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SEPTEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER PRAYER FOCUS
Churchwardens: Norma Parker (Tel: 02 97 75 42 37) e-mail: normajaneparker@rocketmail.com Sue Shotts (Tel: 02 97 75 29 28) e-mail: sueshotts@cegetel.net Local Contacts: Huelgoat: Keith Beswetherick (Tel: 02 98 78 21 28) e-mail:bessiekob@hotmail.com and/or: mary.beswetherick@wanadoo.fr Ploërmel: Chris Wilson (Tel: 02 97 72 19 29) e-mail: wilson.christopher@orange.fr Rostrenen: Robin and Laura Hillman (Tel: 02 97 51 74 26) e-mail: kermoran@wanadoo.fr CHAPLAINCY OF CHRIST CHURCH BRITTANY PART OF THE DIOCESE IN EUROPE (CHURCH OF ENGLAND) SERVICES SEPTEMBER 2010. Ploërmel (Please note there will normally be a shared lunch after each service at Ploërmel) 5th 14th after Trinity 11-00 H C Order 1 12th 15th after Trinity 11-00 Prayer and Praise 19th 16th after Trinity 11-00 H C Order 1 26th 17th after Trinity 11-00 Family Service – Back to Church Sunday Rostrenen (Chapelle de Manoir du Campostal.) 12th 15th after Trinity 10-30 H C Order 1 26th Harvest Thanksgiving 10.30 H C Order 1 Huelgoat (Parish Church in the town centre.) 12th 15th after Trinity 18.30 HC Order 1 For further information about any of these services please get in touch with Michael Grainger, Churchwardens or local contacts.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY/FORTHCOMING EVENTS Harvest Festival Service Dates for 2010. Early warning of Harvest Festival Service dates for this year are : Rostrenen 26th September at 10.30am. Ploërmel 3rd October at 11.00am. Huelgoat 10th October at 06.30pm. Les Maines Ouvertes AGM 2010 Les Maines Ouvertes is the Association formed by Christ Church, to enable our church under French law to give monies to charity. The Annual General Meeting for this year will be held on the 19th September at 14 Rue Général Dubreton, Ploërmel commencing at 12.30pm. All Ordinary Members may attend and vote and the Council for the forthcoming year will be elected at the meeting. Ordinary Members are those who have paid their dues for the year at the date of the meeting. La Source AGM 2010 The La Source Annual General Meeting 2010 will be held on Friday 24th September at 14 Rue Général Dubreton, Ploërmel commencing at 10.30am. The Council for the year will be elected at the meeting, which can be attended by both Full and Library members but only the former have voting rights. BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY Back to Church Sunday is on 26th September and after consultation with Michael Grainger and the Churchwardens, it has been agreed that Christ Church, Brittany will take part this year. Posters and invitation cards have been ordered and members of the congregation will be encouraged to invite friends, relatives, neighbours and other expats to join us for a special service at Christ Church, Ploermel at 11.00 a.m. on 26th September. It is hoped that every member of the congregation will make a special effort to bring along a non-church member to the service as part of our outreach to the community. More details and suitable literature will be available shortly, so begin praying and thinking about how YOU can serve the Lord in this special initiative. Home Group and Fellowship Meetings – September 2010 St Vran -The meetings in September will take place on the 9th and 23rd commencing with a shared lunch at 12 noon. For further information on this Group please contact Joyce and Alex Fraser on 02 96 56 13 22 or e-mail alex.fraser@wanadoo.fr. Redon Area - For the date of the next meeting and further information or just to hear more about the Group in general please contact Joy Morin on 02 99 71 12 30 or Maureen Wilson on 02 99 08 21 94. Ploërmel - A Home Group has started in Ploërmel at the home of Chris & Liz Barge. Meetings will take place on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month commencing at 3.00pm. For information please contact Chris or Liz on 02 97 72 45 33 or e-mail lizzieandchris@wanadoo.fr. Bannalec - There is a fellowship meeting for English speakers which usually take place at the Chapel at David and Rebecca Pugh’s on Tuesday evenings at 5.00pm. For further information and to check on dates beforehand please contact Rebecca or David on 02 98 35 46 59. Social Evenings – Ploërmel In September the social evenings will be held on Thursday 2nd and Thursday 16th. For this former date, the 2nd September, as John and Helen may be away the evening will be organised by Brian Parker. Please add your name to the list on the notice board at Ploërmel if you intend to go or have a word with Brian. As usual the evenings will commence at 7.30pm, please come along and bring your friends, all nationalities welcome. For further information please telephone Brian Parker on 02 97 75 42 37 or John and Helen Edge on 02 97 74 97 96 OTHER NEWS AND MATTERS Interregnum On August 2 2010 Christ Church Council met for its first meeting of our interregnum. We decided to take a prayerful and considered approach to secure the best possible incumbent for Christ Church Brittany. We have definite rules and guidelines to follow, as sent to us by the Diocesan office. Bearing this in mind the sub committee comprising of Sue Shotts, Norma Parker, Greg West, Robin Hillman and Ian Reynolds are to meet on Monday August 23rd 2010 to begin in all due diligence the process of the appointment of a new incumbent. Given the timescale of the process and compliance with the the appointment procedures we think it is unlikely we will see a Priest in Charge for Christ Church before April 2011. During this interregnum let us continue to support each other in love and prayer. Yours in Christ - Sue Shotts and Norma Parker Joint Ecumenical Meeting Carnac The annual Joint Ecumenical Meeting at Carnac took place on 3rd August. The meeting was well attended and a real success and this year was organised by Christ Church. The format prepared by Laura and Robin Hillman, with input from Helen Turnbull, included hymns, prayers and a PowerPoint presentation and was entitled ‘Let the Children Come to me’. Small groups met for a discussion during the meeting and afterwards there were aperitifs and a picnic lunch. A