APR IL 201 6
Stoke Mandeville
METHODIST CHURCH
Eskdale Road
Minister: Rev. Keith Edwords. Tel:01?96 4?3363
www. ayle sburyvale. org. uk
CATENDAR
April,20LG
3.d
11.00 am
Mr. K. Harris
Acts5:27-32
Rev. 1:4-B
|ohn 20:19-31
10th
11.00 am
Rev. A. Shergold
HOIY COMMUNION
Acts 9:1-20
LTth
11.00 am
Mr. D. Ffoulkes
Acts 9:36-43
Rev.7:9-17
|ohn 10:22-30
24th
11.00 am
Rev. C. Shergold
Acts 11:1-18
Rev.21:1-6
fohn 13:31-3S
6.00 pm
Easter offering
dedication service
atAylesbury
L.
t
Rev.5:11-14
fohn 21:1-19
LETTER FROM OUR MINISTER
Rev, Keith Edwards
Dear Friends,
We have just had a wonderful celebration of Easter, the most
important time in the Church's calendar, even more so than
Christmas. At Easter we remember who we are in Christ, who
we are to God, and perhaps why we are called to the
commitment and service of a God who loves us so much that
He would send His only son to pay the price of our rebellion
and so restore our relationship with Him'
So what do we do now that East-er is past and we have months
before Pentecost and even longer until Harvest or Remembrance,
or even Christmas, the times when the church is more visible
in the community?
The Great Commission (Matthew 2B:18-20) and the Great
Commandment (Matthew 22236-40) help us to understand
what our purpose in Iife should be - to serve God in Ministry,
Mission, Evangelism, Discipleship and Fellowship, and to
recognise that we need to be engaged equally in all 5 areas.
To be engaged equally in all 5 areas takes great commitment
from us all and we start where we are with what we have and what we have is the body of Christ, our church. Each of
us has a part to play; no-one should ever feel that all they
can do is come to worship on a Sunday - we are all worth
much more than that. God calls us and empowers us through
His Holy Spirit to offer service to Him our whole lives through.
(continued)
2.
'
Philippians 4:13 says: "For I can do anything with the help of christ
who gives me the strength I need" NLf).
Not some things, not a few things, not nothing but EVERyTHING!l
In all things Christ calls us and sustains us.
so I encourage you to explore the many ways you can serve both
christ and the church as we seek ways of reaching out to our
community and BEING the church in this place.
My vision for our church is that we should be a vibrant witness to
|esus christ in our community, with everyone knowing and feeling
that they have a part to play in that vision, and everyone knowing
just how much God loves them and Iongs for them to be a part of
His Family.
May God bless us as we seek to do His will.
Keith
A PRAYER foT EASTER
Would we be counted among the doubters hiding in the shadow
cast by that cruel cross? Or, when challenged, Iike Peter openly
deny you?
There are times, Lord, when doubts assail and the distance
between us seems to increase.
,
.
There are times, Lord, when sin has its hold,Iike a barrier
between us that will not move
Who is there we can turn to when we feel so overwhelmed?
Who can roll away the stone and reveal the empty tomb?
No-one but you, Lord,
No-one butyoul
3.
WHO ON EARTH DREAMS THESE UP?
(A Lexophiliac of course!)
How does Moses make
tea?
Hebrews it.
Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
A cartoonist was found dead in his home.
Details are sketchy.
England has no kidney bank, but it does have a
Liverpool
)okes about German sausage are the wurst.
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian
club, but I'm sure I'd never met herbivore.
When you get a bladder infection, urine troublel
I dropped out of communism class because of
lousy Marx.
Velcro - what a rip off!
I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive
vocabulary? Athesaurus.
When chemists die, they barium.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can,t
put it down.
4.
HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD
fwritten in 1845 by Robert Browning while he was on a
visit to northern ltaly)
Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever walres in England
Sees, some morning, arrrrrnla",
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!
And afterApril, when Mayfollows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallowsl
Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray,s edge That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lestyou should thinkhe never could recapture
The first fine careless rapturel
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
Atl will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups; the little children,s dower
Far brighter than this gaudy.melon-flower!
(n
7995, Home Thoughts was voted 46th in a BBC poll to
find the United Kingdom's favourite poems.)
Home Thoughts from Abroad is also the title of a poem
by |ohn Buchan about WW1.
5.
OPEN FELLOWSHIP
The Open Fellowship will meet on the following Thursdays
at 2.30 pm:
April 7th Scrabble
" ?Lst Quiz
POP.IN
AII are welcome to pop into the Guild Room for a cup of tea
and a chatwith friends on any Friday afternoon in April
between 2.00 pm and 4.00 Pm.
FRIDAY LUNCH CIUB
Friday, 1't April from 12 noon to 2.00 pm
Come and enioy our post-Easter light lunch for just 82.50.
Charles, Jessica, and Jan
Bring your friends!
TABLE.TENNIS
The main hall will be open from 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm on Thursdays,
7th and 2lstApril, for anyone wishing to play table-tennis,
AII are welcome, games are informal. Tea and coffee available.
MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
We think, as always, of our housebound friends who are unable
to ioin us on Sundays.
At the time of writing, Sheila Carter is on Ward 10 at Stoke
Mandeville Hospital following another fall at home
CHURCH FLOWERS
April 3rd
" 10th
" ITth
" 24th
Mr. B. Kemp
Miss E. Colver
Mrs. |. Ware
Mrs. B. Crowther
DATES
Friday, 1st April
Light Lunch Club
Tuesday. Sth April at 8.00pm
Stewards' Meeting
IUMBLE SALE - FRIDAY. 1BTH MARCH
Grateful thanks to all those who supported the |umble SaIe
in any way. We raised a wonderful total of f555 for both
the Karibuni Trust and our own Church funds, with the
remainder of the leftover jumble helping out charities such
as Sue Rydeq The Air Ambulance, the Salvation Army, the
Shaw Trust - just to name a few - and a new local youth club
who are to acquire a new football table.
We are so grateful for your ongoing support.
The hard work really paid off.
Thankyou, everyone.
Yvonne Keep
[]umble Sale Organiser)
A church without a mission is like a blunt pencil
no point!
7.
-
Tea for Two
an afternoon of songs, tea and cake
with
High Octane
including songs from musical shows 4920sto 1950s
2.30-
4pm Saturday 23rd APril2A16
Stoke Mandeville Methodist Church
" Eskdale Road
Tickets S7
lncludes intervaltea and cakes
email: [email protected]
phone 01296 613430
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