Leatherhead Parish Church

ABCD After ASB - Common Worship Autumn 2000 - Roundup of issues in the Parish Autumn 2001 - Another Roundup of issues Celia Hamilton and the Hospital Chaplaincy Award 0207 Chris Bessant, Ordination training 2006 Challenging and Changing the Church - Briony Martin, Deacon Churches in Communion - The Windsor Report - from April 2005 mag Churchwardens - a new approach - 2003 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Communion before Confirmation - 2005 Congratulations to Hospital Chaplaincy Department Consultation on worship and groups Sep 2003, from Dec 2003 mag David Oliver, Director of Music 2002-2009 Did Jesus really rise ... 2005	EFGH Easter 2000 - The First Easter of the New Millennium Eatons - our goodbye- March 2009 First at Pentecost Getting together with Mickleham HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee Golden Jubilee Concert 3 June 2002 How are Archbishops chosen?
IJKL Improving the Church Hall Inclusive Church update Jan 2006 Interregnum David Eaton - Graham Osborne John Sutherland 25 years as Churchwarden Jumping for Joy (Folkard)	MNOP Mike Gardner made Vicar Mike, formerly Church Army Captain here, was made Vicar in 2001 of the Parish in which he was serving as curate! 90% say NO to chairs Parish Church Clock Parish Hall Improvements Parish of Leatherhead and the New Millennium Parish Church improvements Parochial Church Council - what it does Pope John Paul II/Pope Benedict XVI
QRST Queen knows all about us - United Benefice Remember - Briony Martin's Remembrance Sunday 2003 sermon Royal Maundy, Guildford Cathedral 2006 Sandy Morris - Vicar 1971-1989 September 11th 2001 Schools Christian Council Trust Schools - new Trinity School - 2006 Something for everyone - Groups Songs of Praise at the Theatre Shared Ministry Sister Maureen Henderson: Elisabeth Burke Surely you saw this coming - Church of England Finance Tour of Assisi - from the Franciscans' website A party from the Parish spent a week in the Assisi area towards the end of October 2001 Thanks for new candlesticks and altarcloth Trinity School - from Feb 2006 mag	UVWXYZ URC - welcome to Rev Dean Tapley - 11 Sep 2004 Visitation 2000 March 2001 - for all members of the parish Youth Workers Where now? Canon Jeffrey John Wills information Women bishops - June 2005 Worship survey

from the November 2009 magazine on the David Eaton - Graham Osborne interregnum
Lift Up your heart, Lift up your voice
The Churchwardens

The dictionary defines an 'interreg-num' as an interval when the normal government is suspended especially between successive reigns or regimes.

Since the Reformation our ancestors at St Mary & St Nicholas would undoubtedly have witnessed certain interregnums with a feeling of uncertainty, foreboding, disillusionment, joy and downright fear. To have a Vicar dismissed as was Simon Tysse in 1561 for 'a lapse of presentation' is bad enough but ten years later John Vaughan was relieved of his post for 'typling and guzzling'. What were the Wardens and those in spiritual authority doing to allow such behaviour?

The sorry tale continued in the latter half of the eighteenth century with seventeen interregnums following Samuel Markham's 'gross neglect of his duties'. However, greater wisdom seems to have prevailed in the next 200 years and certainly within living memory.

We are coming to the end of our current interregnum, a relatively short one compared to some elsewhere. We have fond memories of the incumbencies of Canons Sandy Morris and David Eaton and look forward to the leadership of Revd Graham Osborne. The advice was clear from the outset, to sustain the momentum established by David maintaining the status quo wherever possible. Not an easy task for the views and opinions of parishioners must be heard;
notably concerns about the future, the structure of the Church, financial matters, consideration of children and the elderly and contrasting forms of worship.

The publication of a 'Parish Profile' was a statutory requirement together with a 'Statement of Needs' for prospective candidates. Undaunted, Navin and his team set about the task and senior diocesan clergy praised the results. The question is, did the document ever appear in Lambeth Palace as an example of good practice?

A theologian or historian could judge whether the last few months have been successful. What is important is that church attendance has remained constant, our pattern of worship has been sustained, and opinions expressed at meetings of the PCC with necessary adaptations have been adopted. The choir still sing in harmony, the music group performs with vigour, the church continues to be beautifully decorated pastoral work continues unabated and the pulpit resonates with spiritual diversity.

Despite concerns over 'swine flu' parishioners continue to greet each other with a notable sign of peace and communion is taken in a traditional manner. The children continue to come from Sunday Club with smiling faces, young and old alike continue to fill the pews at Family Services.

In leading and sustaining our services we are indebted to Mike Stewart and Mary Cruddas. There are challenging times ahead and they can help Graham Osborne set a positive course and we must support them in everything they do. Our interregnum has been positive and we can rejoice on November 18th
Peter Leith and Navin Mehta

from the February 2007 magazine
Celia Hamilton and the Hospital Chaplaincy Award There is no better time than now to mention Celia Hamilton's work as Hospital Chaplain's Assistant because the Chaplaincy Department of the Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust, which includes Leatherhead Hospital, has been given a Charter Mark, awarded for excellence for the work of their Chaplaincy team. This means that an independent judging panel was satisfied that they provide an exceptionally high quality of service. They are the first such team in the NHS to earn this distinction and congratulations and thanks must go to this dedicated band of workers.

The team, led by Revd Chris Vallens, consists mainly of part time volunteers, of whom Celia is among the most experienced. She is one of the unsung heroines of our church, and because she is so modest about her work, most people are not even aware that she is a fully trained Hospital Chaplain's Assistant. She trained for this work in the diocese of Wakefield in Yorkshire, one of the first four women in the diocese to be trained and the only one to complete the course, qualifying just before coming to Leatherhead in 1971.

In January of that year she was licensed by the Bishop of Guildford to work in Dorking Hospital, where she continued until 1985 when the post was closed down. However, when the Epsom NHS Trust was set up she started working at Leatherhead Hospital and still continues to do so. Her work includes visiting patients in the wards and day rooms on Tuesday afternoons and assisting with the communion services there on Friday mornings; communion is taken to those not well enough to attend the service.

In addition to all this Celia organises the services at the hospital on the first Sunday of each month, which some of our church members regularly attend, and takes turns in leading this service. How fortunate we are to have such an excellent Chaplaincy team here in Leatherhead. Linda Heath

from the May 2005 magazine
Pope John Paul II - Canon David Eaton writes: As I write, the news is full of the death and funeral of Pope John Paul II. For those of us who are not Catholic the impact of this death may have come as a surprise. This is after all a secular age, we are told; can the world, Europe in particular, be so taken up with a Church Leader? Apparently it can. His death caused the postponement of a Royal wedding and delayed the announcement of the General Election. It brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Rome to file past the body of the Pope, and millions more came for the funeral itself.

The reason for this devotion is partly the character of John-Paul himself. He has been a charismatic figure inspiring a personal bond with many people around the world. He travelled extensively to achieve this. He displayed great humanity in forgiving a would-be assassin. He spoke for the poor and disadvantaged. But he was also able to act politically in helping to push back the influence of communism, especially in his native Poland.

He had a radical political agenda, although over personal issues of faith he was markedly conservative. Neither would he support radical theology other than his own, for example, in Latin America. In all these ways he was a man of immense influence and some contradiction, a huge presence on the World Stage.

... [and from the June 2005 magazine]
Best wishes for the new Pope The Archbishop of Canterbury has offered his best wishes and prayers for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the successor to Pope John Paul II. He said he looked forward to working with the new Pope "to build shared understanding between our churches in the service of the Gospel and the goal of Christian unity".

Dr Williams described Pope Benedict XVI as "a theologian of great stature, who has written some profound reflections on the nature of God and the church. His choice of the name Benedict suggests he wants to connect his vision of the church to the monastic spirit of service and contemplation" ...

The Prime Minister has called the General Election for May 5, by coincidence Ascension Day. This is the day Christians celebrate Christ ascending over the Earth. His rising symbolises His kingship and His desire for human beings to prize His values in their affairs. Humanity will work best when it puts first the things of God.

It is not always easy to agree on these. We each have our own priorities, just as Pope John-Paul had his. [Our Archbishop] writes of what he thinks are important issues. He writes against the use of fear by political parties to attract voters to their particular banner.

When you vote, these could be some of the issues you have in mind:
Which party most dearly represents your hopes for the world at large over issues like world poverty, environmental pollution, peace, security and justice for all? At home you will want to see which party best handles the economy, public services and criminal rehabilitation amongst other issues. You will also be concerned about personal issues and family life, the availability of abortion, fertility regulations and assisted dying; how policies will respond to desperation amongst young people as well as caring for the elderly, the mentally ill and the confused.

All governments find they are not able to do as much as they hoped or promised. The complexities of being in office inhibit and constrain. No one party will tick all our boxes, so that the choice we make will be for the party we think, on balance, most nearly meets our own view and upholds Christian values.

We can be thankful to God that we live in a liberal democracy; that we are free to vote and express our view; that power can pass from party to party without aggression and violence. Too few countries in the world have such liberties. That is why using our vote is our first Christian duty and complacency about voting a tragedy.

The Archbishops of the Anglican Communion, representing the churches and 38 Provinces of the Communion scattered around the world, met at Newry in Northern Ireland at the end of February [2005]. They talked about many things but the main issue they discussed was the Windsor Report.

This report seeks to lay down guidance about how the Anglican Churches can settle difficult issues between them when there is disagreement. The Report suggests ways to do this induding a new Covenant between Churches of the Communion, which would allow for "autonomy in Communion"; an enhanced role for the Archbishop of Canterbury and a Council of Advice to help him find his way through the issues of any dispute.

The meeting of Primates in Newry welcomed the Windsor Report. They also acted on it in the sense that it sought to address the current disagreement over the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop in the USA, and, the willingness of the Canadian Anglican Church to conduct services of blessing for same-sex couples. The outcome at Newry was to request the American and Canadian Churches to withdraw voluntarily from meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council, one of the four main expressions of Anglican Churches being in Communion with each other.

What lies behind this dispute is difference within the Anglican Communion at two levels. There is, firstly, a cultural difference between the Provinces, or some of them, that make up the Communion. In England there are two Provinces: Canterbury and York, but the 36 other Provinces are around the globe. In some Provinces, homosexual practice is illegal. This is how things used to be in the UK until the reforms of the 1960s, when Roy Jenkins was Home Secretary. By contrast in the UK now, it is illegal to discriminate against people because of their gender or sexual orientation. These are two very different worlds and cultures of understanding and it is not surprising that a dispute should arise.

The second difference is religious in that within many Provinces, including Canterbury and York, different Christians take a different attitude to Biblical interpretation. Broadly, this can be described as seeing the Bible as either prescriptive or as process. In other words, does the Bible set down how we should behave, for all of time, or is there a process going on of which the Bible world is part? So that in our day the process continues and new insights bring new understandings. God met with the people of Bible times and he meets with us now. Just as we know more about the nature of the world from a scientific and medical point of view, and it has led to new responses, so as we know more about people, and their needs, our responses change.

There is room for both prescription and process. The difficulty lies in determining when and what. It is a matter, as always, of interpretation and judgement. What is to be regretted, following Newry, is that however it is dressed up, the censure on the Anglican Churches in America and Canada looks like some kind of disapproval and non-acceptance of gay people. A subsequent letter to The Times by six Church of England diocesan Bishops rightly seeks to address that issue: "We assure lesbian and gay Christians of our commitment to the principle ... that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ".

It is also to be regretted that the principle of "autonomy in Communion" did not allow the Primates to trust each other enough to allow each Province to make its own determination on this issue. This would permit divergence of practice and allow for difference based on culture. This isn't the biggest issue in the world. We already have difference of practice over the ordination of women and the remarriage of divorced people in Church. Our unity is expressed by our being in Communion, and by the creeds we have in common. It seems out of proportion that we should need to enforce so rigorously one point of view that is not shared between the Provinces.

from Sep 2004 magazine
We welcome this month The Revd Dean Tapley as the new minister at Christ Church United Reformed Church, as one of our Covenanting partners. Dean comes to Leatherhead from Crawley. He and his wife, Lydia, were married at Christ Church, where his father-in-law was then minister, so there is a warm family connection with the church. We remember Christ Church in our prayers. It has been a long wait since The Revd Brian Treharne retired and we are delighted Dean has now been able to respond to the Call to Ministry. Dean's Induction is at 7pm on Saturday 11th September.

In September a Consultation on worship and groups took place at Cleveland Lodge, Westhumble. This was well attended and many views recorded. Since then the process of review has been continued by a Clergy and Churchwardens Working Party, seeking to bring views together to see what changes can be effected. Proposals will go to the Church Council for approval before being implemented. The responsibility for worship lies with the Incumbent and Church Council acting together. To find a way forward several different factors have to be taken into account.

We must consider and recognise the tradition of our church, which I take to be liberal catholic within Anglicanism: Liberal in the sense of being open, inclusive and liberal-minded over belief; catholic because we value sacramental worship which is colourful, liturgical and accessible to all. In recent years there has also been an evangelical emphasis expressed by some church members with its appreciation of Bible, Mission and freer forms of worship.

As a congregation, we are mixed both in age and background, being made up of children, young people and young families, as well as older adults. We are a diverse community both in terms of our Christian practice and social mix. Like all churches, we face complexity when it comes to deciding what kind of services to have and when to hold them. Two models offer themselves.

Worship can be like a wheel. There is one core service at the centre or hub of church life, with other services on the rim, which feed into this. For this Parish the 10.30 Family Communion has acted as the core service in recent years on most Sundays of the month. Communion, or Eucharist, has the merit of combining both a Ministry of the Word centred on the Bible, and a Ministry of the Sacrament when communion is received.

Sunday Club is a key part of the service providing appropriate teaching and fun for children, who join the service for the administration of communion. A core service like this aims to provide a place where all ages and traditions can gather. Some of the feedback from Westhumble would like to see this service informalised and simpler, to make it more accessible. Liturgy and communion can be difficult to enter into if you have little or no church experience. On the other hand, others would like to see greater use of silence and value the structure and ceremony, which this service offers.

A second model for church worship is a Menu. Here there is no core service but a number of services, or courses, on offer. You pick whichever you think suits you, but may well not attend other services which are a regular part of the menu. This happens at the moment to some extent with a number of services catering for smaller groups like Prayer Book Communion and Taize Plus.

The question we face is: Can the present core service at 10.30 continue to meet a cross section of interests and preferences, or should there be two services midmorning, one eucharistic and one non-eucharistic; and even, should this pattern be repeated in the evening, with the doubling up of traditional and contemporary worship?

At this point a practical consideration enters into the debate. My colleague Briony Martin, and her husband Peter Murphy, are expecting their second child in January. We wish them every happiness. Briony will rightly be on maternity leave for 26 weeks. There is also expected a change in staffing arrangements in our sister Parish of Mickleham, for which I also have responsibility.

Given these changes, it will not be possible to introduce more services than we currently hold in the first part of 2004, at least. I therefore think that a way forward for worship is to continue with something like the same pattern based on the wheel analogy. Change to the 10.30 service can be introduced. The communion can be made simpler and Sunday Club more closely integrated. It will be possible to hold All Age Communions from time to time, say on 5th Sundays. The evening pattern can embrace some change and offer a variety of services at 6.30 on a Sunday evening: Communion, Praise, Taize, Prayer Book on a published rotation.

Should this pattern not be found to meet current needs, then in the second half of 2004 it can be reviewed. It may be the menu model will need to be looked at more closely. But I am reluctant to break up the core communion service because of the depth and breadth it can offer. My hope is that this central family and holy meal can be something around which all can continue to gather, presented in a way that is accessible and yet holy and sacred to all who come. A service which has depth to satisfy our congregation of experienced Christians and long standing churchgoers, but at the same time is sufficiently attractive to welcome newcomers.

The risk of running two services mid-morning is that the Eucharist becomes sidelined, a service for older people, with no children or young families. Families which come to us because we offer a service for the whole family will be frustrated by only a diet of Family Services with no serious adult or sacramental content.

The churchwardens and clergy working party continues to meet, so this is an interim report. I will publish the final outcome when all aspects have been considered by the Church Council.

Improving the Church Hall - January 2003
If you have used the Parish Church Hall since the summer you have probably noticed that the wooden entrance doors, which had become distorted and difficult to open and close, or to lock or unlock, have been replaced. In their place we now have double-glazed entrance doors which look like mahogany (as long as you don't look too closely), but which are really metal-lined UPVC. Given a little consideration and care from users we hope that the new doors will provide many years of trouble-free service. After our experience with the wooden doors, this will be a refreshing change.

The new entrance doors are the latest manifestation of an ongoing programme to maintain and, where possible, improve the Parish Hall. Last year, for example, the exterior was redecorated, the Parish Office was greatly improved, electrical safety systems were upgraded and faults were repaired. A Public Entertainment licence for music and dancing was obtained; and this, in turn, facilitates licensing if a play is to be presented.

A number of potential improvements have been identified by the Parish Hall Committee and some, such as disabled toilet facilities, are certainly needed. As well as making improvements, we need to keep the hall and its decoration in a reasonable state: a constant battle in premises which are heavily used. Both improvements and maintenance cost money.

As well as providing a facility to be used by the church and its members, the hall (with its variety of rooms of different sizes) and car park are let to raise money: some £10,000 is contributed to parish funds each year, the greater part of which is income from leasing the car park. More lettings of the various rooms in the hall would increase our income, enabling us to increase our contribution to church funds or improve the hall facilities, or both.

Descriptive leaflets have been placed in the library and elsewhere in the town, and copies will be found in the Hall itself. Please familiarise yourselves with them - and if the opportunity arises, suggest that any potential hirer takes a look at what we have to offer. Sheila Sutherland is the booking secretary, and her contact details are listed at the back of the magazine.
Kevin Taylor, Chairman of the Parish Hall Comntittee

The Church will celebrate the tenth anniversary of that historic day with services and celebrations in London and around the country. Prior to the vote, women had been ordained deacons but were still unable to celebrate communion, take weddings or pronounce the blessing in church. But there are now well over 2000 women priests in England, including four archdeacons. Many are in charge of parishes, and there are more women in training for the ministry than men.

Whilst the majority of parishes around the country have embraced the joint ministry of women and men together, there is still diversity of opinion on the issue within the Church and special measures have been put in place to care for those clergy and parishes which do not feel able to affirm women's ministry. Meanwhile, the campaign to allow women to become bishops - rightly or wrongly this did not follow automatically from the first vote - is gathering pace and the General Synod is currently undertaking a theological review of the issues involved.

