Every month in St Michael’s News we find a calendar of special dates on which some remarkable people are remembered and celebrated. On the 8 th May we remember one of the most noteworthy characters of the whole history of the church in this country: Julian of Norwich. Julian was not her real name, that is to say it was not her birth name. She took it from the name of the particular church with which she was associated, the Church of St Julian in Norwich. We do not know her original name and in fact know little in the way of fact about her altogether. She was born in 1342 and died in about 1417 we think.
Her connection with the church of St Julian was a literal one: she lived in a room, or small suite of rooms, attached to the side of the church. We know that Julian was highly regarded as a wise woman, a spiritual counsellor, but this in itself would not have ensured that her name would have gone down into history and that a feast day should be held in her memory.
Despite referring to herself as a simple unlettered creature, Julian wrote the first book to be written in English by a woman: ‘Revelations of Divine Love’. It is an account of the sixteen visions which she experienced on the 8 th May 1373, that is 645 years ago. Julian tells us that she was thirty years old at the time and suffering from an illness so severe that she thought she would die. She had already received the last rites and had since worsened so that the parish priest had again come to her bedside and held before her a crucifix ('Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes' as the hymn puts it.) Julian tells us that the priest set the cross before her face and said, 'I have brought you the image of your Maker and Saviour. Look at it and be strengthened'. And then she began to rally and to experience the series of visions or revelations.
She did not write down these experiences to be published immediately. It was only after twenty years spent reflecting on what she had seen that she wrote her book detailing her visions and her interpretation of them. From the book it is clear that the person who wrote these things was no crazy ignorant mystic but a shrewd and learned woman with her feet firmly on the ground. She has a vivid writing style and an imaginative and ground-breaking way of doing theology. Her book is well worth reading.
One of her visions was of a 'little thing, the size of a hazelnut, on the palm of my hand, round like a ball.
I looked at it thoughtfully and wondered, 'What is this?' And the answer came, 'It is all that is made.'
I marvelled that it continued to exist and did not suddenly disintegrate; it was so small. And again my mind supplied the answer, 'It exists, both now and for ever, because God loves it.' In short, everything owes its existence to the love of God. In this 'little thing' I saw three truths. The first is that God made it; the second is that God loves it; and the third is that God sustains it.'
It is remarkable that in an unscientific time, in an age when most believed in a flat earth, that this unlettered woman should have a vision of the whole universe in microcosm, shrunk to the size of a hazelnut, and held in being in the hand of God.
Having visionary experiences is not for everybody, probably not for most Christians. It is not at the heart of what the faith is about. Trying to live up to the commandment to love God and our neighbour as ourself is more than enough for most of us, without being too bothered about visions.
And I think that Julian would probably agree with me, for right at the end of her amazing book she says, 'from the time these visions were first given me, I had often wanted to know what was our Lord's meaning. It was more than fifteen years after that I was answered:
The appeal continues to go from strength to strength, with funds coming in from a wide variety of sources. I will give you more details next month, but meanwhile thanks are due to Sarah Pallot and her collecting team for their efforts in Holyport. There is shortly to be a private dinner in Bray given in aid of our fund, and a splendid Summer Ball at Oakley Court organised by Smita Talati. We are hoping to announce soon the details of a fete in September, so look out for these and other events
Meanwhile, by kind permission of the owner, Mrs Jil Stein, the magnificent Ockwells Manor near Maidenhead is to be opened to the public on the morning of Saturday, 21st June, in aid of St Michael’s Emergency Appeal. We are grateful to Mrs Ann Darracott of Maidenhead Civic Society for the following notes. Tickets for this unique opportunity, priced at just £10, will be on sale in church, or please call Jim Tucker (673685) or Mike Henley (419049).
Ockwells Manor house, referred to by Nicolas Pevsner as being “the most refined and the most sophisticated timber-framed manor house in England”, was built by John Norreys (Norys) Esq in the mid fifteenth century. The survival of Ockwells has been due to the presence of the armorial glass, still in its original setting in the Great Hall, glass that Norreys put up to honour his King, Henry VI and Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and the people he was close to, including his wives (the coats of arms of the first two are there), earls, abbots, bishops and more lowly esquires. The glass is of great aesthetic value, the draughtsmanship is superb, the colours are clear and there is some “jewelling” (insertion of small pieces of glass to resemble jewels) in the two crowns and the surviving mitres.
In 1888 the Illustrated London News said that they wished to see “sunshine streaming into the vast room through the casements stained with every variety of exquisite colour”. Certainly this light bathes the great hall, setting off its medieval features, the open timber roof, large stone fireplace, refectory table and minstrels’ gallery. With the kind agreement of the owners of Ockwells, there is now the opportunity to see this for yourself and help raise funds to restore St Michael’s Church in Bray. Bring your binoculars!
