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May 2019
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together on a Sunday. We are called to be a body of people that love one
another, but also loves and serves the community of which we are part. So
many people do this, quietly and gently living out their Christian faith. It was
a meeting full of gratitude.
Amidst our thanksgiving we looked back briefly on last year. We
acknowledged staff changes – especially our new choir Director, John, and
our new Children and Families Minister, Gertine. We rejoiced in the many
services we have held and the people who were part of them. We
remembered celebrations such as centenary celebrations with Bishop
Stephen, baptisms and weddings, joint services and new ventures, and a
number of opportunities to welcome community groups and schools and
colleges into our church building. We also looked back on commemorations
and sad occasions – services to mark 100 years since the end of the First
World War, funerals of people known to many of us and a service of
thanksgiving and remembrance for those who have died.
We ended our meeting by looking ahead a little bit. We don’t know most of
what this year will bring but I hope and pray that there will be many more
times of celebration and joy. There will, of course, be change – some of
which we will have anticipated, some which will come as a surprise. But we
continue to look forward, with anticipation, with excitement, with trepidation
perhaps, but we do so knowing that we do so in the strength of the one
who created us, who loves us and who saves us and who calls us to be his
church, loving and caring for one another and welcoming all into his church.
The Revd Rachel Rosborough
The Vicar’s Letter
Last month was a busy one in the life of
the church. Easter fell towards the end of
April and so there were a number of
special services in Lent and, especially,
Holy Week. We also celebrated our
annual Gala dinner and we held church
annual meetings.
The Annual Meeting is a great time to look
back over the previous year, to celebrate
and give thanks, perhaps to mourn or
grieve where there has been loss, and to
take a moment to look ahead.
This was my second Annual Meeting at St Mark’s so I felt rather less
new than last year. However, the themes were very similar. The main
theme of the meeting was one of thanks. Thanks to God for his
faithfulness and love, but thanks to many people too.
It is always a dangerous business to thank individuals for fear of
missing someone or unintentionally making some feel less valued
than others. However, I do want to name one person among the
many who do so much. Huge thanks must go to the Revd Marguerite
Roberts, without whom I simply could not do this job of being Priest
in Charge of Newnham and Grantchester. If it wasn’t for Marguerite’s
commitment and ministry week by week, along with others who take
occasional or regular services to whom I am also very grateful, then
we would have had to make some very significant changes to the
pattern and timings of services across the two churches. This is still
something that I would like us to examine in the coming year but,
with Marguerite’s commitment to our churches and beyond, this is
something we can do in a timely manner rather than rushing into
significant change. My heartfelt thanks go to Marguerite for all she
does.
All sorts of other people were thanked at the meeting and what struck
me was the many people who contribute to the life of our church.
There is a huge number of people who simply make services happen
but, of course, the church is so much more than the time we meet
George Mann
We are sorry to hear of the death of George Mann on the 7th April. We
shall miss him greatly. The Seek Editorial Team extend their sympathy to
Sheila and to all his family.
3
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Charity of the Month
Gombe Diocese, Northern Nigeria
Instead of a report about events in Gombe filtered
through me, here is the authentic voice of the
Anglican Church in Northern Nigeria. It is a letter
of thanks to St Mark’s, printed verbatim, on behalf
of Henry Ndukuba, sent in February to Stuart
Lingard, our church treasurer. When translated
into Nigerian Naira (over 470 to the pound) our
twice-yearly gifts certainly sound substantial! We
can see in the letter the enthusiasm of the church members, their
emphasis on prayer and the Nigerian respect for titles and honours. But
most of all, the letter witnesses to their commitment as they strive to
improve their country by their own faith-inspired efforts.
Andrew Watts
Hearty Greetings in the exalted name of our Lord and Christ.
How are you and everybody in St Mark's Church?
We just concluded our Nation's general elections last weekend, thank
you for your prayer and please continue to pray for us as we wait for the
declaration of the winner of the polls.
