NEWSLETTER.
No. 1/2009.
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN HENLEY
February, 2009.
Introduction.
Welcome to the first issue of CTH News for 2009, bringing you news of CTiH, as well as of recent and forthcoming events. As usual there are plenty of dates to be included in your diaries.
The purpose of this Newsletter is to act as a channel of communication between the
Churches in Henley and as a source of information on prayer needs.
Please send any contributions for future issues of this Newsletter to:
Mike Hails, 42, Blandy Road, Henley on Thames RG9 1QB, or alternatively, by email, to mike.hails@tesco.net.
Contents: CTH Forum, pp. 1-3; Journey of the Magi, p. 3; Lent and Easter, p. 4; Jerusalem joy, p. 5; Christian Aid, p. 5; Tools with a Mission, p. 5, News from the Churches, p. 6; diary dates, pp. 7-8.
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MEETINGS OF THE CTiH FORUM
There have been two meetings of the Forum since the last Newsletter.
Trip to the Holy Land.
In November, we met in the Chantry House by St Mary's Church, and heard an interesting talk from Margaret Johnson about the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Margaret said, in her introduction, that this part of the world is very special to her, and this certainly came across in her talk, which reflected the love and enthusiasm she has for the Holy Land.
The pilgrimage took place in May 2008, and was led by Fr Martyn, Vicar of St Mary's. About
20 people went, mainly from St Mary's. Margaret spoke mainly about their visits to Galilee and Jerusalem, and picked out various highlights. The group had a very good guide who was from Tel Aviv University, and he had timed their visits to the various sites so that there were not too many people. Queen Eleanor built churches at many of the spiritual sites; these had been mainly destroyed by the Turks, but had been rebuilt since, many in Victorian Gothic.
Margaret felt that the Sea of Galilee was a very spiritual place. Fr Martyn read appropriate passages from the Bible as they went out in a boat. The hotel they stayed in had a restaurant with beautiful views over the Sea of Galilee. Next, they visited Nazareth, where Mary is depicted in very many ways, in colour and languages, and then on to Cana. On the way to
Jerusalem they visited the supposed site of Jesus' baptism. In Jerusalem, they visited the
Church of Peter Cockcrow, and went down into the crypt, where there was no natural light, and Fr Martyn read Psalm 22 by torchlight. They walked up the Via Dolorosa (shops on each side) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which houses Calvary and the tomb of Jesus. This is very Byzantine and colourful, and is looked after by four Christian denominations. However, they cannot agree among themselves about the care of the church, so the key is held by the
Muslims. They also visited Bethlehem, the Wailing Wall and the Holocaust Museum.
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Bethlehem has the wall around it, and their Jewish guide was not allowed in, though there is a notice on the wall reading "Peace be with you". Margaret felt there was an air of desperation and desolation, and she finished her talk by reading a prayer which she had seen in the church in Bethlehem:
Lord, for our past, we ask mercy;
For our present, we ask love;
For our future, we ask wisdom. Amen.
Henley Baptists and NOMAD
The most recent meeting of the Forum was held on Wednesday 4th February in d:two, the home of Henley Baptist Church and of NOMAD. Again, we had a very interesting evening with presentations from Roger Cole (Baptist Minister), Sue Prior (Community Worker with Nomad), and Matt and Fran Bunkall, also of NOMAD.
Roger Cole spoke about revised plans for the next phase of the development of d:two. Rather than having a 300-seater building and putting in an extra floor for the Children's
Centre, as had been the original plan, it was now hoped to have an enlarged worship area, with a new kitchen area and to have the room for the children's centre on the ground floor with access to the garden area. This would release the upper room for youth work. The plans had been discussed and accepted by a meeting of the church membership on 28th January.
Matt Bunkall then showed a film/slide show about what happens at d:two and the work of
Nomad.
Sue Prior, Community Worker with Nomad, then reminded those present of the start of Nomad, and the work of Gabbi Enaharo, the first detached youth worker, and of how it had grown since those early days. There is now a staff of nine, working with children from the ages of 0 through to 19, and with parents and families. There are 3 full-time workers involved in youth work, two of whom are part-funded by Connexions. Sue explained how Nomad does not run a youth club, but works with individual young people who have been identified as being at risk for various reasons. Another development in the work of Nomad came from an approach, last September, by the Schools Partnership to employ a Home-School Link
Worker, to work with children who are not attending school regularly for various reasons.
