Reports for February

On Sunday, 23 February, the focus of our Circuit Prayers was on Wingrave

Dear All

We hear Angela's story of how God made known His love for her. This week please pray for the lovely folk at Wingrave and also for those who are searching for something, that they may recognise God's call and love for them at the right time.

Pete

Angela writes:

God Finds Us...

I am always surprised, how many people were brought up in Christian households.

Where reading the Bible, prayers, going to church, talking about the Bible "at home", are everyday parts of family life.

And having God as something you would speak of openly at home I find rather different.

My childhood was wonderful. Saturdays we would have a journey to wherever my dad's Cricket Team were playing. It could be Ilkley, Follifoot, Skipton or anywhere with a beautiful ground in what we call "God's" Country, yes in a beautiful part of Yorkshire.

Sundays we would usually have a "run out" in the car to places such as Haworth, Fountains Abbey or Burnsall. We would pack up the car with a fabulous picnic, copious amounts of hot drinks in a flask and some of mum's home made cakes to enjoy.

Weekends were family time, time to be together and enjoy every moment.

The Church wasn't part of our life.

You may be thinking that I missed out, but I don't see it like that at all. I do remember being dropped off at Sunday School for a few weeks, I don't think it lasted long and I don't remember wanting to continue going.

I don't believe that people need to be brought up in the faith, God will find a way to plug you in at the right time for you.

So how did I come to be here?

Well one morning I woke up and I knew I had to go to church.

I was 35, I had a few things going on in my life and I was COMPELLED to go.

I looked at the Church that had a female minister, that service started at 10:30, the pretty church with the Reverend, started at 10.00. So I went to the pretty church, as I thought I would get home earlier too.

I walked in and felt a coldness and greyness envelop me. I waited until people went forward for communion and then I ran. I ran so quickly to leave the church as I knew it wasn't for me.

I drove to the other Church, the one with the female Minister, I was late, I wondered if I should enter as it was now closer to 11.00 than 10.00:

I took a deep breath, put on a big smile and walked into a warm room, where everyone welcomed me with a smile.

The chairs were in a circle and they were playing a game with an arrow that pointed to different questions.

And this is where I knew I was called to be.

It was not formal, it was anything but formal, just how I liked things in my life and I instantly felt at home.

I was called to Two Waters in Apsley, the Methodist Church.

I found God and God found me at the time that was right for me.

God finds people every day.

I'd love to know others who had found God later in life, there are so many of us who God found when the time was right.

Blessings

Angela

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On Sunday, 16 February, it was the turn of Whitchurch to be the focus of our Circuit Prayers.

Dear All

Karen shares her story with us of how she has been helped and guided in her work as a nurse, and the inspiration she has received when times have been difficult. Please pray for our brothers and sisters at Whitchurch this Sunday, and also people like Karen who work in caring professions with total commitment and such dedication.

Pete

Karen writes:

During my career as a paediatric oncology outreach nurse, there were many, many, many times I needed more help than the doctors and professionals could give me.

Like the times when the medical teams could only offer palliative and terminal care for a child. Families were left facing the inevitable, being so frightened and scared of the news they had received.

Each family is unique, each child is unique, and their individual needs are unique.

Their fear is theirs, and theirs alone.

That family become your most important priority.

Making contact with them and building a relationship based on trust, all needs to be achieved as quickly as possible.

That first meeting and conversation with them will be the key to the door you need constant access to, enabling you to be able to give the care they all need.

No pressure!

During that first meeting it would be so easy to get it "wrong", your beliefs and opinions need to be way down the list of priorities, and sometimes it is extremely hard to keep from expressing them.

"That family in front of you", their beliefs, their opinions, their fears, their concerns become the priority.

Every time that first meeting was in my diary, I would silently and sometimes not so silently pray for help, and guidance, I knew I could not do it without God's help.

He gave me strength and confidence to knock the door for the first time. If He was by my side, the right words would be said, He would help me make a horrible experience for them into a less painful one. By helping me to hear what their needs were, so I could hopefully meet them.

