The Newsletter of the Camelford and Week St. Mary Circuit 12/20 Bethel, Boscastle, Bossiney, Brockhill, Camelford, Delabole, Living Water, Maxworthy, Rehoboth, St. Breward, St. Teath, St. Tudy, Tintagel, Tremail, Tresparrett, Treveighan, Week St. Mary 1 March already! How did that happen? The months are slipping away and I am already half way through my final year as a stipendiary minister. It was Presbyteral synod yesterday and I had to ask for formal permission to 'sit down'. My request did rather break the mould. 'I don't want to sit down', I said. What I want to ask is more than that - remember the action song many of us sang as children 'One finger, one thumb, one arm, one leg, one nod of the head, sit down, stand up, turn round, keep moving' - well, that's what I want to ask. Please let me sit down, move a finger to exit the TMCP website Online Suite for consents, returns and statistics, move a thumb to switch off the computer, stretch my arms and legs - and then STAND UP, turn round, and keep moving - moving onward to do what God called me to do - to preach the good news of the Gospel to all who will listen, both young and old, to make disciples, to follow Jesus. My challenge to all of you is 'Will you come with me?' OK, most of us are getting long in the tooth but there's no one else to do it The future of the Christian faith in north Cornwall is in our hands! May God bless us all as we seek to serve Him. With love in Christ Doreen 2 On March 18th at 3pm Dimma Chapel are holding a to be followed by one of their famous teas. Come and celebrate the years of service and witness that have been so much a part of the chapel in the District and area since 1879. On Sunday February 3rd the congregation at Tintagel Methodist Church was joined for a united service by worshippers from St Teath, Tresparrett, Bethel, Tremail and Living Water Methodist Churches. The Chairman of the Cornwall Methodist District, Rev. Steve Wild from Truro led the service and conducted a most moving Communion Service, helped by Mr John Poorta. Sheila Flower was the organist and Naomi Sparey distributed Living and Lent sheets to observe through the period of Lent. She also read the Scriptures from Hebrew 2 and Luke 2. Kathy Rowse and Joyce Brown were the day’s stewards. Basing his service on the festival of Candlemas, when we remember how the infant 3 Jesus was dedicated in the Temple, Rev. Wild spoke on how light always wins in the face of darkness. A painting showing the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple at what we now celebrate as Candlemas John Parsons and his wife holidaying in the area attended the service and John was invited by Rev. Wild to speak about his family’s connection with Sam Pollard from Camelford who travelled to China as a missionary introducing Christianity and creating the Miao script which is still in use today. Last Sunday’s service was led by Mr Brian Parkman from Camelford. Visitors from Bournemouth and London were welcomed to the congregation and Happy Birthday was sung to Elizabeth Brown and David Cook. Prayers were said for the Nute family on their recent bereavement. June Burnard was the organist and Christine Alexander and Pauline Sandercock were the stewards. Brian quoted the saying ‘time 4 and tide waits for no man’ with the period of Lent commencing this week. Scripture readings were taken from 2 Kings chapter 2 and Mark 9. Tintagel Churches Together are holding two Lent Lunches, the first this Wednesday (14th ) in the Methodist Schoolroom and after a change of date, Wednesday 21st will see the Lent Lunch organised by St Materiana Parish Church in the Old Schoolrooms. Funds raised will be for Christian Aid and Little Way. In the evening Rev. Steve spoke at Cafe Church at Week St. Mary, sharing news from around the District and beyond that demonstrates the way in which evangelism is reaching out to those who are not connected with any churches. These insights into the way in which the Kingdom is growing help us all to be involved and encouraged in the work that we are doing in our own local fellowships. On Saturday February 10th, the ladies of Tresparrett (with some much appreciated help from family & friends) served breakfast from 10 am – 2 pm. After a slow start the hall was soon buzzing with conversation and murmurs of appreciation from the diners. Order slips included: ‘Fruit juice, cereals, bacon, egg, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash-browns, brown or white toast, tea or coffee. 5 About 11.30 am, when we expected a lull, the power went off. No immediate panic as Edward checked the trip switch, but it was not the problem. Edward then ran to the church; the rest of us prayed just where we were and turned off non- essential appliances. Power was quickly restored and we welcomed the lunch-time crowd. We were then very busy until about 1.30pm when the workers enjoyed their well- earned meal. We fed about sixty people. Many thanks to all those who came, and especially to all those who were involved in producing such a delicious meal. We raised £340 for church funds. ******************************** Next month, on March 10th, 10 am – 2 pm Tresparrett have their at Otterham Hall Family Breakfast for February (it’s on the first Sunday of the month at 9.30am, all welcome) was rather unusual. Alison Gill, the leader of the gang, and the one who organises the story, craft and activities has had a ‘nasty’ throat making it difficult for her to talk, so Rev Steve Wild said he would come and be the storyteller for the morning. 6 I should explain that one of Alison’s many jobs in the District is Rev Steve’s PA and he was leading the worship at Tintagel on that morning. So he left Truro early, dropped in to join us, told the story of the sheep and wolves in his own inimitable style - complete with puppets - and had children and adults glued. Sadly, he didn’t have time to stay for sausages, bacon and eggs etc - but the rest of us did! Don’t forget one of the highlights of our Circuit Ladies’ calendar on March 14th at 10.30am at Delabole, when Mrs. Sue Ede will be leading us in our annual Lent Service. It is always a thought-provoking time and an occasion when we can meet together and share fellowship. The time of worship is followed by coffee and Hot Cross Buns. If you’ve never been before, do come and share this time of togetherness. To celebrate the 155th Anniversary of the Methodist Chapel in Delabole we’re fortunate enough to have the pleasure of an evening concert by the Holman Climax MVC. Last year we were worried that the Nankersey MVC might not know the way to the village but as Holman Climax has been visiting us 7 for so many years we feel confident that they’ll be there on Sunday 25th March at 7.30pm, in good voice and raring to go. They’ll be there and we hope that you’ll be there too, to give them a warm north Cornish welcome - by the way, programmes are £5, which I hope you’ll think is a real bargain for live entertainment. I’ve put the cart before the horse, as the concert is the end of our day of celebrations. The beginning is at 11am with a service of thanksgiving led by Rev Bryan and Mrs Sue Ede. This is followed by a roast beef lunch at 12.45pm in the Sunday School (donations please) but we need to know how many we’re catering for so do book (212558) by March 19th. Songs of Praise starts at 6pm and then the concert at 7.30pm. It’d be great to have your company at any or all of these events. The pancake event held at Living Water Church on Saturday February 10th was a great success, with the schoolroom being packed with visitors both from the surrounding area and the Circuit. Savoury and sweet pancakes were served with an amazing selection of fillings and everyone enjoyed the food and the fellowship. 8 Thank you to all who helped and to those who supported us. A final total of £100-00 was raised for MAF – Mission Aviation Fellowship. Our next community effort will be on Easter Monday which is April 2nd and will take the form of an Easter Bonnet Parade and an egg hunt, among other activities. Other dates for special events are May 12th – ‘May-time Memories’ when we hope to celebrate things we have enjoyed in the past and June 23rd when we shall have a Pet Service, hopefully in the paddock. All these activities are to entertain and to bring joy but each one will celebrate the relevance of the Gospel message to all. The monthly social evening at Camelford was led this time by Rev. Doreen and Naomi on the theme of ‘Disciples of a Creative God’, examining how God equips us for His work. Doreen began by reading a passage from Exodus that encourages us to use the gifts given to us by God in His work then she handed over to Naomi who had put together the most intriguing boxes filled with clues to help us to identify some of the Gifts of the Spirit.