News @ he Centre

Minister Rev Tony Morling

tel 739906 email tonyjerseycircuit@gmail.com

Lay pastoral worker Mrs Pat Tourtel tel 747353 Family worker Mrs Sally Vasselin Administrator Mrs Sarah Keenan-Fox tel 877517 email shmc.jersey@gmail.com Caretaker Mrs Teresa Medeiros tel 07797 833521 Nestling Day Care manager: Mrs Sue Wilson tel 617600

Worship @ the Centre Sundays 10.30am

Kids’ Church 2nd Sun 10-12 noon

Messy Church 3rd Thurs 3.30-5.30 pm

Café @ the Centre

10am-2.30 pm Tues, Weds, Thurs

Rascals @ the Centre

(term time only) Mon 2.30-4 pm

Tues 10-12 noon Wed 12.30-2.30 pm

Lunch @ the Centre Fridays 12.30-2 pm

Image courtesy Ian Rolls

St Helier Methodist Centre A place of belonging - a purpose for life

www.shmc.btck.co.uk

Issue No. 204 Aug –Sept –Oct

2014

Pentecost 2014 The nations of the world

Worship August 3rd 10.30 am Morning worship Local arrangement 10th 10.30am Morning worship Rev Tony Morling 17th 10.30am Holy Communion Rev Tony Morling 24th 10.30pm Morning worship Rev Tony Morling 31st 10.30am Morning worship Mrs Pat Tourtel September & October plan unavailable at time of printing. Sept 7th 10.30am Morning worship 14th 10-12noon Kids’ Church 10.30am Morning worship 18th 3.30pm Messy Church 21st 10.30am Holy Communion

28th 10.30am Harvest Festival Oct 5th 10.30am Morning worship 12th 10-12noon Kids’ Church

10.30am Remembrance Sunday 16th 3.30pm Messy Church 19th 10.30am Holy Communion 26th 10.30am Morning worship

Next issue 26 Oct Items for inclusion to Editor by Mon 20 Oct di@toole.safeserve.com or give to Di at the Centre

New email address for SHMC shmc.jersey@gmail.com jerseymail is no longer active.

Recent donations from 10% Fund Leprosy Mission – we as a church have pledged £500 pa for the next three years and the first payment has recently been made. Bible Society – In an e-mail to Roy Picot the Ukrainian Bi-ble Society has raised an urgent appeal as the turmoil in the east of the country continues. More people are turning to the Bible for words of comfort and hope but their entire stock has now been given away. There is an endless need for more supplies. We have sent £500. Canon Andrew White, the Vicar of Baghdad – Following his recent visit to Jersey we have sent £1000 to his foundation. The Christians in Iraq are in urgent need of help and sup-port. In a recent web letter he states ‘the crisis is huge and we need help, will you please help us’. The Islamic terror-ists have taken over the whole of Mosul which is Ninevah the main Christian stronghold. His foundation in the UK have been contacted and we have been assured they have day to day contact with people in Baghdad and, at present, banking facilities are working normally so help can get to them.

Dates for your diary

Bacon rolls on the Sunday of Kid’s Church are to continue. The next date for

this will be 14 September. The idea be-hind this is for the congregation to have contact with the children and parents coming to Kid’s Church. We are one con-gregation and all are welcome. This same Sunday David Hinchliffe, Chairman of the District, will be taking the Service upstairs.

The following Sunday, 21 September, we will be hosting the Rotary Peace Ser-vice. It is intended to invite members of the circuit and there will be a ‘bring your own’ lunch afterwards. All are invited.

Harvest this year is on 28 September. We are arranging a church lunch at the Biarritz after this – it will cost £16 pp and all are welcome. We will need numbers nearer the time but notice will be given.

