Contact 201204

CONTACT

Magazine of Erdington Methodist Church Station Road - April 2012 1

Contents Minister’s Letter In CONTACT this month . . .

Outreach Sabbatical Correction March Project Update Good Friday Petits Filous Collection A Cascade of prayer The Work of Oxfam - three perspectives Sequence Quiz 40th Anniversary Coffee Morning We have a winner!!

All a’twitter Children’s Pages St Georges Day 24th April In Group The Lisieux Trust i am Mark Taken from - Moving Stories 146 BBC announces centre-piece of its Easter output Arithmetic EASTER – the most joyful day of the year The Taxi Riding on Lowly Colt Answers to Sequence Quiz Easter Service Details Easter Rambling April 2012 Regular Meetings Weekly Church Activities __________________________

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3 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 13 14 15 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 32

Minister’s Letter Dear Friends For those of us who are sports fans there is a fascinating mix of emotions as we watch our teams progress or otherwise. The very thin line between success and failure draws us in until we are fully involved in the ups and downs of what is happening. As an avowed Manchester City fan of over forty years I can claim to be an expert in the ups and downs (mainly downs!).

I like to explain my allegiance by telling people it makes me philosophical about life! And that, of course, is not so very far from the truth because life certainly has its ups and downs as well. It would probably be unrealistic to expect a life with no problems – it is how we deal with those problems that counts.

As we approach the season of Easter we will be reminded of the death and resurrection of Jesus and all that happened to him in his final days. With his disciples we will feel the depths of despair and the exhilaration of triumph within the space of three short days. And we will be amazed once again at how closely Jesus’ experience of death and resurrection mirrors our own experience of life. When things seem to be at their worst there is always hope of improvement, though it may not come immediately. And, in a way that is infinitely more profound than supporting a football team, we can learn to be philosophical about the ups and downs of life.

The story of Easter is not just an historical event. It has relevance to our everyday lives in the most helpful way imaginable. Don’t leave the baby Jesus in the manger at Christmas but allow him to grow up and live through Easter so there can be hope for all of us.

Jane

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In CONTACT this month . . .

We learn about the history and work of the charity OXFAM We learn about St George and that pesky dragon There is a further update on our Church Project A sequence quiz News of an award winning photographer Ann tells us about the Lisieux Trust You are challenged about your arithmetic skills You are encouraged to reflect on Jesus entering Jerusalem and the meaning of Easter There’s lots of information about our upcoming activities and our Easter services And you are challenged to ramble on . . .

As always we hope you find plenty to interest you in this month’s CONTACT and if you think that you have better ideas then please write them down and hand them to any of the team listed on the back page or email us of course . . . also don’t forget our website which has a collection of our latest news on as well as electronic versions of this magazine - find it at mine.org.uk Enjoy . . .

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Outreach It is proving to be very difficult to find a date for our Outreach group to meet together but it is nevertheless important to keep this theme on our agenda.

The circuit are offering each church up to ÂŁ500 to spend on one or more "outreach events" during this year. Such events might be related to the Queen's Jubilee celebrations or to the Olympic Games. At our recent circuit meeting churches were invited to publicise their plans for these events and, unfortunately, Erdington was part of a very small silent minority!

A lot of effort is going into the anniversary celebrations this year and we are launching our project to upgrade the premises but we must not forget to look outwards to the community around us. If anyone has any ideas it is not too late - the money has to be claimed by August even if the event is planned for later in the year. Please speak to Jane (before 23rd April) or one of the church stewards. Â

Sabbatical A reminder that Jane will be on sabbatical from 23rd April to 24th July and is not to be contacted even during periods of residence in the manse. There will be alternative ministerial cover for emergencies and you are asked to speak to one of the church stewards or the pastoral secretary (Dorinda King) if you think a minister needs to be contacted.

Correction Please note that the date for the 40th Anniversary service and lunch was wrong in the March edition of Contact. It should be the 10th June 2012 not July.

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March project update The coffee morning on March 10th raised £640.00 - an amazing total. To all of you who helped to raise this total by helping to organize this morning and coming to support it - a very big THANK YOU. There are two more fund-raising dates fixed for this year. The next is on June 23rd. which will be a bric-a-brac sale during the coffee morning. There will be more about this in April’s Contact. On October 6th we are holding a second Smarties Ladies’ Fashion Show. We had a successful and enjoyable evening last year and hope that this will be even better!

