1. family and parenting
2. children

Church Drive March/April 2015
Bi-Monthly News from
St. Giles, West Bridgford
In this edition…
The Rector Writes
Meet Our New Bishop
Young Leaders & Youth Confirmation
PCC Update
A Tale of 2 Carolines
Before It‘s Too Late….
Update from the Boys Brigade
St Giles‘ Directory & Coming Up at St Giles
The Rector Writes…...
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The number of Coptic Christians cruelly
murdered by ISIS fanatics in Libya. In the
days following this horrific event Egypt‘s Bible
Society distributed 1.65 million tracts across
Egypt. The tract - Two Rows by the Sea contains biblical quotations about the promise
of blessing amid suffering,
alongside a poignant poem in
colloquial Arabic:
Who fears the other?
The row in orange, watching
paradise open?
Or the row in black, with minds
evil and broken?
―The design is meant so that it
can be given to any Egyptian
without causing offense,‖ said
Atallah the Society‘s director. ―To
comfort the mourning and
challenge people to commit to
Christ.‖
The impact of these murders has
been felt across the world. Men
brutally killed simply because they are of a different faith to that of
their killers. The last word on their lips before their blood flowed
into the sea was ‗Yeshua‘ - arabic for Jesus.
Christianity Today‘s Peter Chin notes that messages of support
and solidarity have flowed to the Coptic Church from Christians of
all denominations and every corner of the globe.
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He writes:
Seeing the church stand up in solidarity with these men reminded
me that we are one family in Christ. Yes, a broad, diverse, and
incredibly fractious and quarrelsome family, but family
nonetheless. There are surely significant and important differences
among us, but persecution and suffering has a way of putting
those differences into perspective and allowing us to recognize,
even if momentarily, that what ties us together as Christ followers
is far stronger stuff than we thought. And what binds us is nothing
less than the name of Jesus, the name above all names, the name
that these men uttered before they died as martyrs.
Youth Confirmation at Southwell Minster
On Saturday March 21st at 7pm a number of our young people will
be being confirmed at Southwell Minister during the Diocesan
Youth Confirmation Service.
This is an important step in their Christian lives, they will be making
a public witness of their allegiance to Christ.
At confirmation we confirm the promises made at our baptism, and
a bishop lays his hands upon us and
prays that the Holy Spirit confirms his
presence in our lives. One of the most
important things that we do as a church
is to pass on the faith to the next
generation introducing young people to
Jesus is core to our children‘s and
youth work and always should be.
Do keep all those being confirmed in
your prayers, and if you are able join me, Andy, and their families
in supporting them at the service.
Wishing you every blessing,
Lee
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Meet Our New Bishop
It was announced last month that the new Bishop of Southwell &
Nottingham will be the Rt Revd Paul Williams, currently the Area
Bishop of Kensington, London.
Paul, 47, who grew up in Somerset,
studied at Durham University, before
training for ordained ministry at Wycliffe
Hall, Oxford, having first considered
becoming a priest in his teens. He is
married to Sarah and they have three
sons: Edward, 16, Thomas, 14, and
Joseph, 12. They are also foster carers
in their local borough and are deeply
engaged in the wider issues relating to
the care of looked-after children. In his
spare time Paul enjoys various sports,
especially cricket and football, as well as
running with his teenage sons. He has
wide musical tastes, with a special affection for jazz and blues.
Some of Bishop Paul‘s opening remarks at the Press
Conference held at Emmanuel School on 10th February:
It‘s a huge privilege to be invited to join an outstanding diocesan
team committed to advancing the mission of the church for the
benefit of everyone, whatever their culture or background. There
are over 300 churches in the diocese already making a massive
difference in the communities they serve. And I‘m delighted I‘ll be
working with some very gifted clergy and congregations, along with
ecumenical partners, at a time when many churches are
experiencing exciting new growth.
The adventure of following Jesus, and letting the wisdom of the
Bible shape my outlook on life, gave me bigger and bolder
aspirations to make a difference in the world than anything else
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could have given me. That‘s why I‘m passionate that children and
young people should have the opportunity to discover faith in God
for themselves, and while respecting other faiths, we shouldn‘t
hesitate to allow them that chance.
