Sunday Services at St. Michael’s
8am Holy Communion (last Sunday 1662) 10.30am Parish Communion 6.30pm Evensong
Sunday Services at Christ the King
9am (1st only) Holy Communion 10.30am (1st only) Family Service – no Communion 10.30am Family Eucharist 6.30pm (3rd) Healing Service
Sunday Services at St. Paul’s
10.30am
Worship together with Holy Communion Children’s groups most weeks.
Sunday Services at Holy Cross
8am (1st & 3rd Sundays) Holy Communion 10.45am Holy Eucharist Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8.30am 9.15am 7.00pm 8.30am 9.30am 10.30am 8.30am 9.30am 12.00pm
Weekday Services
Morning prayer at St. Michael’s Eucharist at St. Michael’s Eucharist at Holy Cross Morning prayer at St. Michael’s Eucharist at Christ the King Eucharist at St. Michael’s Morning prayer at St. Michael’s Eucharist at Holy Cross Eucharist at Holy Cross
The parish online St Michael’s: St Paul’s:
www.stmichaels-church.org.uk www.facebook.com/stmichaelstettenhall saintpaulspendeford.wordpress.com
Holy Cross: holycross.bilbrook.info
Messy Church:
www.facebook.com/messychurchtettenhallregis 2
There is a balm in Gilead The choir will be singing the African American spiritual, “There is a balm in Gilead” at our Palm Sunday evening service. A song that gave courage and hope in the midst of hardness, oppression and daily struggle. Balm of Gilead was a rare perfumed ointment used for healing, coming from balsam plants in the region of Gilead. Jesus was sometimes compared to Jeremiah, who had the unenviable task of prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of its people. During Lent the readings from Jeremiah at Morning Prayer have moved me very deeply because they seem to speak to the situation of so many people in the world today, not least in Syria, suffering the destruction of their lives and even civilisations. The speak into the uncertainty and foreboding of the world at present. Jeremiah wrote, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved. For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored? O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people.” (Jeremiah 8:20ff) Holy Week and Easter brings us face to face with violence and destruction as we journey with Jesus through his Passion. But on Easter night, the desolation and darkness of Good Friday, gives way to light and hope, as the new fire is lit and the flame of the Easter candle, spreads its light to the congregation. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the ultimate source of hope and courage, in the face of the worst that human beings can do to each other. The victim is not defeated. The love and peace of Christ lives on. There is a balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole. Beauty from Ashes, tells us of the witness of St Michael’s Church and its people to the good news of Jesus Christ in the wonderful story of the rebuilding of St Michael’s after its devastation by fire, and the continuity of worship and witness in this place. Do come to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of consecration, 7pm on Thursday 16 April, and invite others. Let us make it a great occasion of thanksgiving and continue the witness of the Church long into the future. Richard Reeve
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Beauty from Ashes A short history of the restoration and rebuilding of St Michael and All Angels, Tettenhall. Christian worship has been celebrated on the site of St. Michael’s church for over a thousand years. The beautiful mediaeval church had long been an inspiration and focal point for the community. It was fondly remembered by those who had moved away and was also much visited by travellers to Tettenhall. The “lamentable destruction“ on the night of February 2/3 1950 was a great shock and source of sorrow and despair. However, led by the vicar, Rev, C. Borrett and his two indefatigable churchwardens, Mr. R. Jenks and Mr. T. James, this was soon turned into determination that St. Michael’s would be restored as soon as possible. Their task was made particularly difficult by two specific problems. Britain was only slowly recovering from the economic constraints of the Second World War – the possibility of raising fifty thousand pounds in such circumstances, seemed impossible. The decade of the 1950s was a period of new modern church architecture (the new Coventry cathedral was opened in the early 1960s);there was a strong desire in Tettenhall for restoration, rather than renewal. The small committee formed to organise the fund raising and the building programme had a formidable task before them. It was achieved in only five years, due not only to the committee, but also to the generosity , hard work and belief of vast numbers of parishioners ,past and present, and hundreds of well-wishers from around Britain and beyond. An official appeal was launched within thirty six hours of the fire beginning and a second by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, a couple of days later. Donations flowed in, all sorts of fund raising efforts took place, but, inevitably, gradually, momentum slackened. At the first anniversary of the outbreak of the fire Mr. Jenks was disappointed that there was still a large shortfall. When tenders were finally opened everyone was horrified to discover how much greater the costs were than they had expected. Nevertheless the committee and the P.C.C., with a great act of faith, accepted Willcocks’ tender and by the end of1955 the whole final total of £96,000 had been paid. The committee’s first minutes declared that “primary aim… is the erection of a new church embodying as far as possible the spirit of the old and the characteristics of it”. Bernard Miller, a Liverpool architect, was entrusted with the task. Quite a bit of the old walls , especially on the north side remained, and the Tower seemed intact. However, the heat of the fire, the amount of water required to extinguish it, and the extensive frost damage to the soft sandstone during two hard winters meant it was not possible to use the existing masonry, but it was incorporated in the core of the 4
