TRINITY
The magazine of Holy Trinity Parish Church, Sutton Coldfield Nov / Dec 2018— 2018—60p
In Remembrance Giant poppies and soldier silhouettes, on display in Vesey Memorial Gardens
Remembering Brenda Moore A long standing member of Holy Trinity See page 25
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From the Editors ...
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Trinity
Contents:-
In this festive edition we share news of our Christmas celebrations (page 5) including the forthcoming ‘Church by Candlelight’ evenings (page 23) where you can enjoy the Church as in former centuries.
John Routh writes
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Through a glass darkly
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Youth matters
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Heritage open day
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Vote for Holy Trinity
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We also look back at our successful Heritage Open Day (pages 8-10) where we welcomed 376 people through the door—a 63% increase in visitor numbers, when compared to the previous year’s event! See the back page for some colourful picture highlights!
Highlights from the PCC meeting
On the subject of pictures, this edition’s front page was taken by Louise Jackson / Under a Pewter Sky Photography. It is one of many pictures she has taken for our 2019 calendar, which is available for sale for just £5.00. See page 27 for more information on our ‘new’ Christmas shop, which also includes a range of branded goods we hope you will want to buy for friends and family.
Financial corner
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Friend’s celebrations
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From the registers
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Giving to church
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Church by candlelight
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Remembering Emma Borg
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Remembering Brenda Moore
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Bible verse
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NEW Christmas shop
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Editorial team
Stella 329 2101 s_thebridge@yahoo.com Louise 240 6366
May God’s blessings be with you louisejharden@hotmail.com this Christmas. Johanna 07788910059
Johanna
Johanna.paul@hotmail.co.uk
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John Routh writes December—a beginning not an end Oftentimes people look upon December as the tail-end of the year. Spring and Summer are long past, the golden leaves of Autumn have fallen, and we’re heading for the depths of winter. It’s a time of cold, and maybe snow; a time to stay tucked up in warm heated houses. Christmas Day then, just a week before the end, becomes a last fling, a frantic attempt to bring joy into the dying embers of the year by throwing parties and showering each other with gifts. In the church, or at least in the lectionary of bible readings we follow, it’s different. December isn’t the end at all – it’s the beginning. We spend November in a time of sombre reflection as we mark the Commemoration of the Departed at All Souls or All Saints, and Remembrance Sunday. But December, by contrast, is the moment when our spirits rise. The cold is but a minor matter as we start to focus on the ultimate new beginning: the Birth of Christ. December is a time when a faith-based excitement rises. We decorate the church, of course. We fill it with trees, and lights and decorations of all kinds – but not in a flurry of partying whilst we’re able, rather in a mood of anticipation of that great new beginning. As the month unfolds our services focus on stories of expectation that a Messiah will be born to lead us to redemption. Stories of how the Christ will fulfil the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets, and of the hopes of the Baptist and of Mary. And then we celebrate! Of course we will all give presents this Christmas, and we will enjoy parties with our friends and family. And so we should. But if we want to give a real present, we should invite our friends and family along to share in a real party, our church family’s celebration of a new year, a new beginning when we revel in genuine joy at what God has done!
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John
Christmas celebrations As well as our regular services, why not bring a friend to one of our Advent/ Christmas ‘specials’:
Sun 2nd Dec 4.00pm — Christingle
Not just for children, but for ‘children’ of all ages!
Sun 9th Dec 10.00am — Toy Service
Bring a new toy as a gift to share your joy with a child/teenager in greater need
Sun 16th Dec 6.30pm — Lessons & Carols
Sing carols as we hear the story told from the Garden of Eden, through to the birth of Christ (and join us for mulled wine & mince pies afterwards!)
Mon 24th Dec 3.30pm — Crib Service
An informal celebration for children and their families
Mon 24th Dec 11.30pm — Midnight Communion
Mark the start of Christmas Day as the clock ticks past midnight
Tue 25th Dec 10.00am — Communion
The whole church family joins in celebration Book the dates in your diary – we hope to see you there.
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THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY - PRAYING FEARLESSLY One of my favourite songs when I was a little girl was the one by A.A.Milne about Christopher Robin saying his prayers. It recalled the way I was taught to say prayers at bedtime and many of you may have similar memories. When I read the lessons for Advent and Christmas I was struck by the loving way in which Jesus tried to prepare his friends for future events. They understood little of what he was telling them and this must have been very frightening. However, he was also emphasising that they could come to God as little children to a parent. They were not barred by ritual and ceremony nor did they require the intervention of High Priests. We take this rather for granted. The instinct to appeal directly to God is deeply embedded in most of us. It does not occur to us that only certain people can intercede for us. We know that we sometimes do wrong and that we are not worthy of ourselves to approach God but that Jesus made that way open for us by paying the price that we should be paying. The call to repentance that rings through Advent is not an admonition to earn admission. It is a call to recognise what God did for us in Jesus and to make an attempt, with his help, to remake ourselves as a gift of love to him.
