Newsletter AS - Saints` Church

All Saints
All Saints Church Berkhamsted An Anglican Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership
August September 2012
Preparations for the Olympic Torch Relay
Also in this issue: CSI Investigation - Monty - A Local Energy Policy
Nora Monk appreciation - The three faces of God
The 21st Century Christian - Book and film review - and plenty of humour
no 203
All Saints’ Church
Shrublands Road Berkhamsted
W www.allsaintsberkhamsted.org.uk
E [email protected]
August September 2012
Contents
Rachael’s letter
3
Family news
4
Preparations for the Olympic torch relay
4
Crime Scene Investigation under the
microscope
5
Monty
7
The Source: a film review
8
Slavery and Sugar: two book reviews
8
A local policy on energy
10
Editor’s Note
The 21st century Christian
12
Tribute to Audrey Cox
14
Nora Monk - an appreciation
15
The three faces of God - a sermon
16
Phakamisa letter
18
News and Events
20 - 23
eading about Ella on page 4 gave me a
real buzz, what a super thing to happen.
As a great fan of forensic television,
"Bones" being my absolute favourite closely
followed by “Waking the Dead” I found
Simon's CSI article on page 6 fascinating and
very different. And as one of those hapless
youth workers who have tried to explain the
Trinity I thought John Malcolm's sermon on
page 16 was really the best piece of reasoning I
have read. So I hope you, the reader, find
something to interest you in this edition and if
not there are always the jokes.
The copy date for the October November
newsletter is Friday 7th September.
New Methodist President
and Vice - President
23
Tracy’s Note
25
Church Information
25 -28
R
Christina
Editorial and Production Team
The Newsletter is set in 12pt and 10pt Georgia, with 24pt
Verdana and 16pt Georgia headings. The drop cap is
Angelina.
Responsibility for opinions expressed in articles
published in this newsletter and for the accuracy of any
statements in them rests solely with the individual.
2
Christina Billington, 13 Ashridge Rise,
HP4 3JT Tel 01442 385566
email: [email protected]
Audrey Hope 5 Castle Hill Close HP4 1HR
[email protected]
Proof reading:
Ruth and Keith Treves Brown
Rachael’s Letter
A
friend on Facebook commented the
other day that she had never seen so
many street cleaners before. The
implication was clear - the Olympic torch was
on its way to her area!
It is understandable that whenever
possible we try to put across a good
impression. We want people to see us in the
best light, but my friend’s complaint was that
the street the torch was going down was
looking beautiful, while those around were in
need of care, and no street cleaners seemed to
be moving into other areas.
As a country there is a desire to put on a
good show as the Olympics come to the UK we are trying to show our cultural heritage, a
good welcome, our ability to put on a good,
well-organised event. It could be argued
though, that all of this is just for show. Some
may feel that we are putting on a performance
to make a good impression, but that
underneath our country has many problems
that are just being papered over. It’s an
argument that I think has a strong case, but
the optimist in me wants to see the other side
of the argument - that holding the Olympics
has given us an opportunity to make our
country better; that by giving ourselves high
aims we have shown ourselves what can be
achieved, despite the problems many of us are
dealing with; that the experience of the
Olympics gives our children vision for the
future. Maybe you would say that I should be
more cynical, but actually I would want to
argue that it’s good to focus on the positive
and to look forward with hope.
That message of hope and optimism is
central to the Christian faith. If God had
decided that we weren’t worth bothering
about, Jesus would never have come. But God,
in his love for us, reached out and
communicated with us through Jesus and
even today he still reaches out to all of us.
Christians go into prisons, work with the
homeless, with the poor, work in places of
conflict and deprivation, because they believe
that something better is possible for everyone,
not just the chosen few.
Each of us comes with our own failings, our
own problems, but as we gather to worship
God, we come remembering that there can be
something different, something better. People
outside the church sometimes argue that
Christians are hypocrites, preaching love and
then not showing it in their lives. And when we
make mistakes, make bad decisions, as we all
do, then yes, that can be true. But hopefully
we also recognise that God still accepts us, but
as he accepts us, he also wants us to be better,
to be the best that we can be. One of the
Olympic values is excellence - do we strive for
that as Christians? Another Olympic value is
inspiration - are we being an inspiration to our
community, I wonder?
It is good to put on a good show, but if
that’s all it is, then there’s a problem. But
when we strive for excellence, when we strive
to be an inspiration and with courage and
determination show respect, friendship and
value equality, then there must be something
good about what we’re doing - something that
we can share with others. They may be
Olympic values, but as Christians they can also
be our values as we seek to be the people that
God wants us to be. We don’t get it right all the
time, but we have the hope that it can be
better, that a life shared with God is worth
taking time and effort over. I wonder whether
that’s the impression that we give to those
around us?
This newsletter will see many of you taking
time for some R&R and as you disappear on
holiday, or perhaps to join in one of the
Olympic events, I pray that you all have a
happy and restful time - and that the sun will
shine!
Blessings,
Rachael
3
Family News
W
e offer our condolences to Richard
Monk and his family on the death of
his mother Norah Monk at the age of
103.
Leonard Knopp has died and his widow
Doreen and his son Graham and family are in
our thoughts and prayers; as are Robert
Duncombe and his partner Samantha on the
tragic loss of their baby, Riley James, who was
stillborn. Robert is the grandson of Peter and
Ann Thompson and we hold the whole family
in our prayers.
We are all saddened to hear of the death of
Tony Bandle and extend to Patricia and their
family our deepest sympathy. His work among
young people will be long remembered and
appreciated.
Vicky Drury and her family are assured of our
sympathy and affection on the death of her
father.
A number of friends have been in hospital
including Eileen Williams, Jenny Wells, Christine
Tebbutt and Dot Blaauw. We are glad that they are
now home and pray that they will continue to
progress.
Jenny Wells will be very proud of her stepson
Sam Wells, Stephen’s son, who is to be the
next vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
As the Methodist year comes to an end in
August, there are a number of changes. Tony
Cavanagh, our Superintendent minister, is
leaving for Bournemouth and the new
Superintendent of the enlarged West Herts
and Borders Circuit will be Linda Woollacott.
We welcome Vindra Maraj-Ogden as the new
minister at Hemel Hempstead and Ley Hill.
Tom Plant is joining the team ministry at St
Peter’s as Curate, following his ordination in
July. Our prayers are with all these friends as
they take up their new spheres of service.
Our love and congratulations to Sue Hampton
and Leslie Tate who marry on September 1st.
A Diamond Wedding will be celebrated by
David and June Williamson that same
weekend and we send them our best wishes for
a happy day.
After an amazing 55 years of service in youth
work, Audrey Cox is taking a well-earned
4
retirement. There are no adequate words to
express our thanks for her contribution to the
life of the young people in the church, both
here for the last 30 years and in the previous
circuits where she served with her late
husband, Alan Cox.
Congratulations too to Paul Cox who has
completed 15 years working at Sainsburys.
We continue to remember Chris and Doug
Billington and Jonathan and Ann Hayes
Our less mobile friends are also in our
thoughts including Dot and Ray Blaauw, Edna
Campkin, Heather Gifford, Rita and Ray
Hodges, Anne and John Hopps, Anne
Horsfield, Peter Meyer, Sidney Rance, Kath
Tavener and Jeanne Woodley.
Audrey Hope
Preparations for the
Olympic Torch Relay
J
ust over 30 days ago now I remember I
was sitting in my living room with my
mum. We were watching the ceremony in
Greece of the lighting of the Olympic torch.
I remember listening to Seb Coe as he did a
speech about the Olympic Games coming to
London and the Olympic torch relay taking
place. As he continued to talk about the
Olympic torch bearers, I just turned to mum
with a massive grin on my face, because I
knew I was one of them, and that’s when the
excitement really kicked in!
It all started back at the end of last year,
when the Olympic torch bearer’s nominations
opened. My family had all decided to nominate
me for my achievements in sport, along with
some other close friends and school friends. At
the time I never thought I’d have a chance of
actually becoming a torch bearer. The
nomination date then closed and I waited and
waited and heard nothing for a few weeks. A
month or so later I received an email from
Coca Cola telling me I had been short listed,
and that my story was to be judged by a group
of celebrities. At this point I was shocked to
have even been short listed!
So I filled in all the forms and continued to
wait some more.
In December I came home from school one
evening and I had an email from Seb Coe
‘London 2012 torch nominations’ waiting in
my inbox. I was not expecting to read what I
did. This email said ‘Congratulations, Ella, we
think you’ve got what it takes to become a
London 2012 torch bearer!’ I was home alone
at the time; I had no one to tell, so I wheeled
around the house screaming. I was so happy!
It was actually the nomination of one of my
very good friends that was accepted, I later
discovered. I immediately rang my eldest
sister to tell her the good news; we were both
just so excited!!
That day I also received a special box in the
post. However in this small, specially designed
box was a unique limited edition torch bearer’s
badge. The box also contained a personalized
message congratulating me for being selected.
I had been selected to be an Olympic torch
bearer by Coca Cola, and part of the
sponsorship was that they allowed us to design
our own cheer kit, so our family are able to
cheer for us, on the day. We were able to
design one big banner and two beat pads to
make lots of noise with. After much thought,
we designed them with the
catch phrase ‘Go Ella Bee!!’
and ‘Blazin’ Beaumont’. This
Cheer Kit arrived this
weekend and they look great,
but I have a feeling my family
are going to be very
embarrassing when holding
them.
