Home
| Clergy and Officers |Organisations | Worship
and Prayer | What’s On? | Choir | Hymns and Music | Organ | Music at St.
Mary’s | History | Early
Views of the church | Church processions |
The Parish Magazine
for the church of
St. Mary Magdalene,
Clitheroe
April 2009
“Not the Vicar’s Letter.”
Dear Friends,
A
Happy Easter to you all! Despite the credit crunch and the idiosyncrasies of
the English weather there are signs of new life all around us. As I write this
the churchyard so lovingly cared for by volunteers is adorned by snowdrops,
crocuses and primroses which have sprung into life in defiance of the weather.
Easter is a time to celebrate new
life; new life focussed on the resurrection of Jesus from the grave on the
first Easter morning. He was crucified
on Good Friday and buried in a borrowed tomb but we find the tomb could not
hold Him and He rose again from the dead.
This new life demonstrated by Jesus is
the free gift of God to all who have put their faith and trust in the risen
Christ. By his death He has obtained the forgiveness of our sins and enables us
to rise to a 
new life in Him.
What does this mean for you and me? It
means simply that if we have committed our lives into the hands of the Lord
Jesus, when we die we shall rise to new life to be with Him in Heaven; and in
this world we have a never changing friend and companion.
Years ago when I had both hair and teeth
we used to sing in Sunday School, “Happy
Easter we can say, Our Lord Jesus lives today”
Let us eat our Hot Cross Buns and remind
ourselves that because Jesus died on the Cross in our place on Good Friday (or
as it once was called God’s Friday) we can be forgiven and say thank you to
God.
Let us eat our Easter Eggs to celebrate
the stone being rolled away from the tomb. A real egg contains new life
reminding us of the new life which the resurrection of Jesus brings.
My prayers and
good wishes to you all,
Jim Duxbury
Where we are today.
Since
writing “not the vicars letter” in December last year I would like to provide
an up-date on our progress during this interregnum.
As
you will all know from Colin’s announcement, our new Vicar Andrew Froud, will
be joining us this summer. No doubt he will need time to settle in his family
and sort out schools etc for his four children so we must afford him space and
time before he is inducted into St Mary’s.
The
Standing Committee comprising the Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary, and our
You
will all have noticed or if not, have been reminded during recent years we have
been dipping into our reserves to pay our many and varied outgoings and the
St
Mary’s is some £30,000 in the red this year and the deficit has been rising
year on year – simply we can no longer afford to pay for jobs which in many
Parishes are done on a voluntary basis. Why these were paid positions at St
Mary’s is history, but to put it in perspective one may well ask the question
“why do we pay the cleaner but not the gardener?”
The
realisation and the first attempt to reduce our increasing deficit has
been resolved with the understanding and
cooperation of all those who are currently
being paid.
Ken
Dewhurst our Verger will re retire from his paid post at Easter and we thank
Ken for his work. Though retired he will he will still pay his part in our
church life.
During
Lent Ken has kindly written down all the duties he carries out so we can
clearly see what now needs to be diverted to volunteers; Ken has said he would
help by passing on his expertise as others become involved, and to continue to
clean the silver.
Ken
also has the opportunity to act as Verger for Funerals and Weddings which bears
a fee paid for by the family engaging the services of our church.
Our
treasurer Brenda Chatburn, who as
cleaner has kept the church in immaculate condition, has been obliged to give
up for personal reasons, the upshot being one less salary to find and we
wholeheartedly thank her as a retiree- from this position only! She remains our Treasurer and has volunteered
to clean the brassware. The request for volunteers to clean the church already
has three names on the list at the back of church. I wonder who will be the
first man to join the team?
Our
Organist James Lonsdale - who very reluctantly allowed me to mention him by
name - has volunteered a cut in salary of 50% so we shall in effect be just
covering his expenses. Thank you James for your very significant contribution.
