L I N K Monthly Magazine

50p

April 2015

St Mary the Virgin,Rickmansworth The Church of England and The Methodist Church in Partnership

Serving the whole community

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REGULAR SERVICES

PLEASE SEE CALENDAR ON CENTRE PAGES FOR FURTHER DETAILS, AND OCCASIONAL VARIATIONS AND ADDITIONS

TIME SERVICE LANGUAGE

Sundays Weekly 8.00AM Holy Communion Traditional

1st 10.00AM Family Communion Modern followed by coffee in

the Church Centre

2nd–5th 10.00AM Sung Holy Communion Modern followed by coffee in the Church Centre

Children’s Church in the Church Centre

2nd 12.15PM Holy Communion Modern

Weekly 6.00PM Evening Service

Weekdays

Mon−Fri 8.30AM Morning Prayer

Tue 9.30AM Holy Communion: Modern

5.45PM Evening Prayer: Mon–Fri, Mar–Oct

Contacts

The code for all 6 digit telephone numbers is 01923, unless otherwise indicated.

Church Address: Church Street Rickmansworth WD3 1JB Website: www.stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk

Ministers at St Mary’s Vicar and Minister authorised to The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office

serve within the Methodist Church

Methodist Minister at St Mary’s, The Revd Richard Lowson 223906

and three other Methodist churches

Priest Self-supporting Minister with The Revd Scott Talbott 07802 244877

Permission to Officiate scott.talbott@talk21.com

Reader Michael Baker 776109

Church Office Church Secretary Louise Wotherspoon 721002 parishoffice@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk Opening Hours Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am–1.30pm;

Wed 1.00–3.00pm, in school term time

CONTINUED ON INSIDE BACK OF COVER

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LINK April 2015

4 The Vicar’s Letter The moveable feast of Easter

5 The Readings at Communion

5 Prayers Weekly pointers, other churches, our members, local people

6 A Prayer for April

7 Archbishop’s visit Visiting the Diocese in June

8 The New Bishop of Hertford Michael Beasley appointed

9 A Time to Reflect Daily Evening Prayer restarting

9 Annual Meetings In Church on 28 April Situations Vacant (Posts to be filled at the meetings)

10 Confirmation on 28 June Preparation about to start

11 Ricky Week Jolly Jam Jars, Quiz

11 Deanery Retreat in Daily Life Apply by the end of the month

12 Beating the Bounds An old tradition resurrected

13 Women’s World Day of Prayer Thoughts about the service

13 Royal Masonic School Evening A pleasant time enjoyed by all

14 St Mary’s School News Too many activities to list here!

16 What’s on in Rickmansworth Watersmeet, Music Society, Horticultural Society, RDFAS, Townswomen’s Guild

18 April Calendar

20 St Mary’s in the Past Easter in 1905 and 1960

21 Various pictures of the Church

23 Nature Notes Beech trees and a weasel

25 St Mary’s People Obituary, death and birthdays

28 The Resurrection Altar Frontal Work is in hand

29 The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter Some reflections on this

31 What is a Billion? Seconds, minutes, hours, £s

31 The Gospel Around Us Linking similar sounding words

32 Dave Walker Cartoon

34 Archbishop Anthony Bloom A young man’s idea of Heaven!

34 LINK Dates for next month

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The Vicar’s Letter

Dear Friends,

I am always amused by the conversations that begin,

“So when is Easter this year?” Rather like the way in

which the British love to discuss the weather or the

way in which the nights are drawing in (as if either of them is a

surprise!) so it is with many members of the Church and the way in

which Easter moves around each year. “Oooh! It’s early/late this

year. When was it last year, I can’t remember.” Easter is, in fact, a

‘moveable feast’. (Did you know this is where the phrase comes

from?) Christmas is fixed, as are other Feast Days in the Church

Calendar, as well as Saint’s Days – but Easter is not.

Reading about the way in which the date of Easter follows the cycle

of the moon in the Book of Common Prayer was a useful pastime

during long and complicated (and possibly, dull) sermons when I was

much, much younger. The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion was

another favourite read… my, but those sermons must have been

challenging!

I like the fact that Easter moves though. The moveable nature of

the date of Easter and the fact that it takes us by surprise reflects

the surprising nature of Christ’s resurrection all those centuries ago.

Of course, we have the phases of the moon to guide us as we

calculate the date of Easter but, rather like the way in which no-

one looks up lunar cycles to work it all out, very few people in the

time of Jesus took notice of the signs that had been given to tell

them that the resurrection would take place. Jesus himself said,

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John

2.19) but those who were gathered there didn’t understand.

Sometimes it is a challenge to work it all out – but we must never

give up. The cycles of the moon are about as comprehensible to me

as the resurrection is to others. Not finding it all that easy to

comprehend the movement of celestial bodies doesn’t mean I

should give up though, and neither does finding the resurrection

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challenging to comprehend mean we should give up on that either.

The resurrection is fundamental to our Christian faith and, whether

or not we know the date when the great Feast Day of our faith will

fall, our celebration of it each Sunday, and our holding on to it as

the means of our gaining eternal life is worth the hard work of

discovering and realising its meaning and purpose.

When Easter Day arrives, be surprised again, rejoice again, believe

again.

Christ is risen. Alleluia!

