Winter 2019

St Mary’s Woodford
Parish Magazine

Volume 10 number 4 www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk

Winter 2019

Welcome

When Bishop Stephen visited us on Advent Sunday, he spoke about the
way in which God will judge Christians, asking whether we have been
true to the way that he made us, and whether we have used the gifts that
he gave us.

One of the gifts that Sally and I have enjoyed is our ability to live and
work in other cultures overseas. When we returned to Britain after ten
years in Congo, we said that when our children had grown up and become
independent of us, we would be ready to follow God’s call overseas
again. We even joked about the children one day driving us to the airport,
and looking after a home in our absence.

However, we later realised that when the generation below becomes
independent, the generation above becomes more dependent, and so after
eleven years in Nottingham, we moved to Woodford to be closer to
Sally’s mother and my parents. It was good that we could be here to
support them through the final years of their lives.

Now, however, we are going to follow our call and go overseas again.
Not back to Africa, but to a place where we will be able to see Africa
from our window every day: the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.
This week I have accepted an invitation to become Dean of the Cathedral
church of the Holy Trinity, in Gibraltar. This is the official seat of the
Church of England’s Bishop in Europe.

My last Sunday here will be 1st March 2020, and I will be installed in
Gibraltar on 2nd April.

We will have plenty of time for good-byes over the next few months;
but I would like to say now that it has been an honour and a pleasure to be
Rector of St Mary’s.

Our front cover: lighting the Christingles on Advent Sunday
- more Christingles on the back page!

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Everyday Faith is a Church of
England discipleship programme
starting Sunday 12th January.
21 days of reflections and prayers to
help you find and follow God in
everyday life. Find out more at:
churchofengland.org/everydayfaith

Parish Register

Nothing to report since September.

Scouts at the bazaar Message from the Foodbank:
- more bazaar photos on p6 Our services are more in
demand than ever. In the last
financial year we gave out over
4,000 three-day food and
toiletry parcels for those most in
need around our borough. This
was over 1,000 more than in the
previous year. We are seeing a
significant rise in the number of
clients coming to us which we
believe is, in part, due to the
rollout of Universal Credit. The
support of St Mary’s enables us
to make a real difference to
their lives.

3

Remembrance at St Mary’s

St Mary’s young a result of being gassed on the
Somme.
The word REMEMBRANCE was
people will never spelled out with accompanying lines

forget of poetry. We then heard a moving
Members of Seekers took part in poem telling the poignant story of a
presenting a memorable service for mother’s sadness of the loss of her son
Remembrance Sunday. in the war and reminding us just how
young some of the brave Men were
The church was adorned with who lost their lives.
poppies and our wonderful Seekers
delivered a thought provoking and Our Seekers were proud to do this
moving service. They started by each service and are ever respectful and
carrying a poppy down the aisle of the mindful of why they are so very
Church accompanied by a beautiful important in continuing to remember
version of Hallelujah (as composed by those who have given so much in the
Leaonard Cohen but adapted by past so they can live the lives they do
‘Sailor Jerri’), and placing their now.
poppies silently on the white cross on
the dais, whilst images played We then all gathered at the
reminding us of the horrors of war and memorial where The Last Post was
why we must strive for peace. They sounded by Arthur Chandler on his
then recited the lovely poem opposite, trumpet and the two minute silence
The Inquisitive mind of a Child, was held before wreaths were placed
written by a man whose father died as by the Rainbows, Brownies and
Guides and the Woodford WI.

Sarah Hodge

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A poem for Remembrance Day
‘The inquisitive mind of a child’
Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?

Selling poppies in town today?
The poppies, child, are the flowers of love

for the men who marched away.
Why did they choose a poppy, Mummy?

Why not a beautiful rose?
Because, my child, men fought and died

in the fields where the poppies grow.
But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?

Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child,

the blood that our soldiers shed.
The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.

Why does it have to be black?
Black is the symbol of grief, my child,

for the men who never came back.
But why Mummy, are you crying so?

Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you, my child,

for the world is forgetting again.

John F. Willcocks 1918-2007

5

Life at St Mary’s
The Bazaar - 23rd November

6

A concert of beautiful music from Venice

On a wet, grey day in November what Maestro di Capella and organist.

better than to be transported to another Cavalli was also to become, as was

time and place in the form of sacred Monteverdi before him, the leading

music by Cavalli from mid 17th opera composer of his day. Some of

century Venice! The Swan Consort his operas are occasionally revived

with our former Music Director Anita but not, until now, his very fine
Datta at the helm accomplished this motets. The clear tones of the Swan

very stylishly. All profits were gifted Consort and the powerfully expressive

to the restoration fund of St Paul’s music, quite distinct from that of

Cathedral Kolkata. Anita explained Monteverdi, made a compelling case

that although, by European standards, for a sustained revival. The Swan

the cost of restoration was modest, it Consort is planning to record

is very difficult to raise the funds Cavalli’s Musiche Sacre motets of

locally in Kolkata. 1656 in the autumn of 2020.

