IN FOCUS
April 2007
The Challenge
The past few months have been quite hectic in our household. As you may well know, Rebecca is in the last year of school and sitting her A levels in June/July. She is planning to go to University, and so we have had some interesting days out to the different Universities. Firstly to see what they are like, and then again once she had applied to go. It has been exciting to visit my old University in Nottingham to have a look round. It brought back a lot of memories for me. But now the applications are in, and she has had replies offering her places.
Suddenly it has become serious. She is making a choice about where she is going in her life. Both in terms of what she will study, and where she will live. In October, exam results permitting, she will be moving away and we will all start a new phase in our lives. The last 18 years have flown by.
As the Easter season starts, and we celebrate the great gift that we have been given, we should think about the decision that Jesus had to make: one that changed his life, and ours. He had spent time with the disciples, going round the country talking to the people and healing the sick. Getting to know them and being close to them. Then one day there is the realisation that it will soon be Palm Sunday, and the triumphal entry that will take him to the cross. It was not something that was done easily, or without great person pain, as we read in Mark 14 v 34 “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me”. He could have chosen an easier path for himself, but followed his father’s wishes.
Over Easter we should also take time to see what God is asking of us to do for him. Can we commit ourselves anew to the work he has planned for us?
It may change our lives, but I have found that doing God’s work brings great rewards, rather than great burdens.
David
Pattern of Preaching
After discussions with the Elders and with the Worship Group I plan to change the pattern of preaching as of April 22nd and move away from the JLG2 Lectionary which I have been using for the past two years. Instead I intend to work through selected books of the Bible in a systematic way and to announce each month in advance what the main texts will be, which will allow all those so interested to read up on the theme before the Sunday service.
I have chosen to start with John’s gospel and on April 22nd the text upon which I will base the service is John chapter 1 verses 1 to 18, and then on the 29th April I will move on and examine verses 19 to 34. I will continue this through the following months and I hope that we will all benefit from this planned and systematic approach.
The themes starting April 22nd will be as follows:
The Word made flesh John 1 : 1 – 18 April 22nd
Jesus the Lamb of God John 1 : 19 – 34 April 29th
Your comments on this approach will be much appreciated.
Bob
Holy Week
The Palm Sunday Service at the Cross is yet another opportunity whereby members and friends of the city centre churches can worship together at this open-air gathering and can encourage each other at this very significant celebration. This year we are delighted that the Lord Mayor, Councillor Jackie Drayton, has agreed to come and join us at the service and to place the first small stake at the foot of the large cross. For the remaining days of Holy Week volunteers will then take turns to gather around the cross and encourage passers-by to place stakes and offer prayers.
On Maundy Thursday we are invited to join with friends for the communion service at the Victoria Hall commencing 7.30pm and on Good Friday morning at 11am we will have a joint service at Central with hymns and meditations appropriate to the day.
On Easter Day the early morning communion service will commence at 9am and this will be followed by an Easter Breakfast and we will then meet together at 10.45am for our Easter Day Celebration which this year will be led by Miss Anne Dale as part of her TLS training experience.
May the journey through Holy Week be significant and meaningful for you and may God help you and bless you as you reflect upon the suffering of Christ for you and his resurrection to new life in glory, also for you.
Bob
Lent Course 2007
The Lent Course held at the Cathedral has been very different and very well-received. The Anglican chaplains to the two universities, Canon Will Lamb and Ian Maher, jointly led this three-session course which used film as the basis for the presentation. We saw excerpts from three thought-provoking films, Chocolat, the Constant Gardener, and Pay It Forward, and discussed issues such as:
Being an outsider
Challenging injustice even if this threatened your own life
Giving without expecting anything in return
The overall theme was “unlikely heroes” and in the three films we saw three very different unlikely heroes and three very different outcomes.
This style of course was very new to most of us but it was certainly well-received and well-supported.
Well done, Will and Ian.
Snooker Snax from April 23rd to May 5th
Snooker Snax is a golden opportunity for us to provide refreshment to the many people who come along to enjoying the snooker at the Crucible and is also a golden opportunity for us to share our belief in Christ with those who might have no understanding of what this means. During this two-week period there will no doubt be quite large numbers joining us during the extended opening hours and we will have teams serving bacon butties, teas, coffees and sandwiches, but we will also have displays in the Norfolk Room which explain what we at Central believe in and how we live it out.
Most of us do not find it easy to talk about our faith and we don’t want to be pushy or to be caught out by questions we can’t answer but an event such as Snooker Snax enables those of us who are quite shy just to be around and about and maybe just to be available to listen or to share what our faith means to us. We all know that God can use any situation but I do believe he needs us to do our bit to help create the opportunities. That doesn’t seem too much to ask, does it?
Bob
Life Worth living
This short course concludes April 2nd and is has proved to be a very inspirational and thought-provoking set of talks and discussions. Based on the response from the participants it is a course worth running again in due course and if anyone is interested please let me or Hilary know and we will start to plan when it can be timetabled.