Regarding
the Parish Office, the
Sandra
has been asked to draw up a list of all the jobs she does – and it is a long
list which has grown over time – sometimes absorbing up to 80 hrs per month,
yet the office is open for app 36 hrs per month. The object of the resolution
is to list what is essential to Worship and the running of the church and to
off load many of those jobs where it has often been said “oh, Sandra will do it” and so the load goes up!
To
ensure the work load is reasonable within the time frame the Wardens will go
though the list and remove such items from Sandra’s responsibility and
reallocate them to volunteers where possible.
This
article is not to say thank you to those who are now not being paid - as it
would exclude all those who have never been paid. It is rather to thank them
for their cooperation, understanding of the situation and willingness to pass
on their experience to others in order to
achieve the necessary savings.
These
measures are estimated to save £7,000 per annum. The significance of this
figure is our deficit will decrease rather than increase by the end of the
year, so we can give Andrew Froud the best possible start in his ministry at St
Mary’s.
Good
will, the love of our place of worship and our concern for it’s future
stability, provides our individual opportunity to work together, for our own
fulfilment and the benefit of St Mary Magdalene.
Paul Duck. Chairman
SPRING IS HERE!
Beginning on the 7th
April it is my intention to tend the garden regularly each and every Tuesday
and Thursday from
We have added 5 new rose
bushes to the cleared borders and work will continue to clear more of the
overgrown areas to make room for more. If any of you would like to make a
contribution either in the form of new bushes or as a donation to the Garden
Fund it would be much appreciated.
I can be reached most of the
time on 443571.
John
Goodman AKA “John the
..and Clitheroe’s
(rather tenuous) connection with the world’s first French – English dictionary!
Four
generations of the Earnshaw family are remembered on a solid stone pillar close
to the east window of St. Mary Magdalene’s. Mark Earnshaw, surgeon of this
town, died in 1853. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century there
seem to have been several Earnshaws in Clitheroe and district, not a few of
them called Mark, but it seems likely that Mark Earnshaw the surgeon was not
the Mark Earnshaw who kept an inn in Sabden, nor the one who ended up as a
prisoner in Lancaster Castle and neither was he the Mark Earnshaw who became a
Mormon and went to Utah. He was born in 1797, the son of John and Hannah
Earnshaw of Clitheroe. Mark first appears as a surgeon in Baines’ Directory of
1824 when he lived in
About
1827 Surgeon Mark married Elizabeth Granger from Downham and in 1829 was living
at
His
sons followed in their father’s footsteps. John, the eldest, died in 1851 at
the early age of 23, and his memorial inscription tells us that he also was a
“Surgeon of this town”. Hugh, the second son, qualified as a Member of the
Royal College of Surgeons and became a General Practitioner in Bingley.
John
and Hugh may have studied in
We
may know little or nothing of Mark Earnshaw’s practice of surgery in Clitheroe,
but he passed on his vocation to his sons, and through one of his daughters has
given Clitheroe a link to a little piece of history.
Patricia Duxbury –with
thanks to Sue Holden, Clitheroe Reference Librarian
Clitheroe Interfaith Friendship
'CELEBRATING FAITH'
Sat 4th April from 11am to
in St Mary’s Centre.
There will be exhibits from
many different Faith Groups which meet in this part of the
From the Editor
Please note than the deadline for copy for the
May 2009 edition of the magazine will be Tuesday 14th April at
My Favourite Hymn
Erica Pollit has chosen “O Jesus, I have promised to
serve thee to the end”, which she sang at her confirmation, and which still
means a lot to her. For Erica, faith means putting your full trust in Jesus and
promising to follow Him. Faith, says Erica, is a gift from God and she is
thankful that God has given her this gift in abundance.
The words of “O Jesus I have promised” were written in
1868 by the Reverend John Bode, Rector of All Saints, Castle Camps in
Cambridgeshire. The hymn was sung at the confirmation of his own three children
and was intended as a statement of personal commitment to Jesus, exactly as
Erica interprets it today.
