Malvern Priory MagazineThe Parish Church of St. Mary & St. Michael

£1.00

MAY 2018 ISSuE

Coming face to face with a dragon mightbe a frightening prospect, but the littleWyvern dragon, who has crouched onone of the Priory’s misericords for the last600 years, seems an unusually endearingversion of his species.

Wyverns are legendary creatures withthe head and wings of a dragon, two legsand a long tail. They commonly featuredin medieval Bestiary books and were oneof the most popular mythical subjects forBritish misericord carvers [1]. They werefrequently used as devices in heraldry anda golden wyvern is thought to have beenthe emblem of the kingdom of Wessex.

The Priory’s wyvern can be found on thefront row of the south side of the monks’stalls; the fifth stall from the sanctuarysteps. It is a delightful carving of an eager

looking creature whose face andexpression are more like that of a puppythan a fearsome, fire-breathing monster.Its mouth is open and its tongue hangsout as if it’s panting after a long andenergetic flight. Its head is slightly raisedand its long left ear and horn trail backtowards the bat-like wings which fold overits back above its curled, barbed tail.

A similar carving can be seen in themisericords of Worcester Cathedral,although the wyvern there looks slightlyless benign and has the extra detail ofscales upon its body and webbing in itswings. Other carvings of wyverns can befound in many churches including RiponCathedral, St Mary’s Nantwich and CarlisleCathedral where the wyvern guffaws withlaughter.

Dragons were thought to be creatures ofHell, so despite the cosy appearance ofthe Priory carving it is likely that thewyvern was featured as a personificationof evil. Chester Cathedral has a misericordshowing a wyvern in the throes of battlewith a lion, representing the strugglebetween good and evil. The supportercarvings of the Priory’s wyvern misericordare of foliate designs in symmetrical,lozenge shapes. Identical supporters canbe found on four of the other medievalmisericords in the Priory.

Next time… a cat appears to havereached the end of its nine lives…

Katherine Wells

[1] Hardwick, P., English Medieval Misericords:The Margins of Meaning (p.147)

PRIORY MISERICORDS: THE WYVERN

FROM THE EDITORIt has been a long hard winter: I almost said, ‘is being’ as we

have returned to cold and wet from more spring-like climes! Weheard reports of snow and rain over the Easter weekend, and itseems as though Spring is arriving, but with difficulty. It’s easierto believe in the Resurrection and the return of new life in awarmer climate where spring flowers bloom and the sun iswarm and everything says, ‘it’s starting again!’ but our faith doesnot depend on any ‘pathetic fallacy’ where Nature mirrors innerturmoil. Rather, our faith stays secure through all the seasons,

and Hope—without which we cannot function—renews andsustains us.

This may be my last Editorial. Our new vicar will soon be inplace and will, I hope, be filling this slot in the magazine. It’sbeen fun, and I’m so grateful to Roger and Meryn and all theyhave done to make your Priory Magazine a lively and colourfulpublication! I wish the Editorial team and the Priory all blessingsfor the future.

Chris Shepherd

2

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MALVERN PRIORY LUNCH BOX REVIEW

PRISON AND REFORM—THURSDAY, 22MARCH

The prison population in England and Wales is over80,000—the size of a medium sized town such asShrewsbury. Over half of the prisoners do not need to be inprison at all and actually suffer from incarceration; they havemultiple social problems from mental health, having beenabused as children and living with the scars. On the otherhand, those locked up for terrorist and/or physical offenceshave to be imprisoned to protect the public. Even if theyhave to be held in prison, sometimes for long periods, theunderlying principle of the prison regime should beadequate accommodation and eventual re-education toenable them to return to society.

Melanie Jameson, a Malvern resident, came to talk to LunchBox on Thursday, 22nd March. Her talk was entitled ‘Prisonand Reform—a contradiction in terms?’ Melanie first taught inprisons in 1983 and her interests have since expanded wellbeyond prison education into the justice system in general.She is a member of the Prisoner Learning Alliance—acoalition of organisations, charities, and specialists withknowledge and expertise in various aspects of prison life. Shealso sits on the Ministry of Justice Practice DevelopmentGroup which has been established as part of the prisonreform agenda.

