in touch St. P aul`s Church

of England serving the whole of Canford Heath. It
stands beside ASDA’s car-park and is open most weekday mornings. You
can usually speak to someone in the church office (605311) on weekdays
between 9.30 and 12 noon. That’s where to go about hall bookings, banns,
baptisms weddings and funerals, or any general church enquiries. There is
a post-box in the door (The office address is Culliford Cres, Canford
Heath, Poole, BH17 9DW). Email: [email protected].
The Vicar
Revd Peter Gibbs lives at 16 Rowbarrow Close (BH17 9EA). You may also
see him sometimes at ASDA, where he is the chaplain. Or you can contact him on 565187 or by email: [email protected]. He (or Christine, below) is the person to contact about any pastoral or spiritual issues
you might want to discuss.
The Curate
Revd Christine Brooks lives at 87 Verity Crescent (BH17 8TT) You can
phone her on 468584 or email: [email protected]
The Building
Try one of the churchwardens:
Vic Martin
David Ridd:
699282
658674
edition 84
Sept >> Page
in touch
St Paul’s
… is the Church
September 2011
St. Paul’s Church
September 2011
Page 32 << Sept 11
News for the Church
and Community on
Canford Heath
Page 2 << Sept 11
Sept >> Page 31
Contents
A letter from Rev’d Christine Brook
Fair Trade notes — Val Renyard
Alpha Course — Peter Gibbs
Baptisms — Anne Small
Reflections on Some Summer Reading — David Joannides
Treasurer’s Update — Neil Wellington
Chernobyl Children visit July/August — John Martindale
… and colour pictures of our two boys
September Crossword
Notice Sheet—Diary Dates in September
September Recipe — Fresh Plum Cake
Colour Wedding pictures—Hannah Ridd
Colour Wedding pictures—Sarah Mellows
Message Board—Read it or miss it!
Connect at Holton Lee — Paul Brayshaw
New Wine 2011 — Paul & Verity Brayshaw
Edinburgh Fringe jokes top 10
Greenfingers Gardening and Leisure - Ernest Sawkins
Contact us
3
5
6
7
8
10
11
12
15
16
18
19
20
21
23
26
29
30
31
From the Editor!
Thank you to those who have sent in articles and especially the
composed items that I know others like to read. I have added in
some colour pictures of the two weddings (David and Susan Ridd’s
daughter Hannah and Helen and Chris Mellows’ daughter Sarah)
and some pictures of our two Chernobyl boys. Adding a colour
page costs about £24 if gift aided so if you would like to advertise your club, activity or share your hobby, interesting holiday
‘photos etc. do speak to either Neil Wellington or me.
Ideas and feedback always welcomed. The deadline for the October
edition will be Thursday 22nd September
Thank you -- John Martindale
Email me at [email protected] or see me in church!
... at your
finger tips
Administrator
Jill Wellington
Email: [email protected]
Alpha Courses/home groups
Peter Gibbs
605311
565187
Reader at St. Paul’s
Helen Mellows
697114
Clubs and Activities
Seniors’ Group
Seniors’ lunch club
Kings Cru (Saturday)
Sunday Club (Children)
'One-Up' Group
Parent & toddler Group
Vic Martin
Vic Martin
Trisha Foote
Helen Noble
Adrian Palmer
(ages 11-18)
Gemma Windsor
Brownies (Wednesday) Lynne Nichols
Brownies (Thursday)
Sarah Humby
Rainbows
Janette Simpson
Guides
Sarah Humby
Pre-School (Jumping Jelly Beans) Debbie New-Maycock
699282
699282
460987
605311
605311
690270
604143
382187
604143
0770 883 9918
Who to phone for
Hall Bookings
Jill Wellington
Weddings, Baptisms and Banns for Marriage Church Office
Practical church issues Church Wardens:
Vic Martin
David Ridd:
St Paul's Parish Church, Culliford Crescent, BH17
605311
605311
699282
658674
Page 30 << Sept 11
Greenfingers Gardening and Leisure
- Ernest Sawkins
Attendance at the July meeting of Greenfingers Gardening and Leisure
Club was, once again, very low, with only fifteen people taking advantage of
the invitation to visit the newly opened private garden at 55 Lonnen Road,
Colehill. The evening was fine, the garden was superb, and the visitors
were made very welcome by their hosts, Malcolm Case and Jenny Parr, who
provided delicious refreshments to round off a thoroughly enjoyable event,
which was held in aid of charities under the National Gardens Scheme.
During the course of the evening the Chairperson indicated that two of her
long-standing assistants wished to relinquish their duties and, given the
continuing low level of attendance and the inability to recruit new members,
she was of the opinion that this appeared to be an opportune time to consider the Club’s future. In the light of all the circumstances she proposed,
therefore, to continue with the planned arrangements for speaker meetings
in September, October and November (there being no meeting in August)
and to close down the Club thereafter. During the course of these last
three meetings it is suggested that some thought should be given for a final “get-together” of the loyal members at a farewell dinner, on an à-lacarte basis, at a local hostelry in December to replace the annual Christmas
Dinner.
