St Christopher's Church
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History of the Church of England in Round Green |
The early years In 1864 Mr George Cox, a hat manufacturer, built a workroom in Round Green. In due course the Waller Street Methodists borrowed it for ‘God’s work’. They used it for Church and Sunday School, and soon had a congregation of 80-100 worshippers. By 1865 a Chapel was built on the corner of Ramridge Road and Hitchin Roads. This building was used until 1911 when the congregation decided that a new church should be built, and purchased land for the purpose opposite Turner’s Knoll. One day in 1914, just before the outbreak of the First World War, the people of the little hamlet of Round Green would have seen the Bishop of the Diocese being wheeled along the Hitchin Road from Stopsley. Edgar Jacob, Bishop of St. Albans, was rather infirm, but had come to dedicate the little church of St. John. The humble building, which stood on the corner of Ramridge Road and Hitchin Road, had been successively a chapel, a hat factory, then a stable and storehouse. The Vicar of Stopsley, Canon G.H.C. Shorting and his Warden Mr. Young had cleaned it, and after the Bishop’s dedication the building became a ‘chapel of ease’ within the parish of Stopsley. When the First World War came, the ladies of Round Green dispensed 'char and wads' to the soldiers then training nearby. The little altar was veiled by a curtain on weekdays, and the chapel of St. John became a canteen, the smells of tobacco and incense mingling. On Sundays the Eucharist was celebrated by the Vicar, G.H.C. Shorting, and Evensong was sung by a lay reader. Later the Church Army put in a resident Captain, and ladies came up from St. Saviour's in the Town to organise the Sunday School. In 1926 a scheme for the acquisition of a site for a new church in Round Green was under consideration by the Parish Council who, following a Parish Council meeting, guaranteed to raise about £150 annually. Money was also used from one of the old St. Mary’s charities, and the diocese promised a grant of £1OO on completion of the conveyance. The Bishop's Order of Church Builders The Right Reverend Michael Bolton Furse, Bishop of the Diocese, introduced the scheme in 1931, saying that 'the children themselves would build a church in some rapidly expanding district, served at that time by a makeshift of a hall' (i.e. St John's). The children were to build the church with their own half-pennies or pennies; not with their mum's or dad's, as it was thought their offerings would have greater value this way. They were to give regularly so that the realisation of their objective would not be long delayed and would be a “living testimony of their own faith to them”. The idea was born of a ‘Children’s Church’, dedicated to St. Christopher, who was said to have carried the Christ child across a river. Soon after this a Central Committee was formed in the Diocese of St.Albans. The success of the scheme was due to the energy and tireless effort of the St. Christopher’s Church Committee, who organised the children of the Diocese into ‘The Bishop's Order of Church Builders’. Adults were eligible for membership of the Order too, but the children had titles of chivalry conferred on them as a reward for their efforts in collecting the pennies and halfpennies. The ‘Maids’, ‘Pages’, ‘Esquires’, ‘Ladies’ and ‘Knights’ were invited as frequently as possible to central gatherings, some of which were held in the Cathedral. The idea of bringing children into close touch with Christian work was imaginative. In the dioceses of Chichester and Liverpool such schemes were already under way, and in June 1936 a report outlining the scheme appeared in the Church Assembly News. This was by the Honourable Ian Lawson-Johnson, lay reader, and prominent layman in the St. Albans Diocese and Chairman of the Children’s Church Committee. “This scheme”, he said, “was not merely a way of raising funds, but a means of building the Church into the lives of the young workers themselves.” Each of the plans in the three dioceses was based on the child’s instinct for action. The Church Hall In 1934 a piece of land was secured on the corner of Stockingstone Road and Felix Avenue, and the Archdeacon of Bedford, Arthur Henry Parnell, set in motion the construction of a wooden hall on the Felix Avenue side of the land. The building was designed by the eminent architect Professor A. E. Richardson, who lived at Ampthill. It was opened and dedicated to St. Christopher on the 17th May 1934 and was to be used as a church whilst sufficient money was raised to build a more permanent structure. Originally the entrance was at the front of the building facing Felix Avenue. There was a vestibule with lavatories situated either side, and a spiral wooden stairway leading to the balcony area. The vestibule led to one large hall and at the south-east end on the right hand side was a small kitchen with a door leading to the outside. Next to the kitchen was the vestry. There were two doors from the vestry, one to the hall, and one to the outside. The altar was situated on a raised step at the south-east end of the hall and a piano was to the left of the altar. A new start In 1935, the Bishop of St. Albans gave £1,234 to pay the outstanding amount for the building and furnishing of the hall. This ensured that the Reverend Gerald Hawker, when he was instituted as Priest-in Charge, would have no debt left on the hall, and he could concentrate all his efforts on raising money for the building of the new church. The Bishop told a large congregation, at his institution service on Friday 13th December 1935, that there was an opportunity to start a new parish. The new church was to be built next to the hall on the corner of Stockingstone Road and Felix Avenue, and was to be a permanent base for the new parish. Gerald Hawker had launched a campaign for “Our Church”, but by then a considerable sum had been raised by the children throughout the diocese. This amounted to £611 collected in pennies and halfpennies, which represented a considerable response from children. In May 1936 the Priest-in-Charge saw the need for this continuing effort to be matched by the people of Round Green. A ‘Builder’s Prayer Card’ was issued and the people were urged to use it night and morning. Awaken
