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Newsletter February 2012 PRAYER FOCUS
SERVICES FEBRUARY 2012 Ploërmel (14 Rue Général Dubreton) (There is normally a shared lunch after each service.) 5th Third before Lent 11.00am Eucharist 12th Second before Lent 11.00am Prayer and Praise 19th Sunday next before Lent 11.00am Eucharist 22nd Ash Wednesday 11.00am With imposition of ashes. 26th First of Lent 11.00am Family Service Rostrenen (La Chapelle du Collège de Campostal.) 12th Second before Lent 10.30am Eucharist 26th First of Lent 10.30am Eucharist Huelgoat (Parish Church in the town centre.) 12th Second before Lent 16.30pm Eucharist 26th First of Lent 16.30pm Fellowship Prayer & Praise For further information on these services or for information about Christ Church Brittany please get in touch with the Churchwardens or local contacts. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY/FORTHCOMING EVENTS Ploërmel - 10th February – Musical Soirée/Cornish Pasty Supper. The next social takes place on Friday 10th February starting at 7.00pm. We will be entertained during the evening by a very talented pianist, Emma Cushway, and the supper will be a traditional Cornish pasty (Brian’s Granny’s recipe). For catering purposes we will need to know in advance the numbers attending and also if you are a vegetarian. The evening will be at the usual cost of 5 Euros but please remember to bring your own drink. For further information and to book your places please contact Brian & Sandra Lean, tel: 02 97 74 89 30 or e-mail: garfield.lean@gmail.com Alpha Course Alpha is a course about the Christian faith and is taking place in 7000 churches across Britain and lasts 12 weeks. It covers topics such as: Does God heal today? How does God guide us? Why and How should I tell others? It is open to anyone, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey- or if you know nothing about Christianity, and is very thought provoking, Bible based and answering many of the questions of life. We have been running this course in France for 7 years (nearly 2 years in Brittany) in our home, and if you would like to come, or to bring along a friend, please ring us or email us. Chris and Liz Barge, tel: 02 97 72 45 33, or e-mail lizzieandchris@wanadoo.fr Home Group and Fellowship Meetings – February Huelgoat - The next meeting of the ‘Rainbow Group’ will be on January 26th, from 12:30 – 2pm for a Fellowship Lunch and 2 – 4pm for the Bible Study at the Presbytery, Huelgoat. To learn more about the group or for further information please contact Carole Turner, tel: 02 98 78 24 68 or e-mail: carole.turner@orange.fr Rostrenen - The next meeting is on Friday February 3rd which will be at the usual time of 14.30 in the Salle Paroissiale, 4 rue Joseph Pennec, Rostrenen. There are also plans for a series of Lent group meetings – and these will be every Friday in March, at the same time and place. For further information please contact Brenda Franklin 02 96 21 52 98 or e-mail brendafranklin@gmail.com. Redon Area - For confirmation of the date of the next meeting or for further information please contact Joy Morin on 02 99 71 12 30 or Maureen Wilson on 02 99 08 21 94. Ploërmel - Meetings are held on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month, at the home of Liz and Chris Barge, commencing at 3.00pm with tea and cake. For further information please contact Chris & Liz on 02 97 72 45 33 or e-mail lizzieandchris@wanadoo.fr. Bannalec There is a fellowship meeting for English speakers which normally take place at the Chapel at David and Rebecca Pugh’s on Tuesday evenings at 5.00pm. For further information please contact Rebecca or David on 02 98 35 46 59 Annual General Meeting and Meeting to Appoint Churchwardens. This year’s Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday 1st April 2012 at 14 Rue Général Dubreton, Ploërmel, at 1.00pm. There will be a short break after the morning service to allow time for coffee and sandwiches and then proceedings will start promptly at 1.00pm with a meeting to elect the Churchwardens, followed by the Annual Meeting itself. Elections will take place on the day for the following:
The Electoral Roll is mentioned in a number of places above and it is emphasised that only those whose names are on the Roll will be entitled to vote. If you are uncertain whether or not you are on the Roll please contact Mrs Pam Adgey, Le Goirimat, 56920 Gueltas (Electoral Roll Officer). Tel: 02 97 38 58 78 or e-mail achorister56@yahoo.fr. If you are not on the Roll and you would like to be so; please ask Pam Adgey, a Churchwarden or a member of Council for the appropriate form. The criteria for applying to be on the Roll are as follows: 1. You are aged over 16 years and have been baptized. 2. You have signed an application form. 3. You are a member of the Church of England or of any church in communion with the Church of England and you have attended public worship in the parish during the six months prior to application for enrolment. For further information or for a nomination form please see a Churchwarden or a member of Council. OTHER NEWS AND MATTERS News from Huelgoat Congregation It’s a while since we have given any news of Huelgoat and we thought you might like to hear about our Rainbow group. Why Rainbow you may ask! The name came about, following one of our Prayer and Praise Services where the congregation chooses a particular hymn, reading or prose etc and introduce it explaining the reason for their choice. It has proved most enlightening and there have been some very interesting stories. The sharing of issues connected to personal faith journeys’ or particularly difficult or poignant times Christian upbringing or spiritual growth for example. One of those choices was a little unusual as it didn’t fit any of the categories mentioned, because it was Judy Garland singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, however, this had meant a great deal to someone who delivered her testimony in such a spiritual way with the analogy of the rainbow to a stairway to heaven and to God through the eyes of a child. Anyway, the name was chosen for our Fellowship and Bible group. We use the Sunday school building in a beautiful quiet spot overlooking the lake at Huelgoat. It is within the grounds of the Catholic presbytery, mind you the Sunday school is on a Wednesday!! This is France after all. The first