From the Rector - Works in Progress

In the September edition of “Faith Matters” I listed like a litany the events that were to confer an Indian summer on life at St. Faith’s.  Reports on public events like the Town Fair have been well documented: perhaps the joys of ‘Back to Church Sunday’ when over twenty people were surprised and impressed by the ingenuity of our morning and evening worship have been less widely celebrated.  The Patronal Festival on Sunday 3^rd October was graced by Warblington School choir under the leadership of John Gleadall and our new curate for 2011, Patricia Mann, was informally introduced at the end of the 9.30 service.

Like our recently licensed Reader, Sandra Haggan, it is vitally important that people understand that the first four years in ministry are regarded by the diocese as ‘the next stage in training’ before the full impact of their ministries can kick in.

For Sandra this means that the extra work involved in preparing for her formal ministerial responsibilities, including compulsory Initial Ministerial Education (IME) means that I have withdrawn her from a number of PCC committee responsibilities to make sure that her energies are expended for the purposes for which she has been trained.  Similarly for Pat (as Patricia prefers to be known) there will be the continued academic work connected with her second degree to complete from her years as an ordinand alongside her own IME courses up until 2015.  This will entail a significant amount of time out of the parish.

It is very important therefore that everyone has a realistic picture of what our new ministers can deliver in this first phase and adapt their expectations accordingly.

Even the wealth of experience from the world of work that newly licensed ministers bring with them into ministry cannot and does not protect them from the welter of expectations, sometimes misconceived, projected onto them by their being ordered as Readers, Deacons or Priests.  It falls to the Rector to manage their ministry and carefully nurture the development of a human resource that will need to bear fruit for the church for decades to come.

Considerations about such things take place against the ongoing story of our parish developments in respect of mission and evangelism.  Our Parish Development Committee are working hard at refocusing our mission to ensure it is reaching those groups in our community whom we identified as our priority within the review programme we ran last winter.  A new mission statement and clear missionary objectives should be published in time for the New Year.

One thing that repeatedly emerges from our reflections is the need to use the parish church as a base which is resourced on a daily basis for working with people of all ages.  This will certainly mean the careful reorganising of space in the church to accommodate whatever activity and welcome this will involve and in a way that complements our adaptations to the nave chancel and transepts for the purpose of improved celebration of the Eucharist.

Keeping central the vision of our forward mission becomes increasingly important as the worries about the state of our finances and buildings encroach further still upon our determination to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.  Rather like the government of the day we are faced with trying to reduce the impact of our financial deficits whilst at the same time keeping all enterprising activity going.

I hope that by the time you read this we shall have been able to reopen Coach House as a base for St. Faith’s Church Shop.  Its extended closure was enforced because of serious structural weakness.  The resulting loss of income and unexpected repair costs has further undermined our already depleted funds.  Add that to the failure to re-let our shop on North Street and you will appreciate that, like countless other organisations, we may face a future that may cause us to work as a church in quite new ways.  The vast majority of money required to repair and conserve our parish church so that it can continue to stand at the heart of a regenerated town centre will need to come from far beyond the families who currently support its ministry through planned giving.  The planning work currently being undertaken by our Stewardship Committee will help explain to a wider constituency of people how they can support our work by offering to pledge a weekly amount.  But people do need to know exactly what projects they are paying for and what the outcomes will look like.  This is why our objectives need to be clearly described beneath the headlines of our new mission statement.

I can hear ringing in my ears the injunctions of Jesus to his disciples about old wineskins being unable to contain new wine. Whatever progress in mission we mean to make for the sake of the kingdom which Jesus came to show us we must not allow that ‘new wine’ to be spilled because we have mistakenly failed to renovate the old skins – whatever that may require of us.

 Please join with us in praying that God will cast light on our path as we try to discern how to use the legacy we have inherited in conjunction with the clear signs of growth we are discovering each day so that we can benefit his people in this place.

Peter Jones

From the Editor

A Wren in Afghanistan

In the November 2009 edition of “Faith Matters” there was an article from a Wren Officer on her 6-month tour of duty in Iraq.  Here is one from a Wren Petty Officer on her 6-month tour of duty to Afghanistan which is reproduced from the “Wren”

I have just returned from a 6 months tour in Kabul, Afghanistan working for the Deputy Commander International Security Assistance Force (DCOM ISAF) who is also the Senior British Military Representative – Afghanistan (SBMR-A) and a 3-Star Royal Marine General.

