St Michael's Wilmington Parish Mag June/July23

Wilmington Parish News

June / July 2023 £1.00

www.stmichaelswilmington.org.uk

Vicar: Revd Carl Chambers

The Vicarage, 1 Curates Walk, Wilmington, DA2 7PU Tel: 01322 634506 / 07368 223743 email: vicar.wilmington@gmail.com

For enquiries about weddings, baptism & thanksgiv ings please contact the Parish Office: 288235

Reader: Eric Hookins 662337

Reader: Penny Culliford 07812 752395

Pastoral Assistant: Chris Hookins 662337

Licensed Lay Ministers: Jean Hook 222417

Richard Kinderman 07828703322

Churchwardens: Marc Culliford 07446 111454

Tony Bullimore

Youth Minister Sharon Stirman 07521 712311

Treasurer: Julie Short 292764

Electoral Roll: PCC Secretary Sharon Duncan Christine Jefferys 221874

Organist & Choirmaster: Alan Hunt 527959

Church Flowers: Louise Richards 07771 863613

Parish Archivist: Keith Simons 224379

Vergers: Louise Richards

Honorary Vergers

Chrystal Simmons

Maureen & Tony Guard

All are welcome to join us at any church service. We try and ensure that those who have never been before are made to feel part of the family from the start.

Our services are every Sunday 8.30am (approx. 45 minutes) and 10.30am (approx. 60-75 minutes).

On the first Sunday of the month there is a 5pm Evensong before a youth group (Year 6-Year 13) at 6pm.

Please contact the Vicar if you’d like to know when Holy Communion is, or would like a home visit to receive Holy Communion.

Please contact the Vicar if you’d like to know when Holy Communion is, or would like a home visit to receive Holy Communion.

From the Editor

Welcome to the June/July edition. There is a real mixed bag of articles some updated ads and a rather lovely poem about and tribute to a grandma. This summer will see the reintroduction of the St Michael’s summer holiday club, just before the return to school, giving you parents, grandparents and carers a few hours respite over a couple of days. The Heritage Centre have an article about one of the often overlooked memorial/facilities that are dotted around Wilmington. There will be more articles in future editions helping to uncover the very interesting past, links to characters and events that have created the community we inhabit.

Steve Jefferys

Editorial team members: John Smeeth, Jean Hook, Shirley Wilson, Janice Hennessy, Sharon Stirman and Carl Chambers. We always welcome articles from readers. If you would like to submit an item for inclusion in a future edition, please send it to: StMichaelsWilmingtonmagazine@gmail.com We also welcome letters to the editor. Please note new, working email address.

We reserve the right to edit any material submitted by contributors and, occasionally, to save items for future editions. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editorial team, nor can we vouch for the competence of advertisers.

This newsletter is published every two months and payment can be made online via the church website/Facebook page.

Luke 21:29-36

He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

High Hopes for Children.

Update on projects at Kisiizi Hospital Primary School in Uganda. High Hopes for Children continues to support Kisiizi Primary School and the education of pupils with special needs. We have six pupils that are sponsored through our charity that are still at the school. Others have moved onto secondary or vocational education.

We have recently sponsored vocational skills training over two days in April this year. Time was set aside for the pupils to concentrate on learning craft skills. Projects included, making beads, table mats and door mats.

Bead Making Beatrice and Ian

There are two new special needs pupils who the school have taken on and they are looking for sponsorship to support their school fees, Beatrice who has started in Primary 1 and Ian in Primary 2.

If you would like to know more please contact the Editor.

The second new initiative has been to send money for the school to set up a small IT unit so that pupils can learn the basics of computing. This money will fund three desktop computers, a printer and ink for the initial set up. The project is still in the early stage of procurement and we look forward to the unit being used by the pupils in the near future.

