KESWICK METHODIST CHURCH

NEWSLETTER

Lent &

Easter 2020

Dear Friends

I am writing this letter as the beginnings of storm Ciara are

blowing outside my study window, bringing a blustery end to a

day that started with so much promise. This morning was sunny

and really quite mild, and gave no hint of what was to come. Now

it is raining cats and dogs, and the lamp post outside my window

is swaying in the wind.

Sometimes our lives are a bit like that, we can be enjoying a

great time and looking forward with excitement and optimism,

with not a cloud on the horizon, when suddenly and unexpectedly

we are engulfed by life’s storms. That is what has happened to

Kina and I over the last twelve months. A year ago we had just

accepted our appointment to the Western Fells Circuit, and were

eagerly looking forward to our new life here, with all of the

excitement and challenges it would bring. Little did we know that

in the coming months we would both face issues with our health

which would give a very different feel to the ensuing year.

How do we cope when we are faced with life’s storms, when

suddenly and unexpectedly we find ourselves in a dark and

difficult place?

Rev Paul

and

Deacon Kina

Saunders

Firstly, we turn to God who promises that even when we walk

through the darkest places He is with us, His rod and His staff are

there to comfort us. In addition to this though we also find comfort

and support in the family of the church and that is something that

Kina and I have truly valued over the last few months. We have

felt supported and cared for in a way that we could not have

imagined.

We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their

prayers, their lifts, their gifts of food, their words of support and

encouragement that have kept us going in so many ways. Over

the next day or so storm Ciara will blow through and things will

get back to normal. So too with us, as we move forward into a

new year, leaving behind us the storms of 2019, and looking

forward to continuing our work among you, our new found friends.

God Bless

Paul and Kina

* * * * * * * * *

This year the service has been prepared by the women

of Zimbabwe. The theme is:

Rise! Take your Mat and Walk

Friday March 6th 10.00am at

Keswick Methodist Church

All are welcome; men, women and children

World Day of

Prayer

Church Family News

We are pleased to hear that Paul has now completed his

treatment at Carlisle hospital and hope that he will soon be able

to renew his strength and feel more himself again. Glad to hear

too that Kina’s eyes are much improved.

Elizabeth Grisdale, who is still in Keswick hospital, has been

suffering quite badly from a chest infection recently. We are

pleased to say that she now seems much improved and we send

her our love and best wishes.

We were sorry to hear about Margaret Shortland’s fall last month

but are pleased to hear that she is feeling better. We hope it will

not be too long before we see Margaret and Peter back at

church.

We send our best wishes to Hylton Boothroyd who is undergoing

treatment at the moment and to others who are finding it more

difficult to get around at this present time, including Joan

Rutherford. We wish them all well.

We wish a Happy and Blessed Easter to all our friends who, for

various reasons are unable to join with us for worship.

Margaret Bamber, Robert Else, Greta Grave, Elizabeth Grisdale, Sylvia

McNae, and Adrian Thwaites Joyce Ellis

What does the Lord require of us: to act justly, love mercy, and walk

humbly with our God’ Micah 6 : 8

Fairtrade Fortnight, that occurs each year at this time, is an opportunity

for us all to remember how Fairtrade is making a real difference to the

lives of more than 1.65 million farmers and workers in 74 developing

countries.

This year we were delighted to be hosting the Churches Together

Fairtrade service on the evening of 23rd February. But a reminder that

about 2003 we became a Fairtrade Church. I think that many of us

were not here when the Church made that decision and maybe are not

aware of it. So, (in case you missed it last year) what does it mean to

be a Fairtrade church?

A Fairtrade Church – three goals

On becoming a Fairtrade Church our Church Council agreed to the

following:

Use Fairtrade tea and coffee after services and in all meetings for which we have responsibility

Move forward on using other Fairtrade products such as sugar, biscuits and fruit

Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and during the year through events, worship and other activities whenever possible – (note the service advertised at the top of the page)

Remember that although we no longer have our Traidcraft stall each

week, I am more than happy to order any items for you from the

catalogue. For convenience I order all my own ground coffee in bulk

and toilet rolls, as well as a case of divine chocolate for a chocoholic in

my family! Perhaps you might do the same. Joyce

Fairtrade Fortnight

25 Feb–10 March

Living the Kingdom

In the gospels Jesus issues us all an invitation. He invites us to

live our lives by becoming part of God’s kingdom. It is a way that

will bring healing and justice on earth and forgiveness, purpose

and joy for individuals. It is the way of love overcoming evil.