Meanwhile you are encouraged to hold your own fund-raising event, either by running a coffee morning, or something else at church, or an event at your own home. Do you know that if 40 people saved 50p each week for a year, they would raise a total of £1040.00? That is something worth thinking about!

By the time you read this month’s Contact, we shall have identified your priorities from the forms given in, and the project planning should have moved on a bit further.

Hilary Price (on behalf of the project planning group)

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. 6

Petits Filous Collection Wylde Green Primary School are collecting Petits Filous lids until the end of July to enable the school to buy equipment for the children. If anyone has these yogurts or fromage frais and would bring the washed lids to church to hand over to one of the stewards, I would be very grateful. We get 2p for each lid.

Many thanks Jacky Scott

A cascade of prayer The Olympic Torch relay starts at Lands End on 19 May. It will be carried on a 70-day journey across the UK, arriving at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

As the torch begins its journey across the UK, so too will a prayer relay. Christian leaders will launch a cascade of prayer at Lands End. They will then travel to the next main torchstopping place (Plymouth). Here they will bring prayers of blessing and hand on a symbolic prayer baton to Christian leaders there.

This simple process will continue day by day. That means, the next day, Plymouth leaders will travel to Exeter – and so on through the 70 days.

It means each community receives and releases prayers of blessing. It is up to the churches in each place that receives the baton to decide when and how the prayer chain of blessing is moved on from the Methodist Church News Service

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The work of Oxfam - three perspectives I have suggested to the editorial team that each month we take a different charity and highlight its work in CONTACT. This month it is OXFAM - ed A Historical Perspective Oxfam was instigated by a group of people based in Oxford who were concerned about the plight of people in Greece who were suffering serious famine as a result of the allied blockade due to the Nazi occupation in 1942.

Thousands of people were dying for want of food and medicines and the Oxford Committee was founded to campaign to allow essential supplies through to these people.

Peace in 1945 didn’t end the suffering for millions of refugees and the dispossessed and the work very soon spread to provide relief in other areas of the world affected by war. The Oxford Committee set itself on a course to bring ‘relief of suffering in the consequences of war’, an objective which quickly expanded to become ‘the relief of suffering arising as a result of wars or of other causes in any part of the world.’

By 1960 it was a major international non-governmental aid organisation and in 1995 Oxfam International was formed their aim was to work together for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice.

In 1947 the Oxford Committee established a base in Broad Street, Oxford which was used to collect donations of saleable items such as clothing and craft ware. Its first paid employee was Joe Mitty who was engaged to manage the accounts and distribute donated clothing. A gift shop was opened there in February 1948: Britain’s very first permanent charity shop (it is still there). There are now more than 800 shops in Britain staffed by 22,000 volunteers.

As well as dealing with the aftermath of war, there were natural disasters to which Oxfam supported. A famine in Bihar, India in 1951 prompted the first campaign in a ‘developing country’ and in 1959, the UN’s decision to declare 1959 ‘World Refugee Year’ and the International Freedom from 8

Hunger Campaign, started the following year, were important milestones in making Oxfam a household name.

An important part of what Oxfam tried to achieve was to improve the image of the world’s poor as human beings rather than passive victims and by the 1960’s Oxfam were becoming more concerned with longer-term development and ensuring that local people could help themselves to fight their way out of poverty. The Fair Trade scheme was started which imported handicrafts and goods for sale in Britain with direct, fair benefits for producers in developing countries. This continues to develop and expand with an ever broadening range of produce and goods for sale.

Christine Rankin A Financial Perspective One of the common comments that people make when approached with a tin being shaken for charity is that only a small proportion of the money goes to the people who need it. The majority is either spent on administration or finishes up in the pocket of some official or another.

Whilst researching for this article I noticed that on the bottom of the Oxfam home page their claim that for every £1 given 83p goes on emergency relief, development and campaigning work, 10p on running costs and support and 7p is earmarked for generating future income. At this point in my thought process the image of my father always appears saying to me, in relation to raising money for church funds, if we spend £1000 we might raise £10,000 however if we spend £10,000 then there is a chance that we might raise £100,000, which is best? In a non-sound bite driven society this ought be our answer to the Oxfam gainsayers.

April 25th is World Malaria Day and Oxfam works alongside many organisations in support of their aims ‘the global fight towards zero malaria deaths’ (www.worldmalariaday.org/home_en.cfm). A justifiable aim when malaria is still such a significant killer. The WHO suggest that half of the worlds population is at risk from malaria, that it kills 1,000,000 every year and that includes, on average, one child every 30 seconds.

