The competition, which is being supported by the Banbury Guardian and the Bicester Advertiser, is calling for people to write a poem which best captures the spirit of Banbury or Bicester.

There will be two classes: one competition for those aged under 18 and another competition for those aged over 18.

The title of the poem would simply be “Banbury” or “Bicester”, and it can be in whatever format the entrant wishes – from an ode to a haiku, a limerick to a sonnet.

There will be two prizes of £500 each for the winning entries and all entries will be included in an anthology of poems entitled “Banbury – 2012” which it is hope will be sold at a later date with all profits going to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Fund.

Tony Baldry said: “2012 is a momentous year and I thought a poetry competition would be a great chance for people of all ages to get directly involved in celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. My inspiration for the competition came from Edward Thomas’s poem ‘Adlestrop’ which is one of the most popular, most quoted and most collected English poems and which captures a memorable but otherwise unremarkable moment on the edge of Oxfordshire countryside in 1914 just before the outbreak of the First World War. I think that this is a fantastic way in which the entire community can get involved – we are not just looking for school-age children but anyone of any age. We will be looking for something special – probably indefinable – which is memorable and captures the reader’s attention and I am already looking forward to reading all the poems we receive.”

All entries should be sent to: Tony Baldry MP, Alexandra House, Church Passage, Banbury, OX16 5JZ.

The closing date for entries is Friday 11 May 2012.

Entries will be judged by a panel of three independent judges who will draw up a shortlist and decide on two winning poems.

To download a copy of the Banbury poster about the competition, please click here: Poetry competition poster (Banbury).

To download a copy of the Bicester poster about the competition, please click here: Poetry competition poster (Bicester).

The special classroom has been set up to ensure that the 100 dyslexic pupils at the school leave with the skills they need to succeed within further and higher education and the world of work.

Netbooks, interactive games and learning aides have all been purchased and placed in the classroom to allow pupils suffering from dyslexia to learn in multi-sensory ways.

Natalie Dale, the specialist dyslexia teacher and English teacher at Banbury School, has completed the Level 5 Certificate in Specific Learning Difficulties allowing her to develop both her knowledge and understanding of dyslexia and her ability to deliver effective teaching. It has also meant that all staff have received training in how to support all dyslexic pupils and how to identify the signs of dyslexia earlier and then assess how best to support a pupils needs.

Miss Dale will also be running after-school classes during which students can develop their reading and writing skills, memory and planning strategies, complete homework and feel more confident in their abilities.

Tony Baldry said:

“Suffering from dyslexia can make learning experiences such as reading, spelling and writing hugely difficult. In recognising the challenges faced by its dyslexic pupils, it is fantastic that Banbury School has not only set up the dyslexia classroom but also raised the awareness and ability of its staff to deal with the needs of pupils who show signs of dyslexia.

“I am delighted to have been invited to come and see the classroom. The various learning aides and resources available to dyslexic pupils will certainly help them develop vital skills. In doing so, I am sure it will open up a world of opportunities to these pupils when they leave school which they may otherwise have not had without such crucial support.”

To see an article about the opening of the classroom from this week’s Banbury Guardian, click on the link provided here: Specialist Dyslexia Facility Funded by £4,000 appeal BG.

The best of years because in the summer we shall all be able to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Queen’s 60 years of outstanding service to our country followed by the Olympics and Paralympics in London, which will be a fantastic festival of sport.

Possibly the worst of years in that uncertainties in the Eurozone and with the Euro mean continuing economic uncertainty and although Britain is very fortunate that we are not in the Euro there is no benefit to us if the Eurozone countries can’t sort themselves out.

It is at times like this that I am reminded of the following, quoted many years ago in a Christmas broadcast, by the late King George V:

“ . . I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,

“Give me light that I may tread safely into the unknown”.

And he replied:

“Go out into the Darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way”.

So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.

And he led me towards the Hills and the breaking of day in the lone East”.

Tony Baldry
Member of Parliament for North Oxfordshire

Whilst at the shop, Tony joined in with the craft activities organised by the Cherwell District Council art development team and also met Father Christmas and all his elves!

Tony was joined at the meeting by the Bishop of Norwich, Bishop of Lincoln and the Bishop of Chelmsford as well as Anne Sloman who is Chair of the Church Buildings Council.

Following the meeting, Tony Baldry said:

“Bats in Churches are not a joke. They are a serious problem where in my view there needs to be greater understanding by Natural England of the damage that bats do to Church Heritage. I am very glad that Richard Benyon is going to work on this issue and hopefully we will be able to resolve the worst cases over the coming months”.

