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Parish News Benefice of Bradford on Avon Holy Trinity,
Westwood and Wingfield
November 2017
www.htboa.org
In this issue… A well-kept secret is revealed How green is Holy Trinity? And a lorry called ‘Glory be to God’ Plus all the latest news from around the Benefice...
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DIRECTORY FOR HOLY TRINITY
Rector The Revd Canon Joanna Abecassis, 18A Woolley St, BoA BA15 1AF [email protected] Tel: 864444 Associate Priest The Revd Dr Ali Green, 36 Budbury Close, BoA BA15 1QG [email protected] Tel: 0785 547 0069
Churchwarden David Milne, 37 Palairet Close, BA15 1UT Tel: 864341 Churchwardens’ Vernon Burchell [email protected] Tel: 862782 Team June Harrison [email protected] Tel: 863745 Chris Hodge [email protected] Tel: 869357 Jane Jones [email protected] Tel: 862981
Benefice Administrator Sally Palmer-Walton [email protected]
Admin Assistant Aylene Clack [email protected] Retired Clergy The Ven John Burgess, Canon David Driscoll, The Revd Alun Glyn-Jones, Canon Peter Hardman, The Revd Jim Hill, The Ven Ian Stanes, The Revd Karl Wiggins. Director of Music Martin Cooke [email protected] Tel 01985 248866 Times of Services Holy Trinity (Check Bulletins and notices or Church website) Sundays 8am Eucharist (Traditional language) 9.30am Eucharist (coffee afterwards) 2nd Sundays 9.30am ‘In the Round’ (coffee afterwards) 6pm Evensong, Compline, etc Weekday Eucharist 10am Wednesdays 12 noon Fridays (Traditional language) with lunch out afterwards Daily Morning and Evening Prayer at 8.30am and 5.30pm (except Sunday and Tuesday) Times of Meetings mainly music 10.30am, Tuesdays Choir Practice 6.30pm, Tuesdays Mothers’ Union 2.30pm, usually 3rd Thursday of every month Saxon Club 2–4pm every Tuesday except August Bell Practice 7.30–9pm 2nd and 4th Mondays Benefice website www.htboa.org Weekly Bulletin Notices to Sally Palmer-Walton not later than Wednesday for the following Sunday please.
Please see the bulletin or visit www.htboa.org for more details on service times and locations.
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HOLY TRINITY
DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 2017
2 Thursday 12 noon All Souls Eucharist
8pm Contemplative Hour St Mary Tory
4 Saturday 6.30pm Confirmation Service Salisbury Cathedral
5 SUNDAY ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
9.30am Sung Eucharist
6pm Lighten our Darkness service for the bereaved
7 Tuesday 2pm Saxon Club
10 Friday 7pm HT Friends’ Fish ‘n Chips Quiz Night United Church Hall
12 SUNDAY REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
8am No Service Today
9am Said Eucharist with Hymns
10.15am Town Remembrance Service
10.55am Act of Remembrance Westbury Gardens
6pm Eucharist for Healing and Wholeness
14 Tuesday 2pm Saxon Club
15 Wednesday 7pm Holy Trinity PCC The Vicarage
16 Thursday 11am-1pm Trinity Café – Christmas Crafts
2.30pm Mothers’ Union – ‘Grave Talk’ with Joanna Abecassis
17 Friday 6.30 for 7.30pm
Inaugural Organ Recital with Peter King - with a Reception first to meet the organist and the Harrison & Harrison team
19 SUNDAY THE SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT
9.30am Sung Eucharist
2.15pm Holy Baptism of Nia Crymble
4-5.30pm Messy Church
21 Tuesday 2pm Saxon Club
25 Saturday 7.30pm Bath Camerata concert
26 SUNDAY CHRIST THE KING
9.30am Sung Eucharist
6pm Evensong
28 Tuesday 2pm Saxon Club
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WEEKLY GROUPS Monday 7.30pm (fortnightly) ‘Faith Explored’ (for venue ring Erin Shields-Pett on 684460) Tuesday 10.30am mainly music (a group for young children school term only), Holy Trinity
Crossword Answers: ACROSS: 1, Jehoiachin. 7, Endured. 8, Eased. 10, Rash. 11, Startled. 13, Easier. 15, Rubric. 17, Impurity. 18, Feet. 21, Eye at. 22, Ready to. 23, Holy Spirit. DOWN: 1, Judas. 2, Harm. 3, Is duty. 4, Cheerful. 5, Insular. 6, Jezreelite. 9, Dedication. 12, Secretly. 14, Supremo. 16, Stir up. 19. Egypt. 20, Hair.
WESTWOOD & WINGFIELD
DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 2017
5 SUNDAY ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
9.30am Morning Prayer Wingfield
11.15am Family Service Westwood
12 SUNDAY REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
9.30am Holy Communion with Act of Re-membrance
Wingfield
10.55am Service of Remembrance Westwood
19 SUNDAY THE SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT
9.30am Family Service Wingfield
11.15am Mattins (BCP) Westwood
20 Monday 10.30am Holy Communion The Fullers’ House, 36B Church Lane
26 SUNDAY CHRIST THE KING
9.30am Holy Communion Wingfield
11.15am Holy Communion Westwood
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A t the beginning of November, on Saturday 4, we celebrate a very
exciting day in the life of Holy Trinity as five of our members,
Holly, Lucy and Millie Lewis, and Amelia and Olivia Proudman are going to be confirmed at Salisbury Cathedral. And by all accounts they
have been having a great time in preparation with Ali. Meanwhile, we
celebrate this year the 500th anniversary of the start (well, notional start) of the Reformation – and it was on 31 October 1517 that Martin Luther is
said to have nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg
Castle church. So I have been pondering what, if anything, these two momentous events and the thinking behind them have in common.
