IN FOCUS
May 2006
A Useful Occupation
Sunday afternoon. I’m sitting out in the garden. I’m knitting and enjoying the quiet time. Along with others from Central I’ve taken up the challenge of the Leprosy Mission and Feed the Children – ‘Knit a sponsored 6" square and support two charities. Our aim is to make as many 3 foot by 4 foot blankets – made up of 6 inch squares – as possible in the month of April and to raise £2,000 to buy much needed equipment for the physiotherapy department at Perulia hospital so that those recovering from hand surgery can recover as much use of their hands as possible. As you knit or sew squares together please think of those who have hands disabled by leprosy.
Blankets – and any odd squares – will be sent to Feed the Children who will send them out when and where they are needed.
Recommended materials are double knitting wool and 4mm (no.8) needles, however, the pattern will work with any wool and any suitable needles. The thicker the wool, the thicker the needles.
To knit a basic square
Put one loop on the needle. Increase by knitting into the front and back of the stitch.
Next row. Increase in the first stitch. K1
Next row. Increase in the first stitch. K to end.
Repeat this row until the side of the square is 6 inches (7.6cm)
Next row. K2 tog K to end
Repeat this row until there are 4 stitches remaining.
Next row. K2 tog, K2 tog.
Next row. K2 tog. Fasten off.
Whilst the sponsored event was in April there is no reason why anyone who would like to be involved could do it now. Also, as an ongoing project we can continue to knit squares at Central as blankets are always needed.
Let us see the world through your eyes, and keep us sensitive to others’ needs.
Jean Shaw
AUTUMN ALPHA COURSES
A day-time Alpha Course will start on Monday afternoons with the first session taking place on September 25th. This will be for all who find evening meetings difficult to attend and we hope to start with lunch and then follow this with the Alpha session.
An evening Alpha Course will also start towards the end of September, which will take place at the home of our Church Secretary, Elaine, on an evening to be agreed (with John!). As Elaine lives in Gleadless we have extended an invitation to Gleadless URC for some of them to join us if they so wish.
The follow-up to Alpha, entitled “A Life Worth Living” will take place on Wednesday evenings from October 4th and this comprises nine weekly sessions. It will follow the usual Alpha pattern and will start with an Alpha meal at 6pm.
Please check your diaries and come along to an Alpha Course or the Alpha follow-up course. Come and discover lots about the Christian faith, which you will find interesting, stimulating and challenging. It is an enjoyable experience and is helping Central to grow in its discipleship and its witness.
Please watch this space for further announcements, and then start thinking about whom you might invite to come along
Ideas Group Update
By the time you read this most, if not all, of the people who brought forward ideas will have been told where there idea has been sent for progressing, considering or discussion. The original Ideas Group will act as a monitoring Group to ensure what most of you were very keen on, that is making sure that the ideas don't remain only that status, with no further consideration. We are still in the process of seeking volunteers to join the Groups, but not achieving much success.
Additionally, the Management Committee agreed that it was a good idea to complete the Group structure by having a Property Group. This Group would deal with the building, for instance electrical, gas, structural, the lifts, fixtures and fittings etcetera, whilst Fabric would deal with the innards of the building. This would include furniture, carpets, floor coverings, curtains, repainting the inside walls etcetera. That doesn't mean doing the work, more a case of knowing when these items need something doing to them or replacing, within a structured budget. Can you help? Good, then give your name to one of the Ideas Group as early as possible, then they won't become disillusioned.
We feel that all areas of necessary activity within the church are covered by one Group or another, but if you can think of any area which is not covered then please have a word with me. What we can then achieve between us is that if almost Everybody does a little bit, then Nobody needs not be overworked and Everything gets done. Much better than Everybody leaving it to Someone Else so that Nothing gets done. What is it that the comedienne who some people think is funny said to Her Majesty? Am I bovvered? If you are then please volunteer.
Albert.
Congratulations
to Kathryn, who won the Easter Bonnet Competition at Bob and Sylvia’s Easter Party,
to Kathryn, who also won the prize for sticking the beak on the chick (an Easter version of “pin the tail on the donkey”),
and to Hannah and Daniel who shared the prize for best egg decoration.
The following communication has been received from Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, the Secretary for Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry of the URC.
‘Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministry'
In July, 2005,the United Reformed Church declared itself to be a multicultural Church welcoming all cultures and ethnicities in worship, witness and service, and celebrating the diverse gifts of the whole people of God for the mission and ministry to which God calls us.
In a real sense, this declaration is an affirmation of what the URC already is – a gathered together body made up of all kinds of people. We have congregations with members from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds; congregations with less diverse backgrounds who host migrant minority ethnic churches; and a range of other kinds of ministry activity that engages the whole people of God in one way or another.
