Professional Documents
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Parish News
St Giles in 1779
(From the Oxford Almanack of that year. The Dolphin Inn and St Johns College are
on the right. The original drawing is in the Leeds City Art Galleries.)
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Please send any items for inclusion in the September newsletter to
secretary@st-giles-church.org by Monday 21st August 2017.
BELLRINGING NEWS
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TRIP TO BANKERYD
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On Sunday, we went to the Eucharist at the parish church of
Bankeryd, about 15 minutes drive from Jnkping. The adult choir
was singing, and it was lovely to hear
some Rutter, as well as traditional and
contemporary Swedish hymns
(including a setting of the Gloria by a
local composer). Bankeryd is a
beautiful church from c. 1860, although
a church has stood there since the
Middle Ages. Lolo, the youth and
childrens worker, took us up into the
loft to show us the ceiling, made of
painted planks of wood salvaged from
the old church, but not correctly assembled: you can glimpse an angels
wing, a cherubs face, a trumpet, but you cant reconstruct from them
the original paintings. Inside, the church is simple but elegant, airy and
full of light, with just two paintings: over the altar, a beautiful fresco
based on the Beatitudes, and in the nave a picture of Christ the
Gardener with Mary Magdalen.
We were keen to find out more about the similarities and
differences between our two parishes. About 9,000 people live in the
parish of Bankeryd, but the congregation, like ours, can vary
significantly depending on the type of service held. Gunilla, one of the
two organists, told us that they can have as many as 100 people when
the childrens choirs are singing or as few as 25 when no choir is there.
As for us, there is no space within the church for Sunday school, so
when the childrens choirs are singing, they hold a child-friendly
service. But whereas we have struggled to get our girls choir up and
running, they have quite the opposite problem: Gunilla told us that she
had 40 girls but only one boy in her childrens choir, and that very few
boys continue to sing after their voices have broken.
After the service, we had lunch in the newly built parish centre, a
wonderful resource that left us feeling rather wistful. This is where the
choirs rehearse, the children and youth groups meet, as well as where
the staff has offices. There is an enormous games room, a messy play
room, and a room for teenagers with sofas and a guitar (my daughter
settled in right away) and, to our surprise and delight, a room full of
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weaving looms, used by the local community to make traditional rugs.
Upstairs, there is a small prayer room and a couple of rehearsal rooms,
one of which is consecrated and has a corner window in the shape of
the cross. The sense of light, space and air were, again, what
impressed us most deeply about the place.
What did we learn from our visit? Most profoundly, perhaps, we
left with a renewed sense of Christian community and fellowship: the
welcome, kindness and generosity with which we were received by
people we had met only once. We were overwhelmed by the gifts we
received: prayer bracelets, hymn books, resources for children, and lots
of ideas towards our own Lucia procession. Magnus, Gunilla and Lolo
gave unceasingly of their time, and we were treated to a marvellous
dinner and a buffet lunch, with a
traditional Swedish cake (Tom
described it as trifle in cake form)
decorated with the Swedish and
English flag. Its extraordinary to think
that the work of English missionaries in
Sweden in the late 10th century has
borne fruit in spiritual ties that can still
be felt. We were also introduced to
the Lutheran prayer bracelet, an aid to
prayer, but also a prayer in itself, to
which both children and adults can relate. The different shapes and
colours of the beads represent different aspects of Christian life of
prayer: the presence of God, baptism, wilderness, love for God and for
one another, death, hope and resurrection. More practically, we were
interested to hear some of the parish practices around youth work,
particularly the way that they combine the choirs with their youth clubs
so that children can come after school, sing for an hour and then go
downstairs to hang out, play games, or paint and draw. We fell in love
with the little play church in the garden, complete with toy organ, altar
and font, and were amazed to discover that there were full sets of
child-size vestments in liturgical colours, as well as props for weddings,
funerals and baptisms. We could only imagine how delighted the
children at St Giles would be at the chance to play church. This is,
after all, how small children learn, and how they process important
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experiences. Finally, we were introduced to the all-important new
Swedish word fika (coffee break) a concept rather like the Danish
hygge.
It was wonderful visit, which we are grateful to have had the
opportunity to make, and we are very much looking forward to
welcoming the choir of Bankeryd to St Giles next spring. We left, with
sadness, on Monday morning, our bags stuffed full of all the presents
we had been given, but with a new place in our hearts for our link
parish in Bankeryd. Sin Grnlie
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MUSIC AT ST GILES SPRING/SUMMER 2017 SERIES
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Bailey (owner of the popular Daisies Flower Shop in Jericho), who
performed a singularly poignant and beautiful oboe solo).
