Stainbeck Church (United Reformed)

OUTLOOK

June 2020

Please worship with us:

Sunday Morning at 10.45am Thursday Evening at 7.15pm

All via ZOOM

https://stainbeckurc.org.uk

2

JUNE2020

Dear Friends,

Do you remember the PENTECOST celebration at St Matthews? Five years ago?

As part of our worship I remember that we heard stories from some of our

congregations about their experience of GOD and God’s Spirit at work in

their lives. We also saw photos – many photos – illustrating the ways in

which we lived out our faith day by day. And of course they covered our

daily work, our leisure, our family, our neighbours: every aspect of our

everyday lives as well as those special moments, all culminating in the joyful

release of hundreds of balloons. It was an amazing and powerful sign of God

among us.

Sadly in a Coronavirus world this year will be different. Or will it?

We may not be altogether in St Matthew’s Church space; we may not be

together in the familiar surroundings of Stainbeck’s sanctuary; there will be

no balloons to lift my heart and surprise you (the shop is still closed );

but we will be gathered – apart yet also together – living stones – as God’s

people.

Living stones, open to receive the gifts of God that we need in this strange

unprecedented time. Open to rediscover and reaffirm the reality of the

LOVE that lives and breathes, in, with, through and beyond us. The LOVE

of God that is expressed so clearly in the life and death and resurrection of

Jesus. The LOVE that overcomes death and points us to new life and fresh

hope.

This is the LOVE that will nourish and sustain us even in this time of

pandemic. This is the love that will so inspire and equip us, that we may

continue to be that love even in a world of self-isolation and social

distancing.

This PENTECOST let us recognise, acknowledge and be open to it. Discover

it in some of our LOCKDOWN stories and in our care for others – all others.

Open your hearts and minds – God is with us.

Angela

3

ZOOM WORSHIP: Sundays at 10.45am – doors open from 10.15am. Click on the link – and we will admit you from the ‘waiting room’. We

currently have just over 50 joining us for worship.

Service of 30 minutes followed by ‘coffee and chat’.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86110988876

To listen in by phone dial any of these numbers and follow instructions:

0131 460 1196 ; 0203 051 2874 ; 0203 481 5237 ; 0203 481 5240 . ID 861 1098 8878

These details also apply to our Café Drop-in on Thursdays 11am – 12

noon. And Thursday Prayers which start at 7.15am doors open at 7.00pm.

The URC Daily Devotions, and Sunday Service podcast available every

week from Sunday morning, can be found at: https://devotions.urc.org.uk/ .

This month I have chosen to share Vanessa’s monthly ‘thank you’ sent

to all volunteers as it gives a good insight into the work undertaken on

our behalf during this LOCKDOWN period. Thank you InterACT!

She writes, ‘Firstly, as ever, THANK YOU! If my count is correct, there

are around 60 of you making regular shops and phone calls for people

in our local area. Some of you are supporting more than one household.

We often receive messages saying how great you are from those people

you are caring for - you're making a real difference in difficult times and

we hope you know how much it's appreciated.

We don't know how long we will need to continue with this work, but it

may be for some time yet, so I want to be sure we're doing all we can to

look after you! Please let us know if you need us to do more to help you,

ask us to step in if things are getting difficult, ask us to arrange a

temporary or permanent break if you need it. I know some of you will be

returning to work over coming weeks and that may well change things,

so keep in touch.

It's always good to hear how you and your 'clients' are getting on, so

thank you for the updates and stories. Thanks also for raising concerns

when you have them and helping us meet developing need.

Vanessa Brown

4

FAMILY AND FRIENDS Where there is tender care and love, God is present

It is with sadness that we record the death of Jean Barker who died at

home, in the early hours of Monday 18th May, with her family by her

side. Jean was a member of the After Eights group and loved nothing

more than talking to people about their lives and experiences. We send

our love and prayers to the family and many friends of Jean.

As you all are aware. our friend Cliff Hutchinson died on Wednesday

19th April after a heroic battle with cancer; he is sorely missed by us all.

We gave thanks for his life at a brief service of committal held on

Monday 18th May, at Lawnswood Crematorium following the current

guidelines for COVID-19. At some point in the future there will be a

service at Stainbeck when we can all come together to celebrate Cliff’s

life more fully.

