March 2009

MinisterRev. Kevin JonesTel: 0121 706 6298

Rest Day: Friday

SecretaryMrs. Jenny Scott, Elder 200251 Hanbury Rd.,Dorridge, Solihull. B93 8DWTel: 01564 770730

TreasurerMike Robertson Elder 2006132 Lodge Rd.,Knowle B93 0HFTel: 01564 773940

Hall Secretary Mrs.Edna Grimmett,Tel: 01564 772552

Property SecretaryMr Ron Squire

Magazine EditorMary Kirwan Elder 200899 Newton Rd.,Knowle, Solihull. B93 8HNTel: 01564 776050

TypesetterDr. Graham Tall, Elder 2007Church NoticesMike Robertson Elder 2006Tel: 01564 773940

Serving Elders in addition:Sue Bateman 2007Isobel Robertson 2008Jenny Scott 2002

Stephenie Tall 2005Kath Vale 2006David Stewart 2008

Non-serving Elders:Margaret AllenKenneth Alway JonesClive GriffithsEdna GrimmettJohn Heatley

Glenys LambAlan LangLucilla LangPat McKeeIan MillerEileen Pitkeathly

Judy PreeceJan RichardsonBrian RichardsonMauvine SquireRon Squire

Note: This magazine is free to all members and friends of Knowle URC.We rely on donations to help cover the costs.

Did you know?! We have tea-towels for sale at £2.50 each, notelets £1, URCCar sticker 50p, key rings 50p and pens (now ½ price) 25p each.

Please contact Mary for purchases.2

Minister’s LetterWhile we were on holiday in Perth in Western Australia, we went to thechurch which my sister attends which is called Beldon Uniting Church. TheUniting Church of Australia was formed on June 22, 1977, as a union of threechurches: the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church ofAustralasia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia, so it is quite similar tothe United Reformed Church. We had been to the church before and so alreadyknew a few people including the person who was preaching that day, who alsohappens to be called Kevin! The service begins at 9am which is a bit early forme (!) and this is quite usual in Australia as the heat builds up during the dayso this early start means it is cooler.

Part of Kevin’s message (Editor, the Australian Kevin!) was about lizards.Well at least that is where he started by talking about the pet lizards they keep,and how one had become ill and the others had eaten it. Not very pleasant, ashe told us, but that is what lizards do. Human beings are different: at leastthey should be. We are able to think beyond our base needs to havecompassion for each other. We know from the news that sometimes people doevil things to each other, but because we are human we have the potential totreat each other as we would want to be treated ourselves. This is a God givenability – being made in the image of God means that we have the ability tocreate, to care, to desire justice and above all to love.

It was good to be worshipping with fellow Christians on the other side of theworld, reminding us of the world-wide church and how God calls us to use ourhuman potential to be much more than lizards.

Kevin

Lent sessionsThey are similar to last year’s Course when we re-told “hidden” stories fromthe Bible. Again I will need volunteers who are prepared to tell part of thestory in their own words. You may like to re-write the story so you havenotes to read out.

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I’ve split up the passages from Luke as evenly as I can without breaking upthe individual stories. If you haven’t come along before then perhaps youmight like to try this - those of us who have been before have found it a reallyuseful way of getting to know the Bible better. Read next page

Lent Continued:First Session(1) Luke ch 19 v 28 to ch 20 v8 Palm Sunday and Jesus in the Temple(2) Luke ch 20 v 9 to v 47 Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard andQuestions for JesusSecond Session(3) Luke ch 21 v 1 to 33 Widow’s mite and the Future(4) Luke ch 21 v34-22 v38 The need to Watch; the Plot & the Last Supper

Concluded on page 12Prayer Fellowshipmet on Sun Feb 8th, with Edna Chris S and Mary K, apologies from Eileenand Kath - choir practice, Mary V and Mauvine.

