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Magazine of Erdington Methodist Church Station Road - April 2017 1

Contents From our Minister, Malcolm Sign up - Sign up NOW! Pastoral Care Good soup Circuit Announcement Grand Organ Concert - Reprise Easter Activities for your diaries Good Friday An Easter Procession Gold Awards DNAR April 24th is St George’s Day Twitter Shine like Stars THE WAY I SEE IT: The Easter Paradox Words - whatever do they mean?

Victory Empty the Piggy Bank A new way to read and enjoy your Bible We sometimes say, ‘It’s a small world.’

April Regular Meetings Coffee Mornings Tuesday Club Sunday Worship Weekly Church Activities

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3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 18 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 31 31 31 31 32

From our Minister, Malcolm Resuscitation, Rejuvenation, Resurrection I recently visited a friend in Italy. It was very special to see the history, architecture and art in both Milan and Genoa. Set amongst the old building was the familiar M in gold. Wherever you go their seems to be McDonald’s… or at least plans for one! I confess then to joining my friend for a Big Mac, before later being treated to the true richness of Italian food, coffee and culture.

Returning to UK, I was with somebody driving past the McDonald’s on the Chester Road. I mentioned that the twins like paying a visit there. The response was not over flattering about the McDonald’s franchises wherever based . . . but that would not be a great surprise as he is a highly qualified and experienced chef!

When one is used to the delights of a menu gourmet food, treasures of differing culture and history, the big golden ‘M” may have its limitations! Even the Big Mac lovers would surely agree that there is more to life! Sometimes though we may forget to celebrate the rich diversity expressed in differing cultures and languages . . . even being a little frightened to do so for fear of disunity or division.

I wonder if this is sometimes why people use language in a way that ignores differing nuances and diversity in meaning.

I sometimes hear people using RESUSCITATION, REJUVENATION and RESURRECTION interchangeably. This to me seems such a pity as they not only have different nuances, but also say so much about the core of our Christian belief.

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When something begins again after stopping for a while some say it has been “Resurrected’ . . . Would it not be better to say it has been Resuscitated or Rejuvenated?

I sometimes think Christians talk of Resurrection but really are much more comfortable practicing Resuscitation… and to save the possibility of an end would favour Rejuvenation.

The glory of Easter day is of course in Resurrection. Precisely because there was no Resuscitation or Rejuvenation as Jesus was Crucified, Christians are invited to celebrate the death of the Jesus of History and the Resurrection of the Christ of Glory . . . and furthermore to celebrate that we too can be part of that Resurrection. We, like the Risen Christ, can know that in our relationship with God in Jesus Christ we are transformed . . . or as Charles Wesley writes: Changed from Glory into Glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before him, lost in wonder love and praise.

Malcolm

Sign up - Sign up NOW! Later on you will see that we are sharing an 8.00 am Communion Service with Stockland Green on Easter morning and this will be followed by Easter Breakfast. So that Stockland Green can make suitable arrangements can you please sign up on the list by the office if you would like a breakfast.

Nick Riley 4

Pastoral Care Please note that at a recent Pastoral Visitor Meeting Rev Malcolm Oliver asked that it be made known that he is happy to visit anyone if they really feel they need it. If you know of someone who really could do with a visit from our Minister then please let Dorinda King, Pastoral Secretary, know in the first instance.

Good soup When did you last buy a tin of canned soup? If you can’t remember, you are not alone – it seems that these days we prefer chilled fresh soup in cartons, or even making it ourselves by blitzing together fresh ingredients straight from our fridge.

Research by The Grocer magazine concluded that, with a drop in sales of £28.7 million just last year alone, ‘canned soup is on a sinking ship.’ from the Parish Pump Website

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Circuit Announcement As people are aware, in September we were to welcome three new ministers into the Circuit. At the end of 2016 Revd Stephen Froggatt and Deacon Marylyn Slowe agreed to join the Circuit as Ministers.

In January we were given the name of a prospective probationary presbyter Ken Kingston to join us in September, however after he and his family visited the Circuit, Ken felt he was not ready to be stationed. He has asked permission of the Ministerial and Probationers Oversight Committee (MPOC) to withdraw from stationing this year as he considers his future, he still awaits the decision of MPOC. It is unlikely that our vacancy will be filled this year.