Melanie said that there are a number of serious initiativesnow being worked by Parliament. Some of the many ideasabout reform have been on the table for a number of yearsbut, at long last, there seems the political will to address theproblem, not least because keeping people in prison is very

expensive—more than £37,000 per annum. Already theprison budget does not allow for enough prison officers.

The prison service is a blunt instrument in providing onesolution for everyone although much good work is being donein providing education and work training for eventual releaseinto the community. The pastors and imams, as well asprofessional and volunteer staff, provide an inspirational servicebut are limited by bad conditions and lack of staff in enablingprisoners to avoid being locked up for long periods of each day.

Melanie proposed that the prison system should be betterintegrated with social services and the probation service sothat individuals can have the appropriate treatment in thecommunity without the crippling by-products of life in prison.It would appear to be a similar problem to the Health Servicewhere the backup services to keep people out of hospitalhave not be adequately developed.

The talk was introduced by Anne Eglington and a vote ofthanks was given by Christine Sutton who presented Melaniewith a donation for her nominated charity—Women in Prison.The next Lunch Box will be on Thursday 13th September at1.00pm, with cake, tea and coffee available from 12.30. TheTalk, given by Jill Price, will be entitled ‘Cleanliness is next toGodliness—a history of bathrooms’.

Roger Sutton

PRIORY PEOPLE: OBITUARY

When David concluded his tribute to hisfather with the words “We thank God forhim more than we can say” the murmur ofassent which rippled through everyone inthe Priory, summed up the reason for somany people being there. Family andfriends had come together to remember aman through whom the light of Godshone brilliantly and steadfastly from thetime he gave himself to Christ whilestudying for his first-class degree inchemistry at Birmingham university in1947 until the day he died aged 91. Was Ithe only one who didn’t know I shouldhave addressed him as Doctor Deriazfollowing his doctorate gained in 1950?

Marcel was born in Ealing to Swissparents; the family moved to Rugby whenhe was five. He attended Rugby School asa day-boy. His teenage years wereovershadowed by his parents beingclassed as aliens during World War II, andthe impossibility of visiting relatives inSwitzerland. A visit to his Germanpenfriend in 1950 brought home to himthe full horrors of war and its lastingeffects.

Marcel married Helen in 1951. They wentto live in Liverpool from where he couldcommute to work at ICI. Between 1952and 1958 his two sons and daughter wereborn; he was a loving, encouraging,patient father. He was a stalwart memberof his local church, as senior leader ofPathfinders and serving on the DeanerySynod. Music was always a huge part ofhis life, including concerts in the RoyalPhilharmonic Hall. Early retirement in1982 left time for brewing beer, makingwine, gardening, learning Italian andvoluntary guiding in Liverpool AnglicanCathedral.

In 1985 Marcel and Helen decided tomove to Malvern to be nearer theirchildren andfamilies. Hetook enormouspleasure in hisgrandchildrenand his great-grandson. Heand Helen weresoonassimilated into

Priory life. Marcel sangfor many years in thechoir and latterly withPraise Group. He led aHouse Group andlater he and Helenwere members ofother House Groupswhere his thoughtfulcontributions andappreciation for theleader of the groupwere much valued. Hegreatly valued QuietDays, always thankingthe leader, as hewould thank thosewho led intercessionson Sundays.

Marcel was a man who quietly planned,as became clear when his daughter Jeanread the words from 2 Corinthians 4which he had decided upon for hisfuneral some 43 years ago. DavidWebster used those words as pointers toMarcel and his quiet faith: a man whotruly cared for others, gentle and agentleman, totally committed to his faithand to whateverhe undertook.God’s light shoneout of him, thoughhe was an earthenvessel knowinghuman frailties,and as his bodybecame more frailin his latter years,that light neverfaltered. He knewthat “the thingsunseen areeternal” and wentwith confidence tomeet his Lord. Wewho are left givethanks that hetouched our lives.

