CROSTHWAITE CHURCH KESWICK - CHRISTMAS 2020 - A message of hope in the window of

CROSTHWAITE
CHURCH KESWICK
     CHRISTMAS
       2020

     A message of hope
    in the window of the
  Parish Room in Keswick!

Advent Prayer

                              Where you walk
                              Where you work
                               Where you live
                              Where you love
                            May you be fuelled
                               By the fulness
                          Of the goodness of God

                               In your hardships
                                  In mourning
                       In the night of grief that groans
                       For the merest glint of morning
                              May you find faith
                                 In the fulness
                           Of the goodness of God

                      When you choose to follow stars
                           And cross dark deserts
                   Because you’ve heard behind the skies
                               An angel’s song
                       When you long for greater light
                            And yearn for learning
                  Unafraid to know your journey will be long
                    May you reach the source of healing
                       And find your heart’s true home
                               May you flourish
                                In the fulness
                           Of the goodness of God

    by Gerard Kelly, from I See A New City, 2020, Chamine Press

Dear Friends

In Advent we wait, we look, we hope. In our world today we wait, we look, we
hope. All has changed, and yet it has not – we still need light for our journey,
faith for our fear and strength for our day. Christmas is coming. It may not be
the Christmas we were expecting, but it’s message of hope is real!

May the God whose hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5.5) bless you
with his presence and his goodness in this coming season.

Yours in Christ
Andy

Christmas is Waiting
            Christmas is waiting to happen
               Outside, a vacant hillside
              Lies silent, strangely empty
                 Of any angel’s choir.
                      A stable waits
          For bookings at the inn to multiply.
              Distant Kings study charts
            And keep gifts in cold storage,
         While shepherds plan their memoirs
          In expectancy of unexpected fame
         And keep a chapter free for miracles.

                  A small velvet patch
                 In the black night sky
         Stands ready to hold a new born star,
          And oppressed people everywhere
           Cling wildly to prophecy and song
           And whisper the word: Messiah.

             They’ve switched on the lights
                     In Oxford Street,
             Counting off the buying days.
              Like Guardsmen on parade,
          shops are stocked and standing by,
                  revving up the engines
       of their debt powered swiping machines,
       and history watchers mark another year
                in the slow count to 3000.

                 But here an old man lies
      In the stairwell where he fell three days ago
                    And no one knows.
                         A girl loiters
                 In a streets unholy halo
             To sell the only thing she owns
                  That men will pay for.
                And here an infant sleeps
            On a sack on the hard earth floor
         Where even a mother’s hand is empty
         and there are places where Christmas
                is still waiting to happen.

by Gerard Kelly, from Spoken Worship, 2007, Zondervan

Our Virtual Christmas Tree for the Christmas Tree Festival
organised by the Methodists

Interesting Graves in Crosthwaite Churchyard
                                Eliza Lynn Linton
                                    1822-1898

Elizabeth, known as Eliza was born in Keswick on 10th February 1822. She was
the youngest of twelve children, her mother dying when she was only five years
old. Her father was the Rev. James Lynn, vicar of Crosthwaite, Keswick and
mother Charlotte was the daughter of Samuel Goodenough who was Bishop of
Carlisle, formerly Dean of Rochester and botanist to Queen Charlotte. Her father,
unable to cope with twelve children and showing little interest in them Eliza im-
mersed herself in her fathers well stocked library often being bullied by her sib-
lings.

After a complicated and often unhappy time at home, unable to reconcile herself
to the ideas of her family she moved alone to London at the age of 23. Deter-
mined to make a name for herself as a ‘woman of letters’ she was given thirty
pounds by her father to last a year and became a protege of Walter Savage Lan-
dor who was responsible for creating the ‘Reading Room.’ Landor took on a fa-
therly role to Eliza and she affectionately called him ‘father.’ Borrowing fifty
pounds from Landor her first novel ‘Azeth the Egyptian’ was published in 1847.
The book reviews were not favourable and by this time Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane
Eyre’ was published.

She gave up on writing novels and after having an article accepted at ‘The Morn-
ing Chronicle’ where her work was edited by Charles Dickens she became the
first paid female journalist in the UK. A salary of twenty guineas a month enabled
Eliza to have a better quality of life and to make friends. Eliza was a frequent con-
tributor to several newspapers.

