Christ Church News · 2015-01-31 · Christ Church News Page 3 This was explored in detail by Canon Julie Gittoes who led a Quiet Day in the Autumn, the conclusions of which led to

Christ Church News February 2015

Bishop of Guildford Inauguration

Lent Study Groups

Festival Evensong – Singers Wanted

Operation Wellfound

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Christ Church News Page 2 www.christchurchepsom.org.uk

From the Pulpit

(Taken from the Sermon ‘Baptism of Christ’ 11th January 2015) Like any church community Christ Church is on a journey and journeys, as we all know, can take unexpected diversions (especially if you want to go through Malden Rushett at the moment), and sometimes we set out not knowing our final destination, both are true for our current context, therefore I trust in the words of the prophet Jeremiah,

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are

plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”

(Jeremiah 29:11)

I do not know what Christ Church will look like in 5 years time but I do know we have to be proactive in achieving it. Consequently having established Spirituality, Discipleship and Mission, (or Knowing, Growing, Going), as essential elements of our Purpose, and having set in place programs of activities under each heading I think we now need to develop a more unique focus that builds on our longstanding Vision. What should this new focus be and how do we achieve it? Throughout this past year I’ve done a lot of thinking and praying about what I sensed God had been saying to me about Christ Church both on my own and with others. In particular, as I shared at the APCM, I felt a great pull towards the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman at the Well and the importance of water for us as a church long established in the Healing Ministry and literally being located on an underground stream. Consequently the staff team and PCC have been thinking about a tag line for our 2020 Vision for the next 5 years and it is:

‘Christ Church being a Living Well

and Christ Church living well.’


This was explored in detail by Canon Julie Gittoes who led a Quiet Day in the Autumn, the conclusions of which led to a series of statements reminiscent of those ‘Keep Calm and Carry on’ posters that are popular at the moment.

Pursue Joy – that we should seek to be positive and upbeat.

Listen Intently – that we should pay attention to our context and to what God is saying to us

Celebrate Ordinary – that we should rejoice in the little things as our Celtic brothers and sisters of old did.

However in order for us to move on and develop further, to grow from a moderately sustainable church into a vibrant growing one, we need a renewal or outpouring of the Holy Spirit to bring this to fruition. We need to trust and believe that God can and will act and that he can work through all of us, even those of us who often feel unworthy. If you claim the fullness of God's Spirit in prayer, He will hear and answer you. He will fill you. And in the process, you will "inhale" spiritually. The Holy Spirit is given to us all that we might live holy lives and be a fruitful witness for Christ. In other words be a Living Well so that we can live well. May this be the prayer for our Church as we move into the next phase of our ministry together. Every good wish for 2015

Rosemary Donovan

Copy date for the next edition – 13th February 15

Contacts

Editor:

Craig Donovan

[email protected]

Vicar:

Revd Rosemary Donovan 01372 720302

[email protected]

Church Wardens: Parish Office:

Robert Burns 01372 724798 rbt.burns@

btinternet.com

Carol Jamieson 01372 722070 cljamieson@

btinternet.com

01372 743133 [email protected]

Registered Charity No. 1127945

Contributors, please note that Christ Church News is uploaded to the Christ Church website for

two months and therefore will be available via the Internet. If you do not want your article to be available via the website please advise the editor accordingly.


Inauguration of the New Bishop of Guildford The inauguration of the Right Revd Andrew Watson as Tenth Bishop of Guildford will take place at 11 am on Saturday 28th February 2015 in Guildford Cathedral. During the service, Bishop Andrew will be welcomed by members of different faith and civic communities, on an occasion which marks the formal commencement of his new ministry. As well as being a celebration, there is a legal importance to the ceremony, as the new Bishop will make oaths in accordance with law and the statutes of the Cathedral. The service will begin in dramatic fashion, as the new Bishop knocks on the West Door of the Cathedral three times with his crozier, to formally request entrance from the Dean. Because of demand to attend this service, it will be a ticketed occasion to ensure that representatives from a widest range of parishes and communities are able to attend. For those who are unable to attend Bishop Andrew will also preach at both the 9.45 am Eucharist and 6.30 pm Evensong services in Guildford Cathedral the following day on Sunday 1st March, allowing everyone a chance to share in worship with the new bishop, and to hear him preach during his inaugural weekend. You can also view a video following Bishop Andrew through the Diocese of Guildford on the day of his announcement of his appointment online at the new look Diocesan website - it will help you get to know your new bishop better.