By ordaining women as priests, the church allowed itself to be challenged and changed by the insights of feminism and by society's growing concern for equality of opportunity. This was important not only in maintaining credibility within society but also in affirming the voice of God within these movements. The ordination of women has also given us a more balanced vision of God, as masculine and feminine gifts have together been applied to leading and serving the church.

But what does any of this really matter to the world at large? In answering this question it's important to state that women were not ordained simply to satisfy political correctness. And they were not ordained just to become "one of the boys" and enjoy a new degree of status and privilege through the special robes and influential roles.

Instead, ordaining women spoke powerfully about the value and validity of women's experiences and women's voices, affirming that they were capable (of course!) of teaching, preaching and blessing. It demonstrated the liberating presence of God in the world - the "good news" of the Christian community - which is continually reaching out to those onto are marginalised or without a voice in society. Now that women have been given a stronger voice in the Church it is up to us to hear other silent or ignored groups - perhaps immigrants or the gay community - and ask ourselves what God may be saying to us through them.

Why, after all, should the world care about the internal politics of the Church or whether or not women become bishops unless it sees that we are not simply concerned for our own "rights"? As women have had the door to ordination flung open to them, so the Church is called to batter down any doors that keep people from knowing the liberating and accepting love of God.

Songs of Praise & Worship at The Theatre Sunday 21st July 2002- David Oliver
I would like to thank everyone who joined in or supported our ecumenical Songs of Praise & Worship at The Theatre on Sunday 21st July. There was little time for us to organise the event but everyone pulled together with each of the local churches contributing, including our very own Music Group representing the Parish Church.

All denominations contributed to the choice of material, and we picked songs that were recently played in our church - Give Thanks to the Lord Forever, our own version of Amazing Grace, and Lord You have my Heart as our performance piece with the singing led by Hedley Kay.

Along with the singers from our music group, the 30 strong choir was largely made up of the talented Pilgrim Players who also performed pieces drawn from their recent successful concert in the Methodist Church.

It was exhausting but very good fun for me to conduct the evening. There was a six-piece band together with an eight-piece orchestra to accompany the choir, and we were very fortunate to be joined on stage in the second half by the famous Christian singerl songwriter Noel Richards who performed some of his own songs. Although the afternoon's technical rehearsal seemed to go on forever, the actual event went very smoothly and for me was all over too quickly. It was quite a challenge to bring together in one evening all the diverse musical styles associated with Christian music in Leatherhead, but with a little patience and willingness it worked very well.

My special thanks to Liz Cole of Pioneer People who initiated the event and was my "partner in crime"' for making it happen; to Hedley and our music group and singers who just go from strength to strength; Lizzie Barrat and Lara Acott for brilliant flute playing, and Anne Warren for helping us out on violin at the last minute.

It was delightful to realise just how 'ecumenical' we already are here in Leatherhead, and I look forward to doing it all again sometime soon.

courtesy Leatherhead Advertiser

September 2002 - The Parish Church Clock - Helena Hill (Churchwarden)
Many of you will have noticed the absence of the Church tower clock during June and July. It has now been put safely back in place by steeplejacks Peter Harknett and Adam "Stumpy" Geddes and looks resplendent with its newly painted and re-gilded face. We are very grateful to the Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church for initiating this work and especially to two of the Friends who have made major donations towards the costs involved - Alice Davies and Joan Ralph, in memory of their late husbands Barnaby and Leslie.

Both Barnaby and Leslie were former members of the Friends' committee. It is good that they should be commemorated in this way as it is just the sort of project they would have enjoyed and supported.

February 2002
90% say NO to chairs
Market researchers would be thrilled with the level of response to the Doors 'n Pews Questionnaire sent out before Christmas.
126 of you (25% of the total sent out) took the trouble to let the working party know your views - and in no uncertain terms!

90% of respondents were against replacing the pews with chairs
73% were against a glass door, though some thought a small glass panel in the wooden door might be a good idea.
74% thought some form of cushioning would be a good idea, and would brighten the church up as well!

Comments varied from "We think it is a terrible idea and can see no advantage whatsoever" to "Having moveable chairs at the front would mean the space could be used in a more flexible way."
"It is people who make the church welcoming, not pews or glass doors."
"Modern chairs would be out of keeping in an ancient building."
"The cost would be prohibitive; chairs are more difficult to clean, you can accommodate more people in pews, and they are more convenient for families"
"You can cuddle up in a pew - for comfort at a funeral, to control a child, or to get more people in"
"We should spend the money on something more worthwhile"
"Chairs would permit rearrangement to suit different functions, and the church could be put to greater use for secular events if necessary"

The Working Party appreciated the many useful suggestions which were made. One of these was to create a worship area centred on the chancel for Taizé worship and small prayer meetings. It recommended that the PCC pursue this in due course, and that inquiries should be made about suitable cushioning.

Many thanks to all who responded. Mike Lewis, Chairman of Working Party

January 2002
The Queen knows all about us

In November Leatherhead got a mention at the Privy Council when the Queen in Council approved the creation of the new ecclesiastical benefice of Leatherhead and Mickleham. As regular visitors to this website will know, this has been under consideration for some time. It was recommended by the Bishop of the Diocese, supported and approved by church councils in both Leatherhead and Mickleham, and has now been through the formal procedural mechanism to enable a new benefice to come into being*.

A benefice is the office of the incumbent. Guildford Diocese needs to decrease the number of incumbencies to fall in line with national quotas. These are decreasing, largely because of a shortfall in finance. The outcome is that I am now the incumbent of the parishes of Leatherhead and Mickleham, each of which continues in its own right. The Rev Barbara Steadman-Allen will continue as the Priest responsible for Mickleham. Each parish will continue to have its own church council responsible for overseeing the work of the church in each place.

To inaugurate this new arrangement two special services have been planned. On January 20th there will be no mid-morning 10.30am service at the Parish Church in Leatherhead. Instead there will be a united service at Mickleham at 10 o'clock, when the Archdeacon of Dorking will preach.

On January 27th there will be no morning service at Mickleham; instead, a united service will be held at Leatherhead at 10.30am when the Rural Dean of Leatherhead will be the preacher. After both services there will be refreshments so both congregations can meet together. Please give these services your fullest support as we inaugurate a new phase in the life of the parishes, If you would like a lift to Mickleham on 20th, or could offer a lift, please contact call 01372 454426.

This is a new phase in church life and we have yet to realise fully what that might mean. I hope there will be some joint working, as well as a continuing of our separate identities. Whilst responsibilities have been rearranged, the overall strength of the stipendiary clergy team will remain the same. Barbara will continue at Mickleham as half-time priest to that community. We shall receive in the parish of Leatherhead a new deacon next June and I continue to be incumbent.

Clearly, the future pattern of ministry in the Church of England is going to mean a three-way partnership of stipendiary clergy, non-stipendiary clergy and lay workers. This pattern has been emerging for some time. With a decline in the number of stipendiary clergy the partnership with non-stipendiary and lay workers is of crucial importance. It recognises gifts and abilities across a wider spectrum, creating a rich and diverse team approach to ministry.

This is rightly a far cry from the days when the Vicar did everything! I think the creation of a united benefice bodes well for the development of ministry in both parishes.

In this context, please continue to support Carol Smith with your prayers as she trains locally for non-stipendiary ministry, and for Carol Coslett, training for the stipendiary ministry at Oxford. Both are ordinands of this parish and deserve our support.

We welcome Liz Eden, as a trainee Reader, for three months between January and Easter. Liz is training with the Guildford Diocese Ministry Course and each trainee Reader has a placement of this kind. She will share in leading worship while taking a look at us as a church community and parish as part of her training. Liz, 37, is with the Parishes of Brockham and Leigh in Southwark Diocese. Originally from Storrington in Sussex, she has lived in the Dorking area for 10 years. She works part time as an environmental consultant in the aviation industry and lives in Kingsfold with her husband Paul and children Jonathan, six, and Rebecca, four.

While there is no assistant priest in Leatherhead I am grateful for the help of others from outside the parish. This month we welcome Gail Partridge, Reader, as well as the Rev Roger Walker and Rev Fred Harte who have kindly agreed to lead services.

In another context we welcome Beverley Knuckey as the newly appointed Acting Head at All Saints Church School until a permanent appointment is made later on this year. The Rev Peter Malins has kindly been taking services, especially on Thursdays, but has not been well recently. We wish Peter a speedy recovery.

* Following Her Majesty The Queen's assent, the pastoral scheme affecting the benefices of Mickleham and Leatherhead was confirmed by the Privy Council on 14th November, and came into effect on 1st December 2001.

Finance, care and upkeep of the two churches and maintenance of the churchyard are usually on each month's agenda. Other issues with which the PCC is concerned include worship - type and pattern of services for example - and mission - including joint activities with Churches Together in Leatherhead.

Sometimes the PCC is legally bound to consult with the whole parish on a particular issue. An example of this was the recent Union of Benefices. Informnation on the proposals was published regularly in the magazine. Notices were posted at all churches in both parishes, giving everyone the chance to make their views known. As no objections were received, the proposal went before the Queen in Privy Council in November, allowing the United Benefice of Leatherhead and Mckleham to come into being on 1st December.