Elizabeth Dunnett

MARCEL GEORGEDERIAZ1926–2018

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MALVERN PRIORY ORGAN RECITALS 2018

Saturday, 12 May, 12.00 noon

Paul Rosoman

(Wellington, NZ)

Paul Rosoman makes a welcome return to our recital series. He tours every summer in

Europe performing in major concert venues and festivals, and also plays regularly in New

Zealand and Australia. This year’s concert tours will take him to the UK, Germany and the

Netherlands. His programme includes Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, Stanford’s

Organ Sonata No 2 and Handel’s March-Gavotte from Joshua (Heros, When with Glory

Burning).

Look out for his full programme in publicity material and on the website:

www.malvernprioryorgan.org.uk

Large screen video projection. Retiring collection for Priory funds

WAKE UP THE WORLD TO THE PLIGHT OFTHOSE UNDER FIRE FOR BEING CHRISTIANS

Over 200 million Christians are experiencing extreme persecution each year—aserious wake-up call to the body of Christ. Lisa Pearce, CEO of Open Doors uK &Ireland, said: “The global body must become the voice of the one that is suffering.If you cut your finger, the finger does not cry ‘ouch!’; it is the mouth that cries out.So we must speak out for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Hope for the Middle East Global Petition, with signatures from 808,000people around the world (including many of us at the Priory) was presented toTheresa May in the uK and the uS Vice-President, Mike Pence, at the uN at theend of 2017. Recently, 100 parliamentarians gathered for the launch of this year’sWorld Watch list in Parliament, and stood shocked as they heard powerfultestimonies from representatives of the persecuted Church. The power of thesestories was evident in the responses of the MPs, and they seemed to be united intheir determination to act and support. The momentum is growing and we cando our bit here by our regular prayers and in our yearly regular giving, as OpenDoors is one of the Societies we support.

On 17th November, in Birmingham, the Open Doors’ Conference, “StandingStrong” is being held, when speakers from North Korea, Egypt and India will bespeaking. Last year those of us who went from the Priory came away feelinginspired by hearing the challenging and passionate stories that were so full ofhope.

Why not put this date in your diary and think about going to this inspiringConference in November?

Rosemary Webster

5

WHO’S WHO IN THE PRIORY

My name is Sarah Goodbody and Ilive with my family in Malvern. Myhusband Justin and I have fourchildren who have all flown the nest,apart from our youngest, Amelia. Shewas the one who got us involved withthe Priory through the junior choir.Seeing the fun she was havingencouraged me to join the adultchoir. My husband Justin worships atSt Wulstans RC Church in MalvernWells.When did you come to Malvern

and why?We moved to Malvern in1998 when my husband's job at DRA(as was) relocated him to the site on StAndrews Road. We were very lucky.How did you both meet? We met

through his sister who had been thefriend of a friend in London. I hadmoved out of London to a job close toBristol near where his parents lived,and we just got on very well!Did either of you go to College or

University? Neither of us went touniversity after school. Justin wentstraight into the Army, although hehas since done two degrees in parallelwith his work. I went to SecretarialCollege for a year after A-levels whichset me up for my first job in London,aged 19.Why the Priory? Without doubt the

fantastic music! We are so lucky tohave Piers as our Director of Music,

together with his brilliant assistants. How would you both describe your

relationship with God? For a long timeI was resentful after years of compulsoryreligion at school. However I now feelthere is definitely something there,although I am still not sure what. I enjoythe atmosphere of the evening servicesI attend, and the link that God gives mewith my parents and loved ones nolonger around on this earth. Justin waseducated by monks and has always kepta close relationship with his Catholicfaith in every aspect of his life.Have either of you a favourite

scripture? For me it is the story ofElizabeth the mother of John. Beingblessed with a large family myself, I canonly imagine the distress of Elizabethnot being able to conceive, followed byher happiness at being given a childwhen she thought it just wasn't goingto happen.And a favourite

hymn? Any wordsset to thebeautiful Sunsettune which Ibelieve isHyfrydol. Myyounger son inthe Royal Marinesmarched to it,Beating Retreat onHorse Guards

