Parish Magazine November 2012

50p

St.Mary, Alderley Cheshire

Rector Writes: November 2012

I recently visited Prague and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The many Churches, convents and museums were superb and bore witness to the rich Christian heritage of the country. Prague played host to both the beginnings of Protestantism and the Counter Reformation. It was interesting from the position of hindsight to see how nationalism, politics, power, money and faith all contributed to the religious goings on of the time. The art, architecture and music of Prague are all in some way imbued with this history. We find ourselves in a very different age in that religion is still a player on the world stage (we only have to think of what is going on in the Middle East) but it no longer seems to capture the popular imagination. Art, architecture and music are not patronised by the Church in the same way and to the same extent. At its height there were twenty studios in Prague alone providing Baroque sculpture for Churches and palaces. There were silversmiths, goldsmiths, painters, embroiders, builders, architects, composers, musicians and singers in the employment of the Church. They were all engaged in the communication of the Christian faith. Looking at the Churches of Prague they are all powerful statements about the Church’s history and theology. In many cases there is just too much to take in. Some of the pulpits were a riot of movement with saints and other figures jostling alongside one another. The altars of which each Church had many were teaching aids and could easily be described as sermons with the sculpture and paintings reinforcing a theme or subject. It is clear that art, architecture and music were in the service of the Church promoting the Church’s message and pointing the human soul towards God. I wonder whether with the passage of time art, architecture and music have become an end in themselves. Even with historical works that were created to tell a story I wonder whether the story is heard or whether it is prized, admired and visited only for its beauty or historical value. I particularly felt this with music. Prague was fantastically well provided for in terms of classical concerts. These were held in the type of Baroque Churches that the music being performed was originally composed for. However the concerts were just concerts they weren’t the Church Services which the music was originally commissioned to enliven. It would appear that this music which is highly valued was valued for the beauty of the music alone. It goes without saying that sacred music performed in a sacred space can move any heart to contemplate the spiritual. However I wonder how the Church can recapture the imagination and creativity of its members and those outside of its ranks. How can we engage the whole person to interact with the story of faith? Prague highlighted for me how our forebears attempted to communicate the gospel, theology and heritage of the Church appealing to all our human senses. The past can positively inform the present!

James

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DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 2012

Sun. 4 th Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity 8.00am Holy Communion at Birtles 9.45am Holy Communion at Alderley 11.15am Morning Prayer at Birtles 6.30pm Joint Choral Evensong at St.Philip’s

Sun. 11 th Twenty Third Sunday after Trinity 8.00am Holy Communion at Alderley 10.30am Remembrance Service at Alderley NB Change of time 10.30am Remembrance Service at Birtles NB Change of time 6.30pm Evensong at Alderley

Sun 18 th Twenty Fourth Sunday after Trinity 8.00am Holy Communion at Alderley 9.45am Holy Communion at Alderley 11.15am Holy Communion at Birtles 6.30pm Evensong at Alderley

Sun. 25 th Sunday Next before Advent 8.00am Holy Communion at Alderley 9.45am Mattins at Alderley 11.15am Mattins at Birtles 6.30pm Evensong at Alderley December Sun. 2nd Advent Sunday 8.00am Holy Communion at Birtles 9.45am Holy Communion at Alderley 11.15am Morning Prayer at Birtles 6.30pm St.Boniface Service at Alderley

(The above service schedule is correct at the time of going to press)

COFFEE is available in the Parish Hall after the 9.45am Service.

At the end of the Morning Service coffee and biscuits are provided by a

stalwart group of volunteers in the Parish Hall. Donations will be given to charity.

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COLLECTION TOTALS

BIBLE STUDIES 2012-13

THE PSALMS

All welcome: all you need is an enquiring mind (and a Bible!)

MON 5TH NOV 2012 The Lord is my Shepherd: Psalms 23 -37 10 Haddon Close MON 3RD DEC 2012 Be still and know: Psalms 38 – 55 10 Haddon Close MON 7TH JAN 2013 The shadow of your wings: Psalms 56 – 72 10 Haddon Close MON 4TH FEB 2013 O God, why? Psalms 73 -88 10 Haddon Close MON 4TH MAR 2013 O God our help: Psalms 89 -104 10 Haddon Close MON 29TH APR 2013 O give thanks to the Lord: Psalms 105-118 St Philip’s Rooms MON 3RD JUN 2013 I will lift up mine eyes: Psalms 119–134 St Philip’s Rooms MON 1ST JUL 2013 Praise ye the Lord: Psalms 135 -150 St Philip’s Rooms MEETING TIME: 7.30 — 9.30 p.m.