In the hymn book which we use at St. Mary’s, the words
are set to the tune “Wolvercote” composed by W.H. Ferguson (1874 – 1950).
Wolvercote is a northern suburb of
In the 1950s Geoffrey Beaumont, one of the Twentieth
Century Church Light Music Group, composed the tune Hatherop Castle which is
still sometimes sung with these words. The aim of Beaumont and his fellow group
members was to write music which would slip easily into the culture of the
1950s and they expected the popularity of their tunes to be short lived; in
contrast to John Bode’s words, which still help many Christians to express
their faith and Christian commitment over a hundred and forty years since they
were written.
O let me see
Thy footprints, and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly is in Thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me, uphold me to the end;
And then in Heaven receive me, my Saviour and my Friend.
Patricia Duxbury
OUR TWO YOUNG
ADVENTURERS.
Most of you know
already that two of our young ladies at church have applied and been accepted
to join the Diocesan Youth Pilgrimage to our link diocese of the
So if anyone is planning another fundraising scheme, or if you intended to make
a donation and have not yet done so (which I am told some kind people already
have done), now is the time to give Daniella and Laura another little boost.
In any case I am sure we shall all wish them well and pray for them as they
prepare for this amazing experience. They will see the beauty and the vast area
of the country where one diocese is the size of
They will be welcomed with warmth and
love and will experience the wonderful faith and joy of an African congregation
in church.
Kate
Wallwork
Sidesmen (or ladies!)
Our
sidesmen are among the most important people in church. Why? Because for a
newcomer or a visitor the sidesmen are the first people they meet. And first
impressions mean a great deal. So if you feel you can assist in this important
work please have a word with one of the wardens before the
Pat
Gorrill (warden)
Unusual Journeys to Faith
Michele Guinness brought with her faith, laughter and rejoicing when she spoke in St.
Mary’s at the first of Clitheroe Churches Together’s Lent meetings. About 170
people began the gathering with coffee, and ended it with an impromptu
performance of “Come and Join the Celebration” – Michele had so inspired us. A
slim, vivacious, blonde Vicar’s wife from Lancaster, an accomplished speaker
and writer, Michele described for us her Jewish background. She was born in the
north east of
But
not everything in Judaism was so satisfactory; Michele found that her religion
did not supply answers to the big questions of life like “What are we here
for?” and “How can we be forgiven?” As a teenager she found those answers in
Christianity – despite feeling “like a pork sausage at a Bar Mitzvah” on her
first visit to a church. The church service was off-putting, but the
friendship, warmth and open discussion in the Youth Club, and
Conversion
to Christianity was not easy for a Jewish girl, and it was difficult for her
family to accept. In time Michele met and married Peter Guinness. When she and
Peter told her parents that Peter was to be ordained, Michele’s mother began
unexpectedly to laugh. “I could be the mother-in-law of the Archbishop of
Canterbury one day”, she said.
Having
children helped Michele to get back to her Jewish roots – and brought her
mother round post haste! Peter, Michele and their family began to make time for
a family night when they shared bread and wine, prayer and happiness together.
They didn’t try to give their children faith, but in the Jewish way they gave
them a feel for a way of life, in their case the Christian way, in the hope
that they would come to faith.
Jesus,
Michele pointed out, was a man of the party; Zaccheus, the owners of the lost
sheep and of the lost coin, and the father of the lost son all celebrated with
parties. We need to celebrate our faith with our family, our children, and our
neighbours of all faiths and none. Our parties here are rehearsal for the
heavenly party to which Jesus invites us all.
Simon
Cox who spoke at our second meeting
followed a very different route to faith. He chronicled with humour his
progress from Atheist to Deist to Christian; but first he contrasted the
conversion experiences of Paul (like being caught out in a thunderstorm and
immediately getting soaked to the skin) and Peter (like going out in a
Blackpool sea mist and finding you’d got just as wet without realising it).
Simon himself had an experience like Paul’s, but many of us grow into faith
like Peter, and what matters is that we have a relationship with Jesus, not how
that relationship came about.
