The Minister's Letter

Dear Friends,

Greetings, once again, in the name of our Lord Jesus.

Not one of us can have been immune to the terrible deaths of the two young schoolgirls in Soham. As civilised as we like to think we are, the deaths of Holly and Jessica show that the veneer of respectability in our society is very thin. The treatment of the young lady, charged as part of the police enquiry, when she was being conveyed to court shows a further example of this. Our prayers must be for all who are involved in this tragedy.

Locally, I was shocked to read in the papers of the large number of paedophiles who are living in the County of Kent. Children are a precious gift in our society and, I believe, are entitled to be cared for and protected by society as a whole. The Internet, whilst a boon to many, has become a means of enticing young people for some of these perverted souls.

The breakdown of society and ethical values is obvious all around us. Just look at the amount of litter on our streets, in the River Dour and even in the church car park area! Generally morals have reached an all-time low in society and manners appear to have gone out of the window. Sadly, in my personal opinion, you and I - the Church - don't always come out smelling of roses. There are so many divisions, between denominations, between areas and even in some congregations! Just think of the fuss about the ordination of women in the Church of England, plus the ongoing debate about female Bishops! We should be giving leadership to the nation NOT discord!

As we launch into a new Methodist year, with different faces in the Circuit and with many challenges in front of us, I hope that each of us will renew our determination to serve the King of Kings through the people and tasks that He calls us to. We are being presented with a great opportunity with our brothers and sisters at St. Columba. My question is: "Are YOU and I ready to meet it?" Someone suggested that the old Town Hall annexe would make a wonderful worship centre near the town centre. Now there is a real challenge!

Christine joins me in sending our love and hope for the coming Methodist year.

I am yours because I am His.

John

St Columba

Sincere thanks to those of you who have supported the joint services with folk from St. Columba. I feel that they have been very worthwhile. Mind you, I may be a little biased in this matter! I really do see the Lord's hand in this; it most surely is a wonderful chance to make London Road come alive for the Lord. As St. Columba does not now have a minister, I would like to think that we could make the third Sunday of each month a time of sharing with them. I know that the stairs may be difficult for some of us, but the benefits are out of this world!

Prayer Tree

Hopefully, by the time you read this item the new Prayer Tree will be available. May I ask all those of you who are on the tree to make sure that you read the set of notes that go with it? Hopefully, if everyone does that, the complaints will cease! I was ever the optimist!!

Bible Study

A number of folk have been supporting the Bible studies on the fourth Wednesday of the month, when we have been looking at the Beatitudes, and the fourth Saturday of the month when we have been looking at miracles and parables. I am hopeful to soon start a series on prayer. More details as they become available.

Keeping the outside of the church tidy

Someone is making us the gift of a number of drink cans in the church garden on London Road and in the car park. Whilst this makes the place look untidy, there is some benefit! If we keep the aluminium cans we can sell them for scrap. There is a sack in the kitchen for these. PLEASE NOTE not any other types of metal tins! Thank you in advance.

Centenary Concert

The Centenary Celebration Variety Concert will take place on Saturday 28 September at 7p.m. Admission will be £1, and the programme will, as the title suggests, be very varied. We will also be joined by the Chairman of our District, the Rev. Harvey Richardson, and his wife Carol. Harvey has agreed to play for the concert, too. Prior to the concert, at 5 p.m., there will be a Faith Tea in the Church Hall for London Road members so that we can have some time together, socially, as a Church before we welcome, hopefully, lots of other Christians to join in our celebrations.

Reflection and Witness Book

If anyone wishes to add to the book, a poem, prayer, witness, memory or anything else, please let Linda Hayward have it by Sunday 22 September, so she can include it by the Centenary Concert on 28 September.

Christian Aid: There will be a barn dance on Saturday 12 October at 7.30 p.m. at St Columba Church Hall. Linda Hayward has tickets, price £3.50 which includes a ploughman's supper.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

4 September - Welcome service for Eileen and John Johnson.

7 September - 8 p.m. Celebration service for the refurbished premises at Trinity Church, Deal.

8 September - 2.30 p.m. Jazz for Justice at Pencester Bandstand.

16 September - 3 p.m. Kate Chivers, from Kent Air Ambulance, will be speaking at the Women's Own meeting,

and there will be a Bring and Buy stall. Everyone (including men!) will be welcome at this meeting.

