The Month November 2016 by Diocese of Chelmsford

Christmas starts with Christingle

November 2016

N E E D TO K N OW

I S T O R I E S I A R E A U P D AT E S I E V E N T S N E A R Y O U

Arc hdeacon’s View By VEN MARTIN WEBSTER, Archdeacon of Harlow and Principal Officer for Workplace Chaplaincy. I can remember being taken to watch my first cricket match. I am pretty certain it was Essex playing in the county championship but probably on one of the more local grounds that they used to play on back then. Sitting and playing on the boundary the possible but in my case inevitable happened – I was hit by a cricket ball! I don’t remember being hurt that much but Mum was clearly a bit distressed and was giving Dad some grief for bringing us there. Being on the boundary can be an exciting and sometimes dangerous place. Boundaries matter, they shape our lives in so many important ways, fences, white lines on roads, lines on a map. These help keep us safe but also sometimes separate us from others sometimes disastrously, for example the Berlin Wall. Many of our clergy and laity deliberately put themselves on the boundary in terms of their ministry and calling. They loiter in offices, shopping malls and shops, schools, CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Superhero is hands on

Bocking villagers celebrate Bring the kids to harvest: Turn to for Christ’s Page 12

light a candle birthday

christmasstarts.com

www.chelmsford.anglican.org

Sermon of the Year winner Natalie Collins writes exclusively for The Month

Picture special: The many faces of composer John Rutter

Page 3

Page 4

■ Reaching out to men: Centre pages ■ What's On in Essex and East London: Page 9

THE MONTH November 2016

month — 'Incorrect use can provide information helpful to criminals'

Approving the use of drones THE

“THIS summer we have become aware of a number of unauthorised incidents in which drones, or small unmanned aircraft, have been used to take photographs and a video of our church, exposing all of the metal on the roof widely across the internet,” says Steve Hasler, churchwarden at St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden. “As a church which has adopted a strict policy not to use or publish any aerial photographs as part of our approach to protect us from metal theft, we were greatly concerned when we became aware of a proposal of a local organisation to sell postcards of the church taken from a drone above Saffron Walden.” Drones offer opportunities to survey church buildings at much reduced cost as illustrated by the project carried out at Great Maplestead (above), who used an authorised operator with a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority as reported in The Month in September. However, used incorrectly by unauthorised operators they can result in unwanted publicity providing, often unwittingly, information that is helpful to criminals. “We were also approached in the summer by individuals offering to fly over the church and provide us with photographs and videos, and we found that there is very clear legislation about the use of drones which helped us to challenge these requests and to ensure that the postcards were not put on

sale,” Steve adds. The use of drones is controlled by the Air Navigation Order which has been summarised in plain English on the website of the Civil Aviation Authority: www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/ Model-aircraft-and-drones/ Flying-drones/. useful guidance can also be found on the website of the Association of English Cathedrals: www. englishcathedrals.co.uk/ documents/2016/08/ guidance-use-smallunmanned-aircraft-drones.pdf. While this has been written for cathedrals, the guidance applies equally to churches. Discussions with the church insurers for St Mary’s Saffron Walden has revealed that most drone flights are undertaken by amateur, recreational pilots who are completely unaware of the law. For example, drones ‘may

Order your directory

THE 2017 Chelmsford Diocesan Directory goes on sale at the Chelmsford Christian Bookshop, priced £10, plus £3.50 postage and packing, from November 14. The Chelmsford Christian Bookshop is open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday or you can place your order over the phone (from November 14) on 01245 294405 or email bookshop@ chelmsford. anglican.org.

not be flown over or within 150 metres of any congested area without special permission from the CAA to fly the aircraft’. A congested area is defined as 'any area of a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes'. Following further investigation, St Mary’s were able to alert the local organisation that the drone pilot who supplied the photograph for their postcard did not have the required permission from the CAA and they took the decision not to put the item on sale. Additionally, the drone pilot removed all aerial photographs of the church from their website, their Flickr account and any other place on the internet. If you have received unsolicited requests to overfly your church with a drone or to provide aerial photographs or videos, the guidance from the English Cathedrals will provide all that you need to deal with them. Following this advice will help to stop information becoming available that may be helpful to those with metal theft in mind. When a PCC wishes to use a drone to survey their church, for example, using an authorised drone operator as done at Great Maplestead is essential: the guidance from English Cathedrals will help greatly in this situation too. ● Should you have any questions about the use of drones, contact the Diocesan Advisory Committee who can offer advice.

Haiti needs your help

THE people of Haiti are in desperate need of shelter, food and water. Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful hurricane to hit the Caribbean in nearly a decade, has killed seveal hundred people, injured many more and left thousands homeless. Homes and schools have been destroyed, there is

widespread flooding and over half a million people are in urgent need of food, clean drinking water and safe shelter. Could you donate to Christian Aid to provide support to those hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew? ● £17 could help provide bedding for people sleeping in emergency shelters.

