Post on 06-Jul-2018
L I N K Monthly Magazine
50p
April 2015
St Mary the Virgin,Rickmansworth The Church of England and The Methodist Church in Partnership
Serving the whole community
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REGULAR SERVICES
PLEASE SEE CALENDAR ON CENTRE PAGES FOR FURTHER DETAILS, AND OCCASIONAL VARIATIONS AND ADDITIONS
TIME SERVICE LANGUAGE
Sundays Weekly 8.00AM Holy Communion Traditional
1st 10.00AM Family Communion Modern followed by coffee in
the Church Centre
2nd–5th 10.00AM Sung Holy Communion Modern followed by coffee in the Church Centre
Children’s Church in the Church Centre
2nd 12.15PM Holy Communion Modern
Weekly 6.00PM Evening Service
Weekdays
Mon−Fri 8.30AM Morning Prayer
Tue 9.30AM Holy Communion: Modern
5.45PM Evening Prayer: Mon–Fri, Mar–Oct
Contacts
The code for all 6 digit telephone numbers is 01923, unless otherwise indicated.
Church Address: Church Street Rickmansworth WD3 1JB Website: www.stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk
Ministers at St Mary’s Vicar and Minister authorised to The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office
serve within the Methodist Church
Methodist Minister at St Mary’s, The Revd Richard Lowson 223906
and three other Methodist churches
Priest Self-supporting Minister with The Revd Scott Talbott 07802 244877
Permission to Officiate scott.talbott@talk21.com
Reader Michael Baker 776109
Church Office Church Secretary Louise Wotherspoon 721002 parishoffice@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk Opening Hours Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am–1.30pm;
Wed 1.00–3.00pm, in school term time
CONTINUED ON INSIDE BACK OF COVER
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LINK April 2015
4 The Vicar’s Letter The moveable feast of Easter
5 The Readings at Communion
5 Prayers Weekly pointers, other churches, our members, local people
6 A Prayer for April
7 Archbishop’s visit Visiting the Diocese in June
8 The New Bishop of Hertford Michael Beasley appointed
9 A Time to Reflect Daily Evening Prayer restarting
9 Annual Meetings In Church on 28 April Situations Vacant (Posts to be filled at the meetings)
10 Confirmation on 28 June Preparation about to start
11 Ricky Week Jolly Jam Jars, Quiz
11 Deanery Retreat in Daily Life Apply by the end of the month
12 Beating the Bounds An old tradition resurrected
13 Women’s World Day of Prayer Thoughts about the service
13 Royal Masonic School Evening A pleasant time enjoyed by all
14 St Mary’s School News Too many activities to list here!
16 What’s on in Rickmansworth Watersmeet, Music Society, Horticultural Society, RDFAS, Townswomen’s Guild
18 April Calendar
20 St Mary’s in the Past Easter in 1905 and 1960
21 Various pictures of the Church
23 Nature Notes Beech trees and a weasel
25 St Mary’s People Obituary, death and birthdays
28 The Resurrection Altar Frontal Work is in hand
29 The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter Some reflections on this
31 What is a Billion? Seconds, minutes, hours, £s
31 The Gospel Around Us Linking similar sounding words
32 Dave Walker Cartoon
34 Archbishop Anthony Bloom A young man’s idea of Heaven!
34 LINK Dates for next month
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The Vicar’s Letter
Dear Friends,
I am always amused by the conversations that begin,
“So when is Easter this year?” Rather like the way in
which the British love to discuss the weather or the
way in which the nights are drawing in (as if either of them is a
surprise!) so it is with many members of the Church and the way in
which Easter moves around each year. “Oooh! It’s early/late this
year. When was it last year, I can’t remember.” Easter is, in fact, a
‘moveable feast’. (Did you know this is where the phrase comes
from?) Christmas is fixed, as are other Feast Days in the Church
Calendar, as well as Saint’s Days – but Easter is not.
Reading about the way in which the date of Easter follows the cycle
of the moon in the Book of Common Prayer was a useful pastime
during long and complicated (and possibly, dull) sermons when I was
much, much younger. The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion was
another favourite read… my, but those sermons must have been
challenging!
I like the fact that Easter moves though. The moveable nature of
the date of Easter and the fact that it takes us by surprise reflects
the surprising nature of Christ’s resurrection all those centuries ago.
Of course, we have the phases of the moon to guide us as we
calculate the date of Easter but, rather like the way in which no-
one looks up lunar cycles to work it all out, very few people in the
time of Jesus took notice of the signs that had been given to tell
them that the resurrection would take place. Jesus himself said,
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John
2.19) but those who were gathered there didn’t understand.
Sometimes it is a challenge to work it all out – but we must never
give up. The cycles of the moon are about as comprehensible to me
as the resurrection is to others. Not finding it all that easy to
comprehend the movement of celestial bodies doesn’t mean I
should give up though, and neither does finding the resurrection
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challenging to comprehend mean we should give up on that either.
The resurrection is fundamental to our Christian faith and, whether
or not we know the date when the great Feast Day of our faith will
fall, our celebration of it each Sunday, and our holding on to it as
the means of our gaining eternal life is worth the hard work of
discovering and realising its meaning and purpose.
When Easter Day arrives, be surprised again, rejoice again, believe
again.
Christ is risen. Alleluia!
