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United Reformed ChurchNewsletter for February 2007 |
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Alan Wood Items on the news have been pretty gloomy about the state of the country recently, to my mind. We have the despicable behaviour of the scavengers, the looters, the people who go stealing-by-finding – yes, those people on Branscombe Beach in Lyme Bay, grabbing what they can, never mind what, from nappies to BMW motorbikes, all off the unfortunate beached MSC Napoli. What kind of people are these that can so take advantage of other people’s misfortunes like this! I feel so sorry for the family of Swedish emigrants on their way to South Africa, who had sent their treasured belongings and mementos by the MSC Napoli, seeing these belongings being picked over like the last items at a Jumble Sale. I also wonder why no way was found early on to put a cordon round the area where these containers were coming to shore. It would have been easy to find a reason, such as unknown chemicals in the containers. Health and Safety seems to have a finger in every other pie! If I read again about the Wreckers of the 17th and 18th centuries, who used to light misleading signal fires to cause ships to run onto rocks, I don’t think I’ll have the same attitude of mind, and will think more about the people who have lost goods, rather than the people benefiting from the salvage. And in the same week we hear that there is no space in the prisons, and that more prisons are being built – and have you seen the cost?! What a terrible waste of manpower and financial resources, and land space. I remember my grandfather saying: "If only everybody would do what I told them, the world would be a better place." Unfortunately, they didn’t. And they still wouldn’t. -------------------------------------------- Damage to the church roof Somebody must have been looking after us when that corrugated roofing sheet came off the church roof in the high winds on 18th January! It was over 6 metres long, as can be seen in the photograph, and as far as I know, it landed without doing any damage to people or property. What a blessing that was!
On 27th January, Mary Hallifax will have her 90th birthday. We remember her with our love and best wishes and pray that she may, despite her frailty, be aware of the special occasion. It was good to have Lynne with us in Unity Hall for Morning Worship on 14th January. Unfortunately, on returning home, she had a fall in the kitchen and has suffered a lot of discomfort, most particularly in her back. May she soon feel some relief. Our caretaker, Len Masters, had successful hip surgery in Epsom General Hospital but has been transferred to St. Helier, having suffered two complications. We hope he will soon be progressing and we send him and his wife, Pat, our very best wishes. Many friends will have heard that Maurice Young is in Chichester Hospital, having recently suffered a stroke. Our love and prayers are with Maurice and Joan at this time. Phil Castle had to return to hospital for a short time, but is home again. We send our good wishes for a steady recovery and hope he will soon be feeling stronger. Phyllis Thurston is looking a lot better now that her medication has been sorted out satisfactorily. Lily Moody has had one or two problems as she recuperates from quite a lengthy period of illness. We miss her and hope she will soon be feeling stronger. We send our warmest congratulations to Terry Wood, having passed his driving test. -------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Brain writes: ‘May I, through the NewsLetter, thank all those members who so kindly sent me a Christmas card. It is good to think, after all these years, that old friends are still so remembered. With best wishes to you all for 2007, Elizabeth.’ During the past year or so, a group of people from the congregation has been leading occasional morning services. The life of our church has been greatly enhanced by their leadership. So far, we have met as needed, sometimes under pressure of time, to plan these services. I think it would be good if we could take a more organized approach. To this end, therefore, I am calling together all those who would like to take part, so that we can plan in advance. It might be that we could work in teams, which should make planning easier. We will meet on 21 February at 11:15 am, following the Ash Wednesday service in the foyer. Please bring your lunch and plan to stay for about two hours. This will give us time to meet as a large group, and then to break up into smaller groups. Anyone who is interested in taking part in leading a service, morning or evening, is welcome to come. I look forward to seeing some new faces there, as well as the regulars! Peace Pat (top)Secretary’s
Letter There seem to be mixed opinions about having Morning Worship in Unity Hall; mind you, we have not got much choice at the moment due to the recent gales. I am sure you will have heard that a large part of the Church roof blew off in the high winds, and we should be very thankful that nobody was hurt.
