The February edition of the magazine is published in the short period between the two groups of "seasons" which fill the first part of the church year. The "incarnation" group of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany finishes with Candlemas on 2^nd February. The "Easter" group of Lent and Easter starts on Ash Wednesday – 9^th February this year. This year we have a very early Easter on 27^th March. Easter can occur on any date between 22^nd March and 25^th April. It’s quite rare for it to be in the first few or last few days of its range. In three years time, in 2008 it will be earlier still on 23^rd March. That’s the earliest it has been for nearly a hundred years; it was last on that date in 1913. So, at least this year, there is still one Sunday between the seasons of Epiphany and Lent. Oddly, because 2008 is a Leap Year, there will also be one then. Normally, when Easter falls on 22^nd or 23^rd March, there are none.

Green becomes the liturgical colour for these periods outside the seasons. These colours are used for the altar frontals and the stoles and other vestments worn by the clergy. At this time of year, when we have the three short seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany followed by a short period of so called "ordinary time" and then Lent, we are changing the colours rather often. Vicki has a significant job of swapping things over! I sometimes wonder if anyone notices, other than a small band of "liturgical anoraks" – which of course includes the clergy.

Recently, several people have asked me about these changes of colour through the church year, so I thought that I would explain them in this article.

Essentially we have four colours and this is all that we use at St Faith’s. In one church, it would be possible to have nine, if we adopted the full richness and variety available in the tradition. As two of those – Advent and Lent – each have two extra variants, the full version of this description could detail the use of eleven colours. If anyone would like a fuller version of this article, with mention of all eleven, I can send it to them, but for now I am going to stick with the four. Those are white, red, purple and green.

White is the colour of celebration for the festival periods of Christmas and Easter. That is from Christmas Day to the Presentation of Christ (2nd February, Candlemas) and from Easter Day to the Eve of Pentecost. White is also used for several major festivals at other times of year and for the Festivals of those saints who were not martyrs.

Red symbolises the blood of the martyrs and the fire of the Holy Spirit. It is used during Holy Week (except at Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday), on the Feast of Pentecost, and for the feasts of those saints who were martyrs. It has also recently been adopted for the period between All Saints’ Day (1st November) and the First Sunday of Advent.

Purple is the colour for the seasons of penitence. That is for Advent (December) and from Ash Wednesday until the day before Palm Sunday. Purple is recommended for Funerals and for the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day – 2nd November). As an alternative, white is allowed for funerals, which I think is much more appropriate and I always wear it.

Green is used for the periods known as "ordinary time": from the day after the Feast of the Presentation of Christ (Candlemas) until Shrove Tuesday, and from the day after Pentecost until the eve of All Saints’ Day, except when red or white are used on particular celebrations and saints days as described above.

So, whether we have nine sets of vestments or just four, the whole thing does get rather complicated. The changes do establish a rhythm for the passing of the church year and embody an important symbolic message. I think that they are worth knowing about and keeping.                  David Williams

This month we return to St Agatha's Church and one of the most extraordinary incidents of the blitz on Portsmouth during the Second World War. On the night of the 23 December 1940, a single Heinkel 111 bomber flew on a special mission to destroy the Torpedo Factory inside the Dockyard Walls, some 100 yards or so from Conway Street. The aircraft was carrying a 1,000kg thin-walled bomb called a Hermann and Max, a 2,500-kg, thin-walled blast bomb.

In his book "Into The Blue", the late Alexander McKee, who lived on Hayling Island, tells us that the Hermann was six feet three inches long, without fins, with a diameter of two feet two inches. The `Max' was two and a half times bigger, a real giant of a bomb for 1940. The Luftwaffe reports, which McKee read, stated that the bombs detonated at 6.49pm, which accords closely with the British recording of 6.48pm. The facts of the raid were established by McKee from reliable witnesses including a Royal Marine, Frederick Bishop, manning a Vickers heavy machine gun on the south side of Eastney Barracks and an Observer, Frederick Kistle, manning an Observation Post on the Eastern Road. The Heinkel 111 came over Hayling Island and was shot down as it crossed the harbour after dropping the two bombs. The pilot's body was washed up at Eastney.