Venice was a very important If you would like to support this

musical centre in the early and mid recording project, the cathedral

17th century. It was where Cavalli restoration or want further information

worked all his life. He started as a contact [email protected]

singer and assistant at the Basilica of Peter Wall

St Mark to his teacher and mentor

Claudio Monteverdi and was

eventually to succeed him as

7

Harvest

At our harvest festival service,
worshippers of all ages engaged

with ideas of different kinds of
harvest: from the sea, from plants,

from the ground, and from the
flocks.

We gave thanks using prayers
written during the service.

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Harvest Festival at Churchfields: across the generations—from 15 month old
Esme to birthday girl Charlotte - 99 years young

The Hustings - 25th November

Rabbi Richard, Rector Ian, Dr Faiza Shaheen, Dr Geoff Seeff, Mr Iain Duncan Smith

As in 2015 and 2017, our Rector Eighteen questions were submitted
together with Rabbi Richard from the in advance and edited down to seven
East London and Essex Liberal before the meetings. More questions
Synagogue hosted a hustings for the were put by members of the public
parliamentary candidates in the among the 160 people attending.
Chingford and Woodford Green
constituency. Because of the tactical BBC London and the local press
withdrawal of other parties, there covered the event.
were only three candidates this time.
As we go to press, we do not know
which candidate will be successful...

9

Spirituality

Holding on initiative, to encourage our Christians
to pray more as they go about their
There is an old tradition in the church, daily lives.
of holding on to a wooden cross while
you pray. Many people find this The diocesan website has lots of
helpful, perhaps because it makes a background material, including videos
link between spirit and body. The of the crosses being made, and a five-
crosses are made a bit lop-sided so that part course on prayer, called Holding
they fit in the hand more easily. Some on, which could be used by a home
people keep them in a pocket or group. This is the link:
handbag and reach for them when they www.chelmsford.anglican.org/faith-
pray during the day -on the bus, at the and-discipleship/chelmsford-holding
office, wherever. -cross but you can also get there by
searching for Chelmsford holding
In the past, I have often given these cross. They say: ‘Holding onto the
‘holding crosses’ to the newly Holding Cross is a symbol for holding
confirmed - until recently, crosses onto faith and for God holding on to
made of olive wood in the Holy Land. us.’

Since 2014, however, the Diocese We have a small stock of these
of Chelmsford has been making its crosses in church - if you would like to
own holding crosses, most of them buy one for £5 talk to the Rector or
from unwanted pews, though some Sheba in the office.
come from our link dioceses in Ian Tarrant
Sweden and Kenya. It’s one part of the
diocesan transforming presence

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Spirituality

Lead Kindly Light the Brockwell Seam 48 lay dead.
Incredibly, there were still men
alive underground. A group of 34 men

What is prayer? What is a devotional and boys in the Tilley Seam had found
a pocket of clean air. Sadly a few of
poem? What is a hymn? Can
something be all three? What do you them panicked and left the group, they
died instantly after inhaling the poison
think?
John Henry Newman wrote Lead gas.
Kindly Light as a devotional poem on The remainder sat in almost total
a journey back from Italy, when he darkness. When one of them began
was struck down with a fever in the humming the tune Lead Kindly Light,
spring of 1833. The poem was turned in no time at all the rest of the miners
into a hymn during the author’s joined in with the words, ‘Lead kindly

lifetime, and although he insisted that light amidst the encircling gloom, lead
his verses were ‘not a hymn, nor are thou me on, The night is dark, and I
they suitable for singing’, he accepted am far from home’. This was probably
their appearance in numerous hymn sung to the tune ‘Sandon’ by CH
books, despite the fact that the words Purday, popular with miners in the
were often changed by various editors. Durham coalfield. 26 men were
Lead, Kindly Light, one of the most rescued after 14 hours. Four others
were later rescued.
best-loved Victorian hymns, was

equally popular with Catholics,
Anglicans and nonconformists. The Penny Freeston and Peter Wall

appeal and power of this hymn has

proved to be very wide ranging.

It was a particular favourite of

Queen Victoria and was read out to Lead, kindly light,
her as she lay dying at Osborne House amid the encircling gloom:
on the Isle of Wight in 1901.
Lead thou me on:
A few years later, at the other end
of England, the largest ever mining
The night is dark,

disaster in the Durham Coalfield and I am far from home,

occurred. At West Stanley Colliery, Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet:
known locally as ‘The Burns Pit’, 168 I do not ask to see
men and boys lost their lives as the The distant scene;
result of two underground explosions one step enough for me.
at 3:45pm on Tuesday 16 February
1909. In the Towneley Seam 63 lay

dead, in the Tilley Seam 18 lay dead,

in the Busty Seam 33 lay dead and in

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Cross cultural bereavement group visit

