September 2015
A CHURCH FOR THE CITY
WELCOMING ALL
CELEBRATING LIFE
SHARING THE JOURNEY
ST PETER’S CHURCH, ST ALBANS
THE NEWSLETTER
Wildflowers in the churchyard in July
Issue 7: September 2016
Welcome
The Ministry Team Writes
Dates for the Diary
From the Churchwardens
Mark Dearnley’s Installation
Trip to Taizé 2016
St Peter’s Income
Nooks and Crannies Quiz
Mission Giving Plans 2016
Music and Choirs Update
Let’s Meet Trevor Hones
St Albans Literary Festival
Holiday At Home
Stratford-upon-Avon Trip
Live 2016
Nooks and Crannies
Answers
The Living Room Report
Lammastide Forest Church
Community News
Recent Weddings, Funerals
and Baptisms
St Peter's Church Newsletter
Welcome
by Becky Gillibrand As summer draws to a close we
begin a new chapter at St Peter’s.
Last September we were covering
Bishop Anne’s consecration at St
Paul’s Cathedral, and this
September, three weeks short of a
year, we are happy to be able to
cover the Installation and Induction
Service for our new vicar, Mark
Dearnley. It was a wonderful
occasion and on page four you can
read two perspectives of that day.
We have survived the year, which
Gill reflects on in The Ministry Team
Writes, and not only kept the ship
sailing but steered it on a great
course. Our churchwardens thank
everyone for their help and support
during the Interregnum on page
three.
We can now celebrate having Mark
and his wife Ruth at St Peter’s. We
look forward to seeing them settle
into the parish, getting to know
them and welcome the future and
what the next year holds.
Despite the summer being quieter
at St Peter’s we seem to have a jampacked Newsletter. There are
articles covering Holiday At Home,
St Albans Literary Festival, the men’s
choir trip to Germany, Lammastide,
the trip to Taizé, plus much more.
We also hear about St Peter’s
Income and Mission Giving, and the
latest from The Living Room. Get to
know our PCC Secretary Trevor
Hones a bit better in Let’s Meet…
and we have a bumper eight pages
of Community News as members
of St Peter’s congregations share
what they have been getting up to
over the summer.
Our next Newsletter will be out in
November. If there is an article you
would like to see, let me know.You
can also keep abreast of what’s
happening by following our
Facebook and Twitter pages – links
are on the website. For now, I hope
you enjoy the read.
1
September 2016
The Ministry Team Writes - A View from the
Sidelines
by Gillian Keir
The start of a new term and the end of the summer is
not a bad vantage point from which to look back at the
last year at St Peter’s. It is the same at church as in our
personal lives. We have lost some good friends, either
from moving away from St Albans or, sadly, from death.
We have made more. We have had our high points. We
will each have different memories, but the great
festivals of our Church: Christmas, Easter and
Pentecost have been celebrated magnificently, along
with the Alban Pilgrimage, our patronal festival, and the
admission of more children to communion.
Just as important, and this is essentially my viewpoint
from the sidelines, we have just kept going. Baptisms,
weddings, concerts and special events, like our fairs and
the Literary Festival, have brought large gatherings to
our church, along with the steady flow of individual
visitors. Day by day and week by week we have offered
worship, drawing upon the expertise and good will of
people too numerous to mention, but you know them.
Our building and churchyard have been well cared for
and we have continued to welcome many to both.
We can also celebrate new things. We have had fresh input into work with our young people; and new
initiatives bearing fruit with the more senior members of our congregation. This Newsletter itself, and all
the hours spent on developing our website and social media links, give us reasons to be grateful. Our
relationship with Marlborough Road Methodist Church is not itself new but it has continued to deepen
and to flourish in ways we could not have predicted.
Of course there are gaps. Anne and Steve Hollinghurst have taken their many gifts to Birmingham and
the wider world. We cannot help but miss them. And there is still much to be learned, from one another
and from the context in which we all live. Our society is changing. We have all discovered things since
the Brexit vote in June. Some of them are challenging; some of them we would rather not know. They all
demand our thoughtfulness and our faithful commitment to God. So this is a good time to take a pause,
a breath, time to think about the gaps we know about, the gaps we might be called upon to fill.
It is also an excellent time to receive our new vicar and his wife and their family. We are in good heart;
still talking to one another, still laughing, still making music, still praying, still hoping and planning, still
enjoying parties. Welcome Mark and Ruth.
Subscribe to The Newsletter
If you would like to subscribe to The Newsletter mailing list, send an email to
[email protected]. A few hard copies are available in church if needed and The
Newsletter is on our website http://www.stpeterschurch.uk.com/news/latest-news-sheets/.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
2
September 2016
Dates for the Diary
September
Themed Evensong on
Chaucer Sunday 25th Sept 6:30pm
October
Harvest Festival followed by
Blessing at Farmers’ Market
Sunday 2nd Oct 9:30am &
11am
Community Night
Wednesday 5th Oct 7:15pm
Messy Church
Friday 7th Oct 10am
Carillon Concert
Saturday 8th Oct 7:30pm
Friends’ Autumn Lecture
Thursday 13th Oct 7:30pm
Saturday 22nd Oct
5:30pm IOF Organ Concert
6:30pm Confirmation Service at
the Abbey
Forest Church All Hallows
Saturday 29th Oct 3:30pm
November
Messy Church
Friday 4th Nov 10am
Requiem Service for All
Saints’ Sunday 6th Nov10:30am
Tea on Tuesday
Tuesday 8th Nov 2:30pm
Remembrance Evensong
Sunday 13th Nov 6:30pm
Sebastian Stanley Piano
Recital
Saturday 19th Nov 7:30pm
Sustainable St Albans Week 19th–26th Nov
Sustainable St Albans Week
Lecture Monday 21st Nov 7:30pm
Friends’ Winter Fair
Saturday 26th Nov 11am–
2:30pm
Advent Carol Service
Sunday 27th Nov 6:30pm
December
Mosaic Chamber Choir
Concert
Saturday 3rd Dec 7:30pm
Messy Church
Saturday 10th Dec 10am
From the Churchwardens
by Deborah Butler, Den Parker and Mark Waller
After a period of vacancy lasting nearly a year, we are now extremely pleased to have our new vicar, Mark
Dearnley, in place.
And the churchwardens want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us through the
vacancy in any way. So many of you do so much to keep St Peter’s going and to make it the welcoming
worshipping community that it is. Thank you so much and thank you especially for all the extra time and
energy you have put in during the vacancy.
Above all, we want to thank the wonderful ministry team who have absolutely excelled themselves, keeping
up a full programme of services and other activities during the year and even adding to it at times. And
within that ministry team, we must make special mention of Jos who has done a tremendous job, taking on
many extra responsibilities, and all with energy and enthusiasm and a warm smile. A huge thank you to
every single one of them: Jos, Gill, Margaret, Richard, Sarah, Charles, Nancy and Jan.
As well as our own ministry team, we are fortunate to have very close relations with Marlborough Road
Methodist Church. Rosemary and Peter’s involvement and help is always greatly appreciated but even more
so during the last year. Another very big thank you is due.
Although we can’t possibly name every single person who has helped, we particularly want to thank Reg
and Peter for all their extra work and also Moira and Carolyn in the office. Surely visitors during the year,
and visiting worshippers, would not have suspected that we were in a period of vacancy at all.
Now that this period is finally over, the churchwardens are very much looking forward to the future with
Mark, and also his wife Ruth. We are confident that St Peter’s will go from strength to strength.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
3
September 2016
Mark Dearnley’s Installation – Two Perspectives
by Deborah Butler
What a wonderful celebratory occasion it was – relaxed and
yet dignified and, above all, joyful. The church was splendidly
decorated with flowers and candles and was full of friends and
family, specially invited dignitaries and clergy, all there to
celebrate Mark’s arrival as Vicar of St Peter’s and the end of
our year-long vacancy. At the height of the service, the
enthusiastic round of applause continued until we were
quietened down by the Bishop!
The whole service went extremely smoothly thanks to the
huge band of well-briefed helpers and participants and also to
the vast amount of planning and organisation, led especially by
Moira, Reg, Carolyn and Yvonne. A great army of sidespeople
and PCC members welcomed and directed and helped people.
