![[Michael Kyd in action]](March/Michael-Kyd.jpg)
The Augustinian Priory in Cambridge was founded in 1092 at St Giles, near the castle. It moved in 1112 to Barnwell and was rebuilt on land next to Henry I's Royal Estate at Chesterton. There were then six Augustinian canons, but by its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1538 the number had grown to fifteen canons and sixteen secular members. The buildings were demolished (with most of the stone being used for college buildings) and only the cellarer's chequer remains. The name of the Priory survives in the Council's Abbey ward, Abbey Road, Abbey Pool, Priory Primary School and Abbey Stadium.
Abbey United Football Club was formed in 1912 (four years after Cambridge City) and played on Midsummer Common, Stourbridge Common and Parker's Piece (where, in 1848, a Cambridge undergraduate posted up soccer's first codified rules). The club also played on a pitch at a farm off Newmarket Road which was nicknamed `The Celery Trenches' because it was so rutted. In 1931 the President, H.C. Francis, offered the club a pitch and wooden stand nearby, and Abbey United took over their new ground the following year.
The club turned professional in 1946 and in 1949 changed its name to Cambridge United when it was playing in the United Counties' League. The main stand and floodlighting were added in 1970 and on 15th August that year Cambridge United played its first Football League game (against Lincoln). Since then the club has played in Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 and is currently in Division 3.
![[Michael Kyd in action]](March/Martin-Butler.jpg)
The club has a squad of twenty-three professionals and nineteen YTS trainees. The trainees live together in a purpose-built house in Cambridge with housekeeper Jackie Abbot --- that monastic connection again, although there is nothing monastic about their lifestyle! Club Secretary Steve Greenall explained: ``Basically, Cambridge United is like a little factory that takes a 16-year-old footballer and licks him into shape, plays him in the first team for two or three years and sells his registration to a bigger club.'' Billy Beall, Trevor Benjamin, Michael Kyd and Marc Joseph are all products of the youth squad and are now making appearances for the first team. Danny Glanville, who transferred to Chelsea F.C. last March, also started in the youth team. Steve commented: ``Whereas some clubs would go out and buy a player for £150,000, we would be far more comfortable spending £150,000 on the wages, food, transport, digs, healthcare and so on for nineteen trainees.'' Ricky Martin is the Youth Development Officer and David Batch is the Youth Team Manager and the trainees have the opportunity to study for a GNVQ in Sport and Leisure. Also in the professional squad is Tom Youngs, and Steve explains: ``Tom was initially with us when he was nine as a real youngster. His father died and he lived with his mum and brother. He's just turned 18 and he's a very gifted footballer. Although he was registered with us he didn't go through the youth scheme because his mum wanted him to do his A Levels. He has enough to get into University, but he is trying his hand as a footballer.''
![[Steve Greenall]](March/Steve-Greenall.jpg)
``It's a team game on the field and a team game off the field,''
says Steve. This is clear from the fact that Ian Ashbee, Davey
Williamson and Michael Kyd share a house together. Ian said: ``We've
got a house in Cherry Hinton and it's worked out pretty well so
far. We all rally around with the cooking and cleaning --- it's a nice
environment. On the cooking front Michael eats pasta all day while
Davey makes a good carbonara.'' According to Ian, the benefits
outweigh the negatives when it comes to living and working together.
![[Football-badge]](March/Football-badge.jpg){kind=icon}
The manager for the last sixteen months has been Roy McFarland, and among others in the off-field team are the physio, Ken Steggles, stadium manager/safety officer/head greenkeeper Ian Darler, and Mike Cook, the Football in the Community Officer who runs after-school soccer clubs, Colts League training on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, soccer fun days and other activities. Steve is also the Financial Controller, a job not without its challenges given that overheads exceed receipts by £8-9,000 every week.
Steve is full of praise for the staff who work at the stadium in less than ideal conditions: ``You can have fantastic buildings but useless staff. We've got useless buildings but the staff are fantastic.'' He anticipates that an application for outline planning permission will be made in the next few months and he looks forward to having a new stand and a good office and shop.