walls. The tower was also found to be unsafe and there had to be some support work and some actual rebuilding before the bells could ring out again. At last, in Spring rebuilding began in earnest. During the next three years there were considerable difficulties to be overcome. Government licences for each section had to be obtained, supplies of stone were intermittent, the new damp course was higher than the extant porch, costs inevitably rose, even the granite altar arrived cracked. Arguments arose over the purchase of an organ and the arranging of the east end of the church. Nevertheless there was a determination that only the best materials and workmanship was acceptable. The huge roof trusses were of best quality oak, the most up-to-date form of electric cabling was installed, twenty percent carat gold was used in the decoration of the pews. Yet, finally all was ready. For five years services had not been held in the church. At first, the congregations were happy to accept kind offers from Tettenhall College and Christchurch, Tettenhall Wood, but by November 1950 a wooden building rescued from a disused air force base, was consecrated as a temporary church and this was used continuously until April 1955. However, there was no break in the continuity of worship on the original site. Every Sunday, beginning on that first Sunday after the fire, there was a service held amongst the ruins. At Candlemas and on Mothering Sunday there were special processions and acts of worship. Therefore, it was clear that the rededication of the new church on the old site would be a cause for much rejoicing. On that bright April afternoon, two processions made their way to the new church. One, of local clergy, was led by the bishop of Lichfield, Right Reverend Stretton Reeve and the other was made up of local dignitaries. After seats had been offered to special guests, including all those who had worked on the building, there was nowhere nearly enough for those who wished to attend so a ballot was held and arrangements made for the service to be relayed to those standing outside. The chairman of the local council reported that the service was “a never to be forgotten event”. After the moving liturgy of rededication, the bishop preached on the text “beauty from ashes” – a sentiment with which all could fervently agree. Since that happy day sixty years ago, St Michael’s has continued to play its part in the life of Tettenhall. Changes have been made – a striking stained glass window erected at the east end, the sanctuary wall removed, pews taken from the tower and now , in 2015, new facilities in the north west corner and a new entrance are being built. All these adaptations help to ensure that St Michael’s continues to serve by modern ways but “in the spirit of the old” The unshakable faith of Reverend Borrett, Messrs James and Jenks and all their supporters, that Christian worship should and would continue on the site, in a beautiful building, is a cause for much celebration and an example for the future. Audrey Boliver 5
Bible Class After a number of years reading and discussing the Old Testament Books, we decided to concentrate on the New Testament .The first choice was The Letters of St Paul and since his letter to the Romans is said to be a culmination of his message, we decided to begin with that.
v10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Paul was intending to visit there before travelling on to Spain.
v14 Ask God to bless those who persecute you, yes, to bless, not to curse
Paul was always aware of the Jewish community when he wrote or visited ,although his great ministry was to the Gentiles. He points out to the Jews that their rules about circumcision and dietary laws must not be imposed on Gentile believers, that God’s plan of salvation and righteousness was for all mankind. Justification by faith was the ‘qualification’.
v15 Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep.
The Elder Statesman of our group said that Romans, Chapter 12, verse 9 onwards was, in his opinion one of the most important
messages in the Bible, and he held it dear. We all agreed with him: v9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.
v17 If someone has done you wrong,do not repay him with a wrong v18 Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everyone v20 If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. v21 Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good. Mary Sims
Service to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the consecration of St. Michael & All Angels church 7pm, Thursday 16 April 2015 Preacher: the Rt. Rev’d Chris Foster, Bishop of Portsmouth. There will be a reception afterwards at St. Michael’s School, Lower Street, where parking will also be available. 6
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All across the parish are invited to join in the bi-‐annual St Paul’s Church weekend away!
15th-‐17th May 2015 at Quinta Hall, Weston Rhyn, Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 7LR
The theme for this year is:
Living Differently: Under God’s Direction The weekend away is a chance for everyone to enjoy faith, fellowship and fun in the beautiful Shropshire countryside. Discover a different way to explore Bible stories, encouraging you to think about your own life. We have a relaxed programme, with something for everyone including: • Worship • Time to relax • Peaceful prayer • Games room • Hot chocolate and chat • Campfire and marshmallows • Fun activities for all ages Cost: Adults £40 Children (up to and including school Year 9) £25 3rd or more child £20 For more information about the weekend see Greta, Cathy, Marion or John at St Paul’s or contact Greta on 07927 045 705.
