Time and Time Again.SittinginthestudyatthemanseI lookoverthebackgarden.On suchdaysinautumnitisajoy tolookoutside.Insteadof slavingoverahotcomputer,I canlookatthebirds,flowers andgrass.Weevenhavea squirrelflittingabout,gathering seedsreadyforthewinter.But thegrassisstillgrowing,infactI shouldhavemoweditafewweeksago,butI putitoff.Thenextopportunitythatsuitedme wasspoiledbythe(muchneeded)rain.Sothe grasscontinuestogrowandisgettingtothat reallyunmanageablestagewhereitistoolong tosimplymow.Ineedtocutitlong,with numerouscatcherloadsandthenabitlater cutitshort,withevenmorecatcherloadsfull ofgrass.Hopefullythat’llbethelasttimefor the winter.Timingiseverything.IfIhadspentanhour mowingthelawnafewweeksbackitwouldbe longishnow,buteasytocutandonlyanother hourorso’swork.Instead,it’sdevelopingintoa majorjobthatislikelytotakeaSaturday morningorafternoon.Whichincreasesthe chanceofitbeingputoffagain.I’velostthe moment and it has consequences.Time.Thereareatleasttwowordsthatare translatedfromtheGreekinourNew Testamentastime.Thefirstis‘Chronos’.Itis thewordfromwhichwegetsuchwordsin Englishaschronologicalandchronology.It denotestime,buttimeasanexactscience. Timewhichlistsdatesandthetickingofaclock
astheseconds,minutesandhoursareused, abused and discarded.ThesecondwordinGreekfromwhichweget timeis‘Kairos’.Itistimeasanessentialpoint ordecisivething.ItdenotestheGod-given possibilityofthemoment.Thoughthat ‘moment’ can indeed stretch out.Inaworldwithdigitalclocks,timetablesand plansofaction,weareruledbyChronos.A politicianhastogiveananswerintimeforthe 6o’clocknewsorsheorheisdeemed inefficientorhassomethingtohide.Itusedto bethatwecouldsay‘aquarterpastthehour’ ifsomeoneaskedthetime,nowwesay10:13. Inbusinessmeetingswehaveagendas, minutes,subcommitteesanddeadlines.Of course,theyareallnecessary,butsomewhere inthemiddleofourtimeobsessedculturethe ChronosneedstogivewaytotheKairos.Time assecondstickingawayreplacedbytheGod givenpossibilityofeverymoment.Totune intopotentialratherthanbetrappedbypast, present and even future.OurGodistheLordoftime.Hecreatedtime asChronos,butmoreespeciallyheismaster oftheKairos.ThatmomentwhenGodbreaks intoourmundanehabitsandclockwatching, ouractivitiesandstresses.AndGod transformsthemintosomethingbetter, greater than the sum of the parts.IguessI’llhavetodothelawnsthiscoming Saturdaynomatterhowmuchelseneedsto bedonearoundthehouse.Thetimehas come,andisindeedoverdue.AndIwonderif I’ll notice that God can also break through …..David
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Church Secretary’s NotesCarrying on from my last notes, I’ve just returned from the allotment where we’ve removed and burnt the box hedge, which was all diseased, and planted some broad beans. The hedge at church seems to be recovering (a bit) so I’ve sprayed and weeded it and giving it a stay of execution to see what happens.This month we have the Christianity Explored course running on Mondays at 7 pm via Zoom. Please let David know if you would like to be involved. This has meant that the Eco-action group will be held on Tues 8th at 7pm on zoom. Sue Liddell is leading this meeting.Our Elders meeting is on the 10th and our Church Meeting is in the church at 2:30pm on the 18th. Please try to make that meeting.We are hoping to start coffee mornings with sales tables this month, so ‘listen out’ for a date. This will be an opportunity to raise funds for the church again.Peter Dawson will be leading our Remembrance Sunday Service on the 14th.Soon be Christmas(!) and Playgroup are hoping to put on their nativity play again - maybe on two evenings to keep numbers down in the audience. I hear there’s a rumour Santa maybe visiting the Playgroup later on too! Rudolph where are you…?Adrian Reform subscription for 2022Reform is the national magazine of the United Reformed Church giving you inspirational and often challenging articles. The yearly subscription is currently £29.50 for paper copies, and you can add a digital edition for an extra £18pa.For this you get 10 editions which are published monthly. If you want to keep abreast of what is happening in the URC and read articles with a wide Christian viewpoint then, contact me to place your order. Prices are current until 31 December so, I will need to get our subscription in before then. Please let me know by 1st December if you would like to subscribe.Andrew W
