may 2011 - sodbury vale benefice
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News across the BeneficeTRANSCRIPT
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mag
azin
eMay2011
Your FREE copy, 30p where sold
OUT
LOO
KThe Sodbury Vale Benefice
Chipping Sodbury, Old Sodbury, Horton & Little Sodbury
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ContactsRector The Rev. Canon JaneKenchington, 01454 313159email [email protected]
Assistant Curate The Rev. Val Bexon,01453 521417email:[email protected]
Regular Weekly EventsSunday 9.00am Breakfast Club Church Centre Chipping Sodbury11.00am Brunch Bunch, Church Centre Chipping SodburyMonday 8.45am Morning Prayer, St John’s Chipping Sodbury7.30pm Bell Ringers’ practice Church Tower Chipping SodburyWednesday 8.30am Morning Prayer, St John’s Chipping SodburyThursday 8.45am Morning Prayer, St John’s Chipping Sodbury7.00pm Choir Practice, St Johns’s Chipping SodburyFriday 10.00am Tubbie Tots Church Centre Chipping Sodbury7.00pm Youth Club (age 11-18) Baptist Church Centre
ChurchwardensChipping SodburyPaul Jones-Williams1 Meadow Mead, Yate01454 324970Keith Stanley132 Harescombe, Yate01454 319467
Old SodburyVal Walker16A Melrose Avenue, Yate01454 318286Tony Dixon16 Chatterton Road, Yate, BS37 4BJ01454 321 528
Little SodburyNigel RawlinsLittle Sodbury House, Little Sodbury,BS37 6QA01454 312 269Nancy NagleWinchcombe Cottage,Little Sodbury End01454 319798
HortonTina Hildick-SmithKirrin House, King Lane, Horton01454 320380George Hammersley2 Adringal Cottages, Horton Hill. Horton01454 318863
Church OfficeOpen during term timeMonday, Tuesday & Thursday mornings9.00 - 12.0001454 [email protected]
Web Sitewww.sodburyvalechurches.wordpress.com
AdvertisingSylvia FranklinSt. John’s Church Centre07788 111 726
16 volunteers were commissioned asStreet Pastors on Sunday 17th April.They will initially be out & about on thestreets of Chipping Sodbury on Fridaysbetween 10pm and 2am. Please pray forthem.
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Dear Friends,Do you like travelling? Are you adventurous or do you prefer to go to placesfamiliar to you?During Holy Week we were encouraged to accompany Jesus on his lastjourney that led to the cross. We cried "hosanna!" as we re-enacted Jesus'entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. We have tried to imagine whatit was like for Jesus being betrayed and deserted by people he thought werehis friends. We have pondered the events of Good Friday how he carried hiscross along the via dolorosa - a very narrow street where he would havejostled against people. And we have tried to understand a bit better hisjourney through death to resurrection and what that means for us in our ownlives and communities.
Easter Day is not the end - it's just the beginning. There was the journey toEmmaus; there were all the events that happened and are recorded in theActs of the Apostles - of people's lives being turned upside down andtransformed by encountering the risen Jesus and being filled with the HolySpirit. People who thought they were journeying in one direction foundthemselves turned round and travelling somewhere new - stepping out intothe unknown but knowing that this was a journey into new life into a God-filledlife.
Jesus journeyed; the early Christians embarked on new journeys and we're allon a journey - the journey of life. But we're called to be on a journey walkingclosely with Jesus; a journey that'll have its ups and downs, but a journeywhere we know we're not alone and where we're empowered by God's HolySpirit to live that new kind of life that only God can give. How's your journeygoing? Do you know where you're going? Are you going in the right direction?Are you being challenged to step out a bit into the unknown and allow God tobe in charge instead of you always determining what'll happen?
Journeying is often better if we're not always alone. Christians aren't meant tobe isolated. We need each other to help us on our Christian journey. Somemight cynically say, "God gave us Jesus and we got the Church!" We mightcriticise the Church, but that's what we've got and it's up to us to make it abetter place. On Rogation Sunday, we'll gather together as a Benefice inHorton church and worship together and then go for our Benefice walk.Gathering together helps us to get to know each other better and we can bean encouragement to one another. So do come along - journeying can befun!
With love and prayers,
Rev. Canon Jane, Kenchington, 01454 313159, email:[email protected]
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Bishop visits Benefice The Bishop ofGloucester, TheRight RevdMichael Perhamvisited theBenefice on March27th and preachedat services atChipping Sodburyand Old Sodbury.
He brought with him the new Dean ofWomen's Ministry, Robbin Clark who hasmigrated from sunny California to set upher home in Gloucester.
Mothers UnionCoffee Morning
& Plant SaleMay 14th 10 am– 12 noon
at the Church CentreChipping Sodbury.