Parade in London a couple of yearsago; a moment of immense Mumpride, and childhood memories ofsitting on my father's shoulderswatching the soldiers on Saturdaymornings.What are you both passionate

about? Our family! Our four childrenare very different people, all settingout in the world. They never cease toamaze us with their varying hopesand ambitions despite all havingstarted from the same place.Have either of you any hobbies? I

am a keen tennis player and Justin is afisherman. We both enjoy walkingtogether—especially on the Hills.Hopes and desires? To live each day

to the full, and to keep our family safeand happy.And your roles in the Priory? I am a

member of the Priory Choir, mainlysinging at the evening services, andJustin is a keen supporter when timeallows.

SUNDAYMAY 13TH6.30PM

St Matthias’s ChurchMalvern Link

A UNITED SERVICE

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to start off

CHRISTIAN AIDWEEK

SARAH GOODBODY

Sarah, with daughters Lucy on her rightand Amelia on her left.

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6

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTHWhen bidden by a stranger to “Have a nice

day”, Peter ustinov is reputed to have replied,“I’ve made other plans”. A few months ago,Beacon Home Group debated whether eachof us is a planner or a more spontaneousperson. And how far should we plan?

I am one of those who would like to think Ican be spontaneous, not looking far ahead.If that were the case, why did a coldDecember morning find a friend and mestanding for an hour and a half in the openair in order to be first in the queue to book aholiday taking place in June? We wererewarded by securing the single rooms wedesired for ourselves and friends. But shouldwe have to look that far ahead? Then I madeplans to entertain friends to Christmas Daylunch, but illness meant we had topostpone, and there I was with a mound offood I did not fancy. Had I been wrong tomake those plans?

We are all familiar with Jesus’ instruction to“Take no thought for the morrow”, but howpractical is that? When the wine ran out atCana, the bridegroom could be condemnedfor not providing enough, but Jesusprovided more; on the other hand, the

bridesmaids who didn’t bring enough oil fortheir lamps found themselves shut out of thewedding feast. The lesson there seems to bethat when we plan we should ensure wehave the resources to carry the plan throughto completion. Where is the balancebetween believing the Lord will provide, andmaking adequate plans? It seems to me it isa tightrope on which I am not sure I can keepmy balance.

So all I can do is hope that my plans forJune have met with the Lord’s approval, and Iwill be able to take my long-suffering friendsto stand outside the house in Sheringhamwhere I was born almost 80 years ago. Godhad his plan for me then, and still has ittoday, so I hope he will continue to tell mewhen I should stand in queues and when Ishould just live from one day to the next.And I would advise you not to ask me inNovember “What are you doing forChristmas?”

Any advice on tightrope-walking will begratefully received. In the mean time,remember the adage “If you want to makeGod laugh, tell him your plans”.

Elizabeth Dunnett

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7

FINDING MYSELF IN GOD: AFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM FOLLOWING GENDER TRANSITION

It is a common, though incorrect, belief that someone is transsexual because ofsomething they do rather than someone they are. In truth the old cliché abouthaving the wrong brain for your body is closest to reality, although this ismassively over-simplified. If you are interested in looking into it further, there areseveral fascinating neurological studies I can point to. It does boil down to thisthough; people are born transsexual. It is not a life-style choice, not a mentalillness, but a biological, neurological condition. It does, however, cause mentalsymptoms; the disconnect between mind and body is inherently distressing anddoctors have named this distress Gender Dysphoria (GD). 

The only known cure for GD is transition. This is both social: a change of name,pronouns, the clothes and hairstyle of a person, and medical: hormone therapyand surgery. Not all of these are always necessary. As any other condition, GDhas different levels of severity, but for most people both social and medicaltransition are needed.

It's hard to explain how Gender Dysphoria feels. In some ways it is like having aphobia about something most people see as harmless—insects, perhaps, orclowns; it’s almost impossible to explain why it upsets you so much, but thatdoes not make the feelings any less real. For me, my two main symptoms weredisgust, and, as a result of my subconscious attempts to save myself,disassociation (feeling cut off from my body, as if it weren't real). There were daysI could look at myself and not recognise the person looking back, and there weredays when I did, and the sheer wrongness of what I was seeing would break me.

