St. Helen's Parish Church & 
St. Peter's, Gustard Wood

NEWS & NOTICES

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(updated 03 Mar 2008 )

What is going on in the Chancel?

During the first quarter of 2008 the Chancel is being refurbished - this involves cleaning of the ceiling paintings and repainting the walls.  These pictures illustrate some of the progress on the ceiling.

Letter from the Rectory (March 2008)

The repainting and cleaning work on the chancel walls and ceiling is making fair progress, and we are very hopeful that we shall have full use of the church again in time for Easter. Thank you to everyone who has borne the added difficulties bravely, and those who have been patient amid the contraints upon our Sunday and midweek worship.

On Sunday 2nd March we celebrate Mothering Sunday in St Helen’s with an all-age service at 9.30am and the orchestra leading our music. It may be a bit of a squash but we will welcome one and all.

The following weekend (9th), that same service will see a visit from representatives of Mission Aviation Fellowship, presenting details of their work and vision in a lively and engaging way. There will be plenty for the Junior Church members that morning.

16th March is, of course, Palm Sunday, and we shall follow a dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel in the mid-morning service. That is the beginning of Holy Week, and there are daily acts of worship through to Good Friday, as listed elsewhere.

Easter Sunday is the most important of dates for the Christian Church and we are offering a great variety of services (five!) that morning. Do make sure you join in worship in one of the churches of the village that day. An additional service at St Helen’s this year, is an 11.15 Easter Praise with youngsters in mind.

Throughout the month, and the ongoing season of Lent there are also a number of events shared with other churches, including our Lenten Quiet Day, 1st March at St Thomas More; the Women’s World Day of Prayer service, 7th March at the United church, and a special evening service in Holy Week, Monday 17th at St Helen’s. These events are advertised elsewhere. And, outside of this village, I continue to remind you of the excellent series of Lenten lectures at 6.30 on Sunday evening at St John’s Lemsford: the last two are on 2nd and 9th March (no prior booking needed).

I am pleased to report that Louise Edwards has accepted the PCC’s invitation to take up the role of a Pastoral Assistant in the parish. She will be a wonderful asset to our pastoral work in the parish, alongside Ann Hayes, and also becomes a very welcome addition to our ministerial team. Louise will have been commissioned with a short act of prayer in our service on 24 February.

Finally, the time of our annual parish meetings is drawing near again, so please mark the date of Tuesday 22nd April in your diaries. There will be a report on the work and witness of our churches over the past year and the presentation of a particular item of importance and interest. It is also the occasion on which we elect representatives for the Deanery Synod and the Parochial Church Council. In all, I am expecting nine places to be up for election, and I know we shall need several new members of both bodies. If you are interested to play a greater role in the life of parish or deanery, and to offer yourself for election, please indicate to secretary Chris Callow or myself, or talk with us first to understand a little more of what is involved. We always hope that the PCC can be a varied group, broadly representative of our congregations as a whole. Please don’t be shy in coming forward.

AndrewDoye

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Curry Night

A evening of good food, entertainment and fellowship was enjoyed by all in the Memorial Hall on 13th May 2005 by courtesy of our CMS partners, Kanwal and Andrayas Khan.  

Proceeds from the event were given for support to the Derby Asian Christian Ministry Partnership


Kanwal and Andrayas Khan

Enjoyable evening concluded with entertainment from the Choir (above) and the Youth Fellowship group (right).

 

Photographs kindly provided by Alan Southgate

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Events 

 

Data for 2008 yet to be added

     

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Church Mission Society partners

Our parish supports the CMS through donations and prayer.  As a result, we develop a direct relationship with individual CMS workers. Our new CMS partners are Andrayas and Kanwal Khan in Derby.  Andrayas has taken over a project called Derby Asian Christian Ministry Partnership. It is a local ecumenical project, which has been running for the last twenty-one years.

The Partnership aims to:

  • build bridges between Asian and indigenous communities
  • nurture Asian Christians
  • build links with other faith communities
  • promote sensitive evangelism within local churches

Andrayas has been an Outreach and Interfaith Worker with the Anglican Church and a primary school teacher.  He has a BA in Theology.  Kanwal is a nurse.  They are both British with Pakistani origins. They have two young adult sons.

 

Picture gallery


Volunteer restoration work in progress


Recent restoration

A prayer

Lent is a journey towards Calvary, a road towards the Cross.  It is not just that the Cross casts back its shadow on the approaching weeks like bad-news-a-comin’, though it does, but that the journeying itself admits of hardship. If we travel in faith, we do so with contrition, and committed to self-discovery, and in openness to God’s grace.  Sometimes we would rather that none of these things were forced upon us, but that betrays our very unwillingness to walk the Lenten path to which Christ invites us. If we are going to pray at all, please .. let us pray in the season of Lent.

If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us,
if we confess our sins God is faithful and just,
and will forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.