Salisbury Methodist Church

St Edmund’s Church Street Salisbury

Newsletter

For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—

the LORD Almighty is his name.

Isaiah 51:15

No. 334 April 2018

Midweek Groups

Art Group Wednesdays 2.15 pm Belletones Wednesdays 10.30 am Church Lunch 2nd Thursday 12.45 pm Church Walks 3rd Thursday 10.00 am Poetry Group 1st Friday 10.00 am

REGULAR ACTIVITIES

(Please contact the church office for further details).

Scouts

Wednesdays

Beavers 6.00 pm

Cubs 6.30 pm

Scouts 7.15 pm

Guides

Thursdays

Brownies 6.15 pm

Fridays

Rainbows 5.30 pm

Guides 6.30 pm

Rangers. 7.00 pm [fortnightly]

Toddler Groups

Tuesdays 10.00 am

Fridays 10.00 am

Junior Belletones

Saturdays 9.30 am

House Groups

Monday Baby Interrupted Bible Study (BIBS) Afternoon Monthly

Tuesday Sarum Fellowship Afternoon Monthly Seekers Afternoon Monthly Mustard Seed Evening Fortnightly

Wednesday Reflections Evening Fortnightly Village Evening Monthly

Thursday Laverstock Evening Monthly Harnham Evening Monthly

Messy Mondays

4th Monday of the month 4:15 pm

Worship in April Sunday 1st

Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24; Acts10.34-43; 1 Corinthians 15.1-11; John20.1-18

8:00 am Revd David Hookins Holy Communion 10:30 am Revd David Hookins

All Age Worship and Holy Communion 6:00 pm No Service Sunday 8th

Psalm 133; Acts 4.32-35; 1 John1.1-2.2; John 20.19-31

10:30 am Revd David Hookins 4.00pm Little Blessings 6:00 pm Revd Steve Hawkes at Bemerton Methodist Church Songs of Praise Sunday 15th

Psalm 4; Acts 3.12-19; 1 John 3.1-7; Luke 24.36b-48

10:30 am Mr Dan Bishop 6:00 pm Revd Steve Hawkes Holy Communion Sunday 22nd

Psalm 23; Acts 4.5-12; 1 John 3.16-24; John 10.11-18

10:30 am Revd David Hookins 6:00 pm Revd Steve Hawkes

Refresh Service Sunday 29th

Psalm 22.25-31; Acts 8.26-40; 1 John 4.7-21; John 15.1-8

10:30 am Revd David Hookins All Age Worship

6:00 pm Circuit Service at Bemerton Methodist Church

Salisbury Street Pastors: A New Initiative Needs Your Help

In April a new Street Pastor initiative commences in the city centre – an early evening patrol based around the

Cathedral Close, Elizabeth's Garden's, the High Street and a little further around. The Cathedral has now recruited sufficient Street Pastors and they are being trained and commissioned shortly. This is a pilot scheme and will be reviewed in late September or October.

This new initiative now needs Prayer Pastors to support those out on patrol.

The first patrol will be on Friday 27th April and every subsequent First and Last Friday of the month through the summer;

The patrol will operate between 18:30 - 22:00, allowing for the handover to the late Patrol between 22:00 - 22:30;

It is our hope to recruit sufficient Prayer Pastors to cover both Friday evening patrols and to enable each Pastor to cover just one Friday evening per month. Would you like to be a Prayer Pastor? What does a Prayer Pastor do?

to ground the patrol in prayer; to pray for the city especially for the night-time economy; to pray for any emergencies or special needs which arise during the

patrol; to make tea/coffee for the returning Street Pastor patrol!

Those who join us as Prayer Pastors enjoy the sense of togetherness, the reward of praying for the patrol and the city and in exploring prayer in lots of different ways. We really hope you might like to become a Prayer Pastor. If you would like further information, or to discuss this with me, then please contact church office for details.

Thank you Rev’d Jonathan Plows

Minister’s Letter Dear Sisters and Brothers, Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Some of you will know that I can get quite worked-up about some things which others consider to be of little importance. One is the use of Monday as the first day of the week. This has become commonplace, so much so that I saw a diary the other day which was marked, ‘with Sunday as the first day of the week’. I wanted to scream, ‘But Sunday is the first day of the week!’ In Genesis we are told that Sunday is the first day of creation, Saturday is the day when God rested. So Sunday is the first day. The day when we celebrate God’s creation of all that is. Of course this stands against the prevailing beliefs of our society, the scientific explanation of a Big Bang; as Terry Pratchett put it:

‘The current state of knowledge can be summarized thus: In the beginning, there was nothing, which exploded.’

