Lillington Parish Magazine St Mary Magdalene’s Church

Welcome!

Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Proverbs 3:23-24

SEPTEMBER 2013

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Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5: 19-20)

As summer draws to a close and we enter the season of autumn it feels like a real time of thanksgiving. Maybe you want to give thanks to God for a lovely summer holiday, for weddings, for friends and family or for new beginnings as you go to school, college or university. Looking ahead to October we give thanks at Harvest Festival on 6th October for the food that we have in such plenty in this country.

In his letter to the Ephesians St. Paul encourages us all to live our lives in an attitude of thankfulness. This is a discipline and requires effort. Sometimes I will catch myself in the middle of a great long moan about something, and have to make myself stop. If you’re feeling grouchy for no good reason, try smiling - the physical act of smiling makes you feel more cheerful whether you want to or not.

But living lives of thankfulness doesn’t mean that we should just ignore our sufferings or the suffering of others and say they don’t matter. I’m not saying that we should be mindlessly cheerful all the time. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. Sometimes people will be almost ashamed about talking to me about their troubles, say they mustn’t grumble and imply that their sufferings are too small to be of value compared to other people’s. That is not true. All of our struggles and sufferings matter to God, however small they are. But St. Paul understood that if we can learn to be positive and thankful during the good times, then that will help to sustain us through the bad times. He was in prison when he wrote to the Ephesians. Being thankful didn’t diminish his hardship, but it did help him to endure it.

So I want to set us all a challenge. A challenge to be thankful. To make the effort to see the positive in a situation rather than the downside. To stop ourselves when we start moaning and give thanks instead. And I think that if we can do that, we’ll discover that whatever life may bring, it will be the better for having consciously tried to live it in an attitude of thankfulness.

Heavenly Father We give you thanks for all your blessings. Help us to live our lives with thankful hearts, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lived and died for us. Amen.

Rev Charlotte Gale, September 2013

FOOD BANK UPDATE

As you will know, Food Banks are now up and running in Warwick and Leamington. The majority of the food required is coming from supermarket collections. However, from time to time, certain specified items may run short, and when this happens churches will be alerted and asked to contribute these items for a limited time. So keep watching the handout for any specific items needed, to see how we can help as a church.

If you are interested in finding out more, and the possibility of volunteering in many ways visit their website http://warwickandleamington.foodbank.org.uk/

As is our tradition gifts at Harvest Festival will follow the usual pattern, being distributed locally and to The Leamington Christian Mission. The Salvation Army is one of the Food Bank centres which will cover food parcels, but this year they will be most grateful for tea, coffee, cereals etc.

The CARE Group

RIDE AND STRIDE

The annual cycle ride/walk for Coventry & Warwickshire History Churches Trust is on Saturday 14 September. If you can help for an hour that day, welcoming visitors, offering refreshments and signing sheets, please sign up on the sheet on the Welcome table in Church. Roderick Clark will be ‘striding’ and welcomes sponsorship - see Anne (8.00 am) or Glyn (9.30 & 6.30) or contact the Office: all monies raised shared equally between this church and the Trust.

FROM THE CHURCH RECORDS

BAPTISMS June 23 Emmeline Lavender Kate Millward-Boyton Gilbert Andrew Maurice Millward-Boyton June 30 Moray Archie Malcolm-Pearson Arran Lewis Malcolm-Pearson Ailsa Grace Scotcher Kirsty May Scotcher July 7 Monty James Michael Dixon July 14 George Thomas Saunders Annabel Valentina Johnson July 21 Alice May Kirk-Wilson WEDDINGS June 1 Jamie Rye and Jennifer Ashwell July 13 Timothy Wright and Hilary Cremin FUNERALS June 6 Edith Mary Bennett (93) June 7 Carol Ann Butler (65) June 10 Stella Marjorie Anderson (96) June 17 Georgina Vera Spiers (91) June 25 John Bernard Darrington July 11 Joseph Gerald Connor (84) July 15 Joan Luese Jones (92)

SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING ON SUNDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER 6.30pm

The great success of Lillington Community Fun Day on Saturday 27th July leaves us much to give thanks for. We all enjoyed a really splendid afternoon of fun in the sunshine and our Lord answered prayers to hold off the rain until the event was over.

Please come along to a special service of Thanksgiving for this day, and join in with the other Lillington churches to worship and praise together. Lillington Parish Church - St Mary Magdalene's is proud to be hosting the service this year.

We look forward to seeing you there at 6.30pm on Sunday 22nd September.

