THE NEWSLETTER OF

THE FREE CHURCH

(UNITED REFORMED)

SAINT IVES

www.stivesfreechurch.org

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October 2015

Inside October

Inspire

Inspire Editorial Team

October Editor Christine Curtis 350787 Mary Anthony 469530 Val Bush 469189 Keith Cakebread 462726

Copy preferably by email please to office@stivesfreechurch.org

Page 1 View from the Manse

Page 2 Lament for Aylan

Page 3 Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer You never know who…

Page 4 From the Church Secretary Message from Ruth

Page 5 Battle of Britain Service

Page 6 Just Sharing Christmas Shop

Page 7 Prayer for Refugees Norwich Cathedral—The Last Supper

Page 8 ECO Group news

Page 9 Tots & Carers

Page 10 Choral Society

Page 11 Church Activities Community Activities Christmas Choir

Page 12 Contacts Worship

View from the

Manse We start the month of October with a Day Retreat at Little Gidding where we may enjoy going for walks in the beautiful rural surroundings and spending time in prayer and reflection and enjoy the fellowship of other believers. In addition to our usual Sunday morning worship services and our various groups and activities including the Tookey’s Coffee Bar and Just Sharing, our Fair trade shop, on 10th of October we have Eastern Synod meeting at Lion Walk in Colchester and then the Cambridge Area Partnership meeting on Monday 12th October at Whittlesford URC. Hebrews 1.24-25 says, ‘let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’ We are blessed with many opportunities to get together with fellow Christians to share hospitality, common interests, to serve together in our Christian witness to our community. Jesus set up his followers to form congregations in each town and village so that believers would never need to feel alone in their faith. We have much to give thanks for, our church and its building in the centre of the market place, its many committed members and adherents who have so many different skills and abilities and who serve in different ways.

Deadline for November Inspire

Sunday 18th October

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Autumn is the season when we get back into routine of the different groups and activities to which people may participate. As the weather grows cooler and the days shorten, let us enjoy the warmth of our community of faith and also work together to be a corporate witness to God’s love and mercy. For we are always to remember that the church is not to be a club simply for ourselves but a welcoming community to accept and include people who make contact with us, showing God’s generous love and acceptance of all people through Christ. And we seek to welcome and care for not only those locally who come to our church but to reach out to serve those in need beyond our community. One of the greatest needs is of those who are Syrian Refugees fleeing from war and conflict. There are several charities set up to help these people and we have an opportunity to help them, such as: Christian Aid’s Syria Crisis appeal to help their partners in Lebanon and Iraq, Calaid which provides food and shelter for those living in the Calais refugee camps. May God continue to bless us as a congregation and make us a blessing to others. Love in Christ,

Catherine

Lament for Aylan Posted on 3 September 2015 by Joint Public Issues

So small, so still

So beautiful in life So unbearable in death Carried by the sea Carried by our tears Carried gently in strong arms.

O God Open the eyes of those with power To see your children in their desperate need; Open the arms of those in government To welcome those who come to our shores; Open the hearts of each one of us – Move us to sorrow, anger and action That the salt sea of sorrow May be turned to soothing waters And that tears of desperation May become tears of joy.

O God, help your people.

Aylan Kurdi, aged 3, from Kobani was washed up on a Turkish beach near Bodrum in September 2015. He was just one of thousands fleeing for safety from Syria and other parts of the world.

The local fisherman who discovered his body among others on the beach said, “I came to the sea and I was scared. My heart is broken.”

Written by Revd Ruth Gee, former President of the Methodist Conference

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Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer

3 - Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven.

We pray that God’s kingdom will come, implying that it has not come yet. We are indicating that we have a wish for it to come and be the place in which we live. This is scary in some ways, as it means that we will have to play our part to help this happen. How? By God’s will being done in our lives. So often, God’s way of love, God’s kingdom, is not our way. Daily on the news we hear of wars, murder, rape, theft, kidnap, we wish that others did not behave in this way, so far from God’s way, but we gossip, we cheat, we lie, we do not love our neighbour. We all have the capacity to behave in terrible ways, what ‘they’ do is so much worse than what we do. However, because we all fail in both large and small ways we are all culpable for the sins of the world for failing to make God’s kingdom come. How does this make you feel? Can you identify with the small if not the large ways of failure? Confess your sin to God in the quietness of your heart, write it down and burn it in the bowl. You are forgiven.

Charlotte Jenner

You never know who you might meet ……….. …..down at the Free Church On the 4th September Reg Tookey came into Tookey’s and was warmly greeted by Win! He lives on a house boat and was “just passing through”…… Any relation we wonder to our Job Tookey?

Heritage weekend brought a Dutch choir in en route from Holland to Stamford. They gave an impromptu concert to Veronica, Brian and Alan!

