God's Light on a Hill in the Heart of the Town
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Stranton and Burbank Community Church SIGNPOST God’s Light on a Hill in the Heart of the Town 40p May 2015 ALL SAINTS CHURCH, STRANTON CHURCH SERVICES Sunday 8.30am. Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) 10.30am. Service (with children’s groups for 3-14s) 1st Sunday of the month will be Holy Communion 2nd Sunday of the month will be Morning Worship 3rd Sunday of the month will be Holy Communion 4th Sunday of the month will be Lighthouse Service 11.00am. Morning Worship at Burbank Community Church, at Ward Jackson School. 7.30pm Youth Fellowship (14 years +) On the Third Sunday of each month, Messy Church takes place at St Matthew’s Community Centre at 4.00pm. This is a time for parents/ carers and children to have fun together, doing crafts and various activities, based on a bible theme. Occasionally, (2 or 3 times a year) the congregations at Stranton and Burbank all come together for the 10.30am service, and this is followed by a bring and share meal. Wednesday Morning 10.00am. Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) at St Matthew’s Community Centre. Please note that the next Messy Church will be on 17th May and will continue to take place on the Third Sunday of each Month 2 Dear friends, A few months ago I wrote an article about Stranton 20:20 vision, a period of time where we reflect as a church about what God is calling us to be and to do as a church. This began with our sermon series last term when we explored our identity as the church, living as the body of Christ. We then considered our mission as God’s people. Over 4 weeks we were reminded that we are to: 1. Love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength 2. Love our neighbour as ourselves 3. Make disciples 4. Seek God’s Kingdom We also spent some time reflecting on our context reminding ourselves about the parish and town of which we are part. Since Easter I have begun the next part of the process seeking to discern our shared values as a parish community. There is a great variety of people linked with our parish. This is something to be celebrated. However this also means we rarely if ever all meet together and at times we can appear to be fragmented. However I do believe that as a parish we share common values and if we discover those values it will be in these that we find a greater sense of unity and cohesion. To do this I will be visiting as many groups as possible across our church community. This will include groups like the Mothers Union, home groups, the pastoral group and so on. The aim is to listen. To listen to what those who belong to our church really value. No one group will come up with all the answers. The things you value are really important. Do please make sure that if you are reading this you make a contribution to this process. As things stand I am aware that some who belong to our church community may not be in one of the groups I am visiting, simply because they are not in a group. If that is you, I would love to hear from you. Perhaps we could set something up to meet with a few people and ensure your opinions contribute to this process. Once the listening process is over we will all have the opportunity to come together and agree on our shared values. These values will then be used to express our vision, the direction in which we believe God is calling us as we look to 2020 and beyond. Grace and peace, Norman 3 M O T H E R'S U N I O N Dear Friends, Stranton Mothers` Union welcomed St Luke's to join us for our Lady Day Service. Rev Andrew Craig kindly led a quiet thoughtful service and Julie provided the music for our singing. It was good to catch up on each others news over tea and biscuits. As a church we interact with other denomination through Churches together, but very little, if any, within the Church of England. So M.U. tries to make those opportunities. At our April meeting we welcomed Rev Norman Shave and enrolled Sue Coates into the membership of M.U. during our short service. We divided into small groups and were asked to share a memorable time of going to church, and what we thought was good about church. As you can imagine there were many different beginnings, but the majority of experiences were of Stranton. Being welcomed, who led them, praying with them and of faith always strong no matter what they have, or are going through, God still loves them. A lady was visiting us who said she still had to find God. An addition to our prayer list - that she may find the way, for it is already open and waiting for her. Each season of the church life is so important to remember in our walk with Jesus. At Easter He took our sins and shame and died for us. Then He rose and brought new life, spiritually born afresh. So Pentecost brings the fulfilment of Jesus` promise to be with us and in us through his Holy Spirit. “Ask and you shall receive, knock and the way will be open for you”. Please don`t forget to let Ann or myself know if you are going to the Festival Service on the 1st June as we need to arrange transport. Date of the next meeting - 11th May. Kathy St Matthew's Community Centre - Stranton's Centre - Your Centre The latest plan for the Community Centre includes adding a canopy to the cellar stairwell in order to stop litter from collecting in the stairwell Also the paving is now being weeded on a regular basis to give a more pleasing sight to the passing community. Signs have been placed around the Community Centre so that all users know exactly which part of the building they require. St Matthews Community Centre Committee 4 From the Home Front We had driven alongside the meandering river as we made our way up the Dales and parked in the village at the head of the valley. As we walked through the village we saw the babbling stream as it rushed through the streets on its way to join the river. We walked up the sides of the valley on the old pack horse route following the stream. Initially there was a wide flat area of stones at the bottom of a steep gorge which, in heavy rain, accommodated the influx of water from the surrounding hillsides. As we climbed the steep path we could hear the fast moving water across boulders and over waterfalls, but we could not see the stream as it tumbled downwards. However the path was frequently muddy as it was crossed by water which gurgled out from between stones at the side of the path and found the shortest route to cross the pathway to make its way to feed into the stream. As we struggled up the steep rugged pathway the number and size of these rivulets decreased and the rushing stream had changed into a bubbling brook, until, when we reached the summit, the land was quite dry and covered with short rough grass and heath plants, there were no trees growing due to the shallow soil with underlying rock and the exposed nature of the land, open to the blasts of wind, cold and sun. What little grass grew was well nibbled by the sheep left to roam over the vast hillsides. The brook had narrowed and become shallower as we had struggled up the steep hill and eventually it had just disappeared underground into the rocks. In the peace and quiet of the hilltop we reflected on how we had traveled back along a timeline of growth and how it reflected the walk of a believer. The top of the hill was the empty place where experiences are extreme and life is about survival of the harsh testing and excesses of everyday life. Then the knowledge of 'another way' bubbles to the surface and we become aware of a new direction. As we move along other Christian influences cross our path and extend our knowledge and understanding, we become filled with life, fellowship and joy. But at times the way can be difficult with trials and challenges – however the outside influences are there and continue to develop our characters, give knowledge and support all our needs. We become part of a wider community – Parish Church, Diocese, Worldwide Church - and along the way we join in praise, participate in prayer, study and mission. Yet we need to be aware of droughts, dams, irrigation channels, holes and rocks which continue to affect our Christian life path until we flow with all those before and after us into the sea of our Salvation... J.A.R. 5 A plea from Kilimatinde Dear Friends Please pray for our region in Tanzania and also Dodoma region, we have been waiting for rain since the beginning of Feb and it still hasn't come in any great quantity. Crops that were planted in Dec and started to grow have all been burned by the sun. The price of rice, maize, sugar and wheat flour has gone sky high and the price of meat and other commodities has sunk too low.