AUTUMN ORGAN RECITALS 2013

Wednesday evenings at 7.30 pm at St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Lillington

September 4th Peter Summers Concert Recitalist

September 11th by Adrian Moore Organist of Holy Trinity, Leamington Spa

September 18th by Colin Druce Concert Recitalist

September 25th John Wilderspin Organist for Voluntary Choir at Worcester Cathedral

Recitals are for approx 40 minutes

ANNIVERSARY RECITAL

by Mike King Musical Director at Lillington Parish Church

Saturday October 5th at 7.30 pm

Wine and cheese will be served during the interval

Entrance to all recitals is free Donations are invited for the organ fund

WARDENS' WORDS

Hello friends and neighbours,

Haven't we had a lovely summer? I'm writing this on August 14th, so I guess by the time you read this we may have had some grey skies and serious rain, but, for the time being .....

My mind has turned to words again, and how they either sit together comfortably, or not!

I do hope that you have recently experienced some of the following harmonious couplings. Happy couple, sweet peas, crusty bread, blue sky (whether or not you thought about it!), elegant spire, majestic eagle and comical clowns. The adjectives just blend so beautifully with their noun, don't they?

But how about these? Hot ice-cream, spiky feathers, ugly roses, rough diamond (not so clear-cut!), and horror of horrors - COLLAPSIBLE BOAT!

Yes folks, that's the latest item I have had to get my head around. Alan bought it from a chap in Warsash, and it is, I have to admit, rather good. Made of wooden clinkers and lined with a thick waterproof membrane, it makes a great little rowing boat which can be folded up to the size of a trestle table and transported on your car roof-rack pretty easily. O ye of little faith! To me 'collapsible' and 'boat' just didn't fit into the same sentence. But, you learn something new every day ....

Talking of 'faith', how about 'blind faith'? Oh no, I feel a sermon coming on....

My love and best wishes to you all, as the 'ember' months are now upon us,

Glyn Wright, Churchwarden

Editors Note: ‘Perfect Crosstalk’ is another mismatched pairing. I am always pleased (!) when readers point out errors - may you continue to do so!!

SERVICE OF PRAYERS

FOR HEALING AND WHOLENESS

Sunday 29 September at 6.30 pm in church

A special evening service of restful quiet and reflection, of prayers for healing and wholeness, both for ourselves and for those people and situations on our hearts, with the laying on of hands and anointing, and a blessing at the end of the day.

John Vallis

JOHN VALLIS has now moved to Arden House, 19 Clarendon Square, Leamington Spa, and looks forward to friends from church calling in for a visit.

From a Church Newsletter - Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands!

CONFIRMATION COURSE

This autumn we plan to run a confirmation course on Tuesday evenings during October and November, concluding with the confirmation service at towards the end of November. Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey at which you affirm for yourself the faith into which you have been baptized and your intention to live a life of committed discipleship. For many of us, we were confirmed as teenagers, and confirmation was also the point at which we started receiving Holy Communion. For others, who have come to faith later in life, or returned to church after a time away, it is a way of publically showing their desire to follow Christ and serve his church. A Bishop leads the confirmation service and each person is prayed for with the laying on of hands by the confirming bishop. The Church also asks God to give you power through the Holy Spirit to enable you to live in the way of Jesus. If you think you might like to be confirmed, please have a word with me. If you are uncertain about whether it’s the right thing for you, then you are welcome to come along to the course and make a final decision nearer the time. Or why not chat to one of our church members that have been confirmed in recent years. I’d be happy to let you know who they are!

Rev Charlotte Gale, August 2013

From a Church Newsletter - For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a children’s corner in church!

Lillington Community Fun Day I want to say a heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone for your help with the Lillington Community Fun Day. From the five contributing churches St Mary Magdalene's church congregations had over 30 volunteers working to make the event a real success. This was both before, during and after the actual day.

Your support was so very much appreciated. I am very proud of you all and your love for the Lillington Community! Christine Butler

Baptism We would like to give thanks for the Baptism of their Grandson, Elliot Charles Butler on Sunday 25th August 2013 at The Church of Saint Michael, Trusham, Devon. Thank you for all your prayers of support. John and Christine Butler

Ann Hyslop Ann wishes to thank the congregation for their prayers, good wishes, gifts, cards and visits during her stays at Warwick Hospital and the Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital. At the time of writing Ann is gradually recovering from a Stroke which has disabled her right arm and leg. The staff at the hospital cannot give any indication as to when she will be well enough to be discharged from hospital but she is going through intense physiotherapy and occupational therapy which should eventually lead to her returning home. Thank you for all your good wishes Michael Hyslop

Myton Hospice Many thanks to everyone who supported the Charity Quiz in July to celebrate my retirement. Thanks also to Lillington Social Club for a great venue and their support.