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Wotton-under-Edge
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News from our missionpartners in Kenya:
Hello from Kibera! Exciting times forTurning Point as we look to open ournext centre in Kibera. Following someresearch last year, we plan to open acentre that will target daytime street kids,offering them access to food, education,and healthcare, and giving them anopportunity to know and experienceGod's love for them. The centre will bepart-run by a social worker who will betrying to reach out to teenage girlprostitutes, some as young as 14, whooperate in the area. Our football coachwill operate from this new centre, withsome of his time dedicated to managinga youth drop-in centre where youngpeople will be able to get together tosocialise and chat, be befriended by ourstaff, and hear the Good News of Jesusfor themselves. We have identified thesite, and are in negotiations right now topurchase the property. After that it will beall go as we plant a church there, thenopen the centre and see who God bringsour way. As I said, exciting times!
Please joinme forcoffee.
Most people in theBenefice knowthat Jon and Jo
Parsons, son and daughter-in-law ofDavid and Christine, live in Kenya andwork in Kibera for the Turning PointTrust.Kibera was recently the subject of twotelevision programmes shown by theBBC on the lead up to Comic Relief. Iwould like to hold a coffee morning in myhouse, not only to raise some money forthe project but also to further raise theprofile of the Turning Point Trust and thework being done there.If you are able to come to 16 HoundsClose, Chipping Sodbury on SaturdayMay 7th anytime between 10.30am and12.30pm we should be pleased to seeyou.Ann Gay
How can YOU help?...Have you got an idea to fundraise forJon & Jo to help them with their vitalwork in the slums of Nairobi - if soplease have a chat with David Parsons
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For a lovely selection ofcards for
every occasion
Two floors of quality cards & gifts54 Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury
Tel 01454 273999
Cards • Giftwrap • Balloons
SodburyCards
Old Timer VisitsSt John's at Old Sodbury gets many oldtimers passing by on the Cotswold Way
but none soobviouslyinterestingas thisvintagevehiclebelonging toAlex Hunter.His fabric
bodied 1929 Humber 9/28, with a coachbuilt body by Weyman attractedconsiderable attention from young andnot so young alike - Val is wondering ifher own 'post vintage thoroughbred', Treg Renault Clio will ever to be viewedwith such enthusiasm.
Blokes @A number if things for blokes to do inthe Benefice are being considered inthe coming months and we would liketo compile and invitation list so need awhole load of contacts. Emails areprobably the best way to make contactas blokes seem to spend hours on theircomputers (or so they are told).So if you would like to be invited tocoffee mornings with a difference,walks with boots and beer or anythingelse please send your email address toStuart on [email protected] - makingsuggestions for activities if you wish.
VouchersIf you have any supermarket voucherslooking for a good home please putthem in the boxes provided in ourchurches. They will be passed on to ourC of E schools in Chipping Sodbury,Old Sodbury and Horton.
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Say it with flowersLuckily it wasMotheringSunday whenTony Dixon wasfirst on duty asnew churchwarden at St
John's, Old Sodbury, so championwarden Val Walker 'mothered' Tony withsome flowers to welcome him to theteam.
Follow the trendIt is becoming increasingly popular to beConfirmed in later years and so anumber of candidates are already joiningus for the start of our preparation courseon May 11th. Many of our churchgoershave never been confirmed and this is a
good opportunity to explore thepossibility.Candidates will be confirmed on July17th at Chipping Sodbury.
If you would like information and needfurther guidance please talk with Val orJane.
.....here’s one we missedSources close to Kate Middleton haverevealed that a confirmation ceremonywas carried out recently by Bishop ofLondon Rt Revd Richard Chartres, in aprivate service at St James' Palace. Inattendance were Prince William andmembers of Miss Middleton's family.Baptised at St Andrew's Bradfield,Berkshire, at just five months old, shehad not been confirmed as a schoolgirl.Now she has taken up the formalcommitment to faith at age 29.
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Sodbury Vale Benefice Calendar May 2011
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Bible: Facts & FiguresThe King JamesVersion of theBible is 400years old andwas heavilyinfluenced by theworks of WilliamTyndale who
lived and studied withinour Benefice.
The Old Testament contains 592,493words, 23,214 verses, 969 chapters and39 books. The New Testament has181,253 words, 7,959 verses,260chapters and 27 books.The first word in the Bible is "in" and thelast word of the Old Testament "Curse"and in the New Testament it is "Amen".
The most common word is "and". Themost common nouns are Lord, 7,970times, God 4094 times, Man 3,323times, King 2404 times and Sin 1016times.
The middle of the Bible is the 8th verseof Psalm 118. The Bible has beentranslated into at least 2,454 languages.
It is said that the Bible can be read in 70hours and it is also reported that ThomasCranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury,memorised the entire Bible in around 3months. If you don't believe any of this"Yea of little faith" (Matthew 6:30/14:31)-this quotation, together with scores ofother everyday sayings are taken fromthe Bible.
