The Link
December 2009 January 2010
Pastoral Letter Have you ever stopped to think that your feet are an important part of your body? Perhaps it is only when we have a problem with our feet that we stop to consider how vital they are. While ruminating about feet, I began to recall some significant times in my life when my feet have carried me into various places. For example, I walked into a village church in Devon in 1986 as a single person and about an hour later emerged as a married man. In 1988 and again in 1990, I walked into the maternity wing of the hospital in Lincoln to witness the birth of my daughters. More recently, in 2005 I walked into Holy Trinity church in Louth to attend the funeral service for my mother. These reflections about feet were inspired by Isaiah, chapter 52, verse 7; ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!’ The feet of the Biblical messenger were used by the Lord to bring good news to His people. Through the prophet’s words the Lord comforted His people. A message of hope was delivered to them when they were in exile in Babylon, far away from their homeland. At this time of the year, a Christian has a literally heaven-sent opportunity to be the bearer of good news. We don’t have any mountains round here but our feet can still be considered lovely when we take the good news of the birth of the Son of God into our homes and our communities. The presence of God brings peace. It is not a shallow or superficial peace but something strong and reliable on which we can build our lives. God’s peace brings wholeness and inner strength. It is possible to be at peace with God, with ourselves and with other people and, therefore, to be as fully human as God intends us to be. Christmas is a time of good news. We have a message of hope to convey to people who are living without hope. But so often that seems like a duty, something we ought to do. We feel that we are not up to it, that someone else could make a better job of it. If you feel inadequate about what to say to people who don’t know the Lord, here is a suggestion. Back in September, I had the privilege of preaching at the circuit service held at Market Rasen. If you were there, you may remember I referred to some thoughts (still available on YouTube) of the preacher with the wonderful name, Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge. If you wish to take the good news to anyone, especially to teenagers and people under the age of 30, you might consider suggesting that they look for “My King” on YouTube. May we all pray that the Lord’s peace will prevail in many hearts and homes not just during the season of Christmas but throughout 2010 and beyond. Why not ask the Lord to use your feet to make you a messenger of the good news of Emmanuel; that God is with us? As we are told in Isaiah, Your God reigns! Let Dr Shadrach Meshach Lockridge have the final word with part of his uplifting address reminding us how wonderful Jesus is. Our
King is the King of knowledge.
He's the King of righteousness. He's the King of kings and
He is the Lord of lords. Rev Syd Andrew
NEWS FROM AROUND THE CIRCUIT BINBROOK/BROOKENBYA warm welcome was extended to Rev Syd Andrews when he came to lead our worship on Remembrance Sunday. It was a very meaningful occasion to the 18 or more in the congregation, along with quite a number of children sharing the service too. After observing the 2 minute silence by switching into the Radio Four broadcast from London, we followed in convoy up to the airfield where there is a memorial to the Australian 460 Squadron, who were based here at RAF Binbrook from 1943-1945. This too was a very moving experience, standing in the silence on a sunny but chilly morning. The area has been set among newly planted trees and a couple of wooden benches for people to rest and reflect, as it is open for the public to visit. A newly formed choir practice on Thursday mornings in readiness for an open-air witness of carols and Christmas songs around the Christmas tree. The Tree will be erected outside the Church, when the lights will be switched on at 4pm on Saturday, 19th December. After the concert, mince pies and mulled wine will be served. Doreen Wallis
