Wickham Bishops Parish Magazine December 2020 & January 2021 - Produced by St Bartholomew's Church
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Wickham Bishops Parish Magazine
December 2020 & January 2021
Produced by St Bartholomew’s Church
www.churchinwickhambishops.org.uk
From December 6th we hope to be able to welcome worshippers to a
10.30am service in St. Bartholomew’s Church Hall adding to our weekly
provision of an online service on Face Book Live. Numbers for this
service will be limited to 32 taking into account required social
distancing. To be assured of a place please text 07910109396 to book
a seat or email revhilary@btinternet.com
For Christmas services
see centre pages, booking is essential
Church Services for December 2020
SUNDAY 6 Advent 2
9.00am St. Nicholas’ Patronal Service of Holy Communion (Book of
Common Prayer) in St Nicholas’.
Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18)
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall and
on FB Live.
4.00 pm Christingle on FB Live Only – make your Christingle ready in
advance for this short child friendly service.
MONDAY 7
9.00 am Monthly Parish Prayers in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall
SUNDAY 13 Advent 3
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church and on
FB Live.
SUNDAY 20 Advent 4
9.00 am Service of Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) in St
Nicholas’. Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18)
10.30 am Sunday Praise Service in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall and on
FB Live
3.00 pm A Quiet Christmas at St. Bartholomew’s. This Quiet Christmas
service offers a space where people can find some calm and care
in the midst of it all. Musical accompaniment. Also on FB Live.
24th and 25th Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Please see the details in the centre pages (pages 26 & 27)
SUNDAY 27 Christmas 1 – Feast of St John
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church and on
FB Live
2
This information is accurate at the time of going to print
but may be changed according to government guidelines
Sunday orders of service during lockdowns are posted on the parish website.
https://www.churchinwickhambishops.org.uk/
St Nicholas’ Church is open daily for private individual prayer.
St Bartholomew’s Church will be from 14th December 2020
All our services at St. Bartholomew’s Church
are on FB Live or on Zoom
Church Services for January 2021
SUNDAY 3 The Epiphany
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church
SUNDAY 10 Baptism of Christ
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church
SUNDAY 17 Epiphany 2
9.00 am Service of Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) in St
Nicholas’. Phone 07960558587 to book a Pew. (Limited to 18)
10.30 am Sunday Praise Service in St Bartholomew’s Church Hall
SUNDAY 24 Epiphany 3
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church
SUNDAY 31 Epiphany 4
10.30 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church
WEDNESDAYs (December and January)
10.00 am Service of Holy Communion in St Bartholomew’s Church
or the Hall and on FB Live.
There will be no mid-week services in the week after Christmas (30th)
FRIDAYs (December and January)
10.15 am Zoom Prayers (please email revhilary@btinternet.com if you
wish to be part of this so we can send you the link).
3
Parish Register
Baptisms None
Marriages None
Funerals Ralph Arthur Buet (88) 16th November
at Chelmsford Crematorium
Joshua Baldwin (15) 20th November
at St Bartholomew’s
Parish Contacts
Revd Hilary The Rectory, 1 Church Road, 01621 892867
Le Sève Wickham Bishops CM8 3LA
Hilary’s day off
Priest in Charge revhilary@btinternet.com is Friday.
Revd Derek Clark The Leas Farm 01245 380627
Wickham Bishops Road
Associate Priest Hatfield Peverel 07860 235778
CM3 2JL
Barry Cousins 3 Harvey Road 01621 891355
Great Totham CM9 8QA
Churchwarden
barry.j.cousins@gmail.com
Graham Wingrove 8 Arbour Lane 07398 025442
Wickham Bishops
Churchwarden CM8 3NS
Peter Bates 10 Church Green 01621 893173
Wickham Bishops
Magazine Editor magazine@churchinwickhambishops.org.uk
Kath Adkins kathrynadkins@btconnect.com 01621 891143
Church Hall
Bookings
4
Letter from Reverend Hilary
In the middle of our complex world, the message of Christmas is simple,
but also subtle. It is about the birth of a child. Around this child gathers a
family who will watch as their child lives in creation - respectfully, not by
overpowering it, not by forcefully taking over but by sensitive and
compassionate living amongst us.
