The Newsletter of St.Giles’, Newcastle, with St.Thomas’, Butterton. facebook.com/stgilesnewcastle www.stgilesnewcastle.org.uk November 2020 Parish On-Line edition News IN REMEMBERANCE Remembrance Changes to Services Archdeacon becomes We're 'Green' again! Bishop Clergy: Wardens: St.Giles’ Rector: Revd Josh Penduck (01782) 620322 Mrs. Christine Bailey [email protected] Mr. David Wildman Revd Peter Nisbeck St.Thomas’ Revd Ann Taylor For any enquiries, please contact Revd Jean Walker our Parish Administrator. Parish Administrator: Mrs. P. Richards Email: [email protected] or phone: 07592 035386 Page 1 The What's Inside.... Rector writes..... Page Re-membering The Rector writes .................................. 2 Changes to Services ......................... 3 s time goes by, the past Remembrance Sunday ...................... 3 becomes scattered. It loses shape and A Important Information ......................... focus. The job of the historian to bring the 3 past back together. Of course, they don’t From the Editor ...................................... 4 always get it right. Sometimes the past has St.Thomas' Butteron .............................. 4 got so scattered that the historian is reduced Green Flag Award .................................. 4 to grabbing little scraps of history – a letter Bits & Pieces .......................................... 5 here, an archaeological artifact there – to try The Next Bishop of Stafford ................... 6 and bring shape to the past. And then in the following generation a new ‘fact’ comes to The Origin of the Remembrance.. ........ 7 light and ruins everything that the previous An End to Warfare ................................. 8 historian had written. The work of history is War and Peace (poem) .......................... 8 never complete. It is always trying to bring the Academy Activities ................................. 9 past back together. It is about ‘re-membering’. Take-A-Break ..... Mothers Union ........... 10 In old English, a body is made of ‘members’: Newcastle News ..................................... 11 arms, legs, necks, etc. When talking about November Service Dates ..................... 12 societies and clubs, the analogy of a body Recipes Ancient & Modern ..................... was used. What did you call people connected 12 to those clubs? Members. Although the word Smile-A-While Extra ............................... 12 ‘remember’ has a different etymology to ‘mem- Take-a-Break answers ........................... 12 ber’, coming from the late Latin rememorari Next edition date .................................... 12 (‘to call to mind’), perhaps we can play a bit of a linguistic game? Perhaps we can think and bombastic, but instead respectful and peaceful. It is of ‘re-membering’ as bringing the body of the important to remember accurately, to gather the body of past back together? In a way, everyone is a the past together in a way that does not distort it. If we historian. We grab scraps from the past – a remember the First World War and imagine that ‘it was all memory, a photo, a school exercise book – Germany’s fault’, we are liable to forget how militaristic and give it a bit of shape and context when our own country was. If we remember the Second World we retell the story. In doing so we ‘re-member’ War and imagine that it was ‘Britain alone’, we are liable the body of the past. ‘Re-membering’, shaping to forget our reliance on our allies, the Commonwealth and the past, shapes our present. We know who Empire. Remembering the past accurately helps us to live we are and where we come from. We worry accurately in the present. when we forget the past, because it leaves us Increasingly as a nation we are forgetting our past – feeling shapeless and scattered in the present. especially our religious past – and it is distorting how we It is vitally important for a nation to ‘re- view ourselves in the present. The passionate religiosity of member’ the past as well. If we forget what our ancestors is written-out of historical dramas on the TV happened to previous generations, we forget or presented as something strange and weird. This in turn who we are. When we remember previous impacts how people see religion in the present: as alien or generations’ awful suffering caused by wars, strange. But perhaps we are the weird and alien ones in we remember that we should not seek the ignoring our God-given impulses to worship? Humanity has ways of war, but instead strive for peace. been religious for at least the last 40,000 years according to ‘Remembering’ brings together our identity historians - that’s as long as we have had art and language! as a nation, one that should not be militaristic How strange that our particular Western society thinks that Continued on the next page... Page 2 The Rector continues.... the last 50-100 years of increasing secularity Important is normal! In forgetting our past, the body of Information our present is misshapen. In forgetting God, our values as a society become scattered and dismembered. In the words of G.K. Chesterton, ● In order to attend, you will need to ‘when men choose not to believe in God, they book. This can be done by contacting:- do not thereafter believe in nothing. They then become capable of believing in anything.’ St.Giles - Penny Richards at either office.stgilesnew- [email protected] or 07592 035386 by 12pm the Changes to We in St Thursday before each Sunday service. Services Giles and St St.Thomas: - Pat Cawthorn on 01782 614847 Thomas are ● Ensure you wear a mask and maintain 2 metre ourselves in a social distancing when you come in process of ‘re-membering’. In September, St ● Giles gathered back to worship at 9am and Although we will have music played, there can be no congregational singing 11am after being ‘scattered’ in the lockdown. In October, St Thomas has done likewise in ● Children are welcome to come to services. our 10.30am service. We have also rebegun However, we ask if they could remain with our weekly Wednesday Oasis service at their households (as much as is possible!). We 1.10pm. In November, we will likewise have have many JAM Packs at the back of church a few changes: (a children’s activity pack) which can easily be accessed when entering ● On November 1st, 15th, 22nd and 29th, ● We are unable to offer refreshments. Please St Giles will be gathering back together also wait till you are outside before you start in a single 10.30am Sunday service. chatting to everyone! Remembrance ● We are not stopping our online services for the Sunday time being ● Revised local or national regulations may close our Churches for worship and Private Prayer. We ● On 8th November, for Remembrance may need to cancel services without much no- Sunday, we will gather together in tice. This is why it is best to book – we can St.Giles' at 10am. As Newcastle Coun- easily let you know if there is a last-minute cil has requested that numbers at the cancellation. Cenotaph are limited, there will be an Act of Remembrance in St Giles itself. continue to do so. Dealing with our uncertain future will The congregation will not be going mean that we will worship differently. outside until that Act has finished. But when facing uncertainty, it is important to remember Of course, this is all subject to the three the most important story of all and let that reshape our governmental tiers. Perhaps by the time you present. In Jesus Christ, God became one of us, died for read this, all our plans will have changed! our sins, and is raised to life eternal so that we may share (So stay in touch). But as we ‘re-member in the resurrection with him. When we ‘remember Christ’, we gathering together as a church once more, it ourselves are ‘re-membered’ – our scattered lives brought is important to accurately remember the past back together – in him, both as individuals, as a commu- also. After all, we haven’t ‘always done it that nity, a nation, and a world. In the midst of change, Christ way’. 10.30am Communion is a relatively is steadfast and unchanging. In a world of forgetfulness, recent pattern. The pandemic has produced Christ never forgets. In our scattered and broken world, great changes to how we worship and will Christ draws together and heals us. Rev'd Josh Page 3 FROM THE EDITOR.... elcome to our November issue which includes Wimportant information about changes to the Services held in St.Giles. It also includes articles about the New Bishop of Stafford and the new Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme. CONGRATULATIONS: November includes our time of Remembrance and We're 'Green' again! we feature several items reflecting this, together with details of our special 'Covid' Remembrance Sunday hanks to the continual hard work of our 'Green Team' Services and an update from the Mothers Union. Tduring these difficult times, our Churchyard has been This is a difficult time for all of us, but our faith and awarded a 'Green Flag' award for the second year running. Church 'community' can help us to get through it. The announcement, normally made in July, was delayed M.Pitstow this year due to Covid-19 until October 14th. It is hoped that the flag award will be presented during one of our St. Thomas' Butterton 10.30am November Services. The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by Come enjoy a Service in our little environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under licence 'Church in the Wood'. from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed Sunday's 10.30am parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark Including standard for the management of recreational outdoor Remembrance Sunday spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world. PLEASE BOOK! This year, a total of 2061 places have achieved the Green Flag Award, having been assessed by an army of more Please ring 614847 than 1,000 volunteer judges.