Sept 2006 - Sandal Parish Magazine

 

 

Litter picking during Soul Portobello - see inside for the full story.
More photos from Soul Portobello are online at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51112622@N00/

 

 

 

One of my favourite stories is that of Albert McMakin, a 24 year old farmer in the United States.   He tried to get a friend of his to come to a meeting to hear about Jesus.   When he refused, he persuaded him by asking him to drive his truck to the meeting.   When he arrived, he decided to go inside to hear the speaker.   He went back again and again until one evening he decided to follow Jesus Christ.

The year was 1934.   The driver of the truck was Billy Graham.   Since then Billy Graham has brought thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ.

We aren’t all called to be Billy Grahams but we can be Albert McMakins, ready to invite people along in an appropriate way.   If we do our bit, it’s amazing what God can do.

 

Evangelism is a spiritual gift which is very valuable, and given to about 10% of any congregation.   We need to support our evangelists as much as possible.

But we also need to listen to the commission of Jesus Christ to his disciples which applies to us as well.

A witness is someone who simply gives an account of their experience.

and then they asked me:

I was able to say that God had given me life, hope and love, a beautiful wife and family;  a purpose in life.   I was able to share my experience of God’s love and grace in a simple personal way.

This month we have a great opportunity to invite someone we know back to church on 24th September, or to an Alpha Course, beginning on 4th October.   We are doing this together as a church, and we can invite people we know who trust us.   Even if people don’t respond to the invitation, it may open the door to a fruitful discussion about what your faith means to you.

So let’s not be afraid to issue that simple, personal invitation by hand to someone we know and love whom we would love to come back to God and back to church.

We have a good choice of services to suit their preference and we will ensure that every guest is warmly welcomed with a special bag of goodies including a booklet about the church, a booklet about God, a Grapevine and a bar of chocolate.

Do be praying for the person or people you invite that they will not only respond positively to the invitation, but respond positively to God in the worship service.

    Yours in the grace and love of God,

It all began on Monday 31st and didn’t stop until 8pm on Sunday 6th August.   The days flowed one into another!   An energy and life-giving hospitality flowed out of the little Rainbow Cafe and the centre of Portobello was alive with action.   Every morning at 8am the sound of gazebo poles could be heard as a team began to set the space up.   Andy Owen was known as the gazebo geyzer and we got quicker at the job as the week went on.

Terry arrived at 8am and the Cafe began to come to life with coffee for the workers.  Sarah and Karen arrived with more food and healthy fruit and veg for the food co-op stall and the making and selling of smoothies.  

9am the volunteer team from the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church and ourselves moved into the upper room “Soul Space” which had been set up as a beautiful prayer room by Urban Space.  We worshipped together with Hannah and a small band leading worship, Wendy had been invited to lead the 15 minutes of teaching each morning.   She was fantastic and it was lovely to have someone from outside to open Scripture up for us “The Kingdom of God?”   Who does it belong to? was the challenge.

Mary led the prayers each morning using Liturgy from the Northumbrian Community and we also prayed at 1.15pm and 4.15pm each day with whoever wanted to join us.  

9.45am the volunteers collected their per dieum for the day and headed into the Cafe for bacon and egg sandwiches.   There we met the men from the Council and Wakefield District Housing, having their breakfast before beginning the organised rubbish collection from houses and streets in Portobello and along with Groundwork two mornings of litter picking with volunteers and local families.

Children began arriving from 8am!  Parents from 10am! and the day began to unfold under gazebos, rain or sun!  

Young people began choosing their workshops which varied each day but included circus skills, drumming, dancing, drama, textiles, decorating tshirts (500 given to us by Sunlight), football, mosaic design, planting the garden and making hanging baskets.  

They set off to various venues depending on the weather (Cafe, Cafe Garden, Community Centre, Manygates Adult Education Centre and the Park).  

Back at the Cafe food continued to be served and enjoyed.  Sure Start along with volunteers had a space for the under 5’s with play dough and a little bouncy castle and on the Friday the Healthy Double Decker Bus arrived with endless activities and fun.  

Lunchtime saw a frenzy of amazing activities co-ordinated by Natalie including face painting, hair braiding, bead making, clay (led by Anna where they made a beautiful mirror for the Rainbow Cafe).  

The Mayor and his wife came on Thursday for 15 minutes but stayed for an hour and a half, had lunch and she had her nails painted!  

On Wednesday and Friday the circus skills workshop ended with a little street performance.   The Wednesday saw them singeing their arms and blowing fire!   And the Friday saw one of them lying on a bed of nails with 20 stone Nigel (who had overseen the beautiful garden) standing on top of him!!!!

All day, every day, there was a tuck shop manned by various people and the Cafe supported by wonderful volunteers.  Eleanor, Mary and Katherine walked the streets and leafleted every home with the week’s programme.

