The Parish Magazine of St Stephen’s Church Guernsey
God’s Generosity
October 2019
From the Editor A ‘mixed bag’ this month, really. Some important thoughts on generosity, contributions of articles on various subjects, Gift Month, and events coming up: our monthly church ‘harvest’ of the written word (small ‘w’). Claudia Moore
Great Church Mouse Trail Saturday 19th October 10.00am-3.00pm Sunday 20th October 2.00-4.00pm
Etienne, the church mouse at St Stephen’s, would like to invite everyone who is young and young-at-heart to a fun interactive Great Church Mouse Trail at the church. Whilst you are on the Trail, you can admire our newly-restored William Morris stained glass windows. As he shows you around the church, Etienne will be helped by his friends: - Louis, who lives out at Pleinmont; - Gus, a butler mouse who lives in Town and knows all about the Victorian gentry who built St Stephen’s and their connections to world history; - and Suzette, Etienne’s sister who lives in London and knows the artists of the William Morris ‘Firm’. You will also meet Sid and Harry, mice who work in Mr Morris’ stained-glass studio. They will tell you how glass is made; and you can play a game of Egyptian marbles or make a crown or a sun catcher. Have you ever wondered why a brass eagle sits on a ball in church? Or what a chalice is used for? Find out some of the fun facts connected to the ‘Tree of Jesse’, including Christmas carols, a West End Musical and the name of a wine bottle. Etienne and his friends look forward to seeing you and have asked a few humans to help them!
Rosalyne Le Huray
What is Human Generosity?
The modern English word ‘generosity’ derives from the Latin word generosus, which means ‘of noble birth’, which itself was passed down to English through the Old French word généreux. Most recorded English uses of the word ‘generous’ up to and during the sixteenth century reflect an aristocratic sense of being of noble lineage or high birth. To be generous was literally a way of saying ‘belonging to nobility’.
During the seventeenth century, however, the meaning and use of the word began to change. Generosity came increasingly to identify not literal family heritage, but a nobility of spirit thought to be associated with high birth. It pointed to various admirable qualities that could now vary from person to person, depending not on family history but on whether a person actually possessed these qualities.
In this way, generosity came to signify a variety of traits of character and actions that were historically associated with the ideals of nobility: gallantry, courage, strength, richness, gentleness and fairness. In addition to describing these diverse human qualities, ‘generous’ became a word used during this period to describe fertile land, the strength of animal breeds, abundant provisions of food, vibrancy of colours, the strength of liquor and the potency of medicine.
Then during the eighteenth century, the meaning of ‘generosity’ continued to evolve in directions denoting the more specific, contemporary meaning: munificence, open- handedness, liberality in the giving of money and possessions to others. This more specific meaning came to dominate English usage by the nineteenth century.
Over the past five centuries in the English-speaking world, ‘generosity’ developed from being primarily the description of an ascribed status pertaining to the elite nobility to being an achieved mark of admirable personal quality and action. Viewed in this way, generosity was capable of being exercised by any person who had learned virtue and noble character.
Today we use the word ‘generosity’ to refer to the virtue of giving good things to others, freely and abundantly. It is a learned character trait that involves both attitude and action. It is therefore not a random idea, nor a haphazard behaviour, but rather (in its mature form) a basic, personal, moral orientation to life. Generosity always intends to enhance the true well-being of those to whom it gives. What exactly generosity gives can be various things: money, possessions, time, attention, aid, encouragement, emotional availability and more. Fr John Moore
Church Diary – October 2019 Tuesday 1 Remigius, Bishop of Rheims, Apostle of the Franks, 533 11.00am Mass Lady Chapel Wednesday 2 7.00pm Mass Lady Chapel Thursday 3 George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, Ecumenist, Peacemaker, 1958 Friday 4 Francis of Assisi, Friar, Founder of the Friars Minor, 1226 7.00pm Mass Resurrection Chapel Saturday 5 Sunday 6 Dedication Festival and 10.30am Combined Mass Fr John The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity 12.00pm Dedication Lunch Monday 7 10.00am Little Treasures Toddlers’ Group Tuesday 8 11.00am Mass Lady Chapel Wednesday 9 Denis, Bishop of Paris, and his Companions, Martyrs, c. 250 7.00pm Mass Lady Chapel Thursday 10 Paulinus, Bishop of York, Missionary, 644 Friday 11 Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking, 675 7.00pm Mass Resurrection Chapel Fr Marc Saturday12 Wilfrid of Ripon, Bishop, Missionary, 709 Sunday 13 The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity 9.30am Said Mass (Family Min) Fr Marc 11.00am Sung Mass Fr Marc Monday 14 10.00am Little Treasures Toddlers’ Group Tuesday 15 Teresa of Avila, Teacher, 1582 11.00am Mass cancelled (Beechwood Harvest Service) 12.00pm Friendship Lunch Wednesday 16 Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, Bishop 7.00pm Mass Lady Chapel of Worcester, Reformation Martyrs, 1555 Thursday 17 Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Martyr, c. 