This information was given to the circuit meeting this last week and we wish all churches to be aware of the situation. This does mean that the circuit leadership team will have to consider the best way to use its resources in the coming year and, if we are honest, how we will resource our Circuit with Ministers in what remains a very uncertain future.

Please keep the Circuit Leadership Team in your prayers as well as Ken Kingston and his family. Thank you.

God bless Rev. Dr. Alan Smithson - Superintendent Minister

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Grand Organ Concert - Reprise at Erdington Methodist Church Saturday June 17th at 7.30pm After last year's successful debut Nick Riley will again be exploring the boundaries of Erdington's Church Organ with a selection of music that is sure to suit most tastes and some that may surprise you!

Fundraising for the organ is going well and it is possible that the organ will have been refurbished or will be imminently refurbished to hopefully give us a fair few more years of use and enjoyment.

We are delighted that Catherine Mason, who entertained us so masterfully last year, has agreed to offer her own choice of vocal music once again.

Do come along, relax and enjoy an evening of fine organ music and song.

Light refreshments will be served during the interval, and these will be included in the price of the tickets which cost £6.00 each.

Tickets will be available from Nick Riley after Easter.

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Easter Activities for your diaries Maundy Thursday 13th April 7.30 pm at Erdington - Passover Supper . . . an evening of reflection of the passover which Jesus would have partaken . . . a taste of Bitter herbs, roast lamb and unleavened bread. It would be helpful but not essential to know beforehand who will be coming.

Good Friday 14th April 9.30 am at Stockland Green - gather to walk reflectively with a cross to Erdington 10.15 am at Erdington - Invitation to join those walking from Stockland Green to Erdington Village 10.30 am Churches Together Erdington - meet outside Erdington Co-op and walk to St Barnabas.

12.00 am to 3.00 pm at Witton - Fish Friday meal (Tickets available from Carole and Sarah Meade at Witton) 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm Cafe on the Green - Coffee, Tea and hot cross buns & Children’s activities 7.30 pm at Witton - Holy Communion

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Easter Day 16th April 8.00 am at Stockland Green - Holy Communion and reception of new members 9.15 am at Cafe on the Green - Cooked Breakfast £3 (If possible please sign up beforehand) 10.30 am at Erdington - Holy Communion and Young Church 10.45 am at Stockland Green - Worship and Young Church 11.00 am at Witton - Worship and Young Church 6.30 pm at Cafe on the Green - Road to Emmaus with Holy Communion

Good Friday I was standing in line at the bank when there was a commotion at the counter. A woman was very distressed, exclaiming, ‘Where will I put my money?! I have all my money and my mortgage here!!

What will happen to my mortgage?! You can’t do this to us!’

It turned out that she had misunderstood a small sign on the counter. The sign read:

WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD FRIDAY 9

An Easter Procession a reminder of the chronology of the Easter Story Palm Sunday: Jesus at the gates of Jerusalem Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when the Church remembers how Jesus arrived at the gates of Jerusalem just a few days before the Passover was due to be held. He was the Messiah come to his own people in their capital city, and yet he came in humility, riding on a young donkey, not in triumph, riding on a war-horse.

As Jesus entered the city, the crowds gave him a rapturous welcome, throwing palm fronds into his path. They knew his reputation as a healer, and welcomed him. But sadly the welcome was short-lived and shallow, for Jerusalem would soon reject her Messiah, and put him to death. On this day churches worldwide will distribute little crosses made from palm fronds in memory of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem.

Maundy Thursday – time to wash feet Maundy Thursday is famous for two things. The first is one of the final acts that Jesus did before his death: the washing of his own disciples’ feet. (see John 13) Jesus washed his disciples’ feet for a purpose: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” His disciples were to love through service, not domination, of one another.

In Latin, the opening phrase of this sentence is ‘mandatum novum do vobis’. The word ‘mundy’ is thus a corruption of the Latin ‘mandatum’ (or command). The ceremony of the ‘washing of the 10

feet’ of members of the congregation came to be an important part of the liturgy (regular worship) of the medieval church, symbolising the humility of the clergy, in obedience to the example of Christ.

