Features (November 2009)
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Graveyard group finds rich source of community life
How do you make a church into something used and valued by the community as well as a place of worship for its faithful congregation ? The people of St. James in Benwell have been giving this common conundrum some thought since last April.
One of the first tasks they identified was the mapping of the graveyard, necessary before they could apply for funding (the original graveyard plan had been lost). But rather than simply commission a paper exercise, it was decided to build on community interest in local and family history by setting up a group to explore the graveyard.
Through publicity and word-of-mouth, people came forward to help with mapping the graves and collecting information on those buried there. Some were existing church members; others were local residents or workers with an interest in local history. They shared a belief that the church and graveyard were a valuable part of the area’s heritage, and they wanted to celebrate and improve it in practical ways.
The group soon became known as “The Graveyard Group”, and armed with secateurs, litter pickers, clipboards and cameras they chopped and cleared and documented until more than 500 graves had been identified and recorded. Meanwhile, the project had not only caught the imagination of the local community, but of people outside the area too, who came forward with information and questions about family and friends buried in the graveyard. Now the group plans a guide to the graveyard and hopes eventually to set up a website with photographs of the graves and information about those buried there.
The work has led to some exciting surprises. For example, a query from the secretary of Benwell Cricket Club led to the discovery of the family tomb (under thick ivy and brambles) of John Atkinson Pendlington, 19th Century local cricketer and inventor of the linear method of cricket scoring now used in first class cricket throughout the world (mentioned, among other places, in Richie Benaud’s autobiography).
Further research revealed that several of the original members of the venerable Benwell Cricket Club are buried at or otherwise connected with St James’ – including the first Vicar of Benwell, William Maughan. The Rev. Maughan’s other main claim to fame was his marriage to the widow of Robert Thomas Atkinson, nephew of the famous John Buddle known as “King of the Coal Trade” on Tyneside, whose grave is also in St James’ churchyard. An additional cricketing connection turned up during one of the church’s Heritage Open Days when descendants of the Grace family arrived to view their family tomb - and revealed that they were related to WG Grace.
A second surprise has been the Sowerby family glassworks connection. The Northern Stage theatre company recently staged a revival of a play written in 1912 by Githa Sowerby. In tandem with this, a new biography of Githa Sowerby by the author and journalist Pat Riley, was launched. Githa was the grand-daughter of the Sowerby family who lived in Benwell during the 19th century in Benwell Towers (an imposing mansion that has served at various times as home to the Bishops of Newcastle, a base for the coalmines fire and rescue service, a night club, and the set of Byker Grove). Only weeks before the opening night of the play, the graveyard group came unexpectedly upon the grave of John Sowerby, Githa’s grandfather and owner of a huge glassworks in Gateshead, which provides the fictional setting for her play Rutherford and Son. Pat Riley agreed to come to St James’ to give a talk about Githa and the Sowerby family – which attracted an enthusiastic local audience - and Pat even made a last-minute amendment to her book, referring to the discovery of the Sowerby grave and the plans to restore the graveyard. Subsequently a digital stories project linked to Sowerby glass has been developed, in partnership with the Tyne and Wear Museums Service, in which members of the graveyard group, members of St James’ Church, and other local residents are participating. Once completed, these stories will become part of the Discovery Museum’s permanent collection.
There is much more. St James’ church first opened for worship in 1833 when Benwell was a predominantly rural area of farms and large houses with extensive grounds. It was home to some of the richest and most powerful families on Tyneside, whose wealth, connections and entrepreneurial activities contributed to the area’s dramatic economic growth and development during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Originally built as a chapel of ease for parishioners living in the further reaches of the parish of the city church of St John’s, the Dobson-designed St James’ is a fine building of considerable historical importance.
The churchyard contains the graves of many significant Tyneside notables, the most famous of whom is Richard Grainger, the builder and developer who was largely responsible for the re-development of Newcastle’s city centre in the 19th Century. The graveyard project has revealed the strong sense of ownership of the church building and grounds felt by many local residents. St James’ is one of the few heritage buildings remaining in a part of Newcastle which has undergone enormous change and re development over the past decades, and there is clearly a high level of commitment to both maintaining and improving it.