Readings at Communion
5 Apr Acts 10.34-43 1 Cor 15.1-11 John 20.1-18 12 Apr Acts 4.32-35 1 John 1.1-2.2 John 20.19-31 19 Apr Acts 3.12-19 1 John 3.1-7 Luke 24.36b-48
26 Apr Acts 4.5-12 1 John 3.16-24 John 10.11-18
Prayers
Weekly Pointers for the Month
Week beginning: 5 Apr That we may know the Risen Christ more fully 12 Apr For those who nourish hatred 19 Apr For integrity in public and private life 26 Apr That we may be ready to forgive wholeheartedly
For Local Churches
The Deanery The Methodist Circuit
5 Apr Sarratt and Chipperfield Studham
12 Apr St Andrew’s, Chorleywood Trinity Watford 19 Apr St Lawrence, Bovingdon Wheathampstead 26 Apr St Mary’s, Rickmansworth Abbots Langley
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People Living in Rickmansworth
5 Apr Norfolk Road 12 Apr Talbot Road 19 Apr Church Street 26 Apr Skidmore Way, St Mary's Court
St Mary’s Network
1 Apr Barbara Matthews, Mac and Lynette McManus 2 Apr Fred and Rowie Middleton, Steven and Alison Middleton 3 Apr Sophia Millen, Phil and Nicky Mills
6 Apr Timothy Mills, David Morgan 7 Apr Brian and Sally Morgan, Aphrodite Morgan 8 Apr Natalie Morgan, Jennifer Nolan 9 Apr Robert and Helen Norman, John and Sheila Nunn 10 Apr Barbara Owen, Margaret Owen
13 Apr Tony and Janet Page, David and Barbara Paterson 14 Apr Hilary Pearce, Heather Pearce 15 Apr Ken Pettit, Tracey Phillipps 16 Apr Freda Pickard, Mary Pilborough 17 Apr Maxine Platzman, Gary and Kate Pope
20 Apr John and June Poppleton, Gareth and Suzanne Powell 21 Apr Tracey Presswell, Eric Price 22 Apr Jim and Jane Pummell, Alec Quin 23 Apr Anne Ratcliffe, Kevin and Tanya Redfern 24 Apr Sue Reynolds, John and Anne Rhodes
27 Apr Brian and Helen Richards, Elizabeth Richards 28 Apr Steven and Gwyneth Roberts, Averil Rossiter 29 Apr Christine Russ, Geoff and Pam Saunders 30 Apr Bill Sharp, Darryl and Susan Sharp
A Prayer for April Bountiful God, we have so much for which to be thankful at this time of year: the lighter, warmer days, and new life everywhere - birds, animals, trees and flowers – but most of all the new life that is possible for us in Christ through His brutal and undeserved death upon the Cross and the miracle of His resurrection. May His
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sacrifice for our sake not be in vain, and may others come to recognise something of Christ through us and be drawn to Him. Amen
The Archbishop’s Visit to the Diocese 18-20 June
Taken from a letter to clergy from the Bishop of St Albans
Archbishop Justin will make a 2½ day Pastoral Visit to our
Diocese in June. He wishes this visit to help us engage with the
three themes of Living God’s Love: Going Deeper into God,
Transforming Community and Making New Disciples, as well as
furthering his own mission priorities. The Archbishop will be
visiting many places and sharing in many of the varied ministries
offered in the Diocese, though in the time available he will not
be able to spend time in every part of the Diocese. [He will not
be visiting Rickmansworth.]
There are several principal [public] opportunities for people to
hear Archbishop Justin. On Thursday evening he will give an
Address in the Cathedral prior to a said service of Compline.
Archbishop Justin will share something of his personal spirituality
and discipline, drawing on the Benedictine tradition, giving
witness to the wellspring of prayer and devotion which informs,
strengthens and sustains him in the demanding ministry he is
called to undertake. It is hoped that this will be a special
encouragement to all ordained and lay ministers in the Diocese.
The Alban Pilgrimage will take place on the Saturday when
Archbishop Justin is the preacher at the Eucharist and during the
afternoon he will take part in a symposium on mission and
evangelism where we hope he will be joined by the Bishops from
our four Companion Link Dioceses in the Province of the West
Indies.
Archbishop Justin will be fully engaged with many aspects of
mission and ministry in the Diocese. Please hold the Archbishop
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in your prayers as he undertakes his ministry and pray
particularly that his Pastoral Visit to our diocese may be blessed
by God and a blessing to him and to us.
The New Bishop of Hertford
The Revd Canon Dr Michael Beasley, who
has been named as the next Bishop of
Hertford, is at present Director of Mission
in the Diocese of Oxford. Canon Beasley
will live in Knebworth when he takes up
his post later in the year.
Before he joined the Oxford Diocese he
was combining two half-time posts:
priestly ministry at Westcott House,
Cambridge (a theological college) with the
other half of his time devoted to scientific studies in infectious
Date Time Event & Purpose
Thu
18
June
7.15pm St Albans Cathedral
Sustaining ministry and personal
faith
Sat
20
June
10.30am St Albans – Festival and Pilgrimage
Celebration of St Alban as Britain’s
first saint, and 900 years of dedi-
cation of Norman Abbey
2.00pm St Albans – Caribbean Link
Celebration of partnership in min-
istry
2.30pm St Albans – Teaching and Dialogue
World Mission and evangelism
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disease epidemiology (looking for their patterns, causes, and
effects in defined populations) at Imperial College. He felt called
to use his talents in both these fields and found each supported
and informed the other. Just as he used those skills in his
ministry in the Oxford Diocese, he hopes to be able to do so in
ours, with the added experience of working with the wide range
of people and Christian traditions gained in the Oxford one.
A Time to Reflect Michael Baker
During the dark winter months, the saying of weekday Evening
Prayer in St Mary’s was suspended. However, now that Summer
Time is officially here, the service at 5.45pm Monday to Friday
has re-started as from 30 March. Weekday Evening Prayer is a
simple, reflective said service involving the reading of a Psalm,
readings from the Old and New Testaments and two canticles,
one of which is the Magnificat or Song of Mary, and prayers for
matters of everyday concern. It usually lasts about half-an-hour.
If you need time to sit and reflect at the end of a long and busy
day you are always very welcome to join us.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM)
and Methodist Annual Meeting (MAM)
This year’s Meetings are on Tuesday 28 April at 7.30pm in
Church.
We all meet at the same time, just as we do for worship, but
Anglican and Methodist churches both have their formal business,
before coming together to hear our Treasurer assess our current
financial situation and the Vicar’s report on the life of St Mary’s
over the past year and plans for the coming one.
