2021
S
t
J
o
h
n
’
s Un
it
ed
R
eformed Church
1 C owpe r Street, Ipswic h IP4 5JD Web Addre ss: www.s tjohnsu rcipswich.o rg.ukJanuary
2
NEWSLETTER FROM
ST
JOHN’S
URC
Minis
ters:
R
e
v David
R
ees, Rev Ernie Bossé, Adam Woodhouse (Minister in Traini
ng)
Office:
E-mail:
W
eb:
Te
l:0
1473
7
2
4961
(Cu
r
r
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t
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y
not
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v
ail
able
)
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Mi
n
i
s
t
e
r’
s Le
e
r
Doing New Things
Half full or half empty? Loo
ki
ng forward toward
s 2021 i
t is
easy to be pessimistic.
Covid continues to send shock waves
, a
nd at the time of
writing, the new Covid strain is putti
ng even more strain on
our communities
. The eco
nomy is contracting, and peopl
e
are losing thei
r jobs
. Even though the government has had
to bor
row to get
u
s through these
difficult times
, at some
stage the debt
s have to be repai
d. Those who depend on
the interest of their savings f
ind their investment
s b
ring in
next to nothing. Brexi
t ca
u
ses huge
un
certainty, whether or
not it is a good idea (and the country i
s stil
l divided over
that!).
There is some hope with the new i
mmunisation
p
rogramme
, but then real
ism comes with talk that it will
take to the end of 2
021 before we reach that c
ritica
l ‘herd
immunity’. Until then, the NHS
wi
ll be
under si
gnificant
p
ress
ure and most believe we will
be in a third lockdown (
or
Tier 4) by early January, at the la
test.
With the general pessimism i
n our community and country,
it is easy to believe that our g
lasses are half
empty
.
'See I am do
ing a new thing!
Now it sp
rings
up; do y
ou not perceive it?
I am making
a way in the desert and streams in the
wasteland.”
I
saia
h 43:1
9
It takes faith to loo
k at the si
gns of the times and see that
something more is ha
ppening, that what we see – however
real and pa
inful and distressing they may be
– is only part of
the p
icture. That God is wor
king
in and through and desp
ite
all that we see and
feel and experien
ce.
2021 mi
gh
t b
ring many a shock; it mi
gh
t b
ring many a
p
roblem. But 2021
mi
gh
t also be a time o
f God wor
king his
purpose out
, weaved through the distress and pa
in.
And if we continue to
be faithful to God
, in
both word
s and
actions
, we as a church
and as individuals mi
gh
t f
ind that
there is more. Perhaps by
God
’s grace
, our g
lasses aren’t
ju
st full, they a
re overflowing.
Whatever may happen,
I wonder what God has in store for
u
s?
D
avid
Chu
r
ch Secretary’s Notes
Hope you a
ll had an enjoya
ble
, though p
robably dif
ferent
,
Christmas and I am s
ure we a
re all looking f
orward to a
New Year which is an i
mp
rovement on the last in terms of
being able to meet
up with friend
s & family. The
wa
y
things are goi
ng at the moment we have the positive
news of a vacci
ne but also the negative news of movi
ng
into tier 4. Thi
s means we are closing the church whilst
we remain in this tier.
When things change you will
be
contacted by your
El
der. If you are
uns
ure please f
eel free
to contact me.
Thanks to John for
or
ganising the Christmas card and to
all of you (there were about 80 or
so
names) who
contri
buted enabling
u
s to send £240 to FIND. It has also
been good to see
about
30 people attending the church
services on Sund
ay. Wel
l done.
Next year Andrew is standing
down and S
ara is coming
back as a serving
El
der. Thanks to Andrew who stayed on
an extra yea
r to help keep the nu
m
bers
up. Sin
ce we have
(as yet) had no
further nominations the other elders have
agreed to continue
another year. There’s an opportunity
here for a new year’s reso
lution – please give
thi
s your
p
rayerful consi
deration.
S
oon be 20
21! Go
lly!
Adria
n
Tr
ea
sur
e
rs Repo
rt
Y
ou are thanked fo
r Offerings in Novem
ber totall
ing
£1,725.
At the time of go
ing to p
ress
, we have received the s
u
m
of £239
.50 for our Church Christma
s Card which is being
donated to F I N D
(Families in Need) Food B
ank Appea
l
.
