Recent Events

 

Palestinian Priest's Visit

On Saturday 26th November at 7 o'clock in the morning the Men's Breakfast welcomed 30 visitors to meet Fr Johnny Abu Khalil, parish priest of the Roman Catholic parish of St Justin in Nablus, Palestine. Fr Johnny is on a short visit to Watford as guest of Watford Friends of Salfeet.

After a full English breakfast Fr Johnny painted a picture of what it is like to be a Christian in the West Bank. He described the restrictions under which his parishioners live, and how young people are hardly ever granted a permit by the Israeli authorities to visit Jerusalem, which is only a short distance away. He and a coach party of 50 elderly Christians on their way to join in the Maundy Thursday procession, following the route of Jesus' triumphant journey from Bethany into Jerusalem, were kept waiting for five hours at the checkpoint and arrived too late to take part.

An attentive audience heard him describe the plight of young people who, on leaving school and university, have no work and are forced to seek a new life elsewhere in the world. The number of Christians in Palestine has dropped from 30% to less than 1%. He stressed how important it is that the Christians be enabled to stay in the Holy Land. Otherwise it will become just a museum.

Fr Johnny urged us to pray for the Christian community there, to visit them, and wherever possible to make personal contact with them. They need to be reassured that they are not alone.

 

St Mark's Bazaar

When the doors opened at 2pm on Saturday 19th November everyone inside the church was amazed at the length of the queue that had formed outside. People poured into the building and soon the stalls were doing a roaring trade.

Everyone agreed that the quality of the goods on sale, and the variety of stalls, competitions and games, was of a very high standard. There seemed to be something for everyone, and the building remained crowded throughout the afternoon.

It was wonderful to see a number of former members of St Mark's who had come to support the event. Soon they were chatting over refreshments with old friends and with some of the more recent arrivals in the congregation. It was a really good social occasion.

And if that had been all that was achieved it would have been thoroughly worthwhile. But the bazaar also achieved its aim of raising much needed funds for the church, for in exactly two hours £1,436 was raised. So well done indeed to everyone who helped make it such a successful event.

 

Charity Concert

On Wednesday 16th November the Watford Band was joined by the 'One Voice ' Watford Community Choir in a concert at Christ Church to raise money for the BBC Children in Need Appeal. It was well attended and an appreciative audience was treated to some very fine performances.

The Band was in great form, ranging from standards like the Cossack March by W Rimmer and Bandology by Eric Osterling, through selections from Lionel Bart's 'Oliver', and on to seasonal favorites like Bernstein's 'Great Escape' and the 'Hymn to the Fallen' from Saving Private Ryan.

'Once Voice', directed by Nyree Obrien, sang a very varied programme which included 'Love changes Everything' and 'You raise me up'. An African Medley was followed by a Gaelic lullaby after which the audience was thoroughly woken up by a Glen Miller tribute, 'Hey, Mr Miller'.

There was a special moment when Musical Director Ian Graves introduced the Youth Band. They performed a Welcome Song, a Chorale and a Square Dance most proficiently under the watchful eye of their conductor, Sally Franklin.

Choir and Band combined in the Slaves Chorus from Nabucco by Verdi and in a tremendous performance of Sibelius' 'Finlandia'.

It was a tremendous evening made all the more enjoyable by the news that something over £800 had been raised.

 

Street Market

It’s not often we complain that the weather is too good! But on Saturday 1st October there seems little doubt that the brilliant sunshine and the record temperatures kept many people away from Christ Church ‘Street Market’. As the Vicar remarked, ‘If I had the choice between coming here and a day at the seaside I know which I’d choose!’

But those who did come - and there were several hundred of them – found the church car park set out with stalls, games, competitions and tables and chairs.

The church hall was filled with more stalls and games, all designed as traps for the unwary! The Bottle Game was particularly tempting. Confronted with an array of bottle tops, all you had to do was pay up, choose one of the tops, turn it over and, if you were lucky, walk away with your prize.

Inside the church you could find refreshments and lunches, and the ‘Manhattan Quest’ Jazz Band playing in the background when the enormously energetic ‘Zumba’ demonstrations were not going on.

Church groups combined with local community groups and charities to make it a very happy day. The groups that ran stalls made some money and were able to promote their particular good causes.

The church made about £1,400 profit which will be most welcome in these rather hard economic times.

A big thank you to everyone who took part, and to all who supported the event.

