202
5
St Jo h n’s United Refo rmed Church 1 Cowper Str eet, Ipswich IP4 5JD Web Address: w ww.stjohnsurcipswich.org.ukdvanc
e
March
Chris Mills
A no
te
fr
om
V
al
Minister’s Letter
2
The Journe
y of Lent:
More Than Just Gi
ving Up Chocolate
Lent
is
her
e
again,
starti
ng
on
Ash
Wedn
esday,
this
year
on
t
he
5th
Mar
ch.
It’s
that
time
of
year
when
we’re
all
supposed
to
give
somet
hing
up—chocolate,
crisps,
wine,
social
media,
or
maybe
even
ca
ff
eine
(if
yo
u’re
bra
ver
than
me
!).
But
is
tha
t
really
the
heart
o
f
Lent?
Or
is
there
somet
hing
deeper?
It
seems
to
me
that
a
t
its
core,
Lent
is
about
re
fl
ection,
r
enewal,
and
draw
ing
clos
er
to
God.
It’
s
a
journe
y,
not
a
punis
hment.
It’s
about
making
space—clearing
away
the
clutter
so
w
e
can
focus
on
what
rea
lly
matters.
Jesus
spen
t
40
days
in
the
wilder
ness
pr
eparing
for
his
ministry
,
and
in
some
small
way,
we
’re
invite
d
to
do
the
same.
“Cr
eate
in
me
a
clean
heart,
O
God,
a
nd
renew
a
right
spirit
within
me
”
(Psalm 51:10).
A
friend
of
mine
o
nce
decided
to
give
up
negativity
for
Len
t.
Instead
of
cutting
out
a
favourit
e
food
o
r
soap
ope
ra,
she
challenged
herself
to
stop
complaining.
Every
time
she
caught
herself
moaning
about
the
weather
or
grumbling
about
the
tra
ffi
c,
o
r
getting
ann
oyed
at
he
r
husband
or
children,
she
made
a
consci
ous
e
ff
ort
to
fi
nd
something
go
od
instead.
It
wasn’t
easy,
in
fact
at
times
it
was
almost
impossible,
but
b
y
Easter,
she
said
she
felt
lighter
—freer,
even.
I
t
had
s
hifted
he
r
mindset in a wa
y sh
e hadn’t expecte
d.
So
maybe
this
Lent
,
instead
of
(or
alongside)
giving
som
ething
up,
we
could
take
somet
hing
on.
A
daily
act
of
kindness.
More
time
in
prayer
.
Writing
letters
or
emails
to
people
who
need
encour
agement.
Volunte
ering.
Actually
attend
a
Lent
course
this
year!
Checking
in
on
a
neighbo
ur.
Something
that
draws
us
closer to God and to one anoth
er.
Ultimately
,
Lent
isn’t
about
self-
denial
for
the
sake
of
it—it’s
ab
out
trans
formation.
It’s
about
stepping
away
from
the
noise
and
m
aking
room
for
grace.
And
if
that
means
still
having
the
odd
square
of
chocolate
while
choosing
to
be
mo
re
patie
nt,
more
c
ompassionat
e,
or
more
pray
erful,
then
I
rec
kon
God
will
be
just
fi
ne
with that.
Whatever you decide this Lent, may it be a time
of growth,
p
eace, un
expec
ted joy
, and may it
“… rene
w a right spirit within me.”
David
It
was
very
sad
to
hea
r
Peter
Cook
passed
away
on
3rd
February
2025.
During
the
60+
years
Peter
was
a
member
of
St
John
’s,
he
sang
in
the
choir,
served
as
an
Elder
and
as
Chur
ch
Secre
tary.
With
his
kee
n
ey
e
for
detail,
Peter
was
a
majo
r
contributor
to
our
church
redevelopment
in
the
mid
1980’s.
All
of
us
will
ha
ve
our
fond
recollections
o
f
him,
but
for
me,
I
will
tre
asure
t
he
many
miles
we
walked
togethe
r
with
the
St
John’s
rambling
group.
As
well
as
our
monthly
walks,
w
e
enjoy
ed
many
weeken
ds
away
in
Norfolk
,
Kent,
Essex,
Rutland
and
The
Chilterns.
Even
when
Peter
was
unable
to
‘go
the
distance’,
he
and
Jenny
would
join
us
for
the
weekend
to
soak
up
the
companionship
of
the
g
roup
and
share
many,
many
laughs.
Peter’s
funeral
will
be
he
ld
at
St
J
ohn’s
on
Tuesday,
2
5th
March
a
t
12
noon.
Our
prayers
are
with
Jenny,
Andrew
and
Annette,
Peter
’s
brother
John
and
his
wife
Ann.
Relationships – The Heart of the Matter.
Please
look
out
for
details
of
this
year’s
Lent
Course
to
take
place
at
St
John’s
on
Wednesd
ay
afternoons
at
2
pm,
starting
on
12
th
March.
Alternatively 7 pm at Castle Hill.
3
Staging
We
curr
ently
have
an
a
rea
of
platfor
m/staging
in
the
Wo
rship
Area
and
we
are
que
stioning
if
this
is
still
needed.
Elders
would
like
to
hear
your
comments please.
On
Sunday,
23rd
March,
we
are
pleased
to
welcome
t
he
Mo
derator
of
Eastern
Synod,
R
evd
Lythan
N
evard,
who
will
be
lead
ing
our
worship at 10.45 am.
A date for your diary – Sunday, 6th April – Church
Lunch. Please
look out for th
e sign-up sheet.
And
please don’t forget – Chur
ch M
eeting (AGM)
on Thursday 27th March at 2.00 pm.
Val
Communion Offering
Thank
you
for
your
recent
donations.
