Diary Nov - Dec 2014

Sun 2 Nov 10.30 am Family Worship with Holy Communion. The Minister

Sat 8 Nov 9 am3.30 pm

CTM Prayer Meeting at Christ ChurchCTM Messy Church at Christ Church

Sun 9 Nov 10–10.30

10.45 am

Remembrance Sunday Early Prayers at Christ ChurchService of Remembrance at the Causeway

Sat 15 Nov 7.30 pm Berkshire Brass concert at Christ ChurchSun 16 Nov 10.30 am Family Worship. The MinisterTues 18 Nov 8 pm CTM AGM and Celebration at Marlow

Methodist – all welcomeSun 23 Nov 10.30 am

3.30 pmFamily Worship. Mr Michael TrumanMarlow Cottage Hospital service

Sat 29 Nov 9 am Prayer BreakfastSun 30 Nov 10.30 am Family Worship. Mr Paul Murphy Mon 1 Dec 8 pm Elders Meeting Thurs 4 Dec Late Night Shopping in Marlow – CTM

nativity – see page 8 Sun 7 Dec 10.30 am Family Worship with Holy Communion.

The Minister Sat 13 Dec 9 am

3.30 pmCTM Prayer Meeting at Christ ChurchCTM Messy Church at Christ Church

Sun 14 Dec 10.30 am Family Worship. ‘Alternative Christmas’ with drama, led by Martin Ashford

Sun 21 Dec 10.30 am12.30 pm

Family Worship. The Minister – Richard’s last service – followed by farewell lunch

Christmas Eve 7 pm Carols by candlelightChristmas Day No service at Christ Church. See CTM leaflet

for other church services. Sun 28 Dec 10.30 am Family Worship led by the EldersSun 4 Jan 2015 10.30 am Family Worship with Holy Communion.

The Revd Alan Kirkcaldy

New Forum:Please send copy for the Jan-Feb 2015 issue to the editor

by Sunday 21 Dec – hand to me at church or email jeanashford@yahoo.com

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November 2014Dear Friends

I believe the congregation knows that ever since I have been a member of this church I am not in church every Sunday. My Scottish country dancing activities take me elsewhere and because we frequently have a dancing class on Sunday mornings I am often elsewhere on Sundays. But in the course of my wanderings I do make a point of visiting churches where I can on weekdays, and it is usually possible to take the time to find a quite area where I can sit down for prayer. This year I have done this in Zakopane and Krakow in Poland, in Marly le Roi and Caen in France, and most recently in Geneva in Switzerland. The ambiance of each location has been very varied, from quite small and rustic to very grand, impressive cathedrals. The people worshipping in these different churches and temples may be using different languages, wearing different clothes, and in fact be members of different churches on this earth. But what I feel and experience inwardly is always very similar. As I pray I am increasingly conscious of the fact that although the doctrines of faith may have differences, whatever these may be, we all seek and ask for the same thing. We worship the same God in different ways, but as far as I am concerned God’s love is the same for each and every one of us.

In Geneva, in addition to visiting the protestant Temple, which is as big and impressive as a cathedral, I was able to spend a fascinating morning in the Museum of the Reformation. I could easily have spent a full day there – there was so much to learn about the development and the difficulties of the so-called nonconformist religion in different countries. Geneva in the earlier stages of the Reformation was a kind of Mecca for nonconformists. I probably had learnt at some time in the past, but had forgotten, that the first version of the printed bible in English which preceded the King James version was printed in Geneva. There was a copy of this bible in a display case. I was not aware, however, of how this version came about. The team of translators were mainly 16th century refugees from England who left England in the 1550s when the catholic Queen Mary was on the throne and Protestants were being persecuted in her name. While I admire and respect the early Christian reformers, I am relieved that today, in this country at least, there are moves for the churches to cooperate and work on joint projects to further understanding of God’s love for us all. What better example of this is there than Churches Together in Marlow!