Other consultations have taken place, not because of any legal requirements but in order to give everyone a voice in decisions. The Outward Giving Committee mounted a display showing the charities we were considering for our Christmas collections. Voting papers were supplied and there was a gratifying response. Thus the decision was made to divide the Christmas collection between The Rainbow Trust (Bookham) and the Afghan Appeal (via the Red Cross).

A consultation is taking place in the form of a questionnaire concerning the reordering of the church - the replacement, partial or complete, of the pews by chairs and of the inner North door by a glass one. A working party will report the findings of the questionnaire at the January PCC meeting.

In all this, the PCC is aware that the church is here for the worship of God and for witness and service to others. In even the most practical of matters the PCC tries to keep that as their first priority. Your views and concerns about all church matters are important. Please speak to any PCC member if you want any issues raised at a meeting.
Dorothy Paine (PCC Secretary)

November 2001
Thanks: Sincere thanks to Ron and Eileen Pearce who have given new candlesticks and altar cloth for the Chapel of Remembrance and Hope in memory of their son, Simon, who died earlier this year. They are a fitting tribute to Simon, and a welcome addition to the Chapel.

Something for Everyone
Unfortunately, only two people expressed interest in the Alpha course this Autumn and we were unable to have a Parish Church Alpha group. However, as you may have seen on ITV, Alpha is a great way for people either to explore the Christian faith or to strengthen their faith.

Many of us will have friends or neighbours who are seeking to, understand more about Jesus, particularly after the tragic events in New York. There will therefore be an exploratory meeting about Alpha at our house, Ilex House, The Downs, Givons Grove, on Thursday, 22nd November at 8pm.

Anyone interested in Alpha, in leading/participating in leading an Alpha course and/or inviting friends to participate in an Alpha course, or similar introductory course, is most welcome. The evening will include coffee and cake/biscuits as well as extracts from an Alpha talk by Nicky Gumbell and is intended to help us find a way of successfully running a course in early 2002 for anyone seeking to widen their understanding of Jesus' relevance in our lives today.

Several other groups will continue into 2002, including the Prayer group led by Helena Hill (375658) on the third Tuesday of the month and the Bible study group led by Sheila Reynolds (379385). Ginny Eaton is also willing to continue to lead a fortnightly group for quiet, contemplative prayer. It would be from 8pm to 9pm on a Wednesday in the Reeves Room or the Church. If you are interested, please contact Ginny on 372313.

An Open Group will also take place at our home on Tuesday evenings at 8pm. These evenings begin with about 15 minutes worship using modern songs and then continue with discussion around a different theme each term. This autumn we are discussing the relevance of the 10 Commandments in our lives today using material written by J John a well-known Christian speaker. Next term's topic is not yet decided, although we have had suggestions for subjects which range from outreach to the study of a 2nd book by Philip Yancey.

As Home Group Co-ordinator, my intention is to ensure that there is a group for everyone who wants to participate in a group activity. I am conscious that many people may not be able to participate in a group but, if you do and there is no suitable group for you, please do let me know and I will try to arrange something which includes you.

Finally, one of the most enjoyable group activities for several of us this year was the week's holiday at New Wine, a Christian conference held at the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet in Somerset. There are activitiesfor every age group, there is inspirational worship and excellent speakers certainly provoke thought, but above all it is a wonderful time together whatever the weather. Several people have already expressed interest in attending New Wine next year and have decided to attend Week A from 27th July to 2nd August.

If you think you might be interested in coming along, do join a group of experienced New Winers' at our home on Thursday, 15th November at 8pm when we will tell you all about New Wine and show you a short video.

Tim Hauxwell, Home Group Co-ordinator, Ilex House, The Downs, Leatherhead, 01372 370308 hauxwell@compuserve.com

The Chaplaincy Department at Epsom and Leatherhead Hospitals is the first such team in the country to be given a Charter Mark, awarded for the excellence of their Chaplaincy team.

The team, which is lead by the Rev. Chris Vallens, consists mainly of part -time volunteers, of whom our own Celia Hamilton is among the most experienced. She trained for this work in the Diocese of Wakefield, Yorkshire and qualified just before moving to Leatherhead in 1971. Celia worked with Dorking Hospital until it was closed down in 1985. When the Epsom NHS Trust was set up she began working at Leatherhead Hospital. Our thanks to Chris Vallens, Celia and all the team.

David Eaton writes: Looking around in church at Sunday services it is always striking how many people present play an active part in church life. This is true of those involved in leading worship, whether in word or music.

But is also true of many people in the congregation. Church life is rightly cooperative. We recognise and honour the gifts and strengths of all the people of God.

This same picture is present when it comes to ministry. Clergy have an expected role in leading worship. In this parish, so too do:

Their ministries are recognised by the Bishop and this enables them to share in leading worship. I am delighted that the Church Council have also agreed to four other people having a role as Lay Worship Leaders. These are:

Maureen Henderson, Carol Coslett, Carol Smith and Ginny Eaton are authorised to assist at Communions in support of the presiding priest. Our new prayer book, Common Worship, says "when appropriate, the president may delegate leadership of all or parts of the Gathering and the Liturgy of the Word to (an) authorised lay person." This direction is equally expressed by lay people leading the Intercessions and reading the Lessons. I believe that our worship is enriched by this greater level of lay involvement.

Molly Lewis, Lorraine Willmott and Jane Andrews have recently begun as Chalice Assistants, and Eric Weetman and Caroline Dodds will soon do so. Charlotte Parrott and Carol Smith will also act as Servers.

I am grateful to Juliette for undertaking the necessary training involved with those concerned, and for the Church Council's support in these appointments.

Common Worship
At this year's Annual Meeting I gave a presentation on the new Prayer Book, called Common Worship, that the Church of England is introducing this Autumn. It will replace the Alternative Service Book (ASB) that we have been using since its introduction in 1980. It will complement, but not replace, the Book of Common Prayer, first introduced in 1662.

Common Worship is authorised from Advent Sunday (December 3rd). The ASB ceases to be authorised from 31st December 2000. I do not anticipate this will be a difficult transition since the new book is based on the ASB services we already know.

The Church Council has agreed to purchase Common Worship in booklet form and to use to use its CD ROM to download material as we need it. This means separate booklets for each of the services we use. We could have purchased The Main Service Book in its entirety with all the services, many of which we do not regularly use.

This option would have been twice as expensive and meant handling a book of nearly nine hundred pages. We think the single service booklets will be easier to use, as well as cheaper. You will be able to purchase the Main Service Book personally if you wish at £15 a copy.

Worship Survey
Earlier this year I conducted a Worship Survey to which there was a good response. The results, which I published in this magazine, suggested a need for more non-eucharistic family worship in the Parish Church at 10.30am.

The Council have responded to this survey by agreeing to increase Family Worship. This form of service will now take place on the first Sunday of each month, but on other Sundays throughout the year as well, so that in all there will be around eighteen Family Services each year. We looked at various options but concluded this level of increase, on an occasional basis, was about right. We hope it will make our worship more user friendly, particular for younger families.

Sunday Service Plan
As I mentioned above, we also need as a parish to be more attractive to younger families and people. This means more of our attention and resources should go to meeting that need than has hitherto been the case. We are probably too heavily centred on eucharistic services and those of mature years, although the Eucharist should remain as the core service in our pattern of worship.

None of these reasons on their own is determinative in reducing and changing services but together they make the case. It is because of this a new pattern follows this autumn.

All Saints
We also looked at the pattern of worship at All Saints which at present means a weekly communion service at 9am. We concluded that it was appropriate to reduce the number of services to usually the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays only. This is a tough and sad decision for regular All Saints' worshippers but the reason is that the size of the congregation has continued to decline and is now averaging around fifteen. On this projection, despite the dedication of regular attenders, the question of viability comes into view.

Staffing and Union of Benefices with Mickleham
The Union of Benefices with Mickleham has arisen following an approach by the Diocese through the Archdeacon of Dorking. Discussions have taken place and a joint working party of Incumbents and Churchwardens prepared a report.

It looks as though this report will be accepted by both PCCs and take full effect in 2002. It will mean pastoral reorganisation so that Mickleham, as a small parish which cannot continue on its own, can nevertheless remain independent although part of a large pastoral unit.

The two parishes will have one Incumbent based in Leatherhead, and would in effect be run as one unit. This will mean a reduction in stipendiary staffing from three to two across the two parishes. A House-for-Duty Priest in early retirement is likely to live at Mickleham, with Incumbent and Assistant being in Leatherhead.

However, the Assistant is for some periods in the future likely to be a deacon, for a year before being priested. This would leave for a period only one full time stipendiary priest. We need to increase lay leadership but these levels of full time staffing mean both Leatherhead and Mickleham need to look at the rationalisation of services against clergy, in particular, available to take them.

Marriage in Church after Divorce
The Church Council discussed the recent House of Bishops Report Marriage in Church after Divorce at its June Meeting. This was as part of church wide consultation process.