Each day the numbers grew and every afternoon there was sport between 3pm and 4pm for the younger ones outside the Cafe and the older ones whatever the weather played football with Rupert and Dave.  

One of the most exciting moments was the birth of Bella United Football Club, under the guidance of Richard who lives on the estate and has trained them brilliantly over the last six months.   They were given their new strips by Wakefield District Housing and Bullock Construction on the Friday afternoon and their first game was a friendly against the Police on the Saturday afternoon.

Thursday evening saw an over 50’s night with all in their Soul Portobello t-shirts.   Terry, Pam and the team organised an amazing evening of friendship, food, games and singing old time songs with Ali.  Some of the young people sitting outside and chatting were fascinated with another generation and their ways.

Friday evening under Vicki’s encouragement, saw a Talent Show completely put on by the children in the Community Centre.   It was packed with all ages encouraging everybody’s gifts.

Saturday was held in Manygates Park with Faceless Theatre Company under their Space To Create tent making wings and windsocks with all who were there.    Their street drama consisted of two large wheelie bins and two aristocrats who along with the Majorette team led by Donna (with her family providing the music for the event) led the parade through Portobello to the football ground for the opening match.   Mark and Ibrahim led the drumming along with other stalls and a festive atmosphere.

Saturday evening the Cafe hosted an all-age Family Barbecue with about 100 people entertained by two comedians and giving an opportunity to congratulate Bella United and relax together as a community.

Sunday morning the sun shone and at 12noon we took Soul Space into the garden and worshipped God together, all ages giving thanks for a wonderful week.   To the song We are Marching 50 rainbow flags were carried around the centre of the estate and back to the garden where we shared lunch  outside and the video of the week inside which had been put together by Vicki and Rob.  

The afternoon saw a final football game between Wakefield District Housing and the adults on Portobello (Rupert played the full 90 minutes!) and it was a draw.

6pm saw the clearing up of the Cafe with help from the young lads on the estate.  Thank you to everyone mentioned by name or not, who made this week possible, being there in person, being there to pray, praying at home and supporting what God is calling us to be and to do.

Please talk to Pam Payling, David Parkin, Terry Holland, Andy Smith, Hannah Guilfoyle, Phil Asquith or Sally Martin if you want to know how you may support this work further.

 

Thank You to all from church who contributed to a very successful Party on the Bridge for the 650th anniversary of the Chantry Chapel.  From our opening of African Drumming through to the wonderful Women’s Singing Group to Possability singing (not to mention Kathleen Turner’s Overdrive), the contribution from members of our congregation was terrific.   Special thanks to Ali, Ibrahim and Mark, Andy, Phil and all the singers as well as Neta.   A huge thank you to the stall holders who all worked very hard including Jane, Noreen and Maureen, Ros, Andrea and family, Eileen Calkeld, Doreen, Janet, Emma, Phyllis and Margaret.   They were stallholders for African Connection, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Clothing, Bric-a-Brac, Plants, Face Painting, Jewellery, Sweets and Refreshments.   They all did a very brisk trade and again thank you for the hard work.   We were delighted with all the churches who provided flower displays for the festival (including St. Helen’s), and the service and talks were great.

Thanks to Jack Smith and Kate Taylor for being our ‘David Baileys’ and we have a lovely collection of photos of the event at The Spring if anyone is interested.   Jack is also selling cards of the displays for £1 for Chantry funds.
Again thanks to you all for your contributions, fellowship and support.

            Terry & Friends of the Chantry Committee

Director of Christian Enquiry Agency and Promotions Manager rejesus.co.uk

Are you passionate to help people take steps towards a faith in Jesus Christ; able to communicate in today’s world; pro-active and well organised; and enthusiastic to serve and work in partnership across the churches?

Once again it’s "box-emptying" time. It doesn’t matter whether there are just a few coins in the bottom of the box or if it’s about to burst: I’d like to empty them all as soon as possible. If those of you with Children's Society boxes could let me have them, or leave them in the Parish Office, I would be most grateful. If the box is so heavy(!) that you would prefer it to be collected, please phone me (257726). I would like to complete the collection by the end of October.  Once emptied, I'll leave the boxes in Church for you to collect.

 

Two matching pairs made by Plumbs, lined, with tiebacks.   Measurements: 102W x 65.5L and 102W x 60.5L.   Cream background with pink floral design.   Receipt shows £590 - paid original price £1180.   Offers around £200 accepted.   Please contact Jane Driver or Joan Witts at The Spring to view.

With the changes in service times from September, there has had to be consultation amongst the bellringers as to which morning service we ring for, given that we can’t do both.   More people preferred to ring at 10am (hoping that the earlier service is finished) for the 10.45am service;  perhaps as well as the church’s immediate neighbours might have considered 8.30am ringing a tad antisocial.

