PARISH LIFE M Agazine

PARISH LIFE M agazine

APRIL 2021 50p

Holy Week There will be a service of Night Prayer across The Helm Mission Community at 7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. Details will be sent shortly both to those who would like to engage online and to those who would prefer paper copies. Sarah will be leading the online service on Monday 29th Reopening of church At the time of going to print we are hoping to open the church shortly for some services, while still continuing to zoom services from home for those who prefer. Our current plans are as follows – • Palm Sunday - A Holy Communion service (Common Worship) at 9.30am in church, with a separate zoomed service at 10.30am from home • Maundy Thursday - A Holy Communion service (Common Worship) at 10.30am which will end with the stripping of the altar and the Gospel of the Watch • Good Friday - 3 hours of reflection in church from 12.00 noon to 3.00pm

• Easter Day – A Holy Communion service (Common Worship) at 9.30am in church, with a separate zoomed service at 10.30am from home. • 11th April - A Holy Communion service (Common Worship) at 9.30am in church, with a separate zoomed service at 10.30am from home. We will confirm all these details – or any changes to them - nearer the time by email, post, Twitter, Facebook or word of mouth. We await the government’s next briefing on 12th April before deciding if we can open up the church for additional services on Sundays, our Thursday morning service and our Ministry of Welcome during the week.

Easter will be somewhat different again this year but here is one of Dave Walkers takes on Easter from Church Times a few years ago

2 From the Vicar….

Happy Easter! This feels like a special Easter, an Easter full of hope. Last year we were locked down with a long unknown road ahead. This Easter we are seeing the beginning of the end of the Covid pandemic. All being well in a few weeks time we will be able to return to visiting one another’s homes and meeting family and friends face to face. That is our hope made possible through scientists, medics and vaccines. Humanity is showing what we can achieve if we work together. Many people are hopeful that as we emerge from this dreadful pandemic there will be more working together so that we can tackle other challenges of poverty, discrimination and climate change. We always have reasons for hope in abilities to make things better out of adversity. Our cherished NHS was born out of the horrors of the Second World War. However, human history teaches us that sadly, human beings don’t always make the right choices. Whilst this Easter is full of hope, every Easter is full of a greater hope—one that relies on God and not on us. 2000 years ago Jesus died on a cross outside Jerusalem. On the Sunday following that Friday some of his followers reported that God had raised Jesus from the dead. Over the following weeks many more people witnessed a living Jesus. Throughout Jesus’ ministry he had performed miracles including bringing people back to life from death— Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter and a widow’s son in Nain. Jesus’ resurrection was different. Jesus didn’t come back to life. Jesus was raised to new life. They would each suffer death again. Jesus will not. God raising Jesus opens the way to eternal life for all humanity and all creation. Death is defeated. Suffering has no ultimate power. Jesus is the first of many. Jesus’ resurrection promises hope of new life eternal for all who follow him—life that cannot be extinguished in death, life that can bring change and transformation to our hearts and lives now. New eternal life with God.

3 The hope of freedom from pandemic that we may experience now is nothing compared to the immense riches of hope given to us in Jesus. The promised hope of pandemic release can be seen now in the lives of those vaccinated. This is a little like the promised hope of Jesus’ resurrection life that can be seen now in those who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are not there yet. It is promised to us. That is our Christian hope of freedom in the face of any challenge. The promise of the end of the pandemic relies on human ingenuity. Easter’s hope relies on the goodness, love and grace of God for all of us. Nothing, even death, can overcome that. That’s something worth celebrating every day. Happy Easter!

Mat Rev Mat Ineson Interim Priest-in-Charge [email protected]

HELM MISSION COMMUNITY LENT COURSE It’s been wonderful to meet people from other churches in the Helm Mission Community and share in the Lent Course. Throughout Lent, 50 different households from the 6 churches of our Mission Community met on Zoom using the Lent Course material written by Bishop Emma. Some of us explored that using notes at home. The Lent Course was based on the Sunday readings and gave opportunity to think about how we can live as Christian disciples in our everyday lives. We used the framework from the new refreshed vision for Churches in Cumbria adopted by the Diocese of Carlisle. Follow daily is about learning how to be daily disciples of Jesus. Care Deeply speaks of growing our love for one another and those we are called to serve.