I am now counting down
the days until I carry the
flame and am so excited. It really is such a
privilege and an honour. I look forward to
receiving more details regarding the time and
location of my leg in Hemel Hempstead.
Ella Beaumont
Crime Scene
Investigation under
the microscope
H
ow many of you pass comment about
the authenticity of either a fictional or
televised adaptation of a subject, topic
or career close to your heart? I certainly do.
My job as a crime scene examiner has, in
recent years, become almost as popular as
hospital dramas with the inception of
programmes such as CSI, Silent Witness and
Waking the Dead, which all use forensic
science as a central thread. As any victim of
crime will tell you the experience in reality is
not quite as glamorous!
The basic principle of forensic science is
that when contact is made between two items
there will always be an exchange. Dr Edmond
Locard, director of the first crime lab in Lyon,
France stated that ‘EVERY CONTACT
LEAVES A TRACE’. Locard argued that the
perpetrator of a crime will bring something
into the crime scene and leave with something
from the crime scene:
"Wherever he steps, whatever he touches,
whatever he leaves will serve as a silent
witness against him."
It is the job of the crime scene examiner to
gather the relevant evidence.
5
So as a crime scene investigator what sort
of physical evidence might I be looking for at a
crime scene? You are most likely to think of
finger and palm marks which, along with DNA
in its various forms (blood, saliva, semen, hair,
skin), may identify an offender. But there are
many other forms of physical trace evidence
that may be pertinent to a particular case or
enquiry and these include glove marks, fibres,
glass, paint, footwear marks, tool marks, gunshot residue and ignitable liquids to name a
few.
Contrary to popular belief we do not use
white talcum powder to develop finger marks.
The most commonly used fingerprint powder
is aluminium and you could identify a scene
examiner in a line up as they would have a
grey sheen about them as it gets everywhere! I
once dropped my fingerprint pot onto a cream
coloured carpet at a residential burglary. No
amount of vacuuming or cleaning would
remove the stain and ultimately we had to
replace the carpet for the resident. The very
person who was there to try and solve their
crime then further destroyed their home.
Under the circumstances they were quite
understanding. Fingerprint evidence,
however, can be crucial to an investigation.
The first use of fingerprint evidence involving
a scene of crime mark in England was heard at
the Central Criminal Court on Sept 13th 1902.
Harry Jackson was tried after pleading not
guilty to a charge of burgling a house in
Denmark Hill where billiard balls had been
stolen earlier that year. An imprint of a left
thumb was found in dirt on a newly painted
windowsill during the examination of the
scene. The mark was photographed and
searched against the fingerprint collection at
New Scotland Yard and Jackson identified. He
was convicted and sentenced to 7 years
imprisonment.
The human aspect of examining a crime
scene can be fascinating. Ask any scene
examiner who has worked at an outside scene,
where public areas have been cordoned off
with the crime scene tape wrapped around
street furniture, and they will all tell you that it
seems to be an instant magnet to people for
whom the tape is invisible and who try and
duck under it to get to their destination.
Others will offer a cup of tea and a while later
the use of their loo! You can also find yourself
6
counselling people and the affect (effect??)
and reaction to being a victim of crime is very
interesting. For some it is a consequence of
living in a major city and for others it can be a
very significant event that causes them to call
into question many things. For some our
attendance is an inconvenience and for others
an opportunity to vent their feelings.
Although we generally go to crime scenes
after the offender to try and identify them, it
has been known on occasion for them to
return to the scene or to actually still be there.
I was once examining a large disused business
premises where a number of suspects had
been disturbed and had decamped. A
colleague and I had been inside the building
for a couple of hours whilst the police officer
remained outside in his car. We were in a side
room off the main ground floor corridor when
I heard a noise in the corridor. I went out into
the corridor to investigate only to see the floor
tiles lift and a male figure emerge from the
floor void. I politely asked him to stay where
he was but he needed some fresh air and made
his way to the exit where he then tried to run
away from me. He was a little disoriented as
he tried to hide by climbing a tree in
vegetation behind the premises so I was able
to direct police to him and he was detained. I
also came face to face once in the middle of the
night with a burglar who was actually
returning some of the personal property he
had stolen earlier!
During my career the single most
significant development in forensic science
has been the development and use of DNA
profiling which has revolutionised the role of
forensic science. Most biological material
contains some DNA and therefore has
potential for DNA profiling. Colin Pitchfork
was the first criminal convicted of murder
based on DNA evidence, and the first to be
caught as a result of mass DNA screening.
Pitchfork raped and murdered two girls, the
first in Narborough, Leicestershire, on
November 21, 1983, and the second in
Enderby, also in Leicestershire, on July 31,
1986. He was arrested on September 19, 1987,
and sentenced to life imprisonment on
January 22, 1988, after admitting both
murders. The process has gone on to be used
in many investigations; development
continues and extraction techniques become
increasingly more sensitive.
Each crime scene is unique and some are more
complex and involved than others but so too
are we: that’s what make it so interesting.
Simon Black
Monty
B
eing older doesn't make you wiser.
When you are older you can still make
daft mistakes. I know, I think I have
just made one, although maybe I haven’t: I
can't yet be sure. You see Doug, my husband,
and I have just bought a puppy. We thought it
would be okay: we had just looked after an old
dog, who was very sick - how much harder
could it be? Well, much harder is the answer.
We thought for a start our elderly cat
would be fine; she had lived with a dog all her
life. What could be the problem? And Monty is
the same breed
as George who
she had been
best friends with
all her life. The
problem is she
hates him, she
spits at him, she
claws at him, and
being a Burmese
yowls her
displeasure for
all to hear at
every
opportunity. So they are living separate
existences, she resides upstairs, he downstairs.
She yowls when she wants to go out in the
garden and so we herd the puppy out of her
way so she can cautiously, and very slowly,
very slowly, creep downstairs and out of the
door. He meanwhile wants to know what is
going on and does the yippy, yippy dance to
find out.
He is a very barky puppy, not what we have
been used to, both our previous dogs had been
very quiet. Monty expresses all his feeling with
yippy barks; we are persuading him not to do
this for everything but it is hard work. He
knows now that if he barks too much in the
garden he will have to come in, so we hear one
loud yip then several under the breath yips.
Which are okay, he gets away with those. He
used to come when I whistled him but now he
finds other things that he wants to do when I
give him a whistle. So "Come on Monty" I call.
"O I'm just going to sniff those flowers over
there, and I must just check again what is
behind that bin", and I sit there waiting. I’m
too disabled to go down the garden to get him,
so I have to wait. Further training is definitely
required there. He does respond if I have
treats in my hand though.
Monty is a sheltie, a Shetland sheep dog; as
such he can be nervous and a bit unfriendly,
he is also allegedly quite bright. He is not
unfriendly - in fact he can be quite friendly
towards people's feet. He loves them: he has
been known to remove a friend’s sock entirely
from her foot; she didn't mind but everyone
else does when he tries to repeat it. It was not
a good precedent. He also likes unlacing shoes
and chewing handbags. In fact, being a puppy
anything can be chewed with great gusto. He
attempts Doug's toes - not with great success
as Doug does not appreciate it, but that does
not stop Monty trying. He has chewed his lead
into three separate pieces, but as it was pink
we didn't mind. I had pressed the wrong
button on the amazon store; his pink collar
doesn't show with all his fur. He is quite
nervous, one visitor fine, two visitors not too
bad, but three and there is lots of dancing and
to and froing. Two visitors and a baby
produced equal measures of anxiety and
curiosity. Every time our grandson cried out,
Monty barked. Fortunately our grandson’s
mum plays the saxophone so yippy barks were
7
not even registered by Thomas. He did get
used to Thomas in the end and settled down to
sleep. That is when we think he is lovely, when
he sleeps. Aaaah!
So here we are, getting older with this
young thing rushing round
us, perhaps drawing more
attention than we like to our
approaching decrepitude.
Perhaps that's the problem.
Monty is just a lively puppy,
nothing wrong with him that
a bit of time won't cure. But time is not on our
side......
Christina Billington
The Source, a film
review
O
xfam always has the position of women
and related gender issues at the top of its
agenda but it has not, as far as I know,
advocated the method employed by the
women in the thought-provoking film ‘The
Source’.
The women in an impoverished village in
North Africa are forced to carry water from the
hillside above the settlement to their homes.
They each carry two heavy buckets hanging
from yokes like oxen, even when sick or
heavily pregnant while the men sit in the café,
drinking coffee and gossiping.
Eventually they rebel, led by the wife of the
young teacher, and withdraw conjugal rights
until action is taken to bring the supply to the
village.
The film was made by a young Romanian
director, Radu Mihaileaunu, who delighted us
with his earlier gem, ‘The Concert’.
Although the story has its own momentum, it
also touches on wider issues and themes. The
importance of education for women is
demonstrated by the young wife countering
the Koran-quoting males with apposite texts
from the Muslim sacred writings which
support her case.
There is a delightful scene in which the
forceful older woman is chatting to her son on
8
a mobile phone, while
riding her donkey to
market, when she runs
out of signal and
struggles to get the
recalcitrant beast to
retrace its steps so that
she can continue the
conversation.
I was reminded of an
Oxfam colleague who
told the story of the
watchman employed by
the local fishing co-operative to survey their
oyster beds which had suffered from the
attentions of poachers. When she asked him
what he did when he spotted thieves he
replied, “Oh, I summon help on my mobile
phone”.
Such technology can, and does, transform the
lives of rural communities at very low cost.
