The Magazine of The Trinity Methodist Church, Shifnal Vol.102: Harvest 2015

It’s that time of year. It’s not only the farmers who are busy reaping the crops from the fields. Mr Ian Salter of Brimstree is busy collecting the crab apples from Mrs Morris’s tree. He is looking forward to the crab apple jelly that Mrs Salter will make. I expect Mrs Morris will get a jar or two.

2

Married at Holy Trinity Church, Wolverhampton in 1950, George and June Gee celebrated their blue sapphire wedding anniversary this month with a gathering of fami-ly and friends. First of all the cards to arrive on the day was a very spe-cial card from Her Majesty The Queen. Everyone at Trinity joins in sending George and June our congratulations and best wishes for the future. Their Tibetan Spaniel, Joseph, so named because of his coat of many colours, still expects his regular walk each morning. Card from the queen not withstanding.

3

Dear Friends, This quarter we will be observing our Remembrance Sunday on the 8

th Novem-

ber 2015 which is the closest Sunday to 11

th November. For many, this is just an-

other day on the calendar but for those who have lost a loved one in the war or have a living person in the service, this day becomes truly special. We need to recognise and observe this day out of our patriotic duty to our country and in honour of those who spilled their blood to make Britain what it is today. So we have the right to pursue freedom, peace and harmony. Praise God for those who gave their lives to set us free which is often taken for granted. There are evil forces which are challenging our way of life and our values. Let us pray and break these evil forces which are working against Christ and His body. Praise God for all our servicemen who are serving in the various countries at war and let us uphold them and their families in our prayers. Let us also remember and honour all the retired service personals in our midst. Since the end of Second World War, 66 years have passed. Only in 1968, were no British serviceman killed in active service. More than 13,000 British service lives have been lost since 1945. If we don’t let the weapons rust in peace, they will see to it that we rest in peace. Remembrance Sunday comes once a year but let us remember that every Sunday Service is a Remembrance Service of CHRIST in sacrament. Christ sacrificed Himself to set us free from all sorts of bondages. He has come as the Prince of PEACE and He shed His blood for the world to make it a better place. He gave His life so that we can have eternal life. Let us continue to pray for world peace. Shalom

Hendry Ponniah

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What a wonderful turnout there was at Shifnal Trinity Methodist Church on Wednesday September 9th for the special coffee morning in support of Oasis People had made a tremendous effort

and all sorts of goods from the finest baking to some whacky bric-a-brac had been brought along to sell. The coffee bar area of the church was heaving with the numbers of people who came along, bought stuff, had a chat and generally spent a pleasant

morning - so pleasant that some were still there well after closing time! We raised £351.50, which we think was a fantastic amount, and we'd like to thank everyone who came. Why not pop in to Oasis sometime if you're in Shifnal and see what's on offer?

5

A recent meeting of Shifnal For-

ward on Thursday 10th September

at Trinity Methodist Church Hall

featured a talk from Phil Wilson ,the

Shropshire Council Learning and

Skills Service Delivery Manager,

regarding the provision of addition-

al school places and the role of CIL

monies in providing these.

Mr Wilson’s responsibilities include

pupil place planning and capital

funding. He said that due to the

rapid growth of Shifnal through

housing developments in the com-

ing years, pupil forecasting has

identified the need for between 150

and 180 extra primary school plac-

es requiring 5 or 6 extra class-

rooms (with their attendant infra-

structure such as extra toilets, cor-

ridors etc) between now and 2026.

He advised that there is, however,

no pressure on Idsall Academy in

the foreseeable future as “out of

area” provision will be phased out.

The projected cost of the class-

rooms is £1.9 - £2.1 million. A de-

tailed discussion about provision of

funding for the classrooms followed

with unanimous agreement on the

importance of providing for the fu-

ture education of our children.

However, there was little agree-

ment on the source of funding for

that provision.

Following lobbying and negotia-

tions from the Shifnal Forward

Transport Action Group, the new

December 2015 train timetable will

show that the 0655 express train

from Shrewsbury to Birmingham

will, from December on, stop at

Shifnal at 0720 to pick up passen-

gers for Wolverhampton and Bir-

mingham (arriving at Birmingham

at 0753). This should help to allevi-

ate some of the overcrowding on

rush-hour trains.

The Town Council are facilitating a

Public Meeting on the 28th Sep-

tember 2015 in the Youth Club,

Bridgnorth Road at 7.00 pm, to dis-

cuss the Security of the expanding

Shifnal, post the closure of Shifnal

Police Station.

A Consultation period has started running from 14 September 2015 to 26 October 2015 on the future de-livery of the Shifnal library service, Customer Service Point, the man-agement of public open spaces and the management of the public car parks. This consultation outlines proposals concerning the proposed transfer of certain assets – library service, customer service point, allotment, public open spaces and car parks – from Shropshire Coun-cil to Shifnal Town Council.

http://new.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/shifnal-library-customer-service-point-open-spaces-and-car-parks Follow this link for more information

and if you wish, to participate in a

survey. Alternatively paper copies

can be obtained from Shifnal Li-

brary, Shifnal Town Council and

Katrina’s.

No matter where you turn in Shifnal it seems that you are faced with change. Here is one of the latest scenes of change . The fields off Coppice Green Lane beyond Idsall School and the Shifnal Football ground which will soon see two hundred homes built. The pace and amount of change is of concern to many and it is reassuring that Shifnal Forward are active on behalf of everyone to air the concerns of all.

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Godfrey Thring was born into an academic and dare I say ambitious fami-ly: one of his brothers, Edward, became headmaster of Uppingham school whilst another brother John became a master at the same school and was responsible for the so called Uppingham Rules for that new game of football called the Simplest Game. The FA had just been created and was compiling a set of standard rules some of which came from brother John's Simplest Game. His other brother, Henry became Lord Thring, and was a Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury; as for his two sisters little is recorded. Their country seat was in Alford, near Glaston-bury in Somerset where Godfrey was born in 1823. He was sent to Shrewsbury School. From there he went to Baliol College, Oxford, graduating with a BA in 1845 and following in his father's foot-steps he was ordained an Anglican priest. In 1858 his father amalgamat-ed two benefices by an Act of Parliament known as the “Thrings Estate Bill”. At this point Godfrey became his father's curate. His father had a rectory built at Hornblotten for him, then Godfrey himself commissioned Thomas Jackson to build two churches. One of the churches was rich in Arts and Crafts style features and notably received sgraffito decoration - a type of art work which uses a kind of scratching on successive layers re-vealing the colour of the one below. He eventually was made prebendary of Wells cathedral. So what was Godfrey's claim to fame? He wrote a lot of verses and hymns; over 60 are recorded but most seem to have been forgotten, the one notable exception being this one. In Hymns and Psalms it is set to St Aëlred (see Saints Alive) by John Bacchus Dyke. By the age of 12 he was already assistant organist at St John's church in Hull. His grandfather was vicar there, but his music ac-complishments were earned: he mastered organ and piano, violin and horn. He was educated in Wakefield, then at St Catharine's, Cambridge where he became president of the musical society. After obtaining his BA in Classics he became curate at Malton in Yorkshire, then canon of Durham Cathedral, and later precentor, preparing worship services. In his last years he became vicar of St Oswald's, Durham. And what was his claim to fame? Over 300 hymn tunes! Melita is probably his best known, usually accompanying “Eternal father strong to save.” He seemed drawn to Rivaulx Abbey naming another of his hymn tunes by that name, which in Hymns and Psalms is set to “Father of heaven, whose love profound”. He died in Sussex in 1776 but was buried in Durham.

