July mag

FROM THE REV’D STEVE PAYNE

‘Lord make our hearts places of peace and our minds harbours of tranquility’

So begins a lovely prayer penned by Sue Morris who died suddenly a couple of months ago. Sue was a valued colleague as a Reader in this Parish and a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd. She is much missed by us all.

On the occasion of her Thanksgiving Service last month we were given an insight into her life and character. Jenny Spear pays a further tribute to her in this magazine.

There is an old joke which goes like this:- The driver winds down the car window to ask a passer-by directions, who replies, “Well if I was you I wouldn’t start from here!”

In the journey of our lives we of course have to start from somewhere. That somewhere is usually the family home, the environment in which much of our behaviour and values begin to take shape, hindering or helping us to navigate the adventure of our life.

Some may remember the Saturday morning cinema matinees that were part of my childhood and the Looney Tune cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Tweety Bird. The cartoons always finished with the signature voice of their creator Mel Blanc saying, “That’s all folks!” When eventually Mel Blanc died you can guess what was on his gravestone...

Inevitably when someone dies we are reminded of the finality of our lives and that life is a journey from the cradle to grave.

We are entering the holiday season when many will embark on journeys hope-fully to find some sunshine and rest! Today we may need not to ask a passer-by for directions as we navigate by Sat Nav.

For the Christian life is a journey in which we are never alone, for our times are in God’s hands and he invites us to trust in him and in his good purposes for our lives. We can find the direction to travel if not the detail by paying attention to the scriptures that have been passed on to us. In them we discover God’s love for us shown in Jesus Christ and his call to love others. But that’s not all folks, because death is not the end but just the beginning of a whole new adventure.

Sue’s prayer continues:

‘sow in our souls true love for you and one another and root deeply within us friendship and unity that reaches out to welcome new people to meet you.’

May you have a restful holiday when it comes and wherever you go. Why not make time to read the bible. It is the place to start both to find faith and find it renewed.

God Bless

Steve

To all members of the 8am Eucharist congregations

at St Mary’s & St John’s

8am Services for July & August 2013

Sun 7

th July NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s

Sun 14th

July Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St John’s

Sun 21st

July NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s Sun 28

th July Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St Johns

Sun 4

th Aug NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St Johns

Sun 11

th Aug Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St Johns

Sun 18

th Aug NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St Johns

Sun 25

th Aug Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St Johns

‘CROSSING PLACES’ A QUIET DAY IN AUGUST

The Reverend Caroline Eglin is leading a

QUIET DAY

on WEDNESDAY 14th AUGUST 2013, 10am – 4pm

at Carolian House, 27 Riverside Walk, Yealmpton PL8 2LU.

Cost £14 including drinks and lunch. Booking essential.

For booking and further details please contact:

Caroline on [email protected]

or 01752 881996 or address above.

THE BIG LUNCH held at St John’s on Sunday 2nd June was a great success. 30 people attended for a 2 course lunch and, after expenses, £100 was donated to the Plymouth Food Bank. FROM ST JOHN’S PARISH REGISTERS

BAPTISMS: We welcome into God’s family by Baptism:-

HOLLIE LYNNE MOLLY MEDHURST baptized Sunday 2nd June 2013, daughter of Adam & Laura Medhurst.

MAX LAYTON PARR PERRY baptized Sunday 9th June 2013, son of Scott Perry & Laura Parr.

FRANCESCA EVIE HIND baptized Sunday 16th June 2013, daughter of Adam Hind & Rachel Harris.

‘Fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ … and remain faithful to Him to the end of your life’

HOLY MATRIMONY: We offer our congratulations and pray for God’s blessing upon:-

JOHN ADAMS & SHEENA MCMILLAN married on 25th May, 2013.

