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Centenary Exhibition
On Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th September St. Michael's opened it doors for our Centenary Exhibition. Around the church were displays of photos and documents; these included displays of old Abbey Wood, the church, previous and current priests, church activities and the choir, both old and present. The local primary school had done a display about the school and the scout group had a display too. People could ask to see records of births and marriages.
The work
for the Centenary Exhibition had started months ago, with people delving into
the back of drawers and cupboards and emptying long forgotten boxes in attics to
find little treasures belonging to the history of St. Michaels Church and the
surrounding parish. As well, of course, as people looking through the more
formal archives stored in the Church and
Vicarage. The little army of people who turn up to clean, polish brass, arrange
flowers, put up tables and all the other invisible jobs had been very busy and
the Church looked a treat. The Children of the Jubilate Choir had painted
pictures of 
St.
Michael’s flaming sword which had been mounted and hung as banners on the
pillars in church. The Scout group and the local primary school had made
valuable contributions to the exhibition as well.
I had
popped into the Church several times during the weekend to look at bits of the
exhibition and have a cup of coffee. There was a lovely atmosphere with choir
music playing softly in the background and a fairly constant stream of visitors
coming to have a look around. All of the comments I heard were very positi
ve
and most people seemed to enjoy looking at the old photos and a little bit of
our history. Some people that had
lived in Abbey Wood for many years already knew a great deal about the history
of the area and were willing to share their memories and knowledge with us.
Patronal
Festival Solemn Mass
The
weekend cumulated in a Solemn Mass on Sunday evening, the choir had already
started to sing the gathering songs by the time we arrived. The church was very
full and there was a very happy atmosphere about the place.
The
service started with the procession of Servers and Clergy, we were joined by Father
Andrew Stevens, Father James Mowbray, and Father Dane Batley Gladden as
well as Father Derek and Father David. We then sang a hymn telling of the rolls
of the archangels. It was a lovely service with familiar readings, hymns and
responses. After
the Gospel Reading Father Batley-Gladden walked up into the pulpit to preach the
sermon. I had seen Father Dane about the Church on previous occasions but had
not heard him preach before. But what a treat it was. He started by announcing
in a booming voice that he had been allowed to eat a second cherry bakewell tart
earlier that afternoon on condition he kept his sermon short. He looked like a
man who enjoyed a cherry bakewell….
Father
Dane talked about his visits to St. Michael’s in the past and how he felt as
if he were coming home when he came to our Church. He talked of his family
connections with St. Michael’s. With connections to the choir and with family
names on the Roll of Honour that stands next to the Lady Chapel as well as his
parents courtship starting in St. Michael’s youth club and subsequent marriage
in St Michael’s Church. He told us as a child how his grandfather and his
friends had carved their initials into a chair during a particularly boring
sermon. The sadness of his mothers recent funeral at St. Michaels., as well as
present day connections with the Church. He talked about personal history of all
of us being a part of the history of St. Michael’s and how important we all
are to St. Michael’s, the living stones of Gods Temple, and how if we were
missing it was the same as removing bricks from the walls of the Church and
leaving holes therein. The idea of the people who come to St. Michael’s being
the Church has been a recurring theme through the Centenary celebrations. Bishop
Keith preached a similar message in our Centenary Service in April this year.
Father Dane was great fun to listen too, rotund and jolly he had many of the
congregation, and the clergy, chuckling and laughing out loud by the end of his
sermon. I for one would have been very happy if he had forgone his second cherry
bakewell we had had the pleasure of listening to him for longer.
After
the Service many of the congregation retired to the Church Hall and social Club
for a reception. The reception was,
as always, well organised, the company was good and the food was lovely.
Obviously lots of people (who always try to hide how hard they work!) had worked
very hard to make it all work as well as it did. It was a lovely weekend.
Written
by Sue