Columns (July/August 2010)

Green Links
Rural Affairs
View from the Lantern
Christian Aid

by Janis Irvine

I expect regular readers of this column will have detected a certain leaning towards a number of particular environmental issues – one of these is the subject of native wildlife and its relationship to our churchyards. In this year of 2010, designated The International Year of Biodiversity, I make no apologies for visiting the subject of churchyards once again! To my mind, our churchyards are like a book cover – and despite the maxim not to, people do actually judge books by their covers don’t they? Given a choice between two books with similar titles but where one has a brightly-coloured attractive cover and the other a rather tatty nondescript one, which would we head for first?

What sort of ‘cover’ does your church have? Just as we would expect to spruce up our appearance for a job interview or as a representative for a corporate body in order to make a good impression, so our churches should perhaps regard their churchyards as the first thing their visitors or passers-by may see and judge them by. “What does this church say about the people who worship here?” “How do the people of this church show that they care?” An attractive churchyard can be the first “smiling welcome” that people are given.

But an attractive churchyard is only half the story. A finely cut green ‘tablecloth’ and a few exotic trees can be a reasonable enhancement to a church but it could be so much more. Our churchyards have the potential to be nurturing oases for some of our more beleaguered wildlife – in particular bees. Both bumble and honey bees are in decline and this is extremely worrying.

Newcastle City Council are so worried about bees that they have set up a Bee Steering Group, made up of representatives from NCC itself, Newcastle University, bee keepers, allotment holders, Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Natural England, plus other interested parties. Russell Nelson of NCC says: “Our beehives have suffered massive losses in the last few years largely due to a disease spread by the parasitic varroa mite. Other factors blamed for the decline include loss of habitat like wild flower meadows, climate change, pesticide use and a mysterious condition known as ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’. Bees are dying and colonies are being lost at an alarming rate. This is very worrying as the pollination of crops by honeybees is worth an estimated £200 million each year to the British economy.”

Russell goes on to say, “Bees are responsible for the pollination of more than 40 important food crops grown in this country. Apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackcurrants, melons, beans, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, turnips, beetroot, carrots and celery – these are some of the plants pollinated by bees. It is estimated that one third of the food we eat relies on bees for pollination”.

The two Objectives of the Bee Steering Group are 1) To raise awareness of the situation with residents and encourage them to be more bee friendly and 2) To establish a baseline as to where bees are at present, and to provide the conditions to allow them to flourish in the future.

So, this is where our churches can play their part. Churches have the potential for doing something of real value to bees at comparatively little cost. All it needs is to plant a range of flowering shrubs and plants that bees can visit for food from March until September – and don’t use pesticides! Simple cottage garden flowers are best, as are native wild flowers – and both types will look wonderful in your churchyard! Honey and bumble bees have different needs so a range is essential – March and April: Bluebell, Rosemary, Lungwort, Flowering Currant, Pussy Willow, Winter-flowering Heathers; May and June: Aquilegia, Laburnum, Campanula, Ceanothus, Geranium, Cotoneaster, Everlasting Wallflower, Foxglove, Lesser Knapweed, Lupin, Sage, Thyme; July and August: Buddleia, Cornflower, Centaurea, Escallonia, Hollyhock, Lavender, Marjoram, Rock-rose, Scabious.

Newcastle City Council is to plant bee friendly flowers and hopes to establish a wildflower meadow. Bumble bee ‘homes’ are to be installed across the city and some schools have offered to host honey bee hives, while there have even been Key Stage books provided on the subject. So often when we read of the decline of wildlife we feel powerless, but not this time. What will your church do?

Rural Affairs

with Dagmar Winter

Support Wooly Thinking!

It’s definitely the time of country shows again and together with this little article you will find a roundup of country shows coming up in the next couple of months, each of them great opportunities to support rural communities.

As in previous years, the Church was well presented at the Northumberland County Show in Corbridge , which saw over 28,000 visitors in the warm sunshine. Our stand had a prayer pool and 3,000 seeds of French Dwarf Beans were given out, with wishes for flourishing to bean and human. A host of ecumenical local volunteers made the church stand possible, ably coordinated by Max and Monica Philbrick from Corbridge Parish Church, and this year the show and the stand were visited by Bishop Seamus Cunningham, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He is also the lead Bishop for rural affairs for the national Bishops’ Conference.

So what about woolly thinking?

More than 1,000 people at the County Show signed up to a NFU Campaign launched that day to represent local hill farmers at the 2012 Olympic games!

As part of their greater 'Campaign for Wool', the NFU is backing an innovative idea: to get the Olympics in London to use carpets made of British Wool. Sadly these days, farm gate prices for wool do not even cover the cost of clipping sheep. However, wool is a fantastic renewable resource!

