1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity
3. catholicism

January 2015
The Signal
The Churches’ Magazine for Sandwich
www.stclementschurchsandwich.org.uk
50p
To all our readers
and a
To our Contributors, Advertisers, Distributors
and
the Staff of Treasury Today
for all their hard work and support
We wish you all Peace and Prosperity in
2015
The Parish Church of St Clement Sandwich
Our Mission Statement – to worship, serve and make known to all the living Jesus Christ
www.stclementschurchsandwich.org.uk
Rector: The Revd Canon Mark Roberts, AKC
Rector of Sandwich and Worth
The Rectory, Knightrider Street, Sandwich, CT13 9ER
Tel: 613138 Email: [email protected]
(The Rector is also a surrogate for the granting of Marriage Licences)
Assistant Priests:
The Revd Howard Pashley, 56 New Street, CT13 9BB 612018
The Revd Robin Bendall, 24 Delfside, CT13 9RL 617458
Deacon:
The Revd Jasmine Roberts, The Rectory, Knightrider Street
613138
Reader:
Mrs Maureen Collins, 18 Church Street, St Mary’s, CT13 9HL
614506
Churchwardens:
Dr Kathy Bennett, Alwoodley, John’s Green, CT13 ODE
614067
Mr Hugo Jordan 28 Whitefriars Meadow, CT13 9AS
614513
Deputy Churchwarden:
Mr Bruce Eccles, 87 Sandwich Road, Whitfield, CT16 3LV
826716
PCC Secretary:
Mrs Susan Pashley, 56 New Street, CT13 9BB 612018
Parish Treasurer and
Gift Aid Secretary:
Mr Richard Palmer, Little Acorns, King’s Avenue, Sandwich Bay, CT13 9PG 614583
Free–Will Offering:
Dr Frank Andrews, 14 Stone Cross Lees, CT13 0BZ
613476
Electoral Roll Officer:
Mrs Maggie Kasap, 12 John’s Green, CT13 0DE
615207
Organist & Choirmaster: Mr Julian Sampson, Keymer Cottage, Longmete Road, Preston
01227 721697
Assistant Organist:
Mr Robert Tapsfield, Maxton, Carlton Road, Kingsdown
373005
PARISH MAGAZINE – ‘THE SIGNAL’
Editor:
The Rector
613138
Advertising:
Mr Josh Thompson, Courtyard Offices, Harnet Street, CT13 9ES
629017
Distribution:
Mrs Beryl Sampson, Keymer Cottage, Longmete Road, Preston 01227 721697
Churchwatch
Toddler Group:
Pastoral Care Group:
Catering Committee:
‘Coffee Pot’:
Bellringers:
Servers:
Flowers:
The Children’s Society:
ST CLEMENT’S HALL
Secretary (Bookings):
Mr David Senior, 3 Mill Close, CT13 9JD
Mrs Carole Brown, 78 New Street, CT13 9BD
Mrs Brenda Turnbull, 3 Gardners Quay, Upper Strand Street, CT13 9DH
Mrs Judith Scollard, 40 Moat Sole, CT13 9AU
Mrs Gillian Robertson, Hedges, St Georges Lees, CT13 9JS
Mrs Carole Brown, 78 New Street, CT13 9BD Mr David Robertson Hedges, St George’s Lees, CT13 9JS
The Revd Jasmine Roberts, The Rectory, CT13 9ER
Mrs Tessa Sale, St Clement’s House, 14 Knightrider Street, CT13 9ER
Mrs Gillian Robertson, Hedges, St Georges Lees, CT13 9JS
612782
614120
611389
614349
612876
614120
612876
613138
612288
612876
Mrs Carole Brown, 78 New Street, CT13 9BD
614120
SERVICES
SUNDAYSWEEKDAYS
8.00am Holy Communion (BCP)
10.00am
Wednesdays – Holy
9.30am Sir Roger Manwood’s School Service
Communion (BCP)
(in term time)
10.30am The Parish Eucharist (Common Worship)
6.30pm
Evensong and Sermon
For other services and events see Church Notices
Enquiries concerning Baptism and Marriage should be made to The Rector.