Letter from the Manse: “Read All About It. Gi-ants of Faith”

Do you want some summer time reading? A book of adventure, ship wrecks, courage and heroes? Well let me recommend the book of Acts. At twenty-eight chap-ters it does not take long to read, but it gives a fascinat-ing and inspiring insight into the life of our Christian forebears. Better still, if you read it with a commentary which gives context and background information, it is the most fantastic read. Written by Luke, it tells the story of the church from the resurrection to its arrival in Rome with St Paul chained as a prisoner. Throughout, it focuses on the Holy Spirit which drenched the disciples at Pentecost and gave them power and boldness to spread the story of Jesus. The book tells how the Spirit powerfully used the big personalities such as Peter and Paul. Their bold and courageous decisions to proclaim Christ, meant they stepped out of their comfort zones of Judaism, and em-braced all of humanity. Their faith is a remarkable story of spiritual risk taking. I love this book is because it also records the lives of less well known characters like Anna and Simeon, Barnabas, Aquila & Priscilla, Ananias, Epaphroditus, Silas and Timothy. All these people were similarly filled with the Spirit and pursued their own special ministries. Some of them delivered Paul’s letters, others offered hospitality and some had the gift of encouragement. These quiet, lesser known personalities are also “giants of faith”. The phrase, “standing on the shoulders of giants” is en-graved upon the edge of the British two pound coin. It was used by Isaac Newton in correspondence to fellow scientist Robert Hooke on February 5

th 1676, when he

claimed that his success had been built on the achieve-ment of others, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.

Cedalion standing on the shoulders of Orion; detail from Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun by Nico-las Poussin, 1658, Oil on canvas; 46 7/8 x 72 in. (119.1 x 182.9 cm), Metro-politan Museum of Art By reading through Acts I am sure that we will find it

a powerful and enlivening experience. My prayer is that the Spirit of the living God may con-tinually fill us with power, and individually we will con-tinue faithfully to live out lives of service and witness in St Helier and within Jersey. Happy Reading

Tony

John Wesley (5) A Failure and a Warmed Heart BBC Radio Jersey : May 23rd 2014

As a young man John Wesley set out to be a mission-ary in America. The outcome was a miserable failure. To make matters worse, he engaged in a romance with a Sophie Hopkey that also ended badly. So, having failed in his first job and in his first romantic relationship, John Wesley returned home to England, tail between his legs. And then something happened on May 24th 1738; it is the most remembered passage that he ever penned: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Al-dersgate Street. About a quarter before nineLI felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation”. This far from perfect man turned a corner. He still had doubts about himself and his gifts and his future. But the disappointment of America was in the past. He stepped out into 51 years of travelling the country which included Jersey. He is recognised now as a remarkable church leader and a great social reformer. Tomorrow, this warming of the heart will be remem-bered by 70 million Methodists world-wide, members of a church he never intended to start, but grateful that he did. They recall with affection this very human man who often got things wrong, but a man who got many things right. Someone, who pushed through huge disappoint-ments to arrive at something better. A man whose heart was warmed to both God and neighbour. His story is one of hope, determination and faith. Lord God, may our hearts be warmed. And when things don’t go well, help us to keep going in the knowledge that there is always hope.

Tony

LEISURE by W.H Davies

What is this life, if full of care; We have no time to stand and stare No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare

Family news and prayer concerns

We remember in our prayers: REV LIZ SINGLETON, & PETER, CHARLOTTE & SHAWN, BEX & STEVE, EMMA & RICKY on the death of REG, Liz’s father & the girls’ Granddad, on Thursday 24 July. Reg had moved from Devon to Jersey last autumn to be close to his family and had enjoyed seeing much more of them - especially watching Samson, his great-grandson, grow-ing up. We pray that God will sur-round them with his healing love in their grieving times and that they will be able to treasure all the good times shared. FRANCIS QUANSAH, whose step-mother died recently in Ghana, aged 69. It was a shock to Francis as he had seen her earlier in the year when he had visited Ghana. He much appreciated the prayers of-fered by Tony on Sunday. PAM BEAUGIE, who is still in con-siderable pain, but who hopes to attend the funeral of her cousin, Margaret, to whom she has been very close and supportive. Margaret suffered with cancer for several years. DARYL de GRUCHY, who is now at Pinewood, having found it difficult to cope with the responsibilities of run-ning a home. We hope she will settle happily there and send our love and prayers. IDRYS BUESNEL, who has been anxious about Daryl, and now misses the companionship of the last few years. We send our love and prayers to her. KATH le GALLAIS, who has now recovered sufficiently to come back to church. She has a lift to church and is very grateful to Peter & Sue who bring her. We are glad to wel-come her back.