Next month I am going to Scotland and will be spending a week in the Orkney Islands. The magnificent St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, completed in the early 14th century, is the most northerly cathedral in the UK. It is a wonderful cathedral where I have twice attended a service. That however is not where

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I shall be worshipping this year. I shall be staying with a distant cousin with whom I have become good friends and I shall be going to church with him. Four years ago three small Church of Scotland congregations on mainland Orkney joined together and the decision was taken to build a new church that would be easier to heat, with modern kitchen and toilets, in fact a building suitable for community use throughout the week. I have worshipped just once before in this new building and am looking forward to doing so again.

I shall also be missing during the festive season this year. Since retiring twelve years ago I have been corresponding with another distant cousin who lives in Melbourne, Australia. So I’m finally accepting his invitation to visit. I shall not be spending all my time in Australia with him but will also be visiting other relatives whom I have not yet met and also a Scottish dancing friend. I shall then be flying to New Zealand for three weeks, one of which over the New Year period will be spent at the New Zealand Scottish country dancing summer school. Thanks to the wonders of the electronic world it will however be possible for me to keep in touch with my grandchildren. It will be the first time that I shall not be spending time with them over the festive season.

So, I take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads this letter a Happy and Joyful Christmastide.

George Flett

“One plus One”If you were at the church meeting on 19 October you will have heard an introduction to “One plus One”. Since parliament has authorised same-sex marriage, the URC needs to decide whether to permit same-sex ceremonies to be held in local churches that vote to do so. This enabling proposal was debated at General Assembly this year, but no decision was reached. Churches are therefore asked to discuss the issues locally, and a booklet has been produced to help. We have decided to have those discussions at our daytime and evening house groups: please speak to the group leaders, or to the Church Secretary, for more information.

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Churches Together in MarlowCTM AGM and Celebration Tuesday 18 November, 8 pm← Please come and join in with the AGM of Churches Together in Marlow to be held at Marlow Methodist on 18 November. It won’t be just an ordinary business meeting. It will be a celebration and opportunity for all Christians to come together. We will worship and pray together and praise and thank God for the amazing work being done by Christians working together in Marlow in so many different ways. It will also be an opportunity to say thank you and goodbye to Richard Becher who has been an inspirational chairman for CTM for the past 12 months.←

←CTM Marlow Community AuditPeter Hopkinson is on the leadership team of River Church with specific responsibility for the wider community. Last winter, he and Beryl Berret started off an exciting community project. Peter spoke about the audit during our service on 21 September. Here is the conclusion of his report, published in July 2014. If you read this and are interested to see the full report please let me know and I will send it on to you. (ed.)

Peter Hopkinson, ably assisted by Beryl Berrett, has been undertaking a Community Needs Audit for Marlow, covering Marlow, Marlow Bottom, Little Marlow and Bisham. Peter is on the leadership team of River Church, Marlow with specific responsibility for the wider community. Beryl, also a member of River, is the founder of RiverLife which has been serving young mothers for the past 20 years. Beryl continues to help run RiverLife.

The purpose of the project is to engage with, and care for our local community, demonstrating the sort of love Jesus showed to the people around him. This is driven by a personal vision to see a dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Marlow and as a consequence a significant number of people come to a new and personal faith in a God that loves them.

This personal vision was shared with the leaders of the Churches that are members of Churches Together in Marlow (CTM) and it was agreed that the work should be undertaken on the behalf of CTM. In the past 12 months we have met with 30+ organisations that are in some way concerned to help with people in need in the community. These meetings sought to establish what the individual organisations do, what are their issues and, as importantly, establish a relationship and line of communication between Marlow Churches and the wider community organisations.

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We have been well received by everyone we have met with and all are keen to continue to work with us. We have also started to build a useful picture of who does what in the community and where people with need can go to for help.

The key findings are:

There is a need for a signposting service because as someone moves into a new area of need they don’t know where to go for help. This could be augmented by some sort of initial crisis response service. We need to consider how we might address this need.

