BENEFICE OF MILLOM WITH HAVERIGG & THWAITES

One benefice - legally it’s just called Millom - with one Priest, covering two parishes - Millom (including the villages of Haverigg and The Hill, as well as the town of Millom) and Thwaites (which includes the villages and hamlets of Strands, The Green, Hallthwaites, Arnaby, Ladyhall, Broadgate and Swinside).

Two parishes in one benefice - and four churches: The Holy Trinity, Millom; Saint George’s, Millom; Saint Luke’s, Haverigg; Saint Anne’s, Thwaites.

Each of these is a parish church in its own right, and is used for all the accustomed services of worship on Sundays and weekdays, as well as baptisms, funerals, weddings and other celebrations and commemorations. Each church has a churchyard, but in the case of St George’s, new graves are not normally permitted. Millom Cemetery, adjacent to St George’s Church, is maintained by Copeland Borough Council.

Each church has its own distinct atmosphere. It is likely that Christians have worshipped on the Holy Trinity site for at least a thousand years, and worshippers today enter the church through a doorway dating back to about 1120 AD. St Anne’s Church (consecrated 1854), St George’s (1877) and St Luke’s (1891) are Victorian buildings in different medieval styles, and all three remind us of the ambitions and aspirations of their builders for their own communities.

St Luke’s Institute is available for meetings, events and other social purposes: please contact Audrey Akers (773736)

Useful web sites: Our benefice: www.millomchurchofengland.org.uk Christenings www.churchofenglandchristenings.org Weddings: www.yourchurchwedding.org Funerals: www.churchofenglandfunerals.org

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Carl’s Craich I sit writing this after having celebrated the Feast of Pentecost in two of our churches today, which has fittingly brought a weekend of celebration to a close. The weekend began with my family and me celebrating my 65th birthday; the celebrations continued into late Saturday night when my youngest daughter gave birth to my second grandson. Then the culmination of the weekend was celebrating with my church family the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the Church. As I sit and reflect on these very happy, but so different occasions, I am reminded of how powerful in my life God is. God the creator, who fashioned us in his own image but yet made us all unique individuals. God who has been constant in his love and support through the power of his Holy Spirit. God who brings forth new life in the shape of a baby, just as his own Son was brought forth from the virgin, again through the power of the Holy Spirit and finally the outpouring of that Holy Spirit into the lives of those first disciples. A power so strong that it was irresistible, a power that had the ability to turn those frightened men into the voice of the Gospel. It is that same power that inspired the disciples that God pours into our lives, though perhaps our reaction is not as dramatic as was that of the disciples. We are called by God to work his purpose out in our lives by taking the message of the Gospel to those that need to hear it the most. Now, unlike those first disciples, it is unlikely that we would face the same risks that they did. No one is going to lock us up or torture us for saying what we believe, but it does take a certain amount of courage, of faith, of determination to actually proclaim what we believe. I pray that, as we move further out of the restrictions that have become part of our lives, we can start to proclaim boldly in our community the power of the Holy Spirit, the unconditional love and the salvation to eternal life that is given by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let the power of the Holy Spirit loose in your lives and see how it enhances all that we do. Yours in Christ, 3 Revd Carl

SERVICES FOR JUNE

June 6th St George’s 10.30am Benefice Communion Trinity 1

June 13th Holy Trinity 10.30am Benefice Communion Trinity 2

June 20th St George’s 10.30am Benefice Communion Trinity 3 St Luke’s 12 noon Holy Communion

June 27th Holy Trinity 10.30am Benefice Communion Trinity 4

Anyone wishing to receive Home Communion should contact Carl 774427 ______

Scout Monthly Update

Just a quick update this month unfortunately, although hopefully next month will be different. As I write this, we are a week off the half term holidays (as someone who works in a school, I am very much looking forward to this!). The week after that is when I hope we can get back together again. The scouts are very keen to get back and keep asking when we can.

I hope next month to bring you news of our meetings along with pictures.

