from pastor samfrom pastor sam - tyndalereading.org.uk
TRANSCRIPT
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Summer 2014 Booklet Page 12
The Bible
Though the cover is worn and the pages are torn,
And though pages bear traces of tears,
Yet more precious than Gold
Is this book worn and old
That can sha�er and sca�er my fears.
When I prayerfully look in this precious old book
As my eyes scan the pages I see,
Many tokens of love from the Father above,
Who is nearest and dearest to me.
This old book is my guide, ‘%s a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way,
And each promise I find
Soothes and gladdens the mind
As I read it and heed it today.
It has been great to hear people from our community comment on
how fantastic the group has been to them, but sadly Heather and I
have made the decision for the group to stop. With no new volunteers
coming forward to help run the group and our numbers declining due
to early school entry and mums returning to work it seemed the right
time.
So with sadness and some regret our last meeting was 26th June where
we had a small party and invited back some mums from the past. It
was lovely to hear the positive comments and hopefully we have
made some impact on the mums and their children - not only Heather
and myself, but all the other ladies who have shared with the families
love, problems, happy times and all the other challenges that face
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Rev Sam Owoo
From Pastor SamFrom Pastor SamFrom Pastor SamFrom Pastor Sam
Since the beginning of June we have started the study of
the Gospel of John. So far each chapter brings us fresh
revelation about Jesus as the Son of God. Here are a
few home truths you need to know about John;
Apart from the gospel of John, John went on to write
1st, 2nd, 3rd John and the book of Revelation . John was
an expert on Love (all his 5 books have deep expositions
on love). But he was not an expert on love because he
was a great lover. He was an expert because he had been
deeply loved and he knew and understood just how
deeply beloved he was. He realised that he was a target and a recipient of love –
God’s unmeasurable, unfathomable unconditional love through his Son – Jesus
Christ.
He referred to himself as: “The disciple that Jesus loved” . And yet John was a hot
headed, short tempered young man (and so was his brother James). Probably among
the youngest of the disciples (he outlived all of the disciples). He and his brother
James may have been chief instigators over the dispute about who was the greatest
disciple or second in command in Jesus’ absence. Who was in charge when Jesus is
not around. At one point they got their mother involved in the issue and she put the
request forward to Jesus which prompted Jesus to ask them: “ Can you drink from
the same cup that I drink?”, challenging their understanding of second in command
(deputy). Ironically, the brothers lives ended in opposite directions as James was the
1st to die a martyr’s death (Acts 12:1-2) whilst as already mentioned, John outlived
the rest of the disciples.
Although greatly loved, and always within the inner circles – John appeared to be
lost and confused and followed Jesus from a distance. For example on the night Jesus
was betrayed, John and Peter followed the mob but from some way back. (John
18:15-16). And he may have felt responsible for Peter’s denial of Jesus because he
was the one who spoke to the servant girl to let Peter into the courtyard in the first
place (without Peter being there, the interrogation would not have been necessary
and may never have taken place). And yet despite all his faults this is the disciple
that Jesus entrusts his mother’s care to as he dies on the cross.
John was exiled at the end of his life and lived with suffering and abandonment for
many years. But his life and faith showed that God’s love always endures! The one
big moral here is that we do not need to be perfect for God to use us for his glory.
A Christian Counselling weekly magazine wrote on the 23rd of November, 2003 that:
“The Greatest truth you can learn about life is that life is not about you, it is about
God. You could have been a frog, a fly or an elephant (inconsequential). You were
created for God, you were made to live with God forever in eternity and you exist
for God’s purposes! God does not exist for you”. If you take this lesson to heart
then every single day is a blessing and a privilege and you will begin to understand
how loved you are!
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This year so far
The first 5 months has seen our offerings total £23,573 which averages
£1088 per month. This is against a budget of £1130 per month so this is
pretty close.
Good news on income is that income to date for sales, Tuesday fellowship
and Hire and use of premises is all above where we would expect to be for
5 months.
The really good news is that we submitted a gift aid tax refund claim in
May which was paid within a week. The amount of ‘free’ money we
received from HM Treasury was £13,082 compared with the budget of
£10,250. This is a substantial uplift directly due to people last year
signing up for Gift Aid and also many signing up to give the church a
regular gift by standing order.
