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Dear Friends As I write this letter there has been much doom and gloom forecast in the national press about the future of the Church of England and declining numbers. Interestingly the papers' reports are very similar to the picture that I outlined in the presentation at the start of the Parish Day. If all of the people of Croxley Green, who registered their religion as ‘Church of England’ in the last census attended church, we would have a problem, because even putting all of the churches in Croxley Green together there still would not be enough room for everyone! The majority of people in Croxley Green indicated in the last census that they were of the Christian faith and although this census was some years ago I would not imagine the picture has changed greatly. At times of need and times of crisis people want to know that the church is there for them. People like to mark significant events such as births (through baptism), marriages, and death (through funerals) in a way that reinforces their belief in God and of course we welcome the opportunity to share in these events and encourage individuals to explore more deeply the faith to which they have aligned themselves. The most important thing is that we need to ‘meet people where they are at’. Children no longer have the grounding in Christian faith through school (unless they attend a church school) that many of us had in our childhood and we have a generation of young parents today who have very little knowledge of the Christian faith. Anglican Christian faith is not embedded in our cultural and family life in the way that many other faiths are, so we have a huge challenge to help people to even want to explore what being a Christian means, and this is the challenge we must embrace here at All Saints’. It is hugely daunting, it must have been hugely daunting for the disciples when they first started their ministry but they went forward in the power of the Holy Spirit and God richly blessed them and their ministry and that is what we too must do. There is much that God can do in Croxley Green but he can not do any of it if we are not prepared to let him work in and though us to make His presence known. By the time you read this letter I hope that you will have received a copy of the Action Plan developed from the Parish Day. There are many exciting areas that we have identified for development but if we are to achieve them we ALL have to take responsibility through prayer, through being open to new ideas and through putting ourselves forward to help wherever we feel God might be able to use us. It is up to us as Christians to ensure that the doom and gloom about the Christian faith reported in the media is turned to joy and gladness, at least in Croxley Green. With my love and prayers HOLY BAPTISM 27th April 2008 Lucas Anthony CARUS, of Scots Hill 4th May 2008 Megan Elizabeth GRAY of Evans Close BURIAL OF THE DEAD AND CREMATION 6th May 2008 Frances DRUCKER (aged 93) of Croxley House, formerly of Eastbury Avenue, Northwood 6th May 2008 Joyce (Jocelyn) BARBER (aged 87) of Chorleywood, formerly of Frinton 1st June - Trinity 2 8th June - Trinity 3 15th June - Trinity 4 22nd June - Trinity 5 - St.
Alban, Martyr 29th June - Trinity 6 - St.
Peter & St. Paul, Apostles - Dedication Festival On Saturday 19th April, about forty members of our congregation gathered to consider the future of All Saints’ Church. The day began and ended with worship and was conducted in an atmosphere of prayerful thought, with reference to Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 12 verses 1-16. Our very accomplished facilitator was Revd. Rachel Jenkinson, curate of Christ Church, Chorleywood, who encouraged us to think about the many things that we do well - and then to consider what else we need to do, if we wish our church to grow. In the current situation in the Church of England, with fewer and fewer people coming forward for ordination, shrinking congregations are already losing their vicars, then sharing a priest with one or more other parishes. We need to grow and to reach out into the community of Croxley Green, for the sake of the wider community, for the sake of our own congregation, and to increase the likelihood that we will be able to keep Revd. Miriam as our own full-time vicar. We each wrote, on Post-it notes, our wishes for the church and these were then grouped on a notice board under headings. We each then helped to decide on the five most urgent topics, then we divided into five groups, each discussing one of these topics and producing an action plan to bring about our aims. These plans were then put to the PCC at their next meeting. The five topics were:
The day lasted from 10am to 3pm and involved a lot of active thought - 150 man-hours, in fact! But this was only the beginning. The plan is being distributed to all members of the congregation, with the hope that we can all, in our own way and with God’s help, bring about the growth of All Saints' Church. ‘Do not lag in zeal, be ardent
in spirit, serve the Lord.’ We were lent a copy of the Parish Paper of All Saints', Margaret Street for May 2008, in which there is quite a long article entitled 'All for Mhairi's Wedding'. This gives an account of the wedding of Mhairi Ellis and Michael Adam. It was held at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate where Mhairi is the Administrator. After full information about the ceremony and the music, the writer said that the groom, Michael, wrote the words of one of the communion hymns; "O love, friendships,
living treasures, Inspired by Thomas Traherne's 'Desire' and Psalm 150 We hope that everyone who joined us for our annual Cheese Lunch on May 2nd enjoyed their meal and the fellowship they shared. Our thanks go to Elaine and Brian Norman and Nora Stock who worked hard along with our small committee to make it a successful occasion We were pleased to welcome the Revd. Janet Ridgway, who is the vicar of Aldbury Church and is one of the MU Vice-Presidents in this diocese who looks after our deanery. At the meeting afterwards, Janet enrolled our Parish Priest, Miriam, and Iris Spring to be members of the MU and our Branch here at All Saints'. We pray for God's blessing on them and on our Branch, as we look forward with hope to increased membership in the future. Sadly, two of our older members have died. Olive Collyer and Pat Wright had been very faithful members. Pat had been Enrolling Member at St. Michael's Church, Watford and, on moving to Croxley, had served on our committee as Treasurer. She could always be relied on to speak or read in her lovely clear voice whenever needed. We send our sympathy to the bereaved families. However there is some good news - last month our member Ethel Strange celebrated her 90th birthday. Congratulations to her! After the enrolment Janet spoke to us about "Time for Relationship", which is the MU theme we should consider this year in this diocese. (See Ecclesiastes Ch. 3). Janet produced a clock to remind us "that time waits for no-one", so it is important to start good relationships with others now. We find our own identity in our relationship with God and other people. 1. Our relationship
with God - what about our worship and prayer time? Action
comes out of this. Since the time was passing quickly, Janet finally gave us the following reflection based on the Beatitudes. Beatitudes for Relationships (Author unknown) Blessed are those who can laugh
at themselves; they will have no end of fun. On Saturday May 10th we had the Deanery MU Coffee Morning in our church garden. This was very well attended - it takes the place of the Blue Stall which we used to have in October at Watersmeet . Notices: Friday June 6th at 2.15pm -
"Praying for our school children" Getting the show on the road? Easy, but wrong, to overlook the sides-people. They, more than anyone, set the tone for someone coming to a service at All Saints; whether for the first or the thousandth time. Do you feel that you belong; that the Church is truly glad you are there, that this is where your friends are; that if you are a stranger, you are nevertheless a friend - simply one that the rest of the congregation have not met yet? They hand you the essential kit for taking part - the right hymn book (usually); the Book of Common Prayer - if you want one with large print; the order of service - if you don’t feel like watching the silver screen; the now very user-friendly pew sheets; they rush enthusiastically, but oh, with so much dignity, to meet and reassure any late-comers. They play key parts in the services themselves, particularly when communion is celebrated - estimating the number of celebrants so that vicar and servers can match the quantities of bread and wine to the numbers wishing to take communion. And they collect the gifts of the congregation, taking them to the altar for blessing. Finally when it is all over, having collected up returned hymn books, and pressed jumble-sale posters on those departing, they restore order to dishevelled pews, returning the hassocks to their rightful places and realigning remaining hymn books and Books of Common Prayer on the pew shelves. Go on, admit it, you could not have begun to imagine what a great job being a sides-person is. And at the time of going to press there are a few vacancies remaining! Well, what are you waiting for? So it is a big thank you to all those doing the job, Mr. M. Adam, Mrs. M. Atkinson, Sister M. Bittles, Mr. J. Bowyer, Mrs. R. Bowyer, Mr. A. Burge, Mr. B. Clemow, Dr. J. Galloway, Mrs. C. Hughes, Mr. T. Hughes, Mrs. S. McKeague, Mrs. B. Neill, Mrs. S. Newman, Mrs. M. Paddick, Mrs. N. Stock, Mrs. J. Squire, Dr. D. Wynne-Jones. Also thanks to those who have recently retired from this office: Miss J. Newell, Mrs. D. Sims and Mrs. W. Terrell. Aad a big hello to all you
