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Magazine of Erdington Methodist Church Station Road - July/August 2016 1

Contents Minister’s Letter Preaching hazards New Monthly Coffee Mornings Organ Fund Activities Workshop & Boiler Room Action for Children Family worker - update Jean Harris Our Regular Saturday Coffee Mornings Notes on blindness Following on from the EU Referendum Scammers Game rules Lyme Park, House and Gardens Summer reading suggestions Methodist Conference 2016 July/August Regular Meetings Coffee Mornings Tuesday Club Sunday Worship Weekly Church Activities

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3 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 18 20 22 23 26 30 31 31 31 31 32

Minister’s Letter Dear friends It’s hard to believe this is the last letter I’ll write as ‘your minister’!

It’s been such a short time with you and I’m very conscious that many of the friendships I hoped to make with you have barely begun. I’m aware also that so much work is unfinished. Lots more is not even started!

Over the years I’ve realised that God’s Spirit creates friendships that survive over many miles and over many months without contact.That doesn’t excuse not keeping in touch, but it does bring comfort. As, of course, does the assurance we have that God’s people can look forward to being together with the Lord in all eternity (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

As for the unfinished work, it’s the nature of God’s Kingdom that it depends not on individuals but on God, who remains constant and at work. We each make our own contributions to God’s work, but ultimately it is God’s work that endures and bears lasting fruit, not ours. God will continue to be at work in you and in Alex and me, to the extent that we co-operate with him. The only failure comes if we don’t co-operate withGod but pursue our own goals, not his.

Above and beyond it all, there’s peace in knowing that when we are in God’s will, all will be well. A year ago, Alex and I were expecting to be here for several years yet. The news which changed that came unexpectedly and we didn’t welcome it, but now we see God’s hand in things and are confident that this is in God’s will for us and for you.

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We are a pilgrim people, committed to walking with God on the road he shows us, step by step. The journey of life can be hard and take unexpected turns. Nevertheless, we travel on, trusting God. We haven’t arrived yet, but we’re on our way!

Thank you for your fellowship with us over these last 3 years – for the love, the support and the encouragement you’ve given. Thank you for the sympathy some of you have shown Alex and me after Villa matches! You will always have a special place in our hearts and memories. I know you will show the same love and welcome to the Revd Malcolm, Gina and their family. I encourage you to pray for them as they settle in and share a new chapter with you.

God bless Your friend and minister Rev Paul

Preaching hazards Showing your new parish that you are a forceful preacher may not always be a good idea, as the Rev Sydney Smith found out when he first arrived at All Saints Church in Foston in 1806.

‘When I began to thump the pulpit cushion on my first coming to Foston, the accumulated dust of 150 years made such a cloud that for some minutes I lost sight of the congregation.’ from the Parish Pump Website 4

New Monthly Coffee Mornings When we were making applications for money to charities for our Vision Project, we had to make out a good case for our request to be accepted. They are all very oversubscribed and some get thrown out before even going to the trustees.

So we made a community based proposal. The fact that the area where the church is situated comes under the 20% lowest deprivation in the country was a good start. Specifically we said that we needed a larger cafe type area to accommodate more drop in times to be able to welcome people from the local community, for refreshment and fellowship.

On a Thursday in March we held a coffee morning, with free drinks (only this once!), which was successful and now we are preparing to have some more. Having won money with the promise to do this, morally we need to fulfil this promise. However we need your help for it to happen. It will run from 10 to 12 on the second Thursday of the month with drinks and toast, as on a Saturday, and costs will be the same. As on a Saturday, if those running it wish to add items, such as bacon baps, then that is fine.

These are the dates we have chosen, all Thursdays July 14th August 11th September 8th October 13th November 10th December 8th 5

There will be a sign up list in the foyer. Please help if you can.

Jan and I will set it up but we are not prepared to fill in blanks!

After Christmas we will review how successful this has been and see what happens afterwards.

Thank you in anticipation for your help.

