St John’s Church the Heart of the Wood

OOuuttrreeaacchh

The Parish Magazine of

St John’s Church

The Parish Church of St John Walsall Wood

St John’s Church the Heart of the Wood

The Parish Church of St John

High Street, Walsall Wood, Walsall, WS9 9LP

01543 372284 or 01543 360558

email: stjohnswalsallwood@btinternet.com

www.achurchnearyou.com/walsall-wood-st-john

Worship at St John’s

Sunday

8 am Holy Communion

9.30 Sung Eucharist and Sunday School and Crèche

Or Family Service (normally 2nd Sunday)

Or Morning Worship (normally 4th Sunday)

6.30 Evening Worship

Wednesday

10.15 Holy Communion with St John’s School

12.00 Prayers for Healing and Wholeness

Thursday

12.30 Holy Communion

Welcome

2016

.

A New Minister for St John’s e are delighted to formally welcome the Revd. John Pretty

as a member of the Ministry Team at St John’s. Along with

his wife Angela, John has been worshipping with us and

supporting us for nearly a year now and we were delighted when,

following a request from the Church Council, the Bishop of

Wolverhampton kindly agreed to license John as an Ordained Minister

for our Parish.

A granddad and former head teacher, John has served for a number of

years in ministry already; formerly as a Reader in the Diocese of

Birmingham, and more recently as a Priest in the parish of Draycott and

Forsbrook in North Staffordshire.

John will be licensed as an Ordained Local Minister for our parish by

the Archdeacon of Walsall, the Ven. Dr Sue Weller, at our Celebration

Praise Service which will take place on Sunday, 28th February at 6.30.

We are all looking forward to having him working along-side us. Do

come and support him if you can.

* * * * *

Salt, Yeast and Statistics uring a short reflection in a recent Newsletter I ruminated on

the fact that, with the exception of those who love figures, the

early days of the New Year can hold a few frustrating moments

for parish clergy. For these are the days when we are required to

submit our annual statistics (our key performance indicators, if you like)

to the diocese for perusal.

The areas covered by the analysis include the Average Sunday

Attendance (adults and children), the number of baptisms (by age

group), the number of weddings, the number of funeral services (at

church or at the crematorium), a count of anyone who attended any

service (Sunday or weekday) in the month of October, the number who

attended Easter and Christmas Services, the number who took Holy

W

D

Communion at Easter and Christmas services, the number on the

Church Electoral Roll, membership of the Church Family (by age

group), the number who joined the Church Family during the year (and

why), the number who left the Church Family during the year (and why)

and the number who came to special services during the season of

Advent. All good fun.

A separate financial statement is then forwarded to the diocese a little

later in the year.

To be sure it does no harm to use a few figures to help to gauge the

health of a local church but there is a great danger that we can slip into

the “performance management” mind set or the success culture which,

if taken too far can cause more harm than good.

In terms of the statistical analysis by most measures, other than

financial, St John’s is doing reasonably well. We are seeing a

broadening of our age range and we are witnessing growth in some

areas of our worshipping life. Of, course, we can always try to improve

but many good things are happening at St John’s, for which we can,

and must, thank God.

But there is a danger that we start to focus our attention on those things

which can be measured, but which have only marginal significance for

the Christian life.

For the Church stands, as did the Lord we worship, at the bridge

between the secular and the sacred; and by “the Church” I mean not

the denomination, the institution or the building which stands in almost

every local community. The Church is the whole community, the

gathering, the congregation, the family of people who draw together for

worship and service in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the role of the Church to live the sacred in and among the secular

and to offer the life of home, community, nation and world before God.

Now, if there were a particular way of doing this which worked in all

places and in all situations, we could be sure that most people would be

doing it, and others would be measuring it. But there isn’t.

Certainly, it is not the Church’s role to be constantly lecturing society in

a judgemental manner; nor should the church simply bless, in God’s

name, everything which goes on in the world as if, somehow, God

always wanted it to be that way. God is not to be mocked.