The
Reverend Canon Doctor Simon Cox grew up a “slightly aggressive atheist”. He
took science at school and believed that it had all the answers; religion was
for people who needed a crutch to help them through life. He carried this view
with him to
The
study of science made him realise that there is an order and pattern in the
universe. The study of statistics convinced him that the existence of life is
“a long shot”; that if the world were the size of an orange, all life would be
no more than a human hair wrapped round it. As he considered these discoveries
Simon “slid gently from being an atheist to being a deist”. He accepted that
the universe was designed, that it didn’t simply exist, and he stopped going to
ask awkward questions at the Christian Union.
The
agents of his conversion from Deist to Christian were the cub scouts and a
Vicar. The tutor at a cub scout training weekend was a recently widowed woman
whom Simon knew to be a Christian because she asked if she might pray at the
end of every session. He recognised that she was drawing on an inner strength,
but didn’t know what that strength was. When she asked who would like to go to
Communion at the Anglican Church on Sunday morning he felt impelled to say he
would, and he was struck by the Vicar’s invitation: “If you love the Lord Jesus
and are in good standing with your own church, you are welcome to take
Communion”. Simon felt he must explain to the Vicar that his church connection
was confined to helping with the cubs, and the Vicar replied, “If you love the
Lord Jesus you are welcome”. At this, Simon felt love – not the love of the
Vicar but the love of Jesus, and said, “I do”.
Not
long afterwards he went back to the Christian Union and told his story to the
members whom he used to torment. “Amazing!” they exclaimed, “a
“Oh
no”, said Simon, “it was in
Convinced
that God wanted him to be an environmental scientist, he pursued his studies
and went to the
Two
very different stories, but one inspiration; God the Holy Spirit at work in the
lives of men and women to help us come to a personal relationship with Jesus,
our Saviour.
Patricia Duxbury
St.
Mary’s Brownies
The
Brownies have been busy working on the Disability Awareness badge. This has
been quite a challenge. Alex (an ex Brownie) came and taught us the finger
spelling alphabet which the girls quickly & eagerly learnt. This led to
some games and now everyone knows how to approach a deaf person & can at
least tell them their name and also how to speak to be lip read.
Blindness
was covered in a variety of ways including some nasty touch & smell
challenges – jelly feels awful when you stick your hand in it blindfolded &
raw fish is a terrible smell.
We
borrowed a wheel chair from Church (Thank you for the loan) and spent an
informative evening investigating the town centre and St Mary’s Centre from the
perspective of a wheelchair user.
The
activities grew to include Girlguiding
We
have also attended the District Thinking day Service at St Michael & St
John’s Church which led to some World Guiding Badges being awarded.
Carol
Dinsdale
Christian Aid Week 10—16 May, 2009. New and experienced deliverers, collectors and money counters all required for this desperately important work. Please have a word with Sue Shepherd (phone 425053) if you can help, even if it is only in a small way.
Agnostics Anonymous
A conversation
Wednesday 22nd April at
We
are hosting this question and discussion evening as part of our outreach to the
community, 80% of whom call themselves Christian, but may not be too clear
about what it is they actually believe.
Issues can be raised on any matters to do with
religious faith and belief:
Who was Jesus?
How can we reconcile evil and suffering with a loving
God?
Are evolution and the Bible at odds?
And so on.
Please
make this special event known to any who might be interested in learning more
about religious faith in a post-modern world, and who may have questions they
would like to ask, or issues they would like to discuss in a friendly and
thoughtful environment;
and do come along and join in this conversation
yourself.
Further details from Peter Shepherd: 425053
St. Mary’s Ladies
Group
This
month – April – members’ thoughts will be turning towards the Annual Spring
Fair, which will be held in the Main Hall of St. Mary’s Centre on Sunday May
3rd immediately after Parish Communion until 12-noon. This is always a very sociable occasion for
the congregation, and members look forward to welcoming their friends to have
coffee, look around the stalls for bargains and to stock up at the cake stall –
not to mention trying their luck at the ever popular Tombola. If anyone would
like to donate items for the Fair, please contact Jean Duck or Pat Gorrill and
collection can be arranged.
