by Phil Andrews
When we at Isleworth Congregational Church remember 2025, it is inevitable that foremost amongst our recollections will be the loss of our retired former pastor Antony Ball, who sadly succumbed to leukaemia at the age of 80 on 30th April 2025 following some months of illness. Antony had given so much to our Church for so long, and on a personal note was the one remaining connection I had with the congregation I knew from my “first” spell at the Church as a young teenager in the mid-1970s. Whilst so much had changed and so many had come and gone, or in my own case gone and came back again, Antony was the one permanent fixture who been a towering presence throughout. He had steadied the ship, defined its identity and installed a sense of permanence which had enabled us to survive change, sometimes upheaval and, in keeping with societal trends, a sad decline in the numbers of those entering our portals.
But at first it is necessary to begin at the beginning, and our Annual Church Meeting in 2024. As ever we elected our officers and deacons to serve the Church for the year ahead, and for the latter we had to say goodbye to Antony and to Trisha Lumm, who in both cases had served faithfully but did not stand for re-election due to illness. The remaining deacons – Elizabeth Crewes, Sally Moody and myself – were returned to post. Sally continued as Pulpit Secretary, Caroline Andrews remained in charge of flowers, Elizabeth took on the post of Treasurer once more and, in spite of my pleas for somebody more appropriate to step forward, I agreed to take on the role of Secretary once more for the year ahead.
Carols by Candlelight
In December we held our usual Carols by Candlelight service on the last Sunday evening before Christmas, and the first at least in my living memory that had not been conducted by Antony. We put together a service much based on his notes, and upon recollections of services which he had taken, but with a new angle. It was a success, with many new people coming in to attend, some of whom joined us for tea and mince pies afterwards, and much credit has to go to Sally and Elizabeth who did the bulk of the work in making the service happen.
In January we took the decision to end our one remaining monthly evening service, which had taken place on the first Sunday of each month for Communion. We also switched our Church Meetings from Wednesday evenings to Sunday after service, in the hope that it would encourage greater attendance – particularly from those who were not free midweek and from those deterred from venturing out in the late hours, particularity in the cold dark winter. We would welcome non-members to attend after service in the hope that it might encourage them to consider taking up Church membership.
At our March meeting the Treasurer reminded us that as a Church we were presently spending more on bills than we were taking in from collections, and that we needed to be smarter if we were to continue to stay afloat. One way of achieving this could be for those contributors who pay tax to Gift Aid their donations so that we might receive 25% on top of the amount when making our returns.
A seismic occurrence
It was in April that we lost Antony, and although we had known that his illness was sadly terminal it nevertheless came as a shock to many in the sense that suddenly we were faced with the realisation that we was gone and wouldn’t be there for us any more. It was a seismic occurrence in the life and history of the Church as we had depended upon him for so much, both in practical terms for the delivery of services and teaching, and spiritually for the example he gave. We held the funeral service at our own Church as we believe he would have wanted, and the unusual sight of our building being packed out with attendees bore testimony to the impact which his quiet worship and participation had had upon the lives of so many. The Reverend Sue Wade made the unenviable journey across from East London to take the service, and did us (and of course Antony) proud.
At the end of August we tried something new at one of our services – a marathon of hymns as opposed to the traditional five hymns and a sermon. It was an idea originally mooted by Caroline a few years back but at the time there had been some resistance to deviating from convention, however it now took place and was generally well received. Members of the congregation were invited to submit their favourite hymns for consideration and we put many of them together. Hopefully it is a format that we will revisit from time to time.
Looking ahead to this year’s Christmas services, some members of our Church and of our congregation are engaged in knitting a Nativity scene, which should be interesting.
Some positives and some concerns
As we approach the end of the year and look ahead to another year to come (they come around so quickly these days don’t they?) we have as always some positives and some concerns. Bringing new people in is always an issue, and we continue to try to engage with the surrounding community by circulating a bi-monthly newsletter to doors in the immediately surrounding area. Our website receives a steadily increasing number of hits, although with many being as far away as China this doesn’t automatically translate into attendance or active participation. The decline in our finances would seem to have levelled out, with a modest income from hires helping to steady the ship and offertories continuing to come in.
There are many who contribute in ways which are not always acknowledged. We thank Mary Thompson for always taking care of us after services by serving tea and coffee, putting out the biscuits and washing up, and those who lend a hand. Caroline for keeping the Church building clean, Sally for playing the organ, Elizabeth for doing all those little things that often happen under the radar but which keep things ticking over. Jemima Ocran for adding some welcome variety to the menu at Church functions which involve feeding the flock, and of course for laying the wreath at the annual Remembrance Day service. Anne Goble who has helped with the gardening. Caroline, Elizabeth and Sally for taking services. I also thank Bridget Heman-Ackah and Rayne Milligan for assisting with delivering the leaflets, which is always very welcome and helps to lighten my own load.
It isn’t a competition, but a collaborative effort made for the greater good. I would implore every member of the Church and of the congregation to give some thought to what it is they do, and to consider whether there is something else that each and every one of us might add to our repertoire. With so much love, dedication and involvement, there is no reason why we should not look forward positively to the year ahead.