Minister: Rev David Atkinson. May Enter to worship, depart to serve.

Transcription

1 Minister: Rev David Atkinson May 2013 Enter to worship, depart to serve

2 SUNDAY 11.00am CHURCH ACTIVITIES Morning Worship (Holy Communion - first Sunday) (Family Parade Service - third Sunday) Adventurers 11.00am 12.30pm Church Meeting Bi-monthly - see diary MONDAY 2.15pm Friendship Club Once monthly - see diary 6.00pm pm Anchor Boys (5-8 years) 6.00pm pm Junior Section (8-11 years) 7.30pm pm Company Section (11-15 years) 7.30pm pm Seniors (15-18 years) WEDNESDAY 9.45am am Combined Bible Study at Lancaster Road URC Twice monthly - see diary 12.30pm Friendship Club Once monthly - see diary (lunch at the Crown and Horseshoes) FRIDAY 5.00pm pm 6.00pm pm 7.30pm pm 7.30pm pm Rainbows (5-7 years) Brownies (7-10 years) Guides (10-14 years) Rangers (14-20 years) VARIOUS DAYS 8.00pm Elders Meeting Bi-monthly - see diary

3 Dear Friends, MINISTER S LETTER Some of you will know that I follow football. So on Saturday afternoons I often watch or listen to the football results and on Saturday evening I usually watch some of Match of the Day. The first part of my daily newspaper that I read is the Sports section and especially the football and cricket. My team is Burnley and I like to see them during the season. In the present season I have managed to see them at Ipswich, Millwall and Charlton. One of the developments I don t like in football is the frequent changes of managers. It s common place for managers to stay at a club for less than two seasons and some less than a season. Recently Reading sacked Brian McDermott after five successive defeats and with Reading at the bottom of the Premier League. However, McDermott had been very successful winning Reading promotion from the Championship and he was managing the club on a relatively very small budget. The Guardian newspaper wrote an interesting article on McDermott s style of management. It said he gave his players a lot of freedom and personal responsibility. He expected them to be ready to train at 11am and required them to be on time for away trips and team meetings but he told them to think like adults and decide when they wanted to arrive at the training ground and leave it. That was in 2011 and the response was so overwhelmingly positive that the players ended up spending more hours doing

4 extra training, working out in the gym and socialising at the club than before. They also began to do very well on the pitch and 15 wins in 17 games in 2012 led them to automatic promotion. I began my ministry at the age of 26 in 1975 at Vine United Reformed Church, Ilford. In round figures the church had 170 members and the two Sunday adult congregations including Junior Church teachers totalled 110 including about 10 people who came twice to worship and of course there were a few people who were not church members. So on an average Sunday maybe 60% of the membership came to worship. I d been brought up to go to church and Sunday School every week. I went with my Dad and not going wasn t an option! So I found the number at worship troubling and began to question my ministry. Why weren t more people coming to worship? What was I doing wrong? One of the things I did was to discuss the situation with a more experienced colleague and friend, the Reverend Ken French. Ken said something I found very helpful and I ve never forgotten. He said that people were not answerable to me but rather answerable to God. The church is very largely a voluntary body and we are free to give whatever commitment we like. The person we are primarily responsible to is God. There is a sense in which this is true for all life. The way we care for our family and friends, the way we use our time, abilities and money and how we behave is ultimately our decision. A great truth for all people, and especially for

5 Christians, is that the most important person we are answerable to is God. May the love and peace of God be with you all. David. NEWS OF THE FELLOWSHIP Ron Smith has had a nasty fall in Enfield. Lia Crook has been suffering from tonsillitis. Let us remember all our church family in our prayers and caring. David. SERMONS FOR 2013 I am tackling some of the major questions about the Christian faith in a short series of sermons for in They are as follows: 3rd February 3rd March 7th April Does God exist? Who is Jesus? Did God raise Jesus from the dead? Listen to the previous sermons online at 5th May 2nd June Why does God allow suffering? Who is a Christian? I hope you find these sermons helpful. David. Mission Statement Christ Church URC aims to provide through its worship, work, witness and mission an effective contribution to the spiritual and social welfare of the Church family and the wider community.