Report for friends and supporters of Muheza
Hospice Care young peoples outreach project
August 9th – 22nd 2019

Our visit to Muheza this year was Hospice Care two years ago when he
rather different in that we had seven was in the UK for six weeks with the
young people from England with us. Hereford Muheza Link Society.
All of them have lost either a parent or
sibling in the past few years and attend We visited Muheza last year
the Hope/St Michael’s Hospice together with Emma to plan the trip
bereavement group in Hereford. They with Edgar, and over the past year all
have been planning the trip to visit seven raised over £2000 each to fund
Muheza Hospice Care for over a year. the trip. We all stayed at the guest
house attached to the Rosmini Convent
The idea of a cross cultural in Lusanga and were looked after
bereavement group meeting was the excellently by Sister Gwyneth and the
brain child of Emma Speedy, a social Nuns. At least there was no water
worker who met and worked with shortage there unlike the ongoing
Edgar Ngelangela from Muheza problem of water in our old house and

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in the hospital. The youngsters
enjoyed one day teaching and
joining lessons in the Holy Family
School attached to the convent.
The trip started with a rural
visit where we were entertained
by a 98 year old lady and her
family, (mother of Juma our
driver from Dar es Salaam for
those who have ever been to
Tanzania): a wonderful
introduction to Tanzanian
hospitality.
The second day was Mother’s
club at Muheza and there was a
really large turn out of HIV
positive mothers with their babies
as Edgar had informed them all of
the visit. The success story of the their homes, schools, families and their
mothers club continues as for the past losses. This helped the Tanzanians,
three years now all babies have been with the aid of someone to translate for
born HIV negative. Our young people them, to talk openly about their own
helped the hospice domestic staff losses and the burden of living with the
prepare a meal on the charcoal stoves stigma of HIV. Later in the afternoon
for everyone and enjoyed cuddles with this was shared, by those who chose to,
babies and games with the older with the larger group. For many of the
children. They had brought with them Tanzanians it was the first time they
blankets, quilts and clothing so each had really expressed their feelings and
mother had a pack of items before everyone found it an extremely moving
leaving as well as a hearty meal time together. Good friendships were
financed by the young people. established that were built on during
In the afternoon we met with some the rest of the stay.
of the older HIV positive youth from The next day we all went for an
Muheza, part of Edgar’s Kids club. adventure to Amani, a nature reserve in
Many of these I remember as very the Usambara mountains accompanied
young children when we first started by those of the young Tanzanians who
the club in the early 2000’s. Most have were not in full time education.
lost one parent and some are orphans. Although only about 30 km away, none
They divided into groups and the of the Tanzanian youth had ever visited
English young people, either in pairs or the reserve, the road was extremely
alone, described, with the help of small rough and had many hairpin bends
books they had previously prepared, resulting in some travel sickness on the

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journey for a couple of them.
Once there we had a beautiful
walk through forests planted by
the Germans in the end of the
19th century to a view point and
then to a waterfall. Our guides
dived into the cool pool at the
bottom of falls followed by a
couple of our group, both very
strong swimmers. We then
noticed one of the Tanzanian
youngsters inching his way into
the water. He then asked one of
our leaders to teach him to
swim!
The highlight of the trip for
most of the group was a trip to
a beach resort on the Indian
Ocean. The resort was run by
a wonderful Italian, Francesco,
who had a large pizza oven, much to Outreach Project logo on them were
the delight of our youngsters who were presented to the small group of
by now getting tired of endless beans Tanzanians who had worked with our
and rice! young people. In true Tanzanian style
This was no ordinary weekend we had lots of speeches but it was the
however as on Saturday the peace was exchange of emails and social media
invaded by 100 HIV positive children contacts that proved the depth of
from Muheza Kids club together with friendship achieved.
the young people they had already The visit gave both groups
made friends with and all the hospice permission to have a great time
staff. Francesco made all very together despite underlying sadness,
welcome, the children all ate well and express feelings that some had never
had an amazing day out, friendships given voice to, to acknowledge and
were strengthened and as a final remember their lost loved ones and to
gesture our youngsters gave all the above all appreciate that across
children a bag of toys, books, soap, continents they were not alone in grief.
toothpaste and toothbrush. As the buses Thank you for your support.
drew away our young people agreed it Drs Karilyn & Richard Collins
was one of the best days of the trip. Donations to
During our final session with all the www.muhezahospicecare.org
young people together, T-shirts with Our local contact is
the Hereford Muheza Young Peoples Wendy Littlejohns

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Perception

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for
our senses to grow sharper.
WB Yeats
The optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees the
hole.
RUA Baker
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to
an understanding of ourselves.
Carl Gustav Jung
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to
the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases;
It will never pass into nothingness.
John Keats
One person’s ‘barbarian’ is another person’s ‘just doing what everybody else is
doing.’
Susan Sontag
To a worm in a horseradish, the whole world is a horseradish
Yiddish proverb
The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green
thing which stands in the way. As a man is, so he sees.
William Blake
I shut my eyes in order to see.
Paul Gaugin
We don’t see things as they are: we see them as we are.
Anais Nin
For now we see through a glass, darkly: but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then I shall know even as also I am known.
1 Corinthians 13

