West Street News

September 2012

350 Years

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West Street News

September 2012

THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCHWest Street, Dorking

A Church with a Welcome

and a

Clear Christian Message

We are so glad that you have picked up this magazine

Our Church Community is made up of people of all age groups who come from different walks of life. The diversity is fascinating. This being so, we have sought to develop the life of the Church, so that as many different needs as possible are catered for.

Here you can come to worship God.Here you can meet with Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the Church – because He lives in the

hearts of His people.Here you can find companionship and build

lasting friendships – and so much more.

The opportunities for children and young people are particularly good at West Street

Our Minister and Elders are available to help you.

An Emergency Prayer Chain operates for anyone who feels they need prayer for any reason.

See the Weekly Leaflet, or ask for a WELCOME PACK, or visit our website on www.dorkingurc.org.uk for more details

of our life and work

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MINISTER’S LETTER

When London won the Olympic games for 2012 in 2005 Seb Coe said it would be an amazing experience for the country, but I think few of us understood what he meant by that. As I write we are in the middle of the Olympics with the Para Olympics still to come and already we can see what a wonderful experience it is. I am sure many of us have been moved to tears as British sports men and women have given of their best in a variety of sports for Team GB. I keep asking myself what makes it so emotional? I don’t know the people taking part and normally would not be that interested in some of the sports represented. It is probably a combination of things. The fact that the games are in this country means the crowd is so strongly British, it makes us feel part of it, we know what the athletes have gone through for that moment and how much it means to them, it touches a national pride within us, gives us a spirit of togetherness. Maybe you have got some other ideas, but it is definitely a unique experience for the country and something very precious.

When the cycle race came to Dorking, Churches Together organised a few refreshments for stewards and the public. Members from the churches took out Bacon Butties and drinks to the Stewards who lined the route through Dorking. Their response to this simple act of kindness was overwhelming, they were just so positive that anyone bothered about them. One of them said to me on the Sunday “it was the talk of the camp site last night”. I wondered how often anything the churches have done has ever been the ‘talk of the camp site’. It made me question how we treat other people and what opportunities there are to offer people hospitality and welcome to the stranger in our midst.

With that in mind I can see why Street Pastors make such impact, because that is exactly what they do, offer a little kindness to people on the streets. Churches Together has been investigating the possibility of introducing Street Pastors to Dorking and we are now well on in the planning stage. Hopefully in the autumn people will be invited to a launch

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meeting and then we will see if we have enough volunteers to undertake the training and start ministering in this way. Please pray for this initiative.

I am sure there is a lot we can learn from the Olympic Games experience, the commitment and perseverance that the athletes show is a challenge to us in our life of faith. The spirit of the games reflects so much of what is in the Christian faith that we need to recover, it gives us a glimpse of what God intended the world to be; people working and sharing together. May it inspire us and make us more committed in our walk of faith, aim for the Kingdom of God, seek His will, His purpose and play our part in Team J.C.

God bless Peter

Many of you will have read Ted's articles on the Lay Preaching Course he did; from September we have a student, who is doing that course, serve her placement at our church. Joanne Patel comes from Banstead United Reformed Church and from time to time will be involved in leading worship. We do extend a warm welcome to Jo and pray that her time with us will be blessed

GOMSHALL

David Beard sends his apologies for not submitting his usual report for Gomshall, but would like to remind all that ‘Bright Hour’ is at the usual time, 2.30 p.m., on the third Wednesday in the month in the Chapel. The Harvest Tea will be on Saturday, 6th October at the usual time and the Harvest Celebration will be in the Chapel, at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday 7th

October to be followed with a Fellowship Lunch at the ‘Compasses’ to which all are invited.

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JUNIOR CHURCH REPORT – SEPT 2012

Each week a fantastic team of committed Leaders go out with the young people of our church to lead them in their departments of Junior Church.

These very dedicated Leaders challenge and lead the youth of our Church in following a pre-prepared lesson plan involving many activities and fun based learning about the life and times of Jesus and stories in the Bible. The themes are based on the lectionary with the use of the ‘Roots’ resources.

Over the past year we have started to meet in the main hall as one group incorporating the SHARX & KIPPERS (5 -11 years), as unfortunately attendance has dropped, fluctuating between 2 to 8 in any one week.

Our NEWTS (0-4 years) group is growing slowly with an average of 4 each week, as we have welcomed new family members and friends to our Fellowship; they play and enjoy each other’s company.

Meeting in close proximity enables the children to move freely between the Roy Currie room and the Hall which helps with transition.

