NEWSLINK
The Parish Magazine
of Saint Faith's Church, Great
Crosby
Saint Faith’s Prayer for
Mission
Faithful God, in baptism you have adopted us as your children,
made us members of the body of Christ and chosen us as inheritors
of your kingdom:
bless our plans for mission and outreach; guide us to seek and do
your will;
empower us by your Spirit to share our faith in witness and to serve,
and send us out as disciples of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
June 2006
From
the Ministry Team
Dear friends,
As many of you will know, the two PCCs came together on 7th May for
what is now a well-established tradition – the joint away day. One of
the exercises we did was to look at questions posed by the Archdeacon’s
Visitation papers. It was good to share these with the two PCCs – I
have to confess they are usually filled in rather hastily by the
Incumbent with no consultation!
The question was: What has been the greatest challenge your church has
faced this last year? Of the many answers given I found there was one
which put a smile on my face: Pleasing everyone! It put me in mind of
John Betjeman’s great poem “Blame the Vicar”. Many years ago a priest
friend said to me prior to ordination, “don’t try to please everyone
because you will fail!”
We live in a consumerist society where it has become natural to “pick
and choose”. Woolworths may have started this, years ago, with their
selection of “pick and mix” sweets but the church in some areas has
adopted the same principle. How often we hear of people who cease going
to church because of the Vicar or form of service used. Is that the
level of their faith and commitment? “The hymns aren’t my choice – I’ll
go elsewhere”. “The service is half an hour too early – I’ll go
elsewhere”. Small wonder that attendances in Anglican churches are
dwindling! In some parts of the country, churches are being turned into
alternative places of worship (mosques or temples) because the
Christian commitment is not as strong as the commitment to other
faiths. If only nominal Christians were as committed to weekly worship
as people of other faiths. We certainly wouldn’t be in the mess we are
in if it were the case.
All that said, I hope that one of the strengths of S. Faith’s is the
diversity we offer. As I write, tomorrow evening we will be holding a
rather formal and traditional service of May Devotions to Our Lady and
Benediction. Tomorrow morning some of us will be walking in procession
with umbrellas as part of our Christian Aid All Age Eucharist. I am
aware that some will stay away tomorrow evening because it is not
“their cup of tea”. I am aware that some will stay away tomorrow
morning because it is not “their cup of tea”. A serious point needs to
be made though: we mustn’t fall into the trap of condemning others
because they don’t agree with us or like the things we like. Don’t try
to please everyone because you will fail!
I hope though that in the variety and richness of our diverse
liturgical pattern there will be something for everyone and that our
commitment to serving the Risen Lord will be clearly evidenced by our
commitment to worship.
I am sick to my back teeth of listening to clergy moaning on about the
‘difficult and perilous times’ we live in. What a complete and utter
pile of rubbish. Have we ever lived in more challenging times? Has
there ever been such a need for the Gospel to be preached and taught?
There must be both an urgency and immediacy about our mission if we are
seriously seeking to engage with 21st century people in a 21st century
world. Jesus died on the cross not for a world of yesterday, or
make-believe, or fantasy. Jesus died on the cross for the world as it
really and truly is. It is that same real world that we are called to
serve and minister to. It may be a scary prospect, it may involve us in
a change of priorities and attitudes, it may well be the Holy Spirit
takes us to places we would rather not be in. But that is our mandate.
We are sent out to love and serve the world every time we come to
church. The mass is ended - the mission is begun!
As I look back on the last seven years I have been your parish priest I
am well aware of mistakes I have made and opportunites I have missed.
There must never be a time for any of us when we feel we have got it
100% right. However, I am more and more encouraged and strengthened by
the fact that each year the number of passengers gets smaller and the
strength of the crew grows. We are truly blessed not just in the
diversity of outlooks and opinions, but by the diversity of gifts which
people have and give so freely.
We couldn’t wish for better tools with which to do the Lord’s work. As
we celebrate in June the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
let us pray that the same Spirit will be poured afresh on us. It may
send us out into un-charted waters. But - hey, who knows? When we get
there it may even put a smile on our face!
With love and prayers
Fr
Neil
Away for the Day
Some reflections on the joint PCCs Away
Day from Fr. Neil
“It would be nice to have more younger people involved”. This is a
regular cry from those who perhaps themselves are no longer physically
able to do the things they used to do or from people in general
lamenting the lack of young people and families in church. The issue of
young people seems to come up at each discussion we have regarding the
future of the church. How good it was then that at our Away Day we
welcomed not only some new PCC members and churchwardens but some
younger ones!
The day began for me as it usually does, asking “why are we giving up a
beautiful day when we could be enjoying the sunshine?” And sunshine
there was to add to the beauty of the place we regularly meet in, S.
Luke’s Formby. Not too far from home but far enough to feel we had left
the worries of the day behind.
Linda Jones from the Diocesan Church Growth and Ecumenism kicked us off
with a very good picture of the diversity which exists in the Church of
England’s worship. She spoke of liturgical growth in her own church
(Ormskirk Parish Church) and how the congregation had responded
positively to new forms of worship.
After coffee we looked at some questions which form part of the
Archdeacon’s Visitation papers. Fr. Mark facilitated this session and
it was very informative. We were asked the questions below and people’s
responses were varied, as you will read.
Describe briefly a couple of events
that have gone really well in your church during this last year.
Holy Week Liturgy, Saturday Recitals, Good Friday Stations of the
Cross, Pantomime, All Age Worship, Discussion Groups, Excellent
Liturgy, Children’s Holiday Club, Singing at the Metropolitan
Cathedral, Pensioners’ Lunch at Christmas, Children’s Pilgrimage to
Walsingham - and Cynthia’s Licensing Party.
What has been the greatest challenge your church has faced this last
year?
