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May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi…. I had one of those ‘light bulb’ moments at the parish study day

in January. We were watching one of the Nooma series of DVD’s – called ‘Dust’ (even though it involved a lot of snow rather than dust!), which happened to link directly with the Gospel set for the following day (Matt 4: 12-13 – Jesus calls his first disciples) - which I’d spent the week unpicking ahead of

preaching on Sunday. There were lots of themes I could have picked up on, but frustratingly what kept coming back was a

sense of ‘irresponsibility’ about the disciples just leaving everything at the drop of a hat to follow Jesus. It seemed to smack of a ‘cult of the personality’ which Paul reacts so strongly against in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:10-18).

Stage left: Enter Rob Bell – with his explanation in ‘Dust’ of what discipleship meant in the days of Jesus’ – how only ‘the

best, of the best, of the best’ were invited to discipleship – & therefore to be called to discipleship by Jesus was such a huge honour for those ‘uneducated’ fishermen that it’s no wonder they just dropped everything and went…. To be a disciple really did mean dropping everything to follow your Rabbi, learning everything that you could from him, debating, discussing, emulating & obeying his ‘yoke’ (teaching). It involved walking in his footsteps – & in that hot and (at times) arid climate, quite literally getting covered in his dust – hence my title - which was a saying in common usage. Jesus doesn’t require us to be ‘the best of the best’ to be his disciples – he affirms his faith in us to follow him despite what the world might say about our individual abilities. So may we all become ‘covered in his dust’ as we learn to follow him ever more closely. RA

ST. COLUMBA INFORMER

February 2014

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We recommend that you purchase the book that accompanies the course:

‘Another story must begin’ by Jonathan Meyer currently available on Amazon for £4.49 or Eden.co.uk for £5.55. (also available in e-book format). Please contact Rachel Abbey (01329 318690 / rachel.abbey@ntlworld.com) if you would like a book to be purchased on your behalf.

Holy Trinity 7.30-9pm

The Hub 7.30-9pm

St Columba 10 – 11.30am

Wk 1 Tues 11th Mar Thur 13th Mar Fri 14th Mar

Wk 2 Tues 18th Mar Thur 20th Mar Fri 21st Mar

Wk 3 Tues 25th Mar Thur 27th Mar Fri 28th Mar

Wk 4 Wed 2nd April Thur 3rd Apr Fri 4th Apr

Wk 5 Wed 9th April Thur 10th Apr Fri 11th Apr

A course based on the stories and experiences

of characters in ‘Les Miserables’ – and how

these relate to our own experience of

Christian living. We will be showing the film

before the course starts for those who

haven’t seen it – more details on dates and

times to follow.

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Reflections on 24/7 prayer… There probably aren’t many places to go in Fareham

where the quiet actually hurts your ears – but the

prayer room at The Community Church was one such

place during the 24/7 prayer event! Various

materials were provided to help us focus on various

topics – Christian unity (after all, it was the Week of

Prayer for Christian Unity); war zones marked on a

world map - where I was surprised to learn that some conflicts in the world

have been going on for almost 100 years (can anyone concerned remember

what they are fighting for do you suppose?!); & a fishing net placed to

‘capture’ the paper fish on which participants had written thoughts / prayers

/ situations they wanted to bring to God. It’s amazing how quickly the hour

passes in quiet contemplation and ‘companionable silence’ with your fellow

Christian(s) also in prayer, & as Katrina and I ‘handed over’ our slot to Jeremy

and Rachel Hicks (St John’s Fareham), I was reminded of how we as Christians

might be divided by our preferences for worship, or by differences in

emphasis on what part of the Christian life is most important – but we have

far more That unites us than divides us, and the 24/7 prayer event is a good

place to remind ourselves of that – one God, one Church, one body made of

many parts. Rachel A

Electoral Roll 2014 The time is fast approaching when we all need to check the existing electoral roll for correct name and address details and if you are not on it and have not sent me a new slip then you will need to fill one in and put it in the box for inclusion. This whole process is governed by a strict dating process to be ready for the next APCM in April. Please watch the pew leaflets for further information. Any queries please give me a ring on 01329 287984. Bridget Rollo – Electoral Roll Officer

