Parish News June 2021
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Parish News June 2021 MONTHLY MAGAZINE for the people of Ashburton, Bickington & Buckland-in-the-Moor THE BENEFICE OF ASHBURTON, BICKINGTON, BUCKLAND IN THE MOOR, HOLNE, HUCCABY, LEUSDON, POSTBRIDGE, AND WIDECOMBE-IN-THE-MOOR The Ministry Team Website: ashbbrtonandmoor.org.uk Team Rector: Rt. Rev’d. Mark Rylands Tel: 01364 716309 Email: [email protected] Team Vicar: Rev’d. Geoffrey Fenton Tel: 01364 621334 email: [email protected] Mission & Development Heidi Lewis Mob: 07759578941 Worker: Email: [email protected] Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals please contact the Team Rector THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW, ASHBURTON THE CHURCH OF ST. PETER, BUCKLAND-IN-THE-MOOR THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, BICKINGTON CORONAVIRUS - COVID 19 UPDATE Please also be aware, the Church of England has issued guidance - face coverings are mandatory when attending church services (some exemptions apply). If you feel unable to wear a face covering, please let one of our team know, but remember you are very welcome. BENEFICE OFFICE: St. Andrew’s Church Hall, West Street, Ashburton, TQ13 7DT Team Administrator Tel: 01364 654280 24hr Answerphone Opening Times: Tues, Wed & Friday 9am-3pm e-mail: [email protected] PARISH OFFICE: Lorna Harvey Room, St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Parish Secretary, email: [email protected] CHURCH WEBSITE Diocese of Exeter www.exeter.anglican.org SAFEGUARDING OFFICER Judith Southcombe, 01364 621520 2 From our Mission & Development Worker, Heidi Lewis June 2021 May 31st is the ‘Festival of the Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth’ – and (as those of you who listen well in church during the Advent season will know) this marks the occasion when Mary, Jesus’ mother, visited her cousin Elizabeth. What was a little unusual about this meeting is that both women were pregnant in ‘unusual circumstances’. The bible tells us that the Elizabeth’s baby ‘jumped in the womb’ in recognition of the baby that Mary carried and that Elizabeth then blessed both Mary and her baby. Mary then responds with the well-known ‘Magnificat’. And there, I have a problem. ‘Magnificat’. What a bizarre word. Why not just call it a ‘song of praise’? Because that is what it is. Church is brilliant at using ‘weird’ words and phrases – here are few of my favourites: Eucharist Liturgy Collect – although, that depends on how you pronounce it. Apocrypha Exegesis Hermeneutics Transubstantiation “Washed in the blood of the Lamb” – simple words that create a very odd mental image if you aren’t already familiar with the metaphor. While I was a teacher some of my favourite ‘weird words and phrases’ included: Zone of proximal development and EQ (as opposed to IQ) – but admittedly, that’s mostly because to say ‘EQ’ sounds like a sneeze. And of course, there were the endless acronyms – SEND, SOW, TAC and CiN to name a few. 3 Doing a music degree was no different – Golden Section; tone poem; fugue and canon… But – a word of warning - a ‘canon’ in music shouldn’t be confused with a ‘Canon’ in church, nor indeed with a ‘cannon’. Although, you could have a Canon playing a canon on a cannon. But that’s a story for another time. Every profession has its own specific, technical language to describe the work it does - words that those who are ‘on the inside’ of that profession understand. And Church is no different. The only problem here is that the church’s main task is to share the faith with those are not ‘inside’ the church and using church specific language can become a barrier – even simply saying ‘I’ll meet you in the Nave just before the service’ would cause confusion if someone had never encountered the word ‘nave’ before. To be honest, I’ve grown up in church and I’m not 100% sure which bit is the Nave. ‘Welcome’ in church is about far more than having a happy smile and a cheery greeting – let’s make sure that the words we use reflect the welcome we extend. Heidi EDITORIAL The Bible Reading in this month’s magazine took me right back to childhood. It was my favourite parable, probably because it was something I understood. I remembered going from School to Church for occasional services, walking in a “crocodile line”. There was a strict rule of “No Talking” after we entered the Churchyard. This clever ploy came in useful years later, when taking the Brownie Pack to Church Services. There was always a feeling of belonging, feeling confident and caring. At the end of each Term we were visited by the Chairman of the Governors He used to write a sum on the blackboard and we filled in the numbers which always added up to the already written total. To this day I don’t understand how he did it! Hopefully, today’s children will also fondly remember their early schooling, despite the wretched virus. Believe it or not, while I was writing this last sentence, I heard voices outside. Glancing out of the window, I saw several young children were coming home from school. As they walked, they chattered happily nineteen to the dozen while their mothers listened and smiled. I think that answered my worry. Keep safe. Judith 4 Happy Birthday to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, May her Birthday be as Wonderful as she is! REGISTER ENTRIES for 2021 from Ashburton, Buckland & Bickington Funeral 20 May 2021 St. Andrew’s Church, Ashburton Isabella DESLANDES 24 May 2021 St. Andrew’s Church, Ashburton William Henry SPRY General Note: We make every effort to ensure that information contained in this magazine is accurate at the time of printing. Please be aware that changes may occur later. Editor 5 Bible Readings for June The Reading is taken from St. Mark’s Gospel Chapter 4, verses 26—34 The Parable of the Growing Seed He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” The Parable of the Mustard Seed Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. 6 ARCHAEOLOGY IN ST ANDREW’S CHURCHYARD. The Hospitality and Welcoming Group of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) have suggested a range of proposals, the first two of which to be taken forward are – A limited number of new burial spaces located where there is a redundant footpath running south east from the Church, which has been fenced off at the churchyard boundary for many years. The churchyard has no further space for burials and this short term proposal will allow new burials while the Town Council seek another burial site. A simple to operate projection system in the Church. At a later date a new sound system and streaming system will be installed linked to the projection system. Both of these are being put forward in the immediate future, for approval to the Exeter Diocese, Diocesan Advisory Committee, by means of what is termed a Faculty Application. This short article concentrates on the archaeological finds in the area proposed for a limited number of new burial spaces – A first step in the approval process with the Diocese was to have an archaeological investigation undertaken. This was carried out in March this year by Oakford Archaeology and special thanks goes to John Allen, who lives in Ashburton, for carrying out all the excavation of three trail pits during bitterly cold weather. The excavations showed that there was not a previous cobbled path beneath (which was thought a possibility) and that there were extensive charnel soils which showed that the path had been built over previous very early inhumations. There were a limited number of finds of interest. These included– 12 sherds recovered consisted of 2 sherds of Exeter fabric 40 dating to between 1250-1550; a single fragment of inlaid floor-tile with circle and dots decoration dating to the 14th century; 2 sherds of Totnes type courseware dating to the 15th-16th century; 6 fragments of Totnes type ridge tile also dating to the 15th-16th century; a sherd of Frechen stoneware, a German import from the Rhineland, dating to the late 16th or early 17th century. Two 18th century clay pipe stems and a single sherd of industrial redware of the 19th century. The most interesting find was a single coin dating to the mid-late 16th century. This was an Elizabeth I hammered silver penny, 14mm diameter. This had a slight blackish patination and was fairly worn, suggesting it might have been in circulation for a long time. This coin was possibly part of the fourth issue (1578-82). Other limited later finds suggest that the present path was laid sometime in the early-mid 19th century. These finds will be exhibited in the Church in the near future.