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Shirley Witham (December 2009 edition of the Church Magazine) Shirley is the Organist at St Peter's.
Having made her mark playing Jerusalem to open the Walton Women’s Institute meetings, Shirley was invited, in 1981, to help out with the Sunday services at St John’s. Four years later under our then Rector Christopher Frith’s guidance, a second-hand Hammond organ was bought to replace a very old piano. Shirley accepted the offer of four free lessons, which came with the purchase of the organ. Up to that point she had never played the instrument. In addition to the Sunday services, she played at many weddings becoming well practised in what Christopher referred to as the ‘ordinary ins and outs’; the wedding marches of Wagner and Mendelssohn. In January 1994, a couple of years after she and husband Roy moved from Somersall to Holymoorside, Shirley started playing for services at St Peter’s. She has favourite hymns, both traditional and modern, including, The King of Love My Shepherd Is, O Lord My God, How Great Thou Art, Thine Be the Glory (played to the tune Maccabeus), Shine Jesus, Shine and Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. Among her favourite contemporary hymn writers she places Timothy Dudley Smith very highly, for both his words and music and likes some, but not all, of Graham Kendrick’s work. “One of the challenges of the modern hymns is that there is often a good deal of accompaniment, a lot of music between the words that presents a challenge for those who don’t read music. Traditional hymns, on the other hand, offer one syllable for one note, which makes it easier to get into.” Shirley chose as her favourite song, Nat ‘King’ Cole’s Stardust, the one she would save if her Desert Island Discs were about to be washed away. She’s recently enjoyed Alan Titchmarsh’s Nobbut a Lad, about his childhood in Ilkley, an area close to where she and Roy were brought up, and Julie Walters’s autobiography, That’s Another Story. Shirley outlined what is involved in being a church organist. It includes choosing the hymns for the Sunday morning services, always easier at Advent, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost than in the long season after Trinity. Her choice is influenced by the Bible readings, which she researches before each service and often after consultation with the Minister. Then there are weddings and funerals, which present their own challenges and rewards. Shirley also has a group of singers at St Peter’s who meet on Tuesday afternoons to practise new hymns and help provide a lead at Sunday services. Finally, asked what she enjoys about being a church organist, Shirley said she was pleased she “had the confidence to do it and the confidence has grown”. She paid tribute to her husband’s support throughout the nearly thirty years she has played at the two churches and spoke of being very privileged to do so. For our part St Peter’s continues to be very fortunate in having Shirley who makes such a massive contribution to our worship. Jake Howe and Hannah Willis' Wedding (December 2009 edition of the Church Magazine) Jake Howe and Hannah Willis were married at St Thomas’ on 7 November 2009. It was a truly uplifting service taken by the Rector, the Rev Matt Barnes. The service was a mixture of traditional and contemporary, with Philip Herrick leading on the organ and piano, ably assisted by Gaz Simmonds and the band. The readings were by Kat Witham and Jenny Ward and Tim Wheeler led the prayers. The sermon was delivered by the Rector. The bride was given away by her father, Paul. Chris Witham was the Best Man and the bridesmaids were Gemma Machin, Rachel Thomas and Nicola Bates. After tea and cakes in church for everyone, the bride and groom left in a Land Rover (a Defender no less) for the main reception at Cressbrook Hall. After the speeches there was a hog roast. Entertainment included singing and music by the duo 'Keeping up with the Joneses' and Hannah herself, who sang two songs. The reception was rounded off by a spectacular firework display before the bride and groom left for their honeymoon in the Lake District. See pictures here Engagements (December 2009 edition of the Church Magazine) Congratulations We offer our congratulations to Steve Willis and Gemma Machin and Angela Gregory and Paul Wright who have announced their engagements recently. We pray that God will bless the rest of their lives together. Memories from Clive and Winifred Slack (February 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) Clive and Winifred Slack spoke at Rendezvous in March 2009 about their early memories of St Thomas’, including the war years. This is an edited version of what they said.
