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Epsom United Reformed ChurchNewsletter for September 2005 |
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Alan Wood Christian Aid So we’re mentioned in despatches (see Christian Aid and G8) for doing well in the Christian Aid Collection Stakes. Personally speaking, and having done both, I would far rather go to a Burns’ Night, or a St. George’s Day Supper, or a Coffee Morning than trying to collect money by means of a house-to-house collection. Perhaps it’s not too early to start thinking of next year’s events. St George’s Day is on a Sunday next year, and 25th January is on a Wednesday. . . . Are there any other excuses for a bean-feast? Parade on 28th August. You will probably know of the Service and Parade to be held on 28th August. I find it strange that an "ecumenical civic service" should be held at a time when most other churches are already holding their own services! The Service of Remembrance at the Ashley Road War Memorial is always on a Sunday afternoon, when no other services take place, so why should this service be different? Be that as it may, I think it would be a good idea if our church, as a body, could be in the church forecourt as the parade passes. Perhaps by 12:30 some people have usually left, but for just this one occasion . . . ? Anyway, the police will probably have closed the roads so you wouldn’t be able to get home! Web Site Hits on the Web Site are now approaching 2000 since April last year. This represents about a hundred per month, which astounds me! I have a paragraph on the home page asking for the 2,000th visitor to make him/herself known to me. Maybe I’ll give a box of Smarties as an award. Those of you who read the NewsLetter on line – and who get the benefit of photographs in colour! – will have to wait a bit for this September issue to be uploaded. Due to my being away, this issue will not be available until mid September – just before I start on the October issue! Where has the Summer gone!! We extend our heartfelt sympathy to John and Lynne and Del Lewis in the death of John’s beloved wife, Sheila. These last months have been extremely difficult, borne with great courage by John and Sheila. Our love and prayers are with John and with his and Sheil;a’s respective families. Betty Hay has had her hip replacement operation in St. George’s Hospital and is doing well. When ready to leave hospital, Betty will convalesce at The Beaumont. Kim has sent in the following message: It was good to have Marjorie and Anne Thomson in church recently. What a happy occasion it was on 31st July as Peggy Smith celebrated her 94th birthday. May you continue in such good health, Peggy, and we offer you our love and good wishes. Andrew, son of John and Barbara, has recently undergone reconstruction of a cruciate ligament in his knee. Unfortunately, his good knee was robbed of tendon material to put into the damaged knee, so he is feeling rather incapacitated at the moment. He is now back with John and Barbara, and we wish him a speedy recovery.
Musings from the
Minister Dear Friends, Suddenly the mornings are cool and the nights are beginning to draw in. Along with the schools and organizations to which we belong, perhaps some of us long for a fresh start. Jesus went about offering a fresh start to all kinds of people. Here are some of my thoughts on this, based on the story of the Woman at the Well. Usually when we hear this story, we focus on the woman. Here I have suggested that we look at the way in which Jesus approaches her. 'Give me a drink of water’, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. In other words, I need your help. I am thirsty. Please help me. Imagine Jesus, a Jewish man stooping to ask for help from not only a Samaritan, but an outcast Samaritan woman at that! Jesus gives her the opportunity to become a giver. Jesus the Jew says to the Samaritan, ‘I have need of you’. ‘I can’t live without you’ is an expression we might relegate to romantic fiction, to Mills and Boon perhaps, yet it becomes a reality when we are thinking of how reconciliation actually happens. The very first thing we should take from this story is the deeply challenging revelation that true communion begins when someone acknowledges need. I am thirsty, Jesus says to the woman. I am the one in need now. He puts himself where the woman herself is, in need. What do you think she was most in need of? Perhaps self respect; perhaps she was in need of talking to someone and discussing important issues. Jesus would have known all that but he doesn’t really talk about it. Instead he says that she can help him by giving him a drink of water. Sometimes people seem so intent on showing that they have it all under control, that they know what to do, what to say, where to go and so on. But sometimes the fact that we are so efficient and knowledgeable means that other people don’t feel they have anything to offer. I think that we can see how this is in our own lives, can’t we? Can you think of instances where you could have asked for help, given someone else the opportunity to give? Perhaps you can recall a time in your life when someone asked you to do something. It might have been quite a simple thing. Can you remember how it made you feel? Our two congregations of Epsom and Ewell are quite different from one another, and I am sure that there are things we can learn from each other. What gifts have you received from each other? How has Ewell helped Epsom? How has Epsom helped Ewell? How can this happen more often? How might this attitude help us globally? So often we of the western and wealthier world think that the poorer nations have nothing to give us. We are here to help them. They are the ones in need. But could they in fact have something to offer us if we but asked for help? There has, finally, to be some way of saying, ‘We are hungry and thirsty for what you can offer.’ We are not fully human without one another, not just the people we like and respect and know, but the others too. And things aren’t going to change much in the world and in our own lives and in our community unless we can acknowledge the gifts that others can bring, the things they can do for us. Peace Pat Secretary’s