Jean Schneider Page
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Youth Matters One day over the summer I popped outside the back door out in to the garden and when I turned to come back in I was stopped dead in my tracks by a Very Large Spider sat in the middle of the path. Being of a nervous disposition where spiders are concerned I was very scared!!! I did not know what to do. I had my phone so I took some photos of it and then tried to look at pictures of spiders online to see if it was poisonous or not. I could not find anything resembling it and meanwhile the VLS was sat looking at me, ready to pounce at any moment. My cat was very interested but I would not let her go near it, fearing she would be bitten. I decided to phone a friend, a neighbour in the block to see what she thought. Unfortunately she was out so unable to assist me. I needed a plan! I decided that I could not walk past the VLS to get back inside so I went all the way round the block and in through the main front door where I then was able to knock on another neighbour’s door. I asked her if she knew anything about spiders. She replied she did not know very much but would help as best she could. “Is it the one outside on the path?” She asked. “Yes!” I said. “Isn’t it plastic? “ She said. Silence from me as the reality dawned on me. The VLS was indeed plastic, placed there by a child! I felt quite foolish, although I had been so scared that I was still shaking. I can laugh now but at the time it was not at all funny! There’s a lot of things that we can be too scared to give a go, but the reality might be a lot easier than we think so, with God to hold our hand, let us not be too scared to try.
Susie Walker—Youth Work Coordinator
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A regiment of extraordinary women Heritage Open Day 2018
We had a very successful Heritage Open Day on Saturday 15th September, when we celebrated the national theme of “Extraordinary Women” in line with the centenary of women’s suffrage. We chose to celebrate the lives of remarkable women in Sutton Coldfield from the Victorian and suffragette eras and we also celebrated talented living women who are creative in embroidery, quilting, spinning and weaving. So we looked at Rhoda Anstey, the founder of Anstey College on the Chester Road who resisted paying taxes until the suffrage Bill was put before Parliament. She also refused to complete the 1911 census return for herself or her (female) college students. Mandy and Pyn from Secret City Arts led activities helping us to learn more about what happened locally both for and against women’s suffrage and exploring views about equality today. We also looked at two members of our church who wrote about the history of Sutton Coldfield – Agnes Bracken and Sarah Holbeche. Janet Jordan and Jan Lillywhite from Sutton Coldfield Local History Research Group were on hand all day to give more information on these pioneers and other suffragette activity in Sutton. Finally we created a photographic studio to commemorate the work of art photographer Emma Barton who lived in Hartopp Road and whose pictures appeared in national publications. There are blue plaques both to Agnes Bracken and Emma Barton where they lived in Sutton.
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On the Open Day, visitors dressed up in our range of costumes and took their own photos in the ‘studio’. Brian Dixon made a credible ‘mock’ box camera and a lot of laughter was had. There was even a photo of Bishop Vesey and of our MP, Andrew Mitchell. For some reason the knitted chain mail was the most popular of all our costumes – with children and adults alike! We are grateful to the Mayor of Sutton Coldfield, Cllr Derek Griffin who opened the day and to ‘Henry VIII’ and ‘Bishop Vesey’ who were on hand to help. In the Trinity Centre were some amazing examples of quilting, fine sewing and weaving and spinning. We are very grateful to the groups who came to demonstrate their work. In church we enjoyed learning from Ann Howden about the specialist embroidery techniques she used to create our pulpit frontal, and from Pauline Barnes and team who created our beautiful new kneeler cushions for the communion step to the dais. Younger children did a mouse trail in church and made stained glass windows and mediaeval helmets and hats in the Centre. This year we welcomed 376 visitors compared with 230 in 2017. The aim of the day was not to make money but to enable people to see our building. However, we did also take over £900 from sales, particularly of refreshments and the ever-popular trips up the church tower! This enabled us to give £100 each to our chosen charities for the year – Mission Aviation Fellowship and Acorns Children’s Hospice. The outlay for publicity and the like is covered by the current HLF funding. We are immensely grateful to the many church members and heritage stewards who prepared activities, sewed costumes and helped on the day – some 40 in total.
