The United Reformed Churches of Radcliffe, Stand & Farnworth

Transcription

1 The United Reformed Churches of Radcliffe, Stand & Farnworth

2 Sue Metcalfe: Elaine Robinson: Anne Kennedy: Deadline date for the November Issue Sunday 21 October Please give any items for the next publication to Elaine Robinson The communications team will then decide whether the items will go online, in print or on the notice board. Read By The Way on line: Rev. Nigel Adkinson Manse: RADCLIFFE URC Blackburn St Radcliffe M26 3WQ Secretary: Janice Cockcroft Treasurer: Neil Chadwick Tamworth Ave Whitefield M45 6AU Assistant: Joan Crump Booking Secretary: Alison Close STAND URC Stand Lane Radcliffe M26 1JE Secretary: Renata Cappelli Treasurer: Mark Ascroft FARNWORTH URC Albert Rd Farnworth BL4 9NP Secretary: Andrew Jones Treasurer: Peter Almond Pulpit Supply Lesley Saunders Secretary:

3 DATE September Services RADCLIFFE URC 11:00am STAND URC 9:30am FARNWORTH URC 10:45am September 2 Margaret Holcroft Rev N Adkinson September 9 Rev N Adkinson Communion Mrs Susan Holme DATE October Services RADCLIFFE URC 11:00am STAND URC 9:30am FARNWORTH URC 10:45am October 7 Beryl Proctor Rev N Adkinson October 14 Rev N Adkinson Communion Radcliffe Church Meeting at 12.30pm Mr Adrian Yapp September 16 Neil Carter Rev N Adkinson October21 Alison Close Rev N Adkinson September 23 September 30 October 7 Rev N Adkinson Joint Harvest Service & Lunch at Stand URC at 10.30am Rev N Adkinson Beryl Proctor Mr Adrian Yapp Mrs Dyls Tomkins Rev N Adkinson Also Thursdays at Stand URC An informal time of biblical reflection and prayer 10.30am for half an hour followed by light refreshments October 28 Rev N Adkinson November 4 Sue Metcalfe Communion Rev N Adkinson Breakfast Service at 9.30am Mrs Beryl Proctor TBA Until further notice, Stand URC & Radcliffe URC will have Joint Services at 11:00am at Radcliffe URC unless otherwise stated.

4 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9) A few weeks ago our mid-week service at Stand was led by Lesley Saunders an Elder at Farnworth URC. It coincided with a week which for me had been, demanding and quite stressful in many ways. I had found it difficult to prioritise my time. Everything seemed to require an immediate response. I had challenged a couple of issues and found myself quite isolated in my views and I had been openly criticised for something that was not my fault. I am sure you can all identify with those times in your lives when energy levels drop and hope fades a little, then God blesses you in a wonderful and surprising way. In that encouragement we will find renewed strength for our faith journeys; energy for the road we are travelling and blessings in our shared life together as communities of faith. So let us pause to offer encouragement to one another, that leads to hope filled communities honouring God, loving the Lord Jesus Christ and transforming the world in small ways. This enables us to glimpse the glory of God at work. God calls us to join Him in mission to our communities and in love for one another. Where lives are changed, hearts are filled with hope and joy, where new life will continue to emerge for us blessed by the God we seek to serve. May God bless each and every one of us now and always. In Christ Nigel Lesley spoke about encouragement, the need for it and it brought clarity and renewed energy for me. I felt truly blessed. We live in a broken world and where encouragement is absent from the life of the church, people will feel unloved, unimportant and forgotten. God commands us to encourage one another. Christian encouragement is shared with the hopes that it will lift our hearts towards the God who loves us. The New Testament reveals that encouragement was a regular part of the life of the early church. They shared the scriptures together to encourage and build one another up. In the four and half years of my ministry with you we have faced many challenges and continue to do so. In the busyness of our lives let us find the time to offer one another the encouragement that lifts out hearts to the God who loves us in Jesus Christ.

