IN TOUCH NOVEMBER 2021 - The Parish Magazine of the Hanley Team Ministry
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IN TOUCH
The Parish Magazine of the
Hanley Team Ministry
NOVEMBER 2021
Rev. Phillip (01782) phillip.e.jones@
Team Rector
Jones 922540 talktalk.net
“The house was very quiet, and the fog—we are in November now—pressed against the windows like an excluded ghost.” E.M. Forster, Howards End At November’s beginning we remember people we have known and loved who have died. As the month progresses, remembrance retains its focus. Many will have memories of All Souls’ Day, of lighting candles and saying quiet prayers in memory of friends and family members; and of times standing around a cenotaph on Remembrance Day, stoically bearing the bitter cold huddled alongside others whose grief spans the years. The Queen once said that grief is the price we pay for love. This month, we have the first of a two-part, poignant piece about lessons learned from grief from Tony Horsfall, whose wife died of cancer last year. On the brighter side, the magazine opens with an introduction from Pioneer Missioner, Catherine Matlock (whom one parishioner has been heard to call Pie and Peas Missioner – well, this is Stoke). We also have photographs of the collation of The Ven. Dr. Megan Smith as the new Archdeacon of Stoke. We are urged to consider tree planting by the Tree Council in National Tree Week at the end of this month. Brenda Hughes from St. Matthew’s Church takes us down memory lane with an old school photograph. There is much more of interest, too: information; humour; our usual features; and the face of our Parish Treasurer, Angus, hides within – see if you can spot him. I hope you enjoy November’s issue In Touch Editor Graham Foxley 07707011628 mgtfoxley@live.co.uk 2
PIONEERING SPIRIT
CATHERINE MATLOCK INTRODUCES HERSELF
Hello, you lovely people of Hanley!
As we get to know each other, I thought you’d find it
helpful to have some background on my life before
Stoke-on-Trent. In a future edition I can let you know what a Pioneer
Missioner is doing here!
I grew up in Heswall, Wirral, but haven’t lived in the north-west since I
was eighteen and left to study psychology at University of York.
I then worked in the recruitment industry in London and Jersey before
moving to Devon in 1996. After training in counselling, I took up a
community development role in a local charity, working alongside
people with physical and sensory disability and deaf people with sign
language. Seven years later, the charity had grown and so had my faith,
and in 2006 I resigned as Chief Executive Officer, hopeful of becoming
a missionary in Asia or Africa.
Although nurtured with Christian values, I didn’t attend church until I
was thirty. After a few years in the parish of Budleigh Salterton, I was
encouraged to attend Exeter Vineyard and became a regular
participant in New Wine and other charismatic expressions of worship.
At forty, the inspiration to leave all that was familiar began a six-and-a-
half-year faith journey through Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in
Hawaii and Asia, a preaching/prayer ministry in New Zealand,
Australia, Central and South-East Asia; volunteering with a non-
government organisation (NGO) in Cambodia; teaching English in
Thailand and working alongside abused women and children in a
multi-faith NGO in India. Evangelical beginnings developed into a more
contemplative expression of Christian faith.
3
Drawn back to the UK at the end of 2012, my Dad’s vicar asked me the
craziest question: had I considered being ordained? Obedience to the
possibility began a three-year discernment process during which I
wrestled with a vocation to parish ministry, whilst friends and church
representatives urged me on.
Studying for an MA in Theology at Exeter University allowed time for
reflection, prayer and retreat and, still somewhat ‘kicking and
screaming’, I was accepted for ordination training at Queens
Foundation, Birmingham in 2016.
Theological college led to the miracle of a fifty-two-year-old woman
being offered the role of Pioneer Curate in Kings Norton, South
Birmingham, where I had the privilege of being alongside communities
in Druids Heath Estate. I’ve experienced the tender, transformative
work of the Holy Spirit within a local café, public park and tower block
as much as within church walls.
And here I am in Stoke, priest and pioneer discovering how the
gracious, glorious love of Christ will enable us to work together in
opening up spaces for the Kingdom of God to flourish, encouraging
local communities to explore the depths of their human and spiritual
potential.