Good schools can make a massive difference and loving families
are vital but when you know that God is with whatever you‘re
facing there is always hope. I look forward to working closely with
schools like Emmanuel and also non-faith schools to foster healthy
ambitions in all our young people, especially those from more
disadvantaged communities. I‘m energised at the prospect of how
a hopeful church can help create a more hopeful society, in which
everyone has equal opportunity to flourish.
For Christians, our engagement with our society must be as crossshaped as our worship, so that the only thing about which we will
ever gladly boast is Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
This keeps us humble as Jesus was humble, but it also reminds us
that we are closest to God‘s heart when we are with those who are
suffering, and as we work on behalf of the poorest and weakest.
Many churches are already doing this through food-banks, local
credit unions, debt advice centres, as well as a vast range of
activities for children and young people. As we do this, our lives
are enriched in more ways than we could have imagined. I look
forward to the exciting challenge of growing the church to help
build united and more compassionate communities.
“I’m convinced that there is nothing better you
can do with your life than become a follower of
Jesus Christ. I made this decision in my youth
and, while it didn’t make life easier, it gave me a
new kind of hope grounded on faith in God.”
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Young Leaders
This term we have seen 4 of our sixth formers taking on a role of
young leaders during our Sunday morning groups. It is incredible
to see them take on this position of authority and a joy and
privilege to see their willingness to serve God in this way.
‗It challenges our faith by looking at it from a new
perspective.‘
‗It‘s wonderful telling people about the Good News.‘
‗Having been recently through the stage of life that the
younger youth are now in, we understand what they are
going through.‘
‗This is a crucial time in the youth‘s journey of faith, and
deciding to follow God.‘
Our young leaders are Alex Markland, Georgie Jones, Lisa
Lesowiec and Robert Gadsby. Please pray for each of them as
they lead in this way.
Youth Confirmation
On 21st March, 15 of our young people will be
confirmed at a Youth Confirmation Service at
Southwell Minster. They have decided to
confirm the baptism vows made for them, they are stepping up to
declare that they know and love God, that they believe in one God,
the creator of all things. That they follow Jesus, ‗who, though he
was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.‘ Philippians 2:6-8. These young people are
choosing for themselves to follow Christ and live a life for his glory.
Pray for them as they make this bold step in their journey of faith.
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PCC Update from 21st January
1. Buildings Review Working Group
Brendan briefly described some recent work on the Cottages, and
outlined some future expenditure, ie Alarm maintenance £800,
Tree maintenance £1k, Heating leak (ref 6.1 above) £1200. Also
the Energy Efficiency report was discussed and referred to the
Group. If you are interested, talk to Brendan.
2. Fire Safety report
Robin Carter‘s report raised several issues which needed further
consideration and action: limit of 430 people in church, locks on the
garden gates and the need for a crash bar on the vestry fire exit
door. It was referred to Standing Committee of the Rector,
Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary.
3. Finance
Eddie Pearce (Treasurer) presented draft annual accounts for
2014, and a draft budget for 2015. Please talk to Eddie if you
would like further information.
4. Funding Campaign
There will be a funding campaign for the whole of March 2015, to
include a request for future commitments to fund a Children and
Families Coordinator. The planning group for this is Lee, Richard,
Eddie, Adrian and Johanna.
5. Mental Health Awareness
Daphne Carter circulated an action plan. She would be delighted to
speak to anyone who would like to know more.
6. Weekend Away 2015.
Lee presented a draft programme for the Weekend Away in March.
There will be one service only at St Giles‘ on the Sunday that
weekend - Nigel Beasley will lead Morning Prayer at 10.00am.
7. The AGM will be on Sunday 26th April
The next PCC meeting will be on Wednesday 18 th March. It will be
held at St Helen‘s Church in Stapleford, to look at the way that they
have reordered the church.
Dizzy Prentice, Secretary
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A Tale of 2 Carolines
Messy Church is a form of church for
children and adults that involves creativity,
celebration and hospitality. It's primarily for
people who don't already belong to another
form of church. It includes lots of creative
time exploring a biblical theme through getting messy; a short celebration
time involving story, prayer and song and a sit down meal together.