With the Confirmation Service, there is actually a two-way confirmation going on. So these five will be confirming their faith in God, the faith into
which they were baptised, and I had the privilege of baptising three of
them not so long ago, so it will be an exciting day for me too. But also the bishop will be asking God, through his Holy Spirt, to confirm them: ‘God
has called you by name and made you his own…Confirm, O Lord, your
servant with your Holy Spirit.’ Really special words affirming a really special moment. And I like that sense of mutuality: it is a very ‘grown up’
and intimate moment between the candidate and God when they
‘connect’ very closely. And of course that moment won’t last for ever, but then they will be able to restore the joy of that ‘connection’ whenever they
receive Holy Communion for the rest of their lives.
One of the comments our last confirmees made was that now they felt
they truly belonged, the missing link had been placed, the circle squared.
But one of the reasons I share this with you is that I think it is actually really important for us all to re-confirm our faith and to revisit these vitally
important sacramental moments in our lives regularly. We do so by the
regular receiving of Holy Communion, but surely we also need to revisit those other great moments of our baptism, our confirmation, our
marriage and even our ordination? It is all too easy to become
complacent, and so always good to pause and reflect and confirm before God our faith in him, listen for him as he confirms his faith in and love for
us, and re-affirm the promises made on that day. We quite often affirm our
baptismal vows on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ or at Easter. And
To confirm or to reform?
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clergy affirm their ordination vows at the Chrism Mass in the cathedral
every year on Maundy Thursday.
I think Martin Luther would approve! After all he was wanting to
encourage the church to move away from the ecclesiastical excesses and ‘cheap grace’ of the past which it had gradually slid into, and (back)
towards the ways of Christ, the ways of faith: to start a debate. Well, he
certainly succeeded on that score! And (on the plus side) we were left by the end of the Reformation period, and the work of all the reformers, with
the glories of the Book of Common Prayer, Tyndall’s translation of the
Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek for the first time, and the extraordinary music of composers such as Tallis and Byrd. The
Reformation was, if nothing else, about change – which we have come to
see as an intrinsic part of the Christian journey, as we are ‘transformed from one degree of glory to another’. And so perhaps it is indeed true to
say that both reformation and confirmation are essential to the
development of our lives of faith, and are the necessary ingredients for that transformation for which we yearn?
With my love and prayers and every blessing,
FROM THE REGISTERS
Wedding
Nicky Little and Kelly York 6 October Ruairi Ferguson and Rachel Armstrong 7 October
Baptism
Vienna Mae Harding-Wyatt 8 October
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PRIMATES DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE
D isappearing islands, recent
hurricanes and food security
issues were high profile agenda items as the leaders of Anglican
churches around the world met in
October. Climate change and the environment were a major part
of the agenda of the Anglican
Primates’ Meeting in Canterbury. Barbados-based Primate of the
West Indies, the Most Revd John
Holder, briefed his colleagues on recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.
He said that he welcomed the pri-
mates’ discussion on the environ-ment, and that it was “very im-
portant” for the Church to speak
out on climate change: “We are connecting these two devastating
hurricanes [Irma and Maria] to
climate change,” he said. Archbishop George Takeli, the
Primate of Melanesia, said, “For
me – and especially for us in Mela-
nesia – it is actually an urgent matter.” The Primate of Southern
Africa and Archbishop of Cape
Town, the Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba, encouraged his fellow-
primates to think about “the
linkage between social justice and climate justice.”
Recognised as a leading champi-
on of environmental concerns, he welcomed the discussions. “What I
hope will come from this meeting
is a commitment by each primate to pray for social justice issues …
the climate, the environment, the
earth … ought to be cared for.” Archbishop George added,
“What I begin to sense from the
Primates’ Meeting is that all of us are moving towards creating a
strong network to work together
between the primates, addressing the issues of climate change and
other issues together.”
ORDINAND NUMBERS UP
T hose entering training for the priesthood in the Church of England is
at the highest level for a decade. The number of ordinands starting training this autumn is 544 – up 14 per cent on last year, according to
statistics from the ministry division.
Behind the new figures is a continued trend of reducing clergy numbers, reflecting the increasing age of Church of England clergy – with many
reaching retirement age. The increases in the number of ordinands is part
of the Church of England’s response to the age profile, which includes a programme to increase the number of candidates for ordination by 50 per
cent by 2020.
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T he visit of Archbishop Justin Welby to South Kordofan
State (Kadugli) in the Nuba moun-
tains last July has had a major impact in the area, according to
the electronic newsletter Tabaldi.
The visit, Tabaldi stated, was the first for some time by an interna-
tionally recognised figure, and will
help to bring peace to the area, since it will bring it to the attention
of the global community.
Meanwhile, news has arrived via Dave Lewis, the Link person for
the Kadugli Diocese, from St
Luke’s Church in Kekuma Camp, Kadugli. Local resident Moklis Bolis
reports: “The day passed of the
Episcopal Diocese of Kadugli St Luke Parish graduations for three
groups Sunday School, Teenegers
and Melado which had never hap-pened in our previous years. But it P
ho
to: J
amie
McD
ine
(W
iltsh
ire
Wed
din
g P
hot
ogra
phy)
T om Pelham, who left his post as
Director of Music at Holy Trinity to
study at Cuddesdon, returned to church on 23 September to marry his fiancé
Sarah Green.
The nuptial communion service was conducted by a delighted Joanna, and
they were joined by many members of
Holy Trinity, who afterwards enjoyed nibbles and bubbles in the church. We
wish them both every happiness together!
CONGRATULATIONS TOM & SARAH!
KADUGLI UPDATE
was marvellous thanks to God in
cooperation with United Methodist
and Sudanese Church of Christ… May the Lord keep maturing you in
spirit and use you for His purpose.”
Dave says, “The graduation event for Sunday School at St Luke’s is
taken very seriously as it is a key
mechanism for growing Christians and providing core moral founda-
tions as well as education. It is very
much seen as creating the identity of the people there.”
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FISH ‘N’ CHIPS SUPPER QUIZ
D on’t miss the Friends of Holy Trinity’s Syndicate Teams Fish n
Chips Supper Quiz on Friday, 10 November at 6.30pm for a
7pm start. The event will be held in the United Church Hall and costs £10 per head including a Fish and Chip supper and a soft drink.
