Parish News August 2018
Message from the Vicar's desk:
After a lovely fortnight in Devon with cream teas and ice cream on tap, we were barely out of Devon trundling along the 303 London-bound when my mind began to think about Christmas. I always do this for some reason once the holiday is done and dusted. It gives me something to look forward to and plan for over the six months to come, and it’s as much about Christmas in church as it is about what will happen at home on December 25th. Christmas services are the “high tide” mark for St. Barnabas’ year when it comes to the number of people joining us for worship. Almost every church looks to its Christmas numbers as a sign of church health, so many a minister mulls over what to do about it. But apart from Christmas, what we really want is to engage with new people all the year and not just for the holiday. So, in order to help with this, the Church of England cottoned on to an American idea about having a Back to Church Sunday in September to gather up all those who might have fallen out of the habit to come to church. Out of this evolved the “Season of Invitation” a very simple, direct way of engaging people in church life beginning in September and running through Christmas.
A long time ago I learnt the hard way that the English are a bit different than what I had been used to because no matter how many times you ask for servers, intercessors, or other volunteers in the notices week by week; few would come forward because they felt unqualified or unprepared. What did work was a personal invitation, asking someone face-to-face if they would consider it. There is something about asking directly; it is affirming and natural. On the strength of this idea it makes sense for each one of us to use the “Season of Invitation” to ask friends and neighbours to join us for services like Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas and our activities. What could be more natural than inviting someone to come with us to our coffee morning or inviting someone we know who likes their crafts to come to Knit & Natter? There will be people who would like to come to Harvest or Remembrance, and most everyone gets into the spirit at Christmas. Who better placed than you to know which service or activity might interest someone you know? I envision a “soft” start to the “Season” with Back to Church Sunday on September 2nd just before the new school term starts, as a chance for St. Barnabas folks to come together and make the effort to be in church. Then we would have the Harvest Festival weekend with the Barn Dance and the celebration in church (22/09 & 23/09 respectively), building up to a big commemoration for Remembrance on November 11th when the scouts will join us for the first time. We’ll sail through December and finish on the Epiphany (06/01).
My hope and prayer is that the “Season of Invitation” will encourage new people to come and see for themselves what St. Barnabas is all about and what a lovely group of people we are. That way they may just discover for themselves that God’s love is real and that it can make a difference in their lives. It all starts with a simple invitation, “Would you like to ....”. It’s as easy as that, but we can’t do it without you! So keep your eyes open for lovely little invitations and prayer cards so you can think about who there is in your life who might just be interested.
Yours in Him,
Michael
August Events
Wed. 1st: 9.00am Morning Prayer
7.30pm Holy Communion
Thursday 2nd 9.00am Morning Prayer
11.00am Coffee Morning
Saturday 4th 9.30am Morning Prayer
Sunday 5th 8.00am Holy Communion
10.15am All Age Worship
Monday 6th 9.00am Morning Prayer
8.00pm Praying at St Barnabas
(open to all)
Tuesday 7th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Wed. 8th 9.00am Morning Prayer
9.30am Holy Communion
7.30pm Holy Communion
Thursday 9th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Saturday 11th 9.30am Morning Prayer
Sunday 12th 8.00am Holy Communion
10.15am Parish Eucharist
Monday 13th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Tuesday 14th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Wed. 15th 9.00am Morning Prayer
9.30am Holy Communion
7.30pm Holy Communion
Thursday 16th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Saturday 18th 9.30am Morning Prayer
Sunday 19th 8.00am Holy Communion
10.15am Parish Eucharist
12.30pm Baptism
Monday 20th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Tuesday 21st 9.00am Morning Prayer
Wed. 22nd 9.00am Morning Prayer
9.30am Holy Communion
7.30pm Holy Communion
Thursday 23rd 9.00am Morning Prayer
Sunday 26th 8.00am Holy Communion
10.15am Celtic Eucharist
10.30am Sunday School
Monday 27th Bank Holiday - No Morning Prayer
Tuesday 28th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Wed. 29th 9.00am Morning Prayer
9.30am Holy Communion
7.30pm Holy Communion
Thursday 30th 9.00am Morning Prayer
Notices
Could you be a Server?
