News & Views December 2016

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1 News & Views December 2016 Elmers End Free Church, Goddard Road, Elmers End, Beckenham, Kent

2 The shared ministry of Elmers End Free Church & Emmanuel URC, West Wickham Minister Rev. Bill Bowman B Th. FCIBS Telephone: Office E.mail: wfbowman@hotmail.com Monday is the Minister s day off. Please do not disturb him except in the case of real emergency. Services The Sunday service is at 11am. Holy Communion is usually held in the morning of the 3rd Sunday of the month. Junior Church at 11am. Children from years old are welcome. A crèche is available for younger children. Weddings, Funerals and Baptisms Please contact the Minister Elmers End Free Church is a member of Churches Together in Beckenham. 2

3 Services in December 4th 11am Gift Service led by Junior Church and Brownies. Gifts donated to Bromley Children s Project Organist Peter Dowling 11th 11am Morning Service led by Jenny Godber. Organist Peter Dowling 6pm Carols by Candlelight led by Rev Bill Bowman. Organist Jack Beeson 18th 11am Morning Service led by Rev. Bill Bowman to include Holy Communion. Organist George Godsmark 24th 2.30pm Crib Service led by Jenny Godber. Organist George Godsmark 25th 9.30am Christmas Day service led by Rev Bill Bowman Organist George Godsmark Dates for your Diary 3rd Birthday Party 2.30pm pm Hall 6th Emmanuel Woman s Fellowship 2.15pm 10th Decorate Church for Christmas 10am 14th Pre.School Nativity 17th Birthday Party 2-5pm Post Early For Christmas The Christmas Post Box will be in Church on 4th December and opened on the 18th December 3

4 December 2016 Pastoral Letter Dear Friends, I heard a caller say on a phone-in radio programme earlier this month 2016 has been a frightful year. They were referring to the uncertainty brought about by the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as the next US President. The continuing war in Syria and the terrorist attack in Nice and other places have added to the fear factor that the person on the radio felt defined this year of Where there is uncertainty fear flourishes. The antidote to fear is faith in God. The Biblical writer of the Letter to the Hebrews summed it up thus:- Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) As well as faith being the disperser of fear there is of course also love. As the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) Human love, even at its very finest, is imperfect but God s divine love is perfect and it is in that perfect love revealed by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus in which we must place our faith in order to cast out fear. We cannot tell what the future holds but we can trust the assurance 4

5 given by that same writer to the Hebrews who affirmed, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) That same love that came to earth in the birth of Jesus that first Christmas still reaches out to us today. If humanity were to follow the example of the Carpenter of Nazareth whom the Babe of Bethlehem grew up to be what a change for the better we could make in our world. We in the church, as Christ s followers, are called to shine his light in this dark world. So let us light up this Christmas by sharing the Saviour s love and taking to heart the first words from the angels to the shepherds when Jesus birth was announced Do not be afraid!! Marion and I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. Shalom, Bill Christmas Services Our Christmas celebrations here at Elmers End get started on Sunday 4th December when our Junior Church and Brownies lead our Gift Service. This is a wonderful start to our Christmas season and it gives us an opportunity by the bringing of gifts and toys to help people less fortunate than ourselves at this time of year. We are grateful to the young people of the Junior Church and Brownies (and their leaders) for arranging this special and important service. On the evening of Sunday 11th December at 6.00pm we have our traditional Candlelight Service when we will celebrate the Saviour s birth with readings and carols. The service will be followed by seasonal refreshments and this special service is always a highlight of 5

6 our church s year. On Christmas Eve at 2.30pm we have our Crib Service where the story of the first Christmas will be told interactively. This year we are greatly blessed as our own Jenny Godber will be leading the service in her warm and engaging manner. Then on the BIG DAY itself Sunday 25th December - we have our Family Christmas Day service at 9.30am. If Santa has been? We would love for you to bring a present to show!! Our Christmas collections this year will go to the charity Crisis. A charity which helps homeless people not only at Christmas but throughout the year. Unto us a child is born. Let us celebrate joyfully!! Bill Christmas in Numbers 2,340,000 mph The speed Santa s sleigh must travel to reach every home in the world on Christmas Eve 700 Million The amount of money spent on unwanted Christmas gifts 1957 The year of the first ever televised Queen s Christmas speech 45% The percentage of all greetings card sent every year that are Christmas related 4.25 Million The number of British people who will travel abroad for Christmas 1 The number of mince pies you should eat on each of the 12 days of Christmas to bring good luck 6