A wise and kind man once said to me, "Listening is an art easily taught but not always learnt."

(Listen is an anagram of silent).

Thank you Lord for always being there, and listening when I needed you most.

Karen

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On Sunday, 9 February, the focus of our Circuit Prayers was on Weedon

Dear All

We join Sarah as she shares her thoughts on the love that God has for each one of us. So many people in this world never feel that wonderful touch of God's love in their lives. Please pray for Sarah and the lovely fellowship at Weedon this Sunday and remember and pray for those who will not feel the warmth of God's love supporting them and walking with them.

Pete

Sarah writes:

This week our congregation heard a Bible passage from 1 Corinthians 13, that well-known piece written by Paul to the Christian church in Corinth that is often trotted out at weddings because it speaks of faith, hope and the greatest gift – LOVE. It is a glorious aide-memoire of the qualities that the gift of love bestows – it is kind, thinks no evil, believes all things and, above all, never fails.

Richard reminded us at our service on Sunday that of course this passage is chosen by newlyweds because it expresses the love that they have in their relationship. But we should think more deeply about the relationships that Paul was originally talking about. What we know is that Paul was encouraging the Church to use their knowledge of Christ and their spiritual gifts to spread the fellowship of Christ, but in love. What he was emphasising in this letter was that other spiritual gifts are meaningless without love. He believed that love is the foundation for living a godly life and that love is a way of life that involves self-sacrifice and service to others.

I am not a romantic by any means, but I am a true believer in love and a believer in true love. And not in any soppy, flaky kind of way. Yes, I love my husband and children, my parents, greater family and friends in an emotional and sentimental way, but my love for God is based on his love for us. His love is unconditional and does not need to be earned, it is not dependent on levels of "holiness" and it is constant. I do believe that God sees us for what we are, and understands that our emotions can therefore guide us in our actions and decision-making, but he is love in infinite measure. His love is so great that he sent us his only Son – and that love, that truth, that constancy gives me the ultimate comfort to live my best life. In our world today where our cultures and societies bombard us all with endless messages, opinions, views, data and logic it can be hard not to have information overload and grow confused about what is actually true. But what I know, and what this passage reminds me, is that love is a truth-seeker and we should share it with others. This is the love which we wake up with in the morning, we work with, we play with and socialise with. It builds friendships, networks, communities and social groups. It makes me feel whole.

Amen

Sarah

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On Sunday, 2 February, we offered our prayers for the fellowship at Waddesdon

Dear All

To keep the Good News fresh and interesting, every few weeks the circuit staff are going to offer short introductions to the various books of the Bible which will then be collated on the circuit website. We looked at Matthew's Gospel a few weeks ago. This week we look at Mark. We will, of course, continue to encourage our pattern of praying for each church in turn.

So,this Sunday, 2 February, we offer our prayers for the fellowship at Waddesdon ,that God may continue to bless them and work through them in their fellowship together and also their ministry of outreach to their local community. Waddesdon are known for their hot lunches (served every fortnight) and their friendly atmosphere, so please support them in your prayers this week and if you can join them for lunch you are assured of a warm welcome.

Pete

Noreen writes:

The Gospel of Mark

Author:

Mark is generally identified as the author who figures in the New Testament (Acts 12-15; Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11; 1 Peter 5.13). Mark developed into an effective missionary and later became a valued companion of the Apostle Paul himself (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4.11). And Peter speaks of Mark as a dearly loved son (1 Peter 5.13). Some described Mark as a follower and "interpreter" of Peter, who is usually identified as the John Mark of Acts, whose mother had a house in Jerusalem. He accompanied Barnabas and Paul on the "First Missionary Journey" and may have helped Peter and Paul in Rome in the 60s. Those who rejected this tradition claimed that the author may have been an unknown Christian named Mark. The unanimous tradition is that the Gospel of Mark was written in Rome.

