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Church Services

Holy Communion

11.30am 1st Sunday of each month6.30pm 5th Sunday of each month

Informal, Contemporary Worship

10.00am each Sunday (breakfast from 9.45am)

Traditional, Choral-led Worship

11.30am each Sunday

Quieter Reflective Worship

6.30pm each Sunday

Holy Communion and Prayers for the Sick

10.00am each Wednesday• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We’ve been using the picture of a tree to help us think about our life together here – how ‘we, at St Johns, are to be like a rooted, mature, fruitful tree – with many branches where many birds can make nests.’ The ‘branches’ are the different ways in which we can reach out to and bless our community.

God calls us to be salty and light-filled Christians who are good news to those around us. The default position of any church – because we’re all human (!) – is to be insular and self-serving. So we must keep reminding each other of Archbishop William Temple’s words that: ‘the Church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members.’ We need to change our mind-set and think about church as an oasis – or a place where we are fed and watered – for the real work of living for Jesus in our homes, communities and work places. In other words the real work is done ‘out there’ and ‘in here’ is where we are equipped for that mission which Jesus has given each of us!

There’s a little phrase which comes to mind as I think and

VISIONParish Magazine of St John the Evangelist, Orangefield May/Jun/Jul/Aug 2016

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Men’s Breakfast

Seventeen men gathered in the Rectory on 16th April for a Men’s Breakfast. After a filled soda, some tea/coffee and a bit of chat, we listened to John Menagh (a Woodstock Road man) tell his faith story. It was inspiring and challenging to hear how God has and is working in John’s life.We also took time to discuss how we want future men’s gatherings to look. As a result, look out for another men’s breakfast in June and then a monthly programme of breakfasts and social events beginning in September.For more information, talk to Dan Livingstone, David Thomas or Ross Wilson.

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pray about the year ahead and it’s, ‘branch out’! As we are equipped and encouraged, let’s ‘branch out’ – as individuals and as a church – seeking to do all we can to reach out to and bless our community.

We thank God for the branches we already have here at St John’s. Our Scouts & Guides, Mothers Union, Bowling, Scottish country dancing and other clubs – all provide opportunities for different people to connect and belong. A lot of hard work and enthusiasm goes into running these groups and we thank those who volunteer their time there. And over the next months, we’ll be seeking to grow a number of ‘new’ branches here at St John’s, such as Men’s Ministry, Summer and Christmas Fairs, PrimeTimers (fun and fellowship for senior adults) and more. Read on and around for more details.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Summer & Christmas Fairs

A major community building and fund-raising initiative over recent years has been our ‘Summer’ car boot sale. For a number of reasons, we took a decision to try something different this year and so we will be holding a Summer and a Christmas Fair instead of a weekly car boot sale. Plans are advancing for our Summer Fair on Saturday June 18th from 11am to 3pm. All the usual elements of a traditional Summer fete or fair will be on display for the community’s enjoyment. Including plenty of Food - teas, coffees, tray bakes, sandwiches, a BBQ, a tuck shop with candyfloss and popcorn stations; Stalls – selling cakes, plants, bric-a-brac and more; Games & Activities – bouncy castles, balloon modelling, face painting, archery, a kids’ play area and more!

This will be a major focus for the church – we want to both bless our community through it and raise significant funds. So please mark this date in your diary – plan to come along and bring others – and do what you can to help pull this church event together. For more information, please ask any of the Summer Fair Planning Team: Duncan Corr; Greg Gilmour; Evelyn Jamison; Marian Kelly; Daniel Kinnear; Morag Kinnear; Barbara Lomas; Nicky McBride; Ross Wilson.

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PrimeTimers

Fun and fellowship for the over 60s – art & craft, music, quizzes, talks, games, chat, tea & cake, and much, much more! PrimeTimers takes place on the last Thursday in the month from 2pm to 4pm in the church halls and is for all seniors – come along and bring your friends. For more information, contact Rosemary & Norman on 028 9070 4296 or 07856000090.

