St Mary’s Parish Magazine May - June 2018 50p Notes from the Editor Contents Summer evokes images of bright, bright 3 The Rector’s Annual Report 2017/18 The Rector reflects on a busy year sunshine, golden afternoons with ice cold lemonade and juicy watermelon slices, 4 Daddy’s Empty Chair and a hammock on a warm beach. A poignant short story 5 William Parr During summer, everything seems more A brief look at the life of Katherine Parr’s vibrant, hopeful, and liberating. Everyone brother who is buried in St Mary’s loves summer. Celebrate this beautiful 8 June Traditions season with some inspirational quotes: Some old Warwickshire celebrations 10 The Garden Tomb What is one to say about June, the time A reflective poem by Gina Southey of perfect young summer, the fulfilment of 11 Never A Crossword the promise of the earlier months, and Our regular brain teaser with mainly religious with...no sign to remind one that its fresh themes young beauty will ever fade. 12 Thought For Food A simple dish bursting with flavour Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) 13 Don’t Forget To Smile A little girl’s view on the world A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds 13 Marriage Lines are singing, and the lawn mower is A few mischievous quotes broken. 14 Mothers’ Union How to get involved James Dent (1953- ) 15 And Finally …… Crossword answers and other important things Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. Henry James (1843-1916) There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. Celia Thaxter (1835-1894) Tony King Footnote: Copies of the magazine can be posted to your home or friends and relations. Subscription rates are £6.50 for a year (6 editions), including postage. Please contact the Parish Office. 2 RECTOR’S 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT TIMELINES There has been a great deal of change at St Mary’s since the last APCM and my previous Vicar’s report. In May we said farewell to Tom Corns who moved on from being St Mary’s Director of Music (DOM) to his new post at Sheffield Cathedral. We are enormously grateful to Tom for everything he achieved in his time with us and wish him all the best and God’s blessing in his new role. I would like to put on record my own gratitude to Mark Swinton for his hard work as acting DOM, particularly during the very busy Advent and Christmas season and it was a delight to welcome Oliver Hancock from Portsmouth Cathedral as our new DOM in January. Given these changes it is a great tribute to all involved in our musical ministry that we produced three broadcasts from St Mary’s in the past year: Sunday Worship on Radio 4; Choral Evensong on Radio 3 and our Carol Service on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, which were all well received. Congratulations to all who were involved. In July we welcomed Alycia Timmis as curate-in-training at St Mary’s. This is the first time in living memory that we have had someone in that role in church and it has been wonderful to have Alycia, Mark and Miles as part of the St Mary’s family. All being well, Alycia will be ordained priest at Coventry Cathedral on Sunday 1st July. Once again Christmas has been a lively and busy time for St Mary’s. After 2016’s successes, there was a record number of trees for the 2017 Christmas Tree Festival and yet again a new high in numbers attending our Crib Service on Christmas Eve. Like so much in our church, these were tremendous team efforts and thank you to everyone who contributed. On a personal basis, I had various works published in 2017: The Power of Story to Change a Church (Grove); Leading by Story: Rethinking Church Leadership (SCM) co-authored with David Sims; a chapter on ‘Folk Music’ in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Popular Music (Bloomsbury). Much of the work for these was done during my 2015 sabbatical study leave and I remain most grateful to clergy colleagues, our church office, wardens and lay folk who enabled me to have three months to research and write. TEAMS Once again I would like to express my appreciation to all who have worked so hard on our behalf. St Mary’s would not have been the church it is without their commitment and as the Vicar I am very, very grateful for all they have done in 2017. Thanks are due to those in our Parish Office (Felicity and Glynis); our Churchwardens (John and Gail), Deputy Churchwardens (David, and Godfrey) and all the PCC (especially John and Mary Adams, Treasurer, and Vicky Bartholomew, Secretary); our verger for premises (Mark); and our vergers for worship (Sue, John and Phil); Oliver, Mark and Paddy with all who work on the musical side of our life; Vicky, Grahame and all our servers; Catherine and those running the Sunday School; our readers and intercessors; our Family Service leaders; Gill and Carol and all our sidespeople; Alycia, Doreen and all assisting clergy, Kirsteen for our new prayer diary and Tony our magazine editor; for all who are involved in our bell ringing team; for Helen, Brenda and all our flower team; for Sally and those who work as receptionists; our church guides; for Dee and all in our shop; for our bell ringers; for the moneycounters. In addition, I also recognize the continued support of the Friends of St Mary’s, the Friends of the Choir, the Guild of Ex-Choristers, the King Henry VIII Trust, the St Mary’s Hall Trust, Alison Giles and Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants. 3 DADDY’S EMPTY CHAIR A man’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “I guess you were expecting me," he said. “No, who are you?” said the father. The minister told him his name and then remarked, “I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up,” “Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the minister shut the door. “I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man. “But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day, four years ago, my best friend said to me, ‘Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest...’” ‘Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky, because He promised, ‘I will be with you always.’ Then just speak to Him in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’” “So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.” The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. 4 Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon. “Did he die in peace?” the minister asked. “Yes. When I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But, there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?” The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, “I wish we could all go like that.” ********************************************************************************* WILLIAM PARR On his father, Sir Thomas Parr's death when he was no more than four, William Parr, as the only son, was left as heir to a reasonable, but not extensive patrimony. His education, both at home at Rye House and later in the household of the Duke of Richmond, followed the most up-to-date humanist teaching, and included Latin, French, mathematics and music. Throughout his life William Parr was a patron of scholars and musicians as well as having scholarly works dedicated to him. His first introduction to public life was in 1525 when he was appointed, aged about eleven, as one of the companions to be educated with Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, at the great castle of Sheriff Hutton, in Yorkshire. It is here that William built relationships with many who would be leading religious reformers in Henry VIII's later years, and in the reign of Edward VI. Advancement through friendship with the King's son was not the only plan for William and, in February 1527 his mother pulled off what appeared to be a master stroke in Tudor politics, when William was married to Lady Anne Bourchier, only child and heir of Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex.