St Alkmunds Newsletter

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16th December 2006	November Newsletter

Amani Fundraising Dinner

Friends of Amani invite you to......

a fund raising dinner
on Saturday 27th January 2007
at 7.30pm in St Alkmunds church hall

Dress: Formal
Tickets on sale after Christmas £7.50

Find out more about Amani here...

Weekly Schedule

Monday—Thursday Morning Prayers 9.15-9.45 am
Monday Create (9-13 year olds) 6.30 pm
Monday Marriage Course 7.45 pm - room 3
Tuesday Friendship Group 12.30 pm (over 60’s)
Wednesday Little Nippers 10.30 am hall (pre-school children and their carers)
Wednesday Freedom Programme (for Ladies) - 6.30 pm upstairs
Wednesday Alpha - 7.30 pm hall
Wednesday The Meeting Place (for international students)- 7.30 pm upstairs
Friday Storehouse ‘Tea & Toast’ 10.00-12 noon hall
Friday Storehouse Church 12.30 - 3.00 pm chapel

Wardens' Whizz-Bangs

PCC met on Monday to consider (among other things) next year’s budget. Regular readers of this column will remember that we’ve been a bit worried that we were going to overspend by a considerable amount this year.

We’ve been very encouraged by the way in which budget holders have controlled their spending over the last 4 months, but we have been even more grateful to all of you for your continued generosity. At the end of September, we were only £7k behind our budget, which is fantastic news compared to where we thought we might be in June. We are not out of the woods yet, since our general expenditure is higher in the second half of the year (~£26k per month), but we have already seen encouraging signs of our giving income increasing so that we are almost breaking even each month.

We also have much to be excited about in the coming year as we continue to see considerable growth in the number of people coming to Alks Café. The exciting challenge will be to control our spending in the first half of next year (so we don’t run out of money) while at the same time continuing to invest in the areas where we are seeing God doing stuff. Please continue to pray for us as we work out how to do this … but first of all give thanks for God’s faithfulness to us so far, and all that he has already blessed us with.

A week in the life of...

Ruth Turner - Worship Leader

Each week can look very different but be assured - it’s always busy! So I thought I’d keep a record of a particular week to give you some insight.

Sunday 1st October 2006:
8.55 – 12.45 church for practice and prayer. Alex leading, me playing.
To the Dinmore family for lunch.
3.30 check emails and do bits of admin for an hour
5.05 setting up for 5.15 meeting with technical/sound operator team
6.15 meeting with one of my new worship leaders – Ben Hale
6.50 - 8.55 Alks café

Monday:
Had to take car in to garage so missed usual 9.15 prayer meeting
10.00 staff meeting
12.00 – 1.30 admin stuff
2.30 – 4.00 admin (usually also preparation for whatever worship is going on through the week: sometimes Friendship Group; New Wine networks; or following Sunday’s sung worship preparation – email band to remind of rehearsal etc.)
6.15 get to church to prepare for Create (creative arts for 9 -13 year olds) 6.30 Create – doing songwriting with Phil Baggaley (usually until 7.55)
7.30 - 9.50 leave early with Phil for a Colossians Three Sixteen Trust meeting.

Tuesday:
Phone at home had been cut off since Saturday lunchtime so stayed at home for the engineer visit. Emails and planning for college lecture (did on 16th October) on Leading Worship.
12.00 Janet Goodacre came round to pray and plan for SASM Lent course we have been asked to do on Worship and Word starting March 1st next year.
2.15 meeting with Jon Pocock
4.00 – 6.00 rota changes due to certain decisions being made about the alks café sung worship

Wednesday:
9.15 prayers
10.00 - 1.30 general work/filing/drafting letter to leadership and thinking through implications of being asked to mentor worship leaders for New Wine. Also have large worship skills conference to organize in Sheffield on Feb 3 next year
2.30 – 3.45 mentoring session on the phone then 15 minutes checking emails
4.00 – 6.00 preparation for college lecture (St John’s theological college)
(8.00 – 9.30 usually a practice for the morning service sung worship)

Thursday:
9.15 – 9.45 led the prayer meeting.
10.00 meeting with Liz R to go over points making in lecture to see if I’m on the right track.
11.00 Appointment in Nottingham
12.50 phone call
1 – 2.15 meeting Dot White for lunch
2.20 – 5.25 emails/phone calls admin; preparation for worship team together on 18th October
6.00 Tim and Adam arrive to prepare meal at my home for worship leaders who start arriving at 7.00 and stay until about 10.00 after washing up (bless them!)