Personally I think Unity Hall has
a good atmosphere and a feeling of togetherness. I do realise that the
setting up and clearing away takes time, but I think there are enough
volunteers so that it will not be left to the same people each week. As
I write this it is getting increasingly colder and snowing, the weather
forecast is for a cold snap, so at least we shall be warm and also save
money on the Church heating. I am sure God will be with us whether in
the Church or Unity Hall. At the Communion Service on 6th January Elders re-elected at the November Church Meeting were re-ordained, and our new Elder, Alfred Lampty, was inducted and ordained. I hope you picked up a copy of the new Church Directory and will find it helpful. Please study the page with the Elders’ lists and find out who is looking after you. February looks a busy month. Evening Fellowship on 5th February has a representative from Epsom Coaches; come along and see what he has to say about their new arrangements. On 10th February we have a concert from the Epsom Male Voice Choir in the Church, and this is always of a very high standard and an enjoyable evening. On 11th February, one of our joint services, at Ewell this time, we have some large puppets taking part in the service. On 13th February is the monthly Coffee Morning, and on Saturday 17th February there is a Coffee Morning in Unity Hall organised by the Afternoon and Evening Fellowships. Do come along to as many of these occasions as you can. Wednesday 21st February is Ash Wednesday and there will be a short act of Worship at 10.30 a.m. in the Foyer. Pat arranged this last year and it was a very meaningful occasion; do come along and see for yourself. You Can't Judge Egypt
by its Music Why visit Alexandria?’, people asked me. ‘Because one of my daughters lives there’ I replied. Alexandria is described in a novel by Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian author, who wrote, ‘Alexandria, Lady of the dew. Bloom of white nimbus. Bosom of radiance, wet with sky water.’ It's a city lapped by the Mediterranean Sea and influenced by both Christian and Islamic culture. Today, modern-day life is built with rows of grey-looking sky-lined apartments and roads bursting with vehicles who don't care a damn about the rules of the road – that's if there are any! Pyramids are the ‘in’ thing when visiting Cairo, but what I discovered to be all the rage was Egyptian-type music, belly dancing in particular, with exotic numbers like ‘Habibi’ and ‘Nesmaya’. I now have a CD entitled ‘Rhythm of the Nile’ – so come and join me sometime! It was Yehudi Menuhin, the famous violinist, who once said, ‘Music creates order out of chaos.’ Most of us enjoy the sounds of music at sometime or other. Years ago, when in the USA, a piece of music captivated me. It occurred in a church service, when the worshippers received the bread and wine at the altar steps. Without the organ playing, the congregation began to sing the Afro-American folk song, 'Let us break bread together in the Lord'. That experience has often reminded me that there is a universality, a timelessness about the world that’s precious to those of us who call ourselves Christians. So as we go forward on life's journey, know that God has already prepared the way, and that his future can be ours. And if Jesus seems a distant character from a long time ago, know that he gave his life for us. Perhaps the best known verse is the one that reminds us that ‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not die, but have eternal life.’ Whatever the future holds for us, we can be glad and reassured. And if, by the way, Egyptian music doesn’t turn you on, you’re forgiven! Phyl Cary advises us that contributions to ‘Commitment for Life’, including Christian Aid for 2007 amounted to £1017.57. Phyl says, ‘Not bad, but could do better!’ The Afternoon AND Evening Fellowships Welcome you to their Wheel-chair – friendly Coffee morning Saturday 17th February Starting at 11:00 In unity hall Supporting christian aid Rebecca’s Concert As most of you know, on Friday 15th December I held a Charity Christmas Concert with three of my friends, Beth Carter, Charlotte Barker, and Sarah Lambie. We had been planning the concert since around September, but the venue we were planning to use wasn't available, and so URC very kindly let us use the church at very short notice! We decided that we wanted to have some serious music in, as we have all played together before to a high standard in orchestras, etc., so we started with a trio by CPE Bach for flute, clarinet and piano. This was followed by some Bizet. However, as it was close to Christmas, we thought it would be a nice idea to have some lighter, Christmassy songs as well. This meant that not only did we have some Christmas carols, but also a rather silly but quite fun song about Jesus coming down from heaven in an aeroplane! The charities we fund-raised for were Christian Aid, The Children's Trust, and a Medical Project in Zambia. The Children's Trust is a charity especially close to my heart, as my mother works there and I have seen all the good work they have done there. All the children she teaches are absolutely lovely as well! I would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who came and supported us, especially at such short notice. It was really lovely to see so many friendly faces in the audience. I hope that everyone who came enjoyed it as much as the performers did! (top)Lent House Groups 2007 Plans are already being made for the ecumenical House Groups this year. It is planned to use the 'York Course' for 2007 which gives the participants five sessions on the subject: ‘Can we build a better world ?’ The course draws on the inspiration of The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, Leslie Griffiths, who has been such a great force in Methodism, and five of the Poor Clares who took part in the BBC programme ‘The Convent’. In addition the course learns from the work of those who campaigned for the Abolition of Slavery in 1807, 200 years ago this year.Details will be published nearer the time when we will be asking also for leaders, hosts and names for the groups, spread across the Churches in Epsom. Watch this space ! Pump Aid. Our Pump Aid project is moving forward. Three Rotarians , Mr Timothy Chikomo, Mr Tichaona Pesanayi and Mr Job Torindoh, from the Rotary Club of Mutare, have agreed to monitor the Pump and School Sanitation projects in the Mutare and Makoni districts as they progress. They will be sending our editor reports and photographs of each site as they are completed. By the time you read this I will have sent the application forms to The Rotary Foundation, Evanston, Illinois, USA to request the additional funding. The Church’s £1000:00 donation and the Rotary Club of Banstead’s £1000:00 donation must be held in reserve by each treasurer until the extra funding is granted by The Rotary Foundation. Dr Mary Muchena-Stredwick, who has recently been appointed Assistant Director of Pump Aid, has been very supportive to me during the document preparation; she has supplied all sorts of details on suppliers and technical services for the locations in Mutare, Zimbabwe. She, along with their London accountant and the “on-site“ team, will make sure the funds will be tightly controlled at each construction location. We must now just wait for the Rotary Foundation to complete their deliberations and issue the matching grant. The YMCA – You Don’t Even Have To Be Young, Male Or Christian In November a young homeless man, helped by church members and the Ambulance Station, took refuge on Arthur’s Seat. If I had not been in Prague at the time, I might well have been among the late departures from the Drama Group meeting whom he asked for help, but I don’t think I could have suggested anything else we could do. My first thought was of the YMCA – but I didn’t know where the nearest branch was. So I wrote to the Secretary of the YMCA. I now know that there is a branch at Surbiton, offering accommodation. It might be possible to help the Epsom homeless by directing them there. We could telephone (020 8399 5427) and check that the hostel is open and that accommodation is available, then either drive the homeless person there or buy him a ticket – if necessary - and put him on a 406 bus, with directions to get from Surbiton station to the hostel: 49 Victoria Road, Surbiton – right next to the station. I don’t know if this would work, but I am a Friend of the YMCA and I have great faith in their organisation.
