St Andrew’smagazine

A new beginning

March 2010

Suggested donation: £1

In this issue:

PCC pickings 2 80 years young 6

Easter message from Anne Peat 3 Women’s World Day of Prayer 7

What does St Andrew’s mean to you? 4 Eden comes to Watford 8

and he will be welcomed to St Andrew’s by the mayor, deanery officials, fellow-ministers from the town and the congregation. We look forward to this joyful occasion, though not without thanking everyone who has worked so hard to keep the wheels on the parish wagon turning so smoothly during recent months.Ian and Sue will not live in the vicarage, as

their own house is close by: the diocese plans to let the vicarage, which it owns.

A fortunate parish

We can count ourselves fortunate that this vacancy has lasted for such a short time. You will know of other parishes in the district that have had to run under their own resources for a lot longer. From the outset, however, we were assured

that both the deanery and diocese were keen to limit our ‘vicarlessness’ to the shortest possible time – and are delighted that they have succeeded in this. It will be good to welcome Ian, Sue and their family into our fellowship as we begin a new chapter in our church’s life.

Turn to page 2 for more details of Ian’s licensing service and page 3 for Easter

service times.

Richard Andersen writes: I’m very glad to be writing this as news of our new

appointment reaches us – we are so pleased that Reverend Ian Pankhurst will be our new priest-in-charge.To reach this point, the PCC had arranged

a parish visit for Ian and his wife Sue. This included lunch with the curate, reader and churchwardens on 8 February, followed by a visit to the pre-school, Prince Michael of Kent Home and a brief drive round the parish. There was a buffet meal in the hall that evening, where Ian and Sue had the chance to meet a wider group of people. The formal interview took place the next day. Ian will be officially licensed on 27 April at a

special service, when the bishop will formally entrust the parish to Ian’s care

Ian Pankhurst, our new

priest-in-charge, and his wife Sue

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PCC pickings

The vacancy is at an end, as was announced in church by our lay chairman

on 14 February.Our meetings over the last three months have

seen the combined efforts of churchwardens, officers, clergy and lay members maintain the spiritual, practical and social life of St Andrew’s. However, regular reports from our treasurers have warned us of our precarious financial position (dwindling money) and regular reports from our architect have advised immediate and essential repair expenditure (spend money!)

New committees

To work on this dilemma, committees for stewardship, finance and fundraising will be formed. Vacancies on the Churches Together and Deanery Synod committees have been filled, and we have a new child protection officer, Christine Coleman, who has reviewed our CP policy. We also now have a licence to play music in church and the hall.

Wanted: magazine editors

Our team has dwindled to three plus Olivia our designer.

Penny, Philippa and Ruth have taken on other responsibilities and would like to retire from magazine production. A fresh outlook and a new approach would be most appropriate as we welcome our priest-in-charge.No technical skills are needed – just writing

ability and IDEAS. Do consider joining the magazine committee to support or replace us – new year, new project?

Contact detailsCurateRev Scott Talbott 07802 244877ReaderAnne Peat 01923 720951ChurchwardensRichard Andersen 01923 225894Philippa Gosden 01923 224503Magazine committeePhilippa Gosden, Ruth Jinadasa and Penny Rowland 01923 234303

Licensing service of Ian Pankhurst

Ian Pankhurst’s licensing service will take place on 27 April 2010. This service marks both a new sphere of

work in the life of our new minister and a new chapter in the worship and life of this parish. It is right therefore that we come together with the bishop and representatives of our partner churches to offer ourselves afresh to God for the work of the gospel. The first part of the service is an act of

dedication when the people of the parish re-dedicate themselves in God’s service. This is led by the rural dean and deanery lay chair with lay members of the congregation, who also bring forward symbols reflecting the worship and life of the parish.

