DECEMBER 2014, JANUARY 2015 AND FEBRUARY Bridgemary news. BRIDGEMARY METHODIST CHURCH MINISTER: Rev Anna Bishop.

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1 DECEMBER 2014, JANUARY 2015 AND FEBRUARY Bridgemary news BRIDGEMARY METHODIST CHURCH MINISTER: Rev Anna Bishop. 1

2 WEEKLY DIARY SUNDAY Morning Worship 10-30am Junior Church. (1st. Sunday of the month - Together in Worship) MONDAY Shell club 6-15pm. TUESDAY Keep Fit Group 9-30am-11am. Bowls Club 1-30pm Dorothy Temple pm School of Dance WEDNESDAY Art Club noon Brownies 5-30pm. Keep Fit Group 8pm-9pm THURSDAY Bowls Club 9-30am Sisterhood 2-15pm. (2nd and 4th Thur,) Dorothy Temple School of Dance pm FRIDAY Choir Practice 1pm SATURDAY Coffee and Chat noon ( 1st Sat of the month) All are welcome to these activities, contact the Minister for further details. 2

3 Dear friends, FROM THE MINISTER S DESK For me the high point of Christmas is always Midnight Holy Communion; bring at church in the middle of the night feels so special and mysterious and really brings home to me the wonder of the incarnation. One of my favourite hymns to sing on that occasion is Charles Wesley s Let earth and heaven combine (StF 208). It contains the lines that, for me, sum up the meaning of Christmas: Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made man. It really is incomprehensible! How can the eternal and infinite creator become a scrap of wriggling human flesh, helpless and moving towards death from his first breath? And yet, this is exactly what has happened and what we still celebrate. It is wonder, it is mystery and it is love like no other we can ever know! It s not possible to make logical sense of it all we can do is allow ourselves to be caught up in the wonder and love. In verse four, Wesley explores why God would do this to make us all divine. It s not that we become God, but that God becomes human, so that we can identify with God in a unique way. And by taking on human flesh, God transforms it, so that it contains a spark of the divine which remains united to God despite its vulnerability and mortality. Because Jesus became human, each one of us now contains that spark of the divine and not one of us can be separated from the God who loves us eternally. And this gives us the hope that we, too, shall one day be lost in God. This is good news not just for Christmas, but for all year round! With love, Anna 3

4 SUNDAY SERVICE IN DECEMBER 2014 During the coming weeks we will be led in worship by; 7th Mrs. M. A-Gray 14th Rev A. Bishop Communion 21st. Rev A. Bishop Carol and Nativity service 25th Mrs P. Davey 28th Rev. S. Wright All age worship LOCAL PREACHERS APPOINTMENTS 7th 14th 25th 28th Gerry at Fareham Anita at Lee Pam at Bridgemary Gerry at Lee Please remember these preachers from our congregation in your prayers as they prepare and conduct services in the churches of our circuit.. DOOR STEWARD. FLOWER ROTA. 7th Ina Pat Hitching 14th Pam B. Ina Dutton 21st Jenny Pat Adams 28th Jean Pat Adams 4

5 SUNDAY SERVICES IN JANUARY During the coming weeks we will be led in worship by; 4th Rev A. Bishop Covenant Service 11th Mr. D. Bishop Together in Worship 18th Rev. C. Richardson Holy Communion 25th Rev. G. Slaymaker LOCAL PREACHERS APPOINTMENTS 11th 18th 25th Dan at Bridgemary and Gerry at Stubbington Anita at Stubbington Bridgemary Team at Gosport and Penny at Fareham Please remember these preachers from our congregation in your prayers as they prepare and conduct services in the churches of our circuit.. DOOR STEWARD. FLOWER ROTA. 4th Jenny Ray and Lillian 11tth Jean Daphne Ferris 18th Roy Flowers needed 25th Pam B. Pat Adams 5

6 SUNDAY SERVICES IN FEBRUARY During the coming weeks we will be led in worship by; 1st. Rev A. Bishop Together in Worship 8th Rev A. Bishop Holy Communion 15th Rev P. Harrower 22nd Mrs. P. Davey LOCAL PREACHERS APPOINTMENTS 1st 8th 15th 22nd Penny at Trinity and Gerry at Portchester pm. Pam at Portchester am Penny at Fareham Dan at Horndean and Gerry at Stubbington Pam at Bridgemary Please remember these preachers from our congregation in your prayers as they prepare and conduct services in the churches of our circuit.. DOOR STEWARD. FLOWER ROTA. 1st Jenny Pat Hitching 8th Jean Linda Griffin 15th Roy Edith McCombe 22nd Pam B. Mr. & Mrs. Corlett 6

