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Comments, complaints, broken links, disappointed hopes - please contact the caretaker. 31/07/2009 |
St Albans Church - Memories [St Albans centenary] [History of St Albans] [Memories of St Albans Church Hall]
Comments by Pauline Partridge before the service at All Hallows Church, Ordsall at 10.15am on St Alban’s Church on August 10th 2008
I have been asked to say a few words about the tragic fire that has destroyed St Alban’s Church on Thursday August 7th 2008. My memories have been of 37 years of worshipping there since 1966 when we first arrived in Retford. I know there are others here who have worshipped there longer than I, but together we have so many positive experiences of faith and fellowship at St Alban’s both at the Hall and in the Church. I have recently been asked about how sad I must feel at this destruction but most of us had already experienced greater sadness when the Church had to close in 2003. How distressing it has been for us all to see the Church fall into disrepair and not knowing the future use of the building. In some ways I think that this is an end of an era. We have had many expressions of sympathy including visits from George the Bishop, Archdeacon Nigel and Tony Evans. There have been telephone calls from David Leaning, and Stephen and Ann Carey who were on holiday in Bruges, all expressing their sadness. Many of us carry happy memories of special services at St Alban’s such as the Anglican Renewal service, Philip Watson’s ordination, family events such as my daughter Christine and son Nicholas’ weddings and a thanksgiving service for the life of my husband, Paul. In the hall there has been much community activity over the years from wartime use by the WRVS for a feeding station for troops to the Ladies Sewing Guild raising money for the church. The Hall has been the venue for meetings for plays, concerts, old time dancing, Mothers Union and Men’s Society meetings as well as more recently Mother and Toddler groups and other sport and social events. We saw further continuation of group and community use of the St Alban’s building when it became the St Albans Arts Centre in 1997. It has been a great pleasure to have been involved in the family of St Albans Church and God has blessed and nurtured many peoples faith and sustained them in their lives. We from St Albans have brought with us that faith and fellowship, as we now worship here at All Hallows and we thank God for all he has given us.
[St Albans centenary] [To the history of St Albans] [Memories of St Albans Church Hall]
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