We have an urgent need for a couple of servers, particularly to help during the holiday time, but also on an ongoing basis. Could you please have a think about it? It is an enormous privilege to be able to assist and prepare the altar for the service and help the Clergy prior to communion. You would not have to be a chalice assistant, (offer the wine during communion), but you would need to be available to help clear the alar after the service too. If you think that you may be able to help in this way or know more about it, please do speak to Sarah or Helen.
Readers and Intercessors: The July-September list is in the narthex. We still need both readers and intercessors in August and September so please sign up if you are able to assist. Thank you.
Sunday Service: From September, we will be starting a trial of having opening worship at 10am and the service will commence at 10.15am
Birthdays this month: 1st Ruth Mey
3rd Michael Roper
12th Susie
The Epsom Male Voice Choir Concert was a great hit. The choir sang a selection of well-known songs which were very well received. Together with tickets, bar and raffle we made over £840. Thank you to all our volunteers who helped out on the night. A big “thank you” to Betty for the beautiful floral arrangements. If you would like to be a member of the social team please speak to Michael or the Church Wardens.
Barn Dance: Our next big social event will be the Barn Dance on Saturday 22nd September from 7.30pm. Tickets are £10. We expect this to be another “sell out” as the previous one was so popular. We need volunteers to help out on the night with such jobs as helping to set up on the day; manning the door; the bar; helping serve food; clearing and cleaning up afterwards. If you can help, please put your name on the sign up list. Buy Barn Dance tickets online
Harvest Festival: Is on Sunday 23rd September and our food donations will go to our local Food Bank. To help you decide on your donations, we will have on display for several weeks beforehand, a list of the food which the Food Bank most need at this time. By way of celebration we will have extra special eats after the service!!
Suggestions: If you have any suggestions or ideas for our monthly parish news then please speak to Michael, Hilary or Ruth.
Parish Prayer Chain:
Together We Can Make a Difference
Please sign up to prayer triplets – list in the narthex.
Please continue to pray for Hossein as his appeal hearing to remain in the UK, has been postponed.
Sick List: We continue to pray for Doreen throughout her treatment. We also include in our prayers Allen, Stella, Stephanie, Charlie.
RIP Joyce Hill: Sadly we have to report the sudden death of Joyce on Monday 23rd July. At this time we have no details about the funeral arrangements. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.
Holidays: Schools are out and holiday season is upon us. To those already on holiday we hope you are having a glorious time. To those ready to go, we wish you a safe journey and return feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the world!
Time For a Laugh!
A drunk man who smelled like beer sat down on an underground seat next to a priest. The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading.
After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say, Father, what causes arthritis?"
"My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, and a contempt for your fellow man."
Well, I'll be damned," the drunk muttered, returning to his paper. The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?" "I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."
A preacher visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the couch he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. "Mind if I have a few?" he asks. "No, not at all!" the woman replied.
They chat for an hour and as the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl. "I'm terribly sorry for eating all your peanuts, I really just meant to eat a few." "Oh, that's all right," the woman says. "Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off them."
A country preacher decided to skip services one Sunday to spend the day hiking in the wilderness. Rounding a sharp bend in the trail, he collided with a bear and was sent tumbling down a steep grade. He landed on a rock and broke both legs. With the ferocious bear charging at him from a distance, the preacher prayed, "O Lord, I'm so sorry for skipping services today. Please forgive me and grant me just one wish — make a Christian out of that bear that's coming at me!" At that very instant, the bear skidded to a halt, fell to his knees, clasped his paws together, and began to pray aloud at the preacher's feet: "Dear God, please bless this food I am about to receive."
Atheist: "Do you honestly believe that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish?" Preacher: "I don't know, sir, but when I get to heaven, I'll ask him. "Atheist: "But suppose he isn't in heaven?" Preacher: "Then you ask him."
The church was badly in need of a coat of paint. So the vicar decided he'd do the job himself. But all he had was one bucket of paint. So he got a bunch of buckets and some water, and he thinned the paint enough to cover the entire church. Then he spent all day painting. That night it rained - very hard - and washed all the paint off. The vicar was quite discouraged and asked God, 'Why.... why God, did you let it rain and wash off all my hard work?' To which God thundered his reply, 'Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!'
Previous Notices
Notices from August 2017 can be found below.