But if you look in the gospels you will see that Jesus had a gloriously

simple way of teaching about how the life of the Church can improve

and even sanctify the life of God’s world; and he often taught about

doing things on a small scale.

Jesus used words like light, salt and yeast to describe the potential

actions of Christians: simple but powerful metaphors which indicate the

ways in which the love of God can be brought alive in our relationships.

Light, and indeed enlightenment, changes lives and helps individuals to

find direction. Salt, when used appropriately, preserves goodness,

prevents deterioration and enhances flavour, whilst itself becoming

invisible. Likewise, as any baker will remind you, a small amount of

yeast in a batch of dough is the magic ingredient for a well-baked loaf.

Ideally, a major role of any church community, (whether it meets in a

huge cathedral, a parish church, a front room, or wherever else), is to

equip its members to be salt and yeast in the places where they live

and work from Monday to Saturday, as well as at worship on a Sunday.

How do you measure such things? I don’t know. But whilst strength of

numbers has many advantages indeed, it is in the quality of lives lived

that we will find our true meaning.

A final thought which I have shared many times, having first heard it

from a wise priest some years ago now: Our Lord does not call us to be

successful, but to be fruitful. There is a difference.

And we might add that, in addition, our Lord calls us to be faithful –

whatever the statistics say.

Nigel

SSuuddookkuu

WWoorrdd SSeeaarrcchh

Answers can

be found at

the rear of the

magazine

WWoorrddsseeaarrcchh ffoorr FFeebbrruuaarryy 22001166

February is the month of romance. Millions of Valentine cards will be

sent in the next week or two, as we celebrate our romantic love for that

special person in our lives. But there are other kinds of love to

celebrate: and on Candlemas we remember Mary and Joseph taking

their baby son to the temple to present him to God. Jesus’ whole life

was a loving present to us from God. Through his death for us on the

cross, and his resurrection, his love can now transform anyone’s life.

Romances can die, but God’s love for us is always there. But it won’t

do us much good – unless we accept it!

Valentine

Rose

Romance

Love

Present

Restaurant

Hearts

Kiss

hug

girlfriend

boyfriend

fiancé

worship

repentance

angels

baby

temple

Mary

Candlemas

presentation

Do come and join us for our next

Celebration Praise An informal service where you choose all the hymns and songs

Sunday, 28th February at 6.30 pm. At this service we are delighted to be licensing

The Revd John Pretty as an Ordained Local Minister

to join the team at St John’s.

Hymns and songs are chosen for Celebration Praise using the request forms which can

be obtained from the church and returned to our Director of Music, Mr Brian

Worrallo.

‘‘AArrrryy’’ss BBiitt

Hello folks hope you all had a peaceful Christmas. We had some

happy news in the family just before Christmas as our eldest

granddaughter Amie got engaged. They were on a visit to York (before

the floods) when in the grounds of the minster her boy friend Greg

popped the question - what a lovely setting. We wish them every

happiness and hope they will be as happy together as Jenny and I have

been. The lucky lad’s surname is Bishop, I always said we would have

a Bishop in the family one day and it appears “it shall yet come to pass”.

I suppose this means I will have to buy a pair of shoe laces now

because Jenny says the string I have in at the moment will not look right

at a wedding! Oh dear more expense.

I had a very interesting book as a present for Christmas, it has the title

‘We good…We no shoot’ by Andrew Hamilton and Alan Reed. In it they

have correlated the story of the Christmas truce in 1914 using extracts

from letters and Diary entries of the soldiers who were actually there.

Although I have read many accounts of the remarkable events that took

place that Christmas but this book has had quite an effect on me.

The truce began when following the singing of carols the Germans

invited the British over to their lines for wine. After some messages

The happy couple on their engagement day with York Minster in the background. (The photo was taken by friends)

back and forth, a meeting half way between the lines was suggested.