JOYCE DUFFIELD whose son and son-in-law have been in hospital in UK for surgery. They are now back home and doing very well.

We remember all our house-bound, elderly or frail members and friends in our prayers - they are part of the rich tapestry of our church family. CONGRATULATIONS to DAVID & FIONA PICOT on the birth of their second grandchild. A grandson, GEORGE WILLIAM HJEAD was born on 28 June to JULIA (Picot)and ANDREW. (7 lbs. 3 oz). Baby doing well, Mum & Dad sleepless!

MORE Picot news...FRANCES and IAN (Barlow) are to be married on Saturday 2 August at Ian's home church, St. Mary the Virgin in Horne, a little village near Horley in Surrey. They are having a mini-honeymoon in the New Forest while Grannie and Grandpa babysit Sam at their house in Didcot where they moved re-cently, returning in time for Sam's first birthday. Frances will also be changing jobs in September when she starts work at a primary school in Wallingford.

We wish them God’s blessing for that special day and their married lives together.

CONGRATULATIONS to: Joyce Duffield’s grandchildren:- SAM POR-TER who gained a 1st class Hons. in Animation & Visual effects; & LEANNE PORTER who got a 2:1 in Psycology.

In the next few weeks there may be other exam successes to record and new beginnings for many students. We ask God to bless all their en-deavours.

PAM & GEORGE MARETT cele-brate their 64th wedding anniversary in September. Many congratulations and best wishes to you both.

BIRTHDAYS As this issue is now the first of the ‘quarterly’ issues, it is no longer timely to record individual birthdays except very special ones!! IDRYS

will be 99 in August!

We ask God’s blessing on all who celebrate and look forward to an-other year. A request to PASTORAL GROUP LEADERS . Could you please help? As you will have read in the weekly Service Sheet we are hoping to pro-duce a Year Book which will contain information for the coming year and a directory of all the members of St. Helier Methodist Centre. It would be a great help if each pastoral group leader could check the names, addresses, telephone num-bers (and if applicable e-mail ad-dresses) of the members of their own group, enabling this task to be completed more quickly. The lists could be given to either Pat or Jan or put in either of their pigeonholes. Alternatively they could be sent by e-mail to Pat (pat.tourtel@gmail.com) or Jan at (jan_jersey@hotmail.com If there are those who would prefer their names to be omitted from the directory, please let either Pat or Jan know. Thank you.

Thank you to JEAN TRELEVEN and her team of seamstresses, who have beavered away in the last year to provide comfortable pink, covered cushions for all the balcony pews and the Communion steps. Jean was presented with a cushion, which tones with her living room at home, during morning worship ear-lier this month. The label attached read:- L.”I love a commodious room, a soft cushion, a handsome pulpit”L..

John Wesley

So, even a plain living pastor appre-ciates comfort!

Testimony

Maureen’s son Peter was Ordained

at Methodist Conference in Birming-

ham on Sunday 29 June

At my testimony service, it was com-forting and affirming to see familiar faces in the congregation as I spoke. But it was also comforting and af-firming to have received several heartfelt apologies from some who were unable to attend but who still wanted to share with be on this im-portant occasion. Among those not able to be there were those friends living in various distant places where either their or my lives’ choices or happenstance have created physical separation between us. But with many of the people I have met I have found that once we have en-countered one another, there is something between us which re-mains connected whatever our physical separation may become. Physicists have found a similar phe-nomenon which they call quantum entanglement; I think that Methodists call it Connexionalism. When we are asked to describe our Christian experiences, we often choose to do so using the metaphor of a journey and I intend to do just that but while it is often assumed that a journey has a beginning and an end a journey can actually have many beginnings; each year, each day, each fork in the metaphorical road can be a new beginning. So, for forty-five years, my life was a broadly successful and happy one. Of course, it had its ups and downs, its forks and diversions and even the occasional dead-end but on the whole, it followed a gentle progres-sive path. But four years ago that changed. Four years ago, the Meth-odist Church and I agreed, after much deliberation, the new direction which God was calling me to go and this marked the beginning of a radi-cally new journey for both me and for my family. It is of course true that without my previous life I would not have got to that point of decision but it is also true that in many ways look-ing back before that point is now counterproductive, just as we see the Israelites, struggling with the deprivations of the wilderness, look-ing back fondly towards their old life in Egypt. In many ways, this latest journey has been our most challenging because