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Three days that changed the world! On Saturday 21st March, Jill and I went to this event at Church Cottage not knowing quite what to expect. The day was led by Jim, Richard, Martin and Cathy. There were over 20 of us there, people from the Encounter Group, the Adult Confirmation Group and us, ‘others’. Fortunately it was a dry, sunny day which enabled us to start the day by re-enacting Palm Sunday outside with palm leaves and singing. We then jumped a few days to Maundy Thursday and were led upstairs to the Upper Room where Jesus (played by Martin) offered to wash our feet (or hands). He then broke bread and we shared it, just as Jesus had done at the Last Supper. A mug of wine (tasting very much like Ribena) was passed around the table as Jesus told us that he was to be betrayed by one of us. This was followed by two practical exercises. In the first one we watched as our flower prayers opened up as they floated on water. The second activity was making a crown of thorns and thinking about the insults that Jesus bore as he was arrested and abused. We soon found ourselves crying ‘Crucify him!’ and Jesus was forced to carry his cross into the back garden of Church Cottage. The nails were enthusiastically driven into the wood by the Encounter soldiers and a sign ‘King of the Jews’ added before He was crucified. His body, represented by a purple cloth, was then respectfully removed from the cross and placed in the tomb. We returned to the comfort of the cottage lounge, only to be disturbed by an excited Cathy who implored us to come and look at the tomb - His body was gone and in its place a Paschal Candle burned. Jesus had Risen! A valuable day. The same story that we all know so well, but this time we were participants in the story. A big thank you to everyone, organisers and my fellow participants for helping me to see this ‘from the inside’. Thank you. Mike Spragg
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Poet’s Corner Writing in Lent The group of creative writers who met for three weeks during Lent would like to share some of our writing with Rock readers.
Ronnie Smart
As we progressed with our sessions, we read the poem ‘Those Who Carry’ by the Polish poet Anna Kamienska where she uses a verse from scripture as her starting point to draw attention to all those who are burdened, neglected, outcasts and how they too will be ‘lifted as a gull’s feather’. Following her example, we used verses from scripture to inspire us:
Our reading and writing reflected the varying moods of this season of study and reflection. At the beginning of our journey through Lent, we studied Pieter Bruegel’s 1559 painting: The Battle Between Carnival and Lent. In the foreground, ‘Lady Lent’ is portrayed as an emaciated nun pulled along by a friar and a pious lay woman. She is the embodiment of order and restraint. We put ourselves in her shoes. Here is a prose poem:
Although you have not seen him, you love him. How? How do I love him? You love the forgotten old, the weirdo misfit, the hungry child, the fearful woman. Although you hatve not seen him, through seeing these you love him.
Lady Lent Who is this? Who is being pulled into the square? It is Frailty. Thin, grubby, unkempt hair poking out from her head covering, sunken eyes and sad face. Looking a§head she can see well fed and well clothed people laughing and enjoying themselves without a care in the world. Behind her, people are subdued and cautious of what is happening in front of them. She is frightened of the jovial crowd, are they frightened of her? She is not sure that she wants to be pulled any further but would rather retreat to where she feels more comfortable. They come to a standstill at the invisible dividing line. She changes her mind. Maybe if she crosses the line she could share with the jovial ones what this time of year means to her and they could tell her what they are celebrating. Could the sharing of experiences see an end to the dividing line?
Eunice Powell
Blessing I see you in black and white, the black trees, the snow. The sky darkens. This is our place, a kind of blessing. The wet window glass frames the trees, a thin slice of moon. You pause by the lychgate where snowdrops seem lit from within. The room folds around me. I hear your key in the door. I light the candles. Susan Fearn
And finally… As well as writing poetry in the creative writing group, we also write short prose: 10
apple as well, but this sometimes meant choosing between it and an extra ride on the motorbike carousel.
To everything there is a Season‌ From the end of September onwards Mum would buy a couple of extra eggs each week and put them into a big metal bucket with a wire basket in it. The bucket was full of isinglass that preserved the eggs for use in the winter when eggs were in short supply and expensive. They were fine in cakes, omelettes and scrambled but not for boiled or fried.
Just occasionally on a really hot Saturday afternoon when Mum was sitting in the garden, I would be sent to the one shop open in the afternoon with a bag and a newspaper –probably the Telegraph, the Gloucester Citizen was too small. I was under strict instructions to wrap the block tightly in the paper. The 3 stripe one was best, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, allegedly; it was unlikely any of those products had ever been near it. Hooray for technology and food laws! We always had Walls; Grandma thought Lyons Maid was common.