John Norreys Esq was connected with St Michael’s Church, Bray, by 1446 until his death in 1466. In 1446 he helped found St Mary’s Chauntry in the church with the then vicar, Thomas Ludde, whose brass is still in the church. In his will of 1465 Norreys left money for masses for his soul and to pay for his tomb to be located in St Nicholas’s Chapel. He also left money to pay for the renovation of the chapel. Although his tomb is long gone the “re-edifying” work is still apparent with wall plaques and stone corbels supporting the roof of the chapel decorated with angels bearing his armorial coat including those of his second and third wives.
Four hundred years later, in 1862, the then owner of Ockwells Manor, Charles Pascoe Grenfell (grandfather of William Henry Grenfell, Lord Desborough) repaired the chapel as a memorial to his family, placing on the stone corbels, supporting the roof, similar angels bearing the coats of his parents and himself and his wife. By then Ockwells itself was “ruinous” and the armorial glass had been removed for safe-keeping. It was Charles Pascoe’s grandson, William Henry Grenfell who initiated the restoration of Ockwells and by the end of the century it was rescued and the glass restored to the Great Hall.
So the connection between Ockwells Manor house and St Michael’s Bray continues to this day with the owners of the manor house, Mr & Mrs Brian Stein, very kindly agreeing to open the grounds and the Great Hall in aid of the restoration of St Michael’s. This is a very rare opportunity to see the famous glass for yourself .
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St Michael's Bray with Braywood -
Parochial Church Council
Inside your Parochial Church Council from Ken Amery, Hon Secretary to PC
Members of the Parochial Church Council are elected by the parishioners at the Annual Parochial Church meeting in order to make decisions concerning the life of the church on your behalf.
This is a synopsis of the business transacted at the last meeting. Some matters and the minutes of the PCC will remain confidential. The synopsis, like the minutes of every meeting will be approved by the members. It is hoped that you will find the contents interesting, helpful and thought provoking.
Points from the PCC Meeting in March 2008
Chairman
The Vicar was elected as chairman and he thanked Vernon Webster for his work in chairing the meetings during the interregnum. He expressed the wish that he stay on as Deputy Chairman.
Finance
The Treasurer presented his report to go to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in April. This was approved. It was noted that many of those who gave regularly through the “green envelope” scheme had not changed the amount given for many years.
Annual Report
This was submitted to the meeting prior to the APCM and was approved.
Installation and Collation of Richard Cowles
A letter of appreciation had been received from one of the churchwardens at Cuddesdon thanking the churchwardens for their invitation to the event and congratulating St. Michael’s on the success of the evening; this was endorsed by the Vicar .
The Standing Committee
At its last meeting the Standing Committee had looked at its role and its future activity. The Vicar felt that the Committee should continue to meet on a regular basis between the full PCC meetings in order to plan the agenda for the forthcoming meetings.
Report on the Quinqunnial work
Work on the three windows had gone well and they were well on their way to being replaced. The other windows will be looked at in due course. Exploratory work on the north wall will be completed as soon as possible and an application for funding submitted to English Heritage. Because of the time span involved and the right time of year to use lime in the walls work cannot start until April 2009
Church Emergency Appeal
The Appeal continues to go well. Many events are planned for the coming months. Sunday teas, Bray Fete, dinner function at Oakley Court hotel and many others as well as regular “tin shaking” in the parish will be taking place.
Intercessions
The Vicar invited members of the congregation to take the intercessions during Sunday services. He felt that this made them more personal and relevant. He will, of course give the appropriate help and advice.
Friends of St Michael’s
A Bridge afternoon on 9 th April was publicised. Overall these sessions have raised over £4,600 in funds for the Friends.
Next Meeting
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be on Sunday, 27th April at 11.30am in church.
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Easter Saturday Collection in Aid of the Appeal - from Sarah Pallot
The collection at Holyport shops raised £450 which was beyond all expectations. The adverse weather conditions (it was bitterly cold on Easter Saturday, if you remember) may have worked in our favour in that people may have felt so sorry for the collectors that they may have given more generously than they otherwise might have. The shopkeepers too were most supportive.
A very big thank you to the collectors who managed to look bright and cheery (some in Easter bonnets and bunny hats) despite the weather. Very well done everyone!
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Ypres and Bruges - from Ken Amery
Places on our annual trip are going fast. If you want to join us please complete an application form now! Further details from Ken and Gwen Amery (01628 675425) or Roy and Brenda Gardner (01628 773591).
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Easter Lillies
We should like to thank all those who so kindly contributed to the flowers in church at Easter - and the good souls who arranged them so beautifully. The names of those in whose memory gifts were made are listed below: Eve and Trevor Workman, Amy, Marjorie, Sarah, Marilyn and Martin.
