Parish Magazine 2019 Photo by Kamil Szumotalski April 2019 50p 1 Parish Office Contacts Parish Office: Open Monday to Friday 9.00am – 1.00pm Parish Office Address: Parish Office, Rectory Garth, Rayleigh SS6 8BB Telephone Number: 01268 742151 Parish Administrator: Jo Jackson [email protected] Team Rector: Rev’d David Oxtoby – The Rectory, Hockley Road PA to Team Rector: Gail Collingwood-Turner [email protected] Team Vicar: Tracy Marlow Associate Minster: Rev’d Tracy Nutter Family & Children’s Worker: Cara Parker [email protected] Readers: Mike Tautz and Duncan Johnson Pastoral Team: Maree Gaskin, Christina Hall, Ann Fox, Mike Tautz, Tracy Nutter, Susan Bradshaw and Cara Parker Church Wardens: Jacky Wragg and Wayne Prankard Parochial Church Council: Gordon Simmonds (Vice Chairman) For all enquiries please refer to the Parish Office contact details above 2 Contents Letter from Reverend Page 4 A Note from the Editors Page 6 Flowers Page 7 Homegroups and Film club Page 8 Friends of Holy Trinity Page 9 CAMEO Page 10 2nd Rayleigh Scout Group Page 11 Message from Trinity Bear Page 12 Family and Children’s Team Page 13 Prayer Page 15 Church Services Page 16 Tracy Marlow Team Vicar Page 18 News from Up North Page 19 The Railway Sermon Page 20 Easter crossword Page 22 Timebank and Message from R.C.C.R.G. Page 25 Psalm Back page 3 Letter from the Reverend … By the time this article is read we’ll probably be just about at the end of Lent, and getting ready for Easter. Getting ready for Easter! How, oh how do you get ready to recall God’s Son being crucified on the Cross? His sacrifice for you and for me? It’s an idea, a truth, a concept that goes way beyond anything our own human imagination and understanding can truly comprehend; there are no words that encapsulate what it means for the creator of the universe to come to earth in human form, yet fully divine, to take upon himself the sins of the whole world, so that we might be restored into a right relationship with Him. Yet this is the truth, this is what took place, this is how much God loves each and every one of us. No wonder countless hymns and songs have been pencilled, each trying to capture an essence of this truth, and to share just one: How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss – The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished. 4 I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom. Stuart Townend Copyright © 1995 Thankyou Music Lent is indeed often thought to be about giving something up, so we might make space to remember; or equally we might think about what we take on in acts of kindness, as our response of gratitude for all we have gained in Christ. Whatever act we might have done through Lent, it can hardly prepare us for the enormity of Easter Day. Yet, God doesn’t ask us to give things up, or takes things on; He simply asks us to abide with Him, to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. And this is what’s even more staggering: that Jesus, in the account of Mary & Martha (where Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha busied herself) says “41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better [to sit at my feet and listen], and it will not be taken away from her.”” Sit at my feet and listen to me: this is all that Jesus asks of us this Lent and Easter, so may we find those precious, precious moments to be still, to stop, to listen. Every blessing, Rev’d David 5 Note from the Editors Hello everyone, and welcome to the April edition of the Parish Magazine. We’re thrilled to be bringing you our Easter edition and hope that you enjoy all our new articles. On page 11 we have a special update from our 2nd Rayleigh Scout group; you can read about recent CAMEO activities on page 10; and we have a guest appearance from Trinity Bear on page 12. Our thoughtful prayer for this month has kindly been supplied by Wayne Prankard, and we have some very exciting parish news featuring on page 16! If you would like to send anything to the Parish Magazine for us to include, we’d love to hear from you. We’re still looking for book and film reviews, but also images we can use to put on the front cover of our magazine. We are aiming to make this a ‘community magazine’ as one of our congregation helpfully put it – so any input from the community of Holy Trinity or St Michael’s is greatly welcomed. The deadline for the magazine is on the second Sunday of every month; if you would like to send in an article, review or photograph please email [email protected]. Ellen Morris & Sarah Hal 6 Parish of Rayleigh Flower Ministry This month flowers have been donated to the glory of God by 7th April Lent 14th April Lent 21st April Easter Sunday: The Butler Family in memory of PC John Butler 529KD (anniversary 9th April); Frances Medcraft. Easter Lilies as listed in Church 28th April Robert and Julia Swann in memory of Mum (Sue Dean); Deborah Pocock in memory of Tim Easter To celebrate Easter on Sunday 21st April, anyone who would like to donate an Easter Lily in memory of a loved one can contact Deborah Pocock or Maggie Smith (details below). If you feel you would like to support the flower ministry in memory of loved ones, to celebrate an occasion or just because you appreciate God’s beautiful world please contact: Deborah Pocock on 01702 Please204757 call - [email protected] email via the Parish Office Maggie Smith on 0126801268 742151771039 [email protected] - [email protected] Cheques should be made payable to “PCC of Rayleigh” and can be handed in via the office or put in an envelope with “Flower Donation from … for …” in the collection plate. Deborah Pocock 7 Homegroups: Lent meetings Lent is the name given to the 40 days from Ash Wednesday (6th March this year) until Easter. During Lent our Homegroups meet weekly (5 sessions). This year we will be doing a study called ‘Beautiful Lives’, about living beautiful lives for God, and, through our lives and words, to draw people to want to know Jesus for themselves. (It’s much less scary than it might sound!) Anyone not already in a Homegroup who would like to come along just for Lent will be very welcome, so please contact me (see below). After Easter we shall go back to fortnightly meetings. If you would like to know more about Homegroups, or have any questions, please get in touch with me, or speak to one of the clergy: Chris Griffiths Tel: 01268 779596 Please call or email via the Parish Office Email:01268 [email protected] [email protected] FILM CLUB – Dates for 2019 27th April 28th September 25th May 26th October 29th June 30th November 27th July 21st December 31st August 8 I hope you all enjoyed our short but early spring and all the beautiful flowers. We somehow get used to the sunshine very quickly, but unfortunately, as I write this in early March, the weather seems to be back to normal. Our Games Evening was once again a great success. Thanks to all who attended; to Gordon, Maggi and Ian who organised the evening; and to others who helped on the night. We raised £212 for our funds! We have three great events for you to put in your diaries. The Rayleigh Town Council's Trinity Fair is on Sunday 9th June; the Tower will be open to visitors, and as usual we will need as many helpers as possible for stewarding and helping in the kitchen. The Teddy Bear Jump is on Saturday 13th July, and don't forget our ever-popular Garden Trail over the August Bank Holiday weekend. We always need people to open their gardens; they do not have to be finished gardens – work in progress is often interesting, and helpful ideas can come from visitors. If you are able to help at any of these events please contact Jane Brown on 01268 742215. At our AGM we were once again able to hand over a substantial sum of money, £19,000, to the PCC to help with the ongoing preservation of our beautiful Church. To a large extent, this is thanks to the hard work of our very small committee, and we really would appreciate some new members to lighten the load for us all.