Dad, or more likely Grandpa, grew runner beans. These were sliced and packed into those large sweet jars in layers with salt. They were horrid. Hooray for freezers! We ate chicken just twice a year, stuffed and roasted, on Easter Sunday and for some unknown reason August Bank Holiday. It was an expensive meal but a rare and much loved treat.
Sue Randall If you write poems, short-stories or autobiographical pieces, we would love to hear from you: please send your work to The Rock.
Ice cream was also a treat, kept mainly for when away on holiday or the annual Gloucester carnival and fair. It ran for 3 weekends and I was allowed an ice cream each of the Saturdays. Bliss! If I was lucky I managed to get a toffee
Jane Seabourne
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Maundy Thursday – 2nd April 7.30pm
8pm
7.30pm
7pm
Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper with foot washing Maundy Thursday Eucharist & Stripping of the Altar, preceeded by Simple Communal Supper, from 6.30pm Eucharist of the Lord’s Supper, foot washing & watch until midnight Eucharist with foot washing & stripping of the altar
St. Michael’s Christ the King
Holy Cross St. Paul’s
Good Friday – 3rd April 9am
10am 10am 10.30am 12pm
2pm 2pm
Placing of Passion symbols on the Cross outside church Children’s Activities & Family Service Children’s Easter activities, ‘till 12pm Children’s Activities & Family Service Prayers at the Cross at Blakeley Green House & walk of witness to Christ the King Good Friday Liturgy Holy Hour Devotions 12
Christ the King Holy Cross St. Paul’s St. Michael’s Christ the King
St. Michael’s Christ the King
2pm
7.30pm
Holy hour: in the shadow of the Cross Liturgy of Good Friday
St. Paul’s Holy Cross
Easter Night – 4th April 7pm 7.30pm 8.30pm
Easter Eucharist
Blakeley Green House
Easter Vigil & First Eucharist of Easter Lighting of Easter Bonfire and Vigil Service with First Communion of Easter
Holy Cross St. Michael’s
Easter Sunday – 5th April 6.15am
6.15am
8am 8am 10.30am 10.30am 10.30am 10.45am
Sunrise celebration of Holy Communion with lighting of the Easter Bonfire Sunrise service with lighting of Easter fire, followed by breakfast Eucharist with hymns Said Eucharist Sung Festival Eucharist Family Communion Celebration Eucharist Easter celebration Eucharist
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Christ the King
St. Paul’s St. Michael’s Holy Cross St. Michael’s CHrist the King St. Paul’s Holy Cross
The Issue Raised by the Bishops’ Pre-Election letter A Personal view and response. The first area discussed in the bishops’ letter relates to God and the good society. The core theological concepts of creation and its stewardship and the creation of each human person in God’s image are all acknowledged. It is when the letter goes on to develop a notion of communities and common good that I raise my eyebrows. What does this mean? Does any human person ever truly experience the world around them through the filter of a shared community consciousness? The great philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein affirms that “the limit of my world is the limit of my language”. For me there simply is not a shared consciousness, it does not exist and I challenge any person to fully define it. Individuals have consciousness alone, in and of themselves they are simply not uniform. Further from this I contend that the idea of the common good is also without universal meaning simply because the good is different for every single human being in accord with his or her highest value and value is subjective. Our highest values are made actual in our choices and only an action that an individual freely takes can be thought of as moral or having virtue. The Bishops then ask the question who is my neighbour. To which I reply every single other person is my neighbour. I am duty bound to afford identical regard and value to each individual person. Each individual person black, white or whatever faith or none has the identical privilege of being created by God and thus possess the inalienable individual rights. They each embody the tendency to purposeful action and rationality discussed above as being present in the creator. This tends to fall down when people eschew their responsibility for their own lives and the condition thereof and instead choose to blame external factors. Immigrants are in fact essential to the functioning of a modern economy and for us in Britain in particular, a question I ponder repeatedly is how is it that immigrants can overcome great barriers of language to become economically active whilst many of our indigenous populace come from families within which no member has ever held gainful employment? Individual freedom is a gift from God it cannot be subsumed to a community or collective identity black or white, Christian or Muslim or whatever division one chooses. The story of the Good Samaritan in my understanding points to the virtue of using individual freedom without fear or favour to support a less fortunate person out of love. There is no concept of the evil of wealth concentration in fact the Samaritan does not help out with the resources of others, no on the contrary he makes use of his own resources from his own free choice. (Luke 10:29-37) I draw a contrast here with the modern practice of the state to use tax revenue and money borrowed from bond markets, to pay for social programs which have as their intention the achievement of socially desirable ends for example the reduction of poverty. It is borne of a flawed notion that the poverty of one person is predicated by the wealth of another. And in accepting this taking from those who have is justified. I would agree with this only in cases in which wealth is illegitimately gained say through force or political patronage both of which are forms of undue advantage and hence unjust. But such things tend to originate from the abuse and centralisation of power which affords the state collective more and more power over the individual. This action will tend to reduce the incentive 14
