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CHASETOWN EDITION

THE LINK www.chasetownmethodistchurch.org.uk

35p

July/August 2010

Burntwood Strawberry Splash

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CHURCH SERVICES at Chasetown

Sunday

Morning Worship 11 am (Crèche available) Junior Church 11 am

Tea and Coffee served after Morning Service.

Family Café Style Worship 11am 2nd Sunday of Month

Evening Worship 6.00 pm Retiring Collection for the Benevolent Fund taken after each Communion Service

If you require a lift to any of the Services, please contact a steward

Prayer Meeting: Wednesday 10.00 am Why not come along?

Bible Study: Thursday 7:30pm

Flowers Hymn Books Door

6th June Howard Lowe Barbara Fox Beryl Lovell

13th June Eileen Blakley & Margaret Richards

20th June Marilyn Brookes Eileen Blakesley Gwen Hughes

27th June Gwyneth Devey Ingrid Longmore Margaret Wood

4th July Enid Stevens Jackie Robertson Beryl Lovell

FAMILY SERVICE

UNITED SERVICES

18th July 6pm United Service at St Anne’s 25th July 6pm Churches Together at Chadsmoor Methodist

15th August 6pm United Service at St. Anne’s 29th August 6:15pm Section Service at Burntwood

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Dear Friends A quick glance at today’s newspaper highlights many headlines, some of joy and others of sadness and the entire spectrum in between. The major headline for today singles out the arrival of the plane carrying the England football team following its defeat over the weekend. The question raised by many folk is why are they are paid such high wages and produce such a bad performance? The same question is no doubt being asked about the management of the team. Football has been a popular sport enjoyed by many in this country and throughout the world and appeals to those who participate in the game itself and by those who sit or stand and watch the game played out by others. Those who play or watch do so with great feeling and passion and sometimes their emotions are displayed here far more that anywhere else. If parents are interested in the sport it is highly likely that their children will become interested in the same way. Many of our premier football teams have attracted a world wide following and in particular from the people of some of most unexpected places. But why? It is perhaps difficult understand why football clubs have such a following, that’s from the perspective of someone who is not

a football enthusiast, equally other may not comprehend the reasons for which I am passionate about things. Football shirts and other bits of kit have become popular and are frequently worn as every day clothes by some folk and it’s not only the youngsters who are the wearers, any age goes. Are these all outward signs of hero worship and how people are driven to aspire to the images created by some of these superstars of sport? It would be wrong to deny that having many interests is healthy but at which point does an interest become an obsession and then takes over our lives. When does hero worship take over peoples’ lives? John records in the book of Revelation that he fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had guided him through the intricacies and mysteries of his vision, only to be told that this was unacceptable. (Rev 22:8). The angel said to John, “No, don’t worship me I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers (sisters!)… Worship God.” John’s attempt at hero worship brought two responses, firstly, don’t worship an angel and secondly, he must worship God. How many things, people or objects, hinder our worship of God? We meet as Christ’s body in

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order to give God the worship that should be reserved exclusively for Him. How often do we think of worship as satisfying our own personal needs without thinking that we are giving it all to God? God needs to be our primary focus in our worship and our understanding that we are giving to God what he deserves and demands and we are not giving because we want to give to God. In the coming weeks I am sure that we will be discussing how we meet our obligations to God in terms of working through God’s mission in our churches and how we resources ourselves to

achieve this. We will need to remind ourselves that whatever we do or say needs to be for the Glory of God and God needs to be the focus of all that we do or say. Please continue to pray for God’s guidance in what we do and say and as we go about our daily lives let us give God the glory and give Him the priority that He rightly deserves.

