December 1934

Seagoe Parish Magazine

D E C E M B E R, 1934.

We Wish all our Readers at Home and Abroad a Very

Happy Christmas and a Bright and Prosperous New Year

CLERGY

Rev. Chancellor Archer, B .D ., The Rectory,

Seagoe.

Rev. W. F. Hayes, B. A ., The Bungalow, Lower Seagoe, Portadown

CHURCH WARDENS: Rector’s Mr. John Harrison Twinem.

Peoples — Mr. Robert McClements.

Advent, 1934.

On Sunday, Dec. 2nd, we enter upon the season of

Advent. Each year, before the season of Christmas

approaches the Church calls us to meditate upon

the Second Coming of our Lord. Advent is to be for

each one of us a time of p reparation for the celebration

of the Festival of Christmas. In the words of

the Book of the Acts of the Apostles “This same

Jesus Whom ye have seen go into Heaven shall so

come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into

Heaven.” Special Services will be held in the Parish

Church on the W Wednesdays in Advent, December 5th,

12th, and 19th at 8 p.m. On the Sundays in Advent

the following will form the subjects of special sermons

Dec. 2nd “Foreign Missions”; Dec. 9th, “The

Bible” ; Dec. 16th, “ The Church and her Ministry.

Dec. 23rd, “Th e Festival of Christmas s.” Christmas

Carols will be sung at Evening Prayer on Sunday,

December 23rd.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, December 25th, the following

Services will be held :

8 a.m.—Holy Communion.

11.30 a.m.—Morning Prayer, Sermon and Holy Communion

The offerings on Christmas Day will be given to the

Fund for the Relief of the Poor of the Parish .

New Year’s Eve

A Service will be held in the Parish Church at

8 Pm. on Monday December 31st, the last day of

the Old Year.

New Year’s Day.

On January 1st, 1935, the Festival of the Circumcision

the following Services will be held

11.30 a.m.—Holy Communion.

8 p.m.—Evening Prayer and Sermon.

The Parish Almanacs .

Two Parish Almanacs “Seagoe Parish Almanacs

and Seagoe Parish Kalendar”are now on sale at

Mr Vance’s Bridge St., and from the Superintendent

of the Sunday Schools. The price of the Almanacs

the 2d, and of the Kalendar l½ d. Each

Almanac has a text of Scripture for every day of

the year 1935. The subject of the chief picture on the

Almanac is “Pulling Together,” and on the Kalendar

There is a finely coloured picture of our Lord walking

on the Sea of Gallilee. It is entitled “Jesus calls

us. Your friends across the Atlantic and throughout the Empire will appreciate a gift of the Almanacs

for Christmas as and the New Year. It will be a daily

reminder through the year 1935 of the old Church

at home.

Armistice Day.

Falling this year on Sunday, November 11th,

Armistice Day was marked very specially by Services

a t the Parish Church. A t 10.45 a.m. a short service

was held and the 2 minutes’ “Silence” observed at

the Memorial Gates and Pillars. The Seagoe and

Carne Companies of the C.L.B. paraded and placed

a wreath at the pillars. The “Last Post” and the

“Reveille” were sounded impressively by Sergt. J.

Courtney. The names of the Fallen were read by the

Rector. At 11.15 Morning P ray e r was said in the

Church, and the Rector preached on “Three Faithful Soldiers.”

Weekly Freewill Offerings•

The new sets of Envelopes for 1935 are now being

distributed by the Collectors of Sustentation. Please

write your name on the first envelope when you bring

it in. I t will be a great help if all our subscribers

will take a set of envelopes, and of course use them .

The Church needs your liberal help. I f you feel you

can and ought to give more than you have hitherto

done please do so.

Seagoe in Omagh

On Thursday, Nov. 22nd, the Seagoe and Came

Companies of the C.L.B. journeyed by ’bus to Omagh

on the invitation of the Omagh Company of the

C.L.B. On arrival in Omagh a hearty tea was par

taken of in the Parochial Hall. The entertainment

followed under the presidency of the Rev. Canon

Cullimore, Rector of Omagh. The items were the

same as those given at the recent entertainment by

the C.L.B. lads in Edenderry Parochial Hall. Each

item was loudly applauded and created great interest.