Sadly one ringer, Christopher Maynard, who has rung here for Sunday services, weddings, practice night and the occasional funeral for over 50 years, (not to mention the clock winding) has decided that he can’t do this.   For the past few years since moving to Ossett, he has also rung at Horbury for their morning service, but now the times will clash.   So we are losing a stalwart, very reliable, very regular and experienced Sunday ringer.   Thank you Chris, for your many years of faithful service to your church and bellringing there, for helping to teach learners, and above all for being so reliably ‘there’ on Sundays, when we will miss you, even though we will still see you on practice night.

Ruth Townend, who has been coming up the tower since he was about 4 years old, initially watching her parents and eventually learning to ring, goes to University this month - congratulations on your excellent A level results, Ruth, and good luck in your new life, and with the University Bellringing Society.   We hope you will ring with us whenever you are home.

We are now asking the bellringers to commit to whether or not they can ring on Sunday by the Wednesday before, so that we will know whether or not there will be enough to ring for the service.

If there are any ex-ringers out there, they would be very welcome.

Please contact John and Margot Cutt on 255918.  

We are looking for further volunteers to join the many helpers who work at the Spring.  SInce 1997 the Spring has been providing good food and a shop for the local community.  The Spring is the heart of our church life and great place to meet people.  If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering then call Joan (Discoveries Shop) or Terry (Oasis Café) on 01924 242593.  Just a few hours a week will make a big difference and it is a lot of fun too!  We really need 6 people for two hours a week to keep The Spring going.  Can you help?   The Spring 299 Barnsley Road.

 

An afternoon of encouragement, sharing & learning new skills.  The workshops include training on using the P.A. system, singing, song writing, reading intercessions and a time to share new music.  Everyone is welcome.

We begin our Alpha course with an Alpha Supper on Wednesday 4th October, 7.30pm. in the Barnabas Rooms.

The supper provides us with a great opportunity to taste and see, and hopefully to sign up for the course.

So do invite people you know who are searching for meaning in their lives or who have questions about the Christian faith.

If you are new to the church, then the Alpha course is a brilliant introduction which enables you to get to know people.

If you wish to be confirmed, whatever your age from 13 to 90, then do come along as Alpha is also our Confirmation preparation course.

Please let me know if you are intending to come along with a guest, so we know how many to cater for.

All sessions will take place in the Barnabas Rooms, Walton and will last from 7.30-9.30pm.  Whether you are involved or not, do join in the Alpha prayer hour 8-9pm on the 20th September in the Barnabas Rooms.

P.S.  There is still a place vacant for our Diocesan Visit in February, which is two and a half weeks and includes a Safari plus link visits to Bunda and Musama.   The cost is approximately £1800.

 

In a moment of weakness (some might say madness!) in February, Margaret and I signed up to Christian Aid’s ‘In the Footsteps of Moses’ trek, a 45 mile trek through the Sinai desert. I realised that I had to do some serious work to get fit and lose a lot of weight! At present, I (John) walk over 6 miles most days and we walk that plus some when we go out together.  We had a great week in St David’s, Pembrokeshire, a couple of weeks ago when we walked 60 miles of the Coast Path. We will have walked 45 miles many times by the start of our trip on 4th November 2006!

As you know, Christian Aid is an agency of the churches in the UK and Ireland.  It works wherever the need is greatest and irrespective of religion. Christian Aid believes in strengthening people to find their own solutions to the problems they face. This can take many forms, many of which may seem inconsequential to us.  Listen to the words of one mother of six children called Sara Makram who received help to buy a water buffalo:

“The water buffalo has helped us a lot. It's like the kitchen of our house. Before we got the buffalo, we had to buy butter and cheese from the shops, and sometimes I had money and other times I didn’t. But the buffalo provides us with food at all times. Cheese is the main food in this village.  Now I have nutritious food in the house for my children”.  By taking part in this walk Margaret and I want to raise funds for Christian Aid’s Egyptian partners who work to help the 44% of people who, like Sara, live below the poverty line.

Faith, Fact or Fiction? Da Vinci Decoded. Saturday 30th September at 7.30pm. Tickets £2.50 available from the Parish Office. Further information available from your local church or Wakefield Cathedral Bookshop. Telephone 01924 259161 or 01924 371029. An ideal event to take a friend who has read the book.

It’s a hard act to follow Bob and Jess’s superb landscape paintings which have graced our walls for several months, but I’ve taken the risk of putting together a selection of photographs taken over the last few years in France, Italy and Yorkshire.

The emphasis is on depicting normal scenes in an unusual light.   So often we taken for granted the familiar world we live in and don’t realise just how strange and beautiful it is.

I hope that these photographs will open our eyes to the extraordinary beauty of the ordinary world we live in, when it is transformed by light.