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However Oxfam doesn’t only support such far away causes. Last year you may have noticed that they organised a Pram Push, where 1,000 volunteers walked from Manchester to London to highlight the fact that around the world 1,000 women die in childbirth related incidents every day.

More recently Oxfam has been involved in Syria. They are one of the charities, which are lined up on the Syrian border waiting for the green light to enter the country and take relief to those in need. Similarly they have just highlighted the impending crisis, yet again, in the Sahel region of West Africa. This brings to mind another criticism that charitable fundraisers have to contend with, that they only do a sticking plaster job and that the problems always come back. However Oxfam would claim that they are also there for the long term supporting market gardens, well rehabilitation, animal vaccination and cash for work schemes.

All of this brings yet another thought to mind. We are just embarking on a fundraising campaign to improve our premises. If Oxfam can motivate 1,000 people to walk from Manchester to London for a cause and sell jotters made from elephant poo to raise money what could we do if we really set our minds to it?

Which is the best £1,000 makes £10,000 or £10,000 makes £100,000? Did I hear someone ask about the parable of the talents?

Peter Farley A Practical Perspective - an example of work happening now!

Nearly 34,000 refugees from the conflict in Sudan’s Blue Nile region have arrived in Jamam – a village in the remote Upper Nile state of South Sudan – since the start of 2012. Oxfam’s team in South Sudan is providing clean water, public health and sanitation in and around the new camp. With many more people expected to come, Oxfam is scaling up our response. Christian Snoad, Oxfam’s emergency public health advisor leading our emergency water and sanitation response in Jamam, writes.

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Women and girls spend several hours a day collecting water – often standing in baking heat. They then carry the heavy jerry cans home, either on their heads or tied to the end of poles.

We moved staff and supplies into the area late last year in anticipation that a big influx of people could come as the fighting in Blue Nile intensified. In December we chartered three planes from Juba (the capital of South Sudan) to bring up staff, food, camping equipment, and equipment such as generators, submersible pumps and water pipes.

Since 5 January around 34,000 refugees have arrived. The first thing we did was consult the communities. It might not seem like the most urgent thing in an emergency, but it makes sure that our response doesn’t have any negative impacts. We don’t want to do anything that could create a dependency culture on aid – instead we want to make the most of the skills, coping mechanisms and strengths that people already have. We wanted to see what the communities can do, rather than just showing them what we can do. This approach has definitely paid off. We found many people have the skills to build their own bathing shelters and latrines – they just needed the equipment. So this week alone, we’ve helped 600 families construct bathing shelters and 300 build their own latrines – we just provided the tools and some materials. Altogether so far we’ve helped construct nearly 4,000 bathing facilities and over 1,500 household latrines.

There are no existing clean water sources in the camp, so we have had to truck water in from functioning boreholes a few miles away. The water is trucked in and emptied into bladder tanks – and then we’ve built and connected ten tap stands throughout the camp so people can collect it.

We are also providing services such as tap stands for the host community, in order to minimise any potential conflict that could arise with such a big influx. Jamam was home to just 3-4,000 people – now the population has risen tenfold.

We are building communal latrines to improve sanitation, and we have trained 50 refugees to work within the camp to promote good hygiene practices. The camp is a very crowded place – very different from their 11

normal environment – and people are sharing water, with few latrines and soap, so there is a real risk of disease spreading. The trainees use various participatory methods such as games, meetings, and family visits, to spread messages. We have to try and find innovative ways to get the message across – we have to keep it interesting and keep people engaged. We are working with several traditional dancing and singing groups, and a drama group that performs plays about good health practices.

There are many challenges to working in Jamam. To start with, the camp is in a field with many UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) left over from the war.

This has also delayed the response a bit because areas have to be checked and cleared before we can excavate the earth to build latrines. Much of the camp is also on a flood plain and will probably flood in June. So this location is very much a temporary solution – we need to find an alternative place that is away from the flood plains, without any remnants of war, and that has a possible water supply. Finding all three of these things in one place here is very difficult.

The arrival of so many thousands of people is stretching the natural resources to the limit. This part of the world – this land – is simply not meant to be populated by such large numbers of people. Even if we added together all the available water sources in Maban County (where the Jamam camp is located) it would not be enough to provide all the water we need.