Fierce raged the tempest o’er the deep, Watch did Thine anxious servants keep But Thou wast wrapped in guileless sleep, Calm and still. Save, Lord, we perish, was their cry, O save us in our agony! Thy word above the storm rose high, Peace, be still. The wild winds hushed; the angry deep Sank, like a little child, to sleep; The sullen billows ceased to leap, At Thy will.

If you get stuck the Sudoku solution can be found on page 19.

3 5

6 2 9 8

5 7

3 7 8

8 9 2 6 5

5 6 2 3

3 6 4

4 3 2 9

Ingredients 1 lemon jelly ¼ pint of water 3 eggs (stale eggs best) 4 oz castor sugar 2 lemons Method Dissolve the jelly in the water in a saucepan then cool. Separate the eggs. Cream the egg yolks with the sugar. Zest 1 lemon and add the zest to the jelly. Add the juice from both lemons into the jelly, then add this mixture to the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold into jelly mixture and chill well. Also good with orange jelly: haven’t tried it with anything else. Went down a storm with my grandchildren.

Citric mousse

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(Methodist Conference Report)

Following on from a Notice of Motion presented to this year's Methodist Conference, all Methodist churches are being encouraged to provide sup-port to at least one individual or family crossing Europe from the Mediterrane-an fleeing from conflict. The Revd Olufemi R W Cole-Njie, who proposed the motion, said "Social ac-tion is at the heart of Methodism. When people are in need it is our role as the Church to step-up and help the hungry, the weak, the stranger. Thou-sands of people are fleeing their homes in fear for their lives. How can we on one hand say that we welcome Jesus into our lives, and yet on the other not welcome those in need?"

In addition to encouraging its own churches to do more, the Conference has urged the Government to accept those seeking asylum on a much larg-er scale, commensurate with Britain's size and resources. Praising the enormous contribution that migrants and refugees make in Britain, the Conference welcomed the recent Statement by the Conference of European Churches that encouraged European Churches and Institutions to support refugees, and applauded the ongoing efforts of the Churches in Greece and Italy, particularly for the 'Mediterranean Hope' project. The Revd Stephen J Burgess, Chair of the York & Hull District, added "What

this practically looks like will be differ-ent in each community and for each church. But in putting this forward, we are encouraging and reminding our churches to fulfil the words of Wesley: 'Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all places you can.'" Notes:

The Conference of European Churches is an ecumenical fellowship of Churches in Eu-rope. The statement regarding those fleeing war can be read on their website.

The Mediterranean Hope Project is the Mediterranean observa-tory on migration based in Lampedusa, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy

Sunday October 18th 2015 5.00pm - Ecumenical Town Service at St Andrew’s Church, Shifnal Monday 21st October 2015 Teaching on prayer ministry 1, led by Hendry Monday 28th October 2015 Teaching on prayer ministry 2 Saturday 31st October 2015 Bread Church at Trinity Tuesday 3rd November 2015 Fireworks and supper at Tredustan Sunday 8th November 2015 No service at Trinity. United service for Remembrance Day at St Andrew’s Church. Wednesday 18th November 2015 Teaching on prayer ministry 3 Saturday 21st November 2015 Asylum Seekers’ Day at Broad Street church, Wolverhampton (by the car park). How your church can help and support asylum seekers. £5 waged, free for unwaged. To book contact Rev Andy Smith at andysmith@telfordchristiancouncil.co.uk. Saturday 28th November 2015 Bread Church Monday 7th December 2015 2.00pm-4.30 “Open Doors” Christmas party at Trinity Sunday 13th December 2015 6.00pm Carol service at Trinity Monday 14th December 2014 Chorale Concert at Trinity Thursday 24th December 2015 6.45pm Christmas Eve worship at Trinity Friday 25th December 2015 11.00 am Christmas celebration at Trinity Sunday 27th December 2015 No service at Trinity

8

Ray was born in Ruyton XI Towns in 1940. He was the youngest of four sons of whom Ted is still alive. The fami-ly moved to live in World’s End in 1945. A very isolated spot.

In those days there were very few luxuries to be had. De-spite the hardships- no electricity nor running water - ac-cording to Ray – he and Ted enjoyed themselves in many ways.

One incident was when he and Ted (Ray reckoned it was Ted’s idea) lit a small fire around a tree and in the hollow of the trunk only to find on the next day on their way to school the tree was lying on the ground. The boys admit-ted to P.C. Basnet they were responsible and were given a stern warning by him and another by their father. Ray’s later comment was that the tree was falling down as it was so old so they just hurried the process up!

Ray started to work in 1955 at Birch Park Farm and was there for sixteen and a half years and at Hall Farm Ruy-ton for seven and a half years.

In 1980 Ray spent six months as a circus strong man in the west country. During this time he appeared on Gra-nada T.V. pulling a bus with his teeth along Southport promenade. He was billed as “The Man With The Iron Jaws”.

Ray met Edna in 1983. She was already confined to a wheelchair suffering from M.S. They were married in 1989 at The Methodist Chapel, Shifnal. Ray tended for Edna for twenty five years until she died. Ray , Edna and the wheelchair were dressed up every year for the Shifnal Carnival, twenty three years in all – a popular en-try for all to see.

Over the years Ray made thousands of pounds for vari-ous charities with his marathon walks and strongman acts.

In 1986 he walked one thousand miles in thirty days ; thirty four miles a day on the Shifnal by-roads. He pushed Edna for one hundred miles of that feat. In 1996 he pushed and pulled Edna to the top of The Wrekin In 2002 he ran The London Marathon in his wellies at the age of sixty one!

There are far too many challenges Ray carried out to mention but he was a real “Showman” and loved what he did.

Despite struggling to cope with the pain over the last two years Ray was still determined to to take his daily country walk. This he did until he could go on no longer and was admitted to hospital . He lived up to his name as “Willpower Ray”.

