The Magazine of The Trinity Methodist Church, Shifnal Vol.99: Christmas 2014

The Magazine of The Trinity Methodist Church, Shifnal Vol.99: Christmas 2014

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Bread Church is becoming more and more popular and here you see some folk enjoying lunch after their baking. Tony and Ann Lane’s granddaughters Gwennie, Betan, Zara and Rebekah really went to town when they went along to Bread Church. They were able to take away a couple of baker’s dozens, and more, of bread rolls to share with their grandparents.

Do you want to try your hand at baking? You will be made very welcome. Just turn up. No ingredients required. No fee. Just you. If you want to bring a friend - that’s fine. See you next time!

Following a suggestion by Revd Hendry Ponniah, our first Circuit Prayer Breakfast was held at Trinity, Shifnal on Satur-day 11 October. About twenty five people from several churches across the Circuit met at 7.30am and we began with a prayer and praise session led by Sandra Hughes. In four smaller groups we were then invited to pray on three themes – our Circuit and local churches, national and global issues, families and communities. We concluded the session by saying the Grace together and then proceeded to enjoy more blessing and fellowship as we ate breakfast together. The food was organised and prepared by a team from Trinity led by Marcelle Kite – and much appreciated by all who were there! It was agreed to hold the next Prayer Breakfast during January and await offers from another church to host that event. Deacon Ann Shephard

Bread Church happens on the last Saturday of every month at Trinity.

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Dear friends,

Once again, the Christmas season is upon us. Most of us look forward to eating as the end of the year’s celebration. We enter into its festivities, bright lights, shopping, and events to draw out the feel good desires before gearing ourselves for a new year. For some, there is much happiness about the past year and for others, they may want to leave it all behind and hope for a better year.

Interestingly in the church calendar, the advent season is the beginning of the church year. Christmas is celebrated as the beginning of God’s blessing to the world through the giving/coming of his son, Jesus Christ. It is a new beginning such as the world has never known before in all its history. Jesus’ birth was celebrated by the company of the heavenly hosts saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests’. (Luke 2:13-14)

As significant as Jesus’ birth was for the future of the world, God did not splash it across the skies for all of Israel to see. Instead the host of Heaven appeared to shepherds in the field and wise men read the signs in the sky. In fact, the “great work of God’s salvation” was birthed through the consent of one girl, Mary, to be part of the work of God.

Mary was a young girl when the angel Gabriel came to her with the news that she would bear this baby that would be given the throne of David and a kingdom that will never end. How much did Mary understand of the full extent of what that meant? Perhaps she did not know of the pain and sorrow that awaited her at the foot of the cross.

Yet Mary understood that God had chosen her by showing his favour, was mindful of her humble state and was going to do something that was not impossible with God. She realised that God was doing something tremendous for her people by fulfilling the promises, hopes and longings of the people for his presence and rule, and she understood that God asked her to be part of that work. Mary answered, ‘I am the Lord’s servant’. She consented to what God wanted to do through her. ‘May it be as you have said’. (Luke 1:38)

When we look back on this year or forward to the next in our personal life or the life of the nation, we may wonder if life can really be different from what we have experienced or if God can really bring a real change. The advent season can remind us that God has given the world the greatest gift to meet its deepest longing. It is also a story of God’s personal mindfulness of each of us to whom he shows favour and grace.

Like Mary, we can see what the Lord is doing in our midst and consent to be part of this and allow him to work through us. Are you willing?

I would like to wish you a Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year 2015. God bless you. Hendry Ponniah

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As I walked out one morning A little before it was day, I heard a conversation Between a carnal and a crane.

The carnal said unto the crane “If all the world should turn, But once we had a Father, But now we have a Son.”

There was a star in all the East Shone out a shining throne, And shone into King Pharaoh's chamber, And where King Pharaoh lay.

The wise men they soon spied it, And soon King Pharaoh told That an earthly babe was born that night As no man on earth could destroy.

King Pharaoh sent for his arméd men. And ready then they be, For all children under two years old Shall be slainéd, they shall be.

Joseph and Mary Was weary of their rest, They travelled into Egypt Into the Holy Land.

“Go speed thy work,” said Jesus, “Go fetch thy oxen-wain, And carry home thy corn again As which this day hath sown.

If anyone should ask you Whether Jesus He has passed by, You can tell them that Jesus He did pass by Just as your seeds were sown.”

Then up came King Pharaoh With his arméd men so bold, Enquiring of the husbandman Whether Jesus He has passed by.

“The truth it must be spoken, The truth it must be told, I saw Jesus passing by Just as my seeds were sown.”

King Pharoah said to his arméd men “Your labour and mine's in vain, It's full three quarters of a year Since these seeds were sown!”

Herefordshire Version

The following has come from the website: “Hymns and Carols for Christmas”. As they say “Christmas carols and hymns are one aspect of the holiday season that never fails to lift the spirits — and requires no baking, no tree stands, and no extension cords. While there is a body of well-known Christmas songs that are perennial favourites, there are many more which have slipped into obscurity.” The aim is to preserve material that might otherwise be lost as specimens of times now passed away, and of religious feelings....

The word “Carnal” probably comes from the old French; “corbeille” meaning crow and “Pharaoh” is King Pharim in other old carols. Its source is Ella L Leathern and oth-ers in “Carols from Herefordshire” in the Journal of the Folk-song Society. It was noted by Ralph Vaughan Wil-liams. This Hereford version is part of a 30 verse long carol for St Stephen's Day which appeared in the 18

th

century. There are similar stories and ballads in coun-tries like Russia; Moravia, France and Spain.

The whole carol is based on two legends. The first, which is very early, is that King Herod was converted to Christian faith by St Stephen. The story involves a roasted cockerel rising up and declaring in Latin “Christ is born!” This part does not occur in the Hereford ver-sion. The other is perhaps even more fanciful where Jesus turns the sower's seed into ripe sheaves to de-ceive his pursuers by the farmer's statement about the ripening of the corn. This part comes from one of the apocryphal gospels but without the deception. Swedish and Danish songs combine the two legends. This Here-ford version commemorates the harrowing flight of the Holy Family into Egypt.

Where these legends came from is anyone's guess but they are very wide spread with numerous variations; their origin and meaning is far more complex. If you find you need something to explore over Christmas you could look it up on the web. The problem with such leg-ends is that somewhere within them there may lie a truth, I leave you to surmise, have a happy Christmas:

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The answers can be found on page 5 but don’t look just yet!

1 2 3 4 5 6

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11 12 13 14

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17 18 19 20

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Across 7. Trouble 8. Pop group - ………… Kitten 9. Wigwam 10. Slandered in writing 13. Freshwater fish which can be golden 15. Alcoholic drink from Kent? 16. Souvenir 17. Jazz in the playground? 19. Take notes 21. Focussed

Down 1. Hurricane’s companion 2. Small perambulator 3. Strongly toned in body 4. Help a criminal 5. Resign one’s position (2 words) 6. Often carries an olive branch 11. Helps with hearing 12. Type of brown sugar 14. Benefit acquired without contributing (2 words) 17. Between your sock and the ground 18. Symbol of Rank or a medal 20. Sweetly attractive

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In the Trumpet Harvest edition we reported on the start of work at the Shifnal Cemetery under the Shifnal Cemetery and Landscaping Project . A lot of the work is now complete and the pergola covered walkways from the car parking area are laid. New plants to grow over the pergolas are in place. Other work scheduled to be carried out includes the planting of Atlantic Cedars and the erection of a steel and aluminium sign finished in black with gold coloured lettering. The cadets at RAF Cosford have been en-listed to plant flower beds to help absorb some of the noise from passing Traffic and St Andrews Junior School will be planting 3000 bulbs. In recognition of the efforts made by the organisers of this Project, Anna Dean and her fellow Shifnal Cemetery Landscaping Project organisers were presented with a Shifnal - Caring For Our Community Award by The High Sherrif of Shropshire Robert Bland, DL at the Celebrating Shifnal ceremony at St Andrews Church on Sunday 19th October. Should you wish to support this project contact via email shifnalcemeterylp@outlook.com or telephone Anna Dean (nee Saunders) 07939818656.

