BUSHEY PARISH MAGAZINE
Our Parish responds to the pandemic: see pages 9-10
APRIL 60 pence 2020
2 Ministry Team Rector of the Parish of Bushey: The Revd Guy Edwards 0208 950 1546 [email protected]
Guy’s usual rest-day is Monday (Tuesday when Monday is a Bank Holiday). Please do not contact him then except in a serious emergency.
Associate Rector: Fr Tim Vickers 01923 464633 with responsibility for St James’s [email protected] Usual rest-day: Friday
Parish Curate: The Revd Andy Burgess 07539 409959 [email protected] Usual rest-day: Monday
Lay Leader of Worship: Christine Cocks [email protected]
CHURCH WARDENS [email protected] Elizabeth Jones Ingrid Harris
PARISH ADMINISTRATION Parish Administrator: Jacqueline Birch 020 8421 8192 Church House, High Street, Bushey [email protected]
Parish Finance Officer: Sinead English 020 8421 8192 Church House, High Street, Bushey [email protected]
PCC Secretary: Martyn Lambert [email protected] The Parish Office is on the first floor of St James’s Church House and is open: Tuesday, 9am-3pm; Wednesday, 9am-2pm; Thursday, 9am--3pm.
Safeguarding Officer: Fiona Gray 07902 511392
Parish website: www.busheyparish.org [email protected] 3 Worship in the Parish of Bushey
For Holy Week and Easter services schedule, see page 36
NB—During the current pandemic, all public and private use of the churches is suspended until further notice and the buildings are closed, even to the clergy. However, the clergy will continue to conduct most scheduled services from their homes. Worshippers may follow these services at the appropriate times below via live-streaming on our churches’ Facebook pages, or catch up with them later there or via the Parish website..
St James’s Church (SJ) 1st Sunday of the month 08.00 BCP* Holy Communion, followed by coffee and croissants 09.30 All Age Family Eucharist, followed by coffee and croissants Other Sundays of the month 08.00 BCP* Holy Communion 09.30 Sung Eucharist (with incense, 3rd Sunday of the month), followed
by coffee and croissants 18.00 Choral Evensong (2nd Sunday of the month)
St Paul’s Church (SP) 1st Sunday of the month 17.00 Sanctuary Service Other Sundays of the month 11.15 Sung Eucharist, followed by coffee
Holy Trinity Church (HT) 09.30 Morning Worship with Holy Communion
Weekday Eucharists Wednesdays CW** 12.30 (at SP) Thursdays BCP* 11.00 (at SJ)
Morning Prayer is now being said at 09.00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in St James’s, on Wednesdays in Holy Trinity and on Fridays in St Paul’s. Please check LOOK, the weekly notice sheet, for further details of all services. * BCP: Book of Common Prayer **CW: Common Worship
4 Canterbury pays tribute to York The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, paid tribute to the outgoing Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, in his absence at what would have been Dr Sentamu’s final General Synod.
Dr Sentamu (pictured), who leaves his post in June, is currently travelling in the Pacific. Said Archbishop Justin: “He has gone to visit parts of the world which are suffering the effects of climate change right now. He has gone typically to be alongside those who are suffering: a pattern of his life throughout his ministry.”
The archbishop continued: “Speaking about Sentamu when he’s not here … means we can show our gratitude, thanks and love for him without him being able to stop us.”
Recalling the Archbishop of York’s work on the inquiry into the murder in 1993 of black London teenager Stephen Lawrence, Archbishop Justin noted: “He has said that he himself was stopped at least eight times by the police”.
Reflecting on the Archbishop of York’s impact nationally, the Archbishop of Canterbury added: “The Church of England will miss you, Sentamu, and the wider country will miss you. There aren’t a lot of bishops who are so well-known outside the Church.”
*Dr Sentamu will be succeeded by the current Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell.
Palm Sunday: Jesus at the gates of Jerusalem Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday (April 5), when the Church remembers how Jesus arrived at the gates of Jerusalem just before the Passover. He was the Messiah come to His people in their capital, yet He came in humility on a donkey, not in triumph on a war-horse.