T h e journey home was much enjoyed, and Edenderry

was reached shortly after midnight. The visit of

Seagoe C.L.B. h a s given great encouragement to the

lads in Omagh. Captain Mitchell was in charge of

the excursion.

SEAGOE PARISH MAGAZINE

Service of Intercession.

On Sunday morning, December 9th, a t 11.30 a.m.

a special Service of Intercession will be held in the

Parish Church to ask for guidance in the choice of

a new Bishop for this united Diocese. The Service

has been arranged by the Lord Primate. The Diocesan Synod for the election of the new Bishop will

be held in the Wellington Hall, Belfast, on Tuesday,

Dec. 11th. T h e Parish of Seagoe sends four Lay

representatives to the Synod. They are Messrs.

J . G. Gracey, R. M 'Clements, James Twinem and

Thomas Martin .

A n n u a l Subscriptions.

Envelopes for the Annual Subscribers are now

being distributed. The heavy expenditure on the new

Burial Ground has to be met, and generous gifts

from our annual Subscribers will help materially to

reduce it. All communications regarding the supply

of Envelopes should be addressed to Mr. M. Gilpin,

Drumnagoon, or to Mr. H ugh Stoops, Killicomaine

Road.

The Annual Report.

The Annual Report is now in circulation through

the Parish . t contains a clear and complete statement of the Sustentation Fund Account up to Dec.

31st. 1933, and of other accounts up to Easter Day,

April 1st, 1935. I f any errors are noticed please communicate with the Hon. Sec., Mr. Moses Gilpin, of

Drumnagoon.

Christmas Fair.

A Christmas Fair will be held in Seagoe School on

Thursday, December 13th, and Friday, December 14th.

I t will be opened by Mrs. Callender Bullock a t 3.30

on Thursday. A strong committee has been formed

to make all arrangements for the Fair. A splendid

program me of events has been drawn up. Stalls

of various kinds will be erected round the rooms.

There will be a Cake Stall, a Flower Stall, a Work

Stall and a Confectionery Stall. A Christmas Tree

will delight the young people, and Father Christmas

will be there to distribute the good things from the

Tree. A Sports Room is also, being arranged, with

competitions of all kinds. The charge for admission

will be 6d on Thursday afternoon (children 3d), and

on Thursday evening and Friday evening 3d each.

The Fair will be open from 3 to 6, and from 7 to 10

on the Thursday, and from 7 to 10 on the Friday. The

proceeds will be divided equally between the Fund

for C.L.B. Uniforms and Parochial expenses.

Our Sunday Schools.

December 2nd, Advent Sunday, is an important

day in all our Sunday Schools, for on it the new

Calendar commences. The Calendars (Id each) cover

the subjects for the whole year for Morning and

Afternoon. The Books of Notes for the Teachers

(1/6 each) are by the late Archdeacon Wynne, who

was for many years Rector of Holywood, Co. Down.

Archdeacon Wynne preached on several occasions in

Seagoe Church. He was a most thoughtful and diligent student of Holy Scripture, and his Notes on the

Lessons are most helpful.

Seagoe P .E . School.

Owing to the prevalence of scarlatina in Portadown

and the neighbourhood all the local schools were

closed for three weeks on the advice of the Medical

Officer of Health. The epidemic seems now to have

abated. Fortunately, it was not of a serious type,

and we are thankful to say there were no fatal cases.

Seagoe P.E. School h a s always possessed a high record of health and it escaped comparatively well in

the recent epidemic. There is a no table improvement in the health of the community, due undoubtedly to the more careful observance of the rules of health .

G .F S. Jubilee Sale.