“Do not be afraid” the angels say; the most frequent command in the
gospels. It makes sense that given the birth of this child, entirely
inhabited by God, there might be fear. Yet there is no need of fear here,
given the simplicity of what we celebrate. The child expresses and
embodies all that is dignified, trusting and respectful in our relationships.
The Good News (Gospel) Jesus shares, is about making humankind into
a new sort of family. He shows us how to approach God as ‘Abba’
(Daddy) and says that any of us who trust him are brothers and sisters,
gifted with relationships which transcend blood-ties but are yet unearned.
The good news of this is that the birth we prepare for in Advent and
celebrate at Christmas is not about an institution or a rule book; it is
about nurturing dignified, trusting and respectful relationships which are
personal, local, and particular, relationships which are freely given and
accepted.
Those things come first.
Love is simple, but it is subtle too. At Christmas we celebrate how love
happens and especially this Christmas, given all the challenges we have
had this past year, we remember a little more of how to be ourselves, our
true related selves, unafraid, because we know we are loved.
The Gospel is this: nothing you do can make God love you more, and
nothing you do can make God love you less. Because the Christ Child is
Emmanuel ('God with us'), we are wholly family, with God.
5
6
Womens’ Christian Fellowship …
Hello everyone; well here we are in December, and to think our
last meeting was in February and the year has nearly come
around. How lucky we are to live in this lovely village and I hope, if
you were able, you could get out and enjoy the beautiful autumn
colours in the trees and gardens, also to take some time while the
weather allows, to sit and enjoy your own garden, maybe with a
cup of tea or coffee just for ten minutes to lift your spirits.
We still do not know when we will be able to meet again safely,
and by the time this reaches you Christmas will soon be upon us,
so, with that in mind, the committee joins me in wishing you all a
happy and peaceful Christmas and to the restoration of more
settled times in the New Year.
Denise Yelland.
7
8
Parish Church Finances ...
As we are all only too well aware, 2020 has been an unusual year due
to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Fortunately we instigated the Parish Giving Scheme at the start of the
year and this together with other regular giving has provided us with an
ongoing income stream and we have been able to pay our Parish Share
in full.
However we have lost some income as it has not been possible to hold
any of our Fund Raising events including Open Gardens.
The Guardians of the Village Churches had an exciting launch event
planned for September but, of course, that too has had to be
postponed.
This is not a plea for donations but rather seeking your co-operation to
pay your giving by more cost effective methods.
This is because there have also been wider impacts arising from the
pandemic. With the Bank of England slashing interest rates to 0.1%
there has been a significant impact on banks covering their costs.
Our bankers, Charity Aid Foundation Bank (CAF) have advised us of
increased charges from January 2021. The monthly fee is increasing
from £5 to £8. There are also to be changes to fees for depositing both
cash and cheques. This is likely to result in an additional cost to us.
So, is there anything we can do to mitigate these charges?
I am pleased to advise that there is.
If at all possible I would ask that contributions are paid by electronic
means. These are as follows:
Join the Parish Giving Scheme. Please contact me for more
information about this.
Use the SumUp card reader to pay with your debit or credit card.
For sums up to £45 this is contactless. If your donation is in
excess of £45 then your card needs to be inserted to the base of
the device and your PIN input. The device can also be used to
pay for Greeting cards and other items.
Go to the church website and scan the code to be taken to a
donation page. … continued on the next page
… continued on the next page
9
Should you be, or wish to be, a member of The Guardians whose
current target is to raise funds for the body of St Bartholomew’s to be
redecorated, then there is a similar code on their web page to make
donations.
Thank you for reading this and I look forward to receiving your co-
operation in containing our bank fees.
Graham Spearman
Hon Treasurer
email: grstreasurer@gmail.com
Phone: 07721 505296
St. Bartholomew’s Church building to re-open after the
recent redecoration of the Chancel
With plans on track, we are hoping to enjoy our re-opened village
church from Sunday 13th December. Bakers of Danbury have
redecorated the Chancel area of the church installing new light fittings
too. Excited to see the results without the scaffolding; here are some
photos so that you can see the work in progress.
This work has been made possible because of the fundraising in the
village facilitated over the years by fabulous volunteers including the
biennial Open Gardens festival, concerts, fairs and raffles. Thank you
so much for all your contributions large and small. Next steps? To paint
the rest of the church interior!