Remembered in prayer were Irene Ramsey’s Family, Peggy, Isobel, Richie,Marjorie D, Clive & Avril’s Families, Rosemary and Michael who isrecovering very well, Gill who is progressing very well, Julia, Sylvia – cancer,Ann Adrian, Edna & Dave, Sophie, Lilian & Bill, Childless couples seekingthe lord’s help, Pam Lowrie, John of Leeds, Joanne, May’s 85 yr old Aunt,Hugh & Chris Harding, Chris Kane & Family, Derek & Phyllis, Guy &Karen, Cecil Way, Dorothy Williams, Joyce Freeman, Sally & Julian, Denise,John & Mabel, and Ian Rogerson’s Sister in Yorkshire. We also gave thanksthat Duncan has a new job. Edna.

Church FamilyWith sadness we announce the death of Marjorie Deakin on February 13th, herfuneral service will take place at our church.

Pam Howells sends her appreciation on receiving our best wishes for her 65th

Birthday recently; her “thank you” card is displayed. Happy March Birthdaysto Martha McKie 1st, Richie Kellond 11th, Christine Harfoot 19th, GlenysLamb 22nd, Betty Reeves 24th, and Chris Harding 24th. Birthstone isAquamarine, light greenish blue, its name is derived from Latin meaningwater of the sea. Aquamarine is a favourite good luck charm for sailors. Thedarker the blue colour, the more valuable it is.

Wed March 11th 7.30 pm Annual Church Meeting, all reports to be withJenny no later than Sun 1st March please.

Nominations to be considered for Local and International charities to besubmitted a.s.a.p. Please supply leaflets with as much info about the4 relevant charity as possible.

Noah’s DilemmaIn the year 2008, the Lord came to Noah, who was now living in England, and said,“Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end ofall flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with afew good humans.”

The Lord gave Noah the CAD drawings, saying, “You have six months to build theArk before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and nights.”

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard. Therewas no Ark. “Noah!” he roared, “I’m about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?”

“Forgive me Lord,” begged Noah, “ but things have changed. I needed BuildingRegulations Approval. I’ve been arguing with the Fire Brigade about the need for asprinkler system. My neighbours claim that I should have obtained planningpermission for building the Ark in my garden because it is development of the siteeven though, in my view, it is a temporary structure. We had to go to the Secretary ofState for a decision. Then the Department of Transport demanded that a Bond wasset up to pay the future costs of moving the power lines and other overheadobstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. I told them that thesea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood wasanother problem, all the decent trees have Tree Preservation Orders on them and welive in a site of Special Scientific Interest set up in order to protect the Spotted Owl. Itried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls – butno go! When I started gathering the animals, the RSPCA sued me. They insisted that Iwas confining wild animals against their will, they argued the accommodation wastoo restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confinedspace. Then the County Council, the Environment Agency and the Rivers Authorityruled that I Could not build the Ark until they’d conducted an environmental impactstudy on your proposed flood. The Trade Unions say I can’t use my Sons, they insist Ihave to hire only GSCS accredited workers with “Ark building” experience. To makematters worse, Customs and Excise seized all my assets, claiming I’m trying to leavethe country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would takeat least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.”

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched acrossthe sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, “You mean you’re not going todestroy the World?”

“No” said the Lord. “The Government beat me to it.” Thanks Alan

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Christian Aid Count Your Blessings leaflets are available for the Lentperiod.

The Womens World Day of Prayer Book; Solihull Park’s event guide;Christian Holiday Book and, Magazines from other Churches, are allavailable on the back seat. Please check the notice boards for informationalso.At time of preparing this magazine I do not have a confirmed date, or anyother details of the Quiet morning, sorry.

Digbeth In The Field URC are showing Reel Issues on March 1st, 8th,and 15th, all details on notice board along with details of the new SynodOffice opening event.Happy St David’s Day to the Welsh members and Happy St Patrick’s Day tothe Irish members. Mary K

Christmas Card collection This amounted to £51 which was donated toSt.Basil’s thank you Pat for organising it.

Edward's TrustCaring for children and families during child illness and bereavement.