waiting in the wings. Saturday May 5th dawned clear and sunny after a full week's rain. What a difference from last year when after three weeks' drought the ground was parched and rock hard. Thanks to everyone who turned up to 'refresh' our beautiful church garden - there were so many volunteers. Thanks to Alick Burge, the lawn-mower is in superb working order and Roger Cattermoul gave the lawns an expert and precise close shave. Michael and Joan Bovington, Anne and Chris Oke and David Williams worked on the flower beds at the back. Jean Walford started at the back and then moved to the front to join Fran and Nick Bennett tidying up the front and side. The highlight of the day was the arrival of Miriam clad in chic gardening gear and armed with her trusty fork; she made it quite clear that the tradition of having a priest with green fingers is alive and well. Thank you Miriam. We missed Father Luke as he normally climbed trees to wield his trusty chain-saw, but we did have several operators of the famous 'branch shredder'. In fact Lyndon Palmer and Martin Harris did a great job reducing the huge pile to shreds. At the end of it all our garden
looked so pristine - what an opportunity to share fellowship
in muscular Christianity. I thank God that the number of volunteers
is not diminishing but increasing! Chris and Anne organised
their famous Ploughman's Lunch. As we sat there in the
sunshine munching and having the odd sip of cider we all agreed
that the future is bright for our church and that our church
garden is a little bit of paradise dedicated to God's glory. CONGRATULATIONS to Michael Adam on his marriage on April 12th. His wife Mhairi sings in the choir at All Saints', Margaret Street in London but the marriage took place at St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate. We send them our best wishes for many happy years together. JUST 10: J. John, the well known evangelist, is speaking on the Ten Commandments in ten sessions from the 20th April to the 22nd June, at 7pm, in Christ Church, Chorleywood. This has been arranged through the Deanery Synod committee as an evangelistic opportunity. At All Saints' we will continue to have Sung Evensong at 6pm but for these ten weeks there will be no sermon, to allow people to go on to Just 10. More information at www.philotrust.com SENIOR CITIZENS' SERVICE This will take place on Thursday 12th June at 3pm in the church, followed by tea in the hall. Offers of help with transport, cakes, sandwiches etc. will be gratefully received. Please sign up on the list at the back of the church CROXLEY REVELS will take place on Saturday 21st June. Help will be required for the All Saints' stall. CELEBRATION OF HOPE
- Sunday 22nd June: Churches Together invite you to bring a
picnic to the Green at 3.30pm (the day after the Revels)
4.30pm - 6pm: Service of Celebration including local school
choirs, interviews and a great sharing of hope. REVD. MICHAEL LEE, who was ordained Deacon last year, is to be ordained Priest in Salisbury Cathedral on Saturday 28th June. We are proposing to hire a minibus and if anyone is interested in going please sign the list at the back of the church. The cost is likely to be around £13 a head and we will be leaving Croxley at 7.30 am. Chris Oke PARISH BARBEQUE Sunday 29th June at 12.30pm. Tickets £5 for adults and £3.50 for children aged 12 and under, will be on sale after the Parish Communion or from Lyndon Palmer 01923 720856. FAIRTRADE Three Rivers has been officially declared a Fairtrade District and a celebration of its status was held at the Rickmansworth Council Offices on Friday May 9th. Former All Saints' member Mrs. Sheila Wright was there: she has retired to Penzance. MEALS ON WHEELS - CAN YOU HELP? We are looking for volunteers to help deliver meals to residents in Croxley Green. The meals are collected from the WRVS in Rickmansworth. At present there are about 14 elderly people receiving the meals. It takes about 1½ hours from collection at 11.30am. At the moment we particularly need volunteers to cover Wednesdays, as a few stalwarts have had to give up for various reasons. We are a jolly band, and we will give you plenty of help. Your commitment would be one day a month e.g. every second Wednesday of the month. Please think about helping us in this valuable and rewarding service to our community. Please reply to Jane Colbourne on 01923 441808 (there is an answer-phone) THE RICKMANSWORTH AND CROXLEY
GREEN CHRISTIAN AID COMMITTEE is looking for a new Hon.