Christian faith is not opposed to current scientific theories but wants to add that there is a purposefulness about this universe, this creation, which we call ‘God’ and that all that exists is imbued with this Godness. This is not easily spoken of in scientific terms and so we use poetry and song, myth and story to speak of truths that are unfathomable in simply materialistic terms. When Jesus is raised from the dead, this Godness made visible as a human, this too happens on a Sunday, the day of creation and re-creation. The first day of the week because it is the first day of the resurrection, the new life of Christ poured into the world. The early Christians would awake early and worship before they went to work, many of them slaves and servants in the Roman Empire, in order to celebrate the resurrection on the day of resurrection. So next time I am getting worked-up over a diary that starts on Monday remember that it is Sunday that marks the work of God in creation and re-creation, the God who comes close to us and imbues all that is with life and hope. Your brother in Christ, David

Alexander Mould

PASTORAL PAGE Our love and prayers are with our friends who are suffering at this time. Those who are unwell or caring for their loved ones.

Charles Sweet recently passed away and we send our condolences to his family. Charles was a jovial character and had been a member of our Church for many years. We were sad to hear the news that John Renshaw had died on 10 March. John was a much loved member of our congregation and always had a cheery word for all who met him. We send our condolences to his daughters Katherine and Elizabeth. Dorothy Furnell has been in hospital. We send our best wishes and hope that she is now back home recovering Eileen Rattue is now at home recovering after her stay in hospital. John Cotton has once again been in hospital and we trust he will soon be home again. Philip Freemantle has also spent some time in hospital and we hope he will soon be home again. Mary Parker has recently had surgery and is now back at home. We wish her a speedy recovery.

We are also aware that many of our friends and relations have been undergoing surgery, tests or treatment and we offer them and their families our support and prayers. Congratulations and love are sent to all who have or will be celebrating a special occasion. We would love to share your news so please do not forget to let your Pastoral Visitor know of anything you wish to share with others – through the Newsletter – or by any other means. Please also let your Visitor know of any change in circumstances i.e. address etc.

If you feel that you would like to become a Pastoral Visitor within Salisbury Methodist Church please contact church office for more information.

Kay Cooper-Joel would like to thank all the church family for their kind messages, cards, flowers and prayers following her recent accident. May God bless you all.

Mission at SMC

What do we feel is our Mission at SMC? There could be many different responses

to this question!

Probably, for many of us, we think of the support that we give to organisations and

charities which help people in need locally, and internationally. There is much

ongoing work being done by individuals and groups at SMC, including support for

Action for Children, the Listening Place, Christian Aid, Trussell Trust Foodbank,

Street Pastors, and the Fairtrade Stall. Support can be praying for a situation or

individuals, donating money, learning about the work being done (we are grateful to

those involved in the North corridor displays, which are so helpful & informative), or

by volunteering to become involved in a practical way. Other recent projects that

have been supported at SMC include the Gambia, Methodist ‘All We Can’, Toilet

Twinning (thank you to the Cubs for their recent activities), Salisbury Alzheimer’s

Society, and retiring collections for the Disasters Emergency Fund.

It was so good and very inspiring, to read in the March Newsletter about Emma

Clarke’s involvement in the ‘Dig Deep’ Challenges, and about Finlay Dixon’s

experiences when he took part in the Alabare ‘Big Sleep’. Thank you, Emma and

Finlay!

Recently David chose the hymn ‘Community of Christ’, (Singing the Faith 681), for a

Sunday morning service – such challenging words!

Community of Christ

Look past the Church’s door

And see the refugee, the hungry, and the poor.

Take hands with the oppressed,

The jobless in your street

Take towel and water, that you wash your neighbour’s feet.

Shirley Erena Murray

Each year, for several years, SMC has donated on our behalf, £2,000 to “Mission”.

This has been divided between Methodist Mission in Britain (£800), Methodist World

Mission Fund (£800), and the Street Pastors (£400). Perhaps the time has come to

review this, and it would be really good to gather as many views and ideas about

this – so please, now is your chance to influence any decisions being made! Either

write your comments and suggestions and put in the box in the Welcome area, or

email the church office.

Thank you, Margaret Rutt

Here we go again!

