, if we’re growing in holiness we’ll be more at ease with ourselves and with others, as well as with God. We’ll live more fully and joyfully, and we’ll leave the world a better place than we’ve found it. We’ll grow in a more Christ-like character, and that’s worth the battle. What is ‘character’? I quite like the definition of it as being the person you are when no-one is watching. Good character is about integrity and consistency, about being the same person in private that you are in public. If that’s something you’d like to see in yourself, then I invite you to a journey of exploration and growth in character.

Sin Virtue

Pride Wisdom

Greed Hope

Lust Love

Anger Justice

Gluttony Temperance

Envy Faith

Sloth Courage

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It’s not about sin

Over the coming months, I’ll write a series of articles on the deadly sins and, just as important, their oppo-sites, the virtues of Christian character. I can’t emphasise enough that it’s these virtues on which we need to focus. But in the same way as it’s easier to be specific about illness than about wellness, it’s sometimes easier to make improvements in virtue by dealing with sin and its underlying causes. After all, if you smoke 40 cigarettes a day and go to a doctor asking for advice on how to improve your general health, you can guess already the first thing she’ll tell you to change!

If you’re online, then you’ll also find versions of these articles (probably a bit longer!) on my blog (revnickwatson.com) as they’re written. There’ll be a chance there to contribute your own thoughts too, which may well shape the version that makes it into print! But for a start, try this. Over the next week, try to spot the areas of life where you find the most frequent temptations to sin. It may not be in big ways occa-sionally, but in little things that come up again and again. If the list of sins and virtues helps, then see if you can identify one or two areas where you’re struggling. And, of course, talk to me about it if you’d like some advice and prayer!

Until next time - grow in holiness, and remember God loves you already.

Rev’d Nick Watson

FINDING GRANDAD

Unlike some local churchyards St Thomas’ graveyard in Graiseley Lane is not well-documented. Finding a particular grave can prove quite a challenge, especially where there is no headstone giving the identity of the occupant/s.

Opened in 1855 on two acres of land bought for £313 from James Pidgeon, the only clear records of who is buried where at Graiseley Lane are compiled from lists made by a team of volunteers from St Thomas’ who spent the summer of 2002 studying gravestones and methodically noting names and dates, numbering rows down and across, to create a computerized record.

Although 2,500 names are recorded, there are at least two thousand more people buried there who cannot easily be traced and whose grave-sites are now merely patches of turf. So what can be done when people get in touch asking to be shown the resting-place of their parents or grandparents – something which happens two or three times on average each year?

Usually, I have recourse to a dilapidated volume of burial entries kept by various gravediggers from 1918 to April 1965 (when the graveyard became officially full). Any logs kept of burials before this time have been lost and, in fact, the surviving book is of no help at all until it reaches 1929, as burial locations recorded before that date tend to be indicated in terms such as “next bottom wall”. “left side main entrance” or – exasperatingly – “row by privet hedge”. After 1929, location information becomes gradually less vague as gravediggers devised their own numbering schemes for the various rows of graves. But these are hard to relate to the graveyard as it is now, partly because pathways have been added or altered over the years.

So it’s often a case of doing some detective work: finding the deceased’s burial in the old book and hoping that, buried near to their unmarked grave is someone

with a headstone, someone who is therefore in our records. From this, I can usually work out the position of the grave that’s being sought.

Now the point of this article is that, currently, I alone am familiar with the procedure involved in seeking out the unmarked final billets of long-departed Wednesfielders and it would be prudent, I think, to share the arcane knowledge with someone younger than my ancient self. The task is certainly not time-consuming....but it is quite important, especially to those wishing to locate their late relatives. So please let me know if you are willing to help.

Roger Poole

A grave situation

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15


From the Church Councils

District Church Council (DCC) The DCC met on 26 September. Main items of business on the agenda included:

• Keeping the Mission Action Plan moving forward;

• Working through our safeguarding policy with reference to St Thomas’ groups and activities;

• Plans for worship in the Autumn, while the church is out of use;

• Reviewing mid-week services, with the decision not to continue the Friday morning service;

• Discussion of seeking permission to use Communion by Extension - when necessary sharing communion at a service led by a Reader, with bread and wine blessed at a previous service.

The next meeting of the DCC will be on Thursday 22 November at 7pm. Please give any items for the agenda to Rev’d Nick or Maggie Shelley by Friday 9 September.

Parochial Church Council (PCC) The PCC met on 6 September

• Main business (taking almost the whole meeting) was the approval of the parish profile and advertisement for the vacant post of Team Vicar.

• We discussed and agreed St Thomas’ plans for worship in the Centre while the plaster work is completed.