Page 4 CAISTOR Stuart and I have had three lovely weeks walking with friends and three dogs around the hills, glens, lochs and sandy beaches around Edinburgh and Bamburgh. The weather in Edinburgh was glorious and the autumn colours spectacular especially when the sun shone through the glens. We are now beginning to experience the cooler, damper foggy days of winter and the colours of autumn and the colours of autumn leaves scattering the paths, getting mushy and more suitable for composting! At Caistor; we are planning a Christmas Tea on Saturday, 12th December at 4.00p.m. with mince – pies, Carols and wrapped gifts to buy, do come and join us. Paul Collins has invited the Springs Dance Company from London to repeat their splendid performance (with a few changes) of ‘Journey of the Magi’ at Caistor Primary School on Thursday, 3rd December. This performance reminds us not only of the famous journey of the Wise Men, but also the journey each of us makes each year in preparation for Christmas Day. A time to reflect and refocus, do come and bring a friend. Looking back, I did enjoy Pharaoh to Freedom; the music was so uplifting and sung with such enthusiasm. I only wish it could have been recorded. All three performances have been excellent, so I hope there are more to come? Our ‘Rambling with God’ group has watched the DVD of ‘Evan Almighty’, how a newly elected Senator wanted to’ change the world’ so ‘God’ eventually got him to build an Ark, get the DVD as all the family will be entertained and hopefully reflect and refocus. May you all have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of His love at Christmas and the year ahead? God bless, Babs
Page 5 'Journey of the Magi' dance show by Springs Dance Company Thursday 3rd December - 7:30pm Caistor Primary School Admission is FREE!! A Christian dance company, this is a festive, witty and poignant show All donations towards the cost of the evening The show is suitable for children and adults alike. A GREAT opportunity to invite friends and family who would not normally attend a church event
Caistor Bible Society Coffee Morning Saturday 5th December - 10:00am – 12noon At the home of Mr and Mrs Terry Vann 4 Spa Top, Grimsby Road, Caistor Bring and Buy; Raffle Lifts available tel: 851346 to book Everybody welcome Page 6
NORTH KELSEY When our worship leaders are planned for our own church, we usually use “Roots” as our starting point and often choose hymns, prayers and other relevant readings to build a service without a sermon, which is beyond us. However, we don’t want to become predictable and so we have experimented with different ways of involving everyone. Recently, we opened and closed worship in the church, but in the middle we moved into the hall. Over a cuppa, we talked about the range of experiences and emotions which Jesus knew, taking examples from memory or from Bibles. We tried to link them with situations and feelings from our own lives. (It was too early for Advent then, but the theme is very appropriate for Advent, as it is the Incarnation which has given us confidence that God understands what it’s like to be human.) Not everyone finds this style of service helpful, but some have found it really good to share and we feel it has been well worth trying. All the worship leaders were asked to look out for suitable resources for the Circuit Advent Service and I did some browsing while we were on holiday. We found the bookshop in the beautiful Durham Cathedral, and another just passing through a small town. Both had wonderful coffee and cakes! I liked the following prayer and as we have no other special news, I’ll use the space to share it with you. Happy Christmas! CHRISTMAS COMING
This Christmas, Lord, This Christmas, Lord, take a corner of my life take a corner of my heart and steal in … and steal in … invade the busyness of my doing infuse the coldness of my loving with the quiet of your coming. with the warmth of your Being. This Christmas, Lord, This Christmas, Lord, take a corner of my mind as at Bethlehem’s stable, and steal in … come and steal in … illuminate the darkness of my thinking take the unprepared places of my life with the brightness of your seeing. and make them fit for your dwelling. Pat Bennett From “Hay and Stardust “ Wild Goose Publications
Sylvia Page 7 NETTLETON
Nettleton Coffee Mornings on 5th December and 2nd January have been cancelled .