A total of £481 was raised for Myton Hospice. Carol Innes

MY GENERAL SYNOD ADVENTURE! Rev Charlotte Gale

In July this year, I was elected onto the General Synod of the . The General Synod is like the parliament of the Church of England, and makes decisions that affect all of us at a local level. It is made up of just fewer than 500 people – Bishops, Clergy and Laity. Each diocese has representatives on the Synod. The Bishop of Coventry is on automatically, and then our diocese has six elected representatives, three laity and three clergy. I am now one of our three clergy reps.

I was elected at a by-election, so have joined the synod in the middle of a parliament, and within a week of being elected I was packing my bags and heading to York University for my first group of sessions. The following is a brief diary of what I got up to…

Friday 5th July I headed to York mid-morning, wanting to get there in plenty of time, so I could find out how everything works and get my all- important security pass. You can’t get into the debating chamber without it. Everyone is staying on the university campus and I found my room in one of the large accommodation blocks, just a few minutes from the lecture hall where most of the action takes place. All our meals are provided in a large dining hall, so everything is pretty straightforward. By 4 pm I’d managed to take my stuff to my room, find somewhere to park the car, get my security pass and work out how the electronic voting devices work. Not a bad start.

The first session is from 4.15 pm – 6.15 pm, and includes a welcome to all new members. I think I am probably the newest! After a few legal bits and pieces, the highlight of the session is the Presidential Address by the Archbishop of Canterbury. I thought he was brilliant. Really encouraging but also very inspiring.

After a break for dinner, we were back in the hall for the second session from 8.30 – 10.00 pm. This was for ‘questions’. Anyone can submit a question about any aspect of the work of the Synod and the Chairs of the various committees are on hand to answer

them. Much more interesting than it sounds, and something of a crash course for me on the diversity of the work of the Synod. After we finished people headed off to lots of fringe meetings, discussing any number of aspects of church life (for example, I spotted one about the setting up of Credit Unions), or to the bar! Quite late to bed…

Saturday 6th July An early start with Communion at 7.30 am. Then breakfast, then a very different day for Synod. Instead of the usual debates in the hall, we were all split in small groups to take part in facilitated discussions about the Women Bishops issue. This was the first time the Synod had met since it narrowly failed to pass the legislation to allow women to become Bishops in November 2012. People were still pretty shell shocked and very unsure of how to move forward. The idea of the groups was to get people of differing views properly talking to one another and hearing directly how they felt and what their hopes for the future are. It was quite a hard day – not least as the rooms we were meeting in were increasingly hot and airless. It was emotionally draining and quite challenging, but also, I thought an important and profound experience. I got the sense as a newcomer that people were really hearing each other for the first time. There was a very strong feeling that they should have done an exercise such as this a lot earlier in the process. We came together mid-afternoon for some feedback, before a well-earned break for dinner.

The evening session was entitled ‘Progress on Meeting Challenges for the Quinquennium’. The quinquennium is the five year period of this Synod and the challenges it set itself are: Making Disciples, Transforming Ministry and Serving the Common Good. We began with an excellent presentation from the Bishop of Sheffield about all the exciting things happening in the church across the country. This was followed up by lots of people sharing their own stories of new life and growth. A really good way to end a challenging day. After we finished at 10 pm, I found my way to a quiz being held by the Open Synod Group in aid of Christian Aid. It was the hardest quiz I have ever taken part in! There were just three rounds – Coronations, English Rivers and Music and Countries. Our team didn’t get many answers right, but there was a lot of laughter, the wine freely flowed, and a lot of money was raised. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

HELEN WALLAM’S

Friendship

When we return to school at the end of our summer break, one of the things we look forward to most is seeing our friends again.

Jesus and his disciples were true friends. They were loyal and forgave each other’s faults. They supported and encouraged each other and listened carefully whenever Jesus talked to them. Jesus led by example and he wanted his friends to do the same, so that others would follow his example too. Jesus’ disciples were his closest friends. Jesus told his disciples to ‘become fishers of men’ and that is what they did.

By setting a good example to our friends, we are behaving as Jesus wants us to too.

You will need: Scissors, 6 metal paper clips, a pencil, and an A4 piece of card 2 small magnets 2 pieces of string (approximately 12cm each) 2 wooden sticks (approximately 15cm each)

Instructions:

Cut out the fish template and draw 6 fishes on the piece of card. Cut out and decorate each fish and attach a metal paper clip to the end of each one. For the fishing rods, attach the small magnet to the piece of string and tie the string onto the edge of the wooden stick. Make two of these fishing rods. Spread the fish out and see how many you and your friend can pick up one minute.