There are big ponds called Haffirs in the camp – storing water left over from the last floods. Usually they run dry by April because of use and evaporation, but this year there are so many more people using them that we expect them to dry up much earlier – some have already run dry.

The area is a driller’s nightmare – it has soft clay that makes it very difficult to dig. We have dug boreholes only to find they have collapsed before we could race to complete them. There is a reasonable yield of water when you find it – the problem is getting it out. We are getting new water equipment sent up, which will maximise the output of the existing boreholes and help us to drill new ones.

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The people here are very easy to work with – at the end of the day they are the ones doing all the work; we are just supporting them.

Nick Riley (actually almost entirely from the Oxfam website)

Sequence Quiz For our April edition we give you a sequence quiz. All you have to do is provide an answer and the reason why? -ed No. What Comes Next?

Answer

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William, Patrick, Jon, Tom, Peter, Colin, Sylvester, Paul, Christopher, David, _?

2

e,o,e,r,e,x,n,t,e,_?

3

Betty, Rosalynn, Nancy, Barbara, Hillary, Laura, _?

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M, M, L, J, A, R, 1C, 2C, G, E, _?

5

D, R, M, F, S, L, T, _?

6

141592653 _?

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Crab, lion, virgin, scales, scorpion, archer, sea-goat, water-bearer, fish, ram, bull _?

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v,i,b,g,y,o, _?

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ps, cos, poa, gof, ootp, hpb, _?

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B, C, D, E, G, P, T, _?

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Why?

Er!ngton Me"o!# Church 40 Anniversary 1972 – 2012

COFFEE MORNING Saturday 21 Ap&l 2012 10am ‘till 12noon Bacon Bu(ies Cake & Book #all – Raffle – Sc+ts Car Wa, Chil-en’s games – Tombola – and lots more 14

We have a winner!!

Each year around November, the Methodist Recorder has a photo competition. Since I was in the middle of my photo course last November, I decided to enter it. The theme was 'Yes, God is Good'.

It was simple enough to enter, you just have to send them a 6 x 4 colour photo, with your details on the back, which reflected the theme. I thought it would be a bit of fun to enter, although, in my mind I was most unlikely to get anywhere.

The results were out this week, and the Recorder printed the top three prizes as well as the highly commended, and commended. I was totally astonished to see my photo in the commended group!

It was titled 'Grandpa's Garden' as it was taken at James' parents last summer on their Golden Wedding celebration. Eleanor (standing) and her older cousin are studying the flowers. A few minutes after this was taken, they were both in the flower bed pulling the seed tops off the poppies! So I am glad I caught them at the right time!

Hilary Price

All a’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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St George’s Day 24th April In 1222, the Council of Oxford declared April 23rd to be St George’s Day. He replaced St Edmund the Martyr as England’s patron saint and in 1415, April 23rd was made a national feast day. St George is not only the patron saint of England but of many other countries too, Ethiopia, Greece, Portugal and Lithuania to name a few plus various cities such as Genoa, Moscow, and Lod. He is also the Patron Saint of Scouts, soldiers, archers, farmer, field workers and other groups.

But how many of us remember the date and what do we know about this man who is so identified with British ideals of honour, bravery and gallantry despite not being British at all? He is believed to have been born in Cappadocia (now Eastern Turkey) in the year AD 270. He was a Christian.

At the age of seventeen he joined the Roman army and soon became renowned for his bravery. He served under a pagan Emperor but never forgot his Christian faith. When the pagan Emperor Diocletian started persecuting Christians, St George pleaded with the Emperor to spare their lives. St. George's pleas, however, fell on deaf ears and it is thought that the Emperor Diocletian tried to make St. George deny his faith in Christ, by torturing him. St George showed incredible courage and faith and was ultimately beheaded near Lydda in Palestine on 23rd April, 303.

So where does the slaying of the dragon come in? Sadly, romantic as the story sounds, it is only legend, there was no dragon. In the middle ages a dragon was commonly used to represent the Devil and there are many versions of the story of St George slaying the dragon but most agree on the general theme; that a town was being terrorised by a dragon and he demanded daily sacrifices of beautiful maidens. The day came when it was the turn of the Princess. When George heard about this he rode to the village and after a long fight killed the dragon with his spear and claimed the beautiful Princess for his wife.

