The Diary For MAY. From the Minister

Transcription

1 The Diary For MAY Sunday 5 th 09.00am Early Worship - Rev d Tim Mullings 11.00am Family Worship and Explorers - Rev d Tim Mullings Saturday 11 th 2.30pm Induction of Rev d Jean Spragg and Rev d Angela Gemmer-Snell (Team Ministry) to the pastorate of Penn United Reformed Church Sunday 12 th 09.00am Early Worship - Rev d Tim Mullings 11.00am Family Worship and Explorers - Rev d Tim Mullings 5.00pm Tea followed by Evening Worship at Horsehay Methodist Church, Telford. Bill Boyd will be preaching Sunday 19 th 09.00am No Service 11.00am Family Worship, Explorers and Communion - Rev d Tim Mullings Wednesday 22 nd 7.00pm Church Meeting in the Church Sunday 26 th 09.00am Early Worship and Communion Trinity - Rev d Tim Mullings Sunday 11.00am Family Worship and Explorers - Pastor Alan Penduck Minister: Rev d Tim Mullings revtim@blueyonder.co.uk / Secretary: Mrs Catie Boulton catieboulton@gmail.com Contact: Mrs Lesley Jones andylesanddan@btinternet.com Hall Bookings: Mo Knight For enquiries about Weddings. Baptisms, Funerals and Pastoral Care Support, please contact Rev d Tim Mullings 16 From the Minister Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10) 1 MAY 2013, Issue 27 Junk mail! That was the majority of post through my letterbox after returning from a short break away last month. Thankfully there were no bills so it all went into recycling. Bills can t be ignored of course - neither can renewal notices. If I want to play golf I need to renew my membership; if I want breakdown cover on my car I need to renew my RAC membership; if I want to watch TV legally (which of course I do!!) then I need to renew my license the list of renewal items goes on and on...and on. Sadly though, the most important things in life that need renewing do not come with renewal notices. We will never open a letter (or an ) and see a notice to renew our love for our spouses, our children or our friends. But if we don't continually renew our love for them, it will eventually grow cold.

2 Our Minister continues We'll also never receive the most important renewal notice - to remind us to renew our relationship with God - the most important relationship we can have. It must be renewed daily! The Bible is your renewal notice. Renew your love for the ones you love today. Renew your love for the Lord. Renew your love for the things of God and for His calling upon your lives. We all need a little renewing today. Let's ask the Lord to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. In His Name and Service. Tim United Reformed Church Worship and Organisations Sunday 9.00 Early Service Church Morning Service and Explorers Church (For Youngsters) Hall and Rooms Communion is celebrated: Monthly Monday Tettenhall Green Kindergarten Pre School Hall Bible Study Bamfield Room Woman s Own Bamfield Room Women's Institute (2nd Mon in month) Tuesday Tettenhall Green Kindergarten Pre School Hall Day Centre Bamfield Room Brownies Hall May 06 th May 13 th May 20 th May 27 th No Meeting Bring and Buy T.B.A. No Meeting If you would like to join us at 2.30pm pm, Monday afternoons, just come along. ALL WELCOME. Thank you. Joyce xx Thank you very much to everyone who gave donations in memory of Gwen Cherryman. Over 240 was raised for the Charity Age U.K., (formerly Age Concern). Thanks, love & best wishes from Orleana. 2 Wednesday Tettenhall Green Kindergarten Pre School Hall Day Centre - Age Concern Bamfield Room Keep Fit Hall Belly Dancing Hall Thursday Prayer Breakfast (alternate with Christchurch) Bamfield Room Tettenhall Green Kindergarten Pre School Hall Ballroom Dancing Hall Friday Tettenhall Green Kindergarten Pre School Hall Day Centre Bamfield Room Saturday Children s Dancing Hall 15

3 A Confirmation Service was held at The Church At Perton on March 24th conducted by Rt. Rev Clive Gregory and our Minister Tim. Pictured here are the candidates holding their confirmation candles. Angharad was not able to attend this confirmation service but was later confirmed by Tim during our morning Worship. 14 3

4 ...Jesus taught His disciples and the crowds using stories to illustrate moral and spiritual truths of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 4:34). The term parable is used to describe some thirty stories attributed to Him in the Gospels and means a place beside - meaning similitude. They are metaphors, allegories, enigmatic sayings and earthly stories with a heavenly meaning (1 Samuel 24:13; 2 Samuel 12:1-15; Proverbs 1:6; Matthew 13). Other Jewish rabbis of the day regularly used stories to clarify some aspect of their Law. So Jesus certainly did not invent a new method of teaching. They have a deeper meaning hidden under the surface. The story of the rich man and Lazarus makes a point about obedience to the Law, that those listening must grasp and apply to themselves (Luke 16:19-31). Other parables meanwhile are concerned with moral duties and obligations towards fellow human beings (Luke 10:30-35) whereas some teach about repentance (Luke 15). Often they confused some of the listeners, but to others they were the key to opening spiritual understanding. These principles are very familiar to us as listeners today. We often misunderstand spiritual concepts and realities and remain spiritually blind until a parable is explained. However, parables are meant to hide the truths from those who choose not to believe. Jesus tells us why He uses them (Matthew 13:13; 13:35). Days to make a difference (Mt 27:51, Lk 23:45, Acts 2) On the day Jesus died The sun stopped shining, The earth shook, The curtain of the Temple was torn in two, The power of sin cancelled, Death defeated. What a difference that day made. And on the day of Pentecost The Spirit came, Empowering Peter and the others, Present then - and promised to all who repent and believe, The Spirit of Jesus! And he comes to us now, So that we can make a difference every day. Holy Spirit, Welcome. On the day Jesus rose Stones rolled away. In the opening of scripture And in the breaking of bread Eyes and hearts were opened To life in all its fullness. What a difference that day made. By Daphne Kitching The Fusco Academy of Dance has been teaching Ballet, Tap, Disco, Aerobics and Contemporary dance for the past 40 years. They meet each Saturday morning at 10.00am in our hall. Children from the age of 4 upwards are welcome. Cost is 3.25 per half hour, depending on which dance is chosen, some classes may be longer. More details may be obtained form Hazel Fusco at