In fact the bombs missed the Dockyard and landed in Conway Street, which was completely destroyed, together with a further 18 surrounding streets, leaving 1,500 homeless. (Church records subsequently showed a reduction in the parish population from 6,000 to 3,000). All the witnesses interviewed by McKee spoke of the frightening noise of the bombs falling, like a train in a tunnel, as many described it. Mercifully, only 18 civilians were killed but the number injured was too many to count. The nearby Royal Hospital was crowded with casualties with people patiently waiting for treatment. Many of the seriously injured died later from their injuries.

The crater left by the bombs was enormous. One witness described it as the width of two streets on one side and the width of one street on the other side. It was more than 40ft deep! The only building left standing after this massive explosion was Father Dolling's St Agatha's Church, which was on the corner of Conway Street. In the vestry during the raid, and subsequent raids, was an extraordinary priest, Father W C Coles, a man in the mould of Father Dolling. The Reverend Coles actually lived in the vestry throughout the war, staying put with great fortitude despite failing health. Happily, he survived the war and continued to minister to the now much reduced parish until 1953 when the church closed, sadly to become a naval store. The Reverend Coles would be pleased to see it now, wonderfully restored as a church. More about Father Coles next month.

The final words must rest with the late Alexander McKee, whose daughter is our next door neighbour. Joy met him and his wife, who is German, and described them as a charming and gentle couple. He was the man who found the Mary Rose but he is best remembered as a prolific writer with more than 50 titles to his credit including the best book I have read about the Spanish Armada - "From Merciless Invaders". The raid on Portsmouth was just two days before Christmas. Alexander McKee found an apt title for his account of it - "No Christmas in Conway Street".       Roger Bryant

Dear Father Gibbons,

Congratulations on a wonderful informative website and what a beautiful old Church. One day I hope to visit. My ancestors are from Havant and belonged to the Parish of St Faith.

I am an Australian descendent of Charles Burcher who was a tailor in Havant in the mid 1800's. His children all grew up in Havant and were christened at St Faith. My grandfather emigrated from England in the 1860's and my father died some time ago so I know very little about my English family, but I am very keen to find out something about them. My mother, Honour Burcher, died some years ago but before her death she was awarded an MBE for her charity work in the Church.

Do you still keep the old Parish records? I am trying to find out if any Burcher’s were buried in the churchyard cemetery and if there are any Burcher’s still living in the Parish. I would appreciate it if you could pass this on to anyone who may be able to help.

Best Regards,                                                                                                          Rob Burcher, Brisbane Q

Dear Colin,

Many thanks for putting me in touch with Jennifer and Roy Smith. I have since received an e-mail from them. After trying to trace our relations in the UK for some years it is very exciting to finally make contact.

Happy New Year and thanks again.                                                                                           Rob Burcher

Dear Colin,

On Sunday 2^nd January the Rector, speaking of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, suggested that we think about our belief in God – "Father Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth and all things visible and invisible" – in relation to a natural occurrence which caused so much death and suffering for so many innocent men, women and children. The question being: Why does God allow such terrible things to happen?"

I had, the previous day, read an article by Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi, wherein he considered the same question. He too, like the Rector, referred to Job and his challenges to God; he also recalled that Abraham and Moses had called God to question. Quoting then, a 12^th century sage Moses Maimonides, the Chief Rabbi said that there is a simple explanation; "That God by placing us in the physical world set life within the parameters of the physical" – earthquakes occur, innocent people die. He said that if it were not so we would not be physical beings able to know pleasure, desire, freedom, virtue or any other human emotion. That the question is not, "Why did it happen?" but "What shall we do?"

There was more in the article, much food for thought and it all read well, but I was still left with questions. "Would God’s will have been diminished if this disaster had not occurred?" "Why cannot we live in a stable environment?" "Has belief and faith in God been strengthened by this natural cause of so much destruction, death and injury?" "Having allowed this to happen will God heed the prayers for the injured and bereaved?"

"Is it a matter of faith- not questions?".  Yours sincerely,                                                     John Bradey

On the radio, a representative of the travel industry was assuring listeners that the travel companies would do all in their power to help stranded holidaymakers. But he doubted that they would be covered by insurance as such a disaster was deemed ‘an act of God’.

What an irony! Only the previous day millions of people across the world had been celebrating the birth of Christ; the one who was supposed to bring us all a message of hope and reveal to us a loving and compassionate God.

No sooner has the last carol sheet been put away and church-goers, having exchanged Christmas greetings, make for home than thousands of innocent men, women and children across Asia, the majority of them some of the poorest of this world, were struck down by what is called ‘an act of God’.

