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Epsom United Reformed ChurchNewsletter for December 2004 |
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Alan Wood I could have doubled the size of this NewsLetter had I included all the A5 flyers I have for various events this Christmas! As you read these pages, you will realise how many worth-while events there are around to prepare us for this season of goodwill: carol services, for both Advent and Christmas, celebrations by the youngsters, concerts of music. And all this is in addition to our normal hectic lives. As Pat says, ‘in our preparations for Christmas, let us try not to get too busy and too tired’. Over the past few months, our new Minister (how long shall we keep calling her ‘new’?) and Peter have become very much a part of our life here. We were very sorry to hear of Pat’s misfortune at having suffered a detached retina, and are pleased that her treatment is proving successful. At least we know that the machinery of the church can still swing into action and keep the ship on course. We look forward to the return of, to continue the analogy, our Pilot. How do you like the banner above and on the home page? You will, of course, have realised that it is a corruption of the slogan of ‘Dogs Trust’, this being the new name of the National Canine Defence League. ‘Dogs Trust’ have very kindly given free permission for this use to us for the NewsLetter, for posters at the church and for the website, for this Christmas period; and, as I said in my letter of thanks to them, I hope that we may both benefit from its use. If you hear any comments about this use, please let me know. The silhouette of the stable and manger was taken from a Christmas card of the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Disabled, who were very willing for it to be used in this way. I will try and get some form of NewsLetter out for 2nd January. After all, you will need to know about the arrangements for the Burns’ Supper, won’t you! It does mean, however, that I will need your input on BOXING DAY, or by Wednesday, 29th December for those with email! May we wish all our friends and readers a Happy and
Blessed Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. How very sorry we all were to hear of Pat’s eye condition. Our thoughts and prayers have been with her. The recent visit to Moorfields last Wednesday was encouraging, and we look forward to having her back with us soon. Charles Senior had cataract surgery last week and we trust all is going well. Del has been suffering with a chest infection. May he soon be recovered. Lynne and Del are always in our thoughts. When they feel able to come to worship on Sunday, we’ll be so happy to see them. It was good to see Marjorie in church recently, and report that she was able to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at St Martin’s with her Burma Star friends. Ann and family are hoping Marjorie will be able to journey north to them at Christmas. Joe hasn’t been too well and is awaiting treatment. We have Peggy and Joe in our prayers. Our congratulations, love and good wishes go to Lily Moody on her 90th birthday on 6th December. She will be with her family on the South coast for the celebration.
Musings from the Minister 
Dear Friends; Although time can seem to pass very slowly at times, one thing for sure is that it does pass! I found this out when I had to spend 50 minutes out of every hour for ten days, lying on my left side, following surgery to correct a detached retina. Just now I do not see very well with my right eye, but I am told that it will take time, so I must be patient. I don’t think that I will be driving for a few weeks at least. I want to thank all those people who filled in for me at the last moment for worship services, and especially the Church Secretaries Barbara and Sheila. Thank you for all your cards and good wishes and prayers. They are much appreciated. I am sorry that Peter and I had to cancel our ‘At Home’ for 4th December, but it seemed the sensible thing to do. We hope to reschedule it for early in the new year. Meanwhile, in our preparations for Christmas, let us try not to get too busy and too tired, and let us make time in our lives for other people, to make a phone call, write a letter, pay a visit to someone who does not get out. Advent is a time of preparation, of getting ourselves ready to welcome Jesus. Are there relationships that need to be put right? Are we too critical of the efforts of others? Do we thank people when they help us or do a good job? Let us not forget the homeless people and the shelters and other agencies that need our support. Peace be with you all. Pat topSecretary’s
Letter
Now we turn our thoughts to the Christmas Celebrations. This is such a special time and this year there is so much to look forward to. The lunch time Carol Concert is a first for us, so let’s make it a success. There will be plenty of advertising for this and we have delivered handbills to all the neighbouring companies and public services, so we hope for a good response. Toy Service and the Musical, "It’s a Cracker" is always a highlight and of course on Sunday evening, 19th December, ‘Carols by Candlelight’ is the high spot of the year, followed by mince-pies and coffee in Unity Hall. On Christmas morning we shall join the folk at Ewell for morning worship. These are just some of the occasions planned and we hope that Pat and Peter will enjoy their first Christmas with us at Epsom, and with the folk at Ewell. Full details of all the Christmas Services will be published in the local paper the Post issues on 8th December.
