A prayer for those who work with children and young people 50p at the start of the new academic year God of wisdom, Give them joy as they start work for this new academic year; Give them love for those they meet, Give them hope for those whose future they affect, Give them strength for each day And the knowledge of your presence by their side. Amen. MINDSIGHT HYPNOTHERAPY Claire Oates D. Hyp D. Psy The Decor and Hypnotherapy & Psychotherapy Practitioner Carpet Centre CARING PROFESSIONAL CONFIDENTIAL BASED IN BARNARD CASTLE For a full home Telephone: 07789244649 interior service Email: [email protected] www.mindsighthypnotherapy.co. uk Come in and see our selection of HELPING YOU TO HELP YOURSELF FLOORCOVERINGS, LIGHTING, FABRICS, TILES Combat Fears & Phobias and much, much more. Deep Relaxation Improve Sports Performance Now in our 31st year Increase Confidence & Low Self Esteem Insomnia Relief Lose Weight Allen Jenkins Reduce Stress & Anxiety 87 Montalbo Road, Stop Smoking Barnard Castle DL12 8BP GIFT VOUCHERS AVAILABLE CALL NOW FOR MORE INFORMATION OR Tel: 01833 690009 TO BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION SUNDAY SERVICES The Friends of BARNARD CASTLE Richardson Hospital 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion 10.30 a.m. Main Service (for details see monthly calendar page) The Friends of Richardson Hospital wish to thank you for your ongoing 4.00 p.m. The Four o'clock Service for young families (please check calendar) support, this enables us to continue to provide services and equipment WHORLTON within Richardson Hospital and the local community. 9.00 a.m. 2nd & 4th Sundays Holy Communion Anyone interested in helping is welcome to join us at our meetings held * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * at Richardson Hospital. VICAR: Revd Canon Alec Harding MA (Hons), The Vicarage, Parsons Lonnen, Newgate DL12 8ST (637018) Please contact through the Hospital Tel 696500 READERS: Astley Fenwick BSc C.Eng (637392) David Walker BA (Hons), CPFA (650396) READER Emeritus: David Blakely MA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ORGANIST AND: Annette Butters GLCM (Hons), LTCL (TD), LTCL (GMT) Registered Charity No. 511303 DIRECTOR OF MUSIC CHURCHWARDENS: Sandra Sumner (690041), John R Moore (07793756129), Bob Ward (630163) PCC SECRETARY: David Walker (650396) TREASURER: Robert Stenlake (637334) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PARISH HALL CARETAKER AND BOOKINGS SECRETARY: Stephen Guy (630732) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CHURCH WEBSITE : www.stmarysbarnardcastle.org.uk FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Marys-Barnard-Castle-with- Whorlton/432786520147183 For names and telephone numbers of other church contacts please see page 20 3 September 2018 Dear All, William Shakespeare famously described the Seven Ages of Man in his play ‘As you like it’. The cynical character Jacques mocks the roles he sees people play upon the stage of the world: infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, Pantalone, and old age - facing imminent death. A more biblical reflection (and a less melancholy one) appears in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. There, the poet reminds us that ‘there is a time for everything under the sun’. For everything there is a season. The month of September marks one of the turning points in our year. For many, it sees the end of holidays: for some (those without school aged children) it is the opposite – time to travel away from the crowds! For some there are new starts at school or college. Those who are already at school move on to new schools, classes or teachers. For new starters there are sometimes tear-filled moments as children are dropped off at school or nursery for the first time: usually it is parents who are doing the crying! Some families will see offspring heading off to University: some returning to studies already begun, some leaving home for the first time. Older parents find that the house falls silent as they become ‘empty nesters’ … at least until Christmas. The agricultural year turns too as the harvest is gathered and preparations are made for the winter and beyond. Businesses shift out of summer mode and gear up for new projects and developments once staff have returned from vacation. I used to find the new start in September rather daunting. My mind would run on to Harvest, All Souls, All Saints, Remembrance, Christingle and beyond … so much to do, to plan, to sort and arrange: the prospect seemed too much. Yet experience (and the New Testament) has taught me not to be anxious about tomorrow but to appreciate today. The year turns. We add another birthday to our total. Life has its patterns and