week that we used the building we were surrounded by children’s pictures of a rainbow, so clearly the name seemed appropriate. We meet twice per month and start each meeting with some informal fellowship time over a coffee and sandwich and if we are very lucky Sheila’s muffins. The Course we have been using is by Bob Gordon and the subject is Discipleship, it has proved hard at times and those of you who are running groups will appreciate just how hard it can be. The reason it has been hard is a positive one and stems from the fact that we are a diverse group, from different spiritual and religious points on our faith journey, again this is probably healthy and we do agree to differ. The comforting part is the air of trust, respect and support for each other, which is emerging. Perhaps we will extend the Fellowship side of things and hopefully welcome more people, whilst with the Bible Study it is important that the group dynamics and focus are maintained, we will ensure that we are sufficiently well developed and confident before we open this up to others .There are In the region of ten regular members with around eight or so attending each time. There are opportunities for picnics and walks or shared lunches etc as the weather gets better (yes it will really!) and we look forward to getting to know each other better as a congregation in Christian fellowship. Carole Turner Prayer "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" Thessalonians 5 v. 16-18. God wants us to be joyful, thankful and praying to Him. This is His will for our lives, and we can see many examples in the Bible of God blessing people who do this and stay close to Him. There are 23 people in this Group who are praying every week, for the life of Christ Church, for the future Chaplain, and for all those who are working hard to take Ploermel, Rostrenen and Huelgoat smoothly through this interregnum: Revd. Roger Wikeley, the Churchwardens, the Church Council and all those assisting at the services in each of the churches. If you, too, would like to be part of this steadfast little band, knowing that our prayers are being heard, and could take a little time to pray every week, wherever they are and whenever they can, and would like a weekly email reminder, please contact: Chris or Liz Barge. Tel: 02 97 72 45 33 or e-mail lizzieandchris@wanadoo.fr And finally… One of the most encouraging aspects of ministry as a locum in Europe is to meet with congregations who are “getting on with it”! By the very definition a locum priest is filling in as the church seeks a new priest to come and work with them, but in almost all the churches in which I have worked the Church continues to exercise its ministry of worship, study and pastoral care despite the lack of a priest – sometimes for a year or more. This is a sign of a vibrant Christian community; one in which lay people often surprise themselves by taking on roles that might otherwise have been left to the priest. From my perspective it has been both exciting and encouraging to see how people have accepted the challenge to – e.g. – lead study groups, visit those in need of pastoral care, assist at worship including leading non Eucharistic worship. And while no one wants an interregnum to continue for too long, it can be a time when church members discover their gifts and rise to the challenge of keeping the Church alive and faithful to the gospel. I have been particularly impressed by the way people here, not least your Churchwardens, have taken on considerable responsibility ranging from filling in the plethora of forms parishes now have to complete, to ensuring the worship is conducted with dignity and, whatever the service (Eucharist or Prayer and Praise), within the guidelines of the Anglican worshipping tradition. It is partly that, I suspect, that helps our friends in the Catholic Church in their friendship towards us. They see in us a similar approach to worship, centred on the sacraments and conducted within a recognisable framework but without being stuffy or with no room for spontaneity. And I have to say that my first month in Brittany, more than in any other parish in which I have worked in this diocese, has been made more fulfilling by the warm welcome given to us by our Catholic friends. From a Catholic Bishop in Locarn to Père Lommig in Huelgoat who offered me overnight accommodation to save having to drive to Huelgoat twice in two days, I have been welcomed as a colleague and fellow Christian minister. The obvious friendship between the two communities is evidence of the strength of the gospel we share and proclaim. I look forward to spending another night in Huelgoat when Père Lommig has suggested a day out together to show me something of the Breton culture of the area. The advertisement for the position of Priest in Charge of Christ Church has now been posted. It is a good advertisement and I fervently hope it draws a good response from good people. One doesn’t have to be here for long to realise the untapped potential of this parish; already you have three flourishing centres of worship and you could easily start another if you had the man/woman-power. This will be a major item for consideration once an appointment has been made, and it will necessitate some radical re-thinking of how to minister to such (relatively) far flung communities. It is not going to be easy; new ways will have to be tried, and as I have said in recent sermons, Church members are not easily open to new ways! But (points I have also made in my preaching) God works in mysterious ways, often ways we least expect and through people we least expect. You will need to be open to the possibilities that unfold in the next phase of your life as a parish; the opportunities for the Anglican Church flourish here are numerous; everyone has a part to play, and if we all believe that and try to act on it, then the future of Christ Church will be both exciting and assured. Roger Wikeley Newsletter Contributions: for the March issue, please e-mail your contributions to Chris Wilson at wilson.christopher@orange.fr, the deadline is Monday 20th February 2012. Any views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of Christ Church Brittany but those of the individual contributor.
CHAPLAINCY OF CHRIST CHURCH BRITTANY PART OF THE DIOCESE IN EUROPE (CHURCH OF ENGLAND)
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