Early June saw another astonishing virtuoso performance on the
organ of Widors Symphonie V by choir director Dr Nicholas Prozzillo
Nicholass recitals always delight with an erudite and informative
accompanying talk. On 10th June, came an unscheduled but brilliant
choral concert by the University choir, The Arcadians, generously given
in aid of Project 900, well attended, and reviewed, along with one on
Nicholas organ recital, by Andrew Sillit, in the June issue of Parish
News.
Another initially unscheduled concert took place on 17th June,
when a very large audience rapturously received an astonishing
virtuoso performance by 18 year old viola player Georgia Russell,
daughter of churchwarden Joanne. Georgia gave a taxing but superbly
executed account of a transcription for viola and piano from
Prokofievs Romeo and Juliet orchestral suite from his ballet; a
singularly moving account of a Bach violin partita which added
sonorous beauty now played on the viola, and finally, a performance
worthy of a Festival Hall/Carnegie Hall appearance (my comment
made to the audience at the end) of Rebecca Clarkes beautiful and
romantic Sonata for Viola and Piano) when Georgia presented an
incredibly poised and mature concert presence to a totally transfixed
audience. (Rebecca Clarke, a sadly neglected composer of distinction
and outstanding viola player, was the subject of BBC Radio Threes
regular feature: This Weeks Composer. Aside from the unanimous
appreciation of Georgias playing, I for one was grateful for this lovely
introduction to this relatively unknown composers work.
On 24th June, as a wonderful winding-up family-friendly Project
900 fund raising concert, we were happy to welcome again the
Oxley/Graham family band Nine Lives, who raised so much money for
the Choir Academy last year. Pete Oxley, internationally renowned jazz
guitarist and composer (and owner of award-winning The Spin jazz club
in Oxford) gave us once again some really joyful music-making. All
performers play at least three instruments, and sing too; their age
ranges from sub-teens, teenagers, very young and older (parents!)
adults, and played an absolutely exhilarating programme of popular
light music, including many of Petes own compositions and delightful
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arrangements of well known standards. The resultant toe-tapping by
the audience broke out (the Vicar didnt mind a bit!) into actual
dancing at the back (hitherto staid and respectable congregation
members could be seen jigging in time to the music - one noble
gentleman indicating, with discreet complicated movements that he
was no mean dancer!) There was an audience of well-nigh 100,
including 15 children and several babies bounced on their parents laps,
and the whole evening brought the audience to a standing ovation
after a clamoured-for encore. A rewarding grand finale to the now
annual Music at St Giles Spring/Summer Concert Series. Grateful
thanks to all volunteers and supporters!! Jean Darke
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OXFORD DEANERY SYNOD TERMS EXPLAINED
What is a Deanery? A Deanery is a group of parishes within an
Archdeaconry. The Diocese of Oxford is divided into 29 Deaneries.
What is Deanery Synod for? The Deanery is a strategic mission unit in
the Diocese, and a Deanery Synod acts as a vital link between people in
the parishes (the PCC), the Diocese (Diocesan Synod) and the Church of
England nationally (General Synod). A prime purpose of the Deanery is
to support and enable work in parishes, but not to direct it. Deanery
Synod acts as a forum for the airing of parish views on any common
problems, the communication of Diocesan Synod decisions, the
consideration of relevant business and the referral to Diocesan Synod
of matters of concern. Deanery Synod members also act as the
electorate for all elections to Diocesan Synod and General Synod.
What do Deanery Synod members do? Members of the Deanery
Synod are there to work in collaboration with the Bishop, Diocesan
officers, other members, Area Dean and officers of the Deanery to
forward the mission of the Church. They do this by: being a point of
contact between Deanery and parish, participating fully in the life of
the PCC to which they belong. The members of a Deanery Synod are
elected for a term of three years (triennium). At the beginning of each
new triennium the following officers must be elected by the Synod.
1. Lay Chair: The Deanery Synod is divided into two houses, the house
of laity and the house of clergy. The Area Dean is appointed by the
Bishop to chair the whole Synod and to be the leader of the house of
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clergy. The lay members of the Synod elect one of their number to
work in collaboration with the Area Dean to discharge the duties of the
Synod and to chair its meetings.
