Welcome to the church here at Marton in the Forest,in the parish of Marton cum Moxby; dedicated to St Mary,the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ; in the ancient Forest of Galtres, a Royal Forest, which William the Norman handed over to his henchmen after the Conquest, in 1066. [Which of several Martons? ….....this is Grid Reference 6060 in the Forest of Galtres....Old Norse- goltre meaning boar, and hris meaning brushwood...... our preferred derivation as it confirms our current pronunciation.]
You have chosen well to linger here at the crest of this 200ft ridge, above the Vale of York. From the north side of the church yard, our seat gives you a magnificent view of the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
You are at 'the village up the hill' to quote the 12th century Marton monks, from their abbey a mile or
so away on the River Foss.
'I lift up my eyes to the hills, but where shall I find help? My help comes from the Lord,who has made heaven and earth'
Psalm 121 [ASB]
From here, with zero light pollution, we have seen the Northern Lights-Aurora Borealis.
From here also, you can see that the exterior of the church's north wall has been built to survive the full force of northerly gales; built of rounded brown cobbles, [brought here by ice... rounded by water ];
inside is an undecorated round arch linking the nave to the chancel...dating from Norman times.[Pevsner]
Entering via the south facing porch with its short tower, you may already be aware that this place is special; it is recognised as 'A Thin Place'. The term was first used by Rev'd George McLeod from his Govan kirk, in Glasgow. He first described Iona as a 'Thin Place'and went on to inspire the rebuilding of Iona Abbey in the 1930s. So the term has come to be used for those places that are close to God, where the space between heaven and earth is …
'tissue-paper thin'.
Our forbears in the mid 1100's may have felt this when they started to build the first church in cobbles and timber, here in the forest, close to their scattered farmsteads; quite separate from the two monastic houses down by the river at Marton and later Moxby.
Little was recorded about the church at this time. It could be that community life was stabilised by the nearby abbey/priory following upheavals such as William's Harrying of the North 1069-70 and subsequent Scottish raiders..... 400 years elapsed. In the 1540's they were rebuilding the church in stone, making it secure from attack, whilst using the redundant materials from the dissolved Marton Abbey. It is intriguing to think of the early stonemasons discussing how to re-use cut stone, before deciding on crow-step gables and a castellated tower, recycling the stone acquired from pilfering or purchase; the result is the church we usetoday.We do well to thank God for their prompt action ...... before the stone was taken for use elsewhere.
[see Story of Marton].
They worked despite the uncertainties of the Reformation and the Plague hereabouts. Poverty, hardship and a poor diet made Marton folk vulnerable too. By 1587. Marton people would be virtually wiped out, leaving just the church and a mass burial ground for plague victims. which even today is left undisturbed by law. Marton became just 'the church up the hill'.
Despite these early set backs, the surrounding
farms in the parish remain closely linked to the church today by many tracks and bridleways, relying on their care and maintenance and gifts such as the gates, given in memory of one of their number.
21st century Marton is less isolated ; we use our cars...... hence the need for a new car park and a toilet to the west of the church.
21stcentury Marton is now a benefice church with 4 others here in the Forest and has a core group led by the incumbent. They are developing a style of worship based on The Celtic Tradition. Our use of this 'Thin Place' is a Centre of Celtic Spirituality.
There are services on first & third Sunday evenings at 6pm details of which are available in the church—but hesitate in the porch long enough to think of the single bell in the tower above you, weighing 1.75 cwt, 20inches across, a G#, cast in York in 1702 by Samuel Smith and as pristine as when cast... engraved -'1702 S.S.Ebor
Venite exultemus domino'
Come let us rejoice in the Lord
As bell ringers today pray:-
'May the sound of this bell which we ring to thy Glory, cheer the sick, comfort the sorrowful, warn the heedless, and call all willing hearts to prayer and praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord' Amen
Inside this church with its peaceful simplicity,the Celtic way seems right. Please feel free to just sit quietly and soak it up, using the booklets available to you in the pews. Take the opportunity to make a hot drink. You may feel like buying a book from the selection on the book shelf at the back.
Take,O take me as I am;
Summon out what I shall be;
Set your seal upon my heart
And live in me.
The Iona Community
This and other songs are sung here as part of our worship regularly—and taken with us into our homes and families. In recent summers we have held some inspirational events with those who have studied the Celtic Way including our recently retired Bishop of Selby,Martin Wallace,& Rev'd David Adam earlier from Danby and Lindisfarne , Rev'd Kate Tristran from Lindisfarne, and our recently retired Rev'd Chris Ellis who led pilgrimages, to Iona in 2010 and 2012 ,to Wales in 2011 and to Ireland in 2013,. We had a glorious weekend of song inspired by the Iona Community in 2012 and finally Lindisfarne in 2016.
The Font is where our spiritual life is made public in our baptism—the 'Surestart' of our journey. It is an early stone font...lovely to walk round and feel...and remember that in our baptism we participate in the Light of Christ, shining as his light in the world.
Circle me,OGod,Circle me O God,
Keep hope within,despair without....
Keep peace within,keep turmoil out...
Keep love within,keep hatred out... Keep calm within,keep storms without..
Keep strength within. Keep weakness out
Keep light within, keep darkness out
O my loving God-O my loving God.. O my loving God-O my loving God. The Iona Community
The chancel has been re-ordered by the removal of pine choir stalls. We can now enjoy the flexibility of chairs.... as used by our ad hoc music group; the sanctuary has been de-cluttered so that we can be part of the consecration of the bread and wine and then administer the Eucharist to each other with the words 'this is the body and blood of Christ -given for you'; whilst the music, icons, the wild goose, our hand-carved cross from Iona, and wall hangings..... focus our minds. The wild goose is the Celtic symbol of the Holy Spirit,expressing a restlessness of the spirit, not usually associated with the dove.
'Oh God, to those who have hunger give bread,and to us who have bread, give the hunger for justice'
We acknowledge that in gathering some pebbles from the beaches on Iona for example, we too have introduced alien materials to the sanctuary, the font and around the new pond outside.
I weave a silence unto my lips;
I weave a silence into my mind;
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions;
I close my eyes to attractions;
I close my heart to temptations;
Calm me O Lord as you still the storm,
Still me O Lord, keep me from harm,
Let all the tumult within me cease,
Enfold me Lord ..in your peace.
by David Adam
Finally, we do not know how the Celts actually worshiped. We are not pretending that our liturgy today has historic authenticity but we know that the Celts loved music and poetry and found solace in the beauty of God's creation.
But....don't take our word for it; come and have the Celtic experience of Marton Church for yourself; you are always welcome to join us.
We close with an Irish Blessing.... one of our wall hangings--
May the road rise with you;
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rain fall soft upon your fields;
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
And from the Scottish tradition we have .....
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
And one from Desmond Tutu
Goodness is stronger than evil;
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is ours,victory is ours,through him who loves us.
Marton Church 4.7.16---.regrettably without the music!