November 1919

Seagoe Parish Magazine.

NOVEMBER, 1919.

The Sustentation Fund.

THE Annual Collection of the Sustentation Fund

will be made during November. The importance

of this Fund, and the duty of supporting it by

increased subscriptions, is not sufficiently understood

by the Parishioners. With the fall in the value of

money the amount hitherto subscribed by the

Parishioners becomes quite inadequate. By the

decision of the Select Vestry, made 8 years ago, two

Funds depend for their support on the Sustentation

Collection (1) The Curate's Stipend Fund and (2) The

Glebe Purchase Fund. Last year the amount

subscribed was only sufficient to cover the first of

these two objects. The importance of the Glebe

Purchase Scheme, which seeks to free the Rectory

from an Annual Rent Charge of £33 15s payable to

the Representative Church Body, may be understood

from the fact that the Deductions this year for Rent,

Rates, Tax on Fees, Lands and Stipend amounts to

£93 5s 2d, or almost one-third of the income of the

Parish. An all-round and substantial increase of

subscriptions is called for. It has been said that

everything now a day’s costs double except Religion.

If we were to judge of the value attached to the

ministrations of the Church by the sums which stand

opposite to the names of many in the Annual

Sustentation Fund List, we might say it was about

equivalent to the cost of half-a-dozen eggs, or at the

most a hundredweight of potatoes. In every house

this year two envelopes will be left — one (white) for

the subscription of the householder and another

(yellow) for the subscription of the wage-earning

members of the family who have not hitherto

subscribed to the Fund.

The support of the Church ought to be a first charge

on all income and wages. "Seek ye first the

Kingdom of God " is the command of the Divine

Founder of the Church.

A Letter from the Hon. Treasurer to the Parishioners of Seagoe.

A meeting of the Collectors of the Sustentation

Fund and members of the Select Vestry, at which the

Rector presided, was recently held in Seagoe School.

It was agreed by the meeting that considering the

increased cost of living, and that high prices are

likely to continue for a long time, it is necessary that

a substantial increase should be made in the amount

of the Sustentation Fund.

The amount of last year's subscriptions was

£162 16s 3d, and it was decided that special effort

should be made this year to increase this amount and

bring it up to £200, and that the necessity for increasing

it should be brought to the notice of the Subscribers.

As the Subscribers are aware, this Fund is for the

purpose of providing a Curate, and augmenting the

fund for Glebe purchase. When it is considered

that the Rector is provided for without receiving

anything from the Parishioners, the burden of

raising £200 per annum should not be a heavy one.

It only requires organisation, and willingness on the

part of every responsible Parishioner in order to

accomplish this object.

It was suggested that an improvement in the

collections could be affected by inducing responsible

wage earners in families to subscribe in addition to

that given by the head of the household. It was

thought also that an improvement might be made by

adding to the number of Collectors, especially in

particular Districts. The object of increasing the

number of Collectors is twofold, as it was desired to

lighten the work of the present Collectors and, at

the same time, improve the methods of collection.

There are some Subscribers who give generously,

and according to their means, but it is felt there are

others who could afford to increase their subscriptions,

and if they could see their way to do this, there would

be no trouble in raising the desired amount.

Should this Fund be not adequately supported in

future the result will be that the Parish would be left

without a Curate. But it is to be hoped that the

loyalty and generosity of the Parishioners will prevent

such a misfortune from happening in a large and

populous Parish like Seagoe.

JAMES SANDS, Hon. Treas,

The Harvest Services.

This year the Harvest Services were more largely

attended than in any previous year. The gift of a

bounteous Harvest in the Year of Peace impressed us

all in a very special way with God's unfailing Love

and Mercy. In the Parish Church, both on week

night and Sunday, there were large congregations.

The Rev. R. H. White and the Rev. J. E. Browne

were our special Preachers. The anthem “Praise

the Lord, O Jerusalem” was well and heartily sung,

the solo being taken by Mrs. Calvert, late of Seagoe,

now of Dublin, who so often in the past helped in the

musical rendering of our services.

