Intentional Growth Just Enough Letters from Paul St Columba Christmas Fair Update from Sally Dewberry From Nova Scotia with love Bea s Blog

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1 Intentional Growth Just Enough Letters from Paul St Columba Christmas Fair Update from Sally Dewberry From Nova Scotia with love Bea s Blog 1

2 Last year the PCC spent an evening with Charlie Peer (Diocesan Mission Development Officer) who spoke to us about the results of the Church Growth Research Programme ( ), which tried to identify areas of the church that were growing, and whether they had factors in common that could be applied by us to our own church and ministry circumstances. Much thinking has subsequently taken place on the subject, though more is probably required to work out how we apply it in our own parish context. Charlie has recently visited our Deanery again to speak to the clergy and Readers, and to introduce the next piece of work that has come out of the research entitled From evidence to action, taking as its mantra I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow 1 Cor 3:6 As I ve pondered what we heard and discussed on this most recent evening there are two things I ve been particularly chewing over: The first is that growing churches have been intentional about encouraging that growth. It s all very well Paul saying that God made it grow in the verse from 1 Corinthians, but if Paul hadn t planted seeds, and Apollos hadn t watered them, there wouldn t have been anything to grow! It s a bit like cultivating a field in the expectation of a fine crop of wheat, but neglecting to sow any wheat seeds to start with. Or it can perhaps be likened to a tree that grows year on year (it can t help it!), and if it doesn t chances are that s because it is dead! 2

3 At the St Lukestide healing service Jane Richards talked about workers reaping the harvest, and if the harvest isn t gathered then future generations will starve. So if we don t intentionally sow and water seeds then there s nothing to grow. And if we sow /water seeds and God gives the growth, but we don t intentionally harvest it, then future generations are in danger of starvation - in terms of never having the chance to know and love the God who loves them beyond measure (and perhaps the Church of England is in danger of starving too!). As we enter the Kingdom Season during which we commemorate All Saints, All Souls and Remembrance Sunday I m reminded of, and very thankful for, all those who have invested time and effort in planting and watering the seeds that have helped my faith to grow over the years, and guided me with love & patience in encouraging the areas that are fruitful, and pruning the areas that aren t! The second aspect that I ve been mulling over is the thought that 3 intentional growth as a church community is perhaps more likely to come about if we are intentional about learning and growing in our own personal faith? In other words, how am I ensuring that I continue to learn and grow in my own faith and how are you attending to your own growth? There is no point at which we should be laying down our willingness and ability to learn and grow in our knowledge and love of God, and fellowship with one another although this may be expressed in different ways at different stages of our lives. I think the key is being intentional about it. So, if there s something we can offer that will help your faith grow, and we re not doing it already, let us know; taking advantage of one of the Advent courses that will be on offer from the end of November, could be an ideal way to begin the new church year with a fresh intentionality on the part of each one of us to grow ourselves, whilst sowing and watering seeds in those we meet in our daily lives. Rachel A

4 Advent Courses: Dates for your diary This year s courses will take place on: Tuesday evenings: pm at 41 Crawford Drive 24 th Nov, 1 st Dec, 8 th Dec, 15 th Dec. Thursday evenings: pm at the Highlands Hub 26 th Nov, 3 rd Dec, 10 th Dec, 17 th Dec Friday mornings/afternoon: At St Columba Church 27 th Nov (10am), 4 th Dec (10am), 11 th Dec (10am), 18 th Dec (2pm). Full details will be available shortly. 4

5 It s that time of the year again: time to clear out the cupboards, prune the book shelves and toy boxes, get making and baking, and pass on last year s wellmeaning but unused gifts. And then spend a sociable morning with friends, having a good time. Yes, it s the St Columba Christmas Fair! Saturday 28 th November from 10am-12noon in St Columba Church - in aid of St Columba Development Fund. So if you can donate any good quality items for the various stalls (books, toys, crafts, perfumes and jewellery, jams, bric-a-brac, tombolas and raffle), please bring them to church during November. On the day freshly baked cakes will be most welcome (to comply with regulations these need to be wrapped and with all the ingredients listed on them). And of course we need you! Whether you can come and help behind a stall or come along with friends to join in the fun, please spread the word and we hope to see you on the day. If you can help (or need help to get your donations to church) please contact Jane Whiteley on

