The Dance Goes On! Page 3Letters and Emails Page 5News of the Church Family Page 5From the Church Secretary Page 7Chinhoyi an update Page 8Ethics and some Things Related (Part 1) Page 10Man’s Progress (well part of it) Page 11Methodist Church plans Mental Health Conference Page 12Classic Cinema for March - Style Page 13Rotas Page 16

W5 5QT

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EALING GREEN CHURCH

(Methodist and United Reformed)

Ealing, London W5 5QT

Telephone (020) 8810 0136

Web site http://www.ealinggreenchurch.org.uk/

Email egcadministrator@btconnect.comegcsecretary@btconnect.com

Contributions to Unity unitymagazine@hotmail.com

Minister Deacon Richard Goldstraw

Church Administrator Ms. Rebecca Catford (020) 8810 0136Church Secretary Dr. Anita Oji 07435 081342

Church SecretariatPhilip Burnham-Richards, Hector Chidiya, Fleur Hatherall

Choir Leader Mrs. Fleur Hatherall (020) 8248 6774Organist Mrs. Fleur Hatherall (020) 8248 6774

Communion StewardMrs. Hema Souri-Parsons

(020) 8840 4200

Unity Magazine Mr. Lee Horwich (020) 8567 2851Unity Distributor Mr. Peter Chadburn (020) 8537 1966Ecumenical Officer Mr. David Groves (020) 8933 8315Bible Reading Rota Church Administrator (020) 8810 0136

The Church Office is staffed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week between 9.30am and 12.30pm, with the exception of public and other occasional holidays.

UNITYcontributions:

All contributions gratefully received. Please hand them toLee Horwich, or email them to: unitymagazine@hotmail.com

Last date for contributions to the April issue Sunday 15th March

If you are new to the church, the following groups meet on a regular basis, either weekly or monthly:Afternoon Bible Study Thursday (monthly) 1.30 pmMonday Fellowship (fortnightly)

Monday 2:00 pm

Choir Practice Friday 7:00 pmLuncheon Club Thursday 12:00 am-1:15 pm

Full details can be found in the weekly notice sheetThere are also a number of House Groups, which meet on a regular basis - see Church Notice Board for fuller details.

You are welcome to come to any meeting.

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The dance goes on! From Richard

By the time that you receive this copy of Unity we will have had our barn dance and raised a goodly amount for our re-development fund. Any more fundraising ideas do please let us know.

My autumn and winter television schedule is incomplete if I have not watched X-Factor and my favourite Strictly Come Dancing. I’m delighted to be going to see the professional dancer and winner of last year’s Strictly, Pasha Kovalev in a show in Lowestoft in April.

My sister’s wedding in 2010 was a couple of weeks before my parent’s 50th

wedding anniversary and at the “night doo” my parents were called up to celebrate their special anniversary with a special dance. They looked so together and happy and although my mother complains that my father has two left feet, I thought he was a pretty good mover. The photo in this article of my parents is very precious to me.Maybe you have a precious photo that you would like to share with Unity and a few words about why the photo is precious to you. When I visit people I love to see the photos that people have of their loved ones in their homes.

My mum has won ballroom medals. I used to love watching her dancing at church socials and in recent years she has been very keen on line-dancing. Once, when we were visiting Halifax, I said we would pick my mum up from her line-dancing class. We arrived just before the end and we were able to see my mum in action – she was fabulous. She looked so happy and free. Little were we to know that just over a year later she would be fighting for her life in intensive care after an operation to remove a brain tumour. The person in the bed didn’t look like my mother. We played her all sorts of music whilst she was in a coma in intensive care and yes we played some line dancing music. One of my mother’s great qualities is, determination, and thankfully the dance of life goes on with great determination. It’s to a different beat but it goes on!

Pasha’s celebrity dance partner and winner of Strictly 2014, Caroline Flack, said in an interview in OK Magazine, “You don’t feel bad when you’re dancing. You can’t feel unhappy-it’s impossible. It’s a natural way to release endorphins and feel good”.

