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Epsom United Reformed ChurchNewsletter for May 2004 |
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Alan Wood Is Spring coming? I suppose so – from my garret window I look out on trees stubbornly in blossom, but at the moment there is rain, and a grey sky from horizon to horizon! I look a bit further round, and I see traffic queuing at the Ruxley Lane roadworks, apparently scheduled to last another 20 weeks! Ugh! How nice it was to get away from it all on a good Easter Monday for the leisurely stroll along the Hogsmill River.
Due to falling revenue there will be no street collections this year, but we will be having retiring collections at Services on both 9th and 15th May. There will also be envelopes at the Spring Event to give people the opportunity to make their donations. Articles from and about Christian Aid are in our pages. Pamela Galliers Having reached the age at which Guiders have to retire, Pamela hits us with the news that she will be relinquishing leadership of the Epsom East Rainbows. Read her moving article, and give thanks for the years of unstinting service she has given to Guiding. Well done, Pamela! At the same time we welcome Jenny Oakley and assure her of our support. Incidentally, it is Jenny’s mum, Lynne Oakley, who runs the Brownie Guides currently using the Longhurst Room while the Baptist Hall is being re-furbished. Following a hip-replacement operation and recuperation time at the Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital, Charles Senior is now home again, with crutches and a walking stick! He is progressing well and hopes to be about again soon. We were sorry to hear of the death of Leslie Day. He had been unwell for some months. Leslie had always been so willing to help us at the organ over a long period of time. We send our sympathy to his daughter and son-in-law at this time. The Memorial Service was held on Friday, 30th April, at All Saints Church in Leatherhead. Lynne and Del have been able to attend Family Worship most Sundays lately, and it has been good to see them. Mary Hallifax, although somewhat frail, did make it to church on Easter Day. Marjorie was with Ann and the family for a stay of a week over Easter. The Secretary’s Letter
Back to England for Easter! I thought the Tenebrae Service at Ewell was a very thought-provoking time, as was the Maundy Thursday Communion in the Longhurst Room. On Good Friday, there was the 'Walk of Witness' to the town centre for 'Churches Together in Epsom'.
Easter Sunday morning worship was a joyful occasion and it was good to see old friends in the congregation. Those of us who tackled the walk on Easter Monday thoroughly enjoyed it. The route that Alan had devised was very interesting and not too energetic and we chatted with Ewell friends as we admired the beautiful trees springing with new blossom and leaves. After lunch at "The Spring", we parted, determined that we should repeat this in the not too distant future. At our last Elders’ Meeting we had a visit from Lou Ashford, our DEME for the District, and discussed some thoughts about encouraging more young people and families to be more active in our Church, and also improving the look of the outside to make it more inviting. This is obviously in its very early stages and much more thought has to be given. If you have any thoughts on this please discuss it with your Elder or with Pat when she returns from Australia. We do hope that both she and Peter are enjoying the break and will return refreshed. Sheila. Strange how a £10 note appears so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to the supermarket. Strange how it seems so long to worship God for an hour, but how short it is when watching a movie. Strange how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but have no problems thinking of things to talk about to a friend. Strange how we get excited when a football game goes into extra time, but complain when a sermon is longer than usual. Strange how hard it is to read a chapter in the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a best selling novel. Strange how people scramble to get a front seat at any game or concert, but select a back seat at church services. Strange how hard it is to learn the simple gospel message well enough to tell others, but how simple it is to understand and repeat gossip. Strange how we believe what the newspapers say, but question the Bible. Strange how someone can be so fired up for Christ on a Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week, and it’s strange how we can be more worried about what other people think of us, rather than what God thinks of us. It’s worth a thought! Sunday
Tea at the Bradbury Centre For
a long time Age Concern Epsom & Ewell has been aware that many
older people lack company at weekends. In an attempt to meet this need, we have decided to open
the Bradbury Centre for afternoon tea at 2:30 pm on the second Sunday
of each month starting from Easter Sunday, 11 April 2004. Tea will cost £1 and transport, which will be provided by
volunteer drivers will cost £3.50. Bookings should be made through
the Age Concern office on 01372-732456 between 09:30 and 13:00. If anyone can spare some time on Sundays to help with driving, serving tea or entertainment, please ring the Age Concern office or email us on ageconcernepsom@cobwebworld.co.uk The Bradbury Centre is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 09:30 – 14:30 for tea, coffee, lunch and various activities. There are currently some vacancies. Ring Helen at the Centre on 020 8393 9754 if you or anyone you know would like to visit the Centre. Did
You Ever Wonder Why . . .
