Below are just
some of the reactions printed in the 'Marshlander'.
Weekend
of Celebration at St Peter's 125th
Anniversary of moving the church.
By Norman Borrill
Over the past year
lots of thought has gone into making plans as to how best we could celebrate the
moving of the old St Peter's church in Saltfleetby to its present site 125 years
ago. Many people have asked the question 'Why was it moved?' Well, the answer to
that is clear as soon as one takes a look at the old photograph, which hangs on
the wall of St Peter's just near the font. It was obviously in a bad state, with
sagging roof, leaning walls propped up by buttresses and the whole building
looking as if it might fall down at any time.
There was also the
position of the church down the narrow lane. Apparently at one time a road
passed by the old church from the Main road towards Skidbrooke. Anyway it was an
act of great courage and faith to undertake the task of moving the church stone
by stone to a more convenient location. The way the money was raised and given
makes interesting reading. For example the collection taken at the opening
service at the new building was equivalent to several thousands of pounds in
today's money.
To get back to our
own celebrations, it was decided to have a Flower Festival, an Evening Concert
and Invite the New Bishop of Lincoln to preach at the morning service of Holy
Communion. All these events were arranged and those people who attended either
one or all three must have been satisfied with the results of all the hard work
and effort that had been put in over a long period. First of all the Flower
Festival had been planned with a theme 'From the Old to the New' and expert help
and advice had been sought and given to make a really splendid display of
flowers. Old tools, dresses and familiar items were used to complement the
flowers, along with more modem items to demonstrate the theme. The windows, the
font, the porch, indeed all parts of the church received the same amount of
artistic care. Different ladies were responsible for different parts of the
church and each and everyone deserved thanks for their efforts.
In addition a number
of interesting photos had been reproduced showing a lot of the history of the
church and events that had taken place. One most notable was a fine picture of
the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Riggall in 1905. The stonework at that time was
certainly in pristine condition. All these old pictures will be kept in an album
and displayed in the church at various times. Refreshments were provided by some
of the ladies during the open hours and it was very nice to be able to chat over
a cup of tea or coffee and indulge in some lovely cake etc.
On the Saturday
evening we held a concert, called a Musical Cocktail because of the variety of
music provided. Our own St Peter's Church choir and the local Vocal Links group
were both in very good voice and sang some very popular songs. We were again
delighted to hear the Barbershop group the Quarterjacks who are becoming so well
known to many of us that we count them as 'ours'.
The newcomers to
Saltfleetby were Andrew Wickens from Louth and Kathryn O'Connor from Tetford.
Andrew delighted the full church audience with some unaccompanied songs. He has
a beautiful voice and a charming personality and it was a great pleasure to hear
him. He said he enjoyed the relaxed and informal atmosphere and we look forward
to hearing him again.
Our other guest was a
delightful little lady, Kathryn, who was absolutely marvellous on her violin. It
was a beautiful instrument beautifully played, and the audience showed their
pleasure by applauding when she was asked to play one of her pieces, over a
second time. The concert ended on a different note when the St Peter's choir
sang the beautiful chant, the words of which date back to the 3rd. century,
'Hail. Gladdening Light, of his pure glory poured' set to music by John Stainer.
Someone remarked afterwards that this was what we were celebrating.
On the Sunday morning
a good number of people, including the church choir, met at the old churchyard,
-The Stump- to have a short service conducted by Rev David Newlove and Rev
Bridget Hill with the Bishop of Lincoln, Rt. Revd John Saxbee. Many, including
the Bishop and the Ministers, then walked in glorious sunshine to St Peter's
where a full church joined in a service of Holy Communion to celebrate the
re-building of the church. The choir started the service by singing the psalm
'How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place' The service was again conducted by Revds
Bridget Hill and David Newlove and a short talk was given by Mrs. Jenny
Carpenter, Rural Officer of the Methodist Church. The sermon was given by the
Bishop of Lincoln who also presided at the service of Holy Communion. A
collection was taken in aid of the African Famine appeal and well over £200 will
be sent to this worthy cause.
After the service
many people had a picnic lunch in the grounds in glorious weather, with the St
Peter's ladies providing drinks. In the afternoon more visitors attended the
flower festival to enjoy the flowers, the refreshments and the piano and organ
music.
This was a wonderful
weekend of celebration enjoyed and appreciated by many people.
We are extremely
grateful to all the many people who in any way contributed to its great success
either publicly or behind the scenes. All contributions were equally valuable
and helped to make the 125th Celebrations a memorable occasion.
How nice it was that
the long awaited re-roofing of the South aisle of the church was completed just
in time for the scaffolding to be removed the day before the festival. We trust
that the problem of rain water will have been cured and further re-furbishing of
the interior of the church can now go ahead.
Flower Festival Festival of Christian Companionship and Dedication.
My report of the beautiful weekend at St Peter's on the 125th Anniversary of the
moving of the Church is from a different aspect. It all began a few weeks ago
when a small group of us got together to take a quick course in flower
arranging. The afternoons were delightful - when not worrying about the task we
had undertaken - but on one Thursday, three of us worked together and produced
an arrangement we couldn't believe so maybe we could bring together a Flower
Festival.
Plans were scribbled down and dates set- here we go. Thursday before the
Festival weekend the flowers arrived and we realized our project had to be done.
Friday morning - and everyone got on with their own particular task, some
working together, some toiling endlessly alone, but what a joy of friendship and
happiness as we produced the beautiful arrangements and admired each others'
work. Thanks to Jack for the cups of tea!
Saturday early again and we were ready to meet the public. The peace and beauty
of the Church enhanced by the Floral Arrangements! Again the Band of Workers
ever present welcoming people with drinks and home made fare. Saturday Night's
Concert was beyond dreams, but let us remember all the time spent on rehearsals
and musical arrangements not to mention telephone calls and appointments.
Sunday again all the hard work continued and I hope the Bishop enjoyed the happy
atmosphere of the whole day especially the shared Christian love and fellowship
at the Services and Picnic.
My memories will take a long time to fade, but Christian love, hard work and
companionship shone out as everyone worked tirelessly to make the whole weekend
such a wonderful experience.
Jean Douglass our new Church Warden. Thank you we are grateful to you all!
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