Hearts THE BRIDGE on Fire The Diocese of Southwark Newspaper of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark Vol.23 No.7 September 2018 Inside THE BRIDGE Strictly ...this month 8 pages of news and pictures from for the the parishes birds! A Surrey parish has reorganised a major rebuilding project - to fi t round the Parish Profile - migrating patterns St John of swifts. The birds nest at St Mary’s Register - or it was. Repairs the Divine, Church, Oxted every year by the Victorians had led to Kennington and are an endangered the softer stone and mortar ... page 4 species. Their numbers have crumbling away, with very plummeted over the years, little of the original lime often owing to nesting sites render left. being closed over during After several years of hard refurbishment of old buildings. work, fi nance was secured from Determined that this would various local benefactors and stonework, the builders “Gradually more birds fi lled the swifts took up residence not happen at St Mary’s, the Heritage Lottery Fund to deliberately left quite a few! the sky, perhaps as many as again... swiftly!” enable the building project to These holes are mostly just 40 or 50. The builders were the PCC brought in Edward Edward Mayer will Mayer of the charity Swift proceed. below the overhang of the roof still working at height and the and are vital to the swifts. scaffolders were not going to speak about the work Conservation to work closely In order to accommodate the of Swift Conservation swifts, work near their nesting Churchwarden, Catherine be available to take down the i with the builders to ensure upper level for several days. at St Mary’s Open Day on that the swifts’ needs were sites was completed as ‘swiftly’ Hough, said: “A neighbour in Saturday 8 September. taken into account during the as possible, avoiding the the old Manor House opposite “So there was quite an All with an interest in renovations. breeding season. Scaffolding the lych gate kept us informed anxious wait as the swifts conservation are welcome St Mary’s is Grade I listed was sited to avoid obstructing of the fi rst arrivals in spring were fl ying very close to the - check www.stmarysoxted. WWI - ‘We and on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ entry holes, and while fi lling but we were reassured that church. However as soon as uk for times and details. in many of the gaps in the they would not yet be breeding. the scaffolding was lowered, will remember them’ The Archdeacon and the dragon... ... pages 8/9 When the Archdeacon St James’s Vicar, Canon James’s tower. Perhaps the Gary Jenkins, said: “The founders of St James had a of Southwark, the presence of the dragon on top link with St Mary-le-Bow. But Venerable Dr Jane of a church tower has puzzled whatever, it looks likely that Steen, heard that St people down the generations, our dragon is a link to the but recently an intriguing City, and via the City, to St James, Bermondsey’s link was made with the City of George, and via St George, to dragon was back from London, just across the river. the triumph of good over evil - the repairers, she “The City’s coat of arms and as such it begins to make decided to ‘inspect’ it shows a shield with the cross more sense as a symbol on top of St George, supported by of a church”. at ground level, before two dragons. This has led to Has it got a name? it returns to its perch. the dragon itself being seen The dragon is a golden as a symbol of London, and Incidentally, the Archdeacon weathervane which usually to being immortalised in had the same question that crowns St James’s bell- a least one City church, St children from St James’s around the tower. It was removed for Mary-le-Bow, whose dragon School regularly ask... ‘has it refurbishment while repairs bears more than a passing got a name?’ Suggestions to Diocese were taking place to the tower. remembrance to that on St Gary Jenkins please. ...page 15 Follow the Diocesan Blog: ‘Hearts on Fire – sharing God’s Good News in Southwark Diocese’ - http://southwarkcofe.tumblr.com/ 2 THE BRIDGE... September 2018 A view from Croydon Area THE BRIDGE Office has Stop and relocated think The Croydon PA to the Bishop of Croydon, Episcopal Area Offi ce Nadina Bedlow E-mail: nadina.bedlow@ ...and has moved from St southwark.anglican.org Matthew’s House to: Tel: 020 8256 9632 Kathleen Bailey pray 6 St Peter’s Road, (Maternity Cover) Sometimes you see things Croydon CR0 1HD. E-mail: kathleen.bailey@ that make you stop and Tel: 020 8256 9630 southwark.anglican.org think. (main offi ce). Tel: 020 8256 