This unusual film is said to have been inspired
by a true story and is well worth seeing. I am
grateful to the Rex for bringing it to our
attention.
How does it end? Well, you need to see for
yourself.
Audrey Hope
Slavery and Sugar,
two book reviews
H
istorical novels have not often been on
my ‘to read’ pile, until recently when
two found themselves sitting there.
They bridge the gap between fact and fiction
and in setting the history in a good story, can
make the history come alive.
My two, quite by chance
shared common themes of
slavery and sugar. One, ‘The
Long Song’ written by the
acclaimed prize-winning
author, Andrea Levy, was set in
the sugar plantations of
Jamaica in the early decades of
the 19th century. Andrea Levy
was born in England to
Jamaican parents who came to Britain in
1948.
The Long Song is the story of Miss July,
her family, the person who owned her, and the
times through which she lived. Miss July was
born a slave, her mother Kitty spending long,
hot days cutting sugar canes. Her father was a
white man; Miss July a mulatto, a woman of
mixed race. Caroline Mortimer, the sister of
the plantation owner, Englishman John
Howarth, by chance met Miss July and was
fascinated by her. Immediately she took her
away from her mother, though Miss July was
not more than 9 years old, to be her
companion and servant/ladies maid. Slave
though, would be a more appropriate word,
and Caroline straightaway called her ‘maid’
Marguerite. The book paints a vivid picture of
slavery in the sugar plantations, and of the life
of the English owners, often languishing in the
Caribbean heat. Life was harsh and often
brutal for the slaves. If they survived, they
became determined and brave in their fight for
freedom following the abolition of the slave
trade in 1807 and then slavery itself in 1838.
The story is written in the voice of Miss July
when she became free, after a remarkable
encounter with her son whom she had given
away years earlier. In looking backwards at
her life she declares that her story may not be
accurate, but the colourful descriptions and
touches of humour add to the attractiveness of
the book. Within the story is a significant part
of the history of Jamaica that made the
country what it is today and contributed to
Britain’s development through the 19th
century.
The second book, ‘A Respectable Trade’ by
Philippa Gregory, is set in Bristol in the docks
area in the late 18th century. Josiah Cole, a
small-time merchant, with his sister Sarah,
ran three ships between Bristol, Africa and the
Caribbean, selling weapons to Africa, where
local people were captured. They were
manacled in the holds of the ships and
transported to be sold as slaves on the West
Indian sugar plantations. Sugar and rum were
bought and brought back to Britain. That was
The Trade. It was a risky business. Josiah
Cole, struggling to make a profit, dared to take
another risk. He brought back a small number
of slaves to Britain, to educate them and sell
them to wealthy families wanting to show off
their negro servants. To do
this he had married Frances
Scott for her dowry and to
be the tutor of the slaves.
Frances, whose parents had
both died, was the wellconnected daughter of a
country parson. Into her life
came the slaves. One of
them, Mehuru, was once a
priest in an ancient African
kingdom. His easy
mastering of English and
strong, sensitive personality affected Frances
in unexpected ways. She, Josiah and his sister
Sarah, with Mehuru and the other slaves,
moved to a new house. Josiah, always
ambitious, made his way up the Bristol social
ladder where he was gullible, and threats to
The Trade came from the Abolitionists.
The story moves on with need and longing,
risk and recklessness weaving their paths
through the unremitting grime and stench of
Bristol’s docks. Tension grew about the
business and the strength of the Abolitionists
in Parliament. There is no happy-ever-after
ending; ambition and recklessness make a
heady mix. The story-line is gripping and
always left me wanting to know more, but it
also lets the history stand and speak for itself.
The two books written in different styles and
with their common themes are a good read;
400-500 pages each, but the pages turn easily.
They will help time to pass quickly on holiday,
on wet days, or on train journeys or while
waiting at airports, or just to curl up with on a
dreary afternoon.
Margaret Burbidge
A Mother's Dictionary
Bottle feeding: An opportunity for Daddy to
get up at 2 am too.
Drooling: How teething babies wash their
chins.
Family planning: The art of spacing your
children the proper distance apart to keep you
on the edge of financial disaster.
Feedback: The inevitable result when the
9
baby doesn't appreciate the strained carrots.
Grandparents: The people who think your
children are wonderful even though they're
sure you're not raising them right.
Impregnable: A woman whose memory of
labour is still vivid.
Independent: How we want our children to
be as long as they do everything we say.
Prenatal: When your life was still somewhat
your own.
Prepared childbirth: A contradiction in
terms.
Puddle: A small body of water that draws
other small bodies wearing dry shoes into it.
Show off: A child who is more talented than
yours.
Sterilize: What you do to your first baby's
dummy by boiling it and to your last baby's
dummy by blowing on it.
Temper tantrums: What you should keep to
a minimum so as to not upset the children.
Whodunit: None of the kids that live in your
house.
Whoops: An exclamation that translates
roughly into "get a sponge."
A local policy on
energy
Danny Bonnett has recently stepped down
from leading Transition Town Berkhamsted
(TTB), the local group of a nationwide
organization concerned with responsible use
of the planet’s resources. Keith Treves-Brown
is a low-profile, and occasionally sceptical,
member. Following a group meeting when
“fracking” and its possible occurrence in the
Vale of Aylesbury was discussed they
exchanged emails.
Keith wrote:
Before we all jump on our horses and
charge off in all directions at once, could
someone please tell me what the Transition
policy is on energy. I fully appreciate the evils
of coal mining, oil extraction, gas extraction,
nuclear power and wind turbines, and the
disastrous economics of wave power.
However in the last resort I would like to have
10
a warm house and hot water in the tap. And
my solar panels do not work very well at night.
Danny replied:
In the end, all our energy must be
harvested from renewable sources. I do not
know when 'in the end' is. Energy is a complex
issue, and operates on several different levels,
each with a different 'time constant' to
consider.
I like to think of change (and lobbying) as
happening on different levels - relevant to
Transition are:
a. Personal: your house, your car, your job,
your consumption, etc.
b. Local: our shared resources, town halls,
markets, car parks, canals, businesses, farms,
community groups, local roads, etc.
c. National: legislation, taxation, large
infrastructure, aviation, power generation,
economics, fairtrade, etc.
d. Global: international agreements, aviation
taxation, carbon targets, environmental
legislation.
Transition aims to operate primarily at
Personal and Local levels, whilst providing
information about things that are influenced
mainly at National and Global levels too. I
would suggest that the TTB policy on energy is
something like this:
Long term headline objectives - consume no
fossil fuels, consume less energy overall,
minimise the impacts of changing our habits
in this manner (i.e. build resilience), improve
the sustainability (minimise environmental
impact) of energy production and
consumption.
Some key ideas at the personal and local
level might be: improve energy efficiency of
our homes and
public buildings;
localise our lives;
think about our
shopping habits, and
develop an
enjoyment for
activities with a low
environmental
impact.
At a National
level, the time
constant pushes out
to a few years.
Examples include the economic signals that
the government sends out - things such as the
fuel price escalator, stamp duty, car tax,
incentives and grants for developing wind
farms, and for cleaning up contaminated land,
etc. Moving to a more sustainable energy
supply also takes time. The offshore wind
project I am currently working on will be more
than 10 years from inception to first power.
In contrast, reducing consumption can
take as long as you need to walk across the
room and flick off a light switch. This is one of
the very compelling reasons why reduction
should be prioritised over de-carbonising.
Another good reason is that even low-carbon
energy has a significant carbon footprint - the
land use, the materials involved, the human
effort, water consumption, mining, etc.
The government needs to maintain support
for renewables; they should go back and look
at policy on demand reduction, and they
should think again, and do better next time.
This is all about providing a long-term driver
for economic change, and a policy to move to a
lower carbon future. None of this is very
radical, and yet in a number of areas we could
improve our performance on a national level
dramatically.
One area where we can improve our
national performance dramatically is in
relation to new technologies such as
FRACKING. Instead of allowing trials, we
need government to make a decision that
further trials will not be allowed. They need to
show leadership, and here is why:
This is relatively new method for extracting
natural gas from its geological holding matrix.
The US has turned a declining domestic
natural gas industry into a growing one by
extracting shale gas on a large scale. For the
US this has been very economically and
politically beneficial. The film, GASLAND
(http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/),
captures some of the localised (but
geographically widespread) physical impacts
of this technology. When viewed from the air,
the scale of the destruction is clear, and it is
frightening. There is significant damage to the
ground surface, to water courses and to buried
geology as part of the extraction process. They
should not be prepared to tolerate this in the
US, and we certainly do not have the
environmental capacity to tolerate it here. The
far-reaching impacts on
ground water can be
serious, with
contamination of water
sources with a long list
of chemicals, including
carcinogens.
This is a type of
natural gas extraction,
that presently, apart
from one area near
Blackpool, we don't have in the UK.
Consumption of fossil fuels causes climate
change and we need to wean ourselves off it as
a society. Looking for ever better hidden
caches of fossil fuels at progressively higher
environmental cost (such as tar sands and now
shale gas) will only exacerbate climate change,
spoil our local environments, kill our flora and
fauna, and contaminate our drinking water.
We were managing without gas from
FRACKING last year, let's carry on and try to
reduce our carbon habit now, rather than
putting off the moment until (from a climate
change point of view) it is too late.
