The magazine of Banstead United Reformed Church

2012 November

BANSTEAD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH SERVICES

Our Family Worship is held every Sunday at 10.30am a crèche is provided.

Junior Church for children aged 3-14 meets at the same time,

and we have a music group which meets at 10.10am.

Holy Communion is normally celebrated during our morning service on the first Sunday of each month.

The Prayer Circle meets every two weeks.

Please note: Monday is the Minister’s day off.

For details of future events and important dates for your diary please see the monthly Diary Sheet or check out our Website:

www.bansteadurc.org.uk

Tidings is edited by Linda Richards. Address: 3 Breech Lane, Walton on the Hill,

Tadworth, Surrey KT20 7SQ

Tel 01737 813617, e-mail burctidings@hotmail.co.uk

I am happy to receive your contributions, ideas and suggestions

for Tidings at any time but copy for the next edition should be with the editor by

Sunday, 25th November 2012

Dear Friends

In recent years tracing our family histories has become an increasingly popular pastime. There are many local societies to help people find out where their forebears came from, and the use of the web and the online publication of many documents from national archives can make finding out about our ancestors much quicker and easier than it was in the past. TV programmes have picked up on this interest, and seek to shed some light on the ancestors of famous people – although one suspects that there are a good many famous people whose ancestors are just too ordinary to make what TV producers would regard as ‘good viewing’.

Many family histories make sad reading when we see the loss of young life in the wars of the first half of the 20th Century. Recently, the Prime Minister has announced that there will be a number of events in 2014 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, and it is encouraging to see that the emphasis will be on the global nature of the conflict, and the loss of life around the world, and not just in Britain.

Almost simultaneously with the Prime Minister’s announcement came the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union. This caused quite a bit of controversy, not just because of the Bosnia conflict but also because it can be argued that our European tribal wars have simply been exported to other parts of the world. Even so, those of us who were born after the Second World War and have experienced none of the events that our parents and grandparents suffered, cannot but be thankful that for our generations in this part of the world there has been greater understanding between the nations, and we have been spared the unspeakable loss of youth marred by the inhuman events that overshadowed former generations.

Of course, war has not ended. We see the pain and suffering and loss of people caught in wars over which they have no control, and contemporary media bring images of the horror of these events into our homes in ways that could not have happened even in the recent past. And many of our young people are even now engaged in combats and peace keeping missions in various parts of the world while their families wait anxiously for their safe return.

This year, we will gather at the war memorial on the 11th day of the 11th month, to commemorate those who gave life, health and sanity in war, and dedicate ourselves afresh to our role as peacemakers. But how will we in Banstead commemorate the events of 1914? Through our links with the church of the Palatinate we know what it is to grow in mutual understanding with those who once were not, but now are, our friends. Where do we see the need to build new relationships of friendship and trust so that we can fulfil our Christian calling as peacemakers, and peacekeepers? Which future friends might we be inviting into our church and into our homes in 2014?

Yours in Christ

Jenny

HAVE YOU NOTICED?

There is a new ‘Suggestions Box’ mounted in the Sanctum. It is there for people to make suggestions about church life – our worship, our social events, our buildings, our outreach, or whatever is important to you. It will be checked before monthly Elders meetings and any issues raised will be discussed. Please use it! There is no need to put your name on your suggestion if you would prefer to remain anonymous.

CHURCH FAMILY NEWS ...

is available in the members’ log in page or in

the paper copy of Tidings.

For details of the log in and password please contact burctidings@hotmail.co.uk

In our thoughts and prayers … Several of our members and friends are struggling with failing health at the moment, we miss them at church on Sundays and, through Tidings, send them our love and assure them of our continued prayers.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY On Sunday 11th November we will be joining the Reigate & Banstead Borough Council Service of Remembrance and Wreath-Laying at 10.55am at Banstead War Memorial. There will be a service in the church for those unable to attend the War Memorial starting at 10.45.

Junior Church will once again be running

a Christmas Greetings Board if you

would like to use this as a way to send

greetings to other church family

members.

The money raised this year will be going

towards funding a

You will be able to “buy” your greetings

from Sunday 2nd December onwards.

wheelchair.

PRAYER FOR REMEMBRANCE TIME

Lord, You are our loving Father and we come to you for comfort.

Hearts are breaking at this time, as we remember the effects of war throughout the years and still today. Help us Lord, to comfort those who have lost loved ones, those whose loved ones are in danger and those who feel bereft in any way. We know, Lord, that there are many kinds of loss, many kinds of bereavement, many kinds of grief.

Help us to be comforters and peacemakers in all our relationships.

And when we feel lost and the pain seems too much to bear, help us to remember Jesus, who suffered and knows all about pain and loss. Help us to remember his promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you that whatever our situation today, he is right in the middle of it with us, holding us close, wiping our tears, giving us hope.

Thank you Father for Jesus, who lights our way forward.

In his name, Amen.

A prayer by Daphne Kitching

THE SOLDIER’S PRAYER

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for – But everything that I had hoped for, Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed.

MY TRIP TO YPRES, BELGIUM

Earlier this year, I went with my school to Ypres, Belgium for a history trip about World War 1.

