STORIES FROM THE MAGAZINE :
GEOFF SWEET
(Please scroll down for all the stories)
I LOVE ST ANDREW'S BECAUSE...
As a child of the 30s I was brought up in the Church of England. I believed in God - well... everybody did, didn't they?
It was as an adult in the 'real world' that the doubts crept in - sickness, pain, poverty, war. Where was God?
I struggled. I searched and eventually gave up - there was no God.
For the next 20 years I conssidered myself an agnostic. They were happy fulfilled years. And yet still there were those unanswered questions.
So one Sunday mornong I walked into St Andrew's. There was no 'Road to Damascus' conversion but slowly, gently I began to find a new faith - deeper and more realistic - a faith that can accept and challenge doubt.
A faith that will continue to grow.
JEAN MASSEY
When my daughter was christened at St Andrew's in 1990 we were made extremely welcome by the vicar and the people of his church.
Once the christening was over I was approached by Eunice Norwood, who informed us that small children were welcome to be looked after at Sunday school while the parents attend the main service.
As I was brought up in a Christian family I was extremely keen for my own children to attend church and Sunday school.
Happily, this gave me the opportunity to attend church again myself. I was later confirmed and this was a very special day for both me and my family.
In previous years I had helped with the 3 o'clock services where the elderly were brought into church once a month for a service and I also helped with the servcices at the old Wembley hospital, which I really enjoyed.
I love coming to St Andrew's and am always willing to help in church.
DEBBIE NICHOLLS
As a small child I went with my mother to the 8am service nearly every Sunday and was taken back at 1am for Sunday school, which I found so boring that I ran away a few times and got a jolly good telling off from mum.
As I grew older I enjoyed Sunday school more but at 12 the pull of the riding stables proved greater. Again, mum was not too happy but dad supported me as he came from a horsey background.
As a teenager I stopped going to church because I thought I knew it all and didn't need any outside help to cope with life.
When I came to London to do nursing I met my partner, a catholic and regular church-goer. I started going to church with him and realised that I had missed the services.
In 2001 he developed cancer and wanted time on his own at church so I stopped going. But in 2003 I tried St Andrew's and was welcomed warmly, and became a regular.
I have had no blinding moments of faith or special religious happenings but I do feel comfortable with my faith, although I question it regularly and have my doubts.
My best chats with God are while walking the dog. This is quality time and it's amazing what probems can be solved when you have real time to walk and think.
I hope I lead a decent and caring life but I can be just as guilty as the next person of having bad thoughts about others. I console myself by being aware of this and trying my best to alter it.
I enjoy my role at church and hope I bring something of value to St Andew's.
JENNY LARGE
I like finding solutions to problems with God's guidance and being prepared to find the unexpected.
I attend church regularly to celebrate Holy Communion with my church family.
In my daily work I practically support and pray for families in trouble whether financial, marital or for health reasons.
I trust in God to lead me on the paths he wants me to take.
The nejoy being part of the healing team for prayers with memnbers of the congregation and local community on Sundays, praying for them during the week and giving thanks for prayers answered.
GILL BARRONS
MARTIN IN AT THE DEEP END
ST ANDREW'S was buzzing early in December when the Bishop of Willesden made his eagerly-awaited visit to the church as 11 people took part in a breath-taking baptism and confirmation ceremony.
What a day. Sylvia Wynne, 92 years young, was both baptised and confirmed, while Martin Hollaway re-affirmed his baptism by being fully submerged in a mini-swimming pool before also being confirmed.
Lisa Bradshaw, Nathan Brett, Christina Latham, Sasha Powell, Leah Powell, Jordan Scott, Jessica Doku, Marcus Alexander-Neil and Karen Wilson were the other confirmees.
The Bishop, the Right Rev'd Pete Broadbent, donned T-short and shorts to duck Martin under the water in a spectacular but poignant moment.
Said Martin: "I wanted to re-affirm what my parents and godparents said when I was baptised as a child. They promised to bring me up in a Christian household.