Roger Cox in memory of Harriet Allen, Liz in memory of William Percy Allen, Eve Arbon-Davis and Annie Nixon,
Mabel Coppins in memory of loved ones, Jean McIntyre in memory of Olive McIntyre, Frank Robotham in memory of Mr. and Mrs. F. Robotham, Anne Clare in memory of her parents, Mrs. Fontaine in memory of Ric Fontaine.
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Recipes for Restoration
Don’t forget to let Ken and Gwen Amery have those favourite personal recipes to go into the St Michael’s cook book. All proceeds will go to the restoration fund. Recipes can be for anything from cakes to three course meals – healthy eating to economical students meals. Ideal if you can let us have them on e-mail at but they can come in any format as long as we can read them!!
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St Michael's Bellringers
At our recent AGM we discussed how we could ‘do our bit’ to help in fund-raising for the Emergency Appeal.
You may have noticed that from time to time we ring quarter-peals, usually but not necessarily, for special occasions. A quarter-peal consists of about 1200 changes, and takes 45 – 50 minutes.
We decided that we would offer to ring ‘sponsored’ quarter-peals for anyone with something special to celebrate. So, if there is a special anniversary, birthday or other momentous occasion and you would like a quarter-peal rung, tell us about it – preferably well in advance – and we will ring a quarter-peal in return for a donation of £40 to the Emergency Appeal. This would make a very unusual present.
As a record of the event we would produce an appropriate certificate. Of course you could, if you wish, hear the bells ringing your quarter-peal by being in the churchyard at the right time. We would also be happy to include a visit to the tower to see the bells.
Contact the Tower Captain or Tower Secretary (phone nos. in Parish Directory) to make your booking.
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Midsummer Gala Ball
Tickets are now on sale for a glittering Midsummer Gala Ball to be held at Oakley Court Hotel on Friday 13 June. The evening will begin with a champagne reception on the beautiful river gardens, followed by a delicious three course dinner with operatic interludes performed by four superb young singers, to piano accompaniment by St Michael's music director, Oliver Gooch.
There will be a grand raffle with fabulous prizes to be won, and dancing till 1am.
Tickets are priced at £75 each or £525 for a table of 8. There are also opportunities for local businesses to purchase advertising space in the Ball Programme. For further information please contact Smita Talati on 01753 858697.
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Meet the Bishop
You are invited to meet the Rt. Revd. John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, who will give a talk on ‘The Prayerful Journey’ at the Berkshire Council of Christians and Jews, on Tuesday, 13th May at 8.00 p.m. at Maidenhead Synagogue, Grenfell Lodge, Ray Park Road, Maidenhead. The talk will be followed by questions and refreshments, along with a chance to talk to him personally. All are welcome.
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Behind the Hymn - Mark Woods
Breathe on me, Breath of God - by Edwin Hatch
There’s an Old Testament passage which would send chills up the spine if it weren’t forever associated with a comic song.
But go back to Ezekiel’s original, and dem dry bones are anything but. In chapter 37 the prophet speaks of being set in a valley full of bones. God asks him, ‘Son of Man, can these bones live?’ A suitably cautious answer is met by a demonstration of God’s power, as - and we cannot avoid the image of the hip-bone connected to the thigh-bone, and so on – the bones come together and are clothed with flesh.
The miracle is complete, however, when the breath of God enters them and they stand on their feet, as a vast army.
The story was undoubtedly in the mind of Edwin Hatch (1835-1889) when he wrote ‘Breathe on me, breath of God’.
An Anglican priest, Hatch became professor of classics at Trinity College in Toronto and rector of a high school in Quebec before returning to academia in Oxford. He was a considerable scholar, but of all his works this hymn is the one to have survived.
The story in Ezekiel is about the parlous state of the people of Israel in exile. Their national glory is long gone, and they needed a promise of hope for the future. Though they were nothing but dry bones, God would restore them to life again.
The Church in England in the mid-19th century, for all its trials and doctrinal squabbles, was in a far healthier state than it had been fifty years before; the Evangelicals and the Oxford Movement between them had rescued it. So Hatch makes the Pentecost moment of the Spirit into something deeply personal. He cannot say that the nation needs a revival, but he knows enough of the human heart to know that every Christian does.
However, his vision is not of a quiet, inoffensive piety which consists of good works and soft words. It owes more to the great mystics like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. He imagines the Christian soul lost in God, transformed in this world into the likeness of Christ by the indwelling of the Spirit of God.
We are rather used to the words, and sing them too easily. A prayer that God will bring us to the point where we love what he loves, will what he wills, ‘until this earthly part of me/ Glows with thy fire divine’ is not to be made lightly.
Breathe on me, breath of God is one of those hymns which should endure, and be sung, if only because it reminds us that all our social activism and evangelistic zeal will only flourish if they are rooted in personal devotion to Christ.
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