We remember also, those in our Church family and friends who have

lost a loved one and are grieving; you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Our Lunch Club family are managing very well and are grateful for their

families and the volunteers who are doing their shopping and chatting

on the telephone to keep up their spirits. We remember especially at this

time all of those who are unwell and send our condolences to the family

of Frank Hudson, who had just started to attend the Lunch Club, and

who died suddenly a few weeks ago.

We will continue to think of all those who have on-going health issues

within our Church Family and the local community and who are, at this

point in time, finding things difficult – GOD LOVES YOU ALL.

Birthday Congratulations in June go to our young people,

two of whom have special birthdays this month.

5

HERE AND THERE

During the many conversations that we have had during the ‘lockdown’,

it would appear that you are all passing the time in a variety of ways and

it was good to read about some of those experiences in last month’s

Outlook. Keep them coming - it does not have to be pages and pages

just a short passage to let us know how things are for you!

Further News from the Church Family and friends in Lock Down

My Boyhood Memories of life in the 2nd World War I was 4 years old at the outbreak of the War and 10 when it ended on

May 8th 1945.

As a young boy I did not appreciate the seriousness of the situation and

my friends and myself looked upon the whole period as a time of

excitement. I was born in Alwoodley, Leeds and my father built a very

strong underground air raid shelter with 4 bunk beds and paraffin

heating. There was also a water pump in case of flooding. The shelter

was only used a few times and Leeds did not suffer much bombing.

We had several evacuees staying in our street; they came from Sidcup

in Kent and were aged 6-14. They were great fun and joined in all the

games we played. We built a den on Moortown golf course which we

called our Headquarters. When aeroplanes flew over, we could tell if

they were Spitfires by the sound of their engines. We used to take

lemonade and biscuits to the den and once we pretended we had caught

a shot-down German pilot and had took him to the den for questioning.

All children were issued with gas masks and we would put them on in

the den and pretend we were being invaded. (Our mums and dads did

not know about this). Simple tasks had to be done by all would-be gang

members, like jumping ditches, climbing trees and arm wrestling. We

did not have many sweets as they were rationed like most other things.

We would buy health bars from the chemist which did not need coupons.

Most rationing did not end until 1953 – the year I joined the R.A.F.

6

About a week before May 8th everyone knew that the War was about to

end and we ‘kids’ built a huge bonfire in the large garden opposite my

house. Unbelievably Standard Fireworks were available, and we had

marsh mellows, roasted potatoes, sausages, and brandy snaps.

Afterwards things slowly began to improve, and I remember eating my

first banana. People took down their black curtaining and dad filled in

our air raid shelter. People’s sacrifices and our adventures were coming

to an end. Childhood memories of miss-spent days!

Ted Franklin (Lunch Club Member)

Thoughts on 'Victory in Europe' Day

On VE day, I was almost 6 months old and Peter (Moore) was 2 weeks

old! We were obviously too young to remember anything about this

event but we did hear and learn a lot from our parents over the years.

My dad (Percy Leslie Craske) was in the Royal Dragoon Yorkshire

Regiment and spent most of the years between 1940 to 1945 away from

home. He would often talk about the experiences he had during his time

as a ‘Wireless Operator’ in an armoured car, reconnoitring and fighting

in Egypt, Europe and Africa, sometimes on the front line. He was in the

D Day landings in France and was part of

the British Forces that liberated

Belsen. Towards the end of the war the

Royal Dragoons were transferred to

Denmark to protect the country from

the advancing Russian army. VE day

was celebrated in Denmark - 8th May

1945.

Peter and I had a lockdown party in our

back garden on the 7t5th Anniversary in remembrance of VE Day.

