Wickham Bishops Parish Magazine December 2020 & January 2021

Produced by St Bartholomew’s Church www.churchinwickhambishops.org.uk

From December 6th we hope to be able to welcome worshippers to a 10.30am service in St. Bartholomew’s Church Hall adding to our weekly provision of an online service on Face Book Live. Numbers for this service will be limited to 32 taking into account required social distancing. To be assured of a place please text 07910109396 to book a seat or email [email protected] For Christmas services see centre pages, booking is essential Church Services for December 2020

SUNDAY 6 Advent 2 9.00am St. Nicholas’ Patronal Service of Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) in St Nicholas’. Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18) 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall and on FB Live. 4.00 pm Christingle on FB Live Only – make your Christingle ready in advance for this short child friendly service.

MONDAY 7 9.00 am Monthly Parish Prayers in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall

SUNDAY 13 Advent 3 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church and on FB Live.

SUNDAY 20 Advent 4 9.00 am Service of Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) in St Nicholas’. Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18) 10.30 am Sunday Praise Service in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall and on FB Live 3.00 pm A Quiet Christmas at St. Bartholomew’s. This Quiet Christmas service offers a space where people can find some calm and care in the midst of it all. Musical accompaniment. Also on FB Live.

24th and 25th Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Please see the details in the centre pages (pages 26 & 27)

SUNDAY 27 Christmas 1 – Feast of St John 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church and on FB Live

This information is accurate at the time of going to print but may be changed according to government guidelines Sunday orders of service during lockdowns are posted on the parish website. https://www.churchinwickhambishops.org.uk/ St Nicholas’ Church is open daily for private individual prayer. St Bartholomew’s Church will be from 14th December 2020 All our services at St. Bartholomew’s Church are on FB Live or on Zoom Church Services for January 2021

SUNDAY 3 The Epiphany 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church

SUNDAY 10 Baptism of Christ 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church

SUNDAY 17 Epiphany 2 9.00 am Service of Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) in St Nicholas’. Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18) 10.30 am Sunday Praise Service in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall

SUNDAY 24 Epiphany 3 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church

SUNDAY 31 Epiphany 4 10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church

WEDNESDAYs (December and January) 10.00 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church or the Hall and on FB Live. There will be no mid-week services in the week after Christmas (30th)

FRIDAYs (December and January) 10.15 am Zoom Prayers (please email [email protected] if you wish to be part of this so we can send you the link).

Parish Register

Baptisms None

Marriages None

Funerals Ralph Arthur Buet (88) 16th November at Chelmsford Crematorium Joshua Baldwin (15) 20th November at St Bartholomew’s

Parish Contacts

Revd Hilary The Rectory, 1 Church Road, 01621 892867 Le Sève Wickham Bishops CM8 3LA Hilary’s day off Priest in Charge [email protected] is Friday.

Revd Derek Clark The Leas Farm 01245 380627 Wickham Bishops Road Associate Priest Hatfield Peverel 07860 235778 CM3 2JL

Barry Cousins 3 Harvey Road 01621 891355 Great Totham CM9 8QA Churchwarden [email protected] Graham Wingrove 8 Arbour Lane 07398 025442 Wickham Bishops Churchwarden CM8 3NS

Peter Bates 10 Church Green 01621 893173 Wickham Bishops Magazine Editor [email protected] Kath Adkins [email protected] 01621 891143

Church Hall Bookings

Letter from Reverend Hilary

In the middle of our complex world, the message of Christmas is simple, but also subtle. It is about the birth of a child. Around this child gathers a family who will watch as their child lives in creation - respectfully, not by overpowering it, not by forcefully taking over but by sensitive and compassionate living amongst us. “Do not be afraid” the angels say; the most frequent command in the gospels. It makes sense that given the birth of this child, entirely inhabited by God, there might be fear. Yet there is no need of fear here, given the simplicity of what we celebrate. The child expresses and embodies all that is dignified, trusting and respectful in our relationships. The Good News (Gospel) Jesus shares, is about making humankind into a new sort of family. He shows us how to approach God as ‘Abba’ (Daddy) and says that any of us who trust him are brothers and sisters, gifted with relationships which transcend blood-ties but are yet unearned. The good news of this is that the birth we prepare for in Advent and celebrate at Christmas is not about an institution or a rule book; it is about nurturing dignified, trusting and respectful relationships which are personal, local, and particular, relationships which are freely given and accepted. Those things come first. Love is simple, but it is subtle too. At Christmas we celebrate how love happens and especially this Christmas, given all the challenges we have had this past year, we remember a little more of how to be ourselves, our true related selves, unafraid, because we know we are loved. The Gospel is this: nothing you do can make God love you more, and nothing you do can make God love you less. Because the Christ Child is Emmanuel ('God with us'), we are wholly family, with God.