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From the Church Secretary

Harvest and autumn really go together, the trees are changing colour and most of the harvest is in. We have just celebrated with our Harvest service and will celebrate again with a special fund raising concert on the 3rd October given by Tapestry. Through these two events we thank God for our abundance of food and gifts whilst also giving support to those less fortunate in our gifts of food via the foodbank.

The closing date for the return of nomination forms for the Elders’ election is Sunday 4th October, so please prayerfully consider your nominations. Names of those

qualifying and willing to stand will be brought to the November Church Meeting. This month Catherine and I will be attending the Eastern region Synod on the 10th of October in Colchester, we can give you a lift if you would like to attend as a visitor. Two days later on the 12th October it is the local meeting of the Area Partnership at Whittlesford, again all are welcome. Come and hear Dr. Christine Macleod who will be giving a presentation on Poverty and the NHS and the Church. A few weeks ago 30 people from our church helped Ruth Wilson celebrate her ordination and induction to the pastorate of Whittlesford and Duxford. Ruth beamed all evening! Two weeks later Ruth was also inducted to the team ministry of St. Luke’s LEP Cambridge when 5 of us were able to enjoy a second service led by our Moderator, Paul Whittle. See the photos below! Ruth has told me “I am loving every minute of my call whilst recognising also God’s grace in the process”. Just Sharing will be having its annual sale and launching all the Christmas goodies over the weekend of (Friday, Saturday) 30th—31st October in the main hall. You are sure to find great gifts and cards, supporting Fair Trade at the same time. Thank you to the Just Sharing team for their continued hard work and witness on behalf of our church.

Barbara

A message from Ruth…… Dear Friends, I want to say a huge and heartfelt “thank you” to everyone at St Ives and Fenstanton for their support both during my placement with you and for my ordination and inductions. I am truly humbled by all the kindness you have shown both me and Megan and it was such a joy to see familiar faces at both ser-vices. You will remain ever in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you once again, Love Ruth xxx

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The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain The Revd Roy Muttram, chaplain to our local Air Cadets, led worship to commemorate this occasion with the cadets taking an active part in the service.

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A Prayer for the Refugee Crisis

Merciful God We pray for all whose desperation leads them to the sea, to undertake perilous voyages, often following dangerous journeys over land: those escaping dangerous wars, those fleeing religious persecution, those escaping climate disasters and economic ruin, those looking for hope in a hopeless situation. May we look beyond our own fears and concerns to the needs of those who have nothing, risk everything and depend on the kindness of strangers. May our hearts be opened, our leaders challenged and our self-interest be called out, in Jesus’ name Amen

Norwich Cathedral and the Last Supper

During a recent, short holiday in Norfolk, Margaret and I visited Norwich—and, in particular—its wonderful cathedral. It is not unusual in churches to see a picture of the Last Supper, but almost everything about the image in Norwich Cathedral is unusual.

To start with, it is not a conventional painting, but a boss high up on the magnificent vaulted stone ceiling. (I had to lay on my back on the floor of the nave to take this picture!)

Although four of the disciples and the heads of two others are missing, (probably due to iconoclasm during the Reformation) it does depict Jesus and the Twelve seated ‘round’ the table—rather than in a straight line, as in many famous paintings. I like that!

Jesus [0] is holding a golden chalice, and Peter [9] the key to heaven. However, there are several strange elements in this depiction.

The food in the centre is fish, though it should be Passover lamb. Disciple [6] is touching a sword with his left hand (perhaps it is Judas Iscariot—because the

Latin for ‘left’ is ‘sinister’); while Disciple [10] seems to be comforting Disciple [11].

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Keith Cakebread

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LET’S TWIN OUR TOILETS AND FLUSH AWAY

POVERTY!

2.5 billion people in the world don’t have a loo

Every minute, a child under the age of 5 dies because they

don’t have somewhere safe to go to the toilet

We can do something about that. For just £60 we can twin one of our

toilets in the Free Church with a new toilet somewhere around the world.

We will then receive a framed certificate to hang in one of our loos,

complete with GPS coordinates so we can look up our loo online

Spend a Penny Give a Penny

Every time you go to the loo put a penny in a pot and then bring those pennies

along to church on Sunday. Every Sunday in October and November we shall be

asking members of the congregation to give just one £1 each per month so that

all our pennies together can help to flush away poverty somewhere in the world.

You may collect more than a £1 in a month. That’s fine. The more we collect the

more loos we can fund. We might even fund a loo for each of the loos in the Free

Church – however many that is?

From the St Ives Free Church Eco-Group

For more information on Toilet Twinning go to toilettwinning.org

Climate March London: 29 November 2015

On 29 November, a huge protest will be taking place in London on the eve of the crucial Paris climate talks, which

will take place from the 30th November to the 12th December.

