Congratulations to Azita Jabbari who was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England on Saturday (red arrow, together with other ordinands and the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft) and is now starting her training curacy at Denham Parish Church. She is very much looking forward to meeting all of us! Catch up on our first interview with her and her husband Kamran last Sunday (the interview starts at 36 min 45 sec):
For this Sunday’s 10.30am service at St Mary’s Church, we have prepared a little gift for all fathers, grandfathers and godfathers.
Here is a little detail – can anyone recognise what it is?
Sunday 26 June: Friendship
Sunday 3 July: Parents
Sunday 10 July: Marriage
Sunday 17 July: Singleness
Sunday 24 July: Grandparents, Godparents, Mentors
Sunday 31 July: The Greatest Love
Catch up on all parts of this new series on our YouTube channel…
Dear friends,
What a wonderful start to the Platinum Jubilee today and the weather is certainly playing its part!
At St Mary’s Church we are getting ready for our “Alternative Beacon Bonanza” evening later today. The concert is now fully booked and we sadly can’t offer any tickets at the door.
Let there be light: Tonight from 9.30pm
However: You are invited to join us outside St Mary’s from 9.30pm tonight as we get ready to count down to the lighting of St Mary’s as an “Alternative Beacon”. The lights will be switched on at 9.45pm and we will sing the Song for the Commonwealth and the National Anthem. Our bells will be rung. It will be a wonderful way to mark the end of the first day of this Platinum Jubilee.
St Mary’s Church open Friday and Saturday
Our church is beautifully decorated with flowers and crowns decorated by various community groups in Denham. Do pop in on Friday or Saturday – the church will be open roughly from 10am to 6pm on both days. Printed Church guides will be available to explore St Mary’s Church.
Sunday: Celebration Service
Our all-age service on Sunday (10.30am) will be full of joy and celebration and suitable for all ages. It will include a family quiz and the winner will receive the delightful children’s book “The Queen who chose to serve”. The service will be live-streamed on Youtube in the usual way. After the service we will dedicate the newly planted tree in the churchyard, which is part of The Queen’s Green canopy (please note: we will not be able to stream this part). And – weather permitting – you are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy it in our churchyard. In the afternoon family games will be available and from 3pm to 5pm we will have the first of seven Royal Vestry Teas (whatever the weather)!
At all these events we would like to give you a beautifully illustrated book “Our Faithful Queen” as a gift. Do make sure to also pick up the special Jubilee issue of Denham Parish News. If you don’t live locally you can download a PDF of it here…
I look forward to seeing many of you over the next days.
Best wishes,
Christoph Lindner, Rector
On Tuesday 3 May, our PCC updated the risk assessment for meetings and services in our building:
A PCC UPDATE TO OUR COVID RISK ASSESSMENT
As the country has moved forward with guidance around the wearing of masks and social distancing, we have updated our risk assessment at St Mary’s.
With many people attending weddings, funerals and baptisms without wearing masks, and members of our church family asking if it is necessary to wear masks, we would like to propose that we have changed our guidance to be less rigid. We are also allowing seating in all areas of church.
There is no requirement to wear a face covering inside the building, including when singing. However, if you feel more comfortable please continue to wear a face covering. We ask that if you feel ill that you take part in the church service online. If you choose to attend the church service onsite with symptoms, kindly take a lateral flow test first.
You are welcome to sit in any of the pews in the centre of the church but if you would prefer to stay at a distance from people other than your immediate family please sit in the side pews.
As the warmer weather should be with us for the next few months, we will continue to ventilate the building before, during and after services.
We will continue to serve communion in one kind only in the chancel but we won’t operate a one-way system anymore.
We will use the West door both for entry and exit. The South door will also be open if people want to leave that way.
We learnt about the bells in the December 2021 edition of Denham Parish News. Now we are pleased to announce that the Universities Association of Change Ringers will be visiting St Mary’s to ring our bells on Saturday 9 April at 10am as part of their spring outing to ring at various churches.
Do come along and listen!
“The Universities Association of Change Ringers was founded in 1943 to bring together past and present ringers from different universities. Our Spring Day visit of St Mary’s Denham is our first step in the water after the lockdowns. Perhaps of interest is that the Spring Day’s organiser’s first Quarter Peal was rung at Denham in 1968.”
(This video is 5 minutes long – perfect for a coffee or tea break!)
Some of us will have been unsettled by the unquestioning support of the Russian Orthodox Church for Putin’s war.
James Emery White writes an excellent blog about “Church and Culture” and offers a condensed summary of the history and the present reality:
How can we pray?