Womens’ Christian Fellowship … Hello everyone; well here we are in December, and to think our last meeting was in February and the year has nearly come around. How lucky we are to live in this lovely village and I hope, if you were able, you could get out and enjoy the beautiful autumn colours in the trees and gardens, also to take some time while the weather allows, to sit and enjoy your own garden, maybe with a cup of tea or coffee just for ten minutes to lift your spirits. We still do not know when we will be able to meet again safely, and by the time this reaches you Christmas will soon be upon us, so, with that in mind, the committee joins me in wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and to the restoration of more settled times in the New Year. Denise Yelland.

Parish Church Finances ...

As we are all only too well aware, 2020 has been an unusual year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately we instigated the Parish Giving Scheme at the start of the year and this together with other regular giving has provided us with an ongoing income stream and we have been able to pay our Parish Share in full. However we have lost some income as it has not been possible to hold any of our Fund Raising events including Open Gardens. The Guardians of the Village Churches had an exciting launch event planned for September but, of course, that too has had to be postponed. This is not a plea for donations but rather seeking your co-operation to pay your giving by more cost effective methods. This is because there have also been wider impacts arising from the pandemic. With the Bank of England slashing interest rates to 0.1% there has been a significant impact on banks covering their costs. Our bankers, Charity Aid Foundation Bank (CAF) have advised us of increased charges from January 2021. The monthly fee is increasing from £5 to £8. There are also to be changes to fees for depositing both cash and cheques. This is likely to result in an additional cost to us. So, is there anything we can do to mitigate these charges? I am pleased to advise that there is. If at all possible I would ask that contributions are paid by electronic means. These are as follows:  Join the Parish Giving Scheme. Please contact me for more information about this.  Use the SumUp card reader to pay with your debit or credit card. For sums up to £45 this is contactless. If your donation is in excess of £45 then your card needs to be inserted to the base of the device and your PIN input. The device can also be used to pay for Greeting cards and other items.  Go to the church website and scan the code to be taken to a donation page. … continued on the next page … continued on the next page

Should you be, or wish to be, a member of The Guardians whose current target is to raise funds for the body of St Bartholomew’s to be redecorated, then there is a similar code on their web page to make donations. Thank you for reading this and I look forward to receiving your co- operation in containing our bank fees. Graham Spearman Hon Treasurer email: [email protected] Phone: 07721 505296

St. Bartholomew’s Church building to re-open after the recent redecoration of the Chancel

With plans on track, we are hoping to enjoy our re-opened village church from Sunday 13th December. Bakers of Danbury have redecorated the Chancel area of the church installing new light fittings too. Excited to see the results without the scaffolding; here are some photos so that you can see the work in progress.

This work has been made possible because of the fundraising in the village facilitated over the years by fabulous volunteers including the biennial Open Gardens festival, concerts, fairs and raffles. Thank you so much for all your contributions large and small. Next steps? To paint the rest of the church interior!

THE POSTCARD and THE PICTURE POSTCARD

Following my article in the November Magazine in which I included a copy of a Postcard with a picture of the interior of St Bartholomew’s Church, I have been asked the reason for having such a card. The answer goes back many, many years when discovering that the start of the Scout Movement in 1907 followed very closely to the date of the acceptance of the Post Card and subsequent Picture Postcard by the Post Office / Royal Mail. I have been an avid collector [and even designer] of Picture Postcards ever since – Postcards of Scouting that is! Something different from the usual habit of collecting Scout Badges. It all came about some 30 years ago when visiting an Antique Fair in Witham that I first saw and bought the card, dated 1923, pictured below, It was before the days of internet and ebay and I soon discovered brochures from sellers of old scout books and artefacts, and also countrywide Postcard Fairs. I now have a collection of some 700+ cards from patriotic, comic, serious, birthday, events and Jamborees, personages, religious etc. They tell a 100+ year story in pictures, and I wonder just what will become of them! Back to the advent of the Postcard; the first ‘one-off’ was in use soon after the ‘penny black’ but unofficial, and it was not until the late 1800s that the plain postcard, address one side and message on the reverse was in use on the continent and USA. The Postcard era of the undivided back was from 1901 -1907. In this country the Post Office finally gave in and allowed the use of Picture Postcards with a divided back for both address and message from 1894 and the years 1894 to 1915 became the ‘Golden Age of Postcards’. It was at the discovery of the writing on the walls in the Chancel that I came across the postcard of the interior of St Bartholomew’s and decided to buy it – the only one I have of Wickham Bishops. Barry Cousins