But living the kingdom, though the way to fulfilment, is not always

easy. The way of the kingdom for Jesus meant the way of

suffering and eventually death.

During Lent this year we are exploring what it means to accept

Jesus’s invitation to be part of God’s kingdom. We shall be

looking at different aspects each Sunday morning and the

housegroup will be discussing what we have heard on the

Sunday evenings. If you would like to join us you would be most

welcome.

As in previous years there is a booklet with Bible readings and

prayers to help us reflect and explore. We end with the glorious

hope and fulfilment of the kingdom, as we celebrate the

resurrection on Easter Day.

Joyce Ellis

Our Lent Worship

Spring Programme 2020

During March and April we shall be following our Lent Course, which

follows the themes of our morning services. We meet weekly during

Lent. Our programme will be:

Living the Kingdom March

1st at 7.30 Kingdom Choices Joyce Ellis

8th at 7.30 Kingdom Conflict David Sharpe

15th Kingdom Comforts and Costs Fiona Crouch

22nd Kingdom Changes Joyce Ellis

29th Kingdom Parables t.b.a

April

5th The Price of the Kingdom Roy Ellis

12th Easter Day - No meeting (except at Sunrise Service)

26th The Resurrection Kingdom Joyce Ellis

Booklets of daily Bible readings and prayers are available to

accompany the series.

All are welcome to any or all of our meetings

We meet at the home of Joyce and Roy Ellis, 38 Briar Rigg,

Keswick at 7pm, unless otherwise stated. We finish our evenings

with coffee/tea and goodies! If you would like a lift please speak

to Roy or Joyce (73340). Joyce

SUNDAY EVENING HOUSEGROUP

Sunday 29th

March at 10.30am

On Sunday 29th March our morning worship will be led by our

Singing Group as we tell the story of Simon Peter, in the musical

Rock by Roger Jones.

Many will remember previous such occasions when we sang

Saints Alive, telling the story of Pentecost and also in December

of 2018 when we sang While Shepherds Watched.

It is appropriate for our worship in Lent as we follow Peter, not

only during his call to be a disciple and his recognition of Jesus

as Messiah, but also his betrayal of Jesus. Peter’s story finishes

with the Resurrection of Jesus and Peter taking up his

commission to be a leader of the young church.

We do hope you will be able to come and worship with us that morning.

More Disruption!

Now that the road closure on Penrith Road has gone we can relax and travel more or less freely to church. That is until the next disruption which will be caused by us. The recent church council decided to take advantage

of Armstrong’s being on site. We noted that, when they finish, our drive will be like a patchwork quilt with the repairs to water mains and installation of utilities to the houses. There is also the matter of the large pool of water which gathers in the gateway. A quote has been obtained to scrape off the surface of the drive, from the gravel area where the shed is to the road, to a depth of 100mm and to replace this with 60mm of base course and 40mm of asphalt. At the same time the drain in the gate will be replaced so that it is flush with the road surface. The church has been putting aside reserves for many years to do this. The £11,000 reserves we have will leave us taking £220 out of this year’s repairs and maintenance budget, to meet the full cost. Armstrong’s will programme this work into their timetable so they have saved us all the work of finding suitable contractors, getting quotes and overseeing the work. Once this is completed we will have a drive which enhances the premises for many years to come.

David Hasson

Caring for our Common Home

Caring for our Common Home – a one day conference to explore how and

why we should respond to environmental change.

St John’s, Keswick on Saturday 21 March 2020

and costs £12.

Tickets available from Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/caring-for-

our-common-home-tickets81609138129

12 Hour Music Marathon On Saturday, 28 March, in the morning (time to be confirmed, but hopefully

10am), some of the Singing Group are taking part in a 12 Hour Music

Marathon.

This will be held in the Friends Meeting House (opposite Booths) and we'll be

singing a selection of hymns for half an hour.

This fundraising event is to support the work Music in Hospitals and Care

(professionals who give their time freely to bring joy and new experiences to

the elderly, hospitalised and severely handicapped) and is being organised by

Sue Grant who hopes to involve a wide range of musicians

in the Keswick area.

More information about MiHC can be found on their website: mihc.org.uk. The

event is on the poster on the noticeboard. If you are interested in joining us for

this event, please let me know. Helen North (78025)

The connexion magazine The winter 2020 edition of the connexion

is now available in the welcome area. The

theme for this issue is Choices: choosing

life, and considers the consequences of

our decisions. We’re thrilled to see our

Western Fells Circuit Treasurer, Mandy

Taylor, telling the story of Shackles Off on

pages 6 & 7! You can download a digital

edition from the Methodist website at

https://www.methodist.

Can you tell us something about your early life?

I was born in Newcastle and lived with my parents in Alston until I was

2 years old. We then moved to Penrith where my father worked for

Birkett’s Bakery (now Greggs) as Chief Engineer. Shortly after coming

to Penrith my brother, Alan was born.

We lived in Graham Street and next door was my life-long friend, Albert

Graham. We shared many interests and were brought up as

Methodists. Albert now lives in Sale but we meet up on occasion as he

has a caravan on the same site as us and we greatly enjoy reminiscing.

How and when did you come to faith?

I have attended the Methodist Church all my life and even in my time in

the RAF, stationed at Kinloss in Morayshire, I would travel by bus 30

miles, which in those days took 2 hours, to worship at Inverness,

making many friends along the way.

My faith has been strengthened by working with young people over 30

years. Attending District Synods, the Methodist Conference and in

particular attending worship many times in the Royal Albert Hall at the

Methodist Association of Youth Club’s London Weekend with 10,000

young people and leaders, these have all been spiritual experiences.

What was your first job?

Having completed a Business Studies course in Carlisle, I worked in

accountancy at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries prior to

National Service in the RAF with Coastal Command.

Voices

from the

Congregation

Lloyd Graham

What other jobs have you had?

I have always been involved in road transport. I was Company

Secretary of Hodgson’s Transport in Carlisle until the business was

sold.

I then went to work for Eddie Stobart’s and it was decided that each

vehicle would have a girl’s name, the first one being Twiggy. This

tradition still continues and you can see them on the bonnet of each

vehicle.

At a time of unemployment I set up a drop-in centre for unemployed

young people on the premises at Penrith Methodist Church. I helped

them prepare CVs and we provided somewhere where they could

come and talk about their situation and job opportunities. I was very

privileged to be awarded the British Empire Medal for this initiative, and

also my youth work over 32 years. This led to Sue and I being invited to

a garden party at Buckingham Palace, a wonderful experience.

At the age of 50 I obtained my PSV licence enabling me to drive buses.

I was fortunate to be able to drive the school bus from Penrith, by the

side of Ullswater and over Martindale Hawes, several times a day, even

though in winter some of the journeys were a bit of a challenge. I loved

meeting and getting to know the children and some of them are now

married and have children of their own.

I began doing foil printing as a hobby and then set it up as a business,

which lasted for 20 years.

Tell us something about your family

I am married to Sue and we celebrate our silver wedding this year.

Sadly my brother died last October. Unfortunately Sue and I have no

children of our own but have been fortunate to share in the lives of

friends children over many years.

When did you first become

involved with the Methodist

Church at Southey Street?

Do you have any likes or dislikes?

I like most types of music and enjoy attending the Keswick Jazz

Festival, the theatre and spending time at our caravan. I love meeting

people and chatting to them and learning where they are from. I like to

have full control of the TV remote control, especially when there is sport

to be seen. I dislike queues of any kind (Sue would say I am impatient).

I also dislike gambling advertising on television.

What do you do in your spare time?

I like gardening, and a weekly visit to the gym. I am secretary of the

Penrith 3Ms (Methodist Men’s Meeting), which has been going for

almost 50 years. Until relatively recently I have worked with the Penrith

League of Friends and Age Concern in Penrith and Eden as the

Voluntary transport manager and driver.

