NEWSLETTER
– OCTOBER 2009
Harvest
Once
upon a time it was a simple affair: a heartfelt thanksgiving for God's
faithfulness in bringing the crops to maturity, marked with displays of
local produce (often with a giant marrow at the centre) - a celebration
with its roots in Hebrew customs, though Judaism was always much more
than an agricultural religion. The note of joy and wonder remains, but
nowadays is overlaid with more complex themes - our care (or not) for
the planet, our global interdependence and the exploitation that lies
behind what's on our supermarket shelves, the challenge to create a
more just and sustainable world order.
St
Paul's School bring their harvest gifts to church on Friday 2 October
(all welcome at their 9.30am service). On the Saturday we have our
harvest social - a bring and share meal in the crypt at 7pm, with a
quiz and other activities for all ages. On Sunday we draw it all
together in our All-age Eucharist, to which you are asked to bring
produce and/or a contribution (for which Gift Aid envelopes will be
available) for Christian Aid, who work tirelessly with partner
organisations around the world, and help us to tackle the issues that
seem so huge that we can be left feeling powerless. Their current
advertising campaign (including posters in tube stations) reminds us
that we have tackled huge issues in the past, and can do so in the
future.
The
Archbishop of Canterbury will be at St Andrew Holborn on Wednesday 7
October at 7pm, to reflect on the 'harvest of the City' and to dedicate
a new icon of the Resurrection, depicting Christ's harrowing of hell -
the ultimate symbol of re-creation when all seems lost. All are
welcome. And note that the Archbishop will be at our church on
Wednesday 20 January next year (see the next item), so put the date in
your diary now and tell your friends!
Ritualism Riots
Publicity
is going out shortly for the special event on Friday 6 November at 7pm
to mark the day, 150 years ago, when the singing of the Litany was
violently interrupted by a huge and motley mob. We shall sing the
Litany again (led by the Lambeth Singers) - this time without
interruptions, we hope! - and then have a session with a panel of
speakers helping us to understand why this all happened, and what are
the lessons for us today, and will end the evening with refreshments.
We hope that the 'home team' will be present in force to welcome
visitors for whom this anniversary is significant.
And
we are also beginning to plan for the Archbishop's visit, mentioned
above, on 20 January 2010, as part of this programme - a MUST for
everyone!
To learn more, go to the updated page on the Riots on our parish website <http://www.stgite.org.uk/ritualismriots.html>
Olive Wagstaff, sixty years as a Licensed Lay Worker
In
the latter part of the 19th, and throughout the 20th, century 'women
workers' were the unsung heroines of many East End parishes and
communities, giving lifelong and devoted service. Their names are
seldom recorded on boards in church like those of the clergy whom they
saw come and go. Often their theological training was equally thorough,
and their practical, pastoral training rather better. But they were
frequently taken for granted and excluded from leadership because they
were not ordained, as many of them nowadays would undoubtedly have been.
It
is now, astonishingly, sixty years since Olive Wagstaff was licensed as
a lay worker, having received excellent training at Selly Oak in
Birmingham (her home city) and at Ranyard House in Bloomsbury. Her
ministry began at St Dunstan Stepney, after which she returned to a
Birmingham parish before joining the new lay community at the Royal
Foundation of St Katharine, which led into many years of work with the
elderly throughout Tower Hamlets. She has sharp memories of so much
that has happened in our deanery and beyond, and keeps in touch with
many folk with whom she worked. You can see it all from the upper
floors of Shearsmith House.
So
it was a great joy to celebrate this anniversary with her, and to
honour the contribution that she and others have made - and in her case
continues to make, not only at St George-in-the-East, but through
various hospital and community activities. Congratulations, Olive, and
keep it up!
At
the Sunday service on 11 October we shall be finding out about another
form of licensed lay ministry when Paul Tomlinson from Church Army is
our preacher. Church Army is involved in many imaginative mission
projects, some of which are termed 'fresh expressions', as well as in
more traditional parochial ministry.
God has received you by baptism into his church....
