dvance

ARE Y OU SURE? ‘For God so lo ved the world that he gave his only Son, so that e veryone who belie ves in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ John 3:16 I didn’t r e ally enjo y history at secondary school. I r emember staring at gr ainy gr e y photogr aphs dispersed in pages of wor ds in the te xt book and being ask ed to r ead , remember and r e gur gitate the facts. Teaching history , ho we ver, was something I lo ved, and I tried always to mak e it as engaging and intriguing as possible. You’ll have to ask my former pupils ho w successful I was in achie ving this. One enduring pictur e fr om teaching history was the image fr om Ancient Egypt, found in the “Book of the Dead”. It is a scene of judgement in which the heart of the individual is placed on a balance and weighed against a feather. The weight of the heart was determined b y the weight of guilt for wr ongdoing – if good deeds in life outweighed the bad, then the heart would be light and the person passed into eternal par adise. If the opposite wer e the case, a guilt laden heart would lead to their destruction. It was not until death that the individual would disco ver their fate. In life they could have no certainty about what the futur e, the eternal futur e, had in stor e. The idea of admission to heaven being determined b y whether we have be en good enough or done sufficient good persists in many minds today. Even some who identify as Christians, who r egularly attend worship, who pr ay and r ead the Bible with delight, may still not be certain that the y will mak e it in. Paul writes in his epistle to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through fait h ,

and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works , which God prepared beforehand to be ou r way of life.” W e don’t have to earn salvation. We don’t have to strive to ensur e that the good in our lives outweighs the bad. Salvation is a fr ee gift of God, offered through Christ. Through faith and belief in him we ar e welcomed into a r elationship with God, into the very heart of the loving, eternal God. W e of course have to turn away fr om sin and turn to God to accept the offer, to embrace it and welcome the pr ese nce of God into our lives b y the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit who continues God’s work in us, will tr ansform us to be what we wer e cr e ated to be – people who live in the light and lo ve of God. That tr ansformation of heart and mind will be seen in what we say and the good that we do. Good works are the outcome, not the means, of securing that place in heaven. Someone ask ed me not long ago, if I belie ved that people can only come to God thr ough Christ. My first r eaction was, unsurprisingly and resolutely, “Yes!”. Christ claims just that, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except throu gh me.” (John 14:6) If I didn’t hold that in my heart, then I doubt I would have e ver r es ponded to the call to ministry . Ho we ver, as I r eflected further , I added this, “To be honest, I don ’t understand the e xtent of God’s gr ace and me r cy sufficiently , that ther e is no other way to come to God, but I do wholeheartedly belie ve Christ Jesus’ teaching, that he is the only way of which I can be certain.” That is why I do what I do, and I pr ay that each and e very one of you may kno w and cherish that certainty too.

I’m writing this with the sun shining through the windows. Long may it last so we can avoid turning

on the heating – something we’ll all try to put off for as long as we can. Prior to our next Chur ch Meeting - 21st No vember at 2.00 pm - we will be looking for Elder nominations. If you feel unable to carry ou t such a commitment, perhaps you could arrange for someone to r ead the lesson each week in chur ch, OR once a month, could you arr ange for a collection plate t o be available for the Communion Offering and afterwards send the contribution to the designat ed charity OR once a year, could you co-or dinate our Christian Aid involvement? These are just a fe w of the jobs, added to many others, that contribut e to the life and work of St John’s. Please give this your pr ayerful consider ation and, if you ar e able to help i n any way , please have a wor d with me. Follo wing our Quinquennial inspection, many maintenance jobs have been attende d to, inside and outside the building. Sh ould you notice any minor repairs that need attention, please ha ve a wor d with an Elder or write a note i n the book left on the desk in the fo yer. Sadly, we r ecor d the death of Maur een Kitson whose funeral will tak e place in the chur ch at 12 noon on W ednesday , 2nd October 2024. Many of you will have hear d Maur een tell of her tales of when she was evacuated to Leicester. Whilst arr anging her funer al service, I came acr oss an article written b y Maur een in No vember 2004 and appears as an archive of WWII memories, written b y the public a nd gather ed b y the BBC. I hope you find this as inter esting as I did and will be a lasting memory of her. V al V Maur een Kitson Remembers … and is Remember ed One of most vivid memories of childhood occurred in the fifth year of my life, when Britain declar ed war on Germany. Until that time a na rr o w r outine of sleeping, eating and playing was my way of life. Suddenly after only a few weeks of school my world e xploded. Into it came ne w e xperiences, people, feelings, sounds, and label for me - "e vacuee." I cannot r ecall Sir Winston Chur chill's speech, most of which was lost on my child's understanding and intelligence. But I can r emember the tension of my parents, the dr one of a voice and a stiffness that