During the service, representatives of the congregation took
up symbols of Mark’s ministry with us. Nick and Alex and a full
choir provided beautiful music.Very many thanks to everyone
who helped in any way, in advance and on the day itself, to
make it such a very special occasion.
The reception afterwards in the High School’s beautiful new
rotunda building was a great occasion too, with delicious food
supplied by the Courtyard Café. There was plenty of time to
mingle and to meet Mark and Ruth’s lovely family and friends
from Wendover, as well as all the many distinguished guests.
Another thank you is due to all those many people who helped
make the reception go so smoothly too.
You may have noticed that Mark chimed the bell many times at
the relevant part of the service (a ‘theory’ being that each ring
of the bell means a year of incumbency!). The churchwardens
were delighted with all the ringing, and with the whole splendid
occasion, and are looking forward to St Peter’s moving forward
with Mark, and Ruth, for many years to come.
P.S. And the following day, the bellringers rang a special ‘quarter peal’ to welcome Mark:
www.campanophile.com/view.aspx?250336
St Peter's Church Newsletter
4
September 2016
by Helen and Jeremy Harris
At last the new vicar was about to be installed, and the church was
filling up. Moira had clearly been on a PRINCE2 training course:
tasks and personnel all organised with military precision. Having
missed the rehearsal, I was somewhat relieved that Jeremy, in the
role of crucifer, had successfully led the endless procession of
dignitaries to their seats; a new chapter in the worship and life of
our church was about to begin….
It was ‘all hands’, brilliantly marshalled, with Reg, Den, Deborah,
Mark, the sidesmen, PCC members and congregation working
together to make the event such a success. The church was
beautifully decorated and the music uplifting as usual.
It was lovely to see the Bishop and representatives of our partner
churches and schools coming together to join us on this joyful
occasion; there were smiles on everyone’s faces, particularly on
those of the churchwardens… or was that relief? It was great to
reaffirm our commitment to work together for spiritual growth and
to make a positive impact in our community.
First impressions of our new vicar:
• Mark’s first formal responses: Great voice… a music man maybe?
He certainly enjoyed ringing the bell!
• He’s easy to spot; the pink (salmon?) jacket…
• Looking relaxed and confident…but how will he cope with the
fabric repairs or the crush of toddlers at the crib service!?
• Lovely family.
Only time will tell how (in)accurate first impressions can be, but
either way we wish Mark and his family the very best and hope they
settle quickly and happily into life at St Peter’s. It’s great to have
them all here.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
5
September 2016
On 11th September, the day after his
Induction, Mark preached at all four of
our Sunday services. His inspiring
sermon started with our patron saint,
St Peter, and his traditional motif of the
keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Mark
challenged us to think about the keys
or qualities or attitudes which unlock
the Kingdom of Heaven and then to
embody them in our lives. He also
challenged us to unlock the potential
within ourselves. We each took a blank
key to put on our key ring as a tangible
everyday reminder.
During Community Coffee, between
the 9:30am and 11:30am services, Mark
took the opportunity to introduce
himself further and we all warmly
welcomed Mark, Ruth, Charlie and
Esther over coffee and cake.
A Message from Mark
What a Welcome!
Along with Ruth, Charlie and Esther I’d like to say a big thank you for
the wonderful welcome we received over the weekend of the 10th
and 11th September. The service on Saturday was a super event,
brilliantly organised along with the reception following. Thank you to
Moira and the Churchwardens for all you did to make this work so
smoothly. I felt privileged to be stepping into a context where
ministry has been faithfully enacted by so many before me, and I look
forward to building on those good foundations.
Likewise the services on Sunday were a great introduction for me to
the worship of St Peter’s. The mix of styles, the music and the variety
of leadership makes for a rich set of opportunities for worship.
I look forward to getting to know you and discerning together the
next chapter in this adventure of life, outreach and ministry at St
Peter’s.
Thank you!
St Peter's Church Newsletter
6
September 2016
Trip to Taizé 2016
by Jos Perris, Katherine Butler, Fleur Kadim and Emily Ellis
On Saturday 30th July, a group of 20 young
people boarded a bus heading to Taizé, a
Christian community in eastern France, home to
about 150 brothers. Each week in the summer
there are anywhere between 2000 and 6000
visitors. Most visitors are between 16 and 30 in
age but anyone can go. It was started by Brother
Roger in 1940. The second and current prior,
Brother Alois, took over in 2005 and it is open to
all denominations of Christianity. Jos and three
members of our congregation went on the trip
and here is what they thought.
What did you expect before we left?
Kat: To be honest I didn’t really know what to expect. I hadn’t done much thinking about what Taizé
would be like. I expected it to be just singing chants in cornfields really. I expected everyone to be super
religious and thought we would be doing a lot of reading the Bible as well.
What were your first impressions of Taizé?
Fleur: Taizé was exactly as I’d imagined it to be – just on a much bigger
scale! My immediate thoughts were how beautiful and simple everything
was. The community is set in the middle of some stunning French
countryside. Being in the services gave the best representation of how
many people were actually staying in Taizé. There was something really
special about praying with such a mass of people. The first time I
stepped into the church I was completely overwhelmed. Even towards
the end of the week I never stopped feeling that, and the sense of
holiness and spiritualism was tangible.
What did you get out of the experience?
Emily: I learned so much about myself, others and God. I realised that just because you are a Christian, it
doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything that another Christian believes. I became more open to
other views. It made me more confident to speak to new people. There were so many people there and
everyone willing to chat. The silence can be so powerful. And I made friends with so many awesome
people that I want to stay in contact with.
How has it affected your life since you have been back?
Kat: I have been listening to Taizé chants whenever I can, and I can’t get them out of my head! It really
taught me that I want to show my religion in my life, I’m not embarrassed about my beliefs.
Taizé – St Peter's, St Albans Pilgrims Report Back
On 28th August Jos interviewed Kat, Fleur and Emily for the
Sunday sermon. The full video is available to watch on the St
Peter’s YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ6zLQk0dWQ
St Peter's Church Newsletter
7
September 2016
What were the challenges?
Fleur: I love camping but a week of queuing for toilets and
(sometimes cold) showers was definitely enough for me!! I think
the biggest challenge though was that with so much time to sit and
reflect it was easy to be flooded with a variety of thoughts and
emotions. In these times I would try to speak with a brother after
evening prayer and I found this hugely helpful.
What were the highlights?
Emily: The community feeling of Taizé. It feels like you are part of a
huge family. Being able to go up to anyone and talk to them.
Everyone is willing to chat. Meeting people from all over the world:
USA, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia, Argentina,
Romania, etc. Getting so close to people in the space of just a
week. Knowing you will stay in touch. Being invited to go and stay
with people in their houses all over the world. Everyone wants to
help everyone. One time Fleur and I were upset as one of our
friends had just left and the number of people that came over to
check we were okay and to cheer us up was just amazing.
Bishop Michael will be taking a group to Taizé next year on
Saturday 22nd – Monday 31st July 2017 and the cost is likely to
be £175. I think there will be about 40 spaces which we believe
will go very fast. So if you are interested, check your diary now, so
that you can be sure to secure a place when we start taking
bookings. There will be a taster evening at St Peter’s Church on
Sunday 26th February 2017 at 6:30pm.
Taizé Service Sunday 23rd October 6:30pm
A service held by candlelight in the Lady Chapel including
instrumental music, a meditation, time for reflection and prayer.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
8
September 2016
St Peter’s Income: A Brief
Explanation on Notes 2(a - d)
within our Annual Accounts
by Peter Court
Our recently published accounts for 2015 show £435,819 of annual
income that just about covers the sum of our costs, charitable giving
and setting aside funds for a rainy day (you may have recently noticed
that parts of the main church roof and rainwater goods have just been
repaired as outlined in the quinquennial survey).
Roughly half of our income (£200,000) comes from the Church Lands, a quarter (£112,908) from renting
out the Church Hall and other church rooms, with the remaining money (£101,356) coming from
donations, principally from planned congregation giving and each Sunday’s collection. Legacies also are
periodically received (£10,000) with dividends and interest, when we can get it, (£11,555).