   

WHAT’S ON

SEPTEMBER 2013 Sat 7th 09:30 Walkers Group meets outside Church. Contact Roderick Clarke 422994 Mon 9th 19:45 Lillington Evening Women’s Institute (Octagon) - Speaker from Federation House ‘History of the WI’ Thurs 12th 19:30 Lillington Evening Townswomen Guild, (Lime Avenue Bowling Club) - “A Policeman’s Lot” (Alan Rogers) Sat 14th 9:00 - Ride & Stride - Coventry & Warwickshire 17:00 Historic Churches Trust (see p. 2) Tues 24th 14:00 Tea & Chat in the Octagon.

OCTOBER 2013 Sat 5th 9:30 Walkers Group meets outside Church. Contact Bob Cooke 315890 Sat 5th 19:30 Anniversary Organ Recital in Church with Mike King Thurs 10th 19:30 Lillington Evening Townswomen Guild, (Lime Avenue Bowling Club) - “Marie Lloyd - Musical Entertainment” (Lisa Jane Smith) Mon 14th 19:45 Lillington Evening Women’s Institute (Octagon) - ‘The Shazam Show: the Trivia drug’ (Mr R Hemming) Tues 29th 14:00 Tea & Chat in the Octagon.

THE CHURCH OFFICE

The office is open Monday to Thursday 9.00 am till 1.00 pm During these hours the church may be used for private prayer - please use the office entrance.

For Baptism, Weddings and general enquiries please contact the church office (01926 470449). Outside of office hours please leave a message on the answer phone and we will get back to you.

SERVICE DETAILS

SUNDAY WORSHIP - SEPTEMBER 2013

08:00 Holy Communion Sept 1 Trinity 14 09:30 Morning Praise with Sunday Club* 18:30 Evensong 08:00 Holy Communion Sept 8 Trinity 15 09:30 Holy Communion with Sunday Club* 08:00 Holy Communion Sept 15 Trinity 16 09:30 Holy Communion with Sunday Club 18:30 Evensong 08:00 Holy Communion Holy Communion with Prayers for 09:30 Sept 22 Trinity 17 healing and Sunday Club* Community Fun Day Thanksgiving 18:30 Service Sept 29 Trinity 18 08:00 Holy Communion (BCP) 09:30 Holy Communion with Sunday Club* 11:15 Baptism Service 18:30 Service of Prayers for Healing and Wholeness

*SUNDAY CLUB For children of all ages up to 10 years during School Term time. Children join the main 09:30 service at the beginning and the end, and leave for a 30 minutes Sunday School session which has a range of age appropriate activities

WEEKDAY WORSHIP

See article on page 16 regarding Tuesday Morning Communion Services

Tuesday 24 September 13:30 Holy Communion

CONTACTS

Church Office Anne Furze ...... 470449 [email protected] in Charge Rev Charlotte Gale ...... 330919...... (Day off Friday) Associate Minister Rev Naomi Nixon ...... 330919...... Reader Roderick Clark ...... 422994 Churchwarden John Butler ...... 779455 Churchwarden Glynis Wright ...... 773786 PCC Secretary Alan Wright ...... 773786 PCC Treasurer Janet Gardner ...... 428163 [email protected] Stewardship Mike Hyslop ...... 883808 Secretary Caretaker Contact Glynis Wright ...... 773786...... Organist/Choirmast Mike King ...... 409062 .. er Bell Ringers Richard Taulbut ...... 450977 Servers John Green ...... 470449 Flower Guild Wendy Shear ...... 330825 Octagon Secretary Kate Baker ...... 425789 [email protected] Safeguarding Carol Innes ...... 07758 Officer 857740 Sunday Club Church Office ...... 470449 Walkers Group Jeff Burgess ...... 335129 Website Manager Diana Taulbut ...... 450977 [email protected] Crosstalk Editor Robin Innes ...... 831649 [email protected] Crosstalk Jeff Arnold ...... 632330 . Distribution

A reminder: Please make Cheques payable to Lillington PCC

DEADLINE Copy for the October 2013 edition is required by 12th September to Robin Innes (Editor) or to Anne Furze in the Church Office

TUESDAY MORNING COMMUNION

As a church community, it has been wonderful to see so much growth and new life in recent years. The Community Fun Day, our weekly parent and toddler group and the After School Bible Club are just some of the exciting new ventures we have taken on. These have led to lots of new people in church – of all ages. Sunday Club is growing fast, and our monthly communion service prior to Tea and Chat has been very well received and has seen considerable growth in recent months.

However, alongside nurturing the new, we also need to be reviewing that which has been part of our church life for many years, and seeing whether it is still the right thing for the here and now. As part of that process, after much thought and prayer, it has been decided to end the weekly communion services on Tuesday mornings.