Dickens often visited Gads Place as a child and bought the home from Eliza after
she inherited it form her father. Moving to Paris as a correspondent in 1851 Eliza
met W. J. Linton a well known wood engraver, poet and chartist agitator who had
seven children to a previous marriage. They moved back to William’s ramshackle
home ‘Brantwood’ in Coniston better known as the home of John Ruskin where
Eliza wrote her only novel set in Cumbria ‘Lizzie Lorton of Greyrigg.’ They also
lived on the edge of Hampstead Heath and in 1867 split amicably and her hus-
band moved to America whilst Eliza continued to care for one of the children.

After moving back to London Eliza wrote prolifically and went on to write over 20
novels and a travel guide, ‘The Lake Country.’ In the 1860’s and 70’s Eliza be-
came a staunch anti feminist and wrote several articles on the subject which was
also written about in her autobiography, under the guise of a man ’Christopher
Kirkland.’ In her latter years she moved to Malvern but died on a visit to London of
pneumonia on 14th July 1898.

A letter printed in the Keswick Reminder some years ago, included
here at the suggestion of Barry Cox

A Most Special Christmas Gift
                                                        by Mrs Nellie Phillips

When staying with my family in the Lake District I go to worship at the
church of Saint Kentigern, known as Crosthwaite Parish Church, which is
situated in a very beautiful spot in the valley on the outskirts of Keswick.

One particular service stands out in my mind - the Christmas Eve mass, at
the time of the big freeze during the winter of 1981.

Conditions being rather bad for walking, we arrived at the church slightly
late and discovered a large congregation who had just commenced the
beautiful traditional service from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. As the
service unfolded the choir, seated towards the back of the church, began
to sing the Christmas hymns and carols and one felt carried along by them
as their voices seemed to come down from the very roof of the nave itself.
Then as the people made their way slowly and reverently to the alter to re-
ceive communion, the peace and joy of the Holy Night was truly with us.

On leaving the church, to the greetings of the people and the sound of the
Christmas bells, I was seized by the beauty and power of God's creation
as I saw the majesty of the mighty crags around us, covered in their man-
tle of snow; and as I looked back towards the warmly lit church I saw that
she, too, nestled in their very cradle - a cradle of the faith, established by
Kentigern, all those years ago.

These thoughts of wonder and creation returned to me that same after-
noon as we went down to Derwentwater and came back into focus as we
walked on the frozen water of the lake towards Friar's Crag. As we strolled
across a stretch of the lake where the boats and launches normally plough
their way, I was deeply impressed, as rarely before, by the variety and
beauty of God's creation gift to us, and in particular of his most special
Christmas gift.

A Letter from the Middle East

  “ - "‫کێیە؟‬Who is it?”
 This is the question everyone calls out as they go to answer a knock at
 their gate on the street.
 You never know who it will be and sometimes you have to switch from
 Kurdish into Arabic.
 Sometimes it is a neighbour or friend with a plate of food.

 The plate will be returned later with a portion of home cooking. (I am con-
 vinced we always receive the best in these deals.)
 The other day it was a stranger, a lady dressed like so many with a black
 ‘abaya’ outer covering. Her name was Fatima, and she was asking for sugar.
 We don’t give money, nor sugar, but we have a stash of milk powder ready
 to give. So I gave her the bag of milk powder, telling her something of the
 God who has given us so very much, and is made known through Jesus the
 Messiah.
 She was grateful and asked me if I would like to know my future - she was
 offering to read my hand. I tried to explain that I don’t want to know what
 will happen next month or next year, because I know that God loves me so
 much and that He has promised to keep me safe.
 ‘Why have you come here?’ she asked. ‘Because God wants you and other
 people to know His loving kindness,’ I answered.
 As we enter the last month of 2020, with all its troubles, we are thankful to
 the Good Shepherd who has protected us and guided us, even through the
 valley of the shadow of death. For the Jesus the Good Shepherd was the

theme of the 2020 scripture calendar produced by Biblica here in the Kurdish re-
gion of Iraq, with the focus on the saying of Jesus, “I am the Good Shepherd,
who lays down his life for the sheep.”
For the 2021 calendar, which was planned from back in February, we have
moved on to the adjacent saying, “I am the door of the sheep, …” and the
theme of God opening a door for us. With the trials that Kurdistan and all the
world has faced, we wondered whether this was appropriate. But in discussion,
we were told about the Kurdish expression that is used as a prayer when we are
in a hard place:
                         !(‫ دەرگایەکمان لی بکاتەوە‬،‫)ئەی خوایە‬
                           “Oh   God, open a door for us!”