We would sing at three services on a Sunday and have choir practice once a week. As we lived on Walton Crescent this meant a two mile walk each time. A year later war was declared –I can remember being told by a policeman as I was cycling up Walton Road. Some things at St Thomas’ had to change. In the winter, due to the blackout regulations the evening service was brought forward to 3.30pm as we could not have the church lights on. The church bells could not be rung before services. They were only to be rung in the event of an invasion. The stain glass windows were covered to prevent them from being damaged. The flag of St George was flown on the church tower. Many of the young men were called up into the forces. Consequently the choir consisted of youngsters under eighteen and those too old or unable to join the forces. (Winifred’s brothers joined the RAF. My brother Allan was unable to join up as he had badly injured his elbow in a fall when he was young. He went into war work at the Chesterfield Tubeworks.) We were in great demand as choirboys for weddings. Couples wanted to get married before their loved ones were called up into the Forces. After VE day in 1945 restrictions were lifted. The blackouts were removed and the street lighting came back on. The Verger, Fred Biggins, started ringing the bells again. However, as he was getting on in years, he asked me to help him and within a couple of months I had taken over from him. I thoroughly enjoyed ringing the bells and would ring for half an hour before each service. I still ring for the 9am service these days, sixty five years later! Winifred In 1944 the Rev Sillitoe retired and Rev John Hooley took his place. He was much younger with two teenage sons. One of the first things he did was to start a youth club. We had great fun with games and social evenings each week at the St Thomas’ School. On the Easter, Whitsun and August Bank Holidays he used to take us on a hike. A particular Whitsun hike sticks in my mind. It was a lovely sunny day and about 30 of us walked to Chatsworth Park where we had a picnic and played games. Unfortunately as we walked home the heavens opened. I was wearing a crepe summer dress. As you know, crepe shrinks when it gets wet so I spent most of the walk home trying to pull my dress down to knee length from where it kept shrinking to bottom length! This was one of my most embarrassing moments and I was only fifteen! Clive and Winifred –how we met Although Winifred and I had always gone to St Thomas’ we did not meet socially until I was seventeen. On 7 January 1948 I had helped to organise a social and dance evening for the Church of England Men’s Society in St Thomas’ School. As a ladies privilege waltz was announced, a lovely young lady asked me to dance. I felt very privileged as I was rather shy in those days. I am pleased to say that we are still happily dancing together sixty years later! Clive and Winifred, together with Phil and Myra Johnson, are the longest serving members of St Thomas’ and they hope to be so for many years to come. -Editor Golden Memories from Ray and Doff Hearn (February 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) Ray and Dofff have just celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary having been married on Boxing Day 1959.
In 1971 the couple moved to Chesterfield when Ray, a teacher, got a job as Deputy Head at Middlecroft School, Staveley. He later became Head at Charles White School in Matlock until it closed due to reorganisation in 1982. He then became the County Co-ordinator for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. Doff was mainly a full time mum to their four children, Ruth, John, Mark and Simon. Doff remained involved in the children’s and young people’s work at Holy Trinity Church, also did some part time nursing at Scarsdale Hospital and later taught health education at Chesterfield Further Education College. Ray has also been a Church of England Reader since 1974 Currently they remain active in a weekly art group, senior citizens keep fit, badminton, swimming, a home group and family visits -they also have six grand children. Read Ray’s testimony from the August 2007 edition of Ploughshare. Listen to Ray’s testimony given at Furnace January 2010. Simon Twigg's Testimony (February 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 I became a Christian at the age of twenty one. The Lord called me at a strange time in my life which I do not want to go into at the moment. When my dad died in May 2005 I wasn’t the strongest of Christians but my faith was good. The day he died I was outside and singing songs of thanksgiving for the life of my dad. People looked at me as if I was mad, knowing he had just died. I didn’t shed any tears or show any emotions of any kind. (This later became a downfall for me.) Several months past and my faith had reached rock bottom. This is when I started to put a mask on. I fooled my family and my friends for months. At this time we were having a lot of problems with our eldest daughter: sleepless nights, endless damage to the house, bed wetting -the list is endless. In the middle of all this I was arrested for a crime I not committed (I was found not guilty in court ), and a very close friend died. Also at this time we were investigated by Social Services because of a comment that our daughter came out with. But this was around the time when she had just been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (A.D.H.D.). Because of all this I had started getting angry with my wife and the kids and getting very verbally aggressive. I couldn’t take much more. The mask that I had put on was starting to crumble but there were two people who could see under the mask, my wife and my doctor. When I was with the doctor I told him that I had lost all faith in humanity, the