Parish of Leatherhead in 2010

This page shows first a chronology of some notable events in the life of the church family in 2010.

earlier

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Chronology

The [Leatherhead Hospital] Ward Service - from the Dec 2010 magazine

Our church members have taken this service from 10.45-11.15am at Leatherhead Hospital on the first Sunday of the month since the early 70s, possibly before that. It was organised at first by Eric Kilner, then George Dench assisted by Stan Parkes. Originally we did the first and third Sunday each month, but now other churches do the three other Sundays.

As official Hospital Chaplain's Assistant, Celia Hamilton was our leader until the car crash in which she was injured and had to be in hospital.

When she was unable to continue, Sheila Reynolds was asked to take over, but she has really not been well enough to do so. Meanwhile, Christine Bryant has been organising the rota of who should take each service. Epsom Hospital Chaplaincy no longer includes any visits to Leatherhead Hospital.

The service takes place in the Day Room of Leach Ward with usually about 6-12 patients. The service only takes about 20 minutes but sometimes the patients are being given their coffee at 10.45 in which case we start at about 10.55am. It consists of two hymns, prayers, a short reading (normally by Ken Bryant) and a 3-5 minute "thought for the day" prepared and read by whoever is taking the service. The person taking it prepares everything and chooses the hymns from our list of printed hymns, which Linda plays on the electric keyboard. Afterwards we stay and talk to the patients for about 15 minutes, which we consider a very important part of the visit.

Celia Hamilton or Christine Bryant or Linda Heath takes the service with Ken and Christine Bryant, Celia Hamilton, Sheila Moss, Joan Leach, and Linda Heath regularly taking part along with Mike Lewis from time to time.

We need someone to be appointed to be in charge of the group to arrange the rota of who takes the service each month and to be an official "spokesman" either via parish magazine, PCC or whatever. Without a leader, it is nobody's position to act as spokesman. We also need more people to join us. A leader could appeal to people individually for support or through the magazine. Mary Cruddas has suggested that perhaps some of the house groups could help us with this. Please think about it and let me know if you can help. Linda Heath

Community Engagement - from the Dec 2010 magazine

Earlier this year our parish embarked on a process of developing a Parish Vision, culminating in a meeting in May 2010 at which "Engagement with the Community" was one of seven Key Areas of Mission, which emerged. A working group consisting of Tim Hall, John Swanson, Anne Thomson, Doug Waters, Steve Whiting and Graham Osborne, was formed to develop a Mission Statement, Goals and Action Plan for this area of church life. The Working Group has met twice and Jane Smith, Uniting Churches Family and Children's Worker, has joined us.

We recognise that community engagement should be (and increasingly often is) something that we undertake as Uniting Churches. So we are in the process of widening the remit of the Group and ensuring that its membership is representative of all three Churches.

This article reports on work so far and seeks church members' views about areas on which we should focus. Initially, we have focussed on mapping out the considerable extent to which the churches, either corporately or through individual members, are already involved in the community. The next steps will be to consider how what the churches offer should best be publicised, to identify gaps and think about how to fill them.

From our own knowledge, the Group compiled the following list of community activities in which church members are involved. We would be very grateful for any comments, particularly if you can see any glaring errors or omissions. Please get in touch with a member of the Working Group.

Pre-school age: Trinity Children's Centre, Toddler Groups, Time for Tea, Messy Church

Primary School age: Leatherhead Trinity School, Messy Church, Holiday Club, Triumph, Bugs Club, Beavers/Cubs/Brownies

Secondary School age: Leatherhead Youth Project, BFree, Total Football, MTB (mountain biking), Bliss (girls), Blaze (boys), Triumph pm, Dance classes, Express Art, Music Workshops, 5-a-Day meals, Freestyle (weekends away), Scouts/Guides

Disabled people: Seeability (including Talking Parish Magazine), Shopmobility, Queen Elizabeth's Foundation, Headley Court, Combat Stress, Leatherhead Hospital Ward Service

Older People: Age UK/Age Concern, Leatherhead & District Friends Group - at BFree, The Beeches (monthly Communion service; musical entertainment), Second Sunday Lunches,

Other groups: Pitstop, Night Hostel (temporarily relocated), Clubhouse, Samaritans (are any church members currently involved?), Leatherhead United Charities (Church nominated trustees), Men's Breakfast, Mothers' Union, Leatherhead Community Association, Liquid Connection and The Bridge (both have links with LYP), Therfield (some connections), Young Carers, Light up Leatherhead, Remembrance Sunday - Royal British Legion, Town Twinning Association - Friends of Triel, Credit Union.

Congratulations to Jay Bristow - from the Dec 2010 magazine

After three years of hard work and with the support of the Leatherhead churches, Jay Bristow graduated on 13 October. He gained a 2:1 degree in Youth and Community studies with applied theology from the Centre for Youth Ministry (CYM) affiliated with Oxford Brookes University.

Messy Church Launch - from the Dec 2010 magazine

Leatherhead's first Messy Church took place on Thursday 21 October at Leatherhead Methodist Church. Led by a team representing all three Uniting Churches, our theme was Bible Mountains, and we explored a pot-pourri of Bible stories, which take place on a mountain. Think about it – there are lots!

