Messenger April 2012 - Melksham Team Ministry
Transcription
Messenger April 2012 - Melksham Team Ministry
MESSENGER ‘Working to see God’s Kingdom come’ Time to Celebrate ‘Shout out and declare the Good News that Jesus is risen. He is alive and has set us free’ ‘He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!’ St. Michaels - St. Andrews - St. Barnabas, Beanacre www.melkshamteamministry.org.uk April 2012 Edition 45p HAPPY EASTER INSIDE THE APRIL 2012 ISSUE New Lords table at Forest and Sandridge page 8 Baptism at St Michael’s page 4 Bashing times at St Barnabas! page 4&23 Easter reflections centre pages Susan Taylor tells a story and Pam Muller a poem. pages 14 & 15 Messy church update from Natasha page 12&13 John has a confession to make page 16 Is Marriage to be redefined ? page 7 Tim Ayres continues his story on page 21 Sinking of the Titanic. 100th Anniversary Lorraine & Alun relate. Page 26 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 “And finally,” she says, “I want a third thing. This was also the wish of my husband. And so, I would kindly ask someone to come to my side and lead me across the courtroom so that I can take Mr van der Broek in my arms and embrace him and let him know that he is truly forgiven.” As the court assistants come to lead the old woman across the room, Mr van der Broek, faints. As he does, those in the courtroom, family, friends, neighbours – all victims of decades of oppression and injustice – begin to sing, softly but assuredly the words of Amazing Grace. Forgiveness of that magnitude came from this lady knowing Jesus as her lord and saviour. It came from her understanding the message of Easter and being transformed by it. Christianity still has power, and the church is not a spent force, notwithstanding that the Courts are ruling against people who pray at the beginning of council meetings, or against people who pray for others to be healed on the streets outside Bath Abbey. Would you rather be in a society where this sort of forgiveness is possible or in one where God is edged out? Would you rather be in a church where true forgiveness is the order of the day, or one where issues continue to fester? With Every Blessing Andrew writes… One of the most outstanding stories that came out of the South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Rev Andrew Evans concerned an old lady, then aged 70 plus. Both her son and then her husband had been murdered by Mr van der Broek, a security police officer. The son had been shot and burnt and the husband burnt alive in front of this dear lady. Mr van der Broek was found guilty of the two murders and then the judge asked this question; he said to the women, “So what do you want? How should justice be done to this man who has so brutally destroyed your family?” “I want three things,” begins the old woman calmly, but confidently. “I want first to be taken to the place where my husband’s body was burned so that I can gather up the dust and give his remains a decent burial.” She pauses, then continues. “My husband and my son were my only family, I want secondly, therefore, for Mr van der Broek to become my son. I would like for him to come twice a month to the ghetto and spend a day with me so that I can pour out on him whatever love I still have remaining in me.” Andrew Its time to book for the Melksham Team away weekend at Brunel Manor. Last year those that came to the weekend had a very enjoyable time. The date is the 4th - 6th May. Booking forms in all team churches. Further details also on the web site. www.melkshamteamministry.org.uk 1 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Mon 2 Tue 3 Wed 4 Thurs 5 Fri 6 7am 2pm 2pm 7am 7.30pm 7am 11am 7.00pm 9.30am 2.00pm 6.30pm Holy Communion & Breakfast, St Michael’s Singing for Pleasure, St Barnabas (every Monday at 2pm) Wharf Court Holy Communion Holy Communion & Breakfast, St Michael’s Baptism Preparation, 41 Blueberry Road Holy Communion & Breakfast, St Michael’s Holy Communion & Bring & Share Lunch, Maple Cl Family of Churches Footwashing Service, Baptist Ch Family Service, St Michael’s Hour at the Cross, St Michael’s Reflections on the Cross, St Andrew’s Sun 8 Wed 11 10am 2.15pm Easter Day Brookside Holy Communion Crown House Holy Communion Sun 15 Tues 17 7.30pm Wed 18 10.00am 7.30pm Thur 19 7.30pm Second Sunday of Easter Joez Perez “Get Ready for the Harvest”, St Barnabas Holy Communion, St Michael’s Joez Perez “Get Ready for the Harvest”, St Barnabas Joez Perez “Get Ready for the Harvest”, St Barnabas Sun 22 Wed 25 10.00am 10.30am 11.00am Thur 26 7.30pm Third Sunday of Easter Brookside Holy Communion Coffee Morning, St Andrew’s Hall Giffords Court Holy Communion APCM, St Michael’s Church Room Sun 29 Fourth Sunday of Easter April Prayer Meeting Assembly Hall Last Tuesday's In April (24) and May (29) starting at 7.30pm. 2 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Sunday Services in April St Andrew’s St Barnabas St Michael’s 8am Holy Communion Sunday 1st Palm Sunday 10am Family Communion 10am Family Communion 9.30am Common Worship Communion 11am Angels Alive! 8am Holy Communion Sunday 8th Easter Day 10am Family Communion 10am Family Communion 9.30am Common Worship Communion 11am Angels Alive! Sunday 15th 8am Holy Communion Second Sunday of Easter Sunday 22nd Third Sunday of Easter 11am TEAM COMMUNION 8am Holy Communion 10am Family Communion 10am Morning Worship 9.30am Common Worship Communion 11am Angels Alive! 8am Holy Communion Sunday 29th Fourth Sunday of Easter 10am Family Worship 10am Morning Worship 7pm Service of Healing & Prayer 9.30am Common Worship Communion 11am Angels Alive! 5pm Memorial Service May Issue Deadline is Sunday 8th April - Your feedback is welcome. 3 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 To begin with: A Happy Easter to all our readers. This month you will see that we have included new contributors to the Messenger. As editor I find what people write about is interesting and often greatly encouraging even if I do not always agree with what has been written. Maybe you will find issues raised you do not always agree with. As long as I remain editor I will encourage people to write in, to air a hot topic. To sometimes be challenging. Some already write in about areas of concern. One area is about taking friends or neighbour a copy of the magazine I know many of you do this already. How the magazine will develop will remain to be seen, I would like the opportunity to extend the number of pages even further, to retain the colour pages, as with all these things cost is a factor. Please consider subscribing or making a donation towards the cost. Barry April 2012 The end of an era It’s twelve years Baptised at St Michaels recently, George now since Pentecost 2000. At that Mills son of Allison and Simeon. time nearly all town church leaders Simeon’s brother made a declaration to pray for our Chris in the front town, and to work in unity together. row of the picture The vision was and still is to work was also baptised and together to bring 5000 men plus became one of women and children to a living faith George's godparents. in Jesus Christ. One of the founders Allison and Simeon of that declaration Robin Henderson said ‘we had a wonderful day with the Rev is leaving his post at Queensway Claire Parr giving an inspiring service.’ Chapel. Those of us who know Beanacre Bash call it what you will, a good Robin are very sad that he will no night was had by all especially the entertainers. longer hold office as a church leader Fun, food and laughter, seventy people packed in this town. Robin has been a key St Barnabas. person who has done an immense Thanks to a great team who job always at the forefront of organised the event and a initiatives, always ready to speak special thank you to Helen out. He would readily negotiate with and John Guymer. Pictured town leaders about how our faith here Shirley Allister leads a interacted with the people of this colourful presentation of Land town. His administration skills and of Hope and Glory. leadership within the Family of Meanwhile Sylvia Beamish Churches will be desperately missed. seen here on the left starts to Sue and Robin we thank you and put the team to rights. I have pray that God will guide you and invited her to send in occasional give you provision and peace. Ed. articles to the magazine. Congratulations Shirley & Graham Already another event is lined Allister on their Golden Wedding up at St Barnabas called a Anniversary Wiltshire celebration of St George’s Day, see The Team Annual General page 23 of this issue. Some of the acts have Meeting is at St Michael’s on the been booked to appear later this year at Brunel 26th April starting at 7.30pm. Manor. 