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N e w s l e t t e r
Christmas 2019
All Saints’ is a Registered Scottish charity No. SC013161
Afishapa
| መልካም
ገና! | afehyia pa |
Krismesi emnandi | E ku
odun, e ku iye’dun | Gëzuar
Krishtlindjen | عيد ميالد مجيد | Eedookh Breekha | З Калядамі |
Vrolijk Kerstfeest |
Joyeux Noël | Frohe Weihnachten | djoyeus Noyé |
Vesela Koleda | 圣诞快乐 |
Nadelik Lowen | Glædelig Jul |
Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi | Gleðilig jól | Hyvää
joulua | Bon Natale | Καλά Χριστούγεννα | გილოცავ შობა-ახალ წელს
| Boldog karácsonyt | !ভ বড়িদন | חג מולד שמח | めりーくりすます |
Felicem Diem Nativitatis | Gozhqq Keshmish | Prettige Kerst
|
God Jul | Wesołych Świąt | Счастливого рождества! | Nollaig
Chridheil | Feliz
Navidad |
Nadolig Llawen |
Mereth Veren e-
Doled Eruion |
Happy Christmas!
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DEAR READER
Confusing for some, the mismatch of Church and secular years has
some useful effects, beginning with the fact that as the world ends
its year, the Church is already a month into its new year,
commencing with the holy season of Advent. Adventus - ‘coming’ -
prompts us to ponder the Last Things and encourages a soulful
searching for clarity as we pray imaginatively for the coming of
Christ’s Kingdom in power, to liberate, vindicate and complete the
saving work of God.
With that context secured, the traditional end of the secular
year becomes a bit easier to digest, even if its food and drink can
be quite a challenge to our gastric organs. And it has been a most
unusual year with shrill hyperbole characterising a lot of media
coverage, not least in the approach to the general election earlier
this month. While a clear majority in the governing party at
Westminster now makes - theoretically - for more coherent policy
from the south, the SNP has seen the widespread rejection in
Scotland of the Conservative leadership and policy as a further
sign of encouragement for the independence that clearly captivates
the hearts and minds of many Scots.
What the future holds therefore now seems to polarise both
certainties and uncertainties: the UK will leave the European
Community and sighs of relief ensue even from many who voted to
remain simply because the uncertainty is finally ended; and
Scotland must somehow reach a decision about which is more
important, membership of the UK or the EC.
What has the Church to do in this place? You may have noted that
there has been a recurrent lament from Christian commentators over
the quality of information presented in the popular press,
broadcast media and the campaigns of political parties in recent
months and years. I am working to contain my astonishment that so
much misleading information has not been challenged effectively
because the implications for what purports to be a democratic
process may be very serious.
Within the congregation we have many political views generally
held with some reserve and mutual respect of privacy. Whatever your
view may be, I hope that in the coming months we can together
remember the importance of truth as a basis for trust, and of
making decisions in its calm light rather than in the fire of anger
or the gloom of despair.
What we celebrate at the heart of Christmas is so much more
important than any of that: the truth is much more than words,
however lucid, being rooted in The Word, the saving purpose of God
who, in Christ, has joined our mortal to
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his immortal nature. This is none other than the marriage of
heaven and earth, of time and eternity that Truth might be known,
through Love dwelling in our midst as Jesus Christ.
I wish you a very happy Christmas and a healthy and creative
Year of Our Lord, MMXX.
Fr Alasdair
IN THIS EDITION
News from the Diaspora 3
St George’s Church, Venice 4
Lucy Menzies 5
Poetry 6
Frances Lenman 9
Canon Brian Albert Hardy 12
Dick Carson 15
Statistical Returns 17
Update from the Treasurer 18
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA
Those who attended the wonderful harpsichord recital given by
John Kitchen in September, were aware that John was awaiting
hip-replacement surgery for some time. That has now taken place
successfully and - very happily - John is finding that pedal work
playing the organ provides an ideal form of exercise to improve
strength and mobility of his new joint. Initial forays felt, he
says, a bit odd, but he has been recitaling for some weeks now,
enjoying good freedom of movement.
Since education at Madras College and graduating from Oxford,
former choir member and regular visitor, Anna Poole, has followed a
legal career initially in the City of London but for many years now
based in Edinburgh. She was
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called to the Bar in 1998 and made Queen’s Counsel in 2012.