6 per team, form your own or join another! If interested, please let Mike
Fuller (864122) or John Cox (864270) know ASAP.
GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL
A Mothers’ Union holiday scheme, Away From It All,
helps people experiencing stress in
their family life. MU member Rosie Stiven reports on a week at the
Sidholme Hotel, Sidmouth, with 22
adults and 44 children. The highlights of the
week included the visit to
the Donkey Sanctuary. When we visited, the don-
keys were delighted to
see us and made sure that they all came out to say ‘Hello’.
There was never a dull moment. If
you didn’t want to swim in the sea, there was always that gorgeous,
indoor heated swimming pool to
use. As the week progressed, the sun came out and stayed there.
The week ended on a high note – not only did the Red Arrows come
roaring over the hotel, en route to
their display over the Bay, but eve-ryone took part in a fantastic Tal-
ent Show. It was wonderful week.
Having welcomed some ex-tremely anxious, tired and nerv-
ous families on the first Satur-
day, we said tearful farewells to relaxed, calm and happy fami-
lies at the end of the week.
Here is a ‘thank you’ from one of them: “For actually getting me to
let my guard down and trust others,
with my children; for enabling me to forget about work for a few days,
and giving me the time and energy
to talk and laugh and to make new friends, I say “thank you”.
A concert of uplifting music for Remembrance Sunday is being given by Cantamus Chamber Choir with string orchestra on Sunday, 12
November, 7.30pm, at the Wiltshire Music Centre.
The programme includes Sunrise Mass by Ola Gjeilo and Holberg Suite by Grieg, and is directed by Mike Daniels. Tickets are available from the
WMC box office, 01225 860100. Prices: £16 and £10.
MUSIC FOR REMEMBRANCE
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MAINLY MUSIC
M ainly Music celebrates its seventh birthday this month
and remains as popular now as it was in the beginning.
When we begin the new term each September, we do miss some of the families who are no longer eligible to come. How-
ever, we have some lovely new families as well as the ones who were part
of the previous group. It is a joy to see new relationships being formed, child with child, parent with parent, and the whole group developing into a
cohesive caring unit.
One thing that helps with the group’s dynamics is a newborn baby and we have a new little boy. Bobby was born on 1st August and he and mum
are already regulars. Sarah, one of our mums who came with her boys,
now comes to help run the group. Sylvia, one of our regular churchgoers, visits us most weeks and when I said to her that she comes along to see
her granddaughter and great-granddaughter, she replied, ‘No, I come
along to see everyone’. We look forward to our eighth year enjoying fun & fellowship, rhyme, rhythm and song.
Marlene Haffenden
T he modernisation of West-
wood Parish Rooms, next to
Westwood Church, has now been completed. Thanks to the generosi-
ty of local people and organisations
improvements have been made to the external appearance of the
building and the inside is now fitted
out with new catering standard kitchen facilities, new toilets and
baby changing facilities, disabled
access and a modern fresh look. New events and activities are
now being booked as people see
the splendid facilities on offer – these include regular clubs like
yoga or Pilates, one off events and
even a “pop up” restaurant! It also ran as a tea rooms during the sum-
mer months and was very success-
ful, attracting many people who were visiting Westwood Manor or
just passing.
The Parish Rooms are run by local people as Trustees on behalf
of the village – the tea rooms are
run by volunteers to provide funds for the upkeep of the parish rooms
alongside income from activities,
events and clubs. For further information or to make a booking,
contact Belinda Lawrie on 01225
868371 or [email protected].
PARISH ROOMS A SUCCESS
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Left: HRH the Duke of Gloucester looks around with Joanna, architects George Chedburn and Angela Dudley and Robert Floyd, DL of Great Chalfield Manor
A Well-Kept Secret
A phone call one day from Robert Floyd of Great Chal-
field Manor led to a hive of
activity in preparation for a visit from HRH Prince Richard, The Duke
of Gloucester, HM The Queen’s first
cousin and a qualified architect, to Holy Trinity on Thursday, 5 October.
And on one of the recces from the
Lord-Lieutenant’s and the Duke’s own staff, they were so struck by
what they saw that the visit was
‘upgraded’ from 15-30 minutes: “I feel that HRH should be allowed to
lead the way and gaze and wonder
at it all in his own time, with you on hand to provide information
and answer any questions. It is so
beautiful; I was blown away by it and I am sure HRH will be too”.
And he did indeed lead the way
in wandering round the church, having first been introduced to
me, and then I presented to him Ali, David as Churchwarden, the
Churchwardens Team, and George
and Angela our architects. It was a glorious sunny day and so, at
12.30pm, the light reflected
through the south windows was particularly beautiful.
HRH started off by asking ques-
tions about the new floor and the Trinity motif. ‘What’s that all
about?” Then he answered his own
question! And proceeded to exam-ine closely the new Treske oak fur-
niture, asking if the seats made “a
dreadful scraping noise” when moved? We assured him they did
not! Then he commented that we
must have tried out quite a few to get it just right. We assured him
that we had! I suggested that
he might like a ‘test drive’ - but he declined.
He was particularly in-
terested in all the me-morials and in trying to
read all their inscrip-
tions (including the ones in Latin!) – in
13
Right: A letter of thanks
the Willis organ-building family –
and in the story of the
Metsys painting. He thought that Christ
(Blessing) looked
rather sad – as did Charles Steward, mi-
nus his little finger! He
admired the design of the kitchen and com-
mented that he was
the Vice-Patron of the National Churches Trust
(who didn’t give us a
grant!) and so saw lots of interesting new
kitchens tucked away in
churches on his travels. The Duke was also
intrigued by the history of
both church and town, and how the church had devel-
oped architecturally down
the years, including hearing about the chantry chapels –
and liked the pillars with
‘ribbons’ of the north aisle. He even read the Vicars’
name-board and learned
something about the techni-calities of why the Vicar of
Holy Trinity had become a
Rector! Standing there
Above: Robert Floyd (left) leaves Holy Trinity with the Duke of Gloucester for lunch at Great Chalfield Manor. Mr Floyd later emailed Joanna with the comment, “Very many thanks for organising a very happy Visit for HRH: he enjoyed it all and Holy Trinity was a highlight”.