The club has support from girls and women and families as well as men. The team started off well this season but is now 16th in Division 3. For Steve the unpredictability is stimulating: ``If you knew what it was going to be like it would be almost boring. People come and pay £8 to see a dream and sometimes the dream becomes a nightmare. You just never know --- that's one of the beauties of it.''
The monks would have been saying nones at 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoons but the chant at the Abbey stadium is different now.
Cambridge United's information update: 0891 555 885.
![[John Binns]](../by/John_Binns.jpg)
The shape of living... together.
Our faith is something we do together. In fact the most important word in the Christian vocabulary is (I think most of us would say) love. This word points out that our faith is a way of drawing close to God and to each other.
![[Lily]](March/Lily.jpg)
Yet faith is both personal and unique. Nobody knows how I understand God, or what moves me, or what struggles I go through, or what hurt I receive, or what joy surprises me. Therefore to be a church which works, we need to respect each other's needs and each other's unique gifts.
These two things may seem contradictory, but it is only by recognising both that we can be a living church which enables each of us to find God and to grow in our discipleship.
Since Lent is the traditional time of growth, when we apply ourselves especially to grow in our understanding and in our commitment to God, we have devised a programme which we hope will respect the needs each of us has for a unique and personal growth, and will help us to grow together as a church community.
It will work as follows.
We recommend strongly the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book The Shape of Living by the Regius Professor of Divinity here in Cambridge, which is reviewed in this issue of Majestas. We think that it will help us to understand our lives better. But, in addition, there will be a series of sermons at the 9.30am Parish Communion during Lent which will relate the themes of the book to our life together as a specific community in our church of St Mary the Great.
In addition to reading the book (a personal activity) and to hearing the sermons (a corporate activity) we will also meet together in small groups to discuss any issues raised or questions we may have.
This programme will run through this month and the beginning of next month. I hope that you will share in it, and that you will find much to think about and gain great encouragement in your life of faith.
We pray that this Lent will be a time of new life and purpose for us all --- individually and together.
![[Cambridge in 1592]](March/Cambridge-1592.jpg)
With a large congregation and people coming to Great St Mary's from all over Cambridge and further, it is important for the church to keep in touch with its members and to know when they are in need. To this end the Neighbourhood Links Scheme has been running for many years. The Links try to act as a local focus of the Great St Mary's `community' and to be a means of contact between members and the clergy. Each Link covers an area of Cambridge and has a Link Leader who keeps in touch with members, organises occasional events, and passes on important information. After Easter the Links will be involved in a series of Holy Communion services in church member's homes around the city.
The Links are a communication and care network for all at Great St Mary's. If you are not in a Link and would like to join, or simply want to know more, please take a leaflet from church or call the Church Office (Tel. 01223 350914).
On 20th June this summer Great St Mary's will be throwing its doors open even wider than usual for an Open Day. All the City and University will be invited to come in and find out more about the many aspects of the church's life and the wide range of activities that go on here.
![[Church plan]](March/Church-plan.jpg)
Inside the church will be displays, people from various activities available to answer questions, concerts, demonstrations, guided tours and exhibitions. There will also be sideshows in the churchyard and special activities for children. Refreshments will be served.
The day will begin at 10am and culminate in a special Songs of Praise service at 5pm.
Please put this date in your diary and watch out for further details in due course.
The Parochial Church Council agreed that an application should be made to English Heritage for a grant towards essential major repairs due to be completed in the next few years.
The PCC was brought up to date on the current situation with the Michaelhouse Project. It agreed to a loan of up to £10,000 to the project to enable revised plans to be submitted to the planning authority. Favourable comments were made regarding the recent welcoming exercise. It was appreciated that this must be an continuing concern and that the congregation should not cease to be aware of the potential problems facing visitors.
The Bridge Report on the reorganisation of the Church of England's synodical government structure was introduced and discussed by the PCC. A follow-up meeting is to formulate a written response.
John Talbot, Secretary to the Parochial Church Council
Three Lent Groups are meeting this year, as indicated in the Vicar's letter. Two evening groups will meet on Mondays and Thursdays respectively, and details of times and locations are available at the back of the church or from the Church Office (Tel. 01223 350914). An afternoon group will also meet on Wednesdays at Great St Mary's. If you would like to join any of the groups please sign the appropriate list at the back of the church.