4 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Emails; letters and feedback Celebrate the 23rd of April St George's Day, fun, frivolity and fellowship. A good chinwag with the person sat either side of you whilst eating, drinking and singing. What do the English do - not a lot until now!This will be a Wiltshire Celebration of St George's Day and all things English - definitely not very serious, probably rather silly, to be held at St Barnabas Schoolroom on Monday 23rd April 2012 7pm for 7.30pm. Pre purchased ticket (cost £5, or more if you're feeling flush) as catering numbers are limited; tickets available from Stanford Cole on 01225 702393. All proceeds to St Barnabas Car Park Appeal. Oh and bring your own English Cider. Stanford Cole ps. There will be a prize for the best dressed person in national costume' Soup Run Update By the time you read this the Monday evening Trowbridge soup run will have been operating for more than three months. The good news is that we have had a team turn up at the right place, at the right time, every Monday since we started. Not only that but the team has been armed with sandwiches, soup, bananas, chocolate biscuits, tea, coffee and everything else necessary to provide some food and drink to the people who turn up. They vary in numbers but our clients are always very pleased to see us, extremely polite and really grateful for our efforts. So a big thank you to everybody who has given time or money to the soup run, you can be sure it is a very worthwhile project. If anyone else would like to volunteer to help in any way please contact me on 01225 709489 or [email protected]. Kevin. Check it out Listening to talks and sermons reminds me of what Jeff Lucas once said and I paraphrase. ‘Someone told me that as a preacher I was not to his taste as if I was a pizza. The role of the preacher is to present the truth of the Scripture however uncomfortable or irritating to the listener. When faithful preaching makes us squirm, let’s respond by wrestling with the issues raised and offering whole hearted obedience to God. Don’t shout at the messenger.’ CB If you find yourself disagreeing with the talk or sermon check it out. ed. The body of Christ We must not suppose that only the building in which we come together to pray and celebrate the mysteries of the Lord’s temple, for we ourselves who come together in the Lord’s name are more fully his temple…. Let us busy ourselves in building an eternal mansion by the mutual help of charity so that when our Lord Jesus Christ comes he may find us all with cheerful hearts and tireless in doing all the good which he has commanded us to do.’ Bede Prayer: God of grace, you called Bede into community to work and to worship, to learn and to teach. Draw all of us more closely into your body that in mutual love and fellowship we may do your work and follow your will. Amen. We are a community that could be built up and demonstrate God’s love. Like the early church living the gospel in all its fullness. Taken from a hand delivered note to the editor 5 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 of Bethsaida ( Mark 8) where Jesus does more formally lay hands on the man. There are 3 other Greek words used to describe touch used by Jesus as he healed: To touch firmly, (haptomai), for example The healing of the 2 blind men in Matthew 9), To touch lightly, (thigo), and to grab (epilambanomai). What then does this mean for us, it means that we have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, when we pray, There is no one method that fits all situations. JESUS HEALING TOUCH There has been much controversy about the use of touch in the Christian healing ministry, but what did Rev Helen Begley Jesus do? The truth is that if we look at Jesus’ ministry then touch was not strictly necessary for healing to happen. The healing of the centurion’s servant is an example (Luke 7), when Jesus gives the word and he is cured even though he is not even present when Jesus prays. The woman with the haemorrhage ( Mark 5) touched Him, and without his consent, and she too was healed. Touch doesn’t even need to be present at all. In my own experience a number of us were praying at a prayer group meeting for a lady in Australia who had cancer, and was awaiting treatment. She didn’t know we were praying for her. We didn’t even know her, her name had been passed to us by someone in our village. We later heard that she had a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit at the time we were praying, and medical tests later showed that her cancer had gone. So what did Jesus do when he healed people? The truth is He did lots of different things, some of which would be seen as very odd today, for example when he made mud and put it on the blind man’s eyes (John 9), or put his fingers in the deaf man’s ears (Mark 7). Interestingly in both these cases Jesus recognises the need of the individual to be in a quiet place away from the crowd where he can communicate clearly with them. Jesus also practised the “Laying on of hands” when He healed people, but as we will see Jesus had no 1 preferred way of praying. There are only two actual cases in the gospel where the Greek word for laying on of hands” (epithesis) is used, In the case of Jairus’ daughter, Jairus expects the laying on of hands, but Jesus does not do so, he speaks a word of command and then takes her by the hand.( the word here means to grab hold of !)( Luke 8) and the healing of the blind man Mostly when people are present when we pray, some form of touch will be part of our prayer for healing. We should always ask permission before we touch someone we are praying for, and touch should always be appropriate. Sometimes touch will be used in our communication, especially if the person we are praying for has a sight or hearing loss, sometimes it will be a way of showing compassion and understanding, sometimes our touch will bless those we pray for, and sometimes we will “Lay hands on a sick or troubled person in order to allow God’s healing power to flow through us to the sick person. 6 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 JESUS HEALING TOUCH Contd. Again much is made of physical sensation, such as our hands becoming hot or shaking. However this is not necessary for healing to happen and some of the most powerful healing I have seen has been accompanied by no physical sensation whatsoever. In our churches and healing ministries we seem to have settled on “The laying on of hands” in a formal sense as “THE way to pray for healing. However as we have seen there are only two examples in the gospels of Jesus himself using this method of prayer. We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in each individual case we are involved in, we have to trust in our God who is the one who heals, and not individual methods or procedures we find most comfortable. As we said last month it is not our knowledge or experience of different methods of healing that matters, it is the God given love and compassion in which the ministry takes place that is the right setting, and that is not dependant on the holiness or superiority, of any one building or method. Next month we will consider the “Prayer of Authority and command” in this article. A consultation on redefining marriage is set to be launched by the Government. A grassroots campaign group against the redefinition of marriage has been started. Leading public figures including politicians from the Conservative and Labour parties, lawyers, academics and religious leaders, have already signed affirming that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. Marriage is unique:Throughout history and in virtually all human societies marriage has always been the union of a man and a woman. Marriage reflects the complementary natures of men and women. Although death and divorce may prevent it, the evidence shows that children do best with a married mother and a father. No need to redefine: Civil partnerships already provide all the legal benefits of marriage so there's no need to redefine marriage. It's not discriminatory to support traditional marriage. Same-sex couples may choose to have a civil partnership but no one has the right to redefine marriage for the rest of us. Profound consequences:: If marriage is redefined, those who believe in traditional marriage will be sidelined. People's careers could be harmed, couples seeking to adopt or foster could be excluded, and schools would inevitably have to teach the new definition to children. Speak up: People should not feel pressurised to go along with same-sex marriage just because of political correctness. They should be free to express their views. If you support the legal definition of marriage which is the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. Oppose any attempt to redefine it. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “The honourable estate of matrimony precedes both the state and the church, and neither of these institutions have the right to redefine it in such a fundamental way”. For more information : The Coalition for Marriage petition can be signed at www.c4m.org.uk © 2012 - Coalition For Marriage 7 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 On behalf of Anna Mears and the children and staff at Forest & Sandridge I would like to say a very big thank you to Mr Courage the time he gave in making our new altar and to the Bishop Wordsworth Trust for the grant to enable us to fund it. Forest & Sandridge Donna Woodbridge News from Forest & Sandridge School Hello everyone, here we are again with another update from Forest and Sandridge School. As always there have been some exciting events and activities over the last month. The two I have chosen to write about this month are: - the new Altar at School and the sing song at the annual senior citizens party. Firstly, the commissioning of the new altar. We are very excited to have finally been able to purchase a special new altar. It is even more special because it has been especially made by Mr Courage, the talented husband of our Foundation Stage teacher. It is a beautifully made piece that will be a focus in the school hall for a very long time to come. Revs Dave & Claire Parr came into the school to commission the new altar during a morning assembly. The children were asked to first think about things that were important to them and things that would be hard to give up. Rev Claire then explained to the children how things were given to God on an altar for sacrifices. Rev Dave & Claire played out a story from the Bible to the children to help them understand. It was also then explained that since Jesus died for us an altar is no longer somewhere to bring a sacrifice but something that helps us to remember the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Finally, the children joined Dave and Claire in a blessing of the new altar by stretching their hands out to pray. The Senior Citizen Annual Party. A number of children from Forest & Sandridge school singing club very kindly gave up some of their Saturday afternoon to come to St Andrew’s church hall to entertain the 20 or so senior citizens who had come for afternoon tea. The children sang some superb songs with great energy and enthusiasm. The guests were truly thrilled that the children were able to come and really did enjoy their performance. So, I would like to say thanks to the children for their support & effort. On that note the choir will be going to the 02 Arena this month to sing so this story will be continued in the next issue of News from Forest & Sandridge! I trust you have enjoyed reading our exciting news and will look forward to hearing all about our news and events next time. Donna Woodbridge It was a lovely service, one which was enjoyed by all. 8 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 the New Barn Centre near Chesil Beach and the following week 25 pupils from Year 5 are going to the Pinkney Outdoor Education Centre on Exmoor! Spotlight The Manor School. The new Learning Theme for The Manor School is “Spotlight on The World”. The country that the school is looking at in particular is Bangladesh. The pupils will be studying its geography and culture, its art and weather systems and its religion. . Their key questions include “What is Bangla?” “How does melting snow threaten a nation?” and “Why is God important to Muslims?” A smaller spotlight of congratulations must be shone on Liam Bainton of Year 1 who was the overall winner of February’s Poetry Competition. The spring reports have gone out to parents and the parent and child consultation meetings will take place before Easter. This is a new experience for our NQTs to be slotted into their learning curve at The Manor School. Sadly though, one of our NQTs is having to leave through ill-health. Our best wishes go with her. April is an active time for residential trips. Towards the end of the month, 20 pupils from Years 3 and 4 are staying in The attached photo shows the reception class in their pyjamas celebrating World Book Day at the beginning of March. The whole school wore their nightwear (yes, including the staff who were too bashful to be photographed) and the younger ones were served hot chocolate and bedtime stories before going home. Altogether now; “Aah”.. Lesley Windebank A SUIT FOR SUCCESS: DO YOU HAVE A SPARE? An appeal from ‘Amber’ one of our local charities: For the last 17 years we have been helping disadvantaged unemployed young people to get back into work and we were delighted when tailoring company A Suit That Fits invited us to be part of their national campaign “A Suit To Success”. In a climate with 2.67 million people unemployed in the UK, the pressure is on to impress at interview and studies have shown that first impressions, like what you wear, affect your fundamental judgement of a person. Between March 5�� and April 26�� men and women of Britain are being asked to donate their unwanted suits. The suits will be gifted to Amber and homelessness charities Broadway and Emmaus, who also work with their clients to help them support themselves. There are a number of drop off points around the UK, including Amber, and donors will be rewarded with a £50 tailoring voucher. You can drop off suits at ‘Amber at Trowbridge’ – Bythesea Lodge, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8HR from 5th March - April 26th - Monday to Friday 10am to 1pm. To find out more about AMBER and EMMAUS visit www.amberweb.org. and www.emmausbristol.org.uk. 9 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Book the date in your diary – contact us today, to reserve your tickets as the numbers are very much restricted due to the size of the venue. Refreshments, CDs Garth Hewitt and the AMOS TRUST and books will be available. nd will be visiting Melksham on 22 May Venue : St Barnabas Church, Beanacre with this years concert entitled ‘Hymns of Road (A350) Beanacre, Melksham. Liberation’. Garth has a passion for Tickets in advance £7-50p and concession justice and freedom for Christians to cost of £5 celebrate their faith in the country of their Contact : Chris Pickett (01225)-920400 birth. As a Canon at the Cathedral in e-mail : [email protected] Jerusalem, he is very much behind the cause of the Palestinians people and has A mother was teaching her 3 year old spoken publicly on the pressure that they daughter the Lord's prayer. For several are under by the Israeli Government. This evenings at bedtime she repeated it has brought him into sharp focus by pro- after her mother. One night she said Israeli supporters but as Christians we are she was ready to go solo. The mother called to defend the weak and support the listened with pride as she carefully poor in our midst – which includes ALL enunciated each word right up to the in the Holy Land. end,"Lead us not into temptation" she GARTH HEWITT CONCERT TUESDAY 22nd MAY at 7-30pm The proposed concert will be an enjoyable event with, hopefully, audience participation as well as humour and tears. A time of thought provoking songs written by Garth which will send you away, much more ‘in tune’ with our brothers and sisters whose daily lives are so different from our own. prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail, 10 Brunel Manor Time To Sign Up May 4th - 6th 2012 Leaflets in all team churches MESSENGER APRIL 2012 The Garden in April At long last, spring has arrived! As you look out upon your garden, you may be thinking, "where do I begin"? So why not just delight in the moment, simply enjoy the beauty of the earth, the flora, listen to the birds as they sing, it seems just for you. Then put on those gardening gloves and get to work, not too much, little by little, suddenly your garden will start to bloom and then your garden aches and pains will become something that gives you a real feeling of satisfaction. There still is time to plant trees and shrubs. The months of, April and May are ideal for pruning evergreens. April is the month for planting Summer flowering bulbs like Dahlias, Gladiolas and Lilies. Plant annual seeds of Asters, Marigolds and Zinnias in the garden. When all frost danger has passed you can plant Geraniums outdoors. Deadhead spring flowering bulbs but allow the green leaves to continue to grow for a few weeks, it will then provide the bulb with food for flowering next year. Genesis Gardens will help: Prepare; plant; sow and maintain your plot. Prune; care for all bushes & small trees . Mow and edge your lawn . Compost where possible . General odd jobs no job too small; reasonable rates David Vaughton 01225 700492 Its time to plant Peas, Carrots, Spinach and Cabbage etc. Lawns are now growing well. The application of a spring type of lawn fertilizer should perk up the lawn and improve its over-all colour and appearance. If there is moss growing in the lawn, use spring lawn fertilizer that has the mosskiller included, so you can do both jobs in one easy application. Spring is also a good time to thatch and over seed the lawn. Thatch buildup can smother your lawn and provide an environment for diseases. Remove thatch with a brisk raking, or with a de thatching machine. Local garden worth a visit. The Courts Garden at Holt. Delightful English country garden. Full of variety, this charming garden shows the English country style at its best. Peaceful water gardens and herbaceous borders, with organically shaped topiary, demonstrate an imaginative use of colour and planting, creating unexpected vistas. Stroll through the arboretum with its wonderful species of trees and naturally planted spring bulbs. Gardens open 11am 5.30pm, closed Wednesdays, March till September. 