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Situations Vacant Barbara Paterson
We shall elect officers. All people who worship at St Marys are
welcome to attend, but only those on the Electoral Roll may vote for
Church of England officials and only Methodist and joint Anglican/
Methodist members (ie those who filled in a form accordingly) may
vote for Methodist officials.
If you are not already a member and wish to vote, forms are
available at the back of church, but applications have to be made
by 5 April to enable you to vote at this year’s meetings.
The number of vacancies to be filled are (numbers we have at
present in brackets):
Anglican Methodist
Churchwardens 3 (1) Stewards 2 (2)
United Church Council 12 (9) United Church Council 4 (3)
Deanery Synod 4 (3) West Herts and Borders Circuit 2 (2)
All current members of United Church Council will need to submit a
completed nomination form if they wish to stand for another year –
and I do hope that is the intention of most. If you are considering
standing and would like more information or advice, please speak to
Barbara or Derek, or any member of the current Council.
It is our hope that some new people will consider joining the Council
in one capacity or another. As I have said before, in this busy world
of ours we need to take time to stop, think, prioritise and pray.
What could you offer to our church and community?
Confirmation There will be a Confirmation Service at St Mary’s on Sunday 28
June. For anyone aged 14 upwards interested in being Confirmed (no
upper age limit), preparation sessions will begin after Easter on
Thursday evenings. Please let Louise know (721002) and book the
dates now.
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Ricky Week: Jolly Jam Jars
At the time of writing, Barbara Paterson is already giving the
empty jam jars she has for our stall at the Bury Fête on Saturday
9 May an extra wash and polish and she needs more to be filled
with goodies or useful things. Wrapped sweets (not chocolates),
jams and marmalade are popular. Please leave them at the back
of Church. She is already collecting the filled ones, too. You can
leave them in Church on Sundays, or in the Church Office during
the week.
Barbara will need some help with putting up the stall and with
running it from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Please speak to her if you can
help.
Ricky Week Quiz
Saturday 9 May
This is St Mary's traditional contribution to Ricky Week and will
take place in the Church Centre starting at 7.30pm prompt.
There will be a raffle, ploughman's supper and a cash bar.
Tickets are £10 per person and will be available after Easter
from the Parish Office and also after the Sunday services.
The Deanery Retreat in Daily Life Brenda Bell
If you are interested in learning to pray more effectively, as
described in the brochures available at the back of Church and in
January’s LINK, available on our Church website, but are still
thinking about taking part in the Retreat, this month is decision
time. I recommend doing so if you can.
Applications need to be in by 30 April at the latest – but the
sooner the better. You will find the form in the brochure and
where to send it. I shall be happy to answer any further
questions you may have (772482).
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Beating the Bounds
Geoff Hall
Deborah has decided to resurrect an old tradition of beating the
parish bounds and asked me to work out where we can walk. This
will take place on Sunday 10 May starting at 2.00pm. I have
devised a route that follows fairly closely the boundary but since
it runs along the River Chess and River Colne for part of the way
and crosses Stockers Lake we obviously do not follow the
boundary exactly. In other places the boundary follows field
edges where there is no path.
David Gilbert and I have walked the route which starts and
finishes by the footbridge over Chorleywood Road. It goes along
the avenue by the Masonic School, beside Loudwater Lane, along
by the Chess to the bottom of Scots Hill, to the canal by Moor
Lock, the Ebury Way to Olds Approach, through Merchant
Taylor’s School grounds, over a golf course, through Moor Park,
London Road, footpath to Harefield Road, footpaths to Stockers
Farm, past the lakes to Uxbridge Road, Belfry Way, Meadow Way
and back to the footbridge. The total distance is just over
10 miles (16.3 km) but people could drop out or join at some of
the points described above. I expect the full route to take about
4 hours.
In keeping with tradition, prayers will be said at various points
around the route. (I am not sure if we actually take sticks and
beat the ground!) The places for this will be decided by Deborah
when she returns. I propose to put up a map at the back of
Church, together with a sign-up sheet, and the approximate time
we expect to arrive at some of the points.
This is a good opportunity to gather together and travel round
the Parish. The more the merrier!
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Women’s World Day of Prayer Jane Pummell
We were each given a paper footstep on entering St Peter’s
church for this year’s service, prepared by Christian women of
The Bahamas, entitled Jesus said to them: do you know what I
have done to you? There was no formal address but in a
dramatised reading from John 13 we learnt how, when he
washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus demonstrated radical love (ie
love without borders and love that crosses over borders). After
several minutes for reflection on how we might express radical
love we were asked to share our thoughts with our neighbour and
then write a word or phrase on the footstep.
As in other years the final hymn was The day thou gavest, Lord,
is ended, which always reminds me that at any hour of the day
this same service will have been taking place somewhere in the
world.
Royal Masonic School Evening
The Masonic Girls love the opportunity to perform to an audience
and St Mary’s did not disappoint. Some seventy appreciative
people filled the Cloisters Hall for what proved to be a very
pleasant evening of songs from many eras, confidently
performed. Many will have particularly enjoyed the medley of
Beatles songs.
Rob and Anne Kay thank everyone for supporting the girls from
the Masonic School. Special thanks to Brenda Bell, Janet Lucas,
Janet Page and Lizzie Tims for helping with refreshments and to
all who generously donated sandwiches and cakes.
We are grateful to the talented girls and staff. A magnificent
grand total of £550 was raised towards Church funds on the
night.
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St Mary's School News Meera Chauhan
The past few weeks have been incredibly busy with lots of fun
learning-opportunities for the children.
Year One visited Tesco for a Farm to Fork event where they
learned more about where their food comes from and they made
delicious fruit sundaes.
Year Two have been learning about capacity and measuring.
They put their skills to use during a flapjack and smoothie event.
The results were enjoyed by all. The class also designed and
constructed models of typical houses from the seventeenth
century as part of their study of the Great Fire of London. Here
are some examples of their wonderful creations:
Year Four took
part in many
activities on their
Dark Ages Day
which brought the
era to life. They
demonstrated
excellent craftsmanship when making candles and soap.