ring on 01329 287984. Bridget Rollo - Electoral Roll Officer

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Spotlight on Mission (Part 1) – Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade is about trade justice, particularly for poverty stricken

communities in third world countries. Organisations like

Traidcraft and Shared Interest are connected to over half a

million producers and farmers in developing countries who are

slowly breaking the cycle of poverty in their communities. They

work with marginalised and vulnerable people helping them to trade their

own way out of poverty - offering them loans, business expertise and a

market for their goods at a fair price.

In order for this to happen it is essential that we in the developed countries

buy Fairtrade products. Without us Traidcraft could not help these people

out of poverty! They continually campaign for trade justice. Shop Equality is

an excellent shop in Eastleigh which sells a wide variety of Fairtrade products,

and Holy Trinity has a Fairtrade stall each 3rd Sunday after the 9.30am service.

Fareham is a Fairtrade Borough, this status has

been made possible by the dedication of

Fareham Fairtrade Borough Group whose

members are committed to promoting Fairtrade

locally. Among other events the group works

with local community organisations and schools, leading assemblies and

activities, encouraging and supporting them to gain Fairtrade status. The

Council are very supportive, with regular meetings and presentations keeping

them up to date with how the group are engaging with the community,

especially during Fairtrade Fortnight. This year the dates are 24th February-

9th March and the focus is bananas- a campaign to “abolish the unfair

banana”. Look out for the local posters saying “Let’s go Fairtrade Bananas!”

and do go along to the Fairtrade stand in Fareham shopping centre on

Saturday 22nd February between 9am-3pm. Your chance to chat to friendly

Fairtrade enthusiasts and be tempted to try some samples of fairly traded

chocolate, cookies and bananas!

Jenny Hellyer & Katharine Lancey

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Parish Study Day ….. Made in China the image of God A group of about twenty of us from across

the parish enjoyed a day away from it all

in late January, led by our Curate Keith.

The lovely venue was St John’s Shedfield,

where we spent time considering what it

meant to be made in the image of God,

and how we saw that reflected in the life

of Jesus, particularly through Luke’s

account of Christ’s Baptism (Luke 3:15-22).

Through a mixture of Bible study, small

group discussion and quiet reflection we

tackled questions such as:

‘If you could ask God to do one thing,

knowing that he would do it, what would

that one thing be?’

‘What might God be / do, that you fear?’

‘Are there ways in which you find God

surprising?’

We found some answers in the Gospel accounts, but also had to

recognise that other questions were much less straightforward to resolve and

had the potential for sparking quite heated debate! We often think of Jesus

as being the image of God on earth, but I’m not sure how often we turn that

on its head, and consider God as also being in the image of Jesus…so if we

have fears about what God might be or do, do we find those fears backed up

or dissolved by what we see of Jesus in the Gospels? And where do we find

encouragement in the Gospels for the task of being God’s representatives in

the world today?

The Shedfield ‘B Team’ (apparently) ensured we were very well looked after,

keeping us supplied with tea and coffee, and a delicious lunch. Our thanks to

Keith too for providing such a thought-provoking day. RA

‘God is Christ-like, and no

un-Christ-likeness can be

found in him at all’

ABp Michael Ramsey

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Wheelers wanted urgently! Could you help get patients to the Chapel on a Sunday

morning at Queen Alexandra Hospital once a month? There

is a particular need for more wheelers on the third Sunday.

The role involves working in a small team of volunteers,

arriving at the Chapel at QA at 9.50am, with wheeling duties

from 10.00am for a short service starting at 10.30am. Wheelers sit alongside

the patients and assist them during the service. You would expect to be

leaving the hospital by 11.00/15am. Training is provided, and parking is free,

once your volunteer status has been established.