6 Friendship Club Summer Programme 2013 Wednesday 12.30pm 8th May Lunch in the Crown and Horseshoes 5th June Lunch at the Plough, Crews Hill, celebrating the coronation 3rd July Lunch at the Crown and Horseshoes Monday 2.15pm in the Church hall 20th May Wood Green Animal Shelter - Mrs Dawn Cox 17th June Mystery tour of England (slides) - Mrs Brenda Brown 15th July Quiz and end of session tea We welcome everyone to our friendly meetings For more information please contact Marion Wiley on The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go

7

8 Sunday 12th to Saturday 18th May 2013 Let s see if we can collect more this year to help with all the work that is carried out on our behalf here and abroad. There is a list of roads in the back of the Church that we usually collect from - if you are able to help please add your name to the list. For more information contact Philip Taylor on Christ Church Our Christ Church on Saturday 18th May will be in aid of Christian Aid Week. Any money raised will be added to the collections from the roads in the area and donated to Christian Aid. Please do come along and support if you can.

9 3rd Enfield Boys Brigade Annual Company Display and Presentation Evening Monday 20th May 2013 From 6.30pm in the hall Come along and see some of the things that we do at BB including performances, games and sports, challenges and more! There will also be a variety of promotions, trophies, badges and awards given out. Everyone is very welcome! For more information about the 3rd Enfield Boys Brigade please visit

10 North London Brass and North London Singers Live in concert at Christ Church Wednesday 20th March 2013 After a fantastic concert back in September 2011, we were delighted to be able to welcome back North London Brass for another evening of entertainment at Christ Church. This time, as well as North London Brass, the fabulous North London Singers were also on hand to perform a few songs. A fantastic evening of music was put on by both groups to an almost full Church. Items performed included well known hymns such as Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, brass band favourites such as Sussex by the Sea, Bandology and The Floral Dance, film/tv themes such as Goldfinger and Out of the Blue and Last Night of the Proms favourite Fantasia on British Sea Songs. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and we are happy to report that a total of 235 was raised for Church funds. Many thanks to the members of North London Brass and North London Singers for a great concert. North London Brass will be back at Christ Church on Wednesday 11th December 2013, when they will be performing a Christmas Carol concert in the Church. Be sure to put the date in your diary now!

11 Some photos of North London Brass from the concert

12 Easter Weekend Members of Christ Church joined worshippers from other Enfield Churches for the Good Friday Service in the Market Place in Enfield Town. This was organised by Enfield Town & Forty Hill Local Ecumenical Partnership. Although we are not officially members of the ecumenical group we always join them for this a very public service which demonstrates Christianity alive and active in our community. Rev Dr Gordon Giles of St Mary Magdalene Church recounted the story of Revd John Graham (pseudonym Araucaria) announcing his terminal illness through his cryptic crossword, which he had been writing for over 50 years. This acceptance of the inevitable was likened to Jesus journey to the cross and death for us. Philip Taylor (a member of Christ Church) carried one of the three crosses to lead the congregation into St Andrew s Parish Church where our Minister, Rev David Atkinson, delivered the sermon. His sermon was based on Psalm 22:1-5 and Mark 15:33-39, where he spoke of Jesus' cry of faith, prior to death on the cross. David was very pleased to be asked to preach the sermon as he is retiring from his ministry at Christ Church and Lancaster Road at the end of the year. He spoke of the friendship of the other Ministers from the local area, particularly from the regular breakfast meeting to which he has always been welcomed. On Easter Sunday David led an all age service at Christ Church (the Easter eggs were enjoyed by all), followed by Holy Communion. Pamela Fisher

13 Above left: carrying the crosses to St Andrew s on Good Friday Above right: the all age talk on Easter Sunday Below: about to hand out the Easter eggs!

14 Spring Harvest 2013 Spring Harvest in 2013 was once again held at the Butlins sites in Minehead, Somerset and Skegness, Lincolnshire over the Easter holidays. Spring Harvest is an interdenominational conference and gathering that has taken place each year since In 2013 there were three weeks held at Minehead and one at Skegness, with each featuring a wide variety of worship times, music, workshops, seminars, lectures and the chance to make use of the Butlins facilities. There is lots to do for both adults and children alike! A group from Christ Church, Lancaster Road and Ponders End URCs travelled to Minehead for the third week there, which took place from 9th to 14th April. A very enjoyable time away was had by all with everyone free to choose which events and activities they wanted to go to. There was also an opportunity for the group from the three Churches to come together for a time of food, fellowship and song singing together!

