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St Stephen’s Church, Parish Magazine, February 2021

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Published by elizabethmalone, 2021-01-30 08:00:24

February 2021

St Stephen’s Church, Parish Magazine, February 2021

St Stephen Hounslow

Know God’s Love and Believe

PARISH E-MAGAZINE – FEBRUARY 2021

CONTENTS

February 2021
2 Poem – A February Rose / Pray for our nation

3 Service times / Lent 2021

4 From the Vicar

5 Readings and intercession themes for February 2021

6 Introducing Nathan Barrett
7 Lockdown – the Return!

8 Outside the Back Door
10 Another St Stephen’s – St Stephen’s Walbrook

12 Lent is looming

13 Mouse Makes
14 Cookery Corner

15 Wordsearch and solution

16 Contacts

A FEBRUARY ROSE A red, red rose!

My love, she likes a red, red rose
Of deep magenta hue,
A gift for Valentine that shows
That someone’s love is true.

But think on this, my bonnie lass,
As you admire the bloom –
That flower’s been forced on under glass
You ought to wait till June!

By Nigel Beeton

WE INVITE YOU TO PRAY FOR OUR NATION

In response to reaching the terrible milestone of 100,000
deaths from COVID-19, the Archbishops invite all to call
on God in Prayer. Starting on 1st February we invite you to
set aside time every evening to pray, particularly at 6pm
each day. More than ever, this is a time when we need to
love each other. Prayer is an expression of love. Please see the website for
resources to guide you: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/prayer-nation

2

REGULAR SERVICE TIMES

Sundays: 09:30 Parish Eucharist – live streamed
Monday 09:30 Morning prayer – live streamed
Tuesday 09:30 Holy Communion (1662) – live streamed
Wednesday 09:30
Thursdays: 09:30 Morning prayer - live streamed
Parish Eucharist – live streamed

THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO IN-PERSON SERVICES DUE TO THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philipjameswhitton/
https://www.facebook.com/SaintStephenHounslow/

Service Booklets for download or print are available on our website –
https://saintstephenhounslow.church/church-online/

PRIVATE PRAYER

We continue to open the church for personal private prayer Saturday-Thursday
10.00am – 4.00pm (subject to availability).

LENT 2021

Please see page 12 for details of our Lent course.

Ash Wednesday – 17th Feburary - there will be a live-streamed Eucharist to mark
the beginning of Lent and our own spiritual journey to the Cross and Resurrection.
Those of you familiar with the Ash Wednesday liturgy will know that we would
normal include the Imposition of Ashes (a cross marked upon our foreheads in the
ash of last year's palm crosses). Needless to say, we will need to approach this
differently this year and in more of a 'self-service' form. More information will follow.

Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter - it is unclear whether we will have returned to
congregational worship, but either way we will mark this supreme moment in our
Christian Year as we always do, be that online, in person or a combination of the
two. It is sad that we were confined to a very rudimentary 'online' provision in 2020
as the pandemic evolved, so I hope that we can take the lessons learned and make
it as meaningful as possible for you all, however we are able to gather.

Fr David
3

FROM THE VICAR …

Friends,

I wrote to you all recently detailing the decision to suspend congregational worship
at St Stephen's. This decision was reached as a result of the considerable numbers
of coronavirus cases in the Hounslow area.

As part of my wider ministry I 'attended' a gathering of faith leaders who were invited
to listen to a presentation about the pandemic across London given by Prof Kevin
Fenton, London Regional Director at Public Health England. In his presentation,
supported by Martin Machray, Regional Chief Nurse, we were given statistics which
made for bleak listening with infection rates in London ranging between 1 in 30 and
1 in 16. Ambulance call-outs in London are now numbering 8,000 per day every day
(compared to the normal 'peak number' of 5,500 call-outs on a usual New Year's
Eve - once yearly). This time last year, there were 700 intensive care beds occupied,
with a figure nearer to 1,500 in use today - 75% of which are dedicated to COViD
patients. The disparity between members of ethnic groups, socio-economic groups
and age-groups is even more stark than ever before. Over a hundred and fifty
London families are newly grieving a lost loved-one today.

