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This page contains items previously displayed on the News page and the 80th anniversary page.
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All pictures gratefully received from Simon Noakes.
Five members of the congregation of St Francis, (aged from 12 to 80) set out with Tony Dickinson to visit Sweden at the end of October 2011. They didn't have the greatest start. All the group except Tony had their baggage searched at Heathrow (and he got caught on the way back!).
A smooth flight to Gothenburg allowed them time to explore the city centre before catching the train to Värnamo. They were met at Värnamo station by Bella Aune, the kyrkoherde (rector) of Bredaryd and driven to the village inn, where they enjoyed food and accommodation of a very high quality.
On Sunday they took part in the högmässa (Parish Communion) of Bredaryd church, enjoying the contribution of the Bredaryd choir "Mixed Voices", whose visit to Terriers at the beginning of Lent 2010 had been the initial contact between our two parishes. This was followed by lunch with the congregation and a trip out to the former Cistercian Abbey at Nydala.
The group travelled on to Växjö on Monday. After a tour of the cathedral they were welcomed at the Bishop's House for coffee and cake with Bishop Jan-Olof Johansson. Then they took a taxi to S:t Sigfrids folkhögskola at Kronoberg (the diocese's residential lay training centre and their base for the rest of their visit), arriving in time for an evening meal at 6.00 p.m. The next morning (Tuesday) they walked to the mediaeval ruins of the bishop's lakeside castle. From there they caught the bus into Växjö city for a day learning about the culture and history of Småland through the Emigrants' Museum and the Glass Museum. After an evening meal in the city centre, they caught the last bus back to Kronoberg.
On Wednesday morning they packed their bags and returned to Växjö to do some shopping and send a few last postcards. At 1.00 p.m. they caught the train to Gothenburg, travelling onward to Landvetter airport for the flight home.
All pictures gratefully received from Tony Dickinson
Ursula Bootes, Joyce Dowsett, Bishop Jan-Olof Johansson, Brenda Matthews, Sandra and Beatrice Dickinson in the reception room of the Bishop's House
Brenda Matthews, Joyce Dowsett, Ursula Bootes, Beatrice and Sandra Dickinson in the grounds of S:t Sigfrids folkhögskola
Susanne Svensson (left) with Joyce Dowsett and other members of the two congregations at lunch in Bredaryd Church Hall
Bella Aune (Kyrkoherde of Bredaryd)after lunch in Bredaryd Church Hall
Joyce Dowsett, Sandra Dickinson, Brenda Matthews, Ursula Bootes and Beatrice Dickinson on Värnamo Station, waiting for the train to Växjö
Tony Dickinson, Ursula Bootes, Joyce Dowsett and Brenda Matthews in the chapel of S:t Sigfrids folkhögskola
All pictures gratefully received from Tim Edmonds
Terriers Church members talking to Alan Bishop of Buckingham
All pictures gratefully received from Louise Banks
All pictures gratefully received from Tim Edmonds
It was good to see so many people at the Garden Party on 17th July. Thanks to everyone who made it such an enjoyable occasion (not least the musicians) and especially to Jim Carey. Thanks, too, to Gwen Liverpool and Mary O’Garro for the time and energy they put into the Car Boot Sale. These two events raised, between them, well over £500 for the 80th Birthday Appeal.
Ulrike Trautwein’s giving her sermon in Dresden - June 5th
Funding an emergency exit - our Councillors help
It was a pleasure to welcome three representatives from Wycombe District Council to our Parish Communion Service on 20th February when Councillors Colomb, Green and Hussain and were our guests. They attended the service to hand over three cheques to the value of £540, to fund a proper emergency exit at the bottom of the steps in church. The picture above shows them with Peter Gee in the Hall after the service. We are very grateful for these donations to improve the building.
Krystyna Larkham's visit
We were delighted to welcome Krystyna Larkham to Terriers on 16th January, when she told us something about the work she is involved with in Transylvania, and its historicaal and social background. She spoke at the Parish Communion and over tea and cake in the Church hall in the afternoon. For more information about the organisations that she works with, visit Fundatia ADEPT, Pogány-Havas or, if you know some French, Rural'Est. The picture shows her talking to HRH The Prince of Wales during a visit he made to one of these villages, Saschiz, in May 2009. Located in Transylvania, Saschiz is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.