None of us know where this adventure will lead, but I’d love you to join
me on the journey
Catherine
-----------------------------------------
OR ?
4
WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE HAS DIED
Tony Horsfall
Since my wife passed away in July 2020, I have often been asked,
“What are you learning from your grief journey?” Here are a few
standout lessons:
Grief takes longer than you think to work itself through, and it can’t be
rushed. It is a journey you must take slowly.
When you lose your spouse, you lose not only the person you loved,
but the person who loved you. This second loss leaves a hole in your
heart, making you very vulnerable to new relationships.
You will need to re-discover your identity as God’s deeply loved child
in this season of your life, as if you had never known it before.
God can be trusted to help you rebuild your life, but trust may not
come easily. It is better to focus on God’s trustworthiness than on your
ability to trust, which may be shaky.
Your experience of grief and your response to loss is unique and
personal, so don’t compare your journey to that of others.
Good friends can make the journey so much easier. Be prepared to ask
for help.
You will be ambushed by grief. Some things will take you by surprise,
especially the little things.
5
The loss of a spouse will leave you feeling very lonely, even when you are surrounded by family and friends. This is not a weakness, just a sign of what you have lost. Loneliness is not a mental illness, just a natural response to being bereaved, and it will get better. Moving forward is not a sign that you didn’t care, but that there is still a life to be lived and not wasted. Tony Horsfall lost his wife last year to cancer. He was a missionary in East Malaysia and former retreat leader based in West Yorkshire. This is part one of a two-part series. 6
THE WITNESS OF PARISH MAGAZINES
‘Church magazines can have a regular, common Christian witness
in our communities, sharing our Christian hope in the grace and
love of God, through Jesus Christ. Our communities surely need to
hear this message, and if we don’t share it with them, who will?’
[Parish Pump]
According to some historians, the first-ever church magazine was
produced in Derby in 1859, shortly after the tax on newspapers was
abolished. There had been other religious magazines before this, but
they had circulated on a national scale. It took John Erksine Clarke,
vicar of a poor parish in Derby, to come up with the idea of producing a
local church magazine. That may not seem like much now, but in the
early days those magazines were some of the very few pieces of print
that many homes would see and they were often read aloud, as the
family sat around the fire.
Just think of that happening now! Still, a lingering ambition is to have
the resources to produce sufficient copies to keep volunteers busy
posting them through every door, to have them stacked in shops and at
the ‘bus station, and to have an audio version for the visually impaired.
People still like hard copy, even though they may receive online
versions, too. Any chance of a budget increase, Angus?
‘It’s perhaps not the most
dynamic of mission
statements but at least it
received the unanimous
approval of the church
council’
7
LAST OF THE LOVE LINES
After 14 years, Rev. Ian Gregory, known locally as The Polite Vicar, has
produced the last of his series of magazines that he called ‘LoveLines’.
The good news is that Ian is moving on to produce ‘a new series of
brieflets on aspects of liberal Christianity.’
In his final issue, Ian tells the story of a Salvation Army officer,
preacher and singer named ‘Gipsy’ Rodney Smith, who was born in a
tent in 1860. He was self-taught and became a great preacher. He also
had a fine singing voice. After joining the ranks of the Salvation
Army, he was asked where they should send him; taking his lead
from the book of Revelation, he said ‘to the nearest place to the
bottomless pit into which Satan was thrown.’ When he reached his
destination, he knew from the pit fires, the smell of sulphur, and the
smoke, that he had arrived. Yes, they had sent him to Stoke!
Thank you, Ian, for all your LoveLines, your forthright views and
challenging opinions. Good luck with the leaflets. God bless you.
Helping Hands
Caring since 1989
Join our team!
We are looking for compassionate and
dedicated people to join our team of carers.