Year Five went on a residential trip to Condover Hall and
participated in lots of adventurous activities including buggy
building and fencing. It was a bit scary at times but their polite
and courteous manners, team work ethics and personal
resilience were impressive.
The school also celebrated World Book
Day by dressing up as their favourite
book characters, a story-telling event
organised by the PTA and a visit by
author Mo O'Hara as part of the
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Chorleywood Bookshop Literary Festival. The staff and pupil
costumes were very imaginative and we featured in an article by
the Watford Observer. The story-telling event was a great
success with many books being donated to the school library and
the children really enjoyed
listening to the fantastic story-
telling. Mo O'Hara captured the
imaginations of the children and
inspired them to write. She
conducted a lively and engaging
fun presentation in Assembly. The
children participated well, and
particularly enjoyed acting out
some parts of her story, including one of the teachers!
The Garden Club held a Mothers’ Day plant sale and raised over
£190 which will be used for seeds and help fund a potting shed.
The club presented potted bulbs, beautiful hanging baskets and
houseplants in this successful sale.
The school choir and brass players took part in the
Rickmansworth Primary Music Festival at St Clement Danes
School. The choir’s performance was wonderful, and their
version of Handel’s Zadok the Priest, which is extremely complex
and challenging, was performed with perfection. Similarly, the
brass players also did themselves very proud, with some complex
note arrangements and tempos in their pieces. It was great to
see all the local schools work collaboratively, and we hope to do
more of this at St Mary’s over the coming months and years.
The children had a no-uniform day in our 'Wear Something Red'
event on Red Nose Day. Some of our very brave teachers also
took part in Bush Tucker Trials to raise additional funds. The
children paid to watch them eat a variety of unusual foods
including mealworms, ants and pickled gherkins with marmite!
We raised over £240.00 for Comic Relief.
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What’s on in Rickmansworth
Watersmeet
April
Film: Penguins of Madagascar Fri 10 2.00pm only
Burmania John Ketan & Base2Base Sat 11 7.30pm
Anhurdha and Ume bands’ tribute
to R D Burman
ARTS Week: The Art Box 11am-4pm
(for 14-19 year-olds)
Smartphone & Digital Photography Mon 13
Song Writing & Music Production Tue 14
Dance Wed 15
Film:The Homesman Thu 16 2.00 & 7.45pm
Songs from Berlin and Bacharach Fri 17 7.30pm
Jekyll and Hyde, Harrow Light Tue 21-Sat 25 7.30pm
Opera Company Sat 25 matinee 2.30pm
Three Rivers Music Society St Mary's Church, Rickmansworth
Friday 24 April 2015, 7.30pm
Martyn Jackson - violin
Petr Limonov - piano
Mozart Sonata in B flat K 454 Elgar Sonata in E minor Strauss Sonata in E flat Saint-Saens Caprice d'après l'Etude en forme de Valse
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Rickmansworth & District Horticultural Society
Spring Show
Saturday 11 April 2.00pm-5.00pm
St Mary’s Church Centre
Open meeting
Wednesday 15 April 8.00pm
Bees, Honey and Health
Antony Smith
RVS Centre, Bury Lane
RDFAS
Sarratt Village Hall
Tuesday 14 April
King George IV
the Greatest Royal Collector of Art
Oliver Everett
The lecture will cover the king’s collections of paintings,
furniture, clocks, porcelain, sculpture, gold and silver objects
as well as his architectural projects.
11.00am; tea or coffee from 10.30am
For further information contact
Membership Secretary, Diana Jefkins (01494 874507)
Rickmansworth (Evening) Townswomen’s Guild
St Mary’s Church Centre
usually on the third Thursday of the month
Visitors welcome (£1.00)
This month’s talk on Thursday 16 April
Leavesden Hospital
Martin Brooks
7.30pm for 7.45pm
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CALENDAR April 2015
Traditional language is used for the 8.00am Sunday Communion services; modern language is used for all other Communion Services
1 Wed WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK 7.45pm Said Holy Communion
2 Thu MAUNDY THURSDAY
9.00am St Mary’s End of Term Service, in Church
7.45pm Litany of Maundy Thursday; Watch till midnight
3 Fri GOOD FRIDAY
12 noon Stations of the Cross
3.00pm Holy Communion with address
4 Sat EASTER EVE 7.15 pm Easter Vigil
5 SUN EASTER DAY
7.00am Easter Alleluia, Berry Lane Open Space 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion, with Easter Egg hunt 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer
6 Mon MONDAY OF EASTER WEEK
8.30am St Albans Pilgrimage: walkers start from Church 7 Tue TUESDAY OF EASTER WEEK
9.30am Said Holy Communion
8 Wed WEDNESDAY OF EASTER WEEK 7.45pm Housegroup (for contact, see cover) 9 Thu THURSDAY OF EASTER WEEK May LINK copy deadline
12 SUN THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER We welcome the Vicar back from study leave 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 12.15pm Said Holy Communion 1.00pm Lunch Club 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer
13 Mon 11.30am Prayer for Healing Group (in Church) 7.30pm LINK Editors Meeting
14 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion
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14 Tue 12 noon 10-bell ringing practice (all ringers welcome) 7.45pm Exploring Prayer (venue, ring 775890 or772482)
9 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 6.00pm Choral Evensong
20 Mon 12.30pm J Club at St Mary’s School 21 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion 12.30pm Home Communions through afternoon 23 Thu GEORGE, MARTYR, PATRON OF ENGLAND 10.30am Assembly at St Mary’s School 24 Fri 7.30pm Three Rivers Music Society Concert (see p 16) 25 Sat MARK THE EVANGELIST
26 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Sung Holy Communion 12 noon Holy Baptism 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer 7.00pm X Team meets May LINK is published
27 Mon 12.30pm J Club at St Mary’s School 28 Tue 9.30am Said Holy Communion 10.15am House Group (for contact, see cover) 11.00am Service at Seymour House 3.30pm Service at Westerley 4.15pm Holy Communion at Hunters Lodge 7.30pm Annual Parochial Church Meeting and Methodist Annual General Meeting (in Church) 30 Thu 10.30am Assembly at St Mary’s School Closing date for applications for the Retreat in Daily Life (see brochure and p 11)
May 3 SUN 8.00am Said Holy Communion 10.00am Family Communion Home Communions 6.00pm Said Evening Prayer
Choir and Bellringers
Regular Weekly Practices Wed 7.30pm Bellringing Thu 7.45pm Choir
New members welcome at both practices – just come along
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St Mary’s in the Past
1905
The Revd Parkinson wrote about Easter, which was a little earlier
that year than this. He found ‘it not only a sad, but a strange
thing’ that although the Easter services were well attended,
numbers of people who attended on Good Friday did not match
those on Easter Day. He used the analogy of a friend who was ill
that they neither visited nor enquired after, adding that Christ
their true friend endured so much more.
