HOLY TRINITY CHURCH - htboa.org Parish News October 2010.pdf · Mothers’ Union 7.30 pm Church Hall, ... Holy Trinity Web-site ... noise level built up.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

Bradford on Avon  

Parish News

October 2010

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DIRECTORY Priest in Charge The Revd Joanna Abecassis

email: [email protected]

Parish Secretary Graham Dove [email protected] Parish Office, 18A Woolley Street 864444

Churchwardens

Joan Finch 40, Palairet Close, BoA 863878

Trevor Ford 25, Downavon, BoA 862240

Retired Clergy The Ven John Burgess, The Revd Alun Glyn-Jones,

Canon Peter Hardman, The Revd Jim Hill,

The Right Revd Bill Ind, The Revd Angela Onions,

The Ven Ian Stanes, The Revd Karl Wiggins,

Canon Humphrey York.

Lay Ministers

Graham Dove (licensed) 868654

Dr Malcolm Walsh (retired)

Director of Music

Gareth Bennett 01380 728772

Times of Services

(Check Bulletins and notices or Church web site)

Sundays 8 am Holy Communion

9.30 am Sung Eucharist (coffee after)

6 pm Evensong, Compline, etc

Holy Communion 10 am Wednesdays

(weekdays) 8 am First Friday in month

Times of Meetings Choir Practice 6.30 pm Church, Tuesdays

Junior Church 9.30 am Church Hall (1st and 2nd Sundays in the

month, September to July (except Easter)

Mothers’ Union 7.30 pm Church Hall, (usually) 3rd Thursday

Bell Practice 7.30–9 pm 2nd and 4th Mondays

Holy Trinity Web-site www.brad-avon-ht.org.uk Diocese Web-site www.salisburyanglican.org.uk Weekly Bulletin Notices to Trevor Ford not later than Sunday for the following Sunday.

Please let the Priest in Charge, LLM or Churchwardens know if

someone needs visiting at home or in hospital.

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DIARY FOR OCTOBER 

FROM THE REGISTERS Baptisms Mason Alfie Dane Cowley-Wood 22nd Aug Yasmin Louise Grey-Wood 22nd Aug Steven Cowley 22nd Aug Taylor Mary-Anne Grey-Wood 22nd Aug Charlie Ellis Sheppard-Raines 12th Sept Marriages Joseph Mernagh and Victoria Slater 29th Aug Philip Bowen and Annica Lavis 4th Sept

Keil McPhillips and Faye Furnival 18th Sept Simon Griffiths and Amy Barker 25th Sept Funerals Michael Rex 31st Aug Donald Wicheard 15th Sept Requiem Eucharist Alan Newman 8th Sept

Holy Communion is usually at 8am each Sunday Parish News copy date for November is 17th October

1 Friday 8am Eucharist 2 Saturday 1.30pm St Laurence School Street Party 3 SUNDAY TRINITY 18 9.30am Sung Eucharist 6pm Compline 8 Friday 7pm Society of Catholic Priests Eucharist 9 Saturday 1pm Holy Matrimony 10 SUNDAY TRINITY 19 ‘Stewardship Sunday’ 9.30am Sung Eucharist 2.15pm Holy Baptism 6pm Evensong Christ Church 12 Tuesday 7.30pm St Laurence School Concert 14 Thursday 12.30pm Friends Organ Recital – Gareth Bennett 17 SUNDAY TRINITY 20 9.30am Sung Eucharist (All-age) 6pm Taizé Service with Prayers for Hope and Health 21 Thursday 7.00pm Mothers’ Union Meeting with Oberammergau Report and refreshments Church Hall 24 SUNDAY BIBLE SUNDAY 9.30am Eucharist 6pm Evensong 29 Friday 12 noon Eucharist 31 SUNDAY ALL SAINTS SUNDAY 9.30am Solemn Sung Eucharist (with incense) 6pm ‘Lighten our Darkness’ Service (for the bereaved)

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‘All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above; then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all his love.’ 

We have just celebrated Harvest Festival in great style, and sung these well-known words with gusto which is a wonderful way to launch us all into October, when we shall undoubtedly have to brace ourselves for the cold and the rain which we have been spared in September. But I wonder just how often we really pause, smile and take the time to be fantastically thankful for God’s amazing generosity to us? After all, without him we wouldn’t be here ─ let alone the glories of creation with which we are surrounded!

There is going to be such an opportunity this month, as the PCC decided it would be a good time for us all to revisit ‘the 3 Rs’: to reflect, to review, and to renew! But I do think that it has to be done in that order. There is so much reflection to be done as we thank God for his goodness ─ for his generosity ─ for his love ─ for his constant presence… “There is such a thing as putting ourselves in the way of God’s overflowing love and letting it break upon us till the response of love to him comes, not by struggle, not even by deliberation, but by necessity, as the echo comes when the sound strikes the rock” (Bishop Phillips Brooks, author of O Little Town of Bethlehem!). Isn’t that wonderful? That takes us on to the ‘review’ stage ─ how do we make that response in practice, with our priorities, our time, our money? What place in the pile do we give to God? The answer might of course stretch from nothing, via an hour on a Sunday now and again and a bob in the collection, to ‘yet what can I give him ─ give my heart’ (to quote another hymn). And then of course the ‘renew’ is about doing something different ─ about renewing our faith, our commitment and our ‘echo’ to God’s love. We shall be launching our thinking with a ‘Stewardship Sunday’ on 10 October.

And then two very different things will be happening at the end of the month (as some of us have already been doing some reflecting!)….

♦ There will be a new Traditional-Language Eucharist every Friday from 29th October at 12 noon (to replace the one at 8am) and then it is my hope that we can retire to a local café for a bite to eat afterwards!

♦ On the evening of Sunday, 31st October (just before the Feast of All Souls), at 6pm there will be a very special service of hope and light entitled ‘Lighten our Darkness’ for anyone who has been bereaved ─ it is designed to be very gentle and informal, so do invite any friends or neighbours, and everyone will have the opportunity to light a candle and to have those special names remembered in the prayers. For God is light…. And we can be very thankful for that too. Our All Souls Eucharist will follow on the Feast Day itself ─ 2nd November.

With my love, prayers and every blessing.

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And two came along almost together! Yes, we had not had an enrolment of new members for a while and now we have had two. The Revd Joanna Abecassis was enrolled on 9th August at the Mary Sumner Day Service, at Winsley and Dawn Bennett at our Corporate Communion Service on 16th September. Joanna presided at the Corporate Communion Service. We give a warm welcome to these two new members who have now joined our wonderful world-wide Christian organisation.

We stayed in church for refreshments and the meeting that followed was led by Jonquil Burgess and Sylvia Stanes. They had recently been to an ecumenical conference and shared some of that experience with us. This was based on Professor Louise Lawrence’s book titled Sense of Place which is about the Word in places, with reference to the New Testament in a contemporary context. The Stations of the Cross was used as a devotional exercise with traditional depictions. Sylvia’s display board depicted many stories from the New Testament including ‘Christ in the Temple’ and ‘The Prodigal Son’. Many thoughts and ideas were shared and here are a few of them.