6 An Update from Sally Dewberry I thought it was time to give you all an update as to what I have been doing as your Community worker for St Columba Church over the past few weeks. First of all, I would like to say thank you for your very warm welcome and your patience with me as I try to fit names to faces! I am really enjoying getting to know the children, teachers and parents at St Columba Academy. First thing on a Tuesday morning I join the children in Breakfast Club, then it s onto the playground to chat to the parents and children. This is followed by listening to the Year 6 children reading in the library before finally I join a Year 3 class with learning phonics. Despite formerly being a teacher, I m learning a thing or two! I m also loving being part of the 'Open The Book' team and supporting Ruth and Sally in the times of collective worship. I am looking forward to leading 'Open The Book' in the very near future. On the 25 th of September I joined the children, parents and teachers in their very lively Harvest Festival where the children shared their poems, thoughts & pictures as well as singing with great gusto! There was a good turn-out of parents too for the occasion, and it was lovely to see the children all lining up outside the church waiting to go in. Apart from getting to know people at the school, I have been visiting the Hub and chatting to the Nutty Knitters and generally trying to get to know everyone. The Hub is really a great place for everyone to meet, and there are exciting things developing there! A few Wednesdays ago I joined in with Beavers at the scout huts in Blackbrook Road. This group was being led by Nigel and Melissa, who do a great job of managing a lively group of boys and girls. On the evening I visited they were working on a 'Disability Badge.' They were 6

7 looking at how their existing buildings could be improved for those in wheelchairs and the visually impaired. They had some good ideas for improvement. Last Saturday I went to Portsmouth Cathedral to look at various stalls run by 'Boost' - a Mission Marketplace which serves to re-energise work with parents, children and families. It was both interesting and inspiring visiting stalls supporting and displaying useful resources and ideas for 'Open The Book', 'Messy Church', 'Spirit in Sport', 'Prayer Spaces' and 'Care For The Family,' to name but a few! The latter - 'Care For The Family' - is a national organisation that has been working to strengthen family life since Their aim is to promote strong family relationships and to help those who face family difficulties. 'Prayer Spaces had ideas on how prayer spaces can be created in schools, whilst 'Spirit in Sport' offers qualified coaches for football, rugby, dance, basketball, tennis and PE. They provide after school activities, school holiday activities and family fun activities as an outreach through sport. I felt very inspired and challenged about what these different organisations offered in terms of support to families and children and to those people working alongside them, and came away with a greater insight as to what is available that might be helpful for us. There were also some creative ideas and resources which I hope to use and adapt in my role as Community Worker. It was well worth the visit! Best Wishes, Sally Dewberry Please keep Sally and her work in our community in your prayers Intercessors Workshop - 21 st November A half day workshop for all involved in leading our intercessions, or anyone interested in doing so is taking place at Holy Trinity church, led by Ruth Tuschling, the Diocesan Spirituality Advisor. The session runs from 9.45am 12.30pm, with coffee in church from 9.45am. Please sign up on the sheet in the foyer so that we know to expect you. 7

8 Prayer during the week Tues & Thurs at the Hub 9.15am 1 st November All Saints Day 8am - Said Communion; 10am - Morning Worship (all age). No Iona service this month 8 th November Remembrance Sunday 8am - Said Communion 10am - Family Communion including Act of Remembrance. (with Columba Kids) 15 th November Second Sunday before Advent 8am - Said Communion 10am Morning Worship 22 nd November Christ the King 8am - Said Communion 10am Family Communion (with Columba Kids) 29 th November First Sunday of Advent 8am - Said Communion 10am Family Communion (with Columba Kids) Sunday 1 st November at 6pm Holy Trinity Church. All welcome to come and spend time together remembering loved ones who are no longer with us. Sunday 18 th November 6-7pm - Holy Trinity Church - A time of informal worship where we can sing praise to God and see where the Spirit leads us. The focus will be on singing songs/hymns including some space for prayerful listening and reflection. If you have something you would like to sing then contact Revd Garry or Pete & Sue Hall. So come and see... come and sing! 8