He went on to express himself as quite ashamed of the
‘niggardliness of many of our Church people’ who assumed past
bequests were sufficient for the church and meant they
themselves did not need to give. He urged them to give at least a
tenth of their income, for “charities everywhere are languishing,
great causes retarded, good works at a standstill, clergy
struggling with dire poverty, the poor and outcast uncared for
and unhelped; when all would be thriving and prospering”.
He then related a number of stories about generosity, of which
this one caught our eye. A ‘choirman’ who visited a church
where the choir were rehearsing an oratorio, was invited to join
in the singing. The choir master was so struck by his voice that
he badly wanted him to join the choir. On enquiring quietly
about him he was told that the man was poor and so offered him
money if he would agree to join. His response was, “No. I have
no money to give for God, but he has given me a voice and I will
never be paid for using it in his service”.
1960
The Revd Kendrick Hart, still with two more weeks of Lent to
come, reminded his readers that they were ‘growing’ –not wilting
during this time and that ‘the Easter triumph was through and by
means of the suffering of Our Lord’.
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There was to be a Good Friday procession of witness, which
would start from the school [then at the bottom of Parsonage
Road], at one point meet the procession from St Peter’s for a
short act of fellowship and prayer and finish back in St Mary’s,
where the Choir would sing Somerville’s The Passion of Christ.
The statement, ‘An early end-of-term at the Masonic School, will
enable both our clergy to be together from Passion Sunday
onwards’ suggests that one of them then acted as Masonic School
Chaplain.
There was to be a Christian Stewardship Campaign, with its focus
not on the needs of the Church, but on encouraging individual
Christians to increase their commitment to Christ.
Apparently a ‘People’s Service’ was held each year in April and
that year something new was to be tried: a ‘simple, but
informative Pageant of the Sacraments’, a Franciscan rite.
The ‘AYE. PEA. SEA. EMM’ (sic) had taken place in February ‘with
elections as keenly contested as ever’. The Annual Vestry
meeting (to elect Churchwardens) would be held in April before
an Easter Social.
Pictures of St Mary’s in Church Street David Hibbert
Seeing the cover sketch on the March 2015 cover of LINK I was
reminded of other pictures similar in view, three paintings and a
sketch.
One was a painting of St Mary’s on the cover of London
Underground’s Metropolitan Line timetable for the period
starting in May 1990. The timetable states that the front cover
illustration is of Rickmansworth Church and is by Sharon Pallent.
Further editions of the timetable featured other places along the
Met line eg Old Amersham Market Hall.
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A feature of this timetable is that it
incorporated the Watford and
Uxbridge branches as well as the
Marylebone services, serving the
stations between Amersham and
Aylesbury, and of course for all Met
lines users, fast trains to Baker Street
and thence to the City throughout the
day. Sadly, most of these timetable
features of 1990 no longer exist today.
The second painting of St Mary’s, the
original of which hangs in our ringing
room, has been reproduced as a
commercial postcard; the painting is
signed by Robert James Walsh. It was
originally owned by the late Jessie Beeson, Patty’s Aunty.
We have the third, painted in 1990, by Edward Francis. Edward is
our nephew and the son of the late Revd Kenneth and Judith
Francis, Patty’s sister.
Image courtesy of Transport for London
By Robert Walsh
By Edward Francis
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The sketch, which also hangs in the
ringing room, is in pen and ink and
shows the view from the back of the
Muirhead’s house in Norfolk Road. It was
probably one of May’s and was given to
the ringers by her daughter, Margaret,
who was a member of the Over-18s
group in the 1960s.
[Editor’s comment: the view of St
Mary’s in Church Street is surely the
most drawn or painted in
Rickmansworth, with varying degrees of
success.
Our version attracted comments, both appreciative and critical.
One problem is that the view is from the middle of Church
Street, but this is not a very safe place from which to take a
photograph, close to a blind bend (certainly not to draw actual
buildings). Another problem is that this side of the church is in
shadow for much of the day. The March cover motivated one of
our gifted members to offer an alternative one. Result!
St Mary’s people have the talent, but generally seem too shy to
share it with LINK readers. Other views of our church or parts of
it would be welcome – extra welcome if they include people. On
our cover, we believe pen and ink drawings, roughly square,
work best. We cannot print in colour in-house and three
quarters of our magazines are still printed.]
Nature Notes Angela Hall
I have just been reading An Illustrated History of the
Countryside by Oliver Rackham, and I think I may have found the
answer to something that has puzzled me for years. In the corner
of Solomons Wood, the one to the right of Berry Lane as you go
Sketch in ringing room
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towards Chorleywood, is an old, rather
decrepit, beech tree. Its branches are
entangled in unnatural knots and I have
often wondered why it is like that. There
are several others in the wood which also
look a bit deformed, and they appear to
be more or less in a line roughly parallel
to the railway. The beeches on the other
side of Berry Lane, however, appear quite
normal. According to what I have been
reading, hedge trees were sometimes
pollarded so their branches could be used and then new ones left
to grow. This was done well above ground level so that the new
shoots could not be eaten by livestock. Some trees are still
managed in this way. A picture in the book showed an old, once
pollarded beech, that looked much like the one that had puzzled
me. But why would a beech tree, or
possibly a line of them, be pollarded in
the middle of a wood? Then it dawned on
me. It had been done long ago before the
wood was there. If my theory is right
then this line of trees is the “ghost” of an
ancient field boundary. We have prints of
two maps, one dated 1896 with the wood
marked, and one dated 1822–34 to a
smaller scale. In this there is still a wood
but it is smaller and a different shape.
