The Parish Church of St Andrew's, Medsteadwelcome | faith | services | events | news | archive | people | church | village | friends | location |
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The Parish Church of St Andrew's, Medsteadwelcome | faith | services | events | news | archive | people | church | village | friends | location |
|
November-December 2003
The Christmas Journey
A New Broom?
Ben's First Service
Great Expectations
Ben's Institution
To Have A New Rector
A Final Message
Geoffrey's Final Service
Christmas Events
Dever Singers
Music Recital
Talent Harvest
Births, Deaths & Marriages
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What an exciting time Christmas can be for many people! Even if it has to be recognised that this is not a universal truth. I recall watching my children, when they were small, deriving enormous pleasure from opening their presents. There seems to be a "journey" of several stages - perhaps you have noticed it too.
Firstly anticipation: looking at the wrapped gifts and wondering, trying to guess; the building up of excitement.
Next unwrapping: depending on the child (or adult!) this might be a gradual, prolonged business or simply a ripping away in some impatience of what lies within.
Finally, the reaction: which might vary from sheer ecstasy to mild approval, possibly even disappointment; in the last case, I have seen very small children get more fun out of the empty box than the present itself.
On Christmas Day, the period of anticipation for believers, Advent, comes to an end with the birth of the Christ-child. In the unwrapping, revealed to humans as never before, is the very nature of God himself, loving and vulnerable - initially in the form of a helpless baby. This for Christians, of course, is just the beginning of a journey of faith.
But what about the reaction? In the secular world, the arrival of Christmas Day spells the end; the end of the holiday period, save for a little boost at New Year, the end of the fevered attempts to make us spend more, eat more, drink more, and businesses everywhere retreat to count the profits. And we, are we left having received the greatest gift ever, or just playing with the wrappings until next year? Surely the reaction, even for those of us who have been life-long Christians, is to allow the wonder of God's sacrifice to filter through and permeate our lives afresh, leading us to dedicate ourselves anew to the love and service of God.
May the love of the Christ-child remain with you and in your homes long after the tinsel has been put away.
Ben Flenley
Am I the "new broom" which will sweep everything familiar away? Will life in this Parish ever be the same again? Well the answer to both is, "No". I shall seek to serve you as your Rector to the best of my ability and that does not mean changing everything! On the other hand life in this Benefice is already different: where formerly these four Parishes boasted two full-time stipendiary priests between them, now there is only one. My colleague, the Reverend. Simon Baker, now living in Medstead Rectory, has kindly agreed to assist where possible, but it has to be remembered that he is employed full-time by the Diocese and his duties include many weekend courses, conferences &c. So things have to be different.
The first change which you might notice will be to the schedule of Sunday services - with the best will in the world, I cannot maintain the previous pattern. This will mean I shall lead worship in all the churches, naturally, but "the Rector" cannot be in all the churches as frequently as before. More services will have to be led by lay people, for which training will be made available.
The church has just entered upon the season of Advent, when we prepare ourselves to celebrate again the coming of Christ into the world. His coming changed everything for those who found him; in many cases, their lives were turned upside down. As we enter upon a period of change in our local church circumstances, let us open our hearts to follow the way Christ leads, for in his company, as Julian of Norwich famously wrote, " all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
God bless you all.
Ben Flenley
As may be expected St. Andrew's was full on Sunday, 30th November, the church's Patronal Festival and the first service Ben had taken in our new Benefice of Bentworth, Lasham, Medstead and Shalden. Everyone wanted to see our new Rector in action.
We were not disappointed. Ben led the service with his wife, Kathryn, taking a major role. All four of the Flenley children - Richard, with his girlfriend Julie, Matthew, Lizzie and Rachel - were invited to stand by the chancel step while they were introduced to the congregation.
In his talk, Ben encouraged us all to be involved in daily prayer and bible study and urged that we should all work for the Kingdom of God, whether it be by attending study groups, singing in the choir, financially, or in one of the many "behind the scenes" tasks such as cleaning and flower arranging.
Referring to our Gospel reading, Matthew 4: 18-22, Ben urged we should not only come to God ourselves but we should also bring someone with us. We should rejoice if we find ourselves taking second place to that "someone" in the effectiveness of our ministry.
Ben also asked us to keep him informed, if possible before the event, when it comes to ourselves or others spending time in hospital, as he cannot visit us if he is unaware!
A full house greeted the Flenley family at the Benefice Service held in St. Andrew's Medstead at 10am on their Patronal Festival Day. Ben was taking his first service, with assistance from Kathryn in her capacity as Reader, and as a preliminary he called his family to the chancel steps to be identified by the members of the congregation. The Holy Communion (Common Worship) service followed the well-established pattern, with one small departure, as Ben prefaced his short sermon with a longer address on Expectations.