The Church Lands is a charity set up by our Victorian forbears that owns several shops and flats in
Catherine Street and is there for the benefit of us and two other churches. Several members of the
congregation led by Roy Cervenka are Trustees. The Church Lands has just gone through a period of
financial reform and modernising of their properties and is now producing slightly larger and more
predictable returns.
At the far end of the churchyard is the Victorian building
known originally as St Peter’s Institute now the Church Hall.
This is let to six tenants on internal repairing leases with St
Peter’s responsible for external fabric repairs. The entire
building roof will be attended to this year. Current estimate
is in region of £35,000. Jos and Charles also have a small
office there.Various parts of St Peter’s are also hired out for
functions: e.g. concerts and parties.
Apart from the Church Lands, the noticeable feature of our income is how low our congregational giving
is; it is roughly half what one would expect from a similar-sized church. The management and finance
teams are currently thinking through how we might make greater use of our Church Lands’ income and
raise our level of congregational giving to support a more feisty interpretation of our mission.
A confidential record is kept of all Gift Aid giving: monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly standing
orders, monthly and weekly numbered envelopes and white Gift Aid envelopes. Planning for expenditure
is greatly aided by committed regular giving by standing order. Standing
order forms and internet banking forms are available by the South door.
Then at year end all eligible Gift Aidable donations received during the
year are totalled and an electronic application made to HMRC for a Gift
Aid tax refund.
Likewise throughout the year a detailed record is kept of all cash
donations received: through the collection plate, wall safes, candles,
donation box and appropriate online donations. This is done to ensure
we qualify for HMRC’s Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme, GASDS. Again
an electronic application to HMRC is made to receive repayment.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
9
September 2016
Other remaining donations are received through areas such as Traidcraft, Easyfundraising, Sunday coffee,
Just Donate, Donate Online, concerts and appropriate portions of wedding fees.
Money received as a legacy in a will is held in a separate part of the accounts and utilised as the person
wished. When writing or amending a will please consider St Peter’s as a beneficiary. St Peter’s has
produced a short leaflet on how to leave a gift in your will and details are on our website at http://
www.stpeterschurch.uk.com/support-us/leaving-a-gift-in-your-will.
The vast majority of fees received for weddings and banns of marriage are passed to the Diocesan office
to be used for clergy pay, training, pensions and housing.
St Peter’s also receives dividends and interest from investments held in CBF, Central Board of Finance.
This effectively reflects our reserves and rainy-day money.
For more information about any of the above please contact Peter Court, Parish Giving Officer:
[email protected] or 01727 873635.
Nooks and Crannies
Chatterbox Coffee Morning
Four more photos from St Peter’s. Can you guess
what or where they are? (Answers p.21.)
Come and join us for coffee
on
Photo 1
Photo 2
Thursday mornings
10.30 to 12 noon
in the vestibule of
Marlborough Rd Methodist Church
Photo 3
Photo 4
All welcome!
Newsletter Feedback
I’m keen to make The Newsletter as relevant as possible for everyone at St Peter’s. If you would like
to share what you’ve been up to, or have a suggestion for something you’d like to see in these pages,
please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our next edition will be the November Newsletter.
Becky ([email protected] or 07969 552118).
St Peter's Church Newsletter
10
September 2016
It’s more Blessed to Give than Receive
by Margaret Blake
Each year St Peter’s church and congregation supports a range of
local, national and international charities through financial support,
practical help and involvement in governance. Some of the
financial support comes from the general funds of the church and
others come from fundraising for specific projects (e.g. the Centre
33 through the Sleep Out, Grove House through the lunchtime
recitals). In addition to the specific charities which the PCC has
agreed to support in 2016 (such as The Living Room, Club Rafiki
and Stop The Traffik), the mission giving plans include supporting
up to two charities to be suggested by members of the
congregation. If you are involved in a charity which you would
like to give the congregation an opportunity to support this is
your chance! During November you would have the chance to
give a presentation to the congregation about the work of the
charity, your involvement and how it fits with St Peter's principles
during the sermon slot.You would be able to tell the congregation
about the ways in which they could get involved. In addition, the
plate giving for that day would be donated to the charity, as well as
further support from church funds. Our Mission Giving Plans for 2016
The PCC has been discussing mission giving and agreed nine principles to guide our approach to
supporting charities. Some of these are practical in terms of approval processes, source of funds, timing
of donation and responsibilities. The key principles which guide our choice of causes to support are:
1. We help most effectively when we can participate comprehensively with money, volunteer labour and
leadership/direction (e.g. trusteeship). We should also support charities over several years, rather
than just one-off donations.
2. In general we will participate with and give to organisations where there is an advantage derived
from us acting together as a church congregation rather than as disparate individuals.
3. The giving that we make should serve to bring us together as a community.
4. We will prioritise supporting one local charity over a three to five year period rather than providing
small amounts of short-term funding to multiple local charities.
5. We should not support an individual charity to such an extent that they are dependent on our
donation and would fold without our contribution.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
11
September 2016
In 2016 we are continuing to support some charities which
we have been involved with for several years including The
Living Room, Grove House and Christian Aid. See page 22
for an article by Jos about how St Peter’s has been working
with The Living Room in recent years and a letter of
thanks from the charity. We are also supporting two new
charities which we have not previously been involved with: Stop The Traffik and Club Rafiki. Stop The Traffik, http://www.stopthetraffik.org/uk, is a growing global
movement whose purpose is to end the buying and selling of people. To learn more about Stop The
Traffik come to Ruth Dearnley’s talk on 13th October organised by the Friends of St Peter’s. Club Rafiki is a charity based in St Albans which provides support to a school in
Kenya. Club Rafiki supports those pupils who would not otherwise be able to attend
school, whether they are orphans or simply very poor, in order that their future prospects
are improved. They also build links through a pen friend scheme between children in the
UK and Kenya. We are hoping to develop further links with the charity over time,
including the possibility of visiting the school to provide practical support, as well as
opportunities for young people at St Peter’s to learn about life for children in another part
of the world.To find out more about their work visit their website: http://www.clubrafiki.co.uk/ or go and see them at a stall on St Albans market on Saturday
8th October. Patti Seabright is our link person for this charity and can also tell you more
about how you could get involved. In future newsletters look out for more articles about the charities we support and how members of
the congregation are working with them. If you would like to suggest a charity to share with the
congregation in November, or would like to know more about the church’s plans for mission giving and
how you can contribute, please contact Margaret Blake, Paul Cartwright or Jos Perris.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
12
September 2016
Music and Choirs Update
St Peter’s Choir Gents’ Tour to Germany, July
2016
by Julian Cable
With a now well established pattern, in even-numbered years the St Peter’s choir gentlemen typically go
away on tour, to alternate with odd-numbered years when the full choir is on tour.
This year, 13 choir gents, together with director of music Nick Robinson and organist Alex Flood, headed
for a long weekend trip to the medieval German city of Würzburg, in the region of Franconia in northern
Bavaria. Some members of the group flew in to Frankfurt and then continued by train for the final hour of
the journey, while others travelled by train throughout, including across the Channel. Frustrating delays
occurred with getting there, because of the shootings that evening in Munich (which would be the usual
final destination of the Würzburg trains), but finally the group arrived at the hotel safe and well, albeit
tired.
Of our two singing engagements, the first was a Saturday concert
in the Court Chapel of the Würzburg Residence, the 18thcentury Baroque palace designed by architect Balthasar
Neumann that was home to the Prince-Bishops who formerly
ruled the city. In March 1945, just before the end of the Second
World War, the palace, like much of the surrounding city, was
almost completely destroyed by fire. A vast sum was
subsequently spent on a complete rebuilding of the palace in the
original style. Its scale and opulence almost rival the Palace of
Versailles, and it is now the top visitor attraction in the city.
The court chapel where we sang was notable for its highly
ornate decoration, with curving walls, three oval dome vaults,
and two side chapels with altar paintings. The acoustics were
very different from St Peter’s! As well as a varied selection of
English choral repertoire from down the centuries, we sang a
Kyrie from ‘Messe pour les Couvents’ by Couperin, where
unusually, individual text phrases sung by the choir are
St Peter's Church Newsletter
13
September 2016
interspersed with organ interludes in different styles and registrations. We also sang the haunting sevenpart ‘Ave Maria’ setting by the 20th-century composer, Franz Biebl. In between the choral pieces, Alex
played two organ solo works. All was enthusiastically received by the audience, for whom it was
undoubtedly a pleasant surprise to hear a fine selection of English choral repertoire at the conclusion of
their sightseeing visit!