The
Ladies Group first meeting in April comes half way through the month – on the 14th
– when members will be entertaining themselves with tales of the ancient
kitchen implements they have been able to unearth. On the 28th of the month a
representative from the Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust will be telling us
about the origins and work of this organisation.
As
always, the Group will be meeting in the Mutual Room of St. Mary’s Centre from
Jean Duck, Chairman.
ST.
COFFEE & BISCUIT 50P.
Many stalls – Cakes, Tombola, Books, Bric-a-brac
Prayer Diary for
April
|
1st |
F D Maurice, priest 1872. For social justice. |
16th |
Isabella Gilmore, Deaconess, 1923. For all who serve as permanent deacons. |
|
2nd |
For all who bring healing. |
17th |
For those experiencing marital breakdown. |
|
3rd |
For all who provide our emergency services. |
18th |
For those who lack faith in their future. |
|
4th |
For all who inspire us. |
19th |
Easter 2. For
all who live on |
|
5th |
Palm Sunday. For
all who live on |
20th |
For faith in the future of our church. |
|
6th |
For children impoverished in spirit. |
21st |
Anselm, teacher of the faith, 1109. For all who work to bring understanding to faith. |
|
7th |
For all carers. |
22nd |
For grace to forgive. |
|
8th |
For all who work at |
23rd |
George, martyr, c.304. For our Church of England. |
|
9th |
Maundy Thursday. For the elderly. |
24th |
Mellitus, Bishop, 624. For our bishops. |
|
10th |
Good Friday. For all in despair. |
25th |
Mark the Evangelist. For all who proclaim the Good News. |
|
11th |
Easter Eve. For all to be baptised tomorrow. |
26th |
Easter 3. For all who live on Railway View and Brennand St. |
|
12th |
Easter Day. For
all who live on |
27th |
Christina Rossetti. Poet. 1894. For all whose art enriches our lives. |
|
13th |
For all caught up in war. |
28th |
Peter Chanel, missionary, martyr, 1841. For all who suffer for their faith. |
|
14th |
For the house-bound. |
29th |
Catherine of |
|
15th |
For the town and borough Councillors. |
30th |
Pandita Mary Ramabai, translator of the scriptures, 1922. For all who work to communicate the Bible. |
Sermon preached by Canon Peter Shepherd on the Sunday
next before Lent 2009
“Peter said to Jesus: ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here’.”
(Mark 9: 5)
However
we seek to understand the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration – important enough to
have its own festival on 6th August, as well as appearing as our
Gospel on this Sunday immediately before Lent get underway – it has one obvious
feature: the small group of disciples, Peter, James and John, felt privileged
to be there, and to be able to see the Lord in Glory in that sacred space, and
in that sacred time. The story itself, inevitably, is capable of many different
interpretations; but however we decide to treat it, the main emphasis is
clearly more theological (speaking words about God) than it is historical
(concerned with mundane events). In the three so-called Synoptic Gospels, the
story of the Transfiguration follows immediately after the disclosure that
Jesus is to suffer; and it marks the beginning of the recognition by the
disciples that there was much more to this Jesus than met the eye. The story
tells us, in remarkable pictures and symbols how, in the man Jesus, the
disciples had found God. Jesus is, on the one hand, a human being – as human as
the rest of us – even to the extent of suffering the very real pains of human
life; yet in this wholly human and suffering figure, the drawing near and
revelation – the Advent and the Epiphany – of God take place. Jesus Christ, we
might say, had divinity oozing out of every pore – and the disciples were
privileged to experience that first hand, not particularly in remarkable events
like the story of the Transfiguration, but in the life, death and resurrection
of a suffering and obedient servant of God who understood fully what he had
been called to do.
