September 9th – 16th was the London Week of Peace, and I was pleased to be able to represent Ickenham Churches at the Hillingdon Borough event on the Monday afternoon. Three African drummers with the Mayor of Hillingdon and the Borough Police Commander led the peace walk along Uxbridge High Street, which caused many shoppers to break into smiles and jig to the rhythm.
Two fire engines flanked the forecourt of the Civic Centre. Stalls displayed the work of the police and other emergency services and organisations. Fluttering in the breeze were paper doves on which people wrote their pledges or prayers for peace.
The Mayor asked people to pause and think of their personal contribution to peace in the community. The Police Commander said that working for a safer and peaceful society was his job, and he does it willingly. The Borough Councillor who is the link with the Inter Faith Network urged people of every faith to pray for peace.
Hillingdon Inter Faith Network had organised this event, as well as the Youth Partnership Breakfast Summit the next morning, and a poster competition for schools and youth groups. You may see winning posters on display around the borough during the coming year.
After the short speeches, two girls from Swakeleys School read a poem about what peace means to them. Candles, as symbols of the desire for peace, were presented to the key participants. Then members of the Inter Faith Network steering group and anyone else from the crowd were invited to receive a small candle and say if they represented a group in the community working for peace. There were two Muslims, a Buddhist, a Hindu, and a Jew. Amongst Christians there were representatives of Quakers, Methodists, Baptists, United Reformed, Anglicans and Catholics as well as of ecumenical partnerships and Churches Together groups. There was a founder member (as a schoolgirl in 1951) of the United Nations Association in this area. Maybe there were others I didn’t note or who didn’t come forward.
All seemed to value the opportunity to focus attention on the importance of peaceful relationships in the community. Peace be with you.
Bernie
A recent opinion poll about the 2012 Olympics revealed growing public concern about the escalating costs of the London games. Despite that, many welcome the opportunity for developing Olympic standard facilities that will benefit future generations too, and I am still very positive about the value to London, particularly for our young people. Co-incidentally, the London Diocese’s five year plan was published earlier this year under the title London Challenge 2012. It identifies seven commitments that will enable the Church of England in London ‘to present the gospel afresh in our generation, in a world city that struggles to comprehend where its own well-being might lie and how the Christian faith could be relevant’.
Perhaps our fickleness about the Olympic bid is part of our struggle to know where our well-being might lie. And although I am looking forward to the Olympics being staged in London, our well-being collectively and individually is fragile if it is linked too closely to events such as these. The significant thing about the Christian faith is that it continues to be relevant and contemporary in each new generation. The core truths about the death and resurrection of Jesus remain unchanged in 2000 years, although there are fresh ways of expressing and experiencing this in our lives today. In fact, the church in London is growing as more people discover that faith in Jesus Christ connects us with God and provides a firm foundation on which to build our lives.
This Autumn we’ve started a new service called ‘Live at Five’, on the 4th Sunday of each month at 5pm in St Giles’ Church Hall. We aim to keep it informal, contemporary and short – a fresh expression of the Christian faith for all the family. We welcome everyone, especially if you haven’t been to church before or for ages, and we’d like to know what you think too. Help us make ‘Live at Five’ a vibrant place where we can develop relevant Christian faith for the 21st Century.
With best wishes,
Adrian
Baptisms at St Giles’
Aug 26th Zachary Oliver Huddle
Sept 9th Mia Frances Ribas
Dylan James Alan Green
Chelsey Jane De-Freitas
Wedding at St Giles’
Aug 18th Sean McManus and Karen Michelle Holland
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
Aug 14th Violet Hunt, aged 82
Aug 30th Lillian Fenn, aged 82
Sept 4th Muriel Richfield, aged 86 (after service at St Giles’)
Sept 5th Alexander McLachlan, aged 68
