Winter 2023 Volume 14 number 4 www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk St Mary’s Woodford Parish Magazine
2 Welcome As I write this the clocks have just fallen back, and we are deep into autumn and the season of remembering as winter begins. These are days which are often grey and wet, with occasional days of dazzling brightness and beautiful, rich autumn colours. These are times when many are fearful; when we pray earnestly for peace, for security for ourselves and for the whole world, and for the understanding, compassion, connection and love which are essential to achieving that. Where are you finding strength and hope at the moment? I’m really aware of the grace of Jesus and my need of it. Grace is not the easiest concept to unpack because it’s freely given, undeserved and so much better than any earthly analogy. We often say Grace, thank you, for meals, but grace is a lot more than saying thank you. Grace is freely, wildly given, completely unearned. We enjoy many good gifts; we have freedom in so many ways; God trusts us with much, this beautiful earth, its fruits both material and spiritual and even his beloved Son, knowing he will die; God is patient and forgiving; God turns upside down many of our expectations and draws us ever deeper into Love. We explore these gifts together in the life of the church, we make known and seek to discover further in our worship and activities; it’s a gift which is poured out and unfolds in each of our lives. Sometimes it can be difficult or impossible to sense God’s grace, especially when everything seems to be falling apart; and it’s usually a little while after that point, that we get a whisper of an idea that somehow things will be ok; that resurrection is absolutely real and there are no bounds on the grace, freedom and mercy of God revealed, given and discovered in Jesus Christ. In these strange days it’s important that we hold on to those whispers and when appropriate share them; that we recognise the responsibility and the power we all have to influence others for good in our kindness and generosity of heart. Have you heard about our repair cafes? We’ve had three so far (October 2022; May & October 2023) and they’ll now be running on the third Saturday of Front cover: Journey by John Wiltshire
3 January, April, July and October 10am1pm in the Memorial Hall. The whole event is free to attend, thanks to some generous grant funding and wonderful community partners ranging from statutory to other charities to local businesses. You can bring things to be repaired – clothing, other textiles, bikes, electrical items and last time even spectacles. There are free seed and toy take and swap tables – and you don’t have to bring something to take something away. Several local charities and businesses are involved. In the middle there are chairs and tables, and free tea, coffee, hot chocolate and biscuits. And it’s all free. It’s good for this beautiful planet, it’s good for every person and organisation there. At each event someone has come up to me and said ‘Where is the donations box for money?’ and I’ve replied ‘There isn’t one’. We run many wonderful fundraising events and they are crucial for St Mary’s and for the many charities and mission organisations for whom we raise funds. But this is different. I love what happens at the repair cafes and it’s very difficult to put into words but I’ll try – the generosity and gratefulness seems to get into the air and it builds connections between people in ways where you can’t quite predict what will happen next or who, by grace, will offer something of themselves – whether that’s their time, idea, appreciation or kindness. There is always a copy of the latest parish magazine on the St Mary’s website www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk To contact the parish office [email protected] or tel 020 8505 3000. You are welcome to do this if you have difficulties accessing any of the links given in this magazine You can find it by scrolling down to the ‘Our Publications’ heading. See also Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube:@stmaryswoodford Parish Register For your Prayers: Baptism: 1 October Leia Gregory Funerals: 19 September Victor Milchard 12 October Alf West* 16 October Vicky Knipes* 27 October Kenneth Newman 3 November Brian Bessell 9 November Elizabeth McLaughlin Burial of Ashes 17 September Carol Winward *took place elsewhere and held in prayer here That’s precious and I think we can learn something new from it about love and grace, about Jesus and what we all share in our common humanity. We’ve also been granted funding to set up and run naturebased dementia cafes in early 2024 – we’re looking for as much diverse community participation and leadership as possible, so if you have any ideas please get in touch. Revd Dr Elizabeth Lowson email: [email protected].
4 Life at St Mary’s Soul night on 9th September in the Memorial Hall HSBC staff volunteered their time helping in the churchyard with our volunteers on Tuesday 10th October - thank you to Susanne, Alan, Jo, Alan and Sadique pictured at the top of the church tower.