John Smeeth - High Hopes for Children

LOCAL SOCIETIES AND GROUPS

St Michael’s Under 5’s Playtime: Thursday 9.30

11am in St Michael’s Parish Centre. Contact Jean Hook, tel. 222417

Toddler Club: Wednesday 10am, Wilmington Community Church. Contact: Nicola Field, tel. 222604

St Michael’s Pre-School: Mon-Fri, 9.15am-12.15pm in the Church Hall. Contact: Chantelle Queensbarrows.

Wilmington Women’s Institute: 2nd Tues. 2pm in the Memorial Hall.

Contact: Sheila Kennard, 01322 279706

Joydens Wood Women’s Institute: 3rd Tues, 7.45pm in Joydens Wood Community Centre. Contact: Ms Isabella Smith, tel. 557025

Wilmington Society: 4 meetings a year in the Memorial Hall Contact: Pat Burt tel. 745451

Wilmington Active Retirement Association (Wilmara): 3rd Friday, 2pm in the Memorial Hall. Contact 226943 for further information.

Leyton Cross Active Retirement Association: 2nd Thurs at 2pm in Leyton Cross Social Club. Contact: Marilyn Wells, tel. 863996

Wilmington Axtane Probus: Last Thursday of the month at 12 noon at Swanley Bowls Club. Mr Phil Burt, tel. 745451

Brownies: Tues 6.15-7.45pm, St Michael’s Church Hall

Beavers: Weds 6.15-7.30pm, Scout Hut, Whitehead Close

Cubs: Thurs 6.15-7.30pm, Scout Hut, Whitehead Close

Scouts: Thurs 7.45-9.15pm, Scout Hut, Whitehead Close. Contact: Glenn

Killick at gs.1st Wilmington@gmail.com

Dartford Bridge Club: Tues at 7pm, Wilmington Community Church Hall, Contact: John Davies, tel.01474 83221

Rotary Club of the North Downs: Thurs at 7pm, Hartley Country Club.

Culvey Close, Hartley, DA3 8BS Contact: Bob Phillips, 07815807520 or John Smeeth. 07889 137951

If you belong to a group in Wilmington for the benefit of residents, please let the editor know and we will include it, space permitting. If information is incorrect or incomplete please let us know using the magazine email.

PARISH REGISTERS

CHURCH FLOWERS

If you have a special date when you wish to remember a loved one or to mark a special anniversary with church flowers there is a list at the back of the church. Alternatively you can telephone Louise Richards on 07771 863613. Donations for flowers should be handed to a church warden or Louise ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GENERAL INFORMATION

Wilmington Heritage Centre (side of Memorial Hall): open on the 1st Thursday of the month between 9.30 and 11.30 am and on the 2 nd Saturday of the month between 10am and midday. Contact: Jean Radford on 01322 221056.

Wilmington Parish Council office: Oakfield Park Pavillion open between 7am and midday on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail: clerk-wpc@outlook.com, tel. 01322 221149 and www.wilmingtonpckent.uk

Wilmington Memorial Hall: Bookings can be made by telephoning Barbara Harris on 07518 057941 between 9am and 6pm or using the Wilmington Parish Council website, clicking on the Wilmington Memorial Hall and following the on screen instructions.

Wilmington Police & Community Support Officers: For non urgent crimes ring 101 or email csu.dartford@kent.pnn.police.uk. Non urgent means there is no immediate danger to life, the incident is not in progress and the offender is not nearby. To report an urgent or life-threatening crime ring 999.

Dear Parishioners

Whilst many of us are enjoying the longer days (more time for walks or gardening, less extra layers of clothes needed), if you were to visit The Vicarage you might find stress levels somewhat higher.

I write this in May, for the June/July publication. Even today, two of our children have returned from having sat a public exam (one an A level, one a GCSE). Throughout May and much of June, young people will be coming into Wilmington to take exams that will potentially affect the rest of their lives.

Of course, it’s not just exams that can cause stress in life. One of the privileges of my role is that I get to talk with many (and always love the opportunity to meet new people).

