Vicar: Mark Lavender

You can find us on Church Road, Broadbridge Heath: look for the triangular shaped building. To contact the church office: The Church Office, St John’s Hall, Church Road, Broadbridge Heath, RH12 3LD email: office@stjohnsbbh.org.uk.org.uk www.stjohnsbbh.org.uk

St John’s Events – May 2023

Every Wednesday - Early Bird Café 8.45 – 10.00 am. Come along for Fair Trade coffee/tea, toast and biscuits. No charge but donations welcome. All ages welcome. Toys for toddlers. Contact Val 01403 260179

Wednesday 3 May & 7 June – Craft Social 9.30 – 12.00. Come along and join in at any time – just bring along something crafty, enjoy some fellowship, swap ideas, share resources … and be creative! Cost £2 to cover hall hire and refreshments.

Wednesday 17 May - Village Lunch - All are welcome to join us for food and fellowship at St John’s Community Hall BBH 12 for 12.30 pm. Cost is £4 per head on the day. Menu is Fish Pie followed by Pineapple Upside Down Cake. To book please call Charlotte on 01403 267673 by the previous Sunday.

Monday 22 May - Age UK Tea & Friendship Group 2 pm - Tea & Cake - £1

Praying for our local streets

At St John’s Church we are praying every month for a set of roads in the village. If you would like something prayed for, email us: office@stjohnsbbh.org.uk

In May we are praying for everyone in:

Church Road, The Orchard, Corsletts Avenue, Stanford Way, Thelton Avenue, Bearsden Way, Wickhurst Gardens

Sunday Services at St John’s Church 08.30 am Communion Service 10.30 am Morning Worship (with children’s groups)

10.30 am First Sunday - All-Age 10.15 am Midweek Communion (Every Wednesday)

In the 1990s, a new bypass road and bridge was planned for the city of Choluteca in Honduras. The new Choluteca Bridge (there was an existing older one), also known as the Bridge of Rising Sun (Puente Sol Naciente in Spanish), was built between 1996 and 1998 and became the largest bridge constructed by a Japanese company in Latin America.

In the same year that the bridge was commissioned for use, Honduras was hit by Hurricane Mitch, which caused considerable damage to the nation and its infrastructure. Over 150 bridges in Honduras were destroyed, including the old bridge, but the new Choluteca Bridge survived with minor damage. While the bridge itself was in near perfect condition, the roads on either end of the bridge had completely vanished, leaving no visible trace of their prior existence.

After the hurricane, the problem was not with the bridge, it was with the Choluteca River, which was over 100 metres wide (300 ft) at the bridge. The storm was so severe it actually shifted the river, carving itself a new channel during the massive flooding so that it now flows around the bridge instead of under it and so the bridge now spanned dry ground. The bridge quickly became known as “The Bridge to Nowhere”, without any useful function.

The Choluteca Bridge has been used as a metaphor for life, because no matter how hard we try to perfect things in life, we also have to ensure that we are adaptable to life’s changing events. What is the point of a state-of-the-art bridge which is now rendered useless? In the same manner, what are the practices and habits that we are holding on to that are now redundant in our changing world and our changing lives. Are we willing to adapt to the changes that happen to us or around us, or are we in denial, stubbornly standing still, like the bridge to nowhere!

Change will affect our lives just like any storm but it is up to us how it affects us. Today we have all experienced the impact of a global virus, financial concerns and climate change, not to mention changing health for many of us. We can choose to do nothing, and become bitter and isolated or we can get active, live life to the full, adapt our ways of living and enjoy the new found purpose we will find in that change.

We all need purpose, just as we need to be valued and God has a purpose for each of us, just as he values and loves each of us unconditionally.

Have a great month!