14
M ervyn Harris continues
his article about a popu-lar local exhibition…
Bradford on Avon Museum
added photographs and objects from its own collection to the re-
cent Wiltshire at War exhibition
held at its premises. These includ-ed photographs from the Red
Cross Hospital at Avoncliff that
was established 100 years ago in 1917; and of the Church Lads Bri-
gade, many of whose members
went on to fight in the war and some to die in it.
The Red Cross Hospital was set
up at Avoncliff in the building that had been a Union Workhouse since
the 1830s. Dr Charles Fleming from
BoA was the hospital’s medical
officer. The patients had periodic
outings on a canal barge called the Bittern. The hospital closed
in 1922.
The Church Lad’s Brigade was an Anglican Church organisation
that trained boys in a militaristic
manner. Bradford’s Company was formed in 1907, in association with
Christchurch and Mr OP Skrine,
whose father lived at Warleigh Manor. The Company celebrated
the end of the War in 1918 with a
parade, ending in Victory Field. Under the banner “Digging for
Victory”, a group called “Patriotic
Gardeners of Holt” was formed. But the only time they could meet
was on Sundays, which incurred
the ire of many religious people in
Wiltshire At War
gave me an opportunity to tell him about all the concerts taking
place, Messy Church and the
Trinity Café. I think he was quite impressed at how well the church
was being used.
As he pondered the High Altar and reredos (with its lamb and
pelican), he asked, with a wry
smile, if all this work had led to an increase in the size of the
congregation? I replied that we
were working on it, but that people did really love to be in the church
now and felt very welcome and at home. And he was interested
to hear about the former ‘English
Altar’ with its steps up, its riddle posts and its dark red curtains
which had completely blocked the
light, the reredos and the lower portion of the east window.
Before HRH left, he asked to
see the ‘before’ pictures which he barely recognised. “It must
have been very dark”, he said.
We agreed. Joanna
15
the village. The Exhibition displayed a photograph of 40
Holt gardeners.
The exhibition featured several poignant stories about individual
people. One in particular, about
a girl who wanted to be a news reporter from the Front Line, was
especially powerful. Such reporting
was understandably banned, but she made her way to France,
disguised herself as a soldier and
nearly reached the Front Line before being discovered, arrested,
interrogated and then sent back to
England. Her health deteriorated, and she was sent to a lunatic
asylum because she was deemed
“garrulous” and “a nuisance”. She died in 1964 alone and forgotten.
A local artist, Dawn Gorman,
wrote some poems about
WW1 and
these were interspersed
amongst the
stories. She evoked powerful
images of the
unimaginable traumas and
difficulties that
people experi-enced during
those awful
years of WW1. Are some sacrifices
too great for us to comprehend?
Around 1000 people were record-ed as visiting the exhibition, and
some very appreciative comments
were left in the visitors book. An-other exhibition may be set up
next year, in 2018, the centenary
of the end of WW1. Mervyn Harris
www.bradfordonavon
museum.co.uk
Below: A special event was held
for children to dress in military and nursing uniform and to be
instructed in drilling and bandag-
ing. More than 120 children and their parents attended. Thanks to
staff from Trowbridge Museum who
staged the event.
16
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W e have recently under-
taken a full review of
all our energy suppliers and after scouring the market we
have changed to a 100% Green
Tariff on a fixed rate for the next 2 years. It’s estimated that this will
save us close to £2k over the term of
the contract. A certificate to confirm this has
now been received and
is on display in the no-ticeboard to indicate
that we are meeting
one of the key objec-tives of the Diocese as
well as saving us mon-
ey. Our new underfloor heating system is also
designed to be
energy efficient and will help us to reduce our carbon footprint.
Continuing with the sustainable
theme, we have changed suppliers and will be purchasing all the
required cleaning materials,
hand wash, etc (all eco friendly!) from Christine's Sustainable
Supermarket, Weavers Walk BoA.
This is working out really well and when we need to replenish stock
Jane or I will take the existing con-
tainers to be refilled, which has the double benefit of saving money
and reducing the amount of plastic
bottles and packaging which is
helpful to the environment. I am
happy to undertake this duty as I
have discovered a very tasty and healthy range of energy bars which
come in very handy for a snack on
the golf course. Moving forward, Holy Trinity
Hospitality Group will be purchas-
ing their supplies for your weekly post-service Fair Trade refresh-
ments from this outlet. Not
only does this fulfill our eco/Fair Trade commitment, we
are also seen to be support-
ing a local business which has a similar ethos to the
Church and who provide
excellent customer service at a competitive price.
As a thank you for our cus-
tom Christine has offered us a dis-count of 15% for all Church related
purposes. We were also fortunate
enough to source our fully organic Harvest Loaf from her as well!
Geoff Jones
Treasurer
How Green is Holy Trinity?
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Pr
ayer
Pa
ths
O ver the past few months
we have been looking at the Beatitudes, given by
Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5:3–12 ). Each Beatitude gives us a clue as
to how we can live in Jesus’ path,
deepening our awareness of and relationship with the God who is
Love, and learning through the
experience of self-emptying that the Kingdom of Heaven is
within us.
St Paul says of Jesus (Phil 2:6-8): Though his state was that of
God,
yet he did not deem equality with God
something he should cling to.
Rather, he emptied himself, and assuming the state of a
slave,
he was born in human likeness. He, being known as one of us,
humbled himself, obedient
unto death, even death on the cross.
So we try to put Jesus’ teaching
into practice in our daily lives. In doing so we partake in sharing
those qualities of divine love,
healing and hope that are essential to the well-being of all people –
and indeed all creatures.
During a visit to Malmö in southern Sweden on All Saints Day
2016, Pope Francis said that
Christ's followers today are called "to confront the troubles
and anxieties of our age with the
spirit and love of Jesus." New situations require new
energy and a new commitment,
he said, and then he offered a new list of beatitudes for all
modern Christians:
"Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils
inflicted on them by others
and forgive them from their heart."
