Golders Green Parish Church – Newsletter

5 May 2021

 

Greetings to everyone. As disappointing as it was that no appointment was made after the final interviews last week, we all agreed, when we had our zoom discussion on Wednesday, that it was better to wait until those interviewing were sure the right person had come forward.  While we will have to wait a little longer it will be worth it in the end and we thank Pam and Tony for the huge amount of time, thought and energy they have both given to the whole process. We will all keep praying.
 
Now it is May, and we hope will be warmer, it is hard not to notice how lusciously the trees and shrubs are blossoming.  How good it would be if you could get your cameras, or your mobiles working and take some photos of any blossoms that you pass. We could put the pictures in the newsletter and make it look so cheerful. Jenny and I have started us off. Please send any pictures to churchwardens@gg-pc.co.uk
 
You might be interested in an article below I have written about the Covid Memorial Wall which runs along the South Bank of the River Thames opposite the Palace of Westminster. I had no idea the length of it which stretches for more than a third of a mile and is a tribute to the 120,000 plus who died from Covid. Just watching its length on a videoed meditative walk was incredibly moving and a fitting tribute to all those who died.
 
Hoping to see all of you who can link-in on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm for a time of prayer.
 
Love and good wishes - Sally
 
 

This weeks edition includes:

• Update from Tony;
• Zoom Links
• Sermon from Charlotte;
• G7 Summit: Wish We Were There! - from Jenny;
• Nazareth Community Meditative Walks – Sally;
• Book Review from Jenny;
• How we are;
• Hymns, and Broadcasts;
• Zoom links.

Blossoming in my front garden: a prize for telling me what it is called!

 

Update from Tony
 

Following on from the events of last week, we are working with the Bishop to see what might be the way forward.  I have suggested we go down the route of adverts and head hunting.  So please keep praying for this.
 
Rev Charlotte's last Sunday with us will be 23rd May so I am hoping we can do something for her to thank her for being with us and her inspirational sermons.  Rev Rachel will be with us on 6th June before she leaves Hendon the following week and she is off to Chelmsford.  I am working with the Archdeacon and Area Dean to find priests for our Sunday services.  So do pray for this.
The night shelter still has a few more weeks to go: just want to say a big thank you to the team who have been working on our behalf lead by Nehar, Shaniv, Silvia and Soheil, with help from others.
 

      Wednesday Evening Prayer Meeting Reminder        

 
Just to remind you we are continuing our zoom coffee chat this Wednesday 28th April at 7.30pm. It was a good discussion last week and we look forward to seeing you again.  Bring  coffee, tea or cocoa! The link on how to join is below.

 
Church Wardens are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 
Topic: Prayer Meetings
Time: May 5, 2021 07:30 PM London
        Every week on Wed, until May 26, 2021, 7 occurrence(s)
        Apr 14, 2021 07:30 PM
        Apr 21, 2021 07:30 PM
        Apr 28, 2021 07:30 PM
        May 5, 2021 07:30 PM
        May 12, 2021 07:30 PM
        May 19, 2021 07:30 PM
        May 26, 2021 07:30 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJUqfu-vrD0jGNJyvlHqs1O7u4Wqe3mkatYB/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCpqTIsHdaTuRuBRowcB4r4M-3zpiFEjY13hQnpKzFAMyyhI7Z1I7csHdPR
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91796726926?pwd=RzBkeVdnOEFyZHh3akZDSUhLNWZDQT09
 
Meeting ID: 917 9672 6926
Passcode: 021414
One tap mobile
+442080806592,,91796726926#,,,,*021414# United Kingdom
+443300885830,,91796726926#,,,,*021414# United Kingdom
 
Dial by your location
        +44 208 080 6592 United Kingdom
        +44 330 088 5830 United Kingdom
        +44 131 460 1196 United Kingdom
        +44 203 481 5237 United Kingdom
        +44 203 481 5240 United Kingdom
        +44 203 901 7895 United Kingdom
        +44 208 080 6591 United Kingdom
Meeting ID: 917 9672 6926
Passcode: 021414
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aAfF5ehtl