Details of the remaining meetings, all scheduled for Wednesday evenings at
7.45pm in the usual venue of the St. Andrew’s Room, adjoining Canford
Heath United Reformed Church in Mitchell Road are as follows:
8 September
12 October
9 November
The Yetties – Bonny Sartin
Alexis Sayer – David Hawkes
National Characteristics – The Englishness Of The
English – David Hilliam
September Crossword solution — No cheating!
Sept >> Page 3
Letter from Rev’d Christine Brook — Curate at St Paul’s
Dear Friends,
F
ew people can fail to have been impacted by the recent spate of riots
in many of our nation’s towns and cities over the last few weeks. I
was particularly horrified as one of the towns which featured most
prominently was my home town of Croydon. The image of Reeves Corner,
a parade of shops which I knew so well, burning uncontrollably was particularly shocking but not as much as the stark image of a young lady
jumping to safety from the first floor of a burning building.
A
new term ‘recreational rioting’ was given to the unprovoked outbreaks of rioting and looting, much of which was highly organised
with the aid of mobile phones and social networking sites. An unfortunate
and apparently appropriate terminology which was backed up by the young
girls in a radio interview saying that it was just ‘good fun’
I
n response, the Prime Minister stated that the recent unrest was as
much a moral as a political problem and the Bishop of London commented that those who went on the rampage “seemed to lack the restraint and the moral compass which comes from clear teaching about
right and wrong communicated through nourishing relationships.”
P
erhaps there is some truth in the Bishop of Manchester’s observations that “the relentless erosion of Christian values in this country
that have taken place during the lifetime of successive governments have
created a moral vacuum for some parts of our society …leading to a me
first, ultra-consumerist culture, in which the quest for possession of
things overrides a caring concern for others”.
U
ndoubtedly there are no simple solutions but I can’t help but wonder
how much of a bearing the spiritual health of our nation does have
on the apparent lack of moral compass. Although we still rest on our
heritage as a Christian country, the truth is that only about 15% of the
population in the UK attend church on a regular basis (once a month or
more), with the UK having the 4th lowest church attendance rate in
Europe.
ACROSS: 1, Foreigners. 7, Accepts. 8, Pilot. 10, Toss. 11, Knitwear. 13, Foment. 15, Came to. 17,
Lighting. 18, Nisi. 21, Yearn. 22, Worn-out. 23, Fatherless. DOWN: 1, Facts. 2, Ripe. 3, Insane. 4,
Nephtoah. 5, Relieve. 6, Faithfully. 9, Terrorists. 12, One tenth. 14, Magdala. 16, Answer. 19,
Irons. 20, Tree.
Page 4 << Sept 11
he riots were in full swing when we arrived at Soul Survivor for the
summer Christian festival with a group of our young people, and it
struck me what a contrast there was between the televised images of the
riots and the 12,000 young people gathered together in a field in Somerset
to worship God, strengthen their relationship with Him and be encouraged
and equipped to live out their lives as followers of Jesus.
T
T
he first celebration started off with
a time of prayer for our nation and I
wondered what would happen if we really
took on board the words of 2 Chronicles
7:14, ‘if my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and pray and
seek my face and turn from their wicked
ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I
will forgive their sin and will heal their
land.’
I
believe that verse is a huge challenge for us today and in its fullness
they are pretty uncomfortable words- often the verse is referred to but
without the call to turn from our ‘wicked ways’. But the reality is that as individuals and as a body we do need to first to check our own relationship with
God, to make sure that we ourselves are totally and wholeheartedly turned
towards Him. As the refrain from the Matt Redman song goes- ‘Lord send
revival, start with me’.
A
nd then to pray… throughout the history of the church spiritual revival
has always been preceded by serious, determined intercessory prayer.
Samuel Chadwick is famously quoted as saying that “The one concern of the
devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless
studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks
at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”
W
ho knows what great things could happen in our church, in our town
and in our country if those called by His name truly humbled themselves, turned to God and prayed? And wouldn’t it be great to be
part of that transformation?
With every blessing — Christine
Sept >> Page 29
Edinburgh Fringe jokes:
top 10 best jokes at this year's festival
Nick Helm was voted best joke at this year's Edinburgh Fringe festival. Here are the best of the rest:
1. Nick Helm – “I needed a password eight characters long so I
picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”
2. Tim Vine – “Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so
many different levels.”
3. Hannibal Buress – “People say ‘I'm taking it one day at a time.’ You
know what? So is everybody. That's how time works.”
4. Tim Key – “Drive Thru McDonalds was more expensive than I
thought ... once you've hired the car ...”
5. Matt Kirshen – “I was playing chess with my friend and he said,
'Let's make this interesting'. So we stopped playing chess.”
6. Sarah Millican – “My mother told me, you don’t have to put anything in your mouth you don’t want to. Then she made me eat broccoli, which felt like double standards.”
7. Alan Sharp – “I was in a band which we called The Prevention, because we hoped people would say we were better than The Cure.”
8. Mark Watson – “Someone asked me recently – what would I rather
give up, food or sex. Neither! I’m not falling for that one again, wife.”
9. Andrew Lawrence – “I admire these phone hackers. I think they
have a lot of patience. I can’t even be bothered to check my OWN
voicemails.”