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Happy Christmas!Ibetthatgotyourattention!Iknowsomeofyou liketogiveaURCDiaryasaChristmaspresent,so Iwouldaskthatyouletmeknowifyouwantto orderyour50thanniversarycommemorativediary for2022.Onlyonecolourthisyear,andtheprice is£6.99pluspostage.Also,itistimetoorder yourURCprayerhandbookentitled“Jubilee- Freedtolive”for2022.Thesearepricedat£5.49 pluspostage.PleasecanIhaveyourorderfor thesealsoby1stDecembertoensuredeliveryfor Christmas. Ho-Ho-Ho!!Andrew WGREETINGS FROM MAURITIUSGreetingstoyouallfromthislovelysunnyAfrican island,some6000plusmilesfromtheUK,inthe Indian Ocean.Wearespendingalovelyholidayherewithour daughterandherfamily,whohavebeenliving herenowforover4years,andwhowehaven'tseen(physically)forover2!!Itisreallygood spendingsomequalitytimewiththemand especially our grandchildren, now aged 6 and 3.Thetemperatureherenowisinthehigh20's,and gettingwarmerbythedayastheyheadintothe peak of their summer season around Christmas..Wedoseesometorrentialtropicalrainon occasion,butitsoonstopsanddrysupvery quickly,andthereareannoyinglittlebiting mosquitoesabout,butoverallthisisabeautiful place.Oh,justbeencalledforaBBQonthebeach,just 5minutesaway--can'tbebad!!!Seeyouat Xmas !! Best wishes Lyn & Richard, Jacqui & Maarten, Mona & Jef.TREASURERS REPORT (also via Mauritius)YouarethankedforOfferingsinSeptemberof£2,009andCommuniondonationsinOctoberof £40towardstheIpswichWinterNightShelter project.Manythanksforyourcontinuedfinancial support. Mary A and Richard W
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Brownie and Rainbow Long Service AwardsThree of our Guiders have recently received Long Service Awards.Evie (Rainbow Guider) 10 years serviceKathy (Brownie Guider) 10 years serviceYvonne (Brownie Guider) 40 years service.We congratulate and thank them for the tremendous voluntary service and commitment they have offered the young people who meet on our premises.It is heart warming to know Rainbows and Brownies are now meeting in person and, as well as the above-named Guiders, we also thank their assistants, Lisa (Brownies), Kayleigh, Gwen, Natalie and Grandparent helper Mary (Rainbows). Although not receiving Long Service awards this year, many of these have served many, many years – Gwen an amazing 54 years!!WELL DONE! WELL DONE! WELL DONE!And a Rainbows achievement………We thought that you would like to know that our Rainbows recently held a sponsored silence. Not a sound for 20 minutes – quite a challenge for a group of lively and talkative 5 -7 year-olds! But it was all worthwhile as they raised over £200 for FIND. A superb result! Again …………WELL DONE! WELL DONE! WELL DONE!OurGuidingLightstillshines brightly,andwe’velearntso muchfromourjourney through the last year!SinceIlastreportedin January2021thingshave verysteadilyandsafely improvedforusasapack.Wehave,ofcoursefollowed theGovernmentand Girlguidingguidelinesand proceduresandaswetakethenextstepsinour journeytonormalmeetingswehavetakenon
