Beckenham United ReformedChurch

Transcription

1 April 2017 Beckenham United ReformedChurch

2 SUNDAY WORSHIP - APRIL nd April Rev. Fiona Thomas including Holy Communion 9th April Mr. Alan Kienlan 16th April Mrs. Marion Bayley - Easter Sunday 23rd April Mr. John Morley 30th April Mrs. Hilary Miles OTHER DIARY EVENTS Wednesday 5th April 2.30pm Bible Study Tuesday 11th April 2.30pm Crescent Club Tuesday 11th April 7.30pm Elders Wednesday 19th April 1.00pm Luncheon Club & Songs of Praise Maundy Thursday Service - Hayes Free Church - 8pm Good Friday Walk of Witness 14 th April - St. Edmunds - 11am OUR VISION Our vision is to glorify God and to serve God throughout our lives, always open to God working through us. We seek to share the good news of love, forgiveness and grace with all in our local community through our actions and our prayers. Donors Arrangers 2nd April The Almonds Jane Ball 9th Hilda Beard Pat Power 16th The Duncans Monica Duncan 23rd available Marion Bayley 30th available Muriel Aldcroft Christianity begins where religion ends - with the resurrection. Author Unknown

3 Dear Friends, Easter is upon us once more, that glorious season of renewal and regeneration. We see it in nature as we see it in the new life that God, through Jesus, gifts us in the Easter story. Some may think it strange that the hero of the story is the One who dies. But it is a death with a purpose, a death to pay the penalty of sin, a death that leads to life and a death that covers and pays for all of our inadequacies and problems. As well as the Easter story bringing a sense of joy, it also brings all Christians a responsibility. We have been given a wonderful thing and in return we should emulate qualities that Jesus demonstrated, in our relationships with each other inside and beyond the church. Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, said, We ve tried so hard and have failed so miserably that unless the world has a spiritual rebirth in the next few years civilisation is doomed. And that s what Easter is all about spiritual rebirth. Post Brexit and post the US elections we might believe that our values are crumbling. We need to remind ourselves that it is in our actions that will bring about this modern resurrection of faith, by leading good and worthy lives, by standing up for what is right and by showing kindness and compassion to others. The Easter story tells of a God who made the world, saw it crumble and so proceeds to put it back in shape. This job is now in our hands as his representatives on earth. I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. John Happy Easter, Julien

4 FROM THE SECRETARY When you read our Church Meeting minutes in this month s Outlook, you will see that I mention that our Interim Moderator Rev. Dr. Peter Stevenson will be leaving at the end of April. He has guided us well in our Vacancy Committee meetings and I would like to thank him for all his help over the past year in our Vacancy period. From the beginning of May, our next Interim Moderator will be Mrs. Hilary Miles. She is at the moment a member of the Pastoral Committee, but has over a period of time held many roles in Synod! She is also taking our service at the end of April, so you will get a chance to say Hello to her then! Marion had her operation last week and was home in under 48 hours! She is recovering well at home. Some of our older folk have been unwell over the past month. Hilda has been unable to get to Church and Sheila decided to stay an extra 3 weeks in Foxbridge. Jim Nevill suffered another small stroke so has been recuperating in Orpington Hospital but hopes to be home this coming week. We look forward to the Crescent Club take our service on Mothering Sunday. I know the committee have worked hard in arranging it and this is much appreciated. Gill Ross Lectionary 2 nd April 2 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 130 Romans 8:6-11 John 11: th April Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Matthew 21:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66 or Matthew 27: th April Isaiah 55:1-11 and Isaiah 12:2-6; Romans 6:3-11 and Psalm 114; Matthew 28:1-10; Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6 Psalm 118:1-2, Colossians 3:1-4; or Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28: rd April Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9 ;John 20: th April Acts 2:14a, Psalm 116:1-4, Peter 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35

