THE BEACON

November 2006

The Parish Magazine of

All Saints’ Sedgley & St Andrew’s The Straits

50p

MARCH 2014

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ALL SAINTS’, SEDGLEY Sunday Services 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion (First Sunday: All-Age Worship) 6.30 p.m. Evensong (BCP)

Weekday Services Monday 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion Wednesday 7.30 p.m. Holy Communion (1st Wednesday: Healing Service)

ST ANDREW’S, THE STRAITS Sunday Service 9.30 a.m. Holy Communion (1st Sunday: Morning Prayer)

Weekday Service Wednesday 7.00 p.m. Holy Communion

THE STRAITS CHURCH

Sunday Services 9.30 a.m. Prayer & Communion 11.00 a.m. Family Service 6.00 p.m. Evening Prayer

(When there is a fifth Sunday in the month the three churches in the Team Ministry meet for a united service at either 9.30 a.m. or 10.30 a.m. depending on the venue.)

Baptisms & Weddings

Arrangements for baptisms and weddings at All Saints’ and St Andrew’s can be made at the Vestry Hour at All Saints’, which is held on Wednesdays at 8.00 p.m. in All Saints’.

Baptisms are generally held on the fourth Sunday of the month at 4.00 p.m. at All Saints’, and on the second Sunday of the month at 3.00 p.m. at St Andrew’s. Baptisms can also take place during the Sunday morning service at All Saints’ or St Andrew’s by arrangement.

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WHO’S WHO AT ALL SAINTS’ & ST ANDREW’S

GORNAL & SEDGLEY TEAM MINISTRY

Team Rector The Revd Stephen Buckley 01902 883255 (Day off Friday) Team Vicar The Revd Andy Stand 883467 (Day off Monday) Licensed Lay Minister Jan Humphries 661275

Authorised Lay Ministers Suzanne Bradley 880055 Tracey Bate 880727 Laura Price 678572 PCC Secretary Chris Williams 672880 ALL SAINTS’

Parish Wardens Rob Lavender 661325 Derrick Turner 895066 DCC Secretary Pam Hunt 670787 Treasurer Derrick Turner 895066 Electoral Roll Liz Williams 672880 Organist Martin Platts Bell Ringers Keith Williams 672585 Servers Len Millard 676339

Junior Church Barbara Price 676591 Youth Group Laura Price 678572 Noah’s Ark Parent & Toddler Group Linda Edwards 672556 Hall Bookings Linda Watkins 678830 Hall Caretaker Joan Moon 682902 Social Club John Dillworth 670156 Magazine Editor Christine Buckley 883255 Distribution Rob Lavender 661325 Advertising “ “

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Mothers’ Union Liz Williams 01902 672880 Ladies’ Society Geraldine Baker 674608 Men’s Society Roger Berry 881374

Uniformed Organisations Rainbows Liz Naylor 885517 Brownies Heather Churm 674709

ST ANDREW’S Church Warden Jan Humphries 661275 DCC Secretary Rosemary Reed Treasurer Gordon Betteley 882777

Little Angels Mums & Toddlers Jan Humphries 661275 THE STRAITS COMMUNITY CHURCH Pastor Tony Guy 473270

PARISH WEBSITE: www.gornalandsedgley.org.uk

CHURCH REGISTERS

BAPTISMS All Saints’ 23 Feb Ethan George Bytheway “ Elsa Ren Greta Sullivan Samuel Connor Fereday

St Andrew’s 9 Feb Louis Victor Thomas Periner-McLean “ Thomas Andrew Smart

PARISH FUNERALS 29 Jan Olive Fisher 5 Feb Hazel Dorothy Williams, aged 82 “ George Brian Jones, aged 68 “ Walter Williams, aged 77 12 Feb Violet Astbury, aged 91

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MAGAZINE MATERIAL

Articles for the April magazine should be sent to the Vicarage by Sunday 23rd March. These may be sent by e-mail to srb55@talktalk.net

MARCH MAGAZINE

Our apologies for the late arrival of the March magazine. This was due to a

computer problem which took some while to correct. This means that some

information in the magazine will be out of date. Once again, our apologies.

