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MARCH

Sat 1st TAIZE weekend at Purley Chase —

Sun 3rd see page 6 of the INSET for details.

Sat 2nd Helen Brown Workshop at Swedenborg House

See page 5 of the INSET for details.

SUN 3rd Sacramental service led by Revd Gillian Gordon

SUN 10th Worship led by Mrs Linda Wells

Wed 13th Churches Together Prayer Lunch - 12.30 p.m.

St Johns, Lansdowne Crescent, Notting Hill.

Soup and bread and a Lent course to follow.

SUN 17th Worship led by Revd Gillian Gordon.

SUN 24th Worship led by Mr Alan Misson.

SUN 31st Worship led by Mr David Friend.

APRIL

SUN 7th Sacramental service led by Revd Gillian Gordon.

Please note that the ELSAC OPEN MEETING will be held at

Swedenborg House on Wednesday April 17th at 2 p.m.

This is the annual business meeting of the

London and Southern Area Council.

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February and March 2013

the

NEW CHURCH

Kensington

2

**********************************************************

MINISTER FOR LONDON

Revd. Gillian Gordon, 5 Pembridge Villas, LONDON W11 3EN.

Telephone:020 7229 9340

CHURCH OFFICERS

Secretary

Mr David R A Friend, 98 Abbotts Drive, WEMBLEY,

Middlesex HA0 3SQ. Telephone 020 8904 3433

Treasurer

Mrs Linda F Wells, 92A Mount Park Road, EASTCOTE,

Middlesex HA5 2JU Telephone: 01895 631444

Newsletter Editor

Mr David R A Friend, 98 Abbotts Drive, WEMBLEY,

Middlesex HA0 3SQ. Telephone 020 8904 3433

Warden

Mr Howard W Turner, 5 Pembridge Villas, LONDON W11 3EN.

Telephone: 020 7229 9340

You can accomplish more in one hour with God

than one lifetime without him

. . . with God, all things are possible

Matthew 19: 26

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FEBRUARY

SUN 3rd Sacramental service led by Mr David Friend.

SUN 10th Worship led by Mr David Brooks.

Wed 13th Churches Together Prayer Lunch - 12.30 p.m.

Venue to be announced

SUN 17th Worship led by Revd Gillian Gordon

SUN 24th Worship led by Mr Howard Turner.

� �

CALENDAR Worship is at 11 am. each Sunday except where otherwise announced.

More quotes from Maya Angelou, American poet, born in

1928, and author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did, but people will

never forget how you made them feel.”

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how

bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be

better tomorrow.”

“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the

people you love.”

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ally pounded out with vast

diapason! The film on the

Carmelite monastery (why

not nunnery?) was also very

peaceful, and beautifully

made. The moment we both

treasured was when the nun

said that “silence is full of

life and expectation”. A

well-spent Saturday after-

noon. So many thanks to

you, Gillian and your col-

leagues.”

“I was fascinated by ‘No

Greater Love’ but regret that

I couldn’t get there soon

enough to hear the director!

What a thoroughly unique

film and intimate look into a

reclusive life that we can

hardly imagine! Thank you

for this rare opportunity –

especially since I missed the

film when it was first re-

leased.”

These unsolicited comments

reflect well on the efforts made

by all our members to make

the church and hall ready for

the event, to provide refresh-

ments which suited the occa-

sion, and to have a recital

which showed off the organ -

and the organist - to the best

possible.

Churches Together in

Notting Hill

The December Prayer Lunch

was hosted by the Methodist

Church in Lancaster Road, and

their minister, Revd Maginley,

s h o w e d

some of his

varied tal-

ents by lead-

ing both the

worship and

the music. A

group of

some 25

people were

present in

the recently

refurb ished

premises which boasts three

levels within in the old church

building, the upper space still

being a commodious church.

Recital and Film Show

Following the success of the

Recital and Film show, we were

delighted to receive the two

letters from visitors to the event

quoted below.