Since then she has served as a UK tribunal judge but has recently
been appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice - a High
Court judge - and will take up her appointment on 13 January. Anna
is also Chancellor of the Dioceses of Edinburgh and Argyle &
the Isles.
ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, VENICE
Through my literary agency work and thanks to my client Philip
Gwynne Jones and his wife Caroline I have come to know and love
this outpost of the Anglican church.
St George’s is situated in Campo San Vio, close to the Grand
Canal and the Accademia. There has been an Anglican chaplain in
Venice – with some intervals including during Napoleon’s occupation
of the city and during World War II – since the reign of King James
VI and I when Nathaniel Fletcher was chaplain to the ambassador Sir
Nicholas Wotton.
The church moved to its present location in the 1890s. The
building was formerly a warehouse of the Venezia-Murano Glass and
Mosaic Company which had gone into liquidation. The firm had
supplied the mosaics used for the reredos in Westminster Abbey and
on the Albert Memorial in London.
It is a beautiful building with several windows in memory of
famous English residents of the city including Sir Nicholas Wotton,
Robert Browning, John Ruskin, and Sir Ashley Clarke, a former
British Ambassador to Italy, churchwarden for more than twenty
years and one of the founders of the Venice in Peril Fund. His
widow is a regular member of the congregation when she is in
Venice.
The church also contains the gravestone of Consul Joseph Smith,
the celebrated supporter of Canaletto and his work. Because of
financial difficulties Smith had to sell his vast collection and it
was acquired by King George III and forms the basis of the current
royal collection of Canalettos.
The magnificent reredos came from a church in Tuscany and
contains a nineteenth century copy of The Redeemer with Saints
George and Jerome, the original of which was painted by Giovanni
Buonconsiglio in the 16th century for the nearby Santo Spirito
Church.
But much more importantly, St George’s is a thriving, working
church. The number of regular worshippers is small but is augmented
by very many visitors
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from around the world. Their service of Nine Lessons and Carols
has become a regular feature with visiting choirs – this year it
was the choir from Kent College, Canterbury and the church was
packed with standing room only. Lessons were read by amongst
others, Don Andrea, priest of the church of the Gesuati, the Roman
Catholic parish in which St George’s is situated (reading in
Italian), a student from Zimbabwe, and an American parishioner. The
Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice gave the
Blessing.
St George’s hosts a Biennale exhibition and this is proving to
be a very useful source of income as much work needs to be done on
the building. The Venice Music Project holds fifty concerts a year
there. They are led by Liesl Odenweller, a professional opera
singer from the US and now resident in Venice. They research and
perform ancient Venetian music.
The church is used by the local Filipini congregation who meet
there regularly. There is a supper club where students from around
the world meet once a month for friendship and fellowship. The
current chaplain is the Revd Canon Malcolm Bradshaw MBE who
previously served at the Anglican church in Athens. He also looks
after the Anglican church in Trieste.
St George’s features in Philip’s latest book The Venetian
Masquerade when a murder is committed there but as he assures
readers in his acknowledgements ‘to the best of my knowledge no one
has ever been horribly murdered there’. Do visit if you are in
Venice – there is always a wonderfully warm welcome.
I am very grateful to Geraldine Ludbrook for much of the
historical background and to Gilly Wiscarson for her help in
writing this short piece.
John Beaton
LUCY MENZIES
When the current scheme of holy days was devised for the
Scottish Episcopal Church, it was an aim that at least one person
of outstanding holiness be included from each of the seven
dioceses. Thanks to some local support, one of those considered for
commemoration was Lucy Menzies, a member of our own congregation
whom we commemorate each November with readings from her spiritual
writings and translations.
Because of the increasing awareness of her importance, St Mary’s
College is interested in commissioning a portrait
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of Lucy to be hung in College Hall. There is a strong resonance
with her at St Mary’s as she was conferred with the honorary degree
Doctor of Divinity by the University shortly before her death in
1954. The presentation address at that graduation included this
description of Lucy.
