TEAMtalk

Passion on the RiversideElspeth Fearn

On Good Friday this year, between 1 and 2.30pm, a crowd estimated by the Richmond andTwickenham Times at 2,000, but which might well have been many more, saw the RichmondPassion, enacted at the Riverside, Whittaker Avenue and Heron Square. A passion play is areligious drama, originating in medieval times, and depicting the Passion of Christ, the last week ofhis life, with its momentous events, the entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Agony in theGarden, his arrest, trials and Crucifixion, and ending in the Resurrection.

The idea for the Richmond Passion came from David Gardiner, Vicar at St Matthias who had beeninvolved with a passion play in his previous parish at Prestbury and thought that it might bepossible to perform a passion play in Richmond. The local churches and community groups thengot together to bring the play into being with David, Bob Kimmerling of the Vineyard Church, theRevd Kristin Ofstad of the United Reform Church and Chair of Christians in Richmond, and manyothers taking the project forward.

The Richmond Passion was directed by Peter Cregeen of St Mary Magdalene,former television director and BBC Head of Series. Speaking to TEAMtalk hesaid that, ‘The Passion was a good example of the Church reaching out intothe community – believers and unbelievers. The reaction of the Christiancommunity to the performance has been very special. Town Council Officerswere also always enthusiastic about the event and what it might do for thetown on Good Friday.’ For Peter the highlight of the whole experience was‘watching 2000 people, absolutely silent at the Crucifixion, although seeing

Richmond Riverside Passion took place on Good Friday in front of a crowdof some two thousand spectators. Mary Beth Sutter Photography

In this issue

Passion on Richmond’sRiversideElspeth Fearn

Away Giving GroupMary Ricketts

Tower and SpireMountaineering ClubWilliam Collis

Memories of GallipoliveteransJohn Owen-Davies

Hosting at St Mary’sRuth Jones

The Life and Poetry ofGeorge HerbertElspeth Fearn

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the flood of people arriving for the performance wasexhilarating.’

The Passion involved a huge amount of work foreveryone taking part. The project began quite slowlywith only twelve people turning up to the first meeting.But 80 people then turned up for the second meeting ofwhom 60 volunteered to be involved. As Peter says,‘Don't give up if you really believe something can beachieved. The enthusiasm and commitment of all thoseinvolved was a joy to behold.’

Amongst the many roles and tasks were acting, music,sound systems, erecting the stages, and dealing withadministration. Richmond’s Street Pastors providedboth actors and stewards for the event. Also veryimportant was the costuming of the cast. EnidKimmerling of the Vineyard Church was the movingforce on costumes, closely assisted by Jill Steed ofSt Matthias. Jill has described to TEAMtalk the process.The Roman soldiers’ costumes were hired but just abouteverything else was made from scratch. Enid and Jillmanaged to acquire vast amounts of fabric – oldcurtains, sheets and tablecloths – and they also boughtsome fabrics from money that was donated. Over 60costumes were made, each one slightly different, butbasically a kaftan shape, worn with sashes or belts andusually a loose coat, made from blankets or heavycurtains over them. The most difficult costumes to makewere those worn by the main characters such as the HighPriests as they involved the use of gold fabric, braid andfancy head dresses.

The only place suitable to cut out the costumes wasSt Matthias. Edna and Jill would set up the big tablesand spend four or five hours at a time cutting outcostumes which were then passed to people who’doffered to help with the sewing. Edna spent a lot of time

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Jesus breaks the bread at the last supperMary Beth Sutter Photography

measuring people and then fitting their costumes andafter every rehearsal there would be a pile of costumesneeding shortening or lengthening which work Jillwould undertake. Jill says, ‘It was a huge amount ofwork but I think it was worth it. On a personal side I gotto know all sorts of people whom I’d hardly knownbefore, and working together on a project like this wastremendous. I was very thrilled that so many peopleturned out because it meant that every one of them wasaware that Good Friday is about the Crucifixion and notjust a day off work.’

The setting of the Passion showed inspired andimaginative use of the Riverside area, with the crowdconsisting of people of all ages and backgrounds movingbetween various points – for example to see Peterdenying Christ on a stage in Heron Square and PontiusPilate addressing the crowd from the balcony of the oldTown Hall draped with banners inscribed SPQR(Senatus Populusque Romanus – the Senate and Peopleof Rome). The focal point of the Riverside is the area bythe War Memorial with its varying levels and terraces,and it was here that the Crucifixion took place, watchedby the crowds in silence.