5 Life at St Mary’s From the Sunday 15th October Wave of Light service at the end of Baby Loss Awareness week. Revd Rachel Summers, shortly after her Ordination as a deacon by Bishop Guli of Chelmsford, with her mother, Revd Susan Sayers
6 World day of prayer in March The World Day of Prayer starts on the international dateline, in Samoa. Early in the morning, Christian women start praying for their world. Then, as the earth rotates, a great wave of prayer begins to build. It sweeps across the Pacific, touching Fiji and New Zealand. It rolls on through Asia – Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Bangladesh …. The countries of Africa are next, and then the Middle East. The wave reaches the shores of Europe as the day dawns there. Across the Atlantic it moves onwards and on to the Pacific again until the sun finally sets over American Samoa, where the final service takes place, and a worldwide circle of prayer is complete. It is now many years since I became involved with the Women’s World Day of Prayer in Wanstead and Woodford, of recent years renamed as the World Day of Prayer. At that time, most of the churches in the area were involved and each year the service was held on the first Friday in March in one of our many churches in Wanstead and Woodford. That was in the days when few women with families went to work, and there was a call for churches to provide meetings in the afternoons, finishing in time for members to be at the school gates to collect their children. Over many years and up to the present, members met once a month for study and worship, forming a pool of women from many denominations, who were keen to put together the annual service. As my children grew older I was pleased to take over as Secretary of the group and have enjoyed the task of gathering together those who felt able to partake in the service, including the Junior Choir from Woodford County High School, who have been pleased to lead the singing for us and to be involved within the service as well. Our numbers have dwindled over the years, but our group of four have continued faithfully to meet and keep the service alive in the area. It has been known for several years now that I would like to pass the responsibility on to someone else. Last year I made the decision that the 2022 service, held here in The World Day of prayer takes place on the first Friday of March. It is a global ecumenical movement of informed prayer and prayerful action. Moira has been the local organiser for over thirty years and is now hoping to pass the baton to someone else. We are grateful for Moira for all she has done for this cause and for sharing some thoughts below.
7 Communion at home St Mary’s, would have to be my last in charge. I may well be misusing the quote from Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verses 1 and 22. v1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. v22. So I saw that there is nothing better for a man to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will happen after him? It is my hope that the Day of Prayer will continue to be celebrated in our area, for I know there is a will for this to happen, but new leadership is now needed. With God’s help I have given my support to this cause for over 30 years, and if it is worthwhile then I know the work will continue with new energy and ideas. The 2024 service has been written by the women of Palestine. Who could have foreseen the current needs within the Holy Land? I quote from the introduction to the coming service, ‘May God’s richest blessings overflow abundantly as we support one another in informed prayer, prayerful action and accept the invitation, and challenge, to bear with one another in love.’ To learn more you can go to wwdp.org.uk where you will find plenty of information from the official site. Moira Sharpe Distribution of Holy Communion at home - an improvised altar. Ministry Team are always pleased to bring Communion or to visit those who can't get to St Mary's. Please contact the office to request this. Unable to take Holy Communion at St Mary’s? Look here.
8 FOOD ITEMS NEEDED ARE: Tea bags, Tinned fish, Tinned fruit, Rice, Packets of noodles, Vegetarian food items (tins or packets), Cooking oil, Pasta sauce, Long life milk, Long life fruit juice, Jam/spreads, Custard/rice pudding, tinned tomatoes, Biscuits, Shower gel , Treats, Toothpaste, Toilet rolls, ITEMS NOT NEEDED ARE Cereals, Pasta Supporting Foodbanks: more important than ever St Mary’s is a Redbridge Food Bank collection point. Woodford Baptist Church on George Lane is both a collection and distribution point (Distribution 2.30 - 4.30 pm Fridays.) Donate food | Redbridge Foodbank Over 90% of the food distributed by foodbanks in The Trussell Trust network is donated by the public – that’s why your food donations are absolutely vital to our ability to give everyone referred to us a balanced and nutritious three day supply of food. Our shopping list on the left shows the food items that we need right now – all of which should be undamaged/ unopened and before the sell by date. Further information https:// redbridge.foodbank.org.uk/givehelp/donate-food/
9 At Churchfields Nursing Home Elizabeth, Stephanie and Simon Bob and Colleen
10 Another St Mary’s Woodford Wow! On 13th August we had visitors from St Mary’s Woodford, Jamaica. With Gill are Neville, Kimoy, Tina and Joanne. See also the photograph on the back cover.