On the Sunday, we provided the choral music for the morning mass at Würzburg Cathedral: the threepart Mass setting by William Byrd, plus a couple of anthems sung during the distribution of communion.
We were placed high up in the organ gallery, overlooking the vast space of the cathedral nave below,
with a dramatic display of organ pipework directly above our heads. We were bowled over by the huge
and powerful cathedral organ, played to a high standard by the cathedral’s regular organist.
St Peter’s choir tours are rarely matters of ‘all work and no play’, and this tour was no exception in this
regard! Each evening the choir members headed to a local hostelry to partake of the local beer and wine
and enjoy good food. Particularly memorable was a group dinner on the final evening in an old mill house
now converted to an excellent restaurant, set in an idyllic spot by the river. The extensive menu included
a dish featuring no fewer than seven sausages, which some choir members ate their way through!
As ever, these tours do much to foster and strengthen camaraderie and bonding between choir
members, and we all felt we had similarly benefited greatly this time. Thanks are due to Nick and Alex for
leading the music, to Tim Herbert for his useful travel planning for choir members as well as his usual
choir librarian role, and to Megan Wellens (a former St Peter’s choir parent now moved to Germany)
who did much planning work with Nick in the months leading up to the trip.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
14
September 2016
Let’s Meet Trevor Hones
Interviewed by Becky Gillibrand
Trevor is the current PCC Secretary at St Peter’s. I put some
questions to him.
How long have you been a member of St Peter's and why did
you first come?
My wife and I joined St Peter’s in the mid-1980s when our
daughter first went to Children’s Church, and she later
became a founder member of the girls’ choir under Ingrid
Astill.
What do you think are the best things about St Peter’s?
I particularly like Evensong. The choir is very, very good, and
produces some amazing choral pieces of high quality. The
outreach work the church does is amazing. Our church is a
lovely building, with beautiful stained glass windows. The
people associated with St Peter’s are friendly.
What do you enjoy about being on the PCC and why did you decide to take on the role of PCC
secretary?
I wanted to do something useful for the Church. I have in the past served on the PCC, dabbled with
some bell ringing, been a Sidesman and worked the sound system. I also worked with the churchwarden
Dr John Catt, a few years back, documenting all the gravestones in St Peter’s churchyard. There was a
request for a PCC Secretary, so it was something new and useful to do.
What does the PCC Secretary do?
I was hoping that you might enlighten me on that one. At the moment I take minutes and organise
meetings. There are six PCC meetings a year and each one is preceded by a meeting of the Standing
Committee. I suppose the role entails aiding the communication between the PCC and Church
Management. I hope to develop the role once I am familiar with the present set-up.
Are you involved in the wider community?
Amongst other things, I am involved with a local Horticultural Society, and I am Fixtures Secretary for
Monken Hadley Cricket Club in Barnet.
Name something you are passionate about.
I just love sport! When I was at school I did rowing, cross country, football, rugby, cricket. Nowadays my
active sport is a twice-weekly thrash around Aldwickbury Park Golf Course. I still watch a lot of sport. I
often go to see my beloved Ipswich Town (the Tractor Boys!) and, occasionally, St Albans City. I am still
grappling with the question of whether sport shapes character in a person, or shows it. Bit of both, I
suppose.
Have you got any vices?
Of course: mainly eating and drinking too much!
What has been your favourite holiday to date?
I have been fortunate enough to have had some splendid holidays, so there really is not a special one.
They all have treasured memories. We often visit Germany, and the German Christmas markets are just
fabulous. Family holidays, wherever we go, are special. We do now have a preference to travel by train
rather than by air, and a recent art and history tour to the Netherlands was great.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
15
September 2016
What don't you enjoy doing?
Queuing! What an absolute waste of time. Traffic jams, queues for event entrances, crowded art galleries,
queues for half-time drinks at football, have always been anathema for me. They are often caused by
inefficient systems. I now try to learn some German vocab whilst waiting to ease queue tension, but my
wife still thinks I’m grumpy when confronted with a queue!
Red or white wine?
Neither. Adnams Dry Hopped Lager or Greene King East Coast IPA.
What else would you like to tell us about yourself?
In 1970, I did a year’s VSO in Africa. I did not want to go to Nigeria as there was a civil war on, but I got
sent to Nigeria anyway! However, the country was amazing and the people fabulous.
I am a great Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons fan (as in the Jersey Boys musical). In the sixties I could
only afford two of their LPs. When my daughter was in her teens, together we set upon rooting out any
Frankie Valli LPs at charity shops, car boot sales, second-hand shops. I now have the largest
comprehensive collection of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons vinyl on the planet!
Your Questions
Next time, in the November
Newsletter, we meet Ruth Dearnley,
Mark’s wife and CEO of Stop The
Traffik. If you have any questions you
would like to put to her, please email
me, Becky, at
[email protected].
Join the Friends of St Peter’s
If you would like to become a member of the Friends, there are forms available in
church, on the website (http://www.stpeterschurch.uk.com/support-us/friends-ofst-peters) or you can email Peter Court ([email protected]).
St Peter's Church Newsletter
16
September 2016
St Albans Literary Festival 2016
by Claire Walsh: Director, Children’s Programme
St Peter’s Church proved itself a magnificent venue for
this year’s St Albans Literary Festival and it was
wonderful to see our labour of love come to fruition.
We kicked off the festival with a conversation between
literary festival friend and fabulous BBC presenter
Martine Croxhall and Antony Lester QC, the ‘father’ of
Human Rights in the UK. The audience provided some
very interesting questions, especially given the recent
referendum results!
Saturday morning saw the nave transformed into a Clangers’ planet with lots of tiny hands making
planets and spaceships, having been inspired by Alistair Watson’s reading of The Brilliant Surprise. Later
we had a hopscotch contest and Wimpy Kid MasterMind in the nave. I’m not sure that’s ever happened
there before, but it was fabulous to see so many children enjoying themselves and celebrating literature.
Alistair Watson
Later on in the day in the Octagon the children were treated to Katherine Woodfine’s talk about
Sinclairs department store (loosely based on Selfridges) and were able to try on lots of Edwardian hats!
They then invented their own comic book characters with the Phoenix comic artist Neill Cameron.
Who’d have thought that a Panda-Oven would be such a delightful character.
There were so many highlights it’s hard to talk about them all but Alison Weir was undoubtedly a star.
Not only was she delightful and patient, her talk on Katherine of Aragon was enlightening. The amount of
‘selfies’ she was asked for was a credit to how loved her work is. I thought that the surroundings of the
nave really added to the feel of the talk and I was transported back in time.
Alison Weir
St Peter's Church Newsletter
Martine Croxhall & Anthony Lester
Katherine Woodfine
17
September 2016
It wasn’t only the inside of the church that was used: BeauSandVer Writers ran a Flash Fiction workshop
in the storytelling circle and Kirsten Lester told children’s stories from around the world to celebrate St
Albans diverse cultures. The event was drawn to a close with a Literary Evensong which was a
magnificent way to celebrate St Albans’ brilliant literary history.
We hope you enjoyed the event. It was lovely to welcome so many people to St Peter’s, many of whom
were first time visitors. Their positive reaction to the church highlights just what a gem the church is
within our town.
The festival organisers would like to extend their grateful thanks to Moira Dean and Reg who worked
so hard with us to pull the event together and help it to run smoothly.
Following the successful first SuStainable St Albans Week in 2015, the group behind this project won
this year’s St Albans Mayor’s Prize Award for both Environmental Champion and Community Project of
the Year.Building on this success they are organising the second SSAW from the 19th–26th Nov 2016.
Over 100 community organisations, schools, churches, businesses and cafés supported the first week
and the organisers are hoping to double this number this year.
Last year St Peter’s was the venue for a Diocesan screening of the film ‘Journey of the Universe’ about
the impact humans now have on the planet. Sadly, despite pew sheet publicity, no one came from St
Peter’s, though there was a good audience from across the city. Can we do better this year…?
