St. Mary’s Newsletter - November 2019

Transformation through

Jesus

Word for November - Taking God at His Word

Over the past month, I have been reading

a book “Taking God at his word”, written

by Kevin de Young. He is senior minister of

East Lasing Reformed church in Michigan,

USA, and a gifted communicator. His

penetrating analysis of the contemporary

American Church in his previous books

addresses UK issues as much as those in

the States. This book asks, “What does the

Bible teach about the Bible?” His purpose

is to “to get us fully, sincerely and

consistently” to understand the heart of

Psalm 119, which the author says is “to

love what God loves and delight in what he

says.”

Cont’d ...

At 138 pages, it’s a small book in which to tackle important questions about the Bible,

including; “ What do we believe about the Bible?”, “Can we trust it?”, “ Does it shape our lives

today, or have we moved on to embrace alternative sources of authority?” De Young never

claims to have all the answers. He is often forthright and willing to challenge common

assumptions, and he gives compelling answers to some of the questions. However, in a book

this size some issues are treated more thinly. When that is the case, the author supplies a

bibliography in the appendix (30 books in total) where the question can be considered in

more depth. But he is clear; only when we are sure about these things will we embrace

instead the conviction that it contains all that God has provided for our well-being, rather than

accepting grudgingly (or not at all) what the Bible teaches.

The final chapter, “Stick with the Scriptures” is brilliant. Here, amongst other things, he

addresses the role of Christian parents in teaching their children about the Bible, and the

faith that is revealed in the Bible. This is one area we all need help with.

This is a sort of book any Bible teacher would encourage their congregation to read. It

assists our understanding of the Bible's own authority, and why in our own generation a

return to a good “doctrine of scripture” matters. In some cases, some Christians are

confused about so many things. Kevin de Young helps us see some of the reasons why that is

the case, and points us to healthy solutions. May I encourage you to consider putting this

book on your Christmas present list or treating yourself to a copy. “Taking God at His Word”

will give you fresh confidence that the Bible really is worth knowing, trusting and loving.

Every blessing

The Rev'd Patches Chabala ,Team Vicar

2.

Our next Prayer Gathering will be on

Tuesday 12th November

at 7.30pm in the Beacon Room

Come along to pray as a Church family for Ferndown,

our church and world, and to praise the Lord for who

He is and all He’s done!

3.

Sunday 3rd November

9am Breakfast Church All through history God is faithful

9am & 10.45am Jesus is Lord! Under Lordship

3pm Service of Light

6.30pm Bonfire Worship in the Church Grounds

Sunday 10th November - Remembrance Sunday

9am Breakfast Church All through history God is faithful

9am & 10.45am Jesus is Lord! Sabbath

3pm Royal British Legion Remembrance Service

6.30pm God’s Power in Action

Sunday 17th November

9am Breakfast Church All through history God is faithful

9am & 10.45am Jesus is Lord! Forgiveness

6.30pm God’s Power in Action

Sunday 24th November

9am Breakfast Church All through history God is faithful

9am & 10.45am Jesus is Lord! No longer the same

6.30pm God’s Power in Action

A Month of Sundays - November

4.

Keys Amnesty

We are currently updating our records and in accordance with our

insurance requirements we need to have a comprehensive record of

key holders. Over time keys have been borrowed and not returned or recorded, and we need to rectify this.

If you have any keys for St. Mary’s, please contact Tracey via

tnicholls@stmarys-ferndown.org.uk by Monday 25th November. Your

cooperation in this matter is much appreciated. In addition if you

have old keys that are no longer valid, please hand them into the

office.

Sponsored Walk in aid of Simon & Sue Morgan’s work in Uganda

Six of us gathered to go on the sponsored walk on a beautiful warm, windless and sunny

Saturday morning to walk through the park and over Ferndown Common. After a prayer

together, we set off. We had so much rain over the weeks before that it turned into a

sponsored “splashathon”! By creeping around deep puddles on the path, and by sometimes

leaving the path and finding a dryer way over the heather, we completed the two hour talk.

With much splashing and lots of fun we returned to the church.

Sue Sanderson and Ray Forbes, who organised the walk, would like to thank those who took

part and those who sponsored us. To date we have raised £330, but we believe there is

more to come in. A big thank you to all who have given to support Simon & Sue’s work.

5.

My Grandad’s Day - First World War Story

My Grandad, Robert Nash (my mother’s father), was born in 1886 and passed away in 1985.

Just recently a story has come to light about one particular day of his life in the First World

War.