One brave British soldier ventured into no man’s land and was met by

two Germans where warm greetings were exchanged. I thought of the

great courage shown by the British man, he didn’t know if the enemy

would take a pop at him, or if he would be charged with the crime of

fraternising with the enemy and being shot at dawn. The spirit of

friendship and goodwill spread along a section of the line. I thought of

the shepherds in the fields on that very first Christmas. They were afraid

when the Angels first appeared, but afterwards they ventured into

Bethlehem I would think they would be concerned about what would

happen to the sheep if they left them, was it a trap to lure them away?

One thing that really stood out as I read the book was the spirit of peace

and good will that shone through that day. In the darkness and horror of

war a glimmer of light was shining. The soldiers exchanged gifts of

cigarettes and tobacco - just small gifts, but to them they were precious

and a much needed comfort. The Magi brought gifts to baby Jesus but

told Herod of the birth during the journey. We all know what Herod’s

reaction was and we know what the outcome was when the higher

officers heard of unofficial truce. The darkness of war descended again.

One however, is certain ‘the light still shines in the darkness and the

darkness does not overcome it’.

I don’t have time to go into all the details of the events but one sentence

written by a soldier sticks in my mind “A DAY UNIQUE IN THE

HISTORY OF THE WORLD” Equally when Jesus was born in

Bethlehem it surely was a unique day, wasn’t it?

I am reminded that July this year marks the one hundredth anniversary

of the first battle of the Somme in World War One. For twenty four

hours over a period of seven days we bombarded the German lines

with thousands of tons of shells and then sent our troops ‘over the top’.

Out of their fortifications came the Germans and machine gunned them

down! We suffered sixty thousand casualties in one morning. The

bombardment was supposed to have completely destroyed the enemy

lines. While I was reflecting on this, news came through that our

politicians had decided that the best thing to do in the Middle East is to

carry out air strikes. Some things never change do they?

We must keep the light of Christ shining through whatever the darkness

brings.

Harry Jackaman

“You are the Light of the world” Matthew 5:14-16

CCeelleebbrraattiinngg tthhee QQuueeeenn’’ss 9900tthh BBiirrtthhddaayy

–– ssppeecciiaall bbooookk The Queen has served

the country and

Commonwealth for more

than 60 years. From 10-

12 June 2016 her 90th

birthday will be

celebrated.

To mark the unique

occasion, HOPE, Bible

Society and the London

Institute for

Contemporary

Christianity are

publishing a ‘very

special’, 64-page book focusing on the Queen’s Christian faith as a

tribute to her life of service.

The Servant Queen - and the King She Serves is a beautifully illustrated

short book, which uses the Queen’s own words to draw out the central

role of her trust in Jesus Christ, offering an inspiring, multi-faceted

insight into a life well-lived for others.

In her 2014 Christmas broadcast the Queen described Jesus Christ as

‘an anchor in my life’ and a ‘role-model’. It is the most recent of many

public references the Queen has made to her Christian faith.

Advance orders for The Servant Queen have already reached more

than 60,000 with Anglican dioceses and denominations ordering copies

to give away.

TTiimmee ttoo rreettrreeaatt?? Lent is how the Church offers you a 40-day period of renewal each

year. So this Lent, if you feel tired and stressed by the demands of daily

life, why not consider a retreat?

In simplest terms, a retreat is simply stepping aside from your daily

routine for a period of time, usually to reflect and pray about your life, all

within the context of being in a welcoming and peaceful place. You can

go it alone, or with a group. It can last from half a day to a day, to a

week, or even longer. During this time, you can seek God’s presence,

grow deeper in your faith, and come to see yourself and others more

clearly.

