The church will be holding its annual Christmas Tree Festival on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December within the Church.
Saturday 6th sees the Church open from 11am to 4.30pm and includes free craft activities for the children.
Sunday 7th has the Church open from 12.30pm until 4.30pm.
There are stalls and refreshments on both days and everyone is welcome.
The annual minutes silence preceded by the reading out of the names of the Parish’s War dead in this the centenary year of the start of the first World War took place at the Memorial on Dovedale Road on Tuesday 11th November.
A good turn out was witness to the proceedings despite a cold wind and some rain.
The service was conducted by the Reverend Carol Richardson.
The children from St Werburgh’s placed wooden crosses for each man assisted by other parishioners plus the laying of poppy wreath’s.
The name of Leonard Edwards was read out for the first time since his death in 1920 as was the name of Stephen Allbutt who died in the second Gulf War in 2003.
Stephen’s mother now lives in the Parish.
As the bells of the church struck 11am the gathering paused in a minutes silence.
One of St Werburgh’s pupils, nine year old Siobhan Waring composed the following poem and asked that the local paper shared it.
Her words sum up what remembrance is all about.
WHERE POPPIES GROW
In Flanders field where poppies grow
At the Tower of London the poppies show
One hundred years may have past
But the memory will always last
Fathers brothers sons and all
Who fought to stop our countries fall
Each poppy stands as a mark of respect
In memory of the men we will never forget
This coming Sunday, 9th November sees St Werburgh’s Church and the Parish Community come together to remember all those all lost their lives or suffered in the service of the country in either of the two World Wars or in other conflicts.
This years service is even more special following the news that a group of parishioners have been awarded over £6000 to commemorate those who died from the Parish in the First World War.
Reverend Carol Richardson was fortunate to join others this week at the Tower of London where she saw the ceramic poppies that are being planted to represent every British fatality in the war, in total over 800,000 are being planted.
Carol said of her visit ‘I had a wonderful day, it was so moving to see a vast carpet of poppies and the crowd were so reverential as they looked on’
The poppies are made in Derby and can be purchased for delivery after the end of the commemoration. It is hoped over £20 million will be made.
On Tuesday 11th November the annual commemoration event will take place at the village memorial in Dovedale Road at 11am.
Sunday 21st September saw the village of Kingsley and its wider parish coming together to commemorate the centenary of the start of the first world war.
The day was chosen as it was on the eve of the centenary of the parish’s first fatality when George Harris Smith lost his life when his ship was sunk in the north sea whilst serving with the Royal Navy.
A very fitting and at times moving service in St Werburgh’s Church was conducted by the Reverend Carol Richardson with over a hundred persons present including school children from the local school who gave their thoughts on what the war meant to them.
A cross of candles was lit by the congregation with readings and the poem In Flanders Field by John McCrae recited during the act of commemoration.
This saw the 27 names on the villages war memorials read out plus the addition of Leonard Edwards who died as a result of his war service but seems to have been missed out.
Present were descendants of some of those remembered as well as the small committee that have been working on the event for the last few months.
Either side of the church service the village hall was open and again over a hundred people visited a display of research conducted into the 28 from the area who are on the war memorials with of course the exception being Leonard Edwards.
Some of the families bought photographs and other mementos of their descendants and shared them with the community.
Martin Clewlow who is a descendant of James Millward from Kingsley Moor (who survived the war) and featured in a Cheadle and Tean Times article earlier this year attended and put on a display of memorabilia from the war which was of great interest to both young and old alike.
As a result of event several families provided additional information and lines of enquiry to the committee in their quest to document as much as possible about the lives of those who died and their links with Kingsley.
The day was a real community event and one that allowed everyone to pause and reflect in a most appropriate way. Those who had spent several months researching these men felt this time was different when their names were read out. It was ninety four years that week since Leonard Edwards died as the result of his war service and this event was the first time his name had ever been read out.
The research and display created by the committee will now be loaned to St Werburgh’s school to allow the children studying the war to better understand its impact on the local community.
Meanwhile the project is continuing in its research and proposed works around the war memorial. If anyone has any information on those listed below or anyone that might have been missed off the memorials to date then they can get in touch with Martyn on 01538 750657 or via martyn_hordern@hotmail.com. They would particularly like to hear from Peter Capewell from Tean who’s story of the Capewell brothers from Kingsley Moor also featured in this newspaper earlier this year.
| George | Harris | Smith |
| Robert | Myles | Heywood |
| Rowland | Auriol.J. | Beech |
| Thomas | Salt | |
| James | Poyser | |
| Charles | Allen | |
| Isaac | Hammond | |
| George | Price | Bevans |
| Arthur | Keene | |
| Thomas | Clowes | |
| Earnest | Upton | |
| George | Fallows | |
| Edward | E | Bradshaw |
| George | S | Wheawall |
| Thomas | Barker | |
| Roland | John | Burston |
| James | Meakin | |
| James | H | Wildgoose |
| Colin | Capewell | |
| George | Ramsell | |
| Moses | Holland | |
| William | Brindley | |
| John | W | Salt |
| Kenneth | Roy | Lovatt |
| Rowland | J | Beech |
| Leonard | Edwards | |
| George | William | Hood |
| J | Tideswell |
A speical service will be held at Foxt to celebrate 10 years
since the Church almost closed.
