April 1967
I-ly dear Friends,
To begin with I wish to thank all those who have so kindly transported
me around the parish in their cars to enable me to do my work,
or go to the hospital to see the doctor from time to time. Before long
I hope I will be back in full harness, and I would like to take this
opportunity to thank Mr. Lovelock-Jones and the excellent staff of
nurses that has brought this abc it.
I wish to thank Mis s V/illiaas of the Old Parsonage for placing in
Church a book by J.B.Phillips - "The Ring of Truth", being a translator's
testimony. He writes as an expert in assessing the evidence of
Christianity. He tells of en elderly clergyman who, in the face of
nodern destructive criticism, lost his faith and took his own life as
there was nothing nore for him to live for. Without faith in the
truths proclaimed in the G-ospel there IS nothing left for one to live
for. Several copies of this booklet have been left in Church together
with "Letters to Young Churches" by the same author. I hope everyone
in the parish will read then. "The Ring of Truth" deals with the whole
subject of the Resurrection. Vfe shall be celebrating Easter - the
Queen of Eestivals - as these notes cone to you. 3t Paul was in no
doubt at all when he wrote: "If Christ be not risen from the dead,your
faith is vain and there is no hope of a blessed immortality" Easter
reminds us that we do not preach a cunningly devised fable that the
world of today has shown to be fa^se. The evidence is solidly based
and the best and most hostile critics have failed to discredit it.
In Psala 19 the ¥ord of God is said to be more to be desired than
silver or much fine gold and that it is sweeter also than the honey in
the comb. Do we approach the ¥ord of &od with this treat in nind? Do
we really believe this or are our sense of values distorted? Do we read
our Bibles with joyous anticipation regularly? And are we growing in
the knowledge of &od? Lent is "growing tine". Is this true of us?0nly
so will Easter be the assurance of our own immortality.
You are asked to remember in your prayers our Pro-Churchwarden,
Mr. Cyril Saunders, who is recovering from a major operation.
W.L.H.
ST. G-EORG-E_-_ TIK ^
The historian, G-ibbon, took a perverse pleasure in identifying
St. G-eorge with an jnorgetic and unscrupulous pork contractor,
G-eorge of Cappadocea, who was Arian Bishop of Alexandria 356-361 A.D
Now it is almost universally
agreed that he was a martyr who suffered
death during the reign of Diode-
""" tian some 50 years previously, for
"""" refusing to sacrifice to idols.
The golden legend about saving
•\ the life of a princess who was about
to be handed to a dragon as a propitiary
offering appears to be fictitious
although worth preserving.
Nevertheless St. George was venerated
before the Crusades, when he was
invoiced by Christian soldiers before
battle, and at Agincourt and other
engagements in that campaign the cry
was "St G-eorge for England".
He was officially approve! as the Patron Saint of England by
Pope Benedict IV (l6?5 - 1758)
OXEAM
Mrs. Harm, is to be congratulated upon her collections for
Oxfam which enabled her to send £22 to the fund last year.
ymsT DRIVE
Ten and a half tables were occupied by players at the ¥hist
Drive in aid of Coleshill School on March 1st when Mr. J. Ware was
the popular M. C.. £19. 2. 6d. v/as raised for the school funds
and it is thought that more people would support this -function
if they realised how enjoyable it is.
Mrs_. Elkerton
Best wishes are extended to Mrs. Elkerton who has been elected
Mayor of Buckingham.
Mrs. Elkerton came to Coleshill in 1947 when her husband, the Revd.
J, H. B. Elkerton succeeded the Resl. W, L. Bunce as Priest-in-Charge.
It affords great pleasure to her many friends to know of this well
deserved honour.
gHg_LATE FRED STUBBIN&S
Many happy memories were evoked by the mention of the name of
Fred Stubbings in the articles about Coleshill School in this newsletter
last year. That grand old man died on September 24th 1956 - a week
after the sixth of his one-man art exhibitions, which enabled him to
give £82 to Church funds.
He had been Headmaster of Coleshill School for 34 years and organist
and choirmaster for 48 years. For a time, he was Superintendent
of the Sunday School, secretary of the Church Council, chairman of
Coleshill Parish Council and a member of Amersham R.D.C..
In addition to his aptitude for public service, he had human
qualities which endeared him to all. A past pupil recalls walks when
the boys who were with him were encouraged to see how many wild flowers
they could spot and name. His son, Mr. Bob Stubbings, tells how his
father would run from Coleshill to Amersham to play football and after
the match run back again. Football was not his only sport; he was a
good shot and once on a miniature range shot a mouse with a .22 rifle.
An accomplished mteician, he gave great pleasure to many people with
his flute playing, and on wet days would play to the children - who
came to know a lot of good music this way. After he retired he turned
to painting as his main hobby and delighted in local subjects, particularly
the pond. He made a point of painting scenes from Amersham
Fair - and chuckled with delight when a lady dropped twopence into
his hat.
Memories of such a man are well worth reviving.
Before we look at where the money comes from., perhaps we should
look at the expenses which must ba met.
First, we must contribute to the stipend or salary of our
Priest-in-Charge. We do not do this directly but through a fund
called the Assistant Clergy Fund. The Diocese of Oxford makes an
annual grant of £420 to this fund and our own contribution at the
moment is £320. A further ,S126 cones from the covenanted subscriptions
of some good people it 3t. Mary's.
Next we have to pay a sum of money to the Diocese of Oxford each
year which is called our " juota" . This quota is assessed on our
income over previous years and is used to provide new churches, parsonages
and aided schools in the Diocese. Our quota for this year
has been raised from ,£84 to .-S188 to meet urgent needs.
Then we have our regular overhead expenses. These cover such
things as heating, lighting, insurance and cleaning of the Church
and the upkeep of the churchyard and the parsonage.
