News Archive
St Mary's Eaton Bray: April 2005
Dunstable Church of England Schools
- Ashton Middle School & Manshead Upper School
Parents are reminded that if they intend to apply in the autumn for children to be admitted to either of these Schools in September 2006 on the basis that they are practising members of the Church of England, the Governors require to be assured that they have attended public worship on at least one Sunday each month during the six months preceding the application. The clergy of the North Chilterns Group have agreed that they will sign applications only when they have written evidence that the Governors’ attendance criteria have been satisfied. Anyone who will be making such an application should ask for an attendance card at the church, and ensure that they have it signed by the Vicar or a Churchwarden each time they attend. Without such evidence of regular attendance the Vicar will not be able to sign the application.
Emmaus, St Albans - This Year's Charity
From the suggestions made by the congregation at the end of last year, the PCC has adopted a UK charity this year for our support. Emmaus works among homeless people by providing them with a community in which they can learn new skills, regain their self-esteem, and re-integrate into normal society.
Hand-outs do not solve the problem for homeless people, although they are important in providing food and shelter. Many of them find personal and social pressires beyond their capacity to handle, and they need the experience of a supportive and purposeful community life to recover these skills the rest of us take for granted. Residents are asked to sign off primary benefits (income support and job seekers allowance) when joining the community as a sign of their commitment to the life of the community.
Each Companion (which is how Emmaus residents are known) plays a full part in community life, preparing meals, sharing household chores, and working to raise money to maintain their community and to help others. A major project in which they are all engaged is the recycling of old furniture and household goods, which are then sold at low prices to those who otherwise could not afford them.
In Emmaus men and women who have been homeless, unemployed and dependent on hand-outs support themselves by working on Community business and also begin to help others. There are Emmaus communities in St Albans and Carlton (NW of Bedford), so the help we can offer will benefit our own area, and groups are working in many parts of the UK to help create other communities.
WaterAid
Last year we raised around £3,500 for WaterAid. It has the twin aims of providing clean fresh water and hygenic waste disposal for people whose lives are otherwise under constant threat from water-bourne disease.
What have we made possible? It is an amazing list of help to slum dwellers in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, providing:
- two small reservoirs feeding four water points, serving 6,000 people;
- seven communal pit latrines;
- provision of suction truck services to reduce spillage of liquid waste;
- waste water recycling to improve the environment through backyard gardening;
- hygiene promotion for 6,000 people;
- dry waste disposal collection and dumping facilities
Our efforts have brought a new standard of living and health and new hope to a population the size of our own four villages, which is a tremendous achievement. We thank everyone who contributed to last year's project, and supported our fund-raising efforts.
Fair Trade Breakfast
During Fair Trade Fortnight, GIFT helped to run a Fair Trade Breakfast and Coffee Morning.
We had a most successful morning, raising £85 for the Fair Trade Foundation and selling £130 worth of Fairly Traded goods. 60 people attended, including John Bercow the MP for Buckingham and Avril Davis, our County Councillor who was supporting the 'Making a Commitment' campaign on road safety.
This is the fourth year that we have organised a Fair Trade Breakfast and the numbers attending have grown every year.
Hope to see you there next year!
Jump for Joy - Trampoline-athon
Congratulations to members of GIFT, our young teenagers group who did a sponsored trampoline jump at the Vicarage for Comic Relief. They had great fun and required much refreshment. There were some impressive jumping skills with somersaults, back flips and even someone jumping in a kilt!
Between them they managed a fantastic 18,000 jumps and raised money for a good cause.
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