Revs Ali and Steve have devoted the last 13 years loving and serving the people of Alperton, They came to St James with their young children and leave with two teenagers. The church has been blessed beyond measure to have them. The family will leave a big gap, both practically and in people's hearts. The practical gaps can be filled, the gaps in people's hearts will take longer. They are moving on to new adventures in South Harrow. Last weekend was a time of celebration, along with some sadness and tears. The church threw a party on the 20th July to say goodbye. This included things St James is known for, such as good multicultural food, along with the ceremonial cutting of the farewell cake which was lovingly baked and decorated by the Wednesday communion service attendees. This was followed on the 21st July by Rev Ali and Steve's final service which was attended by a wide variety of people, such as Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, members of the Brent Multi-Faith Forum and a wide range of well wishers. Rev Ali said "The onion gremlins are out in force this weekend" Onion gremlins are invisible creatures who stick raw onion in the faces of people and make them cry.
An essential part of St James is our "Spaces". Spaces are short sessions after the main service which aim to help the community get to know each other better. The spaces vary from quietly listening to God to more practical sessions like card making and knitting. One of the most successful "Spaces" is the monthly Knitting Space. In fact, if you are local, you may have seen their Easter post box topper. Another of their projects has been knitting colourful blankets to donate to people in need. A few weeks ago, Edna and Linda, two of our core knitters, presented the staff at Copeland nursing home with colourful blankets for their residents. The knitting space meets once a month and everyone is welcome. You don't have to attend the church.
You may not know that St James has active Girl Guides and Brownies groups meeting in the church. If so, you do now! They hold regular table top sales and the next one is Saturday 8th June 2024 from 10am to 12.30pm. Do pop in and help raise funds for their units whilst working towards their badges. Want to know more about Brownies and Guides? Click the links below :- Brownies (7-10) | GirlguidingGuides (10-14) | Girlguiding
For some time now, St James Alperton has been celebrating the cuisine of it's multi-cultural congregation on a monthly basis. We've sampled Iranian, Irish, Gujarati, Tamil, Chinese and South African food and more. Somehow we'd totally missed English food, partly I suspect because English people think English food is boring. Well today was England day and our English members proved English food can be delicious. We sampled:- - Lamb Casserole - Coronation Chicken - Coronation Chickpeas- Individual toad in the holes- Individual vegetarian toad in the holes.- Jacket potatoes- Dumplings- Cheese, Pineapple and pickled onions on sticks- Eton mess- Lemon mouse- Jelly and ice cream. England, you did us proud! PS. The lamb casserole was cooked by someone Welsh.
