The Shepherd, November 2005
BROOKWOOD NEWS
BUILDING FUND TOPS HALFWAY MARK
A THANKSGIVING TE DEUM was chanted at Saint Edward’s Church on Tuesday, 12th / 25th October, after Vespers, because the previous weekend our Building Fund had topped the halfway mark to its £650,000 target.
This landmark was reached through recent grants from the Charitable Foundation of H.R.H. Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and from the Surrey Churches Preservation Trust (who have also offered us valuable advice).
We have also been moved by receiving support from other Orthodox Christian parishes and communities in the country recently, who have thus shown us their brotherly love in Christ. In this respect, besides individual gifts, in the past month we have received donations from the parishioners of Fr Stephen Maxfield’s parish of the Holy Fathers of Nicaea in Shrewsbury, the Greek Orthodox Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian in North London, Fr Alexander and Khouria Hilary Haig of the Antiochian Parish of St Helen in Colchester, and Fr Ireneu Craciun and the parishioners of the Greek Orthodox Parish of the Annunciation in Dublin. May God in His loving-kindness grant you all spiritual blessings and increase for the material support that you have given us in our time of need.
At the time of going to press (29/10/05), we have raised a total of £329,079.16p, or approximately 50.63% of our £650,000 target. Although we had been putting some money aside for future development, the greater part of this sum has been given since we began the appeal among our parishioners and friends at about this time last year. It was only in May that we published the appeal leaflets and launched a wider appeal. To date well over 95% of all the gifts have come from our regular supporters and friends and readers of this magazine. We thank you, and pray that God will grant you His blessings.
FELIXSTOWE VISIT
OVER THE WEEKEND of 8th and 9th October, Fr Alexis visited Father Andrew Phillips and his parish of St Felix and St Edmund in Felixstowe. En route, he visited the ancient wooden Anglo-Saxon church at Greensted in Essex. On the Saturday evening the Vigil Service was celebrated, and at the Sunday morning Liturgy three priests, Fr Alexis, Fr Andrew and Fr Elias Jones concelebrated. After the parish meal, Fr Alexis gave a short talk and answered questions about the rôle of monasticism in the Church. Before leaving to return to the deadlands of Surrey, he returned to the Phillips’ house for tea with Fr Andrew, Matushka Sabine and their family.
“GREEK” LITURGY
ABOUT FIFTY PARISHIONERS from the Greek Orthodox Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian, Gospel Oak, London, some of them old friends of our community, came by coach to join us for the Divine Liturgy on Saturday, 1st October. After the service, they had a cheese and olives meal with coffee, and then Father Niphon showed them the church and the sacred relics that we have there. The pilgrimage was arranged by the redoubtable Mrs Constantina Kaponi, and after the visit the pilgrims evidently had a collection for our Building Fund and Mr A Polyviou kindly sent on their donations to us, thus helping us to reach our half-way mark in the Appeal.
MOSLEM CHILDREN VISIT
A GROUP of Moslem children from a Saturday School in Woking, led by their teachers and the Imam’s wife, paid a visit to Saint Edward’s Church on Saturday 22nd October. They had arranged to visit St Edward’s after visiting the various Moslem sections in Brookwood cemetery. They spent well over an hour with us, and were shown the church by Fr Niphon, who explained something to them about the icons and our worship. They also insisted on hearing a cassette of some church chanting.
LORD LIEUTENANT’S VISIT
THE LORD LIEUTENANT OF SURREY, Mrs Sarah Goad, and her husband Timothy, visited Saint Edward Brotherhood on Friday, 28th October, and were shown around the church. Later in the Brotherhood house, they were offered refreshments and met other members of the Brotherhood. Before leaving, Mrs Goad kindly assured us that she would help our Building Appeal in any way that she could.
OTHER DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
AMONG the other distinguished visitors that we have had this month, we can number Fr Alexander Haig and Khouria Hilary of the Antiochian Parish of St Helen in Colchester, who joined us for the Divine Liturgy and for breakfast on 7th/20th October - being Antiochians from Essex they came on the feast of the Syrian Saints Sergius and Bacchus and the Essex Saint Osyth of Chich! On Sunday, 23rd October, the day of the Optina Elders, Fr Geoffrey-Cassian and Presbytera Jolan Ready from Bangor, Northern Ireland, attended the Divine Liturgy at St Edward’s with their three sons, Nathanael, Owen and Jeremy. Fr Paul Elliott of the St Elizabeth Mission in Birkenhead visited us on Thursday, 27th October, staying overnight before travelling on to see his father in Bournemouth. He brought us gifts and showed us photographs of his recent trip to Estonia, and told us something of what he had seen of church-life there. On Thursday 6th October, Fr Protodeacon Christopher Birchall from Vancouver briefly visited us while he was in England.
BRO SRETO
THE READER SRETO from the Monastery of St Nicolas, Vranjina, in Montenegro has temporarily joined our community and is staying with us. Many parishioners will remember him, as he used to live in London and often attend services here. Because it appears that in Serbia and Montenegro they suffer, as we do, from the blight of bureaucracy, he has to stay in England for a period before he can return to his monastery because he is the “wrong sort of Serb”! - and needs to attain permanent residence.
SAINT EDWARD’S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
THIS YEAR, as in the two previous years, we will be holding our Parish Breakfast and Carol Singing after the Christmas Divine Liturgy (Saturday, 7th January n.s) at the Lord Pirbright Hall, on the Green in Pirbright village, about a mile from the church.
FAX KAPUT
THE FAX FUNCTION on our machine has gone kaput. As it appears that only nuisance advertisers and about three other correspondents actually use faxes these days, we have decided not to do anything about it until the whole answering machine needs replacing. So for the moment we have no fax. Please do not try to fax us. If you are still using faxes, please await further notices in this regard.
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PRACTICAL TIP
WINTER TIME is approaching, and so we have to wear warmer and rain-resistant clothes, but make sure that,when you are in church, you do not wear noisy clothes. Many synthetic materials these days are excellent for keeping one warm and dry, but they make a noise every time you move. As Orthodox worship involves quite a lot of movement, bowing, crossing oneself, venerating the icons and relics, etc., it is a good idea to have clothes for church which will not squeak, swish, crackle, or grate every time you move and so disturb the people around you.
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