july/august 2018development at the university of east anglia arrived in arusha, tanzania to set up...
TRANSCRIPT
Cambridge org
July/August 2018
2
The Vicar’s Letter
Dear Friends
I have now been Priest in Charge of
St Mark’s, Newnham, along with the
church in Grantchester, for a year.
Anniversaries are good times to
reflect and it is great to mark a year in
post with lots of good and positive
reflections. My family and I have so
enjoyed our first year in Cambridge.
What a place – so many interesting
places and people, things to
experience and discover!
We have been made to feel very welcome and we have met so many
different people. I have shared many joyful occasions with people as
well as some rather sadder ones – there have been church
anniversaries, funerals, fêtes, weddings, lunches, parties and
baptisms. There have been occasions involving silence, solitude and
reflection and there have been lively, joy-filled noisier services. There
have been community events and individual meetings. I have been
welcomed into our schools, as well as to many, many people’s homes.
Despite some challenges, this has been a good year.
But a one year anniversary, as well as causing me to look back over
twelve months, also causes me to look ahead and wonder what next?
I hope I came here to these two churches with an open mind, keen to
listen and hear what has gone before, to understand and to get to
know who is who and what is what. I hope I will always keep that open
mind, eyes and ears, but at the same time, I think as we move into the
autumn we ought to be asking ourselves, “What next?” Where is God
leading us as a church as part of a wider community? I don’t know the
answer yet, but I am keen to start asking the question. I am sure that
part of it, as it is for most organisations, is to build on that which is
already good. We are a positive, enthusiastic, lively and welcoming
church. Let’s do more of that. We are committed to young and old
alike – and everyone in between. Let’s continue in that vein. We see
people in church who have been in Newnham for many, many years
and those who are new or even passing through. Let’s always keep
both in mind. But, at the same time, let us commit bravely to take
steps into the unknown at times and try new things.
Throughout the bible, especially the Old Testament, and in many of our
beloved hymns, we read and are reminded of the unchanging nature of
God. His love and faithfulness are constant and steadfast. His nature
and his commitment to humanity are unwavering. And yet, the prophet
Isaiah wrote the following words:
‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not
perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the
wasteland.’
Isaiah 43:19.
This was written many centuries ago to a people far from here and
different to us, but let’s ask ourselves the same question. What is the
new thing God will do? What are the ways that need to be found in
wilderness places, what do those streams in wasteland look like in 21st
Century Newnham? What do we notice springing up around us and
how do we respond?
As we move into the autumn, let us continue to celebrate the
unchanging, constant, steadfast love of God, let’s build on all which is
already good in the life of our church and community, but let’s also
keep our eyes and ears and minds and hearts open to the new thing
that God might be doing with us.
Thank you for a good first year. Here’s to the next one!
The Revd Rachel Rosborough
CBM : the June Charity
The amount donated to date, including attributable Gift Aid, is just
over £600! The CBM are extremely pleased with this generous
support for their worthy cause.
With grateful thanks
Anne Howie
3
St Mark's Church Mission Statement
To be the people of God in this place and to work to make God more real for our community.
Archbishop Oscar Romero
We are very grateful to Tim Verney for his contribution to our
occasional series on the saints. If any other readers would like to
tell us about a saint who particularly interests them we would be
delighted to hear from them.
There are saints of old and saints
“not so old”. In the early church the
word “saints” simply encompassed
all the believers, those who as
Christians followed the way of Jesus
Christ. Over the centuries, many men and women have been
acknowledged by the church to have lived remarkable lives of faith,
often bearing witness to the beliefs they held so dear by offering
their own lives, as martyrs.
All are honoured and remembered and a tiny few have been made
saints in a sign of special recognition of their achievements. Their
exceptional lives often transcend the times in which they lived,
continuing to shine out across history. Days are set aside in the
calendars of the churches to remember them and their teaching,
and their lives are studied and meditated on.
In some branches of the church, the making of saints continues
today. A familiar example is Mother Teresa, St Teresa of Calcutta,
who was canonised, or formally approved for sainthood, two years
ago.
