Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Catalyst
THE MAGAZINE OF HAYES
FREE CHURCH (U.R.C.)
November 2017
HAYES FREE CHURCH
111, Pickhurst Lane, Hayes, Kent BR2 7HU
Sunday Services. 10.30 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.
We are a member of the United Reformed Church. We believe in Justice and Peace.
Principal Contacts
Interim Moderator: Mrs Hilary Miles
Church Secretary: Mrs Mavis Righini Tel: 020 8462 1168
Treasurer: Mr. Simon Narracott Tel: 020 8462 2004
Lettings Secretary: Mrs Undine Connolly Tel: 020 8776 0108
Church Website www.hayesfreechurch.com
Church Magazine Catalyst
Editor: Miss Christine Rees catalysthfc
@btinternet.com
Contents :
Church Secretary’s Letter 1 The Church in China (Bible Soc) 9
Sunday Services 2 Chartwell Cancer Trust 9
Church Notices 3-5 St Andrew of Scotland 10
Subscriptions 2018 5 Food Bank latest needs 11
Christmas Fair/ Card Sale 6&8 Stop Press 11
Christmas Tree Festival 7&8 Calendar 12
November in Wartime 8 HFC Organisations inside back cover
Final Thought - back cover
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copy for December 2017/ January 2018 (single issue) is needed by Sunday 12th November – and even earlier if at all possible. The editor is very grateful if you would submit items in good time.
You can leave copy in the "R" Pigeon Hole for Christine to collect; hand it directly to her, or e-mail it to [email protected] Thank you.
Editor’s note: throughout this magazine, the following abbreviations are standardly used:
URC (United Reformed Church); HFC (Hayes Free Church);
CTiH (Churches Together in Hayes).
- 1 -
Letter from the Church Secretary
Dear All,
How I love this time of year – not too hot, not too cold, and all the wonderful colours of the leaves. What an amazing Creator we have. Autumn colours are glorious. How different things would look if God had created just evergreen trees, though even these have subtle variations.
I realise that to some people autumn is not such a happy time. The leaves turn brown and have to be swept up. Winter follows autumn, which can for some folk mean long, cold, dark nights lie ahead.
I try to be positive and say if time flies then it won’t be long until spring bursts forth. We are so fortunate with our changing seasons; no wonder weather is one of our main topics of conversation – we do get so much variety. How very different things would be if God had no imagination.
So let us rejoice in God’s variety. His handiwork is all around us. Let us give thanks to our Almighty Father, the Creator of our beautiful world.
With Christian love to you all,
Mavis
- 2 -
Sunday Services
November 2017
5th 10.30 am - Morning Service – Derek Woodcraft
6.30 pm - Holy Communion – Judy Davies
12th 10.30 am – Remembrance Sunday,
Parade Service: 3rd and 4th Hayes Guides
6.30 pm – Evening Service – Duncan Wilson
19th 10.30 am - Morning Service – Tony Russell
6.30 pm –Evening Service – Sonia Weston
26th 10.30 am - Morning Service – TBA
6.30 pm – Evening Service -TBA
Evening services will take place in the Elders’ Vestry, which is accessed from the side door in Hilldown Road.
Notes on Preachers
Derek Woodcraft comes from a church in Biggin Hill.
Judy Davies is a Synod Recognized Lay Preacher from Bromley URC (Widmore Road), where she is also Church Secretary.
Duncan Wilson recently received the church’s endorsement of his application to start training as a Lay Preacher.
Sonia Weston is the Secretary of St Andrew’s URC, Brockley.
Tony Russell is a non-serving Elder of Hayes Free Church. He was Church Secretary for some years, and later was Church Treasurer.
- 3 -
Church Meetings
NB The next Church meeting will be at 12.00 noon on Sunday 26th November, in the church following the morning service.
The next two Elders’ meetings will be at 7.00 pm in the small hall on Tuesdays 7th November and 5th December.
Women's Contact Group: 6th November
We will be meeting for our monthly meal at the Warren Sports Ground, Hayes, at 12.30 pm on Monday 6th November. The Warren is accessed by car from Croydon Road (address: Croydon Road, Hayes, BR2 7AL) or on foot from the junction of Warren Road and Holland Way. All ladies are welcome. Sylvia Mack
Men's Group: 16th November
The Men’s Group will meet on Thursday 16th November at 8pm in the Small Hall for a Music Quiz, organised by Chris Fitzgerald. Note: this is a departure from the published programme - as most in this group will already know, as the October and November events have been swapped.
The Tuesday Friendship Group:
All are welcome at the meetings of this group, which will be held in the small hall at 2.00pm on Tuesdays, finishing at about 3.30pm. The November programme is: 7th Nov Gill Bran – the Arctic Circle 14th Nov Handicrafts – something made in the past 21st Nov Gentle exercises with Pat Marshall 28th Nov The Tootswood Singers entertain
Members who use the Mini-Ambulance service are asked to phone Sylvia Mack on 8462 1938 by 9.00 am on any Tuesday that they are unable to come to a meeting. Please come along for a pleasant afternoon. We have a very varied programme with plenty to interest everyone. Wendy Smith
Churches Together in Hayes Quiz Evening Thank you to everyone who supported the quiz night. A cheque has been sent to St. Christopher’s for £750.00 in memory of Father David. Alistair Wilson.
- 4 -
Hayes Mothers' & Toddlers' Club: Fridays
We welcome all babies and children under school age, accompanied by their parents, grandparents or carers, to our club on Friday afternoons between 2 and 4pm in term time. The fee is £1 per family - tea, squash and biscuits are provided. This is a time when adults can meet up, while the children in their care are busy playing with toys and activities in the company of other children. Wendy Smith
Messy Church: 22nd November
This meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month in the church from 3.30 - 4.30 pm, and children from 2 to 12 years are welcome.
Saturday Fellowship: 4th November
We usually meet on the first Saturday of each month. This month we will meet on Saturday 4th November at 2.30pm in Barbara’s house, for a talk on Aspects of Prayer. The speaker is Mrs Gill Baldwin. The group’s leader is Martin Nunn and you are welcome to join us.
Book Club: 1st November
We meet on the first Wednesday of every month at 2.00pm in the Small Hall. This month’s meeting will be on Wednesday 1st November.
The Fairtrade Stall
The Fairtrade stall will now be held once a month (please note this change from the past), on the 2nd Sunday, just after the morning service. The stall is near the refreshments trolley. Do pop by to see what we have for sale. The items range from snacks and breakfast foods through to greetings cards – and this month there will be some Christmas items too. We also have a new catalogue which you can take home to browse through. We look forward to seeing you. Richard and Barbara
Singles’ Lunches
Anyone living alone is welcome to our Singles Lunches, which will be held at the Warren, starting at 12.30pm (for details of the location see the Women’s Contact Group notice on p3). These are held approximately monthly, so following a lunch at the very end of October, the next one will be held on Sunday 3rd December. More information from Joan Smith.
- 5 -
Top of the Pew
The final of the 2017 contest will take place on Friday 17th November at Emmanuel Church, West Wickham at 8pm. At time of publication one of the semi-finals has yet to take place, but it is known that the other finalist will be St Barnabas’ Church.
Notice Sheets
If you have an item for inclusion on the Notice Sheet on a particular Sunday in November, please contact the relevant person below, by the date shown:
By Tuesday 31st Oct for Sunday 5th Nov: Joan Smith 8462 3920
By Tuesday 7th Nov for Sunday 12th Nov: Pamela Collison 8658 0748
By Tuesday 14th Nov for Sunday 19th Nov: Pamela Collison 8658 0748
By Tuesday 21st Nov for Sunday 26th Nov: Brenda Cordingley 8462 3867
By Tuesday 28th Nov for Sunday 3rd Dec: Brenda Cordingley 8462 3867
Ministry of Flowers
Thank you to Mavis and her helpers for their weekly choice and arrangement of flowers in the church. Thanks go also to those who provide for these displays week by week. For this month, they are:
5th – Christine Rees and Sarah Fletcher 12th - 3rd and 4th Hayes Guides
19th – TBC 26th - Mavis Righini
After the service on Sunday morning, the flowers are distributed in order to celebrate, or thank, or support, and in all cases to bring further enjoyment.
******** PLEASE NOTE:
Subscriptions for Catalyst 2018 are now due
The cost is £6 if you receive Catalyst via the pigeonholes at the back of the church. Please let David and Judith Stoner have this as soon as possible (envelope attached).
If you wish to have Catalyst sent by post, the cost is now £13. We regret the increase but it reflects the current prices of Royal Mail. Please send your subscription to:
Judith and David Stoner
108 Salisbury Road
Bromley BR2 9PU
Please make cheques payable to Hayes Free Church.