"But 18 months ago I was 'born again' and hence I was very keen to re-affirm my faith. There had never previously been a full immersion baptism at St Andrew's but it had happened at my previous church, St Luke's in Maidstone, so we decided to go ahead."
Prior to March 2007 Martin always had basic Christian beliefs based on morals and "what's right and wrong". But then his life changed for ever.
"I was suffering with stress at work, financial troubles, my second marriage was on the verge of breaking up," he explained. "I dropped my step-daughter off at brownies and went into the church, which was open.
"I was seeking peace and quiet but three people came and spoke to me. They were Mike, the director of youth at St Luke's, and Norma and Liz, and the three of them prayed for me. I felt a sense of calmness I'd not experienced for some time.
"I went on to do an Alpha course and even though my life got worse before it got better because my marriage broke up, I became jobless and homeless and ended up in hospital.
"But I'd asked for God to afford me peace and tranquility, and He truly helped.
"Then in November 2007 I was driving to Maidstone from Sudbury to sort things out that and everything clicked and suddenly fell into place on that beautiful autumn day. I recall the exact point, the time of day and where I was on the on M25.
"It was just as if a huge cloud of lead weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Ever since, despite the loss of material things, I have felt as ease and more comfortable with myself than ever before.
"I find the more I commit to the Christian faith, the more I am blessed.
"The confirmation classes made me consider my faith and beliefs even more so that God became an even bigger and better part of my life."
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Strewth! Meet Tasha, the girl who'd love to be a super sleuth
SHE'S the lovely lady of St Andrew's who comes from Russia with love - and all the mystery you could wish for.
Never mind that Tasha Kharitonova's intriguing background has taken her from St Petersburg to Maryland and Dallas in America, back to Russia several times and finally to us in Sudbury via Westminster.
Her mystical mind has been driven by the power of Christ - and the shocking murder stories and investigations of Sherlock Holmes.
Two years ago Tasha, due to be ordained next June and currently assisting with Sunday altar duties at St Andrew's, flew into London and was heading for the centre when she spotted a sign for a museum celebrating the super sleuth's work.
Her curiosity took over so she got off at Baker Street and took a peek.
How coincidental that when she resumed that journey and arrived for duties as a pastoral assistant at St Matthew's in Westminster she should meet the Rev'd Trevor Critchlow, now her fiancee and himself a lifelong fan of England's most famous fictional detective..
"People ask what we speak about in the evenings, do we talk 'church' non-stop?," said Tasha. "Well, no. We love God, philosophy, the arts, politics and our work, but Sherlock Holmes just happens to be our favourite historical character and we spend a lot of time watching detective movies together.
"Even so, it makes me laugh to think that within a couple of hours of landing in England I interrupted my journey to visit his tiny museum."
Tasha, aged 34, is attached to St Andrew's while she completes her ordination studies at Cambridge University. She is studying for a fourth masters degree in pastoral theology, having obtained one in History in St. Petersburg, one in liberal arts in Maryland and another in theology at Dallas Seminary.
She's taught history and philosophy in her native Russia, and also worked as a librarian. But all the while the girl brought up by her mum and grandma battled against the then sexist pre-Peristroka regime that forbid women to become priests and frowned upon their participation within, say, the Russian Orthodox Church.
Thankfully the system has changed. And Tasha, who as a baby amazingly shared one room in a flat with three generations of her family and was subsequently raised as an aethiest, has flown through all the hurdles placed before her to sustain a firm foothold in the Anglican church.
"We always had a TV and fridge - but, yes, that's my story," she confirmed. "My parents divorced when I was two, mum was a teacher and grandma a librarian and their wages, despite holding respected places in society, were about a third the wage of ordinary workers or truck drivers.
"I was actually baptised at 17, but only as a warranty 'in case there is a God'. That was the way it was then, and there was also fear that anyone connected to the church would be watched suspiciously.
"People worried they might lose their jobs or be thrown out of the Party.