 

 

Sermon from Charlotte

 

Like a lot of people, I have done something I never thought I would during the past 18 months – I have got into gardening. We used to live in a flat on a very busy street in Central London, and when my son was walking a lot more, we asked the diocese if they had any properties we could move to on a slightly quieter street, with a garden. They very kindly allowed us to move to a different property and my goodness I have counted that blessing every day – when the first lockdown happened, we spent hours and hours in the garden playing and doing some very primitive gardening, digging and sowing seeds. Being at home with two very small children, the garden was our saving grace, and I know how many other people have found solace and comfort in their gardens, be that several acres or a windowsill with plants and herbs.
 
Audrey Hepburn once said, 'To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow' – and I had that in mind last October when I planted some bulbs. Covid data was starting to look worrying again, another lockdown was on the horizon as cases and deaths rose, and as I planted the bulbs, I wondered what the world would look like when those bulbs turned into flowers. As a very new gardener I have certainly not attempted any vines, but I understand they are quite high maintenance, and need constant pruning and care and attention – and you don't have to know much about gardening to understand that removing the dead parts of a plant is necessary to allow the rest of the plant to grow. 
 
This morning we're taken back to the period before Easter; to the night before Jesus died. In this passage we heard today he has just knelt and washed the disciples feet. He's gathered them together for one last time. And you can sense that they knew that there is panic in what they say to him. Give us more! But Jesus is telling them that he has shown them all there is to be shown. 
 
He does, though, give them this one last “I am” saying. He's already given them some of these - “I am the resurrection and the life”, “I am the good shepherd”, “I am the way, the truth and the life” - and now he tells them, “I am the true vine.” 
 
The whole story of God's people and their relationship to him started with a tree in a garden; and their lack of respect for that tree, their failure to obey God's command and let God be the centre of their lives. And now, here we are, Jesus the Second Adam, brought to earth to repair that relationship, is telling them that he is the true vine. 
 
The vine is the symbol of Israel. Seven hundred years before Jesus, the prophet Isaiah had sung of the vineyard which was the chosen people of Israel – the Lord's vine which he tended, only to see it wither and fail. This was an image so central to Jews and the nation of Israel that it was pictured on their coins and the temple in Jerusalem had the image of an enormous gold vine above its entrance. So, when Jesus says, “I am the vine”, what he is saying is, “I am the new Israel”; and when he tells the disciples that they are the branches of the vine, he is saying that together they form the new Israel, the new people of God. They are bound together inseparably. And it's from this image of vine and branches being bound together that Jesus' mandate, his commission to the disciples, comes. 
 
There is a popular passage from Captain Corelli's mandolin which is often read at weddings. In it, one of the character's father is telling her about his marriage to her mother, and he says, “Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” It's this kind of imagery that Jesus is giving, in which the tree, or the vine, and the branches have become intertwined. It might sound initially like Jesus is drawing a distinction between himself on the one hand, and the disciples on the other: I am the vine, you are the branches. But of course, this isn't so; the branches depend on the vine for their energy, and there is no point in the vine existing if it doesn't bear branches which will grow fruit. So what Jesus is really saying is, you and I are one and the same thing, and so to cut off a branch is to cut off a part of the vine. 
 
That removes one potentially worrying interpretation of his words, “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit' – it's what every gardener knows, that any withered wine branches have to be cut off, to allow others to grow, otherwise they suck energy from the vine. We might find ourselves thinking, “Am I one of the branches that needs to be cut off?” However, in verse 3 of this passage, Jesus tells his listeners that they have already been cleansed; they have been cleansed by the word, Christ himself. So, what Christ is saying is that we cannot bear fruit unless we are connected to him. 
 
And what we shouldn't interpret this passage as meaning is that we the branches are left to bear their own fruit; that Christ might give us some sustenance, but on the whole it's left up to us to bear the fruit. If we find ourselves thinking that we just need to hear his words in today's passage: “Apart from me, you can do nothing”. In baptism we are united with him, and that permeates the whole of our lives, not just certain parts of it. And that also unites us with one another, with the whole body of Christ. Because we are united to Christ, we are never alone – we are not branches in isolation; we are reliant upon Christ, and upon one another, to bear fruit. 
 