1
Other Churches Contact Details
THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, CATTLE MARKET, SANDWICH
Minister
Revd Dr Alan Spence 01304 768745
Local Contact
Kath Gifford 617834/07790299394
www.sandwich-urc.co.uk
ST ANDREW’S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, ST GEORGE’S ROAD, SANDWICH
Priest in Charge
Father Christopher Lindlar, 149 St Richard’s Road Deal
THE CARPENTER’S ARMS, SANDWICH
Anna Upton
374870
01304 614894
e-mail: [email protected]
ST PETER & ST PAUL, WORTH
Rector
The Revd Canon Mark Roberts
Assistant Priest
The Revd Howard Pashley, 56 New Street, CT13 9BB
612 018
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN SANDWICH
Chairman
The Revd Canon Mark Roberts
Secretary
Mrs Anna Upton
Treasurer
Mr John Cuss
COPY FOR THE SIGNAL
Please note that if you have any copy for the next issue of The Signal it should be either:
Delivered to:
or emailed to:
by:
The Rectory
[email protected]
10th January 2015
This month’s cover
CHRIST BE OUR LIGHT
Sir Roger Manwood’s School Boarders - Christingle 2014
Sunday 7th December at St Clement’s
Photograph: Sara Pearce
2
The Rector Writes
21:8
ONE MORE STEP
‘One More Step along the world I go’ by Sydney Carter is in my experience, one of the
most popular hymns chosen by your wedding couples. We sang it lots of times last
year. Couples love it and remember singing it a school. It is though a hymn, a song,
that divides opinion and very much so! I heard it referred to as a Marmite hymn! You
either love it or hate it!
‘One More Step’ contains no direct mention of scripture and it is not immediately
obvious to whom it is addressed. It was in fact first written for a school leavers service.
For me, wait for it, the sentiments are good. How can they not be?
We should travel from the bad to the good. Surely the words are addressed to God or
Jesus? We can use the words as a prayer for guidance through thick and thin, rough
and smooth. Pilgrimage and journey are deeply theological. We are reminded that
the journey can only be made one step at a time. We need God in the detail and in the
big picture. The prayer is not only ‘travel with me’ but also ‘I’ll travel with you’. There
is mutual companionship on the road. Here is a plea for guidance and explicit trust in
God’s presence and direction.
Sydney Carter is even more famous for ‘Lord of the Dance’. In both ‘Lord of the Dance’
and ‘One More Step’, dance is a metaphor for resurrection, hope, renewal. God is ‘Alpha
and Omega’. He is ‘ever old and ever new’.
Marmite hymn or not, might I offer this as being very good for the start of the year?
As we step forward into 2015, may we know that we are not alone. May we travel in
hope. May we have courage. May we keep loving. It’s from the old we travel to the
new : keep us travelling along with you.’
Happy New Year
Mark Roberts
Rector
Thank you as always for all that we have shared over Christmas. Thank you from both
of us here at The Rectory to those who were kind enough to send their personal
greetings.