In just this week, I’ve spoken with someone whose husband has just been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer; with someone whose granddaughter

has just come in from a night shift where she faced some real personal trauma in the line of their job; and with someone who is facing a horrendous gas bill after this winter.

Some pressures in life, like exams, are predictable. Others predictable only in their unpredictability: we know it happens to someone, we are someone, so it could happen to us.

Where do we go when such pressures hit? When our lives are rocked?

The good news we have in Jesus is that he is dependable and trustworthy. He alone has shown he had endured the worst the world can throw at him (death) and come out victorious. When we hold on to him, we will never be left adrift, whatever storms we face.

CARL

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Parish News Subscriptions

Thank you to everyone who has managed to pay their magazine subscriptions , either by handing them to their distributor, by delivery to the Church Office or online. If you haven't managed to do so yet, you may wish to pay using on e of the following methods:

Online using the following link:

https://stmichaelswilmington.sumupstore.com/product/annual -subscription

You may prefer to drop the payment of £5 into the Church Office at the Church Hall, 2 High Road Wilmington DA2 7EG. Please place it in an envelope marked with your name and address. Cash or cheque.

Alternatively, you can hand the payment to your distributor.

Would you consider leaving a legacy to St Michael’s?

There has been a Christian presence on the ground of St Michael’s for 1,000 years. Whilst the building is not so old, there is much that needs to be done to the church and surrounds to help maintain it.

Your legacy can help contribute to the upkeep, thus showing your support for years to come.

Please contact the Vicar if you’d like to discuss a particular use of any legacy you’d like to leave.

The official name of the church is “The PCC of St Michael and All Angels, Wilmington”.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

Carl

EMILY MARTHA LUMB

EV ENTS ARRANGED BY THE WILMINGTON ME MORIAL HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Saturday, 8th June: Barn Dance with “Abbey Capers Barn Dance Band” plus sausage and chip supper.

The drinking fountain in Common Lane is dedicated to Emily Martha Lumb, but how many people know who she was?

Tickets £13 per person

She was the daughter of a Shropshire clergyman but had lived in Wilmington for many years being Governess to the Crozier children of Wilmington Hall.

14th September, Quiz Evening; 19th October, Fish & Chip Supper followed by FB Pocket Orchestra; 7th December Christmas Cabaret Evening with supper

Emily was an accomplished musician and often performed in religious settings. She was a performer and assistant at the Mission Hall in Dartford and took a deep interest in the Temperance Movement and other improving works in the Parish and was very highly regarded. She also conducted the ‘Band of Hope’ in Dartford.

For tickets & details please telephone Barbara Field 01322 226695 All proceeds to Wilmington Memorial Hall Funds

THE WILMINGTON SOCIETY

She lived for many years with the Miss’s Heberden, daughters of the Rev. Heberden, long time Vicar of Wilmington.

At the Society’s AGM the Chairman, John Strachan, explained that after 16 years he was standing down as Chairman although, as no one had offered to take this role on, he agreed to remain a ommittee member while the role of Chairman would be taken by other

After referring to the Society’s outing to Chapel Down Winery, Tenterden and Merriments Garden he highlighted various activities over the years ranging from revamping the area in front of the Memorial Hall to contributing towar ds the cost of the Village entry signs and the purchase of the flower planters. Comments on numerous planning applications had also been made and with four meetings a year the £3 annual subscription plus £2 admission at each meeting represented good value for money for its 160 members.

In the summer of 1904 she went to St Leonards on Sea to visit one of her old pupils where she was taken ill and died. Her funeral was held at Hailsham and was attended by three sisters and a brother. She was greatly missed in Wilmington for her readiness to assist with good works. She was 71.

John also mentioned that he was standing down after chairing the Village Fair Committee for the last 12 years. At the Parish Council’s Christmas Gathering the Mayor of Dartford, Cllr. David Mote, had presented him with a “C ertificate of Appreciation” from the Council for his involvement with the Fair.