Social exclusion (loneliness) – in all age groups – is the biggest unmet need. We have identified www.streetassociations.org as a potential town wide solution to this and other areas of need. This is in the process of being considered by Marlow Town Council, Wycombe DC, Bucks CC, Red Kite and CTM.

Lack of transport for the elderly and disabled appears to be the biggest specific gap between what is needed and what is provided. We need to understand if and how we could help with this

There is a list of other ‘things discovered’ – see section “What did we find?” Individuals/groups need to be encouraged to consider if they could pick up one if they feel led to do so.

Love Marlow – a separate initiative being developed by the leaders of the Marlow Churches has a ‘similar heart’ to this initiative. The two could be highly complementary.

There is the possibility of doing a grass roots survey - asking the question “What hurts you the most?” – this would use the resources and learning of a pilot being run in East Anglia this summer – Who Cares? See www.who-cares.org.uk. We would not be able to do this until 2015 – so a decision has been deferred until the end of the year – but this could be part of a Love Marlow launch.

This is an ongoing project and we will continue to meet with other organisations and report back.

← Christ Church Chat6

Congratulationsare due to Carole and Peter Bailey who are celebrating their Golden Wedding on 12 December. And – as mentioned in our last issue of New Forum – also to Mollie White who celebrated her 90th birthday on 10 September, to Mary Burr whose 90th birthday is coming up on 4 December and last but not least to Doreen who will be 90 in July next year. See pages 10-12 below.

Barbecue with Maidenhead URCWe had a lovely time in September when we got together with the folk from Maidenhead URC and all enjoyed a barbecue in our church garden on Oxford Road. It was good to meet the congregation with whom we will be sharing a minister next year. Gladys writes: ‘Brilliant barbecue. Great chef and chief organiser, Martin Beck. (Does he cook at home Libby?) Lots of chat with Maidenhead friends. A most enjoyable occasion and many thanks to all the helpers.’

Marlow Carnival and Harvest Festival

Our stall at the Carnival raised a total of £265. Putting this amount together with donations made at our Harvest Lunch, plus collections held after the Last Night of the Proms concert and at the barbecue with the Maidenhead congregation, we

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were able to send a grand total of £550 to the Rotary Ebola Appeal. Thanks are due to Nicky for masterminding our stall in the park and to Janet for organising the soup and bread lunch. In addition to supporting the Ebola Appeal, we sent just over £100 to the DEC Gaza Appeal, the result of our Good Cause box collection during September.

ConcertsMarlow’s Last Night of the Proms and Arias by Candlelight both proved to be very popular. We have another concert coming up on Saturday 15 November, the Berkshire Brass ensemble will be performing with pianist/organist Ken Harratt. If the word “brass” makes you think of loud oompah music then think again: this is a symphonic wind ensemble who pride themselves on the delicacy of their sound. There will be joint items for piano or organ with the brass, details to be confirmed but we’re in for another remarkable evening. Usual time, 7.30 pm, tickets are £8 and there will be a raffle in aid of the Royal British Legion. For more on our concert events, please see musicinmarlow.org.uk. For tickets and offers call 01628 486227.

Living Nativity Thursday 4 December The Living Nativity is part of the late night shopping evening in Marlow. We are currently recruiting the cast of Mary and Joseph, wise men, shepherds and animals who will process through the High Street handing out leaflets and ending up at the stable at the Methodist Church. Volunteers are needed to be part of the cast and to help out with refreshments. The event is from 5 to 9 pm but if you can help for just for part of the time that will be very welcome. Please speak to Richard or contact Graham Everitt on 01491 577122 or 07768 865719.