Possessing deep historical scholarship and linguistic equipment
both wide and accurate, Miss Menzies brought to the understanding
of St Columba and Queen Margaret the rarer gifts of intuition and
insight, and as the list of her writings lengthened, so this
unusual insight deepened into an unusual spiritual charm . . . For
ten years she was Warden of the Retreat House at Pleshey, that
centre of spiritual peace and contemplation, and if she largely
made that place a haven for others, it ripened in her those
gracious qualities and lovely virtues which we who know her most
admire.
If you would like to contribute to funding the portrait, please
either speak to Judith Wolfe or Bill Hyland, or visit the web
address below.
gf.me/u/w3rqxh
POETRY
With its liturgical tradition encouraging us to reach beyond the
bare meaning of words into the mystery of God and creation, it’s
not surprising that All Saints’ has many people with an interest in
poetry. In recent years we’ve had within the congregation a number
of poets, prize-winning, published and - in the truest sense -
amateur. Here is a selection of poems submitted for this Newsletter
from within the congregation.
from Caledonian Postcards
Swans at the Royal Botanic Gardens
But are they sad? I overheard her say.No more than fiveAlone
with mum on a weekend getaway. Because I didn’t catch her answer,
I’ve Since had to guess. Could anything be sad Beneath the cirrus
sky of Scottish autumn? Two swans approached and formed a heart,
while skyward,
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http://gf.me/u/w3rqxh
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Wild geese flew south toward France and Spain, and had I read a
sign in this, then I’d have thought them Homesick, maybe. Sad? That
wasn’t my word.
Glasgow Necropolis
What could be more Victorian than this? A picnic lunch,The two
of us walk the Necropolis In search of famous dead. You had a hunch
We’d come up empty. Bruce and Burns and Hume, Of course, were
elsewhere, from another age. Here’s where the 19th Century is
laid.Those dark industrial lords have founded tomb By tomb their
city of the dead. Their wage,Bequeathed to us as romance, fully
paid.
Postscript: at the ruins of St Mary on the Rocks
Was it just legal fiction brought us here?The batteryIs silent
on the question, gone cold for fearThey’d wake the dead. They won’t
but you know me—A “ruin bibber,” unreformed, Romantic. The
morning’s clear, if cold. I sit in choir,Intone a requiem in
foreign diction.Communed with gulls, asperged by the Atlantic,Would
that I sang with Pentecostal fire.My teeth are flint and steel. My
breath is friction.
Dan Rattelle
The Oxen
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. “Now they are one their
knees,”An elder said as we sat in a flock By the embers in the
hearthside ease.
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We pictured the meek mild creatures where They dwelt in their
strawy pen,Nor did it occur to one of us there To doubt they were
kneeling then.
So fair a fancy few would weave In these years! Yet, I feel,If
someone said on Christmas Eve, “Come; see the oxen kneel
“In the lonely barton by yonger coomb Our childhood used to
know,”I should go with him in the gloom, Hoping it might be so.
Thomas Hardysubmitted by Charlotte Johnston
Mordecai
By accident or fate I said the words
That saved the king from
poison unto death.
Despite his trust I maintained shibboleths.
The son of Jair, I’m not afraid of birds.
The judge caught me at
prayer before the feasts
And longed to see me eaten by shabhaz.
He
ruled all servants and gentlemen must pass
Beside him head bowed
down like pagan priests.
Below the flame of candlelight I stood,
While scribes inked out each blessed legal phrase.
We locked eyes
long enough for me to praise
The wisdom demonstrated by the good.
I smell the smoke and hear the pleas of saints
Arise as men
return to their constraints.
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For Bernard Iddings Bell
The dean in robes put up a fight to save
the young from rising
fads and crowd cultures.
The board shrugged off the words of this
odd slave
To votes of dead men, snagging eyes of vultures.
The birds began to circle when they heard
The lawyer ask the use
of learning Greek.
And when Bell quoted Plato they all jeered
And
burned to toss him out like an antique.
He made boys stand when he walked in the room
Like soldiers
rise to keep their pride at bay.
For this offense the board winced
and consumed
The robes and books and dean like birds of prey.
The chairman called the members to a vote,
Bell pack his bags
and dusted off his coat.
Clinton Collister
FRANCES LENMAN
During the summer, we were sad to hear of the death of Frances
Lenman, who had worshipped at All Saints’ from 1994 until quite
recent years. Bea Cowan, Lay Reader at St Andrew’s Church, was one
of her neighbours and, when Frances became unable to make her own
way here, Bea and George provided Frances with a lift to church
with them at St Andrew’s.
