The Lantern The magazine of The Church in Warden Hill In the Parish of St. Philip & St. James, Leckhampton, part of the South Cheltenham Team Ministry, & part of the Cheltenham URC April 2020 45p Lantern April 2020 Revd Gary writes... Keep Safe We are living in difficult and quite frankly extraordi- nary times. Everything is moving so fast, it’s difficult to keep up with it; the world is not the same as it was yes- terday, nor will it be the same tomorrow. There are re- strictions in place, all unnecessary contact is to be avoid- ed and people are afraid. When will it end? When will things be back to normal, whatever normal might be? Please continue to reach out to those around you, there’s never been a better time to truly love your neighbour, and there are lots of on-line and practical resources to support you and them. If you’re not on Facebook, then please consider joining as the South Cheltenham Team are streaming Morning Prayer and Night Prayer every- day at 9am and 9pm, as well as Sunday services from around the churches each week at 10am. All services will be here: https://www.facebook.com/ pipandjims/ but do sign up to our own church page also: https:// www.facebook.com/TheChurchInWardenHill/ as Sunday services will be there also. I am aware that many of our church members have needed to self- isolate, but it’s crucial that we all stay connected via the telephone, inter- net or social media. If you’re feeling lonely or need help, then please get in touch. Many people are asking me why God would create something, or perhaps allow something to evolve, which causes such distress and suffer- ing? I’m not a scientist, but perhaps the answer lies in why bacteria and viruses exist in the first place. There are millions of bacteria and viruses out there, and they are essential for life on earth. Many bacteria take inor- ganic compounds and turn them into a form that living things can use. These compounds are, however, trapped inside the cell and need a virus to attack that cell so that the nutrients can be released. 2 Lantern April 2020 Many of the viruses that cause human disease originated in other species, and crossed the species barrier, for example HIV from a Simian (monkey) virus, and SARS from bats, to name just two. No doubt we will find out where COVID-19 came from also. All of these viruses were prob- ably in balance with their intended host species, but it will take time for humans to adapt to something new. And this is what is happening at pre- sent. Viruses are therefore a natural part of God’s good creation, and are important in the cycle of life, with only a tiny percentage causing human disease. COVID-19 has crossed the species divide, from somewhere, and our scientists are now working on a vaccine which will, in time, build a shared immunity in us humans. In the meantime, we have to be patient, keep in touch, love our neighbours, make good decisions, and stay rooted in God’s love. The Bi- ble is a great source of comfort as you do so: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” (Psalm 46.1-2) We will get through this. Revd Gary A Message from the Editor Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the April Lantern. We will review whether to produce a full magazine in the next few months. If you could send me some interesting articles about hobbies, interests or poems or pictures etc then we could have a magazine. What about writing about your favourite hymns. Your help would be appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Alison 3 Lantern April 2020 Lent Project Yemen Whereabouts in the world is Yemen? Why is there a war there? Why do they desperately need our support? Answers to these ques- tions are pinned up in the Prayer Corner, or you can put ‘Lyse Doucet Yemen crisis’ in your search engine and there are graphic details and pictures. In a few words: the conflict has its roots in the Arab Spring of 2011 and is between 1) the Shia Muslims, the Houthis backed by Iran, and 2) the Sunni Muslims backed by Saudi Arabia who were then sup- ported by US, UK and France in 2015 against the Houthis. As ever it is the ordinary people who suffer from the snipers, landmines and shells resulting in severe acute malnutrition of 400,000 children under 5, plus a cholera epidemic, no clean water, no medi- cines, no homes, no aid getting in as the Saudis are blocking the entry port of Hudaydah. They desperately need our help: please give generously either in the small collecting boxes or use a Gift Aid envelope. As we are not meeting at Church these can be dropped through my letterbox. (Or contact [email protected]) Margaret Meads Congratulations to John and Elsie Hutton on their 60th Wedding Anniver- sary. John was pre- sented with gifts by Revd Nick Stanyon on Sunday 8th March. 4 Lantern April 2020 Greetings from Fiona Sands in Canada I completed my internship at Colchester Zoo, which means I now have enough experience to apply for a zoo-keeper post. However: Being moved to invest more into my relationship with God, I ap- plied to go on a 5 month adventure-based Christian leadership training program in Canada with Soul Edge, which I first heard about at Soul Sur- vivor 2019. Leaving it to God to establish my steps, I walked through re- jection from the jobs I applied for, and was accepted onto Soul Edge and left for Canada on 8th January. Soul Edge is intense. For 6 days a week there is always something going on to push us into deeper relationship with God and one another. Each week we have 5 teaching days, an adventure day and a sabbath. We start each teaching day in silence and solitude, centring our hearts on God in prayer and meditation on His word. We then move into worship before our first teaching session: some deep theology surrounding our identity, unpacking of the bible or exploration of spiritual disciplines and practical ways we can use them to deepen our roots in God. We are then straight out for a 3km run followed by intense workout to prepare us for the adventure days. We have a second teaching session in the afternoon followed by an activity of some kind. This ranges from cross-country ski- ing and sledging to horse riding and wide games to mentoring sessions and naps. Evenings are normally more relaxed with film night on Fridays and time to relax and process the day, but two days a week we are in- volved in local house groups for young adults. Adventure days are a good time to process all our learning while having fun and bonding with each other through snowboarding, hiking or cross-country skiing. Sundays are our opportunity to call home and unwind. So far the weather has been pretty good to us, besides tempera- tures down to -30℃ in the first week. Recently we have had our first ad- venture trip away to a cabin in Kananaskis Country. We hiked for 60km over 4 days, starting with a short night hike up Cougar ridge to see the stars, practice using snowshoes and pray for the week ahead. 5 Lantern April 2020 B We then had a day hike in 70mph winds and a two day hike camping wild in the woods in the foot of the Rockies staring at the stars in the most perfect conditions we could have wished for. Through the challenges of acrophobia, times of solitude, and physical exertion, we were rewarded in revelations from God and stunning views from 8500ft. Our final day was challenging in a different way spending several hours in solitude noting things that God had been doing in our lives and creating God-centred values to live by. It was a special day that really encouraged and inspired us all . I am very much looking forward to what the next two months of teaching hold, and for how God is going to transform me in preparation for two months mission in Pelican Narrows later in the year. Fiona Grandvilles Delicatessen 109 Salisbury Avenue, Warden Hill, Cheltenham 01242 231700 Open Mon-Fri 7.45– 3.45; Sat 9.00—1.00 Locally cooked gammon hams, meats and sausages. Fresh bread and cakes (drippers, Chelsea buns etc.) Made fresh daily baguette and sandwiches to take away Breakfast baps, pies, pasties, Panini, jacket potatoes. Hot and cold drinks, snacks and crisps. Telephone orders welcome. Business lunches and outside catering. www.grandvilles.co.uk 6 Lantern April 2020 RECYCLE AND RAISE FUNDS FOR CHARITY You can now do more to help in the Climate Emergency. We all try to recycle as much as we can using the Council recycling bins but there are many forms of packing which are not currently accept- ed. Help is, however, at hand. TCiWH Ecumenical Church Council have agreed that after Easterwe will accept the following: Dental Items – Plastic Toothbrushes, Toothpaste Tubes, Electric Toothbrush Heads and Dental Floss Packaging but not electric tooth- brush handles, interdental brushes or floss. Please ensure all items are clean and dry. Biros (These are collected by Stroud Valleys Projects on behalf of a local school) In future, I am going to look out my old fountain pen and re- embrace the pencil.