It began as a garden-party tournament in 1877. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch Spencer Gore win the Gentlemen’s Singles final. This year over 450,000 people will queue to sit in the stands and millions more will watch the 13-day event on television. And this year at Wimbledon more than £13 million in prizes are up for grabs. The greatest names in tennis play Wimbledon. Arthur Ash, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Fred Perry, Pete Sampras, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Billie-Jean King and Martina Navratilova to name a few. Inscribed above the players’ entrance to Centre Court is this quote from Kipling: “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” None of those heroes of tennis became championship winners simply by showing up. Tennis was their magnificent obsession. Each day they strove to learn the game. It took patience, character and courage. Being a Christian is like that. It isn’t about instantaneous conversion; it is about how we live our lives, how we strive to walk with God. We discover that success as a follower of Christ is different from success by worldly standards. The Bible tells us “that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize? So [each of us should] run in such a way to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) Each of us wants to live a life that satisfies us, that allows us to feel as Chronicle How to make God smile though our life matters. Augustine, a headstrong young hedonist and speechwriter sought meaning in money, prestige and women. But when he discovered that pleasing God is what makes life satisfying, he willingly turned his back on money and prestige in order to serve Christ. Rick Warren puts it this way. “The smile of God is the goal of your life.” God smiles when we do what he has called us to do. Love him supremely and love one another. God wants a relationship with you. When you live in an authentic relationship centred on Jesus Christ, you have hope and you have the power to change yourself and your life. If you want to discover the right way to play the game of life, learn to trust God completely. The Bible has many examples of how, when we trust in God, we discover extraordinary solutions to difficult problems. You can also make God’s face shine on you by doing what he asks you to do. That’s not always easy because we have our own self interests. Often, we find it easier to offer partial obedience to God, but when we learn to joyfully and enthusiastically follow what God calls us to do, we start to experience life in its fullness. God’s love for you and desire for a relationship with you is profound. He began a good work in you. He made you for success and to enjoy your relationship with him forever. Do all that you can to win the prize. Howard Cowley Team Ministry July/August 2010 1 Editor’s Letter Dear Readers, First of all a big welcome to our new co-editor, Sally Hemsworth. Sally and her husband, Les, have just returned from a cruise to Norway and yet she has managed to prepare a huge amount of script in time for our publisher Phil to produce our summer issue. Thanks, Sally! I would like to wish the staff and pupils of our three church primary schools a great summer break and also thank them so much for their great contributions for The Chronicle throughout the year. Please keep the news coming schools, we love to hear from you. While we are talking about the young people in our parish, another big thank you to the Girl Guides for keeping us up to date with their activities. What do you think of our recipes each month? Sally told me she made the Bakewell tart featured in the June Chronicle and it was a great success apart from the fact that she thought she’d manage with one punnet of raspberries and she should have used two! I expect you bin your magazine once you have read it so do you sometimes throw away a good recipe too? What do you think about a recipe book with two or three seasonal dishes for each month? Let me know if you think it would be a good idea. By the way, if you have got a triedand-true recipe you would like to share please send it in. Do not forget that August is the month to order your next ten copies of The Chronicle. Your order form is included again this month. May Morgan at St James and Norah Shallow at St Francis will collect the forms and your £3 for the next year’s subscription. I have a small mistake to correct from last month (apart from the gremlins that crept into the type). The lovely poem “Ascension” was submitted by Molly Oliver, not composed by her. The poet was C. C. Aurdive. Molly asked me to point out that she did not think she was quite clever enough to compose such a poem (I’ll bet she is!). By the time this reaches you we may have seen most England flags tucked away after our team has been knocked out of the World Cup in South Africa. Oh. I do hope not. But talking of our flag of St 2 George, aren’t you proud of it? Looking around at the flags of other nations it makes me very proud that it declares, loud and clear our allegiance to the cross. Apart from the Scandinavian countries whose flags have an off-centre cross we are the only one who have the Christian cross standing for our basic values. The white background for purity, the red cross representing Christ’s spilt blood makes me so proud every time I see it flying, whether as a symbol of sporting prowess or simply to tell the world who we are. “Raise the cross, sign of victory”. Wishing you all happy summer days and looking forward to meeting you again in September. God Bless Rosanne CHRISTIAN AID CAMPAIGN Frank and Lesley would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped this year in the Christian Aid Campaign. It was a first year experience for both of them and they are quite pleased with the final total of £960.29. They feel that Cowley could do even better next year and are determined to pass the £1,000 target. If anyone has any brilliant ideas for fund raising – not necessarily house-to-house collecting – do come forward and let them know. We are a big parish and could do a lot more. However, £960 is three times as much as we raised last year. This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times. Chronicle Details and Deadlines The Chronicle is the monthly magazine of the Parish of Cowley Team Ministry. The Chronicle is edited by Rosanne Butler, material from St Francis church members is collected by John Shreeve. To submit stories ring the parish office on (01865) 747 680 or email [email protected] Issue Deadline September October November December 22 August 19 September 24 October 21 November CHRONICLE ORDERS FOR 2010 – 2011 Please see over the page your form for the next ten issues of the Chronicle. If you would like to reorder please hand in your slip to May Morgan or Norah Shallow by 29 August with £3. New subscribers can obtain their slips from the two churches. 