The whole building was pressed into use – with crafts and toys for the youngest children in the church (with the carpet safely protected under the largest sheet of plastic known to man!), cookery in the lower hall, and games and crafts suitable for older children upstairs. It was great to
observe how everyone from toddlers to pre-teens was happily engaged in the different activities.

Just before 5pm we brought it all together in a short act of worship, after which we sat down to tea together – 32 children, 16 adult parents/carers and about 20 helpers. There was a wonderful buzz as everyone chatted around the table and met some new friends. By the time this article has appeared we will have held our second session and we look forward to welcoming a few more families who couldn't make it the first time. We are looking forward to taking Messy Church forward and deepening our relationship with all the families over the coming months.
Jane Smith, Family and Children's Worker, Leatherhead Uniting Churches

and ... Messy Church [planning] - from the July 2010 magazine

I mentioned in last month’s newsletter that I was very interested in the idea of trying Messy Church. Plans are firming up now to start a monthly Messy Church in the autumn, as a way of following up our summer Holiday Club. So what is Messy Church all about?

Messy Church will be a monthly event, on a weekday afternoon, after school. It will be for families with younger children - from babies and toddlers up to the top end of Primary School. It will be for children and adults to come to together.
At Messy Church, we will:

I hope to start Messy Church as soon as possible after the summer holidays, but to do that, I will need a team! There will be many jobs to do - some are very hands on, others are in the background. Some require lots of time - others hardly any. We will need people that are good with a hoover or a computer or a musical instrument or a pair of scissors. And people that can cook, serve or clear away. We will also need those that just love to chat and can make people feel welcome while others hare around making sure it’s all going to plan!

This is a Uniting Churches project and I want to draw a team from all three churches as an expression of our working together to build relationships with families in the town. There will be more information over the next few weeks, but if you like the sound of it, please pick up the phone and let me know. Jane Smith (see magazine for contact info)

Concerts in Church - from the Dec 2010 magazine

Some six years ago, at the request of David Eaton, the Concerts in Church Committee was formed. Since then a small group have put in a lot of time and effort in achieving the objectives set out by David:

Sadly, it does now appear that we are losing, or have lost, the support of the members of the congregation. Therefore consideration is being given to winding up the Committee at the end of 2011, after meeting commitments for events planned for next year.

It is possible this may not happen if more support is given. The first opportunity for you to do this would be at the very Special Christmas Concert arranged for Saturday 11 December in the Church Hall.

We are fortunate that an excellent group of singers, "Serendipity", have agreed to return for this concert, despite their giving a wonderful concert in the church earlier this year to a woefully small audience.

The concert will include audience participation, including the children and will end with mulled wine, soft drinks and mince pies. Please see more details below. If you want us to continue please support us. If you do not we shall receive and accept the message. Bernard Salsbury

Outward Giving - from the Nov 2010 magazine

At the last PCC meeting it was agreed to change the way money is distributed, so instead of giving a relatively small amount to many projects the money would be sent to just two or three.

This year the Leatherhead Youth project will receive £3000, and £2500 each is being be sent to the Lazarus Home for Girls in Bethany and to The Pitstop in Leatherhead. There are leaflets explaining the work of the Lazarus Home on the shelves by the North door. It is hoped that the cheque for The Pitstop will be handed over with a photographer present from the Leatherhead Advertiser.

It is not planned that the same projects will receive money every year, and we are also looking into the possibility of on-going support for a Mission abroad. We would welcome further ideas as to where to send money.

We would also like to let you know that well over £600 was raised at our Harvest Service for LIAT. Thank you to everyone who contributed.
Frances Presley, Anne Warren, Alison Draper.

The Organfest - from the Nov 2010 magazine

On Saturday 2 October we held our second Organfest in the church on the 18th century English organ, built by Thomas Parker. Four organists – Anthony Cairns, Graham Thorp, Mark Laflin and Peter Lutton came to demonstrate it with half an hour each from 2-4pm. The idea was that people could come and go as they pleased, but there were about 50-60 people there all afternoon and many of them stayed for the full two hours.

All four organists chose their programmes very carefully, both to demonstrate the music of the period and the scope of the instrument. An organ of this period has no pedals and this one has only half a swell manual or keyboard, so one might think its range would be very limited, but not so.

The variety of tone they all produced was really amazing, not to mention the variety of composers from the 14th century to the 21st! There were so many delightful pieces (all quite short) that it is impossible to single any out, but they added up to an afternoon of excellent music much appreciated by everyone there.

It was good that Dominic Gwynn was there too, as he was in charge of the organ restoration and was able to answer questions from quite a number of people who went up to have a look at the organ after the music.