ChristmasAs you may have noticed, we currently have no kids regularly in junior church or in Kool Kids. This presents a serious problem for Martin A whose creative talents need an outlet at Christmas time and have in the past generally been welcomed. Undeterred, Martin is writing a play on an ‘alternative Christmas’ theme for performance in worship on Sunday 14 December. He is appealing to members of the congregation of any age to come forward and take part in this dramatic production. Please will you kindly speak to him if you are interested. All that is required is that you read through your part in advance and attend a short rehearsal after church on Sunday 7 December.

Cards for Good Causes will be in the Cornerstone Room again from end of October. There will be a Christmas post box in the foyer of the Church and the post will be distributed after the service on the morning of Sunday 21 Dec. Any donations in lieu of postage will be given to our Christmas charity.

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Marlow Age ConcernAre you on your own on Christmas Day? Come and spend the day with us. We will cook for you. A three course Christmas meal with sherry and wine, Christmas crackers, music and entertainment. Local transport can be provided. Contact SUZANNE BROWN 01628 475726 or JULIE LYONS 01628 473565 now if you would like to join in!

Treasurer’s Report

Weekly Offerings2014 to 5th October

Envelopes/Bank: £8,678Loose cash: £1,226Total: £9,9042013 for comparison: £11,228 Down £1,324 (11.8%) year on year

The wonders of onlineAfter an extraordinary number of bureaucratic hurdles put in our way by NatWest, your Treasurer is now able to bank online. Some of you at least will know what that means…! From my point of view, the main difference is that it allows me to make payments to suppliers using BACS transfer, saving the need to write cheques and post them. As a lot of our hall users already pay us in a similar way, it’s also very useful to be able to check our account balance at any time without having to wait for a bank statement.

You may not realise just how much of the church finances is now done over the internet. As well as the things I’ve mentioned, both the submission of PAYE information to the Inland Revenue, and the reclaiming of Gift Aid from them, can now only be done online. Fortunately, both systems work very well.

Not everything can go electronic, however, and that’s a good cue to express my thanks to our automated weekly paying-in system, otherwise known as John Wendes. John saves me a lot of work and I don’t even need a password to talk to him. Many thanks, John, for your sterling service!

Martin Ashford

Christ Church Family Panto outingThe Lane End Players are producing Sleeping Beauty in January 2015. As in previous years Jean will be organising a trip to the panto for anyone wishing to join in. This will be for the matinee performance on Sat 17 January at 2 pm.

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Tickets £10 adults and £7 concessions go on sale at the beginning of December so please let Jean know as soon as possible if you would like to come.

Burns Supper – Saturday 24 January 2015Please put this in your new diary! Christ Church Burns Night celebration will be on Saturday 24 January starting at 7 pm. Details to follow.

Colin Ferguson’s bookColin told us at his recent service that at last his first novel has been published and is available through Amazon (soon to be on Kindle). Inheritance of Secrets is the tale of a young woman’s search for her real mother in spite of the inheritance of crime, murder and abuse. Not a story for the children. In some ways it is a love story, because only love could break the barriers of evil that stand in her way. Please read and let Colin know what you think!

Happy Birthday to YOU!Mollie White was born on 10 September 1924 which makes her one of the oldest members of our Church. She was born in Paisley in Scotland, moved to England with her family but returned to Scotland to live with a favourite aunt when her mother died.

On the outbreak of war Mollie volunteered for the WRENS and became an Air Mechanic for the Fleet Air Arm. There she met Peter and they were later married but not until Mollie had spent time working with the Joint Control Commission in Hamburg after the war.

When they were first married Mollie and Peter lived in a flat in Barnes and there their first child Jane was born. When Jane was three they moved to Marlow and now Mollie can claim to be the oldest inhabitant in Spinfield Mount. Ian was born a short while later and Mollie has fond memories of those early years. There were fields of poppies behind her bungalow and the only way of getting the children to school was on foot.

Mollie was a founder member of the WI and has a certificate to prove it. She remembers fondly parties on the local green, and Scottish dancing at

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Medmenham in the Officers’ Mess. Peter was a footballer, not a dancer, but Mollie loved dancing.