Readings at Communion

5 Apr Acts 10.34-43 1 Cor 15.1-11 John 20.1-18 12 Apr Acts 4.32-35 1 John 1.1-2.2 John 20.19-31 19 Apr Acts 3.12-19 1 John 3.1-7 Luke 24.36b-48

26 Apr Acts 4.5-12 1 John 3.16-24 John 10.11-18

Prayers

Weekly Pointers for the Month

Week beginning: 5 Apr That we may know the Risen Christ more fully 12 Apr For those who nourish hatred 19 Apr For integrity in public and private life 26 Apr That we may be ready to forgive wholeheartedly

For Local Churches

The Deanery The Methodist Circuit

5 Apr Sarratt and Chipperfield Studham

12 Apr St Andrew’s, Chorleywood Trinity Watford 19 Apr St Lawrence, Bovingdon Wheathampstead 26 Apr St Mary’s, Rickmansworth Abbots Langley

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People Living in Rickmansworth

5 Apr Norfolk Road 12 Apr Talbot Road 19 Apr Church Street 26 Apr Skidmore Way, St Mary's Court

St Mary’s Network

1 Apr Barbara Matthews, Mac and Lynette McManus 2 Apr Fred and Rowie Middleton, Steven and Alison Middleton 3 Apr Sophia Millen, Phil and Nicky Mills

6 Apr Timothy Mills, David Morgan 7 Apr Brian and Sally Morgan, Aphrodite Morgan 8 Apr Natalie Morgan, Jennifer Nolan 9 Apr Robert and Helen Norman, John and Sheila Nunn 10 Apr Barbara Owen, Margaret Owen

13 Apr Tony and Janet Page, David and Barbara Paterson 14 Apr Hilary Pearce, Heather Pearce 15 Apr Ken Pettit, Tracey Phillipps 16 Apr Freda Pickard, Mary Pilborough 17 Apr Maxine Platzman, Gary and Kate Pope

20 Apr John and June Poppleton, Gareth and Suzanne Powell 21 Apr Tracey Presswell, Eric Price 22 Apr Jim and Jane Pummell, Alec Quin 23 Apr Anne Ratcliffe, Kevin and Tanya Redfern 24 Apr Sue Reynolds, John and Anne Rhodes

27 Apr Brian and Helen Richards, Elizabeth Richards 28 Apr Steven and Gwyneth Roberts, Averil Rossiter 29 Apr Christine Russ, Geoff and Pam Saunders 30 Apr Bill Sharp, Darryl and Susan Sharp

A Prayer for April Bountiful God, we have so much for which to be thankful at this time of year: the lighter, warmer days, and new life everywhere - birds, animals, trees and flowers – but most of all the new life that is possible for us in Christ through His brutal and undeserved death upon the Cross and the miracle of His resurrection. May His

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sacrifice for our sake not be in vain, and may others come to recognise something of Christ through us and be drawn to Him. Amen

The Archbishop’s Visit to the Diocese 18-20 June

Taken from a letter to clergy from the Bishop of St Albans

Archbishop Justin will make a 2½ day Pastoral Visit to our

Diocese in June. He wishes this visit to help us engage with the

three themes of Living God’s Love: Going Deeper into God,

Transforming Community and Making New Disciples, as well as

furthering his own mission priorities. The Archbishop will be

visiting many places and sharing in many of the varied ministries

offered in the Diocese, though in the time available he will not

be able to spend time in every part of the Diocese. [He will not

be visiting Rickmansworth.]

There are several principal [public] opportunities for people to

hear Archbishop Justin. On Thursday evening he will give an

Address in the Cathedral prior to a said service of Compline.

Archbishop Justin will share something of his personal spirituality

and discipline, drawing on the Benedictine tradition, giving

witness to the wellspring of prayer and devotion which informs,

strengthens and sustains him in the demanding ministry he is

called to undertake. It is hoped that this will be a special

encouragement to all ordained and lay ministers in the Diocese.

The Alban Pilgrimage will take place on the Saturday when

Archbishop Justin is the preacher at the Eucharist and during the

afternoon he will take part in a symposium on mission and

evangelism where we hope he will be joined by the Bishops from

our four Companion Link Dioceses in the Province of the West

Indies.

Archbishop Justin will be fully engaged with many aspects of

mission and ministry in the Diocese. Please hold the Archbishop

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in your prayers as he undertakes his ministry and pray

particularly that his Pastoral Visit to our diocese may be blessed

by God and a blessing to him and to us.

The New Bishop of Hertford

The Revd Canon Dr Michael Beasley, who

has been named as the next Bishop of

Hertford, is at present Director of Mission

in the Diocese of Oxford. Canon Beasley

will live in Knebworth when he takes up

his post later in the year.

Before he joined the Oxford Diocese he

was combining two half-time posts:

priestly ministry at Westcott House,

Cambridge (a theological college) with the

other half of his time devoted to scientific studies in infectious

Date Time Event & Purpose

Thu

18

June

7.15pm St Albans Cathedral

Sustaining ministry and personal

faith

Sat

20

June

10.30am St Albans – Festival and Pilgrimage

Celebration of St Alban as Britain’s

first saint, and 900 years of dedi-

cation of Norman Abbey

2.00pm St Albans – Caribbean Link

Celebration of partnership in min-

istry

2.30pm St Albans – Teaching and Dialogue

World Mission and evangelism

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disease epidemiology (looking for their patterns, causes, and

effects in defined populations) at Imperial College. He felt called

to use his talents in both these fields and found each supported

and informed the other. Just as he used those skills in his

ministry in the Oxford Diocese, he hopes to be able to do so in

ours, with the added experience of working with the wide range

of people and Christian traditions gained in the Oxford one.

A Time to Reflect Michael Baker

During the dark winter months, the saying of weekday Evening

Prayer in St Mary’s was suspended. However, now that Summer

Time is officially here, the service at 5.45pm Monday to Friday

has re-started as from 30 March. Weekday Evening Prayer is a

simple, reflective said service involving the reading of a Psalm,

readings from the Old and New Testaments and two canticles,

one of which is the Magnificat or Song of Mary, and prayers for

matters of everyday concern. It usually lasts about half-an-hour.

If you need time to sit and reflect at the end of a long and busy

day you are always very welcome to join us.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM)

and Methodist Annual Meeting (MAM)

This year’s Meetings are on Tuesday 28 April at 7.30pm in

Church.

We all meet at the same time, just as we do for worship, but

Anglican and Methodist churches both have their formal business,

before coming together to hear our Treasurer assess our current

financial situation and the Vicar’s report on the life of St Mary’s

over the past year and plans for the coming one.