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“If one part of the body suffers ......”

Iran According to CSW, charges against three Christians were dropped in Octo-ber. Two pastors and a deacon of the Church of Iran denomination were ac-cused of “Mofsed-e-filarz”, (spreading corruption on earth) which carries a death sentence. The two pastors were also charged with “Moharebeh”, (enmity against God), which can also carry the death penalty. One pastor had 15 other charges. The 1st Branch of the Revolutionary Tribunal in Karaj dropped the capital charges but re-placed them with “action against na-tional security” and “creating a network to overthrow the System”. The men now await a verdict from Judge Asel Al-Hosseyn, who tried their cases. A week earlier a Muslim man was exe-cuted for “Mofsed-e-filarz” and heresy after describing the biblical story of Jonah as an allegory. Apparently the head of the judiciary disregarded a supreme court decision to release him after the trial judge appealed for the death sentence to be carried out. A high ranking judge said that he had been executed for rape but no evi-dence seems to have substantiated the accusation. In another case three Christians were released in September, another three remaining in captivity; The wherea-bouts of the sister of one of the re-leased men is unknown. CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thom-as made the following statement, “While we applaud the dropping of the capital charges levelled against Pas-tors Haghnejad and Irani, and Deacon Rabbani, it is completely unacceptable that they have faced trial once again on unwarranted charges and that their unjust prison terms may be extended

even further. Moreover it is difficult to conceive of how imprisoned men from a severely repressed community could pose a danger to such a powerful sys-tem. We also express our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Amir-Aslani, whose execution is emblematic of the arbitrary nature of the Iranian judicial system and the flagrant disre-gard of the nation’s highest judicial authority for the rule of law and justice. Some in the West are calling for re-newed relations with Iran in the face of the threat posed in Iraq and Syria by ISIL; however, it is worth noting that Mr Amir-Aslani was one of six people exe-cuted on the same day that the UK Prime Minister met with President Rouhani at the United Nations. It is highly debatable whether a country that severely represses its own reli-gious and ethnic minorities and con-ducts an average of two executions a day can contribute meaningfully to-wards resolving a conflict that is itself fuelled by religious sectarianism and an intolerance of indigenous minority communities.” Please pray for the people of Iran and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Middle East. Nepal CSW have expressed a guarded wel-come to the news that the Prime Minis-ter of Nepal, Sushil Koirala, has com-mitted to guarantee religious freedom in the forthcoming constitution.

Nepal was formerly the only officially Hindu Kingdom in the world. But after a ten-year long conflict from 1996 to

2006, Nepal officially became a secu-lar republic in 2008. However, in the intervening six years it has failed to create the new Constitution required

by the Comprehensive Peace Agree-ment which ended the military conflict. Nepal’s Constituent Assembly is cur-rently in the process of framing the

new Constitution required to institution-alize this new secular republic.

In a recent briefing on freedom of reli-gion or belief in Nepal, CSW ex-

pressed concern about a proposed anti-conversion clause for the new

constitution that “fails to allow choos-ing and changing one’s faith to be

seen as a positive individual choice or as a matter of individual rights.” There have also been calls by prominent po-litical leaders in the last few months for a constitutional ban on all conversions

from one religion to another.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thom-as said, “While we welcome the Prime Minister’s statement as the clearest commitment so far to guarantee free-dom of religion or belief in the new Constitution currently under considera-tion by the second Constituent Assem-bly, it is vital that this clear verbal pledge is reflected in the precise word-ing of the clauses dealing with reli-gious affairs. CSW urges the Prime Minister, Ministers and CA members to ensure that calls to ban conversions are resisted, and that the new constitu-tion guarantees freedom of religion or belief, as outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed and ratified by Nepal, which guarantees every person “the freedom to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.” Please pray for the people and govern-ment of Nepal Please also pray for the work of CSW as they strive to support both Chris-tians and other persecuted people around the world.

(Methodist News Service)

November 9th was the International

Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism. The Revd Ken Howcroft, President of the Methodist Conference, and Ms Gill Dascombe, Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, issued the following statement: "With our thoughts on Remembrance Sunday this weekend, let us redouble our efforts to preach peace and coun-ter violence and hatred wherever we

encounter them. We stand with victims of violence of all faiths and none. This year Remembrance Sunday coincides with the anniversary of the Kristallnacht atrocities against Jews in Nazi Germa-ny and Austria on 9-10 November 1938. We therefore deplore and con-demn all manifestations of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism, all out-breaks of hatred and persecution. The recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks, for example, is unacceptable to us as Christians. Anti-Semitism, along with

other forms of religious hatred, is a denial of the Christian Gospel. "It is therefore important that we as Christians recall and repent the Church's past failures to condemn anti-Semitism whenever and wherever it has erupted across the world over the centuries. We stand with Jews on No-vember 9th - the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism. And in standing with them, we also stand with others - lest we forget."

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Pictured above are the Open the Book team that are taking part in assemblies at St Andrew’s Primary, Shifnal County Primary and Sheriffhales Primary Schools helping children learn the stories of the Bible through this witness.

As you can see from the photograph the team are obviously enjoying the experience as much as the children.

If you are interested in joining this team do make yourself known. No acting experience required !

The afternoon sprinkling of rain cleared away and the evening had that crisp feeling that lends itself to gathering around a bonfire, supping hot soup and watching the flames from the fire rise into the night sky cre-ating a myriad patterns on their way.

With the fire well alight to warm the

outside and the welcoming cup of hot soup warming inside there was a feast of baked potatoes and an arm's length list of puddings to satisfy any sweet tooth.

Finally a wonderful evening was rounded off with a fireworks dis-play bathing the scene in colour and

finishing with a rocket exploding above to produce a star cluster that warranted the applause from a very appreciative audience.

Many thanks to Ann and Tony for once again providing us all with a memorable evening.

Donations raised £95 for church funds.

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Sunday 14th December 6.00pm Candlelit Carol Service at Trinity. Monday 15th December 2.00-4.00pm Churches Together party at Trinity. Tuesday 16th December 7.00pm Carols at Hatton. Oasis Fund Raising Event. Tickets, £10, available from Zena. Saturday 20th December 10.00am-Noon Carol Singing at Albrighton. Proceeds for Action for Children. Wednesday 24th December 4.00pm Carols at Netherwood. 5.30pm Carols outside Paton’s, Shifnal. 6.30 pm Communion service at Trinity. Thursday 25th December 10.30am Family Christmas celebration at Trinity. Sunday 28th December 10.30am Carols Together at Trinity. Saturday 3rd January 6.00pm Church family party at Trinity. Sunday 4th January 10.30am Covenant Service at Trinity Week beginning 5th January Bible study groups, Wednesday Coffee Morning and Youth Club at Trinity restart. Wednesday 14th, 21st and 28th January Teaching on prayer led by Rev Hendry at Hadley. Week 18th - 25th January Christian Unity week Wednesday 25th February Lent lunches start Wednesday 18th March Circuit Meeting Thursday 19th March District Ministerial Synod here at Trinity. Help will be needed! Thursday 2nd April Maundy Thursday service here at Trinity. Watch the web for details of Easter services ………

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If you get stuck the Sudoku solution can be found on page 24.