15 Spring Harvest is a fantastic Christian event and many people have come to faith there or used the event to develop and explore their faith further. A varied programme of activities allows people to explore certain aspects of the Christian faith, study the Bible and come together in worship. There is also plenty of entertainment as well - acts appearing this year included the Saltmine Theatre Company, Martin Smith (former Delirious? lead singer) and Tim Vine (formerly of the BBC s Not Going Out). The event in 2014 will once again be taking place over the Easter holidays and details will be published in the newsletter once we have them. Tom Boorman

16 St George s Day Parade in Enfield Town Sunday 21st April 2013 On a lovely sunny afternoon on Sunday 21st April, Enfield Town came to a temporary standstill to watch the annual St George s Day Parade pass through. The event is a big event for the Scout Association and Girlguiding and features a large number of groups from all over the London Borough of Enfield and had a strong carnival and party atmosphere, with lots of groups walking along to music, lots of people in fancy dress and lots of flag and banner waving! The parade went through Enfield Town, past the Civic Centre in Silver Street and ended up at Enfield Grammar Lower School. The group congregated in the playground where they joined together for a couple of songs and renewed their Scout and Guide promises. They were also addressed by Nick de Bois, Member of Parliament for Enfield North, and Cllr Kate Anolue, Mayor of Enfield.

17 Opposite page: Nick de Bois MP addressing the crowd Above left: 9th Enfield Rainbows Left: 9th Enfield Brownies Above: Nick de Bois MP and Cllr Kate Anolue in the procession Below: 9th Enfield Guides and Rangers

18 Church Officers At our Church Annual General Meeting, the following Church Officers were nominated and subsequently reelected to serve for the coming year: Church Secretary Stephen Gilburt Church Treasurer David Fisher The following people were nominated and subsequently elected to serve on the newly re-formed Property Committee: Property Committee David Fisher Philip Taylor Pamela Mansley Barbara Hunt Please keep all of the people mentioned in your prayers as they carry out functions that are so important to our Church. RETIREMENT Most of you will know that I will be retiring at the end of November My last Sunday services will be on 17th November There will also be a Farewell Service on Saturday 16th November 2013 at 2.00pm followed by a tea at Lancaster Road Church. All are welcome. David.

19

20 Holiday Bible Week Enfield 5th to 9th August 2013 Venue to be confirmed The Adventure Cruise Pull up the anchor and get ready to sail as The Adventure Cruise launches into a programme of fun-filled activities for 5 to 11 year olds! The purpose of Holiday Bible Week is to introduce children to Jesus in a relevant, contemporary way, in a safe and secure environment. For more information about registering a child for the event or helping out as a volunteer, please visit the Holiday Bible Week Enfield website at

21

22 Missed a service, or just want to hear a talk again? Recordings from our Sunday services are being made available on the Christ Church website Check out the Media page to find recordings of the all age talks and sermons - simply find the one you want, click the play button and you can then listen to the whole talk! And now... watch online! We are also trialling making some all age talks and sermons available as videos through the website. These can also be found on the Media page

23 Prayer Diary for May 1st - Pray for the meeting of the Joint Bible Study Group at Lancaster Road this morning 2nd - Pray for those who have been affected by the terrible events in the USA in the last couple of weeks 3rd - Pray for the Rainbows, meeting in the hall today 4th - Pray for any students who are preparing for forthcoming exams 5th - Pray for our service this morning, which includes Holy Communion 6th - Pray for all those who are enjoying the Bank Holiday today 7th - Pray for the new Church Property Committee and their work in maintaining our buildings 8th - Pray for the Friendship Club s lunch at the Crown and Horseshoes today and for the Elders Meeting this evening 9th - Pray for a peaceful end to conflicts around the world 10th - Pray for the Brownies as they hold their meeting in the hall this evening 11th - Pray for those who are considering coming to faith in Christ 12th - Pray for today s combined service at Lancaster Road URC, in celebration of their YPCF (Junior Church) Anniversary 13th - Pray for the Boys Brigade as their sections meet in the hall this evening 14th - Pray for the work taking place this week for Christian Aid Week 15th - Pray for David, our Minister 16th - Pray for the external groups who hire our Church premises 17th - Pray for the Guides as they meet this evening in the hall 18th - Pray for today s Christ Church