New forms of worship, Outreach, Raising money to keep the church open,
‘Growing’ the congregation, Reaching a wider community, Finding people
to help with ‘events’ or ongoing work, Heating, Appointing a suitable
Director of Music, Pleasing everyone, Involving younger people,
Adapting to change, How to engage with people in the parish who do not
understand our religious language and Working out what we need to do to
‘spread the good news’.
What particular gifts or resources
are there in your church which could be used more in the Deanery?
Music, Professional organisational skills, Public speaking / leading
discussion groups / Bible Study, Preaching, Disseminating good practice
to other churches, liturgy and worship, Expertise with young people,
Social / Community events, Diversity, Anything that we do well could be
‘opened up’.
What sort of ‘fresh expressions of
church’ exist within your parish?
Children’s Holiday Club, Over 65’s Holiday Club, Pilgrimages,
Children’s Pilgrimage, Pantomime, All Age Worship Services, ‘Open
table’ – not within parish but open to people in the parish, Bible
Study, Children’s area and crèche, Varied liturgy, Simpler
language used at All Age Worship Services.
There was clearly overlap and, of course, what is seen as something
that has gone really well to one person is perhaps perceived as a
challenge or difficulty to another. ‘Twas ever thus!
Splitting up into groups for discussion helped the process and we were
asked to give our scores out of ten for four specific areas which we
reckoned to be the basis of our common life; that is, Worship,
Fellowship, Evangelism and Service. We were asked to be as honest as we
could be in saying how well we each felt we did in each area. Out of a
possible 250 for each, the results were Worship = 220/250, Fellowship =
163/250, Evangelism = 70/250 and Service = 166/250.
So, after a delightful break to enjoy our lunch in the sunshine, we sat
down again for the final slot, which was to make a first stab at a
five-year development plan. The work done in the morning set the agenda
for our conversation and the short, medium and long term plans we
mapped out will by the time you read this have been discussed at the
PCC meeting.
We realize the almost impossible challenges posed by trying to
formulate a five-year plan but one thing was transparently clear: at
previous away-days we have only talked about how we will ‘manage’ or
‘survive’ in the forthcoming year. The mood had totally shifted and the
focus was entirely different. There was no question of ‘survival’ or
‘crisis-management’. We will be here in five years’ time, we will be
vibrant and healthy and we look forward to making that dream a reality
for the people of God in Waterloo and Crosby.
Sunday 4th
June - PENTECOST SUNDAY
The Birthday of the
Church
11.00am FAMILY MASS followed by coffee and birthday
cake
7.00pm Compline and Benediction
Sunday
11th June - TRINITY SUNDAY
11.00am Parish Eucharist
Preacher: Fr. Steven Brooks (Priest-in-charge, Our Lady & S.
Nicholas, Pier Head)
Thursday
15th June - FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI
6.15pm Supper in the Vicarage for those going on
pilgrimage to Rome later in the year
8.00pm HIGH MASS with blessing of Eucharistic
Ministers.
Preacher: The Right Reverend John Flack (Director of the Anglican
Centre, Rome)
Followed by bring-a-bottle party in the Vicarage Garden
Sunday 25th June, 3pm - JOINT SUNDAY SCHOOLS’ PARTY
… picnic and bouncy castle in the Vicarage Garden!
Church
and Community at St Faith’s
Each year at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, those present receive
reports from the various grouips and organisations that serve our
church, its worship and its mission to the community. This is what was
presented at this year’s meeting.
MINISTRY TEAM Fred Nye
At the beginning of the year we were able to thank Dora Whitehead and
Margaret Davies for their contribution to the team as they retired as
churchwardens in the United Benefice. In their place we welcomed Miriam
Jones and Doreen Whitlow. The highlights of the year have undoubtedly
been the licensing of Father Mark as NSM to the Benefice last July and
the more recent licensing of Cynthia Johnson as Reader. We wish them
well in their respective ministries.
The team meets regularly, usually once a month, and we discuss a very
wide variety of parish business, including both practical matters and
pastoral concerns. We are keen that our two PCCs should also play a
full part in responsibility and decision making, and we are looking
into the training possibilities for PCC members.
Much of our time has been taken up with outreach initiatives. The new
arrangements for baptisms are working well but parish visitors need
more support and training in the pastoral and faith-sharing aspects of
their role. We are also looking at ministry to the housebound including
communion at home: ideally our Eucharistic ministers could take the
sacrament to the housebound after Mass on a Sunday morning. We
would like to make experience of prayer and bible study more accessible
and to increase the opportunities for church members and newcomers to
meet one another in the context of Faith. Looking at the formation of
new groups for these activities will be part of our task for next year.
This year the ‘Walsingham Circle’ which unites both parishes has
provided a new focus for prayer and spirituality. Finally, we are
looking forward to the PCC Away-day where we will all be considering
our strategy for the next five years. Our thanks to Father Neil for his
expert chairmanship, and also for entertaining us all so generously
with a very convivial Christmas meal at the Red Squirrel back in
December!
PREMISES Michael Holland
The Premises Committee met at regular intervals throughout the year.
Maintenance work has continued to grounds, church and church hall. The
appearance of the grounds is tidy. Security lighting on Vicarage
wall facing the church has been mended.
Acts of vandalism this year have been less, but damage to wall outside
hall on Milton Rd. needs repairing. Faulty lighting in church has been
repaired. New cupboard in Vestry made. Improvements in the church hall
are constantly being undertaken. Cleaning of all external
guttering and repairing where appropriate. A
new dishwasher in the kitchen is
now functioning (cost largely raised by Table Sales). New chairs and
tables also purchased in like manner. Heater boiler in old kitchen now
partitioned off (fire regulations). Floor surface in upper room
improved and room decorated.
Estimates obtained for following major works: New heating in church;
Eradication of Dry Rot in Sacristy; New electric switchboard in church.
Replacing electric wiring in hall. Other major work to be considered.