7 8 Million The number of natural Christmas trees consumed by the UK each year 1647 The year in which Oliver Cromwell banned celebrating Christmas because he believed it was immoral to feast and drink on such a holy day 20 Meters The height of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square 25 Million The number of Christmas puddings we eat in the UK every year 57 The number of Olympic sized swimming pools that could be filled with the beer consumed in the UK over Christmas 230,000 Tonnes The amount of wasted Christmas food that is thrown away each year 3 The number of Beatles Christmas number 1 s. The band achieved top spot in 1963, 1965 and ,000 Tonnes The weight of potatoes that will be eaten over Christmas 48,000,000 The total amount spent on Christmas puddings by the UK 62,824 The record number of Christmas cards sent by a single person in a year Interesting and fun as the above statistics may be they wouldn t have existed without the birth of Jesus. Jesus is the reason for the season. Dear Church Family, Just in case anyone missed seeing our Church Family Christmas card 7

8 on the piano this year, Bron and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy and Prosperous The money we would have spent on sending individual cards we will add to the church collection, plus a little more, to go towards the upkeep of our very special little church and we hope this will be acceptable to everyone. This year especially all your love, support and prayers have given Bron and I the strength and determination to walk the journey we have had to do and the gifts from the church really meant a lot when I went into hospital in August. Every time I delved into the personalised carrier bag and pulled out one of the goodies therein, it reminded me that I had an entire army of support behind me and I wasn t alone! Although I know our Lord God is the ultimate support, it s often through people like you He shows his presence. So thank you again from us both. Love and Blessings Bron and Sharon x Are you up for some New Year fun in 2017? On Saturday 21st January at 6pm, we will be holding another Fun Evening! Tickets will cost 10, to include a hot supper, prepared, as ever, by our wonderful catering team! As usual, I should be most grateful for any contributions of food and drink you feel able to donate, to make up hampers for the Raffle. We couldn t run the Raffle without your generosity, for which I am always very grateful. Tickets will be on sale from beginning of January and I really hope you will be able to join us for what, I hope, will be a fun-filled evening raising money for the Church. 8 God bless you all. Jenny

9 My Christmas Wish to YOU If I could wish a wish for you, it would be for peace, faith, and happiness not only at Christmas, but for the whole year through! I wish that there always be food on your table. That you always give to those less fortunate. May you always take time to share, and thank those who have blessed you. I wish for time, so you may reflect on the blessings that you have, and that you express your love to those who are dear to you. May you never feel lonely, because there are those who care. That you realize: you are special, you are unique, you make a difference, not only at Christmas, but all year! I wish for your thoughts to be positive ones, that you never quit, that you never give up, and that you continue to learn. I wish for the love, and peace of God, to be yours always. Catherine Pulsifer Christmas Quotations He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. Roy L. Smith (US Church Minister) 9

10 Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. Thomas S. Monson (Religious Writer) Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. Norman Vincent Peale (Author) Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be rich in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. Calvin Coolidge (US President ) One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don t clean it up too quickly. Andy Rooney (American Radio Broadcaster) Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection. Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister & ) There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ. It is the time to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart - and our neighbours as ourselves. Thomas S. Monson (Religious Writer) Every time you give, every time you love it s Christmas!! Dale Evans (Film Actress wife of Roy Rogers) Today in the city of David a Saviour has been born. Luke 2:11 Carols at The Swan Among other services and events this Christmas our sister church Emmanuel URC, West Wickham have again been invited to lead Carols at The Swan pub in West Wickham High Street on the evening of Sunday 18th December. This has been a meaningful and 10

11 popular ending to The Swan s own Community Children s Party these last few years and Emmanuel are pleased to be involved again. Lisa and Mike, the pub landlords, generously support many local community projects and activities, including the OAPs Christmas lunches, and we are pleased to support and encourage them with our carol singing. It would be great if members and friends of EEFC are able to join with Emmanuel at this event. Please gather if you can at The Swan, West Wickham at 5.15pm on Sunday the 18th to lend your voice to the carols and in doing so bring the Christmas message to a wider audience. As it happens Emmanuel s Candlelight Carol Service is on at 6.30pm that same evening and friends from EEFC would be very welcome to sing carols at both The Swan and Emmanuel. I hope you will come if you can. Bill 10 Fun Facts about December 1. There are fewer daylight hours in December in the northern hemisphere than in any other month. 2. According to a 2011 survey, more dentists have birthdays in December than in any other month. 3. To counter the melancholy and phlegm brought on by December, Richard Saunders, writing in 1679, recommended eating cabbage, onion and roasted apples or pears after meat. 4. In the UK more drivers are breathalysed during December than in any month. It is also the worst month for road deaths. 11