An ‘act of God’ is a natural event that is not preventable by any human agency, such as the forces of nature that no one can control. Thus, no one can be held accountable. Because no human agency can be held responsible, the blame is pushed on to God, who is supposed to be all-powerful.

The question, ‘Why do the innocent suffer?’ has caused endless speculation by theologians, philosophers and writers – not to mention those who have found themselves at the bitter end of suffering.

The whole issue is discussed best in a masterpiece of literature – the story of Job in the Old Testament. Job, an upright and honest landowner, was struck down by every possible misfortune. His crops were destroyed, he lost his children, his dignity and position, and finally, he became seriously ill. His friends failed to bring him much comfort and Job was left to battle with the problem of suffering in his own soul. Despite all his suffering, Job maintained his absolute faith in God.

That is the fundamental point of this ancient story. In an age that demands material explanations for everything, it might seem somewhat unsatisfactory but it is a fact that we live in a world, indeed a universe, at the heart of which lies mystery.

For those who follow the Christian faith, a further insight into the suffering of the innocent is given in the life and example of Christ. Christians believe that in Christ we see God. They further believe that Christ lived an upright life and that he faced the most appalling death by execution on the cross. Christianity teaches that through Christ’s life and death God entered fully into human experience, including innocent suffering. From this they take the understanding that suffering is a fact of life that cannot be fully explained.

It comes to all men and women, to a greater or lesser degree and is no respecter of persons. We don’t have to look for suffering, it will find us and the sad fact is that some people, through no fault of their own, will indeed suffer more than others. However, as the story of Job indicates and the life of Christ demonstrates, suffering need not destroy. Suffering is never easy; it is bitter and painful.

Christians believe that as the Christmas story marks the entry of God into human experience, so the Easter narrative shows us how innocent suffering can eventually be given meaning through new life and resurrection. God did not forsake his son at his deepest point of suffering on the cross, just as he does not forsake those who suffer today.

To those who mourn today, all I can say is that you are not alone. Many men and women around the world stand by you. And finally, and most importantly, God has not forsaken you. He will give you the strength and courage you need to see you through the coming days.                           Terry Waite

Last month we left Paul, Silas and Timothy in Galatia awaiting their first experience of the rigours of sea travel. Ships only sailed in daylight and not at all during the winter. Priority was given to cargo and passengers had to fend for themselves. They slept on deck, brought their own food with them and did their own cooking when permitted to use the ship's Galley. Luke tells us that they sailed from Troas direct to Samothrace and then the next day to Neapolis, from where they walked to their destination of Philippi in the Roman Republic of Macedonia, which covered modern Greece, Albania and the former Yugoslavia.

To Paul's surprise, there was not a synagogue in Philippi but on his first day he encountered a group of women praying by the river, near Marsh Gate. From among their number, Paul made his first convert, a wealthy woman named Lydia, who lived with her servants in her own house. She persuaded Paul to use her home as a base for worship and played an important part in the evangelisation of Philippi. But she was not the only woman promoting the Gospel of Christ because two others - Euodia and Syntyche - also played an important part in Paul's ministry.

While not wishing to raise the subject of the Ordination of Women, the argument put forward that women were not ministers in the Early Church is false. Paul considered that women, as Christians, were fully equal to men. He recognised the effectiveness of the ministry of these women and both Euodia and Syntyche became Heads of house-churches, with large numbers of followers. He considered that their success proved that they were graced by the Spirit and that they demonstrated the power of God. Paul and his companions remained in Phlippi for a year before they were brought before the magistrates for advocating customs that were not lawful for Romans. They were sentenced to flogging by rods and expulsion from Philippi, following a night in prison. Leaving the city, they made their way to Thessalonica (modern Salonika), which was the capital of Macedonia.

The companions had a difficult time because, unlike Philippi, they did not have any wealthy patrons and were forced to work to earn money for food. Paul worked as a tent-maker and lived in his workshop. When news of their plight reached Philippi, money was sent to Paul. He was very successful in his ministry and made many converts. However, word reached him that the authorities were considering taking action against them, so the companions went into hiding. It was again time to leave.

Paul decided to sail to the neighbouring Roman province of Achaia to base himself in Athens. Once established, he sent Timothy (and possibly Silas) back to Thessalonica by road (some 320 miles) because he was distraught with worry for the converts he had left behind. Athens was a tired old city, with its glories a very distant memory. Paul, no doubt distracted by his worries for Thessalonica, was unsuccessful in his ministry and soon regretted coming to Athens. Eventually, Timothy returned to Athens with great news! All was well in Thessalonica and Paul was able to write to the fledgling church expressing his great joy in complementary and affectionate terms. He was now ready to leave Athens and to travel to its great rival - Corinth.