Treasurer to take over from David Warren who wishes to give
up the role he has carried out for the past 15 years. Dates for your diary in July:
June is the month when we always remember the consecration of our church, on June 25th 1872. This year, we also celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the extension, which is our south aisle, consecrated on 23rd May 1908. An article in The Rickmansworth Historian, Number 23, written in the spring of 1972 (the church’s centenary year) by Nina Rolls and Barbara Eddon, and reproduced here with permission of the Rickmansworth Historical Society Chairman and Editor Geoff Saul, included the following: “At the time when Queen Victoria was at the height of her power, Gladstone was Prime Minister, Disraeli the leader of the opposition, the Board Schools had been started by the Forster Education Act, voting was done by ballot for the first time, the Trade Unions had just been formed, a meeting was called with the Rt. Hon. Lord Ebury in the Chair, as the time had come for Croxley Green to have a church of its own. It has been said that the history of a town or village begins with the foundation of its Parish Church: this is true of Croxley Green, for before 1872 Croxley was part of Rickmansworth, and did not receive a separate identity till that date, when the Ecclesiastical Parish was formed….. …..For 34 years this building served the village until the ‘explosive’ growth took place as the number of workers in the Mill grew.” We now move on to a leaflet dated October 18th 1906 and addressed to ‘the Members of the Congregation’ and headed Enlargement of Church Building. “Our present Church was built 30 years ago to accommodate 260, which was then thought to be the necessary accommodation for a population of 1,000. The population of the parish having since then doubled itself the Church is now generally quite full, often uncomfortably so; the Vestry is extremely small and inconvenient, and its crowded state makes it difficult to maintain a reverent spirit among the Choir boys; the ventilation when the Church is very full and the gas on is insufficient; and the exits are so inadequate that should a panic arise from any cause, the result would be serious.” The leaflet then went on to ask for funds (‘a sum of at least £2,000 pounds’ - but in the end it was over £3,000) and an architect produced three possible plans; the chosen plan was, of necessity, the least expensive. The alternative plans involved symmetrical extensions on both sides of the original building. Returning to The Rickmansworth Historian, “Those who are familiar with All Saints’ Church will know that each half is on a different level - unique it is true, but what a headache it has been for the generations who followed!…. …..The new nave was furnished with chairs - 200 of them from a firm in High Wycombe. They were to have had hooks for the hassocks until someone had the bright idea of wooden pegs instead, as the hooks were liable to catch the dresses of the ladies. No mini-skirts in those days! This new part was consecrated by the Bishop of Colchester in May 1908 on a Saturday afternoon.” Of course, that was not the end of the building works. In September 1940, the church (particularly the Lady Chapel, organ and pulpit) was badly damaged by parachute mines. Until the following Whit Sunday, services were held in the Hall.The original stone pulpit was replaced by the current wooden one. The organ had been in need of replacement before the bombing, but the collection of farthings and bun pennies was never going to meet the cost. Returning to The Rickmansworth Historian: “As All Saints’ was one of the worst damaged churches in the diocese, when Christ Church, Luton was given a new organ, their old one was presented to All Saints’ for the cost of transport and erection. As it was larger than the old one, it was erected at the West end of the nave and there it remained until 1971 when it was dismantled. Some parts were used and at Christmas 1971 the ‘new’ organ was in place at last in the original organ chamber.This is a very beautiful and powerful instrument and a credit to the craftsmen who made it - after all 100 years is a long time to wait! A legacy was left by the late Miss H. L. Greenfield, who died in 1935, towards the purchase of a stained glass window. It was delivered in December 1939 and was supposed to be the last stained glass window completed after the war had started. It was stored throughout the war in the basement of the Vicarage. When the window of the Lady Chapel was bombed, this stained glass window was erected over the altar of the Lady Chapel….. …..It was not until 1952 that the church was fully restored because of constant delays in obtaining the money from the War Damage Commission. It was hallowed by the Lord Bishop of St. Albans on Sunday, 18th January, 1953….. ….The tower is that of the original Church and is attractive and unusual, imparting a somewhat continental style to the church.” And this now brings us to the