The position of the church is that marriage is a lifelong commitment and this remains the ideal. But the Report seeks to find a way forward for the church when approached by couples for marriage when one or both have previous spouses still living. The set questions asked of the Council were:

(i) "Do you accept the principle that there are circumstances in which a divorced person may be married in church during the life-time of a former spouse?"
Voting: Laity: 18 for
Clergy: 2 for
None against

(ii) "Do you support the recommendations of the Working Party contained within the Report as the right way to proceed ?"
Voting: Laity: 16 for, 2 against.
Clergy: 2 for

The minority view was of unhappiness with exactly the same form of words for a second marriage as for a first. These outcomes have been passed on to the Diocese in the consultation process. This is a Report only and after consultation the House of Bishops will issue guidelines for use in the parishes. The final decision in such matters will lie with each incumbent, and a set of pastoral criteria will be recommended to incumbents to use when in discussion with individual couples.

Parish Church Vestries
By the time you read, this I hope that the work on refurbishing and creating vestries in the Parish Church will have been completed.

What will have been achieved is that a new Clergy Vestry will have been created in the old organ loft - finding an alternative use was implicit in the granting of the Faculty to remove the organ some years ago.

The ground floor Churchwardens' Vestry will have been greatly improved and is shared with Verger, Chalice assistants and servers. A much better sink and cupboards will have been installed for the use of flower arrangers. Hot water will be available. Previously a small space was being used by too many people, with inadequate hanging space for robes and other storage needs. All this constitutes the completion of phase two of Church Improvement. Phase one was the reordering in the nave of the Church.

All this work has been made possible because the PCC has saved in separate restricted funds monies received in recent years by way of bequests. It shows how important bequests are and what they can achieve. and how prudence over the use of funds pays off.

A plaque commemorating those who had made bequests may be found in the Chapel of Remembrance and Hope up to the time of the Nave re-ordering. The new vestries will be dedicated at the morning service on September 10th. The Clergy Vestry will be dedicated to the memory of Anthony Hill and the Churchwardens' Vestry to the memory of Kathleen White, who will have been the two major funders - but we also remember with thanksgiving others who have made bequests towards this work.

Holidays are looming large for all of us. What a relief it is to have some time of rest and refreshment with friends and family to look forward to after the past few months of work and school.

It is important we all have times of rest and renewal to recharge our batteries, to give quality time to our families, and to have time for ourselves to read, relax and have some fun. The words of the Psalmist remind us that God seeks to renew and revive us:

'The Lord is my shepherd; I lack for nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me to water where I may rest;
he revives my soul;' (Psalm 23: 1-3)

The holiday season is an opportunity to let God bring new life to us in different ways. Some of us from this parish have recently returned from a little holiday cum pilgrimage in Austria and Germany where we went to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria, South Germany.

This play is only performed every 10 years. As well as a number from our churches in Leatherhead, we were joined by other friends from Betchworth, Bosham, Peaslake, Cheltenham, Nottingham and as far afield as Liverpool! There were 25 of us in all.

We flew to Salzburg and spent a few days at the ski resort of Kirchberg in the Austrian Alps. For many of us it was our first trip to the Alps and we were all quite bowled over by the beauty and majesty of the mountains. They were so huge on the horizon, When we went up in a cable car to the top it was quite breathtaking how much more splendour there was to see. Ranges of snow capped mountains as far as the eye could see. In the meadows around our feet there were intricately formed wild Alpine flowers, all different colours and shapes.

On Whit Sunday we all left Kirchberg and travelled over the border to Germany ready to see the Passion play the next day. We were billeted on different families in a nearby farming village. I was woken by the cows mooing as they were milked at 5am a few yards below my bedroom!

The day of the Passion Play had dawned. It was an all day event starting at 9.30am and ending at 6.30pm with a 3 hour break for lunch. There were 2000 in the cast and 5000 in the audience. We had excellent seats near the front and so had a good view throughout. The production was quite wonderful and even more powerful than any of us had expected.

It was both theatre and opera. The music was beautiful, composed by Rochus Dedler and Markus Zwink. There was a chorus of 50 who sang prologues at key stages to link the religious history of Israel, presented in the form of tableaux, with the Passion narrative.

It made us aware how time and time again people experienced the saving intervention of God in their moment of greatest need.

It was very moving to see so many children taking part in the play - some little more than a year old in their mothers' arms. There were often donkeys, sheep and goats on stage and the village people wore simple clothes of the time of Christ. It felt as if we were reliving the life of Christ as it would have been 2000 years ago. Yet through the music and the acting it touched our hearts and our own human condition today.

So often we use our heads to try and understand the story of Jesus' death and resurrection, and not our hearts. The harrowing scenes of love, betrayal and desertion taking place a few metres in front of us made us painfully aware of what it is to be human. To realise there are threads of our own experience of life weaving into the life of Jesus.

This production spoke right into our hearts and helped us know something of the heart of God who loves each one of us uniquely. I hope you all have a time of rest and renewal at some point over the summer months and discover in your heart more of God's abundant love for you.

It was the first time that three churches had ever joined together for Morning Communion in Leatherhead, and extra chairs had to be brought into the Parish Church on June 10th for the 2000th celebration of Pentecost.

The Vicar, Rev David Eaton, Methodist Minister Ian Howarth and URC Minister Brian Treharne shared in leading the worship, the form of which was in the Methodist tradition.

The preacher, Rev Brian Treharne, told his fellow Christians that they shared a commission from our Lord. He called on those present to act as witnesses for their faith. "We have to know what the Bible teaches, but it must be verified by our own personal experience. We must tell others what God has done in our own lives."

June 2000
WORSHIP SURVEY

David Eaton writes: I am grateful to all those who completed a copy of the Worship Survey on or about Mothering Sunday this year. Over 100 replies to the self-completion questionnaire were received and thanks go to Helena Hill for tabulating the results and drawing conclusions.

Some of the findings are given below by the Editor:

Family Worship
When asked if they would like to see more informal family worship each month that ran for about 45 minutes with a music group and contemporary music:

Two 10.30 services [at the Parish Church]?
If there were to be two services most Sundays mid-morning:

If there were two services, one after each other most Sundays mid-morning, how should Sunday Club provision be arranged?:

April 2000
Easter 2000 - the first Easter of the Third Millennium.
No single event has affected so many people for such a long period of time as Jesus giving of his life on the Cross, and His Resurrection from the dead.

There is a special sense in this Jubilee Year of a fresh start, of renewal, and it is up to us to seize this moment, to commit ourselves to God in a new way, and to share our great treasure with others.

But there is a danger in coming to think that Easter is to be celebrated only once a year. It is just as much for a damp miserable morning as it is for the joyful flower-filled Easter Day - it is to be celebrated every time we remember the risen Christ.

And what can we learn from Easter 2000? When He appeared to his disciples after His Resurrection Jesus promised "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). That is true for us, today. What can we say but 'thank-you', for the greatest gift we can imagine receiving, and step out with the confidence that comes of knowing we are God's beloved children.

February 2000
Common Worship
In 1662 the Church of England published The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) which we still use today. It was largely the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer although he drew on the tradition and liturgy of the church before his time to compile it.

There had also been a period of revision leading up to the BCP with the publication of other prayer books before the firm form came into being.

In 1980 the Church of England published The Alternative Service Book (ASB) which we use today for our main communion services and at Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals. It is a measure of the pace of change in our own day that the church has embarked on a revision of the ASB which will be published later this year.

A new service book is to be published and authorised called Common Worship. This new prayer book will include revision of ASB services. For example:

An important point to grasp is that authority from the House of Bishops to use the ASB will come to an end at 31 December 2000. We will, therefore, be bound to move on the Common Worship at or before that date.

Juliette and I will try to make this as easy a transition as possible, and we have begun through the use of the 'Come and Celebrate' Communion Service. This includes some of the new Eucharistic Prayers which will be incorporated in Common Worship. I also expect the 'Come and Celebrate' format to be similar to that used in Common Worship.

February 2000
The Receiving of Communion before Confirmation of children
We have as a parish been considering whether to prepare and admit children to receiving communion before they are confirmed.

This practice is now permissible in many dioceses of the church including our own. We have had a period of discussion and information gathering.

The practice of admitting children to communion before confirmation recognises that to be baptised is to enter into full membership of the church, and therefore to be able to enjoy the fullness of membership by receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion. (Holy Baptism is itself a sacrament and usually it is children who receive it).

By receiving communion children are brought deeper into the life of Christ and it can be an important part of their Christian nurture.

Sacraments are by definition mysterious and their full meaning cannot be fully explained. Children have a spiritual awareness of their own. Recent research has shown that all children have a spiritual awareness and it is adults who throw off this way of looking a life, and believing in God, presuming they have outgrown them. Perhaps in this children have something to teach us all, as well as being innately spiritually sensitive.

However, as a Christian community we have not had one mind about how to proceed. Members of the older generation have, understandably, been reluctant to see change from a practice which they have grown up with of only admitting children to communion after confirmation.

But it is to be noted that parents of children attending Sunday Club were strongly in favour of admission before confirmation. A survey showed over 80% in favour.

It has been the responsibility of the Church Council to come to a decision about how to proceed. The Council has taken the issue very seriously and recognised the strength of argument on both sides.

Because of this at its January meeting it decided that a two thirds majority would be needed to proceed with change. When the vote was put the majority in favour of change was more than two thirds. As Chairman I didn't vote myself.

Consequently Juliette and myself will now begin to put in place preparation to allow children to receive communion sometime this year.

They will need to undergo a period of preparation and they will need the support and co-operation of their parents.

This year the numbers of children involved are likely to be in single figures. The PCC decision and the preparation programme will be sent to the Bishop for his approval before we take the next step. I believe this is a significant change for us as a parish to have undertaken. I hope if you are apprehensive you will be willing to reserve judgement and support the children involved.