our hearts and strengthen our hands, The members wore the ‘Builders Badge’ and the people of St Christopher's were inspired by their priest to give more in money and find ways of earning extra money by their own efforts. Some collected silver paper, worth 3d a pound at the time; some dug the ground behind the St Christopher's Hall and turned it into an allotment, selling the produce; One went round with a cart on Saturday afternoons to “get his bit for the cause” (precisely what was in the cart is not recorded in the Magazine of May 1936). This issue emphasised that it was essential in all this practical effort to meet week by week in St. Christopher’s “to worship and pray together and to grow in comradeship”.. The money collected by each family was put, like the children's of the diocese, in a box the shape of a church, and this was recorded on a “New Church” thermometer. By July 1936 the mark had reached £100. By now the new houses on the Davis Estates were being occupied. Some of the St. Christopher's folk had visited the newcomers, and had come back elated at the response and welcome they received. It was apparent that the new church when it was built would fill a need. During the activity of the people of St. Christopher’s, the collecting by the children had gone on apace. In addition, money was raised throughout the Diocese by a variety of methods, but it was still the 'children's church'. Bricks and walls The Bishops Order of Church Builders was organised, by a Diocesan Central Committee. The children were to present their pennies and halfpennies to the representative in their own Parish or School. This money purchased ‘bricks’, in the form of paper stamps. Threepence bought a ‘brick’ and ten ‘bricks’ made a ‘wall’. It was realised that this might take some time for a child to fill, so a wall was allocated to a school or a group of children, such as a Guide Company or Cub or Brownie Pack. Badges were awarded to those doing particularly well, and were proudly worn by the children; a blue badge for 2s/6d collected; a green badge and certificate for £1 collected by a group; a red badge and certificate for £5. Considerable sums in those days, and remember the Bishop said the pennies and halfpennies were to be the children’s' own. Cutting the first turf In June 1936 the Central committee in the Diocese chaired by the Hon. Ian Lawson Johnston, (now Lord Luke of Pavenham) with Miss Ursula Robbins as the Secretary and Mr James Robinson as the Treasurer, announced that the total funds in hand amounted to about £2000. A loan of equal sum was being raised, and the combined sum of £4000 would enable a start to be made on the building of the Church, the total cost of which was estimated at about £10,000. At St. Christopher's, plans were being made following this announcement for the cutting of the first turf. The ceremony was planned for the 11th of July 1936 and the people were exhorted to “make it a day when the whole parish rejoices”. There was to be a great procession round the parish with banners and spades, and then on the flag bedecked site “we all start digging”. In the event it rained, but this did not damp the spirits of the youthful banner bearers and diggers, who were led by Lady Helen Cassel and the Rural Dean. It was truly great day for which some had been praying for twenty years. But this was only the beginning. Activities, both spiritual and temporal The enthusiasm both in the parish and the Diocese, which culminated in the cutting of the first turf, was reflected in the increased numbers coming to make their Communions at St. Christopher’s. There were 1,076 in the first six months of 1936 compared with 374 in 1935. This was now a parish with a growing population and soon the new Church on the corner would complement the houses which were now going up at a fast rate. These were to be occupied by prospective worshippers, and so the visiting in the new homes went on. The activities at
the hall in Felix Avenue were varied. On Sundays there were services or
meetings at 8 a.m. 9 a.m. 11 a.m. 2.45 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. There were services
on two weekdays and on Saints days. On the secular side, there were whist
drives every Saturday, dances twice a week, and the young men's club met
each Friday. Sunday was an even more valuable day before the advent of the five-day week and longer holidays. As then, so today, Spiritual and worldly things went hand in hand very often and this made for harmony. The plans for the new church arrive The money from the people of Round Green was still coming in at the rate of about £10 per week, and when the plans for the new church arrived in June 1936 it was noted that the architect Professor Richardson had succeeded in keeping the costs down. The costs were important of course as the money was all coming from ordinary folks pockets, both young and old, but it was noted with great joy that the new church would be of a very pleasing appearance. The style would be ‘domestic Gothic', it would be cruciform in shape with a thin spire “to crown the hilltop”, and its most appealing features were the big windows set in warm