The
COURIER
February/March 2017
United Reformed Church
New Road, Brentwood
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BRENTWOOD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH New Road, Brentwood, CM14 4GD
Church Office 01277 227556
Church Foyer 01277 217361
A Joint Pastorate with Ingatestone And Billericay
United Reformed Churches
www.brentwood-urc.org.uk
MINISTER Ruth Mitchel 01277633143
CHURCH To be confirmed
SECRETARY
TREASURER Mr Kees Maxey
COVENANTS Mr Jim Bealey
ORGANISTS Mr Tony Cheer
Mrs Muriel Cantor
HALL
STEWARD Gabrielle Crowther
SERVING
ELDERS Mr Jim Bealey
Mr Ian Davidson
Mrs Corné Van Staden
Mr Kees Maxey
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Dear Friends, Each year, while I was training we would have a visit from past students to give us insights into ‘ministry in the real world’ sometimes it was an attempt to frighten us and other times to encourage. Christmas and coping was often a topic and I remember one student saying they dreamed of having just one Christmas off and told us that the ‘talked of lull’ following the frenetic activity of the Christmas period did not exist. Well I have managed two successive Christmas’ off but not by choice I hasten to add and I am continually grateful for your love and prayers during both these separate times. After seeing various medical people yesterday it has been made it clear that further time is needed to allow for recovery, so I am off until the end of February. An article by Jeff Lucas entitled ‘Bottleneck – squeezing too much in’ reminds us of God’s words to us Psalm 46.v10 ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ At any time in our lives it is important for us to know the reality of this simple statement straight from the heart of God, but perhaps more so at the start of a New Year which promises so much uncertainty for so many. Very often, and I am as guilty as the next person, we believe that if we are busy doing ‘stuff’ for God and every now and then checking in with him, asking for a blessing on what we are doing for him; it is all ok, but actually, and sadly we miss out on too much.
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Jeff Lucas writes: ‘ …I’m asking Jesus, who was not only the Prince of Peace but also the Prince of Poise with it, to help me brake before I break. I can’t go on sabbatical, rent a monk’s habit and go contemplative, or abandon my responsibilities. But I can stop to breathe, allow laughter to linger, and refuse to allow the schedule to become a god …..’ God wants us spend time in his presence, to listen what is on his heart for his people, for him to pour out his blessings, and to fill us with his peace. If we, as his children, are failing to know the reality of God’s peace how can we share with a world in such great need. He wants us to seek him and to turn back to him, 2 Chronicles 7:14 says;
… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
So at the beginning of 2017 it is vitally important for us to stop at regular intervals, to be still in the presence of God and know that he is God.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here; Come bow before Him now with reverence and fear. In Him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground; Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here. Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around; He burns with holy fire, with splendour He is crowned.
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How awesome is the sight, our radiant King of light! Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around. Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place; He comes to cleanse and heal, to minister His grace. No work too hard for Him, in faith receive from Him; Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place. David J Evans (born 1957) Used By Permission. CCL Licence No. 214321 In world of change and hope, of fear and adventure: faithful God glorify your name. Amen Love and prayers, Ruth
CHURCH FAMILY NEWS
Birthdays – we have several birthdays to celebrate over
the next two months –
h.
Peggy Gershon is ninety one on
February 5th, Jill Colby is a mere
eighty three on February 24th and Jennie Oakley is eighty
eight on March 7th.
Happy Birthday and warmest congratulations to you all.
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Please remember all the church family in your prayers –
particularly those we have mentioned and please keep me
informed of news of any members that I may have missed.
Rosalie
TREASURER REPORT
The following is my report for 2016 of the free will giving: TOTAL Loose Envelopes collection Total 2016 £9,408.42 £1,377.91 £8,030.51 Average week £ 180.93 £ 26.50 £ 154.43
This is slightly greater than last year on a weekly basis - by about £1 per week. In addition, these contributions will attract Gift Aid (about a further 25%). Also a number of members are contributing through standing orders - not recorded above. This comes to a total of a little over £5,000 per year.
