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Golders Green Parish Church – Newsletter

04 November 2020

Greetings from Sally :

Well, here we go again! Back into lock-down for a while which includes our churches. It is very sad for everyone so it is even more important we keep together, support each other and maintain contact and know how each other is keeping. If you need shopping or just to talk please don’t hesitate to make contact by going to: churchwardens@gg-pc.co.uk and leave a message, or, ring the church office - 020 8455 1873 .

This week, because of the lock-down and how it affects our church services and being together, Tony is sharing some thoughts and ideas on how we could keep in touch that will enable us to worship and pray together;

Tim has written a piece on the history of the Church and Golders Green;

Diane has written about her memory of attending St Alban’s as a young child;

Finally, there is an update from, Together in Barnet, on the progress of the Night Sleepers Project and how it is going to be managed.

Finally, at the end of the newsletter, is Psalm 46. One that is so apt for this time. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear”. Together we can hang onto this in hope.

In spite of everything have a good week; take care of yourselves and each other. From Sally
 

The new lockdown

Hello everyone! As you will have heard, England is going into lockdown for a month or so from tomorrow. This is sad news but not unexpected, if I am honest.

So what does this mean for us, I hear you ask? The Government has said that we can no longer congregate within our building, as we have been. Our building can however open up for private silent prayer. We are discussing amongst the PCC if we can do this and I will update you next week. But for now the building will be shut.

For this Sunday, we will be on Zoom with the Archdeacon. The invitation will go out shortly in a separate email. For those of you who do not have access to a computer you will be able to dial in.

Make the Lord's peace be with you at his time.

Tony

 

Parish Profile

We are at present compiling different sections of the Parish Profile. In doing this we are trying to give a picture of who we are to those interested in applying to be our Incumbent. The profile covers virtually every aspect of what we believe, our church life, what our aims are, what we do, our links with others, our history, and the demographics of the Golders Green area. Reading some of the early drafts it struck me how much, those of us who have belonged to the church and lived in the area for so long carry many rich memories that could be shared with everyone. Tim , our treasurer, for example, has lived and worshipped at Golders Green since he was a young boy and has recalled some of the history of the area. Speaking to Diana recently, who has lived here for even longer, Diana recalled some of her own early memories. Listening to her and reading Tim’s account, it occurred to me how important it is to treasure what we know, remember our history, as well as looking to the future, knowing, that while all things change, we value both past and present. So this week we have some of Tim’s memories along with those of Diana’s and thank them both for what they have contributed to the church then, as well as now

History of Golders Green Parish - Tim

In the eighteenth century, Golders Green was just a hamlet of a few cottages, alongside the ancient road that ran northwards from Hampstead to the Hyde (where it joined Edgware Road /Watling Street), in the parish of Hendon, Middlesex. Around 1830 the new turnpike between the West End and Finchley created a crossroads and many detached villas with large gardens were built in the vicinity. The opening of Golders Green Station, the new northern terminus of the extended underground railway from Charing Cross to Hampstead, in 1907 was the trigger for a series of suburban developments that swallowed up the villas and spread across the remaining agricultural land before and after the First World War; by 1931 the population of Golders Green Ward had reached 17,837. From the earliest days, the semi-detached houses of Golders Green were popular with middle class Jewish families; Dunstan Road synagogue was built in 1922 and by 1960 around a quarter of the population were Jewish. Today, the community retains a large Jewish element while reflecting a widely diverse mixture of cultures typical of much of London.

The church of St Alban the Martyr, Golders Green, was built as a chapel-of-ease to All Saints, Childs Hill, in 1910. It became the centre of a new parish taken from that of All Saints in 1922. The original church, a simple brick building, became the parish hall in 1933, when another church was built adjacent to it. The second church was by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed most of the fittings, and in a Gothic inspired style. The first Vicar of St Alban’s, Herbert Trundle, was instrumental in raising the funds for the new church and specifying its layout including the provision of an external pulpit facing onto North End Road. In 1979 St Alban was united with St Michael, Golders Green to form the new parish of Golders Green. In 1993 the parish of St Barnabas, Temple Fortune was united with the parish of Golders Green. St Barnabas church in Cranbourne Gardens was closed in 1994; the reredos of the Virgin and Child was moved from St Barnabas and installed in the Lady Chapel of St Alban’s. The Diocese of London sold the former church building of St Michael to the Greek Orthodox Church, which had been sharing the building since 1970 and the St Barnabas building to the Coptic Church. The proceeds of the sale of St Barnabas Church Hall were placed in an Endowment Fund, with a restriction that they be used for the provision of similar facilities in Golders Green Parish.

The constituent congregations came together while bringing their own traditions to influence the forms of worship practiced. There have been three vicars to date of the enlarged Parish of Golders Green, St Alban with St Michael and St Barnabas, the most recent being Rex M (2007 - 2020), who oversaw many changes and new initiatives; most notably, in 2011, a major refurbishment and reordering of the church that included replacing the under floor heating system – an original feature – and the pews – not part of the original Gilbert Scott design. The bulk of the funding for this project was secured by derestricting the St Barnabas Hall Endowment. Shortly before, the church building was temporarily closed for the refurbishment – during which services were held in the church hall (the original 1910 church) – Rex invited Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had been a curate at St Alban’s in the 1960s to preach at a special service that attracted a full congregation and a relay of the service to the hall. The reordering has allowed the church building to be used for new purposes such as a temporary night shelter for the homeless and a toddler group. The church hall was let to a nursery school as sole tenants in 2018 on a 25-year lease. This has provided the church with a significant income stream to help meet the costs of maintaining this Grade II Listed Building.

