The address of the web page of St Michael's Church, Great Torrington, is www.great-torrington.org.uk

The programme of concerts for 2008 is now on the website. Click HERE.

 

We have added a list of Blogs that the Editor keeps an eye on

Click here news. PDF  to see this week’s Newsletter in its printed form, complete with cartoon and other information..

Stations of the Cross. A form of this devotion, as used in Roscoff Parish Church, is now included in our list of liturgical documents.

Recent News

JDH recently watched the film "The Painted Veil" which was not bad. What really stayed in his mind was the singing of "A la Claire Fontaine" by Chinese children at the end. Listen to it here.

17 August 2008

Sermon The taking up of Our Lady into heaven may be understood as a little Easter, a foretaste granted to one who was supremely worthy.
JUDD BOND Some copies have been made of the obituary in the North Devon Journal and are in church for you to take.
GRAEME SIMS When he left Little Torrington Graeme Sims went to take over a group of parishes in Staffordshire, including the excitingly named Weston-under-Lizard. He and his wife are now living in Wales in retirment with a lot of dogs and some sheep. There was an interesting article about him in Jezebel’s Trumpet of which copies are available in church.
TOWER REDEVELOPMENT Another newsletter has been published giving details of the progress. Please take a copy.
NEXT SUNDAY ...the Vicar will be away parish-, house- and dog-sitting in Yorkshire. The Celebrant and Preacher at 10 a.m. here and at 11.15 at Little Torrington will be the Ven. David Gunn-Johnson, Archdeacon of Barnstaple, who kindly offered to fill the breach. There will be no newsletter next Sunday.
CROSSING THE TIBER With a very few exceptions, Anglicans who have entered into communion with Rome have done so by individual conversion; as we say, they have swum the Tiber. Swimming the Tiber is not the only way to cross it, however (and it would certainly not be a pleasant river to swim in); there has been much talk recently of the provision of a boat or bridge to enable a whole group of Anglicans to cross all together, whilst continuing with a distinctive prayer book in the English tradition when they reach the other side. (More about this in a future newsletter.) Meanwhile, the General Synod has made it clear that it simply wishes traditional Anglicans to clear out. There is a certain simplicity about this situation: if you don’t accept the modern belief—that men and women are exactly the same, so any “difference” may not be mentioned in matters of ordination and “partnerships” (marriage and homosexual partnerships being treated as entirely equivalent)—if you reject this, and reject the authority of Scripture and Tradition to rule the Church, then there is ultimately no place for you in the Church of England. The C of E has been taken over, hijacked, by people with a particular agenda (rather as our nation is being taken over by the Common Purpose gang) and the ecumenical movement of the last century or so, which was bringing us into convergence with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, returning us to our roots, has been finally abandoned. (To be continued.)

10 August 2008

FRITHELSTOCK Cream teas will be served at Frithelstock Church this afternoon from 3 o’clock, and at 6.30 the Torridge Male Voice Choir will give a concert. The church is specially decorated. All proceeds to the repair fund (work is in progress on the west door and window). The ringing of Frithelstock church bells has been well and truly revived, so it is of extra importance to make the west end weathertight.
TOWER The steel framework to support the floor of the new ringing chamber was put in last week and the floor itself is nearly finished.
MYSTERY A large shiny clay object was found outside the church last week, somewhat resembling a dinosaur egg, presumable left there by night-time revellers. It is now just inside the priest’s door waiting to be claimed.
GOODBYE Our neighbours in the churchyard, Fred and Rita and their dog Mavis, are going to move to New Zealand, so their house is for sale. They will move temporarily to their daughter’s house elsewhere in the town. Since the cottages were made habitable and decorated, and Fred and Rita moved in, that part of the churchyard has been most attractive, especially with the display of flowers. There has also been a noticeable reduction in vandalism (see previous article) since all those houses have been lived in. (Note: their son-in-law, a local policeman, applied for a vacancy in the New Zealand Police and got it. 3000 English police applied for 80 vacancies, which says something about our country.)

Local Material from the current Deanery Newsletter

Great Torrington
Sunday Service: 10 a.m. Sung Eucharist (also at 8.45 on 2nd & 4th Sundays).Weekdays: as announced in the weekly newsletter.
Marriages: 26 July - Kim Insull & Shelley Downton; Tristan Bannister & Claire Fisher; 2 August - Michael Clarke & Rebekah Hummerstone.
Funerals: 16 June - Pamela Owen; 18 June - Elizabeth Blenman; 24 July - Roy Poulton; 
Church Fete: As usual, the weather was fine and there was a high attendance. There were more entries than ever in the dog show. The total raised was about £1500. Our thanks to all our many helpers, without whom such an event would not be possible.

Behind the temporary screen, showing the steel joists to support the balcony and ringing chamber, and the oak screen moved out into its new position.

New Kitchen: Work is well up to schedule, with the floor of the new ringing-chamber nearly completed. The builders have screened off the whole west end with very solid material, and kindly painted it white so that it blends in. No discoveries have been made of great archaeological interest, but some of the old heating system has been uncovered, when there was a stokehole at that end of the church, and presumably another, or others, elsewhere in the building, before the Victorian restoration.

Wedding: Jeremy and Clarissa Hummerstone are most grateful to all who helped in any way with their daughter Rebekah’s wedding. We borrowed crockery,cutlery, furniture and tents, and people brought wonderful contributions of food. At the time of writing the happy couple are in Italy.
Grave Spaces: On consulting the master plan we have discovered that there are about 30 vacant plots in the space reserved in the churchyard for cremated remains, far more than we thought, but there are no spaces left on the surrounding walls for memorials.

Frithelstock
Funeral: 13 June - Cyril Ham (at Whitstone).
Marriage: 9 August - Samuel Wood and Victoria Beer.
Organist: It is good to see Mrs Barrow back at the keyboard now that her wrist is mended. Out of every misfortune some good comes; her friend Mr Males from Monkleigh who temporarily took her place, and Mrs Males, have become good friends of our church.
Alarming Accident: JDH fell off his motor scooter on the church path, just in front of the porch. A kind flower lady (one of an enormous number of flower ladies working inside, preparing for the wedding) helped him to lift the scooter up. Recently he fell off it just outside the Methodist Church in Torrington. An idea for another illustrated calendar: a picture of the Vicar falling off his scooter outside twelve important buildings, at appropriate seasons of the year.

Little Torrington
Funeral: 20 June - Mary Eileen White.
Assistant Priest: There have been several responses to the latest series of advertisements, resulting in two visits by clergy to look round, but in both cases the people concerned needed a larger house. JDH has asked the Archdeacon whether it would be possible to let the bungalow and rent something bigger; this need not be more expensive, since bungalows are sought after. 
Susannah Metz: Susannah was sent to our parishes in the course of her study of women in agriculture and their role in the church. Since St Giles’s House is sadly empty she was able to stay in it while working on her thesis. Thank you to all who kindly lent her furniture and in various ways made her welcome. The local parishes she was particularly concerned with were Frithelstock and Iddesleigh. Whilst here she threw herself into local activities and made many friends. She was a tremendous help at the Vicarage helping with all that had to be done in connection with the fete and then with a family wedding. Susannah will be coming back in December.

Taddiport
Church Repairs: The programme of repairs to the roof and tower is now complete, and we also have some new lights and a new cupboard under the tower for storage. We have acquired crockery from the Methodist Church, who have just replaced all theirs, so we are well set up for future events requiring the serving of refreshments. The new St George’s flag has flown several times and is strikingly visible from far away at the top of Castle Hill. A work that remains to be done is the provision of a lean-to building in which to store the churchyard mower. Mention must be made of Mr Derek Skinners part in all this; he has kept up the momentum and with the aid of our particularly helpful builders, Messrs Pat Mitchell has made sure that the work was carried through to completion. Nothing on this scale will need to be done for many years to come.

3 August 2008

JUDD BOND Pray for our altar server Judd, who died suddenly on Thursday, and for his family, that they may be comforted in their loss.
TOWER The builders were ahead of schedule last week, so work stopped for a few days while we waited for the next sub-contractors to arrive—they will start tomorrow. An archeologist has been to look at the holes but nothing ancient has so far appeared. The remains of an old stokehole and flue were uncovered.
LATE RISING IN FRITHELSTOCK Mrs Barrow has a copy of The Countryman magazine for Summer 1957 which contains this little article:FRITHELSTOCK BOOK (Winter 1956, p. 662). Six years before his death John Abbott made a will containing this clause: ‘I give and bequeath to Ruth my wife all her rings and wearing apparell, the moderate use of one bed where she now layeth, two pairs of sheets for her own use during her natural life and £2 of lawful money’. It has been suggested that his use of the word ‘moderate’ was a sly insinuation that Ruth was not always an early riser. As it happened, he survived her by two or three years, and the point remains obscure. — H. R. Cleaver, Devon
MUSIC AT FRITHELSTOCK Next Sunday cream teas will be served at St Gregory’s Church from 3 p.m. and at 6.30 there will be a concert by the Torridge Male Voice Choir.
MAGAZINE JDH was too late to send in local copy for the Deanery Magazine, so will print an extra sheet to insert before the magazines are distributed. He will hope to get it done before next Sunday.BOOKThe Mayor of Roscoff has given us a fascinating photographic history of the Onion Johnnies and the trade with England. Please ask if you would like to borrow it.

27 July 2008

Sermon The pearl of great price; the average man has no reason to pursue one thing exclusively because he does not know what that thing is.
BISHOPS The Synod has voted decisively that women shall become bishops and that no legal provision shall be made for opponents. Instead, there is to be a “code of practice” which all must “have regard to”. This decision breaks the promise made when women were admitted to the priesthood: i.e. that the innovation would be forced on nobody, and that there would be no discrimination against any one on the grounds of his opposition to the ordination of women. Since 1992 many senior clergy have behaved

Demented signs in our church, fortunately placed where no one will see them

 intolerantly and unfairly to those who have disagreed with them. But we still had the promise of fair treatment for the indefinite future, with a code of practice which allowed us to have our own bishops. Now we are told that the first promise, with its code of conduct, is to be forgotten, and instead of that we shall have another, lesser promise, with a much more restrictive code of practice, offered to us by people who we know do not keep promises. This is no good! Traditional believers must choose between three options:  1. to carry on for as long as they can until they die out. 2. To leave as individuals and join some other Church. 3. to stick together and organize themselves into a self-governing Church that can find accommation as a group in Catholicism or Orthodoxy. We have several years to work this out.
TOWER The builders are making good progress, and making very little dust. The wooden screen is now in its new position, where its workmanship will be easier to admire. The many warning notices that the builders are obliged by law to display have been sensibly combined into one comprehensive notice that is round the corner where no one will see it. It is quite amusing to read, nevertheless.