coloured brick. For various reasons, especially the outbreak of World War 2 in September 1939, within three years these plans were to be modified but the building of the nave would start soon and the children would be involved in this. The Bishop’s Guild of Church Builders came to Round Green from time to time, for a ‘Builders Festival’. These occasions were very colourful and were an award to the children for their great efforts. From near and far they came, from North Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire, by train and bus. The roads near the site at the corner of Felix Avenue and Stockingstone Road presented a festive appearance as the children wearing their blue and green badges and sashes of the Bishop’s Order processed to the site. Laying the foundation stone Three months after the first turf was cut, the 'Bishop's Order' came again to Round Green. This time there were a thousand children and they were accompanied by a thousand adults. The building had progressed far enough for the foundation stone to be laid. The Bishop of St. Albans, who was Patron of the Order, could not come owing to illness. So it was Bishop Lumsden of Bedford who followed the six hundred strong procession assembled in Felix Avenue. The cross led the choir of St. Christopher’s, followed by Scouts and Guides from the town. The procession made a striking picture; the colours of the sashes, badges and rosettes vying with banners and flags in the streamer and bunting-bedecked Felix Avenue. After the Bishop had laid the stone, he gave an address especially to the children, for the young people of the Diocese had played a key role in bringing the building of the ‘Children's Church’ thus far. Tea for nine hundred and thirty was laid on in the nearby drill hall after this, and a presentation made to the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of the Order. Progress in building By this time the builders had completed the footings of the new building and work was going on apace. Now the children had a practical part to play, albeit a small, and perhaps merely symbolic one. Almost every day after school hours, they could be seen lending a hand to the workmen on the site. The local paper reporting this, published a photograph of the youngsters helping to unload a brick lorry. They helped in other ways as well, working around the inscribed foundation stone, which itself was to be the base or plinth of a life-size statue of St. Christopher and the Christ-child. This statue has featured since in the background of many a wedding group photograph. ‘Laying a brick' became a means of raising money. Trees were also planted, and some of these can still he seen in the garden. One of these ceremonies was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Luton and other benefactors, who planted trees and laid over a hundred bricks. The proceedings were described in the Parish Magazine: “The ceremony was preceded by a short service, and then the congregation processed to the site of the new Church. First the benefactors and then the children of the 'Bishop's Order of Church Builders' wearing their uniforms and carrying their banners”. A link with the past
was the presence at this ceremony of Mr. Henry Howard, who in the days
of the old mission hall of St. John, often took services there. Master
John Sibley who was the chief child 'builder' also planted a tree, and
the Vicar of Stopsley was amongst the bricklayers. Thus the Youth, Town
and Church were represented and the Past not forgotten. With typical enthusiasm he added “My word! Is it not going to be beautiful? Those deep arches, and the colour of the bricks, and the perfect proportion”. Soon it was to be completed, and as a later vicar said, it proved to be a gem of architecture. In the spring edition of the Parish magazine it was reported that there had been 28 confirmation candidates, five of them adults, in the past year. It was evident that the small wooden church in Felix Avenue was no longer adequate for all the activities. The same edition of the magazine announced a scheme for a memorial commemorating the Coronation of King George VI due to take place in the following June. This would be in the form of three bells for the new Church. The people, who were the real Church, were now looking forward expectantly to the time when the building would be completed, and it was announced in the May 1937 Parish Magazine that the building would be completed in time for the Bishop to dedicate and formally open it on Saturday the 5th of June at 3 p.m. A new landmark One day in 1937 the Bishop of St. Albans came again to Round Green and, after Bishop Furse had led the procession of Builders, the Priest in Charge formally asked him to "name this Children's Church, and dedicate it and all its fittings to the service of Almighty God" The Bishop duly named the church “In honour of St. Christopher” and so “dedicated to the service of God” it has remained. Within its walls the
Sacraments have been freely given, comfort and words of hope dispensed
and the faith taught for fifty years. Thus a new phase in the life of
the Church in Round Green began and a new landmark appeared The Dedication And so it was that only a few days after the Coronation of King George VI the new Church of St. Christopher’s - the Children's Church -the Church on the Hill' was dedicated by the Bishop of St. Albans. The local press said this was the “realisation of the ambitions of hundreds of children throughout the Diocese of St. Albans”. There were hundreds
on the site and in the roadway to see the Bishop lead the procession of
children (though not all the Order of Church Builders who were too numerous
and who would have a chance later to see the results of their efforts.)