boardandarefollowingthechurchguidelines too.It’simportantforusthatourgirls, parentsandvolunteersfeelconfidentthatwe aredoingeverythingwecantokeepthem safe in these times.Aswereflectonthelast9monthsoftheyear, wearesogratefulforallthesupportwehave receivedfromourbrownieparents,ourwider guidingfriendsandleaders,andourchurch representatives. Thefirstfewmonthsoftheyearwecontinued withourZoommeetingsandlearntaboutthe countrycodeandourwildlifeinpreparation forourmeetingsinthecountryside.Wealso enjoyedlearningaboutthenightsky,made ourveryowncompassandstarconstellation observerstoo!InFebruarywetookpartin WorldThinkingDay,thisyearthethemewas “LetsStandtogetherforPeace!”.Wehadan interestingdiscussionaboutPeaceandwhat itmeansforourworldandourselvesandhow wecanmakeadifferencebyouractionsevery day! InAprilweheldourfirstfacetofacemeeting outdoors,itfeltsostrangetobebackall together,butthegirlshadsomuchfun outdoorsenjoyingthemselvestogether.The smilingfacesreallydidsayitall!We continuedduringthespringandsummer termsmeetingoutdoorsandthisgaveusthe opportunitytoworkonthe“BuzzAbout Anglia”Girlguidingchallengetocelebrate their 50th Birthday. WeexploredourlocalareaonaPennyHike learningaboutthedifferentroadsand terraces,wevisitedChristchurchParka coupleoftimestouseourmapreadingskills anddosomenatureartdesignsandexplored thearboretumsandplantsandnature,we evenfoundtheWollemiaNobillis,“dinosaur” tree too!Wealsohadanenjoyableeveningoutdoors withaZumbafitnessinstructorandthegirls hadagreattimejustbeingfreeandhaving fun while keeping fit.AspartofourBuzzAboutchallengewehad thepleasureofjoiningJasonfromRubbish Walkstowalkandpicklitter.Thisreally
Aslastyear,I’d liketothank LisaandKathy thetwoother membersofour brownieleadershipteam,theyhavebeenbymyside throughoutourbrowniemeetingswhetheron Zoomorinperson.Ireallycouldn’thavekept goingwithoutyoursupportandfriendship.It’s been an especially tough year forAsleaderswewereparticularlysadtolearn thatthe23rdBrownieshadtocloseafter70 yearsofservicetogirlsatSt.Johns.Weknow thiswasn’taneasydecisiontomakeandwe thankLornaandTinafortheirmanyyearsof commitmentinhelpingtorunbrowniesatSt. Johns and we wish them well for the future.It’snotgoodbyetothe23rdIpswichthoughas thereissomegoodnewsinthatGirlguiding hasagreedthatwecanretainthe23rd Browniesnamewithamergerinnameonly withthe40thIpswichBrownies.Inpractice thismeansthatifnumbersincreasetoapoint wherewecouldreopenthe23rdIpswichwe coulddothisprovidedGirlguidingcouldfind appropriateleaders.Iamparticularlypleased atthisoutcomeasthiswasmyownBrownie packsome50yearsagowithGwenandValas my Brown Owl and Tawny Owl!Yvonne W, Leader 40th Ipswich Brownies Bible StudySixpeoplefromthePastoratemettogetherfor theirfirstface-to-faceBibleStudyforalong timeandweregladtobetogether.However, wehadalreadyagreedthatNovember’sStudy wouldbeviaZoom,andwiththeprospectof possiblybadwinterweatherwehavetakenthe decisionthatthemeetingsinDecember, JanuaryandFebruarywillalsobeviaZoom.We hopethiswillenablemanytojoininfromthe comfortandsafetyoftheirownhomes.The NovembermeetingwillbeonTuesday9that 10.30am.Weplantolookattwolectionary passagesonefromtheNewTestamentand onefromtheOldTestament;namelyMark13: 1-8;and1Samuel1:14-20,2:1-10.Thereshould beplentyofmaterialheretostimulateour
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discussion!Dojoinustoshareyourthoughts and/or to listen to the ideas of others. WhenloggingonthemeetingIDis8899536542. Ifyouhavenointernetthenyoucanuseyour phonebydialling02034815240or01304601196 andwhenpromptedenterthenumber889953 6542FuturedatesforyoudiaryareDecember14th, and for 2022 – January 11th and February 8th.Elaine T
Thoughts for the Day"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, 'Mother, what was war?”Eve Merriam (1916-1992), American poet and writer
Services
Date
St John’s
07/11/21
David Rees(Comm)
14/11/21
Peter DawsonRemembrance
21/11/21
David Atkins
28/11/21
Sue Liddell
05/12/21
Birgit Live Streamfrom Castle Hill(Adrian comm)
12/12/21
SaraCarol & Toy Service
Telephone version 01473 938542 Option 1 Hazel H can still be heard on Option 2
Coffee Rota
Date
People
7 Nov
Margaret N and Pauline
14 Nov
Maureen and Jenny
21 Nov
Dorothy and Colin
28 Nov
Penny
5 Dec
Molly and Richard
“Faith is not having no doubts. It is trusting God when you have doubts.”Douglas Hall, Emeritus Professor of Theology, McGill University, Canada (b. 1928)From sermon by Rev Martin Camroux at Castle Hill, September 2021 and subsequently on YouTube.