Matthew Joseph & Emilia Lorrin Ramanoop (13 September)
Andrys Freddy John Lehmann (20 September)
-
both were marvellous occasions. The first featured the Lord's Prayer in
Lithuanian (with some of the children's mother Edita's family present,
and
extended
partying; the second had a hymn which some sung in French, and a family
member, the Revd Steven Evans (a non-stipendiary priest from Blackburn
diocese) preached and baptized.
Faith festivals
Eid
al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, fell on a Sunday this year, and on
the following Thursday St Paul's School had a day of special activities
and an after-school party, with hand and face painting and splendid
food for all. This year Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) fell on the
same weekend, 18-20 September, with Yom Kippur following ten days
later.
The church in the market place
On
3 October the Rector will be helping to staff the ecumenical stand at a
big wedding show at Earl's Court - something he did for several years
in Manchester, where the diocese pioneered the idea of a church
presence at these events, alongside the bridalware and catering
providers, the hire cars, the chocolate fountains and various more
off-the-wall exhibitors. It's big business - and some of it doesn't
immediately seem to have much to do with what it really means to get,
and to be, married! But the other exhibitors, after initial surprise,
are generally very positive about the church being there.
The
days are long gone when most people turned instinctively to the church
for their wedding, and knew (vaguely) how to go about arranging
it. So the challenge is to present this option to couples, and
help guide them through the process - where they can marry (with the
aid of websites to identify their local church, though the law is now
more flexible about marriage in other churches where they have a
'qualifying connection' giving them a legal right to marry there), how
they can have a say in shaping the service, and so on. Unfortunately,
some couples report disinterest, or even hostility, from their local
clergy, who quite illegally set up barriers and lay down requirements
which deter them from crossing the threshold.
Paul
and Hannah, who are planning their wedding here in November, are an
example of why the church needs to rise to this challenge. They are
highly-organised, and have clear ideas about what they want on the day,
which we will help them to achieve. They have made strong friendships
within our congregation, of which they have become valued members.
In
Manchester, alongside lots of literature we gave couples a sachet of
sugared almonds to represent the five F's of marriage. Unfortunately I
can't quite remember what these were, though I think fidelity and
fecundity were among them!
World Mental Health Day: 10 October
Last
year Carly Bond, from the Social Action for Health project based at the
Brady Centre, came with a colleague to speak to us, and we recognised
that there are mental health issues affecting members of our
congregation as well as within the wider community. We have nothing
special planned for this day, but we should be holding these concerns
in our prayers.
North Thames Ministerial Training Course
The
new term, with Tuesday evening sessions, is under way. Just to remind
you: students gather for a meal at 6.30pm (in 'our' part of the
nursery), come into church for worship at 7.15pm, and then have their
teaching sessions. This year the Rector will be involved each week,
teaching an optional New Testament Greek course prior to the main
session. There is also an 'access course', for those who need help with
study skills and/or English as a second language.
There
have been various staff changes, and on 14 October the course will say
farewell (with a party at London Colney Pastoral Centre, where their
residential sessions are held) to Mary Smith, who has been with NTMTC
for over ten years, as personal assistant to the Principals and as
course administrator. Mary has been our primary point of contact
with the course, and we wish her well.
Luke the Evangelist
This
year St Luke's Day falls on a Sunday, so this will be a good
opportunity to reflect on the church's healing ministry, which is the
traditional theme of St Lukestide. Whether or not he was a doctor, the
gospel that bears his name certainly has a particular interest and
emphasis on medical matters, especially as they affect women and the
marginalised. Locally, the pioneering work of the Royal London Hospital
and of other medical and social institutions working amidst deprived
communities, is something we should celebrate.
Concerts
Our
recent concert series was successful, thanks to the hard work of
Elspeth, Canon Geoffrey White and others, and we are now proposing
more. The plan is to have a series over the next twelve months, with a
wider variety of musical styles (but maintaining the excellent standard
of performers to date), and reduced rates for advance bookings.
The
first concert in the next series will be a piano recital on Sunday 18
October at 5pm - details of this, and future concerts, to follow.
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