NOVEMBER 2017

DIARY OF PRAYER – NOVEMBER 2017

1 John and Heather Barton

2 Jennie and Paul Blake, Harry and Molly 3 Jayne Bryan, Martha and Seth

4 Judy Clarkson and Sam

5 Dr Andy and Chris Cole,, Alex, Peter and Michael 6 Betty and David Connelly 7 Vera and Andy Cooper 8 Gloria Cordery 9 Pat and Ian Cowan 10 Alison and Robert Crichton and Becky 11 Donna and Michael Curran, Henry and Martha 12 Edna and Jack Dixon 13 Mavis Duckworth 14 Judith and Terry Eaton, Rachael and Eleanor 15 Peggy Everall 16 Caroline and Matt Flint, Ethan and Emily 17 Barbara and Richard Gillard, Rachel, Hannah and Robert 18 Anne and Tony Gilmore 19 Helen Green, Annabel Green and Stephanie Miller 20 Bert Greenway 21 Donna and Darren Hall, Emelia 22 Laraine Hall 23 Madeline Hamper 24 Glenys Hobbins 25 Anne and Fred Holloway 26 Jane and Phil Inshaw, Ashley 27 Chris and Molly Ives 28 Mick and Jack Ives 29 Jennifer Jackson and Robert Banks 30 Eileen John

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Dear Friends at Abbey Hill

Between crimson October and cold white December, November has been

described as the pearl grey month. It was the month when growing up,

parents would remind us to shut that door! Still today the dark nights and

warm rooms somehow bring a focus on the people around us, providing a

choice of whether we sit tight in our own warm space or take the

opportunity to share ourselves with others. Are we taking on board

Christ’s teachings? Are we caring for those around us? Given the

limitations of our personal circumstances, what are we actually doing to

bring warmth and colour, happiness and hope to those around us,

especially those alone, isolated in their homes?

We have wonderful examples in our church community of people who

steadfastly commit themselves to doing. Coffee Pot is there every

Thursday without fail and various events continue annually, requiring

enormous effort from just a few. The Harvest Supper was the most recent

to provide what we probably all want – a lovely time with others; laughter

and fellowship. So, we really need to think of what we can personally do

for those we know and for those around us.

In the gospels, Jesus was very sociable, never reluctant to engage with

others and always inclusive. By his words and deeds, he improved the

lives of others. Can each one of us ask ourselves what we are going to do

to bring warmth and colour, happiness and companionship to those we

know and to neighbours, sometimes isolated by age or infirmity?

Let us pray for stamina and courage to bring about the kind of community

Christ wanted for all.

Eileen John

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DIARY FOR NOVEMBER 2017 Regular Events:- (except school holidays) Tuesday 10.00 Craft Meeting Thursday 9.30 – 12.00 noon The Coffee Pot 5.00 Rainbows 6.15 Brownies Friday 7.00 Guides

Other Events: 1

st Wednesday 7.15 Elders Meeting

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th Sunday 11.00 Worship Group …. Jane Woods –Scawen, followed by

coffee in the school room 8

th Wednesday 2.15 Ladies Circle “Capability Brown” by Janet Harrison

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th Wednesday 7.15 Managers Meeting

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th Sunday 10.00 Remembrance Service lead by Ivan Pointon. No coffee

today 7.00 Service at Tannery Court.

18th Saturday Grand Coffee Morning and Mini Fayre 10 - 12

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th Sunday 11.00 Family Service with Communion led by George Jones,

followed by THE CHURCH MEETING 12.15 26

th Sunday 11.00 Advent Sunday led by Kevin Snyman, Synod

Mission Enabler 4

Treasurer’s Report

Offertory for September £1655 (2016 - £1708)

September Communion gifts £44 for British Red Cross Hurricane Irma

Appeal

The Harvest Supper raised £210 for church funds

The Harvest collection for Commitment for Life raised £1270

The Communion Offertory for November will be for Help for Heroes.

Harvest Gifts. Included in this magazine is an envelope for contributions for Commitment for Life. This URC project is now in its 25th year and has done valuable work in the partner countries through Christian Aid. There are leaflets in the porch describing some of the work carried out. Please take one. They provide interesting reading.

At harvest we invite you to contribute to this in response to the gifts we have received from God. Please put your contributions in the envelopes

and place on the plate on Harvest or subsequent Sundays. 5

THE BALFOUR DECLARATION As this is the hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration there have been

many meetings to reflect on the legacy of this declaration.

Rosemary and I went to one such meeting in Cheltenham on Saturday 23rd

September.

It was an extremely worthwhile meeting to attend.

The meeting was chaired by the Rev Nick Davies who is Area Deacon of

Cheltenham and Team Rector of the South Cheltenham Churches. He had visited

the area on three occasions, 1986, 2007, and 2014, not as a tourist but as one to

visit refugee camps and meet many locals, so was very well informed about the

situation.