We are multicultural. Yet we are also aware that we can be better at it. We are aware that we are a majority white church, and that the way we work in the world reflects that. We want to be more open to the gifts that other cultures bring and more receptive to the new thing that God is doing in creating multicultural bodies. The declaration is a way to begin thinking about how to be intentionally multicultural – welcoming and using the gifts of all sorts of people for the glory of God.
To help congregations think about their multicultural welcome, we’ve developed a Multicultural Ministry Toolkit. The toolkit can help a church think about and create opportunities to improve their ministry The areas covered in the toolkit include welcome and hospitality; overcoming barriers; leadership; intergenerational concerns; mission planning; theology, spirituality and the Bible; meetings; and rites of passage.
rom the time of Pentecost on, Jesus has called followers together from the ends of the earth and given us the ministry of reconciliation. In these times, when difference is more likely to result in division or destruction, our work at building bridges between people of different cultures is more important than ever. Your congregation may have a part to play. Please consider using the Multicultural Ministry Toolkit to equip you to welcome, celebrate and use the gifts of the whole people.
from the Minister
Once again the World Snooker Championship has taken place and yet again we have a new champion after a very long final, but nevertheless a worthy champion who had to dig deep to get to the finishing line. It is hard for us not to get caught up in the event which is such a feather in the cap for Sheffield and which shows Sheffield in good light, even if it seems there are always roadworks!
It was once again the initiative of the Fund-Raising Committee to take advantage of this event and extend our usual coffee mornings to produce “Snooker Snax” for the two weeks and this has proved to be a wonderful opportunity to make contact with lots of new friends who have been extremely complimentary about the service we have offered and the facilities of Central.
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone who had any involvement at all in making Snooker Snax this great success, from those who produced the publicity, those who have served teas, coffees, toasted teacakes, sandwiches, those who have moved chairs and tables and kept the premises clean, tidy and attractive, and those who have chatted to those who have ventured into our building for the first time and who have been asking lots of questions.
Also may I thank Dawn and all the Junior Church for their wonderful Easter Garden, which was on display at our Easter Day services and was then located in the main window of the Norfolk Room for the duration of Snooker Snax. It was a lovely piece of artwork and I hope we will see this in “Reform” shortly.
Now that all this frantic activity has taken place many people need a well-earned (brief!) rest but an event such as Snooker Snax has proved very clearly how we are able to engage with large numbers of people who have little or no contact with this or any other church.
One of the many things which attracted me to Central two years ago was the initiative and vision which had led to the courageous modernisation of a relatively modern building in order to make it more accessible and available to the community of Sheffield and the Norfolk Room is without doubt an excellent “shop window” to invite passers-by to browse and enter. At our recent Alpha session when we discussed how we can share our faith I used the example of how we are making use of the Norfolk Room and how events such as Snooker Snax and all our coffee mornings are opportunities for people to browse and to see for themselves how excited we are about being Christians. Maybe this comes as a bit of a shock but if we are faithful to Jesus’ commission to his followers then we are tasked with telling the good news which he came to share and what better way is there to do this than by what we do and say, and the way we behave.
May we all continue to be creative in our thoughts and ideas, faithful in our worship and witness, and committed in our service to our Lord Jesus Christ, displaying the peace, the joy and the hope, which are the gifts of those who have faith in him and who know that they are loved by him.
With every blessing
Bob.
MODEL RAILWAY & MODEL BUS EXHIBITION
June 17th, from 10am to 4pm.
This event, which is supported by the Yorkshire Area of the Model Bus Federation, is both a fund-raising and a social event designed for all who enjoy the finer aspects of railways and buses in model form!
Admission is £2 for adults and £1 for children and there will be refreshments available throughout the exhibition plus bacon butties for exhibitors and early visitors.
Support for the event would be much appreciated either as an admirer of the exhibits, as a keeper of the cash, as a steward, or helping with the refreshments. If you are willing to help with any of the three latter categories please give your name to Sylvia.
As part of our ongoing work on evangelism and evangelists in the URC the Life and Witness Committee offered an invitation to people with an interest in this ministry:
Request from Life and Witness
Life & Witness is currently collecting stories and experiences of the work of ‘evangelists’ and examples of initiatives and good practice in evangelism in our local churches which might be a source of inspiration to others.
We have also been looking at potential job descriptions for evangelists, and have a measure of common agreement on the following bullet points (borrowed from a recent Methodist document)
‘Someone lay or ordained, male or female, who
- Communicates the Good News of Jesus Christ by word and deed in a way that encourages people to become followers of Jesus Christ
- Shares the Good News using a variety of forms of media
- Acts as a focus for the ministry of evangelism within the church
- Challenges the church when it becomes inward looking
- Equips the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph.4v12) in the area of evangelism’
Have you a) anything you might like to contribute in terms of specific stories and experiences from your own area of work,
And
b) any comments to make on the above bullet points in relation to the local church?