I
list
below
the
orga
nisations
you
may
lik
e
to
support
o
ver
the
next f
ew months
.
March
-
St
Eli
zabeth
Hospice
April
-
St
Elizabeth
Hospice
May
-
Christian Aid
June
-
Mission
Avia
tion
Fellowship
July
-
Mission
Avi
ation
Fellowship
August
-
Water Aid
September
-
W
ater Aid
Thank You
Val
A big ‘Thank You’
It
is
not
every
day
that
you
become
90;
and
the
response
to
the
big
day
by
so
many
people
from
St
John’s
in
cards,
phone
calls
and
other
ways
was
so
heart
warming
an
d
is
no
w
a
muc
h
treasur
ed
memor
y.
S, m hk t y r J T
Bible Study
Our
February
Pastorate
Bible
Study
will
be
on
Monday
morning
February
10th
at
10.30
in
t
he
morning
via
Zoo
m.
Our
passage
for
discussio
n
will
be
the
G
ospel
read
ing
for
the
following
Sunday
which
is
Luk
e
6:17-26
.
This
is
Luke’
s
Sermon
on
the
Plain
which
in
pa
rt
parallels
Matt
hew’s
Sermon
on the Plain which in part parallels Sermon on the
Mount.
W
e
might
also
look
at
t
he
other
Ne
w
Testament
passage
which
is
1
Corinthians
15:12-
20.
It
is
always
goo
d
t
o
share
our
understanding
and
the
insights
that
we
have
from
our
experience
and
to
se
e
how
it
relat
es
to
our
Christian
living
today
.
All
are
welco
me
to
join,
t
o
listen
and
to
contribute
.
When
logging
on
the
meet
ing
ID
is
889
953
6542.
If
you
have
no
internet
you
can
use
you
r
phone
by
dialling
02034815240
or
01304601196
and
when
prompted enter the number
889 953 6542
.
Elaine T
Trea
surers
Report
You
are
thanked
for
O
ff
e
rings
in
January
of
£1.725.50
and
donations
to
our
Communion
Fu
nd
in
January and February t
otalling
£102.00
This
was
sent
to
support
the
Presbyterian
Church
of Myanmar, a
long standing partne
r of the URC.
As
always,
our
grateful
thanks
for
all
your
financial
support.
M
a
ry A and Richard
W
Hadleigh joins Ipsw
ich & East Pastorate
A
very
much
a
ppreciated
Se
rvice
of
Welcome
on
Sunday
9th
February
a
t
2:30
was
held
in
Hadleigh
Churc
h,
followed
b
y
refres
hments.
It
was
attend
ed
by members from the other 5 churches of the
4
Ser
vices at St John’
s
Thes
e are at 1
0:45 norma
lly
02
Mar
Sund
ay Wors
hip & Communion
Le
d by Re
v Da
vid
Re
es
09
Mar
Sun
day Wo
rship
Led
by Ke
ith Sc
arff
16
Mar
Sunday
W
ors
hip
23 Mar
Su
nda
y Wo
rsh
ip L
ed
by
Re
v Lythan N
evard
, Mode
rator
30 Mar
Sunday
W
ors
hip
Led
by Pet
er Daw
son
To get in touch and send contributions to
Adv
ance
please use the email:
advan
ce@stjohn
surcipsw
ich.org.uk
Please
note the deadline for the
April Advance is 25th Mar
ch
Pause for Thought
“Peace if possible;
truth
at all costs.
”
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546),
German priest, theologia
n, author and
hymn writer.
30
Mar
Jean H
09
Mar
16
Mar
Val V
23
Mar
Mollie H
02
Mar
Jill L
F
lo
w
er
Ro
t
a
Lesley
a
nd Br
ian
Sheila and Jill B
Sheila and Jill
B
Greta and
Jenny
After Service Coffee Rota
Date
Coffee Rota Names
Past
orate.
This
in
cluded
sev
en
people
fro
m
St
John’s.
The
Service
and
Com
munion
was
led
by
the
Mod
erator
, Rev Lyt
han Nev
ard.
March Dia
ry Dates
Sunday 2nd
– NE Ipswich churches 6.30 pm
– St Michael’s Martlesham
Saturday 8th – Community coffee m
orning
Sunday 9th – 10.25 – Pause for prayer
Wednesday 12th – 2pm – Lent
gr
oup
Wednesday 19th – 10.30 am Pas
toral meeting
2 pm – Lent gr
oup
Thursday 20th – 7.00 pm Elders
Tuesday 25th – 12 noon – Peter Cook’s funeral
Wednesday 26th – 2pm – Lent
gr
oup
Thursday 27th – 2 pm – Church M
eeting (AGM)
Saturday
29th
–
2
pm
–
Combined
Elders’
m
eeting
at
Felixs
towe URC
Maureen B
Led
by Re
v Liz
Fox
06
April
S
unday Worship & Communion
Led by Allison Smi
th
02
Mar
09
Mar
16
Mar
23
Mar
30
Mar
06
April
Jill B and
Margaret B
Mary A & Pauline
Pauline & Jill L
06 April
Brenda
L
Mar 6
th
Safe Harbour
Bob Hamilton, Diocesan Pioneer Developer
Mar
13
th
An
Eye
for
Life,
John’s
exhibition
at
the
Wolsey Gallery
John Ferguson, photographer
Mar 20
th
Call the Midwife
Jane Lane
Mar
27
th
Unpack
a
Painting
–
how
artists
help
us
to
see
Viola Jones
Apr
3
rd
The
work
of
Emmaus
–
to
overcome
homelessness and social exclusion
Claire
Staddon,
Chief
Executive,
Emmaus
Suffolk
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