As Jesus entered the city, the crowds gave Him a rapturous welcome, throwing palm fronds into His path. They knew His reputation as a healer and welcomed Him. Sadly, the welcome was short-lived and shallow, for Jerusalem would soon reject her Messiah and put Him to death. On this day, churches worldwide will distribute little crosses made from palm fronds in memory of Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem. 5 From the Ministry Team Culture – and what it has for breakfast Our Rector, the Revd Guy Edwards, looks at Mission Action Plans and the contexts they must take into account to succeed.
By the time you read this, many of us in Bushey Parish will have met with the Revd Kate Peacock for the second of our two Mission Action Planning Days. Kate works across the Diocese of St Albans to help parishes focus their operations and plan and act for a future in which the life and work of the local church flourishes.
The clergy team are developing these discussions and thoughts into a Mission Action Plan (MAP) that we will debate and refine further in the first meeting of the new PCC and present to the Parish towards the end of May. If you have not yet contributed to this process – by attending a MAP day, joining the discussion in the church committees, responding to the promptings of the Vision Bulletins or in conversation with the clergy, wardens and pro-wardens – there is still time to do so.
MAPs are a relatively new feature of life in the Church of England. Most dioceses make it mandatory for parishes to produce them. They are as fundamental to our assesment of our life as the accounts and budgets that every parish is required to prepare annually. To fail to plan is almost as bad as planning to fail.
I welcome them. They are not window-dressing, nor items just to be ticked on an already crowded to-do list. They are serious attempts to give focus to our Church community life in an age when we can no longer assume that the Church has a future, but need to read the “signs of the times”.
MAPs should be working documents that are constantly referred to as the basis for our actions and priorities. They need to be reviewed and updated regularly as we achieve some objectives, make slow progress on others and perhaps fail on a number - always learning as we go. This is simply common sense and a necessary process for any organisation committed to a better future. Above all, MAPS embody strategy.
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In considering our wider cultural context, I agree with those people (artists , novelists and poets, journalists, educators, philosophers, theologians and church leaders) who argue that in the last three decades or so we have been witnessing a shift in the world culture that is very far- reaching – as significant a change in the way people think, feel, earn, consume and live as any that have gone before.
We can all think of some of the labels that have been applied to great cultural shifts of the past – those periods of tumultuous change known as the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, for example. Major theologians such as David Bosch argue that, amid such changes, the Church has reinvented itself no fewer than five times, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and through revisiting the Bible and the apostolic tradition, on each occasion under new conditions. Bosch and others suggest that, having had these five ages of the Church, we are now living in the sixth.
This, of course, is the controversial subject of major discussion in all Christian traditions. The imperative to change needs to be held in tension with the fact that the Church has received a deposit of faith – the apostolic teaching contained in the New Testament, the inheritance of the creeds and councils, the sacraments of the new covenants. The Church has a long historical memory and is the inheritor of that which is precious and enduring. We don’t just “make stuff up”.
However, the shaking of the foundations in wider culture is the reason our churches have to be quick on their toes, adaptable in worship and community life and especially innovative in the ways they reach out with the gospel. Being a church with a future depends critically on wisely navigating this tension between tradition and changed context. Scholar and bishop Tom Wright has coined the term “faithful improvisation” for the life of the Church in this new age. Think of a jazz musician who, knowing the scales and harmony by long practice, thereby has the freedom to create something new and fresh - of 7 the moment, yet completely harmonious with the original song.
In all of this, we need to have a strategy - hence Mission Action Plans. However, it has also been said that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. In other words, we can devise all the strategies we wish, list all our good intentions and develop detailed plans with allocated responsibilities, costings and timescales. But if our organisational culture, the way we habitually do things, is not up for scrutiny and change, none of our strategies will work. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Unless the Church’s own culture, as well as its strategy, is adaptable, we will not succeed in being an authentic and faithful Christian Church in the newly emerging wider culture of the 21st Century.
John of Patmos, in the last book of the Bible, speaks prophetic words from God which are of vital importance to us today:. “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega”, says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
I am gripped by the order in which the “verbs of being” appear in that passage:
First of all, God IS. We encounter God powerfully and uniquely in the present moment.
Second, God WAS. We rejoice in a God who has been faithful to our forebears and we treasure all that has been handed down to us – the Bible, the sacraments, the traditions of the Church, the teachings of the apostles.
