2024
St
John’s
United Reformed
Churc
h
1 Cowper
Street, Ipswich IP4 5JD
Web
Address:
www.stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
dvance
August
August in Cairngorms National
Park
Photo Eilis Garvey
NEWSLETTER FROM ST JOHN’S URC
Ministers:
Rev
Adam
Earle
and
Rev
David
Rees
Contact:
E-mail:
Web:
Tel:01473
402721
Rev
D
Rees
secretary@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
www.stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
2
Minister’s Letter
Listening to God
Christians
generally
like
g
oing
to
church.
We
like
to
set
time
aside,
hopefully
each
week,
to
sing
hymns,
hear
scripture
read
and
explained,
to
pr
ay
together,
and
to
engage
with
friends
after
the
service
with
a
cuppa
in
our
hands.
In
that
time,
we
hope
to
h
ear
something
about
God
and
something
that
can,
in
equal
measure,
comfort us a
nd challenge us on our journey.
But
we
recognise
that
it
is
o
ne
thing
to
hear
about
God,
a
nd
quite
another
thing
t
o
hear
from
God.
For
me,
hearing
from
God
is
far
harder
than
hearing
about
G
od.
I
can
n
od
along
with
a
sermon
or
agree
with
the
sentiments
in
a
hymn
-
and
sing
ou
t
too
loud,
but
it
is
rar
er
t
o
hear
from
God.
Normally
when
I
hear
G
od
speak,
it
i
s
just
a
phrase
or
a
few
words
that
so
mehow
leap
out
to
me,
in
the
middle
of
the
hundreds
or
thousands
of
words
that
are
spoken,
read,
sung
and
prayed
in
a
church
service.
And
being
honest
it
doesn’t
happen
all
the
time
or
even
the
majority
of
the
time.
And
when
God
does
speak,
it
tends
to
be
like
a
whisper
rather
t
han
a
shout,
a
nd
I
am
often preoccupied and I ca
n miss it so easily.
Remember
the
s
tory
of
Elijah
in
1
Kings
19?
Elijah
was
a
prophet
who
had
just
experienced
some
of
the
most
incredible
moments
of
God’s
power.
But
after
that
mountainto
p
experience,
he
found
himself
in
a
dark
and
lonely
place,
fl
eeing
for
his
life.
Elijah
felt
aban
do
ned
and
was in desperate need of G
od's guidance.
Elijah
ran
to
Mount
Horeb
and
hid
in
a
cave.
He
was
feeling
pretty
low
and
was
seeking
a
wo
rd
from
God.
Now,
here's
where
things
get
interesting.
God
told
Elijah
to
stand
on
the
mountain
because
He
was
about
to
pass
by.
There
was
a
powerful
wind
that
tore
the
mountains apart
, but God wasn’t in the wind.
Then
came
an
earthquake,
but
God
wasn't
in
the
earthquake
either.
After
that
,
th
ere
was
a
fi
re,
but
again,
G
od
was
n't
in
the
fi
re.
Finally,
there
was
a
gentle
whisper,
and
that's where Elijah heard God's voice.
Isn’t
that
a
powerful
reminder
fo
r
us?
God
wasn’t
in
the
big,
fl
ashy
e
vents
but
in
the
still,
small
voice.
So
often,
we
expect
God
to
speak
to
us
in
dramatic
ways,
but
He
often
chooses
to
communic
ate
i
n
th
e
quiet
er
moments,
in
a
church
service
or
in
our
run-
of-the-mill lives, an
d that is easy to miss.
How
do
we
tune
into
that
gent
le
whisper?
Here are a few tips that might
help:
Find
Quiet
Time:
Set
aside
a
fe
w
minutes
each
day
to
just
be
still.
It
could
be
in
the
morning
with
your
co
ff
ee
or
in
the
evening
before
bed.
Use
this
time
to
pray
and
listen.
Read
Scripture:
God's
wor
d
is
a
primary
way
He
speaks
to
us.
