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
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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
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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)
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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
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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
XARA
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