Symbols of our church

The bible is the book in which God’s word is uniquely revealed to us in Jesus, the Word of God. The bible is carried through the congregation and placed on the lectern. Water represents our baptism when we set

foot on the Christian way, led by Jesus the Light of the World, and are given the power of God’s Spirit to follow him. Water is carried through the congregation and is poured into the font. Bread and wine represent the Holy

Communion. Jesus is the bread of life who, in the communion service, makes himself known to us in the breaking of the bread. Bread and wine are carried through the congregation and are placed on the holy table.

Legal and spiritual authority

The second part of the service is the licensing of the new minister when he is given the spiritual and legal authority to minister in the parish. The Declaration and Oaths are required by

law. They assure that the minister speaks and acts as a Christian minister should. The service will conclude with the Peace,

and the prayers for the life of the community will be led by our new priest-in-charge as his first duty in the parish.Please join us at 8.00 pm to welcome Ian to

St Andrew’s. The service will be followed by light refreshments in the church hall.

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Holy Week: ups and downs

An Easter message from Anne Peat

Easter services28 March: Palm Sunday10.00 am Parish Communion with

Sunday School

1 April: Maundy Thursday7.30 pm Holy Communion

2 April: Good Friday2.00–3.00 pm Good Friday Service

4 April: Easter Day8.00 am Holy Communion10.00 am Family Communion

When people ask you how you are, the polite answer is ‘I’m fine’. But what you often really want to say is ‘Things have been a bit up and down recently’.

Life is like that! We have periods of elation and excitement interspersed with periods of boredom or irritation or trouble.The pattern of Holy Week is like that too. The events mirror the physical landscape in which they

occurred, as Jesus went down into Jerusalem and up to the Temple each day, then down into the valley and up the hills back to Bethany each evening; and in his final days, was raised high on the cross then laid low in the tomb, and finally, at Easter, raised high to life again with God.

Spiritual highs

The Holy Week services begin with a ‘high’, the Communion Service on Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, as the crowds waved palms and shouted ‘Hosanna’. During the week the readings remind us of Jesus’ disputes with his enemies among the scribes and Pharisees, as they tried to trap him and plotted to put him on trial.There is another ‘high’ on Maundy Thursday, when the evening Communion Service centres

around the Last Supper, Jesus’s act of service in washing the disciples’ feet, and the gift to us of Holy Communion. This will be a quiet service with hymns. At the end of that service, the ceremonial stripping of the altar reminds us of the desertion of the disciples, Jesus’s trial and how he was stripped and beaten.This leaves the church bare for the ‘low’ of Good

Friday. The service on that afternoon will include reading the Passion according to Mark, with hymns, meditation, prayer and silence.Then, on Easter Sunday we will celebrate the

greatest ‘high’ of the Christian year: we proclaim the Resurrection with the lighting of the Paschal Candle, shouts of ‘Christ is risen’ and joyful hymns (and Easter eggs!)

Walking with Christ

Please do make an effort to be with us through all the highs and lows of Holy Week. You cannot really appreciate the ‘high’ of Easter unless you have walked with Christ through all the ups and downs of the week before.

St Andrews’ altar screen

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It makes the world a better place

• Christian Aid: Sunday 9 May in the hall after church• Fair trade: after church in the hall every

Sunday• Self-help groups using the hall

What does St Andrew’s mean to you?It’s a place of

worship• A friendly church where everyone is

welcome• Exploring the Christian faith together• Different forms of worship including family

and community services• Sunday School for children

What youcan do

Bring along a friend to Back to Church Sunday,

26 September.Explore new forms of

worship.

What you can do

Support the fair trade stall.

Support Christian Aid fundraising (contact Jan Macfarland or Andrew

Spanner)

Help us keep St Andrew’s

at the heart of the community.

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What does St Andrew’s mean to you?

It’s fun and fellowship

• Summer fete, Saturday 12 June (contact Ali Saunders or Christine Coleman for more details)• Open gardens: open your garden or just

help with teas

It’s a historic building• Stewardship• Wills and bequests• Repairs (Roof repairs and guttering £30K,

falling corner stone £8K, boiler £20K, organ – full service needed... More than £100K is needed within the next five years)

What you can do

Regular giving by standing order or

stewardship envelope.Come along to gardening

days and keep the churchyard tidy.