Disabled access to church and hall and toilet facilities in hall.
(Awaiting architect to produce plans.) Repair work required to
church roof and above kitchen and toilets in hall.
SERVING TEAM Geoff Moss
Since the last year’s report the serving team now stands at 16 and we
will soon be welcoming back Rebecca Waters. We have two new members of
the team, Josie Appleton and Emily Lee. We are now able to have full
teams for Sunday services and enlarged teams for special services.
Kevin and I have started to give extended training to younger members
who are now undertaking more adult serving roles. I would like to thank
all the serving team for all their hard work and
dedication.
JUNIOR CHURCH Angie Price
First of all, I would like to thank the small nucleus of regular
children who come to Junior Church, and also the equally small and
gallant band of helpers who teach and support them. At the moment we
have 18 children on the books, but rarely see more than half that
number in church on a Sunday. We enjoy showing the congregation our
learning and creative work when we come into church. The indoor and
outdoor parties as usual attract far more children but are great
fun. We would all like to thank Fr Neil for making the Chapel of
the Cross such an attractive Children’s Corner where we can hide
away. We would as always be very grateful for more helpers to
spread the load.
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WATERLOO Kathleen Zimak
The group has organised inter-church services during the year, a
Christian Aid service in May and a service of lessons and carols in
December, both at St Faith’s. Representatives from the churches
also attended the Merseyside Region ecumenical service at Christ
Church, Ellesmere Port to mark the week of prayer for Christian Unity
in January. The proposed debate between the local Members of Parliament
during One World Week had to be cancelled because of failure to secure
the attendance of all the MPs.
The group organised the distribution of leaflets to all houses in the
area for Christmas and Easter and was also responsible for the
Christian Aid house to house collection throughout the parishes in May.
The committee was sorry to lose its chair Mr Joe Kendall, who has begun
his training to be a priest away from the area, and are gra,teful for
his hard work on behalf of the group.
CATERING TEAM RuthWinder
Events this past year have been very successful despite the reduced
numbers in the team, and fewer people available to help on some
occasions, for a variety of reasons. With fewer commitments this year
hopefully we can re-vitalise for the future. Thanks to all those
outside the catering team who gave generously of their time and cooking
skills when help was requested. Also to all who helped in any way
toward the table sales, which were a great success, and raised enough
capital to purchase new chairs for the hall, and a dishwasher for the
kitchen. Looking forward to continued success this year and a
happy sunny summer.
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS Eric Salisbury
At the present time we have 16 Eucharistic Ministers, including two
Readers, licensed by the Bishop to assist in the Eucharist with the
administration of the Host and Chalice. They may also administer
the Reserved Sacrament to the sick and house bound.
SANIN FAITH’S BROWNIES Sue Walsh and Mary McFayden
We currently have 13 Brownies registered, with two girls on our waiting
list who should be joining us next term and possibly 3 or 4 Rainbows
who are now old enough to move up. Last September we visited Crosby
Fire Station where the girls were presented with a Fire Safety Badge at
the end of a very interesting and informative evening.
In November we welcomed a lady from the Freshfield Animal Rescue Centre
who brought along a furry friend. The girls enjoyed the evening and our
visitor was delighted with the generous donations of cat and dog food
the girls gave as a thank you. We have since been invited to visit the
rescue centre.
We made more beautiful hand-made Christmas cards in December with our
expert, Jenny Moss; we thank her sincerely for her continued support.
We finished the term with an ‘Oscars Night’ which Fr Neil was able to
attend and present some awards. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the
evening and we thank Fr Neil for his support.
SAINT FAITH’S RAINBOWS Geraldine
Forshaw
Numbers are increasing. We currently have 18 Rainbows registered with
us but four girls should be moving up to Brownies soon. We have had a
busy year continuing the new Rainbow programme. Due to increased work
commitments, Claire Hockney has been unable to assist on a regular
basis and we are currently depending on the help of Sue Walsh and Mary
McFayden; we would welcome any assistance.
10th CROSBY AND DISTRICT SCOUT GROUP
Another full year of activities for our Group! The Scout Section, led
by George McInnes, have worked on a series of skills over the year in
preparation for weekend challenges – orienteering, map-work, and camp
programme/planning etc. They have also taken part in District-led
activities such as 5-a-side football, swimming and challenge camps.
The two Cub packs, led by Alan Jones and Mike Carr, continue with
badge-work activities and have been on several weekend camps over the
year. Camps, well-attended and greatly enjoyed by all, have included
themes such as ‘Marooned’ (a desert island survival camp); ‘Who Dares,
Wins’ (adventurous activities including canoeing, archery, climbing
etc); ‘Hogwarts’ (fun themed camp) and others. This year, Cubs have
their 90th anniversary and will be celebrating at District camp in
June. Beavers go from strength to strength, have attended sleepovers
and day trips and continue with their badge-work.
The Group is strong and all sections are growing – a tribute to the
commitment and hard work that is put in by all the leaders who help run
the Group.
COMMUNICATIONS REPORT Chris Price
In an age increasingly relying on effective communications, the St
Faith’s Communications Department(!) has been kept as busy as ever.
Weekly liturgy notices and occasional service orders roll off the
presses, with the New Worship booklets in glorious technicolor.
Newslink runs to 24 or more pages, with lots of colour
photographs. I print 375 copies, over 120 of which go out by post.
Photographic displays also add colour to the back of church.
The church website is going strong, with several updates most weeks and
lots of photographs and animations. There is now a comprehensive index
to keep track of what is effectively a parish archive since 1997, and
also a page of religious jokes, many in good taste. The site registers
some 40-50 ‘hits’ most days and has had some 52,000 total visits; many
visitors are from well beyond the parish confines and some from remote
parts of the globe.
