SStteebbbbiinngg SScceennee EDITION No: 109 Spring 2009 Soon the clocks will be going forward and hopefully the weather will improve so that we can get out into the garden again. Stebbing got off relatively lightly during the recent snowstorms and flooding, compared with many of our neighbouring communities. I would like to thank Rodney Evans for his splendid work for the Magazine over the past four years, and also for his patience with me, as I am far from computer literate! We now welcome Peter Finlay to the Team and thank him very much for volunteering. Also in response to my request for volunteers, and for articles of interest to you readers, a big thank you. Many Thanks to Bill Childs for his headline drawing. Jenny McGinn 1 2 You are Invited To Celebrate Easter In Your Local Churches Maundy Thursday Thursday 9th April St James’, Great Saling 7.30pm Benefice Holy Communion Good Friday Friday 10th April Good Friday Walk The Walk is suitable for all the family; walk as much or as little of it as you like. Four services in our Churches along the way will follow through the events of Good Friday. 9am - Service at Lindsell (a simple reading, reflection and prayer) 9.20 am - Walk to Stebbing 11.15 am - Service at Stebbing (All-Age worship) followed by a picnic lunch (please bring your own picnic) 1pm Walk to Great Saling 2.30pm – Short service at Great Saling 2.50pm walk to Little Saling 3.45pm Service at Little Saling (an hour at the cross) Hot cross buns will follow this service Easter Sunday 12th April St Mary’s Church, Lindsell 9.30am Family Communion St James’, Great Saling 11am Family Communion St Mary’s Church, Stebbing 11am Family Communion Further details about your local parish church can be found on our websites www.achurchnearyou.com/stebbing-st-mary-the-virgin/ www.achurchnearyou.com/lindsell-st-mary-the-virgin/ www.achurchnearyou.com/great-saling-st-james/ www.achurchnearyou.com/little-saling-st-peter-and-st-paul/ Whether or not you choose to join us, have a very Happy Easter 3 4 CHURCH MATTERS from Tim and Ruth Goodbody Dear Friends, It might seem early to be inviting you to join the celebrations of Easter, but I would like to avoid putting you through the inconvenience of last-minute publicity. With that in mind we have provided you in the pages of this magazine with the details of church services and other activities for Holy Week and Easter. There is perhaps much to be said therefore for planning ahead! Recently of course we have all been forced into last minute changes of plan, following the recent floods and snow and ice, which caused such disruption. It was very heartening to know that our community has been strong in the face of these adverse conditions. I have been told of neighbours offering accommodation to those who were flooded out, and of others making sure the elderly and housebound had enough provisions to get through the short period of being snowed in. At Easter (I hope it won’t snow on Easter Sunday this year!) we celebrate God’s planning ahead. It might be tempting for us to conclude that sending Jesus Christ into the world to deliver us from evil and sin was a kind of ‘plan B’ for God, to fix the mess the world had got into, but the Bible teaches, and Christian tradition is clear that God’s plan has always been to redeem the world, to save it and renew it. Jesus suffered and died a sacrificial death, to take away the consequences and effects of human wrongdoing throughout history. He paid the penalty on our behalf, so that those who put their trust in Christ need not fear death. So for me there are two miracles at Easter; first, that God loves the world so much that he was prepared to live and die as a human being, and second, that that death, and resurrection, have a universal scope – that is, they are effective for all time. One death, on one day 2000 odd years ago, and one miraculous return from death 3 days later, altered the destiny of humanity, because they provided us with a way back into relationship with God. And that was God’s intention from the start; to grant us free will, to decide for ourselves, abut to provide us with a means to returning to him when we decide to do so. That’s why, as I have said before, Easter is the climax of the Christian year. Without the resurrection, the Christian faith is futile, St Paul wrote. Christmas is a wonderful time of celebration, and we are blessed by a large proportion of the populations of these parishes who chose to worship with us then. However, without Easter, Christmas would be empty. If Jesus did not achieve what he came to do, why celebrate his coming? But he did achieve it – when he said, “It is finished!” from the cross, it was in the sense of “I’ve done it”, not “it’s over”, because of course at the heart of Easter is the fact that we can relate to God in Christ today through his Holy Spirit, as we read the Bible, pray and worship -in church or in the fields or our bedrooms and kitchens – but supremely as part of God’s family the church. So it’s not over, it’s just starting! And if you are thinking of starting to come to church we would be very glad to welcome you. Easter is a good time to start coming because of course our focus is rightly on the good news of the resurrection, but also because with the warmer weather come the beauty of the fields, churchyards and flowers, to inspire and encourage our worship. From Tim and Ruth 5 6 Recent works to the Lime trees in St Marys Churchyard “Whatever have you done to the trees in the churchyard, are they being felled - will they die” some villagers have asked. I have assured them that the answer is “no” on both counts, the trees on either side of the paved footpath are simply being maintained as an avenue of pollard Limes. Pollarding is when all the branches are cut off at about 10-12’ or so above ground level and then allowed to regrow. Lime trees are like Planes, Oak, Hornbeam and Sycamores in that they all pollard well; adventitious shoots readily form beneath the bark and develop into branches. This process is then repeated every 5-10 years or so. The story in the churchyard goes back a while, many of the old Limes developed rotten trunks, Lime wood is soft and decays more readily than many other broadleaved species. By pollarding the weight of the upper branches was removed and this meant that the old trees could stay longer without risk of collapse. The avenue could be safely retained and, co-incidentally, the decayed trunks were a great habitat for all sorts of insects and fungi. It was clear that at some point in time the old trees would have to go and this time has now come. However, replacements were planted in anticipation of this eventuality and about half have now been pollarded for the first time and within the next year or so it will be necessary to do the rest. Pollarding always appears drastic at first but with two or three seasons of growth the scene will mellow, the integrity of the pollard avenue as a feature of the churchyard will thus be preserved. Patrick Smith Obituaries Laurence Nicholas 12th September 1909 – 18th December 2008 Laurie, who sadly died just before Christmas, thus missing his Centenary by nine months, was Stebbing’s oldest inhabitant. Laurie moved to Tan Farm in Stebbing in 1956. At seventeen he was a Classical Scholar, destined for Oxford, when his Mother died suddenly and his Father’s health and business failed. Instead, he embarked on a life–long career with the Bank of England. Both Laurie & Judy, his wife for 66years, played an active part in various Stebbing Clubs & Societies and contributed much to the Village. Laurie love Tan Farm and always made sure that any repairs, maintenance etc were in keeping with the lovely old farmhouse. He had a great love of Nature, especially birds & butterflies. For his 90th Birthday he had an herbaceous border replaced, especially to attract butterflies. Laurie was also an accomplished Jazz drummer and very much enjoyed the Colin Symons Jazz sessions held at the White Hart. Following Judy’s death in 2006, he lived alone at Tan Farm and although in ever increasing poor health with deteriorating eye sight, he coped remarkably well, with much appreciated help from Dick & Pat Hughes, his neighbours, who were regular visitors. 7 He made visitors welcome and loved nothing more than to reminisce about Stebbing over the years. Laurie & Judy’s children, Jane, Bridget, David and their families, were regular week-end visitors. Frances Hynds 1938 – 2008 Frances was born in London and came to Stebbing as an evacuee, the baby in her family, very early in the War. Her family made their home locally and years later, Frances caught the eye of Len Hynds. She worked for a time in Woolworths, before marrying Len while still in her teens. Susan was their first child, Andrew followed and Frances fostered a number of babies as well. Although always busy and with Susan living at home, Frances identified Mencap as her charity and worked tirelessly to raise funds for the Organisation.