April 1935

Seagoe Parish Magazine

APRIL, 1935.

CLERGY :Rev. Chancellor Archer, B .D ., The Rectory,

Seagoe.

Rev. W. F. Hayes, B.A., The Bungalow, Lower

Seagoe, Portadown.

CHURCHWARDENS :Rector’s—Mr. John Harrison Twinem.

People’s— Mr. Robert M'Clements.

The Easter Collect.

Almighty God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death,

and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life;

We humbly beseech thee, that, as by thy special

grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds

good desires, so by thy continual help we may

bring the same to good effect; through Jesus

Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with

thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world

without end. Amen.

Special Services.

During Holy W eek, beginning on Monday,

April 15th, Special Services will be held each

evening in the Parish Church at 8 p .m . The

subjects each evening will have reference to the

events connected with the closing days of our

Lord’s life— The Agony in the Garden of

Gethsemane, The Betrayal, The Trial, The Last

Supper. “ The Story of the Cross” will be sung

at each Service.

Good Friday.

On Good Friday the following Services will be

held:—

11.30 a.m — Morning Prayer and Litany .

8 p.m .— Evening Prayer and Sermon.

The offerings on Good Friday will be in aid of

the Church of Ireland Jews Society.

Easter Day.

On Easter Day the Services in the Parish

Church will be as follows:—

8 a.m .— Holy Communion.

11.30 a .m .— Morning Prayer, Sermon and Holy

Communion.

7 p .m .—Evening Prayer and Sermon.

The offerings a t all Services on Easter Day will

he on behalf of the Sunday Schools of the Parish.

The Message of Holy Week.

Each returning year the Church through her

Liturgy brings before us in solemn sequence the

events which led up and culminated in the

Tragedy of Calvary. No other event in the

world 's history has had such tremendous results and such far-reaching effects. The whole

Christian world during that week takes its stand

at the foot of the Cross on Calvary. The

supreme sacrifice made by the Son of Man with

its efficacy for time and for Eternity is brought

before our hearts and minds by hymn and Psalm

and Prayer. It is fitting that those who are

members of the Church, which is the Body of

Christ, should at such a season avail them selves

of every opportunity of public worship and pri­vate meditation. Each evening during that

solemn week they will have the opportunity of

worshiping with God’s people in the House of

Prayer, and of thinking out. each one for him ­

self, their share in these stupendous happenings.

The Easter Message.

When the gloom and sorrow of Good Friday

have passed there suddenly bursts upon us the

joy of Easter with its eternal message of Life

and Hope. The empty sepulchre, the Risen

Lord, the Glorified Body, all remind us that the

terror of Death is past and that the Christ is

now exalted as the Risen Saviour. We will as­semble in the House of Prayer and kneel around

the Holy Table with joyful hearts , because

“ Christ is risen indeed .” The Taster Anthem

will be a true song of praise for the Triumph

of the Resurrection .

The Easter Vestry.

The annual Easter Vestry will be held in

Seagoe School on Thursday, April 25th, at 8

p .m . All members of the General Vestry are

eligible to attend this meeting. At this meeting

the Churchwardens for the ensuing year are

nominated and elected. The Select Vestry is

also elected and the Sidesmen and Glebewardens.

Sunday School Excursion.

A meeting of Sunday School Superintendents

and Teachers will be held in Seagoe School on

Thursday, April 11th, a t 8 p .m ., to arrange the

date and place of the Sunday School Excursion

for this year. An address on “ Methods of Sun­day School Teaching” will be given by M r. R .

Scott at this meeting as suggested at the recent

Sunday School Conference.

Drumgor Sunday School.

On the afternoon of Easter Day, a t 3.30, the

Rev. F . McCullough, Curate of Shankill, will

give an address to the children in Drumgor

Church H all.

C L B Inspection.

On Tuesday, April 30th, the Annual Inspec­tion and Display of Seagoe C .L .B . will be held

in the Parochial Hall a t 8 p .m . Tickets, 1/-

each, are now on sale. Those who have been

present at the Inspection and Display in pre­vious years will know how interesting the programme is.

