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The Parish of All Hallows, North Greenford |
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Come in! Taste and see how good the Lord is. |
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Reflecting with Pamela |
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We are soon going to enter into my most favourite season of the year, autumn or where I hail from ‘Fall’. Gareth has already brought to may attention that several of the leaves on the Vicarage garden pear tree have begun to change colour to crimson red and the change in colour is very noticeable on the trees either side of the Greenford Rd. heading in the direction of Westway Shopping Centre.
Last week we spent time clearing the garden of summer children’s toys putting them under the shelter, storing logs in the wood lodge to keep them dry and dismantling the gazebo in order for it to be preserved from the recent strong winds resulting from the hurricane fallout off the Atlantic.
Time, has also been spent, over the summer months reducing clutter both in church, home and garden. Part of the church organisation has come in the form of gathering together the final paperwork soon to be sent to the London Metropolitan Archives for safe keeping along with a multitude of Registers. For those of our church family and community who have had a long history with All Hallows, I write to assure you that the records will be kept in a safe and methodical manner thus providing the present and future generations with access to materials; enabling them to study the beginnings of the Mission District of North Greenford (which All Hallows was a part of).
With the help of John Thorndycraft who is the author of ‘The Hidden Light’ (booklet giving historical details of All Hallows from 1931 – 1981), a vast amount of paperwork has been sifted through by us both. It has been a most worthwhile way of spending time.
I was particularly moved by the generosity and solidarity of a community who worked tirelessly to their cost (financial and physical) to ensure that a church was made available for the people in this area to worship in. I was encouraged by the fact that prayer and perseverance were undergirding the task at hand.
The Revd. John Darlington was at the helm when the present church of All Hallows was Consecrated. Here is an extract from the North Greenford parish Magazine written in October 1941 written by John Darlington
‘All being well, our greatest event of the winter should be the opening of the new church. Very good progress has been made in the last few weeks. Now as to the date of opening: - On December 22nd 1931 the present Church Hall was opened and dedicated by the Bishop of London, Dr. Winnington Ingram, the first Services were held on Christmas Day, 1931. How very delightful and appropriate it would be, to open the New Church at the end of December 1941 just 10 years after the dedication of the old one. Please pray for God’s Blessing on the new Church. Pray that it be kept safe. Pray that it be, indeed, a true “House of Prayer” for this parish (signed John Darlington)’
The following extract from the Middlesex County Times 27th December 1941 portrays an image of generous spirited people regarding the history of our present day church. I think we all have much to give thanks for.
‘the church was consecrated free of debt save for money outstanding on the organ. For the past 6 years the people of the mission district have used every means in their power to raise money and succeeded in collecting £2,000 toward the cost, the remainder being provided by the diocese’
Reading the extract below you will appreciate words of wisdom from the then Bishop of London who focused his address on belonging and community.
‘for many years in this country, as in others, the sense of community life has been lost. Our people have disintegrated into detached fragments and lost their sense of responsibility to the family, to the nation to history and even to God. Now, only under pressure of war, is that sense of responsibility coming back. You must teach people the secret of community life, fellowship in their homes and out of them, in their jobs and out of them, responsibility to the community into which we are all born’ (spoken in the sermon by Dr. Fisher Bishop of London)
Come to the Festival day of All Hallows Church – Sunday 1st November - All Saint’s Day 10am - and enjoy finding out more about the gems of the past which are encouraging and worthy of our appreciation and thanksgiving. Pamela |
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September 2009 |
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