Allestree - Feb Knowing and worshipping God and sharing His love

Transcription

1 Knowing and worshipping God and sharing His love Allestree - Feb 2018 Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me. -- Psalm 51: 10 Somewhat unusually this year, Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent and a time when Christians undertake or resolve to give up things like alcohol and chocolate, is on February 14 th which is of course celebrated as Valentines Day. So in our household we may have to breakfast on chocolate to celebrate and then begin Lent after lunch! The origins of Lent lie not in any conscious re-enactment of Jesus' time in the wilderness, but in the rigorous preparation of Christians for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in Holy week and at Easter. The observance of Lent was first undertaken by baptismal candidates as it was the final part of their baptismal preparations. It was not long before the Church realised that all Christians would benefit from a season of preparation marked by penitence expressed in prayer and abstention. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this time, not only when we 'give up' a pleasure like our morning coffee and chocolate biscuit break or our evening glass of wine, but in our church services we may aslo 'give up', or omit saying the Gloria in Excelsis at the Communion service. We may give up flowers from our church buildings and give up using the word 'Alleluia' and similar expressions of joy. During this time we also try to take something on or maybe to commit to praying at a certain time Vicar: Rev Becky Mathew vicarallestreequarndon@hotmail.com Vicarage Tel: Church Office Tel: stnicksallestree@outlook.com Administrator: Mrs Yanyan Case Website: www. stnicholasallestree.org.uk General office hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:20am -3:20pm 1

2 every day or being more disciplined with bible study. It may be joining a Lent group being held by many local churches. It might mean committing to giving to a favourite charity and finding ways of raising money to do that or some kind of practical action like volunteering or helping out locally. In many places the practice of ashing is still common, an ash cross is placed upon a person s head to symbolise humility and our own frailty, these words are said, Remember that you are but dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. There will be a lunchtime communion service in The StNicks on Wednesday 14 th which will include the imposition of ashes open to anyone who d like to join us to mark the beginning of Lent. We are also restarting services, beginning with a Service for Healing & Reconciliation including Laying on of hands and anointing on Sunday February 11 th and a service of Night prayer on Sunday 25 th February. We are going to introduce several different forms of service so that we can explore different forms of worship, we just ask that you come with an open heart and mind to what has been prepared. Before I arrived, there had been a request in the parish profile to look at pastoral care as a priority in the parish and so we are going to run a Lent group based on some biblical models of pastoral care. Please keep an eye on the church noticeboards for more information about dates and times of groups. If you re into your technology then the Church of England have got some great resources and apps available to download, Daily Prayer, Time to Pray, Reflections for Daily Prayer, specifically for Lent #LiveLent and from other groups Lentsanity and Sacred Space are worth having a looking at too. If anyone would like to review these apps and let us know how they find these or any other you discover please get in touch. Finally we are going to be running a pledge campaign during Lent as there are a number of significant items of expenditure that we need to start saving for, including the salaries of our Children s, Youth and Family Workers and monies for repairs and refurbishment to the church building. Please pray about the way in which these needs can be met, there will be a meeting for those interested in assisting with this campaign and fundraising events. 2 - Becky Mathew

3 Both St Paul s and St Nicholas churches indicated that they would like to develop their skills in caring both within the context of their church family and as part of a wider neighbourhood community in their Parish profiles and so we ve got two Lent groups running this year. Both groups are going to be looking in depth at pastoral care which help us identifying themes of pastoral practice in the Bible and how we might develop our own individual skills in pastoral care and practice. Groups will be meeting on Tuesday afternoons pm on Tues 20th Feb, 27th Feb, 6th March & 13th March at St Nicholas Church Room under the leadership of Phil Moncur and Thursday evenings pm on Thurs 15th Feb, 1st March, 8th March & 15th March at St Nicholas Choir Vestry with Becky Mathew. Please Yanyan our Parish administrator ( /phone) or sign up on the sheets at the back of church to book your place. Home Groups Leaders are requested to make themselves known to Becky Mathew please as soon as possible with contact numbers and addresses as she d like to organise a gathering post Easter for all those who run home groups at St Nicholas and St Paul s. - Rev Becky Mathew 3

