Chigwell Row Community

The Revd. Paula Preston, Acting Team Rector for The Parish of Chigwell and Chigwell Row and The Vale of Roding Benefice, has sent a short message regarding Christian Aid Week.  We share this below for you. This week is Christian Aid Week, an annual  fundraising drive that has been organised by British Churches during the second week of May since 1957 and we at All Saints’ are taking part, in a covid conscious way, this year Christian Aid works with 700 local organisations across 50 developing countries. Working with poor communities, it trains people to deal with the effects of climate and prepares them for the threat of natural disasters. These local organisations – or ‘partners’ – also work on HIV, training and education, health and sanitation and peace and reconciliation.  https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week Revd Paula, said: "If local people would like to contribute there are g...

Today Chigwell Row Residents Association completed their first +70's self-isolation community support effort.  For a local resident we collected some prescription medicine from Lloyds Pharmacy and also posted a letter. We are hoping that this news will trigger more local requests, as we have a growing list of DBS checked volunteers who can help. Hannah Chowdhry, who helped with the delivery and collection of the prescription medicine, and posted the letter, said: "I am really pleased our first support service has been successful and hope it will encourage others to seek help. "I know there are many elderly people that are unaware of our team of people who are prepared to give up time for them. "Whether it is a shopping errand you need done, collection of a prescription, posting of a letter or someone to talk to - simply get in touch." Wilson Chowdhry, who liaised with the elderly resident, said: "We were very fortunate to arrive at the pha...

The fate of the free yellow bus service between   Grange Hill, Lime Farm Estate, Chigwell Row and the library, that was introduced in 2018, is  up in the air. A local resident asked us to look into the matter of a believed termination of the two bus service which runs at the cost of £6000 per month.  The  service that only two years ago was hailed as the only free bus service provided by a parish council in the country (click here) . We spoke with the Parish Council on the 12th of March and were advised that existing plans did not yet end the useful service, but would initially alter from a free service, to one paid for by passengers. At the time we were not notified of how much the service would cost or if there would be any exemptions. Please sign our petition (click here) The reasons for this decision by  seem to be based on the lack of the use of the bus, which Cllr Lions has indicated was empty most of the time.  Though  Epping ...

A Chigwell family have shared messages of support for the NHS on the wall of All Saints Church, Romford Road, who have offered their perimeter wall for community prayers and messages, while the UK is in lockdown. The messages which were prepared by Hannah Chowdhry (16 yrs), Naomi Chowdhry (12 yrs) and Leah Chowdhry (9yrs) were a result of a family discussion during mealtime.  The Chowdhry family were so moved by the death of a 13 year old child from Brixton who became the youngest victim of COVID-19 on Monday (click here) , that the children wanted to do something to mourn for a life lost so young. Naomi Chowdhry, said: "The death of  Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab at such a young age was worrying for me. "At first I thought young people were quite safe. "His death is so sad. "he was only a year older than me and because of Coronavirus, will now never see adulthood. "I am praying for his family." Hannah Chowdhry, wrote a prayer for the NHS af...

Chairman of Chigwell Row Residents Association, Wilson Chowdhry, met with Reverend Paula Preston, of All Saints Church, Romford Road this morning to promote a community prayer and message wall. The outer wall of the church has already been decorated with a number of prayers for our community, written by the congregation of the church.  Reverend Paula will today be adding further cloths pinned by a ribbon and is inviting people from the community to add their messages and prayer to the church wall for the duration of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is hoped that the wall will become a place for the community to share messages of solidarity, share condolences if required, to update people on local matters and much more.  We hope it will continue to sustain a sense of community once action against COVID-19 reaches it peak. Please feel free to bring along sharpies and add messages to the empty cloths hanging from the community ribbon along the outer wall of All saints....

We have listed the most important Coronavirus guidance provided by NHS England here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus. Stay at home if you have coronavirus symptoms Stay at home for 7 days if you have either: a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back a new, continuous cough – this means you've started coughing repeatedly Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home. Testing for coronavirus is not needed if you're staying at home. Urgent advice: Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service if: you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home your condition gets worse your symptoms do not get better after 7 days Use the 111 coronavirus service  https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19/ Only call 111 if you cannot get help online. How coronavirus ...

All Saints Church, Chigwell was the venue for our recent residents association meeting. Rev Pauline Preston,  Acting Team Rector,  The Parish of Chigwell and Chigwell Row and The Vale of Roding Benefice has given shared some helpful advice on being a Good Neighbour to others. These guidelines are being shared by the churches in Chigwell and Chigwell Row, we hope you find them helpful. 1) Check on your vulnerable friends and neighbours: Would you know if they were self-isolating? Do you have each other's phone numbers? A good time (and good excuse) to swap contact details with your neighbours.  2) Don't stockpile : People with medical conditions who need extra toilet roll, painkillers, face masks or hand gel all the time will suffer if they can't get them or the prices become ridiculous. 3) Share : If you have resources, consider who you could share them with.  4) Give: Some people who are self-employed or have no sickness cover in their con...