The Month, incorporating NB and East Window, is the free circulation newspaper of Church of England in Essex and East London (Diocese of Chelmsford). www.chelmsford. anglican.org/themonth ● Find Chelmsford Diocese on Twitter @chelmsdio ● Find Bishop Stephen on Twitter @cottrellstephen ● Subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/ChelmsfordDiocese ● Like us on Facebook: www. facebook.com/chelmsdio ● Like our Ask an Archdeacon Facebook www.facebook.com/ askanarchdeacon ● View our photostream on Flickr www. flickr.com/photos/chelmsford-diocese

editorial Editor: Jon Longman Editorial and photographs for The Month should be sent to: themonth@chelmsford.anglican.org or Jon Longman, The Month, 1 Bouchiers Place, Messing, Colchester CO5 9TY. Tel: 01621 810530. Mobile: 07860 769906 ● Digital photographs for publication: Please take pictures at largest size,

● £28 could provide

hygiene essentials a family needs in an emergency. ● £60 could supply materials needed to rebuild someone’s home. ● Find out more and how to help online www. christianaid.org.uk/ emergencies/hurricanematthew-appeal

resolution and compression. Hi-res JPGs or Tiffs should be re-sized to min 7x5in at 300dpi with no layers or sharpening. Captions, your name and contact details should be embedded in the 'File Info' section if possible. If e-mailing many shots, send only 72dpi initially at max size of 8x6in. When submitting photos please confirm that written consent has been obtained from parents / guardians of children under age 16 for publication of photos publicising church activities in The Month. ● The inclusion of an advertisement should not be taken as implying endorsement of the objects of the advertiser by the diocese.

advertising Please contact: Glenda Charitos, Cornerstone Vision, 28 Old Park Road, Peverell,Plymouth, Devon PL3 4PY. Tel: 01752 225623. Fax: 01752 673441. e-mail: glenda@cornerstonevision.com

distribution For distribution contact: internalcomms@chelmsford.anglican.org Tel: 01245 294443. Your newspaper will normally be available from the third Sunday in the month. Any further changes will be advised to distributors.

THE MONTH November 2016

THE

CHURCH PEWS UNCOMFORTABLE?

month — Treasures forgotten in wake of WW2 bomb

Stained glass is rescued after an eagle-eyed tip-off

THE Great Waltham church members are celebrating the rediscovery of treasures in the church tower. The 1830 stained glass windows were rescued from a dusty fate after a National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) tip-off. NADFAS is a leading arts charity which works to advance decorative and fine arts education and appreciation, alongside promoting the conservation of artistic heritage. Revd Caroline Brown, Priest-inCharge of Great Waltham with Ford End, the Chignals with Mashbury, Great and Little Leighs, and Little Waltham, said: “The stained glass is rather beautiful and had lain neglected and forgotten since World War Two when a bomb hit the churchyard. “Peter Wells and Roger Abbott rediscovered the treasure in Great Waltham church following a tip-off by the NADFAS team, which was cataloguing church items and revealed the beauty of stained glass found in a dusty heap in the tower. “NADFAS, an organisation which catalogues every item in the churches, came and discovered some 18 inch stained glass windows which had been sitting in a dusty pile in the church tower. “We thanked NADFAS for its work during the morning service on October 2 which included a presentation from

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HERITAGE PRESERVED: Great Waltham's 1830 stained glass windows were found amongst items in a dusty pile in the church tower after a tip-off from the National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies cataloguers

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“Many villagers joined us for the service and enjoyed coffee and cake afterwards.”

'Trusting in God when the right decision is the wrong one...'

NATIONAL Sermon of the Year winner Natalie Collins (right), from Langdon Hills, is a gender justice specialist. She works to enable individuals and organisations to prevent and respond to male violence against women. She is also the creator of the DAY Programme, an innovative youth domestic abuse and exploitation education programme. She speaks and writes on understanding and ending gender injustice internationally. Here is her first mini-sermon written for The Month: "EVERYTHING will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end,” says Sonny in the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film. The last few months have been challenging. Earlier this year God called my husband Baggy (yes that is his name…) to begin training as a police officer. This process involved a great deal of

NATALIE'S MUSINGS

upheaval for our whole family. I had been working full-time in freelance work and Baggy had been the children’s primary carer, working part time with a local charity. I spent months psychologically preparing myself for doing the summer holiday with three children (aged 4, 10 and 13). I spoke to God how hard it was to let go of my identity as a freelance consultant. There was a

lot of deep breathing and the mantra, “It’s all going to be okay” was repeated often. Nothing could have fully prepared me for the challenge of summer holidays with three children (we inherited the four-year-old in April, so it was our first summer with three children). If you spent August full-time parenting your children, please stop reading right now and award yourself a belated pat on the back and round of applause. The children returned to school in September and I began settling into this new season of parenting and working part time. Then it became apparent Baggy wasn’t coping with his training. I’d stopped my freelance work and now Baggy was saying he couldn’t keep going. We prayed and a week later

discerned that he should resign, the training was making him stressed and unwell. I have very little freelance work. I’ve just got used to being a fulltime parent and I’m having to restart freelancing, while Baggy begins caring for the children full-time again. We thought we knew what the plan was. We were being obedient to God and yet it still all went wrong. Often we can’t understand why things go wrong, especially when we’re trying to do what God asks us to. But I’m learning yet again that the question is not “Why?” but rather “How?”. How do we make it through? We’re doing it by trusting in God. Trusting that, just as Sonny says: "If it’s not all right, then it’s not yet the end." ● You can find out more about Natalie’s work and contact her at www. nataliecollins.info

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THE MONTH November 2016

THE

month — Writtle gets together to organise festive celebration

Christmas trees treat in store

By CANON JOHN HOWDEN IN the shops Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier every year and carols in October do seem a little over the top, but it’s never too early to plan your Christmas outings. So here is one for your diary. On December 3 and 4, there is a fantastic opportunity to get your Christmas celebrations under way. All Saints church in Writtle will be full of Christmas Trees each one individually designed and decorated by village clubs, organisations, businesses and individuals. Come vote for your favourite tree. The festival will be a musical delight with the Chelmsford Community Gospel Choir, Writtle Handbell Ringers, Writtle Singers and others providing a carolling backdrop.