A Spring Concert At Dorridge Methodist Church14thMarch 2009 at 7.30 pm

FeaturingKNOWLE MALE VOICE CHOIR

Conductor » Derek SheldonWith

Paul Mocroft ~ Bass - BaritoneRose Rowley ~ Mezzo Soprano

Tom Henderson ~ Piano

Compered By DAVID VANN

TICKETS £6 ~ CONCESSIONS £5

Available from ~ Karen Pratt: 01564 778708 6

The Value of a SmileIn the February Magazine of Knowle Parish Church there is an article entitled“The value of a Smile”. It seems to be an anonymous poem, the wording is sovery true. Smiles are a wonderful form of communication between people.Lollipop Ladies and Men are blessed that we can smile and help everyone wemeet.

On the subject of communication there is an article in ALIVE magazine No39 by Ed Parker about the poverty trap in Tanzania. This article wasespecially good for us at Knowle URC as Ed was in Scouting at this churchfor several years, his Mom is Leader of our Monday Evening Beavers, andMary helps with the beavers too. Ed’s younger Brother James is now atSheffield University – he too has been a member of this church’s Scoutgroup. Beavers learn to pass smiles on to other people.

Kath Vale

Lord when I am having a bad day, help me to remember that it takes 42muscles to frown and only 28 to smile. Anon

Commitment for Life Prayer for MarchMany Waters – A Prayer of Thanksgiving For

safe, encircling waters inside a Mother’s womb,For fresh, renewing waters to make a desert bloomFor restful, quiet waters to sit beside the dream;For gurgling, laughing waters in moorland brook or stream;For high and mighty torrents in mountain waterfalls;For fierce, white-fanged sea waves held back by harbour walls;For gentle, cooling raindrops in a summer showerFor harnessed, channelled water generating power;For all creation’s waters to use in many ways,To share, conserve and cherish, we give God thanks and praise.

© Jean MortimerFunWhat kind of key does not open a door?How do fleas travel?What school subject are snakes interested in?Knock knock who’s there? Goat! Goat who? Answers elsewhere

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Birthday BoysIt would be ridiculous to askwhether Terry Dicker (below) isyounger or older than Graham Tall(left) – the answer is obvious!

But what is the difference inyears?

More interestingly Graham hasdemonstrated, hopefullyconvincingly that the cameranever lies! In fact, the photoshave been changed. So what has

been done to them?

The simplest one is Terry’s whereall that has been done is to lightenhis face – the rest of the picturebeing so light, that the camera cutthe exposure, made Terry’s facetoo dark.

The changes made to Graham’spicture are much greater – yes, thelight but what else?

Note, I decided NOT to makemyself slimmer – it would havebeen easy to knock off a couple ofstones. But, what changes were

made? Clues: Look at the hair,the eyebrows, the eyes, theteeth

and the jacket.

Incidentally the name on the cake wasalso made bigger!

Right: Photo of Irene Ramsay8

Marjorie and Jack Deakin

The loss of Marjorie on Fri 13th Feb, soon after the loss of Jack closes a dooron the early years of Knowle URC, or Knowle Congregational Church as itwas when they joined.

George Fairfield Marjorie’s great uncle was a member when the Knowle FreeChurch joined the Congregational Church. Jack was a Sunday school teacherfor many years – and the Church was full of children. The income from theSunday school helped pay for the present Hall. Jack became ChurchTreasurer and Marjorie did much of the secretarial work.

Even, when they gave up such major roles, Jack and Marjorie continued toplay a full part in Church activities. From attending socials to organisingcountry walks. As an aside – look at the expressions in the photograph above– as we all know now Marjorie suffered from Alzheime’rs. But Jack’s lovewas a protective umbrella and few, if any of us understood the extent ofMarjorie’s illness. Rest in Peace

Irene Ramsay (page 8) Whilst few people who have attended the Churchfor less than 15 or so years will recognise Irene, she was for many years aregular attender of the Wednesday services. Her husband Jim was a goodsupporter selling many raffle tickets. She died at the end of January. 9

