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On Sunday 29 June 2003, in our Cathedral, Grant Bayliss will be ordained
deacon to serve within the parishes of Prestbury & All Saints'. We welcome
Fr Grant and Chris to our Church family. We pray that his ministry will be
truly blessed.
Fr Grant trained for the ministry at Cuddesdon Theological College, near
Oxford. Subsequently he has been working as a full time student researching
for a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University.
Please do remember that Fr Grant's time with us is for his continued
training and formation as priest and pastor. We are required to draw up a
working agreement to ensure that adequate time is given for pastoral
training and evaluation, for prayer and study, for the diocesan course for
the newly ordained, and for personal family time.
We shall no doubt gain from the gifts which Fr Grant will bring in his
time with us, but it is more important that he should benefit from our
prayerful encouragement.
Also on 29 June, our own Peter Brown will be ordained deacon to serve
within our parishes. Please keep him and Shirley in your prayers.
Fr Peter has been training for the past three years under the West of
England Ministerial Training Course sponsored by our own and neighbouring
dioceses. This has involved quite an intensive regime of weekly lectures,
seminars and regular weekend schools. In addition he has been a full member
of the Prestbury Ministry Leadership Team.
As we draw up Fr Peter's working agreement, we also have to keep in mind
that he continues to be in a full time, demanding employment.
How appropriate to be ordained on 29 June, the Feast of St Peter and
St Paul! We look forward to this exciting day!
Fr Stephen
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You are very welcome to join us for the Confirmation Service in
Gloucester Cathedral on Friday 6 June at 7.30pm when the
following young people from our parish will be confirmed:
Anna Broekman, Lucy Evans, Eleanor Fagan, Rosie McGowan, James Radburn,
Alastair Smith, Hannah Smith, Charlotte Underwood, James Walter
Please pray for them, and for their families and sponsors, as they take
this step of confirmation, as they continue ever onwards with God. Your
support on the night would be much appreciated, there will be a minibus for
young people wanting to go, please contact Andy Macauly for further details.
All are welcome to join us in Gloucester Cathedral on Sunday 29
June at 10.15am for the Ordination of Deacons. During this service,
eleven people will be ordained to the Diaconate by Bishop David. They will
include Peter Brown, a member of our Ministry Leadership Team, who
will be ordained as an OLM (Ordained Local Minister) and Grant Bayliss,
who will be ordained as a Stipendiary Curate.
Pete will be known to many of you already. He and Shirley have lived in
Prestbury for many years and Pete will exercise his ordained ministry
alongside his full-time job! Grant, his wife Christine and their daughter
Bethany will move into Prestbury. Grant will work in all three churches of
the Team Ministry: St Mary's, St Nicolas' and All Saints'.
At 4.00pm on Sunday 29 June there will be a Tea Party in St
Nicolas' Hall to welcome Grant and his family and continue the
celebrations with both Grant and Pete. Everyone is warmly invited to attend!
If you would like to attend the Ordination Service and require transport,
please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the Ministry Leadership Team
or to one of the Church Wardens.
There will still be the normal Sunday morning and evening services in all
three churches.
Fr Michael
Our bible study group continues this month. If you enjoyed the Lent
studies at All Saints', or if you were sorry you didn't get along, you might
find this group will help you by giving you a chance to share ideas and
questions and enable you to clarify some of your thoughts. None of us claims
to be an expert but that doesn't mean we don't sometimes mull over pretty
weighty issues. We do feel we benefit from the time we spend together and we
learn from each other's comments, though we may or may not agree with
everything that is said. Nobody has to say anything and some people prefer
simply to listen which is fine.
We are planning to look at some of the sayings of Jesus from St John's
gospel such as 'I am the good shepherd', 'I am the true vine'. It should be
good. Join us for one or two or for lots. Each evening is complete in itself
so you don't get left behind if you decide not to come on a regular basis.
Each evening starts at 8pm and the planned part finishes by 9.30pm, after
this we often have coffee together. Contact Sue Read if you are uncertain
about whether it would be your sort of thing.
The next few dates are: Wednesday 4 June, Wednesday 18 June, Thursday 3
July
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The last year has seen much change within the youth work - much gain and
some loss.
We have run a website design project, re-launching the youth website, now
designed by young people. The Youth Services have developed -
providing creative informal worship - there have been two already and a
third is planned for Sunday 6 July at 6.30pm at St Nicolas'. The
Elevate group has also established itself as a vibrant and friendly place to
grow in faith, with nine young people going forward for confirmation this
year. Members of Elevate are now included in the highly effective Youth
Forum. There has also been a pilot of the Holiday Activity Project - which
produced a computer presentation on Wyman's Brook - please see Andy for a
copy. Within Pittville School there have also been new opportunities to work
with the Pastoral Work Area, supporting pupils as they build skills to help
them integrate within the classroom. We have also continued to develop our
ongoing effective and exciting work with Synergy, The Space and Pittville
School Circus Skills.