As part of the call to faith leaders to ' play our part', I must also advocate the clear
advice that is designed to limit the spread of a virus that is already killing our friends
and loved-ones. As our faith demands love, so it implies that due sense that we do
not cause harm through lax practice or oversight. Washing hands, covering faces,
remaining at home - these become gospel mandates to us all. Equally, if you are
offered the vaccine - please accept and receive it. You will be called by your GP at
the present time so please do not ring them to ask - it adds a burden of time to them
that they could usefully use elsewhere. I ask of you vigilance over your neighbours
and those you would normally have contact. Have they not been heard from or seen
recently? Are you worried? Please do something about those worries and take the
risk of being accused of interfering. All of these things are classical Christian
behaviours within Christ's commission to love our neighbours as ourselves.

My primary consideration is for your well-being, that of your families and loved-ones
and also my colleague priests who wish to minister to you in safety. The online
provision will continue in full as before and for now, we will continue to open our
churches for personal private prayer but will keep an open mind about the rightness
of this as the picture around us continues to develop. If ever our world needed a
movement of prayer, it is now. Please take your valued part in that movement as we
hold our hurting world, nation and city before God.
Grace and blessings,
Fr David

4

READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 2021

To help you follow services at home, here are the designated readings for the
Sunday morning Parish Eucharist throughout February.

7th 2 Before Lent
Proverbs 8 v.1, 22-31; Colossians 1 v.15-20; John 1 v.1-14

14th Sunday next before Lent
2 Kings 2 v.1-12; 2 Corinthians 4 v.3-6; Mark 9 v.2-9

21st Lent 1
Genesis 9 v.8-17; 1 Peter 3 v.18-end; Mark 1 v.9-15

28th Lent 2
Genesis 17 v.1-7, 15-16; Romans 4 v.13-end; Mark 8 v.31-end

INTERCESSIONS FOR FEBRUARY 2021

St. Stephen’s is a praying community and we welcome you to that life of prayer.
Contact us if you have a matter of concern that you would like us to hold in prayer
for you and with you.

For ourselves:
7th For our Pilgrim Groups
14th For those who maintain and clean our church
21st For focusing our thoughts and prayers during Lent
28th For inward peace

For others: For those serving in the Armed Forces
7th For the Shelter Project Hounslow
14th For the work of Hounslow Community Foodbox
21st For those who mourn
28th

5

GETTING TO KNOW YOU – NATHAN BARRETT

In the fifth of our series of articles about our ministry team we feature our intern
Nathan Barrett.

Q. Do you have a favourite church / cathedral / spiritual building? And if so,
what makes it special?
Southwell Minster, it was here back in 2016 where my faith journey began when, not
that I realised it at the time, the Holy Spirit descended upon me and changed my life
forever! It was the catalyst that has enabled God to have placed me in this particular
part of the world as I continue on this path towards hopefully, God willing, becoming
ordained.

Q. What’s your favourite hymn?
Here I am, Lord.

Q. Favourite book (not the Bible!) and why?
Shetland Diaries, it’s about Simon King spending at year on Shetland experiencing
all the wildlife the island has to offer. This book inspired me to want to go and visit
the islands for myself, something that I was able to do with some friends back in
2017.

Q. Favourite film?
Jurassic Park

Q. What’s your favourite style of food to cook?
Mexican, as it’s always easy to make, fun to serve and tasty to eat.

Q. If you were ordering a take-away next Saturday evening, what would it be?
Definitely Pizza!

Q. What one word do you think your
friends would use to describe you?
Punctual. I always arrive about 30mins
before they do, at the time we agreed
mind you, if we’re meeting at the pub.

Q. Do you have a cat, dog, other
animal at home?
We have one dog, a cavapoo, named
scooby. See picture!

6

LOCKDOWN – THE RETURN

In the midst of another lockdown it is not so easy to keep occupied in a meaningful
manner under so many restrictions. As I cannot work from home, I have now been
furloughed three times. How to fill the void this creates is an obvious challenge. The
online church services organised by Fr David, Fr Vernon and Fr Christopher have
been invaluable in providing both structure and a sense of purpose to each day.