Finally we have the costly bills which arise all too frequently
for fairly major structural repairs on the Church and parsonage.
At this moment we are facel with the cost of re-roofing the vestry
and dealing with dry rot and woodivorm in the Church which will cost
several hundred pounds.
Now where does all this money come from? The largest single
source is the collection at Church services, which includes the
envelope scheme. The next is the Church Fete held each year.
Hitherto, we have usually been able to devote the proceeds to some
special purpose - for example, last year's Fete was used to raise
funds for Church repairs. In future years, we may be forced to use
them just to cover our day-to-day running espenses. Apart from
the Fete, we hold events like jumble sales, coffee mornings and
the occasional gift day to raise funds.
A further important source is provided by deeds of covenant
where a person commits himself to give a regular sum for at least
seven years. This arrangement enables the Church to obtain a
(contd...)
refund of income tax so the donations are worth considerably
more .
This then, is where the money to run our Church cones from,
and it can be seen that we have to provide most of it ourselves.
Moreover, we have a wider responsibility than to our Parish alone,
both to the world-wide Church and to all in need, and these we
should take into account in our budget.
Undoubtedly, most people find the simplest and most effective
way to support the Church is through the envelope scheme. This
scheme, which is entirely confidential, has the advantage that it
enables a person to make a regular donation, large or small, even
when he is not able to attend Church.
It is very tempting to leave it to the next person to do the
supporting, because apart from anything else it is much less
bother. But whether we have a Church in Coleshill or not depends
on how highly we value it and are prepared to put ourselves out
for it. One thing is certain - if we ourselves do not h©lp, no
one else will .
Do you support the envelope scheme? If not, you are invited
to do so and to communicate with Mr. G-. Cre-ber, Applecroft,
Meadowcot Lane, Coleshill (Tel. Amersham 3350)
N.N.N.
TREE
On the cold and blustery af+ernoon of Saturday, March llth,
quite a number of people assembled opposite the parsonage to
witness the Earl of Courtown plant a tree, presentated by the
Society for the Preservation of Rural England, Penn Branch, to
commemorate Coleshill having gained the award for being the
most tidy village in its class in 1966.
Coleshill has now earned the award three times in all
and for the last two years in succession. Every effort must be
made to complete the hat trick.
On G-ood Friday, March 24-th, the Harewood Singers will present
the Requiem by &abriel Faure together with other works by Ejrrd,
Tonkins, Purcell Bach, Rubra arid Kessiaen. The soloists will be
Barbara Heywood, Soprano; Richard Pairbairn, tenor; Frank Boothaan,
bass; the organist will be Oliver Morley ( many will remember his
brilliant playing when he was organist at Coleshill some years ago);
The programme will be directed by Dr. Anthony Watts and will take
place at the Parish Church of St. Mary at 7.30p.m.. There will be
a collection in aid of tiie Restoration Fund..
EYSHTS
Tues. Apr. 4 Joint Service for the Mothers' Union and the Sisterhood.
All Saints 3.00p.m.
Thur. 13 Vi/'.I. Mrs. M. Crapnell on "The History and Romance of
Inn Signs"
Mobile library van - Coleshill
Tues. 18 Sisterhood - Mrs. "-.finny
Sun. 23 St. George's Day
Tues. 25 Concert at Royal Albert Hall at 7.30p.m.in aid of the
Christian ledical College and Hospital, Vellore, South
India. Tickets 15/-, 12/6, 10/6 & 7/6.For coaches going
from Anersaaia, please contact Miss Hall of Brownings
of Amershaa, Sycamore Road,
Thurs. 27 Mobile library van - Coleshill
V/ed. May 3 "Beauty for sale" by the ¥.1. Players combined with
Sat.July 8
sherry party in aid of village hall. Tickets 7/6 from
Mrs. •"rown 3,Mrs .Harvey or any Committee member.
Church F£t3nat Luckings Farn by kind invitation of
Mr. & Mrs. ^rindley.
S. 0. S.
The Editor pleads for advance notice of local events. Copy is
"made up" about the l6th of each month and sent to press on or before
the 20th.
It will help enormously if contributions are received before
those dates,
SPIR7ICES
ALL SAINTS, COLESHILL
Every Sunday:
9.00a.na Parish Communion
lO.OOa.u. Sunday School
2nd & 4th Sundays:
6oOOp.a. Evensong
THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. MARY,
8S00 a. n,, Holy Communion
10,00 a.m. Children's Church
H000a.n. Matins & Sernon
(N ,B . On 1st Sunday in the nonth
the 10 and lia.ci. services combine
for a Family Communion at
10.00a.m.)
6.00p.m. Evensong & Sermon
SERVICES FOR GOOD FRIDAY & SASTER DAY
ALL SAINTS, COLESHILL
EASTER DAY: 3»00a.m. Holy Communion
lO.OOa.m. Sunday School
11.00a0m. Matins
12 noon Holy Communion
6. OOp .21. Evensong
GOOD FRIDAY: *
10.00a.m. One hour service
of meditation. "Christ in,
the Passion"
R3CTOR: The Revd. Allan Canpbell (Tel. Araershan 1135)
ERIEST-IN-CHAR&E: The Revd. ¥.L.Holder, The Parsonage, Coleshill
(Tel: Amersham ?22)
PRO-CHURCm/ARDEN: C. Saunders, Chapel Cottage, Coleshill
mO-CHURCHWARDEN & RON. SECRETARY: N.N.Nicholls, Orchard House,
Coleshill(Tel: Amersham 1834)
HON. TREASURER: G-. Creber, Apple croft, Meadowcot Lane, Coleshill
(Tel: Anershan 3350)
Published by All Saints Local Church Committee.