Date:

Mark was written first among the canonical gospels. It is thought to have been written just before before or after Peter's death around the mid-or late 60s. Some thought it could be in the 70s.

Style:

Mark is one of the synoptic gospels and is known as the Action Man. Mark is the briefest, and in some ways the most attractive, of the four Gospels. His preamble is brief. Jesus is God's Son. His sparse, unpretentious prose provides uniquely vivid images of Jesus as a man of action. His narratives are marked by the frequent use of the Greek word, "immediately" that sequentially carry us along from scene to scene, which culminates in Jesus facing the cross. His use of the present tense draws us into the scenes he sketches and helps us see events as he does. Mark's vigorous but blunt Greek reflects the language of the common man.

Features:

Mark writes with a Gentile audience in mind. Shorter than either Matthew or Luke. Mark often uses graphic imagery to get the story across, for example: he looks round with anger (3:5), or takes a child and sets him in the midst (9:36), or takes an invalid by the hand (1:31, 5:41, 1:41).

Mark is broken down into two parts:

Introduction (1:1-3:6)

Jesus chooses the Twelve and trains them as disciples by parables and mighty deeds; (3:7-6-6)

Sending out the Twelve; feeding 5,000; walking on water; controversy; feeding 4,000; misunderstanding (6:7-8:26)

The encounter on the road to Caesarea Philippi is often seen as the hinge, as after Peter makes his confession Jesus then begins to explore what is going to happen.

1:1-8:26: Part One:

Ministry of Healing and Preaching in Galilee

8:27-16:8: Part Two:

Suffering Predicted; Death in Jerusalem; Resurrection 16:9-20

Three passion predictions; Peter's confession; the transfiguration; Jesus' teaching (8:27-10:52)

Ministry in Jerusalem: Entry; Temple actions and encounters; eschatological discourse (11:1-13:37)

Anointing, Last Supper, passion, crucifixion, burial, empty tomb (14:1-16:8)

An abrupt ending (describing resurrection appearances) (16:9-20)

Passages worth looking at

Mark 1 – Mark's goal is dual. He intends to show us in Jesus the ideal man, committed, active, and vigorous. And he intends to show that Jesus was the Son of God: God here in the flesh. This key theme is emphasized over and over in Mark's brief Gospel.

Mark 6 – Jesus' miracles of feeding the 5,000 (vv. 30-44), of walking on the stormy sea of Galilee (vv. 45-53).

Mark 7:1-13 -Mark deals with the religious leaders who evaluated Christ's teaching and miracles – and rejected His claims. The religious focus on tradition and ritual (7:1-8) and in doing so "nullify the Word of God" (vv.9-13). Jesus points out the hypocrisy of their external approach to religion, when the real issue is the state of one's heart (vv. 14-23).

Noreen

On Sunday, 26 January, the focus of our Circuit Prayers was on Christchurch Thame.

Dear All

Alison shares her story with us. When we become a member at a church and attend it for a while, we tend to picture life at that particular church as the 'Normal'. Alternatively, worshipping at a variety of church fellowships gives you instead a sense of what 'The' church is about rather than what one particular church is about. No single church or denomination has got 'It' right, we all get different bits right, but never the whole lot. Different fellowships display God's love in different ways and so enrich all who pass through them. Please pray for all the different churches that you know that we may together offer the rich variety of God's love to all.

Pete

Alison writes:

Churches in my life.

I was born into a Christian family. My Christening was held in Carrs Lane Congregational Church, Birmingham. When war was declared, we went up to Glasgow to my Grandparents. Eventually we made our home in Troon, next door to Portland Parish Church of Scotland, where I went to Sunday School.

After Dad was demobbed, we returned to Birmingham, and became members of Chantry Road Presbyterian Church of England. It had a very active Scottish Congregation, with a Youth Club, Scottish dancing, Badminton and Ceilidh's. I was made a member of the Church in 1952 along with all the members of the youth club.

