TRINITY TIMESthe parish magazine of Holy Trinity

NOVEMBER 2011Issue number 81

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THE LOTTERY GRANT FOR HOLY TRINITY’S“HANDEL” ORGAN

As you may be aware by now, Holy Trinity has been given agrant by the Heritage Lottery Fund for £167,000.00 towardsour historic “Handel organ”. This will give our beautifulchurch an even higher profile, and benefit the life of ourparish no end!

There are people who have said to me that they are not surethat receiving the grant is a “good” thing (although as another personimmediately replied, “How can a church receiving £167,000.00 for ANYTHING,ever be a ‘bad’ thing?”). Nonetheless, some worry that the church will be “takenover” by the organ, but I have to say, this will never happen, and here are two keyreasons why:

- In the last year, there have been seventeen concerts in the church – asmany as there are ever likely to be in a single year. Over the same period,there were 374 acts of worship, so there were 22 times as many services asthere were concerts! I’m guessing too, that at least two thirds of what isplayed on the organ was originally written to give glory to God; that is,they are offerings of praise in musical form.

- When you walk into Holy Trinity, it is immediately apparent that this is aplace of prayer and worship. EVERYTHING about the layout says “this isa House of God”. It could NEVER be mistaken for a “concert hall”!

Also, when people come to see the organ (perhaps having seen the reports on theLottery Grant in the papers, or heard about it on Radio Solent, or seen the clipson South Today and Meridian Tonight) they are quickly bowled over by thewhole building, and want to know about our worship in the round, or what thevarious monuments, statues and candles are all about!

So, anything which promotes the organ, AUTOMATICALLY promotes thechurch; and £58,000.00 of the grant is for promotion. This will includeemploying someone a day a week to promote the organ (and therefore the church)in the wider community and especially in education circles; a promotional DVD,which will say lots about the church as well, as that is the organ’s home; andmany other ways in which Holy Trinity will be “put on the map”!With loveFr Andy

If you are new to the area and/or reading Trinity Times for the first time -Welcome. Set out below are a few details about the Church which we hope

you will find helpfulAlso check out our website at www.holytrinitygosport.co.uk

We arehere

You will find us on theeast side of Haslar Road;look for the steeple - youcan’t miss us!

We are a Church ofEngland Church in theAnglican Diocese ofPortsmouth and we arelinked with ChristChurch, Stoke Road.

In addition to the timeslisted on the followingpage, we are normallyopen to visitors Tuesdayto Friday 1.30 to 3.30pm and Saturday 10.00am to midday.

We worship ‘in the round’which we find is a veryfriendly way of worship-ping - it enhances the feelingof ‘family’ in the church.We use incense at ourSunday services (only) - inother words we are a“Smells & Bells” church.We have hearing loop andvoice enhancement systemsinstalled. This work wasfunded by the NationalLottery through Big Lotteryfund

Our vicar is Rev Andy Davis. (We usually call him Fr. Andy butAndy is OK) As our priest, he is always happy to see anyone whoneeds to talk with him about anything. He can be contacted at9 Britannia Way, Gosport. Tel: 023 9258 0173 or Mobile: 0770991 9602. email@holytrinitygosport.co.uk (He is not usuallyaround on Mondays)

And Also

We have 2 meetingrooms available for hire;one holds a maximum of60 people and the other12 people. Kitchenfacilities are available.There are toilets on theground floor and a lift tothe first floor.Telephone Fr Andy fordetails.

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SERVICE TIMES

SUNDAYS**

Parish Mass 11.00 amVespers and Benediction 6.00 pm

(A quiet, reflective service to end one week and begin another)

✠MONDAYS

Father Andy’s day off

✠TUESDAYSMass 9.30 am

(30 minutes, quiet, prayerful, peace-giving)

✠WEDNESDAYS5.45 pm Prayer Group

(An informal gathering, to pray – quietly and simply –For the church, the world and those suffering and in need)

Mass 6.30 pm(30 minutes, quiet, prayerful, peace-giving)

✠FRIDAYSMass 5.00 pm

(30 minutes, quiet, prayerful, peace-giving)

**On each occurrence of a fifth Sunday in a month, a joint service will be heldalternating between Holy Trinity and Christ Church. The next joint service willbe held at 9.30 a.m. at Christ Church on Sunday 29th January 2012

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Trinity Times is published by Holy Trinity Church, Gosport, Hampshire. It is distributedfree of charge to more than 1,000 households and 160 shops in the Parish. You can alsoview in colour on our website: www.holytrinitygosport.co.uk

Editor: Joan Millard

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A ONCE-IN-A-CENTURY REMEMBRANCEDAY – 11-11-11-11

At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011,the nation will pause to remember those who havegiven their lives in fighting for this country.