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Godly Play takes off across the region
Godly Play in both Newcastle and Durham Dioceses has enjoyed a high profile over the last few years with a dedicated and enthusiastic team of “Godly Players”! A lot of work was based at St Nicholas Cathedral where Michelle Dalliston and others developed a programme embracing the whole region. Michelle has now moved on to full time training for ordination and we wish her every happiness and blessing for the future.
Godly Play now moves into a new and exciting phase with the appointment of a Director, Mrs Jan Bryce, to oversee “Godly Play North”. “Godly Play North” is a new entity which will facilitate work both across Newcastle and Durham Dioceses and ecumenically – with over 150 Roman Catholic Schools now expressing interest.
The Schools Project led by Mary Cooper, assisted by Rachel Bainton, has gone from strength to strength with many Church of England schools enjoying their first free “taster” sessions and the setting up of a new Godly Play classroom in Henshaw C. of E. School with kind permission of Mrs. D.Henry, head teacher. Watching the children’s faces asvthey listened intently to the story,vtheir interaction in the “I wonder” session, their involvement in the free creative activities and their obvious enjoyment of “the feast” is all the proof, if any was needed, of the value of Godly Play.
Although Godly Play was initially developed for children it is increasingly being used with adults too. (It has been successfully used in hospitals and prisons.) It engages with and deepens spirituality. It develops a language with which to make sense of the big questions in life; existential issues such as life and its meaning, freedom, being alone and death.
Taking this into consideration, as well as continuing the valuable work in schools, one of the main aims for Godly Play North is to get out and about offering free taster sessions to more Parishes, Church groups and organisations across the region. It does not matter how small your group is, if you would like to know more about Godly Play North and would like our experienced practitioners to give you a taster session then please email me, Jan Bryce, on michael@michaelbryce.wanadoo.co.uk
Godly Play North would also like to take this opportunity to thank Canon Robert Gage for all the work he has done for Godly Play and wish him good health and happiness in his retirement.
‘The Child on the Shore’
‘The Child on the Shore’ is the third annual Godly Play Lecture and will be held at St Nicholas Cathedral Newcastle on 28th November from 10.30am-3.30pm. The day is open to those new to Godly Play as well as Godly Play teachers and practitioners.
The Lecture will be led by John Pridmore, a passionate advocate for children’s spirituality and a wellknown author and diarist. Workshop topics will include creating sacred space for children, supporting children in the circle, and experiencing a godly play story.
Admission costs £20 for the lecture, lunch and workshops, or £10 for the lecture and lunch. Send your booking fee to Sheila Rogers, 18 Waring Way, Dunchurch, Rugby, CV226PH. (Cheques payable to Godly Play UK).
From the 1st – 3rd December Godly Play UK are running a three-day Teacher Accreditation Course at Shepherd’s Dene. There will be a mixture of practitioner led lectures and participant storytelling presentations. Each day explores one of the primary religious genres of Godly play; sacred stories, parables and liturgical lessons. Workshops will also cover setting up a Godly Play environment and the theology of childhood. Courses are open to all, and have previously been attended by many different members of the community including school teachers, clergy and children’s work advisors.
The residential course costs £380 including training and full board, and the non-residential course costs £280 including training and meals. For further details and booking arrangements see the Godly Play website, www.godlyplay.org.uk
Schools sign up for taster sessions
Both children and staff in twelve primary schools across the dioceses of Durham and Newcastle have been enjoying their free sessions provided by the Godly Play North School’s Project. The project which began in May 2009 aims to offer schools a taster of this valuable spiritual tool, which they may then wish to use themselves with further training.
The children have all been very enthusiastic, enjoying all aspects of the half- day session, which mirrors the pattern of the Eucharist. It begins with a gathering, ministry of the Word through a story told with visual and tactile materials; open ended shared ‘wondering’, a response time with a variety of art materials and opportunities for exploration with a variety of story materials, and finally the sharing of a feast of juice and biscuits.
Teachers have welcomed the opportunity to experience this particular method of engaging children spiritually, and have been pleased to observe the way it engages the children and encourages debate and individual response.
Currently the project is using a classroom at Henshaw School to deliver taster sessions to schools in the west of the Newcastle Diocese.