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Situations Vacant Barbara Paterson

We shall elect officers. All people who worship at St Marys are

welcome to attend, but only those on the Electoral Roll may vote for

Church of England officials and only Methodist and joint Anglican/

Methodist members (ie those who filled in a form accordingly) may

vote for Methodist officials.

If you are not already a member and wish to vote, forms are

available at the back of church, but applications have to be made

by 5 April to enable you to vote at this year’s meetings.

The number of vacancies to be filled are (numbers we have at

present in brackets):

Anglican Methodist

Churchwardens 3 (1) Stewards 2 (2)

United Church Council 12 (9) United Church Council 4 (3)

Deanery Synod 4 (3) West Herts and Borders Circuit 2 (2)

All current members of United Church Council will need to submit a

completed nomination form if they wish to stand for another year –

and I do hope that is the intention of most. If you are considering

standing and would like more information or advice, please speak to

Barbara or Derek, or any member of the current Council.

It is our hope that some new people will consider joining the Council

in one capacity or another. As I have said before, in this busy world

of ours we need to take time to stop, think, prioritise and pray.

What could you offer to our church and community?

Confirmation There will be a Confirmation Service at St Mary’s on Sunday 28

June. For anyone aged 14 upwards interested in being Confirmed (no

upper age limit), preparation sessions will begin after Easter on

Thursday evenings. Please let Louise know (721002) and book the

dates now.

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Ricky Week: Jolly Jam Jars

At the time of writing, Barbara Paterson is already giving the

empty jam jars she has for our stall at the Bury Fête on Saturday

9 May an extra wash and polish and she needs more to be filled

with goodies or useful things. Wrapped sweets (not chocolates),

jams and marmalade are popular. Please leave them at the back

of Church. She is already collecting the filled ones, too. You can

leave them in Church on Sundays, or in the Church Office during

the week.

Barbara will need some help with putting up the stall and with

running it from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Please speak to her if you can

help.

Ricky Week Quiz

Saturday 9 May

This is St Mary's traditional contribution to Ricky Week and will

take place in the Church Centre starting at 7.30pm prompt.

There will be a raffle, ploughman's supper and a cash bar.

Tickets are £10 per person and will be available after Easter

from the Parish Office and also after the Sunday services.

The Deanery Retreat in Daily Life Brenda Bell

If you are interested in learning to pray more effectively, as

described in the brochures available at the back of Church and in

January’s LINK, available on our Church website, but are still

thinking about taking part in the Retreat, this month is decision

time. I recommend doing so if you can.

Applications need to be in by 30 April at the latest – but the

sooner the better. You will find the form in the brochure and

where to send it. I shall be happy to answer any further

questions you may have (772482).

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Beating the Bounds

Geoff Hall

Deborah has decided to resurrect an old tradition of beating the

parish bounds and asked me to work out where we can walk. This

will take place on Sunday 10 May starting at 2.00pm. I have

devised a route that follows fairly closely the boundary but since

it runs along the River Chess and River Colne for part of the way

and crosses Stockers Lake we obviously do not follow the

boundary exactly. In other places the boundary follows field

edges where there is no path.

David Gilbert and I have walked the route which starts and

finishes by the footbridge over Chorleywood Road. It goes along

the avenue by the Masonic School, beside Loudwater Lane, along

by the Chess to the bottom of Scots Hill, to the canal by Moor

Lock, the Ebury Way to Olds Approach, through Merchant

Taylor’s School grounds, over a golf course, through Moor Park,

London Road, footpath to Harefield Road, footpaths to Stockers

Farm, past the lakes to Uxbridge Road, Belfry Way, Meadow Way

and back to the footbridge. The total distance is just over

10 miles (16.3 km) but people could drop out or join at some of

the points described above. I expect the full route to take about

4 hours.

In keeping with tradition, prayers will be said at various points

around the route. (I am not sure if we actually take sticks and

beat the ground!) The places for this will be decided by Deborah

when she returns. I propose to put up a map at the back of

Church, together with a sign-up sheet, and the approximate time

we expect to arrive at some of the points.

This is a good opportunity to gather together and travel round

the Parish. The more the merrier!

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Women’s World Day of Prayer Jane Pummell

We were each given a paper footstep on entering St Peter’s

church for this year’s service, prepared by Christian women of

The Bahamas, entitled Jesus said to them: do you know what I

have done to you? There was no formal address but in a

dramatised reading from John 13 we learnt how, when he

washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus demonstrated radical love (ie

love without borders and love that crosses over borders). After

several minutes for reflection on how we might express radical

love we were asked to share our thoughts with our neighbour and

then write a word or phrase on the footstep.

As in other years the final hymn was The day thou gavest, Lord,

is ended, which always reminds me that at any hour of the day

this same service will have been taking place somewhere in the

world.

Royal Masonic School Evening

The Masonic Girls love the opportunity to perform to an audience

and St Mary’s did not disappoint. Some seventy appreciative

people filled the Cloisters Hall for what proved to be a very

pleasant evening of songs from many eras, confidently

performed. Many will have particularly enjoyed the medley of

Beatles songs.

Rob and Anne Kay thank everyone for supporting the girls from

the Masonic School. Special thanks to Brenda Bell, Janet Lucas,

Janet Page and Lizzie Tims for helping with refreshments and to

all who generously donated sandwiches and cakes.

We are grateful to the talented girls and staff. A magnificent

grand total of £550 was raised towards Church funds on the

night.

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St Mary's School News Meera Chauhan

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy with lots of fun

learning-opportunities for the children.

Year One visited Tesco for a Farm to Fork event where they

learned more about where their food comes from and they made

delicious fruit sundaes.

Year Two have been learning about capacity and measuring.

They put their skills to use during a flapjack and smoothie event.

The results were enjoyed by all. The class also designed and

constructed models of typical houses from the seventeenth

century as part of their study of the Great Fire of London. Here

are some examples of their wonderful creations:

Year Four took

part in many

activities on their

Dark Ages Day

which brought the

era to life. They

demonstrated

excellent craftsmanship when making candles and soap.