I know that some of you may be feeling sadness, or disappointment because a new priest has not been appointed here at Golders Green. It is difficult to be sheep without a shepherd in a local, parish sense, and it's my hope and prayer that this passage today will go some way towards helping you feel that you are not isolated, or alone; you are connected to the body of Christ and you are supported by the whole Church, and perhaps more importantly, Christ abides in you and you in him. Remember that apart from him, you can do nothing, and that because he abides in you, you can bear fruit. 
 

G7 Summit: Wish We Were There! - from Jenny

 
There’s been a lot of mention in the media recently about the G7 summit which is being held in Cornwall in June. This is the annual meeting of the leaders of the seven richest countries in the world - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US, together with the EU and some specially invited countries. In 2021 the UK will host and chair the discussions, which means that it has a particular opportunity to influence the agenda and the outcome. This meeting comes five months before the major UN summit on the climate crisis which will be in Glasgow in November, COP26 - similarly not only hosted but chaired by the UK. What happens at the G7 meeting will influence the outcome in Glasgow, so it’s really important that the Government gets the right messages as it prepares for the G7.
 
Countries that caused the climate crisis must financially support those which are hardest hit by it.  The UK must lead the way by making more money available to tackle the crisis, and the G7 is a key moment to make this happen. As we can’t be physically present in Cornwall to make our voices heard in person, we need to make sure the Prime Minister gets the message in another way.
 
Christian Aid is therefore asking as many people as possible to send Boris Johnson a postcard of where they live, to show the breadth of support for action on climate justice. it would be wonderful if lots of cards were sent from our various parts of north London!
 
This is the sort of message that it would be good to put on your card - but do feel free to personalise it (politely!!).
 
Dear Prime Minister,  

I can’t be in Cornwall for the G7, but I call on you to make this summit a success for climate justice. Please:  

• Increase climate finance to the most vulnerable communities around the world.  
• Cancel unfair debts so that countries can tackle the climate crisis and other urgent priorities. The futures of millions of people depend on a just finance deal at the G7 and COP26.

With best wishes,  
(remember to leave your name and full address) 
The address to send it to is:
 
Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP 
Prime Minister 
10 Downing Street 
London SW1A 2AA
 
If you get a reply do share it with us through the newsletter!! The Glasgow summit is hugely important if there’s going to be any chance of stopping irreversible climate change, and Christian Aid with many other organisations are campaigning and lobbying to help ensure an ambitious outcome to both the G7 and the COP. We’ll keep you updated - the more of us who join in to help put our government under pressure, the better! Thank you.
 
 
 

Nazareth Community Meditative Walks – Sally

 
   
 
Every Saturday morning from 8.00-8.45am, the Revd Richard C, Associate Vicar for Mission at St Martin-in-the-Fields, conducts a Nazareth Community Contemplative Prayer Walk*. Using his mobile phone as video, he takes us around different parts of London near to St Martin’s. During the lockdowns these have been an absolute God-send for so many who could not get out and felt shut away. He would take us to places like Green Park, along the Thames, Hampstead Heath, Kensington Gardens, down Brick Lane, Soho, Kings Cross, anywhere where we could see the beauty of the trees, the scenery, and buildings; all in keeping with the belief outlined in his book, “The City is my Monastery”, that God is to be found everywhere in a busy city. During each walk he prays, describes the history, spends times of silence for us to meditate and finds poems or readings appropriate to each place. We would go to places with which many of us are familiar and love or discover parts of London that we did not know so well or not at all. It is interesting that each Saturday over 200 people link in, many from all over the world.  We greet each other in the comment box and have become familiar with many who we previously had not known. Those of us taking part now have a list of places to visit when we are free to do so. I personally long to go back to walking by the Thames along the Southbank which has always been one of my favourite walks ever since I was young but will explore further unknown places too.