7 Mon 1st 10am Church Development meeting A Welcome 4,5, and 6th 10-4pm Sat 6th noon Sun 7th Christmas tree festival at Fareham Church Christmas Coffee and Chat 10-30am Mrs. Milly A Gray Thur 11th 2-15pm Sisterhood Carol Service at Swan Court Sun 14th 10.30am Rev. Anna Bishop Communion Wed 17th 4-6pm Messy Church come and see our activities Fri/sat/sun 19th,20th andn21st Sun 21st Tues 23rd 2.30pm Wed. 24th 6pm Thur 25th 10am Sun28th DATES FOR YOUR DIARY DECEMBER 2014 St. Matthew Flower Festival 10-30am Rev Anna Bishop Carol and Nativity service Mince Pies at the Manse Christingle Service Christmas Day Service Mrs Pam Davey 10.30am Rev. Stephen Wright All age Worship DA TES JANUARY 2015 Sun 4th 10.30am Rev. Anna Bishop Covenant service Thur 8th 2.15pm Sisterhood songs of Praise at Swan Court Sun 11th 10.30am. Mr. Dan Bishop Together in worship Sun 18th 10.30am Rev. Jeanette Richardson Communion Tues 20th 9.30am Communion St. Matthews join us Thur 22nd 2.15pm Sisterhood Members afternoon Venue to be confirmed Sun 25th 10.30am Rev. Gillian 7 Slaymaker

8 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY FEBRUARY 2015 Sun 1st 10.30am Rev. Anna Bishop Together in worship Thur 5th 10am Fresh Expression Meeting at Garry s Sun 8th 10.30am 3-5pm Tues 10th 7pm Church Council Rev. Anna Bishop Communion Coffee at the manse Thur 12th 2.15pm Sisterhood Songs of Praise at Swan Court. Sun 15th 10.30am Rev. Patrick Harrower Sun 22nd 10.30am Mrs. Pam Davey Last day for items for the March 2015 magazine Tues 24th 9.15am Communion at St. Matthews Thur 26th 2.15pm Sisterhood Members Afternoon venue to be confirmed 8

9 HERE TO HELP IN TIMES OF CRISIS PUTTING GOD S LOVE INTO ACTION I would like to thank you all who donated items for the Basic Bank in Gosport although 2014, you have made a difference to so many peoples lives by your generosity. We are low in stocks of the following Tinned Fish Pasta sauce Shower gel Shampoo Conditioner Deodorants Razors Soap Tinned Meats Tinned Tomatoes Tinned Spaghetti Instant Mash Sugar Long life milk Custard Jam 9

10 SKITTLES NIGHT AT BRIDGEMARY METHODIST CHURCH GREGSON AVE PO13 0PP SATURDAY 21st FEBRUARY PM. EVERYONE WELCOME 3 10

11 TIME OUT (MAKE A CUP OF TEA AND READ THIS) 11

12 Change to the Treasurer Role at our Church I will be stepping down as Treasurer in the near future. No one has come forward to take over the whole role so the Church will be adopting a new way of doing the Money Stuff. The Stewards met with Nigel Cox (Circuit Treasurer) and Rev Jeanette Richardson (Co-Superintendent Minister of the Circuit) and came up with a plan! Different parts of the role will be done by different people. The Stewards and Assistant Stewards (Heather Murphy, Anita Davis, Gerry Williams, Jean Plummer and Andrea Meech) will receive and count any incoming money on a Sunday Morning. This will include the offerings, money for lettings, fundraising and appeals (e.g.the money you give for Yousef via Embrace the Middle East). So any money you used to pass on to me, this should now go to one of them. Please ensure that the money is clearly marked to show what it is for and who it is from. (There are copies of the money in form in the pigeon hole in the vestry for you to use.) Anita Davis will be in charge of making sure the money is banked. For the moment, any bills or invoices or expenses requests will continue to come to me but eventually we will work out who will be the Overseer of the Cheques! The overall spreadsheets and accounts will be looked after by the Circuit Finance Officer, Margaret Heathcote, for which we are particularly grateful!! 12

13 The Church has to have a named Treasurer, and Heather Murphy has agreed to fulfil this role. (I am sure this will be gratefully ratified by Church Council!) Please bear with us over the next few weeks as we are getting used to the new arrangements and please show lots of love and kindness to the Stewards and Assistant Stewards who have taken on these additional responsibilities! Lynne Matthews (Treasurer but not for much longer!!) BRIDGEMARY METHODIST CHURCH SATURDAY 6TH DECEMBER AM TILL 12 NOON COME ALONG FOR COFFEE AND CHAT THERE WILL BE A CHRISTMAS RAFFEL, HAND MADE CARDS FOR SALE 13