Went back up to Glasgow to College and attended Wellington Church of Scotland which was my Grandparents Church. My first job was in Newcastle upon Tyne, so I went to Jesmond URC while I was there. Back briefly to Chantry Road Presbyterian Church where I was married. Then back up to Glasgow and Wellington Church.

Work took us to Wigan where we joined the Presbyterian Church, but they did not have a Sunday School for the boys so we moved to the Congregational Church. Then in 1972 the Churches joined together to make the URC (United Reformed Church). We built a new Church and had a new Minister. I helped with the Sunday School and Pilots, and was made an Elder there. A proud moment as Grandpa and Dad were Elders.

Redundancy came, and we moved to the Bristol area, and I went to Brislington URC and in the evening to Evensong in the Village Mission Church, as my husband was originally Church of England. Many years after my husband died I moved to Thame and Joined Christchurch.

All these Churches have added to my Christian life in many different ways. I am still in touch with friends from several of the Churches. So I am very glad for the friendship and love they all have given me.

Alison

On Sunday, 19 January, the focus of our Circuit Prayers was on Swanbourne

Dear All

Frankie shares some of the experiences that laid the foundations of her faith. Sometimes we are spoilt for choice, but we are all different and no one size fits all. It was good that Frankie sampled a few different church families until she found the right one for her where she was comfortable and felt at home. We all worship the same God, but our journeys do not all start from the same place or use the same path, so it is important that we feel we are in the right place. Please pray for all those people who find it difficult to fit in, and pray that they may find a fellowship where they are welcomed and loved.

Pete

Frankie writes:

As long as I can remember, I have had a sense of the presence of God, fed by hymns and stories at infant school. My mother was agnostic, but resistant to organised religion, having had poor family experiences with both Catholicism and the Spiritualist movement. My father's faith was undeveloped and tentative, but he had gone to Sunday School when young.

I went to nearly every Sunday School in town in my search for God, including two Anglican churches, one rural and low church and the other urban and high. I also went to a Christian fellowship, and the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Eventually a school friend took me to the Methodist Church, where I felt welcomed and taken seriously.

I attended an excellent Sunday School (I was about ten at the time), joined the Junior Choir and Brownies and Guides and later the Youth fellowship and most importantly the Open Youth Club. In all these ways, my faith was fed and nourished. I was baptised at 16, quietly with just the minister and my parents present and was confirmed the following Sunday along with other members of the Youth Fellowship.

In all this time, I was quietly encouraged by my father who bought me Arthur Mee's 'Life of Jesus' and then my own Bible as an 'extra' Christmas present. My mother said, "If you go, you do it properly and go every week". She became involved with the Guides' Parents Committee and my dad occasionally accompanied me to Church.

So there I was, an enthusiastic young Methodist with a developing faith and an interest in social action. I went on to teacher-training college and found outlets for my faith in Methsoc and the Student Christian movement and attended SCM conferences at Oxford. My theology developed in discussion, enriched by meeting people from many different Christian backgrounds. All this has formed the basis for my life in Methodism.

Frankie

On Sunday, 12 January, the focus of our Circuit Prayers was on Stone

Dear All

Jenny shares her memories of her journey of faith. Sometimes we feel that we are alone in our faith and we journey in isolation, but that is never the case, as Jenny has found. Please pray this Sunday for all those who, sometimes unknown to us, journey alongside us through life.

Pete

Jenny writes:

I was fortunate that my mother and grandmother were Christians and went to Church regularly. My earliest memories are of going to Church with Granny to watch baptisms. Growing up in London I went to a large Methodist Church that had a Brownie Pack. We had sports days and Christmas parties.

When we moved to Harlow in the Fifties we joined the Baptist Church that is still strong today.

I did not marry in Church but when I had my two children my husband wanted them Christened in Church and was supportive in coming to Church with the children.

He was also supportive when I did my nursing training. I have found my faith helped me in my 41 years working for the NHS. A lot of the staff I worked with had a strong Christian faith. We used to pray for our patients.

I thank God for my life and the inspirational people I have met on my journey with Christ.

Jenny