THE LANTERN ~NOVEMBER 2017~

Transcription

1 THE LANTERN ~NOVEMBER 2017~ NEWS OF THE PARISH OF ST ANDREW S BREDFIELD Cutoff for DECEMBER issue: 20 th NOVEMBER 2017 Please submit entries to Alison Cannard lantern.bredfield@gmail.com Inside this issue: From our Ministry 2 Team Diary dates 5 News from 13 Bredfield Rotas 15 Services 16

2 FROM OUR MINISTRY TEAM At Theological College (many, many years ago!) I had to study Philosophy and, in my way, discovered the truth that a metaphysician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that wasn t there (a Metaphysician is a person who examines / studies the nature of reality oh dear!). Many people feel as hopeless as that about their search for God. A social worker visited a sick boy in the back street of Lagos and found some books on the table beside his bed. They were a Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, the Koran, a copy of Watchtower, a book by Karl Marx and another with the title How to stop worrying! People s long search for God can be a very confusing business. But Christianity is not about mankind groping blindly for God, but about God seeking for individuals because He loves them and want them to know and love Him. Malcolm Muggeridge ( , British journalist, satirist and Christian) said years ago: I ve never wanted or feared a God or felt under any necessity to invent one. Fortunately, I ve been drawn to the conclusion that God wants me! God wants me!!... You!! You may have heard this story before. It is believed to be true: The Story of a Son A very wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.. They had everything in their great collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month late, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, Sir, you don t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when

3 a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art. The young man held out his package, I know this isn t much I m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this. The father opened the package; it was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up in tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. Oh, no Sir, I could never repay what your son did for me; it s a gift! The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited about seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their own collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture? There was silence, then a voice in the back of the room shouted, We want to see the famous paintings skip this one! But the auctioneer persisted, Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100? $200? Another voice shouted angrily, We didn t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh s, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids! But still the auctioneer continues, The son! Who will take the son? Finally a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. I ll give $10 for the painting. Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. We have $10, who will bid $20? Give it to him, let s see the masters. The crowd was getting angry: they didn t want the picture of the son, they wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!

4 A man sitting on the second row shouted, Now let s get on with the collection! The auctioneer laid down his gavel, I m sorry, the auction is over. What about the paintings? I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The person who took the son gets everything! God gave His Son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, The Son, the Son, who ll take the Son? Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!! November 12 th is Remembrance Sunday, a day of remembering the cost of war, the horrors of it, lives given and lives changed, bravery and sacrifice, so much cost. And then into a season of celebration and hope, from 3 rd December: ADVENT, a celebration of Jesus first coming to this earth and the sure and certain hope of His Second Coming and judgement that will follow!! Whoever takes the Son gets everything Life that is Everlasting! John 3 v. 16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have Eternal Life! He must be First He had done everything for us He must be First in all things! May God bless you. Graham House (Rev.)

5 DIARY DATES REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY, 12 th November The service will be begin at the war memorial at am. CHURCHYARD CLEAR UP This year's autumn clear up of the Churchyard will be on Saturday 9 th December 10 am - 3 pm. A picnic lunch will be provided. All support greatly appreciated, even if you can only manage an hour or so. There's lots to do - but please bring your own tools, strimmer etc. It's a fun occasion - no heavy lifting required! It would be helpful if you could let Nick Young (youngs2city@yahoo.com) if you can make it, and/or if you would be able to help with the provision of refreshments.

6 Autumn 2017 CAMEO Tuesday Nov. 14th Tuesday Dec. 5 th St Andrew s Church Room from noon ALL ages welcome, male or female. Teas, coffees, squashes and cakes available (Voluntary donation 1) Toys available as well as friendly chat.

7 Join in the Festive Fun at Bredfield Village Hall s Christmas Fair Saturday 25 th November pm Visit Santa He will be arriving at 1pm Christmas Themed Stalls Cakes, Gifts, Tombola, Lucky Dip Tub Festive Baps, Mince Pies and Mulled Wine Raffle to be drawn at 3.30 In Aid of Bredfield Village Hall

8 Village Hall Christmas Fair Santa s Little Helpers will be around the Village in November collecting donations for a Bottle Tombola Stall. - Anything from ketchup to champagne is welcome. There will also be a Cake Stall. Home baked cakes should be brought along on the day. This is a great family day for the Village and if you would like to help please contact: Hilary Harker on / hilaryharker@icloud.com GET YOUR CHRISTMAS OFF TO A GREAT START!!