Despite being the Patron Saint of England, it is highly unlikely that St George ever visited England. His emblem is a red cross on a white background and forms part of the British flag. This emblem was also 18

adopted by King Richard the Lion Heart whose soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle during the Crusades.

By tradition, 23rd April is the day for wearing a red rose in the button hole, the national flower. However, unlike other countries, England does not celebrate it in the same way as the Americans celebrate 4th July with fireworks for example. In fact we are more likely to see a big St Patrick’s parade in England celebrating Ireland’s National Day than any recognition of St George’s Day. For many people in England it is just another day!

Christine Rankin

In Group No one ran up and shook Christ’s hand.

The only others with that kind of inclination

Had theirs nailed down too.

Lionel Kearns, born 1937

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The Lisieux Trust I sat spellbound at TUESDAY CLUB watching and listening to a very inspiring talk that was like no other talk I have ever heard! The reason was that Heather, the ‘speaker’ was deaf and dumb. Yet this cheerful, smiling, vibrant young lady gave tremendous insight into the work she, along with her colleagues, many of whom have one or more disabilities, perform for the Lisieux Trust. Heather and her signing, interpreter, Sharon, who relayed Heather’s words to the group, told us of how the Trust supports disabled people in so many ways. It serves all ages, all faiths, and those with no faith, and all kinds of disabilities.

Based in Sutton New Road, Erdington, Lisieux Trust began with a few parents of disabled children buying a home and equipping it to cope with their corporate disabilities. It was with a lottery funded grant that the Trust expanded and set up other homes until now they are scattered throughout Birmingham and further afield. There are even calls from the USA enquiring how they might set up a similar scheme.

Help is given with the filling in of the many types of forms which authorities require, i.e. Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, etc., whether a particular person qualifies for funding or care, and where and how to receive that care. Many of the forms can be daunting to the disabled, who may be blind, or have learning difficulties. They may need help with finding carers and transport and have other practical requirements.

They may need help with furnishing a home.

The Centre also offers IT facilities with special equipment to help the impaired such as an extra large, brightly coloured mouse, a brightly coloured keyboard and special screen to enable certain people to use it. You may actually see their van with the Trust’s name on its side, driving around the district.

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Tuesday Club named the Lisieux Trust as its chosen charity for the year, and if you would like to make a donation to their cause, I’m sure Mike Hedley our treasurer would be only happy to accept it on our behalf.

If you would like to know more about the Trust, call in and take a look round and ask your own questions.

Ann Tomes

i am Mark Commanding demons and controlling storms, a lone man strides out of the desert and, gathering a nation around him, he turns towards certain death in an occupied land ... i am Mark is an epic telling of Mark’s Gospel in two parts. Using fresh language for a modern audience, Applecart’s innovative style of storytelling combines drama, music, film and comedy to drag traditional stories kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Applecart’s unique style of performance has attracted capacity audiences at festivals, universities and conferences around the country.

Their work is both theatrical and disarming, often funny and always deeply moving.

You can see i am Mark at the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton on 19 May, and in London at the Leicester Square Theatre on 22 and 23 May. from the Methodist Church News Service

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Taken from - Moving Stories 146 February 2012 The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) EAPPI will be recruiting in June for the next round of participants, who will be based in the region for 3-4 months in 2013. The current group represent 13 different countries, including Argentina for the first time. EAPPI has been so successful over the last few years that the World Council of Churches is now launching a similar programme in Colombia - the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Colombia (PEAC). This programme will accompany communities and victims of violence as they seek the rights to their lands, replicating the experience of the programme in Palestine and Israel.

Jean Harrison, who had previously worked for CA for 17 years as a schools and youth writer has just completed her 3 month term as an EA. Based in Bethlehem, Jean undertook activities such as monitoring the Bethlehem checkpoint each morning from 4.00 - 8.00 am, and assisting school children in the village of Tuqu as they walk to school. On their route they have to pass several IDF soldiers, who believe that the children throw stones at Israeli settlers’ cars on the road that the school is on. Jean stands between the soldiers and the children, some as young as four years old, to smile, say ‘good morning’, and try to alleviate the fears that many of them have during this journey.

Jean says; “Although sometimes I come home feeling angry and helpless, I know that our presence makes a difference. People appreciate us because we’re there at difficult times. We have time to drink tea, talk and listen to them. It’s been one of the best aspects of my experience: you feel you like you belong here and it’s a privilege.”

This year Commitment for Life gave a grant of £5,000 to EAPPI.