2. Secretary: The Deanery Secretary keeps an up to date roll of
members, prepares the agenda for Synod meetings, distributes
agendas and related papers to members, takes the minutes of the
meetings and distributes to members. The Secretary performs the
same function for the Deanery Standing Committee.
3. Treasurer: The Deanery Treasurer manages the financial accounts
for the Deanery, the collection of parish-share from parishes and
payments to the Diocese.
4. Standing Committee: The Standing Committee is made up of the
Area Dean, Lay Chair, Deanery Secretary, Treasurer and members
elected in equal numbers from both houses of clergy and laity. The
function of the Standing Committee shall be to initiate and advise on
proposals; to ensure that members of the Synod are adequately
informed on questions raised and other matters of importance to the
Deanery; to prepare the agenda; to transact the business of the Synod
between meetings; and to make such appointments and do such other
things as the Synod may delegate to it.
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THE MEN BEHIND THE NAMES (2)
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ARTHUR ERNEST BAKER was born in Oxford in 1896. He was the
youngest of the eight children of James and Emma Baker. At the time
of the 1901 Census the family were living at 9 Little Clarendon Street.
By 1911 they had moved to 32 St John Street. Arthur was 15 and still at
school but his father, who was a hairdresser and wigmaker, had been
widowed and the eldest son, Robert was no longer living at home.
Arthur enlisted in Oxford on the outbreak of war in 1914, joining
the 5th Battalion of the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry: the battalion was one
of the Kitcheners new army. After training in Oxford and
Chelmsford, he arrived in France in May 1915. He was wounded on
22nd June and was sent back to England for
medical treatment. He returned to his
regiment in France towards the end of
September, and was reported missing in action
on 17th October. Thirteen soldiers were killed
by a mine explosion on that day and 23 men
were missing, buried in the debris of the
explosion. Arthur was one of the missing and
his body was never found. His name is one of
more than 54,000 commemorated on the Ypres Memorial at the Menin
Gate in Belgium he was 20 years old.
There is an affectionate reference to him and his links with the
church in the Parish Magazine of January 1916. Until the outbreak of
war, he taught in the St Giles Sunday school and was a member of the
Church Lads Brigade.
ERNEST LEONARD BENNETT, known as Leonard, was born in 1897, the
youngest of the six children of Tom and Kate Bennett of 19 Winchester
Road just outside the parish boundary. As a boy he sang in St Giles
choir. In 1911, Leonard was 14 and working as
an office boy at the Clarendon Press. Two
unmarried older sisters were working at home
as dressmakers. His father, Tom, was a
bootmaker working at home on his own
account, and was a sidesman at St Giles
Church. Leonard enlisted into the Ox & Bucks
Light Infantry late in 1915 as a volunteer and
went out to France to join B Company, 1/4th
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Battalion early in 1916. He was wounded by a shell in early May and
died of his wounds on 7th May, aged 19. He was buried in Hebuterne
Military Cemetery in Northern France.
Leonards father, Tom, continued his connections with St Giles
Church as sidesman and churchwarden and teaching in the Sunday
school until his sudden death in 1928, aged 71. Kate, Leonards
mother, left the house in Winchester Road soon after her husbands
death. She continued living in Oxford, perhaps with one of her other
children, and died in 1943, aged 85.
FRANCIS LEWIS HUDSON was born in Clerkenwell, London in 1893 to
Francis and Annie M Hudson. At the time of the 1901 Census the
family were living in Yoxford, Suffolk Francis senior working as a coal
dealer, mother, three teenage daughters and Francis aged 7. By 1911
the parents had moved to Oxford where they lived at 21 Banbury Road.
Mr Hudson was caretaker at the Oxford High School for Girls. The
school had moved to that building in 1879.
Two of the daughters, aged 27 and 22, were
working as servants and living at 1 Eagle &
Child Yard, St Giles. Aged 18, Francis was
living with them and working as a first-class
tailor with Mr Summersell at 48 Abingdon
Road. Francis enlisted into the Ox & Bucks
Light Infantry in Oxford in 1914 and was with
the 1/4th Battalion when it went to France in
March 1915. He was killed in action at Sickle Trench, near Pozires on
23rd July 1916, during the second phase of the 1916 Battles of the
Somme. He is buried at Pozires British Cemetery in France.