There could have been a hedge there.
It is interesting to find traces of the past in nature.
Going on to something quite different; did anyone see the
picture in the paper of a weasel clinging to the back of a green
woodpecker in flight? It seems that the woodpecker was foraging
with its beak in the ground when a weasel sneaked up and
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pounced on it as it would a rabbit. A passer-by heard a distressed
squawk and saw the bird take off with the weasel still on its back
and was quick enough to take a photo. Unless it was seriously
wounded the woodpecker may have flown some distance. But
apparently the weasel either fell off or bailed out and missed the
chance of a substantial meal.
Stop Press: in spite of the still sometimes wintry weather a
brimstone butterfly has been sighted in a local garden in early
March. It is said that butterflies are so called because the first
kind to emerge is butter coloured.
St Mary’s People
Tony Moon Taken from the address at his memorial service
Tony, a regular member of our congregation who died on 26
January at the age of 94 had been a Consultant at Harefield and
Hillingdon hospitals, his specialisation in pulmonary medicine
resulting from his own medical history. Just before qualifying as
a doctor his suspicions that he was suffering from tuberculosis
were confirmed, but he eventually recovered to live a further 71
years, despite penicillin not then being available.
Tony was a true scientist, delighting especially in mathematics
and physics as well as medicine. His son–in-law’s early memories
of him include painstakingly measuring the chlorine levels in his
swimming pool, and being encouraged to take regular tyre
pressure readings when borrowing a car, and to measure daily
rainfall. Tony, apparently would have loved to have known that
to cover 94 years of his life in the 10 minute tribute at his
memorial service meant only approximately 6.382979 seconds
per year. Latterly he embraced all the facilities provided by the
internet and seemed quite at home in hospital and nursing homes
because of their machines.
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Tony was born in 1920 in Putney. He enjoyed a happy childhood
with his younger brother and sister. He trained at Barts through
the war years, he qualified as Bachelor of Medicine in 1943,
became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1947, and
was made a fellow in 1970.
Tony’s first job in 1944 was at the Wellhouse, where he met
Jean, recently evacuated after the Royal Free Hospital was
destroyed by a doodlebug. She described him at the time as,
“shy, abrupt, tall and serious and quite nice really”. Jean knew
early in their relationship about Tony’s tuberculosis, but was
determined to continue it even even if it only meant ‘6 years of
happiness’; she was destined to enjoy 66 years. Tony described
the courtship as ‘tempestuous’ owing to the Revd Lang, his
future father-in-law’s disapproval. However, his objections were
waived when Tony found a job at the National Temperance
Hospital and the couple married at Reigate Methodist Church in
1947.
Tony’s tuberculosis was finally cured by an operation in 1949 and
his daughter Gay was born in 1950, an event that he said
changed his life. The family moved to Crowthorne, Berkshire in
1952 because Tony found a job at Pinewood Hospital, a big
tuberculosis sanatorium. Later the couple had a son, Andrew,
and a daughter, Jenny. This was a happy time for them, despite
the forbidding sights and sounds of Broadmoor nearby and Tony’s
patients there. In 1958, Tony was granted a prestigious WHO
Fellowship to visit hospitals in Scandinavia specialising in
tuberculosis and other chest diseases.
By 1960 with tuberculosis less pervasive, and Pinewood likely to
close, Tony became consultant physician at Harefield and
Hillingdon Hospitals and the family moved to Batchworth Hill in
1964. Gay married in 1977 and Jenny in 1984 and in due course
Kit, Luke, Jack and Isobel were born and the house became like a
hotel.
-27-
When Andrew married, new grandchildren Edward and Simon were
welcomed with great pleasure by Jean and Tony. Later, Edward
would be invaluable at sorting out his grandfather’s computer, but
had to do it slowly, as Tony insisted on writing every stage down.
Tony continued to see private patients for some years after
retirement, and still took pleasure in proposing colleagues as
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians, but also had time to
enjoy the house and garden and travel to China and New Zealand
and his beloved Madeira.
Tony adored his family; he and Jean took great pleasure in the
company of each of them and they in turn were adored and
enriched. Can any of us hope for more than to be remembered for
living lives of kindness and dedication to the service of others?
Memories of Tony Moon Joanna Swan
I knew Tony through Jean and through the Church. She played a
leading part in so many of the activities that make a community in
the church – flower arranging, “Meet for Tea”, study groups –
encouraging others to join; and behind her at home was Tony.
Looking over Allan’s many photos I see Tony in the crowd at various
events – the bazaar and the stewardship display.
I remember how Tony’s help was always efficient and practical.
For example: a problem over parking at Watersmeet for NADFAS;
Tony went to the car park and noted who was parking and what
space could be made available, reported to the authorities and so
quietly eased the situation.
At his Memorial Service in St Mary’s they spoke of the things he
made and the bits he collected that might be useful. He used to
come to our house with second-hand computer bits and new
programs for Allan and to discuss good uses for the computer.
-28-
There were magnificent firework displays seen by all from the
Moons’ garden on Batchworth Hill. Their children might have
arranged them but they were hosted by Tony and Jean.
Their declining years have been sad. Jean and Tony have been
sadly missed from St Mary’s but they have left happy memories.
Death
At the time of going to press we have just heard that JESSICA
FISHER has died.
Congratulations
To AGNES BANTOCK (Elizabeth Tim’s mother) who has just
celebrated her 100th birthday and to FREDA PICKARD who
recently enjoyed celebrating her 90th birthday. Freda has been a
regular member of St Mary’s congregation longer than most of
us can remember!