6 1 5

3 9 4 1 6

2 7 9 8

7 2 9 6

5 9 7 4 2

2 4 5 8

8 5 3 7

7 5 8 9 6 3

9 2 4

This letter was forwarded by David Senior, Christian Aid Week Organiser, to Eileen Morgan who has responsibility for Christian Aid events at Trinity. Eileen is anxious to share this good news with everyone who collected or donated or both. For more news visit http://youtu.be/ulJHYFpZJV0 to watch a video of Christian Aid Week activities and events.

Dear Mr Senior,

As 2014 draws to a close, I want to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you for everything that you've done this year to stand alongside people living in extreme poverty. Your efforts during Christian Aid Week and throughout the year are already making a difference on the ground, and will continue to bear fruit for generations to come.

You and your volunteers helped to raise an astonishing £11m in Christian Aid Week this year. This is an incredible sum, which will enable the fantastic work of our partners to take place in poor communities across the world – from sprawling urban slums, to the remotest villages – wherever the need is greatest.

So as we look forward to celebrating Christmas, please accept our thanks on behalf of the people you have helped set free from poverty this year.

I wish you and your volunteers a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

With warmest wishes,

Eleanor Ledesma Christian Aid Week Manager Christian Aid

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Ladybird Tots and Toddlers meet each Friday at Trinity. On ‘Children in Need’ day this year they had even more fun than usual, if that is possible, and in doing so raised £85.20 for ‘Children in Need’. Well done everyone who helped!

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.From European Parliament News

Sakharov Prize awarded to Denis Mukwege of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This is perhaps something we don't expect from the European Parliament. The Parliament does have a strong human rights perspective built into its remit - some aspects of which may be contentious - but it takes all human rights violations seriously, no matter where they take place. MEPs regularly highlight abuses, help monitor elec-tions around the world, ensure that human rights are protected in the EU's external economic and trade agree-ments, and award a prize every year: the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. It was set up in 1988 to hon-our individuals and organisations de-fending human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This year Denis Mukwege was chosen unanimously by the conference of Presidents especially for his fight for protection of women. The 59-year-old gynaecologist founded the Panzi Hos-pital in Bukavu in 1998, when a war took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In many armed con-flicts around the world, rape is used as a weapon of war, but Denis decided to help victims in his country. Today he

still treats victims of sexual violence who have sustained serious injuries.

He is the third of nine children of a Pentecostal minister and his wife. He says that he studied medicine because he wanted to help the sick people his father prayed for. He went to France to study gynaecology at Angers because he saw many women suffering from the complications of child birth in the rural hospital where he practised. Then came the war.

The war in DRC might be officially over, but the armed conflict still contin-ues in the eastern part of the country and so do attacks against civilians, including gang rapes. He has treated thousands of women, often operating on as many as 10 in his 18 hour work-ing day, many of them arriving in a horrific traumatised condition.

In 2012 he spoke at the United Na-tions, criticising the Congolese govern-ment and other countries for not doing enough to stop what he called “an un-just war that has used violence against women and rape as a strategy of war.” Before he returned, armed men took his daughter hostage and lay in wait to assassinate him on his arrival home. There was a shoot out in which his guard was shot dead. Denis escaped to France with tragic results for his hospital and its patients.

He returned in 2013, his fare being

paid for by the general populace of Bukavu, especially patients, it is said, by selling pineapples and onions! The 20 miles from the airport to the city was lined with citizens welcoming him home.

He has received something like 20 awards from around the world and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Denis Mukwege

(Methodist News Service)

In today's society, growing older is of-ten seen as a reason for sadness or regret. But the Church of England and the Methodist Church have published a new resource which urges Christians to celebrate and affirm the 'second half of life'. Through creative discussion material Seasons of My Soul offers people a chance to explore and share with one another key aspects of their lives and experiences. It focuses on eight themes for discussion; identity, memo-ries, transition times, wisdom, roles and relationships, forgiveness and rec-onciliation, death and dying, and the celebration of life.

"As I approach retirement, I become ever more conscious of the importance of Christians having constructive con-versations about this potentially crea-tive stage of life," said the Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford. "This invaluable resource could help turn the tide in enabling creative discussion about the second half of life - or, in my case, even the last third!" "Often when we talk about the demo-graphic of church attendance, we con-cern ourselves more with those who are not within our church communities than with celebrating and resourcing those who are," added Doug Swan-ney, Connexional Secretary for the Methodist Church. "Seasons of My

Soul is a creative way of redressing this balance. It offers us an opportunity to explore themes which can often be avoided but which, when unpacked, can lead to the most amazing possibili-ties for us all." The resource's themes are opened up for discussion and exploration using interactive conversation tools, Bible texts, creative activities, social action topics, prayer and worship. It contains facilitator guidance and helpful tem-plates to accompany each session. The book can be purchased at the price of £8.99 (plus p&p) from Method-ist Publishing online or by calling 0845 017 8220.

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Just before Christmas a group of bik-ers accompanied Santa into Trinity at the end of a service. They had come to present Les Cherrington and Bill with Christmas hampers. They stayed for a cup of tea and a chat afterwards be-fore going on their way to distribute more hampers around Shifnal. Who are they?

They are Shifnab, a small group of motor bike friends based at Shifnal War Memorial Club. Some are a little broken in the body the others are just broken in the head so they tell us! A few are also in other local bike clubs like the Oddballs and Rainbringers and they come along to support Shifnab They do like to laugh a lot and don silly costumes (well some do anyway :-) )

Now for the serious stuff: They originally formed their little group, "NOW" called "Shifnab" about 14 years ago, it was originally formed to raise money for the N.A.B.D as they had helped some "broken" Shifnal bikers to continue riding by paying towards con-versions from Bikes to Trikes.

Rock nights twice a year raised funds plus the occasional group ride out. Then 5 years ago they started a

Sponsored Fancy Dress Café Stop Ride on the first Sunday in July to raise funds. At the same time it was decided to raise funds for the Orthotic Department at Gobowen Hospital for they too had helped a lot of the riders. It was discovered that people raised lots of money for the different depart-ments and wards within the hospital, but never the Orthotic department. Since then, besides rocks nights (which still purely raise funds for the N.A.B.D - our next one is 17th April 2015) sponsored rides, very comical slave auction nights, (where bikers are auctioned off in cave costumes to do different tasks for people), family fun days and Vehicular Treasure Hunts( Next one - first Sunday in July 2015) car-boot, craft fairs and table sales, ( next car boot and table top in Feb 2015) have raised funds that get equally split between the N.A.B.D and T.O.D.G.H. Ride out's happen about once or twice a month (sometimes a lot more in the summer) just for fun. They call these magical mystery tours as “no-one ever seems to know where they are going”

This year it was decided to collect store cupboard donations from every-

one and anyone who would help us, so Extra Special Hampers could be made up for some Extra Special O.A.P's of Shifnal, to let them know how much people do care and appreciate them for all they have done for others during their life. They hope to be able to do the same next year and the year after and so on and so on :-) .

