The Season of Remembrance
November is a time of Remembrance. In early times the Celtic festival of Samhain was held on October 31st. At this time bonfires were lit and the dead of the previous year were recalled. In those times it was essential that the fire survived for the winter - lighting a fire in the damp and the cold of Britain would have been difficult. The fire could be the difference between life and death in some instances.
The Christian church adopted the date and October 31st became All Hallows Eve – the night before All Saints Day. This was to give the Christian believers a focus for their remembrance. They remembered the saints that had died and were with God.
I have a wonderful memory of singing the hymn, For all the saints, who from their labours rest... on the television with Sir Harry Secombe. At least that is what you would think if you saw the programme or watched the video. Actually what happened was that the school choir from Berwick were shipped down to the Tyne Tees TV studios in Newcastle and we recorded the choir to go with a track that Sir Harry had made. The problem was that Sir Harry singing alone had made it impossible for the children to match him. So the music teacher was taken into a different studio to play the tune on the piano. In the end Sir Harry had to match the children! They never met though. The whole set was put together with the magic of technology.
Remembrance is also very important in November when we keep Remembrance Sunday. This year on November 8th. Armistice Day on 11th November will be marked by the two minutes silence to mark the 11th hour of the 11th month. 11th November is St Martin of Tours feast day. He was a soldier who gave half his tunic to a beggar. Martin later became a Christian and a monk. There is a large abbey in Tours still in use today in northern France. As we read, almost daily, of service men being injured and dying the day has taken on a very real meaning for many.
The symbol of remembrance for us is poppies. It is said that on the battlefields of World War 1 the first plants to grow were poppies. A dentist, John McCrae wrote a poem:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Francis
St Andrew’s Church, Cliffe.
St Andrew’s Church will be celebrating on Sunday 29th November. It is 25 years since the church was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Clifford Barker, Bishop of Selby on Sunday 2nd December 1984.
The anniversary will be marked with a celebration of Holy Communion at 10.30am. The celebrant and Preacher will be Rev. Brian Harris who many will recall was the Vicar from 1991 to 1995 He was Vicar when the 10th anniversary was celebrated and he remembers it well. The service will be followed by cake and wine.
St Andrew’s church was built to replace the ageing wooden mission church which was severely damaged during a storm. On October 7th 1983 the PCC met and decided that they would build a new, more suitable church. Canon John Taylor led many local residents in the hard work necessary to raise the necessary funds, which was accomplished in a very short time for such a project.
The present church incorporates the altar rails and the font from the mission church and sadly this is all that remains of the original building.
It is hoped that many of you will be able to join us for this celebration and everyone is warmly invited to this very special occasion.
There will be no service at St Mary’s on this day.
As part of St Andrew’s celebrations we will be hosting a Cheese and Wine Party on Friday 27th November from 7.30pm. Tickets are £5.00. Proceeds will be given to the Motor Neurone Organisation.
For more details telephone Gladys on 638542, Sondra on 638405 or Joyce on 703392
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Throughout our country today many people will gather around their war memorial. In cities and villages today will be marked by reflection on the great loss of so many of our young men and women in past wars as well as the present conflicts which find men and women of our army far from home, risking terrible injury or loss of life.
It is an opportunity to remember those who did not come home. In St Mary’s church there is a memorial naming those from this village who paid for our freedom with their lives. St Mary’s is the site of our village war memorial, there are also records of those who served and thankfully returned safe. There is a beautiful screen to the chapel dedicated to the services and also a memorial stained glass window. This should be where the village gathers to remember.
Every year the congregation of St Mary’s gathers and joined by a few others we remember and our wreath is laid. This is the only wreath. We invite you to come and join us on this solemn civic occasion and if you wish you may bring your own wreath or you may perhaps belong to an organisation that would wish to do so. It would be most fitting for our village to pay proper respect to our heroes and then for all of us to commit ourselves to a better future.
Our Remembrance this year is to be led by our local Methodist Minister the Rev. Geoff. Shutt and we will be joined by the Methodist Church for a united act of remembrance, It would be fitting and good to see you stand with us to remember. Will you join us?
ADVENT SUNDAY
As November closes, Advent begins. The exact birth-date of Jesus is not known, but during the 5th century the date of 25 December was chosen to become the Feast of the Nativity, or Christmas.