In His Service

ChristopherChristopherChristopherChristopher

LAST EDITION OF ‘THE LINK’ Sadly, it looks like this may be the last edition of The Link. No-one has offered to become the new editor so until someone does we will have to rely on our local notice sheets for news of events. I will continue to update the websites with news and photo’s if people email them to me. Many thanks to all those who have contributed over the years to help make The Link so successful. If anyone feels they would like to take on this job please contact me, I’ll still be around to help you settle in. Carol

Tel: 01543 675852 or email carol@casprint.co.uk

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Burntwood Churches United are having a Christian Presence at the wakes with a table of information about the churches in the area and an area of prayer. If anyone wants to help with this they would be welcome to do so. If this is to be truly a BCU event, it would be much better for there to be representatives from all the churches taking turns so that we all work in equal numbers. Please could you let Terry Trigg or Margaret Davis (01543 42030) know the times you are available and if you want to man the table or the prayer ministry, or both at different times. By Monday 12th July, so rota will then be available on Sunday 18th July.

Beacon Community Church invites you to

Chasewater Railway on

Wednesday 21st July 2010 at 6.30 p.m.

Meet at Brownhills West Station (not the one behind Morrisons)

Adults £3 Children(under 16’s) £1.50 (to include bar-b-q) Contact Elaine to book your place on 01543 683692 or

info@beacon-church.com

Advance booking is essential by 20th July please.

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Thank God it’s Saturday (A New Life in the Spirit meeting)

Saturday 11th Sept At Chasetown Methodist Church, Lawnswood Avenue

Tea available from 6:30pm

7pm Celebration All are welcome to join us in worship

TGIS Praise—a time for music, ministry and

celebration

Date Refreshments Leader

6.7.10 Margaret

13.7.10 Yvonne Carol

20.7.10 Marilyn Margaret

27.7.10 Glennis Ingrid

3.8.10 Dawn Glennis

Chasetown Ladies Guild Tuesday 7pm

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Dear Special Friend, As I write this letter to you our Youth For Christ team (T6) are in the middle of their six week mission of G:SUS Live (www.gsuslive.co.uk) visiting local high schools with the good news of Jesus. I know, having spoken with the team that this is going really well and many young people have been touched by the love of God. Last year we celebrated 18 years of the ministry of Youth For Christ in Burntwood and the surrounding area – what an amazing thought – that many hundreds and thousands of young people who, over those 18 years have come under the sound of the Gospel of Jesus. Of course not all have come through to faith (many have!) but seeds have been sown. I remember recently visiting my local supermarket and chatting to the cashier (as I do..) and he said that he had remember me in one of his assemblies – he even remembered a story that I had told. And I know that speaking with Laura and the team this kind of incident is a common accurance. This ministry has only been possible firstly by the grace of God, but also through individuals like you would have felt the call of God and got on board and supported us. Thank you so very much for that support. It’s because of that support through your prayers and finances that I write to you today and bring you into my confidence. Over the past few years we have relied upon the funding of a local fund –

Community and Learning Partnership – this has enable us to develop our work in Chase Terrace Technology School and in particular our mentoring programme. We recently put in our bid for this financial year, with great confidence that we were going to be successful as we had been in previous years. However last week I had an email from them informing us that due to cut backs we were unsuccessful. This has been a bitter blow for us as we had budgeted for this money. We are therefore in a situation at present where we are unsure how we are going to pay salaries and other related bills. I bring this to your attention for urgent prayer knowing that when a need arises you always rise to the need in prayer and for that we are forever grateful to you. The future of the ministry here is a very exciting one – we are busy planning and praying about the wonderful provision of the Cornerstone premises at Sankeys Corner , which we hope to be starting youth work in come September – (we will reveal more about that very exciting project later in the year.) If you want to know how you could help in giving (or increasing) financially please do email me personally at lloydcheshire@talktalk.net We know that God will provide and I feel a little bit like King Jehoshaphat when praying to God in 2 Chronicles 20:12 “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” God Bless you and thank you once again. Yours in His service

Rev. Lloyd Cheshire Chairman of the Board South Staffs

Youth For Christ.