I myself attended the Passion and it was very crowdedbut if I had been in the crowd in Roman Jerusalem myexperience would have been much the same – standingon tiptoe to see what was going on, spotting just the topsof the Roman soldiers’ helmets but sensing their menaceas an occupying force, hearing raised voices,participating in the dynamic of a volatile crowd, therealisation that one vulnerable man was the object of all

Carrying the cross Mary Beth Sutter Photography

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Away Giving fromRichmond Team MinistryMary RickettsEvery year we give away a tithe from our income. So10% of all that is given through planned giving and thecollection plate is given to various charities both at homeand abroad.

There is a small group led by Charles Stiller with arepresentative from each Church, which makes the finaldecision as to how much and to whom. Currently themembers of Charles’s group are Sara Cunningham,Margaret Morrison and Mary Ricketts.

The process starts with a request in the RTM weeklypewsheet asking for suggestions of charities to receive adonation. All members of the congregations thereforehave the opportunity to propose charities which theywant the team to support. Discussions take place withthe proposers before the final selection meeting takesplace.

Then, once a year we review what has happened in thepast and all new requests that we have received. We havein mind a target for the basic splits between home andoverseas and between church and secular organisations.We always try to find something to give to any charitieswhere team members have a personal connection. Someof the donations are more or less fixed – for example,

Southwark’s Welcare always receives a donation as it isone of our own charities. Us (formerly USPG) is ourmain funnel for donations overseas, but we also give toseveral smaller charities and projects.

Most recipients are very gracious in thanking us for thedonations, and if they do they are more likely tomaintain their place on the list! Each year we receive aletter from Canon Julian Reindorp reminding us of thework of his charity in Sri Lanka (Hope Outreach UK). Alocal group which is very appreciative is Richmond GoodNeighbours.

Our latest deliberations deciding how to split the tithefrom 2014’s giving yielded the following results:

this vituperation. The Crucifixion on the Riverside wasshocking in its impact, reminding us that this was a trulydreadful way to die, but it was then followed by the gloryof the Resurrection and of the hope that it brought to all.The crowd seemed very reluctant to let the risen Jesusgo, as if they did not want to lose this wonderful feelingthat the Passion had left with everyone.

Afterwards, I was one of many walking away from thePassion and back into the everyday life of Richmond. Somany people looked quite stunned, visibly moved,

almost tearful at what they had witnessed in the heart ofour town, whilst others were uplifted and joyous at themessage of the Resurrection. I stood on RichmondBridge and looked back down at the Riverside wherehundreds of people were still milling around some timeafter the performance ended, not wanting, it seemed, toleave this special and unique event. Thank you toeveryone who was involved.

Film of the Richmond Passion can be found on You Tube- www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4mwLOwVyls

Roman Soldiers rest after the performance Elspeth Fearn SPQR banners Elspeth Fearn

The full list of recipients is included in the latest ParishAnnual Report. Please get ready as soon we will beasking for your ideas again.

Tower and SpireWilliam Collis

Mr William Collis, a former serverat St Mary Magdalene, has writtento TEAMtalk to tell us about afiftieth year reunion of the Towerand Spire Mountaineering Club.The club, named after the thenparish magazine Tower and Spirewas operating in the 1960s and wasclosely connected with St Mary’sChurch, St Mary's secondary schooland youth club. Mr Collis says,‘Derek Landreth was our inspiringvicar whose glance at an errantfourteen year old server could bringone out in a cold sweat.’ He alsoremembers the choir which‘appeared to be mostly theCrockford family who presented anannual show in Ormond Hall.’ we arrived early Saturday morning in the Lake District

for breakfast over a camp fire, followed by a long daywalking over Helvellyn. Sunday morning we clearedcamp after breakfast, had a few attempts at the assaultcourse and then left for our final rock climbs onShepherds Crag until late afternoon. As the light fadedwe set off home with the obligatory stop near ScotchCorner during the early hours in an aircraft hangar of atransport cafe. Here we consumed cholesterol by theshovelful and tea by the pint. There was no portioncontrol and no muesli. Wonderful! Back home around7am for a short sleep and then school after lunch, asapproved by St Mary's School’s strict but excellent Welshheadmaster Mr Williams, whose cousin was the notablebaritone lead for Men of Harlech in the film Zulu.’

Mr Collis says that the next reunion in three or fouryears’ time is likely to be the club's last. We thank himfor reminding us of this interesting part of St Mary'shistory.