"My mother would never say there wasn't a God, but instead she would insist: 'Let's not talk about this please'."
But Tasha kept searching and found a chink of Christian light in the communist bloc when she met some American missionaires while studying history at university in St Petersburg.
"It wasn't that serious, they tried to find a balance between the bible and emotional music, but the experience gave a glimmer of hope," she explained.
"It was beginning of my calling. I grew up as an aethiest without hope of resurrection but always wondered how there could be morals, love and beauty in our lives if there was no God.
"How could be that be without a personal supreme being in charge?
"So I needed a dream to believe there was more to life than material substances. All these years later I trust God has found a place for me and I have found the desire to serve other people with His love.
"My future will soon be decided by the Bishop of Willesden, the Right Rev'd Pete Broadbent. I hope to be ordained as a curate, hopefully in London because I obviously would prefer to be close to Trevor.
"For the moment I love my attachment to St Andrew's. The Rev'd Felicity Scroggie kindly let me attach myself to her church and I love the sense of the people here thinking that St Andrew's is their church and that it is under their ownership.
"People are bursting with pride about this so then when during the service the priest, for instance, is praying for somebody the congregation simply makes the service go on.
"St Andrew's also offers a diverse ethnic mix and a whole range of characters. Honestly, I regard myself as something of an oddball, but I feel like I fit in!"
Well, anyone who names her cats 'Chicken Tikka Masalla' and 'Explosion at the Marmalade Factory'
has to be strange...but we love Tasha all the same.
Her round the world story throws up the obvious question: how did the western world compare to Russia on that first trip?
"Well, the people were far more optimistic, happy, smiling and gregarious - everyone semed to be looking for fun as opposed to the pessimism of St Petersburg," she recalled. "Okay, some relationships were more superficial than the strong bonds I was used to but it was nice to be among so many positive people.
"And the food. I had never seen so much in my life. At home there were two kinds of milk. Three cheeses to choose from - but never at the same time.
"The problem was I couldn't buy much. I didn't have much money. It's always been the same: I've never earned much, but at the same time I've never been in debt."
St Andrew's owes its debt to Tasha for her wordly sermons, kind thoughts and a smashing smile. Was that borrowed from America?
We think not. Cold and bitter Russia may be, but not Tasha - surely one of her country's most popular ever exports.
GIVING IT ALL FOR THE YOUNG
THE door is always open for your children to take their first steps along the Christian road to a richer life.
Heading up all the St Andrew's youth work is Barbara North, who supervises the following:
* Sunday school, ages 5-10 and 11-16, run separately to the 10am morning service.
* Under 5s creche at the same time.
* Kids' club on first Friday of each month from 6.30-8pm for five to 10-year-olds, featuring arts and crafts, Playstation, sports, table tennis, pool and lots of other games and activities.
* Youth group runs on the second Friday of the month from 7.30-9.00pm. Mainly discussion based but also includes arts, crafts, cooking and table tennis and pool etc.
All the groups are open to anyone - simply come along or contact Barbara on 0208 904 2408 for more details.
St Andrew's enjoys a thriving youth culture. For Barbara her voluntary work with the church is like a home from home. Husband, Lyndon, is the curate at St Andrew's and by day Barbara is a teaching assistant at a nearby primary school.
She has a strong team behind her comprising husband and wife duos Tony and Paula, and John and Janice, and David, Marianne, Kris, Ben and Martin.
"I have worked within the children and youth set-up here for seven years, elsewhere before that and with youths when I was working as a social worker," explained Barbara.
"Running through all our activities is a common theme: this is to provide a safe and caring environment for children to learn about the Christian faith in an exciting and fun way. We look upon our church as a community and we are here for everybody.
"At Sunday School we tell the message of Jesus and feel we can best do that with the children through fun and games, and making them feel part of the family.
"The message is: Jesus loves them and we want to share that message with them.
"Whatever we do has a fun element to it.