This October will be a particularly special time for the people of the
central American country of El Salvador, as well as the wider
church, when Pope Francis is due to confer sainthood on one
martyr of the 20th century. Oscar Romero was the Catholic
archbishop of the capital, San Salvador, when in 1980 he was shot
dead while conducting mass. His death sparked protests against
the country’s repressive government from around the world.
He had only been archbishop for three years when, aged 62, he
was killed by a lone gunman as he conducted the service at a
hospital chapel. Aware of the growing warnings that his life was at
risk from elements linked to the state authorities, Archbishop
Romero nevertheless continued to speak out against a deadly
campaign of repression that had cost many lives. A voice for the
voiceless and marginalised, he railed against the plight of the poor,
the social injustice that lay behind it, and the wave of
assassinations and torture that were sweeping the country.
Earlier he had written that, “If I denounce and condemn injustice, it
is because this is my duty as pastor of an oppressed and
downtrodden people. The Gospel enjoins me to do this and, in its
name, I am ready to go before the courts, to prison and to death.”
At the time he was considered a surprise choice for archbishop.
Regarded as conservative in his theology and retiring in manner,
his perceived lack of sympathy ran counter to the strong climate of
social justice gripping the Latin American church at the time and
was thought to count against his being appointed. However, Rome
had made its choice and a spell back in the countryside alongside
people with whom he had earlier spent many years working had
already opened his eyes in a new way to the misery and repression
all around. Only weeks into his new role as archbishop, he was also
deeply affected by the murder of a young Jesuit priest he knew.
Archbishop Romero became the voice of the voiceless poor and
spoke the truth about what was happening in the countryside,
demanding justice.
Rejecting violence perpetrated by left-wing groups as well as the
right, he continued to promote peaceful solutions to the nation’s
crisis. He was vilified in the press and harassed by the security
forces. Even some of his fellow bishops accused him of having
become politicised. However, many looked to him as the defender
of the oppressed. His sermons, broadcast by radio, were listened to
across the country. In what was to be his final sermon in the
cathedral, he implored the perpetrators of violence, those ‘from our
own people’, to end the repression.
4
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As worries about his safety increased, he told a journalist, “I have
often been threatened with death. I have to say, as a Christian, that I
don’t believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will rise in
the Salvadoran people”.
During his time as archbishop, more than 100 British
parliamentarians nominated him for the Nobel peace prize. Now, as
the Catholic church prepares to make him a saint, his memory lives
on. He is venerated in the Anglican communion as well as the
Catholic church, with a feast day in March. In Britain, the Oscar
Romero Trust organises occasional services, publishes a newsletter
and makes his teachings available.
There is a statue of him in St Albans Abbey. And there is another
memorial at Westminster Abbey in London, shown on page 4.
Outside there, above the Great West Door, a stone carving of Oscar
Romero stares out at the thousands who pass by each day. Those
who pause to look see him alongside nine other twentieth century
martyrs who offered their lives for what they believed - beacons
who, like the saints of old, shine out across the years.
Tim Verney
Christian Aid Week, May 2018
There has been a wonderful and very generous
response to the house to house collection in
Newnham. £4,025.50 was raised and a further
£630.84 will be raised from the Gift Aided donations.
Also, Sam Rosborough did the first collection in Grantchester for
several years and collected the amazing amount of £445.36. From
this a further £50.37 will be raised by Gift Aid. These monies will be
of great use in Christian Aid’s work in parts of the world where there
is extreme poverty.
Many, many thanks to all who gave so generously of their money,
and also to Sam and to the other 25 collectors who gave so
generously of their time and energy.
Susan Chester
5
Umoja : the July Charity
Education, Empowerment and Youth Development
It is now 10 years since two young
graduates in International
Development at the University of
East Anglia arrived in Arusha, Tanzania to set up The Umoja
Centre. Their idea was born out of a desire to help the many
disadvantaged young people they met who had had to drop out of
secondary education due to poverty. Secondary schools in
Tanzania receive minimal public funding and young people from
poorer backgrounds find school costs prohibitive so that they often
are unable to complete their schooling. This leads inevitably to
unemployment and continuing poverty.