Daily services continue as usual during Lent. A `hunger breakfast' will be available after the 8am Holy Communion service on Wednesdays. In return for the light meal provided, you will be invited to contribute to a Lent fund that will be given to a chosen charity. For further details please see one of the clergy or call the Church Office.
![[St Edmund's Cathedral]](March/Cathedral.jpg)
Saturday 16th May sees this year's parish outing take place to Bury St Edmunds. All are welcome to come.
Included in the trip will be a visit to St Edmundsbury Cathedral, a meeting with the Provost, the Very Revd James Attwell (a former curate at Great St Mary's), a guided tour and an (optional) organ recital. The GSM Parish Choir will sing Evensong at 5.30pm.
There will also be time to visit other sites in Bury and to go shopping.
Travel will be by train from Cambridge Station, or by private car.
For further details please call the Church Office (Tel. 01223 350914).
The Boat Race takes place later this month and David Hollier went along to the Goldie boathouse to find out more about the preparations.
![[Rowing]](March/Rowing.jpg)
In 1825 Charles Wordsworth (son of the then master of Trinity College, Cambridge) went to Christ Church, Oxford. He rowed in a six-oar boat with Christ Church friends and Charles Merrivale invited him to join St John's eight-oar boat during his vacations. It was from this liaison that the idea of an Oxford and Cambridge University competition began. The Cambridge University Boat Club was formed in 1825, and the first University boat race took place on l0th June 1829 at Henley and attracted a large crowd. The second race was not until 1836, and this was the occasion when Cambridge's light blue colour was introduced. This year's race on 28th March will be the 144th.
The squad of eighteen oarsmen is in training for the race, and David Cassidy, current President of the Cambridge University Boat Club, says: ``It's a pretty punishing schedule of six hours a day, six days a week and six months of the year.'' The squad starts at 6am and works out for two hours on the weights or rowing machines in the boathouse, which was refurbished five years ago and now houses high-tech ergometric rowing machines and weights equipment. There are three sessions on the water at Ely a week and all-day sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Before term started they had a training week in Spain. There are still two matches on the Thames, and a week of training at Nottingham to go before the crews travel to Putney six days before the race for final training.
![[Rowing on the Ergos]](March/ErgoRowing.jpg)
This level of training requires a big energy intake. David said: ``We eat a high carbohydrate, low fat diet. It's often difficult when you're rushing between training and lectures.'' Rather than three large meals, the squad tends to have five or six snacks or small meals. A favourite snack this year is rice pudding: ``Ambrosia produce a very nice low-fat rice pudding. In previous years malt loaves, with high energy concentration, were popular.
''Weight is an important factor in rowing. David explains: ``You lean your body weight on the oar and then pile power on top of that to get an efficient leverage mechanism for moving the boat through the water. Obviously an 11stone guy doesn't have the same advantage.'' Compared with the international race time of 6 minutes, the 18 minute race requires extra power and endurance: ``We do a lot of endurance work and we do weight training, but it's very difficult to keep the weight on when you're doing all that mileage and burning up all those calories.'' The average weight in 1829 was 11st 1.5lbs. This year's crew could reach 15st 1.5lbs, which would be above the Oxford record of l4st 10.5lbs in 1990.
![[David Cassidy]](March/David_Cassidy.jpg)
New design and materials have also enhanced performance. David explains: ``Over 170 years the change in technology has been phenomenal. The wooden boats were probably very difficult to carry, but now the shell weighs 90 kilos and two people can carry it. It is made of carbon fibre. It is actually a German boat and we have a new one this term. The oars again are carbon fibre, and six years ago they came out with a new shape of oar --- a hatchet shape --- and compared with the so-called pencil blade that was used 150 years ago, it has probably tripled the area of wetted surface.''
David says: ``We started with a squad of 45, which is quite a large number. We slowly trimmed it down and now we've got the final 18 oarsmen from whom we will select the crews and two spare men.'' In the past people who had never rowed before coming to Cambridge have rowed in key seats in the blue boat. Toby Wallace, who started rowing in his first year at Cambridge, rowed in the Goldie boat last year and is in this year's squad. David emphasised the importance of college rowing: ``College rowing is a huge bonus because they can go and do some good rowing and we're keen to see that really move on. We now have a full-time coach appointed for college rowing.''
