Extracts from our
magazine Extracts from our
magazine
THE NEWSLETTER OF
CHRIST CHURCH - TURNHAM GREEN
JUNE 2001
Come Together – 8 pm Sunday 3rd June
The form of the worship reflects that of the New Testament, and the promise of Jesus. The Jewish tradition said that prayer could not take place in the Synagogue unless ten men were present. Jesus gives assurance to his followers that such an idea is of human construction. He then goes on to promise that where two or three come together in his name, he would honour them with his presence.
St Paul describes a form of worship which, for various reasons, has become less common. For some people it has become almost novel in that they have not experienced it before. Following his teaching, we come together and are prepared to share insights, prayers, Scripture and spiritual songs. Often these things have been a blessing to us individually during the week. There is then a prayer may that we might have wisdom, as to whether what the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance, should be shared in the group. We also seek his wisdom as to when, in the worship, we should share what he shows to us.
The result is a form of worship, and waiting on God, that depends very much on the Holy Spirit. He comes and weaves together a worship that is offered. He also speaks to us and enables us to minister the love and grace of Jesus, to each other.
This is not the only kind of worship, but many find that it allows God to speak to them very personally and to build up their faith. It is not perfect, because we are only human. God knows and understands. He is delighted that we offer worship in this way. He is not looking for perfection - he is looking for those who will come together to worship him in Spirit and in Truth.
We also have a love for each other in the group and that makes it safe for people sometimes to make mistakes. God's love, and our love, are big enough to be able to carry it. The love we have for each other allows people to feel safe and to grow in confidence and faith.
1 Corinthians 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
MISSIONARY NEWS.
CMS Lent Boxes
Thank you to all those who have contributed to the CMS Lent Box scheme this year. 31 boxes were taken and 15 have been returned so far and these have raised £325 compared to £280 for all the boxes returned last year. I will send a cheque to CMS for the money in early June, so if you have a box that you have not returned, it would be really helpful if you could return it to me as soon as you can. The best ways are either to give me, or Jenny the box on Sunday. Alternatively you could give it to Penny or Jim who can forward it to me via Jenny during the week.
Gujarat earthquake appeal money given to Tearfund.
Thank you to everyone who contributed money to the appeal for helping those affected by the earthquake in Gujarat, India in January. Christ Church raised £1,430.52 and this was sent to Tearfund to support the work that their partners are doing. I have just handed over responsibility for managing Tearfund’s response to the earthquake and would like to add my thanks to the formal letters of thanks received.
Tearfund has supported six partner organizations so far. The work began with providing immediate relief such as tents, blankets, food, cooking equipment. As expected, the main need is shelter so our partners have moved into reconstruction programmes. One partner in particular, EFICOR that Tearfund is supporting, has been allocated three villages and is building 815 houses. These have been designed to be seismic-resistant, unlike the original houses, and also resistant to cyclones to which the region is vulnerable. Building should start in a couple of weeks once land ownership issues and construction training is completed.
So far Tearfund has spent £576,310 and this is expected to rise to over £1.2 million by the end of May as two large grants for house reconstruction are processed. We do not now need any more money for this appeal (we have to ensure that our partners are able to account for the money spent properly and giving excessively could overload their systems) but if you would like to give further either to other agencies working in Gujarat e.g. Christian Aid, or to support other Tearfund work around the world, do feel free to contact me.
Pam Harrison
Pam was one of our CMS Link Missionaries until recently, working in the CMS London office. Pam has written to say that she is leaving CMS on 15th June, after 19 years with CMS to join the Diocese of Bradford to run their retreat and conference centre, Parcevall Hall. Her new address from 1st July will be, Pamela Harrison, Parcevall Hall, Appletreewick, Skipton, North Yorks BD23 6DG Tel. 01756 – 720213.
Elizabeth Hume
I have just received contact details for Elizabeth, our Link Missionary who has recently returned to Jordan, teaching in a blind/deaf school in Salt. She can be contacted now HLID, PO Box 1954, Sweileh 11910, Jordan.. Email jlid@go.co.jo
As with any letter or email being sent to Christians working in a muslim country, please do be careful what you write and do not refer to any evangelistic activities taking place either in Britain or in Jordan, particularly the latter.