The precession wound its way from Subsequent events The Church planned by Professor Richardson was never to he completed in all details. Events, not least the out-break of World War II, intervened. It was twenty-two years before the chancel and two vestries were added to the nave. The Coronation Bells
Fund did not quite come up to expectation. £35 was collected by
the time of the Dedication whilst £80 was needed for the three bells.
The Foundry was asked to hold the order for the two lighter bells until
"we are sure we can pay for them". It was considered that one
good bell was essential and the others could wait. The repayment of the
debt was more important. There are still two empty places in the belfry.
The coronation bell was rung by Councillor Hewson on Whitsunday evening
and it had a “quiet and pleasing note”. In August 1937 the Bishop’ Order of Church Builders held their first festival in the completed part of the Church. Again Felix Avenue was the venue for hundreds of children processing to the Church of St. Christopher. They were resplendent in sashes of red, green and blue, and carried banners. They came from all parts of the counties of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and there wore so many of them that the service had to he conducted by the Archdeacon from a platform erected behind the new church. After an address by the Bishop of St. Albans, the procession moved around the church and went inside. As they passed the altar they presented their gifts. The dragon of debt The people of Round Green had at last got their church, albeit the nave only. It had cost £4,000 and a further £6,000 was needed to complete Professor Richardson's design. The immediate task however was to clear the debt, for £2,OOO had been borrowed to make start. The clearance was graphically recorded the periodical sheet of the Bishop’s Order. With mixed hagiography, St. Christopher was shown dressed in armour. Complete with shield and sword he looked a bit like St. George. The Dragon, halfway up a tree, - had a long tail marked off in segments of £10 each. St. Christopher cut off segments as the money was raised, whilst the children (safely on the far bank of the river) looked on waving encouragement. By February 1940 the Bishop of St. Albans reported that the debt had been reduced to £500, and when in November 1941 the Priest-in-Charge Gerald Hawker announced his departure to work in Radlett, the debt had been cleared. The ministry of Gerald Hawker had been marked by an infectious enthusiasm for the work in Round Green. This was manifested in the acceleration in the building scheme inaugurated by the Bishop’s Order of Church Builders. The young people’s work was taken up and augmented quickly by the older people of the new district. The spiritual side was built up at the same time, and in this he was assisted by his devoted wife, a willing team of helpers, Wardens, Councillors, and a Parish Lady Worker. Wartime in Round Green The outbreak of World War II in 1939 affected St. Christopher's in much the same way as any church in England. There were several bombs on Luton, and its citizens were busily engaged in the war effort. The hats made in the Town once graced the heads of Ascot ladies, but now from the factories came different styles, worn on the Parade Ground of many a barrack square. Since the First World War, the Engineering Industry and Chemicals had overtaken that of hats. These made the town a prime target for the Luftwaffe. As in all the churches, the young men of the congregation left home to join the Forces, and it was not long before their sisters were obliged to join too or do some sort of war work. St. Christopher’s folk collected money to send those away from home, a parcel of ‘goodies’ from time to time. The PCC Minutes made
frequent reference to members’ absence due to late working or Air
Raid Warden’s duties. The halls and church had to be ‘blacked
out’ and constant vigilance exercised for the safety of the buildings.