N.H.S and the legal system and I had even thought about taking my own life. The only reason why I couldn’t do it was not because of my wife or my kids but because I feared God so much. The doctor made a start in sorting out my mental state and all my other medical conditions. (What a great man he is!). Even though at the time I was aggressive to some of his staff and the surgery wanted to throw me out of the practice he stood up for me and I still remain a patient of his today. onths past by and I started feeling a little better. I was still struggling and my life was still a real mess. Our finances were in a total mess and spiraling in to what I thought was uncontrollable debt. I started to drink (again) and before I knew where I was I was regularly getting drunk. So once again I spoke to my doctor about it. I had some blood tests taken for my diabetes and my liver reading was almost through the roof. The doctor asked if I was alcohol dependent and I told I wasn’t, though in truth thinking back I guess I was. Seeing the results of the test scared the life out of me. (I stopped drinking and its now been nearly a year since I have had a drink.) My faith was lower than ever and life didn’t get any better. I was plodding along until a few months ago when I went to a friend’s house (who is a Christian). There was another friend there who I had not seen for nearly thirteen years. We sat outside talking and during our conversation he asked me to come to [St Thomas’] church -which we did as a family. In the last few weeks my life has improved (even though I am not completely better from my depression). I can see the work the Lord has done for me in those weeks. My faith has never been stronger, my relationship with my wife is back to normal and my finances are on an even keel once again. Praise God! I am enjoying time with my children again and talking to them about the Lord is great. I give thanks for my wife for putting up with me for all these years and standing by me. What a woman of God she really is. Thank you Jesus! I also give thanks for Warren who took the time to talk to me. Thank you Jesus! I thank the Lord as I have now got some of my passions back: Jesus is number one, my wife and kids (and fishing) are important in my life again. And praise the Lord the drink is no longer in my life. Praise you Jesus! Praise and honour for everything in my life is of the Lord’s doing. I give him thanks for every deed He has done. Praise you Jesus! Footnote Having come back to the Lord and attending St Thomas’ Church, at one evening service in November I discovered that one of the main people who helped me sort my life out also attends St Thomas’. It was my doctor! Isn’t it strange how God works! I give thanks and am forever grateful to this man. Thank you Jesus! Simon Twigg Patricia Twigg's Testimony (April 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) n the last edition Simon Twigg gave his testimony. As promised, his wife, Patricia, now gives her’s, telling us how Jesus transformed her life. I was a little girl when our family moved to Poolsbrook, a small mining village near Staveley. My dad had just got a job as a fitter underground at Markham Colliery. As my mother was also working, my grandmother started looking after me. She was a Christian and she made me attend our local Sunday school, which I enjoyed. Several years later in 1973 there was an accident at the pit resulting in many deaths. The pit cage in Number 3 shaft that men rode up and down the mine in had crashed down to the bottom. My dad had just finished his shift and was showering in the pit head baths at the time. He volunteered to help bring the bodies up from the bottom of the shaft. Dad went back to work after the accident but after a couple of days he had to be brought up out of the mine because he was screaming. This happened several times as he was having flash backs. After about six months dad left the pit and took a new job. So we had to move and this is when I stopped going to Sunday school. The years past and when I was fourteen I met a man two years older than me. My mum tried to tell me to keep away from him as she thought he was no good for me, (how true my mum was), but being a typical teenager I thought I knew better and I carried on seeing him. I thought this man was the one for me. I stopped out late at night and skipped school to see him. I was very rebellious and went off the rails. How I managed to pass all my exams I don’t know. When I was eighteen I fell pregnant. I came home from work to find all my clothes were packed in bags and a twenty pound note with them. My parents had thrown me out of their home as I had disgraced them. I moved into my boyfriend parent’s home with him. However he didn’t provide for me or the unborn child and I was wearing clothes that didn’t fit properly and I looked a real mess. When I was six months pregnant I was in the market where I saw my mum. She saw that I didn’t look too good and invited me back to her house to have a family tea. Mum took pity on me and I started to go to my mum’s in a morning and then back to my boyfriend’s just before he got home from work. Where I was living wasn’t too clean and my health visitor told Social Services of the condition who were not prepared to let a new born child live there. So I had to make arrangements to find a new home as I wanted to keep my baby. When my mum found out about this she and dad said that my child and I could live temporally in their house until we found somewhere else to live. When my son Robert was two months old we moved into our own home. My boyfriend moved in as well and when Robert was six years old we decided to marry. This is when things got really bad. He thought having a marriage licence gave him the right to treat me differently (and not in a good way). It