Jean Radford HERITAGE CENTRE

Following the AGM, John introduced representatives of the Bexley Audio and Visual Group. Members were then treated to a number of presentations including African wildlife, ballet and an outstanding sequence celebrating the wild beauty of Iceland. John Strachan

ALL SEASON S GARDEN MAINTENANCE

Are you looking for a hall to hire for a special occasion or regular event?

All garden maintenance work undertaken

St Michael’s Church Hall is available for hire

Grass/hedge cutting, Border maintenance

Pressure washing

Lawn scarifying and lawn treatment

Located close to the church. With kitchen facilities and a large floor area. Some parking at the rear and on the road outside it makes a great venue.

Fully insured and references available

Tel 01322 423063 Mobile 07984 594704

e-mail: boaz26@live.co.uk

£8 per hour for regular bookings and £25 per hour for one off events such as children’s parties. To book the hall contact : chambers.jenny@gmail.com

John Rouse

John Rouse

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(including monofilament and doppler)

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Treatments usually last around 30 minutes and always end in “the best

Treatments usually last around 30 minutes and always end in “the best bit” a foot massage with a quality foot cream.

In addition to our routine service, we also practice the LacunaTM Method of treating fungal nail infections.

In addition to our routine service we also practice the Lacuna TM Method of treating fungal nail infections.

Routine Appointment £34

Routine Appointment £30

Routine Appointments for two or more people £32 each

Routine Appointments for two or more people £28 each

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Gift Vouchers also available

Lacuna treatments £75 (this includes a routine appointment and all medicaments)

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For appointments and information please call on

For appointments and information please call on 01322 472 908

01322 472 908

Hi everyone,

At last, Summer seems to be on its way! The Easter holidays were very busy and our Easter Craft Morning and Egg Hunt was a fantastic morning and those attending Coffee Pop -In joined with some of the activities to celebrate Easter. A total of forty- three children took part along with parents, carers and grandparents and all went home with a bag of crafts, chocolate eggs, having heard that Jesus is Alive!

BEEs and EPIC, our Sunday Groups, continue term times, with BEEs (the Bible’s Ea ger Explorers) for children aged 3 to 14 at 10.30am and EPIC (Every Person In Christ), our Youth Bible study at 6pm for ages 11 -18. The EPIC Bake Off Technical Challenge during the Easter holidays was a fun afternoon with the youngsters making amazing rain bow cakes (and a big mess!). Five young people also supported Holiday at Home (an event for the more elderly of Wilmington) and served lunches, cleared tables and helped with the washing up - this was a great inter-generational time and the young people have been invited for the morning to join in games and crafts for the next eventplease join us! As a thank you for their hard work, they enjoyed a fun film evening using the cinema room at Emmerson Grange which was an evening of fun and laughter, and they thought it especially funny that the ‘happy ending’ had me in tears!

After School Club on Wednesdays runs from 2.30 -4pm and last term we thought about the true meaning of Easter, Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost in the ‘God Spot’. This term we are exploring some of our favourite Old Testament stories and how they point us to Jesus, as well as sharing in crafts and games and enjoying hot chocolates with marshmallows - or possibly ice creams now Summer is here!

We are hoping to have a Holiday Club for p rimary aged children later in August so please do keep a look out for details of this on our website and on Facebook!

Please do get in touch if you want any information about my work - it would be great to chat! Or pop in and see me from 10.30am12 noon on Tuesday mornings at our Church Coffee Pop -In and if you have children under 5 years of age, why not join us for our Under 5s group, Thursdays 9.30 -11am in the Parish Centre (through the glass doors).

Lots of love and blessings

Sharon

The winning rainbow cake!

Easter crafts in action!