"Blessed are those who look into
the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them
their closeness."
"Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to
make others also discover him."
"Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home."
"Blessed are those who
renounce their own comfort in order to help others."
"Blessed are those who
pray and work for full communion between
Christians."
These suggested modern Beatitudes may give us prayerful
thought on our own walk
with God. Ali Green
Beatitudes for Modern Christians
19
Above: Lorry loaded with South Sudanese refugees at Morobi Camp
I n July this year I visited some of the South Sudanese families that
are now living in Ugandan refu-
gee camps following the desperate situation in their own country where
government forces are fighting re-
bels to such a level that over 1.5 mil-lion people have had to leave their
homes to find safety.
In the midst of all this unrest is a lorry called ‘Glory be to God’. It
was bought by St James Church,
Devizes in 2014 to help with mis-sion-based work by the Diocese of
Kajo Keji within the southernmost
part of South Sudan. In 2014 this part of the country was relatively
peaceful with people going about
their daily lives of subsistence farming and raising families.
The day the lorry arrived, follow-ing some work in Uganda, it was
obvious that this was going to be a
lorry due for big work, beyond what had ever been imagined; it
was going to be part of some chal-
lenging battles. Within one week of its arrival
there were troubles between the
South Sudanese and Ugandans that live in the Ugandan border
town of Moyo. The South Suda-
nese government decided to evict the helpful and skilled Ugandan
workers from the country, which
led to unrest between the two nationalities. People were being
killed and the South Sudanese
wanted to escape back to their home country for safety. The lorry
A Lorry Called ‘Glory be to God’
20
Left: The Glory to God lorry in 2014
started to perform its work, bring-ing truckloads of people and their
possessions back across the border
to safety, and in doing so lives were saved.
Costly Repair About 6 months later the lorry
broke down. A complex and
delicate electronic injector system had failed and would need a costly
repair. Roads in South Sudan are
very hard on vehicles and are impassable for an average family
car. The lorry sat on the grass
outside the Diocese office for one year. I had several strained
conversations with Ugandan engi-
neers who, when I asked what was wrong with it, simply told me,
“The lorry is broken.”
St James reviewed what it could do to help fix the lorry and offered
to pay 50% of the repair charge.
The repair was duly carried out and
during the summer of 2016 I saw it back in action.
Then in January this year the
troubles really kicked off, leading to the mass dispersion of the
South Sudanese from their homes,
with over 1 million heading to UN refugee camps in Uganda.
During my trip to the camps in
July I wondered what had hap-pened to the lorry but didn't ask
because so much property had
been damaged or stolen that it might have been difficult for them
to reply. But on a trip to a camp in
Morobi, with 150,000 South Sudanese people, I saw the lorry
by the roadside being loaded up
with refugees. I have to admit to shedding a small tear when I
saw it.
This seems like a lorry that is destined
to have adventures
and, in keeping with its name, to bring
glory to God through
its work with the refugees of
South Sudan.
Adrian Burholt
21
22
Fa
milies
How Science Touches our Lives
W hat amenities are regarded as “essential”
for a family today?
Certainly a supply of fresh, wholesome drinking water along
with piped sanitation to dispose
of the used water. Then municipal collection and disposal of solid
waste materials used in packaging,
notably our foodstuffs. These are recycled or sent to landfill. Thirdly,
a constant, reliable supply of
electricity and gas for cooking and for space heating, now that coal
has been largely phased out.
Electricity is also essential for lighting, communications,
entertainment and a host of
other uses.
Technological Advances
Older citizens, especially those brought up in the countryside,
recall houses with no bathrooms
and only a single toilet at the bottom of the garden with no flush
and a bucket to be emptied.
Many rural houses had no piped water, necessitating a daily trip to
the nearest well. Lighting was by
oil lamp, often with just one lamp in the house. These conditions
were widespread in Britain just
eighty years ago and exist still in less developed parts of
the world.
Things have moved on, thanks to advances in technology and
to growing overall prosperity.
Nowadays telephones, refrigerators, freezers, TV sets,
computers, cars and a host of
gadgets are regarded by many families as “essentials”.
Local Electricity Even in remote parts of the world
where it is too expensive to install
mains electricity it is now possible to use electrical devices thanks
to local electricity generation by
solar panels or wind turbines and batteries to store the electricity
for use at night. This allows remote
African and Asian villages to pump water and purify it for
drinking; to have lights, TV sets,
mobile satellite phones and, crucially, refrigeration to store
food and medicines.
All of these amenities stem from advances in basic physics.
Take solar panels for example;
continued research has led to major gains in efficiency of
converting sunlight to electricity.
This, in turn, has made them practical devices for further
applications. As world demand
grew, production expanded and prices fell, making solar panels
available to a wide range of
23
enthusiastic consumers in less
developed countries.
Ups And Downs
Sadly, many modern inventions also have a downside to their use—
think of pollution in cities from
vehicle exhaust emissions and the number of premature deaths they
cause, and the pollution of the
oceans from waste plastic materials. As these threats are
recognised, other scientists
address them. Vehicle exhaust emissions have been reduced
drastically by the introduction of
catalytic converters for petrol engines and particle traps for
diesel engines. Non-degradable
plastics are now being replaced by bio-degradable versions.
Every advance in science and
technology has the potential to be used for good or for evil. Many
modern amenities that we cherish are spin-offs from national defence
programmes. The jet engine and
radar, without which air travel would be virtually impossible, were
developed for military purposes.
So also was atomic energy, now a major source of our electricity.
Again, the isotopes used in
medical diagnosis and the treatment for cancer stem from
nuclear research programmes.
Those who make the basic scientific advances upon which
these technologies depend are
generally motivated by intellectual curiosity and a desire to do good
in the world. They cannot foresee
all the possible applications of their technology, whether good
nor evil. It is for others to monitor
and regulate these developments, paying regard to all the accom-
panying ethical considerations.