There were a couple of courses that I  had to complete prior to my departure including re-acquainting myself with a gun and the Individual Pre-Deployment Training (IPDT) which was 2 weeks learning about IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), Landmines, Vehicle drills (should you come under attack) and all other things that you might associate with being in a combat zone.  I thoroughly enjoyed it even though it included 3 days running around Longmoor Camp (Army Camp in Hampshire) in December with 90 other sailors all preparing to go to Afghanistan and Iraq.  Fortunately it didn’t rain but it was very cold!

I departed the UK, courtesy of the RAF, on a very foggy morning from Brize Norton.  The whole journey took me 3 days to get to Kabul due to the bad weather – I met up with most of the people that had been on my IPDT as they were stuck in Kandahar due to bad weather and technical problems with aircraft.  It took all the Medics about 6 days to complete their journey from UK to Camp Bastion.  I arrived in Kabul around midnight and was taken to the ISAF Headquarters after a security brief from the Vehicle Commander – it was at this point that it came home to roost what I had done!

My job was the Office Manager to the DCOM ISAF assisting with the day to day running of his office – the staff consisted of at Lt Col Army Military Assistant (MA), Royal Marine Major Aide de Camp (AdC), myself a Petty Officer Logistics and the Boss’s Close Protection Team (6 personnel).  It was 7 days a week starting at 0700 and finishing anywhere between 2000 and 2200.  On Friday and Sundays we started later than usual getting a deserved lay-in unless the Boss had any diary events that required us to be in the office.  ISAF splits Afghanistan into 5 regions: Regional Command North, Regional Command East, Regional Command South, Regional Command West and Regional Command Capital.  All the Regional Commands (RCs) are headed by 2-Star Generals from different NATO countries.  The HQ itself has over 32 different countries represented and is headed by a 4-Star US General.  During my deployment I witnessed the sudden departure of General David McKiernan and arrive of General Stanley McChrystal.  Daily I would liaise with all nationalities including Afghan Government departments and all the problems that brings!  It was definitely an experience!  With the Boss being the SBMR-A this also meant that we were in regular contact with London and the Senior Officers in Helmand.  We regularly had high level visits from the UK as well as other NATO (and non-NATO) countries.  Unfortunately we also got all the information on what happened to our men and women in Helmand which reminded us of what we were sent to do.

Personally the tour could be quite monotonous with every day being very similar to the day before!  Getting through the first month seemed to take forever, however facilities on the Camp were very good compared to others in the country.  There was an excellent gym that opened from 0500 until 2200 every day with Physical Training Instructors providing various training classes for all.  One of the presentation/meeting rooms doubled up as a cinema in the evening when a different film was played each night.  There were several café/restaurants as well as the Dining Facility in case you wanted something a bit different, although the food was very good considering where we were (no Ration Packs for us).  Each country also had its own National Support Element (NSE) where the UK had its own Pay Officer, Post, Signal and Stores staff.  Our NSE was staffed by Army personnel and provided our little bit of England including the NAAFI and mess where we would meet for tea and toast on a Tuesday morning, quiz nights and keeping up with the sport back in the UK courtesy of British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS).

I did manage to travel around the country with the Boss when he visited other Commands.  Not long after arriving I visited the RC (East) area where we went to look at one of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT).  This particular PRT was American and whilst there we visited some of their Projects including a bridge crossing and a school that teaches Afghan men bricklaying, plumbing, electrical and woodwork.  Additionally the Boss was invited to meet the Governor of the Province with whom we also had lunch.  It was great to get out of the capital for a couple of days and see what is a beautiful country.

At the end of my 6 month tour I left having made some good friends that I remain in contact with including Americans, Canadians and Australians.  I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and with more and more Naval personnel being sent to Afghanistan I would surmise that I will probably be called upon again.

Vicki Taylor

Reader Licensing Service – 25 September 2010

Early on 25^th September, on a rather crisp Saturday morning, six Choristers and five choir adults from St Faith’s Church arrived at Portsmouth Cathedral for a very special occasion.  Sandra Haggan was to be licensed as a Reader after three years of intensive training.  The choir for this service was formed from those parishes that had candidates involved, and St Faith’s Choir had been invited on that basis.  The music chosen was Batten’s “O sing joyfully” and Britten’s “Jubilate in C”.  Neither piece was in our repertoire and nor, it transpired, did the RSCM publications in Norwich have any copies!  However, our friends at St John’s Church, Westbourne came to our rescue and kindly loaned us both pieces.  Time was short.  We had only two practices to learn some quite tricky and challenging music, so it was with some trepidation that we assembled with the other singers for our full choir rehearsal at 9.30am in the Cathedral!

