0909 - September 2009

www.stivesmethodistchurch.org.uk

September 2009 Newsletter St Ives Methodist Church 27, The Waits, St Ives, Cambridgeshire. PE27 5BY Minister: Rev Matt Finch Tel: 01480 462293 Mobile: 07968692390 Email: [email protected]

Sunday Services 6th September

10:30am

Rev Matt Finch

13th September

10:30am

Rev Chris Giles

20th September

10:30am

Rev Matt Finch

27th September

10:30am

John Stent

Holy Communion

Harvest Festival

A loop system is in use in this church. In order to use this please put your hearing aid to the ‘T’ position.

A warm welcome to anyone who is visiting St Ives Methodist Church for the first time. Please join us for tea or coffee in the church after the service. Children’s corner Activities are available at the back of church. Please feel free to join us at any time during the service.

Church Meetings St Ives Methodist Church (SIMC) run various groups that meet on different days of the week. For more details of a specific group’s events, please pick up a leaflet from the table at the back of church or from the leaflet rack in the corridor at the bottom of the stairs. Day Mondays

Time

Meeting

2-4 pm

House Group

Tuesdays

9:30 – 10am

Tuesdays

2 pm

Morning Prayers / Communion Afternoon Fellowship

Tuesdays

10 -12 noon

Tuesdays

10Toddlers Group 11:30am

(alternate weeks)

Thursdays (1st and 3rd)

Sundays

Open Door

Fellowship and Bible Study A special time of reflection Hymns, prayer, various speakers. Drop in for a cup of tea and a chat Meet other parents, have a chat

7:30 pm

Open Circle

Various speakers on topics of interest

7:30 pm

Phos

Young Adult group

A letter from the Minister... For me, September will always be the month of new beginnings. It conjures up memories of summer holidays drawing to a close, the purchase of new pencil cases, school shoes and uniform. And not forgetting the slight foreboding of a new teacher and classmates! The new term opened my eyes to what could be, the opportunity of the year ahead and the potential I was (hoping) to fulfil. As a church, locally and nationally, the new year begins for us to, our regular groups begin again in earnest and some new things are on the horizon. I hope for us, though for most a few years too old for school, this month will be a time of seizing new beginnings, when we see and are reminded to look for God’s newness, whatever life may bring our way. I am challenged by the generous grace of God on offer at all times and to all people. The God we love and worship does not wait for September to offer new beginnings along with our smart new shoes. With God there is always opportunity to start again or to be given a new opportunity! I am constantly surprised by the way God’s grace is at work in the lives of people I meet; the prisoner who has heard Christ’s forgiveness reading a bible in his cell or the person who has known of God’s love all their life and is a witness to it. God does not discriminate nor wait to love us or forgive us or help us find our way- he is always waiting for his offer to be taken up. As those called as disciples of Jesus beginning another year together, may we search every day of our lives for the new life God offers. This does not mean looking for new initiatives or having great visionary plans, although it might well do. It is about receiving afresh every day the grace that is ours through Jesus- the grace that helps us overcome grief, to struggle on with illness, to deal this that awkward colleague or balance our finances. There is plenty to thank God for this month of harvest but nothing more so than his grace and love. We would be lost without them. Every blessing,

Church Events Monday Afternoon House Group The House Group will reconvene on Monday 7th September 2pm at 3 Clare Court. Marion Rutherford will be leading an Old Testament study of Ruth and Jonah. All are welcome. Any change of venue for future meetings will be advised in the monthly newsletter. Please ask Marion Rutherford or Barbara Cooper for further information.

Afternoon Fellowship The Afternoon Fellowship resumes for the autumn on Tuesday 8th September at 2pm in the Small Meeting Room led by Rev. Katy Dunn. All welcome. Transport can be arranged if needed. Please contact Pat Wass for further details.

Harvest Festival Service This year, St Ives Methodist Church will be focusing on the work of the Methodist Relief and Development Fund for its Harvest Service. If you would like to contribute to the works of MRDF, please bring your donations to the service on Sunday 20th September. We will also be collecting our usual harvest gifts of fruit, vegetables, tinned and packaged goods, etc. These gifts will be donated to Jimmy’s Night Shelter in Cambridge.

Harvest Supper and Fundraising Quiz St Ives Free Church will be holding a Harvest Supper and Fundraising Quiz for Christian Aid on Saturday 19th September at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 per adult and £1 for under 16s. The cost includes a light supper but please bring your own drinks and glasses. Tickets are available from the Free Church Office.

CTSI Discussion: Christians and Ecology Churches Together in St Ives (CTSI) will be holding an open discussion on the topic of Christians and Ecology on Monday 21st September 7:30pm at All Saints Church. There will be an expert panel open to questions. All welcome. If you have any questions you wish to raise, please give them to Matt Finch before the meeting, if possible.

