Circuit Newsletter - Spring 2022

Dorking and Horsham Circuit NEWSLETTER Spring 2022 Superintendent Minister Revd Gavin Hancocks minister@lrmchorsham.org Editor Mrs Angela Hancocks

SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE Dear Friends, As I sit to write this column I do so with Christmas barely beginning to recede into the distance in the rear-view mirror and Easter but a glimmer over the distant horison, yet it is towards Easter that I turn my attention now.

Where is our hope? After almost two years of a global pandemic, I guess that’s a pertinent question. It’s not that easy to answer, though, is it? Perhaps we need to stop and consider what is it that we are hoping for? Yes, I know, I do ask some stupid questions from time to time, but, really, what is it you are hoping for?

The ultimate caricature of the answer to that question is the beauty pageant contestant one – world peace! I guess, though, when we get down to it, the thing we hope for is a circumstantial change, isn’t it? We want the pandemic to go away so we can get on with our lives, we want greater honesty and transparency in government, we want equality in society. Maybe it is even smaller than that. We simply want to live our lives free from the many anxieties we face about our health and wellbeing, to enjoy better relationships and find deeper fulfilment and greater meaning in the daily round.

As I ponder those answers to my question it seems then, that for the most part, hope, for us, is about some sort of change that comes about how? Oh dear, there you go, another question! You see, sometimes I think we confuse hope with wishful thinking and when we do, we’re bound to be disappointed!

So, what does this have to do with Easter, I hear you asking?

Well, Rob Bell, an evangelical pastor in America, wrote a book entitled Love Wins in which he challenges a number of our ideas and understandings of Jesus and just what God has done for us in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus. With the help of others, such as Brian McLaren and Richard Rohr I have found myself reflecting again on the message of Easter and I find myself more and more convinced that it has less to do with an acceptable sacrifice to appease an angry God or an unjust punishment resting on the perfect one’s perfect sacrifice in order that we may go free and more and more to do with

the absolute love of God who, when we do our worst, God does God’s best and Love Wins!

Jesus, and God’s refusal to use coercive means to obtain our love, reveal to us that love indeed is the only truly transformative power in the universe and even when it dies, it doesn’t! You can’t kill love. It will find its way to seep in and bring the healing and transformation we so desperately long for but only if we will take up the challenge to be the hope we long for.

Gavin

Lent and Easter offer us some of the most beautiful and inspiring Hymns and Songs to sing. Here are some thoughts you might find helpful in using the lyrics of the songs in your daily devotions. For example, you might want to use the Hymn on Free Grace - ‘And can it be’ by Charles Wesley Reading and praying a hymn

Lectio divina, Latin for “divine reading,” is a way of engaging a sacred text. Read the text four times, and after each reading ask yourself: 1. Proclaim: What idea, concept, or word stands out in this initial reading?

2. Pray: What is the Lord saying to me? What am I hearing? What am I sensing?

3. Ponder: What is God inviting me to do?

4. Practice: How can I put this into practice?

—

Rev Paul Chilcote

And can it be

And can it be, that I should gain An int'rest in the Saviour's blood!

Dy'd he for me? —Who caus'd his pain!

For me?—Who him to death pursu'd.

Amazing love! How can it be That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Cobham United Church Well, what a strange Christmas period we have had once again! Just as life had been getting cautiously back to normal the Covid numbers in Elmbridge went through the roof.

On the Sunday before Christmas, we welcomed Christine Thompson for her assessment service in the morning, but due to various events we reluctantly had to cancel our carol service that evening.

However, all was not lost as five days later

on Christmas Eve Kim combined that service with the Crib Service, which took place on Zoom. We had a great interactive time together and sang along with some magnificent choirs! Christmas morning service was again held on Zoom, but hopefully better times are coming to us all.

Messy Church families were encouraged to craft their figures at home. Tuesday Teas had a Christmas lunch and ‘Connect,’ a very festive morning with the Effingham Ukulele band playing Christmas songs and carols.

Connect in Song with a growing band of singers continues to meet fortnightly.

Most of our activities have been up and running again, and the Bereavement Café, which we run under the auspices of the Princess Alice Hospice, is due to start again this month (fingers crossed).

