I don’t usually start off with an apology, but last week I put in the wrong dates for the Climate Change service and for Kamran’s installation! I must have checked the newsletter over several times and just did not notice I had put them both for August instead of September.  I am sure you guessed the error and not thought you had missed them!
 
So, on Sunday 12th September, we at Golders Green are having our Climate Change Service at the usual time, praying, and thinking of the COP26 meeting of world leaders in Glasgow in November. Many people still see the climate crisis as an environmental one, which of course it is, but it’s also, and even more so, a human crisis as we see from all the devastating floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires taking place.  
 
Churches up and down the country are doing the same in the run up to this vitally important conference. Petrice will be taking the service and focusing from a Christian perspective of the crucial importance of caring for our climate and environment. We will be having music composed by St Hildgard of Binghan, a mediaeval Benedictine prioress who became famous for her chants, poems, and reflections on Creation. I have written about her below. She was the most remarkable and accomplished woman of her time. Please join us whether in person or on zoom.
 
Sunday 5th September looks as if it is going to be a very busy day.  We have been invited to join the walk for Climate Justice which is starting in London. We have been given three different times to join them and see them off, or walk with them, if we would like to do so.  They are:
-  St James' Piccadilly, between 1 and 2pm
- Parliament Square around 2.30pm
- The Sherriff Centre, St James’s Church, Sherriff Rd, NW6 2AP
7.30pm for a community event
 
Or, also on the 5th, you might like to join in the live service from Glasgow Cathedral, with contributions from Christians from around the four nations. You can join the service online. There will be music and inspirational videos from 3:30pm. The service itself will begin at 4:00pm. You are warmly welcome. Jenny has written more about it below.
 
The news from Afghanistan is heartbreaking and I know we are praying daily for some kind of help and support for the people left behind. There are many groups and charities working hard to support those who have managed to come to the UK, and I am sure we are finding what it is we can do to help. I hope they are made welcome after their terrible traumas.
 
One joyous happening for us is that Kamran and his family will be with us soon. Tuesday 14th September will be his installation day when we will come together to welcome him as our new incumbent and how good it will be to have him among us.  
 
With love and good wishes - Sally

 
 

 

 

 
Over the next two weeks a considerable amount of work is going to be going on in the run up to Kamran’s installation service. Both Kamran and Salomi are settling into the Vicarage but there are some teething issues with the work carried out. No building work ever seems to go to plan and smoothly - there is always something not quite done. A now retired colleague, who lives in Golders Green, once told me that the architect of the Royal courts of Justice, a building I have entered on so many occasions, that I cannot count, did not complete one of the columns properly. Thankfully the column in question is not a critical part of the building. But what George Street, the Architect said was that although the building was quite perfect, he felt there should be some imperfection, because nothing is perfect. Not sure this works: my colleague was always better at telling this story.  But I think the point is made that no work of a building nature is always there, so to speak.
 
Could I encourage you to let me know if you are coming on the 14th? I currently have some 50 people, including a couple of children and teenagers. Kamran is adding his invitees and so the available spaces are shrinking quite rapidly.
 
I said last Sunday that I would send out the link to an hour-long talk given by the theologian, Bishop, and pastor N T (Tom) Wright. The talk to an American audience is about “Resurrection and the Renewal of Creation”.  I said that this would lead into the climate service the week after. Here is the link - https://youtu.be/GenlGUkZ-6Q
I would encourage you to listen to as much of this as possible and come armed to discuss, question and learn. A few ground rules: we are here to learn, to encourage one another and to learn from each other. Above all we are here to listen to God and to let Him teach us. I will say that what Tom Wright says I believe he has said to an English audience. I do hope you enjoy listening to this, are challenged by it and are willing to talk about it on Sunday.

 

Please join us on Wednesday evening for our time of prayer at 7.30pm. The link is below.
It is so good to come together to pray for the Revd Kamran B, our new incumbent, for his wife & two sons, who will be moving into the vicarage soon.  We pray too for all those issues that are on our minds; to give thanks for the good things we are experiencing and those that concern us and most particularly for the troubled state of the world. Looking forward to seeing you. 
 
 
Please see the zoom link below which is for the Wednesday evening prayer group, and also the link for Sunday.
 
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Elohim - Hillsong Worship
https://youtu.be/pIf6j-WeyFw
 
 
Phil Wickham - Heart Of Worship (Singalong 4 Live)
https://youtu.be/1YUPJUJLUkg
 

 

This is an invitation from, the Revd Helen B, who is leading the walk for Climate Justice on Sunday 5th September.  The walk is starting from, St James' Piccadilly, between 1 and 2pm and going on to Parliament Square around 2.30pm where they will meet up with more pilgrims. They will then proceed on through St James' Park towards St Mary's Kilburn, where they are staying for the night.  If you would like to meet up with them at any of these venues and walk, just for a short while, you would be most welcome.  In the evening, 7.30pm at The Sherriff Centre, St James’s Church, Sherriff Rd, NW6 2AP, there will be a community event to celebrate the start of the climate Pilgrimage which in length will be 500 miles.  See poster for details. If you would like to go to any part of it, please let me know. Many thanks – Sally
 

 

On 5 September, churches will be coming together to pray and to present a collective action to the Government in our Nations’ Climate Sunday service. It will be a time to share in worship, celebrate what churches are doing, and commit to further action.
The service will be broadcast live from Glasgow Cathedral, at the heart of the city where the UN climate talks will take place in November, with contributions from Christians from around the four nations.
You can join the service online. There will be music and inspirational videos from 3:30pm, and the service itself will begin at 4:00pm. You are warmly welcome. 
Register now to be sent the full details for joining on Eventbrite here
 
 

 

 
St. Hildegard of Bingen or Hildegard von Bingen, was born 1098, in Böckelheim, Germany and died in 1179.  She was a German abbess, a visionary, mystic, poet, and composer.
 