My Gran

My Gran is a giggle-in-the-corner-like-a-child kind of Gran

She is a put-your-cold-hand-in-my-pocket a keep-your-curls-in-my-locket kind of Gran

She is a make-it-better-with -a-treacletoffee

a what-you-need’s-a-cup-of-milkycoffee

a hurry-home-I-love-you-awfully kind of Gran

She is a butter-ball-for-your-bad-throat

a stitch-your-doll-a-new-green-coat

a let’s-make-soapy-bubble-afloat

a hold-my-hand-I’m-seasick-in-a-boat kind of gran

She is a toast-your-tootsies-by-the-fire

a crack-the-wishbone-for-your-hearts-desire

a ladies-don’t-sweat-they-perspire

a funny-old-fashioned-higgledy-piggeldy-lady-to-admire kind of gran

And this lovely grandmother is mine, all mine!

A lovely tribute to a much-loved gran from her granddaughter aged 7.

Homes for Ukraine ...Diary of a host continued, part 3

Hosting our Ukrainian guests for nearly nine months proved entertaining, delightful and challenging in equal measure. When they moved onto independent living we missed their company but loved having our home back to ourselves. We still have frequent contact with them, taking them to the Sweeps Festival in Rochester and to a very special concert for Ukraine held in the cathedral, adorned at the time, with thousands of ‘peace doves’ suspended from the ceiling. Helping Oleksii to set up raised beds in the tiny back garden and getting tomatoes, beans and other veg underway. He takes great care and pride in growing produce because he cultivated a garden at the tiny dacha inherited from his grandmother. Sadly now wrecked by Russian occupation and strewn with landmines.

Oleksii continues to attend school here in Wilmington even though they now lives some 5 miles away. We could not contemplate him changing school yet again. He’s making a great success of his education and enjoys the company of other Ukrainian pupils who have joined the school since he started. He also takes on-line lessons provided by a Ukrainian institution. Starting year 10 in September he will capitalise on his talents in maths and computer science, working towards top GCSE grades.

Svitlana has been working for some months, first as a teaching assistant in Wilmington and now in Dartford. She is studying hard to build her skills in English in order to apply for work commensurate with her high level professional experience and skills. Svitlana’s first job as working at the Community Café in Hextable. She took great pride in learning to be a barrista all the while working to improve her English alongside her regular lessons.

As we reflect on our response to the Russian invasion and the sudden flight of Ukrainian people we felt strongly it was right to give shelter

and sanctuary to people who were, one day going about their daily lives and the next day seeing their homes, workplaces and schools destroyed. As the war continues to take a terrible toll on both sides of the conflict, destruction of Ukrainian towns continues and civilians of all ages suffer loss, death and destruction. How would we respond if faced with a similar situation?

Hosting has not been without is challenges, sharing a home, learning to accommodate cultural differences, negotiating living in a shared space with a limited common vocabulary. The upside has been the building of a relationship with people who have different traditions around Christmas and Easter, interesting cuisine and other cultural norms that only come to light when you share a home with people who no longer have a home.

A Host

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I.D.T.A. Ballet, Tap and Musical Theatre taught. 100% success rate in all exams to date.

Children welcome from 18months of age in our “Hop, Skip & Dance toddler / parent class’

Adult tap class held in Wilmington on Mondays 20.00 to 21.00

Adult Keep-Fit/ Body toning class held in Wilmington on Mondays 18.45 to 19.45

For further details visit: www.dance-a-cise.co.uk

Children in Church

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'" Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked. "He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

A priest said to a precocious six year old boy, ‘Your mother says your prayers for you each night? That’s very commendable. What does she say?’

The boy replied, ‘Thank God he’s in bed!’

A Sunday school teacher asked ‘Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was in the Ark?’

‘No’ replied Johnny. ‘How could he with just two worms?’

A Sunday school teacher said to her children, ‘We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times, but there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?’

One child blurted out, ‘Aces!’

