Spring/Summer 2013
InSp re
DEADPAN: Decorated pancakes during our Shrove Tuesday celebrations.
Inside...
The Magazine of St Luke’s Church, Maidenhead
Part One of a Personal History of Our Church
The Vicar’s Column
A Chichester Encore
News of Our Exciting Summer Music Festival
StLuke’s: An Inspired Building
Spring/Summer 2013
InSpire Magazine is produced three times a year and is edited by
AndrewBurdett.
The editor wishes to thank everybody who contributed to this issue, and
reminds readers that the next issue will be published in Autumn 2013.
Any views expressed in this magazine are of the article’s respective author(s), and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor, St Luke’s Church Maidenhead,
the Diocese of Oxford, or the Church of England.
Regular Services at St Lukeʼs
Saturdays
9:00am: Morning Prayer
Sundays
8:00am: Holy Communion, with traditional language. A quieter service. Held in the choir stalls.
10:00am: Parish Communion. The Sunday Club (for children aged 3 to 10) and Sparklers (aged 10+)
meet during the service, except on the first Sunday of every month where they stay for all-age worship.
6:00pm: Evening Worship at either StLukeʼs, AllSaints, or Cox Green.
Tuesdays
8:30am: Morning
Prayer
7:15pm: Midweek
Communion
Wednesdays
8:30am: Morning
Prayer
10:00am: Midweek
Communion
Thursdays
8:30am: Morning
Prayer
5:00pm: Evening
Prayer
Fridays
8:30am: Morning
Prayer
5:00pm: Evening
Prayer
For the latest information, please see the weekly pew-sheet, or visit our website:
www.stlukeschurchmaidenhead.org.uk
2
Here, at last, is your full-colour Spring/
Summer 2013 edition of InSpire, with the usual range of
news, reviews, updates, and more. I apologise for the
emphasis on Lent in some of the articles: when our
great contributors – to whom I am extremely grateful –
were writing, Easter still seemed rather distant. Then,
though, my school exams and coursework deadlines got
in the way, and it’s only now – a few weeks after that
mid-February material deadline – that I’ve finally got
around to ‘putting the magazine to bed’. Lent is nearly
over and, through my fault entirely, those articles about
it look a little out-of-date.
The long and short of it is that, actually, the
summer is nearly here. Possibly a stark conclusion,
hyperbole at least: the long school break is, admittedly,
many months away. But British Summer Time begins
next Sunday – Easter Sunday – and the day after that,
it’ll be April.
That seems rather unbelievable. For now, the
weather is remaining stubbornly bitter.
When, two weeks ago, we had a couple of days of
golden sunshine, I was hoodwinked into thinking the
winter was over. As I look out of my office window,
though, it’s back to being grey, and cold, and miserable.
Who knows how long this will last?
I’m now searching, desperately, for a metaphor to
draw together this monotonous twaddle. Somebody
more devout than I would say that the unpredictable
weather is much like the unpredictable tomorrow that
God has for us today. “The road is never easy, the path
never straight”, Revd Sally wrote in this magazine last
year. But for people like me – a young Christian lad,
struggling to make sense of this bizarre world into
which I was born – that still seems odd. I do always
really cherish the Easter period, for its opportunity to
reflect on Christ’s sacrifice and enduring love, yet I can’t
help clinging to the concrete events on the horizon.
I can’t wait for my choir’s imminent tour of
Venice. I’m really excited for the church’s own Music
Festival this summer (more details on Page 18). And, it’s
with realistic pragmatism that I must prepare for my
important May exams.
However, if anything in the near-future doesn’t
go quite as well as is hoped, perhaps then I can rely on
God having something even better, lurking around that
ever-winding path.
Andrew Burdett, March 2013
Spring/Summer 2013
A Price to Pay
Submitted by: Jean Tyrwhitt-Drake
It is a slow day in a little Greek village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted.
Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a
rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note
on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms in order to pick one to
spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked
upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 and runs next door to repay his debt to the butcher. The
butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The
pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.
The guy at the Farmers’ Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the
tavern. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has
also been facing hard times and has had to offer him “services” on credit. The hooker then
rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel
proprietor then places the €100 note back on the desk so the rich traveller will not suspect
anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states
that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced
anything, No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking
to the future with a lot more optimism.
The Shoebox Appeal
Words: Janet Trinkwon
On 3 November 2012, I went to the launch of ‘Shoeboxes’, held at
the U
United Reformed Church. The URC is the Collection Centre
for sshoeboxes from the surrounding towns. It is now 22 years
since Operation Christmas Child started. That first year, around
3,000 boxes were processed and sent to Romania. Since then,
million shoeboxes have been filled and sent to various parts of
91 mill
Europe aand Africa. Perhaps this year it will sum to over 100 million!
meeting, a DVD was played showing a lorry travelling from
At the meet
Southampton to Kiev and onwards to the Ukraine. This was 2012. The local
Baptist Church in Ukraine distributed the boxes on Christmas Day (7 January) and
everyone from the surrounding communities came and joined in the celebrations. These included children from
the orphanage which is state-run, since the break-up of the USSR.
After a few minutes the children began opening their boxes. All around there was joy, excitement, and disbelief,
huge smiles on every face and such a wonderful scene of love. What a great day.
As for this area, around 7,000 boxes were processed in 2011 (8 per cent better than 2010), and in 2012 6,400 boxes
were received and processed, despite the recession. St Luke’s sent 64 boxes. Everyone involved in the checking
and filling of cartons for the lorry was delighted. These boxes will be sent to Swaziland, Bosnia, Romania,
Crimea, and Ukraine.
Over the next few months when you’re shopping, consider whether you could buy a toothbrush / toothpaste /
soap / flannel etc, so that we can continue to fill our ‘boxes of love’ in October. Thank you everyone. 3
Spring/Summer 2013
Opening Up
Enid Barber on welcoming the homeless to our church.
Words: Enid Barber
This Lent we are thinking about how we
welcome people and make them feel at ease. Over the
years, we have welcomed people to our church
community in many different ways, not necessarily to
a service. You may be surprised at the variety of
people who turn up on vicarage or church doorsteps.
Recently, I have been looking back at some of
the those who have used our porch. The church gates
have not always been locked at night. In a storm,
passing people have taken shelter from the rain, but I
am thinking more about those who have spent a day
or night there. The homeless; people who were
travelling; and even some who were lost. One I
remember turned up during the 8:30am Morning
Prayer and sat quietly in the back pew. He was doing
his annual long distant walk to visit a relative. He said
the vicar always gave him some soup. (He could also
quote chapter and verse of Jesus’s teaching.) Anyway,
as the vicar was not available, he was taken to a
mobile cafe just off Cordwallis Road and treated to
soup and a burger, to help him on his way. After that,
we always made sure we had a supply of packet
soups.
Another man insisted he had been turned out of
his flat and had nowhere to live. Thanks to Bob Glenn,
the Social Services turned up, saying they had been
looking for this man, as he had not been seen for
several days. He was taken back to his flat in Eton. He
turned up a couple more times having walked to
Maidenhead and forgotten how to find his way back
to his new home. He was never hungry as he raided
the waste bins behind food stores for items about to go
out of date. Another time, a couple of teenage lads
slept in the porch as they had nowhere to live. Again,
it was dear Bob who managed to find them a flat.