CTiE Lent Studies

Journey through Lent with the Christians of the Middle East

What’s life like for Christians in Egypt, Syria, or Israel in the midst of political and religious conflicts? How do they make sense of their faith? What can we learn from their stories?

Join us for a 5-week ecumenical journey, listen to the experience of the church from countries in the Middle East, and reflect on the Sunday readings for Lent from the ecumenical lectionary, with opportunity for discussion and prayer. It doesn't require any knowledge of Middle East politics, we don’t push any political positions, but we shall try to see life through the lives of Christians from churches in that area. Course books will be available.

Choose between

Weekly evening studies (8.00 – 9.00 pm) in people’s homes

Weekly Friday lunch time studies in St Martin’s Church House, 12.15 pm for

a simple lunch, followed by studies from 1.00 to 2.15 pm

All courses will start week beginning 22 February 2015.

Sign up now so that we can arrange for you to join a group. Fill in the form at

the back of church or ring John Padwick (01737 357282) or Elizabeth Martin

(020 8393 2985). If you wish to attend the Friday lunch-time study at St

Martin’s Church House, you don’t need to sign up. Just go along on 27

February! Everyone welcome.

Churches Together in Epsom


Vision Peoples in Mission (VPM)

The latest newsletter from VPM gives thanks to God that they have been enabled to meet most of their targets amidst various challenges. VPM believe passionately that children are our greatest asset and future, and much of their work is concerned with rescuing children from scavenging on the rubbish dumps and bringing them to the orphanage where they can find a home, parental love, care and counselling. Sadly, two of the Trustees, who were also major donors to VPM, have died. The orphanage, which provides a home for 61 children, was almost entirely dependent on the financial support given by these men, and for the time being no more children are being taken in while the leaders at VPM wait and pray for new funds to be made available to them. Haven Primary School: 358 children attended the school in the past year. They receive education up to secondary school level. In November there was a grand graduation party for children of Class 8. School Feeding Programme: The school provides every child with porridge at 10 am and a lunch of maize and beans and alternately ugali (a dumpling made from maize flour and water) and vegetables. For many children this is the only food they will have in a day. VPM Health Clinic: On average the clinic provides medical advice and treatment to 750 people per month. People pay what they can afford, and for many the treatment is free. VPM Vocational College: The college runs a one year course in tailoring, dressmaking, knitting and embroidery. This gives women a skill which they can use to earn a living. Without this many would have to turn to prostitution.


Housing Project: Over the years housing has been built which is let out for rent and provides an income for VPM. One wing has been built but another needs to be completed. This will provide 16 more units. VPM Mission Church: Services are held every Sunday and there is outreach into the slums of Korogocho by crusades, witnessing, evangelism and the church’s pastoral programme. Many people are brought to Christ through the ministry of the Church. PRAYER POINTS Your prayers are asked for:

Sponsors for the children

Medical supplies for the clinic

The school feeding programme

The construction of Lucky summer Housing Project

Pam Buckingham

February Diary

Date Time Venue

Worship Team Mon 2nd 8.00 pm Vicarage

Start Wed 4th 8.00 pm Vicarage

Sing along ‘The Sound of Music’

Sat 7th 7.00 pm Christ Church

Baptism Preparation Mon 9th 1.00 pm Parish Hall

BRC Tue 10th 10.15 am 24 Woodcote

Deanery Synod Wed 11th 7.30 pm St Mary’s, Headley

Start Wed 11th 8.00 pm Vicarage

MU AGM Thurs 12th 7.30 pm Parish Hall

Ash Wednesday (see ‘Services’ page 8)