MEETING POINT: St Philip & St James Parish Rooms or 10 Haddon Close

CONTACTS: Sue Mackman (585068) or Kate West (584091)

STUDY BOOKS: These are available to buy or order on the night. Donald Coggan, Psalms (BRF The People’s Bible: 2 vols)

Michael Wilcock, The Message of the Psalms (IVP: 2 vols) Adrian Curtis, Psalms (Epworth)

65 years ago on 20th Nov 1947

Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey, London

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Date Gift Aid

Envelopes Non-Gift Aid Envelopes

Misc. Cash

Standing Orders Total

Sept 2nd 333.10 0.00 39.50 372.60

Sept 9th 353.25 2.00 19.10 374.35

Sept 16th 423.00 5.00 17.00 445.00

Sept 23rd 383.80 3.50 32.05 419.35

Sept 30th 548.50 41.50 29.56 619.56

TOTAL 2041.65 52.00 137.21 430.00 2660.86

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

The date for the Christmas Fair is Saturday December 1st at 10.00am until 12.30pm and we are delighted a section of The Barnby Choir will be singing in Church for us once more. The singing slots will be at approximately 10.30am and 11.30am. We will be serving wine and mince pies following the 11.30am performance.. We ask you all please to consider offering Gifts for our Gift Stall. These could be left in church behind the font or give me a ring to arrange collection. Also if possible supplies for the Produce Stall would be appreciated and I would be very grateful for the offer of Raffle prizes. Above all we need your support on the day. We depend on profits made from this occasion to fund the Christmas Activities. The Christmas Trees, the goodies following The St Boniface Service, and the Wine and Mince pies following the Carol Services. During the year there are other occasions we help with.

Janet Adamson Tel: 01625 583320

ST MARY'S WALKING GROUP

Saturday 8 th December The walk is upstream along Lathkill Dale, over the fields to Youlgreave, downstream along the River Bradford and then back upstream along the River Lathkill to Over Haddon. Starting point: Over Haddon, South-west of Bakewell. There is a Pay & Display car park in the village for £4.00. There is also road side parking on Monyash Road. Whichever is chosen, plan to meet opposite the Car Park at 10:00am. Grid reference: Starting point SK 203 664 Map: OS Explorer OL24 White Peak

Length : 8.5. miles Further info : Bring lunch and drinks. Contact: Chris Sweetman (01565 889 057)

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Combined Charities Christmas Card ShopsChristmas Card ShopsChristmas Card ShopsChristmas Card Shops

100% to over 50 charities

Wilmslow Library 27th October – 8th December

Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 9 am to 5 pm

Monday & Thursday: 9 am to 7 pm

*cards* *toys* *gifts*

www.christmas-cards.org.uk

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ST PHILIP & ST JAMES ALDERLEY EDGE

WEDDING FAIR SUNDAY 25TH NOVEMBER

12.30pm – 4pm in Church

FREE ADMISSION

REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE

ALL YOU NEED FOR THAT SPECIAL DAY!

MOTHERS' UNION

Our next speaker is –

Rev.Michael Burgess

“My Ministry"

Wednesday 21st November at 2.00pm

ALL ARE WELCOME SO PLEASE DO JOIN US!

AFRICAN CHILDREN’S CHOIR

Come join the 38'“ African Children’s Choir as they perform in our community during their UK Tour. The Choir will be performing at Macclesfield Academy Park Lane on 30th November at 7.30 - 9pm Come and experience a performance that shows the beauty,

dignity and potential of each African child! Admission will be £5 per adult and £3 for children under 12, a free-will offering will follow the Choir’s concert. Tickets available from; dottybert@talktalk.net - 01625 425748

kidavies49@hotmail.com - 01625 61 8263

The African Children’s Choir melts the hearts of audiences with their charming smiles, beautiful voices and lively African songs and dances. The programme features well-loved children’s songs, traditional Spirituals and rhythmic Gospel favourites. Nearly every performance is concluded with a thunderous standing ovation! In spite of the tragedy that has marred their young lives, the children are radiant with hope, musically gifted and always wonderfully entertaining. The free-will offering will help support Music for Life. The African Children’s Choir has been Music for Life’s major international programme during its 27-year history. Music for Life has relief and development programmes in seven African countries. Music for Life has currently educated over 52,000 children and hundreds of thousands of lives have been impacted by Music for Life’s international relief and development programmes. We’re looking forward to seeing you at this inspirational performance by the internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated African Children’s Choir! For the Children, Dorothy McCandlish Kay Davies