Last March we had the weather in our favour with the wonderfully mild spring. I
immediately set about tackling all the small garden tasks overlooked in recent years.
In addition, I discovered I had a working oven and started baking, inspired by The
Great British Bake-Off (I last used the oven twenty years ago!). Fairy quickly I began
making cakes, flans, puddings and finally my own Marron-Glacé, although not a
great success provided hours/days of fun.

As the need to take exercise and find stimulation outside the home grew, visiting
local parks and gardens became key to that requirement. Osterley House, Hounslow
Heath, Bushy Park were integral to that need. As a gardener I was keen to observe
the progress of Mrs Child's garden at Osterley and watch the season's unfold petal
by petal, leaf by leaf, to return home to compare and contrast the changes in my
own garden.

Painshill in Cobham quickly became a firm favourite. This impressive Georgian
landscape garden with numerous follies, man-made lake, Turkish Tent, Temple of
Bacchus, Ruined Abbey, and even a Grotto complete with various stalactites and
crystals, is a hidden gem (excuse the pun). A vast country park, it is ideal for
recreation whilst observing social distancing, and to be able to eat a packed lunch in
these glorious surroundings has become a real treat. In addition, I am always keen
to support such organisations as their income has been severely affected over the
last year. The value of such local treasures cannot be overestimated and although
they have been unable to host a number of events, general visitor numbers are
healthy given the restrictions. I am confident that when we eventually return to a
'new normality' the interest in such local attractions will be stronger than ever, and
not only will they survive, but flourish.

Friends, neighbours and one’s immediate community have been invaluable in
contributing to a general sense of well-being. Taking pleasure in our day-to-day
existence and appreciating the smaller things that life has to offer has, in effect,
become the new norm.

Colin Powe

7

OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR

FEBRUARY BRINGS THE RAIN

The first poetry book I ever owned was called something like A Child’s Treasury of
Verse and it included a poem by Sara Coleridge called The Garden Year. It always
springs to mind at the start of the year when it’s hard to forget the first stanza …

January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.

It may have been forecast for London and the south-east a few times during January
but, as I write, we’ve only seen the odd flake or two. However, we did have that
Sunday morning with the amazing hoar-frost that turned everything white like snow.
Not wanting to miss out on the garden looking so magical, with every blade of grass
and every twig outlined in white, I wrapped up and headed outside, camera (or
rather phone) in hand. It was absolutely freezing and although I moved around as
swiftly as I could, the lack of gloves certainly made me fear frost-bite!!

So what does February have lined up for us?

February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.

With the amount of rain we had pre-Christmas and then again during January, you
might not wish to read this! That said, I think this poem is ‘of an era’. Glancing back
through my trusty gardening diary, I don’t feel that February brings the rain anymore.
Instead, it’s often quite dry and I’ve been caught unawares having failed to water
pots outside the back door, only to find them drooping due to lack of moisture.

Rain, or no rain, there should be plenty to boost our spirits our spirits outdoors in
February as we continue through Lockdown 3.

First to make an appearance in our garden is likely to be the snowdrop. You will
note that it is singular, ‘snowdrop’ and not ‘drops’. That’s because snowdrops don’t’
seem to like our garden and, after numerous attempts, I can still only boast one
small clump! I have already seen a few popping their heads up around Hampton on
our daily walks so I shall be keeping a close eye out for ours to make sure I don’t
miss them!

The flower I probably most look forward to in February is Iris Reticulata. I love their
vivid blue and purple hues with their amazing splashes of golden yellow. One day
they’re still just leaves and then the next they provide this very welcome zing of

8

colour. I snuck a few more into pots last autumn so
should have even more to enjoy this year. One piece
of advice, however, if you do decide to plant some be
careful not to plant the bluey-violet ones next to the
beetrooty-purple ones. I did it by accident and
discovered how much they clash! Neither looked their
best planted together like that.