10THE POSTCARD and THE PICTURE POSTCARD
Following my article in the November Magazine in which I included a
copy of a Postcard with a picture of the interior of St Bartholomew’s
Church, I have been asked the reason for having such a card.
The answer goes back many, many years when discovering that the start
of the Scout Movement in 1907 followed very closely to the date of the
acceptance of the Post Card and subsequent Picture Postcard by the
Post Office / Royal Mail. I have been an avid collector [and even
designer] of Picture Postcards ever since – Postcards of Scouting that is!
Something different from the usual habit of collecting Scout Badges.
It all came about some 30 years ago when visiting an Antique Fair in
Witham that I first saw and bought the card, dated 1923, pictured below,
It was before the days of internet and ebay
and I soon discovered brochures from sellers
of old scout books and artefacts, and also
countrywide Postcard Fairs. I now have a
collection of some 700+ cards from patriotic,
comic, serious, birthday, events and
Jamborees, personages, religious etc. They
tell a 100+ year story in pictures, and I
wonder just what will become of them!
Back to the advent of the Postcard; the first
‘one-off’ was in use soon after the ‘penny
black’ but unofficial, and it was not until the
late 1800s that the plain postcard, address
one side and message on the reverse was in
use on the continent and USA. The Postcard
era of the undivided back was from 1901 -1907. In this country the Post
Office finally gave in and allowed the use of Picture Postcards with a
divided back for both address and message from 1894 and the years
1894 to 1915 became the ‘Golden Age of Postcards’.
It was at the discovery of the writing on the walls in the Chancel that I
came across the postcard of the interior of St Bartholomew’s and decided
to buy it – the only one I have of Wickham Bishops.
Barry Cousins
1112
Warm Homes Energy Advice
At Maldon & District Citizens Advice, we can help you to find a way
forward, by giving free, confidential advice in all subject areas.
This month we are highlighting the advice we can give about problems
heating your home. With winter fast approaching you may be worried
about your energy bills or be finding it difficult to keep your home warm.
We have a dedicated Warm Homes adviser who can give you advice on
the various options available. Please get in touch.
Warm Home Discount.
You might be able to get £140 off your electricity bill under the Warm
Home Discount Scheme if you’re either:
getting the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit
on a low income
Check with your supplier to see if they offer the Warm Home Discount -
not all suppliers are part of the scheme.
Energy trust fund
If you’re in debt to your energy supplier, you might be able to get a grant
from a charitable trust to help pay it off. British Gas and other big
suppliers have their own charitable trusts. They like you to show that you
have received debt advice before you apply. Debt advice can help you
manage your debts and increase your chances of making a successful
application. We can help you with this.
Home insulation and heating grants
You might be able to make improvements to your home - for example,
adding insulation or installing a better heating system which will cut your
energy bills. We can help you work out if you might be eligible for
financial assistance with this.
… continued on the next page
13Energy supplier switching
You’ll probably save money on your gas and electricity bills by switching
to a new supplier. You should start by:
checking which type of meter you have
finding out if your contract has an ‘exit fee’ for leaving early - it’s
usually on your bill
looking at your current supplier’s tariffs
Once you’ve got this information we can help you get some quotes and
you can see how much you could save. Citizens Advice have our own
energy price comparison tool:
https://energycompare.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Please contact us for advice on any subject by:
ringing 01621 875774 – leave a message and an adviser will return
your call that day or
emailing bureau@maldoncab.cabnet.org.uk
Caroline Halfacre
Warm Homes adviser
Great Totham Women’s Institute ...
Our committee has held two meetings on Zoom, which have proved
very successful. This is thanks, in the main, to the expertise of Tina
Finch who has taken the time to talk us through all the technicalities
with great patience. Seeing each other face to face has been a
much better experience than e mailing.
Following the success of our first goody
bag we have been working hard to provide
our members with a festive one with a
Christmas theme. At the time of writing we
are also hoping to try zooming with more of
our members for our main Christmas
meeting.
We are still unsure as to how soon we may be able to have a
meeting in the village hall but, with more encouraging news on the
vaccine front, we hope it won’t be too long before we can!