There was concern in 1941 for the safety of the children in Sunday School,
should an Air Raid warning be sounded during the session. The PCC were
unable to provide a shelter but parents were assured everything possible
would be done to safeguard the children. It was about a year
later that St. Christopher’s second lady worker, Phyllis Barton,
was told to go by the new Parish Priest, the Revd. Henry Cooper. In these
days she could have probably successfully applied to a Tribunal on the
grounds of both wrongful dismissal and sex discrimination! Women’s
place – both in Church and Civic life, was very strictly defined
in those days, and contrasts with the appointment in 1985 of the first
Deaconess, and her ordination in 1987 as Deacon. Also Women Police Constables
are now considered vital to the running of the Force. The peace, reconstruction and construction Throughout the fifty years, from 1937 to 1987 St. Christopher’s has been served well by a succession of diligent and conscientious Parish Officers and Council Members, as well as faithful and gifted priests. This continuity and stable base has been assured to the ongoing and sincere worship of God and ministry to his people, during the years of building and consolidation in the time of war and in the frugal years which followed. The second Priest-in-Charge, Henry Cooper, only stayed for a year, but the third, Reginald Lansdown, was here for the difficult years of the War from 1943 and through to the year 1947. The spiritual life
of the Church at Round Green took on a new direction under his leadership.
In a report, he spoke of his visits to the sick, and to this end permission
was sought from the Bishop for a permanent Reservation of the Sacrament.
The C of E Men’s Society re-formed. With the end of the war, thoughts also turned towards the completion of the church. The Bishop’s Order of Church Builders was now defunct, and its youthful members now grown up, was considered in 1946 to be “too big a matter for St. Christopher’s to take over”. There is a record though, of a revival of the Order by the Diocese, for in 1946, parties of children were shown around the Church. These were on a much smaller scale than those spectacular events of the pre-war years. It was obvious that with so much building of new churches needed in the diocese for the new overspill towns, the people of St. Christopher's would have to take the initiative, but before this the District was to be made a separate Parish. The new parish Early in 1951 its boundaries resolved with neighbouring parishes, St. Christopher Round Green was separated from St. Thomas Stopsley, and became a parish in it’s own right. The Kings Authority having been given, Arthur Suffrin became the first Vicar. Work amongst the youth was revived; the Youth Club and Scouts and Guides all became active again in those early days of peace and the new Parish. There had been 132 Confirmation Candidates during this incumbency, which came to an end in January 1953, and had been of six years duration. The Bishop’s charge There is a record of the Parish Council’s letter to the Bishop setting out the type of man wanted as a successor to Arthur Suffrin. They asked for a married man who would “maintain the existing tradition of churchmanship, give sound Catholic teaching with little ceremony, complete the Church in ten to twelve years and build a Vicarage.” No mean task, but when the Revd. Reginald Clark, the second Vicar, arrived in June 1953, he announced that just as the previous Vicar had concentrated on the devotional side of the Parish, so he would concentrate on using money for completing the Church and building the vicarage. The Ways and Means were outlined. There would be collecting boxes, whist drives, jumble sales. Bazaars and Gift Days. The children's participation as sixteen years previously, would be sought - at the rate of 1 penny per week. All this, it was hoped would bring in £500 for five years. The target was raised in 1955 to £750. This was the material part of the Bishop’s charge to the new Vicar, and the spiritual side was not overlooked - young men were coming forward for training in Ministry. In the midst of fundraising for the Church and Vicarage, other causes were not forgotten. There were donations to the Children’s Society, the Missionary Societies, the South African Fund, homes for the retired clergy and old railway horses were saved from slaughter. Lest it should be thought that these were all ‘new broom’ activities, it should be pointed out that the years of austerity following the War had now ended. It had taken a little while to recover from those War years, but life was never the same again. Building, occupied and postponed In November 1953 some land at the end of Felix Avenue was reserved for the new vicarage. The Parish had bought the clergy house at Number 7 Felix Avenue earlier, and this was let to an American Army sergeant when the new vicarage was occupied in December 1956. The latter had cost £800 and a mortgage of 4% arranged