We have come to regard the C .L .B .

entertainment as the best in the Parish .

Easter “ Good Turn .”

The Members and Candidates of Seagoe

G .F .S . kindly ask the Parishioners to give them

their support in their egg collection during the

week before Easter, for the sick and poor of

Seagoe Parish and for the Hospitals.

Our Summer Migrants.

Those who have quick ears and eyes will be on

the look-out for the first swallow, cuckoo, and

corncrake, which are due this month. Possibly

some of these feathered tourists are already pack­ing up in a southern clime preparatory to revisiting our fields and hedgerows.

They are harbingers of summer.

Jews Society.

The following box collections for the Jews '

Society have been received per Mr. H arry

Hynes :— Miss Halliday, £ 1 ; A Friend , £ 1 ; M iss

G. Watters, 11s 5d; Misses N. and N. K. Montgomery, 10s; Miss F . Hynes, 5s 6d;

Mrs. R. Hoy, 5s; Miss A. Allen, senr., 3s 9d ; M rs. J .

Shanks, 4s Id ; Mrs. Wm . Neill, 3s 4d; Mrs.

Flannigan, "2s 10d ; M r. A. Allen, 2s 11d ; Miss

M. A tkinson, 2s 9 d ; M rs. R. Magee. 2s 6 |d ;

M r. J . Walker, Is 4d ; Miss A. Cox, 2s 4 |d ;

Harry Hynes, 6s. Total— £5 4s 0d.

C .M .S . Box Collection.

The following sums have been received per

Miss Atkinson— Mrs. Kirk, 1s 3 1/2 d ; Mrs.

Ephraim Collins, 2s 6d; Miss Lizzie Gracey,

6s 3d; Mrs. Dickson, 6s 8d ; Mrs. Stoops, 2s 6d;

Mrs. Dawson, 11s 2d; Mrs. Flannigan, 3s 4 1/2 d;

Mrs. Metcalf, 2s 4 1/2 d ; Miss Atkinson, 2s 6d;

Miss Gi. E . Atkinson, 10s.

Hacknahay—Mrs. Bradshaw , 8s l 1/2 d ; Miss

Minnie England, 3s 6d ; Miss Minnie McCormick,

4s 3d; Miss Sadie Maginnis, 5s; Miss Dinah

Montgom ery, 2s 5 1/2 d ; Miss Jane Currie, 3s 8d;

Miss Annie Magee, 1s 9 1/2 d ; Miss Sophia Jennett,

7s 5d; Miss Margaret McK ane, 3s 7d; Miss

Elizabeth Neill, 7s 2d; Mrs. N. England. 8s;

Mr. George McN eill, 3s 8d ; Norman Cregan,

3s; Miss Rebecca Calvert, £1 18s 7d. Total—

£7 8s l0d.

Miss Gillespie, Asst. Sec. C .M .S. writes as

follows : —

“ D ear Miss Atkinson,— Many thanks for your

letter enclosing cheque £7 8s 10d from Missionary boxes. We are most grateful for this

continued support from Seagoe Parish , and shall be

glad if you will kindly convey our thanks to

those concerned.— Yours sincerely, Anna Gil­lespie .”

South American Missionary Society

Support of Indian Baby by the Mothers’

Union, £3 ; Support of Indian Girl by Seagoe,

Hacknahay and Drumgor Afternoon Sunday

Schools boxes, £3 ; Miss Calvert, 16s 9d; Miss

Agnes Guy, 5s 7d; Mrs. Lewie, 10s; Miss Sarah

Montgomery, 9s 2 1/2 d ; Mrs. H. Sloan, 5s 1d ; Miss

Margaret Reid, 10s; Mrs. Jack Walker, 3s 1 1/2 d ;

Card— Miss Atkinson, £5 18s 6d. Total—

£14 18s 3d.

Seagoe Mothers ’ Union.