- 6 -
- 7 -
HAYES FREE CHURCH CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL 2nd – 10th December 2017 in aid of BROMLEY Y
Bromley Y is a long established local charity offering free therapeutic support to young people between the ages of 0 -18 years, and to their families.
The church will be open for services at 10.30am and 6.30pm on both Sundays. During the festival it will also be open daily to view the trees as shown below.
NB The church will NOT be open on Sat 2nd December until 7.00pm.
Saturday 2nd December 7.30pm – OPENING CONCERT: Croydon Guitar Club Entertains
Sunday 3rd December 6.30pm – Evening Service with Pickhurst Junior Academy Tree viewing 1.00 – 2.45pm Monday 4th December 7.30pm - Bishop Justus School Concert Tree viewing from 2.30pm to start of concert Tues 5th December NO EVENING EVENT Tree viewing 2.30 – 4.30pm Wednesday 6th December 7.30pm – Concert: The Wandle Ringers Tree viewing from 2.30pm to start of concert Thurs 7th December 7.30pm – Chamber Concert: Bromley Youth Music Trust (featuring string quartets and Cello Massif) Tree viewing from 2.30pm to start of concert Fri 8th December 7.00 for 7.20pm – Film: The Shop around the Corner (1940) (relive the cinema experience of the 1940s in the company of James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan) Tree viewing from 2.30pm to start of film evening Sat 9th December 7.45pm – Concert: Beckenham Concert Band Tree viewing from 2.30pm to start of concert Sun 10th December 6.30pm – Evening Service: Churches Together in Hayes with musicians from Hayes School Tree viewing 1.00 – 2.45pm All the money raised will go to Bromley Y:
www.bromleywellbeingcyp.org
www.hayesfreechurch.com
- 8 -
The organisers of the events advertised on the previous two pages will be very glad of your help and support:
For the Christmas Fair and Charity Card Sale Saturday 11th November We would welcome donations of cakes, jewellery, and good quality bric-a-brac. These can be brought to church hall on the Friday evening or Saturday morning. With thanks, Daphne
We will also be glad of some “strong men!” on the Friday evening and again on the Saturday afternoon to help putting the tables up and down. Thanks, Pamela
For the Christmas Tree Festival Besides further work for the “strong men” (details later) we shall need stewards during the afternoons, and for all the evening events, together with pairs of helpers running the refreshments on most evenings. There is a timetable in the church and I would be very grateful if you would sign it if you are able to help. Thanks, Christine
******
Past Novembers in wartime
In November 1917, one hundred years ago, the Battle of Passchendaele eventually came to an end after the village of Passchendaele was captured by Canadian troops.
In November 1942, seventy five years ago, the second Battle of El Alamein ended in Allied victory, hailed by Churchill as “not the beginning of the end, but perhaps the end of the beginning”.
In both cases there was much fighting and other confusing activity going on elsewhere. In November 1917, the news coming out of Russia must have been bewildering as Lenin took power after the October revolution, only a few days earlier.
In November 1942, in complete contrast, the Church of England apparently abandoned a requirement that women should wear hats in church. Today this seems a tiny matter, but there was probably a connection with the war effort. Clothing in Britain had been rationed since 1941 but hats were largely exempt. They were however taxed as a luxury. This gave them a role as a fashion accessory which perhaps encouraged a “keeping up with [or outdoing] the Joneses” mentality, thought to be unsuitable in church, particularly at a time of so much suffering and privation. Whatever the precise reason, this is one of those small changes which illustrate how the effects of war permeate the whole of society.
- 9 -
Information on China from the Bible Society
“In China today, there’s only one theologically-trained minister for every 6,700 Christians. It’s an almost unbelievable fact – but let me help you understand what it really looks like.
During China’s Cultural Revolution, when churches were closed and worship was banned, the training of ministers was abruptly halted. For nearly 20 years, no one in China received a theological education. There was a generation gap in the output of church leaders. So, when the Cultural Revolution ended, there was already a shortage of pastors. Then, the dormant Church exploded into life and the number of Chinese Christians began to grow… and grow. The Church couldn’t train leaders fast enough, let alone fill the leadership gap caused by the Cultural Revolution.
In rural areas, three out of five Christians cannot read or write, so they rely on the teaching of others to access God’s word.
With Church growth showing no signs of letting up, the shortage of ministers is only going to get worse. China has one of the fastest-growing churches in the world. Half a million people are baptised every year and within a generation China could have the highest population of Christians of any country in the world.
We’ve bought books for the national theological seminary and are creating libraries in other regional seminaries (some had fewer Christian books than you or I might find on our bookshelves). We’ve given scholarships to the most promising young leaders, and have flown in international Bible experts to lead conferences.