Doreen Moore

7

Angela suggested that Brian and I

might like to write about our

experiences of VE Day. On that

score Brian and I are not much

help as he was only 18 months old

and I wasn’t born until after the

war. However, we both do

remember the end of rationing in

1954. Sweets and chocolate yum!

I did ask one or two of our Lunch Club if they could remember how they

celebrated the day; sadly some could not recall anything. However,

Maurice Pilsworth remembered wondering from one street party to

another enjoying the celebrations. He also recalls during the war going

to the coast with his Mum on the train for the day and it cost two shillings

and sixpence! Avril Bellwood

As I took my daily walk on the Bank Holiday VE Day I thought about

my own memories of those war

years - little snapshots of life in

London, bombs, sirens, aircraft –

gas masks, shelters and life with

my mother. I thought about how

life changed when my father came

home, my baby brother arrived

and we became a family. It was

not ‘back to normal’ –for my

parents or for any others - it was,

I guess, what we now call the ‘new normal’.

And I reflected on the ways this time changed all of us – and that age

and perspective is a great thing. Maybe this is why I am so fond of that

‘bigger picture’ which helps me to make any sense of life and faith and

the future.

8

We won’t forget our celebrations of this day in this strange time, and the

ways we found to remember. Apart and yet together – poignant and

thought provoking – may we learn from them. Angela

And LOCKDOWN: some more thoughts

On March 16th I wrote in my diary

“1st day of social distancing/

isolation”. Now, weeks in it occurs to

me that ‘these strange times’ are not

entirely strange, they are as full of

ups and downs as life ever was.

Initially the opportunities of more

time stretched before us and maybe,

like me, an inveterate list maker, you

thought of all those things you could

now do that have been sitting on the famous ‘one of these days’ back

burner. Cupboards to sort out, photos to collate, those wilderness bits of

the garden to clear, the collection of unnecessary stuff in the garage!

There would be so much time to address all those put off, ‘when I've

time jobs.’

Then there’s the list of the good things, the opportunities - time to read,

maybe to get out the sketch book, time to write, to catch up with old

friends, to listen to some of those CDs that have sat in the rack. Time

just to sit and think.

I wonder, is your reality like mine? Quite a bit of catching up with

people I haven't spoken to for a while, having regular catch ups and

proper conversations in the sunshine. Some gardening - in the sunshine,

some reading, in the sunshine, leisurely chatting over the fence with

neighbours in the sunshine, some just sitting in the sunshine. What a

blessing the spring weather has been; warmth, bright mornings, blue

skies, buds and bird song, clear turquoise evening skies. Was Venus ever

so bright or am I properly noticing for the first time? Many ups to relish,

be thankful for and for me to focus on when placed in the balance scales

that also hold the downs.

Scott Hall Road in Rush Hour

9

Families far away and no way of knowing when flights will make them

accessible again. Ordering shopping - oh the frustrating hours spent at

the computer. My greatest ‘down’ has I believe been the challenge of

technology, one which I didn't cope with at all well. Escaping only to

walk round the block - again! The daily news briefings painting the

picture of a world in crisis. Uncertainty.

However, beyond it all has been an increasing awareness and joy in

seeing how we are all in this together. I love the uniting Thursday

clapping and banging sessions; seeing and sharing with each other on

Zoom; rediscovering the calm of Celtic prayer; hearing stories of

kindness, thoughtfulness and generosity and those firm, faith-filled

expressions of confidence that this also will pass.

I recall those lines from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – ‘In the end

all will be well, and if it is not well, it is not the

end.’ And so, we journey on, together.

Ann Coates

These photos also tell their own story

Garden pond dreams

made real by the Bostons

Parental portraits from Gabriel

10

Hilary finds knitting relaxing and

absorbing. These cactii were a ‘bit of

fun’ – helping to pass time during

lockdown. One of them is real! And

what about the family of Teddies?

Please keep photos and thoughts

coming! Quizzes – coffees – catch ups?

Any new hobbies? Discoveries? What

do we want to hold onto from this time?

What do me miss?

Well no sooner than the words were

out of my mouth when I was

rewarded richly ……. !

Joan Craske has an ongoing project

to illustrate what we missed this

corona year – see the photo to the

left.

I know that some of us are keeping

diaries and journaling in many

creative ways – are we also dreaming

dreams I wonder?

11

Lockdown Blessings

Over coffee after the service on Zoom we ended up talking about our

gardens; sharing what we have started to grow given the current

circumstances. Myself and Pete have grown the odd courgettes and

tomato plant, but have dreamed of more.

