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Faith & Flowers 

The Magazine of the Church of England 

Flower Arrangers’ Association 

Issue 19 – July 2018

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Letter from the Editor 

The A.G.M. 2018 was a great success. The weather was fine, over 

50 members attended, the day was organized with educational 

precision and the fellowship and friendship was palpable. Added 

to all this a great deal of decision making was done in an 

extremely amicable way. 

Especial thanks are due to those who left home early in the 

morning to meet those of us who travelled to London by train. 

On behalf of the membership I send thanks and congratulations 

to the London Branch. 

This edition contains details of the major decisions made at the 

A.G.M. It is important that you acquaint yourselves with the 

names of the new officials and the constitutional and 

organizational changes which have been made. 

You will notice that the last page does not contain the usual 

details of articles for sale. The Association sales strategy is one 

of the subjects which will be discussed at the meeting of the new 

Council in September. The decision will be set out in the October 

edition of the magazine as will the details of officials, Council 

members, and branch officials. In the mean time anyone wishing 

to buy an apron or tabard should contact our new Chairman, 

Averill Lovatt, whose address is on the inside front cover. New 

members who have not received a prayer card should also contact 

Averill to get a free card. Best wishes to you all. 

Ruth 

Stop Press: Urgent reminder from Naomi 

Members who have not yet paid their £10 subscription, due on 

April 1st, should send it as soon as possible to: 

Mrs. Naomi Hadden, Church Lodge Cottages, 

10A Church Road, Liverpool L24 4BS 

1


Greetings from Barnet, Hertfordshire! 

Dear Friends, 

At the beginning of the month, the London Branch of CEFAA 

hosted the National AGM in St. John the Baptist Church in 

Barnet. Members travelled from Derbyshire, Nottingham, 

Yorkshire, Liverpool, Bolton, Birmingham and Warrington as 

well as from the London area. Fellowship, friendship and a 

healthy dose of fun were enjoyed by some 58 members after the 

business of the day had been concluded. We shared a meal 

together before watching an excellent demonstration given by 

Anita Lindeman, a talented arranger from St. Albans. All too soon 

the day had ended and our visitors were taking their leave, 

catching trains or making their way towards the motorway for 

the return journey home. My thanks to my many fellow branch 

members who so kindly helped with welcoming our visitors, 

transport details, flowers in church and on the dining tables, 

refreshments, stewarding and general organisation of the day; it 

was a brilliant team effort and showed exactly what CEFAA is 

all about! 

I feel very honoured to have been asked and am proud to accept 

the position of CEFAA Chairman for the next three years and 

will endeavour to encourage members in the wonderful work 

which is done week by week in churches the length and breadth 

of England. My sincere thanks go to Ada, Naomi and Roger for 

their hard work as Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary over a 

considerable number of years. At the AGM they were each 

presented with a rose as a token of the Association’s appreciation 

of their faithful service. May the roses thrive and bloom in their 

gardens for many years to come. We welcome Sonia and Laurie 

as new Treasurer and Secretary of CEFAA. 

2


Perhaps this is a good opportunity to tell you a little about 

myself... I was born and brought up in Sutton Coldfield, in the 

West Midlands. I first became interested in flower arranging 

some forty-five years ago when we had a workshop at our weekly 

Girl Guide meeting, but it was not until about fifteen years ago 

that I was asked to help with harvest festival flowers, and so 

began my involvement with church flower arranging. I am very 

grateful that a member of the congregation introduced me to 

CEFAA and I have been a member for eight years now. 

For almost thirty years I was a primary school teacher, spending 

the last few years as Deputy Headteacher and SENCO. I 

thoroughly enjoyed my job until I retired six years ago to look 

after my grandchildren and pursue some of my interests. I am an 

enthusiastic member of Barnet U3A, enjoy the theatre, travelling, 

gardening and my allotment. Over the coming months, I look 

forward to meeting many CEFAA members. 

Enjoy the summer days and happy flower arranging! 

Averill Lovatt 

3


4 

A.G.M. 2018 

As Roger was going on holiday immediately after the A.G.M. he 

had no time to write his report for the magazine. This, therefore, 

is simply a list of the main changes agreed upon by the members 

in London on June 2nd. 

1. Officials. 

Mrs. Hillary Brian National President 

Mrs. Averill Lovatt National Chairman 

Mrs. Sonia Kingsland National Treasurer 

Mr. Lawrence Little National Secretary 

The position of Vice-chairman will be discussed during the 

Council meeting in September. It was proposed that there be a 

time limit of three years for any National Officer although reelection 

for a second term would be possible if the office holder 

was willing to continue. Discussion based on Article 8 of the 

Constitution. 

2. National President. 

Article 3b of the Constitution. 