This is an area where we NEED our
national politicians to wake up and just say
"no". In order to make that happen,
Transition Towns should speak with a loud
and clear voice, as this is one policy area that
warrants our active participation on a National
scale. The government must act on our
behalves and ban FRACKING in the UK, as
they have done in France. See this article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0701/france-vote-outlaws-fracking-shale-fornatural-gas-oil-extraction.html
I don't know if the above would meet with
universal approval amongst the group, but for
now it is the closest we're going to get to a TTB
Energy policy.
People are funny; they want the front of the
bus, middle of the road, and back of the
church.
Opportunity may knock once, but temptation
bangs on the front door forever.
Quit griping about your church; if it was
perfect, you couldn't belong.
11
The Twenty-First
Century Christian
S
tories from the Bible and our modern
understanding combine to form the basis
of Christian faith for a growing number of
followers today. The authors of the
biblical stories wrote in the light of what they
knew and understood in their day; they could
do no more. For example, the events and
happenings in the life of Jesus were
interpreted in the light of ancient Jewish
philosophy and the Hebrew Bible. Because our
understanding has changed, some of the
biblical stories are interpreted in a different
way today. In this article I explore what these
differences are and the extent to which
modern faith varies from that in biblical times.
Christians today share the belief of our
forebears that at some time in the past there
was a creative event that brought all things,
including us, into existence. All we are
physically and spiritually, and our
consciousness and self-consciousness, derive
from this one event. In biblical times the
creation was seen to have occurred over a
period of seven days. Today, we understand it
to have begun about 13.7 billion years ago and
continued ever since. Christians continue to
see the creation as awesome, miraculous, and
an act of God. Whether God in this context is a
being separate from the universe
(transcendent), a universal being or spirit
(immanent) or simply a useful label for all
things associated with the creation we may
never be sure but the concept of God the
creator remains a part of Christian faith. God
is the creator of all things.
We also share with our forebears the
perception of what today is sometimes called
the 'sacred presence'. It is the human
awareness of the immanent God, the universal
Holy Spirit that is all around us, within us, and
everywhere. St Paul said, 'For in him we live,
and move and have our being' (Acts 17:28).
The ability to be aware of the sacred presence
is inborn and given to us as a part of our
creation. It largely derives from the fact we
have evolved with a common empathy, feeling
of shared destiny and sense of belonging,
caring and loving. Common observation shows
that awareness of the sacred presence varies
12
from person to person: in some it is active, in
others it is dormant, and can be developed
through prayer and devotion. Awareness of the
immanent God has a very great impact on the
lives of many Christians. It inspires and
energises them to do things for the benefit of
others they would not otherwise be able to do
and is at the centre of their existence; the
universal spirit that links and binds men and
women together in Christian fellowship. God
is the sacred presence.
Christians have always used the word God
as a shorthand for God the creator and God
the sacred presence combined, as one. Today,
many ask the question, 'Does God exist?’ It is
not a question that is easily answered; for
example, what does exist actually mean? It
means to have an existence, be extant, a being
or life, as opposed to the state of nothingness.
Christians have always believed that at one
time God was the only existent (transcendent)
God, implying that God did not create
existence because God already existed but that
he created all other existences. He created us,
Homo sapiens, in such a way that enabled us
to be aware of his sacred presence and have
the ability to believe in him. 'All things were
made by him (God); and without him was not
anything made that was made. In him was life;
and the life was the light of men' (John 1:3-4).
Christians, and men and women of other
faiths, believe that God exists.
Prayer has always been seen as a way to
engage with the strength and power of the
sacred presence and continues to give comfort,
understanding and guidance. It is the means
to seek liberation from care, freedom from
oppression in all its forms, a new beginning,
and forgiveness for any misdoing. Some see
prayer as a form of faith healing and use it to
intercede on behalf of others. For those setting
out on the Christian journey prayer is a way to
develop awareness of the sacred presence.
Jesus said, 'Those who seek should not stop
seeking until they find. When they find, they
will be disturbed. When they are disturbed,
they will marvel, and will reign over all.'
(Thomas 2). Prayer is a way to seek salvation.
Christians have always followed the teaching
of Jesus. It is what defines a Christian. Jesus
the man, the son of Joseph and Mary, is
confirmed as a historical figure both in the
Bible, and Jewish and Islamic documents. The
Bible shows him to have been a caring and
loving man, one concerned with the welfare of
the underprivileged, marginalised and sick.
Jesus revealed a different way of life, a
timeless and eternal way, involving new values
and standards in his Sermon on the Mount
and other teaching. He had a perception of the
immanent God that exceeded that of all other
men. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son' (John 3:16). The words
'only begotten' are translated from the Greek
word 'monogenes' which St John used to mean
'Jesus was the only one, unique, amongst
humans'. Christians today believe that Jesus
lives on through the timeless things he taught
and see him as the 'Light of the World', the
one who illuminated a new way of life for all.
In the words of our Christian forebears, Jesus
knew (the immanent) God, the Father, like a
Son, in the same way that an earthly son
knows his father. Jesus is the Son of God.
Today, the divine image of Jesus given in the
Bible presents many Christians with
challenges. The figurative and metaphysical
stories in the canonical gospels reflect the
innermost feelings that Jesus' closest followers
had about him and his mission after the
crucifixion. They are not based on any
particular event or happening but more a
general perception; many are aimed to show
that Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecy
in the Hebrew Bible. It is a matter of personal
belief whether these stories have any relevance
today. Is it relevant in the modern world that
Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and of David's
line? Does it matter that Jesus rose from the
dead and appeared unto his followers in a
semi-spiritual state after the crucifixion? As
Marcus Borg put it in his book, Speaking
Christian, 'Isn't Easter about much more than
something happening to the corpse of Jesus?'.
There is tension here with the perceptions and
beliefs of our Christian forebears.
A growing number of Christians today
believe in a spiritual existence after life on
earth ends. It is accepted that life on earth is a
reality and that what is done during life is
important and makes a difference to others
and our eternal salvation. Modern Christians
reject the belief of our unorthodox Christian
forebears that the state from which we came
and are destined to go, the All or More, is the
reality and life on earth is but a passing and
temporary illusion. But there is no certainty
about life after death, only the promise and
hope given to us by Jesus. As Jonathan Sacks,
Chief Rabbi, said when asked if he believed in
life after death, 'I haven't a clue and am too
busy doing God's work to worry about that.
When the time comes I am sure God will let
me know'. In many ways all men and women
of faith are in this position.
This brief outline shows that much of the
Christian faith held by our forebears remains,
but today we understand and perceive it with
eyes that have a more informed perception.
Regrettably, Church liturgy has not changed to
the same extent. It remains based on
interpretations given by our forebears and the
idea that the Bible in all its parts is literally the
Word of God. Today, there is a growing divide
between Church liturgy and modern faith. An
increasing number of Christians seek change
so that worship can once again unite
perceptions, knowledge and understanding
with faith.
Peter Thompson
~ I've learned that people will forget what you
said... people will forget what you did... but
people will never forget how you made them
feel.
13
Tribute to Audrey Cox
A
udrey has always been involved with
children's work, alongside Alan's
ministry. So naturally when they
arrived at All Saints Audrey became involved
in Junior Church, working with Les and Freda
Driver. They had a thriving group of children
and an interesting programme of activities.
There were trips to Wicksteed Park and
Wardown Park in Luton for fun days out.
There was always a concert to raise funds for
the 'Third World'. Sunday School Anniversary
services were very special occasions, with all
the children having a part to play, followed by
games and tea in the afternoon.
In addition, Audrey developed a very
successful 'Young People's Fellowship' (YPF).
You had to be 13 to join and many stayed until
leaving for the world of work or university.
Audrey used her winning recipe of 'fun, food
and fellowship ' - it was very popular and the
younger children all aspired to join. Annual
camps - a week away without parents was lots
of fun, singing choruses on the beach in the
evenings, cementing happy memories,
good friendships and bringing many young
people to faith.
When Alan and Audrey retired we missed
them at All Saints for a few years while they
worshipped at Ley Hill. Sadly during this time
Junior Church declined.
Upon Martin Turner's arrival as minister at All
Saints he decided help was needed to
reinvigorate the Sunday School and he invited
Audrey to come and lead it.
Audrey increased the numbers of children,
renaming it 'Sunday Club', signalling
the importance of fun, as well as the teaching.
When the Methodists and Anglicans joined
together the new name 'Explorers' was chosen,
with Audrey's values of food and fun still very
much part of the teaching formula. Her
guidance has inspired the leaders, taking the
best from both Anglican and Methodist
traditions.
Audrey values 'cementing happy memories
for the children' and so would organise fun
days or after school fun at her house, involving
craft and games and food (again!) The fund
14
raising for the 'Third World' continues in our
annual concert and craft sales.
Many mums and dads staying with their
young children when they first join Explorers
appreciate her love for the children, her
experience and traditional values, which all
help to make the welcoming, fun and friendly
atmosphere of Explorers.
Children who grow up with Audrey's teaching
will experience her motto -'food, fun and
fellowship' which has brought many children
to faith.
Helen Garner
Audrey
a parent’s point of view
When Alan and Audrey Cox arrived in
Berkhamsted youth work was in the doldrums.
Valiant efforts by the Wray girls maintained a
small youth group but within a short time of
Audrey’s arrival the scene was transformed.
She started by inviting all the young people
from families with whom the church was in
contact to a coffee evening at the Manse and
the Young People’s Fellowship was born. Soon
it was meeting regularly on a Sunday evening
and numbers just kept growing. Youth camps
followed and we were all privileged to witness
our sons and daughters making their
commitment to the Christian faith.
To share worship with a group of 50 young
people enthusiastically singing the songs of
praise of the day was a wonderful experience.
