Cast your vote

It's election time and St George Christ Church St Paul's parish church will be just one of the venues that act as polling stations.
There's a greater cast of characters than usual in this year's mayoral election, so the whole thing's been entertaining at the least. And of course, it's important to use the right we have of being able to vote. People have fought for this right over the centuries.
yet with the voting in one hall, and the church next door, it makes me think about how the idea of 'voting' works with the Christian world.
On Sunday afternoon, two young children, Kian Lee and Adina, were baptised. This coming Sunday, there will be another little girl, Ava. In these cases, the parents who have brought them forward are casting a kind of vote of faith in the Church. They want their children to receive God's blessing in this particular way.
And we'll even sign them with a cross, but in oil on their forehead, rather than in ink on a voting form.
If you're thinking of having your children baptised, do come to see us between 10.30am and 11.30am on any Saturday morning, and we'd be more than willing to talk you through how it would work.
Fr Robert

Return from "Easter" holidays

The schools belatedly return from their Easter holidays today and that means that activity swings up again.
This Sunday, we'll be thinking about St George: St George is part of our name and it's fascinating to see how he has been appropriated over the years: is he purely an English saint or something more? Come along to find out.
This Sunday also sees the days of our "Annual Parochial General Meeting", where we review the year. It's been a fabulous year of great joys and also great sadnesses.
At this meeting, our 'officers' are appointed for the next year: an 'officer' in this context is someone formally serving on the PCC or such like, but so many people give so much for the church that it's churlish to see only this as significant. Creating beautiful flower displays, making coffee (and washing up) after the service, welcoming people as they enter, working in the charity shop, serving at the altar, reading aloud from the Bible, leading the intercessory prayers...
All these things are vital to the Church but don't involve being an 'officer' as such.
They do all, I suppose, relate to being a good Christian, however exactly you define that: it's certainly something for us all to aim for.
Fr Robert

Two weddings and a funeral

The life of a parish contains moments of great joy and moments of great sadness, often in close proximity to each other.

This weekend there will be great joy with not one but two weddings on Saturday, both couples having completed our marriage preparation course and having got a lot out of it. To be present at such a joyful occasion is always a privilege and a pleasure.

To be present at a funeral is also a privilege, but it is, of course, a different kind of occasion altogether. It is made more poignant when, like Geoff Florentine (left), whose funeral takes place on Thursday, the person was still relatively young when he died.

Geoff was for a time the church warden at St George's, and was a kind, composed, gentle man. He was a computer programmer of some distinction and bore up to his illness with a quiet dignity. Unfortunately, despite two bone marrow transplants, the cancer never left him and he died three weeks ago.

He will be greatly missed.

The funeral takes place on Thursday 3rd April at 11am in Church.

Fr Robert