Late last year Pete build a planter with plants to grow some onions and

garlic. As lockdown began, our mini-greenhouse was erected and carrot

seeds sown. Then over the next couple of weeks we became more

adventurous with squash seeds (although we are not sure if they are

acorn or butternut squash – harvested from a fruit at some point), brussel

sprouts and cucumelons (hybrid between a melon and cucumber). And

more recently we have sown courgettes, romanesco cauliflower, more

carrots and brought a cherry tomato plant. Oh and a gooseberry bush (we

really have gone a little crazy)!

Some may say we have bitten off more than we can chew, it is a bit of a

leap going from a couple of courgette plants to all of this; but this has

been a blessing from lockdown.

A blessing of time to sow the seeds, to marvel as they begin to grow,

waking each morning

to count how many

shoots have broken the

surface, sometimes

seeing the change

between morning and

evening. These have

all been small

blessings which have

made long closed days

a little more enjoyable.

If anyone fancies a brussel sprout plant, cauliflower or courgette please

let me know, because we really don’t have room for all of our plants.

Happy to make a doorstep drop when they are ready.

Samantha Sheehan

12

The Harrison Family have enjoyed this

woodpecker who has been coming for

the past week or so. They suspect he has

a nest of chicks nearby. Woodpeckers

don't come into suburbia often.

Jackie Watt’s beautiful garden

now also contains tomatoes,

sweetcorn, cabbages and French

beans.

Judy Taylor has been baking!

This colourful cake was a gift for

her neighbours as they celebrated

Eid.

I am also told that before Zooming

with us on Anniversary Sunday

she had been on a ten-mile hike!

Now that is impressive! AND she

is also growing broccoli in her

garden.

Judy also comments on the

difficulties of ‘lockdown’ at work

– especially wearing a mask for

the whole shift on the wards.

Thank you Judy.

13

BIRTHDAY PARTIES and CELEBRATIONS?

Many of these have slipped past – but for Dorothy Jackson the moment

is captured! HAPPY 89th BIRTHDAY Dorothy!

And nostalgia looms as I look back and remember this one. Last year’s

88th Anniversary celebrations – all the ‘EIGHTS’- those were the days?

Remember them?

And now for something different …. About 20 years ago Suzie and I had an idea for a range of greeting cards.

When hearing the phrase “they say there’s a bug going around ...” Suzie and

I would joke, who are they? And then the idea came, why don’t we illustrate

these anonymous experts. After a few attempts we discovered cartoon

illustration wasn’t our forte. In fact it wasn’t until a few years later in 2008

we became friends with an illustrator who we asked to create the characters

for a range of greetings cards, which he kindly did.

We now have a set of 24 cards illustrated by the super talented Si Smith, a

Christian living in North Leeds. Over the years we have been very close to

selling them to some large stationery stores but it has never quite come

off. However, thanks to lockdown we have had time to reflect (something I

think God wants us all to do) on the way forward with our little venture.

Subsequently we have launched our cards on Etsy. We are trusting that God

will bless the work of our hands.

If you would like to see the designs then here is the

link https://www.etsy.com/shop/theysaycards/ Richard Hamlin

MAY 2019 MAY 2020

14

FINANCE

The Treasurer is exploring means to ‘automate’ the way donations are given

to the church. He write:

MyGivingOnline is a program which allows donations to be made

contactless, or via an app, or by use of a ‘Donate Now’ button on the church

website.

I’m taking out a three-month free trial, partly to see if it’s an improvement

on the current way we record and claim Gift Aid and GASDS (Gift Aid on

Small Donations).

We can only claim GASDS if they are in cash, but HMRC do allow

contactless as if cash. Please check the website for news:

https://stainbeckurc.org.uk

PLC

I wonder if you recognise these transformed

steps? The ‘back stairs’ have been refurbished

in our absence and now looking super smart

and much safer.

I would also like to thank Sarah Riley for

printing this magazine for those who need hard

copy and Christine Robson for continuing to

send them out to you – also for the many

contributions.