alongside the challenges of my for-mal formation we have also faced a number of unexpected obstacles. However, the very nature of these obstacles has been to prevent us from that nostalgic looking back and actually forced us to concentrate on the path ahead. I am currently writing my MA disser-tation which is on the theme of Meth-odist preaching so please forgive me for looking for support from among our past great preachers. Around the middle of the last century, W E Sangster entitled one of his sermons “Remember to forget” and approach-ing seventy-five years after he wrote it that continues to be very sound advice; remembering to forget; re-membering to forget the past in or-der to travel into the inevitably un-certain future. But importantly re-membering to forget does not just apply to our failures, to our past sins but to our past successes too. I look back fondly to the successes of my previous career but, while I undoubt-edly acquired some skills which will serve me in my future ministry, that career is not a model for this ministry and trying to make it so would simply hinder me in my new calling. Equally, the Methodist Church of my youth is also something I look back on with great fondness but it is not the Methodist Church of today nor is it a model for the Methodist Church of the future. Our identity as Method-ists is bound up in our travelling na-ture and that does not just mean our itinerant Presbyters, although we are those called to lead people on that journey as Moses was called to lead the people of Israel. As a part of my formation into a Methodist Minister, I was privileged to study at Wesley house in Cambridge. One of the ele-ments of my training at Wesley House was to study and understand our Methodist history but the pur-pose of this is not in order that we could or should try to return to our previous successes but rather that we should be able to understand that we only achieved those past successes by continually striving to drive forward on our journeys, how-ever falteringly, towards the Wesleyan goal of perfect holiness. I have dipped briefly into homiletics, now I want to do the same with an-other great Methodist tradition, hym-nody. I’m sure that most of you are familiar with some the hymns of F W Faber but one of his which is less

well known is entitled, “The Right Must Win”. It is 19 verses long and it is neither in Singing the Faith nor Hymns and Psalms although there is a much shortened version in The Methodist Hymn Book. The original opens with the memorable lines, “Oh, it is hard to work for God, to rise and take His part”. Despite his pro-lific output, I doubt that even Charles Wesley ever wrote a truer line in a hymn. It is hard to work for God and it is hard whether we are ordained or lay. It is hard because we are all called to follow him through the wil-derness, not knowing exactly where we are headed nor how we will get there but by faith trusting in him alone to provide for us along that journey as he did the people of Is-rael on their journey through the wil-derness. And so, this is my testimony of the last four years; “I am called by God to be a leader not of a ‘Church’ but of a travelling people making our way uncertainly, falteringly but faith-fully towards a destination which only God knows.” For me, the next step is to Conference in Birmingham where, in the company of many with whom I have shared this journey, I will firstly be received into Full Con-nexion and then Ordained as a Pres-byter. Where is the next fork in the road? Where will it take me? What will be my testimony in the future? Only God knows that too.

The Rev’d Peter Rayson, May

2014.