Christmas Shoe Box Appeal We shall be taking part in the Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox appeal once again this year. Empty shoeboxes are filled with gifts and distributed to children in disadvantaged countries. Further detailed information will be in the October newsletter. Please ask all your friends and neighbours to start saving their empty shoeboxes and bring them into church for people to take if they’ve been unable to find their own boxes. Last year we were able to fill over 100 shoeboxes and are hopeful we can do even better this year. Please speak to Kay Hender or Madge Harrison for more information.

Church Family News Cathy Williams says hello from Munich! She has settled in well and has already started a new term at school. Cathy would like to thank you all for your cards and best wishes. Congratulations to Martyn Lill for completing the Mazda London Triathlon in a fantastic time of 2 hours. Martyn raised £350 for Macmillan Cancer Care and would like to thank everyone for their support.

We welcome Emily Grace Staff, Natalie Staff, Holly Suckling and Michael Mallory into the Church, through Baptism. Thank you to all of you who have given up your time to help with church activities during the summer, including cleaning and fundraising. Wendy Ware and Evelyn Watmore hosted fund-raising coffee mornings and money was also raised for the church by serving refreshments and selling Bric-a-brac at various events including the Band Concerts and Bank Holiday Markets. We raised £262 on Monday 31st August. Ann Owen has a new email address: [email protected] Fiona Fish will shortly be leaving for Namibia to help refurbish a school as part of an ambitious fundraising project. Pick up the ‘P.A.N.T.S’ leaflet for more information. We look forward to hearing about Fiona’s adventures in the near future. Sadly, we have had to say farewell to Jean Turon, who died in July after a long period of ill-health. She was no longer able to join us at our Afternoon fellowship, but still attended the monthly services at Broadleas whenever she was able. We have also lost Joan Huntingford, from Wyton, from our Church family. Unfortunately she had been unable to worship with us for some time.

Please Pray... As a church we believe that prayer makes a difference because God listens and answers. So over this month please pray…

 for children and teachers starting a new school year  for the church groups beginning again  for those amongst our number who are struggling with illness. We particularly remember: Jim Dale, Bob Kettley, Lilian Temple, June Lawrence, Nan Duplessis, Ann Collingwood, Mary Gatehouse, Ted and Jenny Woolford, Brian and Dorothy Suttie and Steve Mear.  for Joan Knight, following the death of her son Philip and others who have been recently bereaved  for Ruth Horton and Simon Oliver who will join us on placement from Wesley House  for the Church Council at the end of this month  that St Ives Methodist Church would be a witness to the grace and love of God to our community If there is anything that you would like to be prayed for please write it in the Prayer Book found at the back of the church or let a member of the Leadership Team know.

Notices Fancy being a member? Several people have shown interest in becoming a member of the church. If you would like to find out more about what it entails please contact Rev Matt Finch. It is hoped over the coming months we will have a service to welcome people into membership. The Good News Library Van will be visiting us again on Tuesday 22nd September from 10:30 to 11:45am.

Church Council Meeting -The Church Council will be meeting on Wednesday 30th September, 7:30pm at St Ives Methodist church. Church Giving - The Methodist Financial Year begins on 6th September. If you wish to join the envelope scheme for church donations please contact Evelyn Watmore. Through the scheme, taxpayers can gift aid their donations. The total amount of tax recovered for the last tax year was £4392. Individuals requiring a figure for tax recovered from their donations can obtain this from Evelyn. Thank you to everyone who financially supports the church. Offering amounts for August were £470.43(Aug 2nd), £296.10 (Aug 9th), £294.69 (Aug 16th), £494.64 (Aug 23rd) and £353.80 (Aug 30th). New church leader - This month we welcome Pastor Jason Street to St Ives and wish him God's blessing in his appointment leading the St Ives Christian Fellowship Church. * Advance notice * - The Pastoral Visitors Meeting will be held on Monday 12th October 7:30pm.

Forthcoming notices: If you would like a notice to go into the October Newsletter, please contact Stuart Wilkinson. Email: [email protected] Telephone: 01480 389623 Write in the purple notice book at the back of the church. Visit the church office during Open Door (Tuesday mornings) Deadline for the next issue: 11am Tuesday 29th September

A Harvest Festival that Changes the World! "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55 On the 20th September we are celebrating harvest, and rightly so. It is a wonderful time of year thanking God for the fertile fields around us, that our harvest has not failed, and our cupboards will not be empty. But the other side of our celebrations is to remember the many for whom the harvest has failed, the millions who go hungry and thirsty, the people who have no education or health care and our beautiful planet that is being stripped of its resources. The prophet Isaiah not only offers great words of comfort to those who hear but also words of great challenge to the privileged that they might work towards seeing the kingdom of God come in its fullness. The passage from Isaiah 55 gives a vision of a world where those who are thirsty can drink, those who cannot afford to feed themselves have enough to eat! All of us will have noticed the pinch in our pocket as the prices of food has increased yet we are still numbered amongst the rich of this world. Isaiah’s words are for us to work with and do all we can to make a reality. As a church this harvest festival we are supporting MRDF (Methodist Relief and Development Fund), a charity that works with small communities throughout the developing world, and you are invited to give generously to this. Alongside this community response what personal commitments might you make?  What can you do this harvest to be involved in Isaiah’s vision for

the hungry of this world?  Is there an aid organisation you can financially support?  Is there a particular situation or plight (e.g. climate change, child poverty) that you can pray for regularly?  How can you use your voice and hands to make a difference?