This year is doubly special: 2011 is The Royal BritishLegion's 90th anniversary and also this is a once-in-a-century Remembrance Day.

At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month in 2011(11-11-11-11) we will be remembering those whowere willing to lay down their lives for their country.

The British Legion is inviting people to be a special part of this unique occasionby leaving a message to go on a poppy to be planted at Wootton Bassett. That isthe town where thousands of people have paid their respects during repatriationsin recent years - you may have seen this on TV.

The British Legion explains: “Many people associate Remembrance Day withheroes of D-Day or the Battle of Britain's Spitfire pilots. Some people think ofthe deeds of the SAS during the Falklands conflict or, of course, Flanders Fieldsfrom World War I, carpeted in poppies growing where so many men lost theirlives. But in the last few years it's also been about the nation showing itssupport for the soldiers returning injured and traumatised from currentconflicts.”

So if you would like to put your name to a poppy, please visit:https://donations.britishlegion.org.uk/RBLDonation/

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

As is our tradition at Holy Trinity our service on RemembranceSunday - the 13th November - will start five minutes early at 10.55

a.m. with an Act of Remembrance.

Your are welcome to join us.

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TEA TIME CONCERTS 2011

At Holy Trinity we continue our “Tea-Time Concerts” at 3.30 pm on the firstSunday of each month. Admission to all the concerts is free although a retiringcollection is taken for the benefit of the organ restoration project. All themusicians give freely of their talents as their contribution to this project.Afternoon tea is served in the Capper Room after each concert.

These concerts, which last no longer than an hour, present the opportunity tohear fine music in the generous acoustic of this beautiful Church. Why not giveit a try? It’s a very pleasant way in which to while away a Sunday afternoon.

Details of the November and December concerts are set out below.

SUNDAY 4th DECEMBERA programme of music from

UPHAM RECORDER ORCHESTRAMusical Director

David Burgessand

Pat Jenkins, Soprano

SUNDAY 6th NOVEMBER

PAUL PILOTT, LOUISE HELYER

and FRIENDSSing favourites from

GILBERT & SULLIVAN andPopular strains from

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN

SUNDAY 1st JANUARYYou’ve guessed it…..there’ll be no concert on New Year’s Day

Watch this space for subsequent 2012 Tea Time Concerts

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CAN YOU HELP WITHA CHRISTMAS DAY LUNCHFOR THOSE WHO WOULD BE HOME ALONE?

Last Christmas, for the first time, the GosportVoluntary Action (GVA) organised a ChristmasDay lunch at St. Faith’s Parish Hall in Lee-on-the-Solent for Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solentresidents who would otherwise be on their own. Itwas a great success.

Sadly, due to cut-backs, the GVA is unable torepeat it this year but they will provide transport.

A depleted group of us at St. Faith’s is now tryingto arrange a similar event this year but we are unfortunately without acook(s) and the helpers to prepare the lunch in a very modern kitchen atSt. Faith’s. We urgently seek help!

Vegetable preparation will be done by volunteers.  Christmas puddingsand mince pies are being provided by Abbeyfield Homes.  We are hopingsupermarkets will contribute as they did last year.

The cost to those who will apply to lunch will be £6 to include drinks,main course, pudding and mince pies, followed by coffee, and prizes etc.

I think we are looking for a Father Christmas to attend, if he isn't tooexhausted after climbing down chimneys early that morning!

I can be contacted on 023 92 527519 with an answer machine.

Mary SmithMember of St. Faith’s Church,

Lee-on-the-Solent.