This very worthwhile volunteering opportunity will bring you a sense of

satisfaction and it means a great deal to our patients. Often elderly patients

are able to get to a worship service for the first time in years, when they are

in hospital and they are always very grateful for that opportunity. (Also the

sermons are short!). Please call Su Bishop on 023 92286408 for more details.

Church Resources Fayre - back by popular demand! Saturday 22nd February from 10am to 4pm at Old Alresford Place, Winchester

After the huge success of the first regional church resources fayre in 2012, it's

back - and even bigger than last time! There'll be a wide range of stalls,

including communications, insurance, parish buying, action planning, audio

visual and a seminar on capital fundraising for churches. Entry is free but

tickets must be pre-booked. More information / booking can be found at

www.winchester.anglican.org/parish-life/church-resources-fayre

Saddle up this summer to support HoverAid If you're looking for a challenge this summer, why not consider HoverAid's

Hover-Ride, a two-day cycling adventure around the Isle of Wight (72 miles!)?

The charity uses hovercraft to help bring clean water, run community health

programmes and deliver aid to isolated communities in Madagascar. More

details on www.uk.hoveraid.org/get-involved

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Some of the wonderful, clever, glamorous, intelligent,

beautiful, funny Nutty Knitters!

Nutty Knitters, by ‘A New Girl’ Andy and I moved

into the area from Spain, & apart from my sons &

grandchildren I knew nobody & wasn’t sure

where to start building a new social life. First stop was the Highlands Hub who were very friendly, answering my questions positively. 1. I am looking for a friendly church. Sorted, St Columba full of delightful friendly people. 2. Is there a lunch club? Sorted, St Michael’s meet every fortnight. 3. Are there any clubs I could join? JACKPOT! Come along here to the Highlands Hub on Friday morning & join the Nutty Knitters. So I did. I arrived to a warm welcome by the greatest bunch of ladies you could ever wish to meet. Crazy as a box of frogs, but soooo lovely. “Hello, I’m Eileen, I once knitted a jumper when I was a teenager, I will need help, I have no knitting equipment.” Within minutes I was supplied with needles and wool, &lots of advice. The ladies were creating the most wonderful

woollen confections. Such complicated work, BUT I wasn’t made to feel inferior with my effort of a baby scarf. Cast on 28 stitches and knit ‘til I tell you to stop…I do believe I hold the world record for slowest knitter! They don’t seem to mind, I am just one of the ‘girls’. It is slightly worrying how well I have fitted in with the Nutty gang. Girls, I would like to thank you ALL for making me so welcome. Now before I finish I must include a few

words they insisted I use when they heard I was writing a short article. The Nutty Knitters are a wonderful, clever, glamorous, funny, intelligent, beautiful, friendly, welcoming bunch of girls. I would like to end on a word of my

own. FABULOUS. Why not come and join us, every Friday at the Highlands Hub, 10.00-ish. From experience I can guarantee you’ll get a warm welcome. See you there. My baby scarf just needs pompoms, I am getting more advice and help on pomp om making. My next project is a hat. There are a lot of k2togs and dec’s. Wish me luck. The Nutty Knitters are there to help me. Eileen Tollhurst

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Innovation is helping churches in our diocese to grow INNOVATIVE ways of being church across the diocese are helping congregations to grow. A survey of 21 different fresh expressions of church in the diocese revealed that attendance had quadrupled in these new worshipping communities.

Almost 1,300 people now worship in fresh expressions of church in this diocese, half of whom are adults, and half children and young people. These groups started with a total of just 250 adults and 66 children. This figure is almost 10% of the average weekly attendance across Portsmouth diocese. Many of those worshipping in these fresh expressions groups are not usually counted in normal church attendance figures. The research, carried out by the Church Army, concluded that nothing else the Church does has the same impact as fresh expressions.

