Derby Circuit of the Methodist Church E-LETTER NO. 11 September 2013 Moving house is a little like childbirth. You forget how awful it is, until the next one starts, and then you remember. You find yourself in your new home, so completely surrounded by boxes that you can barely move, and wonder why you let yourself in for this again. Every tiny thing you try to do (like cutting a slice of bread) means finding things (the bread board and bread knife) which are in any one of several boxes, which are standing on top of one another. These therefore have to be opened. By the time you have unearthed the required items, you have your arms full of ornaments, ramekins, and a fondue set, and nowhere to put them. Along the way you learn a few things about yourself. Arranging the books in the study, I mentally allocated one shelf to ‘significant theological books that I am glad I own’. These books, I felt, would proclaim me to be an up-to-theminute learning, growing Christian, and a theological resource for my people. By the time I had put half a dozen books on that shelf, it had dawned on me that what they all had in common was that I had bought them and not yet read them. I have now mentally renamed the shelf ‘books I really need to read’. It is said that whether you move or not, it is helpful every few years to pack all you own into a removal van, drive it around the block, and unpack it. It makes you have a good clear-out, and you find things you had forgotten. The same is true of the spiritual life. Every so often it is good to take a long hard look at it. Have you got stuck in a rut? What have you neglected? Could your prayer life do with refreshment? Would reading a new book provide inspiration? How about joining a Bible study group? Or volunteering for a new avenue of service? Once all that has been unpacked and the dust has settled, there’s the possibility of a real fresh start. Rev Jenny Dyer - Superintendent Minister Information about the Circuit and Church related organisations Circuit Website (All Church locations, activities and contacts) Chellaston Littleover Newmount Mickleover Oakwood Sinfin Moor Nottingham and Derby District Methodist Church in Britain Derby Church Net Workplace Chaplaincy in Derbyshire Churches Together in Derbyshire The United Reformed Church Anglican Diocese of Derby Please circulate this news widely in your church and community by forwarding it to your church email distribution list, including items in your magazines and notices and printing copies for the notice boards. You may prefer to use the attached black and white Word version for printing. CIRCUIT WIDE MEETINGS AND DATES – AUTUMN 2013 August Friday 30th – Welcome service for new circuit ministers @ Littleover – 7.30pm September Monday 2nd - Mission Task Group @ St John’s - 7.30 p.m Wednesday 4th - Finance & Property Committee @ Chellaston – 7.30 p.m Saturday 7th - Synod at the Riverside Centre, Pride Park, Derby Thursday 12th - Circuit Leadership Team @ St. Johns - 7.30 p.m Saturday 14th - Coffee morning for Action for Children @ Ashbourne Road Church – 10am - noon. Tuesday 17th - Circuit Meeting @ Littleover - 7.30 p.m Thursday 19th - Local Preachers Meeting @ Findern - 7.30 p.m Sunday 22nd - Rosehill Sports Club Service @ Rosehill Sports Ground - 3 p.m. Monday 23rd - Discipleship & Pastoral Task Group @ Alvaston 7.30 p.m October Wednesday 9th - Social Responsibility Task Group @Chester Green Church - 7.30 p.m November Thursday 7th - Rosehill Steering Committee @ Mickleover - 7.30 p.m Wednesday 20th - Circuit Leadership Team @ Ashbourne Road 7.30 p.m The Catholic Diocese of Nottingham Cliff College December Tuesday 3rd - Finance & Property Committee -Venue to be arranged - 7.30 p.m Wednesday 4th - Local Preachers Meeting @ Alvaston - 7.30 p.m Christian Aid Methodist Homes WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY? You can often find out by using the Internet. To help you to do this, we have included some useful links in the column to the left. It is amazing what you can find. Happy Browsing! Traidcraft Action for Children MRDF Methodist Recorder Friends of Kenya’s Children CIRCUIT DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS Over the last few months we have had to say our goodbyes to four ministers, Rev’ds Paula Hunt, Ian Worrall, Lindsay Kemp and Ian Kemp. We wish them all God’s Blessing in their new appointments We are delighted to welcome three new ministers to the Derby Circuit at the beginning of this new Church Year. They all introduced themselves to you in the last newsletter, and you will have an opportunity to meet them all at the Circuit Welcome Service which will be held at Littleover Methodist Church at 7.30pm on Friday 30th August. Do come along and meet them and welcome them personally. Our new Superintendant Minister is Rev’d Jenny Dyer who will have pastoral charge of Chellaston and St Thomas Rd. Rev’d Janet Jackson will have pastoral charge of Mickleover, Ashbourne Road and Dean Street. Rev’d Gareth Higgs will have pastoral charge of Littleover and Findern Rev’d Jenny Dyer and family Rev’d Janet Jackson and Colin Rev’d Gareth Higgs and family