It is clearly most important to nurture the coming generation in faith. Other parishes have found this an effective way of doing so and a cause for great celebration. I am confident we can join them.

We offer our prayers and support to all those being confirmed this month from our parish at Guildford Cathedral on 16th February at 8pm. Interestingly, these are all adults.

My feeling is that by coming early to receiving communion children will be that much more ready and wanting to come to confirmation. The preparation involved will pave the way for preparation for confirmation. So that, by whatever route, we have cause to rejoice that Christian adults and children are entering more deeply into the things of God.

November 1999
Parish Church improvements
During November details will be displayed in both our churches about improvements to the vestries in the Parish Church. This is part of the procedure needed to obtain a Faculty for the work to be undertaken from The Chancellor of the Diocese, the senior ecclesiastical lawyer. What is proposed has already received the support of the Church Council and the Diocesan Advisory Committee on the Care of Churches.

What is planned is the creation of a new vestry in what was the organ loft housing the wind-blown 19th century organ before it was dismantled, and improvements to the existing ground floor vestry, both in the North Transept. The old organ loft has a temporary balustrade, this will be replaced by a screen designed to fit in with existing woodwork and partly glazed: a new internal staircase will be introduced; there will be improved cupboards; a better arrangement and sink for flower arrangers and some other improvements.

The first floor vestry will be designated a Clergy vestry and the ground floor one a Churchwardens' vestry.

These arrangements amount to only achieving the kind of provision that would be normal in a present day secular working environment.

Because it has been hoped for some time to make these improvements, bequests received in recent years have been earmarked for these purposes. We will not be sure what the final costing will be until we go out to tender but I expect it to be around £30,000. With the Bequest Fund and Parish Church Fabric Fund part of this money is already in place.

However, the repairs to the North Transept Roof have proved more expensive than originally envisaged, up from £5,000 to £15,000. This has depleted present funds despite generous grants from The Friends of the Parish Church and Mole Valley District Council. Some fund raising is therefore likely but this can follow once formal approval and final pricing has been achieved.

I hope you will find these improvements pleasing and practical and I commend them to you. They complete the programme of refurbishment which began with the re-ordering in the Nave, and mean that the Parish Church will be well suited for the worship and service requirements of a New Millennium.

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October 1999
Getting Together
Towards the end of August my wife and I travelled on the Tarka Line out of Exeter Station northwards, to Barnstaple. (So called because of an association with Tarka the Otter). We passed through some beautiful Devon countryside and the small hamlets and villages that nestle there.

We were on our way to visit some old friends who have moved into a Vicarage in one of the villages. Our friend, Arthur, has just become responsible for eleven parishes in that part of the country. He is not single-handed but he is Incumbent of all the parishes through the uniting of the benefices.

This is a device in Ecclesiastical Law where one priest becomes Vicar (or Rector) for more than one parish. The parishes are not united. Each retains its own church, church council and parish boundary. There has been surprisingly little uniting of benefices in the Guildford Diocese although local examples would be Effingham with Little Bookham and St. Martin's Dorking with Ranmore.

These have been brought about by a decline in the number of ordained clergy in full time service and, to some extent, the cash needed to pay them. Small parishes that once had their own Incumbent are now joined to others by uniting the office of the Incumbent in each case, known as the benefice, so that one person can hold the responsibility for more than one parish.

I am writing all this because the Bishop, through our Archdeacon Mark Wilson, has asked the parishes of Leatherhead and Mickleham with Westhumble to consider such an arrangement. This has been discussed at Church Council level, in both parishes, and some informal meeting betveen the clergy and PCCs concerned has taken place.

We have agreed to set up a joint working party consisting of Incumbents and Churchwardens to draw up a scheme to see if the two parishes could come together. There are a number of practical implications involved, e.g. staffing, housing, finance and services.

If a scheme were to go ahead the Vicar of Leatherhead would also become Rector of Mickleham in due course. Nothing has yet been formally agreed and in any case before it can be it has to go all the way to the Privy Council! However, I want everyone to be in the picture that discussions are taking place to see if we can come to a sensible and practical arrangement.

It is not just a question of finding agreement on paper. What is more important is that good relations are established, and also, that the mission of the church can benefit from a new pastoral understanding.

To help this process along The Revd Barbara Steadman-Allen (Rector of Mickleham) and myself will exchange morning services on October 10th so that we can be seen and meet with the congregations in each other's parishes. From Leatherhead's point of view this will be a combined service to include both All Saints and Parish Church congregations.

Please pray for all concerned. This is a big issue for both parishes and we need to find God's way forward.

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September 2001
Aftermath
I write two days after the terrible tragedy in New York with its great loss of life and destruction. The impact of this on local people in New York and worldwide is difficult to exaggerate. We must continue to pray for all of the victims, whether survivors or bereaved relatives. We must honour those who have died. We will want to support actions to bring to justice countries or individual terrorists who are responsible. We may believe that God works both for those whose wounds, whether physical or psychological, need binding and healing; and that He fights for justice to be done when evil has been unleashed.

A backdrop to all this is the ongoing relationship between the Arab and Muslim world and the West. Some will have been rightly shocked to see people rejoicing in Palestine at the news of the catastrophe. We were heartened to hear Islamic leaders both in Britain and overseas condemn the attacks for what they were, blatant acts of terrorism.

We know that in Islam, as in other religions and cultures, including Christianity, there are or have been fundamentalists and fanatics. We also know that it is easy to group people together and tar them all with the same brush. Many Muslims are moderate and peace-loving, as the Koran teaches.

I was struck by the reaction of a friend who lives and works in Leatherhead but whose extended family lives in Iraq. He lamented the American Disaster but he also lamented the bombing of Iraq by America and Britain which, he said, had caused many civilian deaths. Sanctions had deprived even children of the medical supplies they need. Saddam Hussein has himself been the aggressor and we know the reason for these sanctions and actions.

Nonetheless it can look very different if you and your family are on the other side of the fence. It is all part of a growing estrangement between the West and the Muslim countries. I have no wish to defend the indefensible, but I have every wish to support actions which draw people together rather than force them apart.

Too much is it true that we live in isolated communities. This has severe consequences, because it allows ignorance to brand other people in a way that demonises them. Even when different communities come together clashes are not avoided. In the film East is East a Pakistani man and a white British woman are married, with growing children. But the way of life in which each has been brought up is very different. The domineering husband is brutal both to his wife and children. A culture clash keeps them apart.

Traditional Muslim roles for men and women look in the West to be badly in need of refom. Islam is critical of what it sees as loose personal morality in the West. Some Muslims and some Christians also propagate their faith aggressively and exclusively. This approach tends to make God smaller than He is, rather than seeking to respect differing integrities within a broad vision of God's activity on earth.

We have to recognise that on our small planet people can travel easily It means our world can no longer be packaged so that differing peoples never meet, or that a master class can run large swathes of the world through colonialisation. We have to give ourselves wholeheartedly to meeting and understanding people who are different from us. We have to do the sometimes hard work of listening to and appreciating difference. We are not all the same, we will not always agree, but for all our sakes living justly together has become a mgjor objective for people everywhere. That's why infant school children learn not only about Christianity but also other world faiths.

Unless we can build bridges of understanding, our estrangement from one another will increase, and the possibility of dreadful violence and destruction continue to seem acceptable to some. Terrorists have an interest in keeping people apart. We know how almost impossible it seems to be to bring people together, in Palestine, in Northern Ireland and elsewhere.

Those who believe in a common humanity, one world and one God of all, must continue to do everything possible to promote peace and defeat conflict. David Eaton

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Musical Arrangements - October 2001
We are indebted to our Church Choir and Director of Music for the support they give to services month on month and also now the Music Group who add that extra contemporary dimension. Special thanks for the commitment of Choir and Group for Harvest Services, and good wishes to Chris Slater who has been partly out of action following an accident to one of his hands.

We have had to recognise that numbers available in an evening make a choir no longer viable. In the light of this there will not usually be an evening service choir, but once a quarter the choir will lead a Choral Evensong.

New Services - October 2001
We have successfully introduced Common Worship, the new Church of England Prayer Book, both to Sunday worship and at baptisms, weddings and funerals. I would like to see greater use in our evening worship and I will be consulting with the evening service congregation over this.

Ministry - October 2001
We said a sad farewell, but in a happy mood, to Juliette Hulme last month, wishing her well for the future. I have been in touch with our Bishop John, through Archdeacon Mark Wilson, about a successor.

We will receive a Deacon in his or her first post in June next year. I am currently meeting possible candidates who will not be priested until a year later. This necessarily means the use of locum priests to maintain our ministerial commitment so please welcome them when they lead services. I am grateful to mainly retired priests for their willingness to serve in this way.

The Union of Benefice with Mickleham has now been to the Diocesan Pastoral Committee for recommendation and forward progress to the Bishop. It eventually goes to the Privy Council for approval. I expect this process to be concluded either later this year or early next. This will establish the new Benefice which will mean the sharing of ministry between the two parishes. You will, therefore, see from time to time Revd Barbara Steadman-Allen, Priest in Charge at Mickleham, or Revd David Ireland, Non-stipendiary priest within the benefice, leading worship at Leatherhead.