We would like to thank all four performers for giving up their time to provide such an enjoyable occasion.
Linda Heath

Women Bishops - from the September 2009 magazine

In February 2009, Synod agreed that draft legislation to allow women to be consecrated as bishops should be referred for revision in committee. At the latest group of sessions, the Synod voted to ‘take note’ of the Revision Committee’s report, before moving on to the Revision Stage which involved clause-by-clause debate of the draft legislation. The Synod left the draft legislation largely unamended, reflecting its desire to continue to make provision for those who in conscience cannot receive the ministry of women as bishops, by providing for certain functions to be undertaken by a male bishop under a diocesan scheme made in accordance with a national code of practice.

If a majority of Diocesan Synods approve the draft legislation, it will return to the General Synod, probably in February 2012, for Final Drafting and consideration. The Final Approval stage, at which two-thirds majorities are required in each House, could be reached in 2012. If approved, the legislation would the go to Parliament for consideration by the Ecclesiastical Committee and each House.

and ... Women Bishops - from the July 2010 magazine

The Church of England is going to vote this month on whether or not it should proceed with the next step towards women bishops. The Revision Committee has met on 16 occasions over the past 12 months and considered 114 submissions from members of the General Synod and a further 183 submissions from others.

It is expected that much of the July group of sessions of the General Synod in York will be devoted to debating the Revision Committee's report and conducting the Revision Stage of the legislation. This is the moment (equivalent to a parliamentary Report Stage) when all 470 members of the Synod have the opportunity to consider the draft legislation clause by clause and to vote on proposed amendments.

Once the Revision Stage has been completed and provided the Synod does not decide that further work is necessary in Revision Committee, the draft legislation will have to be referred to diocesan synods and cannot come back to the General Synod for final approval unless a majority of diocesan synods approve it.

The earliest that the legislation could achieve final approval in Synod is 2012, following which parliamentary approval and the Royal Assent would be needed. 2014 remains the earliest realistic date when the first women might be consecrated as bishops. Visit http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr4210.html to read the relevant documents.

As previous debates have shown, a majority of the members of the House strongly support the admission of women to the episcopate. At the same time there remains a strong commitment on the part of the House to preserve an honoured place within the Church of England for those unable to receive this development. All in all, the July Synod has the potential to be one of the most demanding meetings for many years.

The Book of Common Prayer now on-line - from the September 2009 magazine

The Book of Common Prayer is now online. The Archbishops’ Council has added the full text of The Book of Common Prayer to the worship pages of its site at http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer.aspx

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is a permanent feature of the Church of England's worship and loved by many for the beauty of its language. It is also the foundation of a tradition of common prayer and a key source of the Church of England's doctrine. The first official liturgical text in English appeared in 1544 and the first complete Book of Common Prayer in 1549. The book went through several revisions until 1662, since when the wording of its services has remained largely unchanged.

The Book of Common Prayer is one of the three 'historic formularies' of the Church of England, in which its doctrine is to be found. The other two, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and the Ordinal, are customarily published in the same volume. It cannot be altered or abandoned without the approval of Parliament.

Share the Good News: CofE missionary activity - from the August 2010 magazine

The Church of England's long history of witnessing to the unique significance of Jesus Christ is a duty that continues in today's multi-faith environment, says a new report. Following a debate, the General Synod asked the House of Bishops to produce a report on "their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain's multi-faith society [and to include] examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none".

A small group led by the Bishop of Willesden drafted the document, which was subsequently commended by the House of Bishops. The report affirms that missionary activity has always been a hallmark of the English Church's life, whatever the country's social and political context, and should continue to be so.

While acknowledging the "shadow side" of some historic evangelistic endeavours, the report notes that: "...the fear of getting it wrong should never obscure the Christian's commitment to the good of all and to making Christ the centrepiece of that good. Too much reticence is as untrue to our history and our vocation as too much stridency."

The report urges caution about the language of 'market choice' when used in the context of religious belief reminding us that "it is not we who bring others to Christ but God working in them", suggesting that "when our encounters with our neighbours, of other faiths and none, are distinguished from exercises in salesmanship, we can be confident that we are sharing God's love rather than marketing another lifestyle choice." The report is available at: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/july2010/gsmisc/gsmisc956.pdf

Reliability of the Bible - from the August 2010 magazine

The Jesus Accounts – Fact or Fiction? is a new documentary that will equip Christians to take on the sceptics over the trustworthiness of the Bible.It is being released this summer. By throwing light on scholarly, scientific and historical evidence that supports the trustworthiness of the ancient manuscripts, eyewitness accounts and more, the 30-minute documentary provides an invaluable tool that shows how the four canonical gospels can be trusted.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, says: “We have an unprecedented number of manuscripts, whether papyrus or parchment, available to us. This means we can be confident that the text is in fact the text written down by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.” Mark Meynell, Senior Associate Minister of All Souls Church, Langham Place, adds “It will prove a fantastic resource for serious enquirers and scholars alike, because it carefully examines the historical evidence and draws on the expertise on renowned scholars. I hope it will be widely used.”