We have been informed by the head office of the URC that our monthly contribution to the Maintenance of the Ministry fund has also risen for 2017 to £1,925 per month. This is £110 extra per month. The main purpose of this fund is the payment of our ministers.
Women’s World Day of Prayer
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As we prepare for the worship, women and girls from the
Philippines enter carrying symbols, each with a story.
Rowena, after listening to the reflection of the WDP writing
groups, tells the story of God’s economic justice in contrast
to the economy of the strong and the powerful in her
beautiful artwork.
God gave the Philippines abundant resources, both human
and material. God is the great provider and provision is for
all of creation. This is God’s display of economic justice in
contrast to the economy where the strong and powerful
take God’s resources for themselves and their families.
The kingdom of God provides for all, even for those who
do not acknowledge it.
A Glimpse of the Philippine Situation
By: Rowena “Apol” Laxamana-Sta.Rosa
"Oh children, I welcome you to the Philippines, called the Pearl
of the Orient Seas..."
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Our worship services are always inclusive towards
children. We want them to begin learning, at a young age,
about Jesus' love and how to share their love with others
around the world.
Gather the children
around and have a world
map in an area for
everyone to see. Ask the
children to draw a line
beginning from where they
live and ending in the Philippines. Encourage them to
imagine traveling towards the Philippines. And let them
share how they feel about this travel.
http://worlddayofprayer.net/philippines-2017.html
The services on Friday March 3rd will be:
10am at All Saints Church Meeting
8pm at St Mary’s Church Shenfield
Everyone is welcome to attend!
The Monday Guild
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The Monday Guild met on December 12th when Margaret
and Tony Cheer lead everyone with Christmas music,
singing and readings. For the January meeting we were
pleased to welcome Mary Tate with slides showing her
holiday tour visiting Orkney, Iceland and Norway. With
thanks to Bill Crisp for operating the projector.
The next meeting of the Monday Guild will be 14h30 on
February 13th and then March 13th.
E.Goult.
MOVING STORIES…..200 Linda Mead is the Commitment
for Life co-ordinator. The programme gives churches an opportunity to be involved in global justice and development through campaigning, fundraising and worship. She is a lay leader of the URC in Britain, said the call of the times is for Christians to
help lead the way in “living more simply amidst climate change.”
2017 – Year of Anniversaries for Palestine
The Long Shadow of the Balfour Declaration
In May 1916, the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.
Diplomats from the imperial powers, Sir Mark Sykes of
Britain and Georges Picot of France, secretly carved out
the Middle East region with an arbitrary ‘line in the sand’.
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It became the basis of the League of Nations plan of July
1922 – with consequences still felt today.
Balfour Declaration
Balfour and the Declaration
It was the Balfour Declaration of 2nd November 1917,
whose centenary will be marked this year that determined
the fate of the people of Palestine, the land between the
river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Sir Arthur
Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, wrote to Lord
Rothschild and stated that the British government views
“with favour the establishment of a national home for the
Jewish people in Palestine … it being clearly understood
that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil
and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in
Palestine…”
It was a major triumph for Zionist diplomacy, since Jews in
Palestine were less than 10% of the population, the
majority being Arab. For Palestinians today, the Balfour
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Declaration marks the beginning of their ‘century of
suffering’, but for Jewish people it is a landmark on the
way to the creation of the State of Israel. At the time, the
Balfour Declaration provoked considerable opposition
among other prominent Jews in the UK and also among
Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
In the first week of November 1917, British forces finally
defeated Ottoman forces in Gaza, entering Jerusalem in
December 1917. They controlled Palestine through the
British Mandate for 25 years. During those years, Jewish
immigration began to increase dramatically and Britain,
which had made conflicting promises to Jewish and Arab
leaders, struggled to maintain control. The Peel
Commission report of 1937 was the first of several plans
since then to divide the land between Jews and
Palestinians.
In 1947, Britain was war-weary and the question of
Palestine was taken to the United Nations, which devised
a partition plan that assigned the greater part of the land to
the Jewish minority. Resolution 181, the UN Partition Plan
of November 29th 1947, remains a significant date for
Palestinians but it was rapidly overtaken by events.