10. DeAnne Smith – “My friend died doing what he loved ... Heroin.”
Page 28 << Sept 11
D
id we learn anything from this years New Wine? I don’t think you ever
stop learning. A couple of things have definitely stuck in my mind. The
first was an analogy that Bishop Zac used. “If you dip a bucket in the water,
is the water inside the bucket or is the bucket in the water?” The answer is:
“There is more water outside the bucket, so the bucket must be in the water.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is around us and we are in the Spirit. Not the
Spirit locked up in us. We don’t take the Holy Spirit around with us; he takes
us around!” The Holy Spirit is also within us,to help us with whatever task is
needed.
Fair Trade notes
I
t was really nice to have such a large contingent from St Paul’s this year.
It will be even better if more come and join us for next year, that way we
can all learn together and come back fired up for Jesus. There are some brochures for next year’s event in the church lobby, along with a few programmes from this year’s event to give you a flavour. The earlier you book
the cheaper the price. Please come and talk to us or Christine and Ian about
New Wine if you are interested. We would love the opportunity to share with
you our experiences from New Wine.
Sept >> Page 5
I
have just received the new Traidcraft catalogue. This is the ‘Christmas’
one! It seems early to be thinking about Christmas but ordering early is
a good way to be sure that your chosen items are still in stock.
T
here are lots of new items in this catalogue; please borrow one to
browse. I have picked out a few things to mention:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
T
he second came from Simon Ponsonby’s early morning bible teaching
from Romans. “We don’t need to be captive to sin, no means no, not
sometimes, it means no, no, no. What goes into our bodies through our eyes,
ears and mouth, will fill our mind. If trash goes in then we will form our minds
as sinful worldly minds, not focused on God.” For example, “If we fill our
minds with lust, porn, materialistic ways or just worldly (sinful) ways, then we
are feeding our minds that way and weakening the message of the Gospels.
So feed your mind with Godly things and scripture, then it will become easier
to live Godly lives. It’s a choice to live like Jesus, if we have died with Christ
on the cross and been born again with him, then we are dead to sin. Dead men
don’t sin!” - It’s bit heavy this second point, but true. Simon broke the passages down really well, he must have done, if I could understand it! There are
a lot of his talks on St Aldates church website,www.staldates.org.uk . – Paul
— Val Renyard
Advent calendars
nativity sets (from Indonesia, Vietnam and Peru)
laptop sleeve
snug alpaca mix hat
scarf and mittens
a gold silk scarf
food hampers
Llots of toys
(A friend ordered some toys recently and was delighted with them.)
W
P
hat could be better than giving an unusual gift and at the same time
helping our neighbours across the world.
ayment is not expected until your order arrives.
T
raidcraft goods will be on sale as usual on the second Sunday in September (11th) and October (9th) (Because of the parish weekend Traidcraft Sunday in November will be 20th)
I
am now able to keep some goods at church, so if you need anything in
between ‘Traidcraft Sundays’ please ask at any time.
Page 6 << Sept 11
Alpha Course
— Peter Gibbs
T
he recent riots have raised all sorts of questions for many of us. What’s wrong with people and our society? How can we restore communities? What should we do to prevent such a reoccurrence? There are many more questions. But one
question we seem so easily to avoid is what should
be our goal in life and linked to it what is the meaning of life. Is it for instance the constant accumulation of possessions and wealth? Could it be that
this is no longer useful as an assumed measure of
so-called progress? One Christian commentator
cuts across assumptions by saying “the heart of
the problem is the problem of the human heart”.
Greed and self –promotion with disregard for others so often seem to motivate us.
Sept >> Page 27
more to listen to and all talks during the week are recorded and downloadable
through the New Wine Website, so it doesn’t matter if you missed one that
you would have liked to have seen.
A
an I suggest another route? Why not try the Alpha course that bravely
asks the meaning of life. It gives some Christian basics, but more importantly it offers an alternative reason for living and support of others examining Christ’s model of living.
ll younger age groups were also well catered for, with their own programme during the morning sessions and with evening sessions for the
majority as well. Each group covered a 2-year age group, from birth to mid
teens. In all groups, children were inspired and learnt about Jesus at their own
level. There were also other parent-free zones that these young people could
enjoy during the day. Gemma and Edward were in separate groups, their first
year for these groups too. They both enjoyed a certain amount of craft activities as well and running around. At the end of the week, Edward discovered
whilst in conversation in their smaller groups, that the young lad called Josh,
whom he had become friends with during the week, not only lived in Poole, knew
a joint friend, but was also going tothe same school in September!! (Isn’t God
great). As parents we find this rather amazing, a real God incident. Although
Edward wouldn’t like to admit that he was getting anything out of going to New
Wine, he did seem calmer most of the time and by the end of the week, he was
able to tell me what they had been learning about from the bible and what it
meant. At present he is still a lot calmer, more thoughtful towards others and
a more loving child. I can only thank God, through New Wine for that.