THE BEACON

If you are interested in having the magazine delivered to your home on a regular basis please contact Rob Lavender: tel. 01902 661325. The Beacon is

published ten times a year and the cost for the year is £5.

CHURCH OPENING

Friday mornings from

10.30am to 12.30pm

The church is open for quiet prayer

& coffee and a chat.

We will be pleased to see you.

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BISHOP JOHN’S LENT MESSAGE Bishop John recorded this message from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,

during his recent visit to the Holy Land.

What comes home to me when I come to Jerusalem, amongst all the other

emotions that it evokes, is that our faith is an historical faith, a geographical faith. It’s rooted in time and in history. It’s rooted in the events of Jesus’ birth and life and

death and resurrection: Jesus Christ – crucified, risen and ascended. We believe in

what is sometimes called the scandal of particularity. That Jesus chose this time and this place in order to become human and to die for our sins. The logical conclusion

of that though, is that there is an extension to us, to our time and our place in the

Diocese of Worcester. What happened in the Holy Land 2000 years ago is just as meaningful to us, in our time and in our place as it was when it happened. The

death of Jesus, very near to where I am sat, avails for you and for me. Because of the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, we are able to be an Easter people

whose song is Alleluia, who can be set free to praise the Lord.

Downstairs at the moment, worship is taking place in the Church of the Holy

Sepulchre. People are meeting the risen Lord Jesus and as they do so, they are

empowered to become what Jesus wanted in his earthly living ministry to proclaim – Kingdom People. Jesus went about proclaiming the Kingdom.

That’s our vocation in the here and now, in the Diocese of Worcester and

beyond. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are given a new power, the power of the risen Christ; the power of love, which is stronger than death;

the power of the Holy Spirit working within us; enabling us to be set free to

worship Him, to love Him and to love one another. Working for those Kingdom values of love, compassion, justice and freedom.

Those Kingdom values which Jesus espoused in his teaching – for which he lived, for which he died and for which he rose again. So as I’m here in the

Holy Land with pilgrims from the Diocese, reflecting on the fact that ours is an

historical faith, a geographical faith, rooted in time and history and pondering on the way in which it impacts on our lives in the here and now; my prayer for

you and for me is that the death and resurrection of Jesus into which we enter

this Easter, would impact in a new way in your life, would reach into your being, would touch you deeply and would set you free so that you and I and all

our brothers and sisters in Christ, would be able to fulfil our vocation to

become Kingdom People, proclaiming by word and deed – love, compassion, justice and freedom. Proclaiming it and living it out so that the Kingdom may

go forward, Jesus may reign and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the

glory of God the Father. God bless you during this Lent and Eastertide.

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AGM’S

Being a Team Ministry we are blessed with a plethora of Annual General Meetings.

The dates of which are as follows:

St Andrew’s District Church AGM Sunday 23rd March - 10.45am

All Saints’ District Church AGM Sunday 23rd March - 12.00 noon

(Please note this a week later than originally arranged)

Annual Parochial AGM at St Peter’s Sunday 6th April - 12.00 noon (Following a Team Service)

Please note that Deanery Synod elections are held this year, and we are entitled

to 5 members from across the parish; 2 from All Saints’, 2 from St Peter’s and

one from St Andrew’s.

YOGA

IN THE CHURCH HALL

On

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

1.30 – 2.30

FOR DETAILS PHONE

KAY 01902 566933 Or

LINDA 01902 678830

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MOTHERS’ UNION

The Revd Sue Oliver led us in Iona worship at our afternoon meeting in

February, before speaking to us about her pilgrimage to Iona. On hearing there were two spaces on a pilgrimage to Iona, organised by Revd Susan Renshaw,

Sue and her Mum decided to sign up.

A small island in the Inner Hebrides, Iona is renowned for its tranquillity and

natural beauty. It was here, in 563, that St Columba, an Irish monk, established

the island as a place from where the gospel would be proclaimed. In the 1930s the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian community committed to seeking

new ways of living the Gospel of Christ in today’s world, was founded. Sue

told us of their stay in the Abbey, a beautiful monastic stone and slate building, and how through talking, praying and worshipping together they experienced

the feeling of being in a place which had been the focus of Christian faith and

devotion for nearly 1500 years.