But Thursday was also important because it was on that night that Jesus first introduced the Lord’s Supper, or what we nowadays call Holy Communion.

Jesus and his close friends had met in a secret upper room to share the Passover meal together - for the last time. And there Jesus transformed the Passover into the Lord’s Supper, saying, ‘this is my body’ and ‘this is my blood’ as he, the Lamb of God, prepared to die for the sins of the whole world. John’s gospel makes it clear that the Last Supper took place the evening BEFORE the regular Passover meal, and that later Jesus died at the same time that the Passover lambs were killed.

Good Friday – the day the Son of God died for you Good Friday is the day on which Jesus died on the cross. He was crucified at 9am in the morning, and died six hours later, at 3pm. It is the most solemn day in the Christian year, and is widely marked by the removal of all decorations from churches. In Lutheran churches, the day was marked by the reading of the passion narrative in a gospel, a practice which lies behind the ‘passions’ composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750). Both the St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion have their origins in this observance of Good Friday.

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The custom of observing a period of three hours’ devotion from 12 midday to 3 pm on Good Friday goes back to the 18th century. The ‘Three Hours of the Cross’ often take the form of an extended meditation on the ‘Seven Last Words from the Cross’, with periods of silence, prayer, or hymn-singing.

Good Friday – Jesus and the thieves on the Cross Luke’s account of the crucifixion (Luke 23:32-43) emphasises the mocking of the crowd, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself’ (35,37,39). In their view a Messiah does not hang on a cross and suffer. In considering the two men who was crucified with Jesus, we are also confronted with the issue of how Jesus secures salvation for us.

The words of one of those crucified with Jesus reflected the crowd’s taunts: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.’ He highlights the question of Jesus’ identity: how can He save others, when He cannot save himself from death? He failed to see that the cross itself was the means of salvation.

So - what kind of Messiah was Jesus?

The other criminal’s response in his last moments is a moving expression of faith. When challenging the other man, he spoke of the utter injustice of the crucifixion: ‘this man has done nothing wrong.’ He perceived the truth that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

In a wonderful picture of grace, ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom’, the second thief confessed his guilt and secured Jesus’ forgiveness and mercy.

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In reply, Jesus promised the man life from the moment of death; ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ Jesus used the picture of a walled garden to help the man understand his promise of protection and security in God’s love and acceptance eternally.

Each one of us has to choose how we react to Jesus on the cross. Do we want him to ‘remember’ us when He comes into his kingdom, or not? If you were to die tonight, how confident would you be of going to be with Jesus? ‘For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.’ (1 Peter 3:18).

EASTER – the most joyful day of the year Easter is the most joyful day of the year for Christians. Christ has died for our sins. We are forgiven. Christ has risen! We are redeemed! We can look forward to an eternity in his joy!

Hallelujah!

The Good News of Jesus Christ is a message so simple that you can explain it to someone in a few minutes. It is so profound that for the rest of their lives they will be still be ‘growing’ in their Christian walk with God. Why does the date more around so much? Because the date of Passover moves around, and according to the biblical account, Easter is tied to the Passover. Passover celebrates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and it lasts for seven days, from the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which equates to late March or early April.

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Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first to use the Hebrew lunar calendar to come up with firm dates for Good Friday: Friday 7 April 30 AD or Friday 3 April, 33 AD, with Easter Day falling two days later. Modern scholars continue to think these the most likely.

Most people will tell you that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is broadly true.

But the precise calculations are complicated and involve something called an ‘ecclesiastical full moon’, which is not the same as the moon in the sky. The earliest possible date for Easter in the West is 22 March, which last fell in 1818 and won’t fall again until 2285.

The latest is 25 April, which last happened in 1943 and is next due in 2038.

Why the name, ‘Easter’? In almost every European language, the festival’s name comes from ‘Pesach’, the Hebrew word for Passover. The Germanic word ‘Easter’, however, seems to come from Eostre, a Saxon fertility goddess mentioned by the Venerable Bede. He thought that the Saxons worshipped her in ‘Eostur month’, but may have confused her with the classical dawn goddesses like Eos and Aurora, whose names mean ‘shining in the east’. So Easter might have meant simply ‘beginning month’ – a good time for starting up again after a long winter.

