Prestbury Parish Magazine

Working as a Team

It is now just over two years since I became Vicar in the newly-formed Prestbury and All Saints’ Team Ministry. When I realised that the other day (with a bit of a shock!) it led me to reflect on the journey we have all shared in over those past two years. In some respects it feels as though things are moving only very slowly. Our Churchwardens meet together, but our two PCCs have still not met together formally, neither have our two Ministry Teams. However, members of our Education Committees have ‘broken the mould’ and now meet as a Team-wide group, planning Lent and other education and nurture opportunities in which we can all share. We have shared in some memorable joint services, a reminder of the encouragement that can be gained by coming together to worship God in a full church. Also, members of all our congregations participated in the Passion Play and, most recently, during the Big Sky Festival at All Saints’ it was good to see support from some of our brothers and sisters from the Prestbury churches.

I am aware that some people still look wistfully back to the ‘old days’ when every church had its own priest and ‘did its own thing’, but the reality is that those days are very definitely over. The Church, not just in the parishes of Prestbury and All Saints’, but across the Church of England, can no longer sustain that pattern of ministry. We are being encouraged – even instructed – to look outwards to our neighbouring parishes and to explore those things which we can do together. Many of you will be aware of the huge review which is happening across the Cheltenham Deanery as part of the process of forming a Deanery Mission Plan. Please keep this process in your prayers as we all endeavour to discern the most appropriate pattern for ministry across the Deanery.

As I reflect on our two years as a Team Ministry, I do feel encouraged by the very positive signs of sharing, of encouraging and of supporting which I see across our two parishes. Every one of us must strive to be open to all that is positive about sharing in our faith journey with others, even those beyond the congregation we regularly worship in. Across our Team Ministry we have been blessed by a huge richness of gifts, of talents and of experience; let us celebrate that richness and be bold in taking full advantage of it, in order to further the work of God’s Kingdom.

Fr Michael

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Summertime at Celebrate!

Happy and relaxed worship continues each Sunday at Celebrate! in St Mary’s church at 9.30am. Do come, we would love to see you – lots of people who have come have returned for more. Look out for our summer specials:

Sue Read

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360° Holiday Project

This summer we are running two lots of one-week projects for young people aged 11-18. The weeks include: an outdoor activity day, community action, team building, new challenges and activities. Participants get the chance to achieve the Gloucestershire award as well as being part of a great team doing something really worthwhile. The dates are: 25-29 July and 1-5 August. If you would like further information please contact Andy Macauly on youthprestbury.net. There is only a small charge for the end of project trip and everything else is free!   (The projects are funded by Local Network Fund.)   Please pray for these weeks that there is good team spirit in a safe environment.

Andy Macauly

Regular Youth Group & Sunday School/Club Dates

Elevate end of year party on Sunday 17 July. Restarts on 11 September.

Synergy end of year party on Sunday 17 July. Restarts on 11 September.

The Lounge finale on Tuesday 19 July. Restarts 13 September.

The Space end of year BBQ on Thursday 21 July. Restarts 15 September.

Andy Macauly

Sunday Club and Sunday School

end on 17 July. Next term starts on 11 September, 9.30am at St Nicolas’ and 11.00am at St Mary’s.

Linda Biggs

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Snippets from the Tower

We are looking forward to the Wedding Season now that summer is here (we hope!). At the end of May we were joined at Sunday morning service ringing by a group of ten ringers who were staying in the area for the weekend visiting various towers. They came from the Olney area. In common with all visiting ringers they had asked permission to join us and naturally we were delighted to welcome them.

On most Sunday evenings when there is a service at St Mary’s we attempt a quarter peal. A recent successful one was dedicated to the Revd Joan Winterbottom of the United Reformed Church as she moved to pastures new. Another was dedicated to the Silver Wedding Anniversary of Paul and Sarah Collacott. Both have been ringers at Prestbury for many years and Sarah is still a regular, especially at Tuesday evening practices.

