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BETWEEN OURSELVES

 

JESUS SAVES!

When brave youngsters testified to their faith by wearing a badge to school bearing the words Jesus Saves!, the standard, if highly unoriginal, response from classmates used to be ‘Which bank?’ Nowadays, the response might be related to recycling and be more on the lines of ‘Jesus saves what? Paper? Cans? Plastic bottles?’ If the young in our society have moved on to thinking first of recycling, rather than money, that is progress, although wilful neglect of the importance of the salvation that Jesus offers remains very sad. Would a 21st-century Jesus have saved his bottles, cans, and more for recycling? Our Lord was not one to respond to advertising, lay-up stores of groceries or accumulate material things, so He wouldn’t have had much to recycle. However, bearing in mind His relationship with God the Father, creator of the heavens and the earth, and His closeness to nature, it seems likely that He would have favoured thoughtful disposal of unwanted items, and re-use where possible.

The launch of MESSY CHURCH in Chudleigh on Saturday 4th February provides a new opening for re-use of some materials even before they are sent off for recycling. Cardboard tubes (sorry, not those from toilet rolls), any paper that could be used for painting and drawing, and other materials suitable for children’s craft work will all be very welcome. A collecting point has been established in the church porch, and Saturday 4th will provide a first demonstration of some of the imaginative and creative things that can be done with these materials. Messy Church coordinator Rachel Tuckett would also welcome offers to make cake. But please see Rachel before rushing for the baking tins, as she would like to balance the various offers so that every Messy Church session has just the right amount, neither too much nor too little.

Messy Church is from 3.30pm to 5.30pm and will involve creative work, food and an element of worship suitable for children. All children and their parents are warmly invited. (If you don’t qualify under either of those headings, you can volunteer as a helper!) Further sessions have been set for 3rd and 31st March, but do come to this first one if you can. Messy Church is already quite a movement nationally, with some international groups too, so you could find yourself very glad in years to come to have been in on the very first Messy Church in Chudleigh.

You can also be a part of some lively activity in Chudleigh Church on an every-week basis in term time with WAKE UP TO WORSHIP! The theme this term is The Startling Sayings of Jesus. This month we will be considering ‘Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’; ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, go and proclaim the kingdom of God’; ‘Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division’; and ‘Any of you who does not give up everything you have cannot be my disciple’. We look forward to learning more about the meaning and implications of these sayings; also to the music, drama, children’s activities and worship that our energetic and imaginative presentation teams will lead us through as we examine the sayings. Wake up to Worship! is at 9.30am on all four Sundays this month.

The first saying detailed above, ‘Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’, is particularly appropriate for the day, 5th February, which is EDUCATION SUNDAY. Something newfangled? Well, actually, no. The history of Education Sunday as a national day of prayer and celebration extends back more than 100 years. Perhaps we have neglected it during decades when a good, free education for everyone was taken for granted. Education in the UK remains streets ahead of the late nineteenth century, and even the mid-twentieth century, but there are many areas of present and future concern, so let’s all take this opportunity to pray for everyone involved in education, from pre-school tinies through teachers at all levels, to politicians and civil servants with educational responsibilities. And, yes, celebrate all that has been and is being achieved. As the teachers’ union poster said some years ago, ‘If you can read this, thank a teacher.’ Our acknowledgement will in itself serve as an encouragement for them.

Like Chudleigh, Chudleigh Knighton and Trusham both make specific provision for children and young families in the course of their Sunday service programmes. Chudleigh Knighton’s first FAMILY SERVICE this month falls on Education Sunday.  This is particularly appropriate as the church, also like Chudleigh, is closely associated with the village school. The other Chudleigh Knighton Family Service this month is on Sunday 19th and all services in St Paul’s this month are at 9.15am. Trusham, in turn, has All Age Worship at 10.00am on Sunday 26th. As ever, all welcome, and expect a fun time.

Easter Sunday is on 8th April this year, which means Lent, the season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter, begins with ASH WEDNESDAY on 22nd February. We will mark the day with a 7.30pm service of Holy Communion at Chudleigh Church. This service is designated a ‘three church’ service, i.e. it is provided for Chudleigh Knighton and Trusham too; a joint service. As in previous years, there will be the option at communion of receiving a mark made from the ashes of last year’s palm crosses, an ancient tradition known as the Imposition of Ashes.

And if it’s Lent, then there must be a LENT COURSE. Indeed there is; in fact there is a choice of two. Paul Wimsett has introduced the two courses, ‘Handing on the Torch’ and ‘Everybody Welcome’ in Vicar’s Viewpoint. When Chudleigh News went to press, dates, times and venues were still being finalised, but as Lent approaches they will be advertised on church notice sheets and elsewhere. If those sources of information somehow pass you by, do ask Paul, another member of the clergy team, a churchwarden or sidesperson where and when the courses are being held. Some information about the course material can be seen on the Internet. Handing on the Torch is at www.yorkcourses.co.uk/course.aspx?id=af3dcee6-c4d4-498b-a69b-3cbb64e5302c and Everybody Welcome has a related video on www.chpublishing.co.uk/feature.asp?id=2394893. It is also possible to ‘Look Inside’ the leader’s manual for Everybody Welcome via the Internet book retailer Amazon. The quick way to reach that is to go to www.Amazon.co.uk and put the book’s ISBN number, 0715141902, into Amazon’s search line.

We suggested in our opening paragraph that re-using and recycling materials is in accord with Christian principles. Another feature running alongside our 21st-century way of life that surely also concurs with Christian teaching is the FAIRTRADE movement. In 15 years, the number of different Fairtrade products available and the number of shops stocking them has grown enormously. Originally, the focus was on tea, coffee and cocoa products. Those items are still important, but they have been joined by many others. Believe it or not, there are now more than 3,000 Fairtrade products. The value of Fairtrade bananas sold exceeds that of Fairtrade coffee, and Tate and Lyle has switched all its retail cane sugar products to Fairtrade. Fairtrade Fortnight this year is from 27th February to 11th March and on Sunday 26th February Margaret Parsons will once again be selling a large selection of Traidcraft goods from the organisation with the widest selection of Fairtrade items, in Chudleigh Church. She will be present herself, offering information and advice, and willing to take orders whilst coffee and tea (Fairtrade, of course) are being served between the 9.30am and 11.00am services on that day.

 

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Last modified: 30/03/11

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