3 SAINT MONTH Mary Magdalen OF THE July 22nd is the day on which the Church celebrates St Mary Magdalen. At the time of Christ the name Mary would seem to have been popular. It is, therefore, difficult to be sure whether the various stories about Mary in the Gospels are indeed one and the same person. The medieval Church considered them to be so and this idea was endorsed by eminent theologists such as Dr Pusey. However recent scholars have questioned the theory. The gospel writers tell us of specific incidents which identify Mary Magdalen as a key figure in Christ’s ministry. St Luke tells of how she was healed of certain evil spirits and infirmities along with other women and how she went with Jesus on some of his missionary journeys. at Calvary. Of course we know that she was the first person to meet the risen Jesus. Blinded by tears in the garden she mistook him for a gardener. It was only when Jesus spoke her name that she knew Him. She then sped to Jerusalem to tell the incredibly joyous news. There is some dispute about whether Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, is indeed the same person. It is, though, widely believed to be so. This is the Mary who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and wept, drying her tears with her long hair. Also she was the loving sister whose grief turned to joy when Lazurus was called from the tomb by Jesus. It goes without saying that the early Church had legends about her. The Greek Church believed that she followed St John to Ephesus and lived there until she died. St John tells how she stood at the foot of the cross and was There is also a ninth century present when our Lord was lifted down. St Mark mentioned legend which says that she her as part of a band of women belonged to a rich and noble family in Magdala and that after the Ascension she returned to the family castle in Bethany. During the early persecution of Christians, at which time St Stephen was murdered, she, along with her family, a maid and a number of people whom Jesus had healed were set adrift in a boat with no tiller or rudder. By God’s providence they finally came aground in Marseilles where Mary preached with great success. She then went on to Aix and did likewise. After this she is said to have taken herself off for thirty years into a “right, sharp desert”. On her return she received Holy Communion and died before the altar. It is claimed that she was buried at Aix though many years after a monk was ordered to take her remains to the Abbey at Vezelai. They are shown there to this day. However, Marseilles also claims to own them too. Despite the legends Mary remains an important person in the gospels, a person who truly loved our Lord. CHRONICLE ORDER FORM Please reserve _________ copies of Chronicle for me each month, from September 2010 – July 2011 @ £3 per subscription. I enclose £ __________ cash/cheque made payable to Parish of Cowley. Signed: __________________________ Print name: __________________________ Phone: ______________________ I would like (name) _______________________ to collect my Chronicle 4 THE ADVENTURES OF A CHRISTIAN AID COLLECTOR Since I did my Christian Aid collecting last year a lot of new neighbours have moved into our area so my adventures this year had something of the “travelling-into-the-unknown” element to them, rather like the rest of our doughty collectors. That is not to say that quite a few of the people I called upon did not know me. Because I have been Christian Aiding for about five years now I got quite a few “Oh I knew it would be you!” comments. These are very reassuring. However out of the eighty envelopes I delivered (with Frank’s help) ten people were out (some on holiday) and only seven turned me down flat. I have called this little article “The adventures of …” because to me that is just what it always is. Let me tell you about a few of my adventures. I called at one house where the door was opened by a drop-dead handsome fourteen or fifteen year old boy wearing a white England football shirt. If you know me you will realise that straight away I was off on my chat about our England team. The poor lad interrupted with a bewildered “I am sorry I no spik English” at which point Mum appeared. She spoke broken English and was charming. I was invited in and seated on a lovely squashy armchair while I explained why I had called. The family come from Brazil so we launched into a few words and gestures about the wonderful Brazilian football team while the lady filled the envelope. Despite the tiny fiveyear–old boy who burst into tears at the sight of me (!), I was invited to “come again” which I will. Two twenty-something lads live in a pretty rundown house in our area. One was about to get into his car and the other was leaning out of the bedroom window when I called. I invited them to give a coin or two. “Not today, luv” came the reply, “We get our money on a Monday”. “Would you like to me to come back on Monday?” I asked. “Yeah, if you like” – so I did. They came up with a £2 coin and I told them they were lovely. One of the ladies in our street brings her little girl to Seashells at the Church Centre. She opened the door and was just going to give her little one her bed-time bath. I was greeted by a beautiful child running down the hall without a stitch on! She has just got over chicken-pox so I was invited to count the spots still there on her tummy!! Of course I also got a full envelope. A Muslim family at the top of our road are always generous donors to Christian Aid so I was sure I would get a good response there. However I was surprised when the lady of the house said she could only find some cash if the curry she was stirring did not burn so I was asked into her kitchen to stir the pot whilst she found her envelope. That was a new experience. I met people who had seen our Plant Sale poster in the porch and wanted to know more about it (and they came to the sale too). I met a young man who told me all about losing his mother tragically and how he is now sorting out her house before selling. I called at another house where only the husband spoke English. I think the family are Slovakian. They too were very interested when I explained about the wonderful work of Christian Aid. The Italian family who has to have everything translated to them by their young son gave generously. The French family not only wrote a substantial cheque but invited Frank and me to their next barbecue. All lovely people. I have saved this little story till last: I called at one Muslim house just as they were about to eat dinner. I offered to call back – not a bit of it. “Come in, sit down, have some supper with us”. I declined because I had to cook Frank’s dinner. Sadiq, the man of the house, told me, “If you don’t sit down on my sofa and talk to me while I eat my supper, I shall not put anything in that envelope”, all said with a twinkle in his eye. So I did and when he had finished he put a £5 note in the envelope and gave it to me to seal. There are several more lovely experiences I could tell, many of them from people I have never met. After my adventures I came home thinking that I cannot wait for Christian Aid Week 2011. Rosanne 5 Mothers’ Union News One of the lovely things about belonging to the Mothers’ Union is the knowledge that in every week in every year a branch of the movement is praying for members throughout the world. Here in Cowley we have started the tradition of making our Wave of Prayer date into something of a party – are you surprised? Because our special day is always in June we make it a “strawberries and cream” tea party. We meet in church and spend a quiet time of prayer and Bible reading, then repair to the Church Centre. This year we met on 14 June and were delighted to welcome our two new members and one member who has rejoined Mothers’ Union after her retirement from work. the Mothers’ Union theme for 2010. It was, then, a great pleasure to talk about how our branch is growing when we met members from all