Wed 18th 9.30 am 8.00 pm

Christ Church

Finance Team Mon 23rd 8.00 pm Cairngall

Social Team Tue 24th 2.00 pm Vicarage

Inauguration Bishop of Guildford (see page 4)

Sat 28th 11.00 am Guildford Cathedral


Services in February

Sunday 1st Feb Candlemas

8.30 am Said Holy Communion (Order 2) Christ Church

10.00 am Parish Communion Christ Church

11.00 am Worship on the Wells Christ Church on the Wells

6.30 pm REVIVE Praise Service ‘Rumours of Glory’

Christ Church

Wed 4th Feb 9.30 am Holy Communion Christ Church

Sunday 8th Feb





Sunday 15th Feb


10.00 am All Age Worship ‘The Widow’s mite’

Christ Church

11.00 am Worship on the Wells with Holy Communion

Christ Church on the Wells

6:30 pm EMBRACE Celtic Service Christ Church

Wed 18th Feb Ash Wednesday

9.30 am Holy Communion (said) Christ Church

8:00 pm Holy Communion Christ Church

Sunday 22nd Feb 1st Sunday of Lent





Sunday 1st Mar 2nd Sunday of Lent




6.30 pm REVIVE Praise Service ‘Journeys of the heart’

Christ Church


Getting to Know You…

Christine Byrne

Christine was born in August 1927 in Wimbledon, but her family moved to Sutton when she was two. She was educated at Wallington Grammar for Girls and went on to read Geography and Sociology at the London School of Economics, where she joined the Dramatic Society, starting a lifelong love of amateur dramatics. After graduating she enjoyed a

variety of jobs, ranging from selling toys in Harrods to supply teaching before seeing an advertisement for the Ministry of Defence at Tolworth. Christine spent nearly five happy years there before marrying Michael, her immediate boss, and settling in Banstead. In the next forty-five years, they moved house five times to accommodate their growing family, (they had six children and now the family boasts some eight grandchildren) finally finishing up in Cheam where, sadly, Michael developed Alzheimer’s and died in 1999. Christine had returned to teaching when her youngest was two and worked at a little independent school in Banstead. After Michael’s death she stayed put for nearly ten years but then decided the house and garden were too big and moved to her present bungalow in Eastdean Avenue. She thought she had chosen the location with care, to be within reach of shops, church and library but increasing back problems have limited her excursions to the use of her mobility scooter. Something she feels far from proficient! Christine is a member of the U3A, enjoys Bridge and belongs to the Common Home group.

Val Flick


The Revd Lionel Mylrea– Vicar, 1926-36

After the tragically early death in 1923 of the much-loved Revd Neville Stiff (about whom I wrote in the double issue of the magazine for Christmas 2013), any successor was going to find things a bit difficult. Sadly, the challenge proved too much for the Revd Frances Hooke. He left Christ Church in 1925, to be succeeded by the Revd Lionel William Mylrea, pictured here. Lionel was born in October 1882, the first of the more than comfortably-off William and Ellen (née Bates) Mylrea’s three children. After university and theological college, he was ordained in 1906, serving his Curacies in Northampton and then in Torquay (where he lived with his parents). His first parish as Vicar was St John’s, Boldre on the edge of the New Forest. Among other things, he became Chairman of the newly-established New Forest Bee-Keepers' Association and, indeed, was elected to the Council of the British Bee-Keepers’ Association in 1917. In 1920, he married Constance (née Guy). It seems they had no children.

Lionel Mylrea was 44 when he was appointed Vicar of Christ Church in 1926. In terms of general charisma, he seems to have been at the Neville Stiff end of the scale. Physically, he closely resembled the then Aga Khan (on the left) for whom, much to his own amusement, he was mistaken more than once in London. He was equally amused when a London waitress reserved a table for him and his wife in the names of “Mr and Mrs Hooray”.

Andrew Risbridger (a former verger) recalled in Christ Church’s 1976 Centenary History that “Blessed with perhaps more of this world’s goods than the average incumbent, he and Mrs Mylrea were kindly and generous hosts. It was quite an occasion to go to the [original Victorian] Vicarage for a meal, where a well-trained manservant would meet guests at the door and later serve the meal which his wife had cooked.”