You may greatly benefit from a retreat if:

- you need time to get back in touch with your inner self

- you want to learn more about prayer and reflection before God

- you need to prepare for some big challenge/decision in your life

The range of retreats on offer is enormous. There are beginner days,

hobby-based retreats (art, poetry, gardening), retreats for particular life

issues such as bereavement, relationship breakdown, marriage

enrichment, stress and trauma, or simply prayer and Bible reading with

a spiritual director to guide each day. Retreats are also held with

seasonal themes – Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, or on major life

themes: forgiveness, waiting, letting go, peace, justice, contemplation,

the Cross, Resurrection, hope or despair. Others focus on inspiring

believers of all kinds down the ages. Retreats have only one thing in

common: they are offered to nourish and enrich you.

Retreat houses vary from monasteries to modern building complexes.

Most are set in beautiful grounds, with lots of space to wander about in.

Some have libraries, art rooms and prayer rooms. Almost all provide

home cooked food, and many can welcome people with disabilities.

What is the point of it all? Like pilgrimages, retreats are really a journey

with a sacred purpose that can become transformational for you.

Someone once described a retreat like this: “When we allow ourselves

time, new insights are given… new and old places in our hearts are

visited. Blessings are received and healing acceptance of memories

can take place…”

It is too easy to avoid ourselves, to live life on a shallow basis, and not

ever to allow ourselves time to simply renew our inner selves. Jesus

frequently went off to be alone and pray; He just wanted to be with his

Father. We, too, will benefit from time alone with God.

Retreat information at: www.retreats.org.uk

Where are people getting married

these days? In the year 2000, some 270,000 couples were married in England and

Wales. Almost half these weddings took place in a Registry Office

(47%), and over a third (36%) in a church, with a sixth (17%) taking

place in an Approved Premise.

But the dislike of people marrying in Registry Offices in the 21st century

has grown hugely, while the popularity of Approved Premises has

boomed, so that in 2015, when some 280,000 couples married, only 5%

took place in a Registry Office and over two-thirds (68%) in an

Approved Premise. A quarter (27%) still took place in a church.

The number of people marrying in a church (including all

denominations) has dropped from 97,000 in 2000 to 75,000 in 2015, a

decline of 22%, which is rather larger than the 16% decline in numbers

attending church in those two years. This presumably means that some

couples, about 6,000 in 2015, preferred their wedding in an Approved

Premise rather than a church.

The trend is likely to be true in other denominations. More and more

Christians are marrying non-Christians, which means that passing on

the faith to their children will become more difficult and could provide a

tension point within the marriage.

CChhiillddrreenn ttoooo ttrruussttiinngg ooff oonnlliinnee wwoorrlldd The number of children who believe everything they find on Google and

social media sites has doubled, according to a recent Ofcom study.

Eight-to-15 year olds may

be ‘digital natives’

(children who have grown

up with the internet) but

they often lack the ‘online

nous’ needed when

deciding if what they see

is true or impartial, Ofcom

says. Hence, almost a

fifth of 12 to 15 year olds

believe that all

information returned by a

search engine such as

Google or Bing must be true, and only a third of them were able to

identify paid-for adverts.

The study also found that children turn to YouTube for ‘true and

accurate’ information about what is going on in the world. Less than half

of the children were aware that advertising is the main source of income

for the site, and that therefore video bloggers are often paid to

favourably mention products or services.

Join us for

Come along and join us at St John’s for

Hol y Week for Kids Daily activities and fun for children, centred on the Easter theme.

Monday, 21st March to Thursday, 24th March

3.30 pm – 4.30 pm

Good Friday, 25th March

9.30 am – 11.30 am

Everybody Welcome

Join us for our

Family Service for

Mothers’ Day Everybody welcome

on Sunday, 6th

March at 9.30 am

Mary Tudor – the first Queen of England Mary Tudor, the first undisputed Queen of England to reign in her own

right, was born on 18 February 500 years ago.

The daughter of Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon, she reigned for

five years and after her death was known as Bloody Mary, because of

her execution of hundreds of Protestant leaders in a bid to turn England

back to Roman Catholicism following the death of her half-brother

Edward, an ultra-Protestant.