Audrey was ably assisted by her own children
Judith, Andrew and, of course, Paul and under
her guidance the YPF flourished for many
years.
As a parent I shall always be grateful for
the experience of Christian fellowship enjoyed
by my own children and the friendships they
formed, many of which continue to this day.
Thank you, Audrey, from the bottom of my
heart for all you did for our young people.
Audrey Hope
Audrey, Musicals and
Youth Work
Many years ago when the Anglicans and
Methodists only shared the building, I was a
Pathfinder leader and Methodist Youth Work
was a foreign country not to be explored.
However, I and my friend and fellow
Pathfinder Leader, Valerie, had an idea to
have a musical in the church and for that to
happen we would need to get people on board.
So we went to see Audrey. I don’t quite know
what she thought when we said we wanted to
visit, because I am not sure how highly she
rated Anglicans in those days. But we found
her amazing, so supportive, so encouraging, so
seeing the idea of a musical as something that
could bring the two congregations together.
And of course she got all the other Methodists
in the area to either come or join in. She was in
charge of the publicity and she did it
brilliantly. I found working with her one of the
great joys of doing the musicals; we did three
together in the end.
During this time I had to visit her youth
meetings, and there I discovered the secret of
her great success which I had felt during our
conversations together but not really put a
label on: she really did love those kids. I could
feel it at the meeting and when she talked
about her youth work I could see it was all
about love in a way that I could only admire.
My personal opinion of Audrey is that she is
the best youth worker I have ever met.
As editor of the Newsletter I had a word
with Judith, Audrey’s daughter. I wanted to
know when Audrey started, and what Judith’s
memories were. Judith said she could not
remember a time when her mother did not do
youth and children’s work.
Whenever they came to a
church, the first thing they
would do would be to
invite the local kids to the
Manse for food and
fellowship and that would
be the basis of her mum
and dad’s outreach in the community; Judith
was always part of that, the Sunday School and
the YPF. She could remember 50 young people
in the sitting room and what fun it was.
Audrey started her work as a 14-15 year old
working in the Sunday School at Cheam
Methodist Church. After she married Alan
they worked at the Liverpool Mission Church
which was tough work: there was church in the
morning, a big Sunday School in the afternoon
and a YPF in the evening. A long day. From
there they went to High Wycombe, then
Staines, on to Ashford and then to
Berkhamsted.
Christina Billington
Norah Monk
4th May 1909 - 25th May 2012
N
orah was born Norah Eliza Jane Spurr
on 4th May 1909 in Apsley, Hemel
Hempstead, to a family who originated
from Southern Ireland. As far as we know she
was an only child and her early life was not
easy - even in later years when she heard
people talking she would often assume that
they were arguing, something it is thought
stemmed from those early years.
When she left school Norah went to work
at Dickinson’s, the paper mill in Apsley,
working with the machines on the factory
floor. She was married at St Mary’s Church in
Apsley End on 21st Sept 1931 to Cecil Monk, a
motor engineer who lived in Berkhamsted. 2
children were to come from their marriage Michael, who sadly died about 6 yrs ago and
Richard who has spent a lot of his life caring
for his Mum. She also had 2 grandchildren Sharon and Suzanne. Richard remembers his
Mum as doing her best to provide them with
the best home that she could.
It is not clear why Norah and Cecil made
the decision to start a Guest House - Richard
remembers his Father being against the idea
and Norah’s parents sold their own house to
enable the idea to happen, but the Guest
House seems to have been the place where
Norah felt most at home and fulfilled in her
life.
15
It was not
easy work - they
usually had
about 10 tenants
at a time who
would stay longterm, often
while working
for the
veterinary
company
Coopers. Norah
provided
breakfast and an evening meal whilst also
keeping the house clean and tidy. She had help
with the housework only once a week but liked
to keep a tidy place. She also became very
astute with her money management and was
able to buy enough food for 10-12 people for a
week for £20. She also had a friend who kept a
shop in Kitsbury Road who was able to get bed
sheets for her in bulk. Alongside all of this
Norah would also enjoy sewing and knitting it sounds to me as though she was never still
for long.
Norah kept a record of the more than 600
people who stayed with her in her time at the
Guest House, these included a number of
foreign vets who had come to learn about
British Veterinary practice and a number of
Scottish people. one of whom, George
Henderson, kept in touch over the years.
Norah kept the Guest House for 33 years,
but once Coopers closed down, the need for
the place was not so great and the family
eventually moved from Boxwell Road in 1986.
Norah continued to enjoy being busy though,
and even in her time at Ashlyns she would be
much happier when she was sat in the laundry
room folding the clothes as they came out of
the drier.
Norah was able to stay at home for many
years, but eventually caring for Norah at home
became too much for Richard and she moved
firstly to Dunsland House and then following
that, to Ashlyns Residential Home.
Sadly in the last few years Norah’s sight
and hearing deteriorated, but overall her
health was good. Richard describes her as
dying simply because she was worn out. Over
her last two weeks she became gradually more
sleepy and found it difficult to keep her eyes
open. She died peacefully on 25th May 2012.
16
She will be remembered as someone who had
a strong spirit, who was determined and liked
things to be done her own way.
Our reading today reminded us that there
is a time for everything under heaven Norah’s life had both ups and downs, times of
keeping, times of throwing away, times of
silence, times of speaking, times of tearing and
times of sewing and today we remember that
as well as a time to be born, there is also a time
to die
And as we mark the end of Norah’s life, we
pray that she may find the
peace that she seeks and
that she will be safe in
God’s care, as we mourn
her loss and give thanks for
the good things that she
brought to this world.
Revd Rachael Hawkins
The three faces of
God - a sermon
I
n the fifteen years or so that I've been an
Anglican Reader, it's interesting to note
how often I've been asked to preach on
Trinity Sunday - it's been said that the clergy
prefer today of all days to take a holiday! The
reason is that the doctrine of the Trinity, three
persons in one God, is one of the more difficult
concepts we have to grapple with. I'm sure
that most of us will remember Sunday School
sessions with teachers drawing wonderful
diagrams to try and explain a concept that
they had difficulty understanding themselves.
It also causes some problems with the other
two Abrahamic faiths, Judaism and Islam,
who claim that we worship three Gods, not
just one as they do.
The Feast of the Most Holy and Undivided
Trinity is the last great festival of the Christian
year. It was also the last to be accepted by the
Church. It was as late as 1334 that Pope John
XX11, the second of the Avignon Popes,
ordered Trinity Sunday to be celebrated across
Christendom, although by then it was a
popular feast in England because Archbishop
Thomas a Beckett had popularised it some two
centuries earlier. Our Christian calendar
spends the first half of the Church's year, from
Advent Sunday until Pentecost - celebrated
last Sunday - gradually unfolding the
revelation of God in his Son and then in his
Spirit; now comes Trinity Sunday as the
climax to it all.
So why is it that the Trinity is seen as the
thorniest of Christian doctrines? Well, I think
that the problem lays not so much with the
truth of the doctrine but in our way of thinking
about it. Those first Christian disciples were
not trained philosophers, and it never
occurred to them to expound the Trinity using
philosophical language. Theirs was a Hebrew
cast of mind, which is essentially dynamic,
fluid in its concepts. They had discovered in
Jesus the human face of the God of love. They
had been filled with the power of that love
when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost. They had found that they simply
couldn't say all that they meant by the word
'God', until they had said Father, Son and
Spirit - and for them that was enough. It was
rather like the story of a cricket loving
Anglican priest who likened the Trinity to an
umpire's view of the three cricket stumps when umpiring at the bowler’s end he saw
three stumps, but when umpiring from square
leg he saw what appeared to be just one
stump, although in reality they were the same
three stumps!
Problems started when the Good News of
Jesus spread through the then known world.
As people like Paul spread the word they did
so in the lingua franca of the day which wasn't
Hebrew, nor even Latin, but Greek. Greek was
the administrative and trading language of the
Roman Empire. Once the Good News began to
be expressed in Greek, rather than Hebrew, it
moved into a different mind-set, a different
way of looking at things. Over many years the
Greek's had refined philosophy so that
scholars now started to delve into the
theological, rather than the practical, concepts
behind three persons in one God. Debates
began on subjects such as Essential and
Economic Trinities, God’s Transcendence and
Immanence, the contrast between Supreme
Substance and Absolute Person and so on you know, the things that are everyday
subjects down at the pub!
You can perhaps see why the theological
concepts hammered out by scholars do not
necessarily commend themselves to ordinary
Christians. As a result, many Christians avoid
any discussion about Three in One and One in
Three and there is even one group - the
Unitarian Church - who claim to have solved
the problem by dispensing with the Trinity
altogether. But there's the rub, you see. Deny,
as the Unitarians must, that Jesus is divine,
God's Son; deny that the Holy Spirit of God is
divine, then what have you left? A God who
never made himself incarnate in this world,
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh; a Jesus
who is simply a dead prophet; a fine teacher, a
good man, but dead; a Spirit which is little
more than the best thoughts and intentions of
you and me. That may be enough for the
Unitarians but not for me.
Let's look for a while at the three readings
we heard this morning. First came Isaiah in
the Temple in Jerusalem when he had a vision
of God the Father, high and lifted up with his
robe filling the whole of the temple. Seraphs,
or Angels, are in attendance and cry out words
reflected in one of this morning's hymns:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts." Isaiah
reacted with fear and trembling, but when he
hears God asking, "Who shall I send and who
will go for us" he overcomes his doubts and
says, "Here I am; send me!" Many Christians
down the ages have heeded that message.
