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May 2018 Rochester Link.Indd ochester 2 ochester Link Gravesend, and not to be missed at 7:30pm. www.stgeorgesgravesend.org Admission is CONTENTS: What’s On £10 and tickets are available from 01634 1 May 365453 or on the door. BURRSWOOD Charlie Bell – Writing and Poetry What’s On OTFORD Special evening with Terry Waite. 2 workshop. Spend a day with Charlie Bell Terry, as the international envoy for the exploring how writing can aid wellness and A New Horizon Archbishop of Canterbury during the 1980s, 3 wellbeing. The day will be largely practical and successfully negotiated the release of British Former Army Chief to speak in will give everyone a chance to write and reflect. hostages, first from Iran and then from Libya. 5 £50 includes tea, coffee and pastries, a delicious Then, when trying to do the same in Lebanon, Sevenoaks lunch and cream tea. Groombridge, Tunbridge he was himself taken captive and held for Wells, TN3 9PY. Call Reservations on 01892 Knitted Bible nearly five years - most of that time in solitary 5 865988 to find out more or book your place. confinement. Evening will start at 6:30pm www.burrswood.org.uk when Terry will be in conversation with Prayer is the Word 6-7 5 May former BBC broadcaster, Nick Page. This will Card Readers for your Parish 9 be followed by a reception with canapés, and BURRSWOOD Creative Space. This course is Terry’s books will be available to be bought - Messy Fiesta inspires outreach to for anybody with a desire to reconnect with and signed. Tickets for this evening cost £20 9 their own creativity. We will explore ways of families and are available now from the church office nurturing and developing creativity through a [email protected] and from Joan Diocesan Synod 2018-2021 series of fun and focused drawing and painting Beacom 01959 524304. 11 sessions. No previous experience of drawing or painting is necessary but all levels are 20 May New Bishop of Tonbridge 12 welcome. £195 includes tuition, meals and one BROMLEY Choral Evensong led by the Church Trinity Sunday 12 night’s accommodation from 10am Saturday Choir at St Mary’s Chuch (Plaistow) at 6:30pm to 4pm Sunday. Call Reservations on 01892 For more information check the church website 865988 to find out more or book your place. or call 020 8464 1239. www.burrswood.org.uk CONTACT US FAWKHAM & HARTLEY Traditional May, from To share your events and news email : 5-7 May [email protected] noon until 4:00pm, at St Mary’s Church Meadow, or 01634 560000 BURRSWOOD Seeing the Bible whole. The Fawkham Road, Fawkham, DA3 8EQ. The event will feature a variety of stalls and activities, ADVERTISEMENTS Bible tells one continuous story centering Email: [email protected] on Jesus. We will look at the shape of this including a fun dog show, classic car displays, Copy for The Link needs to be typed and story and learn how we can take the Bible and live music courtesy of the band Jazz Force submitted by email please. Images must be submitted as either a TIFF or a seriously, without always taking it literally. and choir Local Vocals. Tempting pastries, ice- JPEG file of 300dpi. cream and burgers will provide added pleasure, (Set your digital camera to the highest quality setting and we will try to do £265 includes tuition, meals and two nights’ the rest for you.) accommodation from 10am Saturday to as will the opportunity to win a Bluewater 5pm Monday. Call Reservations on 01892 voucher worth £200 - first prize in the fair’s 865988 to find out more or book your place. Grand Draw. A contribution of £2.00 per vehicle www.burrswood.org.uk will gain entrance to ample car parking. 6 May 20 May BROMLEY Choral Mattins at St Mary’s Church BELVEDERE Patronal Festival. Sung Concelebrated (Plaistow) led by the church choir at 10.30 Mass at 7:30pm at St Augustine’s Church, St a.m. For more information check the church Augustine’s Rd, Belvedere DA17 5HH. website or call 020 8464 1239. 23 May 8 May BURRSWOOD Kerry Ingham – Illustrations The Princess Project Launch event from and Drawing workshop 1. Local illustrator 10:00am - 12:00pm at Christ Church, Luton. To and counsellor Kerry Ingham joins Burrswood book please visit www.rochester.anglican.org/ to explore the art of drawing for fun and mission/hope-2018/events-and-workshops/ inner peace. Tickets £60 per person to include tuition, art materials, pastries on 12 May arrival, lunch and a cream tea (plus good BROMLEY Plant Sale and Coffee Morning at St company). Call Reservations on 01892 Mary’s Church (Plaistow) arranged by St Mary’s 865988 to find out more or book your place. Mothers’ Union from 10:00am. to 12noon. www.burrswood.org.uk Admission 50p which includes first cup of 26 May