ST JOHN'S CHURCH AINSDALE
ST JOHN'S CHURCH AINSDALE
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The porch was built soon after the Second World War (around 1950). Nowadays it has noticeboards to give advance notice of church events and hold displays that relate to Church seasons of services.
This is the main body of the church where the congregation sits during the service.
The Chancel is the area where the choir and Clergy sit during services. The term Chancel comes from the Old French cancelli which were lattices, because Chancels were originally separated from the nave by a screen of latticework to prevent general access to it but not to obscure sight or sound.
The present clergy desks were bought in 1947 with £400 given by an anonymous donor. Now the vicar sits in the stall on the South and the Curate or Reader sits on the North.
The wood of the choir stalls is paler than the clergy and reader desks and the stalls were a later addition. This is where the choir sits during the services, usually with the altos and basses on the organ side and the sopranos and tenors on the non-organ side. This is how they are referred to in this Church although in Cathedrals and Churches with large choirs the North side is the Cantori side and the South Decani; each side has all four parts on it so that they can function as separate choirs.
The Sanctuary is the holiest part of the Church. It is here that the Altar is. In addition to the altar there are two chairs. The Mothers' Union gave the one on the South in October 1936 in memory of Catherine G. Exton. She was the first enrolling member of the MU branch (1906). The one on the North is in memory of Jonathon and Sarah J. Hayward and was given by their two daughters B. Hayward and E. Hill.
The present organ at St John's was installed in 1949. The previous organ was 'old and its action worn out' according to a report the year before by Henry Willis & Sons. It was recommended to the church that the organ be rebuilt completely, using as much of the old organ as could be salvaged, at a cost of £2,000. The church would have been without an organ for many weeks. Canon Anthony Dixon (vicar at the time), however, had come to hear of an organ for sale in Bristol. Henry Willis & Sons originally built this organ in 1901 for the Wills family (of Tobacco fame) in their house in Southfield Road, Cotham, Bristol. Willis rebuilt it in 1919 at which time tubular pneumatic action was fitted. It was on the first floor of the building with the blower and bellows on the floor below. The casing was made of Walnut.
The house, still containing the organ, was sold to a Mr W. Maddox who owned it until 1948 when the local authority requisitioned the house (this was because of the post-war housing shortage) in order to convert it into flats. The organ was boarded up until St. John's bought it.
The organ was purchased at a cost of £2,900, £1,550 for the organ itself and the rest to dismantle, transport and reassemble it into an organ chamber that had to be enlarged for it to fit in (we don't have an organ loft, we have an organ cellar!). Pauline Collier's book on St. John's Church (1986) quotes Canon Dixon, as commenting: "I wonder that I had the nerve or faith to bid £1550 when we had barely £100 in the organ Fund".
Henry Willis & Sons were again responsible for rebuilding the organ into St. John's. The action was renewed in 1986 (to Electro-Pneumatic action) by David Wells Organ Builders, Liverpool, a 'swell indicator' was added, the drawstops replaced, some pistons added and some stop changes were made at the request of the then organist.
Altar
In some traditions it is known as the Communion Table as Altar was and perhaps still is seen as too Roman Catholic. At St John's the main service in church on a Sunday is the Eucharist. At the Eucharist we obey Christ's command at the Last Supper to "to do this in remembrance of me". Different traditions explain the significance of this act and what happens in it in different ways. The colour of the Altar frontal varies with the Church's Seasons.
This dates from 1922 and was given by Mr and Mrs R Shaw in memory of Captain Robert Shaw, a sidesman, who had died at Ypres in 1917. It was recently renovated after a donation from Captain Shaw's nephew.
Vestries
The Vestry is a room where the Clergy and Choir robe. At St John's there are two Vestries, the Vicar's Vestry and the Choir Vestry. The term presumably derives from the Latin root vestis, a garment.
The Vicar's Vestry is where the Clergy and Readers robe before the service and their vestments (the robes that they wear during the service) are kept there. The readers wear a Cassock and a Surplice for all services and at services other than the Eucharist can wear an academic hood. The Clergy have a wider range of Vestments, at St John's the current Vicar wears a Cassock and Surplice for services other than the Eucharist when he wears an Alb and Chasuable
The wearing of Vestments and their type is an indication of Churchmanship. Within the Church of England is a wide range of Churchmanship. The Anglo-Catholics (or High Church Party) emphasize the importance of the Eucharist and use rituals and symbolism to express this while the Evangelicals (or Low Church Party) emphasize the importance of the Word, putting much emphasis on the authority of the Bible and therefore on the sermon which aims to explain and elucidate God's word. These difference stem back to the Reformation, when the Church of England and many other groups split from the Catholics.
Some Evangelicals do not see the need to wear Vestments but the argument for them is that they emphasize the Priest's role rather than his (or her) personality. They emphasize the continuity and timelessness of what is being done and avoid people being distracted by what the priest is wearing.
The Choir Vestry is where the choir robes and stores books and music. It is an addition to the original building, being built in 1923. It used to have a bell turret that contained a bell that was rung five minutes before the services, however it was unsafe and the turret was removed in the late 1980's. The bell is now in the church garden. It is still possible to see where the rope came through the false ceiling in the vestry.
The term Vestry can also be applied to a meeting about Church or Parish business, originally because such a meeting would be conducted in the Vestry. Before the Annual Church Meeting we have an Annual Vestry Meeting at which the Churchwardens are elected, but this no longer takes place in the Vestry, probably because it is not big enough.
Click HERE to see our Choir
Click HERE to see our stain glass windows