Next comes the New Testament story of
Nicodemus. By and large we see Jesus
surrounded by ordinary folk, but here we see
him in contact with one of the aristocracy of
Jerusalem. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a very
17
select group never numbering more than six
thousand men. He was also a ruler of the Jews,
one of only seventy members of the Sanhedrin,
the supreme court of the Jews. Nicodemus
comes to Jesus at night so that he might talk to
him about his soul. And a homeless Prophet
tells a Jewish aristocrat that he cannot even
begin to see the kingdom of God until he has
undergone a radical transformation. In a
foretaste of what was to come we heard one of
the most quoted verses in the New Testament:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish, but have eternal life."
Nicodemus was challenged and later
converted by his experience of the human face
of God in the person of Jesus. Then, finally, in
the reading from Paul's letter to the Romans
we heard the words, "For all who are led by the
Spirit of God are children of God." So in our
three readings we heard the expression of
three different dimensions of God, of three
different relationships, and we can be
captured by these different expressions of God
at different times as we progress along our
Christian journey.
Sometimes it may be the Fatherhood of
God that overwhelms us, the God who is over
all and above all and beyond all. Sometimes it
is God the Son who is with us most powerfully,
our friend and brother. Sometimes it is the
Spirit of God of whom we are most aware.
That Spirit within us, coming to us comforter, enabler and strengthener. Over
many years the philosophers and theologians
have tended to make it more, rather than less,
difficult to get to grips with the doctrine of the
Trinity. Yet, put very simply, most of us in our
lives express the idea of Trinity. If you are
married and have children you are yourself a
Trinity. Your parents, from the moment of
your birth knew you as son or daughter - and
only as son or daughter. But when you
married, you were known in a different
dimension of yourself, as husband or wife.
This was a second expression of your
being, different from the first, but still the
same person. And then, when you had
children, they discovered a third dimension of
your being; they knew you as only mother or
father. So you became simultaneously three
people - daughter, wife, and mother, or son,
husband and father. Yet you remained one
18
person - three in one. This building here at All
Saints' has three dimensions. It has height, it
has length and it has breadth. Take one away
and you have nothing of much use - you
cannot have a two dimensional building. So it
is with God - we need to experience Him in all
three of his dimensions, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit; three persons in one.
So, uniquely, we celebrate today the feast
of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, because the
Trinity is at the heart of our faith. It is the
celebration of God over us, of God with us, and
God in us. May our prayer today be that God
will for ever be over and with
and in our hearts, our lives
and our Church. Amen.
John Malcolm
Phakamisa letter
June 2012.
Dear Friends,
The South African constitution enshrines the
rights of children: to basic rights to a name
and nationality from birth; to family or
alternative care; to basic nutrition and shelter;
to basic health care; to protection from
neglect, maltreatment, abuse or degradation
and to protection from exploitative labour
practices. Matters so fundamental, one would
have hoped they should not even have to be
named- but not so here! At the beginning of
June, South Africa had “Child Protection
Week” to highlight these very fundamental
requirements of a civilized nation.
This is not a happy, positive letter. It is
intended to present the harsh realities of living
in our country of such contrasts. The 1st world
side of South Africa can proudly and rightly
compete on the global stage, while the 3rd
world side, where Phakamisa chooses to
engage, struggles with these most basic needs.
A name, a family, basic shelter? As Mbalenhle,
one of our wandering teachers, was going to
her class one day, she crossed a small stream
and found a little boy, crying in the bushes
nearby. She stopped and asked him what his
name was. “Lutho”, he said. (Lutho means
‘nothing’). Then she enquired where his Mom
was. “Lutho”, he replied. “Where is your
home?” she asked. “Lutho,” he said. “You can
come and live with me,” she replied.
Of course it was not that simple. Despite
furtive searches, his mom was not found- and
no one knew anything about either of them.
Mbalenhle has welcomed him into her family
and the Social Welfare Department has agreed
to her fostering him. She named him Lutho
Nthando (Nthando means love) and has
applied for a birth certificate for him. It seems
his first three basic needs are being met by a
Phakamisa teacher who happened to find him!
Busisiwe, one of our Caregivers, requested
prayer and support for an 18 year old girl,
Thabi, who has recently entered her life. Her
parents and grandparents have died leaving
her homeless. She moved in with her uncle’s
family, but they hid their food away from her,
because they do not have enough to share. She
has a 16 month old daughter, who is so
malnourished and weak that she cannot stand,
let alone walk. Thabi asked Busisiwe to look
after her daughter so she could attempt to
complete her school education. She gave her
the baby’s bag with 2 bottles in it. One
contained plain water. The other contained
very runny porridge, diluted with water not
milk. There was nothing else in the bag - not
even nappies. Thabi herself was going to
school hungry. Of course, Busisiwe fed the
baby and Thabi, but she has 11 people in her
own family to support. She is concerned Thabi
will resort to prostitution to support her
daughter and herself. She is also afraid Thabi
might abandon the baby out of sheer
desperation. A family or alternative care?
Basic nutrition? Basic shelter? Protection from
neglect, maltreatment, abuse or degradation
and protection from exploitative labour
practices?
Sakhile is 4 years old. He is in Noma’s
class. He has had a very smelly discharge from
his ears for 3 months. Flies are attracted to it
and he cannot hear properly. His Mum
apparently took him to the local clinic but his
condition only worsened. At Phakamisa, it was
assumed the clinic was unable to help, so in
consultation with a doctor, we gave him a 7
day antibiotic with careful instructions to his
Mum on how to administer it. Two weeks
later, he was still having a spoonful of
medicine now and again, so of course his ears
remain heavily infected. His Mum will not take
him back to the clinic. Basic health care?
Protection from neglect?
F.T. is one of our caregivers who cares for a
5 year old girl. She assumed responsibility for
her when she was 14 months old. Her ‘granny’
had locked her up in a house alone and gone
out and this precious 14 month old baby was
raped. The Social Welfare Services arranged
for F.T. to foster her. She has had a major
operation to repair her severely damaged, little
body, but incontinence remains a way of life
for her. She lives happily with her Gogo F.T.
who worries about what she will think about
herself when she grows up. Protection from
abuse?
This past week, the staff and participants
on the various courses of Phakamisa, have
pledged to “be the change we want to see in
our world”, to quote Mahatma Gandhi, by
offering protection in whatever way we can, to
the children. Undoubtedly our Caregivers and
Educare teachers have a critical role to play as
they are right there at the rock face and
Phakamisa has a critical role to play in
supporting and resourcing them.
As a church ministry, as caregivers, as
wandering teachers and as individuals we
cannot eradicate child abuse in our country,
but we can effect change in our own small
spheres of influence - one child at a time, by
loving and loving and loving again.
Let us not say WHY, WHY, WHY, but
rather HOW, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. How
can I help? What can I do? Where can I be
used? When will I commit myself?
19
From one who wants to change and be
changed,
in love and with love.
Glenda
Should you wish to support Phakamisa, please
see our website: www.phakamisa.org
Glenda Howieson ( Co-ordinator)
Phakamisa News
Glenda from Phakamisa, South Africa, visited
All Saints Church and St Mary's Church in
April. £700 was raised and we are delighted
and grateful to all who gave so generously to
the work of Phakamisa. Glenda was so happy
to meet you and to put faces to names of
people that she had heard about.
Ann of B SMART Dry Cleaners in
Berkhamsted held a raffle to celebrate the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Mr Todd of
Berkhamsted won the prize of £60 worth of
free dry cleaning. Thank you so much to all
who supported Ann's raffle and a great
amount of £151.50 was raised for Phakamisa.
Another fund raising event is being held at
Gorgeous Salon in the Berkhamsted High
Street; the team are planning to raise £350 by
blow drying participants’ hair on Tuesday 10
July between 6 and 9 pm for a £10 donation
with all proceeds going to Phakamisa.
ZUMAT: We took a bag full of trimmed
stamps to Mike Muddiman in Chesham; the
UK stamps made £5 and the overseas stamps
made £15. Altogether the £20 translated into
R240. Thank you to all who collect stamps on
behalf of Zumat allowing them to fly doctors
and patients in rural areas to hospital and
clinics. There is a web page full of stories at
www.zumat.org
Marilyn Pain
Karibuni Concert
A delightful concert by the young people in
Explorers and Pathfinders raised an
impressive £361 for the Karibuni Trust in
May.
Lively singing and excellent solos on the
piano, clarinet, recorder and guitar provided
musical enjoyment and clever conjuring tricks
as well as poems and readings completed the
programme.
The Revd Bill Murphy and his wife Joy,
founders of the Trust, sang a duet in Swahili
and showed pictures of the work among street
children in Kenya. The Trust provides schools,
uniforms and support into further education
as well as food, clean water and homes for the
neediest children.
It was a very worthwhile afternoon,
concluding with delicious tea and cakes, and
the youngsters and their leaders are to be
congratulated.
Well done, everyone and thank you all.