Although the journey was only 50 miles, it was very dangerous. The region was infested with bandits and the physical dangers included walking a 5-mile stretch along a cliff ledge. However, Paul and his companions arrived safely in the noisy and bustling city, which attracted ambitious men seeking to make their fortune. May I digress; we all admire our crossword compiler but it is a long-standing convention that his name is not revealed. This is a pity because we do not have the opportunity to thank him for his skill and hard work. All we know is his pseudonym of Sisyphus. So what has this to do with Corinth? Read on!

Many who came to Corinth expecting wealth were quickly disappointed which is why the Legend of Sisyphus was so popular. He was once King of Corinth and Homer described him as `the craftiest of men'. In order to keep him busy and out of trouble in Hades, he was condemned to roll a stone up a mountain. Each time he got to the top, it slipped from his hands and he had to start again! People in Corinth persevered, realising that life did not mean a necessary relationship between effort and achievement!

Paul on arrival was fortunate to fall in with Prisca and Aquila, former slaves of Jewish origin who had been converted to Christianity in Rome before fleeing from persecution to Corinth. They had been successful traders and Paul found work tent-making in their workshop. The owners slept in the loft and Paul in the workshop where he also held meetings about Christianity, which attracted passers-by in great numbers. Soon he moved out into more spacious accommodation with Stephanas, whose household he had converted to Christianity. And this is where we join him next month. Meanwhile, spare a thought for our Editor, Colin Carter, and pray that he does not let "Faith Matters" slip before reaching the printers at the summit each month!                                                                    Roger Bryant

Having won a huge sum of money on the National Lottery, it is so kind of Head Teacher, Hugh Turner, to treat all his staff, guests and members of the PSA to a lovely dinner. What a charming and generous gesture! Surely nobody could feel any bitterness on such a happy occasion, could they? Well, yes, it seems that somebody could, but whom? The questions come thick and fast, but the detective comes thick and slow, so it’s down to you. Can you solve the mystery? Can you win the prize?

Tickets are £15 each and available from Sandra Haggan.

I left St John’s Stanmore on Sunday 26 September and later that day arrived at St John’s College Nottingham, with a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand and a brand new saxophone in the other, to begin my training for ordained ministry.

St John’s is an Anglican theological college in Bramcote, four miles south west of the centre of Nottingham. Bramcote is an attractive area, although much of the college architecture is a less attractive 1960s breezeblock. There are about 60 ordinands (people training for ordination) in full-time training and most of us live either on campus (in rooms, flats or houses) or very nearby. Spouses and children (there are about 50 children) are very involved in college life, which makes it feel like a proper church community.

As well as ordinands who are here all the time, we have part-time students who come in and out. These include clergy who come for in-service training and trainee youth ministers (who make us feel very old!) Having such a mix of people here is wonderful because it gives us a wider perspective on things and we also find out about ministry in the real world.

Most ordinands are here for two years (if over 30) or three years (if under 30). There are various different courses, depending on your educational background, but each course covers three main areas: Biblical studies, Christian thought and worship (which includes church history and liturgy) and practical theology (applying theology to real life). We also do extras, such as New Testament Greek, which promises to be fun. The teaching is really excellent. Our first lecture on Christian thought and worship involved a discussion about the similarities and differences between a microphone, a picture of some giraffes, a map of Newcastle and a garden gnome (all of which were present at the lecture). It did prove an interesting theological point!

Everyone belongs to a fellowship group; we were put into these groups when we arrived and it is a bit like belonging to a house group. The groups meet three times a week, to pray and talk and (on Friday afternoons) for fun activities.

Every morning starts with chapel, normally at 8.00am, but on Mondays at 9.10am, so that we can have a lie in: one of the joys of being in a "churchy" place is that you are not expected to do very much on Mondays, so it is generally a quiet day with no classes. We take turns to lead the chapel services in our fellowship groups and the services are very varied, ranging from traditional Morning Prayer to informal worship involving art, cushions on the floor and even on one occasion a paddling pool complete with fountain. The students come from a very wide range of traditions within the church (and many have belonged to non-Anglican denominations), so we bring a huge variety of tastes and styles with us and we are all very keen to try out new things (not all of which will necessarily work) before we are let loose on our unsuspecting parishes.