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From the Registers

Christian Burials

1st March 2016

Frederick Brian HaffernHolywood Care Home

26th March 2016

Jean McConnellManna Grove

Thanksgiving for a Child

3rd April 2016

Emmet Alfred McGarveyHouston Park

Men’s Ministry, Summer and Christmas Fairs, and PrimeTimers are just three of the new branches we will be growing this year. How can you get involved and ‘branch out’? There is talk of another branch forming around craft and I’m keen that we offer a weekly parents and toddlers group in time,…. but we need ‘champions’ for these different branches – someone who will make them happen. So if you have a passion for something and you are willing to champion a branch…which will bless the church family and the community around us – a place where we can share life and faith – then let’s talk and together ‘branch out’!• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Confirmation Sunday, April 10th, 11.30am

We were delighted that Bishop Harold joined us for a Confirmation Service on Sunday April 10th. Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey when someone affirms the faith into which they were baptized and their intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by our Bishop. The Church also asks God to give each candidate power through the Holy Spirit to enable them to live in the way of Jesus. It is an exciting and significant milestone in our journey in faith in Christ! After the service, many gathered in the Church Halls for a light lunch – with popcorn and a chocolate fountain (!) – to celebrate with those being confirmed.

Bishop Harold Millar with Rev Ross Wilson celebrating with those who were confirmed on 10th April. [Credit: Daniel Kinnear]

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Please continue to pray God’s blessing on everyone who was confirmed and on their sponsors, family and friends. For Neve Armstrong, Harry Campbell, Caitlyn Irvine Graham, Emily & Harry Gregg, Anne Sergeant, David Thomas and Colin Irwin (Colin is from Willowfield Parish). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Dates For The Diary

May

Thu 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th: ‘Closer to God’, Choir Vestry, 7.30pmSun 15th: Pentecost SundayTue 17th: Mothers’ UnionSun 22nd: Trinity SundayThu 26th: PrimeTimers, Church Halls, 2pm

June

Mon 6th: Select Vestry, Choir Vestry, 7.15pmThu 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th: ‘Closer to God’, Choir Vestry, 7.30pmSat 18th: Summer Fair, 11am to 3pmSun 19th: ‘End of year’ invitational service for organisations and familiesThu 30th: PrimeTimers, Church Halls, 2pm• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Easter General Vestry Tuesday April 5th, 7.30pm

Our Easter General Vestry was held in the church on Tuesday April 5th at 7.30pm. The meeting was framed in the context of worship – to remind us that we are not just an organisation, but that we meet in God’s name and for His purposes. We listened to reports from the Rector – reflecting over the last ten months of Parish life together (since he and his family came to St John’s) and looking forward to what’s to come; and from the Treasurer – on the state of our

Mothers’ Union

The next meeting of the Mothers’ Union will be on Tuesday 17th May when we are having an outing to the Museum of Orange Heritage, Cregagh Road, Belfast. Our tour of the Exhibition is booked for 2.30pm. This will be followed by a salad tea. Total cost is £10 per person. Anyone who would like to join us for this occasion will be very welcome. If you require transport please speak to Marian or Margaret.There are no meetings during July or August but we hope to begin the winter session on Tuesday 20th September.

Anne• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Scottish Dancing

The Scottish Dancing Class does not meet during the summer but we hope to resume classes on Monday 12th September in the Kennedy Rooms. Anyone interested in joining will be very welcome.