MR
3
St Clement’s Church – Diary of Events
January 2015
Thursday1st
Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus
Saturday
3rd
3.15 pm
ST CLEMENT’S CHOIR SING EVENSONG AT
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL
SUNDAY4th THE SECOND SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS
EPIPHANY
8.00 am
10.30 am
6.30 pm
Tuesday
Feast of The Epiphany
6th
Holy Communion
Epiphany Procession and Parish Eucharist
Evensong and Sermon
Wednesday7 10.00 am
Holy Communion
Saturday
10.00am
Pastoral Care Group Meeting
th
10 th
SUNDAY11th THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY
THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
Tuesday
8.00 am
9.30 am
10.30 am
6.30 pm
13th
2.00 pm
Wednesday14th
10.00 am
Thursday15th
7.30 pm
Holy Communion
Sir Roger Manwood’s School Service
Parish Eucharist
Evensong and Sermon
Children’s Society Committee
Holy Communion
Toledo and Barcelona Meeting
SUNDAY18 THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY
8.00 am
9.30 am
10.30 am
6.30 pm
Holy Communion
Sir Roger Manwood’s School Service
Parish Eucharist
Evensong and Sermon
Wednesday21st
10.00 am
Holy Communion
th
SUNDAY25 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY
Feast of The Conversion of St Paul
th
8.00 am
10.30 am
(6.30 pm
Holy Communion
Parish Eucharist
No Evensong
Evensong at Worth)
Wednesday28th
10.00 am
5.30 pm
Holy Communion
PCC Finance Committee
Thursday29th
7.30 pm
4
Churches Together Committee
CHOIR PRACTICE is held in St Clement’s Church on Friday evening from 7.15pm.
Further details from Julian Sampson - Organist and Choir Master.
BELLRINGERS’ PRACTICE is held on Saturday mornings from 9.15am. For security
reasons the church door is locked at 9.30am. Further details from David Robertson,
01304 612876. [email protected]
COFFEE POT takes place every Friday in St Clement’s Hall from 10.00 am until 12
Noon. Meet and chat over coffee – Everyone welcome.
The TODDLER GROUP meets every Tuesday afternoon (in term time) from 1.30pm
until 3.00pm in St Clement’s Hall. We are delighted to see any parents, carers and
your children.
Available for Hire
ST CLEMENT’S CHURCH HALL
Currently Friday evenings: for regular bookings or Social Events
Saturday evenings: for Social Events
Kitchen also available for catering
Contact Mrs Carole Brown: 614120 for details
WALSINGHAM 2015
Our 2015 St Clement’s Parish Pilgrimage
to The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
will take place from Friday 24th – Sunday 26th April.
It is a marvellous weekend and all are as ever very welcome.
If you would like to find out more do speak to one of the clergy.
5
United Reformed Church
Sunday Morning Worship is held each Sunday at 10.30am.
Sunday4th Pastor Les Thomas
Sunday11th Revd Dr Alan Spence
Sunday18th Ms Primrose Northrup
Sunday25th Revd Dr Alan Spence - Communion
Following worship tea and coffee will be served
You will be made most welcome at any or all of our Services
Visitors are welcome at the Friday 10.30 am Bible Study led by Revd Alan Spence in the
Age Concern Lounge. The Thursday Coffee Mornings in the church run from 9.45 am to
12 noon and will resume on 8th January.
St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church
Sunday Mass is Celebrated at 9.00 am
For other Mass times please visit http://www.catholicmass.com/theweekahead.htm
The Carpenter’s Arms – Sandwich
The Phoenix Centre, Jubilee Road, Sandwich
Sundays at 10.30 am
For service details including Messy Church, please contact
Anna Upton 01304 614894 e-mail: [email protected]
St Bart’s Chapel
Sunday4th
Sunday 11th 10.30 am
Sunday18th
9.30 am
th
Sunday25 10.30 am
No service
Morning Worship
Holy Communion
Morning Worship
St Peter and St Paul – Worth
Sunday4th
Sunday11th
Sunday18th
Sunday25th
6
9.30 am
9.30 am
8.00 am
6.30 pm
Parish Communion
Morning Service
Holy Communion
Evensong
ST CLEMENT’S DAY – PATRONAL FESTIVAL 2014
St Clement’s Day 2014 (23rd November) fell on a Sunday and our
Patronal Festival Celebration was splendid and joyous.
It was a real privilege and a huge pleasure to welcome the Dean
of Canterbury, Robert Willis as our Preacher at the Eucharist and to
sing our very own St Clement’s hymn in the presence of its author.
Together with our Mayor and Mayoress, we had a thoroughly
enjoyable reception and party after the service and it was a great
occasion. Thank you to everyone who was there.