Continuing the theme of ‘pilgrimage’ we were pleased to welcome Stephen to

our evening meeting to tell us about the pilgrimage he undertook, with three of his friends, to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. They

chose the 150 mile walk from Porto, in Portugal, a route which was predominantly

rural with field after field of sweetcorn with vines growing around the edges. They crossed many medieval bridges usually walking about 10 miles a day,

part of the route being along Roman Road No. 19. Stephen told us that what

stood out for him was the generosity of the people they met along the way.

Everywhere they went they were given wonderful meals and accommodation at

very reasonable prices. In most cases you simply paid what you could afford. On one occasion their evening meal ended with people singing songs from their

various countries – needless to say having gone with friends from Yorkshire our

pilgrims gave a rendition of ‘On Illkley Moor Baht ‘At’!

On arriving at Santiago de Compostela our intrepid pilgrims joined in a

service at the cathedral where the reliquary with the remains of St James are said to rest, and where they were mesmerised by the giant thurible that swung

from the roof at the end of Mass. Stephen was able to celebrate communion in

a side chapel in the Cathedral for his fellow walkers the following day. Peregrinos (pilgrims) have a ‘passport’ which is stamped at points along the

way and which is necessary to get their Compostela, a certificate which

confirms they have completed their Camino (pilgrimage).

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We saw the proud pilgrims with their certificates outside the cathedral and were pleased to hear that they managed to be in the first ten Caminos who were given a

free ‘Pilgrim’s Breakfast’! Before leaving they visited the ‘Bronze Boot’ on the

hillside above the city, where many burn their boots having completed their pilgrimage. Stephen and his friends raised £3000 for Embrace the Middle East. A

wonderful experience and a great achievement – well done Stephen.

Our Lent Project this year is as in previous years to provide items for the

Women’s Refuge. Lists of the items needed are on the Mothers’ Union notice

board and there will be a box in the narthex in which to place items during Lent. The Coffee Morning and Collection has yet to be confirmed.

Dates

4th March 2.30pm Lent Reflection, Revd. Canon Stephen Buckley

17th March 10.00am Corporate Communion

18th March 7.30pm Life and Culture of Morocco, Anne Ridge

Liz Williams

LADIES’ SOCIETY

Bring and Buy Sale

There is not a lot to say about a Bring and Buy, but here goes! We had a very

varied selection of sale items and in between looking at the items on offer and trying to decide what to buy, we were able to have a really good chat to our

friends. The evening was greatly enhanced by enjoying a glass of wine and a

slice (or two?) of gorgeous cake. These were provided by Margaret Hollis to help her celebrate her Special Birthday. Thank you, Margaret, on behalf of all

of us. Geraldine was happy to announce that we had raised a total of £89.00

from our sale.

Our next meeting will be on March 3rd when we will have as our speaker a

well known figure around Sedgley, Martin Jones. Martin will be giving a talk on local history, which I’m sure will be very interesting.

Just a reminder for anyone going to see “Thoroughly Modern Millie” in May, Barbara will be collecting the money for tickets. There will also be a collection for

Stephen’s charity, so please come prepared. I hope to see you all on March 3rd.

Molly Taft

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MARTIN PLATTS Martin has recently taken up the post of Director of Music at All Saints’, and

writes to introduce himself.

I have lived in Rowley Regis all my life, and was educated in local schools.

Later I went on to read Music and Education at the then Birmingham Polytechnic,

and was awarded my B.Ed. in1990. In my professional life I have practised as a piano teacher and a music adult education tutor, working with adults from

2004 originally at Dormston School, but now at Thorns Community College.

One notable position I held for 10 years was music teacher at Sutton Coldfield Girls Grammar School, where I not only taught music but was also Director of

the school choir,

Music has always been important to me, and I started learning the Violin at the

age of 7 and was a member of various orchestras including Warley and Sandwell

Youth Orchestras. My interest in church music came through being a chorister at St Andrew’s Parish Church, Netherton, in the 1970’s.

My first Organ teacher was Geoffrey Evans at St Thomas’s Stourbridge, from whom I learnt not only how to play pieces but to accompany hymns; Geoffrey

was a fantastic mentor. I also studied with David Bruce Payne at St Augustine’s,

Edgbaston from whom I learnt how to experiment with different organ stops, and explore all musical possibilities.