Effingham’s stewards decided that the Christmas day service could be face-to-face event and so we celebrated the birth of Christ in a beautifully decorated church with Kim, after the now requisite lateralflow test!

Kim held a well-attended ‘Loved and Lost’ service in November, so helpful for so many people. It had been sorely missed during lockdown.

Junior Church staff held a Bright Lights party alternative to Hallowe’en, and it sounds as if a lot of fun and joy was had!

Social Events are on the horizon, but we are awaiting Covid developments before we get too excited!

Mary Langtry

Effingham Methodist Church Despite another Covid-hit Christmas, Effingham still managed some Christmas cheer with a surprising number of families donning glitter and tea-towels for our Churches Together Living Nativity. The donkey’s replacement, a local Shetland pony, disgraced itself in the parish church much to the delight of the children!

The Parish Church Crib Festival, an amazing affair with cribs of all shapes, sizes, and materials, was also very popular and well attended, but because of Covid restrictions

Sadly, our Covenant Service has been postponed until February as Kim tested positive for Covid. So, we’re indebted to Local Preacher James Wild who stepped in at the last minute to provide us with a very stimulating New Year service.

We are now looking forward to our monthly Oasis bible lunches resuming with Kim in February. Churches Together have arranged another Scones of Praise service at the end of January and will be arranging Lent and Easter activities with an ecumenical study group and perhaps even a Living Easter event. We’ll also discuss ideas for celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Easter.

Ange & Dave Putland

Revd David Pitkeathly

We are delighted to welcome Revd David Pitkeathly to our Circuit as Chaplain to the Dorking Christian Centre. David joined us in September 2021 from Carlisle. David is married to Deacon Sarah Pitkeathly serving in our circuit and is father to Ben and Stepfather to Molly and Frances.

David obtained his LLB from the University of Dundee and worked as a Solicitor in Glasgow from 1986 to 1991. During his period of law studies and time as a solicitor he was challenged to consider a calling to the ministry due to talks he had heard, books read and the prompting of others around him. As he was invited, despite being quite shy to take on roles of Christian leadership, including Church Eldership he had a sense of being prepared for a broader ministry.

While David valued his legal career, he always felt frustrated that he could not support the people he served in a deeper, more pastoral way. He remained in touch with friends in the legal profession and believed that time to be a valuable learning and enabling time in his faith journey.

David proceeded to obtain a Bachelor of Divinity from the University of St Andrews.

Once ordained in the Church of Scotland, he served as Assistant Minister Church of Scotland Stonehaven Feteresso 1994-96, Minister Peterhead St Andrews 1996-2007 and Minister to The Border Kirk Carlisle and Longtown 2007-2021 ... during that period Vice Chair of Carlisle Foodbank, Governor of Trinity School, Chair of the Social Responsibility Forum of Churches Together in Cumbria, Trustee of Carlisle One World Centre.

In his spare time David also enjoys current affairs, travel, walking, swimming, golf and following football teams, and when time allows, he enjoys sharing in sport with his son whenever the opportunity presents itself.

As you can see David has a heart for the community and we are excited at the ministry he has been called to in our Circuit, particularly at the Dorking Christian Centre. We pray for God’s continued blessing and guidance.

“The Dorking Christian Centre aims to be at the heart of the local community. With social activities throughout the week as well as providing space for the Community fridge and Foodbank, we are a busy, thriving building in the centre of Dorking”

One of the most touching stories of the Christmas story that we have been reading in Churches in recent times is the account of Mary, mother to be of Jesus, going to the home of Elizabeth her cousin. We read in Luke 1 that she hurried there perhaps because her pregnancy had brought shame in her own community, had unsettled her relationship with her fiancée, Joseph and was physically and emotionally challenging for a still young girl. We sense that Elizabeth’s home was a place of refuge and welcome, a place where there would be no judgement and shared experience, a place of companionship and affirmation. Elizabeth gladly opens her door and brings the encouragement of faith and friendship to her fragile visitor.

I have a strong sense that the Dorking Christian Centre serves something of a similar function within a busy town nestled in the Surrey Hills. One of the former managers of the Centre described it to me as ‘a remarkable place’ and its electronic doors seem to swing open and shut from early morning to late evening on most days.