The significance of this is huge as it represents over 10% of our yearly
income in one go. So if you pay income tax and get paid directly to your
bank then you really should consider both Gift Aid and a standing order to
enable your offerings to become worth 20% extra each year. Put it another
way, do you really want the government to keep all the tax you pay or
would you rather they gave a chunk of it back to the church?
So, many thanks indeed to everyone who has signed up for Gift Aid or a
standing order in the past, your continued support is much appreciated,
and as you can see, very important.
The down side of relying on over 10% of our annual income coming in
one month is that this year we suffered pressure on our cash flow as a
result of heavy expenditure before we could make the Gift Aid claim.
This is the reason why standing orders are so important to us. There can
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Tyndale ‘The Ark’ Parent & Toddler Group - 1992-2014
This group started in 1992 when Sara Wise, Sue Pond, Ann Keats and
one or two others shared the vision to open this group.
In the 90’s this was very popular and at one point had more than 40
families on the register but thankfully they didn’t all attend at the same
time! Many friendships were formed between the parents.
As circumstances changed in peoples’ lives Cath joined Sue and
continued to run the group until 2009. They were good days and we
pray seeds were sown as we shared some of the Christian message to
these families.
Jill Anders then offered to run the group. If you want a job done –
always ask a busy person or someone who has 5 children!
Jill writes:
“I must admit I don't know much about the history of the toddler group
only that Sara Wise, Sue Pond and Cath Talbot seemed to have been
involved long before I took over.
When I moved to Finchampstead 15 years ago and was looking for a
church it was the toddler group that brought me to Tyndale. Working
in a male prison I desperately needed some female company and this is
where I found it. The toddler group became a valuable lifeline to me
and my rapidly growing family. I relied on it to meet friends and vent
frustrations and problems. There was no question that I would take it
over when Sue and Cath decided to retire.
(Cont. overleaf)
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Please remember to pray for our elderly folk and for those who can no longer
a�end the Sunday Services: Vera Gigg, June Moulden, Ethel Sumner. You can use
the Church Directory as a prayer guide.
Faye is in RBH on Mor*mer ward. We pray that the medical staff can find the cause
of her illness and treatment can begin.
Pray too for Maureen who undergoing treatment for a blood
clot.
Please pray for those who are finding life challenging,
especially those adjus*ng to new homes and ways of life.
We thank God for the doctors and nurses
who have been such a blessing to our friends.
All members of our church family are important.
Please let Pastor Sam or Gwen Davis know of any
pastoral needs as they arise.
Bap�smal Classes.
These are being held 3 �mes a week for those who are
considering Bap�sm.
Mondays & Wednesday 7.30pm-9pm at 37 Cressingham Road
Sunday Mornings 8am-915am here at Tyndale
Saturday 6th September: Bap�sm Seminar for candidates.
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be hardly anyone who has a regular job here who is paid a different
amount each month and not regularly, yet our weekly offering can vary
quite wildly. In the winter and early months of the year we are subject
to fuel bills that are very high, yearly memberships and licences,
usually some winter maintenance as well as all our regular costs.
However we are still on track with expenses versus income so far and
we definitely should thank God for providing for us, as He has done
ever since Tyndale was built.
Steve
Well here it is the first CONTACT magazine since February! I hope it is enjoy-
able and useful to us all.
Firstly many thanks to Reverend Sylvia Stevenson who has put together edited
and produced our Contact Magazine for over ten years now. Sylvia has done a
great job in not only producing the magazine but also in getting us to contribute
on time for the monthly deadlines. This has been as well as the many other min-
istries she has been involved in here at Tyndale. So thank you Sylvia for all
your work with the magazine and for all your other work for The Lord.
Time is moving on and as such I, and I am sure the Church are grateful that
Sharon Bethel has come forward to take over the production of our church mag-
azine. Sharon is keen, but is learning to use Microsoft Publisher in order to pro-
duce the magazine – no easy task. As I am sure you can see she has made a
great start. I am certainly looking forward to seeing how she carries forward this
ministry for Tyndale. Some items will obviously remain very much the same as
before, but I am sure Sharon will use her flair to bring creative changes as she
develops her own style.