Left: Small-scale solar ener-gy production can transform the family lives of remote rural villagers Photo: Practical Action
24
Pollution—A Christian Perspective 2
L ast month we looked at pol-
lution caused by vehicles. We
should also address plastic pollution quite urgently. First some
background:
Subtropical Gyres
Plastic pollution is a relatively new
problem, but developing at a frighteningly rapid rate. It is esti-
mated that we now add very
roughly 12 million tons of plastic to our oceans every year. Ocean cur-
rents concentrate plastic in five ar-
eas in the world known as the sub-tropical gyres (also known as the
world’s "ocean garbage patches").
Once in these patches, the plastic will not go away by itself. The chal-
lenge of cleaning up the gyres is
that the plastic pollution is spread across millions of square kilome-
tres and travels in all directions.
Clearing these areas using ves-sels and nets in a direct way would
take tens of thousands of years
and cost billions of dollars to com-
plete. However by using ocean
currents and a bit of cunning it is possible to do a lot much more
rapidly, and much more cheaply.
For more details see www.theoceancleanup.com.
Of course we should also use
much less plastic anyhow as far as possible; it is encouraging that
the recent small charge for plastic
bags has led to a dramatic reduc-tion in their use, - some 83%
according to the BBC. And we
should demand that manufactur-ers use minimum plastic packaging
(or none at all – who remembers
buying a hinge, say, from a pile rather than in a package which
seems to require a PhD in package-
opening?) Together with the use of biodegradable materials we should
be able to reduce the amount and
toxicity of much of what seems in-evitably, despite our efforts, to end
in the sea.
Left: Ocean “garbage patches” (theoeancleanup.com)
25
So there are things we can do,
and things we can demand of our politicians and manufacturers. Alt-
hough it would cost something the
figures look possible if we accept a small reduction in new cars/
televisions etc. – and can we afford
not to? On an individual basis, of course we should reuse plastic
bottles appropriately, and not just
throw them away; when we do dispose of them they should be
recycled if possible (they mostly
are). At Holy Trinity we are doing something positive as a church by
acting as bottle-refilling stop for
passers-by, both as part of our strong commitment to being part
of the community, locally and
more generally, and as far as
pollution is concerned. Am I optimistic? Well, sort of -
because I think there are enough
people of influence who seem to be on-board. We all can also do
something to encourage them by
signing petitions on-line – for ex-ample https://secure.greenpeace.
org.uk/page/s/plastics-pledge to
tackle the plastic problem. Let the last words be from the
Bible: “The land is mine and you
reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land
that you hold as a possession, you
must provide for the redemption of the land.” Leviticus 25 23, 24
Nicholas Nutt
26
Small Pilgrim Places 10: Enham to Stoneham
I t would be easy to drive along the busy A343 towards Andover
and have no clue that an ancient
hamlet and Saxon church lie close by on a quiet lane.
Here in 1008 King Ethelred the
Unready met his archbishops to discuss the Viking invasions and
the role of the king and the Church.
The king affirmed that he would uphold Christianity and just king-
ship. The small Saxon church from
those days is now the chancel of the present building. A nave was
added in the 12th century, and
medieval knights travelling nearby ancient routes would rest here.
The church of St Michael and
All Angels stands just off the lane, its squat timber bell-turret dwarfed
by mature churchyard trees.
Approaching a low door in a small timber porch set between small
square windows, I had the feeling
of entering a Hobbit house as
much as a church. The nave and chancel are simply and comforta-
bly furnished. An ancient door on
the north wall leads to a vestry. On the outside of this is set a stone
figure of a human head, perhaps
originating from the 12th century. He seems to be thoughtfully
gazing across the churchyard to
the fields beyond. Leaving Knight’s Enham I joined
the National Cycle Route 246
southwards along the banks of the River Anton, at first through
the suburbs of Andover and then
villages of brick and whitewashed cottages under low thatched roofs.
The Anton eventually joins the
River Test, and from here the cycle route runs down the Test Valley
sandwiched between the main
road and the river. I gained only tantalising glimpses of
the river itself; it was mostly
hidden from view by strips of dense alder carr and wet
meadows. Every track leading
off the route bore warning sings: “Private Land – No
Unauthorised Access”. The
Test is a celebrated trout- and salmon-fishing river, so only
the wealthy and licensed may
tread its banks. Part of my Above: The ancient church of St Michael and All Angels in Knights’ Enham
27
route joined the Monarch’s Way
running along the old Sprat and
Winkle railway line which ended its days under the Beeching cuts.
I turned onto the NCR 24 to head
to Romsey for an overnight stop, and had time to visit the Sir Harold
Hillier Gardens, a fascinating
destination for garden-lovers with its arboretum and many
plant collections.
The following morning I headed east towards Southampton,
entering more acidic land where I
noticed the bright yellow and red caps of early Russula toadstools
popping up under birch and conifer
trees. St Mary’s Church, South Stoneham, is hidden beside
university halls of residence
amongst the busy northern suburbs between the M27 and
M3 interchanges.
As I arrived, hospitaller Ann Lew-in was waiting for me. Ann showed
me round, pointing out the sundial
high up on the tower wall, the fine organ in the gallery above the west
door, and the font dating from the
12th century. Recorded in Domes-day Book, the building originates
from Norman times and features a
pointed chancel arch with Norman pillars and capitals, showing the
transitional style that led to the
Gothic period of architecture.
Around this time the church was under the care of the Benedictine
monastery at Winchester Cathe-
dral. In the south transept, a Victorian addition, are attractive
interpretation boards telling the
long history of the building from Norman times onwards.
Surrounding St Mary’s, the
largest Small Pilgrim Place on my journey so far, is a pleasant church-
yard, tended weekly by a group of
volunteers. As I left, Dave, who had been busy that morning mowing
the grass, picked a handful of
apples from a tree which, he said, had been planted by a former vicar.
He told me the variety, and the
irony of its name only struck me as I tucked into its pink-flecked flesh
on my way home. Apparently it’s
called “Red Devil”. Ali Green
Above: St Mary’s Church, South Stone-ham has Norman origins
28
29
SPONSORED BIKE RIDE SUCCESS
Your Letters
F ollowing our bike ride in aid of the Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust, I would like to thank all our sponsors. We are pleased to report that
£420 was dispatched.