Easter Monday Ramble About twenty people gathered together at Ewell U.R.C. to take part in the Easter Monday ramble. Several cars were taken to transport everyone to the Hogsmill Public House where we began our ramble beside the Hogsmill River.
The weather was just right and the walk was very pleasant, though some people treated it more like an amble than a ramble. We eventually arrived at the Spring Hotel where we could sit outside and enjoy a drink and a very good lunch. Our grateful thanks go to Alan, who organised the route and tested it out for us. It was suggested that Ewell would organise the next ramble so we all look forward to that. Women’s Church
Council Our next Coffee Morning will be on Tuesday, 11th May, 10:30 – 12:00, when the proceeds will be for The Bradbury Centre. We hope to see you and raise a worthy amount for so deserving a project. SPRING EVENT Saturday 15th May at 10:30 Ploughman's Lunches Cakes, Sweets and Books Preserves, White Elephant Plants, Good-as-new Have you got your Admission Programme yet? Any member of the Women’s Church Council will be pleased to sell you one – only 20p! What a snip!! If you have any plants for sale, they will be most welcome. Cakes, sweets and preserves are always popular. Most attractive greetings cards will be on sale. Books, CDs, videos, etc., together with other saleable items, will be most welcome – but, please, all items must be in very good condition. Please listen to the Notices, or log on to the web-site, to find out when to bring in your sale goods. Coffee will be served in the Longhurst Room, and Ploughman’s Lunches will be available in Unity Hall. Afternoon Fellowship Our ‘At Home’ meeting on Thursday, 22nd April, was a thoroughly good afternoon, with representatives from most of the fellowships. Barbara Wood so very ably welcomed all and chaired the meeting, and Pam Buckingham, known so well to most of us, gave us a most interesting insight into the lives of several lesser-known women of the Old Testament. We all enjoyed a very happy tea-time together. The last meeting of the session will be the AGM on Thursday, 27th May. Evening Church Fellowship Frank Dobby’s visit on 5th April was even more hilarious than usual – he introduced us to several celebrated artists, but his main theme for the evening was the well-known ‘Many More’! We also had very appropriate back-up music.
Our speaker on 10th May will be a member of ‘Age Concern’, who incidentally knew our own Babs Robinson and spoke very highly of her. Come along and hear what goes on behind the scenes! 7th June is the date set for our AGM and Supper. Epsom East Rainbows At the end of May I shall be officially retiring from the Rainbow Unit. The rules of Guiding state that Guiders must come out of uniform when they reach their 65th birthday!
The Unit will be taken over by Miss Jenny Oakley. Jenny has been helping us since 1996 and has just completed her Guider training – congratulations to Jenny on this. Miss Amanda Way has joined us this term and will be commencing her training shortly. We also have Helen, our Young Leader, who comes back to us when on holiday from Cambridge University, so I will be leaving things in capable hands. I have loved being a Guider which, along with family and fostering, has been one of the most important areas of my life. When I made my promise as a seven-year-old Brownie I was told I must always try and ‘stick to it’. I do hope that I have done my best to Love my God, Serve the Queen, Help other people, and Keep the Guide Law over the past 58 years, and that I have been able to inspire many other girls to do the same. Thank you, Guiding, for doing so much for me. One last thing: Elaine Edwards, our Guide Guider and present District Commissioner, was once one of my Brownies, so I must have got it right somewhere! 12th Epsom Brownie
Guide Pack Our first meeting after the Easter break was the closest we could get to St. George’s Day, and so we decided to make that our theme for the evening. Our first activity was to teach the girls the second verse of the National Anthem. The Brownies then each made their own dragon and flag of England. The girls had been asked to bring in empty yoghurt pots, which at one meeting they will decorate for the Spring Event; they will also be making some cakes for the sale. During the Easter holiday, the Ewell Trefoil Guild held a Quiz Evening; Anne and Beth Richardson, Gwyneth Smith, Terry Wood and I made up a team together, and I am pleased to announce that we were the winners. Pamela Galliers was a member of the team that came a close second. It was a very enjoyable evening and we had lots of fun and were treated to some lovely refreshments. Anchor Boys Unfortunately both Pauline and Tuck were unable to be at our first meeting after Easter, but we only had two boys. They spent most of the evening making a snake each and then playing with them. At our next meeting we heard that one of our three boys could no longer come, but we were very pleased to welcome back Jack, who had left us last year. They played a few games and then they each made a dragon, which they insisted they had to see flying from the gallery. We are hoping that there may be one or two boys that are now too old for the Toddler group will be able to come to Anchor Boys. We shall also be putting leaflets in St. Christopher’s School. Christian