5 PRAYER FELLOWSHIP Loving Lord God, the depth and breadth and cost of your love is now known. In the birth of Jesus, heaven and earth fuse in a child. You draw back the veil of separation and touch the temporal with the eternal. Christ lays aside the divine cloak and takes instead the mantle of a slave Loving Lord God, we worship you. In the death of Jesus, your Son, our sins and your grace embrace. You cast light into the darkness of our deeds and offer the hand of forgiveness to us. Christ lays down his life for us and takes our place on the cursed cross. Gracious God, we worship you. In the resurrection of Jesus, the treasure of renewal is seen, the breaking of despair s spiral known, and assurance for the future found. Christ rises again to life and hearts lift from the depths of sorrow. Eternal God, we worship you. Loving Lord God, we rejoice again in Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life. We commit ourselves to that way, we hunger after that truth, we crave that life. We pray our days are touched by both cross-shadow and resurrection-light: the love and hope at the base of our belief; the pain and purpose at the root of our faith; the cost and gift at the heart of our calling. All our prayers we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Saviour. Amen

6 CHURCH MEETING MINUTES held on 19th March 2017 IN THE CHAIR: Mr. Alan Duncan APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Mrs. Sheila Baldwin, Mr. & Mrs. J. Ball, Mrs. Marion Bayley, Mrs. Hilda Beard, Mr. Peter Bevan, Mrs. Sheila Gardner, Mr. & Mrs. R Smith, MINUTES of the meeting held on 15th Jan 2017 were duly signed. MATTERS ARISING: None NOTIFICATION OF ITEMS FOR ANY OTHER BUSINESS - Mrs. Monica Duncan, Mrs. Pat Power PASTORAL NEWS: News of the Church family was exchanged and prayers offered for those in need. ECUMENICAL REPORT: Gill commented that the Women s World Day of Prayer Service at Christ Church had been extremely successful this year. SECRETARY S REPORT: a. Correspondence None b. Pulpit Supply - Gill informed the members that there are still some Sundays to be covered this Summer. c. Vacancy - Gill informed the members that someone has requested to see the Pastorate Profile. Rev. Dr. Peter Stevenson will no longer be our Interim Moderator as from the end of April. The person replacing him is Mrs. Hilary Miles. JOINT PASTORATE: nil to report FABRIC: Alan Duncan told us the new boiler is now working well and is a much simpler system. Montessori have mentioned that the floors in the 2 back classrooms are causing the children to have splinters. Alan is arranging for an estimate, and then in the near future they will be repolished etc. The lock on the main blue door had been giving problems. Alan arranged for a locksmith to come last Sunday, but when he arrived the

7 lock worked! If in the future there are any problems, we must report it immediately! FINANCE: It was reported to Anthony the fridge belonging to Montessori is broken. He is to speak to them about it. Anthony presented the Church Accounts. Monica Duncan proposed their acceptance and Muriel Aldcroft seconded the motion and the meeting agreed nom com. A vote of thanks was given to Anthony for all the hard work he had done in preparing and presenting the accounts. Mr. Roland Smith was also given a vote of thanks for auditing them. FUTURE EVENTS: Top of the Pew - 9th April at Beckenham URC at 8pm Christian Aid District Service - 14th May - St. Mary s Shortlands pm? Christian Aid Lunch - 21st May ANY OTHER BUSINESS: Monica Duncan informed us that we had a spot check from Bromley Borough at Luncheon Club last Wednesday. Fortunately everything was in order! Pat Power is to send a Get Well card to Jim Nevill. She had great difficulty in closing the Key Safe. It was agreed there was a problem and we would purchase a new one. She also suggested that the men of the Church took a service on Father s Day this year. Gill was to check the date and see if it was available, if not they could perhaps do a service on a different date! DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 14th May, 2017 The meeting closed with the Grace THANK YOU Thank you so much for all the support you have given me during the run-up to my operation and for your love and prayers since. It has been such a joy for Anthony and myself not to mention Katherine to have felt upheld, uplifted and cherished. We are truly blessed in our fellowship. God bless you, Marion