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Youth

Ways to wake-boarding, knee-boarding,
worship waterskiing, kayaking, canoeing,
paddleboarding, sailing, windsurfing
In the past year, many things have as well as take part in day-seminars on
happened nationally across the church. difficult, life-challenging topics, and
We lost Soul Survivor as an amazing have a chance to explore your faith
youth festival seeing thousands come and ask an amazing team of God-
to faith and grow as Christians each honouring leaders loads of questions
summer. The team decided it was time in the evening talks, morning word
to make way for something new, and and small group discussions.
as such many new festivals are
stepping up next summer to offer I think it can be hard for young
something exciting for young people. people on a journey of faith, and I
The church has gained in many ways know from my own experience that
new and exciting ventures that are visiting and taking part in external
attracting new crowds each time- festivals, weeks away and trips have
David’s Tent, Limitless, Big Church expanded and enhanced my own faith
Day Out, Wildfires, Creation Fest, journey. Discovering more people
New Wine… just to name a few. your own age that are wanting God in
their lives makes it a little bit more
This year seven of us tottled on normal than the often-than-not case of
down for a week’s adventure at
Aquasports. What’s that I hear you
say? Well it’s an action-packed week
of all-day watersports, fantastic home-
cooked food, amazing Christian
teaching, time together in small
groups, and evening entertainment.
You can try your hand at

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being a minority at school and even hope that these times of worship
church. You see people worship together will bless God in our offering.
differently and find answers from a
different perspective to your questions Fruit from these festivals, events,
or concerns. You are challenged where trips and let’s be honest even our
otherwise you wouldn’t be. I youth work often isn’t seen for years,
remember being on a mission trip in but the steady return year after year of
South Africa and someone on the trip young people, families and adults to
wouldn’t stop worshipping and singing these events in summer and
in the shower these songs I’d never throughout the year can be a life-
heard, I was baffled by her enthusiasm source to many on their journey of
as I just didn’t understand why. She faith. Whilst it’s not in the typical
told me about David’s Tent, a 72-hour liturgical year, I feel like these events
non-stop worship event and how she are outside of the ordinary time,
loves to worship. I attended the next becoming for some where they see
year, and have been each year since. God move and awaken their souls.
My faith ignited in a new way, in a Please do consider inviting and
deeper way. attending some of these events in the
next year. Quest are going to Spring
Music and worship have been and Harvest this Easter (all-ages are
remain an integral part of the life of welcome), Solid Youth Festival (7-
the church. Decades have seen it 17yrs) and Aquasports (14-18yrs) in
change and respond especially to the summer, we will always appreciate
youth culture in the church. Bands your prayers, support and
from the 70s to new music in 2019, encouragement as we journey on
alongside choirs and hymns, are being together. Thank you.
explored through our new joint-MMU Becca Kemal
service called Transfiguration. Our
third service together is taking place
on 24th November at 5.30pm at Christ
Church Wanstead, with many
members of St Mary’s serving in the
music group, planning group, tech and
so much more. We aim to add just a
taste of something more to help us
experience God in a new way and

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The House of Wisdom in ‘the Dark Ages’

The Wise Men Not least of the contributions of the
Arabs was their development of
medical knowledge based on the
of the East ancient works of Hippocrates and
The wise men who visited Jesus, as Galen. Great stress was laid on the
recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, came importance of cleanliness, a code of
from the East. It was in the East several conduct for doctors was established,
centuries later, when Western there were several hospitals in Baghdad
Christendom lingered in the period we
call the Dark Ages, that the Abbasid in the 10th Century and others in
Damascus, Cairo and Córdoba.
Caliphs founded the House of Wisdom Progress was made in the fields of
in their new capital city, Baghdad. optics and mental illness was
This House of Wisdom was the
creation of Harun al Raschid (766- recognised as an illness at a time when
Western Christendom would consider it
809), the Sultan of the Arabian nights as possession by the devil.
and a contemporary of Charlemagne. All this is the subject of Jim
He was one in a succession of Abbasid
Caliphs (or successors to the Prophet) Al-Khalili’s books, The House of
who wanted their city to be not only a Wisdom and The Pathfinders. A
centre of government and physicist himself, he describes the
developments in knowledge generally
administration but also of learning. but in his own field and astronomy he
It is not clear whether the House of concludes that the works of Al
Wisdom was one building or several, Haytham and Al Balkhi led to the
but either way its purpose was to concept the heliocentric of the universe
accommodate the manuscripts of the but this seemed so outlandish it was not
ancient world, then to translate them pursued. Nevertheless, without the
into Arabic (often via old Syriac) after discarded thinking of these scholars,
which further research proceeded. Al-Khalili maintains, Copernicus
Today’s visitors to Southern Spain and would not have reached the same vital
the Middle East will be aware of the conclusion.
skills of the Arabs in architecture and One of the most interesting sections
horticulture, but their contribution to of these books is the glossary in which
the knowledge of the world has been we are given details of the many
far greater than those disciplines. They scholars, mathematicians, astronomers,
made contributions in medicine, doctors, engineers, architects
philosophy, astronomy, physics,
chemistry and mathematics. Algebra, philosophers and others, who
itself an Arabic word, is an Arabic contributed to this great fund of
knowledge. Not all were Muslim,
discovery, we use Arabic numerals in indeed Jews and Christians, ‘People of
our day to day lives, while it was the Book’ although subject to civic and
through the Arabs that knowledge from fiscal disabilities, nevertheless were
the Far East was transmitted including able to study and practise in the
the zero sign and paper. Muslim world, which they would not