Tony Eastwood.
ST. ANDREW’S FELLOWSHIP.
We enjoyed a very dramatic evening on 25th. April, when Mike Smith gave a most illuminating talk, with illustrations, on the subject of "Oil and Gas – the Last Frontier." It has made me look at my gas cooker with awe and wonder!
May 9th. was the evening of our Annual General Meeting when we reviewed our 2000/1 programme and thought about our next season. Appreciation was expressed for the support we received from the Vicar and from all those who made our evenings such a success.
Mabel Judd. Leader.
The stained Glass windows of Christ Church
St. Edmund.
(2nd panel, second window, in Nave of Church, right hand side)
St Edmund (841-69), was the king of East Anglia and also a Martyr. Born of Saxon stock and raised in the Christian faith; he became king of the East Angles sometime before 865. In 869 the Great Viking Army, under Ingwar invaded East Anglia, defeated Edmund’s army and he was captured. Having refused to deny his faith or to rule as Inwar’s vassal, Edmund was then executed, either by being shot by arrows and beheaded, or by being "spread- eagled", which was the normal mode of Viking execution. In 915 when his body was dis-interred it was found to be incorrupt. The body was removed from the small wooden chapel at Hellesdon in Norfolk, where it had lain since Edmunds execution, to a shrine at Bedricsworth (which later became Bury St Edmunds).
Ten years later King Athelstan founded a community to take care of the shrine, consisting of two priests and four deacons. In 1020 King Cnut ordered a stone church to be built and the clerics to be replaced by Benedictine monks. This Abbey was then given a charter of jurisdiction over the town; which had grown up around it; in 1028. Edward the confessor continued this policy and in 1044 extended this jurisdiction to include most of West Suffolk, making Bury one of the richest and most powerful Benedictine Abbeys in England. In 1095 St Edmund’s body was removed to the new larger Norman church and in 1198 it was re-enshrined within that church.
The cult of St Edmund has left a notable artistic record. In East Anglia there are ten screen paintings of St Edmund and there are several wall paintings of him in the rest of England. There are also paintings of St Edmund in various Psalters. However the most famous representation of him is in the Wilton Diptych (National Gallery, London), where he and Edward the confessor are depicted as the two royal patron saints of England who present King Richard II to the Virgin and Child.
After the Battle of Lincoln 1217, the defeated French army claimed to have removed St. Edmund’s body to St Sernin, Toulouse. These relics were later offered to Westminster cathedral, in 1912. But their authenticity was disputed by both theologians and historians, who insisted that his remains had stayed in Bury until the Reformation when St Edmund was reburied in an unknown site. Feast day 20th November.
Taken from the "Oxford Dictionary of Saints."Adapted by Ken Trew.
Church Finances
At the end of April, four months into the 2001 church financial year, the Income and Expenditure account of the church shows neither a significant surplus nor a deficit. I am sure you will agree that this encouraging. However, between now and the end of the year we are facing two major items of capital expenditure:
Our church hall is on the corner of Heathfield Terrace, opposite the Fire Station. It has been let on a long-term basis to a nursery school. This month a new lease is due to be signed with the Nursery, under the terms of which the tenants will pay to maintain the building in the condition in which it was taken over at the start of the lease. Little work has been done on the building for some years and it is therefore in our interest to hand it over in good condition so that the tenants maintain it well in the coming years.
£100,000 needed this year, is a great deal of money to find.
There is little new income for the Appeal Fund so we shall not be able to meet these expenses easily if we continue with a zero account.
If you are able to reconsider your regular giving, or make a one-off donation to the church, it would be a great help at this time. If your employer operates "Payroll Giving", your giving would be enhanced by 10%. Tax-payers can increase the value of their giving by signing a Gift Aid form. Please contact me at any time for further details.
Nikki Lovell - Treasurer
Ploughman’s Supper.
Wednesday 11th. July 7-30/8pm. Tickets £3-50.