4 What are you going to do for Lent this year? Are you going to give up something, or are you going to add something meaningful for the period of Lent and beyond perhaps! May I suggest this needs careful thought, prayer and consideration because Easter will become more meaningful because of your actions. Traditionally Lent has always been a sombre 40 days as we remember Jesus in the wilderness. During this time Jesus fasted and reflected on what was to come. He was also tempted by the devil to take an easy way out. So we use the forty days before Easter to examine ourselves in preparation for Easter. It originates from the Anglo- Saxon pagan word lectin meaning spring. Interestingly there is no mention of Lent in the bible. It wasn t until the church became more unified that the preparation for Easter became part of the church and the word Lent appeared in the church calendar. In the first few centuries Lent was very strict and uniform through fasting and denial of food stuff for forty days and forty nights. By the 9 th century customs were loosened and people were freer to decide on their own fasting and abstinence. The desire was still the same to cleanse themselves of all sin before the celebration of Easter. Now we are completely free to decide for ourselves what we will do during Lent. Some abstain from certain foods, some fast, and others prepare through prayer and reading. It is I think important to remember that if our thoughts are concentrated on abstinence, will this on its own prepare us for Easter? One of the most useful suggestions is to put something extra into our life which enhances our understanding of God and His redeeming love. It might be helping at a night shelter, cleaning or painting part of the church or preparing meals for the homeless. Reading and studying a gospel or other book of the bible or praying for our church. For me I will be reading Revelation with a study guide at my side. Whatever you choose to do may I wish you a meaningful and a spiritual preparation for Easter. - Glenys Plant 4

5 Allestree churches hold Lent lunches to raise funds for Christians in Nagpur. Following the building of a cold store, the present project is a new classroom to train the local people and improve their employment prospects and hence promote self sufficiency. St Nicholas is hosting the lunch on Sat Feb 17 th. Help is needed in the kitchen, for putting up and setting tables, for serving lunch, tea and coffee and for clearing up. Cakes, preserves etc would be very welcome for the cake stall. There is a notice in church for you to sign up for the various jobs. Thanks for your continuing support. Any enquiries to Helen Illingworth, please. There are a few Lent resources available via the link below, such as #LiveLent - Let Your Light Shine written by John Kiddle (author of the bestselling #GodWithUs) in association with Thy Kingdom Come, All Things Are Possible -The USPG Lent course for 2018 looking at how Anglican Churches around the world are supporting global development; 40 Stories of Hope, Lent Bible Reflections; and Making All Things New and more. Don t forget to book your Christian Festivals in 2018! Greenbelt: Friday 24 to Monday 27 August 2018 at Boughton House, Kettering. Spring Harvest: Skegness 2-6April, Harrogate 3-7 April, MineHead One 3-8 April, Minehead Two 8-12April. New Wine: Week one July 28-August 3, Week two August 5-11 at Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Soul Survivors: Scotland Kinross 21st -25th July; Week A Staffordshire 4-8 August, Week B August and Week C 24-28August both at Peterborough. 5

6 Appointment of New Bishop As you will be aware, Bishop Alastair will be retiring as Bishop of Derby on 31/8/18. When there is no bishop, the vacancy is known as a Vacancy-in-See. The process to appoint a new diocesan bishop will be led, on behalf of the Diocese, by the Vacancy-in-See Committee, the members of which are now listed on the Diocesan web-site. The Archdeacon of Derby, the Venerable Dr Christopher Cunliffe, has been elected as Chair of the Committee by Bishop s Council, and the Registrar, Mrs Nadine Waldron, has been elected Secretary. They will be the ones primarily involved in organising the process following guidance from the Archbishops Appointments Secretary, in this instance Mr Brad Cook, and from the Prime Minister s Appointments Secretary, Mr Edward Chaplin. There will be a consultation process, including an open meeting which will be publicised and which people will be very welcome to attend to express their views. The dedicated address by which people will be able to write to the Vacancy-in-See Committee is vacancyinsee@derby.anglican.org No individual responses will be made but views and comments will be considered as part of the process of appointing a new bishop. 6 --Diocese of Derby Church of England Safeguarding pocket guide with contact details are available at the back of church. Please feel free to take.