This is longterm strategic work, which takes vision and courage. We need to send Bibles to new Christians in China and help them to understand and engage with God’s word. When this happens, lives and whole communities are transformed. And if the Bible shapes China, one of the world’s superpowers, it will affect all of us around the globe.”
(reproduced with thanks to the Bible Society)
We give our Sunday coffee morning donations on occasion to the Bible Society and with the quarterly magazine are kept up to date on this vital mission work. Betty (Bible Society representative).
*****
CHARTWELL CANCER TRUST is seeking help… Volunteers
- Bag packing in Marks& Spencer – Thurs 23, Thurs 30 November - Present wrapping – Sat 16, Sun 17, Thurs 21 December. - Carol singing (as part of, or joining with, a choir) in the Glades in Dec.
Furniture – for their new charity shop opening soon in Brixton (more on this in the next issue of Catalyst)
If you can help with any of this, please ring 01959 570322 or email [email protected]. Thank you.
- 10 -
St Andrew (feast day: November 30th)
To complement earlier notes on the other three patron saints of the British nations, here is a brief account of St Andrew. He is of course the only one of the four to be mentioned in the Bible, as one of the first and best known of Jesus’s disciples, particularly remembered for bringing people to Jesus. After Jesus’s death and resurrection, it is said that he continued this missionary work in the area around the Black Sea, preaching to the Scythians and others. He is certainly associated with countries in or near that region, being a patron saint of Russia, Roumania, Ukraine and Greece, and also revered as the bringer of Christianity to Georgia. He is believed to have been martyred at Patras in Greece, on a strangely shaped cross since he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. In the city there is now a Cathedral dedicated to him.
There is a legend that Andrew visited Scotland - or if not he himself, then a Greek monk, St Rule, who travelled to Scotland with a group of monks and nuns, carrying some relics of the saint. In both versions of the story, landfall was made in Fife, at the location which was to become the city of St Andrews. It seems more likely, though, that information about St Andrew reached Scotland as part of general Christian missions to Britain, with less specific emphasis on St Andrew.
Still in the region of myth rather than history, another story is told that in 832 a king of the Picts celebrated a great victory over the people of Northumbria, after seeing the diagonal cross of St Andrew (the shape known as a saltire) in the sky. But from the twelfth century there is real historical evidence both for the importance of the saltire as a symbol of the saint, and the importance of the saint to Scotland. As early as 1385, Scottish soldiers were required by act of parliament to wear the saltire as a badge. And even earlier, in 1320, Scottish nobles had set their seals to the Declaration of Arbroath, a letter to the Pope seeking to establish Scotland as an independent nation, which referred to Andrew as the one who established Christianity in Scotland. This was well before St George was established as England’s patron saint.
From that time on Scotland’s loyalty to its patron saint has been unquestioned. Figures on horseback representing St Andrew and St George met in the streets of London when James VI of Scotland acceded to the English throne as James I. Early on, the white or silver coloured saltire had a variety of background colours, but the use of blue seems to have been standardised in the sixteenth century - though not always the same blue! It varied over the years until the Scottish Parliament stipulated a particular shade in 2003.
- 11 -
Special dates in November:
Saturday 11th: Remembrance Day. Christmas Fair and Charity Card Sale
Sunday 12th: Remembrance Sunday
Wednesday 22nd: St Cecilia’s Day (patron saint of Music)
Saturday 25th: Festivities for Hayes Christmas Lights, switched on at 5pm
Thursday 30th: St Andrew’s Day (patron saint of Scotland)
Bromley Food Bank
Last month we supported the Food Bank through our Harvest contributions and no doubt other churches locally did the same. Their website however still needs to ask for more of the items that it has been listing as urgent for the past few weeks:
Custard; tinned cold meat (eg ham, spam, corned beef); tinned fruit; biscuits; pasta sauce; tinned vegetables; tinned meat that can form the basis of a hot meal; rice pudding; tinned tomatoes; small bottles of squash; UHT milk.
But they still have plenty of beans, pasta, soup and cereal.
