Pews News for Sunday 10 May 2026 – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – including the joint service last Sunday marking Hilary’s retirement plus this week’s services and notices.
Click here to view this week’s Pews News as a downloadable PDF.
Hilary’s Retirement
Thank you to everyone who took part in the joint service on 3rd May and made it such a special day. Thank you to the clergy, servers, choirs, catering team, all who baked, and all who stayed after the service to celebrate with me. I don’t think I managed to speak to everyone, but your presence was very much appreciated. Thank you for all your kind words and good wishes, cards and presents from individuals and the Parish. From both churches I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a pyx with fish and loaves decoration, a delicious cake, lovely card and a very generous amount of money. Thank you so much. It has been a delight and a privilege to serve in the Parish of Chingford.
May God continue to guide you and watch over you. Love from Hilary
Christian Aid Week
10th to 17th May
It is Christian Aid week from the 10th to the 17th of May. There are
envelopes in both Churches for your donations. Please take one and bring it
back within the next few weeks. Any contribution, however small will help to
alleviate poverty and empower women to become self-sufficient or to even sell
produce to help their families. If you pay tax, please complete the gift aid slip
and add it with your donation in the envelope. If you prefer to pay online then
go to give.christianaid.org.uk. Please return envelopes to Gill Hoxby at the Old
Church and Christine Rampton at the Parish church. Thank you for your support.
Parish Website
If you haven’t yet seen our redesigned website, please take a look! It contains lots of information and gives a pretty good impression of what goes on in our Parish. Huge thanks to Parish IT Administrator Sam Kerr for the work on this.
https://parishofchingford.org.uk/
Royal School of Church Music
Congratulations to choir members who were successful in the recent Royal School of Church Music exams. This represents a great deal of hard work and study in vocal technique, general musicianship and RE knowledge, so well done to all of them!
- RSCM Gold Award: Margaret Vincent & Jenni Allen (both Highly Commended)
- RSCM Silver Award: Emily Bishop-Chavasse (Commended), Jack Low (Commended), Savannah Alexander-Thomas, Robert Caicedo, Alice Corbett, Ethan Siromani.
Parish Magazine
May’s magazine is out now. Please take one and remember to pay £1 into the money box on the wall behind the magazines or by the card machine. If you would like to set up a subscription for the magazine, please contact Christine Rampton, our magazine editor.
Preparation for First Communion
Dates in May and June 11.45am – Parish Church
Mother Marilyn will be leading preparation for First Communion course for children aged 6/7 years old upwards. Dates will be 10th May, 17th May, 24th May and taking First Communion on 21st June. Time will be 11.45am at the Parish church. If you are not sure, please just come and see on 10th May at 11.45am. Please contact Kirsty in the Parish Office if you or your child wish to participate in this course.
Return visit to Christchurch, Esher
Sunday May 10th
Members of our choir will be joining with the Esher Choir for Evensong there at 6pm and anyone is welcome to come and attend the service. This is Fr Darren’s previous parish: their choir came and joined us for Evensong recently so this is a return visit. There will be no Choral Evensong at Chingford that evening.
APCM and Annual Election of Churchwardens
Tuesday 12th May at 7.30pm – Parish Church
The APCM and Annual Election of Churchwardens will take place at the Parish Church on Tuesday 12th May at 7.30pm. At the meeting, we will be electing two Churchwardens, three Deanery Synod Representatives and four members of the PCC (two from All Saints and two from Ss Peter and Paul). Nomination forms for all of these positions can be found at the entrance to the churches and should be handed to the Rector, the Churchwardens or the PCC Secretary prior to the meeting. Anyone on the church Electoral Roll can stand for any of these positions and vote at the APCM. If you would like more information about any of the roles, please speak to Fr Darren, Richard, Jacqui or any of the current PCC members or contact Anne Clayden the PCC’s Secretary
Coffee and plant sale
Saturday 16 May 10am to 2pm – Old Church
Wow! It’s that time of year again where people’s flower pots and flower beds will need a ‘Freshen up’ after winter so why not pop along to the ‘Plant sale and Coffee Morning’ at the Old Church on Saturday 16th May from 10am to 2pm where there will be a selection of plants available to purchase along with various stalls available to browse around including the Cake stall, Christian aid stall, raffle and more. There will also be hot drinks, Bacon rolls and Sausage in a roll available to purchase. This event is free entry so why not come along and have a look around and you may even ‘Pick up a Bargain’.
In person Safeguarding training
23 May 10am to 1pm – Parish Church
Please save the date for in person training. If you volunteer with children and/or vulnerable adults, you are required to complete Safeguarding training. You can do it online or attend our live training on Saturday 23rd May at 10am – 1pm in the parish church.