20 July 2008

Sermon We must sometimes judge our fellow men, but in all human judgement there is a provisional element.\
PATSY SANDERSON We have just heard the sad news that Mrs Sanderson died last Monday. A child of Torrington who returned here in retirement, Mrs Sanderson was a faithful member of this church for many years. The beautiful hassocks were designed by her and made by a working-party organized by her that included herself. The funeral will be at St Swithun’s Church, Headbourne Worthy, Winchester on 24 July at 2 p.m.. There will be a memorial service in Torrington on a date to be announced.
FETE With the rest of the money that remained to come in we have made about £1500, so thanks to all for a good result. Thanks also to the people who worked so hard to prepare for the event and to clear up afterwards, as well as doing all that needed to be done during the fete itself. Photographs taken during the afternoon are on display in Cosmicuts window, thanks to Chris Watkins, and some of them are on the website, including a nice one of the Mayor and Mayoress, to whom we are most grateful for coming to open the fete. It was a particular disappointment that the Maypole proved to be not fit for use, but new ribbons have been supplied and we hope to have the dances at the forthcoming wedding at the Vicarage. There was a record number of entries in the dog show, and we thank Jane Curthoys for judging it, and her father Michael Curthoys for the excellent sports and tug of war that finished off the afternoon. (We even had a sack race and an egg-and-spoon race, now forbidden in many places because they are so dangerous.) Whiskers of South Street kindly gave the prizes for the dog show, and Glenn Bealey installed his ducking-stool, which is always one of the most popular sideshows.

ROSCOFF VISIT Breton hospitality was as wonderful as ever. The events included a visit to the Ile de Batz, a tour of an organic market garden (where the farmer gave us all a bag of newly harvested shallots), and an ascent of the bell-tower. The university choir accompanying us gave a concert in the church, and also sang at the mass and sang evensong in the cathedral. The Rector Fr Caraës retired last month, but will continue to take part in twinning activities, so we hope to see him here next year.

The White Beach on the Ile de Batz	Fr Caraes on the ferry	View of rocks and mainland from the island
	(Left:) In the Sacristy after Mass on Sunday. The acolytes are twins.

13 July 2008

SYNOD This morning a pastoral letter from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet will be read about the situation the Church of England is now in. You will have heard the news that the Synod, in voting (as we knew it would do) in favour of women becoming bishops, also decided that no legal provision would be made to secure the position of those who could not accept the result, but that a “code of practice” would be adopted to which all bishops would be obliged to “have regard”. The arrangement at present in force—which is a code of practice—will be rescinded, yet we are supposed to rely on the very people who are getting rid of us to decide on our behalf what conditions we need.    We have taken another step on the inevitable path laid down for us in 1992 when the first women were ordained priest. (It would have been quite wrong and inconsistent to admit them to the priesthood and not to the episcopate.) For orthodox believers this is the beginning of the end. There is no great hurry; we have made good use of the time since 1992 to organize ourselves, and we have several more years to form ourselves into a fully-functioning church community; during this time our leaders will be examining the possible ways in which we could enter into communion with one of the larger ancient Churches whilst keeping something of our Anglican ethos. Priests who continue in office will have to be re-ordained; in all the catholic churches bishops are monks or at least unmarried, so our bishops would be re-ordained as priests. Copies have been made of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet’s recent article in the Catholic Herald, along with his pastoral letter, for people to take and read at home.
The pastoral letters of all three Flying Bishops may be read at http://www.frjeffreysteel.blogspot.com/ along with other relevant material, and there are links to some other useful sites. Damian Thompson at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ukcorrespondents/holysmoke/ is an excellent source of news and gossip, but some of the people posting there are of the snooty RC variety that JDH thought had vanished years ago.
FETE There will be a full report on the fete next week. Thanks to all our helpers—there was a large attendance, and we were lucky with the weather, again! Special thanks to the Cavaliers for rigging up the p.a. system, with the speakers off a warship; and to Bart and the Clovelly donkeys. The takings so far come to £1240, but there is more to come in.

Prayer Book Thoughts

JDH writes: For the last few weeks we have been using the Book of Common Prayer for the Mass at Frithelstock and Little Torrington. All the worship in our four churches is broadly "Prayer Book" but we have never before used the order for Holy Communion as it is printed - some visiting locum priests may have done so of course. Hitherto the nearest we have come to the Prayer Book rite is the "interim" arrangement, whereby the Prayer of Consecration is followed at once by the Prayer of Oblation with a linking formula, "Wherefore ... having in remembrance ... &c", with the Lord's Prayer before communion.
    I was prompted to do something of the kind by being elected chairman for the time being of the diocesan branch of the Prayer Book Society, and thinking I ought perhaps to make more use of the ipsissima verba of our foundation text. I have always considered the orders for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer and Holy Matrimony to be perfect and unimprovable (in the matter of Holy Matrimony being in a small minority of clergy, I should guess). The orders for Baptism and Burial are from a Catholic point of view unsatisfactory as they stand. The best form of Confirmation is the one provided in the 1928 book but we are not usually allowed to use it. 
    The interesting discovery for me is that the BPC Holy Communion, when used as printed, is, whilst generally strange and idiosyncratic, in one important respect more Catholic in doctrine than the "interim" rite. In the Prayer of Oblation we "offer and present unto thee ... ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and lively sacrifice", and so on. Since in Cranmer's order this comes directly after communion, we are offering ourselves having just received the Sacrament; the Catholic Oblation is almost explicit. In the interim rite, these words cannot be understood to refer to the Body and Blood of Christ, so the nearest we get to an explicit oblation (unless we write one in) is "this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving" and "this our bounden duty and service". Perhaps this does not matter too much, because in the immediate context of a Mass deliberately celebrated so as to make clear what we are about, and in the larger context of an ecclesiology in which celebrants at altars all over the world are "doing this", we can trust that we are taken into the Divine Economy as under a great umbrella, and that Cranmer's text, whatever he personally meant by it, effectively serves the cause of Catholic worship. But, when we use the rite of 1662 in the same order as it is printed, the words, "reasonable, holy, and lively" look not so much like a parody of the Roman Canon from which they are derived, as a legitimate enlargement of its meaning. And the other double entendres of "this our sacrifice", &c, still keep their potentiality for Catholic interpretation because, according to 1662, the sacred Elements remain on the altar, covered with a corporal, until after the service, so everything from the consecration until the blessing is done in their presence. (The foregoing argument loses its force, of course if the "alternative" prayer, the "Prayer of Thanksgiving" is used. The very provision of these two prayers as alternatives is one of the strangest features of the whole rite.)
    "Used as printed" needs a little explanation. "The Lord be with you" does not occur in the order for Holy Communion. Nor does "Glory be to thee, O Lord", nor the Agnus Dei. There is no formula for showing the Sacrament to the people to lure them to the altar rail, presumably because the communicants, in the Elizabethan layout of the chancel, had already "drawn near with faith". Such things may be considered the small change of liturgical conversation and supplied as required. (There is interesting support for this common-sense approach in Elizabethan court records, where Puritans were complained of for not saying "Glory be to thee, O Lord", which the prayer book then in use did not even require them to say.) Our congregations are all familar with "Behold the Lamb of God &c" so we continue to use that. The one definite departure from the text I have been guilty of so far is the omission of the prayer for the Queen before the collect of the day. For me this resembles all too closely the substitution of the royal coat of arms for the Holy Rood, and hitherto I have been content with the comprehensive provision of prayer for the sovereign in the course of the Prayer for the Church Militant.
   In the wake of the recent coup at General Synod there has been some interesting discussion on the internet about the possible future extension of "Anglican use" in the Roman Catholic Church, and about what texts such congregations, if permitted to exist, might be allowed to use. The book already in use in six parishes in the USA is "The Book of Divine Worship". The Mass in this book is largely BCP as we know it, but including one of the family of translations of the Canon derived from that of Miles Coverdale. A great deal of the book is taken up with modern material, and bits of the Novus Ordo are clumsily inserted into the Mass. Generally the book is a dog's breakfast, and it must have been expensive to produce, especially since so few people use it. The people discussing the subject with reference to English "Anglo-Catholics" (a term that used to be pejorative but seems now to be used by some Anglicans of themselves) are mostly themselves Roman Catholic and do not realize that Catholic parishes in the Church of England mostly gave up Tudor English when the Roman Catholics gave up Latin, as though Tudor English were not an acceptable vernacular. With the present reappraisal of liturgical language, including the revival of Latin, perhaps Tudor English will regain popularity as a liturgical language in its own right. If so, we should note in passing that the translations in the English Missal are very Latin, rather than Prayer Book, in character. The most elegant translations are in the Altar Missal (or "Cowley Missal") but I believe they are from the Sarum Use, which will add to or detract from their attractiveness, according to which party is considering the subject. The sheer richness of variety in the texts at the disposal of Catholics in the C of E results from the lack of authorization given to any of them, and the consequent free market. Such a state of affairs would be absolutely inimical to the Roman ethos of standardization and control, so we must hope that a careful choice will be made and that Anglican Use congregations (if, given the general Novus Ordo character of modern Anglo-Catholicism, any were suffered to exist) would not be stuck with the Book of Divine Worship and nothing else. 

