Barnes in Common

the magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
May/June 2007

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Church News

Baptist Church   |   Holy Trinity   |   Methodist Church
St Mary's   |   St Michael's   |   St Osmund's

Baptist Church

The second weekend in May will be a busy one with the Bible Society Spring Meeting at East Sheen Baptist Church on the 12th being followed by our Church Anniversary and Social on the 13th and 14th. The following weekend we have an evening 'Celebration' service with other Thames Valley Baptist Churches at the Teddington Church. At 8pm on the last Thursday of each month we have a Church Prayer meeting at which we give thanks and remember before God the needs of the world, our community, the churches and ourselves. It's an opportunity to both give and receive prayer - an opportunity that is greatly valued, and we'd be delighted to welcome any who would like to come and share with us in this important aspect of our Christian faith and ministry. Plans are afoot to enhance the appearance of the Church building and we hope to have leaflets available for passers-by to take and read. So, when next walking (and thereby reducing your carbon footprint) down Lonsdale Road please take, read, inwardly digest and then pass on the good news we're looking to share with you. A tear-off will allow prayer requests to be posted in a box provided specifically for that reason. You might like to put one in yourself - it's absolutely free! Being good conservative evangelicals our prayers are made on a 'Family and Friends' tariff and are rated by the heavenly exchange as Local Calls!

Graham Pulham

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Holy Trinity

After our journey together through Lent and Holy week, our Easter celebration ended after the service on Easter Sunday with a children's "Egg" hunt around the church, and refreshments of juice, coffee and wine and a slice of Simnel cake. The season of festivals continues with Ascension Day on the 17th of May which will be a Team Eucharist Service, following closely by Pentecost. Confirmation preparations are well under way and we all look forward to the Confirmation Services.

The next "Space To Be" holistic evening will be held on the 1st of May at 7.00.pm The evening is open to everybody if you are feeling stressed or simply needing some quiet space. Why not come and have a head or foot massage, or just sit and be still and reflect! Food and drink will be available and a qualified nurse will be there to supervise your children. We look forward to seeing you.

Jean Boulton-Reynolds

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Methodist Church

We seem to have found a 'successful' format in our First Sunday series, which ends (for the moment at least) on the first Sunday of May. We have to be honest: it hasn't brought a huge new influx of congregation! What it has done, though, is to widen our horizons with a sequence of speakers who've covered everything from the NHS to the House of Commons and Private Education. It's also helped to strengthen the relationships within our church, because we've shared not only the work involved but the meals which have been part of the day. And, of course, it's enabled us to offer to our own members and to anyone else in our community a sequence of four acts of worship or reflection in very different forms.

This is a great time of year to live in Barnes. We are very privileged to have such a terrific environment, looked after by BCA and others, and valued by us all. The CTiB service is one of the ways we can all give thanks for this community and all that it means to us.

Our diary for this edition mentions several events, musical and other, to which all are warmly welcome.

Roger Hutchings

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St Mary's

On 5th May there will be an evening of Sudanese story-telling in the Kitson Hall. Story-telling has a major part in Sudanese culture as the significant tales of the history of the Southern Sudanese people are passed down orally through the generations. Our story-teller will be the Reverend Simon Airey, a Vicar in Bristol, who is kindly coming to lead our sessions. First will be a special session for children and families between 4.30 and 6pm, after which Sudanese food will be served prior to the 6.30 pm session for adults. It promises to be an entertaining and informative evening and you will be very welcome to come (please let us know at the Parish Office on 8741 5422 or office@stmarybarnes.org). There will be a small charge to cover costs and to contribute to the Under Tree Schools project which we are supporting through our assistant priest, the Reverend Joseph Ayok-Loewenberg, who is now in Southern Sudan as Director of Religious Affairs. The project of building a girls' school in Southern Sudan is developing well. The first part of the school is being built as you read this and the trustees in this country have raised around £85,000 in the past months.

Ross Collins

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St Michael's Church

One of the most moving services during Holy Week was the Easter Day service for Paddocks School. The whole drama from Palm Sunday to Easter is acted out with the school moving around the church to three separate spaces each expressing a different aspect of the week. It is specially moving seeing all the children lighting candles and placing them on the cross followed by a procession to the Easter Garden where again everyone places a flower to decorate the tomb. Prayer and Easter songs are sung at every point and there is a real sense of joy and delight. The children from Paddock School always bring a special dimension to the worship at St Michael's and we all feel privileged to be part of it.

Our new community centre is now up and running and being well used by the local community. On Palm Sunday the children's service was followed by donkey rides in the vicarage garden. The weather this year has been at its best which made the walk of witness a positive experience followed by the service at St Osmund's. Both events are a real sign how Christians in Barnes are growing together. For the first time we were able to have our Easter Day breakfast in the centre after the Vigil and Mass of the dawn.

The next important moment for St Michael's is the official opening on May 26 when we are fortunate to have Charles Hazelwood to cut the ribbon publicly and open the centre. Invitations will shortly be going out.

Paul Holland

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St Osmund's Church

During Lent we were occupied with the Archbishop's request for discussion of the future plans for parish and diocese. Three years now since his appointment to Southwark, Archbishop Kevin McDonald is keen to hear our views.

Palm Sunday took on a unique double celebration this year. First and foremost there was the sung mass with the blessing and procession of palms. Then we retired to the hall for an event to mark Fr Logan's recent 75th birthday. Andy Cole entertained us with a rundown of events of Father's life and times. There was a most un-Lenten repast prepared by Monica Christian.

We appreciate the opportunity on Good Friday of concluding the Churches' procession acknowledging the day of the Crucifixion. Overall, the numbers over Easter seemed to be down a little - with the fine weather more families were away.

On Low Sunday we were pleased to see Fr Dan Cashman here for a long weekend. Since then, we have celebrated a Requiem Mass for Kitty Murphy, a parishioner since her marriage here in 1942. There was a great gathering of families of her six children, grandchildren, relations and friends. Kitty had died in hospital on Maundy Thursday, Father Dominic celebrating the last rites with her.

Fiona Keen

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