A series of talks are being hosted byTrinity College and the Bristol BaptistCollege at Christ Church, Clifton thisyear - the next one "The Bible andJesus" is on Wednesday May 18th at8pm - free admission. More details fromwww.biblefresh.com
Royal endorsementThe Prince of Wales has described theanniversary of the King James Bible as'part of the very architecture of ourculture'.The Prince has written the foreword to aspecial 400th anniversary edition of theKJV Bible, published by Bible Society.Receiving a leather-bound copy of thenew edition atClarence House,the Princedescribed the Bibleas 'a benchmark ofcivilisation.'
HRH PrinceCharles says, 'I have always given ahigh priority to the spiritual roots of oursociety. I do believe that the survival ofcivilised values, as we have inheritedthem from our ancestors, depends onthe corresponding survival in our heartsof that profound sense of the sacred.'
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The Coach Stop1 Hounds Road,Chipping SodburySouth Gloucestershire, BS37 6EE49 & 35 Seat executive Coaches
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Gary Davies 07802 311 992
Phone: 01454 319047
Rogation walk
It's that time of year ago to 'beat thebounds' and walk around the parish butthis year we are going to make it a littleeasier - by popular request
Following a Benefice service at StJames the Elder, Horton, on May 29thwe will set off around noon to take aleisurely 7 mile stroll through the
delightful South Gloucestershirecountryside.
Our GPS calorie counter indicates thatthis is a good opportunity to burn off afew unwanted calories but be warned -tea is at 4pm in the church and you arevery likely to add some more.
Summer FeteSaturday July 2nd is the day when StJohn's Church, CS will be joining ourchurch school, St John's Mead, to hold asummer fete in the school grounds. Weneed to start planning what we want todo soon, so if you have new ideas forstalls, games or other activities, pleaselet Paul Jones-Williams or ChristineStephens know.
For the recordRex Isaacs ofHorton ispresented witha signedcertificate atSt James theElder, Hortonby Maththew
Higby who rehung the bells recently . Itshows the weight, foundry and dates a fall the bells.
PrayersSt John's Mead School
Once a term,a small group of staff &friends of St. John's Mead school meetinformally to pray for the life & work ofthe school during the coming term.The next meeting will be on Monday May16th. at 9.00a.m.in the Resource Centre at school.Please join us there if you are able,otherwise remember our Church Schoolin your own prayers at that time.Dorothy Downing, Foundation Governor.
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Talent on the PCC?
These two PCC members drew selfportraits during an 'activity session'
recently - one is young and the othereven younger. There are no prizes for
guessing who is who.
National Family WeekThe Big Bible Storytime
Wednesday 1st June 6.30-7.30pm StJohn's Church Centre.For all ages
Come and hear some of the best biblestories.. Pyjamas welcome & don't forget
to bring your teddy!
Here's one I made earlierThe brand new Nativity Exhibition at StJohns' will be opened by Bishop JohnWent on November 29th and will rununtil December 4th.A great chance to brush up on your BluePeter skills as we need shed loads (wellactually stable loads) of entries into thisinnovative exhibition.The one pictured is crafted from wood -please note the creative use of timberfrom one of the St John's felled trees.
The best nativity crib scenes are theones you make yourself - rememberHuw Weldon "well and truly - all yourown"? He later became managingDirector of BBC TV. And if you don'tremember him dig out your Blue Peterbadge and start creating.
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An invitationHave you ever wondered what thepeople working for the diocesandepartments in Gloucester are doing?Do you know how many people there areand what skills and services they have tooffer? Some of you will feel that central
departments costtoo much andothers will valuethe servicesindividuals likeSandra Millar, theChildren's Officer,or AndrewBraddock, theDiocesanMissioner, provideto church
communities across the Diocese.We are planning a lively and informativeday and look forward to welcoming youto Gloucester Cathedral on 8 June (1pmto 5.15pm)
World PartnershipSunday
On Sunday 8 May, churches in andaround Gloucestershire will becelebrating their links with the worldwideChurch. The Diocese of Gloucester hasfive diocesan links from around theworld; the Diocese of Karnataka Centraland the Diocese of Dornakal in India, theDiocese of Västerås in Sweden, theDiocese of Western Tanganyika in Africaand the Diocese of El Camino Real inAmerica. Bishop Vasanthkumar andBishop Devamani from our Indianpartner dioceses will be coming to aservice of celebration in TewkesburyAbbey at 3pm. Everybody is welcome toattend the service on Sunday and enjoyimaginative and inspiring music andworship. To find out more about ourlinks see our new brochure One WorldOne Church atwww.gloucester.anglican.org/downloads/2164.pdf
Saturday 21 May, 9.30am to 4pmFaith Day with John Coles,St Andrew's Churchdown.
