Churches Together

All Saints’, Melbourn and Holy Trinity, Meldreth

We have enjoyed a sunny summer, at least up to the time of writing, with the joy of weddings at All Saints and a very enjoyable and well supported fete at Holy Trinity. August has given us a time to pause and catch our breath, whether at home or away, and we hope to be ready for everything that the next few months will bring.

We are planning and looking forward to special services and events in the parish churches and with our friends from the Baptist and United Reformed Churches. On Sunday, 8th September, there will be a Churches Together Songs of Praise at Holy Trinity, Meldreth, giving an opportunity to sing a wide variety of hymns.

Celebration and thanksgiving are one theme at this time of year, with Harvest Thanksgiving services at All Saints (22nd September) and Holy Trinity (29th September) and the joint parishes’ Harvest Supper (27th September). At All Saints, we celebrate our patronal festival on 3rd November – a chance to think about the church, both people and building, and what its past, present and future mean to us.

In the present and for the future, our care of the churches depends on the generous giving of time, skills and money. Fundraising events will include the Car Show (22nd September) and the Christmas Tree Festival at Meldreth, and the Autumn / Christmas event (16th November) at Melbourn.

Another theme at this time is remembering those who have died. We can mark our personal memories by lighting a candle at the All Souls’ service (Sunday 3rd November 6.30pm), and join in corporate acts of remembrance at the war memorials (Sunday 10th November).

September brings the start of the new school year and seems a good time to remind you that Sunday Schools meet in both churches during the 9.45am service as follows: » Melbourn 2nd Sunday of the month » Meldreth 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month

At Melbourn on third Sundays (15th September, 20th October, 17th November) there is Sunday@11, a shorter, less formal service for people of all ages, and at Meldreth on 13 October there is Messy Church. I look forward to celebrating and remembering with you. Mary Price, Associate priest Website: www.allsaintsmelbournholytrinitymeldreth.co.uk Facebook @ASMHTM

United Reformed Church

Christian Aid We held a Churches Together Christian Aid Service on Sunday 12th May, with all denominations taking part. We watched a short film about the plight of women giving birth in Sierra Leone, where women travel miles on foot to get to a health clinic. We saw what a difference it made with the arrival of a midwife in one community, as there have been no deaths after her arrival. Marie Lucchetta-Redmond from Christian Aid talked to us about the film and the work of Christian Aid. We enjoyed a ‘bring and share’ tea in the hall afterwards. We hosted a Churches Together soup lunch and barbecue after morning worship on Sunday 28th July and the money raised was given to Christian Aid. Katherine Jenkins A member of our congregation went to hear Katherine Jenkins sing live at the Cambridge Corn Exchange on 15th May. Katherine was accompanied by the London Concert Orchestra, so having a live orchestra was an added bonus. She sang four sets of three songs with orchestral pieces in between. Katherine sang songs from her latest CD including ‘Jealous of the Angels’ and ‘Xander’s Song’, which she has sung on Songs of Praise. Her beautiful voice filled the auditorium and was very emotive. It was also interesting to hear her version of more popular songs sung in her powerful operatic voice. She finished with ‘Music of the Night’ and ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ and sang Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’ as an encore which brought the house down.

Harvest We are celebrating harvest thanksgiving on Sunday 15th September. Our morning worship will be followed by a soup lunch and the produce will be sold afterwards with proceeds going to Jimmy’s Night Shelter in Cambridge. We invite you to come and join us in the celebration. Richard Lewney Talk Richard Lewney is the Eastern Synod representative in a group going on a guided educational visit exploring parts of Israel, the occupied West Bank, annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The aim is to learn about their peoples, religions, politics and cultures, with particular focus on meeting Palestinian Christians in order to appreciate the immense challenges faced by the indigenous churches and their members. The visit will explore some of the principal historical sites relating to the Abrahamic faiths. Richard is coming to our church on Friday 25th October at 7.30pm to share his experiences and learning from the visit. You are very welcome to join us for the evening.

Walking coast to coast

in aid of All Saints Church Melbourn

In 2015, three chaps decided that they should give themselves an annual walking challenge. We had been friends through Scouting initially, for more than 50 years. One of our group, from Royston, is Trustee for a charity named UNCLE which supports 2 orphanages in Nepal. Some of you know him or at least know of him. That year and in the following 2 years we walked nearly 100 miles in 7days, on the Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and Jersey raising around £5000 for UNCLE.

In 2018, I was unable to join the team on their (almost) 500mile walk on the Compostella de Santiago Camino when between them they raised around £15000 for their 2 charities.

For 2019, from the 5th September until 17 September we will be back together again walking the (Wainwrights) Coast to Coast from St Bees in the west to Robin Hood Bay in the east. Around 200 miles.

Recently, the Royston community experienced a great shock when their beautiful Grade 1 Listed church suffered tremendous damage following a fire. My understanding is that the probable cause was related to electrical wiring. I think we all realise that the wiring in many old buildings is itself old and should have been replaced years ago. I am told that this applies to All Saints Melbourn. The matter has come to the fore in recent discussions about the Legacy from the estate of David Piggott.

It is proposed that the current lighting and heaters be replaced using these legacy funds which I feel sure will prove very popular with all members of, and visitors to, the church. The resultant survey shows that, in addition to the cost of the units and associated installation, there is a need to effect an element of rewiring due to its non-suitability.

