July 2006 - Contents The World Cup Repton, Foremark and Newton Solney Parish Churches Services at St Wystan's, Repton Services at St Saviour's, Foremark Services at St Mary's, Newton Solney Readers and Intercessors at St Wystan's Altar Flowers at St Wystan's Brasses at St Wystan's Altar Flowers at St Saviour's United Reformed Church Services at the United Reformed Church Family Service and Junior Church Prizegiving, Sunday 16th July Family Barbecue at 5 Monsom Lane, Saturday 15th July Church Picnic, Sunday 30th July Coffee Morning Shell (for children aged 7+) Baptisms, Marriages, Funerals and Burial of Ashes Marriages Tony Johnson and Melanie O'Hara Craig Andrew Froggatt and Sharon Louise Mansfield Funerals and Burial of Ashes David Jewell St Wystan's News Congratulations to Dr. Stephen Longden Repton 1350: 'Vikings and Christians' A Promenade Lecture, Friday 19th May Repton 1350: The Bishop's Walk, Saturday 3rd June Clare Paine set for Uganda! Christian Aid Collection Church Urban Fund Campaign to Tackle Poverty Repton M.U. St Mary's News St Mary's Church Roof Repton Pre-school Sports Day and Summer Fair, Wednesday 19th July Newton Solney Infant and Pre-School Autumn Ball, Saturday 30th September Thankyou Wendy and Stephen Longden Jan and David Roberts Repton Village and History Repton W.I. Repton Parish Council, Summer Play Activities Burglaries 'Safer Neighbourhoods' Repton Village History Group Repton Parish Council, Airport Expansion & Wildlife Walk Repton Casuals Football Club Awards Repton Village Society The Palmer Family of Repton Milton & Foremark Village Matters Milton Village Walk Gardening Notes Sam Beeton: Letter from Madagascar

---

The World Cup

There is really only one topic to write on this month - the World Cup. Now I must make an immediate apology to all football fans, because playing football, at least at a competitive level, is not one of my skills.

I do, of course, support our national team and hope that they win. But, like the Archbishop of York, however enthusiastic I am, I shall not be offering prayers that they win at the expense of a better team. As John Sentamu said: 'Let the best team win - and we know who that is!' I shall watch many of the games, not least so that I can hold an intelligent conversation with my sons, both of whom are keen sportsmen.

To come clean, I confess that it's not the football World Cup that I want to write about, but the competition in Germany is a useful peg on which to hang some comments about another world cup.

Visually there is some resemblance between the football World Cup and the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper. They are both goblets, referred to as cups, but there the likeness ends. When Jesus said: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood", he was not referring to the cup itself but its contents, the wine. The wine represents his life. His life is about to be poured out on the cross. He is saying that his death is not just the next Roman crucifixion, but that it has a purpose. It will create a new relationship between his heavenly Father and his people. His life is poured out for many - in other words, for all people. Because God so loved the world, and because Jesus gives up his life out of love for all people, we can claim that the cup of this new covenant is truly a world cup.

There is a further sense in which the cup of Holy Communion is a world cup: Christians all around the world follow Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of me". In John's gospel Jesus says: "I am the true vine and you are the branches." So one way we remain part of the vine of Jesus' risen life is to obey his command to "Do this" - to celebrate Holy Communion - so that he may be present; for that is what in "remembrance of me" means.

So while the events in Germany will either be crowned by euphoric victory or mourned in sad defeat, there is another World Cup which does not have to be played for. As Gregory Dix said many years ago in 'The Shape of the Liturgy': "And best of all, week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of the Christian world, the pastors have celebrated Holy Communion just to make the holy common people of God."

With best wishes and prayers,

---

Services at Foremark, Newton Solney
and Repton Churches

St Wystan's, Repton

St Saviour's, Foremark

St Mary's, Newton Solney

---

Readers and Intercessors at St Wystan's

---

Altar Flowers

---

Brasses

---

Altar Flowers and Cleaning Rota at St Saviour's

---

The United Reformed Church

---

Family Service and Junior Church Prizegiving, Sunday 16th July

We welcome Mr. Peter Morley from Belper to lead this family service. It is Peter's first visit, and he will be presenting the prizes for attendance in Junior Church. Come along and support our children and young people.

---

Family Barbecue at 5 Monsom Lane, Saturday 15th July

A bouncy castle and games for all the children, and lots of delicious food! The fun starts at 3 pm, the food will be served from 4 pm. Telephone 701581 to reserve your tickets.