5 Many of Jesus parables were drawn from ordinary life, revealing a distinctive Palestinian background. For example, the parable of the fishes (Matthew 13:47-50) where the good are separated from the bad would have been the practice of Galilean fisherman and the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) show workers being paid (the norm in Palestine rather than slaves) in accordance with Jewish Law. It is the Synoptic Gospels that present most clearly the parables as teaching aids, drawing on the social and economic conditions of the time, often involving characters such as landlords, tenants and workers and usually set in fields, vineyards or at banquets (Mark 12:1-11; Luke 14:15-24). The parables still present us with the same challenges as they did to first century listeners. Those first people who heard Jesus must have wondered what the point of the accompanying story was. He did not intend to make them obscure, and our eyes can be opened when we understand their implied comparison, which is not at first obvious. They are timeless and are relevant for us today. Happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Matthew 13:16). 12 5

6 PRAYER LUNCHES 12.30pm in the Meeting Room at Christ Church. This is an opportunity to share lunch time with friends, to spend time listening to God and to pray accordingly. Please bring your own lunch Friday Tuesday Friday Monday Tuesday It is hoped that, once a month, we will have a prayer time for the mission of the church. BIRTHDAYS FOR MAY 09 th May Arthur Gilkes 12 th May Wendy Azzopardi 14 th May Judith Morton 16 th May Jessica Bayley Frank Jenkins 17 th May Cherie Hariri 19 th May Joseph Bayley 23 rd May Bill Morris 03 rd May 07 th May 17 th May 20 th May 28 th May 30 th May Angela Coxhead Many Happy Returns To You All!!! Prayer Breakfast every Thursday am 02 nd May URC 09 th May Christchurch 16 th May URC 23 rd May Christchurch 30 th May URC CHURCH FLOWERS Our thanks to the following who have donated the flowers this month. Please ring Sylvia Chatwin (743349) the week you are due to do the flowers. 05 th May Bob & Merrill Fearn 12 th May Joyce Ellis 19 th May Agnes Hamilton 26 th May Sandra M FOOD BANK TWURC are still supporting the foodbank. If you can spare any items, (a list of items needed is available at the door of the church), please can you place them in the storage box in the corridor. Many Thanks. The New Start Group will be holding a Social evening and Pool Competition on Saturday 11th May at 6.30pm, at the home of Frank Jenkins, 39 Redhouse Road, Tettenhall. Please contact Jean or Frank for more details. 6 11

7 BIBLE READERS FOR MAY 5th May 09.00am 11.00am Doreen Hill Tony Westwood Covenanting Prayers led by Keith Cattell 12th May 9.00am 11.00am Frank Jenkins Les Wallis 19th May 09.00am 11.00am No Service 09.00am 11.00am David Swann John Smith th 26 May 10 7 Agnes Hamilton

8 Giving A Privilege or an Obligation? For some time now I have listened to the reports on the plight of our Church finances and looking around at our congregation I wonder why. May I offer my own experience? After national service I earned 5.00 per week was not married, but decided to give 10% of my wage to my Church hence a ten bob note on the plate every Sunday. After proving my worth, my wages were doubled to so now a quid became the norm. And so on, as I became more valuable to my employer, my wage increased and so did my giving. By the time I retired, my contributions were about per week. Since then, although only a pensioner, I have tried to maintain that though struggling at the present time. Over the years our Church has had many discussions on finance including campaigns, urging covenanting of giving. Once dear old lady a saint of our Church who was a widow living in a very small house whose only income was her pension, once told us that she gave more than 105 of her pension to the Church. What a blessing she was to all of us. I care to suggest that if all of us were of her mind we would have no problem at all.10% should be the norm, 5% seems to be the accepted figure these days. I have heard people say But I have a mortgage. People in the Old Testament had mortgages. When we do our own budgets shouldn t we set aside God s share as a priority first and then decide what we do with ours, rather than giving to God only what we have left? Humbly, I ask you to read the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, A prophet of 5 BC, particularly chapter 3, verse 5 which says:- Is it right for a person to cheat God? Please think on these matters. Humbly yours ANON Prayer for Church Finances Loving Heavenly Father, We thank you that you have called us to be part of your Church family. We thank you for each other and the many ways in which we reflect your image. Father, help us never to forget that you rule this world. Look graciously upon us as we seek financial provision and material resources for the work that needs doing. Please give your guidance to us, as you are the same Lord who multiplies food to feed thousands and who makes good wine out of water. And so, we pray that you would unite us in a common vision and purpose that we might be a church that is pleasing to you and brings glory to your name. In your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. In times of need and in seeking God's guidance we must unite in prayer. Please use this prayer and perhaps consider fasting a meal as you pray for financial prosperity and for the money to be found to help fix and improve the church's fabric and maintenance. Keep hope. Financial woes are a challenge, but with God on our side victory is just round the corner. Tim Thank you to all who collected their change or gave donations for our Lent Appeal this year. It was heartening to see so many jars brought to the Communion table on Easter Sunday morning and to receive notes and cheques from others. Due to your generosity we have sent 600 to WaterAid which will transform the lives of some of the world`s poorest people. " The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none; Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." Isaiah 58 : 6 (P.S. Well over 50 empty jars were taken to Eileen, from Christ Church who makes preserves for sale to raise funds for Compton Hospice 8 9