MISSION GROUP Fred Nye
This year the Mission group was asked by the PCC to implement some of
the suggestions for improved outreach which had been highlighted by the
Parish Survey. We met on five occasions. Our work has centred on three
aspects of church life: the new ‘all-age’ service, our ministry to
newcomers, particularly baptism families, and opportunities for people
to meet together to study and share their faith.
A planning sub-group was set up to organise the all-age services. Five
services have been held so far: they have been welcomed by many,
particularly children. Following criticisms of the ‘Environment’
service in March the planning group membership has been widened and a
preparation timetable implemented. We are anxious that the S. Faith’s
congregation as a whole should ‘own’ these services, and that the
worship should be welcoming and accessible to those who are
‘un-churched’. It would also be good if in future we could take part in
the Diocesan ‘Child Friendly Church’ scheme. Baptism visiting is now
carried
out entirely by a lay team, and families are welcomed at the all-age
service preceding the baptism. Finally, Father Mark organised two
highly successful and well attended study groups, one on ‘Questions of
Faith’ and a Lent Group on the idea of sacrifice.
WALSINGHAM CIRCLE Miriam Jones
During last year’s Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham, a group of people
from our United Benefice were accepted as new members to the Shrine of
Our Lady of Walsingham. As there were 10 of us (5 from S. Faith’s and 5
from S. Mary’s), we were able to form what is termed by the
Shrine a ‘Local Cell’, of which Fr
Neil is the Local Superior, being a Priest Associate of the
Holy House. The requirement for forming a cell is that members meet on
a regular basis, observing feast days relating to Our Lady, and the
individuals are to say The Angelus each day. An annual membership fee
is payable to help support the Shrine. We have named our cell ‘The
Walsingham Circle’, indicating by its name that it encompasses all, and
everyone is welcome. The mass held on the last Saturday morning of each
month and the intercessions offered are dedicated to Our Lady of
Walsingham.
From time to time, there are informal meetings held after a mass, for
instance, during Lent there was a talk by Fr Robert Hart, who is a
member of the Church Liturgical Commission, about some of the history
and ritual of Holy Week and Easter, followed by a Lenten Lunch. All
services and meetings are open to everyone, and will be publicised on
the weekly service sheet accordingly.
100-PLUS CLUB Miriam Jones
The 100 club has continued to be successful for another year,
celebrating its 5th birthday in November. Membership has recently
dropped slightly, settling at around 140. In the last 12 months, the
figure paid to church funds was around £4,500, bring the total
raised since it started to about £25,000.
Coming
of Age
The other day, my granddaughter asked me how I felt about being old. I
was taken aback: I don’t think of myself as old. Seeing my reaction,
she was embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting
question.
Old age, I decided, is a gift. I’m now, probably for the first time in
my life, the person I’ve always wanted to be. Not my body - I sometimes
despair over that, but I don’t agonise for long. I would never trade my
amazing friends, my wonderful life and my loving family for less grey
hair or a flatter belly.
As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, less critical. I’ve become
my own friend. I don’t scold myself for eating that extra biscuit, for
not making my bed or for buying that silly cement gnome (which looks so
avant garde on my patio).
I’m entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I’ve seen too
many friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the
great freedom that comes with ageing. Whose business is it if I choose
to read until dawn and sleep until noon? I dance by myself to those
wonderful tunes of the Fifties and Sixties - and if I wish to weep over
a lost love, I will.
I know I’m sometimes forgetful - but some of life is better forgotten,
and I eventually remember the important things. Over the years, my
heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a
loved one or when a child suffers? But broken hearts are what give us
strength, understanding and compassion.
I’m blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn grey and to
have my youthful laughs forever etched in deep grooves on my face. I
can say ‘no’ and mean it. I can say ‘yes’ and mean it.
As you get older, it’s easier to be definite. You care less about what
other people think. I don’t question myself any more. I’ve even earned
the right to be wrong.
So - I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have
become. I’m not going to live for ever, but while I’m still here, I
won’t waste time moaning about what might have been or worrying about
what will be. For the first time in my life, I don’t have to have a
reason to do the things I want to do.
If I want to play games on the computer all day, lie on the settee and
watch old films for hours, I have earned that right. I have put in my
time doing everything for others, so now I can be a bit selfish without
feeling guilty.
I sometimes feel sorry for the young. They face a far different world
from the one I knew growing up, where we feared the law, respected the
old, the King and Queen, and our country. I never felt the need to use
filthy language in order to express myself. And in any case, the young
will also grow old someday.
I’m grateful to have been born when I was, into a kinder, gentler
world. Yes, I like being old.
Pony Moore
supplied by John Chapman
‘A
Small Pilgrim Place’
Chris Price
Having a bolt-hole in North Wales provides us with the freedom to get
away from busy urban life for a few days – and the leisure when there
to seek out remote and beautiful places still undiscovered by us after
a lifetime of exploring Gwynedd. Such a place is Llandecwyn.
You head very steeply uphill on narrow lanes from west of Talsarnau to
the sanctuary of a small and lovely lake, then take another
high lane, marked only as No Through Road, to
end up at a small church perched high on the hillside. This is St
Tecwyn’s, vaguely remembered from many years past. It is unremarkable
from the exterior – and it was locked – but several things made
wandering round its enclosure an unforgettable experience.
The scenery needed no guide on a day of warm sunshine. The mellow slate
gravestones and the blazing yellow gorse framed a panorama of the
Dwyryd estuary and the high mountains of Eryri – Snowdon and its
attendant peaks.
But there was a guide to these land and water marks – in the little
lych-gate entrance were piles of leaflets telling the past and present
story of St Tecwyn’s. Jim Cotter’s thoughtful and lyrical words
described the place:
‘An enclosure for burial and remembrance: a church visible for miles
from estuary and hills; a quiet place that draws people to it as a
magnet; a breathing space; a still place whose walls are licked by the
wind.’