---

Church Picnic, Sunday 30th July

The Church Picnic will follow a short service lasting about twenty minutes. Bring a picnic lunch; drinks for the children will be provided.

---

Coffee Morning

The next Coffee Morning will be on Saturday 9th September.

---

Shell Group (for children aged 7+)

... meets on Mondays, July 3rd, 10th, and 17th from 6.30 to 7.30 pm. New members are welcome.

---

Marriages

Tony Johnson and Melanie O'Hara were married at St Mary's Church, Newton Solney, on Saturday 6th May.

Craig Andrew Froggatt and Sharon Louise Mansfield were married at St Wystan's Church on Saturday 10th June.

---

Funeral

David Jewell, Headmaster of Repton School from 1979 to 1986, died at home on Sunday 21st May after a period of ill health. His funeral took place on Tuesday 30th May at St Bartholomew's Church, Porthleven, Helston, where he lived in retirement.

Before coming to Repton, David was Head of Bristol Cathedral School, and from Repton he became Master of Haileybury from 1987 to 1996. He was a leading figure in the world of independent Education; the high point of his distinguished career was his election as Chairman of the Headmasters' Conference in 1991.

There will be a Service of Thanksgiving at Haileybury.

---

St Wystan's News

Congratulations!

After three years training, Dr. Stephen Longden will be licensed as a Reader in Derby Cathedral. Do come and support him on Saturday 15th July at 11 am; you are all welcome.

---

Repton 1350: 'Vikings and Christians' A Promenade Lecture, Friday 19th May

On a grey evening we gathered in the atmospheric Undercroft of the Old Priory of Repton School for a Promenade Lecture, part of the celebrations for the 1350th anniversary of the establishment of Diuma as first the Bishop of Mercia. In an event organised by Robert Holroyd, Headmaster of Repton School, we were treated to the story of Repton's Viking history, based on the latest research. Our guide was Julian Richards, the leading TV archaeologist of the 'Blood of the Vikings' series, scenes of which were shot in Repton.

From the Undercroft, Julian led us to the banks of the old Trent where, by those peaceful waters, we imagined the fearsome Viking longships drawing up, and pictured them disgorging fearsome warriors into a terrified religious community. Outside St Wystan's Church we saw where the Viking fortifications thrown up in the winter of 873 had butted up to the Saxon chapel erected above the Royal Mausoleum of Mercian Kings.

The final leg took us to the vicarage garden where we heard how the legends of a mysterious buried giant had became reality when Professor Biddle's team unearthed the Viking charnel house just outside their fortified camp. And so we peered into the gloom of history and the early Christian roots of our village, sensing the impact of a violent Viking invasion. We might even have been moved to wonder about the contemporary parallels to those movements of cultures and populations, or even the fate of the local faithful, had not the evening's generous refreshments and comforting mood of celebration put such disturbing thoughts from our minds.

---

Repton 1350: The Bishop's Walk, Saturday 3rd June

On a hot, sunny morning about 30 of us set off from Derby Cathedral in true pilgrimage fashion with a blessing from Canon Nicholas Henshall and a hymn at the steps of the Cathedral, on a pilgrimage in memory of Diuma's mission bringing Christianity to Repton 1,350 years ago.

Roger Juneau had mapped out a route through the byways of Littleover, Findern and Repton, with a most comprehensive historical guide. Barely a mile from the start we stopped for welcome refreshments provided by the parishioners of St Luke's, a splendid Victorian church near Drewry Lane. It was getting warmer all the time. We crossed Rykneld Recreation Ground, a lovely park climbing steeply up to Burton Road with views across Derby. Having negotiated the Ring Road, we came upon Clemson's Park, created by the family of that name with a donation of 4 acres to Derby Grammar School as playing fields, and 8.5 acres to the residents of Littleover, in 1965 - a really beautiful park.

By this time our line was stretching some half a mile as we walked slowly through the fields at the back of Heatherton Village, climbing stile after stile in the mid-day sun. We could now see the rooftops of Findern, but it was all a mirage, as it took another hour before we stopped for a picnic lunch on the Green, where we were joined by a lot more people. The Parish Room and the Village Hall were both open to us. Seymour Bell, the Chairman of Findern Parish Council, had given a lot of help at the planning stage, and even mowed the green specially for the occasion.