Caroline Harper set up Messy Church at St Giles several years ago and
has been running it ever since. Last month, the time came for her to
pass on the reigns, to Caroline Crew who has taken over Messy Church
leader. Here, they tell us what Messy Church means to them and why it
is such an important ministry.
Caroline Harper, you set up Messy
Church at St Giles – when was that?
The very first Messy Church was in
October 2009. I can still remember
the subject – Fruits of the Vine. We
made vine pictures using purple
paint footprints!
Why did you think it important for St
Giles to host Messy Church?
For a long time I had wanted to do
something to reach out into the wider
community. When Lee first showed
the video of Messy Church to the
PCC I realised that here was the
perfect way to do that. It had the potential to reach both children and
the adults that accompanied them, was a non threatening way of
evangelising and de-mystifying the inside of our church.
What have been the rewarding aspects of running Messy Church?
Seeing some of the children who first joined as toddlers progress
through and grow in faith and confidence. It has also helped me to
make new friends and to deepen my own relationship with God.
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Any particularly memorable crafts to illustrate a bible story?
Over the years we seem to have made about a thousand different
types of sheep. Using blue toothpaste and ziplock bags to create
undersea pictures for Jonah and the Whale was fun, and church
smelled minty fresh afterwards. I‘ve always enjoyed the food crafts –
we made donkey dung out of icing sugar and cocoa powder at
Christmas!
What were your greatest challenges that you encountered running
Messy Church?
The sheer physicality of it can be hard work – from shifting chairs
and tables, to doing the shopping and being one‘s feet all afternoon
can be challenging. Also, trying to put across some of the more
obscure Bible stories in an interesting and engaging way.
What will you miss about Messy Church?
I will miss the fun, the laughter, seeing the church full of children who
are relaxed and happy to be there. I‘ll miss seeing all the friends I
have made. Most of all I think I shall miss the feeling at the end of
the day, when I would get home, collapse with a glass of G&T and
review the session with a wonderful sense of satisfaction at having
had an afternoon of teaching and worship in an atmosphere of joy
and openness to the word of God in His house. I wish Caroline and
Sally and the rest of the team all the very best for the future and
thank everybody for all their support over the years. I shall miss you
all, together with the hugs, the glitter, the glue, the cotton wool and
cake icing and the smell of pasta bolognaise cooking for tea. Thank
you Lee, for giving me the
opportunity to start Messy
Church, and thank you Lord
God, for carrying me
through.
And THANK YOU
Caroline, from
everyone at St Giles.
The Messy Churchers
will all miss you.
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And so to Caroline number two….
Caroline Crew, why is it important that we
run Messy Church at St Giles?
I‘ve been involved for about 3 years and
it‘s clear that Messy Church provides an
outreach and an alternative service pattern
for families who may find the normal
Sunday service intimidating, or difficult to
access. We have many families who see
Messy Church as their regular ‗church‘.
What are the best things about Messy
Church?
The best things is that the children and their carers have loads of fun.
They see that church is a friendly, warm environment and not something
to fear. For parents and carers it‘s somewhere safe and friendly to relax
and meet new friends, whilst the children are entertained and fed.
What are the challenges and
opportunities for Messy Church at St
Giles?
The biggest challenge for Messy
church is staffing. It is supported
entirely by a team of volunteers who
transform the church for each
session so that the children can play,
do crafts, and sing and eat together.
Going forward, we also need to look
at how we continue to reach out to new families in the local area, so that
they can come and join in with Messy Church at St Giles.
How many volunteers do you need and what do they get involved in?
Ideally we need 10-12 volunteers to run a session. We have 6 or 7 craft
and games areas, we serve drinks for the adults and there are the chefs
in the kitchen cooking pasta and serving up to the children. Everyone
clears up at the end, rearranging the church back to normal. I would love
to hear from anyone who might be interested in helping at Messy
Church. The sessions last 1 1/2 hours and take place on the 3rd
Thursday of each month. If you can‘t make it to a session but have time
to cook up a bolognese beforehand which can be put into the slow
cooker on the day that would be wonderful. All help is gladly received!