First of all a fellow officer nearby was blown off his horse by a shell. Next a soldier by his side

was killed by a bullet. Later in the day he went to get water to make a brew of tea. The water

was stored in two or three tanks of different sizes. The taller tank was almost empty, so he

bent down to get the water from the lower tank. As he did so, a sniper bullet hit the higher

tank in front of him. Had he been standing upright, he would certainly have been killed.

Later in the day as they were advancing on foot he saw another lot of soldiers in his regiment

some distance ahead. Suddenly one of them turned round and shouted “alright Bob, every-

thing will be all right”.

They marched on and on that day. Twice more the soldier said it and all the time my Grandad

thought “who is it? How does he know my name?”

Later on in the day they finally caught up with the other soldiers. When my Grandad asked

who had been calling his name and saying that everything would be alright, nobody had any

idea. Apparently later in his life he said not a day has gone by when he hasn’t thought about

this incident.

Three times that day my grandad was spared. And three times someone called out his name

saying everything would be alright. I believe the Lord himself was there in the battle. The

Bible says “I will never leave you or forsake you” (John 10:3). He calls His sheep by name

and the sheep hear His voice.

Derek Challis

Royal British Legion Service of Remembrance

Sunday 10th November at 3pm at St. Mary’s Church

Followed by refreshments at the Ferndown Royal British Legion.

All are welcome to attend.

6.

CAP Money Course on 5th, 12th and 19th November

There are still places available on the free CAP Money Course, to be held at the Turbary

Resource Centre (behind Hope Church off Corbin Avenue) from 7 to 9 pm on Tuesdays 5th,

12th and 19th November. This course is open to anyone who would like to improve their

money management and learn to live on a budget. Call Susan on 07866 692528 for details.

Turbary Resource Centre 9th Anniversary Open Afternoon

To celebrate our 9th Anniversary since the opening of the TRC by the then Mayor of Fern-

down, Cllr Jean Read, we are holding an open afternoon with tea and cake, for anyone who

would like to see the range of activities which we provide for the local community. Please just turn up between 2 and 5 pm. Derek Howshall, Chairman, The Bus Stop Club.

Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Shoe Box Appeal

Make a difference to a child affected by war and/or poverty this

Christmas. Leaflets with details about the appeal are now available from

the back of church. You can also buy a shoebox ready to fill from the

church office during the week (only 50p each). There are new

regulations over what can be put in the shoeboxes this year, so please make sure you read

the leaflet carefully.

Please bring your filled shoeboxes (with the completed

envelope inside with the processing fee) and leave it at

the back of church.

The boxes will be collected on Monday 11th November,

so the absolute deadline is Sunday 10th November.

Thank you.

7.

St. Mary’s Care Fund

Helping those in need

Did you know that St Mary’s has a fund to help those who are in immediate financial

hardship? Sometimes life is hard, and people just need a little financial help to get through a

difficult time. That’s where the Care Fund can help by providing an amount of money to help

with basic living essentials to cover short-term needs, or to assist with the purchase of a

small domestic item. Please note that the support offered is not intended to replace help

provided by Social Services.

Who can receive help? Anyone in need who lives locally or worships at St Mary’s. All requests will be considered in

confidence on an individual basis.

How do I apply for help?

Contact Sandy King in the church office who will pass your details onto the trustees of the

fund.

How can I support the Care Fund?

A small amount can make a big difference, so we welcome either one-off donations or, if you

feel able, regular donations by standing order. Please pick up a leaflet at the back of church

for information on how to give. Please note we do not wish people to reduce their regular

giving to St Mary’s in order to support the Care Fund.

Thank you for considering giving to this important work at St Mary’s.

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and

sisters of mine, you did for me”. Matthew 25:40

8.

Every Monday - 11.30am - 1.30pm in the Hall

Join us for an informal service followed by soup lunch, tea /coffee and cakes.

For more details contact the Office on 01202 897087

The Lighthouse Club

Saturday 9th November

2.00-4.00pm in the Hall

Join us for friendly chat, refreshments, games, craft and much more!

Ministry in Wool

Mondays (fortnightly)

4th & 18th November

10-11am in the Beacon Cafe

Do you enjoy knitting?

Come along and enjoy a time to knit and chat with others.

November dates for groups at St. Marys ...

Mothers’ Union

Thurs 7th November, 2 - 4pm in the Hall

Visitors welcome.

9.

Thursdays, 5.45 - 7pm (during term-time) in the Hall

A Christian youth club for children in school years 4,5 & 6

tuck shop, games, craft drama and much more!

For more information contact Emma Taylor (01202 989452)

Tuesdays (during term time) from 1.30 - 3pm In the Hall

A fun afternoon for toddlers and their mums/carers

with music time, toys and refreshments.