We are grateful to Bea, who preached the address at Frances’
funeral, for prividing a copy of her address, containing this
summary of Frances’ life.
Frances was born at home, on17th August 1929, to Henry known as
“Harry”, a dental surgeon who was a pioneer in the reconstruction
of the facial injuries of war victims, and Edith Selby-Brown,
daughter of a master butcher. During the war Frances was evacuated
to Barnard Castle in Yorkshire and then to near Alloa in Scotland
with her family.
She used to recall rationing during the war. It obviously had an
effect on her -she had a lifelong love of copious amounts of
butter, due to the severe rationing; and she always used to eat the
entire apple, stalk and all, as that was
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the only way she could dispose of the evidence when taking
apples from their family orchard during the war, something strictly
forbidden.
In 1948 Frances came up to St Andrews University and graduated
in 1953 with MA Honours in History and Geography. She was a keen
mountaineer and fencer at the time and almost immediately met
Andrew through the St Andrews Mountaineering Society.
She and Andrew were married in 1955, and together they had four
children, Elizabeth, Katherine, James and Hattie, of all of whom
she had very good reason to be extremely proud.
She had a very happy marriage to Andrew; they were clearly
devoted to each other. She not only worked as a full-time teacher
in Special Needs but worked hard to support Andrew’s career as the
only Neurologist in Dundee. She supported him while he developed
all the neurology services in Tayside and Angus and created a
department that flourishes today and of which he would have been
immensely proud. | Hattie and James remember the extensive
entertainment Frances provided for many of Andrew’s colleagues, in
their home in Broughty Ferry and it was remarked by them that her
hospitality was invariably exceptional.
George, my husband, remembers working for Andrew in 1964 as a
House Physician in the old Dundee Royal Infirmary and, later,
briefly, in 1972 when he was an Honorary Senior Registrar when on
Sabbatical for the Army. He well remembers first meeting Frances at
that time.
Frances had many struggles in life, first when Andrew died in
1985.
Sadly, this meant that Frances could no longer share a retired
life with him and do all the things they had planned to do once
they stopped working full time. However, in her efficient and
organised way, she still moved, in 1994, from Dundee to St Andrews,
where she and Andrew had always intended to retire. Here she soon
made a good life for herself.
She was involved in many aspects of church life, first at All
Saints church which she attended for many years, then here at our
own Saint Andrew’s church.
She made lots of time for family and friends and for her own
hobbies.
She regularly travelled to Vancouver to visit her daughter,
Katherine, and granddaughter, Elizabeth. She soaked up the variety
of cultures there and, typically, started taking Mandarin lessons
between visits. Until she became too
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frail for the journey, she would often make long journeys to
spend time with him, whatever part of the country he was in.
Unfortunately, the unthinkable occurred when she lost two of her
beloved daughters, first Lizzie, in 1997, and then Katherine, in
2009.
She coped with these events with strength, dignity and
courage.
Frances also had many joys: she took great delight in her
granddaughter Elizabeth, Katherine’s daughter, whom she welcomed to
Scotland in 2009. She was immensely proud of her and loved all the
time they spent together. Among many things Elizabeth remembers
with glee are the games Frances used to devise – educational, of
course, but nevertheless fun. Frances also loved hearing Elizabeth
play the piano and the flute
Frances was an expert gardener. She worked as a guide at the
Botanic gardens, first in Dundee, then in St Andrews - She created
a delightful corner at her house at Mount Melville. She had a
strong interest in country houses and historic buildings, enjoying
guiding at Hill of Tarvit and collating expert notes about the
house, family and its contents.
Her intellect remained sharp and there were many topics where
Frances could talk eloquently and accurately - from current affairs
to cricket. History was a special love but woe betide broadcasters
who got this or that wrong!
Later on she took up Tai Chi and yoga and swam nearly every day
until she became too frail to continue. Even in her 80’s Frances
embraced technology and, even a few weeks before her death, was
using her iPad to order items, check out the local and
international news and play sudoku. She also regularly played
online scrabble with James.
She embraced changes, doing her best to ride an electric bicycle
in her 80s when she could no longer drive a car. She always tried
to adapt, gracefully, even trying not to shout too loudly at Alexa,
a useful electronic friend in her last months.