I write to acknowledge the receipt of the sum of Nine Hundred and
Thirty-six thousand Nine Hundred and forty Naira (936,940,00) from St
Marks. We are so grateful for this support. His Grace the Archbishop
Henry C Ndukuba sends his greetings and appreciates the gift. As
always our prayer has been for God to continue to increase you and the
Church in faith, peace, and grace. We pray that your source will never
run dry.
The gifts will be used to continue the work at the School of Nursing and
Midwifery of the Diocese. The School is located at Kaltungo in Kaltungo
LGA, South of Gombe State. His grace intends that the School will take
in its first set of students by September 2019. There has been so much
progress made with regards to the project but, we still have lots more to
put in if we must achieve the timeline of September - please continue to
pray for us.
4
Again, it is my joy to inform you that the Diocese of Gombe will be 20
years by November. Hence, His grace Archbishop Henry requests that
a representative from St Mark be in attendance at the 20th Anniversary
of the Diocese, this will be a great honor for him. I will communicate
further details of the Anniversary plan to you. We are also hopeful the
Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of the Province of Nigeria will be
around for the anniversary. It will be a great occasion for us as a
Diocese.
Thank you ever so much, Stuart, for your effort and commitment to us as a Diocese. I am already working a detailed narrative report which you will get in a short while. Please extend my greeting to all our brothers in St Mark's. Thank you and God bless you.
Rev. Canon George Agun
For ++Archbishop Henry C. Ndukuba
St Mark’s Church Fête
Saturday 15th June
2.30 pm - 4.30 pm In the vicarage garden, if fine
with Music from
The Cambridge University Brass Band
All the old favourites
Tombola, Book Stall, Cakes, Plants, Toys, Bottle Stall, Children’s Games and Bouncy Castle
Teas
Giant Raffle
Admission £2.00
Rachel would love to hear from anyone who is able to help
Charity Lunches in Lent for Centre 33
A huge "Thank you" to everyone who hosted, supported and donated to the
six Charity Lunches in Lent this year. You raised £2,096.50 for the six Lent
lunches, and a further £403.50 should be recoverable under Gift Aid, so
producing an impressive total of £2,500 to help Centre 33 in their valuable
work with vulnerable young people in the community! Best of all the
lunches were all very convivial and greatly enjoyed by everyone who came.
Thank you all again for your great support and generosity.
Tina Wilson
Hilary Murray, Returnee Churchwarden
As we all know, God moves in mysterious ways! In spite of being very sure
that I did not want to be churchwarden again, after a break of six years, I
found myself saying yes when Rachel asked me. And I feel very honoured
to have been elected at the April APCM.
A reminder of my roots. Born and brought up in Barrow-in-Furness,
Cumbria. Teacher training near Birmingham. Teaching in Bristol, Harrow,
Brent, Hillingdon (Deputy Head) and, finally, at St John’s College School
here in Cambridge.
Met my husband, Roy, while acting as his French lover in a comic play
about Che Guevara at the Bristol Arts Centre. Married in 1975 and have 2
sons, now married and about to be!
I have not always been a churchgoer, though I have fond memories of
Sunday School - story, crayons, parish ‘days out’, my Church of England
Junior School and a wonderful vicar, confirmation classes and being
confirmed at the age of 13.
And then there is a long gap in regular attendance (swinging sixties?) until I
started taking my sons to the monthly family services at our church in
Harrow. Later they joined the choir and so we became more involved.
When we moved to Cambridge, we wanted to find a welcoming church and
hit the jackpot with St Mark’s - which even had a thriving drama element -
perfect!
In the six years since I stepped down as churchwarden, I have had the
pleasure of spending time with my mother, who died at the splendid age of
98 last April. ‘What will I do now?’ I wondered. As I said, God moves in
mysterious ways.