I hope you rest in peace Ray with your Edna. Jill Davies

9

Shifnal has lost one of its true characters - not that Ray was really Shifnal born and bred; he came to us from Ruy-ton-11-Towns where unconsciously as a youth he had met his Edna his wife to be. But it wasn't until his time in Shifnal that they were married. It was through Edna, who had ME, that you saw his great love and devotion. I was introduced to Ray by Max Owen who suggested that he might perform some of what we thought were his circus acts for the children at Bridge Builder Club, alt-hough Ray told me later that he had never been any-where near a circus! His presentation was of the “don't try this at home children” quality, for example holding a sharp dagger between his teeth and balancing an equally sharp sword on its blade. The children didn't dare sneeze or cough! It was his teeth that created his fame. With the encour-agement of Edna his most famous feat was to pull a dou-ble decker bus by his teeth. OK, his teeth were not on the bus but a rope. Much of what he did in these sorts of ven-ture was for charity: he ran, worked and performed for many charities, one being Shifnal's own carnival, the mon-ey from which has gone to many causes, even Trinity' youth work. He and Edna always made a unique float of their own, Edna in her wheelchair and Ray suitably attired as they depicted some role, even wining first prize. After Edna's death he even managed to find a substitute for this event. Ray caught the attention of an ITV producer and became the subject of one of their programmes. According to Ray the crew spent the week in and out of their house, but Ray asked for the main interview to be in Trinity with an audience of Bridge Builder children. We didn't dare

announce it otherwise we would not have had enough room; even so exactly 100 children turned up for club that night. Imagine their open mouthed astonishment as they were allowed in through the front doors, unusual as that was, to see all the bright TV lights and cameras and Ray at the front with the TV presenter. Part of the idea was to get the children to ask some of the questions. To say that they were overawed was an understatement. After the half hour filming the TV crew joined the children in the back and the cellar and was so taken with the club that they wanted to make another programme on Bridge Builder. In the end TV budgets didn't allow it. But the weekend wasn't over because Ray was out to beat the Guinness Book of Records for the distance push-ing a peanut by his nose. The venue was the footpath in front of the shops in the centre of Shifnal. Many hours later - with a very bloody nose I believe - he was success-ful, for charity of course. This is how Ray got involved in the community but there was one other way he made his mark: a regular letter writ-er to the Shropshire Star: he supported and argued the case for many a cause. Some of this material I believe is now in Shifnal archives in the old fire station. Up until his final entrance into hospital he took upon him-self the duty of putting out Trinity's bins and boxes for the dustbin collectors each week, a menial task with no re-ward or honour, but that was the man: Ray “Willpower” Williams. Sandy Hughes

They're there somewhere!

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St Aëlred was a scholar with political leanings. Born in 1110 he was one of three sons of Eilaf, a Saxon priest of St Andrews in Hexham. One assumes, correctly I suppose, that he had a mother but her name is not recorded. He was educated in the Scottish capital of the time, Roxburgh, and was credited with the prophesying the death of a bad arch-bishop of York. Being in the capital Aëlred moved in royal circles and when he was about 14 he became a steward to King David I, becoming master of the household. When he was 24 he left to enter the Cistercian Abbey of Rievaulx. If you have your National Trust cards at the ready you can explore his haunts to your leisure. The Cistercians, or White Monks (because of their white habits) laid an em-phasis on manual labour and self-sufficiency, which gener-ally centred around agriculture and brewing. So I imagine that this was quite a change from the Scottish Royal Court, but his success continued. He became novice master being responsible for those entering the Cistercian priesthood in Rievaulx, encouraging them in prayer and meditation, studying the lives of Jesus and the saints. He would have prepared reports for the superiors in the Ab-bey. When Rievaulx developed a sister abbey in Revesbury in Lincolnshire, he became its first abbot, re-turning as abbot of Rievaulx in 1147 when he was about 37 and remaining in post until his death in 1167. Under his administration the abbey flourished. But that was only part of his life. He wrote many books, some of which have been translated into English, all of them into French! “A life of David King of Scots”, a “Genealogy of the Kings of England” (to then!), “A life of Edward the Confessor”, “Jesus as a boy of 12”, “Spiritual Friendship”, “Pastoral Prayer”, to name but a few. His political involvement began when he accompanied Walter Espec, one of the Abbey's patrons, to the Scottish border to negotiate the transfer of his castle at Wark, near Berwick on Tweed, to King David of Scotland. Later, when King Stephen's nephew, William, was to be installed as Archbishop of York, Aëlred travelled to Rome with Walter, Archdeacon of York to oppose this appointment before Pope Innocent II. This led to a further representation by Aëlred the following March to argue a deposition in correct canonical form. The negotiations took a couple of years. His influence reached the top of English royalty. Three of his written works concerned Henry II, instructing him on

how to be a good king as well as establishing him as a true Anglo-Saxon king. Interesting because he was a Plantage-net, son of the 4

th son of William the Conqueror and Matil-

da of Scotland. Oh well! He was never formally canonised but became the centre of a cult in northern England and as such was venerated as a saint. He became the patron saint of bladder stone suffer-ers. I wonder why?……. it could have been arthritis suffer-ers. "De Speculo Caritatis" by Elredo de Rieval, posiblemente - Croped from http://www.valyermo.com/chronicle/2006_03/2006_03.html. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Speculo_Caritatis.jpeg#/media/File:De_Speculo_Caritatis.jpeg

(Methodist News Service)

The Methodist Conference has elected the Revd Dr Roger Walton to be Presi-dent of the Conference in 2016/17, and Ms Rachel Lampard to be Vice-President. Both will start their year of office when the Conference meets in London on 2 July 2016. They will suc-ceed the current President and Vice-President, the Revd Steve Wild and Dr Jill Barber.

For ten years Roger was the Director of the Open Learning Centre, and for eleven years the Director of the Wes-ley Study Centre in Durham. He is cur-

rently the Chair of the West Yorkshire Methodist District and the Methodist representative to the General Synod of the Church of England. "This is a won-derful gift from the Church and I am deeply honoured," said Roger. "I owe so much to the Methodist people and have learned the way of Jesus in this church. I hope to encourage us to con-tinue be a learning, loving and outward looking community for transformation of the world."

Rachel is the leader of the Joint Public Issues Team, which has for many years been at the forefront of cam-

paigns about UK poverty, nuclear weapons and climate change. She has been a Commissioner with the Gam-bling Commission since 2006 and is an active member of Winchester Road Methodist church in Walthamstow. "I feel humbled and very excited," she said. "I am looking forward to meeting with Methodist people around the Con-nexion, celebrating together our shared Christian commitment to justice as we explore what it means to follow Jesus today. I would ask you to pray for Roger and me as we take on this responsibility."

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(Methodist news service)

In July churches and charities issued a statement remarking that it had been 100 days since the Work and Pensions Select Committee called for a full inde-pendent review of the benefit sanctions system, but the Government has not indicated any intention to conduct a review. They called urgently for the Government to heed the Committee's report and act on its recommendations.

In the same 100 day period last year, 346,256 people who were on Jobseek-er's Allowance and 35,554 people on Employment Support Allowance were referred for sanctions. 92,558 of those referrals were the result of bureaucrat-ic error. These resulted in 175,177 sanctions for jobseekers and 11,129 for those out of work due to ill health. The call for a review is supported by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Church in Wales, the Methodist Church, the Unit-ed Reformed Church and by charities Church Action on Poverty, Ginger-bread and Mind.