Year Five went on a residential trip to Condover Hall and

participated in lots of adventurous activities including buggy

building and fencing. It was a bit scary at times but their polite

and courteous manners, team work ethics and personal

resilience were impressive.

The school also celebrated World Book

Day by dressing up as their favourite

book characters, a story-telling event

organised by the PTA and a visit by

author Mo O'Hara as part of the

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Chorleywood Bookshop Literary Festival. The staff and pupil

costumes were very imaginative and we featured in an article by

the Watford Observer. The story-telling event was a great

success with many books being donated to the school library and

the children really enjoyed

listening to the fantastic story-

telling. Mo O'Hara captured the

imaginations of the children and

inspired them to write. She

conducted a lively and engaging

fun presentation in Assembly. The

children participated well, and

particularly enjoyed acting out

some parts of her story, including one of the teachers!

The Garden Club held a Mothers’ Day plant sale and raised over

£190 which will be used for seeds and help fund a potting shed.

The club presented potted bulbs, beautiful hanging baskets and

houseplants in this successful sale.

The school choir and brass players took part in the

Rickmansworth Primary Music Festival at St Clement Danes

School. The choir’s performance was wonderful, and their

version of Handel’s Zadok the Priest, which is extremely complex

and challenging, was performed with perfection. Similarly, the

brass players also did themselves very proud, with some complex

note arrangements and tempos in their pieces. It was great to

see all the local schools work collaboratively, and we hope to do

more of this at St Mary’s over the coming months and years.

The children had a no-uniform day in our 'Wear Something Red'

event on Red Nose Day. Some of our very brave teachers also

took part in Bush Tucker Trials to raise additional funds. The

children paid to watch them eat a variety of unusual foods

including mealworms, ants and pickled gherkins with marmite!

We raised over £240.00 for Comic Relief.

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What’s on in Rickmansworth

Watersmeet

April

Film: Penguins of Madagascar Fri 10 2.00pm only

Burmania John Ketan & Base2Base Sat 11 7.30pm

Anhurdha and Ume bands’ tribute

to R D Burman

ARTS Week: The Art Box 11am-4pm

(for 14-19 year-olds)

Smartphone & Digital Photography Mon 13

Song Writing & Music Production Tue 14

Dance Wed 15

Film:The Homesman Thu 16 2.00 & 7.45pm

Songs from Berlin and Bacharach Fri 17 7.30pm

Jekyll and Hyde, Harrow Light Tue 21-Sat 25 7.30pm

Opera Company Sat 25 matinee 2.30pm

Three Rivers Music Society St Mary's Church, Rickmansworth

Friday 24 April 2015, 7.30pm

Martyn Jackson - violin

Petr Limonov - piano

Mozart Sonata in B flat K 454 Elgar Sonata in E minor Strauss Sonata in E flat Saint-Saens Caprice d'après l'Etude en forme de Valse

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Rickmansworth & District Horticultural Society

Spring Show

Saturday 11 April 2.00pm-5.00pm

St Mary’s Church Centre

Open meeting

Wednesday 15 April 8.00pm

Bees, Honey and Health

Antony Smith

RVS Centre, Bury Lane

RDFAS

Sarratt Village Hall

Tuesday 14 April

King George IV

the Greatest Royal Collector of Art

Oliver Everett

The lecture will cover the king’s collections of paintings,

furniture, clocks, porcelain, sculpture, gold and silver objects

as well as his architectural projects.

11.00am; tea or coffee from 10.30am

For further information contact

Membership Secretary, Diana Jefkins (01494 874507)

Rickmansworth (Evening) Townswomen’s Guild

St Mary’s Church Centre

usually on the third Thursday of the month

Visitors welcome (£1.00)

This month’s talk on Thursday 16 April

Leavesden Hospital

Martin Brooks

7.30pm for 7.45pm

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CALENDAR April 2015

Traditional language is used for the 8.00am Sunday Communion services; modern language is used for all other Communion Services

1 Wed WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK 7.45pm Said Holy Communion

2 Thu MAUNDY THURSDAY

9.00am St Mary’s End of Term Service, in Church

7.45pm Litany of Maundy Thursday; Watch till midnight

3 Fri GOOD FRIDAY

12 noon Stations of the Cross

3.00pm Holy Communion with address

4 Sat EASTER EVE 7.15 pm Easter Vigil

5 SUN EASTER DAY

7.00am Easter Alleluia, Berry Lane Open Space 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion, with Easter Egg hunt 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer

6 Mon MONDAY OF EASTER WEEK

8.30am St Albans Pilgrimage: walkers start from Church 7 Tue TUESDAY OF EASTER WEEK

9.30am Said Holy Communion

8 Wed WEDNESDAY OF EASTER WEEK 7.45pm Housegroup (for contact, see cover) 9 Thu THURSDAY OF EASTER WEEK May LINK copy deadline

12 SUN THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER We welcome the Vicar back from study leave 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 12.15pm Said Holy Communion 1.00pm Lunch Club 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer

13 Mon 11.30am Prayer for Healing Group (in Church) 7.30pm LINK Editors Meeting

14 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion

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14 Tue 12 noon 10-bell ringing practice (all ringers welcome) 7.45pm Exploring Prayer (venue, ring 775890 or772482)

9 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 6.00pm Choral Evensong

20 Mon 12.30pm J Club at St Mary’s School 21 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion 12.30pm Home Communions through afternoon 23 Thu GEORGE, MARTYR, PATRON OF ENGLAND 10.30am Assembly at St Mary’s School 24 Fri 7.30pm Three Rivers Music Society Concert (see p 16) 25 Sat MARK THE EVANGELIST

26 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 12 noon Holy Baptism 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer 7.00pm X Team meets May LINK is published

27 Mon 12.30pm J Club at St Mary’s School 28 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion 10.15am House Group (for contact, see cover) 11.00am Service at Seymour House 3.30pm Service at Westerley 4.15pm Holy Communion at Hunters Lodge 7.30pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Methodist Annual General Meeting (in Church) 30 Thu 10.30am Assembly at St Mary’s School Closing date for applications for the Retreat in Daily Life (see brochure and p 11)

May 3 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Family Communion Home Communions 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer

Choir and Bellringers

Regular Weekly Practices Wed 7.30pm Bellringing Thu 7.45pm Choir

New members welcome at both practices – just come along

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St Mary’s in the Past

1905

The Revd Parkinson wrote about Easter, which was a little earlier

that year than this. He found ‘it not only a sad, but a strange

thing’ that although the Easter services were well attended,

numbers of people who attended on Good Friday did not match

those on Easter Day. He used the analogy of a friend who was ill

that they neither visited nor enquired after, adding that Christ

their true friend endured so much more.