REGINALD ERNEST WEBSTER was born in Oxford in 1891. At the time
of the 1901 Census he was 9 and living with three siblings and his
mother, Isabella Webster, in Cowley St John parish. Mrs Webster
worked as a laundress, her eldest son, Leonard, was 18 and a shop
assistant, as was the eldest daughter, Margaret aged 16. Reginald was
still at school and the youngest member of the family was a one year-
old daughter, Beatrice.
By the 1911 Census, the family were living at 26 Essex Street, off
the Cowley Road and Reginald, aged 19, was working as a grocers
assistant. At the same time Matilda Payne, aged 17, was living at home
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with her family at 33a St Giles. Her mother, Clara Payne was a widow
running a fruiterers business at that address.
In July 1914 the St Giles Church marriage
registers record that Reginald Ernest Webster
and Matilda Florence Payne were married in
the church. The Parish Magazine records the
marriage, and also the baptism in early 1915
of their first son Leonard Reginald. Reginald
gave his occu-pation as grocers assistant: the
family were living with Matildas mother at
33a St Giles.
The date of Reginalds enlistment is not clear but it was probably
late in 1915 or early 1916. He seems to have been first in the Ox &
Bucks Light Infantry, before joining the 2nd Battalion, Royal
Warwickshire Regiment. He was reported missing on 3rd September
1916, in the fighting on the Somme. His body was never found and his
name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing. He
died on the same day as two other St Giles men Frederick Hastings
and Frederick Skinner.
It is poignant to read in the Parish Magazine of the baptism, in
November 1916, of Reginald and Matildas second son named Jack
Ronald. The baby had been born on 6th October 1916, a month after
his fathers death. Both sons grew up and married in Oxford in the
1940s. It is believed that Jack Ronald was a boy chorister in St Giles
Choir.
HARRY WILLIAM ROBINSON was born in Oxford in 1886. He was the
eldest in Mr and Mrs T W Robinsons family of five children. Mr
Robinson was a schoolteacher and from 1895 was Principal of Bedford
House School at 122 Walton Street, living with his family next door to
the school at number 123 (now the Co-op). Harry had been educated
at his fathers school and became a clerk in Gilletts Bank (subsequently
absorbed by Barclays), probably at the main Cornmarket branch, and
was living at the family home in Walton Street in early 1914. He was a
keen oarsman and was a member of the Neptune Rowing Club in 1906,
representing the club in the city bumping races from 1906 to 1914. He
also played for the United Oxford Banks Football Club.
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Harry was married to Marjorie Gertrude Louise Bridgewater in St
Mary & St John, Cowley on 19th December 1914. On the marriage
certificate he is described as a bank clerk, although he must have
been on the point of enlisting, if not actually already enrolled in the Ox
& Bucks Light Infantry - he had been a sergeant in the Territorials
before the War. After training he was sent to France in March 1915
with the 1st/4th Battalion and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in April.
He was wounded near Ypres in November 1915 but was back in
the front line by March 1916. He was again badly wounded, having his
right arm shattered, at Delville Wood on 25th August 1916. The Battle
of Delville Wood was one of the bloodiest confrontations on the
Somme, with heavy casualties on both sides. The Oxford Times of 30th
September 1916 reported his return to Somerville Hospital in Oxford.
Harry recovered sufficiently to remain in the army but not on the front
line. He was stationed at Cowley Barracks, attached to the Labour
Corps, and was gazetted Captain and then Major while serving in
Oxford. He died at Somerville Hospital on 9th
November 1918, two days before the
Armistice, from influenza followed by
pneumonia. The Oxford Times and The Oxford
Illustrated Journal both reported on his full
military funeral, at which there was an
impressive procession from the hospital to the
burial in the War Cemetery in Botley, with
many family and military mourners. The Parish
Magazine of December 1918 carried a sad obituary note.
Administration of Harrys will was given to his widow, then living at 4
Holyoake Terrace, London Road in Headington, on 23rd January 1919.
The couple had no children and Marjorie remarried in 1921.
The Parish Magazine refers not only to Harrys death but also to
the deaths of other members of the congregation, including wives of
three men serving at the front, in the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. The
world-wide pandemic, the so-called Spanish Flu, began during the
last months of the war in 1918 and continued until 1919/20, killing
more than 30 million people round the world more than all the
casualties of the Great War itself.
