FROM THE CHURCHES’ REGISTERS
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
Oct 21st David Windaybank, aged 74
Oct 29th Ian McCorkindale, aged 46
ST GILES’ CHURCH STREET PRAYER LIST
Each Sunday at St Giles’ Church we pray for all the people who live or work in a particular road in the Parish. During December and January we will pray for the following roads:
Dec 5th Stedman Close
Dec 12th Silverbirch Close
Dec 19th Shoreditch Close
Dec 26th Sussex Road
Jan 2nd Swakeleys Drive
Jan 9th Swakeleys Road
Jan 16th Tavistock Road
Jan 23rd Tayfield Close
Jan 30th The Avenue
If you live in one of these roads why not join us at our 8am or 9.45am services? You will be most welcome.
TREE OF REMEMBRANCE
Marking the birthday of a loved one who has died can be difficult; Christmas too can bring intense feelings of loss and loneliness.
If you want to remember someone dear to you, visit the Tree of Remembrance in St Giles’ Church during the Christmas Tree Festival on 10th and 11th December (see times in page 4 advert). There you can write the person’s name and / or a message on a star to be hung on the tree.
The stars will be taken down after the Tree Festival and placed on the altar inside St John’s Chapel where they will be kept until after Christmas. Prayers will be said for those named on the stars.
SAY HELLO TO JAMES
The churches of St Giles’ Ickenham and St Mary’s Harefield have recently appointed a Youth Worker to work in both parishes. His name is James Wood and he is 24 years old. James has a degree in Theology, has worked in Uganda and has just spent a year as a Youth Worker in Northwood. He is looking forward to helping lead the ongoing youth project in our midst.
The main aim of this project is to build relationships with young people, (predominately those aged 11 to 18), in Ickenham and Harefield. The project hopes to determine the needs, both spiritual and physical, of our young people, then help to fulfil them. Initially, James will work with teams from St Giles’ and St Mary’s, to develop and get the project underway.
The two other churches in the parishes – Ickenham URC and Harefield Baptist Church – contributed to early discussions, and both hope to become more involved once activities have become established. In the meantime, the project would appreciate the prayers and support of all four congregations and the community in general.
In particular, look out for James at services and events around Ickenham and Harefield. And do say hello to him – even if you are outside his project’s target age group!
WATER ON TAP
Over 50 people turned up at St Giles’ Church Hall early in November, to hear Mike Whitlam, Ken Tombs and Wendy Williams talk about their recent visit to Rukiga in Uganda.
One of the best pieces of news they brought was of the completion of the Water Project there. In the last two and a half years, around £22,000 has been raised and invested in the provision of pipes, taps, and water harvesting equipment, and in training local people to maintain the new system. Now everyone is within a 30 minute journey of reaching their drinking water each day.
And while that might still sound like hard work to us here in Ickenham, the improvement it has made to the lives of the people of Rukiga is immense.
Similarly good news came from Bernard Pearce regarding Ickenham URC’s involvement in Christian Aid’s Water Action Ethiopia project. Target has been exceeded by raising more than £6,500 in three years. This was mainly through collections in church and the monthly Christian Aid Ploughman’s Lunches. But as the Christian Aid scheme attracted European Union funds of £3 for every £1 raised, this actually means the Ethiopian project benefited by over £26,000 from these efforts. Well done, and thanks to everyone who contributed to either of these schemes.
Details of the next stage of the CLICK Rukiga project will appear in February’s ICN.