11 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Messy Church The planning for Messy Church has already begun, and when sorting through paperwork with Donna last week we discovered that since launching in October we have seen 57 different families at Messy Church and many of these have come more than once! Please keep Messy Church in your prayers as we send 240 invites out to the Manor School and put articles into the Bowerhill Villager and the Forest and Sandridge School newsletter! The next event is 11th April at Forest and Sandridge school. Doors will open for registration at 14.45 and the event will begin at 15.00. Due to the popularity of MC, we ask that you will book your place ASAP to avoid disappointment. I don’t know about you, but I am scared by this statistic and also rather frustrated that we have allowed this to happen. Could you imagine our churches filled with 55% of the local children? I think it would be fantastic, and it’s time we start taking steps to make that happen again! To begin with we have seen some transformation to the set-up of Junior Church at St Michaels Church. Due to popular demand we are trialling offering Junior Church at the 9.30 and 11.00 services. Here is the new pattern: 1st and 3rd Sundays at 9.30 and 1st, 3rd (if no baptisms), 4th and 5th at 11.00. It’s our responsibility… What’s our priority and what does that mean for the future? The Time Bomb C of E has relied on returners Sunday School – 1900 55% of children attended, 1940 35%, 1970 14%, 1990 6%, 2000 4%. Natasha Friett 12 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 I would like to challenge everyone who is reading this to pray and ask God to show them a family to invite along to Church, and to have the courage to actually bring them along! After all, it’s not just the Junior Church leaders who hold the responsibility for encouraging others in, it’s a whole church mission! Let’s be praying that next month I will be reporting back about significant growth to Junior Church! wanted a hands-on, memorable service that will really get the children thinking about the true meaning of Easter. If you feel you would like to do more than just invite someone to Church, then we are looking to grow our ‘Open the Book’ team. We currently act out bible stories at Kings Park School on Tuesday mornings, but would really value a few more people with a heart to serve. If we could get enough people on board there is another school locally that would like to explore ‘Open the Book’ too! Feel free to contact me and we can have a chat if you feel God is stirring you in this direction. Natasha Friett Another service that would be good to bring families along to would be our Good Friday family service, 9.30 at St Michaels Church. This is being planned specially for Families with lots of exciting activities and workshops! We "How To Cook A Husband" A good many husbands are utterly spoiled in the cooking by mismanagement.. Some women keep their husband constantly in hot water, others let them freeze by indifference and carelessness, some keep them in a stew, by irritating way and words, others roast them. Some keep them in a pickle all their lives. You cannot expect them to be tender and good if managed in this way, but they are really delicious if properly treated. In selecting a husband, do not go to the market for him, as the best are always brought to your door. See that the linen in which you wrap him is properly washed and mended, with the required number of buttons and strings tightly sewn on. Tie them with strong cord called "comfort", as the one called "duty" is apt to be weak. If he splutters and fusses, do not be anxious, as some husbands do this until they are "done". Add a little sugar in the form of what confectioners call "kisses", but no vinegar or pepper on any account. A little spice improves them, but it must be used with judgment. Angela Holmes Just look how Chris turned out. ed. A day with John Bell of the Iona Community Why do God’s people sing? John will lead us in a look at how songs, traditional and contemporary, shape our belief. Reclaiming the Bible as the People’s Book. 10am-4.30pm, Saturday 28 April 2012 Trinity Church, Stallard Street, Trowbridge (the church on the roundabout) Cost for the day: £10 To register: contact Sal McDougall ([email protected]; 01225 755145) 13 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 MY JOURNEY TO EASTER the wrong base. I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to prioritise more time with, and working for, the Lord, and learning from his My grandson was about six when he asked desert experience. If Lent was a time for me me ‘Why is it called Good Friday? It ought to be Bad Friday.’ I’d never thought about it to reflect on Jesus’ life and teachings, and to at his age. Apart from always singing ‘There give time to others, then I needed to give time specifically for that purpose. With is a Green Hill far away’ on the last day of term, Good Friday was very good; we went giving as my aim, it was a doddle! to Daisy Nook fair, where you could buy Gratefully I banished ‘giving up’, instead day-old, cheeping, yellow-fluff chicks, and during Lent and Holy Week giving more we children were given money to spend on time to listening to the Lord, discovering the roundabout, or swing boats. Lent? more about how his Never heard of it. Easter teachings and life, and Day? Like Christmas the desert, apply here Day but not as good, and now, then putting because the presents were into practice....turned chocolate eggs, never out this includes books. looking at my temptations [which do I grew up, I became a not include chocolate] Christian, I read up on and chronic sins, and Easter, including ‘Good’ no, I’m not going to Friday. Lent didn’t seem tell you what they are. to be an integral part of it This approach of in the Bible, but it was in giving, though, means the church year. So began I ‘give up’ something my annual struggle to because there are still give up something. only 24 hours in a day, Whatever I gave up, I even in Lent. It just resumed after a few days, and gave up again, seems as there are more hours to and again. I found others giving up wine or chocoholics. Oddly I never realize what has chocolate, biscuits or chocolate, bread, potatoes or chocolate; said grandson thought been given up till after Easter Day. I don’t notice it because that’s not my focus. of giving up going to school but his mum didn’t allow it .... reading about why we give My grandchildren say ‘I can’t live till something up during Lent helped me not a Christmas’, as I did, and my mum always scrap. My guilt complex was enormous! said I had to be good or there’d be no Every year I dreaded Lent, till the year I presents. Christmas was my pinnacle of joy realized I was giving up for the wrong as I always received lots of books and book reasons. tokens. Bliss! I thought nothing could surpass it; I was wrong. Easter Day is Giving up because I thought it was something I ‘ought’ to do, was starting from incomparably greater! Susan Taylor 14 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 That, I’d not expected, but then it was a surprise to the disciples; after ‘good’ Friday they’d not really thought they’d ever see Jesus again. Big let-down, then Easter Day came as a shock to them! Jesus’ resurrection changed everything, created a new reality underpinning daily life from then on. And so, for me, Easter Day is not the end, the climax of Lent and Good Friday; rather they are the necessary journey to the exciting gift on Easter Day, the knowledge of how much we - I - are loved and forgiven, the start of a new way of life forever. It’s better than chocolate eggs, better even than books. But I can still see why non Christians wonder why we call that Friday ‘Good’. SOME SAY GOD IS DEAD! Back in the 1880's Nietzsche declared that "God is dead," and before the turn of the Twentieth Century, Shaw, and Wells chimed in saying the 20th Century would mark the end of the world's "religious phase." Yet, today Christians now meet