W
F
I
W
C
e will be holding a new Alpha course on Thursday evenings starting on
2nd September. The evenings (7:30pm-9:30pm) consist of free puddings, a 20 minute down to earth talk and plenty of time to raise any questions in small groups? Why not risk putting that question you’ve always
wanted to find an answer to. We promise not to make fun of any person or
their question. But equally we expect to have some fun in trying to discover
together some answers. You only have to come to the first session and see if
you find it helpful. You may well stay the course which finishes early in December.
f you are interested contact the church office on 605311 for more information and to enlist. As he Alpha slogan says ‘Life is worth exploring!’
or the times when we didn’t want to go to a seminar, there was still plenty
to do.The Marketplace held a large number of different exhibits as well as
the main bookshop. There was plenty to spend your money on or find out about
the different charitable organisations, working in the world, helping to improve
people’s lives, through the love of Jesus. There was also a selection of cafes
in some of the marquees and a Food Court, to grab a drink, some cake or a
meal. We made some meals back at the tent and one evening we even had a
church BBQ hosted by the Brooks family, which was great, as it gave us an opportunity to chill-out and chat. - Verity
ednesday was a more relaxing day, as there was only the morning and
evening celebrations put on. We took Robert swimming at Wells Leisure
pool, or in Robert’s case he showed us how to sink and sit on the bottom of the
pool. Afterwards he experienced Clarks Factory Shopping Village at Street and
lunch, then a quick tour around Wells Cathedral to show him some English Culture and heritage.
Page 26 << Sept 11
New Wine 2011
— Paul & Verity Brayshaw
I
f you visited the Bath and West show ground, near Shepton Mallet during mid July to mid August, you will have found a large number of tents,
caravans and marquees and in them were large groups of people, whose aim
was to get, in their own way, closer to Jesus, regardless of what Christian
denomination they came from. There was plenty to be part of and New
Wine caters for everyone’s spiritual requirements. As quoted in the brochure: “We are local churches working together with one vision: to see the
nation changed. God is at work in the world touching hearts and transforming lives – and he’s invited us to be part of it.” This was our second year on
the trot going to New Wine as a family. This year’s tent village location
was closer to the main festival site, so there was less walking, but still
enough to get us fit!
T
he daily programme is jam packed with a variety of different seminars
throughout the day. For those who don’t sleep once the sun comes up,
there was an early morning bible teaching at 7.15am led by Simon Ponsonby,
– called “Rock and Roll in Romans”, which despite the early start was incredibly popular, invigorating, refreshing and empowering. Paul with a small
group of insomniacs from St Pauls went to these leaving me to sleep for a
bit longer, get the kids up and start breakfast. For the rest of us, our
main bible teaching came in either Venue one or Venue two at a more civilized time of 9.15am. This also incorporated a variety of Christian songs and
hymns. The choice of venue was dependent on your taste of music, its loudness, and chosen speaker. However, it was best to stick to your chosen
venue for continuity. We picked Venue one, because Paul was helping out
with Prayer ministry in that venue and it was bigger, so more seating.
F
rom 11.15am there was a large selection of seminars to choose from,
covering all aspects of life. We went to some of them on our own and
some together. There were three time slots during the day, so therefore
generally nothing ran over into another session. Again the evening celebration each day, took place in the two venues. The most popular speakers
usually spoke in both venues over two nights. Most memorable evening
speakers for me were Rob Parsons from Care for the Family, Bishop Zac
from Uganda, Baroness Caroline Cox CEO from the Humanitarian Aid Relief
Trust and Mike Pilavachi from Soul Survivor. However, there were many
Baptisms
Sept >> Page 7
— Anne Small
O
ne of my favourite duties as part of the
Pastoral Care Team is visiting Baptism
Families prior to the Service. I always find it
a pleasure to meet the whole family and to
greet them when they arrive at Church.
D
uring my visit I usually tell them my
story of Andy’s baptism. I rang up the
vicar, Rev Milverton to arrange the day and
remember asking if it could take place at St.
George’s as it was a proper church, which I
cringe about now. Andy’s baptism service was
in the afternoon with another family and
Andy cried most of the time. I remember
Rev Milverton saying that I had wanted a service to remember, and we certainly got that.
O
ver a year later, I was pregnant with
Chris, and the new vicar Bruce Wakeling
knocked on my door to introduce himself. He
came in for a cup of tea and general chat. My
Gran was there and was quite confused that
the Vicar had called round for tea! After
Chris’ birth I rang Bruce to arrange his baptism and asked about confirmation for myself.
He visited and I started classes and attending church from that point. That was 28
years ago and both the old and new St. Paul’s
have been my second home.
S
o each time we have a Baptism service I
know the seeds are planted and with
prayer and God’s guidance it will flourish,
maybe not right away but sometime in
its own time.
Page 8 << Sept 11
Reflections on Some Summer Reading
— David Joannides
T
his summer I read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which is one of the greatest antislavery novels ever written. It is both sad and inspiring and helped lay
the groundwork for the American Civil War which in turn led to the abolition
of slavery in the USA.
T
he book tells the story of Tom’s suffering as a black slave but through
his faithfulness to God it demonstrates how Christian love can help to
overcome something as destructive and unjust as the enslavement of fellow
human beings.
O
ne of the things that struck me was the
antipathy of many Americans who knew
that slavery was wrong but up until then had
chosen to do nothing about it. It was not permitted in the Northern states and had been abolished in Britain in 1807. At that time literature
was the main means of achieving social change
and the publication of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in
1852 had a profound effect. It was the greatest
selling novel of the 19th Century and finally
stirred the consciousness of people in the
northern USA.