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Scholars at an Abbasid library. Flowers in church on 13th
Maqamat of al-Hariri Illustration by October for Kim Holdstock
Yahyá al-Wasiti, 1237
Flowers in church on 29th
have been able to do in the September for Peter Collins
Christendom of their time, other works
of the Arabs were transmitted to 19
Western Europe via Moslem Spain.
Among those influenced by them was
Thomas Aquinas.

The transfer of this knowledge is
the story Violet Moller tells in her
book, The Map of Knowledge he Wise
Men of the East through the history of
seven cities, Alexandria, Baghdad,
Córdoba, Toledo, Salerno. Palermo
and Venice. She is a historian not a
scientist and the book may be more
amenable to the general reader.

The House of Wisdom was
destroyed in the siege of Baghdad by
the Mongols in 1258, an event which
is considered to have ended the
Golden Age of Islam. These two
books remind us of the great debt the
world owes to Islam in that era and to
the Wise Men of the East.

Rowena Rudkin

Book review

Resilience in Life and Faith

by Tony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker
published by Bible Reading
Fellowship
ISBN: 978-0857467348

I first came across this title in the
summer edition of New Daylight which
featured extracts from this book within
its daily Bible reading notes.
Tony Horsfall and Debbie Hawker
encourage us to develop our resilience
and to prepare ourselves for the
challenges that life throws at us in an
increasingly difficult world.
Through biblical wisdom and
psychological insight, they show us how
to appreciate our areas of strength and
strengthen our areas of weakness.
Chapter headings include Resilience in
the lives of Nehemiah, Elijah, David,
Joseph, Paul and, of course, Jesus, our
model for resilience and endurance. A
community of resilient disciples and
resilient women in the Bible: Mary, some of my dear friends… But at the
bottom of it all, God is still there. I
Hagar, Hannah, Esther and Ruth, are know he is in control and that he will
also featured. bring good out of all this…’
The book ends with a Resilience
creed based on letters in the New
Testament that may be helpful in Penny Freeston

strengthening faith during times of
hardship, suffering or adversity.
Lesley Bilinda, a nurse working for
Tearfund in Rwanda when genocide
broke out in 1994, whose husband and
friends were murdered, and her home
destroyed is quoted:
‘It was like being in the tiny pinpoint of
calm at the centre of a massive
whirlwind… I have been stripped in one
fell swoop if so much that has made up
my life - my husband, my home, my job,

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Lecture review

Where love is the Way:
the Jesus movement now

Cheryl reviews a talk by the Most Revd
Michael Curry, the 27th Presiding
Bishop of the Episcopalian Church.

It is always a good idea to read the There was plenty of opportunity for
noticeboard at St Mary’s. It was there questions to Michael Curry including
that I saw the poster advertising this questions about living in turmoil, knife
talk, which was held at St Paul’s crime in our cities and living lovingly
Cathedral on Thursday, 3rd October. in church with people with whom we
disagree on major topics. A film and
I then received a telephone call podcast of the event is available at
from Revd Richard Wyber, whom www.stpauls.co.uk/adultlearning.
many of you know, asking me if I Cheryl Corney
would like to attend the talk. He had a
spare ticket. I accepted the invitation.
All the tickets were taken and there
were huge queues of people waiting to
enter the cathedral for the talk.

Most of us watched the wedding of
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in
May on television last year. It was the
first glimpse most of us had had of this
remarkable preacher. The talk at
St Paul’s was chaired by Dr Paula
Gooder, who has contributed to some
of the Lent courses we have done at St
Mary’s.

Bressey Townswomens Guild

The Bressey Townswommens’ Guild meets every third Tuesday evening, at
7.30 pm, in the Gwinnell Room. We would welcome any new members, or
visitors, who are part of your congregation.
Cathy Daley
Bressey Townswomens Guild
tel: 020 8989 2267

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Quiz

Quiz: Who or what are we? We are all part of the
Christian story and we all begin with ‘L’.