Ed Shaw
POSTCARDS BACK ON THE AGENDA
I am very pleased to say that a new collector for the Sudan
Church Association has kindly
offered to continue receiving any old postcards.
Please take any cards you have
to Joyce Harrington at the HUB,
Church Street, Bradford on Avon. They will be taken to Salisbury
from there. As before, stamps
must be left on, and any number of cards can be handed in; don't
throw a single card away.
Muriel Freeborn
HOSTING WITH HOSTUK
H OST UK is a charity whose mission is to give a
welcome to international
students in British homes for friend-ship and cultural exchange. We
operate all year round including
Christmas and New Year when being welcomed into a home is
vastly preferable to lonely
halls of residence. Hospitality can be
offered for one day
(daytime only), three days and two nights at the
weekend, or at New Year,
or four days and three nights during the Christ-
mas festive period. The
choice is yours. And re-
member...your offer can be made
at any time of the year. If you
would like to find out more please visit www.hostuk.org or email:
[email protected] or phone: 020
7739 6292 Melanie Bennett
General Administrator HOST UK
30
A new Term One 6th former was heard to comment, “I can hardly
remember the summer”. Schools always have to hit the ground running. Y12 are finding out that the 6th form is not so easy as
they thought.
Y7 are just getting used to being here and finding their feet. They have been on a challenge teambuilding exercise at Brokerswood – a new
addition to our Challenge Programme at St Laurence. Y10 have begun
their GCSEs and Y11 are in their final dash to mock exams in November. Two parents’ evenings have happened and our Open Evening was on 27th
September. Before the half-term holiday Y8 set off to the Lake District,
having followed the idea of the Lakes in poetry, art and history to deepen their appreciation of that beautiful and natural landscape.
On 29th September, the school had its
annual Race for Life charity event on the school field. Despite a soft drizzle at the
beginning, the weather cleared to lovely
sunshine which matched the mood of our students, raising money for cancer
research. The theme in Collective
Worship this term is Unity and there was no finer example than the Race for
Life, the school as one helping other
people. There are also tutorial activities based on these themes as well as our
question-time panel at the end of term.
The school production this year is “Double Trouble”, set in the 1980s, and all the music and fashion of that decade. Rehearsals are
currently underway. The Sports clubs and music clubs, choirs and chess,
even Christmas Card design club are all available for all years to enrich their learning. The School council and House council are providing student
-voiced concerns and ideas to each other and aim to improve the school
for everyone. Lorraine Marlow
Spirituality Development Co-Ordinator
Above: Teachers led the way in the Race for Life
31
W ith some warm sunny
periods in late September and early
October, there was a resurgence in
butterfly activity with some producing a late third generation.
Large, Small and Green-veined
Whites were frequently seen. A few Brimstones, Peacocks and several
Commas were reported but the
most abundant species has been the Red Admiral with some
recorders noting 30+ on their
country walks. Nectar from ivy blossom is the main attraction at
this time of year.
Speckled Woods are also still fairly commonly seen and I have
received reports of one or two very
late fresh Meadow Browns. The immigrant Painted Lady has been a
relatively scarce butterfly but a few
have been reported in recent days. I
Wiltshire Butterflies - October was very surprised to see one in a
gale-force wind on Beachy Head in
Sussex on 2nd October and was amazed to also see two Clouded
Yellows, a few of which have also
been seen recently in Wiltshire. I expect to receive several more
sightings of Red Admirals in the
coming months as long as we don’t suffer any severe prolonged
periods of extreme cold. They do
not enter into true hibernation mode and may occasionally be
seen on any warm sunny winter’s
day and some manage to survive the entire winter period and
appear early in the following year.
Earlier this year at least 48 (12 in 2016) were reported prior to the
first wave of immigrants arriving
from the continent in early May. Overall, 2017 has been a much
better butterfly year than the
dire one of 2016 and numbers of most species
have recovered from very
low levels. As I said in my last report, a full and
detailed 2017 butterfly
report will be produced in due course and anyone
wishing to have a copy
should contact me. Mike Fuller
Wiltshire Butterfly Recorder
11th October 2017 Above: The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
32
W illiam Temple (1881-1944) was one of the
greatest Archbishops of
Canterbury. When Winston Churchill was asked why, as prime minister,
he had appointed Temple when he
knew of his left-wing views, Church-ill replied that he was ‘the only six-
penny article in a penny bazaar!’
Temple’s achieve-ments included his sig-
nificant role in debates
leading to the post-war Welfare State. He also
contributed to the
1944 Education Act and was an ardent sup-
porter of adult educa-
tion, helping to estab-lish the Workers Educa-
tional Association. In the 1920s
Temple campaigned for greater autonomy and lay participation in
the way the Church was governed,
and sowed the seeds of the synodi-cal system we have today. He also
did pioneering work in the ecu-
menical movement right through to the setting up of the British
Council of Churches in 1942. He
worked towards the establishment of the World Council of Churches,
which held its first meeting in Am-
sterdam in 1948. Temple was installed as Arch-
bishop of Canterbury in April 1942,
having previously been Archbishop of York (1929-42) and before that
Bishop of Manchester (1921-29).
He still found time to write aca-demic books on theology and phi-
losophy, but also popular books
like ‘Christianity and the Social Or-der’, published early in 1942. It sold
about 140,000 copies. Temple at-
tempted to set out, from a theological perspective,
his vision of the kind of
society that could arise after the war. He also
wrote a highly acclaimed
book, ‘Readings in St John’s Gospel’ which is
still in print.
In his brief period of office he made a huge impact
as a spiritual leader in wartime. He
wasn’t a pacifist but his pronounce-ments contained depth and real-
ism and looked forward to a time
when reconciliation would be of the utmost importance. He con-
demned anti -Semitism and racial
prejudice, and with Rabbi Joseph Hertz set up in 1942 the Council of
Christians and Jews. His death in
1944, at 63, was totally unexpected and he was mourned by many both
inside and outside the Church.