A
few weeks ago Paul Renyard preached on our Christian duty to help
eradicate the five great evils of our world – poverty, famine, disease,
war and inequality. Nowadays television is the probably the most powerful
means of influencing change but all too often the impact doesn’t last long.
Some images stay with us and do affect our attitudes towards the suffering
of our fellow human beings. The Ethiopian famine in 1984, the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Nelson Mandela’s walk to freedom in 1990 are a few that
come to mind. The images emerging from Somalia may have a similar impact
but there will still be some who will ignore the pleas for help because of their
prejudices and others for whom the effect may not last long because we can
easily become preoccupied with our own wants and needs.
O
ne of the reasons so many people in the north of the USA had ignored
the injustice of slavery was that it suited them to do so. It wasn’t
Sept >> Page 25
Then click the tab called Media, then below the menu item Talks, a list of all
13 talks and celebrations are listed, click the one that you want to listen to,
then click the orange filename of the mp3 file and it will start to play.
I
could tell you about all the talks, however, I recommend that you take
the time to listen to some of the talks, particularly the one by J. John
from Saturday evening. I think you will be really encouraged. The seminars
are a real blessing and there is always plenty of time for prayer ministry
after the talk. There was a Christian bookshop, provided by Keith Jones of
Bournemouth, and a great café to meet with other Christians in fellowship.
It’s a bit like a mini New Wine, you can drop in and out of as you
like, and better than that its free, paid for by collections taken
each morning and evening.
A prayer in preparation for the 2012 Games
— Sent in by Trevor Muddimer
E
ternal God,
Giver of joy and source of all strength,
we pray …
for those who prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic
games
for the competitors training for the Games and their loved ones,
for the many thousands who will support them,
And for the Churches and others who are organising special events
and who will welcome many people from many nations.
In a world where many are rejected and abused,
we pray for a spirit of tolerance and acceptance, of humility and
respect and for the health and safety of all.
May we at the last be led towards the love of Christ who is more
than gold, today and forever.
men
A
Page 24 << Sept 11
any people came from St Paul’s to see Canon J. John talk on Saturday
evening; he delivered a very inspirational talk that was full of very
humorous anecdotes. His talk was to explain the message of Christianity and
remind us, refocus us and invite anyone who heard the message that wanted
to accept Jesus into their lives or just to deepen their relationships with
Jesus. Thereafter many people came forward for prayer. He summarised
Christianity, the whole bible is broken down to 3 points: ‘Forgiveness from
the past’, ‘New life here today’ and ‘A hope for the future’.
M
T
he rest of the 800,000 words of the bible are a commentary to put
these statements into context. He used a great analogy of a car being
our lives. Some of us get Jesus out of the boot for Sunday morning worship,
then put him back again after the service, so no one knows he’s there at all.
Some of us put Jesus in the car with us, but don’t let him drive. He is a companion, but not truly steering. Let us put Jesus in the driving seat of our
lives, go on a journey with him and trust in him. So others will see by the
way we live our lives, that we are different, they will want to know why we
are different. Then we have the opportunity to share our faith in Jesus.
A
ll of the messages from the talks, that I was receiving, were somehow
connected. During the event I went forward for prayer a couple of
times because the issues they were discussing or words they gave seemed
like they were for me. On Wednesday evening I was prayed for and learning
to listen properly seemed to come out strongly. Friday evening found us
commanding blessings on our children with Russ Parker. Saturday, Jean de
Garis, led a seminar about children, that spoke about sharing God without
children. J. John called us to get a deeper knowledge of God and present it
to children, at meal times, individual and family prayer times and family bible reading. Then Verity asked me to go with her for prayer, at the end of
J. John’s talk, to pray that Jesus could be moved from the back seat to the
driving seat in her car. It was during this time of prayer that I realised
how all these things were connected together. The all age service on Sunday morning was led by the children’s groups called Pit-Stop. The children’s
work team leader gave this testimony during the service - that the previous
day approximately 50 children professed to want to know Jesus, and have
the Holy Spirit in their lives.
F
or those of you with broadband Internet, all of the talks can be listened to or downloaded via the Internet at www.connect2011.org.uk
Sept >> Page 9
“their” problem and the economy undoubtedly “benefited” from slave labour –
in much the same way as people today “benefit” from buying cheaper clothing
and food, a lot of which is produced on the back of child labour and people impoverished by low wages
A
nd sometimes when people are moved to do something it may be out of
guilt rather than a genuine desire to do what we can to improve the lot of
those who have so little. In his book “God Has a Dream” Desmond Tutu says:
“So often when people hear about the suffering in our world, they feel
guilty, but rarely does guilt actually motivate action like empathy or compassion. Guilt paralyses and causes us to deny and avoid what is making us
feel guilty. The goal is to replace our guilt with generosity…. We must
each do what we can. This is all that God asks of us.”
A
s Christians we all
have a natural desire to care about people and help out when we
can. Hopefully we are
motivated more by generosity than by guilt.
There is indeed a pleasure in giving but if
you’re like me this may
well be on our terms
rather than on God’s
terms. In his book Desmond Tutu encourages us to understand that generosity
comes from seeing that everything we have and everything we accomplish
comes from God’s grace and God’s love for us… and that by acknowledging and
experiencing God’s generosity we learn how to be generous to others.
