October 2015 | Issue 164
www.cofesuffolk.org
East Anglican
Monthly News from the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich
God of the Harvest
What does Harvest mean to Suffolk?
Also in this issue: Focus on... ‘Feast’ at Reydon,
Living Faith in Suffolk and soul[food]
CONTENTS
In this issue...
6
Focus On...
Feast at Reydon
7
Living Faith in
Suffolk
8
The origins of
Harvest Festival
11
soul[food]
training event
A Prayer for Harvest Thanksgiving
Eternal God, you crown the year with your goodness and you give us the fruits of the
earth in their season:
grant that we may use them to your glory, for the relief of those in need and for our
own well-being;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity
of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
HAVE YOUR SAY
KEEP IN TOUCH
Please send your stories or items for inclusion to the Editor.
Via email to: [email protected]
Via post to: Diocesan Office, St Nicholas Centre,
4 Cutler St, Ipswich IP1 1UQ.
Please send pictures as separate attachments, preferably
saved as jpgs, rather than embedding them in your stories.
The inclusion of an advertisement in this publication does not constitute an endorsement of a product or
service by either the Editor or the Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich. Copyright of the East Anglican
belongs to The St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocesan Board of Finance. Articles and pictures in this magazine
will also appear on the diocesan website and social media.
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eNews at
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Front cover image and above: Ashbocking Harvest
(with thanks to www.arthakker.photography)
FROM THE ARCHDEACON OF SUFFOLK
What is of value to you?
From the Venerable Ian
Morgan, Archdeacon of
Suffolk.
‘Value’ has always seemed
a difficult concept to
me. ‘The value of shares
can go down as well as
up’; when the value of
shares drop, the world’s
economies seem to behave
irrationally; the ‘value’ of a pint of milk
depends entirely on whether you are
a producer, a retailer or a consumer;
the ‘value’ of human dignity seems
strongly politically driven and almost
wholly relative in relation to refugees
or those who find being able to work
challenging for a range of reasons, not
least disability.
It has always been the case for arable
farmers that planting a crop is something
of a gamble as the monetary value of
that crop is not guaranteed, as prices are
driven by others. The trading of futures
in any commodity, which defines much
of the world’s wealth, seems to those on
the outside at best arbitrary.
There is a danger that the word ‘value’ is
hijacked to define something or someone
in terms of commodity, production and
finance. Speaking into a market-driven
debate about the use of the word ‘value’
in terms of what is seen as a numinous
Christian concept of, for example, each
human being created in the image of
God and therefore of inestimable value,
is to offer the invitation to be dismissed
as naive and irrelevant.
‘Again, th
e kin
like a merc gdom of heaven is
hant in se
arch of fin
pearls; on
e
finding on
e pearl of
great valu
e, he wen
t
and sold a
he had an
ll
d bought
it.’
Matthew 1
3 v45.
So as we are in the middle of the
church’s season of ‘Harvest’ a
consideration of ‘value’ is appropriate.
What is of value to you? How do you
attach value to something, or express or
reflect that value? Much of what Jesus
says throughout the gospels would
underline that you are of inestimable
value to God, he attaches value to you
by ensuring you are unique in the history
of creation, he loves you unconditionally,
asks for nothing back, and showers
you with his grace, pressed down and
running over. He does that not so you
will feel good, or even that you will
say thank you, but that you will follow
his example – that you will love your
neighbour, that you will give freely of the
gifts that he gives you, that your primary
concern will be the welfare of others,
and that your example will draw others
to know him through his son Jesus
Christ.
For God, ‘value’ is not
relative, it is absolute
and expressed in
unconditional love.
www.cofesuffolk.org
3
NEWS
Around the Diocese
Lead Thefts
Revd Mark Woodrow (Curate), church cleaner
Richard De’ath and Rector the Revd Stephen Earl
pictured at Lavenham (courtesy of Bury Free Press)
Lavenham and Combs churches were
recently hit by lead thefts, leaving their
congregations with enormous repair
bills. The fundraising at both churches
has received an early boost. In Combs
and Combs Ford an open meeting
generated £8000 in donations towards
the overall bill. At St Peter and St Paul’s
in Lavenham a Bring and Buy Sale
generated £7000 towards the cost of
their repair. Churches throughout the
diocese are urged to be vigilant.
