The Vicar Writes

Dear Friends,

When visitors come to the church, either for a service or simply to look around, the first question they ask is almost invariably, ‘How old is this church?’ When they are told ‘Over 700 years old’ they look suitably impressed.

It is a long time for a building to have been standing in the same place. Certainly the church is older by far than any other building in the village, and we may wonder whether any other of the presently existing structures will be standing in another seven centuries’ time.

The entries in our visitors’ book are evidence that people come from all over the world to Bray. I heard of a visitor from overseas who came to visit a village from which her ancestors came. Finding the church where many of her forebears had been baptised, married and buried and finding their names in the records and in the churchyard was for her a powerful spiritual experience. She said that gaining a sense of history, continuity and place helped her feel rooted in both place and in her Christian faith and part of something intensely valued and meaningful. ‘But what is the most wonderful’ she said, ‘is that it is all still here.’

Often at this time of year (as I write) Maureen and I have set out on the Annual Historic Churches Trust Sponsored ‘Cycle, Ride or Walk’. The idea is to visit as many churches as you like by cycling or walking and so raise funds for the Trust and for your own church. The Trust can then give grants to church restoration projects. Visiting as many churches as you can makes for an enjoyable, if exhausting, day. What has struck me is how well-cared for most of the churches are. There is evidence of loving attention and substantial expenditure to the fabric of the buildings and indeed it has been claimed that at the present time the condition of England’s churches is better than it has ever been. They are all ‘still here’.

Of course our churches are not just historic buildings or museums. As the example of our overseas visitor reminds us there is an essential and undeniable spiritual dimension to these places. T S Eliot says in a poem, ‘You are here to kneel where prayer has been valid.’ I sometimes like to think that the very stones of the church are soaked with the prayers that have been said within them down the centuries, and that this accounts for the atmosphere of holiness we may discern in these places where ‘prayer has been valid.’

Our hope and intention is to restore and maintain our church so that it may stand as a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, ‘the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow’ for at least another 700 years. Over the last few weeks Sunday Teas in the Church Hall and the Vicarage garden have raised over £1,000 for the St Michael’s Emergency Appeal and our assistant organist Lesley Burch raised over £400 by playing every hymn in the hymn book. We thank everyone who is helping us in this endeavour.

With my love and prayers,

Richard

All Souls Service

All Souls Service to commemorate the faithful departed on Sunday 2nd November at 6.30 p.m. If you would like the name of a loved one to be commemorated by being read out during this service please contact Linda Shepherd, T: 01628 671458; Email: linda@bfs-international.co.uk

Summer Teas - by the Henley Family

The revival of Summer Teas in this emergency appeal year appears to have been acknowledged as a universal success. Throughout the summer we raised £1042.88, with the worst week being the first (before I figured out the best places to place the big notices in the village), and the best week being the final week at the vicarage.

Throughout the summer the weather was not particularly kind to us, which makes this result all the more special. A majority of our customers were not part of our regular congregation, and I hope that most of them paid a visit to our church as well as enjoying a good value afternoon tea. My lasting memories will be of the families sitting outside in the sun enjoying their tea, cakes and ice creams. That’s what summer should be.

Our thanks go to everyone that helped in any way – as part of one of the teams in the hall, in church watch or by baking cakes. Our thanks also go to everyone that came along as a customer.

No guarantees, but Summer Teas may well make an appearance next year.

For the record, the winner of the Lucky Prize Draw (box of chocolates) was Sarah Hernandez (from Cox Green).

Church Lighting - by Mike Henley

As you may well have noticed, the lights in the church have changed! Here’s a quick background on why the changes have been made, and what’s been done.

To start with a few facts and figures. The lighting in the church has remained unchanged for much of the last 20 years, and consisted primarily of two types of lights: high pressure sodium and tungsten halogen. The high pressure sodium lamps give a very orange light, and lit the whole of the nave. These lights are very efficient, probably the most efficient lighting available at the time of their installation, and have saved the church a small fortune in running costs over the years. The downside of sodium lights is that the light output is in a very narrow part of the visible spectrum giving very poor colour definition and not being good for reading. By contrast tungsten halogen lighting (was used to light the chancel, choir, high altar and chapels) has a near perfect spread across the visible spectrum, thus very good quality light, but this spread continues well beyond the visible part of the spectrum, thus most of the energy is emitted as heat. Tungsten Halogen lights are some of the most inefficient lights available. Their primary application should be security lighting because they are at full brightness almost instantly.

