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‘VICAR’S LETTER’
Dear Friends,
Bob Fitzharris, the Archdeacon of Doncaster, described Tom Collier as a faithful servant of his Lord. This is certainly how our church should remember him, as a man who gave a great deal of service to this parish and who did so arising out of his quietly held but deeply sincere beliefs. I was able, at the AGM and again in the subsequent magazine, to list some of the ways in which Tom has contributed and there is no doubt that he will be greatly missed. By us, certainly, but above all by his family, by Ann, their daughters, his grandchildren, and many others. Our sympathy goes out to them.
Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland wrote to me only today to say how sad they were at Peterborough to learn of Tom’s death and what a gap he would leave in the parish and the wider community. I should record here the fact that, due to Richard Taylor’s persistence, one of the Wentworth Charities has given a grant of £10,000 towards the repair of the organ, for which we are most grateful.
On the same subject, anyone who has been in church during the past month cannot have missed the blue-clad scaffolding. This has allowed access to clean the walls of the transept. Roy Smalley has organised this job and others I have seen helping include Gary Dickinson, Martin (a friend of his), Stuart Meadowcroft, Paul Ross and John (another choir member). Sorry if I’ve missed anyone, but many thanks to you all. The team will have saved the church a considerable sum of money.
I have already invited members of the Church Council to meet our new Bishop on September 22nd, but anyone else interested is most welcome to swell the crowd at St Margaret’s Church, Swinton, that Tuesday evening. Please arrive at 7.00 for 7.30 p.m. The evening will include worship, a presentation from Bishop Steven, and an opportunity to put questions to him. This is part of his plan to visit all deaneries in the diocese before Christmas so that we get to know him and understand some of his plans for the church in South Yorkshire. He deserves our support.
The Churches Conservation Trust, who looks after our Old Church, is holding a short sponsored walk around the estate on 5th September. Participants are welcome! I can give you details if you are interested. Obviously, looking after a large number of redundant churches, as they do, is very costly, so it is not surprising that the Trust needs support.
Next month we are planning our first Marriage Celebration Day, on Sunday 13th. There will be an opportunity to renew marriage vows in the morning service. And Roy Young is kindly lending some of his collection of wedding dresses and other wedding-related objects for an exhibition in church. That will remain open during the afternoon and we shall also offer visitors refreshments. Just one more way of putting our church on the map.
St. Aidan, whose feast day is on the 31st of this month, is one of the most attractive English saints (actually he was Irish, so we can’t really claim him as our own). The history of the Church of (or in) England is usually traced back to Augustine who brought Christianity from the continent to Britain, but he really only succeeded in establishing a small bridgehead in Kent. Some people in Northern England had also become believers, but a later wave of immigrants, the Saxons, brought their pagan beliefs with them. Aidan was sent from the monastery of Iona, in Scotland, to Northumberland, where he established another island community, on Lindisfarne. He was not a ’shove it in your face’ evangelist. He walked about the area politely engaging people in conversation and gradually interesting them in the gospel. He sounds a delightful man. And his methods are equally applicable today. How shall we spread the gospel? Not, I think, by some great crusade. That doesn’t sound very ‘Wentworth’, does it?! But everyone enjoys a conversation. And there’s no harm in letting people know you are a believer. They aren’t likely to mind, and they may be interested. In fact, it is surprising how many people seem to be waiting for an opportunity to learn more about God and, when given the chance, are ready to take advantage of it. There are some structured ways in which this already happens in our churches, for instance with the marriage couples. But we should always be seeking for new openings to share the gospel with others.
People coming to church before a wedding or a christening need (and usually get) a friendly welcome. But we need to remember that we are now beginning to live in an un-churched nation, where we have to assume that a majority won’t be familiar with church or know much about Christianity. 60% of the population haven’t heard of the story of the Good Samaritan, for instance. Do, if people seem a bit ‘lost’ with the service,
give them a helping hand. And if there’s an opportunity to go a bit deeper on matters of belief, take it. Just listening to me standing up front won’t have half the effect that Aidan’s polite conversation did.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Buckley
HOLY COMMUNION AND SWINE FLU
The Archbishops of Canterbury & York have advised all clergy not to distribute wine at communion during the period when swine flu remains a risk. Bishop Steven has repeated this advice. So from Sunday 2nd August until further notice communion will be given only in the form of the wafer.