The Ven John Burgess showed us a stole of his that had been made by the Head Verger at Bath Abbey 25 years ago. This reminded him of his ministry and a sense of place and time between the medieval Bath Abbey of 1084 and the Abbey as it is today. Chris thought about the special places in her home where there is a painting of Holy Trinity and six port glasses. Both of these items remind of her of church life and of Gerald as they were given to him on his retirement. The Ven Ian Stanes brought two beer mats with him as they had a place of history in his family. One brought memories of the paternal side of his family and the other one had memories of the maternal side. Jonquil brought roses. These reminded her of the Holy Rose of Abyssinia and her Bradford on Avon garden. The fragrance of the roses reminds her of friends and family and the thorns of bad events that come into the lives of everyone. The petals that fall are like childhood dreams.

Jonquil and Sylvia had put a lot of thought and preparation into the evening and we were left reflecting on God’s promise, ‘I am with you always’. Thank you so much, Jonquil and Sylvia.

Please note the earlier start time of 7pm for our October meeting on Thursday, 21st October. This will be an Oberammergau Evening when Ian and Chris will show pictures of their recent visit to the Passion Play. The evening will end with drinks and a few nibbles and a warm invitation to join us is extended to everyone, especially those who went on the Oberammergau trip.

Marlene Haffenden

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Junior Church News

What a wonderful start to the new Junior Church term — seven children on the first Sunday and eleven on the second Sunday. This must be a record over recent years. Of course, it was helped by Janet Brown bringing along five of her grandchildren. We have all been busy learning the new song for Harvest Festival which is called ‘Harvest Samba’ and the choir have also been having a go with Muriel. The children will be bringing along the musical instruments from Junior Church and wearing the placards they made last week decorated with brightly coloured fruit and vegetables. I think this year’s Harvest Festival is going to be very special. Most of the Junior Church children attended Joanna’s tea party at the Vicarage last Saturday. The day was exceptionally sunny and hot and the children were able to play games and eat their picnics in the garden. Thank you, Joanna: it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The Junior Church wish Kate and her helpers good luck with her ‘mainly music’ project (see page 12) with the pre-school children, and if we can help at anytime we shall be pleased to do so. The next Junior Church will be on Sunday 3rd October at 9.30am in the Church Hall. All children from 3 upwards are warmly welcome.

The Junior Church Team

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A PARISH PARTY AT THE  ‘FAT FOWL’ 

A party hosted by Joanna and the PCC was held in the ‘upper room’ at the Fat Fowl, Bradford on Avon, on Friday 3rd September. This was well-supported and, as is usual with the Holy Trinity family, it was a joyful affair, at times even raucous as the noise level built up.

All enjoyed the food and drink and bouquets were presented by Joanna to each of three couples — Joan and Gordon, Tony and Marlene, and Trevor and Mary, who have contributed so much to easing her transition to Bradford on Avon, which we hope was as comfortable as possible.

Ann Holland

photos by Gordon Finch

Say again? Three elderly church ministers, all hard of hearing, were playing golf one sunny spring morning. The Methodist minister observed, “Windy, isn’t it?” “No,” the Baptist pastor said, “it’s Thursday.” The Anglican vicar agreed: “So am I! Let’s go and get a pint.”

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DONALD JAMES DUNDAS MAITLAND 1922 ‐ 2010 

‘A knight there was, and he a worthy man, Who, from the moment he first began

To ride about the world, loved chivalry, Truth, honour, freedom and all courtesy.

And always won he sovereign fame for prize; Though so illustrious, he was very wise…

…He was a very perfect gentle knight.’

These words were written over 600 years ago by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Prologue to his Canterbury Tales. But we could have read them in any of the obituaries, so accurately do they summarise Donald’s own precepts, the bedrock of his career.

Chaucer’s Knight’s attributes, learned, I suspect, at his mother’s knee in Edinburgh, remained with him to the end. His father, an eminent Colonial Service botanist, worked in Africa for long periods, improving the agriculture of the native populations, about whom he cared deeply. So his mother had the responsibility of raising their four sons. As she hoped, they followed careers of service to their country, two in the Army and two in the Diplomatic Service — Donald’s choice after wartime service in India and Burma and in the Middle East. This later led to service in several countries of the Arab world.

Marriage to Jean Young in 1950 began a long and perfect partnership, with Jean accompanying and supporting him, abroad and at home. They had two children, Colin and Alison, and it is through Colin that I first had dealings with the family, as I was his school Chaplain at Marlborough College over forty years ago. It was a happy day when Alison married David, and they gave Donald and Jean their two beloved grand-daughters, Eleanor and Isabel.

What a privilege it was for me to take Holy Communion to them three weeks ago, at Donald’s bedside in Chippenham Hospital, on their Diamond Wedding.

Which brings me to one more aspect of Donald’s life not yet mentioned, and it is the most important of all. Throughout his life his faith was his rock.

Sir Donald Maitland receiving the Chancellor’s Medal of the

University of Bath in 2002

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Wherever Donald and Jean served, Sunday worship was de rigueur, not least at Holy Trinity since they came to Bradford on Avon.

In 1977 Donald was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George and I was delighted to discover that its motto is: Auspicium Mellioris Aevi, which translates as: ‘A Token or Sign of a Better Age’. That was his vision and motivation throughout his diplomatic life, but today we realise that it has taken on a wholly new dimension, as he is now called to serve his divine Sovereign in that Better Age which is the Kingdom of Heaven, where he now enjoys eternal peace and fulfilment.

Canon Peter Hardman Edited by Colin Maitland from Peter Hardman’s funeral oration.

THANKS Jean Maitland and family send our heartfelt thanks to so many friends and Church members for their kind messages of sympathy on Donald’s death and appreciation of his life. These and their prayers have greatly supported us and brought us comfort.

THANKSGIVING We are holding a Service of Thanksgiving for Donald’s life in Bath

Abbey on Friday, 15th October, at 2.30pm, followed by a reception at the University of Bath. Everyone is welcome.

For transport/car parking* information: Tel: 01225 386609 email: [email protected].

Donations if desired to: Bath Institute for Rheumatic Diseases or St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital, c/o CS Bowyer, 2 The Bullpit,

Bradford on Avon BA15 1NB.

*Please share cars if possible

Jean Maitland

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Crossword solutions Across 1, Deacon. 4, Appear. 7, Wits. 8, Heavenly. 9, Argument. 13, Mob. 16, Broken-hearted. 17, Ran. 19, Suddenly. 24, Obstacle. 25, John. 26, Enable. 27, Market. Down 1, Dawn. 2, Afternoon. 3, Nehum. 4, Again. 5, Prey. 6, All to. 10, Users. 11, Ephod. 12, Trace. 13, Metalwork. 14, Body. 15, Eber. 18, Alban. 20, Uncle. 21, Dream. 22, Stab. 23, Gnat..

