April 2013 The magazine of Golders Green Parish Church
WEEKLY SERVICES Sunday 10am Sung Eucharist (with incense) 7pm Evening Worship Wednesday 7pm Holy Communion Contents Letter from the Vicarage.............2 Electoral Role...3 Thank you from Colin...4 Baptisms and Confirmations...5 Revd Hilda Kabia: A visit...7 Women s World Day of Prayer...10 Contrasting Giving...11 Easter in Golders Green...14 EDITORIAL NOTE Crossroads is produced by Sheila Grodzinski and Vince Rodriguez with Rex Morton as Editor. We welcome any contributions, but reserve the right to edit any articles. If you would like to contribute, but do not wish to write, this can be done for you. Please e-mail theoffice@gg-pc.co.uk for the PDF version of Crossroads. This saves time and money and allows you to e-mail it to your friends. 1
Letter from the Vicarage Happy Easter to you all. This is the time of year that we celebrate what God has done for us as we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus that brings the promise of eternal life. This is Paul s instruction to us in Philippians 4 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Even if we find the thought of the resurrection and eternal life hard to envisage, we have so much else to be grateful for. The testimonies that came from the Night Shelter moved many of us deeply. We can be grateful to God that our building now allows us to host this important ministry. The Toddler Group that meets on Monday in the church is now full of parents/carers and toddlers - a wonderful sight. 99% of them have no contact with us in any other way (yet!). The church is open during the week for visitors to pop in. It is fantastic to read in the Visitor s Book how people feel about our church. More and more of us are gathering on a Sunday to worship together and it is so heartening to see the building filling up. At a meeting recently we looked particularly at how many of us our involved in ministry and I was thrilled to see so many active in one way or another. I could go on and on! 2
I hope you are picking up my optimism for our future together. I know that for many the resurrection is hard to grasp, but God is doing so much amongst us that is easier for us to see. If He was not raised He would not be doing all this! 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Amen to that. Yours Rex ELECTORAL ROLL Thanks to all who completed the electoral roll application form. Under the Church of England s rules, a new electoral roll has to be completed from scratch every six years. The new electoral roll is now being published 3
Letter to Golders Green Parish Church I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who worship at Golders Green for the wonderful welcome and fellowship in Christ that you have given me in this Lenten-Easter period. I have managed to get to know many of you by name. You allowed me to share in your worship in a variety of roles that thrills me immensely. I have had barriers broken in your loving care and feel empowered in the love through Jesus I see in this place. You stand on holy ground. This is a house of Holy Spirit filled prayer with Christ as cornerstone. I missed my own church at times but mainly because I want to relate what has happened here. I am probably changed going forward. You have two differing styles of worship that are bonded together and not separate as I could have thought. A massive appreciation also for Rex, Sarah and family for being who they are, counsellors in our path through life; willing to risk so much, being strong in faith. You will see less of me in coming weeks but I hope to worship with you from time to time. We have a Lenten book to finish yet as well. If I seem far from you, know that I keep you in prayer. Yours in the risen Lord Jesus Colin Izzard 4
Baptism and Confirmations 20 Janury 2013 Vince Rodriguez It was a freezing Sunday with snow and ice and the Bishop of Edmonton joked that the last time he came to visit us he brought bad weather him! Still, he presided over a beautiful service which included the confirmations of Amber, Susan-Marie and Jimmy and the baptism and confirmation of Ewan. It was a moving and beautiful service given added resonance by the heartwarming testimony given by Susan-Marie which made the service feel very personal. The Bishop commented on this at a Diocesean event we attended the following week. The Bishop reminded us that confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey at which we affirm for ourselves the faith into which we have been baptized and our intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming Bishop which asks God to give power through the Holy Spirit to enable us to live in the way of Jesus. We have seen over the last year a number of different ways that members of our congregation have been initiated into the Church. Increasing numbers of people who have been baptised as infants are not being confirmed as teenagers but are being confirmed later as adults, often either as part of a journey to Christian faith or as part of a return to it. 5
Additionally more are not being baptized as infants, but later when they come to faith when they are older. In this case provision is made for a return to the ancient Church tradition of baptism, confirmation and receiving the Eucharist taking place in the same service. 6