The members of Nettleton Chapel look forward to seeing you at our Joint Churches Bazaar on 5th December and would like to wish everyone around the Circuit ‘A PEACEFUL AND A BLESSED CHRISTMAS’
Jean Field
Page 8 MARKET RASEN
Guild Wednesday's 7.30pm 2nd Dec Rev Liz Childs District Mission Enabler 9th Dec Lindsey Moulds Project Manager at 'The Foyer' 16th Dec Carols Collection for 'Action for Children' 6th Jan New Years Party 13th Jan Jason Hippisley 'Visit to the Philippines' 20th Jan Malcolm Boot 27th Jan Annual Dinner
Janice Cook
Page 9 GLENTHAM
It was our pleasure to welcome Don once again to lead our service at the beginning of November. We were doubly blessed on Remembrance Sunday as Marty led our service and Rev Peter Godden gave the address. It is always good to share in worship with our Anglican friends and particularly to remember those who have and are giving their lives for our freedom. The following Sunday Andrew reminded us how important it is to encourage one another, as we shared communion. Today we all joined in the chaos of Messy Church as we made advent calendars and enjoyed a sketch, with Katy, Milly, Thalia and Trevor playing the leading roles as ‘days’ on the calendar. The service challenged us all to think not only about that first coming of Jesus but the day when we are promised he will come again. We continue to take assemblies at Hemswell Cliff School and are still wonderfully amazed at how enthusiastic the children are in listening and taking part in what we have prepared and the privilege it is to share God’s word with them. We are busy preparing for both our Carol Service on 13th December, when the Glentham Singers will be taking part, and our next Messy Church on 20th. The Men’s breakfast at the ‘Crown’ continues to be well supported. We enjoyed hearing about ‘Street Pastors’ from one of the team and as Church representatives, we’re encouraged to consider asking for donations to be made from our Churches, to help fund this essential Christian work on the streets of Lincoln. More great speakers lined up, Dec- Jan – March, come and join us!! All at Glentham wish each of you a wonderful and blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2010. Jenny & Peter
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NEWTOFT HOLIDAY AT HOME Though the number of ‘holiday makers’ who attended the recent Holiday at Home at Faldingworth Primary School was fairly low, those who did, and all the helpers and activity leaders, had a ‘whale of a time’ according to one of them. Every assessment form expressed great delight in all that we organised, with highlights including the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere, the opportunity to make new friendships, the high standard of the activity leaders, the smooth running of the event, the entertainment provided by young people, and the variety concert which brought the last day to a close. A lady from Faldingworth, who organises a Christmas party for children in the village, went home during her lunch break on the first day to bring invitations to this year’s party for the children from Newtoft. A Newtoft resident, on hearing that the Newtoft village hall steering group will be busy fundraising now that planning permission has been received, volunteered to serve on that committee. The same gentleman offered to take part in the variety concern and sang to his own guitar accompaniment. The volunteer from St. John Ambulance who was there to provide first aid cover came up with lots of ideas for a future event, and one lady said that she really enjoyed being able to take home with her some of the craft items she had made to show her husband, ‘just as I did when I was a little girl and was eager to let my parents see what I had made’. I attended the thanksgiving service in the parish church at Faldingworth and afterwards the husband of one of the ladies told me that she had been eagerly waiting for him to come home each day so that she could regale him with her story of all that had been going on. The proceeds of “Pharaoh to Freedom” came to £336.50, a magnificent sum, and 10% of this was given to the building fund for the Newtoft village hall project. This left £302.85 for ‘Holiday at Home’ and was added to by a grant from the ‘PIP’ Fund (the Healthy Communities organisation set up by the County Council and the NHS), and from the Anglican and Methodist churches – and we now have almost all that we would need for a second ‘holiday at home’, which all the participants have said they would like, and would recommend to their friends. I mentioned earlier that one of the highlights was performances by young people; this came from a group of four young people from William Farr School at Welton on the first afternoon, and from six youngsters from Brookenby who wanted to come and sing as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to God for the Brookenby Bash. The activities came mainly from members of West Wolds U3A, who provided expert guidance on family history, performances of recorded jazz music, art oils, beading, card craft, cross stitch, embroidery and iris folding, and these were augmented by a music workshop given by Ian Hardcastle and Roy Kitchen, and by games, among which was ‘channel islands cricket’ which gave great fun and friendly rivalry. So finally, my heartfelt thanks to the members of the planning committee (Mollie Dixon, Cynthia Bunch, Mandy Murphy, Susan Mitchell-Smith and Christine Hall), to the many volunteers, especially Liz Margrave, Shirley Adlard, Cynthia Bunch, Doreen Wallis and June Hare who worked so hard and enthusiastically in the kitchen., and to the leaders of the activities. We all worked hard to provide a first-rate event, but at the end we were able to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. The next one is sure to be better still, because we’ve learned a trick or two from this first effort. Colin Hare
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