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From The Magazine


CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR PARISH MAGAZINE!!
The Parish Magazine is produced in the Parish Office and edited by the editorial team of David Robinson, David Black, Wendy Rendle and Jill Cawley. The editors are always looking for articles for publication; your contributions can be sent to the parish office by email to: office@parish-of-dartmouth.org.uk . Or left at the parish office in “hard copy” form. Please let us have your articles by the 15th of the previous month.

 
St. Saviour’s Door Knocker

The picture is of a door knocker sent to the parish a short while ago.

It was bought at a car boot sale about 20 years ago, possibly in Berkshire.

It is an exact replica of the big door in St.Saviour’s and is beautifully made in brass.

We are interested to know any information about it, such as when it was made and by whom.

Please contact the Vicar or the Parish Office.

 

 

 

 

THE ANCHOR CLUB
A new venture was launched on 28th October. The Anchor Club, named after the symbol for St.Clement’s, was formed. The Club is intended for children, young people and families. It will take place once a month on the fourth Sunday of each month in St.Clement’s Church at 9.30am, which is a bit early for some, especially in the winter, but it may not seem so bad in the summer. Invitations have gone out to all families who have been to our churches for baptisms in the last five years and to recently married couples, who are known to be living in the area.
The Club is unlike anything seen in St.Clement’s before. There is no order of service and no books are used. Everything that people need will be projected on to a screen. All members will be issued with badges.
Attendance to date has been small, but promising and comments regarding the Club’s activities have been greatly encouraging. Although the Club is still in it’s early days, new families have become members of the Club, and are wearing their Anchor Club badges with pride.
The children are involved as much as possible during the service with action songs, music makers and other activities along with stories from the scriptures and a time to say their prayers. Images also are used as much as possible during this service as a way of helping our young members understand the theme.
It is hoped that the Anchor Club’s membership will increase over the next few months and that more badges will be being worn around the town. Advertising is essential to the progress of this Club, so if you come into contact with young people and families perhaps you could suggest this once a month Club to them or give them one of our flyers! However, if you don’t come into contact with young people, please would you pray for this venture, asking God to bless our work with young people in helping them to see something of God’s Glory.
All are welcome at the Anchor Club.


PRAYERS FOR PEACE
Our world is a funny old place. There are areas of calm and beauty, as well as places where there is blood and violence and despair. If what we are concerned with is that everyone should have a fair chance, then we can never forget the bad places. And there are millions of people in the world for whom life is unpredictable, violent, unfair and tough.
Every Friday at 11.30am we have Prayers For Peace in the Lady Chapel of St. Saviour’s, which bring to God our worries and anxieties about the lack of peace in parts of the world. It’s just a chance to remember for half an hour the misery that people cause to people, and to make it known that we care.
There is always room for anyone who want to come. It’s a fairly formalized but very straight forward half an hour at the end of the week to which you are very welcome.


JOHN HAULEY, HIS YEAR - 2008
Many like to assume that Chaucer’s Shipman is modelled on the second and most famous of the three members of the Hawley family (of Allaleigh),who all bore the name of John. We give a place of honour to John Hawley at St Saviour’s as the benefactor who provided for the chancel to be built. As we make our way to the altar-rail we tread upon carpet that protects the fine brass-work above his tomb.
This John Hawley was a man of great distinction, twice an MP, nine times mayor and, as such, charged in 1388 with improving the port’s sea defences by building the fortalice at the estuary. Frequently he was a leading figure in the improvised squadrons of local vessels instructed to destroy the king’s enemies. In effect this virtually gave licence to ravage shipping in the Channel and in particular off the north French coast. Hawley and his associates seem to have been very successful at ravaging as, for example, when they raided the Norman coast, captured a number of ships and seized 1,500 casks of wine.
There is a fine line to be drawn between patriotism and self-interest when it comes to the ‘swash and buckle’ of life on the high seas at that time. As we come to commemorate John Hawley on the 600th anniversary of his death, the 30th of December 1408, the old arguments will be renewed about whether he was more of a pirate than a privateer. Collins describes piracy as ‘robbery on the seas within admiralty jurisdiction’. A privateer is defined as ‘an armed, privately owned vessel commissioned for service by a government.’ From the point of view of a trading vessel, with rich pickings, it must have been of little consequence whether the robust cog bearing down on you with its mean looking crew was officially licensed or not.
Although it is said that ‘the wind always blows fair on Hawley’s Hoe’ it could on occasion turn against him. He was, for instance, imprisoned in the Tower by Henry 1V in 1406 and ordered to make restitution of merchandise illegally stowed away in one of his warehouses. We may indeed ask ourselves whether the spacious chancel of St Saviour’s was built with conscience money. Having said that, it would be wrong for us to think of him too much within the context of our own times. In his day there was no such thing as a navy, royal or otherwise, so it was left to such stalwarts as Hawley to defend our shores. It seems probable that when it came to a fight, at sea or when the Bretons were defeated at Blackpool Sands, he like Chaucer’s Shipman ‘of nyce conscience took no keep.’ It was the way of the world, even for crusaders!
Personally I will be delighted to turn the spotlight on John Hawley in 2008. He represents something of the colourful, significant and often inspiring history of our town which deserves to be celebrated. To many in his day he was ‘venerabilis vir’, a man of distinction and something of a national hero. Call him pirate or privateer it is surely a matter of semantics; even Francis Drake was charged with leaving his post as Vice-Admiral during the battle of the Armada to shepherd a prize he wanted for himself into a safe harbour!
Nor is it of great concern whether Hawley is to be spelt with a ‘w’ or a ‘u’. These letters were often interchangeable at the infancy of our language (I always thought the splendid tugs of the Lower Ferry were called Hauley thanks to a witty pun.) But we may all be persuaded to revise our views when the new biography of John Hawley is published, very appropriately, to mark this very special occasion. What matters is that we beat the drum, blow the bugle and make a merry din as most surely he so often did.