The PCC and Worship Group have been talking about the continuation of this service for some years now, and agreed that in principle it could stop. However, I have been reluctant to make the decision as it is for a few people a much valued service. However, since Rev Graham’s departure it has become harder and harder for me to provide the service each week, and looking at my diary for this autumn, it was clear that the time had come to call it a day. The numbers attending the service have steadily declined over the time I have been here, and talking to people who might like to attend a mid-week communion, 9.30 am just isn’t a time that suits. The afternoon communion service at 1.30 pm on the last Tuesday of each month, prior to Tea and Chat, will continue, and I hope that those who attend the morning service will join us in the afternoon once a month instead.

Rev Charlotte Gale, August 2013

BBC SONGS OF PRAISE is being filmed at St Mary’s Warwick on Saturday 21 September (broadcast Sunday 10 November, and Sunday 22 September (broadcast 26 January). If you would like to apply for tickets, please see poster in the porch/Octagon, and go www.bbc.co.uk/songsofpraise

COOKING WITH CROSSTALK

MUMS AND TODDLERS FLAPJACKS

Remove teddy bear from oven and preheat oven. Grease a shallow 19cm square tin. Remove teddy bear from oven again and say: “No, no.” Cream the butter.

Take butter tub away from toddler and wipe down the cupboard doors. Mix together the sugar and oats and gradually work into the creamed butter, until thoroughly blended. Remove small plastic dinosaur from mixture.

Take the butter tub away from toddler again and wipe down the cat Apply antiseptic and bandages to scratches. Glare back at cat Remove crayons from prepared tin and replace with flapjack mixture Press this evenly into the prepared tin with a round-bladed knife Open the oven, retrieve the now smouldering teddy bear, and open windows and doors for ventilation.

Place flapjack mixture in the oven, and reassure anxious neighbour that house is not on fire. Bake flapjack mixture at 220 degrees Mark 7 for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. While flapjacks are baking, conduct swift neighbourhood search for toddler, who disappeared out the door when anxious neighbour came in.

Lift toddler out of the muddy puddle next door. Take toddler home, and on way through kitchen towards bathroom, switch off oven. By the time the toddler has been bathed and changed, the flapjacks will be cool and ready to eat.

This is a good time to discuss with your toddler about why the tub of oats would have been better left alone, and not sprinkled around the living room carpet in a pleasing pattern. Christine Butler

LAVENDER CAKE

175g/6oz Unsalted Butter 175g/6oz Caster Sugar 3 Eggs (lightly beaten) 175g/6oz Sifted Self Raising Flour 30ml/2 tbs Fresh Lavender florets 2.5ml/½ tsp Vanilla Essence 30ml/2tbs milk 50gm/2oz Sifted Icing Sugar 2.5ml/1½ tsp Water Few Fresh Lavender florets (for decoration)

Pre heat oven to 180c/350f/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease and flour a deep 20 cm/8” round loose based cake tin.

Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating thoroughly between each separate addition, until the mixture has become thick and glossy.

Gently fold in the flour together with the lavender florets, vanilla essence and milk. Spoon the mixture into the tine and bake for approx 1 hour.

Leave to stand for 5 minutes then turn out on to a wire rack and cool.

Mix the icing sugar with the water until smooth, pour the icing over the cake and decorate with a few fresh lavender florets.

Enjoy the taste of summer! Jan Bennett

In England there are sixty different religions and only one sauce.

Francis Caracciolo (1563 – 1608) Italian Catholic priest

FROM THE EIGHT O' CLOCK PEW….A PERSONAL VIEW

Apples and Ammonites

I started out to write something like this:

'A few weeks ago, at the eight o'clock communion, I was surprised when the time came for the sermon. The preacher, in traditional robes, approached the traditional lectern, and, against a background of centuries-old gothic church architecture, stained glass windows and ancient carved oak, he opened his laptop computer, glanced at the display and started to deliver his address.

I suppose I was surprised by the stark contrast of the old and the new. The Church of England, centuries old, unhurried, unchanging with the passage of time, the timeless liturgy of the eight o'clock service and suddenly, into this comes the glittering, designer plastic case, the glowing screen, the state-of-the-art electronic wizardry, and the incomprehensibly complex software which enables unimaginable feats of information gathering and creativity….'

That's how it started out, however, as I sit at my desk to write about this phenomenon, the old and the new, out of the corner of my eye I can see a recently-acquired fossil of an Ammonite. It sits just to the left of my computer screen. My guess is that it is possibly a member of the genus Pleuroceras, a small and unremarkable animal compared with some of the other ammonites which once lived in the warm seas off the coast of Lyme Regis.