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SOCIAL CARE
PENSIONS
DEMENTIA RESEARCH
RETIREMENT AGE
VOTE
Meet the Candidates
FOCUS ON SENIORS
BED BLOCKING
SPORTS FACILITIES
2015
TRANSPORT
General Election
Thursday 16th April 2015 2.30-4.00pm
St Giles‘ Church, West Bridgford, NG2 6AY
Come along for refreshments beforehand—an
opportunity to chat about some of the important issues.
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Before It‘s Too Late…..
The reason for the title of this article will become apparent later!
Many of the congregation will know that St Giles‘ had three daughter
churches, All Hallows (Lady Bay), St Luke‘s (Alford Road) and St
Paul‘s (Wilford Hill). These are recorded in the North Aisle window,
designed by Jenny Bell at the time of the Centenary in 1998,and
marked the building of the nave in 1898 following the rapid expansion
of West Bridgford at that time. If you have read the notes on the wall
you will see that, from the main waterfall, there are three tributaries –
representing these three churches.
The subject of this article is the development of St Paul‘s, which
became a separate Parish in Sept 1988. There is an excellent history,
chronicled by Sheila Christopher, dating from the Dedication in 1960,
which used much of the material from Gerald Cleaver‘s ‗archives‘. But
how did the building come about? I refer to our title of this article and
on the recent death of Elizabeth Snodgrass of St Paul‘s we realise
that we, along with Gerald Cleaver and Margaret Brock (nee Lowe),
are the only remaining ‗pioneers‘ who can tell that story.
The original proposed site for a new church was in the area of what is
now the Jesse Gray school in Musters Road. However, when plans
became known for new houses to be built off Loughborough Road/
Wilford Hill in the early 1950s, Canon R F Wilkinson and the PCC
recognised that it would be better if the site was moved nearer to
Wilford Hill. Reginald Felix, as he was affectionately known, made a
very shrewd move and the plans were changed, selling the original
land and negotiating instead for the site on Boundary Road. (At that
time Boundary Road only existed between the railway bridge – near
what is now Rushcliffe School – and down to what is now Willow
Road).
So it was that in the early 1950s, when the St Giles Fellowship was
thriving – both in the life of the church but also as a ‗marriage mart‘! –
that this story unfolds.
There were a number of Fellowship members who as newly- weds in
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1955/56 moved into the houses being built on Wilford Hill. Elizabeth
Snodgrass and her husband Gerald, moved to Stanhome Drive, Bill
& Rosemary Meakin to Melrose Gardens and ourselves to Canberra
Crescent. Also newly arrived from Rushden to take up his post as
Chief Schools Inspector, was Gerald Cleaver who, with his wife
Cynthia, took up residence in Colston Crescent (Gerald by then being
a Lay-Reader).
We embarked – with the blessing and encouragement of the Rector –
on a canvassing campaign to raise funds for the building of a dual
purpose Hall which would serve the community both as a church and
general meeting place for other activities.
Gerald was the
mastermind of the operation along with Fred Lowe ( Margaret Brock‘s
father) who was a Church Warden at St Giles, acting as Clerk of
Works. It is worth noting that correspondence faithfully kept by
Gerald, revealed fascinating exchanges of letters to and from the
farmer working the land and the officials in the Diocese !
While work was in progress, Gerald was instrumental in getting the
West Bridgford Urban District Council – as it was then – to supply
one of its fleet of buses on Sunday to take children to St Giles‘
Sunday School until St Paul‘s was up and running. After much hard
work the first part of the building was dedicated in July 1960.
We were involved at St Paul‘s until 1981 when we returned to St
Giles‘ – considering our work there was done. Looking back those
early years were very exciting, the Hall being regularly used during
the week for meetings and on most Saturday evenings we held social
events including dances, beetle-drives etc. Of course at the close of
each event everything had to be cleared away with chairs put back
into place ready for Sunday service – the drawing pin marks, in the
skirting- board, showing the rows may still be there! Thus the phrase
‗ the conversion of St Paul‘s‘ took on a whole new meaning! This is,
of course, only a brief outline of these events but we felt it worth
recording.