There was one man who had plenty of initiative and
was well-prepared. He stayed several nights on and
off. The biking bag man. There was an assortment of
bags hanging on his bicycle and, a bit like Mary
Poppins, out came his bed-roll, a duvet, and goodness
knows what else. The biggest surprise was the first
morning when I went to open the church: I was locked
out because he had locked himself in with the bungee
cord from his bike, making him and his belongings
safe for the night. I woke him with a “Wakey, wakey!”.
He let me in, then asked to use the toilet and I put the
kettle on. When I took the coffee through to the porch,
he had packed up and gone. The last night he stayed,
the weather turned extremely cold. In the morning, he
could not let me in fast enough! He grabbed his duvet,
which was almost freezing, and threw it over a
radiator on the way through. On that occasion, he did
stop for a hot drink – hugging his now-warm duvet
and the radiator. We had quite a chat.
All these visitors were polite. Others, we knew,
slept down near the boilers. The various vicars of
StLuke’s could probably write books about visitors to
the vicarage!
The above are just a few of my own
experiences.
From the Registers
4
We have welcomed into
God’s church in baptism:
LexiSkyeToriSmith; FlynnSeligmann
We have commended into
God’s care at their
funerals:
BerylJeanHorsham; Frank Postlethwaite
Joyce; RobertWilliamHowe;
MarjorieEvelynHopkins; EvelynMaryRose;
RoyLeslieHorsham; DennisRayfield;
RuthKeys; MaryAgnesFox;
PeggyBarbaraClutterbuck; Charles Harvey
Spring/Summer 2013
Campaigner Sue Brett set up the Open Kitchen charity in
2010. Here, she responds to claims that her work instils
dependency and laziness.
Words: Sue Brett
One thing without any doubt whatsoever,
though, is that without God’s hand in this, there is no
way that we could achieve anything like the amount
we have achieved.
We need more food to feed those who come to
our door asking for help? A prayer and it is there – that
week a church or school or office has had a surprise
collection for us. We need money for the meals? A
donor who has come into money gives us £500.
Whatever we ask the Lord for, he provides… and more.
So what has all this got to do with the questions
and meeting on Thursday?
The meeting, among other things, was to discuss
a new logo. How do we get, into a very short catchy
phrase, the phrase: ‘every meal is given with love and
compassion and is a meal shared with us’ – something
which every religion and group we work with aspires
to; something which even the bible talks
about.
A lot of those who come to the meals are
people who ordinarily have others cross
the road to get away from them. They
provoke a feeling of fear or unease
among others. Exactly the people we aim
to help, those whom society would rather
pretend are not there, those whom are
invisible.
Do we instil dependency and laziness?
No. We give hope to those who are used
to having none; we aim to give a helping
hand whilst guiding them forward to a
time they can help themselves.
In return, those whom we help often only
use our services for a short period,
returning only to say thank you for
helping at a time when there was no one
Sue Brettʼs Foodshare article in InSpire, Autumn 2012 else to help, nowhere else to turn, except
to those who believe in God and try to
walk in his footsteps. As in the words of 1John317–18:
It would be easy to take the credit for this but in
‘If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in
actual fact there is an army of volunteers behind
need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
Foodshare: Christians; Muslims; Sikhs; Jews; those of
him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but
no faith; and those testing the water, not sure whether
with actions and in truth.’ to believe or not.
I am often asked if providing food to those in
need doesn’t in some way instil a sense of dependency;
if it doesn’t allow people a way out of trying to help
themselves. Why help yourself when others will do it
for you? Valid points for those wondering whether to
help Foodshare. Points which we raised ourselves,
before even embarking on this project.
At a meeting on Thursday with one of the
Trustees of Foodshare, numbers were being thrown
around… amount of meals given out since starting on a
Thursday, 4,464; amount of sandwiches given out since
starting the sandwich run, 1,429; amount of food
parcels given out since starting, 2,027. It was only when
we broke down the number of meals, which could be
obtained from each food parcel, that the numbers really
shocked us. 60,810 to date. Add that to the other meals
given out and it comes to 66,703. Absolutely amazing.
5
Spring/Summer 2013
Lenten Observance...
At the start of Lent, Vicar Sally Lynch prepares for Easter
in her regular column.
Words and Photograph: Revd Sally Lynch
‘An ordinary man of average weight and fitness
embarking on a total fast—that is, a fast during which he
refuses both his food and drink—could not expect to live for
more than thirty days, nor to be conscious for more than
twenty-five. For him, the forty days of fasting described in
religious texts would not be achievable—except with divine
help, of course.’
This quotation comes from the introduction to
the novel, Quarantine, by Jin Crace. The novel tells the
story of four fictional characters who embark on a fast
in the Judean desert in order to pray for their lost
souls. Alongside them is Jesus, also battling with his
own issues and seeking God’s will for his life and
work. It is very much a novel, but certainly an
The Church has just entered the season of Lent,
a time of preparation for Easter. We recall the 40 days
that Jesus spent in the desert as we lead up to Easter.
and we are encouraged to recall Jesus’s suffering and
self-denial by making small denials for ourselves.
Some people choose to give something up for Lent. I
often go for chocolate – sadly one the mainstays of my
diet. And yet I need to examine my motives for giving
it up. To lose weight? (Rather vain.) To prove that I can
live without chocolate for six weeks? (Rather
pompous.) Or to show that God means more to me
than chocolate and I want to really try to identify just
a little with what he went through?
Some people try to do something extra rather
than give something up.
“
I always think of Lent as a
journey; a journey with
Jesus.
interesting read as we see the humanity of Jesus
reaching the depths of despair in the desert, and the
sufferings of other people with which we may, at a
simple level, identify. And yet, we know from the
Bible account that Jesus comes through the experience,
surely only through help from God, in order to start
his ministry of teaching, healing and revealing God to
ordinary people – like us.
6
This is certainly more
positive and can be a
great help to self and
others. It may be reading
an edifying book, or
making an effort to get
out for a walk every day,
visiting
an
elderly
neighbour or spending
five minutes a day in
quiet or prayer.
And some people are just
going through the mill
anyway in all that life is
throwing at them. They
too, like Jesus, can know
that God is supporting them and enables them to cope
– though at times it may not feel that way.
Giving something up, making time to do a little
extra, or just coping with the deserts of life, all take
effort. That is what Lent is about – making time to
think about ourselves, God, and other people – and it
takes effort. But then so do all things that matter.
Marriages take effort to make them a joy for both
Spring/Summer 2013
Lenten Observance...
(continued)
partners, friendships take time and effort to listen
to each other, so many things in life cost us a little
bit. Caring about the world cost God a lot—the life
of his Son on the cross. That is what we will recall
and celebrate at the end of Lent, but we have to get
there first and you can’t really enjoy the good
things unless you have been through some bad or
difficult times.
So the challenge to all of us is to do (or not
do, if you see what I mean!) just some small thing
this Lent that will benefit us as people, and
perhaps those around us. Our Lent course this year
(Everybody Welcome) offers an opportunity to think
together about how we support and nurture those
who are drawn into our fellowship. Join us on
Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for that
time. And do take the pre-reading and checklists
from church.
I always think of Lent as a journey; a
journey along with Jesus as we reflect on his time
in the desert and on the last week of his life. It is
almost impossible to fully enter into the joy of
Easter without experiencing the hardships of Lent
and Holy Week.
So, however you spend Lent, I hope that it
will be a reflective and helpful journey, preparing
for the joys of Easter.