9632 On occasion that’s because the thing that you are The Venerable Christopher ...and has looking at has been put there to make you think and on All postal communications should be addressed to the Skilton, Archdeacon of other occasions it is because the visual impression of Croydon something is so stunning that you cannot take your eyes new premises. St Matthew’s some items House is now vacant. E-mail: christopher.skilton@ off it or forget it. southwark.anglican.org The World War I graves in Normandy are one of the Contact Tel: 020 8256 9633 latter experiences for me. The rows upon rows of to give away Details for individual graves, almost all of young men, speak of lives and The Venerable Moira Astin, members of the Croydon families destroyed. Hidden beneath the headstones Archdeacon of Reigate Croydon Episcopal Area Offi ce has the above Episcopal Area Offi ceare as are stories of bravery and of fear; of long tiring battles E-mail: moira.astin@ items which it doesn’t need anymore and is follows: waged over small pieces of land; of young men simply southwark.anglican.org currently offering to parishes at no cost. doing what they were told to do to defend their way The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark, Tel: 020 8256 9633 There is also 10 litres of Dulux ‘Wellbeing’ paint (vibrant of life and dying all too soon. It is impossible to forget Bishop of Croydon PA to the Archdeacons, them once seen and it is impossible not to grieve for so E-mail: bishop.jonathan@ green) available on a fi rst come-fi rst served basis. The colour Susan Wheeler would be suitable for a young person’s meeting room or similar. many lives lost. southwark.anglican.org E-mail: susan.wheeler@ Another Place is an Antony Gormley installation on Tel: 020 8256 9632 southwark.anglican.org C ontact Susan Wheeler at Croydon Episcopal Area Offi ce, St Peter’s Road, Croydon CR0 1HD Tel: 020 8256 9633 Crosby Beach and it too is unforgettable. It consists of Tel: 020 8256 9633 100 cast-iron, life-size cast fi gures of Antony Gormley’s own body (the statues depict the artist naked which has been a little controversial). They are spread out over a space of about three kilometres and they all face out to Were you Using social sea. They are all regularly covered by the sea and the OOPPORTUNITIESPPORTUNITIES further from land they are placed, the more covered in baptised media and barnacles the statues have become. at St Mary That this should happen is completely obvious when Operations Manager websites to you think about it and yet it fascinated me as it made it Addiscombe? so clear how context changes things. The vast majority St Hilda’s Crofton Park reach out of them have remained upright and gaze out to sea as St Mary Magdalene The Diocese is hosting if contemplating life and the future. It is an incredibly Church is 150 years Courtrai Road SE23 1PL live video training on An powerful installation and well worth a visit. old this year. Would you enjoy a half-time post managing Introduction to Social When we see things such as the War Graves and As part of the a range of premises, applying your business, Media and Writing for installations such as Another Place we are forced to celebrations a special marketing, sales, and customer service skills? the Web, streamed live stop and think; to contemplate life. In the last four from Church House service is being held We are looking for an Operations Manager to take years we have looked back remembering the centenary on Sunday Westminster - 30 places of the First World War and contemplating those who responsibility for our site and user groups; to play a key role in are available, and are 16 September sustaining business, communications, fundraising and events. lost their lives and the devastating eff ects that the (10.30 am) to which limited to one place per many deaths and injuries sustained had on so many anyone baptised at St We serve a wide diversity of people - an enjoyment of parish. people - on a whole generation. Mary’s is invited. customer service will be essential. You will need to be Delegates are asked As we move towards the end of the four years of confi dent in handling maintenance, health and safety issues, to bring along their remembrance let’s commit ourselves to pray for peace The service will and have basic ‘Excel’ for accounting. Experience of laptops or tablets to and justice in our troubled world and to join together be followed by community events would be desirable. follow along with the to work bring God’s love and to show God’s Kingdom to refreshments.