Christmas
grapevine

18 Dec 2005. Sandal Parish Magazine

 

Table of Contents

Why not make worship a priority this year    

News    

Wakefield Hospice Everest Expedition - Oct ‘05    

Youth Leaders & Helpers    

News from Bunda    

Marriage Course in 2006    

Christmas Closing    

Birthdays are Fun    

Parish Office Blog    

Grapevine    

Grant towards new Video Projector    

Narnia    

A Leap of Faith at the Seaside    

Exhibitions’ News    

Beginners Pilates    

Prayers    

Prayers for Healing    

Prayer Times ~ All Welcome    

Information    

Parents & Toddler Groups    

Toddle In Tuesdays mornings from 9.30 a.m. in the Emmaus Rooms at St. Helen’s Church, Sandal. Restarting Tuesday January 10th, 2006.    

Worship    

St Helen’s, Barnsley Road, Sandal    

St Paul’s, The Balk, Walton    

 

We celebrate the birth of Jesus and his presence in our world today. May he bring his joy and peace into our hearts and homes

 

 

 

Pathfinders dressing up for Family Service drama

Why not make worship a priority this year

.. to help us live out our faith more effectively?  What we offer..

1. St. Helen’s , Sandal and St. Paul’s, Walton are churches where a wide variety of worship is offered including contemporary and traditional styles.

2. We also provide excellent facilities for church and community groups in our Barnabas and Emmaus Rooms.

3. At The Spring , we aim to serve our community with a smile on our face welcoming people during the week, to find refreshment and companionship in our Oasis Cafe and clothes and bric-a-brac in our Discoveries shop.

4. We run lively groups for children and young people, as well as family friendly services.

5. Every year we run an Alpha course for those who want to explore the meaning of life or refresh their faith.

6. We also aim to hold another St. Helen’s Festival on 20-21 May, with creative and community activities.

7. This year we will be renewing our Parish Office in St. Helen’s to enhance the quality of our welcome to all.

8. Everyone who joins the church is encouraged to exercise their gifts and to join one of the many groups in the church.

9. We have active connections with people serving God in Kenya, Tanzania, Taiwan and Paraguay.

10. We minister to the bereaved, welcome children to baptism, and provide Marriage Preparation and Marriage Courses each year.

11. We also offer healing prayer to anyone who asks’ in church or at their home.

Our aim as followers of Jesus Christ is summed up in our Mission
Statement, that         “the lost are found
                the found grow and
                the lonely are enfolded”

Do join us in fulfilling this mission of Jesus Christ,   Rupert Martin

News

Wakefield Hospice Everest Expedition - Oct ‘05

Well - as you can just about see from the picture on the backcover - I made it to Everest and have returned to tell the tale! It was just about the hardest thing I have ever done in my life but it was most rewarding, not only because it fulfilled a life-long ambition of mine to see Everest, but because between the nine trekkers in our party we are likely to have raised over £30,000 for Wakefield Hospice.

The picture I have reproduced shows me on the summit of a mountain called Gokyo Ri, which is one of the famous viewpoints of Everest, which you can see in the background. From here we journeyed onwards for a further week and four of us, including me, eventually reached Everest Base Camp at the foot of the famous Khumbu Ice Fall. This was an unforgettable experience and, contrary to popular opinion, Base Camp was not the world’s highest rubbish dump at all. The only waste to be seen were two crashed Russian helicopters! The mountain views were quite fantastic.  Whilst the “pleasure and the pain” of the expedition were mine, nevertheless we trekkers could not have succeeded in our ambition to raise so much money for Wakefield Hospice without the generosity of so many sponsors. I am extremely grateful to everyone at St Helen’s for your support, encouragement and prayers: I have to say that at times it was only the knowledge that there were so many people back home who had pledged their financial support that kept me going, and I am sure that  it was the power of the collective prayers of so many people that enabled me to get to our destination and return fit and well.

If you would like to know more about my experiences in Nepal please let me know. I have taken plenty of photographs and have kept a trek diary recording my impressions of the trip. I would be happy to share these with you. In the meantime, thank you once again for your kind and generous support.     Julian Gill

Youth Leaders & Helpers

All leaders and helpers in our children’s and young people’s groups are invited to meet on 14th January, 6-8pm in the Emmaus Rooms at St. Helen’s for cheese, wine and inspiration.   Thanks for all you have done this term and every blessing for the Christmas season.     Sally

News from Bunda

Many thanks for your wonderful generosity.  St. Peter’s church building and the pastor’s house are looking great.  Migingani church are beginning to build.   Nyasumo branch church is buying a plot of land and will start building soon.   You have made all this possible.  God bless you all.   To the parish of Sandal Magna Christmas Greetings from Bunda Parish, Mara, Tanzania.