• We also discussed the management, oversight, care and finance of the parish during the vacancy at St Alban’s.

The next meeting of the PCC is on Wednesday 28 November. Please send any items for the agenda to Rev’d Nick by Friday 16 November.

Deanery and Diocesan Synods Deanery Synod has not met since the last edition of the magazine. The next meeting of Deanery Synod is on 8 November at Emmanuel Church, Bentley. The next meeting of Diocesan Synod is on Saturday 13 October.

Saturday 1st December 10.30am onwards

Christmas Fayre

in the St Thomas Centre

Family Festive Fun! Come and see Santa! Stalls and Refreshments Entry: 20p

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Photograph by Stephen Weston

Remembering If you ask most people in Wednesfield where the War Memorial is, they will direct you to the Garden of Remembrance. What many people don’t know is that we have two War Memorials, as the memorial to those who died in the First World War is the arch in church, with the text “God so loved the world”, the carving of Christ on the cross, and the names of the fallen on the plaques on the pillars on either side below.

In the “St Thomas’ Wednesfield Monthly Magazine” (as it was then called) for December 1918, the vicar, Reverend G H Parkhouse, wrote:

My dear Friends

In our rejoicing for the greatest victory the world has ever seen, there flows a deep undercurrent of sorrow for those who have sacrificed their lives to the relentless struggle of the past four years. Our sympathy and our prayers go out constantly for all the bereaved. The memory of those gallant heroes will always be honoured. The Memorial to be placed in the Church will insure this. The Church is always open, friends can therefore visit the Memorial at any time, and many will appreciate the opportunity of placing a few flowers at the base, and spending a few minutes in prayer and meditation.

We append the names of all the fallen. Please let me know of any mistakes or omissions as it will be difficult to alter after the Memorial is completed. The Bishop of Lichfield will dedicate the memorial on Wednesday, March 4th, at 8pm.

Your sincere Friend and Vicar,

Guy H Parkhouse.

Unfortunately it’s no longer possible to have the church open every day - but if you do pop in when the church is open, why not do as Reverend Parkhouse suggested, and spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation at the Memorial.

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Bishops make Universal Credit call

Urgent action needs to be taken to provide more support for people applying for Universal Credit amid reports of a surge in demand at food banks in areas where the benefit has been introduced. The diocesan Bishop Lichfield, the Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave; the Bishop of Stafford, the Rt Revd Geoff Annas; and the Bishop of Wolverhampton, the Rt Revd Clive Gregory are backing a petition brought by the End Hunger UK campaign calling for the Government to ‘fix’ Universal Credit, including providing more help and a more flexible system for claimants applying and for those already receiving the benefit.

The campaign is also calling for improvements to the design of Universal Credit and a long- term commitment to ensure the social security system provides people with an adequate income to afford good food on a regular basis.

Universal Credit has already been introduced to several areas across Lichfield Diocese – which includes Staffordshire, northern Shropshire and the Black Country – with others to follow in the coming months. While some people are finding Universal Credit helpful, many of the most vulnerable do not have the resources to cope with the change or a reduced level of support.

In a joint statement, the three bishops said: “We have signed the End Hunger UK petition, calling on the Government to fix Universal Credit to prevent more people going hungry. We would like to also encourage parishes and churchgoers across Lichfield Diocese to do likewise.

“More and more families have had to turn to food banks following the introduction of Universal Credit, and are reporting unintended delays, lack of digital support, poor administration, and a lack of flexibility in the system. All of these problems can and should be resolved.

“In our diocese alone, there are 13 Trussell Trust food banks, which last year distributed 31,376 emergency food parcels to people in crisis. There are also at least 29 independent food banks. Many of our local churches do quite remarkable work, helping to meet the need in their communities but we must proactively reduce the need for food banks in the first place.

“We need urgent action to improve the flexibility and support for people on Universal Credit, and a long-term commitment that the social security system will provide enough income to afford good food on a regular basis. Without such action, we can expect to see more and more people turning to food banks and becoming trapped in poverty, as more people are moved on to Universal Credit.”

The call comes as The Trussell Trust reports a 52 per cent increase in food bank use in areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out, as well as rising debt, destitution and hunger.