Mollie and Peter joined the Church when they first came to Marlow, as it was the closest they could find to the Church of Scotland. Mollie has always appreciated the warmth, the companionship and the care she has found here.

Well done Mollie! We shall be happy to share in your celebrations on 10 September.

(interview by Sheila Wendes)

Mary Burr

Helen Mary Burr (née Dorrell) was born on 4 December 1924 at 60 Oxford Road, Marlow. Her father Sidney Thomas Dorrell was a local carpenter and wheelwright. Mary had only to cross the road to be in Sunday School and was even nearer to the Infants School which was opposite in what is now the Language School. Next came the ‘big’ girls school which was down St Peter’s Street.

While in Sunday School Mary took scripture exams. She won a Lord Wharton’s Bible, attended Band of Hope meetings, drama, keep fit and has happy memories of Sunday School treats on the steamer to Windsor.

On leaving school at the age of 14, Mary worked in the office at Stevens, corn merchants, in West Street Marlow before moving to their office in High Wycombe. Previous employees would visit the office whilst home on leave and this is how Mary met her future husband Jack. They were married at Christ Church (then known as Salem Chapel) on 30 August 1947, Jack was 31 and Mary 22. The minister was Hubert John Haggett and Mary had one bridesmaid, her cousin.

The newly-weds lived for the first four years of their married life with Mary’s mother (her father having died when she was 15) and then in a tied cottage belonging to Stevens where Jack had returned to work. They saved for their own home which they bought in 1961.

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Mary and Jack Burr, Wedding Day at Salem Chapel, 30 August 1947

Jack had been wounded in Normandy and after a time having to find lighter work he worked for the War Graves Commission. Mary worked in Budgens and then the old Waitrose. Unable to have a family, Mary and Jack were very close to their several godchildren.

Mary and Jack were keen members of the Horticultural Society and Jack was a great bowls player. Mary was an indoor bowler, only giving it up a couple of years ago. She survives Jack by 15 years. A true Marlovian.

(interview by Gladys Wright)

Doreen McGechan – born 8 July 1925

Doreen will be 90 next year. We look forward to reading your life story too, Doreen! (interview by Helen Smith)

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We are survivors! (for those born before 1940)

We were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, xerox, plastic, contact lenses, videos, frisbees and the pill. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ball point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes … and before man walked on the moon.

We got married first and then lived together (how quaint can you be?) We thought fast food was what you ate in Lent, ‘Big Mac’ was an oversized raincoat and ‘crumpet’ we had for tea. We existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers, and when a ‘meaningful relationship’ meant getting along with cousins, and ‘sheltered accommodation’ was where you waited for a bus.

We were before day centres, group homes and disposable nappies. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yoghurt and young men wearing earrings. For us ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness, a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or fried potato, ‘hardware’ meant nuts and bolts and ‘software’ wasn’t a word.

Before 1940 ‘Made in Japan’ meant junk, the term ‘making out’ referred to how you did in your exams, ‘stud’ was something that fastened a collar to a shirt and ‘going all the way’ meant staying on a double-decker to the bus depot. Pizzas, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of. In our day, cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’ was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in the coal house, a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat you had on Sunday and ‘pot’ was something you cooked in. ‘Rock music’ was a grandmother’s lullaby; ‘Eldorado’ was an ice cream, a ‘gay person’ was the life and soul of the party and nothing more, while ‘aids’ just meant beauty treatment or help for someone in trouble.

We who were born before 1940 must be a hardy bunch when you think of the ways in which the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make. No wonder we are so confused and there is a generation gap today … BUT by the grace of God … we have survived! ALLELUIA!!!

