Monday 15 March 2021

The Eton Wick Newsletter - August 2008 - Church Report

The first edition of the Eton Wick Newsletter included reports from the three Churches serving the community in 2008.

St. Gilbert's Church, Eton Wick

(In the Parish of "Our Lady of Peace" Burnham)

It was in 1954 that a Father Dunstan (formerly a Torpedo Boat Coxwain!!) encouraged Eton Wick's Catholics to strive to finance the construction of their own church in the village. At that time, Sunday morning mass was being celebrated in the Village Hall (for which the hire charge was 4 shillings per week and the clearing of Saturday night's debris); and, prior to that, villagers had made their way to 'Our Lady of Sorrows' at Eton. A committee was elected, a raffle held and the £3 raised was the first contribution to the fundraising. A few years (and a lot of jumble sales, bazaars and dances) later, construction commence, with the foundations being dug by the parishioners themselves. Ten years after Father Dunstan's challenge, on the day before Palm Sunday in 1964, the Roman Catholic Church of St. Gilbert was blessed by Bishop Leo Parker, assisted by the Prior and Chapter from the community of Canons Regular at Datchet. St. Gilbert's was built at a cost of £16,000 on land which was purchased for £1,500.

During the 1990's St. Gilbert's came under the auspices of secular clergy; it was no longer to be served by Datchet, but by the Parish Priest based at 'Our Lady of Peace' at Burnham, and this arrangement has worked very satisfactorily. Attendance at St. Gilbert's Sunday morning Mass is flourishing. Parishioners are fortunate to be able to have Mass celebrated most Sundays by Father Brian Godden, who is ably assisted by a Deacon, Paul Lipscomb, and about once a month Mass is celebrated by our Parish Priest, Father Michael Turner. Father Michael kindly celebrates 'First Friday' Masses at 8.00pm on the first Friday of every month and, whenever possible, there are 7.30pm Masses on Holydays of Obligation.

A thriving youth club (called 'Charlie's Angels' after a former Parish Priest — Father Charles Napier) for children of from 5 to 12 years old meets on Friday evenings; the club run by a Lady Parishioner, Mrs Mary McCarthy, with an assistant; and a luncheon club on Tuesdays.

At the beginning of March the church was host to the Women's World Day of Prayer ecumenical service; the three Eton Wick churches take it in turns to host this annual event. Needless to say, Eton Wick's Catholic parishioners are very fond of their church, they look after it well; and they very much appreciate the arrangements made to enable services to continue to be held there.

Teresa Stanton

St John the Baptist Church 

Eton Wick

You would receive a very warm welcome at any of our services or activities. Our weekly service is at 11am and each month follows a similar pattern. On the 1st Sunday of the month we have a very child friendly family service. The 2nd and 4th are services of Holy Communion and the 3rd is a service of morning worship. Activities for children take place on these three Sundays. Once a month we have an informal evening service at Eton Church.

During the week we have various groups going on from a cinema group to groups that meet to discuss their Christian faith in people's homes. For pre-school children and their parents/carers Little Fishes meet each Wednesday in term time at the church from 10am -11.30am.and includes stories, songs as well as time to play.

Each Thursday 10am -12pm Gateway also takes place in the Church room. This is a time to meet for a cup of coffee and a chat and to make some new friends. The church is always open during Gateway if you want to spend some quiet time in there.

For any more information then please look on the notice board outside the church or on our website: www.stjohnstjamesed.org.uk

Rev Lucy Holt

Methodist Chapel

We extend a very warm welcome to everyone who comes to our Chapel as a member or simply as a visitor to one of our meetings and events.

We are a village chapel built over 100 years ago, at the height of Primitive Methodism, to serve the community and provide a focus for free worship other than that of the Roman and Anglican Churches who also operate in the village.

You can turn up at any of the meetings or services being held, everybody is welcome whatever their background or circumstances. If you eventually feel you would like to extend your commitment to the Chapel by becoming a member, then this can be arranged through our Minister who will be happy to explain the process involved.

We have a weekly notice sheet, plus a monthly newsletter which also tells of other events in the Windsor churches. We are linked beyond Windsor to other Methodist churches in Slough and Maidenhead to form the Thames Valley Circuit.

Two services are held each Sunday, at 10.30am and 6.30pm. We also have mid-week meetings which many people find are more relaxed ways of considering social and religious matters. Amongst these are a fortnightly Bible Study, a monthly 'Pie and Praise' evening, a weekly Thursday Fellowship Afternoon, a fortnightly Tuesday evening Ladies Club and a Wednesday Lunch Club. A Parent & Toddler Group meets weekly on our premises.

Several of our members operate a 'Community Care' service which transports people to the local surgeries and hospitals in Eton, Windsor, Slough and Ascot. This service is funded by voluntary contributions and a monthly 'Coffee Morning'.

Peter Morris 

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

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