The Umoja Centre aims to break this cycle by providing a year of
an intensive programme which includes Maths, English, IT, life
skills, Global Studies, Sport and Enterprise. It also provides two
meals a day, access to health care, careers guidance and
counselling. After this year 70% of students enter vocational
training and 30% re-enrol in secondary school. An incredible 95%
of students who have completed their studies are now in full time
employment.
For the last two years we have been sponsoring Osesmo who has
completed his practical training at Kibo Palace Hotel in the
department of housekeeping, food production and restaurant
management. He is now going to continue his studies in hotel
management.
Umoja is always looking for sponsors for their students and more
information can be found on www.umojatanzania.org/get-involved/
sponsor It is a very worthwhile way of providing a young person
with a bright future.
St Mark's Church has been incredibly supportive of Umoja over
many years and we are very grateful for this. Any donations will go
towards funding books, teachers’ salaries, meals and medical
checks and in many other ways. You can be assured that your
support will be very appreciated by all the students.
For further information ask Sue Wagner, Umoja UK trustee, or
Emma Wagner, Chair Umoja UK.
Parish Outing on 11th July 2018
An outing has been arranged to St Edmundsbury Cathedral
and
the Gardens at Helmingham Hall near Stowmarket
on Wednesday 11th July
leaving St Marks at 9.00 am and returning about 6.00 pm
Price: £30.00 which includes coach, coffee and a guided tour of the
Cathedral, entrance to the gardens and tea
(Lunch is available in the Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds or eat
your picnic in the Abbey Gardens)
Further details from Sue Payne on 328996 or via
Helmingham Hall is moated and was built by the Tollemache family
in 1480. The family still lives in the house and the gardens were
awarded the 2017 Historic Houses Garden of the year.
Update on The Cambridge Churches Homeless Project
We operated from December until the end of March providing 15
spaces per night for the Homeless of Cambridge. Our Lady of the
English Martyrs’ contribution operated out of the Parish Centre every
Friday night and for five nights over Christmas. In total, 43 different
people stayed with us for some or most of the winter.
We offered a warm welcome, a home cooked supper and a sleeping
bag on a wooden floor. Half of our guests managed to access some
form of accommodation by the end of March. CCHP provided
individual support and financial deposits where appropriate to
facilitate some of our guests moving out of Homelessness.
We would like to thank all the cooks, hosts, night volunteers, morning
cleaners and front door welcome people who made the project
possible. Your prayers and donations were all very welcome.
6
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Around and About
Over the last few months staff at Millington Road Nursery School
have been busy putting together a collection of books and toys to
send to Nakawa Pre-School in Zambia.
In January Vyvyen Brendon, who is Chair of the Millington Road
Trustees, and her husband Piers visited Zambia with their son, Oliver
(himself a Millington Road Nursery alumnus), whose ATD Foundation
finances the supply of water and sanitation to schools in the region
around Livingstone. Among the
schools they visited was this pre-
school where they met Cynthia, the
Headmistress, as well as pupils,
parents and teachers. While they
were there Vyvyen taught them the
song, “The wheels on the bus go
round and round”, and has this
delightful photo of Cynthia leading
the children in song.
The Brendons were struck by the scarcity of resources in the school
and upon her return Vyvyen suggested that parents and children at
Millington Road might like to contribute picture books to the Zambian
school. Staff have been able to add some toys which they no longer
need and in June Oliver was able to take a large case filled with
books and toys back to Zambia with him.
Go to https://atd-foundation.org/ to find Pier’s account of their visit in
a Blog entitled An Oldies’ view of the work of ATD in Zambia.
The group of volunteers who provide coffee and drinks at Toddles,
our toddler group, will be delighted to hear news of Emily Palmer who
led the group from 2009 to 2013. Emily moved on from Toddles to
work as a Learning Support Assistant at Newnham Croft School.
During the past year she has been working hard towards qualifying
as a teacher, has now completed her training and has been
appointed as a Year 3 class teacher starting in September.
Jane Plows
7
Can the Charity balance its books?
Not yet.