As a child it wasn't so bad. Before puberty hit, I was quite content to be just aquiet bookish girl, losing myself in other worlds. ‘The Famous Five’ was aparticular favourite, and I liked George especially, for reasons I rather suspect MrsBlyton did not intend. The traditional role of the tomboy did not apply to me,and because of this I suspect things were more of a shock to the people aroundme than they might otherwise have been. However, I still always knew deepinside that I wouldn't grow up to be a woman. In my childish mind I would hitpuberty and my body would develop in the way it was supposed to, and thingswould just fall into place. Then, as reality made me painfully aware this wouldnot be the case, I knew I still wouldn't grow up to be a woman as, unlesssomething was fixed very soon, I would not be growing up at all.

The next few years of my life are ones I prefer not to think about, and I'm sureyou would prefer not to hear about. I made it through, and that's about all thatcan be said for it. And yet, even in all that darkness, I still had my faith.Sometimes it was weak, sometimes I was angry: at myself, at the Lord, at theworld, but it was always present, there to comfort me when nothing else could.

When I was about 15, I learned what trans-sexual meant. Knowing it applied tome was easy; working out what that actually meant for my life was harder. Withthe help of support groups, and the encouraging love of my family I came toaccept being trans, and gained the courage to come out and live as myself,beginning medical transition a few years later at university. After that thingsbecame a lot easier. My body changed, coming into sync withmy mind, easing my Gender Dysphoria. I passed as male,removing both the negative social stigma of being known asa trans man and the GD that came from people treating me asa girl, which was another reminder of my body.

I have never found my faith in conflict with my transition. Isee it purely as a medical condition. I am a man who, forwhatever reason, was born with the wrong body. I do notknow if God intended for me to be this way; the question ofsuffering is one for which the church still has no clear answer,and there is no denying that to have Gender Dysphoria is tosuffer. However, that is not to imply that to be transsexual is tosuffer, since with transition GD can be reduced almost to non-existence, and while society still has issues, those of us luckyenough to be accepted and supported by our loved onessuffer no more nor less than any other person.

When I joined the Priory, I did so as myself.A few people knew of my history, but for themost part it was irrelevant. I had no need totalk about it, and felt most comfortable withpeople not knowing. This hasn't changed;my decision to have an affirmation ofbaptism is not an easy one. The knowledgethat doing this will ‘out’ me to the entirecongregation as a trans man terrifies me,but I feel called to do it, and so, after muchprayer and discussion with friends, family,and clergy, I have made my decision. I wasbaptised at six months, and confirmed at 14,at both times in what was, although it wasnot known at the time, the wrong name. Ofcourse God knows me by my soul, not thename I use, but baptism is not justabout our relationship with God, but alsoabout celebrating that relationship with thecommunity and family of the church. TheHouse of Bishops "welcomes andencourages the unconditional affirmation oftrans people, equally with all people, withinthe Church, the body of Christ, and rejoicesin the diversity of that one body, into whichall Christians have been baptized by oneSpirit" and recommend the service ofaffirmation of baptism as "ideal ... to markthis moment of personal renewal."

I feel that this is the right thing to do bothfor me, and also because statistically it ishighly likely that there will be someone elsein the church who is, or loves someone whois, going through the same challenges that Iwent through. They need to know that Godloves them, not just the body they wear, buttheir true self as well. After all; "... People lookat the outward appearance, but the Lordlooks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

I shall be affirming my baptismal faithduring the 10:30 service on 3rd June, andwelcome all to join in this celebration. If youhave any questions please feel free to speakto me, my mum (Revd. Dr. Ali Gray), thechurch-wardens, or Revd. Tony Whalley.