The college has a big family communion service once a week, but this can’t be on a Sunday, because most people are involved with churches, so it happens on Thursday evening. It is like a typical Sunday morning in a church and the children have activities and usually join us at the Peace.

There are a lot of musical people here, which is great. The college chapel is quite modern and does not have an organ or a traditional choir. Music is led by various music groups, who take turns to lead the services, and each group chooses whatever style of music it likes. I am the designated keyboard player for one group, but am hoping also to play my ‘cello – and eventually my saxophone! Quite a few of us have been involved in traditional church choirs so we are planning to do the odd choral evensong, and there are also some Taize fans, so we will also have some Taize services. For those of us who can never get enough music, we can also get together at any time just to make a noise; one Sunday afternoon six of us did this and I played the drums.

In the first term our Sundays are free, which feels rather strange to all of us. As part of our course on worship and liturgy, we are encouraged to go "church hopping" i.e., visiting different churches to experience as wide a range of worship as possible. The first Sunday evening I was here, a group of us went to Trent Vineyard, which is a charismatic evangelical church which meets in a (rather swish) converted warehouse on an industrial estate. On arrival, I noticed a sign saying that the capacity of the auditorium is limited to 1,000 people and I made a mental note that it would be nice to have to install such a notice outside any church where I might serve in the future. As it happened, there were maybe 500 people, mostly students from Nottingham and Trent Universities. The service was very informal and lasted for nearly two hours, starting with a lot of songs led by a very good band and ending with a 40 minute sermon, illustrated with slides on big screens. In the middle was communion, done very informally and distributed in complete silence, which was very moving. I don’t think I will be making Trent Vineyard my "regular", but I really enjoyed trying something quite different and it was encouraging to see that so many students had chosen to spend their Sunday evening there.

I hope all this gives you a flavour of the variety of life as an ordinand.                         Rachel Phillips

O Lord our God, even at this moment as we come blundering into Thy presence in prayer, we are haunted by memories of duties unperformed, promptings disobeyed and beckonings ignored.

Opportunities to be kind knocked on the door of our hearts and went weeping away.

We are ashamed, O Lord, and tired of failure.

If thou are drawing close to us now, come nearer still, till selfishness is burned out within us and our wills lose their weakness in union with thine own.

In June 2004, I read Patrick Robinson’s book "Scimitar SL-2". It is a story about how a nuclear missile launched from a submarine in the hands of terrorists straight at the heart of the volcano Cumbre Vieja on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, would explode the mountain into the Atlantic Ocean and send a tidal wave (tsunami) towards the East Coast of the United States. It went into great detail about a tsunami and it’s effects, and the book was a very good read. Little did I know then, that six months later, on Boxing Day 2004, a tsunami would be created by an underwater earthquake off the coast of Sumatra with disastrous effects for the people and the coastline of South East Asia and some countries in East Africa. The disaster has been referred to in many places as ‘an act of God’. An extract of Terry Waite’s article is reproduced.

In 2004, the magazine made a profit of £262.24 – the aim is to break-even. The actual income was £497.84 from magazine sales and £851.00 from advertisements, against an actual expenditure for the cost of printing of £1,086.60. However, the takings for the magazine were down on previous years, even though the number of copies of the magazine ‘sold’ was up, and in the last three months of the year, there were no copies left. One theory is that, although some people may absentmindedly forget to put their 30p in the box, some may be putting the money in the bottom slot of the box in the wall marked "Offerings", as these takings often increase in the first week when the magazine is on sale, and not the top slot of the box marked "Magazines". Please ensure the 30p are put in the top slot marked "Magazines".

 Colin Carter

On Tuesday evening, 14^th December 2004, Father Charles took a service of Sung Eucharist at our daughter church, St. Albans, in honour of our Lady of Walsingham before members proceeded to the Lady Chapel for a general meeting.

The Annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham in Norfolk will take place this year in April, from the 1^st to 3^rd. Approximate cost will be £85 depending on the numbers going. Fund raising has been good and money is in hand to subsidise this event, but further fund raising is being planned with a view to raising money for the Pilgrimage in 2006.

Members of St. Faith’s are again invited to join this 3-day Pilgrimage to which four members went last year. If anyone is interested please see either Sandra Haggan or Father Charles.      Sheilah Legg

During World War II in Japan the military government put up pictures of the Emperor and the national flag in churches and punished those who wouldn't bow to them. Many too were forced to sing the national anthem, which is a hymn of praise to the Emperor.