Identifying the points of interest spread out far below, it offers
prayers at each point: for example, ‘for those who have died in
accidents in these hills and along this coast’… ‘those who enable the
Welsh language to flourish’… ‘those who travel in search of meaning in
their lives’… ‘those responsible for power supplies and those spreading
the use of solar, wind and wave power’… ‘those who walk and climb the
mountains and those setting out on pilgrimages’. There are more words
and prayers about the as yet unseen interior of the church, including
the ancient Cross of St Tecwyn and the Rublev welcoming angels ikon.
The church is open, and apparently manned, during high summer, and
these delights wait for us and other pilgrims.
The church is apparently part of an experimental project to see if
‘small, little-used churches can come alive again as oases on the
pilgrim journey, breathing places for quiet prayer, simple hospitality
and thoughtful conversation.’ The church is open during most summer
afternoons, and on Sunday evenings in July and August offers candlelit
prayer.
All this is beautiful, and heart-warming, and we shall return. And the
final revelation and inspration came when the leaflet pointed the
visitor to graves near the porch. The visitor is invited to read the
inscription on Albert George Lewis’s slab. ‘Not a bad epitaph,’ says
Jim Cotter, and he is right indeed. Lewis is commemorated as ‘A True
Welshman who loved poetry, music and mankind.’ Next to him lies
Margaret Elizabeth, ‘reunited with her beloved husband. And still a
garden by the water blows.’ And immediately beneath is a more recent
grave, that of Michael Harker Glauert: ‘Mathematician, who loved and
walked these hills. He has outsoared the shadow of our night.’
To read these lovely words in this beautiful setting was moving indeed.
It is hard to think of a more fitting resting place than this quiet and
holy acre far above the busy main road, in an ancient place of
sanctuary with only the song of the birds, the distant call of sheep
and the drifting clouds around. May they indeed rest in peace.
“And
on the Eighth Day . . .”
Rick and Rosie Walker conclude their
round-the-world saga
Sadly our week in New Zealand came to an end, but we were not to be
disappointed with our next stop which was on the tiny Polynesian island
of Rarotonga.
Although it was one o’clock in the morning when we arrived at the
airport (a couple of wooden sheds) we were given Lei garlands of
gardenias and jasmine and it was very, very warm. A guy in a jazzy
shirt with a people carrier with matching jazzy seat covers drove us to
the Sunset Beach Resort. It was too dark to look around when we
arrived, but we slept well and woke to an odd sort of whooshing sound.
Opening the patio doors we discovered the reason for the noise: the
entire Pacific Ocean complete with palm trees, white sand and coral
reef was just yards from our room.
We only discovered later that the island had been hit by four cyclones
in February last year, which had destroyed our part of the island, and
all the buildings were new and built to withstand just about anything.
It was remarkable that the island had recovered so well from the
disaster which had ruined crops, the tourist trade and damaged just
about everyone’s houses. Now, coconuts were growing, pawpaws were being
harvested and some very odd looking vegetables were served up. It seems
that natural disasters are taken as ‘one of those things’ and the
islanders just cleared up and got on with life.
With a maximum speed limit of 25 mph on the island, most transport was
by scooter, and with no nanny state laws about seat belts and crash
helmets, it was quite usual to see two or three children on the back
seat of a little motorbike, hanging on to their mother as she
negotiated potholes in the island’s only road. We particularly liked
the law which closed all shops, restaurants and services at lunchtime
on Saturday until Monday morning. Only hotels were allowed to serve
food and everyone (including us) went to church on Sunday. Now we are
used to good music, but the entire congregation at Arorangi church sang
magically without books or music in wonderful harmony. Their robes?
White dresses and straw hats for the ladies and the men wore white
suits complete with waistcoats. And in a temperature of over 100
degrees!
Another odd thing we noticed was that every house had a collection of
its own family graves in the garden. Not just little marker stones
either, but large mausoleums often with canopies and adornments. There
were some wonderful inscriptions showing how close they felt they were
to their departed relatives.
Swimming in warm crystal clear water teeming with large aquarium
quality fish is a must if you’ve not tried it. We had also crossed the
International Date Line which had the effect of giving us Friday 3rd
March all over again. If only they had a National Lottery we could have
made a killing!
But even with an eighth day in the week, our time in Paradise came to
an end and we set off for California and the Northern Hemisphere for
what was to be a return visit to San Francisco after about 5 years.
The temperature dropped to just above freezing as we landed, and we
were glad of the woollies, long trousers and fleece jackets that we had
carried laboriously through the tropics. San Francisco was as exciting
as ever, with rides on cable cars, buses, a bicycle driven Pedicab, and
Taxis as well as lots of Shanks’s Pony. Farmers, Markets, Fisherman’s
Wharf, Pier 39 - even the Hard Rock Café and the Golden Gate
Bridge, all took their fair share of our time. Again we had booked a
hotel in the middle of the tourist area so spending money was easy.
There was great excitement on our first Internet link from the hotel –
our daughter Beckie had been for her first ‘scan’ and had sent us the
first picture of our future grand-child. OK, the picture was only the
size of a postage stamp and was totally indistinct, but it was the
first picture and as such is more precious than any of the 650 pictures
we had taken on our trip.
Our last day in San Francisco was the day of the snow in Crosby, and we
didn’t miss out. We woke to heavy hail and sleet and news that the
Golden Gate Bridge had been closed to traffic because of the heaviest
snowfall in 30 years!
The thought of British weather signalled the end to the holiday, and as
we flew home we started to think back over the adventures of the
previous four weeks. Certainly the holiday of a lifetime, and if we had
the opportunity to go again we wouldn’t change a thing. But having said
that, there is something comforting about being back in our own home,
walking the dog, joining the queue at Sainsbury’s and moaning about the
weather and petrol prices, that makes home the best place on earth. But
if you hear that Easyjet are planning flights to the Pacific please let
us know.