At a time when the reliability of scriptures is being challenged, it is hoped that the documentary will serve as a powerful tool to churches, scholars, ministers and lay-people reaching out to their communities with the power of the gospel. To view the trailer of the film and for more information, visit www.thejesusaccounts.tv

Concerts in Church: Hedley Kay first at lunch time - from the August 2010 magazine

The first of our Concerts in Church lunch-time events took place on Wednesday 23rd June in the form of a vocal and guitar recital by Hedley Kay. He provided us with a delightfully varied programme, with many old favourites, such as Spread a Little Happiness, Que sera sera, Galway Bay, Loch Lomond, Waiting at the Lamp Post, and many others. He invited requests from the very responsive audience who were also happy to join in with choruses where appropriate. It was a very friendly and informal atmosphere and the programme was obviously much enjoyed by everyone.

The second concert was on Thursday 1st July by the Acstede String Quartet, which consists of Claire Dillon, Anne Warren, Jane Swanson and Clara Warren. We heard them at one of our concerts last year and it was a great pleasure to hear them again. Their intonation and ensemble playing are excellent and they make it all sound so easy that one quite forgets that they are an amateur group.

Their programme was proof that string quartets need not necessarily be classical or ‘highbrow’ - there was a wide variety of pieces to suit every taste. It included short pieces by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky and two of Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, and also items such as Leaning on a Lamp post, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and as a finale, My old man said follow the van! Something indeed for everyone.

The final concert on Friday 9th July was a piano recital by Mike Stewart of music by Chopin to celebrate the bi-centenary of his birth. It was a very well chosen programme, which included waltzes, preludes and études; a nocturne and a polonaise; and the Fantasie-Impromptu and first Ballade. As Mike explained to us, Chopin virtually invented all these various forms as piano works. Although some of them had been used before Chopin’s time, it was he who transformed them into large-scale piano pieces.

The programme opened with two waltzes, followed by the well-known E flat major Nocturne, and then the fiery C sharp minor Polonaise. After this we had two very demanding études, written as studies to improve technique, but they in fact demand a pretty good technique to play them at all! Then three preludes, and to finish with, two pieces both requiring great technical skill – the superb Fantasie-Impromptu and G minor Ballade. It was a lovely programme, topped off with the Minute Waltz as an encore. Linda Heath

from the June 2010 magazine

We need a Mission

from the Rector, Revd Graham Osborne

On Sunday 9 May some 70 members of our parish congregations gathered after coffee for the Parish Vision Process Meeting. Everybody had brought a packed lunch and settled down at tables in the Church Hall. The aims of the meeting were as follows:

To understand why a Vision is needed
To understand our Vision Process
To review where we are now
To hear from the Diocese and the wider church
To discern our Key Areas of Mission
To draft our Mission Statements

We started out by looking at why we needed a Vision for the parish. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29.18): contrast these two pictures ....

Once there is an overall direction then all the activities we undertake can be aligned to take us towards that destination, and decisions can be made as to what takes us in that direction and what does not.

The meeting then turned to the A3 Chart [that for was on display in Church] showing Where Are We Now? that has been refined since the start of Lent by contributions from all those who have reviewed and commented on it.

We also looked at the Statement of Needs that formed part of the Parish Profile used in the appointment process for the new Rector.

The Revd John Gooding, Director of the Mission, Evangelism and Parish Development Department of Guildford Diocese, then gave us perspectives from both the Diocese and the wider church.

The meeting concluded that we cannot stay where we are and that we need to develop and grow as a thriving church.

Having reached this consensus we moved on to Where Are We Called? and set about distilling the Key Areas of the mission to which God is calling us at this time, in this place. Every individual then had the opportunity to decide which were their own Key Areas.

After discussing and debating these – first in pairs, then in fours, then in eights – the meeting was presented with the results.

KEY AREAS BY GROUP

GROUP 1

  1. BIBLE-BASED TEACHING
  2. TRAINING/DEVELOPER LAY MINISTRY
  3. DEVELOP STYLE/VARIETY OF WORSHIP
  4. OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY - YOUNG/OLD
  5. WORK WITH/RESPECT OUR ECUMENICAL PARTNERS
  6. WORLDWIDE CHURCH
    SUPPORT
    AWARENESS

GROUP 2

  1. A WIDE RANGE OF WORSHIP RESPECTING BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL WORSHIP AND A WARM WELCOME
  2. DEVELOPING MISSION TO NON-CHURCHGOERS AND INCLUDING CHARITABLE CONCERNS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
  3. STEWARDSHIP AND RESPONSIBLE FINANCING TO MAINTAIN THE CHURCH AND CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS
  4. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN/ YOUTH/ FAMILIES WORK
  5. BETTER COMMUNICATION AND SIMPLE MESSAGES
  6. TRAINING NEW LEADERS (INCLUDING LAY LEADERS) AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROACTIVE DISCUSSIONS IN SMALL GROUPS

GROUP 3

  1. RECOGNISE THAT DIFFERENT STYLES OF WORSHIP ARE ALL VALID
  2. RAISE INCOME AND INCREASE RESOURCES
  3. ENABLE ALL MEMBERS TO HAVE A STRONG FOUNDATION OF FAITH IN GOD
  4. CREATE A CHURCH THAT IS A LOVING, CARING, PASTORAL COMMUNITY FOR ALL AGES
  5. DEVELOP FURTHER STRONG CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
  6. REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY

GROUP 4

  1. WORSHIP AND PRAYER
  2. TEACHING
  3. FAMILIES AT ALL STAGES
  4. PASTORAL CARE
  5. BROAD WELCOME, MISSION AND OUTREACH
  6. RESOURCES

GROUP 5

  1. GOOD WELCOME TO ALL TO THE CHURCH
  2. KEEP TRADITIONAL AS WELL AS EXTEND OTHER FORMS OF LOVING AND JOYFUL WORSHIP
  3. MAINTAIN CHURCHES OUTREACH
  4. PROVIDE AND GROW LAY LEADERSHIP
  5. EXTEND AND GROW YOUTH WORK AND THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY
  6. DISCOVER NEW WAYS OF BEING GOD'S CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY

GROUP 6

  1. DEEPEN PERSONAL SPIRITUAL LIFE
  2. SHARE THAT LOVE OF GOD
  3. VARIETY OF WORSHIP
  4. FINANCE
  5. WORK CLOSELY WITH OTHER CHURCHES
  6. NURTURE AND USE OTHERS' SKILLS AND TALENTS

GROUP 7

  1. WORSHIP - DEEPEN DIVERSITY OF STYLES OF WORSHIP NOT NECESSARILY IN CHURCH
  2. SPIRITUAL LIFE - EQUIP US TO BE MORE LIKE JESUS, THROUGH BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER
  3. COMMUNITY - REACH OUT INTO COMMUNITY; BE SEEN AND DEVELOP AWARENESS OF AND ACTION TOWARDS AREAS OF SOCIAL CONCERN
  4. YOUNG PEOPLE - LOWER AVERAGE AGE - BY ATTRACTING YOUNGER PEOPLE
  5. CHURCH FAMILY - EMBRACING ALL - NO CLIQUES HERE!
  6. HAVING FUN (AND BRINGING IN FUNDS)

GROUP 8

  1. BUILDING UNITY WITHOUT UNIFORMITY, DEVELOPING DIFFERENT WORSHIP STYLES
  2. GROWING IN FAITH THROUGH STUDY (INCLUDING SMALL GROUPS)
  3. DEVELOPING PASTORAL CARE AND SUPPORT FOR ALL IN THE COMMUNITY
  4. BEING CHRIST'S LIGHT IN THE COMMUNITY
  5. DEEPEN INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE PRAYER LIFE
  6. STRENGTHENING OUR WITNESS THROUGH OUR WORK WITH OTHER CHURCHES AND NETWORKS

 

The meeting as a whole then reolved those down into seven Key Areas of Mission. A group then formed around each Key Area and wrote a Mission Statement.

The resulting Vision and Mission Statements were as follows:

LEATHERHEAD PARISH - GROWING DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST

To that end, in the words of our members, our Key Areas of Mission are:

Worship

Growing as Disciples

Evangelistic Outreach

Engagement with Community

Pastoral Care - All Ages

Resources

Ecumenical Links

The next stage is to form a Working Group for each Key Area, each with a PCC member as Convenor. Each Key Area Working Group will then begin to address the third stage of the Vision Process - How Do We Get There? - developing Goals and Action Plans in its Key Area, plans that will aim to turn our Vision into reality.

There will also be a Planning Support Group to assist where needed. We will be developing our plans with our covenant partners in the Methodist and United Reformed churches and, wherever possible, we will be working closely with all the churches in the town.

If you would like to be involved in this exciting adventure, please get in touch with me, with one of the staff or the Churchwardens, or a member of the PCC.

Happy June!

[editor: The Vision Statement above is also available as a pdf]

2010 Annual Parochial Church Meeting - from the June 2010 magazine

The APCM was held on Wednesday 21 April 2010. As always the meeting was preceded by a Meeting of Parishioners held to elect the Churchwardens for the coming year. As Peter Leith had decided not to seek re-election, Navin Mehta and Linda Hauxwell were elected Churchwardens.

After approving the minutes, the meeting turned to the accounts for the last year. Presenting these the Treasurer, Alan Fleming, pointed out that, while the Parish was in a relatively privileged position financially, expenditure in 2009 had exceeded income, with a drop in receipts from planned giving. He had drawn up the draft budget for 2010 in expectation of a further deficit.

He was grateful to the Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church for their generous support, and also to the Hall Committee, Parish Magazine sales, Concerts in Church, and others for their contributions. It was pointed out that income from rental of the two church houses would be reduced in the event of one of these being required for a stipendiary curate, but this was unlikely to happen before Petertide 2011. The adoption of the accounts was approved.

Frank Haslam, the Electoral Roll Officer, reported that the number on the Roll was currently 220. The Rector, Graham Osborne, while thanking Frank for his work on the Roll, explained that in response to a request from the Diocese, Frank had carried out an analysis of households on the Roll by Council Tax banding for the purpose of calculating a Relative Prosperity Factor for the parish. The information disclosed had been purely statistical and did not include any names or addresses.