Recently the Japanese government, hoping to restore national pride now insists that schoolchildren bow to the flag and sing the anthem at school events. Christians and others have resisted these changes as an infringement on religious liberty and forced idolatry. After all the Emperor is the high priest of Shintoism.

So it was with some amusement that we read recently that the Prince Regent said publicly he doesn't think anybody should bow to the flag or sing the national anthem if they don't want to. Palace officials were hastily trying to 're-interpret' his remarks! Japanese Christians have long prayed for their Emperor to become a Christian. Let's pray too.                                             Rod & Glenda Thomas

I feel that this is an appropriate time to write once again about encouraging Christians to give up eating meat for the period of Lent, and indeed beyond, thus cutting back on animal suffering and slaughter. If you remember, the campaign known as Veg4Lent, was introduced into our church of St. Faith’s in the year 2002, with a view to reviving the ancient Christian tradition of abstaining from meat consumption during Lent; a tradition which is far more meaningful than simply cutting out sweets or cakes (which were in very short supply in any case in the early Christian church!), especially now that the majority of meat and meat products are so cruelly obtained. Veg4Lent 2004 was notable for the feedback we received from both secular and Christian radio stations, who approached us for interviews, and not vice versa. Veg4Lent has now expanded its mission to embrace all Christian denominations in the UK, and has been renamed the Christian Vegetarian Association UK (CVAUK) in order not to confine its activities simply to the period of Lent. The objectives of the CVAUK are to encourage the whole of Christendom to consider the benefits and virtues of a vegetarian diet, and to promote the care of all of God’s creation through the adoption of a vegetarian diet.

Many Christians are embracing the ‘meat-free’ lifestyle for reasons, which extend far further than an intuitive aversion to the horrors inherent in abattoirs. Vegetarianism demonstrates our love for God, feeds the hungry (land required to feed one carnivore can feed 20 vegetarians), improves our health, protects the environment – meat production is environmentally unsustainable and farm animals contribute to global warming by the emission of greenhouse gases (methane), reduces poverty and instability, which often perpetuate war, stops violence towards God’s creatures who were created to glorify God. It is so easy today not to eat meat or fish – I am totally convinced that Jesus would not want us to eat food now which is unhealthy, cruel or damaging to God’s creation in a world with such an abundance of plant-based options.

May Christians once again be at the forefront of humane, caring and compassionate lifestyles, rather than leaving reform to the many humane, and secular, animal-welfare organisations.

For further information on joining the CVAUK please contact Helena Youle, tel. 023 9247 1977.

For the third year running the Epiphany Dinner was held at the Bear Hotel on Thursday 6^th January. 45 parishioners and their guests attended and enjoyed good company, good food and good wine. Many thanks to Sandra Haggan for organising another well-supported event.

After 25 years as the Distribution and Advertising Manager for the magazine "Faith Matters", Peter Appleby has retired. Father David presented him with a bottle of malt whisky on Sunday 9^th January in recognition of the work he has done in promoting the magazine over the years.

1CF=No.1 Churchfields, 2CF=No.2 Churchfields, CT=Council Tax.

There were also Insurance (Ins.)/Maintenance (Maint.) costs for the Christchurch Bungalow - £298¹/£277², the St. Nicholas Chapel - £321¹; and for the properties of 2-4 North Street - £160¹/£200², giving a total for insurance (£6,015¹)/maintenance (£19,730²) and for utilities (£9,619) during 2004 of £35,364³. If the Parish Share of £36,208 is added to this figure, it can be seen that the parish had to raise a total of £71,572 before money could be spent on other things.

Income received from the Church House - £14,289; Coach House - £1,200; Church Hall - £4,423; Christchurch Bungalow - £6,030; 2-4 North Street - £19,730; and the Christchurch Centre - £15,000, gave a total income from these properties of £60,672. If the Shop sales of £12,025 are added to this figure, the total income is £72,697, giving a net gain of income over expenditure for our properties in 2004 of £1,125.

 Colin Carter

A 13-year old girl has been charged after damaging our nativity scene on 17 December 2004. The stable and table were knocked over, the straw strewn across the floor, and the figurines scattered about damaging the cow and breaking the head off the Virgin Mary. An anonymous donor replaced the figurine of the Virgin Mary.