The record time is 16 minutes 45 seconds in 1984, but there are many conditions which can affect times. The tide is variable and the twisting course means that, unless the wind is straight from the east, there is a head wind on one part and a tail wind on the other. A west wind gives a head wind all the way. David said: ``It is a very beatable record, but there are so many variables. On one day out of 365 you need to get an easterly wind, a big tide and a good enough crew.''
We wish the Cambridge boat and Goldie every success on 28th March.
Anna-Louise Crofts is a member of England's Senior National Fencing Team. When she has time, she also sings in GSM's Girls' Choir.
![[Annie Crofts]](../by/Annie_Crofts.jpg)
Far from the bloodthirsty mêlée of broad swordfighting or the swashbuckling bravado of the musketeers, I study the art of modern fencing. I started when I was ten on a holiday course and, to tell the truth, I did not even know what it was at first. However, I was quickly hooked on the sport and started training at the Cambridge Cadets. I now train at the London Salle Paul club with the national foil coach, Ziemowit Wojciechowski. This high standard of coaching and competition has helped me to a senior national ranking of 15th and an under-20s ranking of 5th, leading to my place on the national team and the captaincy of the winning eastern women's senior foil team.
Fencing has become a time-consuming and expensive activity and seems to be more of a life than a hobby now. I have to juggle three A levels, choir, piano, squash and badminton (which I play for relaxation) and some semblance of a social life around three trips to London a week and at least half my weekends spent in anonymous sports centres around Britain and Europe. Even though I sometimes begrudge the restrictions fencing puts on me, I know that I could not stop now. I love it. The atmosphere that you get in team competitions is amazing, especially in the Rome Internationals, where deep-seated prejudices and jealousies on piste create enormous team rivalry and team spirit. The dependence on each other that is built up on residential courses is huge and creates strong friendships, especially in the harsher conditions. I spend three weeks of my summer holidays in Poland with my club, and the mixture of physical and mental exhaustion from the training, together with injuries, inedible food, sleep deprivation and general illness makes the weeks long and hard, but the sense of achievement that you have survived and the knowledge that you have improved make it all worth while. The discomfort is almost part of the fun, especially in the foreign competitions, where you spend a day travelling, have to wake up for a five o'clock breakfast and start competing at six thirty, only to be knocked out at nine and spend the rest of the day travelling home again. It's fun in a strange way!
![[Fencing]](March/Fencing.jpg)
There are times when you do question why you do it. Last season I almost gave up because I thought I had had enough. I spent the whole season battling with another girl for the third and final position in the Under-17s World Championship team and it came down to one final foreign competition. All the effort and heartache that I had spent was wasted at the last hurdle, as I lost everything and practically threw away the fight. At first I was mortified, as the goal that I had set my heart on for the past year had gone, right at the last moment.
But that was a year ago and I have changed my attitude now. I still want to win and set high standards, but I allow myself to enjoy it more. Take for example my recent fight with the Scottish senior women's captain, Pauline McManus. She is a very good fencer and has already beaten me this season. We were fencing really well and large crowds of supporters had gathered to watch the fight. It came to 14-12 (out of 15) to Pauline, with only 17 seconds remaining on the clock. The feeling of adrenaline, confidence and fear that came over me as I decided to go for it was incredible --- indescribable as I got the next hit, and the next, and drew the score to 14 all. I do not know how I managed to find the last hit, but the feeling of ecstasy and almost relief was awe-inspiring. It's that feeling, when the technique, speed, timing, alertness, concentration and desire for victory all seem to fit perfectly together as a whole, and the adrenaline is surging, that I really love; even if I lose the fight, if I have fought well I am pleased.
My dream is to stand on the Olympic rostrum with the gold medal around my neck and the national anthem filling the hall. This may be a little optimistic, but I am determined to reach the World Champion-ships and I see my fencing career going onwards and upwards for at least another ten years on the British and World fora.