Hilary Murray
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Youth Group Event
Sunday 19th May - 3.00 pm – 5.00 pm
Experiments and explosions, discussions and DNA, fossils and fizzy
rockets! In this special afternoon session, we will use hands-on science
activities and amazing demonstrations to explore how science and
religious faith can help us consider our big questions about God, science
and our unique place in the universe. Scientists of the Faraday Institute
for Science and Religion will lead this session.
There will be a possibility of having pizza together afterwards. This
session is free, but donations are welcome. Suitable for 9 to 13 year olds.
Please sign up for this session by email: [email protected]
6
Images of God
As we go to press we are approaching the end of our series of Lent talks
where we have been looking at some of the images of God we find in the
Bible.
It has been stimulating and wide ranging and we have been privileged to
listen to such inspiring and varied speakers, many of whom have used
images and poetry to stimulate our thoughts and discussions. Each
presentation has been very different, reflecting the personality and
scholarship of the speaker, and we have been challenged by images of
God as mother, father, warrior king, shepherd, amongst others, and
seen how God is often represented through the forces of nature. It has
been good, too, to have a time for questions and comments.
Warm thanks go to all the speakers and to those who worked hard to put
the programme together.
Jane Plows
Four People Chris Hammond continues his exploration of the stained glass in St
Mark’s.
They are a diverse group. Two men, two women. Three Jews, one
Gentile. We don’t know how old they are. One is an army officer. One
may have a dubious past. One has not always proved reliable. Yet
something links them together.
These are the four people from the New Testament who are depicted in
the stained glass windows behind the altar in the apse of St Mark’s
along with Christ in the central window. In the April issue of Seek I
wrote about the Mary Magdalene window and Easter. Here are some
thoughts on the others.
A clue as to what connects the figures can be found in
the St Mark’s Parish Magazine for June 1926 which
describes the windows and their symbolism. The central
figure of Christ includes the invitation “Come unto me”
these words appearing below him. The other four
windows present some of those who respond to this call.
Thus, in the far left window we have Cornelius, the
devout centurion, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles
chapter 10 when an angel instructs him to bring Peter to
Caesarea. Cornelius is shown alone in the large upper
section while the angel’s appearance to him is in the
lower part. Next is Mary Magdalene greeting the risen
Jesus on the first Easter Day.
On the right side is Mary of Bethany, whose sister Martha complained
that she sat listening to Jesus rather than helping her in the kitchen.
This scene is shown in the lower section with Martha serving Jesus
what appear to be cupcakes. The story is told in Luke’s Gospel chapter
10 and the sisters and their brother Lazarus also feature in John
chapters 11 and 12.
The biography of John Mark, depicted in the far right window, is far
from clear. The subject was chosen as Mark the evangelist is the saint
the church is dedicated to. However, the person depicted is John Mark
who appears in Acts and some of the Pauline epistles. For instance,
when Peter is released from prison by an angel in Acts chapter 12, he
goes to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark. The release from
prison is illustrated in the lower panel of the
window with Peter accompanied by an angel. Acts
chapter 15 states Paul did not wish John Mark to
accompany him on his next journey because he
had deserted him previously. Yet Paul refers
favourably to him in some of his letters which
suggests John Mark overcame his early erratic
behaviour. It is by no means certain that John
Mark is the same person as Mark the evangelist
who wrote the second gospel but it is a possibility.
The window allows us to reflect on both the gospel
and on the life of the early church.
Easily missed at the top of the outer windows are
small symbols of the four evangelists: a human
(Matthew), lion (Mark), ox (Luke) and eagle (John). This is not the only
stained glass at St Mark’s; in the north transept as two windows of other
saints and I plan to write of these at a later date. I recommend spending a
few moments sitting quietly in church and studying the windows at leisure.
Chris Hammond
7
Tombola Stall at the Fête on the 15th June
If you are turning out your cupboards when spring-cleaning, please spare a
thought for the Tombola Stall at the Church Fête in June! Any Christmas or
birthday presents that weren't quite your cup of tea could be a valuable
addition to the Stall. We aim to offer as wide a variety of prizes as possible,
ranging from ornaments, tea towels, stationery and toiletries to children's
toys, as well as bottles (especially spirituous!), etc. - anything as long as it
is in pristine condition. Many of us are not getting any younger and we
would also welcome more helpers on the day. It's actually good fun.