pervaded our r oom as the wir eless r elayed that historic occasion. Pr e viously , unkno wn noises became familiar: the wail of the air-ra id s ir en, the sound of aeroplane engines o verhead, a voice crying "put that light out", e ven the staccato-patter of machine gun bullets became part of the pattern of l ife in the early days of the war. The bombing r aids o ver our East Anglian coast line incr eased, buildings wer e demolished and lives lost and so for safety's sak e, we wer e e vacuated to the Midlands. The day of our departure arrived: my brother, nearly six years my senior and I had said our "goodb yes" to our par ents. My mother admonishing us not to cry, to behave well and remember our manners, waved us out of sight as the bus left the school gat es and transported us to the railway station. There a large "monster” bello wing forth steam and smoke stood on the rails ready to pull the long line of railway carriages. At last children, school teachers, luggage and the ubiquitous gas- masks wer e aboar d, with a shrill whoop the engine surged forwar d and a memor able journe y had begun. Our destination was Leicester and it could have been at the end of the earth, the little we knew about it; the furthest I had been was Felixstowe. The journe y labour ed on, with stories, community singing, and surprise sweets handed r ound to all b y our teachers. The very same people who had only hours earlier had taught, reprimanded and punished us for our misdemeanours. Eventually the tr ain stopped in the twilight at a n immense platform. Into that twilight emerged five hundr ed tir ed, hungry and o ver-awed childr en. Even the "big bo ys” seemed to have stopped their boasting and scuffling. Once mor e into fleets of buses, we wer e tak en across this enormous city to the De Montfor d Hall, then into its dazzling brigh tly lit auditorium we wer e led to tables laden with food. I r emember nothing of the meal, only the satisfaction of eating. Vividly I can recall the deafening sound of plates, childr en's chatter, and some atr ocious table manners of these str angers acr oss the table. The girls and bo ys wer e actually speaking with their mouths full of food! My Mother I knew would have had a lot to say about that; further, ther e wer e no "Please" or "Thank Y ous". They would not have

had anything to eat at our house. After the meal and checking yet again we had our gas- masks and identity car ds with us, a further bus journe y r educed our numbers and took us to our night's destination. I had been entrusted to my brother' s car e, with strict instructions to k eep with him and d o what he said. The duties of "big br others" laid heavily on him, he intended to be a Mother, Father, and Guar dian Angel r olled into one, for me. A t a lar ge school, wher e e veryone appear ed so much bigger and noisier than home, we were segregated into our se x es for bed. The girls were to enjo y the luxury of a camp bed, the bo ys two blank ets, a pillo w , and the floor. No w came our first big test and opposition to those in authority - my br other and I r efused to be separ ated. Every emotion, kno wn and unkno wn, fear, anger, indignant righteousness, and lo ve we felt, as the Adults tried to coerce us into parting. But finally safe in big br other's arms, exhausted, dirty and tearful I fell asleep - on two blank ets, a pillo w , and the floor. Ne xt morning after br eakfast and an attempt at walking, we were to be collected b y our " aunts”. (These people had been directed and told ho w many e vacuees the y "must" tak e, not a happ y situation). Needless to say , no one wanted or was k een to offer a little girl of five, and an ele ven year old bo y , a home. The "Aunts" filed past us r anks of childr en, choosing the clean, pretty or appealing child . I was the only girl left. I thought of the endless days that must be spent in the big empty , and gloomy , school with four bo ys and my brother, if no one wanted us. Suddenly , a friendly voice ask ed “W ould you lik e to come and stay with me?” “Only if my br other can come too" I said firmly . Unbelie vably this lady agr eed and, trustingly taking hold of the offer ed hand, I became part of a home, an extended family , and a c ity that for e ver r emains part of me. That house became mine for the dur ation of the war, I r eturned to Ipswich at the end of the School years in 1945. Most of the time I was on my o wn, as my brother did not settle, and r eturned to Ipswich. Every year I went back to Leicester for the whole of the School holidays and life wit h family and friends ther e r esumed its normal, happ y and familiar way . During my teenage years, letters were sent and r eceived r egularly , and birthdays and Christmas wer e marked with cards and presents. Later, my husband to be was intr oduced to the "Leicester family" and holidays and visits continued with many of the "family" becoming familiar with our beautiful Suffolk