total of €216 was collected and will be donated to the Muller Foundation, the Annai Velanganni Orphanage and Toybox. Poem read by Fiona Castle at the Keswick Convention 2002 My friend, I stand in the judgement and feel that you’re to blame somehow. On earth I walked with you day by day and never did you point the way. You knew the Lord in truth and glory, but never did you tell the story. My knowledge then was very dim; you could have led me safe to Him. We lived together on the earth; you never told me of the second birth. And now I stand this day condemned because you failed to mention Him. You taught me things. That’s true. I called you ‘friend’ and trusted you. But now I learn, and it’s too late; you could have saved me from this fate. We walked by day and talked by night and yet you showed me not the light. You let me live and love and die: you knew I’d never live on high. Yet I called you friend in life and trusted you through joy and strife. And yet on coming to the end I cannot now call you my friend. Operation Christmas Child – Shoebox appeal Want to make a child in need dance for joy? It's simple. Wrap, pack and send a shoebox overseas with Operation Christmas Child. In 2009, through Operation Christmas Child, over 1.18 million shoeboxes packed full of gifts and goodies were wrapped, packed and sent to children in disadvantaged situations by children and adults in the UK. Your family, neighbourhood, school, church or community group can be part of this Christmas miracle in 2010 - discovering the power of a simple gift and reminding a child in need that God loves them and they have not been forgotten. We plan to prepare shoe boxes again this year at Christ Church so this is an early reminder to start collecting the contents and getting out those knitting needles! For ideas/patterns see Bronwen or Barbara Woodford or log on to the Operation Christmas Child internet site. THE JOY OF TEACHING Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around he taught them saying "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those that mourn, they shall be comforted. Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for justice - it shall be given to them. Blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake, your reward is great in heaven". Then Peter said, "Do we have to learn all this?" And Andrew said, "Do we have to write it all down? And James said, "Are we having a test on it?" And Philip said, "I haven't got any paper." And Nathaniel said," I've lost my pencil." And John said, "I bet it's only us that's got to learn this." And Thomas said, "Lord, can you photocopy this to save us copying it out?" Then one of the Pharisees who was present, asked to see Jesus' lesson plan and enquired, "What are the aims and objectives of this lesson?" And Jesus wept. God's Boxes I have in my hands two boxes, which God gave me to hold. He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box, and all your joys in the gold." I heeded His words, and in the two boxes both my joys and sorrows I stored. But though the gold became heavier each day the black was as light as before. With curiosity, I opened the black, I wanted to find out why, and I saw, in the base of the box, a hole, by which my sorrows had fallen out. I showed the hole to God, and mused, "I wonder where my sorrows could be." He smiled a gentle smile and said, "My child, they're all here with me." I asked God, why He gave me the boxes, why the gold, and the black with the hole? "My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, the black is for you to let go." AND FINALLY: On Tuesday 17th August, 14 members of Christ Church gathered at the home of Alex and Joyce Fraser for a very special Quiet Day led by Michael Grainger, with additional input from Joyce. In the morning session, Michael pointed us towards a passage from Colossians 3, and I was particularly challenged by verses 12 – 14 of that chapter. Paul writes, “As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.” Those verses speak very powerfully of the responsibility that each of us has in Christ Church to each other and to the church. There should be no room in our lives for selfishness, but as God’s chosen, holy people whom he loves, we should always aim to put God first in our lives, others second and ourselves last. That will almost certainly mean swallowing our pride, giving others the credit, making sacrifices of all kinds and making more time for God in our daily lives. It also means your being present at Christ Church, because “if Christ reigns in your heart, you are called to be together in one body,” and that body is the church. Will you make a special effort in the next few weeks and months to meet as the body of Christ at Ploermel, Rostrenen or Huelgoat and share in the worship of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And finally, here are 10 commandments about going or not going to church. I wonder how many of them you will break next week, month or year? Don't visit - worship. Don't hurry away: speak and be spoken to – even stay to a shared lunch Don't avoid the preacher - show that you are friendly. Don't dodge the collection plate - contribute what you are able. Don't sit in the end seat - move over, sit next to someone Don't stare blankly while others sing - join in. Don't criticize - remember your own frailties. Don't stay away from church because you have company - bring them with you. Don't stay away from church because the church is not perfect - how lonely you would feel in a perfect church. Don’t go to church expecting to receive - expect to give your praise and worship to the Lord. Special thanks to Alex and Joyce for their wonderful hospitality and to Michael for his thoughtful leadership of the Quiet Day. You missed a treat!! Alan Mason Christ Church Newsletter Contributions: for the October 2010 issue, please e-mail your contributions to Chris Wilson at wilson.christopher@orange.fr, the deadline is Monday 20th September 2010. Please note that any views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those held by Christ Church Brittany but are those of the individual contributor.
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