On Tuesday, April 9th , a meeting of the

Mothers’ Union will be held in Seagoe School

at 7.30 p .m .

At the last meeting of the Mothers’ Union

held in Seagoe School on Tuesday, M arch 12th,

Dr. (Miss) Minford, of Ardmore, gave a very

interesting and useful Health Lecture. There

was a large attendance. The Committee of St.

Mark ’s Mothers’ Union were p resent on the

invitation of the Seagoe branch.

Concert in Edenderry.

A most enjoyable concert was given in the

Parochial H all on Thursday, March 28th, at

8 p .m . The Hall was crowded and the platform

with its heavy curtains and electric lights looked

very pretty . Every item on the programme

was good and encores were called for very fre­quently . The Rector presided, and those

pre­sent stood while prayer was offered. The con­cert was organised to raise funds towards the

cost of Sunday School prizes for the Edenderry

Sunday Schools. The first item was a song and

chorus by the g irls’ choir. They sang very well

and were loudly applauded. Sketches, songs and

musical items followed. The sketches were

very amusing. The duet “ Will you walk with

me .” sung by M iss Alice McDugal and Lieut.

Hynes was received with great applause. It

was sung with great spirit and brought down the

house. Lieu t. Hynes, with his flute, caused

great amusement and his songs were very good.

A folk dance by two Edenderry girls was very

nice and graceful. A musical item for two

vio­lins and the piano was a great success. Recita­tions were much appreciated. Miss McDugal

accompanied each item on the piano and helped

greatly towards the success of the evening. At

the close the Rector expressed the thanks of all

present to those who had organised and taken

part in the concert, and especially to Lieut.

Joseph Hynes for the success of the concert.

C .L .B .;

A meeting of C .L .B . officers of companies outside Belfast was held in the Parochial Hall on

Saturday, March 30th, a t 4 p .m . There was a

large attendance and it was decided to form a

2nd Battalion of the C .L .B . for the Dioceses of

Derry, Down and Armagh. Those present were

entertained to tea by M rs. E . Mitchell and Miss M. Best.

A Missionary Play-

On March 14th a very interesting Missionary

play was given in the Parochial Hall by a group

of performers from Shankill Parish , Lurgan.

The proceeds, which amounted to over £12,

were for our general Parochial Fund. The Rev.

W. F. H ayes presided. Two plays were given,

one entitled “ Contrasts” and the other “ The

Lady with the Lamp. The Hall was crowded,

and the scenes in costume were very impressive.

The scenes displayed the good work done in

Heathen lands by the devoted Missionary work­ers. it was very kind of our Lurgan friends to

come over and help us in such a practical way.

The play stirred up much Missionary interest among our people.

Parish Register for March .

Baptism s .The following were baptized in the Parish

Church on March 2nd, 1935: —

Baxendine—John Francis Sherman, son of

Robert Francis Riley and Margaret

Anna Baxendine, of 31 Craigleith

Drive, Edinburgh.

Sponsors—William Robert Sherman, Robert

Francis Riley Baxendine, Mary '.John­ston.

Glassey—Elizabeth , daughter of William John

and Rosina Glassey, of Edenderrv .

Sponsors— Margaret Thomas, Rosina Glassey.

Roney— Grace Elizabeth Mabel, daughter of

Samuel and Christina Roney, of Eden-derry.

Sponsors— Mary Isabella Roney, Christina Roney.

McCabe— Joseph Howard, son of Thomas and

(the late ) Mary McCabe, of Seagoe Upper.

Sponsors— Anne Greenaway, Dinah McCabe.

Traynor— Robert Alexander, son of Francis Sloan and Beatrice Helena Traynor, of

Edenderry . Sponsors— Sarah Elizabeth Newell, Margaret Jane Treanor.

Burials.

Irwin—March 30th, Margaret Irwin, of Eden-derry, aged 42 years.

McMinn— April 5th. Samuel McMinn, of Kernan , aged 35 years.

The Silver Jubilee.