Anne

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Sunday School

The older class were nearly all confirmed by the Bishop and the 9-11 year olds are mostly attending the 10.00 service, so it leaves the Sunday School at 11.30 with a few children aged between 3-8…we have been very busy looking at the story of Moses and the flight from Egypt, interrupted that to switch back to the New Testament as we came closer to Easter. Now we are back in the Old Testament, looking at the story of Joshua and the Walls of Jericho (and last week we made the Ark of the Covenant so we could better understand the story). Thanks to the people who come and help each Sunday as it needs more than one pair of hands when we are doing craft, especially with the younger ones….the picture overleaf is of our Arks of the Covenant and the 10 Commandments inside it.

church finances. We also elected people who will deal with the practical side of our church life for the following 12 months. Those elected are referred to as the Select Vestry:

Church Wardens: Rosemary Holmes, Kim Larmour; Glebe Wardens: Duncan Corr, Norman Holmes; Secretary: Rachel Thomas;Treasurer: Margaret Corr;Other Vestry members: Pat Dench, Greg Gilmour, Evelyn

Jamison, Wes Johnston, Bob Kane, Barbara Lomas, Jean Matchett, June Moore, Helen Newell and Kay Taylor.

Please pray for our new Select Vestry. And thank-you to Sylvia Clarke, Bill Ferguson, Naomi Kerr and Maureen Bell who are stepping down from Vestry this year.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Band News

It’s hard to believe this is the 8th month the band has been playing at the 10.00am service. I’m sure you will agree having Emma and her flute join us for the last few weeks is rather special. Dave is eager to give some light relief so you will have the pleasure of his expert keyboard playing, beginning of May.

The band played at the 11.30 services in church for Mothering Sunday in March and Confirmation in April. Lovely comments from the 11.30 crowd about the music are much appreciated. It affirms that ‘new’ songs can be enjoyed alongside the familiar hymns of the past.

I thought it would be informative to clarify who’s who in the band and what instruments we play.

Let’s start with the ladies. Gwen plays saxophone and has her own quartet that performs in senior citizens’ residences. Emma plays flute. She is a doctor and isn’t always available on Sunday morning due to her schedule. Nicky is a good singer and guitarist and married to Gwen. Greg handles the guitar like a pro and is a classically trained singer. Glen is a particularly good drummer and bass guitar player. Both he and Greg have been good friends for some time. I [Jean] am the keyboard player. It’s inspiring to be with these guys for they are truly amazing.

L Jean Matchett • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Sunday School craft: The Ark of the Covenant

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Flower List

May

1st In memory of Brian8th & 15th Mrs Kelly22nd & 29th For Jenna and Andrew

June

5th Vacant12th & 19th In memory of Garth26th Vacant

July

3rd & 10th In memory of Jack & Ruby Houston17th Mrs Flower24th & 31st Miss McConnell

August

7th & 14th Mrs Clarke21st & 28th Mrs McCaugherty

September

4th & 11th Mrs Hill• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Guiding in St John’s

The Rainbow numbers continue to grow (currently 27) and without the help of parents who act as Unit Helpers we could not continue to function…it’s a nice problem, but a problem none the less! The Rainbows enjoyed their Easter craft and baking and the Easter Egg hunt which took them all over the church grounds. Our theme for the summer term is Animals in children’s literature….so we’ve Toad of Toad Hall and his friends and Pooh and his friends and Fantastic Mr Fox to look forward to. As ever, we couldn’t run the Rainbows without the help of our guide helpers…Caitlyn, Sophie and Josie and also a former Ranger (Caitlyn) who is helping as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award.

The Brownies have also reached capacity and now have a waiting list for next September. They have enjoyed Easter craft and baking and have recently completed their Firefighter badge….visiting a fire station and learning first hand how they work. They have also just completed the Lorne Walk…5 mile walk along the coast from Crawfordsburn to Lorne…pictures in next month’s magazine. Half the money raised goes to Lorne and half to the unit, so it is a good day out and a great fund raiser.

The Guides have had a series of challenge evenings to see how quickly they can solve situations and a large gap was exposed in their knowledge of First Aid, so it has become an area we need to look at perhaps for next year….Badge work for the season has finished and so we are looking at as many outdoor activities as we can find for the summer term within the time span of a Thursday night….compass work and knots (how many ways can you tie a knot?...) Camp has been fixed for the end of September, although an overnight camp at Lorne is being checked out at the moment. Most of the guides are new to ‘proper’ camping so we are looking forward to doing ‘the tent thing’ fairly soon. We suffer from open nights in school and school trips away as we near Easter and then the P7 trips after Easter…so we often don’t have all 18 guides…averaging 14 each night. With the influx of new Brownies in September and only 1 leaving guides for Rangers, we are looking at forming a 5th patrol…negotiations are in hand!!!• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Scouts

Over the last two months our Troop has been very busy, starting with a visit from the guide dogs for the Beavers and Squirrels. The Beavers were doing the Disability Awareness Badge, learning about how people live with different disabilities.