Finally, Sue talked about how the work with children and their parents had evolved. The
Government has a target of setting up children's centres throughout the country, and, because of their record, Nomad have been asked to set up a Children's Centre in Henley and in Sonning Common, Woodcote and Goring.
Fran Bunkall described the work of the Rainbow Children's Centre, that was set up in
April 2008. It is the 30th children's centre in Oxfordshire and Fran was involved in preparing the bid for setting up the centre and is in charge of this latest aspect of Nomad's work. The aim is for all children under 5 and their parents, have access to a range of services. They put on a wide range of activities, including drop-in sessions, stay and play, as well as liaison with
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health services and some outreach work. To put the work of the Children's Centre into some sort of perspective, Fran said that there are 650 under-5s in Henley and 1500 in the surrounding rural area.
In summing up, Sue Prior thanked all the churches for their practical and financial support, and drew attention to a Newsletter produced at the end of 2008, giving the highlights of the work of Nomad over the past year.
The next meeting of the Forum will be on Tuesday May 12th at Sacred Heart. This meeting will include the AGM. Please do try to attend this meeting, as we need to appoint new Moderators and find a new Treasurer. Both Duncan and Kath will be standing down as Moderators, having filled these posts for two and three years, respectively. Margaret Fitch has been Treasurer for ten years, and is also standing down.
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A highlight for many in the run-up to Christmas, was the performance of "The Journey of the
Magi" in Christ Church by The Springs Dance Company. This performance was sponsored by
Churches Together, and organised by Henley Baptist church and Christ Church. The production was based on T. S. Elliot's poem, and we were reminded in dance and music, not only of the journey made by the Magi (or three wise men or three kings), but also of the journey we each make every year in preparation for and in celebrating Christmas. Through dance we were taken shopping for presents, we met Father Christmas, there were lots of parties, all culminating in a family Christmas, with the young, the middle-aged and the elderly.
As they opened their presents we saw, on the one hand, the disappointment in getting something that was not really wanted, while on the other, saying thank you as though it was what you had always wanted. Then, in the twinkling of an eye, these presents were used to magically create the Nativity scene.
Our thanks to Roger Cole for inviting the dance company to Henley, and for coordinating things, to Christ Church for hosting the evening, and for all that that entailed, and to the
Springs Dance Company.
For more information look at www.springsdancecompany.com.
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LUNCHTIME SERVICES at Christ Church URC
Thursdays , 12-12.30 p.m. followed by lunch
February 26th . Service will be led by Revd Duncan Carter
March 5th . Roger Cole
March 12th Canon Martyn Griffiths
March 19th Revd Andrew Lonsdale
March 26th Fr. Anthony Wilcox
April 2nd . Bishop John Bone
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WOMENS WORLD DAY OF PRAYER
Friday March 6th. Sacred Heart 1.30 p.m. The service has been prepared by women of
Papua New Guinea.
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LENT TALKS & STUDY TIMES
ST MARY'S. Faith, hope and love.
Thursdays at 8 p.m. and Fridays at 10 a.m. in the Chantry House. Starts on Thurs. 5th March and Friday 6th March, through to Thursday April 2nd and Friday April 3rd.
SACRED HEART. Plans for the Lent Talks are being finalised at the time of writing and details will be sent out in due course.
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HOLY WEEK
Sunday April 5th. Jerusalem Joy, an Easter Musical. Sacred Heart. 7.30 p.m.
Wednesday April 8th . Taizé Service, venue to be advised, 8 p.m.
Good Friday. April 10th.
Walk of Witness , starting from Holy Trinity Church at 11 a.m.
Easter Day, April 12th.
Sunrise Service . 6.30 a.m. on Mill Meadows, with breakfast at Christ Church (info
Andrew Lonsdale, Christ Church)
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There is also a Lent Course, entitled "Reflections on the Crucifixion in Art" being run by St Nicholas Church, Rotherfield Greys.