Saturday:
11.00 – 12.15 meeting and prayer with Joe Honeyands then admin and emails until 1.30
2.30 – 4 admin, including writing reference for someone I trained in Oxford
6.00 – 8.30 dinner at Stantons’ home
8.45 – 10.15 party (Simon Wood and Tim Shallcross having a housewarming)

Sunday:
Dot ill so filled in for her in morning service - and so it goes on! …it is always different and I love the variety, even though there is always too much to do!

Rainbow Bridge News - September 2006

Luke chapter 5- verses 4-7 “When He had stopped speaking He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. But Simon answered Him and said to Him “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so they began to sink.”

The Uncomfortable Balance, from ‘A Passionate Church’ by Mike Breen:
“Jesus said he would make us fishers of men. In Jesus’ day fishing was done primarily with nets, unlike our recreational method of hook and bait. The men worked cooperatively to lower the nets into the waters, dragging them through the sea toward the boats, where they could be hauled onboard. Dragnet fishing indiscriminately gathered the fish of all sizes, along with a good bit of sea debris. The keen eyes of the fishermen were then set to sort through the catch. It was gruelling work but the fishermen never expected the fish (or just the right fish) to jump into their nets. If we simply stay in our safe zones - our church, our small group, our Christian sub culture- we will not be where the lost are. We have to leave our comfortable settings and get out where the people are who do not yet know that God loves them so much He cannot stop thinking about them. We must have an outward relational dimension in our lives that draws others in”.

Over this past year, the ministry has gone through many changes. We have been pruned, seen new people join the team, been stretched in our faith and commitment to God and His calling on our lives, but through it all God has been faithful!

As most of you know, last September Stuart and I took over the leadership of the Strutts Park group with a view to planting a House Church in our neighbourhood. This has been part of our vision from the beginning of this ministry. The name which the group chose is Bridgebuilders, our vision being to build bridges into our neighbours’ lives by using the natural gifts and talents that God has given us. The group is going well and we are about to start a “Family Church” occurring one Sunday morning a month. This will take the form of a fun family service, built around the younger members of the group, with a view to inviting our neighbours to join us and finishing with a shared meal. We haven’t got a clue how this will work, but we hope that it will be fun!

We held our annual children’s Summer Club at the end of August; led brilliantly by Sharon Shipley and Sarah White and backed up by a great team! The kids have since informed me that they really enjoyed it and each day there was a group of children waiting for the club to start. This year the team finished with a picnic and face painting; it seemed to go on forever as all the kids queued up for their turn to be done! On behalf of ourselves and the children in Handyside, we would like to say a big “Thank you” to the team for making the week a very special time!

As most of you will know, we have been holding jewellery/craft workshops in our home. We have now moved these into St Mary’s church hall, as the number of children has outgrown the home. We are pleased with this as we feel that we have laid some good foundational relationships with the children. Now is therefore the time to take this ministry a step further, so we will be starting a weekly after school club on Thursday nights, beginning the second week in January. The core team will consist of Anne and Andy Jablonski, Sharon Shipley, Laura Brown, Stuart and myself. Please pray for God’s hand of protection on this new ministry and also that He will increase the team!

Janet Goodacre and I (Linda) are in the very early stages of looking at a new ministry which has been running in both America and in parts of this country, called Healing Rooms. This is a bit like a doctor’s surgery, which operates from a room in the community to which non-Christians can come and receive prayer about various issues such as healing and finances. We realise that the groundwork needs to be laid for this ministry to succeed, so we would value your prayers for God’s guidance and wisdom as we move forward in this.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)

When we depend upon organisations we get what organisations can do, when we depend upon education, we get what education can do, when we depend upon man, we get what man can do: but when we depend upon prayer we get what God can do!” - A C Dixon

Many thanks to those of you who have patiently supported us in prayer, we are most grateful!

Stuart and Linda

There is a Rainbow Bridge Trust fund for the ongoing work of the ministry in Handyside, if anyone would like more information on this please see Malcolm Bridges.

St Alks Cafe

We are having some training for those currently helping with alks café, or those who would like to!
19 Nov – 5.30pm – Set-up team training
26 Nov – 5.30pm – Refreshments team training

We are still needing more helpers—please could you help for one Sunday evening a month? That would be great!