Soon after, a group of our Cubs went to the Northern Ireland Cub Quiz Finals in Londonderry and got joint 3rd place out of 21 teams!

Next up our Cubs went on a camp in the Mournes before the Easter break. We made woggles, rolled eggs and built shelters. We stayed in an old gaslight cottage with coal fires. Outside we had a fire to roast marshmallows and had hot chocolate.

Our Beavers have started the gardening badge, planting different types of seeds and watering them each week. Some have started to sprout already! If anyone would like to see the progress of the plants they are in the greenhouse at the back of the church grounds, beside the Blue Scouts container.

We have lots of things coming up including camps for the Scouts and the Ardnavalley sponsored walk for Beavers and Cubs. If you are interested in a young person joining any section or helping out please contact a section leader (details on the back page).

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Who’s Who

Rector Rev Ross Wilson 9070 4493Secretary of Select Vestry Rachel Thomas 07734 847092Parish Treasurer Margaret Corr 9070 4294St John’s Organist Anna Quigley 9029 6361Rector’s Churchwarden Rosemary Holmes 9070 4296People’s Churchwarden Kim Larmour 07941 662303Rector’s Glebewarden Duncan Corr 9070 4294People’s Glebewarden Norman Holmes 9070 4296

T: 028 9070 4493E: office@stjohnsorangefield.org W: www.stjohnsorangefield.org

St John’s Orangefield Church of Ireland 397 Castlereagh Road Belfast BT5 6AB

Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland: NIC 102380

Organisations

Monday Squirrels 4–6 years 6.15 – 7.30 p.m. Beavers 6–8 years 6.15 – 7.30 p.m. Contact Ellen Doble 07717 817514 or Daniel Kinnear 07742 220226 Scottish Country Dancing 7.45 – 9.45 p.m.Tuesday Choir Practice 7.30 p.m. Contact Anna Quigley 9029 6361 Mothers’ Union (3rd Tuesday) 2.30 p.m. Contact Anne Neill 9079 2969 Pilates Sessions 7.30 – 8.30 p.m. Contact Kathy McFarland 9022 9477 Rangers 14 plus years 7.30 – 9.00 p.m. Contact Barbara Lomas 07720 896271Wednesday Indoor Bowling Club 7.30 p.m. Contact Duncan Corr 07719 219235Thursday Rainbow Guides 4–7 years 6.30 – 7.30 p.m. Contact Lynn Patterson 07736 776786 Brownie Guides 7–10 years 7.00 – 8.30 p.m. Contact Pauline Nannary 07850 424945 Guides 10–14 years 7.30 – 9.00 p.m. Contact Barbara Lomas 07720 896271 or Ann Hunter 07805 457494Friday Cub Scouts 8–11 years 6.15 – 8.15 p.m. Contact Daniel Kinnear 07742 220226 or Michael Croft 07549 298478 Scouts 11–14 years 7.45 – 10.00 p.m. Contact Matt Lamb 07519 426038 or Peter Gordon 07854 329474 Explorers 14 plus years 7.45 – 10.00 p.m. Contact Jonathan Kinnear 07972 479795Children and young people are very welcome and involved in church services on a Sunday also. At the 10am, worshipping and craft making take place alongside the rest of the family and at 11.30am a Sunday School coincides with the service.Please contact Barbara Lomas 07720 896271 or Greg Gilmour 07790 628747 re Sunday School and Greg Gilmour or Sonia Wilson 07955 508941 to find out more about the 10am service and youth work.