Editor Mr R. Marriott Tel 428994 roger@rwmarriott.co.uk Copy for December/January magazine to Roger by 20th November please

70p

Inside this issue:

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH CLACTON-ON-SEA

PARISH MAGAZINE

OCT/NOV 2016

Page

Who’s Who at St. Pauls 2

Vicar David writes 3

Open Doors 4

Ada’s window on the world 5

Charity Boxes 7

MERF 8

Advent candles 9

Operation Christmas Child 10

Oct/Nov Calendars 14 & 15

1

Church of England Parish of St Paul

Clacton-on-Sea www.stpaulsclacton.co.uk

16

Our Diocesan newspaper, The Month, is distributed free to every parish in the diocese.

The Month includes Notice Board every other month, a pull-out supple-ment containing our Cycle of Prayer and Comings and Goings. Please see copies at the back of the church

2

NOVEMBER CALENDAR 1 2 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 7.30 p.m. Monthly Prayer Meeting - Church Rm. 2 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St. Paul’s Sparklers 7.30 p.m. After Eights 3 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. House group 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practice 6 SUNDAY 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (Third before Advent) 9.30 a.m. Morning Worship and Sunday Club 11.00 a.m. Holy Communion. 8 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 7.30 p.m. Finance & Fabric 12 Munnings Dr 9 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St. Paul’s Sparklers 2.30 p.m. Photo Club 7.30 p.m. Home Group 51 Lancaster Gdns 10 THURSDAY 7.15 p.m. Choir Practice 13 REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY (Second before Advent) 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. All Age Service & Sunday Club 10.55 a.m. Morning Prayer including Act of Remembrance at 11a.m. 14 MONDAY 10 - 11.30a.m. Womens’ World Day of Prayer Study Group 15 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 16 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St Pauls Sparklers 17 THURSDAY 7.15 p.m. Choir Practice 20 SUNDAY 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (Christ the King) 9.30 a.m. Morning Worship & Sunday Club 11.00 a.m. Holy Communion 22 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 7.30 p.m. P.C.C. Meeting 23 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St Pauls Sparklers 24 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. Home group 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practice 27 ADVENT SUNDAY 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. Holy Communion & Sunday Club 11.00 a.m. Morning Prayer 29 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel

15

3

Dear friends “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strength-ened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6&7) The Christian life starts with Jesus, it carries on with Jesus and it finishes with Jesus. It is all about Jesus. So the obvi-ous two questions to ask are 1) have we received Jesus as Lord? and 2) are we growing in him, being built up in him day by day? To ‘receive Jesus as Lord’, is the same as ‘being born again’, ‘entering the kingdom of God’ or ‘becoming a follower of Je-sus’. The bible uses these terms interchangeable to capture the idea of a change in status. I was a sinner outside of God’s plans but now I am forgiven and part of God’s plans. I was lost but now I am found, blind but now I can see. Receiving Christ Jesus is not something that happens to us automatical-ly. I can only receive that which I accept. Each of us then needs to come to Jesus with open and empty hands, ready to receive him, ready to accept him as the one in charge (Lord). Have you received him as Lord? To ‘continue to live’ captures the idea of something moving forward and not standing still. We don’t receive Christ and then just stop. The static Christian is an unhealthy one, in the same way as a plant that stops growing or producing leaves and fruit is an unhealthy one. Once we have received Jesus, we continue to live in him; we become his followers, disciples/learners of him. Learning happens in a number of settings, at home reading the bible or listening to a talk or having a conversation, in small group with other learners and at church on a Sunday. Are you growing in Jesus, being built up in him day by day? I hope that whatever our stage of life, we at St Paul’s can learn together and be rooted and built up in Jesus in the term ahead. With best wishes David

CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER 2 SUNDAY 8.00 a.m Holy Communion (Nineteenth after Trinity) 9.30 a.m MorningWorship & Sunday Club 11.00 a.m. Holy Communion 4 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 7.30 p.m. Monthly Prayer Mtg Church Rm 5 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St Paul’s Sparklers 7.30 p.m. After Eights 6 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. Home Group, 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practise 7 FRIDAY 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Church open to receive gifts to decorate for Harvest 8 SATURDAY 10.00 a.m. Deanery Conference at Alresford 3.30 p.m. Wedding Charlotte Gooding & Tony Vaughan 9 HARVEST SUNDAY 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (Twentieth after Trinity) 9.30 a.m. All Age Service 11.00 a.m Morning Prayer 12.30 p.m. Harvest Lunch 10 MONDAY 10.00 a.m. Women’s World Day of Prayer - Church Rm 11 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 12 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St Paul’s Sparklers 2.30 p.m. Photo Club 7.30 p.m. Home Group 11 Abigail Gdns 13 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. Home Group, 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practise 16 SUNDAY 8.00 a.m Holy Communion. (Twentyfirst after Trinity) 9.30 a.m Morning Worship & Sunday Club 11.00 a.m Holy Communion 18 TUESDAY 3.45 p.m. Rockets 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 18 WEDNESDAY 10.00 a.m. St Paul’s Sparklers 20 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. Home Group, 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practise 21 FRIDAY 10.30 a.m. Shorefields School Harvest 23 BIBLE SUNDAY 8.00 a.m Holy Communion 9.30 a.m. Holy Communion & Sunday Club 11.00 a.m. Morning Prayer 6.30 p.m. Deanery Praise, Brightlingsea 25 TUESDAY 6.45 p.m. Prayers in the Chapel 26 WEDNESDAY 7.30 p.m. Home Group 11 Abigail Gdns 27 THURSDAY 2.30 p.m. Home Group 55 Lancaster Gdns 7.15 p.m. Choir Practise 30 SUNDAY 8.00 a.m. Holy Communion (4th before Advent) 9.30 a.m. Morning Worship & Sunday Club

11.00 a.m. Morning Prayer

14

‘Bringing hope to the Middle East’

Thursday 6th October

St John’s Church Great Clacton

A speaker from open doors or Northern Iraque

Come and get the latest information and see the work being done

in the Christian camps

Tea and coffee will be served in St John’s Church Hall

from 10.30 am

followed by

Service with speaker and film clips in St John’s Church

at 11.00 am

followed by a Bring and Share Lunch

All are very welcome

4

13

Ada's Window on the World. Many of you may know that I have been unwell recently, spending a short time in hospital and recover-ing at home. What I have found interesting is how focused you be-come on the small details of your reduced view of the world . Instead of the every day hurly burly of daily life, the traffic noise, the supermarket sweep, the meeting and greeting at church every Sunday, suddenly you are reduced to a world , no bigger than the area of a hospital ward or initially your bedroom at home and then the whole house. You start to appreciate the things that slip by your thinking when busy and well. The kindness of a visit or a phone call of-fering friendship and support become incredibly important. You realise that humans are a social animal and loneliness is a negative emotion so that phone call, card or visit puts you back into the social place in society we unconsciously crave. I always think Jesus understood the need to support the sick and needy. The stories of him giving time and kind words to the unwell are many and coming back to today's overstretched NHS is the regret, that some nurses expressed to me, that they no longer have time to talk to patients which they all agree has a therapeutic value. The transition from hospital to home is an interesting one. In hospital you quickly adapt to hospital time, morning tea, wash, bed made, doctors round, coffee, lunch, visitors, tea, supper and , more visitors, or a quiet time before sleep. Hospitals are incredibly noisy busy places and there is always something go-ing on, if not necessarily with you.

5

EASY FUNDRAISING Fundraising that doesn’t cost YOU a penny if you shop online. Once set up, all it takes is ONE extra click. Help support St.PAUL’s when

shopping online via EASY FUNDRAISING with over 2,000 popular retail-

ers, including Amazon, John Lewis, M&S, Tesco Direct, Toys R Us…and

many, many more. If you, or anyone in your family, shop online, just sign up at

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/stpaulsclacton

We’ve now got 14 “easy fundraisers” signed up, and £18.66 has been raised (and banked) up to the end of June 2016. Since we started at the end of 2012, £201.55 has been raised for St. Paul’s simply by people shopping online (are you one of them?), so if you haven’t signed up yet, please do so today. Easy Fundraising was founded in 2005, as a free to use service for both supporters and causes. Unlike other loyalty and reward sites, there is no direct benefit to the users themselves – donations are made directly to the causes members choose to support.

