SERVICES IN APRIL April 1st Easter Sunday 6.30am Acomb Churches Together Sunrise Service, Bachelor Hill 8.30am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s 10.30am All Age Worship with Communion, St. Aidan s Readings: Acts 10: 34-43 ; John 20:1-18 April 8th Easter 2 8.30am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s 10.30am Holy Communion, St Stephen s Readings: Acts 4: 32-35; John 20:19 -- end April 15th Easter 3 8.30 am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s 10.30am Holy Communion, St. Aidan s Readings: Acts 3: 12-19; Luke 24:36b-48 April 22nd Easter 4 8.30am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s 10.30am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s Readings: Acts 4 5-12: John 10: 11-18, April 29th Easter 5 8.30 am Holy Communion, St. Stephen s 10.30am Holy Communion, St. Aidan s Readings: Acts 8 26-end: John 15: 1-8 Weekday services of Holy Communion in April Every Thursday 10.00am in St Aidan s (First Thursday Mothers Union Corporate Communion) Printed by IncDot THE MAGAZINE APRIL 2018 50p
Welcome to St Stephen s & St Aidan s, Acomb. www.acombparish.org Twitter: @acombparish Facebook: Acomb Parish, York Parish Staff Charity Reg. No. 1130667 Vicar: Rev. Pete Vivash tel:01904 336827 peter.vivash@dsl.pipex.com Assistant Curate Rev. Ellie Bangay tel: 07792 166001 ellie.bangay@icloud.com Youth Leader (part-time) Ali Speed tel:07525649041 ali.speed13@gmail.com Associate Ministers: Rev. Pamela Cooper pamelacooper55@outlook.com Rev. David Erridge davidandsusan51@hotmail.co.uk Churchwardens: Julie and Lyndon Parker tel: 01904 792735 julieandlyndon@hotmail.co.uk PCC Contact Lyndon Parker tel: 01904 792735 julieandlyndon@hotmail.co.uk For all enquiries regarding the parish, baptisms, weddings and banns of marriage please contact the Church Office. Acomb Parish Hall, Front Street, Acomb, York. YO24 3BX tel: 01904 790808 email: acombparishoffice@gmail.com Our office opening hours are: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10-12am Uniform Groups Beavers HQ Front Street Thur 6.00-7.15pm Cubs Mowhawks HQ Front Street Mon 6.30-8.30pm Apaches HQ Front Street Wed 6.30-8.30pm Scouts HQ Front Street Fri 7.00-9.00pm Rainbows Parish Hall Wed 6.00-7.00pm Brownies Parish Hall Tue 6.15-8.00pm Guides Parish Hall Mon 7.00-9.00pm St Aidan s Wed 7.00-9.00pm Useful contacts Bookings Parish Hall Val Atkinson 01904 799494 St Aidan s Christine Chittock 01904 784348 Planned Giving and Young People s Fund Nigel Atkinson 01904 799494 Home Groups A member of the clergy (see inside cover) Squeals on Wheels Jennifer Deamer 01904 330569 Mothers Union Anne Barker 07949714103 Guides, Brownies and Rainbows Micki Stokoe 01904 781477 Scouts, Cubs and Beavers Richard White 01904 339131 Church Flowers St Stephen s Lynn Butler St Aidan s
From Acomb Parish Church Registers BAPTISM 11 th March Olivia PATTERSON... Into the family of God FUNERALS 8 th March Raymond John Faulder HARRYMAN (78) Hilda BEWERS (83)... Into the hands of God INTERMENT OF ASHES 16 th March Patricia May KEW Please let the clergy know if you or anyone you know is unwell, or would like a visit at home or in hospital. Home Communions can be made available. For enquiries regarding Baptisms & Wedding: Please contact the clergy MAGAZINE - DEADLINE 16TH OF EACH MONTH Email: acombeditor@googlemail.com Letter from Our Curate Happy Easter! I hope that you have a joyful Easter, filled with the power of Jesus resurrection, the presence of family and friends and celebrating the love of God. We ve been through the long dark days of Lent, we ve spent our time in self examination and reflection, we ve made moves towards a deeper relationship with God and we ve perhaps endured the temptation of that chocolate cake we gave up. Then we moved through the drama of Holy Week, through the celebratory atmosphere of Palm Sunday, to the reenactment of the Last Supper, to the dark hours of Good Friday. And then, the anticipation, the waiting, the preparation all culminated in the joyful celebration of that eternal truth, that Jesus Christ has risen, he is alive, Alleluia! It s a season of triumph, a time when we as Christians can be filled with joy and peace and hope, secure in the knowledge of the power over death which Jesus has. And we can see the joy, peace and hope that s in our lives wear off on others, people will notice our difference, the way we see the world differently, the way we act differently, and they might ask us. That s when we have to be prepared to say, its because of Jesus. Over the past few weeks and months we have begun to talk about Thy Kingdom Come, a movement of prayer begun 3 years ago jointly by Archbishop Justin Welby and Archbishop Sentamu. Since then its grown into a global movement, transcending the barriers of denomination to become a fully ecumenical initiative. Beginning on Ascension Day, May 10th and ending with Pentecost, May 20th, we are called to pray Thy Kingdom Come and specifically that more people would come to know Jesus Christ. What better time than now, when we are filled with that eternal truth that death is defeated, we are redeemed and Jesus is alive, than to think about those whom we know who don t know
Jesus, who are not aware of his saving power, defeat over death of infinite love from them. Here in Acomb we are holding several events, details of which will begin to emerge, these will be aimed at those who don t already come to church, for you to bring your friends and neighbours along to, events that are fun and friendly with an added faith element, in the hopes that something of the message of Jesus will be planted in these people. Then it will be us, who will follow this up with the prayer for those people, with the explorer courses and questionanswering, filled with the truth of Easter and the Spirit anew at Pentecost. So it s my prayer for us all that we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and in doing so are lead to those in our lives who need to know this truth, and that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit to empower us to invite them along to an upcoming event, in the hopes they will discover Jesus for themselves. Easter blessings, Ellie Thy Kingdom Come The Prayer for Thy Kingdom Come 2018 Almighty God, your ascended Son has sent us into the world to preach the good news of your kingdom: inspire us with your Spirit and fill our hearts with the fire of your love, that all who hear your Word may be drawn to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord In praying 'Thy Kingdom Come' we all commit to playing our part in the renewal of the nations and the transformation of communities." A voluntary victim of crime visits them to share their story: this is often the first time the participants have heard directly how a crime impacts those involved. The course has a powerful effect in changing attitudes. So what happens when someone leaves prison, determined to change? Prison Fellowship partners with various groups who support prisoners as they leave, finding a supportive church who can help them cope with life on the outside. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out : (Isaiah 42:3a) If you would like to know more please speak to me or have a look at the website www.prisonfellowship.org.uk I would really appreciate your prayers for the young people starting the course on the 9 th April and for me. Jill Shaw Acomb Local History Group On Wednesday, 11th April 2018 we will have a talk entitled ELIZABETH FRY, A WOMAN OF NOTE By Sharon Garner We start our meeting at 10.00am (prompt) in ACOMB PARISH CHURCH HALL, FRONT STREET. Acomb ADMISSION : Members 0.50p Visitors 1.00 (includes tea/coffee/biscuit) Archbishop Justin Welby
Prison Fellowship Hi, my name is Jill Shaw and I have been worshipping at St. Stephen s and St. Aidan s for the last six months since we moved to York from South Cumbria. I should like to thank you all for the very warm welcome we have received. The Vicar has asked me to tell you a bit about myself and in particular my involvement with Prison Fellowship. I have been a volunteer with Prison Fellowship for the last ten years and am about to start tutoring on a Sycamore Tree course at HMP YOI Wetherby after Easter. Let me tell you something about Prison Fellowship: I was in prison and you visited me : (Matthew 25:36) - this is the command which lies at the heart of Prison Fellowship. The founder of Prison Fellowship England and Wales, Sylvia Mary Alison, had a vision that every prison in England and Wales would have a dedicated group of volunteers who would meet regularly to pray for their local prison and its individual needs. That is still the vision nearly 40 years later but the work of Prison Fellowship has expanded. Many groups support their local prison Chaplaincy: for example, leading Bible studies, leading worship and many other things. Imagine you are in prison with no visitors and no-one on the outside appearing to care. Prison Fellowship has set up a programme of letter writing between volunteers and men and women in prison, keeping a link with the outside world. Again, imagine you are a child whose parent is in prison as Christmas approaches. Angel Tree volunteers work with churches and prison chaplains to buy and send presents to these children on behalf of the prisoners. The fourth strand of Prison Fellowship s work is Sycamore Tree. It is a 6-week course which considers victim awareness and restorative justice. The participants have an opportunity to explore the impact their crime has had on their victims, themselves and the wider community and to begin to start thinking about taking responsibility for their own actions. Pancake Party Our Pancake Party on February 13th was a great success. There was a lovely atmosphere and it was wonderful to see St Aidan's full of our Squeals and Messy Church families, church members and new families enjoying themselves. Huge thanks to everyone who helped and supported the event. We raised 331.55 for our Church Mission family in Spain.