He recalled the basic documents used in the selection process: the Benefice and Person Profiles, which firstly detailed the characteristics and aspirations of the individual and collective parishes and, secondly, the basic attributes required of candidates and the support offered to match these aspirations. In effect what the parishes had to offer and what was expected in return.
He explained that his application for the incumbency had been based on the Benefice Profile, reinforced by informal visits and discussions with nominated PCC members, and his selection and appointment had followed the formal interview process. All concerned had taken these profiles at face value, fully aware that individuals might have their own interpretation of the details and, possibly, individual expectations of how they might be met. On his part, Ben committed himself to matching these expectations to the best of his ability, but emphasised that this could not be achieved in isolation.
He left us with a clear message that he would be seeking collaboration and teamwork across the Benefice to achieve a successful and expanding ministry, praying that this would be forthcoming.
On Wednesday, 26th November at St. Mary's Church Bentworth, The Right Reverend Trevor Wilmot, Bishop of Basingstoke, Instituted Ben as Rector of the Benefice of Bentworth, Lasham, Medstead and Shalden. With the choir and congregation enthusiastic and in full voice it was a moving and enjoyable ceremony, serving to make an excellent start to our ministry together. Bishop Trevor's sermon based on the reading from Chapter 6 of the Book of Judges served to remind us that whatever difficulties we may encounter, out Lord is always with us and will not let us down.
After the service our new Rector, the Bishop and congregation retired to the School Hall for excellent refreshments and an opportunity to meet with others who were welcoming Ben, and with those from Micheldever, East Stratton and Woodmancote who were saying goodbye to him. Ben took the opportunity to thank all those responsible for organising the Service, with special mention for Ron and Stella Burnett.
After a relatively short interregnum, compared to many others in the Diocese, Ben Flenley was installed as our Rector in St. Mary's, Bentworth on Wednesday 26th November. The Bishop of Basingstoke conducted the service, following a traditional ceremony that included the Patron, Mr John Jervoise, the Archdeacon, the Rural Dean, Clergy and Lay Readers. The Medstead Choir led the singing, Ian Jurd was the crucifier, and our organist was Patrick Busby, all from Medstead. The eight Churchwardens, processing with their "wands" to the various stations throughout the occasion, were an impressive sight. They started as part of the procession that came from the School to the church before entering to the processional hymn Angel Voices Ever Singing and leading Bishop Trevor to his seat. After the Patron had read a lesson from the Book of Judges, he presented the new Rector for Institution by Bishop Trevor.
The Induction and Installation then followed, with the Churchwardens processing to the door to hand over the keys to the four churches of the Benefice, then to the bell tower for Ben to ring the church bell as a sign of the start of his ministry. This particular exercise involved the wardens going to the tower in single file, going anti-clockwise around the wall so that they were facing the right direction to process to the Rector's stall for the greeting, ensuring that there was room to toll the bell!
The Rededication then took place, with wardens processing to the font, where Bentworth's Ron Burnett presented a jug of water, to the lectern, where Lasham's Ruth Martin presented an open Bible, to the Rector's stall, where Medstead's Chris Tew presented a Prayer Book, to the Sanctuary steps, where Shalden's Ann Maltby presented a vessel of Olive Oil, then, finally to the Sanctuary, where Reader in Training, Carol Fuller, presented Bread and Wine for the Holy Table. In due course Mike Kirby, Lay Chairman of the Deanery Synod, welcomed Ben on behalf of the Alton Deanery, Morris Hopkins, St. Mary's RC Church, Alton, on behalf of Christians in Alton and District, Maurice Johnson on behalf of East Hampshire District Council, Andrew Shervell on behalf of the Benefice Parish Councils and Lasham Village Committee and, finally Rob Wood on behalf of the Bentworth and Medstead C of E Primary Schools.
The service ended with the wardens leading Bishop Trevor and Rector Ben out of the church, heading for the reception that was held in the School Hall and provided by the ladies of all four Parishes. It felt like the feeding of the thousands with enough left over to contribute to the refreshments after the Benefice Service on the 30th, without recourse to baskets. Statistically, the congregation, including officials, choir and clergy totalled 225, out of a seating capacity of 250. Some 50 of those were supporters from Micheldever and related parishes.
I would like to say how privileged I feel to have had the opportunity to serve Medstead for so long as a parish priest. I have tried to make sure that you have been reasonably served. This has been one of the happiest jobs I have done. It came completely out of the blue as a great surprise.
I have tried to make you think around many of the issues associated with faith and I trust that this has helped you. I wish you well in the future under the leadership of the Reverend Ben Flenley.