The Silver Jubilee of King George the Fifth

will be held on Monday, May 6th. Full particulars regarding the Services in the Church will

be given in our next issue. The Jubilee Services will demand a full attendance of the

Parishioners at their Parish Church.

The Musical Festival.

The Musical Festival has been a great success. Many of the competitors hailed from Seagoe Parish ,and several have been successful.

The adjudicators have been very complimentary

in their references to the musical abilities of

the competitors. The Festivals have done much

to encourage good reading and singing in our

midst. We hope that parents in Seagoe Parish

will encourage their children to compete each year at the Festival.

25 Years Ago APRIL, 1910.

The issue for this month contained portraits

of the outgoing Churchwardens, M r. James

Albin and Mr. John George Gracey. A record

is given of the services during Holy Week and

Easter. Among the Easter “ Watch ” cards the

names of George and Mary Wilson are credited

with the largest collection, 10 -. Mr. Leonard

Twinem had hospitably entertained the Teachers

and children of Seagoe Sunday School prior to

his sailing for New York on the s.s. California

on April 2nd. Five Baptism s are recorded, also

3 Marriages and five Burials. A Service of Song,

"Hannington , the Lion -hearted ,” was given by

the G .F .S . in the Parochial Hall on March 4th.

The story was sympathetically read by the Rev.

W . R. Crichton, and the slides were shown by

M’r. McKittrick . The new Churchwardens were

Mr. Charles Collins and Mr. Thomas Reid. Con­firmation Classes were being started .

Old Sea­goe Notes contained a list of Churchwardens of Seagoe from 1693 to 1699.

Old Seagoe Notes.

Seagoe in the Days of Old.

We continue this month the notes written

by Dean Dawson which appeared in our issue of last month .

At the beginning of the 19th century efforts

for the building of a new church were inaugurated and promoted by the Rev. George Blacker

(the youngest brother of Dean Blacker) , who

was vicar of Seagoe from 1796 to 1810. The

first trace of these efforts to be found in the

parish records is under April 30, 1804, when,

at a vestry held on th t day, it was agreed that

a balance of £40 0s 3d, then in the hands of the

Vicar shall be laid out, along with other moneys,

for the repairs of, or building a new church,

as may hereafter be approved of and appear ne­cessary to the parishioners. At a Vestry held

on September 3rd, 1805, it was agreed. ‘ that

the sum of two pence per acre be levied and

collected off the inhabitants, to be laid out in

building a new church, or repairing the present

church of Seagoe, as the parishioners hereafter

shall think proper.’ At subsequent vestries, in

the years 1806— 1810, sums varying from £427

to £137 were similarly applotted on the parish

for incidental charges, and towards building a

new church .' In this way above £1,026 -were

collected ‘ towards the new church .’

The Rev. George Blacker was not permitted

to witness the maturity of his efforts, as he died,

amid universal regret, in May, 1810. at the early

age of 46 years. The good work, however, was

carried on under Dean Blacker, who succeeded

his brother as vicar of Seagoe, and his cousin

the Rev. Richard Olpherts, who became curate

of Seagoe in June, 1810. Their joint efforts were

afterwards commemorated in a memorial-stone,

inserted over the East window of the new

church on the outside, inscribed with their initials and the date of foundation, 1814.

At a Vestry held M arch 31. 1812, a committee

was appointed for ‘ building the new church of

the parish of Seagoe.’ It consisted of the following persons:— Rev. Richard Olpherts,

Captain Woolsey, and Messrs. Robert Fivy, Woolsey

Atkinson, Wm . Overend, David Ruddle, Joseph

Malcomson, and Tolerton Button . When it was

decided to erect a new church it was found impossble to build t e larger edifice upon the old

site— hallowed by its religious use for centuries

— because the graves had been permitted to encroach upon the Southern and Western sides of

the church, so that the earth was raised several

feet above the floor. A new site, measuring

above two roods and thirteen perches, in the adjoining townland of U pper Seagoe. and about

forty perches distant, was granted by Lady

Olivia Sparrow, acting as guardian for her son,

Robert Acheson St. John Bernard Sparrow. The

deed of conveyance is dated M arch 2, 1814, and

six days later, at a vestry held on M arch 8, the

unanimous consent of the parishioners was

given to the change of site ; which was finally

confirmed by an order of the Privy Council on

June 21, 1814. Slightly anticipating this formal

authorisation, the foundation stone of the new

building was laid on Wednesday, June 1, 1814.

