The Advent season has as usual been a busy time. On Advent Sunday we were at St Andrew’s Tywardreath with Churches Together for the Advent Meditation, a quiet time for reflections led by John Diaper, with beautiful music from the choir and organist. The following week an Advent Service was held in the Good Shepherd Church, when we were joined by Charlestown and Treverbyn to hear readings in preparation for Christmas and to sing the familiar Advent Carols all followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the Hall. We held a Festive Coffee Morning in the Gott Hall with toasted tea cakes, mince pies and hot chocolate to warm the brave people who ventured out on the day when storm Daragh hit Cornwall and was at its peak. Everyone joined in the carol singing and Christmas songs led by the choir with Joy playing the keyboard making it a happy and festive morning which raised £388 for the St Petroc’s Society. Members of the choir joined Ruth and Fr Paul as they visited Hendra Court for a Christmas service with the residents and their relatives. We sang familiar carols and read Christmas readings and prayers, with those who wanted to joining in, making a happy Christmas atmosphere. The room was full to capacity and had been beautifully decorated even Father Christmas was there, but he appeared to be stuck coming down the chimney, I hope he made it by Christmas Eve! We were warmly welcomed and treated to some very nice mince pies and mulled wine. The Ladies Lunch was held at Par Garden Centre where we enjoyed a very nice Christmas Lunch in a festive atmosphere and the following Sunday some of us joined others from the parish for lunch at the Britannia Inn. It was not a Christmas lunch but a traditional roast, which was excellent. It was good to enjoy a meal in the company of other church friends. We were very pleased to be involved in the Christmas celebrations of the Biscovey Schools this year again. We went into the Infants School to take the assembly where we told the story of the Christingle and the children sang “Away in a Manger”, a celebration song from their Nativity and finished with a rousing “Jingle Bells”. They were really excited to make Christingles with us, as each class came in turn to make their own version to take home at the end of the day. Despite the fact there were lots of tempting sweets in bowls in front of them, most of them resisted the temptation but there are always exceptions, but who could blame them. It was a fun filled morning for all concerned. We also went into the Junior School with Rev Chris McQuillen-Wright, where he talked to the children, telling them about the origins of Christmas and about the Christingle ending with the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. The children were enthralled with his presentation during which we made Christingles with some of the children. St Mary’s Church, Biscovey was filled with the sounds of happy excited children as Years 3 and 4 of Biscovey Junior School gathered on 3 consecutive days to rehearse and perform their Nativity Play “Behind the Stable Door. It was a joy to be present to join with the school and see the performance and a pleasure to welcome them into church. It was an excellent performance. Well done to all the pupils and a thank you for all the hard work put in by the teachers and helpers The Crib service was well attended and the children present took part in the making up of the Christmas Crib. One a tiny baby Luca came with Grandad to put a sheep into the fold and Matilda lovingly carried the baby Jesus in her cupped hands and gently laid him in the manger. The older children, Jessica, Zach and Seb, with some input from Matilda, answered all the questions asked and carefully made up the finished crib that was then blessed by Fr Paul. The Christmas Day Eucharist was at the Good Shepherd with Carols sung joyfully amid windows full of colour, lights and candles as we proclaimed the birth of Jesus as Light of the World. A Happy, Blessed and Healthy New Year to you all AW
On the 19th July this year we celebrated the Bicentenary of George Edmund Street, the architect of St Mary’s with a Heritage Day. St Mary’s was Street’s first commission at the age of 22 years and he went on to be famous culminating in the Royal Courts of Justice in London. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.The day dawned sunny and bright, a good omen for the day ahead. We gathered together in St Mary’s at 9.30 for a service of Holy Communion celebrated by Fr Jake. Coffee was then served giving those present, time to look at some of the information and displays in the church. We were then treated to a very interesting talk by the Rev Canon Michael Warner, who spoke about the life and works of our famous architect, G E Street, the first vicar George Rundle Prynne and the history of St Mary’s. There is always something new to learn and we were all interested in what he had to tell us.Following the talk Diana Osborne led a large number of those present on a tour of part of the churchyard, giving an insight into the history of some of the people buried there, areas of particular interest and about the plants and wildlife found there. A pasty lunch followed and it was good to see so many people both inside the church and outside on the seats and steps in the sunshine, enjoying a traditional Cornish lunch. Those inside the church were treated to some Victorian music provided by Fr Jake Loewendahl on violin accompanied by his wife Olivia on the keyboard. The music was greatly appreciated by those present.The afternoon session began with a talk by Mr Michael Swift on stained glass windows, particularly the windows in St Mary’s. We were amazed to find that the windows had a historical value of their own, putting it on a parallel with the importance of the church being Street’s first commission. Medieval stained glass in churches was mostly destroyed during the Reformation and they were replaced with plain glass, however at the time of the building of St Mary’s there was a renewed interest in stained glass and churches were being built in the Gothic style with windows showing Bible stories and religious images. St Mary’s was one of the first in Cornwall to have both, with the scenes from the Crucifixion, above the High Altar and Mary and her mother in the Sanctuary and Saints in the Chancel windows. Also the number installed far outnumbered other churches in Cornwall during the Victorian period. We