Warm Homes Energy Advice At Maldon & District Citizens Advice, we can help you to find a way forward, by giving free, confidential advice in all subject areas. This month we are highlighting the advice we can give about problems heating your home. With winter fast approaching you may be worried about your energy bills or be finding it difficult to keep your home warm. We have a dedicated Warm Homes adviser who can give you advice on the various options available. Please get in touch. Warm Home Discount. You might be able to get £140 off your electricity bill under the Warm Home Discount Scheme if you’re either:  getting the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit  on a low income Check with your supplier to see if they offer the Warm Home Discount - not all suppliers are part of the scheme. Energy trust fund If you’re in debt to your energy supplier, you might be able to get a grant from a charitable trust to help pay it off. British Gas and other big suppliers have their own charitable trusts. They like you to show that you have received debt advice before you apply. Debt advice can help you manage your debts and increase your chances of making a successful application. We can help you with this. Home insulation and heating grants You might be able to make improvements to your home - for example, adding insulation or installing a better heating system which will cut your energy bills. We can help you work out if you might be eligible for financial assistance with this.

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Energy supplier switching You’ll probably save money on your gas and electricity bills by switching to a new supplier. You should start by:  checking which type of meter you have  finding out if your contract has an ‘exit fee’ for leaving early - it’s usually on your bill  looking at your current supplier’s tariffs Once you’ve got this information we can help you get some quotes and you can see how much you could save. Citizens Advice have our own energy price comparison tool: https://energycompare.citizensadvice.org.uk/ Please contact us for advice on any subject by:  ringing 01621 875774 – leave a message and an adviser will return your call that day or  emailing [email protected] Caroline Halfacre Warm Homes adviser

Great Totham Women’s Institute ... Our committee has held two meetings on Zoom, which have proved very successful. This is thanks, in the main, to the expertise of Tina Finch who has taken the time to talk us through all the technicalities with great patience. Seeing each other face to face has been a much better experience than e mailing. Following the success of our first goody bag we have been working hard to provide our members with a festive one with a Christmas theme. At the time of writing we are also hoping to try zooming with more of our members for our main Christmas meeting. We are still unsure as to how soon we may be able to have a meeting in the village hall but, with more encouraging news on the vaccine front, we hope it won’t be too long before we can!

Wickham Bishops Flower Club ... As we approach the end of another year, I would usually be reflecting on the amazing demonstrations that we have enjoyed. Not so this year. However, it doesn’t stop us from looking forward to next year when we have a full programme provisionally booked. Our A.G.M. should take place on Tuesday 23rd February 2021, but of course, we cannot predict if this will happen. In the meantime, very best wishes to all our members and friends of the Flower Club – keep well. Wendy Blagrove Chairman

News from Great Totham Primary School

www.greattotham.essex.sch.uk

Remembrance Day 2020

Each year group bubble held its own remembrance assembly and observed two minutes’ silence to remember those who have fought and died at war.

New Intake September 2021

We are sad not to be able to offer face-to-face tours of the school this year. If your child is due to start school in September, please view our video and look for details of how to book a telephone call on the 'New Intake' page of the website.

Wonderful Work

The autumn term topics are well under way and the school is filling up with the children’s amazing work. Year 2 have been practising their weaving skills and enjoyed making their own planes after studying The Wright Brothers.

Year 5

All our watercolour artwork has been placed on a display wall just outside our classrooms so people walking past have an opportunity to admire it. We have been using watercolour pencils over the past few weeks, and we’ve been working on our skills and techniques which have been improving by the minute! It took us three lessons to perfect our artwork before it was ready to go up on display. We have been really excited for people to see our art as we worked really hard on it. Our deputy head teacher come up and complimented us on it, and so have all the teachers and pupils! We are really proud of our final pieces and were inspired by everyone’s work. We hope you are too!

Written by Lilia and Annabelle, Year 5

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Observational drawing

In Year 6, the children have learnt how to use geometric shapes to help them sketch and learn more about how to add shading and texture to their work.

Wall Art

We are constantly investing in the site to create an exciting and stimulating environment for our children. Over the October half term, we had three amazing pieces of wall art installed around the school – the scene from the Red Sea is a favourite of many of the children (and staff).

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Recent publicity for a special initiative called ‘Generous God, Generous Disciples’ from the Diocese of Chelmsford has reminded me how generously residents from our villages have given in this past year responding to need. Whether through regular work commitments, volunteering, supporting the housebound, gathering food for foodbanks or in a myriad of informal ways relieving isolation, enriching the lives of colleagues and neighbours, attending to the needs of our natural surroundings so frequently under stress; these small (and not so small) acts of kindness make a difference. Christians are not alone among the faiths in giving as part of our discipleship. We seek not to be consumers but producers when it comes to our collective life. We give to the Church, to charities, to people and organisations. We give our money, our time and our talents. We celebrate the difference our giving makes across our local area and beyond and we reflect on how we can better build a sense of family and encourage mutual support. It can sometimes seem, especially to new residents, that our local organisations have everything sewn up; someone for every ‘job’ with no room for a new face. This most times is far from the case. It is not just the church that continually welcomes newcomers seeking to create opportunities for everyone to play their part locally – no matter how young or old - and from the entire spectrum of human diversity, talent and interests. This New Year, as we seek new resolve in facing the uncertain times ahead, let’s hope our mutual interdependence teaches us afresh the joys of living in community and finding family in the presence of those previously considered strangers. Please do get in touch if you are seeking ways of being involved in local groups and activities and we will endeavour to point you in the right direction. We look forward to hearing from you.