107 Friday 18 The Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist 10.00am-3.00pm ‘Great Church Mouse Trail’ for Beechwood, Melrose and Blanchelande students 7.00pm Mass Resurrection Chapel Saturday 19 Henry Martyn, Translator of the Scriptures, Missionary in 10.00am-3.00pm ‘Great Church Mouse Trail’ India and Persia, 1812 3.00pm The Re-Dedication of the restored William Morris stained glass windows, service led by the Rt Revd Trevor Wilmott, followed by a reception in the Community Centre Sunday 20 The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity 9.30am Said Mass (Family Min) Fr John 11.00am Sung Mass Fr John 12.30pm Baptism of Bonnie Blampied 2.00-4.00pm ‘Great Church Mouse Trail’ for families who attend Messy Church Monday 21 10.00am Little Treasures Toddlers’ Group Tuesday 22 11.00am Mass Lady Chapel Wednesday 23 7.00pm Mass Lady Chapel Thursday 24 Friday 25 Crispin and Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome, C. 287 7.00pm Mass Resurrection Chapel
Saturday 26 Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, Scholar, 899 Sunday 27 Bible Sunday and The Last Sunday after Trinity 9.30am Family Service Fr John 11.00am Sung Mass Fr John 12.30pm Baptism of Caleb Nicholas Wakeford Monday 28 Simon and Jude, Apostles 10.00am Little Treasures Toddlers’ Group Tuesday 29 James Hannington, Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, 11.00am Mass Lady Chapel Fr Marc Martyr in Uganda, 1885 Wednesday 30 7.00pm Mass Lady Chapel Fr Marc Thursday 31 Martin Luther, Reformer, 1546
Looking Further Ahead
Nov 8 Friday 10.20am Ladies’ College Remembrance Day Service
Nov 16 Saturday 4.00pm Taizé Service
Nov 18 Monday 7.00pm APCC Meeting
Nov 23 Saturday 11.00am- ‘Soups, Songs and Stalls’ 2.00pm
Dec 1 Sunday 2.00pm- Christmas Messy Church 4.00pm
Dec 2 Monday 1.15pm- Little Learners’ Nativity Play 2.45pm
Dec 10 Tuesday 7.00pm Grammar School Carol Service
Dec 12 Thursday 6.30pm Beechwood Carol Service
Dec 13 Friday 1.30pm Melrose Carol Service
Dec 15 Sunday 2.30pm Christmas Stocking Concert
Dec 16 Monday 7.30pm Ladies’ College Carol Service
The Generosity of God
In humans, generosity is a learned characteristic. It is modelled for us; and it is embraced or rejected by us. Many people model it for us, and it is perfectly modelled for us by our Creator. Our God is a generous God. He is the original source of true generosity. His generosity has been displayed from the very beginning.
God is generous in creation In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created them not just for Himself; He entrusted His glorious creation to the care of the human beings He had created in His image and for His glory. Apart from creating seas, mountains and rivers, God made 400,000 species of flowers; 750,000 species of insects; 200,000 species of edible plants; 10,000 species of birds; stars too numerous to count; and millions of galaxies besides our own.
He not only created our universe with perfect elegance and complexity; He designed it with superfluous creativity. Such beauty inspired David to write (Psalm 8. 3-4), ‘When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?’ The generosity of God in creation alone is overwhelming.
God is generous in the gift of His Son And yet God did, and does care for the humans He has created. Tragically, Adam and Eve failed to recognise the generosity of God. Duped by the evil one, they were convinced that God was holding something back from them for their enjoyment and growth. And so they took matters into their own hands; and the result was the advent of sin and shame.
God then intervened in his limitless generosity and gave humankind the supreme gift, the gift of His only Son. He who is the Word of God took human form, lived among Cimabue, Crucifix, c. 1265, Santa Croce, Florence us, revealed His glory and offered Himself up as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of human sin. ‘He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds’ (Titus 2. 14). Through the generosity of God, all can now have forgiveness and be restored in a right relationship with the Father.
God is generous in the gift of the Holy Spirit Before our risen Lord ascended to heaven, He instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem so that they would receive the promised Holy Spirit, the presence of God in and amongst His believers on earth. Indeed, all of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and thanks to this incredible gift, the early Church was empowered and grew.
The unchanging generosity of God continues to manifest itself in the Christian Church today. Each person who hears the gospel of salvation and believes in Christ is ‘marked with the seal of the Giotto di Bondone, Pentecost, c. 1310, National Gallery, London promised Holy Spirit,... the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory’ (Ephesians 1. 13-14). And through this same Holy Spirit, every Christian is given spiritual gifts for the strengthening and development of the Body of Christ, which is the Church (1 Corinthians 12. 7).
God is generous in His provision for our needs In His unfailing generosity, God has promised to provide for the needs of His creation. Since the beginning of time, He has placed sufficient renewable resources upon the earth to feed, clothe and house all the people and animals who have ever lived upon the earth. Understanding this fully, Jesus encouraged His disciples to look at the way God cares for the lilies: ‘if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith!’ (Luke 12. 28).