Reminiscences of a Few Churches in New Zealand – November2008Following our retirement and Robert & Kate’s wedding in October, we flew tothe other side of the world. First stop was Australia to visit Alan’s brotherwho lives near Surfers Paradise and then to New Zealand to spend 3 weekstouring the north and south islands. There is so much to see that we onlyskimmed the surface but we feel we got the flavour of the country, itslandscape, its architecture, the flora and fauna and its people.We started in the north island with a trip to the Bay of Islands and specificallyto Russell (the first capital of NZ) and Waitangi, where the treaty between theEnglish and the Maori was signed in 1835. Traditionally the Maori worshipmany gods – as a Maori explained to us, whilst Christians worship one Godthrough many different denominations, the Maori worship many Godsthrough one denomination. However, whilst the old churches were built inthe “English” style, many Maori are Christians and newer churchesincorporate Maori influences in their design, in carvings and windows.We went to Christ Church in Russell, the oldestworking church in NZ Built in traditional woodenclapboard style, it is beautifully simple and still bearsthe scars of mortar fire when relations between theMaori and English were not so friendly.In complete contrast, we then visited the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

Auckland, started in the 1950s and completed in the early1990s. The foundation stone was brought from LichfieldCathedral. It is built in a modern gothic style, withamazing stained glass windows – 8 windows on one side inthe “English” style and opposite, 8 in the Maori style. It hasbeen cleverly designed to be easily adapted for religious andsecular use – platformsraised, seats moved, lighting andPA systems installed. But it is

first and foremost a church and you never losesight of that. Right next door is the firstcathedral church of St Mary’s, built in 1887 intraditional

10 Continued on page 11:

Continued from p10. wood. It was originally on the other side of the roadbut when the new cathedral was built it was jacked up and moved across theroad and the two buildings now sit side-by-side. The funeral service of SirEdmund Hillary took place in the old church just a year ago.

We moved south and stayed briefly in Napier on the east coast, amongst thevineyards of the Esk Valley Napier was almost destroyed in an earthquakeand subsequent fires in 1931. Within just 2 years the town had been rebuilt, amodern city in the style of the time – Art Deco. It is fascinating. Unfortunatelythe Waiapu Cathedral is not as interesting as many other buildings. However,it did have a series of plaques around the walls of different religious logos andtheir meanings and the leaflet about these is interesting. Lucilla’s article willbe concluded next month.

Let All The World In Every Corner SingAs a young man, George Herbert did not give much thought to God. But whenhe was thirty-six, he left the political rat-race of the court of King James I tobecome the rector of a country parish near Salisbury.One of Herbert's great joys was music. Twice a week he would walk intoSalisbury to play and sing with his friends at the cathedral.One day he stopped on the way to help a man whose horse had collapsed in themud under its load. The group of friends in Salisbury were surprised whenHerbert, usually so smart and clean, arrived 'so soiled and discomposed'. Onesaid he had 'disparaged himself by so dirty an employment'.Herbert replied that the thought of what he had done would be music to him atmidnight — and that the omission of it would have made discord in hisconscience. 1 am bound to practise what I pray for ... and 1 praise God for thisoccasion. Come, let's tune our instruments!'

Let all the world in every corner sing,My God and King! The heavens are not too high, His praise may thither fly;

The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow. Let all the world inevery corner sing, My God and King!

Let all the world in every corner sing,My God and King! The church with psalms must shout, No door can keepthem out; But above all, the heart Must bear the longest part. Let all the

world in every corner sing, My God and King!GEORGE HERBERT (1593-1632) 11

Congratulations to Claire GouldthorpClaire has received a call to her firstministerial post and will be ordained andinducted on Sat 13th June 2009. atShiregreen URC, Sheffield. S5 ONXwww.shiregreenurc.org.ukClaire is in her final year as anordinand at Queens College,Birmingham which means she hasspent the last 4 years training for theURC ministry. She spent her first 10weeks of her course at Digbeth-in-the-Field URC, when Claire gained her firsthands on experience of church ministrywhere she worked with Kevin.Shire Green URC church is small(anywhere between 5 and 25 can attend onSunday) but it is a church with a big