John Wesley: Never Compel BBC Radio Jersey: May 20th

2014

Such was the size of the St Helier crowd that came to hear John Wesley that he was sometimes obliged to speak in the open air rather than the prepared room. His journal records, ‘I spoke exceed-ingly plain and even the gentry heard with deep attention’. That was in August 1787. Whether the current Methodist congregants listen with similar deep attention is not for me to judge! But John Wesley did not just meet with the gentry. He deliberately went to those in need and those who he believed that were in most need. And that included stenching New-gate prison in London to bring com-fort to the condemned. The early Methodists even travelled with the convicts on the tumbril on the road to Tyburn’s gallows. Whether speaking to the good folk of Jersey or the condemned pris-oner of Newgate, Wesley embodied a very attractive maxim. He said, “Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and let think. Use no constraint in matters of religion. Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love.” There is an echo of John Wesley’s words at communion table. The Methodist minister says, ‘Come not because you must but because you may”. I appreciate those words. They are full of freedom. An invita-tion rather than a command. Isn’t that freedom of attitude equally important today? Too much of the news is led by stories of people seeking to force themselves over others. The worst result is seen in the faces of the abducted Nigerian girls sitting huddled together, wear-ing grey veils at the feet of gun tot-ing captors. Lord God, may I act and speak to-day that does not force or compel but offers reason, truth and love. And please bring courage and hope to those Nigerian girls and those that love them. Amen.

John Wesley (3) Getting Older BBC Radio Jersey May 21st

2014 “When I was young I was sure of everything. In a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before. At pre-sent, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.” Thus, said John Wesley the church reformer who visited Jersey in 1787. White haired, small in stature, standing just 5ft 2 inches in his stockings, this tenacious man mel-lowed as he grew older. In earlier years his uncompromising manner rubbed people up the wrong way. He nearly lost his life in Staf-fordshire when he was set upon by an angry mob. In 1744 his abrasive sermon in Oxford received such a hostile reaction from the Deans and Chancellor that he never preached from the University pulpit again. But by the time he visited Jersey he was in his eighties and the years had brought increased awareness of his strengths and his errors. But it was not just Wesley that had mel-lowed, so had the public attitude towards him. Perhaps it was be-cause he had consistently given practical support for the vulnerable. Or simply, he like many older peo-ple became valued for his wisdom. It makes me wonder as I get older whether my spiritual arteries are clogging up with crankiness, or whether my attitudes are becoming more gracious. I know which one my wife would prefer! Lord God, with the passing of the years may your Spirit help me to laugh at my peculiarities, speak gently with others, be humble with what I know and grateful with what you reveal. Amen.

John Wesley (4) Money BBC Radio Jersey May 22nd 2014 John Wesley the founder of Metho-dism is famous for saying: “Having, first, gained all you can, and, sec-ondly saved all you can, then give all you can.

In 1731 he began to limit his ex-penses so that he would have more money to give away. In the first year his income was 30 pounds and he found he could live on 28 and so gave away two. In the second year his income doubled but he held his expenses even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away. In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds and he gave away 62 pounds. In his long life Wesley's income advanced because the sale of his books were as high as 1,400 pounds in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds. This so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investi-gated him in 1776 insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote to them, I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread. When he died in 1791 at the age of 87, the only money mentioned in his will were the coins to be found in his pockets and dresser. Most of the £30,000 he had earned in his life had been given away. According to directions in his will, his coffin was borne to the grave by six poor men, each of whom received a sovereign, as Wesley desired. Lord God, help us this day to live in peace and integrity with how we choose to use money. And help us to use what we have to make a dif-ference to someone else. Amen. (See final day’s broadcast on page 3. Tony challenges the congregation to write 5 consecutive Thoughts for the Day!)

LEPROSY UPDATE ARTICLE FOR SHMC CHURCH MAGA-

ZINE JULY 2014

It is some time since I last wrote to update you all on what is happening with the Leprosy Mission and there is quite a lot to tell you about. It is already just over four years since Jean Le Maistre came to speak to us about the Mission and left some collecting phials with us. To date, using these phials, mem-bers of SHMC have donated the fan-tastic sum of £1,769 to the work of the Mission, funds that I know are most gratefully received. A very big “Thank you” to all of you who donate in this way. There is now even more good news to report! As many of you will already be aware from the notice sheets, SHMC has agreed to become involved in the Mission’s Jersey Project, sup-porting the work of Anandaban Hos-pital on the outskirts of Kathmandu in Nepal. The Mission has encour-aged all their supporting churches in Jersey to adopt this project for their donations and prayer and I am de-lighted that SHMC has agreed to donate £500 a year to the project for the next 3 years. I am in the process of obtaining cop-ies of the project leaflet and booklet, which, I am sure, will be of great in-terest to all. Once these are re-ceived, I will make them available at the Centre. As a result of the introduction of The Jersey Project, I would like to ex-plain how future donations made via the phials will be treated. I have been in touch with Revd Mike Griffin, Leprosy Regional Manager for South England, Wales & the Channel Is-lands to clarify this and he tells me that all donations sent to the local branch (which our phial contents are) will automatically go towards supporting the Project, unless we specify that they are to be used for general purposes..

If, therefore, you do not want any money that you donate to go to the

Jersey Project, please let me know when you hand me your phial. As usual, there is to be a Harvest celebration at St George’s Church,

St Ouen in September in aid of the Mission. The date is Saturday 27 September and the Holmchase Singers, youngsters from the Jersey Academy of Music and the Bealieu young musicians will be performing at what promises to be a most enjoy-able evening. I do have tickets for this concert, they are free and a retiring collection in aid of Leprosy will be taken. Please let me know as soon as pos-sible if you would like tickets. My number is 741787 or you can e-mail me at lerossignols_both@yahoo.co.uk That weekend is to be an extra spe-cial one for the Mission as Lord McColl, Leprosy Mission President will be in Jersey and is to be a spe-cial guest at a lunch on Sunday 28 September at the Hotel Ambas-sadeur at 12.30pm for 1pm. Tickets for this event cost £17.00 for adults and £7.50 for children under 12 yrs.

Lord McColl is a very interesting per-son. He was made a life peer in 1989 for his work for the disabled. He was parliamentary private secre-tary (Lords) to Prime Minister John Major from 1996-1997 and is a for-mer shadow minister for health. He was made CBE in 1997. Ian McColl studied medicine at Lon-don University and pursued a medi-cal career at St Bartholomew’s hos-pital and then Guy’s hospital where he became professor of surgery. In addition to being President of the Leprosy Mission, Lord McColl is chairman of the Trustees of Mercy Ships (uk), vice-chairman of Mercy Ships International and President of the Limbless Association and St Christopher’s Hospice. He is a for-mer vice-president of the Mildmay Centres of Palliative Care in London and Uganda and has been a vice-president of the Prince of Wales Health Council on Disability. I am aware that this weekend is SHMC’s harvest festival but if any-one feels able to support this excit-ing event, then I do have tickets. Numbers must be in by Monday 22 September, so please let me know by Thursday 18 September at the latest if you wish to attend. Cheques for the lunch should be made pay-able to J A le Maistre.

The end of September is a very busy time for the Leprosy Mission as Revd Mike Griffin, regional manager for South England, Wales and the Channel Islands, is holding two “thank you” meetings for supporters and church representatives. There are two identical meetings to choose from and both take place on Monday 29 September. The first is at St Mar-tin’s Methodist church and starts at 10.30 am going through to 2 pm to include lunch. The second is to be held at Glass Café, St Matthew’s church, starting at 7.30 pm going through to 9.30 pm. The meetings will start by looking at one particular person Revd Griffin met in Nepal, followed by a screen-ing of the new legacy of love film. After a break, the challenges of liv-ing with leprosy-caused disabilities will be examined before finishing with a devotional thought. If anyone wishes to attend either of these meetings please let me know, as numbers must be submitted for catering purposes. Well, I think that covers all of the leprosy news for the time being but there will be a coffee morning some time later this year in support of the work of the mission, so do keep an eye out for news of that! Meanwhile, thanks again for your continuing support of this most valuable work. Grace le Rossignol

The Visit of Revd. Dr Jongi-kaya Zihle to SHMC September

21st 2014 10.30am service United Nations Peace Day

Jongi was born in the height of apartheid in South Africa and chose to become a lawyer to counter the injustices meted out to the poor and marginalized. At the end of the eighties he trained in peace monitor-ing and served in the Wits-Vaal Peace Secretariat; (an organization that sought to reconcile divided, war-ring communities. It was whilst he was fulfilling these roles as a peace monitor that he was twice impris-oned under the fourteen day deten-tion laws The call to the ordained ministry within the Methodist Church led him to ordination in Durban and studies for his PhD in Ethics. In mid-2005 he was invited to serve in the British Methodist Church in North East London, in Walthams-tow and Woodford areas, where he and Tony were Circuit colleagues. He serves a multi-ethnic diverse community very close to the Tot-tenham area where the Mark Duggan saga was contiguous to the violence that erupted in 2011. This spilled over to the areas in Walthamstow and Chingford which prompted him and other community leaders to seek peaceful initiatives that would enable a return to nor-mality. Such peaceful encounters enabled residents who were “suspicious of one another” to have confidence that coming together was more beneficial than working across purposes. Last year, Jongi co-led led the Nel-son Mandela memorial service in St. Martin’s-in-the-Field which was organized by the South African High Commission and to lead prayers at Westminster Abbey along with Archbishops Justin Welby and Dr. John Sentamu. His passion is to see all communi-ties co-existing peacefully with one another. He is the first to empha-size that co-existence must be matched with willingness to en-counter one another and relate at a deeper level than just fictitious hello’s in passing

Jongi is a gifted and eloquent speaker who is able to combine ex-perience, academic strength and passion with humour. His personal maxim is to be a servant of God who unites people with God and each other and enable them to become irrevocable disciples of Jesus Christ. It will be a privilege to welcome him to St Helier Methodist Centre and to we are delighted that he is key note speaker for the Rotary Club of Jer-sey Peace Forum. (see photo on back cover)

Mistakes are….

M essages that give us feedback about life.

I nteruptions that should cause us to reflect & think.

S ign posts that direct us to the right path.

T ests that push us towards greater maturity.

A wakenings that keep us in the game mentally.

K eys that we can use to unlock the next door of opportunity.

E xplorations that let us journey where we’ve never been before.

S tatements about our development and progress.

John C Maxwell

Methodist Conference receives report on same-sex marriage

The Methodist Church has commit-ted to a two year period of listening, reflecting and discernment following the legislation of same-sex marriage in England, Wales and Scotland ear-lier this year. A report exploring the issues around same-sex marriage was brought by a working party to the Methodist Conference meeting today in Birmingham.

The Methodist Church, in line with scripture and traditional teaching, believes that marriage is a gift of God and that it is God's intention that a marriage should be a life-long union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one woman. The Methodist Conference did not vote on changing this understanding, or 'opting in' so as to permit Methodist Church build-ings to be registered for same-sex marriage ceremonies or Methodist ministers to be authorised to conduct them. The Conference resolved that its previous ruling that there was no reason per se to prevent anyone within the Church, ordained or lay, from entering into or remaining within a civil partnership, should also extend to those entering into legally contracted same-sex marriages. The Conference agreed revised guidelines that will allow local churches and ministers to consider the appropriate pastoral response to requests for prayers and blessings of same-sex couples. The Conference directed the Equal-ity, Diversity and Inclusion commit-tee to work on the production and dissemination of clear guidance on what is to be regarded as homopho-bia. Susan Howdle, chair of the Church’s working party on same-sex marriage and civil partnerships, said: “We are very grateful to all those people who have contributed to our work as we have explored together issues which have deep significance for the per-sonal lives of so many people and for the life and mission of the church. We appreciate too the spirit in which the Conference has now dealt with our report, and trust that the Methodist people will respond

similarly to the call to engage with each other honestly, prayerfully and graciously about these matters.” A new working party was appointed today by the Methodist Conference to oversee the two-year period of reflection concerning relationships and living with difference, and to re-port to the Conference in 2016.

Methodists urged to 'reclaim evangelism' The General Secretary of the Meth-odist Church is encouraging Method-ists to rise to the challenge of falling membership figures. Presenting his report to the Method-ist Conference today, the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins highlighted the Church's latest statistics, which indi-cate a significant drop in Church membership over the last ten years.

"However the Statistics for Mission report is understood and interpreted it does not make for easy or comfort-able reading," said Dr Atkins. "If ever we needed any encouragement to continue to focus on those things that make for an ever better Church which is a discipleship movement shaped for mission today, then these statistics provide that." In light of these figures, Dr Atkins urged Conference members to con-sider how the Church might best use its resources, especially its church buildings, saying, "There was - and remains still - a generally held view that we have too many church properties, not all in the best location or condition to enable us to engage as effectively in God's mis-sion as we desire."