9 Year s Mind for November 1 st Leslie Ford, Rose Hunn, John Olivey, Irene Smith 2 nd Iris Adams, Ellen Charman, Denny Hooper 3 rd 4 th 5 th Chris Handley, Dick Hawkins, Debbie Whittle 6 th Reg Clarke 7 th Phyllis Constant, Pat Coulton 8 th Sally Field, Eileen Keppel, Reginald Pragnell 9 th Kathleen Fullarton 10 th 11 th Peggy Silvester 12 th 13 th Emily Bryan, Joan Davis 14 th Betty Farr, Alice Hooker 15 th Molly Day, Malcolm Low, Paddy Martin 16 th Matthew Hicks, Mary Jempson, Ted Lord, Edward Watson 17 th George Cole, Stella Weaver, Evelyn Woodcock 18 th Hilda Nowlan 19 th John Brown 20 th Bob Austin, Edith Faithfull, Eric Lawes, Michael Longhurst, Brenda Milne, Kate Ward 21 st Dorothy Kinsman 22 nd Selina Brown, Len Pengelly, Eileen Scott 23 rd Jill Bosberry, Roy Bowyer 24 th Mary Bickley, Ted Green, Denis Seymour, Muriel Waters. 25 th Harry Dimmer, Colin Weaver 26 th Elsie Pearson, Lily Sharpe, Catherine Shirley 27 th Ernest Ring 28 th Wilson Dickinson, Adam Fullarton, Ernest Robinson 29 th Joseph Anderson, Vera Pennell 30 th Irene Bicker, Daniel Saunders, Jessie Simpson 9

10 Have you ever tried it? A friendly group that meets regularly in Holy Trinity Hall on the first and third Thursdays of the month at 1.30pm for gentle movement to spiritually uplifting music why not give it a try? More details from Ann Easton, or Men s Prayer Breakfast The next Men s breakfast takes place on Saturday 21 st November in Holy Trinity hall at 8.30am. The speaker will be Michael Woolley, ex-mayor of Chichester and head of Friends Without Borders which does significant work with asylum seekers/refugees at Haslar - so a very topical subject. Breakfast choices are bacon butty, cereal, and toast. Please let me know if you plan to attend, together with your breakfast choice - and you are very welcome to bring someone with you. Keith Wickert (contact details on back page). Oasis Tea and Chat - Our friendly and informal bereavement team work to support those who have suffered from the effects of losing a loved one. The Oasis Tea and Chat Club has been formed to help with this support and meets between 2-4pm for a cup of tea, homemade cake and a chat. The next date is: Monday 2 nd November at the Highlands Hub, Highlands Road Shops. Come and join us, we would love to see you, with or without a friend. Contact June Haye on if you would like to know more. 10

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12 From Nova Scotia with love! It is hard to believe that it is almost two years since my wife Patricia passed away. From the start I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by such supportive friends, neighbours and all at St Columba. Amongst my neighbours lived a young couple who had a three year Naval posting to Halifax, Nova Scotia, & kindly invited me to visit them there! We settled on September as the best time to go and visit, and I flew with Iceland Air with a 2-3 hour stop-over in Reykjavic. Hindsight is wonderful, but I wish now that I had extended my stay there on either the outward or the inward leg to allow time for some exploration! On arrival in Halifax I was made to feel so welcome, and plunged into the life of a very busy household - my host was working and his wife fully occupied with two young children of 4 years and 13 months. OK all you young mums, but it s been a long time since I was involved with little ones on a day to day basis two children into their car seats, on arrival at school, out of their car seats. Then the little boy back in again, and then out again on arrival back home. Not only that keeping him safe and secure behind the safety gate because he can crawl for England! PHEW! On a number of days we went into Halifax after school, just walking along the water front or letting the little girl play in the parks. What I had forgotten is how having young children about means you re constantly on the go! During my stay we all went for a long weekend to Cape Breton Island, in the North East of Nova Scotia the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada (its official title) is what The Lizard in Cornwall is to us. It is reached along the endlessly tree-lined main highway, and finally a singular coastal road. It would be an amazing place to be able to stay for a week and explore on foot. As it was we would be driving along and come to a spectacular viewing area. This would happen every few miles and really did take your breath away. Spectacular cliffs, sandy beaches, Atlantic rollers.wow! On returning to Halifax there was the unasham-edly touristy Peggy s Cove to explore with gift shops, cafes, a lighthouse, and even a tame 12