The first of these martyrs was the printer of the “Matthews-Tyndale

Bible”; also executed was the former Archbishop of Canterbury,

Thomas Cranmer, who was primarily responsible for the printing of the

Great Bible, as well as bishops Ridley and Latimer.

During her reign from 1553, Mary thwarted a bid to put Lady Jane Grey

on the throne and then crushed a rebellion led by Sir Thomas Wyatt. To

help her restore Roman Catholicism in England, she married Philip of

Spain.

This marriage was not a success, however, and she was childless –

after several false pregnancies she died of what is believed to be

uterine or ovarian cancer. Her husband showed little long-term interest

in her or in England, except to drag it into a conflict with France that

cost it the area around Calais, its last toehold in France. As a result the

country became disillusioned with her and was ready for a return to

Protestantism when she was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I,

daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn.

Mary’s body was interred in Westminster Abbey, and when Elizabeth

died, in 1603, she was buried next to her. With Elizabeth’s backing, the

radical Protestant John Foxe tracked down the stories of those killed

under Mary and published them in his Book of Martyrs, which was

enthusiastically received and widely read.

AAllll yyoouu nneeeedd iiss lloovvee!! The Beatles’ song ‘All you need is love’ is very fitting in this month, as

we mark St Valentines’ Day. If love is all we need, what does real love

look like?

Paul describes it like this: ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,

it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not

self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love

does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,

always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.’

(1 Corinthians 13: 4-8).

Love is unconditional: The agenda of one bride on her wedding day

was ‘aisle-altar-hymn’ (think about it!). Entering into love on the basis of

changing the other person is dangerous! Paul talks about loving

unconditionally, rooted in our experience of God’s love through Christ

for us: ‘We love, because he first loved us.’ (1 John 4:19).

Love is forgiving: According to the film Love Story, ‘Love means never

having to say you’re sorry.’ This is rarely true in our experience!

According to Paul, love is saying you are sorry and hearing that you are

forgiven. Love ‘keeps no record of wrongs’. We can only forgive as God

forgives us, and who does so from the arms of

Jesus stretched wide in love on the Cross.

Love is sacrificial: Paul describes love as not

selfish or self-seeking, but selfless and self-

sacrificial. It is a love that puts the needs of the

other person first. Take the words from 1

Corinthians and instead of the word love,

substitute your own name. Now substitute the

word Jesus. This is the Jesus who is available to you to make your love

for others grow that will bring true Valentines’ joy!

Recent report on religion and belief

in Britain ‘seriously misguided’ A recent report led by Baroness Butler-Sloss which said that Britain is

no longer a Christian country has been criticised by cabinet ministers

who said it was ‘seriously misguided’, and by the Church of England

which claimed it appeared to have been ‘hijacked’ by humanists. The

report into religion and belief in Britain, calls for a ‘new settlement’ for

religion because the religious landscape has been ‘transformed’ by a

growth in non-Christian religions and numbers of people with no

religion.

In response, a spokesperson for the Church of England said: “We

welcome the call in this report for greater religious literacy and the

highlighting of the scale of social action by the Church – as well as its

recommendation that where a religious organisation is best placed to

deliver a social good, it should not be disadvantaged.

“We also welcome the acknowledgement that the establishment of the

Church of England has helped the integration of non-Christian

perspectives in British society and helped them to make their voices

heard in the public sphere. The Church of England, through its

dioceses, parishes and at national level has been at the forefront of

work to increase understanding between the different faiths.

“We are however disappointed that the report misunderstands the role

of Church of England schools in providing a rounded education to more

than a million pupils from all backgrounds as part of our commitment to

the common good. If there is a significant problem with our schools it is

that many of them are so popular that they are oversubscribed and not

every parent who wants to can send their children to one.

“The report also misunderstands collective worship in schools. We

believe that if the law on collective worship were repealed schools

would risk losing this vital element of shaping a community that reflects

the full breadth of human experience. We know, for example, that the

response of many schools to the horror of the Paris attacks will have

been in the context of collective worship.