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HOSPITAL CHART BLOOMERSDon’t be alarmed, but these are actual writings from hospital charts....~ The patient refused autopsy.~ The patient has no previous history of suicides.~ Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.~ Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.~ On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.~ Discharge status: Alive but without permission.~ She is numb from her toes down.~ The skin was moist and dry.~ Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.~ Patient was alert and unresponsive.~ I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.~ Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

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From: Great Aunt Pru <prudence.little@shewitters.com>To: Tamsin OzlingSubject: Don’t you believe it

My dear Tammy,

I had a telephone call today from someone supposedly calling from MicrosoftSystems. A man with an accent I found difficult to understand told me that hewas calling about my computer; I said “What about my computer?” to which hereplied “You have a virus on it and….” I interrupted him before he got anyfurther, told him I didn’t believe him and that I had my own computer expertwho helped me with such problems anyway and hung up.

Fortunately I had read something about these scam telephone calls so wasn’tabout to be taken in. As a matter of principle I don’t deal with cold callersanyway whatever they may be trying to sell but I understand that with thisparticular scam they try to persuade you to let them access your computersupposedly to get rid of the virus. What they actually do is to hack into it toobtain personal details and possibly access bank accounts.

Who did he think he was kidding anyway? Does he really think I’d believeMicrosoft would ring a little old woman in Gosport (or, for that matter, any ofthe other billions of people around the world who use Microsoft) to tell her shehas a virus on her computer - I don’t think so! I think your mum told me yoursister had a similar call so they obviously operate globally.

The trouble is that these callers can be pretty convincing and rely uponscaring people who have only a little computer knowledge. They give theimpression that they are there to help whereas all they are really interested inis getting their hands on your money in any way they can.

This is only one of the scams going around and not all connected withcomputers. People get calls supposedly from banks asking for securitydetails, or utility companies claiming immediate payment of outstanding bills orrisk being cut off. These calls are all aimed at extracting money illegally.Banks and utility companies would never make such calls.

It gets so you feel you can’t trust anyone which is reallysad because once again it is the actions of the minoritywho cause people to mistrust everyone.

Well that’s that particular winge over. Love to everyonefrom your ever-loving

Great Aunt Pru

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THIS MONTH’S HIGH DAYS....

All Saints’ Day – 1st NovemberAll Saints, or All Hallows, is the feast of all the redeemed, known andunknown, who are now in heaven. When the English Reformation took place,the number of saints in the calendar was drastically reduced, with the result thatAll Saints’ Day stood out with a prominence that it had never had before.

This feast day first began in the East, perhaps as early as the 5th century, ascommemorating ‘the martyrs of the whole world’. A Northern English 9thcentury calendar named All Hallows as a principal feast, and such it hasremained. The saints do not belong to any religious tradition, and their livesand witness to Christ can be appreciated by all.

All Souls’ Day – 2nd NovemberThe early Church was slow to dedicate a liturgical day to offering prayers andmasses to commemorate the faithful departed. But in time prayers were offeredon behalf of dead monks, that they might attain ‘the Beatific Vision’ throughpurification, which the Church later described as Purgatory. Odilo, thepowerful abbot of Cluny, (d 1049) decreed that All Souls’ Day should followthe feast of All Saints’ Day.

In bygone centuries All Souls’ day was certainly uncomfortable for anyone whohad wronged a person who had then died. For it was believed that souls inpurgatory could appear on earth on this day, in the form of ghosts, witches ortoads, to haunt anyone who had wronged them in life.

On a more cheerful note, it was also believed that you could help the dead onthis day by almsgiving in cash or in kind. Some of these beliefs seem to havebeen caught up in the popular customs of Hallowe’en.

ADVENT Sunday – 27th NovemberAs November closes, Advent begins. The exact birth-date of Jesus is notknown, but during the 5th century the date of 25th December was chosen tobecome the Feast of the Nativity, or Christmas. By the sixth century, theChristian Church was in the habit of spending several weeks leading up toChristmas in prayerful, expectant preparation. The fourth Sunday beforeChristmas Day became Advent Sunday. ‘Advent’, of course, means ‘coming’,or ‘coming in’, and traditionally special candles have been lit, and morerecently, advent calendars used, as the Church prepares itself for the coming ofthe Holy Child, the long-awaited Messiah.At Holy Trinity we shall be lighting our first Advent candle at thebeginning of the 11.00 Mass on this day. Why not join us.