Changes are important because people change and their needs change. While
changes can be exciting, they can also be sad. The Twilight Zone youth club,
after many long years of service to local young people has closed. At the
moment we are considering our provision for local young people aged 13+. For
now, though, many thanks to all those who, over many years, have supported
and encouraged so many young people. From my own experience of working with
the team, they have been positive, welcoming, interested, supportive and
good humoured in what at times have been difficult circumstances. Thanks!
I believe that we serve a God who does 'prune' in order that our work
might be even more fruitful. Please pray for the fruitfulness of our work
with all young people we have contact with and for wisdom as we continue to
respond to changing needs and opportunities.
Please do get in touch with Andy Macauly if you would like to know more
about the youth work, or if you would like to find out about being part of
this dynamic and rewarding service to young people.
Andy Macauly
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We awoke very early on Maundy Thursday and set off for Gloucester
Cathedral arriving at 8.30am. The skies were blue and it was a wonderfully
warm day. It was exhilarating from the moment we drove into the precinct of
the Cathedral. John and Jim went into Church House to be briefed.
Jenny and I strolled through the cloisters, preparing ourselves for the
big occasion, and where we also met up with Margaret. We took our seats
early and enjoyed watching the Processions entering the Cathedral including
the Choir of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal and the Choir of Gloucester
Cathedral, the Ecumenical Procession, the Royal Almonry Procession and the
County and Civic Procession, including the Yeomen carrying five large silver
dishes containing the purses. Then the magic of Her Majesty the Queen, who
was wearing a lovely outfit of pale lilac, accompanied by the Duke of
Edinburgh, they entered the Cathedral to a fanfare and the congregation rose
to the singing of Praise to the Holiest in the Height.
The pageantry and symbolism will stay in our minds for ever - it was
monumental - the organ playing and the choirs singing, sometimes accompanied
by trumpets, was exhilarating. The singing of Zadok the Priest made the
hairs on the backs of our heads stand on end and the fanfare for the singing
of the National Anthem brought tears to our eyes. Oh! The hats, smiles on
everyone's faces, friendliness, wonderful flower arrangements, the complete
spectacle made the adrenalin rise.
Reg was very proud to be a recipient; he looked very smart and happy.
Eileen was wearing her new hat that she had gone to great lengths to obtain
and David looked enormously proud of his mother. It was good to see Father
Stephen on his arrival.
The five recipients from Prestbury received their purses from the Queen
on her second round of giving. From her seat near the High Altar, which was
adorned with huge white lilies and the Cathedral silver, she made her way
down through the choir, distributing to the North side, accompanied by the
Lord High Almoner (Bishop of Manchester) and four children carrying posies.
The Queen came firstly to John McKenzie (John and I felt very privileged
to be seated in the choir, diagonally opposite the Queen and the Duke) - she
gave John a wonderful smile when he was presented with his purses, which he
says will be his lasting memory, and he said 'Thank you, Your Majesty'. Just
down the steps from the choir and at the top of the north nave Eileen Jones
stood and received her purses, and David was behind, lapping up the
spectacle. Jim Moore was a few seats from Eileen and received his purses,
accompanied by his daughter Jenny, who emotionally and proudly was behind
him. The Queen presented purses to recipients down the North nave and then
she came up the north transept where Reg Viveash received his purses, and
Raymund Waker who was a few seats up from Reg, next received his purses,
with Margaret enjoying the occasion enormously and looking young in her
trouser suit and dainty hat.
The distribution of Alms and the washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday
are of great antiquity, and can be traced back to the twelfth century. From
the fifteenth century the number of recipients has been related to years of
the sovereign's Life. Recipients are now pensioners selected because of
their Christian service to the church and community. The distribution is in
two parts, and the gifts are Symbolic and highly prized.
The red purse contains an allowance for clothing and provisions, (now a
£5 Coin and 50 pence coin) formerly given in kind. The white purse contains
Maundy coins - silver pennies, twopences, threepences and fourpences, as
many pence as the Sovereign has years of age. The five alms dishes date from
the reign of King Charles II. The ceremony has been performed twice in
Gloucestershire during our present Queen's reign - 1971 in Tewkesbury Abbey
and 2003 in Gloucester Cathedral.
We all felt very privileged - it was a great tribute to everyone who
received the Queen's gift to them - it was an occasion that those who
attended felt very grateful for the opportunity, and it was a day that will
stay in our hearts and minds for ever.