Because of the difficulty of finding an ordained minister to act 

as President it was proposed and accepted that the words “a Clerk 

in holy orders” be deleted from the Constitution allowing a lay 

member to become President. Hillary Brian was appointed 

President. 

3. Council Members. 

The meeting agreed to ask Council to seek nominations for the 

election of up to four additional Council members to be elected 

at the 2019 A.G.M. If the Council is to be increased to 13 

members it was proposed and accepted that the number needed 

for a Quorum at a Council meeting be raised from four to five. 

A copy of the Revised CEFAA Constitution will be presented to 

the National Council and published to members in the Autumn.


4. Finance (see page 6) 

National Council had agreed to keep the annual subscription to 

£10 while there is still a reasonable reserve fund but falling 

numbers mean our income will be reduced by £200-£300. 

5. Membership 

Currently 237 Registered members. 

12 new members gained but 39 lost. 

It is imperative to attract new members and retain existing 

members. 

6. Data Protection 

Averill Lovatt and Carole Harvey have carefully studied the Data 

Protection Act which came into effect on May 25th 2018. 

Existing members are currently alright but can ask for their data 

to be removed if they so wish. New members will need to sign 

an agreement for C.E.F.A.A. to hold their details. The National 

Secretary will make a privacy statement on the website. 

It was proposed that the A.G.M. 2019 be held in Scarborough, 

York Diocese. A likely date is June 1st. 

New Member. 

A very warm welcome to a new member – 

Mrs. Sandra Longworth of St. Peter’s, 

Woolton, in the Liverpool Diocese. 

5


C.E.F.A.A. 

Income & Expenditure as at March 31st 2018 

Income 

Expenditure 

2017 2018 2017 2018 

M/ships £2551.50 £2373.00 Postage £57.59 £29.93 

Reg. Fees 24.00 4.00 Printing 2341.00 1691.00 

Aprons 30.00 60.00 Editing 220.00 220.00 

Handbooks 8.00 6.00 Stationery 19.43 NIL 

Badges 16.50 19.25 Misc. Printing 22.00 1.29 

Shirts 20.00 20.00 Aprons etc. 13.02 NIL 

Donations 74.50 99.45 Officers’ exp (travel) 229.40 232.80 

Car Stickers 2.20 2.10 Costs for Festivals 113.50 113.26 

Kneeler NIL 3.40 Sundries 49.50 52.00 

A.G.M. 968.10 135.00 

Office exp. NIL NIL 

£2726.70 £2587.20 £4213.54 £2655.28 

Business Reserve Account £4814.79 

Naomi Hadden 

Hon. Treasurer 

6


Off into the Sunset 

Dear Friends, 

After many years serving as your National Treasurer, the time 

has arrived for me to retire: hopefully at this year’s National 

A.G.M. we will have been fortunate to find a volunteer to take 

on the task. 

I want to thank you all for your many kind letters over the years, 

I always look forward to April when the membership renewals 

come in and you tell me your news. 

Miss Kitely each year sends a collection of poems, and one of 

those I will share with you now as the words are so very true. 

Take a Moment 

Our busy lives give little time 

To breathe, much less to live, 

We often miss the precious things – 

Life has so much to give. 

Now, as we rush along the street, 

So often in a hurry, 

And bump into a friend, they may 

Be sad and full of worry. 

Let’s pause a while to listen to 

The things they want to share, 

And help more than we realise 

By simply being there. 

Eliza Barret 

I do hope the joy of Floral Art together with the fellowship 

C.E.F.A.A. has given to us, will continue for all of you for many 

years to come. 

Naomi Hadden 

7


Southwell and Nottingham Branch 

The Southwell and Nottingham branch 2018 AGM was held at 

St. Mary’s Attenborough. The church was decorated with floral 

arrangements incorporating CEFAA colours prepared by Sandie 

Jones, using Lotus leaves sprayed gold and paper fans which 

were the subject of a previous branch demo and workshop. 

The current committee were re-elected to serve a further year and 

a bring and share lunch was followed by a demonstration by 

Marion Stokes, with arrangements suitable for church window 

ledges and using stained glass window colours. 

Photo courtesy of branch member Julia Powell 

8


Liverpool Branch 

The Liverpool branch of CEFAA held their AGM on Saturday, 

April 28th, at St. Ann’s Rainhill and our National Chairman was 

the special guest and demonstrator. Ada made three very different 

arrangements and regaled us with tales as she did so! One 

arrangement used dried bark which had peeled from a 

neighbour’s eucalyptus tree! Most unusual. The crocheted flower 

pinned to the table cloth was made by her grand daughter who is 

unwell at present. We all send our best wishes for her speedy 

recovery. Thanks are due to Ada and her two colleagues from 

Chesterfield who came with her on the visit. 