Over the years they have raised thou-sands and thousands of pounds for the N.A.B.D and T.O.D.G.H. and they hope to continue raising thousands more :-).

They meet the 1st Monday of every Month (Unless it's a Bank Holiday then its the second Monday) at Shifnal War Memorial Club, in the lounge between 7.30pm and 9pm anyone is welcome to pop along and join them.

“We are very welcoming and fun to be around . Do come and join us!” is their message. The email address is Shifnab@live.co.uk The Facebook page is called: Shifnab Shifnal

N.A.B.D (Naonal Associaon for Bikers

with a Disability)

T.O.D.G.H. (The Orthoc Department

at Gobowen Hospital

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(Or how we travelled 3,112 miles across the USA by train)

When my younger son, Matt, and his wife Sarah-Jane, moved to California last February, it was the ideal time to start thinking about our next holiday. Hence on Sept.4

th, after a 12-hour

flight we arrived in Los Angeles Air-port, to be met by Matt and SJ who drove us the 50 miles south to their new home at Newport Beach, Orange County, California. After being enthusi-astically greeted by Frankie the dog (who had had his own adventure, fly-ing out a few months after they had moved there), Matt and SJ promptly informed us that we were to become grandparents!! This is to be their first child and our third grandchild so there were great celebrations! We spent the next 5 days with them, exploring the local area of Newport Beach, its lovely harbour with pelicans and sea lions lounging on the yachts, Balboa Island, the fabulous beach with the famous Wedge - a favourite with the surfing community due to the ENORMOUS waves - and other local attractions. The next part of our train adventure was on the Pacific Coastliner from Ir-vine Amtrak station (near Matt’s office) to the Santa Fe Depot in San Diego. This was a very picturesque journey, mostly along the coast and took about an hour and a quarter. The San Diego Old Town State Park is similar to Blists Hill, with reconstructed Spanish/Mexican-style buildings and people dressed up in the appropriate clothes, telling the story of the found-ing of San Diego – and it was free!! San Diego has a massive harbour, which is the base for America’s Pacific Fleet. We spent the most part of our second day on the USS Midway – a huge aircraft carrier that had seen ac-tion in the Vietnam War, capable of carrying about 3000 men, now a float-ing museum in the harbour. We ex-plored the city, which has some lovely Art Deco buildings, if you look up above the storefronts! On our third day we explored Balboa Park – larger than New York’s Central Park – which, as well as many different gardens, has 18 museums, various cultural and art cen-tres (including a re-creation of the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare plays are performed) and the famous San Diego Zoo. We then returned to Newport Beach to spend the next week with Matt and SJ.

Matt took some holiday and they took us to various places around the Los Angeles area. We celebrated my birth-day by going to Hollywood (highly over-rated), and the Griffiths Observatory which gives amazing views over the city, then the following day they took us for a self-drive boat trip around Bal-boa Island, followed by a lovely Italian meal – certainly a birthday unlike any other I have had! Eventually it was time to say our good-byes and embark upon the next stage of the epic train journey! We took the Pacific Surfliner from Irvine heading north to Los Angeles Union Station. There we boarded the Coast Starlight for Oakland. This route mostly follows the coastline and has some very dra-matic scenery. On the latter part of the journey the line moves inland with a mix of agricultural land and desert-like terrain. We passed through places we had heard of but never expected to visit, such as Santa Barbara and San Jose, We disembarked at Oakland, but the train was continuing northwards along the west coast, all the way up to Seattle in Washington State, near the Canadian border. Our next 4 days were based in Oak-land, a 12-minute ride on the BART (underground) across the bay to San Francisco. We loved exploring this vibrant, cosmopolitan city. A trip to Alcatraz was a highlight (and yes, they did let us out again!), as was a walk across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. which is 1.8 miles long. We went on the trams, ate seafood on the piers and had a thoroughly wonderful time doing all the touristy things that you do in San Francisco, including taking hun-dreds of photos! Then it was time for the Really Big Train Adventure. We boarded the Cali-fornia Zephyr Amtrak train in Em-eryville at 8.50am and found our “cabin” that was to be our home for the next 3 days. On our first day we trav-elled through Davis, Auburn (birthplace of the 1st California Gold Rush in 1849- hence the Forty-Niners), and Sacra-mento (state capital of California). By now we were climbing into the Sierra Nevada and the terrain became rocky; we ascended through many tunnels and along twisting track and then de-scended past Donner Lake and on to Truckee. By mid-afternoon we crossed the state border into Nevada and trun-dled on to Reno. While we were eating our evening meal we passed through Winnemucca (famous for the raid on

the bank by Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang) and on to Elko. By now we were passing through a desert-like landscape, with distant mountains and the odd oasis with trees and vegetation. While we were having our meal, our coach attendant (Steff) changed our daytime seating into our beds – a wide lower berth (mine) and a narrow upper bunk (Mike’s!!). This left only a very narrow space to change into our night-wear and get to our en-suite shower/toilet. We managed – just!!) Mike slept well, with a strap to keep him from fall-ing out of the bunk, but I was aware of the rocking and rolling action of the train and slept less well. We had to put our watches forward by one hour from Pacific Time Zone to Mountain Time Zone. During the night we crossed another state border into Utah and passed through Salt Lake City, Provo, Helper and Green River. Over breakfast we pulled into Grand Junction and realized we had crossed another state border into Colorado. The terrain was amazing – like a smaller version of Monument Valley with many odd-shaped rocky outcrops – we expected John Wayne to be rid-ing alongside the train! By now we were steadily climbing into the Rockies and I was starting to feel the effects of the altitude, making me feel nauseous for most of the second day. It did not detract from the amazing scenery as we followed the Colorado River and climbed further to Glenwood Springs and Fraser in the winter sports area. We reached the height of 10,000 feet above sea level, the highest of any train route in the USA and could see a smattering of snow on the peaks. We descended towards the Denver plain via the famous 6-mile Moffat tunnel and a twisting route through many more shorter tunnels with quite a sig-nificant gradient, to arrive at Denver (known as Mile High City due to its exact elevation above sea level). We put our watches forward again, this time onto Central Time, crossing the state border into Nebraska and settled for our second night. During the night we passed through McCook, Lincoln and Omaha and over ANOTHER state border, now in Iowa. We had breakfast, noting that the countryside now resembled a typical English scene, with trees and fairly small fields of crops. We stopped at Ottumwa for quite a long time as the