Try
reading
a
passage
and
then
sit
quietly,
re
fl
ecting
on
what
you've read, and read it again.
Be
Open:
God
can
speak
thro
ugh
ot
her
people,
circumstances,
or
even
a
sen
se
of
peace
in
your
heart.
Be
open
to
the
different
ways He might be co
mmunicating.
Seek
Community:
Sometimes,
discussing
with
o
thers
what
you
think
God
might
be
saying
can
bring
clarity.
Don't
hesitate
to
reach out to
a trusted Christian friend.
Whether
it’s
in
church
or
at
home,
let’s
make
an
e
ff
ort
to
slow
down
and
expectantly
listen
for
Go
d’s
voice.
You
never
know
what
ama
zing
things
He
might
want
to
share with you.
Blessings,
David
A note from Val
As
a
child,
mother
of
two
boys,
and
22
years
working
as
a
School
Secretary,
the
month
of
August
was
always
much
anticipated.
A
t
ime
to
switch
o
ff
,
recharge
my
batteries
an
d
enjoy
being
in
the
glorious
countryside
-
and
beside
t
he
sea.
Whatever
the
weather
throws
at
us,
I
hope
you
will
take some time out, relax and ‘just be’.
During
those
quiet
mome
nts
o
f
re
fl
e
ction,
may
I
suggest
you
reme
mber
those
unable
to
attend
Sunday
services:
Hazel
H,
and
Pauline
S
in
residential
care
and
Je
an
L.
Beryl
C
and
Brenda
L
have
recently
lost
dear
o
nes,
and
we
pray
f
or
th
ose
currently
u
nwell
–
Doug
and
Maggie
N,
Pe
nny
C,
Sara
P
,
Sue
P,
Maureen
K,
Ray
S,
Russell
and
Molly
M
and
Jean
K
.
Please
also
remember
Rev
Adam
Earle’s
family.
His
Dad
has
recent
ly
gone
into
residential
care
and
his
Mum
is
adjusting
to
life
without
him
at
home.
And
on
a
celebratory
note,
Tony
and
Mary
Wilson
on
the
ir
60th
Wedding
Anniversary.
Loo
k
out fo
r cake on Sunday morning 4th August!
The
2nd
Hamilton
Rainbow
un
it,
who
meet
on
a
Thursday
night,
have
said
Good-bye
and
Thank
You
to
leaders
and
helper
–
Kay,
Natalie
and
Joy.
All
of
them
have
voluntarily
given
many
years
o
f
Guiding
to
this
group
of
lively
4-7
year
olds.
We
welcome
Dilly,
an
experienced
Gu
ider,
who
will
take
over
the
Unit
in
September
but
will
need
further
adu
lt
assistance.
Please
speak
to
Gwen
if
you
know
of
anyone wh
o may be interested.
By
the
time
you
read
this,
the
repairs
will
be
complete
following
the
road
tra
ffi
c
acciden
t
last
December.
Our
thanks
are
expressed
to
Richard
who has ne
gotiated with th
e Insurers and builders.
At
our
July
Church
Meeting,
Da
vid
and
Richard
spoke
about
our
recent
Quinqu
ennial
Report.
The
Building
Group
has
identi
fi
ed
three
priorities
–
roof,
electrics
and
windows.
We
will
be
able
to
apply
fo
r
50%
grant
fundin
g
from
Synod
but
it
st
ill
leaves
St
John’s
with
some
serio
us
Fund
Raising
challenges.
Richard
and
the
Elders
will
be
please
d
to
hear
of
your sugg
estions.
Val
Treasurers Report
You
are
thanked
for
O
ff
erings
in
June
of
£1,700
and
further
donations
to
the
Communion
Fund
in
July
enabling
us
t
o
send
a
donation
of
£78.70
to
St
Elizabeth
Hospice.
We
are
hopeful
that
the
3
repair
works
following
the
impact
damage
to
our
building
will
be
complete
by
now.
