Tickets are £3.50 each for a group of 5 or more, and there are lots of details about the features and exhibits online at www.creonline.co.uk. A brochure is available for you to look at in the foyer. As with everything, it is best to book early, so could you please let me know by the 31st July if you would like to attend?

Thank you, Yours in Christ, Helen.

As I write this letter, I am in the midst of preparing to go on holiday! By the time you have read it, I’ll have been, enjoyed time in fresh surroundings, returned, and will probably still be trying to clear the backlog of emails, telephone calls and letters created by going on holiday in the first place! Sometimes you wonder if it is worth it!!

Of course, we all know that everyone needs a holiday – some time off – a change from the norm. But often it can be such a fraught time. Whilst it is meant to be a time for rest and relaxation, we often fill it with all those things we’d like to do, or places to see, or jobs we don’t get time for during our normal day to day life.

Holiday is a contraction of ‘holy’ and ‘day’ - i.e. special religious days. But this word has evolved by general usage to mean any special day of rest (as opposed to regular days of rest such as the weekend). In our world today it often seems that everything is done at breakneck speed and there are no special days of rest any more; no periods of ‘timeout’ when we can recharge our batteries, take stock, and re-prioritise things.

Yet we know that even Jesus took time off to be by himself, to reflect, to pray, and to get things back into focus – and for good reason. Everywhere he went during his ministry, he drew crowds of people wanting to hear him speak, wanting to touch him and be healed by him. Now, whilst he was fully divine, he was also fully human and therefore must have needed to escape from the pressures of life at times; so whilst on holiday I will be aiming to dutifully follow the example of Christ - trying to regroup and get life back into focus.

Over the summer, our church will be taking some ‘time off’ – not exactly holiday – but a break from the meetings and groups that would normally happen on a regular basis. It is a chance to enjoy long lazy evenings in the garden or maybe take a break away somewhere different. I pray that we will all be able to find a space to find refreshment and to relax and recharge the batteries during this time.

Yours in Christ,
Helen
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‘Love is in the air, everywhere you look around – or so the popular song goes. But is it? Today, as I write, many people will be celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. A day when, regardless of its origins, cards, flowers and chocolates become big business as we declare undying love to that ‘special someone’ in our lives. (Don’t worry; I did get a card and flowers from Colin!!)

But on the face of it, there doesn’t seem to be much love around. The Newspapers, TV and Radio, all report the violence on our streets; contentious issues seem to cause argument and ill-feeling; the Biblical teaching of ‘Love thy neighbour’ seems to get more and more difficult
each day.

However, do not despair – I came across this very heart warming story, which proves that love is not dead, but perhaps is something we need to work at.

‘My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they first met. The goal of their game was to write the word “shmily” in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving “shmily” around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

There was no end to the place “shmily” would pop up. Little notes with “shmily” scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, under pillows. “Shmily” was written in the dust upon the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents’ house as the furniture.

But there was a dark cloud in their life: my grandmother had breast cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that way so that she could always be surrounded
by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was again attacking her body. With the help of a cane, and my grandfathers’ steady hand, they went to church every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house any more. For a while, Grandpa would go to church
alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

“Shmily” was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of her funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother’s casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment. For I knew that, although I couldn’t begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

S – h – m – i – l – y : See How Much I Love You.’

As we move from Valentines, through the season of Lent, to the celebration of Easter – we are reminded once more that, whether or not we have been fortunate enough to experience the type of love in the story, there is a greater love.

The love that God showed to humanity, the love which saw His only Son die on a cross for our sin, the love which continues to forgive unconditionally, is ours – no strings attached!

When we look around our world, we may sometimes have to search around for the “shmily” notes; occasionally they are written boldly and un-missable; but never is the love of God hidden.