Finally, why Easter eggs? On one hand, they are an ancient symbol of birth in most European cultures. On the other hand, hens start laying regularly again each Spring. Since eggs were forbidden during Lent, it’s easy to see how decorating and eating them became a practical way to celebrate Easter.

Material from the Parish Pump Website 14

Gold Awards Three members of the Scout Troop received their Gold Awards at a recent presentation ceremony. They are Anjali Churcher, Abigail Horton and William Arkinstall. This is the highest award they can gain in the Scout section and they are now moving on with their next challenge in Explorers.

Thank You to all the Leaders who give up their time to help the Young People as they learn new skills, face challenges, make friends and have FUN in all the Uniformed Organisations.

Anne Churcher 

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DNAR The other morning we were listening to ‘Today’ and there was a piece describing a pilot project at Hearlands Hospital about end of life care. The National Institute to Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has suggested that we really should be doing better for people at this time in their lives. Presumably NICE have been asked to look at this because of the fuss a few years ago about the discredited and now defunct Liverpool Care Pathway.

The radio piece included a snippet of a doctor talking to an elderly ‘Heartlands’ lady about how she wanted to be treated as she approached her death; did she want to be resuscitated or have any ‘aggressive’ therapy? I wonder what the elderly lady understood about the concept of aggressive medical treatment and was reminded of a comment by one of our psychologists at work, ‘words are very important’.

I was also reminded that the previous week I had undergone my annual mandatory ‘Resuscitation training’ at work. This included thumping the chest of and blowing into a large plastic doll, the use of a portable defibrillator, now widely distributed, and instruction about the Trust ‘Do not attempt resuscitation’ policy. In comparison to the scheme being trialled at Heartlands this seemed very workaday and mechanistic.

The process of dying is something that we can never really prepare for because it is one of those things, which you cannot possibly know about until you have been there. Fortunately or unfortunately by the time that you know it is too late. It’s a bit like 18

being a parent, by the time you are experienced you are unemployed.

Deciding how we wish to be treated at the end of our lives whilst we are still able to be rational about it is very important and it seems to me this must include two different trains of thought.

Firstly we have to deal with those things that we can know about.

For me that would be, not really wanting to die on ITU with a tube stuck into each limb and more. Then there are the more difficult decisions about which we cannot have any real prior knowledge, like my aunt. Those moments that in the end we may have to delegate to someone else.

I am reminded of a paragraph in a book that I read recently Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery. The author Henry Marsh was asked to give an opinion about, a patient who had been admitted to a nursing home, whether any surgery would be worthwhile. He reported that as he walked down the corridor to this patient’s room he suddenly realised that the people occupying many of the rooms past, which he was walking were occupied by patients on whom he had operated on in the past. Suddenly he was confronted with the question, had he saved them merely to end their days, with varying degrees of incapacitation, being cared for in a Nursing Home bed.

This brings me back to the comments that I made last month about the could and the should of health care. Is a 25% chance of an extra three months life worth enduring chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a possible death in ITU, when all you really want is to make peace with the world, see family and friends and finish writing that book you always promised yourself? On the other hand you could be 19

like Steve Hewlett and fight to the very end and still have time to arrange your wedding. Whichever it is to be, you have to understand the odds and the possible consequences and than that decision should be yours and yours alone.

I heard Professor Dame Sue Bailey, chairwoman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges pose a question and then answer it “Some treatments can be quite invasive and time-consuming; there are (often) simpler and as-safe options, so why wouldn't you? Because I think what we've got into a culture of 'we can do something, therefore we should do something' and we need to stop and reflect and decide what is the best option for the patient in their individual circumstances."

We cannot possibly know how the dice will fall for us. My Dad said to me several times, after my Mum died, there were things that he wanted to tell me. But even though we had dinner together most Monday evenings somehow those conversations never happened. Therefore if there are things that are important to you, tell someone, however difficult it is.