What you can do

Support events with time, talent, donations or

funds.Sponsor cyclists, open up

your garden or suggest your own event.

Help us keep St Andrew’s

at the heart of the community.

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AD to 21C: an easy guide to church history

1100–1150: the church militant

The success of the First Crusade led to the foundation of four Latin Crusader Kingdoms

in the lands taken from the Turks by the European Crusaders: Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem.The capture of the Holy Land prompted a

renewal of Christian pilgrimage to the sacred sites. In 1118 an order of Christian knights, the Poor Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon – or the Knights Templar – was founded to protect pilgrims from bandits on the roads to the holy sites. At first, they lived entirely on alms, but later endowments made them extremely rich. They were organised into four ranks (knights, sergeants, squires and chaplains) and, as professional soldiers, became increasingly important in the defence of the Crusader states.

Founding of the Knights Hospitallers

About the same time, the Knights Hospitallers (Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem) were founded to provide food and lodging for crusaders and pilgrims. Later they also added care of sick pilgrims to their remit. They also had an order of knights to defend their premises and the pilgrims, which developed into another professional force that fought alongside the crusaders.In 1144, the city of Edessa, which was at the

centre of one of the Crusader states, fell to the Muslim Zengi. The Latin inhabitants of the city were massacred. This was the beginning of the end for this Crusader state.When the news reached Europe, Bernard of

Clairvaux preached a second Crusade. This was led by Emperor Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France. On the way to the east the crusaders took Lisbon from the Moors. The Crusade was otherwise a complete failure and many of the crusaders were killed by Turks.A remnant reached Jerusalem and laid siege

to Damascus, but that too ended in failure. Only the discipline of the Templars protected the crusaders as they returned home. St Bernard died in 1153, deeply disappointed by its failure.

Anne Peat

Baptism of fire (and ice)

After many years, Richard Andersen has handed over the organising of church hall

lettings to Andrew Spanner. Many thanks to Richard for all his hard work and to Andrew for taking on the role.Andrew has already dealt with a frozen water

supply and been locked out of the building by a birthday party that left early but on a more positive note, he has added an Alzheimers Support Group to our list of regular hirers. Our regular hall hirers are:

• Cassio Pre-School: school term time, Monday–Thursday mornings and afternoons, Friday mornings

• Fine Arts for Kids: school term time, Saturday mornings and various mornings during school holidays

• Alzheimers Support Group: 2nd Monday evening each month

• North London Railway Group: last Monday evening each month

• Al Anon (for families and friends of alcoholics): Tuesday evenings

• PCC: 2nd Wednesday evening each month

• Overeaters Anonymous: Thursday evenings

• CA (Cocaine Anonymous): Friday evenings

• AA (Alcoholics Anonymous): Saturday evenings

If you would like to hire the hall, or know of a group that would like to use it, please contact Andrew on 01923 222757.

Congratulations!

Two long-serving parishioners – Joan Orton and Syd Millward – recently celebrated their

80th birthdays. They were joined by family and friends at a party in the church hall.

Joan and Syd at their birthday celebration

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Women’s World Day of Prayer

Judy Mansell of the Royal Geographical Society

Over 3 million people worldwide joined together on 5 March to pray and worship

on the Women’s World Day of Prayer, a global ecumenical movement. Each year, Christian women from a different country prepare the service. This year, it was the turn of the women of Cameroon.At the local service in Watford, this time held

at St Andrew’s, we were fortunate to have Judy Mansell from the Royal Geographical Society as our speaker.

Local colour

Judy’s daughter and son-in-law lived in Cameroon, and her first-hand experience of the country made her talk fascinating. Cameroon – said to be Africa in miniature, with its variety of climate, 240 ethnic groups and French and English as official languages – is now a little more familiar to us. Judy’s colourful national dress made a welcome change from the dark suits or clerical robes normally worn by speakers at St Andrew’s!Thank you to Jackie Witchals and her team

from the various churches in Watford for organising such an interesting afternoon.