MR
Photograph: Bruce Eccles
7
Last year Durham – This year – Where?
This year we are offering the opportunity of going to Spain and visiting two
fascinating cities – Toledo and Barcelona – and very different they are!
Toledo is the ecclesiastical capital of Spain – what Canterbury is to England – and is
about forty miles south of Madrid. Long ago it was the capital of the Roman Province
and since then it has been a melting pot for different cultures – a splendid mixture of
Moorish, Jewish and Christian. There is a wealth of ancient buildings in the city which
still bear witness to its great past. We are planning the visit in early June to be there
for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Most Spanish cities and towns and villages have their
own special festivals as they honour their patron saints or other special days. But
Toledo is THE place to be in for Corpus Christi. The city spends weeks preparing the
decorations of the streets and the costumes of those in the procession. Festivities
begin with a grand service in the cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop of Toledo,
and this leads into a wonderful procession through the city with all the guilds in their
finery and all the spectacle and colour you could wish. At the centre of the procession
is the Custodia – the monstrance – described as the most ostentatious treasure of the
Christian world, and dating back to the early sixteenth century. So there is plenty to do
and see there, and that is before you discover that Toledo is also the city where lived El
Greco – Domenico Theotocopoulos. The great Renaissance artist lived in Toledo from
1579 to his death in 1614 and many of his most famous works are on view.
8
Last year Durham – This year – Where?
Next we move on to Barcelona by train
through La Mancha – the home of
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. It’s
a large Mediterranean seaport and
Spain’s second largest city again with a
history dating back to the Romans, and
with evidence of all the cultures that
have existed since that time. It is a city
that was spruced up for the Olympic
Games and is now a real modern
metropolis. It was the home of Pablo
Picasso, of Salvador Dali, of Pablo Casals,
but perhaps it is most famous these days for the buildings of Antoni Gaudi and the
Barcelona FC. Gaudi’s great cathedral of the Holy Family – the
Sagrada Familia – must be one the world’s most instantly
recognisable buildings. There will be the opportunity to visit
the main sights of the city, but we will also be going out to
Monserrat – the fantastic monastery up in the mountains.
The scenery is spectacular! The monastery church houses
the famous statue of the “Black Madonna” – La Moreneta –
and is one of Spain’s principal pilgrimage places. The statue
dates from the twelfth century and has been a pilgrimage
destination for centuries. The monastery is also the home of
the Escolania, the internationally renowned Boys’ Choir, and
we would hope to hear them perform.
This visit should give us a wonderful introduction to Spain
away from the crowded beaches. We will experience
something of the religious and cultural life of Spain. It is a
country that has had a very different history from our own –
sometimes fighting one another – the Armada – sometimes
fighting together – the Napoleonic Peninsular War. It’s the
home of great art and architecture as well as sherry and quite
drinkable wine.
If this has stirred your interest, we are going to have a meeting this month to explain a
bit more and answer questions. So do come along!
Date Thursday, 15th January
Time 7.30 pm
Place St Clement’s Parish Church
Anthony Fletcher
9
St Clement’s Events
We again held The Christmas Fair. This year on Saturday 29th November. There was sparkle
and glitter, Christmas trees and fun. Many people worked very hard and we had a lot of
support from you all. A very big thank you for all your kindness and generosity. Everyone’s
efforts together raised almost £1700. That is excellent! It will keep our Treasurer happy!
In the coming year we hope to hold some established and popular events again such as
the Quiz and the Pimm’s party. Look for the dates.
We also intend to host some new ones: Please look out for our Wine Tasting, hosted
jointly with Strand Wine, on Saturday 7th January.
This is likely to be an excellent evening. Don’t miss it.
Also not to be missed will be our Italian Supper on Saturday 18th April ... Italian food
and wine with entertainment from opera star Georgina Skinner.
Do put these dates in your diary and we hope to see you. You will be very welcome.