Hilary Price

Organ Fund Activities Here is a list of activities coming up in the next few months: Sat. July 16th 10.00 am

Organ Coffee Morning

Sat. September 10th 10.00 am

Organ Coffee Morning

Sat. September 18th

The Wonderful World of Disney (further detail on page 26)

Sat. October 8th 10.00 am

Organ Coffee Morning

Sat. November 12th 10.00 am

Organ Coffee Morning

Sat. December 3rd 10.00 am

Christmas Extravaganza 6

Workshop & Boiler Room A large amount of debris and obsolete items have, over sometime, been left in the workshop and the boiler. These are now causing major obstacles and potentially serious health and safety risks.

Mike Turner has kindly agreed to arrange for all unnecessary items to be removed from these areas and to dispose of them. If you have, or know someone who has left anything in these places, please speak to Mike before the end of July 2016. If you do not speak up before that date, it will be too late!

Furthermore, the mezzanine in the workshop has been identified as very dangerous. This is now a no – go area. Anyone venturing up there will do so at their own risk and the Church will accept no responsibility for their safety. Should anyone fail to heed this warning they will contravene advice from the Finance and Property Committee and would therefore open themselves to legal penalties if an accident occurs!

Because abandoning of items in the workshop and the boiler room appears to be out of control, Mike has also agreed to ‘manage’ the areas. Accordingly, members of the Finance and Property Committee have agreed that, in future, the workshop and the boiler room will only be used to store items directly relating to the maintenance of the Church. Anything placed in either area without Mike’s express authorisation will be removed and disposed of.

Anthony Griffin Secretary Finance and Property Committee 12 June 2016 7

Action for Children We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential.

Action for Children is the children’s charity of the Methodist Church and was founded over 145 years ago. Thomas Bowman Stephenson was a Methodist Minister who had a passionate commitment to social justice and took the time to listen to homeless children living under the arches of Waterloo station in London.

From one family home in Waterloo the charity quickly grew to become the National Children’s Home (NCH). Now known as Action for Children (AFC), it holds tight to its founder’s pioneering spirit. It promotes new ways to make life better for vulnerable children and works relentlessly to fix problems early and give them the chance to grow up happy, healthy and with hope for their future. It also has a fundamental role in informing Government and influencing policy making based on research and investigations carried out within the organisation.

Today AFC runs 650 services in local communities across the UK. They support parents and parents-to-be, babies and pre-school children, young carer’s, disabled children and their families and young people who are experiencing difficult and challenging times within their families, in the care system or as they become independent adults.

The AFC Impact Report for 2015 showcases the benefits of delivering early action services that work. It highlights the results AFC consistently deliver meeting the needs of children, and the efforts made to introduce new solutions that adapt to changing needs and changing times.

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The current challenge for local authorities remains their ability to implement longer-term preventative measures when faced with severe budget cuts, forcing the focus onto highly targeted, reactive delivery. The challenge forAFC is to make the case for change by highlighting the positive impact of informed, evidence-based early action services.

The impact made this year by AFC Data from all AFC services across the UK shows that:

• 87% of children improved their emotional wellbeing.

• 97% of young people remained in education, employment or • • • •

training after 16 years of age.

97% of children with complex health needs sustained maximum independence.

93% of carers believe we have made their job as a foster carer easier.

96% of our volunteers said they would recommend volunteering with us.

82% of parents and carers using our early year’s services say that their children were well prepared for school.

Some of our local AFC services Fostering Midlands – This resource recruits, prepares and supports foster carers living in the Midlands region for placement of children who have special needs. Most of these children are likely to have suffered numerous disadvantages that have affected their emotional, physical and cognitive development. Some may also need a placement as a sibling group or in a family that reflects their 9

minority racial and cultural identity. AFC specialise in placing children of all ages with special needs for adoption or long term fostering.