Trying to write about the eight o'clock communion, I find this creature a distraction. It grew, fed, moved about, had eyes and other sense organs, could generate offspring and eventually died - 190 million years ago. It's the 190 million years that gets me. I pause and look at it, pick it up, try to get my head around this concept of a creature, (with whom we probably share some of the same DNA) that lived 190 million years ago. We men and women of the planet have invented time to serve us and, like distances in the

cosmos, we end up unable to comprehend such dimensions, such eons of time or such light-years of space.

I sat down to write about the eight o'clock communion service - the old and the new, but I keep finding my attention drawn to this unique fossil creature, sitting by the corner of my computer screen. When it comes to the meta-narratives, the 'big stories', I am forced to admit, with Manuel of Fawlty Towers: 'I know nothing'. Eric Johnson

First Fun Bible Stories Publisher: Miles Kelly

This book is a fabulous first taste of all the favourite Biblical stories for very young children. It covers all the tales we all remember so fondly; Noah and the Ark, The Baby in the Basket (i.e. Moses!), Jonah and the Big Fish, The Good Samaritan and The Last Supper. It even has the story of Jesus going to heaven which is a gentle introduction to young readers about the concept of death and heaven, ‘Then Jesus rose up towards the sky and disappeared into Heaven. He had returned to God, his Father."

It has excellent coloured illustrations throughout to catch the eyes of little ones and keep them entertained. And to finish, readers are asked to remember who they have met throughout the stories - a nice quiz to end story time.

Our son was given this lovely book on his Christening day which gives it even more meaning when we read it to him. Sophie Parker

WALKERS GROUP

Saturday, 7th September (meeting at 9.30 a.m. outside St Mary Magdalene's)

Where will this lead? Mysterious paths and many magnificent houses, old and new, await walkers attending our next event.

We shall follow a route through and near Welford-on-Avon, just south- west of Stratford (see picture!). Optional lunch is at The Bell Inn.

DETAILS: • about four-and-a-half miles • pretty flat (one significant set of steps) • a mixture of paths and some stretches of quiet road • no stiles • leg covering advisable (one short stretch of high grass) • stronger shoes/boots advisable (ankle support for hard-rutted earth, if still dry).

Long-walking and new members welcome! Roderick Clark (tel: 422994)

HARVEST APPEAL 2013

This will be for CORD (Christian Outreach Relief and Development) a local charity.

"Farming for the future in Cambodia"

Families in Cambodia are still recovering from the genocide which took place 30 years ago. Earning a living is not easy. With the help of CORD's partner "Organisation to Develop our Villages", a couple in Trot Kort village, Prey Veng Province have become "model farmers". They received training on rice cultivation, poultry raising, vegetable growing and seed production. They were given some vegetable and rice seeds, chickens, a watering can, hoe, rakes and other tools.

(CORD's partner is empowering disadvantaged communities in Cambodia to deal with the risks of food insecurity).

The couple have worked hard and now grow 10 - 15 varieties of vegetables, have plots for seed and fruit tree production. They now have enough food for themselves and are able to sell the surplus to invest in the business and save money which gives them security.

Other members of the village can come and learn from the "model farmers" who share techniques and seeds with them so that they too can learn to provide for themselves.

Harvest Festival reminds us of all the good things God give us. This makes us want to share with others who are not so fortunate. CORD is changing the lives of families living in poverty and conflict; they cannot do this without your support - so thank you.

