From the Assistant Priest Revd Don Alcock Greetings from your new Assistant! Finally!! From a January interview and acceptance of the position with this Benefice to my arrival at the beginning of May, the wheels of church and government bureaucracies turned painfully slowly. We were delighted when my immigration visa arrived so that my new adventure here could finally begin. I was born in Montreal, Canada and grew up there before moving to Los Angeles to complete a doctorate in US History. The Lord called me away from a university teaching career to become a priest. As part of that, He brought me to England in 2001 and He caught me completely off-guard when I met Yvonne, the woman who became my wife a year later. We were married in Scotland but she is a native of Brighton, England. She came to live with me in Canada, but last year we discerned a call to move to England, and the Lord led us here. We have two small dogs (Lhasa Apsos). To bring them over, they had to undergo rabies testing, a six month process which ends June 4, so my wife will not arrive with them until June 5 I have lived in large cities and small towns and served in rural and urban parishes. I have experience with prayer ministries and teaching, and have marvel at the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. My motto in life derives from Romans 12: 1-2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Jesus certainly turned His world upside down with His teachings and challenged His followers to think anew in their relationships with one another and with God. We as Christians are similarly challenged. I look forward to working with you and serving you to meet that challenge. Don Welcome Packs We provide a pack to welcome people into the Villages. It has information about bin days, doctors, children’s activities…. If you see someone has moved in near you please ask the Vicarage for a pack for you to give to them. (They are kept at the Vicarage as we try to keep them up to date) Church News Lunches for Charities: Thursday 3rd June for St Andrew’s Heating Fund Thursday 1st July for Herts Air Ambulance Come and join us – everyone, of all ages, is welcome to these free lunches at 1pm in the Wilshere Hall, Cappell Lane, Stanstead Abbots. The lunches are followed by Holy Communion at 2.30pm. Some come for that only, some go after lunch, and some stay for both!! The lunch in May for ‘Help for Heroes’ raised £64.10. July/August Parishes Magazine Items for the next magazine, should preferably be emailed to [email protected] or left at the Vicarage by 12th June at the latest please. Copy can also be given to Lynne Heraud. Transport to Church. If you would like a lift to church please phone one of the Churchwardens (see back cover of this magazine). From our Registers We Welcomed Ashton-Lee Read 2nd May (St Andrew’s) Louis and Freddie Webb 9th May (St John the Baptist) We offer our condolences to the families and friends of Susan Loveday Ranworth Avenue 13th May (St Andrew’s) Shelley Copping Cheshunt 24th May (Cheshunt) Please note The Vicar’s day off is Tuesday. The Administrator works on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9.15am until 2pm. St John the Baptist Church Great Amwell Everyone likes to hear the church bells ringing, but if we do not find more ringers the bells will fall silent. We desperately need new ringers, young, old and any age in between. We practise every Thursday at 8 o’clock so do come and join us, telephone Seth or Frances Adams on 01920 870861. Lunches for Charities Free lunch – all collection goes to the charity of the month 3rd June for St Andrew’s Heating Fund The church heating pipes are as old as the church – 1881 – so they have served us well. But they are now so furred up that they need replacing. The temperature struggles to get above 12 degrees C on cold days! The new pipe work and boilers that go with the pipes, will cost £37,500! As we struggle to make ends meet each year, this is an amazing challenge. We had, at the end of 2009, raised £11,795.33, so come and enjoy a good lunch together – and help us work towards our target. 