Thank you everyone for supporting our events and thank you to all who help with them.
Sue Pashley
Nicholson and Co of Malvern – from Strength to Strength
We are very proud of our Organ at St Clement’s built by Nicholson and Company of Malvern.
They not only built us a superb organ but they were an absolute delight to work with and our
relationship with them continues.
They are indeed one of the leading Organ Builders and it was fascinating to read the
following in a recent edition of Church Music Quarterly (the magazine of the Royal School of
Church Music). Well done!
BRITS ABROAD: A British firm is to build the largest pipe organ in New Zealand. The
New Voice organ commissioned by Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland will be Nicholson’s
largest new work to date, and their first in the southern hemisphere.
Featuring two cases by leading designer Didier Grassin, the new organ will sit on either
side of the crossing in chambers made available by the removal of the nave bridge.
With 90 speaking stops and 5,215 pipes, the organ will be the largest in New Zealand,
and the largest church organ to be made in Britain for 70 years. It will be played from
two identical consoles – fixed console in a loft above the Cathedral’s Marsden Chapel,
and a movable console in the nave, each with four manuals and 122 drawstops – and
equipped with the latest playing aids.
Work in Nicholson’s Malvern factory will start in July 2015 with completion in the
Cathedral by October 2017.
10
Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church
JANUARY – SHOWINGS FORTH
After the joy of Christmas, the beginning of each new year is marked by a sequence of
Epiphanies in which Our Lord Jesus Christ is ‘shown forth’ to the world, with increasing
clarity, as Lord and Saviour. The Solemn Feast of Epiphany itself is on the 6th of January
(many Catholic will regret that the Feast is kept in England on the nearest Sunday, the
4th this year) and celebrates the visit of the Magi (or wise men or kings) to the Infant
King. Holy Tradition teaches that there were three Magi, representing the three known
continents of Africa, Asia and Europe; thus leaders of the known World came to offer the
World’s homage and theirs, in recognition of the new-born Prince of Peace.
On the Sunday following the Epiphany, the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. In
a profoundly Trinitarian moment, Jesus himself, or the Baptist or those standing around,
see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and hear the Father say, ‘This is my beloved
Son’. In a tradition retained in the third year of the Lectionary cycle, we then hear John
the Evangelist’s account of the Wedding at Cana, when Jesus himself ‘manifested his
glory, and his disciples believed in him’ (Jn 2:11).
These Epiphanies of Jesus ‘show forth’ the One who is the ‘beloved Son’, the ‘Suffering
Servant’ entirely consecrated to the Father’s will, who commands his disciples, ‘Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations’ (Mt 28:19). The Church in her Liturgy worships
with the Magi, feasts at the Marriage Banquet of the Lamb and is sent out to proclaim the
Good News of salvation in Christ alone.
St Andrew’s is part of the Catholic Parish of Mongeham and Sandwich, covering the area from the
Discovery Park (Pfizer) to Ash, Tilmanstone, Studdal, Martin Mill, Upper Deal, Worth and Sandwich;
the Parish is part of the Dover Deanery in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
The Parish is also the home of the Deal Mission of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Fr Christopher Lindlar
Calling all Mums, Dads and Carers of toddlers!
Have you thought of coming along on Tuesday afternoons
to St Clement’s Toddlers Group in the Church Hall?
There are lots of toys and activities for your little ones to keep them busy, and there
is the chance for Mums and Dads (and carers) to enjoy a cup of tea
or coffee and to have a chat with other parents.
Do come along! Tuesday afternoons from 1:30 to 3:00.
You will be very welcome.
11
St Mary’s
Arts Centre
Strand Street, Sandwich
A unique 14th century arts
and events venue
An advert here
available for hire for private parties,
wedding receptions, concerts and
recitals, dance and drama, exhibitions,
rehearsals and workshops
will cost just £45 for six months.
for booking or enquiries
01304 629015
tel 01304 612 888
[email protected]
www.stmarysartscentre.org.uk
St Mary’s is a consecrated church open daily to the public
Is this worth thinking about?