6 July 2008

Sermon The English disease: Nothing is true unless it is true for me. But our entry to heaven depends on our becoming as babes.
Safari Supper (see below): last chance to buy tickets at £7.50. Can you make a donation for bread rolls? Proceeds to Christian Aid.
Monday: MU members invited to Appledore to meet the Bishop of Dogura (New Guinea) and his wife. Depart from the Vicarage 2.15.
Tuesday: Communion Torridge View (W). MU Quiet Afternoon at Little Cross, Goodleigh; share tea. Depart from the Vicarage 1.45.
Wednesday: Jack & Jill Playgroup sports on Vicarage lawn 10 a.m.
Thursday: Torridge Playgroup sports on Vicarage lawn 10 a.m.Communions Borough Road & Hatchmoor Estate.Choir Practice 6.30 in church.
Friday: Working Party 2.15 to prepare for the Church Fete. All helpers welcome. (We still need bottles, books, plants, white elephants, lucky dip prizes, etc.) Safari Supper begins at church with first courses 6—6.30 p.m.
Saturday: Get ready for Fete 10 a.m., setting out tables, etc. Helpers welcome.Fete opened 2.30 p.m. by the Mayor and Mayoress and the May Queen and her retinue.Concert 7.30 by the men and boys of the Cathedral Choir. Retiring collection (half the proceeds to the Tower Fund).
PCC MEETING At our meeting last week we heard the good news that the forthcoming works to the tower will be exempt from VAT, which will save us about £17,500. Messrs Loosemore will start work on 14 July. JDH reported on the visit to Roscoff, of which more next week.
LESSON READERS The new lists are ready for readers to take. Thank you, as always for taking on this duty. If any dates are inconvenient, please exchange with somebody else.

22 June 2008

Sermon Christ warns the Apostles of persecutions to come. Is that a danger we also face?
TOWER DEVELOPMENT We have changed builders, and the new ones, Messrs Loosemoore will begin a little later, on 14 July.
MOTHERS UNION Monday 7th: 2.45 Cream tea in Appledore Rectory garden, to meet New Guinea bishop & wife. Dep. 2.15Tuesday 8th: Quiet Afternoon 2.30 at Little Cross, Goodleigh. Bring & share tea. It is the home of Fr Geoff Squire, who will be our conductor, and there is a wonderful garden. Dep. 1.45. Important: Please tell Clarissa Hummerstone if you can come to these (telephone 622166)—we must let hosts know numbers.
CHURCH FETE 12 JULY Not too early to bring round white elephants, bottles, books, lucky dip gifts (i.e. little oddments that you already have, wrapped and labelled for boy or girl).

15 June 2008

Sermon They were as sheep without a shepherd. Unless the Church keeps the “Lambeth Quadrilateral”—the Scriptures, the Creeds, the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, and the Tradition of Holy Order—it will be incomplete or fall. 
TWO OLD FRIENDS You may have missed them recently from church, always sitting quietly at the back. One has been here a very long time, the other used to live with Mrs Parkhouse in Castle Street. They have gone to stay for a while with Dr Armstrong because they were looking a little sickly and will be nursed back to health. Soon we shall see them back in their accustomed places on either side of the War Memorial. (Note for Internet readers: the two friends are two ancient aspidistras.)
THANKS At the Coffee Evening at Cross over £400 was raised for Taddiport Church. Congratulations!
MOTHERS’ UNION On Tuesday the Mothers’ Union Council meets at Matford in Exeter for the roadshow, “Time for Relationship” and three of our members will be attending. The MU has 3.6 million members in 78 countries and works to promote family life.
LETTER TO ARCHBISHOPS The letter is in church for the last time this Sunday for women to sign. It asks the Archbishops to make sure of making arrangements so that traditional believers can continue in the Church of England after woman bishops are consecrated. There is strong pressure on them to withdraw the present arrangements and provide nothing in their place, which people on all sides of the argument ought to see is not fair.

8 June 2008

Sermon By treating lowly people with respect, Christ brought out the best in them.
CHURCH FETE Please sign the list for anything you can do
TABLE TOP SALES The sales under the Town Hall made £276 altogether, £100 for Little John’s House in Rumania and the rest for the church. Thanks to all helpers, especially to Caroline de Groot who stored everything for us.
LETTER TO ARCHBISHOPS Copies of the letter to the Archbishops about the consecration of woman bishops are still in church for people to sign. People on both sides of the argument ought to agree with the letter because what the House of Bishops is proposing in their report is simply unfair. Unless the Synod throws out the report the traditional party will have nothing at all, and ultimately will have to leave the Church of England. Please do at least read the letter, and if possible sign it. The list of signatories will be sent off this week.
CHURCHYARD We are most grateful to Mr Doris Leatt for giving two trees and arranging to have them planted, a lime to fill a gap in the avenue and a whitebeam to replace the one that died near the priest’s vestry. The lime is a memorial to the late Bernard Leatt, a former member of our choir. The trees were unfortunately planted in each other’s places and will have to be moved, which will be done very soon.
KNITTING DAY The Mothers’ Union project, the Knitting Day, will take place on Tuesday, 10 a.m.—4 p.m. and 7—9 p.m. at the Vicarage. Both experienced knitters and novices are welcome. Please let Clarissa Hummerstone know what you can provide for the lunch and other refreshments. (We have plenty of sponge bags for the women’s refuge but not much to go in them; we are particularly short of toothpaste and toothbrushes).
IAN PAGE Many will remember Ian Page, who officiated in our church as a server, then deacon and then assistant priest whenever he was at his parents’ home in South Molton. He is now being considered for ordination as deacon in the Orthodox Church.

1 June 2008

Sermon Our House is built on the rock. 
DRAW PRIZES We have some draw prizes for this afternoon but would welcome more. There is certain to be a good attendance. Alcohol or chocolates (not too small) are the best.
BISHOPS We hear that the House of Bishops has met and decided that, when women are purportedly consecrated to that order, no provision shall be made for people or parishes unable in conscience to recognize them as bishops. The consecration of women as bishops in a few years’ time will be the “nuclear” moment when the Church of England will finally become unable to function as a single institution. If no provision is offered to the minority then the minority will have to provide for themselves, and fortunately their leaders have shown themselves to be quite resourceful enough for the occasion. In the meantime we must hope that the General Synod will decline to follow the somewhat vindictive lead given by the bishops, but act more generously. To this end a letter is being sent round the parishes for women in the congregations to sign. If you would like to sign this letter—or at least to read it—copies have been put in church for inspection.
KNITTING At the Mothers’ Union Knitting Day on Tuesday 10 June at the Vicarage, from 10—4 and from 7—9, as well as knitting we shall pack up knitted squares (of which we already have many), and also sponge bags with washing things (of which we have not so many so far) to send to the women’s refuge in Exeter. There are also some sheets to tear into bandages for Operation Sunshine in Africa. Supplies of soup, rolls, cheese, chutney, cake and biscuits to refresh the workers will be most welcome.
TREASURER From today we have no treasurer. It would be improper (as well as disastrous) for me to take this on so would a volunteer kindly come forward to do it temporarily (and I mean this). The accounts have been kept excellently so taking over will be straightforward. JDH
FREE PAPER Pro-Life Times is available for collecion. 

25 May 2008

LACE Has any one any spare bits of lace for mending church linen? Please tell J.D.H
STANDING ORDERS Following the discussion at the P.C.C. about church finances, each church member will receive a Standing Order form with a letter of explanation. Our hope is that people who are able to will adopt this method of subscribing to church funds, if they do not already.
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK The money raised was as follows: Celebration Evening at the Baptist Church £272.01; Coffee Morning at St Michael’s: £144.99; Street Collection: £308.46; Collection at the Sunday Prayers: £123.46. The total was £849.20. Thank you, all helpers.
SAFARI SUPPER Fund raising for Christian Aid continues with the supper on Friday 11 July, with the first course at our church at 6—6.30 p.m. Tickets are available from Barbara Down for £7.50 (children £4.)
EMBROIDERY We have a plain white cloth suitable for one of the small coffee morning tables but it needs some embroidery so that it fits in with the other tablecloths. Can any one take this on?
MOTHERS’ UNION The Diocesan President Mrs Steer came to visit Mrs Vodden last week for a little tea-party and to present her with a certificate of long membership.

Mrs Vodden with Mrs Mary Steer the Diocesan President of the Mothers' Union

 Mrs Vodden joined when she was 22 and had been a member for 84 years. (Picture on website, and see the next Gazette.)
CARLO CURLEY 3 p.m. Sunday 1 June The church will be full as usual for this event and we shall hold a draw. Several books of tickets will be on the go at once, so we shall need helpers for that and for serving tea and coffee. Please tell Clarissa Hummerstone if you can help. Draw Prizes wanted, especially alcohol and good-sized boxes of chocolates. John Downing needs help in bringing chairs from the Plough at 2.30 p.m. and taking them back on Monday.
CHURCH CLOCK Our thanks to Derek Skinner for mending a piece of the clock that controls the striking, the rivets of which had come off. Striking is still a little irregular but getting back to normal. 

18 May 2008

SERMON The Lord appears to Abraham at the oak at Mamre - a hint of the Holy Trinity.
EASTER GARDEN Thank you to those who kindly dismantled the garden, and again to people who bravely lent plants to go in it. These may now be collected.
THANKS Thank you, children who acted in the Christian Aid play and to parents who helped, and to people who supplied cakes for the stall or contributed food for the supper.
P.C.C. We had a useful meeting. The appointment of Mrs Juliet Squire as a Governor of the Bluecoat School was approved. We passed a number of resolutions about funds and contracts to do with the Tower development. (Of a probable total of £120,000 there is £60,000 still to find, so we are doing well.) 
    We heard with regret that Mrs Bangay will be relinquishing the treasureship on 1 June. The parish owes Mrs Bangay a great debt for her quiet efficiency. The accounts are in an immaculate state—which is so inviting to a potential new treasurer! Please consider whether you would be able to take this on—it need not be for very long. Volunteers welcome, even to do it temporarily. 
STALL Table-top sale this Thursday and Saturday from 8.30 a.m. under the Town Hall by permission of the Trustees. Proceeds to the church and Little John’s House in Rumania.
CORPUS CHRISTI We shall keep the feast next Sunday. Can any one provide flower petals for the procession?
DUSTBIN BAGS Our present source of supply of bags for the church is very unreliable (the Vicarage). Can any one undertake to see that we get them? Are we entitled to have them from the Council?
BLAGOVEST Thank you, all who helped with the choir, who will certainly be coming again next year. The concert was as good as any previous one, if not better. Takings were down (£504 instead of over £600) but numbers seemed to be up.

11 May 2008

Sermon On Whit Sunday the age of the Incarnation is succeeded by the age of the Church; the miracles are succeeded by the sacraments.
Blagovest Russian choir sings church music and folk songs tonight at 7.30 p.m. in church.
MAY FAIR A total of £1250·57 was given for the new kitchen fund, an extremely good result. The weather was kind to us, in that the sun shone for the ceremonies in the Square, then the rain came to encourage people to go into the church to see the flowers and have some food. Thank you, all suppliers and helpers. (A search of old newsletters has failed to reveal the sum we made last year, but this must surely be the best result ever.) 
ENGLISH HYMNAL A long time ago, taking advantage of a special promotion, we replaced our old Ancient and Modern hymnbooks (many of which were valiantly held together by the industry of the late Miss Ferguson) with copies of the English Hymnal. A long time after that we changed to the New English Hymnal which was also being specially promoted. It has been instructive to note the many changes to words of the hymns done by the editors without explanation. Some wonderful old hymns have been quite unnecessarily mauled about, and we have lost altogether the magnificent doxology, “Consubstantial, coeternal, while unending ages run”, and the verse about “Arabia’s desert ranger”. Another annoying change was the removal of the chorus from St Patrick’s Breastplate its being set to a different tune. Next Sunday the English Hymnal will be back and we shall sing that hymn in its integrity. The books are scruffy looking but quite sound.
NEW KITCHEN There was a meeting with the architect and the builders last week to decide the programme of works on the tower and west end of the church. Work will begin on Monday 23 June and continue for about twelve weeks. We regret that during that time we shall not be able to use the church bells.

4 May 2008

Sermon Without the Holy Ghost we should not be able to pray, or even wish to do so. He shows us our weakness and supplies us with strength and spiritual knowledge.
THANKS To all who helped during May Fair: arranging flowers, providing or serving refreshments and watching the church. The flower displays, as usual, were inventive and

Loyal Torringtonians celebrate another year of Scotch rule.

 beautiful, and those who made them had clearly meditated deeply on the meaning of the texts they were illlustrating. Please would you dismantle your work on Tuesday morning if possible, so that we can leave the church open and unattended.
PLAN Peter Phillips the Queen’s grandson would have lost his place as 11th in succession to the throne upon marrying a Roman Catholic. His fiancee, however, is joining the Church of England so as to preserve his birthright. Has he some plan, like the character in “Kind Hearts and Coronets” who removed a succession of relations who stood between him and the dukedom? (In any case, how do you “join” the Church of England if you are already baptized and living in this country, except by simply going to its services? But apparently Miss Kelly is to receive instruction and be “received”. (According to some people who post comments on one of the blogs we read—“Holy Smoke”—Miss Kelly will now be bound straight for everlasting fire, along with her husband and all members of the Church of England, who wilfully persist in their erroneous ways.)
CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE As the most irreligious and immoral British government in living memory proceeds on its merry way, the excellent Christian Institute, founded for the very purpose, scrutinizes proposed legislation and defends our religious tradition. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, now in the Commons (having passed in the Lords) would allow the creation of embryos that are part human and part animal, and the creation of “saviour siblings” to provide spare parts for another child; it would remove the requirement for doctors to consider a child’s need for a father when referring a woman for in vitro fertilization. There is also pressure from such people as Dr Evan “Death” Harris M.P. to make abortion (even) easier to obtain. The legal age of consent is likely to be lowered in Northern Ireland, against the wishes of the great majority of the people there. Blasphemy in this country has now been made legal. Attempts to soften or alter the legislation have in all cases been opposed by the Government. Literature from the Christian Institute is available to read on the table in church - look for the broad blue stripe down the side of the front cover.
LITTLE TORRINGTON Two replies already to our advertisement, which has been in The Trumpet only two days.

27 April 2008

BLAGOVEST The Russian choir will give a concert on Whit Sunday 11 May. There will be six of them and their driver Fr Geoffrey Anderson. Would some people volunteer, please to have somebody to stay for the night? If two come to the Vicarage, that leaves five for whom we still need accommodation. Offers welcome.
ROSCOFF The time has come to let Roscoff know how many people will be in the party on the weekend 27—30 June. So far we know of four from Torrington. Please tell JDH as soon as possible if you wish come. The ferry will cost only £30. During our visit the Exeter University chapel choir will give a concert and also sing Evensong in the Parish Church.
BETHLEHEM We have had notice from the Plough that on Saturday 3 May at 8.30 p.m. the Al-Harah Theatre Company from Palestine will perform “Born in Bethlehem”, a guided tour of the city, including a performance of the Nativity. It is not political. The three actors are Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Moslem, and the play is in English. Tickets £10 (concession £8, suppoters £7, family £25).
BANKER'S ORDER Buried among the report of the AGM last week was a plea for more people to use Banker’s Order to subscribe to church funds, rather than the envelopes or using loose cash. Treasurers have never complained about handling heavy bags of cash (although it would be good to relieve the of the exercise) but the banks have started to, and HSBC is the only bank now that will accept such deposits without making an extra charge. To make the change as easy as possible, Banker’s Order forms will be put in church soon for people to take. There will always be people for whom this method is not suitable, but if it is possible for you, we urge you to adopt it.
LITTLE TORRINGTON Advertisements have been put in Jezebel’s Trumpet and New Directions for an assistant priest. Since the last crop of applicants, none of whom was in the event able to come (except one who would have been just right but would not have been free till next year) other possible candidates will have become available, so we shall see. In the meantime a university teacher from the USA, Susanna Metz, hopes to use the house for a few weeks in summer while she works on a thesis about the Church and women in agricultural life, concentrating especially on Frithelstock.

20 April 2008

Sermon I am the way, the truth and the life. The getting of wisdom is not reserved to the educated.
ANNUAL MEETING There was a good attendance at the meeting and all aspects of parish church activities were well aired. After discussion the meeting agreed that the term of office of a PCC member should be extended to two terms of three years, if the person was re-elected and wished to continue. On this occasion Mr Gubb and Mr Portman filled two of the vacancies; the other to be filled later. 
Mrs Bangay had some good news about our income from general collections. After the general appeal went out to all members, it increased from £110 to £628, a dramatic change, for which we are most thankful. It would be a great help if as much of this money as possible were paid by monthly banker’s order, rather than in cash, for several reasons: 1. it makes reclaiming tax easier in those cases where the subscriber is a taxpayer; 2. it ensures continuity in cases of absence; 3. it will save us the charges which the bank will introduce for handling large amounts of coins and notes; 4. the Treasurer (although she did not mention this) will not have so many trips to deposit the cash in the bank.
P.C.C. MEETING The first meeting of the new P.C.C. will be on Thursday 15 May at 7.30 in the Vicarage.
ERIC PALMER CENTRE The Denys Yonge Trustees, an organization based on this parish church, who own three schools but hardly any money—which is known as being asset-rich and cash-poor—have been much exercised by the recent and sudden decision of the County Council not to renew their 21 year lease on the Barley Grove school but to vacate it on the 4 May. The reason behind this was that the Youth Services no longer wished to use the building, and without them the tenancy was unviable. This left other organizations that sub-let from the County Council in the difficult, and in one case probably impossible, position of having to find new premises quickly so as not to lose their clients. Fortunately after the intercession of Torrington councillors, and a good-humoured meeting of the interested parties, a new lease has been agreed to run to the end of the school year in July. We are grateful to the councillors for their efforts and to the County Council for their willingness to be flexible.
JOKES We are sometimes asked where we find the jokes for this publication. The most reliable source is the New Yorker. The Oldie is good, and Private Eye usually contains a few suitable ones. The Spectator, which we used to count on, has been hopeless for years.

13 April 2008

This week's newsletter is visible only in PDF format: please click here. (A good joke)

6 April 2008

Sermon The road to Emmaus. Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked with us by the way? What prevents us from recognizing Christ?
The Parish Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday 17 April at 7.30 in church. We must elect two churchwardens, two Deanery Synod members and three members of the PCC to replace those whose term of office has ended. There are some Nomination Papers in church; please will you have a good think about who might be proposed. (NB the term of office for a PCC member is 3 years.)
Floodlighting If you wish to book the floodlighting and have the announcement printed in The Crier the deadline is this Wednesday. Ring 623169.
Children’s Society Mrs Richards would like to have the Children’s Society collecting-boxes this week.
EGGS There are some good free-range eggs for sale after the service this morning in aid of the Kitchen Fund.
Marriage Remember in your prayers Chloe de Groot, originally from this parish, and Ali Marong,married in St Andrew’s, Holloway, yesterday.
“Common Tenure” This is the name of the new status clergy are to have in the future—an improvement for those at present merely licensed and employed during the bishop’s pleasure, who have no protection against oppressive treatment, but also intended to replace the traditional system of beneficed incumbents. Bishop Stephen Venner, who steered the measure said, when it was suggested that beneficed incumbents ought to continue as they are now: No, because “it would absolutely underline ... that there are second-class clergy ... whom we can experiment on and others whom we cannot”. Which rather gives the game away: the plan is to make all clergy second-class and experimentable on. If management are confident that Common Tenure is so good that every one is bound to want it, they should first see how it works with licensed clergy, then no doubt the rest will ask for it.

Taddiport from Castle Hill. St Mary Magdalen's Church is flying the new St George's flag

 

30 March 2008

Sermon Jesus at the moment of laying down his life reveals the glory of God. Blessed are those who were not there to see him risen but yet have believed.
SIGN OF THE TIMES BBC announcer, reminding us that the clocks are going forward: “And then on Monday we all lose an hour in bed”. What a muddle! Evidently she is not going to lose an hour on Sunday morning; BBC announcers will have their usual lie in. But in the back of her mind there lurks a folk memory of losing an hour somewhere—so when can it be except on Monday? 

GREETINGS Joan Milton, great friend of the Budges, who always came here with them to church, sends her greetings to all of us for Easter. She has recently been in hospital but is now much improved, and thinks fondly of us all. Fr Allen sends Easter greetings and a card to the congregation.
ROSCOFF A reminder—you are invited to join the parish visit on June 27—30. Please would you say if you intend coming? (Only ONE name so far!)
FAITH SCHOOLS When did we first hear the term “faith schools”? It was when Islam started being troublesome in education. Before then we had Church schools, and a few Jewish schools. The National Union of Teachers, speaking through their probably unrepresentative officials who met at Easter (when normal people are either going to church or at least relaxing with their families) have said there should be no “faith schools” at all. Well, what a surprise! Instead they propose allowing imams, rabbis and even Christian clergy to visit

Smokers forced to leave the pub and stand out in the cold.

 the schools, so as to make clear that it doesn’t matter which particular fairies you believe in. Meanwhile they would utterly forbid visits by the armed forces, lest children should get the idea that it is acceptable to fight for your country.

23 March 2008

Sermon The Resurrection—a new act, resulting in a new view of everything for those who believe.
FREE PAPER Copies of Forward Plus are available for you to take this morning.
LADY DAY The feast of the Annunciation, normally 25 March, has been transferred to Monday 31st because Easter Week takes precedence.
THANKS Once again Bart Kelly brought two donkeys from Clovelly to lead our Palm Sunday procession. They were Noah, aged 27, and Charlie, aged 7. Considering that it was Charlie’s first experience of this event, he did very well. 
    The spring clean of the church was well supported, and excellent work was done at the same time on the floors to bring out the colours. 
    The Easter Garden is as beautiful as ever—thanks to children and parents who made it, and to the generous bringers of plants. 
    The Altar of Repose was also beautiful and the result of hard work by decorators. 
    Thank you all who have decorated the church for today.
100 PLUS CLUB There is still time to join the 100 Plus Club. All proceeds will go towards buying equipment for the new kitchen. Please forward £10 (cheques to be made payable to St Michael’s Torrington 100 Plus Club) to Barbara Down or send to Mrs Jayne Hutchings, Hideaway, Stonemans Lane, Torrington. The draw takes place on the first Sunday of each month, starting in April, with prizes of £20, £15, £10 and £5. Over £2500 has been raised so far.
HYMNAL Plans are afoot to reintroduce the English Hymnal for at least some services, so as not to lose touch with some of the hymns that were either drastically altered in the New English Hymnal or left out altogether. More details of this later, but we shall certainly hope to revive EH for Trinity Sunday so that we can sing both parts of St Patrick’s Breastplate, using the proper tunes. And look forward to the return, next Epiphany, of Arabia’s desert ranger and the Ethiopian stranger.
CHRIST IS RISEN! We wish all our readers a very happy Easter.

16 March 2008

Wednesday  Easter Garden: children to make this after school. Contributions of sturdy house plants, primroses dug from garden &c. Please bring before 4.30.
Thursday Bluecoat School traditional Good Palm Thursday prayers (unique to Torrington?) 2 p.m. Easter Flowers: please bring them before 2.30 today if possible so that they can be used for the Altar of Repose tonight. Help needed with this at 2.30. Please tell Clarissa Hummerstone if you can come.Choir Practice at 6 p.m. in church. Please sign the list for the time you can be in church tonight (between 7.45 and midnight).
Friday Stations of the Cross for children 11.Breakfast (hot cross buns and tea) available at the Vicarage after the Good Friday Prayers at 12.Saturday Decorating during morning. Help!Sunday Lessons: Acts 10.34,37—43; Colossians 3.1—4; John 20.1—9.
THANKS—NEW KITCHEN APPEAL Jane Whiteley’s organ concert raised £210 for the fund. Gabriel and Judd gave their time and skill free. 
CONGRATULATIONS Harold & Eileen Oswin celebrate their Diamond Wedding this Thursday.

9 March 2008

Sermon The raising of the Lazarus is the greatest sign that Jesus did.
PALM SUNDAY Next Sunday the service begins in front of the Town Hall with the Blessing of Palms (please bring palm) and the reading of the Palm Sunday Gospel. We shall then process into church. The Gospel of the Mass will be the St Matthew Passion read dramatically, with the congregation taking the part of the crowd. Our friends from Clovelly are kindly providing two donkeys as usual, which will lead the procession through our church then to the other churches.
CONGRATULATIONS Trevor Moss has returned from his inspection tour of North Britain and is 90 today. He has kindly brought something for us to drink instead of the usual cup of tea.
FONT We thank Judd and Gabriel for very neat work they have made of the font, moving the step round to allow extra space for the new extension under the tower.
FLOODLIGHTING To be printed in the April edition of The Crier bookings for the floodlighting need to be in by Wednesday 12 March. Telephone 01805 623169. (One of the floodlights is not working, but we hope to have it mended shortly.
SPRING CLEANING There will be a church spring clean on Monday of next week (17th) from 10 a.m.. It will not need to be as thorough as last year’s because of the major building works impending, after which there will be another clean-up. Please sign the list in church if you are able to help.

2 March 2008

The Newsletter for today is unreadable. The editor had spent the whole of Saturday travelling to, being at, and returning from a Quiet Day in Cornwall. This occasion of spiritual refreshment left him so exhausted that at 3 a.m. he abandoned the Newsletter, having searched through several hundred cartoons and failed to find a single one that made him laugh. In the morning he printed it without a cartoon, and was later mortified when people told him they had been unable to read it because it did not make sense. Alas, dear Reader, it was all too true! Next Sunday's newsletter will, we hope, be perfectly lucid and intelligible.

24 February 2008

Sermon Christ is encountered in everyday life, as the woman of Samaria encountered him.
WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER There will be a practice for those taking part at Holy Family Church, Gas Lane, on Friday at 2.30 p.m.. The event itself will be exactly one week later.
MOTHERING SUNDAY Children are invited to pick flowers at Cross by kind permission of Mrs Cotton. Meet after school on Friday at the Vicarage in old clothes.The flowers will be tied into bunches and distributed as usual after communion on Sunday during the 10 a.m. service.
SPONSORED RUBBISH COLLECTION We have made a very small start, with only four collectors but we hope this will grow. Even so, we filled two big fertilizer bags along Gas Lane and round by Quiet Possession to School Lane. A sponsor form in church this morning awaits your kind attention.
NEW KITCHEN The latest news about the progress of the Tower Redevelopment will be distributed this morning. There are also tubes of Smarties for you to take home. When you have eaten the contents, please refill them with £1 coins (or 20 pence pieces) and bring them back to contribute to the cost of the scheme.
PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY The Society has arranged a quiet day at Hampton Manor, Stoke Climsland, next Saturday. Three addresses by Canon Eric Woods, Vicar of Sherborne Abbey and the Regional Trustee of the Society, ending with Evensong in the parish church. Luncheon included. If you would like to come, there will be room in JDH’s car, so do ask.
DISESTABLISHMENT There has been a survey of religious conditions in the Yookay by the United Nations. Everything this humanist-atheist government has done so far in subduing Christianity is praised highly, such as its readiness to punish thought-crimes like hatred, and to close down organizations that insist on Christian principles. Despite this good start, much remains to to be done if Christianity is to lose its privileged status, says “Special Rapporteur” Asma Jahangir.

17 February 2008

Sermon The Transfiguration: a moment of truth to show the disciples what kind of Messiah Jesus is. 
FLOWER LIST There are still gaps in the list. Please look to see if you can fill one of them. Flowers nearly always last two weeks, so if you sign up for a fortnight, all you have to do in the second week is top up the water. 
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SHARIA? 
In the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury, an approach to law which simply said, “there’s one law for everybody and that’s all there is to be said . . . I think that’s a bit of a danger”. Hitherto one law has been the approach in this country, ever since the Church lost its power to keep clergy out of the secular courts. It is true that politicians in high office are in practice acquiring legal privileges —as we have seen several times lately when investigations have been mysteriously dropped —and any one who works for the enormous EU bureacratic machine is immune from prosecution—but does any ordinary member of the public think these are good things? Lord Denning said, repeating what Thomas Fuller had said three centuries earlier, “Be you never so high, the law is above you”; and whatever the Archbishop meant (and there is some argument about his communication skills) that principle was worth fighting for, and is worth fighting to preserve, however much we wish to be loved, by Moslems or anybody else. 
ORTHODOXOPHOBIA The recently re-styled Dean of Southwell Minster asked his Bishop (unnecessarily, since he is in charge of his own cathedral —he evidently did not want the responsibility) whether he should allow the local Orthodox congregation to hold a service in the Minster as they had done for many years. The Bishop advised him to refuse, which he did. How would he have responded to a similar request from a multi-faith group, or even a group of some non-Christian religion? 
THE CHAIR OF ST PETER The chair is the cathedra: the chair of the professor and the throne of the bishop. On Friday we commemorate St Peter as Teacher and Chief Pastor.

10 February 2008

SERMON The broken harmony of Eden was restored in the integrity of Christ.
LENT During Lent the Litany is sung on Sundays, the organ is silent except to accompany singing, a single bell is rung for services, Alleluya and Gloria are not sung. The liturgical colour is purple. Marriages are not solemnized. 
    Lent boxes for the Additional Curates Society are available in church. The ACS are a great help with parishes of our sort across the country and are also one of the main church publishers.
ROSCOFF A visit is being arranged to Roscoff on Friday 27—Monday 30 June. Members of the party will pay only £38 for the return trip. Mark James, who has sometimes played the organ here and sung in the choir, will be bringing the choir of Exeter University Chapel, who will join the Roscoff chorale in singing at the Sunday mass, and will later sing English evensong and give a concert. That Sunday will be the feast of St Peter and St Paul. If you would like to come please tell JDH some time.
FLOODLIGHTS If you wish to book the floodlights in March and to have the details printed in The Crier you should get your booking in by Wednesday 13 February. Telephone 01805 623169.
SHROVE TUESDAY 19 children and 12 grownups came to the pancake races and tea at the Vicarage, after an ascent of the church tower. 1st prizes: Tallulah Smithson, Liam Terry, Gwen Williams. Booby prizes: Lewis Nicholson, Amelia Matthews, Nicky Creighton. Thanks to Di and Adrian Bowyer who made 3 pints of mixture into a huge number of little pancakes. After tea we burnt last year’s palm to make ashes for Ash Wednesday.

3 February 2008

Sermon Christ the new Moses begins to expound the Law on the mountain. By the truth he gives we are to be freed from delusions and false gods. 
RECOVERY We welcome back our server Judd Bond who has managed to give up his crutches and is on the mend. Meanwhile Daniel Moss is in China for a few weeks.
SHROVE TUESDAY There will be an ascent of the church tower after school for those who wish, followed by Pancake Races on the Vicarage drive at about 4.30. Intending racers please bring a racing-pancake (which may be more solid than one you would actually eat). Contributions of food for tea will be welcome. Eating-pancakes will be provided.
FLOWER LIST Please look at the flower list in church and see whether you can fill in any of the gaps. Our decorators would be glad to have some new names.
GLASTONBURY The Ebbsfleet clergy retreat was at Glastonbury again this year and thoroughly well organized, in the right kind of place: a big house in large grounds, with good food. As always there were interesting things to observe. Two priests who had evidently forgotten their stoles wore pew-runners instead; that shows initiative. Fr John Hunwicke, a lamented former luminary of this diocese, was there from St Thomas’s, Oxford. (Fr Hunwicke, who edits the annual Ordo, or church calendar, for the Canterbury Press, which, although it is a calendar, is as good a novel to read, now also has a blog on the internet at http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/ which JDH now consults frequently - highly recommended.) Glastonbury town is a sad place, bunched round the ruins of the greatest church in the country, that of Glastonbury Abbey. In modern times the Glastonbury Pilgrimage was started in order to bring pilgrims together to pray for the restoration of the religious life where the monks had been cast out, and eventually this object was achieved and nuns were installed at Glastonbury House (where the retreats are held). Alas! the nuns have gone again, and on the afternoon when JDH looked all the churches were bolted and barred. The streets display an unpleasant mixture of market town chavishness and “Celtic” or New Age cheapjackery. Just off the High Street, near the magnificent, locked parish church, there is the Shrine of the Goddess, where visitors have to remove their shoes. Perhaps we are due for another Flood.

27 January 2008

Sermon Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For John the Baptist this was a message for the future, for Christ the present reality.
P.C.C. MEETING We mainly discussed the accounts for 2007, which were passed for presentation to the Annual General Meeting, and identified various sums of money that we can use to start off the work to the new kitchen while fund-raising gets under way. Actual work will begin after Easter. We accepted a quotation for work to the west wall of the south aisle where damp has been coming in, and for the inspection of a mysterious fungus in the nave roof. Next meeting 6 March. The AGM will be held on 17 April.
CRIB Children who kindly lent animals to keep Jesus company can now take them back if they have not already. A handsome pair of penguins made their first appearance this time, and once again there was a dangerous animal in the tree—we used to have a panther; this time it was a leopard.
CHRISTMAS CARDS There are four days left to take cards into Morrisons for re-use by the Salvation Army, or into Tesco for re-use by the Woodland Trust.
HOLIDAY VOUCHERS MU members and others: have you been saving the holiday vouchers in the Western Morning News? If so, please send them to the Mothers’ Union at St Sidwell’s Church, Sidwell Street, Exeter, EX4 6NN.
ADVANCE NOTICE Tuesday next week will be Shrove Tuesday and we shall have the usual pancake races and tea at the Vicarage, preceded by an ascent of the church tower for those children who would like to go up. The next day will be Ash Wednesday. The Lent Lunches begin on the following Friday. (Our Lent Lunch is on the 7 March.)
PURIFICATION BVM Last year some of us visited Abbotsham Parish Church for Candlemas (or the Presentation of Christ in the Temple) and this year we shall be pleased to have a return match here. The service will begin at 7 p.m. with the blessing of Candles at the back of the church. There will be refreshments to follow.

20 January 2008

Sermon Christ is present both in his Body the Church, and in his Body and Blood of the Eucharist.
Free Paper Copies of Pro-Life Times are available today.
Taddiport Bridge It is too early for April Fools but the sensational headlines about the bridge have surely been merely a device to sell the papers. It is safe to say that no one round here will have the authority to demolish a mediaeval bridge. (Correction: not mediaeval but 18th century.)
Kitchen We had a useful meeting last week to discuss fund-raising. Various proposals we talked about will be mentioned here as time goes on. One of the first you will hear about it likely to be the revival of the Smartie Tubes, one of the methods we used when collecting for the organ. Colin Porter has kindly offered to be the link between the parish and the builders from day to day when work has started, which we expect will happen after Easter.
P.C.C. The recent thunderstorm knocked out the Vicarage computer, so removing the only copy of the minutes of the last meeting. We shall have to depend on our memories of what happened.
Epiphany The Mothers’ Union luncheon at the Black Horse together with the Shebbear branch was a great success. One of our guests was Fr Milliner who was celebrating his 94th birthday.
  There have been two teaparties at the Vicarage for children, parents and friends. At no. 1 the King and Queen were Alec and Annalisa Zaharia; at no. 2 they were Edward and Bronte Pettifer.
More about Derwent Davies In the Parish News of the Benefice of Pen Rhondda Fawr we read that Derwent originally belonged to Herman Welsh Congregational Chapel, Treorchy, but was attracted to St George’s Church at Cwmparc. He was educated at Porth Grammar School and St David’s College, Lampeter, then prepared for ordination at St Michael’s College, Llandaff. He “lamented the descent of the liturgy into ordinary language” and was a lifelong member of the Prayer Book Society. In his last months he could speak only in Welsh. R.I.P.

13 January 2008

Sermon The Son immerses himself in Jordan, not to be made clean, but to cleanse the waters for those who should come after. 
PRESENT JDH was given a handsome pair of oven gloves for Christmas, so handsome that he suddenly realized they went with the cloth of gold vestments that we have just been using. If ever we have a very small server indeed when a bishop comes, he can wear them as a vimpa, with which to hold the mitre, especially if the mitre happens to be very hot. Otherwise they can hang by the Rayburn on greater festivals.

PRIEST ASSISTANT You will probably have heard by now that the priest who came to look round with a view to coming to Little Torrington liked everything except the house, which would have been too small for his purposes, so he will look for somewhere bigger. It is true that all the previous occupants have been single, so perhaps just such another will appear from somewhere.
EARLY EASTER As Easter comes early, so does Lent. Next Sunday is Septuagesima Sunday (“Seventieth”—a reminder that we, like the Orthodox, used to have a Great Lent. Accordingly the Tree and Crib will not stay up till Candlemas (2 February) but will be put away at the end of this week.
NEW KITCHEN At the recent meeting of the fund-raising committee it was decided that we need some one to take responsibility for co-ordinating the activities, or at least to help with them. Are there any volunteers? The next meeting is this Thursday.
christmas cards, a correction We falsely reported that Northam MU stopped sending cards and put the money thus saved into their overseas fund. No! They just stopped sending or giving cards to local people to whom they could just as easily say “Merry Christmas”, and that is the idea we might consider adopting here next year. Non-members might do the same thing and put the money they save into the kitchen fund?
impertinent question When you are next asked for your date of birth (such as when you report a burst main to the water board, or an accident to the police, or when your insurance company telephones you), say, “I’ll tell you mine if you’ll tell me yours”.

6 January 2008

Sermon Epiphany themes: the visit of the wise men, the baptism of Christ, and the marriage of Cana. All reveal the new creation, the coming of the New Adam.
THANKS All at the Vicarage would like to express their thanks for the cards and greetings received at Christmas. 
    We all thank the providers and installers of the magnificent Christmas tree in church.
POLES The Archbishop of Westminster has urged Poles to integrate with English-speaking congregations as soon as they can. The threatening vitality of Polish Catholicism evidently needs to be diluted. For the time being the Poles would do better to ignore the advice while they wait for better times, which will bring, among other things, the appointment of a new Archbishop of Westminster.
FLOODLIGHTING The deadline for booking your floodlighting, if you want it published in The Crier, is Wednesday 9 January. Ring 01805 623169. 
    The Bishop of Norwich speaking in his cathedral has denounced people who illuminate their houses at Christmas. Really these people are beyond parody. He should be made to swallow 100 long-life bulbs and be exhibited in public festooned with HO HO HO in three colours of electric lights. (The best decorations JDH saw this year were in Taddiport.)
MOTHERS’ UNION The annual Epiphany luncheon will be on Saturday 19 January at the Black Horse. Would members who intend coming please indicate their choice of dishes on the list in church.
    Northam M.U. gave up sending Christmas cards in 2007 and gave the money they saved to the M.U. Overseas fund. Might that be an idea for us to copy this year?
TOYS The annual blessing of toys at Epiphany will take place in church on Wednesday next week, 16 January, at 2 p.m. with the Bluecoat children present. Margaret Zaharia will receive the toys on behalf of orphans in Rumania. Any spare Christmas toys in good condition will be gratefully accepted.

Smoking

New Year's Eve is a National Smoking Day, when owners of "public" places are encouraged to "break" the "law" and allow people to smoke on their property. This need not cause any nuisance to non-smokers, except to the militant kind in whom the mere knowledge that somebody is smoking near them induces an apoplectic fit.

30 December 2007

Sermon Out of Egypt have I called my son. Jesus is the second Moses and the personification of Israel.
THANKS Thank you, all who helped with the children’s Christmas play, which involved a lot of people.
FR DERWENT DAVIES As was announced last week Fr Derwent Davies has died. His funeral will be at Crediton on Thursday 10 January at 2 p.m. He came from Pontypridd in 1945 to serve a second curacy at Bideford for three years. After ten years elsewhere in the diocese he returned to Bideford to serve as Rector from 1958—1974. He was a civilized and civilizing person of utter integrity; he was both witty and kind. Throughout his life he kept up correspondence in Welsh, that being his first language. 

No news this week, but extra cartoons: click here.

23 December 2007

Sermon  St Joseph: recognized liturgically only in modern times. He symbolizes readiness and adaptability to God's purposes.

Thanks to all who served hot chocolate at the Bluecoat School Infant School carols last Monday. £50 was raised for relief work in Papua after the recent cyclone, in which 230 people were killed and 13,000 made homeless.
TV There is a 20" Sanyo television, with a freeview digital box, both in full working order, wanting a kind home in return for a donation to church funds.
Smoking Day 31 December, New Year's Eve, is National Smoking Day, when owners of "public" premises are encouraged to "break" the "law" and allow people to smoke indoors round the fireside with their friends, not forcing them to go out and huddle in a doorway.