Revd Hilda Kabia: A Visit Sally Barnes During February the Revd Hilda Kabia from Dodoma, Tanzania, came to England as a guest of the Anglican Lutheran Society (ALS). Hilda had intended to attend the ALS International conference at the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, last September with three other guests from South Africa and Tanzania (who had also visited us at Golders Green) but her visa had been refused at the last minute. When it was eventually granted it was too late for her to fly out so she missed the conference. To make up for her disappointment and ours it was decided she would come over for two weeks in February and visit many of the places she wanted to see and meet people with whom she had had previously made contact. Hilda is a lecturer at the university in Dodoma on Christian/Muslim relationships and is also responsible for the care of a local church. Part of her visit here focused on looking at how Christian/Muslim relationships were being developed in England. A packed itinerary was arranged for her. Hilda went from London, to Manchester, to Oldham, Queen s college, Birmingham, to Cambridge as a guest of the Dean and attended evensong at Kings College. She then came back to London and spent time with Bishop Jana Jeruma Ginsberga (Lutheran Bishop in the UK) and then myself exploring London. This included visiting the Revd John Hawkins s parish in West Hendon. John took us both to the Ayesha Muslim girl s school where we met the head teacher and discussed how the school came into being. 7
We then went to the Barnet multi-cultural centre to hear about the work that is carried out there and the good links that had been made. We went on to see John s Church and have tea in the vicarage. Hilda and John spent some time discussing the positive links that had been developed in the community over the years. Both exchanged ideas and views on the work each was carrying out in their different environments and discussed many common issues. It was an inspiring day for all of us. While she was here Hilda came to Golders Green and attended our Sunday morning service. She met and was warmly greeted by everyone who made her feel very much at home. All the time Hilda was with us the weather was dire. It was grey, icy, cold, often windy and it snowed. Although we had warned her that she would be coming to a cold climate I do not think she had any conception of just how cold it would be. Bishop Jana and I wrapped her up with jumpers, scarves, gloves and a warm woolly hat donated by my grandson Max. When she went to stay with Bishop Rupert Hoare and his wife Gesine at Oldham it snowed so much that his plan to drive her across the Pennines to visit Mirfield, where she was to give a lecture, had to be changed so they went by train to avoid the treacherous state of the roads. But Hilda enjoyed it all and especially the snow. 8
Later in the week she attended the Churches Together Ash Wednesday Service which also took place at Golders Green. Before the Service we had the most delicious meal kindly prepared for Hilda and myself by Rose Omu to which Modupe, Dorothy, Ngozi and Nwadi came and a very good time was had by all. The family and I thoroughly enjoyed her long awaited visit and had great fun together. I loved the opportunity to show her round London, to walk alongside the Thames looking at the skyline pointing out different buildings, visiting Southwark Cathedral getting there just in time for evensong, all the while having many discussions about our two very different cultures. Listening to Hilda s observations on what she experienced while she was here and seeing life through her eyes was more that thought provoking. Why, for example, in the midst of such apparent affluence were people sleeping in the streets of London? Why did we need food banks for the hungry when supermarkets were overflowing with goods? Why, when churches are packed in Africa, did we not have the same situation in our own churches? Why, when there was so much unemployment, did we fill our own petrol tanks and not employ people to do it for us? I had forgotten that that is exactly what we used to do years ago! So many more debates and food for thought. Then, as I was driving her to Heathrow for her flight back home - at last and too late - out popped a very weakly shining sun from behind the clouds. Look I said, we do have sun occasionally. Yes said Hilda, It has come to welcome me home and show me that it is still there! I loved Hilda and her visit. I do hope we have another opportunity to meet up again either in England or Tanzania. Asante Sana, Hilda! 9
WOMEN S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER Sheila Grodzinski This year s local annual Women s World Day of Prayer was held on Friday, 1 st March at St. Edward s church. The theme was Welcoming a Stranger, the service having been written in France. Despite the name both men and women are welcome at these services. Women representatives from local churches led the service with readings and intercessions. They took the parts of women in France, their stories and how they had been treated as strangers in a foreign country, badly and being made welcome. The speaker told of her experience in France when as a mother of very young children the family had lived in Paris for a couple of years due to her husband s work and how lonely she felt, speaking only a little French and having no friends until a young French neighbouring mother befriended her. After the service the congregation enjoyed the opportunity to socialise over tea with a French theme. The theme in New Daylight for the first two weeks in March was also welcoming strangers with relevant passages from the Bible. As a church we are known for being friendly and welcoming and on the morning of the service we had said a final goodbye to the strangers to whom we had given night shelter in conjunction with Alyth Gardens synagogue. 10