I can’t say I’m a great fan of liturgical dance in worship but when it is done well it can move ones spirit. David and Miriam in the Bible, danced before the Lord. One of my favourite hymns is Come to us creative Spirit (STF 726) the “graceful dancer”

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gets a mention. I do hope we will sing the hymn when we have the Methodist Art Collection in 2016 for it also mentions the artist.

The Methodist Church produces some wonderful, well researched, reports (all on line) and one of them What is a Deacon? In it, it speaks of the Holy Trinity as being, “The model for the life of the Church underpinning this paper is found in a Trinitarian understanding of God’s nature. Speaking of God as a loving communion of three co-equal ‘persons’ suggests that the Church should be a community of mutual support and love in which there is no superiority or inferiority. This can be expressed powerfully in the metaphor of the great dance.... Clearly this dance is a communal enterprise rather than a solo performance. Interdependent partners exist in a community where they both lovingly interweave and also retain a distinctive individuality. The whole company of Methodist people, including those in ordained ministry, are involved ...”

I love Sydney Carters wonderful Lord of the Dance (STF 247) and these words from Graham Kendrick’s Teach Me to Dance are a great prayer:

Teach me to dance to the beat of your heart,teach me to move in the power of your Spirit,teach me to walk in the light of your presence,teach me to dance to the beat of your heart.Teach me to love with your heart of compassion,teach me to trust in the word of your promise,teach me to hope in the day of your coming,teach me to dance to the beat of your heart. STF 477

If you were unfortunate enough to dance with me at the Barn dance and I stood on your toes please forgive me.

Kind thoughts and prayersDeacon Richard

MarchIt was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

Charles Dickens

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Letters and emails

From Jen SmithThe Church Refurbishment

Foundations for the extension are now well underway, and the structural changes creating the new kitchen, hatch, corridor, and welcome space are complete. The corridor and kitchen feel much wider than the steering group anticipated, definitely wide enough for the kind of traffic we anticipate between worship and fellowship.

The new floor is designed and awaiting preparation, as are doors and the finishing of the arch and rose window. Not bad for week 13 of 36, though there may be some delays as the asbestos removal has pushed the programme back: the contractor will try to make these up without extending, but we shall see.

Thinking of you all.Jen

News of the Church Family

Alma Baker is now living in Threen House Nursing Home, Mattock Lane. Please pray that she will settle happily.

Unfortunately, Helen Harper’s surgery was postponed, so she is waiting for a new date and a new knee! We pray that this will be soon.

Zena Hardy was in Ealing Hospital for a week and since then has been staying with her daughter. Please pray that she will soon regain her strength.

After 3 months in Ealing Hospital, Irene Robey has returned to Elm Lodge. Please continue to support Irene with your prayers that she will settle comfortably in the nursing floor of Elm Lodge.

Ron Honor has been very unwell with a breathing problem but we give thanks that he is now much better. We pray that his improvement will be maintained.

As Jen prepares for her 3-month Sabbatical, we wish her well with safe travel. We hope that she will benefit from this time of spiritual and intellectual refreshment. Jen, we will continue to support you in our prayers.

We pray particularly for those mentioned above and for all who carry the burden of illness and for their families and friends. Gill Hatherall

MarchOne swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of March thaw, is the Spring.

Aldo Leopold

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Isn’t it amazing how soon you get used to something once it has changed. I should imagine that the routine for Sunday service at the church, now in the church hall, has settled down and is almost routine after, what is it, four or five months? The fact that the church itself is a building site is something that I assume you have taken in your stride and are making do without any major disruption.