14 the Pilgrimage Walk that was undertaken at the beginning of the new East Solent & Downs Circuit b 2013, I managed, with Andrea & Anita about 7 miles, encouraged by David & Alison as I struggled steep hills!! great memories!! I would like to thank the Bowlers, Patrick & all who give of their smal help us send the child we sponser to attend school, the cost has gone up to about 160 or more a yea you may think, but a lot to the Third World, & the children appreciate it so much, not like the childre they don't have to pay for the privilege, so many thankshad a good time doing the Shoes Boxes agai a nice group of cheerful wrappers & packers, kept going with cuppas & doughnuts!! thanks Jean & t all who helped, there will be 85 or more happy children in Europe, & lots more, for schools & other also send them out! I'd like to finish with good wishes & prayers for all who are still going through t of any kind of illness, may the Lord be with you & bring you back to health, & may you feel His Lov around you. God Bless you all. Yours as always Pat {H} Hello All, this is a magazine to cover the next three month's, so hang on to it for future date's!! our editor will be away on holiday, not all of the time I hasten to add! but after Christmas, so not able to cover Jan., & Feb., we wish Jean a happy holiday, not sure if its going to be a restful one, but have a great time whatever you do! Pleased to say our Bowls Club 25th. Anniversary went off well, had 34 in all, some of the older ones were able to join us, good to catch up with them, unfortunately Rosser & Doreen were unable to join us due to health & some were on holiday but we remembered them & those that had passed away, we toasted them with our cups of tea!! The Party Food we ordered from Morrison's was excellent, thank you to Keith who went & fetched it on the morning, & for all the running around he did prior to the day. Also thanks to all the other members who mucked in & got it all ready laid out for our guests to arrive, it was good to see Ryan & his granddad Tony join us, & all the partners of our bowlers who came, too many to name. I went & fetched Pastor Mary & Jenny Horne, Mary was the one who started the 'Ball' rolling (excuse the pun!!) back in June 1989, & was our President for about 6 months, think she realised we could behave ourselves so left us to it!! not really, she was so busy being our Pastor & to many others, & had numerous Church meetings to attend to, didn't really want another one to attend & our Club was running smoothly! so a big Thank you Mary for getting the 'Ball' rolling, without you there wouldn't have been a Club, & cheers Jenny for being with her. Well I guess you know Christmas is just around the corner, if you don't you must have been asleep for the last few months!!, evidence has been in the shops since Sept. Doris tells me!, I try to ignore it, it spoils the excitement all round & hard on the parents with young ones who see all the Toys etc. advertised on T.V. & keep changing their minds as to what they want!. plus the true meaning is lost in all the Hype. Anyway I will wish you All a very Merry Christmas & may the New Year be Happier & a more Peaceful one. The M.H.A. Christmas Dinner is being held on Tuesday 16th. of December, to which we are all invited, thank you M.H.A., 14

15 ack in up the l change to r, not a lot n here & n this year, hankyou to Churches he trauma ing Arms So the Dates for the Bowls Club holiday break are: Tuesday Club will finish on Tuesday 9th. Dec: Restarts 7th: January Thursday Club will finish the 11th. Dec: Restart 9th.January We have had some really good Services of late, especially our Remembrance Service, lead by Rev: David Rice came all the way from Haslemere, accompanied by his wife Alison, lovely couple, they walked the whole of the Pilgrimage Walk that was undertaken at the beginning of the new East Solent & Downs Circuit back in 2013, I managed, with Andrea & Anita about 7 miles, encouraged by David & Alison as I struggled up the steep hills!! great memories!! I would like to thank the Bowlers, Patrick & all who give of their small change to help us send the child we sponser to attend school, the cost has gone up to about 160 or more a year, not a lot you may think, but a lot to the Third World, & the children appreciate it so much, not like the children here & they don't have to pay for the privilege, so many thanks Had a good time doing the Shoes Boxes again this year, a nice group of cheerful wrappers & packers, kept going with cuppas & doughnuts!! thanks Jean & thank you to all who helped, there will be 85 or more happy children in Europe, & lots more, for schools & other Churches also send them out! I'd like to finish with good wishes & prayers for all who are still going through the trauma of any kind of illness, may the Lord be with you & bring you back to health, & may you feel His Loving Arms around you. God Bless you all. Yours as always Pat {H} 15

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17 CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL 4TH, 5TH AND 6TH DECEMBER From 10am to 4pm Saturday Carols at 3pm. AT FAREHAM METHODIST CHURCH All are welcome entry free for children Adult entry 2 to include a drink and a mince pie. Other light refreshment are available, plus stalls with a seasonal theme. Funds will be raised for a number of charities which MINCE PIES AT THE MANCE. Anna, Dan and Grace would like to invite everyone to the manse for mince pies and coffee on TUESDAY 23rd.DECEMBER 2-30pm. Transport provided 17

18 Midhurst Methodist Church North Street OPEN DAY Friday 19 th December am - 4pm to celebrate the completion of 18 our refurbishment

19 E e mail jeanplummer47@ntlworld.com Items for next magazine to Jean Plummer by Sunday 22nd February 2015 please put items in the new stewards pigeon hole in the vestry or items to 19

20 BRIDGEMARY METHODIST CHURCH GREGSON AVENUE, BRIDGEMARY, GOSPORT, HANTS. PO13 0PP Minister: Rev. Anna Bishop East Solent and Downs Circuit Website esanddcircuit.org.uk Magazine Editor: Mrs Jean Plummer SUNDAY SERVICE am Morning Worship Holy Communion is on the second Sunday each month. 20