At times some of us may think, ‘If God really loves us, He should provide anything we want’. Yet God wisely differentiates between our needs and our desires. He provides what we need out of His love for us. ‘And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4. 19).
Fr John Moore
You are cordially invited to the Re-dedication of the William Morris stained glass windows presided by The Right Reverend Trevor Willmott
to be held on Saturday 19th October 2019 at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and to a Reception
immediately afterwards in the St Stephen’s Community Centre
Gift Month October 2019
October rolls around again, and so does our Gift Month.
First of all, we would like to thank you for your very generous support and giving, be it your time, talents or monetary gifts, without which our church ministries could not continue.
In addition, we have renovated and restored our William Morris stained glass windows this year, which required an additional financial effort on your part. For this we are immensely grateful. Not only do the windows honour the heritage of St Stephen’s; they preserve these outstanding works of art for future generations.
However, in the current yearly budget of the church (which is intended to finance our various ministries and the upkeep of the church building and property) we are currently running a deficit. Expenditure has exceeded income, despite our vigilant efforts to keep costs down.
As in the past, we cover over one-half of our expenditure from weekly giving, while the rest is made up from fundraising events, concerts, church fees (weddings and funerals), donations and Gift Month.
God has blessed us in many ways in our peaceful idyllic island life, as well as in our personal lives. We need then to be mindful about giving back to God. It honours the Father when we are good stewards of the money He gives us and when we take care to balance the church’s finances. Gift Month gives us yet another opportunity to do so. This, of course, is a private matter between us and the generous God who protects us and blesses us so richly.
There is an envelope in this magazine (or on the black chest at the back of church) to be used in making your gift, should you wish to support us in this way. Please give it to Fr John or Tony Kaines, or mail the envelope to St Stephen’s Church some time during the month.
May God bless us all.
Thank you.
‘Muscular Christianity’
The Archbishop of Canterbury appeared to us in the summer dressed in P.T. kit, about to run, or having run, through London streets, extolling the virtues of physical exercise and a return to Muscular Christianity. Alas, from the photograph it appeared that, like me, he has a long way to go before he acquires herculean limbs, arms like a leg and a fist that will sink a battleship. Muscular Christianity or ‘Manliness’ was a peculiarly nineteenth century virtue. Thomas Arnold, the Headmaster of Rugby School and a hero of Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown Schooldays, was obsessed with it; although to be fair to him, he saw it as a moral earnestness and the living of a better and more useful life. He defined it as ‘the man who adhered to the old chivalrous Christian belief that the body is given to be trained and brought into subjection, and then used for the protection of the weak, the advancement of all righteous causes, and the subduing of the earth which God gives to the children of men’. That was sometime before the subsequent development and era of ‘Club Christianity‘ which seems to be what the Archbishop wistfully is recalling, when eager, backslapping curates, drawn from the public schools and universities, saw future career prospects in first working for a year or two in large parishes of the urban and inner city poor such as London’s East End, Portsea, Liverpool and Leeds. This brought to the fore stalwart Anglican leaders like Cosmo Gordon Lang and William Temple, products of the golden age of the public schools. Until then ‘Muscular Christianity’ had reigned in the Church of England from about 1870 to the end of the First World War, fostered by such emotions as that of Sir Henry Newbolt’s poem ‘Vitai Lampada’ (‘The Lamp of Life’):
‘There’s a breathless hush in the close tonight- Ten to make and the match to win- A bumping pitch and a blinding light, An hour to play and last man in And not for the sake of a ribboned coat, Or the selfish hope of a season’s fame, But the Captain’s hand on his shoulder smote- Play up! Play up! and play the game.’