Farewell to
Diana and Columbus
Submitted by: FranHornby
Prayer Group
Our Prayer Group meets in
church on the first
Wednesday of every month
from 3:00pm.
All are welcome to come
along for a time of quiet
reflection, taking time to
be in the presence of God
when all around us is so
busy.
For more information, see
Sonya Clarke
(☎ 01628 632626).
Diane and Columbus During,
who worshipped and were
married at St Luke’s, are
emigrating to Australia.
At their last Sunday service
with us, they shared cake
and wine.
We all wish them God's
blessing on their new
adventure.
7
Spring/Summer 2013
8
With Christian Aid Week in May, Associate Priest
TerrieRobinson discusses the IF campaign.
Words: Revd Terrie Robinson
‘All around the world, a quiet
and momentous change is happening –
people are lifting themselves out of
poverty. In the past ten years more
than 50 million children have started
going to school in sub-Saharan Africa,
while deaths from the great killer,
measles, have fallen by almost 75 per
cent. We are some way along one of the
most important roads human beings
have ever travelled – the road towards
ending extreme poverty for everyone,
everywhere. We are at a tipping point.
We could be the generation to ensure
every woman, child and man gets a fair
chance at life.’
This is how Christian Aid
begins its new report Enough Food
For Everyone IF. The report goes on
to point out that even though there
is enough food in the world for
everyone, there is still a yawning
gap. One in eight women, men,
and children go to bed hungry
every night and 2.3 million
children die from malnutrition each
year. By 2025 nearly a billion young
people will face poverty because of
the damage done to them now
through hunger and malnutrition.
Hunger is still the great
scandal of our age. It doesn’t have
to be this way. There really is
enough food for everyone, but
only:
•IF we give enough aid to
stop children dying from hunger
and help the poorest families feed
themselves
•IF governments stop big
companies dodging tax in poor
countries, so that millions of people
can free themselves from hunger
•IF we stop poor farmers
being forced off their land and we
grow crops to feed people not fuel
cars
Lord Jesus,
You came that all might
have life in abundance.
When you fed hungry
people, everyone ate and
had enough.
We know that there is
enough food for everyone:
If we don’t look the other
way.
If we give the poorest
people the power to feed
themselves.
If we use land for food not
fuel.
If we stop poor farmers
losing their land.
If taxes are paid where
they are due.
So, Lord Jesus, direct our
attention to see beyond
our own needs. Strengthen
the hungry poor and their
rights. Preserve and
protect the land that
brings forth food. And
contend with us for justice.
Amen.
PRAYER: CHRISTIAN AID
•IF governments and big
companies are honest and open
about their actions that stop people
getting enough food.
So basically, the four big
issues are aid, tax, land and
transparency.
Christian Aid has joined
with over a hundred churches and
non-governmental organisations in
the UK in promoting the Enough
Food For Everyone IF campaign,
which was launched in January this
year. The campaign aims to involve
millions of people like you and me
in asking our leaders to act on the
four big issues that mean so many
people don’t get enough food.
During Christian Aid Week
(12 to 18 May), we’ll be discovering
more about communities and
individuals around the world who
are being enabled not just to
survive, but to thrive. Our houseto-house fundraising with the
famous red envelopes will help to
support them.
Then in June this year, our
Prime Minister will be hosting the
G8 Summit in Northern Ireland,
and aid, tax, land and transparency
will all be on the agenda. So in
preparation we can be emailing or
writing to our MP to let her know
that we want our own and other
powerful governments to bite back
a t
h u n g e r .
S e e
w w w. c h r i s t i a n a i d . o r g . u k /
ActNow/if-enough-food/
lobby.aspx for some pointers.
At StLuke’s we’ll be finding
lots of ways to get involved.
Together we can make 2013 the
beginning of the end for the global
hunger crisis.
Until then, it’s all a big
if…
Spring/Summer 2013
Thursday Group Update
Thursday Group Leader, Sonya Clarke, outlines the latest
news from the monthly-meeting group.
Words: Sonya Clarke
Since our last edition we have enjoyed both
decorating and eating macaroons and cupcakes. This
was our wonderful evening in November with Jenny
and Graham Bartholomew. They very kindly made a
great selection of both and after having shown us how
to decorate allowed us loose on their creations. It was
a fun, hands-on evening
with lots of laughter and a
good deal of sampling the
exhibits. I wonder how
many of us actually took
up the task at Christmas of
making
our
own
macaroons?
As is our tradition,
we took the spirit and
message of Christmas
around our Parish with
carol singing on the 10 and
20 December. Our first
evening on the Monday was not as well as supported
as previous years, but the good people at Southgate
(nearby sheltered housing) really enjoyed their
opportunity in singing much loved and familiar carols
and our small group of singers did a really great job.
On the Thursday evening we were a much larger
group, this time we started at Neve House and again
the residents there were very appreciative and enjoyed
joining in. Each year we try to cover as much of our
local parish as we can, and we have found that by
going out on two evenings we can do exactly that.
There are families who live in Evenlode who tell us
how much they look forward to this annual event and
how much it means to them and it is an opportunity
for us to truly share the message and meaning of
Christmas. After each session we return to church for
much earned warm mulled wine and mince pies, for
which we thank the little team who provide these
refreshments.
Well, that takes us into January and we were
delighted to welcome back a speaker from RNLI. Peter
Wilford brought a DVD with him to show us how
RNLI have progressed during the last couple of years
or so. They now build their Lifeboats at a purpose
built building in Poole. They not only train their own
“
volunteers there, but also lifesavers from countries
around the world, including, believe or not, China.
Their work is renowned internationally; they are
known to have the safest, most vigorous and
comprehensive training to be had; and consequently
many other nations send their people to Poole for this
training.
In February, Gerry Knight
talked to us about being a
volunteer
with
the
National Trust. We now
look forward to March,
and Roger Clarke’s talk to
‘Walk with Wainwright’.
Roger’s talk will be
backed up with slides and
a lot of other information.
In April we turn to music
with Rhidian Jones, and at
the time of writing I have
no idea as to what sort of music he will introduce us
to, but I can be certain that we will enjoy a really super
evening. I would ask you also not to forget our Jumble
Sale in April of which the proceeds together with the
one run last October will go to Sequela Foundation
and Alzheimers Support, watch the pew-sheet for
further information.
Each month our meetings are advertised
through the pew-sheet, and all are very welcome to
attend. Several years ago now, we opened the group to
men as well as ladies to increase our membership and
this has worked very well. That is why I say all are
welcome to attend. By joining the group through
membership you enable us to have funds to secure
speakers from other walks of life and this also assists
in raising funds for our nominated charities. If you
would like to come along to any meeting but have a
problem with transport, do please contact me on
01628 632626, and I will endeavour to arrange
something. Also, if you would like further information
on what we do then again please ring me, we love to
welcome people to this group. We may only meet once
a month, but at these meetings we do enjoy friendship
and fellowship, and furthermore we love to make new
friends.
At these meetings
we enjoy
friendship and
fellowship, and furthermore
we love to make new friends.
9
Spring/Summer 2013
A Good Read for Lent
Sally Lynch enjoys Stephen Cottrell’s
ChristInTheWilderness.
Words: SallyLynch Illustrations:StanleySpencer
This new little book by the former Bishop of
Reading, now Bishop of Chelmsford, is perfect
reading for Lent, or any time of the year.