From L-R, The Bishop of Norwich, Ann Sloman, The Bishop of Lincoln, Tony Baldry MP, and the Bishop of Chelmsford at DEFRA met with Richard Benyon to discuss the problems caused by excessive Bat droppings in churches.

Tony Baldry took part in an event in Parliament on Wednesday 23 November which saw a cross-party group of MPs and peers having their photograph taken in front of hundreds of handmade kites designed by campaigners from around the country to symbolise their support for women’s rights in Afghanistan.

The campaign – led by ActionAid UK, Amnesty International UK, CARE UK, GAPS, Womankind Worldwide and Women for Women International – has seen 18,000 campaigners petition the UK government to support Afghan women’s rights, with more than 8,000 kites designed.

Campaigners are using the kite symbol because in Afghanistan women and girls make kites but are effectively prevented from actually flying them because of cultural attitudes that make it socially unacceptable.

Tony Baldry said:

“This is an important campaign which I’m very pleased to support. If the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan are not front and centre of peace negotiations, it will be an absolute tragedy.

“I will be following up on this issue with the Foreign Secretary William Hague at the earliest opportunity.”

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“We’d like to see all Parliamentarians supporting this campaign for women rights in Afghanistan.

“There is a clear and present danger that the rights of Afghan women and girls could be sacrificed in deals with the Taleban as the international community looks for the exit sign in Afghanistan.

“Numerous MPs have been vocal on the subject of Afghan women’s rights during the past decade. Now’s the time for them to stand up and be counted.”

To access a copy of Tony’s letter, please click on the link provided: Gregory Barker Solar 181111.

CANTERBURY DIOCESAN SYNOD
SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER

“Church in the Community”

Talk by Tony Baldry, MP
Second Church Estates Commissioner

For many years, the National Health Service has obliged Hospital Trusts to pay for the use of their buildings.

At first sight, it might seem somewhat strange charging a Hospital Trust to use its own buildings, but the purpose of this NHS accounting exercise, has been to make the point that buildings have a cost and to seek to ensure that the NHS uses all of its buildings and employs the NHS estate as cost effectively as possible.

Do we have any mechanism that prompts us to ask whether we are using our church buildings to the best possible use?

How many hours a week is our church actually used?

During the course of a week, how many people benefit from our church?

Of course, no two churches are identical – in history, construction, location and the communities which they now serve.

Moreover, I readily accept that it is not possible to quantify or measure numerous of the benefits of an English Church.

The Friday before last, I spent the day visiting churches in Kent – or to be more precise, visiting churches in the Isles of Kent – the Isle of Sheppey and the Isle of Thanet.

One of the churches I visited was St. Thomas the Apostle at Harty. A small church, in the middle of the countryside, out on the marshes, near the water. No electricity. It can only be reached after a fairly tortuous journey down a not particularly well made up road. But this small church, with its fine rood screen, and ancient carved chest, is clearly much loved.

Whilst we were there, there were four or five local women, hard at work, dusting cleaning the church, and preparing and arranging the flowers for the service the following Sunday.

I was not surprised to learn that the church at Harty is full at the services at Christmas and other of the great feasts of the Church, and clearly it is difficult to measure the benefits of prayer, contemplation, pilgrimage and holiness and a sense of being in the presence of Holiness, that churches can give.

On the same day, I also visited Holy Trinity Margate. This is a church that is almost always continuously open, being used by literally thousands of people of week – for every group within the community – the elderly, the young.

The original church was built in a cabbage field as an estate church for local farm workers, but as Margate expanded, it is now in an ideal location, seemingly on every bus route to serve many of the people of the town, and a couple of neighbouring housing estates in particular.

“The church” here is central to the wellbeing locally in the lives clearly of many hundreds of people.

In being an Established Church, the Church of England is a national church.

That means that we have a presence in every community.

A presence, almost always symbolised in glass and stone, by the Parish church.

So are there ways in which we can better use our church buildings to help us fulfil our national mission of seeking to engage and serve the whole community.

This is not something new.

In his book “Treasures of the English Churches”, written by John Martin Robinson, he observed “the Church was usually the most prominent building in an area in the Middle Ages, and the architectural centre of the community. It was not used just for religious worship, but for a wide range of public activities, including schooling and public meetings. Legal notices were displayed in the porch, and military service – longbow practice – took place in the churchyard. The nave was also used for non-religious purposes and its upkeep was the responsibility of the laity, for it was their part of the church . . . . “

Later this morning we are going to hear three case studies of churches that have embarked on community projects:

• A combined church and arts cultural centre, at St. Mary the Virgin, Ashford;
• A Post Office established within the Church of Holy Cross, Goodnestone, and
• The first farmers’ market in Kent at Rolvenden.