For details call Josh
EASTRY CHIROPODY
Pound House, St. Mary’s Close CT13 0HP
For an appointment please ring
01304 611687
07870 385 984
Mrs.Zsuzsanna Snarey
An advert here
will cost just £45 for six months.
Is this worth thinking about?
For details call Josh
01304 629015
www.eastry-chiropody.co.uk
HCPC Registered Qualified Surgical Chiropodist
Registered Member of the British Chiropody &
Podiatry Association
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CHRIS BUSBYS
DRIVING SCHOOL
VILLAGE
07866 132928
EN
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[email protected]
www.busbys-drivingschool.co.uk
TUITION FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGES
Jewellery you’ll love
Service you’ll appreciate
An advert here
will cost just £45 for six months.
Is this worth thinking about?
For details call Josh
01304 629015
Kim Wood
Jewellers
SECOND HAND PURCHASED • PAWN BROKING AVAILABLE
ANTIQUE & MODERN JEWELLERY,
SILVERWARE, WATCHES AND CLOCKS
WORKSHOP ON THE PREMISES
8B King Street, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9BY
Tel/Fax 01304 617700
BUY ONLINE
www.mrkimwoodjeweller.co.uk
www.facebook.com/kimwoodjewellers
Kings Arms
H ot e l
circa 1480
s A n dw i c H
As a privately owned Inn, the Kings Arms Hotel
is able to provide the attention to detail, flexibility
and standards often sought, but rarely found.
Full A lA cArte menu 7 dAys A weeK
bAr meAls dAily • Function room
trAditionAl englisH gArden
cAr pArKing
double, twin And single rooms AvAilAble
All rooms en-suite, with full English breakfast served.
tel: 01304 617330 • Fax: 01304 617361
email: [email protected]
www.kingsarms-sandwich.co.uk
strAnd street, sAndwicH, Kent ct13 9Hn.
An advert here
SANDWICH
DECORATIVE
will cost just £45 for six months.
AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY
Are you interested in paintings, decorative art,
crafts, gardens, architecture and art history?
If so why not come along and enjoy our
stimulating monthly lectures and a glass of wine.
We meet at The Guildhall, Sandwich on the first
Monday evening of the month at 7.30pm
Is this worth thinking about?
For details call Josh
01304 629015
For more information please contact
The Deputy Chairman
Tessa Sale t. 01304 612288
Laser Treatment for the Fungal Nail Infection and Warts
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including toenail fungus and warts.
The treatment involves painlessly passing
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Treatment sessions will take approximately
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GenesisPlus is very safe. No side effects or
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9a New Street, Ashford, Kent TN24 8TN 01233 661662
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R.I. BUTCHER
PAINTER & DECORATOR
•
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Paper Hanging
Tiling
Coving
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90 Poulders Gardens
Sandwich Kent CT13 0AJ
Tel: 01304 614264
Mob: 07870532892
Lady painter & decorator
Interior & Exterior
HOROLOGY REPAIRS
T. PETTMAN
CLOCKMAKER
Specialists in Antique
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v
Telephone: 01843 825050
Mobile: 07860 498963
• KCC Approved
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01304 814386 07779 933604
[email protected]
• CRB checked & references
An advert here
will cost just £45 for six months.
Is this worth thinking about?
For details call Josh
01304 629015
POETRY FOR PLEASURE
Sandwich Library Guild has a group whose purpose is purely to enjoy poetry. It meets
on the last Saturday of every month upstairs in the Priory Room at Sandwich Library.
Meetings start at 11am and last for one to one and a half hours. Participants share their
chosen poems, written by themselves or by published poets. Poems are read aloud. It
is fine to come along and simply listen. Admission is free.
The theme for the meeting on Saturday, 31st January is: NEW BEGINNINGS.
Enquiries to the Poetry Group Facilitator, Cilla Phillips, tel: 01304 613703, or email:
[email protected].