So
we may well agree with the sentiment expressed by Peter: how good it must have
been to be there. Perhaps we might then say: ‘we wish we had been there as
well’. But we were there; or rather, we are there. No – we weren’t actually
there then, but we are here now; in our sacred space and in our sacred time. It
is in this Eucharist, and in each and every Eucharist, that we can experience
for ourselves the transfiguration of Christ. Like the disciples on the Emmaus
road, we can see the Lord revealed and transfigured into glory in the simple
act of the breaking of bread – we, too, can experience the advent and the
epiphany of God. So we, too, can say with Peter: ‘It is good to be here’.
For
without doubt the Eucharist has transfiguration as its main feature: the
transfiguration (or whatever other word we may wish to use) of very ordinary
things – bread and wine – into the reality of the presence of the living
Christ. But there is also – or at least there should be – another kind of
transfiguration, another kind of transformation, going on. Us. We share in this
Eucharist in order that we, too, can be transfigured and transformed from what
we are, to what we are called to be. That is why we confess our sins. That is
why we feed on the Word of God. That is why we share God’s Peace with one
another. That is why we gather together around his table in this sacred space,
and in this sacred time. That is why we then go out into the world fed and
watered (so to speak), so that we can take the transfigured and glorified
Christ with us as the light to enlighten those who, as yet, do not know him.
But
being transfigured in order to shed that light abroad is not easy for us, and
we may resist it; we may even resent the inconvenience. And yet we who have
been privileged to witness the transfiguration of Christ in this Eucharist can
do no other – if we are to be true to our calling – than respond by getting on with
what the Eucharist is transfiguring us for: going out and proclaiming the Good
News of God in this town. We who are privileged to witness this repeated
transfiguration of Jesus; we who say: ‘It is good to be here’, must show how
much we value and appreciate that privilege. We, too, must be lights shining in
the darkness of the world.
But
at the moment that is particularly difficult for us. Why? Because instead of
using our talents and our energies to proclaim the transfigured Christ as Lord,
we are having to use them trying to sort out our financial problems; we are not
spending our sacred time on mission, because we are tied by difficult problems.
And we complain about that for different reasons. This morning we are focusing
on transfiguration. But it is our
I’m
pretty useless with numbers; but over the past few weeks, one number in
particular has imprinted itself on my brain: £2000. It’s an easy number to
remember. But what does it represent? It is, currently, a bit less than it
costs us to keep this church going each week (even without the normal expenses
associated with a vicar). It is also just a bit less than the amount of deficit
we fall into each and every month that goes by. In other words, every 4th
week we fail to pay our way.
Is
that because, as some have suggested, that we are too extravagant in our
spending? Is it because we are a bit careless and wasteful? Those are emotive
words, and the problem with such words is that they provide an excuse for any
who do not want to face the hard issues, to focus just on those words, and to complain about those
words, rather than recognise the reality those words are pointing to. For one
thing is absolutely certain: we are, in this parish, living beyond our means;
and we have been doing so for some years. And the
I’ve
already indicated that I’m no good with numbers: but even I know there really
only two ways of sorting ourselves out: (i) we must increase our giving and
(ii) we must decrease our expenditure. It is important to keep these two in
balance; we cannot think just about the one and not the other, not least
because in order to keep our spending at its current rates, we would
effectively need to increase giving by a factor of at least 50%; and in this
time of ‘credit crunch’ that may not be easy. We can immediately save some
money by not paying for our service sheets to be folded and stapled, and for
that job to be done by volunteers; we can take on more jobs around the church (such
as cleaning and setting up the altar) which in the past we have paid for; and
we can take a clear-sighted look at other things which currently we spend money
on, but many, perhaps most, other churches do not. The fact is, as the
transfigured Body of Christ in this place, we have got to pull together, dig
in, and help out where necessary.