mission and vision for outreach in the council. They also have a full timechurch related community worker. My post is a 'special category’ onefocussing on the community. The church members are of a quite wide agerange and there are quite a few children associated with the church.Activities include Mums and Tots, elderly lunch clubs and children's clubs. Ithink its a challenging but exciting post and I'm really looking forward tostarting. Thank you for your continued prayers and support, I hope thatsome of you might be able to make it to my ordination on 13th June, I'll let youknow more details when I have them! Best Wishes ClaireLent continued:Third Session(5) Luke ch 22 v 39 to v 71 Mount of Olives; The Arrest; Peter’s Denial; andJesus before the Council(6) Luke ch 23 v 1 to v 43 Jesus before Pilate & Herod; The Sentence; and theCrucifixionFourth Session(7) Luke 23 v 44 to ch 24 v 12 The Death of Jesus; The Burial; and theResurrection(8) Luke ch 24 v 13 to v 53 The Walk to Emmaus and Jesus appears to hisDisciples12

A Journey through the Bible with Tiglath.14. Exodus Chapter 14 to 16.At the beginning of Chapter 14 God spoke to Moses and instructed him totell the Israelites to camp in difficult country near the Red Sea. Meanwhile, backin Egypt, there had been a change of heart. Pharaoh and his courtiers realisedthat in freeing the Israelites they had lost a very valuable source of free labour.All would not be lost if they could chase the Hebrews, recapture them andbring them back to Egypt.Read verses 5 to 20 to see what the Lord did when the Hebrews panicked at theapproach of the Egyptians. The Egyptians' six hundred chariots must haveterrified the Israelites. At this juncture Moses stretched his hand over the RedSea whose waters parted leaving a pathway. A wind dried this pathway andacross went the Israelites with a wall of water on either side of them.Without a thought, the Egyptians chased after them and, when they were farfrom land, Moses again stretched out his hand and the waters flowed back totheir usual place drowning Pharaoh and his army. The result of this famousepisode was that the Israelites put their faith in God and in his servant Moses, forthe time being, that is.Sure enough, it wasn't long before the people found something else togrumble about, and one could hardly blame them, as, thirsty and hot, theywere looking forward to obtaining a supply of water at a place called Marah.They found the water, but were unable to drink it, as it was so bitter. When theyasked Moses what they should drink he asked the Lord who told Moses to casta certain log into the pool to sweeten the water.

Chapter 15, verse 26 is a marvellous guide for Christians and the last partof the last sentence makes a wonderful text for a sermon – ‘for I the Lordam your healer’. As a footnote to this part of our journey, do read thewonderful poem that is Moses' song of triumph after the death of theEgyptians (Ch 15 vv 1-21). This work has been described as a fine example ofancient Semitic poetry.

Next month in our journey through Chapters 16 and 17 we shall discover howthe Lord provides food and drink for his people in one of the harshestenvironments in the world.

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Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance AssociationMostly due to the efforts of the late Marjorie Ashby, the “Birmingham AirRaids Remembrance Association” (BARRA) was founded in 2001.Marjorie firmly resolved that there should be a proper and fitting memorial tothe 2,317 Civilians killed by the enemy during the air raids on Birmingham inthe Second World War and that it should be placed in the city centre.

Many people who had lost relatives in the raids joined the Association, andthe fundraising began to get that monument. Two years ago, Marjorie’sdream was realised when the “Tree of Life” monument was erected by St.Martins Church in the Bullring. The sculptor was Lorenzo Quinn, the son ofAnthony Quinn the once famous Film Star.

The names of all of the 2,317 persons killed are on the base of the monumentfor all to see, and they will never be forgotten. The oldest was 91 the youngestonly 3 days old.

Thanks to the generosity of the Halcyon Gallery the getting of the monumentwas achieved much quicker than was thought possible and Marjorie lived longenough to take part in the unveiling.