• CHH has won contracts with the NHS and the County Council
but these do not cover the full cost of providing the service.
• CHH has moved out of Mill Road, Cambridge to Hardwick to
save on office rent.
• CHH depends on donations to reduce its deficit. (This is
where you come in, Please!)
How do you know all this?
• I have been a volunteer for most of the last 40 years.
• It has been a wonderful journey, in which St Mark's has played
quite a part, but now I am retiring.
Alan Jones
Please use a St Mark's envelope for your gift marking it CHH.
Thank you.
The August Charity
Was it possible for 115 trained volunteers and 5 part time staff to
• help over 11,300 people with a hearing loss,
• clean and re tube over 13,000 NHS hearing aids
• supply 35,000 hearing aid batteries last year?
Yes, and the number is rising.
How was this achieved?
• Through 43 accessible drop in Hearing Help Centres across
Cambridgeshire. For example, the St Andrew's Street Baptist
Church, every Friday between 10 and 12 noon.
• Through over 1,850 home visits and visits to care homes.
Is that all CHH does?
No.
• It gives individual advice and information on hearing loss,
talks and exhibitions.
• It makes referrals to lip reading classes and support groups.
How has the Charity evolved to meet growing need?
• By extending its original campaigning work on deaf
awareness and clear speech.
• By entering in to partnership with NHS Audiology and its
contractor Specsavers.
• By working with the County Mobile Library service to deliver
books and batteries.
Does the Charity face other challenges in the future?
Yes.
• CHH has been asked by the NHS and the County Council to
work in Peterborough, but that would be impossible with its
present resources.
This illustrates how the authorities seek to influence
voluntary organisations, sometimes overextending them.
Capriol Dancers
Present
A 15th Century Fashion Evening
with full contemporary costumes and dances
from Italy and Burgundy
St Mark’s Community Centre Large Hall
Tuesday 10 July 2018 at 7.30
Interval with refreshments
Finish by 9.30 Children welcome
No charge for admission. Donations to St Mark’s.
The May Charity
The final total for money raised for the Diocese of Gombe in
May was over £1,100.
8
The Cantus Singers of Cambridge
(Conductor: Alan Howard)
At their next concert at St. Mark’s Church on
Saturday 7th July at 8.00 pm
the Cantus Singers will be performing
Rutter: The Sprig of Thyme
(a cycle of folk-song settings)
Finzi: Seven Poems of Robert Bridges
Vaughan-Williams: Three Shakespeare Songs
and short works by Ernest Farrar,
Herbert Howells, and Ernest Walker
Tickets £10 in advance from Margaret Hay
([email protected]) or £12 on the door.
Under 18s free
St Mark’s Church Fête
This year’s fête was blessed with beautiful weather and the many
people who attended were able to enjoy the Volland’s garden at its
best. The total raised was over £3,000.
Newnham Croft School’s Eco Group
Each month the children of Newnham Croft’s Eco
Group send us an item for Seek. This is their tip for
the Summer Holidays.
Plastics
Plastic in our oceans is an increasing problem. This term at school we’ve been learning about the impact that plastic has on the environment. We are pleased that people are starting to recognise the problem and steps have been taken to reduce the amount of plastic that we use.
At Newnham Croft we think that everyone should be responsible for helping with the problem and have pledged to pick up three pieces of litter each time we visit a beach. As we go away for summer holidays, this will be especially important. If everyone does this then there will be a huge impact. Do join in!
Come to our next Community Lunch
Sunday 8th July at 12.30 pm
Please sign up in the Narthex if you wish to attend.
Cost £5.00
9
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• Floral Tributes
Goodbye to Rachel-Anne
When it comes to Choir Directors, few churches have been as
fortunate as St Mark’s. God seems to have provided extraordinarily
gifted people. And Rachel-Anne Minor has certainly been one of
them. Loved and respected by both choir and congregation, from the
day she started, we knew we had someone of high quality.