Our year began with the summer project of Noah which provided a great visual understanding of a favourite Bible story always enjoyed by the younger members of the Church.

In December we joined together with visitors to prepare and perform the annual Children’s Musical Nativity, which is always a good time to dress up. Sue Yeomans kindly led this and has agreed to help us again this year. Our annual Epiphany Party had to be delayed until the 5th February, when we all had great fun – adults included!

We also took part in the marathon recital of King James’ Bible and arranged a tree adorned with crackers and baubles incorporating all the members in Junior Church for the Festival

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of Christmas Trees, and we have supported many of the 350 years’ celebrations, including a Junior Church entry in the Flower Festival.

Recently in July, we enjoyed the Family Fun Day which was an occasion for us to have Breakfast (cooked by the Scouts), to share worship, have a picnic lunch, a walk and evening celebration service together with many other members of the Church. It is important to get to know the young people in the Church and to share their interests, and make them feel an important part of the congregation and empower them to get to know Jesus.

Our young people always love to be involved in the service by performing, reading, dancing, playing music or in any way that can be suggested.

New leaders are always welcome to help either on a regular basis or ad-hoc and occasional, to help make it possible for regular Leaders to have the opportunity to get into Church more often. Just let Judi or Pauline know if you feel you can help.

We would love to boost the numbers of our Junior Church, so please do not hesitate to mention our ‘Junior Church’ to a young relative, neighbour, friend or just someone you may meet?

Judi Currie – Junior Church Coordinator

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING EFFORT! A Message from the URC Finance Office

WHY THE EFFORT HAS BEEN WORTH IT

Just as Olympic athletes have made tremendous efforts, so individuals and churches in England, Scotland and Wales have been outstanding in their hard work to continue funding the ministry and mission of The United Reformed Church.

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ALL of the URC Ministerial and Church Related Community Workers’ stipends, as well as the costs of their training and that of Lay Preachers, come from the money that churches generously gift to the Ministry and Mission Fund every year.

Mission is what the Church is all about. As well as the local mission that individual churches undertake, their gifts to the Ministry and Mission Fund help fund projects that make an incredible difference to individuals across the world and are instrumental in helping to build the Kingdom.

This is what one Minister said after visiting the URC Youth Assembly in 2012 organised by FURY. “It was exhilarating to spend a day with URC young people who care really deeply about their faith and the kingdom”.

Alison Gibbs is a URC mission partner working in Mwenzo Girls’ School in North Zambia. She has been instrumental in transforming a failing school. Alison’s post is funded by the Council for World Mission of which the URC is an active contributing partner.

The URC Mission Team works with the whole Church to give expression to our mission and faith in ways which bring alive the vision of ‘being Christ’s people, transformed by the gospel, making a difference to the world.’ The Mission Team helps equip churches for mission and evangelism. Its work also includes seeking to give expression to peace and justice aspects of faith at the interface of Church and Society, striving for the unity of God’s people by working with other churches and the wider community and promoting intercultural and interfaith understanding.Thank you for the part that you play in helping fund this work!

MINISTRY & MISSION FUND

The challenge:

Over the past few years the cost of providing stipendiary ministry has continued to increase. However, total giving to

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the Ministry and Mission Fund has fallen. Whereas in 2008 income covered M & M expenditure. Taking 2008 as a base of 100%, the projection for 2012 is income 96% and expenditure 119%.

It is only if giving increases that the current level of ministry can be maintained.

The above is an abridged version of the leaflet issued by the Finance Office. You can pick up a copy of the leaflet from an envelope clipped to the Notices Board next the serving hatch in the Main Hall or you can go online to www.urc.org.uk/finance.html where you will find the leaflet under Stewardship.

Treasurer’s note: Our Synod Area Treasurer uses a common formula to calculate how much each church should contribute annually to the Ministry and Mission Fund. Dorking invariably meets the requested contribution.

Submitted by David Young

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MISSION

Did you know that

* a young carer is described as a child or young person (up to the age of 18) whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or a long-term illness?

* often this is a parent who is physically disabled or affected by a mental condition. Or it may be that the young carer has a role in caring for a sibling who is so affected.

* due to their caring role the life of the young carer is frequently disrupted often with physical and emotional results.

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Did you know that young carers are at possible risk of

* difficulty in attending school or finding time or energy to do homework

* disorders including stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders and self-harm

* lack of time and opportunities to socialise as a result of caring responsibilities

* lack of material wellbeing * physical injury from moving and lifting of the person

receiving care* poor educational and employment outcomes as a result of

caring?