Please contact Tina Wilson (366988, [email protected]) or
Rachel Rosborough ([email protected]), if you can lend a
hand on the stall. Your help would be much appreciated.
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a powerful combination of fresh
engagement with the Scriptures, the power of place and imagination and a
deep letting-go into worship and prayer in communion with other pilgrims.
Although any pilgrimage to the Holy Land is deeply personal and spiritual,
the experience can never be separated from the contemporary reality of
Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem. We were all deeply affected by our
meeting with an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Moslem who are leaders
together of the Parents' Circle, as fathers who have both lost young
daughters in the crossfire of violence, working for peace against the odds.
Previously, near Bethlehem we visited an orphanage for babies
abandoned at birth, their mothers often having been raped by someone in
their family. Catholic sisters give them love and care for their first six years.
Life becomes more uncertain thereafter. I was taken into the creche to
bless the newly-arrived babies. There could not have been a more
profound reminder of the perilousness of the life into which Jesus was
born.
People go on pilgrimage to places which are 'thin places' where the Lord
himself has been present and/or where prayer has been so constant
through many generations that people experience wonder, joy and
closeness to God. Places where, in T. S. Eliot's words inspired by Little
Gidding in this diocese, 'prayer has been valid, and is valid still'. That is
precisely the journey that we can all make at home.
Bishop Stephen’s Address to Synod
Five members of our congregation joined the diocesan
pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February. All of them
responded warmly when reading the words Bishop
Stephen used as part of his address to Synod in
March, expressing vividly some of the thoughts and
feelings they had experienced. We are reproducing a
little of his speech here.
Some of you will be aware that 58 of us from the diocese went on
pilgrimage to the Holy Land last month… Each group of pilgrims makes it
a differently rich experience of companionship, shared worship and
mutual understanding... I have a passionate concern that indigenous
Christians are supported and encouraged by Christians from the west, as
the original heartland of our faith in Iraq, Syria, Israel-Palestine and Egypt
is being eroded all the time. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters
in Christ in the ancient churches of the Middle East…
I go on pilgrimage all the way to the Holy Land or to Holy Island, or locally
to Walsingham because I trust that God is going to use both the journey
and the arriving and abiding to continue to transform me. I trust he will
continue to transform me as a disciple in the power of the Spirit and in
the incarnate and crucified love of Jesus. I want my spiritual temperature
to be raised. I want my lizard brain to be converted by an even warmer
heart by the Heart of Christ.
One of the most powerful experiences for all of us in February was our
journey through the desert to the River Jordan to renew our baptism
promises, as many of us will do again in our own churches at Easter. We
were all washed in the water and we broke free of our order of service
spontaneously to sing an American spiritual. In this profound moment we
celebrated with joy that Jesus went into the deep waters of death for us
and rose to life in triumph.
And the thing about a pilgrimage is that we learn to walk together at
different paces in different moods. The mood when we held a healing
service by the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda was one in which
vulnerability was more evident and it was fine for there to be weeping as
well as joy. Jesus healed the paralysed man and he heals us.
8
WI News
Having had papers for the AGM of the 3rd April circulated in advance,
we had a very quick satisfactory meeting. We all agreed that we should
ask members of Potton WI to join us sometimes as their branch is
closing down.
We then watched the DVD on the discovery of the body
of Richard III and we all found it very fascinating.
Following the discovery of the skeleton in a Leicester
car park there were numerous tests to confirm its
origins. When trying to date the bones it was pointed
out that his diet would have been better than most
people’s of the time and this was significant in the eventual results.
When his identity was finally confirmed, after examining the DNA of a
carpenter in Canada, a wonderful likeness of the king was made. A
special funeral service was planned and took place with the flowers
being the white rose of York and white convolvulus.