The Statistics for Mission report it-self is due to be debated by the Con-ference on Wednesday 2 July. It shows that, although Methodist membership is in general decline, there are some areas of growth, par-ticularly where churches are trying something new. The New Song Network in Warring-ton became Methodism's newest church on Sunday 22 June, when more than 40 people became new members. What began as a small group of people meeting in a coffee shop in 2009 has now grown into a 170-strong monthly congregation meeting for cafe-style worship and praise. "New Song Network is an example of what great things can happen when we listen to God's call and are willing to do things differently," added Dr Atkins.

"As I travel around the Church, I sense a growing desire to reclaim evangel-ism as a crucial part of God's mission. The main thing is not merely the sur-vival of an institution, even a wonderful institution like our beloved Church. Rather we are realising afresh that the best thing that anyone can do, whoever they are, wherever they live, at what-ever time and in whatever circumstances is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.

And consequently seeking and find-ing apt, relevant, sensitive and effec-tive ways of presenting Jesus Christ to the world in which we live with so many and so different others, is the critical task of the Church today."

Don’t expect to enjoy the cream of life if you keep the milk of human kind-ness all bottled

up.

FoodC.. for the body for the mind for the soul can be found at the Café @ the Centre

The Festival of the First-Fruits

Deuteronomy 26, 1-15

Come, sing a song of harvest, Of thanks for daily food! To offer God the first-fruits Is old as gratitude. Long, long ago, the reapers, Before they kept the feast, Put first-fruits in a basket, And took it to the priest. Shall we, sometimes forgetful Of where creation starts, With science in our pockets Lose wonder from our hearts? May God, the great Creator, To whom all life belongs, Accept these gifts we offer, Our service and our songs. And lest the world go hungry While we ourselves are fed, Make each of us more ready To share our daily bread.

Fred Pratt Green

©1976

Children’s Activities

Lots and lots of activities have been going on with the children over this summer term. Since writing we have now started and had two very successful “7up” sessions. This will continue in Sep-tember and will hopefully be a very welcome key group filling the gap between Messy Church, Garage Club, and Holiday Club during term time.

Kids Church and Messy Church continue to be well attended, but as with all the regular Rascal groups, all are having a break for the summer months. On Pentecost Sunday Kids Church and some congre-gation members had a wonderful outing together on open top lorries. This was a huge hit, and hopefully will be an annual event. The weather was beautiful, and after riding around the lanes and the round -a -bouts for an hour singing and shouting we all stopped off for a picnic and games at the Millennium Park. Over 50 children and adults joined in, most of them never hav-ing experienced anything like that ever before.

Holiday Club

We are now at the end of a week of fun and games at our summer holi-day club. The theme was “Joseph and his coat”, which is a great topic to tackle over a week. The first day Tony came in to tell us about Joseph ,his brothers, and the coat. Tuesday we explored Joseph’s dreams. Wednes-day, the story was Joseph’s brothers putting him in a well and selling him. That was popular!. On Thursday a big chunk of story about Potiphar, jail, dreams, and Pharaoh. Then on Friday the brothers are reunited with Joseph and we all had a Feast ! 40 chil-dren enjoyed a week packed with songs, crafts, games, bible verses and stories. Hopefully some of them will remember something of the story, and the message that God is with us not only in the good times but, that if we trust him, he will bring us through the bad times often to something even better.

Here are some of the shortbread “Josephs”

Everything starts back again in September:

Baby Rascals - Monday 8th

Little Rascals – Tuesday 9th

Lunchtime Rascals – Wednesday 10

th

Kids Church – Sunday 14th

Messy Church – Thursday 18th

Sunday Club – Sunday 7th

“7up” club – Saturday We now have a “facebook” page, so follow our activities on. “Kids at the Centre” and see what we are going to do and what we have

www.shmc.btck.co.uk

The ministry of transport

Church family lorry ride &

Pentecost picnic

Revd. Dr Jongikaya Zihle