Alec Gray

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LETTER FROM THE ARCHDEACON OF WORCESTER

A worldly faith? Sometimes we imaginethat our faith is about becoming morereligious. However, the French priest andpalaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin said, ‘Weare not human beings having a spiritualexperience. We are spiritual beings having ahuman experience.’ A palaeontologist issomeone who studies fossils, and like anyscientist is an observer of things in a searchto discover more about them. I think whathe meant was since we are created in theimage and likeness of God, as we grow ashumans we grow more and more into God.

He also said, ‘… by virtue of Creation, andstill more the Incarnation, nothing herebelow is profane for those who know how tosee.’ Our humanity in all its shapes and sizesis God’s way of fleshing out and manifestingHis beauty. ‘Nothing is profane for thosewho know how to see’; Heaven isn’t very faraway, and faith isn’t about religious stuff.Indeed common humanity is the home ofGod: this is what Christmas is all about,when God in Jesus made his home amongstus.

So we should tread the earth lightly. We arealready walking on holy ground. Perhapsthat is why Jesus gives us such an earthlyprayer as the Lord’s Prayer. We pray thatGod’s kingdom will come here on earth as inheaven; we ask God to give us our dailybread, just enough for today. In the GospelsJesus shows us God by the way he looks,listens, speaks and touches. Galilee seessigns of heaven in everyday life.

This is why the heart and high point ofChristian worship is the Eucharist, when wetake the raw material of the world, breadand wine, and it is transfigured by God’sHoly Spirit and shows us God. The OrthodoxChurch speaks of the ‘sacrament of theworld’. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkinswrites that ‘the world is charged with the

grandeur of God.’ And this month wecelebrate the feast of Pentecost; wecelebrate when the Church is born, verymuch here on earth, to live the life of Jesus,very much here on earth.

Pentecost is the moment when the pennydrops for the apostles and they begin to seeclearly what Christmas, Good Friday andEaster Day mean. Pentecost completes thebirth, death and resurrection of Jesus as thebirthday of incarnate Christianity. Far fromtaking us out of this world, the Spirit, whichbrooded over creation from the verybeginning, empowers us to see everythingin a new light: the whole world is chargedwith the grandeur of God.

So let’s not become too religious. Our faithis world-facing and life-affirming. St Pauleven makes the great claim that our bodiesare ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’; this is whowe really are, spiritual beings having ahuman experience. The Church is being trulyfaithful when we live out Jesus’ message tolove God, neighbour and self, seeking toencounter him not just in worship but in thefaces and concerns of the people we meetday by day. No wonder the liturgy ends withthe words ‘Go in peace to love and serve theLord.’ Go where He may be found!

Archdeacon Robert Jones

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On the 15th February 2015, a video is released. It shows asmall group of men on a beach in Libya; all are kneeling,bound, dressed in orange jumpsuits. They are Coptic Christiansfrom Egypt, 13 from one small village, who have been capturedby “Islamic State” whilst working as construction workers inLibya. It is clear that they have been tortured. Behind eachstands a man with a knife.

They are asked if they renounce Christ. When they refuse torenounce Him and begin to pray aloud, their heads are cut off.The camera turns to the 21st martyr. He is visibly different fromhis Middle-Eastern Coptic Christian colleagues, being of Africandescent. This man, Matthew Ayariga, reportedly from Chad orGhana, doesn’t seem to have been a Christian before he wasabducted with his faithful co-workers. On that beach he isasked if he renounces Christ. He replies, "Their God is my God",before also being murdered. All 21 men have been declaredmartyrs by the Coptic Church. Their feast day is February 15th,the day of the video’s release.

Martyrdom is a terrible, painful thing. I haven’t been able to

bear to watch the whole video, and have just seen stills from it.It is so painful to imagine the fear of the victims, the grief oftheir relatives. Or to imagine ourselves in that situation andwonder how we would respond... and yet at the same time theinspiration of the faithfulness of these 21 is great and fills mewith joy. Within weeks of their deaths, icons were created tohonour these martyrs. Icons are found in many Easternorthodox traditions; they are stylized images intended tocapture something of the eternal reality. Icons are a windowinto heaven. They are used to help Christians pray along withthese saints who are now alive in Heaven, just as we might aska living Christian friend to pray for us.