 

Visitor from Texas

It was a joy to be able to welcome Pastor Bill Sappenfield as a guest in our parish. Bill is Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. In September he and his wife Linda had come to Salisbury for the Anglican-Lutheran Society Conference and afterwards they came to stay at the Vicarage here. Sadly, Linda had to return to Austin and to her work, but Bill was able to spend a week in our parish.

Whilst here he told the story at a Toddler’s Service in St Mark’s, attended Bible Study at Hollytree House, met the congregation at the 10am Eucharist on Wednesday at Christ Church, attended a quiz night and preached at our Sunday morning services. He also took part in the round table discussion on BBC Three Counties Radio at 8am that day. So it was not so much a holiday as a working visit!

However, he was able to visit St Albans, go to the theatre two nights running in London, and fulfil a long held wish to visit Canterbury.

It was clear that everyone enjoyed meeting him and we all hope that one day he will be able to come again. Meanwhile, our parish and Peace Austin will continue to support one another as partners in prayer.

 

Children's Picnic

The weather could not have been better. The sun beat down on the Vicarage garden and the bouncy castle was soon so hot that the adults were afraid to touch it. But it didn’t affect the children. They just bounced higher and more often!

But there wasn’t just a bouncy castle! The grass was littered with slides, cars and bicycles. There were bags of plastic balls, skittles, footballs, badminton and tennis sets. Small wonder that parents found it hard to get their children to concentrate on the food they had brought in their picnic baskets. There was just too much to do!

Bubbles are always an attraction, but the bubble mixture that day was, in the words of one of the children, ‘Awesome!’. Enormous translucent bubbles floated above the grass pursued by youngsters anxious to pop them and get covered with sticky soap!

Footballs are also popular, and it wasn’t long before some of the dads were down the bottom of the garden with the boys, kicking the balls across the width of the garden just as the Vicar decided to organize a variety of running, hopping, skipping and backwards races right through the middle of their games!

There was a singing session too. Funny that the adults didn’t seem quite as keen as the children to join in with the actions! But some of them learned a few more nursery rhymes to sing at home.

There was story time when Helen Harding retold the parable of the Good Samaritan with pictures, during which the children had a great time acting out being attacked or lying as if dead, as you can see in the picture.

But the star of the show was the parachute. Described by the staff at the diocesan resources centre who lent it to us as ‘small’, this turned out to be enormous. First the adults took hold of the edges and raised it up for the children to rush underneath and get trapped! Then it was the children’s turn to get their revenge on their parents!

‘Amazing!’ said one of the Dads as things were packed away. Families connected to our churches in a variety of ways seemed to enjoy meeting and getting to know each other. We must do it again.

Concert delights audience

Following their usual ‘Haydn in Herts’ session on Sunday 8th May, members of the orchestra agreed to stay on to give an impromptu concert in place of the evening service in Christ Church. When he suggested to the Watford Philharmonic’s Society’s conductor, Terry Edwards, that they should do so our Vicar had two things in mind.

First, to get the ‘Haydn in Herts’ project better known and perhaps attract more people to get involved.

Second, to hear Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto performed on our church organ. Malcolm Hicks, organist of St James’, Piccadilly, very kindly agreed to come and play the organ.

It was a magnificent occasion. A large audience filled the centre of the church (if only they would come to evening service every week!) and were treated to two Haydn symphonies, Bach’s Fantasia in G major for organ and, of course, the Concerto. This was a work that was unfamiliar to many of the people who heard it, and they expressed delight at the wonderful sound textures that the composer so skilfully wove into his music, and the skill of the performers who played it so well, after just one very brief rehearsal.

We are truly blessed here in Watford to have such a wealth of musical talent. The Watford Philharmonic Society is to be congratulated on sponsoring such an imaginative project as the ‘Haydn in Herts’ project and this ‘concert spin-off’ was enjoyed by all who heard it.

Family Fun Day

The early May Bank Holiday is always a strange one. Nothing much seems to happen, the weather is often not too good, and families are left wondering what to do. So in recent years we have organised a ’Fun Day’ at St Mark’s Church which has been very much appreciated. But this year things have been very different.

Easter fell very late and was immediately followed by the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. This took place on the Friday of Easter Week which the Queen declared an extra Bank Holiday. The result was four Bank Holidays (Good Friday, Easter Monday, the Royal Wedding and May) all within ten days. Was there really a need for a Family Fun Day in 2011, people asked. In the end we all agreed to hold it, and we are very glad we did.

It was a beautiful sunny day onMonday 2nd May 2011, even if the wind was a bit cool. By opening time at 11 o’clock the roundabout had been set up, candyfloss was already on sale, and St Mark’s church grounds were covered with stalls and tables. Inside the church everything was just as busy.