He went on to express himself as quite ashamed of the

‘niggardliness of many of our Church people’ who assumed past

bequests were sufficient for the church and meant they

themselves did not need to give. He urged them to give at least a

tenth of their income, for “charities everywhere are languishing,

great causes retarded, good works at a standstill, clergy

struggling with dire poverty, the poor and outcast uncared for

and unhelped; when all would be thriving and prospering”.

He then related a number of stories about generosity, of which

this one caught our eye. A ‘choirman’ who visited a church

where the choir were rehearsing an oratorio, was invited to join

in the singing. The choir master was so struck by his voice that

he badly wanted him to join the choir. On enquiring quietly

about him he was told that the man was poor and so offered him

money if he would agree to join. His response was, “No. I have

no money to give for God, but he has given me a voice and I will

never be paid for using it in his service”.

1960

The Revd Kendrick Hart, still with two more weeks of Lent to

come, reminded his readers that they were ‘growing’ –not wilting

during this time and that ‘the Easter triumph was through and by

means of the suffering of Our Lord’.

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There was to be a Good Friday procession of witness, which

would start from the school [then at the bottom of Parsonage

Road], at one point meet the procession from St Peter’s for a

short act of fellowship and prayer and finish back in St Mary’s,

where the Choir would sing Somerville’s The Passion of Christ.

The statement, ‘An early end-of-term at the Masonic School, will

enable both our clergy to be together from Passion Sunday

onwards’ suggests that one of them then acted as Masonic School

Chaplain.

There was to be a Christian Stewardship Campaign, with its focus

not on the needs of the Church, but on encouraging individual

Christians to increase their commitment to Christ.

Apparently a ‘People’s Service’ was held each year in April and

that year something new was to be tried: a ‘simple, but

informative Pageant of the Sacraments’, a Franciscan rite.

The ‘AYE. PEA. SEA. EMM’ (sic) had taken place in February ‘with

elections as keenly contested as ever’. The Annual Vestry

meeting (to elect Churchwardens) would be held in April before

an Easter Social.

Pictures of St Mary’s in Church Street David Hibbert

Seeing the cover sketch on the March 2015 cover of LINK I was

reminded of other pictures similar in view, three paintings and a

sketch.

One was a painting of St Mary’s on the cover of London

Underground’s Metropolitan Line timetable for the period

starting in May 1990. The timetable states that the front cover

illustration is of Rickmansworth Church and is by Sharon Pallent.

Further editions of the timetable featured other places along the

Met line eg Old Amersham Market Hall.

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A feature of this timetable is that it

incorporated the Watford and

Uxbridge branches as well as the

Marylebone services, serving the

stations between Amersham and

Aylesbury, and of course for all Met

lines users, fast trains to Baker Street

and thence to the City throughout the

day. Sadly, most of these timetable

features of 1990 no longer exist today.

The second painting of St Mary’s, the

original of which hangs in our ringing

room, has been reproduced as a

commercial postcard; the painting is

signed by Robert James Walsh. It was

originally owned by the late Jessie Beeson, Patty’s Aunty.

We have the third, painted in 1990, by Edward Francis. Edward is

our nephew and the son of the late Revd Kenneth and Judith

Francis, Patty’s sister.

Image courtesy of Transport for London

By Robert Walsh

By Edward Francis

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The sketch, which also hangs in the

ringing room, is in pen and ink and

shows the view from the back of the

Muirhead’s house in Norfolk Road. It was

probably one of May’s and was given to

the ringers by her daughter, Margaret,

who was a member of the Over-18s

group in the 1960s.

[Editor’s comment: the view of St

Mary’s in Church Street is surely the

most drawn or painted in

Rickmansworth, with varying degrees of

success.

Our version attracted comments, both appreciative and critical.

One problem is that the view is from the middle of Church

Street, but this is not a very safe place from which to take a

photograph, close to a blind bend (certainly not to draw actual

buildings). Another problem is that this side of the church is in

shadow for much of the day. The March cover motivated one of

our gifted members to offer an alternative one. Result!

St Mary’s people have the talent, but generally seem too shy to

share it with LINK readers. Other views of our church or parts of

it would be welcome – extra welcome if they include people. On

our cover, we believe pen and ink drawings, roughly square,

work best. We cannot print in colour in-house and three

quarters of our magazines are still printed.]

Nature Notes Angela Hall

I have just been reading An Illustrated History of the

Countryside by Oliver Rackham, and I think I may have found the

answer to something that has puzzled me for years. In the corner

of Solomons Wood, the one to the right of Berry Lane as you go

Sketch in ringing room

-24-

towards Chorleywood, is an old, rather

decrepit, beech tree. Its branches are

entangled in unnatural knots and I have

often wondered why it is like that. There

are several others in the wood which also

look a bit deformed, and they appear to

be more or less in a line roughly parallel

to the railway. The beeches on the other

side of Berry Lane, however, appear quite

normal. According to what I have been

reading, hedge trees were sometimes

pollarded so their branches could be used and then new ones left

to grow. This was done well above ground level so that the new

shoots could not be eaten by livestock. Some trees are still

managed in this way. A picture in the book showed an old, once

pollarded beech, that looked much like the one that had puzzled

me. But why would a beech tree, or

possibly a line of them, be pollarded in

the middle of a wood? Then it dawned on

me. It had been done long ago before the

wood was there. If my theory is right

then this line of trees is the “ghost” of an

ancient field boundary. We have prints of

two maps, one dated 1896 with the wood

marked, and one dated 1822–34 to a

smaller scale. In this there is still a wood

but it is smaller and a different shape.