• No experience necessary • Ongoing support
• Flexible work patterns • Competitive rates of pay
Visit our website to apply: Call us on:
helpinghands.co.uk/jobs 01782 968 595
8
CLASS OF 1950/51
GROVE SCHOOL, NORTHWOOD
[get out your magnifying glass]
Brenda Hughes from St. Matthew’s Church, Birches Head, has been
rummaging through old photographs. She found this one of her
school class sitting with their Teacher, Mr. Key, when they were aged
13 or 14. If you know Brenda, see if you can spot her. Amongst the
others pictured here, Brenda remembers Dorothy Hemmings,
Glyn Rutter, Jimmy Palmer, Grace Stevenson, Myra Ball, Cybil Newman,
Kathleen Bowler, Margaret Chawner and Jean Lomas.
School buildings appear not to have changed much until recent years,
but fashion certainly has moved on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parade for Remembrance Service – local newspapers advertising
church services don’t always get it quite right – such as the one that,
instead of announcing there would be a parade of uniformed
organisations, stated that there was to be a parade of uninformed
organists.
9
A NEW ARCHDEACON FOR STOKE
The Ven. Dr. Megan Smith was
collated as the new Archdeacon
of Stoke at Stoke Minster
on Sunday, 3 October.
Pictured left with Megan are
Bishops Michael and Matthew
along with the Rev’d.
Prebendary Terry Bloor
(Assistant Archdeacon).
Pictured: Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave (Bishop of Lichfield),
The Ven. Dr. Megan Smith (Archdeacon of Stoke-upon-Trent),
Mrs Sanda Friend, Mr James Friend DL (High Sheriff),
Cllr Dr Chandra Kanneganti (Lord Mayor of Stoke),
Mrs Sai Kanneganti (Lady Mayoress), Revd Preb Terry Bloor
(Assistant Archdeacon of Stoke upon-Trent), and
Rt Revd Matthew Parker (Bishop of Stafford).
10AROUND & ABOUT THE HANLEY TEAM
Coffee anyone?
>>
At Christ Church, Cobridge, the Tuesday Lunch Club and Wednesday
Drop-In Sessions have re-started
Generating Support for Cancer Research
Margaret Bromage from St. Luke’s Church
completed the Race for Life around
Trentham Gardens on 16 October, with
daughter Sally and granddaughter Jenna,
raising £350
11CHURCH OF ENGLAND CHILDREN’S SOCIETY
St. Matthew’s Church has sent £235 recently and would like to thank
all who contributed.
BIRCHES HEAD GET GROWING: POTTER & NATTER GROUP
Our resident associations’ local authority contact, Linda Davies, has
written to inform of a new gardening club that has started at The Bridge
Centre. It is called ‘Birches Head Get Growing.’ It is open to everyone on
Wednesday from 1.00 to 3.30. Linda writes: ‘They have some amazing
plans for the centre – and have made a start on the patio area at the front,
which is very inviting.’ You can join in a variety of projects or just pop
along for a cuppa and a chat with friends.
Donations from across the Hanley Team of churches
towards the Foodbank at harvest time weighed in at
73.29 kgs.
POPPIES ARE 100 YEARS OLD
100 years ago, on the 11th Nov 1921, poppies of
remembrance were sold for the first time in British and
Commonwealth countries.
DO YOU PREFER TO USE CASH?
‘Access to cash is still an ‘essential piece of infrastructure’ for
elderly people. Cutting them off from cash and banking services is
tantamount to excluding them from society.’
So warns Age UK, which has been pointing to recent figures from the
Financial Conduct Authority that show about 2.4million people aged
65 and over still rely on cash in their day-to-day lives. That represents
about a fifth of all older people. While cash use has plummeted during
the pandemic, Age UK stresses that it would be a mistake to assume
that everyone can make all their financial transactions digitally.