Refreshments will be served at 5.15p.m in the Village Hall followed by a service in St. Marks Church at 6.30p.m.
Everyone Welcome.
2014 sees the centenary of the start of World War One.
Kingsley Parish has recorded on its memorials the names of 27 men who lost their lives as a result of their service in the war.
A small group has been quietly working away in the background to ensure that the parish commemorates this anniversary.
On Sunday 21st September there will be an exhibition in the village hall from 1pm until 3.30pm.
This will reveal the results of the groups research to date, what is planned in the future and a general display from the period in the parish’s history.
Tea and cakes etc will be on sale.
At 4pm there will be a service held in the church.
This date was picked as on 22nd September 1914 the first parishioner George Harris Smith lost his life serving with the Royal Navy in the North Sea. It seemed a poignant date to pick to hold the service.
The village hall will remain afterwards until 6pm for those wishing to visit the exhibition.
We look forward to lots of people from the parish coming together to mark this occasion.
The Newcastle Amateur Operatic Society will be presenting a concert called ‘Musical All Sorts’ on Friday 19th July at 7.30pm in the Church.
Described as a very good choir with modern songs and grammar which should appeal to a wide audience.
Tickets are available on the night at the door or from Ian Hough on 01538753782 or Peter Johnson 0158752410
Tickets are £7 a head
The Church is holding an Open Gardens Event on July 27th 1p.m-6p.m.
Programmes and Maps are now available from Paul and Christine May- 754966 or from St. Werburghs itself or the Church Wardens and lastly from Reverend Carol Richardson on 01538 372082.
In addition they can be purchased on the day from the church or from anyone of the nine gardens that are open helping to raise funds for the church.
Cost of entry by programme is £5 for 2 people.
Children Free.
Raffle to be drawn at Malcwin at 6p.m
Cream Teas , Cakes, Plants available for sale.
The Open Gardens are:-
Conducted by
The Bishop of Stafford
The Rt. Revd. Geoff Annas
On Sunday, 25th May at 4.00p.m. after several weeks of preparation, six candidates Lindsay, Emma, Millie, James, Shannon and James C. were confirmed by the Bishop of Stafford.
The candidates were all well known to the congregation of St. Werburgh’s.
It was lovely to see the church full of family, friends and supporters of the candidates. The bells were ringing and the choir were in attendance. The young daughters of 2 of the candidates were in the congregation along with grandparents and family members of all ages, so it was a great time of family celebration. The children were all pupils from St. Werburgh’s School and a teacher was a candidate, along with a leader from J.A.M. Bishop Geoff put everyone at ease and gave an amusing but thought provoking sermon. During the presentation of the candidates, Millie gave her testimony why she wanted to be confirmed. The candidates gave their responses in strong voices. When Bishop Geoff asked the congregation for their responses, these too were strong. Sue Hough led the Prayers of Intercession helped by James. The Bishop addressed the newly confirmed which was followed by the congregation applauding them. The exchanging of the peace was a joyous part of the service. Everyone in church wanted to exchange the sign of peace with the newly confirmed, who later received communion along with the people who had helped Reverend Carol prepare them for Confirmation. This was a very special moment for the confirmation candidates, one they will always remember. Bishop Geoff lit their candles and Reverend Carol presented them. The service ended with Bishop Geoff leading the Confirmation candidates through the church, carrying their candles. There was also an opportunity to take photographs.
After the service refreshments were served, including a special Confirmation Cake that had been specially made for the occasion. Everyone was able to chat to Bishop Geoff and his wife over cake and enjoy the celebration.
Two more candidates, Toni and Henry will be confirmed on 6th July at St. Michael’s Church, Chell.
At 10 o’clock our guests started to arrive, slowly at first, then suddenly we heard the sound of excited voices as the door burst open and the children flooded in!
We had 27 children and 20 adults come into church, the youngest was 6 months old.
During the “Welcome” all the leaders introduced themselves and the craft they had at their table, before the serious business of Easter crafting got underway!
Cress Seeds to pot
Cakes to decorate with Easter designs
Easter Cards to make and Crosses to personalize
Easter baskets to construct and Foam Bunnies to draw clothes onto
Decorating the cress seed plant pots
Easter Bags to decorate and take everything home in
We had worship after the crafting. All the leaders took part. We asked what the children knew about Easter. We also used the J.A.M. and I.C.E. “On the third day He rose again”, display and Peter Johnson’s amazing ‘Stations of the Cross’ paintings as part of the service. The church was filled with the sound of children and adult voices singing “When I Think About The Cross”. The instruments were passed around and accompanied the singing of “Jesus Love”. The 6 month old baby joined in shaking the sleigh bells. The service concluded with a prayer. The children were given Easter chocolates and a plastic egg containing a chick as they left church clutching their bags filled with homemade Easter goodies.
Thank you to everyone who helped in any way.