Bishop Stephen reflects here on five of Stanley
Spencer’s paintings from his Wilderness series.
Originally this local artist intended to produce 40
paintings to hang in what he envisaged being built as
a ‘Church House’. Or, failing that, in the 40 panels on
the ceiling of Holy Trinity Church, Cookham. In fact,
he managed just eight pieces in the end. Sadly, they
now hang in Perth, Australia.
Christ In The
Wilderness is
published by
SPCK Publishing.
g.
ISBN:
9780281062089
9
As he painted each piece, Spencer had in mind
a piece of scripture, some of which form the title of
the painting, such as Consider The Lilies (Matthew
6.28) – a painting in which Jesus is on all fours
contemplating not lilies but the daises of the water
meadows at Cookham. Bishop Stephen reflects on the
beauty of this painting and contrasts it with ‘The
Scorpion’ (possibly based on Luke 11.12-13) which is
a severe desert scene. Jesus holds a scorpion which
has clearly stung him, and another lurks by his feet.
The comment here reflects on Jesus resisting
temptation and being willing to receive the sting of
the scorpion.
I was able to hear Bishop Stephen speak about
these paintings and the book at the Bloxham Festival
of Faith and Literature on 16th February. He spoke
movingly, with humour and deep insight, about his
love for these paintings, and what they can teach us.
If you read just one book this Lent, this might
well be it.
10
StLuke’s: The Last 70-Odd Years
A REMINISCE IN NINE VICARS, BY ROGER AND JILLY BEVITT
† PART ONE ¢
IN THE FIRST PART OF AN EPISODICAL PUBLICATION OF RECOLLECTIONS OF ST LUKE’S OVER
THE LAST 70 YEARS, ROGER AND JILLY BEVITT RECALL CHARLES EDWARD MIDDLETON FRY
(VICAR, 1914 TO 1947) AND THEOPHILUS ‘TOFF’ MORCOM-HARNEIS (VICAR, 1947 TO 1960).
CANON
FRY
standing a while for a performance of the Hallelujah Chorus,
he turns to his neighbour and asks how many more verses
there are to the national anthem.
He has, however, mastered the art of raising his hat
in greeting his parishioners whilst cycling sedately around
the parish, and he is a wealthy and generous man. Later,
when Jill is a bigger girl, he gives her sixpence for going to
Sunday School. Miss Brind, the teacher, later told 1990s
Vicar David West that Jill was “a right little madam”.
Canon Fry got better value for the money and
leadership he had given to the foundation of three schools:
StLuke’s Senior Boys School (later merged with All Saints
Boyne Hill Girls as Altwood School), East Street Primary
School (later StLuke’s Primary School on the Senior Boys
School site, with the original East Street site under the
tarmac near Sainsbury‘s), and North Town Primary School
(later a nursery school).
Who else is on the paid staff at our church in the
1940s? Two Curates (one paid for out of Canon Fry’s own
pocket), an organist / choirmaster and a Verger / Hallkeeper, whose duties include stoking the coke boiler to
C o m e
with
us
in
memory
or
imagination
back
70-odd
years, to when
we were young
members
of
St Luke’s. Jilly
would like you
to note that she
was
very
young.
Roger ’s
parents moved
to Maidenhead
when
they
married and soon joined StLuke’s, but Roger was taken
back to the church where his
parents married to be baptised, so
exactly when he joined our church
is
uncertain.
Whereas
on
2March1941, Jilly is in the arms of
a man, and the man is the Vicar,
Canon Fry, as he christens her Jill
Esme Butler. Before that, StLuke’s
had been Jill’s father’s family’s
church for many years, and on her
mother’s side, one of her forbears
had helped build the church in
1866 – perhaps he was a master
mason… but more likely, he was
one of the chaps who dug the
drains.
Forward to 1941 again.
Canon Fry has been the beloved
Vicar for 27 years. He is a short,
rotund man with a high voice and
THE LARGE, ALL-MALE CHOIR IN 1932 WITH CANON FRY
no ear for music. There is a story
(SECOND ROW BACK, SEVENTH FROM L)
that after the congregation has been
11
this vestry block built in memory of his brother in 1932.
heat the church. Canon Fry is a bachelor and pays his own
From the vestries are steps up to a door where the vicar can
housekeeper, whose name is Nelly Wickens. She is a friend
enter directly into the colourful chancel, with its additional
of Jill‘s gran, and although we didn’t acquire any
stained glass windows,
interesting anecdotes from
wall paintings and a
this source, we have
carved reredos behind
inherited two chairs, a tea
the altar.
service, and an inscribed
But the nave is gloomy –
tea-caddy,
which
all
no dais; the mainly bare
belonged to Canon Fry,
pews, some labelled with
(or, in some cases, to his
the ‘owner’s’ name (one
father, who was Dean of
can rent a pew seat for £1
Lincoln). In the 1940s, Jill
a year), cover the floor
lives at her gran’s which
from the west window to
is about three houses up
the pulpit and can seat
Norfolk Road from the
about 400; the north and
church. That, however,
south walls are finished
isn’t very near, because
with a bare grey-brown
the
island
of
land
cement
rendering;
a
encircled by sections of
spray of five dim bulbs
Risborough,
Vicarage,
hangs down from each of
St Luke’s, and Norfolk
the arches but they leave
Roads is all church land,
the roof timbers in
and there aren’t any
gloom. There is no sound
buildings on it other than
system. The south-west
the church and the large,
corner is a children’s
red-brick
Victorian
corner. The Lady and
vicarage (which stands
War Memorial Chapel is
on
the
corner
of
a single room with the
Risborough and -– you’ve
altar and a blue hanging
guessed it – Vicarage
against the east wall, and
Road), with its vegetable
all the wooden panelling
garden and orchard,
with names of the fallen
stretching
back
to
exposed. The elegant
Norfolk Road, and a large
THE NAVE WITH PEWS UP TO THE PULPIT AND THE
wooden
chairs with flat
grass field (known as the
CHANCEL WITH ITS ORIGINAL DECORATED WALLS
seats give one a numb
vicarage lawn) separating
AND CARVED REREDOS
bum, and when you lean
the vicarage from the
on the unoccupied one in
church.
front to pray it slides away on the bare floor leaving you
The vicarage lawn is used for the summer fete with a
‘prostrate before thy throne’.
central arena for such items as dancing by the Women’s
So, what happens in the church? All services are
League of Health & Beauty, dog shows, and baby shows.
taken from the Prayer Book, and on Sundays start with Holy
With many dogs and many babies, few prizes, and intense
Communion at 7:000am on one Sunday a month, and
rivalry, it is doubtful whether this increases the total sum of
major feast days with a further Communion every Sunday
human happiness.
at 8:00am, but the major services are Matins at 11:00am and
The outside of the church itself (in contrast to the
Evensong at 6:30pm, both with a full choir. Children go to
inside) is to change little during the next 70 years, but the
Sunday School at various times of day, in both the
Hall has an attached cottage where the verger lives with its
children’s corner and actual local schools. During the
own garden stretching down Norfolk Road. The Hall is
week, there are meetings of the Mothers Union for women,
known as ‘The Institute’, loosely reflecting its origins as the
the Church of England Men’s Society for men, and Scout &
Norfolk Park Working Men’s Club, and intended by an
Cub packs for boys.
earlier vicar to provide an alternative to the pubs.