T6 Youth Project The ministry of South Staffordshire

Youth For Christ

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An extract from letter circulated at CHASETOWN METHODIST CHURCH Your stewards, as the Leadership Team, along with myself, have prayed and sought God’s guidance as we move forward in God’s mission for Chasetown Methodist Church. We are excited about the proposals that we brought to Church Council. The conclusion that we have came to is that we need to offer a more young person friendly service each week and part of this needs to include a teaching session. The results of all of our thoughts and prayers is to restructure the Sunday Morning Service so that we can offer worship and teaching to a wider section of the community. Therefore we believe that the structure of each Sunday morning should be: Messy Church/Café Style aimed at younger people Bible Study/Teaching – For all ages in appropriate groups Traditional style worship The exact lengths of the sessions will have to be agreed as will the start times of the first session. The hope is that both young people and adults will stay or come for the Bible Study/Teaching session that will be user friendly and non-threatening to those who are perhaps shy of attending a group for study. Guidelines will be established. Delivering Messy Church each week will rely upon the commitment of a group of members who are keen to see this develop and the support from the whole of the congregation. After much discussion Church Council has asked that we set up a working party to look at how we can move forward in this venture, ‘VISION EXPRESS’ and the first meeting will be on Monday 26th July—see next page.

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STOP PRESS: From Rev Anthony Hick, Superintendent Minister: At the Circuit Meeting on 22nd June I announced that Rev Tony Brookes, minister in the Rugeley Section, has asked to curtail his Circuit appointment after 31st August 2010. As a Circuit, we will not be declaring a vacancy this year for that Section, but will be applying through the stationing process for a minister from 1st September 2011. In the meantime, the Circuit Staff will coordinate pastoral oversight of the Section. Rev Jem Hawkins and I will share responsibility for St Paul’s. Rev Fiona Brown will have oversight of Brereton, Cannock Wood and Handsacre when she returns from sabbatical in October.

Monday 26th July 7:30pm at Chasetown

A meeting open to all who are passionate about future worship in Chasetown

Methodist Church. Those who feel they would like to contribute to the way forward and the new vision of worship on a Sunday morning that was discussed at Church

Council recently.

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Copy of letter from Rev Christopher Parkes to all at Chasetown Dear Friends, It was agreed at the most recent Church Council that I should write to each of you outlining the financial position of the church here in Chasetown. Each week the notice sheet details the giving against budget and shows that we continually have a short fall. In the final analysis if the giving does not increase substantially then we cannot continue as we are and the likelihood of closing becomes more of a reality. We are proposing to have a Gift Day on October 3rd and I would ask everyone to pray for God’s prompting to give on this day. One of the major considerations for us is that we are God’s people in this place and each of us is called to serve God in His mission. This may mean different things to different people, however, unless we can sustain the church in the current format we are obliged to seek alternative ways of enabling mission in Chasetown. God’s mission is more than providing a building for Sunday worship because it relies upon those who are called to be part of His body going out and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in as many different ways as possible. The ultimate aim of bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. In the short term we need to be able to meet our obligations to the Circuit Assessment and our running costs of the site and at the present moment these cost are approximately £8 per person per week. If we wish to engage in the greater work of God in our immediate community we will need more resources, both physical and financial. Therefore I am appealing to each of you to review your giving in the light of the above requirements and in the terms of your relationship with God and in support of His mission in building up the Kingdom in Chasetown. It is quite easy to be judgmental about others’ giving but the importance is to critically examine our own relationship with God as a matter of priority. The bible reminds us that the amount given can be misleading and an inaccurate measure; it is the attitude of the heart that is important. What is a large amount to someone may be pence to another. This was brought out in Jesus’ observation of the widow in the temple. “41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, only a fraction of a penny. 43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

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May I suggest that the easiest and simplest way to give is by standing order; this avoids weekly envelopes and ensures that you give on a regular basis and avoids any accumulation of envelopes when holidays are taken or at times when you do not attend Let us remember that as Abraham was tested by God, it was only when he went to extremes to offer something that was most precious did God call a halt and say enough is enough! I am sure that God who loves each of us will not demand more from each of us than is reasonable. We should willingly offer our gifts to Him for His purposes. In His Service

ChristopherChristopherChristopherChristopher

If you prefer to give by standing order but are uncomfortable letting the plate pass without putting something on it, then cards are now available for you to pick up in the foyer every Sunday. These cards are a similar size to envelopes and can then be placed on the plate as it passes and have the following words on:

I support God’s work here directly from my bank account.