West Bromwich Children’s Centre,Birmingham Community Children’s Centre and Cape Hill Children’s Centre - The Children’s centres play an essential role in giving children and families the early support they need. They are open to the whole community on a regular basis and work in partnership with other agencies such as health visitors,midwives and local schools. To help underfives get ready for school the services include: child and family health services; parenting programmes and antenatal support; early year’s education services, such as ‘stay and play’ sessions; speech and language support and family learning. In addition support is offered for parents with adult learning and employment issues. This may include language, literacy and numeracy support, family learning, access to apprenticeships and volunteering opportunities as steps toward employment and links to Jobcentre Plus. This is supported by good quality, inclusive childcare Sandwell family Partners - The Family Partners pilot programme, in Sandwell, is a project that provides intensive early support to whole families where children are at risk of neglect. This costeffective service aims to tackle neglect and builds through establishing a trusting relationship with parents and challenges the whole family to make positive changes with intensive support at the early onset of difficulties. The centre offers a wide range of early help services which are open to the whole community on a daily basis. Some are delivered in partnership with other agencies, for example working with health visitors or local schools. The services include: health and educational services for both children 10

and adults and links to further education through a partnership link with Birmingham City University. The centre also delivers Family Partners, which is AFC’s pioneering 22 week home visiting programme, specifically designed to support children aged 0-8 who are subject to neglect.

Action for Children Sunday – 10th July 2016 - Action for Children Sunday is designated by the Methodist Church as one of its Special Sundays - a time to reflect on, celebrate the work of its Children's Charity and pray for the continued progress and impact that this organisation has on thousands of individuals every year. The ethos of AFC is deeply rooted in Methodist principles. The famous words of John Wesley to 'go not only to those who need you but to those who need you most' describe the vision and values of AFC to this day.

I have only provided you with a brief overview of the fantastic work undertaken by AFC; there is too much to include here but you can go to the web site to find out more. (www.actionforchildren.org.uk) Envelopes with be available on 10th July to make your donation to this valuable work and the Coffee Morning held on Saturday 9th July will also be raising funds so please come along and support this event.

For over 145 years, Action for Children has been working in partnership with the Methodist Church. Together we make children’s lives better: now, tomorrow and everyday.

Christine Rankin 11

Family worker - update Last year the Methodist Churches in Erdington, Stockland Green and Witton all expressed interest in employing a Family Worker together. A small group representing all 3 churches has been looking into this, and here’s what we think such a person might do (in general terms).

We have contact with a large number of children and their families.

These are through Young Church, uniformed groups, preschools, parent and toddler groups, as well as through community contacts, christening requests, etc. Some of the families are actively involved in Church life, most are not. A Family Worker would work alongside the Minister to support and develop outreach and pastoral work, with particular focus on younger families, to facilitate and promote both introductions to and deepening of faith in Jesus Christ. A key focus will be on equipping adults to pass on the Christian faith to the next generation.

In collaboration with the church leadership, the person would support the development and implementation of the church’s mission to families. He or she would help the churches to welcome and build relationships with families. They would enable individuals and families to develop their faith through prayer, study, action and relationships, and they would offer pastoral care to families.

A Family Worker would introduce people to (or deepen their) faith in Jesus Christ. They would build links with local community groups and organisations, and raise the profile of the church in the local community.

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We think this is a full-time job, i.e. 35 hours per week,and estimate it would cost about £30,000 per year, for salary, expenses, National Insurance, etc., but hope that a good part of that might come from grants. This may seem a lot, but it is about investing in people’s lives. Recent experience in all 3 churches has shown that we can raise lots of money for our buildings. No doubt we can do the same for the Church! After all, the Church is the people, not the building, isn’t it?

This will come to the Church Councils in October and the Circuit meeting in December with a view to an appointment being made next spring or summer. More detail will come this autumn, but we wanted to give you an idea of where the planning has got so far.