The tombola, book stall and bric-a-brac stall were laden with goods, and the cake stall was groaning under the weight of a vast quantity of sponges, cakes, biscuits and pies. These stalls, together with the plant stall and the refreshments, were to raise funds for our two churches.

Others were raising money to support different charities or organisations: the Hostel for Disabled Children in Kwa Mkono in Tanzania, the Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) group, Scouts and Guides.

But much of what happened was for the pure fun of it. The coconut shy, the bouncy castle, the children’s roundabout, the toy trains for youngsters to drive, the model railway for adults to admire, the face painting and henna designs, bean bag throwing, and games involving lollipops, were greatly appreciated by young and old.

When everything was packed up and put away we were all able to congratulate ourselves on another very worthwhile event. Those who came to St Mark’s on that Bank Holiday Monday certainly seemed to enjoy themselves - and that, after all, was the whole point of doing it. So a very big thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

Older People's Party

You never quite know what to expect when you are invited to a party at Christ Church. There will always be an excellent tea, of course, usually served by members of the Girl Guides. But it is the entertainment that has everyone guessing.

This year was no exception. As people gathered in the Hall on Saturday 16th April they were soon caught up in the table top quiz (who was the first person to swim the Channel?) which enabled everyone to get to know each other. Then, once the first round to teas had been served, an atmosphere of eager anticipation descended on the room. What was about to happen?

The Watford Operatic Concert Party took centre stage and soon the hall was echoing to the sound of singing.

 

 

 

The audience was thoroughly involved, joining in the choruses and listening attentively to solo and choral numbers. The time flew by.

Then, after the second round of tea, the scene changed completely.

Maria Delmar and her Flamenco Dancers took the floor and entertained with a series of spirited dances, with much stamping of feet and clattering of castanets. It was great fun.

 

 

The party ended after the answers to the quiz had been announced (it was Captain Webb) and the raffle drawn.

Everyone went home happy, having given a hearty round of applause for everyone who had organised the event, made the tea and provided transport. It had been a memorable occasion.

Roll on the next one!

 

Watford Philharmonic Concert

On Wednesday 23rd March 'The Phil' put on an excellent concert in Christ Church.

The programme included three works by Ludwig van Beethoven: The Egmont Overture; The Mass in C; and the Choral Fantasia, which has many similarities to the final movement of the 9th Symphony and was described by one member of the audience as ‘a piano concerto with chorus’.

All three received spirited performances from choir and orchestra, and soloists Charmian Bedford (soprano), Jeanette Ager (alto), Daniel Hoadley (tenor) and James Gower (bass-baritone) were in fine voice.

On the piano James Sherlock (winner of BBC ‘Fame Academy – the Next Generation) was outstanding. As well as the Choral Fantasia he accompanied Percy Grainger’s ‘Shallow Brown’, an arrangement of a sea shanty sung by James Gower and the men of the chorus, and ‘The Rio Grande’, an exciting piece by Constant Lambert strongly influenced by jazz with a piano part reminiscent of George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and piano concerto.

The whole evening was quite an event and it was encouraging to see the church full, with standing room only at the back. It has been a joy for the people of Christ Church to be able to host the Society’s concerts while The Watford Colosseum has been refurbished.

Next season ‘The Phil’ returns to that fantastic venue for its main concerts, but the ‘Haydn in Herts’ project will continue in the church.

Pancake Party

There is no better way to get ready for Lent than an old fashioned pancake party. This year's event at St Mark's Church on Shrove Tuesday evening did not disappoint.

 

 

Who are these ladies trapped behind bars? They are our pancake makers.

 

 

They provided over 200 pancakes in our very small kitchen and they were ready right on time at the end of the pancake races.

 

These took the usual form. First the children, then the Mums and finally the Dads had to form teams and race the length of the church, tossing their pancakes as they went. Next there was a relay race - mixed teams of adults and children. Those who needed assistance found that help was always at hand.

 

Finally, when everyone was exhausted, the Vicar devised a sitting-down race, where the pancake was flipped from one team to the other and the pan passed along.

It was a wonderful evening, thoroughly enjoyed by more than 70 people of all ages. Now we can all settle down to the slightly more sober business of Lent.

 

Christ Church Street Market

The ‘Street Market’, the first event of its kind at Christ Church, was very successful in a number of ways, not least because more than £2,200 were raised for church funds. The Vicar was delighted: ‘Lots of people came and were impressed at the goodwill that was everywhere.’

Richard Harrington, Watford’s MP, was among the visitors, and he judged the Sponge Cake Competition which was won by 11 year old Sophie Jackson.