Nineteenth century militant patriotism and imperial pride were reflected in regimentation and ‘esprit de corps‘ thought necessary for the training of the Empire builders, for which the country was calling; compulsory games, the establishment of rifle corps, flourishing old boy associations and rousing school songs, all became part of ‘Muscular Christianity’. Indeed it and its younger brother ‘Club Christianity’ lingered on in Catholic circles in a somewhat different guise after the Second World War when the Empire was being broken up and manufactured into the Commonwealth. Over the years, the discipline and ceremonial mystery of Anglo- Catholicism had become an even more powerful influence in the inner cities than Thomas Arnold’s manly simplicity or the subsequent ‘Masculine Christianity’ of the public schools. Close by its red-brick Gothic churches, where incense burned and symbolism ran riot, there had sprung up the mission hall centre equipped with footballs, boxing- gloves, wooden horses and parallel bars. I once was taken by a pale and lean clergyman, fresh out of Cuddesdon Theological College and of High Church persuasion, on a double-decker London bus to such a church hall in Cable Street in the East End, where I was told to put on boxing gloves and get into the ring and, in an East/West conflict, box with a boy to whom I had never been introduced and who was viewed by my priestly chaperon as something of a barbarian. This in order to convert him, by hearty and considerate deportment and ineffectual swipes into a muscular Christian man. Out of the ring we gladiators sat on those old church hall chairs of brown varnished plywood, eating biscuits and sipping tea into which dropped sweat and nasal blood, agreeing that the effeminacy of my Latin cassocked companion, with his goading of ‘hit him hard, boy’ hardly made him a candidate for what he expected us to be. Following that, and more, I became wary of the High Church sentiment of ‘being strong for Jesus and Mary his Mother’, while at the same time, declined blandishment from Evangelicals to ‘learn to be a Christian leader’ at their summer school boot camps where, the present sitting Child Abuse Inquiry has learned, flagellation until the blood flowed freely and mixed with bible study, was not unknown. Thomas Arnold, our original ‘muscular Christian’, can have the last despairing shot: ‘It would give the vainest man alive a very fair notion of his own insufficiency to see how little he can do and how his most earnest addresses are as a cannon ball on a bolster.‘
Fr Leslie Craske
Welcome Back Barbecue
On Sunday 8th September, approximately 50 parents and children came to the St Stephen’s garden for a ‘Welcome Back Barbecue’.
Starting with some very tasty beef burgers, veggie sausages and sausages (cooked on the grill by Master Chef Matt Guthrie), guests were served a number of picnic dishes, including various kinds of crisps, baby tomatoes, chopped carrot sticks, cucumber slices, lemon drizzle cake and ice cream.
The weather was sunny and just right for the day. After the meal, the children had great fun decorating cupcakes, colouring masks, decorating balloons, doing scratch art ice creams, playing croquet and giant Jenga and going on a scavenger hunt. There was even a relaxation area in the garden, with rugs and children’s tents.
All agreed that it was an event not to be missed!
Photos courtesy of Alisha De Guerin
Dedication Lunch St Stephen’s Community Centre
Sunday 6th October 2019 Following the 10.30am Service
This is the anniversary of St Stephen’s Church when we all come together as one family. It is not a fund-raising event and for this reason the price is reduced to £6 per person, children ½ price and under 5s free.
Menu – Ham Salad with Jacket Potatoes or Vegetarian Quiche, Apple Pie and Cream.
As the price has been reduced it does not include alcohol so please bring your own wine or soft drink. Water will be on the table. Please let Jean know if you have dietary requirements.
Please contact Jean Le Huray Tel 255207 or Ann Goss by Sunday 29th September.
or
Friendship Lunch
The next Friendship Lunch will be on Tuesday, 15th October in the Community Centre.
Menu: Cottage Pie or Veggie Pie Bakewell Tart and Custard
£6.50 for a delicious meal and great community
For planning purposes, please let Jean Le Huray (Tel 255207) know if you would like to come by Sunday, 13th October.
>>> Soup, Songs and Stalls <<<
23rd November 11.00am – 2.00pm
The Social Events Committee have decided to hold a ‘Soup, Songs and Stalls’ event on Saturday 23rd November from 11.00am – 2.00pm in the Community Centre. This is to replace the usual Autumn or Christmas Fayres which recently have not been very well supported.
These events are very important for the income of the Church, to help cover our annual expenses, so the Committee feel they need to find a more successful event to raise the money.
There will be several stalls including books, Christmas gifts, cakes and preserves, raffle, bottle stall and children’s lucky dip, and light lunches consisting of soup and French bread. There will also be music!
We do hope you will all help to provide good quality items for these stalls, so please put the date in your diaries and give it your support.
Do You Know? This month, we continue our interview series, and we had the great pleasure of meeting with the youngest member of our congregation:
Naomi Elsie Barnes
I first came to St Stephen’s when I was 5 days old. I was very well-behaved and slept through the entire service. I then went to the coffee gathering afterward when I was admired by all for being so beautiful and so well- behaved, but I did cry because I wanted everyone to admire my lung power so that one day I could perhaps sing in the choir. My parents are Elizabeth Dudin and Howard Barnes (pictured with me, above), esteemed academics of Ladies’ College fame, and they too are very well- behaved, so it must be in the genes. I am, however, having to train them just a bit. First of all, they need to know, if they hadn’t already learned in the first days of my time here, that everything revolves around me. I decide when it is time to sleep and to wake up, when I want to be fed, and pretty much everything else concerning myself. They are adapting well, and I have great hopes for them as parents. I have much to look forward to, perhaps a dip in the baptismal font, Little Treasures on Monday mornings, learning to sail my father’s boat, perhaps early enrolment at Ladies’ College (because I’m already smart as a whip) and so many other things that life in Guernsey and life in general has in store for me, not to mention being utterly spoiled by my grandparents. Just so you look out for me the next time I come to church, I was born on 4th September 2019 at 6.52am at PEH, weighing 6.2 lbs. And I’m very, very cute. Everyone says so.
