There was a Church Service on 13th February 2016
The Service was held in St. Peter’s as usual at 11am
The Opening Prayer was given by Sueann Henderson
Hymns were led by George Henderson:
Hymn 1 – Come Thou Almighty King
Hymn 2 – All Glory Laud and Honour
Announcements were given by George Henderson and included:
*Rosemary Stokes and family thank everyone who attended the funeral of her husband Jack last Thursday. They did not expect nearly 60 people to be there and were very moved by all this support.
*The McGarvey family request prayers for Margaret. She has had treatment for breast cancer for some years and now has been told that the cancer is now in her liver and bones. Margaret has begun a new treatment. Please pray for her healing.
*Bill Bailey of our Stoke congregation, has died aged 83 in his Nursing Home. His funeral will take place on February 24th. Please pray for his family.
*We congratulate Mr.Beresford in Ohio U.S.A. who has reached the age of 100. He and his wife will have been married 75 years in May. Also in the U.S.A, Roger Abels has now improved enough to go for Rehabilitation.
Presentation–Before the next hymn, Jessica, Shannon and Chloe presented Baroness
Dorothy Thornhill with a bouquet of flowers.
Hymn 3 – I the Lord of Sea and Sky
Intercessory Prayer was led by James Esom:
*We thank you Father for all you do for us and ask you to help and comfort those who have lost their loved ones. We pray for the families of Jack Stokes and Bill Bailey.
*We ask your healing power for Roger Abels, Graham Mitchell, Margaret McGarvey, Rebecca Gentil and Bill Wilson who is suffering pain.
*We are pleased to hear that Peter Buckley has settled into his care home and is joining in the singing. Please continue to help him and Valerie Philo, also in a care home, as we miss them at church.
*Thank you for Churches Across Watford and for all the work that Baroness Thornhill does.
*We thank you for our church leaders, Mr.Tkach and James Henderson.
*Please encourage our young people and bless those who teach them here.
*We pray for all the persecuted Christians around the world. We have so many blessings here in this country. Many people have nothing and have to rely on the Charities and Aid Workers. Please protect and support all of them.
*Many people here in this church have their own personal problems. We ask your help for them and we thank you for this service.
Hymn 4 – Who is there Like You?
Hymn 5 – I Love you Lord
Irene Wilson then introduced Baroness Thornhill, saying some towns and cities select the person to be Mayor from their Council each year. In Watford the people elect their Mayor. Mrs Thornhill has
used her Christian heart to make Watford a much better place to live in. They now have many Town Chaplains, Charities and Street Angels. We should be very grateful for her work.
The Message was given by Baroness Dorothy Thornhill, the Mayor of Watford.
Mrs.Thornhill is a Lancashire lass. She was brought up in the church of England, but converted to Catholicism to marry the man she loved. She thought herself a “quiet Christian” and joined the cleaning rota at her church. When she became the Mayor, she received many invitations to places but none to the churches. She decided to write to them all and offered to visit. She did not realise how many churches there are and all the different places they meet. It took her 2 years to visit them all. At each one she felt the goodness of the people and urged them to be ‘loud and proud’ of being Christians, and encouraged all faiths to work closer together. We need to live in the here and now and not dwell in the past. Church people give so much to Watford and volunteers are the soul of this town. After the General Election last year, she began to feel very down and prayed that God would show her what he wanted her to do. We had just sung the hymn “Here I am Lord” which is her favourite anthem. She read out the scripture in Matthew 7:7-8 where Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock. God then opened another door for her. Mr.Clegg asked her if she would accept a peerage. After some thought and prayer she did, and now feels that she can do more from her new position. Nothing stays the same except your faith. Let it guide you through all trials and
problems.
The Final Hymn was To God be the Glory, after which the Closing Prayer was given by Irene Wilson.
Fellowship continued over Refreshments in the Church Hall.
The Young People’s Church today continued with two stories from the life of Jesus. We also helped make some material for the Messy Church that was held that afternoon.