I think this must be the same Rolvenden that one of the Gazetteers describes as “family pew of the Gybbon-Moneypennys 1825 – still furnished with chairs, table and carpet, as deplored by the Ecclesiologists”. !

Across England, the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England has been developing partnerships with the Post Office, and Citizens and Advice Bureaux to house these vital services in church buildings.

The Cathedrals and Church Buildings Division (CCB) offer advice and guidance to churches looking to develop resources from community shops to crèches, and to ensure that churches remain the cornerstone of local communities.

The CCB offer advice and guidance to churches on how to extend the use of Church Buildings, and to ensure that your church is the community hub and the CCB provide churches with straightforward practical guidance on a range of uses, including everything from tourism, learning, history and heritage, community use, work with Government, Local Authorities, and Third Sector organisations to ensure that such approaches reach as many people as possible.

The CCB highlights good examples of community use and extending the welcome of your church on its website – www.churchcare.co.uk

The CCB also deliver national capacity building and training events to promote church buildings as local community spaces. Again, to find out more about these events, visit www.churchcare.co.uk

In addition the Church Urban Fund is delivering a £5 million Government funded, interfaith project called Near Neighbours, focused on people of different faiths, including those with no faith, sharing experiences and undertaking activities together.

For more information on this initiative, visit www.cuf.org.uk/near-neighbours

The Second Church Estates Commissioner doesn’t have a badge.

If I had, I think it would be “Xestobium rufovillosum” – the Death Watch Beetle.

Let me explain.

I readily accept that every church is different and that of the 16,000 Church of England church buildings having well over 4,000 being listed as Grade One buildings – 45% of all buildings listed at this grade, and 8,000 are listed Grade Two Star, or Two.

We need to manage our churches and church fabric and church interiors with great care.

However, often the interiors of our churches are configured now solely for church services with so many pews that it is often difficult to carry out any other activities whatsoever in the church.

My own parish church at home, in Bloxham, near Banbury, is in the early stages of planning for a re-ordering that should enable us, if agreed, to take out a number of pews at the back of the church to give us space for a kitchen and lavatory.

Accessible lavatories are very important if one wishes to have an accessible community building.

Having some understanding of the challenges of a re-ordering I was slightly surprised when I visited the neighbouring church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Deddington to discover that they had very successfully managed to remove all the pews, which gave the church total flexibility in how it was configures for services, concerts, housing part of the local farmers’ market, and the annual village produce show.

On enquiring from the Rector how they had managed to persuade the Diocesan Advisory Committee as to the wisdom of the total removal of all pews, I was informed that sadly, every previous pew had been struck down by Death Watch Beetle, necessitating their removal !

So I was tempted to indicate to the Archdeacon of Oxford that we weren’t going to have to trouble him to travel all the way to Bloxham as sadly and coincidentally it would appear that all the pews that we wished to remove, as part of our re-ordering, had also been struck down by Death Watch Beetle.

I recognise that on this I may be considered by some to be somewhat at the extreme end of what is acceptable to the Heritage lobby. However, I cannot help but feel personally that it is somewhat frustrating that English Heritage awarded a grant of over £1 million to St. Mary’s Banbury, a Grade One Listed church in the heart of Banbury and the heart of my constituency, to enable that church to be used as a centre for the whole community, for music, for arts, for drama, as well as a place of worship and contemplation.

Yet the Court of Arches refused us permission to remove some incredibly uncomfortable Victorian box pews, not on the grounds that they were of any particular heritage value, but on the grounds that there may well still be alive descendents of those who had purchased pew rights in Georgian and Victorian England.

I think quite often the whole process of obtaining the necessary faculties can be somewhat daunting for church communities, and I look forward with interest to hearing, later this morning, Gill Smith’s presentation on the re-ordering project at St. Nicholas-at-Wade, a project which I am sure they are able to undertake without disturbing the hanging corona or chandelier by which medieval chancels were lit and of which St. Nicholas-at-Wade is one of half a dozen examples in the country I understand.

I suspect the balance in re-ordering cases was well described recently by the Chancellor of the Diocese of Liverpool, Sir Mark Hedley, who, in a recent case reported in the Church Times, observed that the issue was how to balance on the one hand the freedom of the incumbent and the congregation to make changes to be necessary in order to encourage and assist true worship and to develop the building to meet the needs of the community and on the other the obligation of those same people as stewards to pass on inherited treasures to the next generation.