Her musicianship was impeccable - she not only knew the music, she
loved it. Practices were relaxed, but always productive. It never
mattered how many were there. Even at those times of the year when
numbers were low, she gave every note (and every person) the same
level of attention. We learned a huge amount from her - how to love
Herbert Howells and Vaughan Williams (her favourites), how exciting
even the simplest musical phrases could be, and, not least, how to
speak American. In return, we taught her many of the eccentricities of
the Church of England, together with some of our country's unusual
pronunciations. In fact, it soon became clear she was an Anglophile
through and through, and we were not at all surprised when she
announced she was going to marry an Englishman.
Perhaps most memorably, at the end of every rehearsal she would
invite requests for prayer, and then lead us in a way that was utterly
natural and unforced - reminding us pointedly of the One to whom all
our singing is ultimately directed. That was a special gift.
I know I am not alone in saying we will sorely miss Rachel-Anne - if
only she could have stayed longer. Her musical expertise, quick wit,
sense of fun, and her infectious love of God will not be forgotten
quickly. We wish her every success in her new job in London, and
nothing but joy in her marriage to Tristan.
Jeremy Begbie
From the Registers
Funeral 21st May Lynne Barnard
Baptisms 19th June Nathan Scott
Wren Bruce
10
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Exploring Faith through Drama
From time to time a magazine (Radius Performing) created by
Radius will appear in the Narthex. Radius is the Religious Drama
Society of Great Britain. Its patrons are Judi Dench and Rowan
Williams.
As our website puts it, “Radius has always campaigned for the
highest possible standards of performance in religious drama. The
society’s founders believed that a good play reflected God’s
creative powers and should always be the best its interpreters
could offer. The fact that good production standards are now taken
for granted in the churches owes a great deal to Radius’s work over
the years.”
What Radius does is provide resources for members through a
collection of playscripts, an assessment service for authors, a
regular magazine, occasional workshops and training events. There
was a Radius workshop recently on making short films and it was
held here at St Mark’s.
Indeed, Radius has maintained strong links with St Mark’s over the
years. Rex Walford was for a long time a leading light and an
inspirational member of the main committee. James Lark and Sean
Lang, who have both presented and performed in dramas at St
Mark’s, join me on the current publications committee. At the
moment we have been sorting through entries to the Radius
Playwriting Competition – a great many plays from all over the
country. The final judging of the competition is in the hands of Neil
McPherson and Sue Healy of London’s Finborough Theatre.
Radius has also published an anthology of short plays and readings
called Reconciliation and Remembrance in time for acts of
commemoration in November this year.
Something Radius is considering for the future is a festival of
religious drama – a chance to explore themes, to hear talks and
take part in discussions, and perhaps to see a challenging play or
two. What better venue for such an event than here in St Mark’s?
I’ll let you know if it happens.
To find out more about Radius, see the magazine in the Narthex or
take a look at our website – www.radiusdrama.org.uk.
Nick Warburton
11
Advertise in this magazine for as little as £45 per annum
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Contact Fiona King on 01223 357420
or via email to Jane Plows ([email protected])
WI Notes
With the speaker for our June meeting cancelling
at very short notice because of a family
emergency, I asked members if they would like a
DVD and we chose Monty Don visiting
Mediterranean gardens. The tour began with
visits to the Villa D’Este and Villa Lante in Italy as
well as the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s palace and
garden. We saw the oldest continuously worked
Arabic garden in Morocco which contained
orange, lemon, fig and olive trees. There were also date palms and
vines. The disc ended with a visit to the Alhambra in Granada. A very
pleasant evening ended with tea and cake. We are still debating on
what we will do for our July meeting on the 4th July.
In August we are having an unofficial event on Monday 6th with coffee
followed by a DVD of La La Land followed by a sandwich lunch.
Pat Caesar
Home Insurance
Promotion Extended
To celebrate their 130th anniversary, Ecclesiastical is offering to
donate £130 to St Mark's Church for every new home insurance
policy taken out by our members or family where cover commences
on or before 31st December 2018. Please see the poster in the
Narthex, log on to www.ecclesiastical.com/Trust130 or telephone
0800 783 0130 and quote TRUST130 and, when asked, St Mark’s
Church, Newnham, Cambridge. Many thanks.