Maybe, when we gather round the empty cross on Easter Day, there should be written above it, in big bold letters…

See How Much I Love You

(Story adapted from ‘A Bucket of Surprises’ by J John & M Stibbe)

Yours in Christ
Helen
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Whether you are actively involved in preparing worship or just an interested party – it is important that the worship we experience is meaningful and engaging.

At our last Church Council meeting, we discussed the possibility of setting up a Worship Consultation Group – a group of people with ideas and thoughts about preparing for the major festivals within the church year.

If you would be interested in becoming part of such a group – please speak to me, so that I can report back to the next council meeting on the 18th March. Thank you.

Yours in Christ, Helen

Money collected from donations or Fairtrade goods bought will go to help the work of PARC (Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee) and hopefully provide Olive Trees/Almond Trees and water tanks/supply to those on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Helen

The end of the year always seems to be such a rush. People preparing for Advent and Christmas; Rehearsals for Nativities and Carol Services; Cakes and Mince pies to be made; Cards to write.
Now whilst preparations in shops and stores seem to get earlier and earlier, I’m always caught in a last minute rush, and I doubt whether this year will be any different. In fact I seem to have far more to do now than I ever did!

The one thing that always takes me the most time is buying Christmas presents – I never know what to get! But, it is often said that we learn the most from our children, so perhaps we could take a lesson from this little girl…
There is an old story about a man who punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”
The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction once he realised the gift was for him. He opened the gift, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside of it?”
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy it’s not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her forgiveness. He kept that gold box by his bed for years.
Whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

At Christmas time, we celebrate the fact that God gave us the most precious gift of all – His Son – God’s love in human form. So in a very real sense, each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from God. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God’s only Son, we have the access to eternal life. And so whatever we give or receive this Christmas there is no present more precious than a gold box filled with the love of God.

However and wherever you celebrate Christmas this year, may you always know the unconditional love of God, may His peace reign in your hearts, and His grace and strength guide you in all you do in the coming year.

Yours in Christ,
 Helen
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God bless,
Helen

Well, here we are at last! Colin and I, plus Basil, are happily settled in the manse, and I am beginning to find my feet. All sounds very simple doesn’t it, but in reality it has been a lot more challenging than that! There have been names, faces, meetings, Circuit plans, preaching plans, introductions and much more to come to grips with – but what has been so lovely is that you have completely understood, and have accepted this ‘rookie’ Minister in ways which I could not even begin to thank you for.

Moving to a new place is often traumatic – even when the area is vaguely familiar – and in many ways, relocating to Lancashire has been a voyage of rediscovery for me. During the last couple of weeks, on holiday, Colin and I have been exploring places I used to visit as a small child and I’m sure he has got fed up of me saying, ‘Oh, I remember when…..’!! But, the wonder of God’s creation in this part of the world is so apparent even when it is raining, and when the sun comes out, you cannot fail to be captured by the scenic beauty all around. If this seems idyllic – it is! – though I’m sure that there will be times when the pressure of ministry will overshadow things, and life won’t always seem so rosy. I pray that during these times God will give me the resources and the fellowship to overcome the doubts and fears and help me to focus on what an awesome privilege ministry is.

However, there is a new voyage of discovery to be made now, as we explore together what it means to be ‘church’ in this place. At times that might mean trying something new that we’re not too sure of – or revisiting something that’s been done before – or simply just carrying on what we do already. I’m a great believer in the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but there are occasions when a little tweak doesn’t go amiss!! Whatever ways we choose to minister to those around us and proclaim God’s Kingdom to those we meet by the example of our own lives – we need to be sure that it is discerned by the Spirit and guided by God’s hand, for it is through His grace and His strength that we are enabled to do His will.”

Yours in Christ,
Helen

It would be nice to have the window sills decorated (as in previous years) and so if there are any willing volunteers, here is your chance to display your talents. One side of the church will represent Fire - the other side Water - three window sills for each. How you create your display is entirely your choice - so come on, get your thinking caps on and let your creative juices start flowing! Could let me know which window sill you’d like to do, thank you - Helen.