2005 April

As I write this we still have four rehearsals for the Passion Play to go through and, of course, the whole of Holy Week with its climax at our Lord's resurrection, which we celebrate with the great Easter Vigil - The Lord is risen - He is risen indeed! By the time you read this we shall be recalling all that follows that great event - doubting Thomas' revelation with his utterance 'My Lord and My God'; the appearance of our Lord to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and their reaction to each other 'did not our hearts burn within us as He explained the scriptures' and all that takes us up to our Lord's Ascension and Pentecost.

It reminds me that we are so privileged in our celebration of the seasons in our worship. We re-enact the story year by year with the great events of the birth of our Lord at Christmas, his death and resurrection at Easter and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As we grow in our faith, we seem to learn something new with each new account that we read or listen to. Sometimes what we read seems to speak directly to the situation that we find ourselves in and we wonder why it has not meant the same thing to us in the past. But at the centre of it all we have the great truth that our Lord was ready to give up His life to save us.

So what do we have to offer when others question us about our faith? It would not impress if we were to enter into deep theological argument, so we need not worry if that is beyond us, but a simple telling of the story with which we are so familiar - now that is a different matter. And if that story can be recounted with special reference to those occasions when the story seemed to be speaking directly to our situation - that is even better still. We must not underestimate the ignorance of so many people. Let us tell the story without any assumptions about previous knowledge. After all, even if the listener has heard it before, it may well mean something different this time round.

Let the story burn in our hearts and let us not be afraid to share it with anyone who shows interest. With a story like ours it seems criminal to keep it from those we know and love. We have been saved. Do we not want them to be saved too?

Farewell to the Reverend Joan Winterbottom

On Sunday 13th March we welcomed Joan as the preacher at both of the main services in St Nicolas' and St Mary's. This was the last 'formal occasion' on which Joan would be with us before leaving Cheltenham at the end of April to take up a new appointment in Wolverhampton, so it was our opportunity to say 'goodbye'. As a token of our love, prayers and best wishes, at St Nicolas' Joan was presented with a crucifix and at St Mary's with some book tokens and a potted arrangement for the garden.

Joan has ministered in the United Reformed Church in Cheltenham for fourteen years, working in Warden Hill and St Andrew's as well as in Prestbury and in St Paul's Maternity Hospital. We have shared Ecumenical Services with her locally and across Cheltenham. Also, as clergy, we have met together regularly and have greatly valued her friendship and support. We shall miss having Joan as a neighbour and friend but assure her of our prayerful support as she responds to God's call to this new work.

Frank Merrett

It was with sadness that we heard of the sudden death on 11th March of Dr Frank Merrett, for many years a Lay Reader in this parish. We shall publish a tribute to Frank in next month's magazine.

Andy Hughes

Andy is a member of All Saints' and has recently been recommended for training for ordained ministry. In September he will be moving to Oxford to train on a full-time basis at St Stephen's House Theological College. Andy is keen to use the remainder of his time in our Team Ministry as usefully as possible, gaining experience to prepare him for his studies. We have agreed to his taking the role of a Pastoral Assistant in the Team and as such he will be shadowing the clergy as far as possible. This means that you might meet him on a visit or at a meeting or some other event. Andy will on occasions take part in services and will also be invited to preach. We are sure that you will make Andy welcome!

New Lay Ministers of the Sacrament

At the request of the PCC the Bishop of Gloucester has agreed to the appointment of eight new Lay Ministers of the Sacrament in our Parish. This gives permission for these people to administer the Sacrament (both bread and wine) during a Eucharist and also to take the Reserved Sacrament to the sick and housebound. These new Ministers will be formally admitted to this office during the Eucharist using an official form of words which the Diocese provides.

Peter Attwood	Marion Beagley	Liz Greenhow	Peter Horne
David Lyle	Frances Murton	David Price	Andy Macauly

Christian Aid Birthday Celebrations

This is Christian Aid's 60th anniversary and we shall be celebrating it on Saturday 16th April at Holy Apostles' Church Hall, London Road. There will be a Spring Fair, opening at 10am (entry 50p to include tea or coffee), with stalls selling books, cakes, toys, toiletries, jewellery, groceries, plants, bric-a-brac, a raffle etc., refreshments and lunches. At 2pm there will be a service of thanksgiving, with a commitment to make poverty history, followed by the cutting and sharing of the 60th birthday cake. Some of us will be in charge of the grocery stall an we should be grateful if you could leave gifts for that or any of the other stalls in one of our churches the previous week. (All Saints' will be selling plants.) Above all, please come and share this special day.

So how did the youth work open evening go?

It was a fantastic evening! What most struck many visitors was the 'buzz' which greeted them on entering St Nic's.

Each group had put together their own displays - either on good old display boards or the more hi-tech PowerPoint presentations. The emphasis was on getting stuck in, not just watching. Visitors to the Synergy zone could try their hand at the Goat for it! computer game while learning about how goats could make a real difference to communities around the world struggling to survive. Following the challenge of considering God's response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, there was a chance to chill in the Labyrinth while reflecting on the presence of God and individual identity. Then it was on to Elevate, with their Fair Trade chocolate taste test. Elevate young people had devised some tough questions with the challenge for visitors to have their say to 'Big Father' on video.

In the hall there was an opportunity to learn Circus Skills or just see them on DVD along with footage of the hard work of the Holiday Projects. Dance mats, basketball and snooker gave a taste of The Space youth club.

Finally there was a chance to chill out in The Lounge - finding out about the group which meets there every Tuesday and sampling the Fair Trade tuck shop, staffed by young people.

It was fantastic to have so many visitors who were really interested in the young people and their groups. I was really excited by the thought and creativity which the young people had given to their activities and displays. Interestingly the underlying message which seemed to emerge was their passion for fairness and care around the world. Perhaps a challenge for the wider church?

The evening ended with young people, the youth team and exec members feasting on chips. The sense of togetherness was very powerful - a reflection on the value of the evening and on the relationships within the youth work. Thanks to all those top people who made it happen!

Parish Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting took place on 13th March 2005, preceded by the Vestry Meeting. There were approximately fifty people in attendance. Mrs Sue Bolton was appointed minute secretary for both the Vestry meeting and the Annual meeting. The Revd Canon Stephen Gregory chaired both meetings. He thanked the out-going churchwardens for their hard work, especially Mr Peter Attwood, who had completed his six years in office. New churchwardens and assistant wardens were elected: Mr Jerry Porter, Mrs Marion Beagley, Mr Peter Horne and Mrs Sue Bolton. There was one existing vacancy on the Parochial Church Council for a three-year term at St Nicolas', plus one more for one year only to replace Mrs Sue Bolton. Mr John Moles was elected for three years and Mrs Ruth Shaw for one year. At St Mary's, Mrs Mary Turner was elected as a Deanery Synod representative. Two more would be appointed by the PCC. Mrs Sarah Woodall was elected to serve on the PCC for three years. A comprehensive report of Parish proceedings was reported and this is available on request from the Parish Office.

Prestbury and Pittville Youth - Annual General Meeting

The first Prestbury and Pittville Youth AGM followed the Parish AGM on Sunday 13 March and, considering they were uncharted waters, was negotiated very smoothly. Father Michael Cozens, in the Chair, and Gill Wood, Hon Treasurer, presented the 2004 Annual Report and Accounts which showed a good balance carried forward, mostly for work on specific projects, so they stressed the need to raise more funds to cover running costs in 2005.

Andy Macauly's Youth Work report, detailing the very wide range of opportunities for young people now being offered, was warmly received and thanks expressed to him and his committed teams of adult volunteers and young leaders.

The new Executive Committee for 2005 was put in place. There was a big welcome for new members Julia Hook (as Hon Secretary) and Charlie Chan, both from All Saints'. Linda Biggs and Daphne Philpot were appointed by Prestbury PCC. Julie Lane and Tricia Wilson were elected by the members and Father Michael and Gill Wood continue in their roles.

Snippets from the Tower

We held our Annual General Meeting in the Tower after ringing practice on Tuesday March 8th. We were pleased to welcome Fr Michael as Chairman.

All of the Officers were re-elected. Mary Lynch continues to be Tower Captain, Jenni Scruton Secretary and Treasurer, David Lynch Steeplekeeper and Anthony Smith Quarter Peal Secretary.

The meeting closed at 10.15pm after which several ringers went up into the bell chamber to show Fr Michael the bells.

As usual during Holy Week there is no ringing and we take the opportunity to spring clean the ringing chamber and interior parts of the tower.

Youth Work Dates

Youth Team Meeting	Thursday 14 April 7.30pm in St Nicolas' Room
Elevate restarts	Sunday 17 April
Synergy restarts	Sunday 17 April
The Lounge restarts	Tuesday 19 April
The Space restarts	Thursday 21 April

The fantastic Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival (at Cheltenham racecourse!) is taking place again this year. There are contributors from around the world with performances and activities for all ages. If you wish to purchase weekend tickets, they are cheaper before 30 April. A group of young people will be camping - any young people interested very welcome to join us!

For further information about the festival, the youth camping or the chance to get discounted tickets please contact Andy Macauly. The Greenbelt website is www.greenbelt.org.uk from which it is also possible to purchase weekend tickets.

Music Tour to Prague

In February half term a group of 80 pupils from Denmark Road School went to Prague for a music tour. It took a gruelling 27-hour coach journey to reach our destination, but it was worth it. We played in two venues: the first was the church of St Simon and Juda, and the second was a retirement home. St Simon and Juda church had a wonderful acoustic, and was wonderful to play in, especially when we were told that the Prague Symphony Orchestra play there frequently. The concert in the retirement home was a smaller affair, but well attended and enjoyed by all.

We were all delighted when we woke up on the third day and discovered that a good layer (around 4 inches) of snow had fallen overnight. We all thoroughly enjoyed having snowball fights and crunching our way around the historic Jewish quarter, as we were all quite unused to that large amount of snow. It was quite different from the light dustings we have in England! I was interested to note how well the Czechs dealt with the snow; everything carried on as normal. Had the same weather happened in England, things would have definitely ground to a halt!

Other highlights of our trip were a dinner cruise on the River Vltava, a tour of the famous castle district, and a trip to the visually spectacular Black Light Theatre. However, the ultimate highlight for many of the group was the snow! We all had a thoroughly wonderful time, and are now looking forward to our next music tour. We just don't know where that will be yet!

Prestbury Parish Magazine

April 2005

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