Alsager and Congleton
The Link
Alsager and Congleton
United Reformed Churches
Magazine
Linked through the love of Christ
February and March 2015
Dear friends,
Recently I read a book by Francis S. Collins, the scientist who heads the Human Genome Project. Francis is one of the world’s foremost scientists and a committed Christian. In ‘The Language of God’, he discusses how he finds faith in God and faith in science compatible. As far as he is concerned, science does not conflict with the Bible, it enhances it.
But it was not always the case and at the start of the book, Dr Collins describes how he travelled a long road through agnosticism (not knowing whether there is a God or not), to atheism, (being sure – at least intellectually – that God did not exist) back to agnosticism and finally to faith.
It was this journey and the influences on it that fascinated me. Dr Collins describes some of the different experiences he had on this journey and the different choices he made that slowly altered his understanding. As I read one thing in particular struck me; it was through people of faith that his atheism was ultimately questioned and it was their impact on his life that led him to acknowledge the possibility of God and begin his faith journey.
As he worked as a hospital doctor he witnessed how many people’s faith helped them in and through often terrible times of suffering, pain and hardship. Their faith gave them hope, ‘with a strong reassurance of peace, be it in this world or the next’. The daily experience of observing and interacting with ordinary people of faith living or dying affected him profoundly. Then one day a woman with a terminal illness asked him a question; “What do you believe?” He realised in that moment that he was unsure. He goes on to write, ‘That moment haunted me for several days. Did I not consider myself a scientist? Does a scientist draw conclusions without considering the data? Could there be a more important question in all human existence than “Is there a God?”
As a consequence of this question he began to seriously explore the question ‘Is there a God?’ and his conscious journey of faith began. He sought out ministers and theologians, he read widely and found the books of C.S. Lewis (another atheist who came to faith) particularly helpful as they reflected his own journey.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells a number of people he has healed not to tell anyone else what has happened to them, but how many of them would have actually had to tell anyone else? They had changed in ways that all could see and they could not hide that even if they tried; could Blind Bartimaeus hide the fact that he was no longer Blind Bartimaeus? (Mark 10: 46-53)
Whether we realise it or not our faith affects the way we act in ways that those we come into contact with notice. God can work through us in ways we are unaware of. Some of us are called to ministries as missionaries and evangelists, ministers and prophets, but even if we are not, God can work in and through us because, in faith, like Bartimaeus, we have been transformed and like all those ordinary people with whom Dr Collins came in contact, through the simple living out of our lives of faith we can affect people in ways that can ultimately lead to transformation. Happy living, this day and every day!
‘The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10: 51-52)
Your friend and minister
Murray
Quiet Day 7th March 2015
Our next QUIET DAY will be held at Croft Meadows Farm, Horton on Saturday 7th March 2015 from 10.00am to 4.00pm and it will be led by John Keeling.
Participants will need to bring a packed lunch and a Bible, notebook, pen/pencil and even a camera might be useful.
The cost of the day will again be £7.00 and names and money should now be given to Murray or John.
PRAYER PAGE:
Inside this edition of ‘The Link’ is a separate insert for use in Alsager. It’s the new ‘Weekly Prayer Diary’ for use each day of the week as we pray for each other and for the Church.
Apart from Sundays when we pray for Murray, the Elders and their spouses each day contains the names of people who belong to each Elders Pastoral Visiting List.
It follows, therefore, that this is a ‘work in progress’ and always will be as different people will be added and deleted as and when necessary – WATCH THIS SPACE for future amendments (although a revised Diary will be issued each year).
It may be that there are names missing from this first Diary or indeed names that are on but shouldn’t be – if that is the case please speak to the relevant Elder or Murray.
There is a suggested Prayer for the Day on the back of the Diary which I hope you will find helpful.
And now for a complete change a few Prayers before reading the Bible that I’ve picked up on my own journey of faith:
Father of all, to hands and minds prepared and ready, send you Holy Spirit, that by the Scriptures our faith may be increased and our hope strengthened; and this we ask through you Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Earliest known collect preceding the reading of the Scriptures (c.340)
I open myself to the wisdom of the Word of God
I open myself to the guiding of the Word of God
I open myself to the power of the Word of God
Father, you spoke your Word and the earth was birthed
Speak new life to me this day;
Jesus, you came to us as the Word of God
Speak new life to me this day;
Spirit, you awaken me to the Word of God
Speak new life to me this day.