are all looking at the windows with different eyes now and seeing things that we had not seen before and were all fascinated by the talk given.There was then another chance to go around the churchyard and to look at the church and have a cream tea, while our talented organist Angeline played the organ which had been built originally for St Day Church in 1858 and moved to St Mary’s in the mid 1950’s.The day ended with a short service of Compline, in thanksgiving and praise for the wonderful day we had all experienced. During the service we said Psalm 122, the psalm that had been chanted at the service in 1848. The Rev Canon Michael Warner said at the end of his talk, he wondered what Street, and all attending the first services held in St Mary’s, would think of the building today, and what would we ask Street if we met him. So many changes have been made to the interior although the outside remains the same beautiful rose colour it always was. Everyone who came had obviously enjoyed the day and it was a day we can be proud of. Fundraising was not the ultimate or initial reason for the day, but people who came were generous and we received £426 in donations towards the Fund to restore the Organ, for which we are extremely grateful. Thank you everyone.Anne Weaver
The 2024 Little Lambs Nativity was again a joy to behold. The true meaning of Christmas and the way it is portrayed in the Bible, which is familiar to most of us, was read by the mums and grandparents of the children present. An unusual twist was that the story was told, as it was seen by a colt, who was in the stable when Jesus was born. There were a lot of animal voices as the story unfolded, cows that mooed, sheep that bleated, donkeys that brayed and of course the neighing of the colt. Fr Derek did a very good impression of the farmyard animals and had the congregation joining with him, giving us the feeling we were all in a stable. The children all arrived dressed in their various costumes, most were very tiny people, who although they did not all want to sit and be admired, they were so good , not like the noisy animals, the children made no noise, not that is, until they were given the instruments to celebrate the arrival of the Kings when they really enjoyed shaking all manner of different sounding instruments in this time of celebration. One little angel was not so keen to be centre stage and obviously spotted someone she knew at the back of the church she really wanted to see but she was back in her place for her big role of producing the large star that heralded the coming of the Kings.Mary and Joseph sat centre stage, Mary proudly cuddled her sleeping baby looking happy and serene. Baby Jesus was at one stage rather unceremoniously returned to his cradle, but slept on. Joseph obviously had been a shepherd at some time in his life, as he was mesmerised by two cuddly sheep that he had taken from the altar rail, but he was a dutiful father, and remained sitting quietly beside Mary. There were a variety of animals lined up on the altar rail at the beginning of the story, the children were fascinated by them and gradually many of the animals made their way into the arms of the children to be cuddled. There was a very tall camel, who looked as though he might not have been fed for a while, but he stood majestically overseeing all the action in the stable. No-one attempted to make the noise of a camel though, so he must have been a little put out!The children joined in with the action songs during the performance and at the end sang “Twinkle, twinkle little star” with actions, even some of the tiniest were wriggling their fingers in time with the words. The presentation ended with the Little Lambs prayer which Mary was very familiar with and said every word.How such a wonderful scene could be produced with such tiny people always amazes me, and the leaders and carers involved have to be congratulated. This year there was unfortunately a smaller number of children, which must have made their task harder, but it had not lost any of the wonder of previous years. I have to say it again, for me it is the best bit of Christmas. There were seasonal refreshments served in the hall and donations for Little Harbour amounted to £128, thank you to all who supported this cause.
Little Lambs ‘Spring’ news * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Following the joyous occasion of the Nativity Pay and the generous donations of £111 being sent to Little Harbour Children’s Hospice, the children looked forward to the excitement of Christmas Day and all that goes with it - the ripping open of numerous presents from family and friends, tucking into a Christmas dinner and family games. Some of the children would not be returning to Little Lambs as they were now entitled to attend nursery at various schools, and so the number returning to group in January would be less. Nevertheless, we need not have been concerned. A poster on the PL24 Facebook page had young families exchanging conversations about us and as a result 6 new families have joined us bringing along 7 toddlers. Great News! We began the new term with a ‘Mucky Pastry’ activity, making animal shapes and generally having a marvellous time! Some children even took some pastry home to use again! They all made animal shape sandwiches the following week. Choosing a filling was a bit difficult - cheese spread, lemon curd and red jam all sounded delicious. Ann even made a lemon curd sandwich for Fr Derek - which was very agreeable! During the cold spell we have been having our singing and story time in the hall, and Derek has been entertaining in the background for much of the morning while the children complete their activity and play with the toys. Some of the children just sit and listen to him play and chat away to him, which is delightful. Painting is always a treat and often messy, so aprons and a bowl of water are provided, and the animal prints came out really well. The display board has now a few of our creations on display, and will gradually fill up as the term progresses. Making sheep, hand painting trees, decorating cakes, making cards and planting seeds are some of the activities we are to cover during the coming weeks. If you know a family with a toddler or baby who would appreciate a couple of hours, in the warm, making friends, talking and watching children enjoying themselves in a safe environment then please contact Barbara 07752 138196. Jill Hore