On behalf of the Misses Sarah Montgomery, Mabel

Best, May Bell, Agnes M 'Clements, Margaret Webb,

and herself, Mrs. Scott wishes to take this opportunity of expressing their sincere and hearty thanks

to all those who kindly gave contributions and gifts

to the above sale. At this sale, which was very

successful and at which Mrs Scott and Miss Sarah

Montgomery acted as stallholders, over £100 was

realised. T h e next meeting of the Seagoe Branch

G.F.S. will be held in Seagoe School on Monday, 17th

December, a t 8 p.m. An address and musical items

will be given and a full attendance is requested.

Edenderry Harvest Service.

The last of our Harvest Services was held in the

Parochial Hall on Sunday, November 4th, and Mon

day, Nov. 5th. A t both Services there were large

attendances. The preacher on Sunday was the Rev.

Canon Hurst, Rector of Moira, and on Monday the

Rev. J . Hamilton, Curate of Donacloney. The

musical portion of the Service was in the capable

hands of Miss Hilda Walker, and the choir sang the

Canticles and a Harvest Anthem very sweetly and

with great taste and devotion of spirit.

Choir Social.

On Thursday, Nov. 8th, the choir attended a social

in Seagoe School, on the kind invitation of Mr. T.

H. Wilson. A very pleasant evening was spent and

games and music filled up the evening. The choir

of Seagoe is now very large and capable, and the

musical portion of the services is rendered with great

heartiness and devotion. Few country choirs can.. "'we

think, compare with that of Seagoe in numbers and

efficiency and this is largely due to the untiring efforts

of our veteran organist, Mr. Wilson, who after his

more than 60 years of service seem s as keen and active as ever.

SEAG0E PARISH MAGAZINE

Parish Register for November.

Baptism .

Reid, Nov. 3rd. 1934, Charles William , son of John

Robert and Vera St. Clair Reid, of Portadown.

Sponsors—Charles Sinclair Kirk , John Robert

Reid, Margaret Jane Reid.

Private Baptism

Carville—Nov. 13th, Kenneth Valentine, son of

Valentine and Sarah Carville, of Killicomaine.

Burials .'Forbes—Nov. 7th, Thomas William Forbes, of Hacknahay , aged 35 years.

Lewie—Nov. 25th, Joseph Lewie, of Levaghery, aged 80 years.

Hall—Nov. 29th, Thomas John Hall, of Castlebellingham , Co. Louth, aged 72 years.

Sympathy,

We desire to express our sympathy and regret at

tie losses sustained by several families in and connected with the Parish during the past month .

Thomas William Forbes had acted as resident careaker of Hacknahay School for some years past. For

sometime he has been in poor health from a painful illness to which he succumbed early in the month ,

He leaves a wife and little child to mourn his loss,

Joseph Lewie was one of our oldest and best known

parishioners. He lived his whole life in Levaghery,

'here his family has been settled for many generations. He was a most diligent and careful worker

and was highly esteemed by all who knew him .

His funeral was very largely attended . We sympathise

very deeply with Mrs. Lewie and his family in their

sorrow. Thom as John Hall, although absent from

his Parish for many years, was a member of the Hall

family of Keman . He was a most honoured and

trusted employee of the G.N. Railway. He had the

responsible post of station master at Castlebellingham

for more than thirty years. H is Rector, the Rev. Canon

Leslie, D.Lit., accompanied the funeral to Seagoe,

said of Mr. Hall that he never had a kinder or

more genial parishioner. A large number of the Rail

way employees from Dundalk and Castlebellinghom

also attended the funeral. We express our sincere

Apathy with his brother, Mr. Sam Hall, and with

Mrs Hall and Mr. Tom Hall in the loss they have

sustained.

Seagoe Mothers ’ Union.

There was a large gathering at the meeting of the

Seagoe School on Tuesday, Nov. 13th. The

Rev. W. F. H ayes gave a useful address on “The

Church and her Services.” Seven new members were

admitted by the Rector and received their cards of

membership. The members have arranged to attend

in a body the Advent Service in the Church on

Wednesday December 12th, a t 8 p.m. The ordinary

meeting will not be held this month.

G .F .S .