Speak Boldly encourages us to talk about our experiences of faith in Jesus Christ. Tread Gently is a call to increase our environmental awareness and action to reduce our impact on creation. They have been very rich and engaging sessions that have helped us to think about what it means to be a Christian in Kendal at this time. And we’ve met Christians from our partners in the gospel in Kendal URC, the Salvation Army and the parishes of Natland, Old and New Hutton and Crosscrake. I hope that we can continue to grow these relationships as we increasingly work together across the Helm Mission Community. Mat

5 Detached youth work is a model of youth work practice targeted at young people on their territory (streets, parks, open and shared public spaces). Participation is voluntary and engagement is on the terms of the young people. It begins from where young people are in terms of their values, attitudes, issues and ambitions and is concerned with their personal, social and educational development. It is characterised by a wide range of purposeful and intentional interactions between youth workers and young people and guided by youth work outcomes. (youthlinkscotland.org) The proposal for Kendal is to run a pilot project to explore the need for and possibility of a detached youth work team in our town.

Richard Passmore, who is the Director of Mission Innovation and Fresh Expressions for Carlisle Diocese, has volunteered to lead the pilot project and train a team if this project develops. Richard led one of the UK’s largest emerging church projects for young people and spent nine years as the National Community Leader for the Streetspace Project, an initiative of Frontier Youth Trust which now has 58 projects across the UK. Richard lives with his wife, Lori, daughter Indi and Labrador puppy Treacle, on Windemere Rd, Kendal. The aim of the project would be to engage with young people for their personal, social and spiritual development. Network Youth Church leaders in the diocese are all very supportive and keen to see youth work develop in Kendal. Chris Mason, a NYC worker for Windemere Deanery, has offered to partner with us at any stage that this might prove beneficial. The local police are also supportive of this project. Church leaders across Kendal are all keen to see it develop and Mat

6 suggested that KPC own this initiative and provide safeguarding and insurance to make the project viable. The PCC agreed to this last time they met. The team for the pilot project would comprise Richard Passmore, Craig Bentley (Curate at Natland) and Anne Underwood (when needed). The team are all volunteering their time and no one will be paid. Risk assessments will be completed before going out on the streets. If the young people want to engage, the team would need to be developed as an ecumenical project working with people from different churches for whom Richard Passmore will provide training and Janet Thompson will oversee safeguarding. We’ve set up a management group for the team. David Donnison has kindly offered us the benefit of his experience along with Victoria Sekasi, Curate at St Thomas’s (and Network Youth Church youth worker in Ulverston before starting her curacy). The team is due to meet shortly to prepare for going out on the streets as soon as restrictions allow. I’m sure many of you will have heard how many young people have struggled during lockdown, on top of their usual challenges, so we would appreciate any prayer support. If anyone is interesting in supporting this project, I’d love to hear from you and would be happy to update you on a more regular basis. [email protected] Anne Underwood

7 Thank you to Beverley Moore for sending us this article from the Bible Reading Fellowship.

Love and loss in a time of lockdown BRF 2021,brf.org.uk

During 2020 the experience of lockdown has impacted all we do, and in particular caring for loved ones who are terminally ill or grieving those who have passed away. This is Tony Horsfall’s story:

My wife Evelyn had been struggling with a recurrence of breast cancer for over four years when she was eventually told, in February 2020, that her condition was terminal, and she had just months to live. The cancer had spread to her spine, and she quickly deteriorated. We tried to care for her at home, but it became increasingly difficult, so she went into the local hospice. Because of visiting restrictions, I was allowed to go and stay with her. After a week she had improved sufficiently to be transferred to a local care home. Again, I decided to go with her – Evelyn in nursing care and myself as a resident – otherwise I would not have been able to see her. The transition to a care home was a huge shock to the system. It was hot, noisy and full of hustle and bustle. It took us time to adjust, but gradually we got into a routine and had six good weeks together. Evelyn’s condition was deteriorating daily, and it was painful to watch. She needed a hoist to get her out of bed, and was slowly losing control of her bodily functions, a huge loss of dignity. We were aware of the risk of coronavirus in such a setting, but it was a risk we had to take. We both caught the virus. Surprisingly, Evelyn recovered fairly quickly, but my condition worsened, and I ended up in intensive care. A lonely and frightening place