NEWS FROM DERBY CHURCHES NIGHTSHELTER Derby’s churches are setting up a new nightshelter to be ready this winter to meet the urgent need for safe overnight accommodation for Derby’s street homeless. This project is needed because in April 2013, Derby City Council began a cut of 85% to homeless beds funding over 2 years. Several hostels have already closed. “Unless some provision for emergency cold weather provision is made, there is a risk that people will die on Derby’s streets this winter.” Working ecumenically, 7 church venues in or near the city centre, will each open one night per week in rotation through Dec 2013 – March 2014. Volunteers will give a warm welcome and a substantial meal to 35 guests. At 10pm, paid overnight staff will take over as the guests go to sleep in sleeping bags on mattresses on the church floor. Next morning there’ll be a breakfast before leaving at 8am. If you haven’t heard about us yet, please look at our video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/whv597xUz6w We need your help. There is a way for everyone to help with this project: Will you pray? Prayer is needed for every aspect of this project. Please ‘like’ Derby City Mission on Facebook, or send us your email/address for regular prayer requests. Our ultimate prayer is for each and every homeless person in Derby to find safe and stable accommodation. Could you volunteer? The real heart of this project is the welcome given to our guests between 8pm and 10pm. We need about 100 volunteers, with different roles including setting up, cooking, welcoming and talking to guests. Are you 18 or over and think this might be something you’d like to explore? You’ll be given full training and assigned to one of the venues on a night that suits you. Choose one of the training dates: 10.30 - 12 Sat 12th Oct at Ozzy Road Baptist Church, Charnwood Street, DE1 2GU 7.30 - 9pm Tues 22nd Oct at Riverside Church, Riverside Ct, Pride Park, DE24 8HY 7.30-9pm Mon 4th Nov at Derby City Church, Curzon Street, DE1 1LH Other dates will be set up if needed. Can you raise some money? We need £50,000 for our first winter of operation. £1 for a hot meal, £12 for one person for a night, including 2 meals, £30 for a sleeping bag and mattress, £70 for all the meals for a night, £430 for all the costs of one night’s operation, £7,500 for a month’s staff costs How can we help you? Do ring us on 01332 460346 or email [email protected] if you need more information.  Can we send a speaker to your service or meeting?  Can we send you some leaflets or a PowerPoint presentation?  Would you like some reflective material for worship at Harvest? Please can you be thinking about how you get involved – we’d love to hear from you in September. Alasdair Kay and Graham Watkins – Derby City Mission O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD This was the title of the prayer workshop led by Rev Stephen and Heather Radford at Alvaston Methodist Church on Saturday 29 June. Prayer should be the Christian’s vital breath, a natural outcome of our relationship with Him. As most of us breathe without thinking so should our prayer be. Prayer is as important as our breathing. We are dependent on oxygen to live, so prayer is dependent on our relationship with God. But there are distractions and barriers, we live pressurized and demanding lives, the pace of life is ever quicker and Satan plays on this. We require value time to enter more deeply into the presence of God with a chance to focus on Him away from these pressures and distractions, to wait upon Him and to be refreshed and renewed. God seeks a two-way relationship with us, a relationship requiring skills of openness, listening and focused time. These skills have to be practiced and are found in prayer where time is focused on God alone, finding the power to be still and to be with the One who is central to our lives. Marilyn Bagworth BORROWASH  Our Church congregation has now received questionnaires regarding their views on the Worship Area and these are currently being reviewed to clarify the way forward with the Building Development work.  The Sparklers Service on 14 July 2013 was really different with the whole congregation thinking about sharing the Good News with the community. Participation in making dove prayers, decorating small cakes, to give to neighbours, and writing ‘note’ thoughts about Church and community involvement. The highlight was a great drama through the Old Testament! Well done to the youngsters who insisted that they wanted to do the Bible readings and prayers, as well as the drama. Thanks to Hannah for leading and organising it with the help of Gwen and also to Chloe for sorting out the images on screen.  