Her elegance and beauty throughout her life will always be
remembered –
As George and I well remember, when she appeared unexpectedly
soon after we first arrived here, in her familiar, stylish black at
our doorstep, held court in a sitting-room full of packing cases
and subsequently introduced us to other neighbours.
Frances supported all those around her, often ‘adopting’ post
graduate students in St Andrews, and inviting them up for tea.
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She was very close to her daughter Hattie who lived nearby for
the last two decades. They enjoyed so much together - horse riding,
swimming, university lectures and, quite simply, each other’s
company.
Her increasing fragility was upsetting to see, however she was
allowed to die with dignity, respect and much love at home with
Hattie, surrounded by her remaining family, James, Elizabeth and
Gary.
Hattie, I know you owe so much to your mother but you were a
wonderful companion to her. You could not have done more for
her.
Frances had much support from dear friends and neighbours whom
she was so pleased to see almost up to her death.
Hattie has a special word of thanks for all the helpers, carers,
nurses and doctors whom helped her mother so much. The level of
care Frances received at home was quite exceptional and she was
made to feel very safe and loved.
Typical of Frances’ generous nature, and her devotion to the
medical community throughout her life, she has donated her body to
medical science; a huge commitment and one that her family were
happy to support.
Frances attended St Andrews University as a student and
undergraduate and now has returned ‘as a silent teacher’ to the
anatomy department. The family are very proud of that.
Her generous donation will make a vital contribution to the
education of the young doctors in training at the University of St
Andrews where her daughter, Lizzie, also attended to study
medicine.
Beatrice Cowan, St Andrew’s Church
CANON BRIAN ALBERT HARDY
Fr Brian was remembered during Evensong at St Mary’s Cathedral,
Edinburgh, on Sunday 8 December. Here is the address given by the
Rt Revd Richard Holloway.
When you get to my age you spend a lot of time at funerals, as
friend after friend - to quote the Book of Ecclesiastes - make
their last journey to their ‘long home, and the mourners go about
the streets’. Often, as I listen to the story of their lives being
told for the last time, I am filled with regret. But it is not just
regret at their leaving us. It is regret that I realise how little
I knew them, or appreciated what rich and complex lives they had
led. Above all, it is
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regret that I did not tell them how much I had loved and admired
them. So I am stung when I remember the poem by Bernard
O’Donoghue:
Happy the man who, dying, canPlace his hand on his heart and
say:‘At least I didn’t neglect to tellThe thrush how beautifully
she sings.’
There are those I neglected to tell how beautifully they sang.
But not Brian Hardy. Brian I told, especially in my visits to him
during the last months of his life in Trinity House, where he was
so lovingly cared for, and where he so contentedly settled himself
to play out the last scene of his long and generous life.
Brian Hardy was born in 1931 in Heanor, Derbyshire, where his
father was Minister of Heanor Baptist Church. Though Brian became a
member of the Anglican Church while at Oxford in the 1950s, his
admiration for and devotion to his father never varied throughout
his life, and it was probably from him that he inherited the gentle
modesty that was such a marked aspect of his character.
After seven years at City Boys’ Grammar School in Leicester,
Brian spent his two years National Service as a Sergeant in the
Army Education Corps, where he served his time in Germany, and
deepened his long love affair with the German Language and the
German Lutheran Church. His love of Germany became an enduring
attachment, and for the rest of his life he visited it regularly,
usually getting there on his beloved long-distance bike. It was on
his last visit to Germany that he was first struck down with the
illness that killed him last month.
After National Service there came four years at St. John’s
College, Oxford, where he studied French and German, as well as
fitting in a Diploma in Theology, a hint of what was to come when
he started training for the Ministry of the Church of England at
Westcott House in Cambridge, where the Principal was Kenneth Carey,
later to become Bishop of Edinburgh, and an important influence on
Brian’s life.
Ordained in 1957, Brian served a curacy in Rugely, followed by
four years as Chaplain of Downing College, Cambridge. It was from
Cambridge in 1966 that Kenneth Carey, now installed in Edinburgh,
lured him to pioneering work as a founding member of the Livingston
New Town Ecumenical Ministry. Apart from four years in Telford New
Town from 1974 to 1978, the rest of Brian’s life and ministry were
spent here in Scotland.
