Wantage & Abingdon Circuit CHILDREY GROVE WANTAGE SECTOR NEWS Incorporating CIRCUIT EXCHANGE December 2107 January 2018 Minister : Rev Keith Underhill – Tel: 01235 763321 [email protected] Should you need a Minister when Keith is not available, please talk to one of the Stewards listed below, who will put you in touch: Carolyn Roche : 01235 764310 Su Lockley : 01235 767048 Doug Legge : 01235 751463 Please send material for the Weekly Notices to : Grove Jenny Marriott : 01235 767624 Wantage Gill & Gordon Skidmore : 01235 766655 / 07710 214601 email : [email protected] Contributions for the February Newsletter18 should be sent to the editor by email, phone or in writing by Sunday 21st January 2018 to [email protected] Tel : 01235 766655 / 07710 214601 Editors : Gill & Gordon Skidmore Regular Weekday Meetings Monday 2 pm Handicraft Group at the Cornerstone, Grove Tuesday 2:15 pm Grove Tuesday Fellowship (in the church) Wednesday 7:30 am Morning Prayers at Grove 2 pm Wantage Wednesday Fellowship House Group at Wantage Weekly Tuesday 1:30 pm Leader: Eileen Rennie (01235 224284) House Group at Grove Monthly Warmed Hearts 8 pm Leader: Peter Hemmings (01235 762504) Grove web site is found from www.wantab.org.uk Wantage web site www.wantagemethodist.org.uk 2 From the Manse... One of my favourite Christmas stories is Leo Tolstoy’s, “Papa Panov”. If you know the story, you will recall how it centres on Papa Panov, an elderly shoe maker who dreams that Jesus tells him that he will come and visit him on Christmas Day, so he should keep alert and keep an eye open for him. Naturally Papa Panov is very excited about this prospect and all through Christmas Day, he keeps looking up and down the street to see if Jesus is coming. As the day passes and Papa Panov keeps his vigil, he doesn’t see Jesus – but he does see and help the road sweeper, a beggar and a lady with a tiny baby. Papa Panov offers them food and hospitality, but always with one eye on what’s happening outside his shop, for he doesn’t want to miss Jesus. Alone again at the end of the day – he is disappointed that Jesus hadn’t come after all – and that his hopes had been dashed. As he dreamt that night there comes a moment of realisation that Jesus had indeed come to him, but not as he expected – for he had come in the guise of the road sweeper, the beggar and the lady with a baby. In welcoming them and inviting those strangers into his home, he was in fact welcoming the Son of God himself. I’m reminded of those words of the King in Matthew 25:40 (at the end of the parable about the sheep and the goats), where he proclaims “'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” In all the excitement of this time of year, in all the celebrations and in all the rejoicing, may we keep our eyes open so that we might see the Christ child amongst us once more. Not just in the places where we expect to see him, but also in the unexpected places as well. May we see Him In the faces of those we know but also and more importantly, in the faces of strangers who come our way. As the Carol “Born in the night” reminds us; Hope of the world, Mary’s child, You’re coming soon to reign; King of the earth, Mary’s child, Walk in our streets again Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas With love and God Bless, Keith 3 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY Saturday 27th January Theme: The Power of Words The 2018 focus is on the impact that words had in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, through propaganda used to incite, through slogans written in resistance, and through memoirs written to record and respond to what was going on. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on the words that we see and hear all around us today – in newspapers, on social media, in conversations - the words that we choose to use - all have an impact upon us and those around us for good or ill. The chapel will be open from 10am to 6pm as a quiet space for reflection aided by leaflets and a display Please drop in for a short while for some personal thought on this significant day. Help with the arrangements and church sitting would be appreciated - please contact Pam Martin [email protected] Tel: 764754 Write for Rights SEND A MESSAGE OF HOPE Amnesty International leaflets giving details of how to send greetings cards to people whose human rights are being abused are now available from Pam Martin. This is a simple but effective way of encouraging those who feel forgotten by the rest of the world and may contribute to bringing about their release from prison or improving their circumstances. Cards may be sent any time up to the end of December. 4 Beryl Fudge, ex Circuit Mission Secretary and the wife of the late Alan Fudge who served the circuit as a Local Preacher, has written a booklet entitled “Love one another and look after Mum – a personal guide for dealing with the death of a loved one” with a foreword by Canon David Winter. Copies will be available in Church but if you would find it useful, you can purchase a copy for £2.99. Please contact your Stewards. 5 Circuit Exchange Quarterly Newsletter of the Wantage and Abingdon Methodist Circuit December 2017 – February 2018 Website Our new website at ThenMedia is now live – see www.wantab.org.uk if you haven't done so already. The first aim is that people accessing the site from outside the circuit should find it welcoming and can easily navigate it and find out about our circuit and its churches. This was particularly important since we knew that presbyters in the stationing process would be trying to find out about us, and we included the future web address in our Circuit profile to enable them to find it easily. This aim was met, as we know that presbyters including Jocelyn Bennett looked at the site in early October (see a later article for more about Jocelyn.) The basics of the site seem to be working well. Each church has an entry on the “Churches” page, which link to an “online poster” with basic facts and picture(s), together with minister's contact details and information about the coming month's services. This all requires minimum maintenance, but this page can contain a link to a church's existing website, or a “site within a site” with the same look and feel, but with a church's own menu and pages for news items, photos, forthcoming events etcetera. There are user-friendly tools to enable people with minimal skills to update these pages, or material can be emailed to a Circuit Webmaster to be uploaded. A secondary aim is that people within the circuit can use it to find or disseminate information. The relaxed approach of ThenMedia to the contract means we can introduce changes and enhancements to the version of the site we now have, without extra cost. The Circuit calendar appears on the site, but with colour-coded entries for individual churches too; and behind the scenes, accessible to those who sign-in, will be the data currently held in the online Circuit Directory. Because of the laws on data privacy, we can only store contact details for those who clearly consent to this. Those whose details were in the existing online Directory have been asked for their consent, and some have responded! Anyone else who would like to share their email and/or phone details with others in the Circuit, especially those holding posts in the Churches, are encouraged to email [email protected] – details of how to sign-in will be circulated soon by email to all who have consented to share their email address. We hope that documents used by people across the Circuit can be stored centrally, so that everyone has access to the latest version without having to rummage through a mass of emails. 6 Circuit Stewards team Carolyn Roche, from Wantage, has begun to ease herself into the role of Circuit Steward, and has taken a full part in the stationing process. This will continue as she finishes her term as Senior Steward at Wantage. However, Andrew is expecting to move away during 2018, and Mary Hancock is into “extra time” having agreed to extend her term until summer 2018, so we still need new blood to join the team. Our vision is of someone representing each of the larger churches – with a team of six, no-one's share would be unbearably large. The scope of the job may also be adjusted to suit the people who are available. Everyone who has been a Circuit Steward agrees that it is a fascinating and richly rewarding thing to do. Are you hearing a call? Please pray about this situation, and don’t assume someone more suitable will step forward! To find out more, talk to your minister or to one of the current team: Andrew Lockley (Senior) Mary Hancock Alan Smith Carolyn Roche Stationing – seeking a replacement for Katherine Whilst Rev. Katherine Pickering is still very much with us and making her mark in so many ways, she decided to move on next summer.