Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity South Woodham Ferrers In Christ, loving and serving God s world 25 th September 2016 18th Sunday after Trinity Welcome to our 10.30 am Harvest Festival Service today. Please join us for coffee in Trinity St Mary s School Hall after the service. If you have a hearing aid, please select the T switch position and benefit from our deaf loop, which is directly linked to the microphones. Our service this morning: Readings 1 Timothy 6: 6-19 Luke 16: 19-end Prayers Bob Hemmings Hymns: A&M 282, 537, 290, 289 Intercessions may be written in the blue folder (on the pulpit before service starts). The folder will be placed on the altar during the service. If you have a prayer request to be read aloud during the Sunday 10.00 am service, write it clearly on a piece of paper and hand it to whoever is listed above as leading the prayers. Birthdays this week Happy Birthday to: Jenny Baldwin on 25 th September Majorie Robinson on 26 th September Daphne Colderwood on 27 th September Luca Scrocca (4) on 1 st October Nico Scrocca (4) on 1 st October From All at Holy Trinity 1
This week at Holy Trinity (See separate leaflet for ALL regular services) Thurs 8.30 am Chelmer Crouch Group Morning Prayer meeting At East Hanningfield Thurs 10.00am Sunday 10.00 am Joint Service lay lead followed by coffee In the Meeting room Eucharist Curate s Cogitation Do you remember Listen With Mother? I remember this radio programme with much affection and particularly the words Are you sitting comfortably? Then I ll begin. Today I d like to use my cogitation to tell you a story.so, are you are sitting comfortably? Then I ll begin There was once a good man who was always putting himself down as being least of all in his community and believed himself to be the most useless. One day he said to himself No work that I am fit for has ever come to me; I will take myself the hill, and let the Good Being himself choose a track for me On the third day he came to a large wooden cross partly decayed, standing on the edge of the peat moss. He knelt at the foot of the cross and when he opened his eyes again, instead of the cross, he saw a shepherd s crook lying on the heather, as if it had dropped out of a hand. He took up the crook and hurrying on he came to a village, where there was great need for a shepherd. And there he stayed, happy to be useful and loved by all who knew him (Kenneth McLeod The Road to the Isles ) 2
And the moral of the story? Sometimes it is hard to know how we can serve God and we worry that we are not doing enough compared to others. But if we wait patiently God will show us a way forward perhaps not as we might expect but if we listen attentively we will find ourselves richly blessed and able to be a blessing to those around us. Reverend Jane A Harvest Thanksgiving with The Salvation Army Tuesday 27 th September You are invited to come and share the Harvest Thanksgiving in the Evangelical Church, Hullbridge Road, SWF at 2pm. There will be traditional Harvest songs. Guest Speaker is Major Jill Miller and guest Musicians, Fiona Norman and Kevin Oliver. Any donations of tinned and packeted food will be donated to the gateway Food Bank at Wickford, and any children s toys, clothing, toiletries to The Love Romania gift box appeal sponsored by the Wickford Corps. RETIRING COLLECTION: During September the collection will be for The Children s Society. 100 Club Winners for September: 1 st Alan Bartlett 2 nd H G Cook 3 rd Heather Frost Tuesday 4th October assistance needed. Once again the great day is at hand, the usual assemblage of members of the Essex Clergy Charity http://www.essexclergycharity.org.uk/ will be taking place in South Woodham Ferrers Village Hall. Organizers of the event, are looking for one or two church members to assist with the setting up of tables and chairs, serving tea, coffee and 3
lunch preparation, for the gathered Bishops, Archdeacons and fellow clergy. If you are able to assist, then do please have a word with Bob Hemmings. Coffee Morning and Cake Sale Saturday 8 th October The next coffee morning and cake sale will Saturday 8 th October in the meeting room 10.30am to 12.30pm. All welcome. A REFLECTIVE SERVICE: Saturday 22 nd October at 11.30 am followed by a shared lunch (cost 3.00) at 12.00. We invite you to this service of quiet prayer and reflection in the company of God. It provides a space for contemplation and the opportunity to light a candle in memory of loved ones. For more details please contact Rev Jane or Janet Sinclair 01245 42624 Choir for Not the last night of the Proms - 29 th October 2016 Rehearsals for the choir are on Friday evenings 7-8pm. Please contact Alan if you are not able to attend (320071). Tickets are now on sale for Not The Last Night of The Proms. 6.00 per Adult and 1.00 for under 16 s, including refreshments. Wings of Worship: A course to help equip lay people to take a more active role in public worship. Saturday 5 th November 2016 from 9.45 4.00 pm at St Gabriel, Pitsea. This course was developed in Durham Diocese and has proved useful in various parts of our diocese, including some of the Bradwell Area deaneries. It is designed to run over five sessions, be can be adapted. The day on November 5 th will give a taster of all five sessions. Participants may wish to go into greater depth subsequently or the day might provide all that is needed. We will be meeting in the hall at St Gabriel, Rectory Road, Pitsea (SS13 2AA) and some of the day will be in church. The hall 4
has a capacity of about fifty people around tables, so book early to avoid disappointment (maximum 3 per parish). If you are interested then do please have a word with your Churchwardens. The Revd Canon Martin Wood, Bradwell Area Mission and Ministry Adviser. Update on Hansi and Kath September 2016 Hansi and Kath are still staying in Vellore close to the hospital. Kath has had 3 sessions of chemotherapy. But it has not been straightforward because the 4th session had to be delayed as she had to have a stoma hernia operation. She should by now have had this 4th session and is now halfway through the course of what will be 8 sessions. Hansi said The first time we became aware of God s special watch over us as Kath went through this second most delicate operation. It sucked away almost every ounce of her strength. The second time was once again with the power of prayers emotional exhaustion with a huge outpouring of grace upon us. Then when the bills came we waited for a little while but the next morning we paid the entire medical bill which was way over two lakh rupees for 12 days of stay, operation medicines etc. Honestly looking at the bill skipped my heart a beat. In silence, we have stood back, as we felt He was telling us to do. We watched Him at work. Messages came, visitors came and gifts were brought and left with friends. In the end we did not have more than we needed to pay. Both Kath and I have felt deeply humbled by God s treatment meted out to us. In tears and a deep sense of humility our hearts and souls have lifted up their voices to thank Him. He has in answer to your prayers and intercessions provided and made us both feel privileged and protected by Him whose servants we are called to be. The last weeks for us, although they have been as a friend described, filled with traumas and confronted us with a situation that has taken us on an emotional roller coaster ride, it has also demonstrated that without the 5
prayers of His people we would get nowhere. Those who have prayed have also responded to the prompting of His spirit by doing acts of kindness in other ways. One of those ways was wire transfers of funds. Packets containing gifts of help and direct transfer to the institution have made their way to us. All of these have spoken of the fact that we are watched, cared for and remembered by the Almighty. If there is anything we have treasured and savoured a great deal while we have been here, it is this. We KNOW a deep sense of calmness & peace and a very tangible presence of our Master and Saviour since we first encountered Cancer. Meanwhile, back in Nagpur their daughter Anu is supervising the installation of the first two shipping containers converted to house two classrooms and these have now become operational on the site in Gumthi village. She has also supervised the construction of a water tower, toilets, and the house of the watchman and his small family. She now needs to oversee the installation of the water pipes and taps at appropriate places around the two and a quarter acre land. Rains have contributed to the delay in completion of this plan. Hansi asks us to pray for the following: * Funds to order 14 more shipping containers that will make the classrooms and Admin blocks for the school. * Funds to equip the Classrooms, Library, Cafeteria and Admin office. * Funds to pay for Landscape artists with knowledge of trees and plants to plant and design the entire 2¼ acre land. 6
* Funds to convert the wired fence to a concrete block fence for security. * Volunteers who will work with and train underprivileged children in Sports like Soccer, Cricket and Table tennis. * Volunteers who will work and train with skills that will help poverty and under privileged women in alternate way of living. 7
CONTACTS: Vicar: Reverend Carol Ball: 01245 322134 or email: revcarolball@gmail.com Day off: every Friday Curate: Reverend Jane Richards: 07702808408 or email: janesrichards@aol.com Churchwardens: Sue Benjamin: 321274 or email susan_benjamin@hotmail.com Bob Hemmings: 01702 612117 or mobile: 07512060159 or email: rchemmings@btinternet.com Parish Administrator: Sarah Presley 325049 or email: htparishadm@outlook.com to put items in this newsletter please send to: swfangnews@googlemail.com or phone Sarah 325049. Deadline is Wednesday 5pm. 8