Last Saturday, Richard took us along the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the the Palace of Westminster, to see the “Covid Memorial Wall”. The wall is a public mural painted by volunteers, organised by, “Covid Bereaved Families for Justice”, to commemorate victims of the Covid 19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. It is comprised of over 150,000 hearts representing all those lost to Covid and stretches for over a third of a mile. Each heart represents one victim with her/his name at the centre and short messages of grief, love and remembrance scribed by loved ones. It takes 10 minutes to walk by but far longer to stop and read many of the names and inscriptions. It serves as a staggering reminder of the virus’s devastation.  
 It is a monument to the very real grief of so many who wrote in the Hearts. We were moved to tears reading them and thinking of the families and others who have not had the chance publicly to express their love and feelings of loss. While walking along the wall Richard read the following from “The City is my Monastery” which focused on “Staying With Suffering”, “We are not the sin or demons that possess us; we are not the sickness or the fear or the violence that cannot be contained. We are human beings made in God’s image and when we too are broken open, we discover the broken heart of God. At the very centre of the storm the realization of the truth, Christ setting free, a greater reality, a deeper forgiveness, an eternal hope, above us, beyond us, beneath us. As Julien of Norwich wrote at a time of plague and suffering in her Revelations of Divine Love, These words were said very loudly and clearly. God did not say, “You shall not be tormented, you shall not be troubled, you shall not be grieved, but God Said “You shall not be overcome”. How then shall you live”?
 
*The Contemplative Walks can be found by Googling, “Nazareth Contemplative Prayer-St Martin in the Fields” where you will see the range of the video’d walks.
**The Nazareth Community was formed in 1981 as an experiment in being with God, with one’s neighbour and with oneself in the centre of London. The community offers a structure and a framework to grow in prayer and compassionate discipleship. It is a dispersed community that joins together in five shared disciplines: silence, sacrament, service, sacred study and sharing. Those who make their promises come from many different walks of life, including those who have known homelessness and those who are refugees. The Nazareth Community is rooted in, but not exclusive to, the congregation of St Martin’s, as many of us are members of other churches, as I am. The Revd Richard Carter, is leader of the community, and describes it as: “The Nazareth Community is about learning to listen again, as St Benedict said, with the ear of the heart. We sense the need in this city for sacred space for people to come and replenish tired, stressful, or simply busy lives. At the heart of our community, we want an oasis of the Spirit – the Spirit that leads to compassionate reciprocity, service, healing, and joy.  We are not simply managers organising resources and events but those who seek God: women and men of prayer, who know our utter dependence on God’s grace and know this city’s need of God’s forgiveness and love.”

Reminder of National Trust’s “Blossomwatch” from Jenny

 
 

Jenny reminded us last week about the NT’s “Blossomwatch” to celebrate the blossoming trees of which there are so many. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/blossom-watch.    
I don’t know whether the blossoms are more sumptuous or brighter this year or whether, because of lockdown, we notice nature more than we did before. If that is the case, I hope we never stop noticing and appreciating the beauty of so much we have around us.
Blossom is such a wonderful gift to us - look out for it, enjoy it, and celebrate the generosity and creativity of the God who made it! If you enjoy taking photos on your mobile, please take some pictures of any blossoming trees or shrubs you come across on your walks. Send them to me to put in the newsletter and it will make it uplifting and beautiful.  You can attach them on an email to: churchwardens@gg-pc.co.uk

Thank you
   
 
 
 

Book Review from Jenny

‘Consumer Detox’ by Mark Rowley (published by Zondervan)

If I had to choose one word to describe this book it would be ‘liberating’! Whether we like it or not, and whether we even realise it or not, we’re under constant pressure to consume more. ‘Consumer Detox' helps us understand how consumerism is taking over and shaping every aspect of our lives, and what it means to follow Jesus in the middle of all of that. It helps us see how we can live well, connecting with God's far bigger vision for our lives than consumerism and ‘stuff’ can ever offer. Although it was published in 2010, if anything it’s even more relevant now: during the pandemic many of us have found our lives becoming a lot simpler and have realised that we maybe don’t need so much ‘stuff’ after all. The book describes what’s going on around us and offers what we might now describe as a 'new normal'. 

