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CHALLENGE The Parish Magazine of St Mary’s Sandbach February 2019 Volume 55 No 642 February 2019 Sunday 3rd February 8.00 am Holy Communion Presentation of Christ in 10.00 am Parish Eucharist the Temple Candlemas 3.30 pm St Christopher Chorale Evensong Sunday 10th February 8.00 am Holy Communion 4 before Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 3.30 pm Evensong Sunday 17th February 8.00 am Holy Communion 3 before Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 3.30 pm Choral Evensong Sunday 24th February 8.00 am Holy Communion 2 before Lent 10.00 am Parish Eucharist 6.30 pm Evensong Sunday 3rd March 8.00 am Holy Communion Sunday before Lent 10.00 am Morning Worship 3.30 pm Holy Eucharist Every Wednesday 11.00 am Holy Communion Holy Eucharist, Parish Eucharist = Order 2 Common Worship Holy Communion = Order 1 Book of Common Prayer 1 very few years the Church of England at a parish level renews its E list of regular attenders or people who feel associated with their local church. This is known as the "Electoral Roll”. The last time we did this was in 2013 and now six years later it is a year of renewal. No names are carried over from the old roll and everyone must make a new application to be included on the new roll. You are only required to give your name, address, a declaration (as a tick in a box), your signature and the date. This then becomes our parish church’s new register of electors; it is the list of those qualified to attend and to vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting where the elections take place for the parochial church council and the parish’s representatives on the deanery synod. Any person on the Electoral Roll is entitled to attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (Sunday 7th April at 11am) and may raise any question of parochial or general church interest. By enrolling you become a voting member of the Church of England and so help to ensure that all the synodical councils of the Church – the parochial church council, the deanery synod, the diocesan synod and the General Synod – are fully representative of its members. Synodical government gives an opportunity for partnership between bishops, clergy and laity in the life of the Church and this form of governance of the Church of England is intended to enable church people at every level to be in touch with the Church as a whole and to play their part in decision- making. It is also intended to ensure that the laity have their place in every aspect of church life, including its doctrine and services. Please complete the form in centre pages of this magazine and leave it either in the church hall on Thursday mornings, at the back of church on Sunday or post it to the vicarage or Electoral Officer. There will be plenty of extra forms available as well (including on the website for download) and some of you will be receiving a personalised letter of invitation at the beginning of March, if you have not responded by then! Some see this as a bit of a chore but it should be taken seriously by us all. This has to be completed by mid March. Thomas Shepherd - Vicar 2 From the Registers Baptism December 2018 28th Jaxson Hawley Beckett son of Richard and Caroline Funerals January 10th Louise Slater (57) 11th John William Ramsden (72) 14th Muriel Pointon (103) Wedding December 2018 28th Richard Philip Beckett and Caroline Elizabeth Mary Cooke Church Flowers February 10th Mrs Willis 17th Cyril Acton Other dates Vacant If anyone would like to give flowers on any Sunday please speak to Sheenagh on 01270 529187 3 he PCC discussed the T magazine production, income and expenditure at the recent PCC meeting. The income is from two sources of approximate equal amounts - magazine sales and advertisements. Main expenditure is on consumables, cover printing, maintaining the duplicator and booklet making machines. Volunteers work hard to print, collate and distribute the magazine around the town. If anyone would like to get involved then please do get in contact as many hands make light work. A number of the current companies advertising are not continuing this year and we thank them very much for their business. If you know of anyone who would like to advertise then please put them in touch with me by 4th February. I would encourage you to have a good look on the cover and support the businesses as much as possible to keep our town in business. At present the magazine does pay for itself so the decision was to keep the cover cost at 50p. If we get more people to by the magazine then we will be fine this year but may need to raise the cost next year. Coffee Rota February 3rd Jean Richardson and Iris Kenilworth 10th Marjorie Burgess and Joyce Booth 17th Kathleen Davies and Kathleen Beech 24th Stella Craven and Christine Hirst March 3rd Joyce Griffiths and Lynne Winfield 4 Change of tone on Brexit debate he Church of England bishops who recently met in London T made the following statement: ‘The bishops of the Church of England pray for national unity – and courage, integrity and clarity for our politicians. We call on the country to consider the nature of our public conversation. It is time to bring grace and generosity back to our national life. ‘At the heart of the Christian message is Jesus’ command to love our neighbour. This includes those with whom we agree and disagree – at home, in Europe, and further afield. We urge everyone – our political leaders and all of us – to bring magnanimity, respect and reconciliation to our national debate. ‘There is now an urgent need for the United Kingdom to recover a shared vision and identity to help us find a way through the immediate challenges. ‘Regardless of what happens next with Brexit, the Church of England, alongside many other churches and other agencies striving for the common good, will be at the heart of local communities; educating one million children, providing 33,000 social action projects and running 16,000 churches across the country. Above all else, we will continue to support the most vulnerable and share Christ’s love with all.’ Having been asked if it was a sin for an average family to own three cars, a minister replied, “It would depend where they were parked on a Sunday morning.” 5 Tickets: Adults: £10.00 Snr Citizens/Concessions: £9.00 School Children: £3.00 Family Ticket : £21.00 Doors Open 6.30 pm Wednesday 27th February Reiko Fujisawa Pianist who celebrates the great 19th century musician Clara Wieck Schumann with a programme of works by Brahms, Chopin, Robert Schumann and Clara herself. and spotlight concert with local young musicians www.sandbachwww.sandbach----concertconcertconcert----series.co.ukseries.co.uk All concerts at 7pm in St Mary's Church Hall Tickets available from: on-line, Demeter Wholefoods (15 Welles St), Bramwells Opticians (4 Hightown) or on the door . Sandbach Choral Society Quiz Night Saturday 9th February St. Mary's Church Hall, Sandbach at 7.30pm £9 per person including Fish & Chip supper Teams of up to 6 Bring your own drinks Contact Sue Cooke to book your place 01270 766546 or email [email protected] 6 Faithful disobedience ecently, over 100 members acts of the church are attempts to R of a Christian Church in prove to the world the real Chengdu, China were arrested. existence of another world. The Among those taken away were Bible teaches us that, in all Pastor Wang Yi and his wife, matters relating to the gospel and Jiang Rong. Foreseeing this, human conscience, we must obey Pastor Wang Yi wrote a letter to God and not men. For this be published by his church reason, spiritual disobedience should he be detained for more and bodily suffering are both than 48 hours. In it he explained ways we testify to another eternal the meaning and necessity of world and to another glorious faithful King. This is disobedience, why I am not how it is distinct interested in from political changing any activism or civil political or legal disobedience, institutions in and how China. I’m not Christians should even interested in carry it out. This the question of is a short extract when the from his letter. Communist The mission of the church is regime’s policies persecuting the only to be the church and not to church will change. Regardless of become a part of any secular which regime I live under now or institution. From a negative in the future, as long as the perspective, the church must secular government continues to separate itself from the world and persecute the church, violating keep itself from being human consciences that belong institutionalized by the world. to God alone, I will continue my From a positive perspective, all faithful disobedience. For the 7 entire commission God has given more Chinese people to despair me is to let more Chinese people of their futures, to lead them know through my actions that the through a wilderness of spiritual hope of humanity and society is disillusionment and through this only in the redemption of Christ, to make them know Jesus, and if in the supernatural, gracious through this he continues sovereignty of God. disciplining and building up his If God decides to use the church, then I am joyfully willing persecution of this Communist to submit to God’s plans, for his regime against the church to help plans are always benevolent and good.