Penny Rowland

Dates for your diaryMarchSun 21 Annual parochial church meeting

and election of churchwardens, 11.30 am

AprilThu 1 End of Pre-School termWed 14 PCC meetingMon 19 Start of Pre-School termTues 27 Evening Service to install Ian

Pankhurst as priest-in-charge, 8.00 pm

May9–15 Christian Aid WeekSun 9 Frugal lunch Sun 9 NEST service 3.00 pm –

NEonatal and STill birth. For parents, families and friends of anyone who has lost a baby by late miscarriage, still birth or death near time of birth. Organised by the chaplains of Watford General Hospital.Wed 12 PCC meetingSat 15 Plant sale open to whole parish

in aid of Christian AidSat 22 Wedding 1.30 pmMon 31 Start of Pre-School half term

JuneWed 9 PCC meetingSat 12 Summer feteSun 20 Fathers’ Day: Special Family

Service, 11.00 am

Advertising As part of the campaign to improve our

financial position, we hope to attract some new advertisers in the church magazine. Have you used any good local tradesmen recently? Would they be interested in advertising in our magazine? It is seen by at least 100 local households.

Our advertising rates are very reasonable. Why not ask your builder, decorator or dressmaker if they are interested? Please see Penny Rowland for further details.

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Magazine editorial policyWe always welcome contributions to

the magazine. Sometimes we have more material than we can use and we may need to edit an article or ‘hold it over’ for another issue. If you have any requests for an article (e.g. ‘this month or not at all’) please let us know when you submit it. Please submit articles – preferably

with a high resolution or printed photo if appropriate – to Penny Rowland, Ruth Jinadasa or Philippa Gosden.

Deadline for the next issue9 May 2010

Parish registersBaptismOn 14 February 2010, Emma Louise, daughter of Katrin and James Green

FuneralsOn 25 November 2009, at Garston, June Hewitt of Rickmansworth aged 74On 14 December 2009 at Amersham, Elsie Whitmarsh of Eastbourne, aged 84On 27 January 2010 at St Andrew’s followed by cremation at Garston, James Morwood of Juniper Grove aged 80On 18 February at Breakspear Crematorium, Ruislip, Margaret Firmston-Williams, of Chalfont Lodge, aged 86

In memoriam

We were sorry to hear of the death of John Tennant.

John was the nephew of Walter Tennant, a long-serving verger at St Andrew’s, and cousin of Betty Bray, who has written for the magazine on several occasions. In his youth he sang in the choir and later he contributed to the book of church memories published for our 150th anniversary.John also painted a beautiful watercolour

picture of the church that was auctioned to raise money for the church on our 150th anniversary celebrations and more recently helped proofread the magazine.

Eds.

Eden in Watford

Eden. The sign on the shop front in Charter Place in Watford caught my eye. Could

this be yet another nightclub, or was it a shop selling beauty products? Then I realised that it was the newly acquired premises of the Watford Town Centre Chaplaincy. Situated opposite the side entrance of BHS,

the centre was officially opened last year. It features beautiful and peaceful surroundings including reflection and creative zones and even comfortable sofas. Visitors’ comments have included: ‘It is really peaceful here’ and ‘I don’t know what it is, but there is something special about this place!’Eden is the culmination of several years’

planning. The idea of a town centre chaplaincy was first proposed in 2002, with church leaders from many denominations – Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Anglicans, Methodists and Salvation Army – exploring the possibility. Churches across Watford promised their support in prayer, involvement and finance. The chaplaincy relies heavily on grants

and those concerned were delighted to hear recently of the renewal for a further three years of a grant from the Methodist church. Volunteers are always needed by the chaplaincy. Do visit Eden and see for yourself what goes on there.

Penny Rowland