Harvest Services have also during the month been

held at Carne, Edenderry and Drumgor. Carne

was specially favoured this year by having as the

Preacher for Foreign Missions a distinguished

clergyman of the Church of Ireland, the Rev.

Canon Day, Rector of St Anne's, Dublin, Professor

of Pastoral Theology in the University of Dublin,

and formerly a member of the Cambridge University

Mission in Delhi.

Edenderry had made special preparation this

year for its Harvest Festival. Mr. J H. Stevenson

had gathered together a good choir of the children

and at the services they sang very nicely. Miss

Dorothy Stevenson had taken the practices beforehand

and played very nicely at the service. The Rev G.

H. Daunt preached at the Monday evening service.

Drumgor Church Hall was beautifully decorated

for the Services, and there were large gatherings

present both on Sunday and Monday. Mr T. H.

Wilson kindly conducted the music, The Rev. C.

T. Lett, son of the Rev. Canon Lett, who is well

known to many in Seagoe, preached at the Monday

evening Service from the text "Blessed are they that

do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they

shall be filled”. Mr Lett has just been demobilised,

having during the last few months of the year acted

as a Driver in the Army Service Corps. His emphasis

on the duty of "taking pains and obeying the rules”

if we are to reap God's reward. Was impressive and

inspiring.

Armistice Sunday.

On Sunday, November 9th, Special Services

commemorative of the Signing of the Armistice, a year

ago, will be held in Seagoe Church. It is hoped that

the Roll of Honour will be ready for Inauguration

on that day.

Congratulations.

Last month we referred to the marriage of Rev. W.

R. Crichton, which, as will be seen in our Parish

Register, took place in Madras on September 9th.

We send on behalf of the Parish of Seagoe our hearty

good wishes to Mr and Mrs Crichton, on the occasion

of their marriage. We hope at some future time,

not too far distant, to see them in the Parish, and

to give them a personal greeting.

Our New Bishop,

At the Diocesan Synod held in Belfast on Thursday,

October 9th, for the election of a Bishop of the

United Dioceses of Down and Connor and Dromore,

the Very Rev. Charles T. P. Grierson, B.D., Dean of

Belfast, was elected by a large majority of votes.

The Bishop elect was for many years Rector of

Seapatrick (Banbridge), and has on many occasions

officiated at Seagoe Church. As Dean of Belfast

during the difficult years of the war, and the trying

time preceding it, Bishop Grierson carried out his

duties with much popularity and success. He is a

cousin of his predecessor, Archbishop D'Arcy. We

hope that before long the new Bishop will visit our

Parish, and we know that when he comes among us

he will receive a hearty Seagoe welcome.

The Bishop was consecrated in Armagh Cathedral

on Tuesday, October 28th, (St. Simon and St. Jude's

Day).

Our four lay representatives from the Parish were

present and voted at the election of the Bishop —

Lt.-Col. Blacker, T, J. Montgomery, J. Twinem

and David Murray.

The Rev. Scanlon, M.A.

We offer our congratulations and all good

wishes to the Rev. T. H. Scanlon on his appointment

as Rector of the Parish of Tempo in the Diocese of

Clogher. Mr Scanlon during his tenure of the

curacy of Seagoe, worked with much diligence and

won his way into the affections of the people of

Seagoe. The Parish of Tempo is near Enniskillen,

where Mr Scanlon has acted as curate since he left

Seagoe.

St. Andrew's Day.

Special Services for Men will (D.V.) be held in Seagoe

Church, on Sunday, November 30, (St. Andrew's

Day and also Advent Sunday), at 11-30 and 7. The

preacher will be the Rev. E. A. Bennett, M.A., M.C.,

late Chaplain to the Forces in France and Mesopotamia.

Mr Bennett was awarded the Military Cross for great

bravery in attending to the wounded under heavy fire.