"The implementation of the present sanction regime is controversial with the government claiming it is effective in helping people into work while many others say sanctions are causing real distress to families and are actually acting as a barrier to participation," said Dame Anne Begg, MP for Aber-deen South from 1997 to 2015, who chaired the Select Committee. "If sanc-tions work as a deterrent, why are so many people still facing multiple sanc-tions? As there are so many questions about the effects on people who have been sanctioned, it is time the govern-ment implemented the recommenda-tion of my Select Committee in the last Parliament to carry out a full, inde-pendent review of the whole sanction regime. Many believe that sanctions

are being applied to the wrong people for often trivial reasons and are the cause of the increased use of food-banks. Only an independent review can get to the truth of what is actually happening so that government policy can be based on evidence and not seen as merely punitive."

"The case has been made," said Paul Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church. "The sanc-tions system requires fundamental re-view and we call upon the new Parlia-ment to respond positively to the rec-ommendations of the Select Commit-tee. Churches and charities are back-ing this call because we see day by day the harm that benefit sanctions cause in the communities we serve. We recognise the hiatus caused by the General Election, but hope that the new Parliament will recognise the ur-gency of this matter and announce a full independent inquiry as soon as possible."

In March this year the Churches called for such a review in their report “Time to Rethink Benefit Sanctions” which cited new evidence about the negative impact of the current regime. The re-port revealed that around 100,000 chil-dren were affected by sanctions in 2013/14. The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also shows that people who receive the sickness and disability benefit Employ-ment and Support Allowance (ESA) because of a long-term mental health problem are being sanctioned at a rate of more than 100 per day.

The Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan said: "Since 2012, the rate at which sanctions have been applied to vulnerable people claiming Job Seek-ers Allowance and Employment Sup-port Allowance in Wales has increased even faster than in England or Scot-

land. Many claimants, who are already suffering from mental or physical health problems and living in poverty, are threatened with sanctions because of administrative errors. For the sake of human dignity, fairness and com-passion, the system must be changed."

Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind, said: "Far too many people with mental health problems are having their benefits cut for not meeting the requirements placed on them, which are often inap-propriate in the first place. The use of sanctions is causing financial hardship and is based on the assumption that people claiming out-of-work benefits lack motivation and willingness to find and keep a job, which couldn't be fur-ther from the truth for the people Mind represents.

"The vast majority of people who are out of work due to their mental health want to work. But the constant threat of sanctions causes a great deal of dis-tress, making people more unwell and a return to work less likely. We support the Churches' call for the Government to commission an independent review into sanctions policy."

"In working with churches across the North West, I am increasingly hearing stories of individuals whose lives are being blighted by the impact of benefit sanctions," added the Revd Phil Jump, Regional Minister for the North West-ern Baptist Association. "There is clear evidence of the need for our govern-ment to take serious account of the concerns and recommendations of a committee which itself is part of our parliamentary system."

The Churches are asking people to write to their MPs.

A short while ago travelling from Sherrifhales towards the A41 Newport Road you would have got a glimpse of the col-our that was thousands of flowers in bloom, looking a bit like a layer cake. These have been picked and dried now and likleyhood is that some brides and grooms have been showered with them following their wedding services. There are many thankful clergymen who no longer have to worry about clearing paper confetti!

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Have you ever been to the Vendée? Have you ever been to Spring Harvest and found it too big or too frenetic? Well, now you can get the best of both – the beautiful west coast of France and the teaching and worship on a smaller, more relaxed scale. We’ve just come back from 2 weeks at Le Pas Opton, Spring Harvest’s holiday camp in the Vendée. We had mixed weather (27 hours of rain followed by 37 degrees of heat) and, to be fair, mixed teaching – but the worship was great: all-age (which didn’t mean “just for kids” although they were there and took part) lasting one hour – except for the communion on Sunday morning which obviously took a little longer. In our first day there more people smiled at or spoke to me than ever happened at Skegness or Minehead – we had time to smile and chat and generally relax. With kids’ clubs for 2 hours every morning there was time for a quiet coffee or chocolate, to soak up a bit of teaching (the letters to the churches the first week and the beatitudes the second) and then get another coffee before fetching the young-sters back from their clubs. There were activi-ties most afternoons but they tended to be sporty or crafty, so we didn’t go to many of those, but (surprise! surprise!) we did go to the quiz. We didn’t win because the people we dragged in to make up our team didn’t know enough about obscure film music or sport, but it was fun. We also managed to get out and about a bit. Monday is change-over day and nothing is ar-ranged for then except a welcome meeting, so on our second Monday we all went to the Puy

du Fou. At an international conference in America this has been voted 2 years running as the best theme park in the world – and there isn’t a single ride! Instead there are spectacu-lar shows, ranging from a bird flying display (it threw it down with rain for us) through the Vikings and King Arthur

13

to a Roman arena complete with gladiators, lions – yes, real ones – and a chariot race.

All were not simply displays but were part of a story. The day ended with a wonderful display

of fountains and fire to music – mind-blowing. It’s impossible to convey just how fantastic it was – you need to look it up on the web and even then you’ll only get a taster. The children – aged 3 and 7 – were spellbound, and even the adults were amazed at some of the effects: there was a constant stream of “How on earth did they do that?” So next time you’re looking for a holiday that’s a bit different, check out Le Pas Opton. Good pool, excellent bakery, nice caravans or well fitted tents, shade when you needed it – oh: and some refreshing teaching and worship if you want it. I learnt some new songs which I think will last (one – “10,000 reasons” - has been voted the best worship song ever and I’ll never forget Nathaniel singing “My Lighthouse”).

Go on – give it a go! We’ll definitely go again some time: how about a church holiday??????

14

Zena has been selling gifts and cards from catalogues for 35 years in Shifnal. In that time she has raised almost £21,000 for charity by this method.

A retired Barclays employee Zena is raising money to help to pay towards the updating of the central heating sys-tem in the Church area to allow for even more community use. The Bank

has generously agreed to match what she makes on a £1 for £1 basis so please give it your whole-hearted sup-port.

(Methodist Conference Report) Following on from a Notice of Motion presented to this year's Methodist Conference, all Methodist churches are being encouraged to provide sup-port to at least one individual or family crossing Europe from the Mediterra-nean fleeing from conflict.

The Revd Olufemi R W Cole-Njie, who proposed the motion, said "Social action is at the heart of Methodism. When people are in need it is our role as the Church to step-up and help the hungry, the weak, the stranger. Thou-sands of people are fleeing their homes in fear for their lives. How can we on one hand say that we welcome Jesus into our lives, and yet on the other not welcome those in need?"

In addition to encouraging its own churches to do more, the Conference has urged the Government to accept those seeking asylum on a much larg-er scale, commensurate with Britain's size and resources.

Praising the enormous contribution that migrants and refugees make in Britain, the Conference welcomed the recent Statement by the Conference of European Churches that encour-aged European Churches and Institu-tions to support refugees, and ap-plauded the ongoing efforts of the Churches in Greece and Italy, particu-larly for the 'Mediterranean Hope' pro-ject.

The Revd Stephen J Burgess, Chair of the York & Hull District, added

"What this practically looks like will be different in each community and for each church. But in putting this for-ward, we are encouraging and re-minding our churches to fulfil the words of Wesley: 'Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all places you can.'"

Notes: • The Conference of European

Churches is an ecumenical fellow-ship of Churches in Europe. The statement regarding those fleeing war can be read on their website.