Over here I am getting into a routine that seems to work for me. The disruption of moving over to the other side of the world is possibly easier than if only a few things had changed in my like, such as in yours. Over here I have to adapt to a whole new way of life, although there are many things that seem the same. I live in a flat/apartment that would be quite expensive in London, due to its size, and I work in an office block that was designed by an architect who thought that angles would be a good thing – as are many new buildings out here in South Korea. It could be any of the new high rise blocks in the City of London. I have a desk in an area that is probably replicated in office blocks over the world, certainly it would not be out of place in our offices in London. But that’s where it ends. Everything, well, nearly everything else, is different. You would not recognise the lunches in the canteen and the customs of the people I work with, the language (almost impenetrable, but I am working at it) and the hours. It is so overwhelming and the hours are so long that I don’t have much time to think about it and getting used to it is still some way away. Last Friday I was going, relatively early at about 6.45 pm when I asked one of the girls how long she would be working. ‘Oh, until about 10pm’ she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I said I would come and see if she really meant it around 9pm. So I went out, to the gym and then to a fried chicken takeaway (fried chicken in Korea bears little relationship to the fried chicken we eat. For a start it seems to be cut up with a band saw, making every piece a challenging combination of meat and bone). I took my takeaway up to the 15th floor (actually labelled the 16th as the ground floor is the 1st floor). As I arrived at my desk I noticed that there were six or seven girls still there. So instead of just offering a piece to Yoo Li, I had to share (well sacrifice) my meal to all the girls who gathered around – at, by now, well after 9pm. I think I can safely say that there are not many offices in London where this would be happening on a Friday evening. That said, Iam getting used to not getting used to things and I realise how much I have adapted over the last four months.

Jen’s away now on her sabbatical and we have Richard taking the reins for a few months, in our makeshift church/church hall. I wonder how long it will take until it seems routine and we, that is you, have adapted and are used to it.

So much will have changed in the months and our attitudes and perspectives will not be the same as they were when we get back into the refurbished church. Hopefully the experience will have done us good.

God bless you.

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From the Church Secretary

At the time of writing Nigeria has rescheduled its presidential elections for the end of March mainly because of the unstable situation between the political factions in the north and south. When we lived in Jos, Nigeria we were at a meeting point of north and south. For our dairy produce we relied on the nomadic tribe, the Fulani, who came from the northern states and beyond to the markets in Jos. It was the women who were strikingly beautiful, erect and tall carrying carved painted gourds on their heads. Inside these they carry butter which has been moulded into balls. The balls are moistened with milk and are soft because the air is warm. With their elegant long fingers the ladies kneaded the balls and vied to sell the produce of their herds of long horn cattle. Add to this the smell of warm butter, unwashed items and the dust and you may imagine the sensory qualities of going to shop. I too had to be prepared. I had to bring a container for the butter and then handle it as though it was infected with tuberculosis or other transmittable disease – without causing offence. The taste though of this unhygienic product was heavenly. I mention this because markets in Jos have been bombed and movements restricted.

We also had visitors from the north, majestic Imams who would call at the door to obtain an eye consultation. They would enter after the usual greetings and join in family activities while waiting in our small all purpose living room. I remember our girls crawling over them and sitting two a piece on top of one particular holy man while I made tea. It was wonderful tea grown on the eastern hill slopes in Nigeria.

Perhaps you have had similar experiences of finding joy in other cultures. However, reflecting on the present situation brings unease and a focus for prayer.

On a personal note I was saying prayers for my dentist this week. For those of you who are observant I have been to church without my front tooth, looking rather witch-like. I remember one lady (one editor admonished me to say there are no longer ladies only women – I beg to differ!) who was sick in our intensive care unit and maintained a miserable face. It was as though she was depressed. I found her again back on the ward and had transformed into the heart and soul of the place. She confided when I remarked how quickly she had improved that now she had her teeth in again she could smile. So back to dentists went my thoughts; here is my confession - I have never prayed publically for them. I started to think of those who help with our teeth; there were the ladies on the desk, the dental nurses, technicians, accountants, teachers and scientists etc. I also remembered my own training in dentistry before it was taken out of the medical curriculum. We were taught to extract teeth. In Nigeria this was normal dentistry and without anaesthetic. One of our AV technicians in Jos experienced this. We were fortunate that each summer a Christian USA dentist would take a working holiday and maintain our fillings in an airlifted surgery. Yes, something to give thanks for plus the new cement that now holds my tooth in place.

I sign off with a big smile.

Anita Oji

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Chinhoyi – an update

Unfortunately the camera [sent to Stanley ed.] has developed some problems on the charging system. One of our guys is still trying to sort it out. These photos were taken by phone, I hope the resolution is good enough. Just some of the guys serving at the clinic and two or three clients.