On Monday, Nov. 19th, a meeting of the G.F.S.

was held in Seagoe School. There was a large attendance, and a most interesting programme of readings and recitations was carried out. As announced

elsewhere, another meeting will be held this month .

25 Years Ago.

DECEMBER, 1909.

In this old issue of the Magazine seven Baptisms

and recorded, one Marriage and one Burial. Among

the preachers at the District Harvest Services were

the Rev. F. J . Halahan at Hacknahay , Mr. McKenzie

at Tamnificarbet, an d Rev. W. H. Shire, of Aghalee,

at Carne. It is noted that Mr. Wolsey Atkinson and

Mr. George Calvert had created a record by visiting

the whole parish in a fortnight on behalf of the

Rectory Purchase Scheme. Seagoe Harriers had arranged a marathon road race from Lurgan to Portadown on Dec. 27th. A presentation was made to Mr.

E Ernest Holland on the occasion of his leaving to reside in the United States. Among the Baptisms appears the name of Robert Stew art Blacker, baptized

by the Right Rev. J. B. Crazier, D.D., Bishop of

Down.

Old Seagoe Notes.

Seagoe in 1890 “The foundation stone of the chancel of Seagoe Church is to be laid on Friday, 11th

April, 1890, by the Baroness Von Stigelitz, of CarrickBlacker. This is an important portion of the extensive and elaborate improvements designed by Mr.

Thomas Drew, R.H.A., and which are now being carried out under his direction by the Messrs. Collen

Brothers, of Portadown. The following architectural

notes supply a graphic sketch of these interesting

operations: The parish church of Seagoe, built in

1814, to take the place of an older one, was not of an

architectural character: although it Is recorded that

it had an architect, by name J. Brownlee. It was

simply, in the manner of that day, an - ugly, plain,

four-square room, of large dimensions, 70 feet long by

30 feet wide, and having a flat ceiling, concealing

an ordinary roof of low pitch , and it had a, gallery of

the usual plain an d unsightly sort. A more unpromising building to be recast in to architectural form,

according to more modern standard of taste, could

not well be conceived. It was too short, too wide,

and too low in its proportions, and there was not even

sufficient room at the east end to lengthen it by extending a chancel. With generous expenditure, however, much is possible, and it is somewhat satisfactory that the substantial old church, built with much

courage an d Churchmanlike spirit in a depressing

time seventy-six years ago, and which has known

three generations of worshippers, is not to be done

away with. Seagoe Church will b u t illustrate forcibly

the advance that h a s been made from 1814 to 1890 in

good architecture, in wealth, and the facilities for its

SEAG0E PARISH MAGAZINE.

production, in the better ordering of church services,

and the latter-day feeling among a ll Churchmen

that in the adornment and furnishing of the House

of God, and thoughtful care for the decency and convenience of worship, even the best that can be offered

is but unworthy. The first care in the improved

church h a s been to provide a worthy chancel. It has

been devised by extending its eastern wall as far as

the church yard boundary would permit, and by taking some length from the nave. The plans provide

thus for a well-proportioned chancel, 25 ft. long by

17i ft. wide, opening to the nave with a lofty chancel

arch, and on the north and southsides, with like

arches to the organ-chamber and vestry, and a lateral

aisle respectively. The chancel is a memorial, and

the last-named feature, while it gives additional seating room, would be specially suitable as a kind of

chantry for monuments or memorials of the founders.

The parishioners’ addition to the church consists of

a southern aisle 37½ ft. long and 21½ ft. wide, and giving 200 additional seats. It opens into the nave with

three lofty pointed arches, and gives additional architectural character and interest to the here to fore four

square building. The remains the nave of the some

what unusual proportion of 65 ft. of length to 30½ ft.