The late L t. Col. W m . Blacker has preserved

the record of the document ‘placed under the

first stone of the church of Seagoe.’ (See

Mason’s Survey of Ire land , Vol. II . p 538.) It

is as follows: —

‘Be it remembered, at a time when the

dearest interests of Christianity were at stake;

when in countries erewhile Christian the temple

of the Most High was entered only in profanation, and the name of God invoked but in blas­phemy

— amidst the wildest raging of foreign war

and domestic treason ; amid the anarchy of the

world— even then did the parishioners of Seagoe-

( ‘ a people zealous of good works,’ much incited

there to by their pious and beloved vicar, George

Blacker, now, alas, no more) resolve to erect a

new church, more suited to the dignity of their

God, and better calculated to accommodate the

increasing members of His worshippers. In

furtherance of which, after many delays incidental to such an undertaking, the first stone of the

intended edifice was laid on the first day of June,

1814, in the 54th year of the reign of George III.

The Right Rev. John Leslie, Bishop of Dromore;

the Rev. Stewart Blacker, vicar of the parish;

the Rev. Richard Olpherts, curate ; John Overend and Wm. Gilpin, Churchw ardens—I.

Brownlee, Architect.’ ”

SERVICES—The PARISH CHURCH

HOLY COMM UNION 1st Sunday after Morning

Prayer ; 3rd Sunday at 8 a.m., and on the Chief

Festivals.

HOLY BAPTISM— 1st Saturday of each Month at 3

p m and during any Service in the Parish Church,

notice be given ; Two Sponsers at least are required

and they must be Confirmed Members of the Church.

Churchings are held at each Baptism. Mothers are

expected to bring a thankoffering.

(See Book of Common Prayer.)

MORNING PRAYER- Sundays and Chief Festivals,

11-30 a.m.

EVENING PRAYER—Sundays, 7 p.m

DISTRICT SERVICES

Hacknahay—Last Sunday : of Month at 3-30pm.

Drumgor—second Sunday of Month at 4 pm

Edenderry—Wednedays at 8 p.m.

CLASSES, &c.

BIBLE CLASS FOR MEN in Edenderry on

Sundays at 10 a m.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS 10 a m. Edenderry Parochial

Hall and Seagoe School. 3 p.m. Seagoe, Edenderry

Parochial Hall,

Levaghery, Hacknahay, Carne, Drumgor, Bocombra.

MOTHERS' UNION—2nd Tuesday of each month

at 7 30 p.m.

CHURCH LADS' BRIGADE in the Parochial Hall

on Tuesdays and Fridays.

GIRLS' FRIENDLY SOCIETY in Seagoe School on

Mondays at 8 p.m.

SEAGOE P.E. SCHOOL , 9-15 a.m. Principal—Mr.

R. Scott.

MARRIAGES must be performed between 8 a.m. and 3 p m. Licenses are issued by Rev. Canon Hannon,

Rectory, Lurgan. Due notice (48 hours) must be given to the Rector of intended weddings. FEES—BY License—

Labourers 5/- Tradesmen 10/—, Merchants and Farmers 15/-, Professional, By Banns 5/-. FUNERALS will be

attended by the Clergy if proper notice be given. SICK CASES should be notified to the Clergy without delay,

FEES FOR CERTIFICATES BAPTISM 3/7, Children (Factory) 1/- and 2/- (non-residents); MARRIAGE 3/7.

An extra Search Fee is chargeable in certain cases

It will be a help to the Clergy if they are notified of the

arrival of new Church families in the Parish.

A copy of the Magazine will be sent post free to any subscriber for 3/- per annum.