Do you have a favourite hymn?

Many, but in particular I love, And can it be and This, this is the God

we adore. Lord make me a mountain is also a favourite, as well as Will

your anchor hold? I also enjoy hymns by Stuart Townsend.

What are your hopes for the future?

I hope the churches at Penrith and Keswick will continue to grow and

flourish and that I will continue in good health to help and encourage

others in their Christian journey.

We first bought a caravan in Keswick

23 years ago and began worshipping

at Southey Street. I particularly enjoy

helping with the Convention Catering

(not in the kitchen!), seen here with

Ros Roberts and as a Welcomer for

Sunday Services. I am still a member

at Penrith Methodist Church but feel

very privileged to be part of the

worshipping community at Keswick

during the summer months.

Thursday Lunch Club

(TLC)

Thursday, 20th March and

Thursday 16th April 12noon and 3pm

Lunch, followed by an entertainment or activity. Call Anne (07788 990515) or Hilary (017687 72272) to book your place

Every month (except July and December) we have a coffee morning in

aid of a charity suggested by members of the church.

Our first one was in June 2018 and so far we’ve raised money for Pets Lifeline, Children in Need (x 2), Salvation Army Homeless Fund, Great North Air Ambulance, Macmillan (x 2), Fairtrade, Leprosy Mission, London Homeless Collective and PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide).

In March we’ll be raising money for All We Can, the Western Fells Methodist Circuit charity for the year. All We Can is the Methodist relief and development fund, focusing on those in greatest need across the world. It’s a movement of people who, together, can bring about change, finding solutions to poverty by engaging with local people and organisations in some of the world’s poorest communities to end the suffering caused by inequality and injustice. It supports and strengthens local partners, responds to humanitarian crises and engages in global education to inform, challenge and motivate people to take a stance

against poverty and injustice. Anne Hasson

Charity Coffee Mornings

It’s that time of year again when we start looking ahead to our annual

hospitality events of the year. Convention seems a long way ahead at the

moment but it will come around very quickly! Before then, we have lots of

other ‘food’ events happening when we treat our visitors to our wonderful

home baking. It’s never too early to start thinking about this and what

better way to spend a wet day (and we are having plenty of those at the

moment!) than in your cosy kitchen doing some baking!

I thought it might be helpful to list what is happening, and when, during the

months ahead so you can start planning your baking strategy! Of course

we also have the monthly Saturday Charity Coffee Mornings which will be

mentioned in the notices as they happen.

Church AGM: 26th

April

Between morning worship and the meeting, we’ll be having a ‘soup, roll

and pudding’ lunch and pudding contributions would be very welcome.

Jazz Refreshments: Thursday 7th

May to Sunday 10th

May

We will be buying traybakes but if you would like to bake something it

would be very much appreciated. The net surplus will go to Christian Aid.

GET READY FOR THE GREAT KMC BAKE-OFF!

VE Day Celebrations: Friday 8th

May 1pm to 5pm

It is hoped that we have been allocated a gazebo in Market Square. Fiona

will be organising the stall and any baking for this will be welcome.

Donations collected will go to a charity appropriate to the occasion.

Convention Refreshments: Monday 13th

July to Friday 26th

July

We will be hosting the usual morning seminars and the Bible readings and

evening celebrations will be relayed. However, due to the main tent being

relocated to the Pencil Factory site, we’re not going to experience the

‘mass wave’ of people coming from Skiddaw Street. We will therefore just

be serving refreshments inside (our usual cakes, snacks and drinks with

soup and roll at lunchtime). However, to make sure that we still have a

‘presence’ on Southey Street, we’ll set more tables and chairs outside so

people can enjoy the sunshine (we hope!!) whilst eating. I am grateful to

Anne for volunteering to be the rota contact this year and more information

about that will be in the notices, and in the May-June Newsletter. The

important thing is that it’s not too early to start baking!

Lots of events then to keep us busy! Your hard work and help is very much

appreciated, so on behalf of the Leadership Team, thank you very much

and do keep your eye on the notices for more information and updates.