over Oxfordshire at our Oxford Area Summer Meeting held at Kidlington on the 16 June, where we began with a delicious buffet supper and a chance to chat. We moved into St Mary’s Church for a short act of worship and were then addressed by the Rev Joanna Collicut McGrath. She spoke very amusingly and movingly on “Relationships not Rules” which is Members might like to make a special point of looking at the two roses we planted in the garden at the Church Centre two years ago. There is a creamy yellow one by the front door in memory of our first male member, Eric Uren and a deep red one in the garden at the back in memory of Phyl Maclaren, a former branch leader. Both roses are looking magnificent at the moment and a fitting tribute to two great people. The Cowley branch was also thanked at the Summer Meeting for the contributions of snacks, tea, coffee, chocolate and small puppets and cuddly toys which members have donated in support of the Children’s Hospital. The July meeting as ever this year will be a bringand-share tea party. This is a kind of end-of-term meeting as we do not resume until September. The date for our summer party is Monday, 19 July. It would be lovely if all our members could be there as we have a special presentation to make. Parish Quiet Day at Stanton House A parish Quiet Day at Stanton House, Stanton St John on 22 May focussed on the theme of Jesus washing the disciples feet. Led by Helen Beetham, the three sessions reflected on the picture by Sieger Koder and were on the themes Jesus washed the disciples feet; Do you understand what I have done for you? and Go and wash each others’ feet. The day ended with a simple Eucharist in the afternoon. The day allowed plenty of quiet time for people to meditate on the theme and the glorious weather allowed us to sit in the lovely grounds of Stanton House. The lunch, refreshments and care provided by the staff were generally agreed to have been superb! The event was “full house” and eighteen people attended. Our thanks to Helen Beetham and Chris Woodman for organising the day. It is hoped to have another Quiet Day, focussing on the theme Blessings, in October. Look out for details later. LO S Has anyone found a nice little digital camera in a black case either in the Church Centre or St James’ Church? Cynthia Retter is quite upset that she has lost it and has asked if The Chronicle readers would be kind enough to keep an eye open for it. Please ring her on 711429 if you find it. Thank you so much. 6 T Summer in the garden I think that maybe summer has really arrived (for a while, anyway). It is quite scary to think that we are now on the rundown of the year! Cheer up! The best is yet to come! to show my grandchildren and get them to make one each for their mothers. They look so much more interesting than a lavender bag. Thank you Rosanne! The gorgeous spring-flowering shrubs can be pruned, leaving more space for the glories to come. I really must prune my forsythia before it blocks my window! My peony Sarah Bernhardt is just going over – it has been better this year because it was late - the buds have not been damaged by frost. I aim to split it later in the year. It is becoming crowded by various other plants, so I want to have a new plant with more space. They can be moved if you only cover the roots by 1-2 inches of soil, and keep well-watered. I did consider seeds –but they can take up to 3 years to germinate, and then how long to flower??? So, what to do this month? Make lavender wands/ parasols while the lavender stems are not too dry. Plant out all the frost tender plants that have been left behind (surely you have some?). Encourage your runner beans and climbing plants to climb where you want. (One of my beans is climbing the feverfew). Keep on top of the weeding. Then sit down, or wander and enjoy the sights, scents and sounds of your garden, other gardens, and the many parks we have. The oriental poppy has flaunted its red tissue flowers, and now can hide its fading leaves behind the hardy penstemon - always a good idea to hide those leaves, once you have enjoyed the flowers. Leave the seed heads or cut them off to use in dried flower arrangements (hang them upside down to keep the stems straight). I am disappointed that again this year my opium poppies have not appeared. They say that once you have them, they are there for ever. I must have been too greedy taking the seed heads for indoors! My raspberries are beginning to go pink, and we had our first pick of strawberries for the 21st. Next week I hope to take some of the tiny gooseberries for a crumble and enable the other fruit to grow bigger. I will repeat this later so that my fruits become really large (well I can always hope!). Last year I failed to prune my gooseberries, so it will not be very comfortable to pick the fruit- long gauntlets needed! The lavender is just coming into flower. Do remember to pick some to dry for the winter. Clothes moths don’t like it, but most of us do. In the business of life, it is all too easy to leave things like this until it is too late for the year. Last year Rosanne showed me how to make lavender wands/parasols, something I remember my grandmother doing. I was so pleased to be able Diana Pope Open Garden Bishop's House, 27 Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UL Saturday August 7th from 2pm until 5pm (last admission 4.30pm) A rare opportunity to enjoy the Bishop of Oxford's lovely garden which is in the process of restoration and redevelopment. The extensive garden has mature herbaceous borders, Italian garden, woodland walk, bamboo 'forest' and vegetable and fruit areas. Please note that not all the garden is suitable for wheelchairs. There are some uneven pathways (slippery when wet) and an unfenced pond. All proceeds to the Archway Foundation "Serving those hurt by loneliness". Adults £3.50 Children (over 5 and under 16) £1. Teas and cakes will be on sale. Christine Hurdley 7 A trip to Wembley My day started when I caught the train at Bicester North Station with my son, a friend and three young boys, who were each given a horn by my son, so you can imagine the noise as we made our way to the stadium. When we arrived we had a walk around the perimeter looking for Malcolm Boyden who was supposed to be by the Bobby Moore statue, but unfortunately he was nowhere to be seen. Anyway we then went through the turnstiles into a huge area where there were many food and drink outlets, toilets, etc. After quenching our thirst we made our way into the stadium to the sounds of the Oxford United Fans, of which there were many. The next step was to get to our seats which were three rows from the front of the pitch. My problem began here as I had to descend many steps without a handrail. I held on to my son’s arm, still in trouble. One of the stewards could see the problem and held my other arm. What excitement when Oxford scored their first goal, followed then by two more. You can imagine the noise and celebrations when the final whistle blew. We departed the stadium and made our way back to catch the train. Having queued for an hour we finally got on the train and had to stand most of the way home, arriving back at 10 pm. A good day was had by all and I now look forward to the start of the 2010/11 season, for which I already have my season ticket. Joy Harbison (A true Oxford United fan) 8 T h e O r i g i n s o f Cowley Part Four : Stone Last month we left our Saxon was needed. stone was then