Audrey Hope
Launch of the
West Hertfordshire and
Borders Circuit
On
Saturday 1st September
At
The Vineyard Church
Brick Knoll Park, St Albans
Al1 5UG
3-5pm – Activities for all including Messy
Church
5-6pm - Faith tea – please bring something to
share
6pm – Circuit Celebration Service
including welcome for
Revd Vindra Maraj-Ogden &
Revd Jeffrey Farrer
All Welcome
Come at any point in the afternoon
20
Here is a list of the 23 churches in the new
West Herts and Borders Circuit:
Abbots Langley
All Saints, LEP, Berkhamsted
Batford, Harpenden
Berry Lane, Rickmansworth
Bushey and Oxhey
CPSO (Carpenders Park and South Oxhey)
Croxley Green
Flamstead
Gaddesden Row
HHMC (Hemel Hempstead)
High Street, Harpenden
Kings Langley
Ley Hill
Markyate
North Watford
Redbourn
Southdown, Harpenden
St Andrews, Bushey Heath
St Martha’s, Tring
St Mary’s, LEP, Rickmansworth
Studham
Trinity, Watford,
Wheathampstead
Heard in Council
The All Saints Council met on
June 13th 2012
A new house group was now meeting but
another one was needed.
The revised Constitution was being considered
by District and Diocesan authorities.
Tracy Lerpiniere had accepted the role of Halls
Manager and Marion Cooley is the new
Transport Officer. A current list of keyholders
is being drawn up.
More help is needed with playing the organ. A
new music cupboard is being installed in the
church.
The work among young people is being given
urgent consideration.
Safeguarding courses have been held and
those required to do so have either taken the
course or signed up for a future date.
The Outward Giving group was asked to meet
and make recommendations.
The accounts for the year ended 31st August
2011 were passed, subject to the Independent
Examiner’s report.
Design and estimates for refurbishment of the
kitchen will be obtained and considered at the
next meeting.
The Methodist Superintendent, the Revd Tony
Cavanagh, was leaving the Circuit and moving
to Bournemouth in July. A new enlarged
Circuit, the West Herts and Borders Circuit,
was being set up and an inaugural service
would be held on Saturday 1st September in
St. Albans. The new Superintendent would be
the Revd Linda Woollacott.
A new curate, the Revd Tom Plant, would be
taking up a position at St Peter’s.
Audrey Hope
Prayers for Streets
These are the streets we shall be praying for in
August and September. We are still looking for
more people to put prayer cards through
doors. If you would like to join the team and
deliver the cards just occasionally we would be
delighted to hear from you. It usually takes
about half an hour.
Sue Hampton and Leslie Tate (875425).
August
5 Cross Oak Road up to Charles Street and
Middle Road Delivery arranged
12 Middle of Cross Oak Road Charles Street to
Greenway and Anglefield
19 Upper Cross Oak Road from Anglefield
with The Oaks, left hand side going up.
26 Upper Cross Oak Road from Greenway
right hand side going up Delivery
arranged
September
2 Greystoke Close and Marlin Copse with
Oaklands Delivery arranged
9 Lincoln Court Delivery arranged
16 Doctors Commons Road and Bay Court
Delivery arranged
23 Charles Street from Kings Road to North
Road
30 Charles Street from North Road to Cross
Oak Road Delivery arranged
21
Julian Meetings
We normally meet roughly
fortnightly at Ruth’s or Jenny’s
at 11.30 am. All are very
welcome to join us for about
half an hour of quiet prayer –
even if you have not done this sort of thing
before. Jenny lives at 57, Meadow Road
(870981); Ruth lives at 1, Montague Road
(863268).
August 8th at 11.30am at Ruth’s
September 12th at 11.30am at Jenny’s
September 19th at 11.30am at Ruth’s
Grief and Loss
Support Group
Lunches
Our lunches are held at the White
Horse, Bourne End at 12.30pm on
the third Wednesday in the month, August
15th and September 19th. Anyone who has
been bereaved recently or a long time ago is
very welcome to come. For further
information and to arrange transport please
contact Sylvia Banks on 871195.
Country Walks
Monday 6th August led by Margaret Ingram
Tuesday 4th September led by Keith Treves
Brown
For further information contact Eddie
Cuthbert on 01442 866988:
The Children’s Society
The National Coffee Morning takes place in
September and the Berkhamsted Appeals
Committee would love to
welcome you to their own
celebration with delicious
Coffee and Cakes and
convivial chat. Come to the
Court House, Berkhamsted,
between 10am and 12 noon
22
on Thursday 6th September to help us raise
funds for our vital work with children whose
lives are so deprived and stressful they run
away from home and family to an even more
dangerous life on the streets.
Community Transport
Research – We Need Your
Views!
We would like you to help us to build a picture
of the transport needs for Berkhamsted so that
we can understand what transport services are
being used, the support available within the
community to assist someone isolated due to
not having their own transport and if any gaps
in provision exist.
If you are a resident or belong to a community
group such as a Residents Association, Day
Centre, Club for Older
People, Scouts, Sports
Clubs or are generally
concerned with
transport and the needs
of your community we
want to hear from you.
You can either complete
a survey questionnaire
online via
www.communityactiondacorum.org.uk or
contact Deborah Fogden, Community
Transport Researcher on 01442 253935 or
[email protected] to
arrange a meeting or chat.
What is community transport? It is a wide
range of flexible and responsive transport
solutions developed to support local residents’
needs. It can provide the connectivity needed
to get to a range of destinations for otherwise
isolated or excluded groups of people and is
open to people of all ages.
As a Council for Voluntary Service,
Community Action Dacorum believes in
bringing people together to achieve more in
their communities and improve their quality
of life. We understand that public transport
cannot be easily accessed by everyone and
there is a role community transport can
provide to ensure people do not become
isolated.
We operate a Community Wheels service
including a fleet of ten minibuses, which are
hired out to community groups based in or
serving the Borough of Dacorum and a
Community Cars social car scheme with
volunteers using their own cars to help
individuals to access a range of locations, such
as Hospital, GPs, hairdressers, shops, friends
etc.
We look forward to hearing your views.
He will go before you into
Galilee
offers a gently
paced, prayerful
visit to the Holy
Land.
19-28 November
2012
2 nights in
Jerusalem and
then 7 on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
£1560 half board + 2 lunches, based on 2
sharing. £324 single supplement. 4* hotels.
Flights, transfers and excursions are included.
See www.retreat-holidays.co.uk or call
0845 458 8309 for a brochure.
New Methodist President and
Vice-President
The Revd Dr Mark Wakelin and Mr Michael
King were inducted as President and VicePresident as the first items of business at the
2012 Methodist Conference in Plymouth
Dr Wakelin is described as "an
inspirational and energetic speaker who
speaks directly to people in ways which they
can apply to their own lives and the
Church." He brings to the role of President a
wide experience of circuit ministry,
chaplaincy, youth work and strategic
leadership.
Mark spent the early years of his life, along
with his sister Mary and brother Michael, in
Sierra Leone and then Kenya where his father
was a Methodist medical missionary. The
family returned to England in 1965.
Education at Kingswood School was followed
by a theology degree at Nottingham University
and training for ministry at Queens College
Birmingham. He spent 13 years in circuit
ministry before becoming, in 1995, the
national secretary of the Methodist
Association of Youth Clubs. From 2000-2008
he was director of the Guy Chester Centre and
was involved with Foundation Training for
people in ministry. He was then appointed as
Connexional Secretary for Internal
Relationships for the Methodist Church in
Britain.
He has a particular interest in leadership,
developing strategic thinking, adult learning
and theological formation. The All Saints
Leadership Team were privileged to spend a
day with Mark at Guy Chester House a few
years ago when they experienced his skills in
leading and teaching.
Many members of his family are involved
in Christian ministry, a connection that goes
back many years. One of the highlights of his
forthcoming year will be preaching at St Paul’s
Cathedral on the 350th anniversary of the
ejection of one of his ancestors from the
Church of England in 1662. This ancestor was
Henry Oasland, a Puritan/Nonconformist.
Like Henry, Mark is passionately committed to
taking God seriously in this generation.
Mark is a great communicator, a fine
preacher – worth travelling a distance to hear.
He is deeply committed to ‘articulating faith’
and to helping people find the language to talk
about God. As he puts it: “I articulate where
God is in stuff for people.” He sees it as part of
his role as President to articulate the language
of the faith in situations where people are
struggling. This means particularly to ask
where is God in suffering, depression, and
other tough experiences and to encourage
people in asking, “How do I talk about God in
a way that makes sense of the hugeness of my
experience?” Mark lives in London with his
wife Judith and has three children and three
grandchildren.
Michael King, the new Vice-President, has
a number of links with Mark Wakelin. He met
his wife, Isabel, at Guy Chester House, and in
1975 they went to Sierra Leone as mission
partners, Mike as a teacher, and Isabel as a
23
doctor. Mike had studied African History at
the School of Oriental and African Studies,
mainly because it gave him the opportunity to
spend a few months in an African university in
the second year. On returning to this country,
he taught in comprehensive schools before,
like Mark, moving to work within the
Methodist Church Connexional Team: as
Mission Education Secretary from 1996 –
2000 and then as Team Leader of the World
Church Relationships Team until 2011, where
he was a much-valued and respected colleague
in Britain and throughout the (Methodist)
world.
Mike began a new phase of his life and
ministry in 2011, as a lay worker in the
Banbury circuit where he works with small
village churches to enable a new vision of
mission and service in local communities. He
wants to encourage more and more lay people
to identify, use and develop their God-given
gifts and become appropriate servant leaders
in the church – as he has done. He describes
himself as 'glocal', with a passion for thinking
globally and acting locally. He said: "I want to
see God's love shared with all people. I want to
see Christians deepen their understanding of
what it means to welcome others, offering
genuine hospitality and inclusion. I long to see
our overseas partners taking part and making
decisions at all levels of church life in this
country. I want to see our church enriched and
invigorated by people from all over the world."
