The Vicar Writes

Dear Friends

The story goes that, during the weeks before the wedding, the bride was terribly anxious about making a mistake at the ceremony. The vicar reassured her, pointing out that the service was not difficult and she need not worry. "All you have to remember," he said, "is that when you enter the church you walk up the AISLE. The groom and best man will be waiting before the ALTAR. Then I shall request the congregation to sing a HYMN....
and we shall get on with the ceremony. All you have to remember is the order in which those things happen and you can't go wrong."
The happy day finally arrived, and the bridegroom waited nervously for his bride to appear.

When she arrived and stood alongside him, he was dismayed to hear her quietly repeating to herself,
"Aisle, altar, hymn; aisle, altar, hymn…"

Since hotels and stately homes and other venues have been licensed for weddings, the number of church weddings has declined. However, the Church of England is still responsible for over a quarter of the weddings which take place in this country, and since I have begun my ministry here I have been busy not only taking the weddings which were already booked before my arrival but also seeing wedding couples and arranging their services for the future. St Michael’s Church is of course a very attractive location and our organist and choir, our bellringers, our flower arranger and our verger do all they can to ensure a very special occasion.

From 1 st October this year there will be a change in the law governing the qualifications concerning who can get married in the parish church. Hitherto, in order to get married in the parish church one of the couple have either to be resident in the parish or to be on the electoral roll. (Also, it has been possible to apply for an Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Licence if there have been genuine connections with the church.) The Marriage Measure 2008 expands the range of qualifying connections and means that, besides these qualifications, any couple may be married in the parish church provided that just one of these applies:

• one of them was baptized (christened) or prepared for confirmation in the parish
• one of them has ever lived in the parish for at least six months
• one of them has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for at least six months
• one of their parents has lived in the parish for at least six months in their child’s lifetime
• one of their parents has regularly attended public worship in the parish for at least six months in their child’s lifetime
• one of their parents or grandparents were married in the parish

We offer a warm welcome to all those who wish to make such an important commitment in the sight of God. To find out more, please contact me on 01628 621527 or vicar@cowles.globalnet.co uk

With love and prayers,

Richard

Confirmation

Anyone interested in being confirmed (child or adult) or in finding out what it involves, please speak to the Vicar

Bray Fete - from Jim Tucker

The next significant event in the Emergency Appeal will be our Fete, to be held on the village green on the afternoon of 14 September. This is a revival of Bray Village Fete, which we ran annually until about 10 years ago. We have been fortunate indeed that Christine Birch, who was for a long period Chairman of the Fete Committee, has returned to give us her experience and drive for this occasion, and we are grateful for that.

By now I hope you will have bought lots of raffle tickets, arranged to donate some items for sale, and told Linda Shepherd or me that you can help on the day. We also hope that as many people will support what should be a very enjoyable occasion, please bring all you friends and family too! At the time of going to press the list of attractions includes the following:

• Pony rides
• Punch and Judy show
• Visit from a fire engine
• Barbeque
• Wellie throwing
• Hog roast
• Beer tent
• Teas and fresh cream teas
• Coconut shy
• Tombola
• Whiskey etc Galore
• Line Dancing by Pupils of Braywood School
• Bouncy castle
• Children’s activities
• Stalls selling, among other things: Books, Home made cakes, Plants, Good clothes

Food and drink will be available from about 1.00 p.m., so come along and enjoy your lunch with us.
The official opening will be at 2 o’clock.

St Michael's Bray with Braywood -
Parochial Church Council

Inside your Parochial Church Council from Ken Amery,
Hon Secretary to PCC

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 July 2008

Finance
The Treasurer outlined the events that had been held to support the Restoration Fund. The amount raised had already been used to finance the repairs to the windows while the remainder was earning daily interest at a good rate. The Fund continued to grow via donations and events. On other financial matters; he had paid the insurance premium of £6,000 for the church and hall. The ever-fluctuating gas bill was now under control – he now reads the gas bill and pays the amount shown rather than by a fixed monthly direct debit. This seemed to be working well. The Planned Giving Secretary reported that giving via the white envelopes was down on the same period last year and the coloured envelopes remained static.

Damage to the Church
Like many churches St Michael’s had been subject to theft of lead from the roof, this had led to some rain damage. The church had also been entered via a pane of glass being broken in the porch door. A small amount of cash had been taken from the “Restoration Box” and some damage caused internally. All items of value were now being marked with ‘Smartwater’, which gives property a unique ‘fingerprint.’

Sharing Life
The committee looked at a short DVD and discussed the implications of a paper circulated from the diocese about Living Faith. The members divided into small groups and discussed what this meant for St Michael’s, what we did now to take the message to young families in the parish and what we might do in the future.

Diary Dates
Harvest - 21st September
Michealmas - 28th September
All Souls - 2nd November
Christingle - 20th December
Carol Service - 21 st December

Revised Parish Communion
The service was now up and running. It was noted that some people were now attending the 8 o’clock service instead of the 10 o’clock one.

Next Meeting
The Standing Committee of the PCC will meet on 2nd September
The full PCC will meet on 16 th September

Recipes for Restoration - from Ken Amery

Thank you to all those who have contributed to our recipe book. We apologise, if you were expecting publication by now, but in the last few weeks we have been inundated with recipes of all descriptions, this has meant that publication has been delayed, while we read and edit them, prior to inclusion. We hope that the book will be out well in time for Christmas and will make a good stocking filler, for friends and family.