As well as the trees, on Saturday, December 3, there will be a Christmas Craft Fair in the Writtle Christian Centre (alongside the church). All sorts of ideas for that unusual and unique present to delight the eye and to suit every pocket. If you have never been to a Christmas Tree Festival – come, and make 2016 'The Year of the Tree'. If you have been to us before, come again – 10am until 5pm on Saturday, December 3, 12noon until 5pm on Sunday, December 4. The Craft Fair is open on Saturday from 10am-4pm only. It’s a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. ● More details from John Howden on 01245 422023, see the festival website www.gosaints. co.uk or follow us on Facebook @AllSaintsWrittle.

A CELEBRATION of Lay Ministry at Chelmsford Cathedral on October 8 saw 38 people from across the diocese being licensed and commissioned as Lay Ministers by John Wraw, the Bishop of Bradwell. The day began with Professor David Ford leading Bible conversations, followed by a non-Eucharistic celebration of the ministries of Licenced Lay Ministers, Evangelism Enablers and Pastoral Assistants.

The many faces of John Rutter

●

Cathedral photographer Nick Robinson captured the expressive faces of popular composer John Rutter conducting his own works at a ‘Come and Sing’. The day’s choral singing in Chelmsford cathedral included John’s new work called The Gift of Life, a celebration of the living earth, of creation and of life itself.

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THE MONTH November 2016

THE

month — Essex Life Community Magazine Awards

THE annual Essex Life Community Magazine Awards competition, organised by Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) with backing from Essex Life, the Diocese of Chelmsford and Newport News, saw AMBO beat off strong competition from The Link (Stansted Mountfitchet), Writtle and Theydon Bois. There was also an best new entry award for the Maplestead Magna Carta from Great Maplestead. The Month editor Jon Longman, a member of the panel of judges, said: "The Community Magazine Awards bring together church and civil parishes in recognition that both serve the whole of the community for the common good. "It was noteworthy that the non-church magazines carried copious amounts of church news. "Church magazines have an opportunity to serve the whole community by creating links and carrying local news and information." The Billericay Town Crier and The Lavers & Matching News received Highly Commended awards and Merit Awards went to Debden Parish Pump, Fyfield Focus, The Yellow Book from Steeple Bumpstead and the Tollesbury & Salcott Parish Magazine The RCCE competition is designed exclusively for magazines edited and put together by volunteers and attracted more than 40 entries. Commenting on the competition, the RCCE's Executive Director, Nick Shuttleworth said: “To judge from the entries received this year, these dedicated volunteers are doing more than ever to keep local people informed and aware of what’s happening in their area. “Community magazines appear to be more popular than ever.” The winners received their awards at a reception at The West Street Vineyard in Coggeshall.

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Finalist Award for Langford & Ulting team

CONGRATULATIONS go to the editorial teams of the Langford & Ulting News, Interface (Felsted, Flitch Green & Little Dunmow), Great Bentley Parish News and The Braxted Bulletin.   The Langford & Ulting News, a church magazine, was one of the four magazines that picked up Finalist Awards in the Essex Life Community Magazine Awards 2015. The 15 prize winners, listed in the panel (left), were presented with their awards by Nicholas Charrington, chair of the Rural Community Council of Essex, and Roger Morris, Bishop of Colchester. Irene Allen, of the Langford & Ulting News, is pictured (above) receiving her prize from Nicholas (right) and Bishop Roger.

Chaplains loiter with intent!

FROM FRONT PAGE universities, airports, hospitals and so on. The overall name we give them is Chaplain (the word derives from the old French chapelain which in itself is derived from the medieval Latin capellanus). Their task is take the sense that God is not just present in churches but is in the places where people seek to work or find leisure. They also bear witness that the Christian Church is interested in all parts of a person’s life. Predominately chaplains don’t evangelise directly, but loiter with intent. Building relationships so as to be a support in work situations. They are there when there are crises in a person’s life, when a person who

IN MY VIEW

would never turn up at a church to seek help but now, because they know the chaplain, it can arise naturally in their encounter. it takes a certain sort of person to be this sort of chaplain, not just because some of the situations like a police station or hospital are places where human life can be very exposed, but mainly they need to have a confidence about their faith and being with all sorts of people. Certainly they should know how to talk but mainly have a profound listening ear, listening to the person, the organisation and to the voice of God in situations far beyond their

training. A lot of the time they may well feel peripheral to the organisation, or nothing happens, but always they are opening doors of possibility that wouldn’t have been there if they hadn’t been ‘loitering’. It might be this sort of ministry interests you so talk to a chaplain and see what they get up to but the central issue to be discerned is this: is God calling you onto the boundary in human life? You might get hit by the equivalent of a cricket ball but it will be exciting and you will be doing God’s incredible work. VENERABLE MARTIN WEBSTER Archdeacon of Stansted and Principal Officer for Workplace Chaplaincy

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month — A challenge to the Church in today’s Britain

Reaching me THE

EVANGELISM is a high priority for every church in the diocese but there is the tough challenge of reaching men for Christ in today’s Britain. NORMAN CROSSLEY, leader of the men's group at St Mary's in Churchgate Street, Old Harlow tells the story of how his church met this challenge and the encouraging results... WHY has it become so difficult to attract men not only to attend our churches, but more than that, to receive and embrace the Christian faith? Look around our churches at any Sunday worship service, and you can virtually guarantee that you won’t see a lot of men in the congregation. And those that are there tend to be the older generation. Why is this? What’s not to like about following the most attractive and the most charismatic male in human history? It would be instructive to carry out a poll amongst the man-in-the-street here in Harlow and elsewhere to find out just how most would describe Jesus as a man.

'Why has it become so difficult to attract men to attend church?' It’s a fair guess that the majority would see him as strong, a terrific leader of men, brilliant teacher, a tremendous healer, attractive to women, and many other things as well. But it’s also a fair guess to say that perhaps not many would describe Jesus as God on earth. Jesus is calling men to follow him, just as he called those first disciples, who left their fishing livelihoods to follow Jesus willingly and without reservation, not knowing what they were getting themselves into. So if the Church is to reach out and convince men of their need for God, in the

NEWS FILE

person of Jesus Christ, where do we start? How do we get a man excited about Jesus? Because that’s what we need to do if we are to convince him that Jesus is someone to get excited about. Could it be that as the church which represents Christ in our diverse, largely secular society of today, we cut so little ice because we are almost afraid of proclaiming the Good News? And it really is good news that God loves us, that we are the jewel of his creation, that in Jesus we have the promise of forgiveness for our waywardness, and that in Jesus we are given the total assurance of life into eternity. Is that not exciting enough just for starters? But imagine that as an uncommitted male we were to walk into any church on a Sunday to join in worship with the faithful, or call uninvited into a weekly fellowship group somewhere in the parish. Be honest. Would we find it exciting, something we couldn’t wait to find out more about? How are we to engage the largely don’t-want-to-know man, who may be the man next door, or the man we chat to at the gym, or even a close friend we go out for a drink with, but who we’ve never quite summoned up the courage to talk about our faith with? Never easy, and there are no easy answers, but we have to start somewhere. It’s our God-given, Christ-given commission. We are Christ’s ambassadors, charged by him to go out and make disciples of all nations, just as the early disciples were, and look what they achieved. In our church in Old Harlow, during a parish weekend away, some of the men present felt a moving of the Holy Spirit, inspiring us to find a way forward to involve more men in the life of the church. Many ministers find that it is far easier to attract women into the church than their spouses and partners. This can even cause tensions within a household, when the woman becomes involved in the local church and her man is left brooding and

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resentful at home. It has happened in our own parish in Harlowon occasion, at a time when many young women were becoming regular worshippers in our church, with no sign whatever of their menfolk wanting to join them. It was a challenge we met then, and it’s a challenge right now for us today. As a follow-up to the parish weekend, we had a meeting of interested menfolk, and prayerfully decided to send out invitations to all the men we knew of who had any connection whatever with our church, past or present. Ninety-five men were identified, which frankly amazed us. We had no idea that there would be so many. It was decided that the best way forward would be to start up monthly men’s early Saturday morning breakfasts, and to invite all those on the list to the first one, which we planned a couple of months ahead to give us time to organise ourselves. Invitations were duly sent out, and to our astonishment, more than 50 men responded and attended that first breakfast.

'Most of the men are involved in all manner of activities' In the meantime, we had set up a small steering committee of the men who had been instrumental in the early stages of the vision, whose task was to plan for a whole year ahead. The breakfasts would be the springboard and cement, creating easy social fellowship among the men, many of whom didn’t know each other at the start. Then other activities or attractions would be built into the programme to keep interest going, such as regular Saturday morning walks, a photographic group, a men’s evening meal out, occasional speakers at the breakfasts, periodic breakfasts away at a Harlow carvery or high street cafe and so on. We planned family days out to the seaside at Frinton, evening family walks and the like, and all of these proved to be real Church-building occasions. Then at least twice a year we planned parish family breakfasts. These proved to be an enormous success, regularly attracting well over 50 parishioners, and we amazed them all with the men’s prowess at cooking and the serving up of the copious and varied amounts of food. The breakfasts, both for the men alone, and also for the families, have been a huge success. Last autumn, we planned and held a Feast of Tabernacles supper in the church building, with more than 90 people coming to enjoy a really great feast, all cooked and served by the men’s group. Some men are now on the Parochial Church Council since joining the men’s group. The initiative of setting up a men’s group has been of great

THE MONTH November 2016

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en for Christ

Pre-Christmas Events 2016

All Craft Exhibitors at our events are Guild Members, bringing you a wide range of genuine locally produced crafts of exceptional quality at affordable prices. The Guild is a Non-Profit Making Organisation. Surplus Funds raised are donated to the Essex Air Ambulance.

The Events listed below offer a unique opportunity to purchase some truly original Christmas Gifts:

Saturdy 3rd & Sunday 4th December Hylands House Chelmsford CM2 8WQ Approx: 50 Exhibitors

Open 10am to 4:30pm each day Event included in the Normal House Entry Charge of £3.80, Concessions £2.80 (Under 16’s Free) Ample Free Parking. Tea Room Open.

Saturday 10th December

St Mary Magdalen Church High Street, Billericay, CM12 9BQ

Open 10am to 4pm. Free Admission. Free Parking in nearby Town Centre Car Park.

TUCKING IN: The Feast of Tabernacles family supper arranged by the St Mary's Old Harlow men’s group ready for service (below)

benefit not only to the men themselves, but to the church as a whole. Perhaps inevitably, attendance at the men’s breakfasts has now settled down to a committed regular number of around 25, a big reduction from the number who attended that very first breakfast. But some pretty amazing things have happened to that regular core of the men’s group. Most of the men are involved in all manner of activity within the church, helping out in a variety of ways.