There were numerous stalls and competitions to be found inside the church and the church halls, and in the open air. They reflected the enormous amount of work put in beforehand to make the event such a success.

From books to bric-a-brac and hot chestnuts to the tombola, there was something for everyone, including all the children. Many of them entered a colouring competition which was won by Albie (under 5’s), Alicia (under 8’s) and Jasmine (under 11’s).

Another measure of success was the wide variety of people taking part. It was not just a church event. Charities such as Mencap and SOBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide) were there, while M K Ginder & Sons had a Christmas Tree of Remembrance raising money for the Peace Hospice. North Watford Methodist Church had a stall and Evolution Hairdressers held a raffle. The ‘Fresh Cut Sandwich Bar’ did a roaring trade in hot pork baguettes and rolls with all the fillings, while The Vitamin Shop was able to give advice on keeping healthy.

The cake stall was enormous. The Fairtrade Stall did well, coffees, teas and lunches were served in the church and proved very popular while Manhattan Quest, a local jazz band led by Billy Long, provided music in the background that was much enjoyed.

Beverley Hartley, a member of Christ Church congregation, offered a selection of her wonderful prints for sale for church funds and they were snapped up.

Hundreds of people attended the event and all seemed to have enjoyed themselves and a number were asking when the next one would be. ‘It just goes to show what can be achieved if we all work together,’ commented our Vicar. ‘We need to do all we can to raise the profile of this end of St Albans Road and to encourage people to use the shops and businesses here before it is too late. I hope that by organising events of this kind our churches can help that process.’

 

A Memorable Concert

On Wednesday 10th November Christ Church was transformed. The day before, volunteers from the congregation were joined by a team from the Watford Philharmonic Society. Together they cleared the pews from the chancel and removed all unnecessary furniture from the church. Then along came the stage building professionals. Within a few short hours the building had been transformed into a concert hall with a huge raked stage covering the East end.

So next day the Watford Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus was able to perform the first concert in their 76th season. Normally they appear at the Colosseum, but it is under reconstruction at the moment. Christ Church provided a smaller but suitable alternative.

The programme consisted of three works, all most suitable for this eve of Armistice Day date. Mozart’s Requiem is a wonderful piece which received a most sympathetic treatment from choir, orchestra and soloists Nicola Stonehouse, Alexandra Tiffin, Richard Edgar-Wilson and Dawid Kimberg.

After the interval, during which church members served refreshments to performers and audience in a most efficient manner, members of the orchestra performed the Serenade for Wind by Richard Strauss. This provided a pleasant contrast to the Mozart and to the Maurice Duruflé Requiem which followed. Written as recently as 1947, the beautiful music is based on Gregorian plainchant and again the choir, orchestra and soloists rose to the occasion and gave a performance to remember under the direction of conductor Terry Edwards.

Next day the volunteers were hard at work again, and by midday the church was back to normal, all crisp and tidy and ready to host another, very different event on the following Saturday - our very first ‘Street Market’.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way towards making the concert such a memorable occasion.

The Model Railway Show

held in Christ Church on Saturday 16th October was a great success. There were eleven layouts displayed by local enthusiasts' clubs and by individuals. Some were big and imposing, like Silverbury (24 feet long by 6 feet wide), while others were more modest, like young Damien's 'Harry Potter layout. Damien arrived part way through the morning with his train set in its box and asked if he could set it up. And why not? That made twelve.

There was plenty to interest the modellers. Keith's large trade stand was a constant souce of temptation.

 

 

 

Harry's Hornby OO steam powered 'Mallard' also provided a lot of interest, as well as the authentic smells and noises.

 

 

 

There was plenty to amuse the children too. The Vicar had set up his Playmobil layout so that youngsters could take turns at driving the trains in a out of the pews in the chancel. There were shreiks of delight all day long, especially when the trains collided or came off the tracks.

Nowadays models are more and more authentic. Everywhere was the smell of steam, smoke and coal. The Tedburn layout was especially impressive with smoke preceding the locomotives as they emerged from the tunnel.

It was a good day. We look forward to the next. But in the meantime there's that new track to lay and the new rolling stock to try out. I should have left my money at home!

 

Harebreaks Happening

The five churches serving the Harebreaks Estate in North Watford got together to plan another 'Happening' on Saturday 18th September 2010. The idea was to draw the community closer together, and it worked.

The Community Housing Trust, local Police and Fire Services, the Police Cadets, Guides, Brownies, Cubs and Scouts were all there. Stalls were set up by schools and community groups, and there was a table top sale.

