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VICAR :  Revd. Paul Hinton                                      READERS:     Mrs. Fran Ellis
             St. Hilda’s Vicarage                                                        Mrs. Connie Jinks
             Abbey Road                                                                    Dr. Martin Hadlington               
              Warley                                       
              West Midlands  B67 5NQ                                  

              Tele:  0121 429 1384                                           

Email: vicar@sainthildawarleywoods.co.uk
                                                                                 CHURCHWARDENS: Mr. Peter Harris
                                                                                                                 Mr. David Dyke


SERVICES:  1st & 3rd Sundays: 8am Holy Communion     
                   10.30am Parish Communion  (2nd Sunday Parade Service)
                  4th Sunday - Holy Baptism and Morning Worship followed at 11.45am by Holy Communion(Said)
                                       6.30pm Evensong  (2nd Sunday  Holy Communion with Prayers for Healing)
                                       4th Sunday - Alternative Worship

                  Wednesday: 1st Wednesday- Morning Prayer       2nd Wednesday- Holy Communion
                                       3rd Wednesday- Morning Prayer      4th Wednesday- Holy Communion
                                       5th Wednesday- Morning Prayer

PATRON SAINT:  Hilda Abbess of Whitby

Saint Hilda, or Hild, to give her the correct Anglo Saxon name, meaning battle, was born in 614 AD into the
Royal House of Northumbria. Hilda herself became a ruler of both men and women in the monastery she
founded at Whitby, which became a great centre of English learning and literature. Caedmon, the first
English poet, was a labourer there.No fewer than five of her monks became bishops. The Church in England
was at that time torn by division over the differences between the traditions of the Celts whose missionaries
had brought the gospel to the North and West of England, and the Roman practices  introduced in the South
and East by missionaries from continental Europe.
                 One particular problem was  the inconsistency of the two traditions over determining the date of
Easter. A special Synod was  held at Whitby in 664 to settle the matter. The supporters of the newer Roman
custom eventually won. Hilda herself, who personally much preferred the Celtic tradition, in which she
had grown up, nevertheless used her moderating influence to persuade those who had lost the argument,
to accept their defeat gracefully and to live peaceably with those from whom they had differed. Her role as
peacemaker at a pivotal time in the history of the Church in England has a lot to teach us today.
                   Hilda died in 680 AD and it is  thought she was buried in Whitby. A 12th century chronicle tells us
that Edmund 1st in 944, had the bones of Hilda, together with those of Bishop Aidan, taken to Glastonbury,
where he himself was to be buried. Is  this is where they are now?


HISTORY:   The first church in Rathbone Road, started out as a ‘Parochial Hall to be furnished for church
                  purposes.’  The foundation stone was laid on October 29th 1906, and it was dedicated by the
                   Lord Bishop of Birmingham, Dr. Charles Gore on January 26th 1907.
                  Why or when St. Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, was chosen as the Patron Saint remains a mystery.
                  Was the choice arbitrary, or was it a reflection on the views of the early parishioners on the
                  place of women in the church?
                  In 1937, a new site was purchased higher up Abbey Road. The foundation stone for the new
                   Church was laid on November 5th, 1938. By October 1939, the fabric of the church was
                   Completed, and in 1940 the parish boundaries were altered by Royal Order, which brought the
                  new church into the centre of the parish. The new church was consecrated on June 29th, 1940
                  By the Bishop of Birmingham, Dr. E.W. Barnes.
                  To celebrate St. Hilda’s Silver Jubilee in 1965, a Lady Chapel was created and dedicated to
                   St. Katherine by the Bishop of Aston. In 1995, a new entrance to the church was built, and was
                  dedicated by Bishop Mark Santer.
                  St. Hilda’s Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in the year 2000, when a June 25th the Anniversary
                  Eucharist took place. The Celebrant and preacher was Rt. Revd. Tom Butler, Bishop of
                   Southwark. After the service, a yew tree was planted to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee
                  and the Millennium.

                  For a detailed history, go to St. Hilda’s website at:-  www.sainthildawarleywoods.co.uk
ST. HILDA - WARLEY WOODS
Bishops’ Centenary
       Pilgrimage

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St. Hilda's Picture Gallery

Parish website: sainthildawarleywoods.co.uk