St Nicholas & St Barnabas Churches Kenilworth

"Reaching out for God with love and encouragement"

On Saturday 12th July, members of our youth group, Fused, celebrated the end of their summer term with a barbecue and pool party. Mark and Sue Draper hosted the afternoon, where everyone had loads of fun splashing around and playing water polo. Burgers, bangers and pop were also enjoyed.

Click here for a full report and pictures...

The Reverend Canon Dr Christopher Cocksworth was ordained and consecrated as Bishop of Coventry in Southwark Cathedral on 3rd July 2008. Aged 49, he is the youngest diocesan bishop in the Church of England. Bishop Christopher will be officially welcomed into Coventry Diocese on Saturday 1st November at a service in Coventry Cathedral, starting at 2.00pm. You can find out more by following the link below.

Site Link:  Coventry Diocese, New Bishop of Coventry

During and after Kenilworth Carnival on Saturday 5th July, members of the Flower Guild served refreshments in church. These were particularly enjoyed by many people grateful to find shelter during the heavy showers. As usual the cup of tea was welcomed but it was the delicious cakes that drew the customers in. Members of the Flower Guild had decorated the church beautifully and there were lovely arrangements on all the tables. The afternoon raised £200 for the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

Thank you to all who supported the Priory Theatre visit on Monday 30th June. The cast and production crew did a great job on the well known farce "See How They Run". Ridiculous situations getting crazier by the minute as you would expect. The evening raised £585 towards the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal. Heather Alford

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

Our annual garden party was held on Saturday 28th June at The Stone House, High Street. The theme this year was 'Pirates and Princesses' with people in costume to help set the scene. There was lots of fun and games for all the family, plus all the usual attractions including, stalls, cakes, raffles, plants, teas, bric-a-brac and lots more. The event raised £2,100 to support our nominated charities.

Click here for a full report and pictures...

The summer edition of our parish magazine is available now. 'The Grapevine' features exclusive articles and content not found on the website, interviews with parish people, book reviews, a full directory of leaders of church groups plus much more. Follow the link for details of items included in this edition and how to get your copy!

Site Link:  Parish Magazine

We had a successful event on Saturday 21st June playing sponsored table tennis for 12 hours from 9.00am to 9.00pm. The event raised over £1,700 for Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal. A very big thank you to everyone who supported the event. In particular Heather Alford and Sue Draper and the members of the Warwick Avon Rotary Club. The only downside was being beaten at table tennis by both the vicar and the Bishop. Francis Arnold

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

We welcomed John Hull, Honorary Professor of Practical Theology in the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education, Birmingham to our Awakenings service on 22nd June. John spoke on the subject of debt and recommended joining one of three organisations as a way of practical follow up. You can find out more by following the links below.

Web Link:  Jubilee Debt Campaign
Web Link:  Church Action on Poverty
Web Link:  The Christian Council for Monetary Justice

Fathers Day was celebrated by a good number of people by enjoying a cream tea at St Nicholas Church. Tea tables were laden with home made scones, jam and cream and the members of the Foyer Groups served the guests. Over £120 was raised during the afternoon from the teas. At the same time the St Nicholas "100 Club" was launched, giving you the chance of winning a prize every month and raise funds for the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal at the same time! Find out more by following the link below.

Site Link:  100 Club

Water companies are ignoring churches charitable status and starting to charge churches for the amount of area (i.e. roofs and car parks) that will collect rainwater and discharge it into the sewer network. This will effectively raise most churches water bills by hundreds if not thousands of pounds. There is an online government petition that you can register and sign online.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ChurchWaterBills

On Sunday 8th June, we enjoyed an open air service in the Abbey Fields with congregations from all churches across the town. The University of Warwick Brass Society and a worship band provided the music and the service included special guest, Jester Jim the clown. The service concluded with everyone turning towards the town to pray for our wider community and each other. 

Click here for a full report and pictures...

At the moment there is no-one to take over the running of St Barnabas Rainbows when the current leaders step down in July and hence the unit would have to close. There are volunteers to help with the unit but someone is needed to be in charge. No previous Guiding experience needed! The current leaders are also happy to support anyone who is able to take over – an ideal job for people to share and it is a lot of fun! For further details please contact us or speak to Lynne Roote or Helen Paley.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the collection in Christian Aid Week. Thanks to Mike Shuttleworth and Kaye Prentice who helped with the counting and to our forty or so collectors. Thanks also to everyone who put money into the Big Red Envelopes. We collected £2,322 in the St Nicholas patch and £1,001 in the St Barnabas patch making a total for the Parish of £3,323 down from last year's record figure of £3,844. As well as the original target of Bangladesh, aid is already flowing to Burma and China. If you want to find out more, or if you missed the collection and want to donate online, please visit the Christian Aid Week website.
Malcolm Trewick & Phil Highley

Web Link:  Christian Aid

The Bellringers have made it into the Kenilworth Weekly News with their story about sponsored ringing. Monies raised in 2008 will be donated to CORD (Christian Outreach, Relief and Development), the the charity adopted by Kenilworth Mayor, Councillor Pat Ryan. You can sponsor the Sunday ringing to celebrate a birth, special birthday, an anniversary or as a memorial to someone special. Follow the links below to find out more.