Bring and Buy Table in aid of the
Church of England Children’s Society.
We look forward to welcoming everyone to this event.
Margaret Pickford and Mabel Judd.
MOTHER’S UNION
Our next meeting will be the "Diocesan Festival Service" at St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is due to take place on Tuesday 12th. June at 7-30pm.
Marjorie Oubridge.
United Service
A United Service will be held for the Churches of Chiswick on Sunday evening 10th June at 6 pm. This will be at Christ Church and we shall be pleased to welcome the members of the teams of people from the different churches, who make up the teams to serve lunch for the homeless.
Tuesday 5 June & Wednesday 6th June
Friends of the City Churches 7th Annual Walk
A chance for a walk in the City, when for two days the Churches in the City are open all day. Other events and recitals will be happening.
Full details from Pam Trew.
Genetic engineering – friend or foe?
Professor Tak Lee will preach on this important subject on 10th June.
Sunday Morning Refreshments
Just a reminder! If anyone is not sure where the china or provisions are kept, or how things operate, can I refer them to the general information/guidelines sheet, which is on the wall opposite the kitchen door? I’ve tried to cover all contingencies and hope that this clarifies things, but do please have a word with me if there is any problem.
Margaret Pickford.
The proof of the pudding!
The following are extracts from church newspapers. It’s amazing what a little proof reading would do!
Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
Announcement in the Church Bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.
"Ladies don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.
Don’t let worry kill you – let the church help.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility.
JULY ISSUE OF "GOOD NEWS ON THE GREEN"
If anyone has items for inclusion in the July issue, could they please send them, preferably typed, to:
Tony Inwood, 6,Cornwall Grove, London W4 2LB. Tel: 020 8994 7461.
Alternatively they can be faxed on 020 8994 7461, sent on computer disk, or e-mailed to: simonandtony@ukgateway.net Please could you try to ensure that they reach me no later than Monday 11th. June. Many thanks.
Tony Inwood – Editor.
Upper Room Revd David Matthews.
I write to thank you all for the very warm welcome I received at Christ Church, Turnham Green when I came to preach on Sunday May 20th 2001. It was wonderful to be with you and to share in the joy of the Easter Season. I certainly experienced a genuine sense of that risen joy in the life of your church family and the hospitality I received from you.
The Upper Room has recently begun a new programme of support services for our guests. We continue to offer hot meals 6 days a week, clothing and shoes, toiletries and bed linen, a book exchange, chiropody, haircuts and medical referrals just as we have for the past ten years. We also have a film forum which meets every Thursday and free tickets for the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Now we have added addiction Counselling, spiritual direction, housing support, adult literacy tutoring, access to computers and assistance with CVs, job applications and general forms. We also have a service of Holy Communion every Tuesday evening and Compline every Thursday evening, both at 7-15pm. On Tuesday May 29th. we will be taking a group of our guests to the British Museum for a specially guided tour. You can see we are certainly more than a soup kitchen; though we do go through over 2000 cans of soup each month!
As we are welcoming over 300 different guests each and every month to the Upper Room, you can see it takes a lot of time, organisation and money to keep our doors open. We are always in need of donations of food, clothing, bed linen, towels and books. We also need to raise £30,000 each year from the local community (i.e. the churches and caring individuals of West London). This level of locally donated funding and visible support is needed to secure larger grants from trust funds and agencies. The Upper Room does not receive any government funding, thus maintaining an independent and purposefully Christian voice.
Many of you enquired about opportunities for volunteering. We are always in need of new volunteers, and there are opportunities to volunteer every day and most evenings of the week. The commitment is as little as three hours a month, though we especially need volunteers who are able to offer three hours per fortnight or even per week. If you are interested in the possibility of contributing to the life of the Upper Room, please give us a telephone call and have a chat or make a time to come for a visit. We are a very short walk from both Turnham Green and Stamford Brook tube stations on the District Line or the No 94 bus route. There is also plenty of parking available in the churchyard.
The Upper Room is located at the parish church of St. Saviour with St. Mary, Cobbold Road, W12.
Our Telephone No is 020 8740 5688.