in Russia's Museum of Religion and Atheism-the former centre of atheism. Nearly half of the United States' population attend Worship on a regular basis while revival is sweeping through Latin America. Christianity grows strongly in China. Nietzsche, Shaw and Wells have long since decayed in their graves, and God continues to live! Muhammad died, and was buried. His faithful followers take pilgrimages to visit his remains, the same is true of Buddha and other religious leaders. But it is not true of Jesus. You cannot visit His remains, you can only visit His empty grave, because He isn't there. He Arose! That's why we celebrate, that's the message of Easter. He is risen. He is risen, indeed! Dr. James L. Wilson 15 THE FIRST EASTER Dear Friends it is Easter, And at this time we think, Of an ever loving Jesus, Who came to make a link With God, who is in Heaven, He sent His only Son, To let us know His will, And how He wants it done. Now Jesus was a good man, He was loving, true and kind, He helped the lonely, and the sad, And healed the sick, and blind. One day, He was arrested, Because He was God’s King, By people cruel and hard, To Pilate they took Him. They shouted at Him “Crucify, On a cross, a painful sight And so this lovely Jesus died, Our loving Lord of light. Friends put Him in a grave With a great big rock outside, But Easter morning, when they went, The rock was rolled aside. He had woken from the dead, And God had moved the stone, So Jesus was alive again, And we need not be alone. Now He’s with God in Heaven, And when we say our prayers, He listens and will bless us Because He always cares. So happy Easter, to you all, May God keep you in His will, And may His goodness grow in you, His peace and joy instil. Pam Muller MESSENGER APRIL 2012 ‘DISCWORLD NOIR FOR EVER... Can I confess to an Rev John addiction? There are Lefroy three computer games based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I’ve been addicted to them all and at the moment I am hooked on Discworld Noir – partly because of the dry humour in the dialogue. It’s a spoof on ‘Dark’ films – so everything takes place at night, it’s always raining, and there’s always an absolute minimum of light except when there’s a lightning flash. The hero is a seedy cynical detective called Lewton who underneath is really pretty decent; he’s hired by a dark and sultry femme fatale to find a man called Mundy – an exercise which soon involves three interwoven sets of murders. Characters include a troll called Malachite and a good-hearted vampire called Samael who is based on the pianist in Casablanca. Procedure is by finding hidden objects, discovering new locations on the set, finding clues which are then written in a notebook by an unseen hand, and systematically asking questions. You start off with lots of different leads to follow but by the time you reach Act 2 – which I’ve left to write this article – the leads narrow down and I’m going round and round in circles until I can find one little object or one question which I haven’t asked which takes the plot forward; but then the options narrow down again until I find the next tiny little clue that leads me on.... WHICH BRINGS ME TO A HYMN: ‘Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom, lead Thou me on: the night is dark and I am far from home, lead Thou me on. Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me... So long thy power has blest me, sure it still will lead me on o’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone; and with the morn those angel faces smile which I have love long since, and lost awhile.’ (John Henry Newman) I’d always loved that hymn; when our son died ,for me it took on extra meaning. Chris and I believe profoundly that the ‘distant scene’ is heaven; the power and the wonder and the glory of the love of God which Jesus demonstrated on earth on Easter Day. We believe that we will meet with him again. But in the first dark days of grief we used to speak of ‘baby steps’; just taking one moment at a time with our hand in God’s; and since then like John Newman we too have known his leading, his blessing and his power. 16 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 BOOKWORM Local Christian book shops A CLASSIC BOOK ISBN1580800467 The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarratt. It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during the second World War. The novel, based on the author's experience of serving in corvettes in the North Atlantic in World War II, gives a matter-of-fact but moving portrayal of ordinary men learning to fight and survive in a violent, exhausting battle against the elements and a ruthless enemy. Few books have ever conveyed in such gripping detail the brutal destruction of the Battle of the Atlantic and the endurance of the men who fought it. The novel brought instant fame to its author. The novel was made into a film in 1953. It's very much a film of its time; the propaganda element is heavy, the enemy unseen for the vast majority of the time. British stalwarts Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden put in strong performances. It is interesting to see how a ship like a corvette was operated and the battle scenes are believably realistic. A masterpiece of its time. The Cruel Sea is primarily a memorial to the merchant mariners who gave their lives in war. I am not the only man of a certain age addicted to the black and white war films of the 1950s. Above all, we felt we had fought the entire war with Jack Hawkins. This was something of a misinterpretation, for the record shows that Hawkins, born 100 years ago last year, actually only starred in five films about the war. One of those does not count, being The Bridge on the River Kwai, which was made in colour. 17 Mustard Seed Christian Bookshop and Coffee Shop Old Boathouse Hillier’s Yard Marlborough SN8 1BE Tel: 01672 511611 Opening hours: 9-5 Mon- Sat Calne Christian Bookshop 16 Phelps Parade Calne SN11 0HA Tel: 01249 823265 Opening hours: Tues-Fri 9.45-1.30, Sat 10-12.30 Revelation Christian Resource Centre 1 River Street Chippenham SN15 3ED Tel: 01249 463227 Opening hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9.30-5 Sat 10-2 Closed Wed I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by ……. John Masefield Have you a book or magazine you have read that you would like to review and share with us? email the editor, articles up to 450 words. Ed. Library MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Are you missing out on the Full Blessing that God wants you to Enjoy? Jesus Christ died on the Cross that we I don’t know about you, but I have one might “have life, and have it to the full” heck of a long way to go! For many years (John 10:10). Do you sometimes feel that I wandered off the narrow path God had you are missing out on that fullness of life set before me, and sometimes I became so that Jesus promised? I know that for battered by life’s experiences that I took a much of my life I did and judging by the rest. But God is gracious and he letters that Paul wrote to the fledging welcomes us back like the prodigal sons churches in the first Century and even and daughters we are. Are you in a dry what Jesus Christ wrote by John to the place at the moment? Do you long to be Church at Ephesus (Revelation 2), I am immersed in the river of life (Ezekiel 47)? not alone. If you do, then one way to discover the We are all on a journey in our walk with truth of how God longs to enter into an God and whether we have been Christians even closer relationship with you is to for 5 minutes or 50 years He has more of come along to the next Freedom in Christ Himself to reveal to us than we can ever Course which starts on 25th April. Just imagine. God delights in us and calls us read what some of the people who you to walk so closely with Him that His love know in this Parish wrote about whether transforms each one of us into the they would recommend this course: likeness of His precious Son, Jesus. “I would definitely recommend it. I can't think of any reason why not. I hope people can see the change in me and want some of what I've got!” “There is something for everyone in this course as we all have issues.” “A lot of people may have issues that are covered by layers of life, which means true freedom is not possible” “It is an opportunity to develop in self-assurance and awareness of Gods’ love” The next FIC Course will start on Wednesday 25th April and will again be hosted at St. Barnabas. There are 14 evening sessions which start at 7.30 p.m. and last for two hours. Each session starts with worship and is based round a DVD presentation and supporting small group discussions. The cost of the Course is £15 per head for the sessions, and £8 for the participants course books, but please do not be put off by the cost, bursaries are available. Booking