12 5. God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. (JM Barrie). 6. It is estimated that 11billion will be withdrawn from ATMs in the UK this month. We withdraw more money in December than any other month. 7. According to a recent survey, December is the month when couples argue the most. 8. The stock market tends to do better in December than any other month. This has been put down to something called the Santa rally. 9. More people suffer fatal falls in December in the UK than any other month. 10. Men are April when they woo, December when they wed, (Shakespeare, As You Like It). SHARON S STORY Many of us worshipping at Elmers End Free Church this summer may have been, or may not have been, aware, that Sharon Smith has been fighting a serious illness and undergoing severe treatment for the condition. What few of us certainly did not know that running alongside this huge battle for her health, Sharon has also been undertaking a course of study leading to a diploma. This is Sharon s story in her own words. 12 I began a two year diploma at Level Four in Therapeutic Counselling at Spurgeon s College South Norwood Hill in September 2014 and graduated at Croydon Minster Church, Reeves Corner on the 9th July 2016.

I had begun my counselling studies at the Widmore Education Centre Bromley in January 2011 where I completed an introduction to Counselling short course and then went on to Spurgeon s College where I

13 I had begun my counselling studies at the Widmore Education Centre Bromley in January 2011 where I completed an introduction to Counselling short course and then went on to Spurgeon s College where I completed Level 2 in Counselling Skills 2012 and level 3 in Counselling Studies 2014 before commencing the diploma in September of that year. Sharon took a lot persuading to share this news with our church family. It has been kept a secret from the start way back in 2011 because of the fears that I d fail and so keeping it secret helped protect me from that worry. However, God is so faithful and I know He was with me every step of the way. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do but by his Grace and my hard work we did it. Well done Sharon! Sharon is now awaiting the results of her recent scan at Guy s to get confirmation that the disease has gone. She says, I know it has, but the medical world needs to see it too. 13

14 Let us pray for Sharon as her scan results are revealed on Thursday November 24th E B THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS Once again it s Christmas Time Time for us to be, Busy wrapping presents and setting up the tree.i It seems we have so many things to think of and to do, we may forget that Christmas has a deeper meaning too. A meaning that goes far beyond, The things the eye can see, Such as Holly wreaths, Misteltoe and Gifts beneath the tree. For these are only Symbols of, what happened that Christmas Morn, when, in a little manger GOD s only SON was born GOD put HIM here upon this earth With one idea in mind. To put New Hope around the world And Love in all mankind So even though we re busy And have many things to do Let s not forget that Christmas Has a deeper meaning too. Eugene W. Miller

15 Letter from The Moderator Christmas 2016 Dear Friends, Last Christmas I was given a Fitbit in the vain hope that I might walk more. Walking is not only good for your health I was told but it has a biblical imperative! The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, so says the prophet Isaiah. The truth is that the people of God did an awful lot of walking. They walked all over ancient Israel sharing the good news of God s love, offeringhope to those who suffer, proclaiming freedom and liberation to all who are oppressed. But the trouble is that often it is hard to walk well when you have a rock in your shoe! When there is a rock in your shoe, it digs into your foot and makes every step a bit painful. It can cause you to limp; it brings frustration. And so, on a long journey, when you realise that you have a rock in your shoe, what should you do? You need to take that stone out of your shoe. And once it is gone, then you can continue on your way - then you can walk forward free from the stone that causes you pain, and slows down your progress. The problem is, we often carry stones in our shoes, as it makes it harder to follow Jesus. We are supposed to be on a journey of faith. We are supposed to walk forward in love. We are supposed to stand on our own two feet and travel along the paths of faithfulness. But there are these stones in our shoes, and they cause us to stop. To sit down. To give up. The stones in our shoes made it hard for us to fully follow Jesus. And, as we approach Advent and Christmas, we are reminded that, in the Incarnation, Jesus, the Christ- child, the Light of the world, came to liberate us from the stones in our shoes so that we can work for the liberation of the world. We need to be freed from the stones in shoes so that we can bring freedom and hope and love and peace into a troubled world. We need to find God s liberation, God s freedom in our lives so that we can be messengers of that 15