The meeting then received reports on the Fabric, Furnishings and Ornaments of the Parish Church and All Saints Church, the proceedings of Leatherhead Deanery Synod; the proceedings of the Parochial Church Council.

Martin Cole, John Hampton and Sheila Sutherland were then elected as Assistant Churchwardens. As six nominations had been received for four vacancies on the PCC for three years, a ballot was necessary. After the ballot papers had been counted, Jay Bristow, Jane Haslam, Frances Presley and Donald Yeates were declared elected. The meeting then approved the re-appointment of sidesmen.

After the formal meeting, the Rector gave a presentation in which he referred back to the Statement of Needs drawn up before his appointment, described how he had responded to them in his application, and how he planned the ongoing Vision Process. This would be taken forward in a Parish Meeting on 9 May when a small number of strands would be identified to be taken forward by smaller groups. The over-all Vision Statement would be "Leatherhead Parish - growing disciples of Jesus Christ".
Anne Thomson, PCC Secretary

Awayday 2010 - from the June 2010 magazine

On 15 May nearly 40 of us from the three Uniting Churches assembled at St Barnabas' Church in Epsom on the first really warm day of our late Spring.

Canon Paul Jenkins, formerly Warden of St Columba's Retreat House and now Priest in Charge of Dunsfold with Hascombe, led our Awayday programme entitled "Our Space is Sacred Space". He began by referring to the book "Repitching the Tent" which has provided the basis of reordering churches for many congregations.

St Barnabas was a case in point. We were shown a picture of the original interior, "rather cluttered" as Paul said, and then the result of removing all the pews and creating a church in the round with a circle of chairs, at the centre of which was the Holy Table. Paul asked us to walk round the church (barefoot if possible), pray silently, and experience the sacred space created there as well as the dramatic painting below the East Window.

He then invited us to walk round the outside of the church to experience the original structure of the building and the new glass extension at the front, which was light, airy and welcoming. In showing us how to use our church buildings more creatively to enhance worship and draw people inside, Paul illustrated his talk with a series of slides. Features included the use of good signage and design. A church in the Diocese of Wakefield had on the notice board its name and the words "Come and See...".

"Come and see what?" said Paul. That was an open invitation to encourage people to go inside to satisfy their curiosity. Simple clear and uncluttered notice boards were a further example of good practice in welcoming outsiders.

Paul expressed his admiration of some public works in Hastings ("a seaside town trying to reinvent itself"). An imaginatively designed public lavatory there, which resembled a temple, was a stunning example of what could be done for buildings if creativity was used to the full.

We were allocated into four groups, named after the Gospel writers, for two sessions of discussion on ways of improving the use of our sacred space, all three churches being represented in each group.

A lunch of hot spicy parsnip soup, bread and cheese was then served by Linda Hauxwell and Mary Cruddas.

Our Awayday culminated in a Holy Communion in the round led by Mary as celebrant and Ian Howarth as musical director, leading to some amazing singing, before we closed our worship and our Uniting Churches event.

Our grateful thanks go to Ian and Mary for organising such an enjoyable occasion, and to Paul Jenkins for leading it. Roger Lynch

Cat Kelly - from the June 2010 magazine

Many of you will remember "Time for God" volunteer, Cat Kelly, who was a youth worker in our Parish during 2002/3 and went on to study Youth Work at Plymouth University. Cat met Phil Griffin at university and they were married on 8 May in Aston Parish Church, Birmingham. Ruth and I were delighted to go to the joyful occasion and be able to pass on all the good wishes of our church family.

We also met up with Claire Gannon, our previous Youth Worker, who mentored Cat during her two years here. Ruth also worked as a "Time for God" youth work volunteer with Claire, having been inspired by Cat – so it was great to see the three youth workers re-united.
Linda Hauxwell

The Holy Land at first hand - from the May 2010 magazine

I led a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year with a total of 23 of us mainly parishioners from this Church. On Palm Sunday most of us had risen very early and found our way to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Golgotha where Jesus was crucified, and of the Tomb where Jesus was laid to rest. We observed the special liturgies for that morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, including being sprinkled with Holy Water, before moving to St George's, the Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem to share in their devotions.

We explored the Holy Land under the auspices of McCabe, a family company, which has been organising similar pilgrimages for a generation. We had the services of a Christian guide, Tony, a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, thus operating under extreme difficulties. However, being a Christian, Tony has to work under even more difficulties being accepted by neither the Israeli Jews, nor the Palestinian Muslims. It brought to life whatit must have been like to be a Christian, in the first century AD.

My job as spiritual leader was to be responsible for the pastoral, spiritual, theological, and liturgical aspects of the pilgrimage. I offered a short service of morning prayer most days; presided at Holy Communions usually held at historically-resonant sites, I think most people appreciated the readings, prayers, hymns and short meditations whenever we stopped at a historically or religiously important site. We all found it so helpful to tie up the biblical readings with the actual sites involved.

