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From the Rectory
 Probably the most significant event
in the life of St Giles' Church this month is the Ordination
as Priest of our Curate, the Revd Adrian Guthrie. It is now almost
a year since Adrian joined the staff at St Giles' and we welcomed
him and his family into the parish and community. The Ordination
takes place at Emmanuel Church, Northwood on Saturday 3rd July
at 1100. Adrian will preside at his first service of Holy Communion
at 0800 on 4th July.
It has been a great pleasure to have had Adrian as a colleague
this past year and I look forward to continuing to share with
him the priestly ministry in the parish. We remember him, and
his family, in our prayers and wish him God's blessing on his
future ministry.
Of course another significant event, which is well established
in our community, is the Holiday Club for 7-11 year olds to be
held this year, based at the United Reformed Church, from Monday
26th July - Friday 30th July. More details can be found on the
front page of this edition. I would not wish the time to pass,
however, without acknowledging with gratitude all the hard work
put into this major event by the co-ordinator, Rosemary Hodgson
together with her vast team of helpers drawn principally from
the congregations of St Giles' and the United Reformed Church.
This annual event has, at the heart of its vision and objective,
the motive to give those young people who come a good and enjoyable
experience of the Christian faith in the hope that they will,
even if not at this stage in their lives, own it for themselves.
We pray for God's richest blessing on the Holiday Club once again
this year.
It was good to be present at many of the well-supported events
of the Ickenham Festival last month - we are indeed grateful
to all those who put on events and co-ordinated the whole programme.
As I said in my address at the Eucharist to mark the beginning
of the Festival, it is important that people experience a sense
of 'belonging' in their lives, 'belonging' in a family (however
that might be constituted), 'belonging' in a community and taking
responsibility for caring for one another. The Ickenham Festival
of celebration of all that is good in this place helps draw people
together in this way - the Church's message and prayer offered
in the often stressful environment of 21st century living, is
that we will also be drawn to 'belong' to the wider family of
God's kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ.
Greetings and peace to you all.
Philip
From St Giles' Registers
Baptisms
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
| May 23rd |
Amy Victoria Carter
Grace Rose Cox |
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
| June 2nd |
Beatrice Martin, aged 88
Louisa Lillian Minnie Baldwin, aged 78 |
| 6th |
Philip Keith Charles, aged 70 |
Some funerals may have been missed out owing to clergy vacations.
If so they will be published in September.
From The U.R.C. Elders
At this part of the year in our community life in Ickenham
the words TIME, TALENTS and TEAMWORK spring to mind and I would
like to share a few thoughts with you.
As I write this article, the biennial Ickenham Festival is about
to begin. During my years as a resident in Ickenham I have
enjoyed many Festival weeks and have always had great admiration
for all those people who have given their time to organise the
many varied and interesting events that take place something
for everyone! What a treat it is to be able to visit the
exhibitions of Arts and Crafts, to see the floral displays at
St. Giles' Church, to hear the variety of music making and visit
the open gardens to see the fruits of the labours of our "green-fingered"
neighbours I could go on! What a feast of talents
on display!
Let's not forget to give thanks for the people who work in the
background helping events to happen and organisations to run
the planners, fundraisers, washers-up, tea and cake makers,
etc. They all have a part to play in the scheme of things.
Also, looking ahead to the end of July, the planning is well
underway for the Ickenham Churches' Junior Holiday Club, held
this year from 26th to 30th July. (Registration takes place
at the URC after school on Friday 16th July.) Up to 200
children could be taking part and, of course, many helpers are
needed. Perhaps your child is hoping to be there.
If you haven't helped before, maybe you could spare a little
of your time to help in the team if you are free it would
be much appreciated and it's great fun.
In this modern world there seem to be so many pressures on us
and spare time is often in short supply, but any time shared
with others, especially if it's just some time to listen, can
make a difference to someone's day.
How about talents? Well, very few people are good at everything!
When I was a child I soon came to realise that I would never
be the world's greatest mathematician, but I loved English and
music and all things creative. Later, as a teacher, this
awareness of my own strengths and weaknesses helped me to recognise
that everyone has a special talent for something and we should
try and encourage each person to develop to their full potential.
These thoughts about time, talents and teamwork apply to
the Church also. As Christians we realise that our church
is not just bricks and mortar; it is made up of people working
together to build God's kingdom.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans said:-
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these
members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who
are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.
(Romans ch.12 v. 4-6)
During this time of our interregnum, at the URC, the sharing
of our time, talents and team-work are especially important,
as is the sharing of our faith in worship and prayer, and we
are also very grateful for the continuing support given to us
by the clergy at St Giles'.
May God bless you, in whatever way you share your time and talents
with others and may you be able to enjoy some time in rest and
relaxation during these summer months.
Celia Miller
From The U.R.C. Registers
Baptism
|
May 9th |
Edward John David Tipton |
Marriage Blessing
|
May 8th |
Peter and Sylviane Clark |
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
|
June 1st |
Thelma Edwards, aged 82 (After service
at the U.R.C.) |
Christian Aid
Thank you for believing in life before
death
| Christian Aid Week |
2004 |
2003 |
| Total Cash Collected |
£7139 |
£6925 |
| Gift Aid Tax Reclaim |
£912 |
£856 |
| Grand Total |
£8051 |
£7781 |
The house-to-house collection was, once again,
a record.
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