2021

St

John’s

Un

it

ed

R

eformed

Church

1 Cowper Street, Ipswi ch IP4 5JD Web Address: w ww.stjohnsurcipsw ich.org.uk

Mi n i s t er’ s Leer De ar C hur c h Fa m i ly It is now the s tart of my s eventh month with yo u all in Ip swich and Ea st Partnership a n d wow wh at a me it h a s turned ou t t o be! Several lock downs , arou nd th irty- five Elders Meengs , over th ree hundred hours o n Zo om, a n d I h av e even ma n aged t o lea d worsh ip in a ch urch build ing a few mes ! However sadly I cann ot stay with yo u forever and as most o f yo u now know I am due to fin ish here in May and mov e on to my next min istry. I am moving n orth to be the Minis ter in the La ncash ire East Mis s ional Partnersh ip. This is a grou p of eleven churches i nclud i n g: Rev i dge Fo ld, Trinity Brownhill, Westb ury Ga r den s, Kingsway , Wo odland s, Clitheroe, Burn l ey and Nelso n, Darwen Central, T rinity Lower D a rw en, Tockholes and Grea t Ha r wood . There is a wide range of situ a o ns from in ner city to sma ll village sen gs, co ngregaons of 80+ to a sma ll o ne that ca n fit into a living room if it sn ow s and you a re no t ab le to get to the Ch a p el. The norma l proces s fo r th e movement of ministers cann ot work during COVID 19 restricon s, so the usual physica l meengs between the mis sional partn ership a n d m ys elf could not happen . So in stea d , I met the members of th e steering group for three on-lin e mee ngs. O n the fi rs t occa sion the steering gro up a n d I eng aged in qu es o n, answer & d iscussio n. On th e secon d occa s ion I led a Bible study, and on the third occasio n I was invited to Prea ch with a view. I am sll learning ab out the ch urch es I will b e s ervin g a n d hope to visit in perso n s oon . Broadly speakin g I will be working alongside th e present incu mbents th at a re s er ving in the Mi ssio nal Partn ership in ch urch es in Clitheroe and Burnley working together for supp ort, p rayer a n d encouragement. T h ere is a ls o a Ch urch Related Co mmunity

Worker serving three of the Ch ur ch es . I have b een ca lled to minister to all age groups; there are stro ng Messy and Muddy Church grou ps. I am lookin g fo rwa r d to wo rking with refugees as there is a ref ugee centre run by on e of the chu rches in p a rtnersh ip with a local Mosq ue; I will also be part of loca l interfaith forums. These of course are very bro a d a rea s ; I will fin d o ut more deta il as I get to know the churches beer. While I will b e servin g th e who le Missio nal Partnership, I wil l mainly be wo rking o n sh orter specific mis siona l pro jects with loca l ch urch es, seeking t o exp ress their fai th a n d s hari n g the Go s pel messa ge while servin g their local communies . If you have any q ueson s p lea s e d o ask, I rea lis e I h ave on ly rea lly to uched the p of the iceberg or I would fill u p th e whole of th e mag azine. Thank yo u for a ll y our sup port wh ile I h ave been in Ip swich and East and I l o ok forward to s erving yo u w ell in thes e la st few months. I h o p e to s ee many of you before, but if no t I hope you and you r family have a blessed Ea ster Celeb raon , God Bles s , Adam Chur c h Se cretar y’s No t es It’ s b een a yea r this month s ince we heard ab out the problems with Covid 19 - who wou ld have thou ght a t the me th at even o ne yea r later w e wo uld s ll be in ‘lo ck- down’! H aving vi sited the ch ur ch recently it f eel s like a lon ely building wo nderin g what has h a p pen ed to a ll its frien ds. It is certainly going to be a while before Room 1 is f ull of chang p e o p l e a n d ‘ c h i n k i n g ’ t e a c u p s . W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o t h a t d a y . The Playme Pre-S chool is s ll open and it’ s go od to s ee lo ts of smi ling, playing ch il dren s ll enj oying th emselves. W el l done to all the sta ff h el ping to keep the s ch oo l run ning. At the me of wrin g we a re s ll wa i ng to get an up-dat e f rom the prime Minister, b ut with the scho ols openin g a gain there maybe more children returning to Playschool soo n. Adam ha s b een org a n ising the liv e Su nd ay ser vices o n zoo m, we are sll geng g ood nu mbers on Yo uTub e. Thanks to Adam & well d on e to a ll a end i n g. Thanks also to Ern i e &