11 Answering the call Fiona Macaulay at Chelmsford Cathedral - Fiona is ordinand on placement at St Mary's and training at St Mellitus Chelmsford which meets each Thursday evening at the Cathedral. Please pray for Fiona as she works full time and studies part time to prepare for ordained ministry. Mellitus (died AD 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christianity. He arrived in 601 AD with a group of clergy sent to augment the mission, and was consecrated as Bishop of London in 604. Mellitus was the recipient of a famous letter from Pope Gregory I known as the Epistola ad Mellitum, preserved in a later work by the medieval chronicler Bede, which suggested the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons be undertaken gradually, integrating pagan rituals and customs. In 610, Mellitus returned to Italy to attend a council of bishops, and returned to England bearing papal letters to some of the missionaries.
12 For the Holy Land God of Compassion and Justice, We cry out to you for all who suffer in the Holy Land today. For your precious children, Israelis and Palestinians, Traumatised in fear for their lives; Lord, have mercy. For the families of the bereaved, For those who have seen images they will never forget, For those anxiously waiting for news, despairing with each passing day; Lord, have mercy. For young men and women, heading into combat, bearing the burden of what others have done and what they will be asked to do; Lord, have mercy. For civilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, that they would be protected and that every life would count and be cherished and remembered; Lord, have mercy. For the wounded, and those facing a lifetime of scars, for those desperately seeking medical treatment where there is none; Lord, have mercy. For medical and emergency personnel, risking their own lives to save those of others; Lord, have mercy. For those who cannot see anything but rage and violence, that you would surprise them with mercy, and turn their hearts towards kindness for their fellow human beings; Lord, have mercy. For people of peace, whose imagination is large enough to conceive of a different way, that they may speak, and act, and be heard; Lord, have mercy. Mighty and caring God, you promised that one day, swords will be beaten into ploughshares, meet us in our distress, and bring peace upon this troubled land. Amen. Giving via the Christian Aid Middle East Crisis Appeal: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/emergencies/middle-east-crisisappeal Prayers from the Archbishop of Canterbury for the people of the Holy Land.
13 Yearning for peace Some thoughts from Rachel Summers when in the churchyard at St Peter’s, one Sunday morning in October, noticing the beautiful things of creation. She saw a thread of spider’s silk, suspended between a branch up high, and the ground. Thinking about this, about the world at the moment and about what it means to be people of peace, the following dropped into her lap. It shone in the sunlight Bright as lightening Stretched between earth and the heavens Stronger than steel Ephemeral May we, too, tenaciously Build threads of peace
14 News of the Clare family The Clare family (Verity, Tom, Ezra, Eli, Simeon, Joel and Amara), Church Mission Society partners whom we have been supporting in Uganda have now returned to the UK and are settling back in Sheffield. They send their thanks to all those who have been in touch to ask how they are doing. You can read further details at these links: https://drive.google.com/drive/ folders/0B8y_Qct18WnvRGdzZ3ltQWpoWFE?resourcekey=0- 0Seu5BpdxT11chw75eEa6A or https://tinyurl.com/3xbjtnmu The Clare family, smiling on a rainy day near Sheffield
15 A quiz for Advent and Christmas Answers: page 34 Are the following true or false? 1 This year Christmas Eve is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Advent. 2 The church celebrates St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (c326), on 5th December. 3 St Stephen’s Day is 26th December. 4 ‘Stir up Sunday’ is celebrated on the Sunday before Advent Sunday. While the Lord stirs up the wills of His faithful people many Christians stir up their Christmas puddings. 5 Christmas Island is in the Pacific Ocean. 6 Six days passed between the birth of Jesus and His circumcision. 7 The magi are recorded in Luke’s gospel and the shepherds are recorded in Matthew’s gospel. 8 In 1644 the feast of Christmas was abolished in England and until it was restored in 1660 the celebration of Christmas was officially illegal. 9 Stephen Cottrell wrote the Advent book ‘Walking Backwards to Christmas’. 10 Bob Chilcott has composed a new carol this year for choirs to use across the Church of England. It is a fresh interpretation of ‘The First Nowell’. 11 Snaresbrook Crown Court Chaplaincy carol service is at 5pm on Thursday, 14th December this year. 12 The lyrics for ‘Hark the Herald Angels sing’ were written by Charles Wesley in 1739. 13 The carol ‘Silent Night’ was composed in Austria. 14 There are usually four candles on an Advent wreath.