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Moving Stories is produced by Commitment for Life, the programme of the United Reformed Church that seeks to raise issues around justice and development. To receive Moving Stories email linda.mead@urc.org.uk.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of the URC

BBC announces centre-piece of its Easter output BBC1 is to broadcast a live modern adaptation of the Passion story following a string of hit live events on BBC3. The 60-minute programme due to be broadcast on Good Friday, follows live event performances including Frankenstein’s Wedding in Leeds, the Passion in Manchester and the nativity story from Liverpool, which have all been aired on BBC3.

The Preston Guild is working with the BBC to give a real sense of the City.

Over 1,000 local people are expected to take part in a contemporary performance which will draw on the themes from the passion story.

Three pre-recorded dramas using themes from the passion story and based on Preston’s culture and history will also feature in the programme. The stories will follow a mill owner who has to make a decision that affects the lives of his workers, a woman who looked after some of the 3.5m soldiers who passed through Preston train station in WW1, and a modern story about a careworker.

BBC head of religion and ethics, and executive producer, Aaqil Ahmed said the programme will “form the centre piece of the BBC’s religious programming for 2012”. from the Parish Pump Website

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Arithmetic Whilst I am helping patients fill in the back of their prescriptions occasionally someone will say ‘where do I sign I have left my glasses at home?’ At this point I always think I wonder if that is their way of avoiding telling me that they cannot read. However people appear to have much less compunction about admitting that they cannot do arithmetic. ‘I’m no good at maths’ is so commonly heard that in some circles it can only be regarded as socially acceptable. Yet maths is everywhere.

The other day I was buying something in a local supermarket and I noticed that there was a special offer ‘TWO for £4.00’ which went straight into my trolley. Then I noticed a larger pack priced at £3.99 so a moment was needed to read the labels more closely. Two for £4.00, 150g each, whereas the £3.99 pack was 350g, decision made.

According to a recent YouGov poll 80% of people would be embarrassed to admit that they were bad at reading whereas only 56% felt the same way about maths. But what does this actually mean? The base line for their research was the skills that are expected of a child at the time of transition from primary to secondary education. So an adult would be regarded as having a problem if they were no better at reading or maths than someone moving to senior school. There are all manner of questions, which need to be asked about such a base line but at the present time this is it.

Problems with both numeracy and literacy lead to reduced life chances and the recent report pointed out that people with poor numeracy are more that twice as likely to be unemployed as the national average. For example if you cannot read a graph or a chart or add up then you cannot be a plumber because plumbers need to be able calculate how big radiator a needs to be to heat a room or how big the boiler should be for the total of all of the radiators.

There has been much government and charitable effort in the last few years to improve literacy rates. Unfortunately this has not been the case with numeracy. A situation, which is not helped by the fact that further education colleges struggle to find enough maths teachers because by and large those 24

with a strong background in maths have significantly better opportunities outside teaching.

I say bring back Countdown’ with Carol Vorderman!

Peter Farley Here are some example ‘real life’ arithmetic questions to test yourself.

To clean your kitchen work top you are told to dilute your bleach 40ml in 5 litres (why 5 litres? – because that is the nearest convenient measure to a gallon). So if you decide that you need half a litre to do your cleaning how much concentrated bleach should you add?

A. 2ml B. 2.5ml C. 4ml D. 20ml You are putting up several shelves. For each shelf bracket you will need four screws. Screws come in packets of 30. How many shelf brackets can you put up with one packet of screws?

A. B. C. D.

6 brackets with 3 screws left over 7 brackets with 2 screws left over 7 brackets with 3 screws left over 8 brackets exactly

You are planning to build a new TV cupboard. The TV is 40cm wide and will sit in the middle of a shelf that is 90cm wide. How wide is the gap on each side of the TV? A. B. C. D.

10cm 25cm 43cm 50cm 25

Match these discounts (1 to 3) with the proposed sale labels (A to D) 1. £300 reduced to £180 2. £240 reduced to £160 3. £350 reduced to £280 A. B. C. D.

Amazing 30% off Massive 20% off Slashed by 30% Reduced by 40p in the £

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 is 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.

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 3rd 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 26

possible date for Easter in the West is 22nd March, which last fell in 1818 and won’t fall again until 2285. The latest is 25th 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. from the Parish Pump Website

The taxi The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something.

The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the pavement, and stopped inches from a department store window. For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, "Look mate, don't ever do that again. You scared me half to death!"

The passenger apologized and said he didn't realize that a little tap could scare him so much.

The driver replied, "You're right. I'm sorry. Really, it's not your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. I've been driving a hearse for 25 years."

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Riding on Lowly Colt

Riding on lowly colt, See your Messiah comes.

People rejoice, exalt!

To see King David’s son And all around ‘Hosannas’ ring, To greet the coming humble king.

Daughter of Zion, your king As prophets long foretold, Comes not on gilded wing, Nor in a coach of gold; His herald is a donkey’s bray, The Lord comes riding on his way.

Loosed from beside the road A donkey meets his need, Ne’er was so great a load, Borne upon royal steed!

The meanest tool he’ll use for good, A donkey, or a cross of wood.

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Triumphantly he rides Into Jerus’lem’s gate, With confidence he strides Onward towards his fate.

‘Hosanna’ is the people’s cry – But soon they’ll call for him to die.

Riding on lowly colt, Lifted on shameful tree, Though guilty of no fault, Bearing humility!

But he was ready so to die To save a sinner such as I. Jesus, the king who died Rose from his borrowed grave; In Heaven glorified!

Worshipped by those he’s saved!

For time eternal we shall sing Hosannas to our Risen King!

By Nigel Beeton

Answers to Sequence Quiz 1. Matt - Doctor Who actors’ names 2. n - last letters of numbers counting to ten 3. Michelle - Last 7 American First Ladies 4. P - Philippians - New Testament books of the bible in order 5. D - Doh! - Tonic Sol-Fa 6. 5 or 6 - Pi following decimal point depending on whether you round to 10 places 7. Twins - Star sign descriptions 8. r - Red, Colours of the rainbow - first letter 9. DH - Harry Potter Book titles 10. V - Rhyming letters in alphabetical order 29

Easter Service Details Our Easter Services and activities are as follows: Sunday 1st April - Palm Sunday - Morning worship at 10.30 am followed by a faith lunch and the Church General Meeting Thursday 5th April - Maundy Thursday Service at 7.30 pm including Soup and Roll Supper Friday 6th April - Good Friday at 10.30 am - Open Air act of worship outside the Co-op in Erdington. Organised by Churches Together in Erdington Friday 6th April at 7.30 pm - Taize service for Good Friday Sunday 8th April - EASTER MORNING - Early communion at 8.00 am followed by Easter Breakfast.

Sunday 8th April at 10.30 am - EASTER FAMILY SERVICE

Easter Rambling The rambling group is having a special Easter Monday Bank Holiday Ramble. Should be 4 to 5 miles. Please bring lunch and, as usual, stout walking shoes. As I type this it’s positively warm but knowing Easter we may have snow on the ground!!

All welcome to join us Meet at Church at 9.30 am Nick Riley

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April 2012 Regular Meetings Coffee Mornings Each Saturday 10.00 am to 12.00 noon

Tuesday Club Every 4th Tuesday in the month at 2.30 pm

Sunday Worship All worship starts at 10.30 am unless stated otherwise below 1st

PALM SUNDAY - Rev Jane Ashplant followed by a faith lunch and the Church General Meeting

8th

EASTER HOLY COMMUNION - Rev Jane Ashplant - 8.00 am EASTER DAY WORSHIP with HOLY COMMUNION Rev Nicola Price-Tebbutt

15th

ALL AGE WORSHIP - Godfrey Higgins

22nd

Rev Jane Ashplant

29th

Rev Graham Gee

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Weekly Church Activities Sunday

10.30 am

MORNING WORSHIP and Young Church (with crèche : Margaret Hillman)

Tuesday

9.30 - 11.30 am 9.30 - 12.30 pm 2.00 pm

Stay and Play Pre-School : Karen Homer Tuesday Afternoon Meeting : Valerie Long (4th)

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 : Caroline Joyce Rainbows : Louise Rawson Brownies : Lesley Carter Guides : Helen Rainsford

Saturday

10.00 - 12.00 noon Coffee Morning : Lesley Morgan 10.30 - 11.30 am Church open for prayer : Margaret Curzon

Please hand any items for the May CONTACT to any of the Editorial Team (Elizabeth Baizon, Peter Farley, Christine Rankin, Ann Tomes & Nick Riley) by 15th April 2012 at the latest please or alternatively email me: nickriley@blueyonder.co.uk

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