Third, God IS TO COME. We trust that God holds the future and can guide us in His unfolding purposes. We look for the right kind of change – not fashionable accommodation, but faithful improvisation. Let’s cultivate wisdom and openness to the God of all and hold all of our life – our culture and our values as well as our plans and strategies - to the judgment and the mercy of God. - Guy
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In mid-March, our clergy issued a comprehensive statement on the current situation as it affects church services and activities. The following is an abridged version. The full text can be found online at www.busheyparish.org/coronavirus along with the latest updates. Response to the coronavirus pandemic: Parish of Bushey provisional plans On March 17, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued national guidance to the Church of England about how we are to continue to pray and worship, to offer support and care especially for the vulnerable and to continue witness to God’s kingdom in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Suspension of public worship All public worship – both Sunday and midweek— is suspended until further notice.
Suspension of all midweek activities All parish midweek activities are suspended until further notice.
STOP PRESS—Since this statement was issued and following further announcements by the government and the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, our church buildings are completely closed, even to clergy. As explained below, the Parish of Bushey is offering an extensive schedule of worship online. See the Parish website for the latest information — www.busheyparish.org.
Offering of worship online The clergy team will continue to offer: • The Office of Morning Prayer daily at 9.00am. • Wednesday and Thursday Eucharists at the usual time for each church. • Sunday Eucharists at the usual times for each church. So people can join in at home and extend this offering of praise,
9 worship and intercession, these services will be live-streamed at the usual times via the Facebook accounts for each church and recorded and available to play on demand from the Parish website.
Pastoral support Plans to offer support to those we know to be vulnerable to the virus and less able to shop or collect medication are under way. The clergy team and other volunteers will begin offering telephone support today.
If you know someone you think would appreciate a call, needs food supplies or medication delivering, please call a member of the clergy team or the parish administrator.
If you yourself would like to be added to the list, please call a member of the clergy team or the parish administrator.
Contact details for the clergy and parish administrator are on page 3.
New way of being a church Our Archbishops emphasise that the Church of England continues to be a church with a distinctive vocation to serve the whole population. There will be a change in emphasis from attendance at Sunday worship to daily offerings of prayer, and of service to one another, and the evolution of new ways to make this effective under the very different conditions we face at present. Guy Edwards (Rector of Bushey) Fr Tim Vickers (Associate Rector) Andy Burgess (Parish Curate)
From the editors... Because of the uncertainties created by the pandemic, we have omitted some regular features from this issue of Bushey Parish Magazine – notably, the events diary. The general situation concerning church services and parish activities is explained in the preceding article. Where specific events are advertised, but not stated to be cancelled, it is because no final decision had been notified to us at the time of going to press. But you are strongly advised to check on the Parish website, in LOOK and/or on social media nearer the time. Please stay safe and look after your health. 10 Who moved the stone? “When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away” (Mark 16:4).
Frank Morrison was an investigative journalist who was a sceptic when it came to religion. He decided to write a book to disprove the claims of Christ, specifically focused on the last week of His life.
However, when Morrison came to consider the evidence for himself, he was drawn reluctantly to a different outcome from the one he had imagined. He found the evidence proved the story to be true, including the fact that Jesus not only died, but rose again. In the end he wrote a different kind of book, called Who Moved the Stone?, with a first chapter entitled “The book that refused to be written”.
The veracity of the Christian faith is grounded on historical fact. Not only was Jesus a real person, a figure of history, but His death was real and so was His Resurrection. Examine the evidence for yourself. Read the gospel accounts openly and honestly and see what happens. The truth is there for anyone willing to consider the facts.
Easter reminds us that our faith rests on solid ground. It is why we celebrate Easter Sunday with such gusto. The Resurrection proves that Jesus was who He said He was (the Son of God) and that He did what He set out to do (save us from our sin). But much more than that, it reminds us that He can deliver what He has promised and help us today because He is alive for evermore.
Jesus is not a figure of history, locked away in the past. No, He is a risen Saviour who is alive today and who invites each of us to receive the gift of salvation and to live a new life in fellowship with Him. - Tony Horsfall
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Hall Hire The Parish of Bushey has three halls available for your party, meeting or function. All have kitchen facilities.