1 ‘The King of _____ My Shepherd is….’
2 I am a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I am the L_____

Chapel.
3 I am the season of the year when the faithful follow our Lord from the

wilderness to the Cross, sharing the lessons of His temptations, His conflicts
and His suffering.
4 I am the day when, in earlier times, the bread used at the Eucharist was made
from the first ripe corn of the harvest.
5 I am a book containing the extracts from the Scriptures to be read at public
worship.
6 I am he who takes away the sins of the world. I am the L____ of God.
7 I am the twenty-fifth book of the Bible.
8 We are those members of the church who have not been ordained. We are
the vast majority of church members.
9 I am an English cathedral. My construction began in 1072 and continued
throughout the High Middle Ages.
10 I wrote the third Gospel.
11 I am the conference where the bishops of the Anglican Communion meet
every ten years under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
12 We are the church wardens at St Mary’s. We are Jean L______ and
L_______ Wiskin.
13 I am a course for those who would like to find out about the Christian faith. I
am ‘Just L_________’.

Answers: page 25

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Art

The Light of
the World

By the time Holman Hunt painted
a second, much larger version of
The Light of the World, now in
St. Paul’s Cathedral, he was
losing his eyesight, so a former
pupil assisted him to complete it.
It was sold on the understanding
that a buyer would send it round
the world, and that colour
reproductions could be sold at a
modest price.

The large picture travelled
thousands of miles; over four
fifths of the populations of
Australia and New Zealand
travelled hundreds of miles to see
it.

Finally, it was hung in St.
Paul’s Cathedral in 1904. After
the service, the artist, now old
and blind, was led out of the
cathedral weeping.

The original 1853 version of
the painting can be seen at Keble
College, Oxford.
Penny Freeston

You will teach them to fly, but they will not fly your flight. You will teach
them to dream, but they will not dream your dream. You will teach them to
live, but they will not live your life. Nevertheless, in every flight, in every
dream, in every life, the print of the way you taught them will remain.
Mother Theresa

23

Fitting in?

A celebration of quite fit in in this
state religion? way? Will he assist
those of us who want
I am inspired by Sheba Lockley’s to change the Church
article in the Autumn issue of this of England in terms
magazine about the splendid influence of its recognising and
on the whole Body of Christ of the fulfilling state law? I
ordination of women in the Church of intend to ask him
England. When this occurred in 1992 I these questions and I
was a member of The General Synod intend to ask him if Justin Welby
and had spent almost ten years he agrees with me
working as hard as I could to achieve that human sexuality is, at least in this
it - and I shall never forget the country, recognised to be infinitely
unrestrained joy expressed in Dean’s more diverse than it was once thought
Yard as soon as the result of the vote to be.
was announced in Church House. But
it was Sheba’s quotations of So here now is a footnote to my
Archbishop Justin Welby’s words in article. It turns out that genetics is
July 2019 in celebration of twenty five almost as complicated as love and sex.
years of women’s priestly ministry New research has shown that the long
that inspired me to write my fabled gay gene does not exist, that a
contribution here. He said: ‘I don’t variety of different genes contribute to
want clergy who will fit in. I want same - sex attraction, and that several
clergy who change the world because other factors are in the mix too.
it needs changing. We’ve got a very
long way to go to be a church which Believing that LGBTQ people
does not look at people and say, They choose their sexuality belongs in the
don’t quite fit in.’ same bin as flat earthism and climate
emergency denial. What is more
Archbishop Welby is absolutely interesting is that we will not know
right and I know personally how it how fluid sexuality truly is until
feels to not quite fit in. Jesus and I homophobia - and its parent sexism,
have a legal civil partnership because it is really about enforcing
undertaken in a state registry office, gender norms - are vanquished. Sexual
but at the time we became partners we gender norms imprison us all, dictating
could not do so at Woodford St our behaviour for fear of reprisal. Can
Mary’s church and we still could not Archbishop Welby be the one to lead
do so today, let alone undertaking full the Church of England out of its
marriage which of course is now the present unfortunate refuge from
law of this land. Will Archbishop acknowledging and fulfilling the
Welby help those of us who do not British law of the land?
Philip Swallow