9


York Diocese 

It is rare that news from the York Diocese (we are not actually a 

branch) appears in Faith and Flowers so I hope you will all 

forgive us, just this once, for using these pages for a burst of 

justifiable pride. 

On June 22nd eight C.E.F.A.A. members went to York Minster 

to do seven arrangements. Now, they always do good 

arrangements, but this year they were magnificent. The Head 

Arranger (who is now paid to do the job) told us how much she 

enjoyed working with us because we know what we are doing. 

The work on the window at the East End is now complete and is 

quite wonderful as is the detailed stonework on the outside. The 

whole area is flooded with light. There have been no flowers in 

that part of the Minster for ten years. As the staff wish it to be 

kept uncluttered the Head Arranger is going to experiment over 

the next few weeks to find the most suitable position and style 

of arrangement which is best suited to the newly renovated area. 

She was pleased with the carefully placed, tall minimalistic 

arrangement which we placed there, particularly as it caught a 

ray of blue light from the window. We were the first group in the 

experiment. 

We were all leaving, well pleased with ourselves and rightly so, 

when we noticed the Head Arranger had placed a new stand by 

the large arrangement at the nave crossing. On it was a laminated 

notice about 15” x 12” announcing that the flowers had been 

provided and arranged by members of C.E.F.A.A. We felt well 

rewarded for our efforts. A similar notice will appear each week 

with the name of the appropriate group on it but ours was the 

first. 

10


For the benefit of members who do not know much about York 

Diocese members, we provide our own flowers and travelling 

expenses. Members travel between 20 and 50 miles to York, 

which is quite a commitment made on behalf of the Association. 

Ruth Thomson 

Council Member for York Diocese 

11


June – a month of celebration! 

The second week in June was designated as National Volunteers’ 

Week. On the Friday afternoon thirteen CEFAA members who 

arrange and maintain the flowers regularly in St. Dunstan’s 

Chapel in St. Paul’s Cathedral attended the Volunteers’ Afternoon 

Tea. It was a truly glorious occasion and gave us the opportunity 

to meet some of the many volunteers who serve in the Cathedral; 

the guides and wands- men and women who steward at services, 

the broiderers who create and maintain the vestment and the 

retired members of the clergy who serve as chaplains on the 

Cathedral floor. The newly installed Bishop of London, the Right 

Reverend Sarah Mullally, called in to the Wren Suite to meet and 

thank the volunteers. All our CEFAA members agreed that it is a 

real privilege to arrange and maintain those arrangements in so 

beautiful a place and one that is so rich in its history; we don’t 

seek thanks at all but we all agreed it is nice to be appreciated. 

Most of us were able to attend Evensong afterwards – a very 

fitting end to a wonderful day of fun, food and fellowship. Bishop 

Sarah joined us for worship and I had to smile as several of us 

felt that she has not quite mastered the art of carrying her staff 

quietly yet! 

As we left the Cathedral, several huge lorries and cranes were 

installed at the foot of the stone steps, carefully removing the 

bells. They have been taken to the foundry of John Taylor and 

Co. in Loughborough, where they were cast in 1878. There they 

will be cleaned to remove a thick layer of grime and fitted with 

new moving parts. It is hoped that the bells will be back in 

position within six months, and ready to ring once more by 1st 

November of this year, to celebrate their 140th birthday. 

12


The following day saw the ceremony of the Trooping of the 

Colour, traditionally held in early June to celebrate the Queen’s 

official birthday. One of our members was fortunate enough to 

attend the proceedings and reported that it was indeed a colourful 

occasion which culminated in the Royal Family’s appearance on 

the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the magnificent fly-past 

of the historic aeroplanes and the Red Arrows. 

On the next day, in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, 

women wearing the colours of green, white and purple of the 

suffragette movement filled the streets to celebrate the 100th year 

anniversary of the first British women gaining the vote. It is 

thought that as many as 100,000 took part in the marches. It is 

all too easy for us to take universal suffrage for granted today 

and we forget what hardships those courageous suffragettes had 

to endure. There have been television programmes and 

exhibitions countrywide to celebrate this anniversary. 

As I write this today, England is still in the World Cup. It seemed 

the whole of our road must have been watching the football 

match earlier, if the roar of cheers as Harry Kane scored his third 

goal is anything to go by! 

It seems that we have much to celebrate in June this year and 

there is still a week to go. 