14Wickham Bishops Flower Club ...
As we approach the end of another year, I would usually be
reflecting on the amazing demonstrations that we have enjoyed.
Not so this year. However, it doesn’t stop us from looking forward
to next year when we have a full programme provisionally booked.
Our A.G.M. should take place on Tuesday 23rd February 2021, but
of course, we cannot predict if this will happen.
In the meantime, very best wishes to all our members and friends
of the Flower Club – keep well.
Wendy Blagrove
Chairman
15News from Great Totham Primary School
www.greattotham.essex.sch.uk
Remembrance Day 2020
Each year group bubble held its own
remembrance assembly and observed two
minutes’ silence to remember those who
have fought and died at war.
New Intake September 2021
We are sad not to be able to offer face-to-face tours of the school this
year. If your child is due to start school in September, please view our
video and look for details of how to book a telephone call on the 'New
Intake' page of the website.
Wonderful Work
The autumn term topics are well under way and the school is filling up with
the children’s amazing work.
Year 2 have been
practising their weaving
skills and enjoyed
making their own planes
after studying The
Wright Brothers.
16Year 5
All our watercolour artwork has
been placed on a display wall just
outside our classrooms so people
walking past have an opportunity
to admire it. We have been using
watercolour pencils over the past
few weeks, and we’ve been
working on our skills and
techniques which have been
improving by the minute! It took
us three lessons to perfect our
artwork before it was ready to go up on display. We have been really
excited for people to see our art as we worked really hard on it. Our deputy
head teacher come up and complimented us on it, and so have all the
teachers and pupils! We are really proud of our final pieces and were
inspired by everyone’s work. We hope you are too!
Written by Lilia and Annabelle, Year 5
… continued on the next page
17Observational drawing
In Year 6, the children have learnt
how to use geometric shapes to help
them sketch and learn more about
how to add shading and texture to
their work.
Wall Art
We are constantly investing in the site to create an exciting and stimulating
environment for our children. Over the October half term, we had three
amazing pieces of wall art installed around the school – the scene from the
Red Sea is a favourite of many of the children (and staff).
18
1819
Recent publicity for a special initiative called ‘Generous God,
Generous Disciples’ from the Diocese of Chelmsford has reminded
me how generously residents from our villages have given in this past
year responding to need. Whether through regular work
commitments, volunteering, supporting the housebound, gathering
food for foodbanks or in a myriad of informal ways relieving isolation,
enriching the lives of colleagues and neighbours, attending to the
needs of our natural surroundings so frequently under stress; these
small (and not so small) acts of kindness make a difference.
Christians are not alone among the faiths in giving as part of our
discipleship. We seek not to be consumers but producers when it
comes to our collective life. We give to the Church, to charities, to
people and organisations. We give our money, our time and our
talents. We celebrate the difference our giving makes across our local
area and beyond and we reflect on how we can better build a sense
of family and encourage mutual support.
It can sometimes seem, especially to new residents, that our local
organisations have everything sewn up; someone for every ‘job’ with
no room for a new face. This most times is far from the case. It is not
just the church that continually welcomes newcomers seeking to
create opportunities for everyone to play their part locally – no matter
how young or old - and from the entire spectrum of human diversity,
talent and interests.
This New Year, as we seek new resolve in facing the uncertain times
ahead, let’s hope our mutual interdependence teaches us afresh the
joys of living in community and finding family in the presence of those
previously considered strangers.
Please do get in touch if you are seeking ways of being involved in
local groups and activities and we will endeavour to point you in the
right direction. We look forward to hearing from you.
Reverend Hilary
20WhatsApp Groups ...
Wickham Bishops no longer has a Neighbourhood Watch
Co-ordinator and despite several pleas in this magazine
and elsewhere, there has been no volunteer.
However, several areas of the village have created a ‘WhatsApp’ group
with their immediate neighbours, as this is a way of sending messages
and alerts quickly, should an emergency arise or some suspicious activity
be observed. There is certainly one for Church Green, and I believe that
there is one for the Mope Lane area and one for Wellands. There are
probably many more elsewhere in the village. If you do not yet have one
for your road, you might consider creating one.