David Eaton

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from March 2002's magazine
How Are Archbishops Chosen?
Before Dr George Carey retires later this year someone has the unenviable task of selecting his successor the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. The job has changed since Pope Gregory appointed Augustine the first Archbishop. Augustine was Prior of the Monastery of St Andrew in Rome when the Pope chose him to lead about 40 other monks in June 596 on a mission to largely pagan England. Having reached Southern France, Augustine returned to Rome when he and his followers were warned of the difficulties that might lie ahead. After the Pope had reassured him, Augustine set off again at the end of July 596, arriving on the Isle of Thanet in the spring of 597.

They were well received by Ethelbert, King of that part of England, who gave them land at Canterbury and permission to preach. Not only the King but also many of his people soon became Christians and Augustine was consecrated Bishop of the English in the autumn of 597. Gregory, pleased with Augustine's work, sent more help and urged him to consecrate suffragan bishops to aid him in evangelising England; thus the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury was established.

The Pope continued to appoint Archbishops of Canterbury until the Reformation, when King Henry VIII became head of the Church of England and Archbishop Thornas Cranmer accepted his authority. Thereafter the Sovereign has appointed Archbishops, latterly with the assistance of the Prime Minister. So how is it now done?

The Prime Minister, after consultation, appoints a communicant lay member of the Church of England to chair the Crown Appointments Commission (CAC), which will oversee the selection of two candidates. A committee of the Diocese of Canterbury meets to choose four members of the CAC and to write a person specification or, in their parlance, a Statement of Needs. Unlike Augustine whose job was to convert the fewer than one million people who then lived in England, the present Archbishop is the spiritual leader of 70 million Anglicans worldwide.

Augustine tried unsuccessfully to unite the British (Celtic) church with the infant English Church. Although today the Archbishop of Canterbury is seen as the senior bishop in the Anglican Communion no one person is head of all the churches it comprises. The Crown Appointments Commission is formed consisting of the Chair (but you can bet it will be a Chairman!) the four Canterbury Diocese members, the Archbishop of York, a bishop, three clergy and three lay members. Names of possible candidates are suggested to members of the CAC by almost anyone who cares to do so. The members individually decide which of those names to put forward for consideration by the CAC.

There follows an extensive consultation process after which the CAC meets for two or three days to consider the candidates in the light of all of the background material that has been gathered. Two names are chosen, both of whom must command a two-thirds majority of the Commission, for submission to the Prime Minister. If he is content with both names the PM commends one to the Queen.

Another name or names can be requested from the Commission by the PM if he is unhappy with the first two. When the Queen has assented and the one chosen has agreed to serve, the name of the Archbishop designate is announced from 10 Downing Street.
Anews conference is arranged at which the Archbishop designate is presented, then the Dean and Chapter of the Diocese of Canterbury elect the new Archbishop. This election must be confirmed in a legal ceremony before the new Archbishop takes office. The final stage is the enthronement in Canterbury Cathedral, where 1400 years ago Augustine founded the Church of England.

When I was asked by Rev Bob Harvey to be Churchwarden at All Saints' in 1977 never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would still be at it 25 years later - doesn't time fly when you are having fun! Well no, it is not quite like that Churches always need something doing to them and I am sure Alison and Helena will confirm that. I did lose track of time, though, I knew I had been around for a long while as this is the 20th anniversary of the refurbishment of All Saints', in which I was involved.

Even so, it was quite a surprise when, at the Annual Church Meeting, David announced it and presented me with a book on my favourite subject. Railway listory, which was much appreciated along with all the support and friendship I have received from the Parish over the years.
Thank you and God bless you all.
John Sutherland

There are a number of special services and events to note during June. To mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee our June 2nd Family Service will be given over to a Royal Celebration, followed by a Bring Your Own Picnic in the Park Gardens. All are welcome to both these events. There will be no evening service at the Parish Church on June 2nd, but instead a United Benefice Evening Service to mark the Jubilee at St. Michael's, Mickleham. A minibus will leave the Parish Church at 6.10pm for anyone who would like a lift.

On June 3rd, Carnival Day, a Walking Procession will leave the Swan Centre Service Deck at 1pm to go to the Leisure Centre Field, where the Carnival is being held. Churches Together in Leatherhead want to be part of this procession, so, if you are not walking with another group and don't mind being seen in public with the Vicar and other ministers please come and join us. As the theme is "The Last 50 Years" you may dress appropriately, although this is optional.

In the evening of Monday June 3rd a splendid Coronation Music Concert will be given by the Slater Symphony Orchestra at the Parish Church.

Churchwardens: I am delighted that at the Annual Meeting Frances Presley and Bernard Salsbury were elected to be Churchwardens, John and Sheila Sutherland were re-elected as Deputy Churchwardens at All Saints and Martin Cole and Tim Hauxwell were confirmed as Assistant Churchwardens at the Parish Church. This is a welcome team of able people, who with me lead in managing Church services and affairs. I am most grateful for their willingness to serve. You will find below a few words from the four Parish Churchwardens by way of further explanation:

"As this is the first opportunity we have had to introduce ourselves as the new Churchwardens and Assistant Churchwardens, we thought that we would like to explain a little how this has come about.

"Helena Hill has been Churchwarden for the last four years, and only during the past few weeks of the handover have we fully realised what an incredible duty she has performed. When David approached us individually it was to explain that the post of Churchwarden was, amongst other things, time-consuming, demanding and exacting, It was felt that if a team could be formed and the duties shared, then the load would be much lighter for each Churchwarden, enabling each of us to cope despite having busy lives outside the church. There is no doubt that we four follow a very hard and devoted act in Helena, and our first joint act must be to add our own appreciation of her dedication during her four years in office."

"Our very first days of handover have not only shown the level of work involved but also revealed the detail of the administrative improvements she has made. She, and Mike Lewis, were responsible for the refurbishment of the two vestries, the Clergy Vestry upstairs being dedicated to the memory of her late husband, Anthony. Helena - many thanks indeed."

"As there can only be two named Wardens, the other two are named as Assistants, but the four of us will act as a team together with John and Sheila Sutherland as Deputy Wardens at All Saints. We have divided the various background responsibilities between us, and every Sunday, whilst we may all be present, only one of us will act as the lead Warden for that day. We would like to thank the Servers and Sidesmen who have kindly agreed to take on many of the pre-Service preparation duties. We would also like to thank the many people who have given us much help and advice in these early days."

"We are all hoping to get to know all of you over the next few weeks as we begin our new roles. Please feel that you can contact any one of us for any reason. We feel that it is a privilege to have this position. Thank you for your good wishes; with your prayers and God's help we hope to serve God effectively in Leatherhead, encouraging involvement and growing the friendship we have within the Church."
Frances Presley, Bernard Salsbury, Martin Cole, Tim Hauxwell

Schools Christian Council Trust - Bringing hope to a new generation
The SCCT was founded in 1999 with a vision of seeing local Christians working within school communities to build relationships with young people and their families, especially those outside the church. Relationship Youth Workers were first appointed in 2000, they work closely with Teachers, trained Youth Workers and School Councillors. There are eight workers in five local schools. There are both male and female workers in Therfield School. Many other schools would like Relational Workers but funds are needed and volunteers.

What is the role of Relational Workers? There are many ways in which RYWs get involved within school communities, for example:
- At lunch times in the playground, in canteen corridors, chatting informally, building a relationship.
- Pastoral Work within the school - a system of referrals is in place. This could be for a variety of reasons - bullying, family breakup, behaviour, relationships, school refusal.
- RYWs will get involved in after school clubs, school trips, assemblies, lessons and learning support.

An RYW is not there to provide expert counselling but a friendly face, a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. The RYW often has incredible opportunities to share the Christian faith through trust and friendship with young people, who may otherwise never hear the gospel or even meet a Christian.

This is an extract from a presentation by Mr Terry Reddin, retired Head Teacher of Therfield School, and Mrs Sam Coates on the work of Relational Youth Workers at the February meeting of the Leatherhead Deanery Synod. For more information please phone 01372 811313. Edith Wright (Parish Deanery Synod Member)

Where now? Canon Jeffrey John
Canon David Eaton, from the August 2003 magazine
More and more, as I read of the Christian religion as Christ preached it, I stand amazed at the forms men have given to it, and the fictitious barriers they have built up between themselves and their brethren. Lewis Carroll, July 1882

The withdrawal of acceptance by Canon Jeffrey John of his appointment to the Bishop of Reading has come as a blow for those, like me, who had welcomed the invitation from The Bishop of Oxford. The saving grace may be that it does hold the Church of England together, and the Anglican Communion, from what otherwise may have been a row and possibly a split. If this was Jeffrey John's motivation then it is to his considerable credit that he was willing to make a sacrifice of this kind. However, it cannot but look, from a distance, as though there may have been some scapegoating. My guess is, at the time of writing, that someone somewhere was threatening to split the Church. The tragedy is that the outcome is to send a message that in the Church gay people are not fully accepted.

It also leaves the issues, which surround this appointment, no further forward. The Church will have to face these at some time and, it could be argued, now would have been as good a time as any. There are at least three issues, which press upon us.

