Author: All_Saints

One very good piece of news is that at long last the road through Portloe has been
repaired. It looks like a patchwork quilt, but no matter, it’s a great improvement. Thank
you, Cornwall Council!
We launched the first winter soup lunch in great style with a fine display of sparklers –
it was 5th November! Lin and Rachel produced two simply delicious soups and, after
cheese and fruit, we enjoyed mint chocolates with our cuppa (we know how to live
in Portloe!) Next one is 7 January – come and celebrate the New Year with us.
In addition to our Sunday services, our church building neatly transforms itself into
Portloe’s community hall. As well as meetings of, for example, the Parish Council and
the Harbour Commissioners, we host table tennis and yoga, soup lunches and concerts,
and much more. We really are benefitting from the farsightedness of those who replanned
the building nearly thirty years ago.
Our celebration of Christmas, with mulled wine and mince pies, will be on Thursday 20th
December at 7 pm. Midnight worship, Christmas Eve, 11.30 pm

How we’re all enjoying this wonderful summer weather!
(writing this, though, on 16 July we’re also enjoying the first rain
for some weeks and the garden is loving it!)
Since the last Parish News we’ve had the annual Blessing of the
Sea – Rev’d Philip’s first – and, most unusually, we were blessed
with glorious weather. We had a film crew here for an
episode of one of Rosamund Pilcher’s novels for the very
successful German TV series. The church was used as a Green
Room only, for relaxation and learning lines, not for the actual
filming.
A ‘crab and gin’ event was held in glorious sunshine in the
Ship’s garden when Portloe’s very own gin was distilled, right
there and then. This Limited Edition gin, with its own label,
will no doubt become a collector’s item. The handsome sum of
over £3000 was raised for Cornwall Air Ambulance.
On the church front we’ve been greatly appreciative of, and enjoying,
the wide variety of services provided for our ‘DIY’ services (that was Gerald’s very
apt phrase). These are led by – always! – willing volunteers. For example, Hilary recently
offered to lead the service, her mum played the organ (beautifully) and her husband
read the appointed Bible lesson. A truly family affair. We feel we’re on a good learning curve,
which is just as well as sometimes we have three DIY services in a month with five
Sundays.
It’s always good to welcome visitors and we were delighted to have young Holly with us recently.
She took great delight in helping to unpack the first of three bright blue chairs for children,
declaring it ’very nice’, and that blue was her favourite colour It’s exactly the right
height for the low table which has a selection of colouring books and crayons

Very briefly, all seems to be well on the Portloe front, village-wise and church-wise.
It’s great that the young among us are coming up with ideas for building on the enormous amount of
goodwill that already exists in our community.

New editor needed!
After many years the editor has reluctantly decided for a number of reasons that this year will be her last as editor of ‘Parish News’ – your last magazine in this format may well be December’s issue.
Anyone who would like to take on the rôle would have a free hand in the size, design and content – from the current A4 ‘newsletter’ to something a bit more ambitious. Call Christine if you’re interested: ’desk-top publishing’ can be fun!

Soup lunches ended on 5 March on a high note – such a splendid way to get together
during the winter months!
Aren’t baptisms joyful occasions these days? That of Millie Clark certainly was. The
church was absolutely full to bursting, mainly with young people, plus lots of ‘littlies’
and babies. Rev’d Philip abandoned the font, opting instead for the altar, which
meant that everyone could see what was happening. At his invitation several very young
children ‘helped’ with the baptism, young Millie blissfully sleeping throughout. At
their request Jeanette played two of the hymns sung at the wedding of Chris and Hannah,
the second one ’One more step along the world I go’ a truly celebratory finale.
But how we shall miss our beloved Jeanette and Barbara…

Contributions from parishes towards Diocesan costs was discussed at a recent Deanery
meeting. The Diocese of Truro, like all other Anglican Dioceses, provides certain services for its
parishes [these include legal and financial support and advice, training and support for parish
priests, management of clergy houses and glebe land etc].
Unlike many other Dioceses, Truro, as a new creation in 1877, has no ancient endowments, land
or investments, and is largely dependent on contributions from individual parishes to provide the
funding to run the Diocesan office and its obligations.
Currently the income from parishes is not enough to maintain the Diocese which is having to dip
into its modest reserves to balance the budget.
Recent arrangements have allowed parishes to make an offer that they feel they can afford, so
that in theory richer parishes can support those which are less welloff.
The Diocese suggests that this is not working and is asking for a cost-based system whereby each
parish pays the full amount of its ministry and other support costs.
Our cluster clergy have responded to this:
•reminding the Diocese of the many hours of volunteer time in parishes which seem not to be
acknowledged by the Diocese as ‘in kind’ support, worth, in money terms, a very considerable
amount. This of course includes the chairmen and members of numerous Diocesan committees
who give their time and expertise freely.
•The cost of ministry is known but we have no idea of the overall cost of Diocesan staff salaries and
other costs.
•Many active members of congregations are pensioners who should not be expected to bridge the gap
in the Diocesan pensions fund.
•If it isn’t good practice for the Diocese to meet the shortfall out of its reserves, it is equally unfair
to expect parishes to do so.
•Given that parishes have to work hard to generate income, maybe the Diocese could organise a few
fund raising activities of its own? .

Veryan PCC have put together a guidance leaflet regarding monuments/flowers in the churchyard. It can be read here.

First of all, last year’s news!
Our Celebration of Christmas was, as ever, a very special event with an almost capacity
crowd. In addition to the familiar Bible story and carols, we were wonderfully
entertained with music, songs and readings. As the Rev’d Philip couldn’t
be with us, his ‘slot’ was filled by a poem (see page 10of this month’s Parish Magazine).
The evening began and ended with a delicious glass of mulled wine, and, to cheer us
on our way, lots of mince pies to follow.
As usual, Pam played throughout the evening and also for our Midnight Worship on Christmas Eve
with the Rev’d Aubin de Gruchy. We were, and are, well and truly blessed.
The January soup lunch was great fun. Please come and join us for the next one on
Monday 5th February, around 12.30 pm.

The first winter soup lunch was a very jolly affair – maybe Rachel and Lin had added a
special ingredient to their delicious soups ? In addition a still warm and yummy bread pudding
appeared, thanks to Wilma – which went down a treat with a cup of tea. The next soup
lunch is on Monday 4 December—do join us around 12.30pm.
Two Christmas events in Portloe:
Celebration of Christmas on Wednesday 20th at 7 pm, with mulled wine and mince
pies, and Midnight Worship on Christmas Eve at 11.30 pm. It’s good that we will
again welcome the Rev’d Aubin de Gruchy, Chaplain to Truro School, to lead the service
and to greet Christmas Day.
The Christmas message, “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” is, perhaps, more appropriate this
year than ever before.

The very welcome news of the appointment of our priest, the Rev’d Philip
Greenhalgh, means that there are some changes to Portloe’s diary of events.
Our Harvest Thanksgiving will now be on Sunday 8th October at 10,.30 am with
harvest supper on Monday 9th at 7 o’clock. There will be posters with details –
come and join us!
Wimter soup lunches: the first is on Monday 6 November at 12.30 pm – you know
the drill, just come and enjoy.