taken down to the settlers ensconced in their tiny I found a very old map in the river bank somewhere near Iffley village of Cufa’s Ley with its big wooden long house, where the chief lived and its tiny wooden Westgate Library which marks on it the site of a stone quarry and floated up to Oxenforde on flat bottomed barges. along Barracks Lane, known for The tower of St Michael-at-the- centuries as Mud Lane. It is Northgate Church was built in certain that those Saxons soon Saxon times as a lookout point realised the potential of stone. against invaders. The priory of St They also found rich limestone Frideswide whose foundations are out-crops at the foot of Shotover beneath Christ Church Cathedral Hill. So Headington Quarry was also built from Headington workings began. Stone was used stone provided by the drovers of Wattle was made from hazel or to build strong walls to surround Cowley. willow wands (because they are the little village of Cufa’s Ley. Why then was the stone for flexible) woven together very Then the church and the lord’s Oxford not taken overland for much like the fencing we can buy house would have been replaced instance along the route we know today in garden centres. They with fine stone buildings. as the Oxford Road and Cowley were shaped into low walls and The stone was dragged along a Road? Because of the Marsh. It fixed to wooden frames. They given route down what we call was a very deep and dangerous were then daubed to fill in the Hollow Way. The huge blocks, wetland and blocks of stone gaps and keep out draughts. The shaped on site, were hauled on would have sunk in it without daub was made from dung, clay wooden sledges by teams of trace. It was peppered with and mud mixed together and oxen. At the bottom of Hollow meres, the Saxon word for lakes. slapped on to the wattle. Can Way the track crossed behind the One of these was named the you imagine the children having site of the Original Swan pub and Hog’s Mere and had a causeway the time of their lives helping with about as far as the area of Templar the daubing process? Square. During the Dark ages marauding After Oxford had been cruelly Vikings found their way up the attacked several times by Viking river, by-passing (as far as we invaders, identified in history as know) Iffley and Cowley, on the Danes, it became obvious that their way to sack Saxon Oxford stone buildings and walls were which by now was established more practical. It was Cowley as an important settlement folk who provided the stone. (Oxenforde). The Cowley The huge blocks were hauled folk must have looked at their along the ridge which we know vulnerable wood and thatched as Church Cowley Road. This village with fear and thought that also was just a track paced out in your September Chronicle. a more durable building material by oxen and their drovers. The Rosanne church. Their small shacks were mainly holes in the ground with wattle and daub walls and thatched roofs. Reeds from the marsh were used for thatching. Perhaps I should explain about wattle and daub. leading to it. The mere was presumably a place where pigs could wallow and the little track leading to it was named Hog’s Mere Street. We now know it as Hockmore Street. Although Hockmore Street is today a very small road running behind Templar Square, in Saxon times it became an important settlement. How did that come about? More in the next article 9 Rosanne Interviews M a r i a n W e b s t e r Is it too difficult to visualise Marian on one side and me on the other side of a woodwork bench, each of us wearing our woodworking aprons and with well-sharpened pencils tucked behind our ears? I guess it could be rather a challenge especially for those of you who meet us fairly regularly. However, I must point out that that scenario took place about forty years ago when Marian and I were not yet even dreaming of our bus passes nor of becoming venerable characters in Cowley. So how did it happen that we met in this way? Well, we were both primary school teachers in the city and in those days the local education authority ran many different out-of-schoolhours classes and activities for its staff. Both Marian and I opted for woodwork which was planned with our own classrooms in mind. We both went to evening classes for about ten years and learnt some very useful carpentry skills thus enabling us to produce items for use in our schools. We could design our own bookcases, toy boxes, “sweet shops”, puppet theatres, etc and produce them to quite a high standard. Above all, though, our evening classes were enormous fun so you can imagine the laughs we had swapping memories of the eccentric fellow class members we met, the funny incidents we experienced and the enjoyable evenings we all shared in the pub when classes had finished. How I do enjoy my monthly interviews! I always find it fascinating (and I hope you do too) to learn how the people I meet have taken the 10 life and career paths they have. It became clear early on in our chat that Marian was meant to teach young children but in the days when she qualified things were extraordinarily intransigent. The people who decided on her training must have been very wise as you will see later. She was born in a tiny village in Leicestershire called Battleflat where she lived with her parents and her baby sister, Molly until the end of World War Too in 1945. Sadly during the dreadful winter of 1940 her little brother David, died, aged two and a half. For seven-year-old Marian this was a terribly unhappy time. She attended a fairly big local primary school which she hated due mainly to a dragon of a headmistress. She assured me that she learnt very little there particularly in arithmetic. She came to hate multiplication tables as copying them out endlessly was used as a form of punishment. She vows to this day that mental arithmetic is a complete mystery for her. There was no help or preparation for 11+ candidates and on the day she sat her first exam paper the only thing which made it different was that everyone was required to wear their best clothes! She moved to Central School (a step up from the local Secondary Modern) where, she declared, the teachers were pretty ineffectual. The one subject in which she really shone was poetry recitation. She thinks this stemmed from her mother reciting rhymes and poems to her children when they were small. They were always expected to speak “properly”. When her new headmaster discovered her aptitude she would be ushered from class to class to perform. Marian reckons she became something of a show-off. She also enjoyed her cookery lessons at Central School and still uses her old cookery notebook (Incidentally so do I). On leaving school she decided she wanted to work with children and as luck would have it the lady of the manor’s daughter had three small children and was looking for a live-in nursery maid. She went into service, worked long hours and was given Sunday afternoons off to cycle over to visit her mum. After about six months there appeared in the local newspaper an advertisement for girls to train as nursery nurses. After months of scrubbing floors and even scrubbing stains off the master’s trousers Marian decided she would like a change. Her application resulted in an interview and she was deemed suitable to work in a nursery school. She spent four years there during which time she was expected to study for five nights a week at evening classes. She told me she had little time