12OUR AFFECTION FOR PREMIUM BONDS
Some 65 years ago, on 5th November 1956, Premium Bonds went on
sale in the UK. They were designed to encourage people to save, and
they offered cash prizes instead of interest. The idea was to persuade
people to save again following the Second World War, and on the first
day alone, £5 million worth of Bonds were bought (equivalent to about
£120 million today). The name of the machine that generated the
winning numbers – the Electronic Random Number Indicator
Equipment, shortened inevitably to Ernie – became common in
everyday conversation. There is no guarantee that you will ever win,
which in many people’s eyes defines Premium Bonds as gambling,
though the counter to that argument is that you can never lose your
stake. You do, however, lose whatever interest you would have
accrued if you had invested your money elsewhere. The current odds
against each £1 Bond winning a prize are 34,500 to one. This has been
described as “a gamble with very poor odds”. Nevertheless, Premium
Bonds are said to be held by more than 22 million people, or about one
in three of the UK population.
[Parish Pump]
NATIONAL TREE WEEK
is the UK’s largest annual tree
celebration, marking the start of the
winter tree planting season (November
to March each year). This year, it runs
from Saturday 27th November to
Sunday 5thDecember. It is a good
time to both celebrate our current
trees, and to plant more trees in our area. The Tree Council has an
online programme of tree-related arts and culture events and
aims to bring people together to celebrate and plant trees across the
country.
For more information, look up treecouncil.org.uk
13THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren, THERE ARE MORE FRIGHTENING THINGS OUT THERE THAN BISHOPS You really should not worry about having reversed your car into the bishop’s gatepost, knocking it over and destroying his rose-beds. It gives him an opportunity to exercise Christian forgiveness. Your real mistake was scribbling a note of apology and pushing it through his letterbox. Far better would have been to have sent an anonymous letter (and to have written it on lined notepaper in capital letters, preferably in green ink, to make it look truly authentic) saying that you had seen the archdeacon do it, and then you had watched her drive off without stopping. That would have taken the minds of the senior clergy away from parish matters for quite some time. No, never worry about the wrath of bishops; dangers lurk much nearer home. For a start, never incur the displeasure of your flower arrangers. I only crossed their path once – and arrived in church the following Sunday to see a ten-foot-high floral arrangement placed in front of the pulpit. Similarly, organists are a delicate breed. Offend your organist and you can be guaranteed that hymns will be played at either half or double speed, stopping one verse short and that the final piece of music as you process out will stop, leaving you stranded halfway down the aisle. 14
And finally, never, ever upset your verger. One forgotten Christmas
present and you can be sure you will get half-way through a baptism to
find no water in the font; at marriage services, the sheets for last
week’s funeral will have been accidentally put out and when you sit in
your stall you will discover where the mop and bucket are now stored.
No, bishops are warm, fluffy bunnies; real dangers lurk much nearer
home.
Your loving uncle,
Eustace [Parish Pump]
THE WISDOM OF AGE
[Extracts from a Scottish tea towel]
As I was lying around, pondering the problems of the world,
the following occurred to me!
If walking is good for your health, the postie would be immortal.
A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, but is still fat.
A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years, while
a tortoise doesn’t run and does mostly nothing, yet lives for 150 years.
And you tell me to exercise? I don’t think so!
If God wanted me to touch my toes, he’d have put them on my knees.
It was a whole lot easier to get older than to get wiser.
I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.
I finally got my head together and now my body is falling apart.
Funny, I don’t remember being absent-minded.
If all is not lost, where the heck is it?
I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter – I go somewhere to
get something and wonder ‘what am I here after?’
Funny, I don’t remember being absent-minded.
*****
If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished. – Anon
15SHORT OF AN ORGANIST? IT’S NOTHING NEW
The Church Times recently printed an archived item from their issue of
21 October, 1921. There, the editorial lamented that cinemas were
tempting away church organists by offering better pay. Whilst ‘not
implying that there was anything derogatory or objectionable in being a
cinema organist’, the paper concluded that no-one could discharge the
functions of both church and cinema organist.
ST. MATTHEW’S AUTUMN FAYRE
Saturday, 6 November 12 Noon
Bric-a-Brac Stall, Books & Toys, Cakes, Bottle Tombola, Raffle
The Rector, Phillip Jones, has
sanctioned a service of Evensong at
Holy Trinity, Northwood.