For more information contact

Ann Scouse on 01202 870332

Monday 11th November

9.15 - 10.45am in the Hall

Christian fun morning for pre-school children and their

parents/carers with crafts, music & refreshments

For more information contact Ann Scouse on 01202 870332

Thursdays, 7.15 - 8.30pm (during term-time) in the Hall

A Christian youth club for children in school years 7-13

tuck shop, games, craft drama and much more!

For more information contact Mike Orman (01202 959453)

10.

Some of you may know me as Lisa and Ian Caley’s daughter who was running around St.

Mary’s when I was no higher than most of your knees, sneaking biscuits, singing in the

Christmas choir, or up to mischief with a group of friends. Growing up in Christ is an amazing

experience which I am thankful for, and the endlessly growing church family have shown me

the love of Christ, through messy play, craft and stories from the Bible. However, I really

struggled understanding who Jesus really was. I knew he was born in a stable and performed

amazing miracles, but joining the dots between the stories in the Bible and living like a

Christian, I relied on my parent’s faith and passion for Christ to pull me through.

I’m all grown up now and have been through a few life-changing events. Within the space of

a few days, I was diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer, at aged 14, called SPEN, and my

best friend Sam passed away from a lifelong heart condition. I had just come back from

holiday in Spain and it was the first day of my GCSES, when I was diagnosed in an empty

children’s ward in Poole. I dropped my faith straight away. “Why God?” I screamed into my

pillow and cried whilst my Mum and a doctor tried to console me. How could God do this to

me? I lashed out at God, and really wanted to distance myself. All I had been told my whole

life felt like a lie. I thought that God didn’t love me; he didn’t care for me, so I stopped caring

for him. I had an operation in 2013. After I came around, my recovery made me helpless. I

was poked and prodded for a good week, struggled to breath, in pain, living off minerals and

morphine. People came and went: nurses, visitors, family. But I was stuck in a hospital bed.

I was given 4 weeks to recover and slowly made my way back to school. I was dropped into

the deep end and really struggled with school life; afraid and mis-understood. By the time I

got back, my peers had whizzed on with their learning and I was left behind. At the time, I

didn’t know anyone who had cancer except those kids on Children In Need. I had been given a

ball and chain that held me back, a label of “the cancer kid”, and no one knew how I felt. I

had heard rumours, that people thought I was lying because my hair wasn’t missing, or

because I had not had chemo/radio. But my health would never be the same with no spleen,

the common cold can knock me out. I’m constantly on antibiotics and antihistamines, going

for doctors’ appointments and check-ups, and I still do. My cancer friends and I call ourselves

either VIP NHS members or walking Pill Cabinets. Laughing with friends who had had cancer

really helped. We would compare scars and who had what treatment and we would talk about

the parts even our parents didn’t understand.

Have you got a story of what God is doing in your

life at the moment?

Read on for some testimonies of how God is at work in the lives of

people at St. Mary’s. Please let the Office know if you have

anything you would like to share. Thank You!

11.

My mental health declined over the next three years, when I had to finally drop out of Sixth

Form and be put behind again. I was given the opportunity to attend respite trips and events,

which really helped: this is where I gained my love for sailing! It was where I could be

understood and heard, appreciated and not treated with sympathy but like a normal human

being. Also I was lucky enough to find a girl with the same scar as me. It took a good few

years to get my mental and physical health back.

I was given the chance to redo 6th form, and started to succeed and gain new friends and

confidence in my self worth. Then the best thing happened to me: I got the equivalent of 3

A’s at A-level and was accepted onto Durham University’s Foundation Year. I packed my bags

and headed up north and threw myself into Uni life. I went to balls and fancy meals, rolled out

of bed and lived off a diet of pasta, got a few heavy hang overs from nights out in Newcastle,

and joined the sailing team.

I was walking back home when I saw a stand giving out free teas and coffees. It was the

Christian Union. They were doing a student service for freshers, so I took the leaflet and

headed to the event. This was the first time, I had stepped into a church in a while. I sat at

the back and listened to a sermon on psalm 121 “ My help comes from the lord ” which looks

at how he protects and cares for us. It really hit home. I was crying on my way-out when I

bumped into a group of volunteer students, who sat me down and gave another cup of tea,

and I explained to them why I was in tears over a simple sermon. They are some of my

closest friends at Uni and they invited me to their home group, where I met people who

accepted me. I started to attend church a little more. I gained a support group through people on my course, my sailing team, who have seen me looking like drowned cat and have

dragged me to a cold lake in the snow to train. But the most important one was the Christian

community. I gained confidence in the Bible, and started to see why the Bible mattered and

looked at my own tattered faith and little by little started taking steps towards Christ.