Fr Charles Billington’s
Golden
Jubilee Mass of Thanksgiving
Friday, September 22nd at 8.00 pm in Saint Faith’s
followed by a buffet reception in the Church Hall
Anyone travelling to Crosby for this special occasion
who requires help or information regarding accommodation
should contact Fr Dennis (0151-928 5065)
The article that follows, written by
the renowned academic and atheist RICHARD DAWKINS, is a clever and
disturbing attack on religion in general and Christianity in
particular. It deserves to be read and pondered over, if only to
work out how best to counter its arguments. The title is an anagram!
It is a highly addictive drug ,but
governments everywhere encourage its use.
Gerin
Oil
(Geriniol to give it its scientific name) is a powerful drug which acts
directly on the central nervous system to produce a range of
characteristic symptoms, often of an antisocial or self-damaging
nature. If administered chronically in childhood, Gerin oil can
permanently modify the brain to produce adult disorders, including
dangerous delusions which have proved very hard to treat. The four
doomed flights of 7th September were, in a very real sense, Gerin oil
trips: all 19 of the hijackers were high on the drug at the time.
Historically, Geriniol intoxication was responsible for atrocities such
as the Salem witch hunts and the massacres of native South Americans by
conquistadores. Gerin oil fuelled most of the wars of the European
middle ages and, in more recent times, the carnage that attended the
partitioning of the Indian subcontinent and, on a smaller scale,
Ireland.
Gerin oil addiction can drive previously sane individuals to run away
from a normally fulfilled human life and retreat to closed communities
from which all but confirmed addicts are excluded. These communities
are nearly always limited to one sex, and they rigorously, often
obsessively, forbid sexual activity. Indeed, a tendency towards
agonised sexual prohibition emerges as a drably recurring theme amid
all the colourful variations of Gerin oil symptomatology. Gerin oil
does not seem to reduce the libido per se, but it frequently leads to a
prurient desire to interfere with, and preferably reduce, the sexual
pleasure of others. A current example is the horror with which Gerin
oil users view homosexuality, even when expressed in long-term loving
relationships.
Gerin oil in strong doses can be hallucinogenic. Hardcore mainliners
may hear voices in their heads, or see illusions which seem to the
sufferers so real that they often succeed in persuading others of their
reality. An individual who reports high-grade hallucinogenic
experiences may be venerated, and even followed as some kind of leader,
by others who regard themselves as less fortunate. Such
following-pathology can long postdate the leader’s death, and may
expand into bizarre psychedelic forms such as the cannibalistic fantasy
of ‘drinking the blood and eating the flesh’ of the leader.
Strong doses of Geriniol can also lead to ‘bad trips’ with morbid
delusions and fears, notably fears of being tortured, not in the real
world but in a postmortem fantasy world. Bad trips of this kind are
bound up with a punishment culture which is as characteristic of this
drug as the obsessive fear of sexuality already noted. The punishment
culture fostered by Gerin oil culminates in the sinister belief that
individuals can and should be punished for the wrongdoings of others
(known on the in-group grapevine as ‘redemption’).
Medium doses of Gerin oil, though not in themselves dangerous, can
distort perceptions of reality. Beliefs that have no basis in fact are
immunised, by the drug’s own direct effects on the nervous system,
against evidence from the real world. Oil-heads can be heard talking to
thin air or muttering to themselves, apparently in the belief that
private wishes so expressed will come true, even at the cost of mild
violation of the laws of physics. This autolocutory disorder is often
accompanied by weird tics, hand gestures or other stereotypics, for
example rhythmic head-nodding towards a wall.
As with many drugs, refined Gerin oil in low doses is largely harmless,
and can even serve as a social lubricant on occasions such as
marriages, funerals and ceremonies of state. Experts differ over
whether such social use, though harmless in itself, is a risk factor
for upgrading to harder and more addictive forms of the drug.
Gerin oil acts synergistically with sleep deprivation, self-mutilation
and starvation. Addicts have been known to fast, whip their own backs,
or perform other painful ‘penances’ as means of enhancing the drug’s
potency. Mutilation is not limited to users themselves. Various Gerin
oil-based subcultures ritually injure their own children, especially
when they are too young to resist. These mutilations usually involve
the genitals.
You might think that such a potentially dangerous and addictive drug
would top the list of proscribed substances, with exemplary sentences
handed out for trafficking in it. But no, it is readily obtainable
anywhere in the world and you don’t even need a prescription.
Professional pushers are numerous, and organised in hierarchical
cartels, openly trading on street corners and even in purpose-made
buildings. Some of these cartels are adept at parting clients from
their money. Their ‘godfathers’ occupy influential positions in high
places, and they have the ear of presidents and prime ministers.
Governments don’t just turn a blind eye to the trade, they grant it
tax-exempt status. Worse, they subsidise schools with the specific
intention of getting children hooked.
I was prompted to write this article by the smiling face of a very
happy man in Bali. He was ecstatically greeting the news that he was to
be executed by firing squad for the brutal murder of large numbers of
innocent holidaymakers whom he had never met. Some people in the court
were shocked at his lack of remorse. But far from remorseful, his mood
was one of obvious exhilaration. He punched the air, delirious with joy
that he was to be ‘martyred,’ to use the jargon of his particular
sub-culture of Gerin oil substance-abusers. For, make no mistake about
it, this beatific smile, looking forward with unalloyed pleasure to the
firing squad, is the smile of a junkie. Here we have the archetypal
mainliner, doped up with hard, unrefined, unadulterated, high-octane
Gerin oil.
It is easy to regard such people as evil criminals, from whom the rest
of us need protection. Indeed, we do need protecting from them. But the
problem would not arise in the first place if children were protected
from becoming hooked on a drug with such a bad prognosis for their
adult minds.