A men’s fellowship group has started up, as a result of a number of the men wanting instruction in the Christian faith. The programmes adopted so far in that group have been an ‘off the wall’ approach to learning about God’s call, though still covering the essentials. Men tend to like being challenged with exciting and debatable questions, so the usual straightforward Bible study has been eschewed in favour of really big issues. For a group just feeling the ropes,

theregular type of Bible study most church fellowship groups embrace might (dare one say this?) be too boring for them. The group is now highly valued by the men themselves, and all in the process have given their lives to Christ. The parish is planning a major outreach to the whole community of our large village soon. Every family will be invited to social and worship events held in and around the church building. It will require an enormous amount of energy and planning if it is to be a success. The men’s group will be the foot soldiers whose job will be initially to deliver upwards of 2500 invitations through the doors of the villagers. Quite a task, but one the men will involve themselves in enthusiastically. There is nothing particularly different here to what has already been done in many churches to build up the involvement of believing (and unbelieving) menfolk. What’s happened here isn’t a new idea. But there is no doubt that the involvement of an enthusiastic group of men can give enormous impetus to the life of a church. We need to win men for Christ. It’s only a start, but it’s a good start. ● Connecting men to Jesus and the church to men is the aim of Christian Vision for Men. Visit this organisation’s website at www.cvm.org.uk.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1 (ESV)

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THE MONTH November 2016

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THE MONTH November 2016

THE

month — What’s on near you during this autumn in Essex & East London

Every Sunday ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. See advertisement on back page for complete list of main services in the cathedral. Monday-Saturday ● Kings Cafe (above Aldi),, London Road, Lexden, Colchester. Monday-Friday 10am-4pm; Sat 10am-2pm. Wednesday, October 19 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. Thursday, October 20 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Taking Funerals Seriously — A day to engage with the research and resources emerging from the Archbishop’s Council funded work around funeral ministry, tried and tested in parishes and shown to make a difference. 9am to 5pm, Cornerstone Church 149 Canterbury Road, Leyton, London, E10 6EH. The cost is £5 per delegate or £10 for a parish group of up to three people. Contact vross@chelmsford.anglican. org ● The Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 9.30am4.30pm. Managing Historic Places of Worship A free course with Historic England. Are you a volunteer looking after a listed church or other place of worship? Do you wonder how to adapt it for the 21st century? Would you like to get help from heritage experts and your fellow volunteers? If so Managing Historic Places of Worship is for you. The day is designed especially for church officers and volunteers responsible for the fabric of a listed building. Some of the East’s key advisers will be on hand to help you think through your plans for developing and adapting your building – finding solutions which help you sustain and enhance it. Reserve your place today by visiting https://www. eventbrite.co.uk/e/managing-historic-placesof-worshipeast-of-england-registration-25400941901 Friday-Sunday, October 21-23 ● St Peter and St Paul, High Street, West Mersea CO5 8QE. 7pm. Visit and talk by Michael Hardin, Writer, Theologian and "regular dude who occasionally likes to read a book" who will be visiting Mersea Island from the USA with his refreshing takes on life. Sat: 10am-3pm Seminar. Sun: 7pm Talk. Friday, October 21 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime Concert by the Salvation Army Band. Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments are available in the Cathedral from 12 noon, or you are welcome to bring your own if you wish. Saturday, October 22 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 7pm. Flanders & Swann & More. James Davy and Laurence Lyndon-Jones sing well-known and well-loved songs at this informal concert to raise money for the Cathedral Choirs' Association Tickets £8 available from the Cathedral, including a glass of wine on arrival. ● St Andrew's Church Hall, Althorne CM3 6BY. 10am4pm. Display of Photographs 'old & new' of Althorne, and also Latchingdon & Mayland. Entrance £2 in aid of Essex Air Ambulance. Refreshments and Raffle. Sunday, October 23 ● All Saints' church, Epping Upland. 3-5pm. Sunday Afternoon Teas at All Saints’ Church. Enjoy our lovely rural setting and fantastic views, whilst tasting delicious home-made cakes, tea and coffee. Dog friendly church and have water bowls and biscuits for our four legged friends. This year, we hope to run a series of Extra Special Sunday Afternoon Teas with events happening in the Church. ● St Peter’s-in-the-Forest church, Woodford New Road, Walthamstow E17 3PP. Noon-5pm. Walkers’ Cafe Church. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with a piece of home-made cake while visiting E17's least-known church, hidden in a strip of Epping Forest, yet easily reachable by bus (number 20 stops yards away), by bicycle, or on foot. Learn about the 176-year history of the listed building, including its links to the Warner family, and the plans for the future. Depending on the weather, either relax in the tranquillity of the churchyard, or take shelter inside. ● St. Catherine's church, East Tilbury Village, RM18 8PB. 2-5pm. The church is open for tea and homemade cakes. Make time to visit the ancient church of St. Catherine's (St. Cedd's other church in the diocese) which has recently been extended and refurbished. Also why not visit the adjacent historic Coalhouse fort and its country park. Wednesday, October 26 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. Thursday, October 27 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 7.30pm. The Welsh Society meets in the Chapter House. Friday, October 28 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime

Concert by Gaudeamus (mixed choir). Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments available in the Cathedral from noon, or you are welcome to bring your own. Suday, October 30 ● St. Catherine's church, East Tilbury Village, RM18 8PB. 2-5pm. The church is open for tea and homemade cakes. Make time to visit the ancient church of St. Catherine's (St. Cedd's other church in the diocese) which has recently been extended and refurbished. Also why not visit the adjacent historic Coalhouse fort and its country park. ● St John the Baptist Church, Danbury CM3 4NG. 5pm. The Choir of St John the Baptist, Danbury, and their friends, in the peace, calm and tranquillity of the candlelit Church of St John’s celebrate a service of All Souls’, featuring Fauré’s Requiem. If you are a singer and would like to join the choir for this service, please speak to Paul Hagger on 01245 400079 before 20th September. If you wish to commemorate a departed friend or relative at this service, please email Paul (paulhagger@btinternet.com) with their name for inclusion on the list of the faithful departed. Tuesday, November 1 ● St Paul’s Cathedral, London EC4M 8AD. 5pm. A celebration of Black and Minority Ethnic Saints Eucharist for All Saints. This Eucharist launches the start of a year of events marking the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of CMEAC. The year will be completed in 2017 with the launch of a new publication: Inspired Souls: Black Saints and Holy People from around the World. Wednesday, November 2 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. ● Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock. 1-3pm. Café Theology. Meet at the Food Court. ● Library at the Diocesan Office, 53 New Street, Chelmsford. 1pm. The Chelmsford Christian Bookshop Reading Group. Everyone is welcome and it is free to join in. For details and encouragement, please contact the bookshop on 01245 294405 or email bookshop@chelmsford.anglican.org Thursday, November 3 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10am. Mothers Union Corporate Communion in St Cedd’s Chapel. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 8pm. Mothers’ Union Evening Section meets in St Cedd’s Hall. ● St Laurence church, Corbets Tey Road, Upminster. 1.05pm. Free lunchtime concert. Retiring collection. Car parking available. Friday, November 4 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime Concert by Stephen King (organ). Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments are available in the Cathedral from 12 noon, or you are welcome to bring your own if you wish. ● Becket Keys Church of England Secondary School, Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood CM15 9DA. 7pm. An Evening With Terry Waite. The former Archbishop of Cantebury's Special Envoy, Terry Waite will be speaking about his time in this role, his 5 years in captivity and charitable work since. Tickets are limited. www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-terry-waitetickets-27993316764?aff=affiliate1 Saturday, November 5 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10am-12 noon. Cathedral Coffee Morning in the Chapter House. Come and enjoy fresh coffee, home-made scones and a bring & buy. ● St John’s church, Church Lane, Loughton. 6pm. Fireworks Display. Bonfire at 6.45pm and Fireworks at 7.00pm. ● St Luke's church, Tiptree CO5 0SU. 2-5pm. RSCM's 'As you like it' or 'What You Will' Organ event with John Rippin. A suitably Shakespearean title in this the 400th anniversary year. When you register, you will have the opportunity of stating what aspects of the organ and its music you would particularly like to be dealt with. The pedals? Registration? Explanation and use of the stops? Why does it do that when I do this? And so on. The afternoon will be built round your ideas and requests which we hope will be of use to all those taking part. Please download and complete the registration form from www.rscm-eel.org.uk and send it with your cheque (payable to rscm-eel) to e. Van der Walt 41 Laburnum Way, Witham, CM8 2NY not later than Saturday, October 29. For any further information or assistance, please contact Emmelia by emailing: emvdwalt543@gmail.com or ring her on 01376 516565 or 07940512407. ● Committee Room, Saffron Walden, Town Hall. Noon. Sale of postage stamps in aid of St Mary's. Thousands of stamps and a warm welcome. Sunday, November 6 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. ● Seven Kings High School, 494 Ley Street, Ilford IG2 7BT. 5.30pm. Valentine Singers Concert, Flights of Fantasy, featuring: Rutter: The Reluctant Dragon; Parry: The Pied Piper of Hamelin; Folksongs of Hungary and America; Ravel: Mother Goose Suite. Conductor: Christine Gwyn, Piano: Tim Smith, Tenor:

Greg Tassell.Alto: Matthew Venner, Narrator: Martyn Richards. Tickets: £12 £7 students benefit holder (£14 / £9 on the door) Under 16’s free. Box Office 020 8550 4654. Book online from www.valentinesingers.org Monday, November 7 ● Chelmsford Cathedral.10 for 10.30am. Mothers Union Council Meeting. Bring a lunch. Wednesday, November 9 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. Thursday, November 10 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 2pm. Mothers'Union Afternoon Section meet in St Cedd’s Hall. ● Ilford Hospital Chapel, Ilford Hill, Ilford IG1 2AT. 7.30pm. Diocesan Church Union Annual Requiem Mass. Preacher - Bishop Stephen. Refreshments available after the service. Friday, November 11 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime Concert by Alva Musica (flute & piano). Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments are available in the Cathedral from 12 noon, or you are welcome to bring your own if you wish. Sunday, November 13 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. Wednesday, November 16 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. ● House of Retreat, The Street, Pleshey, Chelmsford. 9.45am-4pm. Timing Out in Advent’. A BRF Quiet Day with Gordon Giles. £30.00 (including lunch). To book, simply contact us by post, or telephone us on 01865 319700. You can also order online at our website www. brfonline.org.uk/2016-programme/. If booking by post, please send payment in with your booking and provide full names of all who are attending to Quiet Days, BRF, 15 The Chambers, Vineyard, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3FE. If you wish to receive a receipt, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thursday, November 17 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. Friday, November 18 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime Concert by Forest School Big Band. Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments are available in the Cathedral from 12 noon, or you are welcome to bring your own if you wish. ● Life Church, Chelmsford CM2 0HG. 7pm. Watch by Riding Lights Theatre Company. This performance is sponsored by Christians Together in Chelmsford, Simeon's Watch - a puzzle in the family at Christmas. Saturday, November 19 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am-12.30pm. Echo Event. Day aimed at young people and young adults who are looking, even at the very earliest stages, to explore God's calling on their life, especially to ministry in the Church. www.chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk/bookevents ● All Saint's Church, Romford Road, Chigwell Row. 7.30pm. Handel's Messiah. Concert Entrance £14 (concessions £10). Tickets can be obtained from 020 8500 8313 or at the door Cantamus Bach Choir and Cantamus Bach Orchestra of London. Conductor: Peter Macdonald. ● Christ Church URC, 164 New London Road, Chelmsford CM2 0AW. 7pm. CHESS (Churches Homeless Emergency Support Scheme) Charity Concert Sunday, November 20 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. Wednesday, November 23 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. Thursday, November 24 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 7.30pm. The Welsh Society meets in the Chapter House. Friday, November 25 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 12.30-1.15pm. Lunchtime Concert by Maria Stratigou (piano). Admission is free, but we welcome your contributions, which are divided between various charities and Cathedral expenses. Light refreshments are available in the Cathedral from 12 noon, or you are welcome to bring your own if you wish. Saturday, November 26 ● St Michael’s Church, Gardner Hall, Fobbing. 11am3pm. Church Bazaar. Stalls: cakes, gifts, tombola, books. Refreshments and much more. ● St John's Church, Church Road, Southend on Sea, SS1 2AL. 6pm. Concert of Christmas music by Allegro Choir.