seasons. At whatever ‘stage’ in life we are, the call is to be faithful and grateful – not to rail against the passage of time or mourn that which has passed but to be thankful for each day and God’s abiding presence within it … come what may. Alec 5 6 © News from the belfry: August 2018 Some of you may remember reading about ‘Big Wilf’s muffles’ that we have ordered in preparation for Armistice Day ringing this year. The following report by Emma Piercy-Mycock explains what we have been up to whilst others have been enjoying the sunshine! “Prior to using the new muffles that we are purchasing, the clappers need to be painted with non slip paint. To do this Helen Scott, Emma Piercy- Mycock and Caroline Piercy spent two days in the bell chamber. To prepare for the dirt and fumes we had to don safety gear. This comprised of masks, goggles, overalls and gloves. The first morning was spent cleaning. We swept under and around the bells. To prepare the clappers Helen used a wire brush and wire wool then cleaned them with Xylene ready for the paint. The second day was spent painting the clappers.” Here is a photograph of the trio before the painting started! © Helen Scott 7 8 Coming up soon at Barnard Castle ......... Patronal Festival of St Mary the Virgin Saturday September 8th at 7pm Join Keith Dale, Assistant Organist at Hexham Abbey and Choral Director, The Highside Singers (a community choir based in Kirkby Malzeard) for an evening of musical delights The evening will feature some organ favourites played by Keith. Doors open 6.30 pm Free entry (donations welcome) Bar Harvest Home Sunday 7th October at 3pm Welcome to our Harvest Home. With our organ, voic- es, musicians and an afternoon tea, we celebrate harvest as one big family. It’s for the young, it’s for our local care home residents and its for everyone in- between. Wednesday Coffee Morning 9.30 –12.00 Join us upstairs in the Parish Hall for a coffee, a scone and a chat! 9 10 The riddle of Joshua Peele, a summer mystery. Calendar September 2018 The Vicar’s holiday homework question was going to be so simple. You have Saturday 1st 10.00 am St Mary’s Community Music Group meets at a name and a date and they are inscribed on a stone. Simple, it will be solved Barnard Castle in an hour and the rest of the holiday can be spent relaxing in the sun! SUNDAY 2nd 8.00 am Holy Communion at Barnard Castle An inscription like that could only have come from a portion of gravestone, Fourteenth Sunday 10.30 am Holy Communion with Junior Church at most possibly one lying around in the debris surrounding the church during after Trinity Barnard Castle the major Victorian restoration of the building completed in 1870. I guess it Monday 3rd 11.00 am Merchant Navy commemoration at Galgate would have been late on a Friday afternoon when the workmen were packing Memorial up for the weekend and a happy stone mason going for his pint had been 1.30 pm Mothers’ Union service and meeting challenged by his mates to set it in the wall, out of reach and out of sight for Wednesday 5th 10.00 am Weekday Communion at Barnard Castle most folk, but they would know where it was. Harmless fun! Friday 7th 5.00 pm St Mary’s Singers meet in the Vestry Well, I’ve read about the wide scope of the restoration and there is no th mention of the wall at the west end of the south transept. The south window Saturday 8 10.00 am St Mary’s Community Music Group meets at was removed and replaced with the graceful one that we can now see that is Barnard Castle dedicated to the Rev. Canon George Dugard, but that is the wrong wall. The 12.30 pm Wedding of David Gatenby and Victoria east wall of the chancel was completely rebuilt and also parts of the chancel Bennett at Barnard Castle south wall, despite much of the chancel having just been rebuilt some sixty 2.00 pm – Heritage Open Day – Tower Open see p15 years earlier. That unfortunately is around the corner. It was said that the 4.00 pm whole of the church roof had undergone repair at this time, now surely there 7.00 pm Concert at Barnard Castle th must be some roof near this stone? SUNDAY 9 8.00 am Holy Communion at Barnard Castle Patronal Festival 9.00 am No morning service at Whorlton That’s my bet, a Friday afternoon, late October, getting dark, with a chap up 10.30 am Holy Communion with Junior Church at on the scaffolding whilst working on the roof. Barnard Castle Let’s get evidence for his gravestone. There is a register of all the 3.00 pm Whorlton Prayer Walk monumental inscriptions in the burial grounds around the church. It was Monday 10th 7.00 pm PCC meets in the Vestry completed in 1996. It has only two references to Peel (no e) and they don’t Wednesday 12th 10.00 am Weekday Communion at Barnard Castle have a Joshua.