I have found that the partnership between St Giles’ Church of England and Ickenham United Reformed Church is unique amongst ecumenical (i.e. inter-church) relationships in this quarter of London.
It is the only case of a close partnership between two separate churches of different denominations, so close that it is sealed with a covenant. The covenant agreement was signed 22 years ago, but the joint work has been flourishing for longer than that, as the 40th annual Holiday Club will demonstrate this July.
Being Minister for Ickenham United Reformed Church is half of my work. The other half is spent as Ecumenical Officer for Churches Together North Thames, to support inter-church relationships across the area, and to encourage more to develop.
For these purposes, the area called “North Thames” covers the eight London Boroughs between Hillingdon, Enfield and Camden, between Heathrow Airport, the Lea Valley and the Post Office (BT) Tower.
The area has about 35 less formal groups of churches, without covenant agreements, and there are ecumenical chaplaincies, such as at Heathrow Airport, but for now let us just compare Ickenham with the other places that have the close relationships called Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs)
Across the area there are five other examples of LEPs, between four or five different churches, usually including Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic Churches as well as Anglican and United Reformed. This is the case in Pinner, Palmers Green, and Enfield. In Mill Hill the Baptists are not included, while the “Long Lane Link” in Hillingdon does not include United Reformed. But the “Long Lane Link” and the Enfield Town & Forty Hill group do also include the Salvation Army.
What makes the Ickenham partnership unique is probably the nature and the size of the local community. It is a distinct area, bounded by rail and road routes, which contains only two churches of these denominations.
There is also a different kind of Local Ecumenical Partnership, where churches of two or more denominations form a single congregation, in the same building. This has happened so far in 15 places across the North Thames area. The United Reformed Church is involved in all of them. Two are with the Church of England, one with the Moravians, five with the Baptists, six with the Methodists, and one with both Baptists and Methodists.
Out of this total of 21 Local Ecumenical Partnerships, I have been able to visit 9 already, as well as the one where I am based here in Ickenham. So thank you for the support you are giving in this way to the wider work in which I am involved.
Those who know me, know that I have a passion for photography, particularly since the ‘digital revolution’ which allows me to do all those processes that I used to do in black and white photography years ago, but without the need to turn the bathroom into a darkroom for days on end!
The trouble is that digital photography allows you to take hundreds, if not thousands of photographs without worrying about the cost or the quality of what you are taking. When you had to consider the price of film and processing then much more time was taken over composing the photo and trying to ensure that you took something of quality from the start.
Digital photographs can also be easily manipulated so that what you see was not actually what was in front of the camera. Colours can be changed, objects can be removed, shapes can be altered, things can be added all with the click of a mouse, once you know what you are doing.
In this ‘pick and mix’ world, it seems to me that some people want to do the same with the Christian Faith. They take from it what they want, they reject things they find difficult, they add bits from other faiths until they get a mishmash which suits their life style rather than mirrors God’s intentions.
To take a good photograph that is worthy of display is not a case of point and hope, but of preparation, thought and study of the subject, and one of the best things I did was to go on a course on how to use my digital camera properly.
Similarly, to develop a true faith in Christ requires the same dedication to preparation, study and thinking about the words of the Bible. Fortunately in Ickenham there are many opportunities to do this through the various courses run by the churches. So, perhaps the best thing you can do if you want to develop a true faith is to join one of these courses. If you would like to know more about them then keep an eye on the church notice board.
Revd Ken Tombs
Hon. Curate
Baptisms at St Giles’
May 27th Jacob Oliver Kerswill
Ellie Heather Woodward
June 10th Oscar Edward Harris Randhawa
Nicolas Cull-Lapaire
Baptism at the URC
May 27th Katie Louise Holland
Weddings at St Giles’
May 26th Timothy William Neathercoat and Kelly Louise Workman
June 9th Scott Peter Fitzgerald and Natalie Sumner
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
May 14th Rosina Hann, aged 84
May 16th William Arthur Perkins, aged 81
Leonard Charles Paige, aged 86
June 4th Stephen Wilcox, aged 56
June 7th Ronald Alan Watkins, aged 85 (after service at St Giles’)
Each week at St Giles’ Church we pray for all the people who live or work in a particular road in the Parish. During July and August we will pray for the following roads:
July 1st Thorpland Avenue
July 8th Church Place
July 15th Albany Close
July 22nd Almond Avenue
July 29th Ashbury Drive
Aug 5th Austins Lane
Aug 12th Bellamy Close
Aug 19th Boniface Road
Aug 26th Breakspear Road South
If you live in one of these roads why not join us at our 8am or 9.45am services? You will be most welcome.
HOSPITAL COMMUNION SERVICES
The next Sunday when volunteers are needed to collect patients from wards for Communion services in the hospital chapel is 15th July, at Hillingdon Hospital. Following that, help is needed on 26th August, this time at Mount Vernon. This small service is very much appreciated by patients who have no family available to help them. To continue this service we need to supplement our regular team with more volunteers to provide cover for unavoidable absences. Anyone who is prepared to spend a couple of hours on occasional Sunday mornings, please contact Alan Grove on 020 8868 9220.