Porch Project
The award-winning Porch Project was
started by the Very Revd Martin Thrower,
Dean of Hadleigh, in 2009 to engage with
local young people. It has just received a
grant from the Suffolk Police and Crime
Comissioner’s Safer Suffolk fund to help
set up a new youth project with the Revd
Chris Ramsey at St Andrew’s Church
in Great Cornard. The money will help
the church connect and engage with
their young people using the model and
experience gained over the past six years
through the existing Porch Project.
Young people at the recent Porch Project AGM
Bible Sunday
Get it... live it... share it... 25 October 2015. Celebrate the joy of encountering
Jesus through the Scriptures and sharing that experience. Get your church to join
others throughout the country in celebrating the Bible and having the freedom to
pass on its message. See www.biblesociety.org.uk for information.
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NEWS
Trip to Calais
Members of South West Ipswich Team Ministry (SWITM) are planning a trip to
Calais at the beginning of October with winter supplies (clothes, toiletries, food
etc.) for the residents of the “jungle” refugee camp. If you are able to support,
either by the donation of supplies (for all ages) or financial donations to cover
the cost of the trip, please get in touch. Financial donations can be made
payable to SWITM PCC (Please clearly mark the envelope “Calais”) and sent to
the SWITM Parish Office, 192 Hawthorn Drive, Ipswich IP2 0QQ.
The following items are urgently required and can be delivered to the above
address or dropped off at the Diocesan Office, 4 Cutler Street, Ipswich IP1
1UQ or via the Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds: Mens’ shoes / trainers (euro
sizes 41-46/uk 7-10), jackets / jumpers (medium or small sizes), tracksuit
bottoms / jeans, (waist 28-32), toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps),
travel bags, tents / tarpaulins, sleeping bags, candles / torches.
Email the Revd Ali Chesworth via [email protected], Pam Geoghegan via
[email protected] or call 01473 603229 for more information.
The People’s Cathedral
St Edmundsbury Cathedral is asking for
people to send in their selfies so that
they can be added to a model of the
Cathedral which has been created by
visiting children. The model is made of
newspaper bricks and has been built by
children attending Family Activity Days at
the Cathedral over the summer holidays.
Helen Woodroffe, Children’s Education
Officer said, “It’s a fun way of getting
people interested in recycling as well as
making them feel part of the Cathedral’s
mission and ministry.”
At the October half term Family Activity
Day on Wednesday 28 October, the
project will reach its conclusion with
Working on the ‘People’s Cathedral’ model
the model being painted and the selfies
being used to decorate it.
Please submit your selfies by email to
[email protected] by Monday
26 October. At the Family Activity Day,
which is free of charge and open to all,
children can join in quizzes, trails and
craft activities all with a recycling theme.
www.cofesuffolk.org
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FEATURE
Focus On: Feast at Reydon
‘Focus On’ is an occasional series by the Revd Dave Gardner, Director of Mission, who
looks at different churches across the diocese and how they are finding new ways of
being church in their community. Here he writes about his recent visit to Reydon.
Families enjoying the ‘Feast’ service at Reydon.
A team lead by the Revd Rich Henderson
of St Margaret’s Reydon in the Sole Bay
Team is pioneering a new style monthly
all-age service that has a growing
number of families, yet retains many of
the established congregation. ‘Feast’ is
based on the concept of offering a good
meal with a ‘starter’, ‘main course’ and
‘dessert’ all making up different parts of
the service.
At Reydon, Feast starts with a light
breakfast in the room next to the main
church. After this, everyone is invited
into the church for the worship service.
At the service I attended, the ‘starter’
comprised of a brief introduction to the
service theme which was based on the
journey of the Good Samaritan. The
‘main course’ was innovative, offering
a choice of ‘ingredients’ to consider
the passage in more detail in a variety
of ways including a creative collage, a
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modernised dramatisation, looking for
news stories on the theme of loving your
neighbour, a toddler table and a more indepth Bible Study. The ‘dessert’ included
a brief report from each ‘ingredient’ of
the main course which broadened the
application of the main theme. Prayers
were said, notices given and a final song
concluded the service.
