From the curate...

This month's magazine comes to you as we settle into Lent, which is normally a time of prayer, penance and almsgiving. However, it does feel like we've been living through Lent since last year! The word 'lent' comes from an old English word that is related to 'length', it denotes the lengthening of the days as Spring sets in and the new life that we look for in the resurrection at Easter is reflected in the new life that is springing up from the earth. Perhaps, in a year which has felt especially lenten, we can reflect more on the hope of new life rather than the more penitential aspects of Lent. We might want to take inspiration from these narcissus flowers that have sprung up in just the last week in the church yard garden.

There is a lot of life, both well-established and new, at St John's in spite of the restrictions. Our coffee morning is going from strength to strength and this is reflected in the award of a grant to continue the community building aspects of the coffee morning. We have an update on the knot garden in church as well as a fascinating profile of one of St John's well-established members, Nicola Harland. We will be sorry to see her go when she moves away but it's lovely to know St John's will always be a part of her life. Please do read the piece about Bishop Christopher's Lent Call and consider supporting this appeal. 

There is much more in this month's magazine and I hope you enjoy reading it. As always, please get in touch with the editorial team if you have an idea of what we might include, or even better if you would like to contribute something yourself. As I get ready to move on after Easter, we are looking for more people to join the editorial team for this magazine. Please do consider if this this something that you'd like to do. If you want to find out more, please get in touch with me by email.

With love and blessings,
Revd Raymond Baudon

News in Brief from St John's
Peter Rouch
The Ven Dr Peter Rouch, who was curate at St John’s from 1999 to 2002, is to be the next Chief Executive of the Church Army, taking up the new post in May. More recently, he was Archdeacon of Bournemouth and then briefly last year was with the Transforming Effectiveness programme at Church House, Westminster. You can read more here.

Black Voices Matter: Update
Following on from our events in the summer last year, the Black Voices Matter group has continued to meet. We have been working on a course that examines our unconscious biases in order to help become a better ally to those facing discrimination. We hope to roll this out later in the year. We have also started thinking about Black History Month. October seems like a long way off but by starting now we can make sure we celebrate Black History Month well. Please get in touch with Gill if you have any ideas or would like to get involved.

The Changing Face of Camberwell
Gary Hunt has sent in this very interesting video from Southwark’s Local History Library and Archive. Gary writes: 'There are some interesting comments on new build housing and footage of the then newly erected Brandon Estate, which I remember them building as a young kid and playing on the nearby bomb sites…There were interesting times of great change and it is funny to think some of the new buildings featured are now being knocked down themselves.'

Goose Green Get Connected Scheme
We would love to have a few more people try out our scheme to help people without internet facilities to get online. The scheme helps with the costs of arranging a broadband connection and a basic tablet can be lent with step by step instructions on how to use it. This could be very helpful while our movements are limited and even more so in any future lockdowns. If you or anyone you know might be interested please contact Sue O’Neill (07961 580920 or sue.oneill@virgin.net ) 

PCC meeting
The PCC met on Wednesday 24 February via Zoom. Topics discussed included finances and stewardship, use of the Goose Green Centre, the new website and The Gander, the current pattern of worship and charitable giving. St John's has now joined the Parish Giving Scheme. The PCC reviewed the Livestreaming policy and a risk assessment for online youth work. This year's Special Collections will include: the Bishop of Southwark's Lent Call, Christian Aid, The Sickle Cell Society and The Children's Society. The Annual Meetings will take place on 25 April 2021. The next meeting of the PCC is on 24 March.

And Finally….
'A new meaning to Common Worship'
By Andrew Black
(Photo taken on Peckham Rye Common)

 

Revd Robert Faulkner
Revd Robert Faulkner was installed as Priest-in-Charge of St John’s Angell Town on Sunday 21 February.

Many will remember him and Rani from their time at St John’s before Robert trained for the ministry. Robert was a member of St John’s PCC for 11 years, and was Treasurer from 2002 to 2010 and Churchwarden from 2009 to 2012. We continue to keep Robert and his family in our thoughts and prayers as he takes on this new role.