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brakes had failed on one of the 3 en-gines that were pulling the train!! We had to uncouple the engine and pro-ceed on the remaining two – just as well we were over the Rockies by now! The delay gave us a good chance to stretch our legs and have a little walk in the brilliant sunshine. We had only resumed the journey for a mile or so when we stopped again. Steff had no idea why we had stopped, but eventu-ally 2 police cars, an ambulance and a tow truck raced up the road ahead – we later discovered that a 96-year-old man had driven onto the level crossing up ahead and had a heart attack in the middle of the crossing. Fortunately the train didn’t hit him, but we never dis-covered if he recovered from the heart attack. By now, the fields were getting much larger and we saw the vast stretches of maize (they call it corn) that are typical of the central states. We crossed the Mississippi and onto our destination state of Illinois – this was the seventh state of our journey. We finally arrived at Union Station, Chicago, four and a

half hours late. Steff informed us that the worst journey she had worked on was when the train arrived 3 days late due to the Mississippi flooding!! We spent the next 4 days exploring Chicago. We had a fantastic boat trip around the city (the Chicago River runs right through the centre of the business district) with a commentary on the vari-ous buildings, many of which were of a beautiful Art Deco design, as well as the more modern skyscrapers. We returned to the stunning Union Station where the iconic scene in The Un-touchables was filmed – the grandest station imaginable. We stayed in an historic hotel where 12 Presidents had stayed, including J.F.K. who was there when the Cuban Missile Crisis broke. Also, in the basement was the old bar-ber shop where Al Capone regularly had his hair cut! We had a very grand afternoon tea in the Palm Court of the Drake Hotel, which had been a sur-prise birthday present from my chil-dren. Chicago is a fabulous city, set on the banks of the vast Lake Michigan. It is very clean, sophisticated and less

touristy than the other cities we visited, with beautiful parks, museums, and art galleries – we would definitely want to return to visit some of these that we just didn’t have time for in our time there. Finally it was time to return home, We arrived at Heathrow at 9.00am the fol-lowing morning, very tired and glad to have my daughter and her partner meeting us to take us home. It was regarded as the trip of a lifetime – would we do something similar again? Definitely, perhaps a different route to see another part of the USA. No doubt we will return to California again, to see the family and, you never know, we might just tag another train adventure on to that again! Lynne Shinn

Golden Gate Bridge

16

The November speaker was Ian Goodall, a volunteer tour guide at Sunnycroft, the National Trust prop-erty in Wellington. It was surprising to learn that there are 150 volunteers working at Sunnycroft, both in the house and gardens. Set in an Ed-wardian time capsule, Sunnycroft tells the story of a brewer, a widow and three generations of a local in-dustrialist family.

As Ian’s presentation showed, Sunnycroft is well worth a visit. Mem-bers were sorry to learn of the recent death of Philip Moore, who along with his late wife Pat, had been a long-standing member of The Shifnal Society. Philip will be sorely missed, as he has been very much involved in the local community over the years.

The autumn series of talks commenced in September, when Chris Smith, a retired maths teacher and trustee of the charity ‘Silent Support’, recounted her experiences as a volunteer with the VSO in Uganda. Chris soon discovered that living and working in Uganda was an entirely different proposition to teaching in the UK, but it was an experience that proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding.

At the October meeting, Chris Broughton, with his ‘Black Country Time Machine’, took members on a journey which spanned over 400 million years of geological history. The wide diversity of geology in the Black Country, which led directly to prosperity and wealth for the region itself, also made a great contribution to scientific knowledge on an international scale. The collection of fossils which Chris brought along with him was fascinating.

Graham Podmore and Chris Smith Chris Broughton with a selection of fossils

Pat Brazier, Ken Brazier and Ian Goodall

The Shifnal Society meetings will re-commence on Friday 27

th February 2015, with

the AGM and members’ Cheese and Wine Supper, when Chris Raine will update members on the Neighbourhood Plan initiative. This event will take place at St Andrew’s Youth Club, Bridgnorth Road, with a 7.45 pm start. Further information on 01952 463348 or http://www.2shrop.net/shifnalsociety/

17

Sunday 14th December 6.00pm Candlelit Carol Service at Trinity. Everyone welcome

Answers to the crossword puzzle on Page 5.

Across 7. Perturbation 8. Atomic 9. Tepee 10. Libelled 13. Orfe 15. Beer 16. Reminder 17. Swing 19. Record 21. Concentrated

Down 1. Spitfire 2. Pram 3. Muscular 4. Abet 5. Step down 6. Dove 11. Earpiece 12. Demerara 14. Free ride 17. Shoe 18. Gong 20. Cute

Islamic State cannot be defeated by military action alone, say major Church leaders Methodist news service

In September leaders of two of Britain's major Churches made a statement to say that the UK Government must not give into the rhetoric that Islamic State can simply be bombed out of existence. Leaders of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Methodist Church in Britain say that the case for military intervention can only be supported as one part of a broader political and economic strategy to tackle the ideology of IS. The Churches have issued a briefing on the issues and urged their members to pray and to write to their MPs asking the Government to offer greater support to refugees from Syria and Iraq as part of such a strategy. The full statement is as follows:

The UK Government must treat with caution suggestions that Islamic State could be defeated primarily through military action. An ideology - even one as dangerous and perverse as that of IS - cannot be defeated by the use of weapons. Military action could help to protect persecuted minorities and prevent IS from expanding its control in Iraq. But counter-ing extremist violence in Iraq requires that Iraqis effectively address the underlying grievances that provided support for the rise of IS. The situation in Syria is more chaotic and the effectiveness of external military intervention less certain. Both nations face difficult challenges for which there are no easy solutions. Military intervention carries huge risks. Any intervention must be legally justified and can only be supported as one part of a broad political and economic strategy which must have the support of countries in the region. It is not certain that the most crucial elements of such a strategy are in place. We recognise the Government's attempts to involve Iran, but would like to see this on a much broader front, and there are a number of unanswered questions that must urgently be addressed. For example, what is the level of commitment among countries in the region to take steps to prevent the funding of violent extremism - not only in Iraq and Syria but more broadly? The international community also has a key role to play in documenting human rights abuses and challenging the culture of impunity that allows such atrocities to occur. We are grateful that the Government has agreed to provide resettlement for some Syrian refugees, but to date only a handful have been resettled in the UK. This does not even begin to scratch the surface of the level of need and further support must be extended to displaced people from both nations, in the UK and elsewhere. Meanwhile we welcome the contribution of the UK Government to the support of millions of displaced persons and refugees who remain in the re-gion. As Christians we stand with those who are abused, persecuted and marginalised, whatever their faith or ethnicity. We pray that leaders in government who grapple with seemingly impossible situations will be guided by God's wisdom and peace. We will continue to pray for peace, to work towards greater understanding between peoples of all faiths and none, and to advocate for the needs of those most marginalised.

The Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain The Revd Ken Howcroft, President of the Methodist Conference Ms Gill Dascombe Vice-President of the Methodist Conference

18

For those of you following our trials with our car on the channel shuttle having a mind of its own and not want-ing to enter France, you may be inter-ested to know that we have solved the problem: go by boat! What an adven-ture we had: a front seat bird watching trip across the Channel. I don't sup-pose that those raw recruits crossing 100 years ago into the teeth of battle would have appreciated the gannets and guillemots crossing our bows, but for us it was quite a spectacle. When we arrived in Calais, after nearly being mowed down by three police minibus-es we were even more surprised to find the another 20 in the hotel car park as well as three large prison vans. Did they know we were coming?! En-quiries revealed that it was a big clamp down on illegal immigrants trying to get to Britain. Lorries were being searched, perimeters watched and the vans were to take them where? The next day on the motorway we passed two gendarme cars, behind two huge, armoured, windowless vans, another gendarme car and two more vans pre-ceded by yet two more cars. Further on another car then another. When we got to the toll at Clermont Ferrand of Michelin tyre fame, I thought a gen-darme was just being helpful directing us to an available toll booth with hand signals and waving of his automatic rifle. Two more gendarme cars occu-pied another toll booth. Well it was quite a sight; we can't be sure if it was linked but on the news that day an item was broadcast on the work the police