Whilst Feast may not attract the
completely unchurched, it is a good
example of ‘doing Parish Church well’
for those with some prior experience of
church and those requesting baptism
for their children or looking forward to
a wedding. The Revd Rich Henderson
said, “The main outcomes have been a
broader church that is accessible to all
ages so people feel they belong. The
wider Church knew that this was a risk,
but they now speak positively about the
difference Feast has made”.
| Younger
FEATURE
Engaging Luke
‘Engaging Luke’ is a day on
Luke’s Gospel, open to all, which
will include a mix of worship,
presentations and workshops. It is
designed to help make the most of
the Year of Luke which starts on
Advent Sunday 2015.
Ruth Dennigan and the Revd Dr
John Parr from the diocesan Ministry,
Education and Training team look back
on a year of Living Faith in Suffolk and
reveal the latest exciting additions.
Living Faith in Suffolk (LFiS) has been
around for nearly a year now. During
that time we’ve produced mostly biblical
material, with additional courses on
Confirmation and Prayer, and a workbook
on Vocation. Seasonal material is
clearly popular. We’ve written a series
of daily reflections for Advent, and the
first of next year’s Lent material is now
available. The lectionary year of Luke
begins on Advent Sunday. With this in
mind we’ve published three courses, with
more material to come.
LFiS is a developing resource that
supports the ‘Growing Deeper’ strand
of Growing in God, the diocesan vision
for growth. Next year will bring material
to help us engage with some of the
wider concerns of Christian living,
such as the environment, wealth and
| Deeper
Saturday 17 October at Hyndman
Centre, Bury St Edmunds, from
9.30am to 3.30pm. £7 including
refreshments.
Email [email protected]
for more information.
poverty, wellbeing and politics. We’re
also planning a series of mostly half-day
events over the year, called ‘Living Faith
in Suffolk – Learning and Training’. This
will be the first of a three year cycle
that will bring together work we’ve been
doing for a while on team working and
the lectionary gospel with more focussed
training. Next year includes leading
worship, visiting, the gospel of John,
‘green’ Christianity and the occasional
offices.
You can find all our material on the LFiS
page of the diocesan website
www.cofesuffolk.org.
For further information, please contact
Lesley Steed at the Ministry, Education
and Training office (01473 298510;
[email protected])
www.cofesuffolk.org
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FEATURE
The Origins of Harvest
The Revd Canon Graham Hedger, Assistant Diocesan Secretary, writes about the
origins of our now familiar church harvest festivals.
Above: Diocesan staff took to a field at Ackenham to lead prayers for our farming communities
Picture the very rowdy harvest home
celebrations in Hardy’s novels and you
may well have found the reason why in
1843 the Revd R.S. Hawker devised a
church-based harvest festival service. It
is said that he chose October 1 as the
day which could coincide with the more
secular harvest events and provide a
basis for Christian thanksgiving. The
annual celebration soon spread through
the Church of England and has been
recognised since 1862. Nowadays
there are many varieties of services,
taking place in all sorts of venues from
churches to barns and open fields.
Of course the harvest festival service
is part of a long tradition of the church
connecting with food production.
Given that harvest may well be over by
October, some churches have revived
Lammastide (lammas means loaf mass).
The title of this ancient festival is derived
from the Anglo-Saxon Hlafmaesse
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traditionally held on August 1. It
celebrated the first fruits of the wheat
harvest when a newly baked loaf was
presented before God within the mass of
that day.
As with many things, this ceased at
the Reformation, although reference to
Lammas Day continued in the Prayer
Book calendar. For those that still
observe it, it is a simple and graphic
way of demonstrating our dependence
upon the staff of life and remembering
Jesus as the ‘Bread of Heaven’. It can
be an opportunity for all ages to join in
baking bread which can be used in the
Eucharist and the dough left over can be
made into smaller loaves which can be
distributed among the congregation.