This enables your gifts to be blessed and recognised at the same

time as others give weekly offerings to God. Alternatively if you like to join the weekly envelope scheme then please see Joan Elkington or one of the stewards.

Congratulations to Gwyneth & Irvin Devey who celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on July 3rd

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Jesus often finds it quite easy to get into someone's heart and begin to transform their lives as he promises to do, but so often he hits a brick wall when he tries to get into their wallet. For far too many Christians financial giving remains a taboo subject with folk often far more prepared to accept that they are sinful in their actions than they are to accept that their giving isn't up to scratch. And yet giving in the Bible is always an integral part of an expression of people's love for God. It's never something shameful to talk about, never embarrassing and never taboo. Jesus always tackled it head on and in a matter of fact sort of way.

The trouble is not so much that people love their money more than they love God ... I don't know anyone like that to be honest. No, the trouble is that our values and our budgeting tend to be back to front. The problem tends to be for most Christians that they would like to give more, but they can't find a way to do so.

There are a few really simple principles which can make a dramatic impact on your life, your faith and your giving ... but they do take some honest and practical work on your own and with your bank statements.

The first thing you can do, which is by far the biggest thing possible, is to place God's values in your wallet! ...or perhaps God's values in your bank account.

Many people today have multiple bank

accounts, savings account, mortgage accounts and so on. Some have investment portfolios, ISA's, pensions, etc etc etc ... it can get very

complicated. Imagine though that you have just one account which covers them all and in it you've got income and expenditure being carefully tracked, item by item. You can see what's coming in (Salary, pension, annual interest, gifts, bonuses, and so on...all the happy stuff which we love because our money is going up!), and then you can see what's going out (taxes, mortgage, utility bills, food, ...all the stuff we don't love so much because our money is running out again!).

So in our one big super account with all our ingoings and outgoings we then ask the question "What does my bank account say about how much I love God?"

Now, it would be wonderful if we lived in a world where we could manage to give God more money than we give to anything or anyone else. That perhaps is unrealistic ... although there are some who would live like this. No for most the answer is not in terms of how much we give, but in how we give. In fact for most this is the deciding factor in how well they give to God and how well they reflect their love for God in their finances. The answer?...

Put God first, give him what the Bible calls the 'firstfruits'. Plan and budget your giving according to your heart saying that Jesus comes first and

I came across this article on the web and it raised some issues that perhaps challenges our thinking about giving to God. It seemed appropriate to publish it in this months edition of link as finance is a matter that needs to be addressed by our churches. Carol

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nothing else is as important as Him. Most people don't do this, they pay the bills, and they pay the mortgage, they buy the food, the drink, the clothes, petrol, satellite tv, etc etc etc ... and then we see how much we have left to give God. We often end up disappointed or guilty because we would so love to give more and we can see the work the church is trying to do and can't, but there's just no money left over. What can we do? The spirit is willing but the wallet is weak!

Put God first! Budget according to the rule of thumb of 10% of your total income goes to God before anything else goes

out. Start with your basic salary, what you get paid every month and put God first. Work out what 10% of it is and then set up a standing order to church for that amount. Some Christians like to set up the standing order to go out on the day that they get paid so they really do give to God first and then live life for the rest of the month on the 90% they've still got left to do whatever they like with.

Should you then give anything on the plate as it goes round during a church service? 'No, not really'. Although as life happens other sources of income become apparent which you can also take 10% from and give to God's work. Inheritances come up every now and then, unexpected gifts, tax rebates, ...these sorts of things might allow you to make irregular 10% gifts of those pleasant surprises in life. Bringing those along to supplement your monthly gift are wonderful opportunities to continue to put God first and express your heartfelt love for Him right into your wallet.

With this simple principle in place it would be easy for anyone to look at your account and say "Here's someone who really truly lives out their faith, someone who truly values God very highly."

Of course the question is ... "but could we live on just 90%"?

Well, of course most people are already giving something, so the change isn't going to be completely 10%, perhaps more like 5% or 8% perhaps. Still though, it's a very real step of faith to trust that this might work.