Since we tend to visit the church only on Sundays, it may be useful to have a note of the Food Bank’s formal collection points across the borough. They can be used on any day that the relevant shop is open. They are:
Tesco, Homesdale Rd, Bromley
Tesco Extra, Orpington
Sainsbury, Station Road, West Wickham
Sainsbury, Station Square, Petts Wood
Sainsbury, the Walnuts, Orpington
Waitrose, Green Street Green
Furniture Fundraising Shop, 3A Station Approach, Hayes
(also St Michael and All Angels Church, Ravenscroft Rd, Beckenham is open at specific points during the week, not just on Sunday). For timings see:
https://bromleyborough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
!!!Stop press!!! Apologies that the voucher for a Christmas Tree from Layhams Road Farm Shop is not yet available (see last month). I hope that it will be in the next magazine – and/or I will leave copies at the back of the church. Thanks for your patience.
- 12 -
Calendar for November
Wed 1 2.00pm Book Club (p4)
Fri 3 2.00pm Mothers and Toddlers’ Club (p4)
Sat 4 2.30pm Saturday Fellowship (p4)
Sun 5 10.30am
6.30pm
Morning Service (p2)
Holy Communion (p2)
Mon 6 12.30pm Women’s Contact Group (p3)
Tue 7 2.00pm
7.00pm
Tuesday Friendship Group (p3)
Elders’ Meeting (p3)
Fri 10 2.00pm Mothers and Toddlers’ Club (p4)
Sat 11
10.30am
Remembrance Day
Christmas Fair and Charity Card Sale (p6)
Sun 12 10.30am
11.30am
6.30pm
Remembrance Sunday: Parade (p2)
Fairtrade stall (p4)
Evening Service (p2)
Tue 14 2.00pm Tuesday Friendship Group (p3)
Thur 16 8.00pm Men’s Group (p3)
Fri 17 2.00pm
8.00pm
Mothers and Toddlers’ Club (p4)
Top of the Pew final (p5)
Sun 19 10.30am
6.30pm
Morning Service (p2)
Evening Service (p2)
Tue 21 2.00pm Tuesday Friendship Group (p3)
Wed 22 3.30pm Messy Church (p4)
St Cecilia’s Day
Fri 24 2.00pm Mothers and Toddlers’ Club (p4)
Sat 25 5.00pm Hayes Christmas Lights (p11)
Sun 26 10.30am
12.00noon 6.30pm
Morning Service (p2)
Church Meeting (p3)
Evening Service (p2)
Tue 28 2.00pm Tuesday Friendship Group (p3)
Thur 30 St Andrew’s Day
And looking ahead to December 2017:
Sat 2 7.30pm Start of Christmas Tree Festival (p7)
CHURCH ORGANISATIONS – please advise the Editor of updates as they arise
Day Organisation Contact Phone/Email
Sunday
Monday
5.45pm Brownies Sarah Humphrey 020 3539 8113
6.30pm Cubs Brenda Petts 020 8325 3956
12.30pm - 1st Mon only
Women's Contact Group Sylvia Mack 020 8462 1938
Tuesday
2.00pm Tuesday Friendship Group
Wendy Smith 020 8462 1779
7.15pm Scouts - 1st troop Paul Hasling 020 3236 0083
Wednesday
2.00pm - 1st Weds only
HFC Book Club Wendy Smith 020 8462 1779
3.30pm - 4th Weds only
Messy Church Mavis Righini 020 8462 1168
5.30pm Rainbows Jenny Longman 07730 574962
6.00pm Beavers Brenda Petts 020 8325 3956
6.30pm Guides – 4th Hayes Teresa Cheyne 020 8777 6042
8.00pm Explorers Phil Butcher & Dan Perrott
Pip.butcher@ googlemail.com danperrott@ hotmail.com
Thursday
5.30pm Brownies Stevie Blair 020 8325 3469
7.15 - 8.45pm Rangers Please use this email contact:
Hayesdistrict@ yahoo.com
7.15pm Scouts - 2nd troop Paul Hasling 020 3236 0083
8.00pm - 3rd Thurs only
Men's Group Bruce Tannock 020 8325 6264
Friday
2.00pm Mothers & Toddlers Wendy Smith 020 8462 1779
6.30pm Guides – 3rd Hayes Teresa Cheyne 020 8777 6042
Saturday
2.30pm - 1st Sat only
Saturday Fellowship Martin Nunn 020 8462 5918
Final Thought:
I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust, and saviour of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray thee from me anxious cares to take.
Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
Reigning omnipotent in every place:
So come, o King, and our whole being sway;
Shine on us with the light of thy pure day.
Our hope is in no other save in thee;
Our faith is built upon thy promise free;
Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,
That in thy strength we evermore endure.
Attrib John Calvin (1509-64); tr Elizabeth L Smith (1817-98)