Staff  Changes !!!! We all extend our sincere thanks to George and Ivy who have been our Coffee Coordinators for the past three years. (I expect it seems longer than that George!). They have happily engineered rotas, trained new volunteers, supplied the provisions and even sprinted to the shop before the service when supplies have been low. We are so grateful to you both. Thank you so very much. And also a big ‘HT Thank You’ to Elaine Giles who has kindly agreed to be our new coffee coordinator. On behalf of Elaine, Trevor and I would like to ask if any of you feel you could help with coffee after the 9.30am service on an occasional basis? We all enjoy our coffee and social time together and additional pairs of helping hands would be so very welcome. Please see Elaine, Trevor or Joan to add your names to the list of this happy band of coffee makers.

Trevor and Joan

...and more thanks We should like to express our own grateful thanks to Elaine for so readily and willingly taking over responsibility for the organization of the Tea and Coffee Service on Sunday mornings. We are sure she will bring to the duty her energy, cheerfulness and enthusiasm. We wish her well.

Ivy and George Hirst

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THE REVD ALAN NEWMAN, 1918‐2010 The word ‘celebration’ is often used now in place of ‘funeral’. In Alan’s case it would have been entirely appropriate, though the service held on 8th September was described as a Funeral Eucharist. He chose Holy Trinity as the venue, and our former vicar, Canon Bill Matthews, to give the address. Perhaps Alan was prescient: the number of people attending required the space of Holy Trinity, whilst the worship style would suit his Anglo-Catholic roots.

Bill gave an account of Alan’s life, which covered his passion for steam trains for which he was well known, and his call to the ministry of the church. Anyone who met Alan was unlikely to miss the railway interest, or an amusing story.

Alan trained for the ministry between 1941 and 1944. He served in Bath and Midsomer Norton before coming to Christ Church where he stayed for 20 years. His last appointment was to Monkton Farleigh and Wraxall. He was also Bishop’s chaplain for schools in the Archdeaconry. He remained a popular figure during his retirement in Winsley. His great gift for relating to people of all ages enhanced the talents of a gifted and much loved priest.

Karl Wiggins

For the seventh year in a row Religious Studies at A‐Level grows in popularity 

This past summer’s A-level results saw the seventh consecutive year-on-year increase in the number of students taking Religious Studies A-level, with a total increase of 47.3% in the five years since 2004.

Church educationalists interpret the continued increase as further evidence that young people are interested in exploring religious perspectives on the big questions in life, and in studying how different moral and cultural frameworks shape people's understanding of the world around them.

The growing popularity of Religious Studies has been called one of post-16-education's ‘best kept secrets’. As one clergyman said: “It's rather an inconvenient fact for those who seek to portray the world in purely secular terms, and who like to suggest that young people have no interest in religion.”

Source: Parish Pump

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mainly music  What is mainly music? The aim of mainly music is to get young children and their mothers (or other carers) together to enjoy music and have fun. This half-hour activity is followed by refreshments and a social time when the children play with toys and the mums can relax and chat.

Holy Trinity is now affiliated to this church-based organisation which has been running successfully for about twenty years. Underlying the fun, thought has also gone into child development. The activities help develop muscles, improve coordination and include pre-school learning.

Why affiliate?

It’s a bit like signing up to a distance-learning course: everything you need to do well is sent to you, but your success depends entirely on your own input. The mainly music organisation has sent us an excellent box of resources containing advice on running the sessions, music CDs, practical things like some instruments and finger puppets.

Our team of ten is busy learning, planning and preparing so that we can start as soon as possible. It has recently visited a lively group in Bristol.

Where will it be held?

In church on Tuesday mornings at 10.30am.

To do this we need, among other things, to provide a carpet to be a warm, trip-free surface and to make the loo child-friendly. As the costs involved are not small we have applied for a set-up grant. Our success in that, or not, will be decided in mid-October, hence we plan to start after half-term.

How can you help?

Thank you for all the things you have contributed so far: you have given us plenty. We could, however, use a few more toys for ages 3+. Our chief concern now is how we are going to manage the carpet. Are there any strong men who could come at 10am to help unroll it and again at 11.45am to help us put it away?

Kate Wiggins

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Bradford on Avon Churches Together Eight BACT members attended the meeting at the Quaker Meeting house on Monday 6th. September. The opening prayers were said by the Revd Joanna Abecassis from Holy Trinity, who was welcomed to the meeting for the first time. Also welcomed was Jim Lynch from the Bradford Area Partnership.

Matters Arising from the last meeting included:-

♦ Bradford School for Prayer. Following this year’s success, Martyn Skinner (United Church) has agreed to organise an ecumenical school on 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th June 2011 along the same lines as the School for Prayer in 2010.

♦ Pentecost 2012. Kate Sax (Wiltshire Churches Together) had sent Jim Clarke (Faithworks) details of e-mail contacts which he would follow up shortly. It was agreed that BACT would book Westbury Gardens for the afternoon of Sunday 27th May 2012 (Olympic year). Jim Clarke will see if he can book a sportsman as a speaker from ‘Christians in Sport’.

Our visiting speaker, Jim Lynch (Bradford on Avon Community Area Partnership Liaison Officer) said:-

The Community Area Board is the Voice of the Council but the Community Area Partnership is the voice of the people. The Partnership should be reporting to the Community Board and any recommendations should then be passed on to the Council. The previous Partnership has now been disbanded, and Jim Lynch is looking to reconvene it with new members. He is introducing himself to various groups and organisations, hoping to hold a meeting in November with representatives from various voluntary groups in the Area. “It is important to have a functioning Partnership to speak to the Area Board, not just to create a plan but to ensure that it is ongoing”. A website is being created for this purpose. Initially, a small group of 4 or 5 people will meet and in time a project group of about 7 or 8 people will evolve. It would be a good idea for the organisations in Bradford on Avon to work more closely together to look at the consequences of the inevitable cuts that will be coming, and to plan some action to look at how the Community can work together to help this situation. Jim’s plan will assist in helping Bradford residents to feel that they are still in control.

Jim was thanked for his talk.

The Chairman (Ambrose Stickney, St Thomas More) explained that the festival ‘Breathe 2010’ was now a non-starter owing to lack of support. Last month BACT had tried to book a gazebo for this event, but had been told that the Wiltshire County Council had said they could not have any religious groups present. Ambrose had checked with the Council and this was not true. However, events (or non-events) had now overtaken this issue.

Reg Green (Christchurch) is still doing a good job as Treasurer but he would like to stand down as soon as a successor can be found. In Reg’s absence, Ambrose reported that our current balance is £264, the next predicted

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expense being for the 2011 Lent course material. Several member churches have still failed to pay their BACT membership fee.

The Chariman reminded members that BACT takes out a Public Indemnity Insurance every year so that individual church events as well as events organised by Churches Together are covered for events taking place outside the church grounds such as the Follow the Cross on Good Friday and events in Westbury Gardens.