The Christmas Fair attracted many visitors and raised over £1600 for the 80th anniversary appeal.
After our Dedication Festival Parish Communion service on 10th October, we held a celebration lunch in the Church Hall. A delicious three-course meal of vegetable soup, roast main course with vegetables, and apple pie or chocolate cake was served. Thanks to Sarah Wanigasooriya and her team for organising the event and working so hard to feed us.
Launched on the same day was our special commemorative mug. This is now available for sale at a price of £4.90 each and features a colour picture of the church, as shown in the design above. The mugs is available only in limited numbers - if you want to buy one then send an email with your requirements to Lakshan Wanigasooriya.
The threatening weather meant that the car boot sale on 7th August, which included some table-top sales, became exclusively the latter and the venue was switched from the car park to the hall. The event raised over £400 for the 80th anniversary appeal thanks to the hard work and organisation of Mary O'Garro and her helpers - particularly Terry Dean, Keith and Vivienne Gordon, Sally Brocklehurst, Brenda Matthews and Emma O'Garro.
On 17th July a group of ten members of Terriers Church travelled to St George's Britwell, where members of the church were enthusiastic to show us their magnificent new building (see picture above). This is one of the projects supported by our 80th anniversary appeal. We heard from the vicar, John Chorlton, how The first church was built here in 1960-1 in the midst of a large London overspill housing estate which itself was begun in 1959. Alas the original building suffered from 'concrete cancer' and had to be pulled down. The challenge for John and the faithful few of his congregation was to build a new church to serve a parish with 15,000 residents and a growing population. This was a mountain to climb, but they have achieved it. The result is a superb building with a large, flexible worship space (which can be extended into the hospitality area for special events) and a range of rooms that include a well-equipped kitchen, an office, meeting rooms and a children's room. Much thought had gone into the planning and the church has already become a place of which the community is justifiably proud.
You can see more pictures of the church on the Friends of St Francis Facebook page.
The Pudding and Prayer evening was successful and raised over £75 for the 80th Anniversary Projects. Thanks to Sarah and Lucky for organising this - they say that next year they hope to repeat the event and double, if not triple, the attendance.
A Garden Party was held at the Church Hall on the afternoon of 13th June, together with a children's Treasure Hunt in the Vicarage garden. As the event began we were entertained with a musical performance by a Ladies Quintet (normally heard as our Junior Music Group at the All Age Service on the first Sunday in the month). Thanks, girls. There were various stalls, and fortunately the weather was kind to us so that some of these were in the garden. There was a brisk trade in tea and cakes at the kitchen. Well done to Jim Carey and his helpers for putting the event together. We raised over £400 for the 80th Birthday Appeal.
Members of the church collected coins throughout Lent and Eastertide with a view to building a 'mile of coins' on the church floor after the Parish Communion on Pentecost (23rd May). The pictures above show the process of laying out the coins in progress. Alas the mile turned out to be only a kilometre, but the amount raised for the 80th anniverary appeal was £849 - with more to come from Gift Aid.
Our Annual Church Meeting took place after the Parish Communion on 25th April. This was preceded by the meeting to elect Churchwardens, at which both Peter Gee and Irena Lowe were re-elected for another year. In Peter's case, this means he is serving a fifth successive year as warden and so it must be his last. At the main meeting, there were elections to fill four vacancies on the Parochial Church Council. Veronica Edmonds was elected to serve the remaining year of Valerie Burch's term, following her resignation on moving to Loudwater. The other vacancies were for full three-year terms and Pam Helmers-Olsen was elected to one of these. Adam Twist and Ursula Bootes had both put themselves forward for nomination, but could not stand for election because they had not been on the Electoral Roll for the requisite six months. Instead, it was put to the meeting that the PCC could co-opt them for 2010 and that they could stand for election next year. This was agreed.