Helen North

72025

Thursday 26 March is the date and 10am - 12noon is the time.

Bring your spades, forks, trowels, dusters, polish, brasso and any other

items you think we need to do the cleaning that our cleaner doesn’t do

each week and to get the weeds and briars out of the car park bank

and surrounding the church.

These working parties help to keep our buildings and grounds looking

good and welcoming to all and therefore is an important part of serving

God through Keswick Methodist Church. Obviously the more people

who come the more we will get done.

As the church is open for coffee on Thursday mornings, drinks and

biscuits will be available as needed.

I look forward to seeing you there.

David Hasson

What is a Mission Community?

This is a question asked by many so here is a bit of their history, which

started when I was Superintendent of the Carlisle Circuit, a member of

the District Policy Committee (DPG) and serving on the Executive of

Churches Together in Cumbria (CTiC)

Mission Communities were started about 9 years ago within the

Anglican Church by the Bishop of Carlisle. Methodist and URC

members heard about these and queried, with their ministers, why

these Mission Communities weren’t ecumenical.

In the Methodist Church this was fed up through the Superintendent’s

Meeting, the DPG, where our Chair of District was asked to consult with

the Anglicans why they were going it alone given that we are an

ecumenical county.

At the next Church Leaders Meeting the URC & Methodist Leaders

tapped the Bishop on the shoulder and said ‘Hey Bish what’s this about

you starting Mission Communities in the Anglican Church, shouldn’t our

churches be involved, as we all signed the covenant to work together?’

or words to that effect.

After discussion Mission Communities became ecumenical between

the three denominations and later included the Salvation Army, when

they joined the Covenant. Meetings were held to look at the structure of

these communities but discussions were going nowhere as our

structures are so different.

One thing which did come out was the need for clergy to be able to

lead worship and preside at communion in each other’s churches. This

need was fed up through the systems of each denomination and up to

the executive of CTiC and then up to the top of the Church of England.

This resulted in a change in rules for the Anglican Church so that clergy

within a CEAP (Covenanted Extended Area Partnership [I think]) can

lead worship and preside at Communion in each other’s churches with

the agreement of the church.

Cumbria is a CEAP (as above) so a Methodist Minister can lead

worship and preside at Communion within an Anglican Church. They

can use whichever order of service they want to but the service will be

recorded as a Methodist one by the Anglican Church (See the ‘Yes you

can’ document on the Mission Community Dropbox).

As looking at structures was not working the groups were encouraged

to look at working together around mission. From the grassroots, there

arose another query:- ‘How can we look at mission within our

communities while excluding our brothers and sisters in the other

denominations represented there?’

Again this went up through the decision making of the different

denominations, to the Churches Together in Cumbria Executive and to

the God for All group which was now overseeing the Mission

Communities. After much discussion it was decided that the Mission

Communities should be open to any denomination wishing to be a

member and that the Anglicans, Methodist, URC, and the Salvation

Army should work out their covenant relationship within the community

The following was included in the Methodist Ecumenical Officers report

to the January Meeting of the District Policy Group:-.

1. Please stress at the Mission Community meetings that all

denominations in their area should be invited to participate

in planning Mission.

2. We need to be encouraging Churches Together Groups and Mission Communities to work closely together whether they remain separate groups or merge. It is vital that any new group formed in a merger takes on all the objectives of each group including the financial commitment to Churches Together in England and the involvement of all local denominations and churches, especially independent churches and The Society of Friends (Quakers).

And that is where we are at. Some Mission Communities are working better than others. Some are just Anglican while others include all the denominations in their area and others are somewhere in between. Keswick, at the moment, is solely Anglican and Methodist with an ecumenical observer and we are

moving forward slowly. David Hasson

Churches in the North Lakes Mission Community

St John’s Crosthwaite Threlkeld

Keswick Methodist Braithwaite Thornthwaite

St Johns in Vale Borrowdale Newlands

Sun 23 Feb 6pm Churches Together Fairtrade Service in church

24 February-8 March: Fairtrade Fortnight

Sun 1 March 6pm Mission Community Service at Threlkeld

Fri 6 March 10am World Day of Prayer in church

Sun 8 March 6pm Taize Worship in church

Sat 21 March Caring for our Common Home at St John’s

Sat 28 March 12 Hour Music Marathon at Quaker Meeting

House for Musicals in Hospitals and Care

Sun 29 Mar 10.30am Rock – the story of Simon Peter

Sun 19 Apr 10.30am Leprosy Mission Sunday with Paul Moores

Sun 26 April Annual Church Meeting

Dates for your Diary

Dates for your Diary

Midweek ‘drop in’

Jubi-latte!

