OUR CHURCH CENTENARYThe spring is here in its full bloom; and our church community is to begin this important year of celebrations in June.A hundred years ago a new community was born with a mission and a new church was built and dedicated.Now, it is our duty and our joy to reminisce the deeds of our bygone members and continue to tell God’s wonders to the future generations. The celebrations will last a whole year and we shall keep you informed especially through this Newsletter.The church of the Good Shepherd in these past 100 years, has been a beacon of light to all around. It was the labour of love and sacrifice of many. As we celebrate this centenary, I hope and pray this church will continue to shepherd and guard its flock for many years to come.Fr FelixProximate Dates for your diary:Sunday 12th June 10.15am: Dedication Festival Sung Eucharist. Preacher: The Revd. Nicholas Jepson-Biddle (former incumbent) followed by lunch in the garden.Saturday 18th June 6.30pm: Recital by Phillippa Lay -former choirgirl here and finalist in the BBC Choir Girl of the Year 1992.A mix of opera and oratorio, classical and musical theatre. Admission by ticket, followed by drinks and nibbles.Sunday 19th June 10.15am: Inauguration of Centenary year. Solemn Eucharist presided over by The Bishop of Chichester. The Mayor and other local dignitaries will be present. This will be followed by Centenary Book launch and light refreshments.Centenary Exhibition: Saturday 25th June to Sunday 10th July, for 3 Weekends, the church will be open for viewing on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The history of the church focussing on its Art together with a display depicting some of the activities of the church and its members through the years!Sunday 10th July 10 .15am ‘Old Sheep Day!’: Sung Eucharist presided over by The Dean of Exeter, the Very Revd Jonathan Greener (former incumbent). To be followed by barbecue. Many former parishioners are being invited to join us.Centenary ExhibitionThe Centenary Exhibition will be on show in the church for three weekends – in the afternoons of Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th June, Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd July and Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th July.The theme of the exhibition will be ART of which there is an abundance in this Church. Along with the theme, the exhibition will concentrate on the colors chosen by the original architect for the church which have been carried through most recently in the choice of colors for the cloth of its chairs.The exhibition will tell the story of the church building from its beginning. It will give some explanation and background to many features, including windows, the altar, the pulpit, the font, paintings – especially the Stations of the Cross which have been acquired since the 75th Anniversary in 1997.It will feature a display of vestments and floral arrangements. In addition, the exhibition will depict some of the activities of the church and its members through the 100 years in words and photographs. This will feature coverage of the 75th Anniversary celebrations, the Millennium, parish outings and holidays abroad, the charities that have been supported and ventures for children.We hope you will come to the exhibition to learn about the history of the church in our midst and to see some of the things the church family has been doing.Light refreshments will be available for visitors. There will be a quiz for the children. The Centenary Book will be on sale together with notelets featuring an illustration of the church.Pat Hunter, for the Centenary Exhibition Committee Centenary BookOne hundred years of storiesAs the Bishop says in his letter in this newsletter, thousands of people must have visited the Church of the Good Shepherd over the last hundred years, and we know it holds special memories for many families in the parish. We asked people to share their memories and we have collated these into a book, recognising that the church is so much more than a building; it is a community.The book tells the story of the founders and those who were involved at the very beginning and details the construction of the building, and includes more recent memories too.The historical accounts give a glimpse into social history and as the stories move through the years we can observe the changes.Researching the book has enabled us to discover links with, for example, former Olympians and The Ramblers Association, but, possibly more importantly, it tells of people who quietly and faithfully supported, and were supported by, the church throughout their lives.Without the foundations built by our predecessors the Church of the Good Shepherd would not be here today and it is good to reflect as we move towards our second century.The book will be for sale from 19th June so please consider buying a copy.Inevitably we have not been able to include stories from everyone and we hope reading the book will provoke memories for others and there will be an opportunity to share these on our website- look out for details in future editions of this newsletter. Sarah Thomas, Centenary Book editorPlease find a copy of the Centenary newsletter to download from above.
