Tomorrow is ‘Music Sunday’ as designated by the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM). Because of our choir and music tradition our church is a member of the RSCM which is the charity which encourages all things musical in church life, especially choir singing. We have a special service of Choral Evensong tomorrow at 6.30 pm. For the details please see the news item below. I warmly invite you to come to this service and to stay for a chat over a glass of wine or juice afterwards.
In the last few days I have been sorting through a filing cabinet in the church office. Much of the contents date from Revd Robert Mclean’s time, so there is a mix with some important parish records to keep, some items worth keeping for the history of the parish, and a lot which is now in the paper recycling bin. I am struck by how many of the papers are similar to those I have in my own filing cabinet in the Vicarage. But it is a little unnerving to come across reports from nearly thirty years ago about water damage to ceilings and walls in the same places we are still concerned about today. Below is an update about our plans to get to the bottom of some of the root causes and tackle them.
May our church life together be guided by the activity of the Holy Spirit.
With every blessing,
Tim
Services for 9th June: 2nd Sunday after Trinity
8am: Holy Communion
10am: Parish Communion Service - The Challenge of Evil
Church Explorers gather in the meeting room before the service
Services & Events for Next Week
Wednesday 12th June at 10am: Mid-week Service
With coffee and a chat afterwards
Sunday 16th June
8am: Holy Communion
10am: Family Service: God's Command
With the Junior Choir
We welcome children of all ages to our Family services
Choral Evensong Sunday June 9th, 6.30pm
Please join us for this special service of evensong with recently composed music in the choral tradition. This will also be a poignant service for our choir and church, as the new music has been purchased through the bequest of a much-missed choir member, Keith Robertshaw, who died in February. A glass of wine or juice will be served after the service.
Responses: Peter Nardone
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis: Joanna Forbes-L'Estrange
Anthem: The Call of Wisdom: Will Todd
Our choir will be joined by a number of guest singers, including returning choir members, to lead this special service of evensong. It is open to singers to join the choir after a rehearsal on Sunday 9th from 5pm.
Mother's Union Open Meeting 20th June, 8pm: A Visit to Zimbabwe
Moira Astin will give an illustrated talk about her visit to our linked Diocese of Central Zimbabwe. Anyone is welcome to come to this open meeting which will take place in the church. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.
Confirmation Service: 23rd June, 5pm, at The Wisdom of God Church, Lower Kingswood
Do come to this service to support our five candidates who are preparing for confirmation, and to meet the Bishop of Croydon, Bishop Rosemary who will be leading the service. There will be a reception afterwards in the Lower Kingswood hall just across from the church.
If you have not been before, the Wisdom of God is an interesting church in itself which celebrates the Eastern Orthodox traditions in its architecture.
COGS Summer Olympics: Saturday 6th July from 2:30pm (church grounds)
COGS SUMMER OLYMPICS! Entertainment for competitors and spectators alike! To be followed by a Barbecue. Bar and teas available all afternoon.
Tickets: Competitors Adult £10; Child £5; Family (2+2) £25.
Spectators £2 at the gate, children free. Barbecue £5 (must prebook)
For further information or to register a team email: events@goodshepherdtadworth.org.uk
Can you help with Church Explorers?
From time to time we need another adult to sit in with one of our Church Explorers leaders. This gives an extra pair of hands to help the children with their activities. It also means we are providing a safe environment for our children under safeguarding recommendations. You do not need to have a DBS check or any particular training to sit in with the group.
We also invite teenagers in our church families to come to Church Explorers to help from time to time or more regularly.
To find out more please have a chat with our Church Explorers leaders, Lis, Laura and Nicky.
Priorities for the Church: New Working Groups
Thank you to those who have joined these new working groups to date.
At the recent Church Council meeting it was decided to set up three working groups to cover the five top priorities identified for developing the mission and ministry of our church.
Publicity, advertising and external communication
Study groups, a Christian basics course, and new patterns of prayer and worship
Children and youth, especially to look at starting a teenagers group
Each group will sift ideas for improvement, identify actions and who will make them happen. Each group now has a core of two to four PCC members.
We invite anyone in the church with a heart for any of these areas to step forward to join a group. Please talk to Antony Hawker, Lesley Gollop or the Vicar Tim Astin to find out more.
An Update on the Church Leaks
Several times since the New Year we have had water coming down the wall and into the sanctuary at the east end of the church.
We hired a mobile platform to inspect the high-level gutter (too high for safe access by ladder). This showed the cause was a) tree debris blocking the drain outflow (which was easily cleared); and b) the overflow pipe visible on the outside of the church has never connected into the gutter!
Clearly we can’t spend over £1000 every year or so just to clear the drains from the two high level gutters. So we plan to make the gutter drains larger, and to connect the protective overflows properly.
Also, we will be removing an area of ceiling plaster from the baptistry ceiling to investigate the persistent leak from the roof above to see what needs doing to finally resolve that problem.
When we have estimates for the costs we will update the church. We plan to apply for a grant for up to 50% of the cost and will likely need to make an appeal for the rest.
For our Prayers
We continue to pray for Will and Joan Pepper, also for Andrew Giles, and for Paul Jarman; and for other people who are undergoing investigation, treatment and palliative care for cancer at this time.
We pray for couples who are preparing for weddings in our church in June and July as their Banns are read this month.
Calendar
Don't forget to check the Church Calendar on our website for all our upcoming events!