24 19th - Pray for our two special services today for Pentecost: our Family Service for Youth Sunday in the morning and the North West Enfield United Service in the evening 20th - Pray for the 3rd Enfield Boys Brigade, who are holding their Annual Company Display and Presentation Evening in the hall today 21st - Pray for the staff and pupils of Chase Side Primary School 22nd - Pray for the leaders of our youth organisations 23rd - Pray for missionaries who go to other countries to spread the Word of God 24th - Pray for the Rangers as they meet this evening 25th - Pray for those who are travelling over this weekend 26th - Pray for the Adventurers as they meet during our service this morning 27th - Pray for young people who are beginning their half term week this week 28th - Pray for those who are suffering from ill health 29th - Pray for the meeting of the Joint Bible Study Group this morning 30th - Pray for your own personal faith 31st - Pray for our local community The Sainsbury s Active Kids scheme for 2013 is now running and the 3rd Enfield Boys Brigade is collecting vouchers again this year. We use these vouchers to get new resources and equipment for our boys to use and it comes at no cost to us, so we would appreciate your donations if you have any spare. Sainsbury s gives one voucher for every 10 spent (or 5 in Local stores). Not all staff will offer you the vouchers so please ask for them if they don't! There is a collecting box in the back of the Church for your donations or they can be given to Tom Boorman. Thank you for your support!

25 Church contacts Website: Minister Rev David Atkinson Secretary Mr Stephen Gilburt Treasurer Mr David Fisher Bookings Secretary Mrs Pamela Mansley Website Mr Tom Boorman Worship Group Miss Rosemary Milns Friendship Club Miss Marion Wiley Joint Bible Study Group Details via Rev David Atkinson BB Anchor Boys Miss Sue Bullock BB Junior Section Mr Tom Boorman BB Company Section Mr Adrian Bullock BB Seniors Mr Adrian Bullock Rainbows Mrs Tracy Rainbow Brownies Mrs Kathy Brown Guides Miss Vicki Stratton Rangers Mrs Tracy Rainbow Adventurers Miss Rosemary Milns Newsletter (February, April, June, September, November) Newsletter (December/January, March, May, July/August, October) Mrs Pamela Fisher Mr Tom Boorman

26 Wed 1st Sun 5th Wed 8th Sun 12th Wed 15th Sat 18th Sun 19th Mon 20th am 11am Joint Bible Study with Lancaster Road at Lancaster Road URC Rev David Atkinson Holy Communion - offering for the Lancaster Road URC Special Supper Ministry Duty Elder - Pamela Fisher 12.30pm Friendship Club Lunch at the Crown and Horseshoes 11am am 11am - 2pm 11am 6.30pm 2.15pm 6.30pm May Church Diary Combined Service at Lancaster Road URC to celebrate their YPCF Anniversary No service at Christ Church Joint Bible Study with Lancaster Road at Lancaster Road URC Christ Church Rev David Atkinson Family Parade Service (Junior Church and Youth Sunday) and Pentecost Duty Elder - Rosemary Milns Rev David Atkinson United Service for the North West Enfield Group of Churches for Pentecost (Service at Christ Church) Friendship Club Wood Green Animal Shelter - Mrs Dawn Cox 3rd Enfield BB Annual Company Display and Presentation Evening

27 Sun 26th Wed 29th Sun 2nd Wed 5th 11am am 11am 12.30pm Mr John Stynes Duty Elder - Pamela Fisher Joint Bible Study with Lancaster Road at Lancaster Road URC June Church Diary Rev David Atkinson Holy Communion - offering for Cheviots Children s Centre Duty Elder - Stephen Gilburt Church Meeting 12.30pm Friendship Club Lunch at the Plough, Crews Hill, celebrating the Coronation Advance dates for 2013 Church Meetings 12.30pm in the Church 2nd June 1st September 3rd November Elders Meetings 8pm Wednesday 8th May Monday 1st July Monday 7th October Wednesday 4th December Christ Church 11am - 2pm in the Church Saturday 18th May Saturday 15th June Saturday 20th July Saturday 10th August

28 **Adventurers/Junior Church** Please join us in the church at 11am when the children join the congregation for the all age start to the service. Then we go into the hall for games, drama, craft activities and fun based on a Bible theme. Any questions ring Rosemary Milns Location of Christ Church URC Articles intended for inclusion in the June issue should reach the Editor by the second Sunday of May Please contact Pamela Fisher with any items to be included in future issues. Items can be received either in paper form at Sunday worship or by . Phone A/M please leave a message