The walk continued through the complex canal system at Findern and into Willington; then for a short time along the banks of the Trent before striding out through an overgrown path full of nettles and brambles to Brook End - a true part of any pilgrimage, I suppose. We recovered with tea and cakes on the Vicarage lawn, provided very kindly by Carol Paine and her team, and the day closed with a brief service in St Wystan's, led by Canon Truby, which included a few moments densely packed in the Crypt.

Thank you, Roger, for a really great day out.

---

Clare Paine set for Uganda!

Thank you to all who contributed and came to the 'Afternoon Tea on the Vicarage Lawn'; it was a huge success! We had much fun and raised over £300. As a result I am nearing my £1400 fundraising target!

I have been very touched by everyone's generosity and kind thoughts. I really feel that you all have ownership of this trip, and I look forward to telling all on my return! Meanwhile, a big thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to support my fundraising ideas.

---

Christian Aid Collection

This year's Christian Aid collection in Repton, Foremarke, Newton Solney and Ingleby raised £2074.05, £491.15 in Newton Solney and £1582.90 in Repton, Foremarke and Milton. Many thanks to all who contributed so generously, and to those who held fund raising events and donated the money to Christian Aid.

We have estimated that Christian Aid will be able to claim back over £100 tax on gifts from taxpayers. Do please continue to fill in the envelopes.

We would like to thank the dedicated collectors and the counters who helped to co-ordinate the collection, and The Post Office for having the collection box. Also the new collectors who have joined us, and those who are retiring after years. We would especially like to thank Ted Weston who has given so many years; you will be sorely missed, Ted.

May we remind collectors to contact us if you are unable to collect next year; if you leave it too late we may be unable to cover your area. We are looking for collectors for all areas for next year. Even if you can only collect once, we would be grateful if you could contact either Jackie Hurrell, 702089, or Melodie Kettle, 559217. For Newton Solney the contact is Jennifer Haynes, 703827.

---

Church Urban Fund Campaign to Tackle Poverty

In early June the Church Urban Fund (CUF) launched a campaign to tackle poverty in England. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the 11.4 million people living below the poverty line (currently about £100 per week for a single adult) and encourage action in local communities.

We live in the fifth richest country in the world and yet 20 percent of people live below the poverty line, 3.4 million of them children. Poverty is deep rooted in our communities. We know that children raised in poverty are at least twice as likely to be poor as adults, and those living in deprived areas are generally more at risk of developing long-term illness and disability, and more likely to be the subject of crime. Poverty in Britain is strongly associated with drug abuse and homelessness.

The CUF was established 20 years ago in response to the 1985 report 'Faith in the City'. In the past it has worked quietly behind the scenes, supporting local projects and doing pioneering work with the poorest 10 per cent of communities in England. It is one of the few national organisations that invest in grass-roots projects working to eradicate the negative effects of poverty, but struggles to get funding. It tackles poverty in the most deprived urban and rural areas of England, contributing £55 million to over 4,000 local projects. CUF grants are allocated through the Church of England dioceses, which means that decisions are informed by local knowledge. We know that the projects are helping people that need it the most and are tackling the direst problems.

The CUF's new campaign has been prompted by the extension of its remit by the Church of England, and recognition that people who are poor tend to go unnoticed.

The campaign will take place in two stages. The launch will start the process of raising public awareness and gather support from the community. The second stage, starting in October, will concentrate on fundraising.

For more information visit www.cuf.org.uk. You can join the Challenging Poverty campaign by going online at www.challengingpoverty.org.

---

Repton M.U.

Mothers' Union members recently enjoyed lunch at the Dome, Derby University's new restaurant in Buxton. The food was prepared and served by students working for catering qualifications and was excellent. The scenic route home included a stop at Tissington to see the Well Dressings.

After the mix-up over the date of the June meeting, July's date has been checked and double-checked! Wednesday 19th July at 2 pm in Fisher Close Community Room: June Scott, 'A Reader's Ministry'.

---

St Mary's News

St Mary's Church Roof

At Easter it was hoped that the restoration of the church roof would have begun by early summer. Unfortunately the wet weather in May delayed work on the builders' spring project, and at the time of writing their arrival is still awaited. However, they should be here soon; and we apologise in advance that, in the interests of Health & Safety, for several weeks access to the church is likely to be restricted to weekends.