This permission is a concession to those
who wish to sing and praise
unencumbered by masks. It comes with the stipulation that it be clearly
advertised that some people will be attending without masks, thereby
enabling others to make their own decisions about whether or not to
attend and whether or not to wear masks during the service. It does not
change the PCC’s existing policy that masks should be worn at the
Team Eucharist and midweek services. That policy is being kept under
review in the light of infection rates.
Evensong will take place at Holy Trinity Church,
Northwood at 4.00 p.m. on Sunday, 14 November and will be
led by Fr. Tommy Merry from the Stoke Team Ministry
PCC MEETING - The PCC meets on Tuesday, 23 November at
7.30 p.m. at Christ Church, Cobridge
16SAINT OF THE MONTH: ST. CECILIA
22 NOVEMBER
A few women saints crop up in November. We have the Mystic
Margery Kempe (9th), Margaret, Queen of Scotland (16th), Elizabeth of
Hungary (18th), Hilda, Abbess of Whitby (19th), and Catherine of
Alexandria (25th).
Our Saint of the Month is St. Cecilia. Unlike the other saintly ladies,
there is not much known for certain about Cecilia. A church was
founded in her name where she lived in Trastevere, Rome, but legends
concerning her date back to no earlier than the fifth century. The
principal claim is that, after Cecilia had vowed her virginity to God, she
refused to consummate an arranged marriage to a pagan named
Valerian, whom she converted to Christianity. She was martyred for
her faith (as was Valerian, poor chap) around the year 230.
Cecilia has been honoured as the patron saint of musicians since the
17th. century. The origin of this appears to have arisen from the song
she is said to have sung to the Lord at her wedding feast, praying that
she would remain unsullied. An account of her life appears as the
Second Nun’s Tale in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In 1687, the first Poet
Laureate, John Dryden, wrote ‘A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day’ and a few
years later Alexander Pope penned ‘An Ode for Music on St. Cecilia’s
Day’.
There is also a local musical link to this saint. The St. Cecilia Singers
based in the Staffordshire Moorlands, aim to ‘promote the enjoyment of
performing choral music to a high standard, while helping and
supporting organisations to raise funds for charitable purposes’. The
choristers welcome new members; Fr. Brian Williams and Kathleen
Durber are two of the choristers; they would be happy to provide more
information to anyone interested (they are particularly short of men,
which is not surprising if they treat them like poor old Valerian!)
1718
SUNDAY READINGS IN NOVEMBER
May God add His blessing to the reading of His word
Date Reading 1 Reading 2 Gospel
7 November Jonah 3: Hebrews 9: Mark 1:
Third Sunday 1-5, 10 24- 28 14-20
Before Advent
14 November Daniel 12: Hebrews 10: Mark 13:
Second Sunday 1-3 11-14, 1-8
Before Advent [15-18],
19-25
[Remembrance
Sunday]
21 November Daniel 7: Revelation 1: John 18:
CHRIST THE KING* 9-10, 13-14 4b-8 33-37
The Sunday Next
Before Advent
28 November Jeremiah 33: 1 Thess. 3: Luke 21:
The First Sunday 14-16 9-13 25-36
of Advent
Common Worship
Year C begins
* In the Hanley Team, we will celebrate Christ Church’s feast of title
on 21 November. Accordingly, the Team Eucharist will take place at
Christ Church, Cobridge, at 9.30 a.m. on that day.
19ST. LUKE LIGHTS UP ADVENT As we move into Lectionary Year C at the beginning of Advent, our readings turn to the Gospel of Luke. In anticipation of this, the Lichfield Diocese is offering an opportunity online to listen to the whole of Luke’s Gospel, taking one or two chapters per day, at midday, Monday to Thursday, for the first four weeks of November. For those reading the magazine online, the zoom link is given here Meanwhile, our own St. Luke’s Church is planning to light up the church, inside and out, on Wednesday, 1st. December from 7.00 p.m. If you would like to come along to share in this event, you may like to know also that mulled wine or sherry and mince pies feature in the planning of it. Margaret Bromage has all the details. 20
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