5 2 Farnworth URC Church Meeting after the Service. 4 Soup & Bread Group restarts at Radcliffe URC. 4 Open Meeting re: Community Café 11:30am at Radcliffe URC. 5 Ladies Friendship Club at Radcliffe URC at 2:00pm. Speaker: Tony Leach Music. 6 Thursday Group Meeting at Farnworth URC Dominoes Evening 8:00pm. 11 Christmas Fair Open Meeting 10:30am Radcliffe URC. 11 Radcliffe Elders Meeting 4:00pm. 14 Missional Partnership Meeting at Greenmount URC 7:30pm. 15 Ploughman s Lunch at the Manse 12pm-2:00pm. 20 Stand Community Lunch at Stand URC 12:30pm. 20 Thursday Group Meeting at Farnworth URC 8:00pm. Harry & Jean Charleston. 23 Joint Harvest Service for Radcliffe & Stand at Stand URC 10:30am. Followed by Lunch. 26 Farnworth URC Elders Meeting 7:00pm. 28 Farnworth URC Coffee Morning from 10:00am. Supporting Macmillan. 3 Stand URC Elders meeting at 7:00pm followed by Church meeting at 7:30pm. 11 Thursday Group Meeting at Farnworth URC. Party Night followed by Buffet Supper. 14 Radcliffe URC Church Meeting.12:30pm. 17 Messy Church at Stand URC 3:30-5:30pm. 17 Farnworth Elders Meeting 7:00pm. 18 Stand Community Lunch at Stand URC 12:30pm. 25 Thursday Group Meeting at Farnworth URC. David & Kath Richardson Romania. 26 Farnworth URC Coffee Morning from 10:00am - for church funds. 26 Christmas Fair Quiz Night 7:30pm at Radcliffe URC. In SEPTEMBER - BABY up to 12 months. Baby wipes Cotton wool buds Baby shampoo Baby oil Talc Bonnet, bootees and mitts Baby-gro Baby blanket Small toy or plastic rattle In OCTOBER - TOYS for boys and girls. Cars Trucks etc Complete jigsaws, Action figures, Colouring books pens crayons Yo-yo Bubble blowers Wooden and plastic toys Building blocks Pencil cases pencil sharpeners Dominoes Play dough/plasticine and cutters Soft toys Dolls stickers Writing pads Skipping rope scarf Card games mitts/gloves hats If anyone has any queries regarding the shoeboxes please speak to Nora Otter, Liz Adkinson or Sue Metcalfe.

6 We pray for those in our church families who are unwell or awaiting operations or test results. We pray for the people in our fellowship who are in care homes and can no longer worship with us. We pray for the school children and students who are starting school, college or university life. We pray for the bereaved. May they find comfort in you. We pray for the churches of Radcliffe, Stand and Farnworth as they face challenging times ahead and for the Elders of the churches. We pray for the North West Synod and Ministers as they set up Missional Partnerships throughout the coming months. May they find strength in you, O Lord. A service of celebration and thanksgiving was held for Joyce at Overdale Crematorium on 25th July. Having said she did not want to live beyond eighty, Joyce reached her ninety ninth birthday at the beginning of July. She had a long association with Albert Road and the neighbourhood of Lingfield Close. Joyce will be missed for her warmth of spirit compassionate personality and wry sense of humour. We offer our sympathy to Andrew and Ian and wider family and friends at this time. Harvest is from the Anglo-Saxon word hærfest, "Autumn". It then came to refer to the season for reaping and gathering grain and other grown products. The full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called the Harvest Moon. So in ancient traditions Harvest Festivals were traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This moon is the full moon which falls in the month of September. An early Harvest Festival used to be celebrated at the beginning of the Harvest season on 1 August and was called Lammas, meaning 'loaf Mass'. Farmers made loaves of bread from the fresh wheat crop. These were given to the local church as the Communion bread during a special service thanking God for the harvest. Nowadays the festival is held at the end of harvest, which varies in different parts of Britain. Sometimes neighbouring churches will set the Harvest Festival on different Sundays so that people can attend each other's thanksgivings. Farmers celebrated the end of the harvest with a big meal called a harvest supper. Some churches and villages still have a Harvest Supper. The modern British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843, when the Reverend Robert Hawker invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall. Victorian hymns such as "We plough the fields and scatter", "Come ye thankful people, come" and "All things bright and beautiful" but also Dutch and German harvest hymns in translation helped popularise his idea of harvest festival and spread the annual custom of decorating churches with home-grown produce for the Harvest Festival service.