Biblical Interpretation Writing in the Church Times, the Archbishop of Nigeria, The Most Revd Peter Akinola, sets out why he considers homosexuality a sin. His argument rests to a large extent on his understanding of the Bible. He is right to say that there are passages in the Bible which forbid homosexual relationships. He quotes Leviticus 18 and 20 as examples. The problem is that there are lots of other directions given in these chapters. Quite a few of them invoke the death penalty. I make no case for adultery, but Leviticus directs that those who commit adultery should be put to death. Meat, which has blood in it, should not be eaten. Neither should a priest shave his beard. Those who are disabled should not present offerings to the Lord. It can be seen that these instructions may have held water in the culture of their day, but to pick out one clause and not others is selective and misleading. It is to interpret the Bible in a wooden kind of way and without reference to contemporary understanding.

The Bible is an important and historic anchor when it comes to authority in church life. It holds our faith together so that there is consistency, now, and in the past. But Anglicans, in particular, have also used the tradition of the church, and our reason and experience, to come to a rounded understanding of God and of what is right and what is wrong. The Bible accepts both slavery and the subservience. We would clearly want to take another viewpoint. We cannot jump straight out of the pages of the Bible into our own day on any issue we may care to name. The Bible has to be understood in its own context and culture and then applied to ours. The Church has to have the debate about sexuality and come to a common mind. The Bible can be used in evidence, but it can't be used as a battering ram, or proof text, in an unthinking kind of way.

Worlds Apart At least some of the pressure on Church leaders over Jeffrey John's appointment has come from overseas. It has been argued that a split is opening up in the Anglican Communion. In western countries there has been more and more acceptance of gay relationships; in developing countries this is not the case. This is evidence of the different cultures there are across the world, and how difficult it is for us to talk to each other. It is easy to pick-up on an issue like homosexuality, and make it a cause for division, when what is needed is an open acceptance that within the Anglican Communion we come from different cultures. When we see culture as the main issue then we can begin to build understanding. There has to be a willingness to stay together as one church, for its own sake, and to work out the issues which divide us. Not to storm off because we can't get our own way. It may be that the best that can be achieved is to agree to disagree. The sooner we see that it is our cultures, both religious and secular, that divide us, not our faith, then we will be able to make progress.

Ethical dilemma I am not gay and in many ways it is better to let those who are speak for themselves. One of the advantages of Jeffrey John's appointment to Reading would have been to have an open and genuine gay voice in the House of Bishops. We do not know for sure why it is some people prefer, or respond, in same-sex relationships and others in opposite sex relationships. There may be all kinds of reasons, some psychological and social, others genetic and inherited. The fact is the gay community exists and is not about to go away. Gay relationships in the past have been seen as too promiscuous, but to wander into Soho is to see that heterosexuals have the same problems. It is to miss the many faithful and long lasting same-sex partnerships, which exist, and to value them.

The question, which persists at the heart of this dilemma over homosexuality, is just what is wrong with being gay? It is not sufficient to say the Bible doesn't like it. The issue has to be stated in its own terms. When that is done it is hard to see what all the fuss is about and what the ethical problem is. Ethics are concerned with damage limitation. Codes of behaviour seek to stop people hurting one another and themselves. Faithful gay partnerships are not by definition damaging or destructive, any more than heterosexual partnerships may be. The potential is there for both to be so, but so is the potential for good. So that the ethical issue is not gender preference, but faithfulness. The Church has long prized faithfulness. It challenges everyone, whatever their preference. It is unfaithfulness which causes damage. Too much concentration on sexuality misses the real ethical issue at the heart of all relationships.

The House of Bishops is soon to publish a study guide on their previous document, Issues in Human Sexuality. This will be a good opportunity for church members to address issues of biblical interpretation, cultural divide and ethical dilemma. The hope is we can do so by generating more light than heat and move forward.

Parish Hall Improvement - August 2003 magazine
Users of the Parish Hall will be aware that it currently has no toilets which are suitable for use by disabled people. That is about to change, but as always things have to get worse before they can get better.

The existing Ladies toilets are to be remodelled to provide a separate unisex toilet for disabled men and women, which will also incorporate improved babychanging facilities. The existing Ladies will be reduced in size to provide two cubicles (rather than the present three), although the hand washing facilities should be improved. There will also be a small area for hanging coats.

Work is due to be camed out between Thursday 17th July and Tuesday 19th August, and for much of this time the only usable toilets in the Hall will be the present Gents, which will have to be used by both sexes. The Hall committee apologise for the temporary inconvenience, but are convinced that the longer term benefits more than justify the disruption. We ask everyone to exercise due consideration whilst the work is in progress. Kevin Taylor (Chairman of the Hall Committee)

Golden Jubilee Concert: Leatherhead Parish Church 3rd June 2002
Some 200 people came for this Golden Jubilee Concert on Monday June 3rd, which, together with the specially formed Jubilee Choir of 50 singers and the Slater Symphony Orchestra filled the Church to capacity. The programme of music was drawn from five Coronations, from George II to Elizabeth II, and included the rousing anthems I was glad, by Parry, and Zadok the Priest by Handel, the Coronation Marches of Walton and Elgar and the seldom performed Cello Concerto by Arthur Sullivan, beautifully played by Alice Neary. The evening ended with the audience, choir and orchestra singing Jerusalem, which was encored!
During the interval, David Eaton proposed the Royal Toast and, as people left the Church to view the fine firework display, the common theme was "what a marvellous evening of music and celebration".

Condensed and edited from a report for The Leatherhead Advertiser by Nick Whitley

Jan 2006
Inclusive Church update Over the last few months we have been engaging in a lively discussion about inclusiveness within the church. Specifically we have been considering whether the PCC, on behalf of the Parish, should become a supporter of a group within the Church of England called the "Inclusive Church". This group is campaigning for the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop to be open to all those called to serve by God, regardless of their sex, race, sexual orientation or disability.

It is fair to say that the Church community includes many with strongly expressed beliefs, for and against, on these issues. It would also be fair to say that these differences are reflected in our congregation. This is clear from the consultation exercise.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who gave their opinion. I know that David and Briony have also found this very worthwhile. We have sought to listen, and reflect, on where we are as a congregation before making a decision. Having done so, we have concluded that placing a formal motion before the PCC would not, at the present time at least, be the right thing to do.

The issues of sex and sexuality within the Church are, as expected, challenging for many of us and we need to respect these differences. The consultation exercise made clear that we pride ourselves on our welcome for all, regardless of sex, sexuality, disability or anything else. I have personally found some of the aspects covered by the guest speakers, and in the discussions, challenging. My hope is that you did, too.

These issues will not, of course, go away. We will, I am sure, continue to explore them collectively and individually as part of a living faith.
Andrew Chastney

from the May 2006 magazine
Maundy Service Joyce Salsbury was one of 160 people who received Maundy money from the Queen at Guildford Cathedral on Maundy Thursday. Joyce is in charge of the distribution of this magazine month by month and a long standing Church member. She was accompanied by Sheila Sutherland.

The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied the Queen. The Bishops of Guildford and Dorking were also in attendance, as well as the Chief Constable, the Mayor of Guildford and the High Sheriff of Surrey.

The Yeomen of the Guard carried in the Maundy money on large plates on their hats, held in their hands, and the Lord High Almoner (the Bishop of Manchester), not to mention the Keeper of the Closet and the Sub-Almoner, assisted the Queen. The choir of Guildford Cathedral combined with choirs of the Chapels Royal and sang, among other things Glorious and powerful God by Orlando Gibbons and Zadok the Priest by George Frederick Handel. David Eaton

from the June 2006 magazine
A Royal Maundy On the morning of Maundy Thursday we drove to the Cathedral in good time for the service An efficient minibus system transferred us from the University to the Cathedral where cadets from the Armed Forces helped us alight. A stiff, chilly breeze was blowing, causing ladies to hold on to their elaborate hats chosen for the occasion.

As we entered the West End by the narthex we had to show photographic ID while dozens of police, not all in uniform, mingled with the crowds and assisted in searching items such as large handbags! All the officers I saw had "hearing aids" with cords going under their collars for instant communication.

At the foot of the hill were assorted vehicles such as a Mobile Police Station, an Incident Room, and Fire and Rescue. Nothing was left to chance; even the drains outside the Cathedral had been sealed as a further precaution.

We had a good view from the front of the Gallery but the Cathedral heating did not reach that part! We sat from 9.30 to
11am when we watched Her Majesty's arrival outside on television screens mounted on the pillars. Judging by the billowing robes of the Bishop and his party, the wind had strengthened.

Before The Queen walked up the aisle to the Upper Chancel we witnessed a series of processions of dignitaries and officials, including The Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant. In all there were 20 Yeomen of the Guard, the first party appearing down the North Aisle preceded by their Sergeant marking time with a ceremonial stick, which he banged on the ground to keep them in step.

Magnificent organ music was played both by the sub-Organist of the Chapels Royal and the residential Cathedral Organist. The combined choirs of both establishments sang superbly and stirring trumpet fanfares were sounded. The Duke of Edinburgh read the first lesson prior to The Queen distributing the Maundy gifts, first on the South side of the Cathedral and then on the North side.

The gifts were red and white purses carried by members of the Yeomen of the Guard in special flat dishes dating from the seventeenth century. Our own Joyce Salsbury was chosen as one of the recipients "for Christian Service rendered to the Church and Community". This made a great state occasion and one of personal interest. Congratulations, Joyce.
Roger Lynch

Leatherhead Parish Church with All Saints Some major topics from our News pages

Leatherhead Parish Church with All Saints
Some major topics from our News pages