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Other project news . . . Our project will come to an end in January when the funding is spent, but the aim is for the processes set up, particularly the stewarding and open sessions, to remain and grow. We will also have the legacy of our wonderful new website – do take a look if you have not already done so – and a number of publications drawing together our long and complicated church history so that this is preserved for future generations. We continue to welcome visitors – but we are delighted to see congregation members popping in to have a cup of tea or coffee with us too on Wed and Thurs lunchtimes (12-2) and once a month on a Saturday (10-12). Do take us in on your way home from shopping! Also, if you know of a group that would like a tour - whether a school or community group of any kind, do please enquire via the heritage email which will also remain in place after the end of the project for any queries relating to this area of the church’s work and mission. Church website: www.htsc.org.uk / Email: heritage@htsc.org.uk
Stella Thebridge, Project Co-ordinator
Vote for Holy Trinity’s Youth Work We are currently applying for various grants so that we can fund an increase in the number of hours we employ a Youth Worker from 15 to 30 hours per week from April 2019, but we need everyone’s help. This will help us do more with Children and Young People in our congregation and wider local community such as developing our youth groups, JCYG and CYG. Aviva run the Aviva Community Fund, which is a competition to receive funding. We need everyone, including your friends and family, to vote for our project in order to get to the judging stage of the competition. To vote, please visit https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/ voting/campaign/getinvolved, create an account, find our page and cast your votes (you get 10 votes per person). Voting is open until the 20th November. Every vote will count so ‘Thank You’ We’ll keep you updated on our progress! Phil, Tanya, Mike and John Page
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ADVERT
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Margaret’s Memories from the September 2018 PCC Meeting The 10 year vision will be updated in the light of the completion of the re-ordering work. Charitable grants are being sought to fund a possible Youth and Children/ Family Worker co-ordinator . John is in discussion with the diocese over perhaps taking a full-time curate from July 2019. Although current finances are keeping up with budget, we need to remember that the budget is for a deficit. There is no room for complacency, as we need to get back to break even as soon as possible. The 2019 budget was presented. We are asking for a giving increase of at least 5%. But would encourage even greater generosity ... to break even on the main account (excluding the Trinity Centre) we need, for example, an increase in giving of 11%. Our new Data Protection policy is now in place. The working group is currently put into place the required practical changes. Karen Wright has agreed to be our Data Protection Officer, and Paul Medlicott has agreed to take on the role H&S Officer. Our thanks to them both. The Heritage Open Day had been a great success, with more visitors than last year. We are able to donate £100 to each of our chosen charities for this year – MAF and Acorns. Various items are now available to purchase including calendars, Christmas cards, pens, key rings, mugs, bags and pens. Charity Christmas cards will be sold in the Trinity Centre from 27th October. The heritage section of the church website now includes various interactive elements and all are encouraged to explore! Reports were received from the various committees, working groups and inter-church committees. Following the 2019 APCM there will be a review of these groups and their membership, to ensure all are adequately ‘staffed’. Plans for various services and social events were noted. Details can be found elsewhere in this publication, on the website, on Facebook or in the weekly notices. The next PCC meeting will be held on the 13th December.
Margaret Le Brocq, PCC Secretary, October 2018 Page
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ADVERT
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FREE CHARITY ANTIQUE VALUATION DAYS IN SUTTON COLDFIELD
at St Chad’s Church, Hollyfield Road, Sutton Coldfield B75 7SN
***Tuesday 10th July 10am – 1pm*** Tuesday 14th August 10am – 1pm *Tuesday 11th September 10am – 3pm* **Tuesday 9th October 10am – 1pm** Tuesday 13th November 10am – 1pm Tuesday 11th December 10am – 1pm Also attending
**Kate Bliss - Jewellery and Silver** *Don Collins – Coins and Medals* ***Jim Spencer – Books and Works on Paper*** Bring along your Antiques, Jewellery, Gold, Silver, Pictures, Coins, Medals, Books and Collectables Items may be left for inclusion into a forthcoming Hansons auction Free Home Visits for large/bulky items and house clearance For more information telephone Carol Jones, Area Manager on 07802 839915 www.hansonsauctioneers.co.uk Hansons Auctioneers & Valuers, The Auction Centre, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire DE65 6LS. Regulated by RICS Donations in aid of St Giles Hospice Refreshments available in aid of St Chad’s Church 15
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Mike’s Financial Corner (A series of short financial articles by Mike Somers) The poorer you are, the more you have to pay! Modern life and the mass consumption society depends upon us buyingand often borrowing to do so. The old adage of making sure that your spending was at least 1 penny less than your income seems long gone! But we have credit to fill the gap! On balance the age of credit has worked fairly well. But the problem is that the poorer you are the more you get ripped off! Housing is a problem, but once you're in there then mortgage rates are tiny (but it has not always been so!) It has never been cheaper to eat well, dress fashionably, drive a car and fly the world. The majority of people are fine or maybe even comfortably off! And it is the comfortable who get the bargains. Most financial arrangements favour people with a margin of money or credit to spare. Stay above the poverty line and you can do bulk buying, get prompt payment discounts, get on-line savings, and avoid costly interest charges. So if you spend a bit you can save a lot. You can buy things at their real prices rather than on rent-to-buy deals. You don't need to buy the cheapest things that don't last or work properly. Whereas if you're poor everything conspires to keep you that way! You pay rent and can’t plan because you live hand to mouth. You may have to buy essentials at the more expensive corner shop, and in the smallest quantities which are the worst value for money. One bad decision or piece of bad luck may capsize you. So when you need to buy furniture or white goods you are forced to use a say £5 a week credit deal, where you end up being tendered for years and in the end paying three times its real price, with penalties for early repayment, even if you do get a lottery windfall!