The president of B.A.R.R.A. is Birmingham’s good friend Prof. Carl ChinnM.B.E. and the current Chairlady is Barbara Johnson, who can be contacted on0121 749 2009 by anyone who wishes to join and support the association,which meets every third Thursday of each month in the Irish Centre Digbeth at12.30 hrs.

May our loved ones rest in Heavenly Peace. Les Bridgewater St AndrewsChurch Chelmsley Wood

Les Bridgwater, St. AndrewsAnswers to Fun Q’s

A – A Monkey!A – They itch-hike! A- Hisstory!A – Goat to the door and find out!

Fact: The largest room in the world is the room for improvement!

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RotasVestry and Communion EldersMar 1st Mary KirwanMar 8th Sue BatemanMar 15th Stephenie TallMar 22nd Mike Robertson & Kath ValeMar 29th Mary KirwanApr 5th David Stewart

Door StewardsMar 1st Mary Kirwan & Chris SmithMar 8th Glenys Lamb & Jenny ScottMar 15th Ron & Mauvine SquireMar 22nd Brian & Jan RichardsonMar 29th Clive & Avril GriffithsApr 5th Christine Harfoot & Margaret Allan

Junior Church CrecheMar 1-29 (29th is MotheringSunday)

Judy Glenys/Phyllis

Lectionary ReadingsMar 1st Brian Richardson Mark1; 9-15 Gen 9; 8-17Mar 8th Jenny Bottomley Mark 8; 31-38 Gen 17; 1-7, 15-16Mar 15th Jenny Scott John 2; 13-22 Exodus 20;1-17Mar 22nd Judy Preece John 3; 14-21 Numbers 21;4-9Mar 29th Fiona Kellond John 12; 20-33 Jrmiah 31; 31-34Apr 5th Jan Richardson Mark 14; 1-15 Iasiah 50; 4-9

Flower RotaMar 1st Ian Rogerson (Donation)Mar 8th Christine HarfootMar 15th Edna GrimmettMar 22nd Glenys LambMar 29th Jenny Scott

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Church DiarySun Mar 1st 9.30 am Mr Martin Withers St David’s DayTue Mar 3rd 7.30 pm Lenten Bible Study in vestrySun Mar 8th 9.30 am Mr Ian Carnell

11.15 am Prayer FellowshipMon Mar 9th 7.30 pm Junior Church Meeting @ 210 Longdon RdTue Mar 10th 7.30 pm Lenten Bible Study in vestryWed Mar 11th 11.00 am Midweek Service

7.30 pm Annual Church MeetingSun Mar 15th 9.30 am Mr Ashton McIntoshTue Mar 17th 7.30 pm Lenten Bible Study in vestrySun Mar 22nd 9.30 am Rev Kevin Jones Mothering SundayTue Mar 24th 7.30 pm Lenten Bible Study in vestryWed Mar 25th 11.00 am Midweek ServiceSat Mar 28th 7.30 pm Church Social – Desert Island Discs

Clocks go forward one hour SunMar 29th 9.30 am Mr Alan Cotgreave PassionSun Apr 5th 9.30 am

Dates for your DiarySat Mar 14th 7.30 pm Spring Concert @ Dorridge Methodist Church, all

details elsewhere in Mag.Tues Mar 17th St Patrick’s DaySat Apr 4th 12 noon opening of NEW SYNOD OFFICE next to

Digbeth in the Field URC, details on notice board

Knowle URC and E-BayJust a short report to say the E-Bay project is making steady progress. A fewweeks ago, we had our second session of photographing and wrapping updonations. Since then, I've been grappling with the basics of PayPal and E-Bay. To keep things short, a batch of items are about to be listed on E-bay for5 or 7 day auction. Soon after the dust settles from that, we have an evenlarger batch of items ready to go to market.

I try to let everyone know what's going on by e-mail. If you haven't receivedthe e-mails and would like to, just drop me a line atterry.dicker@blueyonder.co.uk. Terry Dicker

Articles for April Magazine to be with Mary by March 15th please