were doing in the first village in France entering from Italy. Apparently hun-dreds of thousands of illegal immi-grants are using this route to enter France, many wanting to stay there others en route to Britain. The police are rounding them up, searching trains particularly and presumably transport-ing them back across the border so that they can try again! It really is a serious problem and is costing the French authorities a huge amount. The Italians also have a dilemma; overloaded boats of illegal immigrants are crossing from north Africa across the Mediterranean, capsizing, sinking in the storms. The Italian coast guards have the responsibility of rescuing them from a watery grave: the success of the rescue operation is encouraging still more to attempt the crossing. It has been suggested that the authori-ties should ignore them, let them drown to discourage others from fol-lowing their example! Humanitarian actions are actually exacerbating the problem, but what is the answer? It seems that there are mass movements of peoples of different origins seeking a better life in western Europe, the tide seems unstoppable. Calling them ille-gal immigrants just puts the blame on them and we can wash our hands of the causes in play. For all Europeans this really is a huge challenge. Unfortu-nately some of them turn to crime to survive, others have been duped into travelling and here we enter the realm of slavery. The USA has had a similar

problem on its southern borders for years but nowhere are we near a satis-factory solution. Whether the average French citizen is really aware of what is going around their borders I do not know but there have been other more immediate con-cerns. You remember the gales that savaged Britain last year: as well as the north western coast of France, the eastern region of France has been under the cosh this year. Heavy rains have caused havoc up and down the Rhône, and by the beginning of No-vember some places had been flooded for the third or even fourth time since the end of the summer. The storm we experienced at the beginning of No-vember with winds of 100 – 110 kph slid past us relatively tamely to rage up the Rhône. Even so at least one neigh-bour slept downstairs because they were frightened by the movement of their tiles. It's not quite normal but it is frequent - but then you only have to read Acts to realise that the Mediterra-nean can be a violent place. We just had some wind, very little rain and then it became like a very pleasant English summer; so much so I've been big game hunting, well, little game actual-ly, to be accurate: butterflies; there are hundreds about at the moment and it is November! A week later another storm headed directly up the Rhône with yet more flooding, yes we had wind but sunshine. It seems that Italy too has been suffering, Venice is under water,

(Continued on page 19)

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rivers bursting and even lake Maggiore in the Alps bursting its banks. Gil, our pastor here, told us that there had been flooding in the centre of Bé-ziers in September. He watched from his living room window what is normal-ly a dry gully 200m away turn into a raging torrent sweeping away cars; people were up to their waists in water trying to rescue their cars. Someone on Montpellier filmed himself kayaking through the streets of that city: you can see it on Youtube. On what we know as Remembrance Sunday, Gil let us loose to take a ser-vice without being in attendance, and that meant the technology as well! Well, with willing hands and a bit of guesswork, we got through it and most seem to find the experience very help-ful. Since it was on “peace” or “shalom” it fitted the occasion. A num-ber had been to London and seen the poppy display around the Tower and found it most impressive; others had seen it on TV so we had a meeting point because here the churches do not commemorate the armistice as we do. They were really very supportive

and put up with some interesting pro-nunciation with smiles, that of course applies to Doug's not Sandy's. To say that the churches do not seem to be involved in Remembrance like we are, doesn't mean to say nothing happens on November 11th. First of all, significantly, while we seem to be remembering the beginning of the Great war they emphasised the cele-bration of the 96

th anniversary of the

ending of the Great War; a few wear a blue cornflowers for peace as we wear the poppy. As well as remembering those that fell in two world wars, they remember wars most of us are not aware of like the Algerian conflict or forgotten like those in Indochina. Up and down the country they have their processions, most led by bands, from the Town Hall to the war memorial: often they have a special mass first. In many places special events took place: children doing special projects, choirs singing special pieces, schools being involved in pageantry. Somehow it is becoming a much wider thing. This year the national concentration was on a new memorial created at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in Pas de Calais. A huge circular memorial commemora-

ting the 580,000 who died in the battles of Artois and Flanders, the ma-jority British. But what is special is that the fallen on both sides are remem-bered here, all names listed alphabeti-cally, mixed, irrespective of which side they were on. What I expected to be a cold event became very moving as the President was escorted around the plaques stopping at intervals as people remembered individuals. The grand-daughter of a French soldier read from the letters he had sent home. Then an English girl remembered Shropshire's Wilfred Owen, standing by his name on the plaque because it was here that he fell and she read part of one of his poems in English and then French. Finally a German soldier was remem-bered amongst many who were unk-nown. In between was a bugle call, the sound of Scottish pipes and a cellist. To his credit the President took time to talk to each. This year is a special year because of what began 100 years ago: around the world there are special places of re-membrance and this will be one of those.

(Continued from page 18)

NB. This is not the traditional almond-flavoured “galette des rois” but a lighter cake with orange water and candied fruits, typically eaten in Provence. You need to start this cake the day before you want to eat it as it needs a day to rest. 550g self-raising flour 20g yeast 4 eggs 260g softened butter for the mix 20g softened butter for the cooking tray 220g caster sugar 2dsp milk 2dsp orange flower water 180g candied fruits 120g coarse granulated sugar 1tsp salt

Sprinkle the yeast onto 2dsp of warm water and mix in. Once fully mixed add another 20cl of warm water. Sift 110g of flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture and the salt. Mix without allowing lumps to form. Leave the mix to rise for about one hour at room temperature until it has doubled in size. Sift the rest of the flour into a bigger bowl and make a well. Beat the eggs with the sugar till light and fluffy and very pale (almost white), then add the milk and the orange flower water. Work to achieve a smooth paste. Add the but-ter in small lumps and work until fully incorporated. Add the yeast mix, work the whole for 5 minutes, then form the paste into a round and cover the bowl with a cloth. Allow it to rise for about 4 hours at room temperature, then put into the fridge overnight. The next day tap the paste till it resumes its former volume – but do not knead it any more at this stage – and form it into a crown. Place the crown on a buttered baking tray of a

suitable size. At this stage you can add the traditional “bean” or “beans” which when discovered will determine who will be in charge of the evening’s festivities, but it is not obligatory. Push the candied fruits gently into the mix and scatter over the coarse granulated sugar, pushing it gently into the mix with the palm of your hand. Allow to rise for about 40 minutes, then pre-heat the oven to 180⁰ C (gas mark 6) and cook for about 25 minutes. Eat as soon as possible!

To be served at Epiphany (January 6)

20

On Remembrance Sunday St Andrew's Church was filled as the names of the dead from two world wars listed on the memorials inside the church were read out. In his address the Rev. Chris Thorpe reflected not only on the horrific num-ber of lives lost to war but also on the wounds and scars of war and their healing. While physical injuries are mostly obvi-ous the psychological effects of expo-sure to the horrors of warfare cannot be underestimated.

Rev. Thorpe paid respect to the work done by the medical professions and support organisations involved in the difficult tasks of treatment and rehabili-tation of people who have suffered as a result of armed conflicts. He reflect-ed on the courage and determination of people so injured there for all to see in the recent Invictus games. The service was preceded and followed by the parade. One of the ‘many’ was Private Samuel Shuker. Private Samuel Shuker like so many from Shifnal enlisted in The

Shropshire Light Infantry but was transferred to The Royal Welch Fusi-liers, 16th Battalion and was killed, aged 19, in action on 31st July 1917 in Flanders. He is buried in Artillery Wood Cemetery, Belgium. The family have the photograph below of Private Shuker and fellow Fusiliers. If you can provide any information about the names of these Fusiliers please do contact us.