Letter Soon we will be into September and planning for Harvest and Autumn, but I am trying to convince myself it is miles away yet!! I would be quite happy for the summer to continue for at least another six weeks. September sees the beginning of a course of Elders’ training. This is a new venture for the Downlands Cluster and will be held at the Leatherhead Church on the first Saturday of each month between 9.30 am and 12 noon. The course covers a wide range of topics and should prove very interesting. It will be led in the main by Des Colchin (Development Officer for Southern Synod) and the Ministers from the cluster Churches. Sunday, 4th September is the date set for the second Joint Service with Ewell, this time at Epsom at the usual time 10. 30a.m. On Wednesday, 7th September there is to be an Organ Recital in the Church at lunch time. And don’t forget Harvest Lunch is at Epsom this year on Sunday 25th September in Unity Hall. Our Harvest Service is on the following Sunday October 2nd. Plans are progressing well for our Children’s Activity Day on Wednesday 26th October. This is another joint venture with Ewell, held this time in Unity Hall. The theme for the day is "Noah’s Ark", which lends itself to many activities and crafts. Letters will be issued to organisations who may have interested children during September. If you know any children who may be interested please let me have their names. I hope you have had good holidays and a restful break and are ready for the challenges of a new year in the life of our Church. I hope it will be a busy and fulfilling one. (top)Harvest Arrangements We start our Harvest celebrations with our lunchtime Harvest Supper in Unity Hall, to which we are inviting our friends from Ewell URC, who will have just been at their own Harvest festival. Sheila Smith is in charge of the Harvest Lunch preparations. No more details are available as we go to print, so keep your ears open for the details and ways in which you can lend Sheila a hand. Our own Harvest Festival will be held the following week, on 2nd October. Don’t forget our special projects for Harvest this year. Ewell are collecting all sorts of goodies for putting into shoe-boxes for transport to various European countries. Full details of their requirements were given out after Morning Service recently. And we are collecting money for one – or two? – Elephant pumps at £200 each for providing a source of clean water to people in Africa. Details appeared in last month’s NewsLetter, and I am sure you’ll hear more on 2nd October. What the G8 achievedTrade The
G8' s lack of progress on trade was bitterly disappointing. Trade has
the greatest potential to lift people out of poverty in poor
countries. In
the communique on Africa, issued at the end of the summit, there is a
welcome statement that poor countries should be able to choose their
own economic policies. This suggests an end to the policy conditions
attached to aid and debt cancellation - including all the damaging
trade policies that rich countries have forced poor countries to
follow. This would be a very important and dramatic step, but no
specific action plan was included. The only reference to allowing poor countries more flexibility in deciding their own trade policies was limited to the world's poorest 50 countries and excluded flexibility for the slightly better-off developing countries. We will carry on pushing the government to put its words into action to stop it forcing free trade policies on poor countries. Debt Eighteen
of the world's poorest countries will receive significantly more debt
cancellation and others may qualify
in the coming months and years. But these countries will still have to
fulfil damaging conditions to
qualify. In effect, this pledge only confirms the deal announced by
the G7 finance ministers in June. So we are looking to world leaders
to deliver more on debt. Aid The
G8 announced they would double aid to Africa to US$25 billion by 2010.
But a large part of this increase had already been announced.
Before the G8, rich countries had promised to give 0.3 per cent
of national income in aid. In 2010 this will rise to 0.36 per cent.
But this is still only the same as they gave in 1986 and only just
over half of the 0.7 per cent that they committed themselves to more
than 30 years ago. We are also concerned that conditions should not be
tied to aid. Tony Blair
acknowledged the package would disappoint some campaigners.
The UK government has taken a lead on these issues, but the G8
as a whole has only delivered a fraction of what we were calling for. That said, we should not be discouraged; the movement for justice has grown in strength, we did have an impact and 2005 is far from over. What Next for Christian Aid?
