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NEWSLETTER FROM ST JOHN’S URC

Ministers: Rev Adam Earle and Rev David Rees Office:

Minister’s Letter I a m a huge fan of Michael Flanders a nd Donald Swann, the comedy song writ er s and performers o f the later 1950s a nd 1960s. One of their compositions, “ The Song of the Weather ” speaks of t he month of Fe brua ry i n les s t han complimenta ry wo rds , “February’s ice and sleet freeze the t oes right o ff yo ur fe et.” For some, the month i s a bit of a drag. It’s in the gap between Christma s and Easter wit h the ongoing unpredictabil ity of winter weather. It’s a n “almost but not quite” so rt of experience. Some have a very di ff ere nt view - Pati ence Strong suggests, “In February th ere is eve rythin g to h ope for and no thi ng to regret.” Perhaps she is right in that we are just fa r enough into the year for there to stil l be time to ful fi l any resolutio ns we have not already gi ven up o n and for things t o get better but not s o far in that we are already looking back thinking we could have done better. Charmaine J. Forde, says , “Though February is sh ort, it is fi lled wit h lots of love and sweet surprises.” This year, of course, it’s not quite so short with the leap ye ar edition of 29 th but “ love and sweet surprises ”? Maybe Charmaine has a romantic a nd e ven optimistic expectation of the choc ola te s, gifts and unexpected greetings of Valentin e’s Day. Th e 14 t h F ebr uar y, Valentine ’s Day, is a celebrat ion of love which ha s its o rigins i n the Christian feast day of the mar tyr Sa in t Valentine. Initially its focus was o n sa int ly and divine lo ve bu t in the 1 4 th and 15 t h centuries it beca me a ssocia ted wit h romantic (even courtly) love and i s still embraced as such today.

TREASU RERS REPORT You are thanked for O ff erings in De cember totalling £1,840.70 and donations t o the Januar y Comm union Fund o f £30.51 for t he Emmaus Su ff olk Charity. As always, many thanks for you r cont inued financial s uppor t. Mary A & Richard W

LENT STUDY COURSE 2024 THE LONG ROAD TO H EAVEN BY TIM H EATON BASED ON TH E FILM “T HE WAY” WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? On the pilgrimage ro ad to Santiago de Compostela, we me et To m Avery and a small group of mis fi ts, each broken and looking for meaning in their live s. At the same time, travelling with Jes us on the road t o Jerusalem we meet o n the way people transformed by th e encounter. A wonderful treasure trove of nuggets drawn from a rich heritage o f Christian wisdom th rough t he centuries nourishes us a s we explore t he ma ny facets of salvation. Over fi ve sessions we are challenged t o see salvati on li ved out in the stories o f others and t o re fl e ct how God’s salvation is woven into o ur own lives. Bis ho p John Wraw THE BOOK: It is useful to have your own copy of the s uppo rt course book. T his will h elp in preparing fo r and following up from each o f the sessions with additional notes and guidance as well a s supporting discussion. We are able to o rder t hese with a 10% discount for £7.00. Please indicate o n the sign-up form if you would like a copy. WHEN & WHERE? We will be o ff er in g two session times each week on the Wednesdays during Lent. One will be in the aftern oon a t 2:00pm hosted a t St Jo hn’s URC , Ipswich. Th e afternoon session will be available via Zoom fo r the in-person group meeting a t Le iston United Church. If others would li ke a Zoom dis cussio n group in addition please indicate o n the s ign-up form. We will only o ff er this if there is demand. In the evening a session at 7:00pm will be hosted at Cas tle Hill URC, Ipswich. It is possible t o swap between locations and tim es over the weeks. 14 th FEB Showing of complete film “The Way” 19:00 Castle Hill URC 21 st FEB - Week 1 What are we saved from? Mark 1:9-11 28 th FEB – Wk 2 Wh at ar e we saved for? John 3:1-3 6 th MAR – Wk 3 Who can be saved? John 4:7-10 13 th MAR – Wk 4 What do we have to do to be saved? John 9:24-25, 32-33 20 th MAR – Wk 5 How are we sa ved? John 11:21-27 WANT TO JOIN IN? If you wo uld like to participate, whether in person or online, to help

us plan groups and set up the venues please would you sign up o n the shee t provided a t yo ur local church by Sunday 5 th Februar y . T his will also allow us t o ensure tha t books are or dered and arrive in good time t o be distr ibuted be fore the fi rst session o n 21 st Febr uar y. Lent Study and St John’s (A note fro m Va l V) St John’s is a ver y ca ring a nd friendly church family, but wouldn’t it be go od if we could ext end this into the neighbouring commu nity? I’m not saying taking part in a Lent Study will facilitate this but there could be something we lear n from Dr Avery’s pilgrimage, and the different people and situations he encounters . t hat c ould star t us on a path of Discipleshi p within t he commu nit y. Please let me know if y ou would like tran spo rt. We’ll als o obtain the DVD for home viewing if preferr ed. Please give this some thought and, rest assured, the group is friendly and d oes no t inmidate. The sessions are all in dependent of one an othe r so it doesn’t maer if you miss a week. I look forward to seein g you there! The cel ebration of Beryl’s l ife (18 th July 1937 - 15 th December 2023) to ok place at St John’ s on the 18 th of January