Did you know that nationally: * there are an estimated 750,000 young carers in the UK.* 27% of young carers (aged 11–15) miss school or

experience educational difficulties.* 68% of young carers are bullied and feel isolated in

schools.* 13,000 of the UK’s young carers care for over 50 hours a

week?

Did you know that locally:

* in Mole Valley it is estimated that there are 200 young carers

* only a small proportion of these receive support* current supporting bodies have not the capacity to reach

more* Mid-Surrey Young Carers, a local charity providing such

support, closed earlier this year?

In short, the plight of young carers is a significant social need which needs addressing. As part of our commitment to show Jesus’ Love to the local community we are hoping to respond to this need by instigating a new initiative called My Time. This will involve organising monthly activity clubs and special outings. We hope to start the clubs next January, but before

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then a considerable amount of work has to be undertaken, including the recruiting of volunteer drivers and activity leaders from inside and outside the church.

If you are interested in hearing more about this initiative or wish to be involved please contact me.

Ted Bellingham, Mission Chaplain

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TRAIDCRAFT

The Traidcraft Team would like to say a big thank you to all who continue to support Traidcraft throughout the year. We have had a consistent sale of goods every month with an increase around Christmas and Easter with all those special products that are on sale around those times.

There has been an increased interest from other members of the community and also on the Saturday coffee mornings where several items are sold almost every time this event is held.

Taken from one of the recent Traidcraft leaflets .......’a message we often hear from the producers. Selling a product for a ‘Fairtrade’ price and being treated as an equal partner can transform the life of someone trapped in poverty. Also being mindful of how and where the food we buy is produced.

- Mindful of what we buy and where it comes from.- Mindful that our choice can make a real contribution to

peoples’ wellbeing. ‘-Please continue to support Traidcraft’s work

.

Derek, Rosemary and Jennifer Morrison

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CONCERT – KEEPING THE HEAT ON

As part of our 350th birthday celebrations, we have invited Chris Stanbury to perform an evening in concert on the evening of Friday 21 September.  

Chris, who hails from Banstead, is a well-known performer on the

organ and keyboard circuit throughout the country.   His concert programme consists of all styles of music and caters for all tastes, from classical through to jazz and to pop.    This will be Chris's second visit to our church, having performed in a charity concert four years ago.

As well as his stage work which started in 2001, Chris has completed his Bachelor of Music degree from the London College of Music obtaining Honours and will now be going ahead with his Master's Degree.   Aside from studying at the college, he also teaches keyboards and piano there part-time having successfully passed his own Fellowship diploma (FLCM) in June.

The Concert will commence at 7.30 p.m. and admission will be £10 at the door. Proceeds will be passed to the church for the Heating Fund.

For further information, please contact Michael Foulston –m.foulston@btinternet.com –

Tel: 01306 882126

Michael Foulston

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SATURDAY LIVING ROOM

Since the decoration and refurbishment of our lovely living room, I considered this was the ideal place to be opened up and used more often. Therefore I felt I could offer some time on a Saturday morning to open up once a month to friends from church and the community.

Following our first Saturday opening at the end of January we have continued to open up at least once a month and serve teas, coffees, juice and a regular order for a hot chocolate for a Dad and son who wait for big sister who is attending her weekly phoenix ballet class. We have a Mum drop by who is pleased to come in for a drink and well earned rest whilst waiting for her daughter who attends a later class. Visitors to the town for various reasons have found us from West Street and all have commented on the lovely surroundings and many are interested to hear what is happening in West Street.

We have used the morning to display a few Traidcraft products for sale and there has been a good deal of interest in these, especially around Christmas and Easter.

Ideally it is best that there are two people available for the morning, it is lovely to have company and secondly it can be difficult making the drinks, selling Traidcraft and chatting at the same time. Some people are happy to drop in, have a coffee and just read their paper whether they are waiting to collect someone or have arranged to meet a friend.

I would like to thank everyone who has kindly helped get this up and running, you all know who you are. I appreciate your support, and if there is anyone else out there who would like to help occasionally or open on an another Saturday -.I realise many of us lead busy lives – and feel you have a few hours to spare, please put your name on the rota in the main hall, and help spread the word to others in the wider community and let them see what a caring, welcoming church we are.