By the sixth century, the Christian Church was in the habit of spending several weeks leading up to Christmas in prayerful, expectant preparation. The fourth Sunday before Christmas Day became Advent Sunday. ‘Advent’, of course, means ‘coming’, or ‘coming in’, and traditionally special candles have been lit, and more recently, advent calendars used, as the Church prepares itself for the coming of the Holy Child, the long-awaited Messiah.
Lift up your heads
Prepare for the Promised One,
The Promised One who is
Hope and Peace and Love and Joy,
Who lived and died and rose.
Stand; lift up your heads,
Worship the was, and is, and is to come King.
by Daphne Kitching
Who do you tell your problems to?
One day a chaplain found a woman crying at the back of the hospital chapel. He suggested they pray together about her problems, but she refused. “It won’t do any good,” she said hopelessly. “God won’t hear me.”
The chaplain thought a moment. “Okay, then, let’s curse God together, shall we?”
The woman was shocked. “Certainly not,” she said. “He’ll punish me.”
The chaplain replied: “So you believe that God will hear you if you curse him, but not if you pray to him?”
The Bible is full of verses encouraging us to come to God in prayer. “Call upon me and I will answer you,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 33.3) . The key to having your prayers answered is NOT to go to God for a miracle now and then, but for a relationship all the time. Jesus said that if we come to him, and stick around, then his Father will hear us.
As for right now? “Come to me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Jesus urged. That promise can be yours today. The Psalmist said: ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me.’ (Psalm 3:4) He will hear you, too.
CHOOSING A GOOD MINISTER
A committee was interviewing for a new minister. They had so far failed to find someone who had the qualities they were looking for. A member realised that they had a problem when a new letter of application was received. It read:
Gentlemen: understanding your pulpit is vacant; I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I have been a preacher with much success and have also had some success as a writer. Some say I’m a good organiser. I’ve been a leader most places that I have been.
I’m over 50 years of age and have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places I have left town after my work caused riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrongdoing.
My health is not too good, though I still accomplish a great deal. The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.
I have not got on too well with religious leaders in the towns where I have preached. In fact some have threatened me, and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized. However if you can use me, I promise to do my best for you.
The committee member turned to the committee and said ‘Well what do you think? Shall we call him?’
The good church folks were appalled! Consider a sickly, troublemaking, absent minded ex jailbird? Was the committee member crazy? Who wrote such a letter, and who dared to put their name to it?
The member eyed his colleagues keenly before he replied, ‘Well, it’s signed, The Apostle Paul’.
Sherburn Sinfonietta
What a pity that there were not more people at this event. An orchestra member said that they realised that they were competing with Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor. How sad, this was real live entertainment and the quality was superb. Perhaps it is a comment on styles of entertainment now in fashion, perhaps it was the start of dark nights. This was their first visit to Hemingbrough, we hope that it will not be their last.
Those who came—from York, Thorpe Willoughby and various other places outside the village were presented with an evening of marvellous music from popular classics. This was music that everyone knew, even if they could not put a name to it. The possible exception was Vaughan Williams Prelude to The 48th Parallel, an enigmatic composition which in its time was declared to be the finest music ever written for a film.
Despite the tragic death of their leader in the previous week the orchestra were outstanding and many people have expressed the wish that they be asked to return. The orchestra are amateurs, in that they are not paid for playing, but the music they produced was very good indeed.
Their next concert is on Sunday 15th November, 3.00pm at All Saints Church, Sherburn in Elmet. It would be well worth the short journey. They have also said that they are willing to return next year to Hemingbrough.
MONDAY GROUP
The next meeting for our ladies is on Monday 30th November at St Andrew’s Cliffe starting at 7.30pm as usual. The evening is to take the form of a quiz.
The December meeting is to be a Christmas Dinner at the Capri Restaurant in Selby on Wednesday 9th December.
I was in the express lane at the supermarket quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the checkout line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked sweetly, "So which six items would you like to buy?"
THE PARISH REGISTER
Baptism
27th September Scarlett May Johnson of Cliffe
Millie Louise Atkinson of Hemingbrough
Funeral
29th September Harold Jackson of Hemingbrough followed by cremation at York
13th October Muriel Lees of Selby formerly of Cliffe
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