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So you are in debt. And slipped down the credit rating table. Your comfortable neighbours have a good credit rating, so they can roll any awkward debts onto a bank loan at say 3% interest. But with your poor credit rating you have to go elsewhere, often to a payday loan company. So you can have a short term loan at say 1000% APR, or much more! Fine, that's a quick fix. But when you cannot meet the payments, the debt keeps rising and you need to take out another loan to help meet that. And so on and you may never get to pay it off at all! Credit is a tonic for some, but poison for others. Those struggling are further impoverished by extortionate loans and rip-off repayments! So being poor is an expensive luxury you cannot afford!!
Mike
____________________________________________ Friend’s Celebrations On Sunday 23rd September we celebrated five years of The Friends of Holy Trinity with a special service of thanksgiving. The event was a great opportunity to recognise the £50,000 that has been raised to date and the 30 concerts and events that have been completed since its foundation. Here’s some more ‘Friends Facts’ from the last five years that you might not be aware of: 60 hours of performance time 3,601 tickets sold 3,050 volunteer hours 59 members, including 7 lifetime members 1,633 glasses of wine sold To find out more about the exciting concerts and events we have planned for 2018/19 visit Pagewww.htsc.org.uk
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If you would like to
ADVERTISE in this space …... Please contact: Holy Trinity Parish Office, The Trinity Centre Church Hill, Off Mill Street, Sutton Coldfield B72 1TF Tel: 0121 321 1144 Fax: 0121 321 1199 Email: admin@htsc.org.uk
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FROM THE REGISTERS ... Baptisms 19th August Daisy-May Anastasia Nicholls Cameron Lewis Jones 16th September Theodore Richard Arthur Ham Luca Paul Isaac Chattin
We welcome these children into new life with God, as part of our church family
Marriages We wish these couples every blessing in their future together 18th August - Darren Cridge & Dawnn Mercer 25th August - Jordan Wood & Sarah Fleming 1st September - Luke Bradley & Steph Evans 6th October - Adam Langley & Laura Buckley
Funerals We remember all who have died and ask for God’s comfort to sustain all who are bereaved 6th September - Peter Raymond Mann 17th September - Brenda Miriam Moore 16th October - Angela Jane Jones
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Giving to Church When I was a young fellow the popular perception was that the Church of England was very wealthy, with no financial worries, and our giving to church was little more than a token. Since then there has been a great deal of change though that misconception about the church’s finances seems to persist to a large extent. It is true to say that the church does own a large number of very large and beautiful buildings but the upkeep of these carries a significant cost. At Holy Trinity we have been fortunate as the Friends over the last 5 years have raised a very useful amount specifically to cover building maintenance. That, however is only one element of our outgoings and the day to day running costs are by far our greatest concern. In common with most households and business our out goings have seen a steady increase over the years despite the efforts made to contain them. At the same time, sadly, we have seen a decline in the size of our congregation and hence a smaller number of those giving regularly. Later this month we shall arrive at that time of the year when we are all asked to consider again our planned giving to our church over the next twelve months and this is becoming ever more important, for as things stand, we face the prospect of an increasing deficit. So when thinking about our giving we should each be asking ourselves is this a reasonable contribution, first and foremost in the light of our individual financial circumstances but also bearing in mind the precarious state of our church finances. We can say and believe that God will provide but let us not lose sight of the fact that God expects us to do our bit as well.