St James’s, Church House Hall, High Street WD23 1BD email [email protected]
St Paul’s, John Stobbart Hall, Bushey Hall Road WD23 2EQ Jill Macey: 07736 680501 or email [email protected]
Holy Trinity, Bushey Mill Lane WD23 2AS
Gill Onslow: 01923 464839 UNAVAILABLE WHILE PRESENT RESTRICTIONS LAST
12 The week of Jesus’s Passion The events of Easter took place over what is traditionally called Passion Week. It began on Palm Sunday (April 5 this year).
After all His teaching and healing, Jesus had built a following and, on the Sunday before He was to die, He and His followers arrived at Jerusalem. The city was crowded. Jewish people were arriving from everywhere to celebrate Passover, commemorating their ancestors’ escape from slavery in Egypt nearly 1,500 years earlier.
Jesus rode into the city on a young donkey and was greeted like a conquering hero. Cheering crowds waved palm branches in tribute. He was hailed as the Messiah who had come to re-establish a Jewish kingdom.
The next day, Jesus and his followers returned to Jerusalem. Jesus went to the Temple, the very heart of the Jewish faith, and confronted moneychangers and merchants who were ripping off the people. He overturned their tables and accused them of being thieves. The religious authorities were alarmed and fearful at the way He was stirring up the crowds.
On the Tuesday, these authorities challenged Jesus, questioning his authority. He answered by challenging and condemning their hypocrisy. Later that day Jesus spoke to His disciples about future times. He warned them about fake religious leaders; the coming destruction of Jerusalem; wars, earthquakes and famines; and how His followers would face persecution.
By midweek, the Jewish religious leaders and elders were so angry with Jesus that they began plotting to arrest and kill him. One of Jesus’s disciples, Judas, went to the chief priests and agreed to betray Him.
Jesus and the 12 disciples gathered on the Thursday evening to share the celebratory Passover meal, in what we now know as the Last Supper. During the evening, Jesus initiated the ritual still marked by Christians – Holy Communion, which commemorates His death. Jesus broke bread, sharing that and a cup of wine with the disciples.
13 Judas then left to meet his fellow-plotters. Jesus continued to teach the others and then went outside into an olive grove to pray. He even prayed for all future believers. He also agonised over what was to come, but chose the way of obedience. The gospel of Luke records Him praying: “Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done”. Minutes later Judas arrived with soldiers and the chief priests. Jesus was arrested.
Easter: The most joyful day of the year Easter is the most joyful day of the year for Christians. Christ has died for our sins. We are forgiven. Christ has risen! We are redeemed! We can look forward to an eternity in His joy! Hallelujah!
The Good News of Jesus Christ is a message so simple that you can explain it to someone in a few minutes. It is so profound that for the rest of their lives they will still be “growing” in their Christian walk with God.
Why does the date move around so much? Because the date of Passover moves around and, according to the biblical account, Easter is tied to the Passover. Passover celebrates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and it lasts for seven days, from the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which equates to late March or early April.
Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first to use the Hebrew lunar calendar to come up with firm dates for the first Good Friday: either Friday April 7 in AD30 or Friday April 3 in AD33, with Easter Day falling two days later in each case. Modern scholars continue to think these dates the most likely.
Most people will tell you that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is broadly true. But the precise calculations are complicated and involve something called an “ecclesiastical full moon”, which is not the same as the moon in the sky. The earliest possible date for Easter in the West is March 22, which last fell in 1818. The latest is April 25, which last happened in 1943. 14 Why the name “Easter”? In almost every other European language, the festival’s name comes from Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover: in French it is Pâques, for example. But the Germanic word “Easter” seems to derive from Eostre, a Saxon fertility goddess mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon scholar the Venerable Bede. He thought that the Saxons worshipped her in “Eostur month”, but may have confused her with the classical dawn goddesses like Eos and Aurora, whose names mean “shining in the east”. So Easter might have meant simply “beginning month” – a time for starting up again after a long winter.
Finally, why Easter eggs? On one hand, they are an ancient symbol of birth in most European cultures. On the other hand, hens start laying regularly again each spring. As eggs were once forbidden during Lent, it’s easy to see how decorating and eating them became a practical way to celebrate Easter.
Legal aid an ‘essential service’, synod says Changes to legal aid provisions have left some of the most vulnerable groups in society without access to the justice system, the Church of England’s recent General Synod was told. Members voted to back a motion recognising legal aid as an “essential public service” that needs to be preserved “for the benefit of the nation”.