Do any of our older readers remember the Tower andSpire Mountaineering Club and the people mentioned inthis article? We would be interested to hear from you ifyou do.

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Ready for a day’s climbing William Collis

The Tower and Spire Reunion William Collis

The club was begun by Mike Tebbutt, an Outward Boundinstructor, who started climbing instructions by gettingthe young people to practise knots and belaying ropes,using the water pipes and radiators at the youth club.The first real climbing trip was to Harrison’s Rocks nearTunbridge Wells followed by a trip to the Lake District.Each month thereafter, around a dozen members of themountaineering club would travel in a variety of vehiclesback to the Lakes or North Wales, and on occasion toScotland, ‘to camp on or climb over anything that wasnot moving.’

Mr Collis describes a typical trip: ‘Much of ourequipment was borrowed or modified. Many hadfather’s cut down trousers for climbing breeches and thecrusty brown tents had seen better service. The tripcommenced late Friday evening in Mike’s grey Morris1000 car and a Humber estate that had all theappearance of a timber-framed hearse. The route northvia the North Circular, past the Ace Cafe, to the A1 andScotch Corner, took a deal longer before motorways; so Transport was very important William Collis

Respect andfriendship endGallipoli’sbitter pastJohn Owen-Davies

Gallipoli! Even now, 100 years after a major First World Warbattle that forced British-led troops into an ignominiouswithdrawal from Turkey’s Gallipoli peninsula, the name stillresonates as an arena of mass slaughter only to be followed byrespect and friendship between opposing sides.The death toll on both sides roserapidly between April 1915 andearly January 1916. This followedan abortive British-led navalattempt to force a way through thenarrow Dardanelles Strait, knockthe Turks out of the war and enterthe Black Sea to help Russia form astrong eastern front with which toattack Germany.

In all, an estimated 28,000 Britishtroops, 8,141 Australians and 2,431New Zealanders were among thedead, which also included

Canadians, French and Indiantroops. Turkish deaths stood ataround 86,000 but the actual tollwas believed to be much higher infighting that took place in an areaabout 20 miles long and five milesacross.

The battle later helped to forgeclose ties between wartimecombatants. This was clear during afarewell visit to Gallipoli in 1990 byveterans mainly from Britain,Australia and New Zealand, as wellas Turkey.

It also saw the rise of MustafaAtaturk, who played a major role asa senior officer at Gallipoli. Hefounded in 1923 the secular TurkishRepublic from the ashes of theOttoman Empire seven years afterthe fighting ended. At around thesame time, Australia and NewZealand tasted their first real senseof nationhood.

This was summed up in part by AdilSahan, a Turkish veteran who in oldage lived near the battlefield in1990. ‘I want to see them and hugthem. There is no war now. There ispeace,’ he told me. His home wasclose to ANZAC Cove, named post-war after the Australian and NewZealand Army Corps.

Australian Walter Parker, then 95,said during his only visit toGallipoli since 1915: ‘The deeds and

bravery which were shown here willlive forever. It has sad memories forme but it is joyous to be here again.’Many of his old comrades thoughtthe same.

An Australian who asked not to benamed said: ‘At last I have seen thisplace by daylight. I landed at nightand left months later at night. I’mblind in one eye and could lose theother one before too long. But itdoes not matter. This is my life.’

John McCleery, aged 103,remembered his landing at ANZACcove on the first day. He said:‘Anzac Cove has sad memories...But it is joyous to be here.’

As a Turkey-based Reutercorrespondent in 1990, I joined theAustralian group for four days ofthe anniversary. Aged between 93and 103, and accompanied by 16doctors and 47 nurses from theirhomeland, the old men were filledwith bonhomie.

Fighting on the Gallipoli peninsulastarted on 25 April 1915. It involvedBritish-led troops landing aroundCape Helles on the area’s southerntip and ANZAC Cove several milesto the north. The initial landingswere, at least, problematic.

As Turkish gunners tore intosoldiers at Cape Helles, a RoyalFlying Corps pilot reported the seawas ‘awash with blood.’

A group of Australian veteransreminisce after the memorialservice at Anzac Cove and otherareas in 1990, led by then PrimeMinister Bob Hawke

An Australian veteran returns tothe Gallipoli battleground for thefirst time since the fighting 75years previously

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At ANZAC Cove, Captain G. Mitchellwrote: ‘ “Klock-Klock-Klock” and“Wee-Wee-Wee” came themessengers of death. The key wasturning in the lock of Hell.’