Aid Week, 9-15 May 2004 Living life to the full Christian Aid Week begins on 9 May, and the money raised this year will be used to improve people’s lives in more than 50 countries worldwide. One of the places that Christian Aid has recently begun working is the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. Here, as in many other poor countries, money raised in Christian Aid Week is being used to help people live life to the full. Khurshed Khuinov is 17 and lives in Tajikistan’s capital, Duschanbe. He shares one room in a city hostel with his mother and five brothers and sisters. Life in the hostels is bleak and dangerous, so the organisation Zumrad, which is supported by Christian Aid, runs youth clubs to improve the lives of vulnerable children and give them emotional support. They enjoy climbing and camping expeditions, as well as workshops in which they make their own rucksacks and tents. Zumrad is one of ten partner organisations in Tajikistan supported by Christian Aid. Tajikistan is one of the poorest countries in the world outside Africa, and Christian Aid began to work there quite recently. Situated in central Asia, north of Afghanistan, it was part of the Soviet Union until independence in 1991. Subsequently the economy has collapsed, and there has been a bitter civil war. One in three workers is jobless, and vulnerable people such as children and the elderly have little or no support. Children are particularly at risk if they are orphaned. Fifty thousand were orphaned during the war, and many more have parents who have been forced to leave home and seek work in Russia. Huge state orphanages provide schooling and shelter, but they are overcrowded and poorly resourced. Children living in these conditions are stigmatised, often do not have enough to eat, and are starved of affection. In Khurshed’s case, his family’s situation was made harder because of his poor health. Until he was 12, he had to walk on crutches. ‘After two operations the doctor succeeded in fixing my bones,’ he explains. ‘My family wanted to buy a house, but they used the money for the operations. Life became very difficult for us. So now we live in a hostel.’ For ten years, Zumrad has given children such as these a richer education and deeper relationships than are possible in an orphanage or hostel. They offer camping expeditions in the mountains, with teenage children learning a range of climbing and environmental skills. ‘I thought I would never be able to walk as normal, but I have been hiking with Zumrad for four years,’ says Khurshed. ‘At first it was really hard. But it is so important for me. When I come on hiking trips, I feel at home. I’m not afraid of the difficulties now. I’m going to be an artist. So I am not just looking around; I am studying the countryside and keeping it in my head.’ By attending local clubs several times a week, the young people also learn the sewing skills they need to make their own rucksacks, tents and clothing. Courses in computing and English mean that they can improve their potential. But perhaps most important of all is that Zumrad provides a safe place where children find genuine care and can develop higher hopes for the future. A £25 gift to Christian Aid buys the materials for ten young people to make their own rucksacks for a camping expedition. By supporting Christian Aid Week, you are among millions of people who think poverty is a scandal we do not have to accept. Your actions, commitment and contributions will bring about a better life for people in poor communities all over the world. To find out more about Christian Aid Week, visit www.caweek.org or call 08080 006 006Christian Aid Week, 9-15 May 2004 What’s wrong with world trade? ‘International trade between my country and the West is like an antelope and a giraffe competing for food which is at the top of a tree. You can make the ground level but the contest will still not be fair,’ says Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, a Christian Aid partner. In Christian Aid Week, 9-15 May, people around the country will be joining together to highlight the fundamental imbalances of world trade. Christian Aid is working with other organisations to campaign for trade justice – not free trade – with the rules weighted in favour of poor people. It is calling on world leaders to stop forcing poor countries to open their markets. Poor countries must be allowed to protect and support their vulnerable farmers and developing industries. Then trade can become a positive force which will help them out of poverty. Christian Aid’s campaigning is rooted in the Christian faith. It is clear that throughout the Bible, how the poor are treated is critically important. ‘Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, therefore I command you, "Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land".’ (Deuteronomy 15:11) Christian Aid believes that the Biblical principle of giving special help to the poorest people should be applied to the current global trading system. Instead of expecting traders in the poorest countries to compete on equal terms with those of the richest, trade rules need to give explicit help to the poor. How you can get involved If the rules of international trade are to be rewritten so that they are weighted in favour of the world’s poorest people, more and more people need to join the Trade Justice Campaign. • Sign and send the prayer and action card. For Christian Aid Week, special cards have been produced which can be sent to the government to call for justice in world trade. When the government receives postcards in huge numbers it both challenges it to do what is right, and strengthens its position when it negotiates internationally. Cards should be available at your church in Christian Aid Week. If not, call 01252 669639 to order some. • Wear the trade justice badge. This is a simple but effective way to help spread the campaign message. The badge, pictured above, is based on a set of scales, and highlights the imbalance of world trade today. The figure at the centre represents hope and the power of ordinary people to tip the balance in favour of the world’s poor. Badges cost £2 each, plus postage and packing. Phone your order to 01252 669628. • Become a Christian Aid campaigner. Do you want to be kept in touch with the campaign? Could you take a simple but effective campaign action – usually sending off a postcard – five times a year? If so, then sign up to become a Christian Aid campaigner by calling 08700 787788. Top five facts about world trade 1. International trade is worth US$10 million a minute. 