to be a teenager. In order to be nearer to her work she moved to Leicester and lived with her two maiden aunts and their single brother. She loved it. The nursery school was in a deprived area where the little children were undernourished and poorly dressed. However, she had a wonderful class teacher with whom to work. This lovely lady saw real potential in Marian and persisted in putting the idea of college into her head. Without taking exams but, on the strength of her extensive experience, the recommendation of the school where she worked and the full support of her mother, she was accepted to train as a teacher. She failed to mention it but I suspect that her excellent performance at interview must have made a difference. At last she was on the road to a wonderful career which gave her so much joy for the rest of her working life. At the age of nineteen she used to go to local dances in Leicester with a group of girl-friends. The music was always provided by live bands and one of the musicians, a drummer, caught her eye. Soon she and Harold, the said drummer, were courting though it was always understood that she would be home by ten o’clock accompanied by her girl-friends. Through Harold Marian learnt to love all dance music and jazz as well as her own taste for the classics. Even after their marriage Harold continued to play drums in dance bands. It was his passion and he continued to play for sixty years. They were married in 1952 and two years later their first son, Peter, was born. At this time Harold was in charge of the office of a large quarrying business. He changed his job and when the firm of coal merchants where he worked moved from Leicester to Oxford the little family moved too. Marian and her husband bought a house in St Luke’s Road and in 1958 another baby son, Andrew, was born. Until they moved to Headington the little boys attended Church Cowley School. Marian returned to her teaching career and taught a class of forty-four infants at Blackbird Leys under the headship of Miss Drury. Some of our readers will know her, I am sure. Marian also taught at SS Mary and John and St Andrew’s schools. She finally went back to full-time work at Orchard Meadow in Blackbird Leys and this was when she joined the woodwork classes. When their boys were young, she and her husband were keen campers. Having lots of friends with young children they would set off to camp in the summer all over Europe. Marian told me of one particularly happy time they spent in the Pyrenees. She lost her dear Harold in 2006 and soon found the big family house in Headington too much for her and her single son, Andrew, to cope with. They decided to down-size to a smaller house in Fernhill Road. They have a lovely garden where they grow their own fruit and vegetables. Her elder son, Peter, is married with two teenage children and lives in Liddell Road. When she first came to Cowley she worshipped at St Luke’s Church. She has fond memories of Father Betton’s ministry there. Once a resident of Cowley again Marion had to choose a church. She tried St James’ first and found such warmth and friendship there that she stayed. I have absolutely no doubt that if her first visit had been to St Francis the result would have been the same. She has entered into parish life with typical enthusiasm and good humour. Her homemade marmalade is highly appreciated at St James’ Sunday breakfasts! We are so pleased to welcome her back to Cowley and into our parish. Was there a special person in your early life who had a strong influence on you? It must have been Mildred Read who was the class teacher who encouraged me to go into teaching. How would you describe yourself as a small child? My stock answer to everything was “I don’t know”. I always thought that everyone was more beautiful than me, they always had better parents, always more clever but, of course, I did all that poetry. I really was not a very confident little girl. Has your faith been with you since childhood? Always. It hit me with a bang when I was confirmed. I was so impressed and inspired. Which period of your adult life has given you the most satisfaction? The teaching years. I would get into school at 7.30 am to get everything ready for the children. I loved it. What is your opinion on modern life? I am glad I lived when I did. I think this is the biggest period of change in history. I do not think there is as much poverty as when I started teaching. I feel sad for girls who have their babies so soon and I sometimes want to go over to them on the bus and give them advice on how to manage. What, these days, gives you pleasure? Getting letters. I love writing them too. (NB: Marian told me about the many pen-friends she has all over the world) What do you like to do in your spare time? 11 I knit teddies for charity. They go to children’s homes and hospitals in North Africa. I like to sew but the fingers are not quite as nimble as they were. I read. I like historical novels, family sagas and who-done-its. I do crosswords and I like quizzes. I love to listen to Classic FM. I also learnt to love jazz through my husband. as a partner. Are there any missed opportunities in your life that you regret? I always wished I could have gone on to do more old-time dancing. When I met Harold he played in the band so he was not available What plans do you have for the future? I am always looking forward to the next flower opening, the next dawn chorus. I know each day is a gift from the Good Lord and that he looks after me. GOD IN MY LIFE I was brought up in a Christian family in the village of Cuddesdon. The family attended church regularly with our parents as my father was a very active member of the Parish Council and mother was organist for many years. Our Sundays were always taken up with 9 am Communion and 6 pm Evensong so my faith became very apparent. Having a theological college in the village also helped with my faith as we had in those early days a close connection with the students. Moving to Cowley after I married, a good neighbour introduced me to St James Church and, apart from a short while, I have regularly worshipped at this lovely old church. I do believe in prayer and love singing the hymns. Each day I try to live my life as God expects of me. Joy Harbison HISTORIC CHURCHES SPONSORED RIDE AND STRIDE The date of the annual sponsored event this year is Saturday, 11 September. Last year we in the parish responded magnificently and raised hundreds of pounds for our churches. I was surprised to meet someone the other day who had not realised that there are other options rather than cycling. If you ride a horse that is permissible but, of course, it is alright to walk. The idea is to visit churches wherever you choose. Some people like to do a circuit around our City churches, some like to take to the countryside. If you like you can put your bike on a train and cycle home, or get on a bus and walk home. It all depends on you. The most important thing is to get lots of sponsors and the second most important thing is to have a happy day. Half the money raised is for The Historic Churches Trust which funds grants to preserve our lovely old church buildings. The other half is paid into our parish funds and we all know how important that is. Sponsor forms will be in both churches throughout August so come on everyone (who can). Those who are not so active please offer to be greeters in St James and St Francis to make visitors welcome. 