The Arthur Rank website and Common
Worship Times and Seasons are both
good sources of helpful liturgical
resources and advice for this season.
| Deeper
FEATURE
Call to prayer
The Revd Canon Sally Fogden (pictured right) is Agricultural
Chaplain for the diocese and is calling on all churches to pray
for our farming communities.
‘It is indeed a holy thing to farm the good earth’: men and
women follow their calling to steward the land and produce
food for our sustenance. This can be a wonderful and fulfilling way of life, but
it can also be one that is very difficult - problems caused by disease (it is only a
few years ago that we were devastated first by Classical Swine Fever and then
by Foot and Mouth Disease), by fluctuating prices, and this year by that most
unpredictable thing – the weather! All seemed to go so well for harvest early
on - but then came lots and lots of rain - and those with standing corn waiting
to be harvested were beset by problems making it a difficult and depressing time
for some. So please pray for your farmers, give thanks for the work they do, and
support them as they follow God’s calling to farm and steward God’s good earth.
A Harvest service near you
Harvest festivals and services of
thanksgiving will be taking place
throughout our diocese during October.
Please remember to include the details
on the ‘A Church Near You’ website so
people who might not normally attend
church can easily find details.
Our Cathedral will be leading our harvest
celebrations with a festival on Sunday
11 October. From 10.30am a Farmers’
Market will take place on Angel Hill with
stalls provided by Suffolk Market events.
The annual Harvest Service will take
place at 3.30pm in the Cathedral. All are
welcome to this wonderful occasion at
which thanks are given for the Suffolk
harvest. The Cathedral will be filled with
| Influence
seasonal displays. During the service
the Suffolk Agricultural Association’s
Long Service Awards will be presented
to those who have devoted many years
to the industry in recognition of their
dedication and hard work.
The speaker will be the Revd Canon
Glyn Evans DL, Honorary Chaplain of the
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution
(RABI). During the service a collection
will be taken for the work of RABI.
Suffolk Harvest Festival is organised in
conjunction with the Suffolk Agricultural
Association, the National Farmers’ Union
(NFU), St Edmundsbury Borough Council,
Young Farmers and the Country Land
and Business Association (CLA).
www.cofesuffolk.org
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NEWS
Comings & Goings...
Appointments:
The Revd Ian DANIELS currently Self
Supporting Minister Assistant Curate
at Ipswich St Augustine of Hippo is to
become Associate Priest in the same
parish. He will be licensed by the Bishop
of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich on 1
November at 10.30am at Ipswich St
Augustine’s.
The Revd Wendy SMITH currently
Self Supporting Minister Assistant Curate
in the Benefice of Walton and Trimley
is to become Associate Priest in the
same benefice. She will be licensed on
13 September at 3.00pm at Trimley St
Martin Parish Church by the Archdeacon
of Suffolk.
The Revd Cheryl COLLINS currently
Priest in Charge of Suffolk Heights
Benefice and Acting Rural Dean of Clare
Deanery is to become Rector of Suffolk
Heights Benefice and will continue as
Acting Rural Dean of Clare Deanery.
She will be licensed on 1 November at
9.00am at All Saints Church, Chevington
by the Archdeacon of Sudbury.
The Revd Sister Sharon CONNELL
previously Deputy Head of the Multi Faith
Chaplaincy Team at the Chelsea and
Westminster NHS Foundation Trust in the
Diocese of London and with Permission
to Officiate in our diocese was appointed
Chaplain and Spiritual Care Co-ordinator
to St Nicholas Hospice Care in Bury St
Edmunds, with effect from 13 July. She
continues to have Permission to Officiate
in our Diocese. She will be licensed on
14 October at 11.00am at St Nicholas
Hospice Care by the Bishop of St
Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
A fond farewell:
Shirley and Simon Nicholls (right) are to retire this
month. Shirley has worked in the diocesan offices
for over 20 years. She has been Secretary of the
Mothers’ Union, managed the ecumenical library
and Revelations Bookshop and has been involved
in resourcing parishes. In recent years she has
been PA to the Deputy Secretary. Simon retired
from a senior position at BT and for the last 15
years has been a valued assistant. For 10 years he
worked as a volunteer and for the last five years
he has assisted the Diocesan Secretary.