The synod called on the government to explore ways of alleviating the impact of the Legal Aid Sentencing & Punishment of Offenders Act – which came into force in 2013 - on some of the most deprived and vulnerable communities.
Carl Fender, from Lincoln Diocese, said “large groups” of people now find themselves ineligible to receive legal aid as a result of the changes brought about by the act. These groups include the parties to most private family-law cases and people with immigration difficulties. 15 FRIENDS OF BUSHEY MUSEUM Quiz Evening with Fish & Chip Supper (from Godfrey’s and includes glass of wine or soft drink)
Tuesday 21 April Doors open 7.00pm. Quiz starts 7.30pm sharp £15.00 per person St. James’s Church Hall at Church House, Bushey WD23 1BD We regret this event has been CANCELLED Bushey Museum is closed until further notice
16 Why did Jesus die? “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you’’’ (Billy Graham).
God showed His love for us when Jesus dealt with the problem of our sin on the cross. “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus died in our place to bear our sin and guilt, to pay the full penalty for our sin and to set us free from death.
In the 75th-anniversary year of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, it’s appropriate to remember the story of Fr Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest imprisoned there. On July 31, 1941 a prisoner escaped from the camp and in response the authorities selected ten men to die in the starvation bunker. One of the men, Francis Gajinisdek, cried, “My poor wife and my children. They'll never see me again!”.
Then Kolbe stepped forward and said: “I'm a Catholic priest. I don't have a wife and children and I am willing to die instead of this man”. He followed the other nine into the bunker. Remarkably, he got the prisoners to pray and sing hymns, transforming the atmosphere in that grim place. He was the last person to die - after two weeks and not of starvation, but because he was eventually given a lethal injection. He was aged 47.
Jesus’s death was even more amazing than this. He didn’t simply die for one man, but for every individual in the world. If you or I had been the only person in the world, Jesus Christ would still have died in our place. “Hallelujah, what a Saviour!”.
17 Call on government to act over ‘pauper' funerals The Church of England’s General Synod has demanded an end to the “cruel” experience of so-called “pauper” funerals, after hearing of the plight of those unable to afford funeral costs. Members want the government to oversee the development of basic standards for what are officially known as public-health funerals, run by local authorities.
Sam Margrave, from Coventry, introduced a motion on the subject to the synod. He says bereaved families who can’t afford funeral costs experience a “postcode lottery” of different practices.
He claimed those include: bans on family and friends from attending services; service times that make attendance impossible; non-return of ashes; widespread lack of pastoral care to support the bereaved; and prohibitions on headstones, enforcing a policy of unmarked graves.
Mr Margrave said there was a 70 per cent increase in the number of public-health funerals between 2015 and 2018, with numbers expected to continue to grow. This presents a “major public policy issue”. He declared: “The Church of England reaches into every community and can make a profound difference if we choose to”.
The adopted motion urges the government to develop a national plan and basic standards for “pauper” funerals, in consultation with local authorities.
World Day of Prayer The traditional altar cloth at St Paul’s was replaced with the national colours of Zimbabwe for last month’s ecumenical World Day of Prayer. Women from the East African country prepared the order of service, which had as its theme the injunction: “Rise! Take your mat and walk”. About 30 people attended.
18 Reflected Faith: The role of the Sacristan The Revd Dr Jo White continues her series on symbols in our churches The traditional marks on an altar are five crosses representing either the five wounds of Christ or, perhaps more matter-of-factly, Christ at the centre of what holds up the table – and indeed what holds up our lives. This month, let’s consider the work of the person responsible for preparing the altar for worship.,
Often when we arrive in church, everything is already set up for the service and by the time we’ve drunk our coffee afterwards it’s all cleared away – as if by magic! Well, it isn’t magic. Rather, this is the job of the Sacristan.
A busy priest with many churches may conduct several services on a Sunday and so rely on the altar to have been prepared before his or her arrival. There are set methods of preparation, so wherever you go to worship, the same things should be found and folded/laid in the same ways. This obviously helps at busy times, but principally it allows all who conduct or serve at the altar to engage with the words of the service, rather than being distracted by wondering where “such-and-such” is.
Some churches are more stringent than others in their preciseness, but there is a minimum level of acceptability. Otherwise the priest must spend time before the service checking everything is right – or risk getting an inconvenient surprise when something is missing.