Our Christmas hellebores are now giving way to the

spring or Lenten hellebores. We have literally

hundreds of these thanks to them self-seeding freely

all over the place. Every time I go out to the recycling
bin at the moment, I’m terrified that I’m going to step

on a rather gorgeous deep red one that’s emerging

Iris Reticulata - Harmony through the gravel! So which are my favourite
hellebores? I think the answer has to be ‘all of them!’

And that’s because I like the surprise of turning up their heads to face me to see
what sort of flower they are – plain, speckled, dark centred? It’s always a surprise

and delight.

Continuing on a purple theme, let’s not forget crocuses! Along with snowdrops, they

are the bulb that I probably most identify with February. We only have a small clump

or two under our hawthorn tree but they seem to have improved year on year. I

always remember planting them as one of our cats was determined to dig them up
every time I turned my back. I’m amazed we have any at all!

Back in the autumn, I also planted up a pot of very early daffodils called February
Gold. It was part of my plan to brighten up the late winter which, I predicted, might
be a bit strange. Well, it turns out that I was spot on there! That said, looking back
over last year’s garden photos (and lockdown meant that there were many of them),
I discovered that my favourite daffodil from last year was already flowering on the 15
February. This was Jet-fire. For a small daffodil, Jet-fire is taller that the well-known
tete-a-tete and has gold, thrown back petals with a deep orange trumpet. It really
performed, with flowers lasting for several weeks.

So as we continue to progress through these very grim months of pandemic, do
keeping looking outside at what’s around you. There is a lot of colour to come this
month – make sure you don’t miss it!

Elizabeth Malone

Read a fully illustrated version of this article at:
https://outsidethebackdoor.wordpress.com

9

ANOTHER ST STEPHEN’S…

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN’S MASTERPIECE IN THE CITY OF LONDON
By Paul Shaw

We are justly proud of our beautiful and
majestic parish church: and it struck me
that St Stephen’s parishioners might be
interested in an account of another but
very different church sharing the same
dedication.

St Stephen’s Walbrook, shown in the
splendid illustration, is considered by
many to be the masterpiece of the great
Sir Christopher Wren, excepting only St
Paul’s Cathedral. The church was built
from 1672 -1679, for the sum of £7,672,
a large amount of money in those days, which allowed the building of a very
elaborate high status building, probably partly due the patronage of Sir Robert
Hanson, Lord Mayor of London. Nearby is the mansion house, the mayor’s
residence. In its rich complexity and very classical sense of elegance, the church
stands aside from most of the other Wren churches, and given its date it is not
unreasonable to see the building as being the outcome of architect’s intellectual
exploration of the use of the dome in the context of an Anglican church; this was to
reach its fullest and most complete expression in St Paul’s. However, in building the
cathedral, Wren was forced to compromise on his radical idea for a centralised
building, as the authorities demanded the traditional long nave and transepts. The
design executed here is rather more subtle and ambiguous, whilst the construction
of the dome and vaults is of wood and plaster, allowing much greater lightness and
elegance in the structure than was possible in a sold masonry building. It includes
what is said to be the first dome erected in England, and the Italian artist Canova
declared it to be finer than any church in Rome.

As with most of the city churches, the site has a much longer history than that of the
current building. The ‘wall brook’ ran in the valley between Lud Hill and Corn Hill,
and still runs beneath Walbrook in a massive culvert. Dating at least from the
eleventh century, the first church was probably a modest building to the east of the
stream. A much more substantial church was built on the west side in the early
fifteenth century, which was destroyed in the Great Fire in 1666. The approach to
the current church is via a rugged and monumental west tower built in 1713-17,
which seems not to have been part of Wren’s original design. In contrast, the
elegant steeple, of two storeys with balustrade and spirelet, has been suggested

10

to be the work of Hawksmoor, and it resembles that of St James Garlickhythe, built
at the same time. One writer, in a poetic if fanciful conceit, compared the roughness
of the tower stonework with the cruelty of St Stephen’s death, and the lantern above
the light of heaven which he saw during his martyrdom.