Rebranding of Churches Together

Copies of the ‘Are Churches Together Seriously’ (ACTS) document that Jim Clarke had prepared have been sent to all the churches in the Bradford Community Board Area as outlined in Appendix B of the ACTS document.

It was agreed to fix dates for the next two BACT meetings and once these dates and venues were confirmed Jim Clarke would arrange for a speaker. Nearer the time, the Secretary will send out posters to church contacts for them to distribute and publicise to their congregations. In future BACT will hold discussion meetings at 7.00pm for any business to be discussed and agreed, and the BACT public meeting will begin at 7.30. We shall try and move the meetings around to include outlying churches.

Proposal to run Growth Course

Jim Clarke suggested that we could run a training event once a year perhaps on a Saturday. He had been looking at Church Growth courses run by the Bible Society which would look at how churches could grow spiritually and physically. Churches could compare what some churches are doing which could improve the growth of others.

The Revd Joanna Abecassis mentioned ‘Back To Church’ Sunday which has its own training course, and which BACT might support next year. Churches could plan individually, and BACT can pass the information on to help publicise the events.

News from Churches

♦ The Revd Howard Jameson, who joined Christ Church in May, and the Revd Joanna, who joined Holy Trinity in July, are keen to work together, both being new ministers in Bradford on Avon.

♦ Paul Oliver will be leaving the Bradford Baptist Church soon and it is hoped that the next minister may be more open to joining together with BACT.

♦ Steve Hughes who used to be pastor at Bearfield is being ordained into an Anglican group from Trowbridge.

Date of next Meeting

The next BACT meeting will be on Tuesday 9th November at St Nicholas Church Hall, Winsley. The meeting will open at 7.00pm to discuss BACT business, and at 7.30pm for the public meeting with a speaker (TBA). All Holy Trinity parishioners are welcome to come along at 7.30pm – please contact me if you would like a lift to Winsley.

David Rawstron

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A VERY ENGLISH SCENE I recently had such a wonderfully nostalgic and funny day, that I wanted to be temporarily frozen into the scene before me. The scene... a village cricket match being played on a balmy summer's day. The only sound was the ball hitting the willow, and the ripple of applause as the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker duly came and went. What a beautiful English scene played out in the grounds of the lovely house belonging to and organised by Mr and Mrs Williams, but like everything English it had its eccentricities, as I was aware of a large tree growing in the outfield! Another smile came to my lips as the home team were called Maydencroft Cricket Club ─ making their initials MCC! The older visiting side (in some cases by more than 30 years) from Preston won the day against the home young bloods, but all competitiveness was politely put aside over cucumber sandwiches and homemade cakes made by the team's wives and girl friends.

I have played cricket myself in the past but, watching my brother umpire this village match, I couldn't help smiling as I wondered what a total new-comer or alien would make, not only of the game itself, but of the umpire's hand signals my brother was sending.

Maybe:

Sylvia Stanes

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W hile the rest of the world is pre-occupied with disasters and

cricketing scandals, the ‘wild folk’ at Longleat continue to munch grass, bask in the sun and stare placidly at the hundreds of daily visitors in their slow moving, shiny vehicles. This idyllic wild-life reserve with its grassy slopes, tranquil trees and plentiful water is only twenty-five minutes drive from Bradford on Avon and, like most amenities on one’s doorstep, is often put on the back burner – “we can drop in any time – it’s always there.”

Over the past decade the park has extended it’s facilities and, thanks to exposure on television (since 2000) with the efforts of Kate Humble and Ben Fogle, children and adults all over the country and abroad have become interested in the lone gorilla on the small island and the lion called “Kabir”. One could sing to the tune of ‘My favourite things’, ‘Wart hogs and wallabies, monkeys and

meercats; bongoes and bactrians, tigers and tapirs’ and so on! There are, of course, many other exotic creatures here.

There is no need to worry about meddling monkeys at the moment as a new ‘drive past’ enclosure is being erected. The days of having wind-screen wipers and vinyl roofs ripped off your car by a chattering and excited band of monkeys, are gone. So for the time being these engaging creatures can only be seen in the distance.

At the beginning of the ‘tour’, a map and CD to play in the car, are provided. Kate Humble and Head of Section, Darren Beasley, supply the narration with a background of African music and an introduction with a few rules for the safety of the public, like not leaving your vehicle and keeping the windows closed in the wolves’ and lions’ enclosures. The East African Game Reserve, at the beginning of the tour, is the only place where one can get out and feed the Red and Fallow deer with the small pots of food provided, stock up on cold drinks, buy African souvenirs and picnic.

As one drives into the second part there are graceful Rothschild’s giraffes from Uganda, straddling their long legs to graze while the females

ON SAFARI – JUST DOWN THE ROAD 

Rothschild’s giraffes — mother and baby

Grant zebra foal snoozing

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feed their young ones. We are told that a giraffe’s neck has 7 vertebrae, unbelievably the same as the human being! In the background Grant zebras quietly graze while their youngsters sit in the sunshine dreaming. The stripes on the zebras’ coats are said to deter flies. The oak trees in this area are over 300 years old and are protected with netting to prevent the giraffes stripping them. Plenty of alternative feed like nettles and brambles are provided. The same arrangement is made for the dromedary camels with one hump, who in their native East Africa, eat thorn trees and bushes and apparently have grooves in the top of their mouths which fold up the thorns for ease of eating. Lamas and ostriches also ‘strut their stuff’ in this enclosure. In the distance can be seen the beautiful North African oryx with scimitar horns 1½ metres in length and eland antelopes with their short spiral horns — a breed originating in the Kalahari desert. The bongoes are easy to

identify with their red/brown coats and white stripes.

One of the largest aviaries in the world is here and houses flamingos, the sacred ibis (with a dark curved bill) and spoonbills.

Moving on, we come to the African white vulture, the ‘garbage collectors’ of the African plains, their poor sense of smell being compensated by brilliant eyesight. A splash of colour is provided by the pink-backed pelicans, one of the largest flying birds in the world. As these usually nest in trees, stilts are built for them and have proved most successful.

In the Big Game Park are white rhino, so called, not on account of their colour but because of the mispronunciation of the South African word which sounds like white but means wide lipped! Here are also Ancoli cattle with horns 2 metres in length. In the distance are Bactrian camels with two humps and shaggy coats for warmth in their native climate of Siberia and Tibet.

Deeper into the wooded areas of the big cats and wolves we drive, where it is essential to keep the windows up and not leave the car. Even when lowering the window to get a quick photograph, one is The pink-backed pelican

The white rhino

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reminded by a loud voice from a zebra-striped land rover, to close the window quickly. The tigers, whose coats change in the winter to a pale colour, come from East Russia. They weigh up to 360 kilos and measure 3 metres long and they have huge paws that act like snow shoes.