We have managed to purchase a few drugs, were it not for the prohibiting prices! But our little storeroom [see picture on the right – that’s the whole medical storeroom for an area – not that thinly populated – of roughly the size of Ealing and Southall! ed].has some reasonable quantities of essential drugs to help out in the next few weeks!

Unicef has also delivered a considerable amount of meds for child vaccinations mainly.

So we now have to cater mainly for the grown ups and those other kids whose complaints are not covered under the child vaccination programmes.

God blessStanley Mudzingwa

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Some more pictures of the clinic and those that make it happen out in Zimbabwe

We will be collecting for Chinhoyi in the next few months, so please be generous.

Date for the Diary

Sunday 12th April

We will be having a Pot Luck Lunch following our morning worship. Further details will be announced at a later date. Obviously, without the use of our kitchen, we will be limited to certain dishes. However, we hope the variety of meals shared will still make it an enjoyable occasion.

Used Postage Stamps

Although we no longer receive a great volume of letters with postage stamps attached, there is still a demand for used stamps. As well as recycling them, we can help a charity. Please give them to Gill, who will pass them to Zena’s daughter, Glynnis who raises funds for The Leprosy Mission.

Gill Hatherall

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Ethics and Some Things Related (Part 1).

'Ethics': science of morals, treatise on this, whole field of moral science (Concise Oxford Dictionary); 'morals' (from the same volume) are concerned with difference between right and wrong. A friend of mine studied Moral Sciences at university -some of us who might like to regard ourselves as real scientists because our field is subject to experimental testing whereas it could be argued that morality and hence ethics is rather more subjective. The Great Religions all have their codes of ethics/morals - The Ten Commandments is an obvious example being central to both Judaism and Christianity and there is also a version in the Qu'ran. That is not intended to imply that those of other beliefs or none lack similar codes. This rather confused paragraph is intended (eventually and maybe next month) to lead into a discussion of the recent controversy over replacement of mitochondria - the term "three parent baby" being popularised in the media (please don't use it!).

Many matters which are forbidden in the UK (and elsewhere) are those defined in (say) The Ten Commandments: the UK is still (arguably, nominally) a Christian country with no line drawn between between Church and State (thus the 'Established' Church) and thus it is not perhaps surprising that much of our regulation is based on that code. For example, all experiments involving human beings (and especially children who are unable by reason of age to give informed consent) are subject to very serious ethical considerations. So any form of clinical trials of novel medicines or experimental surgery will be referred to an ethics committee. The use of animals in experiments is also subject to heavyweight ethical overview.

However, it is perhaps not widely known that ethical matters are taken into consideration in many areas of UK regulation (meaning law and the framing thereof, regulations falling under those laws, codes of practice etc), even in scientific fields. For some years in the 1990's, I represented the UK's Department of Trade and Industry on a range of committees concerned with the safety and regulation of new technologies, such as food technology and biotechnology. Such committees are strictly advisory (they generally advise government ministers), but can still be controversial. They are made up of experts in their field, chosen from industry, academic institutions and research establishments.

One of these was the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (which discussed for example, quinoa and Quorn) where I was privileged to work with The Revd Professor John Polkinghorne KBE FRS, a highly respected physicist who took Holy Orders after 25 years in science and then served as an Anglican priest (worth a Google, he writes good books). He was asked to join the committee for his ethical input and made major contributions to a number of discussions such as the nature of foreign genes in potential foodstuffs. When he first joined the Committee, several members I spoke with were somewhat sceptical about a committed Christian having a voice but John very rapidly gained respect for his well-informed views on both the science and the ethics of matters under discussion. One of the areas often discussed was the difference between an ethical objection to some product or process and things which might simply be

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called "yuk factors" (and there plenty of those in the food industry). To have an ethical expert able to cut to the chase on such topics was really valuable.

I will attempt next month to try and explain the science behind mitochondrial replacement and some of the ethical issues which have been raised (for and against).

Peter Baker

Man's Progress (well part of it)

I start this piece by confirming that the use of the word 'man' here is really only a short form for the word 'humanity' and is meant to encompass the achievements of both men and women so bear with me a while.