These sites included places particularly associated with Holy Week: the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane; the Wailing (or West) Wall of the Temple; the Pool of Bethesda; the site of the Last Supper; the High Priest's House where Jesus was tortured and interrogated; and the Antonia Fortress where Jesus stood before Pilate. We observed and prayed the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa early one morning to avoid tourists and souvenir salesmen, so providing a reflective setting for Christ's journey to Golgotha. However, when Jesus dragged his cross to "the place of the skull", the narrow streets were full of market stalls and jeering, indifferent Jewish pilgrims-, and finally the Church of the Holy Sepulchre covering both the traditional site of Golgotha, and of the Tomb of Jesus.

We also visited other sites in the southern half of Israel-Palestine including two Dead Sea sites: Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and Masada. This being a holiday as well as a pilgrimage, we allowed ourselves a stop to experience floating in the Dead Sea. It really was as remarkable as they say it is! Whilst in the south of the country, we also visited Bethlehem, the traditional site of Jesus' birthplace.

Going to Bethlehem gave us an insight into the current political situation: the Israeli Authorities have erected a series of massive security walls progressively "hedging in" those areas, such as Bethlehem, which are supposed to have been handed over to the autonomous Palestinian Authority. These areas, cut off from one another, are being starved of resources such as power and water. Meanwhile, new, illegal Jewish settlements continue to be built on Palestinian land in the occupied territories.

The injustice of this is hard to bear; these Palestinian enclaves bear a hideous resemblance to concentration camps, so the subsequent trip to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum struck a note of tragic irony.

McCabe is a Christian Charity and give much of their profit to the McCabe Educational Trust. We visited a Palestinian boys' school and also a home and school for Palestinian girls, most of whom had been abused in some way. Half the Christmas collection in Church last year was given to this Girls' Home.

Our hotel, to explore the southern part of the country, was in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem, literally a stone's throw from the Walls of the Temple Mount. We then travelled by coach to the northern part, to Galilee, where Jesus grew up and where the greater part of his teaching and healing ministry took place.

En route, we visited Jericho where Zaccheus was spotted up a sycamore tree. We ascended the traditional site of the Mount of Temptation, via cable car, afterwards travelling north along the River Jordan until we reached the Sea of Galilee.

Galilee is very different from the South; it is "a green and pleasant land" in contrast to the very much more arid South. The OT references to the Promised Land as "a land flowing with milk and honey" can easily be understood when you see it. Galilee has been part of the state of Israel since 1948, and generally has a more "western" feel to it. We stayed at a hotel in Tiberias, a modern Jewish town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus never went there but it served as a useful base for us, for it is very close to the sites on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which are mentioned in the New Testament. Chief of these is of course Capernaum, which Jesus used as his "base" for his Galilean ministry. At Capernaum there is a very well preserved Synagogue, the foundations of which probably do go back to the 1st Century. It was marvellous to stand in the synagogue and realise that you were standing just where Jesus might have stood, as he preached and healed in Capernaum. We also visited the traditional site of Peter's house there.

We went to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, as well as Mount Tabor, the traditional site of the Transfiguration where I celebrated a lovely Eucharist in the Chapel dedicated to Moses; Tabgha, the site of the feeding of the 5000 thousand; Mensa Christi where according to John's Gospel, the Lord made a post-resurrection appearance to some of the disciples and cooked fish on an open fire; and the Mount of the Beatitudes, the site of the Sermon on the Mount. For lunch we had St Peter's fish, which I found pretty inedible! We sailed on the Sea of Galilee in a "Jesus Boat" and sang songs to the accompaniment of Hedley and his guitar rounding off the whole pilgrimage with a final and peaceful Eucharist. I pray that justice and peace may come at last to that troubled place.

The pilgrimage has certainly deepened my own faith and, I believe, of our group. Many of us want to go back again and also to spread our wings and consider a pilgrimage in the "footsteps of St Paul".
Revd Mike Stewart

We are thinking of organising another pilgrimage in April–June or September-October 2011 to either Turkey, visiting Istanbul and the Seven Churches of Asia as mentioned in the book of Revelation, to Greece in the footsteps of Paul or possibly back to Israel. If anyone is interested in learning about such a pilgrimage, please contact the Revd Mike Stewart or Martin Cole.

PCC Report - from the April 2010 magazine

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 21 April 2010 offers people on the Electoral Roll the opportunity to elect Churchwardens, Assistant Churchwardens and four PCC Members. The Magazine editors suggested that it might be useful to "lift the veil" on what happens at PCC meetings.

Every meeting receives routine reports from the Churchwardens on the fabric, fixtures and fittings of the two churches and the two tenanted church houses, and a financial update from the Treasurer. This last year we had been concerned about the activities of a tenant (now moved out) at the Woodbridge Avenue house who had carried out unauthorised work himself which had been botched and had caused damage to fittings and decor. We have also been concerned about the performance of the letting agent there. The PCC was concerned to learn that income from planned giving had reduced significantly in the second half of the year, and this will have to be addressed in the near future.