In 1966 Jimmy Chipperfield, of circus fame, and Lord Bath together agreed to import some lions for the general public to see close at hand. At present there are two prides with two males, several lionesses and cubs. The lionesses do all the work, hunting for food and looking after the cubs while the male lions strut around looking magnificent. The males also eat first! In this park there is always enough meat for everyone. Lions have adapted to this country and their surroundings so well that the lionesses are now given contraceptive treatment to prevent over-breeding. The males cannot receive this treatment as there is a chance of losing their majestic manes. They don’t like rain but cope well with the cold and snow and apart from being inoculated against cat ‘flu they are largely left alone.

The last enclosure contains white Canadian timber wolves who howl

when communicating with each other. The pack is a social unit where the Alpha male and female mate for life. Holding their tails and ears high denotes their superior status, with the pups flattening their ears on their heads in submissive attitudes.

Just in front of Longleat House one can take a short boat ride and have a close encounter with the

seals and sea lions as they are being fed and two hippopotamuses. This treat is not to be missed and is enjoyed by all, especially the children.

There are many other attractions at Longleat, including tours of the House and several mazes but these are better left for another time.

Saving vouchers from a well-known local supermarket makes it possible to exchange these for passports to the Safari Park and other attractions which is a huge saving, especially for large families and can also be used again for the parts that were unvisited.

Text and photos by Ann Holland

CHRISTIAN AID All supporters, collectors and friends of Christian Aid are warmly invited to a meeting on Thursday, 11th November in the Church Hall at 7.30pm to meet

our new CA Area Co-ordinator, Anna Potts, and to discuss future plans for Christian Aid in the town and district.

Further details next month.

The meerkat

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Y es, it’s me again, with some thoughts to offer you on some aspects of Christian life. This time I

have decided to tackle the small subject of Good, Evil, Free Will and God’s Plan. I am only too well aware that many great minds have addressed this subject in the past, both in writing and from the pulpit, but the subject does not run away, does it? We keep on bumping into it every week of our lives. Why did God allow this or that to happen? Why did God not stop that person doing that awful thing? My lack of credentials and my personal method of approach, as set out in the first paragraph of my article last October, still apply; I am always trying to find the ‘level of truth’ in any subject.

I submit that this subject is only a problem for Christians; it is certainly not a problem for atheists and agnostics. I suggest that it is not a problem for Muslims either. How often have you heard them down the centuries comment on unhappy events with words such as – “it is the will of Allah”, or “it is written that they should die”. Of course the ancient Greeks saw no problem either; they lived a life based on the belief that the pantheon of their Gods (under Zeus) treated humans as playthings, delighting in making life difficult for them, tormenting them, and from time to time deliberately setting them in dangerous situations in order to observe how the humans would handle it, to the degree of the Gods taking wagers among themselves on the outcome. Therefore, the Greeks were always trying to placate their Gods, to calm them down, in order to reduce the incidence of trouble and disaster. The Romans had the same outlook, having adopted most of the Greek pantheon (but with different names for the Gods) under Jupiter. The Romans did have more discipline and order and a belief in their destiny, but how often did they say such words as – “you can hear the Gods laughing at us”.

So, how can we Christians best analyze this subject? I have decided to

take four different types of event, describe (in my own view) how they illustrate the many aspects of this subject, and then endeavour to see whether any building blocks of logic can be drawn from those events. We must also discuss whether the analysis demonstrates that we Christians have partial or full Free Will. The events I have selected are:

i. Judas Iscariot

ii. the Thirty Years War in Europe (1618 – 1648)

iii. the Nazi Third Reich (1933 – 1945), and

iv. the recent devastating flooding of the river Indus in Pakistan.

I want to start with the last event — the recent flooding of the river Indus — because I consider that this type of event is a ‘red herring’ for our analysis. I offer you the theory that when God (or gods) made Space (perhaps the subject for a future essay!) he made it with certain tools from his toolkit; the reasons for His choice of tools we shall never know. We simply have to live with this choice. But we do know that some of those tools (eg. light) are very stable and some are extremely unstable (eg. the earth’s core). This is the kind of Space — galaxies, black holes, solar winds, comets, exploding stars, universes, asteroids, planets — that God has brought life to, certainly upon one planet, Earth. Much of Space seems to be an extremely dangerous place, and many parts of Earth are also inherently extremely dangerous for life forms that have not adapted to the prevailing conditions. Likewise, the weather patterns on Earth are inherently unstable over any measurable timeline of weather events. God’s toolkit made them unstable. He will not change his creation. We have to live within it, and adapt to it, as best we may, using our intelligence to help us in the task, but we shall never master His creation. It will always come back and bite us, as it has recently in

THOUGHTS FOR A SECOND DAY 

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creating the meteorological conditions for the flooding of the river Indus. Perhaps there is a bit of ancient Greek in me? So I argue that this is God’s Plan for Earth and he is not going to allow us much real freedom to change its inherent instability. We all know that when we attempt to alter the ‘balance of nature’, we do so at our peril.

However, the conundrum of my subject really hits us in the face when we look at the other three events, because they concern the interaction of people, all with their own agendas and ambitions, and often with a different moral compass. How does God handle this? Does he just let everyone do what they like and hope that some innate goodness will prevail? At this point, two quotations seem very appropriate to the subject. Firstly, St Paul reminded us that “ For now we see through a glass darkly, but then it shall be face to face; now I know only in part, but then I shall know even as also I am known”. Secondly, there is a quotation attributed to Sir Thomas More, who said “We Christians must seek to serve God as best we may in the tangle of His mind”. I like that phrase “the tangle of His mind”, it seems to sum up so well the subject we are discussing.

So, we come to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to Caiaphas and his High Priests. I was one of those who were privileged to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau this year, and the production took the line that Judas was a zealot and in betraying Jesus was trying to spur the latter to assume at last the rôle of the Messiah who would lead his people from the bondage of Rome. A learned cleric in the audience informed me that the word ‘iscariot’ means ‘dagger’ in Aramaic, and the cleric was therefore supportive of the producer’s concept. At first this idea is interesting, but then a second thought came into my mind: perhaps Judas was ‘selling out’ Jesus in anger because Judas could see that Jesus had no intention of being a

political/military Messiah. What logic in Judas’s mind would tell him that Jesus in captivity would then have the human power to release himself from it in glory and lead his people to victory? I therefore tend to my second thought, and go on to speculate that Judas hanged himself afterwards when he had thought through all the events and realized that in his anger he betrayed a very holy and good man to an awful death which he did not deserve. But then the more interesting questions start to spring into my mind. Did Judas exercise free will in betraying Jesus? God needed Judas to betray Jesus in order to fulfil His Plan A. We know that Jesus was aware that it was necessary for Judas to betray him in order to achieve the Crucifixion, and therefore Jesus did nothing to avoid his own capture. Did God have a Plan B if Judas did not do what God expected him to do? Does God ever need a Plan B if he is an almighty God? An interesting thought perhaps. I submit that the recorded events tend to suggest that God knew how Judas would react and relied upon it. How awful it would have been for Judas if he had come to the same conclusion, that God did not have any intention of stopping him, Judas, from committing his betrayal; that indeed God had relied upon it happening. That perhaps is the ultimate destruction of a person’s self esteem.