Thank
you once again for all your campaigning so far this year. You are
helping to make poverty history. Look out for your next Take Action in
September, with full details of the
mass lobby. From
Gillian Mead, local Christian Aid Co-ordinator: Well,
I have at last finalized the accounts for this year and have sent off
the form to the area office. I am very pleased to be able to report
that there was an 8% increase overall from 2004 and the final amount
raised between us all was £10,230.59 compared to £9,466.61 in 2004.
This fantastic increase was mainly due to the URC, Christchurch and
the Wells who all showed dramatic increases, whereas the rest of us
all had slight drops. I know that from Christchurch, and I am sure
that Patience Morris will not mind me saying, that it was because of a
specific appeal from the pulpit that made the difference, and also
because of the Make Poverty History campaign. Perhaps it is something
that we should all bear in mind next year by trying to engage the
ministers more in the campaign. I would like to thank you all for your continued effort on behalf of Christian Aid, and I would like to have a gathering later in the year so that we can all share experiences and perhaps gain encouragement from each other. Lunchtime Organ Recital John Mansfield (Farnham URC) will be performing a varied selection of music at our church at 13:10 on Wednesday, 7th September. Bring your lunch and enjoy it listening to the music. Tea, coffee, and soft drinks available. Free Entry.
(top) Open Morning at the Ewell Abbeyfield The
Abbeyfield Society is a UK-wide volunteer-led charity providing housing
with support or care for older people.
The Society exists to make older people's lives easier and more
fulfilling. Since 1956 Abbeyfield
volunteers have worked tirelessly to provide housing, support and
companionship to older people in their local communities. The Abbeyfield Epsom Society is holding an Open Morning on Saturday 1st October from 10am to 12noon at The Old House, Epsom Road, Ewell. The Old House offers comfort and companionship to ten active elderlypeople who would otherwise live alone. The live-in housekeeper provides two meals a day and the reasonable fees (which are eligible for Housing Benefit) include heating and council tax. If you, or someone you know, is thinking of moving into sheltered accommodation, you are invited to come and look around. For further information please contact Peter Vreede on 020 8224 9143. Public Entertainment Licence The Church has recently been granted a new style PEL (Public Entertainment Licence) and a summary copy of this licence is posted on the front inner door of Unity Hall. The licence does not apply to private functions (by invitation only), nor to normal Church activities attended by members, adherents and other invited persons. It is required for any function involving "regulated entertainment" held in Unity Hall where tickets are offered for sale to the general public, whether it is organised by the Church or by an outside organisation that has hired the hall for that purpose. The licence covers public entertainment only and does NOT allow the premises to be used to sell alcohol nor the provision of, say, a "free" glass of wine included in the ticket price; special arrangements must be made if this is contemplated. It is, however, allowable for attendees to bring in alcohol for their own consumption. The "designated premise supervisor" is myself and it is necessary for me to be involved in any proposed functions at an early stage of planning, so that I may ensure that the function and the proposed activities are within the terms of the licence. Your co-operation in this important regulatory matter is very necessary and will be much appreciated New Windows for the Longhurst Room If all goes according to plan, before the issue of the next NewsLetter we will have new double-glazed PVCu windows in the Longhurst Room. So we can all look forward to a nice modern installation, with easily opened windows, considerably reduced heat loss and street noise. Maybe we won’t even notice the ambulances! All three windows will incorporate the URC Cross and Fish logo as appears on the front of this NewsLetter, with the design filled in with blue and gold transparent film. The design has been on show in the foyer for some weeks, since the last Church Meeting. By this method, we are fulfilling the request of a year or so ago for a cross to be incorporated in the front of the building so that passers-by will realise that this is a church. The new windows should also give a great improvement in the visual impact of the church, and brighten up the whole aspect. Unity Hall Maintenance The F&GP Committee have been advised to have some necessary maintenance carried out on the floor of Unity Hall. It has suffered considerably over the past three years from the types of use rather different from that to which a high quality sports floor is usually subjected; it now requires two days of work by a specialist contractor to restore it to its as-new condition. This work entails stripping all the old sealant, cleaning and keying the surface, and adding two or three coats of new sealant. At the same time, badminton court lines will be painted on the floor, and protected by two coats of sealant, so hopefully these will stay in good condition, and not get damaged like the lines put down with adhesive tape! Unity Hall will therefore be off-limits to anybody not directly concerned with this floor work for the two days that the work will take, i.e. 23rd/24th August. We would also ask that the floor be left alone until after the August Bank Holiday, to give the sealant good time to harden properly. This maintenance work is costing us a lot of money. It is therefore very important that users take as much care of the floor as possible. I would mention a few things:
With your co-operation, then, the newly restored floor will last a good long time – and so will the badminton court lines! Thank you for taking care.