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Since January we have received £50.10 in donations from the coffee morning and at Traidcraft coffee mornings since taking this over. I have decided to give this towards Motor Neuron Disease. I have a good friend who was previously a work colleague. Unfortunately she has developed this debilitating disease and in three years is now in a wheelchair and at present struggling to use her hands and is unable to text and requires help with drinking and eating. Sally is a very strong Christian with a great personality; she has had to deal with so many issues relating to this disease but never complains. It would be lovely if you could take time to think and pray for Sally, her husband and two daughters aged 18 and 14.for the precious times they have together. I plan to send on the donations at the end of the year to Motor Neuron Disease.

In September (date to be arranged) I hope to run a coffee morning and it would be lovely if we could provide a few cakes/ tray bakes to serve with our drinks and a helper would be very much appreciated.

Once again many thanks for your donations and support.

Rosemary Morrison

WOMEN’S OWN

The programme for the remainder of the year has been prepared and if you would like to have a copy, please contact Doreen Howes. A warm welcome is extended to all

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WELLFARE

Arrangements for next year’s visit to the BMK School in Uganda are going well. Twelve members and friends of the Church will be travelling to the school next July and will be staying for two weeks. Most of this time will be spent at the school teaching and interacting with the children. As we did last year we hope to include a two day safari as well as a rest day and some souvenir shopping.

While we are at the school we hope to see the dairy farm with five cows producing milk and manure for compost. It is anticipated that the farm will make a profit of £3000 a year which is a considerable income for the school. We will also make use of the playground equipment constructed by East African Playgrounds. A reporter from the Dorking Advertiser is due to visit the school so watch this space for more publicity in the Advertiser.

The church has been supporting the BMK School since May 2006 and our achievements to date have been remarkable. Our financial contributions have both met a desperate need and demonstrated the willingness of a Christian church to freely give. The teachers, pupils and their families, not whom are all Christians, experience Jesus’ Love each time they attend school, or drink from the safe water supply or even when they use the latrines. Dealing with the African culture and approach to life and trying to effectively communicate over 4000 miles is never easy, but whenever frustrations arise we take comfort in the knowledge that we are playing our part in bringing His light to all nations.

Ted & Jane Bellingham

Things turn out best for the person that makes the best of the way things turn out. (JC)

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MONTHLY MESSY CHURCH

We are continuing to welcome new people every month, and over the past three months we have welcomed another 20 new faces into our Messy Church Fellowship. We have an active ‘Messy Church Family’ ranging from 6 weeks to 87 years old.

After 3 years of organisation by just one or two people, to help keep fresh and spread the load a little from September we propose to form a 'management group/committee' to organise and support the monthly Messy Church and any activities coming  through it. If you would be willing to be a part of that, your help would be very welcome – as little or as much as you can do - whether it be on the Register, communication, promotion, planning, ideas, catering, celebration, finance or just your support and enthusiasm would be great!

At Messy we are constantly reaching out into the local community offering fellowship & worship in a more modern format from that provided on a Sunday.

We meet on the first Wednesday - every month from 3.30 – 6.00p.m. The next dates are September 5th. October 3rd, November 7th, December 5th, January 2nd.

We would like to remind everybody that this is not just an event for children but an opportunity for all ages to come together for fellowship to talk and share with others who choose to visit the Church here at West Street.

If you are unable to come yourself, please be sure to promote Messy Church to all those people you come into contact with - we assume everyone knows about it - but many do not necessarily do so!!

Judi.

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CHURCH FAMILY NEWS

We have been delighted that June Chapman, Harold Ward and Ingram Whittingham became members of our church this quarter. We warmly welcome them into membership.

June, and Harold’s admission to membership took place in our church. However, as Ingram was unable to move around easily, a small group of us (Cecely Anniss, Judith Flint, Rhona Howell, Pauline Selley and I) went along to Ingram’s service of admission to membership which Peter Flint led at the Deepdene Care Centre in July. Judith sang Amazing Grace most beautifully and Ingram gave a very gracious thank-you speech. We are grateful to Deepdene for the tea they kindly provided at this memorable occasion.

(As this report is being prepared, in mid-August, we have received the very sad news that Ingram has died. He had been in hospital for about three weeks and had recently celebrated his 95th birthday. We pray for God’s blessing on Ingram’s family and friends and especially his close friend Cecely, as they mourn their loss at this time.)

We are also sorry to report two further deaths – that of Gordon Grisswood, a regular attendee at Open Doors, and Dorothy Whitelock. Dorothy had been associated with our church since she was a child and became a member in 1996. She lived for most of her life in Myrtle Road and regularly attended Sunday worship and Open Doors, as well as participating in many other church activities. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gordon’s wife,, Mavis, , and Dorothy and Gordon’s families and close friends.