Six of our ringers went to Dumbleton on Saturday June 11th to take part in the six bell Striking Competition for the Banner Trophy. Nine teams took part. Against quite stiff opposition our team came fifth. The experience was enjoyable, as it usually is.

The ringers send their best wishes to Hazel Sweetman and David Young on their engagement. Hazel is a regular Prestbury ringer; David, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, has recently learned to ring and is a welcome addition to our band when he visits Hazel in Prestbury.

July 10th is the date which marks the national commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. It is planned that bells throughout the country will be rung at 5pm on that day; every tower has been asked to participate. At St Mary’s we are hoping to attempt a 1945 Date touch. This will consist of 1945 changes and will last for just over an hour. A report will appear in the September magazine.

Jenni Scruton

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Greenbelt

The fantastic Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival (at Cheltenham racecourse!) is taking place again this year over the bank holiday weekend 26-29 August. About twenty people (young and young-ish) will be camping – it is not too late for any young people interested to join us!

For further information about the festival (for adults and children as well as young people) please contact Andy Macauly. The Greenbelt website is www.greenbelt.org.uk from which it is also possible to purchase weekend tickets. Reduced price day tickets for local residents are available on the gate; take proof of address with GL postcode. See the website for full details.

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Joseph – Children’s Activity Day

On Saturday 24th September we are once again holding one of our successful activity days for children at St Nicolas’ Church Hall, Swindon Lane. The theme for this day is based around the well known, well loved story of Joseph. The day will begin at 9.45am and close with an act of worship mid afternoon. Invitations will be issued through our schools with places reserved on a ‘first come first served’ basis. There will only be 100 spaces available so a quick response is to be recommended.

Linda Biggs

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Stewardship 2005

For many years we have approached our stewardship campaign in the same way, with a letter and response slip. This year we decided we would like to be far more ‘social’ in trying to raise our planned giving, which is essential to keep our churches running. So we are planning a series of ‘fun events’ and hope that each of you will be able to attend at least one of them, if not more. The plan is for four events, at a reasonable cost, which will raise awareness of our duty to make regular giving to God. The events differ considerably and will, we hope, attract different people to different events. They are:

• Parish Sunday Lunch at the Royal Oak on 21st August at 1.00pm.
  Cost £11 per head for a 2-course meal. Bookings now being taken by Marion Beagley.
• Cheese and Wine Evening at St Mary’s Infant School on 10th September, with entertainment. (Part of St Mary’s Patronal celebrations.)
• Pudding Evening at St Nicolas’ church on 22nd October.
• Quiz at St Mary’s church hall on 12th November.

We do hope that you will make a real effort to come to at least one of these events, not only to enjoy yourselves but also to share in fellowship with others from our church family.

For any further details please contact Marion Beagley.

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Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust

Annual Sponsored Ride/Walk

Once again we are asked to help raise money for the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust. This year the sponsored ride/walk will be on Saturday 10th September between 9.00am and 5.00pm.

The GHCT give grants to help repair the fabric of churches in our county. In Gloucestershire there are many fine churches which need our help. I have heard them say that they might prefer to help those churches which have helped the Trust in the past. So, how can you help?

* Arrange to ride or walk to as many of the churches as you can on the day and raise as much sponsorship money as you can. You could go by yourself, or as a family or group of friends. You don’t have to stay in Cheltenham; put your boots or bike in the back of the car and explore the rural parts of the county, places you don’t normally visit. You can charge by the mile or the number of churches visited! For further details and sponsorship forms please see Bob Lyle at St Mary’s or Nigel Woodcock at St Nicolas’.

* Be a generous sponsor of those who will be riding or walking. Without you there is no purpose in the day. Half of the money raised is given to the Trust to further their work, and half is given to the churches chosen by the participants.

* Take a turn at manning one of our churches throughout the day to welcome the riders and walkers who may visit. After what might be a lengthy journey it is rewarding to look around a church while taking a breather. It makes a tremendous difference to those visiting the churches when they come to one that is open and a welcoming party is there to greet them, possibly with the offer of a drink and a biscuit, and to explain about something of our church (even where to find the toilet). Many of you will be in church during the week to carry out a job, such as cleaning, arranging flowers, cutting the grass in the churchyard etc etc. Why not save these jobs until Saturday 10th September?

