Dec 1940

Seagoe Parish Magazine

December 1940

CLERGY:

REV. J. W. APPELBE, M.A., B.D., Seagoe Rectory.

REV. W. F. HAYES, B.A., L.Th., The Bungalow,

Lower Seagoe.

CHURCHWARDENS.

Rector's—GEORGE LEAKE.

People's—J. R. REID.

THE CLERGY WILL DEEM IT A FAVOUR

IF IN CASES OF SICKNESS THEY ARE

INFORMED IMMEDIATELY.

CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER.

Calendar for December

Dec. 1^st — lst Sunday in Advent.

Dec. 4th— Mid-week Advent Service at 8 p.m.

Dec. 8th— 2nd Sunday in Advent.

Dec. 11^th —Mid-week Advent Service at 8 p.m.

Dec. 12^th —Monthly Meeting of Mothers' Union,

3.30 p.m.

Dec. 15^th —3rd Sunday in Advent.

Dec. 18^th —Mid-week Advent Service at 8 p.m.

Dec. 21st—St. Thomas.

Dec. 22nd—4th Sunday in Advent.

Carol Service at 7 p.m.

Dec. 25th—Christmas Day.

Holy Communion 8 a.m.

Morning Prayer and Holy Communion

11.30 a.m.

Dec. 26th—St. Stephen.

Dec. 27th—St. John.

Dec. 28th—Innocents' Day.

Dec. 29th—Sunday after Christmas.

ADVENT.

Almighty God, give as grace that we may cast away

the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour

of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which

Thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility;

that in the last day, when He shall come again in His

glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,

we may rise to the life immortal, through Him who

liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now

and ever. Amen.

We print above the Advent Collect from our Book of

Common Prayer. This beautiful prayer reminds us

briefly but clearly of the solemnity and meaning of the

season of Advent, which is now upon us. It is a time when

we are bidden especially to think of the coming of Christ,

and not only to think of them, but with God’s help to

live our lives in the light of these great truths. The

message of the Advent season is the message of the

inevitable and certain judgement of all mankind, and

this is one of the clearest notes of the New Tetament.

Christ came over nineteen centuries ago in great

humility to live as a man amongst men,

to shew us what God was really like, and what He

expected His children to do and to be. This first

coming came, the New Testament tells us, "in the

fullness of time," that is when the time was ripe,

when men had been taught enough about God to

appreciate His fuller revelation in Christ. For

thousands of years He had been preparing the world

for the coming of His Son, and He used the Jews in a

very special way in this ministry of preparation. In

consequence of Christ’s first coming there will be

another "fullness of time." when He will come again

in power and great glory to judge both the quick and

the dead," and of that day, of that hour "knoweth

no man," says Christ. The time is in God's hands, it

is not our concern, our concern is to be ready to give

an account of our stewardship, when in the last Great

Day we shall all stand "before the judgment seat of

Christ, that each one may receive the things done in

the body, according to what he hath done, whether it

be good or bad" (2 Cor., v. 10). The teaching of the

Bible is that though we are saved by faith, we are

judged by our works. The call of the Advent season

then is a summons to us to view, and live our lives,

in the light of and in preparation for, the Eternal

future.

MID-WEEK ADVENT SERVICES.

On the three Wednesday evenings, commencing on

Wednesday, December 4th, there will be an intercession

service for ourselves and for our country at 8 p.m.

in the Parish Church. There will be a short address

given at each of these services, and it is hoped that

as many as can possibly do so, will attend. Special

printed forms will be provided so that all may take

part. As has been stressed in these pages more than

once, every professing Christian can in these days

play a part, the magnitude of which it is impossible

to assess, by praying earnestly at all times for the

coming of Christ's Kingdom on earth.

CHRISTMAS DAY.

On Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25th,

there will be two services, Holy Communion in the

Parish Church at 8 a.m. and Morning Prayer and

Holy Communion at 11.30 a.m. We appeal to all

communicants to make a special effort to be present

at one of these services, for in no better way can we

show our thankfulness to Christ "who for our sakes

became poor that we through Him might become

rich” than by doing as He asked us- “ THIS DO IN

REMEMBRANCE OF ME” Our Christmas Day

services in the past have been poorly attended; this

is not as it should be. To ignore Christ on that day is to

honour Him and to miss the real joy of the festival;

to acknowledge Him in His house is the surest way

to have a real Happy Xmas.