Have a look at the website www.sustainablestalbans.org where there is further information plus lots of
ideas for sustainability projects. A Community Food Waste Challenge for residents and schools to go
for a whole week without throwing away any edible food or leftovers, is also being run this year.This is
important when you see DEFRA statistics which show that seven million tonnes of food waste was
produced by households in 2013, but also this fact runs alongside a growing problem of poverty and
food banks.
If anyone would like to run a St Peter’s project for SSAW please have a word with me, Helen
Hutchison, or drop me an email at [email protected].
St Peter's Church Newsletter
18
September 2016
Holiday at Home: 9th and 10th August 2016
by Margaret Tinsley and Rosemary Fletcher
Our thanks are due to Idy Osibodu for this initiative. When we
were on the church outing in July 2015, hearing about the Holiday at
Home which the Caversham Methodist Churches run, Idy decided
we could run one in 2016 from Marlborough Road Methodist
Church. We decided to start just with two days at MRMC. We are
grateful to all from MRMC and St Peter’s who helped and attended.
My first and over-riding impression (Margaret) was of the warmth
and friendliness as participants and volunteers enjoyed themselves,
be it in a game of Scrabble, a sewing activity (amongst the many on
offer) or just spending time chatting together. The worship sessions
then added another, more spiritual, aspect to the days.
Idy and her helpers put a huge amount of effort into creating such a
successful Holiday at Home. If it is repeated next year, I'd encourage
more from St Peter's to participate and enjoy it.
Comments from guests included:
• I have had such a lovely two days and was very impressed with the
food and number of activities provided. It has given me back some
confidence.
• Really enjoyed the crafts.
• I had not been to an organ recital before – I might come again on a
Tuesday as I enjoyed it.
• It was wonderful to have meals cooked by someone else and also not
to have to do the washing up.
• It was a really lovely day. I wished I could have come on the second.
• The armchair exercises were fun and the person who led them so jolly!
• I came on the Tuesday and was not sure whether I would come on the
Wednesday but I liked the first day so much I came again and it was
so nice to have a change of scenery.
• Everyone was so kind.
• Play reading was different – not done that before – I would do it again.
• The ukulele band Katie’s Jumping Fleas were terrific. Can we have them again?
• I think personally that Tuesday was a great success.There were a lot of people there and they were enjoying
themselves and it was something different. It can be scary when you try something out for the first time but I
think that it was a success. It was lovely to see so many people together, just enjoying each other's company.
• Celia and Judith did amazingly well with their lunch.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
19
September 2016
Church Outing to Stratford-upon-Avon
by Patricia Lloyd
This took place on Thursday 11th August, when a group of 49 went by
coach to Stratford-upon-Avon, some from Marlborough Road Methodist
Church encouraged by the Revd Rosemary Fletcher and some from St
Peter’s encouraged by Canon Margaret Tinsley. This outing was the last
of the three days of Holiday at Home. We paid only £10 each because
the event was largely financed by an anonymous donation. The coach
was new and the £10 cost included lunch at the Methodist Church in
Stratford-upon-Avon, opposite Trinity Church where Shakespeare is
buried very close to his beloved River Avon. All this was arranged by
Idy Osibodu from MRMC, so thank you to her.
We were blessed with perfect weather for a lovely day out. The church
was very large with many facilities, in immaculate condition and its
minister, Reverend Audrey Simpson, a friend of the Revd Rosemary
Fletcher, rushed out to welcome us on our arrival and after the lunch
took many of us around the church. The lunch was simply splendid and
exactly what we wanted on a hot summer’s day – salad consisting of
ham, boiled egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, salad dressing, etc.
(and ladies from the church rushed to bring extras of anything anyone
wanted), followed by strawberries and cream and tea or coffee. Thank
you to Liz Walker and her team there for the lovely lunch.
After lunch there was an optional tour and talk by Audrey about the
Methodist Church, then we had four hours from 2–6pm to discover
Stratford-upon-Avon. I went with a friend on a boat trip with free audio
commentary. The river is wide and lined by beautiful trees and houses.
Afterwards we went on a tour of the town and concentrated on
Shakespeare’s birthplace. In the room in which he was born the guide
told us about when Shakespeare turned the property into a hotel for
foreign wealthy guests who, for instance, clued him up about Venice,
which is why he writes as though he’d been there himself. Other people
went round the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on a guided tour. There
is plenty to see and do for all tastes in Stratford-upon-Avon. Most of us,
myself included, had some refreshments in one of the numerous
eateries before getting back onto the coach. We set off promptly and
arrived back in St Albans at almost 8:15pm after a memorable day out.
We’re all hoping this might become an annual summer event.
A few comments received:
• The Church members at Stratford-upon-Avon Methodist Church were all so
nice and kind.
• Wonderful meal – perfectly set out in their church hall.
• Stratford-upon-Avon church was so well refurbished.
• Did not know about eco-congregations until this visit.Very interesting.
• There was time to visit some of the historic houses.
• I learnt new things about William Shakespeare.
• Enjoyed a boat trip.
• Everything was ideal about it all.Thank you so much.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
20
September 2016
by Eleanor Sollis
On Saturday 3rd September seven young people went to this event in the Abbey called Live 2016. As
they explained it – fun, faith and foolishness. We spent ten hours in the Abbey playing on inflatable assault
courses, doing team-building games and a couple of sermons
throughout the day. There were seven of us: me, Patricia, Ben,
David, Gigi, Tom and Sam, and not forgetting our fabulous leaders
Jos and Patti. We all had an amazing time and this was a great
event. Especially because it was supporting a charity (Liv) that
helps children in Africa. So thank you to everyone who made this
possible because we had a blast!!!!
Nooks and Crannies Answers
1) Panellingaroundthehighaltar
2) Behindthepulpitdesk
3) TheAumbrey
4)Organstops
St Peter's Church Newsletter
21
September 2016
The Living Room Report
By Revd Jos Perris
“The Living Room treats the whole person in a way that medical services
have never done for me – the counsellors really knew me, not just as a
label or diagnosis, and they supported me on the ups and downs of my
journey.” (Client feedback July 2016)
St Peter’s has financially supported The Living Room for the last two years. I
first met Janis a week after I started at St Peter’s, in July 2011, at a breakfast
meeting in St Albans. I was very moved by her passion and commitment to
transform people’s lives through breaking the cycle of addiction.
She had set up The Living Room in Stevenage in 2000 and had felt a calling to set up another one in St
Albans. I joined the start-up team and 18 months later, in December 2012, Lady Verulam and the Bishop
of St Albans officially opened The Living Room, St Albans. Sue Parker and I then became Trustees of The
Living Room and Sue dedicated many, many hours to supporting the management team at a very
challenging time. She then stepped down as Trustee in April 2015.
On 29th July 2016, the founder and CEO, Janis Feely, MBE, stepped down as CEO to spend more time
with her family, but will remain as life-long President and Ambassador for the charity. A month ago we
learnt that the Herts County Council had awarded us three years funding which is great news. But this
funding only provides 50% of the funds needed to run the charity. As you will see from the letter below,
176 lives have been transformed in the last year, most of whom will have come to the charity having lost
their families, their jobs and their homes.
The Living Room’s unique approach is based on:
1) Total abstinence.
2) Primary group therapy supported by individual therapy. 3) All therapists have been addicts themselves and have been in recovery for over five years.
4) Treating all addictions as the same illness with different ‘drugs of choice’.
We at St Peter’s have agreed to give £4,000 this year to The Living Room and I will remain a Trustee of
the charity. It would be great if there was someone who felt able to join me in representing St Peter’s as
a Trustee. Being a Trustee primarily involves 1) Reading emails and documents, 2) Attending board
meetings once every two months and 3) Making informed decisions. We are currently a Trustee Board
of six.
It has been a privilege to be involved with the
charity for the last five years. The biggest
highlight was when the Archbishop of
Canterbury came last June to meet the clients,
staff and Trustees. He was profoundly moved by
the experience of sitting in a group of about 30
people, either current clients or ex-clients, who
had literally been given their life back through
the work of The Living Room. If anyone is
interested in sitting in on one of these groups, please do tell me, as I can arrange for this.