IAN BRADBURN & LISA WOOD married on 8th June, 2013. ___________________________

ST JOHN’S CHURCH

MIDSUMMER MARKET

SATURDAY 6th JULY 2013

from 11.00am to 1.30pm

Come and join us

Various Stalls ~ Grand Raffle

Lunches & Refreshments

(In Aid of the repaving of the St John‘s Church entrance path)

YOUNG @ HEART

Keith Fordham, June’s speaker, brought alive for us the work of CHICKS. This is a locally based charity set up by two retired teachers and based at Brentor, which supports disadvantaged children from all over the UK.

Last year CHICKS celebrated 20 years of making happy memories for these children who through no fault of their own find themselves in a world of abuse and neglect. Indeed some of these children

are registered carers for members of their families. We actually have 75,000 registered young carers in the UK, 46,000 at risk of abuse and neglect and 1 in 4 children living in poverty. What a sad reflection on our country!

CHICKS organises holiday adventure camps for children and these are divided into two age groups of 8 to 11 and 12 to 15 years of age, and run from Monday to Friday. These camps are supervised by dedicated and well-vetted volunteers and, from what Keith told us, everyone is very well looked after and the supervisors enjoy themselves as much as the children.

CHICKS has a ‘hugs’ policy which states that hugs are to be avoided unless a child desperately needs one – this is usually left to the carer’s discretion, and the policy works well.

There are two types of camp – moorland and coastal. The day starts at 7.30am with showers and personal hygiene. Breakfast is at 8.00am after which the fun starts with organised activities. Packed lunches are supplied. The evening meal is always home cooked and nutritious. Fizzy drinks and junk food are not allowed, neither is TV and mobile phones.

Daytime activities are very varied and numerous, evenings are passed with quizzes and other competitions, bedtime stories, discussions on the day’s activities, reports of new-made friendships, etc. The last night is always great fun with a Karaoke and everyone dresses up in funny outfits, even the supervisors.

A recent trip to Crealy Park was a great success – the children and carers went in fancy dress and had their faces painted. Great fun!!

Carers always display ID cards. At the end of their stay the children are encouraged to write a report on their holiday. Personal birthday and Christmas cards are taken home by everyone, also what is called a finishing ‘bag of memories’. The children are also issued with stamped addressed envelopes enabling them to keep in touch with CHICKS.

So far 10,000 youngsters have benefited from these wonderful carefree weeks provided by the charity.

Keith showed us a DVD of the children enjoying themselves and making appreciative comments on their camp holiday. It was obvious from these comments that there is a great need for charities like CHICKS.

A collection was made and together with what we normally pay our speakers and a generous personal donation we were able to send Keith back to the charity base with £76.20. He was delighted.

If you would like to know more about CHICKS contact Nick Ryan on 01822 (Tavistock) 811126.

Next Meeting ~ Tuesday, 2nd July 2013 at 2.00pm in St John’s Hall

Our speaker will be Mrs Rosalind Jones on Humorous Childhood Memories. Sounds like fun. Do join us if you can.

-Ruth Earl

PENTECOST PRAISE AND PICNIC

On Sunday 19th May an enjoyable afternoon was held at the Church of the Good

Shepherd Hall in Oreston to celebrate the special time of Pentecost.

Everyone enjoyed the handicrafts which consisted of Angels created from cardboard plates, funny faces made from foam, decorating biscuits and making kites. Some people tackled the puzzles. We watched a cartoon and sang songs which conveyed the message of Pentecost.

It was good to get together, to enjoy each other’s company & share the picnic. We had a cake with candles to celebrate the Church of the Good Shepherd’s birthday. The children enjoyed the ceremony of blowing out the candles.

Of course we all at Oreston had mixed feelings; should we hold the event or not due to the loss of one of our main helpers, Sue Morris. We decided she would have said that ‘the show must go on’.

Thank you to all who came & to all those who helped. We would love to see you again at the Sea Saturday Service in July.

-Josie

SPONSORED WALK

A very big thank you to everyone who sponsored me when I recently walked two stages of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, from St Jean Pied de Port in the French Pyrenees to Logrono in Spain (about 160km). £410 has been raised to help Church of the Good Shepherd Funds.