Sandwich Scrabble Group
Sandwich Scrabble Group meets every Tuesday morning 10am-12 noon in Sandwich
Library. Players of all abilities will be most welcome. Not played before? No problem,
come along and play while you learn with our friendly group.
Ring Bridget on 01304 621929 for further information or just come along.
ST CLEMENT’S CHURCH
PASTORAL GROUP
Would you like to know more about what we do?
Do you know anyone who would like to have a friendly visit?
Contact either:
Brenda Turnbull 01304 611389 or
Judith Scollard 01304 614349
The New St Clement’s Lottery
Winners for: December
1. E. Price £50
2. D. Graeme £30
3. J. Bragg £20
If anybody is interested in taking part in the Lottery please contact me on
01304 615081 or 07836 754594 – e-mail: [email protected] and I will happily
send an application form.
Paul Graeme, Lottery Administrator*
18
*(Licensed with Dover District Council)
THE EPIPHANY
From a Meditation by Bishop Martyn Jarrett
Some wise men came to Jerusalem from the East. Matthew 2:1
These mysterious visitors to the infant Jesus have always had a
particular fascination for Christians. You and I can make sense
of the shepherds. Seemingly exotic Magi from the Orient are
another matter. The very first recorded painting that we have, illustrating Jesus’ birth, tells
us nothing about the shepherds of the Christmas story. Instead, in a Second Century wall
painting, we are shown three men, wearing astrologers’ hats, purposefully walking towards
the Virgin who sits nursing her child. Perhaps St Matthew’s Gospel wants us to understand
these men as being astrologers. After all, seeking to understand the future from what had
been shown in the stars, was just as popular in the time of Jesus as it is among some of the
more credulous today. We know from ancient records that First Century astrologers even
wrote some of their calculations in myrrh. It might just be that gold, frankincense and myrrh
were the working tools of people bound up in astrology. When they came to Christ and
embraced His truth then their working tools were required no more. The change in their
lives was symbolised by leaving the tools of their craft at the feet of Jesus.
The story we celebrate at Epiphany is one of changed lives. As Christian people, through
the ages, meditate on the coming of these Magi, so they hear the call to a new way of
life. How natural for us to hear in the Epiphany story Christ drawing towards Him even
the most powerful people in the world. Even kings have to change their ways and, as the
story tells us, to return by another route.
Once you and I have encountered the Christ Child we can never again comfortably revert
to our old way of doing things. We have seen the true meaning of life. Our consciences
are troubled. We can ignore those feelings; we can suppress them. The underlying truth
remains all the same and cannot be changed because truth is exactly that.
As we see so frequently on our Christmas cards countless artists, since the first early wall
painting was completed, have set out to paint the coming of those Magi to Bethlehem.
Kings in rich robes, accompanied by expensively-dressed retainers and well-upholstered
camels, kneel in front of the baby Jesus. For Jesus Christ nothing but the best will do. The
most powerful people in the world bend their knees to Him and put everything they have
at his disposal. For such great painters Epiphany is a call to refocus on our sense of values.
Everything we human beings are and have is to be subject to Jesus. Indeed, some of the
great Florentine painters even gave one of the Wise Men the fact of a Medici nobleman
while the faces of the retinue were those of the Medici household. You and I are to see
ourselves in every such painting of adoration. You and I are invited to bow the knee at
Epiphanytide, just like those three Magi and to change our ways accordingly.
The danger is that you and I only pay lip service to such a notion. We go through
the motions with little if any desire to change. King Herod pretended to want more
information in order that he might come and worship the newly born king when all he
19
THE EPIPHANY
really wanted was to do away with Jesus as quickly as possible. The truth is that there is at
least a little bit of King Herod in each of us who come to worship Jesus. Jesus displays His
glory and you and I all too often see that His kingdom challenges the standards of our own.