Our Choristers were outstanding and behaved impeccably.  Despite the unfamiliar surroundings of the Cathedral they sang out with great confidence.  Together with our own adult choir members and the rest of the combined choirs, we raised the roof with the hymns and our joyful singing of both introit and anthem.  It was a great privilege to support Sandra on her big day and an experience that St Faith’s Choir members will remember with affection for many years to come.

Sylvia Willey Organist & Choir Director

Lord Haw Haw  (contd)

Last month we met Lord Haw Haw, real name William Joyce, and the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), Sir Oswald Mosley.  Before going any further, I should perhaps address the question of whether Joyce actually lived in Warblington.  In researching his early life, several addresses for him have been documented but I could find no trace of him living in this area.  However, interestingly, I did read that before the war he was the Area Administrative Officer for the British Union of Fascists in West Sussex, with particular reference to Worthing and Midhurst.  So perhaps, he did stay in the Havant area pre-war.  Another important player in his life now enters our account because on 13 February 1937 at Kensington Registry Office, the 30 year old divorcee, who had two children by his first marriage, married the 25 year old Margaret Caines White, who was also a member of the BUF.  She was born in Carlisle but when they married Joyce told her that she was now an American by marriage.  In the summer of 1939, Germany was poised to invade Poland and on the 25 August the House of Commons passed the Emergency Powers Defence Act under which Special Branch could arrest political agitators who were sympathetic to Hitler. 

At this point an MI5 man named Maxwell Knight enters our story.  He was a homosexual and a member of the BUF.  In the 1950s he warned of a communist ring within MI5.  He was proved right in 1951 when Burgess and Maclean were unmasked.

After midnight that same night as the passing of the Emergency Powers Act, Joyce received a telephone call from Maxwell Knight telling him that he was about to be arrested and interned.  The following morning, Joyce and his wife went to the German Embassy and got visas.  On the day they were due to be arrested, they travelled to Victoria Station where they were seen off by Knight en-route for Dover from where they sailed to Germany.  Arriving in Berlin Joyce contacted the Reichsrundfunkhaus, the German BBC, and following an audition, he and Margaret joined an assorted group of misfits (Joyce’s description) as the English broadcasting team.  (One eccentric old lady named Miss Margaret Bothamley was convinced that she and Hitler had been lovers!  On her desk were photographs of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth!)

Joyce and Margaret broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK throughout the war.  Firstly from Berlin, then when driven out by the allied bombing, from Luxembourg and finally from Hamburg.  On 28 May 1945, two British officers parked their lorry in a wood near Hamburg.  They were gathering wood for a camp fire when a bedraggled man approached them, saying in English “Here’s a few more logs for you.”  They instantly recognized the voice and in that wonderful casual way of the English one said, “You wouldn’t happen to be William Joyce, would you?”  The man turned away and immediately thrust his hand in his pocket.  Fearing that he was pulling out a revolver, the officer shot him in the left buttock.  Soon Joyce was handed over to the military police. 

Not many days later, Margaret was also arrested in the same forest.  The behaviour of MI5 and the British judiciary has remained a mystery to this day.  Margaret was a British subject and, as such, was guilty of high treason.  Yet, astonishingly, she was released without even being charged!  No explanation was ever given, although it was rumoured that MI5 were responsible.  Margaret remarried in Gibraltar on 28 December 1962 and set up home in Shepherds Bush, West London where she died on 19 February 1972 of chronic alcoholism.  William Joyce was an American subject and yet was charged with high treason.  On 25 June 1945, Joyce appeared before the Bow Street Magistrates Court represented by a legal aid lawyer, C B V Head who robustly argued that to be guilty of high treason, Joyce would have to be (a) a British subject by birth; or (b) born abroad of British parents; or (c) a naturalized British subject; or (d) an alien living in the King’s realm.  Since he was none of these, he had no charge to answer.  This defence was summarily dismissed and Joyce appeared at the Old Bailey on 17 September 1945 charged with High Treason. 

