THE PARISH CHURCH OF STOKE
DAMEREL (ST. ANDREW & ST. LUKE)

For the 10.00am Parish Eucharist  for today click here

Rector: Revd Keith Robus RN
Telephone No: 01752 509724

Email: keith.robus@btinternet.com
www.Stokedamerel.church
www.facebook.com/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 15th May               5th Sunday of Easter

THIS WEEK'S READINGS IF YOU ARE ILL OR NEED TO GO INTO HOSPITAL
Please ring for support:-
Revd Keith: 509724
Wendy: 218432
Liz: 509852

Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms
are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
The sick:-
James,  Revd Peter Warland, Jean, Claire, Maureen.
The long term sick and infirm:-
Terry and Pat, Janet, George and Audrey, Michael.
The Ministry Team:-
Father Keith, Ruth and Wendy.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CANDLE

If you would like to have the candle lit for a week
for a particular prayer / thanksgiving /
commemoration, etc., please send a £5 donation to
Debbie Smith, clearly marking your donation as
being for the candle. Details of your intention can
be emailed to:- sarah.lundstrom@virginmedia.com
so that a mention of the commemoration, etc., can
appear in the Sunday Sheet.
This week the candle burns for Jean Bowser in
memory of her husband, Brigadier Peter Bowser
CBE. Peter loved his church so much.

RECTOR’S RAMBLINGS
Stoke Damerel Parish Church is a hybrid church
open for public worship and private prayer and all
services will be live streamed.

By attending a live streamed service, you give
implied permission to have your image captured
on CCTV and to be broadcast as participant in the
liturgy.

Sung hymns and organ music
The Church of England, working with St Martin
in-the-Fields and the Royal School of Church
Music, is delighted to be providing a resource of
rights-free music for use on streamed services.

In order to watch the livestreamed services please
‘click’ on this link to
make your way to YouTube site:
https://www.youtube.com/c/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 15 May                        Easter 5
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Holy Eucharist

Wednesday 18 May
1000 Morning Prayer – not streamed

Sunday 22 May                        Easter 6
0800 Holy Eucharist
1000 Sung Holy Eucharist
1500 Tango Sonoro – a Jeanie Moore MVO event

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll Platinum Jubilee.
Suggestions have been made and what I propose is
this:
Pentecost Sunday 5 June after the 1000 Parish
Eucharist, we have a bring and share lunch. This
might be either in the churchyard or church (if wet/
cold). We could sing British songs from the three
countries and the Principality, some sea-shanties
and further suggestions we dress in red, white and
blue; and decorate our own place setting.
Jubilee Peel Our bell ringers will ring a full peel on
Saturday 18 June as they have so rung for every
one of HM’s Jubilees. Our thanks to them!

IT issues at the Rectory
An update – all is in a much better position, but I
am still behind with replies.
Do be patient.

Ten Tors Challenge
It was a great privilege to be part of an enabling
team up on the moor in support of TT22. We were
six in number of all ranks and rates and provided
above all safety and security for all young people
who took part. I was so pleased for the first team to
arrive were from Devonport High School for Boys
out to gain their Bronze 35 miler looking keen and
determined to come first. There were also those
who asked to be removed from their team, mostly
due to blisters and exhaustion. On arrival I urged
them to drink, eat and review their map-reading to
ensure they were on the right compass track. As
part of the RN support team, we soon made use of
a flagpole (usually used to fly a red flag to warn of
live firing) and fly the White Ensign. The whole
feel of the event was positive, the chance to
demonstrate triumph over adversity and a good
news story for youth.



Father Keith and Simon Applbee, who is a fellow
chaplain at City College.

Walsingham Festival at Exeter
As part of the celebrations to mark the centenary
of the restoration of the Shrine and of pilgrimage
by Fr Hope Patten, the Image of Our Lady of
Walsingham will be leaving the Holy House and
travelling to the West Country for a Regional
Festival in Exeter Cathedral. The procession of the
image from the Guildhall to the Cathedral will be
accompanied by an unarmed Guard of Honour
from TS EXETER – the local Sea Cadet Unit. As
their Corps Chaplain, I will be in attendance. The
sung Eucharist in the Cathedral will be a great
experience and a chance to gain something of the
Walsingham experience.