For my next event I could have chosen the notorious three Crusades in which Christian knights and foot soldiers, in the name of Christ, brought the well documented horrors of death and destruction to the Islamic nations of the Levant (the consequences of which, and continuing hatred, are bedevilling us all today). But in theological terms I think that the Thirty Years War in the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe brings the issues into even sharper focus because in that war Christians fought Christians for thirty years in a most savage, bloody encounter, all in the prima facie name of religion, between

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Catholics and Protestants. It is true that it was just as much a continental power struggle between the Emperor Ferdinand and the German Princes, but the utter devastation of life in Germany was a stain on mankind. In the words of Professor Davies (University of London):

“Pope Innocent X was outraged at the terms of the Treaty of Westphalia (24th October, 1648) which ended the war, and ended the religious strife in Germany by granting the same rights to Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. He knew that his hopes for a united Christendom had been dashed for ever. The German Princes also strengthened their political position under the Treaty by securing the right to sign foreign treaties and making all Imperial Legislation subject to the Diet’s (Parliament’s) approval. It was the beginning of the end of the Holy Roman Empire. But all this had been achieved at a terrible cost. Germany lay desolate. The population of 21 million had been reduced by warfare and general slaughter to 13 million. Whole cities and towns (eg. Magdeburg) stood in ruins. Whole districts lay stripped of their inhabitants, livestock and supplies. Trade had virtually ceased. A whole generation of pillage, famine, disease, and social disruption had wreaked such havoc that the Princes were forced to reinstate serfdom and curtail municipal liberties. The social progress of the previous one hundred years was nullified. The manly exploits (much rape) by the soldiers from Spain, Sweden, Italy, Croatia, Holland and France, had changed the racial composition of the people. German culture was totally traumatized.”

I think you will agree that the question that hits us when we read the foregoing is, why did God allow such appalling things to happen between Christians, his own flock? Was it all part of God’s Plan, a way of allowing the Protestant Faith to flourish, albeit at an appalling price? Or did God simply stand by and watch it in horror as it all unfolded, because He had no direct

power to change the minds and passions of mankind? Did human free will reign supreme?

My third chosen event must be the German Third Reich (1933 – 1945) because it seems to have been conceived and built by men and women to create a sadistic, evil, all-encompassing tyranny which has never been equalled in history. The irony is that many of those people thought of God as being on their side, on the side of the strong, disciplined, supreme Aryan race, destined to create an empire that would “last for a thousand years”! We all know that the Third Reich resulted in the Holocaust ─ the killing of about 6 million European Jews in a barbaric manner. Over a million other people were displaced and made refugees, many thousands were killed by aerial bombing, and 830,000 UK and US service personnel (plus French, Polish and Commonwealth personnel) died in liberating Europe. Russia lost 29 million men in military action, and had 15 million civilian casualties of war. Germany lost 13.5 million men in combat, most of them on the Russian Front. The same question hits us in the face: why did God allow the creators of the Third Reich and the perpetrators of its policies and actions, to flourish when such people are anathema to all God’s teachings as we generally understand them? Can you see God’s Plan in any of this?

I now turn to trying to establish some building blocks of logic from all this. Firstly, do we all have free will? Do you feel within your own breast that you do have it? My answer is ‘yes’; the simple (and not so simple) decision-making that we all exercise every day on numerous matters, in my view, argues conclusively for ‘yes’. Judas certainly exercised his free will on those fateful few days in Jerusalem. I would also argue that God executed his Plan A then, because that is the core base of the New Testament.

If you will allow me to dismiss natural disasters (eg. the Indus flooding) as a ‘red herring’ in this analysis, we have three examples here to draw upon; the

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individual action of a person (Judas), Christian military terror (Thirty Years War), and a sheer deliberate evil tyranny (Third Reich) that almost permanently changed the face of Europe for the worse. I start from the premise that all human beings have free will, but that each individual is constrained (to varying degrees) by the cultural and religious society in which they live, and by the laws and punishment operating in that society. In this way committed Christians will feel natural and considerable constraints on their free will, and therefore God is able to work through them (using the Holy Ghost) to achieve His Plan for them and for people with whom they come into immediate contact in the course of their lives.

However, I feel bound to argue that logic leads to the conclusion that the preceding paragraph is all low key in its results, in terms of the world order. The world currently has a population of about 6,000 million, of which only about 2,000 million are notional Christians. I suggest that there are far fewer committed Christians who really try to hear the small still voice of God. There are about 1,500 million Muslims in the world, and if you accept that they worship the same God as Christians do, but have a different concept of Him, then this does beef up the number of people trying to carry out God’s will. However, my gut feeling (I put it no stronger) is that only about 1,500 million Christians and Muslims together, are really God’s servants. The other 4,500 million consist of non-practising Christians, Muslims whose observance is of a mechanical nature, agnostics, atheists, Hindus, Buddhists, and followers of many other smaller and often obscure religions. How can God work a Plan for the world with such an assortment of human tools? In logic I submit the answer is that He cannot do it, and that He does not even attempt to do it in any direct way. I suggest that He can only watch the emergence and fruition of all the world’s social, economic and political events, with mankind’s free will playing a major rôle, and that He tries where He can to

ameliorate any dangerous, foolhardy and bad aspects of these events by whispering in the souls of committed Christians and Muslims who are involved in the events. This is the only logical assessment that satisfies my mind and answers the question why the world had to endure the Thirty Years War and The Third Reich, and similar convulsions in history. Mankind’s free will created them and the nature of them, demonstrating mankind’s ability to be selfish, nasty, evil, greedy, ambitious for power and wealth, cruel, uncaring of human misery, and desirous of military glory regardless of the consequences. God must surely at certain times have a very low opinion of the human race. Yes of course there are still many good people and I submit that (regardless of religious beliefs, or lack of them) there is a magical innate goodness in so many people that will often rise at last to the occasion to defeat evil, cruel, selfish or greedy forces. These people will right wrongs done and put society and nations back on a sensible even keel. However, how often has it been said that we humans rarely, truly, learn from past history; so often our free will drags us again down the same old slippery slopes. What do you think of my theory? Does it make sense to you?

A last thought for you to consider. If I am right that there is an innate goodness in a majority of mankind, and if you accept (as I do) that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a valid scientific truth, then whence does that innate goodness come? At which point in the history of the animal kingdom did that innate goodness first display itself? I have a tentative view that it displayed itself long before humans came on the scene. I am led to this view by the clear kindly family behaviour of many animals whose appearance on earth preceded that of mankind. What do you think?

Alan Knight

The Editors would welcome readers’ responses to Alan’s article.

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THEATRICAL JOURNEYS: a life in the theatre On 17th September a packed church hall was treated to an entertaining and professional evening from Sybil Mitchell recounting her wonderful life as an actress in this country and in Africa. Sybil was ably assisted by Megan Jones and Peter Hardman who helped the story unfold.