A further £206.70 was given at the Christmas Day Servi
ce
so a total o
f over £446!
Many thanks for y
our continued finan
cial
s
uppo
rt
throughout 2020
.
Mary A and Richard W
3
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t
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b
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br
e
a
d
.
T
h
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t
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m
e
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s
sum
m
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d u
p
b
y
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e
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w
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l
l-
kn
o
w
n
ph
r
a
s
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f
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t
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Bib
l
e,
Is
a
i
ah 9.1
a
n
d
t
h
e
s
e
co
n
d
f
r
o
m
Is
a
i
ah 9.60
The People who walked in darkness
have seen a grea
t
light.
Arise,
shine,
for your
light
has come.
A
pr
a
y
e
r
w
h
i
c
h
I
f
i
n
d
sum
s u
p
t
h
e
s
i
t
u
a
t
i
o
n
b
u
t
g
i
v
e
s
us
h
o
p
e:
G
o
d
o
f
da
rk
a
n
d
l
ig
ht,
w
e
pr
a
i
s
e
y
o
u
f
o
r
i
n
t
h
e
Spi
r
i
t
o
f
C
h
r
i
s
t
y
o
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
In
t
h
e
w
a
r
m
da
rk,
i
n
t
h
e
s
i
l
e
nc
e
o
f
s
ol
i
t
u
d
e,
i
n
t
h
e
s
t
i
l
ln
e
s
s
o
f
n
ig
ht,
e
v
e
n
i
n
t
h
e
sc
e
n
t
o
f
f
e
a
r,
y
o
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
In
t
h
e
c
l
e
a
r
l
ig
ht,
i
n
t
h
e
s
o
u
n
ds
o
f
l
au
g
ht
e
r,
i
n
t
h
e
s
e
c
u
r
i
t
y
o
f
f
r
i
e
n
ds
e
v
e
n
i
n
t
h
e
sc
o
r
c
h
i
n
g
h
e
a
t
y
o
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
In
t
h
e
c
o
m
i
n
g
o
f
a
y
e
a
r
i
n
t
h
e
r
e
c
a
l
l
o
f
f
au
l
ts,
i
n
t
h
e
r
e
m
e
mb
e
r
i
n
g
o
f
s
i
n
s,
i
n
t
h
e
r
e
p
e
n
t
i
n
g
o
f
m
i
s
t
a
k
e
s,
y
o
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
In
t
h
i
s
h
ol
y
p
l
a
c
e
i
n t
h
e
hymn
s
o
f
pr
a
i
s
e,
i
n
t
h
e
h
us
h
o
f
e
x
p
e
c
t
a
t
i
o
n
,
i
n
t
h
e
h
o
s
t
o
f
s
a
i
n
ts,
Yo
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
G
o
d
o
f
da
rk
a
n
d
l
ig
ht,
i
n
y
o
u
i
s
w
e
lc
o
m
e,
i
n y
o
u
i
s
f
o
r
g
i
v
e
n
e
s
s,
i
n
y
o
u
i
s
n
e
w
l
i
f
e,
y
o
u
a
r
e
w
i
t
h us;
y
o
u
r
pr
e
s
e
nc
e
su
rr
o
u
n
ds us.
Amen
Sara Pells
N
e
ws
of Mem
be
rs
a
n
d Fr
i
en
ds
Pl
e
a
s
e pr
a
y
f
o
r
Ba
rb
a
r
a
N
w
h
o
i
s
i
n
h
o
s
pi
t
a
l
a
n
d
Sylv
i
a
J
w
h
o
i
s
r
e
c
o
v
e
r
i
n
g
a
t
h
o
m
e
af
t
e
r
b
e
i
n
g
i
n
h
o
s
pi
t
a
l.
Hope
4
Christmas Gift Collection 2020
St John’s took toys etc., from
our
Toy Service on 13 Dece
mb
er
to the
Lighthou
s
e
I ju
st wanted to say thank yo
u to all who p
rovided
gift
s for the mothers a
nd children at the Li
gh
thou
se
Women's Refuge. There were lot
s of lovely gi
ft
s thi
s
year and Deb
Johnson has asked me to pass on her
heartfelt thanks for our
continued s
upport.
