The Memorial Church of St. George,The Memorial Church of St. George,Sunday 1st No Morning Service (King Albert 1 Day)
Trinity 9 18.00 Holy Communion
Sunday 8th 09.00 Holy Communion
Trinity 10 18.00 Evening Prayer
Sunday 15th 09.00 Holy Communion
B.V.M 18.00 Evening Prayer
Sunday 22nd 09.00 Holy Communion
Trinity 12 18.00 Evening Prayer
Sunday 29th 09.00 Holy Communion
Trinity 13 18.00 Evening Prayer
Special Services
Saturday 7th 11.00 Service of Institution & Licensing
I thought it might be helpful if I began by introducing myself. My name is Brian Llewellyn and I am 63 years of age. I have been married to Sandra for just 41 years, and we have two children, Gareth who is a Public Relations Executive living and working in Sydney, and Lindsay, who is married with two children and is a prison chaplain.
I have been ordained 30 years and before ordination practised as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and was a senior lecturer at what is now South Bank University in London. Since ordination I have served in a number of locations, having had three incumbencies and held a short service commission in the Royal Air Force.
I have also been a Rural Dean.
Sandra and I are both excited at being here in Ieper, and looking forward to the challenge of a different style of ministry.
I hope you appreciate the size of the newsletter. It will make it easier to post, and perhaps handier. It is my intention that we will add material as we go along including (if we get any!) a 'letters' page. Of course, I can't guarantee to publish every letter, but matters of interest will be welcomed, as will articles of local bearing. I am aware that, though I shall meet some readers regularly, because our readership is international, many there will be whom I will meet rarely if at all. Nevertheless, this network is important to us here, and I hope it continues to be so to readers everywhere.
God bless you
Fr. Brian
(The world needs saints, just as a plague-stricken city needs doctors
Simone Wiel)
It is my intention to bring you a saint every month, whose feast day falls that month. For this month, however, to introduce the subject, I want to borrow from Bishop Michael Marshall's introduction to his wonderful book 'Saints Alive!' which was, you may recall the Lent book for the Diocese in Europe in its 150th year. He wrote:
"What is a saint?" somebody once asked. "A saint is someone who lived a long time ago, who has never been adequately researched!" Presumably, the implication behind that reply was that, if you researched a saint long enough, sooner or later you would find that he or she had - as we like to say - "feet of clay".
We sometimes speak somewhat dangerously of the saints as being "the heroes of faith". Yet, the communion of saints has nothing whatever to do with the cult of hero worship. We put heroes on pedestals or plinths, and then, after subsequent 'adequate' research, we find that their human frailties and weaknesses are much the same as those of lesser mortals like ourselves. We become cynical and we feel let down. "We have seen through them," we say. It is not long before we tear our heroes off their pedestals and bury them beneath the rubble of our disappointment, disillusionment, and even cynicism.
Saints are the very opposite of heroes. You are supposed to be able to see right through the saints. They are intended to be gloriously transparent, which is why the church delights to put them in stained glass windows! We do that precisely because we are intended to see through them, and what we see through them is the light that shines through them from beyond.
I'm not sure it is still in print but perhaps you have a copy on a shelf. May I encourage you to dust it off and work (slowly) through it. I'm sure you would find it rewarding.
Monday 19 July 2010 - an ordinary working day in most peoples’ calendar. For those 94 years ago this was the date for the Battle of Fromelles in a war that was to end all wars.
To the surviving family descendants and others coming to pay their respects to the soldiers in that battle this was no ordinary day, this was the day of the final soldier being laid to rest in Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery.
The final soldier, one of 250 that had been carefully excavated from a mass burial pit located at Pheasant Wood in the small French village of Fromelles. This was a day in modern day history that would see the official inauguration of a completely new cemetery, the first since the end of the Second World War. The day where descendants of the identified would know their loved ones had made the last journey home and a day where many people would pay their respects and honour the dead, both identified and unidentified.
Around 5,500 are said to have gathered on a very hot day patiently to bear witness to this occasion. A welcoming speech by HRH the Duke of Kent, President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission heralded the opening of the Service.
Family members stood reading extracts of letters, and others recounted the story of Fromelles both the battle and subsequent project.
The procession of the final soldier – Known unto God – arrived and was now buried. The Collects were read by The Australian Army, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and The Rifles. With the exhortation read, the Last Post sounded, followed by one minute of silence and the reveille, and the Service now drew towards a conclusion with the laying of wreaths, tributes and dedications. Finally, the National Anthems for Australia, France and Great Britain marked the end of an emotional and fitting service.
To quote the words of HRH The Prince of Wales “Then, as now, when the time came they were found not wanting.”
Genevra Charsley, Choir Member and Treasurer: St Georges Memorial Church
Lesson readers for Sunday Services: Ricky Beets is suffering a lack of volunteers, so if you could help, she would be very pleased to hear from you.
Fr. Ray left behind a newish computer desk which is surplus to requirements. If you feel you could give it a good home, please ‘phone: 057 21 56 85.
Many will know that it is important, if you wish to attend St. George’s Remembrance Service on Armistice Day, to apply for a ticket. They are disappearing fast, so don’t delay. Please contact Patrick Hawkes through our website, or by letter.
I have been asked to remind everyone that subscriptions for the newsletter are now due!