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 February! It's an odd month - still dark and often cold and wet. All the fun and warmth of Christmas seems far behind us and the summer is a far distant dream. And yet the signs of spring are all around us - snowdrops push up brave spears along the banks; primroses nestle shyly among the leaves and the dancing heads of golden daffodils are a bright reminder that spring is almost here. Have you ever thought that the story of the Church is a little like the circling seasons? There are periods of life and light and growth and there are times of darkness and decline. The same pattern can be seen throughout Biblical history. The people of Israel listened to God and obeyed Him and prospered and fell away from their Covenant commitment and everything fell apart around them. Even in the history of Methodism we see the pattern repeated. Wesley's work began at a time when the church had lost any real relevance to the mass of people in this country and Wesley and his friends broke with several centuries of Church tradition to take the Gospel out of the churches to the people who needed to hear it. He didn't pull any punches and called people to change their lives around. Membership of the Methodist Church meant real commitment, regular attendance at worship, a change in lifestyle, active membership of a Methodist class and a prayer band meeting. But over the years we have fallen away from that level of commitment. When one looks at the church now it sometimes seems that a non-productive winter has really set in - permanently! 2 But of course, that isn't true! There will be spring. The Church will grow and bloom again because the truth of the gospel cannot be suppressed forever. It's up to us to find the fresh shoots and nurture them. What is your church doing to raise the awareness of the people of your communities about its existence and about the reason that it is there? I would like to challenge all of our churches to do something aimed at those outside the church family every month - events which have appeal but which also contain nuggets of Christian truth so that by next Christmas you have a far larger raft of interested contacts to invite to your Christmas services. And friends, don't forget to nourish your own faith too, praying constantly, alone and together and studying the word of God. We have several prayer groups, meditation groups and Bible Study groups across the circuit - get involved! This is a basic of Christian discipleship, not an optional extra! And as we grow our own faith may we grow the church of Christ and bring many new believers into the joy of knowing God. May He bless us all! Doreen What we find in Jesus We find peace and The Prince of Peace, We find righteousness and The Righteous One, We find counsel and The Counsellor, We find wonders and The Wonderful One, We find salvation and The Saviour, We find the Kingdom and The King. BM 3 December, as always, has been really busy – starting with the Toy and Christingle Service on the first Sunday of the month, led by Rev Bryan and Sue Wilcox. This began with Family Breakfast during which the children made their Christingles which they then took into the service where a large quantity of toys and gifts were brought forward to be distributed by the Wadebridge FoodBank. The day after a really appreciated Christmas Community Lunch, the Women’s Fellowship enjoyed a celebratory Soup and Sweet meal where the collection was taken for charity. Our ecumenical Open the Book team is now in the 7th year of weekly visits to school and we ended the calendar year by joining together with fellowship over a Christmas meal. One of the most informal events was a Scratch Nativity led by Alison Gill where anyone in the congregation, who wished to, had the opportunity to dress as a Nativity character and take part in the service. Our Village Carol Service was held at the C of E St John’s, where the church was full and many took part in presenting the happenings of the first Christmas. 4 Perhaps the event that had most impact on the village was the 250ish knitted angels with messages of peace and love which appeared all over Delabole early in the month. The tags wished people a happy Christmas and asked them to take the angels home. As there are no longer any hanging on the railings and branches around the village - and reading the positive messages on Facebook - we think this was a successful idea. Thank you, Alison, for suggesting it. On Christmas Eve we held an hour of Carols led by Rev Bryan and Sue and then on Christmas Day itself, we met together to celebrate Christ’s birth at a service with Rev Bryan. A tradition that has continued for many years at Tintagel Methodist Church is the Gift Tree service when new and good used toys are brought and donated by many kind supporters and placed around the Christmas Tree. This year for the first time they will be donated to the local Food Bank for distribution. Monetary donations are also collected and given to Spectrum a Cornish charity working with Autism, this year donations amounted to £181. Sheila Flower was the organist and Elizabeth Brown and Raymond Sleep the stewards. Sue Ede led the service and was helped by Molly and Henry Kestell to light the first candle on the Advent ring. Lynn Spurdens and Graham Hobbs read from John chapter 1 and Psalm 139 was read together by the congregation. The Chapel was beautifully decorated with sixteen plus Christmas trees, which over the weekend had 5 been admired by visitors. All donations given were for the work of the Cornwall Air Ambulance. Refreshments were served in the schoolroom throughout. Trees were decorated by Stuart and Jenny Patterson – Joy to the World; St Materiana’s Parish Church – While Shepherds Watched; The Harris sisters chose – Cradled in a Manger; Come and Join the Celebrations was the choice of Open the Book; Mary Uglow and Kathy Rowse portrayed the Holly and the Ivy; Tintagel Pre-School – Away in a Manger; Jingle Bells was the choice of Edwina Broad; Tintagel Orpheus Male Voice Choir chose – God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen; Janet and Graham Hobbs – I Saw Three Ships; Jean Whiting – It Came upon the Midnight Clear; Joan Turner chose – Like a Candle Flame; Bridget Hollingsworth– Ding Dong; Sue and Bryan Ede – Love Came Down; Trevena-Tintagel WI – Angels from the Realms of Glory; Cornwall Hospice Care – Hark the Herald and Messy Church also had a tree. Sheila Kenner A great time was had at messy church which was well attended by familiar faces and some new. Some people were local and some travelled from further afield. The main craft for the day was making lanterns that could be lit up and carried on sticks. This activity was wonderful to watch as it really was an all age activity that bridged the generational gap. Everyone worked together to get the lanterns built. The activities were followed by the crowd gathering in Living Water church where Rev Doreen began to tell us the Nativity 6 story. She was interrupted by some very excited shepherds, who told us they had seen angels and asked us to go with them to the stable. We all went out of the church where the lanterns lit our route as we followed the shepherds to the stable. That was an amazing sight and several people commented on how special that moment was. In the stable we found Boisey the donkey quietly eating hay and a beautiful baby boy with his mother. Rev Doreen finished telling us about how Jesus was born in a stable and that the shepherds and wise men worshipped him. We joined together and sang carols then returned to the Sunday school room for refreshments. I believe everyone who attended felt that we had a really special time together. A special thank you goes to the Feltham-Clarke family for allowing Boisey to join us plus Hilda and Michael Hicks for assisting in his travel arrangements. Also thank you to Amy who stepped in for Mary and to her gorgeous baby who played the role of Baby Jesus. 7 Report by Alison Hoather and photos by Sarah Clarke-Feltham Wesley Cottage Wesley Day Celebrations 2018 Our Wesley Day Celebrations this year will take place on Sunday 27th May 4pm Preach from the Porch 5pm Tea at Altarnun Parish Church Hall 6.30pm Worship at Altarnun Parish Church Our Preacher for both services will be the President of Conference Rev Lorraine Mellor 8 Worship will be led by Cornwall District Chair Rev Steve Wild and the account of Wesley’s Conversion will be read by Methodist Youth President Mr Michael Pryke Wesley Cottage Study, Prayer and Quiet Days January to March 2018 Places are limited on these days so advance booking is essential telephone: 01566 880265 or email: [email protected] Although there is no set charge to attend donations are welcome and a buffet lunch is provided unless indicated otherwise. Wednesday 24th January 10am-3pm Prayer Day: ‘Shall we Pray’ with John Hogarth A brief teaching time on prayer will be followed by putting prayer into practice to allow individual opportunity for worship, confession, intercession, and silence.