www.wonershchurch.com

 

 

St Martin’s Church

Blackheath

 

Newsletter 2006

 

 

Dear Blackheath Villager

 

St Martin’s Church has stood at the heart of the village of Blackheath for over 100 years and holds the village in its heart.  Each week as we meet for Services, we pray for the community and especially for any we know who are in need.  Wherever we can, church members seek to offer care and support to people at times of difficulty.

 

All are welcome to any of the Services: some are geared more to children and young families while others appeal to those who enjoy more traditional services, ably assisted by the choir.  New for 2006 we have started a series of special Services on the 4th Sunday each month especially for those who don’t usually go to church but who are interested in exploring spiritual questions.  We are calling these Services ‘Fourth Bridge’ (because they provide a bridge between the church and village community; they take place on the 4th Sunday and because like the painting of the Forth Bridge the task of responding to searching questions never reaches completion). 

 

As you know I (Jeff Wattley) will be moving on at the end of March after 6 happy years as Vicar in Blackheath and 10 in Wonersh.  I am pleased that there is a large and gifted Ministry Team who will continue to provide Services this year and we hope that a new Vicar will be able to take up post at the start of next year.  Please give your Churchwardens all your support as they carry responsibility (along with the Rural Dean) during the Inter-regnum (which is the period between my departure and the arrival of a new Vicar). Thank you for all the care and support that you have given to me throughout my time in Blackheath.

 

It is your Church.  We hope it will increasingly become your spiritual home.

 

Every blessing                                         

 The Vicar

 

 

WORSHIP SERVICES

All Services are at 10.00 a.m. unless otherwise indicated.

 

We aim to offer a variety of services to meet the needs of the whole community.

·          A service of Holy Communion (usually with choir) on the first Sunday of each month.

·          A Family Service on the second Sunday.

·          Sung Evensong at 6.00 p.m. on the third Sunday.

·          ‘The Fourth Bridge’.  An informal opportunity for those who want to explore the faith and to ask tough questions.

·          Said Holy Communion when there is a fifth Sunday – a traditional service without hymns or  music.

We also hold special Services to mark events throughout the year.

 

 

 

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

See also Youth Work in the Parish

Children and young families play a central part in the church.  Every second Sunday in the month we hold a Family Service which is particularly geared to children from 0-10, but with many 'young at heart' adults coming too.  These informal services include singing, reading, role playing and the odd banging on a percussion instrument, but with an underlying Christian message.

 

Throughout the year, all the main festivals are marked by children in all-age services.  Easter, Harvest, Palm Sunday, with a parade of donkeys through the village, are all memorable occasions. And at Christmas, children are very involved in a lovely Nativity play (usually with seven wise men!), a packed Christingle service, donating toys to Operation Christmas Child and they enjoy sharing a Posada crib, which travels from house to house throughout Advent.

 

We also run a small Sunday School called Stepping Stones which offers a fun introduction to the bible stories, and is held in the vestry during communion services.

 

 

 

THE CHURCH ON THE HEATH

   

Surrounding St Martin’s Church is some of the most beautiful and unspoilt heathland country in the south east, with wide expanses of open heather, fine stands of firs and a rich wildlife which includes Dartford warblers, woodlarks, nightjars, green woodpeckers, spotted woodpeckers and fungi of all kinds. Nature-lovers, walkers, cyclists and horse-riders come from nearby towns and villages and also from further afield to explore the many footpaths and bridleways which cross the hills. The peace of St Martin’s reflects this country environment and the Church is always open to welcome these many visitors on their way through the village.        

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOME VILLAGE EVENTS OF 2005

See also The Villages

 

During the year a number of events have been organised in the village.  A Quiz was held in the Village Hall early in the year when profits were divided between church and hall.  Teams of villagers and their guests answered questions on various subjects and enjoyed a ploughman’s supper and the odd glass of wine

 

                                  

Village v Club 30 May 2005

 

On a sunny Saturday in July the Surrey Arts and Crafts Movement held a study day in Blackheath focusing on the architect Harrison Townsend who, as well as designing the church, designed a number of houses in Blackheath.  After a morning in the Village Hall where talks were given on Harrison Townsend’s work and on how to research the history of your house, those taking part strolled to the church and were given an insight into its murals and history.  Following a very enjoyable lunch, provided by the ladies of the church, Harrison Townsend houses in the village were visited and the day ended with tea and cakes, again in the Hall.  The SACM very kindly donated all the profits from the day to church funds.

