Roger Scoones' Monthly Dialogue
.
May at St
Mary's
(2010)
There is an old saying in England “caste not a clout till May is
out”, which in effect means don’t dress for Summer weather just yet,
because you can never be sure of the weather in May! As I write this I’m
glad to say that it is pleasantly warm already where I live in the North
of England, and I am tempted to ‘caste a clout’ (by the way, this is an
old English word clout, meaning a piece of metal or cloth), and to go
off to St Mary’s in the Marketplace in the old medieval town centre of
Stockport, without a sweater on! But, as always in this area of the
North West of England, it’s always advisable to take an umbrella –
because it rains a lot, especially in May!
St Mary’s is once again clad in scaffolding, rising to more than 40
metres, reaching above the pinnacles, the last of which will undergo a
full restoration – or more correctly Conservation Programme along with
the whole of the North face of the Tower. The project will proceed from
May until October. St Mary’s received the largest Heritage Grant in the
North of England this year, a total of £226,000 just for this Phase of
the project. It will lead ultimately to the conservation of the whole
Tower, which was built in 1817. Craftsmen, stonemasons working with
Lambert Walker of Oldham, have already begun work on the sandstone
finials, pinnacles, buttresses, arches, arcading, windows and the clock
face, so that by Christmas the great tower, which stands sentry over the
Town Centre will look remarkable. We know it will be safe, at last! But,
I speak too soon! Phase 4 – the Conservation of the East face and the
all-important roof, which is in a really poor state of repair, will have
to be completed; and for that we shall have to raise further funds. All
contributions to this most worthwhile and spectacular conservation
project are appreciated!
In the meantime the congregation is busy fundraising for the Flower
Festival of St Mary’s which takes place in September. Such projects
require a considerable amount of planning and preparation. There is
certainly a lot of goodwill in Stockport towards St Mary’s, especially
in the Market Place. The practical problems of presenting a Flower
Festival will be considerable in a church full of pews! But we will
surely find solutions to all the problems in due course and those which
can’t be solved we will have to live with!
In the month of May the Church celebrates or at least remembers two
important aspects of the Church’s life, The Ascension of Christ on
Thursday 13th May and Trinity Sunday on 30th May, both very significant
theological milestones in the calendar, not just for St Mary’s but for
the Worldwide Christian Church.
St Mary’s welcomes visitors from Stockport and around the world during
the year.
It is hoped that everyone who comes through our open doors will find a
warm welcome and a place of peace and comfort, but not necessarily of
warmth – because May can be a chilly month, outside, and certainly
inside St Mary’s!
Rev. Roger Scoones
Rector of St Mary’s
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