Christian Aid Week 2018 13-19 May

I started to write about the fact that Christian Aid

Week is coming round again and how I have to

motivate myself to do the organisational work I have committed to. Then I looked up

the dates on the Christian Aid website (to make sure I got them right), and came

across this:

“Marcelin still hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Matthew, which hit Haiti in September 2016, destroying his home, possessions and livestock.

'I lost pigs, goats, everything in the house. I have nothing left,' he says.

He now lives in an old concrete shower block, a tiny space he shares with his teenage daughters. There are no windows or doors, and the only furniture is a single bed that the girls sleep on.

Marcelin has fought hard to raise his children alone but can no longer afford to send them all to school. He gets up at dawn each day to work the land, but the changing weather frequently destroys the food he grows and the family often go hungry. Marcelin fear his daughters’ hunger could lead them to be exploited by predatory men in exchange for food.

Christian Aid’s local partner in Haiti is helping people prepare for disasters. Ahead of Hurricane Matthew, they helped to evacuate around 5,000 families, potentially saving many lives. They then gave out much-needed shelter kits, hygiene kits, food seeds and cash transfers.

Christian Aid is also building disaster-resistant homes to give people safe, secure places to live. Of the dozens of new houses we built before the hurricane hit, only one lost its roof in the hurricane.

But there are still lots of people like Marcelin we haven’t yet reached, and we need your help.”

This made me ashamed of my feeble motivation. David Reid spoke on Fair Trade Sunday about God creating us all and yet some of us have everything while others have very little. It reminded me of the anti-slavery medallion that bears the image of a chained black man and the legend “Am I not a man and a brother?”. If someone we knew was in this position we would do everything we could to help.

Paul Butler

I’m not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner that keeps on trying.

Nelson Mandela

Local Arrangements

Many of you will already be aware that the circuit preaching plan has been difficult to complete because of too many services compared with the availability of preachers. Having discussed this with other superintendents I suggested to the circuit meeting that we have one Local Arrangement for each church in the circuit on each quarterly plan. This was agreed and so this will be starting in the near future once we have arranged for some training. We are fortunate in having a wealth of resources within our congregation at SMc. The intention is not that a local preacher is prevailed upon but that those who do not normally become involved in preparing and leading worship should volunteer to take on a service as part of a group. This used to happen with occasional evening services led by house-groups, we are not asking house-groups to take all of these services but individual groups may volunteer to take one occasionally. Unlike the previous pattern which was based on evening services these would be in the morning and churches will be able to choose which Sunday suits them. I hope that you will think about whether you would like to be part of a team to lead one of these services. If so please tell me or one of the church stewards. If not I hope you will support those who give their time to help us all to worship.

David Hookins

Inherit the Earth

This new travelling exhibition of photographs about the work of Christian Aid will be

coming to SMC between the 20th April and the 21st May.

The exhibition tells the story of three supporters who have given a donation in memory

of someone, or who have pledged a legacy to Christian Aid in their Will, and their

journey to see the work that the development charity is carrying out in Bolivia, South

America’s poorest country.

Christian Aid has worked in the Amazon for twenty years, helping indigenous people

who are threatened not only by logging, mineral extraction, road building and beef

farming, but also by severe flooding brought about by climate change.

The exhibition shows how Christian Aid works with local people and organisations to

give communities a voice, establish their rights to their land, and to help them take

advantage of new eco- technologies such as water pumps and solar ovens.

Paul Butler

Pause for Prayer

There Was No by Stewart Henderson

There was no grave grave enough to ground me to mound me

I broke the balm then slit the shroud wound round me that bound me

There was no death dead enough to dull me to cull me

I snapped the snake and waned his war to lull me to null me

There is no cross cross enough to nil me to still me

I hung as gold that bled, and bloomed A rose that rose and prised the tomb

away from Satan’s wilful doom There was no cross, death, grave

or room to hold me.

Easter Prayer

When everything was dark and it seemed that the sun would never shine again, your love broke through.

Your love was too strong, too wide, too deep for death to hold.

The sparks cast by your love dance and spread and burst forth with resurrection light.

Gracious God, We praise you for the light of new life made possible through Jesus. We praise you for the light of new life that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection. We praise you for the light of new life that continues to shine in our hearts today.

We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy, will live in us each day; and that we will be bearers of that light into the lives of others. Amen.

Revd Michaela Youngson

Why buy Traidcraft was the question put by Ruth in a recent piece in this

Newsletter. David Read and Ann Hopwood elaborated on this theme when

they led the morning service on March 4. Now this month we ask “Why buy

Zaytoun” in other words, Palestinian products? Zaytoun was started in 2004

as a volunteer-led initiative by a group of friends inspired by a trip to Palestine.

Quoting Manal Ramadan, one of the founders: “We spent time with olive

farmers, enjoying their wonderful hospitality and tasting some of the most

delicious olive oil we’d ever had. But their livelihoods were threatened

because they had to sell below the cost of production due to restrictions

imposed by the Israeli occupation.” One of the biggest challenges they

encountered was the restriction of the movement of people and goods. Olive,

almond, herb and grain producers are located around Nablus, Jenin and Salfit;

Medjool dates around Jericho. Most are shipped from the port of Haifa, about

an hour’s drive from most producers but, because of checkpoints and the like,

vehicles are forced to make big detours and the journey can take several

days. For the thousands of farming families in Palestine, fair trade has given

them the security of knowing they can sell their crops for a guaranteed price

above the cost of production. As happens elsewhere, co-operatives receive a

premium that funds community projects, and has included the traditional

Palestinian embroidery done by women and olive wood carvings, allowing

them to develop as a result. Olive oil was Zaytoun’s first product and this has

won awards and remains their flagship product. It is authentic, and something

positive to come out of Palestine.

On a different note, we now have a supply of the new spring Traidcraft

catalogue. Do take a copy and have a browse. You could be surprised at the

range and the attractiveness of many of the products. Bed linen and socks

(both men’s and women’s) were two items that caught my eye.

Barbara Hickman

“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody

conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-

pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by

forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in

order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and

conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.”

― A.W. Tozer, Preparing for Jesus' Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope

One of the most challenging aspects of

being a listener with the listening place

is coming in for a listening session

unaware of what lies ahead. A client

walks through the door and you have no

idea what they are going to talk about, yet somehow through a combination of

prayer and training our listeners manage to listen intently, guiding people to see

what is the most important part of the content and what action the client could take

to improve the situation. All without giving advice, telling their own story or judging

the client.

Over the past year our listeners have dealt with some very difficult listening sessions

demonstrating a high level of professionalism and empathy. We have an amazing

support network for our listeners after such difficult sessions and are very grateful to

all those who provide guidance and support.

On 8th March 20 people connected with the listening place gathered at Bemerton

Methodist Church for a day to help recharge our batteries. We started the day in

worship led by Revd Steve Hawkes, singing some beautiful and thought provoking

hymns.

We were very privileged to be joined by Canon Anne Long who led the main part of

the day encouraging us to spend time reflecting on those things which drain our

energy and those things which resource us and build us up. One phrase that spoke

particularly to me from this session was that “Self-care is not selfish”.

After a very well received fish and chips lunch we had a very entertaining

demonstration of cake decorating.

Feeling refreshed and rested, we then spent time in prayer, viewing a challenging

TED (www.ted.com) talk on listening and engaging with a variety of prayer stations.

This was followed by a time of fellowship as we engaged in varying activities, the

most popular of which seemed to be colouring. The day finished with a short

communion service, again led by Revd Steve Hawkes.

Thank you to the many people who made the day possible.

Rachel Clarke

Every Easter, the Methodist Church in Britain invites donations to the World Mission Fund through Easter Offering envelopes. • Please use the envelope to make your gift. This will also enable us to reclaim tax through Gift Aid where this is possible. • Cheques should be made payable to Methodist Church World Mission Fund.

They will be taken to the Easter Offering Dedication service to be held at Bemerton Methodist Church, Roman Road, SP2 9BH on Sunday, 29th April, 2018 at 6 pm. This service follows the tradition started 135 years ago to raise money for Methodist Women Missionaries. Today, it is the Methodist Church World Mission Fund that receives the money and prayers. In 2017, the Easter Offering service raised £340,641. The theme aims to sit within the year 2018, 100 years since the end of World War 1, where still today we have to strive to ‘seek peace and pursue it’. This act of worship shares stories from our Mission Partners in Sri Lanka, Israel/Palestine and Japan: people called by God and sent to become part of local communities, using their gifts and talents to share God’s love. They help remind us that God’s one mission is both local and global.

Liz Chick

Methodist Women in Britain - Southampton District

10.00am for 10.30am to 3.30pm

on Saturday 14th April at Dorchester United Church, 49--51 Charles Street, Dorchester DT1 1EE

on Tuesday 1st May at Emmanuel Methodist Church, 448 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1EE

on Wednesday 23rd May at Shirrell Heath Methodist Church, High Street, Shirrell Heath SO32 2JN

The days will be similar but with different local input.

