November 1936

Seagoe Parish magazine.

NOVEMBER, 1936

CLERGY :

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

Seagoe.

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

Seagoe, Portadown,

CHURCHWARDENS :

Rector's— Mr. ROBERT SCOTT.

People's—Mr. THOS. E. MAGINNIS.

The Harvest Services.

The Harvest Thanksgiving Services this year

were very devotional and hearty and were attended

by very large numbers. On Thursday,

October 22nd, the first Service was held in the

Parish Church. The Church never looked nicer

than it did this year. The recent renovation

had brightened it up, and the new electric lighting

was very effective. The decorations also

were fine, and we thank heartily all those who

so kindly sent gifts of flowers, fruits and evergreens.

The chancel looked especially well.

The unseen flood-lights made the flowers and

the wood carving stand out in splendid style.

The Service began at 8 o'clock. At that hour,

notwithstanding the very rough weather, with

rain and wind, the Church was quite full. Mrs.

Casey presided at the organ, and there was a

large choir. The Rector was present and began

the Service. A Harvest Hymn, "Come,

ye thankful people, come, “

was the opening hymn. The Anthem

" Sing unto God with Thanksgiving, "

was taken from the 147th Psalm.

It was splendidly sung, the various

voices being well represented. The Rev. W.

F. Hayes conducted the Service. The Preacher

was the Rev. Canon Moeran, Rector of St.

Mark's, Armagh. He dwelt on the need of

Christianity to solve our social and national

problems, and spoke of the vast mass movements

toward Christianity now taking place in

the mission field. On Sunday the Services

were continued. The preacher at, Morning

Prayer was the Rev. E. Burns, Rector of

Loughbrickland. There was a very large congregation,

and the Service was very bright and

hearty. The Harvest Hymns were joined in by

the congregation, and the Harvest Anthem was

splendidly rendered by the choir. Mrs. Casey

was at the organ. The bright lights from the

choir roof made the chancel look very nice. The

offerings were on behalf of the General Parochial Fund.

At the evening Service the

preacher was the Rev. G. W. Millington, Rectoy

of St. Mark s, Portadown. His subject was

“The thorns that choke the good seed.” There

was again a crowded congregation. Altogether

the Services this year seemed brighter and more

hearty than usual.

Death of Mrs. Jennett.

We record with great regret the death of Mrs.

Caroline Jennett, of Breagh, after a very brief

illness. She had been preparing to come to the

Thursday evening harvest service, but on the

previous Wednesday got a sudden and severe

stroke and passed away the next morning. Mrs.

Jennett was very popular with all her neighbours

and friends. She took a great interest in

all our Parish work. We will miss her much

from our social gatherings. Our deep sympathy

goes out to her bereaved family. Her funeral

to Seagoe was largely attended notwithstanding

the very inclement weather.

H. B. S.

These letters stand for the Hibernian Bible

Society. On Sunday, November 22nd, a special

collection will be made on behalf of the Society.

A great Missionary work is done by the Society

in providing Bibles in many languages for the

Missionary Societies, and in this Parish the

Society makes cheap grants of beautiful Bibles

for prizes in our Sunday Schools. Look on the

shelves in your house and see there the beautiful

Bibles which your children have won in our

Sunday Schools and which have been graciously

presented at a reduced rate through our Sunday Schools.

The recently observed Tindale

Centenary reminds us of the treasure we possess

in our English Bible and his cruel Martyrdom

should remind us of the sufferings which

the first translators of the Bible had to endure.

Let your offering be more generous in memory

of the Martyr, William Tindale, who gave his

all, even to life itself, that we might have the

Book of Books.

The Lighting of the Church.

Before very long we must get an improvement

in the lighting of the Church. The gas

lighting looks very dim when contrasted with

the flood-lighting of the chancel. When gas was

first introduced into Seagoe Church to replace

the paraffin lamps everyone noticed the great

improvement, but now the new electric light

seems to make the gaslight quite dim. The

electric lights installed at the entrance doors of

the Church are a great improvement.

PARISH MAGAZINE

Choir Social,

On Wednesday, Oct. 28th, a very pleasant

choir social was held in Seagoe School at 8 o'clock.

Mr. and Mrs George Wilson

met the guests as they arrived. The rooms

looked very nice and bright, and there was a

large attendance of choir members. The Rector

was present. Before tea the grace was sung. A

hearty tea followed. After tea, round games

were played. During an interval a presentation

was made to Mr. Tom Leake, a member of the

choir who had been married in Drumcree Church

that morning. Mr. Leake has just been appointed

Postmaster at Toomebridge, Co. Antrim.

He has been a most useful and popular

member the choir. in making the presentation

the Rector expressed the congratulations and

good wishes of all present to Mr. and Mrs.

Leake in their future life. He also expressed

their pleasure at the presence of Mr. and Mrs.

T. H. Wilson, and their gratitude to Mrs. Casey

for the kind help she gave from time to time.

Referring to the recent Harvest Services, the

Rector said that the musical parts of the services

were the best he had remembered.

Armistice Day.

Wednesday, Nov. 11th, the two minutes'

silence will be observed at Seagoe Memorial

Gates at 11 a.m. If the weather is inclement

the Church will be open for a brief service, during

which the "silence" will be observed.

Sunday, Nov. 8th, the Services in the

Parish Church at 11.30 and 7 will have reference

to the Armistice celebrations. The offerings

at the morning service will be on behalf

of Earl Haig's Fund for ex-servicemen. Although

many years have passed since the Great War

came to an end yet we must never let the names

of those who made the great sacrifice and of

those who served be allowed to pass from our

memories.

Drumgor Harvest Services.

The annual Harvest Thanksgiving Services

were held in Drumgor Church Hall on Sunday

afternoon and Monday evening, October 11th

and 12th respectively. In the matter of decorations

it would appear that the teachers compete

with one another in an attempt to make the

Hall move beautiful than the year before. On

Sunday afternoon the special preacher was the

Rev. Canon Marks, B. D. , Rector of Tandragee,

and he delivered a forcible address on the text:

“ I have planted, Apollos watered, but God

gave the increase." There was a crowded congregation

present. The services were continued

on Monday evening, when Mr. Wm. Hutchinson

gave an impressive address on the subject

of Sowing and Reaping.

Both Services were

conducted the Rev. W. F. Hayes, B.A.,

and Mr. Wm. Hutchinson.

The offering on Sunday was devoted to the work of the Sunday

School, and on Monday the cause of Foreign

Missions was subscribed to. Both objects received generous support from the congregations

present.

Carne Harvest Services.

Harvest Services were held in Carne Church

Hall on Sunday, Oct. 18th, at 3.30, and on the

following Monday at 8 p.m. The Hall was very

nicely decorated with splendid samples of fruit,

flowers and other local products. At each service

the building was filled with people. Mr.

T. H. Wilson was at the harmonium. The congregation

joined heartily in the service, especially

in the singing of the Hymns. The Service

on the Sunday was taken by the Rev. W.

F. Hayes. He preached from the text “It is

more blessed to give than to receive." The collection

was on behalf of the Sunday School

Funds. On Monday evening the Rev. J. Haddock,

Rector of Donacloney, Waringstown gave

a very impressive address based on the Parable

of the Sower. The collection was given to the

cause of Foreign Missions.

Levaghery Harvest

A service of Thanksgiving for the Harvest was

held in Levaghery on Sunday, Oct. 4th, at 3.30

p.m. The Hall was artistically decorated. The

art of using material to advantage was striking

in the arrangement of the flowers, grain and

fruits used for the purpose. Miss Essie Mays

was at the harmonium and supervised the

musical portion of the service. The singing was

led by a large choir. The Rev. W. F. Hayes

preached. His subject was "Reaping.

The collection was for the Sunday School Funds.

The Services were continued on Mondav at 8

p.m. The Rev. A. N. Parkinson, curate of St.

Mark's Povtadown, was the preacher.

The offerings were for foreign missions.

Services were remarkably well attended.

Renovation.

The interior of the Levaghery School has been

made very bright and attractive., The walls

have been distempered, the wainscoating and

woodwork have been varnished, and the windows

have been painted. This freshness has

added greatly to the appearance of that spacious

room. The improvements were generously

undertaken and carried out during the bright

evenings by some of the young men connected

with the Sunday School. Their work has been

greatly appreciated.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE

Presentation to Mrs Maurice Adams

A very pleasant function took place in Drumgor

Church Hall on Wednesday evening, 7th

October, when the teachers and pupils attached

to the Sunday School met in a social gathering

to pay a tribute of affection and esteem to Mrs.

Maurice Adams, formerly Miss Winnie Gracey,

to congratulate her on her recent marriage.

A splendid tea was served to the company present

by the teachers, after which games were

indulged in under the guidance of the Superintendent.

At a later stage in the proceedings

Mr. Wm. Hutchinson, on behalf of the School,

presented to Mr. and Mrs. Adams a beautiful

dinner service, to commemorate the occasion

of their marriage. In handing over the gift the

Superintendent referred to the fact of how much

the School owed to the members of the Gracey

family; it was a name that would ever be associated

with the School. Mrs. Adams in particular

had always been in the forefront of any

effort to promote the welfare of the School, and

her splendid class of boys were an example of

her diligent care and attendance. They wished

them both every happiness in their new home

in Belfast. My. and Mrs. Adams suitably replied,

the latter remarking that any little work

she ever done for the School was always a labour

of love. A further period of games having been

indulged in, a very pleasant evening was

brought to a close with the singing of Auld Lang Syne

Parish Register for October.

Baptism

October 3rd, John Gordon, son of Norman

and Rachel Walker, of Seagoe Lower.

Sponsors—Norman Walker, Rachel Walker.

"Received into the Congreation. "

Robinson—Alan, son of Thomas John and Anne

Robinson, of Edenderry.

Sponsors—Margaret Watson, Elizabeth Watson.

Marriages

Donaldson and Thompson—Oct. 13th, Israel

Donaldson, of Lurgan, to Charlotte

Thompson, of Drumgor.

Forbes and McCoo—Oct. 29th John Forbes, of

Drumlellum, Parish of Tartaraghan, to

Jean Florence McCoo, of Kernan.

Burials.

3rd, Mary Dickson, of Killicomaine, aged 45 years.

Jennett Oct. 24th, Caroline Jennett, of Breagh, aged 57 years.

Brick Cards.

Final list of Brick Cards

64

Amount already acknowledged £64 17 9

Misses R. and W. Gracey £ 0 7 0

Mrs. David Johnston, Thompson, £ 1 0 0

Thompsonville, U.S.A.

Mrs. Kirk £ 0 7 0

Subscription £ 0 5 0

Mr. H. Kane £ 0 3 0

Mrs. Guy, U.S.A. £ 1 4 0

Mrs. Thompson £ 0 4 0

Miss M. Gracey £ 0 5 0

£68 12 9

The committee of the Mothers' Union wish

to thank all those both at home and overseas

who so willingly helped with the Brick Cards to

make their appeal such a splendid success.

Visit of Mr, S, Johnstone

Mr. Samuel Johnston, of Thompson Ville,

U.S.A., paid a short visit to Seagoe recently.

His arrival, which was altogether unexpected,

was a pleasant surprise for his many friends in

Edenderry. He has always maintained a close

connection with Seagoe. He was greatly impressed

by the recent improvements to the

Parish Church, and by the general developments

that have taken place in the neighbourhood

since his emigration. This week Mr. Johnston

returns to the States on the Queen Mary. We

wish him a pleasant voyage.

Old Seagoe Notes.

The Big Frost of 1739-40 in Seagoe -

Funerals 1773, Feb. 13—William Whiteside, a

cripple since the big frost, 1739' '—Seagoe Register.

In January, 1740, people dwelt in tents on

the Thames for weeks' '—Chambers Book of

Days: Vol. 1., p 110.

As the severe season of 1708-9 was called

the ' Great Winter' so that of 1740 went by the

name of the ' Hard Winter.' The frost began

on Christmas Day and lasted nine weeks. During

its continuance persons who had lived near

Hudson's Bay, said they had never felt it colder

there than it was in England at this time. Very

soon floating blocks of ice were seen in the

Thames, and some artists seized the opportunity

of painting the unusual scene. Then the river

became so solidly frozen over that, as in 1683,

tents were erected on it, a huge kitchen set up,

and an ox roasted.

From a printing booth on the Thames were

issued numerous pamphlets, one of which contained

'An account of the principal Frosts for

a hundred years.' Another was entitled ' The

humble Petition of the River Thames to the

Venerable Sages of Westminster Hall,' saying

that ministers of punishment have treated

him with the utmost contempt and insolence,

have even made a public shew of him, have

called in heaps of ragamuffins to trample upon

him, and, what is worst of all, have forced a

numerous family which he used to provide for

to beg in the streets.'

This last sentence was an allusion to the

distress caused among the families of the watermen

and fishermen, who were entirely disabled

by the frost from earning a living, and for whose

aid large collections were made in most of the

parishes in London.

A few days after the frost set in a high wind

arose, which did much damage to the shipping

in the Thames. Some vessels had holes beaten

in their sides by falling on their anchors, and

others became embedded and sunk in the ice.

During this winter the inhabitants of St.

Petersburgh built a palace of ice, around which

they placed six cannons, also made of ice, and

loaded with ice shot.

A gentleman staying at Leyden wrote thus

to a friend in London, January 1st, 1740:—

' Books being now laid aside, our chief study

and care is how to thaw our eatables. My wine

freezes into a solid mass; bread cannot be cut,

without being first set by the fire near an hour.

In the same manner we serve our butter, and

also our oranges, which are otherwise as hard as

stones. Water poured into a glass froze and

stood up in the tumbler like an icicle.' In

France great numbers of persons died, and as

late as April the swallows which visited that.

country perished from the cold. "—E. Neville

Johms, in the Sunday Magazine" for February.

1884.

In the Parish Register, Vol. II. the Burials,

which were 35 in 1738, and 31 in 1739, rose to

76 in 1740, and to 88 in 1741. In 1742 they

fell to 47, rising again to 75 in 1743, and falling

to 50 in 1744. Of the 76 burials in 1740, 52

were those of children, and of the 88 in 1741,

47 were children; of the 75 in 1743, 45 were

children.

W. Shaw Mason's Survey of Ireland (1816) :

Statistical Accounts of Glenavy, Camlin and

Tullyrusk :—Lough Neagh has been frozen three

times in the memory of man; once in the memorable

frost of 1739; again in January, 1784,

when the ice was of such strength that many

persons passed over it to Ram's Island; and

again in January of the present year (1814)

when such was the intensity of the frost, that

Lt. Col. Heyland undertook and accomplished

the hazardous expedition of riding his horse from

Crumlin Water-pool to Ram's Island; and the

singular novelty was exhibited of a drag chase

on the ice, round the island, with Mr. Stafford

Whittle's pack of hounds."

SERVICES—The PARISH CHURCH

HOLY COMMUNION Sunday after Morning

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

Festivals.

HOLY BAPTISM— 1st Saturday of cach Month at 3

p m e, 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

(See Book of

expected to bring a thankoffering.

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— Sccond Sunday of Month at 4 p.m

Edenderry—Wednesdays at 8 p.m.

MARRIAGES must be performed between 8 a.m. and 3pm

CLASSES,

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.

3 p m. Licenses are issued by Rev. Canon Hannon,

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

Labourers 5/- Tradesmen 10/-, Merchants and Farmers 15/-, Professional, at. 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.