Father, Son, Spirit
Welcome me now to the Word of life. (Amen)
(General prayers (Community of Aidan and Hilda))
Assist us with your Holy Spirit, O God, that the precious jewel of your holy word may be written in our hearts to comfort and reform us, to renew us in your own image and to build us up into the perfection of Christ, the source of all holiness and author of all virtues; and this for his own name’s sake. Amen.
(From the preface to the Geneva Bible (1560)
Every blessing
John
The Massacre of the Innocents – 21st C
Just before Christmas Sheila and I attended a candlelit vigil near the new Mosque in Hanley to remember the slaughter of 132 children in Peshawar, Pakistan, and to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim sisters and brothers whose grief and pain were palpable.
The room was packed, with various faiths represented. Brief words of solidarity were spoken by HifsaIqbal, a longstanding friend of ours who is the first Muslim woman to head-up Stoke on Trent’s Forum of Faiths; the Bishop of Stafford; leaders from the Jewish and Sikh faiths, and Lloyd Cook from Saltbox who held the whole event together with great sensitivity. The theme was peace, linked to a shared abhorrence that such a deed could be perpetrated in the name of Islam.
We shared a moment of silence after lighted candles and roses had been distributed to everyone. Poignantly there were a lot of Muslim children present, looking round with wide-eyed innocence just as their counterparts in Peshawar must have done a week earlier.
During the moment of shared silence I put my arm round one of the elders from the Mosque standing next to me, and as the silence progressed very tentatively he put his arm round me and we stood together… then a child cried.
Bernard Moss
Come and be fed
in
Body, Mind and Spirit
at
Alsager Worship and Buffet Lunch
Midday
February 17th
March 17th
April 21st
The worship lasts about 35 minutes and is followed by lunch at approx. 12.40pm
ABRAHAM – AND ALL THAT
Migration – the movement of people from one part of the world to another has been with us ever since the days of Abraham, and indeed long before. Sometimes families or tribes have moved to find more fertile land or a better climate.
However there is another kind of migration. This happens when people’s situation endangers their lives – through war, for example, or natural disaster, or persecution. The subjects of this kind of migration we call “refugees”. At the heart of the biblical story is the escape of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt; they became refugees.
Our own country has been familiar with refugees. In the 1600’s Dutch Protestants fleeing from persecution in their own country settled in Britain (and through their engineering skills changed the face of East Anglia). We have also produced our own refugees, for example the persecuted Puritans who left these shores to settle in America.
In January three of us from St. Mary’s attended the Christians Aware conference with this year’s theme “Refugees – Misery or Hope?” Here we were reminded that this is a worldwide issue. More than 25 million – many of them women and children – eke out a precarious existence, often in countries that are themselves deep in poverty and can do virtually nothing to support vast refugee camps. Most refugees are so as the result of war (think of Syria, the Congo, Eritrea), and some adult refugees are ‘second generation’ (Palestinians for example). Women and children suffer most.
One speaker was Anthony Harvey, former Canon of Westminster Abbey, worker for the Churches’ Refugee Network, and author of Asylum in Britain. He reminded us of the significance in international law of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the 1951 Convention for Refugees, to both of which Britain is a signatory. These speak of a universal right to humane treatment – this is a matter of justice. In religious tradition all human beings are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity.
However, national governments have an obligation to protect their own citizens. This can lead to difficulties over the admission of “asylum seekers” (refugees escaping from persecution or armed conflict), and the whole question of immigration becomes a political issue.
Our present situation in Britain is coloured by largely misguided public opinion, with some elements of the media stoking fears of the country being “swamped” (a frequently used word) by refugees. Louise Zanre, lawyer at the Jesuit Refugee Service, provided us with the latest figures. In 2013 there were 29,300 applications of which 17,600 were decided. 327 of these were given leave to remain. 8,500 of the rejected made an appeal and 25% of these were allowed. At the same time about two thirds of the incoming total was matched by British people emigrating and foreigners returning to their own countries.
Sadly, the whole process of dealing with asylum seekers on their arrival is (quoting Anthony Harvey) “a serious case of injustice in our midst today”. These are people who have suffered great hardships to reach safety; who are destitute on arrival and ask only for a fair hearing and opportunity to support themselves by working for their keep. Instead they are liable to be aggressively questioned, presumed to be lying, have limited, sometimes no legal representation when they appeal, are denied all right to work, are often placed in detention while waiting for a decision, are dispersed to regions where they may have no personal contacts and difficult access to lawyers, and may even be denied accommodation and provision for health and food if their final appeal fails.