That
brings us to the other side of the coin. Not only do we need to save money – we
have to try to give more. It’s certainly not for me to tell you how much to
give – that is a matter for every individual. But let me suggest that we all
ask ourselves the question: ‘Is our current giving realistic?’ Are there still
any of us who put not much more than the cost of a daily newspaper, or a cup of
coffee at Maxwell’s, in the plate? Are there any of us who pay tax, but still
do not gift aid our offering? And then – could we actually afford to give more?
Or perhaps the question ought to be: as the Body of Christ in this place,
witnessing his and our transfiguration, can we afford not to give more?
Of
course, whenever money is mentioned, or changes are proposed in the way we do
things, it is easy for us to fall into critical mode: to believe that others
are not making good decisions, or that those decisions could have been implemented
more sensitively; or that we ourselves would have done it all so much better.
It’s also very tempting to wash our hands of it all and (to change the
metaphor) keep our heads in the sand. But the problems will not just go away.
It may be that we have faith that God will provide? But I would expect God to
expect at least some help from us!
Of
course, we are all here because we choose to be; we are all, in that sense,
volunteers. But there is another sense in which we are not volunteers at all;
we are here because God has called us here; just as Jesus called Peter, James
and John to go up the mountain with him – so God is calling us to climb this
particular mountain with and for him. But he doesn’t force us; he just calls us
and awaits our response. Speaking for myself, I have no choice but to respond,
because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be true to myself. Yes – it is good to be here
– to be with the transfigured Lord; and also to be with you good folk as we too
are transfigured together. Yes – we, like Peter, James and John, are being
called up this Mount of Transfiguration – not simply to witness the
Transfigured Lord, but to be transfigured and transformed ourselves – not only
as individuals, but also as the Church. So, as Lent begins, let us reflect on how
we can make that transfiguration real in our lives; let us pray for the
strength and the courage to do what is right for the future of Christ’s Church
in this place; let us pray for those in positions of leadership in our Church
that they can see clearly what needs to be done and have the boldness of vision
to carry difficult decisions through. But finally, let us pray that we, as the
Body of Christ, can take up the challenge of climbing the Mount of
Transfiguration side by side, so that we can then focus on our real job –
helping to transfigure and transform the world around us.
Wanted
Have
you one or two hours to spare, to go on a rota to dust and hoover and help keep
our church clean and tidy. If you have please will you put your name on the list
at the back of church or give me a ring on 422484. Thank you
Pat Gorrill
Women Bishops?
Legislation to bring in women bishops passed its first
hurdle in General Synod when it was carried by a majority of about two thirds
during a recent debate.
Women bishops: is consensus now possibly?
Have your say on www.churchtimes.co.uk
Reprinted from the Church Times
Women’s World Day of Prayer
The
first Friday in March is traditionally the date for the Women’s World Day of
Prayer worldwide. This year saw people from all the churches in Clitheroe
converge on St. James for the service arranged by the women of
A
member of St. James Church had made a similar bag and placed it on the cross as
the focal point of the service. The theme was: ‘In Christ there are many
members yet one body. The hymns and Bible readings reflected this and the
address given by Mrs. Jean Marsh from
These
annual World Day of Prayer services give us an insight into other countries for
each year the service is planned by somewhere different. Next year the women of
Judith
Blackburn who led the service told of one such she had attended many years ago
in
To
take part in this ecumenical event gives you a real feeling of the truly world
wide family of the Christian Church – men, women and children are all invited,
so if you have never been, do come on the first Friday of March, 2010.
Ann
Goodbody
Full Circle
What
does the long-running T.V. programme ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ have in common
with Henry VIII’s daughter Queen Mary, our new vicar, the Rev. Andrew Froud and
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School.
The
name of our vicar in the March magazine led me to Crockford’s Clerical
Directory. The relevant information provided the basis for the first paragraph
so let us now unravel the puzzle.
From
1993-96 Andrew was curate at Almondbury with Farnly Tyas, villages some two to
four miles from Holmfirth which is associated with the T.V. programme. However
it is the coming paragraphs which justify the title of the article.