 
2008 saw the 600th anniversary of the death of John Hawley. He was a remarkable man and a powerful influence in the life of our town.

Two books on Hawley were published during 2008: 'John Hawley, Merchant, Mayor and Privateer' by Michael Connors is published by Dartmouth Books (ISDN 978-0-9536361-8-1) it is a carefully researched account of his life and achievements and is available from The Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth and elsewhere.  Also, a smaller but equally interesting booklet was published by Dartmouth's Local History Research group and is available in St Saviour's Church and from Dartmouth Tourist Information Centre.



GIVING
Actually we cannot really give anything; we can only give back, because everything we have is given to us in the first place.
We can give our time and our abilities. Given the challenges of the future, all these are needed. Sadly we do not live in an age of volunteering. It is actually very hard to get anybody to take on responsibility these days. The church should be the exception. If the St. Clement’s is to succeed, if the principles of MOIM are to be fulfilled and if the parish is to survive and grow in the interregnum and with the next incumbent, we need to get over this.
Giving also involves money and no apology is necessary for this. Giving has some features that we should not overlook. It is good for us. It is liberating from selfishness and materialism. It is enjoyable. It is always voluntary. True giving has nothing to do with control. To give is to let and to trust the recipient.
Giving money is nothing to do with money raising, except in so far as money raising involves the giving of time and talents, but it is different. Giving is actually not basically about money, but about our faith and our commitment. It is a spiritual matter.
Giving for the church is not about begging, or getting people to help us out. We are the Body of Christ. Why should anyone else pay for our Church? That is why we do not have a collection at the Holy Communion services. We have an offertory, an act of offering.
We cannot give to the Church, because we are the Church. We can see it however as giving back to God something to represent all that God has given us.
All parishioners are asked to review their giving to the Church, both the level and the method.  It is a huge help to treasurers if our giving is by banker's order.  Please see forms in church.


 

The Wonderful Web
More and more people use the Internet. For many people Email is the main way of communicating. It is amazing that you can write something down and someone else can read it within seconds anywhere in the world. It is surprising how many people in Dartmouth use it to keep in touch with families and friends. It is a particular godsend to those who have problems with their hearing and for those who have relatives and friends abroad.
More and more organisations have their own Web Site.
The Diocese of Exeter also has a web site and uses the internet to communicate with parishes. The address is
www.exeter.anglican.org. It has recently been improved and contains a lot of interesting material.
In the parish, whereas only a few years ago, the minutes of meetings were read out of a big book, most of them are now sent to the members through Email. There are Email addresses for the clergy and the Parish Office and they should be on the back page of the magazine.
Worship is our first duty, and we try, and hopefully make the worship here, both reverent and accessible. What is not so obvious at first is the life of the Church within the community. The Anglican Church has always sought to serve God through the life of the community.
Here in Dartmouth we try to do that through involvement in all aspects of local life.

 

 

 

 

All visitors to Dartmouth are most welcome at our Churches

 
 

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