Marriage Course in 2006

Following the success of our first Marriage Course last summer in our new Emmaus Rooms, we will be holding a second course beginning on 8th May 2006 in St. Helen’s, and running for seven sessions until 10th July.
Wherever we are in our marriage, we can benefit from a course that gives each couple time together to share and enjoy each other’s company.   For further details please contact Rupert and Sally Martin, 255441.

Christmas Closing

The Parish Office and The Spring will close on Wednesday 21st December and re-open on Wednesday 4th January, 2006.

Birthdays are Fun

Like any proud parent, it’s good to celebrate birthdays, and when the baby is young you celebrate almost monthly.  Well this year we can be proud of the 8th Birthday of The Spring in September, and we can look forward to the 4th Birthday of the Barnabas Rooms in January.   It’s good to enjoy their achievements to date, which is the fruit of a lot of dedicated hard work.  This month we celebrate the first six months of the Emmaus Rooms .   A s you’ll see from the list below, it’s amazing how we have already had thirty different uses of the Emmaus Rooms, and the prospects look very bright.  Existing ministries and groups will be blessed, and new ministries and opportunities for community outreach will continue to evolve.  What’s more, another baby is on the way, in about seven month’s time;  the Parish Office is going to be reborn.  As with any birth it is a collaboration with God, involving our faith and giving.  Don’t miss out on the joy of this new baby.  Make sure you’re involved in the giving so that you can enjoy the celebrations.

                     A proud parent

P.S.  Thanks to the people who so far have given (incl. Gift Aid).   We’re nearly two thirds of the way towards our target of £15,000.  Let’s keep the momentum going.

 

     30 Different Uses of the Emmaus Rooms in the first six months

Teaching & Training
-    Pentecost Workshops with Sandal Endowed School  
    300 children over 2 days
-    The Marriage Course:  7 evenings.
-    Prayer Ministry Training:  3 evenings
-    Alpha Training Session:  1 evening.

Regular Church Groups

-    Mothers’ Union:  3 meetings
-    Women’s Fellowship:  3 meetings
-    P.C.C.:  3 meetings
-    Toddle In:    9 meetings
-    Youth B/F Club:  2 Mornings
-    Sunday Fellowship:    25 mornings

One-Off Celebrations

-    St. Helen’s Festival Celebration with Cream Tea & Dedication Evening
-    Faith Lunch for Del & Wendy
-    Safari Supper
-    Light Fantastic Party
-    Exhibition Opening with Wakefield Gospel Choir

Community & Creative Events

-    Sandal Community Association:  4 meetings
-    African Dance & Drumming:  7 sessions
-    Sandal Endowed School Governors Social Evening
-    Concerts by QEGS Swing Band & St. Peter’s Consort with     refreshments in the interval.
-    Daytime Piano Recitals with coffee & tea.
-    Three exhibitions of Photography, Watercolours & Paintings
-    Three Children’s Birthday Parties
-    Baptism Party after Baptism in Church

Occasional Events & Meetings

-    CANA rehearsal
-    Greenbelt Planning Meeting
-    Staff Prayers
-    Alpha Prayer Evening
-    Worship Planning Meeting
-    Diocesan General Synod Hustings
-    Two bookings by Trinity Church, Ossett
-    P.C.C. Meetings

Parish Office Blog

Below is an extract from the on-line newsletter (blog) which you can read in full at
http://www.sandalmagna.com

There have been many developments in the Parish Office, here are some highlights from the last 12 months:

12. Grapevine re-vamp

13. Web site now has regular editions of the Grapevine, rota and Blog!

14. Wireless network installed - printer and networking now wireless

15. Flat screen monitor (saves space) donated by church member.

Computer with wireless mouse and keyboard so it can be used with a projector for worship