forms are available in all churches, but for further details please contact either me on 01225 793983 or Revd. Helen Begley on 07540 314852. Dougie Rowlinson 18 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 A Flood of God’s Grace who are just going through the motions Jesus told the woman at the well, would find themselves invigorated with new “Everyone who drinks this water will be energy. Those of us who are trying to move thirsty again, but whoever drinks the the barge in the mud would find ourselves water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, jumping out of the way as we see how God the water I give him will become in him a raises the boat. Are there vessels in our spring of water welling up to eternal life.” particular dock (and we might name John 4: 13&14. ourselves among them) that God would like It is so easy for our own lives to be dry to see floated, but we cannot ourselves stir like dust, and our churches can suffer them however hard we have tried? If the from the same complaint. Jesus promises tide were to come in, we would see what we to those parched with thirst, water like a and they are capable of – Active in spring welling up to eternal life. I wonder Kingdom business, fervent, generous, whether we can learn to drink this water. abounding in good words and deeds and I wonder whether we can ask God to empowered by God’s Spirit. Cry to God for make us not just a satisfied believer who such a flood! has drunk for herself or himself, but a useful believer who overflows the Oh that God might fill us with a flood of neighbourhood with blessing. grace and of his Spirit, and even that we Where lives and churches are like might go to church and find ourselves in a parched ground and little dew ever falls flood, and then bring some home again with on them, we need to cry to God that he us! How great it would be if out of us, his would send us a deluge of water from the church, might flow rivers of living water! spring that wells up to eternal life. If you Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him go down to the river estuary, take a look come to me and drink, whoever believes in at the boats and barges lying in the mud. me as the Scripture has said, streams of A team of strong men could not drag living water will flow from within him.” them out from where they sit, dead and John 7: 37&38. motionless in the river mud. Do we have Sylvia Beamish an engineer among us who can work out what machinery we need to lift a barge and take it down to float it in the sea? It is a task beyond us. Wait till the tide comes in! Then what a change! Each of these heavy boats then rides the water like a thing alive. There is such a difference between the low tide and the high tide. When the water is out, the boats are immoveable, but when the tide is in a little child can push them with her hand. Oh for such a tide of God’s grace in Melksham! Are our churches ready for a Springtide? Such a great tide would wake up the sleepy and have them skipping, and any 19 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 responsibility. All too easily prayer becomes a way of justifying our actions A couple of months ago I did an article or inactions, or it becomes a shopping for the Messenger about ‘Thin places’. list of problems that we pass on to God The editor semi linked the article to a to resolve. book by Roy Godwin called Grace With regard to the general situation at St Outpouring. Grace Outpouring is a Michaels, to me God’s ‘will’ is already mighty challenging book but just for the quite clear. He wants us to start acting as record I don’t like it much. To me the Christians, with tolerance, understanding book brought to mind C.S.Lewis’ ‘mad, and respect for each other. And I hesitate bad or true’ comment about Jesus. Assuming the latter then Mr Godwin is a to say this but it’s true; we need to get behind the leadership, even if we don’t lucky man as he always seems to get agree with everything, so we can move clear and rapid answers to his prayers. forward in a united way. Don’t get me Time and again he prays for direction or wrong prayer is obviously important but healing and each time he receives a it too easily becomes a way to side step prompt and unambiguous answer. Oh personal responsibility. We don’t need to that we should all be so fortunate! pray for God’s will to know what to do at Linked to this is a sermon that Helen St Michaels. Jesus has already shown us Begley gave at St Michaels recently. what God wants of us. We just have to Helen spoke well with real conviction put that teaching into effect and that about something that had clearly been alone will bring the healing we all want. laid on her heart. She said there was a Kevin Albone lot of anger and frustration around St Michaels, much of which had resulted from some of the events of the last few Noah’s Ark all you need to know years. She then listed some of these events. Her solution to this anger and 1 Don’t miss the boat . these problems was quite simple. More 2 We are all in the same boat prayer, more listening for God’s will. 3 Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when But I sat there thinking that we, as a Noah built the Ark. church and parish, had prayed very hard 4 Stay fit. When you are 600 years old, about these events and issues before and someone may ask you to do something during their occurrence but had still really big. ended up here, where we are today. 5 Don’t listen to critics just get on with Let’s take the Post Office as one the job that needs to be done. example. I know there were people on 6 Build your future on high ground. both ‘sides’ who were convinced it was 7 For safety's sake travel in pairs. God’s will for us to have/not have the 8 Speed isn’t always an advantage. The Post Office. Who’s right? Perhaps we snails were on board with the cheetahs. should have contacted Roy Godwin and 9 When you are stressed, float a while. asked him! Personally I don’t think God 10 Remember the Ark was built by had any ‘will’ for the PO project at all, amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. for or against. God gave us powers of reasoning and we should use them. It was a matter for us to decide, it was our Kevin Albone 20 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Tim Ayres tells a remarkable story of an Evangelical Crusade he recently undertook to Cartagena Colombia. Part two the adventure continues : If you missed part one in the March edition you can read it on line at www.melkshamteamministry.org.uk But as is so often the case where upheaval, tension and unrest have plagued a nation, the Lord’s work thrives. Judy Maxwell, a lady in my church, informed me that a friend of hers Ray was kidnapped in 1995 by the FARC. Two and quarter years later he was released, which was very unusual but a direct answer to prayer. He is now planning to go and visit these terrorists in prison and 25 – 30 of them have become Christians. They are hungry for spiritual food. This to me is a beautiful illustration of the line in Ephesians that says he led captivity captive. I too would love to go and minister to them some day. These developments, I am sure, is due largely to the amazing advance the church is making in the county. As I mentioned in previous updates, Colombia is ripe for revival. Over the last ten years it has seen an explosion of growth in numbers being added and discipled which will in time have a global impact. Indeed the largest church with over 10,000 members started as a home – group approximately 10 years ago. Now the trip. I spent 1 month in my favourite city Medellin – the city of eternal spring, and three weeks in Bogota. Most days spent in ministry, with more and more invites to teach and visit with people as time progressed. With most of the messages being recorded, Pastors and friends are faithfully distributing them to all and sundry with the result that invites are coming from Cali, Cartagena and beyond. I stayed in Carolina’s house again; - her family making me feel so welcome. She refers to her house as the Zoo, and with two brothers and two sisters along with their families and friends often calling in, means there is never a dull moment. Quite a challenge if you have sermons, and meetings to prepare for. However with a regular supply of tea and coffee from her mother, it more than compensates. Carolina told me that she was the first to come to the Lord and within a month the entire family had also become Christians. With an extended family of upward of thirty people that is some pretty healthy evangelism. Carolina was the operations manager of the programme in Medellin. She was excellent. Being a civil engineer by profession, her organisational abilities shone through which helped enormously when planning and preparing. Through her careful research she informed me that we impacted