This year the war will no doubt rob the festive

season of many of its inessential frills, the effects of

rationing and the black-out are obvious, the silence of

the church bells will be a grim reminder of the sternness

of the conflict in which we and all free peoples are

engaged. Yet we must nuke no mistake about it,

our unscrupulous cruel enemies are powerless to rob

us of what is essentially the Christmas message, which

is that God loves us, that God cares, in fact that He

cares so much, that He came down to us in Christ,

to fight alongside us in the struggle against sin and

evil in ourselves and in the world around us.

"IMMANUEL," i.e., God with us. God for us, is what

makes Christmas time the happiest anniversary in the

whole year.

CAROL SERVICE.

The annual carol service will take place in Seagoe

Parish Church on Sunday, December 22nd, at 7 p.m.

THE PASSING OF A GREAT ULSTERMAN.

As we go to Press the whole Province mourns the

unexpected and lamented death of Viscount Craigavon,

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, since the

establishment of the Six Counties as a self-governing

unit within the Empire. He used his great gifts of

wisdom and leadership unstintingly for the welfare

of his country, and the fact that he retained the

confidence of Ulstermen to the end is in itself a

tribute to his many sterling qualities of head and

heart. It was his lot to pilot the Ulster State through

its years of infancy to a position of stability and

order which will always remain a fitting monument

to his devotion and genius. Even those who differed

from him politically, were the first to admit Viscount

Craigavon's sincerity and honesty of purpose. It is

fitting that he should be interred at Stormont, where

the Lord Bishop of the Diocese consecrated the site

where his mortal remains will rest.

MOTHERS' UNION.

The monthly meeting was held in Seagoe School

on Thursday afternoon, November 14th, when Nurse

Holland very kindly gave a helpful talk to those

present.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday,

December 12th, at 3.30 p.m., when it is hoped to have

a special speaker.

SUSTENTATION FUND.

Annual subscribers to the above are reminded that

as the parochial accounts close on December 31st, it

will be a great help to the Hon. Treasurer if they

would send in their subscriptions on or before this

date. Money received after December 31st, may not

be in time to be acknowledged in the annual Financial

Report.

DISTRICT SERVICES.

Drumgor—Sunday, December 8th, at 3 p.m.

Hacknahay—Sunday, December 29th, at 3.30 p.m.

SIDESMEN.

DECEMBER

Morning Prayer—The Churchwardens, Messrs. W.

R. Sherman, W. G. Best, C. S. A. Twinem, J. G

Gracey, J.P.

Evening Prayer—Messrs. T. Stanfield. Wm. Hewitt.

G. Nixon, J. M'Loughlin, N. Campbell, J. Walker.

JANUARY

Morning Prayer—The Churchwardens, Messrs. D.

Allen, J. Gee, J. Ward, Jas. Twinem.

Evening Prayer—Messrs. Holmes White, G. Wilson,

A. Kirk, Thos. Gracey, H. Ellis, W. H. Best.

ARMISTICETIDE.

Sunday morning. November 10th was observed as a

special time of remembrance and dedication in memory

of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the war of

1914-18, as well as those who have fallen in the present

war. There was a large congregation present, including

members of the Home Guard, "B" Specials and C.L.B.

in uniform. The collection was in aid of the Earl Haig

Poppy Day Fund.

A brief service was held after the Church service at

the War Memorial gates, where the two minutes' silence

was kept and a wreath was laid by the C.L.B.

HARVEST THANKOFFERING APPEAL.

The Hon. Treasurer of the Select Vestry acknowledges

with thanks the following amounts, which have been

received since our last issue: —

Mr. George Matchett £0 5 0

Miss Maud Coulter 0 2 6

Mrs. T. Martin 0 2 6

Mrs. M. Freeburn 0 1 0

Mr. J. E. Roney 0 1 0

Mrs. Brady 0 0 3

£0 12 3

This brings the total to £89 3s 0d.

BEETLE DRIVES.

Two very successful "Beetle" drives have been

held recently. One in Carne in aid of the repair and

decorating expenses carried out recently. This Hall

has been greatly improved recently.

The other was held in the Orange Hall, Bridge St.,

in aid of the re-painting of Seagoe P.E.S., and it is

hoped that as a result of this effort, together with a

grant from the Regional Committee, very necessary

and long overdue internal painting operations will be

carried out.

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS' MEETING.