Gaining entrance to the church is already an unusual experience, as one goes via a
staircase over the crypt, located in a vestibule at the side of the tower. Only a
glimpse on entry of the dome and the lantern above gives any idea of the glories of
the interior to come. The visitor first enters via a row of two columns, before the
beautiful and spacious central dome comes into view, its plasterwork richly coffered
and decorated with palm branches and roses, with a small lantern above. The
church is essentially a rectangle, divided in traditional fashion into nave, sanctuary
and transepts, with the aisles delineated by slender Corinthian columns, all of the
same height, above which are entablatures, and clerestory windows. But the dome
over the central part imposes a sense of unity on the interior, as if the space was
subtly expressing itself in two different ways at the same time. The dome is held up
not by large piers, with pendentives to fill in the gaps, but with a cluster of three
slender columns at each corner, with two lunettes in the arch above. Eight of the
sixteen columns in the church support the dome, and the overall effect is a delightful
sense of unity in complexity, with the mind both bewildered and delighted by the
elaborate spatial effects. The whole church is white plastered, and with its generous
fenestration, flooded with light. It also seems much larger than it actually is, with one
commentator stating that its only peer in this regard was St John’s Church, Red Lion
Square, which was sadly entirely lost to wartime bombing.

The dome was badly damaged in the war, but beautifully restored in the 1950s. The
altar rail, elaborate reredos, font and fine canopied pulpit are original, and the
magnificent wooden organ case with doorcase below dates from 1765. The central
round altar of travertine stone is by Henry Moore, and its introduction into a historical
building was highly controversial. However, its intention is, in the spirit of the
liturgical movement, to symbolise the gathering of all as equals around the Lord’s
Table. This may be linked with the work of one of the church’s rectors, Rev Chad
Varah, in founding the helpline known as the Samaritans in 1953, affirming that all
are loved by God and are deserving of help. The original phone which he used is on
display in the church.

Sadly the pandemic is curtailing opportunities for visiting such fantastic buildings but
hopefully this article has given you a little arm-chair travel, and why not plan to visit
St Stephen’s Walbrook when we eventually return to something near normal?

11

LENT IS LOOMING!

No sooner do we skip through Christmas and Epiphany than we square-up to our
next Lenten observance.

I am extremely grateful to Fr Vernon and Peter Lee who are leading our Lent Course
this year. The course is called Encountering Jesus in Mark and is designed to
explore all of St Mark's Gospel during Lent. There will be two opportunities per week
to gather on Zoom - on Monday mornings at 10am and on Tuesday evenings at
730pm. More information will follow, together with the usual invitation, but please
note that the Lent Course will replace the usual Pilgrim Groups during Lent.
Meanwhile, the Church of England will be launching it’s Live Lent 2021 programme.
As the Church of England website describes …

Fr David

“Both the book and the accompanying daily
reflections encourage all Christians to think
about their calling, how to share their faith and
reflect on the difference Christ makes in our
lives.

… While the current restrictions on daily life
necessitated by the pandemic present
significant challenges, the suffering and isolation
many continue to face make the need for us to share God’s love with our
communities greater than ever. Rather than just being a Lenten discipline, this
year’s #LiveLent is a joyful invitation to make witness a normal part of the Christian
life, the natural overflow of a life lived in devotion to Christ.

From Ash Wednesday (17 February) to Easter Sunday (4 April), there will six
reflections for each week, written by Stephen Hance, the Church of England’s
National Lead for Evangelism and Witness. Each reflection will include a short
passage from the Bible, a brief exploration of the reading, and a prayer. Additionally,
each week will have a unifying theme and an action to be taken during the week.

The daily reflections will be made available through a booklet available to buy from
Church House Publishing, as well as a free app, emails, audio and through the
Church of England’s social media accounts.”

Editor

12

13

COOKERY CORNER

Well, to say that 2020 threw a spanner into the works may be a slight under
exaggeration. My plan, such as it was, last January was to fully focus on food and
ingredients that were local and seasonal, making the most of fresh fruits and
vegetables, fish and meat. This year, I have decided to focus on 'shopping your
store cupboard'. We all are creatures of habit, and often purchase the same
packaged goods on a regular basis, whether this is tins, cans, jars, boxes or plastic
bags. I certainly derive a lot of comfort from knowing I have tins ready to throw
something together quickly that is healthy and nutritious.

