Homepage
Churches of the Stanwick Group
Parish Registers and Genealogical Research
The Parish Magazine
Our Charities
People in the Stanwick Group
Baptisms & Confirmation
Kids in the Church
The Stanwick Group Choir
Melsonby Clock Restoration
Forcett Clock Restoration
Floodlight Aldbrough Church
Benefice News
Mels(onby's) Bells
Forcett Garden Fete
Melsonby Garden Fete
MAY CALENDAR
Contact Information for The Stanwick Group of Churches
Links for The Stanwick Group of Churches
Guestbook
Mail Form
|
Operation Christmas Child 2007
 For a second year the benefice took part in Operation Christmas Child. People in our parishes took to packing their shoe boxes with enthusiasm and the empty boxes left in the back of the church soon disappeared.
The boxes were collected together at the Charities Fund coffee morning on 17 November and a representative sample was taken into church in Aldbrough the following morning to be dedicated to the task of bringing joy into the lives of the children who would receive them. |
On the way
 | In all 50 boxes were given and so Jim Coote, Doreen Liston and Janet Hall took them in to the Zetland Centre in Richmond where the Pentecostal Church had a collecting centre.
There we were told that boxes from our area would be going to Romania. There are people in our village with links with Romania so we were pleased to hear that.
Those who gave boxes all said how much enjoyment they got finding the right things to fill their box.
The picture shows our boxes all piled up having been handed over at the Zetland Centre. |
|
Stanwick Church Re-roofing
 | The Churches Conservation Trust is about to undertake major repairs to the roof of St John the Baptist’s Church, Stanwick. The work is due to begin at the start of April and is scheduled to take three months. During that time it will not be possible to hold services in the church. The service due on March 30th will be the last one under the old roof!
Although the Conservation Trust has responsibility for the church building, the churchyard remains the responsibility of Aldbrough PCC. At its recent meeting Aldbrough PCC agreed to the siting of a contractor’s compound in the churchyard. This has the support of the Archdeacon. The site must be kept clean and tidy by the workforce. |
|
Consecration of New Cemetery
 | On a day when blizzards had been threatened and later blocked the A66, Bishop John Packer of Ripon and Leeds came to consecrate the new cemetery extension at St James' Church Melsonby. The wedge shaped piece of land to the east of the church has been walled and provided with a ramp from the old churchyard and will be available for interment of village people or their ashes, in a few years' time when the existing cemetery is filled. In spite of the rough winds elsewhere, the old church wall provided shelter for the ceremony of blessing each corner by the Bishop, supported by the Diocesan Registrar Nicola Hardy, the Priest in Charge, Rev Stan Haworth and the Church Wardens Graham Smith and Ian Black and witnessed by members of Melsonby Parish Council and the congregation.
|
|
Where do we go from here?
 | In February 2007 Bp James Bell came to the benefirce to examine ways in which we could make the church more relevant to the lives of all the people in our villages.
One thing he insisted we do was to set a date the following year for a follow up where we could see how we were doing.
On 23 February members of the three parishes met again in Aldbrough village hall under the guidance of Canon Leslie Moral, diocesan rural officer. He is responsible both for ministering to th needs of the rural parishes in the diocese and, just as importantly, educating the urban parishes about the problems of the countryside.
During the morning the group considered how the population in the various villages had changed in recent years and how the life of the church had changed.
The most important point to come out of the discussions was the need for people in the church to be willing and properly prepared to take on many of the tasks that previously had been considered to be the preserve of the ordained clergy.
In the benefice one positive action that has arisen from the original meeting has been the development of work with and for children in the benefice, including the Cuthbert's Club, after church club at Eppleby/Forcett Church of England Primary School. |
|
Relicensing of Revd Stanley Haworth
 | On 9 March 2008 Bp John Packer visited the benefice again in order to relicence Stan Haworth in the office of priest in charge of the Stanwick Group of Churches.
In 2001 when Stan arrived in the benefice the country was in the grip of the foor and mouth epidemic and with the disease approaching the area from three directions, local farmers did not want to take the risk of holding such an event in our local parishes. Consequently a very quiet celebration was held in Colburn when Stan was granted a licence for a period of 7 years. This because of reorganisation of the united parish into a united benefice.
With the 7 years almost up, th bishop suggested that it would be good to do the relicensing in the benefice with a little more ceremony with which Stan agreed.
An augmnented choir began the service by singing an introit 'O be bountiful to thy servant' especially written for the occasion by Kathryn Haworth. The choir also sang settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by Vaughan Williams.
The normal choir was delighted to be joined not only by other singers from within the benefice but by several from St Cuthbert's Darlington and organist Stephan Haigh. Kathryn Haworth had trained the choir and conducted them for this special service.
The licensing ceremony was carried out by Bp John assisted by Ven. Janet Henderson, Archdeacon of Richmond. |
|
New Oil Stocks
 | This sounds like something to do with the church heating system but is in fact about the gift of a set of three jars for holding the holy oils used in baptism confirmation and the annointing of the sick.
These have been given to Aldbrough church by members of his family in memory of the late Willie Lax who was for many years churchwarden and treasurer of Stanwick, then Aldbrough parish.
Willie's nieces Pat Tallentire and Jean McCann came to Aldbrough on Palm Sunday when the stocks were blessed for use in preparation for the blessing of the holy oild by Bp John Packer in Ripon Cathedral on Mundy Thursday.
Although they will be kept by Aldbrough, the oil stocks will be used in the whole of the Stanwick Group benefice. |
|
This page has been visited  times. |