People enjoyed the fairground rides, disco dancing, slides and bouncy castles and, most of all, the climbing wall.

Members of our churches provided refreshments and presided over an enormous cake stall, and the income generated covered the cost of the entire event.

Already people are asking, 'When is it happening next year?' We'll just have to wait and see!

Holiday in Wales

St Winifreds is an ideal place to spend a holiday. It stands right on the sea front at Rhos-on-Sea, very near Llandudno. The house is large, light and comfortable, the staff friendly and helpful, and the town centre is just a few steps away along a level pavement. Most important of all, the food is very good indeed.

So the 22 of us who arrived on Monday 10th May for a mid-week break were very happy, and we were soon enjoying everything that this beautiful part of North Wales has to offer. We went up the Great Orme, some by tram and others by cable car. We all explored Bodnant Gardens, some went to the Mountain Zoo while others visited Conway Castle, and the more scientifically minded went into Electric Mountain.

We all went on the Mountain Railway right to the top of Snowdon - where we were snowed on! It was a fantastic experience, starting out in clear weather and finding ourselves in a blizzard at the top. It was a stark reminder of how quickly weather conditions change in the mountains. Fortunately there is a new visitor centre at the top so only the most intrepid (foolhardy?) had to walk to the summit. Amazingly, when we returned to sea level we were able to enjoy cream teas in the sunshine looking across the Menai Straits to the snow covered hills.

Some of us went to a Male Voice Choir Concert, some visited St Asaph Cathedral, most people enjoyed shopping and everyone had a thoroughly good time. St Winifred’s is somewhere we shall certainly want to visit again, and we have only scratched the surface of all that North Wales has to offer.

Band Concert

The Watford Band gave another splendid performance at their concert in Christ Church on 15th May. Unfortunately there had been a mix up over the advertising and not many people seemed to know about it. But those who were there enjoyed a programme of music designed to appeal to all tastes and played with great accomplishment. The next concert by the Band will be on Saturday 25th September. Don't miss it.

Family Fun Day

Bank Holiday Monday dawned cold and damp. But the weather did not discourage members of our two congregations. They were up bright and early preparing for the 'Family Fun Day' at St Mark's Church.

 

 

When 11 o'clock arrived so did hundreds of local people, determined to enjoy themselves on the coconut shy, the bouncy castle, the 'tea cups' and all the other sideshows that had been set up.

Whenever it rained - and the showers were only brief - people piled into the church for refreshments and to look at the stalls. The tombola was as popular as ever, and so were the stalls set up by church organisations and local community groups.

But it was Jo Jingles who stole the show with a series of music and movement events for our smallest visitors, which their parents seemed to enjoy as much as the children did.

As soon as the sun came out again people returned to the car park for dog obedience demonstrations by Watford All Breeds Dog Training Club, and the amazing dancing dogs of the 'Splash Club'.

Out in the grounds The Guides provided hot dogs and doughnuts, while inside the church Ploughman's Lunches were served. All to quickly it was 3 o'clock and another thoroughly enjoyable 'Fun Day' had come to an end.

 

A Creative Day

When they visited Christ Church a while ago members of the Diocesan Advisory Committee (the group that oversees our church buildings) commented that the entrance was rather 'unwelcoming'.

'Why not put a bright wall hanging that will catch the eye and draw people in?' they asked. It seemed a good idea. The Church Council asked a designer to try to fulfill an impossible brief.

'Design us something that we can put together in the course of a one day workshop,' they said.'And make it something that literally anyone can join in making!' they added

It was a tall order. The space to be covered was almost 4 metres by 2½ meters. But undaunted, designer Liz Lewis came up with an abstract design that met the criteria, and on 3rd October she ran the workshop.

 

By 10.15am a number of people were chalking patterns on fabric that had largely been donated by church members, using templates that Liz had prepared in advance. Soon Sue was hemming them on her machine. At one point it looked as though she was making a wedding dress! By early afternoon the finished pieces of material were being placed on the background and by 5pm the finished hanging was ceremonially carried down the church and fixed into position.

 

 

 

It may not be perfectly executed, but in just eight hours a group of people with little or no experience of making such a thing had created, under Liz's watchful eye, a wall hanging that certainly brightens up what, until now, has been a very drab corner of the building.

 

Here's what it looks like, hanging over the recently completed sidesmen's table, which was made from wood recovered from the pews which had to be removed from the side aisles of the church when the new heating system was installed last Christmas.

Both table and wall hanging are excellent examples of recycling. Congratulations to everyone who helped make them.

 

 

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