12 CHURCH CENTRE GARDEN NEWS Thanks to everyone who has undertaken to keep tidy a patch of the Church Centre garden. There are still a few pieces of the garden needing TLC. Should anyone find they have spare time the garden would love to see you. Grace Richards CHARITY GIVING MEETING The PCC voted to allocate £2000 this year for Charity giving. If you have ideas of where you feel this money should go, please contact Joan Coleman, Parish Treasurer and/or come to the meeting to decide this on Tuesday 3rd August in the Ranklin Room, Church Centre at 7.30 pm. Please bring information on the Charities, which can be local, national or international but with a Christian basis. Joan can be contacted by phone: 01865 770865 or by e-mail: ojcoleman@ btinternet.com NOTES FROM THE JUNE PCC MEETING Howard welcomed all members of the new PCC at this its first meeting. The following Officers were elected for the coming year: Vice-Chairman: Norah Shallow Secretary:Sally Hemsworth Treasurer:Joan Coleman Maureen Chatterton was elected to be a co-opted member of the PCC. The following matters were discussed: • We now have a list of key holders for all our church buildings and this will be reviewed periodically. • The Christian Aid Appeal was very successful and we might reach £900 in donations. • The possibility of forming a Friends group is being considered. This had been carefully researched and was very thoroughly discussed. • The PCC received reports from Joan Coleman as Parish Treasurer, from Una Dean as a Deanery Synod representative, from each of our churches and from the Church Centre. • Christine Woodman reported on the use and care of the Centre and acknowledged donations and help. The acoustics are a problem and David Stanley is researching the possibility of installing acoustic tiles which could offset the problem and so make it possible to install a sound system, which could not be done while the problem persists. • The PCC agreed to apply for a Faculty to fulfil the outstanding work at St James’ required by the 2006 quinquennial inspection. • St Francis’ will be celebrating its 80th Anniversary on 18 March 2011 The Community Emergency Foodbank At the Food Bank, Tuesdays and Fridays continue to be busy and the number of people coming for help due to a crisis in their lives remains at about 100 a month. At the moment we have sufficient stock of certain items on our list while we are short of others. Those we need are as follows: Vegetables – not pulses Meat Bottled sauces Puddings Cereal Milk Coffee/Chocolate Fruit Juice Sugar A PLEASANT SUNDAY AFTERNOON As promised last month we are going to launch APSA at the Church Centre with Scrabble on a fortnightly basis. Our first date in July is on Sunday, 11th from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. Do come along if you are interested and please bring your Scrabble board and a friend if you like. I have been warned by some people that APSA will probably not “take off” till the autumn but if we do not try we will never know. We will have a cuppa and a few biscuits on hand and are only asking £1 per session for Church Centre funds. See you there. For non-perishable food we rely mainly on the church communities in Oxford, and St Francis and St James are among the most regular contributors and supporters of our work. Thank you so much! 13 News from the Schools St Francis School June 2010 The last few weeks of the school year are proving very busy. The class teachers have been completing assessments and report writing and are looking forward to the end of term activities. Some Year 5 and 6 children have been on residential visits to Llangors and Kilvrough. School choirs have been rehearsing to sing at The Festival of Voices in Dorchester Abbey and in the town hall. Children and staff will be taking part in the Cowley Road Carnival and the Year 6 are planning their end of year leaver’s production which is always enjoyed by families and friends. Children and adults have worked hard in the school grounds. The gardens and tubs are full of colourful flowers and the allotment should provide many vegetables in the early autumn. The children are enjoying playing on the field and have started practising for sports day. We hope it will be warm and sunny so we will to be able to hold the school fete on the field and that the PTA will raise a great deal of money for school funds. Most people at St Francis School are enjoying the football world cup. The school is linked to a school in The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, the School Council have sent a photographic guide to St Francis and the Year 3/4 classes have sent introductory letters to the children at Bedford School. They are eagerly awaiting replies. We will be doing some fund raising activities for our partner school in the future. We wish all Chronicle readers a happy and enjoyable summer. Sarah Lacey Our parish schools need governors - volunteering opportunity Are you interested in education? With three Church schools in the Parish, we have a heavy commitment to support them with the provision of Foundation Governors. Currently, St Christopher’s has an IEB (Interim Executive Board) because of its position in Special Measures but more governors will be added there soon and a shadow Governing Body established to take over in 2011. More urgently, we need a new Foundation Governor at Church Cowley St James School, to join Howard and I. Chris Woodman completed her 4 year’s service at Christmas and so far we have not found a permanent replacement. We are not pretending it’s an easy task : there’s a commitment to real involvement through meetings - FGB (Full Governing Body) and a chosen committee 6 times a year, all held at 5.00 or 6.00 pm - and individual visits to school as part of the monitoring role – challenging the leadership and teachers to strive for constant improvement for the children’s learning. The other Governors are parents, community and staff representatives. It’s very satisfying and a great way to fulfil our mission duty in Cowley. If you want to find out more about the role, talk to Howard or I : &/or see www.governornet.co.uk www.nga.org.uk www.sgoss.org.uk www.oxford.anglican.org/schools/governors Also : if you know of anyone else outside our congregation who might have the skills and commitment, talk to him/her! Lesley Williams : Chair of Governors : Church Cowley St James School 01865 779 562 [email protected] 14 5th Cowley Guides So far this term we have held a couple of meetings away from the Church Centre, our normal meeting place. saw a lot of geese and goslings, ducks and ducklings. We ended the evening with a short walk along the towpath. On election night the Guides met at Iffley Lock. This was part of our 100 years challenge badge. One of the challenges was to visit someone whose job involved water. The Guides were due to meet Abi Reynolds, who runs the Brownies, her father is the education officer for Thames Conservancy. Unfortunately he was ill but Abi met us and gave the Guides a talk all about the lock, how it works and about the River Thames. We watched boats go in and out of the lock. Abi also told the Guides all about the wildlife along the river. The Guides At the end of May the Guides met at Jubilee House, Beckley. The Guides were practising fire lighting and cooking without utensils. They finished the night with a campfire and singing songs. Future plans include the Guides taking part in the flower festival, a special day of