Thursdays 10.15am – 11.30am

Keswick Methodist Church on the Internet

www.keswickmethodistchurch.org.uk

Rotas for March & April

Preacher Steward Welcome Mar 1 Ellis H.C Pauline H Helen D, Pauline F

Mar 8 Sharpe Anne Maureen, Wendy I

Mar 15 Crouch Richard Kate, Wendy I

Mar 22 Ellis Sheila Pauline H, Barbara

Mar 29 ROCK Sheila Sue, Lloyd

April 5 P.Saunders Anne Michael, Catherine

April 12 Ellis H.C. Easter Pauline H Sue, Lloyd

April 19 Moores Leprosy Helen N Kate, Barbara

April 26 Price-Tebbutt Sheila Wendy I, Joyce

Tea/Coffee Counting A/V Mar 1 Ted, Jane Nigel, Brian Anne

Mar 8 Kate, David Ted, Joyce Richard

Mar 15 Sally, Barbara Dave R, Tom Brian

Mar 22 Wendy M, Helen D David L, Roy Roy

Mar 29 Maureen, Pauline F Nigel, Tom David H

April 5 Ted, Jane Nigel, Dave R Roy

April 12 Kate, David Ted, Sheila Richard

April 19 Pauline F, Wendy M Tom, Dave R Anne

April 26 Maureen, Helen D Roy, Nigel Brian

Flowers Mar 1 Joyce Ellis April 5 Catherine Jackson

Mar 8 Pauline Huggan April 12 Arthur Ibbotson

Mar 15 Kath Smith April 19 Maureen Burlington

Mar 22 Hylton & Joan Boothroyd April 26 Sheila Files

Mar 29 Wendy Ireland

Keswick Methodist Church, Southey St, CA12 4HH

Editor: Rev Joyce Ellis 017687 73340

joyce.ellis@zen.co.uk

The deadline for the next newsletter, which will be for May & June, is

Sunday 12th

April 2020

Services for March and April 2019

March 1 10.30am Rev Joyce Ellis Lent 1

6.00pm Mission Community Service at Threlkeld

March 8 10.30am David Sharpe Lent 2

6.00pm Taize Service

March 15 10.30am Fiona Crouch Lent 3

March 22 10.30am Tori Jones Lent 4

March 31 10.30am Rev Joyce Ellis Lent 5

April 5 10.30am Rev Paul Saunders Palm Sunday

April 12 10.30am Rev Joyce Ellis H.C. Easter Day

6.00pm No service

April 19 10.30am Paul Moores Leprosy Mission

April 26 10.30am Rev Dr Nicola Price-Tebbutt Morning Worship

* * * * * * * * *

Minister: Rev Paul Saunders 01900 823273

superintendent@westernfells.uk

Deacon: Kina Saunders 01900 823273

deacon@ westernfells.uk

Church Outreach Worker: Fiona Crouch

fi.crouch@outlook.com

Senior Steward: Helen North 017687 78025

helen.north1@googlemail.com

Holy Week and Easter Services

Palm Sunday 5th April

10.30am Rev Paul Saunders

with Distribution of Palms

Maundy Thurs 9th April

7pm Rev Joyce Ellis

The Last Supper Holy Communion

Good Friday 10th April

10am Rev David Hasson

Service & Meditation

11am Churches Together Walk of Witness

meet by Theatre Car Park

Easter Day 12th April

5.45am Churches Together

Sunrise Service at Crow Park

followed by tea/coffee

10.30am Rev Joyce Ellis

Easter Holy Communion