Jewish fighters gained the upper hand and declared their
‘Independence’ with a new state on 15th May 1948 which
they named Israel, on 78% of the whole land. The ‘State of
Israel’ was granted UN membership a year later;
Palestine’s application has continued to be vetoed by the
US ever since.
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Mass immigration of Jewish refugees to Palestine,
escaping the horrific events of the war years, was seen by
many as a ‘rightful’ claim to their own land at a time of
great persecution. “A land without a people for a people
without a land” was a widely adopted Zionist slogan, even
though the reality of centuries-long settled and indigenous
people in Palestine was widely known. Almost three-
quarters of a million Palestinians were forced out of their
homeland in 1947 and 1948; many remain stateless, in
refugee camps in neighbouring countries to this day. (See
‘The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine’, by the Israeli historian
Ilan Pappe)
UNRWA, the UN Relief
and Works Agency for
Palestinian Refugees
was created in 1949 to
deal with what was
hoped would be a
temporary problem. At
the end of the Six Day War in June 1967, there were
further expulsions of Palestinians as Israel wrested control
from Jordan of the whole of the West Bank, including
Jerusalem. June 11th 2017 will mark 50 years of military
occupation for the Palestinian people.
For a few years the Oslo Peace Accords of 1993 onwards
appeared to bring hope of a peaceful settlement, but the
main issues of borders, Jerusalem, refugees and security
were never finalized – and Israel expanded its West Bank
settlements. Western powers repeatedly denounce
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Israel’s settlements on Palestinian land as illegal, but are
unwilling to go further and make Israel accountable.
Serious peace proposals and offers from Palestinians and
the Arab world have been ignored.
Ten years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza will also be marked
in June 2017. Hamas had won the national Palestinian
election in 2006 but was largely confined to the Gaza Strip.
Israel which had evacuated the small number of Jewish
Israeli settlers from Gaza in August 2005, cooperated with
Egypt in imposing
a siege on Gaza
which it
denounced as
being run by a
‘terrorist group’.
Since then, this
once fertile and
beautiful area of
the land has been devastated by 3 major Israeli attacks,
the last one in the summer of 2014. Gaza has a young
population of almost 2 million people living in some of the
worst conditions on earth. The UN has declared that
without relief Gaza will become uninhabitable by 2020.
As we enter 2017 with a new US Presidency, the issue of
Israel and Palestine and their future as two peoples living
in the same land remains bitterly divisive – not least
among Jews in the United States, Britain and elsewhere.
Their own long and fractured history has left its mark on
the Palestinian people too. Palestinian Christians have
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appealed for support to fellow Christians through the
Kairos Document of 2009. ‘The General’s Son’ by the
Israeli writer Miko Peled is helpful in outlining the
narratives of suffering of both peoples, which must be
acknowledged if they are ever to live in harmony together.
The UK government will “neither celebrate nor apologise”
for the Balfour Declaration said Foreign Office minister
Tobias Ellwood in a parliamentary debate on 16th
November 2016.
I believe that we should use this anniversary year to say
that it is ‘Time for Palestine’ – for the second half of this
Declaration to be implemented through recognition of the
Palestinian people’s right to independence and a secure
homeland.
Margaret Derbyshire
It is hoped we will have articles on the different
anniversaries in 2017, from other perspectives, during the
year.
Giving over the Christmas period
CRISIS
£99 from Celebration £18.96 from Coffee Shop
£100 CAF cheque £5 donation
£30 from the House Group lunch total £252. 96 CHRISTIAN AID CHRISTMAS
APPEAL
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£250 given gift aided
£64 in loose collection £100 CAF cheque total £414
COMMUNITY LINKS
£100 given to add to the gifts from the Toy and Gift Service
Thank you all for your generosity. Kees Maxey, treasurer.
BURC KNITTERS
Before Christmas we heard from Jenny Macdonald in South Africa details of how our parcels had been
distributed to various groups in Napier and beyond. It was good to know how
our knitted items were part of a much larger donation, and that so many needy people will benefit. Jenny also sent us some Christmas decorations which we decided to hang on the church tree. You may have noticed them. Meetings began again this month. We were pleased that Jill Colby was well enough to rejoin us after suffering from polymyalgia in recent weeks. We are working on scarves and wraps mainly at present. An important part of every meeting is when we pause to remember in prayer all those to whom we have given scarves and shawls. This is now a very long list of names. Meetings in February are on 1st and 15th of the month at 2pm in the William Hunter Room. All are welcome to join us.
