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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in BarnesWinter2011
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Baptist Church The Harvest services and Social raised over £100 for this years Baptist Missionary Society Appeal ‘Sacred Soil’ supporting the on-going mission work amongst a poor farming community in Peru. Meanwhile the latest tranche of our ‘Through the Bible’ series of sermons has come to an end. Jerusalem has fallen to the Babylonians! We will return to continue the story of God’s people in exile in the new year. The mid-week series of interactive Bible Studies in Mark's Gospel is also drawing to a close as we will be looking at the last couple of chapters examining, questioning and discussing the text and sharing our own experiences of faith. Interestingly – and sadly - a recent Bible Society survey of 3000 Christian leaders and members, ‘Taking the Pulse’, reported that only 58% of leaders and 34% of members read from the Bible daily. 57% leaders and 33% of members said the Bible shaped their daily lives, and ironically it’s the church leaders who place less importance on the Bible themselves who are the most dissatisfied with the general level of Bible knowledge in their church! What is the future of Christianity in the West if we are so dismissive of God’s word? What does your attitude and use of the Bible say about your Christian understanding and commitment? At the beginning of a new year, perhaps this is the opportunity to make a resolution before God to open and seek to better understand His word – both in private and in the company of fellow Christians. The Bible exists to shape the Church. Not the other way round. ‘The fate of the Bible is the fate of the Church’ – what does that fate look like in your hands? The 2012 Baptist Assembly will be held in London at a number of locations from 4-6 May. During this important event in the life of our denomination we will be exploring together what it means to be Baptists in today's world and celebrating together 400 years of Baptist witness in the UK and beyond. This Assembly is being designed to give delegates a tangible experience of how our worldwide faith impacts the whole of life. Graham Pulham Methodist Church  Well, I am coming to the end of my first year here in Barnes and I can’t quite believe it’s already time to start making plans for our Christmas services and activities again! Time has flown (so we must have been having fun!) This Christmas, Barnes Methodist Church is supporting Action for Children and the Gift Service at 10.30am on 4th December will be collecting specifically for the Bayswater Family Centre. Our united carol singing on the 20th December will also be raising money for Action for Children (see www.actionforchildren.org.uk). In addition we are supporting a Methodist Relief and Development Fund project which is raising money for a Youth Development Centre in Cameroon (see www.mrdf.org.uk) and our Candlelight Carols (18th December) and Christmas Eve Holy Communion service will be receiving offerings to support this work. As usual all are welcome to worship and celebrate with us. Running up to Christmas we are looking forward to an Advent bible study based on John’s gospel and titled ‘Leadership in a time of crisis’. We will be meeting on Saturday mornings (from 26th Nov. to 17th Dec), gathering as the coffee shop opens at 10.30am (and no doubt grabbing much-needed coffee). The sessions will run from 10.45am to noon and again all are welcome. There is no need to feel you have to come each Saturday in Advent; we know it is a busy time for people so if you are interested just come when you can. We have mentioned previously the much anticipated new Methodist Hymn Book ‘Singing the Faith’. This is now published and we will be receiving our copies for the new year so we are greatly looking forward to exploring hymns old and new and celebrating the place of music in our worshipping life. It is also appropriate for us to mark the commencement of the Winter Nightshelter which meets in our hall on Saturday nights throughout the winter. Our prayers are with Jane, the team of volunteers, the project staff and, not least, our guests as the new season begins. May God bless you. For our weekly notices and more information about our activities please visit http://www.barnesmethodistchurch.org.uk Nicola Morrison St Osmund's Church  The new translation of the Roman missal started to be phased in at the beginning of September: a really big change in our worship. First reactions are very positive. It would seem that most people agree the liturgy is richer for all kinds of reasons. The language register is in many parts more elevated, more reverential in tone. The texts of the Mass prayers are a kind of tapestry woven from different parts of scripture, but that sense had been lost by inaccurate or unfamiliar translations of scriptural sources. These have now been reinstated. And it has been a kind of renewal in itself that we are all having to look more carefully at the words we are praying and think more carefully about them, whereas we could say the “old” translation by heart. It seemed opportune therefore, to address the issue of the sound system in church. It had been the source of complaints for years. The services of a gifted sound engineer finally solved the conundrum, that although the output was high, still people claimed it was inaudible. It seems that the message was quite literally going over people’s heads. A little deft adjustment of the speaker angles, and a few tweaks have transformed it all, without the need for a total overhaul. If faith comes from what is heard, as St Paul says, we have received a huge boost. Otherwise the autumn focused us on formation. Preparation classes for the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation are under way in the parish. St Osmund’s