I was appointed Organist and Choirmaster at St Mary’s, Kingswinford in 1981, and have since served in a number of churches. My previous post, before coming

to All Saints was at St Giles, Rowley Regis, where I played from 2004 to

2014. At St Giles as well as playing for services I worked with junior/youth groups and instrumentalists in the congregation.

Martin Platts

CHILDREN’S SOCIETY COLLECTION BOXES

Thanks to all those who have been filling their Children’s Society collection

boxes throughout the year; I now need to collect them from you. It would be

helpful if you were able to bring them to church, but if this is not possible please contact me and I will call to collect your box from you.

Kath Apperley

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INTERCESSIONS FOR MARCH

1st David, bishop & patron of Wales

2nd Bishop John

3rd Junior Church

4th The Food Bank

5th Ash Wednesday

6th Community of the Resurrection

7th Our Youth Group

8th Edward King, bishop

9th Gornal & Sedgley Team

10th The Homeless

11th Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, priest & poet

12th Noah’s Ark

13th Displaced people

14th Canon Graham Usher, bishop elect of Dudley

15th The Homeless

16th Kingswinford Deanery

17th Patrick, bishop & patron of Ireland

18th Cyril bishop teacher of the faith

19th Joseph of Nazareth

20th Cuthbert bishop & missionary

21st Thomas Cranmer, archbishop, Reformation martyr

22nd Peace in the Middle East

23rd Archdeacon Nikki

24th Oscar Romero, archbishop & martyr

25th Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary

26th Open the Book team

27th Little Angels

28th World Poverty

29th The persecuted church

30th Mothering Sunday

31st John Donne, priest & poet

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R T KNIGHT OPTICIANS

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Contact Lens Centre Glaucoma Screening

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Tel. 01902 883260

HADEN NEWSAGENTS

35 Dudley Street Sedgley

Tel. 01902 674200

Newspapers, Confection-ary,

Magazines, Tobacco,

Stationery, Greeting Cards,

Payzone/Mobile Top Up

Gas/Electricity payments

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS MAGAZINE CONTACT ALL SAINTS’ VICARAGE

Tel 01902 883255 E mail: srb55@talktalk.net

Rates for 12 months

Quarter page £25 Half page £40 Full page £70

The magazine is distributed to 350 households in the

Sedgley area

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Sarah Powell Foot Health Practitioner RGN Dip, CFHP, MPSP (FHP)

Friendly Home visiting services in this area

Foot health check

Nails trimmed

Corns and calluses treated

Problem nails treated

Foot massage to finish

After-care advice given

Discount given for initial treatment

For more information or to make an Appointment please ‘phone 01902 671824

15

FOR A GREAT DEAL CONSULT

INSURANCE SERVICES (MIDLANDS) LTD

BILSTON ST, SEDGLEY

For low cost motor insurance Household insurance Personal accident &

travel insurance

Payment by instalments available Written details on request For a free quotation call:

01902 880044

K G J

07837 767344

01902 881361

Ianhipkissdrivingschool@hotmail.co.uk

Block Booking Discounts Pass plus Tuition

Free Theory Test Guidance First Lesson: 2 hours for price of 1

ANGELINA’S CLEANERS

Regular or Occasional Cleaners

Reliable, local family run domestic cleaning service for

Coseley, Gornal, Sedgley & Tipton

CRB Checked Fully Insured

References Available

Tel. Maria on

01902 409384

Or

07969 079531

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JENNY’S

KITCHEN

Speciality Caterers

Evening & lunchtime

catering to suit

all occasions

Full waitress service

(Ask for details)

Tel: 01384 400733

www.jennyskitchen.co.uk

Dental

Surgery

Stephen L Rees B.D.S. U. Birm MFGDP (UK)

Tel:

01902 670080

The Surgery

Sedgley Hall Avenue

Sedgley

Dudley

DY3 3TA

Taylors

Independent Estate

Agents & Valuers

For a friendly &

personal service

2A Dudley Street

Sedgley

Dudley

West Midlands DY3 1SB

Tel. 01902 880888

Fax 01902 665075

www. Taylors– estateagents.co.uk

Sandyfields Home improvements

Andy Barnfield

Painting & Decorating

Flooring & Fencing

Jet Washing & Gardening

45 Sandyfields Road Sedgley Dudley

West Midlands DY3 3LB

Tel: 01902 884807 Mob: 07852 435060

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Painting & Decorating Services

Papering - Painting

Property Maintenance

Houses - Shops - Offices

Residential & Commercial

Member of Dudley Age Concern Fix a Home Scheme

Worth Sides

Turf Specialist Quality Lawn Maintenance

Mowing & Edging Turf Installation

Hedge Trimming Light Hauling

Wood Chip Mulching

Pressure Washing

Mobile 07816 250387 Home 01902 881206

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For an estimate:

Tel: 01902 894830 Mob: 07974 281894

P & C ELECTRICAL &

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From changing a Light Fitting to a Consumer Board

From a Dripping Tap to a complete Bathroom Suite

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Call Phil: 01902 673 419 Mob. 07836 770135

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HARTILLS OF SEDGLEY MONUMENTAL MASONS

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New Memorials Additional Inscriptions

Renovations

Unit 1D High Street, Sedgley

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Tel/Fax 01902 882466

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G L S ALARMS SECURITY SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS

Intruder Alarms, Maintenance Contracts

Repairs & Upgrades, Annual Service

Existing systems maintained & repaired

Est. 15 years - Insurance Approved

sahib registered installer

68 Longmeadow Drive, Sedgley DY3 3QR

Tel: 01902 883188

The Shaggy Dog Pet Grooming Centre for Dogs and Cats

For busy people we take bookings for Bank Holidays and Sundays

17 Bilston St, Sedgley DY3 1JA

Tel: 01902 661377

Evenings: 01902 677869

(As recommended by Maisie, the Vicarage Dog)

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L A J LOCKSMITH

For all your household needs Replacement locks/keys

Lockouts, Servicing Repairs & security upgrades

Motorcycle security, chains & padlocks Friendly service

(Don’t forget to add the tel. no. to your mobile, you never know when you might need to use it!!)

Tel: 07905882148 E-mail: lajlocksmith@live.co.uk

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RUSSELLS REMOVALS

House & Office Removals Fully Insured

Clearances & Storage Free Estimates

13 Robert Street Lower Gornal

Dudley DY3 2AZ

Tel. 01902 680081

SWEET TRADITIONS DUDLEY STREET

SEDGLEY

Old Fashioned & Traditional Sweets

Pick and Mix Gifts and More

Children’s Party Bags

Tel: Sedgley 07906 653937 sweettraditiions@virginmedia.com

Has Gareth Malone inspired you to sing?

Then come and join us!

We are

Coseley Male Voice Choir

And we want more men to join us. Tenors particularly welcome.

We practise on Monday evenings approximately 1 mile from Sedgley. If you are interested

please urgently call Gordon on 01902 658402.

We are also taking Concert Bookings for 2013 and if you would like the Choir to perform for you please speak to Sheila on 0121 520 0739.

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SEDGLEY POWERWASH SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL DRIVEWAY &

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Prices start from £20

Call for a free no obligation quote Contact Pete on 07791 241952

www.sedgleypowerwash.co.uk email: pete–mason@live.co.uk

ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH HALL

The hall is available for hire by groups on a weekly basis, or for one-off events.

(No private parties)

For further information please contact:

Linda Watkins Tel. 01902 678830

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FROM THE ARCHDEACON OF DUDLEY

My introduction to the Diocese of Worcester and the Archdeaconry of Dudley has been a very watery one. As I have met with diocesan staff to find out how

their roles interact with mine, the views through their windows in the Old Pal-

ace offices have been ones of vast expanses of water stretching across to the Malverns. As I have driven from one church to another, detours to avoid roads

and bridges closed by floods have featured often. I have learned that life in the

country means permanently having a dirty car and that wellies in the boot are a must-have item!

The floods across our area, and in other parts of the country even more so, have been devastating for many, though thankfully held back by new defences along

much of the Severn this time. Water in vast quantities in the wrong place can be powerful and destructive, it permeates everything, flows everywhere there is

space, gets in through the cracks, over and under many barriers. Yet we know

too that water is vital for life. In countries ravaged by drought, the rains are longed for, every drop of clean water is regarded as a precious gift.

It may be hard for us to imagine intense heat and desperate thirst, surrounded as we are by our flooded countryside and with clean water readily on tap, but

that is the experience of many, and one with which many can therefore connect

when King David draws a spiritual parallel with his need for God in Psalm 63: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being

longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”

God’s presence is as life giving water to the soul, as crucial for our spiritual

health as water is for our bodies. The Bible teaches us that through the Holy

Spirit we can experience God’s refreshing presence in abundance. In John’s gospel Jesus talks about the water of life: “On the last and greatest day of the

festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come

to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those

who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39)

As healthy kingdom people who are deeply rooted in prayer and being renewed

and transformed by regular worship, we are constantly filled with the Spirit, in

order that the Holy Spirit might flow from us into our communities. How wonderful it would be if the life and hope of the gospel, its values of love, compassion,

justice and freedom, flowed from our churches into our communities with the same

persistent permeation that flood water exhibits.

23

What an impact for good will be made if God’s love seeps through every crevice and crack as his people serve those around them. And what good news stories there will be to share if

barriers are consistently broken down by acts of loving kindness in God’s name. I pray that

my Worcester experiences will continue to be watery as I explore the diocese, but in the spiritual realms rather than the physical ones, as I see God’s life-giving

presence flowing from the people of our churches into our neighbourhoods.

Nikki Groarke

THANK YOU

I would like to thank you all for the very generous gift presented to me on the occasion of my farewell as Organist at All Saints’.

I have spent twenty five very happy years in Sedgley and have made many

friends and I will miss you all but the time was right for my departure, but we will keep in touch and you are always welcome to visit us at St John’s on the

4th Sunday of the month for choral evensong. We are beginning to settle in at

Halesowen and looking forward to the challenge ahead. Glenise and I send you our love and best wishes.

Mel Jones

24

AROUND THE PARISH

A belated happy birthday to Barbara Price who celebrated on Friday 31st January. Everyone who called in at church on that day for coffee enjoyed the

bonus of a slice of cake from Barbara; a lovely surprise.

Also happy birthday to Des who celebrated his birthday on 6th February, and

to Mary Davenport, exact date not known though.

Get well wishes to Pam Garrington who at the time of writing is in hospital.

Also please remember in your prayers Val Trinder, Derrick Turner and Hazel,

mother of Becky Hill.

Sad news. Liz William’s Godfather died on Saturday 15th February; he was 90 years. We send our condolences to Liz, Chris and Jonathan as well as to members

of his family. We hope in the fullness of time happy memories will ease the

sadness they are now feeling.

Noah’s Ark Mothers & Toddlers. Three more children have joined; Elizabeth

and Emma who are twins, and Ollie. Jennie tells me they are now full and have a waiting list. A new Play Kitchen has been purchased and lots of other smaller

items for the children to paint or decorate. Soon it will be Mothering Sunday,

or in the case of Noah’s Ark Mothering Tuesday because that day is set aside for the children to make something special. Plans are well ahead so watch this

space in next months magazine.

A brand new cooker has been provided for the hall kitchen along with new pots

and pans. It certainly is a big improvement. Our thanks to Linda Watkins, who

obtained a grant from the Council to pay for the pcooker and to Noah’s Ark for their contribution towards the overall costs of new equipment.

Dorothy Inett

KINDLE

As the 30th March is a 5th Sunday there will be a Kindle Service at 6.30 pm at

All Saints’. Although Kindle was devised as a Youth servcie it has in fact

attracted people from a wide age range, so if you’ve not been before do come along and experience an alternative form of evening worship.

25

BARN DANCE

WITH

FOLK AND A JOKE

featuring

THE

EVE EVANS EXPERIENCE

Sat May 10th 2014 in the Church Hall

7.30pm to 11.00pm

Fish & Chip Supper included

and Bar available

Tickets £7

Available from:

Roger Berry 01902 881374 or

John Howe 01902 678576

26

JUST THOUGHTS

Plant a seed of friendship; reap a bouquet of happiness.