• The Mediterranean Hope Project is the Mediterranean observatory on migration based in Lampedusa, the Federation of Evangelical Church-es in Italy

Zena Brown pictured with some members of the congregation who had just received their Webb Ivory fund raising catalogues.

15

A joint statement on the situation in Calais from the Baptist Union of

Great Britain, the Church of Scot-land, the Methodist Church and the

United Reformed Church

(Methodist News Service) Dr Jill Barber Vice-President of the Methodist Con-ference The Revd Lynn Green General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain The Revd David Grosch-Miller Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church The Rt Revd Angus Morrison Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Revd Steve Wild President of the Methodist Conference As churches with members directly involved in assisting the people in Cal-ais seeking sanctuary in the UK, we believe it is important that public de-bate is grounded in values of compas-sion and that decisions are made on the basis of facts. In recent weeks dis-cussion has increasingly appeared to be based on the principle of self-interest. Our faith instructs us not to fear the stranger, but to love our neigh-bour. We view the situation with grow-ing alarm and anger. We are compelled to speak out on this issue. As Christian churches we follow One who was himself a refugee and who demonstrated that all people have an inherent, God-given dignity. Our Scriptures teach the importance of love and compassion for all who are destitute, including people of other na-tionalities who come to live in our com-munities. We do not speak out as detached, comfortable observers but as leaders of churches who are actively minister-ing to those involved. In east Kent our churches have publicly offered practi-cal support and help to teenage asy-lum seekers due to be housed in their towns. Through our international links with Baptists in France, we are also supporting work amongst unaccompa-nied children in Calais. St Andrew’s Scots Church in Malta, a joint Method-ist-Church of Scotland congregation in Valletta, runs the Out of Africa into Malta project to assist migrants. How-ever we cannot play our part effectively without a political backdrop that seeks a sustainable and just solution in the longer term. And we stand in solidarity with the re-marks made recently by the Rt Rev Trevor Willmott, the Bishop of Dover,

the Jewish Council for Racial Equality and in support of the pioneering work of the Churches’ Commission for Mi-grants in Europe. We welcome the affirmation by the Home Secretary that Europe will ‘always provide protection for those genuinely fleeing conflict or persecu-tion’. However, the language in which the Calais situation is being discussed tends too often to demonise, denigrate or dehumanise the individuals seeking refuge in Britain. To talk of those gathering at Calais as a ‘swarm’, or ‘marauding around the area’ encourages people to see those in desperation as less than human, and so less deserving of sympathy, respect or dignity. To incite fear that by offering the hand of friendship and wel-come we may damage our own stand-ard of living implies that British lives and well-being are somehow more valuable than those of others. We share the concern of all involved to see a peaceful and humane solution to this particular expression of a far broader catastrophe. While we recog-nise the need for security to be in-creased at Calais, to better ensure the safety of all involved, we cannot see that more guards, sniffer dogs and fencing will alone bring such a solution. We therefore call on the Government to promote a more informed and higher level of debate on the issue – one which acknowledges, for example, that:

• many of the migrants congregating at Calais are people genuinely fleeing re-pression who have real stories of suffer-ing and hardship to tell – and that some are unaccompanied children

• the numbers involved do not warrant talk of an ‘invasion’ or ‘flood’ of migrants

• the people at Calais represent a tiny frac-tion of the overall number of migrants who have entered the EU in the past year

• in 2014 Germany took three times more asylum seekers than the UK’s 14,000, and Sweden twice as many; France, Italy and even Switzerland also granted asy-lum to more people than the UK

• the disruption caused to travellers is also a consequence of issues unconnected with the situation in Calais, including industrial action by ferry workers

• historically the UK has welcomed people fleeing persecution, including Jews es-caping from Germany during the Second World War

• the UK has been militarily involved in some of the situations that have given rise to the persecutions from which peo-ple are fleeing

• contributions to this debate should al-ways adopt language which better re-flects the British values of compassion, hospitality and respect for human digni-ty.

• We also call on the Government, in its response to this emergency, to:

• recognise that most migrants cannot be returned to their country of origin: in many cases it is not even possible to be certain of an individual’s country of origin due to a lack of documentation

• promote the establishment of proper, EU-run processing centres at key entry points in Europe (such as southern Italy and Greece)

• accept the need for the UK to take its share of migrants as other European countries are already doing.

And we ask all our congregations and members to respond to an urgent call to prayer, to remember in our churches the importance and equal value God places on every human life, and to seek wisdom that we can challenge injustice and work for peace for the whole world. Let us seek direction and discernment for ourselves and for our leaders for solutions to this ongoing crisis, for the sake of all peoples.

Prayer: God of all humanity, when your people were enslaved and dis-placed, You led them to a land that they could call home; when your people were in exile, Your promise was that one day they would live in streets of play and laughter. When your disciples were afraid and uncertain, You spoke of a Father’s House with mansions and places prepared. We pray today for all those who have no place to call home, hearing the heart-cry of your word for those who are without refuge. Where shelter is ours to offer grant us the will and re-solve to reflect the generosity of our Creator. Where others stand in the way of those who need safe haven may our cry for jus-tice never falter. May the idols of self-interest and economic gain never deflect us from the ways of your Kingdom. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN

16

On Saturday evening (26th July) the Trinity Hall was laid out for dining. This was to be no 'ordinary' meal for this was a 'Pampered Chef' evening where all that was to be eaten was pre-pared before the diners using 'Pampered chef' products.

There to demonstrate and guide was Sara Butler for the preparation of the food was to be done by three teams selected from the audience. Following Sara's demonstrations the teams set about preparing the food while the others watched on and in-spected the utensils being used. The teams made the preparation look really easy and when it came to tasting

everyone was agreed that they had done a really good job. The evening was rounded off with people placing orders for some of the utensils demonstrated and a few who were lucky in the draw went away with 'Pampered Chef' products for prizes.

Some of the profits from the evening will go to help pay for the installation of the new radiators in church and all in all it was a very successful evening.

Sara Butler demonstrates

Lucky prize winners

Many hands...

17

It seems a long time ago but just after our last edition of the Trumpet there was a brief glimpse of summer and that was Shifnal Carnival day. Kathy and Malcolm Insall had decided not to organise the ever popular Carnival Teas but when it was discovered that the church had to raise funds to improve the heating they decided to once again stage the event.

As always everyone rallied round and to date a total of £540.77p has been raised towards the cost of the church heat-ing upgrade. This includes money raised by the Carnival Teas and a number of donations for which we thank you very

much. Kathy and Malcolm are quick to point out that there were many people in the team who contribut-ed by helping set up the garden, cooking, serving, washing up and clearing up without whom the event would not succeed. The church heating has been upgraded thanks to John Fallows who worked quickly and efficiently. The other photos show Shifnal’s King of the Carni-val, Les Cherrington, indulging in his passion for steam traction engines driving ‘The Chief ‘ at Beckbury Show.

Some of the team who helped stage Carnival Teas. There were others busy washing up at the time!

18

Shifnal Trinity Reading Group has celebrated it’s first year with the time honoured tradi-tion of a birthday cake.