I
n the American Civil War 360,000 soldiers and civilians from the Union
states gave their lives so that four million slaves could have their freedom. What generosity! Fortunately for us the task is much less daunting but
we still need God’s help to achieve it.
Connect at Holton Lee
Page 10 << Sept 11
Treasurer’s Update
— Neil Wellington
O
ur financial position so far this
year is very much where we expected. At 1st August once all commitments had been met our cash in hand
figure stood at £5771.
Y
ou are very much a giving congregation and the PCC is appreciative of
how generous you continue to be. We use
all donated funds extremely carefully
making sure that all expenses are necessary and represent good value to
the church.
A
team of volunteers spent a large part of early August painting the
kitchen and entrance lobby. They have also replaced the main church
light bulbs. They have done a terrific job and the cost to the church is only
the price of the materials and the hire of the crane. Which will be approximately £300.
Gift Aid
I
I
would like to raise the issue of Gift Aid once again as it is a very ‘quick
win’ in terms of getting the most from donations.
f you make a donation to the church and you are a tax payer we can
claim back 25p in the pound. All you need do is put your donation into
one of the yellow envelopes, (available from the small table as you enter the
main church) complete you name and address and tick the box to confirm
that you are a tax payer. Pop the envelope into the collection as usual.
S
T
o far this year I have claimed back £6587, so I’m sure you can see
how valuable this to us.
hank you for your continued support
C
— Paul Brayshaw
Sept >> Page 23
onnect 2011,was a five-day teaching and worship event located on the
main camping field at Holton Lee, where hundreds of people of all ages
came to connect and grow together in Word and Spirit. There was a full
programme of teaching and worship over the 5 days.The event included
children’s groups from Friday evening. The event took on a different character as families joined in and at its peak there were over 120 children
booked into the sessions, with their own worship band and age specific activities.
T
he theme for this summer was “Getting into Gear” and Rev Dr. Russ
Parker headed up a team of speakers. Connect 2011 welcomed day
visitors to the site, as well as those who wished to camp for all or part of
the time. More than 30 South Dorset churches were involved in organising
the event. There were three main speakers: Dr. Russ Parker from Acorn
Christian Healing Foundation, Canon J. John from the Philo Trust and Brian
Draper from the London Institute Contemporary Christianity.
I
managed to attend quite a few of the evening sessions and most of the
weekend sessions. In the Wednesday evening talk with Dr. Russ
Parker, the main thing that came out of it for me was learning to listen
properly. I have picked up materials for a two session short course that
our home group will be looking at this coming term. During the average conversation people will listen for approximately 19 seconds, before they are
bursting to reply. This isn’t proper listening and we need to listen properly.
We should really learn to listen to the other person in the conversation,
giving them our undivided attention, until they have finished telling us what
it is they want to say. Many of us long to be listened too. Many of us have
locked in hurt that needs to be listened too, so healing can take place. More
on this once we have looked at the material as a home group, in a future
magazine article.
F
riday evening was again led by Dr. Russ Parker - He gave us many great
stories, (testimony) to back up his message. Tonight was about the
power of blessing (a ministry of blessing). Don’t just ask God to bless people, command it! He used: “Lord pour out your blessings onto …name… as
much as they can handle, fill them with you blessings.” The atmosphere
heightened, as we all stood up to command blessings on those who we
wanted to improve relationships, or who we wanted to know God’s grace.
Sept >> Page 11
Chernobyl Children visit July/August 2011 — John Martindale
Heath Café
If you are in school years 5, 6 or 7
why not come along?
£1 per session includes refreshments
Every Friday 5pm to 7pm
Church Hall
Games, activities, chat and
fun!
Page 22 << Sept 11
W
e heard Dennis get up and when I went down to the lounge he was
playing with the lego, adding to the ground floor of the house that he
had been building during his stay with us. For an eleven year old his imaginative play was very advanced and his model had several interconnecting rooms
with walls, doors and windows but no roof so that he could add sinks to the
kitchen and all the technology that he knew about to the living room. Various cars and bikes that he and Max had put together were still in the garages
where they had carefully parked them before bed.
I
drew the curtains back so that the sun streamed in. My Russian allowed
me to make conversation and, because the boys were able to empathise
with my difficulty in understanding their replies, they were always sympathetic and would try different ways to say the same thing until I understood
them. Hand signals and knowledge of playing Charades also helped!
“Dobra outra. Chai hogesh”? (Good morning. Would you like tea?) I asked.
“Padjalsta” (Please) Dennis replied.
Jumping Jellybeans Pre-school
"Where the child's voice is heard and valued"
Open 8.00am to 3.30pm
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri
Visits welcome!
Tel: Debbie on 0770 883 9918
B
oth the boys were bright and Dennis was particularly smart. He would
sometimes ask us about our lives and how we live. He would consider my
reply and then nod as he placed it in the lexicon that makes up his human experience.
T
he kettle was already boiling as I entered the kitchen. Dennis followed
me in and I placed the milk and sugar on the table as he drew up one of
the high stools. He picked up a 20p coin and after asking me to confirm that
five of them made £1 he quickly computed how many Belarusian roubles that
was. He then asked me about the week that Carolyn and I were to spend in
Madeira after the group had left for their journey home the next day. He
knew where we were going because I had shown him in the large atlas that we
kept on one of the bookshelves.