Rev Paul

Jean Harris As this Contact was about to be printed I heard the sad news that Jean Harris had gone to glory. We will all miss her and it struck me that we all probably have various memories of Jean at her best. I wondered whether as many of you as possible could write perhaps just a paragraph about one particular memory which we could print in the September magazine as a memorial.

Nick Riley (magazine editor)

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Our Regular Saturday Coffee Mornings July 2nd July 9th July 16th July 23r July 30th

- Phoenix group (support group from John Taylor Hospice) - Action for Children - Organ fund - VACANT - VACANT

Aug. 6th Aug. 13th Aug. 20th Aug. 27th

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Sept. 3rd

- VACANT

Leprosy Mission VACANT VACANT VACANT

The coffee mornings run between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon.

There are quite a number of vacant coffee mornings during July and August so, if you are able to do so, I would appreciate your help in keeping these Saturday coffee mornings open. It does not have to be an elaborate affair, just serving tea, coffee, toast and marmalade.

I must make an apology for confusing everyone last month by writing that some of the coffee mornings were FREE! Of course, I meant free in the sense that nobody had volunteered to run them.

Anyone who has run a coffee morning will be aware that there is a charge to use the kitchen. Church members and groups are charged ÂŁ15.00 and external organisations are charged ÂŁ20. Any other money you raise goes to your chosen charity or fund.

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I often run a coffee morning for Church funds in which case there is no kitchen fee to pay as all the money goes towards church upkeep. The rental fee should be paid to Phil Wharton or the Caretaker.

Thank you for your continued support of this very lively, community event.

Notes on blindness A new film, Notes on blindness, is to be released about the theologian John Hull, who taught at The Queen’s Foundation for many years, and was responsible for helping to train many Methodist ministers. He combined his fine academic thinking with social justice linked to his understanding of the Church’s prophetic role in society.

John was brought a Methodist in Australia and then moved to the UK to study at Cambridge University. He was an active member of his local Anglican church in Birmingham and was a non-serving elder of the United Reformed Church. Becoming blind over three years in the early 1980s, John made audio diaries charting his unique testimony of loss, rebirth and renewal. These recordings form the basis of the film, using actors who have lip synced his words.

Awarded five stars by the Guardian, which reviewed the film, and said, “The genius of the film is in allowing us to understand and visualise the world of blindness… A beautiful, accessible and thoughtful work of art.”

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Following on from the EU Referendum The Revd Steve Wild and Jill Barber, the President and VicePresident of the Methodist Conference, have released this statement: “The people have spoken through the democratic process. We recognise that the result will cause pain to some people who voted with passion and integrity and that now is the time to move forward together with goodwill. The structures have changed but our hopes for a fair, just and equal society continue. We must now gather the political will to tackle poverty, climate change and the refugee crisis.

This referendum has shown both the best and the worst of our democracy. It is to be celebrated that major constitutional change has happened peacefully and transparently; something that is all too rare in the world even today. We are saddened that the referendum debate has at times promoted feelings of fear and even hatred and racism. We do not believe that most people, however they voted in the referendum, wanted this. It certainly does not represent the kind of country that Britain wants to be.

We must be careful now that these narratives do not shape the way that we do politics in the future.

As the future of our role in the EU is negotiated, we cannot cut ourselves off from Europe. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Europe, and particular in our sister Churches, and assure them that our love and commitment towards them is undiminished.�

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Along with a reflection on events on its website, the Joint Public Issues Team offered this prayer:

God of every nation and people, at this historic moment we pray for all who are affected by the decision that we have made.

Whatever differences this has revealed within our own society, may they not eclipse what we have in common.

Where the narratives of political debate have caused harm and division, help us to reclaim the true values of our shared humanity.

Where exaggeration and distortion have generated suspicion and fear, may truth and honesty restore hope and goodness.

We pray for all the nations of Europe that you will help us to find ways of living and working together to pursue the mercy and justice that you require.

We recommit ourselves – together – to the values of your eternal kingdom, and pray that along with all people we might help your world become more as you intended.