The group were asked to select there favour-ite book read during the year and the vote placed ‘The Help’ by Katherine Stockett in first place.

Last year we were very lucky and got to read the first twelve books off the list that we submitted.

This year we have managed to be allocated the first nine.

Our first read of the year was ‘The Snow Child’. It was in 18th position on our list. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and we are looking forward to many more good reads.

If you would like to join us you will be made very welcome.

We meet on the third Monday of every month at Trinity at 2.00pm to share refreshments, talk about the book we have read and collect the new book for the next month. If you are at all interested do come along and see what we are all about. We have plenty of cups and can soon arrange for an extra book or two.

Look forward to meeting you!

(Methodist Church News Service)

Comic Relief is supporting a new initia-tive by The Arthur Rank Centre, The Plunkett Foundation and The Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Division to extend access and use of rural credit unions. This innovative pro-ject is backed by the Association of British Credit Unions, and the Method-ist and United Reformed Churches, and is likely to see new credit union service points created in rural church-es and community buildings nation-wide. Project Consultant, Janet Wilkinson, will be taking the lead on this initiative and working directly with six credit un-ions across the UK. Janet is the Direc-tor of Bristol Credit Union and an expe-

rienced project manager with over 15 years' experience in the financial ser-vices sector. She will be helping the six credit unions increase their rural membership and develop products suitable for rural people. Her findings will then be shared to enable other groups to establish their own rural ser-vice points. "I'm really excited to be part of this pro-gramme," says Janet. "It has the po-tential to extend the help Credit Unions give to communities and individuals throughout the UK through collabora-tive partnerships, spreading the word about local and community based fi-nance". Many imagine rural life to be idyllic, but over 1.3 million people live in poverty,

often hidden within predominately wealthy areas, and financial exclusion is commonplace. The latest official research found that around 200,000 rural residents do not have access to a bank account and only one in eight banks or building societies are present in village communities. The decline in mainstream banking facilities, and the low number of free cash points, has created 'financial ser-vice deserts' in many rural areas with residents often turning to payday loans and high-cost credit to fund everyday needs.

For more information call 024 7685

3060 or email info@germinate.net

19

Members enjoyed two very successful outings during July. The first was a visit to the Museum of Carpet in Kiddermin-ster. The museum is staffed mainly by volunteers, who are dedicated to bringing the history of the carpet industry in Kidderminster back to life. We were fortunate in seeing several old looms in action, including two hand looms, which are still in operation from the Victorian era, when tens of thousands of people were employed in the carpet industry in Kidderminster. Our second trip was to Walcot Hall, which overlooks the village of Lydbury North in South Shropshire. This beautiful Georgian house was home to Lord Clive of India. Set in spectacular surroundings and overlooking a mile-long fish-ing lake, the house offers magnificent views of the Shrop-shire hills. The gardens hold much of interest, including a reconstructed tin chapel, tucked away in the arboretum. Walcot Hall is still a much loved family home, as was evi-dent from our fascinating guided tour of the house. Thanks go to Programme Secretary, Len Powell, ably assisted by Graham and Sue Podmore, for organising two most inter-esting visits for the Society. The programme of evening talks will recommence on Thursday, 24

th September, when Alan Rose will talk on ‘Inn

Signs of Great Britain’. On 22nd

October, Alan Lewis will provide us with local insight into ‘Charles II and the Legacy of the Royal Oak’ and on 26

th November, we welcome back

Dorothy Nicolle who will speak on ‘Shropshire in the Great War’. All evening meetings take place at Trinity Methodist Church, Victoria Road, Shifnal and begin at 8 pm. Visitors are always most welcome to join us. Further details can be found on http://www.2shrop.net/shifnalsociety/ or by ringing 01952 463348.

Graham Podmore, Daphne Wiggett and Sue Podmore outside the tin chapel at Walcot Hall.

A group of members watching a demonstration of one of the looms. At the Museum of Carpet, Kidderminster.

20

ACROSS 1 Mostly training and skill show how easily something can be done (14) 9 Admires new weapon (7) 10 Company chief ordered to get a small house (7) 11 A fool rejected Turner perhaps (4) 12 Transaction includes black fur (5) 13 Endlessly show respect by going down on one? (4) 16 Cut head off...cut head off exotic flower first (7) 17 Get together for prayer (7) 18 A very short dance? (3-4) 21 The weather worried Tim and Alec (7) 23 Transport for vagrant mostly (4) 24 Embargo on nobleman (5) 25 Greek god whose reflection is seen in canal (4) 28 Spoke but spoke indistinctly first off (7) 29 He worked with vicar to keep records (7) 30 Deborah started changing act (5,3,6)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

9 10

11 12 13

14 15

16 17

18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25

26 27

28 29

30

DOWN 1 Launch sailing vessel and celebrate lavishly (4,3,4,3) 2 Composition by an Italian poet (7) 3 Melt some of the path away (4) 4 Announcer on the radio for match (7) 5 Rustic leaders of British union get tummy ache (7) 6 Permit takes time for Latvian (4) 7 Apprentice from Aintree messed up (7) 8 Again advanced smaller sum to head, showing persistence (14) 14 Damp has to destroy finally (5) 15 The King lives – that’s crazy! (5) 19 One demands former thespian (7) 20 I put lad off with praise (7) 21 Piece of music for choir at end of performance (7) 22 Studio is refurbished late – that’s right (7) 26 River associated with a waste product (4) 27 Copy Spain and Switzerland, love (4)

This crossword was set by Alberich. You can find many more equally absorbing puzzles and some much more difficult ones at www.alberichcrosswords.com

21

100 years ago The war that was to be over by Christmas was entering its 2

nd year. Shipping losses did not reach the headlines as

much as the gruelling massacre of the western front, but it must have been quite significant in the overall picture. In just one month, August 1915, the allies lost 137 vessels - the majority British shipping, 107 of which 18 were Royal Navy and HMT Royal Edward a troopship on its way to Gallipoli with a loss of 935 lives. Norway had the second highest losses. Of these losses 96 were victims of U-boats, U38 claiming 29 itself, sinking 10 ships in one day in the St Georges Channel between South Wales and Devon and Cornwall! However 4 U-boats had been sunk in the month amongst the 13 vessels lost by Germany, Austro-Hungary and Turkey altogether. What is amazing is that in the ma-jority of cases no crew were lost. But despite obsession with the war other things were going on, some perhaps trivial, others with more far reaching re-sults. Houdini escaped from a strait jacket, while Joseph Carberry reached an altitude of 11,690 ft in a fixed wing aircraft. The US refused to give women the right to vote while Denmark and Iceland introduced it. Japan made de-mands on the weakened Chinese Government greatly in-creasing their control of Manchuria and the Chinese econo-my, but lost the trust of the UK and US. Georges Claude patented the neon discharge tube which now illuminates so much of the night sky in its use in advertising. The Rocky Mountains were declared a National Park. In Palestine a locust infestation lasted most of the year, prices of food-stuffs rising 5-fold or more. Pluto was photographed for the first time but not classified as a planet. Charlie Chaplin's film “The tramp” was released. Babe Ruth hit his first home run. The British Women's Institute was founded in Llanfair-pwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, on Anglesey. The British army tested its first tank. In October Edith Cavell was executed after helping allied soldiers from Belgium. Einstein formulated his theory of Relativity. 1915 was an eventful year: I guess few in Europe and else-where could see through the smoke of war, but life had to continue. Buying and selling of land in Shifnal: Woodgreen Farm and cottages, the home of Mr T Jones (79 ½ acres and 5 acres of woodland) were being auctioned by E.J.Castilione Sons and Scott at Shifnal Town Hall. Much of the Hawkestone estate was also up for auction. Cattle, sheep and pigs were raised and sold for a little more than the previous year. But the gov-ernment had raised taxes: sugar duty up to 9s/6d from 1s/10d per cwt. Super tax was up for £8000 - £9000 to 2s/10d, £9000 - £10000 to 3s/7d and above £10000 3s/6d which was to raise another £1,000,000 compared with 10 years ago. However you look at, it these were dark days as the Shifnal casualty toll continued to rise. One I missed earlier seems so out of place that some explanation seems in order. H Ward who seems to be Herbert Ward died in Dehli in the