I don't believe in the 'prosperity gospel' - the teaching from certain quarters in America which tells people to give more in order to be blessed more. The teaching says that if you give God $10,000 then you will have health, wealth and happiness returned to you! ...To be honest that's rubbish. God will bless you because He loves you, not because you've proved you're worthy of it! But there is one thing which I've found in my life, in good times and bad, when I've been rich and through many many years of being poor ... when I put God first each month with my wallet, I am more reliant upon Him, my values for living are far closer to being in line with His, and I am much more aware of the little blessings He sends my way. Through all these things I would say my life is much much better than if I'd kept all the money myself and squandered it on living just like anyone else in the world. I would also say this ... as poor as we have always been as a family God has never let us really falter. It's come close at times but he's always been there for us and has always known our needs ... and often provided for them pretty miraculously.

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Burntwood St John Ambulance

At Burntwood Rugby Club

Friday 6th August Doors open 7pm till late. Admission by Ticket Only

Tickets £5 each (All children must be accompanied by an adult)

For tickets call Nicky on 07812 101832

FOOD for the JOURNEY ‘In The World, But Not Of it’

A Christian Misunderstanding? A time to explore what the life of faith means today CARDINAL GRIFFIN HIGH SCHOOL, CANNOCK

Saturday 2nd October 2010 10am to 4pm

Led by NEIL RICHARDSON Minister, Theologian and Author

Former President of the Methodist Conference

A day event of inspiring leadership, discussion, encouragement, Fellowship, food, fun and worship!

Cost: £15 per person—Lunch included For further information please contact

Paul Lewis—01952 820135 or 07968 130912 Email: foodforthejourney@gmail.com

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SOAK THESOAK THESOAK THESOAK THE

PREACHERPREACHERPREACHERPREACHER

This was held on 26th June

At Burntwood

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Thank you for your support Over the last eighteen months Judy and I have gone through one of the most trying periods of our lives. Over this time we have had the support of so many people in our community and especially from our extended family at church. The day of the tragic accident devastated so many lives of which I am aware and for my part which I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I am fortunate to have found forgiveness and strength in God that helps me cope with the trauma as well as being apart from my family and friends and is giving me hope for the future. I am so privileged to be part of your family and for all of your prayers, support and all of the cards and letters that you take time to send to me. They mean so much to me. Hope to see you soon. God bless to you all; my prayers go to every one of you.

God bless. Robert

Warming Welcome is at Mill Street Methodist Church, Cannock At the moment Warming Welcome is open every Wednesday 12 - 2pm as a soup kitchen, offering soup and stews, hot and cold drinks, biscuits and cakes. It is staffed by a team of very faithful volunteers, not all from churches. We are dreaming about opening more often, initially on a Monday, but would need a second team of helpers and soup makers. Trying to move

slowly and gradually. In the long term we are dreaming about being able to open every day, inviting CAB, benefit and housing advisors, counselling services and anyone else who might find it useful to have sessions. Maybe Internet access, job clubs, washing machine, shower. (That's really long term). Anyone interested in helping show God’s love in this way please contact Rev.Fiona Brown.

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JMA and Overseas Mission

BOXES DUE IN!

Shortly before Betty Moran passed on, I had agreed to take on responsibility for JMA and Overseas Missions at Chasetown, a role Betty had fulfilled within Chasetown church for as long as I can recall. To help me start off the job in the way that Betty would have approved of, can I please have all JMA and Overseas Mission boxes in before I go on holiday on 25th July. This will help me to check who currently has boxes and to pass on all the monies in good time before the end of he church year. Thank you for your co-operation.

Terry Trigg

Christian Aid Week

THANK YOU!

May I give a big thank you to those who delivered and collected envelopes and/ or donated money in support of this year’s Christian Aid Week. We raised £490.75 at Burntwood, £769.15 at Chasetown & £794.14 at Chase Terrace. The churches of Burntwood collectively raised £4,378,18 with £1,563.95 of that gift aided. Thank you again for your efforts on behalf of some of the world’s poorest people who will benefits from the projects supported by Christian Aid. Terry Trigg

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President and Vice President

of The Methodist Conference 2010/11

The Revd Alison Tomlin, President of Conference 2010/11 Alison Tomlin was previously Chair of the Northampton Methodist District. She has served the Church as a minister for 25 years, having originally been ordained in Wolverhampton in 1984. Alison said; 'I am humbled to be trusted with this role by the Conference. In my year of Presidency I will seek to help the Church be more receptive to go where God is inviting us. The Church has not always been very good at risk-taking but it’s easier to take risks when we are confident in God’s love and listening for God’s voice.’ Central to Alison’s ministry has been the imaginative use of the Bible in prayer. She said; ‘The Church has designated 2011 as the Year of the Bible and this will be very important and exciting for me in my year of office.’