Four
hundred and fifty five years ago, 1554, Queen Mary linked Clitheroe with
Almondbury. In granting permission for an endowed grammar school she chose
several areas of land in
Some two hundred and seventy years later, in 1823, the
governors would have liked to use this right to transfer an unsatisfactory head
of the school, who was also perpetual curate of our church to Almondbury. It
did not happen.
The
1983 history of the school, Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Clitheroe by Dudley
Green and Keith Harwood provides more detailed information. A copy is available
at the library. Page 6 gives details of early rents; page 9 a sketch of
Almondbury church; page 30 outlines the story of the unsatisfactory head and
page 33 has a drawing of him.
Arthur
Langshore’s research lists the rental income of the school in 1813. Almondbury
£80, Skipton £94,
Certainly
by the first decade of the 20th Century, if not before, financial
links with Almondbury and the other
To
round of this story we note that the Rev. John Allen 1826-34 was the last
person to be head of the school and also perpetual curate of our church. It was
a busy eight years involving rebuilding the church 1828-9 and moving the school
stone by stone from the churchyard to its present site
Bob
Jones.
Diary for April 2009
Ch=Church; CV=Choir Vestry; H=Hall;
MR=Mutual Room; V=Vicarage.
|
Fri |
3 |
|
Parish
Hall Trustees Meeting |
MR |
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
Ch |
|
|
|
|
Marriage
Service |
Ch |
|
Sat |
4 |
|
Coffee Concert with Tom Leech Organist
at |
Ch |
|
|
|
|
Clitheroe
Interfaith Friendship ‘Celebrating
Faith’ Exhibition |
H |
|
Sun |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
|
|
|
|
|
A
Procession with palms |
Ch |
|
|
|
|
Parish
Communion/Sunday School |
|
|
|
|
|
Evening
Prayer (said) |
|
|
Mon |
6 |
|
Holy
Communion – |
|
|
Thu |
9 |
|
MAUNDY THURSDAY |
|
|
|
|
|
Chrism
Mass at |
|
|
|
|
|
Commemoration
of the Last Supper |
Ch |
|
Fri |
10 |
|
GOOD FRIDAY |
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
Ch |
|
|
|
|
‘One
Friday in Eternity’ – a devotional play |
Ch |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sun |
12 |
|
EASTER |
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
|
|
|
|
|
Parish
Communion/Parade Service |
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Baptisms |
|
|
|
|
|
Evening
Prayer (said) |
|
|
Tue |
14 |
|
Magazine Deadline for May Issue |
Office |
|
|
|
|
Ladies
Group |
MR |
|
Thu |
16 |
|
Thursday
Afternoon Christian Fellowship |
MR |
|
Fri |
17 |
|
Holy
Communion |
Ch |
|
Sun |
19 |
|
The Second Sunday of Easter |
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
|
|
|
|
|
Parish
Communion/Sunday School |
|
|
|
|
|
Choral
Evensong |
|
|
Thu |
23 |
|
Magazine
Folding |
MR |
|
Fri |
24 |
|
Holy
Communion |
Ch |
|
Sat |
25 |
|
Mission
& Ministry Team meeting at ‘ |
|
|
Sun |
26 |
|
The Third Sunday of Easter |
|
|
|
|
|
Holy
Communion |
|
|
|
|
|
Parish
Communion/Sunday School |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ch |
|
|
|
|
Evening
Prayer (said) |
|
|
Mon |
27 |
|
Annual Parish Meeting |
H |
|
Tue |
28 |
|
Ladies
Group |
MR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advance Notices for |
|
|
Fri |
1 |
10.30am |
Holy Communion
(St Philip & St James) |
Ch |
|
Sun |
3 |
|
The Fourth Sunday of Easter ‘Vocations Sunday’ |
|
|
|
|
9.45am |
Parish
Communion/Sunday School Preacher:
Rev Brian McConkey, Diocesan
Vocations Adviser |
|
***********************************************************************************