There could have been a hedge there.

It is interesting to find traces of the past in nature.

Going on to something quite different; did anyone see the

picture in the paper of a weasel clinging to the back of a green

woodpecker in flight? It seems that the woodpecker was foraging

with its beak in the ground when a weasel sneaked up and

-25-

pounced on it as it would a rabbit. A passer-by heard a distressed

squawk and saw the bird take off with the weasel still on its back

and was quick enough to take a photo. Unless it was seriously

wounded the woodpecker may have flown some distance. But

apparently the weasel either fell off or bailed out and missed the

chance of a substantial meal.

Stop Press: in spite of the still sometimes wintry weather a

brimstone butterfly has been sighted in a local garden in early

March. It is said that butterflies are so called because the first

kind to emerge is butter coloured.

St Mary’s People

Tony Moon Taken from the address at his memorial service

Tony, a regular member of our congregation who died on 26

January at the age of 94 had been a Consultant at Harefield and

Hillingdon hospitals, his specialisation in pulmonary medicine

resulting from his own medical history. Just before qualifying as

a doctor his suspicions that he was suffering from tuberculosis

were confirmed, but he eventually recovered to live a further 71

years, despite penicillin not then being available.

Tony was a true scientist, delighting especially in mathematics

and physics as well as medicine. His son–in-law’s early memories

of him include painstakingly measuring the chlorine levels in his

swimming pool, and being encouraged to take regular tyre

pressure readings when borrowing a car, and to measure daily

rainfall. Tony, apparently would have loved to have known that

to cover 94 years of his life in the 10 minute tribute at his

memorial service meant only approximately 6.382979 seconds

per year. Latterly he embraced all the facilities provided by the

internet and seemed quite at home in hospital and nursing homes

because of their machines.

-26-

Tony was born in 1920 in Putney. He enjoyed a happy childhood

with his younger brother and sister. He trained at Barts through

the war years, he qualified as Bachelor of Medicine in 1943,

became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1947, and

was made a fellow in 1970.

Tony’s first job in 1944 was at the Wellhouse, where he met

Jean, recently evacuated after the Royal Free Hospital was

destroyed by a doodlebug. She described him at the time as,

“shy, abrupt, tall and serious and quite nice really”. Jean knew

early in their relationship about Tony’s tuberculosis, but was

determined to continue it even even if it only meant ‘6 years of

happiness’; she was destined to enjoy 66 years. Tony described

the courtship as ‘tempestuous’ owing to the Revd Lang, his

future father-in-law’s disapproval. However, his objections were

waived when Tony found a job at the National Temperance

Hospital and the couple married at Reigate Methodist Church in

1947.

Tony’s tuberculosis was finally cured by an operation in 1949 and

his daughter Gay was born in 1950, an event that he said

changed his life. The family moved to Crowthorne, Berkshire in

1952 because Tony found a job at Pinewood Hospital, a big

tuberculosis sanatorium. Later the couple had a son, Andrew,

and a daughter, Jenny. This was a happy time for them, despite

the forbidding sights and sounds of Broadmoor nearby and Tony’s

patients there. In 1958, Tony was granted a prestigious WHO

Fellowship to visit hospitals in Scandinavia specialising in

tuberculosis and other chest diseases.

By 1960 with tuberculosis less pervasive, and Pinewood likely to

close, Tony became consultant physician at Harefield and

Hillingdon Hospitals and the family moved to Batchworth Hill in

1964. Gay married in 1977 and Jenny in 1984 and in due course

Kit, Luke, Jack and Isobel were born and the house became like a

hotel.

-27-

When Andrew married, new grandchildren Edward and Simon were

welcomed with great pleasure by Jean and Tony. Later, Edward

would be invaluable at sorting out his grandfather’s computer, but

had to do it slowly, as Tony insisted on writing every stage down.

Tony continued to see private patients for some years after

retirement, and still took pleasure in proposing colleagues as

Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians, but also had time to

enjoy the house and garden and travel to China and New Zealand

and his beloved Madeira.

Tony adored his family; he and Jean took great pleasure in the

company of each of them and they in turn were adored and

enriched. Can any of us hope for more than to be remembered for

living lives of kindness and dedication to the service of others?

Memories of Tony Moon Joanna Swan

I knew Tony through Jean and through the Church. She played a

leading part in so many of the activities that make a community in

the church – flower arranging, “Meet for Tea”, study groups –

encouraging others to join; and behind her at home was Tony.

Looking over Allan’s many photos I see Tony in the crowd at various

events – the bazaar and the stewardship display.

I remember how Tony’s help was always efficient and practical.

For example: a problem over parking at Watersmeet for NADFAS;

Tony went to the car park and noted who was parking and what

space could be made available, reported to the authorities and so

quietly eased the situation.

At his Memorial Service in St Mary’s they spoke of the things he

made and the bits he collected that might be useful. He used to

come to our house with second-hand computer bits and new

programs for Allan and to discuss good uses for the computer.

-28-

There were magnificent firework displays seen by all from the

Moons’ garden on Batchworth Hill. Their children might have

arranged them but they were hosted by Tony and Jean.

Their declining years have been sad. Jean and Tony have been

sadly missed from St Mary’s but they have left happy memories.

Death

At the time of going to press we have just heard that JESSICA

FISHER has died.

Congratulations

To AGNES BANTOCK (Elizabeth Tim’s mother) who has just

celebrated her 100th birthday and to FREDA PICKARD who

recently enjoyed celebrating her 90th birthday. Freda has been a

regular member of St Mary’s congregation longer than most of

us can remember!