It has long been the rule in the Roman Catholic Church that the faithful receive only the bread and this is, correctly justified by the fact that, whether we receive one or both elements, they are symbolic of receiving Christ into ourselves. Taking the two is not strictly necessary for this spiritual blessing to be given. I shall, however, still bless a small quantity of wine for the sake of completing the sacrament in the way that Jesus commanded we should.
And I shall return to the Anglican way of doing things as soon as permission is given as using both bread and wine is, of course, what our Lord told us we should do. There should be no real risk from the bread. This arrangement is likely to remain in place for several months.
Richard
REPORTS
Wentworth W I JULY MEETING
A warm welcome was given to our latest young visitors, who although didn’t know much about the 1940’s certainly enjoyed themselves and joined in.
No hostesses were needed as tea and coffee were not being served this evening.
Only one lot of birthday flowers were given out to Kay Gittings. There were lots of forthcoming events and activities and everyone was reminded to look at all the lists on the table and put their names down wherever possible.
This certainly was a meeting with a difference. We took ourselves back to the 1940’s, to add to the atmosphere we had streams of union jack flags hanging around , also a washing line with bloomers and other 1940’s regalia on. We had a memorabilia table that was jam packed full of items of interest, from newspapers and magazines from the era, to ration books and gas masks. Lots of the ladies got into the spirit of the event by dressing up, we had a soldier complete with tin hat and mock gun, a spivs girlfriend with posh hat & fur, but mostly the fashion of the day seemed to be pinnies and headscarves with rollers poking out the front. Jennifer our president did a marvellous job as the MC wearing her husband’s dress suit. We learned from Iris Wright how to make a proper Yorkshire pudding, how the W I began from Gladys Williams, how they coped with Christmas during those difficult times of rationing from Pam Cooper, we roared with laughter at Mrs Clayton’s School Days howlers. After a short appropriate quiz, glasses of wine and nibbles were enjoyed while in the background Glenn Miller music played. The competition was the best ‘act’ and it was won by the ‘Andrews Sisters’ AKA – Lynn Glossop, Lynn Eyre & Susan Beedham, made even more authentic by the original Army Hats very kindly loaned by Mr Roy Young, 2nd was Mary Jeffs with her piano rendition of ‘Moonlight Serenade’ and 3rd was Joan Clayton who made us howl with laughter. It was a most successful evening and Jennifer thanked everyone for getting into the spirit of the evening and taking part.
Everyone was reminded about our next meeting, traditionally the ‘August’ outing, when we will be enjoying a delicious meal at ‘Le Bistro’ in Wentworth Village, deposits have been paid but it’s not too late to add your name to the list.
Our meeting ended at 9.30
Susan Beedham
HOLY TRINITY LADIES – JUNE MEETING
Our speaker this month was Sylvia, wife of our Vicar Richard Buckley.
She spoke of her life before and after her marriage. She was a teacher originally when she met Richard, and after their marriage they lived in Hull. Their house was an open house for all outside Church activities eg Youth Club, Ladies Group, Sunday School activities etc.
Eventually a Nissan hut was built which took these activities away from the house.
From Hull they moved to Woodhouse and enjoyed village life. They then came to Doncaster, and from there to Wentworth where Richard had two jobs, part-time Vicar and work for Christian Aid. Then for a while he took on a full-time post with Christian Aid.
After this Sylvia helped at St Johns Church, Chapeltown, before they came back to Wentworth and are now enjoying village life again.
Some members are going for an afternoon trip to Winthrop Hall in August and we meet again at the Mechanics on 2 September.
Marjorie Spittlehouse
WENTWORTH & HARLEY MOTHERS’ UNION
Firstly I must apologise for not mentioning the Pentecost Family Picnic in the last report. We had a wonderful afternoon in glorious sunshine and were entertained by the Salvation Army Band. Kathryn organised the children’s crafts, Jo-Jo the clown painted the children’s faces and the service was led by Emily, Corinne and Sheila. Thank you to Judith and her helpers for the refreshments and Stephen for being the official photographer. The money raised has been sent to help family projects in Uganda. (If you look at the ‘Newsline’ on the table at both churches you can see our photograph on the front cover!)