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Churches together in Alderley

Advent events

December 2nd Festival of light St Pius 6.30pm December 20th Carols outside the Co-op with Macclesfield Salvation

Army Band at 6pm December 22nd Community Carol Singing outside Costa Coffee

10.30am - 12.00noon

The more people attending the better we can pass on the spirit of Christmas

Terry Fones

Pub Signs of Britain

Britain has a unique heritage in its inn signs: a record of its history and the people who made it. Inn signs depict everything, from battles to inventions, from sporting heroes to royalty. The origin of inn signs goes back to the Romans. The 'Tabernae' would hang vine leaves outside to show that they sold wine - in Britain, as vine leaves are rare (due to the climate!), small evergreen bushes were substituted. One of the first Roman tavern signs was the 'Bush'. Early pubs hung long poles or ale stakes, which might have been used to stir the ale, outside their doors. If both wine and ale were

sold, then both bush and pole would be hung outside. The naming of inns and pubs became common by the 12th century. With pub names came pub signs - as the majority of the population could not read or write. In 1393, King Richard II passed an Act making it compulsory for pubs and inns to have a sign (his own emblem the 'White Hart' in London) in order to identify them to the official Ale Taster. Ever since then, inn names and signs have reflected, and followed, British life at that time. Before King Henry VIII and the Reformation, many had a religious theme, for example 'The Crossed Keys' , the emblem of St. Peter. When Henry split with the Catholic church, names were changed from religious themes to 'The King's Head' or 'The Rose & Crown' etc. The 'Red Lion' is probably the most common name for a pub and originates from the time of James I and VI of Scotland who came to the throne in 1603. James ordered that the heraldic red lion of Scotland be displayed on all buildings of importance - including pubs! Many signs have royal links: for instance, most 'White Lion' inns date from the time of Edward IV and the 'White Boar' was the emblem of Richard III.Pubs are also named after famous people in history, for example, The Duke of Wellington and Shakespeare.

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NEW PUBLICATION

‘THE LETTERS OF UNCLE EUSTACE’

by Gary Bowness

Illustrated by Taffy Davies Uncle Eustace presides over life in a small parish of St.James-the-Least-of –All. Here time has stood still. He is in the habit of writing letters to his nephew, who is an Evangelical curate, about life at St.James-the-Least-of –All, and thus we can gain a glimpse of what parish life once was, and in a few remote areas, may still be, for all we know. Uncle Eustace first made an appearance in 2005, on www.parishpump.co.uk, a resource website for church magazine editors. Parish Pump decided to publish ‘The Letters of Uncle

Eustace’ because so many people have requested they do so. When the requests came in from all over England, and then Australia and the Continent, they thought they had better do something about it.

So – here it is at last. Copies are available from Jenny Youatt (01625 585226) at a cost of £4.95.

The booklet would make a great stocking filler!

THANK YOU once again for the wonderful harvest food you donated to Oasis. The food from your harvest festival will make a big difference to our emergency food supplies. All the fresh fruit and vegetables you gave us were given out to our clients within hours of collection! You put a big smile on a lot of people’s faces this week! Each week we support many individuals and families in great need. In addition we have been regularly supporting a small group of people who have found themselves in desperate situations.

From your harvest support last year we were also able to cook meals, through our free café, for our homeless friends and those in great need. To some of our clients it was the only hot meal they received that week. Because of your generosity we will be able to continue this very vital work to over 100 clients a week. THANK YOU!

Victoria Armstrong ( Director) theoasiscentre.org.uk

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On the challenge of hitting 11 o’clock precisely... .