for twenty-five years. The land, which had a sixty-five foot frontage, cost £520. At the end of 1954 the building fund for the completion of the Church stood at £1556.10s.4d. The ten and fourpence was recorded! In the following February, the Architect said that if the Church were completed to the original plans i.e. cruciform, that is with transepts and a choir, plus a steeple, the cost would be £30,000. It will be remembered that in 1937 the total cost had been estimated at £10,000. Inflation, caused by time and war, had taken its toll. With regret the plans had to be modified, and were reduced to the plain addition of choir and two vestries. This was to cost £6,000 - £7,000. Reginald Clark, writing to the Diocese in September 1956 stated the needs of the parish, and described the present state of unfinishedness. We would raise £4,000 and had £2,000 to date. Could we have the balance as a gift or part loan? The Bishop replied that there would he no new grants before the spring of 1957 and St. Christopher's were seventh in order of priority. So our extension had to wait. There were apparently more urgent needs in the Diocese in the post war building programmes. The year 1957 also saw the Church of England evangelisation scheme “Operation Firm Faith”, and in a practical demonstration of that faith, St. Christopher’s sent some money to the relief of Hungarians made refugees in the uprising of the previous year. The income that year was divided three ways: one-third each for maintenance, savings and giving away. Completion at last In mid 1958 the ‘green light’ was given to the building plans. The cost after various modifications would now be £10,000 for the addition of a choir and two vestries. The new part would be nearly as long as the existing nave, and would enable the people of St. Christopher’s to increase their scope in the Lord’s Service and have a worthy building to His Glory. Tenders were put out and the contract was finally signed with Hickman of Market Harborough in September 1958. It is a pity there is no known record of the excitement and expectant looking forward during the building of the extension. There is no record of either the Consecration on the 14th September 1959. The spectacular events of cutting of the turf, the bricklaying and dedication and all the children’s banners and the bunting of the festive occasions in 1935 and 1937 are all on record and have been preserved. There must have similar rejoicing in 1958 and 1959 but we must imagine them. We do have a record, if a factual one of the work and deliberations of Parish Councils, treasurers, wardens and Vicar. We know of the practical work in wood and the furnishings and curtains, and all the devoted work and energies expended at that time by the people by the people of St. Christopher’s. Thirty years later we are grateful, for we have wonderful heritage. Music, music, music When the Revd. Reginald Clark announced his intention of leaving to do hospital chaplaincy work, the Bishop’s charge had been completed. The Parish, now equipped with a sound working ‘plant’ was reaching out to the people of Round Green. The Church Hall was providing a service to the community. More importantly, worship and the sacraments were offered to all as they had been since 1914. There were two men training for the ministry and they were being supported both financially and spiritually by the congregation. The Vicar had appointed a ladies choir, and this was being led by a small and rather inadequate organ, situated at the top of the nave. The Revd. Rupert Child, who came in the early summer of 1965, was an enthusiastic and accomplished musician, who amongst his achievements could list ‘organist’. In 1966 an organ became available from Downing College Cambridge. It was built in 1913, a two manual Billington pipe, and it had been restored in 1953. This instrument was purchased for £850 and rebuilt in the loft at the west end of the church. This gallery was at that time being used as a side chapel, ‘the chapel of St. John’, which dedication perpetuated the memory of the little chapel at the top of Ramridge Road of the early years. The siting of the new organ in the gallery whilst not the best from a musical point of view, did presumably fulfil the intentions of the architect. Rupert Child emphasised the evangelistic responsibilities of the parish and at the same time, the need to reach out to the distress of would be suicides. He worked with the Samaritans and encouraged others to do so too. The Social life of the Parish took new turn, and as the Vicar was a devotee of Gilbert and Sullivan, soon the hall was ringing to the sound and laughter of the ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and the ‘Mikado’. In 1966 the alternative
services of the Prayer Book were studied, and Series II introduced in
June 1968. A 'new style Parish
Magazine was introduced. Compiled by a committee led by a co-ordinator,
and meeting once per month, the journal was produced by photocopy methods.
