Church News – July and August 2024
From the Church Secretary
Dear Brothers and Sisters
I could send you last year’s Newsletter which started “July has arrived and we are now officially classified as being in an interregnum”. And now, in 2024, we are again without a minister, as Sr Patsy is taking an extended period of medical leave. We send our prayers and good wishes for her speedy recovery.
Any member of the Church Committee will be available if you have a concern and we are grateful that the Provincial Board will be on hand to help if necessary.
The highlight of this month is our Summer Fayre and we hope that we can again work together to provide an event that is well attended, that is blessed by a sunny day and that provides much needed funds for the continuation of the work here on Yew Tree Lane. And if you wish to visit us, then please do. The date is 13th July and the time is after 2 p.m. There will be plenty of spend your money on, listen to our Accordion Band and enjoy barbecue food or afternoon tea. Free admission,
With God’s blessings on us all. Sue Selby
The Olympic Games as written in Hebrews
This month also sees the start of the Olympic Games in Paris. In describing the Christian life as a marathon race, the writer of Hebrews challenges us to finish well.
‘throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles’
As in a normal race, we have to get rid of any burdens that weigh us down (eg possessions, worries, what others think of us) and besetting sins (wrong habits or attitudes). We can cast our burdens on the Lord (Ps 55:22) and be assured of His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us’
The Christian life is like a marathon not a sprint race, which calls for endurance. The course is marked out for us, as we all have a unique race to run, with its opportunities and difficulties. God knows our path and will provide all that we need to complete the race.
‘fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith’
The runner keeps their focus on the finishing line and avoids all distractions. Our focus is on Jesus, who has run the race before us (‘author’), but is the one who can show us how to finish well (‘perfecter’).
We are also surrounded by a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ . These are God’s people, both past and present, who are cheering us on!
During the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the British athlete Derek Redmond was running in the 400 metres semi-finals. About 250 metres from the finish his hamstring tore and he fell to the ground in pain. However, his father ran on to the track to support him in completing the race. Let’s not forget that whatever we face, God is there beside to enable us to finish the race!
NEWS
On Sunday 7th July, our Holy Communion will be led by Br John Wilkinson. This will be a sorter service than usual as, afterwards, Sr Anita Webb, will be giving us an introduction on Project 32 and then 30 of us will be provided with a questionnaire which we will take home and complete, on computer if possible, but in writing otherwise. All submissions will ultimately be transferred to computer by Anita or a member of her team. Your questionnaire should be returned by the end of the month, and we ask for your cooperation in this.
What’s this about Golden Weddings?
Two couples in our church are celebrating their Golden Wedding this year. One has gone – that was in May and the other is still to take place, in August. Neither of these couples are in need of gifts and so they asked for donations to the Food Hamper Team.
Over £1,000 was raised and now food has been purchased to help families cope during the summer break when children are out of school and unable to take advantage of school meals.
This photograph shows what £1,000 worth of food looks like and Social Services will be collecting these gifts today for onward delivery to needy families.
None of this could have happened if it wasn’t for you, the people who gave donations – so THANK YOU to everyone who has given.
125 years of Gideons and Bibles
It was 125 years ago, on 1st July 1899, that Gideons International was founded. The evangelical Christian association places free Bibles in hotel rooms, hospitals, schools, military bases and prisons around the world.
It started when two traveling salesmen from Wisconsin in the northern USA – John Nicholson of Janesville and Samuel Hill of Beloit – met in a room at the Central House Hotel in Boscobel, Wisconsin, to talk about forming an association to strengthen the faith of people they came into contact with by distributing free Bibles “through designated traffic lanes of life”.
Most people encounter Gideon Bibles through their placement in hotel rooms, and research by Gideons International shows that about 25 per cent of travellers read a Bible when there is one in their room. The Gideons are exclusively Protestant evangelical businessmen with a belief in the Bible as the inspired Word of God and Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
In 2018 the UK section of Gideons separated from Gideons International over the issue of women’s full membership, which is not allowed by the international organisation, but which received nearly 80 per cent support in a UK members’ vote. After losing a dispute about the use of the name Gideons UK, they are now known as Good News for Everyone! They have links with Gideons in Canada and Sweden who have made similar decisions.
A very small number of men in the UK still belong to Gideons International. They are known as The Gideons International in the UK, and still remain a men’s ministry.
Prayer for July 2024
Father, Thank you for summertime, when thoughts turn to holidays and relaxation.
July is a month of endings for many; the ending of the school or college year and for some a moving on to the next stage of education or work. Often, there is uncertainty or trepidation about the future.
Whatever stage of life we are at, whatever season of the year it is, we can feel uncertain and concerned in a world which seems increasingly secular and confusing.
Remind us Lord, of Your promise to be with us always, every step of every way, when we put our trust in You, through Jesus.
Thank you that in the ups and downs of life, You never change. You are the rock on which we stand securely, eternally. Help us to move forward confidently, trusting in that truth.
Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
By Daphne Kitching