You can find the petition online here, or sign the petition in church. The petition will be delivered to the Prime Minister in the lead-up to the Budget in November.

http://endhungeruk.org/ucpetition/

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From the Parish Registers Holy Baptism ‘Shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father’ 12 August Imogen Isobel Snow Jordan, daughter of Sara Ann Jones and Anthony Jordan

Junior Eric Theo Harper, son of Stacey Game and Mark Harper Winter-Rose Rebecca Chilton, daughter of Maria and David Chilton Amelia Evelyn Daisy Sidebottom, daughter of Aimee and Philip Sidebottom

2 September Presley Reece Bentley, son of Tori Parkes and Reece Bentley Evie Grace and Noah James White, children of Laura Smith and Darren White Lynroy George Peter Hogan, son of Tracey Clews and Estow Hogan Michaela Angelina Barbara Owen (adult) Harley Alan Nicky Owen-Joyce, son of Michaela Owen and Adrian Joyce Claire Anne Wolverson (adult) Ezmae-Ellen Wolverson-Williams, daughter of Claire Wolverson and Anthony Williams

Marriage ‘Those whom God has joined together, let no-one put asunder’ 16 August Katie Louise Smith and Michael Eric Hart 18 August Michelle Carmell Cheadle and Simon Paul Miller

Amanda Jane Cox and Craig Steven Johnson 19 August Leanne Susan Lister and Karl David Burke 24 August Heidi Marie Ireson and Martin David Fallon 25 August Emma Louise Lacey and Alex Lee Corbett 15 September Lydia Chalk and Kallum Harper

Funerals ‘God will show us the path of life; in his presence is the fullness of joy.’ (Psalm 16:10)

17 August Janet Saunders (60)

29 August Joyce Mary Waters (95)

3 September Hilda Craven (98)

Freda Elsie Hopkins (96)

5 September Joan Stanley (85)

6 September William Penn (89)

Anthony Reginald Ward (81)

12 September Nina Nanette Tipton (82)

18 September Leslie Brian Barlow (76)

19 September Robert Michael Lockley (66)

Interments of Ashes

25 September Ronald Wilfred Small

28 September Joan Stanley

Advice on Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals

If you would like to find out more about how the Church of England can help with these great moments in

life, you can easily find out more. The best way is to ask one of our ministers, but you can also find a lot of

advice, ideas and resources online now.

The best places to look are those produced by the Church of England itself. You can find links from the

church website www.wednesfieldteam.org.uk or go straight to

www.churchofenglandchristenings.org

www.yourchurchwedding.org

www.churchofenglandfunerals.org

In Memoriam

In loving memory of Ken Smith

from his wife Kath

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Oh we do like to be beside the seaside…

On 16th September, I headed south for Rev’d Sam’s induction as Rector of St Mary Magdalene, Torquay (though I’m still confused about whether Torquay and Torbay are actually the same place, because both names seem to be almost interchangeable down there!). I was privileged to lead prayers for Sam, Jo, Isaac and Ellie during the service as they start this new chapter in life and in Sam’s ministry.

As reminders that it’s a small world really, Sam mentioned during the service that the last Rector from St Mag’s is now the vicar of Sam’s parents’ church in Bath. Then after the service I was talking to the keyboard player from the church music group and discovered that he was born in Shardlow Road in Wednesfield!

Please continue to pray for Sam, Jo and the twins as they settle into their new home and church.

How about here?

Of course, seeing Sam settled in Torquay is great - but we still have a big gap in ministry and church life here!

For the time being, we’re glad to have support from Rev’d Helen Duckett, who’ll be giving a day a week during the week (she’s already committed to her own church on Sundays), with funerals, schools and other bits and pieces as time allows.

More fundamentally, the post of Team Vicar is being advertised from 28 September, with interviews on 20 November - so please pray that God will call the right person here to lead St Alban’s and share in the leadership of the parish. Please pray, too, that both the person called and the interview panel will hear God’s voice and get this right!

Rev’d Nick Watson

Mindfulness and Meditation Time to be still and rest - 25 minutes of non-religious ‘mindfulness’ or awareness meditation, a short break and 25 minutes of Christian meditation. Feel free to leave after the first part if you prefer; we offer this as a gift to all in our community, whether or not you consider yourself to be a Christian.

Come for whatever reason you think it will help - some come to learn to pray more deeply, some to learn help with focus and someone who came for the second time in July said that after the first time he came, he had the best night’s sleep in a long time. (That’s just as good a reason as the prayer, by the way!)

Sessions led by Rev’d Nick Watson. For more details, call 01902 731 462.

7.30-8.30 pm Wednesday 17 October Wednesday 15 November in the St Thomas Centre

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St Thomas Centre, Wednesfield

Are you looking for a venue to hold your party or community project?

Then why not come and have a look at the St Thomas Centre

Room hire for all occasions Recently refurbished Fully equipped kitchen facilities Available 7 days a week Competitive rates Capacity for 100 people

For more details and enquiries on how to book please contact

Margaret Walker on 01902 723310 or email [email protected]

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