Dear Friends

I want to begin by saying how shocked and sorry I was to hear the news of the death of Alan Leach the Sunday before last (23^rd of November).  Alan was not only a fine former Vicar’s Warden and a faithful Lay Eucharistic Assistant at St Jude’s, but he was also a very good friend to me.  I am sure that I speak for all the people of St Jude’s in expressing our deepest sympathies and offering our condolences to Jean and the rest of the family.

As many of you know by now we are currently facing a bit of a crisis at St Jude’s: in recent times I have become increasingly concerned about the continuing deterioration of our church building while we wait for progress to be made on renovation work.  I was particularly worried about the ingress of rain water and the possibility of it coming into contact with electrical circuitry with potentially dangerous consequences.  This eventually prompted me to contact Ecclesiastical Insurance and arrange for an inspection of the premises to assess potential hazards.  As a result of the inspection the church building in its entirety, hall included, has been temporarily closed whilst a full electrical survey is carried out.  This survey has been arranged and the result of it and the estimated cost of any consequent repair work will help to determine our next move.  It must be stressed that no-one is to enter the building until further notice!  All keys must be handed in to me or the church wardens as soon as possible.  Anyone wishing to retrieve property from the building must do so by arrangement through me.  The building can not be re-opened until a certificate has been issued by the relevant contractor to declare that it is safe and fully meets all required standards.

Obviously this situation will cause a lot of disruption, but we are at least very fortunate that our Christian neighbours at Terrace Road Presbyterian Church have offered us the use of their building for our 10.00am Holy Eucharist for the time being.    

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas

Howard

From the Registers

Funeral

The 4^th of December:  Alan Leach, aged 77 years

Rest Eternal Grant Him O Lord

St Jude’s Church

Christmas Services 2008

Due to the temporary closure of the church building all further services will be “As Announced.”