-Janet Miller

HOLIDAY CLUB

AT CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, ORESTON

THURSDAYS, 22ND & 29TH AUGUST 10.00am-12.00noon

Once again we will be holding our holiday club for children for a couple of days in August. There will be activities & crafts. We would like some extra helpers on either of these days as we will greatly miss the help of Sue Morris this year.

For further details or offers of help please contact Sue & Allan Jones on 480568 or Rev Steve Payne on 213358. -Sue Jones

7.

IN MEMORIAM ~ SUSAN ANN OLIVER MORRIS (‘SUE’) – 26.4.38 - 6.5.13.

On Wednesday 29th May at 2pm the Church of the Good

Shepherd & Hall were both packed for the Thanksgiving Service for Sue Morris. The Service was relayed to the Hall, where later a delicious home-made tea was laid on by Sue’s Church family. Sue was born in Stoke, Devonport, where her father was a Doctor and the family was very involved in St Michael’s Church. Sue moved to Oreston in 1982. She was a faithful Server at St Mary’s for many years at the Saturday Morning Eucharist. In 1992 she designed & organised the making of the splendid banners at St Mary’s for the Parish Mission. As a Reader, since 1992, Sue’s sermons were always well prepared, heartfelt & thought-provoking. She conducted funerals with great sensitivity &

empathy, having really engaged with the relations beforehand. Sue’s gifts & skills in pastoral care were put to good use at both the old & new Hospices, where she worked for 20 years, becoming Chaplain’s assistant when the new hospice opened. Her pastoral care also extended to the Parish, the Oreston Community & beyond. She always had time for people and put 110% into all she did. She wrote & published 2 books of meditations for Lent & Advent. The words were based on her own drawings of her wood carvings & of the Stations of the Cross, which can be seen at Plympton St Maurice. She was skilled in her work with both stone & wood. Other carvings can be seen at St John’s, Hooe, St Michael’s, Devonport, Good Shepherd, Oreston & the Hospice Chapel, to name but a few places. Sue has made a wonderful contribution to the nurture & teaching of children. Nearly every Sunday at the Good Shepherd for the past 6 years or so Sue has taught lessons that she has designed, with ingenious craft activities, tailor-made to suit the age & interests of each child. She has also been one of the prime movers responsible for the special afternoon Services started in 2009, where her energy, enthusiasm, creative ideas & artistic gifts have been invaluable. She was full of enthusiasm to start an adult film afternoon in Oreston & had already organised 2 films. She was always very keen to promote good working relationships with Oreston Methodist Church. In 2002 Sue began studying for a degree in Plant Sciences at Plymouth University. Having achieved that in 2006 she began her PhD in the Ecology of Plant Weeds. In recent years she has greatly enjoyed lecturing in Plant Identification. Whilst at the University Sue befriended a number of foreign students. Her plant knowledge has also enabled Sue to do invaluable work for the National Trust. Her faith has been the foundation of all that she has done. She will be hugely missed & our thoughts are with her brother Roger & other family members. We are so thankful that Sue was with her good friends Josie & Susan on the night she became ill & so sadly passed away. R.I.P

-Rev Jenny Spear

A BRIEF LOOK AT SOME OF THE MOTHERS’ UNION

SOCIAL POLICY WORK

Mothers’ Union, as an international Christian charity with over 4 million members, continues its work of promoting marriage and family life; realising that the wellbeing of the family cannot be separated from the welfare of the wider community.

We continue the ‘Bye Buy Childhood’ campaign, which launched in September 2010 led by Reg Bailey, our Chief Executive, being invited by the Government to head up an independent inquiry into the commercialisation of childhood. Recently we have produced a useful booklet for families called LABELLED FOR LIFE Managing the Commercial World as a Family.

Mothers’ Union has submitted a response to the Public Bill Committee, (following an extensive consultation with members), on the MARRIAGE (Same Sex Couples) BILL, currently much in the news. A couple of interesting points from our Submission regarding equality:-

Whilst the discourse framing this Bill furthers equality by extending the rite to marry to same sex couples, the proposals do not confer the same marriage and divorce rites. It is inconsistent that the Government wishes to redefine the meaning of marriage, yet is not proposing to redefine the meaning of adultery, in order to permit divorce of same sex couples on grounds of adultery.