Below is a letter from Fran Fletcher, the Fundraiser for The Living Room, thanking us for our financial
help. Jesus came into this world so that all people could live life in all of its fullness. I hope you will join
me in praying for The Living Room, that the right people seek the service, for this transitional time of
finding a new CEO and importantly that it continues to transform lives, so that more people can live life
in all of its fullness.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
22
September 2016
Dear St Peter’s Church,
We are so grateful for the support of local churches and faith groups in helping us to provide the
service we offer. We really appreciate the bags of shopping which you drop off, your prayers,
financial donations and your invitations to speak at meetings.
The Living Room has now been open in St Albans for three and a half years, seeing over 420
referrals and enabling us to provide a Hertfordshire-wide service. In the last year we have seen
176 clients across all addictions, aged from 20 to 75. Increasingly, recently we have experienced a
need for supporting clients with a dual diagnosis of addiction and mental health issues. We have
also helped more clients in child protection cases, evidencing the recovery of the parent and their
suitability to care for their child. We have provided housing support and made referrals to the food
bank. One client successfully completed work experience in our crèche in Stevenage, leading to
training and paid employment at a pre-school.
Of those who engaged with treatment, 81% have either left abstinent of their addiction or are still
actively involved in treatment. Our largest client group is those with a primary addiction to
alcohol, 74 of the clients. 45 clients were referred for drug addiction and 33 for behavioural issues
such as eating disorders, gambling and relationships. We have seen 24 people in our family and
friends group, two of whom have family members receiving help for addictions at The Living Room.
In April we were able to expand through taking over a room in the adjacent building and knocked
through to create a doorway. This has transformed the space for our daily group therapy sessions,
along with creating better provision for one-to-one work and office space. However, we have seen
an immediate increase in client numbers as a result, so will continue to consider our options.
“I had tried lots of different approaches and therapies before coming to The Living Room,
but only The Living Room has given me real long-lasting recovery from my eating disorder.
I'm so grateful to have found The Living Room and it was worth every bit of the daily bus
journey for the support and the depth of treatment it offered. I would love more people to
have the opportunity to come into treatment at The Living Room and would highly
recommend it.” (Client feedback July 2016)
Within our family and friends group, clients attend as a result of the impact on them of the
addiction of a partner, child or parent. Where there is an emotional bond with an addicted person,
it can be difficult to make changes, through fear of negative consequences. Within the group, clients
come to realise that putting up with the problem, even making excuses for the addict, means they
are both stuck in the cycle and nothing can change. If they begin to recover themselves, it also
gives the addict a better chance of recovery. As a future goal, we would like to be able to offer
systemic family therapy, seeing the addicted person and the family member together.
Please do keep praying for The Living Room and supporting this vital work in whatever way you
are able to. We couldn’t do it without you.
Fran Fletcher, Fundraiser, Rear of 156 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4JA.
01727 854479
[email protected]
http://thelivingroom.me.uk/
Warwick came to us in 2008, after 18 years of
extensive heroin use. These pictures show Warwick
before and today, after leaving treatment in May 2010.
A real life success case.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
23
September 2016
Lammastide Forest Church
by Anke King
Saturday 6th August was a classic English
summer’s day, but in St Peter’s churchyard
something else was being celebrated as well:
in the Celtic calendar this was Lammastide,
the start of the harvest season, the gathering
in of all the crops and the culmination of the
farmers’ efforts.
About 20–25 people, many regulars, but also
a family visiting from Germany, enjoyed
baking bread, making ribbons and plaits out of
lavender, and, of course, we were well catered
for with homemade food and drink.
Afterwards, in our usual fashion we held an informal service, but in this
season there was an emphasis on thanksgiving for God’s abundance in the
harvest. It’s always great fun using the churchyard and storytelling circle,
singing as we walk round, this time in Pied-Piper fashion accompanied by
our great musicians!
Thanks to all involved for all their organisation, to our leaders, musicians,
those running stalls and those who provided refreshments. Do come and
try the next Forest Church if you haven’t yet been, for All Hallows on 29th
October.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
24
September 2016
Community News
Recent Baptisms
On Sunday 21st August, we had the great pleasure of baptising two children: Hannah Francesca Cable
(aged one year) whose parents, Jenny and Philip, have been very long standing members of our 9:30am
congregation and Kayden Michael Campbell (aged 2.5 years) whose parents, Ursela and Michael, have
been regular members of our Messy Church and of Mandy’s toddler groups.
It was lovely that Hannah’s grandfather, Revd Stephen Mitchell, preached for us at the service and was
able to baptise Hannah himself. We very much look forward to both families continuing to be part of our
church community and seeing both Kayden and Hannah grow up as they continue their own journeys of
faith.
Bellringers Update by Barry Mack
I’ve recently taken on the role of Ringing Master here at St Peter’s. It’s my responsibility to run ringing on
practice nights and for services. I’ve been ringing at St Peter’s for more than 20 years with my wife Judith
so we know the route from Welwyn Garden City, where we live, to St Albans very well! We’ve taught
quite a few people to ring including our two sons Thomas and Edward, so it’s been a family affair,
although they have now grown up and moved away. If you would like to learn to ring, and know that you
would be able to commit to ringing for one or both of our Sunday services, and can make our Monday
practice nights, then please do get in touch. You’ll find more information including contact details here:
http://www.stpeterschurch.uk.com/music-and-bells/bellringing/. Rennie Grove Thanks St Peter’s for
the Lunchtime Recitals
We hold a programme of Wednesday
lunchtime recitals which are organised by
St Peter’s and held in our church. The
concerts are free but everyone is invited
to contribute a donation and the money
raised goes to Rennie Grove Hospice Care
(also known locally as Grove House). In
July a representative from Rennie Grove
attended the last concert of the summer season to thank St Peter's for its continuing support of their
work, and to acknowledge £8,232 which has been raised in the last year.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
25
September 2016
Marriage of Penny Casper to Tony Herman by Irene Casper
On Saturday 16th April 2016 at 2pm Miss Penny Casper and Mr Tony Herman were
married in a wonderful ceremony by the Revd Jos Perris at St Peter’s Church.
Bridesmaids were Penny’s sister Rebecca and friend Miss Emma Welland, supported by
Rebecca’s daughter Miss Rosie Onn (18 months) and her brother, Pageboy Master Theo
Onn (four years). The wedding breakfast reception for 100 guests was held at Hanbury
Manor, Ware, and was followed by an evening disco. Penny and Tony send their heartfelt
thanks to Jos and all who witnessed, participated and supported them at St Peter’s on their special day.
A Week of Celebrating for Dee!
On Sunday 11th September it was Dee Court’s birthday. We celebrated
during Community Coffee time by singing Happy Birthday to Dee, twice!
For the first rendition she was still in the vestry but she was found in time
to make the end of the first chorus. It was good to have the opportunity to
share part of her special day with her.
A week later, Dee’s daughter Laura gave birth to baby Oliver, on 18th
September (his great-grandfather’s birthday), weighing 8lb 7.5oz at the John
Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Congratulations!
Members of St Peter’s share what they have been up to over the summer.
A Holiday of Surprises and Singing by Lisa Williams
We had a busy summer full of happy surprises. Gigi and Pippa kick-started
their holiday with a Triathlon camp and then we flew to Mallorca for a
couple of weeks in the sun. The girls didn’t know that we’d arranged for
grandma and grandpa to fly out as a surprise – the look on the girls’ faces
when they turned up at the swimming pool was a picture. It was even more
special as we weren’t sure Mum
would be well enough to travel.
Thank you all at St Peter’s for your
prayers. We had a wonderful time
(even though Mum lost her
passport!). The surprises continued
when the week after we came home Pippa was invited to the
ITV studios to audition for a very well-known singing
competition. What a memorable experience that was!