Coffee morning
Sticking with our art theme, we were very fortunate to be visited (on Zoom!) by Marcus Dickey Horley, Curator of Public Programmes at Tate. Marcus talked a little about the history of the Tate Gallery and then took us through detailed description and contemplation of two art works:

John Everett Millais, 'Christ in the House of his Parents (The Carpenter's Shop)' and Jacob Epstein, 'Jacob and the Angel'. This was a hugely absorbing talk which took us deeply in to our appreciation of these works. This virtual visit to the Tate guided by our expert was a very special treat and felt like we’d been to the Gallery! 

In March we continue to meet every week for a chat and have a stakeholders’ meeting on the 17th at 12:30. We also have our next art session with The Arts Factory, this time looking at Watercolour Still Life on the24 March; please email sue.oneill@virgin.net by 17 March if you would like to join this session. 

We are delighted to have been awarded approximately £3.5k for 2021-22 by Southwark Council’s Neighbourhood Fund, which was announced at the South Area meeting on 23 February. The funds will be used to provide activities at coffee morning and to develop our Goose Green Get Connected Scheme.

Knot Garden: Update
An update by Chris Eldridge on the knot garden which is outside the church office window. 

This was originally a knot garden but is not now a knot garden! The area could perhaps be re-named The Office Garden or Rosemary Garden as rosemary will eventually become the predominant plant. Seven rosemary for remembrance plants have been planted, one has died and it is intended to plant another six in the spring to provide a rosemary plant for each of the twelve members of our congregation who have asked for friends or family to be remembered and have contributed to the cost.

Alongside the ramp to the Goose Green Centre are two newly-planted autumn-flowering Ceratostigma shrubs to match those on the opposite side of the ramp. Close to the entrance is a myrtle shrub, gifted by Kate, a biology teacher friend. A different species of Ceratostigma, which is a perennial giving ground cover, has been planted around the bay tree. Towards the front of the bed I am proposing to plant cerastium tomentosum, ‘Snow in Summer’, which is a silvery-leafed ground cover plant that enjoys sun and a well-drained soil and will provide contrast to the rosemary.

Profile: Nicola Harland
In this month’s profile, Nicola Harland talks about growing up in East Dulwich, her memories of St John's stretching back to the 60s as well as her career in the Houses of Parliament.

How long has your family been connected with St John's and in what ways?
Our family started attending mass on a regular basis in 1971. Prior to that, we had been worshipping at St Barnabas. We lived in the parish, just, and attended their Brownies and Cubs. My younger brothers were servers (it was a male only team at that time) and sang in the choir, nobody knew I could sing at that point and later mum and I joined the choir and dad became the Sacristan.

What are your earliest memories of St John's?
My earliest memories are attending school mass from 1966 with St. John’s and St. Clement’s school. I loved the church building however my only other strong memory of the time was singing the hymn ‘Let all mortal flesh keep silence’ during the Communion at every school mass and as a consequence, I am not very keen on it now! I am the eldest of 4 children and my 3 siblings all attended SJSC primary school.  When my sister left in 1977 (I was about to start in the 6th form at Friern School) the Head Teacher’s final comment to my sister was “It will be strange not to have any Harlands at this school”.

What are some of the things you have been involved with at St John's? What are your best memories?
My father soon became involved in life at St John’s so, by default, did the rest of the family.  I remember helping to prepare the parish Harvest Supper at home then having to carry it round to the Epiphany Hall – our car was always breaking down! That was always a fun event. In later years my father organised the East Dulwich Show in the church. This was an inner city version of the country shows where people show off their vegetables and home-made produce. The only difference being ours was in church rather than in a tent in a field and there were no sheep!

At around the age of 14 or 15 Nicola Deller and I were quite put out that we were unable to be servers due to our gender. Ken Deller was the Sacristan at the time and after much moaning and persuasion (and probably many PCC meetings in the background) we were finally allowed to serve as acolytes and became the first female servers at St. John’s. How things have changed.

During my teenage years I sang in the choir, served, helped with the Sunday School, acted in a couple of plays in the church (I am not an actor!) dressed up and stood on the back of a lorry taking part in the Carnival and started to train the Junior Choir where Rachel Mills was one of my trebles.

My family moved away in 1979 during my A Levels so I remained in East Dulwich. I continued to support the life of the church singing in the choir, being a member of the PCC and by joining the committee that ran the annual Children’s Week and helping to run one of the groups with David Ritchie, a former Church Warden. The week of activities for local children who wouldn’t otherwise have a holiday culminated in the annual carnival that raised money for the following year. One year, in order to boost the funds, five of us did a sponsored cycle ride to Paris. We left the Vicarage on Friday lunchtime (I had to work in the morning!) and arrived in Paris on Sunday afternoon. What an adventure! 