Fresh expressions of Church are worshipping communities that don’t match the traditional model of church. They may meet at alternative times, offer different styles of worship, and deliberately attempt to reach those who don’t attend traditional services. In our diocese, the 21 fresh expressions surveyed included:

14 Messy Churches, which welcome families for art and craft activities on a spiritual theme, a meal and a short act of worship. The high proportion of Messy Churches was attributed to the fact that the concept began in our diocese, at St Wilfrid’s Church, Cowplain, in 2004. One Messy Church, which meets at St Mary’s Church, Hook-with-Warsash, started in 2011 with 24 people and now welcomes an average of 90. Another, at All Saints Church, Denmead, started in 2011 with 22 people and now attracts 170 each month;

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Café Lite, a monthly café-style church at Droxford Village Hall in the Meon Valley, which mixes coffee, chat and informal worship. It began with 11 people in 2011 and the average attendance is now 70;

Sunday Sanctuary, the congregation of St Luke’s Church in inner-city Portsmouth, which started meeting in a tower block and now meets in a nearby church hall for creative worship. It began with 17 people in 2009 and now welcomes around 27 people each week;

Breakthru, a weekly self-help group at St Simon’s, Southsea, for people who want to learn new skills. It combines training in cookery, literacy and work skills, with a shared meal and spiritual support. It started in 2012 with eight people and now welcomes an average of 23 each Friday.

The name ‘fresh expressions’ was applied to such groups after the 2004 report Mission-Oriented Church encouraged the Church of England and other denominations to embrace a mixture of traditional congregations and fresh expressions of church.

Diocesan mission development officer, Rev Charlie Peer said: “We’re pleased that these new ways of helping people to engage with God are bringing fresh people into church. One defining factor about fresh expressions is that they are created by people in parishes to respond to the need they see around them. They simply don’t work if a formula is imposed from the centre. But we’re keen to support these new worshipping communities as they nurture these new contacts and help them to develop spiritually.”

The Church Army researchers asked the leaders of each fresh expression in Portsmouth who they were aiming to reach and whether they had done so. The results showed that the number of Christians present at these events is less than a quarter of overall attendance, which contradicts the myth that fresh expressions only attract existing Christians. The research also showed that the reason cited most often for creating a new fresh expression was that worshippers felt a distinct group of people weren’t being catered for by existing services.

What groups in our own area aren’t currently being catered for, and how might we address that as a church through a ‘Fresh Expression’?

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Services at St Columba during February Prayer during the week – Tues & Thurs at the Hub – 9.15am 2nd Feb – Candlemas

8am - Said Communion; 10am - All Age Morning Worship 6.30pm - Iona service

9th Feb – 4th Sunday before Lent

8am - Said Communion 10am - Family Communion with Columba Kids

16th Feb – 3rd Sunday before Lent 8am - Said Communion 10am - Morning Worship with Columba Kids

23rd Feb – 2nd Sunday before Lent

8am - Said Communion 10am – Family Communion – with Columba Kids

Dates for your diary: Wed 5th Feb Contemplative prayer 3-4pm. Holy Trinity

Church

Sun 9th Feb Congregational meeting at Holy Trinity after the 9.30am service to discuss their exciting fundraising ideas and plans.

Sat 1st March Quiz night at the Heathfield Arms at 7pm. Cost £7.50/ person (includes a basket meal)

Thurs 27th Feb ‘Hard Questions of Faith’ – A workshop led by Henry Rattle. 7.15 for 7.30pm at Rowner Church Hall.

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Year’s Mind for February 1st Joy Hall

2nd Elsie Boote, Harold Carter, Lily May Hudell, Doris Miller,Harold Wright

3rd Betty Fisher, Olga Nunn

4th Olive Coghlan, Margaret Knight

5th Derek Morgan

6th George Bonsor, William Darby, Marina Ginn, Sylvia Jacobs, Kathleen

Pengelly, Violet Talbot

7th Peter Morgan, Donald Thatcher, Eric Williams

8th May Burgess, Hazel Roberts, Ada Webster

9th Sybil Dewe, Irene Edwards, Eileen Hay

10th Constance Clarke

11th Arthur Clarke, Ted Dent, Roger Moran

12th Dorothy Gilbert

13th

14th Louise Hall, Alan Prosser

15th Mary Campbell, Gwendoline Thirkill, Lilian Williams

16th William London

17th Margaret Cooper

18th Brenda Barrett, Walter Knight, Ronald Saunders, Lawrence Weaver,

Ina Williamson

19th Charles Coghlan, George Shuttle, Christopher Tymoszuk

20th Jim Chapman, John Hill

21st Isaac Morgan

22nd Brian Berry

23rd Leonard Briddon

24th Elsie Beardshaw, Jessica Cawte, Ronald Cripps, Emma Dickinson

25th Donald French, Elizabeth Mouat

26th Win Peters, Jack Phillips, Ivy Thomas

27th Lilian Green, Percy Smith, Robert Tweed

28th Fred Tee

1st Ma

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External Spirituality Days: You’re never too old to find new ways of encountering God! The diocesan team have put together a brochure with 2014 dates of days to help you explore your spirituality (available in the foyer). If you haven’t tried one of these days before, why not book one to taste & see?

Saturday 22nd March - Prodigal Son? Prodigal Father? Portsmouth Cathedral - 10.00 am to 3.30 pm This spirituality day will explore how one of the most famous of all Jesus' parables can help us on our journey through Lent, as we seek to renew our image of ourselves and of God. Led by Rev Alex Hughes. Cost: by

donation to the Bishop’s Lent Appeal on the day.

Saturday 24th May - Stations of the Resurrection St Thomas’ Cathedral, Old Portsmouth - 10.00 am to 3.30 pm The resurrection appearances are more than stories or history; they are a record of personal encounters with the risen Jesus. This is a day to ponder these encounters, to journey alongside those who encountered him, and to allow the joy of his risen life to well up within us. Led by Chris Prior-Jones and Max Millett. Cost £8.50

Saturday 21st June – Masculine Spirituality St Peter’s Church, The Square, Petersfield. GU32 3HS 10.00 am to 3.30 pm Spirituality is essential to everyone with any awareness of themselves & God, this day explores the more masculine side of this. Led by Rev Will Hughes, this event is not exclusively for men! Cost £8.50. Saturday 19th July – The art of Navigation St. Thomas’ Cathedral, Old Portsmouth – 10.00am – 3.30pm

A quiet reflective day for seeking God’s voice, & exploring individual / corporate vocations through maps & map-making! With an opportunity to meditate on art, and an invitation to create your own map (artistic ability not a prerequisite!). Led by James Grenfell and Ann Trew. Cost £8.50

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Saturday 20th September – From Silence through noise to Stillness St. Thomas’ Cathedral, Old Portsmouth – 10.00am – 3.30pm A day exploring contemplative prayer, and how distractions can be used to enhance our prayer time! Led by Rev Ruth Tuschling. Cost £8.50

Saturday 11th October – Autumn: A Season for Transformation St. Thomas’ Cathedral, Old Portsmouth – 10.00am – 3.30pm As Autumn transforms the landscape of the natural world, it can speak to us of the transformation going on in our own lives. This will be a gentle day with space to allow God to speak to hearts and minds through the beauty of the autumnal season. Led by Marion Syms. Cost £8.50.

“Our friends across the miles.” News from our IDWAL Link We have regularly supported a variety of projects at the Good Shepherd Church in Effiakuma (Sekondi diocese), Ghana, & have received some recent news from Linda Forster, our Fareham deanery ‘rep’ who visited in Nov.

The parish has a new priest Fr John Ankrah, who was previously at a church liked with St John’s Locks Heath. Indeed Fr John has visited Portsmouth and attended Bishop Christopher’s installation.

The water sachet project, which we have supported - & which has been very successful - has now sadly ceased production. The filtering & packaging equipment have been well maintained but the delivery vehicle has not & it now needs major expensive repairs. The two employees are being housed at the Mission House, but have no income. Water sachet production is now big business in Ghana so if they re-started they would face major competition.

There are still plans to build a nursery school near the primary school but at present it’s still held in a lean-to on the side of the Church, awaiting enough money to proceed. Please pray for Father John, his wife Thelma and the congregation as they consider the way forward.