He went over the top with his men eight times. Last

month Mr Bennett was appointed Secretary in Belfast

to the Church of Ireland Young Men's Society. We

invite the men of the Parish to attend these Services.

St. Andrew's Day is set apart in many places as a

suitable day for Men's Services in remembrance of the

fact recorded in Scripture that Andrew brought his

brother Peter to Christ.

The Chota Nagpur Mission.

Seagoe has always supported the Dublin University

Chota Nagpur Mission. A representative of the

Mission, Miss Jellett, daughter of the late Provost

Jellett, of Trinity College, and sister of Mr H. R.

Jellett, M.P. for Dublin University, will (D.V,) give

an address on behalf of the Mission, in Seagoe

School, on Monday, November 17th, at 8 o'clock.

Miss Jellett has been a member of the Mission for

many years, and her account of the work in North

East India will be very interesting. A collection

will be made at the meeting on behalf of the Funds

of the Mission.

Seagoe War Memorial.

A meeting of Subscribers to the Seagoe War

Memorial was held in Seagoe School on Tuesday,

October 7th, at 8 o 'clock. The Rector presided.

Lieut.-Col. Blacker made a statement regarding the

amount subscribed. Subscriptions already paid in

already amounted to £319. There were still a few

outstanding subscriptions which he hoped would be

available. Discussion followed as to the form the

Memorial should take. Eventually it was decided

that the Memorial should take the form of special

Entrance Gates and Pillars at the Church, and that

the names of those associated with Seagoe Parish

who had fallen in the War should be inscribed on

the Memorial. A Sub-Committee consisting of Miss

G. Atkinson, Lieut-Col. Blacker, Rev. Canon Archer,

and the Churchwardens, Messrs. J. Montgomery and

T. E. Maginnis was appointed to consult with the

Central War Memorial Committee, and to obtain

plans for the proposed Memorial. Mr W. R. Atkinson

was present at the meeting.

Seagoe Roll of Honour.

The Roll of Honour for Seagoe Parish, which has

been in preparation for some time, is now complete,

and in the course of a week or ten days we hope to

have it on view in the Church Porch.

It has been executed in the Artists' Department of

Messrs. W. & G. Baird, Royal Avenue, Belfast.

It is of considerable size, being four feet by three feet.

At the top of the Roll is well executed painting of

Seagoe Church, and at the lower corners there are

paintings of Old Seagoe Church and of Portadown

Bridge. The border is of Celtic interwoven design,

and the emblems of modern warfare are skilfully

introduced in various ways at the base of the border,

the colours of the Allied Forces are grouped. The

border and all the decorations are painted by hand. The

names on the list are arranged in four broad columns,

each column containing 67 names. A cross opposite

the name denotes one who sacrificed his life in the

great cause, the letter W "signifies wounded. The rank,

decorations, and Regiment are added opposite each name.

By the completion of the List of names it is possible now

to find out our actual losses. Only the names of members

of the Church of Ireland were associated with Seagoe

Church are entered on the List. It was found impossible to

include others, much as we would liked to have done so.

The actual number of killed reaches the high figure of forty

nine, the wounded number fifty-seven, and the total

number of names on the List is 265. So that out of the full

total the number of casualties in killed and wounded is 106,

a very heavy percentage indeed, about 40 per cent. The

Roll of Honour is enclosed in a massive gilt frame.

Every effort has been made to ensure perfect accuracy

in the List. Possibly slight errors and omissions

may be discovered, but in the compilation of so long

a list such must almost of necessity occur. The Roll

of Honour is a very convincing proof of the readiness

with which our Seagoe Churchmen rallied to the

call of Empire when the need arose and it will

be a permanent record of the fullness of the sacrifice

made by the Parish in the cause of Truth and Justice

during the great conflict now ended.

Tamnificarbet.

The last of the Harvest Services will be held in

Carbet Orange Hall, on Sunday, November 2nd, at 7

p.m., and on Monday, at 8 p.m. Half of the Sunday

Collection will be given to the Hali Funds and half

to the Parochial Sunday School Funds.

PARISH REGISTER for Oct., 1919,

Baptisms.

The following were Baptized in Seagoe Parish

Church on the 4th October, 1919—

Moore—Caroline, daughter of David and Caroline

Moore, of Kernan.

Sponsors—Caroline Moore, Mary Caddell,

Robinson—Joseph Victor, son of Thomas George

and Mary Alice Robinson, of Tamnifiglasson.

Sponsors—Dinah Patton, Mary Alice Robinson,

Campbell—Josephine, daughter of William James

and Jane Anna Campbell, of Belteagh,

Privately Baptized.

Lappin—William George, son of Samuel (1st

R.Ir.F., B.E F., 1914—1917), and Mary Lappin, of Edenderry,

Smith—Annie, daughter of Aaron and Sarah Annie Smith, of Edenderry.

Marriages.

Crichton-Berg – Sept. 9, at St. George's Cathedral, Madras, by the

Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Madras, assisted by the

Rev. B. M. Morton, Cathedral Chaplain—the Rev.

R. Crichton, Indian Ecclesiastical Service, only son of

the late Rev. James Crichton, Kildrumferton, Co. Cavan,

to Vera Amy, only daughter of the late M, F. Berg, Bombay,

and Mrs Berg, Bangalore, India.

Thornton and Fox - 22nd October, 1919, William John Thornton,

of Portadown, to Louisa Fox of Edenderry.

Burials.

Lindsay - October 11th, Frederick Oswald Lindsay, of Portadown, aged 17.

Letter from Mrs. Wolseley.

In a recent letter from Mrs Wolseley, daughter of

the late Rev. Capel Wolseley, formerly curate of

Seagoe, she writes as follows to Willie J. Whiteside,

of Carrickblacker Road — We are down here at

Blythsburg, Suffolk, at our nice little cottage on a

stretch of Common land — no other roof within ten

minutes walk of us — only grass, gorse, and bracken

ferns, changing every day to gold or brown. It is

lovely to watch them in the sunshine. My son came

home to us for a while and then went off again to

North Russia as an Interpreter. He knows the

language having been some years in Archangel long

ago. Indeed, we all went out there to see him more

than once, but never got on with the language.

Those dreadful Bolshevists are getting more

and more power in the world. I saw a copy

of their secret orders to their agents everywhere, to

stir up strife between Soldiers and Officers, Labour

and Capital, etc., etc. I wonder what they expect

the world will be like when they have blotted out the

Name of God, and killed all who won’t go their

bloodstained way. Now about yourself, I hope you

are getting on with your work as you would wish.

How does the Braille reading progress? Have you

many nice friends to come in and cheer you? We

like to hear from you. Poor old Ireland is being led

astray. We pray the bad disloyal leaders may be

put down, and God's Truth may again flood the land,

and she may be called the Island of Saints once

more. With all our kindest remembrance, Yours

truly — Annie Wolseley. 10th Sept., 1919.

[Mrs. Wolseley and her daughter very kindly visited

Willie Whiteside regularly when he was in St.

Dunstan's Hostel for Blinded Soldiers, and they

still write to him from time to time. Mrs Wolseley's

son, to whom she refers in the letter is Sir Capel

Charles Wolseley, Bart, who was British Vice-Consul

at Archangel from 1900 to 1909.]

OLD SEAGOE NOTES.

The Geological Formation of Seagoe Parish.

The Geology of a Parish implies its most ancient

history, and therefore such a subject fits in

appropriately under Old Seagoe Notes. Two mighty

Geological Forces engaged in the formation of what

is now known as Seagoe, these two forces were Fire

and Ice. Seagoe lies at the apex or Junction of two

great lines of geologic force, one of which is

represented by the Volcanic Rocks and rounded hills of

County Antrim, and the other by the sharp and

jagged peaks of the Mourne Range. If you compare

the soft rounded summits of, say, Collin Mountain,

near Belfast, with Slieve Donard or some of the other

lofty peaks of Mourne, you will get some idea of the

two forces which helped to make Seagoe what it is.

It was the soft molten rock called Lava which flowed

over the Co. Antrim, and rounded all the tops of the

mountains, and which covered up with a warm

mantle the underlying beds of pure white limestone,

and so closely did it cover it that the latter can only

get a look in, or perhaps we should say a lookout at

places so far from Belfast as Kilvergan in this Parish.

The sharp rocks of the Mourne range also represent

the volcanic rock known as granite, but they have

been made extra sharp and jagged because of the ice.

Geologists tell us that in the far distant past a great

glacier stretched from the Mourne Mountains to

where Lough Neagh is, so that at one time the site

of Seagoe lay buried under tons of ice. This ice

gradually melted away leaving as a result the big

pool of water which we call Lough Neagh. The

hills of Seagoe, Kernan and Balteagh are the furthest

outposts of the Mourne Mountains, and were formed

by the debris left after the melting of the Great

Glacier. A cycle or motor ride along the Lurgan

Road from Portadown towards Lurgan will let the

observant traveller into the secret of much ancient

history. In making that short journey the road passes

over, as it were, three big geologic waves, the first at

Lisniskey, the second at Balteagh, and the third at

Tullygalley. These waves were formed by the great

Volcanic push from the Co. Antrim. And if we were

to go towards Drumclogher Hill, or Banbridge, or

Rathfriland, we would find another set of waves or ridges

running in a different direction, formed by the Volcanic

push from the Mourne Mountains. It is wonderful how

the River Bann has been able to push its way through

and round go many obstacles till it reaches the sea on the

North Coast of Antrim. If it had had eyes to see with

and a point of vantage it might have shortened its course

considerably by turning sharp to the right near its source

and emptying itself into the sea near Newcastle, Co.

Down, but if it had, Portadown might never have come

into existence.

Harvest Offertories.

Parish Church £5 7 8

,, ,, 9 5 8

,, ,, 7 6 7

Carne 1 10 2

,, ,, 0 14 0

Edenderry 2 1 0

,, ,, 1 0 0

Drumgor 1 18 2

,, ,, 0 17 8

Presentation.

Arthur Allen left Edenderry on Friday, 31st inst.,

to join the London Headquarters of the Church

Army to be trained as an Evangelist. On the

evening before he left there was a pleasant gathering

in Seagoe School consisting of the Teachers and

Superintendents of Edenderry Sunday Schools, the

boys in his Sunday School Classes and others

of his friends to wish him God speed in his new

work. A presentation of a solid leather Attaché

Case was made to him. The Rector presided, and

after Tea, Mrs. Stephenson presented Mr. Allen with

the Case. Mr. Allen suitably replied, and short

speeches were made by Mrs. Stephenson, Mrs.

Johnston, Miss Woolsey (his former Sunday School

testifying Teacher), and Mr. Rennix, al testifying

to the good influence exerted by Mr, Allen and

wishing him great blessing and success in his

work with the Church Army. We look forward in

the near future to others joining the Church Army as

a preparation for work in the Mission Field.

ITEMS.

Two members of the Edenderry R.I.C., Constables

M'Alister and Boyle, have returned from three

months special duty in Tipperary. We are glad to

know they have got back safely. The R.I.C. are

doing splendid work under difficult and dangerous

conditions, and they are deserving of the hearty

sympathy and support of all law-abiding citizens.

***

We congratulate Edenderry Football Club on their

fine record of four wins in succession. It takes a lot

to beat an Edenderry man when he makes up his

mind to win.

***

Some beautiful flowers and fruit were sent for the

decoration of the Parish Church at the Harvest

Festival for which we sincerely thank the donors.

The Fruit has been sold and the money applied to

Foreign Missions.