 

The main event each year is the Village Fair held on the first May Bank Holiday.  It is a thoroughly village occasion and from early morning until into the evening the village is bustling with life.  Stalls of every kind are set up on the grassy verges at each side of the village street and the road is closed to traffic for most of the day.  The many visitors enjoy taking part in the various activities and buying from cake, plant, bric-a-brac and numerous other stalls.  Cream teas are served in the Village Hall, a jazz band plays and the sun shines, almost without fail!  Local charities benefit from the profits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF ST MARTIN’S

See also The Parish of Wonersh & Blackheath

 

Along with the regular Sunday Services, St Martin’s holds special Services in celebration of many different festivals.  Children enjoy the Mothering Sunday Service, when they give small posies of flowers to their mothers and grandmothers, and on Palm Sunday a procession of children and adults walks through the village, enacting events on the first Palm Sunday and are rewarded with refreshments at the Village Hall.  Good Friday and Easter Day have their own special Services and last year a Rogation Day Walk was inaugurated on a sunny Sunday in May.

 

A Service that is followed by a lunch in the Village Hall marks our Harvest Festival.  This is always a popular event and gifts of fruit and vegetables are offered at the service before being donated to Vaughan House, a shelter for the homeless in Guildford.

 

A Remembrance Day Service is held jointly with the Franciscan Friary at the War Memorial on the Heath, always a meaningful Service and well attended by many Blackheathens.  Our patron saint St Martin of Tours is not forgotten and is remembered in a special Service in November.

 

 

Christmas is celebrated in style at St Martin’s beginning with a Candlelit Carol Service.  The popularity of this Service increases year by year and in December 2004 there was standing room only.  The children of the village come into their own when they present a Nativity Play, usually on the Sunday before Christmas.  All children are welcome to take part, even though this has meant there can be as many as seven kings and shepherds out-numbering their flock!  On Christmas Eve there is a Service of Holy Communion and Christmas Morning is always very special with Family Communion and carols to sing.  A Christingle Service is held in St Martin’s every other year, just before Christmas, when a special invitation is sent to children from our two local infant schools, Chilworth and Wonersh & Shamley Green.

 

 

 

 

   

                         

 

HISTORY OF ST MARTIN’S CHURCH

 

The church was built just over 100 years ago and has since 1998 formed part of the Parish of Wonersh with Blackheath, sharing its Vicar and its ministry team (see back page) with St John the Baptist, Wonersh.

 

It was designed by the Art Nouveau architect Charles Harrison Townsend and is a prime example of the work of the Arts and Crafts Movement.  It is said to have been modelled on an Italian wayside chapel.  Before the building was complete, services were conducted fortnightly in the cottage that is now the vestry of the church and worshippers were summoned by the ringing of a large dinner bell!  The alabaster work lining the chancel walls and sanctuary arch is the work of Messrs John Daymond and Son of London.  The crucifix window in the pulpit recess and the copper pulpit desk are in memory of John Bell, the inventor of asbestos.  He lived at Lockner and worshipped in the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WALL PAINTINGS

The striking wall paintings were painted in 1894-95 by Anna Lea Merritt, an American artist trained in Europe, who developed a style used by Pre-Raphaelite painters of her day.  She was the first woman artist to have work acquired by the Tate collection (‘Love Locked Out’ which echoes Holman Hunt’s ‘Light of the World’ can still be seen at the Tate Gallery).  The technique used for the wall painting was revolutionary, using silicon based paints for the first time to resist the effects of damp and deterioration.  This explains remarkable success in retaining the lightness and quality of the colours.

 

 

She and Sir William Roberts-Austin, who lived in  Blackheath, and whose initiative it was to build a church to serve the growing community, presented a paper on the new technique to the Society of Arts, chaired by Holman Hunt in 1895.  The paintings depict a number of scenes from the Life of Christ.  She describes painting these in her book of memoirs.  Anna Lea Merritt also painted and donated the oil painting of Christ blessing the children, which can be seen on the reredos (above the Communion Table).                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USEFUL NAMES AND ADDRESSES      

Vicar and Parish Ministry Team                               SEE WHO’S WHO

Blackheath Church officials                                              Blackheath District Church Council

 

Schools

Chilworth C E Infant School

Headteacher: Mrs Jane Sweeney                                               562476

Wonersh & Shamley Green C E Infant School

Headteacher: Mrs Heather Lee                                                 892345

 

Blackheath and Chilworth Care Committee                   538886

 

Church Website:  www.wonershchurch.com  (See Blackheath Pages)

 

 

 

 

www.wonershchurch.com