Behind the statistics are human stories of suffering. This was brought home to us by ZoyaPhan, Manager for the Burma Campaign U.K. At the age of 14 she had to escape from Burma when her village was razed to the ground and inhabitants murdered by the military campaigning against ethnic minorities. Zoya came to Britain as a refugee 10 years ago, now educated with an MA. She has revisited (and recently) the refugee situation on the Thai/Burma border where she tells us of continuing ill treatment and rape by the military. Her pictures, sadly made clear the reality and so she continues to work both here and in the refugee camps to alleviate the human rights issues.
It is an understandable temptation to put refugees out of our mind, or worse still accept the media’s false claims that all asylum seekers are “Bogus”. Who is our neighbour? - if it is not those who have been persecuted or whose lives have been torn apart by war.
Bryan HalsonFor J PIC
The scientific way of looking at the world is not wrong any more than the glass manufacturer’s way of looking at the window. This way of looking at things has its very important uses. Nevertheless, the window was placed there not to be looked at but to be looked through; and the world has failed of its purpose unless it too is looked through and the eye rests not on it but on its God.
Benjamin B. Warfield
Alsager Coffee and Chat
Why not come along and bring a friend on the 1st Saturday of the month.
Enjoy great company and service, wonderful refreshments and a charity stall
So come and enjoy!
Your hosts will be
February Bob &Ria Harrison
MarchDoreen & Barbara H
AprilLynne & Jacquie
May Tom & Janet
JuneAudrey and Marie
Congleton Church on Tuesday
Café – Lunchtime Worship – Chat & Make
A warm welcome,
friendship and fellowship,
sustenance for body mind and spirit,
craft and conversation
Join us weekly between 10.00am and 2.30pm
Congleton URC, Antrobus Street.
Drop in to the Café: 10am -12 midday
Reflective refreshing worship:12 – 12.30pm
Chat and Make: 12.30pm – 2.30pm
Tea, coffee and biscuits are available throughout this time
Alsager and Congleton URC’s
2015
Lent course
‘Test of Faith’
Science and Christianity Unpacked
Are science and Christianity in conflict?
Has the Big Bang pushed God out of the Universe?
Is the theory of evolution compatible with Christian faith?
YES? NO? UNSURE?
Whatever your points of view are why not come and explore these and other issues raised by science for both faith and ethics.
CongletonAlsager
124th February 7.30 pm25thFebruary 2.30 pm
23rd March 7.30 pm4th March 3.00 pm
310th March 7.30 pm11th March 2.30 pm
424th March 7.30 pm25th March 2.30 pm
Everyone Welcome!
Come along and bring a friend!
Refreshments served
ALSAGER CHURCH FAMILY NEWS
It has been said that germs don't survive in cold weather. Such a claim is hard to believe seeing most of us have been targeted by colds, flu and chest infections lately. I suppose “cold weather" can mean a certain temperature below what we feel at present as cold.
We are all vulnerable beings in so many ways, no one is exempt from suffering. No one should suffer alone. This does highlight the blessing of the support we give to each other in times of need. Being somewhat incapacitated at present I can only marvel and be grateful for the help I have received from so many.
We are blessed in our church in that there is such a hidden network of wonderful caring people. In caring for one another, as we do in our church family, we are serving as Christ has asked of us in that we should love one another ....
Our cares and prayers are extended to Joan and Ken Heaton, Dennis Jerrard,
Ken and Dorothy Bragg, Philip and Lynne Eardley, Amy Coe, Beryl Garwell, Pat Averill, Tom and Janet Beamon. (I would add Val’s name to this list, Murray) All names in the Prayer Book and all names held in confidence in the Prayer Chain.
We will remember our dear friend Joan Phillips in her memorial service at 2.30pm.
on February 17th.
" The Children of Messy Church told the wonderful story of the birth of Jesus
in their own special way in the Crib Service. It quite rightly was a joy to behold.
Special thanks go to Lynne, Philip and Murray as supporting actors and the mothers of the costume department.
Photographs will soon be on display at Alsager for those who were unable to share in this colourful occasion "
Val
A letter from Joan and Ken Heaton
Dear Friends,
We would like to ‘Thank You’ for your continued support during this difficult time, we appreciate being remembered in your prayers and for the offers of help in taking Joan shopping.
Christmas cheer was brought to our home by six ‘Church Choristers’ who willingly gave of their time to come and sing some familiar carols. It meant such a lot to us and made us feel part of the Church family.
Thank you Murray for your Pastoral Care
Wishing you all a peaceful and happy 2015
Joan and Ken