Michael and Isabel, have two married
children and two grandsons. We shall have a
chance to meet Mike when he comes to All
Saints to lead our Advent Sunday service on
December 2nd.
Ruth Treves Brown
Some Jokes
In the pet shop
A man goes into a pet shop. “Good morning, I
want to buy a parrot. How much are those on
the bottom shelf there?”
“Ten pounds each”, says the owner. “They’re
not bad”, says the chap, “and how about those
birds on the middle shelf?” “Those are twenty
pounds each” was the reply.
24
“Hmmm, yes, they are all right”, says the man,
“but those on the top shelf look best of all.
How much are they?”
“They cost thirty pounds each but if you want
one you’ll have to pay for it at ten pounds per
week for the next three weeks”.
“How strange”, says the chap, “and why is
that?”
“Ahh,” replies the owner, “that’s because they
are on higher perches.”
My five-year-old son squealed with delight
when he opened his birthday present from his
grandmother. It was a water pistol. He
promptly ran to the sink to fill it.
"Mom," I said. "I'm surprised at you. Don't you
remember how we used to drive you crazy with
water pistols?"
My mom smiled and said, "Yes, I remember."
Some more puns
They are my favourite form of humour and
apparently the ability to make and understand
puns is considered to be the highest level of
language development. So I am doing okay. I
did hear that there was the person who sent
ten different puns to friends, with the hope
that at least one of the puns would make them
laugh. No pun in ten did. Ed.
I changed my iPod's name to Titanic.
It's sync-ing now.
I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He
says he can stop any time.
How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went.
Then it dawned on me.
This girl said she recognized me from the
vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just
can't put it down.
I did a theatrical performance about puns. It
was a play on words.
They told me I had Type-A blood, but it was a
Type-O.
PMT jokes aren't funny; period.
Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who
lost her job because she couldn't control her
pupils?
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive
vocabulary? A thesaurus.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a
Liverpool.
I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.
I dropped out of communism class because of
lousy Marx.
Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were
chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft.
Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once
again that you can't have your kayak and
heat it too.
Last September Rachael joined us in place
of Caroline and now, a year later, we become
part of a new large circuit as Harpenden,
Watford and Hemel Hempstead and
Berkhamsted circuits merge and become the
West Herts and Borders Circuit.
The individual circuits had their final
meetings on 25 June and then met together for
discussion prior to decisions being taken by
the new circuit at its first meeting.
The new circuit comes into being on
Saturday 1 September. The launch of the new
circuit will be at the Vineyard Church in St
Albans on that day from 3 o’clock, with
activities, tea and ending with a celebration
service at 6 o’clock. If you haven’t already
made plans to be there, do look at what is
going to happen – maybe you would like to
come for a part of the time.
As we contemplate another change we
remember that we do so with the One who
never changes alongside us. To God be the
glory!
Tracy Robinson
August September
Services
Tracy’s Note
We are quite practised in dealing with change
at All Saints’. In the space of a few years we
have come together to worship as a single
congregation, and said goodbye to Martin
Wright, who with Paul Timmis had helped us
into that place. With Martin not being
replaced, and then changes within the parish,
we became a part of the new Berkhamsted
Team; then, as further changes came about,
we moved towards signing a new constitution
as a single congregation LEP.
There were many people who had helped
us reach that point, both over many years
while things changed slowly and later as we
moved more quickly towards the change of
status and became one congregation.
Having achieved that, we only had a very
short time before Paul moved on and Caroline
came to be with us for three years.
August
5th
10am
Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Morning Worship
Richard Hackworth
and Tracy Robinson
12th
10am
Tenth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Revd John Kirkby
19th
10am
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
Morning Worship
Revd Brian Tebbutt
26th
10am
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Revd Rachael Hawkins
September
2nd
Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
10am
Morning Worship
Revd Wilf Bahadur
25
9th
10am
16th
8am
10am
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Revd Rachael Hawkins
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Revd Rachael Hawkins
Morning Worship
with Holy Baptism
Revd Rachael Hawkins
23rd
10am
Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Rev Vindra Maraj-Ogden
and Ceri Lindo
30th
10am
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
Holy Communion
Revd John Kirkby
Healing Service
Revd Rachael Hawkins,
Jenny Wells, Tracy Robinson,
and Audrey Cox
4pm
This is a list of social
events, special services
and key church
meetings in 2012
July
29 Sun 4pm Healing Service
August
6 Mon Church Walk led by
Margaret Ingram
September
1 Sat 1 pm Wedding of Sue Hampton and
Leslie Tate at All Saints
1 Sat Launch event for the new
‘West Hertfordshire and Borders’
Circuit at Vineyard Church, St
Albans see notice on page 20
4
26
Tues Church Walk led by Keith
Treves Brown
5
11
24
26
30
Wed 7.30pm Leaders of Worship
and Preachers Meeting at North
Watford Methodist Church
Tues 8pm Circuit Meeting
Mon 8pm Worship Committee
Wed 8pm All Saints’ Council
Sun 4pm Healing Service
October
6 Sat Harvest Supper with Beetle Drive
7 Sun Harvest Festival
14 Sun 4pm Service of Thanksgiving and
Commemoration for those who have
died
November
1 Thur 8pm All Saints' Day Holy
Communion
25 Sun 4pm Healing Service
December
2 Sun Advent Sunday Visit of Mike King,
Vice-President of Methodist
Conference.
The All Saints’ Prayer
O God our heavenly Father, your Son Jesus
Christ prayed that we might be one as you and
he are one. Look with compassion on your
children of All Saints'.Teach us to put aside all
our prejudices and fears, to seek to understand
your purpose for us, and to use together our
different strengths and insights. Grant us
courage to follow your leading and humility to
learn from each other, so that in unity and love
we may reflect your glory, both in worship and
in daily life. We ask this in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Beware!
Here we practise the inclusive Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
This means if you come in you may be mixing
with tax collectors, hypocrites, Greeks, Jews,
women as well as men, children, female and
male priests, all sexualities, the disabled, the
dying, thieves and other sinners; other faiths,
strangers from Rome or Nigeria, heretics etc.
etc. And yes, even you dear guest are most
welcome; in fact anyone like those with whom
Jesus mixed.
So beware; this is NOT a private club.
WELCOME IS TO ALL !
For your information
Action for Children
Mary Griffin 874736
Children’s Society
Jenny Hackworth 863990
All Saints News
Sunday Notices
Kate and Steve Spall 873470
email [email protected]
Posters and Notice Boards
Ruth Treves Brown 863268
Christina Billington 385566
Kath Whitfield (porch) 865132
Anglican weekly
St Peter’s Pew Leaflet
Hilary Armstrong 878227
email [email protected]
Choir and organist
Ruth Treves Brown 863268
Church and Halls Booking
Jenny Ginn 866476
Catering
Gill Lumb 863885
Ceri Lindo 866714
Pastoral Leadership Team
Sylvia Banks 871195
Pat Hearne 871270
Ida Rance 865829
Ruth Treves Brown 863268
Pathfinders
Julie Wakely 875504
Flowers
Madeleine Brownell and Friendship Club
862578
Treasurer
David Pain 01582 842025
Stewardship Recorder
Keith Treves-Brown 863268
Pathfinder Games
Revd Penny Nash 865217
Tape Recordings of Services
Explorers contact
Jo Bryant 871680
Church Cleaning Rota
Kate and Steve Spall 873470
Chuckles Toddler Goup
Jenny Wells 870981
Kate Spall 873470
Transport Co-ordinator
Marion Cooley 878790
Giggles
Jane Suh 875997
Cradle Roll
Joanna Herbert 870772
Hospice of St Francis
Fay Cuthbert 866988
Web site
Anna FitzPatrick 878085
Christina Billington 385566
http://www.allsaintsberkhamsted.org.uk/
Safeguarding Officer
Hilary Elliott 0784 3088805
[email protected]
Ida Rance
Friendship Club
Audrey Cox 866394
Rachel Stewart 864134
27
Church Ministers and All Saints Church
W www.allsaintsberkhamsted.org.uk
Officers
E [email protected]
Methodist Minister
The Revd Rachael Hawkins
01442 866324
[email protected]
Anglican Team Ministry
The Revd Dr Michael Bowie 864194
The Revd Penny Nash 865217
The Revd Tom Plant
Supernumerary
The Revd Barrie Allcott (Methodist)
The Revd Wilf Bahadur (URC)
The Revd Brian Tebbutt (Methodist)
Youth Worker
The Revd Penny Nash
Local Preachers
Audrey Cox
Brian Parsons
Ruth Treves Brown
David Williamson
Arthur Wray Emeritus
Diocesan Lay Minister
Christina Billington
All Saints is an Anglican/ Methodist
Local Ecumenical Partnership.
Through its Anglican connections it is part of
the Parish of Great Berkhamsted (with St
Peter's Church) and the Diocese of St Albans.
Through its Methodist connections it is part of
the Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted
Circuit and the Bedfordshire, Essex and
Hertfordshire District.
All Saints' is a member of the Association of
Berkhamsted Churches.
Readers
Jenny Wells
Richard Hackworth
Stewards
Jo Bonnett
Ceri Lindo
Malcolm Lindo
Penny O’Neill
Tracy Robinson
All Saints’ Council
Secretary Audrey Hope
Treasurer David Pain
Anglican Methodist Association
(Berkhamsted) Ltd.
Chairman Richard Hackworth
Company Secretary Steve Spall
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This Newsletter is printed by
Tring School, Mortimer Hill, Tring