So that is what StLuke’s is like in 1941, and now we
However, the fifteen or so men of the church choir have
start the clock and look at how things change. First, the
discovered The Norfolk Arms at the end of the road and
war years. The nearest bomb fell on the Cordwallis
nicknamed it ‘The Choristers’ Arms’. They also have their
Industrial Estate and did not damage the church. The war
own vestry in the church in what is to become the Parish
kept everyone very busy and many men went off to fight –
Centre, along with a corridor and three other rooms – the
Jilly’s Dad drove an army lorry named ‘Baby Jill’. The men
boys’ vestry (there were no females in the choir), the
who had been the Vicar, the two Churchwardens, the
vicar’s vestry (later the kitchen) with a door to the outside,
Choirmaster, and the Verger for years before the war
and the one WC in the whole church (so now you know
started are still in the same posts after it ends, and on
why there is one odd narrow window). Those of you who
average serve for over 30 years. There are few changes in
read Latin can see from the wall plaque that Canon Fry had
12
general, but in 1947 our ageing Vicar moves to a lighter
post as Vicar of Littlewick Green and is replaced by:
which is the size of a child’s toy except for the saddle and
handlebars that rise on stems way above the rest of it. Toff
has three children of a similar age to us, who are
EVD
frighteningly streetwise.
Two years later Canon Fry dies and is buried with
his brother in the north-west corner of our churchyard –
the last burial in the churchyard, we think. Toff
With
controversially decides that an appropriate memorial is to
the nickname
brighten up the chancel by replacing some stained glass
‘Toff’ and a
with plain glass, obliterating the wall decorations with
wife whose
magnolia paint, and replacing the Victorian carved reredos
maiden name
with the light from two fluorescent tubes. Our current
was
Church Historian Ann Darraccot has not forgiven him.
HusbandHeaven knows what Canon Fry thinks.
Clutton,
There are other changes for which we should be
many
grateful. A sung Family Eucharist Service at 9:30am each
probably
Sunday is introduced and proves popular, eventually
expected a
taking over from Mattins as the main service of the week.
slightly
The President follows the new trend of facing west, from
unworldly
behind a temporary table altar just behind the chancel
member of
screen. Communicants kneel at portable rails in the gap
the minor
between the screen and the front pews. Girls from Lynton
aristocracy
House, a local private school, sit behind the main
who would
congregation to lead the singing – our first female choir.
lead us in
The Morcom-Harneis’s set an energetic example of
further years
putting a social conscience into action amongst young
of little
people in particular. The vicarage lawn is opened up as a
change, but – and this may strike a chord – they would
play area for local youngsters like Jilly. Brownie and Guide
have been wrong.
packs are formed. Mrs
Toff’s shock of
Morcom-Harneis runs a
prematurely white hair
club for unmarried – for
and a hand permanently
the town in general, not
enclosed in a black
just the congregation.
leather glove resulted
Toff gives his support to
from a close encounter
St Edmunds Home for
with an incendiary bomb
Delinquent Boys in Ray
when he was an East End
Mill Road and leads an
vicar during the London
annual camp at Thorney
Blitz. In his spare time, he
Island for boys from
is a boys’ boxing referee.
St Luke’s Senior School.
He has a direct manner.
In the late 1950s, the
A phone call from him
(almost rural) island of
starts without his name,
land between Risborough
just ‘I say, will you…’
and StLuke’s Roads that
followed by details of
has just our church and
what
you’ve
just
Victorian vicarage on it is
volunteered
for.
The
transformed with the
congregation soon learns
new vicarage built and
that they will be paying
the
remaining
land
the running costs of the
developed with the mix
church and there is no
of dwellings that line
second curate. Toff is a
both
Vicarage
and
large man and cuts a
Norfolk Roads.
remarkable figure riding
Toff does not have the
around the Parish on a
best of memories. He
Corgi – no not with the
forgets a funeral he is to
RSPCA in pursuit! Some
take and has to be
of you must remember
summoned
to
the
that the Corgi is a
cemetery.
He
and
his
wife
miniature
motorbike
AN EARLY PHOTOGRAPH, FROM THE FRANCIS FRITH
developed
for
the
COLLECTION, OF THE NEWLY-INSTALLED SCREEN. are due at separate
engagements in Reading.
paratroops in the war,
R
THEOPHILUS WILLIAM
MORCOM-HARNEIS
13
She opens the front gates and he drives out – not the Corgi, mind: they have a car by then. After his meeting, he goes to the
arranged pick-up point but she’s not there. After frantic enquiries he reports her as missing. Eventually it is established that
she never got further than the front gates. (A word to any under-fifties – mobiles hadn’t been invented then.)
Growing up
beside us into our
teens, the MorcomHarneis children
continue to terrify
Roger. John thrashes
es
him in an interschool swimming
race in the Thames,,
and Jane drags
Roger onto the floorr
at a youth-church
dance to
demonstrate his
inability. To
complete his
humiliation in thosee
self-conscious years,
s,
the churchwarden
Emeritus, deaf and
very loudly spoken,
n,
comments before a
service on how
deep Roger’s voice
has become, thus
sharing his delayed
d
encounter with
puberty with the
whole of the
gathered
congregation.
Meanwhile,
Jilly has become
aware of Roger
(“He’s just a
snobby boy in a
funny striped
school blazer who
doesn’t notice
me…”), and time
moves on to 1960
(“He’s a swotty
student and still
doesn’t notice
me…”) – but he’s
getting closer
(“He’s my friend’s
boyfriend…”).
Toff,
meanwhile,
moves on to
become Vicar of
THE FRONT COVER OF THE PARISH MAGAZINE OF NOVEMBER
R1
1943,
943, WI
WITH
TH DETAILS
DET
DETAI
AILS
LS
Littlewick Green,
OF SERVICES, SUNDAY SCHOOLS, CHURCH SCHOOLS, AND SITTINGS [PEW RENTS].
our Rural Dean,
and a Canon.
NEXT TIME: ROGER NOTICES JILLY, AND TWO MORE VICARS COME AND GO.
14
Spring/Summer 2013
Messy Church
StLuke’s is offering a new, monthly activity, combining faith
with arts and crafts, food, and fun.
Words: RevdSallyLynch Photograph: AndrewBurdett
In December 2012, we
launched a new activity
wh ich i s m a i n l y fo r
families, though all
ages are welcome.
Messy Church has
been running for
some years nationally
and is really what we
have done at the Light
Parties and Christmas
and Easter workshops.
Every month, Messy Church
will run for a couple of hours
on Friday or Saturday
afternoons. Doors open at
3:30pm, with drinks and
biscuits available (for all ages!),
and games ready for a 3:45pm
start to an hour’s round-robin
of craft activities on a theme.
Any age can do these. We will
then have very simple worship
for ten minutes or so, to draw
the theme together, before
eating a simple two course
meal together. No need for
Mum or Dad to cook that
night! Hopefully we will also
prepare something to lead in
In February, we thought about
Candlemas and made a
banner to carry into
church the next day, as
well as christingles
and mini paschal
candles. I couldn’t
think of candlethemed food so we
had sausages and
beans, with candles on
the table!
the all-age service coming up.
The cost is £1 per person to
cover food and materials but
that can be waived in cases of
hardship (see Sally).
In March, we prepared for
Mothering Sunday by making
gifts and thinking about
mums in the bible. Our ‘Mum’s
roast dinner ’ meal was
delicious!