for individual economic action that has purpose driven by numerous individuals each specialising in the things they are good at. The result is decisions are taken centrally and the access to the knowledge that resides within millions of heads is lost. Invention and entrepreneurship become dirty words and wealth comes to be derived from who rather than what one knows. This is one of the major logical flaws of socialist thinking and I do believe the Bishops are in danger of conceding it as true. Wealth is produced it is not simply in existence it is the product of specialisation and division of labour allied to the incentives for individual gain. The Bishops then move to discuss the austerity agenda by which they mean the reduction in public spending. The first thing to note here is that this programme of austerity has seen the coalition actually spend almost £3.6 trillion during its five year tenure of which £555 billion have been borrowed from the bond markets. During this period and as testimony to the awful stewardship of taxpayer’s money the national debt not the deficit on every day running of government has continued to grow as a consequence of government continuing to borrow. None of this can be fairly argued to reside with the coalition alone. For 13 years the previous Labour Government enjoyed a period of consumption driven growth built upon private and public debt. Credit was made ridiculously available to fund spending, in effect borrowing from the future. At the same time the production of the UK economy continued to be below what we import, in effect to consume. The bishops also discuss the idea of a living wage yet another term nobody can define as it works from only one side of the economic equation. A living wage to have meaning has to not only confine itself to consideration of income but also of prices we pay for things we must have and desire. Further from this the implementation of such a policy will inevitably reduce opportunities for some to gain skills. Employers will not employ young people with few skills whose productivity is obviously lower in competition with more experienced or older people who can contribute immediately. The final pertinent passage from the letter talks about working together. Neighbourliness and strong voluntary commitments and personal responsibility are valued by the Bishops. But I would point out that the very centralisation of the economy and greater control exercised by government over it has had the direct opposite effect. The notion is now abroad that the government is responsible for all. It is seen as government’s role to invest in things to prop up businesses that are in effect dead in the water simply to maintain employment and social wellbeing. Such an approach is thoroughly bad in that it prevents the liquidation of unproductive business and the growth of more skilled and higher paid jobs. It is fine and proper that we have a system of social insurance to help people through these periods of change but to deny the onward march of technology and invention is self-defeating and will impoverish us all. Moral renewal is not to be advanced by growing the state and taking from the industrious an ever higher proportion of their incomes to be spent by governments. It is to be found in encouraging a self-reliance and a system in which Christian ethics and responsibility for ourselves and others. Martin Bristow 15
Have your say!
This is a preçis of Martin’s response, the full text of which is available to download from http://stmichaels-church.org.uk/therock/MBresponse.pdf In it, Martin acknowledges that his views “are ‘out of step’ with much of the current theology and thinking of many within the Church.” What do you think? Have your say on this issue, or indeed any other issue covered in the magazine, by emailing therock@tettenhallregis.com. The Rock Team
Noah’s Dilemma In the year of our Lord 2007 the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in England, and said, “Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans.” He gave Noah the CAD drawings, saying, “You have six months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” In the year of our Lord 2007 the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in England, and said, “Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans.” He gave Noah the CAD drawings, saying, “You have six months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard – but no Ark. 16
“Noah!” He roared, “I’m about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?” “Forgive me, Lord,” begged Noah, “but things have changed. I needed Building Regulations Approval and I‘ve been arguing with the Fire Brigade about the need for a sprinkler system. “My neighbours claim that I should have obtained Planning Permission for building the Ark in my garden because it is a development of the site, even though in my view it is a temporary structure. “We then had to go to Appeal to the Secretary of State for a decision. “Then the Department for Transport demanded a Bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. “I told them the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. “Getting the wood was another problem. All the decent trees have Tree Preservation Orders on them and we live in a Site of Special Scientific Interest set up in order to protect the Spotted Owl. I tried to convince the Environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls – but no go! “When I started gathering the animals the RSPCA prosecuted me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. “Then the County Council and the Environment Agency ruled that I couldn’t build the Ark until they’d conducted an Environmental Impact Study on your proposed flood. “I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission on how many Disabled Carpenters I’m supposed to hire for my building team. “The Trade Unions say I can’t use my sons. They insist I have to hire only accredited workers with Ark-building experience. “To make matters worse, HMRC seized all my assets, claiming I’m trying to leave the country illegally with Endangered Species. “So, forgive me, Lord, but it will take at least ten years for me to finish this Ark.” Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, “You mean you’re not going to destroy the world?” “No,” said the Lord. “The British Government beat me to it.” Meanwhile, in Heaven, Jesus wept. Submitted by Martin Dye, Source unkown
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Normandy, June 1944 On the 6th March 2015, the four generations (sounds like a pop group), my son-inlaw Richard, my grandson Jonathan, my great-grandson Dylan (now aged nine) and I caught the night ferry from Portsmouth to Caen for our trip to the Normandy Beaches. I say Caen, but in fact, owing to industrial action we were diverted to Cherbourg. We checked in at passport control but as I was classed as disabled, at least, I have a blue card, we shot through to the front of the queue and were parked immediately by the lift which took us to deck 7 and our cabins. The cabins were very pleasant – the trouble was we were not in them for very long. The situation was compounded by the fact that we lost an hour moving to European Time. As a result we only had about five hours sleep. Up at six, five by our time, we disembarked and were soon on the road to Bayeux. The sun rose on a beautiful spring morning and we reached Bayeux shortly after eight looking for breakfast. The only place we could find open at that time was a McDonalds! So we ordered our breakfasts on their touch screen menu. Our first French meal consisted of bacon, egg and cheese butties. We then set off for Arromanches. Arromanches is a pretty seaside town on the Normandy coast and was the scene of much action in June 1944. The invading forces on D day, 6th June 1944, landed on five beaches on the Normandy coast. From West to East they were known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. Utah and Omaha were attacked by the US First Army, Gold and Sword by British troops and Juno by the Canadians. The Americans suffered very heavy casualties on Omaha beach, featured in the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’, but overall the casualties on the first days of the landings were lower than expected. Arromanches was just west of Gold and was quickly overrun on the first day of the landings. It then became the site of the Mulberry Harbour. As early as1942 it became clear that any invading force in Europe would need port facilities to keep it supplied. All the Hannel ports were heavily defended and the Germans were prepared to destroy them rather than let them fall into our hands. Thus the idea of an artificial harbour was conceived. It was constructed of huge concrete blocks which were towed across the Channel and then sunk. They were joined together by heavy steel constructions. The whole, known as a mulberry harbour, was a masterpiece of civil engineering. Two were built, involving over three hundred firms and some forty thousand personnel: one for the Americans at Omaha beach and one for the British Forces opposite Arromanches. The Americans, in fact, did not use theirs as it was destroyed in a storm. They used flat bottom barges, but the one at Arromanches, consisting of a breakwater and three jetties, supplied the British with guns, tanks, lorries, ammunition, food clothing and all the other necessary supplies required by the advancing troops. We could clearly see the remains from where we stood. 18
There are some thirty-nine museums along the Normandy Coast, some of them quite small. We visited two of them on this our first morning. The first was the Musée du débarquement. It is just a few metres from the shore and tells the story of the building of the Mulberry Harbours. It contains some 2000 different items which in the words of the brochure: “encourage visitors to remember and pay tribute to the soldiers from different countries who took part in the landings”. I was most impressed as it was all tastefully and sympathetically done. We then went to the Cinema Circulaire Arromanches 360°. Simultaneously projected onto a nine screens, the 19 minute film tells the story of the100 day Normandy campaign. It showed the terrible suffering endured by civilians in Lower Normandy, 20000 of whom were killed in the advance of the Allied Troops. It was now time for lunch so we sat in the open veranda of one of the many restaurants in Arromanches and had a leisurely meal. We then set out for Bayeux and retired to our hotel which Jonathan had booked. We were all rather tired and did nothing much for the rest of the afternoon. Richard, however, went for a walk round the town. Pleasantly built of stone it is dominated by one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. In the evening we went to a restaurant recommended by our taxi driver. There on the menu I espied something which I adore but had forgotten about as it was so long since I had eaten it. A peppered steak! This I promptly chose, preceded by smoked salmon and followed by an apple ice-cream with Calvados.. Normandy is famous for its apples, cider and calvados. Again a leisurely meal, before returning to our hotel for a well-earned night’s rest. So ended our first day. The following morning, Sunday, we travelled a few