CONTRASTING GIVING Sheila Grodzinski At 7.00 a.m. on 17 th and 19 th December in Golders Green station booking hall volunteers from Churches Together in Golders Green set up tables with refreshments for commuters. Some hurried past rushing to catch trains or reach their places of employment on time. Others stopped to take the tea, coffee or hot chocolate offered and maybe a croissant too. Regular trips were made to the church to refill the flasks with hot water. The number of croissants provided nearly doubled to 400+ for the second morning but still ran out well before 9.00 a.m. Some travellers found time to stop and chat and ask why we were doing this and leaflets about Christmas services were distributed. This was the first time we joined the number of churches who have been providing good cheer at Christmas at local stations over the past few years. All those who participated felt it worthwhile. By 7.00 p.m. on Thursday, 17 th January a group of men and women were waiting in the cold (it snowed that night) outside the door for the night shelter we were providing to open. In collaboration with volunteers from Alyth Garden Synagogue and under the organisation of Homeless Action in Barnet (HAB) we offered food and overnight accommodation for the homeless on Thursday nights for seven consecutive weeks. Volunteers from Alyth and Golders Green Parish Church had previously attended trainings and been put on rotas to provide evening meals, serve food and chat with the guests, sleep overnight, serve breakfast, tidy and clean and transport bedding to the next night s venue. There was a co-ordinator at Alyth and Rex took on the task for us. This shelter was one of several provided by churches and synagogues throughout Barnet from 7.00 p.m. until 8.30 a.m. 11
between October and April. The guests are chosen by HAB and provided with a bag containing a sleeping bag, covered pillow and an inflatable mattress. As the weeks passed the volunteers and guests got to know each other. Most of the guests stayed for the seven weeks while others who didn t were replaced. It was good to see how they supported each other, all in the same predicament through a variety of circumstances. Below are comments from some of the volunteers:- I was not really sure what to expect from volunteering to help with the night shelter but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has been very enjoyable and a lot of fun. It gives an insight how close any of us are away from being on the streets. If you do not have a family network and some things go against you then it could happen. It has been great to feel we are doing something to help the local community and to meet others and chat and spend time with them. I would definitely volunteer again. Helping out at the Homeless Night Shelter makes you realise how lucky you are and how easy it would be to end up struggling if circumstances conspired against you. The guests are ordinary people and enjoyable company and the atmosphere is very communal. I think the Night Shelter is one of the best things our church has been involved in. It is social action for the excluded in the community and shows we are there for them. At the training someone asked what the guests would be like. The answer given was that to walk into a room of volunteers and guests the difference couldn t be seen. How true! I feel the experience of helping people less fortunate than myself made me feel more peaceful and happy that I can give a little bit of myself and made a change for someone that really needs it. I learned that sometimes even the smallest gesture and act of kindness can have a big impact on the people in need and can show them that they are not forgotten and there are human 12
beings who care for each other. The world would be a more loving place if we only stopped for a second and considered others as much as ourselves. A final note. A female guest was talking about how she enjoyed cooking and that she was looking forward to being able to cook when she had a home again. How good to hear words of hope when everything can seem so bleak. Are you able and willing to volunteer for either of these ventures in the future? EASTER AT GOLDERS GREEN 13
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GOLDERS GREEN PARISH CHURCH St Alban the Martyr with St Michael and St Barnabas PARISH OFFICE: St Alban s Vestry, West Heath Drive, London NW11 7QG Tel. 020-8455 1873 VICAR Rev d Rex Morton 3 St Alban s Close, NW11 7RA Tel. 020 8455 1873 07590 216 311 rex@gg-pc.co.uk CHURCH MANAGER Sylvia Mutevelian (Tue, Wed & Thu) Parish Office, West Heath Drive, NW11 7QG Tel. 020 8455 1873 sylvia@gg-pc.co.uk ADMINISTRATOR Carol Vamvadelis (Wed & Thu) Parish Office, West Heath Drive, NW11 7QG Tel. 020 8455 1873 carol@gg-pc.co.uk VICE-CHAIRMAN OF PCC Simon Houghton PASTORAL CO-ORDINATOR AND CHILDREN S MINISTRY Sarah Morton 3 St Alban s Close, NW11 7RA Tel 07505 321 449 sarah@gg-pc.co.uk ORGANIST Geoffrey Whitworth CHURCHWARDENS Simon Houghton 10 Chatsworth Ave, NW4 1HT Tel. 020 8202 9876 Mobile 07710 146 402 simon@summit-training.co.uk Sheila Grodzinski 9 Hodford Road, NW118NL Tel: 020 8455 3502 shemarq@hotmail.com TREASURER Timothy Nurse 96 Toddington Road, Luton, LU4 9DY Tel. 01582 570 117 CHURCH HALL BOOKINGS Margaret Morgan 020 8346 8367 CHURCH MAGAZINE Sheila Grodzinski Tel: 020 8455 3502 shemarq@hotmail.com Vince Rodriguez Tel: 020 8455 1873 (Tuesday) vince@gg-pc.co.uk WEBSITE www.gg-pc.co.uk 15