GentleCreed. In y our laughter let there be happiness, In y our tears renewal. In your q uiet moments, co ntentment In your dreams a f u ture promis e. Let there be peace, i n yo ur me alon e and friendship in a crowd . Let your knowled ge of you rs elf brin g you a greater u nderstandin g of what y ou can achieve. Hurry not fro m on e wo rkload to a n other without taking me to be aware of y our own n eeds and the needs of other a nd do no t und eres mate the importa n ce o f b eing fulfi lled. For if you a re no t whole in you r sa sfa con You cannot who lly give to o thers . Step forward to a n other d ay ta king with you the best of th e la s t a nd the lesson s learned But remember even when we a re dissa sfi ed with o urselves there is O ne wh o knows us completely a n d will n ot desserts . Take co ur age to live a t a s l ower p a ce and to listen to the Self you h av e yet to d iscover. by Lynn New BROWNIES What a breath of f resh a ir it was to hear news of what th e Brownies have b een d o ing in the last 10 months . From making owl cupca kes, growing vegetables, scav enger hun ts at ho me - to name j u st a few of the a c vi es iniated via the int ern et to keep the Guidin g light sh ining b rightly. WELL DONE Lea ders a nd Brown ies – keep up the go od wo rk a n d we look forward to hearing mo re o f wh at you hav e been up to wh ilst staying s af e at ho me. Val Vertigans

It e ms 2020 2019 Diffe re nce Inco me Commied Free Will Offerings £ 20,416 £ 20,113 £303 Lo os e Offerings * 4

Expenditure Ulies - Ga s/E l ectricity/ Water/Refus e * 2 nd Top Sav ing

TREASURERS REPORT You are tha n ked for Offerin gs in Ja n uar y totalling £1, 538. The Accounts for the year endin g 31st December 2020 have now been a pproved by Elders. Here are some of the major fi gures wh ich will b e of interest. The Ed itor h a s kind ly put them in a table where in th e income secon: red fi gure s £0000 are re du ced inco me this ye ar a n d in the Ex pen diture secon: green fi gures £0000 are savings in expenditure this ye ar. T he top fou r losses of income and savings are starred*. Previous years fi gures are in the seco nd c o l u m n a n d t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n y e a r s are in the third column to enab le compariso n. Shou ld a ny one like t o see a full co py o f the deta iled a ccou nts ( (8 p ages !) - please ask Richard. As a lways, many thanks for your con nued fin a n cia l sup port. Mary A & Richard W Report fr o m SSAP Me eng 23 February R ev E la in e Colech in leaves West S uffolk a t Easter . Wickhambroo k has officially been closed . It will b e some me before f utu re arrangements for the other West S uffo lk ch urch es can b e made. P lea se pray fo r th em a n d the ir futu re. Due to reduced ministry, arra ngements funer a ls a n d cremaons may be problemac especially a s crematoria and burial grounds us ed are wid ely dispersed acros s the region. April is th e interview  me fo r Moderato r of th e Ea s tern Syn od. The arrangement for 10 lay prea cher s to be authorised for commu nion fo r the 5 ch urches in I & E has b een agreed by E Syno d. It has also been agreed in C entral where they have 5 lay preachers authorised fo r 3 chu rches. (Debenham is s ll a sep a r ate ent y). Income loss has been more a cut e in other chur ch es, inclu ding C a s tle Hill £15,000; Sto wmar ket £4 0,000. They are looking at ins u rance claims for loss of income. Others have h a d so me grant income from local a u thories . John B