On June 25 Kathleen Bell came to talk to us about the Barnsley Churches Drug Project. This is a drop in centre providing essential services for the homeless who are substance misusers on treatment or have had treatment. The centre is homely and welcoming where hot meals are provided, food is donated by the factory shop ‘Marrons’ to help keep the cost down. The centre has recently moved to new premises but there are difficulties with some local residents who are against the centre being open. The discussions between the residents and centre workers were on-going at the time of our meeting.
Mary White came to talk to us at our meeting in July. Her talk was entitled ‘In Jesus’ Footsteps’. Mary started by asking us all to relax and listen, she has a wonderful soft Irish accent so this was not difficult to do. We were to imagine that we were in a little village where it was peaceful and quiet, families asleep, dark sky, silence. Suddenly, the sky lightens, cock crows, bird song and activity from the houses. A sudden loud clatter from the house followed by a boy running his mother shouting “What have I done to deserve a son like you?” The boy finds a quiet place outside thinking ‘Why do I always annoy my mother, why am I clumsy and not clever like my brothers’.
Mary continued with the story of people wanting to be near to Jesus, to talk to him, be healed and touch his clothes. The boy follows the crowd helping an old man when at last he comes face to face with Jesus who beckons to him saying “What do you want me to do for you?” The boy thinks that Jesus must be talking to someone else, someone important but no, Jesus holds out his hand the boy goes forward, tears in his eyes “Please Sir I want to be like the other boys”. Jesus touches his shoulder, “Go on your way, healed and restored to full life”. The boy runs home no longer falling over things and being clumsy, he sees his mother and brothers who cannot believe the change in him. “I am just like the rest of you” he said “I have been healed”.
It was a very thought provoking time for us all.
We do not meet in August but are having a joint outing to Winthrop Park with some members of the Holy Trinity Ladies Group. Our next meeting is on Friday 25 September when the theme is ‘Cost of Relationships’ this will be a
discussion evening. May I remind everyone that their ‘families first’ subs are due at this meeting. Thank you.
Sheila Wood
SATURDAY 15th AUGUST
Afternoon Teas from 3.00 p.m.
Audrey & Peter Pedlar’s
41A Barnsley Road,
Thorpe Hesley
For church funds.
In and Around the House
Quite a few things have happened since I last reported in the magazine (last September). In August (2008), some fallpipes and fittings were replaced after the originals had been stolen by lead thieves. Also the vestry roof had to be repaired, as lead was stolen from there also, and some roof tiles were damaged. This work cost £6,766.36, and resulted in an insurance claim. (This was too late to catch the September magazine)
The east wall of the North transept - – - (pause whilst you work out where that is!) – - had been bulging for some years, due to failure of midfeathers in the chimney, and possible water ingress. The outer skin of the wall was dismantled in the affected area and rebuilt, incorporating wall ties to prevent recurrence. The chimneys were both capped off to prevent water ingress in the future. A cracked stone in a buttress on the NE corner of the tower was also fitted with stainless steel ties to secure the crack. The cost of the work was £6,736.70. Whilst the scaffolding was in place, the outsides of two windows were cleaned, as was the gutter above the vestry. It was noticed that the wooden gutter on the north side of the chancel was badly rotted, which suggests that all the wooden gutters will soon need replacing. They were fitted new in 1997, and their life has been disappointingly short. A lead hopper on the north transept was refixed and dressed into shape, and the fallpipe painted. All this latter work was done at no cost by John Kent and Roy Smalley.
The central heating boiler in the kitchen had had an intermittent fault for some months, which sometimes caused the boiler to fail to light up on demand. Eventually, a new printed circuit board was fitted, and this cured the problem. The total cost was £136.00.
One of the Sanctuary gates was rubbing on the floor. Walter Parry planed the bottom of the gate, and also found that one of the hinge pins was worn, and that two decorative nuts were missing. A new pin and nuts were made by R. Smalley, and fitted by W. Parry. No costs were incurred.
The road round the church was repaired temporarily using road planings obtained by Wentworth Estates. Mr. Anthony Barber-Lomax obtained the material, and arranged to have it laid and rolled, by a local farmer I believe. (Who?)
