History of St Hilary's in the parish of killay

90 YEARS SERVING THE COMMUNITY 90 YEARS 1926 - SERVING 2016 THE COMMUNITY 1926 - 2016
Thinking of George I delight in recalling a
funeral at the church which was very well
attended so many people that the body of
the church was full and more people were
coming in. George decided to use the choir
stalls as extra seating and, turning to a
young lady as she entered the church, said
“You look as if you can sing a bit, come
with me into the choir stalls.” She followed
him as did a number of other mourners.
Later George found out that the young lady
he had spoken to was Bonnie Tyler the well
known pop singer.
Another who passed on that year was Percy
Richards who for many years had been the
P.C.C. Secretary and a most reliable one at
that.
The year also saw the enthronement of
Bishop John and, prior to his attendance at
the Lambeth Conference, Bishop William
Gregg the sixth Bishop of Eastern Oregon
and his wife Kathy, who was a teacher,
were visitors to the area. Bishop William
gave an excellent sermon in St Hilary’s in
the morning of Sunday, 13 th July. This was
followed by a Bring and Share Lunch in
the hall where our guests met a large
number of the congregation. During the
few days he stayed with Father Tim the
Bishop was able to see many of the scenic
beauties of our area as well as St Fagan’s,
the Mansion House and the local hostels.
In a P.C.C. meeting held towards the end of
November a number of items were
discussed and put into action the Christmas
programme of events. The annual
Christmas tree exhibition was to display
the Parables of Jesus, all those who took
part last year were invited to once again
enhance the church with their decorative
skills. The very many services planned for
the Christmas period were agreed. In
response to a letter from Kitui, who had
appealed to St Hilary’s and St Martin’s for
financial help, it was agreed that a retiring
collection was to be taken for three weeks
in the near future.
Something of a novelty, which proved to be
a successful venture, was the giving of a
£10 note to those who wished to take part
and following The Parable of the Pounds
(Luke 19. V. 11 – 26) use the money to
increase in value when returned. Later in
the year the Church Treasurer confirmed
that approximately £900 had been gained
from the exercise. This activity plus the
small profits made by the staging of
Concerts (the Stan Stennet evening raised
£500) were very welcome for the Treasurer
had reported that in 2008 repair activity in
both churches, necessary work carried out
in the Parish Centre, especially in the
kitchen, had amounted in excess of
£42,000 . At that time he also said that the
Quota had to be paid and the only way such
sums of money are to hand would be by
encashment of an Investment Bond of
£30,000 held by us. The P.C.C. approved
the encashment if required. As we shall
read the financial situation that the Church
found itself in was enough to tax the best of
Treasurers.
At that meeting, Father Tim, in his
Chairman’s report floated the idea of a
change in the way the church was set out.
His idea for discussion in the future was
the replacement of the choir stalls and
replacing them with separate chairs which
could be placed in different patterns
dependent upon what the area was to be
used for. Here he cited the area being used
by visiting choirs and different ways of
offering a church service, of holding
musical concerts and using it for normal
services when the congregation was a small
number. He also proposed that the Screen
in front of the Chancel be removed and
relocated near the font at the back of the
church. The members of the P.C.C. were
asked to speak with members of the
congregation in order to ascertain their
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