After a very early start and a long journey by coach and shuttle we finally arrived in Belgium ….

About 10 minutes away from Ypres I saw the first graveyard and it was full of unnamed graves. I couldn’t believe how many there were!

Soon we were in Ypres and we met our tour guide and we set off towards our first graveyard which was mostly English soldiers that had died in the First World War. The graveyard was called Essex Farm. The next place we went to was to an actual trench that was used in the war. We got to go into it and see how tight and cramped it was and saw where the soldiers slept. It was upsetting to see how they lived and how horrible and scary it must have been for them.

Afterwards we went to the German graveyards which were very different to the other graveyard. The whole place was much darker in colour and instead of one grave per person there were at least thirty people per grave. The tour guide told us that she felt that this one was a bit shameful for the Germans because it wasn’t as personal as the English one. The English decided on what the Germans should look like so they thought (because they lost the war) they shouldn’t have a big and personal graveyard. This made me wonder why the Germans couldn’t have the same type of graveyard as us because in the end it resolved and they finished fighting.

Afterwards, we were taken to a special memorial for the Canadians that fought and it had a special sword that faced down which meant the war was over and there was no more fighting to be done. We had our lunch underneath.

Then we packed up and piled back onto the coach and headed for the biggest graveyard ever called Tyne Cot. It made me speechless about how many graves there was and how so many had no names because they couldn’t be identified. Someone asked why there were some graves that were put together. Our

guide explained that soldiers were all killed together and when their bodies were found it was hard to tell which parts were which so they put their graves together. We looked round on our own and at the top of the hill there was a massive memorial with all the names of every soldier that has been lost in action. I found a couple of Coles but I don’t think they are related to me because they were in the South Africa division and Canadian division.

Soon we walked back to the coach and said goodbye to our tour guide as we headed to a museum all about the Belgium during the First World War. Then there was a trench experience that really freaked me out and my partner and I spent the whole time screaming, closing our eyes and hiding behind each other.

We then had about an hour to wonder in Ypres town centre and spend our money on very yummy Belgium chocolate! We met again in front of the Flanders Fields Museum and went for dinner at a lovely restaurant.

After the dinner we were told who was going to place the wreath at the Menin Gate service - my friend Hannah and I were chosen!

The service was amazing. Apparently they do it every day!

Soon we piled onto the coach for one last time and headed home. We met our parents at school and I managed to get to bed at midnight! It was an excellent day and I will never forget it!

Rebecca Cole

Wind Farms...

...are considered by some people to be a blot on the landscape. Offshore wind farms are less controversial.

Did you know:

The UK is the world leader in offshore wind farms, with as much capacity already installed as the rest of the world put together.

There are 568 operational offshore wind turbines in UK waters, totalling almost 2,000 megawatts – about the capacity of two large coal-fired power stations. A further 665 offshore turbines are in construction with a total capacity of 2,300 megawatts.

The blades on a large turbine can be up to 30 metres long and each turbine generates electricity to supply 1900 homes.

It takes about 5 days to install each turbine on the sea bed – assuming good weather!

This year, power generated by wind turbines will reduce the UK’s emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by over 6 million tonnes.

By 2020 about 17% of the UK’s electricity will be generated by zero-emission wind turbines.

The Jimmy Mizen Foundation was set up as a positive way of remembering the life of Jimmy, who was tragically murdered in May 2008 aged sixteen.

We work with other like-minded people and organisations to empower young people, up to the age of 24, to develop as individuals and help others; developing the ability to manage anger without resorting to violence; and developing their skills and capabilities so they can gain work, training and lead fulfilling lives.

The Foundation has already made significant progress in raising finance to support local scouting organisations - so far we have bought four ‘Jimmybuses’ - and arranging apprenticeship placements within Leathermarket Tenant Management

We have further set up our Awareness Project that addresses audiences of young people, parents and teachers in schools, prisons and youth clubs to promote anger management, stress awareness and the consequences of violent crime.

The CitySafe Havens initiative began after Jimmy’s murder and successfully brought together young people, police and shopkeepers to build a safer street where the attack took place. Together, shopkeepers, police and young people work to increase the reporting of incidents. London Mayor Boris Johnson has declared City Hall the 200th safe haven.

Meet Barry & Margaret Mizen and hear more about their work at 8.00 pm on Monday 5th November at the Church Institute,

High Street, Banstead.

THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH IS 40!

On Friday 5 October, the United Reformed Church, arguably the youngest of the mainstream Christian denominations in the United Kingdom, was forty years old.

The United Reformed Church came into being 40 years ago – when, on 5 October 1972, English Presbyterians formally united with English and Welsh Congregationalists to create the first union of separate denominations since the Reformation. The URC subsequently united with the reformed Association of Churches of Christ in 1981 and the Congregational Union of Scotland in 2000.