16. New colour laser printer

17. Re-cycling of printer cartridges

18. Stock paper now recycled.  Waste paper now re-cycled or re-used.

19. Heaven & Earth DVD and CD produced with material from the St. Helen's celebration weekend in May 2005

20. Computer filing re-arranged to be more user friendly and logical

21. Large posters now be created in-house and sent electronically to the printers

22. Members database replaced by a more flexible address book.

23. Calendar now totally computerised with reminders for regular events

24. Wireless networking to join the Vicarage and Parish Office

25. ADSL broadband shared between Vicarage and Parish Office

26. Office 'Wikki' (electronic notepad) so notes and procedures can be filed and searched easily - essentially forming a 'living' office handbook

27. Spring books now recorded in a database that automatically creates weekly reports and can be managed by volunteers

Up and coming:

28. Grapevine to go monthly with more focused and wider ranging editorial

29. Occasional newsletter from January

30. Disaster management planning for St. Helen's

31. First Impressions

32. St. Helen's festival 2006

Also t hank you to everyone who has given towards 'First Impressions'. The project will have a big impact on how we work in the Parish Office and the warmth of welcome we will be able to give .   Carol and myself are very grateful. As you can see we have been busy. None of this would be possible without the help of many people, both volunteers, staff, PCC, parishioners and the public.  So thank you to everyone for your continued support.  Serving in the office is a real pleasure, not only the satisfaction of getting jobs done, but also a fantastic opportunity to meet people, share God's love and carry one another’s burdens.         Bob Bailey

 

Grapevine

We are planning a re-launch of the Grapevine from January, hoping to widen it’s appeal.  Instead of being a fortnightly publication, we will go monthly, with each month focusing on a different area of church and community life.  To cover the dates between issues we will print an occasional newsletter for late breaking information and updates on what is happening in the Parish.

Our invitation is for you to send us articles of interest for each issue relating to the monthly theme in addition to the usual events and news.  We are especially interested in material with wider public appeal. Here are some suggestions for material..

33. Stories, poems or words of wisdom which have helped you

34. Personal testimony

35. Photographs

36. Reports on your group’s activities and future plans

37. How to get involved in an area of ministry or group

38. Quizzes, challenges or puzzles

39. Open events you may be holding

40. Profiles of group members

41. Jokes, cartoons or crosswords

42. Thanks for long service or particular achievements of  group member

43. Articles on how an area of church life or ministry has helped you

Please do not worry if writing does not come naturally to you, it’s the information and sentiment that is important.  I have listed the monthly themes and deadlines for the coming year on the next page, please make a note in your diary.  Please drop in any articles to the Parish Office in St. Helen’s Church or email: office@sandalmagna.fsnet.co.uk . See ‘Information’ for full contact details.  Yours in anticipation,     Bob Bailey

Grant towards new Video Projector

More good news on the grant front.   The Bishop’s Development Fund which has generously supported all of our projects to date, has just granted us £1,000 towards the cost of a video projector.

Increasingly we are using projection from video, DVD or computer for our worship services and teaching courses, youth work and outreach, so this is a big boost to the resources of the church.

 

Narnia

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, seems to be the perfect story to precede Christmas.   It has a wonderful wintry setting, and has captured the imagination of children for decades.   The film has broken box office records already and has created considerable discussion about its Christian message.
Predictably there are many including Tilda Swinton who plays the White Witch who have played down the Christian allegory, and who insist that this is merely a battle between good and evil.   So it’s good to put the record straight.
C.S. Lewis was a Christian who described his conversion in a wonderful book called “Inspired by Joy.”   He was like Tolkien a professor at Oxford University, and they met together regularly in a group called the Inklings to read and discuss their work.
The beauty of the Chronicles of Narnia is that they can be read on a number of levels, and Lewis allows the Christian to emerge from a rattling good yarn.
The key to understanding The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe lies in the Easter rather than the Christmas Story.   Aslan, who embodies all the attributes of Jesus, has to sacrifice his life to save Edmund, who is under the spell of the White Witch, but when he comes back to life and roars, the spell is broken and the land is liberated from its oppressive and silent winter to become again a beautiful and alive world of colour and chaos.
The whole idea of redemption, someone perfect paying the ultimate price to save someone else from the penalty of sin is central to the story of Jesus Christ and the whole Christian faith.
Narnia is an excellent translation to the big screen of this memorable story, and captures the epic and delightful qualities which have enchanted readers of whatever age for so many years.
Make a point of going to see it this Christmas, but remember that it depicts the Easter story in all its pathos and glory.   Rupert