H
e asked me how much it costs to fly there so I told him. It was a direct
question and I decided that it needed a direct answer. When he heard
my reply he immediately turned the amount in roubles. 5,000,000 was the
answer at that moment, although with the Belarusian economy hyper inflating
Page 12 << Sept 11
it is likely to be much more than that now.
D
ennis visibly paled. Five million roubles is a small fortune at home and it
was as if he finally understood the principles of wealth that govern the
gulf between what we can afford and life in Mogilev. He was vexed and
asked me – in Russian – Have we paid all that money? I explained that most
people that we know like to go away on holiday and that many people fly off
to somewhere sunny. Dennis was quiet and a tear glistened momentarily on
his cheek which he quickly rubbed off.
“Are you ok?” I asked
“Ya Doomal” He sighed: — “ I was thinking”.
P
lease enjoy the colour pictures on the next pages. This month I have
featured our two boys, Max and Dennis but will write about the group and
what we got up to another month.
C
arolyn and I would like to thank members of St Paul’s for their gifts, donations and support at our fund raising concert. This year the Poole
CCLL branch raised enough funds to bring 18 children here for respite care.
They all come from the Mogilev region, mostly from Mezhicetki, attending
the same school. This area is particularly badly affected by the radio-active
pollution caused by the Chernobyl disaster. We have heard from parents of
the youngsters who cannot express enough how grateful they are for their
children to have had this opportunity to improve their health and life
chances.
W
e will have a slide show in October for anybody who would like to see
what this year’s group got up to.
I
f you are interested in finding out more about the charity or can offer
help or maybe you would like to consider hosting a child do speak to Carolyn or me or to Anne and Dave Small who hosted one of the girls this year.
John Martindale—[email protected] Tel: 01202 690110
Message Board—Read it or miss it!
STAMP COLLECTION
Sept >> Page 21
— Connie Morgan
Many thanks to everybody for your old
postage stamps which help raise money towards the Sudan Medical Link. 2009 - 2010
raised nearly £14,000 because there were
some very special stamps amongst them.
The stamps are sorted into bundles, those
thought to be of interest are sent off to
specialists. Common old stamps are mixed
bagged and sold cheaply at markets, i am told this encourages children to
become interested in philately.
Even stamps of low value are bagged and sold off to be recycled all making
a little extra. We haven’t received any figures for this year yet. Please
keep the stamps coming it really is worth while.
Denary Events in SEPTEMBER
Sunday 4 – Blessing of the Sea Service, Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour.
Wednesday 7 – Switch Saxophone Quartet in concert, St James’ Church,
Poole Old Town, 5.30 p.m.
Saturday 10 – Dorset Historic Churches Annual Sponsored Cycle Ride.
Saturday 17 – Treasure Hunt, St Paul’s Church, Canford Heath
Sunday 25 – Back to Church Sunday. Details on Diocesan website.
… and OCTOBER
Saturday 1 – Bournemouth Male Voice Choir in concert, Church of the
Transfiguration, Canford Cliffs.
Tuesday 4 – Churches Together in Poole meeting, St Paul’s Church, Canford Heath, 7 p.m. Bring and share supper.
Wednesday 5 – Concert, St James’ Church, Poole Old Town, 5.30 p.m.
Page 20 << Sept 11
…
And congratulations to Sarah (née Mellows)
and Christopher George on their wedding
at St James’ Church, Poole on 28th July
Sept >> Page 13
Sarah grew up with St Paul’s and was an active member of the Sunday Club,
church choir and music group. Sarah is, of course the daughter of Helen and
Chris Mellows.
Top left: Max winning a race
during a day in a local school.
Top right: Max cleaning his
teeth
Left: Max and Dennis at our
beach hut
Bottom left: The four of us
in front of the house
Bottom right: Dennis on
Mario kart
Sept >> Page 19
Page 14 << Sept 11
Congratulations
to Hannah
(née Ridd) and
Dominic Yelling
on their wedding at St.
Paul’s on 20th August.
Hannah grew up with St
Paul’s and gave great support to the Sunday Club
and Music Group and
helped in so many other
ways
A message from
Susan and David
Clockwise from top left:
1. Dennis on a speedway bike
2. Dennis at a local school
3. Dennis and a lion. 4. Dennis
swimming (This is an iconic picture because he couldn’t swim
at all when he arrived. Here he
is in the sea in their last week
easily swimming a width.)
5. Max relaxing! 6. Max and
Dennis in our garden 7. … and at
Corfe Castle
Thank you to everyone from
St. Paul’s who supported
Hannah and Dom's wedding
service on 20th August. It
was a truly wonderful day.
Susan and David Ridd
Page 18 << Sept 11
September Recipe — Fresh Plum Cake
Ingredients
•225g (8oz) self-raising flour
•1 tsp ground cinnamon
•100g (3.5oz) baking margarine
•50g (2oz) sultanas
•50g (2oz) soft brown sugar plus 2 tblsp for sprinkling
•2 large eggs
•4 tblsp golden syrup
•225g (8oz) plums, stoned and chopped
Method
1.Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
2.Grease and line an 8 inch square baking tin.