A friend is one who knows you for what you are, and understands where you

have been, yet still accepts what you can be, gently allowing you to grow.

We are all, at times, travellers in the wilderness, the best we can do for ourselves,

is to ensure we have a friend with whom we can share our travels.

Few delights can equal the mere presence of someone we utterly trust.

A loyal friend laugh’s at your jokes when they are not so good, and sympathises

with your problems when they are not so bad.

One of the blessing of an old friend that you knew in your youth is that you can

still afford to act in a totally stupid way with them.

The best friend you can have, is the type that you can sit with on the porch and swing

away in quietness till your hearts content, without never saying a word, and then as

they walk away you feel like it was the best conversation you have ever had.

Count your age with the number of your friends, not with the number of years.

A best friend is the brother or sister that destiny forgot to provide you with.

A brother or sister is not always a friend, but a friend is always a brother or sister.

Friendship will double your joy and divide your grief.

What ever the problem you’ll get by with a little help from your friends.

The bird a nest, the spider a web, the human begin a friend.

The loneliest person in the world is the one without a truly close friend.

It maybe possible to live without religion or meditation however it would be near impossible to survive without human affection.

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the nicest things you can be.

If you have just one true friend maybe you have more than your share.

Nothing is worth more than the winning of the love and laughter of friends.

27

Friends should be the sunshine of your life.

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts, and as a result are souls are never the same again.

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

The ornaments of a house are the friends who frequent it.

You have a hand, a stranger has another, put them together and you may gain a

friend forever.

A friend is someone who reaches out for your hand and touches your heart.

A friendship can be born from the moment one person says to another; “What

you too? I thought I was the only one.”

Remember- no person is a failure to their friends.

Best friends are like diamonds precious and rare, false friends are like leaves

that in autumn can be found scattered everywhere.

Wherever you may be it’s your friends that make your world.

A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg, even if they know that

you are slightly cracked.

Compiled by David Melhuish

MAKE A MOTHER’S DAY

The Mothers’ Union are promoting ‘Make a Mothers’ Day’ again this year. The

project raises funds for MU work caring for families worldwide. This will be

the church ‘Charity of the Month’ during March and on Mothering Sunday. Further information about this can be found on the Charity of the Month board

at the back of church.

LENT GROUPS

This year we shall be following the York Course “Build On The Rock”. Both

We have two groups, and both will meet on Mondays. One at 2.30 pm in All

Saints’ social club, and the other at 7.30 pm at 72, The Straits.

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SYNOD APPROVES NEXT STEPS ON WOMEN BISHOPS

In February the General Synod voted to pave the way for the legislative process to enable Women to become Bishops to be completed this year. In a

series of interrelated legislative and procedural items the Synod held four

debates dealing with differing aspects relating to women in the episcopate. The first synod discussion related to the House of Bishops draft Declaration and Disputes

Resolution Procedure regulations - GS 1932. Both the proposed declaration and

accompanying regulations were drawn up by the House of Bishops at the invitation of the last meeting of the Synod.

The debate was opened by the Rt. Revd. James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester, Chair of the Steering Committee, who moved “That this Synod welcomes the draft

House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests and the draft Resolution of Disputes Procedures Regulations as set out in GS 1932”. The motion

was passed by the Synod.

The legislation is currently out in the dioceses for approval. Provided a

majority approve it by the 22nd May deadline the General Synod will be able

to hold the final approval debate in July, less than 20 months after the failure of the earlier legislation to secure the necessary two-thirds majorities in

November 2012. If passed the legislation would then go to Parliament for

approval and could be in force before the end of the year.

A CRAFTSMAN’S ART

All Saints’ windows were recently given the once-over by Roy Albutt, an

expert who specializes in nineteenth and twentieth-century stained glass

produced by West Midlands studios. I’d met Roy when he came to see and photograph the window in the Lady Chapel at St Margaret’s, Hasbury, where

we were before coming to Sedgley. This was a late – possibly the last – work

by A. J. Davies, a leading member of the Bromsgrove Guild of artists, installed in about 1950. Roy also noticed an almost invisible signature showing that the

east window at St Margaret’s was by another Guild artist, A. E. Lemmon.