9 FINDING JOY a prayer and spirituality day run by the Diocesan Spirituality Group Tuesday 7 November am pm The St Nicholas Centre, Ipswich IP1 1UQ A day led by Bishop Tim Stevens We live in uncertain and troubling times. Many experience anxiety about the future and within the Church there is evidence of worries about what the next generation may bring. During this day Bishop Tim Stevens will explore God's promise to us of "a joy which is complete". How do we live this joy in our personal lives and in the Church and in a world like this? There will be space in the day for discussion and reflection and prayer. This is part of the ongoing Diocesan prayer and spirituality initiatives aiming to encourage the priority of prayerfulness at the heart of all we do. This event is free, donations to cover costs will be welcomed. Drinks are provided, but please bring your own lunch. To register please go to finding-joy-spirituality.eventbrite.co.uk. Enquiries to Caroline Redman at spirituality@cofesuffolk.org or phone Please note there is no car parking available at the St Nicholas Centre (apart from a limited number of disabled spaces).

10 FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT ST JOHN S 'Walking on Water' New Wine Leaders Day with Paul Harcourt - 23rd November From the beginning, Jesus trained his disciples to join him in the signs, wonders and miracles that he performed. Many Christians long to experience the fullness of life, but find that their spiritual lives are lacking in purpose or depth. This day has been designed to give you a taste of New Wine s ministry of worship, teaching and prayer, and to help you take steps forward into the adventure of following Jesus. On 23rd November, we are looking forward to welcoming guest speaker, Paul Harcourt, National Leader of New Wine and Vicar of All Saints, Woodford Wells. Paul will be leading this day which is designed to give people a taste of New Wine s ministry and to

11 encourage you to take steps forward into the adventure of following Jesus. Paul has recently written a book called 'Walking on Water' which tackles some of the issues that may stop you becoming all you can be in Jesus. Paul will discuss the key things that will help "inspire and encourage you to keep going, keep growing, keep moving towards the finish line, knowing that with Christ all things are possible. Arianna Walker, Chief Executive of Mercy UK. There will be an opportunity for you to purchase 'Walking on Water' at a discounted rate at the Leaders Day on 23rd November. If you are a leader within the church (ie. Ministry Team, Lifegroup, Worship, Youth/Childrens, etc), we would encourage you to come to this day. If you are not currently leading but you are in a place where you sense God is calling you into something new, maybe into an area of serving, leading or ministry, this day will be very inspiring and encouraging for you. Although there is no charge for this event you do need to book a place by contacting me by or tel the church office on Please bring a packed lunch - refreshments will be provided. For further information of other events that will be coming up in the next few weeks, please go to

12 Mission, Rev Dave Gardner - Cafe Church - Sunday 29th October, 7pm. Rev Dave Gardner, Director of Mission and Ministry at the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich will be talking on how we offer an authentic experience of Christian community in our daily lives wherever we are. This will be an encouraging but challenging talk for us all while we are in our important season of mission - we do hope you can come along to this.

13 NEWS FROM BREDFIELD A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in this year s Ride and Stride, both the riders and striders and those who donated refreshments and their time to welcome visitors to the Church. A total of 351 was raised, half of which goes directly to support St Andrew's Bredfield. And another big THANK YOU to everyone (both Church goers and non-church goers) who so generously donated to the ST ANDREW S HARVEST AND AUTUMN APPEAL in aid of the BRITISH RED CROSS HURRICANE APPEAL. We raised , which will go to help those who have lost everything as a result of the terrible hurricanes in the Caribbean. Quotation for November The river this November afternoon Rests in an equipoise of sun and cloud: A glooming light, a gleaming darkness shroud Its passage. All seems tranquil, all in tune. Cecil Day-Lewis, The Complete Poems of C. Day Lewis

14 BREDFIELD YOUTH CLUB Hi I would like to tell you about the Just42 youth group that is held in Bredfield Village Hall every Monday evening 6.30 to 8.30 pm. Catering for years 7 to years 11, we provide a range of activities to challenge the young people but also to have fun. We do arts and crafts, cooking, team building games, pool, table tennis as well as a range of outdoor stuff during the summer times. It only costs 1 per session. Come along and find out more! Bryan McManus Team Leader Just42 Bredfield "Making a positive impact on the lives of young people and children in rural Suffolk." Tel: Reg no Charity No Registered office: 24, St John's Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1HS

15 100 Club Winners 1st Prize 2nd Prize No. 58 Mr D Leyland No. 78 Mr J Richardson Church Cleaning Rota 4 th November TBA 11 th November P. Cooke 18 th November C. Cowper 25 th November P. Miller Church Flower Rota 5 th November H. Young 12 th November S. Woods 19 th November J. Garrod 26 th November M. Bence Refreshments Rota 5 th November TBA 12 th November A. Stammers 19 th November A. Cannard 26 th November A. Ackerley

16 November Services at St. Andrew s Sunday 5 th November Sunday 12 th November Remembrance Sunday Sunday 19 th November Sunday 26 th November Morning Prayer Roger Ackerley Family Service Rev Hugh Hawes Holy Communion Rev Graham House Morning Worship Rob Watson 9.15am 10.50am 9.15am 9.15am To contact the Rector and for all enquiries regarding St Andrew s, contact St John s church office on: info@stjohnswoodbridge.org.uk Or RECTOR: REV D. CLIVE HOWARD CHURCHWARDEN: Vacant.