SAXMUNDHAM ART PROJECT We have received a commun icaon f rom o ur friends at Saxmun dh a m ‘Make art and make friends !’ Many people have coped with the lo ng days of lock-down b y being more crea ve. Whether it is s ewing a qu ilt, baking b read, ma king a bird box o r painn g a r a inbow for the window, creang somethin g can keep our sp irits up and giv e us somethin g pos iv e to focus on . Bu t people also say that th ey miss b eing a ble to sh a re their efforts with others. I’m sure members a nd fri ends at St Jo h n ’s have b een equa lly crea ve and it wo uld b e wond erf u l if w e co uld hav e a n exhib i o n at Ha rv est to celeb rate our creav e gis . With C ovid restric o ns th is may well n ot b e pos s ible bu t, in the meanme, Adva n ce can accommodate a poem or a sh ort sto ry. Or h ow a bo ut a ph oto of you r sewin g or knin g proj ect – o r even you r completed jig-saw! For our Zoo m Ch urch Informaon Ev enin g at 7 PM on 18 Ma rch it might be fun for some to sh ow wh at they have don e f ro m th eir ho me a s a taster. P lea se cons ider thes e s u gges o ns so th at we ca n sh a re our efforts with others a n d o ffer praise for th e gis we hav e been given. Val Vertigans Ta i l  of  th e  Pand e  mic Two dark brown e yes, golden lus h s o ears, a lo ng fluffy ta il, a cold wet black nose, with four large paws a n d a lon g body. All ready t o go , b ut I have to be pa  ent whils t my leader puts on her coa t, changes her sh oes , gets my lead and bags, keys a nd a sweet. O ff we go ou t th e do ors as lo ng as the phon e doe sn’t ring!!! Oh, wh at it is for h er to b e busy! Wait, delay a nd talk before I can s tretch my legs. Off we go my f riend, co mpanion . OH th e s mells th e s un, wind , r a in or even sn ow. Down the road we go wa lking togeth er to en joy Go d’ s crea o n. Oh, the hedges, the weeds , th e la mp pos ts, ivy a n d my fellow companion - make my walk enj oyab le. H umans think they a re the only ones wh o en joy comp a ny. No t s o, I enj oy meen g a ll types of do gs wh atever colo ur breed or s ize a s lon g a s they do n’t jump on my b a ck legs. Can’t see why h umans can take a leaf ou t of my lif e. Oh, to race each other, to greet one a n other . Oh, th e greeng and the s mells. I am lucky because th is th ing ca lled the Pandemic does no t sto p me mee ng m y friend and enj oying o urselv es!!! Tolerance and

understandin g between u s are important th e we meet on the heath - gives me energy and pleas u re . I am oen sad as we turn for h ome, but I h ave to keep my eye o n my lea d hold er a s I am sll re cent about bein g too far away from h er!! Wet pavements , mu d d y paths , p uddles which I lov e to d rink from, I enjo y, bu t oh t o roll m y back in the gras s a n d th e heather o n th e heath. La tely we hav e had the f reedom of the go lf cou rs e. Ru nnin g, rolling, walking the fairways lead b y lea d ho lder bu t she will avo id th e po nd in this weather . That annoys me a n d I try to trick her t o come the p ond wa lk because I like to s wim chase scks which she throws and then come out and ro ll in th e mud. Go ing ho me black instead o f g olden! Sh e on ly lets me go in the p on d when it is really hot!! Oh this pandemic for me ha s been lovely. Lon ger wa lks, lots of company most of the  me, thoroughly s poilt. Washed down ru bb ed dry , brushe d and comb ed and then to cu rl u p b y the wood stov e lovely and warm a n d relaxed I sleep so un dly. Oh , I’m s o lu cky to h ave this home. I wish that all dogs and hu ma n s could hav e th e life I live now. T ake ca re, stay sa fe because y ou a ll ca n be a lead h older to God who made me. Best wish es lo ts of hu gs and tail wagg ing, wit h love from Trigger. Past oral Ne ws St Jo h n’s Ra mbling Group - M ick Scannell The St. John’s Ra mb lers Grou p is sad to report the loss of Mick Scannell. The group start ed in 1996 and Lynn and Mick Sca nnell hav e been part o f it for much of the grou p’s existen ce. Mick wa s well-liked by all the grou p. He wa s steady , dependab le, genu ine and la id back. He was a lways qu ick to vo lunteer to d rive o thers to wa lk starng points . Mick loved walking and before he rered, he would take the d ay off s o he cou ld j o in a walk. He never compla in ed a bo ut the walks or cond i o ns un derfoot. With h is lon g legs, Mick seemed to b e ab le to just step over sles, while oth ers struggled. In Su mmer, he always wore shorts, even in s ngin g nele season. We knew that Su mmer had en ded wh en the shorts disapp eared . Somemes a er walking,

Bi bl e Study Everyone in the Pasto rate is welcome to join in th e Ma r ch Bible S tudy o n Tuesday morn ing March 9 th at 10 .30, hos ted b y Castle Hill’ s Z oom (ID:889 95 3 6542) and the teleph one. Bring a cupp a and d rin k it in the good comp a ny o f f ellow C hrisa n s . As us ua l w e sh a ll b e explo ring the Go s pe l readin g designat ed for the followi ng Su nd ay, which is John 3: 14-2 1. Our Bible Studies are a me o f lo okin g at Scripture and sharing thoughts a n d id ea s f rom our own understandin g a n d exp erience, which h elps us grow in faith a nd in our knowledge of G od. You a re welcome to listen a nd contrib ute as we meet with each o th er. Elaine Thomas