started with him physically abusing me. I thought he would stop but how wrong I was. The beatings got worse and then when I refused to have marital relations he raped me. This went on for many years. He then started bringing other women home and making me watch him have sex with them. I did this as I was scared of what he would do to me. Finally he went and moved in with fifteen year old girl and her family. He came regularly to visit Robert. However I stopped all visiting when Robert told me that my husband’s girl friend had interfered with him. We then started to get divorced but again this was a difficult time as my husband began to call round to my home at all hours of the day and beat me up, eventually stopping only when I got the police involved. Once the divorce was settled and I started to get my life sorted out. When I was thirty one I was in the market place and a group of people were dancing and singing. This was YWAM [Youth With a Mission] and a woman called Sue came to talk to me about Jesus. She then invited me to church that Sunday. Initially I just went to see what it was like. On one occasion I sat all the way through the service crying as I felt that there was lots of love around me. At the same time, however, I felt jealous of the people around me as they seemed to have nice lives and everything I hadn’t got. I had been going to church for about four months when I became a Christian. Early the following year I was baptised. Since becoming a Christian the Lord has blessed me in many ways. These include having the love of a new husband and three more wonderful children. Through all this Jesus has taught me that I cannot do anything in my own strength but only through Him who guides me in everything I do. This is just a short version of events and I give glory to God for all things good in my life. The bible passage which gives me strength at times of trouble is 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Hannah’s Prayer. Tricia Twigg 1. Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 2. “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 3. “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4. “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. 5. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. 6. “The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honour. “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; on them he has set the world. 9. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; 10. Those who oppose the LORD will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Markham Colliery was a large mine some five miles east of Chesterfield. On Monday 30 July 1973 at 6.20am as twenty nine men were being lowered down the No 3 shaft (some 1400 feet deep) into the mine there was a catastrophic failure of the braking system and the cage in which the men were fell to the bottom. Eighteen men were killed and the remaining eleven seriously injured. This was not the first disaster in the mines around Chesterfield. In 1938 seventy nine men were killed, again at Markham Colliery in an explosion. In 1950 eighty miners died in a fire at Creswell Colliery. Wedding of Ben Widdowson and Gail Bleakley (April 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) St Thomas’ was full with Ben and Gail’s relatives and friends including those from the church family, the Scouts, Cubs and Beavers. Both are involved with the life of St Thomas’ and Ben is Group Scout Leader of the 3rd Brampton and Gail a Beaver’s leader. The Rector, Matt Barnes took the service. In his address he talked about Ben and Gail living and working together as one. He illustrated this by getting them to actually ‘tie the knot’ and make a fruit salad together as he talked! A guard of honour was formed as the service ended and as they left for their reception. Their honeymoon was in Tenerife -although it was rumoured that Ben had suggested camping in England! See pictures here Mr Mayor will Suffice! (June 2010 edition of the Church Magazine) Keith Morgan, one of our longest serving church members, has just been elected Mayor of Chesterfield.
Keith Morgan A Guide to Protocol (from the Chesterfield Borough Council website) When officially addressing the Mayor use the term Mr Mayor. When officially addressing the Mayoress use the term Madam Mayoress. The Mayor should be introduced as “The Worshipful Mayor of Chesterfield, Councillor Keith Morgan”. The Mayoress should be introduced as “The Mayoress of Chesterfield, Mrs Pat Morgan.” The Mayor's Chain of Office (December 2010 edition of the Church Magazine)
Congratulations to John and Ann Small (August 2010 edition of the Church Magazine)
Rev Phil and Rachael Michell (August 2010 edition of the Church Magazine)
Phil says: “One of my passions in ministry is seeing people come to faith and watching that faith deepen and grow. I love hearing people’s stories and discovering how God has been at work in their lives.” On behalf of all Ploughshare readers may we ask for God’s blessing on Phil and the family. Mark Hoare (The family visited St Thomas’ on 13 June. Listen to them being interviewed by Emma Atkinson here) Farewell to the Baileys (August 2010 edition of the magazine)
Wedding of Steve and Gemma Willis (October 2010 edition of he magazine) The wedding took place on Saturday 14 August of Gemma (nee Machin) and Steve Willis. The best man was Chris Witham and there were four bridesmaids, Kat and Rachel Witham, Hannah Howe and Vikki Woods. The service was conducted by the Rector, Rev Matt Barnes. Philip Herrick was the organist. The majority of the worship was led by the St Thomas’ worship group. After the service there was a buffet in church for all the church family before the formal reception at the Old Hall Hotel, Buxton. See photographs and listen to the service here Read an abridged version of the address here A Golden Celebration -Peter and Maureen Rolfe Celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary (October 2010 edition of the magazine)