7 SOUP & BREAD GROUP restarts on Tuesday 4 September. It s 9:30am to make the soup and bread and 12:30pm for lunch. Or just drop in mid-morning for a coffee and a chat! DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY CAFÉ OPEN MEETING Tuesday 4 September 11:30am at Radcliffe URC. CHRISTMAS FAIR OPEN MEETING We will be having an Open Meeting to discuss this year s plans for the Christmas Fair and how you can all be involved on Tuesday 11 September at 10.30am. You could also treat yourself to a chat and lunch at the Bread and Soup. CHANGE OF DATE: Please note that the NEXT RADCLIFFE URC CHURCH MEETING is Sunday 14 October and not 30 September as originally planned. THURSDAY GROUP MEETINGS AT 8.00pm 6 Sept - Dominoes Evening. 20 Sept - Talk by Harry & Jean Charleston. 11 Oct - Party Night - followed by a buffet supper. 25 Oct - David & Kath Richardson - Talk on Romania. CHURCH MEETING 2 Sept - following worship. COFFEE MORNINGS FROM 10.00am 28 Sept - supporting Macmillan. 26 Oct - for church funds. ELDERS MEETINGS Wednesday s at 7.00pm 26 September & 17 October. Stand United Reformed Church have sponsored Avinash Subedi for a long time. He has now finished his school education and will join a local college. Avinash has done well at school and passed with good marks. He is very happy with the results. His parents can now support him as they are both working. They are very happy and thankful for our help through the sponsorship. Our sponsorship for Avinash has finished but we are now sponsoring another boy called Siman Khadka in Nepal. (You can read more about Siman in the next issue). Doreen Richards COMMUNITY LUNCH CLUBS 12:30pm 20 September & 18 October. ELDERS & CHURCH MEETING 3 OCTOBER Elders meet at 7:00pm followed by Church Meeting at 7:30pm. HARVEST LUNCH on Sunday 23 September after the Joint Harvest Service at Stand URC. Cost 3. Any queries, please see Renata. ADVANCED NOTICE: Commemoration of ending of WW1 Event. There is a Service at Stand URC on Saturday 10 November at 4:00pm to commemorate the ending of the First World War. This will be followed by Poetry, Community Songs and a Trench Supper.

8 We have recently been making the URC series of Devotional Booklets available in printed format. We have had a consistent take up of these. To make sure those who have regularly taken them get their copy, it may be helpful if those who want to continue taking the booklets give your names to Anne and she will prepare booklets specifically for you. We will continue to provide some booklets to be taken by others on occasion. The following are the booklets which will be available in the next month: The second part of the study on Ephesians (1 st 8 th September) Reflections on Creation (9 th 23 rd September) Finally the devotions will be working through the Saul, David and Solomon stories looking at the establishment and expansion of the Kingdom until just before it splinters in two. This, with one small break, will take us up to the Christmas season. The first booklet in the series will run from 24 th September until 13 th October. The Holiday at Home team are visiting CHINA on SATURDAY 12 JANUARY 10:30am-3:00pm at RADCLIFFE URC. We hope you can join us for friendship, fun, Chinese traditions and delicious food. Designed for over 50 s - but all welcome. Donation on the day to cover cost of food etc. Further information in the next issue. This will take place at the THORNLEIGH CHRISTIAN HOTEL Grange over Sands on the weekend of 5-7 July The cost of the weekend is 145. This includes full board from Friday tea to Sunday Lunch. There is a savings club for the weekend, any payments should be given to Vera or your church secretary. If you would like to attend but have difficulty in paying the cost, please speak (in confidence) to Nigel. Has anyone got any HALF TINS OF BLACK GLOSS PAINT that they have finished with to enable Eric to finish painting the fire escape at Radcliffe URC. If so please see Eric Fitton or any of the Elders. Thanks. RADCLIFFE URC