16 Reflections on a 1999 visit to the Holy Land On pilgrimage to the Holy Land with St. Mary’s in 1999, I felt sad that we didn’t have time to include a visit to The Cenacle on Mount Zion outside the city walls of Jerusalem, possibly thought to be the Upper Room where Jesus instituted the Last Supper and where he reappeared to his disciples on several occasions after his death. Recently I was re-reading the section on the Upper Room in the Bible Reading Fellowship guide: ‘New Daylight’ which detailed those events: Luke 22:8-13: John 13 :4-9, John 20:19-23, John 20:26-29, Acts 1:12- 14, Acts 1:21-26, Acts 2:1-4 There are also Old Testament references to upper rooms: 2 Kings 1 2:1, Kings 17:19-23, Samuel 18:33, and two more references in the New Testament: Acts 9:36-41, Acts 20:9. Two hymns came to mind: ‘An Upper Room’ which we often sing on Maundy Thursday and ‘Broken for Me’. Soon after reading those reflections we were in Uzbekistan travelling on the old Silk Road and I was reminded of those ancient houses with steep steps leading to flat roofs where people slept on balmy nights. I remember making a similar house in Infant School from thin card with concertina-type folded steps. Similarly, the caravanserai where merchants stabled their camels by vine-covered courtyards evoked T.S. Eliot’s description in his poem, ‘Journey of the Magi’ . Although the Kings are thought to have travelled from ‘Persian Lands Afar’, I am intrigued that the Russian folktale ‘Babushka’ imagines the Magi’s journey from much further afield. All seems lost in time, but certainly the Uzbeks were once Zoroastrians and followed stars. That evening we reached our pre-booked restaurant in the old town of Bukhara, down a back alley, and climbed some steep stone steps to an upper room overlooking the ancient trading domes as the sun set across the city. And there I was in my own upper room all these years later, so evocative of the place I had imagined all those years ago. Perhaps some things are just meant to be. Penny Freeston The Cenacle: Mount Zion ‘An Upper Room did Our Lord Prepare’
17 Different ways of worshipping When I was aged about 8 or 9 I remember going on a church outing from St Margaret’s in Barking to St Mary’s in Woolwich. The Vicar had turned the galleries of the Church into a coffee bar and offices; and the crypt into a night club. I don’t recollect seeing the night club! The Vicar was Revd Nicolas Stacey. He had won the King’s Telescope at Dartmouth and was an Olympic sprinter but rather than pursue a career in the Navy he had sought ordination. I have recently read his autobiography Who cares? (1971) published when he was 43 and had left Woolwich to pursue his vocation in secular employment. He saw the need for radical reform and chafed at the slow pace of change within the Church as it engaged with the twentieth century using a mediaeval structure. Much of what he advocated then has come about. He threw everything into the challenge presented by working class Woolwich. He visited door to door, ran a church newspaper, was involved in the community, did all the right things. But it didn’t lead to more people going to church and was thus deeply disappointing: ‘I had longed so much and had worked so hard to try and take the old traditional ways of the Church, polish them up and give them a face-lift so that God might better use them for the building of His Kingdom. I had staked so much on the belief that it could be done.’ He came to believe that a resurrected Church would no longer express itself in buildings and historic organisations but in small groups meeting in their homes and at work. Who knows but that, in the long run, he may be right? But in the meantime people continue to value the church as an institution and as presence in their communities. In Woodford we are committed to St Mary’s and working for the growing of God’s Kingdom through it. Quite what that means in terms of what we do is something we are always thinking about. Perhaps the lesson from Woolwich is that doing (at least some of the) the right things doesn’t necessarily mean that more people come to church. Philip Petchey ‘Whatever burdens may bow us down He by His cross shall lift us up.’ (Revd. Fred Pratt Green: ‘An Upper Room’) https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=KZ2iohk3CJw ‘Who Cares’ by Nicolas Stacey Publisher Blond ISBN—10 0218511477 From night clubs to house groups