The Centre’s website describes its aim as to be ‘the heart of the local community’ and ‘to be a tangible expression of God’s Kingdom’. After 4 months of having the privilege of holding the office of Chaplain, I feel that it fulfils these purposes well and has the potential to develop further as it strives to offer something of the light of God’s love in these testing times. I want to pay tribute to the dedicated staff, the loyal trustees and to the many volunteers who give cheerfully and eagerly of their time and energies.

Resources and Finance Committee

To offer a picture of the diversity of Centre life, I would mention my experience of being in the building on a recent Thursday afternoon. Following the completion of a busy lunch hour where an excellent lunch was served at a very reasonable price to a healthy number of appreciative diners, a range of different groups began to arrive in the Centre. Upstairs in a room could be found a group of cheerful ladies from our friends at St Martins Church working hard to produce Christmas cards for the housebound and isolated. In one hall, an excellent team of dedicated volunteers was setting up the Dorking Foodbank and a queue was forming outside of those who value the help of food parcels but also the encouragement of friendly faces and good signposting. In another hall, 16 or so people were enjoying the company and gentle competition of a game of bridge. Later in the café, young people were setting up electric guitars and drumkits for a project that draws out the talent and worth of teenagers. It was good to see the Centre offering a home to such a range of activities that lift the spirit and address the needs of a broad sweep of the Dorking community.

Maybe one way to convey the life of the Centre is to use the world

help.

H being for hospitality Those who work and volunteer around the Centre strive to offer a friendly spirit and there is a particular emphasis on the provision of food. The weekday presence of a Community Fridge brings a stream of visitors who can both access fresh food to the benefit of family life but also helps address the issue of waste in our society. The café is open from 10 till 2 and people speak positivity of the good nutritious food and the warm atmosphere.

E is for engagement Various groups who use the Centre strive to engage with some of the pertinent issues facing our society such as loneliness, addiction, and hunger. I have a particular concern for those with dementia and those who sacrifice so much to care for them. There is a dementia café that meets on the last Friday morning of each month, and I have recently begun monthly dementia friendly worship services. The pandemic has brought to the surface the challenges facing so many with both their physical and mental health. I am currently exploring the possibility of employing a Parish nurse and establishing a Renew Café that offers a safe and purposeful space for those struggling with their emotional wellbeing. So many of the groups that meet in the centre from table tennis to chair exercise address the fact that people have spent prolonged periods in recent times alone at home with little opportunity to improve their fitness. No doubt we will continue to explore further ways to give people a sense of belonging and community. There is too in my heart a daily desire to commend and share graciously and relevantly the faith that is at the heart of the Centre’s name.

L is for listening The Centre has had a history of being available for people to share their stories, their trials, their joys, and their fears. A listening group made itself available to people in the café prior to the pandemic. It is hoped that their gifts can be used again.

Jesus in a short, intense ministry made time for particular individuals and it is my aim as Chaplain to build relationships with all who come through the door. Sometimes it will be just pleasant small talk, but at other times it will be a more intense sharing of life’s pressures or questions about faith.

P is for Partnership The Centre is run and owned by the Methodist Circuit but retains a strong connection with the neighbouring St Martin’s Church. Their office is within the Centre, and we are glad to host many of their social and spiritual gatherings and activities. It may be not well known but two other Church congregations make use of the Centre for worship on Sundays. In seeking to initiate new projects, I am keen to work closely with neighbouring denominations and it has been heartening to make plans and preparations for the Renew Wellbeing Café with United Reformed and Baptist colleagues.

‘Quiet shared spaces where it's OK not to be OK …’

too is for prayer and I find that even those who do not profess the Christian faith are open to bringing people and issues to God in prayer. I have established a Prayer Station in the café that has been well used. We would value immensely the prayers of the circuit as we continue to serve the Dorking and area community. We face particular challenges in this pandemic season and ask that you would join us in advancing the work of God’s Kingdom in this precious place.

Revd David Pitkeathly

Leatherhead Methodist Church Despite Covid, in the later part of last year we enjoyed worshiping together in church or online and providing activities to benefit the local community and the church family.