Views from the Pew
Top 10 Reasons Why Eve Was Created
10 – God was worried that Adam would frequently become lost in the Garden because he would not ask for directions. 9 – God knew that one day Adam would require someone to locate and hand him the remote. 8 – God knew Adam would never go out and buy himself a new fig leaf when his wore out and would therefore need Eve to buy one for him. 7 – God knew Adam would never be able to make a doctor’s, dentist’s or haircut appointment for himself. 6 – God knew Adam would never remember which night to put the rubbish out. 5 – God knew if the world was to be populated, men would never be able to handle the pain and discomfort of childbearing. 4 – As the Keeper of the Garden, Adam would never remember where he left his tools. 3 – Apparently, Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on when God caught him hiding in the Garden. 2 – As the Bible says, it is not good for man to be alone! 1 – When God finished the creation of Adam, he stepped back, scratched his head and said, ‘I can do better than that!’
-O-O-O-O-O- Someone has well said that there are only two kinds of people in this world: there are those who wake up in the morning and say cheerfully, ‘Good morning, Lord’, and there are those others who wake up in the morning and say, ‘Good Lord, it’s morning’.
Humour courtesy of Graham Moulin
St Magloire – 24th October
St Magloire (known as St Maelor in Brittany and as St Mannelier in Jersey) lived at the end of the 6th century and was one of the many saints from the insular Britain (Great Britain) who crossed the English Channel to evangelise the continental Britain (Brittany).
He was born in Glamorgan in Wales and was formed by St Illtud. A cousin of St Samson, he succeeded him as archbishop of Dol before renouncing this office in favour of St Budoc, after having received instructions in an angelic vision. St Magloire then withdrew to the island of Sark and there led a monastic life with 62 St Magloire and his predecessor disciples until his death. St Samson The relics of this holy man were taken (some reports state that they were ‘stolen’) from Sark by monks of the future Abbey of Léhon, near Dinan during the reign of Nominoe, a king of Brittany who died in 851 during the first Viking invasions. Around 910, the Vikings appeared in the region of Dinan; and the monks therefore fled to Paris, bearing with them the relics of St Magloire.
Initially, the relics were placed in the church of Saint-Barthélemy, located in the Ile de la Cité. But then with the support of King Hugh Capet, a new church (bearing St Magloire’s name) and abbey were built on the right bank of the Seine. The abbey became the motherhouse of the monastic order after the return of the monks to Léhon.
In 1318, the holy body of St Magloire was placed in a magnificent silver reliquary. In 1572, Catherine de’ Medici decided to move the monks of St Magloire to Saint-Jacques du Haut Pas, a church located at 252, rue Saint- Jacques in the 5th arrondissement; and the relics of St Magloire and his disciples were transferred to the Hôpital Saint-Jacques, which ultimately became a convent.
The relics were secretly buried during the French Revolution and were not discovered until 1835, when a new high altar was installed in the church of Saint-Jacques du Haut Pas. The old abbatial church of St Magloire on the right bank (situated in what is today 82, rue Saint-Denis) was destroyed during the Revolution. The July Monarchy tore down the last ruins of St Magloire to make way for the rue Rambuteau.
The ruins of Saint Magloire by Jules-Adolphe Chauvet (c. 1842)
Fr John Moore
And from Fliss Millard:
Early in 2018 Father Leslie handed me a briefcase full of choir music to see if there was anything that might be useful. In the case were copies of a mass setting by Alfred James Eyre that I felt would suit us. We prepared and sang it for the first time at one of the 11am Masses in November 2018.
Eyre, who studied at the Royal Academy of Music and served as organist at St Peter’s Vauxhall, St Ethelberga’s Bishopsgate, St John the Evangelist Upper Norwood London and the Crystal Palace, was born on 24th October 1853 and died on the 11th October 1919. It will be the 100th anniversary of his death on 11th October 2019. We have therefore decided to sing the setting for the second time on the closest Sunday, which is 13th October.
The Revd. W. J. Gascoigne
There are some clergy who have become well-known because of their distinguished service in the Church. They may have accepted responsibility for large parishes, or have been given even greater oversight as archdeacons, deans, bishops or archbishops. Their names are remembered in history books, or fitting memorials in churches and cathedrals. There are some, however, who have no such memorials. They are those who have laboured in perhaps little-known places and among humbler folk. Their work has been no less worthy, but has received little, if any, public recognition. They were shepherds who knew and were known by their flocks, but their names are almost lost in the mists of time. Perhaps Walter John Gascoigne was one such. He did, however have the distinction of being the first curate to be appointed by Fr Lowe to assist him in the newly-formed parish of St Stephen. He was born in September 1853 at Basford, Nottinghamshire into a clerical family, his father being the Revd Thomas Gascoigne, BA (St Catherine’s College, Cambridge) and his mother Charlotte Ellis. Walter and three of his five brothers went up to Cambridge and were subsequently ordained. He also had five sisters, four of whom were spinsters and one who married a clergyman. He was a pensioner at St John’s College, Cambridge, being admitted on 7th October 1878 and graduating BA in 1881. He was ordained in 1881 by the Bishop of Bath and Wells to a title at Crewkerne, Somerset, and was priested in 1882. He was curate of Long Ditton, Surrey, 1883-84, St Stephen’s, Guernsey, 1885-87, West Malling, Kent, 1888-89 and Heath, Derbyshire, 1889-92. Little is recorded of Mr Gascoigne’s time in Guernsey. In December 1885 the Star gave an account of a St Stephen’s Entertainment in which it was stated that ‘The new curate, the Rev W. J. Gascoigne, gave ‘The Lifeboat’ by G. R. Sims as his we believe, maiden effort at public reading, and possessing the necessary qualifications of a reader, an excellent voice, distinct enunciation and a reserve evidently of dramatic power, he was thoroughly successful in a very pathetic and telling description of a sailor's heroism.’ (G. R. Sims is best known for the oft misquoted poem ‘It is Christmas Day in the workhouse’.)