M
a
r
y
Aldous
Our Collected monies from the
Christmas Card and from the Christmas
Day collection for FIND so far ar
e:
£240 from the card and a further £206
from the Christmas Day
Servi
ce. So,
at
least £446.00 !!
Well done, St John’s
"What
is the b
ravest thing you've ever
said?"
a
sked the boy.
"Help,"
said the hor
s
e.
From The Boy, The
Mo
le
, The Fox and The Horse
(2019) by
Charlie Mackesy
h
ttps://www.b
bc.co.
uk/news/av/uk-55305286
See the above link fo
r the heartwarming
video story o
f how Charlie Mackesy
has helped so many i
n 2020
Help
New
s from Brian and
Angie
We remain in to
uch with Tanzania and have
had news of, an
d thanks from, Jeremia
Pyuza.
He is now a doctor
, having graduated at the
co
lourful
ceremony held out
side at the
Kilimanjaro
Chris
tian Medical University
in
northern Tanzani
a.
I hope you
will be able to pass on
his thanks to
the church fo
r all your help
in making this
possi
ble for
him. A good end to the s
tory
!
God Bl
ess Brian and
Angie
Jeremia with the lady he mar
ried
on 22nd Decem
ber
All Services are Online due to Covid
R
est
riction
s
Date
Inform
ation
L
e
a
d
er
03/01/2021
Communion
David
10/01/2021
Ernie
17/01/2021
Adam
2
4/01/2021
David
31/01/2021
Adam
07/0
2/2021
Communion
Ernie
14/0
2/2021
David
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lling:
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st Week; etc
Editorial for January 20
2
1
The two main themes in this edition have been Hope and Help, both of which have been impacted
by doing new
things - the Minister’s Letter theme. It is particularly good to look back at what St John’s has done to help in
the
short term and also in the longer term, through s
upporti
ng Jeremi
a to achieve his qualification.
We now hope
he find
s an important ro
le to play and I am s
ure we all wish hi
m and his wife the very best in their life together.
Thanks to Peter and Jenny for passing on the story from Brian and Angi
e.
We have done a lot of new things this year especially in the area of wo
rsh
ip and communication. This should
help
u
s to cope with the k
nown challenges we have to face
: Ad
am and Ernie destined to
depart from Ipswich
and East
, no M
oderator in post and the Rev E
la
ine Co
lechin leaving for a
church in London in the sp
ring. Then
there are the other
unk
nowns that face
u
s both as a church and
as individuals
. It was good to have the s
upport
of many people throughout the year
, in articles
, ideas and some very
u
seful p
ractical
th
ings
. I look forward to
your help in keep
ing Ad
van
ce o
n the ri
gh
t path and with the technical side of keep
ing onl
ine
,
so
und and the
p
hotoframe versions of services available.
Thank you.
Jo
h
n B
Bi
bl
e Study
The next meeting of the online B
i
ble Study group led by A
d
am is on Tuesd
ay 12th
January at 10:30. Access is
via Castle Hill’s Zoom Account and I am s
ure you will get a reminder of
the detail
s of that nearer the time. The
group is informa
l and friend
ly.
Christianity Exp
lored
Christianity Explored is a seven-session course that gives time and space to think about the b
i
g questions of life
and to explore the li
fe of the man at the heart of the Christian faith
.
* Note (Ed) this would be good experience to get anyone who has shown an interest in your faith during last
year to join, and perhaps with you alongside of them. There is to be a taster for people belong to the churches
to ensure you can encourage them with confidence. The timing will publicised.
A Note from
Adam
Dear All,
I hope you
are all well and enj
oyed your Christmas
even if it was a
b
it different than the one you
planned.
Looking f
orward it looks like it may
be a little while
before we are a
ble to gather on a Sund
ay
for live
worship. With that in mind
I would like to invite
you to a Zoom
Service, e
ach Sunday at 10:30 am,
continuing while the
church buildings are closed
for live worshi
p.
Star
ting this Sunday 3rd January, I will
be leading a
short (half-hour) a
ct of worship in
cluding singi
ng
h
y
m
ns
, p
rayers and s
c
ripture rea
ding and message
,
with the bonu
s of seeing
each other
, no face masks
and being a
ble to sing together!
Adam Woodhouse
The Zoom A
ddress will be sent by
email for security
reasons
. It does not replace the
Online services
. Ed.
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