18 Dick Walker’s memories of World War II Air raids started and we spent the nights in the air raid shelter joined by our neighbours who came through a hole in the fence. We had electric light and a paraffin heater. I remember the sound of guns, bombs and aeroplanes and standing at the bedroom window and seeing the sky glowing over the docks. I used to go out first thing to collect the shrapnel lying on the roads and the pavements. I still have some of it. I never found a shell nose cone of my own. In October when the Blitz was at its height dad was stationed with his unit and equipment at a Coastal Command airbase on the Isle of Islay, the southern most of the Hebrides. He called for my mother and I to join him and he came down on leave to collect us. We all went up to Glasgow in the night train. It had all ordinary carriages absolutely full, mainly with servicemen and with kitbags everywhere. In the morning we caught a train to Port Glasgow where we boarded a Macbraynes ferry, the Loch Fyne, to East Port Tarbert. I remember watching the dolphins swimming alongside the ship. At East Port Talbert we were taken by bus across the Mull of Kintyre to West Port Tarbert where we had refreshments from Women Volunteer Service ladies. Then we boarded the Loch Eil and sailed to the Isle of Islay. We stayed there for two and a quarter years in various rooms in Port Ellen. I went to school. It was proper Scots elementary - the 3Rs and no nonsense, and I was reading in no time, something that had not been achieved in England. It was beautiful country and there was loads of space. I can still visualise so much of it in my mind's eye. I ran wild. I gained a Scottish accent. In the previous edition of the magazine Dick shared some memories of the ‘Phoney War’ and local preparations. We now move on to events after the Dunkirk evacuation. Twelve days after the evacuation had finished on 4th June 1940 Dick’s dad who had been stationed in Metz, brought his unit and equipment safely out of Brest. Dick and his parents at Port Ellen
19 Dick Walker’s memories of World War II The evidence of war was all around us with all the airman and soldiers but really that was all. There was rationing and shortages but there were compensations in the form of snared rabbits from around dad's Direction Finding Station, poached game from crofter friends of dad and, rarely, unrationed venison. Vegetables were limited but there were so many swedes I never want to see them again. There was plenty of milk and we shared weekly boxes of kippers from Stornaway with other RAF families. It was my job to chop up the boxes for firewood. The peat fires did not start well and a newspaper over the mouth of the fireplace to make it draw either caught fire or got sucked up the chimney or both. Dad made a metal shield out of flattened petrol cans which clipped on the fire bars and worked beautifully. Mother cooked on a very small paraffin stove and lighting was a pump up paraffin Tilley lamp with a mantle ‘borrowed’ from the RAF. We had a radio run by a large HT battery and an accumulator which was exchanged for another charged one each week. I remember listening to Tommy Handley's ITMA (It’s That Man Again) and a short programme about war exploits called ‘Into Battle’ which had ‘Lilly Bolero’ as its signature tune. Dad never said much about listening to, and getting bearings of, Atlantic radio traffic which besides Convoys and Coastal Command would have included U boats. The signals from the latter would have been passed on to Bletchley Park for decoding but he would never have known where they went. At the beginning of 1943 dad was posted and we returned to London. Things were fairly quiet and I have no particular memories until May 1944 when convoys of troops passed through Woodford along the High Road going south. No one knew why but we all guessed it was a build up to an invasion of the Continent. There were lorries and half tracks. They stopped regularly, lined up along the kerb. Some ladies brewed up tea among the tank traps in the garden of a large house which stood at the corner of Churchfields. They filled large enamel jugs with the tea and distributed it to the soldiers. I helped a few times but was stopped by a stupid policeman who said a boy should not be doing it. After he had gone I carried on. With my mother I bought some cigarettes with my pocket money and distributed them. Then the first V1 flying bombs landed. When the siren sounded we went down into the school cellar but soon the Alert was continuous and school was stopped. At home we had a Morrison shelter in the front downstairs room. It was the size of a king size double bed. It had a frame of heavy girders with a thick steel plate on top. The bottom had slats with a mattress and the sides were hung with heavy 2" wire mesh. You removed a mesh, got inside and rehung the mesh
20 Dick Walker’s memories of World War II on the outside. It would have protected you from a collapsing house but not from a direct hit. We slept inside at night and went into it when we heard a V1 coming during the day. My mother was deaf and it was summer so I sat in the garden reading and I would tell my mother when I heard one coming. Very soon the dog learnt what was happening and his ears would prick up and he would start to move before I did. One would wait for it to pass overhead before the engine cut out and then you were fairly safe. Once after a long silent wait I looked up to see our windows coming in! The V1 had landed at the bottom of Empress Avenue. Things got worse and by this time Dad was stationed at RAF Pershore, Worcestershire. He asked us to join him and we stayed with an old lady in nearby Bishampton. She had a brother-in-law who was a farmer and I ‘helped’ with the harvest. We were there for the summer and in September I started secondary school in Pershore. Because I had a place at Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow we returned in November and that night a V2 rocket landed in front of the school knocking out all the Junior school windows. We were all transferred to William McGuffie School in Forest Road. Back in Monoux in February we were having school dinner when a V2 fell on a road behind the school. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt but glass made a very small cut in my head which bled profusely so I ended up in the First Aid Station. Coming home from school one day the trolleybuses all stopped at Becontree Avenue and I walked on to find a conical crater in the centre of the road where Grove Road met the Woodford New Road and damaged vehicles were scattered around. I was not scared by V2s. I was young and fatalistic and as you did not hear them coming if one hit me I would know nothing about it. Victory in Europe came in May with great celebration including a big bonfire by the island in Forest Approach but VJ day (Victory over Japan) in August had very little celebration to my disappointment. I and my family escaped the war unscathed and I enjoyed wide ranging experiences. We were very, very lucky. Richard (Dick) Walker A Morrison shelter
21 Rewilding in Dorset Seven birds on the Conservation Concern Red List have been spotted at Wild Woodbury in Dorset. The 170 hectare site was intensively farmed before being acquired by Dorset Wildlife Trust in 2021. Nightingale, greenfinch, grey partridge, marsh tit, skylark, nightjar and tree pipit have all been recorded. Overall, 300 more species than last year have been logged on the nature reserve. BBC regional news, September 2023
22 Pilgrimage joining us. It seemed fitting to make a group visit, as St Mary's had been focusing on Prayer and Pilgrimage. It was also appropriate in the year that marked the 650th anniversary of the 16 visions Julian received at the age of 30, during a serious illness in May 1373, which she recorded in her book after nearly 20 years of reflection and meditation. Organising our Pilgrimage proved tricky (no date suited everyone) but finally on 24th August, eight of us travelled by train to Norwich and gathered at the station at 12.45 to walk together to St Julian's Church. On arrival at the Julian Centre next to the church, we were warmly welcomed by Father Richard Stanton and the volunteer staff, who provided us with refreshments. At 2pm we gathered in the church where Father Richard gave a most interesting and informative talk on the history of St Julian's, medieval Norwich and the life of Mother Julian. This was followed by a Eucharist in the cell, which was a Originally it was going to be only the two of us to make the pilgrimage to Norwich (Bryony and Roberta). We had embarked on a joint study of that profound and influential book, ‘Revelations of Divine Love’, and planned a visit to the cell at St Julian's Church where the anchoress known as Julian of Norwich spent many years of her life, and where her book was written. Word of our plans got around, and others were interested in Julian’s cell Day pilgrimage to Norwich St Julian’s church
23 Pilgrimage https:// www.achurchnearyou.com/ church/2635/ Bryony Bennett and Roberta Flynn most moving experience. Afterwards we had the opportunity to walk or sit in the beautiful garden, before tea at the Julian Centre. We left St Julian's at 4.30pm to catch our train home, all feeling inspired by the experience and hoping to repeat it at some future date. Our thanks go to Father Richard Stanton and the staff at the Julian Centre, who made us feel so welcome. For more information follow the link to the website: The pilgrims: (left to right) Janet, Elizabeth, Gwen, Stephen, Bryony, Lynnette, Roberta and Jeanette, together with Father Richard Stanton.
24 Many of you will remember Peggy Renouf, a much-loved member of St. Mary’s who passed away in 2021. Years before, I had ‘interviewed’ her for a magazine article and she told me how her father had rebuilt Rose Cottage, a Cotswold stone house, for Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. He had been away from home for over six months and Peggy remembered playing with her friends at Stow-onthe Wold one day when a huge car pulled up and Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, got out and took their photograph. Early in September I was reading the BBC news on the internet when a fascinating article surfaced about the Cotswold house Henry Ford had ‘moved’ to the USA. It was accompanied by a photograph from the Henry Ford Museum collection. Peggy’s father was instantly recognisable. I telephoned Peggy’s son, Michael, and he kindly sent me the family photographs reproduced on this page. Peggy’s father, Tom Troughton, was a master stone mason and he and a fellow carpenter from the Cotswolds were hired by Henry Ford to take down the house in the village of Chedworth, stone by stone, and reassemble it in Michigan, where it still stands today. The article states that the dismantling began in 1930. 475 tonnes of material were loaded in 67 railway wagons at Foss Cross Station: the longest wagon train the Rose Cottage moved to Michigan UK had ever seen. They were shipped to New Jersey, and on to Michigan. Tom Troughton with his grandson Francis Peggy Renouf: a montage