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....AND HOLY DAYS

Andrew (d. c.60) – 30th NovemberThe apostle Andrew is patron saint of Scotland. According to the gospel ofMatthew, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter were the very first two discipleswhom Jesus called. “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”(Matt 4:18,19). Without more ado, they obeyed. “At once they left their netsand followed him.”

Whenever the gospels mention the disciples, Andrew’s name is always in thefirst four. Rather than a boisterous leader of men (like Peter), he seems to havebeen an approachable person who wanted to help people. It was Andrew whooffered Jesus the five small barley loaves and two small fishes when Jesuschallenged them to feed the five thousand. (John 6:8) His faith in Jesus oversmall things was richly rewarded, and this faithful, kindly Galilean fishermanturned disciple went on to become one of the 12 apostles of the ChristianChurch.

Andrew’s ‘fishing for men’ seems to have taken him far. One ancient traditionlinks him with Greece, where both Scythia and Epirus claimed him as theirapostle. Another place in Greece, Patras in Achaia, claimed to be the placewhere Andrew was eventually martyred. Like Jesus, Andrew was crucified, butthe story goes that during the two days it took him to die, he preached earnestlyto the people about Jesus. Andrew was not afraid of death on a cross – he hadseen it before, and knew one thing for certain: because of Jesus, there wasnothing but eternal life ahead of him.

But how did he end up as patron saint of Scotland? Well, according to oneancient legend, his relics were taken from Patras to Scotland in the 8th century,and ended up in Fife, where a church dedicated to him was built and became acentre for evangelization and later pilgrimage. As Andrew was the only apostleto make it as far as Scotland, he was chosen as patron saint. But Andrew didnot stay in Scotland. After the fall of Constantinople in 1204, it is said that theCrusaders took his relics to Amalfi. From there the despot Thomas Palaeologussent his head to the pope in Rome in 1461 – where it became one of the mosttreasured possessions of St Peters - until it was sent to the church inConstantinople by Paul VI.

In art Andrew is depicted with a normal Latin cross in the most ancientexamples. The saltire cross ‘X’, commonly called St Andrew’s Cross, andwhich represents Scotland on the Union Jack, was associated with him from the10th century.

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Things can be very confusing. Some uprightswho live near us were talking about whenthey took their granddaughter, Millie,into church. They said Fr. Andy hadbeen really kind to Millie and hadsaid she could walk her dolls in thepram all round the church and itwould be nice if she brought themagain.

While they were talking I got into troublebecause I shouted at two big dogs who werewalking past our house. Our upright said “That’sa good start when you’re on your way to church.”

When we were in church, everyone prayed for Hamish the great Dane, who isill, and the uprights asked St. Francis to watch over him. We’ve been to twoPets’ Services lately. We went to one at Mother Carrie’s church, where I metsome rats. They were very friendly and lots of people gave them cuddles. Iwould have liked to get to know them better, but our upright wasn’t sure why Iwanted to know them better. I think she thought that I might chase them.Maybe they would have wanted to chase me - and I bet they’ve got lots ofpointy teeth too!

We went to another Pets’ Service at Alverstoke. There were lots of animalsthere and the church was just about full with dogs and cats and things and therewas even a horse hat stood outside the door of the church. Some of the dogswere very noisy an d when Fr. Ted said the prayers and asked for peace he saidpeace to the noisy dogs too.

After the service we went back to upright Judith’s for a cup of tea and there wasa fly in the house. Now I think that upright Judith might be in lots of troublewith Fr. Ted because he said prayers for all God’s creatures and we mustprotect them all. Well, upright Judith opened the door and asked the fly to goout but it didn’t take any notice of her, so she swatted it. Our upright looked ather and said “Uh-oh! Somehow I think Mollie might write about this.” Thenthey did lot of laughing.

Well, they were worried about what I might do to the rats but I didn’t chasethem with a fly swatter!