Icons can be found online, created by Tony Rezek, an EgyptianCoptic Christian, at: http://www.newliturgidalmovement.org/2015/02/an-icon-of-coptic-new-martyrs- of-libya.html#.Wich58gh1TY. Others by Nikola Saric, a Serbian OrthodoxChristian are at: http://www.nikolasaric.de/portfolio/holy-martyrs-of-libya/?lang=en. Note that all the martyrs have theface of Christ.

Three years to the day, the Church of the Martyrs of Faith andHomeland was opened in that small Egyptian village, paid forby the Egyptian government. At the dedication service, theCoptic Orthodox Bishop said: “Knives were held to their throatsto make them deny their faith after 40 days of beingkidnapped, insulted, and threatened. But, like the martyrs ofevery era in the history of our Church, they held on to Christ.They are an example for us to hold on to our faith and to Christ,regardless of circumstances.”

Most of us won’t be called on to die for our beliefs, but inmany smaller ways we are daily challenged to acknowledgeour faith in Christ and not deny Him. We are inspired by suchheroes of faith, and we pray that when tested we too will begiven strength to be able to stand for Christ, in the small thingsof witnessing to friends and family and in the daily choices wemake, as well as if we have to face more challenging and riskysituations.

Revd Dr Alison Gray

THE 21st MARTYR

DEMENTIA AWARENESS WEEK IS FROM 21 - 27 MAYA number of churches around the diocese are becoming more dementia-friendly, discovering that the journey begins with some

simple steps. Some are starting to go further. You can see one example, the Evesham Tea Service, on our diocesan web site, andwe will soon be telling more stories.

This week doesn’t only offer an opportunity to think about how your churchcould become more dementia-friendly. It’s also a reminder of the importance ofpraying for those who are living with dementia, for their families and carers, andfor all who are affected by the emotional and mental symptoms of the variousphysical illnesses we call dementia. Hereis a prayer you can use:

God of hope and resurrection, youknow us better than we know ourselves,and draw us to peace and wholeness inyour love. We remember before youthose who are unable to remember theirown lives. Guard and treasure their lostmemories for them, and hold their past inyour safe hands, that when the death ofthe body comes, you may bring them tothe full life of the resurrection, restoreand heal the memories of their lives, and give them back to themselves, that wewith them may rejoice in your love, and find the fullness of life in your presence,Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

For ideas, and to see what others are doing, visit the diocesan website:www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/dementia-friendly-churches

Sam Setchell, Diocesan Communications Officer

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CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 2018: 13 – 19 MAYThis Christian Aid Week, we are inviting people to come

together to support the thousands of people in Haiti, whoregularly experience some of the worst natural disasters onearth. Today, more than 40 million people across the globe areforced from their homes, and yet remain within their owncountry. They outnumber refugees, people who flee across aninternational border, two to one. In countries like Haiti, whererepeated natural disasters have resulted in thousands of peoplebeing forced to flee their homes, often not able to return foryears. People like Vilia.

Vilia was left homeless by the earthquake in 2010. As shewalked the streets following the disaster, she no longerrecognised her home or neighbourhood, and was surroundedby falling wires and crumbling houses. Devastatingly, she neverfound her mother. Bereaved and homeless, for Vilia, herhusband and their seven children, life became a struggle. Shedidn’t even have a safe place to sleep. Vilia is not alone. Eightyears after the devastating earthquake that hit the Haitiancapital, Port-au-Prince, an estimated 38,000 people are stilldisplaced. Despite the resilience and strength of its inhabitants,the country has struggled to recover as they continue to facerelentless earthquakes, storms and hurricanes, with manypeople living in precarious houses or in temporary shelter.