Those of you who have social media pages will know you can sometimes be reminded of your memories of previous posts on that day throughout the years. I was looking on these the other day and was reminded of a camp we went on to Ennerdale campsite 10 years ago. This was such a fun camp and I loved looking back at pictures of past scouts who I was in scouts with at the time. I am looking forward to making new memories again with our current scouts (That’s what I keep in mind whilst filling out all of the tedious paperwork).

By Rebecca Brown (Scout Leader) 4

CONCISE BENEFICE DIRECTORY

Associate Priest : The Revd. Carl Carter (774427) 13 Pepper Hall Walk, Haverigg LA18 4HT Email:[email protected]

For Millom PCC Lay Chair: Margaret Bratley (773337) Secretary: Pamela Bell (773154) Treasurer : Geoff Brunskill (772622)

For Thwaites PCC Lay Chair: Peter Foord (777928) Secretary: Louise Cox O’Shea (07876770192) Treasurer: Helen Eastham (716666)

Parish Churchwardens

Holy Trinity: Margaret and Geoff Edmondson (772084) St George’s: Vacant St Luke’s: Vacant St Anne’s: Peter Foord (777928)

Benefice Safeguarding Officer: Vacant

At the APCM the following were elected to the PCC

Barbara Andrews, Pamela Bell, Margaret Bratley, Hilary Coote, Yvonne Fox, Jeg Gray, Nancy Green, Anne Maggs, Bob McFadden, Ann Norman, Rachel Pooler

They will serve along side the churchwardens and deanery synod representatives: Geoff Brunskill and Jane Micklethwaite

Magazine: The next edition of the magazine will be for July and August and should be available from July 1st. Please let me have any items for inclusion by June 25th. If you do not already receive a copy of the magazine and wish to do so, please contact Margaret Bratley on 01229 773337 or email me.

If you wish to arrange a Wedding or a Christening you must contact Carl, not church wardens His contact details are: Tel:774427 or [email protected]

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1+1+1=1? How can this be?

We know the word Trinity well enough as we have a church named after the Holy Trinity, but what does it mean and where does it come from?

‘Tri’ means three and ‘unity’ means one so ‘Trinity’ means three in one: one God made up of three parts, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself used the idea of three different forms of God when he commissioned his disciples to ‘go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.

The idea of the Trinity is one of the most difficult to understand.

The Bible teaches that :

• We must worship only God • We must worship God the Father • We must worship God the Son • We must worship God the Holy Spirit • There is only one God

This seemed to put Christians in an impossible position from which they were rescued by the doctrine of the Trinity, which solved the puzzle by stating that God must be simultaneously both Three and One.

Back to the equation at the top…

I once read that ‘infinity’ is ‘a place where things happen that don’t!’ Parallel lines meet, and normal rules of arithmetic just don’t apply there.

1+1+1 = 1 would certainly be possible there. If we believe that God is infinite then it would certainly be feasible for God to be both three and one.

Decorations in churches often include representations of the Trinity. The specific parts of the Trinity may not be specified but any threefold design, as this one in a window in St Anne’s, reminds us of the Trinity. 6

At Holy Trinity, the Archangels window includes the three separate parts of the Trinity. There, God is represented by alpha and omega, the first and last, Jesus by the cross, through which he redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit by a dove. The symbols used vary: over the altar at St George’s, God is represented by a hand,

pointed down. Sometimes Jesus is represented by a lamb and the Holy Spirit by the flame of Pentecost.

Funerals in our churches

In the latest stage on the roadmap for returning to normality after lockdown, the number able to attend funerals is no longer limited to 30 but depends on the number who can be accommodated safely in each building, bearing in mind social distancing. For our churches the maximum numbers are:

Holy Trinity Church To be decided St George’s Church 60 people St Luke’s Church 40 people St Anne’s Church 60 people

Unfortunately, if more than these numbers arrive for funerals, it may be necessary to turn them away.

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Parish News – June 2021

Trinity Sunday

This year 30th May is Trinity Sunday which is celebrated each year as the patronal festival of Holy Trinity Church. At this time, we also remember the granting of a Charter to Millom by Henry 111 in 1251, giving permission to hold a fair on the eve and the morrow as well as Trinity Sunday. There would have been great excitement amongst the local population of the time. These three days would have been a holiday (no six weeks entitlement than) and a time to buy goods from merchants visiting to sell their wares.