present day, with the spire newly restored last year, and the
wooden shingles replaced giving it a much lighter appearance,
especially when the sun is reflected from the weather vane. Miriam's recent sermon on 'Peace' struck a chord for me. We live in a peaceful country among generally peaceful people and apparently our standard of living has doubled since 1983, but do we have peace of mind? It seems that happiness is something that does not depend on vast sums of money and fulfilment of the desire to fill our lives with the trash of possessions and endless spending on bric-à-brac. 'Grounded' personalities can be really happy on a reasonable income and, above all, on a philosophy that is based on gratitude for the wonderful world we live in, with a belief that a supreme being created these wonders for us to enjoy. This is where a religious conviction helps. Our affluent society today has a much darker side - the battle for peace of mind. Many of the mental problems of people today are exacerbated or even invented by drug, drink or substance problems. If they want to get back to mental health they have to kick those habits which are deforming their lives to make them failures and outsiders and to reform their lives. Mental illness means the daily trauma of struggling with our 'devils'. Quite often the option of slipping away into self-inflicted unconsciousness seems to be the only alternative. Much mental health is complex and difficult to repair and without a belief system of some kind we have nothing to fall back on. The human desire to lead independent and useful lives is destroyed in our society today by value judgement that depends on the Trojan Horse of conspicuous consumption with its ephemeral buzz and vacuous values. The sadness is that there is no real meaning to life among many people any more, among people who only have fleeting relationships and to whom a sense of commitment is a stranger. We must accept our changing society up to a certain point but the value of getting involved with one another in communities is so blindingly obvious that it seems to have passed many people by. Going to church regularly fulfils a whole host of social needs - there is fellowship, a sense that we are 'on the road to somewhere', a belief in one another, and dare I say it, a sense of tenderness together. Our society is rich but not
happy today - it needs religion and, God willing, the simplicity
of the religious ethic. Hopefully this will end the present
puzzlement and will bring people back to our churches again. Recently a Scottish schoolteacher launched a disability discrimination case because his pupils were calling him 'Baldy'. In the Old Testament, 2 Kings 2 v23-24, the prophet Elisha has similar problems from young lads who "mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head." Mr. Campbell, the Scottish schoolteacher, had his case thrown out. Not so Elisha, who started cursing the boys "In the name of the Lord". He was happy when "Two she bears came forth out of a wood and tore forty and two children of them". Times have obviously changed,
Elisha belonged to the age of SPQR (small profits but quick
returns). A priest was speeding down the motorway when he was stopped by the police. The officer smelled alcohol on his breath, and then saw the empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. "Sir," he demanded,
"Have you been drinking?".
1st prize £25 - David
Wynne-Jones MAGAZINE EDITORIAL TEAM MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTOR
Please contact the Church Office for further details 01923 772109. All Saints' Church, The Green, Croxley
Green, Rickmansworth,
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Revd.
Miriam writes: