NEWSThe Christmas card tree in the side chapel is for those who wish to place on it a Christmas greeting to the whole church family, rather than sending individual cards. If you would like to make a charitable donation with the money thus saved, please use the box provided and the proceeds will be forwarded to WaterAid. Many thanks to Sarah Jane for organising this. After morning service on Sunday 10th December Sarah Jane was presented with a Christmas hamper by the PCC as a mark of its appreciation for the considerable initiative, effort and perseverance she has shown over the last two and a half years raising funds through the sale of the Learners’ legacy teddy bears. Sarah Jane added her thanks to Doreen Springall and Amy Hogan for their help in manning sales stalls at various events. There are now just 33 bears left from the original 1,300 and the cumulative total of legacy bear sales now stands at £3,108.00, which is a remarkable achievement. This money is to be spent on modernising and improving the church lighting: an appropriate use of these funds since it was Mike Learner who installed the electrics during the post-fire restoration work of 1979-1982. Many thanks to those who contributed items for the Christmas hamper, and to Jean Cooksley who made the Christmas cake. Both are to be raffled after the Service of Carols and Readings. Sunday collections in November amounted to £1,231.00. The sales table organised by Chris Bardsley raised a record-breaking £285.00, largely as a result of her highly desirable and beautiful festive greeting cards.Barsham PCC acknowledges with deep gratitude a very generous donation of £1,000.00. Many thanks also to Beccles Lions for funding the cost of love box carriage, which amounted to £429.00.Thank you for the144 items donated to the Foodbank in November, as always fully appreciated by the Revd Pam Bayliss and her team. As the calendar year comes to an end and a new one begins, the PCC would like to thankeveryone who has contributed to the life of our church through the year: in worship, at special events, in the upkeep and beautification of the church and churchyard, and in the support of charitable causes. By the same token, we should also acknowledge the commitment shown by members of the PCC in the essential and varied tasks that keep the church functioning.Best wishes for Christmas and a happy New Year!FORWARD PLANNINGThe Service of Carols & Readings will be on Thursday 21st December at 6.30pm.Mulled wine, mince pies and sausage rolls will be served after the service. The Revd Canon Philip Banks, Canon Precentor at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, will be our visiting celebrant and preacher at morning service on Sunday 24th December. There will be a service of Sung Eucharist at 10.30am on Christmas Day (no refreshments after the service).There will be no Wednesday morning services of Matins throughout the cold months of January and February. SNIPPETS – Christmas 1909 and the Madonna SewingThe large painting of the Madonna Sewing in the side chapel (photo, front cover) is eye-catching and frequently attracts the attention of visitors. It was a gift to the church from Colonel William Churchman (later Colonel Sir William Churchman, 1st Baronet, JP, DL) on Christmas Day 1909. Colonel Churchman spent most of his life in the Ipswich area and was Mayor of Ipswich in 1899/1900, but he lived for a brief period in Barsham as tenant of Ashmans Hall. He was a partner with his brother in the family tobacco firm of W A & A C Churchman, with branches in Ipswich and Norwich. In 1896 in the early days of ‘white cigarettes’, the firm installed one of the first cigarette-making machines, which could produce 20,000 cigarettes an hour, and Churchman’s No.1 became one of the most famous brands of the day.The side chapel was built in 1908, replacing an earlier one that had been demolished in 1785, and the Madonna Sewing was one of several gifts made at the time to furnish and beautify the new chapel. Thought to be early 19th century, the painting gifted by Colonel Churchman is a copy of a 17th century fresco in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Quirinale Palace in Rome. It is the same size as the original, which is one part of a series of frescos around the walls of the chapel, depicting episodes in the life of the Virgin Mary, starting with the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement to her father Joachim, finishing with the Virgin meeting God the Father in heaven and featuring an altar piece portraying the Annunciation. The Chapel was built on the orders of Pope Paul V, who employed Guido Reni, one of the great masters of the time, to paint the frescos in 1610. The Chapel was dedicated to the devotion of the Virgin Mary. It was Paul V’s private – and secret – chapel, hidden behind a mirrored door in the Tapestries Room of the Quirinale, but was nonetheless one of the great repositories of artistic treasures of the age. The painting portrays a largely domestic scene, though the arches at top right (now only dimly visible) hint at a temple and Mary’s faith, and the two angels helping her in her sewing task point to her connection with God. The meaning of the scene is clarified by the inscriptions on the scrolls, which are in Italian on the original fresco in Rome, but in Latin on the Barsham copy. The first scroll translates as, ‘He who calls her, called her from the beginning’ and refers to the divine plan of predestination for Mary as the Mother of Christ. The second scroll quotes part of a verse from Isaiah and refers to Mary’s Immaculate Conception: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son’. Originally a papal palace, the Quirinale later became the residence of the King of Italy, and since 1946 it has been the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. These days it is open to the public and it is possible to visit the chapel.January DiarySunday 31st December – First Sunday after Christmas. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 7th January – First Sunday of Epiphany. Baptism of Christ. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 14th January – Second Sunday of Epiphany. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.Sunday 21st January – Third Sunday of Epiphany. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 28th January – Candlemas. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 4th February – Second Sunday before Lent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). RevdJonathan Olanczuk.No Service of Matins on Wednesday mornings in January and February. Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSA Christmas hamper will be raffled at the Service of Carols and Readings on 21stDecember. Donations of suitable foodstuffs and drinks for the hamper would be much appreciated. Please liaise with Diana if you would like to contribute. The church was beautifully decorated with poppies, real and knitted (photo, front cover), for Remembrance Sunday. At morning service Neville Smith read the names of the Barsham and Shipmeadow men lost in the First World War, and the names of the American airmen killed in the Second World War when their B-24 Liberator bombers crashed, one in Barsham and one in Shipmeadow. The Two-Minute Silence was observed at 11:00am, followed by the National Anthem. A congregation of 28 people attended the Service of Remembrance at Barsham Village Hall on Saturday 11th November. The service was led by the Revd Josh, whose introduction to Remembrance was followed by the reading of names by Zane Blanchard, Peter Holmes and Neville Smith. The Two-Minute silence was observed at 11:00am, with the Last Post and Reveille played by a trumpeter from the Sir John Leman High School. Wreaths were then laid at the village war memorial and refreshments were available in the village hall afterwards.The PCC met for routine business on Monday 13th November and on Wednesday 22ndNovember the PCC will be holding the annual ‘Clergy Lunch’ as a means of expressing the appreciation of our entire congregation for the greatly valued service of our volunteer clergy, John Fellows and Jonathan Olanczuk. Warm thanks to everyone who filled Love Boxes. With the Beccles Red Hat Ladies, we donated 134 boxes: a record number. Special thanks to Chris and Carolyn, for their hard work in organising and running this project so successfully this year. Including the items presented at Harvest Festival, we donated a fine total of 284 items to the Foodbank in October. In her letter ahead of Christmas, the Revd Pam Bayliss of the Beccles Foodbank writes: ‘As always please would you thank your church for the donations which you so faithfully send in each week’. She goes on to explain the Foodbank Christmas plan: ‘This year we aim to fill socks! The idea is to take a pair of new socks, roll one sock up and put it in the toe of the other. Then fill the sock with small items, eg sweets, packets of tissues, small sachets of shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste and brushes, pens, chocolate money, small toys etc. Whatever your imagination takes you! The completed socks need to be labelled ‘man’, ‘lady’, ‘girl’ or ‘boy’. We will of course also be collecting sweets, mince pies, chocolates, selection boxes, puddings etc.’The monthly sales table raised a useful £50.00. Barsham PCC acknowledges with gratitude donations of £200.00 in memory of the late Peter Wittey. Many thanks to Doreen Springall whose Farm Gate Produce Stall this year raised a magnificent £391.00 for church funds.FORWARD PLANNINGThe Service of Carols & Readings will be on Thursday 21st December at 6.30pm.Mulled wine, mince pies and sausage rolls will be served after the service. There will be a service of Sung Eucharist at 10.30am on Christmas Day (no refreshments after the service).A Message from the Revd Josh Bailey for Advent“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” (Mark 13:32-33)Hopefully, even if Advent Calendars have been purchased, they have yet to be opened. This last expression of the cultural salience of Advent does manage to retain a little, if not much, of the traditional purpose of the season. Advent means ‘coming’, appearing; the Greek word is παρουσια (parousia). It is a coming that changes everything; long anticipated; immediately transformative.Jesus says something so surprising in the above passage that it seems some manuscripts assumed it was a typo and removed the offending word. Contrary to our assumption that Jesus’ divinity equates to omniscience, Jesus calmly tells His disciples that He does not know the date of His return.This gives still more force to His ensuing command. The certainty of His arrival combined with the unknowability of its day or hour creates an indefinite need for attentiveness. He is happy to entrust the specifics to His Father, but promises to continually be praying for and empowering us until that day dawns.The reason for this combination of trust and attentiveness is entirely contained within the event itself. Only two hundred to three hundred years ago, Christians had a radically different view of history. It still appears occasionally in modern accounts. On this understanding, events in the past only become understandable on the basis of what future realities they contribute towards. An otherwise random political assassination in Sarajevo on this reading becomes what we all now understand it to be: the spark which ignited the First World War. Viewing past events as in some sense determined by their consequences is frequently rejected as bad history: ‘Whiggish’ history. People in the past did not know about the consequences of their actions 50 years hence. One thoroughly modern analysis of history is that it is the catalogue of unintended consequences.But with Advent, Jesus weans us away from this human-centred, ultimately meaningless view of history. He tells us to keep watch for the ultimate future which will turn even the smallest details of our daily experience as His Church into deeply poignant steps towards the redemption of the cosmos. We cannot hope to truly discern pattern in the apparent chaos of personal and world events until the day and hour known to no-one but the Jesus’ Father.Advent is an opportunity to gaze forwards and backwards with the eyes of faith. We trust that all the events of our life and the history of the world will be clothed with glory through Jesus’ glorious appearing. We also trust that the uncertainty of date has no effect whatsoever on the certainty of the event itself.One way we will be attempting to express this as a Benefice is to approach Advent as a fasting time. Everyone is free to understand this how they wish, though one pattern that may be helpful for some is having one day in the week where we don’t eat until 3pm and avoiding meat and dairy on Wednesdays and Fridays. The reason to do this is that every time we are reminded that we would like whatever food it is, we use this as a prompt to thankfulness and prayer.DECEMBER DIARYSunday 3rd December – First Sunday of Advent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). RevdJonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 10th December – Second Sunday of Advent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.Sunday 17th December – Third Sunday of Advent. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey.Thursday 21st December – Service of Carols and Readings at 6.30pm. Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 24th December – Fourth Sunday of Advent, Christmas Eve. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.Christmas Day, Monday 25th December – Sung Eucharist at 10.30am. Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 31st December – First Sunday after Christmas. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Wednesdays at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham (except 27th December).Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSOn consecutive Sundays in September, we were pleased to welcome visiting preachers Archdeacon Sally Gaze and Archdeacon Rich Henderson. On the latter occasion, 24th September, a congregation of 53 included a Salvation Army group from Chelmsford, some of whom returned in the evening for the Barsham Equinox Event. For our Equinox Event, 58 people came over three days in the hope of seeing the rood lit by the sinking Equinox sun. 29 attended on the day of the Equinox itself. Results were mixed. Cloud obscured the sun on the evening before the Equinox, but on the day of the Equinox (23rd September) a magnificent display saw the figure of Christ gloriously illuminated. The following day, after a promising start, the sun sank into cloud at the critical moment. Many thanks to Colin for introducing the event on the first two days.We were delighted that the Right Revd Norman Banks, Bishop of Richborough returned to be our visiting preacher at Choral Evensong for Harvest Festival on Sunday 8thOctober (photo, front cover). An augmented choir led the music and the inclusion of an anthem in this fine service was a treat for all 49 in attendance. The flower arrangers had beautified the church most impressively, Colin and Margaret’s squashes were everywhere lending colour and extraordinary form, and a display of tinned produce blessed at the morning service and destined for the Beccles Food Bank decorated the front of the nave.50 guests, including Bishop Norman, sat down for a magnificent harvest supper in the village hall after choral Evensong. Excellent company and fabulous fare were complemented by the beautifully decorated tables, the whole making for a joyful and festive atmosphere. Heartfelt thanks to the team who worked so tirelessly to prepare and serve the food and drinks, decorate the tables – and clear up afterwards: all involving many hours of hard work over several days. This was quite possibly the most successful Barsham harvest supper yet and raised a record sum of £735.00 for Church funds. Thank you to everyone who has been filling Love Boxes for the Mustard Seed Relief Mission Christmas campaign. Please return all boxes before Sunday 22nd October, when the boxes will be blessed at the beginning of the Sunday service. The Beccles Lions have kindly agreed to cover the cost of carriage and representatives of the Lions will be present for the blessing. A special service of Choral Evensong in celebration and thanksgiving for the work of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust on its 50th anniversary was held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Sunday 17th September. At the invitation of H.M. Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, the Countess of Euston, who is also the Patron of the SHCT, Cheryl attended as Area Organiser for Beccles, and Malcolm and Chris Bardsley attended to represent Holy Trinity Barsham. After the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff and Resident Judge had taken their seats, the service opened with a magnificent procession, which included: the Ride and Stride Organisers, Vice Presidents of the SHCT, representatives of the Church Architects who advise PCCs on the repair and maintenance of churches, representatives of the Church Historians who research and bring to life the history of our legacy of churches, the Trustees and Officers of the SHCT. These were followed by singers from a local primary school and then the Cathedral Choir, and after them the clergy – Ecumenical and Clergy representatives, the Archdeacons, the Cathedral Chapter, the Dean, the Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia, and the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Symbolically, a bicycle leaned against the High Altar.The PCC thanks Fr Desmond Banister for his generous gift to Holy Trinity Barsham of two chasuble sets, one green and one white. Barsham PCC acknowledges with deep gratitude very generous donations of £1,000.00 and £200.00 which will greatly aid the Church finances for the current year. The sales table organised by Jenny raised a creditable £90.00.Our donations to the Foodbank in September amounted to 188 items.FORWARD PLANNINGAll Saints Day will be marked with a celebration of Holy Communion at 10am on Wednesday 1st November at Holy Trinity, Bungay. All welcome.The Service of Remembrance at Barsham Village Hall will take place on Saturday 11th November. The service will start at 10.45am and the Last Post, two-minute silence and Reveille will be observed at 11.00am. Wreaths will be laid at the village war memorial and the names of Barsham’s First World War dead will be called, as will the names of the American airmen killed when their aircraft crashed opposite the village hall in April 1944. Refreshments will be served afterwards in return for a donation. Everyone is welcome.The Commemoration of St Martin will be marked by the celebration of Holy Communion with the Community of All Hallows at 9am on Saturday 11th November at 23 Trinity Street, Bungay. All welcome. SNIPPETS – 50 Years of the Suffolk Historic Churches TrustBy the mid-20th century, the great era of Victorian church restoration was long gone and many Suffolk churches had fallen into disrepair and even ruin. Responding to this crisis in the late 1960s, Canon Fitch of Brandon wrote a manifesto detailing the dilapidation of Suffolk churches and the remedies needed. Simultaneously, Hugh Fitzroy, 11th Duke of Grafton and Patron of the Suffolk Preservation Society, was working towards establishing a body that could support the restoration and upkeep of Suffolk’s 600 churches and chapels. Out of these initiatives sprang the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust in December 1973. Initially, the Trust relied upon the generosity of benefactors and funding from County and District Councils, but the idea of the Bike Ride (later renamed Ride & Stride) was born in 1982 and this very quickly became the principal source of funding. These days Ride & Stride raises approximately £20,000 a year, half of which is returned to the churches nominated by the Ride & Stride participants, and the other half goes to SHTC, where it is added to the legacies and membership fees that make up the funds from which grants are made. (Adapted from a historical note in the order of service for the 50th Anniversary Choral Evensong)November DiarySunday 5th November – All Saints. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 12th November – Third Sunday before Advent. Remembrance Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.Sunday 19th November – Second Sunday before Advent. Safeguarding Sunday. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey. Sunday 26th November – Christ the King. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey. Wednesdays at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham.Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
NEWSAfter Sunday service on 3rd September, we were delighted to join Dick and Molly in celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary. Bubbly and a spread of tasty delights were served and a toast to Dick and Molly was proposed by Chris Lambert, their best man of 60 years ago. The magnificent Organ Recital given by Liz Vennard (photo, front cover) on Saturday afternoon 19th August attracted an audience of some 60 people. The programme included a wide variety of pieces in a range of moods, amongst them some light-hearted works by Liz herself; Mendelssohn’s stately Adagio from his Sonata No.1; Bach’s well-known Fugue in G Minor, and his fiendish Gigue Fugue, played mostly on the pedals. Marcel Dupré’s Placare Christe Servulis was my favourite, and Liz brought the recital to a triumphant close with the exuberant Sortie in Eb by Louis Lefébure-Wély. The recital was much enhanced by the entertaining and fascinating insights provided by Liz before each set of pieces. Liz very generously made no charge for the recital, enabling all £260 of donations to benefit the church. It was a great pleasure to welcome Liz back to Barsham and we hope very much that she will return again. Grateful thanks to those who prepared the delicious tea, served it and cleared up afterwards.In early September Chris Lambert launched this year’s Mustard Seed Relief Mission ‘Love in a