Hildegard was born of noble parents and was educated at the Benedictine cloister of Disibodenberg by Jutta, an anchorite (religious recluse) who became her mentor and friend. Hildegard was 15 years old when she entered the religious life as a Benedictine nun and succeeded Jutta as prioress in 1136.
 
She had experienced visions since she was a child. Later in life she consulted her confessor, who in turn reported the matter to the archbishop of Mainz who called a committee of theologians to examine her claims. They confirmed the authenticity of Hildegard’s visions, and a monk was appointed to help her record them in writing. His recorded work, Scivias (1141–52), consisted of 26 visions that are prophetic and apocalyptic. They covered topics as the church, the relationship between God and humanity, and redemption. Around 1147 Hildegard left her convent with several nuns to found a new convent at Rupertsberg, where she continued to exercise the gift of prophecy and to record her visions in writing.
 
What she is best known for, especially today and the subject of increasing interest from the latter half of the 20th century, is her poetry and compositions, which are widely translated into English. Several recordings of her music are available. Hildegard collected 77 of her lyric poems, each with a musical setting composed by her. Her chants and poems abound in colourful images of natural, organic things – gardens, growth, fecundity, flowers, which is why she is such a suitable person to play for the Climate Service as she valued the beauty and goodness of creation. She had many other gifts too including recording the  lives of saints; two treatises on medicine and natural history, that are thought reflected a quality of scientific observation rare at that period; and extensive correspondence, in which are to be found further prophecies and allegorical treatises. She traveled widely throughout Germany, evangelizing to large groups of people about her visions and religious insights.
Hildegard was a highly prominent woman at a time when women were not regarded as worthy of attention or regard. She was said to be steely, determined and overbearing, which is not surprising considering the time she lived in and stood her ground when difficulties arose with the Church. In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, her advice was sought after by bishops, princes, and others, far and wide. The nuns who flourished under her unorthodox regime were allowed extraordinary freedoms, such as wearing their hair long, uncovered and even crowned with flowers.
 
After her death miracles were reported during her life and at her tomb. She was made a Saint in 2012 on the grounds she had been venerated by people down through the ages and had performed miracles. In that year she was  proclaimed a doctor of the church, one of only four women to have been so named and considered a patron saint of musicians and writers.
 
Background Information taken from:  https://www.britannica.com/editor/Melissa-Petruzzello/9400228
and Owen Hopkin; Classic FM
 

                                                        

                   

 
Afi:  Rose has let us know that Afi is now out of hospital and home which is so good. She thanks everyone for our prayers.
 
Margaret: The latest update from John, Margaret’s brother, is that she is back in hospital but stable and comfortable. The issue seems to be her mobility. Thought is being given by the hospital on what the next stage will be for her later this week.  John is also back in hospital. So, we continue to pray for Margaret and John hoping they will both make a good recovery soon. 
 

 
Our Prayers

We continue to pray for all those in our community who are unwell and maybe struggling in different ways. We think and pray for you all frequently and look forward to a time when we can all be with each other and take part in the services together.
 
 

 

You may wish to join in worship during this time through television and radio.
Check online, in the Radio Times and elsewhere for details:
Songs of Praise BBC 1, Sunday afternoon, variable times
Sunday Worship BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 8.10am Choral Evensong BBC
Radio 3, Wednesday Daily Service
BBC Radio 4 (Longwave only), weekdays, 9.45am
Big Sunday Service Premier Christian Radio, Sunday, 7am, 8am, 10am Easter Sunday Eucharist A service is usually broadcast on the BBC on Easter morning
Free 24 hour telephone church service 0800 804 8044
Online resources Church of England Daily Prayer https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-service-dailyprayer
https://mailchi.mp/b9d86a4acdc7/coming-up-from-st-pauls-cathedral-1274047?e=377e26b1db St Paul’s Cathedral have a number of resources available for us to use.
Church of England Online Resources during this time https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronaviruscovid-19-liturgy-and-prayer-resources
Go On-line to " ps://www.achurchnearyou.com", put in Area or post code and find a local church that broadcasts Worship.
Prayers from Christian Aid https://www.christianaid.org.uk/pray/churches/coronavirus-prayers
https://pray-as-you-go.org/ Pray as you Go (a short service each day in the Jesuit Tradition)
LICC have some great resources on their website https://www.licc.org.uk/
Especially on Covid-19 https://www.licc.org.uk/ourresources/prayer-journeys/presence-pressure-purpose/