Prosecuting was the newly appointed Attorney General Sir Hartley Shawcross, destined to lead the British legal team in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg.  He was given great licence by the judge, Sir Frederick Tucker.  Shawcross deftly set out in great detail all the items which the jury was supposed to disregard in reaching their verdict.  Speaking of his arrest, he said that the arresting officer in shooting Joyce in the leg had “shown more mercy than many people would have shown!”  Joyce was found guilty and sentenced to hang.  The Daily Mail summed up the feelings of the British people with these words: “Never was punishment so richly deserved.  Of all the creatures who served Hitler’s gang, none was so detested as this man, who sought to weaken the resolution of the British people in the face of a mortal enemy.”  On 3 January 1946, Joyce was awoken in Wandsworth Prison at 6.30am with a cup of tea.  He changed into a blue serge suit, washed his face and at 8.00am took communion with the prison chaplain.  At 8.40am, a group of eight officials entered the cell including the High Sheriff, the Governor and the famous Public Executioner Albert Pierrepoint and his assistant.  As was customary, although symbolic, Joyce’s hands were loosely pinned with straps by Pierrepoint.  Then a hood was put over his head so that he would not see the rope.  At the first chime of 9.00am, Pierrepoint led Joyce into the adjoining room with the calming words, “Follow me sir, it will be alright”.  Joyce fell through the trap door just as the last chime sounded.  It had taken just nine seconds.  At midnight that same day, his body was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison yard.  In 1976 after a long campaign, the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, allowed Joyce’s body to be exhumed and re-interred under a spreading yew tree just outside Galway where he claimed he had been born.  Some 200 people turned up at the Protestant section of Bohermore Cemetery to watch the final act in this tragic story of a man whose only weapons had been words.

Roger Bryant

This year is the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – when the horrors of the Luftwaffe bombs were heavy over British skies.  On Remembrance Day we can only imagine the terror of living in Coventry, in Liverpool, in London during these months 70 years ago.  It must have seemed like the beginning of the end of the world.

It is a good time to stop and thank God that in the end, evil did not prevail.  Hitler did not win the battle to dominate Europe.  His expected ‘rule of a 1,000 years’ lasted a mere 12 years (1933 to 1945).  And we can thank God for the courage and endurance of our fathers and grandfathers, our mothers and grandmothers, in the midst of such towering darkness and destruction.

70 years on, the world is still at war.  Man’s greed and arrogance and desire for domination have not gone away.  There are still battles to be fought for our land, major problems to be solved.  Economic uncertainty, terrorism, and climate warming… the threats are different, but our need for courage, endurance and perseverance is the same.  It is a good time to pray for our nation and ourselves, to turn to God in repentance and in faith, to ‘walk more nearly’ and ‘follow him more clearly’.  It is a good time to be ready to serve our God and serve our neighbour in whatever way lies opens before us.

A Classic Scottish Steam Weekend Tour

As a former Travel Agent Manager, how nice it is to have a friend make all the arrangements.  As it involved a departure at 10-00am from Kings Cross, the night was spent at the Travelodge in Kings Cross Road.  Travelling to London, we chose Victoria because of an excellent offer David had found on his computer.  The worse part of the entire holiday was trying to purchase an Oyster Card at Victoria.  In the end I joined a large queue waiting to speak to a human being!  We met the Courier near the WH Smith bookstall for the “Flying Scotsman” to Edinburgh but one would not know it apart from the departure board and it was never mentioned as such with on board announcements.  Train boarding was 20 minutes before departure.  We could not board until the Courier arrived with the group ticket and seat reservations.  Our class 91 locomotive was pulling about 10 coaches.  It filled up during the journey and was standing room only between the coaches.  We only called at 4 stations en-route and it was a nice feeling that I owned the railway company-East Coast Railways, as the Government had not given it to an Independent operator yet!  We arrived 4 minutes early at 14.21pm.

Our group queued for the lift, whilst David and I ascended a short flight of stairs to wait for them.  The 26 of us, fitted into the 31 seat coach for a brief tour of Edinburgh, with difficulty because most of it is dug up for the installation of a Tram system.  It was a little prolonged as we toured the “gear box” of the coach and going up a road which led to a cul-de-sac for bicycles!  Then we were off to the M8 and the outskirts of Glasgow before turning for the A82 alongside Loch Lomond which looked inviting.  We continued the long journey turning off at Tarbert and heading to our base at Inveraray and the 5 star Loch Fyne Hotel for a 4 night stay.

I had visited Inveraray a few decades earlier having arrived on a Caledonian Turbine vessel on a day cruise from Dunoon.  The Hotel was very comfortable, the food excellent although a few people opted to eat at the local pub in the village.  The waitresses never knew who wanted what, but we survived!  A glass of wine served by the waitress was £6.65 each including the carriage fee between Bar and Restaurant.  We only did this once!

On the Saturday we travelled all the way back down Loch Lomond to Luss for a convenient stop, before continuing to Helensburgh, a resort that has seen better days.  Whilst standing on the pier in the rain, our ship the Paddle Steamer “Waverley” came into view.  We boarded and departed for Tighnabruaich in the Kyle’s of Bute in the rain.  I have of course been on the ship many times, but not in her home waters.  We returned on a scenic route along Loch Fyne back to base.