There was a representative attendance of the Sunday

School Teachers from the nine Sunday Schools in

the parish at a meeting held in the Parochial Hall,

Edenderry, on Friday, November 22nd. Various

aspects and problems of the work were discussed,

and as a result of the discussion it was decided that

preparation Classes for teachers would prove beneficial.

These have been started on Sunday evenings in the

church after the Evening Service and on Fridays at

8.30 p.m., in the Rectory. There is a shortage at

present of teachers in practically all of the Sunday

schools, and these classes are open to any who feel

they would like to help in this splendid work. At

present we have a devoted band of teachers, who

Sunday by Sunday give of their best but too often

an unnecessary burden is laid upon them, by having

to take classes, exceeding by far in number the limit,

which is practicable. Through the scarcity of teachers,

children of different ages have often to be taught

in one class, which is very unsatisfactory. We appeal

to all, who have the welfare of the Church and of

our children at heart, to come forward and offer their

services to fill the gaps and back up those, who

already are bravely carrying on under needlessly

difficult conditions.

A CALL TO DO OUR BIT IN RIDDING THE

WORLD OF THE BLIGHT OF HITLERISM.

We print below the following points supporting

Portadown's drive to raise £50,000, which will be its

share in the five million aimed at in the Ulster War

Weapons Week. We commend this appeal to the

earnest consideration of our readers.

ULSTER WAR WEAPONS WEEK—

DECEMBER 1st to 7th.

AIM: To raise a sum of FIVE MILLION POUNDS.

MEANS: By the purchase of:

2 ½ % National War Bonds

3% Defence Bonds

Ulster Savings Certificates

through the Banks, Savings Banks, or Post Office, or

by making deposits in Post Office and Trustee Savings

Banks.

This is not giving, but lending on the best security,

and at good interest.

Reasons why you should help in this way:

(1) This is a war of spiritual issues. It is a fight

against all the forces of evil, a fight to restore

freedom of speech, of action, of will, and of

conscience from the enslavement of Nazi

domination and tyranny. It is a fight between the

Cross and the Swastika.

(2) The Nazis trample on all the rights and liberties

we have so hardly won. They would refuse us

the right to think, act, speak, and worship as

we think right.

(3) In the unfortunate countries occupied by the

Germans, religious freedom has ceased to exist.

The Nazi creed is exalted at the expense of our

Christian faith. Hitler is put in the place of

God Himself. Roman Catholic and Protestant

churches alike are destroyed, closed or enchained,

their clergy imprisoned (800 were imprisoned in

Germany itself in one year before the war), and

freedom of religious belief and practice is

ruthlessly stamped out by the Gestapo.

(4) The duty of all Christian people today seems

plain—to put their trust in God for the ultimate

triumph of right over wrong, of Christ over

Antichrist; to pray and work for the day when

deliverance of all oppressed peoples shall dawn,

and a new and better world shall arise from the

turmoil and carnage of war; and to play each

his or her part in bringing about this end even

to the extent of personal sacrifice—to give to the

utmost of his or her means on loan to the Government

the money necessary to bring about the downfall of

evil and the triumph of righteousness.

Here is your opportunity—

Serve by Saving. Save by Lending.

W. A. MULLEN (Chairman).

CHAS. MONTGOMERY (Secretary).

C.L.B. NOTES.

The Officers and Lads of our Company express their

deep sympathy to Cpl. Foster Shanks on the death

of his mother.

A social evening had been arranged to present Cpl.

and Mrs. Shanks with a chiming clock—from the

Officers and Lads—on the occasion of his marriage.

This arrangement had to be cancelled when the sad

news became known of his mother's passing.

The presentation was made later by the Company

Commander, Major E. Mitchell, who conveyed the

good wishes of all ranks, and expressed his appreciation

for Foster's loyalty and support during his long service

in the Brigade. We look forward to the day when Cpl.

Shanks will return and take an interest in the Company

again.

The Officers were pleased to see Pte. Leslie Lyttle

home for a day's leave. It was good to see that on

this one day's leave on Sunday Leslie turned out to

Church. Good man, Leslie, we know you can be relied

upon to uphold the Brigade motto: Fight the good fight.

Pte Lyttle looks every inch a soldier; he was a very smart

Cpl. in the Brigade, and should get on well in the Army.

Good wishes to the Company are sent from Alfred

Dickson and Richard Major, two former band members

who rendered very good service to the band. Both are

at present in England on aircraft work. Although far

from home they still think of the Brigade and wish to

be remembered to all the Lads. We return the greeting

and wish you both good luck and a very happy Christmas.