9 Saturday 24 November 10:00am -1:00pm Yes, it s that time already Christmas is coming!!!! The Committee have been on the case for months already when we arrived for our last meeting there were 2 ladies there already, 2 big tables set up, each with a sewing machine set up and they were busy working away for the Christmas Fair! The Christmas Fair will be on Saturday 24 th November from 10am until 1pm. There will be a slight pre Fair opening addition but more about that in the next edition of By The Way. The Radcliffe Training Band will play from 10am until 11am what a treat that was last year! We will be having many of the usual stalls: Raffle Tombola Bottles Toiletries Books Home Baking Preserves Name the Dogs Christmas Hamper Grab a Bag Christmas & Crafts Soft Toys And, of course, the renowned Café. We are also hoping to have some new introductions particularly for the younger visitors: Mug Shots Drop in the Bucket Pick a Lolly However, having all these stalls means that people are required on the day to staff them. We are still short of a few people, so if you think you can help on one of the stalls please let a member of the committee know. We will put a full list of stalls and helpers on the Noticeboard when we have got all the helpers assigned. Once we have the stalls and the helpers, then we need the items to sell. We do need donations for every stall. So now is the time to look in your cupboards and drawers for suitable donations. Apart from books, jigsaws, games and soft toys all should be new, unused items. Visits to Pound shops, Charity shops etc. and even the big supermarkets as the children go back to school are all good sources of reduced price items. A list of items for the Christmas Hamper will go on the Noticeboard in October. Please give your donations to any member of the committee or speak to Anne if you need someone to collect items. The first 50 paying customers on the day will receive a hand-sewn shopping bag to put their purchases in! Obviously, we aim to raise money for the church funds, but there are 2 other key elements to a successful Fair in the committee s view. The first is to encourage and support the church family in working together fostering that loving feeling to sustain each one throughout the coming months. Secondly and even more importantly, particularly this year as we look to implementing aspects of the Community Project bringing in the members of the community to share with us. So, start to spread the word to your friends and family to get the date in the diary. But also to those you meet in passing let them know they will be welcomed even if they only want to come for a cuppa and a chat. If you have any suggestions on publicising the event please let a committee member know. Let us enjoy a time of fellowship with Church friends and family but also with those outside our immediate circles.

10 The Radcliffe URC Christmas Fair Raffle Tickets are now available from Jean Helliwell at 50p per ticket or amazingly at 2.50 for a book of 5 tickets! As ever, we have excellent top 5 prizes with numerous other prizes to be won too. The winning tickets will be drawn at the close of the Christmas Fair on Saturday 24 th November. Remember You ve got to be in it, to win it! The annual Christmas Fair Quiz Sheet will be available from Nora Otter priced 1 in September. ADVANCED NOTICE: SONGS FROM MUSICALS AT Radcliffe URC on Saturday 24 November at 7:30pm. Special guest: Amanda Henderson (from Casualty). Tickets cost 10 including pasty & peas supper. More information about tickets to follow. All proceeds to Radcliffe URC Church Funds. By public demand, we are holding another Christmas Fair Quiz Night on Friday 26 th October at 7.30pm in the Radcliffe Church Hall. Pasties and Peas will be served as well as tea and coffee at the interval. Tickets at 5.00 will be available from Anne Kennedy from September. All who have attended previously said they had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Come along and join the fun. Looks to be a good evening, make a note in your diary. It s the same day as the Christmas Fair!

11 Give us this day our daily bread 10.30am for half an hour followed by light refreshments OPEN MEETING TUESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 11:30am at Radcliffe URC WE NEED YOUR IDEAS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMUNITY CAFÉ LUNCH SERVED FROM 12:30pm Please come along and share your ideas in a discussion to develop a COMMUNITY CAFÉ facility to support our developing community work. Caroline Platt our Community Development Worker along with Rev Darren Holland, Mission and Discipleship Mentor and Nigel will be there to gather your thoughts and ideas around this. These weekly gatherings have moved from a more formal style of worship, to an informal time of biblical reflection and prayer. Our journey at Radcliffe and Stand continues to draw us closer together in our mission and outreach. I would like to think that Thursdays at Stand is something offered to all three churches as well as the wider community of Chapelfield. So please come and join us if you feel that a quiet and reflective time of drawing closer to God is for you. Our prayer time at the moment is focused on asking God to guide us in our mission and outreach in Chapelfield. 15 September 12:00pm-2:00pm All proceeds from the lunch will go towards the Harvest Collection for WaterAid