There are other events that I have been involved in and jobs that I have done quietly in the background but the last memory I will mention is finding a previously unknown skill and having such fun preparing for and performing Jenny Gammon’s murder mystery plays. I was the Stage Manager. I had no idea I had that skill but I really enjoyed working with and learning from Jenny. They were splendid evenings and a team event, not just the actors, with other members of the congregation organising tickets, food and seating plans.

How has St John's and the local area changed in the time you have known it?
The local area is unrecognisable now. My mother, her parents and two sisters lived in a two up two down maisonette in Landells Road (my mum was born there!) and my family of six lived in a small Victorian house in Colwell Road from 1963-79. We didn’t have an inside toilet until I was about 14 or 15.

St John’s church is also different. Inside, to look at, it has barely changed however many other things have. St. John’s has always had a diverse congregation but when I was young it lacked inclusivity and to a certain extent outreach. In my eyes, and perhaps that is because I was growing up and becoming more aware, things really started to change when Fr Gordon Mursell arrived and have since continued to evolve and move forwards. 

You've been a stalwart of the choir - what do you enjoy about singing and what are your favourite pieces to sing?
For many years nobody was aware that I could sing. I was showing promise as a cellist and sang in the junior choir (I joined in January 1973) but it wasn’t until I was 13 that one of the Curates, David Woodhouse, noticed that I could sing during one of our weekly youth activity evenings. He gave me my first solo ‘O taste and see’ by R Vaughan Williams and invited me to join the adult choir. At the time my father worked shifts as a bus conductor and I had three younger siblings so David drove me home each week. That wouldn’t be allowed now!

I love singing and performing but I don’t act or read in public, far too exposed! For someone who is quite loud (thanks dad!) I actually love singing quiet, understated pieces as demonstrated when I sang in church during the few weeks when singing was permitted last Autumn. Yes, I can do the big showy stuff but love the intimacy of simple music. I like music from all periods however anyone who knows me will be aware of my dislike of Elgar and certain hymns. I know I am in a minority here. I am also unmoved by much of the saccharine music that is currently being written for the church. Having said that, there are some beautiful modern church anthems around.

What job(s) have you done during your career and what was interesting about them?
I left school at 18 and went to work in a stockbroker’s library. This was a useful experience of working in the ‘real’ world because after five years of fast paced city life I started work in the House of Commons Library. I was so excited on my second day when I saw David Steel! I retired from Parliament last October.

Having had many different roles during my time in the Houses of Parliament my last job was the Operations Manager in Parliament’s Education Centre where I produced the weekly rota and delivered tours and workshops to students aged 5-18, more recently specialising in 5-11 year olds. My experience training the junior choir and helping with Children’s Week contributed to me being offered the role in the Education Team and I think my experience in Parliament was useful when I applied and was accepted as a School Governor at St John’s and St Clement’s Primary School. Full circle!

Where are you planning to move to and what are you looking forward to doing in the future?
My future is not what I had planned; thank you Covid! I had planned to retire from work and then volunteer in the community. That has not been possible so I have seized an opportunity. I had always planned to move to the Southend area which is where my family moved to in 1979 so, with the announcement of the stamp duty holiday I decided to take advantage of that opportunity. Hopefully, by the end of March my daily walk will be beside the sea rather than the streets of West Norwood! I am moving to Shoeburyness where, once the virus is under control, I hope to be able to volunteer for something yet unknown to me. 

Will you keep in touch with St John's?
I hope so although I would have to leave home in the middle of the night to make a 9:20 choir rehearsal!

Local Gardens and Allotments
As we move in to spring, things will begin to grow again and I’m sure we will appreciate this all the more after this strange winter. Not all of us are gardeners or have our own gardens, and some of us would rather just enjoy the results of all that hard work! But for everyone who enjoys gardening, even if only vicariously, here we share the experiences and tips of some of our enthusiastic gardeners.

Caline McIntosh told Sue O'Neill all about her garden:
Pots and Raised beds - I find that pots are easiest for me, I also use large wooden boxes which form raised beds. I grow lots of vegetables, which I bring on from seed. I grow tomatoes, sweet peppers, chilli peppers and scotch bonnet peppers. These all do well even though it is not such a hot country as it is in the Caribbean. I also grow pumpkins, which get to a good size. 