You
may
be
interested
to
know
that
the
tota
l
cost
was
almost
£1
4,000,
which
will
be
met
b
y
our
Insurers.
W
e
have
pr
epared
a
budget
forecast
for
the
current
year,
which
is
very
likely
to
show,
yet
again,
that
our
expenditure
will
be
greater than our In
come over the year.
Survey
of
our
Church
Buildings,
which
we
have
had
t
o
undertake
as
required
by
Synod,
has
revealed
3
majo
r
areas
of
concern,
namely
to
the
roof
,
electrics
and
windows.
Under
the
arrangement,
Synod
will
reimburse
us
with
50%
of
the
agreed
expenditur
e.
Roo
fi
ng
works
,will
be
approx
£7,80
0
(
lowest
of
2
estimates
obtained
)
Electrics,
some
work
already
been
done
£1,150.
Windows,
very
expensive
-
we
will
have
to
defer
this
until
a
later
date.
Se
veral
other
jobs
-
ceiling
repai
rs
/
painting/
ceiling
tile
replacements
-
these
we
can
do
ourselves
or
with
some
trade
assistance
-
cost
appro
x
£2,400.
Following
Building
Group
and
Elders
recommendation,
Church
Meeting
agreed
to
submit
a
Project
cost
of
£1
1,350
to
Syno
d
for
hopefully
their
agreement.
If
successful,
Synod
will
refund
£5,675,
leaving
us
to
fi
nd
the
balance
from
our
Fabric
Fu
nd
and
other
sources.
This
will
of
course
will
reduce
our
reserves
but
it
is
essential
work
we
must
do
and is
fi
nancially viable.
Friends
may
be
interest
ed
in
so
me
financial
information fro
m the URC centrally.
In
2023
-
Total
Income
was
£18.2m
,
Expenditure
£19.3
m
giving
a
De
fi
cit
of
£1.1
m
Budget
for
2024
is
an
expenditure
of
£19.2m
This
represents
a
cost
per
Stipendiary
Minister
of
£65,035
and a cost per URC member of an
average of £499.
Below
you
can
read
a
letter
addressed
to
all
URC
Members
and
adherent
s
from
the
National
Treasurers.
For
mor
e
detailed
information,
please
ask
Richard.
As
always
,we
are
extremely
grateful
for
all
your
continued and genero
us
fi
nancial support.
Mary A and Richard
W
To:
All
members
and
adherents
of
United
Reformed
Churches
a
nd
our
Local
Ecumenical Partnerships
Dear
Friends,
Firstly,
thank
you
for
all
you
r
contributions
to
your
local
church
in
2023.
This
includes
you
r
fi
nancial
contribut
ion
which
plays
an
important
part
in
the
life
of
t
he
whole
church throug
h the Ministries & Mission Fund.
As
o
ffi
cers
of
the
denomination,
it’s
good
for
u
s
to
be
rooted
in
a
local
URC
(or
L
EP)
congregatio
n
and
t
o
work
o
ut
our
faith
in
the
local
context,
as
well
as
across
the
en
tire
United
Reformed
Church.
On
the
other
hand,
it
is
good
for
yo
u
in
local
churches
to
know
that
those
who
serve
you
nationally
understand
the
local
church
fi
nan
cial
issues
o
f
living
crisis”
f
or
many,
with
e
nergy
cost
s
rising
unpreceden
ted
levels
etc.
Churches
and
ministers
have
had
the same challenges as so many others.
The
M&M
Fun
d
of
the
URC
pays
for
minist
ers’
stipends,
training,
Asse
mbly
costs
and
all
the
central
su
pport
function
s
for
ministry
in
the
URC
across
three
nations.
The
M&M
Fund’s
main
income
is
c
ontributions
f
ro
m
the
churches
with
some
top-up
from
synods,
together
wit
h
investment
income
and
grants
etc.