● Althorne Church Hall CM3 6BY. 11am-3pm. Christmas Bazaar. ● St John's Church, Church Road, Southend on Sea SS1 2AL. 10.30am-2pm. Christmas Tree Festival and Community Fair. Christmas trees decorated by local Charity groups, stalls, refreshments, See Father Christmas. ● St Mary's Maldon, Church Street, Maldon. 10.30am. Christmas Bazaar. Grand Draw, Hot Lunches, Cakes, Jam, and various stalls. ● The Room in the Rodings, Dunmow Road, Beauchamp Roding CM5 0PF. 10am-4pm. Christmas Market to raise money for St Botolph's Church funds. Gifts, refreshments, decorations, Christmas Craft Market. Craft and food stalls, refreshments, raffle, tombola, plus Father Christmas. Admission £1 (accompanied children under 16 free). ● Budworth Hall, High Street, Chipping Ongar CM5 9JG. 9.30am-1pm. St Martin's Chipping Ongar with St Peter's Shelley Christmas Bazaar. Refreshments and home-made cakes, stalls include, cards, china, soft toy tombola, pottery, knitted crafts, plants, bric-a-brac, honey, bottle tombola and many other Christmas gift ideas. Admission free. Free parking in Ongar Library Car Park. ● St George's Church Hall, Ongar Road (near Robin Hood roundabout), Brentwood. Noon-2pm. Brentwood's brilliant Bazaar. Gifts Galore on sale and tempting cakes, toys and games, toiletries and jewellery, books & DVDs. Charming Chocolate Tombola - and Tin & Bottle Tombola. raffles and refreshments. Event in aid of Church Funds. Tel 01277 213618. Admission 50p. Sunday, November 27 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. Wednesday, November 30 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. Thursday, December 1 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10am. Mothers' Union Corporate Communion in St Cedd’s Chapel. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 8pm. Mothers’ Union Evening Section meets in St Cedd’s Hall. ● St Laurence church, Corbets Tey Road, Upminster. 1.05pm. Free lunchtime concert. Retiring collection. Car parking available. Saturday, December 3 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10am-12 noon. Cathedral Coffee Morning in the Chapter House. Come and enjoy fresh coffee, home-made scones and a bring & buy. ● Friends of Messing Church Christmas Fayre. Village Hall, Messing, Tiptree CO5 9TY. 10.30am-2pm. Many stalls. ● St James' Church, Tower Road, Clacton on Sea CO15 1DA. 7.30pm. Clacton Choral at Christmastide. ● All Saints (Church Avenue, E4), Highams Park. 10am-3pm. Christmas Bazaar. Various stalls, Santa’s Grotto, tombola etc; refreshments including a selection of lunch options. Entrance: adults 50p, children free. Saturday-Sunday, December 3-4 ● All Saints' church, Writtle. Christmas Tree Festival. For full details, see story on page 4. Sunday, December 4 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong. Wednesday, December 7 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 1-3pm. ‘Welcome on Wednesday’ in the Cathedral with our lay chaplain Jean Standen; tea/coffee and cakes. All welcome. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 9.30am. Baby and Toddler Group. ● Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock. 1-3pm. Café Theology. Meet at the Food Court. ● Library at the Diocesan Office, 53 New Street, Chelmsford. 1pm. The Chelmsford Christian Bookshop Reading Group. Everyone is welcome and it is free to join in. For details and encouragement, please contact the bookshop on 01245 294405 or email bookshop@ chelmsford.anglican.org Thursday, December 8 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 10.45am. Faith and Fitness. A free fitness class with a difference for all ages and abilities. The session will include a prayer, a workout and meditation to improve your physical and spiritual health and well-being. ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 2pm. Mothers' Union Afternoon Section meet in St Cedd’s Hall. Sunday, December 11 ● Chelmsford Cathedral. 3.30pm. Evensong.

December 2016 diary deadline

● Submit event details at www.chelmsford. anglican.org/eventsform or call Sarah Newman on 01245 294443 by November 1 for inclusion in The Month and on the diocesan website. Latest events ● You can find the latest events online at www.chelmsford.anglican.org/faith/calendar ● Cathedral events can be viewed online at www.chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk/eventsdiary.

THE MONTH November 2016

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The scale of drug and alcohol problems in the UK According to figures from the National Treatment Agency, it is estimated that 293,879 people age 15-64 are opiate or crack cocaine users in England. The Office for National Statistics reported in November 2006 that the alcohol related death rate in the UK doubled from 4,144 deaths in 1991 to 8,386 deaths in 2005. Gilead Foundations, working in collaboration with RECIC, has a continual success rate of 85%* for people measured two years after completing our rehabilitation programme. *Surveyed in 2014

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INVITE A USPG SPEAKER TO VISIT YOUR CHURCH We would love to visit your church to talk about our work in partnership with Anglican Churches around the world. USPG Speaker Tricia Hamilton says: ‘The joy of being a USPG Speaker is helping congregations to understand the desperate needs which exist in our world, and how together we can really make a difference.’