On a happier note, this quarter has seen many wedding anniversaries, and birthdays and a wedding.. We celebrate two special wedding anniversaries in particular – David and Jenny Langford’s 30th and Roger and Katherine Walker’s silver anniversary. We also celebrate a special birthday – Roger Howell has attained the age of 80. Congratulations to Adam

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Quincey and Ria Perry who were married on 24th August at Caterham URC. They will be living in Tilgate, Crawley.We are delighted that so many of our young people have excelled in their examinations this summer, graduating with honours degrees: Jonathan Flint (Film Production from University of Creative Arts, Farnham), Emma Mason (Geography, Royal Holloway University of London), Calum Roger (Psychology, Leicester University), Euan Roger (a Masters in History from Royal Holloway University of London), Peter Walker (History and Politics, University of East Anglia).

Our church family takes in not only church members and regular attendees at our services (including the monthly evening service at Chapel Court), but also all those who participate in regular activities run by members and attendees, such as Open Doors, Women’s Own and Small Fry. Within this church family we have had special concern for members who have been unwell over the last three months, including Daphne Etheridge, Wilma Firth, Pat Griggs, Betty Mann, Maureen Simpson, Barbara Skilton, Tom Smail , Barbara Smith and Joan Tennant. We are delighted that Wilma Firrith, Joyce Lee, Joyce McColl and John Wakefield have recently returned home after spells in hospital and that Doreen Skelton has received good news on the health front.

We especially try to support members of the church family who move into a care home. At present, Cecely Anniss, Heather Bradshaw, Patricia Somerville and Betty Swaddling are living at Nower Care, Harold Carrington at Stanecroft; Connie Major at Pinehurst, and Mary Barnes and Margarite Kerr at the Deepdene Care Centre. If you are passing any of these homes, do drop by and see if any of these friends would welcome a visit.

Please pass on to me any church family news for the next issue. Perhaps you or your team have notched up successes in the world of sport here in Dorking this summer which you would like to share?

Marion Shoard,18

Pastoral Administrator

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A CHILD'S VIEW OF THUNDERSTORMS

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning. The mother of the

little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school. She also feared the electrical storm might harm her child. Full of concern, the mother got into her car and quickly drove along the route to her child's school. As she did, she saw her little girl walking along the path. At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile. More lightning followed quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and called, "What are you doing?" The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture

May God bless you today and every day as you face the  storms that come your way

 Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so . . . Love the people who treat you right. Pray for those who don't

(Submitted by Val Longhurst from an item sent from America by her penfriend)

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THE PASTORAL GROUP SYSTEM

Over the last few months, the pastoral support system at our church has changed. The old system of ‘contacts’ and ‘visitors’ has been replaced with one involving pastoral groups. Jane Bellingham, who devised the system, divided up the membership into twelve groups, each containing about ten members, including a facilitator. Jane has stepped down and I have taken on the administration of our pastoral system for the time being.

The new system builds on two familiar models. One is that of the church resembling a body, as put forward in 1 Corinthians, 12 – in other words, the church is made up of a diversity of individuals, each of whom is not only unique but can contribute to the body something which is utterly different and distinctive. Because nobody’s contribution can be exactly replicated by anybody else, each part of the body depends on all the other parts; translated to a pastoral group, this means that mutual support is key.

The second model familiar within the United Reformed Church involves elected elders being responsible for pastoral support in their local church. For many years at West Street each elder had a list of individuals to whom he or she offered pastoral care. Today, the facilitator of each of our pastoral groups is a serving or non-serving elder and is the fall-back, being ultimately responsible for the pastoral care of everybody in the group.

But the beauty of the group structure is that it allows for far more help than one person could ever provide. It provides mini-communities within the church in which individuals come into contact who perhaps would never otherwise have done so. What’s more, because we are all different and can offer entirely different things, the group system allows for a much greater range of types of help.

For example, supposing somebody is under the weather and housebound for a while, one member of the group might offer

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to provide practical help, such as walking the person’s dog occasionally; another might visit and take a meal with them for the person to share; another might go and, say, play Scrabble with the person or take some craft activity which both could enjoy; still others might provide a lift for the Scrabble player. The possibilities are, of course, endless.

This sort of mutual support has already begun to arise spontaneously within our groups. Thus when Pauline Selley’s group met, Linda Mitchell and Joan Tennant discovered that they live close to one another and Linda has been calling round to see Joan and picking up shopping for her.