Before anything was changed, the cost of having all the lights on inside church was roughly 70p per hour. And to illustrate the stark differences in efficiency levels, roughly 55p of that was attributed to the tungsten halogen lighting. When, earlier this year I realised the scale of these numbers, I committed myself to doing something about. In co-operation with the Vicar, Wardens and the Treasurer, I have!

The tungsten halogen lights have been replaced with primarily metal halide lights and a small number of CFL-PL lights. The metal halide lights are a similar technology to the sodium lights, however they use a combination of vaporised metals to give a much broader spread of light across the visible spectrum. These lamps have been selected to give the “warmest” possible light for this technology. These lights are almost as efficient as the sodium lights. The CFL-PL lights use the same technology as household energy efficient lighting. They are included in the lighting scheme because they achieve 50% brightness within a few seconds of switch-on, and instantly relight following a brief power outage (a trait that is not shared with the metal halides), and are also very efficient.

The sodium lamps have been replaced with metal halide lamps. The running costs of these lamps are identical to the sodium lamps they have replaced, however the quality of light is significantly improved, and the balance of light in the church as a whole is significantly improved. This is probably the first time that the numerous monuments along the walls of the nave can be properly appreciated. I really do think our long departed former parishioners and benefactors would be proud.

Phase 1 (replacing the tungsten halogen lights) is now complete, the “all lights on” cost has now been reduced from 70p to 30p per hour. Further phases will continue to add lights in a few dark corners, to feature light some stunning parts of the church, to add very subtle lighting that can be used for candlelit services, to provide lighting in the event of a power outage – all of course will be energy efficient. But before that will be changes in the church hall – again to put things into context, at the time of writing, the cost of lighting the hall is now almost the same as lighting the whole church!

I will also be putting together a set of lighting charts that will recommend which light switches should be turned on for different types of service and church use. Hopefully this will result in further savings.

As you probably appreciate this work has taken a many, many long hours, and my greatest thanks go to my dear wife Vicki, who has been the most valuable member of our two person team, moving, and most importantly standing at the bottom of the ladder to ensure a safe working environment. Without Vicki sharing my continued dedication to this project it would never have got off the ground.

My thanks also go to Ian Murray for his continued support and for being honest with me during the trial period when things were heading in the wrong direction and to Richard for his constant patience.

Letters to the Editor

From time to time the Editor receives letters for publication which he is quite prepared to consider. The following is one such letter.

Sir

I read in the September issue of St. Michael's News that the PCC noted that since the introduction of the Revised Parish Communion 'some people were now attending the 8 o'clock service instead of the 10 o'clock one'. As a regular attendee of the 10 o'clock service, I personally note, with some concern, that there are a good many regular faces missing at the service.

Taken on its own merit, it is hard to see why regulars would not attend for a limited time trial a revised service, which I really do not see as being so different from its predecessor. Certainly I do not believe that the revised service, alone, is what has encouraged non-attendance at Bray church or induced a changed worshipping programme. I believe, rather, that it is the introduction of the enforced 'sharing of the Peace', during either version of our Parish Communion, which has not been welcomed by many, including myself.

To us at Bray, this sharing was only introduced at the Interregnum. I know that our departing vicar was no advocate of the practice. At services during the Interregnum we were given the opportunity to 'share the Peace' if we wished, or if it were our custom. That worked well. The problem has only been heightened with the new Incumbent's preaching on the necessity to take an active role in participating.

In 49 years of very regular attendance at probably 15 different churches, I have not witnessed any emphasis on what I am now told is a tradition. I would prefer an encouragement for all members of the congregation to extend a warm acknowledgment, maybe a handshake, and some passing words at any time of the week and in any location that we/they meet, rather than at a specific moment during a single Sunday service.