Well done to Maureen Dawson & Janet Cotton who held a very successful Coffee Day on 17 July in aid of the Church Redevelopment Fund and the McMillan Caring Unit  Margaret Barker again led the biennial Temple Studies summer school here on August 12th-16th and had a busy and successful week. Over 60 people attended, of whom 55 were able to come for the whole week to study the writings of St John. Many of the church family were involved: baking to provide food [and drink] during the days; bed and breakfast for those who had come a great distance - we had two from the USA, two from Ireland and one from Germany, as well as from other parts of the UK; cooking evening meals for our long distance guests; and organising evening activities such as walks. The week was a success in other ways too. Over £3,5000 was raised for the church. SINFIN MOOR CHURCH These are some of the recent events at SInfin Moor Church (SMC)    A Joint Celebration Praise evening was held with St Stephens Church on June 30th followed by a shared tea. On Saturday 6th July some members took part in a sponsored walk and joined the rest of the church at their yearly Picnic in the Park. See picture below. Footlights Stage School celebrated 20 years of Footlights with a barbeque and presentation at SMC. The following events are planned for the for the future  Please join us at our Monthly Coffee Mornings, held on the last Saturday of the month, lots of books, bric-brac, cakes, toys and crafts. Next sessions, August 31 and September 28. For more information please ring Colin on 763412.  In August SMC held their Church weekend at Willersley Castle.  SMC will be celebrating their Church Anniversary on Sunday 15 September at their family worship 10am service, Sunday School children are given gifts and also take part in the service.  On 29 September we will be taking part in Back to Church Sunday, inviting friends, neighbours and families that have attended on special occasions. EVENTS AT ST THOMAS’ ROAD Greetings from St. Thomas' Road.    Our coffee mornings, on the first Saturday of the month, continue as usual from 10.00am until 11.30am. A warm welcome awaits all visitors. Our CAMEO (Come and Meet Each Other) meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at 2.00pm is going well and attracts on average 20 people - we have room for many more. Some of our recent talks have been "These are a few of our favourite things, the history of the music hall and learning to play hand bells" We also had a Victorian Afternoon followed by a Victorian tea party. On September 28th we have our Harvest Lunch at 11.00am.  This will include a quiz hour before the lunch. Please notify Christine Corbett if you wish to attend - Derby 788591. Osmaston Wind Band will again be giving us a concert on Saturday 19th October at 2.00pm. A toe tapping and fun afternoon. We look forward to seeing some of you at our events and we welcome our new minister, Rev'd Jenny Dyer. OUTREACH AT SPONDON During the Summer we have held a number of Out-reach events which we would like to share with all of you around the Circuit.  Our Out-reach this year began in May when we held an event especially for our Local Live-at-Home Scheme members; through the local scheme organisers, we invited members to come and spend time with us at our Church premises. The event began with a reception in our lounge where we served coffee or tea with biscuits; we then moved into our hall for Lunch which was sandwiches and salad followed by cakes and tea. We provided about an hour of entertainment before serving more drinks as required. A number of the visitors would not leave until they had been into our church to spend a few moments of quiet. This is the second time that we have invited the Live-at-Home members and each time they say they want to come again.  Spondon Day was held on Saturday June 15th: Last year the Spondon Trader Association applied to the Mary Portas initiative for a grant to help to rejuvenate our High Street; Spondon was awarded £10,000 to do a small amount of improvement. Spondon Day was organised, a day when the shops would come out on to the pavement, there would be street entertainment and all the organisation would be invited to showcase themselves; the day closed with “Hot House Jazz” playing in the precinct outside the post office. We had a display giving away lollypops to the children and flyers promoting ourselves to the adults. See picture  Derbyshire County Show Sunday 16th June: We joined together with Draycott and Borrowash churches to have a presence at the show this year and found that we were the only church there. In our marquee we had a display for each church, we did craft activities for children and we gave away coffee or tea to everyone who visited our stand. The rainy weather worked well in our favour as every time it rained people flocked into our marquee. We were joined by Graham Hinds from the Farming Crisis network and even Radio Derby came to join us. Throughout the day we also did “Open the Book” Drama depicting the story of Jonah and the Whale. See pictures  Small Acts of Kindness: On July the 13th the Spondon village Improvement committee had organised and event at Dale Road park to officially open a Toposcope and we helped by loaning our marquee and tables for the event. The event was a great success as there were many invited guests and the Toposcope was officially opened by the Director of Rolls Royce Marine; they all appreciated the shade afforded by our marquee and everyone heard the proceeding as we provided the sound system for the event.  