This then became the starting point for the text that comes on the back of the
2021 calendar. For this year, with reduced funding, we have done a smaller
print run of 20,000 copies of only one design, a Kurdish-Arabic diglot, for all of
Iraq, North and South.
Sometimes the children of our new neighbours next door have asked me, ‘Are
you an Arab? Or are you a Kurd?’ There are now many Arabs living in our city
who have been displaced by conflict in the South. The society is ethnically divid-
ed and often suspicious. (This family is in fact neither Arab nor Kurd, but part of
the Dom people, akin to the Romani people, with their own language which
they speak at home.)
May we, along with the Kurdish and Arabic and Dom speaking people here,
learn to take up his invitation:
                           “Ask and it will be given to you;

                                seek and you will find;
                     knock and the door will be opened to you.”

                             Happy Christmas!
                                 With our love,
                          S & K n the Middle East
  If people would like to know more about 'S&K in the Middle East', please
  contact Revd. Andy Murphie
  at vicar@crosthwaitechurchkeswick.co.uk Thank you."

Church Roof Renewal
After 6 years of waiting and 5 years of fund raising and the receipt of many
generous donations work started in earnest on the church roof on November
4th.

It was amazing to see how quickly the roof was stripped of all the slate tiles
and a waterproof membrane and insulation put into place. The roofers are
working hard to try to complete the South Roof before Christmas. If this hap-
pens the scaffolding will come down and we will once again be able to see our
lovely building. Although we have had some wet weather work continues daily
as only high winds and extreme cold will halt the work.
Donations towards the roof are still needed. We do have enough money to pay
for the work but will probably need to dip into reserves.
Thank you to all who have so generously given and worked towards this much
needed project.

                               November 4th

        November 10th                           November 25th

Memories of Miss Carol Sarsfield-Hall (1925-2020)
Today I saw and smelled some fragrant elderflowers and was remind-
ed of a dear lady – Carol Sarsfield-Hall. A cascade of memories
flowed; a little green car driven down the middle of the road, raspber-
ries and strawberries readied for the Church Fete, garden produce of-
fered, then a donation to Christian Aid requested. Mr Slee (?) who
seemed to do all practical tasks. Soup donated for Lent Lunches.
Her home was shared with many and the upper floor hosted mission-
ary families. Homegroup and other occasions were held there includ-
ing her special birthdays – parties with music, songs, games and Car-
ol’s amusing monologues. Footage of a young Carol on the frozen
lake skating with a cushion strapped to her sit upon. An abiding pas-
sion for the people of Sudan and many tribal artifacts, gifted to her fa-
ther when Governor of the Sudan.
Carol was stoical, brave, kind, generous and above all great fun. Her
Christian faith was straightforward and deep. We loved her dearly.
And elderflowers will forever remind me of her homemade cordial – a
Skiddaw Lodge treat on a hot sunny day.

Monica Penny
May 2020

Carol’s funeral took place in the churchyard of her much-loved Cros-
thwaite on 6th May. When times permit, we plan to hold a Service of
Thanksgiving for her remarkable life. Printed below is one of the pray-
ers she requested for this service.
“Teach us not to settle down to this life but to watch, to expect, as one
who looks for morning. Inspire us to feed our lamps, to use our tal-
ents, to spend our love. For beyond us are the hills of God, the snow
fields of the Spirit, the other Kingdom. Let our lives show plainly that
we seek a country beyond all earthly ken. That with your saints and
angels we may there rejoice.”

Christmas memories of warm beer and cold turkey
                        by Barry Cox

Whilst I have many fond memories of the traditional family Christmas
days of my youth, filled with love and joy, I also have memories of
the four years when I spent Christmas in Australia the early 80's.
For the final one in 1982 I had travelled north to tropical Queensland
and found myself working as a cocktail barman on Hayman Island, a
tropical island resort north of the Whitsunday Passage, owned by Sir
Rupert Murdoch. Although we all worked six days a week on Hay-
man, we spent as much time on the beach as serving cocktails
around the pool, and then there was snorkelling, boat trips to the
Outer Barrier Reef, paraflying and a host of other mostly free activi-
ties. It was paradise and I had to pinch myself that I was actually
being paid to be there. I doubt if I could have found a more idyllic
way of life anywhere.