16 16 iberation in God s world. Perhaps, this year, in 2016, we need to hear that especially this Christmas after the year we have had: wars, earthquakes, elections and exits to name but a few. This Christmas, we will once again sing with yearning hope, for we live in dark and fearful times. Nation invades nation, leaving terror and destruction in their wake. Our hearts go out to the people of Syria. Angry mobs attack each other on streets and give birth to still more bitterness and fear. Parents run themselves ragged trying ensure that it is not them and their families who fall through the cracks into redundancy, poverty and despair. The dark, dark world is constantly divided into winners and losers, and the losers are sacrificed for the security and glorification of the winners. And anyone who shines a challenging light onto the dark violence of it all is denounced as a threat and a loser and is destroyed. Dark and fearful times. But the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in the land of deep darkness - on them light has shined. So here we are - living in light or darkness or to use the metaphor of stones in our shoes living where the sins and lies hold us back from walking in the light. First of all, we need to tell the truth. There is violence and pain in our world. Power is being used in abusive and terrible ways. We are living in systems of injustice and oppression. We need to acknowledge the truth. Secondly, we need to look at ourselves. Where are the stones in our shoes? Do we have a fear of people who are different than us? Do we allow fear to control interactions with other human beings? Do we allow prejudice, racism, judgement to stop us from offering the Love which came down at Christmas? Or is it a desire to be liked? We are so afraid of hurting people s feelings that we do not speak truth about injustice, racism and violence. We want everyone to like us, so we refuse to do the radical work of following Jesus. Or is it selfishness with money and time? We don t want to truly invest in the kingdom of God. We don t want to fully offer our time and money to changing the world.

17 Or is it something else? What other stones, keep you from finding the Christ-child? The story we celebrate this Christmas is not a safe one. From the very beginning there were few who could accept it. Every version of the story attests to this. John says he came to his own but his own people did not accept him. Luke says that even as he was being born, no room could be found for him. Matthew says the very mention of him threw the king into a murderous fit, and the child and his family had to flee. Perhaps we have stood still in darkness for so long that we need to move out into the light to which Isaiah attests. We need to walk towards those who are oppressed and hurting. We need to walk towards those who are excluded and shunned. We need to walk towards those who are hungry and thirsty. We need to walk towards those who are different from us. And in order to do this walking, we need to get rid of some stones. Then we will find ourselves born anew, born of God, as children of God, full of grace and truth. And if we begin to do that, if we begin to approach the world with the same humility and the same astonishing refusal to meet violence with anything but outrageous mercy and resilient love, then the light will grow brighter and the darkness will retreat a little further. And as we continue to walk in hope on unhindered by the stones in our shoes, we will indeed be hastening the long awaited day when the child born for us will rule in endless peace, with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. Come, Lord Jesus. Be born in us this Christmas. With Advent and Christmas blessings, Nicola Thank you to Revd. Kari Nicewander, a UCC minister, with whom I walked in faith this summer, for the imagery of the rock in my shoe. 17

18 January 2017 Any articles or news you wish to include in the January 2017 edition of News & Views should be with Barbara by 18th December If you would like to your article please send this to Brownies The Brownies would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported the Table Sale in aid of Church Funds. We are so grateful to those who made and donated items, Pat and Bill who came along and especially Barbara and Eunice for doing yje refreshments. We are delighted to announce that we made for the Church Funds. Thank you! Brown Owl (Katherine) Thanks Grateful thanks to the Brownies for raising this amazing amount and also to Dave Jordan who raised an equally amazing amount of 268 from his Quiz. Prayers Please remember in your prayers members of our congregation who need our prayers, in particula Anne Sander, Chris Parsons and Sharon Smith. 18

19 Weekly Activities Brownie Guides Monday 6.30pm Leader Miss Katherine Bayley Telephone: Langley Pre-School Monday Friday Please contact Mrs Jenny Jupp Telephone: E.mail: News & Views Editors Mrs Barbara Heppell Distribution Ms Katherine Bayley 19

News & Views May 2015

News & Views May 2015 Elmers End Free Church, Goddard Road, Elmers End, Beckenham, Kent The shared ministry of Elmers End Free Church & Emmanuel URC, West Wickham Minister Rev. Bill Bowman B Th. FCIBS