Hurricane Matthew, in November 2016, wrought further havocacross the south of the country, destroying up to 90% of someareas. Haiti narrowly escaped disaster when Hurricane Irmaswept across the Caribbean in 2017, and it’s only a matter oftime before the next hurricane strikes. Each time a crisis hits,people lose their dwellings and livelihoods, making it

increasingly hard for them to rebuild. Our local partner, KORAL,helps local people prepare for disasters. In the aftermath of theearthquake, they reached out to Vilia and built her and herfamily a new home, that was safe, stable and strong enough tostand up to natural disasters. Ahead of Hurricane Matthew,KORAL were able to warn local communities, helping evacuatearound 5,000 families and saving many lives. In the immediateaftermath Christian Aid and KORAL distributed urgently-neededshelter kits, hygiene kits, food seeds and cash transfers. We alsobuild disaster-resistant homes to give people safe, secure placesto live. Of the dozens of new houses we built before thehurricane hit, only one lost its roof in the disaster. And Vilia’shome was able to shelter 54 people over several days.

Yet, we have more houses to build for families, like Vilia’s, toprovide them with a safe place to weather the next disaster. Just£25 could buy a hygiene kit to prevent disease after a disaster;£5 could buy a jar of seeds so someone like Marcelin can growbeans to feed his family; and £210 could pay to train a localbuilder in Haiti to build a safe, secure home for families in need.

This Christian Aid Week, you can help to change the lives ofpeople forced to loseor leave their homesdue to disasters andconflict by donatingonline atwww.caweek.org,calling 08080 006006, or texting ‘GIVE’to 70040 to give £5.

Sam Setchell

11

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTIONSPlease send all contributions for the magazine by email whenever possible to mag@greatmalvernpriory.org.ukwith the deadline of the 10th of the previous month at the latest. Written articles should be clearly marked"Magazine" and placed in the "M" pigeonhole at the back of the Priory. The deadline for these is the 8th of theprevious month. Contributions should be limited to a maximum of 500 words and, where accompanied byrelevant photographs, reduced accordingly. Where photographs of young people are provided, pleaseconfirm that parental permission has been obtained to publish in this magazine. Articles will also beconsidered for inclusion on the Priory web site - if for any reason this is not acceptable, please mention whensubmitting articles. Some photographs, especially of young people, may not be published on the web pages.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from Malvern Priory

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GREAT MALVERN PRIORY WEBSITEwww.greatmalvernpriory.org.uk Webmaster:webmaster@greatmalvernpriory.org.uk For information on services, events, outreach, peo-ple, history and much more. Members’ section givesaccess to the notice sheet and other informationnot publicly available. Register or Login to access(link at top of all pages except the Home page).

LYTTELTON WELL (Christian Centre at entrance to Priory)Tel: 01684 573702E-mail: office.info@lytteltonwell.co.uk Enquiries about Priory bookings of the LytteltonRooms should be made at the Priory Parish Office(see contact details)The Well CounsellingTel: 01684 563456

MY FRONT LINE –ANTHEA HORNE

I teach A level and GCSE maths toSixth Form students. I startedteaching 22 years ago after attendingan evening class whilst I was onmaternity leave. The class was to trainto teach adults. It confirmed that Iwould enjoy teaching as a career, so Ichanged from being a computationalfluid dynamist (a what?) to being amaths teacher.

What I enjoy most are the people Iwork with, both colleagues andstudents. I enjoy helping studentswho find maths a real challenge tounderstand a topic. It is verysatisfying when they say “I get it!” Atthe other end of the scale I enjoytrying to answer the questions of thevery able mathematicians. I don’talways succeed, and have to tellthem that I’ll think about it! It makes

me feel that I have made a smalldifference when people I have taught,often several years ago, greet me on atrain, in the bank, or even at the PrioryOpen Day, and tell me what they arenow doing and how they use the maths Itaught them.

The most challenging part of my job ismotivating students who do not want tobe in the lesson. Maths lessons arecompulsory for all students who do nothave a GCSE in maths. Some of thesestudents can be disruptive, whilst othershave very little confidence in their mathsability and need persuading to try toanswer questions. Students who find itimpossible not to check their mobilephones every couple of minutes driveme mad and test my patience. Puttingthe recent education reforms intopractice is an on-going challenge.

In all of this my faith helps me alwaysto do my best, and to set a goodexample in the classroom.

Anthea Horne

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