When the moment comes in the Eucharistic prayer for the words “We break this bread”, you should be able to hear the sharp “snap” at the break. Making sure that the wafer is crisp is the responsibility of the Sacristan. The story is told of one church where the wafers tended to go a bit soft, until the Sacristan began putting them on the radiator beforehand so they were dry enough to snap loudly. Another solution, of course, would have been an airtight container…
To do this month: If you are able to attend a Communion service on Easter Day, listen for the snap and think what that sound tells you of Christ’s sacrifice and Resurrection.
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20 Giving and receiving “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
This unique saying of Jesus, not recorded in the gospels, is quoted by the apostle Paul in the book of Acts. These few words contain a powerful truth about giving and receiving love.
Stage 1 – receiving love: As children we love to receive presents, whether for birthdays or Christmas. It is natural at a young age to think more about receiving than giving. This is self-love.
Stage 2 – giving and receiving love: As we grow older, we begin to consider others, not just ourselves. We learn not only to receive, but also to give. However, at this stage we tend mostly to give to those who give to us. This is reciprocal love.
Stage 3 – giving love without the need to receive love: This is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated during His earthly ministry and which the Spirit desires to produce in His followers. When we give freely in this way, we find great joy and experience the blessing of God in our lives. This is other-love.
However, we never grow out of our need to receive love (Stage 1). The danger of giving without receiving is that we neglect our own need to be loved, supported and encouraged. That is why many active believers experience burnout and depression. We cannot give to others indefinitely without receiving for ourselves. It is not a sign of weakness, immaturity or failure to say: “I need to receive”. There are times when we all need affirmation and appreciation, rest and recuperation.
That said, we must not get locked into Stage 1 again (spiritual infancy, with the focus always on “me”). We must bravely move on to the more mature expressions of love, mutually supporting one another and also reaching out to those who need our help, but have nothing to offer in return. - TH
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Herts Musical Memories regretfully announce that we are temporarily closing our groups. If you are a group member please keep in contact with us on 020 8950 5757 or email: [email protected]
and we will let you know as soon as we are able to resume normal services. We are hoping to provide some online music and will let you know when this goes live. If you are isolated and need further support at home please call
Herts Help 0300 123 4044.
22 Servanthood and the Last Supper How do we say goodbye to someone whom we have known for many years and whose company we have enjoyed? We arrange a farewell party!
When Jesus prepared to leave, it was very different. He arranged His last meal and it was no party. His disciples were in for a shock. Jesus brought His friends together and then said one of them would betray Him! He also said Peter would deny Him.
Although Jesus was the host and should have been honoured, He changed His role and became a servant. He got up from the meal-table, removed His outer clothing and wrapped a towel around His waist. Jesus humbled Himself and washed the feet of His disciples, much to their dismay and Peter’s objection.
Jesus showed humility and bestowed honour on the disciples. They were to do the same, to serve others. They were to learn, as we do, that in God’s service it will often be a humbling and sacrificial experience. Jesus said: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15) – Lester Amman
BUSHEY FLOWER CLUB In common with most scheduled events, the meetings of Bushey Flower Club planned for Tuesday 14th April and Tuesday 12th May have been cancelled due to the coronavirus emergency. It is hoped the June meeting will take place as usual.
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25 Christian Aid Week 2020: May 10-17 It is likely the details of this event will change as a result of the pandemic, but we have no information on that as yet. We will let you know when we have. Meanwhile, we shall need your help and support eventually. Please be ready.
Last year we raised £980+ as a result of our CA lunch and some house-to -house collections.
This year's lunch will be on May 10, circumstances permitting. Please pencil it into your diary now.
Can you - do a small street collection - hold a coffee morning - collect at your next book club meeting - OR have you any other ideas?
It would be great to top the £1,000 mark for this deserving cause - and with your help we can! Please contact May Teague on 07593 016304 for more details and to offer help. Thank you!
“Helen’s come to church three weeks running, so we’ve co-opted her on to the PCC.”