There are many different ways in which groups could operate and each group will find its own way of working. Some will decide to include a religious element in each meeting; others will run as purely social occasions. Some will meet fairly often perhaps around a table in the main hall after Sunday-morning church; others will hold longer, less frequent meetings perhaps in the church living room or at the home of one of the group’s members (including a care home, subject to agreement by everybody concerned). Some will start meetings with an ‘ice-breaker’, others not. Don’t forget to celebrate too – as Paul said to the Corinthians, “If one part of the Body is praised, all the other parts share its happiness”.

The responsibility of the pastoral administrator is to support the groups and make sure that everybody who wishes to be a member of a group can be. This means that I shall try to fit newcomers into whichever group they would like to join and help to adjust the membership of groups if it is not quite right at the moment.

I shall also circulate ideas which are emerging about how the groups might operate. For instance, Tom Blamey has put forward the idea of ‘phone pals’: two individuals within a group (or within the church as a whole) agree to phone each other regularly, perhaps to share some of the happy events of their lives but also to talk over difficulties; these sort of short, frequent conversations can be especially helpful for people

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who live alone. In addition, I can circulate any back-up information facilitators or group members tell me they would consider useful, such as the best means of reaching local hospitals and care homes by public transport.

Do keep me posted on what is happening in the groups, so that we can share ideas and experiences.

Marion ShoardPastoral Administrator

Tel: 01306 881601Email: marion@marionshoard.co.uk

NOTES

The photographs for the front and back pages of this issue were provided by Mike Shaw and Mike Wheller. The front cover (MS) shows our ‘mascot ornament’ which is in the church garden and was kindly donated by Hazel Durham. The back cover pictures are of the Men’s Peloton in West Street (MW) and Bradley Wiggins (MS) rounding Pump Corner

Copy for the next issue of WSN is required by Sunday 18th November 2012 or before

Thanks go to Maureen Flood for ‘proof-reading’ and Doreen Howes for her assistance in the final collating of this issue

Produced by Val Longhurst

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LADIES OPEN HOME GROUP

In July we tried a different venue for our Open Home Meeting. Usually we arrange to meet up once a month in each other’s homes and enjoy a chat with refreshments. At first, being a summer meeting it was thought that perhaps we could have an ‘outdoor’ venue, but with the July weather being so unpredictable it was decided that we would ‘try out’ the Living Room at the church and if we were lucky perhaps a gentle stroll around the local area would be possible. Unfortunately, the 11th July was not a good day so the latter part of our plans did not take place. Having said that, I must say how successful it was to make use of the Living Room and it was felt that it would enable those who would like to ‘host’ a meeting but feel they have not quite enough room in their own homes, to carry out this at the church.

If anyone is interested in joining us at any time, we would welcome you – the details are always printed in the weekly leaflet the Sunday prior to the meeting, which is held on the second Wednesday of the month (apart from August).

‘Refreshment Time’Val Longhurst

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‘BUY A CHAIR!’ - ‘Are you sitting comfortably?’ Then I will begin …

We have all talked at length about the disadvantages of the existing green plastic chairs in the hall. The answer from a lot of people is that ‘No, I am not sitting comfortably!’ At the last church meeting, members approved the purchase of a new style chair that ticked all these boxes: Non-slide and stable, comfortable, supportive, some with arms and some without, but linkable, fabric covered but capable of cleaning by removing the seats, stackable, with a trolley available, suitable and attractive for purpose. The preferred fabric colour is mid/dark oatmeal which is considered to offer maximum flexibility for present and future décor and less vulnerable to showing dirt.

It would be lovely if church finances allowed the purchase of a large number of chairs in one order. As we know, this is not possible, given the cost of the heating work that is currently underway. Members and friends are therefore invited to buy one or more chairs for the sum of £50 each. This includes the VAT and also allows for a share of the cost of a trolley. Wouldn’t it be nice if this time next year, we could have phased out the old chairs and be sitting comfortably on the new! David Young, the Treasurer would be pleased to receive your donations, marked ‘Chair’. With thanks,