I now realise that I owe all of this to God and that he has been there all along even when I

denied his existence. I know as humans, we don’t take the intended path and make the wrong

decision, which takes us away from God. Personally, I had taken a massive detour and it took

me a move 275 miles away from home to get that into my head.

This is why I renewed my baptismal vows in the sea at Durley Chine on 8th September this

year. I want to take my own journey in Christ, not riding off my parents, or someone else’s

beliefs, but my own. I wanted to put my feet firmly on God’s path and live a life in him. I finally

realised that God loves and cares for and protects me, and he has given me so much.

In October I will have been 7 years in remission, a happy student who is doing a Politics

degree at a top university, a friend, a decent sailor but most importantly, I am a Christian, I am

a child of God.

Amelia Caley

12.

Saturday 16th November

at 8am in the Beacon Café

Speaker: Gareth Sherwood

Gareth ceased practicing medicine to work in Christian

Ministry and charity service full-time in 2007. Gareth is

passionate about building communities through caring,

fruitful and life-giving hope and vision. He loves to see

people transformed by the most perfect and divine person

who has walked the earth, Jesus Christ.

Gareth has worked as a doctor, schools worker, public

speaker, teacher and advisor in ethics on medical issues,

youth worker and church leader. He has also served with

several charities. He has broad experience in starting and

developing volunteer groups and charities. He remains a

credentialed ordained minister in the Elim Church.

Married with children, Gareth enjoys photography, films, reading, tinkering, problem-solving

and sport. Currently he is CEO of YMCA Bournemouth.

Come and listen to his incredible story of his faith journey.

Tickets £5 available from the Church Office.

13.

14.

23rd-24th May 2020

Wiston House, West Sussex

Love great music? Love you church family? Love

worshipping with others?

Join with over 25,000 Christians from across the UK and

beyond. Big Church Day Out is a place the wider church

gathers together, worshipping in the jaw-dropping

surroundings of the Wiston Estate and in the company of

some of the best artists in the world.

There are options to camp for the weekend, or go for a day. Please could you let the Office

know if you are interested in attending as a group from St. Mary’s? That way we can book as

a group and get a reduced price.

Individual ticket prices (if booked before 31.12.19):

One Day Weekend

Adult £41 £46

Students (18-25) &

Senior Citizens £39 £44

School years 1-13 £33 £38

Pre-school £5 £5

Under 1’s FREE FREE

Carers £8 £8

Family (2 x adults +

2 x school years 1-13) £147 £151

Additional child

(Family ticket only) £27 £32

Visit their website www.bigchurchdayout.com/south for more details.

More details and booking forms will be made available to those who express interest.

Sarah Pix

15.

St. Mary’s Christmas Services

Sunday 8th December

10.45am - Children’s Christmas Service

Sunday 15th December

4.30pm and 7pm

Carols by Candlelight

(followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Hall)

Tuesday 24th December (Christmas Eve)

3.30pm - Christingle

11pm - Midnight Communion

Wednesday 25th December (Christmas Day)

10.00am - All Age Service

11.15am - Holy Communion

Sunday 29th December

10.00am - New Year Celebration Service

Leaflets with details of all our Christmas services will be available from Sunday 17th November.

Christmas Flower Displays at St. Mary’s

If you would like to sponsor a window flower arrangement at

Christmas, please contact Ann Jones on 01202 875730 or bring

your donation to the Church Office. Thank you.

St Mary’s Church Contact Details

St Mary’s Church Office, Church Road, Ferndown, BH22 9EU

Tel: (01202) 897087

E-mail: office@stmarys-ferndown.org.uk

Website: www.stmarys-ferndown.org.uk

St Mary’s Prayer Link To send & receive prayer requests send an e-mail to prayerlink@stmarys-ferndown.org.uk

The next edition of Spotlight will be published

on Sunday 1st December 2019

St Mary’s Church Contacts

Rev. Sarah Pix Team Rector (01202) 890798 Day Off: Wednesday

Rev. Patches Chabala Team Vicar (01202) 895099 Day Off: Friday

Mike Orman Worship Pastor (01202) 959453 Day Off: Friday

Emma Taylor Children’s Pastor (01202) 989452 Day Off: Saturday

Lynne Rees Pastoral Care (01202) 871936 Day Off: Saturday

Co-ordinator

Tuesday 19th November at 2pm

in the Church Lounge

To sit in silence with others is unusual. It might seem a

waste of time when there is always so much we could be

doing. But to stop and rest - with others - in God’s

presence is never time wasted. It actually strengthens us

for the busyness of life.

Everyone is welcome.