Bob
Monday Morning Prayer for the Week
These are the people and organisations that we have prayed for in our sessions so far.
| 5 March 2007 | Homestart |
| 12 March 2007 | Rethink |
| 19 March 2007 | Benevolent Group |
| 26 March 2007 | Chaste(Churches Alert to sex trafficking across Europe) |
Third Thursday Talks
The March talk held on the Third Thursday was by Ian Maher, the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy Co-ordinator of the Sheffield Hallam University and those who came thoroughly enjoyed what Ian had to share with us. The meeting was chaired by Jack Shaw and he gently probed, in his chat-show style, and we all learned a lot about the demands and the challenges of working in a multi-faith environment but we also were greatly encouraged by hearing how willing people of other faiths were to embrace Christians and to encourage Christians to express their faith rather than almost apologise for it. Ian is the only full-time chaplain at Sheffield Hallam and he is actually employed by the university to co-ordinate chaplaincy and this means he is able to live out his Christian faith as well as work alongside other faith advisers. He has just completed his first full year in this post and in that time he has been able to start to put chaplaincy “on the map” within the university and to encourage others to see its value within the hectic life of the university. From what we heard that evening Ian certainly seems to be the right person for the job and we wish him well in the future and hope that we can build positive links where applicable.
Next month Jack Shaw will be our guest speaker as he shares some of his experiences as a Radio Sheffield presenter. This will be on Thursday 19th April at 7pm.
Bob
Letter from Madascar
Hi,
Hope you're all well. It's very hot here and summer seems to be properly here now the rains have stopped. It's been a erally wet summer with many people having to leave their homes on the rice plains and live in tents by the side of the road. The rice harvest has been a bit of a let down because not all of it could be saved. The waters are now receding and people can think about the preparation of the next crop.
Kerry is now in the UK busy looking for jobs and taking assemblies at her old school. Before she went home though she helped organise a fantastic Expo 2007 at Akany Avoko. This was a chance for the girls to show off their talents in photography, painting, crafts and fashion. Kerry had been teaching the girls photography and the best pictures were displayed. It looked really professional and the reaction of the staff was priceless. There's also been a volunteer who works in the fashion industry and she helped the girls to make their own clothes and bags. We then held a catwalk show to show it all off.
It was a great success and the sale of the photos made 200,000 Ariary: about £50 for the centre.
My life has been going on as usual. Had a Hebrew exam. I got 13.25/20. My excuse is I'm new and all the marks I lost were on pointing (for those non-Hebrew scholars these are little marks to indicate vowels. They're in Biblical Hebrew but not Modern) and that doesn't count.
I'm still helping out at street peoples services on Mondays and Wednesdays and this Sunday I preach in Malagasy for the first time in a Sunday morning service. Prayers for that will be welcome. About 7am your time.
That's about it for now. Take care and God bless,
Phil
Summer Concert
The Escafeld choir is holding a concert on 14th July 2007. All proceeds will be shared between the choir and ASSIST. Please put this date in your diary and tickets will be available nearer the time.
Family Outing to the Deep
This will take place on 12th May 2007. We have organised a coach to pick us up at church take us to The Deep and bring us home again. The Deep is a lovely day out; you walk along tunnels and see fish of all shapes and sizes swimming around you. The Deep is a charitable public aquarium dedicated to increasing people’s enjoyment and understanding of the World’s oceans. It first opened its doors in March 2002 and so far has welcomed over 2 million visitors from the UK and abroad. There is a café and also a picnic area if you would like to bring sandwiches. The price will be £15 each for adults and £6 for children, which covers the bus and entry. I will put a list on the notice board for anyone who would like to go and I will let you have a ticket when they are available.
Toiletries Update
An earlier update than promised, but I thought everyone would be interested to know that we have now put together 15 starter packs for distribution to asylum seekers and for those rescued from human trafficking. We have also 3 small packs for children. To help the many who are contributing to buy useful items, here is a list of what has gone into each pack.
Children Women Men
Toothbrush toothbrush toothbrush
Toothpaste toothpaste toothpaste
Facecloth facecloth facecloth
bubble bath soap soap/shower gel
shampoo shower gel
deodorant * disposable razor
sanitary products * deodorant *
shampoo
The items starred are those we had to buy as they were in short supply. It is also felt that a towel should be included in the packs for the victims of human trafficking as they will arrive with absolutely nothing. I mention this because some people may prefer to make a monetary donation which would enable us to buy towels, specialist hair shampoos and to make good any items missing from the packs. These could then be distributed more quickly.
We know these packs will be received with gratitude. An Assist leader told me that he is currently buying food for a young asylum seeker and her child. The hygiene packs will be given to her next week and allow her to spend her few resources solely on food.
