The Greatham Beck Parish of St John The Baptist, Greatham, Hartlepool October 2020 £3.00 per annum Or 35p each 3636 1 From the Editors……… Autumn is upon us- the season of mists and mellow fruitful- ness. The nights are closing in, the leaves are changing their colours, and we all admit it’s finally okay to put the heating on! (well, okay, for most of us!). At the time of writing, we are still unable to print copies of The Beck and continue to email to as many people as possi- ble. With government restrictions changing on a regular ba- sis and the increase in Covid cases it seems likely that printing will not be possible anytime soon, but we continue to explore options for providing copies to those who do not have access to on line copies. In the meantime we hope you enjoy our October edition. Stay safe, Linda and Justine Parish Council Meetings Please note any remaining meetings for this year will be held in Greatham Community Centre NOT The Heron Centre as previously notified. Also meetings may be cancelled due to the Covid regulations in operation at the time. 22 35 A message from Philip…….. Love it or loathe it, “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is one of the best-known hymns in the English language. It was written in 1848 by Mrs Cecil Frances Alexan- der to help Sunday School children better understand the story of creation in Gen- esis when God created the World and everything in and on it. All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. October 4th sees the start of Francistide in honour of St Francis of Assisi who fa- mously loved nature and all of God’s creatures. It is for this reason that the Church also celebrates Creationtide at this time when we are called to pay special atten- tion to the responsibility of humanity for the Earth and for all that lives upon it. A few months ago my fifteen year old spaniel suffered a severe stroke and alt- hough he has thankfully made a remarkable recovery, our daily walk now is not what it used to be. Instead of him running everywhere, he now loiters and plods, stopping frequently to sniff and “catch up on the “wee mails”. At first I found this new pace quite frustrating but now I have got into the routine as well and notice far more around me than I did before. The beautiful views over the countryside around Greatham, the tiny perfectly formed flowers hiding in the hedgerows, the wildlife and the birdsong, the beautiful orange red sun appearing above the hori- zon at sunrise. The other day I watched in awe as a pod of about ten dolphins swam effortlessly across the bay, something I would not have even noticed before in our route march along the beach. With the exceptionally low tide recently the very rare and extraordinary sight of We would like to acknowledge the kind contribution the petrified forest at Seaton Carew became visible, dating from 2000BC and made by the 5000BC before the great flood that created the North Sea when Britain was joined to mainland Europe in a single land mass. Hospital of God Trust Greatham, for their continuing support which allows for the printing 2020 will be seen by future generations as a year when the World changed. I like to of this magazine. We hope we will be able to print again think that it will be a change for the better, when we realise what a beautiful but soon. fragile and short thing life can be and what a precious world we have been given to care for. That the time has come to look around us and see the miracle of creation that surrounds us and change the way we view and treat the World before it is too late- and it is nearly too late. “He gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God Al- mighty, who has made all things well.” 3434 3 Philip St John the Baptist, Greatham Just for Laughs... Visit our website at: www.stjohnthebaptistgreatham.org.uk We are pleased to announce that we are now able to hold a Sunday ser- vice in Church at 9.30am. Everyone is required to wear a face mask and provide contact details on entry. In addition we are still holding an online prayer service via Zoom on Wednesday morning at 11.00am for a said service of worship and prayer. If you would like to join us please contact Daniel David on: [email protected] There is also a video of prayer on the website which can be accessed, if you so wish, by following the link below: https://www.holytrinityseaton.org.uk/holytriniyandstjohnthebaptistnews With thanks and best wishes, Philip Keep your distance! Why singing in church is the same as shouting at the pub I never thought the comment, "I wouldn't touch How dangerous is it to sing in church, when it comes to spreading you with a six-foot pole" would become national policy, but here we are! coronavirus? About the same as it is to speak loudly in a pub. So say researchers at the University of Bristol. They have found that speaking loudly and singing generate about the same amounts of aerosol droplet – tiny particles of liquid – which are thought to carry Covid-19 Of course, the louder you sing or speak, the more the aerosol droplets. Bereavements: Pat Brotherton (nee Liver) 28th September 2020 Rest in peace. Any omissions will be included next month 44 33 5 32 32 1. James Callaghan At the time of printing printing of time the At £360 has been donated. been has £360 2. Anthony Eden 3. Harold Wilson 4. Clement Attlee www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/greathamchurch 5. Edward (Ted) Heath 6. Neville Chamberlain tough times. tough 7. Alec Douglas-Home Thank you for any help and support you could give during these these during give could you support and help any for you Thank 8. Stanley Baldwin 9. Harold Macmillan bells ringing! bells 10. (James) Ramsay MacDonald fundraising methods we are asking for your support to keep our church church our keep to support your for asking are we methods fundraising the church has to contribute £20,000, however without our typical typical our without however £20,000, contribute to has church the 31 page Restoration of the church bells is estimated to almost £30,000 of which which of £30,000 almost to estimated is bells church the of Restoration Answers to Prime Minister Anagrams from from Anagrams Minister Prime to Answers Giving to help raise the funds necessary to sustain our church. our sustain to necessary funds the raise help to Giving members of our congregation we have turned to social media and Just- and media social to turned have we congregation our of members to raise money in the community. So with the help of the younger younger the of help the with So community. the in money raise to coffee mornings and fetes, it is also unsafe for our older congregation congregation older our for unsafe also is it fetes, and mornings coffee 1. Sylvia (from the song Sylvia's Mother, "please Mrs Avery I fundraising are not practical, as it would be unsafe to gather people for for people gather to unsafe be would it as practical, not are fundraising just wanna tell her goodbye") 19 situation our usual methods of of methods usual our situation 19 - toration. Due to the current COVID current the to Due toration. 2. El Condor Pasa financial reserves to provide this much needed res- needed much this provide to reserves financial 3. The Concert for Bangladesh the community and as such it does not have the the have not does it such as and community the 4. Gloria (Van Morrison, Them) The priority of the church has always been to serve serve to been always has church the of priority The 5. Four answers: a. Bruce Springsteen, b. Sting, c. Fleetwood Mac, d. Def Leppard the bell tower. bell the 6. Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds' 7. You're so vain (Carly Simon) but also to prevent serious structural damage to to damage structural serious prevent to also but 8. Killing Me Softly with His Song (Roberta Flack and The Fu- need of aid both to sustain their majestic chorus chorus majestic their sustain to both aid of need gees) they have fallen into disrepair and are in urgent urgent in are and disrepair into fallen have they 9. Five answers: a. Jesus Christ Superstar, b. Tommy, c. village and countryside, however in recent years years recent in however countryside, and village Quadrophenia, d. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the listed church have rung out over the surrounding surrounding the over out rung have church listed Spiders from Mars, e. The Wall For hundreds of years the bells of this grade II II grade this of bells the years of hundreds For 10. The Flamingos From page 30 page From Bells Church Quiz Music to Answers British prime ministers Historical Treasures Discovered by Accident Anagrams Can you name these PM’s? The Xian Terra Cotta Army In 1974, a group of Chinese farmers chanced 1. Mjsea aaallnhcg 2. Yotnnha need upon the discovery of a lifetime: the tomb of 3. Dlhoar slnowl the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty.