Central Suffolk Area Partnership
Pastoral Advocate: Dr Richard Jurd
News, Events, Awareness and Reflection
August and September 2011
A message from our Pastoral Advocate: Dr Richard Jurd
ALL CHANGE
I have just had a rather busy few weeks clearing out my office prior to taking full retirement from the University of Essex on 30 June after almost 36 years as a university teacher in the Department of Biological Sciences.
It's amazing how much 'stuff' one can accumulate since 1975. I discovered quite a few historical relics - a manual typewriter (bought with my first pay packet as a research assistant in 1967); hundreds of old 35 mm lantern slides - we all use PowerPoint today (in 1980 a power point was what you plugged your Hoover into!); text-books embarrassingly out-of-date - science in many areas moves very fast. I managed to fill four big metal skips, each about two cubic metres, with rubbish, passed on lots of (useful) books to students, colleagues and schools, and I kept a few souvenirs including lots of casts of fossil human skulls! At long last the office was bare and could be passed on to a successor.
More critical, though, is getting used to a rather changed lifestyle. I am now a pensioner. I am told that I shall have lots of leisure, but most retirees tell me that they are even busier now they are retired than before. Certainly my continuing Open University work, a rather nebulous status as (an unpaid) 'Visiting Fellow' in my old Essex department, in work helping Elizabeth as a librarian with the Landmark Trust, the garden, travel, and learning grand-parenting skills for little Sam will all keep me busy, not to mention my work in the Church as a busy lay preacher and as a minor ecclesiastical bureaucrat(!): these should keep me from hanging around on street corners...
We all face changes in our lives, some welcome and some much less welcome. Family changes, illness and disability, marriage or divorce, new children or grandchildren, bereavement, new jobs, retirement, a new home, less independence.
Often we feel uncertain about the future. However we are assured that amid the changes our loving God remains constant. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, to a readership that was facing terrible and bloody, life-threatening changes in the decades following Jesus' Resurrection: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever" (Hebrews 13 8 - NRSV). That is a constancy that should reassure us and strengthen us, whatever changes we may face.
With best wishes to you all for the summer. I was sorry to miss our social afternoon and worship at Debenham - I was on a holiday to 'celebrate' my retirement!
Richard Jurd
PS: My e-mail remains as <1 href="mailto:jurdr@essex.ac.uk">jurdr@essex.ac.uk for the foreseeable future.
Central Suffolk Area Partnership
Vote of thanks from Stowmarket
Just a big thank you to all who attended and helped in any way in making the 60 years Celebration of Ministry by the Revd Leslie Ivory such a success.
The Concert on the 1st July by David Ivory and the Service on the 3rd July, conducted by Leslie Ivory was enjoyed by all.
Christchurch Needham Market 2012 Celebrations
Plans are proceeding well and we anticipate full details will be ready for sharing after our October Church Meeting. The suggested programme includes opportunities for Town Churches, those in the Partnership and the Bury St Edmunds Methodist Circuit to join with us and take part too! More soon.
Services and Events - August 2011
- Sunday 7th, 6.30pm : Great Meeting Hadleigh - Songs of Praise.
- Tuesday 9th : Stowmarket - Afternoon Tea at Janet & Lews Hart's. 1 Fishponds Way Haughley. If too cold or wet it will be indoors. Donations in aid of Church funds.
- Wednesday 10th : Debenham - Mystery Tour - Church Outing.
- Friday 12th, 10am- 12noon : Mendlesham - Special MURCies Coffee Morning. All donations to Christian Aid Emergency Appeal. Cake stall & Book stall.
- Saturday 30th, 11.30am to 4pm : Great Meeting Hadleigh - Holiday Fun Day for children.
- All August : Stowmarket - Volunteers will be decorating Centre 3 etc: Polish Hall & Church floors and starting to upgrade the kitchen.
Services and Events - September 2011
- Saturday 3rd, 12 noon : Christchurch Needham Market - lunchtime concert given by our organist, Dr Ian Flowers. Light lunch follows the concert at around 1pm. No charge but donations are welcomed, for The Stroke Association, Church funds and Charities.
- Sunday 4th : Great Meeting Hadleigh - Renewal of Promises Service.
- Saturday 10th : Suffolk Historic Churches Bike Ride. Most Chapels & Churches open.
- Sunday 11th : Great Meeting Hadleigh - Worship for all led by Eternal and the Musical Group Inspired.
- Wednesday 21st, 2.30pm : Mendlesham - Woman's Hour reconvenes. An Annual Meeting led by Revd Barbara Challis.
- Saturday 24th : Stowmarket - Harvest Supper and Entertainment.
- Sunday 25th : Stowmarket - Harvest Festival Service and The Boys Brigade Enrolment led by Revd Bill Mahood.
- Sunday 25th, 9.30am : Stowupland - Harvest Festival United Service at Holy Trinity Parish Church Stowupland.
- Sunday 25th, 10.30am : Great Meeting Hadleigh - Harvest Festival Service, followed by Harvest Lunch (Bring & Share) at 12.30pm.
- Friday 30th, 10.00 am - 12 noon : Stowupland- Special Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Services and Events - October 2011
- Sunday 2nd : Stowmarket - Re-dedication Service led by the Moderator Revd Paul Whittle.
- Sunday 2nd, 10.30am : Stowupland - Harvest Festival United Service at the Chapel.
Mission Projects
Stowmarket
- Pause for Prayer each Thursday morning at 9.40 am
- Weekly Coffee mornings Thursday 10.00 am - 12 noon.
- Wednesday Club for ladies 2nd Wednesday each month 7.30 pm.
- Little Dippers Drop In for parents and carers with children each Tuesday at 1.15 pm.
- Messy Church for children 5-8 years, 1st Monday each month.
Debenham
- Discussion and Bible Study every Wednesday 10.45 am to 12 noon. No meeting during Aug starts again 21st Sept.
- Thursday Coffee morning at 10 am to 11.30 am - open church, refreshments and chat.
- Women's Fellowship Meetings at 2.15 pm every 2 weeks on Thursdays. No meetings during Aug starts again at beginning of Sept.
Mendlesham
- MURCies Coffee Bar opens on the 2nd Friday of each month from 10 am until noon - all welcome.
- Knit & Natter on the 2nd & 4th Monday of the month.
- Woman's Hour on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday each month for a short devotional service. Closed in Aug starts again on 21st Sept.
Stowupland
- Coffee mornings on the last Friday of each month Chapel - 10 am to 12 noon - please come and join us for a coffee and a chat.
- Stowupland - Afternoon Fellowship meets every other Monday at 2pm. Recommences 3rd Oct until December.
Stowmarket Outreach to Young People in the Town
The big day arrived for our 1st session on 25th August 2010, and we all rather nervously met complete with flasks, hot chocolate and cakes. Henry Playle the Youth Officer from the synod was present and he did the opening thoughts and prayers for us and we shared our hopes, concerns and prayers for the evening.
The doors were opened and out we went. Some of our merry band, kept the flasks and supplies of cakes coming, some served drinks while Linda Royal and myself mingled with the young people. There was surprise, and questions as to why we were doing this, and some amazement that we were doing it all and it was free!
The young people were very open to talking to us and very honest about the issues that they discussed. The Rev'd Leslie Ivory came along and the young people were enthralled to hear his tales from the war and were very interested in how old he was and why he wore a beret. He sat among the people and engaged in some very in depth conversations with some of the more challenging of the group - it was a joy to behold.
By the end of the evening there had been about 30 young people come up to us. They are all keen and supportive of what we are trying to achieve and say they will come along to the next session.
We have since met once a month every month, with a varying number of youngsters, we are still well received and they happily engage in conversation and love the hot chocolate and cakes. On one occasion we set up tables like a cafe on the forecourt and this went well, at Christmas we gave out Christmas cards, mince pies and sausage rolls.
At the session in January due to the weather we opened the foyer and invited the young people in! - it was a great evening, we had the street pastors visit, and we handed out questionnaires to get feedback as to where we go from here. At the start and end of each evening we gather for thoughts and prayers.
In February Henry Playle is doing a session with all the team to draw up a plan for the future development of this valuable and worthwhile outreach. We had agreed to move to 2 sessions a month on the 2nd Wednesday of each month and the last Wednesday of each month, but the last few months due possibly to the nicer weather we have had less people so for July, August and September we will have just 1 session on last Wednesday of the month, then we will review the way forward after this.
I would be grateful for people to boil the kettles and keep the kitchen clean, I need people prepared to serve the drinks, and people who may be interested in being more closely involved in engaging with the young people, and I need tray bakes / biscuits.
And most of all we need your prayers. However you can support this worthwhile service will be much appreciated. I can be contacted as follows: Caroline Eade 01449 678714 seychelles85@hotmail.com
Church websites
- Hadleigh with Monks Eleigh and Whatfield: www.hadleighurc.org.uk
- Christchurch, Needham Market - mentioned on both: www.ukchurch.org and www.eamethodist.org.uk
- Stowmarket with Haughley, Mendlesham and Stowupland: www.stowmarket-urc.org.uk
As well as the worthwhile facelift last year, REFORM now has e-format sample articles on the URC website: www.urc.org.uk
Details of Eastern Synod news and documents can be found at www.urc-eastern.org.uk, including Vision4Life.
Evangelism is the theme for the third year of Vison4Life.
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