Civil partnerships remain open only to same sex couples, therefore excluding heterosexual couples from a civil partnership (should this be their wish). Although there is provision in the Bill for consultation on the future of civil partnerships.

Because of our special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Mothers’ Union has submitted a written response to a Commission set up by the Fawcett Society on ‘ Women and the Criminal Justice System’. Through our policy work and projects with women, men and families we are able to submit points and recommendations with regard to domestic violence, trafficking and prostitution.

This is only a very brief outline of only some of the work which Mothers’ Union Faith & Policy Unit undertakes, in this country. And I would ask for people’s prayers so that we may, by the Grace of God, continue to work for families here and around the world. -Janet Miller, Social Policy Rep, Mothers’ Union Exeter Diocese

HOW IT WAS . . !

While Barrett Homes use all the latest equipment for digging out limestone whilst levelling their new Hooe Quarry housing estate, give a thought for the guys who originally dug out the majority of the quarry during the 19

th and early

20th century using horses, carts, wheelbarrows, gunpowder and eventually

dynamite.

Our picture, submitted by Turnchapel resident Pauline Breeze, shows the workers of quarry firm F.J. Moore (formerly Sparrows) with local celebrities in the picture, including Sammy Philips and George Dungey.

The quarry firm of Sparrows was used to supply the limestone for the building of St. John’s church. They also dug out the railway cutting through Oreston.

And Hooe Lake Quarry today all levelled out ready to build more homes. Whilst across the water at Oreston, another quarry has been levelled to provide

more housing. (see below)

GROWING OLD

A little more tired at the close of the day,

A little less anxious to have our own way,

A little less anxious to scold, to blame,

A little more care for a brother’s name;

And so we are nearing the journey’s end

Where time and eternity meet and blend.

A little less care for gain or gold,

A little more zest for the days of old,

A broader view and a saner mind,

A little more love for all mankind;

And so we are faring down the way

That leads to the gates of a better day.

A little more love for the friends of youth,

A little more zeal for established truth,

A little more charity in our views,

A little less thirst for the latest news;

And so we are folding our tents away

And passing in silence at close of day.

A little more leisure to sit and dream,

A little more real to the things unseen,

A little nearer to those ahead

With visions of those long loved and dead;

And so we are going where all must go,

To the place the living must never know.

A little more laughter, a few more tears

And we shall have told our increasing years,

The book is closed and the prayers are said,

And we are part of the countless dead.

Thrice happy then if some soul can say,

“I live because she passed my way”.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

STOP PRESS – New Service At St Mary’s

“Worship @ Ten” What’s that?

We’ve started a new monthly Service in St Mary’s Church Hall on the 2nd Sunday of each month. Have you tried it yet?

It lasts about 35 minutes. It’s designed for young people to join in but without losing relevance for adults as well. Prayers, songs, doing and teaching are at the heart of the Service. So far we have got off to a good start – we’ve welcomed one or two young families, some Brownies, Guides and Cubs with their leaders – the atmosphere is informal and there’s always an activity for you to do. Last week we made sheep.

Before the Service we offer doughnuts and a drink. We finish in time for you to attend the 10.45am Communion Service in church should you so wish. See you there - 10am on the second Sunday of each month?

Next time ~ July 14th.

PLYMOUTH FOOD BANK - HELP NEEDED

a) Are you free to help for an hour at a Supermarket collection point for the Plymouth Food Bank? The next dates are:-

a) Friday 5th

July at Tesco Lee Mill and Tesco, Roborough

b) Saturday 6th

July and Thursday 1st

August at Morrisons,

Plymstock c) Saturday 7th

September at Tesco, Roborough

d) Saturday 28th

September at Tesco, Lee Mill.

If you are able to help please ring 254981 or e-mail the Food Bank at [email protected]

b) Do you have any computers that are passed their sell-by date so far as you are concerned?