The Revd Roberta Rominger, general secretary of the URC, said: “So, forty years of the URC – that’s quite something! I look back over the past four decades of our history and I see great things and not-so-good things, but mostly I see a feisty church, made up of feisty Christians, called to be God’s people, transformed by the Gospel of Christ and making a difference in the world. I am proud of this denomination. There is much to be proud of: our wealth of fantastic hymn writers; our early commitment to the ordination of women; our model of concilliar not hierarchical leadership; our church related community workers, combining professional community work with gospel values and the fact that we consistently punch above our weight, campaigning on a whole range of social justice issues including the use of drones, the financial transaction tax and issues of poverty and inequality. Bravo the United Reformed Church!”

The Church that says “Yes!”

continues on Tuesday evenings

27th

November

29th

January

7.30 p.m. coffee, 7.45p.m. start and finishing by 9.15

What does it mean to be

a church that is truly welcoming and values everyone who enters its doors

and so is a mirror of the community it serves?

Mrs Joan Pike from Caterham URC

will be guiding us as we explore what it means to be a Church that says ‘Yes!’

Come along and be a part of this enjoyable look at ourselves as a church.

BANSTEAD FIVE CHURCHES

Larger than Life Concert given by Jonathon Viera

on Saturday 10

th November 2012 at 7.30pm

at St Christopher’s Church, Claygate Lane, Hinchley Wood,

Surrey, KT10 0AQ

Ticket price £14

B5 Churches have been made aware of an exciting Tour by the singer, Jonathan Vieira, around the Country. His evenings are an ideal opportunity to invite along friends and family who don’t usually go to church. His Concerts involve excellent quality entertainment- great variety of music and lots of laughter.

If you are interested in going to this event

please see one of our B5 reps – Fiona Cole or Jo Patel.

TRINITY TREK FOR NOVEMBER

Saturday 10th November

starting at 2pm

Full details available from John Mason.

PRISONS WEEK - 21ST

– 27TH

NOVEMBER Here are some sobering statistics:

There are 84,522 people in our prisons throughout England and Wales. About half of them have a reading age of 11. Four-fifths lack basic numeracy skills. The number of women in prison is currently 4,274. Two fifths of them have previously attempted suicide. Nationally, 160,000 children have one or both parents in prison.

Our prisons are full of some of the neediest people in the country. Their lives are in chaos. Their crimes have badly hurt their victims, their communities and also their own families – so many lives have been damaged. No wonder Christian prison ministry is so important!

So what should our response to prisoners be as Christians? Why should we care?

The Prison Christian Fellowship says that we should care “because Jesus did. Jesus calls us as Christians to love the unlovable. Everyone is loved by God and can come into a relationship with him. God never gives up on people so neither should we. Everyone is redeemable.”

Prison Fellowship has 1,400 volunteers in the UK. Through them, there are now 120 prayer groups around the country, praying for specific prisons. They also run a scheme called Sycamore Tree – a Restorative Justice course based on the story of Zacchaeus, where after a conversation with Jesus, he took responsibility for his crimes and then made amends to the community. This course allows offenders to hear from a surrogate victim who explains how the crime affected them.

Finally, Prison Fellowship has a letter writing scheme, where volunteers build a relationship with prisoners, many of whom have no other contact with the outside world.

What you can do? Several things. You could help by joining a local Prayer Group for prisoners. Prayer really does change things! You could help raise money or wrap presents for Angel Tree, a scheme which provides presents for children of prisoners. You could even consider visiting your local prison. Visit: www.prisonfellowship.org.uk for details.

At the beginning of October Andy Robson and Caron Ireland gave an inspiring talk to members of the Banstead Five Churches about their work in India. For those of you unable to attend the following article gives you a flavour of what they have been doing and tells you a little about Street Life, the charity which we supported at the Junior Church Barbecue earlier this year.

Andy and Caron first visited India back in 2009 after hearing about the work of a charity called Vision Rescue. They were inspired by the founder of this charity Biju Thampy, who had received a message from God telling him to change the lives of the street children in India. After a visit to Mumbai, Biju moved his family to the city and set up Vision Rescue as a means of offering the street children a way out of poverty through feeding, non-formal education and health care programmes.

Now 3 years and over 5 visits later, Andy and Caron continue to visit Vision Rescue at least once a year to assist in the provision of education and health care. Andy, as a teacher, works with the teaching staff helping with curriculum planning, teacher training sessions, formulation of workbooks and explaining the benefits of play and a reward system in children’s learning.

He was also fundamental in the setting up of Vision Rescue’s football team back in 2009 and still works closely with the current trainer to improve and equip the boys to play matches against local, well-known teams.

Caron is a nurse and works closely with the medical van and health care staff. She has been responsible for setting up first aid training sessions with St John Ambulance in India so that all staff receive formal training and official first aid certificates. Caron also works with the Dr and nurse onboard Vision Rescue’s medical van to identify needs within the service or amongst the population the medical van serves. The charity Street Life then provides financial assistance to purchase equipment, medications or tests as appropriate.

Street Life was set up to enable Andy and Caron’s friends and relatives to give to the amazing cause in India. It also enabled Andy and Caron to show people what goes on in some of the

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

God isn't looking for perfect people. He is looking to perfect people.

Minister: Revd. Jennifer Morgan, 01737 355026

Church Secretary: Kevin Dinnage 01737 356380

Copy for the next edition should be with the editor by

Sunday, 25th November 2012.

Email: burctidings@hotmail.co.uk