Christ Church flourished under the leadership of “Father Mylrea” – as, being a keen Anglo-Catholic, he was known to all. He reportedly showed great dignity and reverence in Church. The social life of the Parish also meant a great deal to him. He took a keen interest in the activities of the Christ Church Players (in which Constance was a deservedly star player) – at their peak in those pre-television days. He would accompany the Players on their visits to other parishes, describing himself as “the Impresario”. Outside the church, he proved himself to be a man of many interests and broad sympathies. He was a keen lecturer. Having visited Oberammergau for the Passion Play – which moved him deeply – he gave talks (illustrated with his slides) in various districts about the experience. Lionel Mylrea made two additions to the “goods and ornaments” of Christ Church’s that are still in use today. The first – reflecting his Anglo-Catholicism – is the Aumbry (a recessed cabinet for the storage of the consecrated elements of the Eucharist) in the north wall of the Peace & Reconciliation Chapel, behind the small curtain under the Sanctuary light. The second addition is the oak lid of the 1876 font. The timber came from his grandfather’s Somerset farm where – even though it was understood to have come from a ship of the Spanish Armada – it had been used as part of a pig trough. Oak hardens as it ages, and this is certainly very tough: the local undertakers, Messrs Longhurst, agreed to help shape the timber and their sawyer apparently broke three bandsaws in the process! After what can be inferred as a heart attack, the cigar-smoking Lionel Mylrea retired from Christ Church in 1936. The following year, he was appointed by the Diocese of Colchester to as warden of its House of Mercy (a “mother & baby home”) at Great Maplestead. However, after little more than three years, he died there on 14 August 1940, aged only 57. The Chelmsford Chronicle’s report of the funeral records that the committal was taken by the Bishop of Colchester and that the mourners included his widow, mother-in-law, both sisters and nine of the local clergy.

Roger Morgan


PCC Summary report from 12 January

Urgent vacancies: We continue to seek people to help with the Sunday morning Children’s Groups and someone to take on the role of Christian Aid Week co-ordinator for the parish. Please say if you think you could help.

Finance: As mentioned in previous reports, we have been concerned that, notwithstanding the responses to the “Stewardship Day” on Sunday 5 October, our finances are not yet re-established on a sound basis. As we are having difficulty in boosting our income, we need to contain our expenditure. Much of that, however, is either fixed or – if we are to maintain our current activity on and around our site – effectively so. While we felt able to release the second half of 2014’s payments to “championed” missions, we regretfully concluded that we needed to reduce the provision to be made in the budget for 2015 – from 2014’s £14,500 to £10,000. That is still nearly 10% of our voluntary income, and about the average across the Guildford Diocese.

“Living Well”: Parts of our vision for 2020 of Christ Church as a “Living Well” for people who “live well” are already coming on stream, such as the revamped website (still at www.christchurchepsom.org.uk) and more material celebrating our achievements and publicising them more widely – for example in the newsletter that went round with our Christmas card. We continue to work on the plans for the longer-term elements.

Christmas: We looked back over the Christmas services – including those for nearby schools – and felt these had gone well. There was particular appreciation for the Carol Service, made more atmospheric thanks to the use of the screen. The Christmas appeal yielded £775 for Leatherhead’s Pitstop.

Annual Church Meeting, 19 April: We agreed outline plans for a revamped and more participative Annual Church Meeting, integrating it more closely with Parish Communion to conclude by noon – an hour earlier than previous years’ meetings, followed by some social time over pre-lunch nibbles.

Next meeting: Our next meeting – the last before the Annual Church Meeting – will be held on Monday 9 March at 8 pm in the Hall.

Roger Morgan, PCC Secretary

http://www.christchurchepsom.org.uk/


Talk Marriage

Following the success of Love Fest last year and conscious of our long standing ministry to couples preparing for this lifelong commitment Pamela Vonberg found and appreciated this poem read at a family wedding.

Why Marriage?

~ By: Mari Nichols-Haining ~

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person, With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me, Who won't hold them against me, Who loves me when I'm unlikable,

Who sees the small child in me, and who looks for the divine potential of me...