I would also like to thank everyone for the kind words spoken on 23rd November and the splendid meal that we were all able to enjoy. It was much appreciated. Thank you very much.
Your gift amounted to almost £400. Thank you for this as well. It has genuinely been a great pleasure to have worked with you for 19 months. I must deprogramme myself from motoring down the Alton Road.
Yours, sincerely in Christ.
Geoffrey.
November 23rd was Geoffrey's last Sunday as our Locum Rector, and naturally the church was full. He had particularly arranged for the service to be a Family Communion, so that young and old alike could worship together under his ministry for the last time. Geoffrey has been with us for over a year and a half to fill the ministry gap until a successor to the very much late, lamented David Bray could be found and he will be especially remembered for his work of pastoral care and liaison with the school.
After the service there was a farewell lunch in the Church Hall organised by Debby Barnes and other helpers so that suitable tributes could be made for Geoffrey's work among us. He will be greatly missed.
Brig. Gris Davies-Scourfield
On 14th December Sarah Delany and Yvonne Haig devised a splendid Nativity Service, which was well supported by the mums and dads and the church was full. Everyone joined in heartily with the singing accompanied by Carol Fuller on the piano.
On 15th December St Andrew's Church joined with the United Reformed Church for the annual village carol singing. A very warm reception was received at our local, the Castle Of Comfort and to round off the evening the singers returned to the Church Hall for appropriate festive cheer and even more singing.
A total of £64.99 was raised for the Wessex Cancer Trust.
As a departure from previous years this service was held on a Saturday, 20th December. As a further departure from tradition the carols were introduced one by one. The choir fully supported the service aided by Patrick Busby on the organ. Refreshments were kindly provided in the Church Hall afterwards.
On 24th December the Church was packed for the usual Midnight Mass taken by Rev. Simon Baker. The choir gave a magnificent rendition of Bach's Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light from the Christmas Oratorio. During Communion Wendy Busby and Jean Penny sang He Shall Feed His Flock from Handel's Messiah.
The next day, Christmas morning, saw a well supported Family Communion Service. It was wonderful to be able to welcome so many people to our Christmas Services.
The Dever Singers delighted us on the evening of the 11th December with a full programme of Christmas Music. Those who were unable to attend really did miss a treat. There was much well known music and the audience were delighted to be given the opportunity to join in with some of the pieces. It was good to welcome people from other parts of the Benefice and especially welcome were folk from Micheldever.
Many thanks to The Dever Singers and their conductor Colin Hew, Head of Music at Perrins School, for an excellent programme of seasonal music. We also thank Simon and Diana Barker for bringing this music to Medstead and all those who contributed to the retiring collection of £134. This has been donated to St. Andrew's.
On Sunday 30th November over 120 people enjoyed a wonderful evening of excellent music performed by five very talented players. The programme started with the Brahms Horn Trio, this was followed by a selection of German Lieder sung by Wendy Busby and the evening concluded with Patrick Busby playing four piano solos. It was a very successful recital enjoyed by everyone. Following the recital a drinks and finger buffet was served by the ladies of the Social Committee. A big vote of thanks to everyone involved in such a memorable evening, with especial thanks to Wendy and Patrick for their efforts in bringing us such a delightful evening.
Bill & Jill Davis
This year we made £1,262 on our Parable of the Talents event. Those taking part this year raised money by many and varied means, including Cream Teas, betting on the horses, sales of cakes and home made preserves, coffee mornings, car boot sales and table-top sales. Many thanks to Mary and Geoff for organising this event, which raised a record amount this year.
Congratulations to Paul and Ewa Adams on the birth of their daughter Charlotte Lucy, a sister for Francesca, on 25th November.
Jill and Bill Davis were thrilled at the safe arrival of their fourth grandchild. Edward Anthony Davis was born on 21st November at 10am and weighed 7lb 9oz. His parents Katy and Paul, and sister Eleanor are now settling in to their new routine and all are well.
On the 30th January the friends and family of the late Derek Stone (11th November 1929-22nd January 2004) came to St. Andrew's to say their final farewells to Derek. He was a keen gardener and will be missed by all those who knew and loved him.
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the bird for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on Earth.
On 27th November the family and friends of the late Anne Ruth Rampton came to St. Andrew's to say farewell to Anne. This was Ben's first service in Medstead and Carol Fuller played the organ.
May light perpetual shine upon Anne.
Congratulations to Nadine and Stewart who came to St Andrew's on 22nd November for their marriage. This was the last wedding service conducted by Geoffrey before his departure for pastures new.
After the service Mr. & Mrs Smythe took their guests to Farnham Castle for their reception and a Ceilidh.
May the good Lord bless their union and support them as they journey through life together.