Around the world, in major cities, people will be coming together to demand that our governments take action to

save our beautiful planet. Across the UK, people will be working together to make this the biggest, most poignant

demonstration yet, and our unified voice will resonate from London across the globe to call for real action on

climate change.

Would you like to join that march – then speak to Mary Cox on 01480300103 - let's show international

solidarity in the fight for climate justice!

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Tots and Carers Group

The Free Church St. Ives Every Wednesday

In Term Time 10.00 – 11.30am

Zero to Nursery School age Christian Themes

Stories - Videos

Music Time

Play Time

Refreshment Time

Fee £1 per Child

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Community Activities

Mondays 10:00 CRUSE

Wednes-days

14:00 Senior Citizens Club

Thursdays 09:30 Sunny Steps

Thu 1st Oct 19:30 WI

Fri 2nd Oct 19:30 Concert

Sat 3rd Oct 09:30 - 16:00

Saints Crafters Fair

Tue 6th Oct 14:00 U3A Singing Group

Wed 7th Oct

11:00 U3A Current Affairs

Fri 9th Oct 11:00 COPE

Sat 10th Oct

19:30 Hunts Male Voice Choir Concert

Thu 15th Oct

19:00 Amnesty International

Fri 16th Oct 10:00 U3A Local History

Fri 16th Oct 19:30 St Ives Civic Society

Tue 20th Oct

09:30 Alzheimer's Society Drop In Cafe

Tue 20th Oct

14:00 U3A Singing Group

Wed 21st Oct

19:30 St Ives Gardening Club

Thu 29th Oct

18:30 Friends of Norris Museum

Mon 2nd Nov

10:00 CRUSE

Tue 3rd Nov 14:00 U3A Singing Group

Wed 4th Nov

11:00 U3A Current Affairs

Thu 5th Nov 19:30 WI

Sat 7th Nov 09:30 - 16:00

Saints Crafters Fair

Church Activities

Mondays 19:00 Bowls Club

Wednes-days

10:00 - 11:30

Tots & Carers

Sat 3rd Oct

10am Little Gidding Quiet Day

Sat 3rd Oct 19:00 for 19:30

Tapestry Concert

Wed 7th Oct

19:45 Elders Meeting

Wed 28th Oct

19:45 Poetry Group

Fri 30th Oct 09:30 Just Sharing Christmas Shop

Sat 31st Oct

09:30 Just Sharing Christmas Shop

Wed 4th Nov

19:45 Elders Meeting

Two Dates for

Christmas Choir

Friday 18th December

The Mayor’s Carol Service

&

Sunday 20th December

Our own

Carols by Candlelight

If you are interested in being part of our

Christmas Choir please speak to Irene

McCormick

sirenemcc@hotmail.com

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Printed & published by The Free Church (United Reformed) St Ives, Market Hill, St Ives, Cambs. PE27 5AL E-mail office@stivesfreechurch.org Tel 01480 468535

Contacts

Minister Revd Dr. Catherine Ball 352058 Mobile: 07714 081930 Church Secretary Barbara Duffett 395308 Associate Church Secretary Andy Fleming 468055 Communications & Media Convenor Peter Davies 395835 Webmaster alan@stivesfreechurch.org Finance Convenor Peter German 352401 Freewill Offering Treasurer David Duffett 395308 Property Convenor Vacant Tookey’s Convenor Val Bush 469189 Manager Pat Clarke 468886 Resident Musician Brian Lodde 354647 Flower Convenor Margaret Cakebread 462726 Eco Group Convenor Mary Cox 300103 Chapel Prayer Coordinator Gerry Swain 468053 Just Sharing Manager Sue Billings 496570 Asst Manager Rosemarie Smith justsharing@stivesfreechurch.org Church Office 468535 office@stivesfreechurch.org Open 9am. - 1pm. Monday to Friday

Free Church Worship

Chapel Prayers Daily at 10 am Monday to Saturday

Sun 4th Oct

11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball Holy Communion

Sun 11th Oct

11:00 18:00

Revd Derek Newton Joint service at Fenstanton

Sun 18th Oct

11:00 Revd Dr Catherine Ball

Sun 25th Oct

11:00 Dr Christine Macleod Cafe Style

Sun 1st Nov

11:00 Revd Roy Muttram Holy Communion

Fenstanton Worship

Sun 4th Oct

9:30 Revd Derek Newton Harvest

Sun 11th Oct

9:30 6:00

Revd Dr Catherine Ball Holy Communion Joint with St Ives at Fenstanton

Sun 18th Oct

9:30 Revd Dr Catherine Ball

Sun 25th Oct

9:30 Keith Cakebread

Sun 1st Nov

9:30 Revd Derek Newton