Stuart Lingard - Treasurer
Prayers for the Summer
With the Solstice passed we are enjoying the height of Summer when
in the countryside and in our gardens I see fully the beauty of God’s
evolving Creation. This more than ever should make me thankful,
which prompts me to think again of Bishop Edward Reynolds’
contribution to the Book of Common Prayer during the 1600s, The
General Thanksgiving. The Morning Prayer Canticles (the Venite, Te
Deum Benedicite, etc) similarly acknowledging God’s ineffable
goodness, also come to mind as being appropriate praise and
thanksgiving for the joys of Summer.
There is a well known text inscribed on many rockeries and garden
paths which is the third verse of God’s Garden by Dorothy F. Gurney
who lived from 1858 till 1932 -
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
- which for some may sound trite as God’s heart is found in so many
other things, but when the fourth verse follows, the greater meaning
becomes clear
For He broke it for us in a garden
Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden
And the soul of the world found ease.
Prayer for the Summer Solstice
Jesus, thank you for Summer.
Thank you for light and warmth.
Thank you for the sun.
Thank you for the gifts of nature and for the annual cycles and
seasons.
Today, give us that grace again, to see you as the Creator,
the One who lifts us up to be with you forever, even now. Amen.
Source unknown. Adapted by Bill Huebsch, 2011.
Chosen by John Brady
12
Seek is printed by
Chris and Barbara Wright
situated in St Neots
01480 474112 07836 717950 [email protected]
Dates for your Diary
Saturday 7th July at 8.00 pm Cantus Concert p 9
Sunday 8th July at 12.30 pm Community Lunch p 8
Tuesday 10th July at 12.30 pm Capriol Dancers’ 15th Century Fashion
Evening p 7
Wednesday 11th July at 9.00 am Parish Outing to St Edmundsbury
Cathedral and Helmingham Hall
Gardens p 5
Tuesday 17th July at 3.30 pm Messy Church
The September Issue of SEEK
Contributions are invited and are always welcomed. Please send them by
Sunday 12th August to Jane Plows at [email protected]
(01223 350120) or give them to any member of the committee.
Regular Groups
Home Group with Bible Study : Alternate Mondays 10.30 am to 12 noon
Contact Sue Wagner
Bible Study at 3 Kings Road : Tuesdays at 7.30 pm
Contact Andrew and Angela Watts
Prayer Group at 10 Stukeley Close : Thursdays from 6.00 pm to 6.30 pm
Just turn up, or for more information, or to ask for prayer, contact Anne Howie
Friday Prayer Group at 10 Stukeley Close : Alternate Fridays at 11.00 am Contact Anne Howie
St Mark’s Choir meets every Friday from 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm in the
Community Centre in term time. Contact Rachel-Anne Minor at
music@stmarksnewnham
Services at St Mark’s Church, Newnham
Services in July and August
Sundays
8.00 am
Holy Communion (1662)
10.00 am
1st July Parish Communion and Junior Church
8th July Parish Communion and Junior Church
15th July Parish Communion and Junior Church
22nd July All Age Communion
10.30 am
29th July Joint Service at Grantchester
In August 10.00 am Parish Communion will continue each Sunday. No Junior Church.
There is a parent and child area in the Narthex for those with very young children at all the 10.00 am services. Refreshments follow the service and everyone is most welcome.
Evening Services at 6.30 pm
22nd July Informal Service
On most Sundays, parishioners are invited to join the congregation at Trumpington Parish Church for BCP Evensong at 6.30 pm, except on special occasions and on the 4th Sunday of the month when there is usually an Informal Service at St Mark’s.
Regular Tuesday Services
Weekly: Holy Communion (1662) at 11.00 am followed by coffee
Monthly: Messy Church from 3.30 pm to 5.45 pm. Join us for
activities and worship for the whole family on
Tuesday 17th July. (No Messy Church in August)
In addition to Messy Church, St Mark’s has a wide range of children’s
activities during term time, including Toddles, our toddler group, each
Monday and Thursday, Bumps to Babies on a Thursday morning and also
Friday Storytime every Friday.