Simon Neill

Christmas Puddings

Christmas Puddings on sale to raise funds for our local nursery school (Whitecross)—in the entrance on 5 & 12 November! Fantastic traditional puddings—and some amazing new flavours. Recommended by Ministries Support Team!

Fair Trading for Christmas

Traidcraft is a Christian foundation, established in 1979 to fight poverty through trade. As a trading company and a development charity this organisation has become one of the leading players in the fair trade movement. It helps thousands of craft-workers and farmers in over 30 countries to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

Traidcraft also gives training and information to producers to encourage ethical businesses and it talks to governments about the need for change and how to achieve this.

There will be 2 Traidcraft stalls at Alk’s before Christmas: at Little Nippers on Wednesday 29 November and in the church entrance on Sunday 3 December.

Please join us in the fair trade spirit of giving this Christmas.

Maureen Ling

Thank you to Whitecross Nursery

A big thank you to Whitecross Nursery School for donating their harvest produce to our Storehouse family.

Short Walks in Derbyshire - Nine Ladies Circle

Following the success of the first walk in October Osmaston and Shirley Parkswalking group will be heading out again for their next walkthe 19th November. The walk this month will be toLadies CircleMatlock,of about 4 miles starting at Birchover village.invite all those who are interested to join us. The walking group is a new informal group undertaking short walks in and around Derby and the Peak District. The walks will try to be inclusive of all ages and abilities, 6 miles or less, and of a non-challenging nature. The aim is to get out into the countryside for walking, fellowship and fun. We will be gathering at St Alkmund’s after the morning service on the 19th, all are welcome, bring a packed lunch, shared transport may be available.you are interested or want further details please contact Ian or Elaine Hills

Christmas singing

17 December 6.30 pm is the Carol Service...at which we usually have a group of singers who will practise on Monday 4th and 11th at 7.45pm and Saturday 16th December from 11 am3.30 pm (lunch provided for £2)...all those who love to sing and worship Godwelcome (especially if they can sing in tune!!!!)

There is also a singing group for the children (for the Carol Service).Practices are as last year -five minutes after the service ends on Sundays 26 November, 3rd and 10th December (lasting a maximum of 20 minutes) and on Saturday 16 December 3.30—3.45pm. CD's will be given out on 26 November to aid the learning process!

Please contact Ruth about any of the above, including putting your name down for singing, THANKS.

Bible focus

A recent survey has shown how little the bible is read—even by those who would say they are Christians! We hope that at alk’s we already ‘buck the trend’, but decided that it would be good anyway to publish in the newsletter the readings that we will be looking at in the coming few weeks. This gives us the opportunity to read the passages at home too and to ask God what he is saying to us about them. During November we will be looking at the book of Revelation in the new testament. If you don’t have access to your own bible at home please speak to one of the leadership team and we will help you.

New leaders at St Alks

As the nights draw in and we all huddle round the bonfire to watch the firework displays, November is a time to settle down with something warm and cosy, and celebrate. So in this month’s article we have decided to comfort you with news of how the new leadership team is settling in, to warm you with some good news about our finances, and to celebrate God’s goodness to us over the last few months.

Since Simon and Liz arrived in July, we have been working hard to think through how we should organize ourselves. We have been very appreciative of the hard work, wisdom and support that the interim leadership team has provided to John through the last year, but we felt that simply adding two more people to this group would not be efficient. We have therefore concluded that a smaller leadership group will be more helpful. This group will be made up of a core of the 3 clergy and 2 wardens, but we plan to involve other key people at particular times when appropriate. Each core member will have responsibility to support, encourage and consult with specific leaders and groups in the church. The picture below shows how we plan to start, although as more pastorates emerge we anticipate this structure adapting.

St Alkmund's Schools of Ministry

Don’t forget the song writing workshop with Ruth Turner & Phil Baggaley on Monday 13 November at 8.05 pm (after Create) in the chapel

Store House

Now that it’s getting cold our Storehouse family would really appreciate gifts of sleeping bags and t-shirts.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Stella Dunlop and Martin Gowdridge who were married on 21 October. Please pray for them as they begin their married life together.

Welcome to William Henry Huxley who was born on Tuesday 24 October, weighing 7lb 8oz. Congratulations and love to mum & dad, Caroline and Richard and big brother, James.

Help

Urgent request for accommodation - Christian mum & small daughter are moving to the area and need help with somewhere to live. Please see notice board near pigeonholes. Thanks.

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