It is trite to say that our end of life care is our responsibility. But because it is difficult, by default, we often leave it to someone else, which is why the pilot project at Heartlands is so important.

Peter Farley

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April 24th is St George’s Day our patron saint who isn’t English It’s perhaps typical of the English that they should have a patron saint who isn’t English, about whom next to nothing is known for sure, and who may not have existed at all. That didn’t stop him being patriotically invoked in many battles, notably at Agincourt and in the Crusades, and of course it is his cross that adorns the flags of English football fans to this day.

It’s most likely that he was a soldier, a Christian who was martyred for his faith somewhere in Palestine, possibly at Lydda, in the early fourth century. At some point in the early centuries of the Church he became associated with wider military concerns, being regarded as the patron saint of the Byzantine armies. There is no doubt that he was held as an example of the ‘godly soldier’, one who served Christ as bravely and truly as he served his king and country.

The story of George and the dragon is of much later date and no one seems to know where it comes from. By the middle ages, when George was being honoured in stained glass, the dragon had become an invaluable and invariable visual element, so that for most people the two are inseparable. Pub signs have a lot to answer for here: ‘The George and Dragon’.

However, it’s probably more profitable to concentrate on his role as a man who witnessed to his faith in the difficult setting of military service, and in the end was martyred for his faithfulness to Christ.

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The idea of the ‘Christian soldier’ was, of course, much loved by the Victorian hymn-writers - ’Onward, Christian soldiers!’ The soldier needs discipline. The heart of his commitment is to obedience. The battle cannot be avoided nor the enemy appeased.

He marches and fights alongside others, and he is loyal to his comrades. In the end, if the battle is won, he receives the garlands of victory, the final reward of those who overcome evil.

St George’s Day presents a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to distance the message of his life from the militarism and triumphalism that can easily attach itself to anything connected to soldiers and fighting. The opportunity is to celebrate the ideal of the ‘Christian soldier’ - one who submits to discipline, sets out to obey God truly, does not avoid the inevitable battle with all that is unjust, wrong and hateful in our world, and marches alongside others fighting the same noble cause. Discipline, obedience, courage, fellowship and loyalty - they’re not the most popular virtues today, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve our gratitude and admiration.

David Winter From the Parish Pump Website

Twitter A man walked into a church and approached the minister. “I need help. I think I’m addicted to Twitter.” The minister looked at him and said gently, “I’m so sorry, I don’t follow you."

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Shine like Stars The theme for this year’s Easter Offering service is ‘Shine like Stars’ and is prepared by Methodist Women in Britain on behalf of the World Mission Fund.

This act of worship enables the Methodist Church in Britain and Ireland to give to the work of the 65 Partner Churches overseas.

At the Easter Offering’s dedication service, which takes place after Easter, you will hear three stories of how World Mission Fund supports God’s mission in different parts of the world. The stories are told by members of the World Church Relationships Team.

Each one is about an NMA (A national on mission appointment).

An NMA is someone who is working in their own country, appointed by our Partner Church in that nation but funded by the World Mission Fund of the Methodist Church of Britain. Each NMA is working in a difficult and challenging environment, but in Paul’s words to the Philippians ‘shines like a star’ to bring light of the risen Christ into that situation.

The Easter Offerings Dedication Service will be a Circuit Service on Sunday 4th June - 6.00 pm at Streetly Methodist Church.

Kay Davies 23

THE WAY I SEE IT: The Easter Paradox Canon David Winter considers Good Friday…

This month - rather later than usual - we remember the events of Good Friday and celebrate the glory of Easter. The injustice and cruelty of the former and the hope and assurance of the latter may help us to make sense of the conflicting and often disturbing events taking place in our world.

On Good Friday the most honest, generous and open person who ever lived was cruelly executed. Around the cross stood His mother, and a few close friends and family. Beyond them, a crowd jeered. The soldiers went about their grim task. Even the sky was dark.

Yet in the gloom there was hope. Jesus forgave those who were killing him: ‘they don’t know what they’re doing’. He asked His best friend to look after his mother. A criminal who was being executed alongside Jesus had a change of heart and asked Him to ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom’ - and received the most wonderful promise of paradise today. Even the Roman centurion, who had stood watching the condemned man die, testified that ‘surely this man was a son of God’.