Some topics have generated quite heated discussion. Among these was a proposal for refurbishment of the Reeves Room, which would have involved masking the boards on which Sunday Club children's artwork is displayed. Some members felt strongly that the children's work should not be hidden. A representative of the Hall Committee was invited to a subsequent meeting to explain the proposals and to report back to the Committee the views of the PCC. It was felt that if the intention was to provide somewhere for hirers to project presentations there were better ways of doing it.

Another issue, which proved controversial, was the proposal for the re-equipping of a child-friendly area in the Tower. While generally sympathetic to the wish to make young families feel welcome, there were some concerns about responsibility for clearing up and tidying away after use and that toys purchased should be non-bangable. After further details had been provided the PCC approved the proposal. The Archdeacon of Dorking was consulted and was able to give approval under his discretion to approve without faculty schemes where total expenditure did not exceed £2500.

The PCC was delighted to welcome the Revd Graham Osborne as Rector in November. Since his arrival, meetings have been calmer and shorter – the first PCC meeting he chaired lasted 45 minutes!
Anne Thomson, PCC Secretary

Fairtrade Fortnight - from the April 2010 magazine

Thank you to all who supported Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February to 7 March), and particularly those who came to our two coffee and tea tastings on 28 February and 7 March. The theme this year was "The Big Swap", encouraging customers to swap their usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff, for example their usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, their usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, their usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. This means that every time we go shopping, we can use our purse to make a statement. We hope that some of our customers during the fortnight will go on to buy Fairtrade produce, whether from our stall, or from local stockists, such as the Co-op and Sainsbury.

Traidcraft, the largest retailer in this country of fairly traded goods, has announced two recent developments.

Following dedicated campaigning by various Fairtrade organisations over the last two years the Government has now agreed to set up a watchdog to ensure supermarkets treat their suppliers more fairly. This unprecedented move is a huge boost to the thousands of people in developing countries who rely on selling products to UK supermarkets. Also, following the success of their new range of Fairtrade confectionery, they have developed a range specifically designed for supermarkets. The raisin mix and nut mix are made with a variety of Fairtrade ingredients including juicy flame raisins from Chile and wild almonds from Pakistan. Morrisons is the first supermarket to launch the range, which was available in time for Fairtrade Fortnight. This is a really important breakthrough for the producers of the flame raisins, and could translate into vital orders for the future.
M Jones

Clubs, Classes and Groups - from the March 2010 magazine

If you run an activity in Leatherhead and would like it featured here free in future issues please contact Malcolm Clark or Margaret Jones. A sample of what we have in mind follows but it can be arranged in any other way you might wish. There must be many more activities that could be included let us know if you are one of them wish to be added. Editor

Day Time   Venue Contact
Tuesday Evening Bell ringing Parish Church P Ford 373629
Third Tuesday   Prayer Group York Cottage, Church Rd M Canning 372796
Wednesday 10-noon Parent & Toddler Group Parish Church Hall J Burgess 278656
First Wednesday 2.30pm Mothers' Union Parish Church Hall S Sutherland 811769
Friday 10-noon Sewing Room (Haberdashery) Parish Church Hall J Stagg 374914
First Saturday 9-noon Churchyard Working Party Parish Churchyard F Haslam 379341

Murder in the Cathedral - from the January 2010 magazine

No matter how many times you see T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral it never fails to impress how pertinent it is to whatever period in our history the director has chosen to set the play. The recent production in the Parish Church by the Pilgrim Players of Leatherhead and the Epsom Methodist Drama Group was no exception, we could have been in the twelfth, sixteenth or twenty first century, to mention a few.

This play has most impact when it is performed in a Church, and Christine Watts' excellent production certainly managed to convey all the implications in the drama to the audience. She had costumed her production 'to indicate character and function rather than historical period' with the 'bully boys' executing their gruesome business in black leathers which was most effective.

The Women of Canterbury, in opening the play, started rather tentatively, not helped by the difficulty of the acoustics in the Church, but they grew in confidence and gave the play the links that were needed. The two priests were unfortunately reduced from three, but their roles in the drama came across well ably supported by the two attendants. The excellent lighting effects helped to create just the right atmosphere. Charlie Crowther-Smith was a very credible Thomas à Becket, passionate and powerful, but also trying to reconcile his earlier relationship with the King with what was probably going to happen. His sermon for Christmas morning came through loud and clear, and I did wonder if our Chairman of Mole Valley Council took heed of the advice to 'curb the excesses of local government'.

The four Tempters/Knights hit just the right 'chord' in their dual roles, plain spoken in Part I but brutish and uncompromising in Part 2. Their whining justification for their deed was masterful and, as suggested in the programme, not unlike today's spin.

It was a very good evening's entertainment, with much food for thought. The really good news is that the £1,300, which was raised over the three nights will be divided amongst Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research, the Leatherhead Youth Project, and the new Youth Hall for Epsom Methodist Church. Frances Presley

I should like to thank everyone who supported us by coming to Murder in the Cathedral. With your support, we raised about £1,500, of which half will go to Muscular Dystrophy research, and the remaining half will go to Leatherhead Youth Project and a new Epsom Methodist Church Youth Hall.
Linda Heath
.

Other topics

What has been missed?

top

last updated 5 Feb 15