coastline and countryside. Sadly , the family and friends ar e becoming fewer with the passing of time - it is no w nearly 65 (no w 75 ed.) - years ago. This pr o ves for me, that e ven fr om W ar, some good can emerge. Repr oduced by Ipswich Museum in 2014 with Maur een Kitson' s permission.

Bible Study Our monthly Pastor ate wide Zoom Bible Study will again be on the second Monday morning of the month. This month it will ther efor e be on Monday October 14th at 10.30 am. W e shall look at the Ne w Testament designated r eading for the following Sunday which is Mark10:35- 45, and maybe also at one of the Old Testament passages Job 38:1-7. Looking at passages of the Bible together and talking about them often helps us to understand them mor e and also helps us to get to know each other better. Y ou don’t need gr eat Biblical kno wledge or understanding to join in this on-line discussion, but rather a seeking to share your fa ith and your questions with others or just to listen to the thoughts of oth ers. Give it a try, you will be most welcome When logging on the mee ting ID is 889 953 6542. If you have no internet you can use your phone by dialling 02034815240 or 01304601196 and when prompted enter the number: 889 953 6542. Elaine T Tr easur ers Report Y ou ar e thank ed for Offerings in August of £1,740 and further Communion Fund donations of £36 in September. We have sent a total donation of £82 to W aterAid. The r esults of our Harvest Gift Day will be given in ne xt months Advance. As always, we are grateful for your generous financial support. Mary A and Richard W

Communion Offering Thank you for your generous donations. During the next fe w months, perhaps you would consider supporting the organisations listed below. A plate for your offering is available the first Sunday of the month when we shar e Holy Communion. October, No vember and December – Selig Springboar d, Suffolk opened in June 2023. It pr o vides affor dable, high quality , self-catering supported accommodation for 7 adults who would otherwise be homeless. Springboar d helps r esidents to pr ogr ess to war ds living independently in permanent , sustainable accommodation. The sole aim is to empo wer r esidents to end homelessness thr ough emplo yment. January and February – URC Myan mar The  URC has a long and rich history with the Pr esb yterian Chur ch of Myanmar (PCM) (until 1989, Burma). It was established in 1956 and constituted in 1962, making it 10 years older than the United Reformed Church. There are currently 245 congregations and around 33,000 members, many in remote parts of the country , which bor ders Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. The country – and subsequently the Church – face many challenges, particularly since the military coup in February 2021 and Cyclone Mocha in May 2023. This ties in with a fundraising campaign from the URC’s Global and Inter cultur al Ministries.

The Shoebox Appeal has been running since 1992. The y have deliver ed smiles to thousands of people in Eastern Eur ope o ver the years. The y have sent in total o ver 1,000,000 shoebo x es. Y our shoebo x es will go to the poor est people in Ukr aine, Moldo va, Bulgaria and Romania. This scheme collects box es for entir e families and the elderly , s o nobody’s left out. St John’s collects donations for Link to Hope to pack them for us - and we have done that for two years. Each shoebo x costs appr o ximately £20 to fill. Please give donations in an envelope marked Shoe Bo x Appeal befor e the end of Ocober. Thanks John B Coor dinator

Pause for Thought

Flower Rota