Sylvia McKenzie
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Three o'clock in the morning was a sleepy time to begin our Pilgrimage to
Rome but its advantage was that we were lunched and ready for our first tour
the same day. Giorgio, our enthusiastic guide, and Emilio, driver of a brand
new 24-seater coach, were constant companions.
The Trastevere region, meaning 'across the Tiber' is where the 'cockneys
of Rome' live and are regarded as descendants of ancient citizens. There we
visited the church of St Mary founded in the 3rd century, that is, even
before the Roman Empire became Christian. Next day, a site even earlier, we
descended deep down two or three flights of stairs to a musty vaulted room,
with stone seats round a central altar whose carving represented Mithras
slaying a bull. To obliterate the memory of this pagan influence an early
Christian church was built above and above yet again, the 4th century church
with magnificent Byzantine mosaics.
We felt close to the life of St Paul and his associates since this
earliest church was possibly the home of St Clement mentioned in Philippians
4:3. One cannot help but be moved by such antiquity.
Its central altar is sunken and surrounded by pillars and a walkway gently
decorated with birds, branches and rural scenes.
The reverence felt in such places was in stark contrast to the
oppressiveness of the Colosseum and the powerful dominance of the Roman
Forum even as a ruin.
Assisi was so different - peaceful and quiet, high on its hillside with
snow on the ground. The white doves being nurtured by the resident
communities of St Francis and St Clare only added to the charm.
It was a moving experience and our mutual thanks go to Fr Stephen for
this, the first pilgrimage he has organized but hopefully not the last.
Barbara Lyle
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For some the afternoon consisted of a relaxed afternoon with a BBQ,
catching up after a busy weekend.
For others it involved an enthusiastic game of football - the young
football talent of Cheltenham on display(!)
(see the pictures
if you don't believe it!)
Once the impressive staging, sound and lighting was sorted and all the
performers had rehearsed it was time for the show. The talents were varied:
from the smooth tones of Brian Wood to Richard and Chris' version of
Nickelback; Anna and David on the piano (separately); while James played
'Millennium' on the trumpet; clever humour from the Elliotts and circus
skills from the 'Bungle Brothers'. The event was completed by Friends as you
have never seen them before. (There is a video for anyone interested!)
Many thanks to all those who supported this enjoyable event and the very
many who contributed practical help.
Andy Macauly
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The team of people who are happy to make visits to folk who are not very
well either at home or in hospital is working well and being appreciated by
many. But it is important that the team should know who falls into this
category. We have no desire to force our company on anyone who really does
not wish to receive a visit from somebody from church but equally important
it would be very sad if the team misses someone out who then gets the
impression they have been overlooked and forgotten. So PLEASE
do your bit and help to keep us informed when you yourself or a friend or
neighbour is sick and would like to be visited. Di Petchey is the contact at
St Mary's and John Elliott at St Nicolas', or anyone on the Ministry
Leadership Team.
Sue Read MLT
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Four-year-old William, one of our Rockers, left us last November to
travel round the world with his parents. After visiting Thailand, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Australia and Tasmania, William finally reached New Zealand in
February and has spent several weeks travelling through South Island,
camping and staying in hostels.
In Nelson they visited some friends and stayed in their caravan, which
was dry and warm. They went to the friends' land, and stayed in their really
cosy cabin. The land had been used for forestry and the current project is
taming the wilderness into a garden. William had many evenings stargazing.
The Southern sky is so very bright with millions of stars which cannot be
seen in the Northern Hemisphere. Orion was visible, but 'upside down'. Then
both families drove up to Abel Tasman Park, which was really lovely and they
enjoyed the peace and quiet and opportunity to play around on the beautiful
beach and estuaries in the canoes and dinghy. William enjoyed playing with
the two older children, who were very tolerant of him tagging along and made
sure that he had a great time. Again, lovely woodfires and beautiful starry
skies in the evenings and forest walks during the day. William saw
Glow-worms which was exciting as he had to wait until it was dark.
One day they stopped by the road to buy some really cheap apples and had
a guided tour of the apple-packing factory. William saw the apples which had
been picked that day being taken out of their pallet boxes and loaded onto a
conveyor belt where they were washed, sorted, graded and then put onto trays
and boxed up for shipping to the UK and USA. He was excited to recognize the
same packaging on the boxes as he had seen in the supermarket at home.
Back in Nelson, William went to the Cathedral and his Dad took him up to
see the organ. The lady organist played William some familiar tunes and then
let him try. You can imagine how much a four year old enjoyed being allowed
to make so much noise!!
Next William visited Franz Joseph Glacier and Fox Glacier, which were
very impressive and he could see the U-shaped valley that the glacier had
formed over many thousands of years. In Queenstown William had a fun trip up
Bobs Peak on the Gondola and a go on the Luge from the top. He wanted to go
on the really fast course down but the beginners' course was fast enough!