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Bob Dyke
Church by Candlelight December 10th—14th: 5.00pm—7.00pm Create a Christmas memory like no other and come and experience Holy Trinity as in former centuries. Visitors will be treated to a unique look of this magnificent building as it is illuminated by candlelight. You can also enjoy a glass of mulled wine as you take in the beauty of Holy Trinity.
___________________________________________ - NEW Shop We are delighted to be hosting the Charity card shop for Sutton Coldfield organised by “Cards for good causes” [https://www.cardsforcharity.co.uk/] The stall will offer cards and a range of high quality gifts, all in aid of national charities. This is a first for us and enables us not only to receive 10% of all the sales in aid of these charities, but also to sell all our own goods alongside, with the takings for these come entirely to us. This also means we can sell our own goods to a much wider public.
Opening times The stall will be in the Trinity Centre 10am – 2pm each day that it is open, launching on Sat 27th October. It will then open Monday to Saturday at these times until Sat 8th Dec. From Monday 10th it will move to the church entrance where it will be open during the “Church by candlelight” sessions only, which will run each evening Mon 10th to Fri 14th Dec from 5pm to 7pm. There will be a final open session on Sat 15th Dec 10am-2pm and after the carol service on Sun 16th. The congregation can buy after church on a Sunday and by arrangement at other times. Similarly, many groups meeting in the Trinity Centre can be offered the chance to buy from the stall even if it is not an official public opening time (though this will be subject to capacity of staff in the Centre). We are also hoping to sell our goods online from our website.
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Remembering Emma Borg In this edition we shine a heartfelt spotlight on Acacia Family Support, following the sad passing of its founder, Emma Borg on September 7th. A true visionary, she helped set up Acacia in 2004 to provide much needed support to mums suffering from pre and post natal depression (PND). Since then the service has grown to help mums through a range of free initiatives including befriending sessions, telephone support, massage therapy, group therapy and practical support at home. Writing on www.acacia.org.uk the Acacia Team share these special words: “Emma’s legacy will go on inspiring us and acting as a beacon to light the
way for Acacia to continue and grow ever nearer to Emma’s goal: a world where no women has to experience postnatal depression..”
Brenda Moore: 5th April 1927 - 31st August 2018 We were sorry to learn of Brenda’s death at the age of 91. She had lived all her life in Sutton Coldfield and for many years ran a cycle shop with her husband Ken in the Parade. She had four children, eight grand-children and eight great-grandchildren. She loved the Park and there were many family picnics there and swimming trips. She was a long-standing member of Holy Trinity, attending the Thursday communion service as well as Sunday 10am services until just short of her ninetieth birthday. She enjoyed social occasions and concerts, sometimes joining minibus trips to Symphony Hall and out of town concerts. She was a good friend to many in the church. She drove her Mini until her eighties, often supporting nondriving friends with lifts. Some twenty members of the congregation attended her funeral at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium on Monday 17th September. Brenda will be missed at Holy Trinity, and we give thanks for her life of faith.
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Trinity NEW Arrangements for 2019 From 2019, the new cost per issue will be £1.00, and an annual subscription £5.00, or with postage £10.00. If you are a casual reader who would like to subscribe regularly or advertise, or if you have any other queries relating to the magazine, please contact the Trinity Centre in the first instance on 321 1144 or admin@htsc.org.uk Cover date
Copy deadline
Publication date
Jan/Feb 2019
25th November
16th December
Mar/Apr 2019
3rd February
24th February
May/Jun 2019
7th April
21st April
Jul/Aug 2019
26th May
16th June
Sep/Oct 2019
4th August
18th August
Nov/Dec 2019
6th October
27th October
Please submit material for the next issue by the deadline above to: Stella Thebridge email: s_thebridge@yahoo.com Written text: Please leave in the “Magazine” pigeon-hole in church OR in the Trinity Centre office. Contributions on any topic or photographs are always welcome. A page contains about 400 words.
Bible verse for this issue Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 Page 26
NEW Holy Trinity Christmas Shop We have a lovely and increasing range of branded goods we hope you will want to buy for Christmas.
Christmas cards - 3 designs; in packs with 10 each of the same design for £3-50 (2 new designs this year)
Calendars for 2019 with appointments space and pictures at the foot which can be used as postcards at the end of the year. These are beautiful views of different aspects of our church, grounds and Trinity Centre. A must at £5 each or 5 for £20 (that’s only £4 each!)
Keyrings with a torch - £2 each
Light cotton shoulder shopping bags - £3 each
Mugs - £5
Ballpoint pens - £1 each or 5 for £4 Read more on page 23 . . .
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Highlights from the Heritage PageOpen Day See pages 8-10 for more information