Thursday afternoon has proved very popular with

the Training Corps. Numbers have improved. Over

thirty Junior Lads are parading on Thursday afternoons.

The games organised by Lt. David Allen have proved

a great attraction. Lt. Allen has been doing good

work with the Junior Training Corps.

Our Senior Company is still doing well, but numbers

are not as good as they could be in a parish such as

Seagoe. There are many lads in the parish not yet

in the Brigade. Why not join? An enjoyable evening

can be spent in the Brigade. Join and keep fit. What

we ask from you is that you attend your Church and

live a clean and manly life. —(E.M.)

OBITUARY.

Mrs. Shanks passed away after a trying illness

patiently borne. It was fortunate that her son, Foster:

was home on leave when the end came. He is now a

Corporal in the R.A.F. Police. Seagoe held a very high

place in Mrs. Shanks's affections; at one time she was

a member of the choir. She will be greatly missed in

her home and in Edenderry, where she was widely

known and respected.

Miss Woolsey for many years was an ardent and

valued Church worker until illness obliged her to

relinquish these activities. At one time she was a

pillar of Edenderry Sunday School.

Frank Heasley was a familiar figure on the Lurgan

Portadown road and his cheery greeting will be missed

by a very wide circle of friends. The large attendance

at his funeral was a tribute to his popularity in the

neighbourhood. The sad accident which caused his

death cast a gloom over the whole locality. We

tender our sympathy to the bereaved and pray that

Almighty God will comfort and sustain them in their

loss.

ROLL OF HONOUR.

We regret to learn that Mr. Harry Kane has now

been reported dead by the Admiralty. A few months

ago a tribute was paid to him in these pages, when

he was reported missing. To his widow and relatives

we express our sincere sympathy and we would

remind them of the words of Christ, when He said:

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man

lay down his life for his friends."

BAPTISMS.

“Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid

them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God."

Nov. 3rd—Evelyn Jane, daughter of Ralph and Margaret

Herron, Kernan.

Nov. 3rd—William Robert John, son of Robert George

and Sarah Jane M'Murray, Knock.

Nov. 3rd-—Roberta May, daughter of William James

and Mary Bleeks, 5, Watson's Lane, Portadown.

Nov. 3rd—Mabel Sandra, daughter of Thomas Edward

and Helen Stanfield, 32, Florence Court, Portadown.

MARRIAGES.

"Those whom God hath joined together let no man

put asunder."

7th Nov.—Joseph Hobson, 4, George St., Portadown,

and Myrtle Treanor, Drumnagoon.

11th Nov.—Joseph Robert Matthews, 114, Avenue Road,

Lurgan, and Hannah Jane Moore, 107 Bridge Street,

Portadown.

16th Nov.—John Major, 38, Cecil Street and Georgina Best,

139, Bridge Street, Portadown.

BURIALS.

"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from

henceforth, yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest

from their labours."

6th November—Agnes Shanks, Edenmount, Carrickblacker

Road, Portadown aged 64 years.

17th Nov.—Annie Woolsey, late of Bridge St., Portadown,

aged 68 years.

24th Nov.—Francis Heasley, 2 Twinem Terrace, Knockmena,

aged 39 years.

SERVICES—THE PARISH CHURCH.

HOLY COMMUNION—1st Sunday after Morning

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

HOLY BAPTISM—1st Sunday of each Month at 4 p.m.,

and during any Service in the Parish Church, notice to be

given; Two Sponsors at least are required. The father and

mother must be present. Churchings are held at each Baptism.

Mothers are expected to bring a thank offering. (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 3.30 p.m.

Drumgor—Second Sunday of Month at 3 p.m.

Edenderry—Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Oct—Easter.

CLASSES &c.

BIBLE CLASSES FOR MEN in Edenderry on Sundays at 10.15 a.m.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS—10.15 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.

GIRLS' FRIENDLY SOCIETY in Seagoe School on Mondays at 8 p.m. as announced

G.F.S. Candidates - Oct. – Easter, Edenderry Parochial Hall, Saturdays at 3 p.m.

SEAGO CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOUR SOCIETY – Mondays, Orange Hall, 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. Licences are issued by Ven. Archdeacon Hannon, the 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 £1, Professional £l. 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 by post to any subscriber for 3/- per annum.