24

Spreading the word of God

Making Bibles The question posed at a meeting of
the Religious Tract Society on 7th
December 1802, would reverberate
available across Wales and, ultimately, the
In 1800 a 15 year old Welsh girl
named Mary Jones trekked 26 miles world.
Captured by the vision of God’s
through the rugged terrain of north word being available for all people of
Wales to buy a Welsh Bible. Mary was
so determined to have a Bible of her the kingdom and wider world, William
own, in her own language, that she Wilberforce and other members of the
Clapham Sect decided to do what they
saved up for six long years before her do best - they decided to act. They
walk to Bala. made their vision part of their
With the help of Revd Thomas
Charles of Bala, who arranged campaign to ‘make goodness
lodgings for Mary and sold her three fashionable’ - in the hope of inspiring
Bibles for the price of one, Mary people to fall in love with the Bible
Jones’s determination was rewarded. and a biblically-inspired lifestyle.
On March 7th 1804, at a meeting of
Her story - and her unswerving desire around 300 at the London Tavern in
to get hold of God’s written word - Bishopsgate, Wilberforce and the
soon became the talk of the churches in campaigning groups he was a part of
the area. formed the British and Foreign Bible
Inspired by Mary’s story, and by the Society.
recent arrival of reduced-price Bibles Since that day over 200 years ago,
for Welsh speakers, Revd Joseph
Hughes asked a daring question to the British and Foreign Bible Society
other church leaders: ‘If for Wales, has become Bible Society- a charity
committed to offering the Bible to the
why not for the kingdom? And if for world. www.biblesociety.org.uk
the kingdom, why not for the world?’ Penny Freeston

Quiz Answers 12 Looking
13 Lear, Linda
1 Love
2 Lady from p22
3 Lent
4 Lammas Day
5 lectionary
6 Lamb
7 Lamentations
8 laity
9 Lincoln
10 Luke
11 Lambeth
(Conference)

25

Learning from history

The ambiguity of the
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedaechtnis Kirche

How could this ugly 19th century church was so severely
bombed out ruin of a church be damaged that services could
ambiguous, calling out as it does, as a no longer be held.. street
lasting symbol against the destruction fighting in the final days,
of war? It stands prominently on the left the once splendid House
‘Kurfuerstendamm’, the Oxford Street of God a sad ruin’.
of Berlin (and a good deal pleasanter). It goes on to recount that
In its destroyed glory, rearing it’s among the worst atrocities
unrepaired tower against the sky, it of the National Socialist
challenges us to ‘constantly resist the regime was the persecution
solution of political problems by of the Jews. Fifteen percent
means of war’. Surely that is a clear of the local population were
enough message? Jews who were all forced to
This Summer I had some time emigrate, deported or murdered. It
wandering around Berlin, and took a then gives the stories of three Jews
closer look. who were not protected even by
becoming Christians. It is deeply
There are two ends to the moving. This protects the reader from
exhibition, which is housed in the understanding what a partial view it is
restored entrance lobby to the original of the horrors of German National
church. At one, it briefly describes the Socialism.
causes of the destruction, as ‘insane Nowhere does it mentions others as
politics lead to the 2nd World War… victims, such as the suffering of
merciless bombing raids on Berlin citizens of all the occupied countries,
ensued … on 23rd November1943 the both Jewish and not, or the people and
particularly soldiers of those countries
involved not least in ‘the street
fighting of the final days’.
There is an oblique reference to the
suffering of German soldiers
themselves. At this end of the
exhibition hangs the ‘Madonna of
Stalingrad,’ a charcoal drawing, done
on a map in 1942 by Pastor Kurt
Reuber, encamped in that bitter Winter
round Stalingrad. It is titled ‘Reminder
of peace, symbol of safety’, and again

26

French armies of Napoleon. Again, In
1870, France declaring war on
Prussia. Although Bismarck goaded
France into doing this, so that Prussia
could defend the Southern Germany
principalities, which would then be
obliged to accept full political alliance
with Prussia, there is no mention of
this. It just tells us that the Kaiser was
then proclaimed German Emperor, in
the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
Reading this on the walls of a
building intended to be a constant
reminder of our need to work for
Peace, I felt its ambiguity.
But as I walked away, other
thoughts crowded in. I have met
many Germans who have struggled
painfully to remember their own dead,
and come to terms with their own
history. Here, Germany is skilfully
repositioning itself personally and in
history. Good for them, I felt. Aren’t
they ‘resisting the solution of political
problems by means of war’? Perhaps
is deeply moving, a woman protecting there is a lesson in repositioning, here
her child while the winds of war rush for us.
round her, and by implication,
everyone. Judy Noble
There is also a moving gift from
Coventry Cathedral, which, too, was ‘Human nature will not change. In
mostly destroyed, formed from three any future great national trial,
mediaeval hand made nails, melted in compared with the men of this, we
the firestorm as the cathedral burned, shall have as weak and as strong, as
and made into a cross. silly and as wise, as bad and as good.
Let us therefore study the incidents in
At the other end, the lobby is
magnificently restored to show the this as philosophy to learn wisdom
German historical context for the War. from and none of them as wrongs to
It implies France invaded Germany, be avenged.’
and Germany invaded France- what’s
the difference? The Church was built Abraham Lincoln
by his grandson, to record the glory of (in the context of The American Civil
Kaiser Wilhelm I, who fought off the War of 1861 to 1865)

27

fFoamcilyus

Help the wise men follow the
star to find baby Jesus

28

Family adventure

From 2020 St Mary’s will be
supporting the work of Tom and
Verity Clare in Uganda.
They have four boys, Simeon,
Ezra, Eli and Joel. They will all go
to Uganda together in the spring.
They will come to visit St Mary’s
first, in February.
Tom is a doctor and he is going to
work with refugees from South
Sudan.
They are going to live in a town
called Arua, which is not far from
the place in Congo
where Ian and
Sally used to
live.