---

Repton Pre-school Sports Day and Summer Fair Wednesday 19th July from 10 am at The Mitre Field behind The Den Races for pre-school children and toddlers (maybe also for Mums and Dads ...!) bouncy castle   •   face painting cake stall   •   white elephant stall Phoenix cards on sale Come and join us. We look forward to seeing you there!

Newton Solney Infant and Pre-School invite you to their Autumn Ball Saturday 30th September at the Marquee, Newton Solney by kind permission of the Holdcroft family Reception 7.30 pm, Supper at 8.15 pm Dancing and Entertainment Carriages 1am Tickets £35 per person Black Tie Contact Jill Langley, tel 01283 701065

---

Thankyou

... to everyone who supported our first National Gardens Scheme open day at Woodend Cottage, 134 Main Street, on 28th May. We raised £309 for NGS charities, and a further £139.05, via delicious home-made cakes and teas provided by friends from St Saviour's, Foremark-cum-Ingleby, for their church.

We are open again for the NGS on Sunday 2nd July and Sunday 13th August, 1 - 5 pm, entrance fee £2. In both cases the money for teas goes to support Foremark Church.

... to everyone who visited our garden at 37 High Street on Sunday 11th June as part of the National Gardens Scheme. £313 was sent to the scheme for their charities, and £121 was raised selling teas for St Wystan's Church.

---

Repton Village & History

Repton W.I.

At our June meeting we welcomed Sarge, a very well-behaved demonstration dog. We watched a video showing how 'Hearing Dogs for Deaf People' finds and trains suitable dogs, and heard from some of those whose lives had been transformed thanks to their dog. Then Sarge showed us just how useful a trained dog can be to a deaf person.

Next Meeting: Come and have a go at Bobbin Lace! All equipment provided by our speaker, Diana Millner. Tuesday 11th July at 7.15 pm in the Village Hall.

---

Repton Parish Council, Summer Play Activities

For any of the following, just turn up on the day.

XtremeSportsMobile
Monday 24th July & Friday 28th July, 1 pm - 4 pm
Venue: Repton Junior School
Age: 8 to 19
Cost: Free

SportsMobile
Monday 7th August, 2pm - 4pm
Venue: The Mitre Field, Repton
Age: 8 to 12
Cost: Free

SportsMobile
Wednesday 9th August & Wednesday 16th August, 10 am - 12 noon
Venue: The Mitre Field, Repton
Age: 8 to 12
Cost: Free

Laser Storm
Friday 25th August, 1 pm - 4 pm
Venue: The Mitre Field, Repton
Age: 8 to 19
Cost: Free

Sports Break
Monday 7th August to Friday 11th August, 10.15 am to 2.45 pm
Venue: The Den, Mitre Field, Repton
Age: 8 to 12
Cost: £5 per day

---

Burglaries

There have been several burglaries in Repton recently. Please be vigilant and keep doors of premises and outbuildings locked. If you see anything suspicious, in an emergency phone 999. If it is not an emergency, phone 0845 1233333 and your call will be put through to the relevant force. You can also reach officer Kelemko, beat officer for the Repton area, on 07711734430.

---

'Safer Neighbourhoods'

The Home Office has chosen South Derbyshire as a pilot for its 'Safer Neighbourhood' initiative. The idea is for agencies such as the police, district council and county council to work together with the public to deal with community issues and to further reduce crime and fear of crime.

The district has been divided into six areas with Repton, Findern, Stenson Fields and Willington put together as one. You are encouraged to attend the following meetings, which will address issues in your area. Everyone is welcome to attend either one or all of the meetings. Be there to have your say!

6.30 pm, Thursday 10th August at Findern Village Hall
6.30 pm, Tuesday 10th October at Stenson Fields Primary School
6.30 pm, Tuesday 5th December at Repton Village Hall

---

Repton Village History Group

Following our Annual General Meeting in May we are pleased to welcome several new people to the Committee. After the AGM, Robin Trotter gave an illustrated talk about Burton Abbey. Robin is very interested in the Abbey's history; he has spent many years researching it and trying to find out what it looked like. He showed slides of many other abbeys to build up a picture of the one at Burton, as well as a model showing how he believes it must have looked. It was an excellent presentation.

Our next meeting at the Village Hall will be on Tuesday 18th July at 7.30 pm, when Barbara Fibiger will talk about 'Living Above the Shop', describing life in pre-war Derby. Everyone is welcome. There is a small charge for entry.