In other words, at the darkest time there was light, a Light which blazed out on Easter morning. Isn’t that paradox – the truth that even in the worst moment there are signs of hope – the deep message of Easter? We are made in God’s image. We are precious to God. But we are fallen, flawed, lost. Those two truths are right there in the story of Good Friday and Easter. And which one wins?

No prizes for guessing.

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Words - whatever do they mean?

Ever wondered why we pass news on ‘through the grapevine’, or why it is a shock to ‘let the cat out of the bag’? The origin of hundreds of everyday words and phrases can be found in a vast and fascinating guide called ‘The Etymologicon’ (IconBooks, 2011).

Here you can discover many of ‘the strange back alleys and extraordinary and ridiculous journeys that words take,’ to quote the compiler, Mark Forsyth.

Hence, ‘through the grapevine’ began as the ‘grapevine telegraph’, a phrase used in the US Civil War, which described the unofficial, word-of-mouth network used by Confederate soldiers while drinking wine, or by slaves while picking grapes from vines.

‘Let the cat out of the bag’ dates back to medieval markets in Britain, where piglets were sold in bags (a pig in a poke). But a common con was to switch the valuable piglet for a worthless cat or dog: hence buyers were either ‘sold a pup’ or, when they discovered the ruse, ‘let the cat out of the bag’.

To give someone the ‘cold shoulder’ came from the sort of mutton leftovers given to unwelcome house-guests. A ‘hoax’ grew from hocus-pocus, a Protestant taunt of the rite of consecration used in the Roman Mass: Hoc est corpus meum (This is my body).

‘Winging it’ comes from actors learning their lines in the wings; ‘in a nutshell’ comes from Pliny, the Roman writer who claimed there was a copy of The Iliad so small it could fit in a nutshell. ‘Average’ comes from an old French term avarie, meaning ‘damage done to a 25

ship’. Vessels were often co-owned, and when repairs were done, the owners were expected to pay an equal share, or the average.

From the Parish Pump Website

Victory In the garden His sweat was as great drops of blood, Knowing the ordeal that lay ahead.

When He came from eternity into time ‘It’s to do Thy will, not mine’, He said.

The hour had come, He must drink the cup Fulfilment of scripture would start that day When He who was sinless would forfeit His life, Unblemished the Lamb who would take sin away.

His miracles had touched so many lives But the crowd had turned, it had come to this – An arrest by the chief priests with lanterns and swords, Led by a friend and betrayed with a kiss.

He bore the cross - a victory shout!

God’s wisdom now for all to see, ‘If I be lifted up’, He said ‘Then I will draw all men to me.’

By Megan Carter from the Parish Pump Website

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Empty the Piggy Bank Are you a coin hoarder? If so, this is a huge warning. Empty your piggy banks, upend your coin jar, scrabble behind the sofa and get all your pound coins together - then spend or save 'em before October. The new 12-sided £1 coin is being rolled out this month, and the current round version will stop being legal tender (and so won't be accepted in shops) on 15th October 2017. After that, if you still have any old £1 coins, you won't be able to spend them.

Of course, you’ve a few months left yet to sort it. But it's worth doing it now. It's all too easy to squirrel money away and forget about it.

Many banks and building societies have said they will continue to accept the old pound coin even after 15th October. But they would only do this for their own customers. So it's much better simply to spend or save them.

What about old fivers - aren't they also being scrapped?

That’s right. The shiny new plastic fivers are already in circulation, and the older, larger fiver is leaving us even sooner than the pound the withdrawal date’s set for 5th May. Now technically, unlike the pound coin, the £5 banknote is produced by the Bank of England and not the Royal Mint. This means, even after it’s been scrapped, the old fiver is covered by 27

what's effectively a Bank of England 'buy back guarantee' old banknotes officially hold their face value “for all time".

That means if you're stuck with an old fiver after 5th May you can still exchange it at face value with the Bank of England in London, in person or by post (at your own risk). What's more, while they're under no obligation to do so. many banks and building societies say they will accept the old fivers from their own customers.