“The report is dominated by the old fashioned view that traditional

religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion

is the same as humanism or secularism.”

After recent “overwhelming public support for the Church of England

over the Lord’s Prayer cinema advert, it is important to remember that

most public opinion is strongly opposed to the marginalisation of

Christianity."

To read a blog by Nigel Genders, Church of England Chief Education

Officer see http://cofecomms.tumblr.com/post/134520796697/church-

schools-make-a-diff...

Read more: Christian Today 7/12/15Read more: The Telegraph

7/12/15

LLeeaapp YYeeaarr –– 2299tthh FFeebbrruuaarryy 2016 brings us a Leap Year. We need to add this extra day every four

years in order to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s

revolutions around the Sun. The problem is very simple: our calendar

has 365 days, but it actually takes 365.242199 days (a tropical year) to

circle once around the Sun. That means we are ‘out’ by nearly six hours

a year. Four times six hours is 24 hours - hence an extra day every four

years.

Adding the extra day in February goes back to Julius Caesar in 45 BC.

In his Julian Calendar, February was the last month of the year, and

24th February was Leap Year Day.

SShhrroovvee TTuueessddaayy –– PPaannccaakkee DDaayy –– 99tthh

FFeebbrruuaarryy It’s odd, really, that confessing one’s sins to God should ever have

involved making pancakes. And yet the beginning of Lent brings us both

– Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Day, and is followed by Ash Wednesday,

and so Lent begins.

In centuries gone by, the pancakes were made to use up the milk and

eggs before the fasting of Lent. More recently, many readers will have

childhood memories of the wonder of watching our mothers break an

egg, mix it with milk and flour – and out of that gooey mess, to produce

a light and delicious pancake.

These days more and more of us buy pancake mix, or even ready-

made pancakes. It seems we prefer the certainty of ending up with

pancakes - to the

risk of having

made nothing

BUT a mess of

the kitchen.

In many parishes

they used to hold

pancake races on

the day. Why

anyone would

want to run

around a field

while holding a

pancake is not

clear, but in Olney, Bucks, they have held a pancake race almost every

year since 1445.

IIddeeaass ffoorr VVaalleennttiinnee’’ss DDaayy Valentine’s Day is named after an early Christian

martyr, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in

496, in honour of St Valentine, who showed such

kindness and love to all who crossed his path. It

has become the day when we celebrate the joys of

human love.

If you have a romance in your life, how about

getting out your best crockery for a romantic

candlelit meal? Or go through your photographs

together, or write the one you love a love letter?

Can you return to the scene of your first date? - or

perhaps plant a shrub together, to celebrate the day?

Even if you do not have a romance in your life, that need not stop you

enjoying Valentine’s Day (after all, the saint had no romance in his life).

Instead, why not seek out and show love and kindness to several

people? How about hosting a Valentine’s meal to enjoy each other’s

company and to share God’s love for us all? At the very least, why not

be on the ‘look-out’ to do people a random act of kindness this month?

Ask God to help you be sensitive to even a stranger who needs a

helping hand.

RReemmeemmbbeerriinngg GGaalliilleeoo –– aanndd hhooww tthhee

eeaarrtthh rreevvoollvveess Galileo Galilei found himself at the centre of controversy 400 years ago

this month, when he was ordered by the Catholic Church on 26 Feb

1616 to abandon his opinion that the Earth and planets revolve around

the sun. He was banned from holding the opinion, promoting it, or

teaching it.

Highly respected as a scientist, Galileo has been called the father of

observational astronomy, of modern physics and of science generally.

But the Church at the time feared that his championing of heliocentrism

and Copernicanism cast doubt by implication on the authority of

Scripture. Galileo himself argued for a non-literal interpretation of Holy

Scripture to solve the “problem”.

Galileo was born in 1564 near Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence.