We have tried to continue the custom of celebrating the Charter for some years now, but COVID-19 has made this impossible during the last two years. Let us hope that all will be well next year, and Trinity Charter can be celebrated once more. The Charter itself will be read on Trinity Sunday after the church service.

Tea at Trinity

Following the easing of restrictions Tea at Trinity will begin on Friday 28th May from 2pm to 4pm. There will be cakes, scones etc with tea and coffee on sale. All proceeds to church funds.

Margaret and Geoff Edmondson 8

Millom’s ancient charter granted in 1251 by King Henry III Written in Latin but the full English translation reads: ‘We have granted and by this our charter have confirmed to John of Hudelston that he and his heirs in perpetuity shall have a weekly market on Wednesday at his manor of Millom in the county of Cumberland. And that they shall have an annual fair lasting three days, namely from the vigil to the morrow of the feast of Holy Trinity, unless that market and fair proves to be harmful to neighbouring markets and fairs. Therefore we wish and firmly command for us and our heirs that the aforesaid John and his heirs shall hold in perpetuity the said market and fair at his manor aforesaid with all liberties and free customs appertaining to such a market and fair unless that market and fair proves to be harmful to neighbouring markets and fairs aforesaid. These being witnesses, the Venerable Father A(y)lmer bishop elect of Winchester, William de Valecnes, Geoffrey de Lusignan, our brothers Master William of Kilkenny Archdeacon of Coventry, Peter de Rievaulx, Bertram de Crioll, Robert Walerand, William Germon, Roger Lokinton and others. Given under our hand at Merewell 22 day of July in the 35th year of our reign (1251).’

Walking in Lebanon

In September 2019 I joined a group of like-minded individuals walking parts of the Lebanon Mountain Trail and visiting several archaeological sites. We were lucky in that we were there prior to the economic collapse of that country later in the year and the catastrophic explosion that severely damaged Beirut in 2020. When we were in Beirut it looked to have recovered from the devastation caused by the civil wars of the 70’s and 80’s – ancient Phoenician, Roman, Greek and Arab remains were in juxtaposition to modern architecture. The cedar trees of Lebanon were everywhere out of settlements and of course have countless references in the Bible – but in my view are no more remarkable than our Scottish Pines. New cedars are being planted to make up for all cut down over the centuries. We had the opportunity to visit Sidon, a centuries old town on the Mediterranean coast with a crusader castle and inevitable Phoenician remains, a reminder that this area has been fought over for thousands of years. The mountains of Lebanon run roughly North-South inland from the coast and are not high or jagged by Alpine or British standards but high enough in winter to 10

allow skiing, and there were still patches of snow on the highest points of the range when we were there. Lebanon has a large Christian community and there was a cross on the highest point in the country – Quanat al Sawda 3083 metres. One of the most attractive sections of the trail was the walk down the steep-sided, forested Quadisha River valley which provided endless vistas. We were well accommodated in village hostels with tasty traditional Lebanese cooking and wine. We visited the most famous vineyard in the Bekar valley for a well-deserved wine tasting. We then visited the spectacular and world-renowned remains of the Roman city of Baalbek, truly magnificent with huge columns soaring upwards and well- preserved temple facades and walls. A quarry nearby showed just how much effort was needed to hammer out the gigantic pillars and left to the imagination just how they were dragged to the temples half a mile away. On our way back to Beirut we stopped at Biblos, allegedly the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Middle East, full of the now expected Phoenician , Roman remains and in addition to a crusader castle , the intact crusader church of St Gregory. Throughout our trip the weather was dry and sunny, very hot on the coast (even in September, not really conducive to sightseeing), but very pleasant for walking up in the hills. 11 Geoff Brunskill

What would Jesus have done?

I recently had the great good fortune to travel to, and explore, an extensive and busy habitation where many people live and work, and where they attract other peoples from the surrounding villages and small towns, from the surrounding hills, the countryside and even the sea. They call it Barrow-in Furness.

My friend had told me that his father participated in the ‘Church of Barrow’. Not having heard of this before, I was inquisitive and asked for a bit more information. “Oh,” said my friend, “he only goes when pushed”.