It is a complete myth that Australians spend Christmas day on the
beach. They don't. They spend it at home with their families just as
we do. Only the ex-pats go to the beach, and mostly just to gloat
and prove a point to families back home. What is so different in Aus-
tralia, is that Christmas falls in the middle of summer, and conse-
quently the long school holidays. Many Australians choose to go
away for Christmas, it's a big part of their annual summer holiday, so
the island resort was full. My parents back home never really under-
stood why Australians roasted their turkeys and then let them go
cold, eating them with salad in the evening on Christmas Day. Cold
turkey!But, the scorching summer heat just did not lend itself to a hot
roast dinner.

Hayman's own interpretation of Christmas was to be as special and
exciting for me, as it was to be as different from the Christmas we
know and love. It arrived suddenly and without warning, and was al-
most an interruption to our idyllic way of life. It was a surreal way of
life on Hayman. Our days were filled with work and the beach, and
we had virtually no contact with the “outside world”. In fact, we were
so cut off in our little bit of paradise that some of the staff who had
been on Hayman for many years could not face returning to the
mainland and normal life. I watched no television - why would I want
to? - read no newspapers, and there was no internet or mobile
phones in those days. We listened to very little of the only radio sta-
tion we could pick up, Radio 4TW, from Townsville a little further up
the coast.

There was only one quite tacky gift shop on the island so thankfully no
Christmas shopping! There was the post of course, but even the arri-
val of my Christmas cards from England and Sydney, though most
welcomed, was very odd and strangely out of context. Often before
work I would open them on the beach, a drop or two of my sweat fall-
ing onto the snow scene before me. Everything about Christmas on
Hayman was an utter contradiction.

On 23rd December I went reef fishing. “M.V. Jane” bobbed up and
down in a gentle swell on the calm passage as we fished just off Hook
Island. Our attentions were divided almost equally between our lines
and our “tinnies” of Castlemaine XXXX which we struggled to keep
cool. The consumption of beer and keeping it cool is an intrinsic and
important part of the Australian way of life, and one that many on the
island took very seriously. Twelve thousand miles away, in that tradi-
tional and last-minute rush to the shops, Oxford Street was heaving,
and carols were being sung in the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made
moan. Queenslanders do not know frosty winds!

On Christmas Eve I flew on a seaplane to the Outer Barrier Reef. It
was very costly and I had saved up for many weeks, determined to en-
joy this unique thrill before leaving the island in the new year. We
landed on the sea, took a rowing boat to the nearby reef, and snor-
kelled and marvelled at the loveliness of creation for a few rare and
precious hours. This was a world far removed from everything I was
familiar with. I never lost that sense though, of the privilege that I had
been given and I feasted on it, reality remaining just beyond the hori-
zon. But, we had to return to reality and flew back over Hook Island,
the Whitsunday Passage, Bali Ha'i and on to Hayman Island. Finally,
an exhilarating landing in only inches of water as we sped over the la-
goon towards my wonderful island paradise. Physically I had returned
to another care-free afternoon of fishing, as one does on Christmas
Eve, but mentally I would be out on the reef for some days to come.
What a special Christmas and what fond and enduring memories.

 “No one, I think, can leave this place without retaining in his memory
      a vivid and enduring recollection of its singular loveliness.”

                                 JOHN HOOD        Australia and the East

Affinity Credit Union
                by Richard Pratt, Archdeacon of West Cumberland

Like many parish clergy, we used to get people coming to the door asking for mon-
ey or food or a bed for the night. 30 years ago, or even 20 years ago, the typical
person knocking would be a "gentleman of the road"; we would give them a mug
of tea and a sandwich – though I remember one man complaining that the bread
was stale – to which my response was that it was what we were eating!

But more recently, and more distressingly, the typical customer became a young
woman who had bought Christmas presents for her children from a so-called cata-
logue, and got into debt; our response changed too – I would take them to Tesco
to do an essentials shop and then drive them home.

I hope this short story brings home to you, as it did to me, the problem of debt and
the danger of pay day loan sharks. So when Credit Unions got going – in many
places with huge support from church members – I was delighted and excited. The
Bible has a lot to say about debt and high interest rates – all of it highly critical; so
Christians and others doing something about it seems to me to be the sort of ac-
tive obedience we need to follow. Credit Unions are for everyone and provide af-
fordable loans. Their customers include people of no interest to high street banks
because the loans are too small or they don't meet their lending criteria.