Deacon Eunice Attwood, Vice-president of Conference 2010/11 Eunice Attwood works as part of a team of lay and ordained ministers in a busy city centre church in Newcastle. She has been instrumental in establishing the Newcastle Street Pastors Project and supports work with asylum seekers, street workers and teenage runaways. Eunice spent 12 years working as an Intensive Care Unit nurse and brings experience of hospital chaplaincy and 10 years of serving the Church as a member of the Diaconal Order. She is a Methodist Local Preacher and a part-time diaconal tutor at the Wesley Study Centre in Durham. Eunice said; ‘As a member of the Methodist Diaconal

Order it’s a real honour to be elected Vice President. I am passionate about enabling the people of God to reach out to and better engage with their communities. In my year as Vice President, I hope to inspire God’s people to reconnect with the servant ministry to which we are all called and celebrate the rich contribution of the Diaconal Order to the life and work of the Church.’

Alison and Eunice were inducted as President and Vice President as the first items of business at the 2010 Methodist Conference in Portsmouth, 24 June -1 July 2010.

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Methodists live longer than the average Brit Earlier this summer Stanley Lucas of Cornwall died, aged 110 (born on 15 January, 1900). Stanley was thought to be not only the oldest male member of the British Methodist Church, but one of the oldest men in the world. Is this sort of longevity characteristic of Methodists? Seemingly, yes. An analysis of family announcements printed in the Methodist Recorder shows that in 1973 the mean age of death for Methodist laity was 77.9 years for men and 83 for women. By 2008 these figures had risen to 83.9 and 91.1 respectively – well above the life expectancy for the UK population as a whole (77 for men and 82 for women). Dr Richard Vautrey, GP and Vice

President of the Methodist Conference, said, “I’m sure there are many different factors at work....but I would guess that our emphasis on caring for our spiritual as well as physical health, avoiding excess, engaging with people in our communities and being good neighbours all help.” Methodist commentators, both in the Victorian era and since, believed that the longevity of Methodists was not accidental. They posited a clear link between a religious, ‘clean’ and virtuous life on the one hand and a long one on the other. The avoidance of physical and moral excess was especially advocated. The Church’s annual governing body, the Methodist Conference, begins every year with singing “And are we yet alive?”, a hymn by Charles Wesley.

The Methodist app now available on app store The Methodist Church has launched their first app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The Methodist App enables people to view daily Bible studies, prayers and news from the Church. Toby Scott, director of communications and campaigns, said, "In today's society our lives are busier, fuller and more distracted than ever before. We hope this app will offer Christians from all backgrounds a little spiritual oasis in the midst of their busy lives. This is only the start for how we'll use these technologies,

but already this is something that people will find useful and inspiring." The Methodist App features include: - daily audio and written Bible studies, featuring a different author each week - prayer of the day - the latest news stories from the Methodist Church in Britain - topical podcasts from Methodist Web Radio - the latest tweets from the Church's Twitter feeds. The Methodist App is available now for free from the App Store or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore

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A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car. His father said he'd make a deal: 'You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we'll talk about the car.' The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it. After about six weeks his father said, 'Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been

studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut.

The boy said, 'You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair...and there's even

strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.' To which, his father replied, 'Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?

Don’t know nothin’

When Columbus started out, he didn’t know where he was going. When he got there, he didn’t know where he was. When he got back, he didn’t know where he had been. And he did it all on other people’s money. Can’t help thinking that Columbus reminds me of some teenagers who go on family holidays...

When children write to their minister: “Dear Mr Minister...

- I know God loves everybody but then he never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8.

- Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete. Age 9.

- My father should be a minister too. Every day he gives me a sermon about something. Robert Anderson, age 11.

- I'm sorry I can't leave more money in the plate, but my father didn't give me a increase in pocket money. Could you have a sermon about a increasing my money? Love, Patty. Age 10.

- My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week even if she has a cold. Yours truly, Annette. Age 9.

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Letter from St James the Least of

All ---- Beware the spell-checker on

your special service sheets! .T................................

...The Rectory, ...St. James the Least

My dear Nephew Darren

As you discovered at your Sunday School Anniversary Service last week, special service sheets can be a mixed blessing. It was unfortunate that the front page welcomed your diocesan “Nishop” (although perhaps a good thing you hadn’t been welcoming a neighbouring “Vicar”) and it was a shame that one of the hymns contained one verse fewer on the sheets than the book the organist was playing to, obliging your congregation to sing the last verse twice – although since in your tradition you seem to repeat choruses endlessly, probably no one noticed anyway. But the regrettable misprint which meant that ranks of primary school children sweetly lisped an obscenity really was too much.

Having said that, computer spell-checkers can cause their own problems. We once let our own

system check a Christmas carol sheet and on the night found ourselves obliged to sing “away in a manager”, mangers apparently being unknown to our machine.

If you use special sheets regularly, it seems a law of nature – as with metal coat hangers - that they all intermingle while no one is watching. Thus on Easter Day, half the congregation will have been issued with sheets for Harvest, which will only become obvious once the service begins. The first hymn will be entirely lost while sidesmen scuttle about looking for replacements only to find that there won’t be enough of them anyway and then the second hymn will be lost while others helpfully wander about church donating their sheets to those looking helpless and then trying to find someone to share with.

Never, ever, print on them “Do not take home” as this will only ensure everyone does so. I have sometimes wondered if the instruction “Take this sheet home for reference” would ensure that they stayed neatly arranged in the pews after the service. And if it is a service where

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babies are likely to be present, be assured that many of the copies will be returned half chewed and coated with bits of whatever the infant had for breakfast. There must be a market for paper treated with a child-repellent flavour for such occasions.

Anyone who thinks we are an unimaginative nation should visit a church after a special service to see how many places members of congregations can invent to hide the booklets: under kneelers, neatly folded and hidden inside

hymn books, among flower arrangements and behind heating pipes so that no one can quite reach them. They then lurk there reproachfully for the next ten years until mice resolve the problem.

No, stick to large, hard bound books. They are resistant to teeth and are too substantial to be hidden in pockets. Their only drawback is that they tend to fall victim to the pull of gravity at the quietest moments.

Your loving uncle, Eustace

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Let us pray for: 1st Our Minister and his family 2nd Revd Fiona Brown as she starts her sabbatical 3rd Vic and Ann Downs as they retire to Gravesend 4th Our Circuit Ministers 5th Our Local Preachers 6th Those who are sick at home or in hospital 7th Carers and the work they do 8th Those who suffer from drug related problems 9th Homeless people 10th The youth and organising team at Breakout 11th Young people in our churches Give thanks for: 12th Being able to see and read 13th Organisations who help blind people 14th Fruit and vegetables grown in our gardens 15th Rain and water that is so precious 16th The sun and the warmth it generates 17th Holidays and refreshing breaks 18th God's goodness to us 19th The word of God in our Bibles 20th Teachers of Christianity in our schools 21st Energy and vitality in our lives to follow God's path. 22nd The gift of a pint of blood Let us pray for: 23rd A resurgence in our giving to the Church 24th That we may all pull together with fund raising 25th Time to pray and time to act 26th That the Holy Spirit may be central in our lives 27th That those who suffer may know God's embracing love 28th Our soldiers fighting abroad 29th Their families as they wait at home 30th For peace in far off lands 31st People's hearts to be moved by the Holy Spirit