Happy days !
Derek & Sylvia James
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Boys Brigade Update
In the Junior Section Christopher Kerry has gained his Silver
Achievement Badge.
For the Battalion Junior Section Unihoc competition we only had
Xenis Antcliffe and he joined forces with the 42 nd. In the group
stages the team won all 3 games and in then in the semi-final they
beat the 19th 2-0. Onto the final and they eventually lost 3-1 to the
17th A.
The Company Section played their 2nd round National Chess match
against the 32nd Nottingham and we were so close to beating them
but lost 5-4 in the end. Nicholas Ford and Jasper Hanson gaining 2
points each.
They have also held there Table Tennis Competition and we had 2
boys in both the Junior Company and Seniors event. In the Junior
event Kurtiss Baker managed to reach the Quarter –final whilst in
the Seniors Nicholas Ford was knocked out at the semi-final stage.
This year a competition was resurrected to deal with First Aid. It
was for school years 7-10 and the syllabus was to cover bleeding,
choking, broken bones, unconsciousness and the bystander effect.
Three of our boys were entered Patrick Loughran, Edward Baker
and Sebastian Whitlow. They were marked of 50 and our best two
were Patrick with 37 and Edward 35.
Keith Whitaker, Captain
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St Giles‘ Directory
Rector
Lee Proudlove
Tel: 981 1112
rector@stgilesparish.com
Church
Wardens
Caroline Harper
Richard Crawley
Administrator
Claire Sheard
Tel: 07948 834250
admin@stgilesparish.com
Youth Worker
Andy Wright
Tel: 07880 313884
youthworker@stgilesparish.com
Pastoral Care
Co-ordinators
Daphne Carter
Tel: 974 3749
pastoral@stgilesparish.com
Tel: 914 5650
Tel: 981 3262
Debbie Keown
Tel: 914 9684
debbie@stgilesparish.com
House Groups
Katie Conley
Tel: 923 4721
Seniors
Doreen Ottway
Tel: 981 3689
PCC Secretary
Dizzy Prentice
Tel: 07951538670
PCC Treasurer
Eddie Pearce
Tel: 981 3580
treasurer@stgilesparish.com
Sacristan
Maureen Swann
Tel: 859 0975
Director of Music
Andrew Rootham
Tel: 921 3081
Junior Church
Sarah & Iain Moppett
Tel: 974 4442
Sunbeams
Claire Sheard
Tel: 07952247147
Tiddlers
Caroline Crew
Tel: 914 2465
Weddings
Caroline Harper
Tel: 914 5650
Church Cleaning
and Flower Rota
Helen Jarvis
Tel: 981 9947
Something Else
Graham & Kat Rooke
Tel: 07577 966684
graham@stgilesparish.com or kat@stgilesparish.com
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Coming up @ St Giles March/April
Tuesdays, 8.00pm (weekly until 24th March)
Alpha course in the George Chapel
Thursdays, 1.45pm (weekly until 2nd April)
Seniors‘ Bible Sturdy for Lent in Church Hall Meeting Room
Saturday 7th March, 9.00am
Spring Clean in church - everyone welcome!
Monday 9th March & 13th April, 8.00pm
First Priority Prayer Meeting in church.
Tuesday 10th March & 14th April 10.30am
Seniors‘ Coffee Morning at Bradmore
Wednesday 11th March & 8th April, 8.00pm
Ladies‘ Evening at The Parlour
Thursday 12th March, 3.45pm
Messy Church
(no Messy Church in April during Easter school holidays)
Friday 13th—Sunday 15th March
Church Weekend Away
Monday 23rd March, 6.30pm & 27th April 8.00pm
Men‘s Social at the Willow Tree Pub.
Thursday 2nd April, 7.30pm
Maundy Thursday supper and Communion
Friday 3rd April, 10.00am—12 noon
Good Friday Workshop
Friday 3rd April, 3.00pm
Good Friday Meditation
Saturday 4th April, 9.00am
Decoration of church for Easter - everyone welcome!
Sunday 26th April, 12 noon
AGM, PCC elections and parish lunch
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