16 December 2007

Sermon John the Baptist gives advice to various groups of people about their lives. The good life is difficult.
FREE PAPER Do take your copy of Forward Plus, and copies for friends if you need them.
P.C.C. At the recent meeting of the Parochial Church Council the following matters, among others, were dealt with. 
¶ The church gutters are to be cleaned out: the blockage in one of them is causing water to come through the wall. Maintenance has already been carried out on soakaways and ditches.
¶ The tenders for work at the west end of the church were considered and we decided to accept the lowest, whilst leaving room to take the next lowest if that seemed desirable. Work is expected to start after Easter but before May Fair. We discussed the complications of VAT and extra insurance.
Funds: their may be a special event in February to launch an Appeal.
¶ What to do with spare wooden altar in north aisle? Since it is never used it would be better to find it a home. It was decided to use it for laying out the service books on instead of the present folding table, and see how that works.
¶ The next meeting will be on Thursday 24 January at 7.30 p.m. in the Vicarage.
THANKS The kind sponsors of Thomasin Hummerstone’s Palace-to-Palace bicycle ride in aid of the Prince’s Trust will be pleased to hear that she raised £351, of which £111 came from this congregation. She is most grateful to all who supported her.
TABLE TOP The last instalment of the sale was postponed because of bad weather and will now take place in the New Year.
OBITUARY Some copies have been made of the Obituary of Sir Peter Laurence in the Daily Telegraph. Please help yourself.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/06/db0601.xml

9 December 2007

Sermon Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom is not a place but a state, the realm of obedience to God’s will.
DRAW WINNERS The Christmas Crib set was won by Ray and Joan Burnham. 
The hampers were won by: (1) Mrs Winter (2) Mrs Poole (3) Dr Cramp (4) Mrs Harding.
CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR TROOPS If you missed the collection of Christmas gifts for troops in Afghanistan, you can still have them collected if you ring 07768 091575 or 01237 420647. “Non-essential” things are asked for, such as: soap & toiletries, razor blades, toothpaste and brushes, tea, coffee, drinking chocolate, individual Christmas puddings, cakes, mince pies, biscuits, Oxo, playing cards, chewing gum. 
FR JOHN ALLEN Fr Allen is now in the relative comfort of St Luke’s Hospital to recuperate after his operation. It was Fr Allen who used to pray—apparently always with success: “Hail, Mary, full of grace; Please find me a parking space”. A writer to New Directions recounts the experience of a friend: He was driving round and round the block looking for a parking space so that he could attend an important meeting. After several rounds he glances up to heaven and says, “Lord, have pity on me! If you find me a space I promise I’ll go to Mass every Sunday, and give up whisky—for a bit.” Five seconds later, rounding a corner ... there’s a parking spot. So he glances up to heaven again and says, “You needn’t bother now, Lord, I’ve found one by myself.”

2 December 2007

Sermon This same Jesus, whom you saw go into heaven, shall return. That is the Advent for which this season is named.
FUND RAISING A meeting was held last week to discuss ways and means of raising money to pay for the new kitchen. We discussed various ideas that have been suggested. A further meeting has been arranged to take place on 17 January.
IN THE MEANTIME ... ... we can report on two recent events. The Table Top Sale Extraordinary raised £192.66 and the Christmas Bazaar + delicious food yesterday £634.42 so far. The Bazaar continues for a few minutes this morning to enable people who have not done so to enter the various draws.
Both of these events took an enormous amount of work and preparation. Thank you, all who were able to help in any way.
The Table Top Sale concludes next Saturday under the Town Hall.
DEANERY MAGAZINE The latest magazine is in church for distribution. Please take as many as you need.
REMEMBRANCE Somebody was seen wearing a blue poppy on Remembrance Day and made enquiries. The blue poppy is worn in remembrance of animals who died in war service. There is an interesting book on the subject published by the Imperial War Museum.
Having the prayers at the War Memorial this year proved to be a popular idea. Attendance was excellent, and the collection for the Earl Haig Fund brought in much more than last year. Thought is being given to making this an annual arrangement.
NAMES All the stuffed toys at the back of the church are now named Mohammed.
ADVENT CAROLS Lifts are available for people wishing to go to the Carol service next Sunday at Landkey at 6.30 p.m.
“Have you admired the gingko? last week should have read, “Did you admire the gingko?” By the time the notice appeared, the leaves were all gone.

25 November 2007

Sermon Today we complete our journey through St Luke’s gospel with his account of the effect of the crucifixion on those who stood by.
Monday Mothers’ Union planning meeting, 2.30 at White Lodge, Villa Road.
Tuesday Communions Torridge View (E & W).
Thursday Grand Tabletop Sale 9.30—12.30 under the Town Hall, by kind permission of the Great Torrington Town Lands, Alms Lands and Poors Charity. A great quantity of useful and interesting things. All proceeds to church kitchen fund.
New Kitchen: Meeting to discuss fund raising 2 p.m. in church. Anybody welcome to come with ideas.
Choir Practice 6.30 in church.
Saturday Christmas Bazaar 10 a.m.—3 p.m. in church. Morning Coffee, Ploughman’s Lunch, Tea. We should be glad of contributions of suitable food, include soup and puddings, also of things to sell on the stalls. (You may enter the Grand Hamper Draw this morning and the draw for the set of crib figures.)
Taddiport Leper Festival. Torchlight procession to the church after 7 p.m. Church open for visitors till 8 p.m..
Sunday Lessons: 2 Samuel 5.1—3; Colossians 1.12—20; Luke 23.35—43.
HASSOCKS We have been asked by Mrs Elizabeth Bingham of Boughrood, Brecon, to send pictures of our hassocks designed by Patsy Sanderson and made by members of the congregation. Together with background information and historical note about the church the pictures will be put on a website which is being prepared: http://www.parishkneelers.co.uk/testsite.
ST CECILIA In recognition of the contribution made to our worship by the musicians and bell ringers we had the usual party in honour of the patron saint of music, whose feast day was last Thursday. Her connection with music is not entirely clear and probably based on legend, but there is no reason to doubt that she existed and died in one of the Roman persecutions for refusing to worship the Emperor, along with her betrothed husband, her brother and a friend. Her house in Trastevere, where the liturgy was celebrated, eventually became a church, as many such villas did all over the Empire. (In our parish in Wiltshire a Roman pavement was discovered in the ancient churchyard—probably another case of the same thing. JDH)
GINKO Have you admired the golden colour of our ginko tree outside the E. window? The leaves are of an ancient pattern with no central stem, like those of a maidenhair fern. JDH tried chewing its leaves to improve his memory, as he heard they do in China, but they were extremely bitter, so you will not see any improvement.

18 November 2007

Sermon The End. St Paul contemplated it with some relish, but it has not come yet. We still live in the meantime.
PRESENTATION of the BVM 21 November. Mary’ s presentation was celebrated in Jerusal-em in the sixth century and a church was built there in honour of this mystery. The feast was more widely observed in the East but was added to the universal calendar in the 16th century. According the Gospel of St James the infant Mary was presented to the Temple and was brought up there until her betrothal to Joseph. That Gospel is not part of the New Testament Canon and the account of Mary’s childhood, according to which she was fed by angels, and so on, is not accepted as history. Nevertheless the feast stresses an important truth: that Mary was entirely dedicated to God, and in her turn became a greater temple than any made by hands, in whom God came to dwell.
BOOKS JDH has lent two books, but to whom he cannot remember: The Apocryphal New Testament (see above) and The History of Great Torrington by the late Mr Parkes. The latter does not belong to JDH but to the parish, having formerly belonged to the late Miss Doe, but we should like to know where it is and that it is safe.
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Can you display a poster for the Bazaar on 1st December? Please sign the Hamper list if you can provide any of the ingredients. And the draw is open this morning for the the Christmas Crib figures.
BOOK Devon’s Churches, A Celebration, by the local author John Lane. (Green Books, £20.00) A highly personal selection of the county’s churches is lovingly describ-ed and illustrated with stunning photographs by Harland Walshaw. Even lifelong in-habitants of Devon 
will see treasures that they never knew existed. An ideal Christmas present. On sale in all bookshops. 

11 November 2007

REMEMBRANCE The Act of Remembrance begins at the War Memorial in the cemetery this morning with the two minutes silence at 11 a.m.. This morning’s church service will end early to enable any one to get to the cemetery in time.
ST CECILIA is the patron saint of music, whose feast day is the 22 November (a week on Thursday). That evening our church musicians are warmly invited to the Vicarage to a little party in her honour. (Cecilia was martyred in Sicily, probably by beheading. She is one of those commemorated by name in the Canon, at the very heart of the Mass.)

CRIB FIGURES The knitted crib set was made by Mrs Betty Ewington of Tamworth specially for our church. Mrs Ewington is the mother of an old friend, Mel Steer, who used to teach all the Hummerstone daughters and regularly reads our newlsetter on line (where a photograph of the crib set is intended to appear this week end). The draw for this prize is now open.
HEARD at a recent clergy meeting, during lunch. A voice said, “And Our Lady won the Battle of Lepanto.” From further down the table, another voice: “Oh, no she didn’t”.
TRADITIONAL LITURGY It is interesting to watch how the Roman Catholic Church is responding to the Pope’s instruction that the 1962 order of Mass, in Latin, should be freely available for those who want it. Several bishops are adding their own rules, in order to restrict the scope of the Pope’s instruction, even asserting that a priest needs permission from them, which he does not. However, there are gratifying signs that increasing numbers of worshippers, including many too young ever to have known the old service, are being drawn to it by its dignity and holiness. One reason why this revival will be particularly welcome in English-speaking countries is that the language of the modern English translation is so bad—indeed, it scarcely deserves to be called a translation at all. How can any one listen to a passage such as this without wincing—“Lord, you know how firmly we believe in you and dedicate ourselves to you”? (Within the next two years or so a better translation will be authorized, very much like those that Anglicans have been used to, except without “thee” and “thou”.)
CONVERT The news is that Mr Blair will soon be received into the Roman Catholic Church, something that could not happen till recently because in government he has been enthusiastically promoting the New Labour culture of death and eugenics, notably in making it ever easier to obtain abortions. Presumably he now repents.