Amen.

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Scammers I would like to warn everybody that it is very dangerous to do business with random traders calling at your door.

Some of you may be aware that a member of this church was scammed by a small group of ‘builders’ and I thought it would be useful for me to tell you the story.

Clearly I wasn’t there for the initial stages but it appears that the member answered his door on a Saturday evening while he was preparing to go out. There was a guy on his doorstep who identified an irregularity in his block paved driveway. The fault was real enough but then the ‘builder’ proceeded to remove about 25 of the bricks and dig out some of the foundation – against the member’s wishes. He assured the member that there was ‘no problem’ he would be back on Monday at noon to set it all to rights and would then clean the whole driveway and seal it with some very special sealant. There would be ‘no problem about money etc.’

The member was very worried about the arrangement and asked for help at the church service the next morning. One of the Pastoral Visitors asked if I would go along at the appointed time on Monday to check out the circumstances and assist the member in any way that I could.

The Monday afternoon proved very eventful. The guys turned up as planned but when asked about the cost were very evasive and continued to assure us that there would be ‘no problem’ about money. At this point the member was persuaded to cancel the deal 20

if a price could not be agreed. They said there was ‘no problem’ ‘it would cost a mere £500 for a wonderful job’. There followed a long and protracted ‘negotiation’ which now involved the member’s very helpful neighbour, a lady of considerable courage. The guys then proceeded to be quite rude to her too. So in sheer frustration the member agreed for them to repair the hole that they had created for £100.

They went away to fetch materials for the job and I continued to talk to the member about the circumstances of the deal and he came to the conclusion that the job should be cancelled and the guys should be sent away when, or indeed if, they returned. The guys did return and they were told that the job was no longer required and further they should apologise to the neighbour for their dreadful treatment of her earlier. Surprisingly, they did apologise to the neighbour, and in the most abject terms. On the basis of which the member relented and agreed for them to repair the hole that they had created for £80.

The job was done but the standard is barely acceptable in spite of my standing over them and insisting on corrections. They did threaten me with physical violence for my trouble at one stage, but by this time the neighbour’s husband had arrived home from work and was able to be both visible and active in his support till the work was finished.

In conclusion, do not listen to the patter of random traders on your doorstep –send them away immediately. If you want work done contact trades people preferable 2 or 3 of them. If you have access to a computer, use websites like mybuilder.com or streetwise to find them. Meet them in person and get a written quote so you 21

understand fully what you are getting – the detail is important, don’t accept generalisations. The price and the delivery arrangements need to be clearly specified with any options that may have been covered in the discussions. Extras added afterwards are expensive. Indeed I make it a policy to get additional quotations even if it is a trader that I have dealt with before.

My apologies if I am teaching ‘my Grandmother to suck eggs’ but it was a traumatic and expensive experience for this particular senior member of our church and perhaps this note will prevent it from happening here again.

MikeTurner

Game rules During the local football game, the coach asked one of his young players: "Do you understand what cooperation is?” The little boy nodded yes. "Do you understand that what matters is winning together as a team?” The little boy nodded yes.

“Okay,” the coach continued, "do you also understand that when the referee makes a decision, you don’t argue or curse or threaten to attack him, right?” Again, the boy nodded vigourously.

"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain all that to your mother."

from the Parish Pump ‘Smile Lines’ 22

Lyme Park, House and Gardens When we booked our outing we could not have foreseen what a glorious day we had chosen to visit Lyme Park, near Manchester.

Now owned by the National Trust with the support of Stockport Metropolitan Borough.

Richard II granted Lyme to the 1st Piers Legh and his wife Margaret in 1398, for the heroic deeds in battle of her grandfather, Sir Thomas Danyers. The house has been added to over the centuries by the various descendants. William John Legh created the garden much as it is today, and was elevated to the peerage as Lord Newton in 1892. It was in 1946 however, it was given to the Trust to save it from the ravages of time as the burden of up keep had became too great for the family. It had been in the family for 550 years. (I thought I had been in my place for a long time, a mere 58!)