The CARE Group - Ruth Burgess, Clare Daniels, Sue Hughes, Mike Hyslop,

CROSSWORD Answers are in Robin’s Roundup on page 28

Augustine arrived from Rome(6) 27 Mean (Numbers 35:23)(6) Down 1 ‘Whoever finds his life will — it’ (Matthew 10:39) (4) 2 ‘My lord the king, let the — — on me and on my father’s family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt’ (2 Samuel 14:9) (5,4) 3 O raid (anag.) (5) 4 ‘If two of you on earth — about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven’ (Matthew 18:19) (5) 5 Take care of (1 Samuel 17:15) (4) 6 What the older son heard as he came near the house the day his Across prodigal brother came home (Luke 1 ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, 15:25) (5) its builders — in vain’ (Psalm 127:1) 10 ‘Do not think of yourself more (6) highly than you ought, but rather 4 Season of the year (Psalm 84:6) think of yourself with — judgment’ (6) (Romans 12:3) (5) 7 ‘My soul is overwhelmed with 11 Do ten(anag.)(5) sorrow to the point of death. — here 12 Architectural style first used in and keep watch with me’ (Matthew Greek temples in the sixth century 26:38) (4) BC (5) 8 It came over the whole land from 13 Capable of being used the sixth to the ninth hour on the (1Kings7:36)(9) first Good Friday (Luke 23:44) (8) 14 ‘Each one should — his own 9 Paul invariably did this in the actions’(Galatians6:4)(4) synagogues he visited on his 15 Among the items imported by missionary journeys (Acts 17:2) (8) Solomon’s fleet of trading ships (1 13 ‘It is God who works in you to will Kings 10:22) (4) and to — according to his good 18 ‘But I am afraid that just —— was purpose’ (Philippians 2:13) (3) deceived by the serpent’s cunning, 16 Members of the Church of your minds may somehow be led Scotland (13) astray’ (2 Corinthians 11:3) (2,3) 17 ‘Now when he saw the crowds, he 20 Outstanding 18th-century hymn went up on a mountain side and — writer, — Watts(5) down’ (Matthew 5:1) (3) 21 One of the four sons of 19 Mock(Luke14:29)(8) Asher(Genesis46:17)(5) 24 Disgrace(Psalm44:13)(8) 22 Be distressed(Proverbs24:19)(4) 25 First month of the Hebrew 23 He was the father of Gaal, who calendar (Exodus13:4)(4) threatened rebellion against 26 Christianity of the Britons before Abimelech (Judges 9:28) (4)

Charlotte’s Synod Adventure - Continued

Sunday 7th July A bit of a lie in this morning, as the whole Synod was heading to York Minister for the 10.30 am communion service. Back for lunch, then while the rest of the country watched Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, we were all in a very moving and challenging debate about safeguarding in the Church of England. The debate was in response to a recent report in Chichester Diocese which exposed significant failures in the past to protect children from abuse in the church. The debate was attended by some of those who had been victims of such abuse, and began with an unreserved apology for all that had happened. There was then a renewed commitment to do better in the future. Whenever I am tempted to feel frustrated about all the time and effort required to make sure that our child protection policies are in place or everyone working with children has completed a DBS (formerly CRB) form, then I just need to remember some of the harrowing stories I heard that afternoon.

In the evening session we debated the government’s Welfare Reforms and how the church should respond. A very balanced but again moving debate.

Ended the evening in the bar and got chatting to the Very Rev Dr David Ison, who is the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Our common connection is that both he and I have been Vicar of Potters Green in north Coventry. We spent a happy hour trading tales of our times there. Another late night…

Monday 8th July Must confess I didn’t make it to the 7.30 am communion, but did make it to breakfast and Morning Prayer at the beginning of the morning session. Having discussed the issue of Women Bishops informally on Saturday, this morning was the formal debate. The House of Bishops put forward a proposal that would restart the process of passing legislation to allow women bishops, hopefully by 2015. Although a wide range of views were expressed in the debate, you could tell that everyone was trying very hard to be respectful, and not let things get as heated and at times unpleasant as they had done in November. In the end the Synod voted for the Bishops to go ahead with their new plan. I think it is too early to

tell whether it will be successful or not, so our prayers are vital, as it seems clear to everyone that another failure to pass the legislation would be catastrophic for the mission of the church. Just to say that I thought that Archbishop Justin was again brilliant. He picked exactly the right moment to speak, and managed to make us all laugh at a point when things had got very tense. A really inspired choice of leader I think.

On Monday afternoon we created a new diocese. I was unsure about the wisdom of the plan going in to the debate, but having heard all the arguments, in the end I voted with almost everyone else to pass it. From January the dioceses of Ripon and Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield will merge to form the diocese of Leeds (aka the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales). It will be pretty enormous, so will be divided into five episcopal areas with each area bishop running their own patch.

During the dinner break I attended a meeting about the work that the Church of England is doing on promoting weddings, baptisms and funerals. Very interesting. Also got to catch up with the , the Right Rev Mark Bryant, who used to be the .

Monday evening was a bit of a hotchpotch of reports and farewells, as well as looking at the budget. Head was spinning a bit even before I got to the bar!

Tuesday 9th July Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the final morning, as I had to head back for After School Bible Club end of term party. A really amazing few days though, in which I learned an enormous amount. Although being on Synod does take me away from parish life for a few days three times a year, I really think that my ministry will be hugely enriched by it. The next Synod meeting is in London in November. Who knows, I might even pluck up the courage to make my maiden speech… Rev Charlotte Gale, August 2013

Announcement in the church bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING Conference: The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals.