Family Fest Southwest
Family Fest Southwest is an opportunity to gather
together with other families and share a weekend
of activities, games, workshops, music and
worship.
It has been running since 2016 and I have been
asked to help with the experience in order to
promote this evangelistic and fun time in our
parish. The event is held at Dart Valley Country
Park from 10-12 June (I will be back for our
Sunday Services). Should anyone wish to view
further information please do have a look at the
website www.familyfestsouthwest.com
Father Keith

PCC MEETING: THURSDAY 19 MAY
The PCC will meet at 7.30pm in Stoke
Damerel Church.

NEW READING GROUP
We are thinking of starting a reading group.
It could be a good way of meeting socially and
reading different books. If anyone is interested
please contact either Wendy or myself.
We are planning to have a quick chat after the
10am service on the 22nd to see if this is feasible
and if so to arrange a first meet.
Hope to see you there.
Happy Reading
Christina

CHURCHWARDEN'S WARBLINGS
Strange message
I am wondering if anyone else received this text
PLUS phone message on Monday?
I have never received such a message before.
This is a TEST of Plymouth City Council’s
Emergency Notification Service.
No action Is needed. For information on the
service visit
plymouth.gov.uk/emergencies.
It was quite creepy because it arrived on May 9th ,
the day the Russians celebrated their
victory over the Nazis with their usual big military
parade and show of power in Red Square. There
was an expectation that it might herald
a further escalation of the invasion of Ukraine.

Exciting invitation
Our esteemed Father Keith has received an
invitation to attend a Garden Party at Buckingham
Palace on Wednesday next. I am sure we are all
delighted for him and wish him a super experience
and lots of cake and tea (with decent milk)!!

Moorland Adventures
Last Sunday, Father Keith arrived in heavy
disguise. Lesley insisted she could not see him!
He had been on Dartmoor with a team of military
hard men (including Gurkhas) to set up a staging
post for the Ten Tors challenge: the first for several
years. He put up his tent in church to dry out, and
we took the opportunity of taking several photos of
him in his gear. This long hike, of varying
distances, is a wonderful experience for young
people. Character building.


Very busy weekend
On Saturday evening the Legacy choir together
with part of the university choir and musicians
presented a super and very varied concert. The
acoustics sounded superb and there was a big
audience of enthusiastic parent supporters of the
Legacy choir, in particular, who are mainly
teenagers and come from many different schools in
Plymouth. This choir has an active link with the
USA and is working towards an exchange visit
next year.


On Sunday afternoon, local composer and
musician, Clive Jenkins gave a talk about his life
and compositions interspersed with many excerpts
on his rather splendid BOSE CD player and
speaker. He is certainly a very versatile composer
and performer. He performed and sang a “mean
interpretation” of a fun jazz number in great
contrast to other classical pieces he presented. He
raised about £350 for Plymouth Music Accord, an
organisation which encourages and supports young
musicians in schools with loan / purchase of
instruments and provision of a relevant teacher. 
Rosie Chapman was a joint organiser, through the
Arts Society NADFAS who sponsored the hire of
the church.


Sheviock Church big sing
I am led to understand that the congregation of
Sheviock Church is to sing its way non-stop
through the whole hymn book in one weekend!!
We have two former members of this
congregation: Geoff Bersey and Peter Harrison. I
am wondering if they were ever involved in such
an event?

BEN HUR
Watching this space with trepidation. The theatre
company are arriving as I write. I believe there are
about 15-20 of them. I sincerely hope they do not
outnumber our audience but, as I explained to
Director Laura, we can never guarantee an
audience. Publicity is never enough: we have some
posters and flyers up in the area, the Hub website
features the poster and the Chronicle also has a
mention. Obviously the company has its own
publicity agenda. Apparently there are some sales
on the website. More to come next week when
we’ve swept up the sand and scrubbed the floor.
Chariots to be parked outside.

Setting up for Ben Hur: our church as a theatre.

Marilyn Goldsbrough


HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN MAY
Margaret Bibby, Peter Harrison, Ruth Sayers.

2022 DATES 
May 19        PCC meeting                            7.30pm
May 22        Tango Sonoro Concert         3pm
June 5          Jubilee lunch
July 2           Summer Fayre

From Ruth Sayers:
An update of the situation for our CMS Mission
Partner in Ukraine.
Since our Easter update, we have heard from
Alison our Mission Partner, that she was able to
travel back to near Kyiv in late April for a brief
trip to assess both the damage done and people’s
needs. She sent us some photos of what she saw.