King's Shropshire Light Infantry on 21st January. What was

the KSLI doing in India? Answer: The 2nd

battalion had been serving in India since 1903 to guard against an Af-ghan uprising. At the outbreak of the World War, these reg-ulars were needed in the Ypres salient. They were relieved by 4

th (Territorial) battalion, who were originally the County

Volunteer Rifles. Their function was to take over routine garrison duty, obviously not so routine. Later in 1915 they were moved further east serving in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Andaman Islands. Some of them escorted prison-ers to Australia; they were from the German ship Emden which had been captured by the Australian ship Sydney in 1914, whilst others were involved in putting down the 1915 “Singapore Mutiny”, somethings I guess we never heard about. An officer was sending diary notes to the Shrews-bury Chronicle, he describes passing the time cormorant shooting or more accurately: missing. When they arrived in Singapore he mentions officiating at executions and being thrashed by 69 runs Singapore:118 all out, KLSI: 49 runs all out. Well that's war for you! Meanwhile the 2

nd battalion was moved to the Somme,

then in December 1915 to Salonika to fight the Bulgarians who incidentally had declared war on both Russia and the UK! Another battalion: 8

th (service), landed in France on

the 28th October and headed for Amiens, but by 6

th Novem-

ber they were rerouted and sent to Macedonia where the battalion stayed for the rest of the war. I suppose it gives some idea of the complexity of the conflict and the mass movement of huge numbers of men, like some nightmarish chess game! However wherever the KSLI went so did men from Shifnal. Saturday October 2

nd was to be a big recruiting day with

bands of the KSLI and Cheshire regiment visiting towns and villages throughout Shropshire, including Shifnal, to attract many more men to the cause. Shifnal losses during the autumn included lieutenant cor-

poral Charles Chapman who joined the South Staffordshire Regiment in Wolverhampton. He died in October at Sully-sur-la-Lys, Flanders. He was 20 yrs old. On 13

th October

Corporal J Brown also in the South Staffs, died in the Pas de Calais. Meanwhile in a sermon in All Saints, Liverpool, the preacher described what he claimed were authenticat-ed sightings of angels at the battle of Mons.

(This story has passed into folklore: any more details would be appreciated).

22

Federation banners at the National AGM Shropshire and Mid-Wales in front, centre.

Trinity Trumpet readers might (or might not!) remember that in the last issue it was reported that several Shifnal TG members would be attending the TG National AGM. Barba-ra Bushell, Judy Owen and Alison Harris duly travelled to Glasgow and had a wonderful time in lovely weather. The venue of The Royal Concert Hall proved to be a splendid setting and all three enjoyed seeing the banner parade, meeting other members from around the country and lis-tening to some excellent speakers, including TG’s Patron, HRH Princess Anne. Alison and Judy proposed and seconded the mandate ask-ing for the advertising of gambling to be banned and were pleased that the mandate was passed, meaning that the issue has now been adopted as a national campaign. They were also privileged to meet Princess Anne during the lunch period as she was introduced to all the speakers. The day was over all too soon, but there were many happy memories to take away of both the event and the friendly city of Glasgow. Since then there have been a number of events for Shifnal ladies. The June meeting saw Ken Ballantyne come to talk about ‘Our Finest Hour’. Ken related anecdotes about groups and individuals in the period 1914 - 1945 who had all shown courage and ingenuity in some way, often receiv-ing medals for their bravery. Members much enjoyed this

well-presented talk, seeing Ken’s collection of memorabilia and identifying the wartime entertain-ers of whom he showed pictures. His fee for the evening was do-nated to Severn Hospice and Bomber Memorial Command.

flowers, glass and programme at Birthday Lunch (flower arrangements made by committee)

Various Federation events have taken place in the last few months. A number of Shifnal members went to a Craft Day to explore the therapeutic practice of Zentangle; some joined a trip to the Royal Museum of Worcester; some had a go at crown green bowling at a Fun Bowls Day at Norton; and some went to a Skittles Evening at the White Horse in Wrockwardine Wood where they enjoyed an excellent bas-ket meal and had great fun in the skittles competition. Shifnal TG had two social events of its own during the sum-mer. Its 48

th Birthday was celebrated in July with a deli-

cious lunch at Shifnal Golf Club. The splendid cake was made by Sadie Jones and cut by long-standing members Eileen Shervey and Tricia Mitchell. In August, Tricia opened up her home for a ‘Lunch in the Garden’. Fortu-nately, the weather allowed all to enjoy the beautiful garden and to listen to Rozz Crockford talking about what is hap-pening with The Walled Garden Project. Finally, some readers may have seen the stall run by Guild members at the Craft Fair in Shifnal on August 22

nd, selling

cakes and publicising TG. Hopefully, the stall or articles like this one may have sparked your interest – so, do come and join us! Contact shifnaltg@hotmail.co.uk or 01952 460782 for more information. You’ll be made very welcome, and the first visit is free! Eileen Shervey and Tricia Mitchell cutting the cake

23

The Sudoku puzzle can be found on page 4.

SHOEBOX WORLD 2014: FROM VIRTUAL TO VITAL

SHOE BOX APPEAL Operation Christmas Child is the world’s largest Christmas project run by the Christian relief and development organisation Samaritan’s Purse. As part of churches together Trinity has supported this charity for several years and we hope, with your help, to do so again this year. If you would like to support by donating a shoes box full of goodies, or by of-

fering items that could be put into a shoe box, or by giving a donation towards

postage please see Dot Greatorex who has some pamphlets with information

regarding the sort of thing we are allowed to send. The last day for donating

will be Sunday 25th October. Thank you.

Operation Christmas Child will pack your shoebox and send it for you, for a suggested donation of just

£15 + £3 shipping per box. Go online to https://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/shoebox-world-2014/

With a few clicks of your mouse or swipes on

your touchscreen, you can build a shoebox

online. Make it your own by choosing from a list

of gifts by dragging and dropping them into your

box, then add a personal letter and photo.