I can see that some members of the congregation do actually take a wholehearted part in the 'sharing of the Peace'. In front of us, with a few of the congregation that still attend, some embracement ensues and we witness great enthusiasm for this part of the service - yet strangely an absence at the alter rail for communion or a blessing, follows! During the old regime, members of the congregation who support the new practice were still regular attendees, along with those who do not approve and are now abstaining. I believe that an error of judgement, or guidance, has been made and St. Michaels is encouraging its own decline in worshippers.

David Barnett

St Michael's Bellringers - from the Editor and his Assistant

If you are an ‘Archers’ fan, you will know that at the beginning of September the Ambridge bellringers went to something called the ‘Ringing Roadshow’. You might well have thought that such a thing was a figment of a scriptwriter’s imagination: let us assure that it most definitely was not.

We are much involved in a small local group raising money for the Oxford Diocesan Bell Fund, which gives grants for the restoration of church bells, and as we have done in the past, took a stand at the Roadshow to sell our wares. As two more Bray ringers took part in handbell demonstrations, and yet two more went as visitors, there was something of a shortage of ringers in Bray.

What, you may ask, exactly is a ‘Ringing Roadshow? It is something which takes place every two or three years, this year’s event being the fifth, and took place over two days at the National Showground, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, so quite a long way to transport our goods, which amounted to two cars loaded to capacity in anticipation of large sales - we were not disappointed.

The idea is to showcase everything possible concerning bells and the ringing of them. Stands were run by the bell foundries (Whitechapel and Loughborough), various bellhangers, ringing guilds and associations, the Ringing World (the weekly publication for bellringers), clockmakers, the Central Council of Church Bellringers, makers of various equipment, and numerous others large and small. The exhibition hall resounded with assorted dings and bongs all day!

Apart from the large number of stands, there were ten ‘mini-rings’, which are portable rings of bells, all available for ringers to ‘have a go; there was a Dutch carillon and carilloneur, handbell ringing demonstrations and concerts - and the opportunity to try your hand. Also available were various seminars and unlimited advice on all aspects of ringing. Even if you were not already a ringer it was possible to have an ‘introductory lesson’ on a very realistic dumb-bell.

By the end of the two days, we had seen many old friends among the thousands attending, and taken lots of money; altogether a very satisfactory, although very tiring, expedition.

The Holyport Art and Craft Show

Once again the annual Art and Craft Show will take place in the Holyport memorial Hall on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November. This year includes local artists and craft tables, and features woven scarves for sale, accompanied by demonstrations on a spinners wheel. The show is open between 2pm to 5pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday, entrance is £1, and all proceeds go the the Memorial Hall. Please come along to support this annual village event, browse through the paintings and crafts, and try a ploughmans lunch with a glass of wine. Any new helpers or exhibitors please contact Sarah Papworth on 01344 891334

Meeting and Events - October

WOMEN'S INSTITUTES

BRAYWOOD
Wednesday, 8th October at 7.30 p.m. in Braywood Memorial Hall.

HOLYPORT
Thursday, 9th October at 7.45 p.m. in Holyport Memorial Hall.
Mr. Adam Atkinson - ‘How to Lose Weight and Stay Fit Permanently.'

MONEYROW GREEN
Monday, 27th October at 2.00 p.m. in Holyport Memorial Hall.
Mr.N. Glover-Wright - ‘Game Parks of E. Africa.'

MUSIC AT BRAY - Oct 12th, 3pm in the church

MILOS KARADAGLIC - Classical Guitar
Music for Classical Guitar including Rodrigo’s Three Spanish Pieces

BRAY SOCIETY

Tuesday, 7th October at 8.00 p.m. in Bray Village Hall.
Leo Walters - ‘The Mayoralty in the Royal Borough’

Leo Walters, twice mayor of RBWM, will open our twenty-fifth season with some recollections of life as the “first citizen” of the Royal Borough.

MAIDENHEAD HERITAGE CENTRE

Wednesday, 15th October at King George VI Club at 7.30 p.m.
‘The Wind in the Willows’ - the book and the author. A lecture celebrating the centenary of the great classic. Tickets £6 members, £7.50 non-members.

Centre open on Farrmers’ Market Sunday mornings.

COMBINED CHARITIES FAIR

Saturday, 25th October 10.00 a.m. - 3.30 p.m. in Maidenhead Town Hall.