17 September - 7.30 p.m. Annual Meeting of the Junior Church.

19 September - 7.30 p.m. Local Preachers' Meeting at London Road.

22 and 23 September - Tower Hamlets Harvest Festival (22nd) and harvest supper (23rd)

23 September - 7.30 p.m. Spiritual Maintenance Task Group meets at River.

27 September - 10 a.m. World's Biggest Coffee Morning, Emmaus.

28 September - Centenary tea and concert.

6 October - London Road Harvest Festival.

8 October - Guild re-commences.

Letter from the Chairman of the District - September 2002

Dear Friends,

Another New Year

It hardly seems possible we are entering yet another Church year, welcoming a wonderful group of new in-coming ministers (and all that such changes bring), after having said farewell to other dear friends and colleagues, over the past few weeks. I am greatly looking forward to sharing in nine Welcome Services around the District (including Malta), although there is a total of thirteen ministers taking up new appointments, along with three supernumerary ministers entering the District. We welcome them and their families with great warmth and affection.

Special Anniversaries

And this new Connexional year (2002-3) is very special, as it includes important anniversaries for Methodist people the world over - the most significant, of course, being the Tercentenary of the birth of John Wesley on 17 June 2003. Don't miss this, with celebrations in Lincoln (on 17 June), St Paul's Cathedral (on 25 May), and Rochester Cathedral (on 21 June). But also, on 17 November 2002, it will be one hundred years since the death of Hugh Price Huqhes, a prominent and well-known Wesleyan minister closely associated with a number of churches in our District (Dover [Buckland & Shepherdswell], East Dulwich [Barry Road], Mostyn Road and Brixton Hill).

Informing the Future

Such anniversaries and remembrances are most important (in fact, essential) to keep, but they must inform our future mission without leaving us only with nostalgia for the past - otherwise they become a pleasant hobby or an antiquarian past time.

The Gospel for Today

John Wesley's - and indeed Hugh Price Hughes' - great contributions were in the area of relating the universal love of God in Christ to the social needs and demands of contemporary society. I believe the best way for us to honour our forbears is to ensure that our purpose for living as Churches is firmly rooted in the same desire to make Christ a transforming and liberating force in today's challenging and demanding world.

London Methodism & Regionalisation

This year's Methodist Conference made some significant decisions to sharpen up such challenges. For example, it agreed overwhelmingly that the four London Districts (of which we, as London South-East, are one) should explore ways of making the mission of the Church more suited to regional patterns of life. The new regional structures of government for Greater London and for the South-East Region of England are part of our contemporary life, and so I believe we must rise to the challenge of making our Church structures relate more effectively with our social and political frameworks. This will mean having a careful look at the way we function as churches and Circuits, and asking questions like - "What are the best ways for our churches to relate to our local society's needs?", "What changes need to be made?"

Ask the Holy Spirit

I think the Christian churches of today are moving in times of enormous and rapid change, and I believe we need to ask for the Holy Spirit to help us discern those things which must be changed, so that we don't waste time and energy in changing unnecessary things. This would be a good way of celebrating John Wesley's birth.

Anglican-Methodist Unity

The Methodist Conference also gave huge support to "An Anglican-Methodist Covenant" (as did the General Synod of the Church of England). During this year, all our churches will be asked to express their views on the proposal contained in this Covenant. We can further honour John Wesley, and people like Hugh Price Hughes, if we ensure we make our feelings known, and preferably in full consultation with our Anglican neighbours. Although there may appear to be many procedural details and fussy problems connected with Anglican-Methodist unity proposals, there is no doubt in my mind that our contemporary society is completely baffled (and more probably, completely uninterested) in reasons for Anglicans and Methodists remaining in separation in today's world. When people in our communities are dying to hear and see signs of hope and human fulfilment, the last thing they want to know is why the Churches live in separation. I am convinced that John Wesley (and Hugh Price Hughes, too) would grasp this ecumenical moment as an evangelical opportunity.

Happy New Year!

So, dear friends, I wish you a very Happy New (Connexional) Year. Let's celebrate our anniversaries and our special days so that every opportunity is found to enable the graciousness of God in Christ to transform our contemporary world, no less! For didn't someone well known famously say "The world is my parish"?