3.Rub the flour, half the cinnamon and the margarine together.
4.Add the sultanas and 50g (2oz) brown sugar and stir.
5.Beat eggs and syrup together in a separate bowl, add plums, then stir into
flour mixture.
6.Transfer to tin and level surface.
7.Mix rest of brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over top of cake mixture.
8.Cook in centre of oven for 45-50 mins and then test. It should be risen
and just firm to the touch when cooked.
9.Cut into squares to eat.
Notes:
This is best eaten warm with ice cream though you can eat it cold, but why
wait? Works just as well with apples and rhubarb, though plums
work best I've found
September Crossword
Across
1 ‘You are no longer — and
aliens, but fellow-citizens with
God’s people’ (Ephesians 2:19)
(10)
7 ‘Religion that God our Father
— as pure and faultless is
this’ (James 1:27) (7)
8 ‘Do you want a — ? Signal then
to Jesus’ (5)
10 Throw (Exodus 9:8) (4)
11 We rank it (anag.) (8)
13 Encourage (Isaiah 59:13) (6)
15 ‘Then Jesus — from Galilee —
the Jordan to be baptized by
John’ (Matthew 3:13) (4,2)
17 Coming to rest (Matthew
3:16) (8)
18 Provisional decree in divorce
proceedings (4)
21 Long earnestly (Psalm 84:2)
(5)
22 ‘Put these old rags and —
clothes under your arms to pad
the ropes’ (Jeremiah 38:12) (43)
23 ‘He defends the cause of the
— and the widow, and loves the
alien’ (Deuteronomy 10:18) (10)
Down
1 Self-evident truths (Acts
19:36) (5)
2 ‘Open your eyes and look at
the fields! They are — for harvest’ (John 4:35) (4)
3 ‘Your great learning is driving
you — ’ (Acts 26:24) (6)
4 ‘Spring of water’ on the borders of Judah and Benjamin
Sept >> Page 15
(Joshua 15:9) (8)
5 Rile Eve (anag.) (7)
6 ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have walked
before you — and with wholehearted devotion’ (Isaiah 38:3) (10)
9 Paul was mistakenly suspected of leading 4000 of these into the desert (Acts
21:38) (10)
12 Relationship of an omer to an ephah
(Exodus 16:36) (3,5)
14 Galilean home town of Mary, ‘from
whom seven demons had come out’ (Luke
8:2) (7)
16 ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me,
and if I asked you, you would not —
’ (Luke 22:67–68) (6)
19 Fetters (Mark 5:4) (5)
20 ‘No good — bears bad
fruit’ (Luke 6:43) (4)
Please pray for..
Page 16 << Sept 11
Notice Sheet—Diary Dates in September 2011
Thur
1
10am
Holy Communion Service
Fri
2
2-4pm
Seniors Group, Beetle Drive
Sat
3
10:30am
Confirmation Meeting
Sun
4
8am
10:30am
12 noon
Holy Communion Service
Joint Service with CHBC
BBQ
Thur
8
10am
Holy Communion Service
Sat
10
9:30am meet
outside church
Dorset Historic Churches Cycle
Ride
Sun
11
9:30am
6:45pm
Holy Communion Service
Café Style Worship
Thur
15
10am
Holy Communion Service
Sat
17
2pm
Sun
18
9.30am
6:45pm
Treasure Hunt around local
area
All Age Morning Worship
Café Style Worship
Wed
21
7:30pm
PCC Meeting
Thur
22
Holy Communion
Alpha Course
Sun
25
10am
7:30pm
9.30am
6:45pm
Thur
29
10am
Holy Communion Service
Back to Church Sunday
Café Style Worship
Holy Communion Service
Please note show rehearsals will take place on Tuesday evenings starting
6 September at 7pm.
Sept >> Page 17
Friends and family who are unwell:
Each month the names for prayers in the book will be taken out – if you
require us to continue to pray for someone unwell please add their names
with a brief explanation at the start of each month.
Barnabas (age 2) Diagnosed with lung cancer, being tested for lukemia
Baby Rocco ( 6 months old) who underwent major heart surgery in June
Robert (16 years old ) who has type 1 diabetes
Nick Nichols undergoing chemotherapy
Mavis
Clair Anderson
Eric Wardlee
And on each day of September we think of, and pray for the following:
1 Plantation Rd & Plantation Ct
17 The magazine editor
2 Deneve Ave & Stanley Pearce House
S18 Seniors’ Group
3 Terrance Ave
19 Canford Heath Social Club
S4 Sunday Club
20 Waytown Close
5 All schools & colleges
21 Ryall Road
6 Sandyhurst Close & Royster Close
22 Bredy Close & Lentham Close
7 The Fire Service
23 Wraxall Close
8 The Playgroup
24 Chiswell Close & Woodlake Close
9 SPLAT– after school club and Youth Groups
S25 Hatch Pond Rd & Holly Hedge Lane
10 The churchwardens
26 Electoral Roll members who
Live outside the parish
S11 Racial Justice Sunday
27 Adastral Rd & Downlands Place
12 The PCC
28 Warburton Rd
13 Stinsford Rd
29 Beamish Rd
14 Holnest Rd
30 Verity Close
15 Chilfrome Close
16 Church administrators