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27 Church minister ‘inspired the Great Escape' A Church of Scotland minister nicknamed “Padre Mac” has been revealed as the possible inspiration behind the so-called “Great Escape” in March 1944, when 76 Allied personnel broke out of the prison-of-war camp Stalag Luft III in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The mass escape is usually said to have been masterminded by English officers imprisoned in the camp, and the theme tune to the 1963 film based on that event has become an anthem of England football fans. However, a recently published book by the historian Linda Parker contends that the real motivation came from “fiery sermons” preached in Stalag Luft III by the Revd Professor Murdo Ewen Macdonald, a Harris-born Scot who had been captured by the Germans in North Africa in 1942 while serving as chaplain to the 1st Parachute Brigade.
Macdonald has previously been given credit for a minor role in hiding tunnel sand during preparations for the famous break-out. But Dr Parker claims his influence was perhaps far more significant, as he had previously made his own escape bid while in transit to a PoW camp. After recapture, he became a chaplain for the men of Stalag Luft III.
Dr Parker is the author of Nearer My God to Thee: Airborne Chaplains in the Second World War, which examines the full story of padres who accompanied the airborne forces to all theatres of war in 1942-1945.
“Murdo Ewen Macdonald, known as Padre Mac, may have been the inspiration that led to many ‘great escapes' during the Second World War,” she says. “He was moved to Stalag Luft III, where… he befriended Squadron Leader Roger Bushell and Harry “Wings” Day, both instigators and organisers of the Great Escape.
“As a chaplain, he would have had access to all the troops and would have been able to speak with them, in confidence, to motivate them with the story of his own escape attempt.” 28
‘Students Come Together’ is a local tutoring service specialising in KS4 work, with our emphasis being that we are also students who are currently completing our A Levels. We set high expectations for ourselves, and have all attained grades equal or above the equivalent of an A grade in the subjects that we tutor.
Our extensive knowledge of the framework and mark scheme allows us to deliver effective tutoring at a lower cost than other services. We have full access to Key Stage 4 educational resources, and can guarantee a quality service. We currently tutor: English Language, English Literature, Religious Studies and Computer Science.
Contact us at [email protected] for more information on the subjects offered, along with arranging times and schedules. References can be provided. 29 Euros, koruna, yuan,or dollars in the collection plate
You’d be surprised at how many different coins end up in church collection plates. Euros and obsolete pounds can jostle alongside American dollars, Czech koruna and even pesos from Chile. It just shows where some people go on holiday!
In Bible times, the Jewish people also had a collection, but it was not voluntary; they called it the Temple Tax. Jews had to pay the Temple Tax by using a coin called a half-shekel. They could not just hand over the change they already had in their pockets, because foreign coins would be “unclean”, and anyway pockets had not been invented. So instead the tax was paid in half-shekels, because those were made to a reliable quality of weight and fineness of silver metal.
This led to a roaring trade for the moneychangers, who would take the worshippers’ coins and change them, minus a handsome profit. The moneychangers would have shouted out their exchange rates, which would be distracting for people going to pray. They were preventing the people from worshipping by overcharging and squabbling for business. No wonder Jesus got angry with them!
Back to our peaceful collections in church. We should welcome the funny foreign coins. Lots of us have jars of them from holidays abroad and these could be a way of raising money for the Church. There are some companies that will take unwanted foreign coins for cash. Even junk coins have a small scrap value, as does broken silver or gold jewellery. – David Pickup
PARISH 100 CLUB
Winners of the February draw were: Brenda Gill (£50); Janet McNulty (£25); Keith Baker (£12).
To join for just £5 a month, please speak to: Betty Greengrass (01923 226420) or Marion Golding (07787 538232)
30 The Children’s Page
31 How well do you get on with your neighbours? If you tend to be quiet and courteous, rather than actually friendly, with the people living near you, you are not alone. It’s a growing trend.
A recent study by the Co-op and Neighbourhood Watch found there is a shift away from neighbours becoming friends. In fact, it seems that only one in five of us who are homeowners/renters say that we would even want to be friendlier with the people living nearby.
These days, the best way to be a good neighbour seems to be by keeping an eye on the house during holidays, not being nosy and taking in parcel deliveries. The worst include being noisy, having dogs that bark all the time and not picking up their poo from the pavement.
Let’s plant a tree We should all ask our local council to plant a tree in our street, suggests the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which recently announced that most of the finalists in its annual Britain in Bloom competition are from urban areas and not, as one might expect, the countryside.