Our aim is to provide a starter pack for at least 50 asylum seekers and then to supplement this for the most desperate cases. For victims of human trafficking, we have allocated 5 packs for distribution at once and would like to have more in readiness to meet demand. Thank you for the ‘luxury’ items donated – hand cream and body lotion. They have been included in the first packs and are welcome extras.
Shirley Newman
Report from District Council
The Council met at Gleadless United Reformed Churcb on Thursday 22nd March.
Kimberworth Road United Reformed Church gave a presentation explaining the history of the church and speaking about the present day church life. Sunday worship provides for a small adult congregation and up to 8 children. Regular coffee mornings are held. A weekly craft group and IT group meet: both initially in conjunction with Rotherham College. Youth work through the venture ‘Culture Shock’ provides for over 60 children and young people each Friday evening.
Pastoral Committee reported:
Shiregreen URC has been successful in its application for Special Category Ministry.
The Special Category Ministry within the South Yorkshire Workplace Chaplaincy (formerly IMSY) ends in September 2008.
Concern was expressed that no action has been taken with regard to the CTSY review ot the LEP at Greasbrough United Church.
The Revd David Hudston retires from the Sheffield South Group pastorate in January 2008.
Churches are asked to consider how there can be continuing support offered to some of our smaller churches,
The scooping of St James United Reformed Church was agreed at 20%.
The Business Committee reported:
On the very successful event at Shiregreen URC – Community Work Exposed. A DVD is available.
The District Representatives to the General Assembly in July will be the Revds David Hudston and Bob Warwicker; Mrs Fiona Smith and Mr Rod Morrison.
New Synod Structures:
Synod has made the decision as to how to proceed and this includes the setting up of groups of churches within what is at present the District. These will be called Mission and Care Groups. Churches are being consulted regarding the formation of the groups.
(This was discussed at our Church Meeting)
Correspondence and notices :
Gift Aid Seminar : Tuesday 5th June, at the Wilson Carlyle College at 7.30pm.
Crossfire weekend : 25th- 28th May, cost £47.00.
Gleadless URC hold a Sunrise Service on Easter Day: meet at Higger Tor at 6am.
And: Council gave authority to Miss Anne Dale to preside at the Sunday evening Communion Service at Central on 20th May.
(Anne is to lead four evening small group worships at Central each Sunday in May as part of her TLS training)
The Future….. The new Synod Structures come into effect in September. There are just two more District Council Meetings arranged – on Thursday 10th May (at the Michael Church) and on 12th July. Meetings are at 7pm for 7.30p[m and church members are very welcome to attend.
Happy Translation
Some linguists were translating the Bible into a local African language. They had difficulty in finding a pure word for joy. The tribal words used had connotations which were not acceptable.
As they were debating what would be a suitable word a dog belonging to one of the missionaries came into the room, wagging his tail vigorously.
“What word would you use for the joy that dog has having found his master?” the missionaries asked.
They were offered a word and the final text was translated : “There will be tail-wagging in heaven over one sinner that repents.”
(from the letters page of The Daily Telegraph 30th March 2007)
Prayer Focus
Week One
As we begin the walk towards Easter Sunday and all that went before it, celebrate today the decision that set Jesus on the journey towards Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, towards his destiny on Good Friday. Pray for those people who have to make decisions which may affect the lives of many: the politicians; those who can influence what is happening in troubled places around the world; those at home who can make a difference in small ways. Pray that we may be shown what we can do to make a difference.
Week Two
Thine be the glory, risen, conquering Son,
Endless is the victory thou o’er death hast won!
Lo, Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb!
Lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.
No more we doubt thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is nought without thee, aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors through thy deathless love
Week Three
Have another look at the display about slavery. Whilst we can feel horror at what happened all those years ago, we need to remember that trafficking still goes on in many parts of the world. Much has come to our notice through the media over the past few weeks. Pray for those who have been sold into slavery or trapped into it unwittingly. Pray, too, for those whose work it is to stamp it out and support the victims.
Week Four
Over the next two weeks we hope that there will be many people coming in to Snooker Snax. Some we will have met last year; many may be coming for the first time. Pray for all those who will come across our threshold, that they may feel the warmth of our welcome and appreciate that they are sharing in the friendship of a Christian fellowship. Pray, too, for all those involved in the catering each day that they may show their joy in their work and have the strength to cope.
Week Five
This week let us think about those who prisoners: whether in prison because they have offended against the law or imprisoned within themselves and unable to escape from the feelings which trap them.
You come through thick stone walls, armed guards and bars: you bring me a starry night and ask about this and that. You are the Redeemer. I recognise you. You are my way, my truth and my life. Even my cellar blooms with stars and peace and light pour forth. You sprinkle beautiful words on me like flowers: ‘Son, what are you afraid of? I am with you!’
(Viktoras Petkus, Lithuania – from The Lion Prayer Collection)