Thursday evenings from 6.30 p.m. at Bix Village Hall
March 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th and April 2nd.
Art by Diane Flux, with Reflections by Revd David Stoter.
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JERUSALEM JOY
Sunday April 5th, 7.30 p.m. Sacred Heart, with refreshments from 6 p.m.
This musical takes us through the Easter period, from Palm Sunday to Easter Day.
Sacred Heart Choir and other young members of the Parish are putting on a production of this popular musical with involvement of pupils of Sacred Heart School and parents.
Contact : Anne Evans 01491 578238
CHRISTIAN AID
Please come to the Coffee Morning and Bring and Buy on Thursday February 12th in the
Chantry House from 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon, to help raise funds for Christian Aid. Entrance is
£1, to include coffee and biscuits. There will be a Traidcraft Stall there.
Christian Aid Week is May 10-16, with the annual house-to-house collection. Collectors are always needed, so please offer to help if you can.
There will be the usual sponsored walk for Christian Aid on Saturday May 16th, starting from
Bix Village Hall, with a choice of 3 distances: 5, 10 and 15 miles. Please put this date in your diary, and walk or sponsor someone from your Church who is walking. Information can be obtained from Mike Hails.
TOOLS WITH A MISSION (TWAM)
Tuesday 24th February, at Christ Church URC, 6.30 p.m.
TWAM is a Christian charity, which collects and refurbishes tools and equipment no longer required in the UK and sends them overseas. It was established 20 years ago. In 2007, over
380 separate projects benefited from 211 tonnes of aid shipped from TWAM's warehouse in
Ipswich.
Christ Church will be hosting a meeting on Tuesday 24th February, at which you can hear about the work of TWAM.
It will start at 6.30 p.m., and there will be a meal. Bring along any old and broken tools that you might have, or equipment that you do not need any more. The range of items sent out in
2007 is very wide, including sewing machines, knitting machines, carpentry kits, computers, motor mechanic kits, plumbers and builders kits, bicycles, wheelchairs, school books, etc., etc.
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NEWS FROM THE CHURCHES
(a) St Mary's.
There is some maintenance of the church building required following the Quinquennial inspection. St Nicholas is also due for a
Quinquennial. Arts events are becoming quite important in the life of St
Mary's, and the Friends of St Mary's are going to employ a person part time to develop this aspect of the life of St Mary's, including concerts and other arts events. Forthcoming dates include Neath Male Choir on March 14, and
Collegium Regale on March 22. In addition, March 25 sees the Patronal
Festival, and Bishop Andrew Burnham is coming to rededicate the Lady
Chapel, which is being reordered. Numbers attending services are increasing. In contrast, the MU have seen a great decrease in the number of mothers and new babies.
(b) Christ Church.
You will probably have seen in the Henley Standard, that
Christ Church and Pheasant's Hill URC have combined forces. The new
Youth Worker, who started at Christ Church in August, left at Christmas, having decided that she wanted to work with younger children. As a result,
Andrew and Kath have been trying to rebuild the work with young people, and will shortly be advertising for a new youth worker. The planning application for the redevelopment of the Kempster Hall will go in this week.
The church is encouraging members to take part in the first phase of the
URC Vision for Life, which involves more Bible study.
(c) Henley Baptists.
A course called Celebrate Recovery, which is for people who have had had hurts, habits and hang-ups in their lives, has started recently. It has a Christian basis, and their are 14 people involved. See above also for the main presentation from the Baptist Church.
(d) Holy Trinity.
Have been catching up on repairs to the building as a result of the last Quinquennial inspection, and doing some redecoration. There is a new Mothers and Toddlers Group, called mini-Chimes, which complements the older Chimes group (7-10 year-olds).
(e) YMCA.
The concrete football pitch has been replaced by a Tiger Turf pitch, and is being well used, with Nomad among the groups who are using it.
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FEBRUARY
Tuesday 10th.
Ministers Meeting. d:two 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
Wednesday 11th.
Pre-Lent study God's Big Plan. A look at Ephesians, led by Mike
Beaumont at d:two. 8-9.30 p.m. (coffee from 7.45 p.m.)
