THE PARISH CHURCH OF STOKE                
DAMEREL (ST. ANDREW & ST. LUKE)

Email:   info@stokedamerel.church                                          
www.Stokedamerel.church
www.facebook.com/StokeDamerelChurch

Please note: Stoke Damerel Church does not divulge
personal information to third parties.

Sunday 11 January                     Baptism of Christ

  Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms
are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
The sick:-
Maureen, Margaret W, Graham, John S, Kathy, Mo, Matt, Bertie, Morwenna.
The long term sick and infirm:-
George, Peter, Diana, Liz & Keith N, Rob, John and Shirley.
The recently departed:-
We give thanks for the life of David Sayers,
Ruth’s uncle, and we pray for his family and
friends at this sad time.
The Ministry Team:-
Wendy, Ruth, Marilyn and Rhona.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CANDLE

If you would like to have the candle lit for a week
for a particular prayer / thanksgiving /
commemoration, etc., please send a £5 donation to
Debbie Smith, clearly marking your donation as
being for the candle. Details of your intention can
be emailed to:- sarah.lundstrom@virginmedia.com
so that a mention of the commemoration, etc., can
appear in the Sunday Sheet.

SERVICES THIS WEEK
Stoke Damerel Parish Church is a hybrid church
open for public worship and private prayer and all
services will be live streamed.
By attending a live streamed service, you give
implied permission to have your image captured
on CCTV and to be broadcast as participant in the
liturgy.

Watch our livestreamed services
Please follow the link to make your way to our YouTube page: 

 STOKE DAMEREL YOUTUBE CHANNEL 

Sunday 11 January                    Baptism of Christ
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Scott Angell
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Scott Angell

Wednesday 14 January
1000 Morning Prayer

Sunday 18 January                2nd Sunday of Epiphany
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Nick Shutt
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Nick Shutt

WELCOME BACK
To Rev’d Scott Angell, who leads our services this
weekend.
Next Sunday the former Archdeacon of Plymouth,
Rev’d Nick Shutt, will be with us at 8am and
10am.

BLANKETS FOR UKRAINE
Ruth delivered blankets to the Estover unit today.
Please keep knitting!



MARILYN'S MEMOS

BURNS SUPPER
FRIDAY 23RD JANUARY
Having checked that we have a shopping/table
laying/preparing/cooking/waiting/clearing up
TEAM available, please keep this date in mind for
late January. More details to follow.
Burns Night is, of course, on January 25th but this
date does not suit our schedule!
Should you wish to attend, Marilyn will take
names as from now!!

Rev'd Mike Harman

I am sure we were all delighted to see Mike again
last Sunday and, in spite of health challenges, he
conducted our service in fine form, seated at times
as the photo shows. We are so appreciative of our
faithful priests who support us each Sunday.

Rev’d Phil Osler
Some of our congregation will remember Rev'd
Phil, who stepped in to assist us during a previous
vacancy. He subsequently moved to the Salisbury
diocese for a new job but is now returning to
Devon. He is being licensed as Associate Priest in
the Aune Valley Mission Community in South
Devon, which is a half-time post based at
Thurlestone and will provide interim ministry for
two years with a possible further two after that.
Licensing will take place on Monday 2nd of
February at 7.00pm in All Saints Church,
Thurlestone.
I am hoping to attend and if anyone would like to
share transport, then please let me know. Phil has
asked for numbers by mid-January.

Blue Plaque
Apart from all the famous people who graced our
church, there is one who is yet to be honoured:
Krystyn Lach-Szyrma who was a Professor of
Philosophy in Warsaw. Tony Barnard has already
added a page in a previous Sunday Sheet
concerning this scholarly gentleman. His
gravestone is in our churchyard, in the bramble
patch alongside the wall next to the carpark.
Fr Keith and I endeavoured to unearth the relevant
memorial, with some difficulty as the whole area is
a wasteland. A Consul from the Polish Embassy in
London called in one evening a few years ago, to
see the gravestone which is hardly in a good
situation.
Plaques officer at the Box, Alan Barclay, added the
following comment:
Having looked at the site, there are a couple of
places that may be suitable on the outside of the
modern extension / hall building. If the church
agree to host the plaque, they will be required to
obtain planning permission for it, (listed building
consent) which I am now in a position to talk them
through. My deadline is the end of the second week
of January so I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes
Alan Barclay
I have responded to Alan but not heard back as
yet. The item will be on the agenda at the next
PCC meeting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN JANUARY
Liz Neil.

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
AND TWELFTH NIGHT SUPERSTITIONS
No doubt most households will have taken down
all their Christmas decorations by now. Some do
this by a certain date because of the superstition
which claims that it is unlucky to leave them up
past Twelfth Night. The exact date is variable.
Most people start counting from Christmas Day,
making 5th. January Twelfth Night. Others start
with Boxing Day, which determines 6th. January as
the relevant date. In the religious calendar, Twelfth
Night falls on Epiphany Eve which is the evening
of 5th. January when the three wise men arrived at
the stable. The Council of Tours in 567 determined
that the twelve days between Christmas and
Epiphany should become a sacred and festive
season, with fasting undertaken beforehand during
Advent.
There is a legend that in the 16th. century, when
Roman Catholics were suffering persecution,
hidden references in the ’12 Days of Christmas’
song were used to instruct children about the
Catholic Church –

Jesus was represented by the Partridge, a
bird which will give up its life to protect
its young, and the cross is symbolised by
the Pear tree.

The two Turtle Doves stand for the Old
and New Testaments.

Three French hens signify the virtues of
Faith, Hope and Charity.

The four calling birds stand for the Gospels
of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The five golden rings represent the first
books in the Old Testament – Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy.

The six days of creation are represented
by the six Geese-a-laying.

Seven Swans-a-swimming relate to the
seven gifts of the Holy Spirit – wisdom,
understanding, counsel, fortitude,
knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

The eight maids-a-milking represent the
eight Beatitudes Jesus preached in his
Sermon on the Mount.

The nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits
of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.

The Ten Commandments are represented
by the ten Lords-a-leaping.

Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven
faithful disciples – Peter, Andrew, James,
John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the Younger, Simon, and
Jude.

Twelve drummers drumming represent the
twelve doctrines in the Apostles’ Creed,
which are Christianity’s core beliefs.

Going back to the superstition relating to leaving
decorations up beyond twelfth night, I have read
that some think that it is also unlucky to take
decorations down before Twelfth Night, rather
than after.
In Mediaeval times festive decorations were left up
until the Feast of the Purification, on 2nd. February,
forty days after Christmas. This was also
Candlemas when candles to be used in the year
ahead were blessed. It was a day for great feasting.
Anyone whose decorations have not yet been taken
down might now decide to leave them until 2nd.
February, although, according to mediaeval
tradition, leave them any longer and the Goblins
will get you!

Feasting in Ainsworth's Mervyn Clitheroe
(1850’s drawing by Phiz)

There is also the Westcountry tradition of
Wassailing on 6th. January, whch is intended to
ensure that there is a good fruit harvest in the
coming year. Wassailers gather in Orchards to
share warmed spicy cider from a shared bowl.
Only this week I saw a news item with regard to
another variation where the revellers journey
around local shops, drinking from a filled bowl at
each stop. It would be interesting to see them after
visiting a long High Street!!
Tony Barnard