Erratum
Humble apologies to Nick Tibbles: his new grandson is called
LUCAS (not Callum). How an editor managed to make the
‘calamitous’ error, she is still wondering!
Progress on the Resurrection Altar Frontal Beryl Baker
Most readers of LINK will remember the unpleasant series of
incidents two years ago when offensive graffiti were left in St
Mary’s, books were damaged and defaced, and an attempt was
made to set fire to the Resurrection Altar in the South Aisle. It
was at first hoped that the altar frontal could be repaired, but
this proved not to be practicable, and it was decided to make a
new one to a modified design, approved by Graham Martin who
designed the original.
It took longer than expected to source suitable materials, but
this spring a team set to work, and the new frontal is well on the
-29-
way to completion. We had hoped to have it finished by the time
Deborah returns to us after Easter, but at the time of writing this
seems unlikely, though not impossible. The work needs to be
done meticulously, mostly by hand, and is quite hard on the
fingers and the eyesight. Once the frontal itself is complete, it
will need to be sewn to suitable backing material and ‘fitted’ to
the altar itself. If anyone would like to join the team for the
final push to completion, please contact me.
The Bishops’ Pastoral Letter John Shaw
‘Ooh, the House of Bishops have sent me a letter’, I said to
myself. ‘That sounds interesting’. When I got to Church the
following Sunday, I expected the letter to be mentioned or read
out from the pulpit and to be given a copy. No such luck.
Naively, I suppose, I felt a bit let down and wrote to the Church
Times to ask, tongue in cheek, when I might expect to see, let
alone receive, a copy of the letter which had apparently been
sent to me. Needless to say, my letter was not published. I
mentioned all this in passing to Jim Pummell, who a few days
later very kindly presented me with a copy of the letter (all 21
pages of it) which he had printed off from the internet. I felt a
bit guilty that I hadn’t done this for myself at the outset instead
of moaning about it to Jim. (But I do dislike reading text ‘on
screen’ and am resistant, too, to the modern approach of ‘It’s on
the internet; run it off for yourself and at your own expense’.)
The letter, headed ‘Who is my Neighbour?’ is addressed to ‘the
People and Parishes of the Church of England for the General
Election 2015’. It declares that the issues around the election
call for a fresh moral vision of the kind of country we want to be.
They call on Church members to play a full part in the political
life of the nation and to support politicians and the government
with our prayers.
-30-
The letter repeatedly warns against too much power, nationally
or internationally, falling into too few hands. For instance, they
say, ‘The Biblical tradition is not only biased to the poor, as
often noted, but warns constantly against too much power falling
into too few hands . When it does, human sympathies are
strained to breaking point’. Rather, they argue, ‘Instead of
treating politics as an extension of consumerism, we should focus
on the common good, the participation of more people in
developing a political vision and constructive ways to talk about
communities and how they relate to one another’.
They go on to ask, ‘Are we a society of strangers, or are we a
community of communities?’ They discuss both options but,
unsurprisingly, come down strongly in favour of the latter
concept, which they go on to outline in some detail and to which
the Church of England, because of the parish system, is well
placed to contribute.
They assert that, ‘Our country is hungry for a new approach to
political life that will change the political weather...we need a
new political story that will enable the people of Britain to
articulate who they are, what they want to become and how
they will work together to live virtuously as well as
prosperously’.
And so on. All good stuff, though (predictably) misunderstood,
misinterpreted, or ridiculed by some – but by no means all -
elements of the media. I found it well worth reading in full. If
you would like to do so, just Google ‘House of Bishops’ Pastoral
Letter’ and you will find the full text there. There is also a
helpful summary, if you don't feel like ploughing through 126
(admittedly very short) paragraphs. If you don’t have access to a
computer, speak to Jim Pummell or me!
-31-
What’s a Billion? John Hill
Over the next few weeks, in the run-up to the General Election
the word billion will be uttered many times. But what is a
billion?
Twenty years ago, apart from referring to the Chinese population
the word was rarely used – certainly not very much in financial
circles.
In British English a billion used to be a million million (ie
1,000,000,000,000) while in American English it has always been
a thousand million (ie 1,000,000,000). Britain adopted the
American figure so that a billion equals a thousand million in
both variants of English.
However, just think, a second is not very long but if you were
fortunate enough to be given a billion one pound coins and you
had a second to count each one it would take you thirty-two
years to complete the task. No time for sleep, food or drink.
A few other thoughts; a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. A
billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age. A
billion pounds ago – not very long at the rate Governments spend
it.
The Gospel Around Us
Word-play ... or Sword-play? Brian Evans
I like words. Especially I like words that are unusual, discovering
not only their meanings, but their origins as well. Also
fascinating are pairs of words that have some similarity and yet
in all practical terms are totally distinct. Often they can be the
key to a slick joke or pun, or to an amusing exchange between
people who find they are talking at cross-purposes.
-32-
Two such words that crossed my path the other day were
‘cudgel’ and ‘cajole’. The first is a short thick stick used as a
weapon, while the other is an act of persuasion, often with
flattery or by deceit. On the face of it, there is no connection
between the two – certainly not in meaning – nor in origin,
either, since one is Old English and the other French. And yet,
there is an element of opposition there. If you want to get your
own way in a situation, you might use force, or you might try
persuasion. It’s unlikely that you would attempt both!
This winter has seen the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Sir
Winston Churchill, arguably Britain’s finest prime minister. In the
thirties, he was certainly no appeaser when it came to an
appreciation of what the Nazis were up to, and maybe it was this
reputation that contributed to his being moved as Chamberlain’s
successor in 1940. However, he may have mellowed in later
years for, at a White House luncheon in June 1954, he is
reported to have said that, “It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-
war.” This saying also came to mind as I was musing about
‘cajole’ and ‘cudgel’, for doesn't it put rather poetically what I
have tried to say above?