..and this is the ‘post bag’ that we received ...
From Paul Stokes, URC minister in Plymstock .
With regard to the job description, I wonder whether the word ‘catalyst’ would be helpful...? i.e. ‘acts as a catalyst for the ministry of evangelism within the church.’
What we do need to acknowledge is that:-
All are called to be witnesses, individually and as corporate church
... but ...
Ministry of evangelism is a focused call and anointing from God
From my own experience I offer two key stories....
One is about a retired guy who is passionate about Trade Justice etc., and who ALSO is gifted in evangelism - sharing his faith fruitfully and drawing people into the kingdom. The other is a teenage girl who evangelises through MSN and the playground, drawing many peers along to evangelistic events and helping some of them take steps of faith. These are not programmes (we do that as well, by the way), but people who are getting on with the task of evangelism with fruitful effectiveness. Is this the kind of thing that is wanted? If so,
how do the stories need to be told (genre?)
My own passion is for evangelism, but I am not gifted as an evangelist (as far as I can tell). The Alpha course has featured massively in Plymstock and has facilitated many others to get involved in the church’s evangelistic task but without necessarily themselves having the gift and call.
On two occasions in the past few months we have publicly given the chance for
people to stand in response to God’s calling into this ministry, and have prayed for them (once generally, once very intensely and personally in each case, anointing them for the task, and the praying was done by those immediately around them).I hope this helps.
Paul
From Stephen Newell (URC minister in Bristol)
My feeling re the bullet points is that a crucial area is missing. A true evangelist is someone whom non-Christians find interesting and stimulating. Is also someone who can “find” ways of meeting people. It is all very well to be a great
communicator but if the stadium is empty you’re not too effective. The story of the way Paul went down to the river to find people is, for me, instructive. So an evangelist knows how to go and find where people are. In the local situation the evangelists are those who come up with the ideas of how to gather people in a way that works. Normally this involves a mixture of fun or social, with a message or a purpose. Food being an optimum tool!
Stephen
From Rose Barrett (URC minister in Plymtree)
I feel that the ‘job description’ re. evangelists is helpful and fairly succinct. I believe, though, that we need people who are able to ‘think outside of the box’. What I mean is that too often people assume that the purpose of any local ‘evangelistic activity /initiative’ is to provide ‘more bottoms on pews’. That’s a mistake. It should be driven by the passion of Jesus to ‘seek and to save the lost’. He didn’t herd people into a new or even an existing synagogue, but He
brought them into ‘Kingdom relationships’. So for example, I’m about trying to form relationships with folk in my village by engaging in local activities and by regular contact in the village pub. I’m not interested in whether or not people come to the URC, most don’t! But I do want them to come to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is a long process for many. So often beleaguered church folk simply want more b..s on pews! They don’t really grasp the need to work on cultivating fruitful relationships.
Sorry if this is too long-winded. The danger with the URC decline is that our motive for evangelism becomes the number-crunching exercise, which isn’t Biblical!
Blessings, Rose.
From Barrie Saunders
Kath and I wish to thank friends at Central for there concern following my recent medical adventure. Flowers, a plant, cards, telephone calls and personal visits together with thoughts and prayers have been much appreciated.
It has been suggested that I ‘slow down for a two month period. This being the case, preaching engagements have been cancelled, with a view to resuming in August. I shall exchange the pulpit for the pew which will be good for me and a blessing to many a congregation!)
The medics are somewhat baffle as top why it happened therefore I shall return to hospital for a detailed examination of the heart at some future date.
Prayer Focus
Week One
Next Thursday, 11 th May, the District Annual General Meeting is to be held at Hallgate URC, Doncaster. As the plans to alter the governance of the URC move forward, pray that the new arrangements may be a challenging and effective way for Synods and Districts to work; pray, too, that we may all respond positively and rise to Christ’s challenge to us in these difficult times.
Week Two
There is much information elsewhere this month to remind us of what Christian Aid Week (14 th – 20 th May) sets out to promote and achieve. Pray for those who work tirelessly to fund projects and give their expertise in many parts of the world. (Think of our own Commitment for Life project).
Week Three
As members and adherents of Central find out with whom they are sharing their Elder’s Groups, pray for each group and the pairings of Elders who are to work together to support their flock and each other. May this help to strengthen the fellowship and friendship that exists within our church community.
Week Four
At this time of year there looms for many young people the prospect of exams. Pray particularly for those in our congregation who face tests or exams at various levels. Ask that they may be given the patience to revise and the concentration and calm to recall the facts at the right time.