Box’ campaign with a moving film of love boxes being opened by children in a hospital and an orphanage in Moldova. Some 600 organisations, including Holy Trinity Barsham, contribute 42,000 gifts to this Christmas campaign. Pre-wrapped boxes with instructions and starter items are now available at the back of the church for our use. There is no need to make a £5 donation towards the cost of transport as Beccles Lions have generously agreed to pay for carriage. The annual Ride and Stride event took place on Saturday 9th September. Many thanks to those who manned the church during the day, receiving 19 riders/striders; and special appreciation and thanks to cyclists Cheryl and Amy, to Sarah Jane, who walked, and Dick who also raised sponsorship. The total raised for the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and Barsham Church (half each) was more than £700 – details to be confirmed next month. 11 members of the congregation visited St Edmundsbury Cathedral on Sunday 10thSeptember. The visit began with a Reflective Pilgrimage around the Cathedral, led by our guide James, who drew our attention to significant points of interest. Prayers at the font, the Edmund Gates, the quire, and the crossing were led by Diana. Choral Evensong afterwards in the quire included the installation of vicars choral, scholars, and choristers. The beautiful singing was led by a choir of all ages from the Cathedral and Morden College. For some of the youngsters it was their very first formal service in the Cathedral Choir. Bridget read the Old Testament reading. After the service we were entertained to tea in the Cathedral Centre.On Monday 11th September a party from the Beccles Morning WI enjoyed a visit to explore the history of the church which included a walk-and-talk with Robert, entitled ‘Hidden Treasures of Barsham’, and refreshments.Through October Josh will be accompanied around the Benefice by a placement curate, Revd Diane Elkins Powell from the Sancroft Benefice. Diane will sometimes be observing and sometimes participating. We welcome her to Barsham. The August sales table organised by Bridget raised a very useful £85. Barsham PCC gratefully acknowledges a donation of £500. Very many thanks, as always, for the 202 items we sent to the Foodbank in August.FORWARD PLANNINGChoral Evensong for Harvest Festival will be celebrated with The Right Revd Norman Banks, Bishop of Richborough at 5.30pm on Sunday 8th October, followed by Harvest Supper in the village hall at 7pm. Tickets for the supper cost £10 and are available from Bridget. All Saints Day will be marked with a celebration of Holy Communion at 10am on Wednesday 1st November at Holy Trinity, Bungay. All welcome.The Commemoration of St Martin will be marked by the celebration of Holy Communion with the Community of All Hallows at 9am on Saturday 11th November at 23 Trinity Street, Bungay. All welcome. SNIPPETS – The Church Organ Like other visiting organists before her, Liz Vennard spoke well of the quality of the Barsham organ. It was designed and built in 1877 by William Hill & Son, one of the leading organ-makers of the day and installed in its current location when the vestry and organ chamber were constructed in 1880. This was in preference to an earlier plan in 1860 to place an organ at the back of the church, where the small window in the north-west corner of the nave was cut to bring light to the area. Our Hill organ was built to accommodate two manuals, but only one was installed initially, perhaps to contain the cost. A second manual was eventually added 127 years later in 2004/5, when the organ was completely refurbished as a Trafalgar Bicentennial Commemoration project. This was financed by an appeal launched under Lady Beecham, widow of celebrated conductor and impresario Sir Thomas Beecham. The new keyboard was constructed using oak that had been afloat on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and where restoration of the old organ required replacement parts, genuine Hill parts were sourced and installed.William Hill & Son supplied organs for town halls, churches and cathedrals all over England, including Birmingham Town Hall (1832), the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge (1834), Westminster Abbey (1848), Worcester Cathedral (1875) and Peterborough Cathedral (1894). Further afield, Hill organs were installed at St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town and St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney; and the town halls of Melbourne (1872), Adelaide (1877) and Sydney (1890), the last being the largest organ in the world at the time.OCTOBER DIARYSunday 1st October – Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 8th October – Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Harvest Festival. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Sunday 8th October – 5.30pm Harvest Festival Choral Evensong. Revd Josh Bailey withThe Right Revd Norman Banks, Bishop of Richborough. Sunday 15th October – Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey. Sunday 22nd October – Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Josh Bailey. Sunday 29th October – Last Sunday after Trinity. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Canon John Fellows.Sunday 29th October – 5.30pm Benefice Choral Evensong at Barsham. Revd Josh Bailey.Sunday 5th November – All Saints. 11am Sung Eucharist (BCP). Revd Jonathan Olanczuk.Wednesdays at 8.45am – Matins at Barsham, but not 4th October.Church correspondent: Robert Bacon 07867 306016, robert.bacon@yahoo.co.uk