‘They
Also Serve’
At the 2006 APCM, the following were
elected to office:
Churchwardens
Leo Appleton and Kari Dodson
Deputy
Churchwardens
Rosie Walker and Judith Skinner
Parochial Church
Council members
Judith Skinner, Julie Voce-Pascoe, Ann Hartley, David Jones and Rosie
Walker
We congratulate those who have been elected and wish them every success
in their office – and we thank most sincerely those who have served in
the past years and who have now left office.
Panto
2007?
Leo Appleton
Over the last couple of months I have received some great feedback
about our successful United Benefice pantomime, Dick Whittington, which
we took to the stage with during February of this year.
I personally had a great time with my involvement in it, especially as
we able to get quite a few St Mary’s and St Faith’s children involved
this year, and I felt as though we were putting on a truly wonderful
community event. But I have to admit to having breathed a very big sigh
of relief once the show was over, knowing that I would get my Saturday
mornings and Sunday afternoons back after the gruelling six month
rehearsal schedule!
However, now that I have had time to wind down from the energy and
excitement of panto season and reflect upon all the positive impact it
has had, I have turned my attention to planning for the next one! Once
we had finished Dick Whittington, there was talk of reverting to our
biennial staging of the production, but similar discussion took place
towards aiming for the next one in February 2007. Everyone in the cast
and crew worked extremely hard to put on our show this year, and I
think that requesting a similar commitment and the resources of their
time and energy is asking rather a lot. I am also conscious that from a
technical, front of house and back stage perspective, we were
desperately short of volunteers and the brunt of the work fell to just
two or three people. If we were to put on a 2007 panto, we would
definitely need more technical support (i.e. front of house
arrangements, costumes, props, scenery design), and perhaps a reduced
rehearsal schedule to entice our actors back to the limelight.
I am more
than happy to aim for a 2007 pantomime, but what I propose is that we
do not start rehearsing until December, and then make use of intensive
weekends during January and February, rather than commencing
proceedings in September! That way we need not think about a script and
casting until Autumn time, although it would also be nice to have more
volunteers for the above mentioned tasks before then.
If those who have been involved, and indeed those who would like to get
involved could let me know what they think about this proposal, I will
then know whether to start looking for potential Ugly Sisters for the
next show. If we have enough enthusiasm from would-be cast and crew
then I think we should use our Dick Whittington momentum and take to
the stage once more in February!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God grant me the senility to forget the people that I never liked
anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones that I do like, and the
eyesight to tell the difference.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gordon Slater RIP
The sad death of Gordon left a huge gap in our church family. His
funeral was a wonderful occasion in the best tradition of St Faith’s
farewells to its own. Many words were spoken then and subsequently, but
let these, from the funeral intercessions offered by Fr Dennis, sum up
this marvellous man as we extend our love and deep sympathy to Ada and
the family.
‘We remember with great thanksgiving and joy Gordon’s warm, welcoming
and generous spirit; his exemplary courtesy and engaging charm; his
thoughtful and considerate attentiveness to the needs of others; his
endearing good cheer, ready wit and impish sense of humour. For the
kindly Christian gentleman Gordon was and whom we shall always remember
with much love and affection: let us bless the Lord.’
An appreciation
Thank you to everyone for the love, prayers, messages and cards we
received during Gordon’s illness and after his death.
Not a lot of people know this – Gordon was an only child and often he
was a very lonely child. It was here at St Faith’s Church that he made
friends who became the ‘brothers and sisters’ he had always wished for,
and he was so happy to be a part of this family.
When the BBC chose our church for the recording of their series ‘Down
to Earth’, Gordon was in his element being one of the team of helpers.
He was never happier than when he was pottering around doing any jobs.
He always said, ‘We must earn our place in heaven.’ I hope he did.
Sincerely,
Ada Slater, Val and
Viv
Crisis
or Challenge
Chris Price
Everyone agrees that churchgoing in general is in decline, and gloomier
folk are increasingly predicting the decline and death of Christianity
in its present form. What had been lacking is an objective measure of
trends in church attendance and membership – but a recent booklet from
Christian Research had provided that yardstick, and its findings make
uncomfortable and challenging reading. In this and subsequent articles
I will take a look at what it says, and what that might mean for the
church in general and therefore us in particular.
First of all the credentials. Christian Research is an official charity
founded in 1983, and the booklet takes its figures from its detailed
survey: ‘U.K. Christian Handbook – Religious Trends’. It is independent
of the C of E, on whose figures and future it reports, but says that
its unofficial motto is ‘to do everything we can to ensure that the
forecasts we make don’t come true.’ It goes without saying that the
forecasts don’t make happy reading, and that they portray a steady
decline in organised churchgoing in our Church. They chart trends from
1980 to the present day, and from these they extrapolate probable
futures for future years up to 2020.
Their figures paint a kind of ‘inverse-vision’, a future which is nor
desired nor wanted. They speak of ‘visibles: the potential closure of
many churches, falling finance and the increasing proportion of the
elderly in diminishing congregations’, and of ‘invisibles: a future
with fewer people motivated to act and speak with integrity, truth and
commitment – the building blocks of society upon which England has
thrived over past centuries.’ Dr Peter Brierley, Christian Research’s
Executive Director, sees this prospect as disastrous for British
society and not just for the Church of England, and sees the prime
purpose of the survey as that of motivating and energising the people
who are the Church to see that the future it predicts does not in fact
come to pass.
The first section of the survey is entitled The Christian Community.