25 Rose Cottage moved to Michigan The re-building project took from July - September. On completion, Tom Troughton and his colleague, William Ratcliffe, were treated to a two-week holiday including a sightseeing trip to the Niagara Falls. Tom earned enough money to move his family from a cottage in Lower Swell to a larger, more modern house in Stow-on-the Wold. I’m sure that Peggy would have been thrilled to read the BBC article with accompanying photographs. I think of her often as our grandson often plays with one of her hand-knitted toys: a lovely version of ‘Fireman Sam’ I purchased at St. Mary’s Christmas bazaar shortly before he was born! Penny Freeston Rose Cottage ‘Fireman Sam’ Arthur
26 We held our third Repair café and community café in October, in partnership with the South Woodford Society. This is fast becoming an established event and we welcomed over 100 people to browse stalls, swap toys and seeds, enjoy free refreshments and bring broken electricals, textiles, bikes, and spectacles for repair, and get jewellery brought back to sparkling life. And spanned the generations is doing so. In just three hours our volunteer repairs looked at 55 items , from toasters to curtains to laptops and broken bike gears and brakes. They fixed 44 of them and found just 5 items unrepairable. That is 44 items that might have found their way to landfill. Repair café and Toy Swap at the Community Hall When we gave these stats to the Restart Network, which is the organisation we operate under, they translated this to saving: 210KG waste 1,522Kg of Carbon emission saved. That’s equivalent to watching TV for 2,642 days non stop! Who would have thought that fixing your broken toaster or torn dress would contribute so much to the health of the planet! We are now aiming to run these events quarterly. The next one will be on Saturday January 20th. So don’t throw out broken electrical goods. See if they can be repaired. If not we will have information on recycling electrical goods. If you have something now that really is Community Partnership in action Max at the toy swap tables Rowena, very pleased with the repair of her curtains by Jane, next to her.
27 Music at St Mary’s beyond repair you can check out local recycling facilities here: https:// www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk And one other recycling tip while we are it? Have you ever wondered what to do with used plastic credit cards and expired membership cards? I have discovered that you can take them to the Santander Bank branches in Walthamstow or Stratford where you can shred them in a very satisfying (and secure) way, and then they get recycled into plastic pellets. https://www.santander.co.uk/ personal/support/greener-living/ being-green-with-plastic/cardrecycling Viveca Dutt
28 Family Focus ‘Favor’ is the American way of spelling. In the UK it’s ‘favour’
29 One of our teenagers summarised the Parable of the Wicked Tenants in emojis ‘Of all the follies the elder generation falls victim to this is the most foolish, namely, the constant criticism of the younger element who will not be and cannot be like ourselves because we and they are different tribes produced of different elements in the great spirit of Time.’ Henry Ford Engineer and pioneer of assembly line mass production. 1928
30 An unexpected baptism The hospital chaplain explains the background to his poem In the hospital visiting person in Bed B, the guy in Bed A starts talking to me. I've heard many times "Can I receive communion, too?" (Of course you can!) But today it was, "I wish I could be baptized. I love Jesus. I just want to be baptized." His bed was like 18 inches from a sink. An empty styrofoam bowl was sitting on his tray. Guess what I did today! I proclaimed that a grandpa named Francisco is a beloved child of God, always has been, and always will be. I got him pretty wet with chilly sink water. He cried. The person in Bed B was cheering the whole time, even though he couldn't see Francisco because of the curtain. About 5 minutes later, my person in Bed B was suddenly released to go home. Francisco said he prayed this morning "Someday, God, let me be baptized." I've never done this before. It was probably my favourite baptism ever. POEM: Grandpa Baptism by a hospital chaplain He spoke to me from Bed B He was not the person I'd come to see I just knew that he needed me He spoke to me from Bed B I told him my name and he told me his, Then he shared with me his real wish "I'd really like to be baptized" So I got a little water and put it in a little dish. "But Reverend," he exclaimed, "Don't you need to check my background? See if I measure up? If I can "join the club"? Francisco, I said, "there's no need for background checks - All are welcome, no precondition, no entry test," All I need to ask you is, do you love God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost? Do you want to follow Him? "Yes, yes," he said, with a smile on his face, He could not get over God's Grace! so I baptized him right then and there. And the rest of the ward gave a big cheer.