7 Thy Kingdom Come May 2018 Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement, which invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. What started out as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016 to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer. The hope is that: people will commit to pray with God s world-wide family - as a church, individually or as a family; churches will hold prayer events, such as 24-7 prayer, prayer stations and prayer walks, across the UK and in other parts of the world; people will be empowered through prayer by the Holy Spirit, finding new confidence to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. In praying 'Thy Kingdom Come' we all commit to playing our part in the renewal of the nations and the transformation of communities." 7 - Archbishop Justin Welby Last year more than 100,000 people joined with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to pray in the 10 days between Ascension and Pentecost. This year, even more are expected to join in. Resources for prayers and ideas to help you pray as an individual, with your family and as a church are available on thykingdomcome.global website, including videos, service templates, prayers and children's activities. Derby Diocese have produced a bookmark featuring a simple prayer and space to write the names of five people to pray for. They are free to parishes, please your order to tkc@derby.anglican.org providing your name, address, church, number of bookmarks required and how you are planning to use them. To save on postage please let us know if you can collect from Church House. Tel:

8 Confirmation Invitation Do you want to get confirmed? After Easter, we will be running a Confirmation class for people ageing from school year 6 and above. If you are prompted to take this step, please do not hesitate to talk to Rev Becky Mathew. Her contact details are on the front page of this Newsletter. ANSWERED PRAYERS AND CHRISTMAS MIRACLES Freedom, the Good News of Jesus Dear Friends, thank you so much for your prayers for Mary Rose our Jigsaw worker who went to Oman as a house maid in We heard from her in November and she told of the desperate and abusive time she was having. We were devastated and in response we asked for prayer that God would be with her and that her day to day life would improve. We also asked for prayer that God would make a way for her to go home to be with her two children in the Philippines. On boxing day Kate, I and the family took my visiting auntie to the local garden centre with some friends and were sat in Costa Coffee when I received an from Jogie our health worker which I was completely unprepared for and I will never forget. It says Mary Rose arrived home today from Oman. I read the and then passed my phone to Kate to read it, we were both stunned and sat Mary staring at each other in silence; We could not believe it, it was Christmas and Mary Rose was home in the Philippines, we had only just prayed in the morning for God to be with her. We were literally shocked, how did this happen, how is it possible. We spent the day shocked and amazed at what God had done, it was so amazing, and tears flowed in joy and happiness. God s Blessings of Joy and Peace be with you all. - Kuya (brother) Tim 8

9 Christmas..now that seems like forever ago. Thankfully the turkey is long gone and there are only the remnants of a stale mince pie; but after all the lights and decorations have been packed up in the attic and the After Eights have been eaten, can we really remember what all the fuss was about? Cue the Holiday Fun Club ; everything you need to know about Christmas but not just for Christmas for the whole year! St Nick s Christmas Club focused on not only Jesus the baby, but the guy who worked miracles, the teacher who captivated and inspired thousands, the King who rescues His people and the JESUS who lives in our hearts today. He really is the same guy One Jesus, but many different parts to play in this amazing love story that we call Christmas - of God sending the ultimate gift to His people. Over 50 children and 20 pre-schoolers attended the event enjoying the usual madness and mayhem that are as traditional and obligatory at a holiday club gathering as bad jokes are in crackers! However, as the youngsters left the group and returned home to their individual festivities, maybe something small will have changed in their hearts or in the way in which they perceive the whole celebration. Only God knows the impact of His work and the seeds that have been planted, it is our job to deliver God s message in whatever way we feel called to do and once again the team was an amazing unit working together in a calm, loving and laid back way. Thank you again to all involved!! - Charlotte Ward 9