Erratum

Humble apologies to Nick Tibbles: his new grandson is called

LUCAS (not Callum). How an editor managed to make the

‘calamitous’ error, she is still wondering!

Progress on the Resurrection Altar Frontal Beryl Baker

Most readers of LINK will remember the unpleasant series of

incidents two years ago when offensive graffiti were left in St

Mary’s, books were damaged and defaced, and an attempt was

made to set fire to the Resurrection Altar in the South Aisle. It

was at first hoped that the altar frontal could be repaired, but

this proved not to be practicable, and it was decided to make a

new one to a modified design, approved by Graham Martin who

designed the original.

It took longer than expected to source suitable materials, but

this spring a team set to work, and the new frontal is well on the

-29-

way to completion. We had hoped to have it finished by the time

Deborah returns to us after Easter, but at the time of writing this

seems unlikely, though not impossible. The work needs to be

done meticulously, mostly by hand, and is quite hard on the

fingers and the eyesight. Once the frontal itself is complete, it

will need to be sewn to suitable backing material and ‘fitted’ to

the altar itself. If anyone would like to join the team for the

final push to completion, please contact me.

The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter John Shaw

‘Ooh, the House of Bishops have sent me a letter’, I said to

myself. ‘That sounds interesting’. When I got to Church the

following Sunday, I expected the letter to be mentioned or read

out from the pulpit and to be given a copy. No such luck.

Naively, I suppose, I felt a bit let down and wrote to the Church

Times to ask, tongue in cheek, when I might expect to see, let

alone receive, a copy of the letter which had apparently been

sent to me. Needless to say, my letter was not published. I

mentioned all this in passing to Jim Pummell, who a few days

later very kindly presented me with a copy of the letter (all 21

pages of it) which he had printed off from the internet. I felt a

bit guilty that I hadn’t done this for myself at the outset instead

of moaning about it to Jim. (But I do dislike reading text ‘on

screen’ and am resistant, too, to the modern approach of ‘It’s on

the internet; run it off for yourself and at your own expense’.)

The letter, headed ‘Who is my Neighbour?’ is addressed to ‘the

People and Parishes of the Church of England for the General

Election 2015’. It declares that the issues around the election

call for a fresh moral vision of the kind of country we want to be.

They call on Church members to play a full part in the political

life of the nation and to support politicians and the government

with our prayers.

-30-

The letter repeatedly warns against too much power, nationally

or internationally, falling into too few hands. For instance, they

say, ‘The Biblical tradition is not only biased to the poor, as

often noted, but warns constantly against too much power falling

into too few hands . When it does, human sympathies are

strained to breaking point’. Rather, they argue, ‘Instead of

treating politics as an extension of consumerism, we should focus

on the common good, the participation of more people in

developing a political vision and constructive ways to talk about

communities and how they relate to one another’.

They go on to ask, ‘Are we a society of strangers, or are we a

community of communities?’ They discuss both options but,

unsurprisingly, come down strongly in favour of the latter

concept, which they go on to outline in some detail and to which

the Church of England, because of the parish system, is well

placed to contribute.

They assert that, ‘Our country is hungry for a new approach to

political life that will change the political weather...we need a

new political story that will enable the people of Britain to

articulate who they are, what they want to become and how

they will work together to live virtuously as well as

prosperously’.

And so on. All good stuff, though (predictably) misunderstood,

misinterpreted, or ridiculed by some – but by no means all -

elements of the media. I found it well worth reading in full. If

you would like to do so, just Google ‘House of Bishops’ Pastoral

Letter’ and you will find the full text there. There is also a

helpful summary, if you don't feel like ploughing through 126

(admittedly very short) paragraphs. If you don’t have access to a

computer, speak to Jim Pummell or me!

-31-

What’s a Billion? John Hill

Over the next few weeks, in the run-up to the General Election

the word billion will be uttered many times. But what is a

billion?

Twenty years ago, apart from referring to the Chinese population

the word was rarely used – certainly not very much in financial

circles.

In British English a billion used to be a million million (ie

1,000,000,000,000) while in American English it has always been

a thousand million (ie 1,000,000,000). Britain adopted the

American figure so that a billion equals a thousand million in

both variants of English.

However, just think, a second is not very long but if you were

fortunate enough to be given a billion one pound coins and you

had a second to count each one it would take you thirty-two

years to complete the task. No time for sleep, food or drink.

A few other thoughts; a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. A

billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. A

billion pounds ago – not very long at the rate Governments spend

it.

The Gospel Around Us

Word-play ... or Sword-play? Brian Evans

I like words. Especially I like words that are unusual, discovering

not only their meanings, but their origins as well. Also

fascinating are pairs of words that have some similarity and yet

in all practical terms are totally distinct. Often they can be the

key to a slick joke or pun, or to an amusing exchange between

people who find they are talking at cross-purposes.

-32-

Two such words that crossed my path the other day were

‘cudgel’ and ‘cajole’. The first is a short thick stick used as a

weapon, while the other is an act of persuasion, often with

flattery or by deceit. On the face of it, there is no connection

between the two – certainly not in meaning – nor in origin,

either, since one is Old English and the other French. And yet,

there is an element of opposition there. If you want to get your

own way in a situation, you might use force, or you might try

persuasion. It’s unlikely that you would attempt both!

This winter has seen the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Sir

Winston Churchill, arguably Britain’s finest prime minister. In the

thirties, he was certainly no appeaser when it came to an

appreciation of what the Nazis were up to, and maybe it was this

reputation that contributed to his being moved as Chamberlain’s

successor in 1940. However, he may have mellowed in later

years for, at a White House luncheon in June 1954, he is

reported to have said that, “It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-

war.” This saying also came to mind as I was musing about

‘cajole’ and ‘cudgel’, for doesn't it put rather poetically what I

have tried to say above?