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There were four years as Chaplain in Coates Hall, followed by
nine years as Rector of St Columba’s-by-the-Castle. While he was at
St Columba’s he also served as Dean of the Diocese from 1986 to
1991, and it was during this period that he performed a work of
reconciliation that had a major international impact. After the
fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1989,
Brian was called upon to help the churches from East and West
Germany heal their wounds and overcome their suspicion of each
other. Here the combination of his capacity for listening, his
knowledge of German theology, and his linguistic genius helped to
heal one of the deepest wounds of the 20th Century. His last charge
was in All Saints, St Andrews, from which he retired from full-time
ministry in 1996, and returned to spend his last years in
Edinburgh, bringing his much-travelled bicycle with him.
As well as being an outstanding linguist, a considerable
theologian with a special interest in liturgy, and a dedicated and
caring parish priest and counsellor, Brian Hardy was a gifted
musician. A fine pianist and organist, he also possessed a
pitch-perfect singing voice. In a more assertive personality, this
constellation of talents might have been overwhelming to lesser
mortals. In Brian Hardy it came packed into a personality so humble
and kind, that it was easy to overlook what a formidably endowed
human being he was.
Part of that modesty and self-effacement was an unwillingness to
let his private life hang out for others to see. He was always the
man for others, the given-away man. But who was he for himself?
What were his sorrows and struggles? What did it cost him to be who
he was?
It was only during my last conversation with him a few weeks ago
that I got a glimpse into what it must have felt like to be him. He
told me about the visit he had paid with other Westcott students to
the Worker-Priest movement in France, not long after the end of the
war. The Worker-priests were a radical movement of Roman Catholic
clergy who got out of their robes and left their parishes to work
in factories and on building-sites alongside the poor, who were
increasingly alienated from the Church. It was a way of life that
called for sacrifice and the surrender of self-interest in the name
of a greater cause. Brian quoted one of the priests as saying to
him that sacrifice was ‘part of the deal’, and he told me it was
the moment he realised it would be part of his deal with God as
well, the kind of life he had chosen to lead. He hinted that part
of the deal was the single life, but more than the single life; it
was a life of self-effacement in the service of others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, another man who knew that sacrifice was
part of his deal with Christ, described this as the Cost of
Discipleship. As I listened to Brian, I
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got just a hint of what it had cost him to be the kind of
disciple he had committed himself to be, and the deal he had
struck. And I realised there was a core of spiritual steel in this
humble, unassuming man. Serving us the way he did, had cost him;
but it had all been part of the deal.
That is why I am now glad that I did not neglect to tell him how
much we all loved him, and how beautifully his life had sung to
us.
The Rt Revd Richard Holloway
DICK CARSON
A quiet presence has been missed at church in recent years.
Dick, who died on 27 November, was a friendly but very private man.
His modest manner hid an illustrious career as an Astrophysicist,
during which he carried out important research in stellar opacity,
structure and pulsation, areas requiring great mathematical skill.
His abilities led to secondments at Aldermaston, Los Alamos and
NASA. He was a quiet and lucid lecturer, befriended generations of
research students and was a loyal colleague. He moved to a care
home in Edinburgh three years ago but had been a member of the
congregation at All Saints’ since the early 1960s. Many years ago,
the Rector was taught by Dick and so was invited to officiate at
his funeral on 13 December in Edinburgh, at which a niece of
his delivered this eulogy, written by one of his nephews,
Michael Molyneaux.
Thomas Richard Carson was born on 7 October 1930 at The Point on
Inishmore Island, Upper Lough Erne, Fermanagh. The second youngest
of nine to Johnston & Rebecca Carson. From a very early age he
displayed a quite brilliant academic ability, with a teacher at
primary school exclaiming that there was nothing more she could
teach him. He won a scholarship to Portora Royal School,
Enniskillen, one of the first ‘public schools’ founded by Royal
Charter in 1608 by King James, and the alma mater of the
playwrights Oscar Wilde & Samuel Beckett. My late mum, Eunice,
recalled Dick sitting in a room at home, on a hot summer’s day,
curtains closed to keep out the distraction of sunlight as he
studied. He excelled academically at Portora and participated fully
in sporting and extra-curricular activities.
