Via the Grape Vine. Newport Congregational Church Invites you To celebrate its 351 st Anniversary of the Great Ejection.

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1 Issue No. 4 Where would we be without the letters written to the churches in the New Testament? We would not have the record of their growth, joys, trials and victories to encourage us on in our faith. They are a testimony to the church over the ages that Christ is truly with us and that we are more than conquerors through Christ They leave a legacy that enables us to build on our faith, learn from their mistakes, and share in their joys. What legacy do we want to leave as churches today? What testimony do we have to share with the generations to come? In sharing here about our churches in the South East we are leaving a small written record as proof of our existence, of our struggles and our victories. Who knows who might read about us many years from now? May they find hope and encouragement as they see that Christ does not abandon his people. By the power of His Holy Spirit, we are enabled to persevere in times of prosperity and in times of need, through times of favour and times of persecution, through wars and peace. And therefore we continue with our series So WHO are we all? Caterham Community Church, Surrey This Congregational chapel was planted in Caterham on the Hill in 1876 for the benefit of those living in the army barracks and the local asylum. Both of these closed eventually, and the chapel itself was threatened with closure. But God has been faithful in his promises and the church has grown over the years and experienced renewal in the Holy Spirit. We have strong links into the community through various mission projects, most recently linking up with Trussell Trust and other churches in the area to provide a local food bank. Do keep this project in your prayers as it is still in its initial stages. Our town is a place of transition, growing from a village into a more urban setting as the London borough of Croydon encroaches more and more towards us. Caterham s other claim to fame is Caterham Cars, now part of Formula 1 racing. Their HQ recently moved away from the area leaving Caterham bereft of its hallmark. The church never got a look in though but we run a very different race don t we! We pray the churches in the area will become the new hallmark. Further information about Caterham Community Church can be found on our website: What does it mean to be a Congregational Church and why church membership? What is a Congregationalist? What role does the Congregational Federation play in the life of my church? The Congregational Federation and the Congregational Federation Limited What s the difference? How should a congregational church meetings be conducted? What does it mean to seek the Mind of Christ together? How does the gift of leadership find expression in a congregational church? How do we honour one another when conflict arises? Contact Clemy Gilmore who would be very happy to chat to you and your church about all things Congregational and more. Tel: or clemy.cf@gmail.com 1

2 Via the Grape Vine Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 1 Chronicles 28:20 Saturday August 10 th At Trinity Congregational Church in Brixton 3pm Service to commemorate the ejections of Nonconformist ministers on St Bartholomew s day Preacher: Margaret Morris, President of the Congregational Federation Newport Congregational Church Invites you To celebrate its 351 st Anniversary of the Great Ejection. Saturday 17 th August 4:30pm Afternoon tea followed by reflections from Rev Graham Akers and Rev Dr Janet Wotton 1662: A year that shaped Britain and changed the World. If you would like to join us, please let Rev Mark Evans know for catering reasons revmarkevans@yahoo.co.uk Conscience, Courage and Conviction The past impacts the future Linda Hugget, assistant pastor at Harting Congregational church attended a weekend at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, together with many other students on the training course and also a number of students from the URC, entitled 'Conscience Courage and Conviction'. We talked of the people in the past who had paved the way for us to be able to worship in the way that we do, thinking of those who suffered as a result of the 1662 Act of Uniformity. We spoke of those who had fought for the rights and freedom of others, William Wilberforce, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parkes, Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu, being just a few names that came up. We were encouraged to listen to our conscience (perhaps the voice of God, or the prompting of the Holy Spirit) to have the conviction of what was right for our times, and then to have the courage to stand up and speak. We thought of many Christians today who have suffered as a result of living as they believe God requires with the resulting loss of jobs and therefore income. We then looked to the future and how we thought that God might lead us, our Churches and communities, into Conscience, Courage and Conviction. Island Celebrations! - Minster Bethel On Sunday 14 July we celebrated our anniversary Bethel was built in 1869 so this was our 144th birthday..we traditionally celebrate our anniversary each year on the second Sunday in July which is also a Church Parade. Rev Nigel Lindsay came from Wimbledon to lead both services for us and spent the weekend on the Isle of Sheppey. His Mum came with him it s always good to see them both. They joined us for anniversary tea, when we also welcomed friends from other churches on the Island. During the afternoon Nigel also went to the 2

3 Blessing of the Waters service on the waterfront at Queenborough where our GB band were playing for the parade and the service. This is a service which is held each year, organised by the Church of England, and goes back several hundred years. The following Saturday (20 July) Girls and Boys Brigade held a coffee morning to raise much needed funds and we then had a wonderful evening celebrating the achievements of our Girls and Boys Brigade members with the presentation of badges and awards. The day ended with a barbecue attended by many parents and friends. The young people are off to camp on Saturday 27 July and then have the summer off before returning to Brigade in September. Timothy Times South Chingford welcome under 18 s into membership At our Covenant Service we were blessed and excited to welcome 6 of our Young People into Youth Church Membership. This is a new development for us, as it appears to be across the Cong Fed (We're trail blazers!!) These young people will have all the same rights and responsibilities as full Church Membership except that as under 18's they will be unable to vote - however this brings with it a HUGE step of faith and a profession of faith on the parts of the young people. We are SOOOOO proud of them and we ask that they, and the rest of the church, are held up in prayer as we move forwards with this deeper relationship. 1 Timothy 4:12 Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (NIV) Yes to Youth! Wimbledon Congregational Church would welcome prayers for our new Youth group called Connect which started Saturday 20 th July. We plan to run once a month to start with. It will include, Tuck shop, food together, a Connect to Faith slot, table tennis, Pool etc. and maybe some trips out and a connection with CF-XTRA. Nigel Lindsay, the minister says, I have been wanting to do something like this for some time and God has been working on my patience! God Answers Prayer Over the past two terms we have had the great privilege of going into the local school and running an After School Club called JAM, 'Jesus and Me'. We have had an energetic and enthusiastic group of children each week and have covered many miracles in the first term and the life of Jesus in the second. Nigel, our minister has been doing a Lunch time club for 3 years, but they would not let us do a Christian club, so the opportunity to do JAM has been an answer to prayer. Being adventurous for God God Puts is in places he would like us to be. I make a habit of going to other local churches on Sunday mornings as our main service is at 3pm. Last week I went to the Methodist as they have a 10am service and I needed to be back for a Picnic we had planned. They had changed the time to 11am so after a brief chat to the lady opening up I went to have coffee in Wimbledon. I ended up siting with a woman who was visiting and we spent the whole time talking about church and Jesus. This would not have happened if the Methodist church had not changed the service time. Thank you God Nigel Lindsay, Wimbledon Congregational Church 3