12

ITEMS FOR THE MAGAZINE. If you are considering writing or sending me articles for the magazine. The following points are the current guidelines The three rules are that articles must meet one or more of the following criteria. 1. Church related (as in something going on at St Paul’s) 2. Faith building (as encouraging us to trust Jesus more, testimony etc.) 3. Advert (for something in the diocese, deanery, churches to-

gether or faith building). 4. If copy is sent via the e-mail text should be in .doc or .rtf formats and pictures .jpg You are very welcome to submit any item which conforms to these rules for publication. Thank you Roger (Editor continued

The lights don't go out until very late and you are woken early yet the day becomes routine very quickly and that routine gives a certain security. A patient needs security, as does the worried relative and that is where the church family becomes so im-portant. That phone call, card or hug can be what Jesus wanted from his followers, a kindness and an empathy for the person un-well and the family supporting them. Coming home can be very difficult and whilst most of us strive from arrival in hospital to get home, when we do we find our-selves without that routine and support network we have become used to. We are expected to work out our recovery without the comforting hospital environment where the parameters are clear. At home it is up to you; you are in danger of feeling alone Luckily I came hone during the end of the summer so could con-valesce in the garden, appreciating the heat on my face , the birds eating crazily from the feeders, reading and listening to good music. I worried that someone was having to do everything for me without complaint, but had to accept, that doing what the doctor ordered was the quickest way to get back to sharing the load. This is my second stage of spirituality when unwell. The first is realising why Jesus was caring for those unwell and why he com-manded us to, but also why humans have that spiritual level to be with God when listening to good music, seeing God at work through nature, or in the leaves of a good book. I am well on the way to recovery now but I would applaud you to take the time to ask, call, write, visit, or simply, and most im-portantly pray for anyone that we know is unwell and for the person or people supporting the patient through their illness. Jean and I would like to thank our church community fir the in-terest and care given during my illness Ada Cowie

6

In August we enjoyed a very happy garden party at the home of John and Margaret Bennett so sincere thanks to them and all the committee who did all the preparation. We were blessed with lovely weather. In September Robert Pearce came to talk to us about the Ealing a Comedies which was very nostalgic for all of us. It was also very tantalising as he showed glimpses of all the comedies such as Hue and Cry Pass-port to Pimlico, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob to name some of them. We hope Robert will come back and show us a complete film next year. Thankyou Robert it was a. Most enjoyable evening. Our next meeting on 5th October we shall be playing board games. And many thanks to Hazel who held a jumble sale and raised a welcome sum for our charities the Hospice and the Lifeboat. ST. PAUL’S CHURCH PHOTO CLUB The Church Photo Club met in Septem-ber and members brought along images that they had recently photographed. Positive criticism and helpful comments were given by members and help was available for any member experiencing any difficulties with camera usage etc. The Club will next be meeting on Wednesday 12th October at 2.30.p.m. in the Church Room, when members will bring along images on the theme of ‘Autumnal Colours’. This is a friendly informal club and any member of the Church Family who would like some advice etc. with their Digital Photography will be most welcome. Robert Pearce

11

AFTER EIGHTS REPORT

by Margaret Sparrow

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

1 - Fill a Shoebox Get an empty medium sized shoebox, wrap-ping the lid and box separately in colourful wrapping paper. Attach the appropriate boy/girl label, marking if your gift is for a boy or a girl. Select an age category 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14 and attach the label to the top of your shoebox. 2 - Fill with gifts Add a ‘wow’ item such as a doll, cuddly toy or deflated football with pump. Now fill your shoebox with a selection of fun toys, hygiene items and school supplies. See our Gift Sug-gestions below for more ideas. 3 - Make your shipping donation If you make your shipping donation online at Follow Your Box you can discover the desti-nation of your shoebox gift, gift by adding the barcode we send you to your shoebox. Simply donate £3 for each shoebox you pack to cover transportation costs. Or you can enclose cash or cheque (to Samaritan’s Purse) and place it in an envelope inside your shoe-box on top of the contents. Note: Follow your Box is only available when you pay online. 4 - Pray Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift. You can also include a personal note and photo of yourself or your group. Gift Suggestions Toys Include items that children will immediately embrace such as dolls or stuffed toys (with CE label), toy trucks, harmonica, yo-yo, skipping rope, ball, small puzzles etc. School Supplies Pens, pencils & sharpeners, crayons or felt pens, stamps & ink pad sets, writing pads or notebooks & paper, solar calculators, colouring & picture books etc. Hygiene Items Toothbrush and toothpaste, bars of wrapped soap, comb or hairbrush, flannel. Other Items Hat, cap, gloves or scarf, sunglasses, hair accessories, jewellery set, wind up torch, wrapped sweets (best-before-date must be at least March of the following year). Do Not Include Used or damaged items, war related items such as toy guns, play soldiers or knives; choco-late or other food items; liquids or lotions of any type including bubbles; medicines; hand-made or knitted stuffed toys; anything of a political, racial or religious nature; sharp ob-jects; glass containers, mirrors or fragile items; playing cards of the 4-suit variety; clothing other than as listed above.