St Peter's Church Newsletter
26
September 2016
Valleys,Volcanoes and Venice Beach
This summer the Jubbs took a trip of a lifetime to the west
coast of America and visited a place that’s been on our
bucket list for many years: Hawaii. We started our adventure
in San Francisco where we explored the city by bike – cycling
across the Golden Gate Bridge and exploring Fisherman’s
Wharf. After the surprising cool of the city we travelled to
Yosemite Valley where temperatures soared but Daisy soon
cooled herself down by swimming in a small stream. The
scenery was spectacular with the sun casting amazing
shadows on El Capitan. From a peaceful sunrise at Yosemite
we ventured west and flew to Maui, Hawaii, to experience
the most spectacular sunset from a beach near Lahaina. We
spent a week on Maui where we climbed to the top of
Haleakala, a dormant volcano and travelled to the bottom of
the sea via submarine to watch colourful fish swim around a shipwreck and the reef. There were many
highlights of our time on Maui but what struck us was the spirituality of the people of Maui – they still
have such respect for the land that gives them food and they are very protective of the sea that gives
them life. Where the land meets the sea is very sacred to them and viewed as the boundary between
man and the deities. One of my standout memories is the sound of the conch shell being blown by the
guide at the top of the volcano to ask the clouds to go away and 5 minutes later they did! From the
spirituality of Maui we travelled to the craziness of Los Angeles where we saw the muscles on Muscle
Beach, skateboarders at Venice Beach and, of course, Mickey at Disneyland. After a quick stay with family
on our way home we finally arrived back in St Albans with some unforgettable memories. After hearing
about Jos and the girls’ adventure in Taizé, I do feel slightly ashamed that our trip was a little more
luxurious, however, both trips had one thing in common – taking time out from our busy lives to really
appreciate those around us, especially family. The Liley Family Visits California
The Liley family have been on a Californian road trip this summer.
Highlights were cycling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco,
Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park and trying stand up
paddleboarding in San Diego.
We have just spent Bank Holiday weekend in Worcestershire with
family where Natalie has been getting inspiration for the next USA
road trip at a fabulous classic car festival!
The Newmarks
Stacey, Matthew, and daughters Helen and Hanne had a lovely time during the
school holidays. The early part included a trip to Grandma’s in Guildford. There
they visited a local farm and got to touch the farm animals. Afterwards the main
trip was to Jersey and St Malo. In St Malo Helen caught her biggest crab with help
from Grandma.
In the last part of the holiday we took a sleeper train to Scotland to stay in a log
cabin on a loch near Oban. The children had great fun visiting Tobermory and
meeting the Tobermory cat!
St Peter's Church Newsletter
27
September 2016
A Silver Wedding Anniversary Trip by Patti
Seabright
On an unusually hot day at the end of August 25 years ago
Steve and I got married in my childhood home of Shepton
Mallet, Somerset. It seems to both of us that we’re not
quite grown up enough to have made this momentous
milestone… but it appears we are! So rather than buy
‘stuff’ we decided to go on a big trip to Cambodia and
Vietnam with the kids. It was their first time in Asia and was really eye opening for them and a good
illustration of how fortunate we are to live in England and particularly St Albans. We say it to them all
the time but as parents we are of course, ‘white noise’. Seeing for themselves how different it is and
how hard some people’s lives are in other parts of the world was a much better education than anything
we could say. Highlights were definitely the Cambodian temples. Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm (the Tomb
Raider temple) were every bit as impressive as we had imagined and we had a lot of fun scrambling over
and up them. The most sobering bit was the visit to the Phnom Penh killing fields, where confronting the
evidence of Khmer Rouge brutality was a shocking reminder of just how bad man’s inhumanity to man
can be. All told the combination of pools, temples, palaces, entertainingly chaotic traffic, a mummified Ho
Chi Minh, elephants in the jungle and the discovery of the one and only Starbucks in Cambodia made for
a great adventure that was a suitable celebration of the last 25 years.
Revd Rosemary
Fletcher
Rosemary Fletcher and
her husband James Rowley walked the
Cleveland Way in
Yorkshire in July.
Community Night – October 5th 7:15pm
These special evenings are held once a term and are open to all who would
like to be more a part of St Peter’s core community. A simple supper with
wine is available from 7:15pm. Community news, sociable time, input and
discussion followed by evening prayer. One of the home groups arranges the
food whilst another organises the theme for the evening and activities.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
28
September 2016
Laura Turner
More horse and pony stuff from Laura, out and about
with friends of Cobweb and with my daughter, Charlotte,
this summer. Two of the highlights:
Charlotte qualified for the Pony Club Eventing
Championships at Cholmondley Castle (pronounced
'Chumley'!), so we made the long journey north to
Cheshire for two nights with Murphy. Charlotte was also selected to be in the East
Hertfordshire PC team to compete at Burghley Horse
Trials on Coney. Charlotte jumped a clear round on a
huge show jumping course and then the team had their
photo taken in front of the historic Burghley House
(Charlotte is second from the left). The team were not
placed in the jumping competition but did win the Tack &
Turnout prize – so they were the cleanest and the
smartest out of the 36 teams that took part. A rosette
for the parents should be awarded! Now back to school beckons. Brandt Family
The Brandt family had a lovely summer. We spent two weeks in a
(mostly!) sunny north Wales at the beginning of the holiday. We had
some lovely day trips in the middle of the summer – inspired by the
Olympics we went to Lee Valley and watched the canoeists and
whitewater rafting. We then rounded off the holiday
with a camping trip to Dorset. 28 of
us enjoyed the sunny weather. It was
so lovely to give the children
freedom at the campsite! Back to school and normality now!
Lynn Willson
I went with my archivist daughter Kate to Whitby for a few days, partly
prompted by Bishop Anne's connection with St Hilda and partly by the
realisation that I hadn't done 'seaside' since 2012. We walked in the footsteps of
Hilda, Caedmon and Dracula, ate lovely fresh fish and a seagull cake, found a
fossil on the beach and bilberries on the moors, and greatly enjoyed the oldfashioned Whitby Museum, where we found much jet and this copy of
Caedmon's song.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
29
September 2016
A Fairy-Tale French Wedding for Choir Girl Hannah by Ulrike Leigh
This August I had the good fortune to be invited to the wedding of
Hannah Crick. For those of you who don’t know, Hannah was a
committed and faithful member of St Peter’s Choir for many years from
the age of seven until 18 when she left for University. In fact, Hannah,
together with her sister Lucy, also a long-serving member of the choir,
still makes a guest appearance from time to time when Nick needs
extra voices for a special service.
This fairy-tale wedding took place in Landaville in northeastern France
where Hannah married her Prince Charming, Thiébault. The setting was
a small chateau, complete with lake and 18th-century dovecote. The
bride was beautiful, the groom dashing and the parents, Kate and Peter
(stalwarts of St Peter’s Wednesday lunchtime recitals),
very proud indeed. An emotional moment in the
ceremony came when Lucy serenaded her sister and new
husband with a Beatles number ‘Here, There and
Everywhere’ – not a dry eye to be seen!
The whole weekend was magical and I wouldn’t have
missed it for the world. Many congratulations to the new
M and Mme Pastor, who will make their home in
Canterbury.
Kate Bretherton
Each week through the holidays I have been thinking up,
writing up and sending out ideas for what to discover
outdoors with children. This week it was how to make a
paintbrush and paints from a twig, leaves and berries. Other
weeks it has been how to identify trees or, for example,
what time of day to look for the leaf miner grubs that are
so spoiling our horse chestnut leaves or look for what is
causing the stickiness that drops from lime trees. Anyone
can have the ideas emailed to them each week, or find them
when they need them, at www.hellotrees.co.uk/resources.
Margaret, James, Katherine and Robin Blake
We had an excellent trip to Ramsau am Dachstein in Austria. The
sun shone and we enjoyed cable car trips, walks, swimming in
outdoor pools and lakes and tasty food in mountain huts. We also
did some Klettersteigs (scrambling when attached to a fixed cable). This is us at the top of the Hoher Gjaidstein which is surrounded by
a glacier. We would highly recommend a holiday there so please ask
if you would be interested to know where we stayed and how we
got there. St Peter's Church Newsletter
30
September 2016
The Proms: July 16th – September 10th 2016 by
Patricia Lloyd
I decided to become a prommer this year mainly because it’s one
way of getting to the Last Night of the Proms and also because it
would be my first summer alone and I might feel lonely as most
of my activities take a break in August – even in St Peter’s Church
the choirs are on a well-deserved holiday.