The Crown Centre is also involved in a project with obsolete computers. At a nearby centre in Rendle Street they are rebuilt, updated and re-cycled. The project offers skills training and jobs for its employees and opportunities for members of the community to become computer-literate.

If you have any suitable old computers then let me know and I’ll arrange their collection. -Richard Harvey, Plymstock St Mary’s, Tel 408006.

FROM ST MARY & ALL SAINTS PARISH REGISTER

BAPTISMS: We welcomed into God’s family through Baptism:-

5

th May AALIYAH KAREN

APPLEBY

12th May BONNIE AVA KNOWLES-

PFEIFFER

______________________

ON HENRY AND SUE ‘GOING UP THE LINE’

Sunday 2nd

June 2013

We knew they’d sold their house. It had to happen. Finally the time had come to say farewell to Henry & Sue Blackmore. They were moving to be closer to their children who lived in London. Yes indeed, we gave them a good send off.

A poem was written – its title is the heading for this article – recollections were fondly recalled, a special cake with a church on top was consumed and glasses were raised to wish them every good fortune for the future. They were presented with Royal Dolton Wine Carafe + Glasses, a bottle of up-market Bordeaux – Sue’s favourite by all accounts – and a cheque. In addition a scrapbook of memories had been constructed in which church members had recalled some of the many occasions on which the Blackmores had been involved in the life of St Mary’s – it was full of photos, recollections and messages. We sang a song entitled Bye Bye Blackmores, loosely based on another well-known traditional song and rendered with tremendous enthusiasm by a large part of the congregation who’d had a secret rehearsal the week before. What a send off!

We wish Sue and Henry all the very best for the future – and of course they’ll be greatly missed.

MESSY CHURCH AT HOLY FAMILY, STADDISCOMBE

Our picture above shows some of the children and helpers during a recent Messy Church at the Holy Family, Staddiscome, and the bottom picture, one of the stones hand painted.

(Photo submitted by Robert Davidson)

CHRISTENING AT HOLY FAMILY, STADDISCOME

The Revd Jenny Spear conducts the christening of Elizabeth Joyce Pettinger Brown at the Holy Family. The parents, godparents and some of the guests came from as far away as Copenhagen.

(Photo submitted by Robert Davidson)

At our June meeting we welcomed speaker Su Clark, a volunteer Art teacher at Ocean Quay Project for drug/alcohol rehabilitation in Stonehouse. This project offers on-going support after addicts have had treatment at Broadreach House. Ocean Quay has paid staff and volunteers but they do not receive government funding. They also work with other clients who have been referred to them from other places.

We were captivated by Su’s lively and moving talk describing her work with the clients, and her own life story. She is someone with great empathy for people who have gone through abuse, neglect, domestic violence and other issues, and find it very hard to cope with life. Su told us two or three stories about different clients. Some are unable to read and write. The project helps them greatly with verbal communication, self-esteem and confidence. Counselling offers a starting point for them to deal with their past and see that the future can be better.

Su has been running Art therapy at Ocean Quay for about 18 months and has a teaching qualification. Ocean Quay offers a broad range of support for recovering

addicts. This includes a gym, advice and help with CV’s, job interviews or benefits claims, teaching IT skills, group therapy sessions etc. Ocean Quay is open for clients to use the facilities from 9 to 5, 5 days a week. Su runs the Art ‘class’ two days a week. It is not formal Art teaching but an unstructured ‘drop-in’ session giving a therapeutic opportunity for clients to express themselves through creativity, using the great variety of materials that Su has gathered together. (Even organising the storage shelves was a big project which benefitted from a handsome donation from Rotary.) Su very often finds herself putting on her Counsellor’s hat when someone needs to talk about their problems. Sometimes she has heard such harrowing stories that she has needed counselling herself to cope with hearing them.

Su brought with her a box of craft items which the clients have made to sell, to help the project to continue running. These included pretty cushions, painted glass vases, shell candle holders and many lovely cards for different occasions. All who came to our meeting were pleased to contribute by buying some of these. Jean Roberts then thanked Su for her very interesting talk.