Reverend Hilary

WhatsApp Groups ...

Wickham Bishops no longer has a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator and despite several pleas in this magazine and elsewhere, there has been no volunteer. However, several areas of the village have created a ‘WhatsApp’ group with their immediate neighbours, as this is a way of sending messages and alerts quickly, should an emergency arise or some suspicious activity be observed. There is certainly one for Church Green, and I believe that there is one for the Mope Lane area and one for Wellands. There are probably many more elsewhere in the village. If you do not yet have one for your road, you might consider creating one. At present, there is no ‘linking’ between these groups so that a message originating, say, in the Mope Lane group will not be seen by those in Church Green. To resolve this we can create an overall group comprising just one member of each street group, so that a message in one group can be passed to the co-ordinating group and then onwards to other street groups as appropriate. I see this as a way of circulating urgent information, such as suspicious activity, emergency road closures and, perhaps, missing pets, as quickly as possible. It is NOT a forum for complaining about the neighbours! The residents of Woodham Walter have initiated such a system and they report that it works well. They currently have an issue with motorbikes and quadbikes trespassing on farms and woodland, and an early alert helps their people to gather evidence and deter the miscreants. If you have a local WhatsApp group or intend to start one, please nominate one member to join the co-ordinating group. The person is likely to be your administrator, but it does not have to be so - just any one member of your group. You can either contact me (contact details on page 4) or the Clerk to the Parish Council (contact details on page 24). If this idea is welcomed, I will set up the co-ordinating group. Why not use Facebook? WhatsApp is more immediate and probably used by more residents!

Peter Bates

From the Parish Council … An online general meeting of the Parish Council was held on the 3rd November, and the Finance Committee and Planning Committee met on the 20th November. The minutes of these meetings can be viewed on our website - www.wickhambishopsparishcouncil.org The next general meeting of the Council is scheduled to be held, once again online, on Tuesday 1st December at 7.30 pm and will be available for residents to view on YouTube. The meeting in January is scheduled for Tuesday 4th, again at 7.30 pm and online. Planning Committee meetings will be held, if necessary, on the third Friday of each month. Please check our website for the latest details and agenda. Councillors may be contacted individually, or via the Parish Clerk on 07542 190176, or by email [email protected] The Chairman, Councillors and Clerk wish all parishioners a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year

PARKING AGAINST DROPPED KERBS ...

Concern has been expressed by some residents that vehicles have been parked beside “dropped” kerbs. These areas can be marked by studs on the footway surface, frequently when some way from a junction or in shopping areas, or can be in the same surface covering as the footway, more usually at a junction. They are intended to make it easier for those, for example, with pushchairs or wheelchairs or with mobility problems to cross the road without having to negotiate the step down and up at the kerbside.

It is, in fact, an offence to park in such a way as to obstruct the use of the dropped kerb. Residents are asked to be aware of the existence of dropped kerbs when parking, particularly in The Street near the three shops at Snows Corner, and to park in such a way as to keep the areas clear for pedestrians.

Merry Christmas and Every Blessing for 2021

From the people of St Bartholomew’s & St Nicholas’

Back Words … As I write this, we are at the mid-point of the second ‘lockdown’; by the time that you read it, we will, hopefully, be close to the end. I extend my every sympathy to Rev. Hilary and her team in predicting not only what will be possible for December and the Christmas services but right through to the end of January. One positive side of the situation is how confident many have become with modern technology in a way that seemed unthinkable a year ago. ‘Meeting by Zoom’ is the new norm, not just for the Church but for a number of the clubs in the village, and I am suggesting a village-wide ‘WhatsApp’ group (page 21) to replace the previous Neighbourhood Watch scheme. Until the next issue (in February), may I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Items for the February 2021 magazine should be submitted to the editor by Thursday 14th January 2021 Please send items by email if possible to: [email protected] or place in an envelope marked ‘Parish Magazine’ and deliver to 10 Church Green, Wickham Bishops Priority goes to church events and information connected with Wickham Bishops.

If you would like to place an advert in this magazine please contact John Mason on [email protected] or Tel. 01621 927066

For enquiries regarding distribution of the magazine, please phone Jayne Jennings on 01621 891396

© Wickham Bishops & Little Braxted Parochial Church Council (PCC) Published by the PCC of St Bartholomew Wickham Bishops and St Nicholas Little Braxted. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the PCC nor can the Church guarantee the credentials or performance of any of the advertisers within this publication.