(top)
Introduced by Kathleen Hodgson, I have recently joined the Epsom Poetry Group. One of the members, Julia Courtney, had attended a Memorial concert for John Kelsall, a local composer and musician. Ben Costello, who produced the concert, is gathering information about the life and works of John Kelsall for his thesis at Kingston University. I knew John when he was organist and choirmaster here in 1982 when Allan Healey had a year’s sabbatical. Via Julia, I sent a copy of an anthem, ‘Bless Ye The Lord’, that John had written for our choir. I then had a long chat with Ben on the ’phone and he asked if he could come and see the organ which John had played. We arranged to meet at the church on the Thursday afternoon. He was accompanied by Dr Derek Barford, and also Alan came with valuable information about the organ itself [originally compiled by Raymond], and copies of ‘The Bridge’ from September 1982 to September 1983, with markers indicating all the references to John Kelsall. Ben and Derek are joint Directors of Parish Music for the Parish of St Andrew and St Mark, Surbiton. They were delighted with the organ, and played it joyfully for some time. They also found some comments written by John in the organ log book. Sadly, John Kelsall died from stomach cancer in 1986. P.S. by Alan I was also able to take to the
meeting a copy of John’s ‘Romance’ for Eb Horn, which was played in one of
John’s short concerts that he arranged after the Evening Service. ‘The
Bridge’ for June 1983 announced
that: Both the anthem and the Romance were new to Ben, and he was delighted to receive them. I am sure that by now he will have computerised them and tidied up John’s manuscript. We look forward to maintaining this link. In the meantime, if anyone has any more memories or memorabilia about John, please see the following notice by Ben: Memories of Dr John Kelsall? Musical director and Surbiton resident Benjamin Costello is currently researching the life and work of our former Organist and Choirmaster Dr John Kelsall, who was at the U.R.C. from 1982 to 1983. Dr Kelsall composed a fine anthem for the choir 'Bless Ye the Lord!' and Benjamin Costello is editing this and the rest of his entire compositional output. Ben welcomes any comments and/or memories (however insignificant they may seem) about Dr Kelsall and his time at Epsom U.R.C. He can be reached at 020 8255 1474, or by email at bjlc@blueyonder.co.uk. Further information can be found at www.johnkelsall.com or www.bencostello.com. (top)12th Epsom Brownie Guide
Pack Brownies resumed meeting on Wednesday, 10th January with only twelve attending, which was very disappointing. Several of the girls had decided to leave Brownies after Christmas for varying reasons, leaving us with a Pack of only sixteen. The girls were given the dressing-up clothes and each six told to produce a pantomime; two of the sixes combined so that we had three groups of four. One six produced a very quick version of the Sleeping Beauty and another produced a very good Jack and the Beanstalk. The third group were unable to produce anything.
At our next meeting the girls were thinking all about themselves. They were each given an outline of a person and had to fill it in as they would like to be, they had to say what personal features they liked and those that they would like to change. For our meeting on 24th January, we only had eleven girls, but we managed to make up three teams for a games evening. The teams were very even but we eventually had a winner. The prizes were bars of chocolate and once the winning team had received theirs there were enough bars of chocolate left over for them all to have two each. (top)Monday Club We restarted the new term with 6 children; Conrad is now five years old and old enough to join his sisters. Our theme for the first evening was pantomimes and the children each made a transforming Cinderella, though Conrad preferred his paper doll to be Prince Charming. Our next meeting fell during International Book Week and so the children made their own picture book of their favourite things such as their favourite clothes, food and drink. Several of them decided that their favourite place was home. Evening Fellowship We will welcome Mr Derek Eade to our next meeting on Monday, 5th February at 8 p.m. He will have the new 2007 brochure for Epsom Coaches with him, and will be available to answer your questions. A new procedure is being adopted by Epsom Coaches to eliminate the ‘picking-up points’ system, before actually starting your journey. We warmly invite any friends to join us to ensure a worthy audience, and particularly if you are interested in taking holidays or day trips with our local coach firm.
Women’s Church Council The Coffee Morning on Tuesday, 13th February, will be for the Arthritis Research Campaign. Come along between 10:30 and 12:00 for a cup of coffee and a chat among friends, together with the opportunity to purchase cakes, marmalade and chutney. Jewellery, toiletries, books and many other useful items will also be available.
Copy for the next issue should be with the Editor by 18th February for publication on 25th February 2007. And Finally . . . (Can you take a long one? It'll be worth it!) Cars v. Computers For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives but occasionally feel like taking a hammer to it, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon." In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating, “If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off!” I said it would be worth it! ------------------------------ |
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