A Leap of Faith at the Seaside

Just up the hill from the fish dock at Scarborough, is a new family-run Christian cafe and meeting place.  The Bradford couple who run the Solid Rock Cafe had been going to Scarborough on holiday for years but, when they saw the run-down empty premises, they had no plans to sell up and move to the coast, let alone start a catering business.  However, they felt the call to make an offer for the building, which was accepted, and earlier this year, after a lot of hard work and free help from friends with expertise, they were able to open the cafe and move into the living accommodation upstairs.  I crossed the road to have a look inside, drawn by some unusual artwork on the walls, digitally created images of trees and leaves.  The welcoming and attractive cafe includes an upper seating area overlooking the harbour.   The owners’ vision is “to create a warm, loving, caring Christian atmosphere where Christians and non-Christians alike can come and enjoy good food, good music and good service.”  The menu has a South American/Mexican flavour, as well as traditional English food, all cooked on the premises.  SOLID ROCK CAFE is at 47 Eastborough, Scarborough, Tel. 01723 354939 and is open Monday-Saturday 10am.-5pm. (closed Sundays).   Mel Dane Martin

Exhibitions’ News

As well as being appreciated by many friends and members of the Church family, the sale of Derek Foster’s prints raised £125 for the First Impressions Appeal.  The colourful exhibition of Haitian paintings has been widely enjoyed and has raised nearly £2,000 for the Hands of Hope Charity, which is run by the Wakefield Baptist Church and St. Peter’s, Stanley to fund education and health care in a very deprived country.  Look out next year for an exhibition by our very own Parish Administrator and his wife, Bob and Jess Bailey, who are gifted landscape painters.

Beginners Pilates

Beginners Pilates at the Barnabas Rooms, St. Paul’s Church, the Balk, Walton, starting Tues 10th January 2006 at 5.30pm.  The cost of each class is £4, for more information please contact Gill Carr on 07968 199169 or email gill@evolvepersonalfitness.com , or just turn up on the night! but please bring a mat if you have one.

Prayers

Prayers for Healing

Brian Bennett, Malcolm Morrell, Anthony Reap, Nora Sixsmith, Derek Parker, Justine Hartley, Gemma Haller, Fred Spencer (father of Yvonne Garcia), Kerry Smith, Carmen (resident of Ashgrove), Jessie Edwards, John Costello (Julie Lawn’s brother-in-law), Peter Butterfield, Sue Holleran, Jean Leatham (Janet Henshall’s mother), Sue Parkin, Margaret Hurley, Adele Owen.

 We would appreciate it if you could let us know if anyone needs our prayers, so they can be put in our Focus for Prayer. Pray also for all those who have recently lost loved ones especially the family and friends of Karl Bridges.

Prayer Times ~ All Welcome

Monday at The Spring                                       10.45am.
Tuesday-Saturday at The Spring                          9.45am.-10.00am.
Wednesdays at St. Paul’s, Walton                       9.00am.
Thursday at the Rainbow Café, Portobello          8.30am.

Information

† Term time only. Grapevine is published from the Parish Office for the Parish of Sandal Magna, Wakefield. Please send editorial items to; Bob Bailey or Carol Fairclough at the Parish Office. The next deadline for editorial is the 5 January 2006.

Parents & Toddler Groups

Toddle In
Tuesdays mornings from 9.30 a.m. in the Emmaus Rooms at
St. Helen’s Church, Sandal. Restarting Tuesday January 10th, 2006.
Boogie-Woogie-Tots
Thursday mornings from 9.15 a.m. in the Barnabas Room, St. Paul’s, The Balk, Walton. Res tarting Thursday January 12th, 2006.

A chance for your children to play and make new friends and for you to relax.
See ‘information’ for contact details.  All welcome!

 

 

Worship

St Helen’s, Barnsley Road, Sandal

Midweek Communion Wednesdays 11.30am. St. Helen’s, BUT NOT 28th Dec.
Groups for Children St. Helen’s Creche and Groups (every Sunday except the 1st Sunday in the month) during Morning Service. There is a creche, Scramblers 0-3, Climbers 4-6 and Adventurers 7-9 in the Emmaus Rooms . 10-14 year olds meet at The Spring on 2nd and 4th Sundays.