He is remembered on 6 Novem-ber, the anniversary of his death.
David Driscoll
Saint for the Season: William Temple
33
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Westwood Churchwardens:
Paul Slade
[email protected] PCC Secretary
Jill Ross
The Parish Church of St Mary, Wingfield
Churchwarden:
David Robinson [email protected]
PCC Secretary
Vacant
For Prayer in November
Our Confirmation candidates Bereaved families of members of our armed
services Hospital chaplains The ‘Transforming the Care of Older People’
group at the Health Centre
You can contact the editorial team on: [email protected] The December/January copy deadline is Friday, 17 November 2017
34
Quick Crossword The Bible version is the NIV
Clues across 1 He was replaced as king of Judah by his uncle Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:17) (10) 7 ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus... who for the joy set before him — the cross’ (Hebrews 12:2) (7) 8 Relieved (5) 10 Impetuous (Acts 19:36) (4) 11 Surprised and alarmed (Luke 24:37) (8) 13 ‘It is — for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God’ (Mark 10:25) (6) 15 Directions for the conduct of a church service (6) 17 One of the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19) (8) 18 and 20 Down ‘She began to wet his — with her tears. Then she wiped them with her — ’ (Luke 7:38) (4,4) 21 ‘We will all be changed, in a flash, in the twinkling of an — , — the last trumpet’ (1 Corinthians 15:51–52) (3,2) 22 ‘But he replied, “Lord, I am — — go with you to prison and to death”’ (Luke 22:33) (5,2) 23 Third person of the Trinity (2 Corinthians 13:14) (4,6)
Source: Crosswords reproduced by kind permission of BRF and John Capon, originally published in Three Down, Nine Across, by John Capon
Solutions on page 5
Clues down 1 He betrayed Jesus (Matthew 27:3) (5) 2 Paul’s assurance to the Philippian jailer: ‘Don’t — yourself! We are all here!’ (Acts 16:28) (4) 3 ‘Fear God and keep his commandments, for this — the whole — of man’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13) (2,4) 4 The sort of giver God loves (2 Corinthians 9:7) (8) 5 Sun rail (anag.) (7) 6 Naboth, the ill-fated vineyard owner, was one (1 Kings 21:1) (10) 9 Paul said of young widows, ‘When their sensual desires overcome their — to Christ, they want to marry’ (1 Timothy 5:11) (10) 12 This was how Joseph of Arimathea practised his discipleship ‘because he feared the Jews’ (John 19:38) (8) 14 Mop ruse (anag.) (7) 16 Foment (Philippians 1:17) (4,2) 19 Where Joseph and Mary escaped to with the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:14) (5) 20 See 18 Across
35
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL Officers
The Revd Joanna Abecassis, Chair
The Rev Dr Ali Green (Associate Priest)
David Milne (Churchwarden), Vice Chair
Members
* Deanery Synod representative
The Standing Committee
Chair, Churchwardens, Associate Priest and Treasurer
Churchwardens Emeriti
Jeremy Lavis, Mike Fuller, Anne Carter, Tony Haffenden, Joan Finch, Trevor Ford,
Judith Holland
The Pastoral Care Team
Joanna, Anne Carter, Alison Cook, Joan Finch, Marlene Haffenden, Tony Haffenden,
Chris Hodge, Evelyn Humphrey, Heather Knight, Sue Lavis, Val Payne, David Raw-
stron, Hazel Rawstron, Geneviève Roberts and Sylvia Stanes.
The Friends of Holy Trinity Church
Chairman: John Cox, Secretaries: Mike and Jenny Fuller, Treasurer: Judith Burchell
Committee: Michael Cottle, Chris Hodge, Vic Holden, Alison Craddock, Anne Willis
Ex officio: Revd Joanna Abecassis and David Milne
Bradford Group Ministry
This is a longstanding body which now comprises the two benefices of North
Bradford on Avon and Villages and our own. We look forward to establishing a
much closer bond and to this end joint meetings and services have recently been
held, and the Group clergy meet regularly.
Deirdre Garrett
Steve Fountain
Chris Hodge (PCC Secretary)
Geoff Jones (Treasurer - co-opted)
Jeremy Lavis*
Anna Melluish
Jill Wright
36
OTHER OFFICERS AND ORGANIZERS PCC Secretary Chris Hodge 869357 email: [email protected] PCC Treasurer Geoff Jones 862981 Benefice Administrator Sally Palmer-Walton [email protected] Benefice Admin Assistant Aylene Clack [email protected] Bellringers Sarah Quintin 869469 Bookstall Brass Cleaning Chris Hodge 869357 Coffee on Sunday Joan Finch 863878 Director of Music Martin Cooke 01985 248866 [email protected] Electoral Roll Officer Alan Knight 860991 Flowers Jonquil Burgess 868905 Food Bank Heather and Alan Knight 860991 Guides & Brownies Sarah Bennett [email protected] mainly music Marlene Haffenden 864412 [email protected] Mothers’ Union Jill Wright 287786 MU Prayer Circle Chris Hodge 869357 Saxon Club David Driscoll 865314 Saxon Church and St Mary Tory Trustees: Chairman Anna Tanfield (all bookings) 863819 Secretary Anne Carter 862146 Treasurer Jeremy Lavis 863600 Sidespersons Churchwardens Stewardship Secretary Benefice Office Street Market: Community Stalls John Cox 864270 Communications Judith Holland 866215 Church Stalls Mervyn Harris 863440
Parish Representatives on other organisations: Bradford Group Council: The Churchwardens Children’s Society: Anne Carter Christian Aid: Judith Holland Deanery Synod: Jeremy Lavis BoA Churches Together: c/o The Revd Joanna Abecassis St Laurence School: The Revd Joanna Abecassis and Lindsay Driscoll (Foundation Governors)
Printed at the Parish Office, 18A Woolley Street, Bradford on Avon. Parish News also appears (in colour) on the Holy Trinity web site: www.htboa.org. Previous issues of the magazine can also be found in the magazine archive on the church web site.