Wilmington Memorial Hall Management Committee

Registered Charity Number 302885

MEMORABLE DATES

Saturday 24th June 2023 MAGIC EVENING with Magician Yours Magically, ‘Infinity’, and Sausage & Chip Supper.

7.00 p.m. for 7.30 p.m. start. Tickets £14.50 per person.

Saturday 9th September 2023

Quiz Evening with Quiz Master Alan Syred

6-8 persons per table

7.00 p.m. for 7.30p.m. Start

Tickets £5.00 per person.

Saturday 9th December 2023 Christmas Evening with Star Cabaret ‘St Celilia’, 1970 recording Stars.

7.00 p.m. for 7.30p.m. start

Tickets £ 22.00 per person (includes Chicken & Chip Supper and Sweet).

Thursday 14th December 2023 ‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’, Pantomime brought to you by Outside the Box Productions Ltd Doors open 6.30p.m. for 7.00 p.m. start Ticket; Adults £13.00, Child £9.00, Family Ticket £37.00

Saturday 27th January 2024 Social Evening (Incorporating a Race Night) with Sausage & Chip Supper

7.00p.m. for 7.30p.m. Start

Tickets £9.00 per person

Tickets & Details, please telephone Barbara Field 01322 226695 077534 76877

All proceeds to Wilmington Memorial Hall Funds

14 March 2023

John

The Privilege of Funeral Ministry

Having taken the module Funeral and Bereavement Ministry as part of my LLM, Licensed Lay Minister training, I was ready to take my first funeral in December 2017. I was rather surprised that the lady concerned was 104, but I felt well-prepared. I had had good advice from Richard Arding, our then vicar, and Dennis Moor from Stone Church.

The staff at Kemnal Park could not have been more helpful, as were the Funeral Directors, to whom I confessed that it was my first time - “but don’t tell the family”, I urged them. I have found all these professional people to be friendly, caring, and ready to remind me where things are, when I forget the details of the Crematorium layout.

Yes, I regard the opportunity of taking funerals as a privilege, and an honour. Through my training, I learned chiefly that grief is a very personal, complicated process, and this study enabled me to begin to understand my own, long-term grieving, so my aim is to help the bereaved to see that it is normal, cannot be quantified, and that one day - however long it takes, they will be able to think of their loved one and smile, a smile of gratitude, perhaps, a wry smile when remembering faults, or a smile when thinking of happy memories.

The preparation for a funeral cannot be hurried: I like to meet the bereaved person or family face-to-face, and find out as much as I can, especially if I haven’t known the deceased. If I have known the person, I feel particularly blessed if I’ve been asked to officiate by them, or a family member.

Although I haven’t made any drastic mistakes in a funeral, such as using the wrong name, or mixing up the relations, sometimes it can be stressful if the unexpected happens:

If I am conducting a burial, I always check the location of the grave beforehand, so that I can lead the cortège directly to that spot. On one

occasion, with the service due to start at 12 noon, I went to the allocated spot at 10.45, and - no grave! A few minutes later, the grave digger strolled nonchalantly along, and then asked me how long the service might take! I did begin to worry…before that same service I developed a tickle in my throat as I led the coffin bearers into church. I coughed all the way down the aisle, and turned to face the congregation, eyes streaming. I don’t know whether the mourners thought they were tears of sympathy…

On one memorable occasion, I thought I’d committed the unpardonable offence of being late at the Crematorium. It was at Medway, quite a long drive away, and I’d had hold-ups on the M2, followed by panicking over the SatNav directions, and, fearing I was lost, full of apologies, I rang the mobile of the bereaved gentleman, which his wife answered and said, “That’s all right; we’re stuck on the M2 behind the hearse.” Fortunately, I was able to find the place and sort myself out just in time.

Some people have asked me how I can do this work without getting involved emotionally, but I certainly believe I have a calling in this ministry, and if I can help people through a difficult time, it is certainly satisfying and worthwhile.

Jean Hook