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night With someone who thanks God for me, With someone I feel blessed to hold... Because marriage means opportunity

To grow in love in friendship... Because marriage is a discipline

To be added to a list of achievements... Because marriages do not fail, people fail

When they enter into marriage Expecting another to make them whole...

Because, knowing this, I promise myself to take full responsibility

For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness I create me,

I take half of the responsibility for my marriage Together we create our marriage...

Because with this understanding

The possibilities are limitless.


Special Giving during Lent

Each year at Christ Church we support a specific charity for extra personal giving during Lent. This year we will be supporting Operation WellFound, a small charity based in Greenford, Middlesex, providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities/education to communities in Africa. If the name sounds familiar it is because we gave our harvest cash collection to the charity in 2012. This Lent we want to support this Christian based group again and are particularly encouraged by the reflection in its work of our own 2020 vision of ‘Christ Church being a Living Well and Christ Church living well’.

As all administration costs are met externally by a Christian Foundations, 100% of donations are used in Africa. During 2015, plans include installing wells and latrines in Guinea Bissau, West Africa. As well

as providing clean water and facilities, local women will also be trained to establish and run market gardens to ensure sustainability. Please do remember that if you are a tax payer you can increase your giving by 25% if you complete a gift aid form. For further information please see www.operationwellfound.org Thank you for your generosity.

The Missions Group

Tea Club will be in the Parish hall on Wednesday, March 11th from 2.30

- 4.00 pm. Gordon Mylchreest will continue his illustrated talk on Kings, Judges and Daniel in the Lions’ Den, followed by tea & the usual scrummy cakes. Offers of help to Sheila Frame 020 8393 1571, offers of/requests for lifts to Sue Matthews 724080.

All Welcome!


Christ Church will be celebrating

mothers and others over the

weekend of 13-15 March 2015

including:

Children’s concert Storytelling evening, Family fun All age worship. For more information see local press and website.

Festival Evensong - Singers welcome

I am delighted to invite any who wish to come and sing at our festival Full Choral Evensong on Mothering Sunday, 15 March, at 6:30 pm. This evensong will be the culmination of a weekend-long festival surrounding Mothering Sunday called 'She Inspires Me' and will focus on the person of Mary, mother of Jesus. You would be very welcome to bring your mothers and other family to this celebration service. Rehearsals will be on the four Thursdays leading up to the evensong, from 7:45 pm to 8:45 pm, with an extra rehearsal on the day. You will need to attend a minimum of two evening rehearsals as well as the rehearsal on the day in order to adequately cover the music for the service. Thursday 19 February 7:45 - 8:45pm Thursday 26 February 7:45 - 8:45pm Thursday 5 March 7:45 - 8:45pm Thursday 12 March 7:45 - 8:45pm Sunday 15 March 5-6 pm followed by service at 6:30 pm with a short tea break in between I do hope you will be interested in joining us for this special event. I would be very grateful if you would email me on [email protected] to let me know if you would like to be involved.

Julie Shaw


New Website for Christ Church

After many months of discussions and even more months of emails flying around with updated/refreshed or completely new content needing to be checked and uploaded, the new Christ Church website is finally here! Log on to www.christchurchepsom.org.uk to explore new features such as:

Clearer navigation menus Additional pages explaining the range of services New photographs reflecting life at Christ Church A calendar of events, which will be updated throughout the year

A lot of work has already gone into creating this website but it is by no means a completed task. You will see that some pages need more content and more photographs are also required - if you are able to provide either of these, please contact me on [email protected]. These are just the start point, however. Any good website needs constant attention and while I can obviously load up notice sheets and copies of CCN

regularly, it is the responsibility of everyone in the church to provide fresh content and comment... Feel free to let me or Rosemary know if you think there is anything missing or needing amending.

Leslie Jamieson

Documents

Christ Church News · 2015-01-31 · Christ Church News Page 3 This was explored in detail by Canon Julie Gittoes who led a Quiet Day in the Autumn, the conclusions of which led to