Alison reported:
“It has been a very full and very emotional time
visiting the areas that have been particularly
destroyed. The first day we went round the villages
in the area where we were first based, and really
saw God’s hand of protection... Some of the
villages are almost completely destroyed; even so
we saw many older women, older people trying to
pull their lives back together, getting rid of the
rubbish and...getting what they could together to
make repairs. Plastic on the roof and that sort of
thing. Very, very sad.





“The government are promising some support but
how soon it comes through is another matter. And
we do need to pray that really it does get
distributed appropriately. We’ve been praying a
lot, exactly where God would have us to serve; we
visited an area where our Mission Partner Valery
started a church ages ago, a block of flats really,
sadly destroyed.... We have been looking for a
base where we can be and set up to stay, to serve
from in this area, praying that God will give us his
wisdom and direction
“Last night we gathered together with people from
Kyiv and had a lovely time in fellowship, and just
as we were driving people home, we heard more
explosions in Kyiv...so we can’t say that Kyiv is
quiet and the war is over yet, but we do want to
make sure we are not delaying [returning] any
more than God wants us to.
“Praise God, he gave us many important
interactions, which helped us understand how God
is leading us. Our last afternoon in Kyiv, we were
able to gather together with about 15 of our
church members who have decided to stay in Kyiv.
It was really encouraging to join together again
and share what God has been doing in us. Our
return to where we are staying was delayed
because we didn’t have enough diesel as all the
garages had run out and curfew is at 10pm. Praise
God for the church who took us in. We joined
many others on the rows of mattresses in the large
church hall.
“It was really good to be able to get back to the
rest of the fellowship [in our current temporary
location] and share our news. Thank you for your
prayers for the timing, resources and the specific
people who will be involved in different ways as
we look to play our part in restoration.
“Please continue to stand with us. We do NOT
have the strength...on our own.”

ENYS GARDENS UPDATE
Last week I reported on our traumatic outing to
Enys Gardens. Our visiting friend was initially
taken to A & E in Treliske and then to Hayle
hospital, where she was well cared for whilst the
medical team attempted to reduce the swelling.
Even with her leg hoisted up in the air, there was
little effect so, following a further x-ray, she was
returned to Treliske to be operated on again. This
has now happened, and she is undergoing
physiotherapy at Treliske. If there is need for a
period of convalescence in Cornwall, she hopes
that a return to Hayle will be proposed. Although
visiting that hospital is further for us to travel, we
hope so as well. We are getting to enjoy the local
pasties and riverside walks, which we are able to
combine with hospital visits.
Wendy, the owner of Enys Gardens, asked to be
kept up to date with progress and this we have
done. As we had only walked a small area of the
gardens on that fateful day, she invited us to return
again, without charge, to see what we had missed.
Last Saturday was a glorious sunny day so Penny
and I decided to take up the invitation. How
different the two visits were. On our second visit
the main car park was not even half full. The first
visit had been on Bank Holiday Monday and, even
with the poor weather, the overflow car park was
in use, and many people were there. Even so, the
gardens cover about 30 acres, so no area is ever
packed with too many visitors.

The house, built in the 1830’s, is the third to be
constructed on the site, although the family have
not lived there for many years. During WW2 it
was occupied by members of the Dutch navy and
later was used as a boys’ school. However,
following years of neglect, the current family
members are now trying to deal with the various
types of rot and beetle attacking the building, as
and when finance is available. Currently, the
ground floor is safe enough to be used for
exhibitions. When we visited there were four
rooms filled with the high-quality work of local
artists. Around the back is a pleasant courtyard
where hot drinks and many delicious home-made
cakes are available to purchase.
We soon discovered that early May is one of the
best times to visit Enys and last weekend the
Bluebells were at their best. These, along with
Three-cornered Leeks and Wild Garlic are to be
seen everywhere, However, the most impressive
Bluebell display is in an area known as Parc Lye
which is massive and has been undisturbed for
centuries. It is difficult to do the full extent of this
area justice with a photograph. The one below,
only shows a small part of the whole, and was
taken from the lower viewing area. The long flow
of intensely coloured Bluebells, starting from well
behind the tree on the left is like a vibrantly
coloured river rushing towards you from an unseen
distant point.

All in all, Enys is well worth a visit, but preferably,
our friend would advise, not on a damp day when
the slopes are slippery.
We will be returning, and not just for the cake!
Tony Barnard