activities planned at Stansfeld Field Study Centre in Headington, planning a centenary party with Blackbird Leys Guides and we are going on camp to Shipston-on-Stour in August. Flower Festival at St James It began about a year ago when the flower arrangers decided that we would put on a Flower Festival this summer. In February we could put it off no longer and began some serious planning. First a date was chosen – which had to be changed – also a theme. After that it was down to individuals or groups to decide how they would tackle their own display, what “props” they would need and what colours and varieties of flowers. This took several meetings and many cups of coffee! I think I can say that we all had some qualms but we agreed that whatever happened we would enjoy the experience and the challenge – AND WE DID! On the Wednesday prior to the Festival a group of us went to a garden centre near Bicester to select the bulk of the flowers (some people ordered their own) which was great fun, with such a selection of flowers that we felt like children in a sweet shop. We soon came down to earth when it was discovered that they had no “oasis” in stock for fixing the flowers. A moment of panic ensued but a detour to a stockist at Ambrosden thankfully settled that, so, back to church to put all the flowers in water. Thursday dawned and we arrived at church armed with secateurs and piles of greenery. At this stage all seemed totally chaotic but during the evening session it all began to take shape, especially with the input of the Guides. On Friday morning we began to feel that it was all looking positive as more displays were finished. The evening session was enjoyable with help from some of Junior Church but rather frenetic as we worked against time. However, with a final burst of enthusiasm – and energy! – we were able to say at 9.30 pm that everything was ready for the opening next day. Of course we could not have put on the Flower Festival without the backing of Howard and an amazing amount of support from the congregation. We wish to thank those who gave financial support which enabled us to buy so much, those who supported us in practical ways as we worked, those who publicised the event, those who provided such a mouth-watering array of cakes and to the hospitality teams who gave our visitors such a warm welcome. A heartfelt thank-you to you all. The weekend raised over £200 in donations which will go into Parish Funds. The flowers were arranged by Helen Beetham, Janice Brown, Rosanne Butler, Ruby Cadle, Pat Chambers, Emma Clarke, Audrey Cook, Margaret Craig, Joy Harbison, Christine Knevett, Betty Mitchell, Christine Rumble, Pauline Shepheard, Netta Simpkins, Iris Webb, Margaret Weller, Christine Woodman and myself. The St James’ Guides did the 100 small pots to celebrate the Centenary of Guiding and some children from Junior Church helped with the ‘Harvest’ display. Margaret Martin 15 Recipes Here are a couple of recipes using some of the lovely fresh fruit and vegetable ingredients available at this time of the year. First a dish from Italy which I think could be a big hit at barbecues served hot or cold. Peperonata 1 oz butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion thinly sliced 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1lb red peppers with all seeds and pith removed, cut into strips 1lb tomatoes blanched, peeled and chopped A little salt and black pepper A bay leaf In a large saucepan heat the butter and oil to moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes till onion is golden but not brown. Add the peppers, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes, seasoning and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered for another 20 minutes. If there is too much liquid in the pan turn the heat up and cook for about another 5 minutes until the mixture thickens stirring all the time. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot (or allow to cool) with roast or grilled meat or as a side dish at a barbecue. [Editor’s thought – I think I will make this to serve at St James’ patronal festival barbecue!) The second recipe has a posh French name to impress your friends but is really a gorgeous fruity desert which will send you out to pick blackberries. Pêches Rafraîchies aux Mûres 6 oz sugar 10 fl oz water 4 large peaches blanched, peeled, halved and stoned 8 oz blackberries 2 tablespoons kirsch Dissolve the sugar in the water in a medium-sized saucepan over low heat stirring all the time. Increase heat to moderate and boil the syrup for 3 minutes without stirring. Put the peach halves in cut sides down (be careful – very hot!) and poach them until they are tender (about 5 minutes). Remove pan from heat and place peach halves in small serving bowls again cut sides down. Pour away a little of the syrup and add the blackberries and kirsch. Return pan to moderate heat and cook the blackberries for about 5 or 6 minutes until they are pulpy stirring all the time. Allow to cool. Strain fruit and liquid into a small mixing bowl pressing the fruit through the strainer using the back of a wooden spoon. Throw away any pips etc left in strainer. Spoon the blackberry puree over the peaches and chill well before serving. Whipped double cream is the best accompaniment for this gorgeous dessert. 16 Thoughts from a home knitter History is becoming a more personal issue to me now. Do you know what I mean? Some of our readers can remember bombs, rationing and shortages. I can remember when it was a tragedy if the one egg was bad, and the whole ethos of living was ‘make do and mend’. It was a time of making your own clothes, so many of us, both men and women, became adequate with needles for knitting and sewing. Home economics was taught in schools, and leaflets abounded about how to make a meal out of nothing or clothes out of a potato sack. A new skirt? Cut and patch from that old one in the attic. A new jumper? Unravel two with darned sleeves and knit a new one. Yes, darning! An ancient skill? While we are on the subject of knitting (well, I am), have you thought about how wool has developed just within your own history? We used to use 2-, 3- and 4 ply. Now we use 4ply, double-knit, Aran and even thicker yarns. Yes – yarns. The variety of materials we can now find to knit with are growing every year. FACT: There were 23,933,00 sheep in the British Isles in 2005 Source: The British Wool Marketing Board. Most major civilisations have had some type of knitting with whatever they had available. Only in our life times have all the synthetic yarns appeared. Many of the early synthetics were not very nice. Remember scratchy nylon, sweaty polyesters, acrylics? Now the trend is towards various plant blends, combining the good qualities and the feel-good factors producing a plethora of yarns to choose from. It can be like an oldfashioned sweet shop - variety and colour. So much choice. {The sweetie shops themselves are coming back also, aniseed balls, sherbet fountains, gobstoppers, mmmm!} woods. They are now metric and sized in millimetres, right up to some as fat as my finger. Many of us still use the ‘old’ numbers, 4mm is size 8 – well, many of our favourite patterns are not metric. A new breed of sheep Exlana sheds its fleece naturally when the weather warms up, saving £8 per sheep in labour costs. What a good thing we have alternatives to sheep wools: Wool is available from yac, alpaca and possum as well as sheep. There are cashmere, mohair, and merino wools. Cotton, silk, linen and the newer soya and bamboo also make lovely fibres especially when blended. Blends with milk protein, modal (from the cellulose of beech trees), kapok (a hollow fibre grown on the Equator) or viscose (from wood pulp or bamboo) are all possible producing interesting and varied yarns. 