Next day they went out on a boat which used to take deliveries to the cattle
and sheep stations around Lake Wakatipu. The size of the sheep stations is
amazing. One of the lake front stations is 100,000 acres and has 33,000
sheep and thousands of cattle too!!!
Then a couple of day trips to the famous fiords of the region, Milford
Sound and Doubtful Sound. The scenery was awe-inspiring and the waterfalls
very beautiful. The weather was calm so the captain took the boat right out
and turned it around so that they could see the same view that Captain Cook
had seen so many years ago. William was very lucky and saw many bottlenosed
dolphins and really enjoyed watching their antics as they chased each other
around the boat.
Frances Murton, rockers prestbury.net
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In September 2002 I filled out a form I thought at the time I might live
to regret......the application form for the 2003 London Marathon! I had
never run the marathon before - never really enjoyed running - but I thought
it would be good to do the once - help me get fit and probably quite
enjoyable.
I started training a bit in October and November - the first few runs
were very painful - going only 2 or 3 miles and then feeling absolutely
exhausted on my return - I kept thinking I will have to run another 23 miles
at least on top of this - a very worrying thought!!
The training slacked off quite a bit in December - I was busy at work and
in the run up to the Christmas season there were a number of parties to
attend - all of which took precedence over the training! I think it was
towards the end of December when I received official confirmation that I had
managed to get a place - very mixed emotions at that stage - happy; but also
very worried - because up to that stage I kept telling myself there was a
chance I may not be accepted and may not have to go through all the pain!
Post Christmas the training started with a renewed vigour - the marathon
was just over 3 months away and I knew I had to really step the training up
a gear at this stage. Throughout January & February I was running 2 or 3
nights a week - about five miles a time and then tried to run 10 miles at
the weekend.
It was during this time that I thought if I was going to be putting
myself through so much pain that I should raise money for charity at the
same time - I decided to run for Dreams Come True charity - that enables
terminally ill children to go on holidays of a lifetime - such as to
Disneyland. I thought this is a very worthwhile cause - I know how much I
enjoy holidays and wanted to help these children.
January, February and March seemed to go so quickly and suddenly it was
April - the marathon month! Two weeks before the marathon I did my furthest
run to date - 17 miles - it was OK - but the final 3 miles were really hard
- I could not envisage going another 8 miles on top of that on the day!
April 13th was a bright and sunny day across London and if anything, a
little too hot. The run started at 0945 - but you have to be at the start a
while before that to get ready and hand your bag of belongings in for
transportation to the end. I could not believe in getting to the start how
many people were running - there were around 32,000 people running this
year.
I started off with some of my friends and ran with them for around the
first 8 miles - which were not too bad - the training had paid off! The
number of people and the importance of running at your own speed meant that
we did not stick together all of the way.
Tower Bridge is half way - 13 miles - and again I was still OK at this
stage - but I knew that I had completed half! One of the hardest parts was
heading down a road towards Canary Wharf when I was at 14 miles - and on the
opposite side of the road seeing runners coming back who were at 20 miles.
Canary Wharf was a more challenging part - not as many crowds supporting -
although I did see my Mum and her friend at this stage which was a massive
boost.
At 20 miles the pain was really starting and it is hard to express how
hard the last 6.2 miles of the race were - felt about three times as long as
the first few miles! I knew that the quickest way to finish and be able to
rest was to keep running, so although I desperately wanted to walk and rest,
I made myself keep running.
...............Finally I came around past Buckingham Palace after running
down the seemingly never ending Embankment - the crowds are really vocal at
the end - which is really needed - I saw the end and crossed the line. The
sense of achievement at the end is amazing; but your body is so tired and
drained of all energy you are in a bit of a daze. I managed to retrieve my
bag and got to the Sports Café where I was meeting my supporters for some
re-hydration and a bit of food.
Looking back I am so pleased that I managed to complete the race - and
very pleased with my time - just under 4 hours 19 minutes - I was 11,111th
person to cross the line! It is something I will always remember.
I would like to thank you all for your generous sponsorship - it certainly
helped to motivate me and I know it will make a massive difference to the
lives of the children who are given a holiday of a lifetime - in total I
managed to raise about £1,200.
Thanks again.
Iain Godden, May 2003
......and a Marathon Non-experience
Unfortunately I had to postpone my entry to the marathon for a year
because of leg injuries. Ironically the sports therapist thought that they
were caused by overtraining. I cannot describe how upsetting and frustrating
it was to have to make that choice.
Thankfully Outward Bound have said that I can carry all my sponsorship
over to next year which is excellent, so the marathon is definitely
postponed rather than abandoned! Thank you to all those who sponsored me
this year. I hope that I shall be able to use it next year.
Sarah Lyle
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