On 25 April 1990 the first majorcommemorative events were dawnservices at Cape Helles and ANZACCove, led respectively by thenBritish Prime Minister MargaretThatcher and Australian PrimeMinister Bob Hawke.

‘Today, as dawn emerges from theblackness of night, let us hope thatthe nations of the earth areemerging from the self-destructivepractices of enmity and will build…a world of peace,’ said Bob Hawkeat ANZAC Cove.

Adil Sahan, a Turkish veteran of the battle, with John Owen-Davies aheadof the 1990 memorial services

Hosting at St Mary’s – A Ministry of WelcomeRuth Jones, Hosting Coordinator (with help from members of the Hosting Team)

Do you enjoy meeting new people?If so, then here is an opportunity foryou! Since Candlemas, a dedicatedband of volunteers has been helpingto welcome visitors to the church onthree days each week as part ofRichmond Team Ministry’s MissionAction Plan.

It has been quite a surprise to findthat people come from all over theplace, including tourists from as farafield as China and Chile, visitorsfrom other parts of London and theBritish Isles, and local residentsentering St Mary’s for the first time,sometimes after living in the areafor many years. They come from awide variety of spiritual andemotional backgrounds, and for allsorts of reasons – some out ofcuriosity, to show interest in therestoration work, to admire thearchitecture, the monuments, thenew windows or the flowers, or justto sit and enjoy the peaceful respitefrom the bustle of Richmond’s towncentre. One man, on being usheredto a quiet area during the ABCGroup, burst into a beautifulbaritone rendering of Nearer myGod to Thee. Some have familyconnections and might be returningto see where they or their forebearswere christened or married manyyears ago. Others come regularly topray though they might neverattend a service – they are the

hidden members of our churchcommunity. On a busy day therecan be over 40 visitors.

Being a welcomer involves offeringa friendly and approachablepresence, but withoutoverwhelming the unsuspectingvisitor. Some people do not wish toengage in conversation, but othersare quite ready to chat about wherethey have come from, to learnsomething of the church’s historyand architecture, or even to touchon matters of belief; for instance,not everyone is sure of ourdenomination. It is always apleasure to build bridges with thosefrom other faiths and traditions.There is a small selection of printedguides and devotional material foranyone who is interested.

Sometimes it can be quitechallenging to encounter peoplewho are distressed for one reason oranother – maybe homeless, jobless,or with health or domesticproblems. Although we are nottrained counsellors or socialworkers, it often helps just to bethere and listen . Volunteers workin pairs as far as possible, mainly in1 ½ hour shifts, but if a situationshould develop which we cannothandle, we can call in outside helpsuch as SPEAR, the Vineyard or theneighbourhood Community Support

Police. There is an informationfolder which includes contact detailsfor these and the clergy.

Being called to be a welcomer is amost worthwhile, rewarding andenjoyable form of ministry.Personally I would say it has botharisen out of, and enhanced myfaith, and has enabled me to meetpeople from all over the world andpractise my French, Italian andGreek, as well as improving myknowledge of the history ofSt Mary’s, exercising my personalresources trying to offer support toneedy visitors, and getting to knowother members of the congregationI had not come across before.

There is plenty of room for morevolunteers, so if you can spare aslittle as a couple of hours a monthand would like to try it, I lookforward to hearing from you(020-8894 3793/jones.rules@talktalk.net).What are you waiting for?

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George Herbert (1593-1633), English metaphysical poet,orator and Anglican priest, was a well connected man,cousin of the Earl of Pembroke, and his mother was afriend of John Donne the poet. He attended TrinityCollege, Cambridge, and was appointed to theprestigious post of Public Orator to the University in1620. He acted as the voice of the university duringpublic occasions, giving speeches of welcome in Latin.King James 1 granted him an annual allowance and acareer at court or in the diplomatic service beckoned andindeed Herbert served for a short period as an MP.However at this stage in his life he completely changeddirection and was ordained, ending up as rector at theremote Wiltshire parish of Bemerton near Salisbury. Byall accounts he was a good and generous priest,providing food and clothing out of his own pocket forpoorer parishioners and bringing communion to thesick. Sadly, Herbert died at the early age of 39 ofconsumption.

Shortly before his death Herbert sent his friend NicholasFerrar a book of poems entitled The Temple, to publish ifhe thought worth doing so. The volume was publishedafter Herbert's death to great acclaim, going throughnine reprints before 1690. Those poems stay with ustoday.