Congratulations to David and Laura Holden on their Golden Wedding Anniversary (August 2011 edition of the magazine)
A message from the Retiring Mayor and Mayoress (August 2011 edition of the magazine) We wish to thank everyone at St Thomas' for the splendid encouragement we have received during the last year. Everyone from Matt, who was the Mayor's Chaplain, to congregation members who have taken an interest in our work has made us feel that what we have done has been worthwhile. Church members have been wonderful supporters of The Mayor's Appeal in aid of Fairplay and Samaritans contributing to the five figure sum we have raised since last May. Commitments during our civic year have meant we have not seen as much of you as in previous years but be assured that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Keith and Pat Morgan The Wedding of Katie (Travis) and Andrew Swan (October 2011 edition of the magazine)
Phil Michell is Ordained (December 2011 edition of the magazine)
Read more about Phil and Rachel in the August 2008 edition of the magazine Julie and Steve Lomas celebrate their Silver Wedding Anniversary (December 2011 edition of the magazine)
Rivers: Steve loves canoeing and for their 25th anniversary Steve had taken Julie canoeing! Life’s journey is like canoeing on a river. There are twists and turns and it is very tiring. We have to rely on each other’s strengths to get through. Unconditional: Eleanor said that Julie and Steve’s love for each other is amazing and unconditional. With real, strong love you can do anything. Safety and Security: Julie and Steve have provided their family a safe place to grow up in. They have given to their children what they needed (and not necessarily what they wanted!). They have also given them a place that is secure and where they know they can come back to.. Thank you: Finally Eleanor thanked her mum and dad for the way they have always stood by her and Katie and Sam, and each other have and have shown real love for them, each other and God. You may wonder why there is a picture with a shark in it. Well you will have to ask Julie and Steve to explain! Janet and Kevin Turville, an update (December 2011 edition of the magazine) Now the time has come to move on. For the last few years I have felt called to serve God with my whole life and this spring it became clear that it was right to look for work as a Children’s and Families’ Worker. I applied for a number of jobs and was offered the post in two churches in the Torbay area. I begin this new chapter in my life on 1st September. This is what I wrote in the August /September edition of Ploughshare in 2008. At that time I had spent four years discerning where God wanted me to serve Him and though I felt called to ordained ministry I had to wait for the Church of England to agree. So with Bishop Alastair’s (Bishop of Derby) blessing I took up the post as a Children’s and Families’ Worker in Paignton. I loved my work there although it brought with it many challenges. Not least was the fact that I was an Anglican working for the Methodist Church. However, we worked through our different understanding of things, and I worked closely with the local Anglican Church on many child related events. God was very close to Kevin and me during that time and we loved being by the sea. My desire to serve God in ordained ministry, and the certainty that that was what he wanted me to do never left, and, after a few weeks in Devon, I contacted Bishop Alastair to ask what I should do next. He graciously offered to continue to sponsor me and so my journey continued. In February 2010 I went for a Bishop’s Advisory Panel where they assessed my suitability to go for training for ordained ministry in the Church of England. Ten days later I received a phone call which said that the panel were pleased to recommended me! So, last September saw Kevin and me on the move again -this time to Oxford and to Cuddesdon, a theological college in the middle of the countryside. The last year has been a wonderful time of community, daily worship, stretching academic work and formation -God forming me to be the priest he wants me to be. I spent four weeks of the summer on a long placement back in Derbyshire in the villages of Parwich, Tissington, Thorpe, Alsop le Dale and Fenny Bentley. I had a wonderful time, learnt a great deal and came away more than ever convinced not only that God wanted me to serve as a priest but to do so in a rural setting. Now I’m back in college for another year and awaiting news of where I will serve my curacy. In the meantime, Kevin has been keeping busy. Whilst in Devon he started a project for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Society scanning and cataloguing their 9000 photographs, which he has continued with while in Cuddesdon. He hopes to have the final photos scanned before we leave (though the society keep acquiring more so it could be a bit of a never ending job!) In addition, whilst in Devon he became involved in the maintenance and crewing of a heritage sailing trawler, and has managed to spend a few weeks and weekends down there this summer continuing with that. It was lovely to spend a short time with you in St Thomas’ while I was on my placement. I’m only sorry that due to my son changing the time he wished to meet up I couldn’t stay for the whole service and coffee afterwards. I keep in touch with all that is happening by reading the website and pray that God will continue to bless all that you do for Him. Janet Turville The Wedding of Josh Wheeler and Hannah Cozens (February 2012 edition of the magazine)
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