Man's progress over the few centuries that we have been on this planet and appreciated, and abused, the opportunities that tools give us as a race, has been pretty spectacular. The largest buildings rose, literally, at an unspectacular pace until the 19th century when it was discovered that man could, and indeed profitably, build higher buildings to house the industries that were growing and could use them. Such buildings generated the rents that made the whole thing worthwhile. Hotels and office blocks grew and property empires with them. Size was, if not everything, certainly important.

At about the same time, ships suddenly took off in terms of size as the industrial revolution offered both the need and the opportunity to grow from small ships to the mighty vessels that we see today. These are largely lost from most people’s view as the airplane has become the primary method of getting around the world for most of us nowadays.

Nonetheless ships are growing ever larger and more sophisticated, capable now of being more 'driven' rather than sailed around the world on complex routes to maximise their loads, computer controlled to make most use of the prevailing winds and currents, while still providing a relatively quick and efficient delivery system for the manufacturing, and consuming worlds' needs.

I have included a picture of part, yes only part, of the yard I am presently working near. You can’t see any of the drill ships and semi-submersible drilling rigs that are being constructed, neither can you see any of the fixed platforms, the submarines, naval vessels – or some of the other ships, but some of those you are

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looking at are amongst the largest being built anywhere in the world. How many can you count **?

Last week, I stood on the seventh floor of the engineering organisation I am presently assigned to, as one of the newest design, and the actually latest to be constructed, largest container vessel in the world set out on its sea trials. It steadily made its way out of the huge dockyard, through the bay to the breakwater, which protects this staggeringly beautiful and hugely impressive fabrication yard. Some time before, when the vessel had been formally named, there had been a ceremony to which the owners and people associated with the construction had been invited. Champagne had been toasted and drunk, and a bottle smashed against the side as a sign of good luck. Balloons had been set off and a small stand had been built to host the assembled people and dignitaries to name this modern day wonder as it sailed off on that sunny morning with the hopes and wishes of its owners, and many of those who had spent the last six or seven years planning, designing, seeking finance for and eventually building this ship that was to meet all their hopes and dreams.

It sailed, a large stately vessel, steadily out to sea. I stood and watched. Around me were hundreds of people all belonging to the company that had engineered and built this tribute to man's capability, and endeavour. Nobody budged, not an eye blinked. Every one was silent.

They were all working at their computers. They didn't even notice the passing of this ship past their building. They'd seen it all before.

** There are actually seven ships under construction in the picture. You can see five sets of funnels and there are two gas carriers on the left of the picture. The ones with the blue horizontal stripe on the funnel are for Maersk Shipping and are part of a set (honestly) of six or seven of what are now the largest container vessels in the world.

Lee

Spring

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.

Henry van Dyke

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Methodist Church plans its first mental health conference.

By staff writers

8 Feb 2015

The Methodist Church in Britain is organising its first-ever Mental Health Matters Conference for the summer of 2015.

The Conference will provide training, support and advice to children, youth workers, ministers, lay employees and anyone else who wishes to learn more about mental health issues affecting members of their congregation.

It will take place over the weekend of 5-7 June this year at Cliff College, in Derbyshire.

This year's theme will be 'Equipping Churches to Respond' and will include keynote speeches and workshops covering mental health issues experienced by children and young people, adults and the elderly.

Gill Dascombe, Vice-President of the Methodist Conference and a Medicines Information and Training Pharmacist specialising in psychiatry for the NHS, will be one of the keynote speakers at the Conference.

"One in four of us will suffer from some form of mental illness during our lifetime, and still more of us have family members or friends who are suffering in this way and need our support. But all too often mental illness is not spoken about, swept under the carpet and ignored."

Mental health advocacy and survivors groups question the use of medical models and the term "illness" for the challenges people face in this area, but this terminology is established in psychiatric circles.

The Methodist Children and Youth reports that it has teamed up with the charity Young Minds to produce a series of resources that were launched at the 3Generate Children and Youth Assembly back in November 2014.