The first of six children of a famous lutenist, he started studying

medicine but became fascinated by mathematics and became

Professor of Mathematics at Pisa in 1589, then moved to a similar

position at Padua in 1592.

In 1609, Galileo heard about the invention of the telescope in Holland.

Without having seen one, he built a superior version and made many

astronomical discoveries, including mountains and valleys on the

surface of the moon, sunspots, the four largest moons of the planet

Jupiter and the phases of the planet Venus.

In 1632, he was again condemned

for heresy after his book Dialogue

Concerning the Two Chief World

Systems was published. Galileo was

summoned to appear before the

Inquisition, was convicted and

sentenced to life imprisonment –

later reduced to permanent house

arrest at his villa in Arcetri, south of

Florence. He was also forced to

publicly withdraw his support for Copernican theory.

Galileo died in 1642. In 1758, the Church lifted the ban on most works

supporting Copernican theory, and by 1835 dropped its opposition to

heliocentrism altogether.

Join us for our

on Sunday, 14th February (Valentine’s

Day) and 6th March (Mothers’ Day)

at 9.30 am.

Join us for

at 11 am on

Saturday, 5th March

Faith, Fun, Friendship and Food for everyone.

ALL welcome.

St John’s

Baby & Toddler Group

meets Mondays and

Fridays (term-time)

at 9.30 am in the Hall

�

Every Sunday at 9.30 (Except during Family Service)

During Term Time.

You’re Invited!

The Ark is our Children’s Club

for 8s to 12s

Friday evenings

during term-time

at 6.30

Just come along!

TThhee ssttoorryy bbeehhiinndd tthhee HHyymmnn ––

‘‘WWhhoo WWoouulldd TTrruuee VVaalloouurr SSeeee’’ Who would true valour see,

Let him come hither;

One here will constant be,

Come wind, come weather.

There’s no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent

To be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round

With dismal stories,

Do but themselves confound;

His strength the more is.

No lion can him fright,

He’ll with the giant fight,

But he will have a right

To be a pilgrim.

Hobgoblin nor foul fiend

Can daunt his spirit;

He knows he at the end

Shall life inherit.

Then fancies fly away;

He’ll fear not what men say;

He’ll labour night and day

To be a pilgrim.

By John Bunyan (1628-88)

John Bunyan wrote these words while a prisoner in Bedford jail. They

appeared as a poem in his great work, The Pilgrim’s Progress. He

would have been astonished to learn that his poem would ever go on to

become a well-loved hymn.

What was Bunyan doing in jail? He had got caught up in the

religious/political tensions of the times, and suffered for it.

John Bunyan was born in 1628, only a few years after the Pilgrim

Fathers fled England for America, and religious freedom. Those were

troubled times in England, with great tensions between King Charles

and the Royalists, who were Catholic and believed in the divine right of

kings, and the Parliament, as represented by Cromwell and the

Roundheads.

Bunyan had been brought up a Roundhead, and even became a soldier

for a while in Cromwell’s army. When another soldier died in his place,

Bunyan was stricken with grief, and went on to become a committed

Christian.

After the Restoration of the monarchy and the Established Church in

1660, Bunyan was viewed with suspicion as a Puritan sympathiser. He

was ordered to stop preaching in public, but refused. He was convicted

and altogether spent 12 years in prison. They turned out to be the most

fruitful years of his life, for he took up the pen, and in the end reached

far more people than he could ever have done by preaching locally.

The poem appears in Pilgrim’s Progress at the point where Christiania

and her four sons meet and help Mr Valiant-for-Truth on the road. They

wash his wounds, give him food and drink, and learn his story. Mr

Valiant-for-Truth was on his way from the City of Destruction to the

Celestial City. He relates the obstacles and battles along the way, and

then launches into ‘Who would true valour see…’

The poem/hymn has been praised as ‘calculated to inspire the most

doubtful spirit; the most disconsolate soul and to rekindle the fire of zeal

and enthusiasm for the pilgrim journey.” … it was born out of Bunyan’s

own struggle… to be a pilgrim.’ And it is the same faith, in the same

Lord, and the same

journey, that keeps

millions of Christians in

the Persecuted Church

of today strong and

looking forward… to the

Celestial City!