The meeting began by showing a film about how the Balfour Declaration came

into being.

Arthur James Balfour, British Foreign Secretary wrote

“His majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a

national home for Jewish people, and will use the best endeavours to facilitate

the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be

done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish

communities in Palestine”

There were three excellent speakers all closely connected to today’s happenings

in the region.

The first speaker was Dr Mustafa Barghouti who is one of the foremost leaders

of the non-violent struggle of Palestinians for the right of self-determination and

against the Occupation.

He spoke for one and a half hours and received a standing ovation at the end.

A very brief summary of what he had to say is that the situation at present is

nothing short of Apartheid and is considerably worse than that which took place

in South Africa or the segregation of the black population in the USA.

The next speaker was The Rev Dr Fadi Diab who is Rector of St Andrew’s

Church, Ramallah. He played a leading role in the Kairos Palestine appeal by all

the churches of the Holy Land to the whole global Christian community.

He spoke for 30 minutes about the fact that the Declaration was imposed without

the consent of the Palestinian people. It should not be possible to give away what

you do not own.

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How can one country without ownership give away a second country to a third

country? A condition of marshal law exists. Why does the Christian church

around the world not react considering that in 1917 90% of the population was

Christian and today it is only 2%. People are so afraid of being considered anti-

Semitic yet all the speakers insisted that all that they said was not at all anti-

Semitic.After a substantial Palestinian buffet lunch and after I had chance to talk

to the two morning speakers we returned to hear the third speaker.

This was Robert Cohen who is one of the leading Jewish dissident voices in

Britain.

He considers himself to be the “Wrong kind of Jew”. His writing challenges

mainstream attitudes on Israel/Palestine from a firmly Jewish perspective. His

work is published in the UK by Jews for Justice for Palestinians. His monthly

blog Micah’s Paradigm Shift is “Rescuing the Hebrew Covenant one blog at a

time.”

He spoke for an hour and one point I noted was that since Donald Trump became

President the settlement building on occupied land has increased 20%.

After question time for all the speakers the MP for Cheltenham, Alex Chalk

spoke for about 15 minutes and assured us that he would report back to

Parliament about the meeting and some of the concerns raised.

I have not been able to do justice to all that was said. If anyone would like more

details I can email you a copy of my more detailed notes.

Winnie

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nilworth.foodbank.org.uk

NEWS OF THE CHURCH FAMILY FOR NOVEMBER. NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS. A Happy Birthday to all of the following:- November 3rd Mavis Duckworth November 6th John McKenzie November 9th Jan Roberts November 16th John Spenser November 18th Mhari McLintock November 23rd Heather Barton November 29th Madeline Hamper WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES November 1st Bronwen & Martyn Todd November 21st Glenys & Cyril Hobbins DEATH It is with great sadness that we announce the death on Monday 16th October, after a short illness, of Helen Watt. Helen had been a member of Abbey Hill Church for the best part of fifty hears and would have been 97 in December. She will be greatly missed on a Sunday morning, at Coffee Pot on a Thursday and at Ladies’ Circle. CHRISTENING Last Sunday 22nd October saw a very happy event in our church – the baptism of Henry Bentley. Henry is the first child of Edward and Kelly and grandson of Susan Derwent who has recently come to worship at Abbey Hill. Henry was baptised by his great grandfather The Venerable Frank Bentley, former Archdeacon of Worcester Cathedral and Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen. 8

UNWELL/HOSPITAL This month we think of Rosemary Jones, Helen Green, Mary Skidmore Anne Nichol and Janet Turner. We continue to pray for Rosemary Lumley, Bert Greenway, Jan Roberts, Joan Lightbown, Grace Mitchell, Peggy Everall, Dorothy Barker and Jack Dixon. All of the above mentioned and any who do not wish to be mentioned by name, are in our thoughts and prayers. EXAM RESULTS Apologies from me, Pat, to Winnie for omitting her grandson Christopher from the list last month especially when he had achieved such good results in his GCSE exams this summer. Well done, Christopher. THE QUICK WAY TO GET RID OF THE MICE. Three churches in town were overrun with mice. The minister of the first church trapped them, thereby staring a bitter row among his congregation about showing compassion towards God’s creatures. The minister of the second church humanely trapped the mice and then set them free outside. Three days later the mice were back. The minister of the third church humanely trapped the mice and then carefully baptised them. They have not been seen since! (from St. Annes URC magazine) Please let Pat Cowan know either in person or on 01926 313904 of any Pastoral Care matters

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MAGAZINE PRODUCTION

In light of Mary Skidmore’s recent hospitalisation it is

uncertain as to how the magazine will be produced in

future. If you would be willing help with this please let me

know.

The matter will be discussed by the Elders at their November

meeting.