In
2023
the
churches
continued
to
support
the
M&M
Fund
to
a
wonderful
level,
but
there
also
was
signi
fi
cant
and
g
enerous
synod
suppo
rt.
Overall,
the
giving
to
M&M
Fund
was
slightly
ahead
of
budge
t
at
£16.3
million.
It
was
also
only
2%
down
on
2022’s
result.
However,
we
should
note
that
these
fi
gures
include
t
he
synods’
extr
a
contributions
this
year
which
amounted
to
£1.9
million
,
an
increased
amount co
mpared to 2022.
The
full
M&M
account
for
202
3
in
summary:
Income
–
£18.2m
–
of
which
16.3m
was
from churches and synods contributions
Expenditure – £19.3m Deficit – £1.1m
2024
is
not
going
to
be
an
easy
year
either
and
we
ar
e
again
budgeting
for
a
de
fi
cit.
We
have
a
commitment
fro
m
synods
to
continue
their
support
on
top
of
church
contributions
and
a
plan
for
balan
cing
the
M&M
budget
over
the
next
5-7
years,
including
budget
reductio
ns
of
central
costs of 3 to 5% p.a.
So,
thank
you
to
all
who
co
ntinued
to
contribute
to
your
local
church,
thank
you
to
all
t
hose
churches
who
met
their
commitment
for
2023
in
full,
and
thank
you
to
all
those
who,
i
n
a
dversity,
continued
to
treat
the
M&
M
Fund
as
the
fi
rst priority and paid what they co
uld.
Stewardship
of
our
resources,
personally,
as
local
churches
and
as
a
denomination
is
rarely
easy,
but
it
is
one
of
the
challeng
es
we
are
called
to
in
making
our
faith
real.
As
the
Spirit
directs
and
as
our
means
allow,
can
the
churches
once
more
cont
inue
t
o
respond
to
the
call
of
our
gracious,
lov
ing
and
ever-generous
God?
Again,
thank
you
all!
Yours in Christ,
Alan Yates (Treasurer)
Vaughan Griffiths (Deputy Treasurer)
4
products
,
bread
.
eggs
and
fruit
on
the
day
they are distributed by others.
We
have
found
the
numbers
of
requests
for
these
emergency
food
bags
have
increased
since
the
beginning
of
t
he
year,
so
it
is
not
unusual
for
about
35
of
these
daily
t
o
be
distributed
in
Ipswich
and
its
surrounding
areas.
At
this
time
of
year
with
the
holidays
and
suchlike
Maureen
can
always
do
with
some
more
voluntee
r
drivers
who
might
be
be
able
to
o
ff
er
help
once
a
fortn
ig
ht
or
month
on
a
regular
basis,
somet
hing
for
your prayers .
When
Social
Services
and
other
helping
agencies
turn
to
FIND
on
their
client’s
behalf
we
can
only
respond
becau
se
of
the
generosity
of
people
such
as
your
Members.
We
are
so
grateful
for
their
support
for
those
in real need in our loca
l community.
Heather
Cade
( FIND Trustee )
St. John’s URC Bowls Club
A
special
milestone
was
celebrated
by
the
Bowls
Club
on
May
25th.
The
90th
anniversary
of
the
Sports
Club
began
with
me
mbers
and
friends
joining
in
a
random
triples
competitio
n.
18
players
were
divided
into
te
ams
of
three.
After
18
ends
against
other
teams,
one
team
emerged
as
clear
winners.
The
prize
went
to
David
W,
Debbie and Me
l.
Everyone
return
ed
to
the
clubhouse
f
or
afternoo
n
tea
and
a
spe
cial
celebration
cake
made
by
Jenny
Hit
ter
and
her
family.
The
cake
was washed down with appropriate bubbles.
Help Commitment for
Life raise £20k for its
Gaza appeal
An
appeal
launch
ed
by
the
C
ommitment
for
L
ife
team
in
response
to
t
he
e
scalating
h
umanitarian
crisis
in
Gaza
has
topped
more
than
£15,500.