They will include Worship, Bible Study, Drama & Poetry, Card Making,

Stories on a Scroll, Circle Dancing and Flower Arranging.

Cost for the day £3 including drinks, bring your own lunch. Further information or for transport talk to Liz Chick.

Sunday Attendance and Offerings

Date Offering 8.00am 10.30am 6.00pm

Communion Adults Children

25/02/18 £556.91 21 154 56 19

04/03/18 £184.50 14 79 8 10

11/03/18 £796.94 14 104 5 -

18/03/18 - 9 51 3 -

Please note that the amount recorded here is the offering taken each Sunday and does not

include the regular contributions made to the church by standing order, which amount to

about £3330.00 per calendar month.

Simon’s Sudoku Challenge

The April Newsletter was produced by Rachel and Simon Clarke.

Items for the May Newsletter should be sent to Rachel Clarke

email: news.smc1759@gmail.com

If possible, please submit articles as an A4 Word document in Arial font size 14pt; pictures or images in

black and white or greyscale. Please ensure you have appropriate consent for material to be included in

the Newsletter.

The deadline for material to be included in the next newsletter will be:

Friday 20th April 2018

2 7 3

3 5 2 4

8 6

5 2 4 8 7

3 5

6 3 9 4 1

7 5

8 1 9 3

9 4 7

April

1st 9.00 am Bacon Butties

6th 10.00 am Poetry Group

12th 12.45 pm Church Lunch

17th 2.15 pm Sarum Fellowship

19th 10.00 am Church Walk

22nd 12.00 pm Annual Church Meeting

23rd 4.00 pm Messy Monday

May

4th 10.00 am Poetry Group

6th 9.00 am Bacon Butties

10th 12.45 pm Church Lunch

15th 2.15 pm Sarum Fellowship

17th 10.00 am Church Walk

21st 4.00 pm Messy Monday

But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we

look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Bono

June

1st 10.00 am Poetry Group

3rd 9.00 am Bacon Butties

14th 12.45 pm Church Lunch

19th 2.15 pm Sarum Fellowship

21st 10.00 am Church Walk

25th 4.00 pm Messy Monday

July

1st 9.00 am Bacon Butties

19th 10.00 am Church Walk

23rd 4.00 pm Messy Monday

Café on the Green

Open: Tuesday 1:30 – 4:00

Friday 9:00 – 11:00

Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate,

Homemade Cakes

Everyone’s Welcome

The Café also Hosts:

Toddlers on the Green

Tuesday 1:30 – 2.00

Toys, Craft, Sing-a -Long. We provide

Fruit and Fruit Juice plus Tea or

Coffee, £1.50

Café Craft Club 2nd & 4th Tues at 2:30

Come along for a chat and to swap

ideas and skills. Special demos include

crochet, knitting, painting. Beginners

and experienced crafters welcome.

Toddler Friendly Café

Fri 9:00 – 11:00

Come for a chat while the kids play.

Bishopdown Farm Friendship Group

Fri 9:30 – 11:00

Celebrating retirement? This social

group is for you. Local newspapers

and board games provided.

Contact:Angela Waterworth. Email: cafeonthegreen91@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/cafeonthegreenbishopdownfarm

Sunday Services

8.30 am Holy Communion – 1st Sunday of the month

followed by bacon butties

[8.00 am weekly during Lent]

10.30 am Morning Worship & CHYPS/Crèche

4.00 pm Little Blessings – 2nd Sunday of the month

a service for babies, toddlers and pre-school children with their parents and carers

6.00 pm Evening Worship

Midweek Prayers

10.00 am Wednesdays[Communion 3rd Wednesday]

Coffee Bar Opening Times

Monday–Saturday 10.00 am – 12.00 noon Wednesday 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm (during scouts)

Confidential Free Listening Service 01722 325294

Mondays 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm

Wednesdays & Saturdays 10.00 am – 12.00 noon

www.thelisteningplace.org.uk

Minister: Revd David W Hookins

01722 320858 email:

minister@salisburymethodist.org.uk

Outreach Worker: Linda Hayman

email:

outreachworker@salisburymethodist.org.uk

www.salisburymethodist.org.uk

Salisbury Methodist Church, St Edmund’s Church Street, Salisbury, SP1 1EF email: admin@salisburymethodist.org.uk

Church Office Administrator: Ellen Lockington

01722 322755 email: bookings@salisburymethodist.org.uk

The office is situated on the first floor and is usually open between 9.30 am & 12.00 noon, Monday – Friday