Acomb Parish 2018 Annual Meetings Monday 16th April at St. Aidan s Church Refreshments available from around 7pm onwards with the opportunity to look at and discuss plans for St. Stephen s. The evening will end with a service of night compline. Starting promptly at 7.30pm, The Meeting of Parishioners will be followed immediately by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. There will be PCC member vacancies as some complete their terms of office. Forms are available at each church to nominate individuals who may like to come onto the PCC. Nomination forms should be completed and passed to the Vicar or Churchwardens well before the meeting CHURCHWARDENS You will be aware that Julie Parker will be standing down at the Annual Meeting. If you would like another Churchwarden to support Lyndon the church needs to nominate people to this office. Nominations are to be handed to the Vicar well before the Annual Meeting on the prescribed form available at the back of the church. These need to be signed by the nominee themselves plus two nominators! Over to you! It is hoped all who attend church, and all who are on the electoral roll will come along to these meetings, and take part in elections for Churchwardens and PCC, and look at other issues among which will be possible closure of the Churchyard and options for internal changes to St. Stephen s. including one of our church members, and the unit would always welcome new volunteers. The Christian group 'Exodus' also uses the Barlow Room for regular worship. Acomb Flower Guild uses the main hall for a programme of demonstrations and flower arranging practice nights, and U3A also runs flower arranging classes as well as fortnightly talks on gardening. Acomb Local History Group provides links with the past with their monthly meetings. Tumble Tots provides opportunities for children to take part in physical activities every Friday, whilst older people enjoy dances on two afternoons each week and on one evening a fortnight. Apart from these regular events the Hall is also used for Council Job Fairs, as an Electoral Polling Station, on occasion for 'Riding Lights' theatre productions, for the Scouts' Shows and Carol Service, as well as for wedding receptions, birthday parties and retirement celebrations. The Hall outgoings are kept to a minimum by having a small team of committee members/volunteers who undertake hall bookings and finance, caretaking, cleaning, and general maintenance. Additional team members are always given a warm welcome!! Don Savage Blessing Grant to me, God, joy in giving, joy in receiving. Love in - coming, love out - flowing. Peace instilling, peace distilling. Wisdom infilling, wisdom outpouring. Grant to me, Lord, a rhythm of life. Amen. by David Adam, in Tides and Seasons
The Parish Hall The shared lunch, that followed the United Service on 4th February, brought many parishioners together at the Parish Hall. For one person, at least, it was their first opportunity to see the facility that many of us take for granted, not realising what a wonderful asset it is. Situated opposite the bus stop on Front Street, and with its own carpark, it is accessible to all. The main hall is light and spacious, and the two meeting rooms provide ideal accommodation for smaller gatherings. The Hall also hosts two dedicated offices - the Parish Office staffed by volunteers giving generously of their time three mornings a week, as well as a recently refurbished office upstairs, which is let to York's Child Contact Centre. Church activity at the Hall centres around weekly meetings of Sunday Supper Youth Group, monthly Craft and Coffee Mornings, regular house groups and parish meetings, and a number of special events such as the Autumn Fair, social gatherings and shared lunches. Brownies and Rainbows meet upstairs weekly during term time. Obviously there is a cost associated with running a building of this size for such church activity,. However, because the accommodation is attractive, the parish is fortunate in being able to let it at reasonable cost for a range of community related purposes, to the extent that the Hall becomes an integral part of outreach in the parish. The impact of this outreach may be difficult to judge, but the list of our customers is quite substantial. The NHS regularly uses the Hall for blood donating, with more than 450 people giving blood between Christmas and the end of January. The Child Contact Centre which is held each Saturday in the Barlow Room, provides a safe environment for children to meet parents where there has been a breakdown in family relationships. This is partly run by volunteers LOOKING BACK ; LOOKING FORWARD Come and review the last year in the life of Acomb Parish and find out what might be happening next year at our Annual Meeting Monday 16 th April at St Aidan s, Ridgeway at 7.30pm You are the light of the world..let your light shine before others. (Matt 5:14, 16) Parish Coffee Morning and Craft Fair Saturday 28th April 10.30am-12.30pm At the Parish Hall
THU 5 MON 9 TUE 10 THU 12 FRI 13 10am Mothers Union Corporate Communion St Aidan s 2.00pm, MU Deanery Lady Day Service, St Aidan s 9 to 11am Squeals on Wheels (Babies & Toddlers), St Aidan s 2.15pm MU Branch Meeting, St Aidan s 7 to 7.30am Meeting for Prayer, St Aidan s 9.30am Time for Reflection, 51 Barlow Street SUN 15 5 to 7pm Sunday Supper, Parish Hall MON 16 7.30pm Acomb Parish Churches Annual Parochial Churches meeting, St Aidan s TUE 17 9 to 11am Squeals on Wheels (Babies & Toddlers), St Aidan s 7.30-9pm, Craft evening, Ellis Room THU 19 7 to 7.30am Meeting for Prayer, St Aidan s SUN 22 TUE 24 THU 26 FRI 27 SAT 28 SUN 29 Events in April 5 to 7pm Sunday Supper, Parish Hall 9 to 11am Squeals on Wheels (Babies & Toddlers), St Aidan s 7 to 7.30am Meeting for Prayer, St Aidan s 9.30am Time for Reflection, 51 Barlow Street 10.30am-12.30pm Coffee & Craft Morning, Parish Hall 5 to 7pm Sunday Supper, Parish Hall April Mothers Union The April Branch meeting will take place on Tuesday 10th April, at 2.15pm at St Aidan's. Hilary Castle will speak on Women of Faith. All are welcome. PS. The Mothers' Union Lady Day service will take place at St Aidan's church on Monday 9 April at 2.00pm Easter Day Services Sunday 1st April 6.30am Acomb Churches Together Sunrise Service, Bachelor Hill 8.30am Holy Communion, St Stephen s 10.30am All-age Worship with Communion, St Aidan s This month s Craft Evening will be on Tuesday 17th April from 7.30pm to 9pm in the Ellis Room. Come and enjoy tea, biscuits and conversation. If you do not have a craft, come along anyway. Contact is Emily on 07473 771491.