“Thank you very much for a

most interesting, stimulating

and enjoyable afternoon,

nicely sheltered from the

weather, yesterday. The re-

cital was peaceful, and in-

triguing to hear on a small

organ pieces which are usu-

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It’s so nice to go travelling.

During our Christmas holiday in the

Far East Barry and I visited numerous

places of worship in Hong Kong and

Thailand. We obediently walked

barefoot in a variety of Buddhist

temples from the small to the huge

one in Thailand that houses the

largest reclining Buddha in the world (Barry worrying during his

visits that his shoes would be stolen in his absence – they

weren’t). We were fascinated by the

coloured Chinese lanterns, burning

incense and special stick shaking of

worshippers in the Taoist temple in

Hong Kong and visited Hindu places

of devotion which ranged in size and

content from room size to tiny foot

square roadside shrines. The Cathedral in Central Hong Kong

is large with that variety of ceiling fans one associates with

hot countries and open windows with wooden shutters and it

is a cool, peaceful and Holy place to rest and pray awhile.

Best of all I enjoyed my impromptu visit to the Carmelite Sisters

in Stanley, Hong Kong. They are housed in a large modern

looking building in well kept gardens opposite a noisy and

very busy bus station and next to a frenetic market selling

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souvenirs of every kind to tourists. The contrast between the

hustle and bustle outside and the peace and calm inside the

convent is striking The Abbess and a young nun both agreed

to see me from behind a wooden wall and we eventually

conversed amiably through a heavy metal grill. The Abbess

was a tiny elderly lady radiating both wisdom and

authority. The other Nun looked

so young and fresh I felt as though

she should have been wearing a

school uniform rather than

a heavy brown habit. I began

the conversation speaking slowly

in clear and simple English

explaining I was from the New

Church in London and brought

Christian fellowship greetings from our church and from the

Carmelites in Notting Hill and that we had recently shown the

film “No Greater Love” at our church about their

order. Somewhat to my embarrassment the younger nun

replied in perfect fluent English that they had seen the

documentary themselves and in fact sold copies at their

premises. They asked questions about the New Church and

for news on the Sisters at Charles Square and I spoke of my

impending retirement and not knowing what would

ensue. They assured me they would pray for me and I

assured them I would pray for them.

Now we are back in the U.K. my heart and soul longs to be

with New Church people in the London New Churches which

are my spiritual home. As Frank Sinatra sang in the song “It's

Nice to Go Trav'ling”

It's very nice to go trav'lin' to Paris, London, and Rome

It's oh, so nice to go trav'lin'

But it's so much nicer, yes, it's so much nicer to come home.

May God bless you in your travels in 2013.

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People and Places

Geoffrey Turner

We reported in our last issue

that our senior member, Geof-

frey Turner, was unable to be

at church because of strained

leg muscles.

Anno domini having taken its

toll over the weeks, he has

been unable to recover suffi-

cient strength in his leg to be

independent again and has,

therefore, taken up permanent

residence in a local Care

home.

He managed to attend the

Carol Service on 16th Decem-

ber and enjoyed the opportu-

nity to see the children in their

response to Revd Gillian

Gordon’s efforts - see the re-

port above.

The Christmas Alphabet Report from Emma Hoad

From A for Angels to Z for Zeal,

an animated group of children

and adults in excited pre-

Christmas mood joined in the

‘Christmas Alphabet’ at the

Church on 16 December 2012.

It was dark and cold outside,

but the church glowed warmly

with candles along the win-

dowsills and beautiful red and

white flower displays. The chil-

dren dressed up in nativity cos-

tumes and made appear-

ances at the front of the

church as the Christmas alpha-

bet took us through a dynamic

version of the traditional nativ-

ity story. Between the scenes

we sang Christmas carols and

the children read prayers and

poems. Afterwards, everyone

moved to the hall for delicious

mince pies and chocolate

Christmas log prepared by the

ladies of the church while the

children raced around to-

gether.

On our drive back home in the

dark, we took a detour to view

the Oxford Street lights, which,

despite being rather heavy on

the 'marmite' sponsorship,

made a twinkly and appropri-

ate end to a very Christmassy

afternoon in London.