Picnic in the Park: On 1st August we joined with Derby City Council who held an event to celebrate parks. There was plenty of fun and lots of different things to do. We again had a stand to promote our church and on this occasion we aimed to build more bridges by linking up with the Spondon Parent and Toddler Group, a small group of young single mums along with “Break-out” the group who support drug users in Spondon. It was a great day with lots of people having picnics around us and visiting our stand. See pictures  Messy Church: On 8th August we held a bible based craft event at our church for children from Toddlers to 10 year olds; 40 children came with their parents or carers and we all had a great time making fish to flap and bread to eat. There were stories and songs drinks and biscuits. no picture for this as our pictures contained children’s faces  Our next event will be our Harvest Hoe-Down on 28th September; this will take the form of a BBQ for adults and fun and games for the children; the whole idea being to get the whole church family together.  We will then come to the switching on of the Christmas lights in Spondon on the 22nd November followed by our Christmas event for the Live at Home members.  It would be understandable if you all thought that Out-reach was all we did at Spondon church but we are also doing nurture as well as well as Worship.  We have had two “Step Forward” groups running now for 18 months and these are proving very successful in helping to give us confidence in sharing our faith. NEWS FROM THE CHURCH ON OAKWOOD The Church on Oakwood is having a relatively quiet summer following a successful turnout for the annual Oakwood Gala in July. Many of our usual activities are having a break during the summer while their members enjoy a well-earned time of rest and relaxation. Therefore, we are looking forward to resuming again in September when the regular fellowship/ prayer/ study/ children’s groups will be reconvening. The following are some particular activities  The Time to Talk of God course will be repeated with the sessions being held in the daytime instead of the evenings to encourage a further group of people to participate.  The Harvest Festival weekend will be at the beginning of October and following this will be a series of 6 weeks’ themed preaching.  We continue to support our local community by our Lunch Club, Walkers and Talkers group and by contributing to the Hope Centre food bank. CHESTER GREEN Wanted: - A willing volunteer who may be able to help us by playing the organ or piano even if it is only occasionally or once a quarter, please contact Irene Fearn on 01332 704166 or [email protected] ON TRIAL AND BEYOND….. Margaret Barker first suggested I consider being a Local Preacher and I have received a warm welcome from many old friends in the Circuit. Bless you all, for your support and encouragement which has kept me going. I was delighted that seven of the new worship leaders received certificates on the same day as my Circuit Recognition Service. What a treat it was to hear Margaret and John give their testimonies. Thanks to Oakwood praise band, Deacon June Harrison, Dawn Purnell and my family support. God blessed us all as a Circuit family. Thanks for coming along to what turned out to be such an uplifting service. As I take the next steps in God’s call on my life as ‘one of Mr Welsley’s Local Preachers’, I pray that I will be able to tour the Circuit and beyond for many more years to come. It is a delight to look in depth at the Lectionary Bible Readings when preparing services, connecting the relevance of Jesus’ teachings with our current circumstances. Pointing out how the Holy Spirit can sustain and guide us to encourage and enable more people to know Jesus as their personal Saviour. God bless Jean Clarke NEWS FROM CHELLASTON METHODIST CHURCH Events for the start of the New Church Year  Talents and Hobbies Exhibition* by church members on Friday 20th September 2 pm to 8pm and Saturday 21st September 10 am to 4pm. Light refreshments served.  Harvest Weekend - 12th and 13th October  Barn dance (in St. Peter's Parish Hall) *. Saturday 26th October from 7pm. Tickets will be available  140th Church Anniversary on Sunday 17th November at 10.30am. Preacher: Rev. Jenny Dyer  Christmas fair - Saturday 23rd November 10 am to 2pm Events with an * are fundraising for the Property Refurbishment Project. Chellaston Property Refurbishment Project  Completed work so far: Redecoration of the Church, New doors to the church and New windows in the schoolroom  Work to be done: New kitchen, Making good and redecoration of entire schoolroom building and professional feasibility study looking to the longer term. CHELLASTON HOLIDAY CLUB During the week commencing 5th August The Parish church of St Peters and the Methodist Chapel came together to hold their annual Holiday Club at the Infants School. We had 75 children between the ages of 3-10 divided into 2 age groups. The groups were kept very busy. Our bible stories this year were all taken from the book of Daniel, challenging for both adults and children. We also had a space theme and the children