Hey Kids! come and join our

Come along to St John’s Church

at 6 pm every Wednesday (term time),

and help lead our monthly Family Service

Keep up to date with St John’s Church

Find us on Facebook St John’s Church, Walsall Wood

Follow us on Twitter @StJohnsChurchWW

or visit our web page at

www.achurchnearyou.com/walsall-wood-st-john

WWoorrdd SSeeaarrcchh aanndd SSuuddookkuu AAnnsswweerrss .. ..

NNeexxtt mmaaggaazziinnee

ddeeaaddlliinnee:: Anyone wishing to submit an article for

the April / May issue of the magazine

please do so by:

20th March by email to:

aedwards@st-johns.walsall.sch.uk

Or by hand to the church office

Thank you.

From the Registers

Baptisms

1st December 2015 Amy Nicola Cornish

31st January 2016 Jack William Lote

Kaiden Tuckley

Carter Tuckley

May Christ dwell in your hearts

Weddings

Faith, Hope and Love abide, and the greatest of these is Love.

Funerals 17th December John Brice 43 yrs

18th December Kenneth Bevan 89 yrs

21st December Patricia Harper 81 yrs

23rd December Joan Grainger 96 yrs

2016

4th January Arthur Greatrex 91 yrs

5th January Graham Dutton 68 yrs

5th January Leslie Mead 79 yrs

7th January Mandy Hughes 53 yrs

20th January John Parsons 91 yrs

May they rest in peace and rise to life eternal

Special Services and Activities

Baptism (Christening) Services are normally conducted at 2pm or 3 pm on

Sunday afternoon. Please contact us for available dates.

Messy Church meets monthly on Saturdays at 11am. For details of dates contact

us, visit our website or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sunday School meets in the Community Hall during the 9.30 am service.

The Ark (our Children’s Fellowship) meets on Fridays at 6.30 in the Community

Hall. Please contact us for details.

Memorial Services are normally held quarterly on a Sunday Evening. Please

contact us for dates.

Choir Practice (for our 9.30am and 6.30pm worship) takes place on Wednesdays

at 7.30 pm. Please Contact the Director of Music for further details.

Junior Choir Practice (for our 9.30am and 6.30pm worship) takes place on

Wednesdays at 7pm. Please Contact the Director of Music for further details.

Children and Young People’s Choir Practice (for our Familiy Service) takes

place on Wednesdays at 6 pm. All (aged 8 or over) welcome. Just turn up.

Group Activities

Monday 9.30am St John’s Baby and Toddler Group in the Hall

5.30 3rd Walsall Wood Rainbows in the Hall

7 pm 3rd Walsall Wood Guides in the Hall

Tuesday 1.30 Walsall Wood Women’s Institute (monthly)

5.45 Brownies in the Hall

Wednesday 5.15 2nd Walsall Wood Rainbows in the Hall

7 pm Weightwatchers in the Hall

Thursday 10 am Coffee Morning in the Hall

5 pm 1st Walsall Wood Rainbows in the Hall

7 pm 2nd Walsall Wood Guides in the Hall

Friday 9.30 St John’s Baby and Toddler Group in the Hall

6.30 The Ark (our Children’s Fellowship) in the Hall

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For enquiries regarding Baptisms, Confirmation, Marriage, the Community hall or St John’s Churchyard, Brookland Road:

TTuueessddaayy,, WWeeddnneessddaayy,, TThhuurrssddaayy aanndd FFrriiddaayy 99..3300-- 1122 nnoooonn

SStt JJoohhnn’’ss CCEE PPrriimmaarryy SScchhooooll Brook Lane, Walsall Wood, WS9 9NA – 01543 452197

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