Epiphany calls us to true and undiluted worship of our Saviour. Those early Magi
travelled from afar in search of the truth. When they found that truth in Jesus, those
Magi were bowled over by what they found. Their lives were changed. That very early
wall painting shows three Magi walking towards Christ and His Mother. Perhaps the clue
to understanding that picture is the fact that it is painted on the walls of a catacomb,
the place where early Christians buried their dead. For now you and I are walking not
towards Bethlehem but rather towards Jesus the Lord who will come one day to judge
both the living and the dead. If that be so, and it is so, then you and I must walk both with
eagerness and with integrity. You and I must offer lives that are shaped by our quest, by
the grace of the Lord Jesus whom we serve and to whom we come.
Going Green!
We were going on holiday! A rare treat during the war. We were going to Blackpool –
yesterday’s children’s Disneyland. My mother had a week’s holiday from work which
coincided with my Aunt’s leave from her base in Buxton. Together with my Grandmother
who now lived with us we were going to meet at Manchester. When we met at
Manchester it was raining. We joined the queue for our train and stood in the rain. The
rain became a deluge. We stood and waited. Rain poured down on us. We still waited.
We could hear trains coming and going but not for us. Rain pelted down. We were
confined to a designated area and stood in the rain. Long since caring that rain ran down
the neck of our coats or chaffed at the cuffs we watched water welling up and over the
sides of our shoes. We continued to stand and wait. The rain increased in torrents. We
still stood. At last the cry went round our train had arrived.
My mother picked up the handle of the revelation case she had packed with everything
for the three of us but to her consternation the hand came away in her hand. The 7
hours incessant rain we had stood through had proved too much for the case. As people
surged forward a kindly man lifted the sodden case and helped her cradle it in her arms
and somehow she managed to stagger onto the train.
On arrival our hoteliers were marvellous. From the beaming smiles and outstretched
hands as the door was opened and four bedraggled, shivering, teeth chattering, flotsam
of humanity struggling with a sodden Neptune’s chest squelched into the hall. Case,
coats and shoes were immediately taken to the boiler room. As we were shown into the
now empty dining room warmed towels were provided and the bliss of feeling warmth as
we had a comforting rub down followed immediately by a hot meal.
However the day had not finished with us yet. We went up to the room the four of us
were to share and my mother put me to bed then I heard a cry of incredulity so sat up
20
Going Green!
and saw my Aunt had turned bright green! Obviously the wartime dye in her clothes
could not withstand the deluge and it had stained her skin. As I drifted off to sleep, my
last recollection was of seeing my bright green Aunt swathed in towels, with her arms
stretched out to the side and my mother and sister on either side with a nail brush each
scrubbing at her arms and back.
Ann Major
Sandwich Town Diary January 2015
Monday5th 2.15 pm
7.30 pm
Singing for Life – United Reformed Church
SEDFAS – Guildhall
Tuesday6th 10.30 am
D&DDFAS – Guildhall
Wednesday7 2.30 pm
Royal Air Forces Association – Centre for the Retired
Friday9th 10.00 am
Hospice Committee – St Clement’s Church
(Mary Atwood Room)
Saturday10th 11.00 am
Launch of Young Writers Competition – Library
Tuesday13th 7.00 pm
Women’s Institute – United Reformed Church
Monday19th 2.15 pm
Singing for Life – United Reformed Church
Thursday22 7.30 pm
Local History Society – Guildhall
Monday Town Council – Guildhall
th
nd
26th 7.00 pm
Saturday31 11.00 am
st
Library Guild Poetry Group – Priory Room, Library
Note: If organisations would like their events announced on this page of The Signal each month,
please forward details of your programme to The Editor at The Rectory.
From the Parish Registers
BAPTISM
We welcome into God’s family
December 14 MYLO JACKSON of 56 Woodnesborough Road
th
FUNERALS
We commend to God
December9 WILLIAM GORDON NEIL ROACH of The Keep, The Quay, aged 86 years
th
We offer our sympathy to the family at this time
21
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