With warm greetings to you all

Yours sincerely,

Harvey Richardson
(Chairman of the District)

Here and Now

"Here and Now" is the latest show to be produced by the Rev. Dr. Rob Frost and his team. After two years of very hard and creative work, this new musical is about to go on the road. "We're really thrilled with the show," said Rob. "Fantastic new music from Paul Field. Poignant yet hilarious new drama from Steven Deal and Susie Pottinger. Great acting from the professional performance team. Powerful dance from Springs Dance Company. A huge 'local cast' numbering 3,000 nationwide. This show compares well with a night out at a West End theatre! This is 'non-embarrassing' Christian mission at its best. But 'Here and Now' is not only great entertainment. It has a profound message. It takes Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and applies it to life today. It's highly relevant, and speaks into a society struggling to work out what its values really are. The spectacular production concludes with a dramatic presentation of the Beatitudes."

The nearest venue to us is the Leas Cliff Hall at Folkestone on Wednesday 16 October at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are £10, concessions £6 for under 18s in full-time education, and there's a party rate of £8 for 20 or more. Advance booking is essential - so, what are we waiting for? Graham and Jill Tutthill are prepared to organise a group from our church. If you want to go, please tell them AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, and in any case by next Sunday 8 September. Even after this date contact Jill or Graham and they will find out whether there are any tickets left. This is something really positive and will be really enjoyable and inspiring. Don't miss out! There will also have to be a charge for transport to and from Folkestone, of course.

In addition, at 5 p.m. on the day, Rob Frost is giving an inspiring presentation at a seminar giving a vision for the churches' mission today. "Every day, thousands of people engage in activities which they see as 'spiritual'. But not all of them give an opportunity to discover the riches of Christian spirituality. The Church seems to be largely disconnected from this massive hunger for spirituality. Many Christians are struggling to find ways of interfacing with this hunger. My seminar looks at the problem, and suggests a practical and strategic way forward. If your church wants to make an impact in contemporary society, your leaders should be there!" The cost is £4 per person, including a drinks reception.

Church Family News

Today (Sunday 1 September) we are pleased to share in the baptisms of three youngsters. Two of them are Junior Church members Scott Wright and Marc Thorp and the third is Marc's younger brother David. We support them with our prayers.

We congratulate Claire Gammon on her excellent GCSE results, and we also wish Jo Leeves well as she starts her college course.

Gordon and Elaine Newton have written to thank everyone for the "farewell" they were given. "It was wonderful to see so many friends from the circuit - and beyond - for the service and the farewell. It was a most memorable, happy occasion and we felt sent off with a lot of love and support." They also expressed their thanks for the gifts presented to them. "It has been good being with you and working together for the last few years. Blessings on you all for the future as you offer support and friendship to John and Eileen."

We remember the families of Maud Green and Anne Kennedy as they mourn their loved ones. Sadie Gledhill from Tower is now home. Hilda Driver and Margaret McKenzie are in William Harvey Hospital. Ossie Hodgson has been in William Harvey Hospital for treatment, and Jack Ash has had a fall and severely bruised himself. We keep Molly Hodgson, Margaret Machin, Betty O'Connell and George Craven in our prayers as they recover from their hospital treatment. We continue to pray for all those who are unwell in their own home, or in residential homes, especially thinking of Margaret Craven, Mary Page, Edie and Winnie Seelly, Leslie Tutthill, John Bates and Colin Thompson at this time.

In your personal prayers, please also remember...

Alan Sugden, Daphne Gretton, Marion Scrivener, Margery Bones, Eileen Ward, Gwen Bates, Ruby Wahlers, Rosemary Richards, Sonny and Vi Mills, David Morris, Hilda Welburn, Eileen Smith, May Griffin, Olive Morris, Ron and Irene Sutton, Doris Barker, Eileen Tolhurst, Anne Taylor, Myra Strelow, Doris Greenfield, Wally Watts, Jessie West, Keith Button, Eva Buttifint, Peggy Heritage and May Lancaster;

those away from Dover, including Vron Tutthill, Sarah Atkins, Lisa Speakman, Andrew Booth, Robert Dunstone, Hazel Griffiths, Gordon and Elaine Newton, Sid and Jayne Robbins and Henry and Sterling, Joyce and Alan Norman, Alan and Stephanie Warrell, Malcolm and Jennifer Cleaver, David and Rachel Cloke, Angela and Neil Baker, Andrew and Cath Powell, Edna Tutt, Christina Edge and Reg Payne.

Philip Carr and his wife send their best wishes to all who remember them, and Reg Payne has also sent greetings to everyone at the church during these changing times.