At present, there is no ‘linking’ between these groups so that a message
originating, say, in the Mope Lane group will not be seen by those in
Church Green. To resolve this we can create an overall group
comprising just one member of each street group, so that a message in
one group can be passed to the co-ordinating group and then onwards to
other street groups as appropriate. I see this as a way of circulating
urgent information, such as suspicious activity, emergency road closures
and, perhaps, missing pets, as quickly as possible. It is NOT a forum for
complaining about the neighbours!
The residents of Woodham Walter have initiated such a system and they
report that it works well. They currently have an issue with motorbikes
and quadbikes trespassing on farms and woodland, and an early alert
helps their people to gather evidence and deter the miscreants.
If you have a local WhatsApp group or intend to start one, please
nominate one member to join the co-ordinating group. The person is
likely to be your administrator, but it does not have to be so - just any one
member of your group. You can either contact me (contact details on
page 4) or the Clerk to the Parish Council (contact details on page 24).
If this idea is welcomed, I will set up the co-ordinating group.
Why not use Facebook? WhatsApp is more immediate and probably
used by more residents!
Peter Bates
2122
23
From the Parish Council …
An online general meeting of the Parish Council was held on the 3rd
November, and the Finance Committee and Planning Committee met on
the 20th November. The minutes of these meetings can be viewed on our
website - www.wickhambishopsparishcouncil.org
The next general meeting of the Council is scheduled to be held, once
again online, on Tuesday 1st December at 7.30 pm and will be available
for residents to view on YouTube. The meeting in January is scheduled for
Tuesday 4th, again at 7.30 pm and online. Planning Committee meetings
will be held, if necessary, on the third Friday of each month. Please check
our website for the latest details and agenda.
Councillors may be contacted individually, or via the Parish Clerk on 07542
190176, or by email
info@wickhambishopsparishcouncil.org
The Chairman, Councillors and Clerk wish all
parishioners a Very Merry Christmas and a
Happy and Peaceful New Year
PARKING AGAINST DROPPED KERBS ...
Concern has been expressed by some residents that vehicles have
been parked beside “dropped” kerbs. These areas can be marked by
studs on the footway surface, frequently when some way from a
junction or in shopping areas, or can be in the same surface covering
as the footway, more usually at a junction. They are intended to make
it easier for those, for example, with pushchairs or wheelchairs or with
mobility problems to cross the road without having to negotiate the step
down and up at the kerbside.
It is, in fact, an offence to park in such a way as to obstruct the use of
the dropped kerb. Residents are asked to be aware of the existence of
dropped kerbs when parking, particularly in The Street near the three
shops at Snows Corner, and to park in such a way as to keep the areas
clear for pedestrians.
24Merry Christmas
and Every Blessing for 2021
From the people of
St Bartholomew’s & St Nicholas’
2526
27
Back Words …
As I write this, we are at the mid-point of the second ‘lockdown’; by the
time that you read it, we will, hopefully, be close to the end. I extend my
every sympathy to Rev. Hilary and her team in predicting not only what
will be possible for December and the Christmas services but right
through to the end of January.
One positive side of the situation is how confident many have become
with modern technology in a way that seemed unthinkable a year ago.
‘Meeting by Zoom’ is the new norm, not just for the Church but for a
number of the clubs in the village, and I am suggesting a village-wide
‘WhatsApp’ group (page 21) to replace the previous Neighbourhood
Watch scheme.
Until the next issue (in February), may I wish you a very
Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year
Items for the February 2021 magazine should be submitted to the editor by
Thursday 14th January 2021
Please send items by email if possible to:
magazine@churchinwickhambishops.org.uk
or place in an envelope marked ‘Parish Magazine’
and deliver to 10 Church Green, Wickham Bishops
Priority goes to church events and information connected with Wickham Bishops.
If you would like to place an advert in this magazine please contact
John Mason on johnmasonwb@aol.com or Tel. 01621 927066
For enquiries regarding distribution of the magazine, please phone
Jayne Jennings on 01621 891396
© Wickham Bishops & Little Braxted Parochial Church Council (PCC)
Published by the PCC of St Bartholomew Wickham Bishops and St Nicholas Little Braxted. The views
expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the PCC nor can the Church guarantee the
credentials or performance of any of the advertisers within this publication.
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