in breadth, to be brought into architectural character

with a low pitched roof, which i t would not be desirable to raise higher. It was at first proposed

merely to remove the ceiling and case up the old roof,

and make it as fairly presentable as possible. By

the additional generosity of the Baroness Von Stieglitz, however, a new roof and a handsome one is

found; and the architect has met the difficulties of

proportions by adopting a treatment in the manner

of fifteenth century architecture, which lends itself

to lower pitched roofs and widerspans. The roofs

of the nave, aisle, and chancel are accordingly of a

design not usual in other churches in the diocese,

four-centred arch framing springing from hammer

beams, and all richly moulded and peculiarly massive, and bearing the character of old examples of

fifteenth century English roofs. They will be of pitch

pine, left untouched after the carpenters’ tools, with

out varnishing, it being found, that pitch pine treated

in this way assumes in time an appearance as pleasing as that of old oak. The old vestry, on the north

side, becomes a spacious and imposing porch, encased

and adorned with cut-stone dressings, buttresses, and pinnacles. The windows of the new additions, a

well as the old openings in the nave wall, will be

large and handsome traceried stone windows, designed

in the same consistent “perpendicular" style as the

rest of the work, and specially adapted for effective

filling with stained glass at a future day. The new

seats will of course be open, and of the best kind

according to modern ideas for convenience of worshipping another mark of the advance of Church feeling

from 1814, when a box enclosure for each family

with high and straight backed sides and a torturing

knifeboard seat, was strangely considered an unobjectionable, and in fact even orthodox, disposal of

congregation supposed to have assembled for mutual

sympathy and common worship. Dumfries red sand

stone is used for the windows and other portions of

wrought stonework! externally, and Bath stone for the

interior. Messrs. Collen Bros., of Portadown. have

undertaken the contract for the work a t a cost (

about £3,000. Mr. Thomas Drew, F.R.I.A., hon. diocesan architect, has designed the additions and improvements.”

The above is an extract from the Ecclesiastic!

Gazette for April 4th, 1890.

SERVICES—The PARISH CHURCH

HOLY COMMUNION 1st Sunday after Morning

Prayer; 3rd Sunday at 8 a.m., and on the Chief

Festivals.

HOLY BAPTISM— 1st Saturday of each Month at 3

p m and during any Service in the Parish Church,

notice be given; Two Sponsors at least are required

and they must be Confirmed Members of the Church.

Churchings are held at each Baptism. Mothers are

expected to bring a thanks offering.

(See Book of Common Prayer.)

MORNING PRAYER- Sundays and Chief Festivals,

11-30 a.m.

EVENING PRAYER—Sundays, 7 p.m

DISTRICT SERVICES

Hacknahay—Last Sunday : of Month at 3-30pm.

Drumgor—second Sunday of Month at 4 pm

Edenderry—Wednedays at 8 p.m.

CLASSES, &c.

BIBLE CLASS FOR MEN in Edenderry on

Sundays at 10 a m.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS 10 a m. Edenderry Parochial

Hall and Seagoe School. 3 p.m. Seagoe, Edenderry

Parochial Hall,

Levaghery, Hacknahay, Carne, Drumgor, Bocombra.

MOTHERS' UNION—2nd Tuesday of each month

at 7 30 p.m.

CHURCH LADS' BRIGADE in the Parochial Hall

on Tuesdays and Fridays.

GIRLS' FRIENDLY SOCIETY in Seagoe School on

Mondays at 8 p.m.

SEAGOE P.E. SCHOOL, 9-15 a.m. Principal—Mr.

R. Scott.

MARRIAGES must be performed between 8 a.m. and 3 p m. Licenses are issued by Rev. Canon Hannon,

Rectory, Lurgan. Due notice (48 hours) must be given to the Rector of intended weddings. FEES—BY License—

Labourers 5/- Tradesmen 10/—, Merchants and Farmers 15/-, Professional, By Banns 5/-. FUNERALS will be

attended by the Clergy if proper notice be given. SICK CASES should be notified to the Clergy without delay,

FEES FOR CERTIFICATES BAPTISM 3/7, Children (Factory) 1/- and 2/- (non-residents); MARRIAGE 3/7.

An extra Search Fee is chargeable in certain cases

It will be a help to the Clergy if they are notified of the

arrival of new Church families in the Parish.

A copy of the Magazine will be sent post free to any subscriber for 3/- per annum.