Seeds - Some things, like the scotch bonnet and chilli peppers, have to be started early as they take a long time to grow. I start these around the end of January, growing them indoors on windowsills and and on rooms upstairs where there is the best light. Other things don’t take so long. Tomatoes can be started in March.

Planting out - When the seedlings have grown enough they can be planted out. This is normally in May but possibly April if it is very warm. If the plants are put out too early they can get cold and be damaged. There are normally lots of seedlings so it is nice to share them. In normal times the excess plants would get shared around after church sometimes. I also grow flowers, which I tend to buy as bedding plants from garden centres. Even these can be shared, by taking cuttings. I really enjoy the sharing aspect of gardening.

Trial and error - My gardening is done by trial and error. Sometimes the seeds are very good, other times you may plant lots but hardly get any. I always use organic soil to start the plants off. When roses have finished flowering they have to be trimmed right back as they always come back very abundantly. The roses always flower really well when they have been cut down low. It is a good feeling to see people stop and enjoy the roses as they pass, sniffing their scent and enjoying the beautiful sight.  

Likes and dislikes - I enjoy all aspects of gardening. Bending to fork the soil can be hard, so pots and raised beds are good for this. My only real dislike is for worms and slugs, but wearing gloves solves this problem!


Chris Eldridge writes about some of his gardening thoughts:
Surprise - It is always a surprise and pleasure to see the first spring bulbs of the year, snowdrops, aconites, and in my case crocus tomasinianus coming up through a crack in the paving; this year mid-January. Crocus tomasinianus is an early-flowering species of crocus which naturalises by self-seeding.

Appreciation - It is often difficult for gardeners to allow time to appreciate and relax in their own garden without feeling the need to get up and do something or to think of 101 gardening jobs. To focus the mind the same mental process is required as in meditation and, as Christians, we know how difficult that can be. I find relaxing is a lot easier in someone else’s garden! Please do remember that these days letting a garden go wild is to be commended.

Winter/Spring is the time to plan the flower, fruit and vegetable garden for the coming year. When feeling active and the weather permits carry out tasks such as boundary maintenance and structural work on pavings, pergolas etc. It is also a good idea to clear up garden debris and seek out slugs and snails hibernating in pots or under plastic and, with the help of a heavy stone, send them to snail heaven without them knowing.

In the vegetable garden I suggest let the worms, weather and soil organisms do the work for you rather than traditional digging. There is still time to spread well-rotted compost and for it to be integrated naturally without digging. Loosen soil with a fork if compressed or waterlogged.

An unusual tree - In my garden I have a Persimmon, Diospyros kaki, a small specimen fruit tree which crops well. The leaves turn an attractive autumn colour and the abundant orange-coloured fruit sometimes called Kaki or Sharon fruit stay on the tree over Christmas and sometimes through into February. The birds enjoy them and in the cold winter of 2009/10 redwings and fieldfares came to feed on the fruit.


Andrew Black writes:
Some purple sprouting broccoli for lent. My wife Lesley sowed this at home in May, grew it in our garden then transplanted it to the allotment.
It grows over the winter; we have started to harvest it. Normally one does not eat the leaves, but during Lockdown 1 we used the leaves as spring greens.


Peckham Pot Pouri
If you are a Southwark Council tenant and would like to get your neighbours involved to create new food growing plots, the council can support you. The Council is committed to creating more opportunities for community gardening and food growing and is launching an Allotment Expansion Guarantee in 2021. For further information click here.  
 

Katherine Maddock-Lyons writes:
I live in Peckham and have been trying to create a garden a little like Marsden Road Wildflower garden, near St John's, for a few years.  However, I have also had three children, so at times the garden has been mainly a football pitch and climbing area, and flowers did well to survive at all. I like experimenting and recycling things and as a result my garden has evolved in a very trial and error sort of way. I have recycled part of the old church memorial oak fence which the squirrels love to run across and last year my children made me a mini pond in lockdown, so I am hoping for more frogs!

My plans for March: 
Maintenance - I recycle all my garden waste and compost as much as I can (anything plant base that is not cooked). I will be doing some lawn repairs - spiking, raking, sand and grass seed being essential to have any hope of a lawn that can survive the summer. I have been pruning my roses which run wild if I let them.