(Thanks to Jinks for contributing this to New Forum in 1999 – and to Gladys for asking me to repeat it in 2014! Plus ça change …)

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Ministry & Mission FundAs promised in the last issue here is a summary of the contents of the URC’s new brochure ‘Come to the Well’ which gives an update on the Ministry & Mission Fund. The focus is on the share of giving used to train ministers and others and on the diverse nature of the work that is funded. The Ministry and Mission (M&M) Fund covers the costs of work paid for centrally. This is predominantly the costs of supporting our ministers of Word and sacraments. The total expenditure budget for M&M in 2014 is £21m (a reduction of 3% compared with 2013 and 7% compared with our spending in 2012). The largest single item is the stipends and directly related costs of our ministers, for which we have allocated £15m in 2014. A key item to complement this funding is the money devoted to training through the education and learning budget. This amounts to a further £2m, a small proportion of which is offset by income earned by our resource centres for learning. Some of the main expenditure items are:

Initial training of ministers £650,000 Continuing training for ministers £100,000 Grants to resource centres for learning £600,000 Training for Learning and Serving (TLS) courses £100,000 Grants to lay preachers £10,000

The remaining £4m sustains the mission work of the Church funded centrally and the essential work of administration and governance. Without the support of local churches through their contributions to the Ministry and Mission Fund none of this would be possible, so “Thank You”.

The URC supports four designated Resource Centres for Learning through the M&M Fund: Northern College, the Scottish College, Westminster College and the Windermere Centre. Each has its own special way of contributing to the URC. Each is accessible for the whole of the URC and ecumenical partners.

The M&M Fund also funds the Training for Learning and Serving programme which offers courses exploring the basics of Christian life, community experiences, leading worship, pastoral care, evangelism, prayer and understanding other faiths. Interviewed in 2013, for a film which is available through the URC website, TLS students were enthusiastic about the opportunities provided by the course.

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Duty RotaNov - Dec 2014

Date Elder Steward Steward2 Nov Mrs Beck Mrs Milne Miss Milne9 Nov Mrs Brownridge Mrs Wright Mrs Bluett16 Nov Mr Flett Mrs Inman Mr Hof23 Nov Mr Rogers Mrs Hunt Mrs Wyllie30 Nov Mrs Smith Mrs Jones Dr Johnson7 Dec14 Dec DETAILS TO

FOLLOW21 Dec28 Dec

If you are able to join our stewards rota please speak to Judith Inman – she would love to hear from you. The duties are not onerous! Communion duties:

Table preparation Serving2 Nov Mrs Blair Mrs Brownridge7 Dec

Flowers Please sign up on the notice board to celebrate your birthdays etc. If you would like flowers arranged for a special occasion, please speak to Pauline Wyllie who will organise this for you, or arrange it direct with Janet Milne, Judith Inman, Alison Jones or Nicki Connolly.

2 Nov Doreen McGechan9 Nov Remembrance16 Nov Helen Smith23 Nov Brenda Read30 Nov Jean Ashford7 Dec14 Dec Carole Bailey21 Dec Flower Fund28 Dec Flower Fund

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Christ Church United Reformed ChurchOxford Road, Marlow, Bucks SL7 2NL

Sundays 10.30 amMorning Worship - Family Service and Junior Church

Holy Communion every first Sunday in the month

MinisterRevd Richard BecherTel: 01628 898820

Mobile: 07954 591366Email: becherhouse@btinternet.com

Richard will generally be available at Costa Coffee on a Tuesday and in the Church Office on a Thursday between 9 am and midday

but will also make home visits by arrangement. His day off is on a Monday.

Hon SecretaryMartin Beck11 Clarefield DriveMaidenheadSL6 5DW01628 620066

Assistant SecretaryMrs Sheila BlairMeadow CottageSchool LaneLittle Marlow SL7 3ASTel: 01628 474447

Hon TreasurerMartin Ashford24 Squirrel RiseMarlow BottomBucks SL7 3PNTel: 01628 486227

Junior Church Leadervacant

Hall bookingsEmail: bookings@christchurch-marlow.org.ukCheck your bookings via our website:

www.christchurch-marlow.org.uk

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