So far, we have held three
Messy Church sessions. In
December, we thought about
how messy the first Christmas
must have been and we made
messy nativity pictures and
edible donkey dung, as well as
other things. Our meal that
night was shepherds pie and
angel cake!
The next few Messy Church
sessions are as follows:
• 3 May, Messy Sheep
(Thinking about Jesus the
Good Shepherd)
• 31 May, Messy Fire
(Preparing for Pentecost)
• 5 July, Messy Summer
(Getting ready for the
holidays). The Latest on Luke
Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, Spain, April-May 2013
P
Lu Darracott (ex-Head Chorister, brother of Ben, younger son of Ann) is proposing to
Luke
w
walk the pilgrim route (the Camino) from somewhere near the French / Spanish border,
to reach the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella. He says he will create a channel on
YouTube and then, every day or so, try to post a little video there so people can see him
ttackling each stage of the Camino.
If all goes to plan, he will then write up his experiences. His first book The Sun Struck
Upwards (an account of his trip around the whole of Spain in 2010) is available on Amazon
Upw
and from his mother!
an
15
Spring/Summer 2013
16
A Chichester Encore
The latest ramblings, from keen StLuke’s walker
RogerClarke.
Words: Roger Clarke
some of the most endearing vessels were not the
Our last walking weekend to Chichester had
‘super-duper’ ocean going millionaires’ water homes,
been in 2009 and many who had enjoyed the trip had
but rather the older and obviously much loved
suggested that we returned for our 2012 adventures.
smaller craft, some painted in bright colours and
The consensus was that there were plenty of things to
certainly not youngsters. Once the marina had been
do, even if you were not walking and so on a Friday in
completed we retraced our outward steps as far as the
early October, seventeen of us made our way, by
Chichester Channel where there were lovely views
various routes to the Ramada Hotel Westhampnett, on
across the water and towards Bosham. Here, various
the outskirts of the city. Some made a day of it, some
sea and wading birds were spotted including
an afternoon and some, a last minute dash after
redshank.
We then
work, however, we
r
made our way
all arrived in time
northwards
for dinner together
through fields and
and a chance to
eventually
on
chat before bed.
meeting a minor
Because of
road,
walked
increasing age, not
down into the
everyone is able to
hamlet of Dell
participate in the
Quay where, we
walks which are
found a suitable
planned however,
spot for lunch and
an
attempt
is
enjoyed
the now
made to try and
e
quite
warm
cater for all of us
sunshine.
After our
to enjoy at least
s
lunch
and because
some
walking
l
of
time together, no
o tide conditions,
we
matter
our
w were able to
walk
along the
a b i l i t i e s . ALL TOGETHER NOW: A group pho
w
tograph of the
beach
of
the
C o n s e q u e n t l y ramblers at Dell Quay.
Chichester Channel
during breakfast
for a while before
on
Saturday
picking up a delightful footpath through woodland in
morning an itinerary was passed around summarising
Salterns Copse which landed us back at the marina.
the plans for the weekend.
We had walked around 4.5 miles in lovely weather
After breakfast, those walking arranged to meet
and with lots to see.
in the large car park at Chichester Marina, three or so
Sunday morning was bright and frosty and,
miles south of the city centre. We were blessed with a
after breakfast we decided that rather than go into
beautiful morning, blue sky and only a light breeze
Chichester to the cathedral service we would
although there was an autumnal nip in the air. The
participate in worship at the parish church of St, Peter,
walk planned was a figure of eight which allowed
Westhampnett. The church is only a stone’s throw
some to walk just a short leg-stretch whilst others
from the hotel and therefore gave those who wished
could
continue
further.
The
short
walk
the chance to walk the short distance whilst others
circumnavigated the marina and gave us the chance to
drove. This lovely village church has the Sussex
spot the local wildlife living amongst the opulence.
Downs as a backdrop and is situated alongside Stane
Various suggestions were made as to the value of the
Street, a former Roman road. There has been a place of
craft moored, you could not really hazard a guess but,
Christian worship on the site since Saxon times. We
the figure must have run into millions. Despite this
Spring/Summer 2013
A Chichester Encore (continued)
were so lucky to pick this day to attend as, not only
was it their Harvest Festival service, wonderful in a
true village/farming community but also, they were
welcoming their new Rector. It was a lovely service in
a truly friendly atmosphere, we were made to feel
really welcome and Sonya even came away with a
wonderful basket of fresh vegetables.
After the service we all made our way to the
lovely village of Bosham with its beautiful Saxon
church. Bosham is famous for the legend of King
Canute and within the
church one can find
the tomb of a child
said
to
be
his
daughter. Holy Trinity
Church, Bosham, has a
Saxon tower, Roman
foundations
and
Roman bricks in itss
walls and is featured in
n
the Bayeux Tapestry.
y.
The eagle eyed among
g
us
spotted
thee
fascinating
kneelerss
embroidered
with
h
music staves and Roger
er
Bevitt sang the tune for
or
us,
unfortunately
I
cannot remember the
he
hymns in question. Once
ce
we had enjoyed the
he
church visit the whole
ole
ST:
group set off on a shortt
HARD-EARNED RE
walk which everyone
could enjoy. We took our time, walking through
the churchyard, over a pretty little bridge with a
stream and down to the quayside. Here we enjoyed
lovely views across the harbour, and plenty of birdlife
before continuing past some local shops and back to
the car park. The fitter of us now continued, firstly to
the green in front of the church for lunch, and then
onwards across fields to Fishbourne, famous for its
Roman Palace and mosaics. Along the way we spotted
a small group of deer and one or two buzzards. From
Fishbourne we walked past the lovely mill pond with
its clear waters, ducks and coots, and then on a nice
path with views across the Fishbourne Channel to
Chichester Cathedral. Later we continued due west
often with Bosham church in the background as our
guide. We had enjoyed another gentle walk of 4.5
miles with plenty of interest, and later we all met for
our final dinner at the hotel.
What a change (although forecast) met us on
Monday morning, dark grey clouds, wind and heavy
rain. After a bit of a committee meeting, the walkers
amongst us decided that perhaps discretion was the
greater part of valour. Why spoil a lovely weekend by
getting soaked on the last day?! We decided therefore
to call it a day and keep the planned walk at Chidham
for another occasion. We said our goodbyes, and
gradually left to make our way home. We had enjoyed
some lovely walks, countryside, and company, and
those less able had been able to explore this interesting
part of West Sussex a little
further;
furth including the city and
a visit
vi to the Roman remains
at Fishbourne.
F
Thank
you all for your
Tha
company
which in the end is
com
what
makes the weekend
wh
special,
thanks also to the
spe
staff
sta at the hotel who made
us all feel very welcome. If
you
enjoy walking and
yo
participate
in Roger Bevitt’s
pa
evening
walks (Sunday
ev
walks
in the winter) or on
w
our
ou Saturday rambles, why
not
no think about joining us
for
fo this annual get-together,
we
w would love you to join
us
u and you will be assured
of
o plenty of laughter, good
food
and companionship.
f
If you are interested, just
speak to Sonya or myself.
Lunch at Dell Quay.