Visit to the Bluebell Railway On Wednesday, 10th August, a lovely summer morning, we set off for our trip on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. As is normal these days, any road journey is subject to delays and, sure enough, a sewer just managed to collapse in East Grinstead. However, we all managed to catch the 12:00 train from Sheffield Park, with some of us just falling into the compartment at the last moment!
On the outward journey we were in the old-fashioned compartments with the slam door. The countryside was very interesting, and some of us went through a tunnel with the lights out!
Twenty adults and six children from Epsom and Ewell churches enjoyed their picnic. Now, a picnic would not be complete without a child being stung by nettles, but dock leaves soon restored the smiles.
On the return journey we had a more modern, open carriage, but the train was very hot. We paid a visit to the engine sheds at Sheffield Park. It was amazing to see the huge engines, and in this age when everything seems to be miniaturized, from ground level one could only stand and stare. It was good to know that the engines are fired with coal from Scotland – brought by lorry!
A big thank-you goes to Rev. Pat Hall for organizing the excursion. The £10 left after expenses were paid was passed on to the Women’s Church Council for the Surrey Air Ambulance Appeal. A new activity group for all
children Assistance required each Monday at Unity Hall, United reformed Church, Epsom. If you would like to assist each week Knitting for Charity You may remember that in the February issue of the Newsletter I was asking for any frustrated knitters out there to knit hats or squares for charity. So far I have received only a couple of hats and a few squares. Perhaps while you are sitting in the sun with nothing to do you may like to pass the time profitably by producing a hat or square or two. If you have lost the pattern for the hat or would like one, please see the February NewsLetter. Service and Parade, 28th August On 28th August there is to be an ecumenical civic service at St Martin’s Church as part of the borough’s commemoration to mark the 60th anniversary of the ending of World War II. This will start at 11:00, and will be followed at about 12:30 by a parade, headed by civic dignitaries and veterans, from St Martin’s down Church Street to Epsom Town Centre, where the Mayor, Cllr Jean Smith, will be taking the salute. There will no doubt be some disruption to traffic as the Parade proceeds along Church Street, so be warned! The Welcome Pack The Welcome Pack has now been out for some eighteen months. It may well be that some pages contained therein have been rendered out-of-date by subsequent events. Can I please ask all leaders of organisations and committees, etc., to please review their pages to see if it needs updating? If so, to let me have a copy of what they would like to be written in its place. Thanks. Church Flowers in
September 4th
September Peggy Wilson Afternoon Fellowship The opening meeting of the Afternoon Fellowship will be on Thursday, 22nd October, at 2:30 pm in the Longhurst Room. It will be a Service of Communion, as usual, and a fitting way to start the new session Drama Group The re-formed Drama Group will meet on Thursday, 15th September, at 7.30 pm in the Longhurst Room. A warm welcome awaits you. Toddlers’ Group The Toddlers’ Group will start the new session on Tuesday, 13th September. I am grateful to all those helpers who have agreed to serve on a rota. Women's Church Council Despite a number of generous donations, we were short on the number of friends who were able to come to the August Coffee morning. So, before sending our donation for the Surrey Air Ambulance, we are waiting a while, should any friends wish to make their donation. Our treasurer, Bettie Forster, will be pleased to receive any gift.
The September Coffee Morning on Tuesday, 13th September, 10:30-12:00, will be for "Riding for the Disabled". What a lot of pleasure this charity affords to so many children with special needs. Do come and support this worthy cause. 12th Epsom Brownie Guide Pack The Brownie programme for the new term has already been prepared and letters sent out to Brownie parents and parents of prospective new recruits. The new term begins on Wednesday, 14th September. The Brownies will be organising the coffee morning in Unity Hall on Saturday, 15th October from 11 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. They will be raising funds for the Harvest Charity ‘Pump Aid’. Please put a special note in your diaries to attend. We hope we will be serving some real treats made by the girls! Copy for the next issue should be with the Editor by 18th September for publication on 25th September 2005. And Finally . . . The good Lord didn't
create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close. |
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