The Parish of Collingham with Harewood

From the Collingham with Harewood Parish Magazine - July / Aug 2010

From St Oswald’s Church

I’m feeling very uncomfortable at the moment as I’m coming to the end of my curacy at Collingham.  This is the way for Curates – we serve our time and move on, so I was never going to be here beyond this year.  At the moment, though, I don’t know where I’ll be going or when.  As soon as anything is known, we will announce it but, till then, heaven knows where and when….the problem is that heaven hasn’t told me yet!  Well, I’m sure God has his plans, but wouldn’t it be easier on the nerves sometimes if he just sent an e-mail to tell us what they are?!

I keep repeating to myself Proverbs 3:5:  ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’, and for a while, I feel peaceful instead of ruffled as I remember that, yes, I can put all my trust in God.  The problem is that we can get used to being rather self-reliant in this life.  Having brought up my son single-handedly from when he was four, I became very used to everything depending on just me - on my work, my income, my efforts.  I realize that I’ve built a barrier of self-reliance around myself.  I think it’s all about the illusion of having control over our own lives. We like to fool ourselves that we can do it all ourselves when, in fact, we can’t.  There will be events in our lives over which we have no control at all and it’s at those times that we might find ourselves praying more often and more deeply. It may not feel like it sometimes, but our God is faithful; he does have his hand on our lives and his plans for us.  We only see the here and now - God sees all:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  (Jeremiah 29:11) Kathy

From the Collingham with Harewood Parish Magazine - June 2010

As we come to the end of another church year, I am surprised again at how fast the time has gone. For some of our number the year has been filled with good things, for many the year has pro-gressed at a steady pace, and for a few the last 12 months have been difficult. Whatever we feel as we look back we are assured by our faith that God has been with us through thick and thin.

The congregations at Collingham and Harewood have worked hard at ensuring that our churches remain welcoming places. We have continued to provide a wide range of services, from weekly Communion Services to Harvest celebrations, Confirmation, Mothering Sunday, Christmas and Easter Services and All Age Worship, as well a the relatively new Go 4th Sunday Service. These are only possible through the continuing hard work of planning groups and volunteers giving of their time and skills.

As in previous years we have continued to share worship and fellowship with Collingham Methodists at services and at the Village Gala. This year we actually had good weather, and even more people came to the open air service and to the events which followed. My thanks to all in-volved for the very hard work they put in to ensure a lovely day was had by all. There continue to be strong links between the schools and the church. Various visits, services and assemblies are enjoyed by adults and children alike.

A major piece of work undertaken by the PCC to help with our planning was the Congregation Consultation. The results from the survey have been collated and are being used to improve different aspects of our communal life. The initial changes already introduced are the Welcoming Team (which supports the work of the Sides people), and the way our church is involved with charitable giving and mission. The 'Collingham Help Group‘, founded by the church, continues to support many people in Collingham. My thanks to all the volunteer drivers. We are now extending the information gathering to all members of the community (pull out survey in the centre of this magazine) so that we can gain a greater understanding of what is needed in the villages.

There are so many people involved in sharing the Good News in this parish, ensuring that our services, pastoral care and information sharing are as good as they can be that it is impossible for me to thank everyone individually. I do value all that you do in Christian love. Without your continuing contributions (however large or small) of prayer, time and finance, I would find it impossible to be able to do my work here. I am sure you would all like me to extend our thanks for their hard work to Ann Harradine and Keith Hardman our church wardens, to James Haselden our treasurer and this year especially to Richard Nolan, our secretary who is standing down. His hard work and excellent organisational skills have ensured the PCC has run smoothly and efficiently over the last three years.

Christians are called to walk with others and support them as they follow Christ‘s example. I hope that in the coming year St Oswald‘s and Harewood Chapel members will continue to welcome others into the church community and commit themselves to serving others in which ever way God calls them to. As we look back over this last year may we look forward with hope, as we seek to do God‘s will in this place.