21

100 years ago War diary: November 1

st Battle of Coronel, off the Chilean coast in the Pacific

a RN squadron defeated by German squadron under Vice Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee

5thBritain declares war on Turkey and annexes

Cyprus German retreat in Poland

Heavy losses in Ypres 6

th Russians retaking territory from Austrians

South African Union troops defeated at Doomberg by De Wet 7

th Third Austrian invasion in Serbia

8th USA intern German cruiser at Honolulu

9th Battle of Cocos, Keeling Islands somewhere in the

Pacific: an Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney defeated the German cruiser SMS Embden. 11

th Serbians retreat

12th De Wet defeated at Mushroom Valley in

South Africa. 13

th Russians advance

14th German reinvasion of Poland

15th Rain and floods in Ypres

German cruiser interned at Trondheim Turkey declares 'Holy War' 17

th 1

st battle of Ypres: stationary war ensues

Lloyd George: 1st War Budget

Turks routed in Mesopotamia 18

th Russian retreat on western front and Turkey

20th Camel Corps beat off Turks near Port Said, Egypt

Mine fields extended in North Sea 21

st British airmen attack Zeppelin factory

Indian forces occupy Basra 23

rd Portugal authorised to join the Allies

The US is having its own little war and their troops withdraw from Vera Cruz in Mexico 24

th British army officer's pay increased

Benito Mussolini expelled from Italian Socialist Party 25

th Russians raid Hungary

26th HMS Bulwark blown up in the Medway: 800 lost.

“Foul play” suspected 27

th President Wilson condemns bombardment of

unfortified towns 28

th Turks advance on Suez

29th King George V visits troops in France

Western front, notably Ypres, is now literally bogged down in trench warfare; eastern front is toing and froing between Russian and Austro-German troops, as is the southern front engagement between Serbia and Austria. Engage-ments now in Egypt and South Africa. Sometime amongst all this China declares itself neutral. December 1

st Rebel leader De Wet surrenders in South Africa

5th South African rebels offer negotiation, Botha

demands unconditional surrender 6

th Pope seeks Christmas truce

7th Indian expeditionary force complete in Egypt which

has become a British protectorate. Rebel general Beyers defeated in South Africa, drowns in attempt to escape Russians attack east Prussia Second battle for Warsaw begun by Germans 8

th Austrians defeated near Belgrade

S African rebels collapse, 1200 surrender Battle of Falkland Islands, in response to the battle of Cocos, a superior British Squadron defeats von Spee's ships. 10

th Austrians defeated near Cracow:

4,000 prisoners taken German submarines attack Dover 13

th British submarine sinks Turkish battleship in

Dardanelles 15

th Austria ends third invasion of Serbia with a loss of

28,000 prisoners and 50 guns HMS Doris bombards Alexandretta in Syria 16

th Whitby, Hartlepool and Scarborough bombarded by

German warships 23

rd Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo

25th An unofficial truce is held on the Western front but

not elsewhere as hostilities continue 24

th German troops invade Portuguese territory of

Angola Russians claim 134,000 killed and 225,000 Austrian prisoners to date Britain recognises Morocco as a French Protectorate 31

st Prussian losses to date 753,000

A depressing litany of escalation into a truly global war. What has been gained? Nothing. The European western front is trench stalemate, eastern front is backwards and forwards as is the southern front while in Asia more attacks are expected from the Turks. What has been lost? Many lives and the hope of the war being over by Christmas. Was anything else happening? You wouldn't know it

22

Members of Shifnal Townswomen’s Guild gathered for their September meeting to hear the Rev Garry Ward, of Claverley and Tuck Hill churches, speak on ‘The Black Country Schindler’. Garry explained the work of Frank Foley, a British secret agent, who used his supposed position as a Passport Officer in pre-World War II Germany to help Jews escape from the country; 10,000 Jews at least were enabled to reach the safety of Britain or Palestine. Frank is still honoured today in Israel at The Righteous Among The Nations Avenue, where a tree is planted for every person who aided the Jews in their plight. Garry was an excellent speaker and his depth of knowledge was much appreci-ated.

A very different subject formed the top-ic for the October meeting. Lajina Leal brought along equipment to demon-strate the art of making chapattis and a simple curry. The demonstration was fascinating, especially the way in which Lajina deftly produced perfectly shaped chapattis – a skill which proba-bly takes considerable practice to per-

fect! Even more fascinating, however, was Lajina herself. Full of life, enthusi-asm and fun, she generated a wonder-ful atmosphere. November brought Jeremy Derrick to talk about ‘Homoeopathic Medicine’. A practition-er himself, Jeremy gave much interest-ing information about the global popu-larity, methods and success of homoe-opathy; he certainly demonstrated his own belief in and commitment to its practice and was asked many ques-tions by his audience.

Activities for TG ladies have not been restricted to monthly meetings, howev-er. Six members visited Wellington Evening Guild for a delicious Harvest Supper and flower-arranging demon-stration, all in aid of charity. A larger group joined other Guild members from across Shropshire for the Federa-tion Autumn Lunch at The Punchbowl, Bridgnorth. As well as the excellent carvery and friendly service, a talk on ‘Three Generations of Gardeners’ was given by Margaret, daughter of Percy Thrower. At the beginning of Novem-ber, seven ladies visited Horsehay Guild for a Christmas Crafts Day and

returned enthused by a range of crafts new to them. Here you see Sue Podmore trying her hand with a glue gun! Then, on November 5

th,

Guild members ran a small stall at Shifnal Cricket Club’s Firework dis-play and en-joyed the party atmosphere and splen-did display on a perfect, crisp, cold night.

Still to look forward to at the time of

writing: a Guild Tombola Stall at the

Shifnal Christmas Lights Switch-On,

Federation and National Carol Con-

certs at Wellington and Liverpool re-

spectively, and, for all members to en-

joy, a Christmas Party. And then for

2015!

Jeremy Derrick with Guild members and visitors.

23

SHIFNAL CHORALE'S

WINTER SEASON

The summer has gone and the au-tumn leaves are falling-----it's time to sing carols again! We are looking forward to our Festive Carol Concert in Trinity on Monday 15th December at 7.30pm and we are pleased to have our old friends, RAF Cosford Voluntary Band with us again. Join us for a winter warming sing, don't worry we will be singing with you and for you as will the band. Tickets are £6.00 at the door and includes refreshments. The choir are hoping to launch a recruiting drive too, keep a look out for our leaflet plopping through your door. If you would like to try us out you are welcome on Monday evening at 7.30pm during term time in Trinity Church or attend our Musical Taster session on Saturday February 7th at 2pm also in Trinity Church. Further details will be announced soon. Our secretary Angela is always available on 01952 811444 for further information. Now it's time to say we hope to see you in good voice on the 15th of December and to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and God Bless you All from Snifnal Chorale.

(Methodist News Service)

The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference have wel-comed the General Synod's vote to adopt legislation to ordain women as bishops. The vote means that the Church of England's first female bish-ops could be ordained next year.

The Revd Kenneth Howcroft and Ms Gill Dascombe welcomed news of the vote, issuing the following statement:

"We thank God that the General Syn-od has taken the final step in the pro-cess towards admitting women to the episcopate. We look forward to the appointment of women as bishops in the near future and pray that their ministry within and beyond the Church of England will be richly blessed.

"We are very pleased that, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Gen-eral Synod of the Church of England has been able to reach the point of opening its episcopate to women. We recognise that this has been a long and difficult process. It has been an important sign of the Covenant be-tween our two churches that the Methodist people have, throughout, held their sisters and brothers of the Church of England in their prayers."