But in practice, sorting it after 5th May will be a hassle. So, if you can, check if you’ve got any old fivers (though you're probably less likely to have a stash of them than old pound coins) and use them while you're able to.

Here's a timetable of all the forthcoming currency changes: 28th March 2017

New ’12-sided’ £1 coin in circulation

5th May 2017

Old ‘non-polymer’ £5 note withdrawn

15th October 2017

Old £1 coin withdrawn

Summer 2017 (Date TBC) New polymer £10 note launched 2020 (Date TBC)

New polymer £20 note launched

Spotted in another magazine by Elizabeth Baizon

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A new way to read and enjoy your Bible Bible Society has launched a new tool to help people search, read, engage with and share the Bible. It has a number of free-to-use features, specially created for the thousands of people a week who visit Bible Society’s website to read the Bible.

Verse Builder is designed for those who like to share Bible verses via Facebook. This feature allows you to create an animated verse, set against a picture backdrop, which you can share to social media or download.

FlexiReader is an innovative way of reading the Bible, which automatically displays the text at the reader’s chosen speed.

There’s no need to lift a finger to scroll down the page – and you can choose how many words should appear on screen at once, and the speed of reading.

The new online tool also allows you to compare versions side by side. There are English versions to choose from, as well as beibl.net (the Bible in everyday Welsh).

The final new feature gives people the option to leave a public comment, save notes on the text or tag verses with a theme. As the community of Bible-readers grows, it will provide a rich resource of people’s thoughts and reactions to Scripture.

Find the tool at biblesociety.org.uk/explore. from the Parish Pump Website 29

We sometimes say, ‘It’s a small world.’

And sometimes events make it seem so.

When my daughter Elizabeth came to stay with me last September she left with me a colourful and inspiring ‘Welcome’ leaflet from one of their churches, Eaton Bray Methodist Church, and it greatly impressed me. It told the reader of the church’s activities for all ages and its role in their community. It was illustrated with colourful photographs of various activities and events.

I commented, ‘How can a small church of thirty members produce something as warm and inspiring as this. All we do is present visitors with a small typed black and white welcome with a form to fill in if they would like a visit.’

I took it to show the Pastoral Committee who were also impressed and they, in turn presented it to Church Council who agreed it was certainly a colourful three-fold resume of what Eaton Bray Methodist Church was about, serving their community.

Well, of course, as you well know, if you ask a question which involves some work, it will inevitably come back to you to do something about it! So I set to work, involving help from various people who I knew to be good at photography and we now have our own warm, colourful, and inspiring ‘Welcome Leaflet’.

Whilst talking to a member of Eaton Bray’s Church about the impact their leaflet had had on me, Elizabeth discovered that their literature was produced some years ago at a time when a certain Rev Nichola Jones was their Minister. Elizabeth informed them she was also our Minister some ten years ago. (Incidentally, during her 30

ministry with them, they also had new toilets and kitchen – interesting, eh?!)

I have sent a copy of our new leaflet to Nichola to show her we didn’t stand still after she left our Circuit. So it seems we have almost gone full circle and it really is a small world after all.

Ann Tomes

April 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.

2nd 9th 16th 23rd 30th

Tom Watts Glynn Constantine Circuit Service and ‘The Crucifixion’ - 6.00 pm ALL AGE WORSHIP - HOLY COMMUNION Rev Malcolm Oliver Jane Cudjoe Liz Topliss

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Weekly Church Activities Sunday

10.30 am

MORNING WORSHIP and Young Church

Tuesday

2.00 pm

Tuesday Afternoon Meeting : Margaret Hillman (2nd)

Wednesday

9.30 - 11.30 am 12.30 pm

Stay and Play Luncheon Club - (1st and 3rd)

Friday

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

Beavers : Lynn Turner Cubs : Elizabeth Baizon Scouts : Paul Harris 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 May 2017 CONTACT to any of the Editorial Team (Peter Farley, Christine Rankin, Ann Tomes & Nick Riley) by 15th April 2017 at the latest please, or alternatively email me: nickriley@blueyonder.co.uk with the word ‘CONTACT’ in the title.

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