Christmas seems suddenly to be getting closer, especially after this week when my granddaughter "helped" me to make the Christmas cakes, that was an experience not to be missed!!. George and I are off for a few days to visit our daughter who has moved to Normandy: it will be interesting to see the Christmas preparations there. I do wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas, and in this world where there is so much unrest and stress may we all experience the joy of that first Christmas all over again, and be ready for great things in our Church in 2005. Sheila. [My apologies for
omitting Sheila's article from the paper copy of the December NewsLetter.
My fault entirely. Ed.] Christmas
Greetings and
from the staff who work in the field This
has been a year of great change in the Synod Office. Having bid farewell to Christine
Meekison and Brian
West we have been grateful to welcome Graham Campling as Synod clerk.
Guy Morfett as Trust
Secretary
and John Waller as Treasurer. It has been good to see how they have
stepped into shoes that were
so ably worn by others and made them their own. The
end of 2004 sees the final anticipated change when Norman Fabb retires
after almost 11 years as Trust
Administrator.
Although much of his work has been unseen, those in the know - and that is now
many people
both in the churches and in the professional agencies we use - have come to
value Norman's diligent,
unflappable
and friendly endeavours in the complex areas of both money and buildings. We
thank Norman for an outstanding contribution to the life of the Synod and its
churches and wish him and Joan long years of
happiness.
If you are ever gently pootling along the A21 and a smart sporty job flashes
past you, do give the
driver
a wave - it could well be Norman! Change
is not always so predictable or normal as are office comings and goings. We live
in a world where technological
progress, increasing cultural diversity and the terrorist's ghastly deeds can
leave us reeling with
a sense of anything from surprise to crippling fear. On one level these are the
inevitable consequences
of
being alive, on another, the awful prospect of having life snatched away. And
then there's the Church,
reviewing
everything that moves and shredding everything that doesn't! Catch the Vision
of God's Tomorrow
is the United Reformed Church's exciting enterprise in looking forward with
commitment, faith and
hope. But it will inevitably bring change, which means at least some measure of
stepping out into the
unknown
and so many pages of our story are of timorous clinging-on rather than of
faith-filled letting-go; we, and I include myself, feel so complicated about
change. So it is that the routine celebration of another Christmas is good. At the end of December, whatever our situation, whether we feel upbeat or anxious, whether we feel like it or not, we celebrate "the gift of God's very self to the world". In Jesus Christ, God comes piercing through the shroud of our uncertainty with the dazzling light of divine love, which is undefeatable, "ever faithful, ever sure". And it's a love that is not just about making us feel better, but actually transforming us and our world. So be it this Christmas, as we accept the gift and become pliable to its power. May the peace, hope and joy of this season be the hallmarks of your New Year, too Yours sincerely, Nigel Uden (top)BURNS’ SUPPER Address to the Haggis :
A Burns’ Supper will be held in Unity Hall on
Saturday, 29th January, 2005. Proceeds will go to the Shooting Star Fund. Post Box for your Christmas Cards The Post Box was put out on Sunday, 30th November. You are invited to place your Christmas Cards for other members of the congregation in the Post Box and to put the appropriate money saved from the postage in the box on top. The money raised will be donated to Christian Aid Don't forget to pick up the cards addressed to you! Afternoon Fellowship We shall meet for our Christmas Celebration on Thursday, 16th December, at 2.30 p.m.. Barbara, our President, will be arranging the programme, after which we shall have tea together. We would welcome any friends able to be with us. We do not meet in January or February. Evening Church Fellowship The visit on 1st November was again well presented by Betty Hurley with some very good songs from the movies. It has been decided, due to lack of support, not to hold the annual New Year Party, but to have a meeting on Monday, 10th January, starting at 7.30 p.m., with light snacks and video entertainment arranged by Gwyneth. We are invited to a Carol Service by our friends at Epsom Methodist Church on Monday, 13th December. This will start at 7.45 p.m., and will be followed by refreshments. (top)Women’s Church Council Our Coffee morning on Tuesday, 14th December, between 10.30 and 12.00 is for ‘The Shooting Star Hospice for Children’ Do make a special effort to come. We hope to have a member of that fund-raising committee present, with some articles for sale. Our Coffee Morning on 11th January, 2005, will be for ‘The Alzheimer's Society’. We shall be decorating the church on Saturday, 11th December and would welcome any holly or small decorative greenery. If it could be brought to the church between 10.00 and 12.00, that would be most helpful. Following the ‘Carols by Candlelight’ Service at 5.30 p.m. on 19th December, we will be pleased to serve coffee, tea and mince pies in Unity Hall. Our thanks to all friends who supported ‘The Women’s Church Council Gift Table’ on 28th November, helping us to remember many friends at Christmas. Dovecote News The latest issue of their free magazine ‘Just In’ is now available, with details of all sorts of offers and information on books and CDs. Open Monday to Saturday from 10.00am to 5.00pm 13 Ashley Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5AQ Next to Epsom Methodist Church A short diversion for you when the output of the TV companies palls over the holiday season:
What was the assumed name of author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson?