From it we find that in 2001, 72% of those responding to the National
Census claimed to be Christian. On the basis of the numbers of
those baptised in our Church, some two-thirds of those claiming then to
be at least nominal Christians were C of E: some 48% of the 2001
population. That figure had been dropping slowly since Church House
last published figures in1978, when the figure was 58%. On the basis of
this hard evidence, together with trends in baptism candidates, the
survey sees the figure as likely to be down to 33% by 2020. But this
represents nominal allegiance and certainly not churchgoing numbers: by
my very broad calculations, based on a presumed parish population of
some 7,500, we might, on that basis, expect some 2,500 people in our
parish claiming to be C of E! Far fewer nationally sign up to the
Electoral Roll, and fewer still darken the doors of their parish
churches
The survey deals next with those Electoral Roll figures nationwide.
Being on the Roll is a measure of commitment to the Church of England,
although in our case, as no doubt is the case in many parishes, our
weekly attendance is probably only about half of our Roll number. The
national Roll total has declined steadily from 1.8 million in 1978 to a
projected figure of some 900,000 by 2020. In 1980 that was 5.0% of the
adult (over 16) population, in 2000 it was 3.2% and by 2020 it is
likely to be 1.9%. St Faith’s probably fits that pattern, with an
Electoral Roll that totals perhaps 2-3% of the presumed parish
population.
Of course parish population might be seen as a relatively meaningless
yardstick for making comparisons, especially in a church like ours
whose appeal lies as much outside as within the parish boundaries. But
in urban areas, where churches are still fairly thick on the ground,
‘gathered’ congregations, coming together as much for reasons of
churchmanship preference (whether High or Low!) as geographical
convenience, are more or less the norm, so that the overall pattern is
probably still reasonably accurate.
Before it moves on, the survey makes an interesting point. National
Electoral Roll membership, it says, ‘is still half a million more
people than the membership of any political party.’ Encouraging in one
sense, but also evidence of the parallel decline of commitment to
active political participation: in the recent local elections the
turnout in one Liverpool ward was a derisory 11%.
The final section I will deal with this month is called The Church of
England in context and provides some fascinating statistics of trends
in church attendance in the (258!) U.K. Christian denominations. Did
you know that in 1980 Roman Catholic mass attendance in Britain was
half a million larger than Anglican church attendance – but that by
2005 it was some 400,000 smaller? R.C. numbers have dropped far faster
than ours, if that is any comfort; and our churchgoing numbers are
currently about 22% of national church attendance.
Decline among the mainstream churches is more or less general, with
overall growth only evident in ‘New Churches’ and (the tiny) Orthodox
Churches. Interestingly, decline is fastest in rural areas and in
churches with congregations between 150 -350 in number (which was what
we were in the 1990s). But there has been growth in21% of churches,
and that has happened ‘in all
denominations, in all churchmanships, in all
regions of
England, and across all sizes of churches.’ And a final figure in this
section: in 2005 it is estimated that 3.3. million people go to church
on a Sunday, some 6.7% of the population (still far more than those
attending League Football the day before!).
There is much more to come: ‘Family Changes’ and ‘An Ageing Church’ to
name but two. Watch this space – and meanwhile, keep coming to church.
A poem for
Corpus Christi, from the writings of Fr Sandys Wason (1867-1950).
Supplied by Fr Dennis.
Corpus Domini
At every doorway of the rose-hung street,
On the stone stair-heads, in the angled shade,
Peasants in old-time festival brocade
Took refuge from the unrelenting heat;
These, all by some Mystery made one
With those who dozed or whispered, kissed or played
As silver trumpets rang through the arcade,
Leaned to the far-off sound like wind-blown wheat.
A dark-haired boy, sandalled and naked save
A shift of came’'s hair, came first as John
The Baptist: in his wake a yearling lamb,
A crucifix, blest incense; next, a score
Of sunburnt singing-boys in lawn and black
Swept gaily on before a company
Of girls in long lace bridal veils and wreaths
Of oleander, telling rosaries,
But none so fervid that she failed to screen
The lighted taper in her small brown hand
Lest any love-lorn breeze mistake and woo
Its flame for some gold flower.
A group of children who from ribboned frails
Unendingly were flinging to the Host
Flowers of genista, poppy, myrtle, bay;
At last, as from a mist of frankincense
And candle-light and waving cypress boughs,
A priest in silver vestments flowered with gold
Came holding, shaded by a baldaquin
Of white and silver tissue, thin with age,
A golden monstrance like an outspread fan,
To which, as by a spell, his eyes were held;
He gazed, as if these transitory things
Were with the earth, all they had been before
They were created; as if our life were but
A greying garland doomed to pass away.
To him, within the pale orb of the Host,
All he had ever dreaded or desired,
Truth, wisdom, power, peace and righteousness,
As in a crystal mirror, stood revealed,
And so, adoring his uplifted God,
Wonder, profoundest wonder filled his soul.
A
Thank You Letter
from Cynthia
Johnson on the occasion of her Licensing as Reader
To all my friends at St. Faith’s and St. Mary’s: a very big THANK YOU
to everyone who sent me cards and gifts, supported me at the Cathedral
and/or brought goodies for the marvellous buffet afterwards.
I was overwhelmed by the whole day - I had not expected it to be so
big, it was a bit like a wedding! There were 20 of us ‘getting done’
and we had to be at the cathedral for 9.50am for an hour of prayer and
meditation in the Lady Chapel with Bishop James. Then there was the
Readers’ Annual General Meeting with very interesting speeches; then
lunch followed by rehearsals with our Parish Representatives (thanks
Mum!), so we all knew where to stand and what to say. Next we had to
make legal declarations and sign forms, and finally the Licensing,
which thankfully went smoothly as by this time we were all very
nervous, in front of a packed cathedral of relations and friends from
our parishes.
Back at the Church Hall I was amazed at the wonderful spread laid on,
and the generosity of the gifts and flowers. Many thanks to all who
contributed and helped.
It has been a difficult but very rewarding three years and I thank
everyone for their support and prayers, particularly for Barrie while
he has been so ill. I hope I can do justice to everyone’s faith in me.
Yours in prayer,
Cynthia