Schools interested in booking to take a class of children to this classroom for their free session should get in touch with Mary Cooper Lead Practitioner for the Godly Play North School Project. cooper.mary@blueyonder.co.uk
Tel.01912525707
Bookings are now being taken for visits into schools from March2010 on a first come first served basis.
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That’s when good neighbours become good friends
Lee Cleminson and Craig Stockdale make light of the job they are doing.
It’s not really like a job, they say, we’re just being good neighbours. But as resident volunteers at the Sunny Bank centre on the Pendower estate in Newcastle’s West End, they’re doing the kind of job that’s increasingly seen as crucial in demoralised communities where unemployment, crime and anti-social behaviour are everyday realities for many families.
Craig is just 19, Lee is 23, and they share a flat above the centre – always on hand for people dropping by, available to help out with the various groups and activities, turning their talents to whatever might be needed – a spot of gardening, a bit of music, organising a party or an outing, doing some shopping for old folk who can’t get out to do it themselves, helping a Downs Syndrome lad run his own special disco. Both young men come from the community they serve, and both say they have committed their lives to God. Neither knows exactly where that commitment will lead – although Craig has hopes of being ordained one day – but both feel sure that they are called to live in this neighbourly way, in this particular place, at this moment.
It’s not a case, they’re quick to point out, of talking God at every opportunity with anyone who calls in. Instead it’s about living the call to serve, finding out what people need and want in their community life together, and inviting them all to join in. “We hope we’re showing, by the way we live our lives, how Christ wants us to be,” Craig explains.
The Pendower Good Neighbour Project began 11 years ago, and since then with help from Newcastle Council, from the diocesan PICA fund (Partners in Community Action) and from the Church Urban Fund, the centre has gone from strength to strength. Lee says: “It’s wonderful to see how people blossom when they start to get involved in what’s going on. And people really do want to help. It’s not just about what they can get from the project – it’s what they can give. You can really see God at work here.”
The centre has had a succession of resident volunteers over the years, and all of them, says Project Manager Ruth Taylor, make their own special contribution. How do they rate their impact on the local community? The three of them ponder the question, and then laugh, recalling a conversation among young people at the centre in which the church came in for a bit of flak.
Craig takes up the story: “One of them suddenly said ‘Hey, don’t diss vicars!’ and there were a few heads nodding. It showed that they’d been thinking about what goes on here, and where it all comes from...”
Don’t diss vicars ? As a measure of success, it seems to sum things up nicely.
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Back to Church Sunday round-up
On September 27 at least 63 parishes in the Diocese took part in Back to Church Sunday - which this year has grown to be a worldwide initiative. In England 16,000 Anglican parishes across 44 dioceses took part, along with congregations from Churches Together in Scotland, the Church in Wales, Baptist, United Reformed Church, Methodist, Salvation Army and areas of Canada, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.
Back to Church Sunday is an initiative which sees congregations inviting, welcoming and embracing people, sharing the Christian gospel in a way that is relevant to all ages today, an opportunity to tell Good News stories in an uncomplicated way. Prayerfully and personally inviting someone to a typical church service, doing what we usually do - only better.
Thank you to those parishes that have already sent encouraging comments and constructive criticism. I hope the following comments will encourage parishes continue to build on their experience and perhaps others might feel the time is right to embrace Back to Church Sunday in their Mission Action Plan.
"Although last year didn't go particularly well, this year regular members of the congregation really owned it and took their task of invitation and welcome seriously and it paid off."
"Key to success is planning and prayer - project team action - Pray with confidence…do something about it"
"Excellent event, best run with integrated programme of follow on events e.g. men's dinner; Alpha Course etc"
"We invited people along to breakfast of croissants and coffee before our act of worship."
"Two people turned up the Sunday before, returned on Back to Church Sunday and again the Sunday after."
"Harvest is a time when some folk return to church for their annual visit to say 'thank you' and on this occasion they found an even warmer welcome than usual."
"Success is often judged by numbers in church, - but it's not necessarily about getting more people so much as accounting for those who are missing, and warmly welcoming new faces."
I have found being involved in this initiative challenging but there have been many opportunities to share ideas for future years. I hope many of us will feel encouraged to invite friends and neighbours back to Church, introduce them to others and make them feel welcome. Not just once a year, but week by week.
Make sure Back to Church Sunday is in your new diary - Sunday 26th September 2010.
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