Many of the Guild were trained at the Birmingham School of Art, and influenced

by the Arts and Crafts movement there. Roy’s book on stained glass by the

Guild in the Bromsgrove area was published in 2002, a second on the work of A. J. Davies in 2005, and another on A. E. Lemmon in 2008. He has developed

his interest in the work of other stained glass creators, especially those linked

to Arts and Crafts, and in other aspects of the Guild’s output.

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While I was aware that none of our glass has a direct link to the Bromsgrove Guild, I thought some, at least, might be of interest to Roy, and I wanted – quite honestly –

to pick his brains about the windows whose designers remained unidentified, so I

invited him to visit. He spent the best part of a morning taking photographs for his extensive records.

It often takes someone from outside to see things that pass us by, because we take them for granted, and sure enough Roy spotted the signature ‘D. Brooke’

in the right-hand corner of the east window, at its foot, above ‘Weirs Glass’.

Roy knew of a designer called Donald Brooke (1900–81), who lived and worked at Long Compton, just north of the Warwickshire–Oxfordshire border.

A check of Roy’s records on his return home showed that this Brooke was

indeed responsible for the c.1970 figures of the Apostles that replaced the main lights of the east window, imported from Germany in the 1830s. Brooke trained

at the Birmingham School of Art; he often had designs made up by Weirs

Glass, which at the time was based in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

Another snippet provided by Roy was that our Rosemary Rutherford window was

made by Lowndes and Drury of London. It was interesting that the company had been co-founded, in 1897, by another woman artist, Mary Lowndes, although it

was being run in the 1970s by Victor Drury, son of the other co-founder.

I realized after Roy had left that I’d forgotten to mention the window now in the

clergy vestry, which at the time was the baptistery. Luckily, he knew it from

drawings in Lichfield diocesan records, and was able to say that it was designed and made by Hardmans, the well known firm based until quite recently at Lightwoods

Park, beside the A456 at Bearwood on the Birmingham–Sandwell boundary. The window’s title is given as the Holy Grail.

When Roy had found the 1920 Faculty for that window in Lichfield archives, some years ago, he noted that it also covered the installation of the bronze

plaque commemorating Thomas William Underhill. There, the plaque is said to

be the work of the Bromsgrove Guild; at last, Sedgley turns out to have an item from a Guild studio.

Roy’s initial interest in the window at St Margaret’s, and his infectious enthusiasm for designers and makers of glass, have ultimately led to further rediscoveries about

features in All Saints’ that I, for one, find interesting. They show that memorial

commissions were often placed with the best-regarded designers and firms in this area, and sometimes beyond it.

Christine Buckley

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DIARY DATES: MARCH

Sunday and weekday services at All Saints’, St Andrew’s and The Straits Community Church are advertised on page 2 of this magazine. Any alteration

to this pattern is shown below.

All Saints’

Mon 3rd March 7.30 pm Ladies’ Society meets in the church hall

Tues 5th March 2.30 pm MU meets in the church hall Mon 10th March 7.45 pm Men’s Society meets in the social club

Tues 18th March 7.30 pm MU meets in church

Sun 23rd March 12.00 noon All Saints’ AGM Tues 25th March 7.30 pm Baptism meeting in the social club

‘Noah’s Ark’ Mums & Toddlers meets in the hall on Tuesdays at 9.30 am in

term time.

St Andrew’s

Mon 3rd March 7.30 pm DCC meets in the church hall

Sun 23rd March 10.45 am St Andrew’s AGM

‘Little Angels’ Mums & Toddlers meets in the hall each Monday at 9.30 am in

term time.

St Andrew’s ‘Silver Threads’ (over 60s) meet each Wednesday from 10.30 am to

12.30 pm in the church hall.

Lent Study Groups - “Build On The Rock”

Our two Lent Groups will meet weekly on Mondays. Group 1 at 2.30 pm in All Saints’ social club and Group 2 at 7.30 pm at 72 The Straits. The meeting dates

are; Monday 10th, 17th, 24th March, and the 7th and 14th April

Parish & Deanery Meetings/Services

Tues 18th March 7.30 pm PCC meets in All Saints’ social club

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