The
team
wo
uld
like
to
reach
£20,000.
The
hope
is
t
hat
the
funds
will
go
towards
a
project
currently
being
developed
by
t
he
Palestinian
Agricultural
Relief
Committee
which
h
as
cleared
lan
d
in
the
middle
area
o
f
Gaza
and
are
co-des
ig
ning
a
fully
accessible
internally
displaced
persons
camp
to
enable
services
for
people
with
disabilities.
Revd
D
r
Ke
vin
Snyman,
Programme
O
ffi
cer
(Global
Justice
&
Partnerships),
said:
"Everyone
at
Commit
ment
for
Life
has
be
en
deeply
touched
by
the
generosity
of
URC
members.
People
have
given
what
they
can,
and
then
more."
Learn
more
about
t
he
appeal
and
how
to
make
a
donation.
https://urc.org.uk/help-commitment-for-lifes-gaza
-
appeal-reach-20k/?dm_i=2JB1,20I64,ADF728,78DQ0,1
Image:
Palestinian
News
&
Information
Agency
(Wafa)
in
contract
with APAimages/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0.
Dear Rev. Rees,
Please
thank
the
Members
at
St.
John’s
UR
Church
so
much
for
their
ongoing
donations
of
food,
toiletries
and
pet
foods
for
FIND
(Families
in
Need).
I
am
grateful
to
Mike
Girling
who
makes
reg
ular
visits
to
me
to
take
these
foods
to
our
Food
Bank
in
Ip
swich
when
I
take
those
from
my
co
ngregation
in
Witnesham.
Some
of
our
volunteers
always
check
the
dates
of
the
tins
and
packets
they
receive
,
before
stacking
them
on
t
he
shelves
ready
for
another
group
which
makes
up
the
basic
bags
.
These
are
then
added to with foods such as fresh meat , dair
y
5
6
Services at St John’s
These are at 10:45 normally
4
August
Sunday Worship and Communion
Led by Peter Dawson
11
August
Sunday Worship
Led by Rev David Atkins
18
August
Sunday Worship
Led by Rev Liz Fox
25
August
Sunday Worship (Hybrid)
Led by Elders
Prepared by Rev Adam Earle
1
September
Sunday Worship and Communion
Led by Allison Smith
To get in touch and send contributions to
Advance please use the email:
advance@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Please note the deadline for the
September Advance is 23rd August
Pause for Thought
Diary Dates
Community Coffee Morning
Saturday, 10th August – 10.30 a
m
NE Ipswich Church Services
4th August – 6.30 pm, St Andrews,
Rushmere1st September – 6.30 pm,
Rushmere Baptist, The Street, Rushmere
“I alone cannot change the world,
but I can
cast a stone across the waters
to create many ripples.”
Mother Tere
sa (1910-1997)
4 Augu
st
Lesle
y C
11 August
Val V
18 August
Jean H
25 August
Pauline &
Gwen
Flower Rota
It
was
a
go
od
ending
to
a
pleas
ant
afternoon
amongst me
mbers and friends.
The
club
has
done
well
to
survive
this
long
but
if
it
is
to
continue
we
need
new
members
to
join
us.
We
are
a
friendly
and
inclusive
group
playing
to
enjoy
th
e
game
rathe
r
than
g
ain
trophies.
Matches
are
played
on
Monday
and
Thursday
evenings
and
more
informal
frie
ndlies
on
Tuesday after
noons.
Please
conta
ct
the
Secretaries:
David
and
Helen
Howe
on
01473
7179
79
if
you
would
lik
e
more
details.
PLAY READING
If
any
lady
would
like
to
try
my
play
reading
group,
meeting
on
Wednesday
afternoon
s,
please ring Greta on 01473 725217
04 August
Gwen and Jill L
11 August
Mollie and Richard
18
August
Jill B and Margaret B
25
August
Lesley and Brian
1 September
Sheila and Jill B
After Service Coffee Rota
Date
Coffee Rota Names