It was at Heath, a small village largely maintained by the Chatsworth Estate, that Walter Gascoigne met and married his first wife, Harriet Coller, widow of Job Denham, farmer of the parish. There was a certain disparity in the ages of the happy couple, he being 38 and his bride 61. The fact was that Mr Gascoigne had married a wealthy widow. When Mrs Gascoigne died twelve years later, she left an estate with a purchasing power equivalent today to in excess of £1 million. She also happened to be the patron of the living of Upton Hellions, a remote, picturesque rural hamlet in Devonshire, situated on a steep hillside looking over the River Creedy, a few miles north of Crediton. The living fell vacant in 1894, and she presented her husband to the rectory. The population of the parish at the time was little more than 100 souls, which had reduced to 80 at the time of his retirement some 33 years later. One must assume, therefore, that the duties were not onerous, and the rector could have made the rounds of his parishioners in a very short time. While the living was not particularly wealthy, it was certainly more so than the much larger neighbouring parish of Sandford. There was a move by the Church Commissioners towards the end of Mr Gascoigne’s tenure to combine the two livings, which he unsurprisingly opposed. However, this change was brought about upon his retirement. He inherited the patronage of the living from late his wife and retained it until his death. In 1911 he remarried, his bride being Charlotte Edith Cooke, the daughter of William Edward Cooke, the West Country artist, who lived in the nearby village of Shobrooke. Mr Gascoigne resigned the living in 1927, and the couple went to live in Weston-super-Mare, where he died on the 21st April 1936. He left a personal estate almost equivalent to that of his first wife. It is interesting to note that the Manor of Upton Hellions was held for many years by a Guernseyman, Thomas de Guerin, a relative of the Revd William Thomas Collings, Seigneur of Sark. His son, William Lukis Collings de Guerin, married Anna Maria Edmonds, a well-known artist who had studied with Paul Naftel in Guernsey, and who exhibited at the Royal Academy.
Fr John Luff
‘Anglo-Catholic’….matters St Stephen’s Church has a long and rich Anglo-Catholic tradition. Each month, the Parish Magazine features an article about one aspect of this tradition, which contributes so much to our corporate worship and the life of our church community.
Liturgy: A Gift From God
Jacob had a dream: ‘And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it…Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it!”…And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”’ (Genesis 28. 12, 16 -17).
It can be said that the liturgy is an example of ‘this awesome place’ where God meets humankind. It is a ‘gate of heaven’, a ‘ladder’ set up between heaven and earth. Liturgy is one place where earth and heaven meet.
According to Romano Guardini (German Roman Catholic priest, author and academic, one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the twentieth century), ‘The liturgy creates a universe brimming with fruitful spiritual life, and allows the soul to wander about in it at will and to develop itself there.’
French Benedictine priest Dom Guéranger1 wrote in his book The Liturgical Year: ‘Prayer is man’s richest boon. It is his light, his nourishment, and his very life, for it brings him into communication with God, who is light, nourishment and life.’
If prayer is man’s very life, what then can be said about the liturgy, which is the prayer of the Church? The liturgy is certainly not the only activity of the Church, but in a sense it can be considered as the source and summit of the life of the Church.
Life involves communication and exchange. The spiritual life may be described as an exchange with God. Liturgy is a vital part of that exchange: as a ladder between heaven and earth, it allows God to send down His gifts to humankind, and it allows men and women send up their prayers to God.
Following the Fathers of the Church, we might describe liturgy using two words: celebration and solemnity. To ‘celebrate’ is to proclaim something to others. ‘Solemnity’ is that quality which indicates that something important is occurring, that a bit of heaven is touching the earth. The Church Fathers (especially St Gregory the Great) went even further, and insisted that the liturgy is a celebration of faith and a solemnity of love.
In the liturgy, God gives Himself because He is love; and we receive this gift of God in faith and respond in love through prayer. As in every friendship, the love of God for us demands a response. In the liturgy, there is a two-fold movement: that of God towards us (the gift of grace) and that of us towards God (thanksgiving).