A special range has been designed especially for the Olympics. By sticking to the natural colour range of the wool, the aim is to make a feature of the darker fleeces that come predominantly from hill breeds and traditionally have been worth less than paler lowland fleeces that can be readily dyed.

Supporting the Olympic wool campaign is an excellent way of supporting our sheep farmers because it seeks to highlight the contribution made by more than 60,000 farming families around the country and the ‘tapestry’ of sheep breeds they keep.

How can you support this campaign?

If you go to the website below and click on the link it generates an e-mail in which you can put your name and address. The NFU can then keep all these e-mails, add people’s names to the petition and have some proof of having legitimately been contacted by petition signatories.

http://www.nfuonline.com/News/Woolly-thinking-urged-for-2012-Olympics/

Cambo sheep farmer and chairman of the NFU regional livestock board, Hans Pörksen said: “The North East is a major sheep producing region. With 4 million animals grazing our local countryside, we have more sheep here than anywhere else in England. Anything that helps secure the livelihood of our sheep farmers is welcome and this is a particularly innovative approach.”

Please support this worthwhile campaign!

What’s on in the Countryside?

Country Shows roundup

Old ones and fairly new ones, tiny ones and big ones: there’s a show for everyone and there’s an opportunity for everyone to support the rural community!

Sat/Sun 17-18 July: Otterburn Festival Originally a small country show of farming machinery and tractors the Otterburn Festival has grown, now including local crafts, stalls and flower arrangements. The proceeds from the 2010 Otterburn Festival will be divided equally between The Great North Air Ambulance Appeal and Help for Heroes.

Sunday 25 July: The Glendale Festival, Wooler. Music on the main stage from 11am through to early evening – “most musical tastes catered for”. The High Street will be closed to traffic and will play host to a food fayre, dance area, steel pan band, Punch & Judy and other assorted entertainment's.

The Cheviot Centre is the venue for the busy craft fair – all local and hand-made. Here you will also find a bouncy castle and the always delicious Roddam WI refreshments.

St Mary’s Church will host a flower festival from Friday 23rd July to Sunday 25th – on the Sunday there will be live music in the church to add to the atmosphere.

Sunday 1 August: College Valley Show
Traditional show set in the dramatic College Valley in the northern reaches of the Cheviot Hills.

Saturday 7 August: Powburn Show
A traditional show including sheepdog trials.

Sunday 8 August: Gilsland Agricultural Show
A village agricultural show, working dog show, vintage machine section, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, 5-a-side football, children's sports, trade tent and various other displays and stands. This year's show will be held at Triermain Farm, Gilsland.

(Note the Equestrian Show will be held on Sunday 1st August.)

Sunday 8 August: Simonside Country Fair
Simonside Country Fair started as a clay pigeon shoot in 1985 and has evolved into a small and friendly local show.

Terrier racing, tug of war, clay pigeon shooting, Cumberland wrestling, dog agility for all comers, fell race and a host of other competitions. Gates open at noon.

Saturday 14 August: Glanton Show
This Village Show has run since the turn of the century. It now includes sections for horticulture, cookery and handicrafts and a children's section. In addition there are a sheep show, sheepdog trials, exemption dog show, pony sports and jumping and other sports.

Saturday 14 August: Slaley Show
Traditional village show with attractions for all the family: apple pies - watercolours, alpacas – wyandottes (poultry). Over 300 classes with sheep classes back, Falcons, craft demos, brass band, quoits, bouncy castle, children sports and more.

Saturday 21 August: Falstone Border
Shepherd's Show Traditional farmers show, including sheepdog trails but also vintage tractor parade and fell race.

Sunday 22 August: Kirknewton Show and Sheepdog Trials
Traditional country show with stalls and games. Starts at 1pm.

Saturday 28 August: Bellingham Show
A large show (7,000 visitors last year). Travel there in style in a vintage bus (as in ‘Heartbeat’) from Otterburn or Bellingham. This year’s attractions including Giant Bale Stacking, Inter Hunt Challenge, A Giant Rocket, Sledge Slalom, Pony Club Games, Vintage Vehicle Parade, Climbing Wall, Northumbrian Piping, Sheep Show, Terrier Show etc.

Saturday 28 August: Swarland Show
Traditional village show with events and activities for all the family. Opening 12-4pm.

Bank Holiday Monday 30 August: Glendale Agricultural Show
The Glendale Show just south of Wooler brings the town and the countryside together and enjoyed 13,000 visitors last year. There will be over 160 trade stands, a special food marquee, horticultural and industrial classes, crafts, country pursuits, equine competitions, companion dog show, entertainment for children and main arena attractions throughout the day.

Bank Holiday Monday 30 August: Elsdon Fete
Traditional village fete with children's entertainment, stalls and games. Starts at 2pm.

Saturday 4 September: Harbottle Village Show
A small and friendly show in Coquetdale.

Saturday 4 September: Kirkwhelpington Show
Another small village show including horticultural and industrial classes, children’s sports, birds of prey and excellent teas.

View from the Lantern

A fair white linen cloth

The Book of Common Prayer rubrics for the “Administration of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion” state that the Table at the Communion time should have on it a “fair white linen cloth”. Common Worship simply says: “The table is prepared and bread and wine are placed upon it”. The Cathedral’s glorious east window, installed in 1860 (by public subscription!) in memory of a former organist, is a depiction of the Lord’s Supper. On the rather handsome table there is a fair linen cloth, finely embroidered. Christ is seated at the centre of the table, surrounded by his disciples, all rather finely dressed in rich clothing. One of the joys of being retired is having the opportunity and the privilege of presiding at the Eucharist in parish churches up and down the diocese.

It seems that in just about every parish there is a person, or group of persons, who week by week look after the church linen, and make sure that it is kept clean and in good repair. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to set aside a day in the year when we publicly thanked those in our churches who look after the “fair linen cloths”? We could call it “Dorcas” day, in honour of the disciple we read about in the Acts of the Apostles.

Dorcas, or Tabitha, fell ill and died. Peter was nearby and so was asked by her friends to come over to Joppa to see her. “When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them” (Acts chapter 9) Happily, Peter raised her from the dead, to return, we suppose, to her needle and thread.

For many years the Cathedral has had an Embroiderers’ Group (formerly the Canvas Club), meeting each week on a Wednesday morning, after the 10.30am Eucharist. It started in the 1950s with 4 women who at first made palls for the chalices, and kneelers. It has always been a fairly small, but dedicated group; at present there are about eight members. As well as doing the necessary maintenance and repair work on the linen and vestments in use day by day in Cathedral worship, the Group undertakes more ambitious work.

At the request of the Dean, the Embroiderers’ Group set about designing and making a set of banners for display in the Cathedral. Six banners have now been created, the first being started five years ago, and they are well worth closer inspection. A leaflet is available, explaining the symbolism appearing on the banners.

Four of the banners represent the four elements: fire, wind, water and earth. Fire is shown as leaping flames in shades of red and orange, the letters IHS and a roundel of a ship, copied from one on a cope. Wind includes the dove of the Holy Spirit, with the letters INRI and again a roundel of a ship, from the altar frontal in St George’s Chapel. Water shows a sunburst of water with the dove of baptism. The letters are for Alpha and Omega. Again there is a roundel of a ship, underlining the association of St Nicholas with the sea and seafarers. Earth has wheat and grapes grown to provide the elements for the Eucharist. On this banner there are the Latin words Ecce Agnus Dei. Its roundel is a chalice. Two other banners complete the set: one is the Lantern Tower, which crowns the Cathedral building. Its roundel is a copy of the oldest piece of stained glass in the Cathedral, showing the Virgin and Child. The final banner is the Tree of Life. Its roundel is again based on the altar frontal in St George’s Chapel.

Every flower on this banner is symbolic – clover for the Trinity; lilies for the Virgin Mary; violets for humility… you really must come and see for yourself, and pick up the leaflet “The Cathedral Banners” which describes them in great detail.

You can read about them on the Cathedral website. The Embroiderers’ Group has also been involved in making a cope and mitre for the use of schoolchildren who come to the Cathedral each year for the hugely popular St Nicholas Trail. Long may they continue!

Christian Aid

Quizaid – It’s a no brainer

Between 13 and 19 September Christian Aid invites you to join in the fun and test your friends’ general knowledge as part of a nationwide event called Quizaid. Whether you’re a budding quizmaster, are looking for a new way of raising money for Christian Aid or just want to show off your own film trivia or sports knowledge, organising a Quizaid event could be the fun occasion you’re looking for.

You can organise a Quizaid event anywhere – your home, church, place of work, school or, for a more traditional quiz setting, your local pub. Why not open the event to the whole community or set up teams at work and see who is the brainiest department? Although most quizzes around the nation will be taking place between 13 and 19 September you can hold a quiz at any time which is convenient for you. You don’t have to be a brainbox in order to organise a quiz – Christian Aid will provide you with quiz questions, and of course the answers, as well as tips about how to make your event a success.

Whatever the size of your event, by racking your brains for Quizaid you’ll be helping to change the lives of some of the world’s poorest communities. By simply asking everyone who takes part in your event to provide a donation you will be giving people living in poverty the chance of a better future by providing clean water, food, healthcare, education and ways of earning a living. Just £12 could provide six months of school fees for one child displaced by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. If you’re able to organise a larger event, £120 could pay for a month’s salary for a trainer to teach literacy to girls in Afghanistan, who have been denied an education by the Taliban.

This year Christian Aid hopes to raise more than £230,000 from Quizaid. To help them towards this target you can register to receive a free fundraising pack by visiting www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid or by texting ‘quiz’ to 88802.