Site Link:  Sponsored Ringing
Web Link:  KWN - Mayor Joins Bellringers
 

St Michael's Singers concert on Saturday 17th May was wonderful! The programme was a varied selection of music which was enjoyed by all who came to listen. The first half featured sacred music mainly from English composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Henry Purcell and Edward Elgar. The second half contained lighter works and finished with the rousing "Swingin' with the Saints". Sarah Falkland introduced the pieces and the composers. She was also entertaining with her reminiscences of her early days in Kenilworth from childhood to her work on the Kenilworth Weekly News. Over £1,500 has been added to the appeal fund from the evening.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

If you've ever wondered whether the Parochial Hall, St Barnabas Hall or Church are available for your event, now you can check online!  Our website now features up to date calendars showing all bookings and availability with email links if you wish to book or make an enquiry. Follow the link below to see for yourself!

Site Link:  Church Hall Bookings

Well done to the Brownies who held a very successful Beetle Drive on Saturday 26th April. The beetles were enthusiastically played for and the refreshments were enjoyed with equal relish. They supported the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal with another £140.55 which is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

Over two years ago the church council agreed in principle to sell Stanley House. At its last meeting the council decided to proceed with the sale on the basis that the church received £75,000 and that the remainder of the sale is used for the restoration of the Parochial Hall. If you would like further information about this, do speak to the churchwardens, or the vicar or to Graham Wright the chairman of the Buildings and Finance Committee.
Richard Awre

Thank you to everyone who took part in the sponsored walk to raise funds for the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal on Saturday 5th April. There were 3 routes, a 2 mile walk within the Abbey Fields, a 3 mile stroll around the Castle and a 5 mile Millennium Trail walk. The total raised so far is about £1,000. Thank you also to Jennifer Higgins and her team of "refreshment makers" who were a welcome sight afterwards.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

After almost three years with us as curate, Craig Groocock has moved on to be Priest-in-Charge of Harbury and Ladbroke and Missioner for Southam Deanery. Craig's farewell took place on Sunday 6th April with a presentation of leaving gifts and speeches in church, followed by a buffet lunch in the Parochial Hall. We thank Craig for all that he contributed to the life of our parish and pray that God will be with him, Su, Jess and Elliot as they move to Harbury and Ladbroke. Craig will be licensed at Harbury on Pentecost Sunday, 11th May at 3.00pm.

Site Link:  Comment

After a snowy start, Easter Day celebrations included an Easter egg hunt around the churchyard before the Family Communion service. Around 500 people came to celebrate the greatest day in the Christian calendar. There was fun after the service with traditional egg rolling down the slopes of the Abbey Fields. These activities are a lot of fun but also remind us of Jesus' friends searching for his body and of the stone being rolled away from his tomb.

Click here for more pictures...

Once again, St Nicholas church has been beautifully decorated for our Easter celebrations. Click on the link below to see a selection of the many wonderful displays created by the St Nicholas Church Flower Guild.

On Good Friday Churches Together in Kenilworth and Leek Wootton held a service of witness for all ages at Abbey End, which included drama performed by members of Kenilworth Youth for Christ. After remembering Jesus' death on the cross and the reason why this is a 'Good Friday' the procession of witness to Abbey Fields took place for the planting of the cross.

Click here for more pictures...

Jacob the donkey welcomed everyone to St Nicholas Church on Palm Sunday to remind us of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jacob was kindly provided by Umberslade Children's Farm. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, the usual procession from the Abbey Fields into church did not take place this year.

Click here for more pictures...

The Passion is a bold event drama, retelling the last week in the life of Jesus Christ. The Passion places the audience at the heart of the action by telling the story from three points of view - the religious authorities, the Romans and Jesus. The drama will be televised on BBC One on Palm Sunday, Monday in Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Day. You can read more about this exciting drama and see trailers on the BBC website.

Web Link:  BBC's The Passion

The Warwickshire Singers provided a delightful evening of music on 8th March. The first half was devoted to sacred music to reflect the season of Lent which included Aaron Copeland's "In the Beginning" with the solo mezzo-soprano Barbara Rodway. The second half was traditional English folk songs in settings by John Rutter and Shakespearian sonnets in modern settings by George Shearing. The concert raised £200 for the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

Thank you to Volker Betz and James Bichard for the beautiful recital they gave on 1st March of "Songs from the Romantic Period". The concert was greatly appreciated by those present and raised £360 for the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal.

Site Link:  Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal

Once again we shall be delivering invitations to households across our Parish.  This colourful postcard features pictures from Holy Week and Easter with details of our main Easter activities and services. This is an important part of our outreach to the wider community and it is hoped that as many people as possible will help with the deliveries. The cards should be delivered before Palm Sunday. Come and celebrate Easter with us, you will be made very welcome.

Site Link:  Easter Services

The Scout Group held a Bring and Buy Sale on 25th February and raised over £284 which we will make up to £300 to send to Kenya to help the Street Scouts build up their lives again after the recent outbreak of violence in Kenya. Many thanks to all who attended and for the fantastic number of raffle prizes which took nearly 20 minutes to draw! Kaye S Prentice

We were pleased to welcome Tina Adams to our Awakenings service in February. Tina is the Kenilworth Youth for Christ leader together with her husband Chris. Tina talked about 'Church being the Christian Community in Action' and demonstrated how Kenilworth Youth for Christ is currently in action.

You can listen to Tina's talk by downloading an MP3 file (4.3Mb) – just click here.

We presented our third Parish Cabaret on Saturday 2nd February. The event was a sell out with the Parochial Hall filled with a one hundred and thirty strong audience. The show comprised sixteen acts and forty people of all ages from our congregations. The evening was a great success and raised £600 in aid of the Parochial Hall Restoration Appeal.

Click here for a full report and pictures...