As I fought for my life, I thought I would never see Evelyn again. Intensive care was a lonely and frightening place. No visitors were allowed; you

8 were on your own. Across the room from me, two other patients were on ventilators. I cried to God, ‘Lord, don’t let me have to go on a ventilator.’ A stream of prayer was going up for us, and with this and the medical care, I began to recover. After two weeks, I was allowed to return home, but not to the care home. One of the hardest things I have ever done

I was physically very weak, but what hurt the most was that I could no longer be with Evelyn. We had an occasional phone call, which was far from satisfactory, and soon she began to be confused. One afternoon the home called me because Evelyn was disturbed and wanted to come home. They asked me to reassure her that she was in the right place. Patiently, with tears rolling down my cheeks, I explained to her why we had taken the decision for her to be in care, and she calmed and seemed to understand. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I began to feel guilty that I was at home and recovering while Evelyn was still in the care home and struggling by herself. I could be with our family, and see the grandchildren, but she was denied that pleasure. I felt I had let her down, that I had failed, since my aim had been to be with her to the end. Fortunately, God spoke a word to me: ‘She was mine long before she was yours and I won’t abandon her now,’ he said. That lifted my despair, and I began to entrust her to the care of her heavenly Father. After a month of separation, we were allowed into the care home to see her as she neared the end. It was a healing time, even if a painful one. I was able to sit with her, hold her hand, feed her sips of water, give her a little food to eat and pray with her. Slowly she slipped away. Her last words were, ‘Thank you, Jesus. You led me all the way.’ We held a thanksgiving service for her life over Zoom, which was strange but enabled friends from all over the world to take part and mourn her passing. Then we had a service at the graveside, when about 70 attended, socially distanced. It was a moving tribute to her life lived for Christ from

9 being a young girl. Grieving has not been easy during lockdown. I have missed seeing friends, being hugged, having the chance to share memories of Evelyn. When you most need your friends, they are not able to visit you. I have had to learn how to cook for myself, do the shopping and manage the house and garden. I have found eating alone especially difficult. During the dark nights and cold winter months of January and February, I felt acutely alone. Happily, now that spring is on the way my mood has lightened, but it is still not easy. Looking back, although it was a traumatic time, I can see how much God helped us. Our story is a story of love, the love we had for each other after 46 years of marriage. But also, the story of God’s love, from which nothing can separate us. Time and again, he has comforted me through scripture, worship songs, acts of kindness and amazing provision. It is a story of the love of friends – those who prayed in tears, sent cards and flowers, wrote letters of encouragement, shared our journey. It is also a story of the love of strangers – of those health-service professionals who cared for us, showed us kindness and went beyond the call of duty. Perhaps this is the great gift to the world from the pandemic – the reminder that love is the most important thing of all.

Tony Horsfall (pictured with his wife Evelyn) is one of BRF’s best-loved authors. He is also a retreat giver, spiritual mentor and friend. Tony is a regular contributor to BRF’s Bible readings notes, including New Daylight and Bible Reflections for Older People, and has written numerous books including Mentoring Conversations, Spiritual Growth in a Time of Change, Resilience in Life and Faith (with Debbie Hawker) and Deep Calls to Deep..

Congratulations to Lucy Foster on her new appointment! Lucy will be working one day a week in her new role and will have quite a title!: SSM Assistant Curate (in training) in the Benefice of Crosscrake and the Benefice of Kendal Holy Trinity and the Helm Mission Community We are very glad that we will still see her at KPC! Lucy will also continue her job as Pioneer and Development Worker for our Mission Community partners at Kendal United Reformed Church. Let’s pray for Lucy—and for Sarah and Anita, who are all working hard to complete their training in preparation for new ministries. We thank God for them all.