Jesus told his followers to love their enemies (Luke 6.27), and

the verses that follow (vv 28-36) put the same instruction in

many different ways, culminating in the effect that such love

would have. This teaching had its origin in the Old Testament

(Proverbs 25.21-22), and St Paul echoed it in his letter to the

Romans (12.18-20), where he exhorted his readers to “live at

peace with everyone”, and then explained why, using this along

with another Old Testament quotation, “‘It is mine to avenge; I

will repay,’ says the Lord.”(Deut. 32.35).

This is where my thoughts come full circle, for here is a place

where I love the Authorised Version, which says “Vengeance is

mine ...”. We rarely hear of vengeance these days, and it seems

-33-

so much more powerful, and echoes the great power of God

Himself.

When you next come across one of the language’s museum

pieces, don’t just look it up in the dictionary and then,

enlightened, carry on reading. Take advantage of the

interruption; remember God’s vengeance, and question whether

there is any situation in your life where you might be storing up

some hatred or resentment that ought to be passed to a Higher

Power.

Dave Walker Cartoon Reproduced, with permission, from cartoonchurch.com

[I know that our vestry and cupboard are not quite like this! Ed]

-34-

Archbishop Anthony Bloom

Joan Martin

Michael Baker’s review of the book about Archbishop Anthony

Bloom in last month’s LINK reminded me of the story I have often

told, and I feel bears repeating. Many years ago I had the

pleasure of driving the Archbishop from his flat in London to a

conference at Swanwick in Derbyshire. As we passed the turning

off to Birmingham on the M1 he recalled a conversation he had

had with some very sick youngsters in hospital. During their

conversation he asked the youngsters for their ideas about

heaven. “Please sir”, said one lad, “it’s Birmingham, sir”.

Somewhat surprised, the Archbishop asked him why. “Because

when I lived there I was well”. What an innocently profound

remark! Out of the mouths of babes…

May LINK Copy deadline: Thursday 9 April

Publication date Sunday 26 April

We are very pleased to receive contributions of interest to members of the

Church and the local community. Copy should reach a member of the LINK

Committee* by the above copy date, preferably by email (please leave the

formatting to us) at link@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk, but we can accept

handwritten copy. We may have to edit for space or other reasons and tight

deadlines do not always allow for discussion of changes with authors. We like

good quality photographs with enough contrast to reproduce well in black and

white. Please note that opinions expressed in LINK are not necessarily those of

the Editors of LINK or St Mary’s Church.

*Please see back cover for phone numbers.

Contacts (continued) The code for all phone numbers, unless otherwise stated, is 01923;

the Church Office number is 721002; and (A) denotes Anglican and (M) Methodist

Officers

Churchwarden (A) Barbara Paterson 720356

Church Stewards (M) Derek Day (Senior Steward) 237248 June Poppleton 773388

Church Council Secretary Louise Wotherspoon 721002

The CofE Electoral Roll John Glidden 223613

Methodist Council Secretary Petra Hedges 222715

Methodist Members Roll Derek Day 237248

Stewardship Recorder (A) Brian Warmington 775360

Treasurer Robert Kay 773470

Worship

Altar Servers Chris & Sue Hillier 779580

Bellringers David Hibbert (Captain) 773735

Choir Andrew Sykes 718561

Intercessors John Rhodes 779491

Lesson Readers Jane Pummell 774343

Organist Andrew Sykes 718561

Sacristan David Gilbert and team via Church Office

Sidespeople via Church Office

Christian Teaching and Prayer

Bible Reading Fellowship Sue Hillier 779580

Exploring Prayer Group The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office House Groups: Tues am: Gillian Baker 775890 Brenda Bell 772482

Wed pm: Jane Pummell 774343

Pastoral

Baptism (Christening) via Church Office Confirmation The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office Children’s Communion The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office

Home Communion via Church Office St Mary’s Network John and Suzanne Hill 772809

Home/Hospital Visiting The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office

Wedding Bookings Church Office

Social

Coffee after Church Anne Kay 773470

Events Committee The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office

Handbell Ringers Suzanne Warren 01442 385922

Meet for Tea Joan Martin 775433

Motley Crew (Drama Group) Chris and Sue Hillier 779580

Sunday Lunch Club Joan Martin 775433

CONTINUED ON BACK OF COVER

-4-

Contacts (continued) The code for all phone numbers, unless otherwise stated, is 01923;

the Church Office number is 721002; and (A) denotes Anglican and (M) Methodist

Children and Young People

Sunbeams (3–5s) Rachel Turvey via Church Office

Shooting stars (6–11) Christine Martin Ayling via Church Office

X Team (Youth Group, yr 7+) David Carruthers 897928

Girlguiding UK: Rainbows Samantha Swinchatt via Church Office Brownies Ali Hampton 07803 928158 Guides Tracy Jenkins via Church Office

Church School

St Mary’s C of E Primary

Headteacher Aaron Wanford 776529

School website www.stmarys698.herts.sch.uk

Administration

Charitable Giving Comm John Shaw (Chair) 775219

Community and Outreach David Carruthers (Chair) 897928

Harvest Giving Jennett Day 237248

Stewardship and Finance John Rhodes 779491

Buildings and Support

Church Centre Booking Kasia Todd 07801 049687

Church Centre Committee Martyn Gowing (Chair) 777715

Church Bookings via Church Office

Church Cleaning Derek Day 237248

Cloisters Hall Bookings Sarah Bennett 775613

Fabric & Churchyard David Hibbert (Secretary) 773735

Flowers Julie Smethurst 282927

Library Michael Baker 776109

Steeple Keeping David Hibbert 773735

Sewing Group Beryl Baker 776109

Communications

LINK (Church Magazine) Editors Brenda Bell 772482 Geoff Hall 720543 Jane Pummell 774343 LINK Subscriptions Jane Pummell 774343 Email link@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk

Newsletter c/o Communication Committee

Website Buzz Coster 775908

Representatives for Organisations Beyond St Mary’s

Action for Children Christine Butler 778001

CARE (773311) Angela Hall (St Mary’s Rep) 720543

Children’s Society Louise Ungar 497211

St Albans Abbey Welcoming Anne Rhodes 779491