I recently threw a spur of the moment question at a group of friends, and we all listed
very similar store cupboard ingredients - tinned beans and pulses, various types of
rice and whole grains, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, coconut milk,
tuna, oats. I am now throwing that question further afield - please email me
([email protected]) and let me know what you have in your cupboards and on
your shelves, so that these can be incorporated into recipes in the coming months.

Genna Martinez

Super Easy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

* 1 can coconut milk * 1 can pumpkin puré

* 1 tsp cinnamon * ½ tsp nutmeg

* ½ tsp ground ginger * ½ tsp garlic granules / puree / lazy garlic

* 1 vegetable stock cube or equivalent amount of stock powder

Method:
Open the can of coconut milk - add some or all of the thick cream from the top of the
can, and place it into a saucepan along with the spices. Heat on low or medium,
until the kitchen smells like Christmas! Add the remainder of the can of milk and the
can of pumpkin. Throw the stock cube into the bottom of the emptied can of purée
and add just boiled water. If you like a thicker soup, fill the can half way, and if you
like a slightly thinner soup fill it up to almost the top. Once the stock has fully
dissolved add it to the saucepan. Let the soup simmer away for 20 to 30 minutes.

To make it a little fancier, why not try adding some spiced apple croutons to the top.
Simply core a crisp desert apple and cut into half inch dice. Sauté with a good knob
of butter in a frying pan until the edges start to go crispy brown. This should only
take about 5 minutes. remove from the heat and dredge with brown sugar and a
good pinch or two of cinnamon and nutmeg.

14

ARTISTS WORDSEARCH

This month’s wordsearch contains the names of 36 artists or illustrators. The 7

unused letters form the name of the painter of A Rake’s Progress. Solution next

month.

John Barnes

ELGRECORRASSIP

LOACARAVAGGIOR

RWUTRILLOKHTOR

ARGRENRUTLTSDE

EYUHNLLEBESTRY

SOIOAHBOLENUAN

ARNCSOKATGRBNO

GATKHUNTTTEBOL

EPENAAIRTSOSED

DHNECRGJOHNILS

AAOYGHHAMIROGL

LEMANETBLAKECA

ILMSUTHERLANDH

SOLUTIONS TO CHRISTMAS WORDSEARCHES

Words in capital letters appear in the wordsearches

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS by NIGHT ALL SEATED on THE
GROUND THE ANGEL of THE LORD CAME DOWN AND GLORY SHONE
AROUND. The 6 unused letters formed A MERRY.

ONCE in ROYAL DAVID’S CITY STOOD a LOWLY CATTLE SHED WHERE a
MOTHER LAID HER BABY in a MANGER FOR HIS BED MARY WAS THAT mother
MILD JESUS CHRIST HER LITTLE CHILD. The 9 unused letters formed
CHRISTMAS.

John Barnes

15

ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH
Parkside Road, Hounslow

Vicar: The Revd David Cloake

Email: [email protected]

Church 020 8577 5031

Parish Office 020 8898 2694

Churchwardens: Mrs. Sally Billenness 020 8737 0477

Miss. Genna Martinez [email protected]

Hon. Treasurer: Mr. John Barnes 020 8570 8810

Hon. Secretary: tbc

Children's Champion - Tracey Bunce 020 8230 4918

Safeguarding Officer: Mrs. Angela Bowman 020 8893 4918

Magazine Editor: Mrs. Elizabeth Malone 020 8941 4722

Email: [email protected]

Keep in touch:

Website: http://www.saintstephenhounslow.church/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaintStephenHounslow/

Magazine Deadline
The next Magazine will be the March 2021 issue. Items for inclusion should be
emailed to the editor – [email protected]
Please forward your contribution by Friday 19th February 2021 at the absolute
latest!

Opinions expressed in articles in this magazine do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Vicar, Editor or the P.C.C.

16


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