We sing George Herbert's words in hymns such as Kingof Glory, King of Peace, Let All the World in EveryCorner Sing and The God of Love my Shepherd is. Wecontinue to read his poems including the outstandingLove (III) which begins:

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,Guilty of dust and sinBut quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slackFrom my first entrance in,Drew nearer to me sweetly questioningIf I lack’d anything

and which Simone Weil, French philosopher andChristian mystic, described as ‘the most beautiful poemin the world.’ Herbert's poems reflect a deep religiousdevotion, a simple directness and a precision of languageand metre.

John Drury is a biblical scholar, Chaplain and Fellow ofAll Souls, Oxford, and former Dean of Kings College,Cambridge, who has made a lifelong study of GeorgeHerbert. In the introduction to his book he says, ‘I havetried to bring together life and poetry, history and literarycriticism as closely as possible.’ In this aim he hassucceeded admirably, setting the poems which heanalyses individually against the context of what werecomplex times religiously and politically and against the

Music at Midnight:The Life and Poetry of George HerbertJohn Drury, Penguin Books, 2014

ISBN 978-0-141-04340-1

life of this most interesting man. The book is illustratedwith colour plates, black and white engravings andcontemporary maps of areas associated with the poet. Inits 360 pages lie all that you need to know about Herbert.

The title of the book is Music at Midnight. According tohis biographer Izaak Walton, Herbert visited friends inSalisbury once a week from his country parish: on oneoccasion along the road there he helped a poor man with ahorse struggling under its load. When Herbert finallyarrived at his friends’ house, they rebuked him for thecondition of his clothing and said that he had disparagedhimself by so dirty an employment. He replied that thethought of what he had done would prove ‘music to him atmidnight’ and that the omission of it would haveupbraided and made discourse on his conscience,whensoever he would pass by that place.

It is our loss that George Herbert did not live longer.

The Altar *

A broken A L T A R, Lord, thy servant reares,Made of a heart, and cemented with teares:

Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;No workmans tool hath touch’d the same.

A H E A R T aloneIs such a stone,

As nothing butThy pow’r doth cut.Wherefore each part

Of my hard heartMeets in this frame,To praise thy Name;

That, if I chance to hold my peace,These stones to praise thee may not cease.

O let thy blessed S A C R I F I C E be mine,And sanctifie this A L T A R to be thine.

* The Altar is a 'hieroglypic' poem because it is writtenin the shape of what it describes

Who’s who?Team Rector and Vicar, St Mary Magdalene:The Revd Canon Dr Robert TitleyT: 020 8940 0362E: robert.titley@richmondteamministry.org

Team Vicar, St Matthias:The Revd David GardinerT: 020 8948 7217E: david.gardiner@richmondteamministry.org

Team Vicar, St John the Divine:The Revd Neil SummersT: 020 8892 8313E: neil.summers@richmondteamministry.org

Curate (Self Supporting Minister):Revd Alan Sykes T: 020 8549 3887E: alan.sykes@richmondteamministry.org

Readers:Ruth Martin T: 020 8948 4458E: ruthmartin255@btinternet.comGill Doling T: 020 8948 5175E: gilldoling@hotmail.co.uk

Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary (SPA):Sue Eastaugh T: 020 8943 9137E: sue@eastaugh.net

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St John the Divine

Our Churches

Parish Administrator:Teresa Cross, Parish Office, The Vicarage, Ormond Road,Richmond TW10 6THT: 020 8940 0362E: teresa.cross@richmondteamministry.org

Interim Bookings Administrator:Kate HarrisonT: 020 8940 6390E: bookings@richmondteamministry.org

Safeguarding:Team & St Mary’s: Judy Wright T: 020 8940 5786E: judytwright@dsl.pipex.comSt Matthias: Tim Harris T: 07981 527762E: t.harris@kew.org& Maria Longley T: 07974 410647E: maria.longley@hotmail.co.ukSt John’s: Fiona MorganE: morganfamilyisleworth@hotmail.co.uk

TEAMtalk Editorial Board: Elspeth Fearn,Penny Francis, Heather Montford, John Owen-Davies,Mary Ricketts, Richard Rondel, Alan Sykes.Any enquiries/comments:E: teamtalk@richmondteamministry.org

Website: richmondteamministry.orgWebmaster: Robert KealeyE: webmaster@richmondteamministry.org

St Mary Magdalene St Matthias