Macmillan Coffee Morning - from Ken Amery

Once again, we will be taking part in the ‘Worlds Largest Coffee Morning’ in support of MacMillan Cancer Support. This year there are no excuses for not coming and contributing to this excellent charity, as we will be holding our coffee morning on a Saturday - 27th September. This will enable the whole family to become involved. In previous years, parishioners have been extremely supportive. Let’s try and make this one the best ever. We will, of course not only be serving coffee but also tea, soft drinks and biscuits. There will also be a competition or two. Join us in St Michael’s Hall, between 10 and 12 mid-day on Saturday 27th September.

The Holyport Village Show

The Holyport Village Show will take place in the Holyport War Memorial Hall on Moneyrow Green on Saturday 13th September 2008. It will be open to the public from 2 p.m., entry is free but donations are encouraged. Schedules for competitors are still available at the shops in the village and entry forms have to be returned to any committee member by 6th September.

People to Places

People to Places which provides transport in RBWM for people with disabilities are urgently seeking more drivers for all times: daytime/evenings/weekends - offers of help or for more information please call the General Manager: Peter Haley on 01628 587 924 - volunteers will need to have a CRB check

St Michael's Bellringers

Our offer to ring quarter peals for birthdays, anniversaries, etc., in return for a donation to the Emergency Appeal has been taken up by a number of people. So far we have successfully rung three quarter peals, with several more booked. Although it does not raise vast sums of money, it is providing us with good publicity, with people visiting the tower who might otherwise never do so.

Hyacinths for Christmas - By Bob Willard general manager of de Jager Bulbs

There is nothing more welcoming when you enter a room on a dull winter’s day than the heady scent of cheerful Hyacinths. A container of Hyacinth bulbs, planted by you, also make a lovely gift for a ‘difficult to buy’ Christmas present and the fact that you have grown them personally will be appreciated.

Hyacinths are also ideal bulbs for children to plant up for grandma or auntie, but do be careful and get them to wear gloves whilst handling the bulbs as some children can get rashes. Planting up bulbs is a super introduction to gardening.

September, or at the latest early October, is the best time to buy your bulbs. To obtain the best results choose top quality, top sized ones that are specially prepared for growing indoors. Specially prepared hyacinth bulbs will need at least eight weeks either plunged or kept in the dark after you have planted them in order to develop a proper root system. With ordinary (or unprepared) bulbs it takes longer - ten to fifteen weeks according to the variety and only then can the containers be moved into the light. Therefore timing is important!

So once you have bought your bulbs, choose a suitable water-retaining container that complements the colour of the flowers you are going to grow and co-ordinates with your décor.

When planting the bulbs they should be set closely together, without touching each other or the sides of the container. Start by putting a layer of moistened bulb fibre into the container and lightly firm. Next take the bulbs and press them down gently on this base so that the tips of the bulbs are just below the level of the container rim.

More bulb fibre or compost should then be placed around the bulbs so the tips just show, say to within half an inch of the rim. Lightly firm the fibre with your finger tips to anchor the bulbs. The container should then be well watered.

To encourage the bulbs to develop strong roots, place the planted containers in a shady position in the garden after watering and then cover them with six inches of peat. This is the usual procedure with bulbs in ordinary pots whilst ornamental bowls can be wrapped in a sheet of moist newspaper to protect them. If this is impossible or inconvenient, planted containers can be stored indoors - choose a cool frost-free, dark but well ventilated place, where the temperature does not exceed 15c(50 f). In this case it is essential to keep the growing medium moist because, if the bulb fibre is allowed to dry out, fatal damage may be caused to both roots and the flower buds.

In November-December with the earlier varieties of ordinary bulbs bring the bulbs gradually out of the darkness. After a few days acclimatization in a dim corner the containers may be placed in full light, with the bulbs coming in to flower in about three to four weeks. An even temperature of 18c(65 f) suits them best. The containers should never be allowed to become dry, must be turned every few days so that the plants are evenly exposed to the light and do not grow one-sided.

Other bulbs well worth forcing for early blooms include Narcissi, Dwarf Iris, Crocus, and Snowdrops.

So brighten up the winter months with some bulb planting now.

P. de Jager & Sons Limited has been supplying top quality and top size garden bulbs for over 140 years. Visit www.dejager.co.uk for more information

Meeting and Events September

WOMEN'S INSTITUTES

BRAYWOOD
Wednesday, 3rd September at 7.30 p.m. in Braywood Memorial Hall.

HOLYPORT
Thursday, 11th September at 7.45 p.m. in Holyport Memorial Hall.
‘The Work of the Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust’.
Competition: An Unusual Cookery Book.

MONEYROW GREEN
Monday, 22nd September at 2.00 p.m. in Holyport Memorial Hall.
Mr. N. Stewart - ‘Life on the Reef’

MUSIC AT BRAY - Sept 14th, 3p.m. in the church

TANYA HOUGHTON (Harp) will be playing a varied and tuneful programme of
Harp music, as part of the church fete.

www.tanyahoughton.info