You re Welcome! Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 3

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2 You re Welcome! A redheaded man walks into a bar and sits next to a second redheaded man. He orders a pint of lager, and the second redhead turns to him. "I'm guessing from that accent you're from Liverpool?" he says. "Of course!" the first man exclaims. "Here, bartender, get this guy a pint, too." Their exchange continues: Lemme ask you, what street did you grow up in? Balliol Road. And you? Balliol Road, same as you! Here, bartender, get this guy another pint! What school did you go to? St. Joseph s Boy's Academy. No way! I went to St. Joe's too! Bartender, get this guy a pint! The conversation continues, and as they find they had the same teachers, knew the same kids, support the same football club, they proceed to get louder and louder, more and more excited, until a man at the other end of the bar asks the bartender, "What's up with those two?" The bartender shrugs and says, "It's the Kelly twins, they're drunk again!" We all do it. Not get drunk with strangers in pubs. Or not necessarily. No: we all get on most easily with people who are most like us. It s easiest to make friends with someone who is a similar age to us, has a similar background, similar interests. And do you know how long it takes us to judge somebody the first time we meet them? How long does it take for us to sum up another human being? Two seconds. Just two seconds. Research shows that in two short seconds we decide whether someone is like us or not, whether they belong or are outsiders. Whether or not we would buy them a pint. Jesus was human and summed people up quickly too, but the outcome was a bit different. For example, one day when he was travelling Jesus passed a tax booth, a tent on the road providing shade for the man who sitting inside, charging travellers a toll which went straight into hated Roman pockets. Everyone else on the road made their two second judgement of the tax collector, Matthew. Matthew was not someone you want to talk to, not someone you would share a pint with. He was an outsider, a traitor. Passers-by paid what they must and moved on. But not Jesus. He made his two second judgement and saw something else. A human being, made in the image of God. He saw a man who was lonely, whose reasons for taking this hateful job had eaten him up. Jesus saw a man who needed healing. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 3

3 Instead of walking quickly on, discounting Matthew as not belonging to his circle of friends, Jesus did the equivalent of buying Matthew a pint. Follow me, he said, come on, let s eat together, let s share food and conversation. Matthew must have been longing for that call, even if he didn t admit it. He was longing to be valued and healed. He was longing to be welcomed. And so he followed and his life changed for ever. When we welcome people across the threshold of Church we are being Jesus hands and mouth. People may come looking for solace or healing. They may be feeling excluded and lonely. They may come full of trepidation, not quite sure why they have come. As Christ s people, our welcome is: Come, let s eat together and speak together. You are valued here. This is a place where you belong We aim to welcome people as Jesus welcomed people, with open arms and open hearts. Lucy Harvest Festival Our harvest festival this year is on Sunday 1st October. We look forward to seeing you then. 9:00 am Holy Communion with hymns (St Andrew s) 10:30 am All Age Sunday Celebration 6:30 pm Harvest Songs of Praise Donations at all these services are welcome. Monetary gifts will be given to The Bishop s Harvest Appeal, supporting poor farming communities in the Philippines. Donations of non-perishable food will be given to the NEED food bank project. Soup Lunch ~ we need you! New to Flitwick Church! A monthly lunch of homemade soup, bread and, of course, cake; open to all, on the first Wednesday of each month in the Chapter House. Starting on Wednesday 4th October, join us from 12 noon for good food and great company. We are very much looking forward to this regular new event, and need your help. Can you make soup, bake cakes, pour coffee or wash up? All offers of help are very welcome you do not need to commit to every month. Please let Val Hyde know or sign the list at the back of the church. Page 4 Flitwick Parish Magazine