This became known for outspoken and thought provoking articles and comment. The family of God A newcomer, writing
in the magazine early in 1969 said that the “idea of the Family
of God is very real”. Throughout its history, this has been the
hallmark of St. Christopher’s and the idea must be preserved and
nourished. In 1973 a somewhat startled congregation saw the introduction
of the 'Series 3' services. These were the first new texts for 300 years
and were to be followed soon by the New English Bible. Somehow the modern
English displacing the ‘Thees’ and ‘Thous’, although
jarring to some ears, brought the Gospel to life. It also seemed to bring
the 'family' of the Church closer together, as through greater lay participation
all were becoming involved. More lay involvement Soon after the end of the Second World War the idea had been mooted in the Diocesan Conference, of laymen being ordained to the Diaconate and the Priesthood. This notion by the first Priest-in-Charge of Christopher's was very firmly rejected by the then Bishop. By 1979, however. a ministerial training scheme was well under way and was designed to bring men and women to their own parishes as ordained ministers. From St. Christopher's came a lady for training, and she became in 1982 the first Deaconess of the Parish. In 1987 after the General Synod had opened the way, she became, in company with about 50 others from the diocese a ‘Parish Deacon’ Thus a now chapter in the life of the church was opened and perhaps this will lead to a lady Priest becoming Vicar one day. The Ministerial Training Scheme in the Diocese of St. Albans was not the only move to involve Lay people. In the mid 1970’s lay people began to be trained in ‘Shared Ministry’. At St. Christopher’s there appeared ‘Baptism Teams’, ‘Marriage Teams,’ ‘Bereavement Teams’, all this with the encouragement of the Bishop. The PCC committees continued to function. Stewardship, Finance, Social, Fabric, Garden. Some said it was democracy gone mad! On Sunday mornings after the service and during coffee, the leaders of the various committees and teams could be seen going around with their agendum and notices of meetings. Everyone was involved. The garden Reading the minutes of past years, one is struck by the Parochial Church Council's concern for the gardens on each side of the church. From time to time gardeners had been engaged at various fees to tend them. In war time there had been trouble with a neighbour’s chickens straying through the fence. The trees planted in the late 1930’s were, fifty years later, causing problems to foundations and drains. The garden team was busy re-ordering and re-planting and soon the garden became a feature of Round Green. The garden had never been, and could not be a burial ground, so it was rather unique in churchyards. For some time there had been a desire to deposit the cremated ashes of the departed in the garden. A faculty was sought from the Diocese, and in 1975 a semi-circular rose bed was planted, partitioning off a small lawn which was reserved for the deposition of ashes. The names of the departed were inscribed in a book inside the building.
At the end of 1979, Bishop Runcie prepared to leave for the Archbishopric of Canterbury, and this coincided with the departure of Christopher Lewis. St. Christopher's fifth Vicar, the Revd. Bill Shinn, arrived in the spring of 1980. By then the novelty of lay involvement had settled down and had become an accepted part of the life of the church. The emphasis was now very much on reaching out to the community. Unemployed people in Luton were topping the 10,000 mark in the early and mid 1980’s. There was some involvement in unemployed groups; and in the Town, the Diocese sponsored the Churches' Community Programme. The Youth Group was re-started with an open membership, as was the ‘St. Christopher's Ladies’. The next fifty years The annual study programme in the autumn of 1986 considered “The Family”. The three political parties were agreed, if they agreed on no other possible cause of the breakdown of law and order, that the disruption of family life in broken marriages and unhappy homes was the prime cause of crime, vandalism and youth delinquency. St. Christopher’s ‘plant’, i.e. church and hall, could in the next fifty years, play an even greater part in the service of the community by facilitating the preaching of the Christian Gospel’s way of life. By the members practising it, and then providing facilities to the community - the Youth, the Aged, and the Disabled. The Church Hall, built in the mid thirties could it was considered, be adapted to provide more facilities. To finance this, the house in Felix Avenue, used up to 1956 as a parsonage, was sold. Plans were laid to extend the Hall by the provision of additional rooms, new toilets, one for the disabled, and more storage space. More requires to be done to preserve the heritage left by past worshippers and benefactors who were local people and from the far corners of the Diocese. The buildings have to be preserved, renewals made, and the quality of worship and service enhanced. God's work, started rather aptly in that old stable-cum-hat factory in 1914 must go on in the next fifty years: IT WILL. ADAPTING
ITSELF AS IT GROWS.
1935 The Revd Gerald
Hawker - First Priest-in-Charge
With the exception of this list very few names have been recorded in this 'history' of St. Christopher's. Thousands of people, men, women and children were concerned in the making of this Church and Parish, and this is true of countless others, in all ages and throughout the land. Without doubt these names are recorded both in the ‘Book of Life' and in the hearts and memories of all who knew them.
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