Ms Dascombe added:"Sometimes, even our Christian faith can work against us, making us feel guilty if we can't put a brave face on things and 'pull ourselves together'.

"In society, those who are severely mentally ill often are deserted by their family and friends, and may drift down the social scale, enduring poor housing and deprived living conditions. Yet, although they are constantly tormented by their symptoms the side effects of their medications, many of them would tell you that the worst thing they have to face is isolation."

At the 2014 Methodist Conference in Birmingham, young Methodists challenged the Church to take mental health issues seriously, calling for children's and youth workers to receive relevant training.

Ms Dascombe added that she is making mental health a primary focus during her year as Vice-President of the Methodist Conference.

This is reprinted from Ekklesia

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Classic Cinema Club Ealing March 2015

The theme of this month’s programme is Style. You’ve either got it or . . .

These films rouse the screen and transfix audiences with their ambitious achievements in style. Expect evocative period detail through elaborate costumes and set design, expert compositions in photography and lighting, moody music and poised performances in these movie masterpieces.

Friday 6th March The Killers 1946105 minutes directed by Robert SiodmakStarring Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’BrienWritten by Ernest Hemingway

Two professional killers invade a small town and kill a gas station attendant, "the Swede," who's expecting them. Insurance investigator Reardon pursues the case against the orders of his boss, who considers it trivial. Weaving together threads of the Swede's life, Reardon uncovers a complex tale of treachery and crime, all linked with gorgeous, mysterious Kitty Collins.

Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Friday 13th March An Actor’s Revenge1963

113 minutes directed by Kon IchikawaStarring: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako WakaoWhile performing in a touring kabuki troupe, leading female impersonator Yukinojo comes across the three men who drove his parents to suicide twenty years earlier, and plans his revenge, firstly by seducing the daughter of one of them, secondly by ruining them . . .

Michael Brooke<michael@everyman.demon.co.uk>

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Friday 20th March The Conformist 1970 113 minutesDirected by Bernardo BertolucciStarring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Gastone Moschin

This story opens in 1938 in Rome, where Marcello has just taken a job working for Mussollini and is courting a beautiful young woman who will make him even more of a conformist. Marcello is going to Paris on his honeymoon and his bosses have an assignment for him there. Look up an old professor who fled Italy when the fascists came into power. At the border of Italy and France, where Marcello and his bride have to change trains, his bosses give him a gun with a silencer.

Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com>

Friday 27th March In the Mood for Love 2000 98 minutesDirected by Wong Kar WaiStarring Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung

Set in Hong Kong, 1962, Chow Mo-Wan is anewspaper editor who moves into a new building with his wife. At the same time, Su Li-zhen, a beautiful secretary and her executive husband also move in to the crowded building. With their spouses often away, Chow and Li-zhen spend most of their time together as friends. They have everything in common from noodle shops to martial arts. Soon, they are shocked to discover that their spouses are having an affair. Hurt and angry, they find comfort in their growing friendship even as they resolve not to be like their unfaithful mates and, neglected by their spouses, forge a comforting platonic relationship in this swooning romance.

Every life is a march from innocence, through temptation, to virtue or vice.Lyman Abbott

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March Rotas

March Preacher Reader PrayersCommunion

Stewards

1st 11.00 am Michaela Youngson Louise Singleton Ron Honor GH, VJ, HC, CH

8th 11.00 am Richard Goldstraw Charles Kenny Vera Marston

15th 11.00 am Rachel Bending Pat Sucher Colin Hatherall

22nd 11.00 am Rekha Cheriyan Elspeth Singleton Peter Chadburn

29th 11.00 am Charmaine Dinham Yvonne Moyo Ron Honor

Note: Could we have some volunteers for the Coffee Rota. All help is welcome - and it would be nice to see other faces behind the counter (no offence to those who already volunteer).

April Readers May Readers5th Charles Kenny 3rd Fleur Hatherall

12th Janette Pender 10th Elspeth Singleton19th Ron Honor 17th Helen Harper26th Christine Edwards 24th Hazel Humphries

31st Yvonne Moyo

MarchingYou can never reach the promised land.You can march towards it. James Callaghan