The Rectory St. James the Least

My dear Nephew Darren It is a great shame that your church doesn’t have chandeliers – although in your low-ceilinged converted cinema, any chandelier more than a few feet tall would also be embedded in your floor carpeting. But I find that there is nothing like watching the standard bearers on Remembrance Sunday parading up the aisle with their flags and getting them caught up in our brass candelabra. One year, the procession ground to a halt while a bearer fought to retrieve his flag, and was obliged to leave it flying in the centre of the church while he presented me with an empty pole. I always feel obliged to tell parishioners the previous week, that since all the candelabra will inevitably be sent spinning, not to stare at them, or they may leave the church hypnotised. On the other hand, Miss Simpson generally leaves the church looking like that. Major Hastings always arrives bejewelled with so many medals that every time he kneels for prayer, it sounds as if he is taking the collection. Their weight increases his stoop by at least ten degrees, to the point where some feel we should support him with a personal flying buttress. Since the trumpeter playing the Last Post can be of varying quality, your idea of broadcasting it from London into your church is inspired. However, your worries about whether your radio will be good enough need not trouble you. If you tell your congregation that they are about to hear the broadcast silence and you then simply not switch the thing on, no one will be able to tell the slightest difference whether the silence is being broadcast or not. In fact, they will even congratulate you on hitting 11am at exactly the right moment. I always use subterfuge; I have the church clock disconnected and then when we reach the time for silence, irrespective of the true time, I get a churchwarden to toll the bell eleven times. This way, I have apparently come to the exact moment without a hitch for the last 30 years. You will also find that preaching about warfare and of man’s inhumanity to man will give you greater insights into the working of your church council. The only difference is that on committees – sadly – the use of machine guns is rather frowned on. Your loving uncle, Eustace

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Thank You

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who came along and supported the Coffee Morning on Wednesday October 3rd in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Also a big thank you to people who couldn’t attend but kindly gave a donation or provided a raffle prize. We had a wonderful morning. Many thanks once again. Margaret Worthington

Harvest / St.Bonifice decoration of the Church

Many thanks to everyone who helped or contributed to the decoration of the Church for Harvest. So many thanks.

Again we need to raid your gardens for greenery and holly for

decorating the Church for the St.Bonifice Service. Please contact me to arrange collection.

Michael (01625) 530084

An update on Nether Alderley Mill from the National Trust This is a very exciting time for Nether Alderley Mill! The Mill has just been handed back to the National Trust after the completion of restoration work by Lambert Walker. The rotten roof beams have been replaced, the Mill has been freshly lime washed. Most importantly the roof is now weather and water proof! Throughout the

restoration work the millwrights have been working hard to make the Mill machinery run smoothly again, carrying out crucial repairs to the waterwheels and mill stones. I can now announce that Nether Alderley Mill will be officially opening on 2nd March 2013! Each year the Mill will close over winter, with the closing date for next year being 3rd November. The Mill will open on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

We still have a lot to do before opening to the public, but the main focus for the project team over the coming months will be recruiting volunteers and developing an imaginative interpretation so that the Mill’s story – of an early industrial process and of successive generations of millers and their families - can be brought alive

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ROTA FOR NOVEMBER 2012 LADY SIDESMEN / SIDESMEN / LECTORS

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DATE TIME SIDESMEN LECTOR

4th

9.45am Mr G Woolley & Mr G Hilton Miss L Bootland

6.30pm No Service at St Mary’s Joint Evensong with St Philip’s at St Philip’s

11th REMEMBRANCE

SUNDAY

8.00am Mrs B Essayan

10.30am Mr J Ratchford & Mrs J Martin Hugo Lloyd

6.30pm Mr G Barrie Mr P Reynolds

18th

8.00am Mr H A Wright

9.45am Mrs R Dyas & Mrs G Beeley Mrs V Muir

6.30pm Mrs A Cobb Mr R Akester

25th

8.00am Mr R Akester

9.45am Mr S Welsh & Mrs F Ablett Miss S J Dunhill

6.30pm Mrs A Robinson Mr & Mrs G Davis

2nd Dec 9.45am Mr W Ablett & Mr M Stonehewer Miss L Bootland

6:30pm Mr A Cockitt

St Boniface Service Mrs F Robinson

FLOWER ROTA Nov. 4th Jean Lee

Nov.11th Remembrance

Nov. 18th Remembrance

Nov.25th Elizabeth Fairhurst

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTIONS

The deadline for the next magazine is Thursday 15 th November 2012

Please send all copy to: Editorial: Jenny Youatt Email: info@stmarysalderley.com 1, Orchard Crescent, Nether Alderley, SK10 4TZ Production: Jean Whittingham Subscriptions & Distribution: Peter Bean: 01625 582073 Large format copies of the magazine are available.

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FROM THE REGISTERSFROM THE REGISTERSFROM THE REGISTERSFROM THE REGISTERS

BaptismsBaptismsBaptismsBaptisms

Sun 7th Oct Jack William Oakes

FuneFuneFuneFuneralsralsralsrals

Tues 16th Oct Ralph Burgess Wed 17th Oct Irene O’Connor Thur 18th Oct Susan Malett Fri 19th Oct John Taylor Wed 31st Oct Molly Childe