13 photographer (see picture below!). The notice near the lighthouse made me chuckle: It is dangerous to walk on the rocks or swim in the sea! A visit to the Maritime Museum proved very interesting, with lots of information about the Titanic, such as how all the survivors went straight to New York on the Carthaginia, whilst the Canadian ships from Halifax were left to pick up the drowned (there s a whole cemetery full of them)!! The section on the Canadian Royal Navy even featured torpedoes that I have worked on! The one remaining Corvette from WW2 is in Halifax, which was used to escort convoys half way across the Atlantic, before handing them over to the Royal Navy for the rest of the journey. Whilst there I wore my RN polo shirt, & a gentleman from New Hampshire, USA, approached me and introduced himself. He was born in Plymouth, served in the RAF, and emigrated to the USA. Even more surprising was the little elderly lady from Fareham who introduced herself to me. She emigrated to Australia 40 years ago and was in Halifax on holiday! Another day s visiting took in The Citadel - a fort up above Halifax built in the late 1700s to keep the Yanks at bay, with quite a lot about the history of Halifax on show. In 1917 a large convoy was assembled in Halifax harbour. Amongst the ships was one loaded with ammunition and explosives. Unfortunately it was accidentally rammed & exploded. Prior to Nagasaki and Hiroshima it was the most devastating explosion ever recorded, TWO SQUARE MILES - completely flattened! The Sunday before I came home I attended the 75 th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Truro, one hour out of Halifax. My host actually took the salute for the march past. It was very moving. All the Canadian armed forces were represented from young cadets up to veterans. As ever I was made to feel so welcome at the lunch that followed. Twenty four hours later, and I was on my way home, again with a stopover in Reykjavic. I wonder what the rest of the year will bring? What was lovely was the welcome back that I received from all at St Columba. Thank you. Don Smith. 13

14 Events in November High Time Lunchtime Concert Tuesday 24 th November 1.05pm at Holy Trinity church Continuum unaccompanied music in a variety of styles! Admission free, with retiring collection. Spotlight on World Concerns Christian Aid Quiz and Ploughman s Supper Taking place at St John s, Fareham on Saturday 7 th November at 6.15pm. Tickets 5 per person see the noticeboard in the foyer or Maurice Shergold for more details. Charity Nominations for Thank you to those who nominated charities to be considered for our parish giving over the next three years. As more than six were nominated, information about each of them is currently being collated so that you can find out about what they do before casting your votes. Bea s Blog - from Cam Bea dia to Earlier this year Bea McIntosh (Steve and Jayne Dent s teenage granddaughter) travelled to Cambodia with the aim of making a practical difference to the lives of people living in the area. We have been featuring some of her blog it s time Review and Recouperate Siem Reap, a travellers paradise, plenty of barang food, street cocktails for $1.50 and the macarena, it offered a welcome break from the rice, water & constant glockaglockaglocka (my new favourite song) that Ratanakiri has to offer. Not that I don t love 14

15 my new home, it s just there s a distinct lack of fajitas, which I managed to fill up on at Viva! while on mid-placement review (MPR). Our trip coincided with Khmer New Year, and despite now living in the future (it s 2559 here!) much to my dismay I am unable to predict the winning lottery numbers back home! The celebrations lasted for three days, each concluding with a traditional talcum powder & water fight which made for sore eyes & baby soft skin. MPR isn t a holiday though with daily sessions starting at 8:30am. Volunteer led, these gave us a chance to recap the happenings of the last two months. It was a great opportunity to discuss any challenges we had faced so far and work together to problem-solve so that we would work as efficiently as possible in our last few weeks. At 4am on our final day in Siem Reap we were taken to watch sunrise over Angkor Wat temple. It is a must! The temples are magnificent - my favourite was Angkor Tom, the temple of many faces. The temple ruins were free to be climbed upon and I feel so privileged to be able to have done so. The thought that something so huge, so amazing and so intricate could have been hidden away left me in awe, and despite being absolutely exhausted I explored as best I could. I was pleased to see some restoration and conservation work being done on the sites as these are a majorly important part of Cambodian heritage and if they aren t already then they really should be one of the wonders of the world. The seven hour journey home to Ratanakiri, cramped and sweaty in the back of the minibus was probably my least favourite thing about the entire VSO ICS program thus far, but having my host family so keen to greet me made it all worthwhile. Bea Mc 15

16 Contact Us Parish Office: Holy Trinity Church, West Street, Fareham. PO16 0EL Opening times: 9am 12 noon Monday Friday Tel: Website: Team Vicar at St Columba: Revd Ruth Schofield Tel: Church Wardens at St Columba: Jim Palmer Tel: Nigel Sturt Tel: Rector: Revd Sally Davenport Tel: Assistant Curate: Revd Keith Wickert Tel: Assistant Curate: Revd Garry Roberts Tel: Thank you to our contributors this month. We love to hear from you want to reply? Want to share something that s struck you, or tell us about something you re involved with? Articles for the next edition of the Informer (available 29 th November) are very welcome 500 words or less. Please forward them to Rachel Abbey at St Columba - hard copy deadline Mon 23 rd Nov, electronic copy Tuesday 24 th Nov. Tel: rachel.abbey@ntlworld.com. 16