Sybil introduced us to her childhood, growing up in the famous Thorndike-Casson theatrical family and absorbing the life along with the smell of grease paint. Her early days were influenced by her aunt, Sybil Thorndike. Young Sybil was very keen and she was encouraged to follow in the theatrical family traditions. She also described riding on a London bus which illustrated how exciting such simple things were in the life of a young girl in those days. Then came the period entitled ‘Wartime Odyssey’ and all the difficulties including evacuation were shared with us before the eventual happy return home. Because of the night-time blitzes, theatres opened at strange times. Sybil’s mother once visited a theatre that never closed, only to discover herself the only lady surrounded by rather doubtful looking men. It was of course, the Windmill Theatre!

This was followed by a short scene from The Importance of Being Ernest (Peter doubling up admirably as Earnest and the Rector, Dr Chasuble, and Megan as Miss Prism) and the appearance, centre stage of the famous ‘handbag’.

‘Travels with a Rabbit’s Foot’ demonstrated to us the hard work that was Weekly Repertory (sadly no longer in existence) and reminded us that a c t o r s , a c t r e s ses and s t age management staff, particularly ASMs (Assistant Stage Managers) worked a six-day week with very long hours. The stage management actually went on for seven days as there were the necessary scene changes after Saturday night for the following week.

Sybil in the role of Lady Macbeth

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After this there was another polished and amusing scene from Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, followed by the interval when we were all served a refreshing glass of wine and had time to look at the very well preserved photographs of Sybil in many famous rôles.

After this, under the title, ‘The Call of Africa’ we heard how Sybil performed on a South African tour, of her meeting and subsequent marriage to her husband Len and life in Nairobi, Kenya. Then came another short scene from Ladies in Retirement performed by the talented cast of three and the evening ended with an item entitled ‘From Lime Grove to Lacock… and beyond’

bringing us up to date with Sybil’s theatrical activities, sometimes involving television appearances at Lacock. What a great evening!

Thank you Sybil and friends for your great generosity in giving this entertaining evening in support of the Friends of Holy Trinity.

Ann Holland

We are grateful to Sybil for letting us use the photographs of her as St Joan and Lady Macbeth.

Sybil as St Joan

Presentations to Sybil, Peter and Megan after the performance

photo Tony Haffenden

Tiny tots While visiting the Lake District, I walked through a lovely park with a wide path where people could jog, run their dogs or ride trail bikes. As I descended a hill, I saw a woman coming toward me, pushing a buggy with two toddlers in it. “We're coming to a hill,” the mother announced to her children, “so you'll have to help me — are you ready?” I wondered how the little ones could be of assistance, but as I passed by I heard them earnestly repeating their encouragement: “I think I can, I think I can...”

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A TALE OF THE UNEXPECTED Packing one’s belongings after a few days spent with a friend always runs the risk of leaving something behind. My friend, preparing to leave after a few days with me, was hampered somewhat by the insistence of her springer spaniel for attention. Probably the increased activity in the early part of the afternoon had put young Holly on alert.

Normally, after lunch, she expected a quiet time with her drowsy mistress dozing in her chair, recovering from a morning of out-and-about doing this and that. Holly would sit close to my friend, with her head on her mistress’s lap, pawing her every now and then to make sure she had not been forgotten.

On this particular afternoon of departure to catch a train back to Weymouth, where a longish taxi ride would see the party safely at the front door of home, I took hold of young Holly whilst my friend concentrated on guiding her suitcase-on-wheels to the railway station, just a few yards across the road from where I live. I took my key with me, but no purse.

We negotiated the main road and were preparing to walk the few yards to the station when we were stopped by a young man, tidily dressed and pleasantly spoken, asking us for forty pence as he was short of that amount to take him to Salisbury. His sad face stopped us both. I explained that I had no money with me, otherwise the 40p would have been his.

My friend, probably thinking that this sort of thing was quite normal for Bradford, and being a good Christian, proceeded to unzip her case to supply the requested money. Gradually, after searching between her garments and toilet bag, she realised that she had left her purse behind.

The young man, seeing that there was no hope of any cash from these two absent-minded old ladies, wandered off in search of someone slightly more ‘with it’.

In no time at all, I retraced my steps, entered my house and immediately saw the missing purse on top of a piece of furniture. My friend, of course, was overjoyed that we were back to square one. As the train drew out of the station, I could see the relief on her face. I am sure that on the way home she would have imagined the trials and tribulations she would have experienced if the discovery had not been made, and so would have been thankful for the young beggar’s asking her for 40p.

On my way home, the young man came up to me again, not recognizing me, and again I repeated that I had no money with me. But I told him how grateful my friend was that he had asked us, and how sorry we were that we couldn’t oblige. Despite his obvious concern for himself he smiled as he wandered off. I do hope that he found a generous heart and that eventually he arrived safely in Salisbury.

Muriel Freeborn

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Do you value your Bible? If so, Felix of Thibiuca is a good patron saint for you. The year was 303, and Diocletian was emperor in Rome. In February he decided that Christians were NOT a good thing. So he issued an edict: all copies of the Christian scriptures and all liturgical books were to be surrendered and burnt. Diocletian had decided to ‘wind up’ this upstart religion.

The persecution began in Rome. By June of that year, the edict had reached North Africa, and Thibiuca, where Felix was bishop. Felix was arrested and interrogated. “Yes”, he said, he did have a copy of the Scriptures, and “No”, he said, he would not hand them over. Felix was a highly respected bishop, and even the authorities were loth to take immediate action against him. So they gave him three days grace to see sense, and back down. But Felix prayed and became only more certain that this was a conflict between the commandments of God and the commandments of men.

At the end of the three days Felix was referred to the proconsul. He still refused to hand over his Scriptures. His last words in public were memorable “God, I thank you. I have passed 56 years in this world. I have preserved my chastity; I have observed the Gospels; I have preached the faith and the truth. Lord God of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, I bend my neck as a sacrifice for you, who abides for ever.” He was condemned to be beheaded at Carthage, and became one of the first martyrs to die under Diocletian.

Needless to say, Diocletian did not succeed in destroying the Scriptures. Today there are hundreds of millions of copies around the world, and this month, on Sunday, 25th October, Christians will thank God for the Scriptures when they celebrate Bible Sunday.

Source: Parish Pump

SAINTS CORNER September 24th   Felix of Thibiuca (247 – 303) 

Growing popularity of grandparents Eight out of ten families now rely on grandparents to help with child care, a survey has found. Many grandparents look after their grandchildren at least once a week, and a third of families want to live closer to grandparents, according to the website FindaProperty. On average, people want to live 28 miles away from their parents.

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Thank‐you from the Diocese  The Treasurer has recently received a letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Salisbury-Sudan Link, Bishop David's Appeal, thanking Holy Trinity for its donation from the collection taken during Joanna’s Licensing service. The amount collected was £623.40p. Both the Sudan Committee and the people of the Sudan rely on such donations to be able to maintain the link and provide much needed practical support to the Episcopal Church of Sudan at what is still a difficult time. So thank you all.