The FM&D Committee

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OLYMPIC CYLING ROAD RACES

The weekend of 28th and 29th July saw the Olympic Men’s and Women’s Cycle Road Races come through Dorking and, with Churches Together in Dorking, we were at the forefront providing refreshments and toilet

facilities for the crowds at the event. Despite being up until after midnight the previous evening for the Opening Ceremony, the helpers were at their posts at the crack of dawn. By 7 o’clock on Saturday Team DURC was in the town supplying bacon rolls and drinks to the stewards, to their great delight and much appreciation. Following this a steady flow of customers enjoyed tea, coffee and cold water. It was a perfect day of sunshine and light breeze, so the garden was full of people enjoying themselves. Just before the arrival of the cyclists, the police motor cycles and support vehicles came through with the policemen obviously enjoying themselves as much as the crowd, waving and playing tunes on their sirens. The leading group of a dozen or so competitors came by in a flash followed by the main pack. The Council had placed a television ‘pod’ in the garden so everyone was able to follow their progress around Box Hill on the screen.

On the following day the weather was not so kind for the Women’s Race and a monsoon-like rain fell. However, West Street played host to families in the garden and children were well entertained in the hall. On discovering there were vegetarians amongst the stewards, cheese rolls were added to the menu in addition to bacon, so that all tastes were catered for. The stewards were so appreciative of the friendship and kindness they had received that they had a ‘whip round’ at the end of the day, which they donated to the Church. They said they had not experienced such generosity at any of the other events they had attended and West Street had been the talk of their campsite the previous evening. Despite the inclement weather a Silver Medal was won for Britain which was the icing on the cake for the weekend.

Mary Mitchell26

I went to watch water polo and tennis matches. The organisation

was impressive; the javelin train, the security (those sun tans were a stark

reminder of other duties), the clean and accessible facilities, and the exquisite

flowers at the Olympic Park. The sport was exciting, and being amongst a crowd of supporters was an absolutely amazing experience. What was truly unforgettable was the atmosphere created by the Games Makers we encountered. As the hosts of the party they were responsible for the happy, friendly ambience that made being there such tremendous fun. As one commentator wrote – ‘the Games Makers deserve gold medals for making London 2012 such a success.

Janet Ayling

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On the Saturday morning, I was in Dorking High Street with Chris, Sarah and Daniel and watched the Men’s Cycle Race round Pump Corner. So three generations of the ‘Shaw’ family watched an Olympic event together, something that we can now tell Daniel about when he is older.

Mike Shaw

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My sister Isabel and I watched the bike races on TV and then as they came close to West Street we ventured out in the sunshine to the top of Station Road, standing opposite ‘The Star’ on the raised grass verge that provided a good view of the frontrunners. We also climbed onto the railings and took colour photographs with our mobiles. 

Renate McLennan

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The Quincey family brushed with the Olympics in several ways this summer. We played a very small part in the Torch Relay by acting as stewards and puppet maker as it made its way through Godstone High Street. The whole village came to a standstill as literally thousands of people came from far and wide to see the torch. This included Grace and Steve Williams who visited from Witney for the occasion. It was wonderful to see whole families joining together to be a part of this historic event.

Our last family outing before Adam’s marriage was to the Olympic Closing Ceremony and we were amazed at the organisation and scale of the project. It was a wonderful event shaped by the good nature of so many volunteers on our way to the stadium. Fortunately Adam and Simon could keep us informed of some of the artistes that we weren’t sure about. Paula couldn’t believe that you could have a musical extravaganza without Cliff Richard and Elton John and John, (only John), would have liked a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan but over all we had a fantastic time. Of course the real stars were the athletes! We couldn’t actually see Anna Langford performing, but we found her name in the Official Programme.

We all came away very tired but feeling that we had been part of history in the making.

WE WERE THERE!John and Paula Quincey

* * * * * * * * *

Jane and I had friends to stay for Saturday's race, so it was bacon butties at 7a.m. to be at the side of the A24 by 8 a.m. We secured a front row place by the corner into Mickleham village and savoured both the racing and the remarkable atmosphere of the event.  After the eighth circuit it was a dash home to see the finish and share the tinge of disappointment at the lack of Team GB medals.  

Ted Bellingham

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As my daughter and family walked home after watching the Men's Olympic Cycle race at Milton Court Lane with me, they came across a very lonely "Marshall" at the Vincent Lane traffic lights. This was at 14.30 when all the excitement was long gone but the road was still closed. My daughter asked him if he was okay and how long had he been on duty. I arrived at 4.15 a.m. this morning was his reply and he would be able to leave at 16.15 p.m. when the roads were re-opened. Jenny asked if he had had anything to eat to which he replied – ‘oh yes! – a lovely bacon buttie that someone from the church up the road brought me!’ So, I hope whoever took that “buttie” to a very deserving Marshall will read this and know the impression that might have made to that man – maybe a “soul saved by a bacon buttie!”