TOWER HAMLETS

We are pleased to have Sadie Gledhill back with us looking very well and gaining strength rapidly.

Miss Winnie Seelly has moved to St. Stephen's residential Home in Godwyne Road owing to the closure of Tregarthen.

Our Harvest Festival is on Sunday 22 September when the preacher will be Sue Brockman. On Monday 23 September we invite all our friends and neighbours to our Harvest Supper at 7 p.m.

Our Sunday School meets each Sunday at 11 a.m. and are always pleased to welcome any children who wish to join them.

The Women’s League meets on Mondays at 2.30 p.m. and a warm welcome awaits any ladies who wish to join us. The programme for September is 2 – Annual General Meeting; 9 – Members' Afternoon; 16 – Word Search; 23 – Harvest Festival; 30 – Favourite Hymns.

The Fellowship will meet on Tuesday 3 September at 7.15 p.m. at the home of Izzy Bailey. New members are always welcome.

SHEPHERDSWELL

The Methodists at Shepherdswell send our new Superintendent Minister, the Rev. John Johnson and his wife Eileen greetings and best wishes and look forward to meeting them at the Circuit Welcome Service at River on Wednesday 4 September at 7.30 p.m.

Belated birthday greetings for Mrs. Eva Buttifint for her birthday on 24 August.

Next Sunday, 8 September, the preacher will be the Rev. John Johnson, our new Superintendent Minister.

On 15 September, Village Praise will be conducted by the Rev. Johnson, the Rev. Way and the Rev. Mower.

The coffee morning is at 2 Church Hill from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on 18 September and is in aid of the Church of England Children's Society. Everyone is welcome.

SEPTEMBER ROTAS

MINI-BUS: Sunday 1 September – David Galley; 8 – Margaret Tutthill; 15 – (30 minutes earlier than usual) Graham Tutthill; 22 – Colin Hadden; 29 – Shirley Carr; 6 October – Colin Hadden.

FLOWER ROTA: Sunday 1 September – Mrs. Doris Friend; 8 – Mrs. Betty Davey; 15 – Service at St. Columba U.R.C.; 22 – Mrs. Daphne Gretton; 29 – Volunteer needed, please; 6 October – Harvest Festival.

SERVICES: Sunday 1 September – 11 a.m. Rev. John Lines; 6 p.m. Holy Communion with the Rev. John Lines; 8 – Mr. David Sheasby; 15 – 10.30 a.m. Service at St. Columba; 22 – Rev. John Lines; 29 – Rev. John Johnson; 6 October - HARVEST FESTIVAL 11 a.m. Rev. John Lines; 6 p.m. Rev. John Lines (including Holy Communion).

WOMEN’S OWN: Mondays at 3 p.m. 9 September – Rev. John Lines; 16 – Kate Chivers from the Kent Air Ambulance, when there will be a bring and buy stall and everyone (including men) will be welcome; 23 – to be arranged; 30 – Sue Brockman.

MINI-BUS DRIVERS FOR WOMEN’S OWN: 9 September – Judith Jacobs and Brian Jacobs; 16 – Colin Hadden and Ken Vincent; 23 – Peter Hogg and Brian Jacobs; 30 – Ruth Edwards and Valerie Bowes; 7 October – Judith Jacobs and Ken Vincent.

CUBS: Mondays from 6 to 7.30 p.m.

METHODIST AMATEUR DRAMATICS (MAD): Mondays at 7.45 p.m.

MOTHER AND TODDLER GROUP: The group meets every Wednesday at 1.15 p.m.

SOUP AND SANDWICHES: Wednesdays at 6 p.m. 4 September – Peter Hogg, Nora Watson and Clarice King; 11 – Shirley Dowle, Rae Smith and Tessa George; 18 – Blossom Wright, The Ark; 25 – Louise Gilbert and Lisa Dawn; 2 October – Brian Wimsett and Ken Hammond.

GIRLS’ BRIGADE: Thursday evenings – 6 to 7 p.m. Explorers (aged 5 to 8 years); 6 to 7.30 p.m. Juniors (8 to 11 years); 7.45 to 9 p.m. Seniors and Brigaders (11 to 14 plus).

LADIES KEEP FIT GROUP: Thursdays at 7.15 p.m.

Items for the October edition of "The Messenger" should be sent to Graham Tutthill by Sunday 22 September, please.