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 20 September        16th 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.
The Ministry Team:-
Rev'd Fran, 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 20 September         16th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist

Monday 21 September
1200 Funeral of Eric Farrar

Wednesday 23 September
1000 Said Eucharist

Sunday 27 September         17th Sunday after Trinity
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist

MARILYN'S MEMOS

ABSENCES
There will be a few people away this weekend
so please be prepared to step in to help ………
Thank you.
Marilyn, Rhona, Debbie and Matt

HERITAGE OPEN DAY TOGETHER WITH
DEVON HISTORIC CHURCHES ‘FUN DAY’
On Saturday, our church will be taking part in the
above between 10 am and 3 pm. Tony will be
organising his extensive history exhibition prior
to opening. Thank you to those who have
volunteered to help ‘man’ the event and make
coffee and tea.

ERIC FARRAR
We will be celebrating Eric’s life on Monday 21st
September at 12 noon. He was a highly valued
member of our congregation and a wonderful
asset to our choir for many years. Before retiring,
he held down a position of great responsibility at
Plymouth City College.

PLYMOUTH CONCERT SERIES
On Sunday afternoon we had a real treat with the
virtuoso performance of a young Franco/Korean
violinist: Irene Duval. She played some incredibly
difficult pieces with great aplomb and delighted
the most appreciative audience. She is very much
sought after and has played solo with Plymouth
Symphony Orchestra. A small excerpt can be
heard on our facebook page.

PRAYER TREE
Many thanks to Emma, who has donated a prayer
tree for our use and contemplation. It can be found
to the right of the votive candle stand.

The Prayer Tree
The notice behind the tree reads:
Take a moment to pause, reflect and pray.
You are invited to write a prayer on a label
and place it on our tree.
Your prayer can be private or you may simply
leave a name or a few words.

CHRISTENING GIFT

On the large table with leaflets, Oly has displayed
a very attractive donation to church, which is for
sale. It is an ornate tube to hold a baptism
certificate and will be given to church funds.

GRASS CUTTING
Ann and I had a most productive meeting well
over a week ago now with Nick Allinson, from the
Parks Department, who has agreed to swap our
“pink and blue” sections of parkland regarding
grass cutting. This means (we think) that the lower
part of the park which he calls Paradise Park will
be cut at the beginning and the end of the season,
and the sections at the top on both sides of the
access lane will be cut on a regular basis!

The map of the graveyard showing the original
pink and blue areas.
This will be a great improvement in the appearance
of the area nearest the church and car park. He
made a lot of other helpful suggestions, but these
are for his department to discuss and confirm or
otherwise. He is relatively new to the job and just
feeling his feet as to work boundaries etc. Needless
to say we were delighted at his positive and helpful
approach.
Watch this space!!

UPDATE:
Behold the cut grass!!


SOMEONE WITH A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR

A little furry seal toy has been resident for quite
some time on the white alarm telephone box left of
the clergy vestry door. It has a notice which reads:
the seal of approval.

CHRISTMAS FAIR
Friday November 13 & Saturday November 14
11.00am – 3.00pm
We are now booking tables for this event.
More details to follow!

ADVANCE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
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.

A FEW MORE LOCAL PRIESTS FROM THE PAST
When I wrote my article last week, listing the
women priests who have served this parish since
not long after the first women were ordained
nationally in 1994, I also included Wendy Pezzey.
Although never ordained, Wendy faithfully served
this parish, as well as the church of St. Aubyn, for
many years.
On reflection, I considered that there are two
others who I really should have mentioned.
Therefore, I will today rectify the omissions.
Reverend Gaenor Loomes (her surname was
Hockey before her marriage) was the second
Community Priest for Devonport (Reverend Peter
Jones being the first). Considering the amount of
crime and deprivation in the area this was not an
easy role for anyone to undertake. However,
Gaenor was up for the challenge and, in addition,
even became a very useful participant in the team
that kept Stoke Damerel parish church functioning
during the eighteen months Interregnum following
Reverend Gordon Cryer’s retirement.
The second omission was my neglect in not
mentioning Ruth Sayers who has been part of the
Devonport team for some years now. She came to
this part of the world as a Missionary for
Devonport and in 2025 retired after 22 years with
C.M.S. However, she is still active with both Stoke
Damerel and St. Aubyn’s churches, as well as
being chaplain at City College. She is very much
involved in the Devonport Food Club, held weekly
at St. Aubyn’s (amongst other activities), and an
essential service for many in need in the locality.
Her involvement at City College should be helpful
to Reverend Fran as she takes up the other part of
her job with all of the local education
establishments.
So, we can see that Stoke church has been at the
forefront in accepting women priests since the first
were ordained thirty-two years ago. As with the
many rectors, curates-in-charge and priests-in-
charge who have been at the helm over the years,
each individual priest has probably been received
with varying amounts of enthusiasm. Reverend
Fran has only been with us for a few weeks so far
but all those I have spoken to are uplifted and
enthusiastic about the future for this church.
Since the first recorded rector (Henry Le Megre in
1310) there have been fifty-two priests in charge
(approximately- records do vary) and, although
little is known about the earliest incumbents, some
of the later post-holders have made an impression
which may not always be good.
For instance, Reverend Edward Bridges Blackett
was appointed as rector in 1753, when the parish
of ‘The Mother Church of Devonport’ was
probably at its largest. He served as rector at Stoke
for thirty-eight years and was also involved with
the ‘Chapel-of-ease’ at St. Aubyn’s, which had
been built in 1771. It seems that there was some
friction between him and both parishes. Four years
before his death there was renowned murder in the
churchyard and, following their trial and
execution, the bodies of the two murderers were
hung in iron cages near to the path which led from
the church to his home at the rectory. It was over
thirty years before the last portion of the gibbet
disappeared, so Reverend Blackett would have
walked past the grisly scene on a regular basis for
those last four years of his life. Perhaps it is no
wonder that he fell out with parishioners of both
parishes.
Moving forward to 1828, following the death of
the absentee rector, Reverend Thomas Williamson,
parishioners were expecting the popular curate,
Reverend John Hawker who had been effectively
in charge for thirty years, to be appointed as the
next rector. The appointment was in the hands of
the Lord of the Manor and he appointed one of his
relatives, Reverend William John St. Aubyn
instead, and his relationship with Stoke
parishioners seems to have always been strained
as he became known as the ‘Bad St. Aubyn’, in
contrast to his son, Reverend William St. Aubyn,
who followed him and was known as the ‘Good St.
Aubyn’. Meanwhile Reverend Hawker went and
founded another church nearby, where the church
of St. Peter, Stonehouse now stands.
There are many other stories relating to previous
incumbents but, as I said before, we are all looking
forward for a bright future for the parish with
Reverend Fran at the helm.
Tony Barnard