The next ‘fellowship morning’ will be at The Bridge on Monday 24 June at 10:30am.

THE MOTHERS’ UNION BRANCH IN PLYMSTOCK & HOOE

After much discussion and prayer it has been decided that the Mothers’ Union Branch in Plymstock and Hooe is to close. We have had a dwindling membership and we now have no-one able and willing to take over running the branch after Sheila Eccleston (Leader) and Betty Knight (Treasurer) are stopping this summer. This branch has been running for 10 years, and until the 1990’s there was an earlier Mothers’ Union branch in the parish.

We have set out three priorities which we still feel are very important:-

Prayer – which underpins the work of the Mothers’ Union everywhere.

The Mothers’ Union itself – that wonderful organisation of 4 million members in 70 countries, which does so much to help and support women, marriage and family life by many varied projects, meeting needs in different places.

Our own fellowship which we have built up over the 10 years of this branch.

We will still belong to the Mothers’ Union by becoming ‘Diocesan members’, this will keep us in touch with what the MU is doing nationally and internationally. And we are still going to keep our fellowship by meeting locally on an informal basis twice per month:

1. On the second Monday of each month at 2:30pm at St John’s Church Hall for “TAPS” – Tea and Prayers.

2. On the last Monday of each month from 10:30am for coffee at The Bridge at Mountbatten.

The committee approached this decision prayerfully and we know that there is some disappointment and sadness involved. We are not the only branch facing similar issues – that is why it is good that we can still continue as diocesan members, so it is not an end for us but just a different way of belonging.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our meetings in various ways – our speakers, the clergy for their support, and the Church of the Good Shepherd for letting us use their hall. -Sheila Eccleston Next meeting~

Monday 8th

July 2013, Good Shepherd Church Hall, 7:30pm.

This will be a short Service to mark the closing of the Mothers’ Union branch in Plymstock & Hooe, followed by a party.

Past and present members are invited.

OUT & ABOUT

July 7th

Good Food Market, Royal William Yard.

Plenty of boating:-

July 4th

– 7th

Plymouth Race Week, The Sound.

July 13th

Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit

July 20th

– 28th

Port of Plymouth Regatta, The Sound

July 26th

– 30th

Classic Boat Rally, Sutton Harbour

HOOE BAPTIST GIRLS’ BRIGADE

CONGRATULATIONS on celebrating 60 years.

Members past and present were being invited to Hooe Primary School on

Saturday, 29th June, for a Service followed by a BBQ and refreshments.

Started in 1953, the Group was led by Pam Miller for many years and still

flourishes under the leadership of her niece, Jean Osmond.

HOOE & TURNCHAPEL LADIES GROUP

We meet at the Hooe & Turnchapel Community Centre on the 1st and 3

rd

Tuesday of each month at 8.00pm. ALL ladies welcome.

Our programme for JULY 2013 is:-

JULY 2nd

LANDS END TO JOHN O’GROATS ~ John Desborough

JULY 16th BARBICAN TREASURE HUNT

For further information please contact: -Diane McCarthy (Sec) Tel: 311931

PLYMSTOCK GARDEN SOCIETY

The next meeting on Monday 29th

July, 2013, 7.30pm, at the Plymstock United church Hall, Plymstock Road, Oreston will be ~

‘Preparation for the Show’ with Phillip Gilbury

Non-members welcome £1. Contact No. Tel: 403652.

PLYM VALLEY HERITAGE

At our next meeting on Thursday, 18th

July at 7.30pm in St John’s Church Hall, our speaker is Graham Naylor, Senior Librarian – History & Information, Plymouth City Library, who will talk on ‘Crime and Punishment in 19C Plymouth’.

PVH members free and £3 for visitors. Refreshments provided.

On Saturday, 10th

August, local Oreston historian, Kevin Warley, will be giving PVH members an historic walk around Oreston. Those interested please meet at the Oreston slipway car park at 11.00am. -Gill Whillock