Fun for Under Fives meets each Monday morning at 9.30am in term time. It provides an opportunity for small children to play in a safe environment and gives parents and carers a chance to meet together socially. The beginning of the new school year means that is no longer a waiting list and new faces will be very welcome. The leader, Audrey Mann, will be at the church at 9.30am each Monday morning and will be able to show just what is available at each session.

Dear Friends,

It has fallen to me to write September’s letter and, at the moment, I don’t know which way this will go! Last week I read an interesting article in ‘Christianity’ magazine about rules and regulations and worship. It posed an interesting question, “Are we too hide-bound by rules and do we forget about the message Jesus gave us?”

I have always felt self-conscious when reading, serving communion or welcoming friends to church because of my taste in clothing. One thing that is important to me (apart from my faith) is my type of music and I often wear ‘Heavy Metal’ T-shirts – advertising some of my favourite groups. I have an inkling, at the back of my mind, that the designs may cause offence or even repulsion to members of the congregation. However, the article outlined many points about ‘living by the rules’ rather than ‘by the spirit’. Would I be a better Christian if I wore a suit to church every Sunday? The article talked about how the early Christians were not so interested in HOW they worshipped God – just that they DID worship God. The article ended with something like, “will there some day be a group of Christians worshipping God kneeling on a mat, facing Jerusalem and doing it five times a day? I pray so.”

Surely it isn’t what God wants, us going to church only on Sundays, in our best clothes, and then being done with Him for the rest of the week. How many of us have started to say grace at every meal, as Bill McCrea encouraged us to do? How many of us include God in everything we do?

Should I still feel self-conscious about not wearing a suit on Sundays? . . . . . . . Probably not!

I am Alpha and Omega

I am Alpha
I was here in the beginning, the beginning of all that is.
Before the world was, I was here, waiting, waiting for you.
Before there was sea or crushing waves,
Before there was sky or rushing clouds,
Before there was land or snow covered mountains,
I was here.

I was here in the beginning.
Before the fish swam or the insects crawled,
Before the cockerels crowed or the lions roared,
Before the singing of a million feathered life-forms greeted the rising sun,
I was here.

I am Alpha
I was here before man and woman came into being,
Before you built your homes,
Before you worked in the fields or subdued the land,
Before you discovered technology or sought to control the world through science.
I was here.

I was here in the beginning,
Before you lived or loved,
Before you talked or toiled,
Before your worried weariness made you doubt my existence.
I was here waiting, waiting for you.

I am Alpha
There is nothing I have not seen.
There is nowhere I have not been.
There is nothing I do not know or have not experienced,
No situation that I have not encountered,
No emotion that I do not have,
No feeling that I cannot understand.
There is no joy too great, no laughter too loud,
No amusement that I cannot enjoy,
No caring touch that I cannot feel.

I was here in the beginning.
There is no sorrow I cannot share,
No tears too deep, no pain too great,
No aching loneliness that I have not known,
No hatred or betrayal that I have not suffered.
Nothing is new to me.
Before the world began, I was here, waiting, waiting for you.
I am Alpha. Before the world began, ‘I am’.

I am Omega
I am the end,
The end of all that was, the end of all that will be.
I am the last, the final curtain.
When the world is no more and all is still,
I’ll be there waiting, waiting for you.

I am Omega
When the sun no longer shines and the rain ceases,
When mists no longer gather, nor snowflakes fall,
When the wind stops its constant roaming and rainbows are but a distant memory,
I’ll be there.

When wheat no longer grows, nor kestrels dive,
When boats no longer sail, nor passengers arrive,
When loud music ceases and all is hushed,
I’ll be there, waiting, waiting for you.

I am Omega
When you have done your worst to destroy my world,
Pulled down my trees, flattened my forests,
Polluted my rivers and plundered the land,
Altered the genes and confused the life-cycles,
I’ll be there.

When you have exploded your bombs and fought your wars,
Race against race, colour against colour,
When you have abused the young and ridiculed the old,
When you have ignored the poor and disobeyed my teaching,
I’ll be there, waiting, waiting for you.

I am Omega
I am the end.
One day I will return and take you with me.
You need not fear me, for I love you.
I created you in my image,
Made you to live in my world,
To know its joys and woes,
To work, to play, to love!
To win, to lose and start again,
To live and breathe and know that I am your God and you are my people.
I am the end.
When evil is banished and all creation is at peace again as it was in the beginning,
I’ll be there.

For I am Alpha and Omega,
The beginning and the end,
The first and the last,
And I am waiting, waiting for you.

The Church is surrounded by a gardenA view of the sanctuary.The Hangings: The three hangings were made by Pamela Pavitt. The two side panels are changed regularly to depict the seasons.

Showing their faith in the power of prayer members and friends took part in 12 hours of continuous prayer on Saturday May 22nd. Prayer stations were placed around the sanctuary for silent prayer and meditation and every two hours there was a short meditation and prayer led by various members. Those taking part were asked to pray for the church, the community and the world as well as for their personal concerns.

A family affair

Percussion

Everybody Sing!

Raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust on Saturday 24th April. The final total sent to the Trust (including recovered Gift Aid) was over £1000.

The church garden has come to life to celebrate Easter.

Moved by the plight of the people of Haiti, the congregation have been raising funds for the appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee. The proceeds from a famine lunch, where almost 60 people sat down to soup and bread, and a lively auction have been added to the retiring collections taken over the past two weeks,resulting in £1000 being sent to the DEC to provide necessities for the suffering people.

The Knitwitters are sending fruits of their labours to this project. For pictures of the project visit the What We Do : Recent Posts section. (Click on image to enlarge).