3rd July for Herts Air Ambulance Thanks to the hard work and determination of the people of Hertfordshire a state of the art Air Ambulance was launched in November 2008; that was just the beginning, maintaining the service will only be possible through the continued generosity of the people of our County. • It costs £120,000 a month to operate the aircraft 5 days a week. • On average every life-saving flight costs £2,000. • The total number of missions attended up to 4.10.09 was 274, many of which would have safed lives. Would you like to host a Charity lunch? Do you have a pet charity that you would like to hold a fundraiser for? If so, please contact the Vicarage on 01920 870115 and to put your name and chosen charity onto our list. The Wilshere Hall (next to St Andrew’s Church) is used for your free lunch at 1pm, each first Thursday of the month. All donations raised from the lunch, then go to the charity of your choice, having details or a speaker from the charity can make the event more interesting, but is not compulsory. St John the Baptist Great Amwell Patronal Festival Children are going to decorate the church for our Patronal Festival (St John the Baptist day) Please come and look around (and congratulate them on their work!) The church will be open Sunday 27th June 8.30am – 11.00am, 2.30pm – 6.30pm 4.30pm: Tea and games for children 5-11 years 5.00pm: Children’s Evening Service St John’s Church, Great Amwell Afternoon Teas Every Sunday afternoon through to September; 3pm-5pm. Please pop in. St James, Stanstead Abbots Open Sundays St James Church (Roydon Rd) will be open for visitors on Sunday afternoons from 2.30pm to 5.00pm, during June, July, August and September. Come and look round, but sorry - no teas as there is no electricity or water supply! St Margarets’ Church Restoration Fund Summer Concert and Cream Tea on Sunday 4th July 4-6pm Tickets £5 from Ruth (01992 462151) or Jennifer (01920 460689) Sheets of ‘Dingbats’ are also available (similar to TV programme Catchphrase) £1 per sheet of 20 from Maureen, Ruth & Jennifer. MENS BREAKFAST SaturdaSaturdayy 5th June in the Wilshere Hall, Cappell Lane, Stanstead Abbotts. at 8.30am tickets £5 to include food available from Marilyn Britton on 01920 870188 New Alpha course The Alpha course is much in demand here it seems, so we are starting a new one. If you are interested, please come to the Vicarage on Wednesday June 30th at 8.00pm for a ‘taster’ of the course – no commitment required. Thereafter meetings will be set by the group in order to cater for work and childcare needs. This is an opportunity to inquire about the Christian faith – no question too small or too silly. Contact the Vicarage (879115) if you are interested (for catering purposes!), or for more information. St John the Baptist Church, Great Amwell is looking for more voluntary cleaners and has some finance for a paid cleaner for limited hours. This would allow for the church to be cleaned more regularly than at present by a loyal group of people. For details contact Churchwarden J ulia Brace on 01992 447845 SAYC (Stanstead Abbotts Youth Club) Fridays 7pm – 9pm during term time In the Wilshere Hall (next to St Andrew’s Church), Cappell Lane, Stanstead Abbotts. Cost £1 a night, plus tuck shop money! For young people in Year 7 at school and older Further details contact Anne on: 01920 870115 Stanstead Abbotts Parish Council your most local representatives! As you read this article – we will have had our Annual Village Meeting, and also – our Annual General Meeting. These are focus points for the Parish Council year, giving the village a chance to have their voice heard – and then followed by a meeting of the business issues with the new Council. This year we say farewell and thanks to Declan Quinn as Chair and Councillor, as he steps down from his service over the last year. Over the year, we have seen the arrival of 4 new councillors and now the stepping down of one. This means that we are again one person down on the 9 Councillors, which would be our full number. If you have wondered what is involved in being a Parish Councillor – please do feel free to come to a Council meeting (dates as advertised on the village notice boards) to see what is discussed and decided on. You will be made very welcome – even if you decide it is not for you. In September we will be saying goodbye to Neville Townsend, our Parish Clerk, and stalwart support, for the last 10 years. Recruitment for a successor is under way. If interested, do contact him. Alternatively – perhaps you would be happier to help out only in one aspect of the work we do, and this too would be a great service to your village! Examples of valuable work done by non-Councillors as part of linked working groups, include the staunch efforts of the Playground Committee (now getting ready to move on to Phase 2 after their recent successes) and the Riverside Festival Committee who help us all enjoy this now annual community event! Hope to see you on the green on 19th June 2010 – come and say hello!!! Hilary Cullen Parish Councillor [email protected] .uk 19 June 2010 Riverside A family filled day of fun!! Bring a picnic to watch and listen to all the great performances.