Brian Wood

The Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust is awarding a grant to All Saints’ of £10,000 towards Stage One of the roof renovation plans. This coincides with the award of £1 million in grants to the churches of Gloucestershire since the GHCT Fund was founded, and All Saints’ has been given the honour of receiving the millionth pound. This is in recognition of the importance of the church in terms of our spiritual and cultural heritage within Gloucestershire.

Fr Stephen will receive the cheque for £10,000 on behalf of All Saints’ on 1st July at the Trust’s Celebratory Dinner to mark the £1M milestone.

He would like to pay tribute and thanks to all those, from whichever church, not least from St Mary’s and St Nicolas’, who have taken part in the annual bike ride each September, and to all who have sponsored them. Perhaps this will encourage many more members of all three of our churches to participate in some way.

Editor

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World with a Difference?

On June 12th I decided, partly out of curiosity, to go to the Eucharist with a Difference at St Nicolas’ and see what would happen at a service about justice and community entitled ‘Let the little children come to me’. And I was glad I did. The service was both informal, sitting in the round with the altar and activity in the centre, people slipping in and out of the doorway, children free to roam; and yet formal too: although the words were different, everything happened in the same order that I am used to week by week in St Mary’s. The children were very involved in the presentation, but so were the adults. The whole thing was chillingly thought-provoking, uncomfortably chiding for people like me who rarely think about poverty or injustice. The hymn When I needed a neighbour, were you there? briefly brought tears to my eyes: no, I am never the first to volunteer to be anywhere with anyone.

‘Mr G8’ was humorously yet tragically real in the Gospel Drama (Mark 10:13-16) as he told each ‘family’ of deprived children from all over the world that he really hoped to be able to help them, but would have to think about it first and then talk about it with other people at his meeting in July. He reinforced this need to ‘talk’ so many times, repeatedly telling the children they would have to wait, that it was very moving when his assistant finally led them away round to the other side of the altar to a person who really could help them: ‘Jesus’ (in priestly vestments) quietly stepped down off the platform and without saying a word opened his arms to the children, gathered them closer, and laid his hands on their heads in blessing.

The long paper chain we made as our combined confession and intercession was draped over the altar to represent the part we play in oppressing God’s world and his people, and was then symbolically torn to pieces as we were forgiven.

We had a session on statistics. Numbers mean very little if you just say them, but visualising that round room as the whole world, and all of us standing as the whole population, was very effective. Then the ‘rich’ half sat down leaving the others standing to represent those who only have £1.20 ($2) or less per day to live on. And so on, as we thought about access to clean water, sanitation, doctors, education. Throughout that talk someone was beating a drum, slowly but continuously. It was slightly distracting at first as we tried to concentrate on the speaker, but we soon got used to it. Finally the speaker drew our attention to the fact that it had sounded every three seconds, and that somewhere, every three seconds, a child dies as a result of poverty. And that was the shock: realising that we had heard it and ignored it.

Can a Difference in a Eucharist lead to a Difference in the World? Why not? Even if we cannot go far afield, there is plenty we can do here in Cheltenham. The following list was printed at the end of the service sheet. Let us think about it. And then let us do something.

Frances Murton

What can we do next?

Our response to God’s love, our following of his example, should not and cannot end here in our service. Over the coming weeks, think about what you can do to help others. So often it seems impossible to turn the tide of injustice and that one person cannot make a difference but if we trust God and act in the strength of his Spirit, truly anything is possible.