This is the 56th year of the contest. The community groups that participate are not simply judged on the beauty of the flowers they have planted, but also win points for increasing the number of trees in their localities.
Each of the 70 finalists will be visited in August by a pair of RHS judges, who decide the winners of medals, categories and the Champion of Champions. Of this year’s finalists, nearly two-thirds are in urban areas, where trees and plants have been used to regenerate high streets. Leeds, Blackburn and Paddington in London, are among the finalists that have been “greening” their central shopping and business hubs.
So while we are waiting for the 2020 results, why don’t we ask our local councils about planting those trees? 32
St Paul’s Church, WD23 2EQ
Pro-Warden Jill Macey 07736 680501 [email protected] Organist Dr Martyn Lambert 01923 221979 Stewardship Officer Mrs Marion Golding 07787 538232
Hall Bookings Jill Macey 07736 680501 [email protected]
Holy Trinity Church, WD23 2AS
Pro-Warden Mrs Gill Onslow 01923 464839 Rock Solid (Sunday School) To be announced Organist Various Stewardship Officer Mrs Gill Onslow 01923 464839 Hall Bookings Mrs Gill Onslow 01923 464839 [email protected]
Parish Magazine Editorial Team Please send all items by the 5th of the month preceding publication to: [email protected]
Mrs Sue Baxter 07793 323571 Mrs Jill Bonell 020 8950 1583 Mr Michael Groushko 01923 467773
Advertising Liaison: Mrs Ingrid Harris [email protected]
Bushey Parish Magazine is published monthly, in hard copy (price 60p) and free online at www.busheyparish.org under “News”.
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St James’s Church, WD23 1BD
Pro-warden Ann White 020 8386 1135
Pastoral Warden Elizabeth Jones 020 8950 1270 Bell Ringers Mr Stuart Brant 01923 330999 Tots Praise To be announced
Church Flowers Mr Leon Soares 020 8950 7293
Community Outreach To be announced
Finance & Stewardship Group Ms Felicity Cox 07973 517812
Organist & Choir Mr James Mooney-Dutton [email protected] Director of Music (Choir practice Fridays 8.00-9.00pm in church and as announced)
Parish Breakfast Team Mrs Catherine Brant 01923 330999
Sacristan Mr Leon Soares 020 8950 7293
60+ Monday Club Mrs Caroline Harper 020 8420 4838 (Two Mondays a month in Church House 3.00-5.00pm, Jan & Aug excepted)
Planned Giving Officer Greg Batts 07799 693284 [email protected]
Church House Hall bookings [email protected]
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35 Holy Week and Easter 2020 NB—During the pandemic, all public and private worship is suspended until further notice and the church buildings are closed, even to the clergy. However, the clergy will continue to conduct as many scheduled services as possible from their homes. Worshippers may follow these at the appropriate times below via live-streaming on our churches’ Facebook pages, or catch up with them later there or via the Parish website.
PALM SUNDAY – April 5 8.00am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) 9.30am PARISH EUCHARIST with Reading of the Passion 11.15am PALM SUNDAY EUCHARIST at St Paul’s 8.00pm TENEBRAE SERVICE at St James’s
Holy Week Monday April 6 8.00pm HOLY EUCHARIST with Devotional Address at St James’s Preacher: The Curate Tuesday April 7 8.00pm HOLY EUCHARIST with Devotional Address at St Paul’s Preacher: The Curate Wednesday April 8 3.30-5.00pm *MESSY CHURCH @ St Paul’s—CANCELLED 8.00pm HOLY EUCHARIST with Devotional Address at Holy Trinity Preacher: The Curate
MAUNDY THURSDAY – April 9 8.00pm THE LITURGY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER at St James’s 9.00pm THE VIGIL OF GETHSEMANE until midnight, concluding with 11.50pm Compline
GOOD FRIDAY – April 10 2.00pm GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY with COMMUNION at St Paul’s
EASTER EVE – April 11 8.00pm EASTER VIGIL with EASTER CEREMONIES at St James’s
EASTER DAY – April 12 8.00am HOLY COMMUNION (Book of Common Prayer) 9.30am ALL AGE EUCHARIST at Holy Trinity 10.00am ALL AGE EUCHARIST at St James’s 11.15am ALL AGE EUCHARIST at St Paul’s
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