Methodist News Service)

In November the President and Vice-President of the Methodist Confer-ence welcomed a major step towards in Anglican-Methodist unity. Recently, the Church of England's General Syn-od debated a report on the Covenant between the two Churches and voted overwhelmingly in favour of its recom-mendations. The recommendations, which include steps towards greater interchangeability of ministries, were also overwhelmingly passed by the Methodist Conference this summer.

The Revd Kenneth Howcroft, Presi-dent of the Conference, said: "It was very good to attend the Church of England's General Synod to witness its debate on the JIC report 'The Challenge of the Covenant'. The JIC's Co-Chairs Professor Peter Howdle and Bishop Christopher Cocksworth made introductory speeches that set the tone for a very positive and encouraging debate."

Vice-President Gill Dascombe added: "I am greatly encouraged to hear that the General Synod, like the Confer-ence, supported the JIC's recommen-dations so strongly. We now look for-ward to further developments in our covenant relationship with the Church of England as we serve God and our communities together."

The Sudoku puzzle can be found on page 4.

6 4 8 3 1 2 7 9 5

3 7 9 5 4 8 1 2 6

2 5 1 7 9 6 4 3 8

4 8 7 2 3 9 6 5 1

5 9 6 8 7 1 3 4 2

1 3 2 4 6 5 8 7 9

8 6 4 9 5 3 2 1 7

7 2 5 1 8 4 9 6 3

9 1 3 6 2 7 5 8 4

O Little Town of Bethlehem, Two thousand years ago, They fought, they died, They lived , they cried, All history tells it so. O Little Town of Bethlehem, What are you like today? The people fight, There still is fright, All is in disarray. O Little Town of Bethlehem. A star was born that night. The stars we know, They come and go, This one continues bright. The road to Bethlehem is clear, The map it's route is drawn. To love the poor, To love You more, New peace the world adorn.

We need to ask You for your help, Alone we can't succeed, We'll live in peace, Sadness will cease, Joy linked to every deed. O Little Town of Bethlehem, Your knowledge we must share, The birds, the bees, The plants, the trees, Are Yours, & we must care. We know we must continue on, Each minute of each day. Each has a role, Each precious soul, Each has a part to play. It's not just them, It's you and me, Remember, don't delay. Be glad our special present, He came on Christmas Day. Daphne Wiggett

24

It sometimes takes a disturbing inci-dent to open your eyes to greater con-cerns. At the beginning of October Barrat Homes held a consultation at Trinity regarding their proposed devel-opment of 200 houses up Coppice Green Lane. It must be noted that Shifnal Town Council had already made objections in February but Shropshire County Council have given approval in principle. (Note: the pro-posed development can be viewed on the internet under Wallace Land De-velopment Framework Report Coppice Green Lane, Shifnal)

The issues it raises go far beyond Shifnal's boundaries, even to the doors of central government. So let's begin with an extra 200 dwellings – well, it isn't is it? We already have two new developments the impact of which have not yet been realised. But further to that, one of the representatives im-plied further development close by and/or the other side of the motorway. Word has it that there is development planned for further up Park Lane and don't forget the huge development in Lawley. It is just a part of increasing development in our area: rumour has it to be around 1600 dwellings in Shifnal alone. Maybe others who know better can correct or confirm these figures. Nevertheless what are we as a spe-cies, whose population is growing seemingly with no constraints, doing to our environment: Gods creation? Do we have any idea what will be the con-sequences?

Anyway coming back to the consulta-tion at Trinity - presumably required by government - what struck me most was that it ONLY concentrated on the quality of the development itself. Apart from “further comments” there was no opportunity to consider anything be-yond the access to the development. To my mind that served as a distrac-tion from the real issues. Now I'm not saying that this is extraordinary, I sus-pect that this is built into the govern-ment's requirements and implies an absolution of the developers from any responsibility for other consequences and leaves others (like local govern-ments) to pick up the tab.

So what are these other consequenc-es? I have to say that I am sure that I have not seen all of the implications, but here are a few. The immediate im-

pact will be upon children travelling to and from Idsall school. Does this put children and parents at risk using Cop-pice Green Lane? Say 200 cars leave at that critical time. That leads into other knock-on effects. The submis-sion implies that ½ of the workforce from Shifnal goes to Telford but does not mention that the other half must go east, to Wolverhampton or the M6, as does/will the traffic from Lawley which is already having an effect on traffic flow and other developments. Take that going in to Wolverhampton: at times even now it can take take an hour from the Wergs into the centre of the city, this congestion can only get worse until the road access can no longer cope with it. The submission shows a free flowing M54 with good access, but the M6 lies at its end, al-ready heavily congested. What will be the outcome there? “Not our problem” I guess is the answer but for new and old residents an increasing nightmare. Essentially the road network into the Black Country conurbation could be stretched beyond its limits unless mas-sive road development is considered.

What about rail? Well, already we have commuters driving to Shifnal, occupying town parking and even lin-ing the town's roads and side streets. Any increase will make for increasing difficulties driving through Shifnal. Now that should not be increased by local commuters who will walk, but how far out do you go before you need transport to the station? More conges-tion I'm afraid and more danger unless the local road network is increased with all of the negative effects there. Those wanting to travel by train be-yond Wolverhampton can of course go to Telford. Well, no they can't: parking there is already at its maximum: more congestion!.

How about congestion in the NHS? Our main surgery is already under pressure: can the staff cope with thou-sands more patients on their books? Where is the support for that? Another surgery? Can the PRH cope with still more patients? Shropshire's hospitals are already suffering from lack of fund-ing: how can they cope? This alone demands a huge increase in funding, denied us by central government who are more concerned to cut costs. The same could be said about our schools:

can our two primary schools and a sin-gle secondary school cope with an increasing child population? Will more schools need to be built and staffed?

Does all this put pressure on our elec-tricity supply? Has anyone mentioned the sewage system? Can the Seven Trent plant below Lodge Hill cope with an increase in flow? Then of course, as some learned to their cost some years ago, partly as a result of devel-opment at Priorslee, where does ex-cess surface water go? Building on land that absorbed water, whatever you do for drainage, will still result in more run-off. Does this increase the flood risk? Has anyone investigated?

These are just a few of the problems I can see from excessive development but there are other issues. I was told that South Shropshire demands a 50% inclusion of affordable housing in new developments. I was also told that Shrewsbury had a 30% requirement at one time. This is of course hearsay and I do not have the evidence myself but a quick calculation based on 12 single bedroom dwellings and 14 two bed dwellings gives a 13% provision of affordable housing on Coppice Green. To me that seems to me to be an in-sufficient contribution towards meeting this need. To my knowledge with the introduction of the so called bedroom tax there was reported by one agency to be a 5 year waiting list for two bed-room housing. That seems to be the greatest demand, not the 60% to 70% four or five bedroom dwellings which obviously produce the greatest profit. You can't deny that the purpose of any business is to make a profit, but what is reasonable and what duty does local government, indeed central govern-ment, have to ensure that those at the bottom of the wealth scale have satis-factory affordable accommodation?

People have to live somewhere but without appropriate consideration for the needs of the poor or the impact on the environment surely we are heading for disaster. There is no simple solu-tion. This is something we all need to pray about especially since some solu-tions may be even more objectionable as our population grows. There is of course another aspect which demands our prayers: what are we as a church going to do to minister to their needs?