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The house was impressive, the gardens extensive and the guides delightful, chatty but not intrusive. While there was a lot of pruning and cutting down of shrubs, planting for the summer and re-planting being done while we were there, this did not detract from the beauty of the place, and I imagine later in the summer, it will be very colourful.

The room which impressed me most however was the Saloon. It is warmly panelled in medium oak, and arranged on most of the panels are the exquisite carvings in limewood of Grinling Gibbons.

(I saw a TV programme about Gibbons a couple of years ago and some of his work was shown. I had never seen anything so beautiful and delicate before.) Gibbons(1648-1721) was a Dutch-British sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral among many others. He was born and educated in Holland of English parents, his father being a merchant.

He was widely regarded as the finest wood carver working in England and most of his work is done in limewood, ideal for carving garlands, fruit and many of the life-size still-life elements.

They were made into mirrors and small relief decorative plaques and figurative scenes.

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Little is known of his life. The name Grinling formed from sections of the two family names.

He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and worked under Inigo Jones. His two closest friends, portrait painter Thomas Murray and diarist John Evelyn, couldn’t agree how he came to be introduced to King Charles II. By 1693 he was accepting commissions from the royal family and had even been appointed as a master carver. He became known as the ‘Kings Carver’. His carving is so fine that it is said a pot of carved flowers above his house in London would tremble from the motion of passing coaches.

Horace Walpole later wrote of Gibbons: ‘There is no instance of a man before Gibbons who gave wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each species.’ Grinding Gibbons is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

His talent was discovered by diarist Evelyn in 1671 from whom the Gibbons rented a cottage. Evelyn said on seeing him engaged at his work, ‘I saw a young man at his carving, by the light of a candle.

He was engaged on a carving of Tintoretto’s ‘Crucifixion’, which he had in a frame of his own making.’ He then described what he had seen to Sir Christopher Wren. Wren and Evelyn then introduced him to the King who gave him his first commission, which still rests in the dining room of Windsor Castle.

Horace Walpole later wrote of Gibbons: ‘There is no instance of a man before Gibbons who gave wood the loose and airy lightness of 25

flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each species.’

Grinling Gibbons is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

The BBC filmed Lyme Park as Mr Darcy’s residence in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and one of the guides told me he had watched the filming of Colin Firth coming out of the lake when he meets Elizabeth Bennett. He said that a stunt man dived into another deeper lake, as Mr Firth can’t swim. But he watched as he came out of the lake. This was filmed in front of the house where the lake is only four inches deep! The film crew had to do fifteen takes due to various interruptions, including aircraft going into Manchester airport. I told the guide, “Now you have completely disillusioned me!”

Ann Tomes

Summer reading suggestions Here is a selection of books that I have read and enjoyed recently, and I think they make good holiday reading.

The Girl in the Photograph Written by Kate Riordan, is described as ‘a haunting novel about two women separated by decades, but entwined by fate.’ It has a bit of everything in it with mystery, romance, love, hate, contentment and intrigue.

The Shoemaker’s Wife Written by Adriana Trigiani. It is about Ciro and Enza from an Italian mountain village, where they met briefly as teenagers. Years 26

later they were reunited in America , but yet again their destinies change through the onset of war.

Songs of Love and War Written by Santa Montefiore. The backdrop is a castle in Ireland and the unlikely friendship of two girls, Kitty, one of the family from Deverill Castle, and her best friend Bridie, the daughter of the castle’s cook. Tragedy separates the girls and the castle becomes a ruin – but this is by no means the end!

This is hard to put down, as are other books I have read by this author.

The Turning Point Written by Freya North. Two single parents meet while briefly working away from home. As one lives in Norfolk and the other in the mountains of British Columbia in Canada the developing love between them is very sorely tested. Another book I have found hard to put down!