In that particular case, Sir Mark observed that the essential motive for the petition was to create a more flexible and comfortable area for worship that would be truly inclusive, seen in the context of a thriving congregation, whose needs require different styles; formal and informal and “messy”; the desire to be inclusive had to embrace those with disabilities, and that had to be seen in the context of work already done to provide ramp access to the church and accessible lavatories.

In this particular case, Sir Mark Hedley as Chancellor of the Diocese, concluded that he had “reached a clear conclusion that the proposed work was necessary for the pastoral wellbeing of the congregation.

The essential purpose of the faculty was to “enhance and enrich the life, work and worship of the people of God.”

The church was for everyone, whether members or not, the Chancellor stated, and accessibility and attractiveness for those who were not members whilst as an important feature that in the particular circumstances was not advanced by the previous arrangement of the pews.

So I think it is important that there is not a perception that the faculty jurisdiction system is there simply to prevent things from happening.

That is not the case and there are many options for churches looking to reorder their churches to take advantage of opportunities to engage with the wider community.

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division at Church House seeks to remove barriers to churches looking to extend the way they are used, through the promotion of practical case studies combined with specific advice on guidance on the legal and funding aspects of re-ordering or redevelopment schemes.

So for any church considering applying for a faculty for re-ordering, professional guidance and support is available.

Churches can also be key drivers of tourism.

The Association for English Cathedrals estimated over 48 million people visited England’s cathedrals in the four years between 2005 and 2009 and a 2009 report estimated that the value of church visits to the tourism economy could be at least £350 million each year.

Last week, I didn’t have the opportunity of visiting St. Mary of Charity, Faversham, which as many of you will know, is a large and very historic church. Small wall paintings dating back to the 1300’s, stalls with Misericords, an impressive organ case, and notable paintings of Moses and Aaron, which has recently successfully undertaken a heritage tourism project in association with English Heritage.

Nationally, there is an excellent Churches Tourism Association.

Personally, I think between us we have to do more to work out how to make understanding churches accessible to those who aren’t necessarily very knowledgeable about history in general and church history or architecture in particular.

This was put to me, I thought, rather succinctly last Friday in Sandwich. Sandwich, of course, one of the Cinque Ports, described by English Heritage as the most complete medieval town in England, but with a local economy somewhat threatened by the imminent closure by Pfizer of most of their site in the town.

So the local community are looking to other ways to help maintain the local economy, including encouraging tourism, seeking to try and get as many visitors as possible, just to stay a single more day in Sandwich than they do at present. One of those whom I met, from the Town Council, said that what Tourists wanted was “an experience”.

This is something of a challenge to us and understandable at a time when most people very often connect with history, whether, by example, the Viking Museum in York, by experiences that are audiovisual.

Sometimes, such an experience can be provided by people.

One of the churches I visited last week was St. Peter’s Broadstairs.

A fantastic ceiling in the chancel.

A wonderful graveyard.

But what is most noticeable is that within the village of St. Peter’s Broadstairs, my understanding is that there are no fewer than 180 local residents who take it in turn to dress as specific well researched characters from the history of the village, so that one goes on a village tour, in this instance, starting and finishing at the church, learning something of the living history of the village, from turning a corner to meet a 17th century smuggler, to going down to the Poor House to meet the Master of the Poor House, the Benefactor and a very inebriated resident.

I suppose the test for all of us is to imagine a tourist, from another country, possibly, who may not necessarily have brilliant English, and suppose you have 15 minutes, how in that time do we make our churches come alive, their history, their development, how to identify and describe three or four most interesting items or objects, art work or architecture in the church ?

How do we build on those connections?

Previously I had no idea that Rolls, of Rolls Royce, had been killed in a flying accident and that there is a rather stunning stained glass window of an aviator in flames in the Church of All Saints, at All Saints Eastchurch, on the Isle of Sheppey.

Opposite, in the main street, is a memorial to the early pioneers of aviation, names such as Brabazon, and Sopwith, who lost their lives in the pioneering days of flight.

How as a community does one bring such themes together to make them living history?

There was a period when churches sought to do this through Son et Lumiere. I am not quite sure why that trend died out.

Sometimes I think our church guides focus on the technicalities of church architecture rather than on making the history and fabric come alive.

Not easy.

However, as in most communities the church is not only the oldest building but will very often within it bear testament to the history of the community. For anyone wanting to try and understand what has made a particular area what it is, the local parish church is always going to be a very good starting place, and thus a key link to the community’s tourism potential.

In seeking to ensure that our church communities and church buildings engage as fully as possible with local communities, we are simply seeking to do that which the church always did.