Sunday was early breakfast with a 07.45am departure, although we did not get away until 08.00am because a lady arrived late without any apologies.  We headed north over Glencoe and spectacular scenery to Fort William and a steam train ride to Mallaig on the “Jacobite”.  Our engine was a Black Five 4-6-0 and was fully booked.  The views are stunning including the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct and a brief stop at its station.  We arrived on time to wind, rain and it was cold.  4 postcards, 2 coffees and 2 chocolate cakes came to £6.68!  We returned to Fort William at 14.10pm.  Mallaig is the jumping off point for Egg, Rhum and Muck and the Isle of Skye.  We took a different way back to base, this time via Connell Ferry, Lochawe and Dalmally.  After Dinner at our hotel, we had a walk around the back of the village to the Pier and along the beach.  The colours of the sky were wonderful and the reflection on the Loch.

Monday was the day we were looking forward to, as we were going to have a voyage on Loch Katrine and the 110 year old steamship “Sir Walter Scott”.  We had a break in Callander, with the coach parked in what was the old station.  We had to find any trace of the old railway.  We managed a walk on a Foot and Bicycle path for a short distance before heading for the Trossachs.  The old steamer is oil-fired now but retains much charm and atmosphere.  Our only wish was for the cruise to have been longer than one hour.  We got back via Luss to our hotel in just under two hours to do some packing.

Tuesday we departed for Edinburgh via the Falkirk Wheel which we were originally going to visit on the day we arrived from London.  It is difficult to describe this attraction, but the Falkirk Wheel is the World’s first rotating boat lift climbing up to the Union Canal 35m above.  As someone who does not like heights, I never got the feeling we were going up!

We departed Edinburgh at 15.00pm arriving into Kings Cross on time at 19.19pm.  We both enjoyed ourselves, but felt that Inveraray was too far away from the places we visited.  The coach could have had an onboard toilet, but the Driver George was very good, once he had mastered the gearbox!

It was a Guardian/Brightwater holiday.

Terry Creswell

Town Fair – Balloon Race

Six members of the public very kindly sent back details as to where balloons from the Town Fair on Saturday 11 September landed.  The places were: 1^st Wilmington, Kent (winning ticket number 00040 – Imogen Bowley) – 87.7 miles; 2^nd Crowhurst (00052 – Joan Wells) – 65.4 miles; 3^rd Crawley (00028 – Jackie Martin) – 56.5 miles; 4^th Horsham (00018 – Jenny Carter-Smith) – 51 miles; 5^th Slinfold, West Sussex (00096 – Steve Paginton) – 49.9 miles and 6^th Warnham, West Sussex (00011 – Ellie Bodycomb) – 48.2 miles.  All miles were calculated on AA Auto route.  Although this is not necessarily the most direct flight of the balloon, it nevertheless shows that Wilmington is the clear winner.  A return trip for up to four people, including a 4-berth cabin and dinner on Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to St. Malo, was won by Imogen Bowley

Thank You

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the support shown to me over the last three years.  For all the thoughts and prayers for those who have been guinea pigs when I have had to do presentations, those who have hosted and taken part in study groups, those who have sat at the back of church ready to wave at me if a sermon could not be heard and even sat in church and let me practice my first sermon, those who have filled in response forms for sermons and study groups and those who have guided and advised when needed.

Thank you also for all those who came to the cathedral and shared in what was a wonderful day on the 25^th September and for all the cards and the gifts.  I would also like to take this opportunity to ask for your continued support and feedback positive or negative - having said that should it be negative, please do it with a smile!                                                                                                    

Sandra Haggan

The Bike Ride Day

This year the Historic Churches Ride and Stride day coincided with the Town Fair.  It was a very busy time but not chaotic.  The ‘Meeters & Greeters’ from St Faith’s waited patiently at the door of the Church (thank you!) while the hurly burly of the Fair and all the visitors swirled around.  We had juice and cake on offer to the riders (thank you Margaret and Diane) and all went surprising well.  There were three riders from St Faith’s: Chris Davies, Richard Acworth and John and Lindie Sawtell (they counted themselves as one).  David Willetts had hoped to ride for us but wrote to me apologising that last minute commitments prevented him from doing so.

The sponsorship money totalled £132.60.  Half of this will be returned to St Faith’s together with the addition of the gift aid allowable on it.  The Day is a great opportunity not only for us as a church to show ourselves to visitors but also the more people from St Faith’s who take part, the more money we can raise for ourselves and our future restoration plans.  Please book the second Saturday in September 2011 so that you can take part next time!

Hilary Deadman