Finally, a series of detective novels by Donna Leon. As with others it follows the intrigues and development of the same detective.

The book I have just read is Through a Glass Darkly; the story takes place in Venice where the detective lives. The style reminded me of books by PD James, fairly gentle on the senses, but a good story. There was not too much graphic description and the ending was satisfying. I have another one waiting to be read and am looking forward to it.

Hilary Price 27

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Birmingham Repertory Opera Company present

The

of

A FAMILY CONCERT ÂŁ5 Tickets Refreshments 7:30pm Saturday 17th September

Erdington Methodist Church, Erdington, B23 6TX

/birminghamrepertoryoperacompany

www.broc.org.uk 29

/BROC_Opera

Methodist Conference 2016 This year’s Methodist Conference takes place in London at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster from 30th June to 7th July.

The Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church and meets annually to discuss matters affecting the life of the Church, the nation and the world.

Highlights this year include: • The induction of the new President, the Revd Dr Roger Walton, and the Vice-Present (Rachel Lampard) on Saturday 2nd July at 2.15pm, followed by their addresses • New ministers being received into Full Connexion and ordination services on Sunday 3rd July from 10.45am • A discussion on the ethics of investment on Saturday 2nd July at 4.50pm; • A report from 3Generate, the Methodist Children and Youth Conference, on Monday 4th July at 4.50pm • The Marriage and Relationships Task Group report on Tuesday 5th July at 11:30am • The Past Cases Review Implementation Group report on Wednesday 6th July at 11.30am.

Video of debates and Conference worship will be streamed live online through the Methodist Conference website from the afternoon of Saturday 2nd July.

You can also follow what’s going on using Twitter and Facebook and join the conversation by using the hashtag #MethodistConf.

The Conference website is also the first place to go for Conference news and information.

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July/August Regular Meetings Coffee Mornings Each Saturday 10.00 am to 12.00 noon

Tuesday Club Every 2nd Tuesday in the month at 2.00 pm

Sunday Worship All worship starts at 10.30 am unless stated otherwise below.

July 3rd 10th 17th 24th 31st

HOLY COMMUNION - Rev Keith Webster Bob Dauncey ALL AGE WORSHIP - Rev Paul Dunstan CIRCUIT SERVICE - at Erdington at 6.00 pm Godfrey Higgins Rev Paul Dunstan

August 7th 14th 21st 28th

Worship Group Worship at Stockland Green - 10.45 am start Angela Constantine Lynn Crowe

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Weekly Church Activities Sunday

10.30 am

MORNING WORSHIP and Young Church

Tuesday

9.30 - 12.30 pm 2.00 pm

Pre-School : Karen Homer Tuesday Afternoon Meeting : Margaret Hillman (2nd)

Wednesday

9.30 - 11.30 am 9.30 - 12.30 pm 12.30 pm

Stay and Play Pre-School : Karen Homer Luncheon Club - (1st and 3rd)

Thursday

9.30 - 12.30 pm

Pre-School : Karen Homer

Friday

9.30 - 12.30 pm 5.00 - 6.15 pm 6.15 - 7.45 pm 7.45 - 9.15 pm 7.45 - 9.15 pm 5.30 - 6.30 pm 5.00 - 6.30 pm 7.30 - 9.00 pm

Pre-School : Karen Homer Beavers : Lynn Turner Cubs : Elizabeth Baizon Scouts : Lisa Porter Explorers : Lucy Porter Rainbows : Debbie Barnett Brownies : Lesley Carter Guides : Helen Rainsford

Saturday

10.00 - 12.00 noon 10.30 - 11.30 am

Coffee Morning : Lesley Morgan Church open for prayer : Margaret Curzon

Please hand any items for the September CONTACT to any of the Editorial Team (Peter Farley, Christine Rankin, Ann Tomes & Nick Riley) by 15th August 2016 at the latest please or alternatively email me: nickriley@blueyonder.co.uk with the word ‘CONTACT’ in the title.

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