8 COFFEE April goes to the - East Africa Appeal

9 OFFERINGS The offerings during February were as follows:- February February February February The after service coffee collections during February were in aid of Age UK and totalled Anthony Bayley CHRISTIAN AID WEEK Christian Aid Week this year runs from May 14 to May 20. We will be holding a Christian Aid Lunch after the service on Sunday May 21 and further details will be in next month s Outlook. We will again be holding house to house collections and I will be looking for volunteers. If you have not done it before please talk to me for further information and if you have done it before I will be talking to you!! The intention is to make collections in streets, stations and supermarkets in addition to the house to house collections and if this is of interest to you please let me know. Anthony Bayley CRESCENT CLUB Firstly I must apologise for missing the time slot to get my February report printed. Old Father Time caught up with me! We had a really good meeting last month, the highlight was the sing-a-long with Roland. How we love those old tunes, some of which are over 70 years old. I wonder what people will be singing in 70 years from now. Our March meeting was really good. After Muriel said a prayer and Mary read a poem called Timid Bunnies which matched the theme of the speaker s talk. Judy Davis from Bromley URC gave us a wonderful talk about Beatrix Potter : her knowledge on the subject was so detailed, that one knew how much she cared for the well-loved writer. She told us how Beatrix had spent her childhood holidays in the Lake District and fell in love with the area. When she could afford it, she bought a house there and stayed there until her death in 1943.

10 The legacy she left meant that her beloved lakes would be enjoyed by future generations of her readers. A great presentation by Judy. Afterwards we had tea and cakes and wished Muriel a very Happy Birthday. Our next meeting is on April 11 th and will be a talk by Gillian Scales from Wellcare in Bromley on one of her other subjects that interest her busy life. Patricia Power TOP OF THE PEW We are playing our first round match against Beckenham Methodist Church on April 9 at 8.00 p.m. at home. Please come along and support your team. It s always an enjoyable evening except for the team members!!! Our charity this year is Carers Bromley which supports Carers throughout the Borough. Anthony Bayley THE LONDON MARATHON Claire Bryant who is Katherine s co-leader of the Brownies at Elmers End Free Church (and also the sister of Lisa who runs our Brownies) is running in the London Marathon in aid of Brain Tumour Research. She was inspired by the experiences and suffering of a very dear friend and reports as follows. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Apply for the marathon they said. You probably won t get in anyway they said. Then in October 2016 the acceptance letter arrived. It will be fun they chirped. You ll get fit and healthy they stated. So many months on, after plenty of blood, sweat and tears have already been expended and I m still waiting for the fun, fitness and healthiness to materialise! However, the blisters, chaffing, inability to walk down stairs etc. will all be worth it if I can raise some money for a very worthy charity. If anyone would like to assist in this way they can either give me cash to pass on or visit her Internet Just Giving page on Anthony Bayley Copy for the May Outlook by 23rd April please.

11 BECKENHAM UNITED REFORMED CHURCH Oakhill Road (off Crescent Road) Interim Moderator Rev. Dr. Peter Stevenson Secretary Mrs G Ross Treasurer Mr. A. Bayley Outlook Editor Mr J Ball Asst. Editor Mr A Bayley Church organisations Crescent Club Mrs. M Aldcroft Luncheon Club Mrs M Duncan Brownies Miss L Minett 3rdbeckbrownies@gmail.com Rainbows Mrs M Sloper martine.sloper@btinternet.com Pilates Monday Tuesday Thursday U3A Arts Class Monday Janie Harris Ballet School Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday Saturday Montessori Mon - Fri Jazz Dance Monday Tai Chi Chuan Monday Spanish Dancing Tuesday Saturday U3A Guitars(2 nd & 4 th ) Wednesday Brownies Wednesday Rainbows Wednesday For lettings apply to Mr. Anthony Bayley