It can therefore be said that the liturgy is a descent of God towards humankind, of heaven towards earth; and an ascent of men and women towards God, of earth towards heaven.
These two movements are not parallel, but they meet one another. Liturgy is the place of encounter between God and His people. Without an authentic encounter with God, there can be no liturgy. For the encounter to take place, God must come to us and we must come to Him. God gives Himself to us, and we give ourselves to Him. The liturgy is a solemn celebration, in faith and love, of this reciprocal giving of God and His people.
Fr John Moore
1French Benedictine monk and priest (1805-1875) who founded the French Solesmes Congregation which re-established monastic life in France after it had been wiped out during the French Revolution.
The Guild of Intercession
Frank Hayes 18/10/1909; Arthur James Woodward 31/10/1912; Florence Ada Beaumont 15/10/1936; Frederick Miller Cochrane 1/10/1937; William Percy Adams 14/10/1939; Donald Ian McLeod 3/10/1941; Albert George Dobson 12/10/1947; Ellen Mary Torode 5/10/1949; Herbert Anstey 15/10/1951; Robert Spencer Ingram 10/10/1952; Irene Maud Johnson 27/10/1952; Gertrude Harriett Cochrane 28/10/1952; Edward Courtenay Dawson (Priest) 18/10/1953; Lilian Harriett Attwood 22/10/1953; Bertha Amelia Rayson 4/10/1954; John Kinnersley 13/10/1954; Beatrice Marie Romeril 18/10/1954; Thomas Raymond Kaines 10/10/1955; George Davie Rayson 11/10/1955; Edith May Farrell 9/10/1956; Arolda Emily Gillson 23/10/1956; Amy Le Lacheur 24/10/1956; Mabel Knight 5/10/1957; Ernest John Croucher 11/10/1957; Bertha Gillam 24/10/1957; Reta Maria Chutter 4/10/1958; Alice Mary Weakly 4/10/1958; Cecil Elliott Duff Bertram 16/10/1958; Jane Rouget 17/10/1958; John Henry George Marquis 19/10/1959; Herbert Hamon 20/10/1959; William John Brimage 5/10/1960; Rosa Hamon 7/10/1960; Irene Lilian de Carteret 31/10/1960; Marie Le Clerc 7/10/1961; William Robert Chantry 19/10/1962; Stibberd George Tew 22/10/1962; Edith Mary Cumings 2/10/1963; James Walter Ozanne 7/10/1964; Gerald Alfred Tardif 12/10/1964; Edith Ellen Bown 24/10/1964; Harold Bentley (Priest) 27/10/1964; Ellen May Hamon 20/10/1968; Alfred Kemp 21/10/1968; Cledwyn Evans (Priest) 7/10/1969; Ellen Mary Hamon 10/10/1969; Bessie Matthews 11/10/1969; Douglas Andrew Rouse Kemp 16/10/1970; Aleanore Walters 19/10/1972; Ruby Piprell 30/10/1973; Robert George Randall 7/10/1975; Dennis Alfred Robert 7/10/1975; Ronald John Fallaize 8/10/1976; Alfred Herbert Marquand 4/10/1977; Alisha Caroline Charnley 23/10/1981; David Mason King 29/10/1982; Frank Le Cheminant Ross 31/10/1983; Stanley James Moore 9/10/1984; Grace Denning Gillingham 26/10/1987; Roderick Desmond Lee 15/10/1990; Albert James Ernest Bisson 20/10/1990; Barbara Helen Nixon 2/10/1991; George Stanley Manning 27/10/1995; Susan Lee Pye 13/10/1997; Vera Eileen Cochrane 1/10/1998; Sheila Warman Manning 18/10/1998; Bernard Henry Kemp (Priest/Vicar) 5/10/1999; Edith Gertrude Peadon 11/10/1999; Alfred James Doron 22/10/1999; Rita Frances Marquand 16/10/2000; Ruth Parker 13/10/2003; Murray Clinton Millard (Priest/Vicar) 20/10/2005; Greta Mary Drummond 29/10/2005; Beatrice Mary Thoume 30/10/2005; Harold Ivan Higgins 6/10/2007; Marie Carrington 14/10/2007; George Borrowdale Heath 16/10/2007; Derek Oldham Courtney 23/10/2007; Doreen Emily May Down 24/10/2007; Melanie Anne Butler 5/10/2008; Cyril Edward Coutu 8/10/2008; Carol Rose Jacobs 26/10/2010; Jack-Sean Batiste (Stillborn) 28/10/2010; Margaret Hill Fish 26/10/2011; Nigel Jee 3/10/2013; Nancy Catherine Moore 22/10/2013; John Richard Astley Shaw (priest) 11/10/15; Kia Michelle Pengelly-Simon 27/10/2016; Shirley Ann Zabiela (née Le Gallez) 16/10/17; Joyce Mary Craske 3/10/18; Roy Rumens Robin 25/10/2018. Year unknown: Cardew Hutchinson, 30/10.