The Ark Toddler Group and work with local schools continued and we held a successful Alpha Course. Other activities included a jointly organised ‘Bright N Light Party’ for families as an alternative to Halloween, and a very festive Christmas ‘Time for Tea’.

To encourage the faith and fellowship of our members, our services in the first part of the new year will focus on the Methodist Way of Life - Worship, Learning and caring, Service and Evangelism. We are inviting people to meet in groups during the week to explore these themes further.

LMC members will also be taking part in Ecumenical Lent Groups again this year.

We are excited about our mission in 2022 and excited about our new informal and contemporary worship sessions ‘New Fire Rekindled’ which will start at LMC on the sixth of February. Maureen Prescott

London Road Methodist Church As I write this at the beginning of January, I know that the coming year London Road is going on a journey, well many journeys in fact but there is one in particular that I will mention here. We have started exploring

merging the three churches, London Road, St Andrew’s and Partridge Green into a single structure: one church with three centres. Each church premises has a different community to serve so it is important to keep a presence in each locality but with one Minister and deacon covering 3 places it seems a natural move to work together as a single unit. Although this is a major shift for the membership at all three locations, initiating the move has actually been made easier by the onset of the pandemic. Moving to joint online services over the past year or so meant that we have been able to come together in worship and then share fellowship in ‘breakout rooms’ after the zoom service. It is something we all wanted to build on and now we are putting it into practice. This will mean sharing skills and experiences as well as streamlining the administration across the three churches, freeing up time to work with the distinct communities we serve. We are already building links in that we now share one monthly newsletter, ‘Outlook’, across the three churches and we are all going to follow the same programme of worship and discussion groups exploring ‘A Methodist Way of Life’ this year. We

have only just started on this journey, but we have started, and like many journeys it is not just what is at the end that is important but also what is learnt on the journey itself. David Cassey

working more together as churches in Horsham. Alongside Gavin, Sarah and Sue. We are a small congregation seeking to serve God in our local community.

Margaret Daniell

Partridge Green Methodist Church

St Andrews Methodist Church

The past few months have been challenging as we have restarted lettings and groups at the church making sure everything is covid safe. Our services have continued with hand sanitising, mask wearing, and we now sing. Teas and coffees are served as people sit at tables in the hall. Over Christmas we had a tree decorated with angels and verses from carols at the Christmas Tree Festival at St Michael’s Church. We also joined them to sing carols outside the butchers one Saturday before Christmas.

People in the queue were offered coffee and mince pies as they waited and listened to the carols. We had a service of carols and lessons the Sunday before Christmas which gave us time to reflect on the birth of our Saviour away from the bustle of preparations for family celebrations. Our Christmas morning service was well attended.

Open Door has been warmly received and a new programme is ready for the New Year.

The Village café has met each month offering waitress service and spaced tables.

The Team make sure everyone is welcome and not sitting alone.

Our next Messy Church is in the planning for February with Ruth and Naomi as our theme. We are grateful to St Michael’s and other churches for their help with the activities and worship. These are all opportunities for us to reach out to our local community.

As we approach a New Year, we are already looking at ways we can reach others. It is an exciting time as we look at

I wonder how you react when you read the word ‘spring’? Does it conjure up pictures of dancing daffodils, or cute gambolling lambs, or maybe wild winds, scudding clouds and lashing rain one moment and sunshine next. Perhaps something taut, wound up tight, with energy stored and ready to go. Or even fresh water bubbling up, feeding a stream or lake.

Maybe all four: new fresh life, a wildness and a sense ‘time to get on with ‘things’.

So, a New Year and time to go a little bit ‘wild’: A time to let go, maybe break out of some of the old ways or the confines of our walls. Yes, Saint Andrews is going to go a little ‘wild’. That’s because as God’s people we have a wild hope growing within, a passion for the community we serve and a true Hope that something will really happen. A reaching into the community in ways not tried before, with zoom calls, Messy Church in the green spaces, Saturday evening contemporary worship. Time to look at new styles of worship to complement the old, new venues and even new times. Let’s experience God’s ‘Ruach’ this Spring and spring into new life together: first century church for 21st century people …. Kate Fraser