May 2016 - St Bart`s Sydenham

May 2016 Colour edition
In and around the parish of St Bartholomew
www.stbartschurchsydenham.org
Beating the Bounds
Beating the bounds was a common annual activity in
Medieval England. It has its origins in Anglo-Saxon times
and was a regular occurrence for all the centuries when
most people lived in the countryside. Since city-dwelling
has become the dominant way of life, the custom has
almost disappeared. But in some places, especially the
countryside, it continues, or is revived from time to time,
as a reminder of one of our quaint and charming
customs.
Originally beating the bounds had a very practical
purpose. In the days before maps were widely available,
how did you know where one parish ended and the next
one began? So once a year, the vicar, the churchwardens
and many of the parishioners
would do a compete circuit of
the boundaries of the parish,
taking with them a group of
boys, who would bash the
boundary with sticks, and
often be bumped on it
themselves. The idea was to
instil the knowledge of the
village boundaries into the
next generation, so that folk
tradition was a reliable source
of information going down the
generations.
At the same time prayers
would be said asking God to
bless the crops in the parish
fields. This always took place at Rogationtide. The 5th
Sunday after Easter was known as Rogation Sunday, and
the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to
Ascension Day were called Rogation Days. As Ascension
Day is usually in the first half of May, this seemed a good
time to beseech the Almighty to look kindly on the crops
in the hope of a good harvest two or three months later.
You could argue that beating the bounds is no longer
necessary. After all, everyone has a map these days. You
can look parish boundaries up online. And most parishes,
at least in the cities and towns where the majority of us
live, have no crops to bless. However, this year we are
resurrecting the idea at St Bart’s! Because the strange
thing is, most people do not know where our parish
boundaries are. In fact, I guess most people don’t even
know there is such a thing as a parish boundary! In
London’s urban sprawl, they are not obvious. But the
Church of England still operates on a parish basis, the
roots of which go back to medieval times. The idea is
that, wherever you live in England, you are in a Church of
England parish that will have its own parish church to
minister to your needs. As a parishioner, you have a right
to the ministrations of that church, whether or not you
regularly attend. Still today, the choice of where you
have your baby baptised, get married or hold a funeral is
affected by which parish you live in.
Our church, you see, is not in the centre of its parish, but
towards the bottom of it. The railway line from Forest
Hill via Sydenham to Penge West
forms the boundary. So on Sunday
May 8th after church, we shall be
walking as a group around our parish
boundaries (where convenient!).
Leaving the church in an easterly
direction we head toward Cobbs
Corner, turn up Spring Hill, along Peak
Hill Road and onto Kirkdale; then up to
the top of Kirkdale and along
Sydenham Hill to Lammas Green,
down through Otto Close, back down
Kirkdale and via Halifax Street to
Wells Park Road. Then cut through
Prospect Close and Markwell Close to
Longton Grove, up Westwood Hill to
Charleville Circus, and out on Crystal
Palace Park Road. Then back down that road to Lawrie
Park Road and thence back to church. The actual
boundaries are a little more complicated than that and
can be found on the website achurchnearyou.com.
Because we are going as a church group, there may be
some points when we stop to pray for our parish, asking
God to bring forth good fruit from us, as did our
forebears. But anyone is welcome to join us, for secular
reasons as well as religious ones. By walking around our
community, we are hoping to instil in ourselves a sense
of place; a sense that our place is important and that it is
our place; a place to cherish, to support and to enjoy. Do
come and join us, for all or part of the journey.
Michael Kingston
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The Archbishop of Canterbury warned people not to give in to fear after the attacks in
Brussels, in his Easter Sunday sermon last month.
The Most Rev Justin Welby told worshippers at Canterbury Cathedral that the attacks risked
"causing us to act fearfully, to see a world in
which fear triumphs". But he also said: " On
Easter Day hope decisively overcame fear.”
The archbishop said hope can seem far away
and fear so close "in the shadow of this week's
darkness".
"Fear is reasonable, a normal human reaction,"
he added as he described his interpretation of
Easter;
"Easter proclaims to us in flesh and blood that
fear and death and terror are not the last words.”
"Jesus Christ reaches out not in exclusion but in embrace; this is the feast of the victory of God,
and we celebrate in the midst of darkness, by our worship and praise shining an unquenchable
light."
Readers are lay people, called by God, trained and licensed by the Church
to preach, teach, lead worship and assist in pastoral, evangelistic and
liturgical work. Originally called “Lay Readers”, the first one was admitted
by the Bishop of Gloucester in 1866 on Ascension Day. This year,
therefore, is the 150th Anniversary of the office of Reader, and the Duke of
Edinburgh will be the special guest at the celebratory service on Ascension
Day at All Souls Langham Place. There are currently 10,000 Readers
ministering in parishes all over the Church of England. They have a
distinctive ministry which is not a step on the route to ordination, but
nevertheless requires a significant period of training, culminating in
licensing by the bishop. Currently we have no Readers at St Bart’s, though
the parish has benefitted from their ministry in the past, and we would
welcome anyone who felt a vocation to this role having the opportunity to
pursue it. We shall be marking the Sesquicentenary on Sunday May 8th.