God will have been working in his own mysterious way through these wonderful Olympics, won’t he?

Hazel Durham

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The Torch Relay was our first “excitement” - Ben with his Mum, Nan, Grandad and Uncle Joe gathered to share the fun and excitement of the arrival of the torch. At first the noise was a little loud but we did get used to the sirens, horns and whistles.

When we left to go to London we were amazed that the train was 'chock-a-bloc' (like a London Underground train in rush hour) people had travelled down the line to Dorking from as far away as Worcester Park 

With Fran's parents from Sheffield visiting us for the weekend, eight of us, standing just north of the Cockerel on the A24 watched both the Men and Women’s cycle races as they sped through Dorking.

On the Saturday we joined with the hoard of spectators on Meadowbank, a wonderful family occasion blessed with

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beautiful sunshine, opportunity for picnic, ice cream and just a relaxing time!

We were very disappointed not to get tickets for the events in London, but enjoyed the brilliant BBC coverage, from opening to closing ceremony. We are extremely proud to be British, also very appreciative of this wonderful area in which we live - didn't it look great on TV for the world to see?

Joe also caught a glimpse of the Mens’ Marathon event in London with a view point near Buckingham Palace, so we consider between us we were lucky to witness 'one of the first' and 'one of the last events'.

'The Curries'* * * * * * * *

OUR OLYMPIC ADVENTURE

Our adventure began way back in June when Geoff was asked to make a replica of the Olympic Torch for the ’Going for Gold’ Flower Festival in the church. Little did we realise what an important part it would take in our Olympic journey.

Living on Box Hill meant that we were very involved with the Cycle Road Races and we were privileged to be able to see the cyclists pass the end of our road nine times. With this in mind we decided to invite family to stay for the weekend in order that they could enjoy it with us. Our Canadian daughter-in-law got up early on the Saturday morning in order to paint a Maple Leaf on the road over which the cyclists would travel, only to be spotted by a policeman who wondered what she was doing! As soon as he realised she was Canadian and what she was doing he let her carry on unhindered – much to her relief. This symbol was one amongst many – and dwarfed by some – most of them British, but many other names and symbols also appeared.

We managed to get front row viewing thanks to the younger set going up early and grabbing space, and there was a real carnival atmosphere with the crowds, stewards and police all

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embracing the occasion. Flags and bunting were everywhere with some families having erected scaffolding in their gardens in order to get a good view.

Between the circuits there was at least a 20 minute interval, so people were mingling and chatting to each other whatever languages were being spoken, and just before the first lap the replica Olympic torch came into its own! For some unknown reason, Geoff took it upon himself to run up and down the road with the torch held high, as though he was an official Olympic Torch Bearer. Well, the crowds roared and clapped and shouted ‘more’ – so he did – another lap was done. A video was made of this by our daughter-in-law (I think it has been sent off to Canada! – a small charge for charity will be made for viewing it if you’re interested). The torch was subsequently handed on to a neighbour’s son who spent the rest of the day parading it up and down the road, and he even took it to bed with him! Shortly after, Lynn spotted Martin Johnson walking towards her (ex England Rugby Captain and Coach) and thought she must have a photo taken with him to show Geoff. Well, she just about came up to his armpits and someone should definitely teach him how to smile – but Lynn smiled wide enough for both of them!

We also hosted friends from Canada who were the parents of one of the girls in the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team. We even excused them when their team beat ours in the quarter final stages! After cruelly being beaten in the last 119th minute of their game against the USA they had to lift themselves up and face France in the bronze medal play-offs and won in similar fashion completely against the run of play. We were invited up to Canada House to watch the medal ceremony and mingled with athletes and officials all in their Maple Leaf Shirts and tops and even acquired Canadian mementos for our Canadian daughter-in-law.

All-in-all our Olympic fortnight was hectic, yet wonderful and will be long remembered for a whole variety of reasons.

Geoff and Lynn Price31

DORKING ALLOTMENT HOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

5TH ANNUAL MOLE VALLEY SQUASH & PUMPKIN SHOW 2012

Calling all gardeners and artists DAHA

is pleased to announce a wonderful celebration of

colour and form

Copyright – Renate MacLennan

Venue:United Reformed Church

West Street Dorking

Saturday 13 OctoberOpening Times 1 pm to 5 pm

This year’s category

’Pumpkins of the Caribbean 5’

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Copyright Renate MacLennan