coffee. Hundreds of plants, with books, toys, bric-a-brac, cakes and raffle: all proceeds to Raising Awareness of Domestic Abuse – Mothers’ Union Literacy Project and Away From Causes, Impacts and The Future, with Peter It All. For more information call 020 8464 1239. Williams from Kent Community Domestic Abuse Programme (CDAP) 10.30am-4pm. 12 May Refreshments from 10am at Tonbridge Parish BROMLEY Concert by the Hammig String Church. Information and booking at: www. Quartet at St Mary’s Church (Plaistow). The rochester.anglican.org/mission/hope-2018/ concert begins at 7:30pm and admission is events-and-workshops/ £8 (£6) on the door. The programme includes 2 June Shostakovich’s 14th String Quartet and an early Haydn quartet. Interval refreshments BROMLEY Concert by Bromley Symphony are available. Further information on Players, directed by Bernard Brook. The 020 8464 1239. concert includes Concerti Grosso by Corelli and Locatelli, Burswold’s Dance for Violin Thank you... 19 May and Strings (solo violin Bernard Brook), and Cornerstone Vision would like to take this opportunity to GRAVESEND Roan Kearsey-Lawson’s Classical Dvorak’s incomparable Serenade for Strings. thank the Diocese of Rochester for entrusting us with the Conversations sees three professional The concert starts at 7:30pm, and admission provision of an advertising and publishing service for the musicians play fourteen instruments in the is £8 on the door. All proceeds go to The last five years. We also want to thank all our local and course of one concert. There are beautiful Corps of Army Musicians Trust in memory of national advertisers who have supported the publication Nick Whitehead. Further information from during that time. classical melodies and exciting world rhythms as well. It’s at St George’s Chuch, 020 8464 1239. ochester Link 3 A New Horizon By the Ven Simon Burton-Jones he beauty of Called Together Tis the way it has sifted a cacophony of voices. We have crowd sourced the will of God for us. It also means that the vision has been handed up to the Bishop so he can share it around. Here are some passing observations on just four of its themes. Our attention spans are shortening by the year. One survey recently suggested that human beings now concentrate for a shorter period of time than a goldfish. I googled that fact, so it must be true. The information age is reducing our attention spans and making it harder to intercede in prayer, which is the foundation of all we do. We talk about the storms that are building around the Church but our response is to build our house on the sands of prayerlessness. Above all things, we should encourage a culture of deep prayer in this era of rapid change. When it comes to evangelism, churchgoers still tend to believe that the culture is largely Christian; that people can pick up the faith as they go along, like learning to say please and holding open doors for others. That there’s no need to evangelise because society will do The Ven Simon Burton-Jones, Archdeacon of Rochester this for us. But the speed of change today is arguably unlike anything grace, now work out what it means structures too. An era of austerity redemption asks of us new levels seen before and these changes for you’. Today’s culture is very has, if sadly, enabled churches to of co-operation and trust between are not necessarily underpinned by respectful of personal autonomy. demonstrate their faith via food churches. Interference in the way someone banks and night shelters, drop in Christian faith. For too long, our unspoken motto chooses to live is frowned upon – centres and dementia cafes. By dint has been: ‘Why do things together We need to spell out what the faith especially by younger generations. of necessity, some churches are re- when we can do them apart?’ This means and we need help to know We decide to bring in people who discovering the social conscience represents a faulty theology of how to do this in a sensitive but will direct us, like personal trainers that others never lost. If it is to salvation, may be unyielding to the compelling way. It is not always and coaches, but their authority mean anything, we must only be in Holy Spirit and leads to unhealthy clear what other people are saying stems from our consumer choice, the initial stages of this. competition between parishes. about God because we’re not in the rather than an external source. right place to hear them. Each of these challenges – There are many things we will Attempts to make disciples must prayer, evangelism, discipleship, continue to do separately because We need to work intentionally work within our personal tradition, community action – is fluid.
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