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Muriel Cantor
9.30am – 4.00pm
£6 contribution per adult – children go free Includes refreshments on arrival & Picnic lunch
SOMETHING FOR THE JUNIORS….
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Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. It originated as a Western Christian
liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus, and is recognized as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.
Several martyrdom stories associated with the various Valentines that were connected to February 14 were added to later martyrologies, including a popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome which indicated he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.
MOTHERS DAY
Mothering Sunday, sometimes known as Mother's Day, is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually falls in the second half
of March or early April. Sunday, March 26, 2017
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Mothering Sunday was originally a time when people returned to the church, in which they were baptized or where they attended services when they were children. This meant that families were reunited as adults returned to the towns and villages where they grew up. In time, it became customary for young people who were working as servants in large houses, to be given a holiday on Mothering Sunday.
They could use this day to visit their own mother and often took a gift of food or hand-me-down clothing from their employers to her. In turn, this moved towards the modern holiday, on which people still visit and take gifts to their mothers.
Traditionally, people observed a fast during Lent. Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday until Good Friday. During the Lent fast, people did not eat from sweet, rich foods or meat. However, the fast was lifted slightly on Mothering Sunday and many people prepared a Simnel cake to eat with their family on this day.
A Simnel cake is a light fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan and with a layer of marzipan baked into the middle of the cake. Traditionally, Simnel cakes are decorated with 11 or
12 balls of marzipan, representing the 11 disciples and, sometimes, Jesus Christ. One legend says that the cake was named after Lambert Simnel who worked in the kitchens of Henry VII of England sometime around the year 1500.
TO ALL THE MOTHERS IN OUR CHURCH FAMILY!
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DUTY ROTAS – FEBRUARY 2017
Flowers Vestibule
5th Elaine Austin Jim Stratford
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12th Mary Tate Sally Bealey
19th Vacant Kees Maxey
26th Margaret Gazely Mary Tate
Vestry Steward Notices
5th Jenny Mayo Sheila Maxey Steve Burns
12th Ian Davidson Kees Maxey Rosalie
Brentnall
19th Bill Crisp Eileen Goult Cheers
26th Jim Stratford Rosalie
Brentnall
Stan Francis
Reader Prayers of Intercession
5th Clive Rudkin Ian Davidson
12th Kees Maxey Kees Maxey
19th Bill Crisp Jenny Mayo
26th Rosalie Brentnall Vacant
Coffee
5th Eileen Goult
12th Rosalie Brentnall and Jenny Mayo
19th Sally Bealey
26th Mary Tate and Sheila Crisp
CHURCH CALENDAR – FEBRUARY 2017
Wednesday 1st 9.30 am Sacred Space
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11.45 am 20 minute worship
2.00 pm URC Knitters
Sunday 5th 10 am Mrs Amanda
Dolan Harrison
Wednesday 8th 9.30 am Sacred Space
Sunday 12th 10 am Mrs Beryl Hunt
Monday 13th 2.30 pm Monday Guild
Wednesday 15th 9.30 am Sacred Space
2 pm URC Knitters
Sunday 19th 10 am Vacant
Wednesday 22nd 9.30 am Sacred Space
Sunday 26th 10 am Rev Sheila Maxey
– Holy Communion
DUTY ROTAS – MARCH 2017
Flowers Vestibule
5th Vacant Bill Crisp
12th Sheila Crisp Carolyn Rudkin
19th Jenny Mayo Moses Tsingano
26th Margaret Cheer Jim Stratford
Vestry Steward Notices
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5th Jim Bealey Jenny Mayo Steve Burns
12th Clive Rudkin Mary Tate Rosalie
Brentnall
19th Ian Davidson Stan Francis The Cheers
26th Corne Van Staden Stuart
Crowther