Organ refurbishment started on March 16th, when Henry Willis & Co. started removing the main organ. It was not until 12th June that the wind reservoirs were finally taken away. These are being refurbished at the works in Liverpool, and all the pipes, except those for the pedal organ, are also at the works.
Whilst the organ is dismantled, the opportunity has been taken to clean the stone in the North transept. Scaffolding was erected by Bland Scaffolding at an estimated cost of £1,500 to give safe access to the ceiling vaulting without risk of damage to the organ. Steam cleaners were hired, together with a dehumidifier to keep the area reasonably dry, and the cleaning was done by volunteers Gary Dickinson, John Kent, Roy Smalley, Paul Ross, Stuart Meadowcroft and Martin Penton. This work was done between 22nd June and 24th July, when the scaffolding was removed, and the church cleaned by Gary, Redz Fingado and Wendy Waterfield. There may have been others who helped with the church cleaning that I don’t know about, but if so, many thanks for your efforts, and I’m sorry not to have mentioned you by name. The costs of the cleaning amounted to £614.63 plus some sundries and electricity. The estimate to have the same work done by Ebor Stone Co (who have previously done stone cleaning in the church) was £3,500. I hope you like the result.
A very useful spin-off from this job is that we now have a small team of people with some experience of steam cleaning, and this will no doubt be useful if further similar work is undertaken in the future.
The boiler programmer on the boiler in the South transept has been replaced under guarantee -again. Gary Dickinson obtained the new programmer and Roy Smalley fitted it. No costs were incurred.
A new fixed water boiler for tea making has been installed in the kitchen, thus avoiding the hazards of using free-standing boilers. The cost was £1,200.
Finally – (thank goodness, I hear you say!) – the platform which supports the organ bench and pedal board has been reduced in size and repaired. Somebody in the distant past had cut a large chunk out of the main frame, allowing the top surface to sag badly. This has now been replaced. The work was done by Wentworth Woodworking Co, for £70.00.
Roy Smalley
Sunday School at Wentworth
There are no meetings during August. We hope children – and maybe their mums & dads! – will come to the special wedding service on September 13th but classes themselves begin again on the 20th.
HARLEY CHURCH NEWS
Thank you to everyone who contributed gifts and helped at the Harley Gala. Despite the very windy weather this was a great success, the money raised was £200.
There will be a box at the back of church to collect items for the Shoebox Appeal. A list of things needed will be available, I know this seems very early but the Mothers’ Union will be helping to pack these at their October meeting and I know that Wendy would like to have the shoe boxes early.
Fred and Mike have moved the book cupboard from the porch to inside the church. This looks a lot tidier and makes to job of organizing the books a lot easier. The organ has been moved from the organ loft which gives us more storage space and Fred moved some pews and the prayer rails at the top of the chancel steps. Thank you to both of you.
The Mums and Tots group will not meet in August, we re-open on Monday 7 September.
The Ladies Friendship and Knitting group will also have a rest during August but will meet on Wednesday 2 September at 1.30pm. We will probably close when the weather is cold, but can continue to knit at home. There are a group of ladies who do this at the moment, it is amazing where all the articles for CART, the premature baby unit and the shoe boxes come from. Thank you for all your hard work. Sheila Wood
HARLEY MISSION CHURCH
DIARY DATES FOR AUGUST 2009
| DAY/DATE | TIME | EVENT |
| Sunday 2 | 9.30am | Family Service |
| Monday 3 | 8.50am
2.50pm |
Morning Prayer
Wave of Prayer (Mothers Union) |
| Wednesday 5 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Friday 7 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Sunday 9 | 9.30am | Holy Communion |
| Monday 10 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Wednesday 12 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Friday 14 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Sunday 16 | 9.30am | Morning Prayer |
| Monday 17 | 8.50am | Holy Communion |
| Wednesday 19 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Friday 21 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Sunday 23 | 9.30am | Morning Prayer |
| Monday 24 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Wednesday 26 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Friday 28 | 8.50am | Morning Prayer |
| Sunday 30 | 9.30am | Holy Communion |
The Bible Study Group meets every Wednesday at 8.00pm at various venues. Please contact 0114 2570477 for details
SERVICES FOR AUGUST
Sunday 2nd – Trinity 8
8.15am Holy Communion
9.30am Family Service [Harley]
10.45am Parish Communion
6.30pm Evensong [in the OLD CHURCH]
Sunday 9th – Trinity 9
8.15am Holy Communion
9.30am Holy Communion [Harley]
10.45am Family Service
Sunday 16th – Trinity 10
8.15am Holy Communion
9.30am Holy Communion [Harley]
10.45am Parish Communion
6.30pm Evensong [in the OLD CHURCH]
Sunday 23rd – Trinity 11
8.15am Holy Communion
9.30am Morning Prayer [Harley]
10.45am Morning Prayer
Sunday 30th – Trinity 12
8.15am Holy Communion
9.30am Holy Communion [Harley]
10.45am Parish Communion
6.30pm Evensong [in the OLD CHURCH: for the final occasion this year]
And an advance notice – Sunday 13th September
10.45am A service to celebrate marriage at Wentworth, and during the afternoon a display of wedding dresses and memorabilia in church. This is a Heritage Open Day event and teas will be available. All – especially those recently married! – are welcome.