A day of encouragement, faith buildingand worship. £8/£5 concessions. Ticketson sale after Easter from the ChurchOffice 01452 712154.email [email protected]
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The Chocolate BiscuitMinistry
The Chipping Sodbury Mop 25th March2011
A small teamopened theChurchCentreagainwhilst theMop Fair washappening tooffer toiletfacilities, warm drinksand a place to chill out. We have beenoffering this hospitality for more than 3years just on the Friday evening of themop from 7.30ish onwards. Nights canbe varied from the very quiet to thetotally chaotic. We also go out onto thestreets to get an idea of the mood and tohelp anyone who may need it. We don'tadvertise but just have a sign on theopen door offering toilets. Our teamconsists of Sam Jones-Williams, RosiePearce and Paul & Jenny Lucas. Thisyear we welcomed over 40 people in,from families of their way home to teensjust going out. It was very quiet, but wewere able to serve lots of hot chocolate& chocolate biscuits to grateful teenswho had run out of money and some ofthe security staff. We discovered that itwas also quite a popular place toarrange to meet friends they hadbecome separated from. We had someamazing conversations with the youngpeople. Sometimes they don't know whatthe building is, and they always ask whywe do it for free. What a fantastic way toexplain faith in action! God has reallyblessed this outreach and we willcontinue to provide as long as it'sneeded.
Brunch Plus SongContest
The Church Centre was alive with thesound of Music on Friday 1st April as theyoung people of St John's Brunch metfor a karaoke evening. The Playstationwas linked to the projector and almost alljoined in having a great time singingalong to some classic tunes. Memorablemoments included Lizzie and Sarah's'Year 3000' by Busted, and Dom &Lizzie's version of Sonny & Cher's 'I gotyou babe'. Phoebe was the overallwinner with her highest score for 'WhiteFlag' by DidoThe next Brunch Plus will be on Friday13th May 7.30-9.30pm and Brunch is onSundays between 11am and 12.15pm.Anyone in years 7-13 is welcome tocome along.For more details contact Paul & JennyLucas 07967 763799
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F. WOODRUFFBaptisms - we welcome into the Church:
27 February 2011 Emma Sophia GraceStanderwick in St James the Elder,Horton
6 March 2011 Joseph Nicholas Robertsin St John's, Chipping Sodbury
20 March 2011 Austin Andrew Wiltshirein St John's, Old Sodbury
Marriages - we send our congratulationsto:
26 March Emma Smith & Paul Plummerin St John's, Old Sodbury26 March Nicola Thornton & AndrewDaniel (Dedication & Blessing after aCivil Marriage Ceremony) in St John's,Old Sodbury9 April Kelly Rae & Gareth Box in StJohn's, Old Sodbury
Funerals - we extend our sympathy to thefamilies and friends of:
25. March Melvyn Lionel Smith aged 65(at Westerleigh Crematorium)31 March Michael Keith Parker aged 83(at Westerleigh Crematorium)6 April Mabel Mary Mason aged 103 (atSt John's, Chipping Sodbury)
Are you being called?National Vocation Conference:
Exploring OrdinationIs being held at Glenfall House, GL54
4EP, Friday 22 to Sunday 24 JulyContact the Revd Catherine Williams,
National Advisor for Ordinations,0207 898 1593,
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Richard KenchingtonRichard Kenchington
Easter Cross"We're going to make a presentation tothe Church of a mosaic cross that is asymbol of the strong links we hope tocontinue having with our church"This is what the children of Hortonschool promised and this was theRectors response.
"I amdelightedand touchedthat HortonSchool haspresentedthis beautifulcross to StJames'
Church. I am using it on Good Friday atthe service we'll have in church and I'llmake sure the cross is regularly in aprominent position in St James. I reallyvalue the link we have with the school".Jane Kenchington 7th April 2011
Easter Craft MorningSaturday the 2nd April was our AnnualEaster Craft morning for 5-11s. 12children signed up for a variety of craftsincluding Easter cards, baskets andhandprint flowers. The most popular craftwas painting ceramic watering cans,even though it did require aprons!The children who cam are also noweagerly anticipating the growth of theirseeds planted in their Easter gardens.These were made with paths and strawtrees and of course a cave with thestone rolled away. This gave us theopportunity to talk about the Easterstory. Our refreshments were kindlyprovided by Dorothy who produced a bigtin of chick & bunny biscuits, which weredairy free to the delight of one of thechildren!
Look out for the next craft morning atChristmastime!!
Hat trick
The youngest member of the Jones-Williams family has joined the St John'sPCC at Chipping Sodbury. ….and she isalso probably the youngest person everto serve on the church council.In cricket terms it is a hat trick, in biblicalterms a trinity but for us it's just goodnews - lets hope she keeps her parentsin order.We wish her well in her new role andlook forward to her making an impact onthe future of our church.
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