Some practical possibilities you may like to consider include:

• Write to your MP or the Prime Minister, asking them to make global poverty a priority, especially at the G8 summit:
  
  The Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA
  
  Martin Horwood MP (Cheltenham) or Lawrence Robertson MP (Tewkesbury), c/o House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
• E-mail your views from www.makepovertyhistory.org
• Wear a MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY wrist-band
• Consider where the things you buy are made and if fairly-traded alternatives are a possibility
• Become part of a team offering Fair-Trade goods at church. Speak to Janet Waters and if enough people are interested we may be able to set something up
• Sponsor a child or offer practical support to a village community in the developing world through World Vision (www.worldvision.org.uk)
• Volunteer as an Appropriate Adult helping young people being interviewed by the police (228999)
• Support the work of the Open Door project in Grosvenor Street, helping homeless people in Cheltenham (577418)
• Offer tinned/dried food and baby supplies to support the Cheltenham Communities Projects (228999)
• Become a hospital visitor at Cheltenham General. Contact Fr Ray Swain (Hospital Chaplain) on 222222 ask for the chaplain
• Volunteer to visit the sick, the lonely or the bereaved within our own parishes. Speak to Beryl Elliott or one of the clergy
• Become a youth-work volunteer with one of the youth groups in our team. Speak to Andy Macauly
• Pray regularly for a fairer distribution of the world’s resources and for an end to global injustice

Often Christians fail to respond with love not through any lack of care but simply through lack of knowledge and not being aware of the possibilities they have (however limited their time and resources) to make a real difference. If you have any suggestions or experience of particular projects needing help, please do share them with us.

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Glorious Gloucestershire Festival of Flowers

Gloucester Cathedral – Thursday 28th to Sunday 31st July

For four days in July 2005 Glorious Gloucestershire will fill the Cathedral and its surroundings with a real celebration of summer and the county’s natural bounty – there will be something for everyone! The main part of the Festival is in the Cathedral and includes:

• wonderful floral displays and arrangements created by teams of arrangers from all over the county;
• stalls and displays in the cloisters;
• an exhibition in the Chapter House by the Gloucestershire Society of Artists.

Opening times

• Thursday-Saturday: 9.30am-5.15pm, Evensong at 5.30pm
• Sunday: 12 noon-3pm, Evensong at 3pm.

Entrance tickets

for the Festival will cost £5 per person (accompanied children under 12 are free). Tickets can be booked:

• in person at the Cathedral shop
• using the booking form on the golden Festival leaflet, available in church
• on the door, but because space is limited priority will be given to people who have booked in advance

Advance purchase tickets include the Festival programme (otherwise £1 on the door). Groups (10 or more) must book in advance. For details of the other events included in the Festival see the leaflets available in both churches.

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The Children’s Society at St Mary’s

I will be collecting and opening your boxes during July this year. Please give them to me at Celebrate! or before the 11 o’clock service. Alternatively call me on 578665 and I will collect. Thank you.

Ruth Rudge

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St Mary’s Bakestall

The next bakestall will be on Sunday 17th July, when we shall be pleased to receive contributions from members with surnames beginning G-M. If you would like to join any of our baking teams, do please contact one of us.

There will be no bakestall in August.

Margaret Waker & Linda Matthews

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Prestbury Mothers’ Union

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 26th July at St Nicolas’, starting at 7.30pm. James Turtle from the Gloucester Records Office will give a talk on Records Held Relating to Prestbury. All are welcome. There will be no meeting in August.

Marion Beagley

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Church Fete & Barn Dance –
 Saturday 16 July

Come to the Church Fete on the Scout Field from 2-5pm on Saturday 16th July. There will be a variety of stalls and sideshows, together with a grand raffle. Last year we raised £3000, which was fantastic – can we do better?

In the evening there will be a barn dance in the garden of the Royal Oak from 7 11pm. There will be no charge but a BBQ will be available should you wish to buy food. We have a band and a caller and there will be a ‘Guest Appearance’ of The Blue Diamonds. We do hope you will be able to join us, by way of thanking you all for all that you do in the village.

Marion Beagley

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Christian Aid Week

The final total was £5,422.48. Thank you all for helping and giving so generously to make this a record total for the parish.

Paddy Spurgeon & Gill Ashman

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