Angela

15

REFLECTIONS 3rd May 9.00am Relationships are the key to a good life, because it is

through relationships that you can give what you are able to give, and

through relationships that you can take what you need to take. Which

reminds me of Marx’s core principle: ‘from each according to his ability, to

each according to his need’. And is there a link here to Matthew 11:30?

‘For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’. Jesus has condensed the Torah

into two essential commandments. Relationships in the Kingdom are easy to

understand, and simple to follow.

To love God, could be understood as a matter of giving what you are able to

give, living as you ought to live, responding in all relationships, whether with

other people, or as a member of society, by doing justice, loving kindness,

and walking humbly, (Micah 6:8). The Lord requires it.

It might be thought perverse to imagine that to love your neighbour as

yourself, is to enter into a relationship which will answer your needs. But is

this not the case? The only way to answer a need to be loved is to love others.

9th May 9.15am I read ‘Normal People’, Sally Rooney’s novel about a boy

and a girl from different backgrounds falling in love, some time ago. Both

the novel, and the TV adaptation, brilliantly illuminate the problem that you

never know, or can’t be certain, what the other person, in a relationship, is

thinking. And that relationship is a product of what has made us who we are.

Marianne comes from a privileged, if dysfunctional family, whereas Conner

lives with his mother, who is the cleaner at Marianne’s house, (but also the

mother everyone on social media, who has watched the TV play, wants as

their mother!). A review in ‘The Atlantic’ points out that Rooney is a Marxist

who often talks about growing up hearing Marx’s dictum “From each

…..ability, to each….. need”’. The novel is ‘Marxism of the heart’ and the

proposal is that a ‘just country can still exist, even if only in the space

between friends’ in a sharing of advantages at different times of need. True

love.

11th May 11.25pm The marvellous gift of adaptability which ranges over

the aeons of evolution, and the days of the coronavirus crisis.

A year ago, a Saturday, I went down to the Church to meet the builders. Then

I did the Lunch Club accounts, called at the Salon, and picked up Leon for

Maths revision. Watched on television Leeds beat Derby, then, in the

evening, went to the Playhouse, after which we called down at Church to see

16

how the building work was progressing. With dust everywhere, there was a

lot of cleaning to do on Sunday because we were camping in the Lakes on

Monday!

Today, instead of being in Orlando, we went for our walk, braving the cold

wind, and keeping alert. Later Lucy dropped off our Sainsbury’s order on

the doorstep. We saw Luna. I updated the Lunch Club accounts and we

watched ‘Hospital’, a moving film of the first week of Lockdown at the

Royal Free in London, the reality of work in a time of survival or death.

In this ‘new’ normal, we walk for an hour every day round the fields at

Eccup. We have six way texts with the Craskedashians, follow corona news,

and I’m obsessed with the incredible Donald Trump. J. runs the house, and

creates colourful, acrylic painted, scenes, on pebbles. When we have time,

we’re re-furbishing a room at the Salon, as we await the next ‘new’ normal.

19th May 10.13am Two thirds of believers in the USA think the virus is from

God, but then 44% think Bill Gates is funding a vaccine to inject us all with

micro-chips. In this secular, scientific world, even the Archbishop of

Canterbury mentioning ‘God’ sounds superstitious. Yet the singing of ‘The

Blessing’ on You Tube sounds real and, in every way, authentic.

22nd May 8.35pm Even I, lifelong supporter of the Labour Party, have to

feel some sympathy for the government. Four years of ‘do nothing else but’

Brexit were ended by the party electing a leader who, having removed its

most experienced ministers, ‘got it done’, only to find his rhetoric no match

for the coronavirus, and hindsight now a daily hazard.

23rd May 7.40am Hagglund distinguishes between ‘socially necessary

labour time’ and ‘socially available free time’, a difference more clearly

perceived at this time. In the New Statesman, an article quotes Hannah

Arendt, who wrote of labour, what we do to survive, and work, ‘which gives

a collective meaning to what we do’. Stonebridge says ‘we labour by

necessity; we work to create a human reality’

Make a take-away…………………….or a table?

PLC

Views expressed by individuals are personal and not necessarily those of Stainbeck Church.

Revd Angela Hughes, Minister: 07752904317

Avril and Brian Bellwood, Church Secretaries: 0113 293 5847