1

P R2

A C3

T I4

C A5

B I6

L I7

T Y

U N H O U E R8

R9

S I D E A R M10

C O T T A G E

H A W P O T I L11

T I N A12

S A B L E13

K N E E

H T14

M R I15

E E N16

E X E C U T E17

C O L L E C T

B S V L18

O N19

E S T E20

P21

C L I M22

A T E

A X Y L H S T S23

T R A M24

B A R O N25

Z E U S

O C26

U U R27

E L N28

U T T E R E D29

A R C H I V E

T O E I L H E S30

T R E A D T H E B O A R D S

Crossword Solution Well, how did you get on? It’s been a while since we included a crossword. We would like to include crosswords of our own so if you are a budding cruciverbalist ( I looked it up) why not get in touch and show us what you can do.

1 3 2 8 4 7 9 5 6

7 4 6 2 5 9 8 3 1

9 8 5 6 3 1 7 4 2

3 5 4 9 7 6 2 1 8

6 2 7 5 1 8 3 9 4

8 1 9 4 2 3 6 7 5

5 6 8 7 9 4 1 2 3

2 9 3 1 6 5 4 8 7

4 7 1 3 8 2 5 6 9

24

Back in June illegal immigration hit the headlines again this time because “Carry-me” intended to sell 3 of their ships to DFDS with consequent loss of jobs. A strike followed which left lorries lined up nose to tail, too big an oppor-tunity for stowaways. Hundreds were caught but some were filmed jumping off lorries in Kent. Since then many other stories have hit the headlines. There are reportedly 5,000 immigrants camping around Calais in what is known as the Jungle. French police have caught over 18,000 trying to cross this year. However, if we are not careful we see this as purely a domes-tic problem so hold on a moment. According to government figures more than 60,000 immigrants have crossed into Hungary illegally already in 2015. Germany is expecting 300,000 to seek asylum this year, there were 200,000 last year. France has returned 6,000 immigrants to Italy so far this year, out of at least 170,000 (last year's figures, probably more this year) arriving in Italy. 155,000 have reached Greece by sea, 23,000 Serbia. But the issue is far wider than Europe: Canada receives 250,000 a year. The US believes that it has 11.4 million illegal immigrants in the country, most from the south but 20% are from Asia, Africa and Europe. Australia was receiving over 10,000 a year but has imposed strict border control and has not received an illegal boat in 7 months. All this goes to show that what seems to be a huge crisis for Britain is a very small part of a massive world crisis. The root problems are not going to be corrected at the drop of a hat. Eco-nomics is an obvious cause with mil-lions wanting a better life style, an es-cape from poverty, a desire to rise above the bread-line; release from starvation, totally inadequate living conditions, disease, squalor. Coupled with poverty you have over-population: with this come water short-age, pollution, disease , hunger. Then along come wars, power struggles and

oppressive regimes, bringing fear and a struggle to survive as well as more economic pressures and local over-population as people seek safety. Then we see earth movements, vol-canic activity and normal climatic vari-ation bringing droughts and floods, leaving whole populations starving and homeless without basic necessities. And that's without heeding the climatic change doom-mongers warnings, who, if they are to be believed, see nations disappearing beneath the sea: whole populations of millions are at risk. The problem will continue to grow. When I was young we were taught that the world population would double in every 30 years or so. The US census bureau estimated that on 12 March 2012 the world population passed 7 billion, so in 2032 you can expect 14 billion. Under natural conditions any population has to spread, the pres-sures on land will continue to grow; we cannot afford to use prime agricultural land anywhere for housing however ephemeral or lavish, yet it is already happening. And the world as a whole doesn't want to know - thank you very much. When they turn up at your door they are some one else's fault and someone else's problem. What is the answer? This has been going on since humans were created. Is it actually something we can stop? It seems to me to be pure science, the theory of diffusion. As long as there is less poverty in one place the poor from elsewhere will seek refuge there. As long as there is better medical care, many will seek refuge there for better health. As long as there is less social unrest fear will drive peoples to those shores. Once the concentrations of problems have equalled themselves out, then migra-tion in and out become roughly equal, but then we don't want that do we? We want increasing standards of living and the gap will become greater and the migration pressure will increase. We pray for the hungry, but we don't

want them here. We pray for peace in strife ridden areas but we don't want to give peace to the oppressed here. We pray for and support health work in desperate countries but we won't let them in here. We pray for the poor of the world but won't allow them to share our prosperity within our shores. What are we to do? Angela Merkel has declared her posi-tion on closing European borders to prevent free movement: she probably has more reason to speak than most since Germany is the second destina-tion for immigrants in the world after the US. 11 million, that's 1/5 of the population is of non-German origin. David Cameron has given way a little and agreed to receive more immi-grants. But what is the long term an-swer? Charities are at work trying to help these thousands in their stateless condition. Sara, our daughter, is in contact with one of the French chari-ties who received her enquiry with great enthusiasm and she is now plan-ning to take a multi-faith party of young people to Calais to help this charity distribute much needed support to the Calais Jungle. How that will affect their understanding and attitude who knows ,but at least it is a move to-wards understanding and recognising them as humans in need. But come on! This is a huge problem. Governments, the people, the UN even, are going to have to be far more imaginative and plan differently. We need people of intellect and integrity, honest and above manipulation by other powers. So let's think bigger, lots bigger. Every one of us probably has immigrant blood in us to a lesser or greater degree, these people are hu-man beings like you and me. So where do we go from here? Humanly speak-ing I have no idea. But surely prayer is where we start, but we need to listen as well to what God is saying to us. We need to pray and listen for his an-swer!

Hello Trinity,Hello Trinity,Hello Trinity,Hello Trinity, Just to say thank you to the folks at Trinity for the donation th% gave to Malcolm.Just to say thank you to the folks at Trinity for the donation th% gave to Malcolm.Just to say thank you to the folks at Trinity for the donation th% gave to Malcolm.Just to say thank you to the folks at Trinity for the donation th% gave to Malcolm. I will put the £75 towards a cow for a womens' HIV/Aids group that are farmingI will put the £75 towards a cow for a womens' HIV/Aids group that are farmingI will put the £75 towards a cow for a womens' HIV/Aids group that are farmingI will put the £75 towards a cow for a womens' HIV/Aids group that are farming a banana plantation. Ce cow will provide dung for the plantation and milka banana plantation. Ce cow will provide dung for the plantation and milka banana plantation. Ce cow will provide dung for the plantation and milka banana plantation. Ce cow will provide dung for the plantation and milk for the families G the women.for the families G the women.for the families G the women.for the families G the women. C% were delighted when we said we would provide them with the cow.C% were delighted when we said we would provide them with the cow.C% were delighted when we said we would provide them with the cow.C% were delighted when we said we would provide them with the cow.

I will send a phMo when I have one.I will send a phMo when I have one.I will send a phMo when I have one.I will send a phMo when I have one. Yvonne Gough (PHARP)Yvonne Gough (PHARP)Yvonne Gough (PHARP)Yvonne Gough (PHARP) Malcolm and colleagues on a previous

visit to Rwanda.