I apologise for any short comings in this edition.

I have put a deadline date for articles for the December/

January magazine below in the hopes that there may be one.

Anne Gilmore

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ARTICLES FOR THE

December 2017

MAGAZINE SHOULD BE IN BY

SUNDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2017

PLEASE

CHURCH AWAY DAY

On Saturday 10

th March the Church will be having an “Away Day” at

Barston Village Institute on the theme of “DISCIPLESHIP”. 10 – 400.

As we are all called to be disciples of Christ this day is for everyone.

It will be lead by Stuart Scott, Synod Training and Development

Officer.

Discipleship is the focus for the URC over the coming year and a

programme called “Walk The Way” was launched at The West

Midlands Synod meeting over the weekend of 13/14 of October.

One of the authors of this programme is Charles Church, father of

James Church, minister at Lillington and Radford Road Methodist/URC

Church.

Also at Synod the Book “Holy Habits” by Andrew Roberts was being

promoted and was very well received. It is well worth a read before the

Away Day. [£9.99] published Malcolm Down.

ISBN 978-1-91086-15-4

Please support your church by attending this day, and help Abbey

Hill grow. Put the date in your diary now.

Do let me know if you will be attending please.

Details will be made known nearer the time.

Anne

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Request for Help A newly formed National Childbirth Trust Group is meeting

in our school room on Wednesday mornings and would very

much appreciate help from church members to serve hot

drinks and talk to the mums. This is a fantastic opportunity

for outreach. If you think you could offer an occasional

Wednesday, or a regular slot weekly, two weekly, monthly

between 10 and 11 please let me know.

Anne

…………….

The Church Library

This is there for everyone. There is a wide selection of

books …………….please have a look and feel free to sing a

book out [small note book on the top] and cross your name

out when the book is returned.

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Music

The symphony musicians had little confidence in the person

brought in to be their new conductor. Their fears were realised at the very first rehearsal. The cymbalist, realising that the conductor did not know what he was doing, angrily clashed his instruments

together during a delicate, soft passage. The music stopped. The conductor, highly agitated, looked angrily around the orchestra, demanding, "Who did that? Who did that?"

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ROTAS –NOVEMBER 2017

Transport Flowers provided by Flowers arranged by

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John Nichols

Mavis Duckworth

Barbara Gillard

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Pat Cowan

Vivien Nichols

Vivien

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Di Wilson

Gaynor Watkins

Di Wilson

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John Spenser

Jennie Blake

Donna Curran

Projector & Sound Stewards Readers

5

Bronwen

John and Vivien Nichols

Alison Crichton

12

Ivan

Donna Hall

Alison Crichton

Kath Shortley

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John

Winnie

John and Lorna Spence

Ivan Pointon

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Bronwen

Anne and Fred Holloway

John McKenzie

Coffee Car Park Vestry

5

Eileen John

Annabel Matharu

John Nichols

Kath

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Eileen John

Annabel Matharu

Alison Crichton

Di

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Betty Connelly

Gloria Cordery

Colin Ritchie

Colin

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Betty Connelly

Gloria Cordery

Fred Holloway

Rosemary

Communion Prep. Comm. Servers

19 Anne Gilmore

Di Wilson

Anne

Di

Colin

Pat

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Lay Minister:

George Jones 07946095418

g.jones@abbeyhillurc.com

Secretary: Anne Gilmore 01926 855586

ELDERS Kenilworth dialling code 01926

Betty Connelly 855218

Pat Cowan 313904

Anne Gilmore 855586

Eileen John 511649

John McKenzie 779810

Rosemary Lawrence 850264

Colin Ritchie 512507

Kath Shortley 512451

Di Wilson 857002

Fellowship Secretary Pat Cowan 313904

Pulpit Supply Kath Shortley 512451

Treasurer David Connelly 855218

Appeals Treasurer John McKenzie 779810

Secretary Managers Ivan Pointon 855399

Junior Church Secretary Donna Curran 857437

Organist Bob Watson 02476 501681

Gift Aid Secretary John McKenzie 779810

Lettings Officer Bronwen Todd 864332

Free Will Envelopes Mary Skidmore 855651

Magazine Editor Mary Skidmore 855651

Ladies Circle Secretary Winnie Tawil 853350

Guide Leader Tracey McNamara 856922

Brownie Leader Sarah Pointer 02477 042291

Rainbow Leader Alice Maceluch 01788 576089

Crèche Ayse McKenzie 779810

Catering & Social Committee Rosemary Lawrence 850264

Healing Group Vivien Nichols 512764

Craft Ministry Peggy Everall 855567

Weekly Notices Mary Skidmore 855651

Child Protection Link Rosemary Lawrence 850264

Transport John Spenser 854747

Kenilworth Foodbank Eileen John 511649

Church Website: www.kenilworthabbeyhill.urc.org.uk

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