"We are also part of the bigger church family and take part in all the major celebrations from the nativity, through to Easter and our Harvest Festival. They plan and present the main service which the adults truly appreciate, not to mention how much the kids get out iof it.
"Outside of church we arrange trips from time to time, and have taken the younger children to Fantasy Island and the older ones to the cinema and Thorpe Park.
"Older children can also help with serving duties at the altar if they are interested.
"We really enjoy working with children of all ages. It's rewarding, enables us to get to know them, while the kids' themselves feel they have other adults that they can get to know and who will listen to them.
"We all love sharing what we believe in our faith. It's about loving each other and loving God."
SEVEN EASY STEPS TO HEAVEN
The Rev'd Lyndon North, curate at St Andrew's, gives his guide to a simple but effective spiritual life within your own home. Follow just one of his suggestions and enjoy a richer and more meaningful relationship with your family
Text:
I visit a lot of neighbouring churches and know the locality well.
And it seems to me that if people were to occasionally take a step back from their busy lives to reflect on the things they really value, then far more people would want to bring their families to church.
I find that an awful lot of people who don't worship are still very glad we are here praying for them. There is a sense that the church in the community keeps that community sane.
For instance, I speak to my sister who doesn't go to church. But she will always show great concern if I haven't attended for one reason or another. In a sense she expects me to attend for her...and and am convinced a lot of other people worldwide follow her logic.
But I would like the whole of our Sudbury community to think what would happen if the church wasn't here. What would the country be like?
It is well worth reflecting upon what might happen to our generation, one that hasn't largely been brought up to know the Christian story. Can we can build a future on a society that has lost its way?
In some ways civilisation is a very thin veneer and what our society needs is not more smarter or gifted people. It needs deeper people.
With this in mind I have constructed my own set of commandments, seven in this case, that you might care to follow in the warmth of your own home.
We would welcome you with open arms at St Andrew's should you decide to join us in person. But if not here is a guide to improving and enriching the spritual life of yourself and your family within your own home.
Family life is so important. The bible teaches us that to honour your father and mother means "your days will be long in the land". In other words, if you honour what has gone before you will build a future.
I hope you agree that we must connect and try and make the holy ordinary and caring about God routine in our daily lives. For Christians it's about connecting Sunday with Monday and so one, and basically making space for God every day.
Like saying prayers with your kids at bedtime. If you like this can be no more than the Lord's prayer. Okay, this can become routine but in a time of crisis and difficulty this definitely is a very steadfast anchor.
Likewise telling your children bible stories. After all they are based on 6,000 years of wisdom. So in a single way you can impart that to your children and help build their future.
The wonderful thing about retelling stories, whatever your tradition, is it allows people to find meaning because they honour the past. It is vital that we all connect with stories that make up our own culture.
There are big stories and little stories but I fear we have lost the tradition of the big religious ones. Happily they are still valued across all countries and hold an absorbing power, and we must make them make sense to as many people as possible.
Saying grace at meals, not every time but when the family is gathered together, allows youngsters to develop a deep sense of gratitude to recognise that there is more to life than just the material and to value relationships.
You might feel embarrassed at saying grace at first but, from my experience, when you those around you become exceedlingly grateful.
After all, the great struggle for the atheist is that he has no one to thank...
Religion is not complicated or beyond anyone, so try one or more of my ideas. I promise you they will help you and your loved ones connect with the Lord and, hopefully, give added value to your lives.
At home you can make prayer very easy by constructing one yourself or referring to the huge number of beautifully written prayers available in book shops or via the internet.
It's not so much the content of prayer but whether it's real.
YOUR SIMPLE GUIDE TO SHARING GOD WITH YOUR FAMILY AT HOME
1 Begin each day with a simple prayer, maybe even when brushing your teeth. 'This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.'