In addition, following a recent Fire Risk Survey it was established that replacement Fire Extinguishers are required. These will cost £200.

To this end I am proposing that my charity for 2019 will be All Saints Melbourn Church with all monies raised being used to contribute to the costs of these 2 requirements. Would you all consider sponsoring me in my endeavours?

There will be a sponsor sheet on the notice board in the church. There is also a site set up on www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ronald-sutcliffe in the name of All Saints Melbourn.

Many thanks to all who will assist in the preservation of our wonderful village church.

Ron Sutcliffe, ron@thesutcliffes.com, Tel 01763262530.

Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire are looking for Home Visiting Volunteers Can you give a family the most precious gift - your time? Our volunteers are all parents or grandparents who can give a few hours a week to help families who are finding it difficult to cope. All parents need emotional and practical help to get through the first few years, but not everyone has friends or family nearby. This is when Home-Start volunteers can help! For more details contact Sarah or Jackie at: Home-Start Royston & South Cambridgeshire, Unit 6, Valley Farm, Station Road, Meldreth, Royston, Herts, SG8 6JP Tel: 01763 262262 or e-mail admin@hsrsc.org.uk www.hsrsc.org.uk Registered Charity No 1105385

an interview with George Howard

When we talk about SOAS, we are not referring to the School of Oriental and Asian Studies, but to The Supporters Of All Saints Church, Melbourn.

SOAS was the brain child of George Howard, who set his ideas before the PCC as early as 1987, but the idea of seeking help to maintain the historic building which is All Saints Church outside the confines of the congregation was frowned upon. George’s idea was born out of the success of the ASMOF campaign (All Saints Melbourn Organ Fund) when he sought to raise money for the refurbishment of the organ. It was not until George discovered, in 1993, that Holy Trinity in Meldreth had formed the Friends of Holy Trinity without any apparent resistance that he decided to go ahead off his own bat.

Of course, the name ‘Friends of’ had already been taken by our sister church, so George’s idea was to settle for ‘Supporters’. The aim was to reach out to residents who might attend either of the other flourishing churches in the village, or might indeed be sceptics or agnostics. Either way, he was convinced that most people quite liked having a picturesque Norman building as a centrepiece of the village and would be prepared to support the FABRIC of the church rather than what went on inside it. How right he was.

A committee was quickly formed and Charity Commission status was achieved and with his ability to sell ice creams to Eskimos (Innuits doesn’t quite sound the same) SOAS was up and running.

Over the years SOAS has put on concerts both classical and choral, armchair chats with celebrities such as conductor Vilem Tausky and cellist Paul Marion, whist drives, Bingo evenings, games evenings, treasure hunts, many ‘Round the World’ themed suppers, Open Gardens (first done by SOAS) and more quizzes than you could shake a book of raffle tickets at. Taking part in Church Bazaars, whilst other members of the committee put on lavish craft stalls, George sits there selling his fiendish Christmas Quiz which sells for a pound and gives competitors two months to complete. SOAS prizes are notoriously naff, but it is the glory of winning that matters!

SOAS have produced Church coffee mugs, SOAS pens with a deliberate spelling mistake and endless prizes donated by well-wishers and local firms. They haven’t yet produced a T-shirt!

‘The thing which thrills me most’ George told me, ‘is the fact that our supporters come from all denominations and religions and those of no faith at all. All the supporters are united in one thing – a desire to keep a historic building in a safe condition. Mavis and I are frequent visitors to Maastricht, where a regular port of call is a huge church in the city centre which has been turned most sympathetically into a book shop with a coffee bar. The atmosphere is delightful. I would like to think that if, for any reason, the Church of England had to abandon our church for worship purposes, it would still stand there as a fine example of Norman architecture and a reminder of how our ancestors lived, even though the building had been put to more secular use.”

SOAS have, over the years raised over £80,000 which has been spent on the Maintenance of All Saints building and its furniture in accordance with the Charity Commission license – a not inconsiderable achievement. £6,000 was given to the modernisation of the heating system, £3000 towards improving access to the roof for maintenance, £31,000 for restoration of the tower and nearly £8,000 for repairs to plasterwork – an ongoing struggle to keep the building safe. An aging and dwindling congregation can no longer cover these costs.

In 2008 George introduced the 100 Club which has proved very popular, and of course Mavis and Anne Ford started making recycled greetings cards which are still being made today (Jane Stevens is now involved). The cards are on display both in the church (where an honesty bag regularly produces a couple of pounds) and at Coffee Stop where they have a solid core of customers. The Saturday morning Coffee Stop, run by volunteers, is not officially a SOAS function but benefits from its proceeds which are boosted by Jane and Alan Brett’s Bookshelf and Marjorie Shaw’s calendar sales.

George would be the first to admit that he is not getting any younger – in fact at 86 he should be taking a back seat. But SOAS need more people to become involved – the village has grown so much over the past 20/30 years and surely all these newcomers must appreciate the historic centre of the village and champion its conservation? Membership of SOAS is only £5 a year, £7 for a family membership and there is always a discount for members on SOAS events. The 100 Club costs £1 a month for a share in the monthly draw.

If you are interested in joining SOAS, or wish to know a little more about their activities do please get in touch with George (on 260686) – he’s a jovial fellow. Remember, none of the money raised is used for religious purposes – it must all go towards the preservation of the building. SOAS would love to have new members, and new committee members with new ideas to take us forward into this 21st century.