LETTERS TO CROSSTALK

Part of a recent letter from Val May (former 9.30 Congregation member)

I have submitted to wearing a personal alarm after a very bad fall. Anyone who knew us well knew Ray and I used a big treadmill every day for half an hour. Well my daughter also has one in their garage so I've used that each day. I'm not sure what I did this day but I pressed the slow down button as usual ,or so I thought and went onto running, also I'd connected the safety clip to a loose garment so by the time it pulled out to stop I'd been thrown off on the garage floor. When the doctor came she sent me to A and E. I had no broken bones, just deep cuts on knees feet and cheek and a black eye. The strange was nurses and doctors kept coming to congratulate an 80 year who did exercise. I looked up at the photograph of Ray on my sitting room wall and I could hear him saying, ‘What the heck have you been up to now I'm not there to protect you?’ I miss you all and God bless. Love, Val x

AMICI - CONCERT

As the days began to shorten (June 22nd), we listened to exquisite singing from AMICI in our little Church. The voices wove together in one thread of sound in glorious harmony, angelic at times, reaching gorgeous notes which echoed as one through St Mary Magdalene’s rafters.

Thank you to Godfrey, Caroline, Patrick and Helena for this real treat – enhanced with pictures of Coventry Cathedral both old and new. It was fascinating and inspiring to see the inside of a Cathedral before it was bombed in the second world war. And very moving, captivating images of light in the resurrection cathedral, our Coventry Cathedral. Music from Charles Wood, Gabrieli, Blitheman, Arvo Part, Charles Stanford but to name a few. I particularly enjoyed Adrian Dafern’s (our previous Precentor) Benediction sung as an encore.

Thank you to the Carrs for inviting Amici to visit us; the strawberries were the icing on the cake! Please can we have them again? Sue and Jamie Hughes

CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSION TO SEAFARERS

This splendid collection of knitted caps, to be given free to seafarers, was donated in time to be featured at Holy Trinity, Leamington Spa's special Service for Sea Sunday on 14 July 2013. The caps were much admired and there were enquiries from the congregation about knitting for Seafarers.

The money raised on Sea Sunday was about £250 from the sale of refreshments provided by Mrs Phyllis Shayler, the Mission's local representative, together with the Annual Box Opening. I have Boxes if anyone would like one. A small amount contributed weekly (perhaps over Sunday Lunch) soon mounts up to support the Mission to Seafarers.

It has been reported today, 14 August 2013, in the Daily Telegraph that only 62% of the food this country needs is grown here. Look at it this way; if we had depended on this alone in any year we would have run out of food by the 14th August. We depend on ships manned, often by crews in great need of the services of the Floating Parishes of the Mission to Seafarers, to make sure that food to make up the 38% difference can be here when we need it. Our caps go a friendly way to support the work of the Floating Parishes.

Thank you knitters all! I collect caps regularly from the box at the back of the Church and would like to send off a bumper collection just before Christmas. Fay Weighell (01926 420981) - for patterns and boxes.

STOP PRESS: A well deserved personal tribute to the knitters of St Mary Magdalene has just been received by Phyllis Shayler from the Mission Headquarters as they took delivery of our latest collection.

ROBIN’S ROUND UP

Welcome back readers to a bumper edition of Crosstalk. Its great to be back in the hot seat and such a lot has happened over the summer holiday:

Rev Charlotte is now a member of the General Synod and I’m sure we would all like to offer her congratulations on this very important role. Read all about it from page 9.

Our second Lillington Community Fun Day was a great success. Thanks to the hard work of all churches working together, and particularly in our own church, thanks must go to Christine Butler for all her hard work in the months before. Come along and celebrate at the Thanksgiving Service on 22nd (see page 3)

A successful and well received concert by Amici in Church. If you enjoy listening to good music refer to page 4 for more concert information.

This month we have a new feature the Crosstalk Book Review. Many thanks to Sophie Parker for the first review on page 20. If you have read an interesting book then why not share it with the readers of Crosstalk? Robin

No one found Fin the Fish in July/August. He was hiding in the sea in Robin’s Round Up on Page 28. I’ve made it easier this month and you can still win a super key ring with trolley token bearing a picture of Fin the Fish! This is what he looks like - just let me know where he his hiding in this magazine.

CROSS WORD ANSWERS - ACROSS: 1, Labour. 4, Autumn. 7, Stay. 8, Darkness. 9, Reasoned. 13, Act. 16, Presbyterians. 17, Sat. 19, Ridicule. 24, Reproach. 25, Abib. 26, Celtic. 27, Intend. DOWN:1,Lose.2,Blamerest.3,Radio.4,Agree.5,Tend.6,Music. 10, Sober. 11, Noted. 12, Doric. 13, Available. 14, Test. 15, Apes. 18, As Eve. 20, Isaac. 21, Ishvi. 22, Fret. 23, Ebed.

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