Absolutely no prizes for this one! Answers next month.
Valerie Wood In November the Brownies had a travel evening, which meant them doing puzzles and various activities from other parts of the word. They all managed to write their names in hieroglyphs, completed a word search about Africa and tried to identify some famous places from photographs. By the middle of November we were ready to begin our preparations for Christmas and we combined this with work for the craft badge. Each girl laced a neck purse, characterised a hand-puppet using fabricrayons, decorated a bauble with glass pens, and made a Christmas card and calendar, thus all earning their craft badge. Zoë has now also earned her computer badge.
On 21st November we had a special Church Parade so that we could present the Church with a Brownie Rose. Unfortunately Pat was not able to be with us that morning but she sent a very able deputy in her place. Lynne Upsell, a lay preacher from Walton-on-Thames, had done her homework and was able to say a bit about the history of the Brownie Movement, begun 90 years ago. The Brownie Rose had been cultivated to commemorate its 90 years, and the 12th Epsom Brownie Pack presented it to the church in gratitude for all its support and encouragement over the years.
The Brownies once again sang Christmas carols at Epsom Station on Wednesday, 1st December. We sang for just under an hour, and in that time we raised £210 for ‘Children in Need’ . We are very grateful to the travelling public and also the staff at Epsom Station for being so generous. Unfortunately, Anne Richardson, a.k.a. ‘Tawny Owl’, was unable to sing with us as she has succumbed to laryngitis, but we were very pleased to have Gwyneth’s support.
After singing the Brownies walked back to Unity Hall for their Christmas party. This was in the form of a disco. Some of the girls decided to wear fancy dress and had a competition judged by three other Brownies. Although this was our last Brownie Meeting before Christmas, some of the Brownies will be involved in some more activities. Several of the girls are taking part in the Junior Church musical on 12th December, which is also a Church Parade. Some Brownies will be singing Christmas carols outside Sainsbury’s on Saturday, 11th December, around lunchtime with Spring Downs District, and some will be singing carols to the residents of ‘The Croft’ on Monday, 13th December, between 6 and 7 p.m. Everyone at 12th Epsom Brownies wish you all a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Anchor Boys We have been informed that the new Anchor Boys’ Programme Packs will now be sent to us sometime over the Christmas period and we are looking forward to introducing them in the new term. During November the boys have made a firework picture using glitter glue pens, made shakers from Pringle boxes, made a paper Father Christmas and decorated a calendar with a 3-D effect. They have enjoyed playing games such as ‘Grandma’s Keys’, ‘What’s the time Mr. Wolf?’ and ‘Wink Murder’. Next Monday will be our last before Christmas and we hope to have an evening with special food and party games. The Anchor Boys and their leaders hope that you will have an enjoyable Christmas and we wish you all the best in the New Year.
Visit by National Blood Service As I have mentioned the forth-coming visit by the NBS to Unity Hall on 14th December in the past few NewsLetters, I should hope that everybody has heard about it! Even though most of my readers are, believe it or not, past the age at which they can give blood, I hope that you will all be promoting this event among your younger acquaintances. It is hoped that this will bring an awareness of Unity Hall to a very wide section of the local populace. Can I therefore ask that users of notice-boards take this opportunity to make sure that their section is in good order and displaying an interesting selection of work and pictures. You never know whose interest may be attracted by something they see while giving their armful, or drinking their cuppa. And just to keep you involved, here is a short quiz about blood and the NBS. Again, no prizes, and answers next month.
Have fun! Post Script Well, they've been, and very successful the visit was, too. The grand total of 104 donations of blood were collected, which, according to them wot knows, is good for a new venue, and especially considering the time of year, when people have other things on their minds. Here are a few photographs of the day:
Copy for the next issue of the NewsLetter should be with the Editor by 26th December for publication on 2nd January 2005. And Finally . . . A Church Notice: "There will be a coach outing to Hastings, where there will be time to explode the Old Town and Castle." |
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Thanks
to all who attended the A.G.M.; it was such a pity that Pat could not be with
us because of her emergency eye surgery. I am pleased to report that she is
doing well and hopefully she is with us this Sunday. It was a positive meeting
with a good atmosphere. The 