September:feature Each month the newsletter will include a special feature about one particular part of our church. This month, Peter Shearer writes about a new group beginning soon at simc - music therapy sessions called Circle of Light. As many of you are aware, my wife Tracy and I moved into the St Ives area last November, and were warmly welcomed and supported by the church - particularly by the Tuesday groups, when Tracy had to go into hospital from January until May. We work in Care Homes providing interactive music workshops, and music-based parties. I offer a meditative style of live music designed to relax, restore, release and renew. I call this ‘soaking music’ because the cause of our ‘dis-ease’ is often buried deep inside us, and we need to be ‘soaked’ to the core to reach it! When I play ‘soaking music’ for small groups of needy people in the community, it often goes under the banner of ‘Circle of Light’. Light scatters the darkness and as believers surround needy people in prayer (maybe praying from home), we effectively create a circle of light to offer people relief from the darkness. Two churches in Hemel Hempstead (where we used to live) gave me space and facilities for my Circle of Light drop-in sessions every month. Regular Circle of Light sessions were also used by mental health charity MIND in Hemel. I have already been commissioned to run Soaking sessions in the Huntingdon and St Ives area. However, I also run a small free drop-in soaking group from my home in Wyton for anyone to come to, but demand has grown so we need to think about a larger and more central venue.

I am pleased to say that these will be taking place in the Small Meeting Room at St Ives Methodist Church on the second Tuesday of every month from 4pm until 5pm, beginning on October 13th. A soaking session works in a really simple way. The group relaxes, and I play improvised piano music which often seems to catalyse peace and wellbeing. People can feel released from burdens (in line with Isaiah 61) although we cannot usually predict who will be helped and how! Anyone is welcome – from the church or outside, and people can wander (quietly) in and out as the music plays. Just as Jesus needed time to ‘recharge’ with time spent with his Father – he went up the hills in the evenings for this purpose – we too need to rest awhile with Him. We can then receive that peace which passes all understanding (even in the middle of difficult times), and we can find our strength renewed - ‘He who waits upon the Lord will renew his strength – he will rise up like an eagle …’ Isaiah 40. Why not come along to one of the Circle of Light sessions – maybe you will see God at work, and either find unexpected relief yourself, or be there for someone else as they find release and healing? CIRCLE of LIGHT sessions are on 13 October, 10 November, 8 December at 4pm in the Small Meeting Room. Peter Shearer Telephone: 07879 637607 Email: [email protected] If you have a suggestion for a special feature in a future newsletter, please let the Leadership Team know.

Date

Time

Meeting/ Activity

Sun 6th Mon 7th Tues 8th Tues 8th Tues 8th Tues 8th

7:30pm 2pm 9:30am 10 – 11:30am 10 – 12 noon 2:00pm

Phos House Group Morning Prayers / Communion Parents and Toddlers Open Door Afternoon Fellowship: Rev Katy Dunn

Sun 13th Tues 15th Tues 15th Tues 15th Tues 15th Thurs 17th Thurs 17th Sat 19th

7:30pm 9:30am 10 – 11:30am 10 – 12 noon 2:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 7:00pm

Phos Morning Prayers / Communion Parents and Toddlers Open Door Afternoon Fellowship: Leonor Charlton Circuit Meeting, Sawtry Methodist Open Circle: Mission Impossible Harvest Supper and Fundraising event at the Free Church, St Ives

Sun 20th Mon 21st Mon 21st Tues 22nd Tues 22nd Tues 22nd Tues 22nd Tues 22nd

7:30pm 2pm 7:30pm 9:30am 10:30–11:45am 10 – 11:30am 10 – 12 noon 2:00pm

Phos House Group CTSI Discussion: Christians and Ecology Morning Prayers / Communion Good News Library Van visit Parents and Toddlers Open Door Afternoon Fellowship: own arrangements

Sun 27th Tues 29th Tues 29th Tues 29th Tues 29th Wed 30th Thurs 1st Oct

7:30pm 9:30am 10 – 11:30am 10 – 12 noon 2:00pm 7:30pm 7:30pm

Phos Morning Prayers / Communion Parents and Toddlers Open Door Afternoon Fellowship: Rev. David Shaw Church Council Meeting Open Circle: Tonga