Did you know that in Cumbria, a number of Credit Unions have amalgamated into
Affinity Credit Union, which covers the whole county? www.affinitycu.co.uk During
the pandemic, as so many businesses are struggling, and so many more people
are becoming unemployed or are on short hours at reduced wages, I think the
need for Affinity will increase hugely.

We can do a few things:
First, we can invest in Affinity – by joining and buying what are called deferred
shares. These shares can be traded between members but cannot be sold out-
side. Best to think of them as dojnations.
Secondly, we can join and become savers and borrowers. Affinity needs us to de-
posit money so that it can lend it the money on; it needs us to borrow because this
is where its income comes from. As the Affinity website explains, our money is
safe, and Affinity hopes to pay a small dividend.
Thirdly, we can volunteer with Affinity (look under Careers!); they offer training and
structure to their volunteers and you would be making an important difference at a
critical time;
Fourthly, we can pass the message on, making sure that lots of people know they
can borrow safely from Affinity, and not get trapped in spiralling debt with extortion-
ate interest rates;
Lastly, we can pray for Affinity, its staff and volunteers, and for those in debt.

Do please be in touch with Affinity: if you don't do internet, just phone them on

01946 817508 (Cleator Moor), 01900 65723 (Workington) or 01768 890065
(Penrith) The Maryport and Kendal Branches are currently closed.

ARE YOU AND I RECOGNISABLE?
                            by Revd. Frank Bovill

Many years ago I went to enter a Keswick shop for a pair of hiking boots.
Surprisingly I was stopped at the door by the owner! He asked a simple but
unexpected question. “Did you do National Service?” “Yes”, I replied, “what
makes you ask?” He replied, “I noticed your shining shoes!”

Several years later, in retirement, whilst on chaplaincy cover in Norway,
having crossed the Kvikne Hotel dining room floor to the outside verandah
with its unrivalled views of the Sognefjord, I was asked a similar question.
“Were you once in the army?” “Yes” I replied, “but why do you ask?” The
former RAF airman replied “I noticed how you walked across the dining
room!”

The question I would ask readers of the Crosthwaite magazine is this: “Are
you, am I, a recognisable Christian?” What would, what should, mark us
out if we claim to be one? What would those who make no claim to be a
Christian look for in those of us who do? Expect to find? Expect to see?
Expect to hear?

I would expect to find someone who is not ashamed, who has complete
confidence, an utter trust in the person giving directions for living a full and
satisfying life. St.Paul found this in, for him, the most unexpected Person:
the Lord Jesus, the One he had had no time for! Who are you, Lord!?

I would expect to see someone in whose life hatred and jealousy, fits of
rage and selfishness, gangs and drunkenness, discord and an unforgiving
attitude toward others were things of the past.

I would expect to hear of a desire to listen to the Lord Jesus; and to hear of
people freely sharing their experiences with one another in order to en-
courage, uplift and thrill people as they tell of what Jesus has done for
them. For what He has done for others He can do for you

There’s a song based on the words of Samuel in the Temple in O.T.times.
“Let God speak…and I will listen.” This should be the attitude and the de-
sire of everyone who longs to be recognised – as a Christian.

Yours, because His,

Frank Bovill.

CHRISTMAS SERVICES
         Friday 18th, Saturday 19th December
           3.00pm - 7.00pm ‘Lighting the Way’
              A Journey in Christmas Lights
         with Life-Size Nativity Display in Church
            (Church Open for Private Prayer)

                Sunday 20th December
     9.00am Holy Communion (said) at Underskiddaw
 10.15am Carol Service at Crosthwaite (same as 4.00pm)
 4.00pm Carol Service at Crosthwaite (same as 10.15am)
   5.00pm - 7.00pm Church Open for ‘Lighting the Way’

Monday 21st, Tuesday 22nd, Wednesday 23rd December
          3.00pm - 7.00pm ‘Lighting the Way’
             A Journey in Christmas Lights
       with Life-Size Nativity Display in Church
           (Church Open for Private Prayer)
       6.00pm 15 Minute Outdoor Carol Service

                      Christmas Eve
               6.00pm Christmas Eve Carols
(informal - Christmas jumpers, Christmas masks welcome!)
                 11.00pm Holy Communion

                   Christmas Day
       9.00am Holy Communion at Underskiddaw
       10.15am Holy Communion at Crosthwaite

                Sunday 27th December
                     No Service