I am looking forward to future copies, giving us information of how the Lord is
working here at Tyndale, and also maybe some quizzes, fun and interest items.
PS. Please help by submitting items for deadlines. Photos (Digital, jpg’s) and
MS Word documents E-mailed to her are ideal, or even written items for those
without new technology would be great.
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The weather was beautiful as Tyndale headed out to Bulstrode House in Buck-
inghamshire. We all enjoyed the house and extensive gardens (some even revert-
ed to childhood!) and delicious barbecue. A few pictures as a reminder of that
lovely day.
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TYNDALE CARD GROUP
The card group was instigated way back in the 1990’s when it was devised as a way to
bring funds into the church rebuilding fund. Our then minister Sylvia Stevenson
brought a group of people together to set up and make Greetings cards for all occa-
sions. Various people over the years took on the task of cutting up old cards and mak-
ing new ones out of them, including Pam Coates, Mary Kirby, Lynne Horsecroft and
Angela Fleming all of whom sadly are no longer with us.
The card group was relaunched in 2003 with the main members being Sarah
Broadhurst, Cath Talbot , Anne Keats, Betty Westall and Shirley Lattimore. Each
member has multiple talents to produce beautiful cards together with intricate clever
designs.
Cath and Betty are the cutter outers, Cath doubling as the insert maestro, Sarah puts
together all the special verses and generally oversee’s operations including being the
book keeper. Ann embellishes with a flourish and though the finished product may look
simple, a lot of time and concentration goes in to each card. Shirley has donated hun-
dreds of cards for the team to work on and meets up with the group each Wednesday
morning to work alongside them.
The card stands you see in the Foyer were rescued from a closing down shop along the
Shinfield Road and from a sale down in Devon for a small cost and certainly are a good
way to display them all.
Special cards can be ordered and there are forms to be filled in with your requests, any
personalisation’s can be added but for those extra special cards a fortnights notice
would be appreciated. Any card already made which is bought from the rack can have
something added to it quickly so please just let one of the ladies know your needs and it
will be met.
Prices range from 50p to £2 for that special personalised one which is such good value
with the time spent on them.
The cards are sold at our Jumble sales and Fun days and have a regular set of customers
who like to buy from our team which in itself is another ministry. Relationships are
built up and lives touched by even a simple chat.
The Group meet up on a Wednesday morning in the Foyer between 9.30 am and 12.30
pm and anyone is welcome to come along and join in. It is also a good time to fellow-
ship with others, and to have a coffee and a chat. It is also a time which can be spent in
prayer with anyone in need, there is always time for someone.
Over the last 11 years over £6860.00 has been raised which is a phenomenal amount
and something to be thankful for, it has been a real blessing.
I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of Tyndale, to thank all these ladies who do
such wonderful work and long may it continue!
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(All services will be conducted by our minister,
the Revd Sam Owoo
unless otherwise indicated.)
July 20th 10.30am Communion Service
“Who is this Jesus?” (John 7:33-8:11)
July 27th 10.30am Family Service led by Jill Anders
August 3rd 10.30 am Family Service Led by Rev Sam Owoo & Steve wise
Luke 10:25-37 The good Samaritan.
August 10th 10.30 am Family Service Led by Rev Sam Owoo & Steve
Wise Luke 14:15-24 The great feast
August 17th 10.30am, Baptismal Service, led by Rev Sam Owoo &
Steve Wise Luke 15:1-7 The lost sheep
August 24th 10.30am Family Service, Led by Rev Sam Owoo, and Steve Wise,
Luke 15: 11-32 The lost son
August 31st 10.30am, Baptismal Service, Rev Sam Owoo, Heather Owoo & Jill
Anders
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Tuesday Fellowship
2.15pm
There’s a space for you!
July 15 Claire and Erika from Fusion
July 22 Uda from Befriending Organisation
July 29 Hazel, former missionary to Africa
Aug. 5 Members contributions
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BRUNCH
August 9th
At 11.30—12.30am
CHURCH MEETING The next will be held on
Thursday 17th July
Fun Day Donations needed! We are looking for items for the Tombola Stall such as bottles,
tins, packets of food and sweets. Any nearly new items will also
be greatly appreciated.