10 Coffee and Chat In 2010, within some material provided by William, house groups were asked to consider whether there were difficulties or needs in the local community which the church could address. The Monday evening group (now the Monday afternoon group!) thought that loneliness might be a problem for some local residents. The statistics available at the time indicated that 19% of households in Allestree consisted of a single pensioner compared with a national average of 14% and a further 19% of houses were occupied by pensioner couples compared to a national average of just 9%. We recognised, of course, that single parents and others might also appreciate an opportunity to meet informally either regularly or from time to time. After agreeing the appropriate arrangements with William we took the plunge and my diary entry for 14 May 2010 reads; First Coffee and Chat gathering at church. Some 20 folk there half house group and half other visitors. Seemed to work well. About 12 of us went to the Markeaton Pub afterwards for lunch. We have continued to meet in the Church Room on the second Friday of the month from to 12(ish) ever since. The numbers now average about 12. From the beginning, arrangements (preparing the room and serving coffee, tea and biscuits) have been undertaken by two people each month on a rota basis. At first, the average age of these helpers was early 70s. Eight years later it is now over 80! We would very much like some fresh input from somewhat younger church folk to take over on a rota basis. If you have a flicker of interest come as a visitor for the next month or two (February 9, March 9) to discuss it or have a word with one of the present helpers: Petra, David, June, Celia or myself. THANKS!! 10 - Peter Grattidge Thank you for your continuing support. I have emptied all the boxes and this year s total is The collection for The Children's Society at the Christingles Service was Helen Illingworth

11 Save the Dates Activities Dates/Venues Women s Fellowship 2:15pm - 4pm Wed 7 Feb Church Room Coffee & Chat 10:30am -12am Fri. 9 Feb Church Room Messy Church 4pm- 6pm Sat. 10 Feb Church Hall Knit & Natter 2pm - 3:30pm Wed 14 and 28 Feb Church Room Youth Group 6:30pm - 9pm Sun. 4 and 18 Feb Church Hall Prayer Together 7:30pm - 8:30pm Wed. 14 Feb Chapel Pub Lunch at noon time Sun. 18 Feb TBC Playtime Toddlers 9:15am-11am Every Tues term time Church Hall Morning prayer 8:15-8:45am Every Mon &Tues term time Chapel Mid-week Communion 12:30pm Every Wed. term time Chapel Tuesday Lent Group 2-3:30pm 20, 27 Feb and 6,13 Mar Church Room Thursday Lent Group 7:30pm-9pm 15 Feb and 1,8,15 Mar Vestry Deadline for March edition is 16 Feb. Welcome all contributions! 11

12 Upcoming Services The Chapel is open for prayers from 9:30am on a Sunday before the service. Dates and Services Leaders Readings Sunday 4 Feb 8am HC Becky M Proverbs 8:1, am All Age Phil M John 1:1-14 Sunday 11 Feb 10am HC Becky M 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 7pm Healing Service Becky/Phil/Glenys Mark 9:2-9 Wed 14 Feb 12:30 Ash Wednesday HC Becky/Glenys Sunday 18 Feb 8am CW Becky M Genesis 9: am Morning Praise 1 Becky/Phil Mark 1:9-15 Sunday 25 Feb 10am HC 7pm Compline(Night prayer) Becky M Becky M Romans 4:13-25 Mark 8:31-end Sunday 4 Mar 8am HC 10:00am All Age Becky M Phil 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 Holy Week Special Services: Palm Sunday 25 th March 10am Morning Praise & Palms St Paul s 10am Holy Communion St Nick s Maundy Thursday 29 th March 7.30pm Agape service at St Paul s Good Friday 30 th March 2-3pm Last Hour St Pauls 7pm The Things he Carried Service of meditation & prayer St Nick s Easter Sunday 8am Holy Communion St Nick s 10am All Age Communion St Nick s 10am Holy Communion St Paul s 12