 
All of that might make it sound one of those ‘hard work’ books that make you feel really guilty, but this is the exact opposite! It’s chatty, practical, personal, realistic and full of stories.  It’s so easy to read that you forget how radical its message is. And it’s very, very, funny.
 
 

Book Recommendations

 

• “The City is my Monastery: A contemporary Rule of Life”, by Richard Carter - Canterbury Press
• ‘Consumer Detox’ by Mark Rowley  - published by Zondervan

 

On-line Christian Book Shop Recommendations

   
Jenny has sent a useful list of online Christian bookshops who provide good and quick services as well as comprehensive book lists if you don’t have a physical bookshop within reach, and are looking for ethical alternatives to Amazon for general books, try:
 
Hive: https://www.hive.co.uk. 

• Wordery: https://wordery.com 
   
• Guardian bookshop: https://guardianbookshop.com 
   
• World of Books – for second-hand books: https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb 
    

• If you go to the Edmonton Area link containing information you may find helpful.
  
  Both links are on:  https://vimeo.com/500890272 or the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Edmonton-Episcopal-Area-644254219097579

 

How We Are

 
Simon had Cancer surgery last year in January and he is now starting seven weeks of daily radiotherapy. He would welcome your prayers.
 
We will all be so sad to hear this. Both Simon and Anita will be assured of our prayers. We hope the treatment goes well and he makes a good recovery.
 
  

Please continue to pray for those who have asked us as a community to pray for them Okey Jnr. O, Margaret M, Yvone S, Anna M, Jason E, Ian K, Eva M, Juliette D, Ivor S, Myfanwy K , Dorothy N, Rose O,  Judy N, David A, Gideon O, Simon H

 

YouTube - Worship Videos of the week :

How Great Thou Art - Taryn Harbridge
https://youtu.be/lsigbU596d4

How Great Thou Art - Loyiso Bala ft. Don Moen
https://youtu.be/v_rWMQp2Hho

 

 

Please find below the Zoom links for our Sunday Service from the Churchwardens.
 
The link for the Sundays in April & May are :
Golders Green Parish Church is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 
 
Topic: Church Services
Time: May 9, 2021 10:00 AM London
        Every week on Sun, until May 30, 2021, 7 occurrence(s)
        Apr 18, 2021 10:00 AM
        Apr 25, 2021 10:00 AM
        May 2, 2021 10:00 AM
        May 9, 2021 10:00 AM
        May 16, 2021 10:00 AM
        May 23, 2021 10:00 AM
        May 30, 2021 10:00 AM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJElc-Ghpz8jG9VadyoAt7-Yb2H_tQenGB4J/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCtpj8iE92RuRiGRowMGo-gWfPxmClEjfprnRv8DAFHNU7PNLBqDaZOFdb3
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95848994911?pwd=WTJJUHhvdFA3Wk9hOXAvQTEvZS93dz09
 
Meeting ID: 958 4899 4911
Passcode: 950103
One tap mobile
+442034815240,,95848994911#,,,,*950103# United Kingdom
+442039017895,,95848994911#,,,,*950103# United Kingdom
 
Dial by your location
        +44 203 481 5240 United Kingdom
        +44 203 901 7895 United Kingdom
        +44 208 080 6591 United Kingdom
        +44 208 080 6592 United Kingdom
        +44 330 088 5830 United Kingdom
        +44 131 460 1196 United Kingdom
        +44 203 481 5237 United Kingdom
Meeting ID: 958 4899 4911
Passcode: 950103
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/azmC9TRR5

 
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.

We at Golders Green Church will continue to offer a number of ways we can and will keep in contact though emailing and phoning each other, the use of Facebook and the website, sending out updates by supporting those who need shopping, prescriptions fetched, letters posted and anything else you may need if you are isolated at home, whether you are in the over 70-year-old age group, or, have underlying health conditions.
The important thing is, PLEASE LET US KNOW. Please email churchwardens@gg-pc.co.uk

Television and Online Worship