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From the U.R.C. Elders
I recently discovered the following message in the strongbox
amongst our Marriage Registers. As I read it I felt that
the sentiments it contains still hold true for Ickenham United
Reformed Church today although the Chairman of Church Meeting
and the Secretary of Ickenham Congregational Church (as we were
then called) wrote it in October 1939. I copy it here with
just as warm and sincere an invitation.
"The members of this Church extend a warm and sincere
invitation to you to join with them in its fellowship.
The days in which we live take a heavy toll of our spirits
and moral resources and we feel that a definite association with
folks of like mind and outlook on the essentials of life provide
an encouragement, which is both welcome and necessary.
The refreshment of meeting friends and joining in Christian worship
is real and sustaining.
We endeavour to make our services simple and sincere and an
appeal to the mind as well as the heart.
We avoid undue length of service and sermon and keep before
us the needs of the children who may join with us in our worship.
Those of our number who have come from other districts can
vouch for the real and true friendship, which has been extended
to them.
We have to admit, frankly, that we fail to live up to the
teachings of our master and can only claim, humbly, to be trying
to understand his will and to catch his spirit.
As the only Free Church in Ickenham we comprise several of
the Nonconformist Denominations.
We believe that the problems and difficulties, which now separate
the nations, can in the last resort only be solved along the
lines of the principles of the teaching of Jesus Christ.
We offer a sincere welcome to all who desire to be associated
with a Christian Fellowship."
Mavis Boyes
Christian Aig Ploughman's Lunches
At Ickenham U.R.C. on Friday 3rd September
The Lunches usually take place on the first Friday of each
month, between 12 noon and 1.00 p.m. except March (usually the
2nd Friday) and April (Frugal Lunch instead, held at St. Giles'
Hall on Good Friday). There are no Lunches in January & August.
All are welcome.
Late Summer Event at the U.R.C.
Make sure that you come to the Forecourt Sale from 10 a.m.
to 12 noon on Saturday 4th September. Stalls will include: home
made cakes and preserves, garden produce, bric-a-brac, toys,
boxed games and books. Tea and coffee will be available and admission
is free.
Ickenham Churches' Women's Group
During the summer several charity fund raising events were
held. During Ickenham Festival Week, the two Cream Tea Afternoons
raised a total of £275. Also during that week Ros Penfold
opened her garden and raised a magnificent £448. Congratulations
to Ros and her helpers.
On 10th August a further £500 was raised from the Summer
Sale and Afternoon Tea.
A cheque for £1,223 has bee sent to UNIQUE, which is
the charity for people with rare chromosome disorders and their
families.
Many thanks to everyone who helped and supported these events.
Diane Holland
Ickenham Churches' Junior Holiday Club
The holiday club this year took place as usual during the
first week of the school holidays, which luckily corresponded
with the first good week's weather of the summer. This year we
were pleased to be joined by the Church from the US Base, which
is in the parish. We had 177 children registered. The theme for
this year was "The Miracle Maker". We were all on a
mission to find The Miracle Maker. The story was told by means
of drama, beaming up to the planet "Snonge" five people
from 30AD to tell of their experiences with Jesus The Miracle
Man. The children made some magnificent models to illustrate
what they had been hearing in the stories throughout the week.
Crafts and games were the order of the afternoons. The models
and craftwork were on display at our Grand Finale on the Friday
evening, which thanks to the excellent weather was held in the
Rectory Garden. Our outings were to Skating, Bowling, Quasar,
HOAC and Syon Park Aquatic and Soft Play area. The whole event
runs on donations and we are grateful for what we have received
this year, which keeps us solvent for another year. The holiday
club in Ickenham cannot run without the wonderful support received
from all the helpers. Once again this year some 150 plus came
forward and I would like to thank them all for the work they
did. Their help and encouragement has made my job as coordinator
so much easier. I have run this event for five very enjoyable
years and will now be handing over Holiday Club next year to
Ann Whitlam and wish her well in this rewarding role.
The dates for Holiday Club 2005 will be July 25th to July
29th. Please put these dates into your diary.
Rosemary Hodgson (Coordinator)
Gospel Oak Concern?
In recent months our new Gospel Oak has shown signs of distress
and its leaves have shrivelled and died. With this in mind Diana
May, a nearby resident, has poured on it some buckets of water
and Ralph Hughes wrote the following letter to the London Borough
of Hillingdon:
A very recent viewing of the new Gospel Oak showed it to
be in a poor state of health. I assume that the tree has received
and is receiving the all-important watering care during its first
two years of transplanting, but it would be a shame for the tree
to expire now that work on the original stone memorial and new
brass plaque is coming to fruition. Perhaps you would care to
visit the site to re-assure yourselves that the tree, although
maybe under some stress from the drought earlier in the year,
will survive.
Colin Chambers from the Tree and Woodland and Woodlands Office
responded thus:
The oak in question is currently in what I would call 'shut
down' mode. Premature de-foliation is the tree's way of shutting
down systems and reducing its water loss.
If this happens in May then, unless followed by a re-flush,
one could expect some 'die back' as a minimum up to possible
death of the tree.
Shut down at this end of the season is not ideal but I
have seen many trees recover and go on to flourish from this
position.
Currently, next year's buds are already formed and the
twigs are green right to the tips (scrap away with your fingernail
the outer bark, and if it's green underneath then the shoot is
alive).
Any local buckets of water would be helpful and we will
have to see how it fares later this year and next Spring. The
contractor will have to replace it if it fails within two years.
Hope this is helpful.
Perhaps other concerned residents living
close by the tree would be prepared to pour round it the occasional
bucket of water in the hope that it will survive the remaining
summer months and flourish next year.
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