Dick studied Mathematics & Physics at Queen’s University,
Belfast, graduating with a double first, and went on to complete a
PhD, a document that he
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brought with him to the Elms Care Home, here in Edinburgh. In
the mid 1950s, he worked at Aldermaston, long associated with
nuclear power, and often talked about its mainframe computer which
was reputedly the largest of its kind in the UK: a far cry from the
laptop and iPad with which we are all familiar today. In 1960 he
took up a lecturing position at St Andrews University, in
Astronomy, and he spent his entire academic career there until
retirement in 1995.
Dick never forgot his roots in Fermanagh. He kept in touch with
family by phone, and wherever he travelled around the world,
working with NASA, or delivering a paper at an international
conference, you could be sure that a postcard would arrive. He
welcomed family to St Andrews and we have wonderful memories of
holidays spent there in the 1960s, travelling all around Scotland,
to Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aviemore; these remain vivid in the
memory. On a visit to St Andrews about 10 years ago we had a game
of putting at the Old Course and, even in his late 70s as he was at
that time, he was competitive and came from behind to win the game!
And of course it should be remembered he was still playing tennis
in his 70s and was the Secretary of his local club. On that same
trip he took us on a tour of the University, and even in retirement
he was passionate about it as a centre of learning, and regaled us
with stories of regularly meeting up with former colleagues for
coffee. He also spoke about writing to The Times newspaper and the
former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, about issues that concerned him.
It was also a memorable trip because we had lunch with Dick &
Ursula at the Old Course and that was a particular joy.
The Carson family will remember Uncle Dick with great love and
affection, as someone who positively embraced every opportunity
that life gave him, and for whom learning, like the air we breathe,
was an everyday necessity. When we were children he would often ask
‘What did you learn today at school?’ It was always a joy when he
was able to attend the family reunions in Fermanagh, he really
enjoyed catching up with everyone and what they were doing. Trips
home would involve visits to the family graves, and the church
where he had donated new doors in the early 1960s in memory of his
mother and father. He always remained close to his siblings, and
though in many ways he was a quiet, reserved, private man, he loved
his family and was so very kind and generous.
On behalf of the Carson family in Northern Ireland and beyond,
may I pay tribute to David and Hayley for the loving care and
attention they gave Uncle Dick as his health declined. It was a
great comfort to us that he was safe and secure in the Elms Care
Home and that David and Hayley were close by to
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give him loving support. David arranged for his Dad to move here
to Edinburgh to a specialised dementia home, and regularly sent
photographs and updates on his condition. It was a joy to ring and
talk to Uncle Dick before his condition deteriorated to a point
where it was no longer possible to do that. He was very proud of
David and delighted that he had found a wonderful partner in
Hayley.
As a family we mourn the passing of Uncle Dick, and extend our
heartfelt sympathy to David and Hayley on their loss. But I will
leave the final word to the late Harold Montgomery, a neighbour and
friend of the Carson family from childhood, someone who remembered
my mum, Eunice, being born in 1929. At a family reunion he referred
to Uncle Dick as ‘Dickie Carson, the wee boy from Fermanagh who
helped put the man on the moon’. In a way it was an amusing and
affectionate comment, but in a few words it demonstrated the
respect, love and affection, and high esteem in which he was held
by his contemporaries.
In his 90th year Uncle Dick has now passed to Glory. May he rest
in peace. God bless!
STATISTICAL RETURNS
The Physicist, Lord Rutherford, once commented, ‘If your
experiment needs a statistician, you need a better experiment.’
Sound advice!
At the start of each liturgical year, the incumbents of all
charges in the Scottish Episcopal Church are required to send
statistical information for collation by the Diocese and General
Synod Office. For most charges, this is a moderately tiresome if
not particularly complex task comprised of reviewing the Membership
Roll and the service register for the year, even including
estimates (with greater or lesser creativity) for the genders of
those attending and receiving Communion on Advent Sunday.
For All Saints’, this takes a bit longer since we have so many
services. Although it takes a couple of hours’ mental arithmetic
(preferably with no disturbances) the results are fairly accurate
and revealing. For while it is far from easy to keep written record
of all the people who habitually attend All Saints’ - or who have
done so in the past and still consider themselves members - the
total number of those attending each Eucharist through the year is
recorded at the
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end of each service. And here are the numbers of communicants
each year in a chart.