---

Repton Parish Council

Airport Expansion
Proposals for the development of Nottingham East Midlands Airport (NEMA) over the next ten years are detailed in a Draft Master Plan that was published this spring. Two particularly noteworthy points are a quadrupling of the freight handled to 1.2 million tonnes a year, and a large increase in the number of available destinations to 200. There are no plans for a second runway. The expanded operations would double the jobs on site to about 15,000 in total. The following is an extract from the parish council's submission under the public consultation process:

"Whilst continued expansion of NEMA will no doubt bring wealth to the local area, it is important that the effects of expansion are considered, both the flight aspect and the surface routes, and how this impacts on the community as a whole.

"One of the major concerns is the continued use of aircraft exceeding the 57db night noise contour within the hours of 2300 - 0700. For commercial reasons NEMA still allows aircraft in this category to operate outside this night time band and does not levy fines.

"Operators should be encouraged to adopt the 'continuous descent approach' for all landings; there are still aircraft operating a different landing approach over the Repton area, although recently numbers have reduced considerably.

"Noisiest aircraft should be banned not only from operating within the night-time band but also on any daytime flights. If it is NEMA's intention to continue to allow the noisiest aircraft to operate on day- and night-time flights then all operators operating these aircraft should be fined and fines should not be used selectively for commercial reasons. "Our strongly held position is that the opportunity should be taken for the airport to be put under 'designated status' at the outset of these plans."

Wildlife Walk
As previously reported, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is offering a guided walk around the new Willington Wetland Reserve on Sunday 10th September. This is a chance to explore the area, see how the different habitats are being managed, and identify species visiting the reserve at this time of year. Beginning at 9.30 am, and lasting a couple of hours or so, it will be led by Richard Spowage, the Reserves Manager. The tour is free to Trust members and £2 to non-members. Early booking is essential as numbers are limited; to secure your place, phone DWT at Belper on 01773 881188 as soon as possible. If there is heavy over-booking it may be possible to arrange another visit at a later date.

---

Repton Casuals Football Club

At our annual awards evening, trophies were presented by Colin Gibson.

Ball Skills sessions for children aged 5 and upwards re-commence on Saturday 9th September at Broomhills Lane Playing Fields. For further information contact Bob Errington, 701183. Newcomers welcome.

---

Repton Village Society

We were very lucky on 1st June to have Gavin Lake, President of Melbourne Photographic Society, give us a talk with slides on 'An Evening of the Best' - photographs, of course. Our planned speaker had been unable to attend for health reasons. We saw an interesting selection of our speaker's favourite photographs, all of a very, very high standard and covering a wide variety of topics. Gavin explained how he had managed to set up the shots and included some of the technical details so we could better understand the photographs, particularly his fascination for night-time shots. He also relayed the judges' comments on photographs that he had entered in competitions, some he agreed with and some not. Generally speaking we agreed with his view. Overall, a very enjoyable evening.

Staunton Harold Tour, Thursday 6th July
This evening trip to Staunton Harold is currently full as we are limited to 50 visitors.

Our next meeting after this will be on Thursday 7th September, with Brian Key talking about the 'Butterley Engineering Company'.

---

The Palmer Family of Repton

As a descendant of the Palmer family of Repton I would be interested to hear from anyone with the Palmer surname in Repton, Milton or the surrounding villages. We are researching the family history and have so far compiled a pedigree from 1776 to 1943. I can be contacted by post at 169 Isabella Drive, Orpington, Kent BR6 7UF, or by email at henry995@btinternet.com.

My own branch of the family stems from the marriage of William Palmer and Sarah Measham at St Wystan's in 1815, so I have a personal interest in the Measham family too, and know of several family historians who are researching that old Repton family.

Although now an ex-pat Reptonian I spent a happy childhood in the village in the 1950's and early 60's, living in Well Lane, Main Street and The Crescent before moving away. I would be very happy to hear from anyone who still remembers me.

---

Milton & Foremark Village Matters

Milton Village Walk

A 'Walk and Sunday Roast' was held in Milton Village Hall on 21st May. More than 30 took part, most of whom went on the walk and enjoyed what was a somewhat wet occasion!

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the quite sumptuous meal, and the whole event was a tribute to the committee members who organised the event, prepared the room, and cooked. Appreciation and thanks also to those who washed all the crockery and glasses, there being no dishwasher!

---

Gardening Notes

Shrub roses are often over by July, but the hybrid tea and floribunda roses are repeat-flowering, though hybrid teas do tend to take a breather, and many climbing roses have one main spell of flowering. The first roses seem to have come from the Middle East, and roses today do perform better in drier, warmer climes: in early May they were magnificent in some small gardens and terraces in Greece, with huge flowers and quite disease-free. Hybrid teas were first produced in the 1670's as a cross between hybrid perpetual roses, which were very hardy, and tea roses, which flowered continuously but were tender and had to be grown in conservatories or greenhouses. This cross combined the best of both parents and has been improved since. When it was further crossed with the old polyantha roses, the result was the floribunda, with an even better display of flowers.

The last sowing of French and runner beans can be made in early July, as also the last sowing of carrots, as they need at least ten frost-free weeks before harvesting. Sow purple-sprouting broccoli, if not already sown, and continue sowing lettuce until the end of the month. Spring cabbage should be sown now, and Florence fennel and kohlrabi sown in July will suffer less from bolting and root disturbance. Sow the seed an inch deep to reduce the risk of wind-rock. Garlic and shallots should be ready to harvest during the month, and courgettes should be harvested regularly to keep them cropping. Early potatoes should be ready to lift.

Deadhead bedding and container plants to encourage new buds. Give them a balanced liquid fertiliser if growth is poor, and a high-potassium tomato fertiliser to encourage flowering if growth is good. Repot cyclamen left outside for the summer; keep them out of the sun and barely moist.

Take softwood cuttings of all sorts of hydrangeas early in the day when they are turgid. Remove the lower leaves to reduce water loss, and cover with a plastic bag for 3 - 4 weeks till rooted. Take heel-cuttings of herbs such as lavender, rosemary and sage by pulling a non-flowering shoot gently away from the main stem with a strip of bark still attached. Trim excess bark, remove the lower leaves, and dip the cutting in hormone rooting powder. Plant in gritty compost and cover with a plastic bag.

Keep hawthorn, Leylandii, lonicera, laurel and hornbeam hedges trimmed. Prune early-flowering shrubs such as philadelphus, weigelia and deutzia, which flower on wood produced last year. Pruning now will encourage new shoots to grow and mature through the rest of the summer. Big shrubs can be pruned quite severely, cutting most of the flowering stems back to a strong new shoot. Be gentler with the smaller shrubs. Suitable shoots can be used for cuttings. Any pruning of plums and sweet cherries should be done in late July or August, to reduce the risk of silver-leaf infection. This is caused by a fungus which can only enter through recently injured surfaces, spreading through the living wood and reducing the vigour of the tree. The leaves are not affected. Victoria plums are particularly susceptible.

Fruit drop is normal in June and July. Thinning the crop may be necessary too, but fruit drop can be excessive in some years. Research suggests that a number of factors are involved including low light at blossom time and low temperatures in the early stages of fruit development. Yields are also lower in wet and cold autumns, when as a result of poor photosynthesis, leaves send insufficient sugars for storage, causing imbalance of the hormones and increased fruit drop.

I have little experience with perfumes, but I have read that the scent of tobacco plants is the same as Chanel No. 5, and that aphids do not like it. So if anyone has some of this perfume to spare, we could run a trial to see whether spraying plants with it would keep them aphid-free.

---

Sam Beeton in Madagascar

St Wystan's Church supports Sam Beeton, who teaches at St Paul's Theological College in Antananarivo, the key training centre for the church of Madagascar. To support the work of Sam, or the USPG, visit www.uspg.org.uk, email enquiries@uspg.org.uk, or ring 020 7803 3422

The Anglican Church is Growing

The Anglican Church in Madagascar is growing. In response, the new diocese of Fianarantsoa was created last year and many new churches have been built, including seven in Antananarivo Diocese over the last two years.

One of these new churches was built in Ankazobe. Until recently there were several churches in the city, but no Anglican church. An Anglican living in the region gave land, and others gave what they could. An architect planned the church for free; someone else paid for the altar, and others paid for a Bible, the tin roof, the cement and the wood, and many bought pews.

The new church was opened in time for Harvest. Although it is quite large, there was standing room only as people gathered to ask God's blessing on the church. Following the opening, there was a shared meal of rice - customary in Madagascar.

Founded in 1864, the Anglican Church has spread throughout Madagascar and now numbers about 500,000 worshippers in about 500 churches. There are about 100 priests.