He is very approachable and responsive and if anyone would like to communicate with him by email please contact Nigel Dean / Maurice Shergold for details.

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Spotlight on

Parish Almsgiving for 2014 AT ITS MEETING IN NOVEMBER, the PCC accepted the World Concern Committee’s recommendations for distributing our ‘tithe’ money to charities in 2014 - thank you to all who contributed to that process by providing suggestions of charities for our parish to support this year. The committee tries very hard to ensure that our giving reflects a balance between international, national and local concerns, and over the coming year, some of these charities will be highlighted in the ‘Spotlight on Mission’ articles.

World Water Aid (Clean water for impoverished people) (5 shares) Mission Aviation Fellowship (airborne medical support in Africa) (4 shares) Leprosy Mission (Support for those with Leprosy) (4 shares) SOMA (support for Christian missionaries abroad) (4 shares) Open Doors (supporting oppressed Christian Churches) (3 shares) Release International (working with persecuted churches) (3 shares) Mercy Ships (Healthcare & Mission) (4 shares) Canadian Church (Arctic Diocese) (3 shares) The Kintampo Project (Mental health in Ghana) (4 shares) National World Development Movement (campaigning against poverty) (5 shares) Age UK (political lobbying and practical support for elderly) (4 shares) Church Urban Fund (funding for relief of poverty in UK) (5 shares) Shooting Star Chase (Children's hospice group) (4 shares) Christians Against Poverty UK (helping people to manage budgets) (4 shares) British Hen Welfare Trust (animal welfare & education) (3 shares) De Paul UK (Working with homeless young people) (4 shares) Local Cedar Oak (pregnancy counselling for the young) (5 shares) Fareham Family Aid (women's refuge) (4 shares) AFFECT (families and friends of convicted prisoners) (3 shares) Fareham Fairtrade Borough (2 shares)

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Mission (Part 2)

“I have come that they may have life to the full” John 10:10

WORLD LEPROSY DAY was marked on Sunday 26th January and provided an

opportunity to reflect on the work of the charity The Leprosy Mission.

Hopefully you will have seen the publicity, or received a bookmark, and

remembered the charity and those it seeks to help in your prayers.

Some facts about this debilitating disease:-

3 million people globally are left with irreversible disabilities as result of late treatment

In 2012 more than half new leprosy cases were in India (134,752/ 232,857)

Every 2 seconds India welcomes a new child into its family. Yet every 4 minutes it shuns one because of leprosy.

India creates 7 million new jobs a year but leprosy sufferers can’t get work

The cure for leprosy is 99% effective but 85% of Delhi’s population believe it’s incurable

Without early treatment the disease results in horrific disabilities and blindness.

Leprosy sufferers face a triple blow of disease, disability and discrimination. Without help these people are reduced to begging or living in isolation. The Leprosy Mission works to treat people using a holistic approach to their life, helping sufferers with reconstructive surgery, sight saving eye surgery,

housing, schooling for their children and job training. They offer what’s needed to restore their dignity and enable them to be self-sufficient, Offering HOPE and a NEW LIFE to the world’s poorest people (www.leprosymission.org.uk)

The World Concern Committee

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St. Columba Leadership Team Area of Oversight Member’s Name Contact Tel. Number

Worship & Prayer Revd Ruth Schofield

01329 842300 / 07738 858909 Discipleship

Pastoral Care Mike King 01329 238194

Fabric & Finance Jane Whiteley 01329 668388

Fellowship Margaret Handley 01329 608817

Outreach Jim Palmer 01329 289568

Administration Rachel Abbey 01329 318690

Thank you to all our contributors this month. We would love to hear from

you – want to reply? Want to share something that’s struck you? Articles for

the next edition of the Informer (available 2nd March) are very welcome.

Please forward them to Rachel Abbey - hard copy deadline Mon 24th Feb,

electronic copy deadline Tuesday 25th Feb to rachel.abbey@ntlworld.com -

Thank you.