94% of knitters take their knitting on holiday. If this sounds very confusing to the non-knitter, then don’t worry. It confuses us too sometimes. If you are interested in learning to knit or improving your skills, just let us know and we will try to organise some tutorials or some fun time to get together and explore knitting in the 21st century. Diana Pope 68% of LK.co.uk buy yarn just to keep, instead of to knit with. Even needles have been, and are made from various materials. Old needles could be made from ivory or walrus tusks. When I was a child, they were all metal or plastic, and sized 14 to 00 or so. Modern ones can be glass, metal and woods including bamboo, rosewood and subabul 17 St James Patronal Festival Calling everyone who enjoys a good barbecue on a July Sunday afternoon. I have a message here from Howard who is a man who really loves to stand over the Barbie with tongs in hand. Make sure you are there. Plan to attend the St James Church Patronal Service at 10.00 am and Barbecue at 12.00 noon on Sunday, 25 July 2010. Following the service celebrating the life of St James, the fun continues with a great barbecue with chicken, burgers, sausages, salads and lovely puddings. The price is £4.50 and those coming are asked to bring a pudding to share. Beverages will be available for donations. Be sure to sign up at the back of the church. The idea of providing our own puddings was to make the whole occasion easier for our catering team. They do such fantastic jobs throughout the year that anything to take a little pressure off them would be good. Tickets will be on sale in a week or so (with no limit on numbers). We just need to know how many to cater for. 18 In Memory of Barbara Brown Some of our happy memories of a lovely lady with the Happy Smiling Face - “Barbara Brown”. All those fantastic holidays, the “Day Outings”, and the very exciting West End Shows, which we all enjoyed so much. We remember just one of the highlights – we were on our way to a holiday and stopped off on our journey for a lunch break. A few of us went into a Church. Barbara was there, the organist was playing, and Barbara asked if we could join in. “Yes”, he said, and we all sang “How Great Thou Art”. We all loved it and afterwards Barbara said isn’t God good. The Holidays were amazing. Barbara was so good at organizing everything. We had such fun in the evenings on the holidays, with the quizzes and Beetle Drives she found time to do. Such a lot of laughs! We will always remember her. God Bless You, Dear Barbara, we will always think of you with great affection and love. LOVE OXFORD Love Oxford was a new experience for me. I was given some indication of what to expect from some of those people who went last year but to see about four thousand Christians all gathered in one place to sing, pray, laugh, picnic and declare their love for God is pretty special. This year the organisers had provided a huge marquee in case of rain. Instead it provided welcome shade on such a beautiful sunny day. We folk from Cowley gathered round a big yellow helium balloon and the camaraderie was wonderful. The emphasis this year was a celebration of the young people of the City of Oxford. More than half of those gathered there in South Parks were (in my estimation) under thirty. Speakers on the platform came from a cross-section of clergy and ministers. Making an early appearance was From the Ladies of the Travel Club Nicola Blackwood, the new Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon. Bishop John, looking dapper in his summer chinos and purple shirt, Churchwardens at Christ Church On a June evening in Christ Church Cathedral we came together talked about the importance of the energy and enthusiasm of youth in the under the vibrant North Window, with a classical trio playing Church. The live music group was in and singing beautifully, for Dave Stanley’s inauguration as Church great form and blasted out the hymns Warden and for the reappointment of Norah Shallow’s 5th term with great gusto. of office. Wardens from the length and breadth of our Diocese I asked a few people if they would like and Wardens from other parishes together with their families to give our readers their reactions to and friends made a very full and lively congregation. the occasion and here they are: Each parish was called out in turn by Bishop John and the appointed Church Warden stood and bowed to the Bishop. Bishop John gave a very spiritual and amusing address and pointed out very clearly that Wardens (and clergy) must make time for themselves. With all the pressures and complexities put upon them this is important to enable them to fulfil their demanding duties. There is great support at Christ Church for Wardens and Bishop John stated categorically that they must pick up the telephone if they have any concerns. The perfect summer evening ended with a glass of wine and meeting up with friends across the Diocese. Margaret Weller and Chris Woodman “God’s presence felt so alive. It was moving to see God’s love bringing joy, peace and unity to the community of Oxford” – Jason “Very inspiring and a wonderful experience of God’s presence” – Joy “This year Love Oxford was even more enjoyable. The weather was superb and the atmosphere electric. The mix of many denominations celebrating in such a lovely location and in such a spiritual way was quite overwhelming. God is great!” – Chris Woodman. Rosanne 19 Sunday Services ST JAMES’ CHURCH, BEAUCHAMP LANE 8.00 am Holy Communion 10.00 am Sung Eucharist Every fourth Sunday: Church at the Centre Every third Sunday: Sunday Lunch ST FRANCIS’ CHURCH, HOLLOW WAY 10.30 am Parish Eucharist Mid-Week Services & Meetings The Parish of Cowley office in St James Church Centre is open Tuesday 12.30 pm to 3 pm Friday 9.00 am to 3 pm and by appointment. Parish Secretary: Elaine Ulett Ministry Team Telephone: 01865 747 680 [email protected] Team Rector Revd Howard Thornton Cowley Rectory 11 Beauchamp Lane Oxford OX4 3LF Howard has Friday as his day off. Monday 8.15 am Morning Prayer – St James 2.30 pm Parish Mothers’ Union – St James (3rd Mon) Team Vicar Revd Susannah Reide 27 Don Bosco Close Oxford OX4 2LD Susannah has Monday as her day off. Tuesday 8.15 am 10.00 am 12.00 pm 12.30 pm 2.30 pm Morning Prayer – St James Seashells Toddler Group : St James Eucharist – St James Tuesday Lunch Club – St James Friends of St Francis – St Francis (2nd & 4th) Associate Priest Revd Richard Chand [email protected] Wednesday Morning Prayer – St James Morning Prayer – St Francis 8.15 am 9.15 am Thursday 8.15 am Morning Prayer – St James Friday 8.15 am 5.30 pm Morning Prayer – St James Evening Prayer – St James Non-Stipendiary Ministers Revd Canon Mark Oxbrow 13 Annesley Road Oxford, OX4 4JH Tel: 01865 461953 [email protected] Revd Amanda Bloor Diocesan Church House North Hinksey Oxford OX2 0NB Tel: 01865 208 221 [email protected] Churchwardens: David Stanley Tel: 776602 Norah Shallow Tel: 765199 Deputy Wardens: Margaret Martin Tel: 718532 John Shreeve www.cowleyteamministry.co.uk 20 Hall Bookings Pat Sansom Tel: 778516
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