made rockets, space vehicles and aliens and decorated star cakes. We sang songs, took part in active prayer and learnt a memory verse each day. The children enjoyed organised games outside and a drama, very loosely based on Star Trek! The week concluded with a presentation to parents on Friday evening in the Methodist hall. A great week enjoyed by both adults and children. DON’T FALL INTO THIS HOLE! For more than 20 years we have run a Saturday morning coffee and lunches event at Alvaston. We provide good home-cooked food for our community of friends from our church and other local churches and in addition, companionship for a number of older people who look forward to their weekly get together and a good lunch. Everyone is welcome, we provide an excellent service on several levels. Our modern kitchen is spotless, our volunteers are all experienced and most of them have catering qualifications, and we obey every rule in the hygiene book –BUT WE DIDN’T KEEP THE ARDUOUS PAPERWORK UP TO DATE! So, along came the Environmental Health Inspector, who for the first time – previous inspections have been perfect – insisted she had to give us a one star rating because we hadn’t done the paperwork. Grrr! OK, our little fridge, in constant use on a busy morning, was a bit too warm – we’ve bought a new one – but otherwise, she agreed all was well – apart from the missing paperwork. One star – how upsetting. THEN up pops an enthusiastic Telegraph Reporter. Oh joy, a CHURCH with one star, what a good headline on a day with no news to report. Yes, he did try to check back with us, but he left a message with our Minister – on a Sunday – when he was unlikely to pick it up until the paper had gone to press. Mischievous – annoying – and sad. So, friends, be sure to have your paperwork to hand and up to date when the Inspector comes calling. Don’t fall into the same hole as Alvaston. Mind you, our lunches will be back on in September, to their usual high standard – and we shall have perfect paperwork! DESSERT ISLAND DISCS Saturday October 19th 2013 at 7pm Alvaston Methodist Church, Brighton Road. DE24 8TG Don’t miss this unique event. Castaways Rev. Joseph Tembo and Bill Varnam will share their favourite music and life stories, interviewed by Ian (Kirsty) Frearson. Tickets £5 and £2.50 for children, includes refreshments of the dessert variety and tea / coffee. Ring 01332 572598 or email [email protected] to reserve tickets. Proceeds for Friends of Kenya’s Children and the church Here is an occasion not to be missed! Come and hear Joseph Tembo talk about his fascinating and very different life story, it will be a brilliant evening. AND as a bonus, you will love listening to Bill Varnam. Bill is an Entertainer, and his life story will be – well – entertaining! Please come and support this event, and help us to eat the many desserts that will be a significant part of the evening’s programme. ACTION FOR CHILDREN Barbara Smith Barbara Smith, over 77 years has raised £750,000 for Action for Children. She started at Mayfield Road Methodist Church when she was 4 years of age. Among her other activities have been a sky dive when she was 80 and her continued and valuable contribution with the charity shop in Surrey Street. In early July she travelled to London for the finals of the Fund raisers of the year from the Institute of Volunteer Fundraiser of the year which, when announced that she had won was met with a standing ovation. Our congratulations to Barbara from the support group. [ and from the Circuit] Future events September 14th 2013 10am until 12noon Coffee morning at Ashbourne Road Church. Everyone welcome. If anyone is interested in joining the support group or would like to know more about what it involves please e-mail Doreen Hinds on [email protected] or ring 01332 558721. INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY? If you want to know more about what is available to help Voluntary and Community Groups in Derby, the Community Action Website is a good place to go. On the site, you can also subscribe and receive a monthly email update. FINDERN METHODIST CHAPEL Quiet Day We are planning another quiet day soon in chapel, a chance to reflect and pray. In the past people attending have found it a very valuable time, some just popping in, others staying longer or returning for the epilogue. Look out for details or contact Lynette Nash 01332 510382 or Peter Nelson’s 01332 767743. Afternoon Teas Each Wednesday (except the first in the month) we open the chapel for tea and cakes and chat between 2 and 3.30pm. There is no charge but donations are welcome. It’s an ideal opportunity to combine it with walks around the village . SCARECROWS AT MICKLEOVER Mickleover Methodist Church is again joining in the Mickleover Scarecrow Festival (21st to 29th September). At least eight groups within the church are producing scarecrows as part of their normal activities and they will be displayed in the front garden of the church as a scarecrow family, emphasising the church family, during the festival week. The 2012 Mickleover Methodist Scarecrow Family SPARK TO A FLAME. Spark to a Flame is