Many of the churches there use
this instrument for worship. It’s
called an adungu.
Can you name all the countries which have borders with Uganda?

Answers on page 31

29

Obituary

Elaine Rigelsford made the final decision to buy it. She
subsequently said that it never
2 Feb 1961 – 19 June 2019 occurred to her that she might be
moving in a few years later, although
Elaine was born on 2 February 1961 to Ken certainly wondered about it at the
Don and Averil Gray. She was born at time!
home in Buckhurst Hill and had two
older brothers Geoff and Tony. As a About a year later, Elaine told Ken
child, Elaine loved singing and that she had been offered a place to do
dancing and enjoyed playing the a degree in psychology at Lancaster
piano, eventually progressing University. This came as a complete
to Grade 8. surprise to Ken who had no idea she
had applied. Elaine had been doing an
Elaine attended
Wells Primary extra A level but had kept
School and then quiet about the real
Woodbridge motive for this.
High School. Elaine thought
She left at Ken might try to
sixteen to do persuade her not
two A-levels to go or say it
and a would be over
secretarial between them
course at if she did.
Redbridge However, Ken
Technical said it was
College. She great news and,
subsequently for the next
worked as a secretary three years,
with Shell Chemicals near spent almost
Trafalgar Square. every other weekend

When Elaine was twenty-one, she in Lancaster pretending
by chance went to a barn dance to he was still a student (he
keep a friend company and it was was actually a qualified chartered
there that she met her future husband accountant).
Ken. They began seeing each other Three years later, Elaine graduated
regularly with lots of visits to the with an upper second class degree in
cinema and theatre and Essex pubs! Social Administration. She changed
Ken was about to buy a house in subjects at the end of the first year
Wanstead and asked Elaine whether because there was too much maths
she would like to look at it before he involved in psychology. That summer,
Elaine and Ken were married at
St John’s Buckhurst Hill with a
reception afterwards at the Brentwood

30

Moat House (now Marygreen Manor). illness and enjoyed helping the clients
Their honeymoon was a three week she worked with – although maybe not
trip to the Far East including stays in the admin that went with it!
Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and In 2003, Elaine gave birth to a
Bali. daughter Katie, completing her family.
Elaine returned to doing secretarial After a year of maternity leave, she
work, mainly working at the RNIB, returned to her old job. More recently,
until she had her first child Simon in with the family now needing less
1989. She decided to give up work support, Elaine completed the further
and become a ‘stay at home Mum’ at qualification to become an Approved
least until Simon went to school. Mental Health Professional to enable
Elaine did not want to return to her to carry out Mental Health Act
secretarial work and became interested Assessments.
in training as a social worker. She did In 2014, Elaine was diagnosed
some voluntary work to help her with breast cancer after a routine scan.
application for this, including helping She had a mastectomy and there was
at a local Citizens Advice Bureau, and no indication that the cancer had
then a Post Graduate Diploma in spread. However, in summer 2018,
Social Work at Middlesex University. Elaine began to develop difficulty
She graduated from this in June 1996, swallowing which was diagnosed as
shortly after giving birth to her second secondary breast cancer which had
son Jack in February! spread into her chest and lungs. She
For most of her social work career, was told that it was incurable but
Elaine worked for Essex Social could be treated with chemotherapy to
Services and then, following a slow down the progress. After various
reorganisation, the North Essex ups and downs, including some good
University NHS Foundation Trust. times spent with family and friends,
She worked with adults with mental Elaine died on 19th June 2019.
Elaine’s body was cremated on 27th
June at the City of London Cemetery
at a small service attended only by
close family and friends. There was
then a very well-attended service to
celebrate Elaine’s life at St Mary’s on
20th July. Her ashes have subsequently
been buried in St Mary’s churchyard
as she wished.
Elaine will be remembered and
sorely missed by all her family and
friends.
Ken Rigelsford

Answers from page 29: South Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya

31

A big
thank you

to everyone submitting
contributions and photographs to this edition

Please keep them coming, as without them we wouldn’t have a parish
magazine. Articles, prayers, book reviews, favourite music,
recipes, gardening tips etc.

We would love some children’s drawings as well: the choice is yours!
Email directly using a subject heading to:
[email protected]

or pass to Penny Freeston who will type up your handwritten copy.
Our next copy date is 10th February 2020

Magazine team: Penny Freeston, Cheryl Corney,
Ian Tarrant, Sam McCarthy, Peter Wall.

32