SUNDAY LUNCH WHEN COVID RULES ALLOW?? The Lent Group meetings have allowed me to listen and learn from others especially in the breakout room sessions. Many issues have come to light from the weekly themes set by Bishop Emma. All very helpful. This week was Care Deeply and one aspect that was addressed was loneliness...even within the Church. Some people are very much on their own but cope well with their situation whereas others feel the isolation and would welcome more companionship especially on Sundays when families get together with each other.

I have been wondering about a post-Service lunch either at someone’s home or at a venue in town, for those who feel on their own. I would be happy for my home to be a venue or to meet somewhere. This would only be able to happen once Covid regulations allow, of course. Just an idea I am putting forward. If anyone has any thoughts about this or would be interested in the idea, please contact the Church Office. Val Cawood 11 KPC – A SELECTED CHRONOLOGY

Our wonderful churchwardens have recently been sorting and cataloguing a lot of historical paperwork, a thankless job but one which now and again has thrown up some priceless gems, both interesting and amusing. Among these documents I found a small booklet (cost 1 shilling!) about the church history, written some 60 or more years ago by a former vicar, J.R. Lee Nicholls. In it are listed some “highlights” from the church registers for years past and they include the following entries – 1189 – a large number of inhabitants of Kendal who had fled to the church for protection were put to death by the Scotch Army under Duncan, Earl of Fife. 1541 – the Parish of Kendal was transferred from the Diocese of York to the Diocese of Chester. 1661 – the tower was in ruins. It was repaired and raised to its current height. 1664 - a man was paid for varnishing a new Censer for church use (a censer is an incense burner). 18th October 1664 – ‘The general meeting of the churchwardens doth order that George Wilkinson shall keep the clock and chime in better order and shall keep swine out of the churchyard and shall whip ye dogs out of the church in times of Divine service and Sermon and remove the dunghill at the stable door which opens into ye churchyard; and shall reform all abuses……’ 11th Sept 1671 – the river swept over the churchyard wall and ‘it left much fish’! 1745 – the Scottish Army marched through Westmorland. It halted at Kendal over the Sabbath and attended divine service in the parish church.

1762 – During a violent storm in February some of the lead was torn from the roof and fell into the church at the time of a service on Sunday . The congregation left in confusion. In the following month one of the tower pinnacles fell and broke a woman’s leg. In consequence the 8 pinnacles were reduced in height by more than one half. 1767 – During the service the congregation were terrified by an earthquake shock. 1775 – the whole of the Communion Plate was stolen and was never recovered. The Box in which they were contained was returned to the church in 1942.

1822 – Thomas Scarisbrick was appointed organist at the age of 17 (he served for 47 years!). 1850 – the great restoration began this year and the church was closed for two years. A hot water apparatus was installed in place of nine iron stoves. 1855 – the churchyard was finally closed for burials. 1856 – the Parish of Kendal was transferred to the Diocese of Carlisle.

1869 – the church was lighted with gas. Hitherto it has been lighted with candles. 1924 – electric light was installed.

13 1934 – the chancel was extended by removing the altar rails a few feet westwards; the Parr Chapel was furnished and the altar consecrated by the Bishop of Carlisle; the pews at the east end of the outer north aisle were removed; the vestry building was completed and dedicated by the Bishop of Carlisle. 1954 – extensive repairs were begun on the roof. 1960 – the roof restoration was completed. Work has begun on restoring the rest of the church. These are just a selection of entries. Who’d have thought that the history of KPC could be so interesting! Ashley

Just a sample of the 320 crosses that our 18 knitters have been busy creating over the past weeks. Again we have been supported by friends, neighbours and family members and I am at present awaiting a final postal delivery from Janet Henderson's sister and niece in Wimbledon. The crosses will be distributed to residents of local care homes in time for Easter. This initiative comes from our Anna Chaplain, Beverley Moore, who has involved other churches in Kendal to be a part of this project. Dot Yates

14 Recipes from Rosie...(Parish Wife!) Cornflake Flapjack

I have chosen a new favourite flapjack recipe this month. It is incredibly more-ish, so the recipe comes with a health warning...once smitten you will want to make more! This version includes cornflakes which are a delicious addition. I have tried this with dark brown sugar but it doesn’t work as well as it does with the light brown sugar. I usually make double quantity for my (growing) family as it goes so quickly!