As an amusing footnote,
Sonya and I, in our inimitable
way, decided on a circuitous journey home, following
the coast as far as Beachy Head! We hoped that the
weather might break and we could enjoy a short walk
on the cliffs. Well, the rain stopped and was replaced,
as we travelled further east by thick, and I mean thick
fog, such that as we pulled into the car park at Beachy
Head we could not even see across the road, let alone
the cliffs or the sea! Consequently we just sat in the car
and had our lunch before driving home. There was
however one amusing episode when a group of
camera-toting tourists including quite a few Japanese
visitors appeared out of the gloom (we had not seen
the coach arrive) and disappeared into the mist and
towards the cliffs, the only sign of their passing being
the occasional reflected light of the flashes from their
cameras, it reminded us of Brian Hanrahan’s famous
comment about “counting them all out”. I do hope
they all made it back to the coach!
Keep your eyes peeled on the pew-sheet for
upcoming Saturday walks.
17
Spring/Summer 2013
StLuke’s Music Festival
Writing for InSpire, Director of Music JohnCotterill
discusses the exciting Music Festival to be held this summer.
Words:JohnCotterill Photographs: AndrewBurdett
THE MUSIC MAN:
Director of Music
John Cotterill is
organising the
Music Festival.
18
Our beautiful church, with
its fine acoustics, is presenting a
first Music Festival in June as part
of
our
on-going
outreach
programme. The fortnight from 15
to 30 June will see a wide variety of
concerts and recitals to suit most
tastes.
Laurie Holloway and his Trio
will open the Festival with music in
their own inimitable style and will
include a special tribute to Laurie’s
late
wife,
singer
Marion
Montgomery, who used to worship
at St.Luke’s. The Church Choir will
bring the fortnight to an end with a
special Festival Choral Mattins on
30 June. In between, there will be
two Sunday afternoon recitals, one
by the Berkshire Recorder Consort
with Jeremy Rowe (counter-tenor)
and the other by an a cappella
group of six male voices singing
music by William Byrd including
the four-part Mass.
On the middle Saturday, I
will conduct a Festival Orchestra,
specially assembled from talented
young professional players in
London, in a concert of well-known
music by Handel, Boyce, Britten
and Mozart, and all four acclaimed
Taplow Choirs will provide a
special treat on the final Saturday,
with a varied programme to suit all
tastes.
There will be a light
entertainment evening on 20 June
given by well-known oboist /
pianist / composer / arranger
Laurence Frankel and his friends
with music from the ridiculous to
the sublime. Our own organist,
Spring/Summer 2013
Saturday, 15 June 7:30pm
Programme
LAURIE HOLLOWAY IN CONCERT
RT
Laurie and his Trio open the Festival with music in
their own inimitable style, including a tribute to
Marion Montgomery by singer Becki Biggins.
Tickets: £12.50 including interval wine or soft
drink.
S
Sunday,
23 June 2:30pm
NOS MISERI HOMINES
N
Tickets: £6 including cream tea.
Wednesday, 26 June 8:00pm
MAIDENHEAD CONCERT BAND
Sunday, 16 June 3:00pm
BERKSHIRE RECORDER
CONSORT
Friday, 28 June 1:00pm
“IF THERE WERE DREAMS
TO SELL”
with Jeremy Rowe (countertenor)
Tickets: £6 (under 16s £3)
including cream tea.
Admission: Free, with retiring
collection. A sandwich lunch
will be available.
Tuesday, 18 June 8:00pm
Saturday 29 June 7:30pm
“.......WHILE INSTRUMENTS
PLAY”
TAPLOW CHOIRS
Tickets: £10 (under 16s £8)
including interval wine or soft
drink.
Tickets: £10 including interval
wine or soft drink.
Thursday, 20 June 7:30pm
LAURENCE FRANKEL AND
FRIENDS
Tickets: £10 including interval
wine or soft drink.
Friday, 21 June 1:00pm
Tickets: £9 including interval
wine or soft drink.
PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS:
StLukeʼs resident organist
plays works by Walther,
Walond, Cesar Franck, and
Vaughan Williams on
Tuesday,18 June.
RIVER CITY SAXES
Admission: Free, with retiring collection. A
sandwich lunch will be available.
Saturday, 22 June 7:30pm
ST LUKE’S FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
Tickets: £12.50 including interval wine or soft
drink.
Sunday 30 June 10:00am
FESTIVAL CHORAL
MATTINS
St Luke’s Church Choir brings
the Festival to a
close with this
service in the
established
English choral
tradition,
followed by a
parish lunch in
the vicarage
garden
(pictured).
To book, or to find out more about any of these concerts, see the brochure available in
church or on our website:
§ www.stlukeschurchmaidenhead.org.uk
Rhidian Jones, will share a recital with Lesley Shrigley Jones (cello) and Ingrid Attwater (piano) – otherwise
known as Ingrid Keedy to members and followers of Voices Anon – and, on another night, the Maidenhead
Concert Band will bring well-known marches along with favourite music from Glenn Miller and the shows.
Two lunchtime concerts will take place on 21June and 28June: one by the popular River City Saxes,
playing music from the Baroque to the Blues and much more, and the other by our own Ruth Sheppard
(soprano) and Gillian Salmon (piano), with songs of dreams and aspirations.
The planning of this wonderful event has been really stimulating, and we are exceedingly grateful to
all the artists who have agreed to take part. I feel sure the Festival will have wide appeal and attract large
audiences. Details of all the dates, artists, and ticket prices can be found in the Festival brochure, which is
available in church and online. Do keep the fortnight free, have relatives to stay in order to share the event,
and please make it known to all your friends!
19
Spring/Summer 2013
Seeking Solace
A support group for all who have been
bereaved is now available at StLuke’s Church.
We will be meeting on the following dates
from 3:00pm until 4:00pm: Monday
8April,Sunday 2June,Monday 5August.
If you feel you would like to come along to
chat over light refreshments of tea/coffee and cake, followed
by a short time of reflection then you would be more than
welcome.
Further information is available from SonyaClarke
(☎01628632626).
Thursday Teas
Do you know anyone who lives
alone, who likes company, and
would enjoy joining us on the
second Thursday of every month
h
in the Parish Centre?
All are welcome at our Thursday
y Teas
T
– where hot drinks and scones and
d cakes
are provided for free.
If you know anyone who would like to attend,
bring them along at 2:00pm every second Thursday.
Alternatively, let Phyllis or Sally know, and they will arrange for
them to be collected by car.
Any help is very welcome – whether in contributing a homemade
cake or boiling the kettle on the day – especially as some of the
current helpers are not quite as active as they once were!
The next meetings: 11 April; 9 May; 13 June; 11 July; 8 August;
and 12 September.
20
Spring/Summer 2013
StLuke’s: An Inspired Building
StLuke’s very own historian, AnnDarracott, looks into
the design inspiration behind the church.
Words and Images:Ann Darracott
St Luke’s is what is known as a
Victorian
Gothic
Church.
The
Victorians, bless them, didn’t think
much of modern (ieGeorgian) design,
so reverted to the designs used in the
C13th, C14th, and C15th when it came
to building their churches.
The foundation stone of StLuke’s
was laid in November 1865 by Samuel
Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, who in
1866 consecrated the church. The
church, in the Early English style, cost
£3,500. Its architect was George Row
Clarke of London and the builder James
Griffiths of Eldersfield, Worcs.
Early English was the style
current in the C12th to C14th. So what
influenced Clarke to choose a Victorian
interpretation of this particular design?
It may be that he was influenced by
iconic examples of this design not too
far away from Maidenhead. Dorchester
Abbey, for example, has a C13th
window that our West Window echoes.
Dorchester Abbey had a major rebuild
in the late C13th to 14th.