2 Say grace at meals.
3 Read your children bible stories. There are lots of books available from publishers such as Lion.
4 Pray with your children at night. Simply use the Lord's Prayer or make one up.
5 Light a chandle as evening comes particularly during times of difficulty as a silent prayer before God.
6 Shut off the television and talk to one another
7 Ensure you eat a meal together at least once a week. At the heart of christianity is a fellowship meal and Christ has assured us his presence if we invite him.
FROM THE PULPIT TO RACING HORSES
The Rev'd Felicity Scroggie interrupts her hectic life to reveal what makes her tick
My vision for St Andrew's.
"St Andrew's is a real parish church where people come from all parts of the community and share the joys and the sorrows of life. We are not only there for people who come to church on Sundays but for any local person whether or not they have ever been in a church before.
"Lots of people are looking for spirituality nowadays - inside ourselves we somehow know that there is a better and deeper story to tell than ambition, competition, and success. I would like St Andrew's to be known as a community that shows out God's graciousness in welcome and love to all people, and that helps people discover that spark of God already deeply within them."
Frustrations of the vicar's job.
"Every night I go to bed and know that I have not finished - the job is never done. You have to learn to know when to stop for your own health and to pace yourself. I really don't think there is virtue in being so busy that you make yourself ill or have no time for other things beyond work.
"It is too easy to find our identity in the work we do, the 'success' we have, and how busy we are - but this denies our real identity as children of God. I think the clergy are called to be counter-cultural here and not collude with a false source of self-worth (don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't work hard).
"But then we also have to cope when at the end of the day we have to decide to stop before everything is done. If you didn't do that you would burn out very quickly indeed and be no use to anyone. I can't believe that God requires that of us."
How the parish has changed in my 7 years.
"The electoral roll has grown from 98 to 162, so a lot of people have joined us. We are more multi-cultural now, which is excellent, and we have a very positive 'can do' spirit. I really appreciate being in a community where we can try something different and see if it works - if it does that's great; if not, then we just move on without criticising. The community at St Andrew's is rather special: people really want to welcome others and are prepared to change as new people join us."
My Eureka moment.
"I did have one life-changing moment when listening to Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in St Paul's Cathedral. At that time we were just starting out to raise a lot of money to repair and rebuild our church halls. I can't remember what he was saying but suddenly I just knew that we had to share the money we raised with the people of Mozambique.
"I came back to the parish and shared the idea that for every pound we raised for the hall we should give 50p to a project in Mozambique, and with great bravery they agreed and the project to build a health centre in Messumba was launched. I remember ending the meeting by telling them that I loved them!"
Why I go barefoot during services.
"This is something that I have grown into naturally. It is a mark of respect and it helps me to pray the services. God told Abraham to take his shoes off because he was standing on Holy ground. This is the same sort of thing. When we bring peoples' lives to the altar and to God we are doing holy things - this is the most important thing that we can do as human beings. In Asian countries people would not dream of standing at the altar with their shoes on. This is an area where I have grown through listening to our Asian members."
Favourite celebrity.
"Martin Shaw definitely. He's very cool."
Have you ever placed a bet?
"Yes, I used to ride race horses and grew up in a small Yorkshire town surrounded by the racing industry. I have often placed bets on horses but never more than a couple of pounds. I don't have an addictive personality and it has always been just for fun. You have to be prepared to lose the money, never go beyond your limit, and never be tempted by an 'if...'"
If I wasn't a vicar...
"I would be a zoo keeper, a policeman, or someone who re-designs the sequences and timings of traffic lights (that always fascinates me!).
Favourite childhood memory.
"Aged eight, skipping home from school for lunch on a summer day, throwing a green and yellow poncho in the air and pretending to be a horse jumping over the bumps that tree roots had made in the pavement.
Favourite Saint.
"Peter because he is always getting things spectacularly wrong - there's hope for all of us!"
Best Christmas present.
"The book 'Watership Down' when it first came out, and best birthday present was a wooden doll's house that my mum had secretly made for me at night when I was in bed. She had sawed and nailed it and made lots of furniture and tiny mouse people to live in it. It was a real act of love."