Undaunted, I went about my business. I was waiting to cross the road at a pedestrian Pelican Crossing*, when a bleeper sounded, signalling “Safe to Cross”. A fellow pedestrian asked me what the bleeper was for. I explained it was a signal to tell blind people the traffic lights were on red, and safe to proceed. I was appalled when he replied, “What on earth are blind people doing driving?” Well, what was I to say? “Don’t be a stupid idiot”? When lost for a reply, I was always taught to ask myself what Jesus would have said. So, I turned to my bible and found in Matthew, Chapter 11, something that I thought would be helpful here.

“When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John [the Baptist] heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 12

I just hope that the 21st century Barrovian Jesus has ensured that the blind received their sight before they started driving, that the lame walk quickly across a Pelican Crossing, that the deaf hear the bleeping loud and clear, and that the dead are raised up quickly – especially if they were unfortunate enough to have been anywhere near a pelican in the depths of deepest Barrow.

*For those who passed their driving test over half a century ago: A pelican crossing (previously ‘pelicon’ crossing, which stood for "pedestrian light- controlled crossing") is the name for a type of pedestrian crossing, which has a pair of poles each with a standard set of traffic lights facing oncoming traffic, a push button and two illuminated, coloured pictograms facing the pedestrians and a beep for the visually impaired. So now you know. They say every day’s a school day- if you have an open mind. [JEG]

An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout “PRAISE THE LORD!”

Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, “There is no Lord!!”

Hard times set in on the elderly lady, and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted “PRAISE THE LORD. GOD I NEED FOOD!! I AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!”

The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, “PRAISE THE LORD.”

The neighbour jumped from behind a bush and said, “Aha! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn’t.”

The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, “PRAISE THE LORD. He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them. Praise the Lord!”

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Starfish at Silecroft

One of my simple pleasures is to drive to Silecroft at full tide when there is a storm. The car rocks and the foam blasted at you is nearly as exciting as being in Wharton’s car wash.

An old man had a habit of early morning walks on the beach at Silecroft. One day, after a storm, he saw two human figures in the distance moving like dancers. As he came closer, he saw that it was a young child and her mother, and they weren't dancing at all but were reaching down to the sand, picking up starfish and very gently throwing them back into the sea.

“Why are you throwing the starfish into the sea?” asked the old man. “The sun is up, the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them back, they will die.” replied the child. But don’t you realise that there are miles and miles of beach going down to Haverigg and beyond and up to St. Bee’s Head? And there are thousands of starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.”

The young child listened politely, paused and then bent down. She picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves, saying, “It made a difference for that one.” [JEG]

Coffee and Chat is back! Every Friday 10am to 12 noon in St Luke’s Institute

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FROM THE REGISTERS and for your prayer April and May FUNERALS Christine Hynd – RIP – April 19th St Luke’s Church and Churchyard April 29th Lesley COULSON – RIP – April 23rd St George’s Memorial Service May 7th Dorothy Hibbert – RIP - April 25th Holy Trinity Church and Churchyard May 7th Maurice CHAPELHOW – RIP – April 25th St George’s Church and Millom Cemetery May 5th Brian Wilson CHAMBERS - RIP – May 2nd Holy Trinity Church and Churchyard May 12th Irene CLARKE – RIP – May 14th St George’s Church and Millom Cemetery May 27th Stanley PROCTER – RIP – May 17th St George’s Church and Millom Cemetery May 26th

Readings for Sundays

SUNDAY, MAY 30th TRINITY SUNDAY White Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17 SUNDAY, JUNE 6th TRINITY 1 Green Genesis 3:8-15, 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1, Mark 3:20-end SUNDAY, JUNE 13th TRINITY 2 Green Ezekiel 17:22-end, 2 Corinthians 5:6-17, Mark 4:26-34 SUNDAY, JUNE 20th TRINITY 3 Green Job 38:1-11, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Mark 4:35-41 SUNDAY, June 27th TRINITY 4 Green Solomon 1:13-15,2:23-24, 2 Corinthians 8:7-end, Mark 5:21-end

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