Christian Aid Week
Christian Aid is an ecumenical aid organisation supported by all the mainstream
Churches. It raises money to support people experiencing real difficulties in
existing in the developing world. Christian Aid Week is the annual focus on
raising funds for this charity. Traditionally that has been done by knocking on
doors, but this is less common now. All the same, we appeal to everyone, church members and the wider
community to remember Christian Aid at this time, both in their prayers and in their giving.
Each year approximately 78.5 million
Bibles are distributed worldwide.
A Note from the Organist
St. Bart’s musical director Dennis Baugh talks to Sydenham Life
I was born in 1948 and was brought up in Chiswick, West London. I have one sister.
The families of both my mother and father were from Chiswick in the days when
families largely stayed together in the same area and rarely moved away. My mother
moved house just once in her life time when she got married, and moved to another
house in the same road! I went to a secondary school where punitive measures
involved the headmaster caning pupils and the teachers slapping hands with a strap. I managed to avoid
the cane but not the strap. My first job was that of a telegraphist in the Post Office in the days where
there were telegrams. I then moved jobs to be a telex operator in a newly formed Arab bank in the city,
after which I worked in various other banks. After studying at evening classes, and taking a degree,
I became a school teacher in primary schools. My interests are playing the piano and organ. I like playing
Romantic and late Romantic composers such as Schumann, Chopin, Debussy and Scriabin. I like playing a
range of composers on the organ from early baroque to 20th century such as Buxtehude, Bach,
Mendelssohn, Franck, Langlais and Messiaen, I enjoy going to orchestral and choral concerts to listen to a
broad range of music from Renaissance to the present century. I go swimming regularly and I like walking
with ramblers. I enjoy the classic comedies such as Dad's Army and Faulty Towers and I like the old
comedians such as Tommy Cooper and Frankie Howerd.
My parents were not religious, but they got me baptised as an infant and sent me to Sunday School at the
local church. In my early teens, an uncle who went to the church, introduced me to the local church youth
club and discussion group where I made new friends. Shortly afterwards I was confirmed. At this time in
my adolescence (though regrettably a late start) I had piano lessons. My piano teacher was also an organ
teacher. Eventually I had organ lessons and then became assistant organist at St Nicholas Church,
Chiswick, the church with which I was involved. I developed my singing and became a member of the
choir. I also played the organ for an early service in the beautiful chapel of St Mary's Convent and
St Joseph's Hospital in Chiswick. I have been organist at various churches, mostly in London. I went to
study organ under Sean McCarthy at St George's RC cathedral in Southwark, where
I was privileged to go to Rome with the choir and sing at Mass in various Rome
churches. I also sang in the choir there when the Pope came to visit St George's
Cathedral. I have been organist at various churches on a continuous basis,. I came
to St Bartholomew's in 2004. I took A levels in English Literature and Music in
evening classes before taking a BA Hons music degree at Colchester Institute. By
this time I managed to get all my graded exams for organ and piano. In the degree
course, organ was my first study instrument and piano was the second.
I did a liturgical music option in the degree which consisted of studying church
music and having a placement as an organ and assistant choir director at a local
Colchester church. I then went to Reading university to do a teaching certificate for
teaching in primary schools. After I qualified, I taught at various schools as a
permanent classroom teacher and music specialist, including five years in St Paul's Primary School in
Walworth. I am now retired from teaching in schools. I work part time as Music Director at St
Bartholomew's where I have been situated for over eleven years, the longest period I have had as organist
in a church. I feel privileged in being able to play on a good organ and a good piano at Bart’s and working
with the choir and St Bartholomew's Singers. I teach the piano with "Musik Creation" situated in Bart’s on
Saturday mornings, and to a few other individual pupils.
Morsheda is a young mother of four living in Bangladesh.
She has no land, few assets and no savings.
For Morsheda’s family living on low-lying islands in the
Brahmaputra River, floods are a terrifying part of everyday life.
Morsheda can’t even count on having a safe place to call home:
the single-room, corrugated-iron house she shares with her
children has been flooded four times.
‘I feel very scared of the river. When I look at it I keep thinking
“it is coming”.’
One year, her humble house filled up to her knees with
floodwater. To stay dry, and keep away from the dangerous
snakes that now swam through her home, she raised her bed up
on bricks, but during the night she was woken by a loud splash.
In the pitch black, her baby son had fallen into the inky water.
He could have drowned in moments. In a bad year, huge waves
crashed against her house, giving her less than an hour to
uproot her home and scramble to safety. Racing against time, she gathered her terrified children together
and hastily made a raft from a banana tree.
At any moment, it could have tipped and plunged them into the swirling waters, but it was their only
hope. She put her youngest daughter in a cooking pot and clung to it as it floated in the current.