Memories of Living in Golders Green - Diane

“When I was a baby of three months old, in 1932, (I don’t mind you knowing my age!) my mother wheeled me to the church to see the Foundation Stone laid. I do not remember this, obviously, but it was something my mother told me. The Revd Herbert , was at that time the vicar who had worked so hard to raise money to get the church built.

My earliest memory of attending St Alban’s the Martyr, as it was then called, was the Sunday School held in the lady chapel. We always had chairs to sit on as it wasn’t until the Revd John’s time we had had pews put in. I remember there was a full choir who sung at the services. Ernest was the organist. When it was St Alban’s day (June 17th) the youngest choirboy carried a cross with a wreath of red roses on it all the way up the aisle. We had services at 8.00am, 11.00am and a 6.00pm Evensong. There were three words engraved on the floor, “Credo”, “Spero” and “Amo” near the altar. The christenings were all carried out at the font at the entrance to the church. The church wardens had their specific seats with their wooden staffs beside them; the vicar’s warden had a seat on left and the people’s on the right. When St Barnabas was closed and sold to the Coptic Orthodox, the reredos, that is now in the Lady Chapel, came to us. This was in the Revd Ralf’s time. The period before then was war time. Where the vicarage now stands there were huts where we went to get our identity cards and ration books. We did not have a shelter but the lady next door used to let us go into hers. We were registered to shop at Sainsbury which was the one nearest the church. I was evacuated and came back at 10 years old. At that time the vicarage was in Park Drive. It wasn’t until the 1960’s the vicarage we have now was built when John was the vicar. The bishop at that time was the Bishop of Willesden, Michael , who lived nearby in West Heath Avenue. His wife often came to the services. We had lots of jumble sales and sales of work in the church hall which earlier had been the original church. We used to take picnics to Golders Hill Park. Golders Green Hippodrome, opposite the church, had many pre-London shows and we would go and see them. Later it was taken over by the BBC. Desmond and Leah came to the church and lived in the top flat. He used to take the services. I knew him quite well. He was a lovely man. At that time there were the Golders Green Brownies, Guides and Scouts as well as the Girls Friendly Society (GFS). The GFS used to hold competitions for the best knitting and embroidery. I did the knitting. We would go to the national competitions. We used to have exercises at a school in Milbank with other GFS branches and we had to compete. I still do those exercises today and that is that what keeps me fit”.
 

Information regarding Together in Barnet ‘Pod’ Night Shelter

The Project and Plan

The aim of the project is to provide emergency shelter for those who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets this winter. These individuals will be exclusively referred by Homeless Action in Barnet and will be receiving ongoing case work support to enable them to achieve more stable housing. It is proposed to place pods/accommodation structures on the land adjacent to Trinity Church North West Centre as emergency winter provision in lieu of the traditional rolling night shelter (see map at the end of this article). This project will be coordinated by Together in Barnet (TiB) and supported by the various TiB communities who would be providing volunteers, food, and other essential items.

Proposal
By facilitating the creation of shelter ‘pods’ guests will have somewhere safe and dry to sleep this winter, and by providing toilets, showers, dinner and breakfast daily, and connections to the wider community in the form of volunteers, our guests will be given the stability they need to give them the best chance to secure stable housing and move on with their lives.

The project will be ongoing with monthly review meetings between Together in Barnet’s Operations manager and elders from Trinity Church to ensure ongoing evaluation. Depending on the length of the project we may need to consider a stay limit for guests – this should be a ‘stepping stone’ provision and not a long term solution to people’s housing needs. In addition, Together in Barnet will formulate an ‘exit strategy’ for when the project comes to an end.

In dealing with any issues that arise the night shelter, Together in Barnet’s Operations Manager, will have regular contact and meetings with the guests to discuss any issues that arise. In addition, the Operations Manager will have regular feedback meetings with the HAB staff and with Trinity Church as stated above. The guests who will be referred will continue to be low/medium needs clients, as per the usual night shelter, in line with the volunteer-run nature of the night shelter.

The project will be run with the same timings as the traditional shelter; 7pm-8:30am. The offer would remain ‘dinner, bed, and breakfast’ as per the usual night shelter.

Security will be on site during the over-night hours (9pm-9am) and a site-specific risk assessment will be created.

Strict Covid-19 protocols will be in place at all times to monitor all involved.

All guests, volunteers, and staff will be assessed nightly for any symptoms before entering the shelter

A rota will be created in such a way the numbers of guests and volunteers/staff that come into contact with each other to create ‘bubbles’ or ‘households’ are minimised. There will be a limit to the changeover of guests as well as considering the number of sessions each volunteer attends – i.e. a group of volunteers committing to a number of nights in a row rather than different volunteers each evening.

Proposed


While we are not able to act as a host until the pandemic is over there are actions we can do to help facilitate the project. These can be carried out in many practical ways including, providing food, sheets, blankets, warm clothes, toiletries and financial donations. If anyone would like to volunteer to help at Trinity you would be very welcome. The contact is:
Amanda W, Charity Operations Manager, Together in Barnet on the Churchwarddens email below.

Please send Donations of money to Homeless Action in Barnet, 36b Woodhouse Road, London, N12 0RG. Food and warm clothes can be dropped off there, or, contact churchwardens@gg-pc.co.uk and gifts will be collected and taken. Our contact for this project is Nehar and we thank her for taking the lead for us.

Psalm 46 A Psalm for our Time

Daily Hope - The Church of England Phone line church service - is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind.


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