Peat-free, pesticide free and weedkiller - I am now eliminating all peat from my garden. Compost is the easy bit, plants a bit harder as garden centres are still using peat. It would make a big difference to the planet if the horticultural trade stopped using peat. I hand weed out unwelcome plants like bindweed and try and keep the nettles, dandelions and daisies under control Problems – The main problem is me buying unsuitable plants! I am slowly avoiding all plants that are not drought tolerant, and instead chose things that can survive frost and slugs, and some shade and clay soil. Foxes and squirrels love digging things up so that is also a challenge. 

Success in the last year  - All through the autumn and winter I have been making insect hotels out of pallets (left over from having to have a new bathroom installed) and now I intend to grow herbs on the top - so I am planning to sow some basil, parsley and coriander seeds. I have lots of self-seeded forget-me-nots so I will move those and plant some summer flowering bulbs (I am experimenting with gladioli from Lidl), and I've got some annual flower seeds like sunflowers and marigolds and poppies. I have managed to grow sweet peas, so I am growing those from seed at the moment.  I have a lot of sage, geraniums, nettles and lavender that the slugs are not so fond of.

I am very interested in the therapeutic benefits of gardening especially for mental health and people with disabilities and sustainable gardening to encourage bees and butterflies and birds and wildlife . 
 
Here are some useful links:

• Gardening and health & wellbeing
• Gardening for young families
• Wildlife gardening
• Creating places for insects and composting

Martin Howell has some gardening tips:

• As the weather has either been wet or cold so far this year you might not have pruned your shrubs or roses over the winter. If you haven’t, do this as soon as possible, before the new growth really gets going. 
   
• If the squirrels have eaten the bulbs in you pots or borders, or you want to brighten up your garden, buy some pots of narcissi or tulips for some pretty instant flashes of colour.  You can often pick up some good value spring bulbs in Lidl or other supermarkets, if not try your local garden centre.
   
• Now is the time to start thinking about planting seeds for the summer.  Even if you don’t have much space you can grow a few plants on a windowsill. Check the packets for the best time to plant. This is a good thing to do with children if you have them.
   
• You could start by sowing a few tomato seeds in a 7-10 cm pot. Fill the pot with compost. Plant one seed in the middle, and 3 or 4 seeds round the edge and lightly cover with compost. Water and cover the pot with a plastic bag and secure with an elastic band. Place on a windowsill in a relatively warm room. The seedlings should emerge in 7 – 10 days. Once they emerge remove the plastic plant. Re-pot the seedlings into individual pots when they are big enough to handle. Try and disturb the roots as little as possible, leaving one plant (the middle one if it has germinated) in the original pot. Good luck!

Bishop's Lent Call 2021
The Bishop’s Lent Call 2021 is supporting projects in Zimbabwe, the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Diocese of Southwark.

The theme of this year’s Lent Call is food insecurity. Bishop Christopher says: “For many in our communities and Link Dioceses, not having enough to eat is sadly and appallingly now a regular occurrence. I urge you all to pray for those in these situations and to consider prayerfully what you can give to help to support them.”

This year’s Lent Call projects are:

• Projects in Zimbabwe: Initiatives supporting food security, water supplies, and infrastructure in our Link Dioceses of Central Zimbabwe, Matabeleland, Masvingo and Manicaland.
• The Diocese of Jerusalem: Helping our new Link Diocese in Jerusalem to support up to 50 vulnerable families to feed themselves.
• Projects in the Diocese of Southwark: St Matthew, Redhill Food Bank; Wandsworth Food Bank; Norwood & Brixton Food Bank; Together Southwark: Lunchbox Library; and LewCAS.

You can find out more about all the projects on the Bishop’s Lent Call website.

If you would like to make a donation towards the projects supported by the Lent Call you can donate via JustGiving or CAF or by sending a cheque: details are here.

St John’s has in the past few years supported the Lent Call with a dedicated collection on one Sunday during Lent. As we are not able to gather at the moment, and make donations in cash, everyone is encouraged to consider whether they can make a donation to the Lent Call 2021 directly.

Since 1986, successive Bishops of Southwark have called the parishes of the Diocese to a time of prayer and contemplation during Lent. The appeals have raised nearly £1 million in total for projects in the Diocese and in other parts of the Anglican Communion.