kilometres inland to the small village of Rauray. So small, really a hamlet, that even the satnav had never heard of it. In June 1944 Richard`s father, John Hanmer, a regular soldier, was a lieutenant colonel commanding a battalion of the 11th Durham Light Infantry which was part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. The Division landed on Gold Beach a few days after D Day and on the night of the 26/27 June, the 11th DLI were ordered to attack the village of Rauray which was a strategic point on slightly high ground in an extremely flat area of Normandy. The attack was successful and the DLI also fought off a number of counterattacks. .Although the battalion suffered heavy casualties, the civilian population had been evacuated long before D Day. It was then withdrawn to rest near Arromanches. In September Richard`s father was posted to be commanding officer of the 6th DLI. When they returned home in November, he took command of the 4th battalion the Royal Welch Fusiliers and served with them until the end of the war. We next visited the cemetery at Fontenay which is dedicated to the 49th Division. It has a beautiful memorial bearing a carving of a polar bear, the insignia of the Division. There were some 550 graves, of which 500 were British, a few Canadian and some German. I was reminded of our visit to Tyn Cot in Flanders in October 2013 where 19
there are 12000 graves of allied soldiers. We were able to identify a number from the DLI. Incidentally Richard did his national service in the army and was commissioned into his father`s regiment. We then travelled westwards in the direction of Cherbourg and stopped at GrandcampMaisy hoping to find some lunch. We had overlooked the fact that it is a French custom to eat out on Sundays. We eventually found a restaurant with a table outside, and although it was a cold day we gladly took it and enjoyed a good lunch. Most of us had fish which had been caught locally. The town had a thriving fish market. We visited a number of German defensive positions and the final stop was the Normandy Tank Museum. This is the largest of all the museums in the region, containing more than 40 vehicles and 11,000 artefacts, a 5 hectare zone for tank demonstrations and a 3 hectare airstrip. It is the only place offering tank rides in France. We then drove on to Cherbourg to catch the late afternoon ferry. Again a wave of the blue parking card did the trick. Quickly on to the ferry and into comfortable seats which Richard had booked in advance. Apart from a visit to the shop! We remained settled there for the rest of the journey. This time the time change was in our favour, so we landed at about 9.15 BST. A comfortable drive back to London, with much thanks to Jonathan who did all the driving and with infinite patience when we were not sure of the way. We arrived at about 11pm to be greeted by Jonathan`s wife Isobel with a cup of tea, the first for two days, a good night’s sleep and home to Tettenhall by lunchtime on Monday. ‘What did you do in the war Daddy?’ is a question that thankfully is receding into history. But where was I while all this was going on? I was a prisoner of war in Oflag 79, near Brunswick, as it was then called, having been captured in the Dodecanese Islands in November 1943. We had our secret radios so we were able to get the news from home. From the early months of 1944 we knew that the invasion was coming and that it was only a question of where and when. So why not have a little flutter on it? Prominently displayed was a large map showing the European coast from the Spanish Border to the Northern tip of Norway. It was divided into small sections and had the caption “Buy your strip of beach”. Bets were also taken on the month in which it would take place. These were shown on a large chart and it soon became clear that June was the favoured month. We concentrated closely on the progress of the allied armies from D Day onwards as we knew that our ultimate fate depended on their success There is one aspect in which the D Day Beaches differ from the sites of other conflicts. Whether it is Passchendaele, Evesham, Bosworth, and probably Waterloo, though I have never been there, it is difficult to imagine the scene as it was. The landscape will have changed. Where there was rough ground and forests there are now trim 20
cultivated fields and perhaps habitation. Not even the most imaginative guides, pointing out where the opposing armies were and how they moved, were really much help. Not so with the Normandy Beaches. It is so easy to imagine oneself as a German soldier on duty being awakened at dawn to the noise of aircraft overhead and shells crashing around from the heavy naval ships which he could see far out to sea. He would also see the hundreds of assault craft making for the shore and as they beached, doors down and masses of troops, tanks and other armoured vehicles pressing forward towards him. He would have been too far away however, to see or hear The Royal Navy`s fleet destroyers firing on the German defences of Sword Beach in support of the British Army`s attacking forces. My old Cambridge friend Steven Brown, now a Knight of the Realm and a retired Lord Justice of Appeal and President of the Family Division of the High Court, was then a young Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, was serving on one of those fleet destroyers, HMS Scourge. What of great-grandson Dylan. How did he enjoy it? How much did he take in? He certainly wanted to come and he knew more or less what to expect as he had been with us two years earlier to Flanders. He took a great interest in the tanks and other armoured vehicles and was highly contented the entire time. His mother had taken him to the Imperial War Museum the week before which he thoroughly