more than 3,500 people alone in Medellin, this included salvation, healing, deliverance plus personal prayer and prophecy into people’s lives. Plus of course the teaching, which I believe is helping a little to prepare the church for the coming move of God. I was amazed and praise the Lord for His incredible favour. With the availability of T.V .and Radio, who knows how many more lives have been touched.. Part three in May 21 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 THE HERMITAGE ENSEMBLE In Concert Tuesday 8th May 2012 at 8pm Venue:- St Andrews Church, Church Lane, Melksham The HERMITAGE ENSEMBLE of St Petersburg, Russia presents: ‘From Russia With Love’ five male singers with liturgical music written within the last 300 years as well as folk songs which will display a range of emotions. These men are chosen from amongst the finest soloists performing in St Petersburg’s opera, musical theatre and churches, and whose voices will bring a tingle to your spin as they sing to us. HYMN STORY: “Nearer my God to Thee” has already been mentioned in this issue is associated with the RMS Titanic. A 19th century hymn based loosely on Genesis 28:11– 19, the story of Jacobs dream. The verse was written by the English poet and hymn writer Sarah Flower Adams. It was first set to music by Adams's sister, the composer Eliza Flower. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me; Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee, Another tale, surrounding the death of If you enjoy male voice singers, classical President William McKinley in September church music or even songs of the people, 1901, quotes his dying words as being the this is an event you do not want to miss. first few lines of the hymn.. Tickets in advance £9.00 (concession rate £7-50) - £10 on the door. Funds raised to be for the Ensemble and St Andrews Church. Contact : Chris Pickett (01225)-920400 e-mail : [email protected] JOEY PEREZ AT ST BARNABAS see page 25 A presenter speaking shortly before the launch of CNN, promised that, barring technical problems, "We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, air and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event.... and when the end of the world comes, we'll play 'Nearer My God to Thee' before we sign off." Source Wikipedia. Joey will also be speaking at the MENUNITED breakfast in Trowbridge on Saturday 21st April at the Food Factory, Airsprung Beds, Canal Road, Trowbridge, BA14 8RQ. Are you making the most of your computer? Tickets for this “not-to-be-missed” event will be available in early March from Bill Stubbs on 01225 781538. Tickets will be £6. Joey has written two books, both of which can be purchased before his arrival and at the seminar. I Lived to Tell About It is £12, and Mysteries of Angels is £10. To buy them now, please use the contact detail. Computer Tutor One to one help on your machine 22 Stephen White 69 Murhill Limply Stoke 01225 722429 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 St Georges day lets celebrate The Irish put shamrocks somewhere, the Welsh do something with leeks, the Scots chat to a lump of animal innards. What do the English do - not a lot until now! On Monday April 23rd there will be a Wiltshire Celebration of St George's Day at St Barnabas. Menu includes faggots, peas and mash followed by bread pud and custard, washed down with (bring your own) cider. No funny foreign drinks allowed, so that rules out most wines and definitely no whisky. Vegetarian option and soft drinks will be available. Expect the unexpected, be prepared for a good laugh and a bit of a sing song......… - definitely not very serious, probably rather silly. The evening will commence with English Country Music and dinner will be followed by Flag Waving Songs , not certain at this stage if the Beanacre. Morris People (can't call them men as that's not PC) will be in attendance at the start for the traditional Wiltshire welcome to the feasting - Anticipated timings are 7 for 7.30pm, finish by 9.30pm Admission will be by ticket as space is limited. Tickets from Stanford Cole phone 702393. Having said that: Wiltshire based wine growers a'Beckett's Vineyard recently won Wessex Wine of the Year for their Estate Reserve 2005 Red. This only underlines the quality of the wine. I understand the wine is available at some Waitrose. ed. Interesting Despite the fact that St. George has been the patron saint of England since t.the 14th century, only one in five people know that St. George’s Day falls on 23 April. More than a quarter of people living in England do not even know who their patron saint is! Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 and he died on the same day in 1616. Not only is there no evidence that St. George ever slayed a dragon (which seems unlikely), there's very little evidence he ever existed at all. St. George is also considered a martyr in Islam. GOMPELS Scooters • Wheelchairs Rise & Recline Chairs Everyday Living Pressure Relief Shoes & Slippers Walking Aids Incontinence Care Stairlifts • Bathing Aids 1 Bank Street, Melksham Telephone 01225 23 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 NEW WINE EASTER ODDITIES · 80 million chocolate Easter Eggs are sold each year – that’s 10% of Britain’s annual spending on chocolate. · After fasting 40 days for Lent there was always a surplus of eggs which families used to celebrate Easter – stored properly, eggs can last over 6 months! · Medieval Easter Eggs were boiled with onions to give them a gold sheen. Edward I, didn’t need to use onions; in 1290 he ordered that 450 eggs be gold leafed and coloured for Easter gifts. · The first chocolate Easter Eggs were made in Victorian times soon after the creation of edible chocolate. Before this, friends would give hollow cardboard eggs, filled with gifts. Ÿ Easter is called a moveable feast because the date of Easter changes every year. Easter Sunday can fall on any date from 22 March to 25 April. Easter day 2013 will be on the 31st of March . Ÿ In medieval times, a festival of egg throwing was held in church, during which the priest would throw a hardboiled egg to one of the choirboys. It was then tossed from one choirboy to the next and whoever held the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and retained the egg. The wearing of an Easter Bonnet represented the tail-end of a tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter in harmony with the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption. . In Samuel Pepys’ diary, 30 March (Easter Day) 1662, he notes. ‘Having my old black suit new furbished, I was pretty neat in clothes to-day, and my boy, his old suit new trimmed, very handsome’. CENTRAL & SOUTH WEST Sunday 29 July - Saturday 4 August at Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet We are planning a team trip to New Wine this summer. This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know other people from the team. If you are interested in knowing more about how you can be part of it all, contact either Natasha or Ben for more information. Natasha – 07545 049149 or [email protected] Ben – 07824 807 107 or [email protected] 24 Comes highly recommended Ed. MESSENGER APRIL 2012 News from St Andrew’s Church St Andrew’s Church: - We celebrated a few birthdays last month; we wished Pam, Romaine, Margaret and Donna a very happy birthday and lots of love from us all. Amongst other services, the service on the 19th Feb was based on “The Transfiguration” (Mark 9).• Annie spoke to us about The Transfiguration and about our need to be ‘re-dazzled’ by Jesus to equip us for mission.