6/10/16

Fellowship Afloat Charitable Trust, a Christian outdoor adventure centre based at Tollesbury on the Essex coast, seeks to appoint an

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month — Nazeing in running for a big award from Bags of Help initiative

Priority services in emergency plans

HOW would you cope if you had no electricity for a short while? In the rare event of a power cut, you can get help from UK Power Networks which looks after the electricity network in your parish, no matter who you pay your energy bill to, and also runs a free Priority Services Register for people with medical needs, families with babies and the elderly. Being on the Register gives you free access during a power cut to services including a welcome pack with useful advice about preparing for a power cut, a home visit by their staff or the British Red Cross and a 24-hour priority phone number. ● To join the Priority Services Register for extra help during a power cut call 0800 169 9970, email psr@ ukpowernetworks.co.uk, or visit ukpowernetworks.co.uk/priority.

Brentwood in Bloom awards clean sweep

FOUR Brentwood Deanery churches entered the Brentwood in Bloom church grounds competition and walked away with the top four prizes. In reverse order, the winners were: 4th: St Nicholas Kelvedon Hatch 3rd: All Saints Doddinghurst 2nd: St Mary's Shenfield 1st: St George the Martyr Brentwood. Revd Garry Jenkins, of St George the Martyr, said: "Gardeners from each church met at the awards ceremony at Bennetts Funeral Directors and enjoyed passing on gardening tips - and moaning about weeds, badgers, moles and deer. "Hopefully, more of our Deanery churches - and those of other denominations - will enter their church gardens and grounds in next year's Brentwood in Bloom contest."

Worship & Prayer at Chelmsford Cathedral A warm welcome to your cathedral, serving Essex and East London

Sunday 8.00am 9.30am 11.15am 3.30pm

Holy Communion Parish Eucharist Choral Eucharist Evensong

Daily Services 7.45am 8.15am

Morning Prayer Holy Communion (also Weds at 12.35 and Thurs at 10am)

12.00pm Midday Prayer 5.15pm Evensong (sung on Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri)

www.chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk

All Saints’ churchyard up for Tesco green award

ALL SAINTS’ Nazeing is in the running for a big award from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, which will be used to improve the churchyard. Tesco has teamed up with Groundwork on its Bags of Help initiative, which sees grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects. Three groups in each of Tesco’s 416 regions have been shortlisted to receive the cash award. All Saints’ church and churchyard has been shortlisted for one of these three awards in the region. Shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant. The voting will open on October 31 and close on November 13. Shoppers will be able to vote at the two Tesco Express stores in Hoddesdon. All Saint’s Project is designed to improve drainage in the churchyard, restore ancient hedgerows, replace trees and make some improvements to churchyard parking. The Nazeing churchyard becomes very waterlogged during the winter and wet periods, so the church aims to restore former ditches and soakaways to improve drainage andrestore the hedgerow across the end of the churchyard. Plans include removing and replacing straggly trees with more appropriate ancient tree species which will produce fruit and nuts for wildlife. The churchyard is a Local

Bocking Messy Church fun and games

Wildlife Site as designated by Essex Wildlife Trust, and is home to a rich diversity of plants, animals, birds and bats. The church hopes to involve the community, especially children and young people, in projects and events to learn about the churchyard and its wildlife and to support threatened species, working in partnership with Epping Forest Countrycare. If they secure one of the larger awards, the PCC also aim to improve the surface of the church field car park so that it can be used as an overspill car park for big events without cars continuing to get stuck in the mud when it is wet. "We are really excited to have been shortlisted for one of these awards," said Nazeing's Priest-inCharge, Helen Gheorghiu Gould. "It means we can implement

the churchyard management plan we have been preparing for two years, but lacked the funds to achieve ourselves. "At last, we can tackle the flooding in some parts of the churchyard, restore our hedges and we can improve the habitat for God’s creatures. "With this project we hope more in our community can come to appreciate a very special, holy and ancient part of Nazeing, where so many loved ones have been laid to rest for hundreds of years." Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “The first round of the Bags of Help initiative was a fantastic success. In total 1,170 community groups were awarded £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000 - that’s a massive £11.7 million being invested into local projects. We are already seeing

COVER STORY

ST MARY’S Bocking celebrated Harvest Festival. The Friends of St Mary’s organised a barn dance at Bocking village hall and a great turnout from the congregation and the local community raised nearly £400. The Sunday morning service of thanksgiving welcomed members of the local unformed organisations. Donations were given to Braintree Foodbank. A Messy Church event on the Sunday afternoon had a Harvest theme with more then 90 children and 70 adults joining the fun. Leah, Harry, Eleanor and Jacob are pictured enjoying making salt dough. Priest-in-Charge, Revd Rod Reid (pictured right on a tractor) said: "It was wonderful to work in partnership with J E Tabor Farms who farm the fields around the village. Joe and Emma Gray, who run the farm, were present with other members of the family. They brought

samples of the crops that they grow and also brought two tractors down with them. "Children and adults had the opportunity to have a close look at the tractors and even sit in the cabs and pretend to drive them." Rod added: “It has been wonderful to celebrate Harvest together. We had a packed church and then to see so many this afternoon has been wonderful. "Harvest is such a special time as we give thanks. We are lucky to be surrounded by farmland and so it was extra special to have Emma, Joe and the family here who farm much of that land. I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed it." ● To keep track of further events at St Mary's, please see the church's Facebook page. The next big event will be a Light Party on Saturday, October 29 (5pm) with fireworks to close.

some great results from groups transforming their own environmental and greenspace areas. We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for round two. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.” Echoing those sentiments, Groundwork’s national Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, added: “Bags of Help is giving our communities both the funding and the support to create better, healthier and greener places for everyone to enjoy. "They’re all fantastic projects that make a real difference in our neighbourhoods. We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”