31 Different kinds of leaves, twigs and other treemongery which Rachel Summers helped the Get Together group explore without leaving the Gwinnell Room - we even got to taste some things. Can you name the trees from which they come? The Get Together group meets on the second Wednesday afternoon of each month and everyone is welcome. Get together Group in the Gwinnell Room Another quiz. Early Christmas cracker riddle What did the hat say to the tie? Answer page 34
32 Remembering Alf West It was in April 1981 that Kathleen Whitfield asked me to take over the responsibility for caring for these lovely grounds from old Ted, who was retiring. I accepted, came under his watchful eye for many months after he retired. My main priority fortnightly, weather permitting, was to keep the lawns mown from around March to November, and keeping the weeds at bay. The hedges needed to be kept in shape, the 100 or so roses required pruning and deadheading and general maintenance of the Church grounds. The garden waste deposited into compost bins constructed by Chris Whitfield. I appreciated John Yeo volunteering his spare time by helping me mow the lawns. My wife and I planted flowers around the right hand monument to give pleasure to everyone. The 1987 hurricane devastated the churchyard, toppling the 500 year old yew, falling against the south side of the church, with little damage. The trunk had been filled with concrete over the years for stability. Digging in one of the rose beds I found a Roman coin; Roman God Aureus, Emperor AD 121-180. (The coin can be found in the Vestry House Museum Walthamstow.) Joan and I were married at St Mary’s. Our children Mary and Ian were christened at St Mary’s. I would like to thank you for your memories of past and present friends and 23 years of gardening, which I did enjoy and will miss. Alf West (thanks to his son Ian) Alf West looked after the grounds of St Mary’s for many years until 2004. He and his wife Joan were married at St Mary’s. Their children Mary and Ian were christened here. On retiring Alf and Mary moved to Church Langley, Harlow where Joan and her family also live though they still kept in touch. Sadly Alf passed away in September. We are grateful to Alf’s son Ian for constructing the following article from his father’s notes. I never met Alf myself but from what I’ve been told, he’s the sort of person everyone would want to know; the cheery, charming, local postman with a tremendous sense of humour. In later years he was described as ‘the sort of grandfather every child would like to have’. Peter Wall
33 Remembering Alf West The trees in the forest during winter’s bleak time Are beautiful shown dark along the skyline. The wildlife asleep amongst the brown leaves, The red and black berries on dormant shaped trees. Silhouettes, odd squirrels, spiders webs and the like. The weather is turning to snow by night The picture has changed from dark to bright white. The scene by the pond, by the brook, by the stream, The leaves covered by snow and the water ashen, With the ice that’s now formed, the images gleam. Quite, tranquil, soft murmurings of icicles seen Hanging from branches, twigs and oak beams, The clouds are now clearing, the stars are ablaze, Constellations of mystery, have always amazed. The Plough - Orion’s Belt - The North Star are seen, Very soon morning breaking will ease the scene, Now sunrise in beauty alightens the snow. As the sun gradually rises it enhances the show Of snow that has drifted, formed miracles, though How nature’s winds have shaped it, only God will know. The deer in the forest are finding it hard To forage for food, and the farmer to guard His sheep and his cattle, to bring them back safe The dog that is searching for them, its name, Faith, Is praised by its master for being so brave. The footprints now forming of birds, mice and deer Are transfixed in the snow by the very cold air. Nature and its seasons will forever be here, As long as mankind, has its mind clear, To save the world from pollution and fear; From destroying the forests, the rivers and the seas, The fish, ozone layer, and the birds and the bees. Enhancement: A Poem by Alfred J West
34 Quiz Answers (page 15) A Quiz for Advent and Christmas – Answers 1 True 2 False St Nicholas is celebrated on 6th December. 3 True 4 True 5 False Christmas Island is an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. 6 False It was eight days. 7 False Matthew records the magi and Luke includes the shepherds. 8 True 9 True 10 True 11 False It is at 4.30pm on 14th December. 12 True 13 True 14 False There are usually five candles on an Advent Wreath, four on the outside and one in the middle. Quiz answers Christmas cracker riddle (page 31) answer ‘You hang around. I’ll go on ahead.’
35 Back in February we had some filming at St Mary's for a crime reduction film for young people and specifically focusing on knife crime prevention and a poem 'It's You,' drawing on the redemptive potential made visible by filming in a church building. This was put together by James Nunn and a colleague Adam King as part of the ACTION Against Crime Together In Our Neighbourhood funded by the Heart of Pitsea Charity. It's you - Teaser trailer - https://vimeo.com/852934123/5d995bbbcc County lines - documentary trailer https://vimeo.com/841243941?share=copy County lines - Full documentary https://vimeo.com/827295752/e5dcd45223?share=copy Reducing knife crime: Filming at St Mary’s Back cover: St Mary’s Woodford Jamaica. See also page 10
36 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 22nd January 2024 Magazine team: Elizabeth Lowson, Penny Freeston, Cheryl Corney, Bryony Bennett and Peter Wall.