• Then, as part of the call to mission we were invited to think about places and situations in the world where we long to see God at work, and to offer our thoughts as ‘prayer leaves’ for our Prayer Tree. Sunday Club: - The Sunday Club children had their first presentation. It was based on the theme “The Lost Sheep”. The children had been busy making sheep and wolf masks. The children walked up the aisle wearing the sheep masks and making some wonderful sheep noises on the way. The story was acted out by the children with great enthusiasm .The children finished by singing “Jesus Love” with some fun actions to go along. St Andrew’s Hall: - There have been two events held at the hall. The first being the Pancake Party on Tuesday 21st February. This was very well attended with approx 50 people. We raised a wonderful £120.00 which will go towards the church funds. Then there was the annual Senior Citizens Party, a very pleasant afternoon was had by all (approx 22). Some of the choir from Forest & Sandridge School came along and entertained us all with some fabulous singing, even one in Latin!!! St Andrew’s would like to thank all those involved in helping to organise these events, which are greatly received. Donna Woodbridge JOEY PEREZ: Tuesday-Thursday, April 17th-19th at 7:30pm St. Barnabas’ Church, Beanacre A reminder that it’s time to register (by 15th April at the latest) for this three-part seminar on evangelism – seating is limited. Joey Perez will be teaching from his personal experience of 30 years of reaching out to people from every background with the gospel of Jesus Christ. There will be no charge for the seminar, but there will be an offering to help cover the cost of the materials and to bless Joey Perez. You may still attend if you are unable to be there for every session. To register, please contact [email protected] or telephone John Firth, 01225 707387. Joey has a dramatic and inspiring story to tell. Even if you are not planning to be at the seminar, please consider sponsoring books (£10 each) for Joey to distribute at the youth outreaches he will be conducting at The Pulse in Trowbridge and in King George V Park in Melksham. We occasionally see young people who met Joey on his first visit to the area more than five years ago, and they still talk about his book and how it impacted them. Joey has written two books, both of which can be purchased before his arrival and at the seminar. Find out more about Joey Perez’s work at http://www.worldevangmin.com see also page 22 25 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Anniversary of the Titanic - 1912 - 2012 This year marks the 100th Anniverary of the ocean liner Titanic sinking. There has been much written over the years so please allow us to simply summarise for those not to familiar with what happened. She set sail from Southampton to New York but on the 14th April 1912 at 11.40 pm disaster struck - she hit an iceberg and water started to pour in! No help was able to reach them in time and it took only two and a half hours for the ship to sink. Some passengers managed to survive in lifeboats but many others perished. They died trying to swim in ice cold water. The band was said to have played on till the end including the hymn ‘Nearer, my God, to Thee’. This was used at the Memorial Service April 21st 1912 at 3.30pm held in St Michael’s church Melksham. Many whenever they hear this hymn are immediately reminded by that terrible event. The Goodwin family: Frederick, Augusta, Lilian, Charles, William, Jessie, Harrold, and baby Sidney from Melksham were sadly among those that lost their lives. Little Sidney’s shoes were found and an unknown grave is now identified as being his brings little comfort. There is a memorial plaque and an old photograph in St Michael’s to the left as you enter on one of the pillars. Ten years ago St Michael’s held a special 90th Anniversary Songs of Praise. Back in October 2009 the Historical Society gave a slide show called The loss of the Titanic presented by Lt. Commander Geoffrey Carr, RN. It delved into many of the stories and myths about what happened. Apparently it was never actually said that the ship was unsinkable. Keep a lookout for opportunities for further lectures on the Titanic which take place from time to time. Look out for special services that are likely to be held. Let us offer our prayers for the souls of the Goodwin family and all those who died on that fateful day. “Who have now passed through the waters” words taken from the 1912 Memorial Service. Also calling to mind all the many others who have tragically died, past or present at sea. Yours in Christ Lorraine and Alun. 26 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 Baptisms Weddings Soleil - Fleur Mauree St Michael’s 4th March Richard John Mullet Claire Louise Williams St Michael’s 3rd March Charlie & Casey Sidwick St Michael’s 18th March Funerals Delbert Keen St Andrews Vera Ivy Elizabeth Baker 1st March St Barnabas 13th March Finally: Its a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, can describe a job that is never ending. The term is applied to a number of the worlds largest bridges. Essentially the painters start at one side of the bridge and over a number of years make their way to the other side until they have completed the project . Then its necessary to start painting all over again. The reality is the painting of bridges require that specific areas require more attention than others. I was pleased to hear the painting of the Forth Bridge has finally been completed and the structure is now scaffold-free for the first time in a decade. It is claimed the bridge will not now need to be painted for at least 25 years. New techniques and products are behind the project's success. While the church is not the Forth Bridge specific areas require more attention than others and need to be addressed. The reality is to interpret what is being said and discuss areas that need to be unpacked . Sometimes there is more than one view on a given subject. That is why its good to be part of a house group. In our groups this Lent we have completed a course on stewardship some of which is open to interpretation. The study challenged all of us as we approached how we should understand giving and discuss together what the bible has to say. Happy Easter. Ed. QUALIFIED CARER HAS VACANCIES FOR DOMESTIC AND PERSONAL CARE FORGET ME NOT Gardening Complete garden maintenance supplied by a CRB checked references supplied professional gardener. Call Jessica on 01225 700531 or 07896 627428 Please contact Sian 07523023945 or email: [email protected] 27 MESSENGER APRIL 2012 MELKSHAM TEAM MINISTRY DIOCESE OF SALISBURY Team Staff Reverend Andrew Evans, Team Rector e mail: [email protected]) Reverend John Darling, Associate Priest email: [email protected] Reverend John Lefroy, retired priest (e mail: [email protected]) Reverend Annie Wintour, Associate Priest (e mail: [email protected]) Reverend Helen Begley (e mail: [email protected]) Natasha Friett – Children & Families Worker (e mail: [email protected]) 01225 782289 (Day off Friday) 01225 777803/762864(shop) (Day off Wednesday) 01225 704012 01380 850880 (Days off Monday & Thursday) 01225 782649 07545049149 Lay Ministers Mike Lloyd (email:[email protected] ) Pam Muller 01225 706503 01225 707804 Lay Pastoral Assistants Janet Hollerhead 01225 708216 Ruth Cole 01225 702393 Clare Lloyd 01225 706503 Freda Meggs 01225 705070 Roger Scull 01225 353023 Susan Taylor 01225 704515 Margaret Inchley 01225 702801 Annette Hucknall 01225 791977 Carol Head 01225 704907 Linda Maslen 01225 708142 Jane Goman 01380 827121 Sheila Rowlinson 01225 793983 Anita Naulty 01225 706384 Joy Albone 01225 709489 Church Wardens St Michael's Peter Maslen 01225 708142 Trevor Lawes 01225 703719 St Barnabas Stanford Cole 01225 702393 Chris Holmes 01225 938925 St Andrew's Chris Pickett 01225 920400 Nick Manvell 01225 703177 Baptism Contact Carol Head 01225 704907 Wedding Contact Joy Albone 01225 709489 or Confirmation, and Prayer and Dedication Service after a Registry Office Wedding, Funerals or Crematorium Services please contact one of the Team Staff. Church – Hall Contacts and Bookings St Andrew's: Pam Doddington 01225 356244 Chris Pickett(church) 01225 920400 St Barnabas: Shirley Allister 01225 702002 St Michael's: Lesley Windebank 01225 790639 St Michael’s bellringers : Tricia Hoy 01225 704805 Magazine editor: Barry Scarlett 01225 702053 ([email protected]) For Parish administrative matters contact Annette Hucknall: 01225 791977 or 07907481999 e-mail: [email protected] www.melkshamteamministry.org.uk 28 BRUNEL MANOR ITS TIME TO BOOK YOUR PLACE MAY 4th - 6th leaflets in all the churches IN THE MAY ISSUE: Melksham Convention revisited. Read about its amazing history. In 1934 the congregation numbered well over fourteen hundred at one of the services. Deadline for the May Issue Sunday April 8th [email protected] Our Town - Canon Square Leaving Church Street you enter Canon Square. The buildings belong to a much older era including the Tourist Information Centre housed in an old grain merchants store. On the south side of the Square there are sited clothiers houses dating from Melksham’s days of prosperity in the early 18th century. Opposite is Canon House, part sixteenth and part eighteenth century, now fronting a new development of houses and flats appropriately called Canon Court. Beyond the war memorial is a very large house formerly the old Rectory. Vintage Classics Classic Wedding Cars for the discerning Bride and Groom. Surround your day with For all your dry cleaning and laundry needs Visit our branch at 28a High Street Melksham phone 01225 704013 or visit our website regencylaundry.co.uk The war memorial and old rectory To the left of the old Rectory there was a building attached to the church room. It was used by St Michael’s school as a classroom. Vintage Classics Classic Wedding Cars for the discerning Bride and Groom. Surround your day with romance and elegance with cars from the 1960’s – 1980’s Uniformed Chauffeur or self drive. 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