Jesus told his followers to love their enemies (Luke 6.27), and
the verses that follow (vv 28-36) put the same instruction in
many different ways, culminating in the effect that such love
would have. This teaching had its origin in the Old Testament
(Proverbs 25.21-22), and St Paul echoed it in his letter to the
Romans (12.18-20), where he exhorted his readers to “live at
peace with everyone”, and then explained why, using this along
with another Old Testament quotation, “‘It is mine to avenge; I
will repay,’ says the Lord.”(Deut. 32.35).
This is where my thoughts come full circle, for here is a place
where I love the Authorised Version, which says “Vengeance is
mine ...”. We rarely hear of vengeance these days, and it seems
-33-
so much more powerful, and echoes the great power of God
Himself.
When you next come across one of the language’s museum
pieces, don’t just look it up in the dictionary and then,
enlightened, carry on reading. Take advantage of the
interruption; remember God’s vengeance, and question whether
there is any situation in your life where you might be storing up
some hatred or resentment that ought to be passed to a Higher
Power.
Dave Walker Cartoon Reproduced, with permission, from cartoonchurch.com
[I know that our vestry and cupboard are not quite like this! Ed]
-34-
Archbishop Anthony Bloom
Joan Martin
Michael Baker’s review of the book about Archbishop Anthony
Bloom in last month’s LINK reminded me of the story I have often
told, and I feel bears repeating. Many years ago I had the
pleasure of driving the Archbishop from his flat in London to a
conference at Swanwick in Derbyshire. As we passed the turning
off to Birmingham on the M1 he recalled a conversation he had
had with some very sick youngsters in hospital. During their
conversation he asked the youngsters for their ideas about
heaven. “Please sir”, said one lad, “it’s Birmingham, sir”.
Somewhat surprised, the Archbishop asked him why. “Because
when I lived there I was well”. What an innocently profound
remark! Out of the mouths of babes…
May LINK Copy deadline: Thursday 9 April
Publication date Sunday 26 April
We are very pleased to receive contributions of interest to members of the
Church and the local community. Copy should reach a member of the LINK
Committee* by the above copy date, preferably by email (please leave the
formatting to us) at link@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk, but we can accept
handwritten copy. We may have to edit for space or other reasons and tight
deadlines do not always allow for discussion of changes with authors. We like
good quality photographs with enough contrast to reproduce well in black and
white. Please note that opinions expressed in LINK are not necessarily those of
the Editors of LINK or St Mary’s Church.
*Please see back cover for phone numbers.
Contacts (continued) The code for all phone numbers, unless otherwise stated, is 01923;
the Church Office number is 721002; and (A) denotes Anglican and (M) Methodist
Officers
Churchwarden (A) Barbara Paterson 720356
Church Stewards (M) Derek Day (Senior Steward) 237248 June Poppleton 773388
Church Council Secretary Louise Wotherspoon 721002
The CofE Electoral Roll John Glidden 223613
Methodist Council Secretary Petra Hedges 222715
Methodist Members Roll Derek Day 237248
Stewardship Recorder (A) Brian Warmington 775360
Treasurer Robert Kay 773470
Worship
Altar Servers Chris & Sue Hillier 779580
Bellringers David Hibbert (Captain) 773735
Choir Andrew Sykes 718561
Intercessors John Rhodes 779491
Lesson Readers Jane Pummell 774343
Organist Andrew Sykes 718561
Sacristan David Gilbert and team via Church Office
Sidespeople via Church Office
Christian Teaching and Prayer
Bible Reading Fellowship Sue Hillier 779580
Exploring Prayer Group The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office House Groups: Tues am: Gillian Baker 775890 Brenda Bell 772482
Wed pm: Jane Pummell 774343
Pastoral
Baptism (Christening) via Church Office Confirmation The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office Children’s Communion The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office
Home Communion via Church Office St Mary’s Network John and Suzanne Hill 772809
Home/Hospital Visiting The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office
Wedding Bookings Church Office
Social
Coffee after Church Anne Kay 773470
Events Committee The Revd Deborah Snowball via Church Office
Handbell Ringers Suzanne Warren 01442 385922
Meet for Tea Joan Martin 775433
Motley Crew (Drama Group) Chris and Sue Hillier 779580
Sunday Lunch Club Joan Martin 775433
CONTINUED ON BACK OF COVER
-4-
Contacts (continued) The code for all phone numbers, unless otherwise stated, is 01923;
the Church Office number is 721002; and (A) denotes Anglican and (M) Methodist
Children and Young People
Sunbeams (3–5s) Rachel Turvey via Church Office
Shooting stars (6–11) Christine Martin Ayling via Church Office
X Team (Youth Group, yr 7+) David Carruthers 897928
Girlguiding UK: Rainbows Samantha Swinchatt via Church Office Brownies Ali Hampton 07803 928158 Guides Tracy Jenkins via Church Office
Church School
St Mary’s C of E Primary
Headteacher Aaron Wanford 776529
School website www.stmarys698.herts.sch.uk
Administration
Charitable Giving Comm John Shaw (Chair) 775219
Community and Outreach David Carruthers (Chair) 897928
Harvest Giving Jennett Day 237248
Stewardship and Finance John Rhodes 779491
Buildings and Support
Church Centre Booking Kasia Todd 07801 049687
Church Centre Committee Martyn Gowing (Chair) 777715
Church Bookings via Church Office
Church Cleaning Derek Day 237248
Cloisters Hall Bookings Sarah Bennett 775613
Fabric & Churchyard David Hibbert (Secretary) 773735
Flowers Julie Smethurst 282927
Library Michael Baker 776109
Steeple Keeping David Hibbert 773735
Sewing Group Beryl Baker 776109
Communications
LINK (Church Magazine) Editors Brenda Bell 772482 Geoff Hall 720543 Jane Pummell 774343 LINK Subscriptions Jane Pummell 774343 Email link@stmarysrickmansworth.org.uk
Newsletter c/o Communication Committee
Website Buzz Coster 775908
Representatives for Organisations Beyond St Mary’s
Action for Children Christine Butler 778001
CARE (773311) Angela Hall (St Mary’s Rep) 720543
Children’s Society Louise Ungar 497211
St Albans Abbey Welcoming Anne Rhodes 779491