4 Caterham Community Church employs New Youth Leader Arron Townsend! Arron will be commissioned on Sunday the 11 th of August please join us in praying for Arron and the youth work in our church. Swing Wide the Gates Open days an outreach for Union Church in Heathfield At the end of June we held another "Open Saturday" when we opened the doors of our church and church hall to all. We served free tea/coffee and scones with strawberries and cream and we were pleased that a good number of people came in. As well as being able to chat to people and show them round the buildings, there was the opportunity to have a number of conversations about our faith and things we do in the church. This was the third time we have held an "open doors" event and we are hoping to hold another one in November to coincide with the day that Heathfield switches on the Christmas lights. We are hoping to serve the refreshments in the church and set up some activities in the church hall (such as table tennis and hopefully either scalextrix or a railway layout) in order to encourage some of the youth in our community to come in. If this proves successful we may continue with this. Please pray for success in this new venture. Organ restoration Project, Union Chapel Celebrating historical sound July was a really busy month for Union Chapel, as the Organ Restoration Project celebrated the restoration of our magnificent Henry Willis pipe organ with a whole week of workshops and concerts. Thanks to a generous Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the vital support of the Union Chapel Project and all the staff and members of the Chapel, the restoration project began in July and August last year, when the organ was carefully dismantled piece by piece, transported to the Durham workshops of organ builders Harrison & Harrison for a complete overhaul, and then rebuilt in the Chapel early in Following an extensive period of voicing, tuning and settling in, we wanted to welcome the organ back into the heart of the Chapel and also to encourage as many people as possible to discover it: our Henry Willis is well hidden behind a permanent screen, and even the organist is barely visible beneath the raised pulpit in the Chapel. So Music Director Claire M Singer planned events across a range of genres to highlight the sound, the heritage and the often ignored versatility of this world-class instrument. The celebrations kicked off on Sunday July 14th, with two free community workshops sponsored by the Institute of Physics and led by Jeremy Sampson with his WOOFYT (Wooden One-octave Organ For Young Technologists), exploring how sound is produced by the organ, and encouraging participants to create their own music. It was great fun and the perfect introduction to our Organ Launch Week. That evening a large, appreciative audience attended the free inaugural organ recital to hear Simon Johnson, organist at St Paul's Cathedral, in a very varied programme of classics and lesser known works, even including one piece played using the organ's original, unique hydraulics system (water power), which was shut down abruptly in the 1930s and has now also been lovingly restored. Simon is one of the foremost organists of his generation, and we were fortunate to have such a talented organist playing and talking so knowledgeably about our organ and the works he chose to showcase it All in all, it was a fascinating, busy, exhilarating, educational, illuminating, stunning, exciting week - and Claire and Janet (administrator of the organ outreach programme) are planning even more events for ! Photo: Andrew Firth To read about the rest of the week s events please make sure you get a copy of the next edition of The Congregationalist magazine! 4

5 Message from Higham Congregational Church: Onward Christian Soldiers. Rise up, get out of bed Don t just lay there sleeping For there s a battle ahead Get down on your knees For spiritual exercise The enemy is cunning A master of disguise. Don t just lay and dream There isn t that much time It s later than it seems Put on the Gospel armour You ll need it all you know Then you will be ready To go and face the foe. Get up and start the day There s work for Jesus waiting And no time to delay Don t forget your weapon Its God s own Holy Word Then you ll face the enemy With a mighty sword. How is Christ s Will Discerned by the Church? In general, it is revealed through a study of the scriptures and through prayer, making due allowance for the gathered experience of Christian men and women throughout the centuries. In particular, it is made known through the church meeting, through its prayers and thoughtful and considerate discussions. Although Christ is present in the fellowship, the gathered church has considerable responsibility and liberty in thought, worship and government. Each church must, therefore, try to interpret and carry out Christ s will, relying upon the guidance of his Spirit. At the church meeting, all the covenant members seek together to discover the will of Christ for their fellowship and are guided into a common mind by the Holy Spirit. Neither bullying nor pressuring of others should occur but patient waiting on the Lord may be necessary, calling for tender restraint sometimes on the part of committed enthusiasts. An extract from The Nature of the Household Fait It s time to go to war There s a spiritual battle Beyond the bedroom door Don t worry about losing The fight that is to come Because through Jesus Christ The victory s already won The AGMs for Union Chapel Congregational Church, Union Chapel Project and Friends of Union Chapel are scheduled for 23 September. We d appreciate prayers that we conduct our meetings together in a spirit of faith and understanding, being business-like in the modern world whilst always holding compassion for those we minister to. Previous issues of CONNECT are available at under Resources Area Pages - South East 5