PRAYER DIARY FOR JULY

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Let us pray for: 1st Our minister and his Churches 2nd Worship Leaders and Lay Workers 3rd Organists and Church Stewards 4th Our Treasurer and his responsibilities 5th The members of our Church Council 6th Our Youth Organisations, leaders and children 7th Those who are sick at home or in hospital 8th Those who are lonely or depressed 9th Those who are in prison or remand centres 10thThose who suffer from injustice Give thanks for: 11th Our Emergency Services and the work they do 12th Nurses, Doctors and those who give First Aid 13th The work of the Salvation Army 14th The work of Charity Shops 15th Those who care for the elderly or sick 16th Those who care for the mentally ill 17th Special School staff and the work they do 18th Head Teachers of schools and their staff 19th Nursery school staff and the care they give to children 20th Those who work in hospices Let us pray for: 21st Those who have lost their way in life 22nd The work of Councils and their staff 23rd The difficult decisions being made in Parliament 24th Members of Parliament and the work they do 25th Our Armed Forces overseas 26th Their families waiting at home 27th Peace in the Middle East 28th Those families enjoying a new baby 29th Our Church Family 30th The Church worldwide 31st Christians to stand up and be counted

PRAYER DIARY FOR AUGUST

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WEEKDAYS AT CHASETOWN Monday Boys’ Brigade contact Graham Starling Anchor Boys(6-8 years), Juniors (8-11 years) & Company (11+years) .................................................. 6.30 pm Tuesday Burntwood Live at Home Lunch .................................... 12:30pm Contact BLAH to book 01543 674257 Ladies Guild ................................................................... 7.00 pm contact Ingrid Longmore Art Group ....................................................................... 7:30 pm contact Philip Adams Wednesday LiteBite at Chase Terrace ....................................... 12noon-2pm Midweek Prayer meeting.............................................. 10.00 am Rainbows (5-7 years) ..................................................... 6.00 pm contact Kelly Ellis on 1st Hammerwich Brownies (7-10 years) ......................... 6.00 pm contact Barbara Starling Band Practice................................................................. 8:00 pm Thursday Bible Study Group ......................................................... 7:30 pm Slimming World.............................................................. 7:30 pm Friday St John Ambulance contact Carol Trigg Badgers (5–10 years) & Cadets (10–18 years) & Adult Sections Minister: Revd Christopher Parkes, 60, Queen Street, Chasetown. Tel 01543 682277

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Chasetown Bookings & Meetings : Betty Myers 682383 Burntwood Bookings & Meetings : Shelia Chaplin 686065

Chase Terrace Bookings & Meetings : Brenda Jackson 670632

‘The Link’ Editor : ???? Webmaster : carol@casprint.co.uk

DIARY Please let the editor know of any dates you wish to be included in the next edition.

JULY 3rd 9am BCU Prayer Walk from

Burntwood Methodist 5th 7:30pm United Stewards &

Treasurers Meeting at Bourne 11th 11am Family Worship at

Chasetown ‘Seeing’ 21st Chasewater Railway –page 5 22nd Blood Donor Day at Chasetown 24th Burntwood Wakes—page 5 25th 6pm Circuit Farewell to Deacon

Vic Downs & Anne at Chadsmoor

26th 7:30pm Vision Express meeting at Chasetown

AUGUST 2nd Methodist Church United

Stewards Meeting 7:30pm at Bourne

6th Disco Night— Page 15 8th 11am Chasetown Pet

Service—page 14 12th Blood Donor Day at Chasetown 14th 9am BCU Prayer Walk from

Redwood Centre 16th/17th/18th St John Ambulance

Training Days at Chasetown 19th Contact International AGM at

Chasetown

SEPTEMBER 2nd 7pm Circuit Welcome at

Chadsmoor for Rev. Edward Sakwe & family who will be serving in Hednesford Section

4th 9am BCU Prayer walk from Hammerwich

11th 7pm TGIS at Chasetown 12th 11am Family Worship at

Chasetown 24th MENCAP’s Got Talent at

Chasetown 30th 7:30pm Burntwood Churches

United AGM—open meeting to all at St. John’s Church

Future Dates: 2nd Oct Food for the Journey—

page 11 2nd/3rd Oct Gift Day at Chasetown 9th Oct TGIS at Chasetown 10th Oct Harvest at Chasetown

Weekly Activities are inside the back page.