Top: Left: Fencing requires a balance of agility and precision
A significant number of top sportsmen and women are practising Christians. Majestas asked two sporting heroes, both Olympic medal winners, how they relate their faith and sport.
![[Kriss Akabusi]](March/Kriss-Akabusi.jpg)
``Before I was a Christian, track and field was very important to me because it was a way of my saying `I'm your equal'. I was brought up in a children's home and was always struggling to say `I am as good as you. Don't patronise me.' In becoming a Christian I no longer feel the need to say these things.
``I was competitive before I was a Christian and I am extra-competitive now that I am a Christian. I realised that my ability had been given to me by God and there is a verse in the Bible which says that we are not to bury our talents. I believe God has given me this particular gift so that I can express his glory within myself but also so that I can touch other people's lives.
``As a Christian I still want to win, but not at all costs, and if I cross the line 2nd, 3rd or worse I don't have to kick the timing machine or look at someone else and feel angry with them. That is a small indication of what God has done for me over the past few years.''
![[Jonathan Edwards]](March/Jonathan-Edwards.jpg)
``In his second letter to the Corinthian Church, the Apostle Paul writes this: `Christ died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again.' ([2 Corinthians 5:15]).
``These words unequivocally view the Christian life as one of self-sacrifice, mirroring Christ's own sacrifice on our behalf. By God's grace, this is the philosophy I endeavour to implement in my athletic career and, indeed, in all areas of my life. I approach my athletics with the mind-set that I am competing for Christ, rather than for myself and my own gain. Practically, this has many implications. First, I am an ambassador of Christ and of the gospel of reconciliation to God through him. Secondly, the prize for which I am aiming is not primarily a secular one, but a spiritual one. This is not always easy, since the prizes on offer to a sportsman are very tangible and in themselves offer great motivation. And lastly, though not in terms of priority, is my character --- the way I conduct myself and whether my demeanour and actions display the reality of my relationship with God.''
The present font was added several hundred years after the church was built and owes its survival in part to the nature of its imagery.
By Dr Lynne Broughton
In 1631 Francis Martin gave three pounds towards the cost of a new font. This was duly made in 1632 by George Thompson. It therefore survives from a period of revival between the two bouts of destructiveness in the mid-sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries.
![[Font]](March/Font.jpg)
Delicately carved with Renaissance motifs, it has a simple contemporary wooden cover. Its octagonal chalice-shape is similar to many extant late medieval fonts. In 1620 the churchwardens of GSM had been fined for not keeping their font in repair. That font had probably been carved with what the sixteenth-century reformers considered `superstitious' images such as the Virgin and Child or the Baptism of Christ. These and other images can be found on fonts in other parts of East Anglia --- most of them damaged --- and there are records of many more which were destroyed. The present font's lack of religious imagery enabled it to survive a further Protestant `cleansing' of the church in the 1640s.
![[Font -- detail]](March/Font-detail.jpg)
The font's placement at the west end, near the main entrance, is a reminder that the baptism which takes place in the font is the means of entry to the Christian Church. The candidate is washed clean in the water of baptism, dies to sin and rises again to new life within the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Christ rose again from death on the first day of the week, the first day of the next dispensation of which Jesus is Lord. The first day is also the eighth day, the day in which the seven-day recurring weekly cycle is transcended, the day of eternity symbolised by the octagonal shape of the font. This also is part of the meaning of the great octagon at Ely Cathedral, which has as its crown and centre-piece the risen, glorified Christ blessing the universe that he has both created and redeemed.
This article forms part of a series describing our Church building.
![[John Biddle]](March/John-Biddle.jpg)
John Biddle, who sings in GSM's Parish Choir, talks sport with Majestas.
He is almost 16, has an impish sense of humour and attends the Leys School. John Biddle joined the GSM choir five years ago as a treble and now sings bass when school chapel commitments allow. Apart from singing, John plays the clarinet and is learning to play the organ. He plays in the band, orchestra and jazz band at school.
![[John Biddle playing Hockey]](March/Biddle-Hockey.jpg)
John also enjoys sport and plays in his year-team in hockey, rugby and cricket. He said: ``The games I play introduce teamwork, which is lacking in other things I do at school.'' Some people become over-competitive, but about this John comments: ``Winning is something I aim for, obviously, but it is not crucial for me. I like to play well and enjoy it.''