See the Weekly news sheet for dates and times etc.

10

A seed has been planted - Let's make it grow together The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken out about creating a more just financial system to help millions of people who are struggling with money problems. Following successful pilot work in two regions, the plan is for a national roll out to tackle the issue head-on. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Mustard Seed Appeal is raising vital funds to make this happen. Mustard Seed Appeal & Harvest The Mustard Seed Appeal is picking up speed as we approach harvest. If you want to get involved you can download church harvest resources and fundraising resources for free on our website. www.cuf.org.uk/news/church-harvest-resources The Mustard Seed Appeal is aiming to support the 8 Million in this country who are in financial distress. Funds raised will provide essential financial services in local communities. Trained volunteers will give people the skills they need and somewhere to turn to receive help, sup-port, and advice. CHARITY BOXES It’s that time of the year when the various charity boxes you hold need to come in for their annual opening, so that any monies can be sent to the charities before Christmas. Please can you bring your boxes to church on any Sunday in Novem-ber, and the Sidesmen will present them with the offertory for that service. We aim to get your emptied box back to you by the following Sunday. If you don’t have a charity box, and would like to start donat-ing in this way, there are a selection of charity boxes on the table next to the font. Mary Pond Charity Box Administrator

7

Further information about the work of one of St Paul’s overseas charities What does the Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) do? MERF's Various Ministries MERF is engaged in serving Christ in His world. As an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer, it aims to serve where and how Christ leads. MERF seeks to encourage and strengthen the Church throughout the Middle East, North and East Africa, as well as Indonesia and Pakistan. Non-Christians are responding to the challenge of the Gospel of Christ. They are being dis-cipled by national Christians. Those in need are being helped spiritually and materially. The Lord Jesus Christ has raised up indigenous missionar-ies to serve Him in Arab and Muslim lands. Our ministries include: 1. Evangelistic Outreach MERF is moving forward with an indigenous God-centered outreach to all people in its sphere of ministry. This is to be carried out especially through the support of national evangelists and the use of the media such as radio, print, and internet. We seek to commend the gospel to our hearers by speaking the truth in love. MERF is reaching Muslims and others through gospel broadcasts, websites, and literature in the following lan-guages: Arabic (targeting 340 million in 22 nations), Farsi (reaching Iran, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan), Dinka and Nuer (South Sudan), Amharic and Oromo (Ethiopia), Somali (covering the Horn of Africa), as well as the five Indonesian languages: Javannese, Sundanese, Bugis, Makassar and Toraja. Preparations are underway for airing Gospel messages in the Urdu lan-guage of Pakistan. 2. Biblical Training MERF is discipling converts and church leaders by equipping those already knowledgeable in local language and culture. MERF provides solid biblical and theological instruction for leaders and potential leaders with specific programs and seminars. This training frequently employs pastors and teach-ers from English-speaking countries who provide short-term modules of

instruction. 8

3. Church Planting MERF is helping nationals build healthy and sound congregations where they are needed. This is always done in consultation with and under the supervision of an indigenous ecclesiastical body. We do not seek to form new denominations. MERF is helping expand the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through trained nationals working in Su-dan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Chad, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, the Arabian Gulf and Indonesia. 4. Diaconal Aid MERF reaches out with Christ's compassion for the suffering. Based on biblical principles, this work of mercy is exercised by a consistent ministry of word and deed (Gal. 6:10). In response to the command, "doing good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10), MERF is ready to serve the needs of God's people and others in the name of Christ. Such works of mercy are always administered by means of volunteers and under guidance of the local churches. We are careful to avoid the recipients' depend-ence on foreign aid.

ADVENT CANDLES Advent Sunday is on 27th No-vember 2016, when we begin a period of reflection before the advent (coming) of Christmas. The Advent Candles give us the opportunity to think, each week, about the coming Nativity through Hope (the Patriarchs), Peace (the Prophets), Joy (John the Baptist) and Love (Mary, the mother of Jesus) – culmi-nating in the Christ light on Christmas Day. My thanks to Mary Pond for providing the Advent Candles this year.

9