Alison Bickmore
(All the illustrations are from The Oxford Illustrated Journal)
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WANTED! WANTED! WANTED!
th th
St Giles Fair, Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 September 2017
Helpers are needed to welcome Fair Goers into St Giles please sign
up on the sheets at the back of the church.
Ride and Stride, Saturday 9th September; and
Oxford Open Doors, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September
We need people to be on hand in the church for these two worthwhile
and enjoyable events please see the notices with information on how
you can help.
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FROM ST GILES PARISH REGISTERS
Wedding
st
1 July 2017 Christopher Skerry and Louise Cummins
Funerals
15th June 2017 Susan Greenway, aged 78
12th July 2017 Margaret Bell, aged 95
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17 July 2017 Elizabeth Norma Lamberstock, aged 87
20th July 2017 Sarah McManners, aged 97
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FLOWERS IN CHURCH
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POTTERY DEMONSTRATION AND TALK ORGANISED BY
THE COUNCIL OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS - 26th JUNE 2017
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Symbolism
Andrew ran through the many uses, shapes and functions of these
objects - many are highly decorative as well as eminently practical, some
have a completely secular outlook (some eye-watering examples in the
Italian Maiolica collection in the Ashmolean), and the religious examples
also use symbols from diverse cultures in their designs.
The Potter - Andrew Hazelden
After the talk Andrew produced a beautifully shaped bowl in the
familiar manner that we may have all seen on screen. It was a privilege
to see the intensity, concentration and physical control that go into
producing an object that has retained its basic shape and function over
millennia. Andrew brought a fine selection of his work to show us, and
his workshop is available for visits by appointment:
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A couple of her works, Storm over the Lake and Feeding the 5000,
had been included with others from the Methodist Collection of
Christian Art in one of our earliest
exhibitions almost 30 years ago. This
time they returned as copies among the
32 hung here while a further 10 at the
Oratory related to her adoption of
Roman Catholicism. Six more at the
Friends Meeting House recalled her
interest in the work of the Quakers.
Undaunted by the challenge of three
venues, Rebecca Sherlaw Johnson,
Eularias granddaughter, completed their hanging in one morning! To us,
the challenge was the extended opening, 12-6, Monday to Saturday, but
all went well and the remarkable weather meant that all four porch
doors could be open, attracting several who had passed by but never
been in and others who had heard after-school music training in
progress. Many of these stayed to look round.
Knowing Andrews carpentry skills it was no surprise that he
should have chosen Chairs to Mend (under the sign Joseph & Son) to
illustrate a sermon - salvage, repair,
reconstruct. Later, at the Day of
Reflection led by Revd Georgie Simpson
and Revd David Meahy, we heard that it
had been Eularias response to the work
of Winchesters Roman Catholic priests
amongst ex-prisoners around the time of
her conversion. Attention was drawn to
light streaming from Christs hand
(Storm over the Lake; Into Deep Water),
to Mary Magdalens tears, to compassion of friends (Hole in the Roof).
The prominent sleeping donkey in Christmas Gospel was explained and
I finally spotted Joseph. Do have another look theyre all on the
website www.eulariaclarke.com (appearing much brighter than actually
are). Or read all about it in Rebeccas biography which she launched
with a tea-talk during the exhibition (Eularia Clarke: Painter of Religion.
Amazon, 14.99). Margaret Williamson
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100 Years Ago St Giles Parish Magazine, August 1917
Sunday School Treat: We were fortunate in having a very beautiful day
for our Sunday School Treat on July 12th. The children assembled in the
Parish Room at 5.30, and went at once to the Observatory field, where,
by kind permission of Dr Rambaut1, the treat was held. A game of
cricket and sports were much appreciated, and the prizes were
distributed in the Parish Room as a conclusion. Owing to the
restrictions imposed by the Food Controller, no tea was provided, but
the treat was entirely successful in spite of this omission.
The Churchyard: We are anxious to improve and beautify the
Churchyard, so that it may give pleasure to all who see it, both to those
who live near it and to those who pass by. A small Committee has been
appointed by the Parochial Church Council with this object in view. We
shall be glad to hear from any one who can spare any flowering shrubs or
free-growing roses which might be planted in the Churchyard.
1
Arthur Alcock Rambaut (1859-1923) was an Irish astronomer. In 1897, he became
Radcliffe Observer in the University of Oxford, and was succeeded by Charles Jasper
Joly. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1900 and served twice on the
committee of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday 3rd August
3:00 pm Funeral of Dennis Shaw at Oxford Crematorium
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