There is another church that
possibly influenced Clarke, but very
likely influenced J Oldrid Scott. Scott
designed the spire put atop St Luke’s
Church in 1894, to replace the rather
squat original. The church of St John the
Baptist at Shottesbrooke is described as
the best C14th church in Berkshire. The
spire of the Shottesbrooke Church is
thought to have been modelled on that
of Salisbury Cathedral (a good example
of Early English design). It looks similar
to that of St Luke’s, put up by Scott in
the C19th.
THE BLUEPRINT: The architectʼs drawing for
StLukeʼs Church, Maidenhead
Left: The East Window of the C13th St Birinus
Chapel in Dorchester Abbey
Right: The West Window of St Lukeʼs Church
If youʼre interested in seeing St John the Baptist Church, Maidenhead Civic Society is organising a visit there on
Tuesday 23 April. For more information, see Ann Darracott (☎ 01628 620280).
21
Spring/Summer 2013
22
A Visit To Israel
Prompted by an article in the last edition of InSpire,
JeanJackson remembers her 1987 trip to Israel.
Words and Images: JeanJackson Abridgement:RichardBurdett
Sally’s article on Bethlehem
in the last issue of InSpire brought
back memories to congregation
member Jean Jackson of her own
visit to Israel on a Teacher’s Study
Tour in 1987.
Although tired by the time
they arrived at Tel Aviv at 5:00am,
the beauty of the scenery on the
coach journey to Jerusalem was
much enjoyed by Jean and her
friend Pat: “The sun shone upon
olive, orange, and grapefruit
groves. We saw the remains of old
tombs on the terraced hills,
mountains, and the tall, thin
cypress trees. Breakfast awaited
us at the hotel. An enormous
round table was crammed with
dishes to please the
appetites
of
all
nationalities.”
“Our
l e a d e r,
Douglas,
a Jewish
Rabbi,
took
us for
a long walk around Jerusalem.
Everywhere we went in the old
city there was such an atmosphere
of timelessness. We could feel our
Lord’s presence as though 2,000
years had not passed. We left
through Zion Gate, which was
swarming with armed soldiers,
and there was news of a bomb. A
grenade had been thrown and
some people had been killed and
injured at the Gate. Luckily my
friend Pat and I had just missed
it.”
They visited the Israel
Museum to see the Dead Sea
Scrolls, which tell of the daily lives
of the Essene community, who set
up their own way of Judaism
away from Jerusalem. Later on in
the week they went to Qumran
where the scrolls were originally
found – in a cave– by a Bedouin
shepherd.
The Holocaust Museum
made a great impression: “a
huge area lit by one lamp,
which was encased in a
design of black twisted iron.
Flat marble gravestones covered
the floor, naming the many
concentration camps. On the walls
we saw photos of the camps and
their inmates. These had been
taken from the air and not long
released. Outside the building,
there is a wonderful but ‘tortured’
black
metal
sculpture,
representing the Holocaust. We
were all silent, sombre, and
deeply moved by it all.”
“We then travelled to
Bethlehem, which was not as we
imagined
it
to
be,
and
disappointing
as
a
town.
However, the Church of the
Nativity was amazing. We
descended to the tiny area of
Christ’s birth, marked by a
fourteen-point star set in the floor,
and surrounded by many lamps.
Nearby, we saw the niche in the
rock where the manger was
reputed to have stood. The church
was dark, despite the hundreds of
dusty bronze lamps.”
The following day, en-route
to Jericho, they bathed in the
Spring/Summer 2013
A Visit To Israel
(continued)
r longJean (right) and he
, at the
time friend Pat (left)
rusalem.
Western Wall in Je
Many peop
le thronged
the Western
(Wailing)
heavy salt water of the Dead Sea. “Our friend, Wilf, was
keen to do what he had seen on a postcard. He waded
in, lay on his back, and read a newspaper. He emerged
looking very pleased with himself. I was glad of the
warm fresh water showers situated literally on the
beach.”
“At Tiberius we enjoyed a delicious lunch of
St Peter’s fish – bass, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Date palms and lemon trees grew all around and the
mango trees were in blossom. Old stones in the ruins of
Capernaum showed evidence of olive pressing and
flour milling. The 4th Century synagogue is built on the
foundation of the synagogue of Jesus’s time. We passed
the “Mount of Multiplication”, where Jesus fed the fivethousand, and spent a short time on the Mount of
Beatitudes. I sketched the view from here, having run
out of camera film.”
“Before visiting the Nof Ginovan Kibbutz where
we were to stay in the hotel section, Eli took us to see
the 2,000-year-old Roman boat, which had been very
carefully dug from the sea bed the year before. The boat
was revealed when drought had caused the See of
Galilee to recede by many feet. It now floats in a tiled
pool with added chemicals to preserve the wood. I
Wall.
wonder if Jesus Himself or any of his disciples sat in
that boat. Later that same day, Pat and I explored. There
were many tiny dwellings, each with its own banana
tree, and many exotic birds and flowers. Pat paddled in
the sea while I gathered tiny shells. We were alone in
the silence. We felt the peace of our Lord’s presence all
around us.
At Haifa they explored the gold domed Ba-hai
Temple, with its magnificent gardens. Later, after a visit
to the ruins of Caesarea, they returned to Jerusalem.
On the final Saturday, they went to a synagogue
with their guide Douglas and his wife and young son.
“Before the service, we were shown round a minimuseum. The main exhibits were pots, some of which
were 4,000-years-old, from the time of Abraham. The
service, in Hebrew, lasts one-and-a-half hours, and we
tried hard to follow it from the Torah (Douglas helpfully
pointing the way through the book!). There was lovely
singing with instruments, and joyful priests.”
“The following week I said to my class of sixyear-olds: ‘I have been to Bethlehem. I have seen the
place where Jesus was born’. 30 pairs of eyes opened
wide. 30 mouths dropped open. There was much to
tell.” This is an abridged version of Jeanʼs article; the full version can be found on the church website.
§ www.stlukeschurchmaidenhead.org.uk
23
Autumn 2012
Who’s Who at
StLuke’s?
Ministry Team
Reverend Sally Lynch 01628783033
Reverend Terrie Robinson 01628634107
Sonya Clarke 01628632626
Vicar:
Revd Sally Lynch
Churchwardens
Shula Tajima 01628546889
Barbara Essam 01628782894
Assistant Churchwardens
Ben Darracott 01628620280
Don Luff 01628630833
Flower Organiser
Joan Harnby 01628622140
Electoral Roll Officer
Jill Bevitt 01628633464
Gift Aid Secretary
Ann Cooke 01628472147
Director of Music
John Cotteril 01628636514
PCC Secretary
Ralph Hinchliffe 01628784724
PCC Treasurer
Richard Burdett 01628631486
Parish Administrator
Sue Brett 01628622733
The Church Website
Associate Priest:
Revd Terrie Robinson
Licensed Lay Minister:
Sonya Clarke
And
Finally…
All are welcome to
the Fasting and
Prayer Conference
to be held next
week.
24
To view the latest pew-sheet, learn about the history of
our church, or find out about the churchʼs many prayer
and discussion groups,
find us online at
§ www.stlukeschurchmaidenhead.org.uk
A fish-and-chip
supper will be
served at this event.
The Church Office
Submitted by:
Ben Daracott
Open Tuesdays and Fridays, 9:30am to 12:30pm
[email protected]
☎ 01628 622733