Thursday 12th . Christian Aid Coffee Morning and Bring and Buy. Chantry House,
10.30 a.m. to 12 noon. Entrance: £1.
Friday 13th.
Concert. English Mozart Ensemble, St Mary's, 7.30 p.m. Tickets £20,
£16 and £12.
Sunday 15th. Choral Evensong, St Mary's, 6 p.m.
Tuesday 24th.
Tools With A Mission (TWAM), Meeting, with a meal, at Christ
Church, 6.30 p.m.
Thursday 26th.
First Lent lunchtime service. Christ Church URC, from 12 to 12.30
p.m., followed by a simple lunch.
MARCH
Sunday 1st.
Noel Richards and Wayne Drain, Joint church Worship Celebration at
d:two, from 7 p.m..
Wednesday 4th.
Pre-Lent study God's Big Plan. A look at Ephesians, led by Mike
Beaumont at d:two. 8-9.30 p.m. (coffee from 7.45 p.m.)
Thursday 5th.
(a) Lunchtime service. Christ Church. 12 noon.
(b) Greys Lent course. Bix Village Hall. 6.30 p.m.
(c) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 8 p.m.
Friday 6th.
(a) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 10 a.m.
(b) Women's World Day of Prayer Service. Sacred Heart, 1.30 p.m.
Thursday 12th
(a) Lunchtime service. Christ Church. 12 noon.
(b) Greys Lent course. Bix Village Hall. 6.30 p.m.
(c) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 8 p.m.
Friday 13th.
St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 10 a.m.
Saturday 14th.
Concert. Neath Male Choir, St Mary's, 7.30 p.m. Tickets £10.
Sunday 15th.
(a) Choral Evensong, St Mary's, 6 p.m.
(b) Concert. Henley Symphony Orchestra. The Hexagon, Reading, 7.30 p.m.
Wednesday 18th.
Quiet Day led by Bishop John Bone. Chantry House from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m. (Tel. 575505 for information)
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Thursday 19th
(a) Lunchtime service. Christ Church. 12 noon.
(b) Greys Lent course. Bix Village Hall. 6.30 p.m.
(c) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 8 p.m.
Friday 20th.
St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 10 a.m.
Sunday 22nd.
Concert, Collegium Regale, St Mary's. 7.30 p.m.
Thursday 26th
(a) Lunchtime service. Christ Church. 12 noon.
(b) Greys Lent course. Bix Village Hall. 6.30 p.m.
(c) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 8 p.m.
Friday 27th. St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 10 a.m.
APRIL
Wednesday 1st.
Pre-Lent study God's Big Plan. A look at Ephesians, led by Mike
Beaumont at d:two. 8-9.30 p.m. (coffee from 7.45 p.m.)
Thursday 2nd.
(a) Lunchtime service. Christ Church. 12 noon.
(b) Greys Lent course. Bix Village Hall. 6.30 p.m.
(c) St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 8 p.m.
Friday 3rd.
St Mary's Lent course. Chantry House, 10 a.m.
Sunday 5th. Jerusalem Joy, and Easter Musical. Sacred Heart, from 7.30 p.m.,
preceded by refreshments from 6 p.m.
Wednesday 8th.
Taizé Service. 8 p.m.
Friday 10th.
Good Friday Walk of Witness, starting at Holy Trinity Church at 11 a.m.
Sunday 12th.
Easter Day Sunrise Service, mill Meadows Bandstand, 6.30 a.m.,
followed by bacon butties at Christ Church.
Saturday 18th. Cabaret-style evening. Could do Better, with Mark Ritchie, from
Nottingham. Suitable to invite people who are exploring Christianity,
and will include food and refreshments. More details to follow.
Sunday 19th. Choral Evensong, St Mary's, 6 p.m.
Tuesday 28th. Ministers Meeting. Sacred Heart. 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
MAY
11th-16th . Christian Aid Week.
Tuesday 12th.
CTiH Forum and AGM. Sacred Heart. 7.45 for 8 p.m.
Saturday 16th.
Christian Aid Sponsored Walk. Starts at Bix Village Hall (information
from Mike Hails, 572194)
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