At our meeting on the 1st May we will debate this year’s resolutions and
then Alison Giles will tell us the History of Burwell, a Fenland Village.
Pat Caesar
Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2019
Eleanor Toye Scott was elected to serve for another year and Hilary
Murray was elected as the new Churchwarden. The meeting’s thanks to
Jeremy Whitton Spriggs for his three years as Churchwarden were
recorded.
Stuart Lingard agreed to continue as Treasurer.
Three members of the PCC, Judith Lewins, Debbie Whitton Spriggs and
Richard Dyball, had completed their three years on the committee and
were standing down, as was Rachel Cuthbert. Debbie will continue to
attend PCC meetings as a representative for the Deanery Synod.
Hannelore Hägele, Peter Hampson and Gill Kelly were elected as new
members and Gertine Blom was invited to attend meetings, although as a
paid employee of the church she is not entitled to full membership.
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Prayers for May
An Eastertide Hymn
The day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad; the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
our God hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.
St John of Damascus (d. c. 754)
Retired Clergy Prayer
Lord, my support in ministry, May I be a support to others;
Lord, my strength in times of frailty, May I be a strength to others.
Lord, my companion in times of loneliness, May I be a companion to others;
Lord, my light in times of darkness,
May I be a light to others; Lord, my guide in times of confusion,
May I be a guide to others; Lord, my rock, my confidence and my joy,
protect me in despair and dismay that I may complete my pilgrimage, which began,
continues and will end with hope in you. Amen
Chosen by Perrin Hardy
Ascension Day
There will be an Ascension Day Service in St Mark’s on Thursday 30th
May at 7.30 pm.
10
Regular Groups
Home Group with Bible Study : Alternate Mondays 10.30 am to 12 noon
Contact Sue Wagner
Bible Study at 3 Kings Road : Tuesdays at 7.30 pm
Contact Andrew and Angela Watts
Prayer Group at 10 Stukeley Close : Thursdays from 6.00 pm to 6.30 pm
Just turn up, or for more information, or to ask for prayer, contact Anne Howie
Friday Prayer Group at 10 Stukeley Close : Alternate Fridays at 11.00 am Contact Anne Howie
St Mark’s Choir meets on the 1st, 3rd and 5th (when applicable) Fridays of
the month from 6.00 pm to 7.15 pm in the Community Centre in term time.
Contact John Wyatt
St Mark's Church Mission Statement
To be the people of God in this place and to work to make God more
real for our community.
The June Issue of SEEK Contributions are invited and are always welcomed. Please send them by
Sunday 12th May to Jane Plows at [email protected] (350120)
or give them to any member of the committee.
Services at St Mark’s Church, Newnham
Services in May
Sundays
8.00 am
Holy Communion (1662)
10.00 am
5th May Parish Communion and Junior Church
12th May Parish Communion and Junior Church
19th May Parish Communion and Junior Church
26th May All Age Communion
There is a parent and child area in the Narthex for those with very young children at all the 10.00 am services. Refreshments follow the service and everyone is most welcome.
Evening Services
12th May at 8.00 pm Breathing Space
26th May at 6.30 pm Informal Service
On other Sundays, parishioners are invited to join the congregation at Trumpington Parish Church for BCP Evensong at 6.30 pm.
Ascension Day, Thursday 30th May
30th May at 7.30 pm Ascension Day Service
Regular Tuesday Services Weekly: Holy Communion (1662) at 11.00 am followed by coffee
Monthly: Messy Church from 3.30 pm to 5.45 pm. Join us for activities and worship for the whole family on
Tuesday 21st May.
In addition to Messy Church, St Mark’s has a wide range of children’s activities during term time, including Toddles, our toddler group, each Monday and Thursday, Bumps to Babies on a Thursday morning and
Friday Storytime every Friday.
Carers Trust : April’s Charity Almost £675 was raised for the Carers Trust in collections on the 14th
April. Very many thanks to all those who contributed so generously.