Membership has remained fairly constant for the last five years,
moving gently upwards between 230 and 250. But the significant
increase in those receiving Communion is heartening and reflects my
own awareness of being with more brothers and sisters in Christ
each day in prayer; it’s very rare that I am alone now at either
the daily Office or Mass.
We would expect a significant increase after a vacanct
incumbency, when some weekday services had to be suspended; this
movement would be amplified by the increase in the number of
celebrations of Mass with the return of some weekday festivals,
previously transferred to Sundays. However, the movement since
those adjustments in 2016 shows, I believe, a growing awareness
within the congregation of the benefit of coming to church to pray
in the Offices and staying to receive Holy Communion - to be fed by
hearing God’s word and being embraced by his sacramental presence
that binds us within the communion of the saints.
Fr Alasdair
UPDATE FROM THE TREASURERDear All
It was a pleasure to see so many at the AGM when the accounts
for the year were reported upon but if you were not there or would
like a refresher of the key points from a detailed report this is a
short summary.
The annual accounts have been independently examined with no
matters of concern or recommendations resulting. They can now be
viewed on the OSCR website if you enter our charity number
SC013161
The management accounts for the year reflect the statutory
accounts and are enclosed with this newsletter. They provide a
detailed summary of the
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0
1,750
3,500
5,250
7,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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many activities and work of so many for our Church as well as
the generosity of so many in enabling us to not just maintain our
Church but also to improve it.
The General fund reflected a surplus of £10,682 for the year
which was achieved after incurring around £18,000 of expense
resolving a dampness issue in Castle Wynd House and addressing
matters in the HMO renewal. This result is not out of line with
last year if the exceptional income of the Trust grant and national
insurance repayment last year are excluded from the
comparative.
The contract for the restoration was signed on 21st November
with a start date of March 2nd and all external matters affecting
the roofs, walls and windows of the Church, halls and Vestry block
will be addressed. The work is schedules to take 20 weeks and the
main contractor is Stuart Niven & Sons of St Andrews.
Details of the Heritage fund are provided in the management
accounts but great thanks are due to all who helped with the
fundraising at our various events and our monthly produce stalls.
The fund enabled the restoration of the golden dossal now
magnificently adorning the chapel and a new organist’s bench to be
obtained. If all goes well with the restoration it is hoped to
upgrade the church lighting and sound systems in 2020.
The Choral Scholarships fund supported three scholarships again
this year and the fund has sufficient to meet three scholarships in
2020.
The Rectory Restoration fund will finally be concluded with the
installation of a new log burner which those of you who have
visited may already have appreciated.
The year ahead will be challenging as the cost of the
restoration has risen to almost £232,000. Several grants and
recovery of VAT await receipted invoices so there will be a
pressure on cashflow as the work nears completion. If all goes well
however our Church will be wind and weathertight. We can then aim
to improve the internal condition commencing with light and sound
and subsequently redecoration.After all of that, guess what? …
Quinquennial review time again! Any volunteers for Fabric &
Finance?
Ian Palfrey
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CONTACTS
All Saints’ postal address is the Rectory. As well as the
Rector, the Administrator, members of Vestry (Trustees) and the
Director of Music can be contacted here:
All Saints’ Rectory, 39 North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AQ
Rector:The Revd Canon Alasdair Coles 01334 473193
07729 [email protected]
The Rector’s normal day off is Tuesday - please kindly avoid
calling if possible.
Church Wardens:Frances Spencer 07931
[email protected] Seenan 01334
[email protected]
Vestry Treasurer:Ian Palfrey 01334
[email protected]
Other Members of Vestry John Beaton, Donald Duval, Val Gardner,
Alastair Graham, Euan Grant, Tig Lang, Becky Walker, Campbell
Watterson.
Vestry Secretary & Admin Assistant:Sarah Moerman 07498
[email protected]@allsaints-standrews.org.uk
Honorary Assistant Clergy:The Revd Malcolm Aldcroft 01334
650264The Revd Canon David Day 01334 476991 The Revd Anne
Haselhurst 01334 209068 The Revd Canon Dr Ian Michael 01334
473901The Revd Gareth Saunders 01333 451369
Director of Music:Andrew Macintosh 01382 668911
[email protected]@allsaints-standrews.org.uk
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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]