alternative worship held at Mickleover Methodist Church on the second Sunday of every month at 10 am in parallel with the usual morning service. People of all ages explore faith through Music Drama, Discussion, Games, Dance and Craft and 40 to 60 people attend. The August session was held at Highfields Happy Hens at Etwall where we explored how God cares for us. The next session is on Sunday 8th September at 10 am when we will explore the Parable of the Sower and, as part of this, we will build a scarecrow. All are welcome. More information from [email protected] . Spark to a Flame at Highfield Happy Hens FAIRTRADE COFFEE BAR, MICKLEOVER METHODIST CHURCH There will be a Fairtrade Cafe at Mickleover Methodist Church on Saturday 28th September and Saturday 26th October and Saturday 30th November, from 10am-12 noon. Fairtrade drinks and freshly baked cakes will be available in a relaxed coffee shop atmosphere and a stall will be selling a wide range of Fairtrade goods. Everyone is welcome. If you would like to know more, contact Vicky Ager at [email protected] . CHRISTMAS AT MICKLEOVER Mickleover Methodist Church will again be taking part in the Christmas festivities organised by “Our Mickleover”. This year a Christmas Fair is being organised for Sunday 1st December in the centre of the village, and will include stalls, a funfair, the switchingon of the new, improved Christmas lights and possibly fireworks. Mickleover Methodist Church will be providing carol singers and the life-sized illuminated nativity scene. MICKLEOVER’S FAREWELL TO IAN On Sunday 14th July, we said our farewells to Rev’d Ian Kemp in a day of celebration for his ministry in Mickleover. The Day started with a Communion Service at 9am followed by a Family Service at 10.00 which included Scouts and Girls Brigade and most other sections of the church life. This took a similar form to our Spark to a Flame services where we started by worshipping together and introducing the theme of Tents before going into five groups to explore the theme in different ways, returning together to share our experiences. This was followed by coffee and a buffet lunch. We convened again at 5pm for tea together with the other Mickleover Churches, leading to an ecumenical farewell service at 6.30. Although it was sad saying goodbye to Ian, we had a memorable day of celebration and fellowship together, enjoyed by a large proportion of the church community. ..AND A WELCOME TO JANET On Sunday 1st September, with tea at 5pm and a service at 6.30pm, we will be welcoming our new minister Rev’d Janet Jackson. The other five Mickleover Churches and representatives of the Mickleover Community will also be involved in the service. HARVEST AT MICKLEOVER Saturday 5th October at Mickleover will be a day of Harvest Celebration for all ages. Starting with the usual, monthly community lunch at 12 noon there will be a fun and games afternoon with a beetle drive plus various games and activities and a messy table and refreshments. At 5.30 pm there will be a harvest supper followed by a barn dance from 7 to10 pm. The day will be flexible - people can come for the afternoon activities only or come for the supper and barn dance or just come for the usual Saturday lunch. Tickets for the supper and barn dance will be available soon from Mickleover Methodist Church Office (35052) or Marilyn Bagworth (512286). There is no charge for the afternoon session. The Harvest Services on Sunday 6th will be led in the morning at 10 am by Rev’d Janet Jackson and in the evening by Rev’d Mair Bradley. SHORT OF IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS? Then come along to the Churches Together in Mickleover Alternative Christmas Gift Market on Saturday 9 th November from 10 am to 1 pm at St John’s Church, Devonshire Drive, Mickleover. There will be a wide variety of gifts which can be purchased for disadvantaged people throughout the world through various charities and there will also be a Fairtrade stall. If you are unable to attend, you can purchase gifts by mail. Full details will be on the Churches Together in Mickleover Website ( www.mickleover.org.uk ) from the beginning of November. RECOMENDATION It is not always easy to find the appropriate trades people on whom you can rely, and recommendation is always helpful. If you, or you know anyone, who is looking for a friendly local home cleaning service, Jean Parton (01332) 769015, has a Christian lady she could recommend. . SOMETHING MISING? If news from your church is missing from this News letter, why not put it right for the next issue and provide information yourself. It is good to share your news of what God is doing in your area. AND FINALLY... Your editor for this issue was Chris Moore. Items for inclusion in the next e-letter should be sent to Chris at [email protected] . Please keep items short and succinct; normally no more than 100 words. Where possible please include pictures, a web link and an email contact. Contributions should have some relevance to Circuit and Church Life. We cannot guarantee publication and reserve the right to edit contributions. Copy Date for Next E-Letter: 20th November.