Primary School had OFSTED come to call in October. Their verdict? An overall good standard with many outstanding areas. This is a testament to the commitment and expertise of the staff under the leadership of Fiona Lambe for whom it sets a seal on a very successful and busy first year as Headteacher and to the dynamic partnership of school, families, and parish which give St Osmund’s its particular character. Dominic Allain Holy Trinity Church  On Sunday 4th December we say farewell to our vicar Revd Jean Boulton-Reynolds and our Reader Denis Barrow after six years of husband and wife ministry at Holy Trinity Barnes and in the Barnes Team Ministry. Whilst Holy Trinity now enters a time of waiting we can announce an exciting new venture which will take place in early autumn 2012. Extensive discussions have been taking place over past months which have focussed on the possibility of a church plant from another church in this deanery, Holy Trinity Richmond. Under this arrangement, a group of members of that church under the leadership of their Associate Vicar, Revd David Cooke would commit to becoming part of the worshipping community in Holy Trinity Barnes. The PCC of Holy Trinity Barnes is in full agreement with this and has invited Revd David Cooke to come under this arrangement as their new Team Vicar. The Team Council of our Team Ministry has also approved this venture which we all believe gives the church the very best opportunity to grow and thrive as a Christian community serving the local parish and building on the ministry of Revd Jean Boulton-Reynolds and Denis Barrow. We are very pleased that this new initiative offers Holy Trinity the best chance to grow in faith and in numbers in order to serve God in Christian mission. St Mary's Church  A lovely quiet (and wet) summer in Barnes soon turned to a busy (and sunny) autumn for St. Mary’s. This kicked off with a rare treat: an Archaeological Evening to celebrate the launch of a book of the history of St. Mary’s from an archaeological perspective. The authors gave fascinating presentations which arose from the work that was done immediately following the devastating fire in 1978. The past was brought alive for us by looking to see the story that the current building is still able to tell us about what was there before. We welcomed a former rector, Juergen Simonson, and the new building’s architect, Ted Cullinan, which helped to make it a very special evening. That was soon followed by the first Barnes Charity Fashion Show which was a joint venture between St. Mary’s and the BCA as a way of supporting the fashion boutiques in our High Street whilst raising money for our chosen charities. St. Mary’s was transformed into a high class fashion venue complete with runway, right down the centre aisle of the church. It was a spectacular community event and was greatly appreciated by everyone who came. It took a huge amount of work to make it happen but it was considered worth all the effort. Meanwhile throughout the autumn St. Mary’s has been running the Rough Guide to the Old Testament - a series of lectures which I have given and many people have attended. You can read more about this on page 15. Our Harvest Festival was the wonderful celebration that it always is. Our gratitude for God’s blessings was symbolised by the gifts brought as an offering and then passed onto The Vineyard Centre in Richmond and the Barnes Green Centre. In October we also launched a new youth initiative. Barnes Youth Group (BYG) is for young people aged 11-16 and will meet monthly in Kitson Hall. All are welcome. The first gathering was a great success with good numbers coming along to check it out. There are sports, games and activities and a short reflection on a significant topic or theme. It was brilliant to hear and see the young people having such a great time together. Revd Richard Sewell St Michael's Church  The area around St. Michael’s in the last few months has undergone a radical transformation. The north side of the church, which has been rather dark and uninteresting, has now been transformed with magnificent Portland stone pavements and granite stones. This is our new Memorial Garden where ashes will now be laid along the North side of the church wall. By the end of November/ early December, four new cherry trees will be planted. I have had two rather moving requests from local families in the parish that the ashes of their loved ones be placed around the roots of the trees as they are planted. There is something very beautiful about fresh blossom in the Spring – it always speaks of hope and renewal. Our hearts are always lifted by the sheer surprise of colour and delicacy and every year it’s as if we have forgotten how wonderful the blossom really is. It will be wonderful for these families, as they pass the trees in the spring, to have their hearts lifted by the sheer beauty of the blossom. Beauty is one of God’s engagement rings towards us – it speaks of the promise of the union that is yet to come. The blossom’s fragility reminds us the vulnerability of love. But also speaks of its constant return. On the South side, the cloisters have caused quite a stir! We hope that it will be a space where people from the parish will be able to linger and enjoy the surroundings for it belongs to everyone. There will be an informal invitation for the local community to view the new cloisters and the interior of the Church one Saturday afternoon in January. vulnerability of love. But also speaks of its constant return. We have also had a new lighting system put in St Michael’s which will enable us to use light in a more subtle and imaginative way during worship. In the coming months we have a series of imaginative musical fundraising events which will take place in the church, so do keep a look-out for more information after Christmas. Fr Paul Holland |
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