In his “A Companion to the English Parish Church”, Stephen Fira, under the entry “Church and Community” observes “ . . before the Reformation, the church was usually the only public building in a parish which could accommodate large numbers of people.

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that whilst the Chancel was the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Nave was the parish hall.

Unconsecrated and effectively beyond the jurisdiction of the parish priest, or bishop, the Nave was a focal point of community life, second only to the church porch.

On weekdays, business was transacted there, agreements negotiated, disputes resolved, or otherwise, and in many parishes, it was the meeting place of the Manor Court.

Such activities were even advertised from the pulpit on Sundays . . . .

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Parliamentary candidates were even formally adopted in the church Nave.

Medieval parish churches must have been wonderfully colourful, noisy places. Pillars and walls were brightly painted, as were memorials, doors and furniture, though at the time church Naves rarely contained benches or pews.

When the weather was fine, disputants would repair to the North, unconsecrated, side of the churchyard to settle their differences, but in inclement weather or when public witness was required, they would join with others in the Nave and the noise of protestation, negotiation and on occasion altercation must have been far removed from the hushed calm of today’s parish churches.

Towers were often pressed into service as school rooms

. . . aisles were sometimes added to the Nave to accommodate the activities of parish guilds, whose functions were as much secular as religious.”

Starting from Land’s End on 19th May, the Flame will make its way across the country through 1,018 villages, towns and cities with over 95% of the population being just 10 miles of the Olympic Flame next summer.

In North Oxfordshire, this means that the Flame will come through Bicester on Day 51, when it will be making its way from Luton to Oxford via Milton Keynes.

Travelling by different methods of transport including horseback, bicycle, tram and steam-train, the Olympic Torch Relay will also include exciting moments with extreme heights, high speeds and breath-taking spectacles.

Local MP Tony Baldry said, “I am delighted that Bicester and North Oxfordshire will be able to play a part in this historic occasion. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the whole community to come together to celebrate the countdown to the Olympic Games and would urge everyone in Bicester to start thinking about the ways that we welcome the Olympic Flame in a truly local way.

“It is a real shame, however, that the Torch Relay will not be coming through Banbury as well. As I understand it, LOCOG set out to ensure that 95% of the population will be within 10 miles of the Olympic Flame when it comes to a nearby area next year. Working out the route is of course something of a logistical nightmare and although many in Banbury will understandably be disappointed, I think it emphasises the need to ensure that any celebrations planned in Bicester will invite neighbouring communities in and around Banbury to come along to cheer on the inspirational individuals from the area that will carry the Olympic Torch through the streets of Bicester.”

To see the full route of the Olympic Flame, you can use the interactive map available at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap.

Boasting a wide array of high-profile speakers, this will be the first year for the Faith Fest, which will take place in the heart of Bloxham at St’ Mary’s Church.

Authors including Michael Dobbs, William Fiennes and 91-year old P.D. James will be speaking about the role of religion in their work whilst Professors Gordon Campbell and David Crystal will discuss the King James Bible to celebrate its 400th anniversary. Wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury and renowned writer Dr Jane Wiliams will also speak about her book ‘Faces of Christ’ which explores the works of art produced over the centuries which portray Jesus’ life.

On the Saturday evening, producer Tony Jordan of ‘Eastenders’ fame will be speaking about his version of “The Nativity” which aired on the BBC last Christmas whilst on Sunday evening a special ‘Songs of Praise’ service will be taking place during which a number of hymns suggested by the speakers will be sung, accompanied by the Hook Norton Brass Band.

There will also be a special church service on the Sunday morning, during which the Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, will be speaking about his recent book and in the afternoon there will be a performance of Grimm Tales by Canon Edmund Newell, Sub-dean of Christchurch Oxford and Jeany Spark, of BBC1’s ‘Wallander’ fame.

Book signings will also take place throughout the weekend in a special marquee next door to St Mary’s where local authors will also be selling their books.

Member of the Organising Committee and local resident, Tony Baldry MP said “Organising the Faith Fest has really been a community effort involving many people from the ‘Friends of St Mary’s to the Bloxham WI, the Bread and Milk to the Hook Norton Brass Band. It is hoped that it will become an annual event in the life of Bloxham and the wider community and I would encourage all those who are free this weekend to come along and enjoy the Faith Fest and all that it has on offer.”

Tickets are on sale at Bloxham Post Office, Jaffe & Neale and Books & Ink, or at www.bloxhamfaithfest.co.uk and can also be purchased on the day at St. Mary’s Church, Bloxham.

For more information, visit www.bloxhamfaithfest.co.uk.