May They Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory
Parish Registers
Baptisms Ralphie Nicholas Ryan Muston—1st September 2019 Jack Peter Smith—15th September 2019 Sophie Elizabeth Jane Buxton—29th September 2019 William Joseph Raphael Buxton—29th September 2019
Weddings None
Funerals None
October Bible Readings
Sunday Dedication Festival and 1 Chronicles Ch29 v6-19 6th October The Sixteenth Sunday Ephesians Ch2 v19-22 after Trinity John Ch2 v13-22 Sunday The Seventeenth Sunday 2 Kings Ch5 v1-3, 7-15c 13th October after Trinity 2 Timothy Ch2 v8-15 Luke Ch17 v11-19 Sunday The Eighteenth Sunday Genesis Ch32 v22-31 20th October after Trinity 2 Timothy Ch3 v14-17, Ch4 v1-5 Luke Ch18 v1-8 Sunday Bible Sunday and Isaiah Ch45 v22-25 27th October The Last Sunday after Romans Ch15 v1-6 Trinity Luke Ch4 v16-24
Hymns and Liturgical Music October
SUNDAY 6th 13th 20th 27th 11.00am October October October October SUNG MASS The The The The Sixteenth Seventeenth Eighteenth Last Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday after after after after Trinity Trinity Trinity Trinity and and Dedication Bible Festival Sunday Procession HYMN 334 466 372 C13
PROPER 716 709 710 711
205 239 ‘Lord for 486 OFFERTORY the years’ (handout)
COMMUNION 471 S.5 357 342 1st Tune POST-
COMMUNION 208 434 234 368 Kneeling 206
Combined 239 466 MP 37 9.30am Service SAID MASS 10.30am S.5 MP 1346 MP
872
Guilds, Clubs & Activities at St Stephen’s
Lesley Le Huray Wednesday Community Centre RAINBOWS Tel: 254333 4.00pm – 5.00pm 5—7 years old Tamara Beach Wednesday Community Centre BROWNIES Tel: 07911 711052 5.00pm - 6.30pm 7 – 10 years old Debbie Robillard Friday Community Centre GUIDES Tel: 714850 + 07911 132440 6.00pm – 7.30pm 10 – 14 years old [email protected] 1st VICTORIA Beavers Pierre Woodland Community Centre SEA SCOUT Monday Tel: 722210 6 – 8 years old GROUP 5.30pm - 6.45pm Cubs Paula Woodland Community Centre Group Scout Monday Tel: 722210 8 – 10 years old Leader 7.00pm – 8.30pm
Sea Scouts Rosalyne Julie Hutchins Community Centre Wednesday Le Huray Tel: 07781 430700 10 – 14 years old Tel: 257939 7.00pm – 9.00pm Andrea Bateman SUNDAY CLUB andrea.bateman@ Sunday 9.30am Church Vestry yahoo.co.uk Fr John Moore YOUTH ALIVE! As arranged Various venues Tel: 720268 ST STEPHEN’S Marg Kaines Church As arranged GUILD Tel: 254858 ‘housekeeping’ SERVERS Info: Guild of the Tony Kaines Monthly www.GSSonline.org Servants of the Tel: 254858 .uk Sanctuary SOCIAL Tony Goss EVENTS As arranged St Stephen’s Vestry Tel: 266214 COMMITTEE Steph Dragun ST STEPHEN’S Tel: 255654 As arranged Community Centre PLAYERS [email protected]
Copy deadline for the November Parish Magazine will be Wednesday, 23rd October 2019 Contributions are gratefully accepted and can be sent to [email protected]
ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH Vicar The Reverend Fr John Moore BA, MBA, MA, DHECT St Stephen’s Vicarage ▪ Les Gravées ▪ St Peter Port ▪ Guernsey ▪ GY1 1RN Tel: 01481 720268 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://st-stephens-guernsey.org
Honorary Assistant Priests The Very Reverend Canon Fr Marc Trickey The Reverend Fr Leslie Craske
Vicar’s Warden David Le Lièvre Tel: 255492 People’s Warden Tony Kaines Tel: 254858 Secretary (APCC) Mary-Carol Gales Tel: 712434 Treasurer Tony Kaines Tel: 254858 Stewardship Officer Denise Thoumine Tel: 723003 Safeguarding Officer Steph Dragun Tel: 255654 Electoral Roll Officer Jill Stephenson Tel: 264996 Director of Music Felicity Millard Tel: 725660 Community Centre Tony & Diana Renouf Tel: 711701 Flower Contacts Iris Dhanji Tel: 256528 Ann Goss Tel: 266214 Helping Hands David & Annie Peatfield Tel: 730688 Magazine Editor Claudia Moore Tel: 720268
SUNDAY MASSES
9.30am Said Mass with Family Ministry 11.00am Sung Mass with Sermon
WEEKDAY MASSES
Tuesday 11.00am The Book of Common Prayer Wednesday 7.00pm Common Worship Friday 7.00pm Common Worship