Stan Francis
Reader Prayers of Intercession
5th Moses Tsingano The Cheers
12th Mary Tate Kees Maxey
19th Ian Davidson Jenny Mayo
26th Jim Stratford
Coffee
5th Elaine Austin and Margaret Gazely
12th Gabrielle Crowther
19th Linda Hanna
26th Sally Bealey
CHURCH CALENDAR – MARCH 2017
Wednesday 1st ASH WEDNESDAY
9.30 am Sacred Space
11.45 am Twenty minute
Worship
2 pm URC Knitters
Sunday 5th 10 am Mrs Beryl Hunt
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Monday 6th 10.15 am Lent Course at
Brentwood Methodist Church
Wednesday 8th 9.30 am Sacred Space
Sunday 12th 10 am Brentwood
Schools Christian Worker Trust
Monday 13th 10.15 am Lent Course at
Brentwood Methodist Church
2.30 pm Monday Guild
Wednesday 15th 9.30 am Sacred Space
2 pm URC Knitters
Sunday 19th 10 am Mrs Faith
Paulding
Monday 20th 10.15 am Lent Course at
Brentwood Methodist Church
Wednesday 22nd 9.30 am Sacred Space
Sunday 26th 10 am Mothering Sunday
- Rev Ruth Mitchell
Monday 27th 10.15 am Lent Course at
Brentwood Methodist Church
Wednesday 29th 9.30 am Sacred Space
PLEASE NOTE THAT ROTAS AND CALENDARS MAY
BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT SHORT NOTICE
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Prayer Calendar for February and March 2017
Week beginning:
February 5th The financial sector and its employees
Victims of abuse
The Brentwood Street pastors
February 12th The Church of England (General Synod begins
Feb 13th)
PENHA and its work in Africa
Billericay URC
February 19th Areas of conflict around the world
Theological Colleges and their students
Ingatestone URC
February 26th Producers in the developing world (Free Trade
Fortnight from tomorrow)
Women in the Church (Women’s World day of
Prayer March 3rd)
The people of Wales (St. David’s Day March 1st)
March 5th The Church as it observes Lent
Lent Study Groups, here and elsewhere
Brentwood Methodist Church
March 12th The British Commonwealth (Commonwealth
Day tomorrow)
The people of Ireland (St. Patrick’s Day March
17th)
Our Elders and Leaders
March 19th Victims of racial discrimination
The Bible Societies
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Our Junior church
March 26th Mothers and families (Mothering Sunday today)
Hirers of our building
Group activities of our church
Communion Alms Fund
The retiring collection for February 2017 is for Essex Search and Rescue.
Every year, hundreds of people are reported missing in Essex. In the majority of cases, they turn up safe and well - but sometimes they do not. That is when Essex Search and Rescue go
into action. Essex Search and Rescue responds at any time, day or night, to calls from the Police, to assist in the search for vulnerable missing persons. In each case, a fast response is vital. All members of the group are volunteers but funds are needed to purchase equipment. The retiring collection for March 2017 is for the Communion Alms Fund.
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THE COURIER
The next issue of The COURIER for April.May 2017 will be
available on Sunday the 26th March 2017.
All articles and content for publication of the COURIER
should be sent to Corne Van Staden email:
If you have articles for inclusion please ensure that these are
emailed to Corne as early as possible during the week
commencing Monday the 13th March and before the final
deadline of Sunday the 19th March.
EDITOR Corne Van Staden 01277 203830
07740196882
PRINTING Stan Francis
COLLATION & DISTRIBUTION Mr Jim Stratford and Team
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BRENTWOOD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH
New Road, Brentwood, CM14 4GD
SUNDAY WORSHIP
10:00 am Family Worship with Creche and Junior Church
Holy Communion is usually celebrated at Morning Worship on
the last Sunday of each month.
Details of preachers and special events are given in the
COURIER.
EACH WEEK:
Brownies: Contact Jane Gutteridge 01245 266933
WEDNESDAYS: 12:00pm Luncheon Club
FRIDAYS: 09:45am – 11:45am Coffee Shop
12:00pm - 01:00pm Christian Aid Lunch
01:00pm – 01:30pm Ecumenical Prayers