SIDESPEOPLE FOR AUGUST
2nd Stephen & Christine Clapham
9th Marian & Simon Chatterton
16th Betty Wilson & Sandra Davies
23rd Walter & Martin Parry
30th Winnie Weldon & Biggie Freeze-Green
TEA/COFFEE ROTA FOR AUGUST
2nd Chris Hayes & Pat Dickinson
9th Mothers’ Union
16th Margaret Ward & Margaret Holmes
23rd Marion & Simon Chatterton
30th Janet Payling & Martin Parry
FROM THE REGISTERS
BAPTISMS
28th June Harley Phoenix Saunders
Noah Jae Saunders
Teighan Rose Martine Uttley
Shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father
WEDDINGS
27th June Jamie Peter Jackson & Claire Ann May Little
4th July Philip Edward Dyson & Mary Hayley Booth
18th July James Gordon Whittaker & Kimberley May Thornton
Andrew John Coe & Natalie Jane Scott
God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them
FUNERALS
10th July Tom Downing Collier (74)
Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted
WENTWORTH CHURCH
MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009
NOTICE OF CONCERTS IN
SEPTEMBER 2009
Tuesday 22nd September at 7.30 pm
Dore Chimes, Gilbert and Sullivan Evening
Wednesday 23rd September at 7.00 pm
Thurnscoe Harmonic Male Voice Choir
Thursday 24th September at 7.30 pm
Opera, Oratorio, Lied and Popular Songs
Sarah Potts, Angela Hartley and Ernesto Correa, with Richard Taylor
Friday 25th September at 7.30 pm
Emperor String Quartet
Saturday 26th September at 7.30 pm
Margaret Duckworth Singers
Detailed information will be available from mid-August
Contact : Richard Taylor, Lynwood, Hoober, Rotherham S62 7SA
01709 527713
Next Issue of the Magazine
Articles to be included in September’s edition of the magazine should be with me, please no later than Sunday, 23rd August , and can be sent to me via email (ruth.mangham@sky.com), by telephone 0114 2455448 or left in the vestry or posted to me at 55 Chapelfield Crescent, Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, S61 2TP. Articles and any other queries can also be sent to Richard via email (richard@buckjley@wanadoo.co.uk) or by telephone 0114 2465064, or by letter to the Vicarage on Church Drive.
AND FINALLY
This was sent to me via the email from a ‘friend’
FIVE MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!!
4 tablespoons SR flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
1 egg
A small splash of vanilla extract and your favourite tipple
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pout in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla extract and a drop or two of your favourite tipple, then mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on highest setting. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
Serve with a dollop of ice cream or crème fraiche. This will serve 2 if you are feeling virtuous. ENJOY
THRICE BLESSED
Mr Jones had recently become a father of triplets. The minister stopped him in the street to congratulate him.
“Well, Jones” he said, “I hear that the Lord has smiled on you.”
“Smiled on me,” repeated Jones, He laughed out loud!”
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
It happened during a nature lesson in a North Yorkshire school. “Yes,” the teacher explained, “there are quite a number of plants with prefix ‘dog’. For example, the dog-rose and dog-violet are very well know. Can any of you children tell me another?”
There was a silence, then a happy look spread over the face of a child at the back of the class. “Please miss,” he piped out, proud of his knowledge, “Collie-flowers.”