4 November 2007

Sermon Zacchaeus, make haste to come down. The Prayer Book exhortation urges us to leave aside our pride before approaching the Holy Communion.
CONGRATULATIONS to Charles and Wendy on their wedding anniversary; we are all invited to drink their health this morning. (JDH was taken to task last week for saying it was their 40th anniversary. Impossible, since they are too young! What people did not know was that they were married at 10 years old. It was an arranged match, and very happy, as many such are. One day it will be compulsory for every one in this country.
NATIVITY SET The beautifully knitted set of crib figures on display at the back of the church were specially made for us by a well-wisher (further details next week), and will be the prize in a separate draw at the Christmas Bazaar. Have a good look at them and prepare to buy lots of tickets.
HAMPERS The list of contents of the Christmas hampers is at the back of the church. Please sign for the things you are able to provide.
FLOODLIGHTING The deadline for booking the floodlights, if you want it printed in The Crier, is this Wednesday, 7 November. Telephone 01805 623169.
LITTLE TORRINGTON The vacant post at Little Torrington is about to be advertised, and interviews possibly held on 17 December.
COFFEE MORNING The total sum raised at the recent coffee morning was £267.50. Thank you, all helpers.
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY The main service next Sunday will begin at 9.45 and finish by 10.30 to allow those who wish to participate in the act of remembrance at the war memorial at 11 a.m..
U-TURN Mr and Mrs Matherick of Chard in Somerset, had an 11-year-old foster child. The local authority said he must be taken into “care” because the Mathericks had declined to teach him that “gay” partnership was not equivalent to marriage or to take him to “gay” meetings [presumably when he was older?]. They had fostered 28 children in the past but realized that they would no longer be considered suitable, so they resigned as foster-parents. Such has been the outcry from people who read about this that the authority has climbed down; the boy has not been taken away and they will continue to foster other children.
SPEAKING OF WHICH . . . What is happening about the recent requirement that clergy should write “single” instead of “bachelor” or “spinster” in the marriage registers? Many are not complying, because they are unwilling to be sucked into promoting New Labour’s unisex agenda. Will there be a U-turn here too?

28 October 2007

SERMON Lord, have mercy: the constant theme of liturgy and the heart of all prayer.
REMEMBRANCE DAY The service on Sunday 11 November will begin early at 9.45 and finish at 10.30. The act of Remembrance at the War Memorial will begin with the two minutes’ silence at 11 a.m..
PORTERS Charles and Wendy Porter will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary next Sunday and invite the congregation to join them afterwards in a glass of wine.
WINE It has now been admitted that the bossy Government guidelines about how many “units” we are allowed to drink are based on nothing more than figures “plucked out of the air”. The most cheering remark was made by a special correspondent in the Times who said he would need to drink a bottle of red wine a day to become as unhealthy as a teetotaller.
NEWSPAPER The latest edition of the free newspaper Forward Plus is available in church. Help yourself.
DEANS The Prime Minister has said he will not be exercising his power to appoint any deans of cathedrals. The ostensible reason is that he is a Presbyterian (and won’t let us forget it) and does not wish to interfere in the government of the Church of England. The real reason is that the secular-republicans into whose hands this country has unfortunately but temporarily fallen are keen to marginalize the Church on the one hand and the monarchy on the other, and this is one more little step in the process. The worst outcome would be that yet another power is given to the bishops—who already as a result of another reform now effectively appoint one another (with the deleterious consequences we see on every hand)—giving them yet more scope for interference in parts of the Church hitherto beyond their reach.
ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS Fr Otto and some parishioners will join us on Thursday at 10.30 a.m. to celebrate All Saints.
If you would like anybody commemorated at the 9 a.m. mass on Friday, bring the names on a piece of paper.
HEALTH AND SAFETY Have a look at this amusing web page (download the photo-essay): http://www.attention-please.co.uk/essay.html

21 October 2007

Sermon The fear of the Lord - a phrase the clergy get told off for using.
REMEMBRANCE DAY This year the Remembrance service will take place at the War Memorial, beginning with a two minute silence at 11 a.m.. The prayers will be those used at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. To allow for this our morning church service will begin at 9.45 and be shorter than usual.
P.C.C. Gift Day: £534.08 had come in, about half what we had last year, no doubt because we had been unable to distribute envelopes beforehand. Still, it is all money that we should not have had otherwise, so well worth doing. 
Little Torrington: We have just heard that the diocese will advertize the post as one for a licensed assistant (like Frs Allen and Yould).
New Kitchen: We have reached the stage of applying for a Faculty (notices have been posted at the church). Five firms are being asked if they wish to tender. A group will soon meet to consider fund-raising; if you have ideas or wish to help, please let us know. The total cost of the work is likely to be about £100,000.
Christmas Bazaar will be on Saturday 1 December (see below).
Organ and Church Guide leaflets have been revised and reprinted.
Church Roof: Michael Steer will see where the water is coming in that feeds the mysterious toadstool, and also investigate the damp place opposite the organ console.
Low-energy bulbs will be fitted throughout the church, after living with the one that was converted as an experiment with one. At present each bulb burns like an electric fire; the new ones will be only 75 kw but just as bright
COFFEE MORNING Thank you, all helpers. We shall announce the result as soon as we know it. There are so many good white elephants or “table top sale” items that we are keeping them for the next event; in the meantime we the indulgence of the choir, whose vestry is cluttered for a while.
CHRISTMAS BAZAAR Saturday 3 December, 11 a.m.—3 p.m.. Draw for Christmas hamper; soup, ploughman’s lunches, quiches, delicious puddings, tea and coffee; stalls, including the final table-top sale.

14 October 2007

Sermon Fr Grigg (not hot from Africa as JDH falsely announced last week; he is going there in November. His is an English suntan).
DARFUR The stall under the Town Hall yesterday raised just over £308 for famine relief. Thank you, all helpers. There were a lot of white elephants left over that will come in for the forthcoming coffee morning and then for the Christmas Bazaar.
GRIM ANNIVERSARY Together with all our Prime Minister’s other qualities, he shows a keenness greater even than Blair’s to spread death around him through “health” policies. The Liberals broadly agree with him, and the Conservatives have failed to offer any opposition. In the ten years since the Abortion Act was passed, 6,800,000 unborn children have been legally destroyed, their bodies mostly being disposed of as medical waste. In 2006 the figure was 214,000. 580 are dying every day. One woman in three has an abortion during her life. In the case of a handicapped child, abortion is allowed up to birth. Abortions are being offered secretly to schoolchildren, even in church schools. There is now a plan, approved by the Royal College of Nursing, to form a special body of nurses who will specialize in abortion, because increasing numbers of medical staff are unwilling to carry them out. (What exactly do you do for a living, Mummy?) Doctors and nurses need every encouragement to resist the brutalization of their profession. The Act never applied to Northern Ireland, so the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, and his deputy Dawn Primarolo, supported by the MP “Dr Death” Evan Harris, hope to remedy this state of affairs. (It would be interesting to know the correlation between the promoters of death and disease by sex and the enforcers of health by banning tobacco—they are often the same people—and, funnily enough, lots of them are against hunting.)
PROPERTY GRAB The management of the Church of England wishes to seize all parsonage houses, worth £4½ billion, without compensation. Clergy will then live in what are effectively married quarters, not in their own houses as they have always done. Safeguards against unwise sales will be reduced even further, and another important piece of local responsibility will disappear. The talk is always of local initiative, the action is always more centralization and control. Independence of money, property, decision-taking and even thought is deeply distrusted in our Toyota-style corporate church. Which way to the staff canteen? Is it too much to hope that our pathetic representatives on the pseudo-“Synod” will throw this measure out? Probably.
VISITOR Last week a visitor from Scotland sang a Scottish song to the newlyweds. She wrote about her visit to Torrington on her blog here http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=109491865&blogID=317894850.

Notes from the current Deanery Newsletter

7 October 2007

SERMON Servants of God or sons? Our choice.
GIFT DAY Thank you, all who came with donations to the church yesterday. The appeal was aimed beyond the congregation to the wider community, and it was most enjoyable to meet a great variety of them. We shall announce the result shortly.
FLOODLIGHTING The deadline for booking the floodlighting of the church during November and having it printed in The Crier is Wednesday 10 October. Telephone 01805 623169.
KITCHEN &c The last update was 10 months ago, since when there have been many meetings of the PCC subcommittee—with our architect Michael Willis, with the Diocesan Advisory Committee’s architectural adviser, with English Heritage, with the Council for the Care of Churches, with the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, and many others. An immense amount of paper has gone to and fro. We have just met the architect again, and we are ready to put the work out to tender while the Faculty procedure goes through its final stages. If progress is good the work may be finished in the spring of 2008. 

Blessing of marriage of Daniel & Yong after Mass on Sunday. The actual wedding was in China

    The fine carved tower screen will be moved forwards but not altered at all. The inscription on it reads: In memory of those who have served and worshipped in this church in past ages this screen was erected by Parishioners and Friends. Festival of St Barnabas 1926. Are you an heir of the donors? If so, we should like your opinion of our proposals. We also need ideas for fund-raising. For information or to offer to help, speak to John Portman (01805 625455) or Christine Foster (01805 623328).
MAGAZINES The latest deanery magazines are ready for distribution. Please take as many as you like.
P.C.C. There will be a P.C.C. meeting on Thursday 18 October at 7.30 p.m. in the Vicarage.

30 September 2007

CELEBRITIES Last week we lamented the lack of celebrity preachers for our Harvest and Michaelmas services, but there was a change in our fortunes, and by the time you read this the Revd John Ewington will have preached last Friday for Harvest and the Revd Llewelyn Milliner will be about to preach (or may even at this very moment be preaching) for Michaelmas. Thank you to both.
DIARIES The supply of 2008 church diaries has been found, so buy as many as you like now. They make a useful little present, giving a complete calendar of the Church seasons and feasts and fasts. Only £1, which goes entirely to our parish funds.
HOOLIGAN DAMAGE The leaded windows broken by ... (we know who) during August have been reported to the police, and the grieving incumbent has been offered victim support. (The real support would be the knowledge that the culprit will be dealt with, but that is unlikely to happen.) Bill Hudson will soon be along to repair the damage.
MICHAELMAS DAISIES Thanks to those who left daisies at the Vicarage. They have come from Okehampton and Somerset, and some even from Torrington.
CLIVE There was a good turnout for Clive’s funeral, including the Mayor wearing his chain, which would have pleased him greatly. Thanks to the attendance of some of the choir and a server we were able to make it the familiar service Clive was used to on Sundays.
FETE PHOTOS Free to good homes: if you know any one in the pictures who would like them, please take them.

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