‘My children were so scared. My sister was holding them very tightly and we were panicking because my
neighbour’s child was washed away.’
Morsheda and her children live a precarious life. They know that the floods will come again, and soon. But
we can lift our neighbours like Morsheda to safety.
Just £250 is enough for a Christian Aid Home Safety Package. It could flood-proof Morsheda’s home,
raising it eight foot on an earth plinth, so that she has a safe place to rebuild, keep livestock and grow
crops. It could also buy a goat, seeds and a wormery to help produce compost – all of which will give her a
long-term income and a solid foundation for a new life.
‘If I could raise my house then I would feel much safer living here with my children.”
Please respond generously if an authorised Christian Aid collector calls at your door. Donations may
also be made at St Bart’s on Sunday 8th or Sunday 15th May.
Molly Wickert has been
Christian Aid leader at St. Bart's
for nearly thirty years and has now retired from this role. It is
unlikely there will be a house to house collection this year or a
Saturday street collection for this charity. There will, however, be
Christian Aid envelopes available in St. Bart's church from the
beginning of May for anyone who wants to take one, including all of
the church congregation. Please return them to the church or the vicarage (4, Westwood Hill). All filled
envelopes will be opened and counted by Molly and her team or by the churchwardens. Money will be
counted and paid into C.A's account. Any cheques should be made payable to Christian Aid and not St.
Bart's church. Gift Aid declarations will be sent to Christian Aid headquarters. This reduction in our efforts
will undoubtedly reduce the amount collected so it is hoped that people will be as generous as possible in
their giving. Anyone can give directly, of course, using the Christian Aid website, which for many will be
the most convenient method.
Without the hard work of Molly Wickert, Christian Aid in the parish of St. Bart’s would not
exist. We thank her for her generosity and dedication to this incredible cause.
The cutting down of the tall trees next to the church has once again reminded us of
the beauty of St. Bart’s and our responsibility to maintain and preserve this historic
building. You can help by donating to the SABRE restoration fund.
ASCENSION DAY
Thursday May 5th
Always 40 days after Easter, in deference to the chronology in St Luke’s Gospel, this day marks the end of
the period when the first Christians experienced the presence of the risen Jesus in a visible way. The day
celebrates his return to his Father in heaven. We mark this important day with a Sung Eucharist, which we
celebrate jointly with our neighbouring parish of St Philip’s As St Bart’s will be in use all day for the GLA
elections, our joint Sung Eucharist for Ascension Day will take place at St Philip’s church, Coombe Road,
Wells Park, at 8 pm. All welcome.
Pentecost Sunday
May 15th
50 days after the first Easter, at the Jewish Festival of Pentecost, when Jews from around the world were
gathered in Jerusalem, the first Christian believers experienced a profound new experience. This was to
thrust them in a new direction and change the history of the world. Gathered in prayer, they experienced
the power of the Holy Spirit. Now they had both the inspiration and the power to go out and proclaim the
good news of what they knew about Jesus.
We keep Pentecost today as the festival of the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church, and pray that God
will continue to inspire us and guide us in our life as a Church and as individuals.
Together at Ten Parish Eucharist at 10 am – all welcome.
The Christ will suffer and
rise from the dead on the
third day, and repentance
and forgiveness of sins will be
preached in his name.
(Luke 24:46-47)
8.30am
9.30am
5.30pm
9.15am
12.45pm
Weekdays
Morning Prayer, Monday-Friday
Saturday
Evening Prayer, Monday-Saturday
Eucharist, Wednesday
Eucharist, Thursday
Sundays
8am Eucharist (said)
10am Parish Eucharist (Sung)
All-Age once a month
6pm (some Sundays) Evening Service
Vicar– The Rev Canon Michael Kingston
4 Westwood Hill, Sydenham, SE26 6QR 020 8778 5290
[email protected]
Assistant Curate -The Rev Stephen Edmonds
020 8676 8925 [email protected]
Father Michael is not available on a Monday. The church is open every
Saturday morning between 10 am and 12 noon for anyone to drop in.
A member of staff is always available .
March 27th Easter Sunday: Isabella Carlyon, Lavy Raphael,
David Bundu, Niah Corbin, Mabel Dax, Magdalena Pianko,
Omotora Oyefeso, Feyisade Oyefeso, Shelby MacCrae
Draw near with faith; receive the Body of Christ which
was given for you.
Thank you to Nicola Dax for the beautiful
first communion cake.
April 11th; Dawn Parsons (76)
May she rest in peace
Healing Service Sunday May 1st 6 pm
Prayers, anointing and laying-on-of-hands for healing.
Book of Common Prayer Evensong
Sunday May 29th 6 pm.
Evening Prayer in the classic Cranmerian language.
All welcome on both occasions.
The cross
was erected
at church by
members of
the
congregation
during the
Easter service
last month.
Sydenham Life Editor Richard Dax 0793 1152874 [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Sydenham Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of
St. Bartholomew’s church or the Church of England. The information contained is not advice, or any form of recommendation
and should not be treated as such.