enjoyed. So perhaps he will have memories which will supplement the European History which, I hope, he will be taught at school. So what are my thoughts and impressions after a most enjoyable trip? The others are already asking where we should go next. The scene which keeps intruding into my mind is not one from our trip at all, but one from the BBC reports of the ceremonies marking the seventieth anniversary of D Day which took place in Normandy last year. It was attended by the heads of all the Allied nations. The German Chancellor was also there. It was a flash of a row of flags of all the Allied nations that took part in the Normandy campaign. Pride of place in the middle was the blue and gold starred flag of the European Union. So rarely seen in this country, not even at the last night of the Proms. In 1951 the European Coal and Steel Community was established and consisted of Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. It was first proposed by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman. He declared his aim was to “Make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible. The Community has grown into what it is today, and whether or not it is right for this country to remain a member, I firmly believe it to be an ineluctable fact that the aims of Robert Schuman have been fulfilled and that the existence of the European Union of 28 nations makes war in Western Europe, particularly between France and Germany inconceivable. Bob King
March 2015
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What’s happening in April
Saturday 4 April
Maundy Thursday Services, see pg 12-13 – Good Friday Services & Activites , see pg 12-13 – Easter Night Services, see pg 12-13
Sunday 5 April
Easter Day
Thursday 2 April
Friday 3 April
–
– Services, see pg 12-13
Monday 6 April
Wednesday 8 April
Sunday 12 April
Easter Monday Fair, Holy Cross 7.30pm – Confirmation Rehearsal, St. Michael’s 1pm –
Second Sunday of Easter
6.30pm – Parish Tuesday 14 April Thursday 16 April
Confirmation with Bishop Clive, St. Michael’s 7pm – Eucharist with Annual Meeting, Holy Cross 7pm – 60th Anniversary Service, St. Michael’s 22
Sunday 19 April
Third Sunday of Easter
10.30am – Eucharist
followed by Annual Meeting, St. Michael’s 10.30am – Eucharist followed by Annual Meeting, Christ the King
4-6pm – Messy Church
Sunday 26 April
- New Life, Christ the King
Fourth Sunday of Easter
6.30pm – Annual
Parochial Church Meeting, St. Paul’s
From the Registers Weddings S t. Mic h ael’s
6
David Perks & Jessica Rominger
Funerals C hris t t h e K ing
23
Kath Tain
Bushbu ry C remato riu m
17
Frances Blackham
20
Linda Morris
26 Winifred Dudgon
31 Barbara Taylor
It is a wonderful privilege to share in the special occasion of baptisms and weddings in our churches. If you have photos from the event, we would love to include them in the magazine or on our website. Send them to therock@tettenhallregis.com or share them on our Facebook page.
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Parish Information Parish Office, Church Cottage, Church Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 9AJ tettenhallregis@gmail.com | 01902 751622 The office is open 10am‑12pm Monday-Friday.
Clergy Rev’d. Richard Reeve. . . . . . . . . . . . 742801 Rev’d. Jim Perry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562133 Rev’d. Patrick Bryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689550
Rev’d. Simon Douglas . . . . . . . . . . . 212405 Rev’d. Allen Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765741 Rev’d. Ruth Brooker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399644
Readers Mrs. Stella Salt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764887 Mr. John Vickers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651790 Mrs. Dot Clayton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780920 Mr. Keith Whitehouse. . . . . . . . . . . . 820567
Mr. Peter Rowley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. Christine May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Marcus Woodhouse. . . . . . . . . Mr. Mark Cadwallader . . . . . . . . . . .
Parish Wardens Mr. Cyril Randles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758797
Mrs. Dawn Parsons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822390
St. Michael District Wardens Mrs. Roberta Evans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751444
Mrs. Paula Timmins . . . . . . 07882 512013
751762 397031 759379 846149
Christ the King District Wardens Mr. Ivor Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753960 Mrs. Dawn Corfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753433 St. Paul District Wardens Mr. Eddie Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829040
Mrs. Joan Phillips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785844
Holy Cross District Wardens Mr. Mark Cadwallader . . . . . . . . . . . 846149
Mrs. Carol Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844461
Magazine Contacts
St. Paul’s
Mrs. Sue Ellick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578822
Christ the King
Mr. Martin Bristow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833411
St. Michael’s
Subscription & Distribution
currently vacant Mrs. Elaine Dovydatis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757775
The May edition of the Rock will be available on Sunday 3rd May. All contributions by Monday 27th April to therock@tettenhallregis.com or the Parish Office. The views and opinions in the magazine are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the clergy, editor or PCC. The electronic version of the magazine is sent via email 10 times a year, at no cost. To subscribe go to: http://stmichaels-church.org.uk/rock/ A paper copy is available, costing £3 a year for 10 copies. Speak to one of the contacts.