Phil Mason

Oh dear! Confidence is that feeling you have just before you fully understand the situation.

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For Prayer in october

We pray for: ♦ Our priorities before God

♦ St Laurence School and our ongoing close relationship

♦ Those facing unemployment and homelessness

♦ Those who struggle with the pain of grief

Saxon Club Programme for October

We meet in the Church Hall at 2 pm on Tuesdays. You are very welcome to join us.

5th: Favourite Places 12th: Revd Peter Hardman — My Desert Island Discs 19th: Favourite Things 26th: Karl Gratton — Chernobyl Children's Lifeline

New members are always welcome —just come and see what we get up to! We are a very friendly group. See you there! Angela.

West Wiltshire Interfaith Group  There is no open meeting in October

Some observations on our Christian faith Our needs will never exhaust God’s supply. Never say “never” when it comes to what God can do.

Everything is perfect coming from the hands of the Creator, everything degenerates in the hands of man. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

He that loses his conscience has nothing left that is worth keeping. Isaac Walton

Silence and modesty are very valuable qualities in the art of conversation. Michel de Montaigne

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Quick Crossword The Bible version is the NIV

Clues across 1 He must be ‘the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well’ (1 Timothy 3:12) (6) 4 ‘For we must all — before the judgement seat of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:10) (6) 7 ‘They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their — end’ (Psalm 107:27) (4) 8 See 19 Across 9 It concerned who among the disciples would be the greatest (Luke 9:46) (8) 13 Formed by the Jews in Thessalonica to root out Paul and Silas (Acts 17:5) (3) 16 ‘He has sent me to bind up the...’ . (Isaiah 61:1) (6-7) 17 Moved rapidly on foot (Matthew 28:8) (3) 19 and 8 ‘ — a great company of the — host appeared with the angel’ (Luke 2:13) (8,8) 24 Hindrance (Romans 14:13) (8) 25 Comes between Luke and Acts (4) 26 Empower (Acts 4:29) (6) 27 ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a — !’ (John 2:16) (6)

Clues down 1 Sunrise (Psalm 119:147) (4) 2 The part of the day when Cornelius the Caesarean centurion had avision of an angel of God (Acts 10:3) (9) 3 He was one of those who returned with Zerubbabel from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:7) (5) 4 ‘No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born — ’(John 3:3) (5) 5 Animal hunted or killed as food (Ezekiel 22:25) (4) 6 ‘He encouraged them — remain true to the Lord’ (Acts 11:23) (3,2) 10 Ruses (anag) (5) 11 Jewish priestly vestment (Exodus 28:6) (5) 12 Visible sign of what had been there (Daniel 2:35) (5) 13 This was the trade of Alexander, who did Paul ‘a great deal of harm’ (2 Timothy 4:14) (9) 14 ‘This is my — , which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’ (1 Corinthians 11:24) (4) 15 One of Noah’s great-great-grandsons (Genesis 10:24) (4) 18 Traditionally the first British Christian martyr (5) 20 Relationship of Ner to Saul (1 Samuel 14:50) (5) 21 Jacob had one at a place he named Bethel while on his way to Haran, fleeing from Esau (Genesis 28:12) (5) 22 Bats (anag.) (4)

Source: Parish Pump Solutions on page 10.

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PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL Officers

The Revd Joanna Abecassis, Chair Joan Finch (Churchwarden) Trevor Ford (Churchwarden) Graham Dove (Hon. Secretary) Jeremy Lavis (Hon. Treasurer)

Members

STANDING/FINANCE COMMITTEE Chair, Churchwardens, Secretary and Treasurer

CHURCHWARDENS EMERITI Norman Hanney, Jeremy Lavis, Mike Fuller, Anne Carter, Tony Haffenden

FRIENDS OF HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Patron: Dr Alex Moulton Chairman: John Cox Secretary: Mike and Jenny Fuller Treasurer: John Woods Committee: Anne Carter; Bryan Harris; Jeremy Lavis; Rev Angela Onions; Raymond Winrow Ex officio: Joan Finch; Trevor Ford

PARISH NEWS Editors: Ann Holland (862731) & Bryan Harris (863011) e-mail: [email protected] Distribution: John and Beryl Cox (864270) Subscriptions Collector: Mary Ford (862240) Price: Annual subscription £5.00 in advance .

BRADFORD GROUP MINISTRY This comprises the three benefices of Holy Trinity, Christ Church with Westwood and WIngfield,

and Monkton Farleigh, South Wraxall and Winsley. The clergy meet regularly for prayer and shared planning, and there is an informal Group Council consisting of the licensed clergy and

churchwardens, with Licensed Lay Ministers. The Group was established in 1975.

Anne Carter Sue Platt

Graham Dove David Rawstron

Marlene Haffenden* Edward Shaw

Pam Harman Kathryn Swift

June Harrison* Anthony Swift

Ann Holland Dr Malcolm Walsh*

Cecilia Hynes-Higman Anne Willis*

Dr Nick Nutt John Woods*

* Deanery Synod representative Diocesan Synod representative

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OTHER OFFICERS & ORGANISERS PCC Secretary Graham Dove 868654 PCC Treasurer Jeremy Lavis 863600 Bellringers Phil Gaisford 863538 Bookstall Rev Angela Onions 309001 Brass Cleaning Chris Hodge 866220 Brownies Jennifer Hazell 863860 Choir Gareth Bennett 01380 728772 Church Stewards David Milne 864341 Coffee on Sunday Elaine Giles 868654 Display Co-ordinator Revd Angela Onions 309001 Electoral Roll Officer Alan Knight 860991 Flowers Jonquil Burgess 868905 Guides Judith Holland 866215 Mothers’ Union Chris Hodge 866220 MU Prayer Circle Chris Hodge 866220 Publicity Officer Ann Holland 862731 Servers Mary Ford 862240 Sidesmen Rota Joan Finch 863878 Stewardship Secretary Pam Harman 866995 Junior Church Alison Cook 864116 June Harrison 863745 Verger Peter Wills 867593 Street Market John Cox (Community Stalls) 864270 Colin Johnston (Church Stalls) 868132 Stephanie Moorfoot (Communications) 863366 Jackie Easby (Communications) 07708 331389 Parish Representatives on other organisations: Bradford Group Council: The Churchwardens Children’s Society: Anne Carter Christian Aid: Jonquil Burgess Deanery Synod: June Harrison, Marlene Haffenden, Dr Malcolm Walsh; John Woods; Anne Willis (Deanery Information Officer) Diocesan Synod: Anne Willis Churches Together: David Rawstron St Laurence School: The Revd Joanna Abecassis and Dr Heather Knight, (Foundation Governors) The cover picture on the printed version of Parish News is from a drawing by Frances Taylor. Printed at the Parish Office, 18A Woolley Street, Bradford on Avon. Parish News also appears (in colour) on the Holy Trinity website. Visit it at www.brad-avon-ht.org.uk/ Previous issues of the magazine can also be found in the magazine archive at this address.