There are sign up sheets at the back of both churches. Please contact Teresa Law our Parish Safeguarding Officer if you have any questions.
100 Days of Prayer
This is a Chelmsford Diocesan initiative running to May 29, 2026, focused on seeking God’s guidance for the future of mission in Essex and East London. Led by Bishop Guli, it includes weekly prayer themes which you’ll be able to find in the ‘For Your Devotions this Week’ section of Pews News. For further details see www.chelmsford.anglican.org.
Christmas bazaar meeting at the Parish Church
31 May – Parish Church
I can’t believe we’re nearly in the middle of the year already, so it’s time to start thinking about the Christmas Bazaar! There will be a brief meeting after the 10am service at the Parish Church on the 31st May to make some initial plans. Anyone who is (even slightly) interested would be very welcome to pop along. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Thanks, Claire C
St John’s Ambulance community first aid course
Saturday 13 June – St John’s Ambulance, Robinson House, 23 East Ave, London E17 9NG
Margaret Vincent will be completing a community first aid course on Saturday 13th June 2026 1.30pm. The cost is £25 + VAT, so £30. If you would like to attend this course, please book online and let Margaret know so you can possibly join her.
Minutes of PCC meetings
Minutes will be made more easily available for all to see from now on. I will leave a copy of the minutes most recently agreed by the PCC at the entrance to both churches. Hard copies of all meetings are stored in the office and online and are available to see on request. If you have any questions, please contact Anne Clayden our PCC Secretary.
Organ Scholarship Appeal
We welcome any donations towards the annual cost of funding our Organ Scholarship. It has been hugely successful having a good Organ Scholar assisting with our music at both the Parish Church and All Saints, which provides the occupant of the post with a really worthwhile experience and pathway into the world of professional music. We are pleased to have been able to re-appoint Luke for a second year and look forward to all his continued help. The amount needed is again £5,500.00 for the year and we are already well on the way, so a huge thanks to all our annual and one-off contributors! Any amount given, no matter how small, is really helpful and appreciated. If you are able to contribute towards the appeal at any time this year, it can be paid by bank transfer – please contact Mike Emerson for bank account details. Please make sure the reference is marked “Organ Scholarship”. Alternatively hand any donations to the Churchwardens, stewards or Director of Music. Thank you.
Receiving Communion or a Blessing
This is a reminder about receiving Holy Communion or a Blessing. If you are baptised or confirmed and wish to receive communion, please come to the altar rail & hold you hands crossed palms upwards.
If you wish to have Gluten free wafers (we have these separate for people who require gluten free) please hold your hands crossed palms downwards so that the priest will know without you asking.
If you wish to receive a blessing instead, please come to the altar rail & have your arms at your sides, head bowed.
Cornerstone: Helping Our Church Grow in Generosity
Cornerstone is a free Church of England tool that helps churches understand their finances and strengthen giving. It provides:
- Insights – a clear picture of our church’s financial health, trends over time and how we compare with similar churches, to help us see our strengths and where we can grow.
- Pathways – nearly 50 simple, step-by-step actions, including templates, videos and guidance to help us make small and large improvements (at our own pace), to grow generosity and support volunteers.
- Grants Database – access to over 650 grants tailored for churches, for buildings, heritage and repairs, community projects and mission and ministry. We’re invited to join a Cornerstone Workshop (2.5 hours), where a small team from our church can learn how to use the tool, review our strengths, and leave with a practical action plan. Other churches describe the workshop as “enlightening”, “encouraging”, and “a real step change”. We’re looking for 2-4 volunteers to be part of that small team to join a Cornerstone Workshop. You don’t need to be part of the PCC or have a role within the church already. If you care about the future of our church and want to help us grow in generosity and financial confidence, this is a great opportunity. No expertise is needed, just a willing heart and a desire to make a difference. Please see https://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/uploads/files/Cornerstone-Project-Pack.pdf for more information and speak to Jacqui Neophytou or contact Jacqui here.
Sermons Online
Audio recordings of the Rector’s sermons are available on the parish YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/@parishofchingford.
In the future all these sermons will be published on the sermons on the parish website (a selection are already there), our church WhatsApp and our Facebook page.
Officers of the PCC needed!
We are in need of the following officers for the PCC: Treasurer and Electoral Roll Officer. If you are interested in finding out about any of these roles, do have a word with a member of the clergy or a churchwarden or the current PCC Secretary and Electoral Roll Officer, Anne Clayden or contact Anne here.
Supporting the work of the Parish
It is now possible to support the work and ministry of Chingford Parish by electronic giving, through the “Give A Little” Scheme. Please visit their website to do so https://bit.ly/ChingfordGiving.
Pews-News-2026-05-10