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5 Mothers Union Dates for September and October Wed 13th Sep: 7-9pm Thu 21st Sep: 2pm Diocesan Songs of Praise at St John Harpenden Discussion Afternoon Fri & Sat 29th-30 th Sep General meeting in Edinburgh Thu 19th Oct: 2pm Corpus Christi, 15th June: Deanery St Lukestide Communion in Flitwick Richard Winslade (Deanery Chaplain) led a most interesting afternoon explaining about the ideas and actions of a Holy Communion service. Sadly, the audience was very small and those who missed it certainly did miss a fascinating talk. Wave of prayer service, 23rd June: Jesus said where two or more gather in my name I am with you. Well, he was with Mary, Shelagh and Dot from Ampthill and Sonia at the Wave of Prayer service for our link members Rumonge, Tabora, Kabba, Bukuru, Nagpur and St Albans. The appropriate hymns: Brother, Sister let me serve you; Christ be with me and Great is thy Faithfulness were sung for a very uplifting service. We gave thought as to how our link members are so small in numbers yet so fruitful and they show us that once there is a need there is a must. Making the Diocesan Banner, 20th July: Have you seen the MU new banner? What a beauty and a masterpiece! All due to Jill Thompson s excitement and rising to the challenge when she was asked to make a new MU banner (after a competition to design a new one failed to produce a winner). Jill with her assistant told us in detail the intricacies of her making this beautiful banner (on some days helped by her two Burmese cats!) from material donated by many MU branch members in the Diocese. Jill says, The Mariner s Compass represents the worldwide reach of MU and Rainbow People symbolise members from many nations in an attitude of praise. What about a bookmarker of the MU banner? Blank cards with a picture of the banner on the front and brief notes about it on the back are available to buy speak to a Mothers Union representative for details. Page 26 Flitwick Parish Magazine

6 Bible Study Supper 7:30pm on Wednesday 13th September in the Chapter House. If you have been a part of our Bible study group in the past, would like to join a group in the future or just want to find out more, this is for you! A chance to enjoy each other s company over supper, to talk about how the groups work best to suit our needs, and to work out about what we might like to study in the future. Please let Lucy know or add your name to the list at the back of the church, if you are planning to come. Messy Church: Save the Date Messy Church is making a return! Our first session will be at 3:30pm on Saturday 28th October a Halloween special! More details will follow, so put the date in your diary. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 7

7 Churchyard Benches In the Church Yard, we have six benches that have just been pressure cleaned. Five of them are in need of some minor repairs. Also, due to the legs of the benches penetrating the soil, the areas of contact have rotted away. To prevent this from continuing, the benches need to be placed on paving stones. We need 20 pieces for the five benches so if you have one or two please contact me, on If the paving stones are broken it doesn't matter as long as they have an area greater than 9 inches in diameter to allow for the movement of placement. With thanks, John Russell Need Project Update The need for donated food is continuous. So far this year, 573 food parcels have been distributed as well as a number of furnishings and white goods as follows: Craft Share Group Join us on the first Tuesday of every month, 3-5pm in the Chapter House. Bring along your crafts and enjoy a warm, friendly atmosphere, with tea and biscuits. For more information, please contact Rebecca on Words of Wisdom Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening. Page 8 Flitwick Parish Magazine

8 Applique cushions Felt key rings and broaches Autumn Craft Fair After the marvellous success of last year s Autumn Craft Fair, Flitwick Church will be repeating the event on Saturday 11th November from 12pm until 4pm, in Flitwick Village Hall. We need all of our wonderful crafters to get busy crafting so that we have loads of quality homemade goods to sell. The best sellers last year were: Ginger bread people (Christmas tree decorations) Knitted dolls and hedgehogs and knitted toys Christmas Bunting Soap and flannel sets Peg bags We are looking for more of the same to sell at this year s event and any other great new ideas that people think may make brilliant items to sell. Unfortunately, knitted hats, scarves and baby cardigans didn't sell that well so we don't need many of those items this year. But we are open to all your wonderful homemade goods knitted, sewn, crocheted, drawn, painted, carved, printed, even homemade sweets and chocolates! For those who do not want to craft alone we will be running craft club once a week. Please come along and learn new craft skills or better still come and teach us some of yours! This group is for complete beginners as well as experienced crafters. Plans are for craft club to run on Tuesdays 3pm-5pm in the Chapter house, but we do hope to run some sessions on evenings or weekends. Check out the pew sheets or contact Karen Rabjohn at karen.rabjohn@gmail.com for more information. NOTE: We would really like to find the person who made the flannel and soap sets that were donated last year as we would like to learn how to make more. Please let Karen Rabjohn on the events team know who you are. Finally please, please put the date in your diary, come along on the day and bring family and friends. Without your support this event won t be the success it was last year." Thank you. Karen Rabjohn Page 14 Flitwick Parish Magazine