Ingredients: 8oz butter 2 tbsp golden syrup 8oz soft brown sugar (light is best) 4oz self-raising flour 4oz porridge oats 6oz crushed cornflakes

Line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. In a pan, melt the butter and syrup then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and press into the tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes until just golden in colour...no more otherwise it becomes too hard. Cut into squares as it is cooling. Enjoy! : Rosie Lloyd

Ed. Note: The title was accidentally omitted from last month’s recipe. It was for Toffee Loaf.

15 SOME COSTS FROM 1880 & 1881 FOR KENDAL PARISH CHURCH (more gems from the safe!)

£ s d 3 0 0 18 bottles of choice port 5 0 Bread for sacrament during the year

2 15 0 Attendance to clock for 55 weeks at 1d per week 1 17 6 Received for cleaning church at 7s 6d per week 7 10 0 Half year’s salary as choirmaster 2 17 6 Half year payment to each chorister

26 10 0 One year payment for ringing 8 bells at 1s 3d per week 10 0 0 Annual salary of Parish Clerk 12 0 Received for 26 Sunday services Organ Blower 9 8 Washing choir surplices, material & buttons 4 0 Washing clergy surplices 3 6 Repairing surplices, material & buttons

3 0 Soft soap, soda & polishing paste for church cleaning 2 6 Oil can & oil for locks & organ

1 6 Salt for church yard during frost 1 8 2 thermometers for inside church 5 6 3 Cinders for January at 9d per cwt 6 Repair & fix long brush sticks 16 £ s d 2 2 0 Tea pot & cream jug 1 0 Shovel for vestry 1 6 Candles for vestry & oil 4 0 Firewood for vestry

Cinders were presumably for heating. They were supplied by the Kendal Union Gas Water Company who supplied cinders, gas and water to the church. In January there were a total of 9 deliveries with each delivery around 16cwt.

The amount shown above for washing the choir and clergy surplices was charged 8 times a year. The repair was an annual amount. The Organ Blower was a person who had to manually pump air into the organ, otherwise there would be no sound! Some explanations for the younger reader: Currency in the UK was in pounds, shillings and pence (£ s and d) until 1971. There were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. Cwt is an abbreviation for the hundredweight which was approximately 50kg. Dot Yates An interesting opportunity!.... I am planning to step down from editing KPC magazine as my family have moved far away and I’m going to be away a lot more. Editing the magazine for the last 3 years has been very enjoyable. Stephen Lockwood and I work flexibly, each editing 5 magazines a year and the office is enormously helpful with queries plus they print it out and a small team collate it and distribute the copies. Might you become the next editor?? I would be happy to have a chat about what is involved and can be contacted via the Church office. Sue Charnley

17 From the Registers Funeral 9th March Frederick Sydney Roe (“Syd”)

Would you like us to pray for you or for someone you are concerned about? Please text just the first name(s) of those you’d like us to pray for—or leave a voicemail message—on 07942 617718 ...no need to tell us any details but if you would like to talk to someone about the situation, call Margaret on 01539 720243 ‘Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11.28

Thank you very much to all who have contributed to this magazine. We would love to include your articles, notices, funny stories etc in future magazines. Do let us know if you would like any help or advice with articles. Please email items to [email protected] - we need to receive them by 15th of the month before publication. Stephen Lockwood and Sue Charnley, Editors

18 Church Office Monday-Friday 9.00am-12.00noon 721248 Website www.kendalparishchurch.co.uk Email [email protected] Address Kirkland, Kendal LA9 5AF Priest-in-Charge Revd Mat Ineson via Church Office Parish Hall bookings Diane & Janet via Church Office or email: [email protected]

19 Kendal’s oldest building, one of England’s widest churches.