Booking opened on May 5th so I paid £240 for 75 proms. Being a prommer entitles one to stand in the
Arena at the Royal Albert Hall but the Arena contains some seats and these are allocated daily to the
first 25 who book them by ringing at 9am on the dot. I decided that if any day I didn’t get one of those
seats I would buy a seat if possible. So far this happened on only one occasion when Daniel Barenboim
was conducting his young Arabs and Jews Orchestra and Martha Argerich played a Liszt piano concerto.
This proved to be a blessing in disguise as I got a seat (returned – the only one available) in front of the
choir with a view of Daniel Barenboim and all the orchestra. This was an unforgettable experience.
Every night I sit next to largely the same people. Having a seat in the Arena doesn’t entitle one to the
particular seat but whoever gets there first keeps seats next to them for their friends, so actually I
always sit in the same seat. People are extraordinarily friendly. Also the same people stand by our seats
every night and we all know each other’s names and plenty more besides.
Adjacent to the Royal Albert Hall is Imperial College London University and all who go to the RAH can
use all its facilities. Every night before the concert in the RAH a relevant talk by leading authorities is
given in I.C.L.U.’s lecture theatre for 20 minutes followed by a question and answer session. In this I sit
next to two Poles and I have learned a lot about Poland. The lecture is broadcast daily on Radio 3 in the
interval between the two halves of each concert. I have asked a few questions – the questions and
answers are not broadcast.
I travel by bus from Bricket Wood to Marble Arch (buses every half hour) and then change to a No.10
London red double-decker to RAH. Most of the people on the No.10 are Arabs getting off in
Knightsbridge to go shopping in Harrods. They are very considerate to old people (like me) – not only
the men but even middle-aged people offer me a seat if none is available. All travelling is free to me as I
have a bus pass for over 60s. On two occasions so far my daughter has come with me. She buys a return
ticket from Bricket Wood for £10. We get proper seats on these occasions as she would otherwise have
to stand in the Arena. We’ve been lucky to get seats in the stands very close to the orchestra with a
perfect view. My son and his family have tickets for Proms in Hyde Park on Saturday 10th September,
which starts at 5pm and from 7:15–10:30pm has a live big screen link-up to the RAH. I stayed in the
Imperial College student accommodation on the nights of 9th and 10th September – so now you know
why I wasn’t in church on 10th September – a very unfortunate clash from my point of view but I shall
be seeing our new vicar and his wife weekly thereafter.
I would thoroughly recommend anyone able to do so to spend two summer months at the Proms next
year. So far I have only had to use my umbrella once – this has
been a very dry summer. The quality of the music one hears
cannot be surpassed anywhere in the world. Hence most
concerts are fully booked but one can always try for returned
tickets at the box office (Tickets 0845 4015040;
www.royalalbert hall.com). Each concert is on Radio 3 nightly
and the most popular 12 are televised but I think nothing
compares with being at live performances in the RAH.
St Peter's Church Newsletter
31
September 2016
Carolyn Alexander goes to Australia
This summer we went on an amazing family holiday to
Australia. Our trip started with two days in Hong
Kong which was busy, noisy and very different from
anywhere I had been before. Then we flew to Sydney
and spent three weeks traveling up the East Coast and
to the Top End of Australia. We packed a huge amount
into our trip and had some incredible
experiences. Some of the highlights were Sydney and
the Blue Mountains, whale watching from Hervey Bay,
the Whitsunday Islands, snorkelling on the Great
Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest and Kakadu National Park. We took over 4,000 photos while we
were away which we need to organise! Here is a picture of our first view of the Sydney Opera House. Helen Hutchison in Italy
The earthquake hit Italy a few days before we were due there for our
summer break. As we headed for the northern lakes, knowing this was
outside the unstable central spine of Italy, we weren’t anxious. However
an unfortunate item in the Independent, suggesting that the Swiss Alps
were geographically unstable, did give me a few moments of unease as we
rattled through numerous alpine tunnels on the fast TGV train from Paris.
We were more than happy to pay a daily guest surcharge at our hotel
towards the earthquake fundraising. Our friend Michaela also told us that
larger numbers of children than might have been expected had died,
because their parents living and working in Rome, had sent them out of
the city to stay with grandparents for the summer months. Whilst we
were there the German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the devastated areas, and promised ringfenced financial aid from the EU towards retrofitting all homes in the earthquake zone. After all the
anger and anti-EU tirades in Britain this summer, it seemed a small sign of hope for humanity.
The Italian Red Cross is supporting the Earthquake Appeal – donations can be made via https://
www.google.com/url?hl=en-GB&q=http://m.redcross.org.uk/Home/About-us/News/2016/August/Italyearthquakeresponse&source=gmail&ust=1474112506297000&usg=AFQjCNHStEGKn0eyfThTZjvSPLhCEq2Yvw.
Margaret, Eric, Cathryn, Roy and Poppy
Was it reading the new biography of Charlotte Brontë, ready for the
Themed Evensong in January which provided the inspiration, or many
times teaching Jane Eyre and other Brontë novels? Certainly 2016, 200
years since the birth of Charlotte, was an ideal time to take a cottage in
Haworth and the opening paragraph of Jane Eyre with 'clouds so
sombre...a rain so penetrating' certainly came to mind when we visited
the Parsonage Museum, that fascinating home of the Brontë family. The
sun did shine, though, and there were lots of other places to visit, such
as Saltaire on a sunny day, with its beautiful, listed URC church, open to
the public with the organ playing that afternoon or the Keighley and
Worth Valley railway – where our train was serenaded by a brass band!
In the cottage, Poppy (two years) had her first experience of an open
fire but could not understand its disappearance the next morning! St Peter's Church Newsletter
32
September 2016
Julian Cable
The choir trip to Germany was not the only bit of singing
that I and some other choir members did over the
summer! In addition, three of us (Roy Cervenka, Geoff
Ward and myself) sang with the Kingsbury Singers as the
visiting choir at Lichfield Cathedral during one weekend in
August.
On one evening during our stay there, we made a 15-minute journey to
Sutton Coldfield where we were invited for dinner by the Bishop of Aston
(a familiar figure to all of us at St Peter's)! It was good to catch up with
Anne and Steve again, and they prepared a sumptuous Mexican-style meal
followed by cheese, fruit and coffee. Wine and conversation flowed freely! The Bishop's dining room is a
splendid setting, with Flemish 16th-century wood panelling extending right around the room.
A Wedding in Istanbul by Paul Cartwright
I went to the wedding of my erstwhile college supervisor in a Sephardic
Synagogue in Istanbul. Wedding Breakfast on a noisy, sweaty, smoky rooftop
bar overlooking the Bospherous. Guests from all religions and many soldiers
– some waiting for 'the knock on the door’... Why do they stay? The hotel
where I stayed had 54 rooms but we could see only six guests. No queue to
get into the Blue Mosque.
Pip Austin and Family
Our holiday so far this year has been a long weekend in
Prague. A large proportion of our time has been spent
packing up Gareth's office and our flat, ahead of our
return to the UK. We'll be sad to leave Geneva but
excited for what lies ahead: hoping our newly agreed
house sale in St Albans goes ahead this time and that we
can find somewhere suitable in Cambridge, having lost
our sale and purchase post-Brexit. I'll still be at St Peter's
for a little while, having thought we were moving in July.
Community News
The Newsletter features important events in the lives of members of the St Peter’s community. If you
would like to share something you or your family have been up to, let us know. Email: [email protected]
St Peter's Church Newsletter
33
September 2016
Recent Baptisms
Recent Weddings
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Hannah Laurie Bellard
Oliver James Bellwood
Barnaby Dean Gregson
Zachary Matthew Paul Lomax
Hannah Francesca Cable
Kayden Michael Campbell
Eden Miller
Edward James Mennim
Harry Jonathan Wood
Penelope Alba Jade Taylor
Caroline Stevens and Thomas Rich
Felicity Blackshaw and Simon Gregg
Laura Mainwaring and Michael Butters
Thomas Hough and Kathryn Bishop
Julie Langford and Paul Scourfield
Recent Funerals
• Mary McInnerny
Wedding of Carl Krysl and Susanne Froehlich
01727 855485 | [email protected] | www.stpeterschurch.uk.com
St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Street, St Albans, AL1 3HG
St Peter's Church Newsletter
The Newsletter edited by Rebecca Gillibrand
Email: [email protected]
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