Averill Lovatt 

13


CEFAA – London Branch 

Chairman’s Report, April 2017 – March 2018 

The London Branch has celebrated another action-packed year 

starting with the AGM in April 2017 held at St. John the Baptist, 

Barnet, where we were joined by our National Chairman, Ada 

Fawthorp. Ada and her husband Keith, drove down from 

Derbyshire that morning to be with us. The trip had obviously 

not affected Ada’s flower arranging skills as she gave us a 

magnificent demonstration, accompanied by light-hearted 

commentary. Prior to Ada’s demonstration, Diane Brenchley as 

a representative of St. John the Baptist flower team also delighted 

us with an arrangement for the Sanctuary. 

So, it is the end of yet another year and I feel blessed to have 

such a fantastic supportive Committee and membership behind 

me. It makes my job not only easy, but a joy and I thank everyone 

for their unfailing dedication to me and CEFAA in general. I am 

proud to say our membership is still growing and the collective 

talent we have is remarkable. We have another full timetable for 

the forthcoming year which includes welcoming everyone to the 

National AGM with us in June at St. John the Baptist in Barnet 

when we look forward to giving a very warm ‘London Branch’ 

welcome to CEFAA members nationwide. 

Carole Harvey, 

CEFAA Chairman, London Branch 

Carole’s full report gave a very detailed report of the London 

Branch’s very varied monthly meetings and it can be found on 

the web site. The London Branch are also making their presence 

felt in St. Paul’s Cathedral, this year being responsible for Easter 

flowers there. 

14


Guilty or not guilty? 

I always thought Alan Titchmarsh came over as a thoroughly nice 

man. Now I feel like suing him for defamation of the collective 

character of all flower arrangers. In an article in a daily 

newspaper he accuses flower arrangers of heinous crimes 

advising gardeners to hide the secateurs from us. Do we really 

all cut a whole bunch from one plant? Do we really butcher a 

garden, taking everything within reach? 

I wondered if he realises how many of us are keen gardeners as 

well as flower arrangers, nurturing and enjoying growing plants, 

there for their own sake not just for cutting? What would he say 

if he saw a bush being carefully shaped whilst being cut for 

foliage because we love shape and colour in our bushes and 

borders every bit as much as the “keen gardeners” who are 

supposedly terrified of the tornado effect we create. You’ve got 

it wrong this time, Alan. See you in court?? 

(Oh! I feel better for that, nothing like a good rant, is there?) 

Gardening tip. 

Seen on a gardening programme – the use of sheep’s wool pellets 

to keep off slugs and snails. 

Please write in if you are aware of the availability and success of 

these. 

Conditioning Ferns 

Suggestion made during York Diocese group to the Minster - 

place ferns first in hot water and then in cold. 

Any more effective suggestions will be gratefully received and 

printed in the next edition. 

Ruth 

15


A Design for Special Occasions 

Requirements for Design 

1 x 3’ Contemporary Stand 

1 x 2’ Contemporary Stand } Diagram 1 

1 basket (with or without handle) 

3 wooden garden trellis screens to fit contemporary stands 

(Diagram 2) 

2 are fixed to front of stands and 1 is strengthened by garden 

canes and fixed to the back of 3’ stand for height (Diagram 3) . 

Use the basket as a third placement to take the eye down to the 

base. 

16 

Diagram 1 Diagram 2


Suitable Flowers 

Moluccella 

Delphinium 

Lupins 

Stocks 

Spray Carnations 

Carnations 

Roses 

Alchemilla Mollis 

Hostas 

Bergenia 

Aspidistra 

Try the summer colours 

of pink, lilac, blue, white 

or just all white and 

green for your next 

Flower Festival, 

Wedding or Special 

Service - fabulous! 

Enjoy your flowers as always. 

Hillary 

Diagram 3 

17


The Men of the Altar Frontal 

Lest we forget 

Extraordinarily, incredibly beautiful, superbly designed and 

stitched. Superlatives, yes, but well deserved as is the telling of 

the fascinating story behind an altar frontal now in a glass case 

in the North Transept of St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

18


It was designed specifically for St. Paul’s but is no longer used 

as the modern altars are the wrong size and shape. 

It was made by recovering Service men in the time of W.W.1 by 

138 men in total. They came from hospitals around the U.K., also 

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa under the 

egress of the Royal School of Needlework. Embroidery was an 

important part of the rehabilitation process as it calmed some of 

the worst effects of shell shock. 

19


It was dedicated by the then Dean of St. Paul’s, William Inge on 

July 5th, 1919, in preparation for the following day’s National 

Service of Thanksgiving for the end of the war, which was 

attended by George V and Queen Mary. 

Apparently, there was some talk of the frontal going on tour, but 

this is denied by the Cathedral staff because of its fragility. They 

carefully protect it from strong light and photography and damp 

and dust. Sadly, we saw people pass by without as much as a 

glance. What a treat they missed. It will be on show until 

November 11th this year. Details on St. Paul’s website. 

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