`No gain without pain' is a well-known saying in sport, and on the downside of sport John is reflective: ``It can be quite painful at times in the physical sense when you're working to near your physical limits. There's a lot of frustration in sport --- losing or under-achieving, especially on a personal level. If I feel that I can do better than I did, I find that quite irritating.''
Occasional sports include squash and sailing, and he is a leisure swimmer. John admits that he is in a privileged position, with opportunities and facilities available at school, and that it would be more difficult to take up so many sports otherwise. He is keen to try new sports. The school's two fives courts have been renovated recently: ``I haven't yet tried it but I'd definitely like to.''
By Professor David Ford reviewed by Isobel Stemp
How can one cope with being over-whelmed in modern life? In The Shape of Living David Ford sets out to answer this perplexing ques-tion. He challenges us to recognise when we may feel overwhelmed and stresses that the only way of dealing with the problem is to confront the issues by `naming' and `describing' them. The reality of our situation can then be looked at objectively and a way of coping explored.
Ford presents ways in which men and women are overwhelmed in today's society. Being engulfed and swallowed up in life is not just an experience felt by the faint-hearted, but by all types of people. He highlights how many are overwhelmed by the pressures of work and job insecurity, information overload, low self-esteem or a domineering parent or friend, as well as the beauty of nature and received generosity. He asks us to examine who or what dominates our lives and attempts to present viable escape routes to enable these negative feelings to disperse, as well as options to broaden our hearts and allow people and situations to find a place there. All the points made are rooted in the Bible and are illustrated by accounts of people's experience and the lively and thoughtful poetry of Micheal O'Siadhail.
The author also tackles the issues by bringing the reader into a realisation of God's love for us and of our need to understand and respond to it. He claims that, if we can recognise this, then a pattern for life emerges, as all our desires are now viewed in the light of God's person. He puts great store in Augustine's phrase, ``Love God and do what you like'', but does not neglect the issue that in order to love God it is essential to be alert and open to acquiring wisdom, which can be found in the Bible. He talks of Jesus in the wilderness, who, by loving and know-ing God's law, steered himself away from the devil.
Ford explores God's promises for us, in the light of our own overwhelmings. The most powerful promise is that God will offer all that is needed in life to further his purposes. However he affirms strongly that, just because we may be aware of the love of God, it does not mean that there will be no discomfort. He shuns the idea that the aim of life is to claim security and comfort as a right. If we pursue this, the will of God may be neglected and the central law of loving him pushed aside.
Throughout this book there is constant reference to the infinite power and grace of God, which Ford claims can most clearly be seen in Jesus' death and resurrection. He affirms that within this act we see the momentous nature of God at work and believe that he will always sustain and uphold those in need. In this way God enables us to know utter joy and the strength to hope that the true shape of our lives can be lived out.
The message of the book is simple, but not simplistic; it is an excellent source for Easter. With joy, Ford points to the glorious power of the resurrection as our guiding light and hope of transformation.
The Shape of Living is available from the church bookstall, price £5.99.
All events take place in Great St Mary's unless otherwise advertised.
| Sunday 1st March First Sunday of Lent |
|---|
Since this is the same from issue to issue, we have included a single copy of it on the site, as our Who's who at GSM page.
Majestas is edited by Robert Avery, Sheila Cameron, David Hollier, Philip Oswald (proofs) and John Sturdy (HTML) and published by: Great St Mary's The University Church, Cambridge CB2 3PQ, Tel (01223) 350914, Fax (01223) 426555.
Please contact the editors at the above address.
The deadline for the April edition of Majestas is 8th March, and for the May edition, 6th April. Please submit copy to the Church Office.
![[Milestone]](March/Milestone.jpg)
Can you discover the location of this object in Cambridge? Write down where it is, add your name and address and put your entry in the Majestas box in church by 31st March, or post it to Majestas, Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge CB2 3PQ. The first correct answer drawn out will win a book token for £10 donated by Heffers Booksellers.
[Next photo quiz question, and answer to this one]
For further details of the parish, including the regular service times, please see the GSM home page.