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TRAINING EVENT
soul[food] training event
soul[food] is a project offering people the opportunity to explore a variety of faith
subjects in bite-sized thoughts sent straight to a phone or inbox. Our diocese will be
running a training event, to which all are welcome, with the Revd John Kiddle, Director
of Mission for the Diocese of St Albans and co-founder of soul[food].
When: Thursday 8 October, 7.00pm for 7.30pm start
Where: St Nicholas Centre, 4 Cutler Street, Ipswich IP1 1UQ
Book: Via [email protected] or call 01473 298550
Over the course of a year, a typical
parish church has contact with
hundreds and possibly thousands of
people. Christmas Eve, Mothering
Sunday, Harvest, Back to Church
Sunday and other key moments
in the year; baptisms, funerals,
weddings or simply the times when
people come into church to pray.
soul[food] seeks to help parishes to
make connections. It’s very simple.
Hand out a small card to people
who come to join you for Harvest
or attend a Baptism (for example).
The card invites people to find
out more by signing up to receive
mini bite-sized messages which
make connections with some of the
themes of the service they have
just attended. The initial sign up is
| Number
for seven days; a week’s worth of short
pithy thoughts sent by email or text. At
the end of the week there is an invitation
to sign up to receive a 21-day journey,
called [lifesteps], making connections
between faith and life.
This course is open to everyone and will
cover the basics of soul[food], equipping
parishes with resources and advice on
how we grow connections with the many
occasional contacts we have.
The Revd Dave Gardner, Director
of Mission, is always happy to
advise parishes on mission,
evangelism or ‘doing church
well’. Contact: dave.gardner@
cofesuffolk.org or 01473 298521.
www.cofesuffolk.org
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TRIBUTE
Tributes for the Revd Greg Webb
Hundreds of tributes have been paid for the Revd Canon Greg Webb, Priest in Charge
at St Gregory’s Church in Sudbury and Rural Dean for the Sudbury Deanery, who died
peacefully at home surrounded by his family in August. At his funeral his son Nick gave
a tribute, a small part of which he has kindly allowed us to print here.
No one who met Dad could ever be in
doubt that he was a man of tremendous
faith. An honest, well thought through,
open and lived out faith in a God who
was by his side right until the end. It was
an infectious and inspiring faith, often
engaging you initially with a warm smile.
A faith which didn’t rose-tint life, or make
false promises. But a faith grounded in
the reality of knowing how much God
loved him, and that it was simply his role
to love others in return. And he loved to
do this – making everyone he met feel
cared about, important and special.
Life is not always good, or just, or
fair – with or without faith. We cannot
parachute in on the good bits and fly
over the painful parts, or we simply don’t
live in reality. But we can go through life
with a God who shares in every moment
with us. By abiding in God – which
means to intimately embrace God and be
embraced by God, we not only enjoy a
gift of hope and salvation in life, and in
death, but we grow in the downs of life,
as well as the ups.
My sister Allie attended a retreat day
led by Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of
Chelmsford, a couple of months ago
in Dad’s place, as he was too ill to go.
During a quiet hour in the day Allie
sought out Stephen to talk to about
Dad’s illness and how sad she was
feeling about it all. Allie told Stephen
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The Revd Canon Greg Webb, pictured in 2011
how much Dad blessed her through all
he had taught her over the years, and
how difficult it would be coping without
him, and Stephen said, “Though your
Dad is reaching the end of his time to
teach you how to live well, soon he will
give you one last gift, the gift of showing
you how to die well.”
The last few months with Dad will be
some of the most cherished of my life,
as helping care for him gave me the
opportunity to learn about the depth of
his faith and spirituality in ways, which
I never knew existed. His relationship
with God gave him no fear in death,
only sadness for those who would be
left behind. But, the way he endured the
burden of terminal cancer, and embraced
death, did exactly as Stephen predicted…
Dad truly taught us how to die well!
I think it’s rather fitting that the
mountain Dad has asked us to scatter his
ashes on is ‘Great End’ which, rather to
the contrary of popular belief... he had.