2. Poor countries account for only 0.4 per cent of world trade. Since 1980 their share has halved. 3. The United Nations estimates that unfair trade rules deny poor countries US$700 billion every year. Less than 0.01 per cent of this could save the sight of 30 million people. 4. The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million in the world’s poorest countries. 5. Global trade is regulated through policies and priorities set by international institutions, including rules made at the World Trade Organisation and conditions attached to loans provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These bodies are controlled by governments. To find out more about Christian Aid’s campaign, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/campaign or call 020 7523 2225 What would you do with a million pounds?In Christian Aid Week last year, over £1 million extra was raised for the world’s poorest people, simply because of one little form! How? Gift Aid. Gift Aid is a government scheme that allows Christian Aid to claim back the tax paid on any donation made by a UK taxpayer, adding almost 30 per cent to the gift’s value. All the donor needs to do is complete the simple declaration on the Christian Aid Week envelope. In 2003, Gift Aid declarations made in Christian Aid Week were worth more than £1 million. A million pounds is enough to build 60 health centres in Cambodia, or provide clean water to 100,000 children in Ethiopia, or run Christian Aid’s entire education, advocacy and campaign work for two months. But many eligible donations to Christian Aid are given without Gift Aid declarations, meaning that its programmes are missing out on this potential ‘free’ extra income. So if you give to Christian Aid and are a taxpayer, please do fill in the Gift Aid form. And if you collect for Christian Aid, please encourage those who are donating to complete the declaration. It only takes a few seconds, but just think what could be achieved with another million! To find out more about Christian Aid Week, 9-15 May 2004, visit www.caweek.org or call 08080 006 006 Gifts that change livesDonations made in Christian Aid Week, 9-15 May 2004, will transform lives around the world: £5 buys rice for a family in Sierra Leone to plant, providing food, income, and seeds for the next season £10 pays for taps and troughs to provide two villages in Bolivia with a safe and reliable water supply £15 trains a Guatemalan woman in business techniques, and gives her the opportunity to learn how to make a sustainable living £17 provides a month’s food rations for four Burmese refugees. Completing the Gift Aid declaration would provide them each with a blanket too. By supporting Christian Aid Week, you are among millions of people who think poverty is a scandal we do not have to accept. Your actions, commitment and contributions will bring about a better life for people in poor communities all over the world. To find out more or make a donation, visit www.caweek.org or call 08080 006 006 Prayers for Christian Aid Week:A prayer from the Dominican Republic The sun offers its gift of warmth, Amen. A collector’s prayer Lord of life, Amen.
Christian Aid Week runs from 9-15 May 2004. We believe in life before deathA Prayer – from one of Phemie’s ladies. Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details: give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains: they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them in becoming sweeter as time goes by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet: I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people – and give me, Lord, the grace to tell them so. Anon. GOOD NEWS! Following approval by the Church Council, modifications are well in hand to the double garage at No.13 Ashley Road as the temporary new site for the shop.
Next Issue
- Copy for the June issue of the NewsLetter should be with the Editor
by 30th May for publication on 6th June 2004 Time flies like an arrow - fruit flies like a banana! i
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Christian
Aid Week – 9th-15th May
This
last Palm Sunday was very different for George and myself from usual.
We were in Madeira and with some friends attended the English-speaking
Church in Funchal for morning worship. It was a beautiful morning,
blue sky, sun shining and we walked to Church through the park full of
beautiful flowers, which are everywhere in Madeira. As we approached
the Church we were certainly not alone. The building is very beautiful
inside with a dome that is painted blue with golden stars that shone
in the sunlight. The gallery was lined with live palm branches, and as
the service began live palm branches were carried down the aisles and
placed by the Altar. The service was Communion, typical Church of
England with folk processing to the Altar rail for a wafer and wine
from a large silver goblet. The Church was packed with people of all
ages. After the service we were invited to refreshments in the
beautiful grounds of the Church full of all sorts of flowers and
blossoms; we couldn’t stay as we had other things to do, but we
really enjoyed the experience and will keep our palm cross that we
were given for a long time.
