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 6 September          14th Sunday after Trinity

  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, David J.
The long term sick and infirm:-
Diana, Liz & Keith N, Rob.
The recently departed:-
We give thanks for the life of Eric Farrar and we
pray for Jean, for Lucy and Matthew, and all of his
family and friends at this sad time.
We also give thanks for the life of Ana Maria Allen
and pray for her husband, Timothy, her sister-in-
law, Rosie, and all those who knew and loved her.
We remember too Margaret Bibby and all her
family and friends as her funeral takes place this
week.
The Ministry Team:-
Ruth and Marilyn.

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 6 September     14th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Mike Wagstaff

Monday 7 September
1900 Inauguration service for Rev’d Frances French

Wednesday 9 September
1000 Said Eucharist
1400 Funeral of Margaret Bibby
Conducted by Rev’d Sue Nicholas and
Rev’d Frances French

Sunday 13 September         15th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist

WELCOME BACK
To Rev’d Mike Wagstaff who will preside and
preach at our final 10am Eucharist before the
arrival of Rev’d Fran on Monday.

BLUE PLAQUE
Many of you will be familiar with the historic
National Blue Plaque Scheme. You may or may
not know that Plymouth City Council has its own
historical plaque scheme to help residents and
visitors to understand the City’s role and influence
down the ages, and the achievements of
Plymothians and Plymouth residents. The local
plaques highlight places, events or individuals
considered to have made a significant contribution
to society from the development of the City and
the region, to national and worldwide achievement.
Stoke Damerel Church, through links with people
and organisations in the community, is proposed to
‘host’ on the Parish Centre a local Blue Plaque
commemorating Krystyn Lach-Szyrma a 19th
century Polish Professor of Philosophy at the
University of Warsaw, Colonel in the Polish army
in that country’s 1930 November Uprising and
prominent activist for the Polish community in
Victorian Britain. The widower married his second
wife at Stoke Damerel Church, settled in Ker
Street, Devonport, took British Citizenship and
raised a family locally before being laid to rest in
Stoke Damerel Churchyard on his death.
Whilst records held in the Plymouth Archives at
The Box, confirm his headstone to have been
retained in the Churchyard when ownership
transferred to Plymouth Corporation (the Council)
and the Churchyard was remodelled as a public
open space in the mid 1960’s, its exact location
was unclear. Descendants of Krystyn Lach-Szyrma
have also confirmed that many years ago they had
visited the Churchyard and seen the headstone laid
flat on the ground partly under a bench.
In advance of the installation of the local Blue
Plaque the exact location of the headstone has now
been identified giving rise to a conundrum. Is the
headstone;
a. left where it is and can be uncovered to be
viewed by ‘special request’
b. relocated to an external position in the
vicinity of the Blue Plaque, or
c. relocated to an internal position inside the
Church?


HERITAGE OPEN DAY
Saturday 19 September: 1000 – 1500
Stoke Damerel Church will be open for casual
visitors on 19th September during the above times.
Tony Barnard has created a rota which is on the
welcome table at the back of the church. He would
be grateful for volunteers to sign up for an hour or
more, and needs at least two visitors for each time
period during the day.
If you are able to, please come along and support
this event.
Thank you.

ERIC FARRAR

Eric and Jean Farrar began attending Stoke
Damerel Church in the 1970s. As able singers, they
were welcomed into the choir where, for many
years, they were stalwarts of the Alto and Tenor
parts. At a time when we were without an organist
and choirmaster, Jean stepped up to take on the
role of leading the choir. When Eric's health began
to fail, he could no longer sing, but still came
faithfully with Jean to the choir practices she was
leading, and sat patiently at the back of the church
waiting for her.
Eric had been Deputy Principal at City College in
our parish. His link with Stoke Damerel was
strengthened when Gordon Cryer, who was Rector
at the time, comforted him and Jean when their son
Tim, a pupil at the school across the road, died
after falling out of a tree in our churchyard.
In recent years, Jean cared for Eric at home with
the support of their younger son Matthew, and
frequent visits from Edinburgh of their daughter
Lucy. Throughout this time, they remained part of
our congregation through receiving their
Communion at home. When Eric’s health
worsened further, he needed the full-time care
which could only be provided in the nursing home
where he died on 21st August.
His funeral is to take place here at Stoke Damerel
on Monday 21st September at 12.00 noon. We hold
Jean, Lucy and Matt in our prayers, and remember
Eric with love and thanksgiving for his life.
John Steere

MARILYN'S MEMOS

SPOTLIGHT ON AVIV
Judith has been working for a considerable number
of weeks with Aviv in our children’s corner. He
has been attending church with his family for
several years now while his mum has been
completing her Master’s Degree at Plymouth
University. She can find work and stay for two
years beyond her studies. I believe she is (or was)
working at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Aviv was
interviewed by Rev’d Sue on Sunday and
explained very confidently what he had been
doing: making a model Middle Eastern village
from biblical times. Bravo Judith and Aviv. What a
pleasure for us all to share this moment.

IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS!
I am very pleased to say that Stormforce came to
the rescue on Wednesday morning and two of the
roofers and the co-owner showed up to sort out the
leak into the organ loft! What happens is that the
hoppers at each end of the lead valleys get filled up
with leaves (and previously with a football and a
frying pan?) and overflow. This is why we have a
maintenance team on a 6 monthly basis: however,
they are tied up in North Devon sorting leaks in
other churches! We could have waited for their
visit but thought it wise to get someone in quickly.
Fingers crossed.

PRAYER TREE

Many thanks to Emma who is bringing a prayer
tree to enhance our outreach. We must find a
suitable place to keep it, in full view.

IF A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND
WORDS: INTERPRETING THE PAINTING
In the preparation of Rev’d Fran’s inauguration
service booklet, we were asked by Archdeacon
Jane to include something about evangelism and
children and young people. Ruth and I pondered
and consulted the internet! It said:
There is no single, universal official symbol that
represents all young people globally. Instead,
youth is commonly represented by nature and
energy motifs such as green shoots or sprouting
leaves (growth), a rising sun (a new dawn or
future) or flames and sparks (vitality and energy).
We contemplated for a while and then thought of
Rev’d Brian. He brings interpretive paintings to
illustrate events in the Bible so we approached
him: “we have seen how you represent bible
passage in your artistic paintings. Would you be
prepared to paint something which would convey
all the above and link it with Rev’d Fran’s life? “
On Wednesday, Rev’d Brian brought this painting
which is full of complex meaning. It will be
presented on Monday evening and fully explained
in next week’s Sunday sheet. We regret that he has
a prior engagement and will not be present to
explain it all himself.
Thank you so much, Rev’d Brian.


THE INAUGURATION SERVICE BOOKLET
We have managed to complete our booklet in good
time and hope to pick up copious copies at the end
of the week. Thank you to all who have made this
possible, particularly the wonderful and endlessly
patient Garry of The Art Side in Mayflower Street.

SATURDAY CLEANING AND SERVICE
RUN THROUGH 10 am
Thanks to everyone in advance of our clean up, run
through and preparation for the big event: Rev’d
Fran’s inaugural service on Monday evening.
Her new position starts with a vengeance: two
funerals and a baptism!
Good luck and congratulations, Rev’d Fran, from
all of us at Stoke Damerel.
Marilyn

ADVANCE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Sep 19 Devon Historic Churches Open Day
Oct 11 Harvest Thanksgiving Service
Oct 18 St. Luke’s Service
Nov 8 Remembrance Sunday
Nov 13 & 14 Christmas Fair

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN SEPTEMBER
Jim Richmond, John Steere, Debbie Smith,
Kevin Kelland, Ian Gillhespy.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN J.P. ST. AUBYN,
STOKE DAMEREL CHURCH, THE ‘VICAR OF DIBLEY’,
AND OUR NEW PRIEST?

J.P. St. Aubyn in 1890
Last week I wrote briefly about the architect James
Piers St. Aubyn and included a perspective he
produced of his proposal, in 1883, to rebuild Stoke
Damerel parish church on a site nearby in
Molesworth Road. Two years prior to that he had
drawn up a scheme for replacement of the church
on the existing Paradise Road site. Externally, the
building looked very similar to his later 1883
drawing. However, in 1881 he had also drawn an
internal view showing where we would be
worshipping if that original proposal had come to
fruition. No doubt our underfloor heating system
would now be struggling to keep a building of
such great height warm!


1881 Interior perspective view of proposal
However, as with the bulk of the later cathedral
building proposal, by W.D. Caroe, neither design
ever saw the light of day.
During his prolific working life, St. Aubyn was
responsible for work throughout the country.
Within Plymouth, he produced, amongst many
other designs - housing in Haddington Road; a
housing estate in Keyham; St. Paul’s church,
Morice Square; St. James’, Keyham; St. Mary’s,
Devonport; St. Stephen’s, Devonport; Devonport
Temperance Hall; Devonport Prison,
Pennycomequick; and probably the most well-
known building, Devonport Market, although few
will know of the four wonderful lead-formed heads
of mythical beasts located on top of the tower.

A mythical beast at Devonport Market
Close to the church four cottages, which he
designed, still stand. This is where the next
connection comes in.

1848 elevation drawing of Berkeley cottages.
The actress Dawn French is well known for her
role as the ‘Vicar of Dibley.’ She spent part of her
early life in Plymouth, and I believe the family
lived in one of these cottages. She attended St.
Dunstan’s Abbey and, a few years later in 1984,
when she married Lenny Henry at the actors’
church of St. Paul in Covent Garden, London, she
asked the school chaplain to conduct the service.
This priest was also our then rector, Reverend
Gordon Cryer. He was pleased to be asked and
later would proudly recount that he “married the
Vicar of Dibley.”
Finally, I know of no family connection with our
new priest, Reverend Fran French, who we will all
eagerly welcome to Stoke Damerel parish church
tomorrow evening, although I have not confirmed
whether her husband, Reverend Daniel French, has
any family ties to Dawn French’s family.
Regardless, we all look forward to getting to know
them both (and their son and daughter) over the
years to come. And can we now claim to have our
very own ‘Vicar of Dibley.’?
Tony Barnard