Dear all

I hope that this finds you all well and that you are enjoying the lovely spring weather we have been having recently.  As I write, the blossom on the trees in the Churchyard is magnificent and a sign of the many areas of new growth both within our Church and beyond.  I hope that as many of you as possible will join us for our fifty minute Family Eucharist on Sunday when our children and young people will play a full part in serving at the altar, reading, singing and leading the prayers.

ANNUAL MEETING
On Sunday 18th April we had our Annual Parochial Church Meeting at which it was wonderful to record that our electoral roll has now risen to 180.  At the meeting William Davis and Don Shields were re-elected as Churchwardens for the coming year.  It was good also to welcome to the PCC Elizabeth Trott who will be representing Emmanuel on North Camden Deanery Synod. We also need one more Deanery Synod representative to serve alongside Elizabeth and Sukey Parnell.  There are some very important decisions coming before the Synodical process in the coming months.  If you would like to serve Emmanuel in this way, please do not hesitate to be in touch with me.  We also welcome Marco Mongiello, as our new PCC Treasurer.  Our very grateful thanks go to Jude Chin who has been Treasurer for many years and who is standing down since in the new academic year his children begin their new school in Suffolk.  It was good to report at the meeting that things are in such good heart at Emmanuel as we look to the future with confidence.  Thank you, above all, for all that each and every one of you does to make Emmanuel such a great place to be.

EMMA
Emma is coming to the end of her training at Cuddesdon Theological College in Oxford and she will be ordained deacon by the Bishop of London in St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday 3rd July at 3 pm to serve as curate at St John-at-Hampstead.  It is the general custom of the Church of England that, when ordained to the stipendiary ministry, a curacy is served in a new parish. Often this is a long way away or even in another Diocese.  The happy thing for us is that Emma will be just up the hill from us. Emma’s last Sunday at Emmanuel before her ordination will be Patronal Festival on Sunday 6th June.  As usual, after the Sung Eucharist, we will have our traditional Corpus Christi lunch, but this will also be an occasion when we can say a heart felt thank you to Emma for all that she and her family have given to Emmanuel over the years they have been here.  Emma is someone with an innate pastoral warmth and heart and she has been an enormous help and support to me as I have begun my ministry at Emmanuel.

At her final service we would like to make a presentation to Emma to thank her for all that she has done here.  If you would kindly like to contribute to this gift, perhaps you would hand your contributions to Mother Annette or me, or put it through the Vicarage door by 23rd May 2010.  We hope that such a gift will be a fitting tribute for all that Emma has given to Emmanuel.

SUNDAY SCHOOL – YOUR CHURCH NEEDS YOU…
A sign of our congregational growth is the ever increasing size of our Sunday School.  In view of this we urgently need more leaders and helpers in this most vital and central part of our mission and outreach.  If you feel that you would like to help in this way Mother Annette and I would be delighted to hear from you.  We hope to have a training session for all our Sunday School workers in the near future and your additional support of this is much appreciated.

WEEKDAY SERVICES
In addition to our Sunday Services, we have our additional weekday Eucharists, which are deliberately quieter and more meditative and which are the basis and foundation of all our life of prayer.  Presently these Eucharists take place on Monday evenings at 8 pm, Wednesday lunchtimes at 12.30 pm and the School Eucharist at 9.15 am on Thursday, to which all are most welcome to attend.  At the moment these services are supported by a small and faithful band, but it would be lovely to see more people at these services in the weeks and months ahead.  Prayer and Worship is the most important thing that God calls us to and your support of this throughout the week is much appreciated.  Each day Morning Prayer is said at 8.30 am and Evening Prayer at 6 pm, when through psalms and scriptural readings we place ourselves in the broader horizons of God’s redeeming love.

ASCENSION DAY – THURSDAY 13th MAY 2010
Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter and celebrates the day on which the risen Christ ascended to his Father’s glory in heaven.  There is no evening Sung Eucharist that day, but I hope that as many of you as are able will come to the School Eucharist at 9.15 am to join in with the children’s celebrations.

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK : MAY 10th – 17th 2010
This year’s annual Christian Aid Week falls between May 10th and 17th.  Look out in Church for red collection envelopes as we support the work of this international and ecumenical charity in serving the most needy in our world.

THE ELECTION
I guess everyone has possibly reached saturation point with all the media coverage of the forthcoming general and local elections.  It is not the role of the Church to be allied to any one political party, but it is the duty of all Christians, following the teaching of Jesus that we are to be salt and light in the world, to be involved in the electoral process and vote for that party which each individual best considers embodies the values of the Kingdom of God, bringing about the transformation of society and striving for the common good of all.

CHURCHYARD CYCLE POD
Some of you will have noticed the new blue and gold cycle pod which has been installed by the School to the rear of the Church.  This is to support our green travel policy to encourage cycling to school during the week.  The cycle pod is available for Church use at the weekends, so please do feel free to use it if you come to Church by bike.

Thank you for all that each every one of you does for Emmanuel.  It is a privilege and honour to serve as your parish priest.

With my love and prayers, as ever,

Fr Jonathan